NanJ0508

Yep, and I think El Nino contributed to the bad weather this year.

Thanks for the replies. It makes sense that categories are waitlisted, not individual suites.

We have booked a cruise in May 2025 and asked our TA to book 2 Grandeur suites out of a list of 8 that we gave her. Only one of our choices was available. Does anyone know if Regent has a waitlist system for suites? We are low level Seven Seas Society members so have no pull there! Our TA is out for surgery so I emailed Regent to ask the question but I'm guessing it could take a while to get an answer.

Not yet. We are traveling with another couple so we are getting together soon to discuss options. It will be between Silversea and Paul Gauguin. We need to decide soon because it is "only" a little over a year out. I watched a video by Gary Bembridge, Tips for Travelers, who said the cruise companies are forecasting record capacity in 2024.

Yikes! How disappointing.....

Wow, how fortunate! Thanks for posting - enjoy your cruise!

So happy you enjoyed your cruise! Disappointing to miss Mo’orea but it seems Regent and the other ports made it a wonderful trip nonetheless. Thanks for sharing your experience!

Yes, I am furiously exploring other cruise lines now! From my research, FP choices comparable to Regent in the dry(drier) season are Paul Gauguin, Silversea and Windstar. I'm leaning to Paul Gauguin but I think it will be even more expensive in total than Regent - gasp. I haven't asked the travel agent to price it out but she said generally PG is more expensive once you add it all up. This is a dream cruise for us so we will probably just have to suck it up and pay more.

Thank you for sharing your perspective. I think our decision will boil down to PG, also. We don't cruise often so the luxurious Regent experience is part of the enjoyment for us. But as expensive as French Polynesia vacations are, the whole experience has to be considered, and like you said, for FP, the beauty trumps the luxury accommodations.

Oh, I am so sorry for you! But thank you for replying and sharing. We may have to rethink this Regent trip. A forum member who travels to the South Pacific a lot says December to April is a crap-shoot. For our pocketbook, these cruises are too expensive for a crap-shoot!

How was the weather when cruising Tahiti in their summer season aboard Regent? I don't understand why Regent chooses to cruise Tahiti in their summer! We are currently booked for February 26, 2025 but now I am having second thoughts after checking the weather for Tahiti the past couple of weeks. I know any tropical area can have rainy afternoons but it seems this time of year is worse than "some afternoon showers". One of the things we love about Regent is the size of the suites and the overall luxurious feeling of the ships. My impression from our travel agent is Paul Gauguin Cruises does not meet Regent's level of luxury or suite size and is more expensive. I would love to hear your experiences!

Yes, I thought that might be the case. Thank you for the help! No rush on this - we are choosing a cruise for 2024 because we had to cancel a scheduled cruise the night before we were to leave on December 1. ☹️ san05080509@gmail.com

bitob, can you share more information about how you book your own excursions, please?

From the Regent email: " Check availability online – this will show you flight options from your departure city. If the lowest business class fare does not show available, it is not likely available within our contracts. Note any options that are your preferred schedule and routing - including the pricing of each of those flights." What site are they referring to? Their site? We have a cruise booked in December and I do not see a place on our account where we can check flights that Regent has within their contracts. Am I not understanding their instructions? Or is this just for intercontinental flights (ours departs from Miami)?

We are in the upstate, near Spartanburg. Our family vacationed at Folly Beach outside Charleston for most of my life - wonderful place! I did notice the changes daily on the right side of the menu but didn't know about special orders. Good to know - thanks!