Dolebludger

We had signed up for a tour of the Normandy beaches on our August Splendor cruise. It was scheduled to depart at 8:45 AM. We received an email from Regent that it was cancelled. We contacted our TA and she was informed that the tour would now depart at 9:45 AM. We are still on it. Wonder why the email said cancelled instead of simple informing us of the new time?

Good point. This would account for Regent’s failure to secure hotel and transfers in Barbados.And it had the same problem in Iceland too.

Just a guess, but it looks like Regent is having problems finding suitable providers of shorex hotels, land transportation, and all land services. For what ever reason, the end of the pandemic left us with world-wide shortages of labor, which could be the root of these problems.

Five years ago, the Retreat was real competition for the lux lines. Almost the same degree of service and inclusions but for a lower fare. Been there — enjoyed that. Now, post-pandemic it looks as if some of the former inclusions aren’t there any more, and the fares are not lower (if at all and even higher) than the lux lines. So, while the Retreat may still be enjoyable, it is no longer a “good deal” given the price. For some reason, some like a larger ship than the lux lines offer. I can’t see why. We returned from a cruise on the Regent Splendor two weeks ago. We found the service, food, and entertainment to be great. Can’t imagine what would have been better if that ship held 3000 guests instead of 750. More guests onboard would seem to be a negative factor — not positive.

This may be a bit off topic, but it is funny. A friend was asking me about cruises, and said he was tired of lines and crowds everywhere and extra cost for many things. Told him to check out Regent, which almost never has such things. He said he wouldn’t like it because their ads showed all dressed up people (coats, ties and evening dresses). I said “don’t believe all the pictures you see in ads — it’s not that way onboard” I had to show him some pictures of guests I took on the Splendor a couple of weeks ago to convince him. Makes me wonder how many people avoid Regent because they think it is too dressy.

I guess I should contact Regent and tell the folks there that their ads showing dressed up guests are DRIVING AWAY potential customers! It would drive me away too if I didn’t know better — which I do.

NCL can compete with the Retreat only on their newest, larger ships..back in 2015 we were on a music cruise in their Haven on the NCL Pearl. There was no separate dining room, no,Haven included lounges, and no included drinks on the main ship. I posted on the NCL board here to see if this were still true. I found that it is still the case. To me, the NCL haven on some of their ships is no competition for the MSC Yacht club or the X Retreat

I can only speak for Regent as it is the only lux line with which we have recent experience. For casual nights (which is all they have unless the cruise is 16 nights or more) the evening dress code is the same as Celebrity’s, except jeans aren’t allowed after 6:00 PM in restaurants and lounges, where shirts need to have collars. On longer cruises, there might be a few ‘formal optional” nights. On these, the majority of guests still do the casual thing. A few might wear a sports jacket and very few might wear a tux. I’ve cruise Celebrity and Regent. The only difference in what I take might take on Regent substitutes casual slacks for jeans.

I well recognize the bad result that can come from good reviews. When I posted reviews of our 2017 and 2018 retreat cruises on the Eclipse and Equinox, I said they were the best value at sea. And back then, they were. And other posters said the same. And look what happened. Prices doubled (or close to it). Perks were reduced. And now the retreat is no longer the best deal. I certainly hope that Celebrity finds its way back to the value position it once held

Lastdance, just week or so ago, we were on the Regent Splendor and never “dressed up” for dinner beyond slacks and polo shirt.

Cruise ship dress codes do require a bit of research to get it right. Some lines we cruised a long time ago applied their dress code only to restaurants and lounges, but shorts and T shirts were fine in the theater. Maybe some cruise lines are like that now. IDK. But, of course, we know that Regent’s “after 6” dress code applies to all public areas. But maybe some don’t understand that.

We are usually Regent cruisers, but we cruised in a CS shortly before the pandemic. We liked that cruise, so we booked another in a RS on board. We liked that one also. Celebrity suites offered much of what we were used to on Regent, with larger suites and lower price tag. Checking on cruises post pandemic, we found a reduction of perks in the Retreat and big price increases that put it at a higher cost than Regent on many cruises, with fewer inclusions. So, we went back to Regent recently, and found the experience improved. Given the diversity of things other people want on a cruise, it is of course impossible to recommend Regent to all. But for us, it is currently the best for the price.

On our last Regent cruise (Splendor — 03/24/2024 to 03/31/2024) my wife wore nice slacks, tops, and shoes. I wore non-denim slacks (different material, but same cut as jeans), a collared polo shirt, and shoes exactly like sneakers but with leather uppers. No problems, and we felt we “fitted in”, as fellow guests were dressed in similar fashion. On one evening after 6:PM, I wore a dress T with a black sports coat. No problem with that either. And I think we fitted the Regent dress code as well. We live in a very informal area where dress is concerned (Durango, CO — nobody wears a tie). And that’s pretty much the way we dress around home. So I think Regent’s dress code is very reasonable, considering that it is a “lux line” — and the best one.

Here are my observations from our Splendor E. Caribbean cruise which ended a dozen or so days ago. MEN: wear pants not made of denim. It doesn’t matter if the pants are cut like jeans ( patch rear pockets, rivets, etc.) just as long as they aren’t made of denim fabric. Shirts should have collars, worn tucked in or out. Or you can wear a dress “T” shirt with a sports jacket. Wear shoes, of course, but the type doesn’t seem to matter. I wore leather shoes cut like sneakers, and nobody cared. And don’t wear a hat in any dining venue. WOMEN: wear a dress or pants with a nice top. Shoes, of course, — the exact type doesn’t seem to matter. Even on a longer cruise with “formal optional evenings”, you can still opt for the casual code, and you’ll have plenty of company.

Well, I’m happy to learn that Apple products bought on X have a warranty start date the same as the sale date to the consumer. Just another internet rumor.

I don’t need the newest iPad, so if older models are sold for the first time I do expect some discount. But what I read about shipboard purchases of Apple equipment stated that there might not be much (if any) warranty left. According to what I’ve read, Apple’s time limit on warranties begins when the store receives the item — not when the consumer buys the item. I don’t know if any of this is true, but it is the story that’s been going around

In those cases, we all need to learn how to just say no;

Well, I must confess that I am a big enemy of formal nights on cruise ships. It is sort of a “blast from the past”. Yes, part of the opposition is based on airlines charging for luggage. But most of us who cruise Regent take business or first airline. On those flight classes, luggage is included. So it comes down to the lack of airport porterage, transit from gate to gate, and all the inconviniences one experiences at an airport these days. I feel that our airports have ignored the Americans With Disabilities act. I will never fly through MIA again. But, I have no problem with Regent;s after 6:00 PM. Basically, men had to wear collared shirts (polos were allowed). Shoes were required, but I didn’t t see any see any problems with type. Men had to wear long slacks — not denim jeans or shorts. But I have slacks cut just like jeans only made of a different kind of cloth, and they (and others like me) were served on the ship with no problems.

We were on the Spendor a couple of weeks ago. Our laundry was always returned on time. I confess that I did not put a stop watch to it, but the finished laundry was always in our suite when we needed it. As far as I can determine,Regent is the only line that has included laundry for us.and it is a major reason why we continue cruising on Regent.

Yes, Bill, tipping is out of hand here in the USA. Tip jars are everywhere. And tip prompts appear on credit card checkouts — even in some retail self service transactions where tipping was unheard of a few years ago. And these prompts are above the 10% — 15% rates that I grew up with. I like to cruise Regent, for one thing, it get me out and away from these things.

I know this, Picardad. But Regent shouldn’t have different contract terms for its transfer contractors in San Juan from those in Miami. As I understand it, the only item for which we opted out (and received a credit) was the air. We didn’t opt out for transfers.

I had an interesting (but small) problem with Regent on the hotel transfer thing on our very recent San Juan - Miami cruise on the Splendor. We were told (and knew) that Regent wouldn’t provide airport - hotel transfer in San Juan because we booked their hotel for an extra night before the hotel-provided date. But we did get transfers from this hotel to the port on embarkation. We had not booked Regent air(we took the air credit) because it involved some five hour flights for which Regent would provide only basic economy. But we did not opt out of any service besides air. But during the disembarkation procedure onboard, we found that Regent would not provide transfers to the Miami airport unless we paid $70 pp! The Destination Services guy on board told me that the transfers were only good if one took Regent’s air. He had no explanation as to how and why transfers were included hotel - ship in San Juan. So we took a cab for $50 for both of us. The reason I consider this only a small matter is that I really didn’t want this transfer anyway. Regent actually lost our luggage in San Juan hotel to pier! It was found, but this delayed our embarkation. I really didn't want to use its transfer service again. This wouldn’t have happened with Regent in pre-pandemic days.

Actually, on our Splendor cruise last week, the captain made an announcement about the cancellation of the tendered stop at St. Barts — due to rough seas.

ROV, that is a good question. All the credits I’ve ever had are non-refundable, and at times have gone to waste. In such a case, I’d like to donate the unused credit to the crew fund, if I could.

The problem we encountered on 03/31/2024 at the Miami cruise terminal was that there was only one person checking passports, whereas this part of the terminal is set up for ten. Lines were long and crowds were large. Cabs were scarce. At the Miami airport on that date, we inquired about trains and busses, and were told that there weren’t any running then, and they didn’t serve the area of our gate anyway. Accurate info? IDK, as it is difficult to get info in large airports. But that’s what we were told. There were no “people movers”. We saw none of those electric carts in the over five hours we were stranded there. This did not involve a Celebrity cruise. We took another like this time. But we probably will cruise Celebrity again in the future. And the fact that Celebrity is going to other ports and airports is good news to us.