We have enjoyed many wonderful cruises with Regent. This is our second time on the Explorer and she is a beautiful and elegant ship. We did a back to back, starting on January 8th and disembarking on January 28th, 20 memorable days. 1. Embarkment - Now I know Regent has no control over the Miami Port staff but embarkment was a disaster. Our documents stated Terminal J and our taxi dropped us off. One of the porters saw our luggage tags and told us Regent isn't docked there. It took a few minutes from workers to find out Regent was at Terminal F. We had to take another taxi to that terminal. Arriving at F it was total chaos. Crowds of folks being directed all over the place. First man at the top of the escalator tells us to line up at the end of the room but there is no line. A woman tells us to get a number but the first guy has none. She gives us #10 and they haven't even called #1 yet. Then we see a priority line for early check-in and our documents state we are eligible for early check-in, no #s and no line. The port staff all acted like it was their first day on the job and there was no supervision. And in this day and age, Regent could have texted us with the change in terminals. So many folks had driven to the port and parked at Terminal J only to find out they had to take a cab to another terminal. Not a great way to start a cruise. 2. Cabin - Superior cabin, large spacious with a great bathroom, double sinks, tub and separate larger shower. Large walk-in closet and plenty of storage. 3. Public Room - All beautiful well appointed. 4. Bars - All great. Bartenders were wonderful. It's great that they remember your name and your favorite drinks. 5. Dining - Main dining room served great dinners. Open seating but we prefer the same server and Francisco was the best. The specialty dining rooms were reservations only but at No extra charge and they were outstanding. Our favorite was Pacific Rim, Asian fusion, Simona was the maitre de' and the entire staff in the restaurant were women. Each time we went there, the room was run seamlessly and the food and service impeccable. Forget the "elegant casual" dress code. For the most part, Regent has allowed their dress code to plummet and folks dress as if they are going to a neighborhood diner. Sneakers and tee shirts and flip flops are more the norm. But I will say that at least a 1/3 of the folks in the specialty dining rooms dressed up a bit better. Guys, just bring one sport jacket if you want but many guys were allowed to even wear tee shirts in the dining rooms. 6. Excursions - At no extra charge we enjoyed many that were offered. But for the Caribbean we had been to many of the ports and enjoyed our own time at some ports. 7. Entertainment - Surprising good. Regent sure has improved on their lounge/cabaret shows. IN-TRANSIT - As we did a back to back we had a day in Miami to ourselves. We received documents and info from the Destinations team on what to do and expect while in-transit. All we had to do upon returning to the ship was show photo ID and our ships card key. Unfortunately, again, the Miami port staff didn't seem to know this or even care. There were 10 of returning on the shuttle bus, provided by Regent and a huge line of folks waiting to be processed on their embarkment day. As instructed we tried to walk in and show our docs but the female worker said we had to go to the end of the line and wait. We stated that we were in-transit, not new passengers. Much arguing and a supervisor comes over and he lets us proceed. Why the drama when it was so unnecessary? We had a great 20 days with the Explorer and it's wonderful crew. The only hiccup being the Miami port staff on day one and while in-transit. When we mentioned the Port issues to the Regent General Manager, he stated that they are well aware of the issues but the cruise ship companies have no control over the Port or its staff. Maybe the cruise companies should go back to Fort Lauderdale. Read Less

We choose this cruise to get to the sunny warmer weather out of our cold snowy north. And we chose Regent since we had never sailed on her and loved the idea of everything included like drinks, excursions, wifi on four devices and specialty restaurants and all said to be upscale! In spite of some bumpy weather which they very nicely and adroitly changed two of our ports for our safety it was a great cruise! And they certainly cannot control the weather but they handled it very well. We actually loved our free excursion in Martinique(a substitute port) to the beautiful rainforest gardens. And who does not like St. Thomas for shopping?! The food was above any I have ever experienced....and we have cruised many. Oceania was my top one for food before and this beat them out too! The service was great too....if any problem they were wanting to fix. We were not in a Penthouse Suite we were in Concierge so had no butler and we still loved our service. And the cabin itself....bigger than any before and I loved the walkin closet and the bathroom with both bathtub and walk in shower. And the balcony....I lived out there on the chaise lounge and the size of the balcony we could have had a party out there. Room service was excellent too; right on time and delicious. I loved the aromatic steam room in the fitness center area and did the workouts and then the steam room and then the showers....sitting out by the Infiniti Pool was great at the back of the ship too! The special restaurants were like going out to an elegant restaurant with so many selections. And even in the Compass Rose the main dining room you could almost have any type of entree you desired...you could actually build your own meal instead of just picking from a few. I like this alot! And the food was excellent. We liked our Champagne and Lobster excursion, also the Whale and Dolphin Safari, and the Garden Rainforest mentioned above. These were all free! So comparing to my previous 25 years of cruising this was over the top. By the time you add up all that you are getting for free including the hotel Conrad in Miami precruise, the excursions, the wifi, the premium drinks, the restaurants....it might be a tad more but it was a totally different experience. I loved it. I also liked the block party where you met your neighbors and had champagne, apps and the captain and some of the crew swept by too.... Read Less

We chose the Explorer based on the size and reviews we had read. We were absolutely impressed by many features of this ship. My wife has numerous severe food allergies, and the kitchen team in every venue took them seriously. A big THANK YOU to Food and Beverage Manager Natasha. We saw her all over the ship, and she made it a point to check in with us to confirm that we were enjoying the dining experiences. Our Explorer suite was outstanding, including Ravi, our Butler. The layout, size and finish out were perfect for our needs. The bath tub is amazing, with both air jets and Jacuzzi jets. Towels were very plush as well. We enjoyed every show as well as movie screenings in the theater. Cocktails were well prepared and readily available. My only beef was that on Silversea, the pool bar opens at 8:00, vs. 10:00 on Regent. Also, there are no other bars until the afternoon that are open, which is very limiting. That being said, the staff was super friendly and remembered our names right away and throughout the trip. The biggest disappointment came with the excursions. We had booked 3 excursions based upon them being described as wheelchair accessible. Once onboard, we were told that none of the vehicles (buses, vans, boats) would hold a wheelchair. They then presented some very expensive ($1,100-$1,500 per person) options. This NEVER happened on Silversea, as their tours were set up to accommodate the needs of the handicapped passengers. Likes it so much that we cancelled our July Silver Spirit trip and booked with Regent again. Read Less

Chose cruise for its all inclusive features. No worry about WiFi charges, drink charges, etc. Thought the food was excellent, especially the no-res needed Italian Setti Marie. The expansive pool side grill offered many choices in addition to usual burger/hot dog items. Gym was really nice, stretching across the ship’s beam at the stern. All equipment working and clean. Jogging track the usually short track, dodging wandering old people. This ship actually has a complete promenade deck on deck 5 that encircles the entire ship. Fun to work and in the shade. Lots of equipment partially in the way so its not a rapid walk. Our cabin was roomy with an awesome walk-in spa shower (multiple heads). Best I’ve every seen. Two sinks in our penthouse suite. We were far forward for very bumpy ride, to the point that we couldn’t sleep in the open water portions of the journey. Main gripe: impossible to sleep in our cabin until 1130 when music was finally turned down in the observation lounge. No prob during the day w regular overhead music or piano playing but awful at night. Multiple complaints from other cabins forward on deck 12 and forward on deck 10. Management knows about this problem and it could easily be solved by scheduling music acts at another site or simple stopping them at 1000. The shows were fun but didn’t start until 930, later than we would have liked. The ship itself was in good shape w lots of dark wood paneling. Elevator response was excellent. Not a fan of the Caribbean stops/ports but we never planned to take part in excursions. Dominica downtown is downright scary (we scurried back to the ship after a short walk) Love this small ship. Crew was uniformly polite and friendly Read Less

This ship is supposed to be free WI-FI .More like hardly any wi-fi.Took 4 hours to download a local paper. Could not get e-mail. Want to wish family Merry Christmas forget about it. Compass Rose dining too noisy .Had to always wait.Once I asked for a table for 4 to at least be seated .Was told by Maitre D he needed all tables. We were leaving and nobody had sat at that table.Also they rush you out .Wait an hour out in 30 minutes. They say beds are king size.Bull i AM 5'9 and the length was too short .The width was no better.Not a king . Canapes were hit or miss peanuts, pretzels and chips. Once and awhile they got creative with some olives or tuna.Nothing great . For a newer ship there was rust on the shower doors.Why they used marble in the shower is beyond me.. Went to future cruise department. Asked for a copy of baltic city tours to see what we might see on a future cruise. Gave e mail .Still waiting been back 10 days .Maybe wi fi is down. Been on Crystal and Seven Seas .Nothing is perfect but did not have the above issues. Oh the free tours .More bull. One tour was a trolly around town. Stuck in traffic.Locals were all laughing at us .Why can't they provide free transfers to downtown areas. Sette Mare dining was excellent. They made the effort to remember your name .Service was excellent. Also Regent seems to be encouraging bringing children on board as one can see with the special rate for children.Lost me there Read Less

The Regent ships are smaller. Approximately 750 passengers and 500 crew. The amenities; service, food, entertainment; are fantastic. The cruise is all inclusive (the cost of alcohol, food, tips, excursions are generally all included). Certain premium items (high end alcohol, tours, spa services) need to be paid extra for. A $400 per room credit is provided to pay for some these types of items. Excursions are at times lacking/hit and miss. Sometimes I think it would be best to research and pay extra for each shore tour through Viator or Trip Advisor. I like to hear as much information as I can from a tour guide, and the ship excursions don't always provide that. One excursion in Nassau was a complete waste of time. We traveled on a small boat to a nearby island through swells. There was maybe 80 of us on this boat, packed in like sardines. There did not appear to be any life preservers. I was somewhat concerned. The place we visited was overpriced and our "stingray" excursion ended up being stingrays kept in a large pen off the beach so we ended up staying away and sitting on the beach drinking overpriced/cheap beer. Our room was really nice and large. Our deck was spacious, covered, and included outdoor furniture. Our fridge was stocked with beer and, during the cruise, I believe we received in our room up to two bottles of wine/champagne. Bathroom was double sink and included one shower and a bath/shower. Large bed, walk-in closet and sitting area with flat screen TV. Entertainment in the ship's theater was very good. Several full cast musical shows were provided, along with two shows from a guitarist. A lecturer on some days would provide insight on the local customs, etc. I think the cruise could do better to provide a lecturer each day specific to the island community to be visited. Service in general is very, very good but towards the end of the cruise I noticed that bar servers seemed to be growing testy and tired. Restaurants were excellent. Wines, foods, liquors were all top notch. Be prepared for many passengers who are quite elderly and everything that may come along with that. We experienced several situations of elderly folks, likely wealthy, who appeared to feel they were somewhat entitled and were very rude. Don't be shy about bringing too much luggage and dressing up. Read Less

All rooms were suites. . It was awesome. Christmas decorations were beautiful. Great Christmas events We enjoyed all restaurants except Prime 7. Steaks were dry. lobster over cooked. Our favorite without reservations were Sete Mari the Italian and Compass Rose. Chartreuse was excellent on Christmas Eve. The shows put on with musicians and dancers were great. The comedian wasn’t very good. There was a guitarist that was good also but I don’t remember his name. The staff was great that took care of us. No lines. There was a block party to meet all your neighbors in your corridor. The Captain was going to come by and cheers to all. They ran down the hall and tapped glass and ran off. Not a good experience. Should have avoided the Captain part all together. We were a little disappointed after we booked that they changed one of our destinations from St Bart’s to St Kitts. The chairs on the upper deck were very comfortable. The pools were nice but we didn’t use them. Not pool people. There was an infinity pool on back deck in spa. Great experience. Will definitely use this cruise line in the future. Read Less

My wife and i have sailed on over 25 cruises ranging from large, to midsize, and to small ships, at both luxury and premium levels. For several years now we have wanted to try Regent but could not find an itinerary nor price point suitable for us. When this cruise was offered it was to sail to Havana as well as the western Caribbean, which we had not done before but was subsequently rerouted, thanks to our President disallowing Cuba visits. The Explorer is indeed a beautiful ship throughout, but as a luxury cruise experience it fell short. Embarkation was a long and arduous process, and when we finally embarked the ship, we were welcomed with a glass of champagne, but no one offered to direct us to our cabin. Our Penthouse, which was quite comfortable, but the "living-room" space was very narrow and the sofa was quite uncomfortable. Our butler did not show up until we called for service and instructions regarding the room set-up, etc. Our pre-arrival requests had not been fulfilled and so we had to try again then. Although our butler was very personable, we did not find this service particularly worthwhile. The food was a mixed bag of mostly quite good in the restaurants, but pretty lame at the buffets and coffee bar. In fact I don't remember ever having such consistently below par food and selections on any cruise ship we have sailed on before. At the risk of sounding snobbish, I want to mention that the two caviar and champagne breakfasts boasted offering "the worlds finest caviar" where in fact it was salmon and a pathetic paddle fish roe, which tasted like nothing more than salty fish paste. Even lesser cruise ships do better than that. When Maine lobster tails were offered in the restaurants, they turned out to be warm water lobsters, which don't taste at al like Maine lobster. Another way to cheapen the experience. The desserts and breads in the restaurants were quite good, but pastries were pretty poor. It seems like all they could make was different versions of dry pound cake based items. Entertainment shows by the song and dance ensemble were quite good, but the other single entertainers were OK, at best. WiFi and computer room were mixed. There were a number of problems being able to connect, but we were told an upgrade was to made on the ship's return to Miami. Service throughout the ship was mostly quite good and attentive. We have no substantial complaints. All in all, while our Regent experience was mostly positive, it did not measure up to a level of "Luxury" we have experienced on Seabourn, Crystal, or even on Oceania and several Celebrity Cruises suite class sailings we have taken in the past. For the premium one pays to sail on Regent, we cannot recommend them for value. Read Less

Just completed 2 b2b cruises, last one being a transatlantic. In good conscience, I will have to give the Explorer 4 stars. It is a pretty ship, although with some jarring and too glitzy decor. The much touted “art” looks like something purchased by the yard in a warehouse. Some very nice art glass pieces in various locations. Many comfortable lounges and places to relax. The staff is very good, the personalized service not so much. After 24 days, only our cabin steward seemed to address us by name. The dining manager in Seti Mari ( where we ate at least 10 times) never had a smile or even pretended to have seen us before. The venue isn’t that big and it seemed odd. Not that big of a deal. One can’t expect overworked crew members to remember names, their job is difficult enough. Everyone did have a smile and hello. Dining venues were generally good, but not worthy of the raves I have read from others. The service in the Compass Rose varied from good to horrible, with waits of over an hour from appetizer to main course happening at least half the time. CR is huge and really noisy, overlit and not that inviting. We tried to avoid it when possible. Specialty restaurants, Seti Mari and the Pool Grill were all good. We especially liked Pacific Rim. Our cabin, a concierge, was nice enough, We had various issues; broken TV, toilet having to be replaced. I personally found the linens to have an odd odor and had an allergic reaction to what ever the sheets were washed in. I realize that is a personal issue. Our steward, though a very nice fellow, would start calling me at 1:30 to leave the cabin if I was still there for cleaning service. ( had to rest after a small medical procedure every 3-4 days, and had breakfast delivered) I tried to explain that I would try my best, but he insisted that if I did not leave he could not service the cabin until after 6:30. I was stunned. This was luxury? I can’t think of any nice hotel or cruise line that would have a 5 hour period in the middle of the day you could not get your room refreshed. This caused me some stress and was something I didn’t expect. The included excursions varied from really good to awful. Several were reclassified as to difficulty level once embarking on the ship and required changing. This was worked out in most cases, but in one I had to forego an excursion as nothing was available. I do feel the excursions were often poorly vetted by destination service. The most difficult one, where I walked 4 plus miles, was rated a one ( lowest) in difficulty. A rated 3 ( highest) was basically no walking and mostly riding in a 4x4 vehicle. This lack of transparency seemed to cause many difficulties for some older people. In at least 3 ports the walk to the buses was over a half mile. Plus the half mile back to the ship. A few wheel chairs seemed available, but no shuttle. Luxury? Not the fault of Regent, but 2 ports in Morocco were cancelled due to bad weather. Very disappointing as this was one reason I booked. A half day in Tangier was substituted, with a very very poor excursion. We also had two days in Burmuda canceled as to storms. Making for a very long period at sea. This was not a great fit for me to be on ship with very little to do on 9 sea days. There were a few lectures, trivia etc. Good selection on movies on in suite TV. The absolute worst part of the cruise was the shocking lack of internet connectivity. When it worked it was like year 2000 dial up at its best. 2 or 3 minutes were max before getting kicked off. Several days it did not work at all. We have been on several other lines that did not have this issue. This was totally unexceptable if you need to conduct business or keep in touch with family. The included wines were ok, in a few cases they were ones I recognized from having purchased as being about $6 a bottle retail. Cocktails were better. The few shows we saw were underwhelming. We didn’t go to many. They tried. We did not use the included air, so can’t remark on that. While the concept of all inclusive is great, I’m don’t think the value for expense is really there in Regent experience. I could conceivably consider booking again on a much shorter cruise, but the dealbreaker is the lack of internet connectivity. Until I felt that issue was resolved, never again. There are several other high end lines that in IMHO are better choices. Read Less

As it claims to be the world most luxurious cruise ship, I chose this cruise trip to celebrate my husband's 60th special birthday with my family, hoping it to be a memorable one but it turned out to be totally disappointing! Despite my previous arrangement with the cruise co about my husband's birthday before the trip and reminded them again on the first day we boarded the "Explorer" for the room decoration for his birthday, we were very disappointed that they failed to show anything after we came back from the day excursion on that day, NOT even a single birthday card! After our inquiry, they put the ballrooms and banner inside our cabin, in front of my husband ! Really totally meaningless !! It ruined every efforts and purpose of this trip! A live spider and a live bug was found moving inside a bowl of mixed berries when having room service breakfast . It was videotaped and reported to the management. It was sooo gross that made us stay away from berries ever after even though we love eating them so much before. They excused as cannot wash very thoroughly the berries etc etc, which was totally unacceptable. Their attitude and response did not show any professional ethic, especially on a cruise that claims itself to be the world most luxurious one! A dry supposed to be clean face towel was founded stained in brownish red when my husband was surprised to find the water changed to red after put it under running water in the wash basin. Besides, the towels, especially the bath towels in the cabins look old and thin too. The first few days after our complaints, we were given better towels that were newer and whiter but situation went back the same again few days later. A bottle of champagne was given in our cabin a few days later, WITHOUT any card attached to it. We all thought this was a token of apology from the management after all those 'surprising' incidents. Unfortunately, we found it after we were back home that it was actually a birthday gift ordered to my husband by his friend who had paid both the wine and a birthday card which was missing ! Believe it or not ? This was the service from a 5-star cruise ship ! The meal quality in all the restaurants, including all specialty restaurants, are below the standard one would expect on a 5-star cruise ship, except in Pacific Rim where the service and food were very good. There are plenty of rooms for improvement of the food : 1/ Soup in Prime 7 was super salty that even the manager commented it was like drinking sea water after he tasted it, No improvement was found on our next dinning there. 2/ steak in Prime 7 was so tough and rubbery that hard to be cut even with the steak knife. 3/ pizza and even the ice cream cones were not crispy but soft. 4/ nuts in the buffet table were stale and rancid. 5/ the quality and variety of the fruit on the buffet tables were below the standard of a luxurious cruise catering. For the Spa room, I was surprised to find that there was no regular sauna room but a infra-red room with slightly low warm temperature which would not alleviate your muscle tiredness even after staying there for a long time. There was one and only one small hair dryer and you had to stand up to dry your hair in a corner of the changing room after shower as there was not even a single chair for the whole room! You may choose to go back to your cabin with your wet hair or standing up to dry your hair for quite some time with that small low power hair dryer, especially for those with long hair. Since there is no sauna room, I changed to have bath in the bathtub inside my cabin to relieve my tiredness but No bathing salt was provided even after request! Is it a luxurious request ? This is totally unacceptable even on a 3 or 4 star cruise ship, not to mention on this claim-to-be the world most luxurious cruise ship! Read Less

Went on Baltic cruise on 22 July 2019. We started at Copenhagen and finished in Stockholm, visiting Rostock, Tallinn, St Petersburg, Helsinki. We have sailed with regent before and with Seabourn. I must say this was our best ever cruise to date. The ship is beautiful with lots of space, well laid out and felt very luxurious. We eat at all of the speciality restaurants which included the Pacific Rim which was not on the Voyager. All were excellent but we felt the Pacific Rim was the beast. It was it was a shame the cruise was only 1 week long and only had one see day to enjoy the ship properly. All of the staff seemed genuinely happy and were easy to engage and chat with. The service was also excellent. We only once had to be seated for dinner as we wanted a window seat at the Sette Mari (Italian) Restaurant. The head waiter suggested to go to the pool bar, have a drink and he would let us know when the table was ready. After about 20 minutes he personally came and collected us and showed us to our window table We went to 4 of the shows and all were excellent. All of the singers and dancers could have been on a West End show. We had a mixture of free tours, small group tours and in St Petersburg we went for the Classic Tour and paid the extra $120 dollars each which included a meal in an excellent roof top restaurant. Great cruise which was helped with come exceptional weather for the Baltic. Read Less

We had tried to get a group of friends together to tour the British Isles for a few years, but it never happened. My wife and I decided to take a British Isles cruise on Regent's Explorer instead, and are very glad we did. We used the included business class to arrive in Southampton a day early. We mainly used the day to shake off jet lag, and the next day used the hotel's complimentary car service to get to the port at around 12:30. Embarkation was a breeze; we were the only passengers there, and had a choice of 10 people to take care of us. We had cocktails on the pool deck, and were in our room with our luggage just after 2:00. That couldn't have been easier. The room was an F2 (Superior) suite. It had a large walk in closet, with more hangers than we needed (and we overpacked). The bathroom was nice with double sinks, a bathtub and a separate shower. All of the surfaces were luxurious marble. The bed was very comfy and faced the veranda, the veranda was big and had nice wicker chairs,and our room attendant dropped off a bottle of scotch and a bottle of bourbon. No complaints about our room at all, and it was one of the bottom end suites! We spent some time touring the ship, and were frankly amazed at how nice all of the public areas were. It's maximum luxury, almost obsessively so. Everything was spotless and appeared to be in perfect shape. Explorer has been in service for about three years, and looks like it's a brand new vessel. It's supposed to be refurbished this fall, but the passenger-visible areas don't seem to need it. We split our dinners between Compass Rose (the main dining room) and the specialty restaurants. We like to eat late, and that made it easy to get additional reservations at the specialty places. We can honestly say that we didn't have a single dish that we were unhappy with. The service was also great, everything was perfectly paced. One or both of Prime 7 and Chartreuse are open for lunch each day, and that was really nice. All in all, it couldn't have been better. We don't pay much attention to the entertainment. Since we eat late, the show has usually started by the time we're ready. But what we did see was pretty good. Cruise director John Barron's show was excellent. He's really a great CD, the best we've run across. They had an Irish flute player that we liked. The real highlights were two groups that John brought on board. In Belfast there was a troupe of musicians and dancers that told the Belfast story. But the topper was in Liverpool where he had the Cavern Club Beatles on stage. They are the house band at the Cavern Club, the place the actual Beatles play hundreds of times. The theater was definitely rocking that night! Cons: 1. The theater has too many obstructed vision seats. The steps are tricky when the lights go out, and we saw a woman fall and break her ankle. She had to be airlifted off the ship the next day. 2. British weather. Pros: 1. Literally everything else. Read Less

While not experienced cruisers, we have been on five previous cruises over the past 25 - 30 years with Carnival, Norwegian, and Holland America. We chose this cruise due to an invitation from my sister to join her and her husband on what would be their sixth Regent cruise (they booked their seventh while onboard). We found the itinerary interesting which included Spanish, Portuguese, French, and British ports and loved the departure port (Barcelona) having spent a week there last year. Our journey began with a flawless and on-time flight on Delta through Atlanta to Barcelona. Delta One (their version of business class) was comfortable, the food was delicious, and I was able to sleep a few hours during the flight. We arrived in Barcelona Sunday morning before a Monday cruise departure day to an expectedly chaotic airport where we discovered Barcelona is second to Miami as the busiest cruise port in the world. Our bags were retrieved and turned over to representatives available at the airport and we were on a bus headed for the Fairmont hotel an hour after landing. Our hotel, the included pre-cruise selection by Regent, was very nice and located within a large garden-like area with beautiful grounds. Very quiet and relaxing. Regent representatives were onsite to assist with tours or cruise inquiries although we didn't require their assistance. The provided breakfast Monday morning, the day of the cruise, was high quality with plenty of choices to satisfy everyone. We had a couple of hours to relax prior to boarding our assigned bus to the pier. Bags were retrieved from our room the morning of departure. After a relatively short (45 minute) bus ride to the pier, we were ready to board. The embarkation process was efficient, easy, and relaxed. We experienced our first memorable interaction with a Regent employee during this process. A gentleman from the entertainment team greeted us with a smile, checked us in, invited us to the show that night, and sent us on our way. A great first impression even before we boarded the ship. Once onboard, we immediately noticed the quality, beauty, opulence, and luxury of the décor, design, furnishings, and atmosphere on the ship. Also, a wide variety of artwork could be found throughout the ship, some of which matched my taste, while some did not. We were aware of the hype surrounding this ship and reality matched the hype. Undeniably, the ship itself is beautiful in every imaginable way. Our cabin, a Concierge D on deck 10, was located steps away from the elevators and stairs and beneath the library above. The efficiency of the cabin design was impressive by being able to face the very comfortable king size bed toward to balcony so that from the bed we could see the sea or port. An abundance of drawer space (we didn't use half of them) could be found throughout the cabin. The closet was very large in relation to the cabin size and fully accommodated what ended up being our exaggerated over packing. The bathroom was impressive as well with two sinks, a separate tub and shower, and beautiful marble finishing throughout. Pre-cruise, we were attracted to a separate tub and shower, however; after a 12 night cruise, we never used the tub. Similarly, pre-cruise we appreciated that an illy coffeemaker would be located in our cabin yet we never used it. Our balcony was large, approximately 115 sq. ft., and had high quality furnishings including two large wicker reclining chairs, full size chaise lounge, and a table large enough for two people to enjoy a meal. The balcony angled toward the front of the ship which provided an unobstructed view forward without the need to lean over the railing. Furnishings, fixtures, and finishes inside the cabin were consistent with what would be found in four or five star hotel junior suite. Contrary to certain reviews, we found the dining onboard to be excellent without exception. Every meal was high quality, well presented, without lengthy wait times, and flavored deliciously. We dined at each specialty restaurant twice, ordered room service breakfast six times, and tried all other dining venues except the pool grill multiple times. I had seafood, veal, beef, and pasta main course dishes and all were great. Service was outstanding. Wines offered were very good and our glasses were never empty. Desserts were, unfortunately, too tempting to avoid. Frankly, absolutely no complaints related to food whatsoever. We experienced none of the issues to be found in reviews critical of dining venues located on the ship. We were left assuming we were either very fortunate or simply easy to please. Notably, the design, décor and atmosphere in the three specialty dining venues is truly unique and beautiful. The entertainment we found enjoyable and, well..............entertaining. Other reviews indicate entertainment leaves something to be desired yet we attended three stage productions, the cruise director John Barron's show, his assistant's show, and every performance by the two guest performers with Will Martin's shows being the best. The shows were an hour in length which we found to be perfect. We didn't expect Lady GaGa, Adelle, Elton John, or a Broadway theater production of Phantom of the Opera or Les Miserables to be performing on the cruise and therefore we appreciated the quality of the entertainment available. Additionally, we were always able to find comfortable seats available in the theater without obstructed sightlines. We also scheduled two cooking classes in the Culinary Arts Kitchen and thoroughly enjoyed both. The instructing chef made it fun with her energy and enthusiasm and by playing music and serving wine while teaching. Both classes were full (I believe 18 is capacity) which further added to the fun atmosphere. The facility itself is state of the art. Finally, we scheduled five appointments in the Canyon Ranch spa and were pleased with their services and facility. I had a massage that I would rank as good as any I have ever received. Service on the cruise is where the separation occurred between great and extraordinary. The meaningful difference maker for us. Nice ship, itinerary, tours, food, and entertainment - otherworldly service. One example: 6:30 am I go to the coffee shop to get a latte for my wife which Andre gladly prepares and a green tea for me. I then head to the pool deck where the fresh juice bar is located and pick up a celery and orange juice for my wife and head back to the cabin with my hands full. As I walk through the pool area the attendants who are changing the terry cloth covers on all the pool loungers smile and wish me a good morning. As I approach the door, one stops what he is doing and runs to open the door for me and asks if I need further assistance. As I near the door to our cabin, from behind me appears one of the captain's staff members from the bridge and he asks me if he can open my cabin door for me with his master key. This is only one example of many other incredibly positive interactions with Regent staff members on the ship. The training program must be world class because we never encountered anyone who wasn't pleasant, wasn't eager to serve, and who wasn't genuinely kind. The crew seemed happy. At dinner in Prime 7, our excellent server Ruth's assistant, who I would guess to be 21 or 22 years old, engaged in conversation with us and twice said how much she loved her job. How many 21 or 22 year olds in the U.S. would say how much they love their jobs? From beginning to end, we had no complaints whatsoever regarding the service we received and we compliment Regent for their very effective hiring and training practices. We experienced eleven ports while on our cruise and found many points of interest, cultural experiences, historical significance, and beauty at every one. All tours with the exception of Lisbon met or exceeded our expectations. Most notable tours included a D Day Landing Beach tour in Normandy and a wonderful dinner at Chateau Du Tertre in Bordeaux. We had high quality guides who were knowledgeable and understandable. Each bus would depart about half full. Very efficient system for organizing tour departures on the ship. We never waited more than ten minutes before being directed to our bus. The one complaint I have from the entire cruise experience is related to the tours and, unfortunately, I believe the issue is beyond Regent's control: passengers go on tours they should not take due to physical limitations. We were provided tour descriptions online before the cruise, after we boarded, and each day with the newsletter; all of which made abundantly clear the physical requirements of each tour and the physical limitations that should prevent someone from taking certain tours. On every tour, in my opinion, people were present who should not have been. Certain participants placed unreasonable expectations on the guides due to their limitations. A man fell down stepping off the curb in Lisbon and somehow the guide was implicated? Another guide was rudely told to slow down because a couple couldn't keep up. One guide was told to slow down by a woman who said her back hurts when she climbs stairs. And lastly, a guide was asked to be available at the port to help a couple back to the ship. Very frustrating and my heart goes out to the guides and what they must endure. Regent can't be placed into a position of evaluating each passenger's physical ability before every tour. Passengers need to read the information, readily available via multiple sources, regarding the tours, and be honest about their ability to take the, clearly stated, more physically demanding tours. Again, my only complaint during the entire cruise. Disembarkation was difficult only because we didn't want to leave. The process itself was easy as long as your luggage was outside your door on time and you were listening for your number to be called indicating it was time to disembark. In summary, we had a wonderful and memorable trip and thanks to Regent for performing so incredibly well every step of the way. To perform so well requires outstanding organization, training, quality control, accountability, and teamwork. It was fascinating to watch the team work so well together and deliver so well time and time again. Partly attributable to my sister telling me to prepare to be spoiled and partly because of the price, our expectations were very high yet Regent consistently met or exceeded our expectations. Consequently, we are now hooked and booked an Alaska cruise in 2020 while onboard. Read Less

We chose Regent based on prior experience. This was our 4th cruise, and on this beautiful new ship Explorer everything was even better than we remembered. Crew, amenities, excursions, food -- all just absolutely top notch! We embarked in Rome, and stopped at multiple locations in Italy, France and Spain. Valencia as a real highlight for us, as was Florence. But every port was great. The onboard entertainment was really top flight as well. Often on cruise ships you get a bit of the 'amateur hour' feel. But this troupe was really exceptional. And the assistant cruise director David Nevin was also one of the featured performers, and he was perhaps the best of all. There are always a wealth of organized activities available on board, in case you don't want to depart for a shore excursion. Other ships we have been on simply do not have that same level of customer focus. All in all, if you want a truly first class experience, book a cruise with Regent! Read Less

Chose this cruise for itinerary an Regent's reputation. Overall really beautiful ship. Very well maintained. Excellent cabin and bathroom with more storage then we could use. Outstanding food. Service was excellent and very friendly. One port of call skipped and another changed because of weather(obviously not Regent's fault). They did not handle the excursion changes well. Included excursions were average at best. Entertainment was poor. At this price point that was inexcusable. I discussed this mid-cruise with the cruise director. She mentioned the production cast changed for our cruise and were busy rehearsing and could not provide many entertainment activities during our cruise (just 2 shows in 10 nights-one of which was at 9:30 pm the night before the end of the cruise when bags needed to be out by 11 pm). I found the shows to be really dull. Very few entertainment options around the ship.Overall the entertainment was inexcusable. I wasn't given a discounted fare for the lack of the entertainment due to the need to rehearse. They should have been fully ready when the cruise started. The boat does need one dining venue which is casual at night (and not the very limited Pool Grill which is open to the elements). This is important for if you have a late arriving tour you may not want to change for dinner. Overall not worth the cruise fare. Read Less

From Italy with Love was the title of the cruise. We chose this cruise because of the ports of call. It was a birthday and anniversary cruise and Regent did not disappoint. Regent surprised me with a birthday cake and champagne upon sailing and the same on our anniversary. Personal attention is their key. The itinerary was great. We had never sailed Regent Seven Seas and have been totally spoiled with the smaller ship, service and food. The Concierge cabin is spacious and the difference between the Superior was the one night in Venice before the cruise. The transfers from airport to hotel to ship were all included and what a difference it made. When figuring the cost difference, there was no comparison to upgrade to the Concierge. We did the hotel add on at the end of the cruise. The hotels are 4-5 star and the service was wonderful. The Majestic Roma was beautiful and upon arrival and departure, Regent had reps to help. This was especially noted at the airport when Vincenzo took us from the cab right on through check in to the TSA pre-check. No matter what suite you choose, make sure to look at the deck plan to choose a cabin with the extra balcony as you will appreciate the added space. It's easily recognizable! Included items: All alcohol/beer/wine/sodas are included in the cost and the info says that your suite frig is replenished daily. Our suite was to be outfitted with alcohol/wine/soda but we had to ask our cabin attendants on a daily to replenish diet coke and wine. The specialty restaurants were included and an added bonus. It's nice to go into a bar, sit down and order a glass of wine and not get a bar bill at the end of the cruise. Excursions are also included and, for the most part, were top notch. There is no need to tip as they are also included. However, we did give a little extra to our cabin stewardesses and a few in the cocktail lounges and restaurants who went above and beyond. Read Less

We picked this ship and cruise line because we had a wonderful experience on the Explorer in 2017 going from Barcelona to Rome. We wanted to complete a trip around the boot so we started in Venice and ended up in Rome this time. Our first experience with Regent was so fun, we really didn't think it could be topped. This trip was every bit as nice and even more fun because we knew the "lay of the land" on the ship and met a lot of very nice people. The ports and excursions were great! The ship is beautiful, our suite was wonderful, the thermal suite is amazing, and the food was good! But, the best thing of all this time, as well as last time, was the friendliness, dedication, personal attention, and professionalism of the crew. We did not have (and don't need) a butler. Our room steward and assistant were wonderful and kept everything in tip top shape, attended to any requests efficiently, and smiled through it all. The service we received was excellent everywhere on the ship! We are already thinking about our next cruise and will definitely stay with Regent, because I don't think it could be any better. (Business Class air from San Francisco to Europe, pre-cruise night in a 5 star hotel with buffet breakfast, all transfers, tips, drinks, and excursions included). We definitely got spoiled! Read Less

Two years ago, my wife and I with three other couples enjoyed a GREAT cruise on this ship. Accordingly, another couple and ourselves chose to repeat our positive previous experience with this 16 day cruise. Spoiler Alert- Big big MISTAKE! Very little worked on this so called "Luxury Experience" . It is quite obvious that the "bean counters" at Regent have decided to squeeze every single dollar out of every single cruise and then let the customer "suffer" their decisions. The problems began with the so called "Free" Airfare. This is nothing more then a marketing ploy as the cruise fare is increased by $ 300 per couple if you decide to take their "Free" airfare. Regent's response, when questioned, it that if you do not take the "Free" Airfare they will credit $ 150 pp. So much for the "Free" Airfare!. We decided to upgrade our flight to LAX via First Class @ an upcharge of $ 699 pp. When we finally received our flight information we found that Regent had booked 4 Senior Citizens to fly out of Miami on a 6:30AM flight to Chicago! Yes... fly to Chicago in mid-winter! We would have to get up at 3 AM in the morning to try and catch that flight. Really! When we objected, our travel agent finally had Regent offer us a 9:30 flight from Miami to Orlando and then to LAX. Somewhat better but that "new" flight was @ a $350 per couple upcharge! We declined and made our own First Class flight to LAX. Regent included a one night stay at the" Beverly Wilshire" Hotel which was fine. After checking in we were told that Regent had a "Hospitality Suite" available for all information about the next days travel to the ship. The so called "Hospitality Suite" offered NOTHING in the way of either Food or drink! Not even a bottle of water! The Regent "representative" could answer none of our questions except to say that our luggage should be ready to be picked up at 7:30 AM and we should meet in a Hotel Ballroom @ 11:15 AM. The "free" included breakfast was not offered in the Hotel's restaurant but instead was a buffet-style "Holiday-Inn Express" type of breakfast. Shame on "Regent" for that! The buses to the ship did not even arrive until 1:30 in the afternoon! Regent"representative offered little information except to wait. Arriving at the pier involved another l o n g wait. Once on the ship we again had to wait even though our quarters were supposed to be ready at 1:30 PM. No apologies were offered for the delay! We heard through the grapevine that the ship was inspected by the Coast Guard that day and experienced some "difficulties". In addition, many of the crew's contracts had expired and they were leaving and a new crew had come onboard. Many of the "new" crew were in-experienced and it showed. They just did not know what to do. Breakfast in "Compass Rose" took close to a hour and 45 minutes. Two years ago at breakfast, you were immediately served juice and coffee/tea and a server came right offer and offered Muffins/Pastries. Now, we waited and waited and waited. Finally, we were served Coffee/Tea and then waited some more to juice. The server offering pastries/muffins made only a single pass at the table and did not return. Each morning we had to ask our server what the Breakfast "special" was. They either did not know or were instructed not to offer that information. Orders are transcribed via Tablets and mistakes (missing orders) were common. Coffee refills had to be requested. An order of Smoked Salmon and a Bagel resulted in being presented with a single small scoop of cream cheese. You had to request more cream cheese or ask for a triple serving of it when ordering. Head Waiters tried very very hard but were totally overcome3 by problems/issues with the kitchen and the inexperienced staff! Breakfast service at "Compass Rose" was overall a failure! Our quarters were excellent as was our Butler and Steward! Kudo's to them! Dinner at "Compass Rose" matched that of Breakfast except the food quality overall was fair at best. We dined 5 nights at the "Pacific Rim" Restaurant and overall both the food and service was excellent. The steakhouse. "Prime" featured quality food and excellent service also. As to the French "Chartruese"... forgetabout it! Poor food and even worse execution. Service was even worse as demonstrated by our request for Onion Soup. Both "Chartruese" and "Prime" share a kitchen with two separate lines working. Onion Soup is offered at "Prime". Two of use requested Onion soup at "Chartruese" and were told NO!!!. No exceptions..!! Way to go Regent! We never went back to "Chartruese" with their poor food. As to the cutbacks- portion sizes have been cut back... obvious to us was the fact that previously when ice cream was ordered as a desert, you received 3 scoops plus a cigar shaped cookie (a "Pirouette"". Now, only 2 scoops and no cookie! Cost savings are now the norm and not the exception as to both the quality and quantity of the food. An example of the cost cutting is the fact that on one night dinner was ONLY served on the pool deck as a buffet. ALL other Restaurants were closed so either eat at the buffet or order room service. There is little question that this "move" by Regent saves them money overall. At dinner, I like to be served and help myself to a buffet. Overall, the crew is very very nice and helpful. However, here again, Regent drops the ball. One night a notice was placed on our bed that "Painting and Varnishing" of our deck were take place the next day. We returned to our room and noted one crewman was entering our cabin with a paint bucket/varnish materials. We followed him in and noted another crewman working on our deck and they finished shortly afterwards. However, they had left the doors leading to the deck open, so our quarters were both hot and humid as well as smelling from the paint/varnish. I called to complain and was told it would not happen again. Two days later, in the late afternoon, my wife was napping, and I was shaving. Our curtains were open and I then noted a crewman on our deck, varnishing. I chased him away and again complained that our privacy had been compromised. I received an apology again but clearly this is no way to treat a passenger. I do not expect perfection in an imperfect world. However, if I am paying top dollar for a cruise experience, ( over $ 30,000 in this case) , I do expect more then we received from "Regent" on this cruise. In speaking to other repeat "Regent" passengers on this cruise, I found my experiences not to be that unusual. The conclusion reached appeared to that "Regent" has changed... sadly, not for the better... Read Less

We have cruised for a number of years with different cruise lines but promised ourselves that one day we would try one of the supposed most luxurious cruise ships. After much research and saving we decided to try Regent Seven Seas Explorer and booked the Mexican Riviera to Panama Canal cruise.We flew to Los Angeles and were transferred to a 1st class hotel for the first night bit of a shock in the bar 2 beers $48.00. We were informed to be downstairs by 11am for coach transfer to ship but then waited 1 1/2 hours for collection which I considered very poor. On arrival at the port we had another wait of over 1 hour before we could book in, this was the worst book in of any cruise we have ever been on and was starting to wonder whether we had made the right decision to cruise with Regent, later on board we were told this was due to a customs inspection of the ship if we had been told the reason for delay a number of passengers would not have been so angry. We eventually got on board and went to our cabin 1409 which was a D grade Concierge. The cabin was presented immaculately with a wealth of cupboards and hanging space for clothing, the bathroom had a bath and large walk in shower. The balcony was large with very comfortable reclining chairs.Our cabin stewards were excellent even going to the trouble of decorating our cabin on my Birthday with balloons and happy birthday banner, a large cake and champagne was also supplied. We ate in all the restaurants while on board and the standard of food and waiting service was excellent as was the menu and the best of any ship we have ever sailed on. Due to the low number of passengers only 750 only one show at 9.30pm was performed but at no time was it necessary to get into theater early to get a seat, we walked in a 9.25 and could always find a good seat. The production shows were 1st class as was the guest entertainers. Most of the many and varied excursions ashore are included and of a good and interesting nature, a point to note that a few trips have a supplement to pay but check once on board and a very similar trip may have been added which is included but was not shown when booking. The bar staff again were excellent and no matter what drink or cocktail you wanted it was available.It would be nice if a day room at a hotel was included on disembarkation as you have to leave ship at 9am and in our case our flight was not till the evening a hop on hop off trip of Miami was included but was poor and once completed at 1pm waited a further hour for luggage which was stored by the bus company. One day I will hopefully cruise with Regent again as we will always compare other ships to this which will be a very hard act to follow. Read Less

This is only the second time that I have composed any dialogue regarding our many cruises around this unique planet. This cruise, on Regent SS "Explorer", was chosen by us more than two years ago. It takes a lot of discussion, a lot of planning, a lot of 'buyers' remorse, a lot of tender anticipation before deciding on the correct fit that an Ocean Going Cruise will make. Two years ago a significant birthday, for myself, was looming on the horizon and the two of us (TC2 and myself) wanted a cruise that would meet the requirements of that birthday. Since my birthday, by default, had two distinct dates ( another story, another time) the 2019 Explorer Cruise from Santiago to Los Angeles would be a perfect fit for both dates. Since we live in the northern area of the USA it can and does have very obtuse weather conditions during the winter. Our weather assumption, unfortunately, proved correct and caused us to change flights, incur unexpected hotel stays and invoke extra costs to an already expensive cruise. But, if we did not accomplish this we would never have reached the ship on time for embarkation. Taxi scams at the Santiago Airport added more frustration to our journey and being 'World travelers' we should have known better. The flight from Dallas/Fort Worth to Santiago, Chile. was made on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Comfortable and on time flight but we would never have made that flight had we not changed out flight from Vancouver to be one day earlier. However, our luggage arrived with us and having that not happen more than once, we were surprised. Boarding the "Explorer" ship and climbing the gangway to be greeted with a Champagne "Welcome Aboard" is always exciting, even though we have done this so many times. We have told each other, "do not take it for granted". We were, indeed, fortunate to obtain a 'Master Suite' due to a last minute 'upsell' which we offered to accept. It is a fine example of what Regent can put into a luxury ship. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms (one full) and a deck that commands more than 180 degree view as well as an expanse that would accommodate a Rothchild party. Put this together with Butler Service and it would be hard to find an equal. It just so happened that the "Discovery Channel" camera crew were on board with us filming for one of their episodes of "Mighty Cruise Ships". In order to cover the complete ship they need to film a Butler served dinner service en Suite. We were innocently chosen to be the couple that was provided this service. The episode will not air for about eights months but it certainly should be interesting and also give a boost to Regent. The Discovery Channel film crew attended my birthday get together. Balloons, festoons and canapes together with a full Marzipan cake for me and an Opera cake for TC2, baked by the Regent Pastry chef, all made it a Happy Birthday and unforgettable memorable occasion. The crew is always our second family and we look forward to greeting each one of them on our regular Regent cruises. General Manager, Massimo, met and greeted us as we boarded the ship and made sure that attention, care, service and safety were all prime. We particularly enjoyed being invited to an Explorer Suite on Deck Eight where we met and became extremely close with the guest of that suite. We also were fortunate to join, for cocktails in the Explorer Lounge, two outstanding guests, 'Master and Madame Echo'. I would like to comment on some items that Master Echo has reported on in his cruise critic review. 1) Electric cut off when you leave the suite. This items is about par for most hotels. I presume it is a method of conservation. However, since the ship provides its' own electricity you would think it is not necessary. It is most likely a safety item especially for batteries and chargers that are left plugged in. Because we don't want to keep putting the card key into the slot each time we enter we chooses to use either a cardboard or stiff paper insert and leave it is as long as we "own' the suite. It works fine for us. 2) Cabin cleanliness. I was surprised to learn that some funnel smut had collected in the room and also that a solitary and wayward grape had not been cleaned away. For our own experience we have found housekeeping to be above par but understand that some items can be missed. Where's that 'white' glove? 3) Vibration. Like individuals, we are different. So it goes for ships. We expected big things from Explorer when she came out. "This one is not going to vibrate and she is not going to have dischordent frequencies. She is going to be so stable you won't know your on a cruise!" Obviously not so. Every ship, again like ourselves has its' idiosyncrasies. They all creak, they all sway and they all have haunting vibrations. A super example of this is the "Navigator". It has always had problems. They have 'fixed' it several times, but it still has problems. If you 'fix' one frequency in one place it transfers to another. That is the ship world. Given the amount of weight on the Explorer, with glass, marble alloyed Prayer Wheels, etc. etc. it is a wonder that she even got our of Italy. 3) Water quality. Water quality on the ship is always a concern. It is conserved and osmetically re-cycled. Problems to emanate from rusty boilers but while it is unsightly it does affect the cleaning power. Personally, I found the shower water to be so clean that it left my shampoo squeaky clean. Most people do not realise that 'conditioners' change the structure off the hair and eradicate its' history. I do not think you can get away without putting chlorine into a swimming pool. It is ubiquidous. I found the Infinity Pool to be quite strong with this additive. 4) Gratuities. Regent classifies itself as "All Inclusive". Therefore you should never have to dig into your pocket for anything. Coming from the U.K. I am very stingy. I work for my money, I get a salary, I do expect anything else. The early coffee house in Britain in the 17th Century gave rise to the TIP. (To Insure Promptness) It has now grown, due mainly to American influence, some that is not just expected but demanded. It seems that if you do not give a 'Tip' you are embarrassed and the worker relies on this embarrassment. Regent contracts their employees. Their employees get paid well for what they do. Nowhere in the contract does it say, "Thou shalt receive a tip or extra awards for doing your job". Should you wish to contribute to a crew 'welfare' fund then do so, but you can do it without be embarrassed by it. I was extremely upset to see a head-waiter canvassing every table in Compass Rose, on the penultimate night, shaking hands with each customer and instructing them to make note of his name in the 'Comments' report. It was also noted that some exchange of dollars was taking place. 5) Explorations. The Ships' Destination Services has historical problems. Each of the port and each of the tours brings it's own problem. Dealing with contractor busses, variable languages, countries, ethnicities, safety, reliability, comfort, needs a lot of tact and experience. Transform this into on-board guests who always want to be first in the line at the supermarket and it can be a bee-hive to avoid. But, seeing the world and it's history is why we cruise. Patience! 6) Internet. On board Internet is almost a permanent failure. Contacting Satellites hovering 25,000 miles above the Earth is expected but cannot always be justified. Nature is, however always present. Climate, Gravity, Sun Spots and a myriad of galactic and global influences have a big influence on our Internet system. Just like the movies, we expect instant response but even electricity takes time to get from one place to another. Again, it pays to be patient and through in a little levity. I just wait until I get home. Just a word or two on Dining. The Pacific Rim on Explorer was a new and exciting addition. Being our fifth cruise on Explorer we had eaten in Pacific Rim several times. It took us four or five of those visits to finally grasp what the menu is about. Now, when we attend, we know what it is that we like and we have adjusted ourselves to the Asian Infusion method that type of cuisine. Service is always impeccable as provided by mostly Russian servers. Read Less

Relaxation in luxury. Although far more expensive than some of its competitors I believe this cruise line gives value for money. Its detail tp the design of the cabins are well thought out with loads of space even for the most discerning traveller. The entertainment was first class and was viewed in total comfort of individual seats, if one so wished. Tables around the seats allowed for your drinks to be within easy reach. The theatre offered good views of the stage no matter where you sat. The specialty restaurants were diverse and true to their character. Swimming pool of a reasonable size for a cruise ship. On the top deck there was a mini golf and various other ways to entertain oneself if not desiring to sunbath. An amazing amount of sunbeds which well cared for by diligent willing staff. Personally, would travel with Regent Cruise line again should the opportunity present itself. I have no reservation recommending this cruise line. Read Less

This was our first ocean cruise, but I am sure that it cannot get any better than this cruise experience on Regent Explorer. We stayed in a Penthouse A suite (917), which is beautiful and very functional room, with a huge balcony. The walk-in closet in the Penthouse suite is a bit small, but we still managed to fit the contents of two big suitcases into to it without any problem. The empty suitcases can conveniently be stored under the bed. The shower cabin is absolutely fantastic and so is the quality of the bed. We arrived at the pier in Rio de Janeiro for embarkation at around 1:30pm and we were onboard 15 minutes later. Everything was so well organised, and it continued like that throughout the cruise. The cruise was fully booked, but the only time it felt crowded was upon embarkation when everyone was having lunch in the Veranda/Pool restaurants, but after the suites became available, it never felt crowded again. We initially didn't really know what to use the butler for, but he turned out to be extremely helpful and useful. He really made us feel special and pampered. He served a couple of breakfast on our terrace, which was a wonderful way to start the day. We were generally totally amazed by the service, which is very attentive and rather personal. During our 12 nights cruise from Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires, we had three dinners in each of the restaurants Compass Rose, Prime 7, Pacific Rim and Chartreuse. We also had several lunches in the speciality restaurants. The food was generally very good to excellent. We were not fans of Sette Mare/La Veranda, as the place looks a bit like a canteen. Furthermore, we were not impressed by the breakfast, which was exactly the same every day and some of products were rather cheap/industrial, and the fruit was often unripe. We are in our early fifties and were surprised to be among a relatively young crowd without a single wheelchair or rollator onboard, perhaps because the cruise included many anchor ports. Some of the ports of call were great, while some were very forgettable. The same goes for the excursions. We had two fantastic biking trips. We don't really care about the shows, lecturers etc., so I will not comment on that. We used the gym daily, which was really great, spacious and lots of equipment. I also had two nice massages in the spa. The weather was hot and sunny throughout the cruise, but it was surprisingly easy to get sun-loungers around the pool. Only on our single sea day, it became rather busy. The ship is absolutely gorgeous and in perfect condition. The all-inclusive concept is really great, but also a little dangerous as we definitely ended up eating and drinking too ;-) We loved our first ocean cruise experience and now look forward to the next on Regent Splendor. Read Less

We traveled on this cruise with another couple but also met some delightful passengers during the trip. Embarkation was quick and easy. Our suite was lovely and spacious (Explorer Suite) but not set up according to our pre cruise requests. The bar and bedding were totally wrong as they must have mixed us up with another passenger’s requests. This was our second cruise on the Explorer having sailed on her two years previously. Throughout the cruise, our cabin stewards kept our suite in immaculate condition. Always friendly and cheerful. Our butler was okay, always very rushed.Except for bringing us room service for breakfast and canapés at 5 pm, we didn’t see or hear from him (nor did we really need him for anything). Unfortunately, our shipped bags didn’t arrive in time to make the ship’s departure. However, Executive Concierge Jeff offered us free laundry, a small OBC and 25% off of Boutique purchases of clothing and sundries. We very much appreciated that gesture on the part of Regent. (Our Luggage arrived one week later when we docked in Port Elizabeth). Overall, the ship is a delight to behold especially over the holidays with gingerbread decorations and Christmas trees everywhere. I was surprised to see so few children on board during this time. Those who were appeared remarkably well behaved. The fitness center and spa are top notch and spacious. No problems with any services received (except for the exorbitant prices). But, hey, it is vacation. We had several ports cancelled due to weather so destination services were quite busy handling the changes. I have to say they did a great job doing so and always with a smile. We weren’t impressed with the cruise director. You rarely saw her in public spaces except when it called for her presence. She didn’t engage passengers unless she was approached. I thought it odd that when she spoke to an audience pre or post show or other venues, she never made eye contact with the audience. She just focused on the microphone. Maybe I am just spoiled by cruise directors like John Baron who is certainly the exact opposite. Some folks don’t care about CD but I am one who believes he/she sets the tone for the entire cruise. Very disappointing.. And, front desk staff, what can I say...some, not all,were.just awful. I can understand the repetitive nature of the job can be stressful but rudeness is not acceptable at any time. Entertainment was good. An entertaining comedian and magician made for enjoyable evenings. We wondered why Regent provides the same shows such as Revolution and Paradis. We saw the same shows two years ago. And, can we get some classical entertainment? Many passengers spoke of their desire to hear classical music. In fact, we were traveling with an internationally known classical pianist who was willing to give an impromptu presentation in the lounge, etc.but were told by the CD that the dreaded “Corporate’” doesn’t allow. Finally, food and beverage. Sommeliers were excellent and always willing to find something you liked if not pleased with the daily offering. But, wait service was a real problem. I could not believe the inconsistency of service between restaurants and within restaurants. For example, Pacific Rim provided outstanding service and food on the 3 times we dined there. So did Chartreuse. However, Prime 7 provided the absolute worst service at both lunch and dinner (5 times). They were the worst when we sailed two years ago. Sad to see it hasn’t changed. Now, Compass Rose, is where we have the problem as it will depends on who you receive as a waiter. As this was a full cruise one couldn’t always sit in the preferred waiter’s station. I suppose the variation can be expected but we are talking about waiters who had trouble using the IPads when taking orders and claiming that certain menu items weren’t available. The biggest issue and most egregious was how they handled a food allergy issue. (I noted food allergies pre cruise) I am deathly allergic to red wine. I ordered a veal dish (no red wine sauce described on the menu) and when brought to me I asked if the sauce contained red wine. The waiter didn’t know but went to the galley to ask. When he came back I was told “ no red wine is in the sauce..” Great, I proceeded to take several bites and about 5 minutes later the waiter came rushing back to say that the sauce DID have red wine in it. Totally unacceptable. Fortunately, I only ate a small amount but it was enough to make me ill for 24 hours. I was assured that they would not make the same mistake again. The food and beverage manager contacted me the next day to apologize but she was so focused on saying that they didn’t have the allergy in their system versus the fact that the waiter made the error as noted previously by telling me there was no red wine in the sauce. (Thanks to the aforementioned, I did get to visit the medical clinic who provided great care. And, finally, remember the gracious offer of the 25% discount in the boutiques due to delayed luggage. It was supposed to be reflected on my final statement, but it wasn’t. No time on the morning on disembarkation to deal with it so will try Regent corporate. So, all in all, although I have 4 cruises booked on Regent over the next two years, I am going to have to think about sailing with them a little bit more once I am able to reflect on my experience as time passes. Read Less

We chose this cruise the very first day it came out. We'd done North Africa and wanted to do South Africa with a pre-cruise safari. Regent did a fantastic job providing us with a Shamwari 5 Star game resort where we were so lucky to have seen and photographed a leopard and a white rhino at sunset against a setting sun. Our suite onboard was very convenient to the elevators and our cabin attendant was so attentive. The food was fantastic as well as the musicals. The weather however proved a bit of a disappointment as we had to forgo a port in Nambibia and Mozambique. Internet service was problematic and the food too salty. Salt shakers are on every table so why not use those? The only disappointment was the awlful air routing to and from Cape Town that resulted in 10+hours spent in Lufthansa's Frankfort's lounge going and coming. This was our third Regent cruise and the second one with Captain Serena who is an outstanding, vivacious captain. Spending Christmas, New Year's Eve and New Years Day was truly one of our most memorable cruises. The 1600 photos we took are indeed a photographer's dream come true. Read Less

We chose this cruise for its itinerary having sailed from Dubai to Cape Town via East Africa with Regent three years ago (a cruise which rated as one of the best we have ever done). A bonus was a chance to sail on the Explorer. We chose the pre-cruise experience on offer in Lisbon as the post cruise with a Safari meant coming home on Christmas Day! Pre-Cruise - Lapa Palace - good hotel but too far out of town and no good bars or restaurants nearby. Also, the buses couldn't get to it causing problems for excursions and transfer to boat. Not well organised. the second excursion was a disaster! Sintra was vaguely interesting but poor organisation meant a mile walk for coffee, loads of food which no one wanted and long delays resulting in lunch not arriving until well into the afternoon. The transfer to the boat was also poor. This is not the first time we have felt that Regent need to vet the pre and post tour operators more carefully. Initially the Explorer is much more impressive than any of the other three Regent ships despite their valiant attempts to upgrade them to match. You do feel this is luxury. Sadly, the ship did not live up to expectations. Suite, service and food were good, but lack of outside space spoilt the voyage. Very lush inside but if you wanted to sit outside it was a sunbed or one of ten or so seats at the pool bar. We enjoy sitting on deck during the morning and early evening with a coffee or drink. There is nowhere to do this other than the very limited seating round the pool bar which does not get the sun. Eating on the balcony of Veranda was good when the weather was fine, and it was open, but it shut for three days with no good explanation given! Something to do with a crew member getting bitten we heard eventually. Strange because we never saw an insect on the boat! The Pool Grill is mainly covered in. It was good to see they have got rid of the sauce bottles and some of the food was very good e.g. prawn skewers but the main choice was largely burgers (we don't consider that five-star luxury) and the whole place in our view resembles a diner. We did appreciate the speciality restaurants opening at lunchtime. The itinerary was as expected but not as interesting as East Africa, partly because the ports had little to offer (not Regent's fault). Destination Services did a good job in a difficult part of the world and we enjoyed the excursions. We were, however, disappointed not to go to Togo. Togo was taken out at what was said to be the last minute with no alternative provided. There has been unrest in Togo for a considerable time and with elections coming up on the 20th December this was clearly unlikely to abate. Regent are risk adverse at the best of times (which I understand although I do not necessarily agree with decisions) so it would seem clear that the chances of going to this port were slim. If indeed this was a last-minute decision, as said, then I agree it would be difficult to provide an alternative. However, the decision not to go should have been taken much earlier and provision other than sailing around the Atlantic in a circle made! Sao Tome early and Walvis for two nights perhaps. We choose cruises for the itinerary and while we are aware that ports may be omitted it appears to be quite a regular occurrence with Regent (more than with say Silversea or Seabourn). Entertainment was similar to other Regent Cruises - we don't generally participate in this and find daytime activities very uninteresting unless an early show is put on. Sally Jones was good, as usual and we appreciated her re-arranging her show due to illness. We did feel that there was an overemphasis on the classical pianist. It would be nice to see something other than Trivia, cooking demonstrations and bingo. Disembarkation in Cape Town was efficient, and the City tour we booked to fill the time before the flight good. Overall a good cruise but not one of Regent’s best. Read Less