papaflamingo

We began our "cruise life" on Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas when she was the "queen of Royal Caribbean" (1998). I was a pretty "lowly" First Officer for Delta, had one son in college and the second starting college so we pooled all my money together and booked inside cabins for $750 per person at deeply discounted "interline rates," ...a real bargain at the time! 😱 Anyway, we were hooked on both RCCL and cruising. Luckily, for us prices came down as competition ramped up. So, we'd cruise once a year in inside cabins...then once a year in outside cabins... then "hit the big time" and went balconies. Over the years we "moved on" to Junior Suites, Grand Suites, and YES... even Crown Loft Suites!!!!! WOW! 👍👍 But in 2018 I did my retirement cruise and first Regent cruise. 44 nights on Regent Seven Seas Mariner from Honolulu to Sydney. It was, like today, all inclusive, small ship, including business class home from Sydney (I paid my own way to Honolulu in Delta One with a big employee discount). We were hooked. Not only the wonderful Regent experience, but the longer cruises with spectacular itineraries. And we have found, that due to the "left side of the menu" in Compass Rose, we never tired of the food. 44 nights and I think I only repeated a few meals and only because I liked them, although the chefs menu probably rolls around more often now based on supply chains and ports visited. The South Pacific is a treasure of fresh seafood.. Oh yeah...one night we "hunkered down" and ordered room service. I had Beef Wellington and a nice red wine. I was very happy! 😊 Anyway, now I cringe at the thought of a big ship. We did Celebrity in 2021 with friends for New Years and had a great time, but we were in Skysuites (upgraded on board for a great price) and had the use of Luminaire for dining, but still...crowds at bars, etc... I suspect you are going to love Regent as much as we do. At least I hope so. You'll have a wonderful cruise! And probably will be hooked like we were. 😎

I've always wondered (and this is true for all cruise lines) why they don't give you a tag that you show when disembarking that verifies your tag color or number has been called. Seems it would hold people to their times and lessen the chaos in the luggage area. We had one friend who had a fairly later debarkation time from a Royal Caribbean ship in Miami a number of years ago. She and her husband simply felt.. "well we're not waiting" so off they went. Problem was at the time the luggage was sorted in a closed area and put on a conveyor belt like at airports. So when they got there, their luggage wasn't coming out, and when they asked an official they were sort of "scolded" for coming off the ship early and had to stand around until their time slot finally arrived. So.. sometimes there is Karma. 🤣

WAR DAMN EAGLE!!!! 🦅😎

Will do. But there is a page that you can access to see what visas are required for any specific cruise, and they do show on the booking confirmation the visas they'll provide for us. But I am going to double check each country anyway to be sure. https://visacentral.com/additional-client-info

Thank you all for the info. Looks like we'll be ordering a new passport. 😏

Thanks SailorMarg for the information. That's EXACTLY what I needed to know. Our cruise is well beyond the limit of both my Chase and AMEX. Being able to cover $20,000 on the Chase card will really help. Wish AMEX had the same rules. But it sure helps. 😎

I am both retired military and retired airline. To my knowledge Regent does not give any discount for military. They have, occasionally, given "interline" discounts for airlines but that has always been on cruises that are not selling well. Another comment, for us, we love Regent in every respect. But we cruise for the itinerary. We were pretty much Royal Caribbean and a few Celebrity cruises. Now, I love the all inclusive, quiet, relaxing, and for me, luxury of Regent. It's relatively casual and just a nice, relaxed cruise, especially after a long day in port. We appreciate the variety of food options. In Compass Rose, the main restaurant, you can select from the daily specials or from the "left side of the menu" which is a HUGE variety of options that you put together yourself. From escargot to filet and lobster, any day with sides of your choice. So on a long cruise it is really nice to be able to eat what you want, and not what the chef thinks you should have. But we've found all the food good to excellent with very few misses in around 120 days of sailing Regent. Of course I am not a picky eater so....take that as my "grain of salt" on food quality. Last comment. You mentioned a Concierge Cabin. As a first time cruiser, that is a good idea IF shore excursions and dining reservations are important to you. The biggest benefit to a Concierge Cabin (other than location on the ship) is early booking for both shore excursions and specialty dining reservations. Other than that they are no different (a couple other amenities) than a Superior Suite on Explorer, Grandeur, and Splendor, or a deluxe suit on Mariner, Voyager, and Navigator. So only you can decide if the extra cost is worth the amenities. Anyway... hope this gives you another perspective. 😎

We did this in Hong Kong last Feb. From what I could find, in Hong Kong there were 2 hotels listed in some pre-cruise tour descriptions as well as people's experiences here. So I made 2 refundable reservations, one for each hotel. Then when we were assigned a hotel i canceled the other reservation. Worked out great.

We are doing the Grand Spice Cruise in March from Auckland to (now) Cape Town, South Africa. We each have around 12 blank passport pages. However now that Africa is in the mix, along with Vietnam, Indonesia, India, UAE, Oman Cambodia, Thailand, is anyone familiar with how many of these countries stamp the passport? After leaving the ship in South Africa we will be going to Zimbabwe and have been told we need 2 consecutive pages for each country visited. No problem unless the other 3 African countries also need 2 consecutive pages. So....any info at all helps... Thanks.

Just wait until the rude people happen to be the friends you are cruising with!!! 😱 We went on Grandeur in Jan. and friends decided to join us (their first Regent cruise). Well turns out it had been a while since we cruised with them and they have become...."curmudgeons." First, they only drink Chardonnay. Not a big deal as Regent certainly has Chardonnay. BUT, apparently they only drink really cheap Chardonnay. So...first dinner.. "I'll have Chardonnay." Waiter goes and brings the wine "I don''t like this do you have another?" Waiter brings bottle number 2 "I don't like this". Waiter brings bottle number 3 "I don't like this either." ME (out of frustration with our friends) to the waiter "do you have a Chardonnay the comes in a box?" Waiter just looks at me, ME: "Just kidding, bring the cheapest bottle you have." Waiter brings bottle number 4 "Ok..I like this." Anyway, cruise went downhill after that. And no, we didn't invite them on our next cruise.

OMG Dolebludger, you demanded an explanation, you got a very reasonable explanation, and now you doubt the explanation. What's it going to take for you to accept that Regent (or any cruise line) won't change a embarkation point randomly. Can you even imagine the logistics involved? Port workers, Customs agents, Check in desk workers. caterers, fuelers, bus transportation, rerouting of air arrangements not just for passengers but any crew members leaving or joining the ship. Seriously? It could just be what was explained. Why can't you just say "thanks for the explanation" instead of "I have trouble believing this?"

Thank you all for the info. We have paid the majority of the trip with AMEX and the balance with Chase. Our final payment isn't until Oct. so any change in payout policy will certainly put a "monkey wrench" into the deal. Since AMEX will only cover it if we pay 100% of the trip, and Chase possibly going the same way, I guess we'll have to start paying 100% on one card. That will become a bit more complicated on a long cruise like this. I was counting on both cards covering a portion, guess I should have read the Terms and Conditions closer. Oh well... maybe Chase will still cover some of it.

Will be following with interest. We will sail on Voyager for the first time in March for 88 nights! Can't wait.

We did Japan in February. As others said, you need a specific time between tours to book more than one, but if it's available, then by all means you can book more than one tour. "why are there no 8 hour tours?" Well... could be lots of reasons. Any answer is purely speculative but if you consider that there just isn't that much availability of tours in many ports, Regent needs to provide tours for 700 people (and that's assuming there are no other cruise ships in port), an 8 hour tour can take 30 people, 2 four hour tours can accommodate 60 people. But there are lots of other reasons too. "What to do after your tour?" The port cities are generally wonderful places to walk around for a while. There will be a shuttle to town. It's always a joy, for us, to just wander the local area and see what's there. I tend to research any port where I'll have time to visit on my own and see what's interesting, mark it on a gps map program I have, and then when we go into town I have an idea of places (including restaurants, etc.) that we can walk to. For us, the "on our own" time is always the best.

Seems unusual actually. Usually it's the tables for four (or more) that are available over tables for 2. So like GoArmy and Henk123 suggested, might be something you are missing. As they stated, to book for 2 reservations you must have the other booking number and you must be sure NOT to select "sharing" when booking. The computer will know that you need a table for 4 when you add the second booking number. If you select "sharing" the computer will "think" you want a table for MORE than four. One easy resolution, is have the other booking number available and call Regent and have them book the reservations for you. They're always more than easy to work with and happy to do it. Also, here's a suggestion. When we sailed Grandeur in Jan., on day one when we checked into Compass Rose the Maitre D asked if we'd like to eat in Prime 7 or Pacific Rim as there was no wait for those two restaurants. We were also a party of four and "beat feet" to Pacific Rim and were seated immediately. So regardless of reservations, if you're interested, go to the Specialty Restaurants in boarding day. And there is a Restaurant Reservations office on board. Also go there to get extra reservations if available.

I'm planning on doing this very thing. But not sure I have the patience (or phone battery power) to sit on hold that long. Although I am pretty stubborn, and football season is starting, so I guess I can just put myself on hold and watch a couple of football games while waiting. Of course I'll probably keep to the SEC "bourbon on game day" tradition so God only knows what I'll ask them after more than one "football game!" 🥃🥃 😱

Excellent! Have a great cruise! 😎

Thanks... since we have basically 3 "trips," two cruises b2b followed by a third party safari, I'm wondering if we can claim such. We will be using the Chase card for one of the cruises and the safari, and the AMEX card for the plane flight and the second cruise. But I'll check with AMEX (if I can ever get through to them) and see if I can claim the vacations as "3 separate" trips. I may just not worry about it and pay the additional 3rd party premium.

Since you are using Regent Air, and are going days early, I assume you deviated your flights? If so, then that is likely part of your problem. You can try, as DaveFr suggested above, and point our Section 4c of the cruise contract. But likely what they'll tell you is that if you hadn't deviated then they would be responsible to get you to the ship. Unfortunately deviation is always a "game changer" when something like this happens. You agree, when deviating, to find your own transportation to the ship (that's also in the Terms and Conditions). But you might try again and push Section 4c. Probably won't work, but might be worth the try.

Just a quick comment, DEFINITELY talk to the Shore Excursion people as soon as you board. We had a tour on Grandeur this past Jan. that we couldn't get. As soon as we boarded we went to the Shore Excursion desk, welcome glass of champagne in hand, and sure as heck we were able to book the tour for four of us. So ALWAYS worth the visit. Worst that can happen is you spend a few minutes in line waiting but can't get your tour. The welcome glass of champagne helps. 🥂😎

Is your stay in Seward booked through Regent or third party?

You have to set expectations immediately. In my case I "strive for mediocrity and fail to achieve it." 😜

Thank you so much. Great info. I'll definitely check Costco.

True.

This sometimes happens to me with many websites. Just try again or try a different browser. That usually works for me. As for the cruise documents, all you need is your boarding pass and it can be dowloaded on your phone and you show that to board. I actually much prefer that as I'd rather not print out a bunch of stuff to carry with me.