DaveFr

Regent does system maintenance on Saturdays. In the past this is led to some weird things such as cruises disappearing from accounts, etc. Usually the problems disappear in a day or two. Check again tomorrow or Monday and, hopefully, things will be back to normal. If the manage your booking link is still not there, have your TA contact Regent. Dave

On the first day both the Pool Grill and La Veranda are open for lunch. Now that I think about it, my reference to the last day was to the day you leave the ship (i.e., the first day of the next cruise segment). On the last full day of the cruise, all the normal lunch venues for that day are open. Dave

(Sarcasm deleted) Dave

Of course I am speculating but I agree with Pcardad. I’m not sure where this notion that only basic economy will be included in the new ultimate package came from but I don’t see it in the material Regent has put out about the new packages. In fact the website has always shown the fare with and without air either by showing a price with air included or by indicating the air credit if Regent air was not desired. The current Regent business class air package reminds me of the old adage about the Model T Ford. It was said that you could have any color you wanted as long as you wanted black. 😃 So, for the most part, Regent now says that you can have any class of international air you want as long as it is business class. Subject to change after July 1, as I read the Regent material, the ultimate package for air will be similar to what now exists but with the option to choose the fare class, from first to economy that the passenger wants. I see this as an improvement over the current system. My opinion may change depending upon how the new system works but time will tell. July 1 is just around the corner. i’ve also noticed some posters saying that air should be resolved by Regent before a cruise is deposited. Since some Regent cruises are bookable 2 to 3 years before the cruise sails and airlines do not release schedules earlier than a year before the flight, I don’t see how resolution before deposit will be possible in all cases. In any event, I think this thread could be in the running for the annual Speculation Running Wild award. 😂 Dave

On the three older Regent ships, Compass Rose is open for lunch every day except the first and last days. The lunch menu revolves around selections from the Prime 7 and Chartreuse lunch menus on the newer ships. Dave

The Sunday brunch in Compass Rose is only held when a Sunday falls on a sea day. I believe your cruise was in port on Sundays. As to the other events you list, while events on each Regent cruise are similar they are not necessarily identical. Dave

Mahjong is played on board. The games are informal so sometimes they are well attended and other times no one shows up to play. There are Mahjong sets on board. Dave

Marc, as I read the email from Regent, my cruise was changed to March 20, 2026 and the 3 day loop was eliminated because of the upcoming dry-dock. The first sentence of the email from Regent states: “Seven Seas Voyager will undergo a refurbishment which will require the ship to dry-dock for a period of time in Spring 2026, and we therefore need to modify your scheduled cruise.” (Emphasis added.) In my opinion, the use of “therefore“ in the sentence above directly ties the modification of my cruise and, by implication, the deletion of the 3 day loop to the dry-dock in spring 2026. Dave

Oops, my post was clear as mud. 😀 What I meant to say was that we were booked on the March 23, 2026 cruise that has now changed to March 20, 2026. I guess I assumed that people would get that information when they read the email from Regent. Since we all know what assume means, I should have been clearer. Dave

We are booked on the 18 night March 23, 2026 Voyager cruise from Dubai to Athens. According to the email I received from Regent last week, Voyager will have a dry-dock sometime in the Spring of 2026. See: Inbox - Dfcruise@san.rr.com.pdf My guess is that the dry-dock will take place after Voyager arrives in Rome in the middle of April. Hopefully, we will know more shortly. Dave

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I just tried a dummy culinary class booking and, unlike excursion bookings, the website did not subtract my Titanium discount when viewing the cart. Unless the website has been programmed incorrectly, it appears that the Concierge and Platinum+ discounts do not apply to culinary classes. Dave

Go into your cruise critic account and select “Account Settings.“ Then select “Content View Behavior.“ Finally, select the option that reads: “Take me to comments I haven't read.” Now when you open a thread, the system will automatically jump to the first unread message unless the first unread message is preceded by one or more photographs in which case, the system jumps to the photos after they are loaded. I wish Cruise Critic would fix this bug. Dave

The following Canadian government website might be of help to the OP’s friend. (https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/inadmissibility/overcome-criminal-convictions.html) Dave

I just checked and, in addition to the three day gap noted by Marc, there is now a 13 day gap in early 2025 from January 29 through February 10. This makes sense to me as Regent has a grand voyage in March 2025. Regent may also use the three days at the end of November to spruce up the ship for another grand voyage in early 2026. Regent may be dropping the major renovation for Voyager or it’s possible that Regent is still doing the major renovation on Voyager but needs less time to do so than it needs for Mariner. Dave

The Venture is not a Regent ship. Totally irrelevant. Dave

Both butler levels suites and non-butler level suites. The current cruise is in a Concierge suite. We also get a bottle of Grand Mariner each cruise without requesting it regardless of suite category. Dave

We just got on the Grandeur today. There was diet caffeine free Coke in our suite. We did not order it pre-cruise but have ordered it in the past. Dave

Your conclusion that you can book 210 days out but the flight won’t be paid for until 60 days out is what normally happens. However, the OP already had flights to Reykjavík from Regent and wanted to know if there was any downside to having the flights ticketed earlier than 60 days out. That question was what I originally responded to. Regent flights are ticketed by the airlines when Regent pays for them. As I stated above, I was told that when Regent pays for flights and they are ticketed, the flights become nonrefundable. This information was the basis for my original post. Dave

papaflamingo, I don’t understand your post. I agree that you can cancel Regent flights prior to the 60 day mark when Regent normally tickets and pays for them. Until ticketing and payment at the 60 day mark, the flights are cancelable and refundable to Regent. However, the OP’s question was about ticketing flights early. In that case, Regent would have to pay early to have the flights ticketed. I was told that when Regent pays for the tickets earlier than 60 days before the cruise the flights become nonrefundable. Also, the 60 day mark is significant for more than cruise cancellations. As Regent invoices state in the “Cancellation of Ancillary Items“ section, airfare canceled within 60 days prior to the cruise incurs a 100% fee (penalty). Dave

Last year, I was informed that I could have my Regent flights ticketed early but that there was a potential downside to doing so. Normally Regent flights may be canceled until they are ticketed 60 days before the cruise. Within 60 days of the cruise, there is a 100% penalty for canceling flights. So, if you have a flight ticketed earlier than the 60 day mark, the 100% penalty begins on the date the flight was ticketed. The option to ticket early is there but it has risks. Dave

Please don’t attempt to get any visas before you or your TA speak with Regent. In a number of ports, Regent has a blanket visa covering everyone on the ship or any visa requirement is waived due to the short duration of the visit. Dave

We took a similar cruise from Lisbon to Cape Town in November 2022. Double check everything with your travel agent or Regent but it looks like the only visa you will need is for Ghana. Some people will need to get a visa for Gambia but Commonwealth countries are exempt from the visa requirement. On our cruise, Regent took care of getting any visa we needed and added the cost to our onboard account. Most likely the same procedure will apply in your case but be sure to double check. Dave

Alaskans on this board have joked that if you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes for it to change. 😃 Dave

Not on any of the regular Regent Alaska cruises I’ve taken. Dave