Grandmaanne7

36 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

Up until the day before June canceled, the Air Desk was still re-booking changes. 

Well that let the air out of my balloon pretty quickly!  Still, optimism......

46 minutes ago, mrlevin said:

Happens all the time.  We just did excursions for our Splendor cruise in December and a number of the excursions that are in the PDF are actually not available to book; oh well.  Excursions aren't real until you are onboard and find out that the times have been changed, excursion modified, or even cancelled.  

I understand all of that as we have cruised before just not on Regent.  I had booked these excursions in February.  Someone at Regent has obviously reviewed these bookings and necessitated changes.  I'm just going to hope that means they are fairly confident that cruising will begin prior to December.  I'm also encouraged that Celebrity has announced today that they will start up cruising out of St. Maarten in June.  I'm choosing to remain optimistic.

We are booked on a Mariner cruise for December 2021 (our first Regent cruise woohoo!!)  This week we were notified that one of the excursions we had chosen was no longer being offered and were asked to choose something else, which we did.  My question is whether this is an indicator that this cruise will go ahead or is it something that Regent is constantly doing, even if the cruise is set to be cancelled?  I would really like to believe that we will be cruising in December.

26 minutes ago, Gcto said:

There are plenty of trips/excursions 70+ can take... but then...what does that mean...70 is the new 60. What are you looking for ? Plenty of things to do...we always look for Catamaran trips (no, we are not 70+), and we love the feel of the ocean, the sail and the sunshine. If it stops somewhere to snorkel or whatever, you can decide if you like it or not. Highly recommended (and only because we just reserved it for the 4th time), is the Champagne and Lobster Cruise on Antigua. Always great experience, just sailing, landing on a beach, have some time off (if you want) and then the trip back, the breeze, etc. Food isn't bad either...but it's the whole experience, no matter what age. 

 

I agree!  We are booked on this excursion for a second time.  The first time we did it was not with Regent but I assume from the description, it is the same.  We usually try to do something different each time we visit an island but we're making an exception for this one.  Very enjoyable!

On 3/7/2021 at 12:29 PM, Grandmaanne7 said:

The Canadian site still shows availability on June cruises. 

Now the Canadian site is showing all Alaska cruises waitlisted but all European cruises are still available.  Hopefully, the latest CDC announcement will mean that future months won't be cancelled and we can finally board again.  Really looking forward to our first Regent cruise!!

The Canadian site still shows availability on June cruises. 

I'm choosing to remain optimistic.  We are booked for December out of Miami.  I would be okay if they had to move it to out of an island nation instead but I really think that it will be a go.  They have to start at some point, don't they?  I think that they will start test cruises some time in the early fall and have most kinks ironed out by December.  That is definitely my hope ! 🤞

57 minutes ago, Kristal Blade said:

It’s a while since I posted here to say I was participating in the Johnson & Johnson trial in the U.K. I found out today that I had been given the vaccine, not just saline solution. I am so buzzed up about it! 
In the U.K. the J&J vaccine is a 2 jab process. After the 1st jab I was sure I had been given saline as I had no side effects. After jab 2 it was different. 12 hours later I felt shivery, muscle pains and a headache. But that was very short lived. When I woke up next morning I felt normal.

We have 3 cruises booked now, but not until September 2022.

 

Good luck with getting your jabs and let’s hope we can enjoy our cruises mask free.

Libby 

Thank you for agreeing to take part in the clinical trials.  I, for one, don't often think about those who take that risk.  Glad you are well and protected.

I noticed that there is a lapse between the January 14 - 28th sailing and the February 8 sailing.  Am I correct in assuming that this would be an 11 day charter?

17 minutes ago, GOARMY said:

Grandmaanne7:

 

Great question!  

 

Shore Excursion personnel are, almost-exclusively, independent contractors.  These include the Tour Guide and Bus/Van Driver.  Regent has a Contract with these providers to perform a certain Level of Service for whatever Tour.  It could be a simple two-hour guided City Walk-about to a seven or eight hour extended Tour.  (Or, from St. Petersburg to Moscow; and return on the same day.  Been there--done that.)  

 

As to "expected"--Not so sure.  As to "acceptable", Yes.  As to "appreciated" for a job well-done, Yes.  Spouse and I have always made it a point to properly provide BOTH the Tour Guide AND the Bus/Van Driver with a monetary amount.  I hesitate to provide more specifics, as this will no-doubt, prompt another "Feeding the Weed" for continuing this Thread.   Suffice to say:  Considering the Thousands of Dollars expended to get us on a Regent ship, a paltry sum of from $5.00 to $10.00 for both the Guide and Driver (dependent on length of the Tour) for a job-well-done is a pittance.

 

There has been a rare occasion where the Guide failed to meet the expected standard.  One experience--at Helsinki in August, 2019--was so-bad we advised the Guide we were leaving mid-way.  Found a cab and were delivered (thankfully) back to Explorer.  Turned-out from listening at a Lounge later that evening several other "fellow travelers" on that tour had done the same thing.  This experience was specifically explained in follow-up Evaluations.  (See below.)

 

One other point which is a standard regardless of whatever Cruise Line one is on:  We have taken special care to complete both mid and final Cruise Evaluation(s).  We provide specific names of Crew from Suite Attendants/Butlers; to Dining Staff; to Management with whom we have interacted; to Deck Hands I have encountered while running (jogging) uncounted numbers of laps in the early morning.  These gentlemen have, courteously, advised me to "be careful, Sir" to avoid hazards.  I have made it a point to ask for their names. 

 

So far, so-good from this former Marathoner as to a slip or fall.  

 

Last:  I will defer further comments on this subject to Pcardad.  He has a unique perspective which is valued by us CC devotees.  

 

GOARMY!

 

 

 

 

Thank you for this thoughtful and thorough response. We are quite comfortable tipping for good service including safe driving and tour guiding. We also try to report extra good service to crews' superiors and have often been thanked heartily by crew members who have been given extra time off or internet time to connect with family. It's very heartwarming. 

I assume that it is still acceptable and expected to tip on shore excursions.  Am I correct?

2 hours ago, leanstostarboard said:

We have just booked our first cruise on Regent, for August 2022.

I see that Regent does not charge for gratuities, but do passenger tip?    We have sailed Holland America often and we tip selected staff members based on our experience with them while in the cruise.   Are those kinds of tips common on Regent? 
 

Thanks for asking this.  We have also booked our first Regent cruise and I have been scouring the boards for all sorts of information including this subject.  I now have the answer(s).  Thanks again!  I do hope we both get to enjoy cruising with Regent in the not too distant future.

28 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Not going to happen.  From a Canadian perspective I keep hoping that we could have an exclusively-Canadian route, Montreal to Montreal, down the St. Lawrence into the Gulf, out to Halifax.  But it's not going to happen.  Probably not enough Canadian demand, although I'd do it, for sure.

I would absolutely do this!  It would be lovely to include a stop in St. Pierre Micquelon as well.

33 minutes ago, VegasTW said:

Hi CC folks!

 

I was wondering if you can book more than one shore excursion for a single port.  Some of the Caribbean ports will be beach type days for us and there seem to be some different excursions we might like to enjoy.   For example, I see that I can do a snorkel rental, parasailing, maybe stand up paddle.  Since these are all about one-hour activities, we may want to enjoy all three (sorry, is that greedy 😁?).

 

In the PDF version of the excursions, it does have the excursion start times, so of course I would need to coordinate with that.  And some, such as the snorkel rental, appear to be "join anytime."

 

What has been your experience?  I'm still a bit away from the ability to reserve excursions and wanted to get prepared.

 

Thanks!

We tried to do exactly that and were only able to book 2 of 3 choices.  As the previous poster said, they allow more time than would usually be necessary between excursions.

I was able to go on this morning (my regular booking date as we did not take advantage of the 2 category upgrade) and booked all our excursions.  I received an email confirmation in less than a minute listing all excursions booked.  I hope you can sort it out.  Good luck.

1 hour ago, Sailor Sam 407 said:

Canada's decision was based on science, not on politics.

Totally agree.  Not everything is political.

2 minutes ago, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

Anyone have an answer for us? We go fishing in Loughborough, Ontario every summer. We drive from Florida or New Jersey. Does anyone have any insight as to border restrictions?

sheila

The border is currently closed to non essential travel.  The closure is reviewed monthly.

9 hours ago, drsel said:

Where did you find this astonishing price in December for Regent?

Believe it or not, it was a Canadian TA. That's a first for us. We usually have to go through US travel agencies to get a good deal. I have shopped around and cannot come anywhere close to the price we got (approximately 80% off brochure price).

Is this a valid reason not to book Regent?  We are huge Celebrity fans, mainly because of the very restricted smoking policy and the excellent service.  I have never had reason to complain about the food and have thoroughly enjoyed each cruise.  Lately, their itineraries are very blah and I started to look elsewhere.  We now have a December cruise booked on Regent at an astonishing price.  My fear is that we will be completely spoiled and not want to return to Celebrity or any other less expensive cruise line.  We certainly cannot afford to cruise Regent unless said astonishing price reappears.  This seems unlikely.  Are we making a mistake?

1 hour ago, DaveFr said:

You make one reservation.  When asked if you want to share a table, say no. You will be asked if you want to add anyone to your reservation. At this point you add the other couple's booking number. It will count as one reservation for each couple in that specialty restaurant.  Hope this helps.

Thank you so much for your precise and thorough answer! 

May I ask how dinner reservations can be made to be seated with another couple?  Do we just make 1 reservation and use both suite numbers (or booking numbers)?  Does that count as 1 reservation or 2? Thanks in advance.  Everybody is so helpful on this board. 🙂

That's wonderful!  Thank you!  Just the reassurance that I wanted.

21 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

October 2021 has not been cancelled.

 

Thank you for that reassurance Pcardad.

Does anyone know if the stingrays are penned or are they free roaming?  I would much rather support a venture that has them free roaming than trapped.  Thanks in advance for any info.

12 hours ago, SusieQft said:

Our first Regent booking for October 2021 was cancelled by Regent, and we accepted the FCC in lieu of a refund.  This was back when they were offering Seven Seas Society credit if you took the FCC.  So we now have SSS numbers and credit for 10 nights even though (obviously) we have still not sailed with them.  We also got the "Seven Seas Society Savings" discount on a 2022 booking we made after the 2021 booking was cancelled.

Can you please clarify the year of your cancelled cruise?  (2021 was mentioned twice in your post.) I wasn't aware that they were cancelling cruises that far in advance.  If your October 2021 cruise has already been cancelled, I'm afraid my December 2021 cruise might be in jeopardy.