LIVE FROM EXPLORER - FEB. 17 - MARCH 9

[RachelG]

4 hours ago, rcandkc said:

I use Elta MD on my face and neck everyday of the year.  I have not had a problem.  It might be harder to fine than the Neutrogena though. 

This is my preferred sunscreen.  Does not stain and has a light feel.

[RachelG]

4 hours ago, rcandkc said:

A dermatologist told me that higher than 50 is really almost a scam. 

That is correct

[Juno56]

6 hours ago, Master Echo said:

It would appear that Regent's posters have a wealth of medical/cosmetic knowledge, and I thank you all for your helpful answers regarding remedies/cures for cold sores.

 

I would therefore like to ask the following questions and once again would be grateful for any answers.

 

Sunscreen - I am aware of SPF numbers (sun protection factors) but I would like to know why there are now so many chemicals in these products?

 

Without exception, all sunscreens I have used have stained clothing - most brands now state this on the packaging - but is there ANY product which does not?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Kindest regards

 

Master Echo

 

 

 

 

 

Many sunscreens contain harmful chemicals like oxybenzone, octinoxate,  Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A Palmitate), and parabens (butyl-, ethyl-, methyl-, and propyl-) that can induce adverse effects on your skin and body, (i.e., allergic reactions, hormone disruption, and premature aging), and might even increase your cancer risk.  I try to steer clear of any of these ingredients and would recommend a mineral sunscreen from alba botanica.

Edited March 13, 2019 by Juno56

[MalbecWine]

Our dermatologist tells us what to use and she should know.  As a Florida born resident I was a sun worshiper on the beach no more.  Unless you are a doctor I would not be giving advice about sunscreen.  Consult with your dermatologist or physician.  Not interested in taking a chance on getting Melanoma.

Edited March 13, 2019 by MalbecWine

[rcandkc]

Yes, I agree.  My advice was from my experience with having had skin cancer and what I was recommended to use.  Many people do not have dermatologist they see often or at all.  It was a simple question about staining sunscreen...we have given options. 

[RachelG]

Jackie, I will awaiting Dennis’ review with bated breath.  

[Silver Spectre]

On 3/13/2019 at 5:19 PM, Master Echo said:

Gnomie -

Thank you for your kind comments, and am glad that people find my posts of interest.  As already stated, that was my first Regent cruise, but you may find me on the Silver Shadow from June 17 for 19 nights, and Silver Whisper from NYC November 1st to the Caribbean and Cuba for 32 nights.

 

Kindest regards

 

Master Echo

Hi ME, only just found and read your excellent, alternative review of a Regent cruise. It seems a bit odd that Regent built a new ship and continued the R theme, they were nice ships at the time but are pretty dated now. I looked at the wine list and was totally not surprised to see how ‘american’ it is. I trust you enjoyed the experience, but would you repeat it?

[Travelcat2]

2 hours ago, Silver Spectre said:

Hi ME, only just found and read your excellent, alternative review of a Regent cruise. It seems a bit odd that Regent built a new ship and continued the R theme, they were nice ships at the time but are pretty dated now. I looked at the wine list and was totally not surprised to see how ‘american’ it is. I trust you enjoyed the experience, but would you repeat it?

 

I am really curious to know in what way Regent built a new ship and "continued the R theme".  We have sailed on Oceania and do. not see the connection.  Not challenging you - just interested.  

 

In terms of how American it is, 80% of people that sail Regent are from North America.  Sailing on a ship that with that high of a percentage of American's is no different than sailing on what I would consider a foreign ship (Hapag-Lloyd) and having German wine, food, etc. I do give credit to Regent for adding items to their menu that people in the U.K. enjoy.  

[Master Echo]

On ‎3‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 12:06 AM, rcandkc said:

Yes, I agree.  My advice was from my experience with having had skin cancer and what I was recommended to use.  Many people do not have dermatologist they see often or at all.  It was a simple question about staining sunscreen...we have given options. 

Thank you rcandkc and all who have offered their advice on sunscreen that does not stain clothes.  I have now several choices and hopefully will no longer have to throw away clothes!!

 

Thank you again

 

Kindest regards

 

Master Echo

[kjbacon]

You can bet we will splurge a little. Have to treat ourselves to some goodies for vacation. We just can’t repeat the carnage of years past that has not been good to,us!

[Master Echo]

" am really curious to know in what way Regent built a new ship and "continued the R theme".  We have sailed on Oceania and do. not see the connection.  Not challenging you - just interested."

 

Regarding the features found in the ‘R’ Class ships that were carried forward into Explorer, I covered this in an earlier post.  Briefly, the lift lobbies, stair wells and dark wall panelling in parts of the ship are examples, as is the location of two speciality restaurants on opposite sides of a high deck.

 

It is commercially sensible for Regent to cater for its major market, being the North American sector.  In a previous post I merely drew out how this manifests itself when compared to other lines.

 

Kindest regards

 

Master Echo

 

[Travelcat2]

14 minutes ago, Master Echo said:

" am really curious to know in what way Regent built a new ship and "continued the R theme".  We have sailed on Oceania and do. not see the connection.  Not challenging you - just interested."

 

Regarding the features found in the ‘R’ Class ships that were carried forward into Explorer, I covered this in an earlier post.  Briefly, the lift lobbies, stair wells and dark wall panelling in parts of the ship are examples, as is the location of two speciality restaurants on opposite sides of a high deck.

 

It is commercially sensible for Regent to cater for its major market, being the North American sector.  In a previous post I merely drew out how this manifests itself when compared to other lines.

 

Kindest regards

 

Master Echo

 

 

Thank you.  I understand now and although I do not know what an 'R' Class ship is, two restaurants on the Riviera are in similar positions as on Explorer.  I don't care for the forward lifts (aka elevators) on Explorer and do not recall them on the Riviera.  What I do recall is that the elevators going to the deck where the two specialty restaurants are was extremely crowded and it appeared that they could do with more elevators.  

 

We actually like the design of Oceania's Riviera and don't mind that some of the design features were used on the Riviera (and Marina).  In fact, we prefer the Owner's Suite and Vista Suite on the Riviera to that on Explorer.  However, we strongly prefer Regent over Oceania.  Others do not feel the same.

[Master Echo]

8 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Thank you.  I understand now and although I do not know what an 'R' Class ship is, two restaurants on the Riviera are in similar positions as on Explorer.  I don't care for the forward lifts (aka elevators) on Explorer and do not recall them on the Riviera.  What I do recall is that the elevators going to the deck where the two specialty restaurants are was extremely crowded and it appeared that they could do with more elevators.  

 

We actually like the design of Oceania's Riviera and don't mind that some of the design features were used on the Riviera (and Marina).  In fact, we prefer the Owner's Suite and Vista Suite on the Riviera to that on Explorer.  However, we strongly prefer Regent over Oceania.  Others do not feel the same.

"I do not know what an 'R' Class ship is"

 

I did explain what an R class ship was on a previous post on this thread. Basically neither of the two Oceania ships on which you have sailed, the Riviera and the Marina, are in fact "R" class ships, whereas the other four Oceania vessels are.  Basically, these were eight identical ships built by the now defunct Renaissance Cruise Lines and now owned by three separate operators, Oceania, Azamara and Princess.

 

I have travelled on five of these over the years, and indeed looked over the old R8 - now Azamara Pursuit, before her maiden sailing in Dover England in 2001.

 

Feedback on Regent Explorer's décor is that it is too dark, and a lighter colour palette will be used on Splendor.

 

Kindest regards

 

Master Echo 

[Travelcat2]

Sorry that I missed your earlier post where this was explained.  You can imagine how confusing it can be when 'R' is used for an Oceania ship when to us 'R' stands for Regent (although we tend to spell it out).

 

I did tour the smaller Oceania ships and did not care for them at all.  While the decor of the ships are unique, the staterooms leave much to be desired (especially the bathrooms which are minuscule).  

 

Am interested to learn where you heard that a lighter color palette will be used on Splendor.  That will be interesting to see.  I have no issues with the decor on Explorer (even though I would not have it in my home - we do prefer lighter colors).  The only changes that I have heard about was the stairway going down to Compass Rose, switching the Meridien Lounge with the Coffee Connection and adding an outside area for people to have their coffee, etc.  Almost forgot - also heard that the huge prayer wheel outside of Pacific Rim will not be on Splendor.  This is one of my favorite features of Explorer.

 

Hope that you and Madam are doing well!

[BarbarianPaul]

20 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

Sorry that I missed your earlier post where this was explained.  You can imagine how confusing it can be when 'R' is used for an Oceania ship when to us 'R' stands for Regent (although we tend to spell it out).

 

I did tour the smaller Oceania ships and did not care for them at all.  While the decor of the ships are unique, the staterooms leave much to be desired (especially the bathrooms which are minuscule).  

 

Am interested to learn where you heard that a lighter color palette will be used on Splendor.  That will be interesting to see.  I have no issues with the decor on Explorer (even though I would not have it in my home - we do prefer lighter colors).  The only changes that I have heard about was the stairway going down to Compass Rose, switching the Meridien Lounge with the Coffee Connection and adding an outside area for people to have their coffee, etc.  Almost forgot - also heard that the huge prayer wheel outside of Pacific Rim will not be on Splendor.  This is one of my favorite features of Explorer.

 

Hope that you and Madam are doing well!

Am curious as to your take on the Explorer spa, since by now you have way more “Explorer” experience than we’ve had from our single cruise with Regent. Though it didn’t bother me at the time, in retrospect the spa was way more compartmentalized and somewhat cramped than anything we’ve experienced with newer ships on other lines. Even on ships of similar size, such as the Viking Ocean vessels, where the spa is beautiful, open and expansive. I ask because we’ve come to love the larger thermal suites on other lines, and I just don’t have any memory of anything similar on the Explorer.

 

I remember we were particularly excited about that infinity edge pool accessible through the spa, but we ultimately found the exterior space was oddly configured,  small and weirdly unwelcoming, so we never used it. Have you ever hung out there?

 

Of course the Explorer is a phenomenal ship, but your comments on the palette change coming up on the  Splendour got me wondering if there was going to be any reconfiguration of the spa.

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, BarbarianPaul said:

Am curious as to your take on the Explorer spa, since by now you have way more “Explorer” experience than we’ve had from our single cruise with Regent. Though it didn’t bother me at the time, in retrospect the spa was way more compartmentalized and somewhat cramped than anything we’ve experienced with newer ships on other lines. Even on ships of similar size, such as the Viking Ocean vessels, where the spa is beautiful, open and expansive. I ask because we’ve come to love the larger thermal suites on other lines, and I just don’t have any memory of anything similar on the Explorer.

 

I remember we were particularly excited about that infinity edge pool accessible through the spa, but we ultimately found the exterior space was oddly configured,  small and weirdly unwelcoming, so we never used it. Have you ever hung out there?

 

Of course the Explorer is a phenomenal ship, but your comments on the palette change coming up on the  Splendour got me wondering if there was going to be any reconfiguration of the spa.

 

Hi Paul - good to "see" you.  

 

I read your post just before having a nice meal of corned beef and cabbage during which time I asked my DH about the spa.  He loves the spa on Explorer and I never go there because most of it has to do with sauna's, heat, etc. and I avoid heat.

 

Dennis cannot compare the spa on Explorer to anything other than other Regent ships.  He does the "wet sauna" which has an aromatherapy component.  I asked about the size of that sauna and he felt that it was large.  I suspect that you mean that layout of the spa area which I must agree is small but the wet and dry spas are quite large inside.  He also likes the "different" showers.

 

The infinity edge pool is oddly configured but, once you get into it, he feels that it is quite nice (as long as you don't put your head in as he says that the chlorine is very heavy and hurts your eyes).  Other posters have commented on the lovely aft view of the ocean from the infinity pool.   

 

Wish that I could be more specific but I simply have not used any of the spa features.  I do like the gym and find it larger and better equipped than other Regent ships.  

 

When is your Explorer cruise?

 

P.S.  To others reading this -- we are still awaiting Dennis' review to be posted.  

[Master Echo]

 

TC2, agree entirely with your comments on the (as you phrase it) smaller Oceania ships’ ‘standard’ cabins. 

 

Please bear in mind the ethos of Renaissances Cruises, for which the ships were designed, was a younger, more active passenger, judging from the shore trips that were offered.  A younger target client base would probably be less concerned with cabin size and, to be fair, when these ships were new, the cabins were typical in overall size.  The larger mini-suites and suites are modest in size in comparison with their modern equivalents, such as Explorer.  20 years is a long time in terms of cruise ship design.

 

Sir and Madame were invited to a private tour of Explorer last June and were hosted by Regent’s UK Marketing Manager.  She provided the information about the planned changes to the colour palate, because of passenger feedback.

 

Neither Sir nor Madame made use of any of the spa facilities, except for the gym.   Dennis is quite correct regarding the excessive chlorine in the infinity pool, although Madame did not use it, it was too small for swimming, but the chlorine issue was the same in the Deck 11 pool.   

 

 I agree with TC2’s comments on the spa.  One further point is, to my mind, the waste of space with the long and very wide approach to the spa on Deck 5.  Equally, the entrance to the gym from its Deck 6 entrance (it is on that deck) is very poor and looks more like an emergency exit.  On Sir’s first visit via Deck 5, he thought the exit from the gym on Deck 6 was an emergency exit because of the type of wide, push-down handle; very odd.

 

Kindest regards

 

Master Echo

[BarbarianPaul]

14 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Hi Paul - good to "see" you.  

 

I read your post just before having a nice meal of corned beef and cabbage during which time I asked my DH about the spa.  He loves the spa on Explorer and I never go there because most of it has to do with sauna's, heat, etc. and I avoid heat.

 

Dennis cannot compare the spa on Explorer to anything other than other Regent ships.  He does the "wet sauna" which has an aromatherapy component.  I asked about the size of that sauna and he felt that it was large.  I suspect that you mean that layout of the spa area which I must agree is small but the wet and dry spas are quite large inside.  He also likes the "different" showers.

 

The infinity edge pool is oddly configured but, once you get into it, he feels that it is quite nice (as long as you don't put your head in as he says that the chlorine is very heavy and hurts your eyes).  Other posters have commented on the lovely aft view of the ocean from the infinity pool.   

 

Wish that I could be more specific but I simply have not used any of the spa features.  I do like the gym and find it larger and better equipped than other Regent ships.  

 

When is your Explorer cruise?

 

P.S.  To others reading this -- we are still awaiting Dennis' review to be posted.  

 

Hey Jackie -

 

Nice to see “you” too. At least for the immediate future, we don’t have any plans to return to Regent. Since cabin size isn’t an issue for us, and though we love gourmet food we’re also equally fine with it being fresh and well prepared and not quite gourmet, we’ve found ourselves gravitating to a couple other cruise lines.

 

Celebrity for Aqua Class and the fun ship design (particularly the New Celebrity Edge), and Holland America for the unique itineraries. They also both feature nice gyms and quite expansive thermal suites, which we love. We’re doing a Trans Atlantic in April on the latter, with multiple stops in Croatia and Montenegro to which we’ve never been. 

 

Anyway, that’s where we are now in our tastes, but of course over time they might change again!

[Master Echo]

Herewith some further pictures from the recent Explorer cruise - hopefully - am very new to this game!

 

Kindest regards

 

Master Echo

[Master Echo]

March 5 -2019

A day at sea in Pacific waters after leaving Acapulco, the day before, and en route to Cabo San Lucas.  On the port side of Explorer the following pictures were taken from my balcony.  This phenomenon was first seen mid afternoon and was still visible from the Gym (right aft) in the ship's wake around 5 pm.  I am assuming that 'they' are eels, but I have no idea. The sunlight reflecting on the water appears to make it look like a straight line to my balcony.  In truth the whole of the sea in the area had this phenomenon.   'They' appeared to jump and writhe as if they had St Vitus's Dance.  You can clearly see the bow wave of Explorer. 

 

I am hoping that the knowledgeable posters on this board will be able to shed some light into what are these marine creatures

 

Kindest regards

 

Master Echo

[judi666]

7 hours ago, Master Echo said:

 

TC2, agree entirely with your comments on the (as you phrase it) smaller Oceania ships’ ‘standard’ cabins. 

 

Please bear in mind the ethos of Renaissances Cruises, for which the ships were designed, was a younger, more active passenger, judging from the shore trips that were offered.  A younger target client base would probably be less concerned with cabin size and, to be fair, when these ships were new, the cabins were typical in overall size.  The larger mini-suites and suites are modest in size in comparison with their modern equivalents, such as Explorer.  20 years is a long time in terms of cruise ship design.

 

Sir and Madame were invited to a private tour of Explorer last June and were hosted by Regent’s UK Marketing Manager.  She provided the information about the planned changes to the colour palate, because of passenger feedback.

 

Neither Sir nor Madame made use of any of the spa facilities, except for the gym.   Dennis is quite correct regarding the excessive chlorine in the infinity pool, although Madame did not use it, it was too small for swimming, but the chlorine issue was the same in the Deck 11 pool.   

 

 I agree with TC2’s comments on the spa.  One further point is, to my mind, the waste of space with the long and very wide approach to the spa on Deck 5.  Equally, the entrance to the gym from its Deck 6 entrance (it is on that deck) is very poor and looks more like an emergency exit.  On Sir’s first visit via Deck 5, he thought the exit from the gym on Deck 6 was an emergency exit because of the type of wide, push-down handle; very odd.

 

Kindest regards

 

Master Echo

My first cruise on an R ship was the maiden voyage of the R8 in 2000ish.  My husband and I were by far the youngest people on the ship at mid 40’s and 50’s.  My husband was often mistaken for a crew member!  The predominant age was 75 plus.  The excursions were in line with most others we have taken on other lines. Certainly not strenuous... The cabin seemed very nice ( standard balcony) the bathroom was minuscule.  We really did not have anything to compare it to. We did one other cruise on REN, before bankruptcy and was similar in age of passengers.  We did two more cruises on R type ships in French Polynesia, when 2 were taken over by Princess.  We have also taken 7 cruises on R ships with Oceania, the last was 2017 on the Sirena, which had been lovingly refurbished. We no longer book a standard cabin, but find the PH and above to be comfortable.  The PH bathrooms are particularly nice on Sirena, with glass walk in showers.  Obviously, we love the size of the ship and the overall esthetic. It probably isn’t for everyone.  Looking forward to our cruise in November on Explorer!

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

We sailed several times on the Renaissance ships in a PH category, to Spain, Portugal, the Greek Islands, and Italy. We used their Private First Class Air and loved every minute. They were shorter cruises at the time. We were almost 20 years younger and met many folks our age. We were not yet retired, still working and able to take a week to 10 days off. 

Miss the bargain. Probably that’s why they went bankrupt. 

[Master Echo]

I find it interesting that many of you encountered an older crowd on your Renaissance cruises.

 

I keep in touch with a former Renaissance cruise director and have now received a reply concerning that cruise line’s demographic. 

 

I quote his words here: “Ages ranged from 40’s, 50’s and 60’s and they were very cool and relaxed guests.  Tours were active to bus tours (the whole range).”  He added that those in control at the time,  when the line closed down overnight, went on to form Oceania.

 

Kindest regards

 

Master Echo 

[Travelcat2]

And, finally, here is a link to Dennis' review:  https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=651639

 

[MalbecWine]

Looking at this review it was not six stars.  The review was well written and objective.