We booked this cruise because of the itinerary and joined in Montreal. The boarding procedure was somewhat shambolic, herded into an old port warehouse and told to fill in a health form and take a seat on one of the old chairs set out in rows. After 40 minutes we were called to board the ship, approximately 100 people crowding around the entry to the security system to go through x-ray equipment etc. Eventually we managed to board and found ourselves in a corridor, we thought for a moment we were boarding a cargo ship, eventually we emerged in the show lounge, were given a glass of champagne, it tasted acidic so we left it, and were issued with our boarding pass and suite key card. Not a very good first impression as this was the first time we had cruised with Regent.

Once we got to our suite it was better that expected, very clean and an excellent layout. There was a bottle of champagne awaiting us however I noticed it was the same brand as we were served in the lounge so left it until we had a chance to try another glass elsewhere. All the restaurants turned out to be very good although in the self service restaurant called La Veranda we were careful about what we ate. The reason for this is that there are clear plastic fixed covers over the food and we noticed on several occasions guests had to reach under the cover to get to food placed at the back and their clothing was brushing over the food placed at the front, also some guests took food, dropped it from the server then replaced it and took a different one, not a good idea. There were no staff behind some of the of the counters to assist or to watch what was happening. This was the first ship we have ever sailed on that had the observation lounge at the stern, which continually vibrated when at sea. The worse the sea conditions became the more it vibrated. When docking and manouvering in a port the vibration became excessive, it felt as though the stern was going to shake itself to pieces on occasions. I noticed that a skirt had been added to the stern of the ship and asked one of the officers about this, he told me it had been added two years ago to increase the stability. our suite was situated mid- ships and we could not feel any vibration however those at the stern told me they were somewhat fed up with it as it disturbed their sleep.

To sum up I would say Regent probably deserve their six star rating on their other two ships which we understand are far superior but not on the Navigator due to its layout and vibration. Everything else is six star so I would classify it as 5*+ I think if we had the choice on two similar cruise itineraries we would opt for Seabourn as they definitely have the edge.