FeliciaLee

1 hour ago, Barcelona17 said:

Thanks. That is what I was hoping. I'm cruising there in March 2021.

Us, too. Just saw that deal for a sky suite and jumped right on it!

13 hours ago, taylortime05 said:

I have been having such a hard time using these websites - Cru----- or Cost---.  I guess that by big box TA you mean Cost--.  But I can't for the life of me figure out how to do a custom search.  

It's not either of them. It's three words starting with V. Just click 'custom search' and you are good to go. Even when they aren't the lowest price available with the greatest obc, they are a good starting point to look up a specific cruise price on another site.

Good luck!

21 minutes ago, sonnycruises said:

What do you consider as the 2nd nicest cabin? On Solstice class and Millennium class I guess that would be a Royal Suite.

Sorry I wasn't more clear. This was on HAL and is called a neptune suite.

8 minutes ago, taylortime05 said:

Is this deal still available?  I’ve been trying to browse the Celebrity site for deals in 2021 and 2022.  It feels like looking for a needle in a haystack.  Appreciate any tips you could provide.

Nope. It's one of those things that you have to keep looking for every day!

The tips are to find a big box TA online. Do a custom search, sort by cabin type and a low/high on price, date, etc. Just keep tweaking based on what you are trying to find. Although it seems like a lot of work, after a few tries it becomes second habit and is quick.

You will be amazed at the bargains you can find if you aren't super picky. Yes, having to book years out might not get you the very best of the best deals, but they are still out there to be snapped up. Once we got an inside for less than $20 pd, but that was last minute. Another time we got the second nicest cabin two years out for $150 pd.

On 1/27/2020 at 10:16 PM, taylortime05 said:

I am disappointed that I can't find any deals in 2021 or 2022.  I have 2 cruises I booked on board in Dec and I wanted to find a great deal and transfer to a TA to get extra OBC.  I did this last year around same time and found some good prices with group rates with our TA. 

We just booked from Jan 31-Feb 10, 2022 on Infinity for $140 pp/pd for a sky with $800 obc. Keep looking for great deals.

On 2/2/2020 at 3:29 AM, crusinthrough said:

 I had the b2b but thought the 2 day wasn't a good deal.  Perhaps it will go down.  

 

I missed the $699 sale.  I wasn't checking prices because I thought $999 was a good deal.  I now have to add it to my list of dates to check but I noticed the fare has gone up so it may not go down that far again but you never know. 

The b2b we are doing is the consecutive 5-night cruises. We also passed on the 2-night.

Just keep checking. They don't last, but sometimes there really is a huge reduction.

On 1/28/2020 at 12:10 AM, crusinthrough said:

I also found a S2 on the Infinity in Feb 2022 for $999 pp (4 perks included).  These were all non refundable fares.

We did this one as a b2b. Last week I noticed the fare went down to $699 with $400 obc so had our price adjusted.

12 hours ago, taylortime05 said:

 

Wow, those are great deals.  These deals might be gone already.  When was the date for the Equinox deal? 

 

Thanks 

Yes, the two top ones are last minute cruises and gone. The last two are in 2022 and 2021. The Infinity has several sailings at that rate, so we decided on a b2b.

Since I no longer work, I scour the sites for great deals. Others have been saying the X has outlandish prices recently and although I did find that to be the case by doing cursory glances, once I really started digging into X and only X there were many awesome deals to be found.

Most cruisers will not have our flexibility (husband has unlimited vacation time and no children), but if you do, keep on the lookout for these types of discounts:

5 night inside $179 with $350 obc (infinity)

7 night sky $1499 with $825 obc (equinox)

5 night sky $999 with $450 obc (infinity)

15 night sky $3299 with $1100 obc (mil)

Happy hunting!

2 minutes ago, calliopecruiser said:

Wow, that's a really rude thing to say, even if the M'D didn't know who you were (which may or may not have been the case).  I'd never even consider chastising someone or demeaning them in public for something as inconsequential as that.   I'm sure the M'D knew you from then on, though probably not in the way you wanted to be recognized. 

Yes, when someone has that glazed over face every day and is ice cold I tend not to really care that much about first class decorum. 

On 6/3/2019 at 10:39 AM, hospsafe said:

Good Morning,

 

At this point in my life (50 yrs old single) its time for me to upgrade my cruising experience.  Since I don't cruise that often when I do cruise its in suites on Celebrity and Princess. What are the main differences between Crystal and Regent?  I am looking for a "down to earth Texas home feel" if that's possible. Luxurious but not pretentious. If it helps, when taking vacations, Four Seasons Resorts and JW are my preferred hotel brands.  I have never had a bad stay in either and they have always made me welcomed.

We seem pretty similar. I am also 50 and although not single, cruise solo quite a bit. I went to college in Texas.

Two things that might help you decide: 1) The cabin size (our only issue with Crystal is the cabin size). 2) Go to the boards for each line. Read lots of posts and try to get a feel for the passengers of each.

Yes, I know this is extremely biased and a small sampling, but by doing that, I found that I got a great feel for Crystal and only a so-so feel for Regent. After disembarking Voyager last December, that feeling was validated.

Having said that, though, we absolutely loved Regent, too! So really you can't go wrong! No negative nelly here :)

On 6/5/2019 at 2:49 PM, hospsafe said:

For me...when I am recognized by a crew member or a staff member at a hotel/restaurant/bar I frequent it makes the experience all that more personal and I appreciate that.

Oddly, we thought the crew on Holland was just as good as Regent. In fact, on night nine I said to the M'D "Wow, they usually greet us by name every night on HAL, yet you still don't seem to even know who we are."

We loved Regent, but probably won't return. It just wasn't for us. When friends ask why, we usually say: "Well, it was sort of like wealthy people who aren't wealthy enough to own a private yacht, but want to be left alone."

The officers, on the other hand, were probably the most friendly and engaged we have ever experienced.

9 hours ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

 

Quite actually, 273 ships from 24 cruise lines visited St. Barts this year.  We were there on Silversea's Silver Spirit about two weeks ago and had been there a few years back with Seabourn, but it does not capture our interest.  What was the draw for you?

Well, I should have been more clear. One of the issues we have is eating very early. Once or twice during a cruise eating later is okay, but some of the cruise lines we checked out that regularly go to St. Barts don't even start dinner until 7:30. Sorry about that.

15 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

If size is important (suite size that is), Crystal may not be the right cruise line as they have the smallest suites of all of the luxury cruise lines.  I've also heard that their enrichment programs and shows are excellent but that likely won't make up for suite size (and that seems to be one thing that is important to the TS).  

 

I almost agree about lecturers but on our last two cruises we have had the best lecturers that we've ever had on Regent (and neither one was about the ports that we were visiting).  Even though the lectures are shown on television, we made a point to attend each lecture.

Yeah, we recognize that the cabin will be small and that I am taking a hit on this one while hubby is getting the better of it, but we have heard such great things about Crystal overall and were able to get a fabulous fare.

1 minute ago, mikenbob said:

My point exactly about different strokes for different folks....we always stay in a Regent penthouse suite or larger, so no issues with the size of the cabin.  Other than checking out the daily menus and and perhaps one movie per cruise, we rarely turn on the television...so an even bigger television (I think the suites have 50" screens) is no big deal for us.  The Regent penthouse suites have Illy espresso machines in them, so no difference there.  Understand about the lectures.   We rarely attend them as they are generally boring and the shows can be hit or miss, but neither are deal breakers as we are perfectly happy listening to the piano player or combo in a lounge while sipping an adult beverage.  The winning advantage for us is itinerary, ship size/condition, and level of service. 

 

That said, we have friends that love Carnival, Disney, NCL, Royal Caribbean, HAL, Seabourn, SeaDream Yacht Club, Silver Seas, and Celebrity as much as we love Regent...and that's perfectly fine.

St. Barts was a treasure! My husband immediately said that is the one and only port he wanted to get back to in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, not many cruise ships seem to go. Have you been?

1 hour ago, Franzr said:

thinking about booking a trip on the Voyager in the next couple of months. Various posts talk about dated furniture and cabins on the Voyager, others talk about some cabins already refurbished at the last drydock. Can anyone currently on the Voyager or recently on the Voyager let me know if cabins had been refurbished or which cabins have the new design or still the old design. Even the RSSC website is inconclusive. 

For example, I read somewhere that D-H got refurbished and PH is still old...but then the site shows PH with new pics, but D with old. 

 

Thanks for your help

 

We had a C and thought everything was nice (yet have nothing to compare it to). The bed was definitely the most comfortable cruise ship bed I've ever experienced.

5 hours ago, UUNetBill said:

Well, we've sailed Regent on every cruise we've taken except for one on Cunard so I can't compare - I guess we were 39 and 47 when we took our first cruise and we haven't looked back.  I've looked at the upper suites on larger ships and although some of them look amazing I just have a hard time coming to grips with so many people on board.

 

I know the larger ships have more options for more people, and I'm sure we'd have a good time on one but with the limited vacation budget we have (both time and money) we like to stick with a known quantity.  Good on you for stepping out and trying another line!  We've looked at other lines and keep coming back to our comfort zone.

 

As Mikenbob said, 31 flavors.  I'm just glad we have the choices we have!!

That is one thing we loved about Regent, typically no crowding. On some HAL ships there is zero, on others it's bad. Not bad like as in Carnival or Royal bad, but for a small ship, bad.

On 12/19/2018 at 3:07 PM, Cerinda said:

We keep returning to HAL and Regent.  We started cruising Regent in our 30s, and most of the time Regent's small ships still win for us: fewer passengers, better food, smaller ports, a more intimate social environment.  But because we generally prefer two-week warm weather itineraries between November and March, HAL's Mexico itineraries (and easy west coast departures) often grab us.  When our children were young, we cruised HAL more because there was so much more for them to do.  Also, we have found the perks and service staying in a HAL Neptune suite ALMOST comparable to staying in Regent's most basic accommodation; often HAL costs us considerably more. YMMV

 

A few years ago, I took a Regent excursion from San Tomas de Castilla to Tikkal; the following year, repeated the excursion with HAL.  The HAL excursion offered mediocre food and a listless guide, but the chartered aircraft was visibly better maintained and I felt NO FEAR for my personal safety.  So I recognize that there are occasionally some economies of scale to think about.

That is how we started on HAL, too. We lived in Arizona for nine years and took many cruises from San Diego because it was so convenient.

Although my husband said he overall enjoyed Regent more, I asked him: "If you paid exactly the same, but on HAL we were in a Pinnacle or on Regent a regular suite (something that costs about 4k+ pp), which would you choose?" He said HAL every time. 

But once again, not due to anything lacking on Regent, but because of the size of the cabins and some other perks that Regent doesn't offer.

On 12/19/2018 at 12:07 PM, mikenbob said:

Thank you for your thoughts.  We happen to prefer Regent, but as my father used to say, "That is why Baskin-Robbins has 31 flavors."  Happy sailing!

If it weren't for the size of cabins and that huge TV with a thousand options, along with the good espresso machines in them, we'd probably go for Regent every time, too. 

One big disappointment, however, was the lack of enrichment. Wow, we were expecting lectures, classes, shows and basically got very little of that. It wasn't a huge deal for me but my husband was a bit let down.

Of course everything just got turned upside down by HAL's new "club orange" (basically the perks of a suite by purchase). So that probably will eliminate us from taking HAL again.

We just booked a Crystal cruise, so there is another to compare!

We literally have nothing bad to say about either cruise line, so this won't be one of those flame inducing threads (I pray).

We have taken ten cruises with HAL, from six day variations up to a three week full transit Panama Canal. We have sailed from the lowest inside cabin up to the highest Neptune suite. There is something unbelievably wonderful about HAL and I can only describe it as the food and the service. Although on our first cruise, we were only in our early 30's and everyone thought we were crew (average age was 78), including the crew, which one time seated us in the employee side of the buffet, we kept going back because we love it so much.

Yes, I do think that HAL does some things under par, but for the vast majority of things considered, we are huge HAL fans.

Earlier this month we took our first Regent cruise. Yes, it was wonderful, too. All things considered, HAL wins out, but only because we are much more interested in the bigger cabins with the huge TV's, vast selection of programs and free dry cleaning than we are the free airfare, free tours, free liquor and free premium restaurants.

If anyone wants specifics on the comparisons between the two cruise lines, I will be happy to provide them.

Merry Christmas!

8 minutes ago, EngSet said:

Hi, FeliciaLee- Thanks for posting---food and dining comparisons would be of interest. Thanks!

No problem!

The food does win out overall on Regent. Not all meals were winners, but the vast selection and quality was available every meal (vs. once or twice on HAL unless one dines in Pinnacle).

I tried the rack of lamb several times and it was just okay (I'm not a big meat eater, plus I got them well done, so my hubby said it was my fault, not theirs). The crab legs were fantastic. My hubby loved his steaks so much that he got the same cut the last three nights in a row.

The Dover Sole on Regent was incredible.

I thought the osso buco was definitely better on HAL than Regent, but this might be due to getting it in the alternative Italian restaurant. The way it was prepared was definitely underwhelming for me.

The only time I saw caviar served was for breakfast! That was a big disappointment. Caviar in the morning isn't for us.

The steak restaurant (Prime 7) seemed on par with the Pinnacle.

Room service was much better on Regent, and much faster. The selection was huge, the table was big and food could be served course by course from any restaurant if desired.

The muesli is a huge favorite with us, and it wasn't nearly as good on Regent as HAL. Nor did they have the Pan Asian breakfast which I have come to love.

Coffee on both lines is good. Regent wins out when it comes to "regular" coffee, but their espresso machines in the room were horrible, whereas on HAL the in-room espresso is decent. Regent does have a special in the coffee shop called Cafe Vanilla, which is espresso, a tiny bit of black tea and Madagascar Vanilla, which is a new favorite of mine and something I am going to continue at home.

The desserts were about equal to me, but I'm not into sweets as much as my husband, and the ice cream was MUCH better on HAL (I think this was due to the ice cream shop being outdoors on Regent, which meant it was always melted and gross).

My hubby would probably have a ton more to say about how the food on Regent was vastly better than the food on HAL but I am not really into meat much, so to me the two lines were comparable other than the premium foods being always available on Regent.

We literally have nothing bad to say about either cruise line, so this won't be one of those flame inducing threads (I pray).

We have taken nine cruises with HAL, from six day variations up to a three week full transit Panama Canal. We have sailed from the lowest inside cabin up to the highest Neptune suite. There is something unbelievably wonderful about HAL and I can only describe it as the food and the service. Although on our first cruise, we were only in our early 30's and everyone thought we were crew (average age was 78), including the crew, which one time seated us in the employee side of the buffet, we kept going back because we love it so much.

Yes, I do think that HAL does some things under par, but for the vast majority of things considered, we are huge HAL fans.

Earlier this month we took our first Regent cruise. Yes, it was wonderful, too. All things considered, HAL wins out, but only because we are much more interested in the bigger cabins with the huge TV's, vast selection of programs and free dry cleaning than we are the free airfare, free tours, free liquor and free premium restaurants.

If anyone wants specifics on the comparisons between the two cruise lines, I will be happy to provide them.

Merry Christmas!

I too loved the shower gel, I emailed the company and was told that it is only available to Hotel/ship contracts.

 

However if you do find it for sale let me know!

I was on a ship and fell in love with a product only available to professionals, as well. After we got home, I went to ebay and found it for sale. Maybe try that.