PhD-iva

I have read that in many countries tips are not taxed as income, whereas salaries are taxed. This is the reasoning why cruiselines structure passenger costs to include a payment of gratuities. All inclusive lines, like Regent, do not follow this example. If tips are not taxed to the (international) employee, then it makes more sense to structure a larger component of their compensation as untaxed gratuity. An Economist would tell you that the cost to the passenger is the same. Either employee compensation is covered through the cruise fare or its covered through the cruise fare plus required gratuities.

I sailed on Mariner’s 3 November LA to Lima cruise (fabulous!), and bridge lessons were given every sea day. The schedule went something like this: 10AM beginner lesson, 11AM intermediate lesson, 1:30 - 4:00 PM Duplicate play. Sometimes it was possible to play rubber bridge in the afternoon instead of duplicate. The lessons were bad & good. Its a crap shoot whether the instructors are good or not. On Mariner, they were so-so but they were very nice and tried hard to please. That’s better than the previous year on Oceania Riviera’s November TA Rome to Miami. That instructor was AWFUL, and he just didn’t care. I wrote extensively on that end of cruise survey. The instructors on Mariner tried hard, so they got a pass from me - no bad comments. Enjoy your cruise!

Estimated 1 million annual visitors by 2027. Sigh.

Last year I did the Rome to Miami transAtlantic on Riviera. Fabulous fabulous cruise! I played a lot of bridge. Back in those days as cruising was still ramping back up, we missed several ports. So the 16 day cruise had 10 sea days. It made for a great bridge play. The bridge players met in one of the specialty restaurants and it was a very wonderful setting. In the afternoons while many players were occupied playing duplicate bridge, the rubber bridge players sat back at the stern of the ship overlooking the expansive windows. What a view! Enjoy your cruise!

Of course, but others might not be aware that deposits are refundable. Hence the specificity of my response.

Did you pay a refundable deposit? Have your TA ask what your position is in the waitlist if you pay a deposit. I will tell you that the Vista is a very popular new ship. Others will tell you that on average about 2/3 of reservations will cancel prior to the final payment date. You will have a much better idea of where you stand after the final payment date. Enjoy your cruise!

please help me to understand……. I think I struggle with these dates. Is the cruise on the Riviera eight years long? 2013 to 2021? I don’t get it - is the first digit the month and the second digit the year, or what is going on? I have lived in Europe and I understand “day month year” versus American “month day year”. I appreciate your help

So sorry, I posted the wrong link. Please use this link to read my review of a wonderful tour guide for lima and for Perú.

So sorry, I posted the wrong link. Please use this link to read my review of a wonderful tour guide for Perú.

I am just returned recently from a wonderful private tour in Southern Peru with Ernesto Riedner after I debarked on 19 November from Regent Mariner Los Angeles to lima. I highly recommend Ernesto as a wonderful tour guide. I include here the review that I posted elsewhere of my tour with him. I welcome any inquiries about my experiences. My email is in my signature line. Enjoy your cruise !

I am just back from a Regent Mariner cruise which ended in Callao on November 19. As mentioned above, the Callao port area is very unsafe. If you have a private transfer, you will be taken from the ship on a bus to a staging area outside of the port. Police will be there because it is so unsafe. You definitely should arrange your transportation in advance. Buses will park in a confined area where police will be present to protect you. Your transportation will also arrive in the same area to connect with you. Enjoy your cruise!

I posted similar queries prior to my 3 November Regent Mariner cruise LA to Lima. It all worked out in the end. I hope you enjoyed your cruise!

I am just back from my 3 November Regent Mariner cruise from Los Angeles to lima. I added a three day private tour to southern Peru with Ernesto Riedner. He can be reached at ernesto dot riedner at gmail dot com. I highly recommend him and I include here my review of my tour with Ernesto. I welcome any inquiries about my experiences.

I am recently back from Peru and enjoyed a three day private tour with a wonderful tour guide. I posted a review of my tour and I include the link here. Ernesto is a wonderful Tourguide and is very experienced with cruises to Machu Picchu and to other parts of Peru and to lima. His prices are very reasonable. It is a wonderful experience. I suggest you contact him.

While I have not been on a cruise excursion to Colonia, I have visited this town about 25 years ago. I took the Buquebus from Buenos Aires to Colonia. I walked around this lovely heritage town for a few hours and then returned back to Buenos Aires. I don’t think there is a lot there, but what is there is very lovely. At least it was 25 years ago. I’m sure your cruise excursion will be able to find many more things of interest than I did on my own.

I realize that I forgot to provide contact information for Ernesto. It is ernest dot riedner at gmail dot com. My contact information is in my signature below. Thx!

I have thought of one area where the cruise Director can have a meaningful impact on my enjoyment of a cruise. I was talking to one of the guest lecturers who was on the Regent Mariner itinerary last month. I mentioned that I was not able to attend his lectures because most of them interfered with the bridge lessons in the morning or with the afternoon duplicate play. He mentioned that his schedule was set by the cruise Director and sometimes he didn’t know until the day before when his next lecture would be scheduled. yes, it was very difficult to decide among the many activities on offer as to where to go/what to do! 🤪 Usually bridge trumped all others!

I am just back from a wonderful private tour in Peru. I was traveling on the Regent Mariner and I corresponded with the Regent guest lecture, Dr. James Kus, who gave wonderful lectures on board. He highly recommended someone he has known for many years, Ernesto Riedner. Based on Dr. Kus‘ recommendation I corresponded with Ernesto and he put together a wonderful itinerary for a three day private tour in Southern Peru. His prices were very reasonable, and I recommend him highly. He will customize a private or a group tour to focus on your interests and your needs. Below I include the thank you letter I wrote him. Thank you for your kind attentions during my recent private tour to southern Peru. You prepared an interesting itinerary that followed my interests, and you were flexible when I expressed interest in exploring anything new. All along the way you provided commentary on the history, background and culture of Peru and also a window into the current challenges of your country. You selected a wonderful resort hotel for my stay in Paracas, the DoubleTree Resort. The room was more like a furnished apartment than a hotel room. The restaurant was excellent and I appreciated the included breakfast. Together we explored Pachacamac on our way to my hotel in Paracas. The next morning we explored the Reserve Nacional de Paracas and then onto the statue that commemorates San Martin, one of Peru’s liberators. I especially enjoyed our drives from one location to another as I was able to see southern Peru from the Pan American highway, among other roads as well. We explored Ica together and went to Lake Huacachina, a sunken oasis in the desert. It is surrounded by incredibly steep sand dunes, which were quite scary, but many people could be seen climbing the dunes and riding dune buggies. I’m not sure how they didn’t tumble off the steep dunes! We went to a wine tasting in El Valle de Ica– the wine we knew would be terrible, but what a terrific Afro Caribbean dance performance at El Catador! I made some videos of the incredible energy of the dancers. We covered a lot of ground on our second day. Early the next day I went on a boat ride in Paracas Bay to view the Candelabra, similar to the Nazca lines, and had a wonderful view into the fauna and sea life of Peru. We saw dolphins, sea lions, penguins, pelicans, cormorants, and later we saw flamingos. You were flexible when I changed my mind and wanted to fly over the Nazca lines. That took several hours and then it was time to return to my hotel in Lima. Due to heavy traffic it was a slow ride to Lima, but that’s the real Peruvian experience! I’m only sorry that we didn’t get to spend more time exploring Lima together. I shall have to return to spend some time with you in Peru’s capital city. Again I want to thank you for making my 3 days in Peru a very memorable experience. It can be a little difficult to travel alone and I always felt safe when I was with you! Your friend forever, Robin

I recently flew on November 3 from Austin to Los Angeles to board Mariner. I did not deviate, but my TA was able to choose among several flight options on the day of embarkation. There was no deviation fee as I flew in the day of embarkation. I did reject the afternoon flights that Regent wanted to put me on, instead I flew in at the crack of dawn and waited about two hours before the first shuttle picked me up at the airport. I knew that in advance and I preferred that option rather than a gamble whether I would be able to make it on board the ship if anything went wrong with the afternoon flight.

Enjoy your cruise. I just debarked Mariner in lima yesterday. It was a fabulous cruise. Excellent in every way. Had so much fun, met great people, made new friends. My understanding is that passengers with transit provided by Regent are still on board the ship. I think my friends said they’re leaving the ship tomorrow to go to a lima hotel. They will then fly out on their regularly scheduled flights. instead of doing the Machu Picchu Land tour through Regent, I had scheduled a private tour to Paracas in Southern Peru. Enjoy your cruise!

I have been disappointed with several of the wines that were offered me (and I am no connoisseur) but I did discover a red and a white that I enjoy. Every time I sit down at a meal, I request the specific wine that I like. They are always happy to accommodate me.

I wonder if a better strategy would be to give two names for each cabin when first booking the cabins. Then, in future as you find out who will actually come along could you drop one passenger and add a different passenger without changing the price?

Having SO MUCH FUN! Boogie and Kashia are BIG highlights. Entertainment available into the late evening. Good crowd in Stars lounge to dance after evening performance show in theater ends. Last night 2 female officers danced with us, before that Renee, destinations manager and super fun, danced w us on an earlier night. Lots of lectures available, I am really enjoying Dr. James Kus’ destination lectures. I haven’t heard any service or food complaints. Everyone seems super satisfied. Several (2 or 3?) covid cases that I know of, and our Solo travelers Social director Cherisse has laryngitis (not covid). She’s been absent several nights from the Solo group but always sends someone to take good care of us. I probably won’t book my next cruise on board because prices seem very elevated. Oh well

Not sure, I think the Captain said they weren’t ready. …. But not sure

Also, today the captain announced that Nicaragua is giving us a pass. So we will not be stopping in Nicaragua instead we will have an additional sea day. I know others are disappointed, but I really enjoy the sea days!