LadyandtheTramp

Mary:

  Enjoyed reading your review - we were also on this cruise, and everything you mentioned (that we knew of) was spot on.  I actually wasn't going to reply, but just relive the trip.  But then I just had to say Hi to "south park" .  I find it amazing how small this world really turns out to be.

On 9/29/2019 at 5:35 PM, SWFLAOK said:

The strictest dress code we've encountered is on Silversea, where informal nights require men to wear jackets, with ties optional. Formal nights require a minimum of a dark suit with tie for men and a cocktail dress for women. Casual night on Silversea is a normal dress code night on Regent. On our 14 night Silversea cruise, there were 3 formal nights, 8 informal nights, and 3 casual nights. We chose room service a few times to avoid dressing up after days with a long excursion, and after a rough day at sea.

Just returned from a 14 day cruise on Silversea, and did NOT have a single formal night or informal night.  Of course, it was an expedition cruise, which probably had something to do with that.😊

We had booked our cruise as a waitlist, as that was the only status available, and SS gave us a GTY Vista (which we didn't mind since location and category are relatively unimportant to us) when confirming, and just today, eight days before departure, notified us of our suite number.  A one-category upgrade, and four decks higher.  Just a data point - it's fine with us, but if you are concerned where you are going to be, I would not take a GTY.  (This is our third GTY and we've never been disappointed, but it's all a matter of expectations.)

We sailed on her around Papua New Guinea this past June-July, and had a fantastic time.  I didn't notice the ship looking tired and cramped, but then again, we both are into port visits and view the ship as not much more than a glorified bus with food.  But this is the way to expedition cruise, we only had 94 pass onboard (it was sold out, it had that many singles), and zodiac was the majority of the time.  Of course, the small ship meant we got to go to many very off the beaten path places, and that was why we booked this one.  I will be sorry to see the ship go away, but hopefully they can replace it with a similar sized ship.

16 hours ago, RachelG said:

The weather this time was by far the worst we have encountered in Iceland. Silversea can’t control the weather, but it seemed as if their plan B was pretty much just a sea day.  If we wanted sea days, we would do a trans Atlantic cruise, which would be way cheaper.  We paid a very high price for this trip, and I felt like they should have tried harder to get more experiences on land.  What hikes we were able to do were good.  But we missed 3.  3 days on an 11 day cruise that was supposed to have no sea days is a lot.

 

 I am truly curious to know what your answer would be for this question, since we will be boarding the Cloud in September: what would you have had Silverseas do when the bad weather arrived?  I mean, you are pretty much out in the wilderness, and there aren't a lot of alternate places to go, so if you were in charge, what would you have done? Not meaning to be snarky, but just would like to know.  Same question for Emtbsam.  Oh, and getting a rude server is completely unacceptable, and she should have been escorted off the ship at the next port.

On 8/9/2019 at 1:55 PM, Travelcat2 said:

 

Rather than having those of us that are interested in the issue wade through all of the various Terms and Conditions, why not copy and paste the part that is pertinent to this discussion?  Does it specifically say that wheelchair passengers cannot go on a tender?*

 

 

*If it does, it is still specific to the cruise line.  I've heard that some newer ships (not Regent apparently) enables wheelchairs to wheel right onto the tender.  This is not dissimilar to buses that have elevators that lift the wheelchair into the "handicapped" spot (where it is secured and the person does not have to get up at all).

What you quoted in your previous posting was directly from the Regent Terms and Conditions, as detailed on the USA website.  Perhaps Fizzy is looking at Ts & Cs from a website based in a different country?

On 7/30/2019 at 3:41 PM, Kinkajou said:

For LadyandtheTramp, It would add another country to my list! I remember reading about 2 guys that were competing for the title of Most Countries Visited, and they were sneaking into countries that were being formed in Africa, trying to bribe officials to stamp their passports. Each had visited over 300 countries. I'm nowhere near that; however, I think I should get credit for Yugoslavia.

Our big dispute concerns the Golan Heights.  We went there during our Israel tour, and the location on Golan where we went was, according to our Israeli paratrooper guide, formerly part of Syria. (Driving around the minefields kinda confirms this.)  Came back home, and according to the CIA Factbook (our "official" guide), where we were was identified as "Occupied Syria", and not Israel.  So I add Syria to our list of countries, but Lady doesn't believe it.  (Of course, the US has now changed its mind and is identifying the location as Israel.)

On 7/27/2019 at 3:43 PM, Kinkajou said:

I'm on the Barcelona to Dubai cruise (while I hoping for some sort of special badge or certificate for transversing the Strait of Hormuz), I would be very happy with DaveFr's solution. Have hotel, excursion, and flight booked in Dubai. I hope someone from Regent is monitoring this thread. Visiting Iran is not on my bucket list.

We are also on this cruise (but starting in Athens) and will basically just go where Regent takes us; both while on the ship, and also for flights.  But Kinkajou, think about what an exciting excursion it would be to go to Iran.  That's a place to which we never expect to go. 

Thank you.

On 6/21/2019 at 11:36 AM, RachelG said:

If you go to the information about boots and outfitting for the trip, it gives you the options--one is bring your own boots, and it specifically says you can't leave them onboard.  This is new this year.  Of course, I suppose you could just forget and leave them in your cabin.  I doubt they would come running after you to give them back.  I suppose they could mail them to you and charge you for the postage.

A quick question.  Where did you find this information about the change regarding availability of boots?  We are going on the Kangerlussuaq - Quebec City cruise taking off on September 11, and have not been able to find this info anywhere in the cruise information (after reading this thread, I went through and read everything I had).  Being Florida residents, we do not have boots, and were planning on relying on borrowing them onboard like we did on our Antarctic cruise.  I'd hate to have to buy pairs, shlep them in our luggage, and then only use them once or twice (as mentioned earlier), and especially do not want to buy them until I can view the notification.  

In the Travel Journal recently posted, under Arctic voyages, they do mention boots, but not that they would not be provided.  The quote from the Journal says: "For your comfort we recommend you bring your own boots. Boots are available onboard, however, sizes cannot be guaranteed" , which seems to indicate that they would be available, but who knows.   

On 6/7/2019 at 3:27 PM, redmaid said:

Our cruise finished on May 15th so plenty of time for them to be delivered.  ... At least this time it was the free Regent postcards ( so posted for free) but previously they were postcards we had bought and paid $1 each for postage. 

Did you put stamps on them?  From which country?  We've encountered that type of situation before, where we had to be sure to coordinate when we handed in our postcards with the stamps being affixed.

On 6/6/2019 at 11:24 PM, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

I think you'll find that the PG prices are lower than Regent (which they should be, considering the cabins are smaller, and included air is Economy, from L.A. instead of Business Air. To really compare you should compare cruise-only prices.  Business air to Tahiti from Los Angeles is quite expensive, btw.

 

So just comparing a cruise of similar length and itinerary and a similar time of year, although not the same month, and comparing similar cabins, with air, here's what I see:

 

PG Jan 2020, 10-days, E Window cabin, $6,745 -- D Balcony, $8,345

Navigator March 2020, 10-days, H Window, $15,699 -- F Veranda, $17,899

 

Of course, the PG cruise doesn't include excursions either, but it's otherwise all-inclusive.

I'm just curious about whether the prices you quoted are in other-than-US-dollars.  I just checked the Regent website, and cruise "BEYOND THE BLUE LAGOON", for 10 days on Navigator beginning March 28, 2020, listed a price of $11,999 (Waitlist) for H window, and a price of $13,699 (Waitlist) for F veranda.  These are with business-class air: if you wanted to book your own air, you get a credit of $7,500.  Of course, if booking a number of cabins, I don''t think I'd want to depend on waitlist.

We essentially started with Princess (I don't count the Carnival 12 years earlier), and obtained "status" with them.  Then they "upgraded"us to a horrible cabin, and when we complained after arriving, they NEVER responded.  That, more than anything, caused us to drop them as an option.

We then looked around, and Regent had one itinerary that we liked.  Thought the pricing was high, but figured it was OK as a once in a lifetime event.  Absolutely enjoyed it no end.  What made me realize the difference was, when we were leaving for our first shore excursion, there were crewmembers at the exit handing us bottles of water.  Just handing them out, not selling them or anything.  This is what told me we were on a different kind of cruise - I was used to Princess crew selling them at the exit.  Then, later, when we were in the theater, the wait staffer came asking what we wanted to drink, and whoa....., they just handed it to us, and did not hand either a chit or wait for us to provide a cruise card.  Blew my mind.

Now we're done a number of cruises on Regent, and three expeditions on Silverseas, and don't think we could go  back.  The SO doesn't do alcoholic beverages, and does complain about having to pay nonetheless, but doesn't think that is enough to stop us from using those cruise lines.  Her main complaint is that, even being "all inclusive", Regent still doesn't take care of land tour guide tips - she really wants all inclusive, as in nothing out of pocket once we step on-board (and even before that, since Emirates provides door-to-airport and return service in BC).

We recently were looking for a cruise for the Arctic circle, and Silverseas, Regent and Seabourne were possibilities. Regent got dropped because they didn't go "deep" enough.  Seabourne was significantly less expensive, until we got the pricing on their excursions, which were included on the Silverseas expeditions.  Wow.  That blew them out of running - the total, when you added in BC airfare, was thousands more than SS.  So that is who we are using for our cruise this Sept.  

The last time we booked excursions (Feb. 18 for our upcoming Oct. cruise), we were able to obtain a PDF of all excursions for all ports for our 30+ day trip almost a week in advance of booking day.  Linda and I both independently reviewed all of them to select our favorites - which we then input into an Excel spreadsheet by date so that we could compare and prioritize the selections. (Yeah, I know, I know) 

Then, on the 18th, Linda went online at midnight and saw that every excursion was fully booked.  Kept trying for about half an hour, then came in and complained; we discussed canceling the cruise if there weren't going to be an excursions that we could do.  (Our whole purpose in cruising is port-calls to see different parts of the world.)  When we woke up six hours later, she tried again, and was able to book every one of our first choices for excursions.  So we think someone was literally asleep at the switch when the excursion booking should have gone live.

18 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

Okay, I just revisited my calculations. Looks like I messed up USD and CAD. Oceania cruise only on Penthouse suite is around $7,500 CAD on average, business class flight around $3,000 CAD, and the rest (beverages, excursions and gratuities) around $2,000 CAD, so total is around $12,500 CAD, not too far from Regent.

 

A quick question: how are the business class flights that they provide? Are they reasonable connections (not like 2 stops on a 9 hours flight that could turn it into 15-17 hours)? Also, are excursions unlimited, and are they good quality? 

Just a quick comment, though not wanting to jump in here on either side.  You list business class flights as around $3,000 CAD.  While I cannot price flights for VOY200604 because they're too far out, pricing for this cruise with business to Athens return from Venice on the exact same dates this year, the absolute cheapest is $3,983 US, but that comes with 2 stops that makes it a 17 hour trip.  Booking a one-stop costs $8,579 US.  Of course, where you are starting out from/finishing will change that number.

13 hours ago, Focused1 said:

 

We spent 28 days on Silversea last year and did not find them “very formal” at all. In fact, except for requiring jackets in the Italian specialty restaurant, there was little or no difference in passenger dress code which was mostly resort casual each night. Never saw ladies with long evening gowns either. Yes, they have formal nights but it is optional in terms of formal wear, just jackets for men. In terms of the passengers on Silversea, I agree with Wes. We sail on both Regent and Silversea and there is no difference in passenger congeniality or friendliness since many of these passengers sail on both lines. We also find the crew very similar as well. 

We've sailed twice on Silverseas, with one more coming up in September, and have never found them to be "formal".  I can't remember for the first cruise, but our last cruise on Silverseas I didn't even pack a jacket, and I won't pack one for the Sept. cruise.  (Granted, all were expedition cruises, but hey,...).  I bring along a jacket on RSSC, and remember that I only wore it once for dinner at Prime 7.  

OTOH, we're not very formal people, and just avoid the main dining rooms for "formal" nights on RSSC, occasionally opting for room service - which can be great since you can order from the Compass Rose menu.  But each to their own.

I do have some information that might be of interest.  We're on the following cruise on the Cloud this September 11, leaving from Kangerlussuaq going to Quebec City.  According to the flight/transfer info on "My Silverseas", we are flying into Reykjavik (Silverseas flights) arriving on Sept. 10, staying overnight (because of timing issues), then flying out on Sept 11 going to Kangerlussuaq.  The flight info did not provide departure or arrival times for the Charter, so I can't help there, but since this is all on Silverseas I assume (yes, I know) that timings will be fine.  

2fromTo:  Thanks for the heads-up about the Zodiac transfer to the ship.  I knew about not getting the parka until getting on the ship so planned to have  "warm enough" clothing for Reykjavik, but hadn't thought that we'd have a Zodiac trip to embark.  Did you wear your waterproof pants on this leg, or wasn't it necessary, as in they drove slow enough that spray wasn't an issue?

We're looking forward to our cruise.  We did an expedition cruise on the Silver Discoverer last May that was fantastic (Circle New Guinea) though hot weather everywhere eliminated any concerns about hopping of the Zodiac to land, and are looking forward to another one, though this is on the Cloud.  We've already done expedition Antarctica (Explorer II), which is one of my most favorite trips ever, and am curious as to how different the Arctic region will be.

1982CruzStart, Travelcat2;  I believe we are on this cruise also, and we've been thinking about our return out of Dubai.  (We've been to Dubai a couple of time before, so see no need to stay there more than necessary.)  We would be grateful to learn what happened with your return flights on (or not) Emirates.  Ours would be to Orlando, and our last two flights out of Dubai were non-stop on Emirates, with no surcharge.  

We live in central Florida, and just finished a R/T from/to Miami.  Rented a car both directions, dropped/picked up at the Miami Airport Rental Car building, no problems at all.  Cab fare was about $30 each way, plus tip.  Got dropped off right in front of the doorway to enter the terminal.  Only difficulty was trying to get from the Florida Turnpike to the Rental Car building; next time will definitely use Waze, rather than relying on directional signs.

7 hours ago, briar14 said:

Press directly on dot or star on thread title. It will take you to first unread message. This has worked for me this morning.

It took me a while to understand that the dot (or star) is on the thread listing page (where you land when you click on Regent Seven Seas Cruises), and not on the initial page of the thread of interest, where it was in the former version..  But many thanks to Briar14 for providing the initial information.

On 10/16/2018 at 2:47 PM, jeb_bud said:

I found this in another thread...

Hover over the blue dot next to the thread topic. If you've posted in that thread then there will be a star instead of a dot.

Unfortunately, I can find neither a star nor a dot. 

As for our TA, we actually have two of them. The first, a neighbor and friend, books our land tours, etc., but not any of our cruises. Our second is a high volume luxury cruise TA who takes pretty good care of us and provides a decent (but not quite 10%) post-cruise check. He is also able to provide some OBC, either directly from his agency or from the consortium to which they belong. So we feels we're getting the best of both worlds.

The OBC that we've received has come in two flavors - refundable and non-refundable. The refundable we can get in cash if we have any leftover at the end of the cruise. The non-refundable is use it or lose it. Last time we got it (not on Regent) we bought stuff we never would have but wanted to try to not leave any on the table, and we almost did it. (Couldn't use about $4)

Whatever you book onboard can be transferred to another cruise one time and, if I recall correctly, you have 30 days to cancel without penalty.

That was our understanding when we booked last December onboard, but when we wanted to transfer it to another cruise, Regent wanted us to pony up more money until we hit the normal deposit. Discussed this with our TA, who called Regent, and Regent informed the TA that they have changed their policy so that the onboard deposit, while transferable, is no longer accepted as full deposit, but that the client needs to pay the rest of the full deposit. When our TA inquired as to then the policy changed, it was determined that it changed about three days after we paid our deposit, so Regent did not require us to deposit more. But be forewarned about this change, as it eliminates one of the biggest perks for doing an onboard booking.

We've had two different cruises starting/finishing in Cape Town. Both times, the routing was on Emirates in business: from CapeTown to Dubai non-stop, then 8 or so hours in Dubai where Emirates put us up in the airport hotel, then non-stop to Orlando, where we were met by the driver and escorted home. Next time, going the other way, were picked up at home, driven to Orlando airport, then non-stop to Dubai, another 8 hours or so at the airport hotel, then non-stop to CapeTown. The stays in the hotel mid-flights really broke up the trip and made them much more acceptable.

We did a trans-Atlantic from CapeTown to Miami this past December, and did not encounter any of the problems detailed above in this thread. We had a "Guaranteed" cabin, which turned out to be stern on Deck 8, but if there was vibration, we did not notice (or didn't think anything about it). The food was above average to excellent, and the change to the "Always available" selections was fantastic. In fact, I probably selected those more than the daily specials. The lack of a forward Observation Lounge was not a big deal, since there was the equivalent at the stern of the ship. Water is water, and coming into ports -- we could always go outside. The only drawback from the most recent refurb was the missing extra chair, and the missing storage around the desk/TV, but we compensated by putting things into the glassware cabinets. But overall, we loved our cruise (and it didn't hurt that we scored enough Regent points from winning Trivia to gather five Regent tee shirts).