1982CruzStart

All but 1 of our Regent cruises have been on Voyager with the 1 being on Explorer. Though i do like Voyager, I have to admit to being somewhat disappointed with her after being on the newer Explorer. When we were on her she was showing her age, though i think she was refurburished after that. We missed the better cabin layout on Explorer, the ability to eat in the speciality restaurants for lunch and Pacific Rim. As well at first we missed the 2nd sink but got over that. Our next cruise is on Voyager because we choose our cruises based on itinerary rather than ship. The suite on Voyager is slightly smaller than on Explorer though i am not sure it is 100 sq ft unless you are including the balcony. I wouldn't hesitate to book Voyager if it is going where i want to go. I will see how i feel after our next cruise at the end of January.

i agree with CruiserBruce, Frankfurt would be my last choice.

Neither Lufthansa or Frankfurt are on my list to try again. I got food poisoning on LH and i think the Frankfurt airport is a nightmare. It is very utilitarian looking and if you land when many other international flights land, going through passport control and security can be brutal. Luckily we had a lot of time between flights so the very long lines at passport control and security didn't cause us a problem though many people in the priority line were either going to miss or did miss their connections and as what seems to rapidly becoming the norm, the staff seemed not to care. We let a number of people go in front of us in order to help them get through. The business class lounge was a disaster, chaotic and overfilled. Of course it didn't help that i was getting sicker and sicker by the minute. We have flown LH number of times in the past and been through Frankfurt airport a few times and this just put the nail in the coffin. Have a great cruise.

thanks for the update. Glad to hear you are having a super time.

So excited that you are taking us along again. Loved your last report. Beautiful tree and village. Have a great cruise.

Unfortunately, yes you do have to call them. I think Mike Moore is working on changing that function but i could be wrong.

We did Lisbon to Cape Town in 2019 on Explorer. I look forward to hearing about your trip to compare with ours. Have a wonderful time. I don't remember having much trouble with the internet as Flossie and I did a joint thread on the trip with lots of pictures and commentary posting everyday.

I don't think there is anyway to find out online as shore excursion selection is tied to your booking number. What you might be able to do is make a list of the excursions you want and ask your TA to check with Regent on availability. Good luck.

Thanks Susan for the recap. Enjoy your next cruise on Splendor.

Thank you so much for taking us along. Loved your reports, you have such a fun and engaging way of writing. Safe travels home. Glad you enjoyed Voyager, our home away from home in 3 months.

Enjoy your time in istanbul and thank you for sharing your trip both the ups and downs. You are a better person than me as i would have deserted my DH in a heartbeat if i tested negative. I would have told my DH to do the same if i was the one with covid but then i prefer to be alone if not feeling well. You are a wonderful spouse.

Good info to know. Thanks for the update. My experience was on Explorer 3 years ago as we haven't been able to cruise since then so maybe things have changed or maybe it depends on the # of passengers or the GM.

We have done a 30 day cruise and fortunately came away with little to no weight gain. We ate breakfast, lunch and dinner, indulged in a canape or 2 if they looked really good and the ocassional dessert. Tried to keep the portions on the smaller side by asking for appetizer size main courses. I don't often drink at lunch only because it tends to make me sleepy. We do have before dinner drinks, wine with dinner and usually an after dinner drink. Indulge in champagne brunch on Sunday. Now having said all that and add that i do tend to gain weight easily, we walked a LOT. On sea days i walk the track for a couple of miles or ride an encumbent bike if the weather isn't good for at least 30 minutes, almost never take the elevator and tend to take shore excursions that are active. The key for me is staying very active, my DH doesn't gain weight without really overindulging which he just doesn't do.

DDDALE, thanks for your honest representation of your experience. It is unfortunate that things didn't go as well as you hoped. When reading threads like this i am always glad to remember that there are other cruise lines that may work better for you. Regent has a way of doing things, right or wrong, and if the way they do things doesn't work for you, maybe another cruise line will work better for the things that are important to you. Regent for whatever reason made the decision to not print wine lists for everyone, if this is a problem for you, there are work arounds if you are prepared to expend the energy or if this doesn't make sense to you, maybe another cruise line will provide you with what you want. I don't see them changing this policy that has been effect for as long as they have been all-inclusive. I enjoy a glass of wine or two and like what i like but am no expert and i am fine with not having a wine list as there is a good chance i won't know the wineries that are on the list. I like specific varietals based on what i am eating and if that is not what they are serving I simply ask for 1 or 2 other varietals i think will work for me. Can't remember this ever being a problem.

Glad to read that all is going very well. Thanks for taking us along. Enjoy the rest of your cruise and your special dinner. We have enjoyed the block party in the past as it gave us a chance to meet the people around us but different strokes for different folks.

Sorry that the tour wasn't up to snuff. We did that tour years ago with Regent and it was excellent, super guide and a very fascinating place. I am with you regarding using the audio system. I was so pleased that Regent seemed to be trying to improve the shore excursion experience but it wasn't used enough. When it was used by the guide it greatly improved our experience. Thanks for taking the time to post your trip for us.

i believe there is a restaurant reservation desk that you can go to and ask for any availability. If you don't have a butler I recommend doing so as soon as you get onboard .

Thanks for posting about your trip. Take good care of Voyager, we board her at the end of January and can hardly wait.

Thanks for your comments. Have a wonderful cruise.

We received the email as booking for our restaurant reservations opens on Oct 31. I took the email to say that instead of 12:01 am on Oct 31 (which is 9:01pm Oct 30 for us on the west coast), i now wait until 5 pm on Oct 31 to make our reservations. Not an improvement for us but no big deal either way as i am retired so doesn't interfere with my work day.

That is what we did on our visit to Istanbul and it was the best decision we made. He did a great job and we saw a lot in a couple of days.

You may or may not. Often if you are on the same airline for the domestic portion as the international portion, Regent will put you in business class all the way through but there is no guarantee.

Can't wait to follow along on your travels. Thanks for taking us along. Have a wonderful cruise.

On the 2 cruses we did that ran November/December, i think your timing is right. For both cruises we were off the ship before Christmas day so no experiences with what happened that day.

Thanks for the summation of your cruise. Glad to hear all was ship shape with Voyager. She will be our temporary home in late January. can't wait.