Wendy The Wanderer

On 12/29/2023 at 3:47 PM, amunhbuu said:

Followup question, is it walkable or best to take a taxi?

Definitely not walkable, as Kahuna implied, although coming back, you can waltz right over to your ship.

 As a former, fairly frequent PG cruiser, I'm sorry to hear this, but not surprised. My expectations of Ponant have been low ever since the deposit debacle at the beginning of the pandemic.

Just wondering since I assume it begins this weekend.

Love Ross. Maybe he's home for Xmas.

So sorry, congrats on the aneurysm repair at least, something close to my heart (lost my mum and a dear friend to this.) Best wishes for the cancer treatment, and let's hope you get to cruise in a couple of years.

Similar experiences with ships toilets, many times. Not just Regent. Always has been rectified quickly.

Odd, our accessible cabin 829 definitely had a small closet as well as the cabinet.  Obviously no walk-in.

We got ours a few days before. No upgrade surprise, we got an accessible cabin.

If you like snorkeling, take a boat tour out to Little Bonaire. There are several to choose from. Grenada is known for its spices, so there will be a tour that takes you to a spice farm and to see some of the spectacular scenery. On Aruba we did the submarine tour. Took you down to see the reef, great especially if you're not a snorkeler or claustrophobic.

Interesting. Not our experience, so I guess that will vary.

1 hour ago, Brutieboy said:

Thank you for this information.

 

You are welcome! The info is in the spreadsheet, but you wouldn't think to look since it's a different suite, albeit an accessible one.

2 hours ago, Pcardad said:

By "un-refurbished ship" do you mean a ship in need of refurbishment? That could be any ship sailing to be honest. Regent has a date and a list of extensive changes planned for Mariner that should exceed all expectations...except possibly the timing...but there is a lot of lead time required on these things. 

 

Yes, I was just talking about the plumbing problem, not changing the refurbishment schedule--just commiserating with the world cruisers who happen to get the ship at the end of its cycle, as it were.

If was booked on this upcoming WC, I'd be freaking out, having paid the final payment months ago. Could they cancel the cruise just before it to fix the plumbing?  I know that won't happen, but I would think it might be worthwhile, considering what those poor folks have paid for an un-refurbished ship.

Sure glad I'm not on the 2024 WC.  Too bad the badly-needed refit couldn't have happened sooner, including some major plumbing fixes.

18 hours ago, Brutieboy said:

Hello Bill, we will be in Suite 919 on Mainer for the WC24.  This is an accessible suite but I cannot find anyone who has stayed in this suite as to what it is like.  Can you help me?

Hi, we were in 829, which is the same suite, in the same position, one deck down. 

We'd never been on Mariner before, so I can't much compare it to the standard suite, which of course is smaller than the other ships like Voyager or Navigator.  That being said, it felt more spacious than the standard probably would have, mainly because there's no walk-in closet I guess.

The bathroom had a walk-in (wheel-in) shower, with just a bit curtain around it, and the mods that you would expect.  The shower was messy, i.e., lots of water spashed around, but the stewards took good care of that. There was a small closet built-in and then a wardrobe as well.  Plus some drawers. There was plenty of storage, we found (for an 18-day cruise.)

There were ramps everywhere, into the bathroom, out to the balcony, for instance. Other accommodations perhaps that I've forgotten.

We were content, it worked decently for us, but then we weren't disabled at the time, so not sure how it would work if you were.  (In fact, with balance issues now, we might find those ramps to be challenging.)

Hope this helps.

On 12/3/2023 at 12:33 PM, Grandma Gilly said:

We are booked into The Biltmore, Coral Gables for our December 12th departure.

We really enjoyed the Biltmore last January, lucky you.

We enjoyed all of them, Sette Mare least of all. I think this was a post-covid  staffing/provisioning issue. Surprisingly, I liked Pacific Rim best. It all comes down to service that night, and what menu choices you make. 

On 10/28/2023 at 5:05 PM, flossie009 said:

Both shows were full of appreciative guests, enjoying one of the best theatre auditoriums at sea

It is a terrific auditorium indeed!

If you're talking about the coloured paper tags for boarding, it's not worth it.  They're only on your suitcases for a couple of hours.  I.e., you don't put them on the cases until you're about to board the ship.  

16 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

If you look at it on line it would cost $1799 per person.  If I was to decline it I'd be credited with $750 per person.  Don't ask why, just the way they do it.

Well, I'm betting that $750 is close to the actual wholesale value of the tour?  That would be my guess. These things tend to be hugely expensive (overpriced?), if you're paying for them.

You know, in the "old days", there used to be always a galley tour at least (in the really old days, the bridge too!)  But last January on Splendor there was nothing. Guess times have changed.

On 10/24/2023 at 10:46 AM, cwn said:

 Very good, but you have to be able to stand for 2* hours at the cooking station and at the chefs demonstration counter. There are no stools allow at the cooking stations. On the Splendor there were a few stools at the back of the room but you could not move them…. Had to watch the demonstrations on the overhead TV.

We were able to use the stools at the back on Splendor.  We chose cooking stations in the back row, so it was convenient.  We really enjoyed the two classes we took.

17 hours ago, melbox4 said:

On the Viking cruise, you fly into Cairo. They have a guide set up & you tour Cairo 3 days. Then they fly you to Luxor. In Luxor you get on a River Boat to cruise the Nile for 7 days. 

Oh, okay, I misunderstood--thought you meant a Regent cruise.  We've done a Nile River cruise with Uniworld.  It was wonderful.

So, as an outsider looking in at this situation, is it the case that the "free", included pre-cruise packages that are offered from time to time are of lesser quality than than paid pre- or post-cruise packages?  Or are some paying for this Vibrant Tokyo tour?  (We've never taken a pre-cruise trip, but almost did once, and it seemed to be chocked full of sights and activities.) I certainly would never pay those prices for what the OP described.

I would worry about the excursion availability for sure.  I'd also deviate for sure, and go at least a day in advance if you're no Concierge already. Lateness definitely has a downside I guess, not sure what I'd do.