First time Regent Cruisers Questions

[jongbj]

So we are almost 4 star mariners on HAL and now trying Regent for the first time. Which means we do know some about cruising but not on Regent. We will be staying in a Penthouse-C.

We have a few questions we hope someone can answer:

 

1. We have a butler, who, at least according to the advertisement, will unpack and pack our luggage. How does this happen? Will he/she just start doing that when the luggage arrive? Should we ask the butler to do that? We would be interested in having the butler do the packing as they can probably get much more stuff in the suitcase then we could, just by packing smarter.

2. Maybe a better question: do you let the butler unpack and pack?

3. Our room comes with a beverage setup: What do we do with the left-over booze. Do you leave it there or take it home? It would be a shame to let it go to waste and I cannot imagine they would present open bottles to the next guests in the room.

4. I would like to get a list of all the wines available in the all-included program. I’ve read that I can ask the head sommelier. But wouldn’t it just be simpler to ask the butler?

5. Something someone else asked in another thread but was never answered: Which champagnes are served and how to you get the good ones?

6. We’ve made a reservation to Prime7, would it suffice just to ask the butler to make another reservation?

7. How does the ‘they can make anything if you give them 24hours’ thing work. Who do you ask for the special meal?

8. On HAL the room service breakfast is ordered by a note outside the door, how does that work on Regent? Just ask the butler, if so, how far in advance, I cannot imagine them being around 24/7. Or being able to get a full breakfast when ordered at 7.30AM.

9. We have 15 minutes of phone time I know we will not use. Can it be swapped for internet time?

10. Will Regent provide an overview of the booked excursions at the start of the cruise? E.g. give you tickets for each excursion?

11. Disembarkation: On the website it says you need to leave the ship 30 minutes or so after docking. As we will dock in Miami at about 7AM, does that mean we actually have to leave at 7.30? How do people do that? We have rental at Hertz following the cruise that will pick us up so we won’t need transportation.

Thanks a lot

 

Boudewijn

[TedC]

The 15 minutes of ship-t0-shore phone time is VERY valuable : If you pay it is $6.50 a MINUTE!

 

 

Getting off the ship depends how fast or slow the ship is cleared by authorities and if the ship arrives early or late - a lot of variables.

 

You can have butler get specialty restaurant reservations or ask maitre'D after breakfast or lunch if there are any openings for Prime7 or Signatures.

 

Relax and have a wonderful cruise!

Edited January 4, 2014 by TedC

[1982CruzStart]

I can't help you with your butler questions as we have never bothered to go to penthouse suites as they are not significantly bigger than regular suites on Voyager so never felt the need to pay the extra $$$. I am also an almost 4 star Mariner on HAL and we have done 2 Regent cruises and have our 3rd booked for 2014. I think you will love Regent. We sure do. We have done 1 HAL cruise since our first Regent cruise because the itinerary was what we wanted but we do prefer the Regent experience.

 

4. As far as info on alcohol, you can see the complete list on the thread posted by Travelcat2 on her Christmas New Years cruise. Currently it is located just below yours.

 

8. You put your breakfast order out at night the same as on HAL. Not sure if the butler can do more than that. Breakfast room service is great. We used it ever morning that we had excursions.

 

10. Your excursion tickets will be in your suite when you arrive as well as a list of all excursions available during the cruise.

[RachelG]

In theory, the butler will unpack and pack you luggage. I have never had them do this as I want to out everything in a certain place. I have system which works, so don't want it messed with. Now once, when our sliding glass door shattered and we had to be moved to another suite, the butler and steward moved all our stuff, and they put it exactly where it was in the previous suite.

 

As far as leftover booze, we don't really drink anything other than wine or beer in the room, so we have them change our the liquor bottles for wine instead. In the old days, you could give partial bottles to your cabin steward, but they are now not allowed to have liquor in their rooms if what I have heard is correct.

 

The butler can get you a list of included wines.

 

We do not have the butler make our dining reservations. I tried this once, and I found it is just way more efficient to do it myself. That way, if your preferred time or date is not available, you can see what else might be acceptable. Easier not to have to go through a third party.

 

Anything you want to eat I'm compass rose, just order it the day before. They will make a note, and it will magically appear the next day. We have a friend who had escargot and steak every night of an entire cruise.

 

They will place a breakfast order card in your room every evening which you fill out and place on the door.

 

The phone time is valuable. You need to use it, if just to call a friend and gloat that you are on the ship while they are not! You cannot exchange for Internet time.

 

At the start of the cruise, there will be tickets for all the excursions you have rebooked in your room. If you decide not to do an excursion, turn in the ticket at the destinations desk. There is also a list of all the excursions offered with times and more detailed info than what is on the internet, so take a look at that.

 

You will have to clear customs in Miami. You can leave as soon as customs is cleared, but that can take a while. Regent has no control over that.

[jongbj]

About the Disembarkation question: it is not that we want to leave as quickly as possible. We would like to do it slow and not disembark until like 9-9.30.

The website however suggests you need to leave as quickly as possible.

[RachelG]

They like to have everyone off as quickly as possible as they have to turn over all the rooms. But 9 or 9:30 is very reasonable. You may need to be out of your suite as early as 8:30, but you do not have to be off the ship.

[DaveFr]

So we are almost 4 star mariners on HAL and now trying Regent for the first time. Which means we do know some about cruising but not on Regent. We will be staying in a Penthouse-C.

We have a few questions we hope someone can answer:

 

1. We have a butler, who, at least according to the advertisement, will unpack and pack our luggage. How does this happen? Will he/she just start doing that when the luggage arrive? Should we ask the butler to do that? We would be interested in having the butler do the packing as they can probably get much more stuff in the suitcase then we could, just by packing smarter.

2. Maybe a better question: do you let the butler unpack and pack?

We've never had the butler pack or unpack. We've found that the problem is not getting more stuff in a suitcase but, instead, getting so much stuff in a suitcase that it exceeds the airline weight limit.

3. Our room comes with a beverage setup: What do we do with the left-over booze. Do you leave it there or take it home? It would be a shame to let it go to waste and I cannot imagine they would present open bottles to the next guests in the room.

4. I would like to get a list of all the wines available in the all-included program. I’ve read that I can ask the head sommelier. But wouldn’t it just be simpler to ask the butler?

5. Something someone else asked in another thread but was never answered: Which champagnes are served and how to you get the good ones?

The two included champagnes are Montaudon Brut and Jacquart Brut Mosaique.

6. We’ve made a reservation to Prime7, would it suffice just to ask the butler to make another reservation?

We've also found it better to try for additional reservations ourselves. You can also go by or call Prime 7 to see if they've had any cancellations.

7. How does the ‘they can make anything if you give them 24hours’ thing work. Who do you ask for the special meal?

8. On HAL the room service breakfast is ordered by a note outside the door, how does that work on Regent? Just ask the butler, if so, how far in advance, I cannot imagine them being around 24/7. Or being able to get a full breakfast when ordered at 7.30AM.

9. We have 15 minutes of phone time I know we will not use. Can it be swapped for internet time?

10. Will Regent provide an overview of the booked excursions at the start of the cruise? E.g. give you tickets for each excursion?

11. Disembarkation: On the website it says you need to leave the ship 30 minutes or so after docking. As we will dock in Miami at about 7AM, does that mean we actually have to leave at 7.30? How do people do that? We have rental at Hertz following the cruise that will pick us up so we won’t need transportation.

A few days before the end of the cruise, you will get a questionnaire about disembarkation. You should check the box that indicates you have made your own arrangements upon disembarkation. You then indicate what time you want to get off the ship. Commonly, the last disembarkation time is from 9 am to 10 am.

Thanks a lot

 

Boudewijn

See answers above. Have a great cruise.

[OrpingtonT]

If you are on Mariner, PH suites are a great choice. On Voyager they are not as big but do have a better configuration, IMO, than standard de luxe suites.

 

If you want the butler to unpack and pack, you should ask. He will not start this without your permission. It is not a job we ever ask to be done. However I can see the merit in asking him to pack at the end of the cruise.

 

Just leave left over booze in opened bottles. But if you want and have space, no one will object to you taking home any unopened bottles.

 

I have never bothered with a list of included wines. When I want something different from the daily pour, I speak to the sommelier who always comes up with something good and will repeat it on a later night.

 

Travelcat, at present on Voyager, has gone to a lot of trouble letting us know the bar menu and included champagnes are on there.

 

Give the Maitre'd your special meal order, or indeed your butler. Breakfast order cards are put in you suite each evening. And why not use your phone time? It is a valuable perk but cannot be exchanged. Tickets for your booked excursions will be waiting in your suite. Do please return them if you decide not to take them up.

 

Finally, to repeat what DaveFr said above, in your circumstances you can disembark as soon as you wish after the ship gets clearance. Most people want to disembark quickly.

 

Have a great cruise and tell us all about it.

[jongbj]

Thank you very much for the answers, they help a lot.

We will have a blast and will tell you about it.

We will be on the Navigator in March

 

Thanks again.