papaflamingo

Will they put you on a "weird routing" because it's cheaper? Yes. But it's less likely it'll be a 12 hour layover. I tried to get a 13 hour layover in SFO on our flight to Hong Kong and Regent stated they can't route that way as the layover was too long and it would be considered a "stop over" with an additional charge. BUT, the cutoff could be 12 hours, I don't actually remember. But the "sticker shock" isn't always that bad, you have the option of booking independently if the cost is too high, and they'll work with you to find cheaper flights. Lot's of examples, but here's a couple of recent ones. We are going to London in June (not on a cruise). I live in Atlanta and am retired Delta so get an Employee discount. It was over $2000 LESS if I booked ATL-BOS-LHR. So that would be a route that Regent might book for you. As to our ATL-HKG flight.... when we first booked it with NO up charge on United, it had a 4 hour layover in SFO. About a month later United changed the schedule and we ended up with a 1:40 layover in SFO and since it was Feb. we decided it was too short to risk. I talked to United and they couldn't do anything as, it turns out, Regent doesn't actually pay for the tickets until about 60 days out. So I called Regent and wanted to change to a scheduled connection on United's website that was 13 hour layover. That's when they told me it they won't book any layover's that long so it would have to be a $500 stopover. We opted no. Anyway, they did tell me they would pay for the ticket on Dec. 20. Further discussion of a change would have resulted in cancelling and re-pricing the flight and another $175 pp fee, etc. So...nope. Then on Dec. 22 I called United and told them my requested options to go a day early with a 13 hour layover, and arrive in Hong Kong same day as before, but 12 hours earlier. They looked at the flight and since it was a schedule change on the original, and the new flight was the same price (on their website) they simply made the change and it all worked out great. So sometimes you just have to try all options. 😎

Seems that Regent has contract seats with most airlines, just not every flight. For example, a couple of years ago we could NOT get Delta to Australia at all for the beginning of the cruise! Not even with an up charge. However we had zero problem getting Delta from Tokyo at the end of the cruise with NO up charge. So the best thing you can to is research flights on airline websites and find the itineraries you most want. Then, if the airline shows more than one rate for business class, i.e. one refundable and a lower one as non-refundable, then it is more likely Regent will have contract rates on those flights. You can really get a pretty good idea, for example if the fare is $6500 on airline A but $4500 on airline B it's more likely you can get airline B. I always find at least 3 itineraries before I call. Then when I'm on the phone with the agent I have the airline web page open to the flights and I can look at the options as we discuss them. The agent also will tell you of other options if nothing you pick will work. Not sure this answers your question at all, but it's been my experience. The Custom Air Agents are remarkably helpful and easy to work with, but you DO need to "do your homework" and know what you want before calling and also have an idea how much of an up charge you may be willing to pay to get a better flight.

Ok... You're right, you shouldn't have to explain it. I apologize for asking, although YOU were the one who put it out as "disturbing" on social media. Just seems like an extremely small thing to be "disturbed" about since there is an easy "work around" as you stated. Again... sorry for asking.

Thanks SWFLAOK, appreciate the info.

Just so I understand, you're "disturbed" that you MIGHT someday have to make a phone call from the ship and it won't work? If it's an emergency, I'm pretty sure that the crew will make sure you get through. Or.... just use your cell phone in wifi calling.

This might have actually been a case of "lost and found." I agree, I'd never leave my cell phone for hours to reserve a chair. It's very possible it fell out of someone's bag or something and they didn't notice. At least if I felt so inclined to turn it in, that sure would have been my excuse as I went back to the chair. 😎

We were on Explorer from Feb. 21-Mar 6, Hong Kong to Tokyo. We had absolutely no issues with Destinations Services. We had one port where the excursion had cancelled and we waitlisted for a different one and didn't clear. We went to Destination Services as soon as we got on board and they quickly and cheerfully put us on the one we wanted and on another excursion in a port where we forgot to book anything. And they were very easy to deal with when asking about town shuttles, etc. So really no problems when we were on board.

Do you mind me asking, what is the price and perk difference between a world cruise on Regent and world cruise on Silversea? Not asking actual cost as that's none of my business, but was it significant if you'd booked the cruises at the same time? Also is there anything one or the other includes that's different? Just wonderin' as Regent is getting pretty pricey.

We just finished Hong Kong to Tokyo including a 3 day pre-cruise tour. All our guides were good to great (mostly great). We sailed Feb 21-Mar. 6. Plus we did a full day tour in Tokyo to Mt. Fuji through Viator and had a great time in spite of cloudy and cold weather. Only saying this as it's a recent experience, so hopefully the tour guide issue has worked itself out.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!! We have booked the same tour! And for info, it's simply added to our booking so we don't actually have to pre-pay anything. But NOW, thanks to your spectacular blogs... I am REALLY EXCITED to do this tour!!! And my wife, really Egypt is her "bucket list" item as she studied all of this in college, will be amazed and thrilled by your wonderful blog and pictures!! Now if only the "world situation" will resolve in time.

Jan. 2023 was a LONG time ago. Crews come and go. I'm not trying to talk you into trying Regent again, I don't do those things. I feel people should find what they like and stick with it. Much of the "cruise experience" is very subjective after all. I am only pointing out the fact that you were on Explorer over a year ago because it might skew the OP as to how Explorer is NOW in 2024. We sailed on her Feb. 21-March 6 and felt it was one of our best Regent cruises to date. We were on Grandeur in Jan. and as beautiful as she is, I personally like the older more "rich" darker colors on Explorer. Personal preference for sure, my wife was the opposite, she loved the lighter decor of Grandeur. But the service, food, etc. of Explorer was definitely, at least for us, what the Regent Experience should be. Oh what a difference a year makes.

If they did people would probably complain there isn't enough sunny areas to lounge.

Yeah,.. I was kidding about Nov. Actually we've considered the possibility of a major reroute too. I figure if the Red Sea remains closed, then the itinerary will be more similar to the current World Cruise and head down Africa and around. My guess would be ending maybe in Capetown (that would be about the same number of days depending) then likely they'd add a cruise to get to the Med. For us, since we would like to go to Africa anyway, not a bad alternative. And if they did this, we'd seriously consider trying to stay on board until the ship hits the Med. But that's all speculation at this point. Who knows?

Hmm.... what's happening in Nov.? 🤣

From Regent's Ticket Contract, "8. CANCELLATION POLICY Regent Choice Shore Excursions Within 36 hours of tour departure 100% fee"

If you call room service you can have all the foo foo umbrella drinks your heart desires delivered to your room. Or.... have the cabin steward or butler put the right ingredients in your cabin, and have your spouse or significant other simply mix and deliver the drink to your balcony wearing nothing but a smile! Won't get that on the pool deck. 😜 But is a deck chair really worth all the attention it gets? People are entitled, rude, ignorant, and just plain selfish. It's no different anywhere else. For the record, I agree that "stuff" needs to be moved after 30 min. (or so). And personally I hate entitled, rude, ignorant, and just plain selfish people too. So public shaming is absolutely fine with me. But heck... I'm not going to lose much sleep over it.

Here's a few shots of Namba. Quite "colorful." 😎

You're not going to cruise because you can't get a lounge chair in the shade by the pool? Why not just sit on your balcony? That's what I do. Quieter, better view, and I have my in-room bourbon to keep me company.

Hmmm... not sure how easy this would be. But I imagine if you want to stay longer and find your own way back to the port that there is no particular reason why you can't do so. Just ask the guide and see what he or she says.

That is EXCELLENT advise!

We docked in Osaka overnight earlier this month. Did "Highlights of Kyoto" and also "Osaka Castle and Namba On Your Own," For "Osaka Castle and Namba On Your Own," we enjoyed seeing the Castle. It's a multi-level museum and quite interesting historically but you don't have enough time to read everything so I chose the stuff that looked most interesting inside to read. Go to the top floor and work your way down. The top floor has wonderful views. The grounds are pretty "cool" too so try to leave a little bit of time to walk around the grounds. Namba is basically an area of shopping with some very interesting facades on the shops and eateries. Lots of great street food places so pretty good place to wander and sample dishes. "Highlights of Kyoto" we toured the Nijo-Jo Castle, and Golden Pavilion. Both beautiful and worth seeing (at least we thought so). One word of advice... you can go into the. Nijo-Jo castle at your own expense (it was only a few dollars). But it takes a while to go through. We enjoyed seeing the inside, but the Japanese royalty was not like European royalty. The Japanese furnishings are mostly non-existent unlike the over ornate European castles. Lots of symbolic and beautiful wall paintings, and different floor levels for "power." Anyway, it takes time to go through the castle, partly because once you start you have to go through the whole thing and it can slow down as people read the descriptions of the rooms and there is no early "escape." Problem was, the gardens are extensive and beautiful (even though they weren't in bloom when we were there). We would have liked more time to wander the gardens. So you pretty much have to make a choice of either castle interior and minimal garden time, or spending your time in the gardens. As for the Golden Pavilion, that was spectacular to look at! You don't go in it, but it's. a spectacular sight and the path around it and through the park area is beautiful and makes for some wonderful pictures. Anyway, that was out take on the two tours. We enjoyed them and for us, seemed to be about what the description says. Also keep in mind, we did the tours from Osaka, not Kyoto so docking in Kyoto might change them some.

Yeah.... we'll be using Regent Air and deviating. I haven't found anything that can "beat the price" of Regent, and I'm retired airline and get a 25% employee discount! But the big advantage on the cruise or Regent Air is if the Red Seas remains closed, Regent will have to arrange return flights from wherever we end the cruise (my guess is Capetown). We also hope it goes as planned. My wife studied Egypt in college and has always wanted to see the many sites. We just booked the Luxor Overnight (booked on Mariner in Oct. 2025 that goes to Port Said, Egypt so will see the pyramids then). Thanks for the good info, by the way. Called our TA and "got her done." I will say, for me, if the ship reroutes to the east coast of Africa, I won't complain. Want to see Africa anyway. And if it goes all the way around....even better. 😎

We were booked on a 10 night Caribbean on Navigator in March 2023. On Christmas 2022 we had a pipe freeze and do $58,000 damage to our house. We were in the middle of the repairs in March, but since final payment was made before the pipe leak we decided we'd simply go on the cruise and "hope for the best" regarding the house. Anyway, about 4 days before the cruise we received an offer to delay our cruise to Dec. 2023 and receive an upgrade to a Penthouse on Mariner (a HUGE upgrade from a Deluxe Verandah on Navigator), and a significant refund (about 20% of what we paid). WE JUMPED ON IT! We were able to be home for out house repairs, upgrade to a better ship and MUCH BETTER cabin, and get money back!!! So it's still happening.

As Frantic said, other cruise lines send out surveys a few days to a week after a cruise is completed. I wish Regent would do that. I keep forgetting the survey and tend to miss it. And when I do remember to do it it's usually a few days before the cruise ends so it really isn't complete. It's hard to rate Prime 7 if you haven't gone yet. In my experience it's much easier to give an honest and complete review a few days to a week after the cruise than a few days before the end of the cruise.

Just got off Explorer in Tokyo 2 weeks ago. The wifi was ok generally with some times when it was not all that good. So pretty "typical cruise ship internet." If you want to do the survey, it's WAY EASIER to go to the Business Center on deck 5 and use the ships computer to do it. The IT guy will help if you have any logon questions and their computers seem much more stable.