1982CruzStart

Thanks for posting the video.  This maybe the closest i get to seeing the Splendor. 

Looking forward to any and all live threads that both of you (WNcruiser & What a Market) might do. Thanks in advance. 

After i made my appointment online i received a confirmation from the centre i made the appointment at. Luckily after i made the appointment i received an email saying my renewal application had been approved and i no longer needed to attend the appointment. It was automatically cancelled and i received my Nexus card a couple of weeks later. Saved a 4 hour drive each way and a hotel stay. Yahoooo!!

9 hours ago, welshfamily said:

We love the duck and watermelon salad. I believe it is a very popular dish. Does the Mariner have PR dishes as daily specials ?

If not who do we ask if this is possible on the Mariner?

Getting excited we have under two weeks till we sail.

When on Voyager earlier this year we ordered the lobster tempura from the Maitre'd. When you enter CR just ask the reception staff person and they will ensure that you are connected with the right person. 

Yes they had PR dishes as daily specials. As noted by many if they have the ingredients they will make whatever you want with 24 hour notice. 

2 hours ago, Aubie59 said:

I may be wrong, but once upon a time didn't  the "no tipping necessary" policy included shore excursions as part of Regent's all-inclusive package?

That hasn't been the case since we started cruising Regent back in 2013. I guess we are fairly new to 
Regent with only 10 years of experience but tips were not included for guides and drivers since are first cruise with Regent. 

As others have said, do some research.  There are good sites that tell you what the tipping amounts are and whether USD are acceptable or not. Some places discourage the use of USD as it is difficult for the recipients to use or convert the $ to their own currency and there are other places where people are happy, in fact prefer USD for tips. 

We have access to a very good foreign exchange retail store and so try and always take the currency of the country we are going to.  Of course in our case we are converting to a foreign currency regardless so it is just as easy for us to get the currency of the country we are visiting as buying USD. 

Once you find itineraries on ITAMatrix, it is a good idea to go to the individual airline websites and make sure that the airline is showing that the lowest business class fare is available for those specfic flights.  In the letter from Regent it recommended that we request itineraries that show non-refundable or lowest business class fares as that is the class of fare that they have contracts for. If the flight you are looking at has only refundable fares available it is likely that Regent won't have that flight available for you. 

Congratulations, that is a wonderful upgrade. 

16 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

Let’s see, the foreign carriers that I could’ve chosen for my flights from Austin to Buenos Aires, and returning from Santiago Chile to Austin were:

COPA,

LATAM

Aeromexico

Air Canada (have read LOTS of complaints)

Aerolineas Argentina (used to have a terrible rep. I avoid)

LAN Chile (used to be great. Maybe still is)

 

for the benefit of others, who might also be looking to customize their flights to South America, would you experienced Regent cruisers recommend any or all of the above carriers?

Thx!

We did a South American cruise this past winter. We flew on Air Canada (our choice) and in business class their service is great and the pod configuration (IMHO) is ideal for getting some rest. 

Our only complaint is that we picked the wrong flight home from Toronto.  AC changed planes and we were not flying one of the planes with pods. It was the old BC configuration and it was not great, service or comfort.  To be fair this was our 2nd flight after several hours from Santiago to Toronto so we probably weren't as open to change at that point as we might have been if we were just flying across the country home or we had been forewarned before we started the flights. 

We had people on our plane that left Montreal that were routed by Regent from Florida up to Montreal and then onto BA with a stopover in Sao Paulo.  They were good sports about the whole thing.

It was a well done video that showcased the ship and amenities very well. thanks for sharing. 

My DH and I have different last names and we each have an account, however the 2 accounts were netted against each other in the end so it didn't matter where the SBC showed and where the charge was posted. It all worked out in the end. 

1 hour ago, padgman1 said:

Question - if you receive a higher cabin than your GTY suite, do you get the amenities of that suite?

For example, if one got a Concierge suite from a Veranda GTY, would one get the multiple devices for WiFi and priority specialty dining reservations?

I believe that you do get the benefits of the suite, however generally by the time the GTY is filled you are long past the priority reservations time. 

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. 

As Flossie said, it is a fare class.  Restricted business class is a fare that is not fully refundable.   The fare class goes by different names on different airlines. For example on Air Canada it is called 'Lowest'.   

If you are going to deviate, before calling Regent Air you will want to research the itineraries you want and look for options that offer non-refundable business class fare (restricted business). Then there is the chance that Regent might be able to accomodate your request.  If you look at itineraries that have only fully refundable business class fares it is likely that you will either be told they are not available or will have to pay a significant upcharge. 

Just now, GMIAC said:

Thanks.

 

Does everyone who doesn't have the earlier dining booking advantage have the same booking date?

Yes, as far as i know.  Those in higher end named suites have access to speciality restaurants everyday while onboard so no real reason to give them even earlier access. 

42 minutes ago, GMIAC said:

My dining booking date for a January 26 sailing is November 12. Am I in a "later" group? I had no idea there were such things.

Silver and above and concierge and above have earlier booking dates than passengers that have not reached silver status or have booked a suite class lower than concierge. 

Great pictures and informative commentary. Thanks for bringing us along on your cruise. I can't believe it is almost over already.  Enjoy the end of your trip and safe travels home. 

43 minutes ago, Zqueeze1 said:

We booked our own business class travel also. But, alas, just like Icarus, we crashed and burned.  Still trying to get a status on my luggage and cannot get anyone to update us.  I appreciate the advice and I will get myself a drink as soon as I can get some answers. 
 

Z and TB

So sorry your great cruise ended in such a horrible trip home.  Hope you get your luggage soon. 

Have a great cruise and thanks for taking us along on your trip. 

Ebus is the bus service that took over when Greyhound pulled out of the West. 

Just now, Heidi13 said:

 

Trains arrive at Pacific Central at Terminal & Main.

That's good to know so you have to add in the cost of taking transportation from the train station to the port. 

I applied for my renewal in 2020 and then the world blew up. I believe, they are quite backed up and i finally received my renewed card about a month ago. Fortunately i didn't have to do an interview though up until i got the email notice of approval it was still showing as having to book an interview. That meant a 4 hour trip each way to an interview in Washington State which i had booked for this summer.  So glad i don't have to do that now. 

As LHT28 says it depends on what your time is worth and how risk adverse you are in dealing with multiple modes of transportation to get you to where you want to be.   

I have read of people taking the bus or the train wtih some recommending the train over the bus as you can book in business class with a much nicer trip for very little extra in cost.  I imagine the bus goes right to the port but i am not sure where the train ends, whether it is at the station beside the port or the one that is a little ways away. 

With cross border immigration you need to give yourself lots of time to get to the port if you take the bus or a rental car.  I have read that the bus usually clears pretty quickly but just 1 passenger without proper documents can hold up the entire bus. Not sure how they handle immigration on the train. 

You want to make sure you research very carefully all the pros and cons.

You didn't say, so not sure if your cruise ends in Vancouver or in the US.  If Vancouver you have the reverse process to deal with. 

For me I would fly into YVR as i just don't want the stress of making sure every stage of the trip comes together seamlessly.  

Great photos, wonderful commentary and looks like a super cruise. Enjoy your last couple of days.  Thanks for posting. 

When we did a similar itinerary of the Indian ports we took advantage of the overland tour to the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort.   The tour company contracted by Regent did a marvelous job and as you can see from my Avatar of the TM it was one of the most memorable trips we have taken.  The downside is that you miss all the other ports in India but I have no regrets.  In our case we had an overnight in Mumbai so we got to see some of it but even if we hadn't i still would have no regrets on missing it. 

On one of our stops in Fujairah, we did a 4x4 dune tour and it was excellent and a lot of fun.