welshfamily

We upgraded to business class which is not included in the Uk. None of our 4 choices were available. Although in took over 4 hrs and we had to travel a day before we had planned Regent did give us good flights and waived the deviation fee when we agreed to pay for the extra night in their as yet undecided hotel. We were quite happy.

At least this happened before you booked. We are in a different position. Regent could not get us to Lisbon on the day of the cruise. Manchester our nearest airport is a hub. However we were to shuttle to Heathrow, stay overnight …..at our own expensive and fly early the next morning. A night in Heathrow was a deal breaker. Our TA suggested we upgrade to concierge. Flights were available the day before , all transfers and a night in the hotel. We booked. Deposits in the Uk are non refundable. We then noticed we did not have business class flights. The next morning Our TA and Regent worked hard to get us flights but none available. Regent then suggested we went another day earlier however we would have to pay for the extra night in the hotel. Transfers still included. We agreed even though the hotel had yet to be allocated. Regent did not charge us a deviation fee … this seemed a fair exchange. We were quite happy. After all post covid air travel can be an experiment in patience and an extra day in Lisbon was no issue. Forward a few weeks No hotel or transfers because of a visit by the Pope. Again this seemed fair enough however then our TA informed us we would receive just £200 ( $250 ) per stateroom to cover transfer from the airport a night in a hotel and transfer to the port. This amount would not book a night in a youth hostel never mind a hotel. To cancel we would lose our deposit for the two staterooms over £4500 ($5700). Since then we have lost a port of call. It’s not the money, we and I assume everyone who sails on Regent can afford a couple of taxis and a hotel. It’s the assumption by Regent that we cannot see the how little they were prepare to spend on a hotel. Now I know Regent would get a trade rate at a hotel but obviously it’s a lot less then it costs their passengers when they cannot honour their advertised product. We thought we were a one off. Just unlucky. It seems not.

Gosh!!! We sail in August on our first Regent cruise. We selected the Mariner for its itinerary and its size. The alternative was the Explorer. Although we should not have been influenced by the TV program, we didn’t fancy the most expensive cruise ship at ship as the entire programme was simply dreadful. After reading these boards it seems we will enjoy 1. Ragged staterooms 2. Dodgy toilets 3. A rusting ship. 5. Excursions which are crowded and subpar 6.Less than adequate food. 7. A Boasting CEO ( not at all surprised after watching TV programme). There must be something wrong with us as we simply cannot wait😁. Disclaimer. Please take this post in the manner in which we have posted ( tongue in cheek) If you are sailing in August on the Mariner we will be the happy ones in the corner. Please feel free to join us.

We are just about to cruise with Regent for the first time after many cruises with Oceania. We like the Oceania product but felt their pricing model has changed substantially from pre covid. Itineraries and ships. We can only sail in school holidays. Oceania’s itineraries for the Marina and Riviera were almost identical both Iceland and Norway for July and August this year. Sailing on anything less than a penthouse on an R class ship is cramped particularly if you are well over 6 feet tall. Price A PH on the Serena with Economy flights plus gratuities plus drinks package came to more than Regent were asking for a similar itinerary particularly as Regent had Casablanca …. A place I have always wanted to go. We priced this against an entry level veranda. This was in January ….marked drop in Oceania's pricing since then. Please note This was after final payment which is 4 months out in the UK. We are not heavy drinkers but do prefer the “ pay for most things up front “ model. This is why we always have a drinks package. We pay for 2 staterooms ( son …medical needs and daughter …just delightful company). We went with Concierge as we liked the idea of a pre cruise hotel with all transfers. PH’s all sold out. We upgraded to Business class flights. Regent worked hard to find us flights. We had to compromise but that was fine. Will not go into the things that have changed with our booking here as they are water under the bridge now. On our cruise Regent advertised a price and stuck to it. Everything is included …..unless we want to upgrade wine etc. We don’t have to go on the Excursions just as we don’t have to eat in all the venues. As long as the food is decent, the sheets clean and the company congenital we are going to enjoy ourselves.

Thank you for the info on the hotel de Baxia. Good to know as we have never stayed in Lisbon although we have been there twice before on a cruise. We are not church people either. Enjoy brief visits to look at architecture etc but not in depth unless the building is unique. However will still look into your day trip.

We had our pre cruise hotel and transfers cancelled by Regent in a Lisbon hotel and only got $250 credit per cabin. This was after we had booked. If your hotel credit is $180 per person that seems generous and would almost pay for a night in a decent hotel however private transfers to the port have cost us Pre covid up to €450. We used Romeinlimos. Upside is they will stop on the way for coffee or lunch or maybe the Catacombs ( we did this and they were well worth a visit ). We would recommend them. The journey takes approx 1 to 1hr.30 mins depending on the traffic. However as the transfer is included with the hotel this option would certainly be more cost affective. Another option is the train. The trains to the port are excellent. Book the high speed one ( it is air conditioned and cheap ) and travel in comfort perhaps spending the night before the cruise in Civitavecchia.

Amazing how opinions differ. Although we live in the Uk my husband has spent many years flying to the states. Air travel was dreadful last year with most airlines, planes were cancelled, consolidated etc. It’s the plane for him that matters. What plane will his business class seat be on. This makes a HUGE difference. Only use British Airways last minute if the plane is decent and you are desperate. We have always found KLM and Lufthansa excellent. Amsterdam, although busy, has an excellent lounge and fast track if your plane leaves within the hour or you need special assistance. The lanes for non EU are manned.We made a connection when we only had 30 mins last August. We had to clear customs however on arrival at Barcelona we just collected our bags. Munich is a lot smaller than Frankfurt. We are transferring though Frankfurt and flying with Tap Air to Lisbon in August both with Regent. Happy to say more then.

We are planning on taking a taxi. Lisbon runs a pay before you travel system at the airport. We are there during the popes visit and prices including the car service from our hotel are eye wateringly ( is that a word?) expensive. We are staying in the baxia area and would be interested in knowing if you settle on a company.

I agree it is very disappointing to lose a port. We lost Casablanca for August on the 3rd of May. Again for a relaxing sea day. Not sure if this is something Regent do when ports of call are not up to scratch as many posted on this board that Casablanca was not worth getting off the ship.

We sail in 10 weeks on the Mariner. We are newbies with Regent. As Regent is no longer providing Hotel or transfers how do we find out what time we board. We are arranging our pre cruise itinerary although check out is 12 noon in our hotel they will store our luggage. What is the normal procedure? Please share your thoughts on the best check in time. By this I mean if you arrive at say 2pm have the queues gone and are the staterooms open ? Is it better to arrive earlier? We sail at 5pm. what about suitcases ? Can we unpack and then go to afternoon afternoon tea if the Le Veranda has closed or we have ate lunch before boarding. It will be hot in Lisbon in August and if we have spent a few hours sightseeing and then have lunch we will need a wash and brush up before afternoon tea ( if it is served on Embarkation day.) Thank you.

Thanks for your report we are really enjoying it. We loved Hamilton when we went and to us in the Uk particularly Wales 67 is almost summer😁 Re your brownie high tea. Looks wonderful. Hope you enjoyed them. Note to self ……must lose more weight before cruise!!

Sorry Vitacura cruise is Lisbon to Rome in August.

Oh. Thank you all. As I said in my post we picked the cruise because we have never been to Morocco and my late father ( he passed away recently) loved the film Casablanca and would always quote Humphrey Bogart at us. We can only really travel as a family in school holidays ( teachers) which means the Mediterranean and its ports are familiar to say the least. I think if Regent gave an explanation ….e.g. too many complaints, pit would sit better. The Mariner is now sailing from Cádiz at 9.00pm and arriving in Gibraltar 36 hrs later. The journey usually takes 1hr 30 mins. Distance 40 nautical miles. How will that work ? We have never been on a ship that just floats around.

Final payment yesterday. Really disappointed. Received email this evening cancelling Casablanca. Now relaxing day at sea!!!!! Realise these things happen but this was the only port we had never been to. Beginning to think we have made a grave and expensive mistake. Booked concierge class for night in hotel and all transfers included. First no flights available so had to go an extra day beforehand …. Didn’t really matter as happy to spend an extra day in Lisbon and Regent said we would still get transfers if we went with their choice on hotel. Then No hotel or transfers in Lisbon and only a £183 per stateroom credit which will not cover a hotel room never mind transfers and is no where near the difference in cost from Veranda to Concierge. Have lost excursions and now choices are limited. Trying to look on the bright side but seem to be getting an email every couple of weeks changing the cruise. Not really the luxury experience we were expecting.

Like wise the Mariner has had some poor reviews. We have still gone ahead and chosen to sail on her for our first Regent cruise for two reasons, the itinerary and because we enjoy smaller ships. This will be our first try at a “ luxury “ cruise so we asked ourselves….. surely it will be Ok. Hopefully more positive reviews will appear for all the smaller ships.

Thank you. Worked perfectly

We are a party of 4 in two staterooms. Speciality dinning opens for us 8pm USA time (1am Uk). Plan to book tomorrow morning before work ( 6am Uk ). How do I book a table for 4. I have both stateroom numbers and two different booking references even though husband paid for cruise. We have no real preferences to which day but are more particular about times. We are in concierge. Thought I would ask as we had to log into both accounts and book excursions simultaneously. Thank you in advance

We have also booked the Hotel de baxia for August. We would be very interested in your opinion of the hotel on your return. Also what you decided to do in Lisbon …. And enjoyed. thanks in advance.

Thank you. Totally with you re full names. In addition if my middle name is added I still stop dead and my heart rate increases.😂

Excellent news Techno123, Even though we are still to experience our first Regent cruise (95 days and counting) do you think we could ask for them. Would make up for no booklet etc. If so may we ask who did you message?

Talking of sodas ( Pop .. to us in the Uk. ) Any Chance of Pepsi Max ? Is this something we could request in advance for my our daughters cabin. We would happily pay extra for it. She will drink Diet Or Zero coke if she has to but vastly prefers Pepsi Max.

We are booked on the Mariner in August, our first Regent cruise. Whilst we picked this ship for the ports we are hoping for decent accommodation. By this I mean clean room , plenty of storage, comfortable beds and a cool drinks in the fridge. Anything else is a bonus. We have been in Owners suites on Princess … beautiful spacious rooms , appalling service, Poor food, overcrowded public rooms. Celebrity suites … very class orientated. which was not for us. We do, however, like smaller ships and have had some wonderful cruises on Oceania and Azamara on their R class ships. Let be honest the ordinary staterooms on those ships are tiny. Although we usually have Penthouse suites we once took a veranda on Oceania as it was all that was available. The stateroom was pretty dire but we had a great cruise. We learnt, for us, cruising isn’t just about the stateroom. As with the OP we hesitated after reading the reviews but decided to give Regent a go. As with most cruises these days we have had some hiccups, booking Concierge for the pre night hotel and transfers only to find out none were available being the most annoying simply because the credit given was inadequate. We are looking forward to our cruise and will post an honest review when we return.

We too always use Romeinlimos. They also do great tours.

This is a shame. We have just paid in full for our first Regent cruise but have sailed many times with Oceania. With Oceania we have always received a beautiful personalised blue book, luggage labels and a holder ( looks like leather but is good thick plastic ). We always enjoy receiving the booklet as anticipation is …. Great ( let’s be honest here we love to cruise). The blue book is posted from New Jersey. As Oceania is part of the NCL group it seems a pity that UK Oceania customers are more valued than Regents.

Thank you for your review. Very helpful as our hotel is on the same road. We only have one full day and the morning before we board. If pushed could you give us your recommendation for any “must see” items. thank you