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We're on deck 9 too!! The place is buzzing.

Hi Lois and everyone here, we're on the Nova and will fly out from Heathrow tomorrow morning.  Look forward to meeting everyone.  We're on deck 9 also so may bump into you.

I just want to add my two penneth to the views expressed on Seabourn.  We did a cruise on Encore in July/August and couldn't find fault with anything.  We had breakfast on the patio deck every morning and the wait staff knew from day one what our preferences were.  We didn't have to ask what we wanted; as soon as they saw us arriving, our tea and cold and hot water arrived without delay.  The food was excellent and the second week was fantastic - we went to a classical concert in the Ephesus Ampitheatre.  The organisation by Seabourn was brilliant; 14 coaches getting us there and back and after the concert, we arrived back at the quay to all the crew welcoming us 'back home'.  The 14 day cruise went without a hitch and we would recommend Seabourn to anyone.  As previous posters have said, there are always hitches here and there, but we were very lucky that some of the crew remembered us (which we think makes a difference) and those that we met for the first time knew, again after day one what type of drinks we liked with lunch and dinner and we wish we were back on Encore now!!!

We've just heard from our travel agent about the cancellation of this cruise also.  Very disappointed.  Have looked on Regent's website to find another cruise and everything is Waitlisted!! Hope our Voyager cruise in May - Venice to Barcelona goes ahead.  We have very serious withdrawal symptoms!!!

Hello wuzzle10 and fudgbug, many thanks for the info.  We are both double jabbed and are also on a Government trial whereby we have swabs taken once a month and a finger ***** test which shows we have antibodies.  The only downside we can see at the moment is that good old Grant Schapps might well put Greece on the amber plus list which will make us have to quarantine on arrival back to the UK! Also, you mention that we need to book a PCR test before we leave the UK for day 2 on returning home.  Who is going to police this?  There must be thousands of passengers that need to do a test, so how can the authorities check every single one?  

Thank you so much for the info you provided, you have put our minds zt rest - at least for the moment until the government change their mind!!! We are both fully vaccinated so hopefully travelling should be a lot easier.  Many thanks once again.

Hello wuzzle10, we are on the Ovation on the 18th September. Am I right in thinking that we don't need a PCR test before flying? I know that we need to complete a PLR form the day before we go but not sure about anything else. Can you please advise and happy cruising!

Is there anyone on this Board from the UK who can answer a few question for me please. We will, hopefully be on board on the 18th September and wonder whether we need a PCR test to leave Heathrow.  What was the procedure at Athens Airport and also the Terminal before boarding.Is testing happening regularly on board and do you get a test before disembarking which is acceptable to the UK. All we know at the moment is that  we need a PLF for the Greek Government to be completed the day before we go. Any advice would be greatly appreciated - thanks in advance.

Our travel agent didn't know our cruise had been cancelled either!  Regent must be so overwhelmed with all this that they're having trouble keeping up with telling travel agents.  We've heard that a relation on the 27th sailing which has been cancelled will get a 100% full refund plus 25% future cruise credit to use this year.  mrstanley - if you read mrlevin's Seatrade insider review, Frank Del Rio says that all cruises in Asia are now cancelled.  I hope those people on the Voyager now in Bangkok can get home safely.

Is there anyone that booked on the March 1st cruise heard from Regent regarding full refund and future cruise credit?   

Hello glorygaf, many thanks for that; we heard from our TA yesterday that embarkation starts at Manila.  We now have to fly from Heathrow to Manila on what we think Philippines Airlines.  Has anyone flown with them and what are they like?  The itinerary is virtually the same although three stops are pending final confirmation.  

glorygaf, where did you hear that we will start in Manila and not Hong Kong?  We still can't get any info here in the UK.  The Regent office here told me yesterday that they're waiting to hear from Head Office in the States.  We are on the March 1st sailing all the way to Bangkok - we think (hope).

We are also on the March 1st sailing doing two cruises which end in Bangkok.  We have heard absolutely nothing from either our travel agent or Regent.  Someone said earlier about some sort of refund and a future cruise credit - again we've heard nothing about this from anyone.  Where did you hear this from?  For those people on this thread sailing on February 12th,  what is your new itinerary?

Pcarded, we are due to fly in from Heathrow to Hong Kong - does this mean we will be rerouted somewhere else?  I wonder what other ports will take us.  We might be sailing round and round the South China Seas for a whole month!!!

Sharle, we are on the March 1st sailing from Hong Kong to Bangkok and haven't heard a word from Regent as yet.  We have three days in Hong Kong before we embark the ship on March 1st.  Wonder if we will be able to do this.  If the Feb 12 sailing are being offered 25% off the paid cruise price plus 25% Future Cruise Credit, then why isn't the March 1st sailing being offered the same?  I appreciate that it must be a nightmare for Regent, but they must have contingency plans they can use.  We're awaiting, with bated breath to hear from Regent as to what plans they have for us.  

Sharle, we are on the March 1st sailing from Hong Kong to Bangkok and haven't heard a word from Regent as yet.  We have three days in Hong Kong before we embark the ship on March 1st.  Wonder if we will be able to do this.  If the Feb 12 passengers are being offered 25% off the paid cruise price plus 25% Future Cruise Credit, then why aren't the March 1st passengers being offered the same?  I appreciate that it must be a nightmare for Regent, but they must have contingency plans they can use.  We're awaiting, with bated breath to hear from Regent as to what plans they have for us.  

Sharle, we are on the March 1st sailing from Hong Kong to Bangkok and haven't heard a word from Regent as yet.  We have three days in Hong Kong before we embark the ship on March 1st.  Wonder if we will be able to do this.  If the Feb 12 sailing are being offered 25% off the paid cruise price plus 25% Future Cruise Credit, then why isn't the March 1st sailing being offered the same?  I appreciate that it must be a nightmare for Regent, but they must have contingency plans they can use.  We're awaiting, with bated breath to hear from Regent as to what plans they have for us.  

Don't know if Northern Ireland is different to her in England, but I have in front of me a leaflet from Regent which says "Our New Best Price Guarantee  Should a better price be released on the sailing you have booked, we GUARANTEE to honour the lower price".  When we book a cruise we always keep an eye on the price and on a couple of occasions this has happened.  We got straight onto our travel agent who, in turn rang Regent and we received a Future Cruise Credit for the difference.  They don't give you cash back but this is the next best thing, we think.  Hope this helps.

We've just got back from a Mediterranean cruise on Encore and stayed on deck 9. No problem with lifts and easy access everywhere. We had no motion problems, mainly because we didn't sail far from one port to another. However, another itinerary may be completely different. We always prefer to be near the top of the ship; we think the lower decks are very claustrophobic, but then each to their own.

Hope you have a great cruise.

We've been on the Odyssey, albeit about five years ago so can't remember much about it. However, we've just come back from a cruise on the Encore and thought it was fabulous. We had a V6 category suite which was very spacious. The food was excellent as were the staff and crew. The only negative we could find was the fact that there are no cushions on the sun loungers - I guess this is for "health and safety". The Collonade is much better than the bigger ships and every night they had a themed dinner. Only once did we have to wait for a table for two in the main dining room, but this was because everyone decided to eat at the same time. No problem, we just went to the bar and had another glass of champagne - as you do!!

Hope this helps.

Many thanks wire and DCCruiser57 for your info. When we looked at a Regent cruise last year, we were quoted about the same price as you mentioned.

On the Regent cruise we would have missed out three ports of call in India just by going to see the Taj Mahal, so that's something we'll have to think about.

Many thanks once again.

Is anyone sailing on the Encore this October Dubai to Singapore? If so, will be there a tour to the Taj Mahal?

We are thinking of doing the exact same cruise in November 2018, but Seabourn can't give us a definite answer as to whether any tours to the Taj Mahal will take place.

Any information offered will be greatly appreciated - many thanks in advance.

Many thanks Haworth - I knew I could count on someone on this message board to help out.

I will check out the website you suggested - it certainly sounds a lot cheaper than we've been quoted.:halo:

Is anyone sailing on the Encore this October - Dubai to Singapore? If so are there any tours to the Taj Mahal?

We're thinking of doing the exact same cruise in November 2018 and Seabourn can't give us a definite answer whether there will be any tours to the Taj Mahal. I'm guessing that if there are this October, then there may well be one or some next year.

Any information you can give us would be greatly appreciated - thanks in advance.

I wonder if someone out there can give me some guidance about obtaining a Visa for travelling to India. We're looking to do a cruise on Seabourn Encore in November 2018 and have spoken to CIBT in London who advise that for Seabourn clients the consular fee is £119.44 plus CIBT's handling fee of £104.40 making a grand total of £223.84 per person!!!:')

I've also read something about an electronic Visa. Is this available and is it cheaper?

Any advice offered will be greatly appreciated.