Smbruner
-
Posts
618 -
Joined
Content Type
Forums
Store
Blogs
Downloads
Events
Gallery
Posts posted by Smbruner
-
-
We are also onboard. Big difference so far (besides having to wear a mask everywhere inside - except eating & drinking). Champagne welcome was “pick up your glass at the coffee corner”. Seating in the theater is quite spaced out as are dining tables.
There’s not many passengers on board, I’ve heard we’re about half full. Culinary Arts center is reduced in size and you’re spaced out. Again, masked required when you are up close to the chef.
I’ve heard that trivia is just you and whoever you are traveling with. This might change.
I highly doubt we’ll have the traditional block party but you never know.
Room steward will not clean when you are in the room and if they come to the door a mask is required.
Entertainment last night in the theater was the best we’ve ever seen on Regent!
EVERYONE seems happy to be back to cruising!
-
2
-
1
-
-
I was very worried when flying into Tokyo in 2019 for our Regent Cruise. I usually bring my prescription drugs in small zip lock bags one for each day we're there.
There was absolutely NO issues at customs. We just walked right through.
-
On 4/1/2017 at 1:31 PM, UUNetBill said:
To submit your rating and comments, please use the following template and paste the information in a reply - I'll paste the information into the master listings as time allows. Remember, the more folks contribute, the more useful this will be!
PLEASE BE SURE AND SPECIFY WHICH SHIP YOU WERE ON! I could probably figure it out but it's a LOT easier to know up front!
Bill, here is my review of our Splendor suite
-
7 minutes ago, Diane Rose said:
This is what I’m hoping for. We leave October 7th from Budapest on the Jewels of Europe. Looking forward to some beautiful colors.
BTW, thank you for the river level updates. So helpful.
Diane
What ship are you on?
We're on the Opal and leave Amsterdam on October 9 so we'll probably pass each other along the way. We arrive in Budapest on October 23. Fingers crossed for good water levels along the way!
-
1 hour ago, jeb_bud said:
Do you mean October 9 to 23? If so we’ll see you there.
I use pegelonline.wsv.de to keep track of river levels. I’m hopeful that as the summer plays out cruisers will post about what is going on as they cruise.
Yes, that's the cruise - Amsterdam to Budapest (we are actually on the Rhine though beginning October 10 so that's why have that date listed.
Are you on the Scenic Opal as well? This is our first ever European River Cruise so we're very excited about it. Just worried about the water levels as I read it was an issue last year.
-
We will be on the Rhine October 10 - 23, 2019 (Scenic Cruise) is there a website that I can follow to see what the river news might be?
-
Expolorer - 9/15/18 to 9/27/18 - London to Barcelona
PHB suite #818
562 sq ft
Forward
Port side
1 bathroom - shower only (very large shower) - 2 sinks.
room was lovely and balcony huge.
Only drawback was the noise when stewards or butlers were accessing the service elevator (which was right across the hall from our door). Slamming of that door at service times (especially at sea) were a bit annoying.
I'd still stay in this suite again (if not given another choice that is).
Mariner - 4/15/19 - 4/26/19 - Japan cruise
PHB suite # 1009
449 sq ft
Forward
Starboard
1 bathroom - combination tub/shower (very hard to get in and out of the tub to use the shower)
Room was nice, but didn't like the bathroom configuration (very small - only one sink and had a mirror on the bathtub wall)
Quiet room and not far from the elevators, but it was sectioned off so no noise levels at all from the elevator or hall.
Would NOT stay in a PH on the Mariner that had a shower/tub combination - no grab rails to help get in and out.
Would not recommend this bathroom on this ship.
-
1
-
-
I've loved your reports, I only wish I could've read these before selecting our excursions!
-
1
-
-
Thank you Mr. Rumor for all of your posts. We board the Mariner on Monday and packing now. Can't wait!
-
1
-
-
18 minutes ago, Mr Rumor said:
Good morning from the island of Jeju! Jeju was not on our original itinerary but we’re glad it was added in the 2018 itinerary shuffle. It is not every day we get to visit a place described as “Island of the Gods”!
Hello Mr. Rumor - My husband and I board the Mariner in Tokyo on April 15 for our 12 night cruise around Japan. Tokyo to Tokyo. I'm curious about the evening's entertainment while you are sailing in Japan's waters. I'm hoping we'll be able to see some authentic Japanese dress and entertainment while on board.
Please do post what you get to see and if you enjoyed it. We are also going to Jeju so looking forward to that as well.
Have a great time!
-
1
-
-
3 hours ago, STXSHEILA said:
We are on a cruise from LA to Tahiti and the 'business class' flight from Tahiti back to LA is a charter. When we inquired, we just told the entire plane is all business class. Well, there business class where you just have more leg room and there's business class where your seats totally recline, leg lifts and lots of in flight entertainment. If anyone has done this itinerary or any other where Regent uses a charter air line, I'd appreciate knowing. Due to health issues, it's very important that we are able have our legs elevated. Hubby almost died due to a blood clot from a long flight without leg lifts.
Even when we are in business class both my hubby and I wear compression socks on long flights. Better safe than sorry!
You'll LOVE Tahiti!
-
We didn't do it with Regent but did the high speed train when with Oceania. I highly recommend it - my husband and a fellow passenger really enjoyed going up to to the "bar car" and mingling with young Russian's practicing their English.
The seats on the train are comfortable enough to sleep on your way back after a long day of touring in Moscow. And the plus is when watching some shows on TV we can say "we've been there!" when they show Red Square.
One tip - do NOT use the bathrooms at the train station before boarding the train. They are only holes in the floor in Moscow. On the train the bathrooms are large and very clean!
-
I'm actually going next January myself - Bergen to Kirkenes with few day pre- and post cruise.
You should be fine - after our February 6-17 cruise the waiter at our restaurant in Bergen said the absolute best month to see the lights is January!
Good luck - of course it also depends on if there are no clouds. We saw them 5 nights in a row once we crossed the Arctic Circle.
-
We did the round trip this February and there are way more exciting excursions on the North Bound than when we went South.
By the way, most of the sightings of the Northern Lights were once we got above the Arctic Circle and usually about 11:00 PM. If you begin your journey up north you might see the lights before you even board - if you are away from the lights of the cities.
-
I think you will be fine in bringing in your own snacks. They don't look at your carry-on or suitcase so you can bring on board pretty much anything!
We brought on our own Vodka that we got in Duty Free when flying from Gatwick to Bergen and it lasted us the entire trip. My husband got Scotch and we had put them in the empty Rum Runners we purchased before leaving the states. Turns out we could've put the bottles in our carry on and they wouldn't have looked.
I bought one bottle of orange juice from the "cafe" and I would refill it each morning with a glass of OJ that I could take from the breakfast buffet. Worked out great!
-
Do the Hurtigruten ships have the same policy as other cruise lines where you are appointed a butler and you have to tip them?
I have only ever been on one cruise and that was to the channel islands but we were advised that we had to pay the person that served the rooms, is this all inclusive in Hertigruten does anyone know?
We were in a suite and had no butler but once we let the person servicing the room that we would like ice in our cabin we found it there everyday after they serviced it - otherwise you have to bring your ice bucket to the bar for ice.
At the end of the cruise we gave the room steward about $60 in our left over NOK - she was surprised but she was also very happy.
Also, on the excursions we tipped a nominal amount to the guide and bus driver (like $5 each). They also appreciated the tip - we only saw one other gentleman do the same on one of our excursions.
-
Disembarkation day, not very organized. We had to leave our suite at 12 noon and the ship doesn’t dock until 2:30 Not a whole lot of places to sit with our carry on. People camped out and marked their spaces very early.
We decided to sit on deck 5 in the Explorer Bar. Chairs that are low don’t make much sense. They run into the chairs behind them as they turn - not to mention they are very hard to get out of. Too low to the ground.
I turned in our survey and told them that the windows should be cleaned in the suites at least once during the 12 day cruise. As well as other points I wanted to make.
Overall a very nice cruise, glad we saw the Northern Lights (what we came for).
Would I sail again on Hurtigruten? Probably not. No reason to.
-
Thank you for your daily tips. I have just booked MS Trollfjord next January - only Bergen to Kirkenes with some nights pre- and post-cruise in Bergen and Kirkenes.
Sent from my iPad using Forums
You will love it, Northbound definitely has the most favorable excursions.
Let me know if you have any questions.
-
Hot tip!
Bring your own body/hand lotion. And lots of it!
They don’t provide any - even in our suite. And if your skin isn’t used to the cold dry weather like ours it will be very dry and itch like crazy.
The hand sanitizer required before entering the restaurant especially dries out your hands.
-
Day 9. Lights were out again last night again (5th night in a row!). about 11 pm which seems to be the times they appear on this cruise. We’ve been lucky that they have been on our side (port) of the ship so we can see easily from our balcony or window. It was very rough seas when they appeared and I’m not sure anyone could get a good picture even with a tripod.
-
Day 8 - saw more lights last night. They tend to be about 11:00. I didnt bring have a special camera so I used the Northern Lights Photo Taker app Seemed to work pretty well.
2 hr stop in Hammerfest we got off with empty purse and backpack and found a liquor store only a block away from the ship. In the shopping center on the left. We got a bottle of wine for just 119.9 Nok which is about $15. Not bad considering the ship charges 110 nok for 1 glass. My husband got some beer. We took everything back to our room and went for a second load. No one asked to see our bags and unlike most cruise ships there is no security when coming on board.
Tonight more lights at 11:00 again, I thought pretty good ones which we could see off our balcony.
We went to the Midnight Concert in Tromsø. Very nice. 3 musicians. A soloist, flautist and piano/organist. Highly recommend.
Another tip, when you are trying to exit the ship for your excursion instead of being bundled up on the stairwell next to the forward exit (which can be a long time and you get overheated). Take the aft elevator to deck 4 and walk forward to the exit. The hall isn’t crowded and much cooler - you can merge into the others. Unfortunately we didn’t figure this out until past our halfway mark.
-
Hot tip!
We just left Hammerfest (south bound) and walked off the ship, straight down a block on the left is a shopping center. Right inside is a liquor store. We bought a bottle of wine for about what they charge for one glass on board.
My husband his beers for 1/3 the price onboard. We put into my empty purse and backpack and brought right into our room. Emptied out our pouches and went back out and loaded up again.
Well worth the effort. We’re another 4 nights on the cruise so now we have our drinks to have in our suite.
By the way the store also has hard liquor.
-
Wow that is expensive. I seem to remember there is a dinner wine offer. I'll check that out - may be having an alcohol free cruise!
No dinner wine deal offered by the glass. On the Spitsbergen. And the wine package is VERY expensive.
Most beer and wine is 110 nok each which for us is almost $14 each.
Sent from my iPhone using Forums
-
You might want to buy some sea sickness medicine during one of your stops...that’s what I did on the RT cruise a couple of years ago.
Good tip, I actually have some I brought with me but I just might do that as I think I will need more. Usually on a cruise they sell them in their shop.
It’s very rough right now 4 AM day 8.
Anyone on the Splendor sailing out of Southampton?
in Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Posted
Not sure, I’ll ask tonight.
You CAN go on shore without being on a ships excursion.