labonnevie

Last week reserved our three dinners for upcoming Splendor cruise. 
The website was painfully slow and cranky. 
Only tip is that persistence and determination win the day…eventually. 

It also makes a difference when another huge (4000+) passenger ship is disembarking when you are. Suggest you check the port schedule and plan accordingly. 

2 hours ago, Kwaj girl said:

I've priced 10 different voyages (some from each ship and different voyage lengths/destinations) from 11/24 thru 1/26  as follows:

 

All EBS fares

Same suite category

No "Past Passenger" (not every voyage has this discount and it may be discontinued at any time)

Cruise Only

With air (currently Biz class if intercontinental, economy class if domestic/Caribbean)

 

All on a spreadsheet so I can then get the pricing 7/1 for these same trips.

 

Yes, I know that Regent changes pricing almost monthly but this should hopefully give me an idea of what they're doing price-wise.

 

Please let everyone know after July 1 what you find. Great idea. 

I know I am confused, so can anyone answer this:

In the future if I choose business class will I be paying what in the past was air included?

Or will the price for economy air be comparable to what I previously paid for business class?

In other words, will I be looking at a price increase for the same product?

Thanks. 

Based on your experience and ours in April 2023, if you are flying from the west coast to Tokyo, you will do much better booking your own flights and taking the Regent air credit. We saved about $1200pp. 

4 hours ago, colleenmf said:

But I have to say, during our 2 weeks, we got almost no rain and the weather was in the 70's every day.

You were extremely fortunate!

If this is a real concern, the simple answer is to sanitize your hands after you go through the buffet line. 

We did our own air LAX to Narita, April 2023 (saving $1200 pp rt) business class. 
Looking at all options, we found ANA to be the best.  
Flights were excellent, no issues whatsoever. 
Regent met us and transported us to the Hilton for our precruise program. 
Everything worked perfectly. 

I don’t think the issue you would have is getting to the airport. 
It is more likely to be in the airport. Miami can be an absolute zoo. 
Personally, I would allow more time, like after 12 or even 1 pm. 

3 hours ago, GMIAC said:

What would be the easiest way to get from the port to a hotel in central Rome?

See post #5. 

If you want to acknowledge overall stellar service, do consider the crew fund. So much of what goes into making a great cruise experience happens behind the scenes. People we never see, will benefit from the crew fund. 

If you have sailed on Regent you have sailed on a line where gratuities are indeed included. Seabourn also includes gratuities. You should feel zero pressure to tip anyone on board.
Gratuities for excursion guides and/or drivers are at your discretion. 

You can check out the port website for transfers:

www.civitavecchiaport.org 

They appear most reasonable, just booked them for our son in June. 
Their website discusses the pickup question you pose. 

If you are physically able, highly recommend one of the helicopter glacier hikes out of Juneau. In that case your waterproof hiking boots will be perfect as you will put crampons on over them. 

8 hours ago, flossie009 said:

 

As someone else said, Compass Rose is best for a leisurely breakfast.

If on an early excursion then Room Service, La Veranda or Coffee Connection are your best options.

Depending on your sleep patterns (we are not generally early risers) we have found Room Service to be the best option when we have an early excursion. 
Saves going to La Veranda, plus if you order a couple of extra pastries you can take them with you for a mid excursion snack. 
Be warned that Room Service is usually very prompt. If you ask for breakfast at 7 they might even be there at 6:55. So plan to be wearing something accordingly!

We did this in April 2023. Pretty much agree with everything GO ARMY!

posted. Japan was new for us so we enjoyed most of the tours possibly excepting the shopping on the Ginza. Accommodations were very good and both the Japanese and Chinese restaurants in the hotel were excellent. 

16 hours ago, Neamster said:

Thank you.. good to know. We will be at the desk as soon as onboard. Can’t wait to meet any of you on our cruise dates!

In many cases you can get on your desired excursion by going to the theater before the scheduled departure time. Unfortunately some guests wait until then to return their unused tickets. 

I could be wrong, but I think Regent used the Four Seasons in Monte Carlo a number of years ago. 
We were very pleased with the Le Meridian before a cruise in 2018. 
You can also stay in Nice. 

26 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

  What other things should we consider between booking a Veranda Suite or an Ocean View Suite besides the lack of a balcony?

 

Thank you for your Help!

Fresh air?!

9 hours ago, jeb_bud said:

It’s entirely subjective. Chartreuse just feels a little more “fancy” to me. If you choose Chartreuse the mushroom soup is mmm-mmm good. 

It seems funny to rave about a soup, but the mushroom soup at Cartreuse really is the best ever!

Woodrowst brings up a good question. 
Does anyone know if the trip interruption/trip cancellation benefits of the Chase Sapphire card, for example, would cover non refundable charges for a tour or car in a skipped port?

4 hours ago, zak477 said:

For us frequent Regent cruisers, remember when laundry service was a free perk only with Platinum members and above?  We were so happy to become Platinum members but at the same time Regent changed its marketing and made free laundry service available to all. So no long a frequent traveler perk. And they never replaced the perk with something new.  

I may not remember this correctly (my wife wells me it wouldn’t be the first time) but we had the free laundry perk and it was replaced with a $100 SBC when Regent extended free laundry to everyone. 

AA also recently announced that beginning 10/1 use of the restroom in flight will be $15 to $35, depending on length of flight. 
However, an unlimited yearly fee of $500 is being made available. 

While I don’t bring a lot of dirty laundry on board, I have found items I wanted to wear to dinner the first night pretty wrinkled. Our cabin attendant has been able to get one or two items pressed before we left for dinner if we catch them when we first get to our suite. 
Excellent service. 

Agree.