Gilly

@scottie99 we spent three weeks on board Voyager earlier in the year and will return to sail from Trieste to Lisbon in September. We had a wonderful cruise, can't wait for the next one and wouldn't hesitate to jump at any opportunity to sail on one of our favourite ships. Yes, I don't need to repeat the comments above, but would encourage you to look beyond the reviews of that particular event to find a great deal of positive experience reported by myself and others.

@Emdee I can't recommend a special Indian menu in Compass Rose highly enough. Just speak to the Restaurant manager or your butler and they will sort it out for you. Our best experiences have been with friends - a trivia team is the perfect number for a nice variety of food served 'family style' and a lovely sociable dinner. (Not only Indian food either, but Indonesian and Filipino have been good too)

@LNugent perhaps you might find the most recent Regent blog post useful, for it's one of mine, written from Voyager about a couple of months ago on our way across the Atlantic Ocean. There's a link in there towards the end to my actual blog, where the following posts describe some sea days on board Voyager, including a couple of daily programmes and some other activities. Whilst the newer, larger ships have an extra restaurant and more contemporary decor, all Regent ships offer the same great service from first class staff and if the itinerary suits us, we'd happily sail on any of them.

There's also been more than a few positive comments - mine included - but it's the dissatisfaction that seems to be remembered.

Cindy, I spotted your @Gray Lady tag and opened the thread with hope. May I offer my heartfelt condolences to you and your family.

I got the reference 😉 But are you of the required age?!

We were total safari novices post cruise in Cape Town and weren't even sure if we really wanted to go up country to see wildlife at all! We took a great Regent offer together with advice from friends who'd been to Kapama Southern and held our breath. Wow! Regent took care of everything and we had a blast! We loved every minute, found the whole thing very comfortable and exciting; exhilarating, even. (blog posts start here) I can't comment on whether we'd have had a better time somewhere else/booking it all independently, but can only say "Go for it!" We were simply glad not to have to worry about bits of luggage here and there, were pleased that it all came together again in Jo'burg and that we didn't have to worry about it at all.

Chrisy, that's such good news!

Thanks @lincslady and @RachelG for highlighting Valencia, now on my wishlist! (Cartagena too...) Safe travels home RachelG and thanks for taking us across the Atlantic with you. It's been a fun trip!

@Pcardad , @PhD-iva is correct - no CV tests recently but that experience remains in our memory as the most anxiety-inducing embarkation procedure of all. We should feel thankful that these days however awful that process is, it seldom comes close. A glass of champagne usually provides welcome relief.

@Mudhen I agree. Embarkation day is seldom totally trouble-free and we often remark that, if we didn't feel confident about the experience awaiting us once on board ship, we'd feel like turning around and going home! I think that having to undergo CV tests on the pier before boarding was the worst, but boarding in Rio a few weeks ago was hardly a picnic. Somehow though, that first glass of champagne and everything else that follows on from there is usually a swift remedy for any of our remaining grumpiness.

They were on Voyager earlier in the month too and we thought they were excellent. Lovely people too. Did they offer a dance class? I rather regret not taking up that offer - can you imagine how useful learning to do that Flamenco "stamp" might be in certain situations!? 😉

Hi @ysolde! I second everything you say - our cruise was great and Voyager was in good shape indeed.

Adding my good wishes to the collection - this is not how that story was supposed to end! Good to read through the thread and reach the part where you are well enough to go home and look forward to the next cruise though. Stay well and take care of yourself and TB!

When we sailed that itinerary in April/May 2019, we made the dateline crossing on May 4th. Cue for countless Star Wars jokes (again and again) Fun though (and not to be forgotten) Sorry you'll miss Dutch Harbor, but hopefully an additional port will more than make up for that. Thank you for sharing the trip - we have really enjoyed coming along with you again and were glad to see the Kuril Islands which were bathed in fog when we sailed past!

My favourite place to shop!! (But did you buy shoes?!?)

I believe it was described as a 'technical fault' and read that the Captain made mention of 'sea trials' which could explain the manoeuvres.

Great photos, thank you!!

We were at the W last year. A little quirky!

Oh we too! We were really hoping to catch him before he left but sadly that was not to be. He is a great chap and our loss is his family's gain without doubt.

Oh I must have been very good then 🤣 We had the best connectivity we've ever had on board Voyager these last couple of weeks and I didn't have to resort to my *secret* place once! Maybe it was our location on board - we had an aft suite on the port side - from where I posted my daily blog with quite a few (edited) photos without throwing my laptop across the room at all! *my secret place was the one that Davor shared with me when we sailed on Voyager last year and I could not so much as log on from our mid-ship suite. @UUNetBill you are absolutely spot on with your YMMV observation of course!

What a sad way to end your wonderful journey...I can't tell you how sorry I am for you all but mostly for your dear husband who must be in such pain. Sending our heartfelt best wishes and hoping for a trouble-free journey home. Please, update us with news and thank you so much for bringing us this far x

Oh. @CardowMD there are times when the Universe works in strange and mysterious ways! Last evening, having returned from our most recent cruise, I decided to get out all my cruise notebooks to collate all the different suites/staff members etc into a "little black book" for future reference, so when I read your question this morning, I knew exactly where to find that information! In my little notebook from 2010 (!!) I find the business card from Otanik -which I just put into google maps to check. It appears to still be there 😉 Regent accommodated us at the Ritz Carlton which sounds good but is in the middle of a busy traffic system, so I suspect the Intercontinental could be better. Here's my blog post from that day with more details of the restaurant too We haven't been to the Archaeological Museum but have been to the Cisterns, which are a must-see (and may be part of the same museum...I'm not sure) Have a great time in Istanbul, one of our favourite cities!

We didn't visit Iguazu with Regent this time as we'd already visited the falls previously as part of a longer, independent trip to Argentina so I can't offer any thoughts about the best option. However, I would say *don't miss Iguazu!* However you decide to get there, don't pass on a chance to see these magnificent falls!

I'll put this thread to bed with a few thoughts now we are home again in the discombobulation phase. We enjoyed our cruise very much indeed, found Voyager and everyone on board to be happy, helpful and friendly. Captain Gianluca leads by example with his cheerful manner and he and his Senior Officers were always around and ready to chat throughout the cruise. The itinerary was a good one with a range of ports which were new to us: our favourites were Salvador and Recife, both places where we had excellent guides who introduced us to their cities with enthusiasm and energy. I think our least favourite was Maceio, where we handed back our tickets for an afternoon on the beach when we learned that there would not necessarily be a shady spot and I had read it wasn't safe to swim there either. Maceio is - to quote @flossie009 's excellent words, "pretty industrial" and a quick shuttle trip into town and back was enough. We thought Voyager was in good shape - the furnishings are not in the same contemporary style as the newer ships but everything was well maintained and our suite spotlessly clean. My criticism centres mainly on the Enrichment programme, which sadly had no destination-linked lectures at all. During those sea days, I'd have enjoyed a programme of more entertaining presentations and demonstrations - but at least, the internet was always fast enough for me to update my blog! I'd be interested to know what others on Voyager during the last three weeks thought too and I'm happy to answer any questions, of course.