Ladys Mom

No.  In the Penthouse suites they use Bulgari.

If you are using a TA check with them about your luggage tags.  They come with your documents from/through your TA.  If you have not received leather Platinum luggage tags have them check with Regent.  I am told you get a new set of tags when you reach a new level from Platinum on.

I guess the solution is don't buy anything while in Brazilian waters and Regent should avoid wine events at the same time.  Chile has a similar tax.  Silversea's answer on our Antarctic cruise was to close the boutiques in Chilean waters.

On 3/5/2023 at 9:18 AM, dawntrdr said:

If you qualify, Chase Sapphire Reserve will give you travel insurance for your trip so long as you pay any part of it with their card (you don't need to book through it).  They also give you lost luggage insurance and travel delay insurance and a lot of other features more than just cash back. As to cash back, I believe it gives you one point earned per dollar spent, and the annual fee is about $600, which they give you back $300 credit toward travel a year.  

 

Otherwise, I would use Fidelity Visa, which pays 2 points per dollar spent into your Fidelity account.

 

The thing about the world cruise is of course that the balance is so enormous, you have to pay it over time because your monthly credit limit won't cover it unless you spread it out.

We use the Chase Sapphire Reserve.  If you qualify the big benefit on a world cruise is that you get 3 points for every dollar spent.  In order to cover the final payment on our Regent world cruise, my husband starts paying it about a month before it is due.  He has our TA charge 25% of the total, which he then pays off as soon as it clears.  Then he emails our TA to do it again.  Repeat.  We end up with more than 600K points to use on United for our Tokyo-Sydney grand voyage in 2025.  It works, plus you have the additional 20K in trip insurance if you need it.

We were on Deck 9 for a thirty day cruise.  We loved our Horizon  Suite and our butler we never wanted to get off.  In my opinion, they are some of the best suites on the Mariner.

One Regent cruise we were on had a Rabbi, who was a passenger, conduct the services.  Otherwise, services are always conducted by passengers.  On a Mariner cruise March, 2022, it was Purim and a group of us participated in the entire Meggelah, provided by the ship (I believe), along lots of appropriate food and drinks.  I would expect the same for Rosh Hashanah.

1 hour ago, Kwaj girl said:

 

That's it....

Thanks for the information everyone.  If we get the suite level we want we will book.  But sorry not including Japan.

We love your posts.  We will be on your ship starting on 2/18.  We are so excited.  This will be our first cruise to Antarctica

You can give them instructions to wash and hang to dry with no ironing.  That is what I did with my swimsuits.  They came back clean, but not stretched.  

10 minutes ago, LewiLewi said:

On our last cruise on the Splendor we saw that there was a dedicated singles dining table hosted by staff every night. We saw them dining in all of the specialty restaurants as well as Compass Rose. Is this the norm on all Regent ships? It looked like they were all having a great time.

Although we are a couple, we have seen the group of singles eating together on all of Regent's ships.

We had several offers of upsell during the 2020-2021 season when the ships were mostly empty.  I always would hear about them through my TA.  I would definitely check with your TA to tell them you are interested in the higher suite.  Your amenities from Concierge F to Penthouse C will be the same except for having a butler and more real estate.

We love Franck

Everyone who is in Concierge and above, has at least one pair of good binoculars in their suite.

We will be joining Paul and others on the Marina this Sunday.  It has been a few years since we have sailed on Oceania.  We upgraded to Penthouse to minimize some of our complaints in advance, e.g. tiny closet and no dressing table/second desk.  We are going on with an open mind and see how it goes.

Norma and Mitch

19 hours ago, PaulMCO said:

O is apparently shipping the Blue Books (2) directly from the printers in New Jersey.  We received our on Friday for an 18 Dec cruise.

Paul we are on the same cruise as you.  My husband wants to know the devices/system you use to improve the Marina's internet because he has business he needs to do while we are gone.  Thank you in advance.

Looks like it will be a great cruise on the Splendor.  Bon Voyage and stay healthy!

We also are on a Xmas-New Year's cruise and my husband is taking his tux with him.  Because we are not on Regent this time (Boo hoo!!) he is bringing two tuxedo shirts in case one get dirty.

Has anyone taken one of the Bocelli Winery shore excursions in Tuscany?  We are getting ready to book our shore excursions for the 2024 World Cruise and there are three different options. They look interesting, but are quite expensive.  Are they worth the investment?  Thanks in advance for any incites you can provide.

Norma and Mitch

10 minutes ago, shepherd really said:

So, what they say about how nice Canadians are is true.  That is incredibly kindhearted.

We will try to make the best of it.  The ports and the great passengers we already have corresponded with, will make up for the bad apples.

And you wonder why my husband and I like Regent better than Oceania.  On  Regent you can have all the wine and liquor you want, whether a little or a lot.  If you want liquor in your suite, they bring you a bottle not a glass.  If you want to bring the bottle,, or several bottles, home at the end of the cruise no-one says anything.  In fact, one night when we ordered room service for dinner and we asked for wine.  The person taking the order asked which wine we wanted.  I gave them a choice of two.  The server brought us both.  Gaming the system on Oceania is just an indication that people want luxury, but are not always willing to pay for it.  I can understand if you rarely drink, but it you are a regular drinker just pay the price.  When we calculated what Regent offers us, over Oceania, there was no difference.  We are taking an Oceania cruise to use a FCC, but I am not feeling comfortable about what will be our experience.

Don't get mad.  This is just our opinion.

On 11/7/2022 at 8:37 AM, Rothko1 said:

I did not know this was something to do.  Now I'm going to have to ponder whether I want to do this on my trip to Antarctica in February next year.

 

Thank goodness I've been building up a nice insulating layer of warm fat to protect me if I decide to take the plunge.

Which cruise will you be on in February? We will be on the Wind Feb 18-28.

As I have said in other posts, we have not been on Oceania for about five years.  We are booked on the December 2022 Marina Miami to Rio.  Since 2016 we have been on seven Regent cruises, and we have four more booked.  We are not heavy drinkers, but we like our wine and an occasional cocktail.  We like going on active shore excursions.  We do not like paying extra for business class air, gratuities, alcohol, laundry, and shore excursions.  We began cruising on Regent when my DH did an apples to apples comparison between the same cruise on Oceania and on Regent.  When everything was added together Regent came out the same, or maybe somewhat less.  We like Regent's affinity program much more than Oceania's.  I want credit for the number of nights I am on the ship, not just the number of cruises.  Why should I get one Oceania point for a 21 day cruise in Penthouse, when someone gets that same one point for a seven day cruise in an inside cabin.  Even though we have sailed on Oceania close to 40 nights, we are treated like "newbies".

We love the vibe on Regent.  We have made many friends who we continue to correspond with and cruise with.  Given that everyone is more or less treated the same, no matter what the level of suite, there is no hierarchy.  Everyone is friendly no matter what their economic level is.  Because of the small number of passengers on each ship, when we come on a Regent cruise the crew and the officers make us feel like we are home.  

We have not been on Oceania for five years.  Prior to that we were in both Penthouse and Concierge cabins.  We checked out the lounges and found that they were sorely lacking for anything we needed, except for my DH occasionally needing to print something.  Found that calling room service or going to Baristas had much more of what we were looking for -- whether it was a latte or a stronger drink.

When I knew that I would need my roots colored on a multi-month cruise, I spoke with my hairdresser at home and she gave me the formula she uses on my hair.  When I spoke with the hairdresser on board I gave her the formula and my hair came out perfectly.  Don't let them be creative.  Insist they use the same formula you get at home.

If you are in a Concierge suite, or above, Regent automatically books your flight for the day before the sailing.  They include the hotel the night before and breakfast the morning of the sailing.  You pay a deviation fee if you want to fly out of an airport that is not one of their hubs, or you want a specific airline itinerary, or you want to travel even earlier or later.  I hope this helps.