papaflamingo

I am a 20 year retiree from the Military, as is my son. I, like PhillyFan, don't expect anything free for being a retiree. If they give something, I thank them in appreciation. You state "I never really expect anything for being a Veteran and don't ask for anything" then went on to ask for "more than a piece of cake," and feel "outrage" because they wanted to sell you a picture. If you're going to say you "never really expect anything" then you shouldn't come on social media and complain about NOT getting anything. Personally, as retired military, I feel that you are a "whiner" and you are presenting us in a bad light. Instead of being grateful we were all recognized and thanked for our service, something that is fairly new on Royal Caribbean, you admit "outrage" and not getting a bunch of free stuff. I can't speak for you, but I didn't serve for "discounts" or "freebies."

If you booked your flight independent of the cruise line then why would the cruise line be expected to be responsible for any flight issues? The airlines (I'm a retired pilot) is only going to take you to the destination airport. That's where their responsibility ends. Example.... in 1998 we cruised out of Miami. A flight of 30 or more passengers inbound for the cruise had to divert to Fort Lauderdale. They were stuck for a couple hours waiting for the weather to clear so they could fly to Miami. A number of cruise passengers wanted the airlines to charter a bus and take them the last few miles to Miami. Nope. The airline's only responsibility was to get them to Miami so they waited out the storms and finished the flight. My guess is the only real responsibility of the cruise line is to get you to the destination port. After that, you're on your own to get to the airport.

I get the impression you did not share your experience with Regent, correct? If not, you should. If your meal is bad in Chartreuse they need to know so they can correct the problem. Otherwise the problem will continue and affect other passengers as well.

I disagree. I believe that the U.S. is their biggest market. They may have very likely looked at convenience in the U.S. which would explain why they changed it to 8pm Eastern from Midnight.

You can do a mock booking on Regent's website and see at least a number of suites available in each category but as you said it's "not particularly user friendly." I go on the travel agent's website that my TA works for on line booking engine and it shows all cabins available in each category. In fact when I look at a cruise, I'll check my TA's website and pick a cabin before contacting my TA to book. So I pick what I want and let her know. You should be able to find an on line TA website that will allow you to do a mock booking and see which cabins are available. You still have to go category by category but you can easily find the info.

Both our Regent cruises were segments of a Grand Cruise. We made many friends who had already been on the ship from day one. You likely won't see much difference in atmosphere. Yes, friendships will be made among the World cruisers, but that doesn't mean that you will be snubbed or excluded. Most Regent passengers are very friendly and easy to talk to. So go on the cruise that best suits your itinerary and don't worry about being excluded. Remember, if everyone on the ship was World cruisers there would be no segments to sell cabins on. So you'll be boarding with others who are just joining the cruise.

I have never done b2b Alaska, but did have repeat ports on both our Regent cruises. Since they offer multiple excursions we simply booked 2 different excursions when we had 2 stops. In a couple of ports we chose to simply go into town and see the local sights since we had already visited and done the excursion. We like to see the towns so only doing an excursion on one visit and simply walking into town on the second is enjoyable. As for the Jones Act which PhD-iva refers to, you shouldn't need to worry about it, the cruise should be scheduled to account for it. Since I assume you're looking at Vancouver-Seward then return, you'll be departing a foreign port and ending in a foreign port, so should have no problems.

All depends, We are sailing on the Jan. 8, 2024 Grandeur cruise with another couple. We got an excursion a year out but when they booked it was waitlisted. They got notice that they cleared the waitlist a couple of weeks ago, so that's 9 months out. . So clearing could be anytime from waitlisting yourself until actual excursion day. I would make the assumption that excursions come open at final payment date as there may be people who choose to cancel. Also depends where you are on the waitlist.

We've only had to waitlist for a couple of excursions and cleared every time before the cruise. So definitely waitlist for what you want. Then if there's another excursion available to book, book it. If you clear the waitlist the waitlisted excursion takes priority and they automatically cancel your booked excursion and switch it to the waitlisted excursion.

We have found that a turnaround day excursion is dependent on how many passengers are staying on board. Last summer we had a turnaround in New York but only 6 of us staying so no excursion offered. But as everyone has stated, any excursion will not be announced until actually on board the ship.

You are seriously over thinking this. I have been on close to 40 cruises and loved every one of them. Could I always get a chair by the pool? Nope. Did I love every bite of food? Nope. But I have a balcony and I'd rather sit there anyway. I have never "starved" on a cruise (I tend to gain about a pound a day😱). My advice, don't listen to the "static" on this media or any other social media. You are hearing the worst case. Go on the cruise and enjoy it. Don't over think it.

No, no one really has any valid insight. Lots of speculation but in reality they cancelled because they had to, for whatever reason. It is, sadly, part of cruising. All we can do on social media is speculate and add rumors. But in reality, at the end of the day, the port will remain cancelled. You can certainly try to push it up the chain and demand an answer, and maybe you'll get one.

Compare policies and premiums on a website like Insuremytrip or Squarmouth. Look at the medical and evacuation benefits and find the one that gives you the best coverage for your personal needs. I have used a variety of companies, most recently General and now have a policy for our Oct. cruise with GoReady. GoReady has the most medical and evacuation and is cheaper. It pays to compare, especially benefits. Because of age, Regent may be best for cruise cancellation. If so, you can still purchase an independent medical and evacuation policy. Remember, the best policy for your needs may not be the cheapest.

"SeaPass" is what Royal Caribbean calls the ID/Card Key.

The dance floor in Galileo's is not very big. Here's a picture of it, I am sitting at a table at the edge of the floor so it gives you an idea of the size of it.

YOU said "just can't see why Regent can not be upfront with the need to cancel it." How else do I interpret that other than you think they are not being "upfront" and therefore indicate you think they are being dishonest or purposefully deceptive. Again, if you want exact details, push it "upstairs" and see if someone in senior management can explain what "operational factors" they're referring to.

To add to what Pingpong said... just get an adapter. You can use either the 3 prong or 2 prong European adapter. We used the 2 prong Type C (European) adapter last summer on Navigator. Note...you do NOT need a converter. Just double check on your CPAP that it is dual voltage.

Ok. Still sounds like you believe that Regent is being purposefully dishonest and deceiving to you. But if that's how you feel, fair enough. You should try to push it "upstairs" until you get a reason that will satisfy you.

I always buy insurance. Only had t use it once when my Mom passed away 2 weeks before a cruise. Now that I'm old, there is greater possibility that I may need it. But one thing important to me is Medical and Medical Evacuation. Medicare doesn't cover international illness, so you better make sure you have a secondary policy that does. So it's worth it for me. One of the interesting things that seems to happen when someone self insures then has a medical problem or emergency is the belief that the cruise line should take pity on them and refund the cost of the cruise out of "good will," or give full FCC. I have read many posts over the years of people being totally incensed that they can't get the refund. So, if you choose to self insure, that's your choice, live with the consequences. For me, I'm not willing to risk the high cost of a cruise by self insuring.

This is a bit like "beating a dead horse," but let's "beat" away, As you point out, Regent says "Unlimited shore excursions." You have no published limit on shore excursions, you can book as many in each port as you can with the time constraints, BUT all excursions are "first come, first served." So there are no guarantees the one excursion you really want is available. You state "1 year out from my cruise I expect to be able to book an included excursion." If you are Silver Seven Seas Society member or higher, OR booked in a Concierge Suite or higher, then you CAN book any and all excursions that you want 365 days out. As I said, there are no published limitations however all excursions are "first come, first served" and have only a certain number of available slots. If you go on line at 8pm Eastern time, 365 days prior to sailing then your chances of getting all the excursions you want is close to 100%. If not, then you can book 300 days out and yes, the availability is often not there. But if you waitlist the excursion you want and book an available alternate then it's a fairly good chance you'll clear the waitlist before the cruise. Also keep in mind that Covid shutdown many of the shore excursion companies and Regent has to "fight" all the other cruise lines for available excursions in each port. So what was available in 2018 is simply not available in 2023. It's just the way it is in the post Covid cruise world.

We're only talking the Boarding Pass, not International calling or downloads. Just the boarding pass which you get a few weeks before the cruise. If your comment is about already being in a foreign country when the docs are issued so you can't download them, well the same would hold true for the printed docs. They'll be sent to your home address, not your foreign hotel. But again, if someone is unable to download or print the Boarding pass, simply let your TA know and have him or her print them and mail them.

In the past our document folder came from Regent via our TA. If someone wants or needs someone else to print documents, simply notify your TA and he or she can print them and forward the printed copy. I wonder though, considering it's 2023 and that most Regent passengers are in a relatively high income bracket, exactly how many don't have either a printer or a smart phone?

You don't have to print anything, the luggage tags come via mail and you can download the Boarding document to your phone. In fact, when we sailed Navigator last year, we didn't get the Boarding pass in the leather packet, but had to download to our phones or print it. So the only real change is no leather pouch. If someone doesn't have either a cell phone or printer, call your TA and have them print and mail the boarding pass to you. In the worst case, I'm sure you can get it all done at the port, but it will slow the boarding process.

We have done 84 nights total on Regent. But ONLY 2 cruises, 44 nights Honolulu to Sydney on Mariner in 2018 and 40 nights Montreal to Southampton in Navigator in 2022. We really never found the food boring. Since you can "mix and match" on the "Everyday" offerings in Compass Rose along with the daily specials, , plus the variety in the other restaurants, you can pretty much find any combination if food you want from all veggies to steak and lobster. Of course there are repeats, but the variety of options is available. On our Pacific cruise in 2018, we had as many as 5 days at sea in a row. I love the ships so I was never bored, simply used these sea days as an opportunity to relax and recharge. Our cruise in 2022 was port intensive, so when a couple of ports cancelled we were partially grateful for the extra at sea days to rest and recharge. I love long cruises on Regent for many reasons, mostly the peacefulness I feel relaxing in luxury on a small, uncrowded ship. 😎

Sorry, missed that part. I'm not unwilling to accept anything. Just missed it. I do that sometimes. Yeah....time to let this one go. 😎