flossie009

Thank you, Diana and "Uncle Andrew"

There are a number of design issues with the Pool Deck on Explorer and Splendor. For example the position of the showers, the sun loungers facing each other and those butting up to the shower/jacuzzi area. However, packing more loungers onto the deck would not be a good idea and trying to provide more shaded loungers would be very difficult.

Unfortunately I don't think this is a practical or workable solution. It would not stop the "entitled" and would create an impossible administrative and enforcement burden on the crew. It also removes the spontaneity of what guests may wish to do during the day; plus imagine the burden on the laundry of changing bed covers/towels every two hours. I support the simple solution of frequent advertising of the no reservation policy in Passages followed by enforcement of the policy by removing items from loungers that have remained unoccupied for an unreasonable length of time.

Try QURED https://coviduk.qured.com/shop/products (Code BATRAVEL20 may still be valid for a discount on their Fit to Fly tests) Not sure how long they will continue to offer the service as I am sure demand has dropped significantly

You may hear the lifeboat winches when they are being deployed, but since you only have one tender port it should not be a major issue. Being near the stairs/elevators will be convenient; you are unlikely to suffer noise. Unfortunately the rear stairs/elevators on Splendor (and Explorer) do not service deck 4 (or 12), so you will have to go to the forward stairs/elevators to access Compass Rose.

If you book onboard you will receive a modest on-board booking discount and some OBC. You will also benefit from having to pay a smaller deposit and will be given the opportunity to transfer your cruise & deposit to a different voyage one time prior to final payment date without penalty. The booking also comes with a "price guarantee" as others have mentioned. You do not have to wait until you are on board to take advantage of the on-board booking benefits. You can book up to 30 days before your cruise in August and have the benefits applied. Unfortunately one of the best previous benefits enjoyed by UK guests has been withdrawn. Prior to December 2021 UK guests booking on-board received the same cancellation terms as US guests i.e. deposit was refundable before final payment, subject to a £50pp admin fee. Now the deposit is non-refundable in line with the usual draconian UK Ts&Cs @janecambridge, August is the month that Regent usually releases its new itineraries, so it will certainly be worth booking a session with the on-board Cruise Consultant to discuss possibilities, booking discounts or, as @Techno123 says, making an investment in a Future Cruise Deposit. (This gives the on-board booking benefits but does not lock in the cruise prices, which can go up or down in the future) Pre-covid the "price guarantee" received for an on-board booking covered both price reductions and 'benefits' added after booking. Certainly worth requesting any "extras" that are added later to a cruise booked on board; it costs nothing to ask 😉

We have just caught up with the first episode of the C5 documentary .............. Oh dear!! ............ if someone thought this was a good way to market Regent in the UK then IMO they were sadly mistaken. The Christmas episode (available on YouTube) did seem a little better. It was the inference that Regent guests go around the ship intent on stealing jigsaw pieces that had us gasping!

Regent(UK) first changed to nothing in the mail pre-cruise; then after some unfortunate guest experiences they went to the half-way house of luggage labels only in the mail pre-cruise. The Regent(UK) MD told us last year that these changes had nothing to do with cost cutting 🙄 We also used to look forward to receiving the document pack in the mail pre-cruise ............. but sadly no more ☹️ Guests booking PH & above in the UK usually have Business Class flights only for cruises starting or ending in Europe. ...... and their cruise fares reflect the costs of those flights. In the UK you can request an extra-over cost for Business Class flights. Regent prices are often very competitive compared to what you could obtain booking flights independently.

Yes Stugeron (Cinnarizine) is our go-to if rough seas are forecast. As with all motion sickness medications it is best taken in advance; no good waiting until you are feeling queasy. It is available over the counter in the UK and many other countries but is not available in North America.

Two possible reasons: 1. They wanted to finalise the film for showing early in 2023, and needed time to edit & add the voiceover 2. The film crew wanted to be home for Christmas They did the same with the 2021 version (with John Baron). That was filmed on the two cruises preceding the Christmas cruise.

See post #8 above for a preview of the Christmas episode

Sounds like a good plan. Since you are doing a Regent pre-cruise you may find that Regent will provide the transfer from C/T airport, even though you are arranging your own flights. Certainly worth getting a price from Regent for the return flight from Rio. This does not have to be on the day the ship docks so you could still plan to stay a few days after the cruise.

You could try a vacuum storage bag: https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Vacuum-Compression-Storage-Bags/dp/B07RSCPH4N?th=1

@ToxM, Regent's base pricing for UK guests only includes for economy flights (except for PH & above on cruises starting or ending in Europe) You have two choices for business class flights: 1. Ask Regent for an extra-over price for business class flights. Often their pricing is very competitive especially when the cruise begins & ends in different parts of the world i.e. requiring so called "open-jaw" flights 2. Take the air credit from Regent and make your own arrangements. You can do this for either the outbound or inbound or both. Things to remember if going the cruise only route: - as well as air you will also have to arrange your own transfers - if Regent make any changes to the cruise itinerary, or the cruise is late arriving at the disembarkation port, they are not liable for any alterations you have to make to your flights or transfers - the Regent booking is no longer a "package" under the relevant UK consumer protection law Hope this helps. We often take the air credit from Regent if we are able to book business class flights using airmiles/Avios (Avios bookings are economic for open-jaw flights and are refundable if things change)

We also changed suites on board in December. All very straightforward. Have a chat with your steward and the Executive Concierge. If you are going ashore early in Sydney, check any special arrangements for getting back on board if the key card for your new suite has not yet been issued before you leave the ship.

Yes, it is a significant change of policy. Our latest pre-cruise email, for a cruise embarking in February includes the following: “We strongly urge all guests to travel with comprehensive travel insurance with specific COVID-19 coverage, as well as to travel with a latest generation smart phone or tablet with international calling and data turned on in the event that regulations change while you are traveling. While our ships are staffed with professional medical teams and common prescription medications, anti-viralsand therapeutics, our ships do not accept medical insurance and guests must provide payment for all services”

Yes, the previous clauses on the SailSafe webpage that offered Regent financial support, in the event of insurance not covering, have been removed. Guests who have to cancel or quarantine are now simply advised to make a claim on their travel insurance. Thanks for pointing this out

Unfortunately the outcome and impact on Explorer's itinerary is the same, whoever dropped the ball. It is good that Regent appears to have been reasonably generous in the financial compensation offered but still a disappointment for those on the affected cruises.

I would think that the divers carrying out the hull cleaning would charge hourly or daily rates, with no guarantee of the ship passing subsequent inspections. It would be impossible for a contractor to price for the work to achieve NZ compliance without having previously carried out a full underwater survey of the ship's hull, being able to specify time as well as price and making risk allowances for weather & sea conditions at the time the cleaning was to be done. The companies doing the underwater cleaning work for Regent probably did the best they could given the time constraints & sea conditions. It appears that Regent grossly underestimated the work required to clean Explorer's hull to a standard acceptable to the NZ inspectors.

Look out for ceiniogs in your change in Wales 🤣 …… or barter them for laverbread & cockles 😋

Explorer & Splendor: P7 and/or Chartreuse open for lunch; Compass Rose closed Navigator, Voyager & Mariner: Compass Rose open for lunch; specialities closed La Veranda and Pool Grill also open for lunch on all ships

Good video of Franck :

£GBPound and €Euro

Suite reviews from recent cruise on Splendor (changed suites between segments): Splendor suite reviews_Jan 2023.xlsx

Lunch menus (fixed/regular items) in P7 & Chartreuse differ from each other and are totally different from the evening offerings. From memory the lunchtime daily specials are the same in P7, Chartreuse & La Veranda