papaflamingo

I'm retired Military/Airline Pilot (38 years of flying). I would LOVE to tour the Airbus factory! Have a wonderful time and take pics and post them...please? 😎

True, it is reasonable. But keep in mind, the staff on board the ships generally hasn't been on the tours. They aren't the ones who pick and book the tours. And in many ports even Regent doesn't pre-take the tours. Most tours are those that NCL or other companies use. All that the staff on board has is the description supplied to them by Regent home office. In my experience they do the best they can. But many Regent cruises visit a port once then on they go. It's not like they're visiting every week all year long. The staff only has what information it has.

I have actually found nothing wrong with most of the tours we've booked through Regent. Yes some tours are mediocre at best, but most have been pretty good. However I read the descriptions and have realistic expectations. If it's a "Panoramic Tour" it's going to be a bus ride around the sites. If that's not what someone likes, pass on it. If it's a "Hike" or "Snorkel." it's going to involve walking or swimming. If you can't do those things then pass on it. But many Regent cruise only visit a port once or twice a year. Sure during the winter they do Caribbean cruises and during the Summer, Alaska. But so does everyone else, and those others come in with 1500-7000 passengers. How does a small town or island provide "interesting" tours for 10000 people? They can't. So having a bunch of individually tailored tours for a small ship of 700 in every port is simply not possible, and in the fight for tour companies with all the other cruise ships certainly is a difficult constraint on Regent. If I was a tour company and had to choose between 30 people off Regent or 300 people off Wonder of the Seas, there's no contest. Go with the large ship that comes into port every week and sends me 300 people for my limited tour company.

Why is it so difficult for people to just simply dress according to the dress code? Is it really that hard to change into clean clothes after a day on shore? It's not like Regent's dress code is all that formal. In fact it's quite informal compared most other luxury cruise lines. That's one of the reasons we like Regent, I don't have to wear a sport coat EVER. I don't mind wearing dockers and a collared shirt after 6 pm. Gotta wear something. And even though I was the one who mentioned a speedo, rest assured I won't be caught dead in one. I'd probably be mistaken for the "great white whale" and be harpooned. 😜

Don't take this personally, but everyone is celebrating something. But if you let them know you could get a cake. 😎

Yup. And it wasn't like the pic posted. All 4..Father, Mother, Son, and Daughter were in the cami's that you buy at the Army/Navy Surplus store.

Apparently you missed my point. I neither want to, nor will I get into a political discussion on these boards. My only point was you stated that not paying taxes on tips or Social Security was "Totally unfair to the rest of us who pay income taxes on every dime we make." If's not "unfair," it's ILLEGAL. If you don't want to report your income to the govt., don't file a tax return or work a deal with your employer to pay YOU under the table and avoid all the taxes. You aren't being "unfair" to me or anyone else, you're simply breaking the law and when caught, you'll be prosecuted and punished. To suggest that people who are paid in tips or under the table make some "gross amount" of money and don't pay any taxes is pretty unrealistic. Pretty sure no waiter or field worker (legal or not) is cruising on a Regent cruise.

We were on a cruise many years ago (not Regent) and on Formal Night (yes they were still doing Formal Night back then) a family of 4 came into the Main Dining room all dressed in full camouflage (shirts and pants)! What, I suspect, they didn't understand (but likely found out) on some of the Caribbean Islands (at least back in those days) camouflage was outlawed due to its association with rebels.

You are actually required by law to report tip income. The fact that someone cheats on their taxes isn't "unfair to the rest of us," it's ILLEGAL. No one "saves by not paying" Social Security. Social Security benefits are paid out based on the average amount one earns over their work life. The more you earn, the more you pay, the higher the benefit when you start taking it. So if an employee pays no Social Security, when they reach retirement age they get NO benefit. But, according to the IRS: "All cash tips received by an employee in any calendar month are subject to social security and Medicare taxes and must be reported to the employer" So they ARE paying SS on the tips.

I think the problem would be getting the manufacturers to agree to let a large group to tour their factory. Many places simply aren't set up for such a tour. Also if you research other cruise lines you'll find that most the excursions to a particular port are the same as Regent excursions. Especially NCL. There are only so many things to see and so many companies that'll be available for a cruise line like Regent who often visit a port once or twice a year as opposed to the major lines that visit the same ports every week with 1500-7000 paying passengers. But I like your idea of technological tours where possible. I enjoy seeing the historic side of a port stop, but would love to tour Toyota or Honda in Japan.

Regent passengers are't "discriminated against," they're simply on the lowest price ticket for the flight. Exactly WHO should the airlines downgrade? The highest price ticket and frequent fliers, or those who are only on the flight because the cruise line put them there with a very discounted rate?

I think a big part of the problem is that Covid caused a lot of tour companies to go out of business. This is happening on all cruise lines. Add to that, you are likely not the only ship in port. We have an upcoming cruise on another line and I checked the port schedules and in most ports there'll be 3-5 ships in. Given the size of most ships, that's likely 6,000-15,000 cruise passengers. There are only so many tour operators around. It just seems that full ships and limited shore excursions will be the current cruise experience.

My speedo comment was sarcasm, designed to make the point that everyone has a limit that they don't want crossed, even those who claim they care not one bit about what people wear into the main dining room on a luxury cruise. As to "manners," no one NO ONE is advocating anything other than simply asking that the dress code be adhered to. NO ONE is advocating calling anyone out for violation, only asking here that people be respectful of the rules and follow them and perhaps, when the dress code is not adhered to over and over, mentioning it to the staff. And exactly how is someone intentionally breaking the rules is "good manners?" It's MY cruise too. I should also have at least the equal right that those who break the rules to expect that the rules be followed and enforced. I shouldn't have to coddle and ignore chair hogs to the point I can't sit at the pool. I shouldn't have to see people disregarding smoking rules, dress rules, drunkeness rules, etc. I also paid to be on the cruise, didn't get a discount by promising to follow the rules. I pick Regent for the entire experience and that includes smoking/vape rules, the style of cruising, and yes, I like the dress code. So if we are going to hammer people for manners, your hammer should be toward those who flagrantly disregard rules "because the can." As to your son, why not simply read the published dress code? It's very clear that sport coats are optional and what is required. Here it is, copy and pasted off the Regent website: "Attire ranges from Casual to Formal Optional. Casual wear consists of resort-style outfits; some examples are jeans, shorts, t-shirts, and tennis shoes. Casual wear is appropriate for daytime both on board or ashore. Casual wear is not appropriate after 6:00 PM. On the night prior to disembarkation, guests may need to pack their luggage early due to morning flights the next day. With this in mind, on the last night of every voyage, we will relax the dress code for dinner to Casual. Otherwise, the recommended onboard dress in the evenings is Elegant Casual. Dinner dress for ladies includes a skirt, or slacks with a blouse or sweater, a pant suit or dress; slacks and a collared shirt for gentlemen. Sport jackets are optional. Casual wear is not to be worn at dinner. Ties are not required."

I wouldn't sweat it. We've not had a problem. We do deviate so we can pick our flights, but not had any issues. On our first cruise people did have a problem being downgraded in Papeete. But that was because there were so many people and so few flights. One couple decided to route via Aukland then back to the U.S. But again, that was unusual.

Why? Should people simply look the other way when someone chooses to intentionally disregard rules or laws? No one is talking about yelling out in the middle of the crowded dining room, but discretely mentioning it to management. Would that not be good manners? As for a speedo, I would, at least wear a bow tie with it on formal night. 😜

From the FAQ section of Regent's website: "Casual wear consists of resort-style outfits; some examples are jeans, shorts, t-shirts, and tennis shoes. Casual wear is appropriate for daytime both on board or ashore. Casual wear is not appropriate after 6:00 PM....the recommended onboard dress in the evenings is Elegant Casual. Dinner dress for ladies includes a skirt, or slacks with a blouse or sweater, a pant suit or dress; slacks and a collared shirt for gentlemen. Sport jackets are optional. Casual wear is not to be worn at dinner. Ties are not required."

I'm not sure about on line as I have always used a TA. But when she puts the cruise on a 7 day hold she sends me a booking confirmation that includes a booking number and when I enter it the cruise shows up like it's booked. So I can go in and look at all the available information including shore excursions and their availability if they've opened for booking. Of course this only works if the shore excursions are open for booking. If you decide not to go you can either let the TA know or just don't put down the deposit and it'll expire and come off your account.

I don't intend to suggest in anyway that not being wealthy means no manners. In fact I agree that some of the wealthiest people are the most disrespectful and arrogant. But there is simply no excuse for anyone on a Regent cruise to purposefully disregard the cruise line rules. No one can claim they don't know the rules as they are clearly and easily found on the website. The idea that the rules aren't enforced so why obey them is absurd. You obey them because you are an adult and you sign a contract saying you will abide by the rules. That's it. Clear and simple. Live up to the contract you agree to and the discussion will end.

For future reference, if you want to know what shore excursions are available to book and you're within the year, you can put a 7 day hold on a cabin, That will give you a booking number and you can enter your cruise in your account. You can then go into the "customize" section and see what shore excursions are available and what are waitlist only. If you decide to take the cruise, you can pay the deposit and then be able to book the excursions. But at least it'll give you an idea of what';s available and what's not.

Even more for me is that if you can afford a Regent cruise then you should be adult enough to follow the rules, and respectful enough to not put the crew in a position to have to chastise you. But as you said, resources doesn't = courtesy and respect.

Novel idea....why doesn't everyone simply respect the cruise line's rules rather than excuse their violation? We're all grown adults and presumably in a fairly high income bracket. All of us are both capable of knowing and capable of following the published rules without having to put the crew in a position of forcing us to.

Sure....right... I'm guessing if you saw me in a speedo you'd lose your appetite. 🤣 But be honest, would you really like to have a person you've never met before join your table with nothing other than a speedo on in a restaurant as nice as the Compass Rose or Prime 7? As for not judging others, your comment "Oh boy, another dress code thread. Hopefully it gets locked soon," is pretty judgmental of those who do prefer a dress code is adhered to. Otherwise, you'd simply pass it by with no comment rather than hoping it gets shut down. 😏

So if I decide to wear a speedo an no shirt since I would be coming do dinner from the pool, that would be ok with you? 😏