ededmd

Regarding: It is still code red but arrangements are in place for those who need to have some laundry done.

Please elaborate.

Thank you for sharing your observations.

Former Senator Barbara Boxer retired in 2017 after choosing not to seek re-election in 2016.

It worked. Cute cat.

That being said you may want to take down that post. I see an address on the box.

I do wonder where Regent customers get the idea that they are promised a luxury experience on airplanes, hotels and on excursions. If Regent owned and operated these places/airlines, I would understand but they don't. Even their advertising (which touts the wonders of Regent) does not suggest that you will get a six star hotel and a six star accommodation. We also have the option of taking the $300 (average) credit for a hotel and applying it to the hotel of our choice.

 

Not defending Regent but trying to put things into perspective.

Regent customers likely get that idea from Regent when it advertises:

IT'S ALL INCLUDED The Most Inclusive Luxury Experience™

And then goes on to list:

OUR 2-FOR-1 ALL-INCLUSIVE FARES INCLUDE

FREE ROUNDTRIP BUSINESS CLASS AIR*ON INTERCONTINENTAL FLIGHTS

FREE ROUNDTRIP AIR

FREE UNLIMITED SHORE EXCURSIONS

FREE 1-NIGHT PRE-CRUISE HOTEL PACKAGE

All those items are wrapped up by Regent as part of its "inclusive luxury" value proposition.

Why wouldn't a customer believe that the whole product for which they are paying to be a similarly high standard experience as the Regent cruise itself?

Oh that's right because those other items are "free".

It is all some very crafty marketing & advertising.

So exciting. Thanks for sharing.

I think the US Great Lakes itineraries look interesting.

Would be curious to see that area of my country through the eyes of Hapag-Lloyd.

Travelcat2 I agree with you 100%. I wish there was some kind of venue where all the big time posters on CC could meet in person to have a discussion about the cruise industry. I feel more at ease in person than posting on CC. Just a thought.

Perhaps all the "big time posters" who heavily promote and apparently highly value their own opinions could go away en masse.

I am still attempting to discern if certain posters are truly sincere or pulling off a long con to whatever end.

In the meanwhile those of us not invited to the important opinion party will I suppose have to amuse ourselves reading and posting on occasion.

I will be back a last time on her after dry dock end of September for 5 days and i will inform you about the changes , and make overs.

 

By the way it was great as usual .

Wonderful to hear of your enjoyment.

Yes please detail the changes.

I am particularly interested in how the change to be able to split the bed works out.

Aren't the bedside tables attached / fixed in place?

From where will they find the "space" to separate the bed into 2 singles?

You are seriously questioning whether Crystal is defined as a luxury cruise line? ...

We should put you in a room with Crystals CEO - it would be an interesting discussion

Edie v TC2

It would be like the CruiseCritic equivalent of PPV.

Perhaps a new revenue stream?

I don't think that any of the Regent ships carry ESPN.

I didn't realise that ESPN covers English premiership soccer.

It doesn't.

NBC Sports Group has exclusive EPL rights here in America through until the end of the 2021/22 season

Once again, having the Luxury Cruse Board as the posting board for H-L is confusing. From reading threads for months, I got the impression that the only luxury ships that H-L has is Europa 1 and 2. Perhaps there should be a sticky indicating which H-P are luxury and which are not.

#1. There is no ship named Europa 1.

The ships are named Europa and Europa 2.

#2. Perhaps there is no need for a "sticky" to satisf a personal need for those who have plainly expressed they have no interest in sailing the line.

#3. To answer a prior (dubiously innocent) question - there is no need for Hapag Lloyd to be discussed anywhere but the Luxury Board unless and until a separate specific Hapag Lloyd board exists.

It is not an "other cruise line" any more than Regent is.

#3a. Because it doesn't fit a provincial American definition of a "luxury cruise line" doesn't negate the fact it is a luxury cruise line.

Shipboard currency is USD.

You aren't paying with USD as you go however. The ship is a "cashless" place where everything is consolidated and charged to your shipboard account.

Yes, you need to have Euros ashore unless you plan on only using credit cards and not all shops and restaurants accept credit cards.

Presuming you won't need Euros before your first port, typically there will be an ATM or 3 in any tourist frequented area. Often the easiest way to manage.

The airport currency exchange stands are pretty much never the best way to change money.

Busy Monday back to work.

Will try to get a recap up soon.

In short, fantastic cruise.

Looking forward to the fall release for summer 2019 to pursue the next booking.

poss,

I wanted to share I thought Sydney was a fine port.

We visited the Fortress of Louisbourg - a rebuilt living history museum as our excursion. I love old building construction and there was a whole settlement with fortresses and jails and homes and barracks. Educational with a tour and interesting to consider yourself living in circumstances of a bygone time.

We wandered around a bit after the tour once back in Sydney proper and happened upon a church Fall Festival with handicrafts and baked goods.

Cape Breton was charming.

We were supposed to visit St. John but did not due to sea conditions that day making it untenable.

I would do a Canada /NE cruise again for sure and think either would be a fine choice.

For similar cost I'd go for the longer cruise - especially if I were already retired.

I don't know what my personal 'at sea' limit is but I've not reached it yet. Return to work duties are my rate limiting step for now.

Best wishes and happy leaf peeping.

Thank you all for the guidance.

The info about reservations for the outdoor Yacht Club tables at dinner is most useful and if I read that before I forgot.

I was not looking for a reservation at Weltmeere as I don't believe they're available but just included that for completeness.

When floridiana talks about the managers taking reservations during lunch I am a bit confused.

Perhaps there was a morning boarding time on your cruise?

Embarkation in Monte Carlo is between 17.00 -18.00 hours.

The included transportation from the welcome point hotel leaves at 17.15.

If I understand vistaman correctly we should seek our own transfer to the port to "beat the crowd"?

vistaman - you talked of boarding at 4p. Is boarding actually possible before the embarkation hours published in the printed Travel Plan?

Or in my case should I just be there checking in at 17.00 / 5p?

And yes I recall the Owners Suites x 2 had perpetual all day long reserved signs on the two round tables just outside in the Yacht Club.

Hello all,10 July is coming soon for boarding EUX1717.

Even having cruised the Europa 2 before I am still not clear exactly how to secure dining reservations once on board. I cannot seem to locate this information in written form. As such I turn to my fellow cruisers.

When do I do this?

(If it matters I'll share, we'll be taking the ship transportation from the Novotel Monte Carlo Welcome Point.)

Where?

With whom?

On our last cruise we were a larger party (8) and the International Hostess made the arrangements in the first 2 hours after group embarkation.

Even so there were some challenges with securing reservations.

No dinner availability in Restaurant Tarragon at all and inability to seat us together in Restaurant Serenissima.

Be assured that acceptable solutions were proposed.

We were accommodated at Restaurant Tarragon in the Grande Reserve room for a private lunch.

We were seated at two adjacent 4 top rounders which allowed some sense of proximity - though two 4 top squares pushed together would have been more ideal of course.

This time around we are a party of four and I expect fewer self imposed constraints will make thing easier.

Still I'd feel better if you all would "walk me through it" as I intend to coordinate this myself this time.

Not likely desiring to repeat at Sakura.

We thought it was "fine" but preferred the other venues.

Am interested most in experiencing Tarragon and Serenissima for dinner at least once each.

We did Elements a few times for lunch and found that a good option. Don't necessarily need dinner there.

Would like to eat dinner a few times in Restaurant Weltmeere.

Enjoyed many meals lunch and dinner at Yacht Club and my late rising son and I enjoyed our late breakfasts in Sansibar.

Thanks!

n.b. for others unaccustomed to the line, there are no advance reservations before boarding.

None that I know of. If you aren't monitoring your wash, expect that others will move it out. They won't/shouldn't sit around watching an idle machine because you weren't paying attention. As previously noted, the rooms can be crazy busy (especially on sea days), so being considerate by monitoring your laundry should be the expectation.

 

Fortunately, on Explorer at least, there are more laundry rooks per capita than on the other ships so this (as an earlier poster noted) shouldn't be a problem. The Explorer laundry rooms also have much more space with a defined waiting area complete with comfortable chairs and a TV. I would imagine they'll carry this over to Explorer II.

Agree.

Some people get twitchy at the idea of someone else touching their clothing.

The solution to that is personal responsibility - be back before the cycle ends to 'control your own narrative'.

I must say that having cruised mainstream on Disney in the past, in regard to self serve laundry the RSSC clientele (and even the RSCC CC board) is positively delightful and courteous.

It is a cut throat topic on any DSC message board and there are not infrequent reports of altercations on the ships over laundry issues (usually verbal).

And as far as dedicating a bit more space for waiting that is nice. The Navigator laundry rooms were hot and small. Not a great place to wait for more than a couple minutes (even with a beverage) for my tolerance. So I just did as a PP and set an alarm for myself to return before the cycle completed.

Vistaman - we're disembarking in Lisbon. Sorry we'll miss each other. Thank you for the additional info.

Floridiana - please report on your Mein Schiff voyage. Curious to hear about it. Perhaps on this board?

Thanks to English Voyager for the press release. I might try the vegetarian. Vegan may be a bridge too far for me given all the other known deliciousness.

Thanks for the update Vistaman!

Sounds as if you had a good time.

We're boarding in about 3 weeks and glad to hear all is well and up to usual wonderful standards.

Can't wait to see all the new things you describe for ourselves.

We did the gin tasting last time and found it quite enjoyable. I surmise you would similarly recommend the Champagne tasting.

Did you hear anything interesting regarding the biennial refresh? I recall they were talking about making the bed be able to "split" to 2 twins. Anything else?

Regarding the question of Reformers - my recollection is no Reformers and mat only Pilates classes. I've not been on Mariner so I cannot confirm or deny specifically.

I'll amen Wes, Marc. We are getting good email reports daily. But it's great to read fresh new perspectives on the board. Pat

Definitely!

Nice to hear from some long time cruisers and hear about the "lowly" (as if that applies on RSSC) suites first hand.

This program has 5 tiers.

Players in the top 3 can earn cruise fare discounts on Oceania and Regent.

Stateroom Discount:3

Oceania Cruise & Regent Seven Seas

3Discount amount varies. Only applicable up to stateroom Category A (OCI) and suite Category A (RSSC).

Both Gilly and flossie009 reference the use of lemon in G&T.

Is this a UK thing?

I typically see a 'regular' G&T made with lime - at least in the US.

(But yes enjoy my Hendricks and cucumber too).

What I've read of Silversea, they are not too keen on kids. We'll probably try Crystal.

I'd agree from reading the various line boards here.

Silversea does not seem child friendly to me - not least of all because of the dress code and a clientele who expects it to be enforced regardless of age.

No opinion on Seabourn and children.

Crystal seems like a decent choice during school holidays and summer when there is programming but yes a larger ship with smaller cabins overall.

I think if you haven't considered Regent you should look at them. They have child pricing on summer cruises.

Most of the Europe itineraries are $1299-$1499 per child. The suite sizes are such that having a 3rd person/ child will not cramp your space inordinately.

The dress code is simple and child friendly. Long pants and a short sleeve polo is perfectly acceptable attire within the dress code for dinner for both adults and children.

The per person for adults seems high but the all inclusive air and other features can be subtracted out and credited if one wishes to 'do your own'. The included excursions can be quite cost effective.

We did Regent in Alaska with our then 5 and 7 year old boys. They loved it.

Welcome to Cruise Critic. While you may get some input here, since you mention you are a huge user of your TA we hope you will contact him/her to get all the answers to your travel questions.

TA in the original poster's paragraph refers to TripAdvisor. Cruise Critic was acquired in 2007 by Trip Advisor.

that "nudity" is more something ranging from Germany , East Europe and Russia

 

-also very heavy people wearing extremely small bathsuits.

So being part of Benelux you don't wish to be lumped in with the comfortably nude crowd. Duly noted ;)

I do admire the self confidence of the involved parties!