Booking Splendor, July 2022!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Close to booking this cruise.  Baltic and Norway, 18 nights, Copenhagen to Stockholm. Some nice Norwegian fjord stops, plus St. Petersburg.

 

This seems to be about the right timing for us--we will definitely be vaccinated by then, and I hope and believe that the cruiselines will have had time to get their acts together after the long period of being in mothballs--i.e., we assume that it will take the ships and staff some time to "shake down" after the go-ahead comes for restarting.  Getting on a ship of some sort, in that time-frame, is something we would love to do.

 

Any comments on this timing?  Any considerations that I should have before booking?  I intend to do this while the 2-cat upgrade and smaller deposits are in effect; I have a cabin secured, an F2 on deck 7.  I'm already searching for insurance coverage.

[Jimmcdaniel]

We are on that one too. Looking forward to meeting you Wendy!

[docmark]

So are we, and I recruited 4 other couples to join us !!. Never been to Norway, and look forward to it. Have been to some of the other stops  including St. Petersburg  Was hoping to get Penthouse accommodations, but none was available (for upgrade) Ended up with F1.

[travelwell]

21 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Close to booking this cruise.  Baltic and Norway, 18 nights, Copenhagen to Stockholm. Some nice Norwegian fjord stops, plus St. Petersburg.

 

This seems to be about the right timing for us--we will definitely be vaccinated by then, and I hope and believe that the cruiselines will have had time to get their acts together after the long period of being in mothballs--i.e., we assume that it will take the ships and staff some time to "shake down" after the go-ahead comes for restarting.  Getting on a ship of some sort, in that time-frame, is something we would love to do.

 

Any comments on this timing?  Any considerations that I should have before booking?  I intend to do this while the 2-cat upgrade and smaller deposits are in effect; I have a cabin secured, an F2 on deck 7.  I'm already searching for insurance coverage.

So very happy for you!!! I have been to many of the places, not Russia. Stunning voyage. Better timing then  WC22. For that we are cautiously optimistic. Only negative from my point of view  is that we will not cruise with you and David. Btw, just booked Splendor Panama Canal 1/5/23. Care to add a second cruise? Ends in Florida😉.

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

1 hour ago, travelwell said:

So very happy for you!!! I have been to many of the places, not Russia. Stunning voyage. Better timing then  WC22. For that we are cautiously optimistic. Only negative from my point of view  is that we will not cruise with you and David. Btw, just booked Splendor Panama Canal 1/5/23. Care to add a second cruise? Ends in Florida😉.

We are booked on  the 1/5/23 Panama Canal cruise with friends, also. We booked it to to replace the 3/15/2020 sailing which was the first cruise canceled by Regent. It was canceled the day before we were to sail.  Hope we all sail on this one. 
sheila🤞

[Wendy The Wanderer]

3 hours ago, travelwell said:

So very happy for you!!! I have been to many of the places, not Russia. Stunning voyage. Better timing then  WC22. For that we are cautiously optimistic. Only negative from my point of view  is that we will not cruise with you and David. Btw, just booked Splendor Panama Canal 1/5/23. Care to add a second cruise? Ends in Florida😉.

Thanks Lisa.  Would love that, you never know!  Thought long and hard about the WC22 segments, and it just seemed too soon (plus waitlisted.)  We needed the "hit" of a booking.  Now!  I've been to Norway on land, including the fjords, but never to Russia.  We were in Lithuania over 15 years ago and loved it, looking forward to seeing bits of Estonia and Latvia as well.  Plus there are places in Oslo that I really want to take David.

[ljk76]

Booked the Splendor just yesterday for a June 22 cruise..so excited! We haven’t been on Regent for 11 years. Somehow we jumped to Azamara. But we felt extra secure with Regent, particularly with shore excursions. Usually liked being adventurous but in these times we know they are experts and their safety protocols seem strong. Got our second vaccinations last week and can’t wait to travel again. 

[Steve Q]

Wendy,

This is a great itinerary. St Petersburg is such a wonderful place to visit. One place not to miss, if possible, is Peterhof Palace. We arrived just as the fountains were beginning. The start of the fountains was accompanied by music playing. It was a great experience.

Gehringer is another stop you will love. The scenery is amazing. Photo below.

 

Hope we are back to normal by 2022. We booked our first Regent cruise last month. It is in March 2022 from Miami to Lisbon. Fingers crossed.

 

 

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I've been to Geiranger, by land.  Yes, it's magnificent.  As is Alesund.  I thought about the Miami to Lisbon trip.  Lisbon is truly wonderful.

[Got2Cruise]

It’s a wonderful itinerary and on the Splendor! 
 

If they offer nighttime excursions make sure to take one. 

[Mudhen]

We’ve done the “Baltic” portion twice. The evening ballet trip in St. Petersburg was terrific if you like that sort of thing. One word of caution on Peterhof...it was magnificent, but the crowds are something else. I don’t think we’ve ever been ANYWHERE  where we have encountered such masses. As far as the start of the fountains, plan on being there a half hour before they begin otherwise you’ll be 5 row back and not see a thing other than selfie sticks. 

Since I haven’t looked at your exact itinerary, I don’t know if you’ll stop in Latvia. That was a place we had never been and were very impressed. Did the National Art museum and and an architecture tour that was fabulous. Who knew that Latvia was so beautiful and sophisticated???!!!!

Enjoy all of your trip!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

1 hour ago, Mudhen said:

We’ve done the “Baltic” portion twice. The evening ballet trip in St. Petersburg was terrific if you like that sort of thing. One word of caution on Peterhof...it was magnificent, but the crowds are something else. I don’t think we’ve ever been ANYWHERE  where we have encountered such masses. As far as the start of the fountains, plan on being there a half hour before they begin otherwise you’ll be 5 row back and not see a thing other than selfie sticks. 

Since I haven’t looked at your exact itinerary, I don’t know if you’ll stop in Latvia. That was a place we had never been and were very impressed. Did the National Art museum and and an architecture tour that was fabulous. Who knew that Latvia was so beautiful and sophisticated???!!!!

Enjoy all of your trip!

Thanks.  We'll see.  I love ballet personally.  But not crowds.  We'll be limited probably to bus tours by that time, I'm thinking, but we'll see what we can.  Just being onboard ship in these wonderful locations may well be enough, especially the Norway portions.  I want to see the Viking Ship Museum for sure in Oslo, since this was one of the highlights of my first visit.

 

Here's the itinerary.  Yes, we stop in Latvia.  Having been to Vilnius in Lithuania, we will look forward to both there, and Tallinn.  I've been to Oslo, Alesund, Kristiansand and to the Geiranger Fjord previously; David nowhere except for our trip to Vilnius years ago.  And yes, the Baltic is beautiful, and sophisticated--we saw it when it was just coming out from under Soviet rule, so it should be interesting to see it now.

 

Jul 08Fri	COPENHAGEN, DENMARK		6:00 PM
Jul 09Sat	CRUISING THE NORWEGIAN SEA
Jul 10Sun	HELLESYLT, NORWAY	7:00 AM	9:00 AM
Jul 10Sun	GEIRANGER (GEIRANGERFJORD), NORWAY	11:00 AM	10:00 PM
Jul 11Mon	ÅLESUND, NORWAY	7:00 AM	7:00 PM
Jul 12Tue	BERGEN, NORWAY	10:00 AM	7:00 PM
Jul 13Wed	STAVANGER, NORWAY	8:00 AM	6:00 PM
Jul 14Thu	KRISTIANSAND, NORWAY	8:00 AM	6:00 PM
Jul 15Fri	OSLO, NORWAY	8:00 AM	9:00 PM
Jul 16Sat	GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN	8:00 AM	5:00 PM
Jul 17Sun	KIEL, GERMANY	8:00 AM	7:00 PM
Jul 18Mon	RONNE (BORNHOLM), DENMARK	8:00 AM	6:00 PM
Jul 19Tue	GDANSK, POLAND	8:00 AM	11:00 PM
Jul 20Wed	PIONERSKY PORT, RUSSIA	8:00 AM	8:00 PM
Jul 21Thu	LIEPAJA, LATVIA	7:00 AM	4:00 PM
Jul 22Fri	TALLINN, ESTONIA	9:00 AM	5:00 PM
Jul 23Sat	ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA	7:00 AM
Jul 24Sun	ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA		6:00 PM
Jul 25Mon	KOTKA, FINLAND	7:00 AM	2:00 PM
Jul 26Tue	STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

[mariners]

Wendy, this itinerary is fabulous, and hits many places we would love to visit.  Given the governments "Avoid all travel on cruise ships ...", I haven't found any company that will provide insurance for cruises.  Have you found any insurance companies that will insure Canadians?    

[GOARMY]

Wendy: 

 

Keeping this Positive in hopes your Cruise goes.  Wonderful itinerary which touches many stops we have visited over the past 25 years.   Four times to Russia either on HA, Silversea, or Regent.  Back in the day--late 90s--did the St. Petersburg-Moscow 14-hour segment.  Not sure your limited time at St Pete will allow this Tour as an option.  Then, maintained facility in Russian, which was of benefit.  Time and tide have diminished that fluency.  But, in no way has that diminished our positive experiences while exploring St. Pete. 

 

Our last trip (which was our last Regent cruise prior to COVID shutdown) was aboard Explorer beginning in late August 2019 at Stockholm.   That was the first of a BtB.  Mudhen:  we may have been with you on that Sunday evening at the Ballet.   Complete performance of Swan Lake.  Magical!  Regent added to that experience by putting on both an early evening pre-Ballet Russian themed Buffet; followed by a late-night Buffet upon our return to Explorer. 

 

Would also recommend the "Fabulous Faberge Museum" four-hour tour.  First-rate.  Wished we had another hour at the Museum which contained so much more than the famous Egg Collection.  Like, ancient Greek works of art and pottery.  Not crowded at all.  

 

Of course, there is The Hermitage.  So much to see; so little time.  BEWARE:  Do not lean against any interior wall, or sit-down in a viewing room.  Nyet! will be yelled at you by one of the Babuska ("Grandmother") Minders.  Yes, The Peterhof.  Our tour there was with HA in the mid-1990s.  Mid-afternoon in June.  That was before the Western tourists really began descending on the "New Russia".  A "thrilling" ride on a hovercraft back across the water to the Maasdam.  

 

At Tallinn last September:  As a student of WWII history, I did the "Estonia's Soviet Past" four-hour tour.  Very, very dark, to include a visit to a KGB Prison complex.  That is part and parcel of the Baltic States' brutal history under either Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia occupation.  My wife stayed on the ship.

 

At Gdansk:  That visit was a few years back w/Regent.  Did a Guided City Tour which included a "Special" hour-long organ recital at St. Anne's Church.  That was a real treat.  The acoustics were great, particularly when listening to the opening selection:  Bach's Toccata and Fugue.  Thunderous.      

 

Bergen:  If the opportunity presents itself--a five-hour tour at Edward Grieg's home and studio just outside the city at Troldhaugen.  Again, this included a piano recital in a separate performance venue on the Grounds by a guy who looked a lot (although a little taller) than the original Grieg.  He hit all the right notes, in our opinion.  Poignant, as his final selection is one of our favorites:  "Wedding Day at Troldhaugen'"  It was played at our wedding reception over 50 years ago.   

 

Let us hope--

 

GOARMY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

21 hours ago, mariners said:

Wendy, this itinerary is fabulous, and hits many places we would love to visit.  Given the governments "Avoid all travel on cruise ships ...", I haven't found any company that will provide insurance for cruises.  Have you found any insurance companies that will insure Canadians?    

I'm working with a Quebec company called SecuriGlobe.  I had previously found partial insurance with them for our world cruise that got cancelled--using multiple companies.  I have a new agent who I quite like.  She said that some carriers will not at all cover cruises right now, but she's confident that things will change by the time I have to actually get the insurance, which is final payment February 2022.  Here's her contact info, Debra Tardif:

 

E-mail :	dtardif@securiglobe.com
Tél :	1-888-211-4444 ext. 5255
Fax :	1-866-276-7909

[Wendy The Wanderer]

20 hours ago, GOARMY said:

Wendy: 

 

Keeping this Positive in hopes your Cruise goes.  ...

 

Of course, there is The Hermitage.  So much to see; so little time.  BEWARE:  Do not lean against any interior wall, or sit-down in a viewing room.  Nyet! will be yelled at you by one of the Babuska ("Grandmother") Minders.  Yes, The Peterhof.  Our tour there was with HA in the mid-1990s.  Mid-afternoon in June.  That was before the Western tourists really began descending on the "New Russia".  A "thrilling" ride on a hovercraft back across the water to the Maasdam.  

...

 

At Gdansk:  That visit was a few years back w/Regent.  Did a Guided City Tour which included a "Special" hour-long organ recital at St. Anne's Church.  That was a real treat.  The acoustics were great, particularly when listening to the opening selection:  Bach's Toccata and Fugue.  Thunderous.      

 

...Troldhaugen.  Again, this included a piano recital in a separate performance venue on the Grounds by a guy who looked a lot (although a little taller) than the original Grieg.  He hit all the right notes, in our opinion.  Poignant, as his final selection is one of our favorites:  "Wedding Day at Troldhaugen'"  It was played at our wedding reception over 50 years ago.   

 

Let us hope--

 

GOARMY!

 

Most of that stuff makes me tired, Goarmy!  But the music recitals sound wonderful.  We did a Black Sea cruise before Russia took over the Ukraine, it was a "Spotlight on Music" cruise; it had a classically trained trio onboard, all kinds of recitals and performances during the excursions.  So they sound great--and I do remember the, ah, shall I say anal-retentive? attitude of the guards in the palaces in Yalta and the tour guides, so that won't be too much of a surprise.

 

This will be a laid-back, relaxed cruise for us--we'll probably miss a lot, but we won't mind; just being on the ship and looking over the railing will be enough in some cases, ha ha.

[GOARMY]

Wendy:  Maybe a bit off-topic (but, what the heck); and it relates to Regent--and music.

 

Explorer BtB, Miami via Barcelona to Venice.  Part of Inaugural series of Spring, 2017 cruises.  

 

April 16:  Easter Sunday at Kotor.  Church bells chimed in the morning as we boarded an excursion boat (from Explorer docked at the city's Pier).  Short ride across the "fjord" to the village of Pranja and Our Lady Temple (Cathedral).  There, after being offered bread and a "shot" of the local brew, sat-down for an hour-long flute concert.  Performers were "Quartet Talia".  Young ladies from a local Montenegro musical Conservatory.  Fortunately, we were in the first pew, allowing clear viewing (and recording) of that concert.  

 

Best musical experience we have been fortunate enough to experience on any cruise; on any cruise line.  

 

Selections ranged from baroque to Mascagni, to Bizet, Bach; to a rift based on themes from "Godfather I and II".  It was, simply, sensational.  There was even a rendition of Sinatra's "New York, New York".  By the time it was over, there was not a dry eye in the Church.   Thunderous, and continuous applause which echoed to the rafters. 

 

And, as if by Divine Intervention, our applause was dwarfed by real Thunder (and a hailstorm).  The Heavens opened up as if to shout:  "BRAVO" and Amen.    

 

Our group of about 35 waited for the deluge to pass; then it was a short walk to a nearby restaurant for what was billed as a "Light, Seafood Lunch".  That was a Feast of the first order with all local produce--fish, vegetables, breads, and wines.  Again, exceeded our expectations.  

 

Best morning and afternoon ever.   Back on the boat for return to Pier.  Again, came the thunder and rain.  There was also to be a follow-up Walking Tour through the city streets to complete the afternoon.  No way.   Our group was uniform in extending our best wishes to our great Guide.  However, we did not want either her or us to get further drenched.  So--young lady:  Go Home.  We all then commenced to run back to Explorer.  

 

Quite a day.   

 

Best,  GOARMY!

 

[mrlevin]

That was a wonderful day in Kotor.  We dodged the rain after the musical performance and found an old church in town.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Lovely stories, thanks.  I think musically our peak experience was in the cathedral in Haarlem (Grote Kerk), a short train trip from Amsterdam.  We walked in, and someone was practicing on the magnificent pipe organ, built in 1738 and played Mendelssohn, Handel and Mozart as a boy.  An impromptu concert, but unforgettable.

 

We have had many memorable musical experiences on our travels. Hope we manage some on this forthcoming trip!

Edited February 28, 2021 by Wendy The Wanderer

[mariners]

Thanks for providing the information, Wendy!  I'll contact her during the week to see if there is something that could work for us.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

1 hour ago, mariners said:

Thanks for providing the information, Wendy!  I'll contact her during the week to see if there is something that could work for us.

Just note that she will tell you it's way too early to actually buy insurance, especially if you're thinking about the timeframe that I suspect you are.  Nice thing is that you don't have to buy it at booking time to get pre-existing coverage, and you should be able to buy the coverage in increments, as penalties kick in.

[CruiserFromMaine]

We’ve booked the Splendor for January and have our fingers crossed. 18 days out of Miami. We booked it for April of last year, but of course it never sailed. Still waiting for our first Regent cruise!

[crispy46]

We are also on the cruise...if it happens...and also are from Maine. Portland area.

[CruiserFromMaine]

Crispy46–hope to see you on board! 
 

We’re in greater Portland too. 

[crispy46]

Cape Elizabeth