We depart for Hong Kong on Saturday and join the Voyager there on the 27th. It's a 17-day cruise to Taiwan, Okinawa, Shanghai, Hiroshima, Osaka, Seoul and Dalian; ending in Beijing on March 16. It's our first time back on Regent and the Voyager since our 2010 World Cruise. After reading some Internet posts, It will be interesting to see whether the Regent Experience has really changed or not.

Wishing you and Karen a fabulous time. We'll be anxious to hear all about your experience as we're doing the same itinerary next year on PAGODA (March 2014). Hopefully you can send us seamail.

Marcie -- I don't plan to invest the time in a formal blog (such a short trip). May post a few seamail inputs. Your trip might be a bit warmer. China has experienced a very cold winter, but it seems to be warming up a bit. Just got back from three months in Mission Beach...just a week here to change out our luggage. Best.

Anyone heard how the Voyager is doing after the perils around Australia? I assume they got the engine fixed?

Hope to hear from you a bit. Always enjoy your posts.

The Voyager had propulsion problems again leaving Shanghai in March. We had to skip Xiamen in order to make it to Hong Kong on time. No additional problems after that. It was a wonderful cruise. Captain McNeil joined us in Hong Kong.

We had a reasonably good 17-day cruise Feb 27 - Mar 16 (Hong Kong to Beijing). It seems to me that some of the family feeling on the Voyager was certainly missing. The wait and stateroom staff were still marvelous and extremely friendly. Can't really say that about the senior staff. Will cut the Captain some slack (because he had some long hours on the bridge as we wended our way among the islands of Japan and into some tight ports). However, the rest didn't interact real well with the pax.

In talking to several of the "Grand Voyage" cruisers, they felt the same way. A lot of the "special-ness" of such voyages has seemed to have faded away. Times and marketing emphasis change.

Welcome back Larry !
I'm sorry (but not surprised) to hear that some of the family feeling we becamse so used to is gone. We were spoiled, that's for sure. I'm afraid the special days on our World Cruises are gone, thank goodness we were able to enjoy it when we did.

BTW, Happy belated birthday!

Larry,

A belated Happy Birthday to you - - hope your day was special and the "majority" of your cruise was a plesant one !

Rod

We got on the Voyager in Beijing. Captain McNeil joined us in Hong Kong and he was very personable and friendly. Nothing against Captain from Beijing to Hong Kong. He just wasn't as personable. Maybe it had to do with fact Voyager had propulsion problems again and we had to skip a port. The crew was wonderful as always and we had a great cruise from Beijing to Bangkok.