DavidTheWonderer

On a recent Splendor cruise, I asked the stewardess for a bottle of Jim Beam bourbon for our cabin. She came back a little later and apologised that they didn't have any Jim Beam. Would a bottle of Bulleit bourbon be a suitable replacement? (For non-bourbon afficianados, Bulleit is a high end most excellent bourbon that I'm usually too cost conscious to buy for myself on shore.)

I am NOT going to weigh in on the dress code here. But perhaps a little history will help calm some folks down about this. Historically some tailors in Genoa, Italy devised a type of serge cloth that was particularly durable. They made sails, trousers, and other things out of them. The name 'Genoa' is the origin of the word that became 'jeans'. Soon some tailors in Nimes, France decided to copy this type of serge. The name Nimes is the origin of what we now call 'denim', i.e. de Nimes. So barring jeans and denim in the dress code is in some sense barring Italian and French design. Or course, Levi Strauss used this type of cloth for his famous "Levis" in the mid-19th century in California. And he was a German-Jewish immigrant. And another name for this fabric is 'dungaree', which is Hindi. So the dress code restrictions are even more multi-cultural than is usually known. --- Although I am sticking to my promise of not weighing in on the dress code in the ships, I will mention that I have lectured 1st year physics at the University of Toronto to 1200 students in a huge auditorium while I was wearing Levis or Wranglers.

For me, to my surprise size doesn't seem to really matter. The Paul Gauguin, with a capacity of 332 passengers, is at the top of my best-ever list. But Regent's Splendor, with 750 passengers, is number 2. Choosing between Regent's Voyager (706 pax) and Navigator (490 pax) is a hard call for me: I've had huge fun on both ships. And I really really like Regent's Mariner (700 pax). If one is sensitive to vibration, avoiding Navigator might be a good plan. But all ships have vibrations to one degree or another. Perhaps i am too easy to please. I've also had good experiences on Azamara and Seabourn. The only ship I would refuse to cruise with again is Oceania's Riviera (1250 pax): somehow the vibe on that boat just didn't suit me. Of course, "your mileage may vary."

The captain admitted that as a ship, she left a lot to be desired. But, largely because of that spectacular dining room, until recently she was the most beautiful ship in the Regent (then Radisson) fleet that I had been on. "Recently" means until a couple of weeks ago when we spent 11 days on Splendor.

This is another vote for Sagrada Familia.

Although this post doesn't really address the original question, perhaps you will enjoy it. I was chatting with an experienced cruiser on a Seabourn cruise who once took her grandkids on a Disney cruise. The kids loved it but she was tempted abandon the grand-tykes, jump overboard, and swim for shore.

Yesterday they did Patsy Cline's song Crazy. 99% of women singers who do that song try to do it like Patsy did. There are only 2 or 3 singers on the planet who can pull that off. (Emmylou comes to mind.) Lemon Duo instead did a very nice version of their own. A good professional choice I think. By a couple of good professional musicians.

On land we go to a lot of live music, including supporting local musicians in lounges and bars. So perhaps my standards are too high, but in general I don't expect much on Regent cruises, with a few exceptions. This does not mean I am criticising Regent, but it is what it is. I've added Lemon Duo to my personal exceptions list. They are currently on Splendor with us in the Southern Caribbean. Good competent hard working musicians. Of course 'your mileage may vary'.

The AC on the ships tend to be on high. As I age I am more intolerant of the cold and like to have a sport jacket because otherwise it is too chilly in the lounges and restos. When I was younger I wouldn't even bring a sport jacket on a Regent cruise.

I also think the full Monty safety drill is a most excellent idea. My only issue with it is when I have the life jacket on I struggle to resist the urge to blow the whistle that is part of the jacket.

We're on deck 10 port side aft. There certainly is vibration. Not as much as on lower decks aft on Navigator but there. I don't mind it but know folks from Nav who would be bothered by it a lot. So far this is easily the best ship I've experienced, despite the for me minor vibration issue. Beautiful ship, great cabin, astounding šervice, etc. Remember the Beach Boys song ''Good Vibrations'?

We did our tests today. The reasoning was that if we end up on the ship with covid and quarantined, our insurance is unlikely to fork out any cash reimbursement but Regent might. And doing the test and getting a negative result is always reassuring regardless of insurance issues. Our tests were done with a fellow watching us do the test via Zoom, and showing him the result by holding the little test module up to the camera on our laptop for him to see. I thought that was pretty cool, but also it would be pretty easy to cheat. And it must be weird to have a job which involves watching people put a swab up their nose.

I wouldn't share this with the riff-raff, but people who read this board are certainly not in that category. If you stop by one of the specialty restos or the maitre d late in the afternoon, there may well be a cancellation and they will be happy to give the reservation to you.

From Wikipedia: "The Drake Passage is considered one of the most treacherous voyages for ships to make." Personally, I would trust Regent to keep me safe if I were going to transit this passage. But "your mileage may vary'.

Something I've found to be useful the first time I'm on a particular ship is after boarding and having a refreshing beverage or three is to go up to the highest deck and walk around it, learning what and where is there. Then go down a deck and repeat. By the end you'll have gotten a good idea about the ship, and by then your luggage may well have arrived in your cabin and you can go unpack. Some decks are all cabins, as the deck plans posted on every level will make clear, and can be skipped since all you'll see are long corridors with doors to the suites along them. The elevators are often busy on embarkation day, but walking down a deck via the stairs is a simple alternative.

Completely correct, of course. But .... Since Regent books flights for a large number of people, they get a good deal from the airlines. How much money it is and how much of that is passed along to us passengers is not known, but in general Regent air or even rolling your own and paying the deviation fee is usually a pretty good deal.

Quoting a post here by Colleen McDaniel, Cruise Critic Editor-In-Chief, about Splendor Concierge suites: : "Offering the same cabin space (332 square feet internally and 83- to 131-square-foot balconies) as Superior Suites. ... The biggest difference is the extra amenities that Concierge Suite passengers get ..." Do notice that, as is usual on cruise ships, there is a range of sizes for the balconies. So one cabin might well have a larger balcony than another cabin regardless of whether the suites being compared are Superior or Concierge.