ysolde

Taste and Savor do a pretty good job with lunch and dinner most days. The menus are interesting and imaginative and the food quality is good. They also always have some classics available. The one issue I had with them is that the food could be a little bit dry, indicating that menu choices may have been pre-prepared and perhaps sat under heat lamps during busy times. We had breakfast at O'Sheehan's often, because it was a less crowded venue. It lacked variety, but the options were tasty enough. Ask for a seat in the back to avoid the noise from trivia and other atrium noise. We just could not get into the lunch menu there. A bit too heavy and greasy for our taste. Breakfast at The Garden Cafe (buffet) was good. Lots and lots of choices. However, it is crowded and loud. Lunch in The Garden Cafe was quite varied. I particularly liked the soup options there, which is something I don't hear mentioned much. But there was a lot of variety and you will find something you like. The staff are really helpful here.

We have had MeJet for years and have never had to use it (knock wood).. We will keep coverage as long as we keep traveling.

Well, the system just allowed me to modify our upgrade offers yet again. I fiddled around with a couple of them once more (the cruise out of Rome leaves on November 1), but I think we will be in our Deck 10 Balcony cabin.

We are on the Nov. 1 TA. All our bids are still pending. No idea, at this point.

Our first TA was on the Encore's maiden voyage in November 2019. Disembarkation was a bit of a disaster. We went through customs and immigration the night before we disembarked, meaning we had the thrill of arriving in NYC (which was absolutely amazing), only to rush back to our cabin and pack so that we could make a dinner reservation we had managed to re-book for an earlier time (given the new circumstance of everyone needing to leave the ship to clear customs that night). We went to what was supposed to be a romantic final dinner in the ship's French restaurant, only to have to rush through the meal as groups were being called to clear customs every 20 minutes or so. We then headed downstairs to clear customs ourselves and it was a madhouse. There were not enough USCIS officers at that time in the evening to clear the number of passengers who were debarking (and re-boarding) the ship. People stood in endless lines. One elderly gentleman collapsed. A few people who had small children and did not want to go to bed this late only to wake them up early in the morning, chose to disembark that night. Actual disembarkation was the next morning, and involved nothing more than exiting the ship, picking up your luggage, and getting in a cab/Lyft to wherever you were going, I'm not sure if they were trying a new disembarkation process or what, but it was far from smooth, and it did not work well.

It used to be, on NCL, Diet Coke (I am a simple girl, really). That has been resolved, thankfully. Now, I miss a nice, soft, pillowy mattress. Left to our own devices, my DH and I would sleep on a marshmallow. Some of those NCL mattresses feel like a bed o' bricks. Ouch, my poor hips and back!

That's bad. I remember taking a couple of Costa Cruises back in the 80s (including my HS class senior cruise). They looked like that. We were teenagers, so we didn't care. Nowadays, yikes!

We tried Q on Encore and it was the least favorite of the specialty restaurants we dined at on that cruise. In fact, we preferred dinner at the MDR to dinner at Q. It's not bad. As others have said, it's tasty enough, and portions are enormous. But it is simply not on par with Onda and Le Bistro (or even Cagney's). As the cruise went on, and we sampled more of the specialty dining options, we realized Q was just not special enough to hold our interest, and we never returned.

Yikes! That looks like a bad vacation! Was Wally World at least open when you arrived? j/k

I have something similar -- a small crossbody that I can wear all day and off the ship. I can take off the strap and carry it as a clutch most evenings when I want something a bit dressier. It's perfect for me.

Yes, of course I re-wear. On our next cruise, we will be spending a few days in Europe before settling down on a 16 day Trans-Atlantic voyage. We will both be re-wearing, and doing some laundry (well, having some laundry done for us on board). I will be packing a wardrobe where pieces all work together so that I can maximize what I have. And layer: the Mediterranean may be warm(ish) in early November, but Germany (where we will be prior to the cruise) can be chilly in late October, and the North Atlantic crossing in mid-November can be downright cold.

Interesting. DH and I will be on a Med cruise that will then be crossing the Atlantic, stopping by Bermuda along the way. The only way to get a Covid test two days prior to the ship's arrival in Bermuda would be if we got the test on board the ship itself. I wonder whether NCL will make those arrangements. Hmm . . .

Oh, this is such welcome news! Hello, Diet Coke!

Growing increasingly less comfortable with this. We have a TA coming up next spring (in April). The saving grace there may be that it has a stop in Bermuda, and, as I understand it, Bermuda is still pretty strict about requiring vaccination. Now, I feel like a fool because I have been paying off the cruise over time, instead of waiting to pay it off when final payment is due.

Wishing you a speedy recovery. I tested positive in January, just as we were supposed to fly down for our Regent cruise. We did have trip insurance, but never had to avail ourselves of it: Regent credited our payment toward a cruise we had already booked in 2024.

If someone specifically asks me for something, I will go out and buy it. But I tip with cash. Assuming crew members want or need things they have not asked me for is presumptuous.

This sounds about right. We scheduled a TA cruise in November to coincide with a trip to Europe we were taking anyway. We will just be heading home via a Mediterranean cruise that ends as a TA voyage. Sounds kind of old-timey, but it works.

I could and I sometimes do. But I don't (yet) need a fully accessible room, and I know that those are few and far between. I don't need the sit down showers. However, a larger shower, with more space to maneuver, does provide the level of safety I require at this point. I know other passengers have a greater need for the fully accessible cabins, and I try to be as respectful as I can be when making reservations.

The bathroom makes a difference to us. I have a mobility impairment, and really appreciate the bigger shower, where I simply feel safer. DH appreciates it because he likes a higher shower head (it's just a thing with him). We like the double sinks, which make it easier to get ready in the morning and wash up in the evening.

I have never traveled on Regent, or used Regent Air, before (my first Regent cruise got delayed by Covid earlier this year). I honestly don't know how some of these things work with Regent: for example, if my Regent Air flight gets cancelled or significantly delayed, and I fix the problem on my own, am I now liable for the cost of the flight? Isn't this the sort of thing that the airline is supposed to sort out with Regent? How proactive am I allowed to be in this situation?

We love a TA with lots of sea days. DH and I were on the Encore inaugural TA from Southampton to NY in November 2019. It was all sea days (I think a total of seven sea days on a nine day cruise, so other than embarkation and disembarkation, we were at sea). We set sail in a storm, making for some rough seas the first few days and nights out, but it was fun nonetheless: lots of days and nights playing board games and trivia and getting to know our fellow passengers; sitting in the Observation Lounge as the waves hit us; sleeping in late in the morning and enjoying a leisurely breakfast; getting together with fellow passengers for various pre-planned as well as impromptu activities; exploring the ship; spending time in the spa; hanging out in our balcony when the weather grew warm enough and just reading or journaling. It was a wonderful cruise and we both agreed that it was not long enough. We have since booked three more TAs (one one NCL, two on Regent) going forward. Two of the three have a more traditional cruise format before becoming a TA voyage. I think for us, it is becoming a habit.

You were in The Haven. Your butler could pack your luggage and unpack you in another suite or cabin. Whatever cabin they relocated you to, you could have been allowed continued full access to The Haven. Leaving you in a suite without a functioning toilet for days is completely unacceptable.

I'm so sorry. I tested positive two days before I was to fly down to Miami for my Regent cruise in January, in the midst of the Omicron surge. I called my TA (was on hold for awhile). Turns out, my TA was on vacation. I ended up having to deal with a manager at the agency, but he called the cruise line, and they dealt with the situation. It was all resolved within a few hours. Bottom line: whether you are dealing with your TA or a cruise line, make sure you talk to a person. It will get resolved.

Absolutely! I just think that people need to consider that you can get seriously sick or injured outside the US and you may want return to a hospital in or near your hometown for treatment, depending on the circumstances. There is insurance that can get you specific coverage for the evacuation in that circumstance. It is something to consider, particularly for those who travel internationally on a regular basis.

Ah, thank you. I was confused about that, then. I guess my husband and I are both fully vaxxed (my spell-check wants to say vexed, which would be a different story altogether) and ready to cruise!