UUNetBill

I have less of a problem with the relaxed dress expectations in society than I do with people who openly and loudly argue with people enforcing the policies. Regent's dress code is both relaxed and easy to follow. When you agree to sail on Regent, you agree to abide by their policies, plain and simple. If the policy allowed jeans, I'd be fine with jeans. But if the policy prohibits jeans and you cause a scene because 'there are expensive designer jeans', well, THAT'S when I have a problem with you. Quit being an ass and go change your pants. Like papaflamingo said - you don't like it, you can choose another line.

Amen, my friend.

Must be why I'm not welcome back in Parkersburg after a 43-year absence - I don't own overalls nor a bright plaid shirt. I wear shoes, too. 😄

To some of your points/questions above: Flossie's comments about the ships are spot-on in our experience as well. If you liked Mariner, you'll be fine on Voyager. Cabins are a bit larger on Voyager and they don't have the 'pizazz' of the newer ships, but they're still a nice place to spend a few weeks. We just came off of Voyager last month in a Cat G which was perfect for us - lower deck, midships, perfect for crossing the Drake Passage, IMO. The decor is starting to look a bit dated to me, but it's still in excellent condition and the service was, as almost always, impeccable. The only 'hard avoid' I mention to people is aft suites on Navigator - very buzzy. The aft suites on the other ships sometimes get comments about vibration but unless you're very sensitive to the buzz you should be okay. As mentioned, Concierge only makes sense if you need the hotel or transfers - I think we've upgraded to Concierge once or twice but it's not usually necessary for most folks. If you get offered a choice of cabins, look them up on the SuiteGuru sticky and see what others have said about them. Enjoy!

Like I said, knock yourself out. Oh, and thank you for your reply. 🙂

For reference: 🙂

Gilly, I didn't really have issues logging onto the ship's network - it was the bandwidth once I was logged on that was the issue. Speedtests were pathetic (can't remember the numbers offhand, but it made me wish for the old days of my speedy 56k modem). But they still have a way to go to successfully cater to those of us still working who need at least workable internet speeds to be able to get away for more than a week. C'mon, Starlink... On a somewhat related note, we're sure going to miss Davor. We were fortunate to be on board for his last cruise and got to dine with him a few days before he flew home. His send-off after Krew Kapers was amazing.

Thank you. Glad to see it wasn't just me. 🙂

I believe you're correct on both counts. And the wifi on Voyager is, as usual, abysmal. It's a combination of the on-ship infrastructure and the sat service. Our last cruise on Voyager took us from Santiago to Buenos Aires via Antarctica, and the coverage was understandably slow in that region. But even in Chile and up to northern Argentina it wasn't much better. And the device timeout was ridiculous - my iPad would stay logged on with no issues, but my iPhone dropped every 5 minutes or so, it seemed. Frustrating, to say the least. And if you're using a VPN, be aware that you (usually) can't log on if your VPN is active, so you'll need to pause your VPN, log on, then reactivate your VPN. I found many sites were not accessible without using VPN. Of course, YMMV depending on location, weather, the whims of the gods, etc...

I already have.

Huh. I was just wondering about new ship(s) a few days ago. I'm sure they'll come up with something new and incredible, but I'm kind of mixed about the creeping up of passenger capacity. I know more pax = more $$, and the ratios are still real good...but larger ships are precluded from some ports and more people is still more people. Our one non-Regent cruise was on a ship with about 2,500 people or so, and it wasn't too bad while you're underway...but ports were a pain with so many people barreling off the ship. I know 850 is still not crowded and I'm sure they'll be gorgeous. And yes, I'm excited to see what they come up with. Should be interesting!

FYI, I just bought my wife and I some multi-purpose cables that have the standard micro USB/Lightning/USB-C on one end and a USB-C and USB-A adapter on the other end. They'll cover about 95% of our charging needs...definitely make life easier.

lj, that's the hotel we stayed in and it was very nice - great location and great service. I'm glad you're doing the Brazilian side, the views are very nice from there. I'll see if I can find some pics to post here for you. Also, after this month I believe you need a visa for Brazil (they postponed the requirement until after our trip, thankfully, although we'd already applied and paid and eventually received our visas - it was NOT a seamless process). The hotel - I found it vaguely reminiscent of a 70's album cover, others agreed with me...any guesses? 🙂 That's the hotel in the lower left - you can see the proximity to the falls. And you have access before the park opens, so you can head out early and avoid the crowds. Photos can't capture the incredible power and beauty of the falls. But we still try. Optional Zodiac ride to get up close and personal with some of the smaller falls. Absolute blast.

Of course, every group can be different, but yes, we had a good amount of flexibility in our program. There were occasions when we split off into two groups to allow for people who wanted to roam a bit more to get out and wander while others hung out in the shade with a cool beverage. We also had our dinners planned for either 8:00 or 8:30 (as is the norm there) and there was enough groaning from some of us older 'earlier diner' folks and we managed to get dinner moved to 7:00, that kind of thing. I think a lot of it will depend on your guide and the size of the group. But it's been our experience that unless there's a hard stop on something, such as flights or group meals booked on the road, they'll do what they can to accommodate everyone.

Toss in George and Ringo and you might actually be onto something there...

I don't often jump into the tipping discussions (we don't on Regent) but with the prevalence of tip culture in the US I just wanted to agree with pcardad's suggestion to donate to the crew fund. Although we always tip off the ship, I believe that if Regent says no tipping is necessary, then by God no tipping is necessary. Pre-tipping? Hell no - not for me. Over the last 15 years of cruising on Regent we've spoken with many of the crew members and officers and I agree that the best things you can do are to mention exemplary crew members by name in the surveys (difficult sometimes as there are just so many who are just so darn good), donate to the crew fund if the mood strikes you, and most importantly - treat the crew like human beings! I've seen too many people be either dismissive or outright hostile to crew, and I find that behavior abhorrent. I think that being a good person to the crew is a better way to get good service than 'pre-tipping'. But that's just me. But you know, these cruises are not inexpensive. It's easy to spend tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars for a few weeks or months of relaxation. So if you want to toss around a few hundred more here or there, knock yourself out. Doesn't affect me at all. 🙂

Coincidentally we just returned from the post-cruise trip to Iguazú last month and we were impressed with the entire package. While you *could* do it on your own, it was worth it to us to have Regent coordinate everything. We flew out of BA to Iguazú and did the Argentine side on day one, then crossed into Brazil and spent the night in the resort in the park. Staying in the park was nice as we had unrestricted access to the falls before the park opened to the general public. We then got to visit a Guaraní village and see how the lived - not something I'd have done on my own but definitely interesting. We also only had about 30 people on the trip so that was a plus. For our flight back to BA, we had weather delays and gate changes so it was nice to have our guide keeping everything on track for us. So yes, we paid more than we would have going on our own, but for us it was worth it. The guides were great, the resort was great, and we had a, well, great time. But only you can decide whether it's worth it to you - which do you value more, convenience or flexibility? I'd say if you like the ability to venture out on your own and speak Spanish passably you'll be fine on your own. Either way, you'll love the falls - they're amazing...

Agreed that the Cat F is the 'sweet spot' on the Explorer-class ships. The G and H cabins, while nicely appointed, are just a hair small for two adults, IMO. The per diem to step up to an F2 is small enough that we consider it a 'must-do' upgrade and just figure it into our cruise fare. For us, we book F or above on Explorer, Splendor, Grandeur, and Navigator (for the balcony) but will do G or even H on Voyager or Mariner. Mariner can be up in the air for us, we've only sailed on her a few times and usually get an upgrade to an Horizonview suite, but could be happy in the standard cabins as well.

They’ll let people like this on board, yet I can’t bring my best boy with me. What an upside down world we live in, I say, only half-jokingly.

Still, it beats the old 'poop deck' solution. Gotta keep things in perspective...

Got these both updated, thanks!!

For anywhere even remotely cold, I recommend layers. Or layers. Or even layers. Seriously, that's the only way to go - a good, breathable thermal base layer, mid-loft mid layer, and a breathable waterproof shell. Don't cheap out - you really do get what you pay for. On our recent Antarctica trip, I packed an Arc'Teryx mid/shell combo over a hooded base layer and was toasty warm everywhere from the balcony to up front on a catamaran blasting into the wind going to a glacier. The newer layered systems pack down into VERY compact lightweight bundles, too. Good gloves and footwear (socks, too) and you'll be fine.

Just came off of 19 nights on Voyager. Chair hogs weren't an issue at all. Of course, we were cruising in the Antarctic, so that may have had some bearing on it. 🙂 But if you're counting on people to act respectful to their fellow passengers, all I can say is "good luck". Civility is dying. I'd like to see each cabin equipped with some sort of timer device similar to the European parking placards, something with your cabin number and a 30-minute pop-up flag. Clip it to your lounger and set it for 30 minutes, if the flag pops your stuff gets removed. Probably unworkable, I'm sure - but until you deal with people's inherent @$$holiness, well, what else can you do? In 123 nights on board, I've encountered this on several occasions and it's definitely an annoyance - but I wouldn't let it be my deciding factor on which cruise line to book because, well, I'm pretty sure it's an issue on ANY cruise line that has more passengers than shady loungers...

2rogues - sorry, but I'm not able to open the attached template, I tried numerous different ways and all programs flag it as corrupt...can you please resend it or paste the data into a reply post? Thanks!

Ben, sorry, but the template you attached appears to be blank...