ysolde

This. Show up earlier if you don't mind a little bit of a crowd, and you will get in to a nice lunch, get to meet some fellow passengers, move into your suite, freshen up, have dinner, and enjoy a leisurely sail-away (sail-away invariably occurs several hours late, with the ship needing to stock up on provisions, passengers arriving late, and heaven knows what else going on). In the alternative, board the ship a little later. Arrange for a late check-out from your hotel, enjoy a late breakfast at your leisure, arrive at the port when the crowds (such as they are) have passed. Freshen up in your suite. Have a coffee at Coffee Connection. Explore the ship. And so on. There is no right or wrong way to do a boarding day, really.

Then, if the errata sheet shows a difference with the on-line cruise descriptions, head to destination services. They will contact the specific excursion operator directly, once you have had a chance to chat with them and explain what your specific issues and limitations are.

Given the opportunity, that's what I do. In Antigua, DH and I had signed up for an excursion that had been billed as wheelchair accessible, and, much to our joy, it was. There were a couple of steps onto the bus (DH helped me navigate those, and another passenger, a lovely gentleman whose wife also had mobility issues, was also quick to help me on and off). The excursion guide put my wheelchair away. I stayed on the bus at most stops. The very last stop was long but easy to traverse in the wheelchair -- DH was happy to do the honors. It was the boatyard where yachts and sailboats are repaired. I was so happy to be able to see that up close. It was a lovely day and I hope my presence did not ruin anyone else's enjoyment. We were in St. Thomas the day before. And it was the afternoon before that that we found out from the excursions desk that the open air trolleys that would be taking us on our panoramic tour of St. Thomas would not be able to accommodate me. I guess, when I read on the website that that particular excursion was suitable for wheelchair users, I misunderstood. Or is it possible, just possible, that the information on the website did not match the information that was given to the excursion desk, which then had to advise passengers accordingly?

First, there are very few excursions available to passengers who use wheelchairs. Many ports have no excursions available to passengers who use wheelchairs. Then there is the more troubling issue: you can sign up for an excursion that is apparently accessible to wheelchair users, only to discover, a day before arriving at the port, that it may not be. This happened to us on our most recent Regent cruise: the day before we arrived on St. Thomas, we discovered that the excursion trolleys were extremely tall and did not have a step stool to climb into them: there was no way I would be able to climb in (nor was there space for my wheelchair, though that could be folded up and kept at the port under supervision of the excursion people). It was a real let-down, as we had been looking forward to this panoramic tour of St. Thomas. Had we known that, we might have made other arrangements from the get-go.

It's just DH and me, and we travel a bit differently, but here goes. A couple of years ago, DH and I decided to try Regent for the first time. Since then, we have cruised Regent once more and booked three more Regent cruises and one more NCL cruise. Our NCL cruise is on Viva, a not-huge ship. In a non-Haven suite. We have now booked business class flights for ourselves, as well as a hotel in the city where the ship is leaving from. We still need to book specialty dining and drinks packages, and we have to account for all the gratuities, and the cost of our NCL cruise is already higher than anything we have booked on Regent, whose suites are larger and more comfortable, and which have a better crew to passenger ratio and more personalized service overall. It's not likely we will be booking anymore NCL cruises.

My husband (who turns 65 later this year) and I (55) have the same AIG annual travel policy @SargassoPirate described above. We also have a MedJet policy. Because we take several cruises and trips each year, we have found this is the most comprehensive and cost-effective option for us.

There was at least one fully accessible excursion on Roatan last summer. It took us to a sloth/monkey/bird sanctuary (a pretty amazing experience in itself if you are an animal lover) and on to an iguana sanctuary. Lots of sightseeing in between. About a half day.

Our flight was delayed getting into MIA the night before and we were absolutely exhausted, so we slept in, had a leisurely brunch type breakfast (even though it was a Friday), took our time. packing, checked out late, went to the ATM in the lobby to get some cash, called a Lyft, and were at the port sometime after 2:00. We were among the last people there, and had the place to ourselves. It was a surreal experience.

Splendor 651 (Veranda Suite): Very comfortable bed. Very large shower cabin (no tub). Only one sink in bathroom. No walk-in closet, but more than enough closet and drawer space for a one-week Caribbean cruise. Large veranda.

You will probably be off the ship around 9:00 am, on a bus around 9:30, 9:45, and at the airport by 10:30. You should have access to the business class lounge of whatever airline you are flying on. Chill out and enjoy!

We were able to make a second booking at Prime7 once on board, giving up our booking at Pacific Rim, whose menu we did not much care for. The other thing we are noticing is that this cruise (a 7-day Caribbean cruise on Splendor) is opening Prime7 and Chartreuse for lunch on a regular basis. On our cruise last spring (a TA on Voyager) lunch was in the Pool Grill, La Veranda, or Compass Rose. Compass Rose has, AFAICT, been closed for lunch on this cruise.

We'll be on Voyager March 19. Keeping an eye on this thread.

I have found that Regent's product, with International Business Class flights included in the price, is difficult to beat in our neck of the woods. We live in Scottsdale, so PHX is our airport. While we have lots of flight options, they are often expensive. We recently purchased an NCL cruise (on one of the newer, less overwhelmingly large ships, Viva) that is similar in many ways to the kind of cruise we enjoy on Regent (late season, lots of ports, many of them unusual, TA). We upgraded to a non-Haven suite (when I got our travel agent on the phone, and she confirmed to DH the size of our balcony cabin, he was . . . less than impressed). A suite is larger and gets us a few perks, though not the entire ship within a ship Haven experience, which is just fine with us. Nothing is included, really. A couple of nights at specialty restaurants, and a basic drinks package (I need to speak to the travel agent, because what we need is the soda package, since we don't really drink much alcohol). We need to add in gratuities for everything and everyone. Plus the extra tips we will bring in cash for the people who really impress us. Then there is the whole booking our own business class airfare. Not a must for most people. But we are older and have our aches and pains and don't take a long flight unless it's in business class. When you add all of this up, the NCL cruise will probably cost us more than the Regent cruise. I don't think we will be taking another NCL cruise again.

Have not been on Splendor (will be boarding on Friday), but on Voyager, the procedure for the specialty restaurants was the same as for CR. The day before we had a reservation at a specialty restaurant, the menu for the SR would be left outside our door (along with the following day's lunchtimes menus at the appropriate venues) so that I could review it and make my selections. I would then drop off the menus at CR or Sette Mari before dinner's closing. This would get turned into the appropriate kitchen(s?) in time for lunch and dinner the following day.

What going on? Nor? Covid?

Note that the above is regarding international service. In terms of domestic First class service, I am only familiar with AA and DL. I find DL's seats to be a bit more comfortable in general (AA's F seats can be hard). And DL offers IFE throughout its domestic F service, where AA expects passengers to bring their own devices and use AA's wifi to stream programming. Personally, I find this to be a pain, and if we had an alternative, we would not fly with AA as often as we do.

We have really enjoyed United Polaris. It has comfortable seats, good food, and top-notch crew. We live in Scottsdale, so often, when flying to and from Europe, our best option is the LHR-PHX flight on AA. The seats are not as comfortable as those on UA's Polaris, but it is one flight, eleven hours, and it gives you a chance to relax, settle in, watch movies/TV shows on the IFE (my preference is to get into a TV show on the IFE then continue to watch it when I get home), eat, nap for several hours, wake up, freshen up, snack, and get ready for landing. The crews are good. They serve food when you want, let you sleep when you need to, and are responsive without being overbearing. Delta One had the best food among all three. United Polaris has the most comfortable seats (IMHO, and for my body type, a lot depends on height, weight, and body type -- whether you are tall, short, broad shouldered, etc.). All three have lie-flat seats and similar IFEs.

In the summer, the tree skippers (which are made of a material that is lighter than wool) are wonderful. Great for Caribbean cruises. They are also washable.

On cruises, I tend to bring a pair of allbirds for daytime and a pair of black Rothy's Mary Janes for evenings. Both these shoes are comfortable and accommodate my feet (my feet tend to swell a bit -- or more than just a bit -- when I go on a cruise ship). Do the Rothy's match every evening outfit perfectly? No, but they do the job. And, to be honest, no one is looking at my feet all that much.

Thanks. We are trying to figure out where we are going to be because we are meeting friends for a bit. I guess we will find out at some point! Well, this might be something to go on. Thank you! San Juan Pier 4 is the one in Old San Juan, so it looks like thus far that's where we will be docking. Of course, this could change. Many thanks to all!

Splendor.

I got my cruise docs, and it says we are arriving at San Juan, but it does not say whether we are arriving at the Pan American cruise terminal, or the one in Old San Juan. Does anyone know which cruise terminal Regent uses, or do they use both?

Eating breakfast in the cabin (and enjoying tea -- coffee in DH's case -- out on the veranda). DH loves mid-morning coffee and a fruit tart at Coffee Connection. I usually have a cup of tea (unless I woke up really early; then I will have an espresso), but no tarts or cookies for me. I love afternoon tea, but I try not to eat all the goodies they serve. I just sample them. A bite of what I like.

We are booked on Viva in November/December (Lisbon-San Juan). It will be interesting to see how this ship handles a late season Mediterranean/North African cruise that then crosses the Atlantic and finally heads to a few Caribbean ports. I am not sure how many fellow passengers to expect (these TA/repositioning cruises are usually far less full than others because they are off-season and long-ish). We are booked in a (non-Haven) suite, which means we will have access to breakfast and lunch in one of the specialty restaurants (I can't remember which one). Given what we have read about crowds, we will probably go to our assigned dining room for breakfast and lunch, for the most part, venturing out to Indulge when the mood strikes (I do love tapas, and frankly, we both find the concept intriguing, and, pardon the pun, appetizing). We have become huge fans of Regent, and the way they do buffet is sort of like the way Indulge is set up. Not exactly (no tablets). But the concept of finding a table and having a waiter come to you is not that far off from the way Regent does buffet (at Regent, you go to the buffet, pick your food, return to your table, and a waiter brings the plated food to your table). So Indulge does seem to be a way to make buffet a more upscale experience, I think. I am also curious how it will be on a series of probably chilly sea days when people will be more or less forced by the weather to gather indoors. It will take a smart cruise director and staff to disperse the crowds and make the best possible use of the indoor space. We shall see.

Also, those new to Regent should note that the Spa staff are not Regent employees. They are employed by a different company, independent of Regent. As a result, you will be asked to sign a bill when you check out of the spa. It will include an automatic gratuity (I believe 18%, but I could be wrong). There is also a line to allow you to add an additional gratuity, if you wish to do so.