Being a first time cruiser, I did considerable research on ships, amenities and service. I considered Crystal, Seabourne and Regents. My past experience with group tours were with Tauck land tours and they are top notch in their class in every respect. I was intrigued by the Explorer's ship design, room configurations and all inclusive fares. The new ship with it's exclusive configuration and design aspects was the reason I chose Regents and I selected the Mediterranean cruise because the itinerary had the ship in port each day, cruising at night. The ship did not disappoint. It was excellent in every way. It is a 5 star floating hotel with excellent food, service and accommodations. After spending time on the ship, I recalled the appalling reviews by some cruisers who had just sailed on this ship and called the decor "oppressive" among other negative comments. Jail cells are oppressive. While it probably isn't to every person's taste, you truly feel that you have "vacated" and are spending time in an exclusive boutique hotel. This ship is designed by Italian designers (enough said) at an expense of $750 million dollars, with miles of marble on floors and walls, custom crystal and hand blown glass show stopping chandeliers, Scalamandre fabrics, hand made Tibetan prayer wheel at the entrance of Pacific Rim, glass beaded trim/glasscloth wall panels and various custom finishes on every square inch of the ship - truly Italian master craftsmanship and showmanship. Open spaces, intimate spaces, private spaces etc... all thought through to the passengers whims and comforts. The main dining room featured Versace chargers, Reidel wine glasses, silver tableware, delicious made to order food all the time and directed by an experienced executive chef from Johannasburg. We rarely ate buffet food and were able to dine in the exclusive restaurants which were show stopping in design and featured unique culinary cuisine that included lobster, steaks, seafoods, fish, lamb chops all of which I tried and not once did I have something that was bad. My favorite restaurant was Pacific Rim and Daniella the Maitre d' made sure everything in the restaurant ran perfectly. The staff on the ship aimed to please, worked very hard and I did not have a single negative experience with any one person. I interacted with desk staff, waiters, service people and our steward and every person went out of their way to provide what you needed.

The shore excursions were probably the one area Regents will have to review since this may be a new route for them. Some ports were better than others and had better excursions available. It was difficult to choose since many were offered. Some tour guides were better than others. I'd like to see them narrow it down and make sure each excursion offers free time to explore each area. This was the only negative I experienced on this cruise. Some tour guides forgot the free time or didn't provide any, although some cruisers seemed dis-interested and were non-energetic complainers. If Regents offered excursion advisers pre-trip - it might really help. I had to rely on my own research and my travel agents advice because so many options were offered. I'm not experienced enough to know the best way to do excursions for such a large group of people. I participated mostly in free excursions and 2 paid. We loved the French ports and Monaco and thoroughly enjoyed the excursions in these areas. Spain was very nice, but I'm not sure I made the best excursion choices. Italy excursions were very nice, again no free time after the tour to explore on your own - 30 minutes and you had to meet back at the bus - I really hated this aspect. The only port we really did not like was Bastia - it was a dirty town with not much happening - we decided not to go on the excursion that day. The coach bus accommodations were not the best and some were not well air conditioned and too cramped. Perhaps this is the best the ports had to offer?

The on-board entertainment seemed typical of cruise lines and we did see a couple of interesting shows. Mr. Brown was very good and the pianist Panos Karan was excellent. I attended one lecture by a professor and found it too dry for my taste. Regents should offer these lectures as shorter TED style talks, removing the lecturn from the stage and allowing for more intimate or even interactive and engaging talks. Read more