I started a roll call for a cruise starting in Reykjavik at the end of July and we have only had 5 or 6 folks look at it so I am having the same experience.  And the old Crystal boards (non roll calls) were a lot more active than the Regent boards although things really got cooking there when Crystal went in the Assignment for Benefit of Creditors and people were losing money left and right.

Time for the lawyers to show up, debate "suspect", "accuse" and other definitions and save the day.  And of course we can have a tutorial on the contract language in both the US and UK.  In the US you won't get anywhere in court as you have agreed to arbitration in likely Miami, Florida.

5 hours ago, jeb_bud said:

Was 3/4 inch too thick or too thin?

When I go to a quality steakhouse ashore, I don't think I have ever seen a rib eye that thin!  And I would note that the steak was also a bit tough.  I know a rib eye is not a filet but still ...

Sailed on Oceania in January of 2023 to Antarctica.  I have to say that being presented with a 3/4 inch thick ribeye in the steakhouse was more that a bit disappointing.  It was prime rib the next time in the steakhouse which was good but they were still serving 3/4 inch rib eyes.  You learn what to avoid and I could have gotten the same steak in the dining room so nothing special about the steakhouse on that item.

The date we missed Belfast was a Saturday May 28, 2022.  I took a look at the date of the agreement (April 4) and the date that it was approved by voters in a referendum (May 22, 1998).  That said it is kind of close enough in time date wise for a "big holiday" to be a good explanation although it would have been the 24th celebration in 2022.  A celebration on a weekend day makes more sense than one during the week.  In any event, I am not asserting that Regent was lying in any respect - just that the information could have been more specific or detailed other than "a big holiday".  I note the cancellation of the port only for information purposes.  I was certainly not jumping up and down on the deck, screaming at the crew and I don't believe that I even raised the issue in the post cruise survey.  Bottom line is stuff happens.

Missed two ports last year on a Splendor cruise around the British Isles.  One was Belfast and the explanation was that there was a big festival or holiday which seemed pretty weak as one would think they would have known about something like that well in advance.  The other was Cork and I don't recall why we missed that one - maybe weather.  We missed Visby in Sweden on an August cruise on Oceania in the Baltic due to high winds and the Falkland Islands on an Antarctic cruise also due to high winds.  Maybe we are bad luck. 

I can only speak from a bit of experience on cruise insurance in a specific situation.  We booked a world cruise on Crystal and low and behold as all may recall the company went into an Assignment for Benefit of Creditors (An ABC) which is essentially a poor man"s bankruptcy.  That said, we did have travel insurance as did one of our friends.  One lesson we learned is what credit card you use can be pretty helpful at least if you encounter that kind of situation (I doubt it would be of any help with medical issues which are a real reason to buy a policy for repatriation if there are serious issues that arise).  That said, I booked using an AMEX Platinum card and my friend booked using VISA.  AMEX had held monies on account and credited back about 2/3rds of the fare and I got the other 1/3rd back from the insurer (Berkshire Hathaway).  My friend got ZERO back from VISA but recovered fully from the insurer - again Berkshire Hathaway.  I hope we don't see any other cruise lines going broke but one never knows!

18 hours ago, Mahogany said:

Unfortunately, Icelandic doesn't have flat-bed seats in Business, which we've all gotten used to.

Understood but we are just going to "tough it out" for this one trip!  😪

On 11/11/2023 at 7:46 AM, Bruce61 said:

Let me also ask, what/who do people think has the best flight plans to Reykjavk from the West Coast (of US)?  It seems like SAS may be the most direct routes, but I was thinking of British Air or American from LAX to LHR and then a separate flight on Icelandair to Iceland.  Concerned about connections and bags in London.  What are others doing?

Bruce -

I think we are on the same cruise.  We booked through Regent air and they routed us from SFO to SEA on Alaska in first class and then from SEA to KEF on Icelandair.  For us that was better than other options which were flights to the east coast - Newark, Boston, Dulles, etc. -and a change of planes there as that would involve two shorter flights.  The SEA to KEF flight is 7 hours and 25 minutes so we can at least hope to get a few winks.  You are right that the other option would be LAX to a European destination - London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, etc. - with a connection essentially backward to KEF.  That routing will generate more seat miles and lots more time in the air.  There is a routing LAX to SEA on Alaska that connects to the Icelandair flight to KEF.

We go Alaska from SFO to SEA in First then Icelandic from SEA to KEF in Business.  Your flight to KEF should be a bit shorter.  Ours is 7 hours and 25 minutes.

Interesting topic.  We booked through Regent air the last week of December.  Going out to Reykjavik, it was a bit interesting as there really appear to be no SFO to KEF non stops.  So a connection was inevitable somewhere.  We prefer a longer haul overnight so we ended up SFO to SEA and then SEA to KEF.  The best of not a lot of desirable options.  On the return from Heathrow, the booked us on Virgin Atlantic but the flights are on Delta metal.  Maybe we got in under the wire on Delta.

Angels Envy is great as is the Angels Envy Rye

They may know the deck plans and cabins but we sure do not.  I think things will finally get moving once the final deck plans are set in stone and the ships are in the yard undergoing refurbishment.  But it seems that they may not be that far down the trail.  And Keith is spot on about the amount of work that has to be completed before they post itineraries.  I would rather have them do it right than quickly which might cause a "do over".  The problem right now is that people are feeling that they have "over promised and under delivered".  Patience is what we need  to practice here. 

11 minutes ago, capriccio said:

The Princess website health protocols has all the info (https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/frequently-asked-questions/us-cruises/) about vaccine requirements for kids.  Basically kids 5 and up must be vaccinated because a vaccine is available.

I appreciate your help on this.  But when I look at the website it just says to call Princess about available exemptions without indicating what kinds of exemptions they will consider.  I was hoping that someone might have been in contact with them and had an idea about what specific exemptions they would consider.  Thanks again.

I am a bit late to the party so I apologize if I am asking something that has been asked and answered on a prior post in the 22 pages of discussion.  We are traveling on a land/cruise tour (all booked with Princess) starting in Fairbanks on July 12 and boarding the ship in Whittier on July 16.  A few questions:

1.  How does the pre-boarding testing get done in this case.  Given the advance time frames, it seems that the tests would have to be done while either on the land portion of the tour or at the port (presumably by Princess)?

2.  Does anyone have any information on what vaccination exemptions Princess is allowing for children under 12.

Appreciate any information that folks can provide.  Thanks much!