briar14

2 hours ago, RachelG said:

We will be onboard with you!  They will give you a 2 piece parka (outer water resistant and inner fleece) which is very nice and warm.  You will need to buy or rent boots.  We are renting as the boots take up so much room in the luggage.  You will need to buy waterproof pants to go over your regular pants.  Lots of layers is key.  I have thermal tights from UniClo that I love as they provide good insulation.  I usually wear those, either jeans or fleece pants then the waterproof pants on bottom.  I wear some good thick socks in the boots as well.  Probably won't need separate hiking shoes--just the boots.

On the top layer, I wear a turtleneck pullover, a sweater over that then the 2 layer parka.  I wear a cap which covers my ears and gloves which have the fold back fingers to that I can take pictures. Don't think hiking poles will be necessary here.

 

Thank you, Rachel, just the information I was looking for. I am looking forward to meeting you as I enjoy your posts on the Regent board. I am very excited, a trip I have wanted to do for a long time!

Best advice for cold weather gear for Silver Cloud expedition cruise, January 4? We have lived in the South for 20 years so will need to purchase some clothing and ?other items. TIA.

This trip will be our first expedition and Silverseas cruise experience. I am looking for advice on clothing and any other items we need to consider. We have lived in the South for 20 years so will need to purchase some cold weather gear. TIA.

Shauna certainly had a wonderful birthday. My best wishes to her. I love how Regent goes all out to make celebrations memorable as are the people they are for 🎉! 

On 10/5/2019 at 8:36 PM, Travelcat2 said:

 

Thank you for posting that article - very interesting!  Unfortunately, the new spa won't be onboard until the end of "our" cruise.  Wonder if we will notice changes with Canyon Ranch since it will be their last sailing on Regent.

We are on that cruise also and was wondering the same thing.

3 hours ago, Jlhalldc said:

Thank you for the positive words and info on ports (especially the possibility of missing some due to weather). Curious as to the passenger make-up of your cruise. Many Australians? Mostly North Americans?

Passenger makeup on the Mariner Regent cruise was mostly Americans. Do not worry about what to do on sea days. Regent will keep you busy. We had excellent, pertinent lectures, a Country Fair, wine tastings, games, an auction of “ship experiences” to benefit the Crew Fund, and, of course, trivia and bridge. I loaded lots of books on my Kindle and iPad and barely touched them. DH’s experience was similar. CC picture was taken in Esperance. I’d be happy to answer any questions. 

We did this cruise in Dec. 2018-Jan. 2019 on Mariner. We loved it! Favorite ports were Perth and Esperance. Expect to miss a couple of ports due to difficulty for tendering. We missed Mooloolaba and Exmouth. Length of cruise was fine. Regent did an excellent job from some special events to a wonderful staff and crew. Our best Regent cruise—so far—and we have been lucky enough to have had a lot of them! Enjoy your trip! 

20 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Can someone give me a mental  picture of the inside of a standard Mariner closet?  I'm wondering what's behind the door, when it's open.  Trying to figure out if you could hang something like a shoe caddy on the back of the door, or whether it would bump into something, like shelving or the safe.

 

(The only Mariner cabin I had was the accessible one, without a walk-in.)

 

Thanks.

Standard Mariner suite—drawers and shelves straight ahead as you open door, majority of hanging area to the left. Nothing to interfere with hanging something on back of closet door.

We have done 2 holiday cruises on Regent. One several years ago was a Panama Canal trip. There were several multigenerational family groups with young children. No problem at all. Children were kept entertained. It was nice to see everyone enjoying the festive ship atmosphere. In Dec./Jan. of this year we were on the Circumnavigation Australia cruise. There was one child for part of the cruise. I believe he was the Chief Engineer’s son. On both trips the ships were decorated beautifully. My favorite spot was anyplace near a gingerbread house because it smelled so good! 

Bob, I hope you and Jeanie got home safely. I certainly enjoy your ironic comments. My husband and I often make similar ones while we are on Regent. We feel so fortunate to be able to take these wonderful trips that stale pretzels, chips or even the occasional slow service does not deter us from enjoying every minute of our trip. Enjoyed your report very much. It is a wonderful itinerary. Thank you.

Gerainger, so beautiful. Enjoying your beautiful pictures on a hot Sunday morning in SC. Looking forward to your adventures in Flam.

Thank you, Susan, for a wonderfully informative blog. Although some ports are different for next year’s similar cruise, I did make notes on your excursions when ports will be the same. Hope you arrived home safely.

We took a Regent Choice excursion to the Alhambra from Malaga a few years ago. A long day, well worth it. Back to ship after scheduled departure time. Mariner was waiting for us.

Anticipating your reports! What beautiful places you will be seeing. We have good friends on your cruise and for the past few months have been boring them with many “you can’t miss this” suggestions. Have a wonderful trip!

On Voyager in 2017, Beijing to Bangkok, the ship docked at the commercial port. It was about a 20-30 minute bus ride into Saigon.

Susan, enjoying your reports and pictures. One of the many reasons I love cruising is the sometimes unpredictability of it. Disappointing about the missed Russian ports but anticipating reading about the added Norwegian ports. Thank you for taking us along!

8 minutes ago, zimmer46 said:

Sorry meant to add..... does anyone know who the key officers and staff are on Navigator at the moment ?    It seems to be information that is very difficult to find, but I am sure some of the "well connected" people on here will know.

 

 

The current list of Navigator staff is shown in Post #1 of Flossie’s live thread of the current Navigator cruise, Narratives from Navigator in Norway.

16 hours ago, flossie009 said:

Thanks for all the supportive comments. We will try to keep this blog going in between food, drink, entertainment & excursions!

 

@briar14, Jan - Hope your knee recovers soon. If there is anything specific you want us to investigate on this itinerary please ask away and we will do our best to help you with planning your cruise next year.

Thank you, Susan. We have met, Mariner—April 2018 TA, M&M. I would be especially interested in your thoughts about tours offered for the northernmost ports, Hammerfest, Solovetsky Islands, etc. Your pictures of sailing into Flam brings back wonderful memories of a Voyager cruise several years ago.

Flossie, glad you are posting about this cruise. We were supposed to take it but had to change to a similar itinerary in 2020. I am sitting in SC with a brand new knee instead. I am looking forward to reading about everything but especially the tours you chose. Have a wonderful cruise!

We received notice from our TA that the $500 OBC had been credited to our account for the Explorer TA in November. This cruise was booked using a Future Cruise Certificate.

Nadege is one of our favorite servers! We met her when she was new to Regent and have enjoyed watching her successful progress with Regent. Not sure she will remember us, but please tell her the Johnson’s said hello. Most recently, we saw her on the Circle Australia cruise. Enjoying everyone’s reports and pictures. Stay warm!

Our Australia Circumnavigation cruise in December and January on Mariner was pretty close to perfect, in our opinion. Two senior staff we credited with providing us with this wonderful experience were Michael Coghlan and Vladimir Cavic. After many Regent cruises, all very good, this one stood out. The entire crew exceeded our expectations!

14 minutes ago, ronrick1943 said:

I think it is the same, the first time we ate at the Spring Dear was maybe in the early 80's and we keep coming back because really is that good and fun.  Doesn't look that good from the outside and it's up stairs to the right side as you enter another store.  

That’s it! Thanks for replying. I hope you enjoyed your dinner.

ronrick1943, would this be the same Spring Deer we ate in about 30 years ago? If so, I still remember how good it was, the atmosphere, etc. Enjoying your posts! We are taking similar cruise on Explorer in 2021, will be following along avidly. Thank you.

31 minutes ago, Gilly said:

Hakone looked pretty - I've added it to our list of possibilities 🌸)

 

The Hakone Open-Air Museum is very interesting. Views of Fujiyama from Hakone and Lake Ashi are beautiful. Hakone, an easy trip from Tokyo, was one of a “go to” places for our visitors when we lived there. Have a wonderful trip!