It was billed as the 'Journey to Nirvana', which, according to Buddhist teachings, is 'a place of perfect peace and happiness'. But by the time we had reached Hong Kong after 17 days on Regent Seven Seas Voyager cruise from Bangkok in February 2016, the luxury five-star brand had lost many of its disciples. Among the myriad problems for 677 passengers (365 Americans, the rest from the UK, Europe, Canada, Asia and Australia) with which my wife and I were personally involved included: • Failure to assist elderly passengers with heavy suitcases at boarding • A near disaster as the wild-eyed driver of a Regent-sponsored shuttle bus in the Islamic Sultanate of Brunei twice deliberately swung the vehicle into a high-speed, lurching "fish tail" before screaming passengers (including ourselves) and the terrified local guide forced him to slow down just before it was about to roll over •A wait of five days to make a simple repair to a shower door that was causing water to spill on to the floor •A horror shore excursion to the green-slimed waters and swarms of beach hawkers on rubbish-strewn Boracay Island in the Philippines trumpeted by Regent for its "white sand and azure waters" • A shortage of some basic breakfast items after nine containers of food and equipment were left behind in Saigon and not replaced after a storm caused the ship to divert Irate passengers loudly complained that 120 guests on a Regent pre-cruise tour were left stranded at Bangkok airport for seven hours with a $10 voucher for sandwiches. Many passengers, some of whom had cruised 10 times on other Regent ships, said that the 17-days Voyager experience was way below standard. For my wife and I, on our 39th cruise (the first with Regent) our troubles began many weeks before leaving home as we dealt with truculence and misinformation from Regent's representative company in Sydney, Australia, They refused to provide advertised pre-cruise accommodation and gave incorrect advice over a long period about making payments, post tours, accommodation and visas. They even threatened, a short time before flying out, that if we didn't obtain Brunei visas from the embassy in Australia we would be denied boarding and lose all of our money. (We didn't, and we weren't). On arrival at Laem Chabang (Bangkok) on February 03, 2016, the port of embarkation, we and others were directed to drag our heavy suitcases and hand luggage, without assistance, through the cruise centre and onto the wharf right up to the bottom of the gangway. Faced with the impossible task of heaving the luggage on board ourselves up the steep 33-step gangway in full view of crew on board who made no effort to help, we and two other couples in the same predicament dismantled a steel security barrier and hauled our suitcases over cables and other obstacles and handed them to a group of workers on the wharf manning a shore-to-ship conveyer belt. After three hours in our suite, one brand new suitcase was still missing. We found it, elsewhere on our deck, with a jagged hole punched in the side. After four unresponsive visits to reception over five days to complain, we were finally given a claim form which eventually yielded a cash settlement. On the plus side, Voyager is an immaculate, spacious ship with high-quality stage shows, staterooms, lecturers, and good restaurants –- although it is sometimes necessary to lasso a waiter in order to get a glass of average-quality “free” (inclusive) wine. Service is quicker if you choose to buy wine from the priced wine list (up to USD1200 a bottle). With the exception of the ubiquitous arrogance of reception staff, senior crew were dedicated to their task but seemingly hamstrung by instructions to cut costs and the presence of recently recruited trainees. A big problem, echoed throughout the ship, is Regent’s lack of hands-on involvement with its “free” shore excursions -- one of the main reasons why people cruise with them. On shore, local contractors take control without Regent staff supervision, frequently to the detriment and chagrin of passengers with no one to solve problems. Read Less

This cruise began with three day pretour in Tokya at ANA Intercontinental, a lovely hotel conveniently next to the subway and restaurants for convenience. Great room and breakfast and a really helpful group at the destination desk for going it alone. The tours organized by the cruise were bad, especually day one and two. Hours in the bus to see virtually nothing. OK the weather was poor and the last day tour in Tokyo was interesting with a trip to Meiji temple and a few other sites. Never been on Regent before but have travelled with Oceania, so I was looking forward to finally getting to the ship. Nicely laid out. Great room in a penthouse B with a butler. Room was always spotless and butler, although rarely used, was very nice. Wouldn't do that again. Internet is useless on the ship and will be worse when it is free for everyone. Works only after 11.30 pm or before 6 am. Gym is very small and split into two parts but rarely crowded and the staff was excellent. Go Marko !! Entertainment and enrichment lectures were excellent. Where this cruise line fails miserably is food and related food service. Coffee connection is a great idea but train the staff to use the machines. Worst espresso I have ever tasted. The automatic machines were better. Management !!! Breakfast eventually got better on La Veranda but service was always spotty especially on busy mornings. Lunch was generally terrible. The selection of foods on the hot plates looked like a cheap Vegas buffet. Things left to dry out. Food going cold. The best shot was the pool grill for fresh to order burgers and fries as well as salads. The ethnic selections on offer were generally ghastly. Only the Indian food day was actually quite good. Dinner in Compass Rose was ok but service was always dreadfully slow. If you wanted to see the 9:30 show, get there before 7:30 and only order an appetizer and main. You might get out in less than two hours. The selections were not generally to my liking but I always found one thing worthwhile. The steaks and lamb as well as the dover sole were always good. The only optionl restaurant worth going to was Prime7, a god steak house. Signatures was no bettr than Compas Rose and La VEranda, which became an italian restaurant in the evening was ghastly. For the first time in my life, I sent bach food to the kitchen. The Veal scallopini was a grizzly veal cutlet. The pastas were OK. If you like mass market bus tours with large groups off the ship each day, don't mind a meat centric gastronomy that is far below Oceania, but do like good entartainment and a comfortble suite, this is fine. I would not return. The gereral feeling on the ship was very negative, even from long time Regent cruisers. I hope they find their way. Read Less

We recently experienced a 20 night cruise on Seven Seas Voyager, departing from Singapore and terminating in Dubai. To put the following comments into context, in the last 18 years we have spent over 400 days at sea on 31 cruises with 8 different cruise lines. This particular cruise was the last sector of our “around the world by sea” adventure and was therefore very special for us. Overall this was not a bad cruise but there were worrying signs that all is not well at Regent Seven Seas. Firstly at the embarkation day buffet lunch we noticed a lot of arguing amongst the serving staff as to their duties. This continued into the following day where it became obvious that a significant number of Eastern European waiters had been taken on and were undergoing “on the job” training. Further into the cruise it became obvious that the waiters in the Compass Rose Restaurant were also “under training” as evidenced one night when my main course meal arrived at the table with ingredients I had not ordered. On being asked to change the plate the waiter returned to his station, scraped off the unwanted items and returned the plate to me clearly showing where the removed items had once been. On another day, again in the Compass Rose, it took over two hours to serve a straight forward three course luncheon when there were no more than thirty people in the restaurant. Most nights the wine service was extremely poor – OK on arrival at our table but heaven forbid if you wanted your glass replenished or would have liked to change wines. None of these incidents could be described as acceptable service from a Line that markets itself as the most inclusive luxury experience. Luxury Experience ought to mean impeccable service. Shore excursions were another are of concern. An outing in Yangon included a visit to the Shwedagon Pagoda. We had been warned about taking our shoes and socks off but we were not warned about the baking hot floor tiles which resulted in scalded feet. A visit to Abu Dhabi included a visit to the Emirates Palace Hotel for Tea. This necessitated an additional “fee” (Regent Excursions are normally free) and had been billed as though it was the equivalent of having tea at the Ritz. How naïve we were. Tea was no better than that served on the ship and we had been herded into a downstairs conference room well away from the main areas of the hotel. On reporting this on our return to the ship, the indifferent and unsympathetic attitude of the Destinations Desk staff was extremely disappointing. The entertainment left a lot to be desired. This consisted of a Flautist, a Violinist, a classical Pianist and for the first seven days only a Comedian. The ship has an excellent Production Show cast but in 20 days we were treated to only four production shows. Given the makeup of the other one dimensional acts it seemed very strange that there were only four major shows. We thus disembarked feeling rather underwhelmed by the whole experience. When you pay premium prices for superior service, you expect that superior service to be delivered and attention to detail to be meticulous. The overall impression was that the ship was under staffed and there were too many untrained staff amongst those who were employed. Sorry Regent but you have blown it with us and we will not be returning. Regent have become no better than the mass market cruise lines but claim otherwise in their advertising and continue to charge premium priced fares. There are plenty of other premium Lines available and we look forward to return to some of these and trying some new ones – especially those that recognise the lifetime value of their Guests. Read Less

We chose this cruise as there were ports and islands we had not visited before. Our overnight stay in Venice was good and embarkation as normal but the suites weren't ready until mid afternoon. The refurbishment was not very good in respect of the suites. Some new dark woodwork fittings which were nice but the rest was the old original light woodwork. The marble tops of the desk and table did not match and the small upholstered chair in the suite on previous cruises was missing to make room for a much larger table. The drapes were of a very heavy old fashioned material and not as nice as the original ones. The rest of the ship was looking good but there is now one restaurant less than before, but an overlarge Casino area with many machines hardly used and a very large card room. Why take a restaurant out. Unfortunately the outside of the ship is looking tired and in fact our verandah doors were rusted to the degree they had to be filled in. All in all as a supposed six star cruise line it was not good. We have cruised with Regent many times since the late 90s but stopped going as we felt the ships were looking shabby. This refurbishment has not worked for us. Read Less

We just returned from the June 26, 2016, Journey To The Arctic cruise on Voyager. This was my first cruise with RSSC since 2009, and my husband's first time. Overall, we had a great cruise because of the fabulous itinerary. Greenland was amazing, and we are so glad we got to see it. However, for a cruise that cost us $34,000, we had too many issues and these need to be addressed by Regent - by the way, we filled out all the comment cards on the cruise and no one reached out to us. - The room was in poor shape and we had a broken tv remote and a broken DVD player. Really disappointing for an upscale cruise line. I know the ship is going into dry dock, but for this amount of money, we shouldn't have walked on to a ship that felt run down. - When we called reception to have these items repaired, they said someone would be right up. An hour later no one had come by, so we called again. They sent our stewardess (what was she supposed to do?). She hit the DVD player really hard twice and said, "Yup, it's broken". We told them to forget about repairing it. But then a maintenance guy showed up after bedtime. Very poorly handled. - Service around the ship was very off. In the bars and restaurants, either the wrong drinks were delivered to us, no drinks were delivered to us, or it took a long time for drinks to be delivered. One night in the dining room, we asked for cookies & cream ice cream (which was not on the menu that night, but had been the previous night). They told us that it wasn't available. But then it showed up on the menu the next night. Dining room servers seemed rushed and disconnected. This was not a luxury experience. - Shore excursion desk was very disorganized. They had a very poor grasp on what was happening. In Isafjordur, were given tour tickets for a tour time that didn't even exist (around 1pm). That morning around 9:45am, we were leaving the room for breakfast. We saw tour tickets on our door and noticed that the tour time was for 9:50am, I believe. We went to the desk to ask about the afternoon tour and they said that a mistake had been made and there was no afternoon tour. They seemed annoyed that we were late for this morning tour. We were rushed off the ship without getting any of our belongings, with shore ex staff shouting at us, and showed up to the waiting group about 10 minutes late. Shore ex staff also left two guests behind at Godefoss Waterfall and blamed them for missing the bus, when it was she and the tour guide who miscounted. Very poorly-handled. We are not complainers, and take things in stride, but this cruise was off. I doubt we will return to Regent after this experience. Crystal and Azamara provide a much better product for the money. We walked away from the trip feeling a little ripped-off and a bit disappointed. Read Less

Overall I found the cruise to be mediocre. The strong features were the ports, the cabin location (mid ship) and the service. The ship was full and I was offered $17,000 for the cabin which I turned down. This was my biggest mistake made on the cruise. The weak features included the food, the dining venues, the ship itself including public areas, and the activities aboard ship during the day. The cruise feature a large number of free cruises at each port of call. However, I did not find the tours I went on to be very interesting. I cancelled all my excursions towards the end of the cruise to spend the time walking through the very walkable towns. The ships activities were very limited while in port. Even during the two at sea days (one created because high winds kept us from visiting the Shetland Islands) the ship activities were very limited. The food was not very inspiring. There were plenty of dining options, but I found the quality to be somewhat lacking. There were a few high quality menu items and many poor items. The specialty restaurants were not worth visiting. The embarkation was excellent, well staffed and fast. The debarkation in Copenhagen was not well staffed, slow and a bit chaotic. I found the value for the cost of the cruise to be low. I will not be sailing on Regent again. Crystal Cruises in my mind offers higher quality. For a video of the Voyager, the highlights of the ports and the optional pre-stay tour in Reykjavik please view the You Tube video below. Regent Voyager "Viking" Cruise July 2016 https://youtu.be/ie67RKgGsGc Read Less

Regent Seven Seas markets its cruises as first class. In some ways it almost is but other parts are so bad that it ruined the good parts. This cruise line goes the cheapest route when it comes to airline travel and hotels. Regent is EXPENSIVE and only if you drink and eat an extraordinary amount will you get your money's worth. Bad -- Emergency situations: Disastrous. Their emergency number took over an hour to answer, then put us on hold, when our air transportation got changed by them and we were marooned. Air Travel -- we were supposed to have Business Class and instead they booked us on a third rate local airline and it resulted in us missing a connection and a whole day's vacation plus paying $500+ for hotel and taxi to a different airport which Regent refused to pay. We later learned from experienced Regent travelers to check what flights you want and then insist they book you on them. Internet -- we had no internet for most of the cruise, despite being told we would and printed marketing material indicating full time internet. If you have to do business while traveling, do not take this cruise line. One fellow passenger missed an important stock trade and was hysterical because there was no internet. Despite promises to fix it, it never was fully functional. Embarkation/Debarkation: Disorganized, confusing and way too time consuming. Ditto for baggage handing. Hotels: They book you into average hotels with basic rooms, definitely not first class. Our hotel room in Reykjavik was so small we couldn't even turn around, also hot and stuffy. In Copenhagen we inquired about upgrading our room and were told that Regent only books "Basic" rooms, not first class. Good: Fabulously well trained staff especially our private Butler. The best part of the trip. All other staff on board were very polite and helpful. However, lowly staff can only do so much when management is lacking. Entertainment was excellent but for first time Regent cruisers it should have been better explained as to how to be seated, etc. Most food better than average except the premier Prime 7 where we had two bad meals. The French restaurant, Signatures, was very good. The basic restaurants Compass Rose and the Veranda were good and wine selections were also good. Overall, all service on board was excellent, including our Butler, cleaning staff, servers, bartenders, etc. Word of advice, this cruise is not for families as it is appeared to be older than average crowd. Some patrons were much too elderly/infirm to do the excursions and yet were allowed to participate, resulting in inconveniencing everyone else. If you are looking for a totally first class experience, we would suggest a different cruise line. Read Less

Started in Anchorage at the Marriott. Great property and service. Our Denali experience was excellent despite marginal weather. The embarkation was smooth. The dining at all the restaurants was very good, but not what I would say excellent, mainly because service was a bit under our expectations from other small, all inclusive lines. The staff was friendly and accommodating. Entertainment was decent, with at least one night of a terrific act. I would say somewhat better than on other small cruise lines. The offered excursions were excellent, though we did lose a stop in one port because of an operating problem with a propeller. This caused us to return to Juneau for an additional day of repair. Bough excursions were offered in the morning, it was decided to cancel all excursions so the ship could try and make a hasty departure. Unfortunately we did not leave Juneau until 3:00, which would have allowed time for most, if noT all, planned excursions. Regent offered a credit off our cruise payment, which only could be applied to a cruise within the next 2 years. Unfortunately we can't take advantage of this as our travel is already scheduled out that far. We also missed traversing the Inside Passage as the ship tried to make up lost time in our journey to Vancouver. Several passengers noted that they felt Regents offer was below the value of what was missed on the cruise, and we certainly felt this way as we will receive nothing unless we again schedule a Regent cruise. Had it not been for the maintenance problem, we would have a much higher opinion of the cruise and Regent. However, their resolution was simply below what we expect from a top shelf cruise line. Disembarkation was fine, except for the red eye flights we were reassigned to because of our late arrival into Vancouver. No offer of an overnight stay-just flights with long airport waits and long layover. Disappointing but not surprising based on the offer for the maintenance inconvenience and lost experiences. Read Less

I spoke to many fellow passengers both during and after the cruise and apart from the usual litany of petty complaints and genuine grievances there was a common theme of which Regent had better take urgent note. We were told this maiden voyage of "the most luxurious ship in the world" would be truly special and memorable and worth every cent of the considerable price we paid for the privilege of being there. It was neither. It was just another cruise, albeit on a brand new ship (with many ongoing "issues"). In fact the ship was/is nowhere near finished and Regent put little or no thought or effort into making the maiden voyage special or memorable and we are very disappointed and angry at Regents apparent indifference because Lord knows they were made well aware of its loyal and longstanding customers' unhappiness in the mid cruise questionnaire and discussions with the hotel manager and others. This was our 7th Regent cruise and probably our last. Liked: - spacious cabins with plenty of storage and the comfortable bed facing the window/view. - quality bed linen but it's new so time will tell. Skimpy towels. - ample shaded outdoor seating in spacious public areas. - the food was fine for us (we aren't foodies and don't cruise to eat). - very smooth ride, albeit in always calm seas. - great coffee in the cafe. - excellent spa/gym facilities although the private treatment rooms are cramped and claustrophobic with no natural light. - walking track(s) on deck 12. Disliked: - tacky Vegas decor with some cheap carpets already showing signs of damage/wear and tear. Clashing colour schemes and gloomy artwork (subjective I know). - strong cooking smells in aft corridors. - poor entertainment with not one "headline" act and boring speakers. Terry Waite?! - friendly cruise director Ray Solaire is a Regent institution and is very visible among the guests but his puppet/ventriloquist act is now well past its sell by date. - in suite TV shows/movies/lectures ran on a very limited loop with no updates after the first few days. - terrible theatre design/decor with obstructed sight lines and dangerous aisle steps. - surly guest services staff with attitude (pretty standard on a cruise ship) - inexperienced wait staff lacking supervision/direction, eg, wrong wines poured or no drinks offered at all, especially on the pool deck. - lukewarm food served on cold plates. - a general sense of chaos and poor morale behind, and sometimes in front of, the scenes. - rude, unfriendly, unhappy passengers. - invisible officers except captain playing happy families with his wife and kids. - not one gala or formal night. - it just wasn't the "special" one-off cruise of a lifetime we were promised and paid handsomely for. - the maiden voyage souvenir certificate/badge we were given was actually created to commemorate the previous so-called christening voyage when the Regent CEO and his mostly comped VIP buddies went for a spin in his new ship. Either a careless oversight or Regent didn't think we'd notice? Overall? 6/10 Read Less

Whilst the ship is impressive, to call this a Maiden Voyage was rather a misnomer. There was nothing "special" about the cruise - no "wow" factor, no special event (not even one formal night) and the new entertainment from 'in house' Norwegian Holdings was second rate compared to what we had experience on many previous Regent cruise. I felt that I had been duped into taking a cruise that I would not otherwise have chosen. The one saving grace on the cruise was the energy, enthusiasm and entertainment provided by the Cruise Director, Ray Solaire. Layout of the ship is impressive with a lot more space in the restaurants, lounges and public/open areas but the ship does have two major drawbacks - (1) the sight lines in the theatre, particularly from the balcony are poor and there is a real safety hazard in the aisles (2) There is no outside forward observation area from which to take photographs or view the sail-ins. The staff, many of whom we had met before, were very helpful and efficient. Overall, the restaurants were a great improvement with much more space available and some nice touches - I particularly liked the viewable cooking area in Sette Mare. Also, the new menu in Compass Rose leaves one not needing to eat in the speciality restaurants as the choice is so great. Read Less

We chose this much lauded inaugural cruise on REGENT'S EXPLORER I want to start this review by saying something nice (it goes downhill from here). Whoever designed the ship & did the interior design did a fabulous job. It's lovely! End of good news. We paid an outrageous sum of money to be on the inaugural voyage because we read that this was going to be an amazing experience. It was - for all the wrong reasons. The "executive" staff had an "attitude" - notably at the guest services desk. They were borderline obnoxious especially one man who questioned my "motive" for settling the bill a day early. "Don't you expect to be spending more money?". Huh? Another very unpleasant person is an Italian gal who works in the Pacific Rim restaurant. Woah - she was so nasty we found ourselves walking out of our way to avoid her! All this for top dollar! We were on the 8th floor - aft. There was a constant smell in the hallways of food wafting from somewhere. I actually had to hold my breath, as I walked down the hall, because it was nauseating! The food was good in most of the restaurants but never really hot, just lukewarm. The exception being "Compass Rose" which we thought was bad - mushy vegetables & lukewarm fish. Not to mention the snot nose maître d' who asked our cabin #'s - we were 3rd tier from the top & then tried to seat us right next to the door where the waiters were bringing in the food. Not sure if the kitchen was behind those doors. Clearly a hierarchal system in play. I mentioned this to the G.M. who just about shrugged his shoulders - never heard back from him after this. On top of everything else - and keep in mind the prices were exorbitant! - Regent didn't provide top notch entertainment. The same lovely, but underpaid, Filipino 3 person ensemble - was everywhere. Not to mention the cruise director who sang, danced & read the announcements. We were on Seabourn's "Quest" inauguration cruise & it was a class act. Never again will we cruise on Regent which is owned by Norwegian cruise lines. They claim its a notch above but its not! The prices are but you might as well be on Celebrity or Princess! Save your money! Clearly, all the money was put into the décor. Oh, and the captain barely had time for the guests. We ran into him several times & got a slight nod! He was more interested in following his family around who were onboard. Have to thank him, though, since we arrived safely. Want to shout out to several workers who did a great job - Georgio, Spyder, Katerina & Alex. Read Less

We have been fortunate to experience over 30 cruises but never with Regent. Our primary motivation for booking this cruise was to make a comparison with our favourite line Seabourn. This is our analysis for what it is worth. The classiest: Seabourn wins hands down. When you arrive Seabourn offers a selection of spa-type soaps and gels. They have placed two of your chosen alcoholic beverages in your room where Regent has you order one bottle from your cabin steward. Regent only provides a tote bag in their penthouse suites. Seabourn staff make an extra effort to call you by name. On Seabourn, you can order caviar with your cocktails in the lounge. You just get an overall feeling of elegance on Seabourn. Atmosphere: We were disappointed to find a large number of families on this cruise. While we love our grandchildren, we would never take them on this type of cruise. This changes the whole atmosphere. If Regent is promoting family cruising they should let us know. Best dining: Seabourn is far superior. On Regent, we found the cuisine in the main dining room bland and lacking in creativity. Regent's Veranda buffet was very limited and quite repetitive. Seabourn's Colonnade had a greater selection for both breakfast and lunch and tended to have themes each lunch. In the evening, both tended to provide similar menus. The Rock the Boat night on deck was a disaster food-wise on Regent. The seafood and meat were cold, tough and dried out. A highlight on Seabourn is their galley lunch where you pass through the galley to select your food. Seabourn and Regent each have one specialty restaurant. Here I think Regent is superior. As an aside, we think the best food at sea is on the Oceania ships. Best staff: Staff on both lines are very friendly. Best décor: Hard to say. The Navigator was recently renovated. They made a big mistake with the size of the chairs in the lounge. Entertainment: Neither line has outstanding entertainment. Regent tend to rely heavily on a troupe of singers and dancers while Seabourn uses more solo acts brought on board. The facility in the Navigator is beautiful. Best ship: While the Navigator has been refurbished, we found the engines at high speed and the thrusters caused an annoying vibration throughout the ship. This may be particular to this vessel so cannot generalize. Best cabin: Both lines have good sized rooms. The bed on the Navigator was superior but the bathroom had a mouldy smell. Best tours: Regent includes the tours so they win this category. We do not believe the tours on Seabourn are worth the price so tend to arrange our own. However touring every day on this cruise (sometimes for 9 hours) was exhausting. We found this less relaxing as we felt committed to the tours (maybe our fault). In summary, we will be going back to Seabourn. We find the elegance, ambiance and the food is more important to us than the free tours. Read Less

Had never been on Regent before wanted to try it for the first time. We Cruise a lot on Silver seas , yachts of seaborn and Oceania. Typically I prefer a smaller ship of under 1000 psgrs or close to 600 to 400 passengers. There were many areas of concern and disappointment for us while we were on this cruise for over three weeks. In summary we had issues with the main dining room seating as well as consistent service. There were concerns in the fitness center and spa. The men's hot sauna was not functioning most the time unless you went to the front desk and ask them to reset the device in the sauna. The cardio equipment in the fitness center is quite dated old and on several days was not clean. The gym is configured in a way that makes it feel very crowded although there is a group exercise room nearby that could easily accommodate additional equipment. At the beginning of the three-week cruise I asked the fitness center if they had music that plays in the fitness center and they told me it was not working. I asked if it would be possible to have it repaired and they said they were looking into it. They did have some music working in the fitness center and spa the last few days of the cruise. The pool for many days iwas basically not usable because the quality of the water in the pool was visibly poor and dirty (dark green color with dirt covering the pool bottom) which looked as though they were not maintaining the swimming pool for their guest Even the two whirlpools they had by the pool were Set with temperatures that were excessively hot and the Jets were inoperative making a hot tub experience less than average . Room service was inconsistent sometimes it would take close to an hour to receive a room service order and once we did not even receive our requested order . One breakfast was delivered through room service and the server did not even offered to set the table other than just place a tray in our room . We found it challenging the first part of our cruise to get a table for two around 8 o'clock in the evening in compass Rose without there being a long waiting list even though we visibly could see tables for four or six standing open but we were not offered those tables when we walked in. On the others cruise ships that are accustomed to, we've never had a problem being seated immediately in the main dining room for table of two. The first 10 days of our cruise we were on the concierge level and our room was nice a refrigerator did not work initially until we brought it to their attention. The next 13 days were spent in a deluxe balcony room on the seventh deck, we could hear our neighbors talk clearly when we were seated in our room we could hear their TV playing, which appears that the walls to these rooms are very thin. You need to bring earplugs ! I found it quite strange and towards the end annoying, that whenever you would sit down in the veranda for breakfast or lunch you would have often times 3 ,4 or 5 waiters coming and asking you what you would like to drink before you received anything. Another very odd thing about the cruise is when you would go to the afternoon tea they combined trivia with the tea, so it was not a very quiet inviting atmosphere unless you We're participating in the trivia games . Our cabin attendance were great and we always had very clean state rooms The specialty restaurants serve delicious food and the ambience is quite good with great service the only drawback is your limit it to two times during your cruise . I suggest if you change rooms during your voyage to coordinate carefully with hotel manager. We received a letter the night before we changed rooms clearly stating the procedure but what happened the next day was contary to what they told us they were going to do for us, which ended up making us frustrated. I asked if I could review this procedure with management and reception desk never followed up with me. I left the ship disappointed! Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the itinerary and the price. We were able to get a very low Interline rate and would never have paid the full brochure price. For what we paid we got everything that a "real" passenger would get except for the round-trip Business Class Air, a night in a hotel and transfers. We did get tips, beverages, specialty dining and shore excursions. We have cruised on Azamara and Crystal (As well as Celebrity, RCL, HAL and Princess) with a total of 45 cruises under our belts. We especially wanted to see if Regent could match the fine experiences we have had on both Azamara and Crystal as well as Celebrity. We were, generally, "underwhelmed". We often found ourselves saying, "But Crystal (or Azamara or Celebrity) does this so much better!". We very much enjoyed the itinerary which started in Southampton and includes Zeebrugge, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Riga, Tallinn, St. Petersburg (2 nights), Helsinki and ended in Stockholm. The included shore excursions were very good with excellent guides in all cities. It was difficult, however, to schedule more than one shore excursion in a day. The dining was very good. We were able, somehow to have the same table for two at the window and the same excellent waiter for all but three nights. One of those was at Sette Mare at La Veranda -- the Italian Restaurant that replaces the buffet each evening. The food there was less than memorable and the service amateurish. We think it's where they do training. Our meals in the other two restaurants were very good with the level of service you would expect in a "nice" restaurant but nothing that wowed us. We felt that the entrees served in the MDR were actually better. The level of service didn't match Azamara or Crystal or even Celebrity. It seemed that there was a great deal of confusion on who was supposed to do what. We noticed this especially at the Pool Grill. Does the drink server take the food order? Can a waiter take a drink order? We also saw, twice, a crew member being disciplined in a loud and very public manner. It was a good cruise and, at the price we paid, good value. We spoke with many others who had paid the full fare or who had gotten "deals" that gave them a couple of thousand dollars off the brochure rate. We felt for them. Nothing offered on board was really worth that amount of money. Read Less

Booked this cruise to celebrate a milestone birthday and because of the hype of the new Explorer. Reading the other reviews, I must say I found the same things lacking. By the fourth sail of the Explorer I thought many of the kinks would be fixed. The service levels were just not as crisp as previous experience with Regent. The entertainment was mediocre at best. The excursions were okay, but again, the tour guides not as good as previous experience with Regent. We found the food very good, however the service in trying to get wine was terrible compared to previously being greeted with the wine selections for the evening. The suite was lovely but on the last day at sea the service disappeared. The trash wasn't emptied. The fruit was removed from the bowl ( really, they couldn't wait 12 hours?) The bed was turned down for the evening by 11AM. room service the morning of departure was rushed and no 5 minute notice that morning. I also found service more attentive when my husband was with me than when I was by myself. Especially at the coffee lounge on 5). It became a comedy of errors one afternoon trying to get a grilled chicken sandwich at the pool grille that finally arrived after a 40 minute wait . the carpet is already showing wear, especially the beige stairs in the main staircase and the pink carpets. One of the large pictures on deck five had a substantial hole during the cruise. Also, the smells in certain hallways, I will also agree with previous reviews, could be nauseating. the dark wood is also showing numerous scuff marks and wear. The baseboards and corners are already gathering dust. I agree with a previous review hats off to Spyder, Giorgio, and I will add Elena and Agus. Read Less

We chose this cruise because we are Regent fans, wanted to try the new ship, and were interested in the itinerary. We loved the new design of our cabin. The closet was a more workable shape, the bathroom huge, the drawer space beyond adequate, and the bed facing the sea delightful. The redistribution of restaurant space between the venues was a welcome change as was the variety of venues offering lunch. Our disappointments, however, have made us question future cruising with Regent. In fact, this is the first time we have not reserved a future cruise (or option) while onboard. The staffing level seems greatly reduced. The bars were crowded before dinner yet there were only one or two servers available. As the waits exceeded twenty minutes before anyone appeared, people crowded the bar to place their own orders. This added stress to the already overburdened bartenders. The wait for waiters in Compass Rose, for tables to be cleared in La Veranda, and for a wine steward to appear in either venue, was equally long. Finally, the Internet access was the worst we have experienced anywhere in the world. The sign-in procedure is archaic and needlessly complex. The long lines waiting for the Internet helper were a good illustration of the problem. He was surly and claimed there should be "three of him" on board. Once on line, the connection is dropped frequently necessitating one to go through the entire procedure again. For several days of the ten day cruise there was no internet service or phone service available at all - and we were never far from land. We have often sailed with Regent for more than thirty days at a time, have advanced status with them, and are very worried that these problems are indicative of a lack of emphasis on customer service with the new management team. Read Less

We had sailed on the Regent Marina last year, flying to Rio de Janeiro. We decided to book this trip for the value (sale price) and also to travel with some friends who had not experienced some of the ports. There are lots of positives so I will start with those: We had a free upgrade to a Penthouse Suite which was very luxurious and had butler service. The service in the room and bars was superb and couldn't be faulted. The entertainment was very good too with a selection of the normal 'song and dance' shows to an excellent speaker and entertainer Terry Bishop. His dry humour suited the British passengers for sure! The Cruise Director worked hard to ensure that these were enjoyed too. The excursions are really good value as they are included although it would be nice just for once not to include churches! The failure in our opinion was really not exploiting some of the facilities. Most guests wanted shade yet tables had been placed under the shaded area and that meant sunbeds directly in the sun. Most of the tables simply were not required and sunshades would have kept those placed in the sun shaded well. Sunbeds could have been placed in many other places ie the Promenade deck (but this seemed eternally closed at one side or another and an upper deck. The sundeck could have been used in the evening for barbecues or food from the Veranda but this was simply closed off too. The Compass Rose started well but ended badly with tough steaks and delays leading to up to 3 hours working through the course. When we complained we had an apology but the Head Waiter simply ignored it. I can't recall how many times we asked for mustard with the steak or mint sauce with lamb. This usually arrived half way through the meal or not at all. The steak restaurant Prime Seven also turned out to be a disappointment for many of the reasons above. The final real problem with this ship is vibration! I note someone else mentioned this too and it really starts to interfere with your enjoyment of the cruise. My husband and I actually felt on the verge of sea sickness and we have cruised all around the world and not had this problem before. we were embarrassment too because we had made comments to our friends on how fantastic this trip would be compared to say a P&O which sadly it was not. I think there are lessons to be learned here from the Mariner and sadly this has made us think twice about travelling again with Regent. Read Less

Having enjoyed previous cruises with this company we had high expectations but were disappointed. Superficially everything looked good but quality was not deep. We saw steaks sent back in the steak speciality restaurant, some staff struggled with The English language, we saw the captain once only, on his rapid multi-deck 15 minute walk, ship's officers never hosted dinners, one usually needed to seek service rather than be offered it, wine sommeliers did not seem qualified. All these points are minor but cumulative and no where near the previous standard we experienced. Menus were good and the range of food offered was good but less than we previously enjoyed. We thought a thorough cost reduction program had been conducted to reduce expenditures across the board. I would have to downgrade Mariner to 3 or 4 star cruise, not the 6 star I paid for. The only exceptions were cabin staff and guest lecturers who were excellent and met our expectations. Read Less

This was our first cruise on Regent. Several of our friends who were onboard have sailed with them many times. Regent and this ship were highly touted as first class. Although we had a good time for the 20 days, sadly I cannot say the experience was first class. The ship itself is new and opulent. My personal taste would have preferred less black marble and more conventional artwork but obviously much money was spent in outfitting the ship. Our cabin was a Deluxe Veranda and it was very spacious and well laid out. Walk in closet, two sink marble bathroom with shower and tub. You could not ask for a better cabin. So what is the problem? Service. Throughout the ship service just did not live up to expectations. At the bars, in the restaurants and in the cabin staff the service was sorely lacking. Long waits to catch the eye of a waiter and longer waits after giving your order. Several times we were unable to reach our steward for cabin service. The method used in La Veranda for lunch is a combination of buffet and waiter service. Very often resulting in long waits for what the waiter had to serve. The highly touted "free internet" was basically a joke. Very often unavailable after trying to log in and with a great probability that you would be logged out if you did manage to log in. The computers available had a somewhat better rate of success but even with them it was not always possible to get online. Once online it was very slow. The food varied in quality a great deal. Sometimes very good but at times dreadful. The special restaurants did a little better but not much. At times the Compass Rose seemed more like a cafeteria than a fine restaurant. Staffing seemed inadequate throughout the ship and I was surprised at how many of the crew that came in contact with the passengers had only a limited command of the English language. After all most of the passengers were either American, English or Canadian. There was a great variety of shore excursions to choose from. On balance about half of them were very good. A lot depends on the guide and some of them did not do an adequate job. Generally there were too many people in each group. The guides used the ear phones on only two of the tours. If the group is large and the guide is not the best then it is difficult to get much out of the tour. As regards entertainment the lounges had a variety of piano and trios which were very adequate. We saw only half of the nightly shows and decided we did not miss much. The ship also offered trivia contests and karaoke in which we did not participate. There were also several lectures that were interesting. Read Less

We chose this cruise for Regents reputation for luxury, fine cuisine and included excursions The luxury was lacking in many areas, poor dining service, indifferent desk staff, almost non existent daytime activities, and lack of decent live music were all areas they failed to live up to the hype. The newly refurbished public areas were elegant , as was our large deck 6 cabin, and embarkation and disembarkation were smoothly handled. Our cabin was a delight, elegant decor, large size and a decent bathroom were plus points, but we were unimpressed with the sea themed Occitan toiletries. I was astounded to find no body lotion was provided , a must on ships with the chlorinated water. Cabin service was excellent, as was the prompt room service, but service was indifferent in so many other areas. The ship had a large library with comfortable seating but limited book choice, The main dining room, Compasss Rose had some of the worst service we've experienced, even when only half full. We avoided this restaurant when we could, preferring the Italian themed Sette mare, using the same area as La Veranda. The latter was our lunchtime choice with salads and hot dishes on offer Food was of high quality, but portions were often over large , and vegetables only appeared on request. We were very disappointed to realise that the publicised caviar was remarkably lacking, 3 tiny spoonfuls were all we were offered during the entire cruise. I do not care for meat, but found the " pan fried" this or that boring, greasy and small portioned. Fine dining it was not! The pool area was delightful, but cruising waiters thin on the ground, unlike other luxury lines. There seemed to be few quiet spots, to just read or ocean watch, and avoiding cigarette smoke proved to be a challenge! Daytime activities were virtually non existent, if one was not on an excursion. The so called enrichment activity was a harsh voiced lecturer, talking about the middle eastern empires . The excursions were the highlight of this cruise, with interesting choices on offer, mostly in fairly small groups, which invariably had excellent local guides. We had booked one or two beforehand, and were welcomed to join excursions on the same day, a very pleasant surprise. Several excursions include a break for local foods and wines in pleasant locations and in Venice we were thrilled to ride in a gondola through part of the wonderful Grand Canal , Our one disappointment was Santorini, a lovely spot, but the excursion focused on the barren volcanic rock on the still erupting island mid caldera. It is unlikely we would sail with Regent Seven Seas again. The physical product is good, the ship was elegant, but the poor service in many areas let them down . We felt that this so called " premium" product was overpriced and simply offered poor value compared with other luxury lines Read Less

This is my second time cruising with Regent, obviously I loved the first time around having booked another vacation with them. I unfortunately have not had the same success as i did the first go around. 1.) Butler Service- I paid the extra for it and it has been an absolute waste. 4.5 hours to get 2 bottles of vodka to the room (no ice bucket with it even though I requested it) 2.) Excursion Time change and I was not notified. I missed the Faberge Museum 2a.) The Manager for Destination services was abrupt, dismissive and rude. I went up with the ticket that clearly stated 1:20 and he said "bus is gone, nothing I can do." I said, "but the ticket says 1:20.". His response, "we sent out document." My response - "I didn't receive it." He fought with me on this and got even ruder. His colleague let him know that we were a later addition to this excursion and did not receive the communication where he then was rude to her, saying the same thing about the communication going out. The gentleman is a manager, which was shocking as he was inappropriate and unprofessional in every aspect of his dealing with the situation. 2b.) At the time of the issue there was no other manager available. And one of the destination services employees said their manager could have just called her and she could have gotten us on the later bus 3.) I spoke with multiple employees with minimal progress and only received a 200 dollar shipboard credit for the inconvenience. The cruse costs around 10k per person (1k per day per person). How 100 dollars per person is fair, is beyond me. 4.) General manager let me know that because we didn't pay for the excursion he can't give me money back... For those who do not know, excursions are included and there are a select few that are "special" that someone may pay for if they want to join. But I find it disrespectful to tell me that I am not paying for this excursions when it costs me 10,000 per person to get on this boat. Just because something is pre-paid in a bulk type package does not make it acceptable to claim that it is free. I had some other issues, including one other awful tour, but also had some great experiences. Regent has a lot of positives to it, but unfortunately I learned a lesson that may prevent me from continuing my time as a Regent Customer. I would have liked a more prompt response, a more respectful attitude and at this point I believe a 1000 dollar refund and 20% off my next cruise would be reasonable, but even after my travel agent contacted the corporate office, the response was "there is nothing they can do". Food is good on the boat, housekeeping is phenomenal, Most of the wait staff is great, sit down meals can be slow, excursions overall were great. Shows performed by the Regent contracted dancers are awesome, but this is going to be ending as Norwegian wants to use an in house team. This is probably going to be a downgrade, but this statement is an assumption based on how good the current team is. Read Less

Previous cruises with Seabourn and Regent Mariner. Very disappointed, inconsistent quality of service in the Compass Rose, dismissive concierge staff and a Captain who is rarely visible and walks past passengers ignoring them. Many complaints from passengers about poor service and poor quality of food in the restraunts. The Cruise started badly, on boarding presented with a card thanking me for choosing Regent to celebrate my Birthday and asking what might and in which restraunt I would like to celebrate my Birthday. Filled the card in, on that night in the Compass Rose my Birthday was ignored, after 3 1/2 hours only two courses served, vegetables arrived after I had eaten my main course, and not even a happy birthday. Two nights later, sitting in Stars Lounge, the vibration was so bad that a drink from the tabled behind vibrated off, hit me in the backed and sprayed my brand new cream jacket with baileys. 3 cleaning attempts failed to remove the stains, at first Concierge were dismissive, suggested I claim off the person drinking the Baileys, then and only when Inasked them they agreed to dry clean it, to no avail. They then sent me a note, 'refer to customers insurance'. Totally dismissive. This is a design floor, a tiny table with shiny marble, no lip, on a ship that is renowned for vibration. It is a design weakness and Regent arrogantly refuse to accept it. Vibration is a real problem, it ruins the Stars Lounge entertainment and certain parts of the Compass Rose and La Veranda dining, totally obtrusive. The Shows, apart from the first, by the Regent performers, were generally very poor, one excellent singer who is leaving, the rest try numbers way beyond their ability. An excellent cellist but again ruined by the vibration. I should say that there are some excellent staff on the ship, it is by and large the top team who appear to follow the Captain's lead, the customer doesn't matter The pool deck is far too crammed, toe to head sun beds with no room to move, more like Blackpool than a 6 star cruise liner. Read Less

We had heard such wonderful reviews of Regent Seven Seas we had a high anticipation that our cruise of New England and Canada would be exceptional. Unfortunately we were a bit disappointed, but we still had a good vacation. Our embarkation in New York was unfortunately delayed by local officials not opening up the security process at the announced time. This was not Regent's issue, but rather the problem of the local representatives not having the coordination of the embarkation process started when the first guests arrived. We were in line for an hour and we were in the second or third group to be transferred to the ship. That begs the question, how can a ship with only 700 passengers take an hour to process guests onto the ship? The two year old furnishings in the Seven Seas Suite were worn and stained with the sheer curtain torn in two locations. The carbon steel fasteners on furnishings on the expansive balcony were rusting as they were not of the quality that can be put into marine environments. While the public areas of the ship were well maintained, we found the work out facility disappointing as the equipment was not fully connected to media outlets and the equipment was worn in appearance. We did enjoy the meals in La Veranda/Tutta Mari, Signatures and Compass Rose. Unfortunately Prime Seven was not as exceptional as advertised. Service onboard the Mariner was excellent and it seemed that every request was anticipated. The most disappointing aspect of the New England/Canada Cruise were the shore excursions and time in port. We were originally scheduled to dock in all but three ports, but the dock was taken in two additional ports by the Norwegian Dawn of Regent's parent company. This resulted in delays getting ashore through tendering which often took a full hour away from our time in port. When we did get a berth in Quebec, we were berthed at a dry goods loading port, not the cruise ship port in the old city of Quebec (Very Disappointing). While we anticipated a "Six Star Cruise" as advertised by Regent Seven Seas we did not get what we believe was even a five star cruise. Hopefully this is an anomaly for Regent, but our vacation time is rare and when we get away for ten days we want and expect to get the value and luxury we pay for, unfortunately Regent Seven Seas disappointed us in terms of value and we are cancelling the cruise we have scheduled on the Regent Seven Seas Explorer for next year. Read Less

For many years we wanted to take this cruise; finally the timing was perfect. However, we did not expect to be disappointed on so many levels. We have sailed on all the Regent ships other than the newest one and only had 10+ experiences; this time was different. The ship is beautifully appointed and the cabin as perfect as usual. However, the staff did not meet expectations, not did the choices of dining. La Veranda no longer has buffet dinner as an option; many nights we had a 1/2 hour to 45 minute wait to be seated for dinner and one half of one of dining rooms was not used for anything. The quality of food was still exceptional. When it came to excursions, we were wait listed and never got on to two excursions. One of the reasons we chose Regent was because the excursions are included. If there is not enough room for the guests, the included excursions become a moot point! Needless to say, we were very disappointed.Two destinations were worthless. There was very little to choose from in Saguenay, and Charlottetown, where we were wait listed for a carriage ride offtered us nothing other than a tour of "Anne of Green Gables" house, which was a wasted few hours. We were also wait listed for a carriage ride in Quebec City and wound up walking around on our own (although the cost of the Regent cruise includes excursions, we were not renumerated for the excurions). We should have stayed an extra day in Boston where this is much to see. The staff at reception and destinations were less than friendly. We did not feel welcomed with a smile and felt as though we were bothering them with simple questions. Friends whom we convinced to sail with us on their first Regent cruise (they were Princess and Celebrity sailors), did not have past Regent cruises to compare, but they were surprised that the choice of dining rooms and extracurriculars (such as art classes, cooking classes, daytime activities) were not available. We were sorry we asked them to join us and are a bit embarrassed we raved about Regent. Read Less

Positives-Amazing weather. Best butler. Great food in Sette Mare and Prime 7. Nice pool & aft infinity pool lovely but hard to access.Fun experience in Asian restaurant. Entertainment - such very good shows-loved the Opera Girls. Fun cruise director. Love David Nevin's show. Liked breakfast in Sette Mare. Negatives- Cabin(see below). No outdoor bar. Bad excursions with crummy buses(they were only 1/2 full and should have used smaller more modern with legroom etc.) Impersonal, robotic service on deck & lounges. Two ports changed because of conditions(1 meter seas-seemed overly conservative). We had no excursion planned for Portofino and when changed to Genoa the ship only accommodated people who had booked tours & didn't provide a shuttle to Portofino. Chartreuse was so disappointing- timing way off, service awkward & not professional. Would nave enjoyed a ship formal night.Things like caviar at breakfast on Sun-we just stumbled upon and felt it might have been better communicated. Bad communication about any changes-seemed guest's responsibility to study newsletter for new info. Read Less