1982CruzStart

Thank you for all the wonderful pictures and commentary. Have a safe trip home. 

13 hours ago, RMMcC said:

Sorry I'm sure this was asked prior but what paramiters can I enter on ITAMatrix to get business class refundable fares.

 

I don't believe you can enter anything to get just refundable business class fares in ITAMatrix. However ITAMatrix does give you the business class fare code and so if you know the different classes by letter for any airline you are considering, it gives you what fares ITAMatrix is quoting you. 

For instance when you look at the details of the option you are interested in, it will say business (p) or business (j) etc. for example. You just have to know what the P or J equate to with the airline you are looking at. You can easily google fare class codes for any airline and get that info. 

I find that it works for me to just go to the individual airline after using ITAMatrix, search the option i want and then see what fare classes are available.  It also gives me the opportunity to look at the seat availability so i am prepared to give the Regent person the seats i prefer and my frequent flier #. 

9 hours ago, paf225 said:

I had to renew my passport recently and it was very simple.  I booked an appointment online at Service Canada in Kelowna for October 18th.  A week prior to my appointment I walked into the local BCCA office and had the required photos taken at a cost of $10.08.  I arrived for my appointment a few minutes early with my completed renewal application and my photos and was on my way out within 20 minutes.  I retained my old passport after a few holes were punched through it.  My new passport was delivered to me on November 6.  Regards, Paul  

We'll be booking our appointment to the Kelowna Service Canada office early next year. Thanks for the info on the ease of the process. 

We did this cruise Jan/Feb 2023 and though the cruise was not the best we had, we loved our time in Antartica. To me it is one of the most beautiful natural places on earth.  I understand the cheerleaders for expedition but if that is not your reality for whatever reason, i felt this was the best way to see it for me.  When it was on special in Canada a couple of weeks ago i wanted so badly to do it again but life got in the way and we weren't able to book it. 

We had good weather except for a bit of fog, the ocean in Antartica was like glass. Crossing the Drake passage twice was a bit rocky but didn't last that long. 

I did a thread on our cruise so it might be worth checking out. Sorry I am not computer savy enough to post the link for you. 

Thank you for sharing your trip with us. Wonderful pictures. Have a great cruise. 

1 minute ago, Jchisley said:

Can you have breakfast before they kick you off ? 😂

Yes.

21 hours ago, Flgreg said:

Any problems with using those?

No there is no problem using them. We bought some Cruise Critic ones years ago when we did a couple of cruises on Celebrity and i use them for our Regent cruises. Works fine and I never worry about the Regent luggage tag accidentally being torn off.  It is probably not necessary to spend the money as the Regent tags work perfectly well but if you like the added piece of mind, buy them for the small cost of them. 

When offered we have taken advantage of any pre or post cruise tours that are included.  On one cruise from Bejing to Bangkok they were offering both a pre and post cruise tour. You could have 1 of them included.  We wanted to take advantage of both so we included the more expensive of the 2 and paid for the other. One was a tour of Beijing and the other a trip to Angkor Wat. Both fabulous.  

On our 2024 cruise Barcelona to NYC, they didn't offer anything when we booked. However subsequently they did offer an included pre cruise tour. However the price of the cruise had gone up so it wasn't worth it for us to re-book at the new price to have it included. 

We have had very good luck with our included pre and post cruise tours. 

We had booked the Vancouver to Toyko cruise a couple of years ago that was canceled. It included the Vibrant Toyko pre cruise tour. We were going to take it but not really take any of the tours. We had been to Toyko before and many of the tours included places we had already been. We stayed at the Hilton Toyko the previous time and thought the cost of the transfers, hotel stay and whatever else included was probably a reasonable deal for the credit we might get. We were going to spend time visiting with a nephew that lives there and see sites we hadn't seen before either using a private guide or just getting around on the subway. 

Thanks Susan. As always so appreciate you taking the time to bring us along and to post such great photos. 

In the past if you booked a cruise that included the 'free' pre- or post cruise tour and you cancelled it right when you booked you could get a credit. If you tried to cancel later when they were no longer offereing the 'free' tour then you didn't get a credit. 

2 hours ago, tubeamps said:

I’ll be in Tokyo for a Regent 3 night pre cruise stay in a few weeks.

They have us booked in the Hilton Shinjuku.

When we took a cruise out of toyko (not with Regent), we stayed at this hotel and liked it very much. It is not close to walk around touristy places but has excellent subway links to everywhere. 

22 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

It is my understanding that we can pay a deviation fee once the air itinerary has been determined by Regent and that fee will allow us to make changes that may likely result in an up charge....unless of course, we like the itinerary that is provided.  Am I understanding this correctly?

I may be misunderstanding your post but here goes my thoughts.

You can pay a deviation fee starting 210 days before embarkation.  There is now a non-refundable $75 fee to talk to Regent Air (RA). If you decide not to deviate you forfeit that fee, if you deviate it is subtracted from the deviation fee and you are charged the difference. 

Regent won't provide you with their air itinerary until about 75 days before embarkation which at that point is too late to deviate if you don't like the itinerary they give you. You are always best to deviate as soon as the 210 day window opens as I think you get the best choices of the itineraries that Regent has contracted.   Unless you are in concierge and above you will almost always be on flights that get you into the port city on embarkation day with RA. That alone is reason enough to deviate. 

Once you talk to Regent Air about deviating you can always refuse what they offer, you forfeit the $75 fee and take your chances with what you might get at the 70-75 day mark.  I believe when you talk to RA to deviate and are not happy with what they offer you can ask for the air credit and book your own flights. I think there is a very good chance if you don't like what they are offering at 210 days there is a very good chance you aren't going to like what they give you at 75 days. 

As others have said when you call RA to deviate be prepared. Have at least 2 or 3 acceptable flight itineraries to work with the RA agent. My experience is they will go out of their way to work with you to get you what they want. Of course with the airline turmoil that is our world now it is harder for them to do so. If you are very fussy about your flights and you can't work something out  go look and see if you can get the flights you want at a price you can live with and take the air credit.  You have at least a couple of days to accept or reject the deviated flights RA  has offered you.  During that time find out if you can do better yourself. 

So sorry you had this horrible experience. Did you use a TA familiar with Regent and their policies regarding Air?  Did you book the cruise close to the embarkation date? Did no one tell you that from the beginning you could have taken the air credit and booked your own flights or did this just come out when you received the flight info around 70 days before embarkation and by then it was too late? 

We use Regent Air for all our cruises but would never dream of arriving the day of embarkation. We always pay the deviation fee and fly the airlines and days we want, which is at least the day before but often a couple of days early to take advantage of the sites of that port. 

Thank goodness there are good options for you in other cruise lines.  Happy cruising in the future. 

21 hours ago, Eve said:

I’ll be embarking the Explorer on 20 Oct and will strive to do a “Live”.

Looking forward to reading your adventures. thanks in advance. 

During our first cruise that included Israel, there was bombing going on in the south. Regent cancelled our move from Haifa to Ashdod and we did our 3 days, 2 nights in Israel from Haifa. Made for very long days but Regent made sure we were safe.  They will assess the situation and either stay in Haifa and put on the tours they think are safe or if they deem it unsafe they will cancel all ports in Israel. Regent will make sure their passengers are safe. 

Have a great cruise and I look forward to reading whatever you have time to post. 

1 minute ago, GMIAC said:

My dining window opens tomorrow at 7PM CST, during which time we'll be at dinner with friends so I'll have to duck out for a few minutes to the rest room!  🤪

 

Any pro tips I need to know about RSSC dining booking? We prefer tables of 2, and know that they might already be taken because we're sailing steerage (F1 Superior Suite) on Grandeur and don't have a booking advantage. Does Compass Rose require reservations? I know Sette Mare doesn't take them. Any recommendations on when to do specialty (on sea days, after excursion-light port days, etc,) or do them just when we can fit them in? 

 

So many questions!

CR doesn't take reservations. When i book dining reservations i pick either sea days (the most popular) or days when we have shore excursions that end early in the day and have time to rest and recuperate before dinner.  We eat early but are happy to share so i look for any available times between 6:30 and 7.  If you are willing to share you will find it easier to book.   

Good luck. 

22 hours ago, fudge said:

I know I am boring you to death but here goes.

Definitely not boring. Really enjoying your posts. Thanks for taking us along. 

Thank you to bringing us along. Can't wait to follow your adventures. Have a wonderful druise. 

3 hours ago, Roccaforte said:

OMG😩.  Fell and broke my shoulder last Sunday.  Can’t imagine trip to airport, TSA, waiting area, boarding and dropping into one of those awful coach seats for 31/2 hours.  Due to leave Oct. 11.  Will see the orthopedic surgeon Wednesday to get his opinion.  Anyone except the heroic RachaelG ever do something like this?  I can’t take any narcotic type drugs so I’m relying on Tylenol and Motrin.   Trip booked on Amex Platinum.  Guess we’ll put it to the test😩. 

So sorry to hear about this. Please take care of yourself.

I have to say if it was a cruise i absolutely wanted to take I may be like RachelG and soldier on. However one never knows until you are in that situation as to what you would do. If the cruise is not a bucket list one i would stay home, heal and feel sorry for myself. 

Hope you heal quickly and don't suffer too badly. 

We have a couple of unhappy friends going on a cruise with us in 2024. Instead of booking as soon as the window opened they dallied around and waited a couple of weeks. Now a number of the ones they want are sold out, some with waitlist and some not allowing any waitlists.  One of them has sailed Regent before and should have known to book as soon as possible, the other is a newbie but travelling with the previous passenger. The newbie is threatening to cancel though maybe that will change as the initial disappointment eases. We told them the waitlist will likely clear as we get closer to final payment or as people re-think their choices and cancel. 

On our very first Regent cruise we had sold out excursions and were very disappointed.  We cruise for the ports and tours. However in the end we were able to take every one we wanted. That experience taught me to book as soon as the window opens to make sure you get what you want. 

We also did this side trip in 2014 on our Dubai to South Africa cruise.  I felt it was very well organized, the buses were comfortable and not overcrowded. The hotels and food were very good. We had excellent guides.  It was worth every penny we paid as it was at the top of my must see list.  My DH had been before but was still very glad we did this.  The highlight to me was the Red Fort even more than the Taj. I was still very happy to go there, as you can tell, as it is my avatar and that is the picture of the Taj from that trip. 

On our cruise we had an overnight in Mumbai so we did a tour there 1 day and then flew out the next day. I think we missed 3 days in port - 2nd day of Mumbai, Goa and New Mangalore (NM). We flew into NM so all we saw of it was the drive from the airport to the ship.  Did not regret missing any of the ports for this side trip. 

I would say the only slight negative was the flying experience as the airport in Mumbai was chaotic.  Security was a pain as they separated men and women to go through different lines but there was no signage to tell you that or anyone telling people what to do.  Couples would get in the same line, put their baggage on the conveyor only to have their bag disappear and the women be told they had to get out of line and go to the back of the other line without their carryons or purses. Finally the word passed along to the rest of us and we got in the right lines. There was some upset women who had no idea what was happening with their stuff. 

We must have had to show our airline tickets a half dozen times after clearing security. Seemed it was an employment generating job to have someone check your airline ticket about every 10 yards or so as you made your way down the jetway to the plane. Flights were fine and thankfully short. 

Only you can determine if the price is worth the trip.  We paid $1900 pp for the trip in 2014. 

19 hours ago, vitacura said:

Off to Compass Rose we go with the intention of having one appetizer, soup and another appetizer as our main course. Sounds like a good plan!

You can just order the entree to be appetizier size so you are kinda trying to stick to your plan. 🤣

Thanks for posting so we get to come along with you. 

We have done a number of cruises on Regent and on Celebrity. We cruise for itinerary and we took the Celebrity ones when the ports we wanted to visit weren't offered by Regent on any of their ships.  Our Celebrity cruises were in suite class and enjoyed them but from my perspective Celebrity doesn't compare to Regent. When we were going back to Regent after a couple of Celebrity cruises, I ran the numbers including all the things that are important to us, Celebrity was almost as expensive and not in the same class as Regent. 

Celebrity turned me off when we had paid for Suite class but all the wines we liked were too expensive for the included wine list and then they were pushing the additional liquor package.  As well the only place to get an included drink outside Luminae was in Micheal's and we wanted a little more freedom to have a drink without being nickeled and dimed.   Our class of suites on Celebrity, though slightly bigger were not near as nice as our cabin on Regent. Every once and a while i take a look at Celebrity offerings but find their Suite Class has gotten so expensive that in all respects, Regent is much better value for us. 

i also found the people that travel on Regent are much more laid back and not trying to impress anyone else with what they have. 

Absolutely beautiful. thank you.