Dear Regent experts,

Well, I have been at the Regent Seven Seas website all weekend and just saw they are offering some specials for Med cruises this fall. Therefore, my husband and I are now considering moving our cruise up a year! Of course, now I'm panicked trying to research as much as I can (we've never been on a cruise before).

I've looked at the deck plans and we're considering cabins in Category D - H. Any thoughts? It looks like the cabins themselves are identical; just the location differs. Is that correct?

Is the Category H location (deck 6, aft) really horrible? It looks like those are the only Category H rooms on the Voyager. Do they have a balcony? That's really important to us.

I've heard there's a vibration problem in the aft section of the Voyager. Are we apt to get sea sick? Neither of us have ever been on a cruise and we're clueless about how likely sea sickness while on the Med would be. Will the vibration/noise keep us awake at night?

What section of the ship is considered aft enough to be a problem?

What location (or specific cabin) should I request on the Voyager? Is it better to be on a lower deck or a higher one?

Other questions we have:

Should we book directly with Regent or go through a TA?

Should we book our own airfare or do so through Regent?

ALL advice is greatly appreciated!

Andrea

I would definitely book through Brown & Keene (specifically Ngaire....pronounced Ny-Ree. They really are the BEST!!). My favorite cabins on the Voyager are midship, Deck 6, Category G. To avoid getting seasick it's best to be midship and low. We normally use F.F. miles to travel so I can't help you with Regent air. You'll love this ship! Welcome to Luxury Cruise Talk! :)

Thanks Marcie! I just sent an email to Ngaire! I really hope this cruise works out...the itinerary looks lovely and Regent is offering "Circle of Interest" programs in Food & Wine and Photography. Have you ever participated in those?

We're debating which to do...my husband is a terrific amateur photograher and I think he'd really enjoy the program. But he's the only one with a swanky digital camera...I'm still working with a point-and-shoot. We both love to eat and drink though! LOL! Decisions. Decisions.

Andrea

Andrea: All cabins (Voyager) have balconies - we have been happy on all decks midship but are not prone to seasickness so deck 9 was no problem. We experienced no vibration problems on 3 Voyager cruises. It is my favorite ship and just beautiful. I would call B&K for information. Go with best price midship. We have a couple joining us on Alaska cruise in August. He was sure he could find the "best" deal by researching discounted sites etc. Following 2 days of phone calls and internet looking he booked with B&K! We have used Regent's air and used FF points - depends on what works best for you. Joanna

Andrea, you can't go wrong with a G cabin on deck 6 for the Voyager.

Andrea,

I would suggest that, as others have pointed out, on Voyager stay with midship cabins. You may not be bothered with the vibration, but it exists in the aft cabins.

With respect to airfare: I have found, in general, that air price offered by Regent is high, especially if you are traveling in the off-season.What I would do is do a price comparison of how much the air would cost you using one of the airfare search engines likes travelocity, orbitz, etc. and compare to the Regent cost. Make sure you factor in the cost of transfers from the airport to the port as I think Regent covers that if you buy the air from them.

Good luck!

Welcome to LCT, Andrea....and welcome to cruising! Booking with B&K on a Regent ship....it doesn't get any better!! Happy planning...and happy sailing!

I've found airfares cheaper if you go directly to the airline and price it. Definitely book with Brown and Keene. She'll make sure you are not put in a cabin that might be a problem and her service is better than any I've ever seen

Arlene,

I agree. I just use Travelocity, etc, to do a quick analysis/comaprison of what airlines fly the route I need, and what the price level is. After I find that I check the airlines website for their prices. And more times that not, the price in the airline website is better.

Also, ditto about your comment re B&K! :)

Arlene,
I posted this on a different thread but a good website for comparing airline fares is www.kayak.com You can't book the flight on this site but it gives you the airline and the site where you can get the best price.

Kayak is excellent, but so is cheaptickets.com. Try BOTH, as well as the others mentioned.

Editing to add: cheaptickets doesn't let you book starting in a foreign city (i.e., Hong Kong or Madrid).