1st cruise,15thanniv,50ish,nonsmokers,Alaska,Regent...

[jusjoan]

Hi, I have made my way from the general posts to this Regent site. I have pretty much narrowed my cruise search down to Regent Navigator next August in Alaska. But, Help! How do I convince my husband that the cost of this cruise is justified vs say...Celebrity?

 

I have done research as far as the smoking issue. Since we are nonsmokers that eliminated quite a few cruise lines. We are looking for a relaxing cruise, good food and wine, meeting good friends and some fun excursions.

 

My feeling is that even though Regent seems more expensive that it really is not. When you factor in the all-inclusive fares this seems like the way to go.

 

I like the size of the rooms, the balcony, the dining reviews and the just general feeling that we will be on an intimate/smaller ship.

 

My big concern is that my husband tends to get motions sickness. Is that a deal breaker for the Navigator? Looking at a midship cabin as there will be less rock and roll. Any suggestions as to specific rooms?

 

Thanks! I love this site and especially the enthusiasm from Regent clientele.

[Sheltieluv]

Hi JusJoan

 

My husband and I had picked Regent for our first cruise as well, and I think it spoiled us forever---we can't imagine ourselves going with a main-stream cruiseline or a megaship.

 

We were on the Navigator as well, but it was a Western Caribbean itinerary, and we were sailing in fairly smooth waters. We were in suite 725 and felt no vibration/movement, and I think that if your DH is prone to seasickness, then try to stay low and midship. You will love your suite--it's spacious and comfortable, and the balcony will be a huge plus in Alaska. (We sailed w/ Holland America to Alaska; had a suite and while it was very nice, the ship was just too big for our tastes, and we did not enjoy our neighbors' smoke).

 

We were on the Navigator before shore excursions were included in the fare, so I can't comment on that. However, we are on the April 15, 2011, 10-night cruise so we will be able to take advantage of the shore excursions. We're looking forward to it.

 

Yes, Regent looks expensive at first glance. However, you will love not having to sign for anything (excluding spa, premium wine), and the food and service is great. We are also staying w/ Regent because of their restrictive smoking policy. We loved the staff and enjoyed our fellow passengers very much.

 

People who have cruised with Regent more times than I will surely chime in with their opinions/advice. I for one think you have made a great choice! Life is too short not to pamper yourselves once in a while!

 

Enjoy!:)

[jusjoan]

Hi JusJoan

 

My husband and I had picked Regent for our first cruise as well, and I think it spoiled us forever---we can't imagine ourselves going with a main-stream cruiseline or a megaship.

 

We were on the Navigator as well, but it was a Western Caribbean itinerary, and we were sailing in fairly smooth waters. We were in suite 725 and felt no vibration/movement, and I think that if your DH is prone to seasickness, then try to stay low and midship. You will love your suite--it's spacious and comfortable, and the balcony will be a huge plus in Alaska. (We sailed w/ Holland America to Alaska; had a suite and while it was very nice, the ship was just too big for our tastes, and we did not enjoy our neighbors' smoke).

 

We were on the Navigator before shore excursions were included in the fare, so I can't comment on that. However, we are on the April 15, 2011, 10-night cruise so we will be able to take advantage of the shore excursions. We're looking forward to it.

 

Yes, Regent looks expensive at first glance. However, you will love not having to sign for anything (excluding spa, premium wine), and the food and service is great. We are also staying w/ Regent because of their restrictive smoking policy. We loved the staff and enjoyed our fellow passengers very much.

 

People who have cruised with Regent more times than I will surely chime in with their opinions/advice. I for one think you have made a great choice! Life is too short not to pamper yourselves once in a while!

 

Enjoy!:)

Thank you so much for you advice/comfort! This is a far cry from meeting my husband on a 12 week cross country (USA) bike trip that we each paid $4000/12 weeks 5 years ago. My how times have changed. Not to mention having kids after the age of 37... (3 boys ages 10,12,13). You do the math!

 

This will be our first long trip away. I am hooked on the idea of cruising, but my DH (what does that stand for?) is not. I would also like to sail the Norway Fjords. I am hoping the cruise travel will turn into a habit for us as our kids are getting older and it is easier for us to get away.

 

Thanks for the posts!

[ededmd]

my DH (what does that stand for?)

 

DH - dear husband

 

We are looking for a relaxing cruise, good food and wine, meeting good friends and some fun excursions.

 

We took our first Regent cruise to Alaska on the Navigator this past June. If your experience is at all similar to ours, we had everything you are looking for in spades.

 

My big concern is that my husband tends to get motions sickness. Is that a deal breaker for the Navigator? Looking at a midship cabin as there will be less rock and roll. Any suggestions as to specific rooms?

 

On the topic of the Navigator, it is safest to avoid the suites to the rear of the aft elevators (to avoid a persistent vibration) - which essentially means the lowest category balcony to peruse would be an E (pink on the deck plan). The Es are on decks 6 and 7 (so low enough). If there are no Es available, I would go for the D (yellow) - forward of the aft elevators and deck 8. There is no other difference but location for these two categories.

 

My DH gets more motion sickness than I (rarely for me) and did fine with Bonine and candied ginger on the first day only. We were in a Navigator suite on deck 9, so I have to believe the lower decks would feel even *more* stable.

[Travelcat2]

Thank you so much for you advice/comfort! This is a far cry from meeting my husband on a 12 week cross country (USA) bike trip that we each paid $4000/12 weeks 5 years ago. My how times have changed. Not to mention having kids after the age of 37... (3 boys ages 10,12,13). You do the math!

 

This will be our first long trip away. I am hooked on the idea of cruising, but my DH (what does that stand for?) is not. I would also like to sail the Norway Fjords. I am hoping the cruise travel will turn into a habit for us as our kids are getting older and it is easier for us to get away.

 

Thanks for the posts!

 

DH stands for "Dear Husband". You could look up the cost of excursions in Alaska (very expensive), tips, alcoholic beverages and the cost of airfare round-trip. Deduct that from the cost of the cruise and you'll see the real cost. Show that to your DH -- it should be easy to convince him;)

[Sheltieluv]

My husband was not fond of the idea of cruising either. When I retired, he asked me what I wanted to do for a celebration. After doing a lot of research, I decided on Regent. (I'm not typically an "it's all about me" type of person, but this time it was my decision, and my "party"...:p) I knew he would balk at my choice, but he went along w/ it. The fact that the Navigator was a smaller ship helped him "cope."

 

From the moment we checked in, we were impressed. And, at that time the cruise wasn't even all-inclusive (shore excursions, alcohol except wine at dinner). However, after a day or two, he said that we should "go again" with Regent. :eek: I was very surprised, but very happy!

 

We can't afford to cruise as often as we would like, but we would rather have a gap of time between cruises in order to be on Regent. Someday, we would love to do the Fjords itinerary too. (I confess that we are looking at SeaDream in the Caribbean for November 2011, but that's only because we don't know any of the tropics itineraries for Regent yet. I hope they come out with their schedule soon!)

 

So, fingers crossed that you can convince your husband. Getting seasick would definitely put a downer on your experience, so take the advice of the fellow posters here. I always have Bonine w/ me, just in case.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I too had to persuade my husband to go on our first cruise, it was something that he just did not want to do. The destination (Tahiti) sold him, but then he loved it, and the rest is history.

 

We know that the mass-market lines are not for us. We too choose to save our money and take a cruise less often on Regent (or some other luxury line, so far just Regent.)

[SanFranCruizer]

Excursions in Alaska are expensive. Drinks can add up. On Celebrity, there are charges for specialty coffees, specialty dining, drinks, etc. It adds up. A cocktail can easily run more than $10. Excursions can run around $200 or more per person per excursion! All suites from Cat H up to PH A are the same in size. Add balcony space for Cat F and upward. The only suites to avoid are Cat F (all at rear of the ship where the Navigator has vibration issues). The Alaska trip we took we booked Cat E but were upgraded free of charge in the week before to PH B. Cat E is very popular and there were a lot of guaranteed bookings, so I think they wanted our original room. When we priced cruises for this past summer to Alaska, we priced Celebrity (Sky Suite, closest thing to Regent's cabins but not quite as large) and Regent was the better deal on a per person per day rate when we added in all the charges on Celebrity. That said, we like beer or wine with lunch, cocktails in the evenings, etc. I don't know the fares for 2011, but in 2010 Regent's were pretty great. My partner's parents booked Cat H, and it was a great deal for them! To be honest, we could have done the same because we rarely used the balcony. The ship is small enough that we just always went up on deck. Never a crowd to see anything.

[RachelG]

I had to drag my husband on our first cruise. Now he is hooked and is always trying to get his friends, who are as skeptical as he was, to come along.

As everyone as said, once you add in the cost of all the extras on Celebrity, there will not be much, if any, price difference And the difference in quality of room and food is huge--and I have cruise Celebrity.

 

As far as seasickness, just stay low midship and you should be fine. I have actually never been seasick on a cruise ship over the course of about 10 cruises. Only time I ever was seasick was on a very small fishing boat in Alaska, and it was really rough side to side as well as back and forth. I think you can handle one but not both.

[jusjoan]

Thanks all. I'm convinced I am making the right decisicion with Regent.

 

p.s. Glad to know I am not the first person to drag her DH on a cruise....I think he will love the cruise.