Seven Seas Explorer Review
Barcelona to Rome on the New Regent Explorer
Rating by category
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My wife and I recently returned from a 10 day Mediterranean cruise on the brand new Regent Explorer. This was our second Regent cruise, and we had also sailed on a corporate partner, Oceania, in the past. We have also sailed on Carnival, Disney, Royal Carib., and NCL so our experiences have been varied. We booked the new ship back in Feb. 2015 so obviously we were quite anxious to finally go aboard. That said, we were somewhat taken aback at the negative reviews on the ship for its inaugural trip in July. One reviewer even termed the ship as "gloomy" in decor.
We thought the ship was spectacular. The decor was beautiful, and what that reviewer called gloomy, my wife and I would characterize as earth tones. Deck 4 and 5,the Compass Rose, the Constellation Theatre, and all the lounges were visually beautiful. Specifically, the chandeliers, lighting fixtures, and artwork were just first class. We stayed in a Penthouse Suite on Deck 14 and the layout was great. I would add that our balcony, with a table, and two stretch out chaises was a very inviting space and we don't usually use the balcony much. After reading the negative reviews, and then compare it to my 10 days aboard, I would think that many of the returnees to Regent had an expectation that they were going to be somehow rewarded bountifully for ponying up more money for the inaugural cruise of the Explorer, and when they weren't, reported as much bad as they could. My wife and I don't really look for negatives so we would be hard pressed to relate any.
About the only negative I could relate is a) that whatever vendor installed the gym floor covering on the 6th floor should be embarrassed and Regent should get their money back. Regent has had to slice lines in the bubbles of the brand new floor so there is not a trip factor. I have much the same floor in my business, so I could relate. Perhaps when they have down time, Regent can force the installer to correct the issue. B) one of the two hot tubs was broken for at least 8 consecutive days and not fixed as we left.
Cabin Review
Penthouse Suite
Port Reviews
Ibiza
we went to san antonio on the other side of the island to watch the sunset from a table at Cafe Mambo. everyone should be able to do it. highly recommend pre-reserving a table, spend the money they request, and enjoy a great nite.
La Spezia (Cinque Terre)
The Cinque Le Terre are certainly amazing and fairly easy to negotiate, but a small village called Portovenere is prettier and can't be missed.
Barcelona
We basically just spent a nite pre-boarding in Barcelona but had spent 3 days here post last cruise. Great city. Gaudi is a really interesting artist whose works must be seen. You may not like them, or understand them, but visually they are a lot of fun.