Having planned this cruise for well over a year, my wife and I, (experienced cruisers with 15 cruises under our belt) and our friends who had never been on a cruise before, were eagerly anticipating our first cruise on a Regent ship. From all the reviews, our friends were starting at the top, and would forever look at lesser cruise lines with disdain. The reviews were right, to a point.

We originally had planned to do a Mediterranean cruise with Regent during this time period, but opted to sail the Caribbean yet again for $3000 less. The all inclusiveness and small size of the ship was what initially attracted us to Regent. Having sailed on both larger and smaller ships in the past, the smaller ships are much more appealing for a many reasons, not the least of which is the better personal service, ability to visit smaller less crowded ports, and passenger to crew ratio.

Our cabin on deck 6 was very roomy and at the bow of the ship. In fact it was the roomier than a suite we had on the Dawn Princess. The downside was that there was no balcony, only a large window which was beside an outside deck. Only Crew members used this deck, so we had to remember to close the curtains for privacy. Being in the bow, noise and vibrations from the anchor being lowered nearly knocked us out of bed early in the morning on two occasions. The air conditioning in this suite was also very loud, but it didn't keep us awake. The beds are very comfortable, but the duvet was a bit heavy for my liking. The carpeting in this suite had seen better days, and the furniture was a little worn and tired for this calibre of ship. This suite also had two televisions, one in the sitting area, and one in the bedroom area, which could be curtained off to make two separate rooms if desired. The bathroom was also very large, and had both a shower and separate bath tub, which us unheard of on most ships. Read more