Wendy The Wanderer

Just did Splendor and thought it was spectacular.

Just be aware that Lisbon is very hilly. The Bairro Alto is one of those areas.

Absolutely. We were on Splendor in January for 11 nights and barely got off the ship. I took 3 excursions, my husband none. Granted, this was the Caribbean; unlikely to do this on a more exotic, far-flung cruise itinerary.

Yep, us too, alas.

Oh, none Carol, unfortunately. I wish. We did Regent Splendor in the Caribbean this January, but we could get there with no flying. Don't think we'll be doing the PG again, sadly. You?

We thought that the cruise was at its best under Richard, really liked him.

I do so agree. Then again, when we started cruising 23 years ago, they were still playing big band music to dance to, so things have progressed. I must say that as much as I agree with everyone that Gino, the pianist on Splendor right is very, very good, we didn't go listen to him too often because his repertoire, although pleasant, was staid and dated. I much prefer Ross, who is currently on the Mariner WC I believe, despite Ross not singing at all (as I remember. ) (Our historical favourite was Hal, who was on the PG for years, who played and sag, and whose repertoire included Elton John, for example.) We enjoyed the Lemon Duo for that reason--a more eclectic repertoire, and more recent. Funny about the "older crowd". I'm 74, and have some orthopedic issues that affect getting up and down from sitting. I angsted about how to do that gracefully in Compass Rose onboard Splendor in January. I needn't have worried. Looking at the nightly 'parking lot' of walkers, wheelchairs and scooters outside the dining room meant that no one even blinked at me when I was a bit wobbly. 😉

I totally agree with you. You could also say something similar about flights and airport experiences.

I'm not sure if this is an excursion option, but if they offer a trip to Inverewe Gardens from Ullapool, and the weather is decent, and you like gardens and scenery, I would consider it. I was there decades ago and still remember it fondly. I think it's about an hour from Ullapool, and the drive would no doubt be very scenic too, as are the gardens. https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/inverewe

Just to note that the PG has again changed hands. Ponant is now the owner. And btw, we never experienced the cold attitudes you reported when RSSC ran the ship.

Not sure I understand the 'spend' approach, but I think Regent needs to do something about the erosion of benefits. Being eternally 'Gold' has little meaning these days. But overall, the internet bandwidth issue is the biggest thing that needs fixing.

I understand. No, Regent wouldn't offer anything questionable. But it might not be the most central location for a nice price. If you did want to do it on your own, you could ask around here on CC or elsewhere on the net to get recommendations. But Regent *will* take good care of you.

We've never done one of these, we just made our own plans. Transfers in Barcelona just means a short cab ride. Rome is a bit more complicated but doable. This way you get to choose your hotel.

The burning question is did Regent arrange your air? And do you have a pre-cruise hotel through Regent?

How much time do you have for the pre and post-cruise stays? We did five days in Barcelona and four days in Rome.

That's funny, Richard. The Diamond was our first non-PG cruise, in 2004, and I remember being shocked that we had to sign for a beer at lunch. Quite put out, we were! Can't remember, but I'm thinking wine was included at dinner because I don't remember signing.

As said, the scdnery is beutiful, but you need to get off the ship and out onto smaller boats, or into the interior to see wildlife and other sights.

Our boarding time was 11:30, and the first bus passengers were just pouring in when they called the "regular" cabins. So probably around 12:00 or so. Buses kept coming for a while after that. We drove, but still had to wait around for about 30 minutes. In line, I complained that one of us couldn't stand for very long, and they whisked us into the expedited disabled line.

I have to agree here. Depending on the length of cruise you want or can afford, you might also consider Azamara. They are small ships, with smaller cabins, but considered "premium". The ambience on the ships is very nice, and the service and food is good. Many of their itineraries tend to be 7 days or so. And if you did that (or HAL, as above), consider doing what Puppyluv suggests below: Spend a few days in your embarkation port and/or disembarkation port. This idea can help you choose which itinerary. We did this with Azamara, Rome-Rome, 7-days only, but we spent time in Rome and Florence before and after. We did it with a 7-day cruise years ago, Athens to Istanbul, and have spent time in Nice and Northern Portugal before and after a cruise.

Yeah, plus it was very expensive to run. And it was slow. As Rachel said, it had no real theatre. And only one alternative dining area, and that was small.

That's what I do 🙂

No photos, sorry, but we have stayed in one of these cabins. It was on deck 8, starboard, near the forward elevators. Standard suites on Mariner are a bit smaller than the other ships. In this case, there was no walk-in closet, but a small built-in closet plus an armoire-type piece with plenty of room. There were ramps, into the bathroom, and out to the balcony. The shower was just open, wheel-in I guess you call it, with a curtain around it. I don't remember, but I believe the sink and toilet were laid out for wheelchair use. I can't really say I noticed other details around the ship as to accessibility. We were just recently on Splendor, and you can see that it has more modern disability features built-in. Like push-button doors, and wider doors generally I believe. We were booked on the (cancelled) 2021 WC in one of the standard cabins. It would have been tight, but we would have been fine. I had planned a few storage helpers like thinner hangers and shoe trees, things like that.

We sailed Diamond in 2004, Black Sea, back when that included Crimea. Lovely little ship, quirky for sure. Open Bridge on the pool deck which was great. And that absolutely stunning dining room. Awful Don Vito's claptrap.

G., glad you're having a good time, sorry about the weather. Hopefully it'll be better while you're down among the islands. Good luck tomorrow!

I agree. I was on the Jan.21-Feb.1 11-day Splendor cruise too, and was surprised at the demographic. Perhaps it's just because we've aged with our fellow cruisers over the last 23 years, but CR had a little parking lot out front for scooters, walkers and wheelchairs. Don't get me wrong, it's our demographic, but a 7-day might be a bit livelier for someone younger.