journeyfan

I was on that cruise about 6 months ago and I signed up for the "Hassan II Mosque & El Jadida" tour.  That included a short visit to the Habous Quarter but I don't recall being harrassed by any vendors and the visit to the mosque was marvelous.  I try never to book any tours that involve seeing the "Highlights" of any place because those tours using involve spending a lot of time in shops.

I don't know what the existing penalties for doing that are, but I know in the past, the penalties were so high that no one ever did it.  

I remember seeing a photo of luggage held up in Heathrow a few years ago.  Regent passengers on that cruise never saw their luggage until well after that cruise ended.  After seeing that photo.... and following the blogs of those cruisers with no luggage..... I've made sure to NEVER check luggage through Heathrow!!!

I love their valet laundry but I did have one unfortunate experience with it. Some years ago I bought a pair of North Face trousers that were stitched in such a way that they looked very wrinkled.  I decided they would be perfect to wear on overnight plane flights.  Unfortunately, I sent them out for laundering when I got on the ship.  When I got them back, I discovered that Regent had attempted to iron out the wrinkles.  They were a mess!  So no more wearing them on that trip.  Fortunately after I got home, I washed them and hung them to drip dry and most of the wrinkles were restored.🙂

Well, Regent doesn't seem to be relaxing entries.  I'm booked on the Voyager Lisbon-Rome cruise departing on 14 Sep 22 and I got a letter from Regent yesterday informing me that I would need to be tested for Covid before arriving at the Lisbon terminal or be charged $99.

I've been told that Regent no longer has a contract with Delta.  In fact, about the only contract they have in the US is with American.  I was looking at a ranking of all airlines carried out by commercial pilots and American came in dead last.....just below Aeroflot!

Hope you all have a great cruise!  I was suppose to be on this cruise but was afraid of testing positive for Covid.  I just couldn't imagine having to quarantine all by myself for a week or more.  Not my idea of fun.  I'll be following you all, though, so post early and often.🙂     Marcia

I don't know what point mrlevin is trying to make but I enjoyed looking at the breakdowns.  I'm Platimum and didn't realize I was in such a select  category.  And I had 4 cruises cancelled due to Covid.  Otherwise I'd be Titanium   

I've been sending out clothes for laundering for at least 20 years.  Here's what I've learned:  1) anything cotton is fine.   2) I don't recommend sending out most synthetic clothes and I always wait till I get home to wash or dry clean dress clothes.  I did have one amusing incident with Regent laundering.  Some years ago I bought 3 pair of trousers from North Face that came pre-wrinkled.  They were also 1/2 priced as I guess most folks don't want wrinkled clothes but they are perfect for wearing on overnight plane flights. Toss and turn as much as you like and the pants still looked nicely wrinkled.  I still have 2 of the pairs.  The third pair I sent out for laundering on the ship.  They tried to iron out the wrinkles.  I had to throw them away.  Sigh!

On 12/16/2021 at 6:18 AM, forgap said:

Keep in mind that neither cruise is an expedition cruise where you actually land via zodiac and interact with animal life.  These cruises are “drivebys”  and, depending on the weather can be just fine.  The lighting and atmosphere in Antarctica is stunning.  
 

we have mostly sailed a regent but we were on O Marina once.  I did not think the food was great, the bars were dead, the booze package was a non starter as we sailed around Spain and O allowed us to bring wine on board.  They would charge a corkage fee in the dining room.  I prefer Regent.  I felt nickel and dime on O.  

That was our opinion also.  You are nickled and dimed on O.

On 11/23/2021 at 10:16 PM, Jimmcdaniel said:

We have used the proctored Abbott BinaxNow tests 3 times to return to the US without problems. We also got a rapid test from CVS to travel abroad and they used an Abbott test that looked just like the home tests. If you get a positive, you can always retest to confirm. 
 

As for Regent’s new requirements after January 17, if you are worried about finding a test, just pay the 99 bucks at let them test you. There is no delay at the pier. When we boarded the Explorer a week ago, the whole check in process, including testing, took less than an hour. 
 

Don”t sweat Covid if you are vaccinated.  Enjoy your cruise!

Regent has modified their Covid testing procedures.  To quote them; Regent "will eliminate all COVID-19 testing at the terminal beginning on Jan 17."  I'm sailing on the Explorer cruise leaving San Diego on Jan 19.  I'm flying in on Jan 17 so I can't get tested before I leave (it's outside the 3 day limit).  I was planning to go to a CVS on Jan 18 to get a quick turnaround Antigen test.  But, I just realized that Jan 18 is MLK holiday. So CVS may be closed.  I hope I can get tested on the 19th; if not, I'll miss my cruise!

27 minutes ago, Ladys Mom said:

Even if we need to wear masks and social distance when out of our suite, just being able to sit on our balcony , watching the ocean pass by, imbibing our favorite beverage, will make life all good again.  I'll take our transatlantic in March even without hardly any port stops.  Splendor, in and of itself, is a wonderful experience, based on our history on Explorer.

But what happens if a week into the cruise passengers start getting sick because some non-symptomatic person on the ship ended up spreading the virus to others?  Helicopters can't rescue you in the middle of the ocean.   I think cruising along the coast sounds safer to me.🙂

And how about the single travelers.  Are they to spend every meal eating by themselves?

It's not just the Explorer.... all the other Regent ships are waitlisted for Aug and most for Sep also.

Guess my cruise on the Voyager leaving Cape Town for South America on Jan 5 is also cancelled.  I'm not surprised.  I've been following the number of COVID-19 in South America and it's mushrooming..... went from 23,615 cases on May 26 to 40,792 cases today.

Dr. Fauci from the CDC says it will take a year to 18 months to develop a vaccine and that's being optimistic.  And even if a vaccine is developed in 12-18 months, it'll take many more months to manufacture sufficient supplies to inoculate the billions of people who will want the vaccine.

1 hour ago, behooves said:

Does anyone know the answer to this question:  If Mr. and Mrs. Geezer arrive at the pier sans their signed permission slip and are denied boarding, do they get a refund?  An FCC? or are they SOL?

Regent's position is that the Geezer's have to apply for a refund from the travel insurance that you purchased for the cruise, which of course will not refund your money unless you paid mucho extra for the "Cancel for Any Reason" option.

4 hours ago, CC Help Jenn said:

 

When you say windows 7 - what browser are you using in Windows 7?  Is it Internet Explorer - or Edge perhaps?

I'm using Firefox.

I can no longer open Roll Calls with Windows 7.  I'm now having to use Google Chrome.  How can I get it to work with Windows 7?  If it means "clearing the cache," tell me how to do that.  

On 12/16/2019 at 12:44 PM, xrvlcruiser said:

Thanks Sheila,

 

Are we correct in thinking that with Canyon Ranch the price listed INCLUDED the tip?

I have a friend on the Mariner now, I'll email her to ask.

Peggy

 

 

Yes, with Canyon Ranch the 18% was included in the bill.   BUT, the bill presented to you included a line for you to add a tip and many did, thinking the tip wasn't already included.  I always drew a line through that additional tip line and on the final TOTAL line, I repeated the price already on the bill.     

30 minutes ago, Sharle said:

I vowed not to post on this topic again as it has gotten so out of hand but I can't let this go. 25% per person is off the per person fare so it is still 25% of the total paid, not 50%.

Maybe so, but I booked my Future Cruise yesterday.  The cost before savings was $24,993 and after Regent deducted all the savings like Early Booking, Bonus Discount, Additional Savings and Future Cruise Credits, the total I have to pay for the cruise came to $3,881.

That sounds pretty good to me.

On 2/22/2020 at 7:03 AM, flossie009 said:

Thanks for the clarification. 

The FCC compensation for the cancelled Mar 27 voyage requires booking and sailing by the end of 2020 i.e. within the next 10 months.

flossie009, perhaps with all the nitpicking going on, we should stop calling it a " 25% FCC."  It's a 25% FCC per person so for most travelers, that means a 50% FCC.

10 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

My letter did not say so I emailed my guy at Regent and he confirmed book within 1 year and sail within 2.

Are you referring to the 100% refund of the cancelled cruise or the 25% Future Cruise Credit?  My letter specifically stated that the credit had to be used on a "voyage that sails in 2020."

1 hour ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Generally, when Regent says that something has to be "used this year" they mean that you must book a cruise this year - not book it and take it.  My guess would be that the rebooking must take place in 2020 and likely used by the end of 2021.  Perhaps someone could clarify for you.

 

I would ask Regent myself but it is not really any of my business as we are not affected.  The last thing that Regent needs is to have both affected passengers and those that are not affected calling them.  They are already up to their ears in phone calls.

 

 

9 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

I think you have something amiss with your figures.

Death rate from flu in the US appears to be less than 0.15% most years according to CDC

Dah!  You are right.  I don't know what I was reading.  I googled "usa flu cases this year" and that's what turned up but I've not been able to find it again.  I do remember, though, that the article I was reading claimed they got their information from the CDC.  Sorry.