labonnevie

Is there a rollout schedule for the other ships that you can share?

How is she looking? Is Ray the cd? We get on November 10🤞

Actually, it appears there will be at least one other much larger ship with us in each of the Greek ports. 😒

The email states “The modified portion of the itinerary…”

Just received the following re: our Nov 10 Navigator cruise. Safaga, Egypt is still unchanged, for now. As a result of the tragic events currently taking place in Israel, we have made the decision to cancel Seven Sea Navigator’s scheduled calls to Jerusalem (Haifa) on November 15 and 16 and Jerusalem (Ashdod) on November 17. To accommodate this change, the ship will now sail to the beautiful Greek destinations of Mykonos, Santorini, Heraklion and Rhodes on November 13, 14, 15 and 16, before visiting Limassol, Cyprus on November 17. The modified portion of the itinerary is below: Date Port Arrive Depart 10-Nov Istanbul, Turkey Embark 6:00PM 11-Nov Pergamum (Dikili), Turkey 10:00AM 7:00PM 12-Nov Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey 7:30AM 5:00PM 13-Nov Mykonos, Greece 8:00AM 6:00PM 14-Nov Santorini, Greece 8:00AM 6:00PM 15-Nov Heraklion (Crete), Greece 8:00AM 6:00PM 16-Nov Rhodes, Greece 7:00AM 4:00PM 17-Nov Limassol, Cyprus 10:00AM 6:30PM 18-Nov Port Said, Egypt (TECHNICAL CALL) 9:30PM 11:59PM 19-Nov Suez Canal --- --- 20-Nov Aqaba, Jordan 7:00AM 8:00PM RSSC.com will be updated shortly to reflect the updated itinerary. Shore excursions in the new ports will be available to reserve online from October 24. The safety and security of our guests, crew and the communities we visit is always our top priority and we appreciate your understanding during this fluid situation. We will continue to closely monitor the situation being reported in Israel and specific areas in the wider region, and have the flexibility to alter our itineraries to avoid areas of concern should the need occur.

Glad you made it, enjoy every minute. One question please. We have heard that taxi drop off at the new Galataport is a looong way from the ship. As we have some mobility issues, is this true and how far/bad is it. Are there porters and/or wheelchairs available? Also, while in Istanbul, did you need to use Turkish lira everywhere? Could you tip in euros or usd? Thank you and again enjoy, you deserve it!

Regent had us at the Shangri La in Singapore in 2018 post cruise. A bit of a distance from the main sights, but a really excellent hotel.

We are on this November 10 cruise. Of course we can't go to Israel. We are watching the Voyager cruise closely to see what they do. If they successfully go to Egypt for two days as planned, I would like Regent to replace two of our three scheduled Israel days with two days in Port Said or Alexandria giving us an opportunity to have a really good visit to the Pyramids/Sphinx and the museums in that country. At this point, I am not afraid of going to Egypt, I was expecting armed guards to visit Luxor anyway. We also are on the overland to Luxor/Cairo, but they could cancel that and give us two days in Luxor instead and I would be fine with that (refunding the difference of the overland costs for the two trips). That would just leave one day to fill and a stop at Crete or another island in the Med would be ok with me. I understand YMMV.

We were told we couldn’t get off because the Lloyd’s of London divers could clear the ship at any time and they didn’t want to wait for any passengers to return before getting under way. Maybe because you were WC and we weren’t or maybe because you just went to the terminal or maybe we didn’t talk to the right people???

In 2018, we were on Navigator, Perth to Singapore (part of the WC). After skipping a port in Australia, we ran aground leaving Bali. Had to eventually return to port, stuck there for 36 hours, couldn’t get off the ship. As a result we missed Borobudur and were late to another port, canceling most excursions there. We were not happy. What did Regent do? They gave everyone a fcc for 25% of the fare we had paid. We were happy customers.

I think I will try to change my expectations for cruising in the future. I will cruise expecting to sit by the pool (weather permitting), play trivia daily, have a before dinner drink and (usually) good to excellent food. I will also expect to see the ocean most days. (I can do most of this in Laguna Beach.) If by some chance we happen to get into a few ports, regardless of where they are, my expectations will have been exceeded. I can only hope that the cruise fares I pay are somewhat less than those previously.

We have taken over 20 cruises, so we understand missed ports all too well. However, it is hard to say that we would have signed up for this cruise if it did not include Israel and Egypt. We have been to Istanbul, Ephesus and Rhodes. There are already 7 sea days of 21 and we have been to most of the Med ports. The ports are not the only reason for the cruise, of course, but if we just wanted to cruise we wouldn't have to travel to the middle east to do so. We generally pick our cruises based on where we want to go. We love Regent (although the Navigator not so much - yes, we know many love her). Hopefully we can still get to Petra, Luxor, etc. This is our fourth attempt at this cruise and we are just frustrated. And yes, we are very mindful these are all first world problems and that Israel is fighting for its very survival and their people have lost so much.

We are on that cruise and have an overnight/overland excursion to Luxor with a flight to Cairo for a visit to the Pyramids and Sphinx. Without the three days in Israel and if the overland to Luxor/Cairo, were to be canceled, this becomes a pretty unexciting itinerary.

Because you’re there!

Not mutually exclusive. When we took a 12 night PG cruise way back in 2008, it ended in Papeete. We took the ferry to Moorea and stayed three nights in an overwater bungalow. Fabulous fun, still remember it was chambre cent six.

We took this tour September 2022 and would rate it a 5. The first part through the old town was interesting but at the prison it went downhill fast. We were held captive for 45 minutes to an hour in the prison. 15 minutes would have been sufficient. Then, when we finally left, our guide ran us through the restaurant area of town and promptly left us, albeit in sight of the Quest.

We think block parties are fun. We meet our neighbors up and down the hall and learn a little about them. Then we can say hello as we see them throughout the cruise. If you are traveling with others and don’t care about meeting new people or are not the outgoing sort, I can understand why you might not enjoy them.

I tip generously at home, but when we travel I try to respect local customs and cultures and not impose American ways on others. In Japan, a slight bow and a heartfelt “Arigato” feels appropriate. I believe we have gone way overboard with this tipping thing in the US. Just MHO.

I would take it as a plus to not receive another tote bag. We have a closet with maybe 20 of the things, just gathering dust. We always use the most utilitarian bag we have received, from AMA Waterways, maybe 10 years ago.

Wow! I was young once too. I just can’t remember it!

In our experience always before lunch.

We were there in 2019, loved it. Fabulous scotch tasting room, although we used it for gin and tonics.

If I didn’t use it to take pictures, I would as well. 😎

While shorts are not appropriate in the restaurants after 6, even if you are just walking around the ship, you may find it too chilly for shorts. It often seems quite cold in most venues at night.

It might be good to check what other ships are disembarking at the same time as you are. Last year we disembarked from a Seabourn cruise at the same time as one of the Monster of the Seas. Absolute chaos! While Seabourn staff did their best, after luggage pickup, all passengers from both ships just merged into one giant mass of humanity. Exiting the terminal, you had to cross the street to try to get a taxi, hundreds, if not thousands, doing the same thing. You just had to be “New York aggressive “ or you would never have gotten a taxi. I have no idea where you would have met a driver if you had booked one. Fortunately, it was a Saturday, so traffic was light. That said, we made it to LaGuardia in plenty of time for a 1 pm flight.