This was our first Regent cruise. Friends had spoken well of them and of course we had seen the TV programme claiming they offered the best and most luxurious standard of cruising.

Our pre-cruise stay at the Westin Excelsior in Rome was a mixed experience. The hotel is large and historic but tired . We had a large room and en suite but the shower door was nearly off its hinges and the bottom of the door was rusting and looked distinctly unhygeinic. The breakfast buffet, catering for all Regent customers in a huge barn of a public room, was simply poor - being lukewarm and unappetising.

Embarkation in Civitavecchia was smooth. However we were expecting a slightly more sizeable penthouse suite, which seemed smaller than other suites we have enjoyed e.g. with Silversea. Moreover there were watermarks on one of the chairs, marks on the sofa and on the carpet beside the bed. No doubt efforts had been made to clean them. They were simply not successful. The bathroom was showing its age with chipped paintwork . The shower was small although it did the job. Our butler tried very hard but could not disguise the fact that the canape service was usually very late. However the servicing of the room was generally efficient . Read more