papaflamingo

Your wife is much nicer than mine. My wife won't pack for me, instead she stands there and tells me how I'm "doing it wrong." 😜 Thanks for a wonderful review and great pics!!!!!

You're going to "... hold a grudge..." over a $100 per person admin fee that is available as Future Cruise Credit because Regent has followed the lead of most the rest of the cruise industry, and you call Regent "petty?"

Apparently few, if any, on here has every taken any Marketing Classes. It's just a word y'all. Does it really make a difference to you if they interchange them?

"For all voyages, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA) and/or World Health Organization (WHO) authorized single brand vaccination protocol will be accepted, with the final dose having been received 14 days or more prior to embarkation. Vaccines include J&J Janssen, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca/Oxford (also known as Covishield and Vaxzervria), Sinopharm BIBP, Sinovac and Covaxin. These vaccines are listed as examples. Refer to FDA, EMA or WHO websites for full approved current list. A mixed vaccination combination of two doses of an FDA or EMA approved/authorized or WHO Emergency Use Listed (EUL) COVID-19 two-dose series with a minimum interval of 17 days will also be accepted. Note: individuals receiving a Janssen COVID-19 vaccine before or after another COVID-19 vaccine are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 14 days after receipt of the single dose of the Janssen vaccine. For sailings in Mediterranean, any guest who’s primary COVID-19 vaccination will be beyond 270 days at the time of disembarkation from their voyage must have a COVID-19 “booster” dose prior to embarkation. Guests who currently do not meet the EU Healthy Gateways definition of “Fully Vaccinated” should ensure they receive their “booster” prior to travelling to the ship or you will be unable to board. The EU Healthy Gateway considers the “booster” effective immediately, so it may be administered as late as the day of embarkation, though we strongly advise to have it completed before traveling to the ship."

We used Luggage Forward both directions on our May-July cruise from Montreal to Southampton. We simply read the instructions and abided by them. We carried all our toiletries, etc. Everything went extremely smoothly. These regulations affect all luggage forwarding companies. They aren't the choice of Luggage Forward, but individual national customs laws. As jmalux says, " please pay attention." Always... ALWAYS read the instructions carefully and if you don't understand, email them and get a clear answer.

I tend to agree, but if they cut a stop out and gave you longer at each stop someone would surely say that the tour wasn't worth it because "too long at each photo stop and they skipped the museum, view point, etc." I, for one, am fine not going to museums unless they are remarkable (Louvre, Hermitage, etc). And if the museum is that good, then it should be a separate tour. P.S. Your photos and write-ups are outstanding! Thanks for taking us along.

Funny you should ask. We are the ORIGINAL Flamingo Club (not the one's "claiming" to be "Flamingos" that you elude to). We. started a party group in 1991 and have done a number of cruises together. All other "Flamingos" are simply imposters. 😜

I book early because: 1. I get the cabin I want. 2. Prices can (and usually do) go up as the cruise gets closer 3. The cruise can sell out 4. I've locked in a price I am willing to pay Example.. a few years ago I booked a Southern Caribbean cruise. Some friends wanted to go but decided to wait until their cruise a few weeks after I had booked, so they could book on board for the perks. By the time they boarded their upcoming cruise, the cruise I was on had gone UP almost DOUBLE and there were very few cabins left and those were undesirable. We cruised the Southern Caribbean, our friends stayed home an read my social media posts about the cruise. THAT'S why I book early.

We did b2b where the changeover was in New York City. No requirements to leave the ship or anything. We got off at our leisure after everyone else had departed (about 8 of us were staying on board) to mostly get out of the way of the busy crew. Walked off and back on with no interruptions or delays. No need for us to go through Customs or anything else. I will add that we had already made 3 U.S. port stops on the first leg so that may have been a difference regarding Customs.

WAIT!!! You mean that WASN'T the shoe shine bag??? 😱

EXACTLY!!!

If you can't find a pharmacy, consider testing on the internet with Emed or some other company. RCCL will accept the results and you can do the test in about 30 minutes from your hotel (assuming you have a good enough internet). We used them for a Celebrity cruise back in Dec. with no problem at all. Simply order some tests and take them with you (take 2 extras in case there's a problem with one of them).

You are likely correct. It does seem a bit weird to only drop the requirements on short cruises. Regent Cruise Line has dropped testing requirements on Aug. 1 unless the country. of origin requires it. So I think we are slowly coming out of "Covid mode."

The problem with going into MTD an hour late is that it will likely run you into the second seating. That's why they likely won't allow it. They only allot 2.5 hours for dining so a 1.5 hour dinner would be rushed at the very best. Your safest bet is to plan dining somewhere else that night. We did this in 2017 when we did a family cruise. We were in suites so had access to Coastal Kitchen. We fed the kids (all under 12) with room service that night and we adults had a great late dinner. I'd simply plan an alternate dining experience, either specialty dining or Windjammer. That will take all the stress out of it.

I wouldn't worry, Embassy Suites always includes breakfast. I imagine the voucher you received is a standard voucher good for any hotel that they might book you in, so of course it would state "hotel, tax, porterage only." I've been to many Embassy Suites, including Ft. Lauderdale, and have NEVER been checked for room number. No worries, enjoy the breakfast. I think it's great! Eggs to order, lots of bacon, sausage toast options, cereals, etc. 😎

You don't need insurance....until you do. In 2011 we had a cruise booked out of Venice. My mom passed away and we had to cancel. The Cruise Insurance paid out and the amount we received (full cost of cruise, air, etc.) was way more than ll the premiums added together that I had paid in the past. Another story... recently I read a FB post by someone on a Luxury cruise line who broke her leg on day 2 and had to be hospitalized and sent home. She didn't have cruise insurance and wanted the cruise line to refund her the balance of the cruise. She was another "don't need insurance" type until she needed it. Now she wants the cruise line to refund her cost. Use your best judgment. If you can afford to lose the money you spent on the cruise, and afford the cost of any medical issues, then "self insure." IF not, get a policy.

I don't believe Concierge Suites get a free upgrade. All suites get Business Class when intercontinental. But domestic travel is in economy. So if your plan is to upgrade to Concierge for air upgrade, check it out for sure, you might be disappointed. The biggest advantage to Concierge, besides ship location, IMHO, is early booking of excursions, 4 internet logins, and the one night hotel (plus a few other amenities). So you have to decide if those things are worth the cost of the upgrade. As for suites to avoid, like any other ship, avoid being under the pool deck if able and avoid being above noisy spaces . Personally I look for close to mid-ship and try to have a cabin above and below. One more thought. I've never been on Explorer, but I also try to avoid cabins around the smoke stacks as you could possibly get some noise from intakes etc. and sometimes could smell some stack gas depending on winds. Just a few thoughts.

Thanks for the clarification. I asked Luggage Forward how it would work in Southampton and here's what they told me by email: "Please clear your bags with customs and then hand them off to our agent, who will meet you outside the tunnel." Since I was sending them down the night before, and had to collect the bags to clear Customs, I held onto my Luggage Forward tags and put them on after clearing Customs (actually their agent put them on for me). I do understand your confusion. .

Our experience was 180 out of yours. We shipped to Montreal from Atlanta and the luggage showed up at our cabin on the ship. We then shipped Southampton to Atlanta after the cruise. We claimed our luggage at Customs and got a porter to take it out of the terminal and the Luggage Forward Rep. was standing there with a big sign. He even put our Luggage Forward tags on for us. Totally seamless operation for us. I am curious about your above quote; What "assistance" were you expecting from Luggage Forward for getting off the ship?

At least you're up to bat. We were on Navigator in June and both Greenland ports were cancelled due to 50 kt. winds, heavy rain, and icebergs. As you said " the captain’s decisions were absolutely correct! Safety is paramount." Enjoying seeing your photos of what we missed.

Good point. Since I don't use the Casino and rarely go into the shops, I didn't consider that. I imagine late departures also benefit the cruise line with fuel savings.

We love Sea Days, but if it's all late departures you can take advantage of the ports. Have a leisurely dinner in a local restaurant, go to a fun local bar, etc. If you don't want to do that, then just do on the ship what you'd do if it was underway. The only difference is you'll see the port lights rather than dark ocean, but ship facilities will all be open. For me, not a big deal at all.

True, there is no requirement. But if you DO check in 24 hours prior, get your boarding pass digitally, you will avoid the problems that the OP had. This is still a very "strange" time. Regent Air is slammed with all the airline schedules, people booking cruises and wanting air deviation, and people with problems. The airlines are cancelling flights daily. Sure, Regent should notify you IF they were notified. But I, for one, will not leave it up to them. I check my flights frequently simply to avoid any surprises. I won't be caught going to the airport for a flight that was cancelled a week earlier.

Not sure about Cabin changes, but as for getting on and off the ship, you can do it at your leisure. They prefer you to get off the ship as they do a complete turn-around cleaning and even though you can stay in your cabin and use public spaces, you'll still be in their way. Be sure your Seapass shows your actual debarkation date. If not check with Passenger Service and have it updated before you leave the ship. If you're changing cabins, the crew will move your stuff (you might want to move valuables in the safe). I would go to Passenger Service and get your new Seapass for the new room before leaving the ship. They can tell you what you need to do.