Live From The Mariner, Villages of the Amazon, 26 Nov - 21 Dec

[TahoeTraveler]

I hate to see you miss Devil's Island, Tami. So much French prison history evolved from this terrible place. Some say there really is not much to see but just being there is half of the story. I've read so much about it and then there is the movie that brought it to light most recently. A broken bone in the foot would be the only reason I'd skip the place. I just hate to see you miss one of the key stops along the way.

 

Have you noticed that two of your accidents have resulted from your choice in shoes? Both times you really were hurt and with lasting consequences. Maybe you should think shoes for the rest of your cruise.

 

You mentioned the casino and said that it had been a 'very successful night'. What exactly is the meaning of successful when gambling in games in which the odds are so stacked against gamblers. Could it mean not losing as much as expected? Breaking even but having a great time? Maybe, winning a few dollars over and beyond the money you brought to the game? God forbid you won enough to pay for the return flights to Nevada.

 

Your reporting is first class. You should be a professional writer and turn this pastime of yours into another of your incomes.

 

Jack

 

"Very successful" means I walked out with a couple hundred more than I put into the machine. And I agree...missing Devil's Island is terribly upsetting to me. My foot is a bit better this morning, so I am going to re-evaluate in the morning. If I think I can navigate the tender and even just a small portion of the island with my crutches, I'm going to do it. Heck, the only reason we had to get the yellow fever shot was because of Devil's Island (French Guiana). Speaking of which, we were amazed at how slack Regent was in determining whether or not anyone had gotten the required shots. They didn't ask for our immunization records at embarkation, and only had us fill out a form stating whether or not we'd had the shot, and if so, what the lot number on it was. No double checking or anything. We could easily have not bothered with the shot and no one would have been the wiser.

[2old4this]

"Very successful" means I walked out with a couple hundred more than I put into the machine. And I agree...missing Devil's Island is terribly upsetting to me. My foot is a bit better this morning, so I am going to re-evaluate in the morning. If I think I can navigate the tender and even just a small portion of the island with my crutches, I'm going to do it. Heck, the only reason we had to get the yellow fever shot was because of Devil's Island (French Guiana). Speaking of which, we were amazed at how slack Regent was in determining whether or not anyone had gotten the required shots. They didn't ask for our immunization records at embarkation, and only had us fill out a form stating whether or not we'd had the shot, and if so, what the lot number on it was. No double checking or anything. We could easily have not bothered with the shot and no one would have been the wiser.

 

Is it possible for you to at least go ashore? Maybe they have a watering hole there where you can lolly-gag until Mike gets back. Wear some decent shoes, for God's sake. Jack

[TahoeTraveler]

Is it possible for you to at least go ashore? Maybe they have a watering hole there where you can lolly-gag until Mike gets back. Wear some decent shoes, for God's sake. Jack

 

The captain announced today that the weather is going to be really bad tomorrow, and if the waves are too big, we won't be able to tender. So it may be a moot point. But if we do end up being able to visit the island, I will probably try to manage it. Mike can take the hills and stairs, and I will just look at what I can. Better than nothing.

[rallydave]

The captain announced today that the weather is going to be really bad tomorrow, and if the waves are too big, we won't be able to tender. So it may be a moot point. But if we do end up being able to visit the island, I will probably try to manage it. Mike can take the hills and stairs, and I will just look at what I can. Better than nothing.

 

Unfortunately the only place to get a drink is at the top of the stairs. You can go around the Island a bit if you go to the right off the pier and the trail there is fairly smooth and level. Then it is a fairly easy, don't know about crutches" to the top where the motel, bar/souvenir store as well as the majority of the prison is. Good luck, p.s. there is a bit to see near the dock including depending on their schedule some interesting animals.

Edited December 13, 2016 by rallydave

[RachelG]

So sorry to hear about your broken foot. That really puts a damper on things. But if it were me, and I could maneuver at all with crutches, I would be going to devils island.

[Travelcat2]

Hoping that the weather will allow Regent to tender at Devil's Island but understand that it is out of their control. Really feeling badly about your foot. Will it need to be put in a cast when you arrive home or can it heal in the configuration that it is currently in?

[TahoeTraveler]

Sorry for the delayed posting. We have found that we are busier than we ever expected to be on the Mariner because we have found such a great group of people to do things with. Mike has also turned into a bit of a Regent Rewards Points hog, and is determined to rack up as many as possible (as of this posting, we have over 200 points combined).

 

Our sea day heading to Devil's Island was one of the best, if not THE best, days we've ever had on a ship, even with my broken foot. We started off with Marla's game of the day (she is the ship's social hostess, and apparently Regent's larger ships all have one...we've spent so much time on the Navigator, which does not have a social hostess, that we had no idea such a position existed). It was Guesstures, and even with my bad foot I was able to get the ladies team to guess "Cowboy." Lots of fun, and a much smaller crowd than at the other Regent Reward games (such as Wiggle Waggle, ping pong, top toss, Bocce and darts).

 

After that we ran down (well, Mike ran and I just sat in the wheelchair while he pushed me!) to the Horizon Lounge for Bingo. We didn't have enough players to make it worthwhile, so we just played for fun (and free, which Mike always likes). I ended up winning the first game and earned 20 Regent Rewards points (yippee! Whatever will I do with them all????). Then it was the big pan pizza BBQ (the pizza is actually pretty darn good on this ship) and then Mike dropped me off at the Observation Lounge while he did a bunch more of those games. After trivia, we had the pleasure of listening to Rogerio Tutti, a pianist, during an early show (the show was moved to 6:00pm due to the Liars Club later that night). It was an outstanding performance (we missed his first performance because of my foot), and really enjoyable. Then we headed to Setti Mari for dinner with Lorraine. She is such a joy to be around and we really enjoyed eating with her. We found out that she will be on the Mariner in January 2018 when we have booked our Lima to Buenos Aires cruise, so we may have to rethink moving that cruise to 2019.

 

Then it was the Liars Club, which we failed at miserably (didn't even one right), but which we enjoyed immensely. Immediately following was the Beatles Dance Party right there in the Horizons Lounge (so we didn't have to move after Liars Club). The music was fantastic (Lorraine was singing again, and I swear she has the best voice on this ship), and all I wanted to do was dance, which was, of course, impossible. But never one to be told that I cannot do something, I had Mike wheel me out onto the dance floor, and just shook my thang right there in the wheelchair. Several of the JAR dancers ran over and started dancing with me, and Lorraine even mentioned later that it absolutely made her night to see me out there having a good time. I'm not sure I've ever really thought of myself as a positive person, but I absolutely, positively, will make the best of any situation...and I had an absolute BLAST that night!!!! A fitting ending to a great day!!! And then it was on to Devil's Island.

 

We had gotten the notification from the captain that we might not be able to make it in to Devil's Island because of the swells. Well, the decision was made yesterday to go ahead and allow the tenders to ferry passengers back and forth, but it was, in a word, treacherous. I had Mike wheel me up to the 12th deck to look down at the tender operations, to see if I could manage it, and I knew immediately that I wouldn't be visiting the island. I have never seen such movement with a tender...it was so bad that the tenders would hit the platform and send it flying into the air. The captain was on the bridge watching and monitoring it all, and we were both just waiting for the announcement that they were ceasing tender operations and bringing everyone on the island back. But it did calm down a bit, and the ship ended up staying the whole day. Paul (Ka Honu) saw me on the deck after he'd gotten back and told me there was NO WAY I'd have made it onto that tender in those conditions. So while it was heartbreaking to not be able to visit one of the places I really wanted to see, it was the smartest thing I could do. As Mike said, better to miss Devil's Island and let my foot rest than to go and risk hurting it so much more so that I would miss the remaining three ports on the cruise.

 

Mike opted not to go ashore as well. I still do not know if he really did not want to go, or if he was just doing it to show support for me. He did head down to the theater at one point to get a tender ticket, but said the place was full of people waiting, and he wasn't willing to wait that long. At the time, it appeared they were only letting a limited number of people on each tender...we assumed that was because they wanted to be able to get everyone back from the island as quickly as possible should the conditions worsen. But as the conditions improved, they started filling the tenders to capacity and emptied the theater. But Mike still stayed on board...I think he had just lost the desire to go anywhere. We did ask some people who went ashore what they thought, and the reviews were mixed. It was apparently excruciatingly hot, and there was another ship in port (Oceania's Regatta...which was funny, given that with the exception of St. Lucia, we haven't been in any ports with any other ships. But go to the most remote location possible, and there's another ship!!), so it was quite crowded. But everyone said the history of the place was fascinating, and worth the visit. Terry Breen had given an exception lecture on the history of the island, complete with wonderful photographs taken on a previous visit she made there, so at least we got that out of our visit there. And, as we sailed away late in the afternoon, we passed by all three islands and I was able to see some buildings from a distance and get a feel for what the place must have been like for all the prisoners when there were no trees and no respite from the heat (the trees were all cut down to keep the prisoners from trying to make rafts to escape, but have since grown back). It had to have been a hellish place...despite the fact that it is now a resort, complete with a hotel and restaurant and bar.

 

Because we didn't go ashore, it was essentially another sea day for us, and we both commented on how this cruise was rapidly becoming Groundhog Day for us. Get up, work out (well, Mike works out), do the 10:15 Regent Rewards game, do Marla's game (if she has one), eat lunch, do the 2:15 Regent Rewards game, do the 3:15 Regent Rewards game, head to the Observation Lounge to secure seats for the 4:30 trivia, then head back to the cabin to get ready for dinner. After dinner it's go to the show, and then either hit Stars for a late night cocktail and music, or hit the casino to contribute to Regent's coffers. I still haven't touched my book, and apparently I won't for the rest of the cruise!!!

 

We had dinner last night in Signatures, and it was really, really good. If you could ignore the foo-foo production they make when they serve your entree, that is. I had the tuna tartare, which was fantastic, and a steak. Mike had the lobster appetizer, which was really lacking, and the duck, which was just wonderful (we can forgive a less than stellar appetizer though when the main course is so phenomenal). After dinner, we went to Sally Jones' second show, a tribute to Edith Piaf. While Sally is extremely talented, we were just not into the music (it didn't help that some woman sitting in front of us insisted on humming and singing along to every song), so we left early. We went to Stars for a bit, but then realized that the Regent Signature Orchestra was playing Frank Sinatra songs in the Horizon Lounge, so we headed there. I have to say, that orchestra is nothing short of amazing. They are all individual performers (did not come to the ship as a group, and are all on different contracts) from all different countries, and they just do so well together. Sally was also there, and she said she had never worked with an orchestra on board any ship that was so talented. Lorraine had told us the same thing the previous night. We have been very, very lucky so far with the entertainment provided by performers under contract with Regent.

 

Lots and lots of rocking and rolling with some pretty significant swells ended the night for us. Gotta watch my foot...don't need to be doing any more damage to it!!!

[TahoeTraveler]

Hoping that the weather will allow Regent to tender at Devil's Island but understand that it is out of their control. Really feeling badly about your foot. Will it need to be put in a cast when you arrive home or can it heal in the configuration that it is currently in?

 

It's just a hairline fracture, and the bone never was displaced, so it appears I will just need to keep it wrapped and stay off it as much as possible. It really was a lot better yesterday, and I could even hobble on it a bit (although we are still utilizing the wheelchair as much as possible to try to allow the foot to heal quicker).

[Travelcat2]

It's just a hairline fracture, and the bone never was displaced, so it appears I will just need to keep it wrapped and stay off it as much as possible. It really was a lot better yesterday, and I could even hobble on it a bit (although we are still utilizing the wheelchair as much as possible to try to allow the foot to heal quicker).

 

Considering that you are in a wheelchair, this is good news!

 

I continue to learn so much from your wonderful descriptions of each port. At one point we were going to cancel our cruise...... but then I read your next post and realized that I was overreacting.

 

You mentioned that Lorraine will be on the Mariner in January of '18. If you see her, I would appreciate if you would ask her if she'll also be on the Amazon sailing Nov./Dec. Please don't go out of your way to ask her. Thanks much.

 

You are definitely a positive person - one that others can learn a lot from!

 

P.S. Not sure if you are reading the Regent boards...... a poster from the U.K. indicated there will not be any Amazon cruises in 2018. Just thought it was interesting!

Edited December 15, 2016 by Travelcat2

[TahoeTraveler]

Considering that you are in a wheelchair, this is good news!

 

I continue to learn so much from your wonderful descriptions of each port. At one point we were going to cancel our cruise...... but then I read your next post and realized that I was overreacting.

 

You mentioned that Lorraine will be on the Mariner in January of '18. If you see her, I would appreciate if you would ask her if she'll also be on the Amazon sailing Nov./Dec. Please don't go out of your way to ask her. Thanks much.

 

You are definitely a positive person - one that others can learn a lot from!

 

P.S. Not sure if you are reading the Regent boards...... a poster from the U.K. indicated there will not be any Amazon cruises in 2018. Just thought it was interesting!

 

When we had dinner with Lorraine, she said that she was taking her vacation at the end of this contract (in January, I believe) and will return to the Mariner afterwards (around May, if I remember correctly). And she said she'd still be on the Mariner in January of 2018. So I think it is safe to say that yes, she will be the CD on the Mariner next November/December. But I will reconfirm with her when I see her again.

 

And if it is true that there are no Amazon cruises planned for 2018, then all I can say is, I am REALLY glad we did this one...accidents and all. I haven't really been able to get on CC. Too darned busy!!!

[WesW]

Hi Tami (and Mike), Thanks so much for taking time to share and post such wonderful descriptions of your ports and Amazon cruise experience. Sorry to hear of your foot accident but happy you have maintained your positive cruise "tude." Don't know if Mike and you heard but for the first time in 14 years Army beat Navy earlier this month. Do know you both most likely relished that Air Force beat Army this year tho.

[TahoeTraveler]

Hi Tami (and Mike), Thanks so much for taking time to share and post such wonderful descriptions of your ports and Amazon cruise experience. Sorry to hear of your foot accident but happy you have maintained your positive cruise "tude." Don't know if Mike and you heard but for the first time in 14 years Army beat Navy earlier this month. Do know you both most likely relished that Air Force beat Army this year tho.

 

We did indeed hear that Army beat Navy...and we cheered! Mike is keeping up with all the football, both college and professional, thanks to the internet on board. Priorities you know!

[BBfromCA]

Tami and Mike,

 

We will also be joining you in Lima in January 2018. We will be staying on through to Rio.

If you do chat with Lorraine, please tell her hello from Bill (the Mickey Mouse collector) and Matthew and that we look forward to seeing her again then.

 

Bill

Edited December 15, 2016 by BBfromCA

[RachelG]

Glad your ankle is better, but I think it was wise not to attempt Devils Island given the conditions. Just too risky.

 

I agree with you about the orchestra. They are so talented. And I love their Frank Sinatra renditions.

[Ka Honu]

200+ points? Put them in an unmarked envelope and slide them under the third planter by the smoking area on deck 11 before sail-away this afternoon. DO NOT involve Security. On receipt I will email you the photos and delete the originals. No one needs to get hurt here.

[wntgoislnds]

Love the humor going on here and the great information. I really enjoy your style of writing and have LOL several times! Your observations are great and I see we notice the same kinds of things.

Hope your foot is better!

[ilovhywd]

Tami - we don't want your cruise to end because we are really enjoying your saga!

 

Hope your various injuries are healing fast!

 

Could you please tell me if the birds are easily observable or are they hiding up in the tree canopy? My hobby is taking photos of birds, so I hope you can see them near the ship at times or when you are in port. Thanks!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Lalalucy]

Hi Tami, I have enjoyed reading your posts and appreciate your taking the time! So sorry to read about your"mishaps" to put it mildly. My DH and I are taking this cruise Nov. 2017. I do have some very mild breathing issues,and was wondering if the bulk of the cruise is not advisable for some people with these problems.

 

 

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[TahoeTraveler]

Tami - we don't want your cruise to end because we are really enjoying your saga!

 

Hope your various injuries are healing fast!

 

Could you please tell me if the birds are easily observable or are they hiding up in the tree canopy? My hobby is taking photos of birds, so I hope you can see them near the ship at times or when you are in port. Thanks!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

The only birds we have seen from the ship are the boobies (and the seagulls when near land in the Caribbean...but I don't really count them). However, many of the tours have had bird sightings, and there were some great species in the Manaus zoo. I'm not much of a bird watcher, so can't really say whether or not this is a good cruise for taking bird pictures...sorry!!!

[TahoeTraveler]

Tami - we don't want your cruise to end because we are really enjoying your saga!

 

And I can assure you that you are not the only one who doesn't want my cruise to end! Although Mike is ready for it to be over...he's not the cruise junkie that I am!!!

Edited December 18, 2016 by TahoeTraveler

[TahoeTraveler]

Hi Tami, I have enjoyed reading your posts and appreciate your taking the time! So sorry to read about your"mishaps" to put it mildly. My DH and I are taking this cruise Nov. 2017. I do have some very mild breathing issues,and was wondering if the bulk of the cruise is not advisable for some people with these problems.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

I honestly do not know if you would have problems or not. If your issues are mild, I would think you would be okay. But I don't know for sure. And I would think it would also depend on how much smoke is actually in the air...apparently it changes throughout the year. November is the end of the hot season, right before the wet season, so it is possible that it's not the best time of year for the smoke. Sorry I can't be of more help...maybe your doctor can provide some advice.

[Lalalucy]

Thank you!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[TahoeTraveler]

Again I must apologize for being so derelict in my postings. It is frustrating because I have so much I want to say, but so little time to do it...because of all those things I've been doing that I want to post about!

 

Sea days are our favorites, and the one enroute to Barbados was no exception. We did another of Marla's games, this time Majority Rules (which is basically where you have to guess what the majority of the other guests answered on questions like, "What is your favorite Julia Robert's movie?"). Mike did okay...I am obviously not much of a mind reader. After a "Curries Around the World" buffet on the pool deck, we watched as the Country Fair event was set up. The Country Fair is a really fun event, where the different departments have various game booths set up for people to play and win raffle tickets. Prizes like a free facial at the spa are given away after the event is over via raffle. The departments really seem to enjoy doing the event, and the passengers seemed to love it. I couldn't participate because I didn't want my foot to get stepped on (it was really crowded), but I did enjoy watching all the melee. After trivia and another Regent Rewards point only Bingo (not enough people to do it for cash), we had to go get ready for dinner with Captain Serena Melani.

 

I have to say here that Captain Serena is absolutely, positively, the most involved, visible, and engaged ship's captain I have ever had the pleasure to sail with. She has been at the gangway on numerous occasions as we got off the ship, wishing everyone a good day on shore. You constantly see her around the ship, and she speaks with everyone she sees. We found out at the dinner that she started her maritime career at the age of 16, which began on freighters and fueling ships. Her move to cruise ships started with Carnival, where she met her husband, who was an engineer on the ship (she was the Staff Captain). They now live in Dubrovnik, and he sails catamarans out of there now. She is a lovely, lovely person all around.

 

She is also quite the talker. Usually at these events, the staff member sits quietly and lets the others do the talking (there was one other couple besides ourselves at the table). Not so with Captain Serena. She was very talkative and the dinner went for two and a half hours. We were late for the JAR show, "Dancing in the Streets"...but we caught enough of it to know that it was very, very good.

 

One bit of a snafu happened with the Captain's thank you note the day after the dinner. She wrote a lovely note, which was quite personal with a special prayer she says she lives by, thanking us for joining her for dinner. The problem is, the note we received was meant for the other couple (had their name on it...with our name and cabin number on the envelope). They got the note with our name on it! I know this sounds minor, but come on now. How hard is it to get the correct note into the correct envelope when there are only two of them????? We in no way blame the Captain of course...someone in the Reception or admin area just really screwed up. No big deal...we got the correct note from the other couple and all was well. It just seemed a bit...odd.

 

The next day we arrived in Barbados. I have to say, Barbados (which means "Bearded" in Portuguese...so named because the Portuguese found lots of trees when they arrived there that looked like they had beards on the trunks) is one of the prettiest Caribbean islands we have ever visited. It is absolutely gorgeous, and the views sailing in were magnificent. We took the "luxury" 4x4 tour, which basically means that instead of sitting on plain wooden planks in the back of a truck, we actually had comfortable padded individual seats. The tour was great, as it took us all over the island and to a couple of beautiful beaches (Bathsheba is gorgeous). We had to laugh when they took us "4-wheeling" though. Obviously in order to call it a 4x4 tour, they're required to go off-road somewhere...so we headed down a muddy dirt road just for the heck of it (didn't see anything other than a small monkey). It was funny to us because we live on 40 acres in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, and have a Jeep Wrangler, '78 K5 Blazer, CanAm side by side ATV, and a quad...and we are constantly taking one of them out to do actual 4-wheeling. So when the driver/guide said the going would get tough, we had to laugh. "Tough" to us is the Rubicon trail on the west side of Tahoe. Everyone else on the tour also felt that it was silly to do the dirt road. But the rest of the tour was great.

 

We had our "special" dinner that night. We had asked for a traditional German dinner (Mike's parents were both German), and had invited one of the male and one of the female dancers to join us and the other two couples in our trivia team. The male dancer apparently was feeling a bit under the weather, so Mikah, the lead female singer, came instead. It was a great dinner...the food was absolutely amazing, and the company was great. We did find out, however, that the staff is NOT allowed to have any food from Compass Rose unless they have been invited to dine with a guest there. We had asked for the food that we could not eat to be delivered to Sam, the male dancer, and were originally told that it would be taken care of. But later when I asked if the food had been delivered, the waiter sort of sidestepped the question. So we called the maitre d' over to ask him. He said it is absolutely verboten for anyone on the staff to have food from Compass Rose. Oh, really? Then why were we told it would be taken care of? Our complaint isn't that those are the rules; our issue is that I was told point blank that the food would be delivered to Sam, and then by a fluke found out that they were never planning on delivering it to him at all. I really, really, really don't like it when someone boldface lies to me and assumes I'm not going to figure out that they've been dishonest. And when the maitre d' came over, he refused to address me at all...spoke only to Mike. Not the best way to end a great dinner...but at least now we know the rules and won't commit that sin again!!! And the food really was fantastic and everyone loved it.

 

The entertainment was a comedian magician, and although I suppose he was good, I kept falling asleep during the show (it was probably all that great German food). Later I heard that a lot of other people had the same problem (falling asleep during the show). So I guess maybe he wasn't so good after all!!! I'm hoping he's not going to perform again...we've got too little time left on the ship to spend it sleeping in the Constellation Theater!!!!!

[Travelcat2]

What a great "episode" of your trip. Captain Serena sounds lovely - hope that we sail with her someday.

 

We also enjoy the Country Fair. The Explorer wasn't ready to have one on our crossing but hopefully they will have one on the next crossing. Seeing everyone with big smiles (guests and passengers) is wonderful.

 

Your description of the German meal made my mouth water. It didn't occur to me to order German food (we typically special order Indian). Will have to try it. The "Curries Around the World" buffet on the pool deck also sounds delicious. I haven't seen that buffet on Regent.

 

Did the "luxury" 4x4 tour have a cost associated with it? If so, how much was it? Believe it or not, we can book reservations for next November's Amazon cruise on March 22nd.

[TahoeTraveler]

What a great "episode" of your trip. Captain Serena sounds lovely - hope that we sail with her someday.

 

We also enjoy the Country Fair. The Explorer wasn't ready to have one on our crossing but hopefully they will have one on the next crossing. Seeing everyone with big smiles (guests and passengers) is wonderful.

 

Your description of the German meal made my mouth water. It didn't occur to me to order German food (we typically special order Indian). Will have to try it. The "Curries Around the World" buffet on the pool deck also sounds delicious. I haven't seen that buffet on Regent.

 

Did the "luxury" 4x4 tour have a cost associated with it? If so, how much was it? Believe it or not, we can book reservations for next November's Amazon cruise on March 22nd.

 

The 4x4 tour was one of the included tours. Which brings me to a point I was going to make later on when I do some final thoughts, but I'll go ahead and post it here. We did not cruise on Regent when the excursions were not included, but I honestly think they should consider going back to that policy. Our last cruise was 2 years ago, and in that time we have seen a real decline in the quality of the tours, as well as, quite frankly, the competence of the Destinations personnel. I'm sorry, but the information they give out is at best incomplete and at worst, downright misleading. I truly believe that if the tours were not included in the cruise fare, a couple of things would happen. First, I think the tours would improve because Regent would have motivation to make them good (since guests are paying for them). Secondly, I believe the Destinations staff would have more motivation to do their job well. They wouldn't be so overworked and might actually be helpful, honest and nice. And finally, Regent wouldn't be losing so much money on people booking tours and then canceling them at the last minute or just not showing up at all for them (34 people cancelled the catamaran tour at the last minute yesterday, and I'm pretty sure Regent had to absorb the cost of those seats). Yes, I know Regent technically charges us all for the tours in the cruise fare and doesn't actually lose money...but I'd rather see a lower fare and pay for my own tours. That way, when I break a leg or something else the next time, I don't feel like I paid for something I couldn't take advantage of!!!