papaflamingo

Ah...didn't know that. Thanks.

One thing you might consider... Domestic flight are economy. You will have to pay for baggage. If you look, it might not be much more to go First Class on your own, once you consider the Air Credit PLUS $35 for a bag (or more if you send 2) PLUS the $175 Deviation Fee per person. We have done that and found that First Class was only about $100 more each once all the fees and credit was figured. For me it was well worth the $100.

"What is reasonable" is whatever YOU think is reasonable. Look at the options on a variety of airlines. As Regent says, look for a discounted price i.e. non-refundable as well as refundable. That is more likely to have contract seats available. But pick AT LEAST your 3 best options and present them. They will either offer one with no upcharge, offer one with an upcharge, or not offer any of them but come back with a different option. So the more you research your flights the better. Then if they offer one with an upcharge you can decide if it's worth it or not. We are going to Athens in Oct. I requested the non stop and it was offered for an upcharge. One with a stop at JFK was the same upcharge. I decided it was worth the cost. As for our requested flight home from Rome, we were given that flight with NO upcharge so they had contract rates. On another cruise (we ended up cancelling for other reasons) we requested Delta from ATL-LAX-SYD then Delta non stop home from Tokyo. They would give us the non stop home, but nothing to Sydney on Delta even with an upcharge. They offered first an unacceptable routing, then a complicated routing (ATL-Doha on Qatar then Doha- SYD). That would have been 28 hours airborne but probably our best option. So you never know. Just give them as many options as they will take.

We have flown a number of times since 2019 and have little problem. Yes there have been some adjustments like departure or arrival times slipping a bit but nothing more than a few minutes. Of course we fly out of a major hub (Atlanta) so that may have some impact. But I wouldn't let concerns about flight changes stop me from cruising. Just give yourself a day or so to be able to adjust if necessary and go on a major carrier, not a low cost.

You can go on any number of internet TA websites and see cabin availability. But also you can do a mock booking on Regent's website. If you follow it through you can see what categories have availability. Simply select the category or categories you want to see and it'll bring up the available cabins. Then simply hit "back" (I think) and select another category, etc.

I "second" John Wayne. We are going out of LA in Jan. and we are flying into John Wayne. MUCH easier than the mess at LAX. And the shuttle to Long Beach isn't much more than LAX to Long Beach, and the flight is much cheaper.

Just to add... .you sound like you have a great plan. Regent tours are good and sometimes really good. But you can always do better in a 3rd party tour. Like you, we like the included tours to see places and have been happy with most. Also, we booked a late cruise and only one of our requested tours was waitlisted. We got notification yesterday that we cleared the waitlist. So if you need to waitlist there's always a chance. But your attitude of using the saved $3000 to book tours is GREAT! That's what I would do too. As for specialty dining it's very likely you'll get something pre cruise, but generally you can get a table when on the cruise. Just ask at the restaurant you want and see what's available for the cruise.

If you booked through a TA ask him or her to contact Regent and have the bottle of your choice in your cabin. That worked for me. But if not, just ask your cabin steward as mentioned.

I"m like the worst person to ask, as I. know nothing about laundry. But thought I'd mention this.... my wife doesn't send her "delicates" to the laundry, she does them herself in the laundry room. So that is certainly one option. Now, I know no one really wants to spend time doing laundry on a cruise, but when we are relaxing in the cabin she'll run down and throw her "delicates" in, then go get them and hang them in our bathroom. And of course there's always the option of putting them in the wash, calling for a martini to the laundry room if you want to wait, because....heck.... we all need an excuse for another martini on a cruise. 🍸😎

There are no limits on excursions by Regent. You can book as many as you want with no limitations other than a turnaround time. You can't book 2 excursions that both leave at 9 am for example. But you can book any number that you can make. We have booked 3 in one port a few times, one in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. No limits. At least one of the other cruise lines that includes shore excursions has a LIMIT of ONE per port. Regent has NO limits per port.

If you read the policy it states "Please note, schedule changes made by the airlines are outside of our control. If there is a significant change in schedule, our Air Concierge will find a better alternative without charging a new custom air fee."

When Regent changed their policy and added free laundry for all, many of those who had this as a Seven Seas Society benefit came on these very boards and "suggested" that this would make the laundry turn around time very long (days not hours). But it has had very little impact. If you actually believe that putting your laundry in the hall by 9 am will GUARANTEE that it is back by that evening then your expectations are absurd. In my experience it GENERALLY is back by that evening, but not always. So it comes back the next day. Those of you who are totally "offended" by the "breaking of a promise" are being ridiculous in my opinion. This is a wonderful benefit that didn't exist a few years ago. When we did a 44 night cruise in 2018 we had to pay for our laundry or do it ourself. I thought the ability to put my clothes in the wash and order a martini to the laundry room was a pretty good benefit. But NOTHING like putting it out for them to do and have it returned in perfect condition, folded neatly in a great box and allowing me to spend my time doing something OTHER than laundry. So complain if it makes you feel better, but I sure won't. Oh...by the way... the crew, especially the butlers and cabin stewards, work EXTREMELY hard to make your experience wonderful. Maybe appreciate THAT rather than getting upset because your laundry showed up the next day instead of same day. And I can just imagine cabin stewards and butlers getting on the phone to the laundry all morning long asking them when the laundry for cabin xyz will be done GUARANTEED! Can you even imagine the workload that the laundry personnel has to do EVERY DAY? Ok....let the flaming begin. 😏

Wow! Ours was also at lunch. The people at the table had just left Compass Rose when the window blew out! Very lucky! The crew was spectacular in handling the problem minimizing any inconvenience to the passengers! But your event sure explains why they had an extra window on board. They were able to replace it immediately upon reaching calm enough seas to put it in.

“Does it have to be on the website to be a”a promise?” Yes. If you are going to hold the entire cruise line responsible for something then yes, it has to be a promise from the cruise line in writing. Otherwise it’s simply a promise from a specific individual. A butler or cabin steward cannot make a promise for Regent if Regent doesn’t publish that promise. ”if the butler says it will be back same day, is that a promise?” The butler doesn’t speak for the laundry, the head of the dining room, shore excursion desk, or even the Captain. So no, the butler saying it will be back same day is not a promise unless he SAYS it’s a promise. Regent TRIES to do same day service but there are 700 passengers plus crew plus Housekeeping that are all trying to use the same laundry. To expect for absolute certainty that YOUR laundry WILL be done in a matter of a few hours is, in my opinion, an unreasonable expectation. But if your butler keeps making “promises” he can’t deliver, take it to his superior if you are so bothered by it. I don’t defend poor service, I just don’t come on social media and complain before attempting to correct the problem. And I don’t find having reasonable expectations as “defending poor service,” I see it as having reasonable expectations. Almost every “complaint” on Regent is resolved to the satisfaction of the passenger. All one has to do is bring it to the attention of the appropriate individual. So why do YOU think it reasonable to come on social media and complain then say “I really do not want to complain and get anyone in trouble…. I’m planning to give it another day or two” BEFORE actually trying to get it resolved?

Do you really believe that a cabin steward can accurately predict the time it takes for laundry to be done? Can you show me where it is promised “same day service.” I can’t seem to find it anywhere on the Regent website.

Your expectations may be a bit high. Not making excuses but simply suggesting reality. Marketing tends to promote the “ultimate” of the product. Unfortunately the “ultimate” is not always reached. Example, shore excursions…. Regent promises “unlimited excursions” yet we all know that in many ports you only have time for one excursion, and often the excursion you want is booked. So the reality is they offer excursions, and you’ll likely get one, but they don’t offer ANY excursion guaranteed. And don’t offer MULTIPLE excursions guaranteed in all ports. In fact, there are some ports where no excursions are offered. So, my point, it’s a ship. It moves with the ocean, is affected by weather, has limits to supplies, etc., goes to ports where infrastructure and availability is limited, etc. and their laundry is only so big. Everyone sends clothes AND they also have to keep up with crew needs and housekeeping needs. So if it takes overnight to get laundry back, that may not really be that big of a deal. Just plan for it and if it makes it the same day you’ll be pleasantly surprised rather than disappointed.

No, not an empty ship if humans who behave like animals ar banned. Rather a ship full of respectful and considerate cruisers. Works for me.

If that is how you feel then you are right to cancel. Sounds like Regent would not live up to your expectations.

Depends on how many remain aboard. But you have to wait until on the ship.

Correct. You are governed by the airline’s baggage rules and fees. So if you check the airline website it will tell you the baggage allowance, weights, and any fees. That will be your responsibility.

If that was last summer, we were on that cruise too. They did a fantastic job of replacing it quickly.

If you need to wear jeans all the time, maybe Regent isn’t the cruise line for you. if you need emotional support from an animal, maybe cruising is not for you. I have no problem with kids. I know…I know, you don’t have to say it, I don’t know why someone needs emotional support from an animal, just like you don’t know about my allergies to animal fur.

I disagree. We have been in a few ports where there was little to no excursions, Nuka Hiva and Fakrava come to mind. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and they were among our favorite ports. That’s the beauty of small ship cruising, the ability to go where few go. it would be sad to miss those just because they have no tour options.

I’m surprised that they don’t ask when you come into Compass Rose if you’d like to share. On our 84 nights we were generally asked every night if we wanted a table for 2 or to share.

Whatever floats your boat (bad pun intended).