Embarkation

[welshfamily]

We sail in 10 weeks on the Mariner. We are newbies with Regent.

As Regent is no longer providing Hotel or transfers how do we find out what time we board.

We are arranging our pre cruise itinerary although check out is 12 noon in our hotel they will store our luggage.

What is the normal procedure?

Please share your thoughts on the best check in time. By this I mean if you arrive at say 2pm have the queues gone and are the staterooms open ?
Is it better to arrive earlier?
We sail at 5pm.

what about suitcases ?

Can we unpack and then go to afternoon afternoon tea if the Le Veranda has closed or we have ate lunch before boarding. 
It will be hot  in Lisbon in August and if we have spent a few hours sightseeing and then have lunch we will need a wash and brush up before afternoon tea ( if it is served on Embarkation day.) 

 

Thank you.
 

 

 

 

[flossie009]

Check-in at the port and boarding normally commences at midday, but access to your suite may not be available until a little later (about 2pm). Time for a drink and lunch in La Veranda or on deck at the Pool Grill if the weather is kind.

Luggage will be delivered to your suite.

 

Exact port check-in time will be shown on your boarding pass, which you will receive after on-line check-in 3 weeks before embarkation. 

[pappy1022]

? - Regent is no longer providing hotel or transfers. When did this start or was this the OP’s choice not to use those Regent services? 

[jeb_bud]

Probably no afternoon tea on embarkation day but the pool grill is generally open until 4:00pm. 

[irishwitchy]

1 hour ago, pappy1022 said:

? - Regent is no longer providing hotel or transfers. When did this start or was this the OP’s choice not to use those Regent services? 

Based on other posts from the OP, for this particular cruise, Regent had some issues with hotels and what time to fly in and basically, the OP is on his own.  Not such a bad thing.  

[mj_holiday]

Our check-in post Covid was very chaotic because the buses picked people up very early (10am) at the hotel.

 

Our check-in and boarding prior to Covid went like this.  We checked out of the hotel we were staying in (not a Regent hotel) and took a cab to the port.  We realized that we may have to wait for awhile but really enjoy people while waiting.

At the port we handed our luggage over to porters and followed the directions. Sometimes we had to wait, but usually got on and had a great lunch at the pool grill until our rooms were ready.

 

For us it is not a big thing to have to wait to board; that is preferred to going someplace between hotel and boarding and then feel rushed to get to the ship.

[jeb_bud]

We boarded Voyager on Sunday. Our experience was basically the same as my_holiday’s pre-COVID experience. 
 

Hotel check-out time was 11:00. We checked out, took a taxi to Piraeus port. Porters took our bags and we went inside and sat until around 11:30 when they started check-in. We were at the Pool Grill before noon. Our rooms became available a little after 2:00. 

[MarEll1]

Can I jump in here and ask a question as we will be on our first Regent cruise in August as well? Can we drop our carry on luggage in the cabin when we board even though it’s not ready yet? Is there such a thing as a sea pass card in Regent? Do we pick that up at the cabin as well?

[fudge]

In our experience when you board you are asked to go for lunch or a drink with your carry on because the crew may still be finishing off preparing your suite. After an hour or two an announcement will be made over the tanoy to go to your suite should you wish to do so. We have never thought of dropping off our carry on before the announcement. I have never heard of a sea pass card

If you leave the ship you present your key card to the crew which is swiped through a machine. You are given the card when checking in.

[MarEll1]

Thank you - it is standard practice on Celebrity to drop off carry on (not unpack it!) in the room on embarkation, so I’m glad I asked. I think a sea pass card is a key card, but on Celebrity you pick it up outside your cabin.

[HonTri]

1 hour ago, MarEll1 said:

Can I jump in here and ask a question as we will be on our first Regent cruise in August as well? Can we drop our carry on luggage in the cabin when we board even though it’s not ready yet? Is there such a thing as a sea pass card in Regent? Do we pick that up at the cabin as well?

You can drop off your carry on luggage at a secure check-in room on board.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

2 hours ago, MarEll1 said:

Can I jump in here and ask a question as we will be on our first Regent cruise in August as well? Can we drop our carry on luggage in the cabin when we board even though it’s not ready yet? Is there such a thing as a sea pass card in Regent? Do we pick that up at the cabin as well?

As someone else has said, there's a secure check-in onboard for carry-on bags--they discourage you from trying to drop them off at your suite, although that worked sometimes in the past.

 

What is a sea pass card?  If you mean your ID card, you get it when you check in.

[cwn]

In Dec there were staff standing by elevators/stairs tuning back people who tried to access suites before they announced they were open (1 for named suites, 1:45 for all others). You were directed to the public areas to wait. This was on the Splendor and the Navigator.

 

If you don’t want to wait around the the crowd to board at noon, check out and leave your luggage with your hotel in the morning, do some site seeing (maybe an early lunch) until about 2 then pick up luggage and go to the ship. You then can get right on, go to your suite, drop luggage. freshen up and go to lunch at the lido or veranda as they are open until 4. Or go to the Coffee Connection for hot tea and finger food, both sweet and savory items. We do this in new ports that have things if interest. There is no need to rush to the ship with everybody else and then try to get back off to do something ashore. The ports are often not near the cities’ points of interest, so doing the sites before boarding is better use of the day. We like being able to go straight to the suite when we get on, clean up a bit then go to a bar for a cocktail and wait for sail away if it is before dinner.

Edited May 17, 2023 by cwn

[Timeflies]

3 hours ago, MarEll1 said:

Can I jump in here and ask a question as we will be on our first Regent cruise in August as well? Can we drop our carry on luggage in the cabin when we board even though it’s not ready yet? Is there such a thing as a sea pass card in Regent? Do we pick that up at the cabin as well?

We dropped out carry on before the suite was ready in Dec without any problem. But the door was propped open so we made sure the bags were secure and out of sight in the wardrobe area.

[MarEll1]

41 minutes ago, cwn said:

In Dec there were staff standing by elevators/stairs tuning back people who tried to access suites before they announced they were open (1 for named suites, 1:45 for all others). You were directed to the public areas to wait. This was on the Splendor and the Navigator.

 

If you don’t want to wait around the the crowd to board at noon, check out and leave your luggage with your hotel in the morning, do some site seeing (maybe an early lunch) until about 2 then pick up luggage and go to the ship. You then can get right on, go to your suite, drop luggage. freshen up and go to lunch at the lido or veranda as they are open until 4. Or go to the Coffee Connection for hot tea and finger food, both sweet and savory items. We do this in new ports that have things if interest. There is no need to rush to the ship with everybody else and then try to get back off to do something ashore. The ports are often not near the cities’ points of interest, so doing the sites before boarding is better use of the day. We like being able to go straight to the suite when we get on, clean up a bit then go to a bar for a cocktail and wait for sail away if it is before dinner.

We are staying at the Regent hotel in Anchorage and I believe that includes transportation to Seward, so I don’t think our arrival time is something we can control. I don’t have any info on the transfer to the ship - I assume we get that a few weeks before the cruise?

[cruiseej]

39 minutes ago, Timeflies said:

We dropped out carry on before the suite was ready in Dec without any problem. But the door was propped open so we made sure the bags were secure and out of sight in the wardrobe area.

If the room attendants haven't finished preparing the room, there's potential for them to think a bag was left behind by the previous occupants, and to move it to a secure area.  

[cwn]

17 minutes ago, MarEll1 said:

We are staying at the Regent hotel in Anchorage and I believe that includes transportation to Seward, so I don’t think our arrival time is something we can control. I don’t have any info on the transfer to the ship - I assume we get that a few weeks before the cruise?

If you are doing the hotel package you will have ship transfers. Yes you will get all that info with the luggage tags etc a few weeks before sailing.

We have sailed from Seward few times. We drove ourselves once and did a ship transfer twice (different ships) once by train and once by bus. It is s wonderful trip however you do it. You will probably get there before the suites are open. Store the luggage on the ship and get off and walk around the town everything is right there. 

Edited May 17, 2023 by cwn

[Timeflies]

52 minutes ago, cruiseej said:

If the room attendants haven't finished preparing the room, there's potential for them to think a bag was left behind by the previous occupants, and to move it to a secure area.  

Good point but We made sure our room attendant knew before we left them!

 

[wcsdkqh]

Why not just do as Regent requests and go to your suite when you are told it is available?

[cwn]

11 minutes ago, wcsdkqh said:

Why not just do as Regent requests and go to your suite when you are told it is available?

Some people treat Regent requests like  they are meant for someone else just like the request to not reserve Sun loungers. Imagine that is why we saw staff turning people away from the suite hallways in Dec 😬

[wcsdkqh]

Very True.

[Trunkabella]

4 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

As someone else has said, there's a secure check-in onboard for carry-on bags--they discourage you from trying to drop them off at your suite, although that worked sometimes in the past.

 

 

I’m an experienced Regent cruiser but never hear of the secure check-in for carry ons.  Where is it and how do we avail ourselves of its services?

[RELS]

15 minutes ago, Trunkabella said:

how do we avail ourselves of its services

I'm not sure where it is, but if you can ask as you come on board and they hand you your glass of champagne, they'll definitely help you find it

[briar14]

As you board the ship, ask a staff or crew member where you can check your hand luggage. A place is usually set aside in one of the lounges with an attendant. You’ll receive a claim check and can pick up your items when your suite is ready. We do this on each cruise. Much easier than lugging everything with you or interrupting the room stewards as they are trying to ready the ship.

[mj_holiday]

We have not checked our carry-ons before, may try it next time.

 

But when we get on and head to the Pool Grill we find an out of the way table and there is not a problem putting our carry-ons between us and usually an outside wall.  And it really isn't very long until our suite is ready.

 

I thoroughly agree with not putting carry-ons in suites before they are ready.  The staff working on the suites have enough to do to get everything ready and shouldn't have to worry about "who told me they put their cases in what suite?"