AWED23

RachelG and tallship are correct. The water is probably not contaminated... just a bit brown. Drink bottled water and you'll be fine. This is not something that a general manager can fix (or anyone else on board). There are reasons that this happens that was explained to us years ago ..... but still, it is upsetting.

 

Try to enjoy everything else on the ship.:o

This post is unreasonable, ill thought out and should never have been made. PingPong told the whole story very succinctly and correctly. To say no person aboard can fix the problem is a statement of opinion. Why do you think there is an engineering division aboard? Perhaps you are an engineer with experience in these matters.?:confused:

Looking at a 2015 Mariner cruise for late April. Will that be too early to enjoy warm, not hot, weather?

 

Should be great weather....Spring...

Easy, Trafalgar Square/ Leicester Square where three underground stops are only a block or so away and Chinatown, Soho and museums are at your your doorstep.

 

Theatre district is also close.

We will be in Amsterdam for one full day. Do you need a guided tour or can we do it on our own? Has anyone used a tour company other than the cruise line that they would recommend?

Thanks for your help.

 

Amsterdam is really tourist friendly. When will you there? What are your interests?. 2 of the greatest art museums of the world are in Amsterdam and within a block and a half of each other. The VanGogh museum and the Rijksmuseum. If you are there between March 15 and May 20 the Keukenhof gardens will be open. Then there is the famous Red Light district, Ann Frank House, the canals themselves for strolling, Dam Square, diamond cutting tours and on and on. Some edibles to be sure and try : Bitteballen, Frites(French fries), puffetgens(small dutch pan cakes) served with butter and various toppings, fresh herring, fresh asparagras etc....You can use a guide but a little research and you can do it yourself quite easily. Try Rick Steeves Guide book. The time of year is important as to what you might want to do. Where you will stay is also a factor...A full day with a driver-guide can really cover a lot of the surrounding area. There are many small cities to see also, Gouda, the Hague, Hoorn, and most especially Delft. Good touring!

The only problem We ever have with a group is if they close the O lounge to the rest of the pax at cocktail time. Then we do get upset with management for not warning us in advance and also for closing the observation lounge at cocktail time in the first place.:mad:

Any one know how far the port is to the city center?

 

When you get through the terminal turn right and walk 1/4 of a mile and you will be at the Central station. The cruise ship terminal is in the city. Super convenient and a 20 euro cab ride (I think) to the airport.(Schipol). How good can it get!...:)

Itinerary is #1 consideration so if you've found one you like then go for it.

 

Ditto & +1

Thank you for describing the situation better than I did:-)

 

Same thing holds true in Alaska.

AWED32. I agreed with your posting and it made me smile.

Smiles are good. Have you ever dealt with a really salty, grumpy but great Master Chief? ....R.

:cool:

There is no way anyone who doesn't work for Regent to state as a fact that the airlines and not Regent are causing the "skyrocketing" prices that Regent charges for the included air as well as deviations and upgrades.

 

It can only be the posters opinion unless they have access to the Regent pricing strategies. It would not be logical for Regent to not tag onto the bettering economy and increase their margins for air as well as cruise fares. When prices are increasing, everyone jumps on the band wagon to grab a share of the increases to help the bottom line and Regent is no exception especially when Regent's air pricing is something that the average person has no viability into. This is especially true as the credits for not taking Regent Air are going down which shows another place where Regent is increasing their margins.

 

The only thing we as customers can do is compare the best fare we can get on our own directly thru the airlines with what we pay Regent and take the lowest resultant cost to us.

 

Dave, right on as usual.:D

Awed32: :-)

:confused:?????

The vibration aboard Navigator is much discussed and really very subjective. For us it is not a problem. The only time that we really notice it is during maneuvering for docking or undocking and even then it varies with the Captain. Some are a bit heavy on the throttle and some are a lot more gentle. The 30+ year veteran Master Chief that attempted to teach me seamanship and ship handling had a rule book. Rule #1, Slow and gentle wins the day. Rule #2, go back and reread rule #1 until you grasp it and love it..... We sail all of the Regent ships and they are each unique and ever changing as the passengers change and also the crew.

AWED - Astute observation! Yup, I'm still in my mid-60's so I'm the "fuzzy face". Best Regards to you and Bill :D

I hope to cruise with both of you in the future. Of course you both are aware that in the REAL Navy, the TIN CAN Navy, we did not have icecream machines and guaranteed hot showers ?....Anchors aweigh my men....Rob

Well Baggiewrinkle, as was said in "Casablanca", they will always have McDonalds....or was it Wendys'?, maybe Dairy Queen....At 81 it kind of all runs together but thankfully along the way I found patience and tolerance for others unless, of course, they are competitive complainers/whiners....Then it is all bets are off!:cool::D

Interesting AWED, We were on the same cruise last year and absolutely agree with you. In addition several occurrences were beyond Regent's control and I thought the compensation was absolutely appropriate. Incredibly we had a drink with a cruiser who was upset because the whole fare was not refunded in cash. Give me a break!

....Yes Old,Venerated and Ancient One, I also heard two couples up in the O lounge b......g about the meager ammount they received. Kidding aside, it sometimes bewilders me how some people are ever able to enjoy life with all the complaints they seem to constantly have. I just wish they had been with me in July of 1952 way up in the North Atlantic aboard DD694, USS INGRAHAM, 5 days of 75+ knot winds and 25 ft. seas with both evaporators broken down....Now that was not a "Luxury" cruise. We had the NEW JERSEY with us as the Flag and they seemed to just skate through. Oh well, back to my sofa, nap time here in the NW.....Got a hunch that Ping Pong is the fuzzy beard amongst the three of us...:cool:

We traveled on Regent ships twice this year. On the Voyager in March for Asia cruise and Mariner in Sept for Greece, Israel, and Turkey. Both cruises were awesome! The service was great, the food delicious, and all-in-all we had a great time. We love cruising with Regent and have never experienced a bad cruise. We have cruised in all three ships and have no complaints. Don't be influenced by bad reviews. Some people are never satisfied and find reason to complaint with everything.

:cool: Amen to that and a big ditto....+1

That almost sounds like a reference to particular people who have been far away on a Regent cruise. Not being very smart, I have no idea to whom you are referring. (probably)

Please do not give out her "Handle" or alert her to this board. This board is so layed back compared to the Regent board, you've gotta love it....:D We cruise both Regent&Oceania and enjoy both of them for their unique excellence. Have cruised both Crystal ships in their so called luxurious Penthouse suites with Veranda and would not trade for either Regent or Oceania, regardless of accommodations...Just sayin...

You said it right, Terry... it's amazing (but not unexpected) how perfect everything is. Angela still has back issues, but we are carefully pacing the activities and she has been fine. Like on Easter island... I did the climbing while she watched from a bench, etc.

 

Catherine....glad to share what we can as we go. :p

 

Today, we have cloudy weather with short bursts of showers. The sea is choppy, but not angry.

 

I did not mention before, but the CD is Leslie Jon.

 

We had a room service breakfast and attended the Officer's Q & A in the lounge. Captain Leo, HD Dominique and the Chief Engineer fielded questions about the ship, crew and operations....very informative.

 

Angela is doing wash this afternoon...and I am doing some office work, taking advantage of a very robust internet today.

 

Tonite, we have dinner in Toscana.

 

More later, I am sure.

:D With Dominique as your General Manager, your cruise was a guaranteed success! His enthusiasm and competence are beyond great. Enjoy the balance of your cruise.:)

Our first Oceania cruise will be on the Riviera, which is still about 500 people more than the Mariner or Voyager, and is probably also as large as we'd ever like to go!

 

Thanks - I'm sure we'll have a great time, as this is our first TA and a first time with our own butler! :)~Benita

 

;) ;) You picked a great ship for your first TA and Oceania cruise. We have it booked for the same TA but in 2015.....Don't mess up the ship!....You will seldom notice the extra passengers.

We sailed on Voyager last January-February for 35 days from Sydney to Hong Kong. It was well run and an excellent staff took care of everything in a first class manner. I do not have any idea why the 1 or 2 bad reviews were made regarding the same cruise that others reported as being excellent. I would really pay them no mind as I believe they also mentioned bad weather which as yet I do not think Regent has any control over.:D

We've sailed on each of the Regent ships and have not had any major complaints in the past. We are, however, booked on an Oceania TA in April, and are anxious to make comparisons between the two lines, the service, food, amenities, excursions etc.

 

It does appear that some former Regent regulars have switched over to Oceania for various reasons (see other threads), but we'd like to see for ourselves, although we do think Regent is fabulous in all ways.

 

We are primarily Regent cruisers (Platinum) but we cruise once a year on Oceania. We find the two lines like sisters but not twins. The smaller Oceania ships are much different than the two newer, larger ships, but each size has its' own fans. Enjoy your cruise.

We travel an average of 100 days a year and thanks to the internet all of our finances are able to be carried out safely on line.There are many good tips given on this thread and I would like to add another one,a money maker. I carry a high limit AMEX cash back card. It has no annual fee and it redeems between 1.5 % and 5% cash back on my expendatures. I set up my recurring expenses for auto pay on this card not my bank. I put all of my cruising, air and hotels, through this card. Drug stores, grocery stores, gas stations yield a 5% rebate. All others are rebated at a 1.5% level. Like Keith and others, I monitor all credit cards, bank accounts and Financial services daily even if We are at home...It has worked wonderfully for us. We also have a cash back Master card for those places that do not accept AMEX.(There are many who do not) Amex does not charge a foreign exchange fee either. Those two cards for charging along with a bank debit card for ATM use are all we need to go anywhere...:cool:

I am an avid facebook poster - mostly for business. But when I travel - I don't want to have my customers knowing that I am gone. And when I am spending $$$$$ on a cruise - same thing. I want to enjoy the time onboard.

 

It doesn't mean I won't peek every few days.

 

As I have been around CC for over 10 years, I have watched the nature of the Radisson/Regent board change a great deal. I don't post a whole lot any more. I am not fond of change - most of us like the familiar. This isn't the same old friendly place it once was.

:) I understand your post completely and yes, this particular board can be very contentious. As to the why, I leave that judgement to others as I have my own opinion and it shall remain mine. I tend to post in spurts on this board due to the fact so many posts are fact vs. fiction vs. opinion...I also monitor and post on the OCEANIA board. It is surprising as to how different the Oceania board is compared to the Regent board. Different hosts probably makes a good bit of the difference along with the lack of a few posters from this board. I am platinum with Regent but we also do at least one Oceania cruise per year. Both lines are similar and yet quite different in the passenger demgraphic, just as their boards are very different. Ironic IMHO.....:D

Just my opinion. Maybe because there are many of us that have posted that we prefer the other ships. Our next Caribbean cruise will be on Oceania's Riviera. I'm voting with my money.

 

The only point I was trying to make is that newbies do not have other Regent ships to compare it to. They just see the large suites, fabulous service, etc. I try to make my posts as honest as possible. As much as I love(d)? The Voyager, I still point out the aft vibration. On the Mariner, the suites are smaller nothing is perfect and little escapes my notice.

:confused: As usual I am confused. You have stated many times that you are very much opposed to ships that promote a class system and yet you are booked on Riviera that has not one but two, exclusive (Entry by key card only) lounges. ??? Just curious as I am sure you will enjoy the Riviera.:)

Are you saying that more motion is ok for the "new" ones, but not for someone like you? There has been no concern mentioned about safety, just can't comprehend your belittling, IMHO, towards new cruisers on the Regent ships. :(

 

Ditto....+1