papaflamingo

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).

Yes. When you accept a deviation you know exactly what flights you are on and on many airlines can select seats the day the flight is booked. In fact when Regent offers you the flight it will show as booked on the airlines website before you even respond. So once accepted you have the flight and seats 210 days out.

No. You provide them with your desired itinerary and flights. They'll either have contract rates in which case you have no additional charge other than the $175, or they'll offer you the flight with some sort of upcharge (then you can decide if it's worth the extra cost), or they won't be able to book you on the flight at all. We've run into all 3 situations. Example we were trying to fly ATL to SYD on Delta and it simply wasn't available, however the return from Tokyo to ATL was no additional cost. Go figure. Remember, if nothing works you can always forfeit the $75 per person and use whatever air they assign you.

We were on Mariner in 2018. Up to and including Penthouse no star means bath/shower combo (don't know about the higher suites). Be aware the tubs seem to have high sides and low ceiling. So it's a fairly big step in and out and if you're over 6 feet tall you'll have to duck. I also agree with Ladys Mom, if you have knee issues and can't climb into the tub and the only alternative is an accessible suite, take it as you have a disability that precludes you from climbing into the tub. You can always try to switch if a cabin with shower opens up.

They basically did say it when they said: "as we continue to work through challenges with air services due to the combination of strong demand for air travel, reduced airline capacity and major airline schedule changes, we have decided to revise our Custom Air policy to help reduce long call hold times to our Custom Air Department." Of course the other option is Regent thinks: 😜

A lot of questions around this. It's important to fully read the email. Regarding cancellations or other air travel issues, the email 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." So, no, if your have a problem with your already booked flight you WON'T be charged any fee. The fee only applies to Custom Air request. Is this a "money grab?" Hardly since if you accept the deviation the $75 rolls into the normal $175 deviation fee. So it appears it's an attempt to alleviate phone calls from people who are not serious about deviations. We always deviate as we like to arrive early, stay over, and pick our own flights. So if I choose to deviate then it's zero difference in cost. I only have provide a number of options. This is most likely to free up a very busy department and focus on those who truly want to deviate. As for selecting flights, as others have said, if a "non-refundable" rate isn't posted on the airline's website, then likely there is no contract seats available. But you can still request it and possibly pay an upcharge. We did that for our upcoming cruise and it was still over $1000 per person cheaper than if I booked the flight on my own. And, just because you live in a hub like Atlanta, it doesn't mean Regent has contract rates on the hometown carrier. I live in Atlanta and was trying to deviate to a cruise that left out of Sydney and ended I Tokyo. There were NO Delta flights that Regent could offer from Atlanta to Sydney, even with an upcharge. Just wasn't going to happen. However we could get the Delta non-stop from Tokyo to Atlanta for no extra cost. So it just depends. Bottom line is this looks more like an attempt to keep calls to Custom Air limited to those who truly plan to deviate and are not just "fishing." And it forces us to offer a number of acceptable requests instead of one request, followed by a rejection, followed by a new request, rejection, new request, etc. It will significantly relieve pressure on the Air Department at a time when airline schedules and fare are in constant flux.

Please don't think I'm defending the treatment you were given. I'm certainly not. I can't answer why anyone did anything. All I'm saying is that the tour clearly stated that it's not available to people with mobility issues. That's all I can say. I don't know if the DM was aware of your restrictions OR aware of the tour restrictions. I certainly don't know why he or she gave you the tickets. You'd have to ask the DM. I understand your disappointment, but you do bear at least a small part of responsibility for booking a tour that clearly states isn't available to you. I know that sounds like I'm "hard core," but I'm not. And I'm not defending anyone's behavior. But if they allowed you on board knowing full well it was against the stated rules and you fell and were seriously injured, they'd be facing a law suit that they could not win. That's simply the facts of the matter. That's why the disclaimers are posted. And I actually DO have information, I have the information posted in the disclaimer about the tour. Like I said, I looked at the exact same tour for our upcoming cruise. My comment, that you responded to, was simply that it IS cut and dry in the description of the tour. Nothing more or less.

"The tour is not available to wheelchair guests or to those with mobility concerns." Pretty "cut and dry." Not seeing much room for interpretation.

Just gotta ask... how exactly did Regent "screw up?" How was Regent, in 2020 or 2021 to know that fuel costs for airlines would rise, pilots would be at a shortage, and travel would be at a maximum in 2023? Honestly, if you read the email (we got one for each cruise we have booked) it only affects flight deviations and only if you don't accept any of their deviations. So if you call Regent to book a flight deviation you pay $75. They give you all your options, if you agree with one, which is most likely why you called in the first place, you pay an additional $100 for the same total of $175 that has always been charged. I'm pretty sure that this policy won't be much of a windfall, but might free up the phone lines. No, I don't like it either, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it. My wife and I went out for dinner last night. We shared an appetizer then she ordered 2 sides for a "main" and I ordered an appetizer and one side for a "main," we had 2 drinks each (wine for her, a cocktail for me). The bill was over $90. If I call Regent and don't accept their air offer I'll just eat at home one night instead of dinner out.