Hi,

I'm back and unpacked. We're busy getting ready for Christmas, since we're totally unprepared, but have decided to go largely gift-less this year, and probably tree-less as well.

In any case, I'll be putting together a review over the next few days. The highlights:

- Voyager was fabulous. Again. Just wonderful food, terrific service. Compass Rose was in top form!

- Great weather, and terrific itinerary (with one exception). Guatemala was our favorite for sure.

- We just have too much fun when we travel--hardly any complaints, and happy all the time. Not true of everybody on the ship, don't know why.

- We got to visit one of the Master Suites. Wow!

Hi Wendy and welcome back home! We waved to you when both ships were waiting to sail away from FLL.

Can't wait to hear more about your week on Voyager. :)

Welcome Home, Wendy. Glad it was a wonderful cruise. Looking forward to hearing about your ports.

Yeh, we waved to you too, and listened to the bagpipes. Nice sailaway you had!

Welcome home, Wendy. Some people from our ship accidentally got taken to yours. I almost did.

The bagpipes were awesome.

I can't wait to hear more about your trip, and I am glad it was a success.

We're doing a cheesy 2 ft. tree this year, but it is better than nothing and completely painless.

Yes, we heard about some confusion. When we embarked, they were very paranoid, and asked us about 10 times if we were going on Voyager for sure. Then we heard later that a couple of people had turned up to the Navigator spot when they were supposed to be going on Voyager. Some of the older folks probably, of which there were a few.

I've decided to cut some boughs from the cedar and yew in the backyard and make a table decoration. I'll hang a few tree ornaments on the plants, and that will be it. Sigh, I will miss the smell, but won't miss all the work.

Okay, so I posted my review under Reviews and Travelogues. I also posted it on CC, so if you see it there, it's the same.

It's amazing how relaxed even a week in the tropics can make you. It's pouring rain here, with the grey snow melting, but they say we might have a white Christmas.

Larry and I really had such a swell time on the cruise.

The food and the service, was excellent! The entertainment was good. We enjoyed pretty nice weather over all, It was a bit windy at times, but considering the rough seas that the ship apparently experienced the prior week, we were very lucky! The entire staff, on the ship, are wonderful and CD Jamie Logan is the very best! We were certainly made to feel very comfortable and pampered.

Enjoyed seeing Wendy and David again and meeting lots of nice people, especially Tennisbunny and her sister. What a treat to have a chance to get to know them! I think they really like RSSC, so we hope we'll get the pleasure of cruising with them again!

Glad I did get my back side in gear, and got most of the holiday stuff done before we left. Now we can relax and enjoy the holidays and the Voyager afterglow! :)

edited to add:

I meant to tell you that we had booked a guarantee and the put us in a Horizon suite, at the aft of the ship. Good & bad, huh? I was a bit apprehensive when we got our cabin assignment, having read so much about the vibration in the Voyager's aft cabins. Actually, it was not a problem for us. The vibration is evident, even when the ship is not moving, and if one is sensitive to it, I suppose it would be annoying.
For us, it was nothing, and we were on the corner and LOVED our big balcony with great views!

Also, my one disappointment was the inability to use my laptop in my cabin. I don't know if it was cabin location or too little bandwidth, but I was only able to get on a few times.

Betty so happy to read you had a wonderful time. :)

Welcome home, sweet sister!! I am glad you liked your cabin, I can't wait to see your pictures!

Betty so glad you and Larry had wonderful trip - I hope we can cruise with you both someday :hug: :cool:

Joanna, that really is a hope of ours. To cruise with you and Tony!

Karen, I didn't take very many photos, and they will not be as cute as my SAND pix 'cause you and Mark are not in them.

I have a couple of small things to add to Wendy's post, one that she briefly mentioned and the other that she did not.

On the Voyager there were the usual complement of people who, like us, were wandering around with big grins permanently plastered on their faces. However, even after a couple of days of this marvelous cruise there were still a noticeable number of people who had a look on their face like they had just bitten in to a rotten persimmon. I'm used to a few people on board who are just incapable of enjoying themselves, but the coefficient seemed higher than usual on this cruise. I don't know why this might have been so: as Wendy has said we thought this was a fantastic if too-short adventure.

Second, this was our first Regent cruise since they went all-inclusive. The bars and lounges had many more people present than I have seen on past cruises. This was nice to see.

-- David

Just to add our two cents...we had a WONDERFUL vacation experience on Voyager. The ship was beautiful, our suite was perfection, largely due to the amazing service from our stewardess and butler. They didn't miss a thing to anticipate our needs/wants and we loved every moment.

It was a special treat to see Betty and Larry several times throughout the cruise. Wish we would have run into Wendy and David more frequently :) .

The food was spectacular in CR, Latitudes and in Signatures. We enjoyed spa treatments while on board and thought the facial was the best we've ever received on a cruise or on land! Pricey, but well worth it in our opinion.

We actually ran out and picked up a Christmas tree on the 22nd and got everything up and decorated for the family day on Christmas. I would have been quite content with the 2 foot tree :) but would have been out-voted by the little ones in our lives!

Regent is definitely going to be one of our top considerations in the future. We ran into many people who had cruised several times with Regent and are fiercely loyal - for good reason.

A very safe and Happy New Year to all!

Hi Tennisbunny!

Sounds as if you got home and jumped right into the Holiday Spirit! I'll bet you had a great time with your family!

Happy New Year!

Yes indeed!

We didn't speak with a cruise consultant while on board although we talked a bit about it. B&K has been so great at keeping us posted when deals are available that we thought we'd wait and see what 2008 brings.

Would those of you who've also been on the smaller Regent ships say they compare favorably to Voyager? Don't want to limit any options if a smaller ship is great and goes someplace that would fit our schedules at the end of 08.

Smaller ships--the PG and Navigator. I think the Navigator stands up fairly well to Voyager, although I think on balance I like Voyager better. A great roomy feel, lovely pool deck. No Signatures or Latitudes.

the PG is special--you and your sister would love it, I guarantee. The staterooms are smaller, for sure, but the ship ambience is great, and the food is good to excellent in three different venues. The water sports and adventures really shine, as do the islands themselves.

We were specifically looking at the PG. Everything we've heard on LCT has been so positive that we might just give it a try!

As always, thanks for offering opinions and experiences! It's greatly appreciated :)