papaflamingo

Sorry this happened to you, but your assumption that I haven't faced at least the potential of being a long way from home and getting quarantined is absurd. I am fully prepared, when I travel, to accept the potential consequences of MY choices. I have travel insurance for the very fact that at my age I could be quarantined or hospitalized for a number of illnesses, not just Covid. As to "change in policy," exactly WHAT change by anyone would prevent your husband from contracting Covid and being quarantined? As for being "5000 mile from home and told you should leave" seems like simply a suggestion to prevent you from contracting Covid and extending the quarantine. Were you required by law to leave? If not, then simply stay. We had friends who got off a cruise last year and when they did the mandatory test to come home the husband tested positive. They entered quarantine and after a couple of days the wife tested positive so they had to quarantine until she was negative, extending the quarantine for a few more days. That is simply travel during this time in history. No one said it wouldn't be a "horrendous experience," but that's a risk you fully accept if you choose to cruise in foreign countries. Again, what "change in policy" will work to prevent this from happening?

If you are afraid to test within 72 hours of your cruise I would suggest you simply stop cruising. Covid regulations worldwide are constantly updated and requirements will continue to shift. I have insurance that will cover Covid cancellations (as well as any other illness or accident). I suggest everyone do the same.

I would never let a handful of rude people chase me away from a cruise line. I can almost guarantee you'll find this behavior on every cruise line. Entitled people are going to behave like this no matter. We've seen chair hogs on almost every cruise. On one cruise (not Regent) I was up at 6 am so went to pool deck to get a coffee. A woman came out with towels and books and claimed 6 loungers. She was wearing a bathrobe, fuzzy slippers, and hair curlers. Pretty sure she wasn't about to go swimming.

You don't specify if final payment was paid before or at the final payment date. If before, you should be able to take advantage of new rates BUT you will lose any "perks" (OBC, pre-cruise stay, etc) that you might have with your original rate and will be booked under the new rate. If after final payment, you're probably unable to get any reduction. I have 5 cruises booked and none would be better off with the new programs when I figure the "perks" I booked under. All you can really do is figure the bottom line and see. Then get your TA working on it.

You need to be on the waitlist for a sold out excursion. if you haven't done so, then get on the waitlist now. You can ask the butler but I suspect all he can do is pass your request to the Shore Excursion people. We were only on the waitlist twice and both excursions cleared shortly after boarding. But we never asked the butler about it as we had all our excursions when we had a butler. As for caviar, never ordered it, but I believe it's not supplied other than on Sunday free of charge. I imagine if you want to order caviar for a charge your butler should be able to arrange this. It's also possible he might be able to get it free, doesn't hurt to ask.

Actually, it is yours to explain, since my original comment actually ASKED other than govt, mandate, "What reason would explain this?" Regent also clearly states on their website ""Subject to local requirements, all guests are welcome with no tests required, regardless of vaccination status." So both Regent AND Princess either state or indicate that they're only requiring tests due to govt. regulations. When you responded I simply, again, asked what rationale these cruise lines would use to put a testing requirement on ONLY Japan cruises and not any other countries of origin? Like I said, I don't get it. Why else would Regent require this? Simply asking your opinion since you seem convinced this is a requirement that was randomly placed by multiple cruise companies.

Yeah..you're probably right. The cruise lines must have gotten together and said "hey... now that we've lost billions, and are working on recovering, how about we all agree to simply piss off passengers traveling to Japan by randomly requiring a Covid test? You know, no where else in the world, only Japan. That'll be fun...right?" Tell you what... how about YOU tell ME why YOU think Regent, Princess, et. al. decided RANDOMLY to ONLY require a test in Japan? Nowhere else in the world, ONLY Japan. I'd be interested in why YOU think they would do that. 😏

We have 5 cruises booked over the next 2 years. Every one of them would be more expensive when adding up OBC, etc. if I cancelled and rebooked under the new pricing program. So we simply kept what we have.

The Navigator Lounge across from the Coffee Connection has a bar that you can get specialty coffees.

It's a govt. mandate. It doesn't have to make sense.

I don't get why anyone thinks that Regent "randomly" placed a Covid test requirement ONLY for cruises from Japan. What reason would explain this? It's a Japanese requirement. Regent clearly states that "Subject to local requirements, all guests are welcome with no tests required, regardless of vaccination status." As to notification, they go on to state: "Specific requirements, if applicable, will be sent to all guests approximately 30 days prior to sailing." Additionally, if you look at there Japan cruise requirements for other cruise lines you'll find they also require a test. Here is a quote from Princess Cruises: "Based on current requirements for cruising in Japan, guests aged 5 and older will require a negative viral COVID-19 test result taken before boarding."

From the Terms and Conditions page: "Gold members and above receive four unique log-ins with FREE Unlimited WiFi per suite." https://www.rssc.com/legal/terms-conditions

I agree... I don't get why some people feel entitled and that the rules don't apply to them. If everyone simply acted in a considerate manner we'd be in a lot better shape. It's easy... simply follow the rules and act like a mature adult and... no problem.

I'm sure cost cutting is high on the list as cruise lines try to recover from the Covid shutdown,. But as a new Regent cruiser you won't notice them. I can't really explain the airline issue for you, other than airlines are flying very full and higher prices. So this will impact Regent's airline costs and will be factored into the cruise cost. At least here in the U.S. they do say that the included airline only from specific gateways. If you live in a non-gateway city there is an additional charge. Likely that's your problem. I assume you live in a non-gateway city and must come a night early to catch your Heathrow flight? Can you catch a later flight to Heathrow and connect on same day? As for the hotel allowance, and the booked hotels due to the Pope's visit, check and see if any rooms are available and at what cost. That'll tell you why they have to cancel. I doubt that they're "running a number" to decrease costs. We sailed since covid and found the even with supply train issues and new crewmembers, Regent did a great job to deliver the same experience as before. We didn't notice any cutbacks and the only one I can think of is closing the Pool Grill for dinners. I'm sure this is a cost cut because of the minimal use on most cruises. However I believe they didn't even offer the Pool Grill until around 2018 so it's not like it was a traditional Regent offering. People tend to "read into" things. I take them at face value. If Regent cancels a hotel because of a huge event at the port city, then I accept that they cancelled the hotel because of a huge event in the port city, not as a prelude or result of declining revenues.

Are you on the Oct.3 sailing on Voyager? We are also on that cruise. We also live in Atlanta and are flying a couple of days early. I opted for the Delta non-stop, figuring it's worth it to be non-stop. Also got the non-stop home from Rome on Delta with no uncharge. Looking forward to this cruise. It'l be a good one. 😎

The article is written from a very cynical point of view and ignores the lowering of prices as well as increasing cost. In 1897 (when I got hired) the average price to fly was $587. In today's dollars that is $1542 today. The average air fare today is $392 which, in 1987 would have been $149. The airlines added seats because people wanted cheap tickets. With the fluctuating oil prices and demand for low fares it was all they can do to be profitable. it has nothing to do with a concerted effort to make people miserable enough to buy higher priced seats. It simply has to do with rising costs vs. decreasing air fare. The was driven by multiple events (like 911 or Covid) including demand, fuel costs, Southwest Airlines, etc. You can say the same for cruise lines. In 1987 the cruise experience on major lines was significantly different than today, and significantly cheaper. Our first cruise in 1998 cost $750 per person for an inside cabin. Today that would be $1376. I can get an inside cabin for on the same week, same ship for $470 or in 1998 dollars $256 I doubt the cruise lines purposefully made the experience worse just to drive people into expensive suites. It was simply a shift in the economy from a "Neiman Marcus" experience to "Walmart." People want to pay as little as possible so the corporations adjusted to be profitable on as little as possible fares. It's all the wishes of the consumer. So sure, "agree to disagree." But if you really examined how cost structures change, you won't find any discussion or idea about "calculated misery," in fact quite the opposite.

I spent 29 years as a major U.S. airline pilot. Admittedly I was never involved in any financial decisions but I don't accept the premise that airlines purposefully make economy miserable to force sales to higher priced seats. Pricing is competitively based. The airlines charge what the competition allows. The cost of an economy ticket is extremely low in general, especially if compared to many years ago. The airlines added seats in order to carry enough passengers to make the flight profitable. When I got hired in 1987 our break even load factor was 52%. After the fare dumps in the early 90's the break even load factor climbed rapidly and is now around 72-78%. So the planes need to average that to simply not lose money.

Missing a port is always hit or miss (pun intended). You simply don't know until it happens. Most 3rd party excursion companies understand this and will allow a full, or at least a partial, refund if the ship misses the port for any reason. We did 40 nights from Montreal to Southhampton and missed ports in Greenland and one in Iceland but made every port in the UK. If you want to book a third party excursion then look for ones that have a full refund or at least only keep a small deposit and go ahead and book them. I wouldn't let the fear of cancellation of a port drive any decision. You really just never know with a cruise.

DOH! Wrong Monday. We board on Mar. 13. 😎

We're on the same cruise! We are just finishing the repair of our house from a water line break on Christmas. Need this cruise desperately! 1 more week! Can't wait! 😎

I actually wasn't questioning your comment that excursions run $150 per person, but your comment "c Sure Regent loves customers who don't take the included excursions and that is pure profit and adds to the bottom line." I suspect, don't actually know, that Regent books excursions at a guaranteed amount regardless of how many show up to take the excursion. I also suspect that to add extra busses, etc. they will now need a certain minimum to warrant the cost. If they go to optional excursions, and a particular excursion doesn't get enough to meet the minimum cost. they'll end up cancelling that excursion. As it stands today, it seems they book...say a bus for 60...at a fixed cost for UPTO 60 people and if only 10 book it, it goes anyway. So those who choose to sit on the ship or book their own excursions, are supplementing the rest of us. But I doubt seriously that people failing to show up on any excursion is actually " pure profit and adds to the bottom line."

I'm not so sure your comment is accurate. Regent pays to book the excursion and likely pays a "full bus" fare. If it's $1000 to book a bus with enough room for 60 and only 30 people show up, the cost to Regent doesn't come down nor does the cost to the passenger increase. It's simply supplemented by those who don't take excursions. That's also why, for me, I don't want to see a credit for excursions. If that happened they'd have to instituted a minimum number for an excursion to go or charge an upcharge if the excursion isn't full.

You might want to recheck your daily rate. We have 5 cruises booked and we are nowhere near $1200 or more per person on any of them, and that includes a 70 night Grand Cruise in a Penthouse. As for King crab, the crab population is really down right now. It's probably not a matter of cutting back and more a matter of unavailable supply. The crab population has been very low for a year now. Also not sure what liquor you're looking for, but my cruise last June-July I had no issues getting what I wanted, of course that certainly is a function of "taste." I think people are confusing cutbacks with supply chain issues. The supply chain is still stretched very thin due to Covid recovery. Many companies simply shut down, and many workers changed jobs. Supply dropped significantly and demand rose way faster than expected. Additionally air fare has gone up "hugely" due to high demand and shortages of crews and higher fuel cost. Many companies simply aren't going to grow back to pre-Covid numbers so prices will remain high and supply will remain a concern.

I agree with the others.... go non stop. Pay the deviation fee and see how much extra the non stop will be. Might well be worth it.

First, take complaints with a HUGE grain of salt. People tend to blow things out of proportion. Take the age of Navigator. It was totally renovated around 2018 or so. Yes she's small and there is a vibration in the aft section, so it any vibration bothers you book a midship or forward cabin. But a lot of people don't mind the vibration. We spend 40 nights on Navigator from May 28, 2022 through July 7, 2022. We loved the cruise. I thought the service, considering there were a number of new crew due to the recent return from Covid, was excellent. Food was great. There is only 1 specialty restaurant, Prime 7 plus Compass Rose and Sette Mari. But we had the full blown Sunday at Sea Brunch and it was fantastic. Navigator simply doesn't have the "bells and whistles" you'll find on Explorer class. But neither does Mariner or Voyager. We enjoyed Navigator so much we are headed out on her again in 10 days. Yes, she's older, but looks great. Yes she vibrates in the aft but so do other ships and it's avoidable by booking forward. No she doesn't have Chartreuse or Pacific Rim, but otherwise the food was as good as any other Regent ship. Entertainment was ok. I don't sail Regent for the shows so not a factor. Has only 1 nice lounge, but there are a couple other small ones plus the pool bar. But I found her very intimate, comfortable, and friendly. Remember, all this is very speculative. I love Navigator others don't. So... I say if you like the itinerary and price, give it a try. Go with realistic expectations and you'll likely enjoy the cruise.