My wife and I have cruised on two other lines: Disney when with the grandkids and Crystal just for us. We were looking for a Med cruise this October and checked Crystal first but neither of their ships were in the area we wanted. So we took a chance and booked Regent's newest ship, the Explorer, from Venice to Istanbul. But when the problems erupted in Turkey, we switched to the Navigator from Venice to Rome. Eventually, Regent also cancelled the Istanbul stop but by then we had already switched. We were hoping Regent would be a comparable experience to Crystal, thereby expanding our luxury cruising options (we like the mid-sized ships) to more than just Crystal's two ships. It didn't work out that way. First, the good. The food in general was better than Crystal, including the specialty restaurants. The breakfast and lunch buffets were OK but more limited. Lots of menu choices in the main dining room but also a lot of repetition from night to night. The shore excursions were free and good quality. The free part was useful in that we cancelled one or two due to bad weather. Now to the downsides. First, the ship itself. Low ceilings, lots of vibration, no central grand public areas, stinky toilets, malfunctioning a/c, tiny casino with not much action, limited on board activities (no movie theater, few enrichment activities such as painting, computer, cooking, language or golf classes), and, despite the recent renovation, a tired overall look. We were told that the drydock was much shorter than advertised. Repairs continued during our cruise, such as replacing doors, refinishing outdoor decking, etc. This made much of the ship an obstacle course, since you never knew what areas would be closed. When it rained, water would puddle up on the deck, making passage impossible from one area to another. Overall, the ship did not succed at being either luxurious or intimate, as their advertising would have you believe. Next, the service. This is where we really missed Crystal. Onboard, wait staff were indifferently trained. Little things like serving plates from the wrong side to clearing dishes before all at the table were finished, to more important things like not knowing your name, not following thru on requests, getting orders wrong, etc. Some examples. The hair dryer in the room wasn't working so we asked for a replacement. It never came. Wanted to cash out some chips (when the casino was open) but was told the cashier was out to lunch and no one else could help. Staff on deck did not understand why I would want a fork to eat my salad with since I was seated at a lounge chair instead of a table. Reception, destination services and concierge desks were not staffed on any kind of regular schedule. While you could arrange a medical consultation if you needed one, there was no 24 hour accessible area to just pick up a Tylenol or other OTC medication. Poolside grill service was very slow. Staff seemed to be all over you when you didn't want them and nowhere to be found when you did. Please don't come over three times and ask if I"m finished eating when I am clearly not, then leave the plate to attract flies when I clearly am finished. On Crystal, at the concierge suite level, one could order room service from the main dining room or any of the specialty restaurants (and in any combination). In a comparable suite level on Regent, room service was limited to items on the room service menu itself or only from the main dining room. The level of English fluency was much lower than on Crystal and the staff were not as varied as to nationalities. I don't think all the world should just speak English, but a luxury line catering to lots of British, Australians and Americans could do a little better in this area. Shuttle service to the port town centers was not handled very well, overall. One particularly bad example was in Corfu, where it was pouring down rain. Regent had no shelter tent set up at the pickup point to wait under for the bus, altho other lines did. Then when we got back to the ship, the bus parked a couple hundred yards from the ship and we had to walk in the heavy rain with no shuttle, tenting or staff with extra umbrellas to help. Many of the ship design issues are just baked in to the experience and there is little Regent can do about that. But the maintenance and service issues are things they could certainly address. While one could certainly consider a number of the things I mentioned as "first world problems," the fact is that when you spend at this level, you should have a right to expect a superior experieince. Regent simply did not deliver this. Back to Crystal! Read Less

We were first-time cruisers with Regent. We had heard such good things about them so decided we must try them. We had used Seabourne on many occasions. We are perennial cruisers and I have never complained about a cruise line before. We have been on four cruises this last year. Transfer from the airport to the dock to pick up the water taxi was a nightmare and not suited to travelers whose walking was limited. No alternative was given to those people. They had to send the launch back to collect some people they had missed. Several passengers were complaining. The ship is 'tired' I wondered if it was going out of service. Our dining experience was very disappointing, long delays and one night our table of 6 was left for 3 hours before being served. We missed the show we wanted to see. The F&B team sent a bottle of champagne to our room as an apology. big deal- as all the drinks are included free anyway. We had bought 2 bottles of wine off the specialty wine list, which we thought would be ample for the 6 of us as we were not big drinkers. Because of the huge delay we felt obliged to have another. They could have reimbursed us for the third bottle of wine we had bought as an apology, especially as we only bought the last bottle because we had nothing else to do, but they wouldn't do that when asked . They said they lost our order in the kitchen but most nights the service was exceptionally slow. A lot of the staff seemed untrained. We wondered if they had moved them to the newer ship and we had all new staff. Some didn't really speak English or understand what they were being asked. We liked the Prime 7 restaurant but were very limited in how often we could use it. The bar staff were great, our butler was wonderful and the omelet/pasta chef was brilliant. Overall I doubt I would use Regent again. Read Less

My wife and I sailed on October 4th from Monte Carlo to Athens. We have cruised 9 times on 7 different cruise lines. This was our first time with Regent. The ship, common rooms and cabins were the best I have ever seen. However, the staff and crew were new and therefore the service was not as good as I had hoped. The free internet was spotty and inconsistent. The ship also had some problems with the sewage system which left foul odors in the hallways. But in fairness, this is going to happen with any new ship as it “shakes out” it problems and concerns. Activities and entertainment were also not up to par with “the most luxurious ship in the world”. They were good, but not great. Shore excursions are included with Regent, but were too compact and too fast paced. It is very hard to enjoy the scenery around you when you become focused on not losing your tour guide. Dining was excellent as was embarkation and disembarkation. But with the cost the cruise compared to what you get, I don’t feel this was worth the money and I probably will not cruise with Regent again. Read Less

Ship is beautiful, rooms just as described, beds great, tours were very good. Food was hit and miss but not really what I hoped for, had as good or better at other resorts for a fraction of the price. Some parts of the meals seemed prepared way ahead of time and looked and tasted like it. Service in the specialty restaurants was iffy, especially the French and Asian, there it was bad to pushy and a number of guest had the same impression. The Compass Rose had by far the best servers and some of the best meals, the open seating Italian was the worst especially service and food fair. The food\service was a big disappointment and for the price of these cruises it was not a good value. Wi-Fi was basically useless and everyone had the same complaint. Checked with their business center and they basically told me it was my new tablet, and I should only use Apple products although they did not work either. I needed to check back for business and this was a real problem, went 2 days before I got connected and then it would disconnect me. Spent hours during the course of the cruise trying to connect which I would have preferred to have been enjoying my cruise. Tried to check the TV for news especially on the hurricane in the SE US but same basic problem, only connected occasionally and then it would go away. Didn't matter where we were at port or at sea, same problems and same complaints from every guest I spoke to. It's hard to say if I would try Regents again, just did not seem to have their act together in many fields vs. the cost and other options. Read Less

We chose this Regent ship and cruise ,because of previous good experiences on the Voyager.. The ship is well appointed with very spacious and underused Public areas .[easy to find a quiet spot ] .The Library is very nice ! The activities are OK . The gym has nice new machines, however instruction in how to use them is lacking . Ports on this cruise were well chosen . [ Athens to Venice ]We particularly enjoyed Koper [Slovenia] and as well Kotor . Of course Venice is nice ,as usually ,however time there is short unless you stay over [ recommended for 1st time visitors]. Some of the shore excursions were a bit too long ,especially when there is rain . Two excursions during heavy rains [ Kryka ,Lake Bled] were downright treacherous . Some of the paths/steps were very slippery and an accident waiting to happen . Something else should have been figured out for those conditions! Disembarkation was a disaster [4 am ] .There were not enough crew available to give directions and we nearly got lost . Air scheduling on return was also a complete disaster [ Iberian Air ] and the plane was scheduled to be retired in 5 days . [not a good thought for Transatlantic flying ] It took 27 hours for us to get home from Venice ,which is very Unacceptable !! Dining is for the most part ,excellent . Prime is very good ,and had excellent service .Compass rose was outstanding for us, because several servers made it special [ Enrique ,Irfan and Rebecca!]. Lunch in Koper [Lake Bled] was very good , Kotor [Highlights of Montenegro ] lunch and restrooms bad. Chartreuse was not very good and perhaps too over the top on the menu . Entertainment was so- so . The onboard crew entertainment was somewhat amateurish and a tad repetitive . Naki Attaman ,the pianist was outstanding and the Violinist was also good . John Barron [cruise director did an entertaining show himself and has a good voice. Overall maybe 3-4 nights out of 9 or so. Service was mostly good . A glaring deficiency was the frequent lack of Wi Fi . We were sold a cabin with ""free Wi Fi "" ,however if it does not work; then money wasted and there should have been a REFUND!. The tech ,person was not overly friendly ,and the hours for assistance with Internet and computers were severely lacking . There should be two [2] The persons on board for I.T. Overall ,this cruise was not up to our expectations .The whole experience seemed a little "off" compared to prior cruises on the Regent Voyager . We would probably not use Regent ,again . Perhaps management needs a little boost ? Read Less

We chose the cruise from Lisbon to Cape Town for the itinerary & because we wanted to try a supposed 6* cruise. Having stayed at some fabulous hotels we were hoping for similar standards on board. The transfer/embarkation was poorly handled. We couldn't visit Madeira but just 2 coaches were offered for an alternative day out from Lisbon The ship has had a facelift but the bedrooms are tired. Beds, towels, toiletries, butler & cabin staff all excellent though. Compass Rose service was a joke. 3 hours for a 3 course meal was good going - though I did get 3 courses 1 lunch in 20 minutes! Shows were usually missed though that was no great loss. The ship's troupe were great & should have been used more. Food was average - the premise appears to be quantity over quality. Food was lukewarm, dishes forgotten just so many faults. Wine service incredibly slow. Best wine we found was on offer at £6.50 at Morrison's when we returned. Hardly fine wines! This is a brief summary of 6 page letter I sent to Regent. Usual response I believe for dissatisfied customers, money off next cruise. Do they really think I'll cruise with them again?! Read Less

The biggest asset Regent have are their staff. The suites are well designed, larger but why no chair other than a desk chair and the couch is poor. The bathroom/ shower is excellent. The Veranda restaurant has a lot more space outside and the chairs are much improved. The tables are already getting chipped. The Speciality restaurants, Prime 7 , Chatreuse, and Pacific Rim are good although some a little inconsistent. The main restaurant The Compass Rose resembles a cafeteria, although smaller than on other Regent vessels the lighting is horrific ( think Las Vegas ), the service stations are many and the used plates and plastic covers are in full view. The extensive art work may be an acquired taste....to many the majority of the hangings are dark, ugly and disturbing. The balcony windows whistle even in light winds. The cooking smoke from the pool grill wafts across the deck permeating clothes There is no access to the bow of the ship outside at any level .99% of gusts have no front view except from the Observation Lounge where the dark glass is so dark, observing anything is difficult. The rear entrance to Compass Rose has been closed off meaning for some a route march to the entrance. Some lifts are "flask" shaped with a narrow entrance....dangerous as are the steps in the theatre. Those steps are badly lit. The disembarkation arrangements in Miami were a shambles and the Hop on Hop off tour with Big Bus a nightmare Read Less

We chose this for the itinerary-across the Med to many places we had not been, and to try out this form of travel--luxury cruise.Overall its unlikely we would do this kind of cruise again: Beautiful ship, well appointed. Not quite 700 people on board and rarely felt crowded. But as we came into the last few nights we were feeling too confined, limited choices. We very much like to spend evenings ashore, wandering towns and squares, seaside restaurants, feeling the energy of people out and about.Can't do that on these cruises. We felt very ignored as first time cruisers--all the emphasis was on the many repeaters on board--we understand that--but a briefing and orientation for first timers would have been nice--as would having a designated staff person for answering the stupid questions we had many of the first few days. In one sense heavy marketing to get you to sign up for another cruise--yet no one every came to us--first timers--to ask how we were doing, whether there was anything of concern or needed. No attempt to talk with us before we disembarked. That surprised me. Overall, the food was good, but there were some issues. Cabin was very nice, veranda was nice. We had a Concierge Suite. Excursions were a mixed bag--all depends on the guide and they varied a lot in competency. Mixed feelings about the "Shipboard Credit"--in the last few days lots of people were complaining about having to "force spend" or lose the money. Yet the Boutique stock was pretty limited--for men mostly Ralph Lauren Polo--which one can find anywhere. Wi-Fi was nightmare the first few days. Everyone complaining. Read Less

The cruise was or second on Regent. We may not take a third. While the stateroom was excellent, the sleep was great, and the on-board staff tried its best to please, it was obvious that the customer experience had been degraded since our European cruise in 2012 (and since the company had been taken over by the more populist Norwegian Cruise Line.) Example: the staff seemed harried and overworked all the time. The cuisine was spotty. It was 5-star excellent in Prime 7, 4-star in Signature, Compass Rose and La Veranda, and just 2-star in the Italian restaurant. The wines available to all were similar to Cosco's $7 specials. (You want a Napa? Pay something north of $100 extra per bottle.) We were met by mass disorganization by Regent's land-based staff when attempting to select excursions in advance. Everything for us and others was wait-listed and passed on to the shipboard crew to untangle. We got our first-choice excursions by making a beeline to the Excursions Desk upon boarding. Unfortunately, one of the trips was fouled up by the vendor, whose unexplained disinterest resulted in four couples spending an hour in the hot Caribbean sun while "waiting" for a bus that was actually parked there all the time. -- and another four couples simply giving up and returning to the boat. Bottom line: We spent serious money for the trip, but we do not feel that we received value for the money like we did on our 2012 cruise. Read Less

We went expecting…or at least hoping…to be overwhelmed. I apologize for the length of this review but a lot needs to be said. I have broken it down in categories. This was our 6th cruise but our first "all-Inclusive". We made the decision to splurge and go all out for our 40th anniversary in November, 2016. We had heard many great things about Regent but, alas, we also heard from seasoned Regent travelers that they would no longer sail on RSS since it was taken over by Norwegian due to the "lack of service" that they were used to. We booked it anyway because other friends were still happy. We went in with our eyes open but we did not expect to be disappointed in the one thing we most looked forward to: Butler service. The ship is beautifully appointed and the cabin was large and perfect (except for a/c control). However, the butler did not meet expectations. The steward greeted us in our cabin a short while after departure with 3 of our 4 bags. He was surprised that we had not yet met our butler. (Not off to a good start.) Later in the evening, they finally found our lost bag and it was delivered by the long-awaited butler. He showed us around "some" the cabin and seemed pleasant enough. He did not explain any of the electronics and although the cabin supposedly included an iPad he never produced one. In hindsight, it might have been helpful for shipboard services (maybe even to contact our butler!!). It also included pressing which he never offered. Over the next 11 days, I do not think we saw him more than once a day on average. Even then it was quick and brusque. He always made us feel as if we were bothering him. I guess if you have a butler, then the steward does not come around so we basically paid for "super service" and got none at all. On the second evening, we ordered canapés (which are included in the “all-inclusive”) in our Penthouse Suite to go with the bottle of champagne that was in the Suite when we came aboard. He added crab legs to our order on his own initiative, but we graciously explained that my husband did not eat fish of any kind. The next night, he brought us shrimp. We are easy-going people – we rarely complain and are not very hard to please but this guy did not even try to learn our preferences and routines. As a secondary issue, his English was poor, he was very soft-spoken and he would not make eye contact – all of which made communication that much more difficult. Let me add that we once went to a "Sandals” resort where we upgraded to their butler service. We were assigned three butlers who were available to us almost around the clock. After the first day, they "knew" what we wanted before WE did. I expected pretty much the same kind of service from Regent - NOT. There were dozens of “little things” that led to my “3 star” rating - with the butler service being the biggest disappointment. Some other notables: The woman at the Destination Services desk did not smile for 11 days and was very rude EVERY time we asked a question. But the rest of the staff was awesome. The excursion team on the docks (especially Luke) went out of their way to accommodate us when there was a weather issue. (Luke knew us by name after the second day.) The wait staff was very friendly and tried to please although there were sometimes language problems. Ashley on the security team called us by name every day after about Day 3 when we came back on board - long before he saw our IDs. The bartender (Inna) at the pool bar not only remembered me but also remembered what I drink. So to these people, I give 5 stars. DINING: Disappointed by some and pleased by others. "Prime 7" did not live up to the hype. My hubby’s NY Steak was not edible and neither was my whole main lobster - on our anniversary night!! We decided to give them another chance and were able to get reservations for second night. This time, hubby had the filet and was quite pleased. "Signatures" steaks were even worse. We dined most evenings at Sette Mari and were never disappointed. The Veal Osso Buco they offered was the best I have ever had. We only had breakfast at Compass Rose one day because I sort of got turned off by finding a hair in my eggs. Ugh! We pretty much did breakfast and lunch at the La Veranda buffet. Hubby says they (which becomes Sette Mari in the evening) had the best Caesar Salad he’d ever had!! Overall the desserts looked beautiful but lacked much taste. EXCURSIONS: Some were just okay but a few were totally awesome. Our first tour was the "Swim and Ride the Dolphins" excursion in Cozumel. This was an unbelievable experience. I was not sure I would do it because I had read that the dolphins were not treated well in some facilities but that was SO not the case where we were. It was a beautiful marine aquarium and it was obvious that the trainers loved their work and that the dolphins loved them. Highly recommended!! Then came Belize – the "Cave Tubing" excursion. Both the cave tubing itself AND our bus tour guide (Peter) were 5-star. It was about a one-hour ride to the river and caves and this young man (speaking wonderful English) told us all about Belize, the city, the schools, the culture, it's history and its current political issues with Guatemala. Once there, we set out on a 40-minute walk along a beautifully-manicured trail through the jungle with another great guide who spoke flawless English. We were all carrying our large inner tubes but this was not an issue. For the one lady who did struggle with it, he carried her tube! Upon arriving at the river, we entered the water and sat in the tube. Only our behinds were wet (and feet from wading in). He tied the 8 of us together and we started "water rafting" down the river - very smooth, clear water with rocky bottom. The caves are not completely dark as there are a lot of openings and there was plenty of room between us and the stalactites. Again, the guide was very informative with lots of history regarding the caves. This excursion may have been the "highlight" of our entire 12 days. One additional comment: We are divers and the dive shops that Regent sourced were excellent. However, there were only two dive days offered on the cruise (one was "inclusive" but the other was not - we paid extra). There should have been more diving options in this world-class diving region. We only wish that we had done our own research (as some other divers did) and arranged dives in a couple of the other ports-of-call like Cozumel and Roatan!. ENTERTAINMENT: Regent had a company that did several song and dance shows that were truly Las Vegas-quality. They did a cirque de sole'-type show that was absolutely stunning. But this company only performed (I think) 4 shows out of the 11 nights. The rest of the entertainment was mediocre at best. Regent's shipboard band, though – which provided music for most of the shows and many lounge acts – was TERRIFIC!! Our biggest entertainment criticism is there was only one show per night with a 9:30 pm start. This was a bit late for many of us who had early dinner at 6:30 or 7:00 and then had an hour or more to kill before the program began. I realize that the Mariner is a smaller ship and it is not practical to have an early show and a later show as many of the larger ships do, but on several occasions we decided to “call it a night” after dinner with wine and did not stay up for the show, especially if we had an early excursion the next morning. A word about the wines: We are wine-lovers and the selection of “house wines” was quite good – and plentiful. The restaurant staff and wine captains (especially Roderick in Sette Mari) were generous and helpful. The “Reserve” wine list was phenomenal and the mark-up on those additional-charge wines was very reasonable. The Spa: Canyon Ranch generally runs a good operation but the Mariner’s people were not up to snuff. I had a massage on our anniversary morning with a masseuse who didn’t shut up for the entire hour – most of her chatter trying to sign me up for the NEXT massage. My husband’s masseuse was OK but nothing special given the $195 cost for an hour. In hindsight, we wish that we’d used the ship credits we spent with them for more wine upgrades! :) To sum up - I give the butler a 1-star, the restaurants a 3-star, most of the excursions a 3-4 star (with exceptions to the two noted above) and a 5-star to most of the crew. Would I do a Regent cruise again? No. Would I do Regent’s butler service again? ABSOLUTELY NOT!! While the overall experience left us with some nice memories, there were sufficient negatives that we will look at other “all-inclusives” for our future cruises. Read Less

The Navigator reminds me of an aging movie star - still very lovely, but showing her age in places and finding it very difficult to compete with some of the younger offerings despite extensive cosmetic refurbishment. We were a group of 10 ranging in age from 59-72, and all have cruised before. We generally cruise with Oceania. Our satisfaction with Oceania's offerings factored in our decision to book with Regent, which was described as the next level up in the NCL firmament. The main consideration was the African itinerary - voyaging from Cape Town to Cape Town over 15 days. A 3 day safari was offered as a 'booking bonus,' and that part of our trip exceeded all expectations. We stayed at the magical Eagles Crag Lodge in the Shamwari Game Reserve, and would rate that experience as flawless. THE GOOD: The ship has recently been refurbished. We found our cabin to be quite nice, although despite the new bedding and curtains you could not camouflage the fact that it had been around the block (world) many times. The staff on board tried harder to please us than any others I have ever seen. Having said that, they seemed to have a great deal of difficulty in getting our dinner orders straight, perhaps because we typically chose to sit at a table for 10. The food was very good, and dinners could be customized (although they didn't always manage to get the requests right.) The wines served were good, and flowed without interruption. Staff remembered what you liked, and would go out of their way to have the perfect drink arrive even before you had a chance to order! The performers were encouraged to interact with the guests, and we had shared dinners with some of them. The nightly shows were surprisingly very good, particularly given the small size of the ship. THE BAD: At dinner time there is really only just enough capacity to seat everyone simultaneously. Although without set seating times, in our experience dining was always a multi-hour event so that tables did not turn over. Compass Rose and Sete Mare were therefore invariably completely full all night, and hence very noisy. The poor wait staff ran around madly trying to accommodate serving so many meals in a completely full space. I did not care for Sete Mare at all. It had a 'cafeteria' like feel, in my opinion, and the acoustics were such that we found it impossible to have a reasonable conversation in that venue. I found the food there to be inferior to what was served elsewhere on board. I must admit that I missed the multiple specialty restaurants we have so enjoyed when onboard the Oceania Marina or Riviera. Although the Compass Rose menu offers a couple of choices that change every day, overall there is a sameness to the (generally excellent) food. I like to enjoy more variety in eating-Asian Fusion one night, French the next etc. There is also no quick/ casual venue available for dinner. Lunches in the Compass Rose were excellent, much less so poolside or at la Veranda. Overall, the quality and choice at lunch was disappointing. We like to book our own ( private) excursions, so the offerings here, especially since we missed all of the best ones, were very poor. I won't give up control of what I want to do in port to a cruise line again. THE UGLY: Regent includes excursions in their cruise cost. We missed fully 40% of our scheduled ports because of inclement weather, obviously with the loss of the booked excursions at these sites. While Regent is not in control of the weather, they also did a very poor job informing the guests of the problems. No compensation was offered for the missed experiences. Regent advertises that you can do as many excursions as you would like. The tours are strategically timed so that it is impossible to do more than one per day. Anything remotely interesting requires an uncharge, which is as much as you would pay for the tour in total if you were arranging it yourself. The ship careers to a VERY OLD clientele. A 70 year old member of our group observed that the music regularly played onboard ship was what his parents used to listen to. Staff told us that our cruise was on average significantly younger in age than Regent's usual - (!) our group doesn't often feel like the young people! It was virtually impossible to have music in the bars etc. updated. Despite pleading with the cruise director, we were unable to change any of the selections - disregarding the fact that the dance floor was completely packed when Beatles tunes were played (the absolutely most modern out-there rock and roll ever to be heard on this ship,) the cha-cha continued with no one up dancing. I fully understand that there is a range of ages on board, and that all tastes should be accommodated. However, if it was recorded after 1950, you might not get to hear it on board this ship. Shouldn't those of us under 80 should get our turn too? Read Less

This was our 1st cruise with Regent Seven Seas on m/v Navigator and we were looking forward to an excellent time and service as it is classed as a 6* ship. The ship was luxurious, a very good suite with top class bedding. The staff kept the suite to an extremely high standard. The food in the Compass Rose restaurant was also excellent, however, their Prime 7 flagship restaurant was nowhere near the standard we have experienced in the Murano restaurants on Celebrity's ships. The La Veranda was alright for lunch but for breakfast it was a problem if you required any form of eggs other than scrambled. On one occasion I waited 15 minutes for 2 fried eggs, then for 10 minutes later in the cruise and had to get fresh bacon and sausages one day because they had gone cold prior to arrival of the eggs. On one occasion they forgot about the poached eggs my wife ordered from the kitchen. This problem was because there was only one person detailed to fry eggs and create omelettes in a very busy restaurant. In the evening the La Veranda became the Italian themed Sette Mari and was good. However, the service for dinner in both Prime 7 and the Compass Rose was nowhere near 6* standard. We experienced a thumb in a coffee cup, sauce along the edge of the plate, entree cutlery being placed on the table whilst we were still eating the appetizers and being reached across whilst eating to remove wine glasses that would not be used. We raised some of these points the first night in Prime 7, and the Maitre D said it would be addressed. Prior to the cruise we received an e-mail from RSSC saying that a Yellow Fever vaccination certificate or exemption certificate was required to board the ship. I contacted RSSC to inform them that the cruise itinerary of countries to be visited only required it if you had either been in a country recently that had Yellow Fever or you had transited through one of these countries for more than 12 hours. They still insisted on having the vaccination or exemption certificate. On-board we discovered several guests had not had the vaccination because they were categorically told by their vaccination centres it was not required, and as it was a 'live' vaccine the side effects could affect some people badly as my wife experienced. After several conversations with Reception staff, who initially informed us that the certificates were required by the port authorities, they eventually conceded that vaccination certificates might not have been required but stated that they were in daily contact with port authority health officials and the requirement changed daily. Unfortunately, this again was misinformation as confirmed by the South African government website and relevant port authority websites. We experienced very high winds during the cruise and missed out on 3 of the 8 ports-of-call as we were over 38 hours late leaving Cape Town and about 20 hours late leaving East London leading to a revised time table. On leaving East London, after waiting some time for clearance to leave, many guests were on the sun decks and shortly after leaving the harbour the ship was hit by high winds and a very considerable swell. Guests just had time to get off the sun deck before someone got injured. Sunbeds were careering across the deck, plates crashing in La Veranda and bottles smashing on the floor of the Galileo lounge. The Captain should have known about the weather conditions but made no announcement before leaving the port. However, he did broadcast shortly after that the bad weather and rough conditions would continue for about 3 hours before easing off. Several guests were concerned and extremely worried and fearful about the severe conditions, some felt it was foolhardy to have left port. The reason for leaving in these conditions was probably to ensure we went to Namibia as it is a requirement for a ship to visit at least 2 countries be classed as a 'cruise liner'. The shore excursions were generally alright except for one around Durban. We had arrived there early due to the amended timetable and the tour we did passed through a lot of building sites. We were only allowed 10 minutes off the coach on the 3 hour tour and the stop at an over-Durban viewpoint there were used hypodermic needles in the grass. We asked the tour staff if they had been on the tour, they had not. We, and several other guests, asked if a rebate would be given for the missed excursions at the missed 3 ports-of call, however, we were told no rebate would be offered as they were 'free'. I contacted Regent’s CEO by email regarding this and he did not mention or address this in his reply! It certainly gave the impression that the cruise company's view on profits outweighed guest satisfaction as they probably saved considerable money as I am sure they would not have paid the full amount for them, if anything at all. We are still waiting a response to our request from Guest Relations. A few guests we met had sailed with Regent on numerous occasions, some on the Navigator, and we asked if this was the standard of service they had experienced in the past. All said it had gone 'downhill' considerably. Regent Seven Seas Cruises is now part of Norwegian Cruise Lines. Although the weather conditions were not ideal, overall the service in our opinion was not up to 6* standard. Hopefully this was a 'one-off' and our next cruise with Regent will be 6*. Read Less

I wanted to visit many islands in the Caribbean & Regent cruises got high ratings. The special reservation restaurants were ok but not outstanding. I thought the wine was poor quality. Perhaps they should just charge for wine & put money elsewhere. Poor selection of beers! Good choices on mixed drinks. The entertainment on ship was pretty poor & the lecturer was very disappointing. The cruise ship up the St Lawrence seaway(Pearl) the lecturer was outstanding so we expected that quality. Being charged $1000 for a trip to the ship's doctor was OUTRAGEOUS! 3 lab tests, exam, & antibiotics. BE VERY CAREFUL IF YOU VISIT THE CLINIC! I think the Regent people should have absorbed some of the cost. I can submit these charges back home but they will cover a minimum about~ $200!! Shore excursions would have been much better had they started later in the day. Who wants to go on a tour at 8'oclock in the morning when your on vacation. There were varied tours which was good. Disembarkation was a bit crazy. Having people catching a flight for noon and others for a flight in the evening to be on the same bus was nuts. We were also dropped off in the wrong area for our flight. Overall I was disappointed in the Regent cruise. Read Less

We sailed 1/12-1/26 on the Regent Seven Seas Voyager. At $32,000 for both of us, we knew we could expect luxury and personal attention. What we got was disappointment. Regent can not be faulted for the weather, but for lack of planning, perhaps, and definitely lack of transparency. They must have known well before they told us that the weather would prevent us from cruising the fjords of Milford Sound (a highlight of the cruise) and from getting into the port of Picton, New Zealand. Instead we rocked and bounced on the Tasman Sea far longer than expected. The captain referred to the weather as a low pressure area whereas the TV weather channel called it a hurricane. Whatever it was, elevators were shut down, 11th level buffet was closed because plates, bottles of wine and the buffet went crashing to the floor. In the main dining room, a window frame broke and water came gushing in. It too was closed. Passengers kept to their cabins, seasick and unhappy. I heard a fellow passenger remark about the mediocre service saying she thought many of the experienced waiters, stewards, etc. were taken off the Voyager and assigned to the new Explorer. This may or may not be true, but the service suffered. Six hours after I requested some more Perrier bottles in my room, I bumped into the steward and he assured me he would deliver them right away. I had already gotten them from Room Service, having given up on the steward. Many shore excursions were included but it was difficult to get on a first or second choice. I tried the day we could book them in July, and had to settle. Those who tried to book them on the cruise itself were met with frustration. The lines for the Destination Desk were long and slow because they only had two people working at a time, although there were three computers. The Destination people didn't seem familiar with all the tours and were unable to help many people. The "included" tours were mostly acceptable, but the ones worth taking cost extra. Many of those I signed up for started at 8:10 am which would have been OK, but for two nights, we had to set our clocks ahead one hour. This in effect, made the excursions an hour earlier. Food in the main dining room was acceptable, but not great. Our best meal was a Filipino one arranged by our Filipino waiter. (Most of the service staff is Filipino.) The two :"optional" dining rooms were difficult to get a reservation. Our travel agent, fortunately, had booked one meal in each the day reservations were accepted. And lastly, the Canyon Ranch Spa: overpriced! My shellac manicure was $126 and a 50-minute massage, $200. I would highly recommend readers look into Silversea. We had a far better experience on that cruise line. Read Less

The ship is very luxurious. However, it has many serious design and execution flaws. The upper deck in the theatre has very poor sight lines to the stage. The floor does not have enough fall. The seating on the lower deck between the aisles is too narrow to allow access to guests or waiters. For a muster station, it is dangerous. If you are on the aisle, it is fine, in the middle, it is inaccessible. There are two wide poles that block access and viewing. Two shows we never were served. One night we were served an extra drink by mistake. The waiter later discovered her error, recovered the drink, and reserved the drink to another guest several rows in front of us. The bathroom near the theatre had three urinals in a L shaped pattern. Only two can be used at any time. The wall paper around the door and tv cabinet was curling. The screw on the bathroom door was stripped. I had one of the best steaks I have ever had. My wife was unable to eat her swordfish. Our friends pork chop was raw. Lobster bisque, a favorite, was more like lobster consumme. Tomato sauce came from Chef Boy Ardee can. BarBQue was outstanding. My potato is still missing in action. Shore excursions were fair to poor. Avoid the train ride and the glass blowing at all costs. The cliff diving was ok. Wifi was slow and hard to connect up. I did expect better on a new, 6 star ship. Show band and singers were top-notch. Two headliners were poor, two others what you expect on a cruise on the most luxurious ship ever built. rslebmo Read Less

Have been a Celebrity regular. My wife wanted to try Regent because she had heard so much about it and especially this new ship, the Explorer. Beautiful ship. Included tours very poor. 34+ people on a bus and not well organized or interesting. Some food good, some very poor (Worst Veal Marsala I have ever eaten). Certainly not worth the cost difference over Celebrity, Bar staff and servers very inattentive and slow and forgot requests easily. Lecturers were great and the ship's group of entertainers were amazing and interacted with the passengers which was fun. Special call out to Stephanie Londino, lead singer, who is the best. Deserves a better gig in the future. Cruise cost over double a Celebrity cruise and not close to worth the difference. Will not be a Regent returnee. They seem to cater to people who need to be totally pampered and are not interested in do thing for themselves. Read Less

Yes, of course, a ship that was often praised. The shipping company claims to have the most luxurious ship. Accordingly, our expectations were high. In fact, the ship is exceptionally tasteful, high quality and equipped with lots of love for details. We were also very satisfied with the quality of the food in all Restaurants. With the exception of the Prime Seven, whereupon we canceled a second reservation and went to Compass Rose instead. However, to a 6-star ship belongs also an exceptional service, which we missed. We are travelling quite often (2-3 times a year) with Celebrity in Suite Class, there we enjoy a much better personalized service and individual attention than on this cruise. On the Explorer-Cruise, we had Concierge Suite only, maybe you will get the expected attention in the top suites only, besides this, we were Regent first time cruiser. This could be a reason too... Also when we were asked to fill in a mid-cruise-survey and we left the point that we were annoyed by the loudspeaker announcements of the instructor from the artkitchen in our room, no one has really cared about. The entertainment is poor. Just one or two shows in 15 days, we have visited, others we have left prematurely. The most entertaining show was by the way the Crew Show. Thanks to all the crew members involved! Sadly to find out that Regent did not asked about a rating of the Crew Show in the End of Cruise survey. Only about the 'official' shows. The Regent offered excursions were not bad, but we expected here also more professionalism. Because they are free of charge, you can not expect too much. With 50 years of age, we were probably the youngest on board the Explorer. So we often felt very bored. In any case, we had a lot of rest on board. Finally, we will not book another Regent-cruise in the near future and will stay with Celebrity's Suite Class and the more diverse clientele and the more individual offerings. Read Less

We sailed on the January-February 2017 cruise from Aukland to Singapore. The trip was a very mixed experience, with some parts very enjoyable and others quite disappointing. On the positive side, the cabin stewards did a great job, and our stateroom was always neat and orderly. We enjoyed the new menu in the Compass Rose dining room, with a wide variety of items always available and daily specials. The evening variety shows were much improved over those on our previous cruises on Regent. The enrichment lectures given by Terry Bishop were outstanding, and we would certainly look for cruises where he was featured. On the negative side, there were several problems. Regent had clearly not planned an adequate number of shore excursions, and in many ports there were just no free excursions available. Every day seemed to have long lines at the Destination Services desk of people trying to book tours, often with no success. they offered the excuse that the ports we visited did not have an adequate infrastructure to accommodate a ship our size but, in talking with local guides, it seems that they had no problem with much larger ships. Many of us felt that Regent management was just cutting their excursion budget and not booking enough tours. After all, the ports we visited in New Zealand and Australia are major cruise ship ports, and infrastructure should not be a problem. In some ports Regent tried to upsell us to paid tours, but we found better and less expensive tours on our own over the internet. The excursions we were able to get were often disappointing, often with a lot of wasted time when we were dropped off in uninteresting towns with little to do for several hours. Our stateroom was also a disappointment. The Voyager was just recently remodeled, but the work appears to have been of less than top quality. The walls in our room creaked loudly whenever the ship moved. We have been on a fair number of cruises, some on rough seas, and while some movement noise is inevitable on ships this was well beyond the ordinary or acceptable. The ship's maintenance staff was able to mitigate the noise to some extent by putting wooden shims between the walls and the ceiling, but surely better ship construction should have made these types of fixes unnecessary. Also, the ship seemed to have a large number of maintenance problems with the plumbing, with several leaks. Some days we had no water for a while and, when it came on , it was black. The Voyager lounge was closed for a while because of water leaks. Due to the leaks on our deck (7), the carpet outside our room had a mildew odor that penetrated our cabin. We were also disappointed in the specialty restaurants, both with regard to food quality and service. The meat in the steak restaurant was not of the quality we have had on previous Regent cruises and, as the trip was in major beef producing countries, this should have not been the situation. In Chartreuse, the newly named French restaurant, the main dishes were disappointing. And service was so slow, beyond leisurely, that even starting the meal at 6:30 or 7:00 we were not finished in time to get to the 9:30 entertainment on time. As this was a longer cruise we had multiple opportunities in each restaurant, and were consistently disappointed and eventually cancelled reservations as we preferred the main dining room. Finally, when we wrote to Norwegian Cruise Lines management expressing our disappointment and our inability to get the promised shore excursions, it took over a month to get a reply from them. This suggests that customer service is not high on their priority list. Read Less

I choose this ' Last on the Bucket List ' cruise partly to visit the Chilean Fiords, The Falkland Islands (to show the wife where I was in 1982), and also Macchu Picchu a pre cruise option. Due to the weather, we did not see much of the Fiords or visit The Falklands. To be honest we would not have taken this cruise after our 1st experienced of Regent on the South African cruise in November 2016 but rather than lose the 20% deposit and also we could not find another suitable we decided to give them another chance. This time service was better, bar one waiter in the Compass Rose restaurant. Our cabin was well maintained but needed new balcony furniture. This time the shore excursions were reasonable. However, the one to Santiago and the one in Buenos Aires, too long was spent on the coach. We like german sweet wines and were surprised a Spatlese (sorry no umlaut over the 'a') had been replaced with a kabinet for the same price $60. The cruise was slightly affected by a gastro enteritis bug on the ship but the crew prevented it spreading by ensuring guests sanitized hands regularly and those affected were confined to their cabins. The one main gripe about this cruise was the Matarani port of call, for excursion around Arequipa, was cancelled due to 'infrastructure' problems. The ship would have been at anchor here so I was surprised and did some research and discovered Phoenix Reisen, Silverseas and Hapag Lloyd would visiting later. However, I was unable to find out what the problems were from Guest Relations. No other port of call was included to replace this one and no reimbursement given, so anchorage fees, the 'free' shore excursions and less fuel used obviously contributed to the cruise profits. Also a couple of days prior to our call at Punta Arenas they changed from docking to at anchor, no reason given for this. Docking/at anchor is arranged well in advanced for ships! A Crystal ship was docked when we arrived. We were still a little disappointed with the overall standard of the cruise and on speaking to several repeat Regent customers they informed us standards had deteriorated over the last year or so. Read Less

The most luxurious ship in the world? The visual consideration is certainly a fit for this description, but the service cannot make the claim. We had very high expectations for this cruise, but cannot say that they were met. But first, we must address what was RIGHT and GOOD about this ship, especially for those who are looking forward to their cruise. The public spaces are beautiful and there is so much attention to detail that spells luxury, its as if you need an entire week just to explore and examine all the lovely accoutrements, artwork, lighting, ceiling & wall finishes and fabrics. The dishes for each restaurant are a journey in themselves. Even a lower end cabin provides the best shower experience we've enjoyed on any cruise ship. Housekeeping is discreet and thorough. The dining staff--particularly the experienced managers and servers are superb. And the food? Outstanding, sublime, delicious! I was so upset that I didn't discover the fresh juice bar on the pool deck until 3 days in. Okay, here goes our disappointments: An aft cabin brought with it soot and a virtually unusable deck area. Service on the upper pool deck was spotty: empty glasses and dishes stayed out for hours, there was often no staff on the deck at all (don't know where they got the 1:3 guest to staff ratio from--certainly not here) and a pet peeve: when a guest got up from a chair, the pool staff did not strip the chair of its cover and provide a new one. Often just a rolled towel was placed on the chair. So you sat in someone else's sweat--ugh! One afternoon of the 10 days, we were offered a cold washcloth. One afternoon. That's it. And we have never been on a luxury ship (Silversea, Cunard, Windstar, Celebrity) with so many negative responses to requests for simple items including premium bottled water and premium bottled water in an ice bucket. These requests seemed foreign to the servers at first. About halfway through the cruise, after sharing our concerns with the reception/concierge staff, these requests were finally met. It just seemed odd that we needed to bring it to the attention of the powers that be. Aft of the ship while at sea, there was always a loud wind whistling through the cabin--thankfully, when addressed after several sleepless nights, they sent a carpenter who affixed weather stripping along the bottom of the cabin door, so that we no longer had to listen to it. But you will hear that wind whistling, perhaps even in the other aft cabin...For you Pilates and Yoga and stretching advocates: the area in the gym for this activity is so small that only perhaps 3 people can engage in these activities--bad design, especially since most of the average age group for these cruises will want to do this. The ship is not particularly smooth: there is a lot of shuddering and rocking. Yes, it was a bit windy, but the noises and rocking exceed what should be for a ship with stabilizers. And finally, afternoon tea. On the most luxurious ship in the world, you have your selection of TWINNINGS tea bags to accompany your finger sandwiches, scones and pastries. TWINNINGS. TEA BAGS. In paper packets. Please REGENT, get some loose tea or even some silk bagged whole leaf tea. Tea Forte, perhaps? But not TWINNINGS. Not for this ship.We found the entertainment to be a little above average with a wonderful Broadway singer who did very well (except for the song about how to spell her name--a little self promoting). The shops were disappointing, we expected a better selection, but there were some surprises. NOT TO BE MISSED: the trio who sing every evening and during the day---serenading people sitting on the pool deck. Will we cruise REGENT again? Not sure--we really hope they take the time to train the newer staff who do not understand foreign cultures and will not take the initiative to fulfill a request that is not within their "normal" experience. Until that happens, we find that as lovely as this ship is and despite how outstanding the food is, what makes a cruise "luxurious" is also outstanding service. And the EXPLORER is just not there yet. Read Less

We chose to go with Regent for the 3rd year in a row after very good experience on the Navigator. Explorer has been hyped as the most luxurious cruise liner in the World, so we thought we would try her. She looks beautiful and the interior art, decor and appearance is gorgeous and the furniture is very comfortable too. First impressions are very good. The main problem for us and a number of other passengers we spoke to was just how she failed to provide the level of comfort required of a luxury ship when sailing. Even in calm waters at the stern of the ship where most restaurants are, she 'jogs' from side to side, like a car with an out of balance wheel, then when seas become a little more challenging (but no more than a Force 2-3) our suite would groan and creak like an old Spanish Galleon! The ride was on occasion akin to that of a car ferry crossing the Irish Sea, with lots of slapping and banging going on. Fortunately after 4 or 5 days the seas became like a mill-pond, so the majority of the problems subsided but the 'jog' persisted. Unfortunately, the staff on the ship seemed rather laissez-faire and on several occasions we had to 'chase-up' instructions for drinks, towels and general service. This was very surprising and disappointing because as previously mentioned our experience with Regent in the past has been excellent. Moving on to our suite, 810. There was no cold water to the wash basins...just tepid...not great for cleaning your teeth, obviously not fixable during our cruise! The satellite TV reception was poor and the sound system akin to my transistor radio of the 60's. The patio door was almost impossible to close properly and whistled and sang in the wind all night long. Drawers and cupboards were poorly fitted and in our opinion were not of the expected quality, having pull handles with very sharp edges. The ensuite door would not close without slamming, not desirable for your partner asleep after your mid-night visit to the bathroom. The internet package only allows for one user at a time....trips out often and is extremely slow. There is a limited number of music channels on the TV and no facility to play your own music through the suite system, via iPod or MP3. Annoyingly, the walk-in closet door was not lockable in the open position and had a tendency to close itself, cutting the lights whilst you are inside. The ensuite door has deep scratches in it, where the suite door can run into it when opened. Finally, one of the two quality coat hooks behind the door has broken off and been replaced by a cheap 50 cent chrome one, that you might put in your garden shed! The bed is very comfortable, the 2 seater couch is not and there is only one chair in the suite, so with no 4th chair its not possible to entertain friends for a pre-dinner cocktail. Our room stewards were very good. Room Service. We called it once for some Champagne and Shrimps, so we could watch the sunset. It didn't arrive. A bottle of Champagne arrived 90 minutes later as were were going to dinner. Someone forgot.....The F&B manager and Head Chef were nice and very apologetic....but the moment had gone. Generally, the restaurant food was very good. Especially in the Pacific Rim and Chartreuse, however, on several occasions it was overcooked and had to be sent back. The Veranda cafe is great for breakfast but there are never any berries on display, be warned that if you want anything not on show, someone has to go 'downstairs' for it...and that takes time. There are never any 'no sugar added' deserts available, which was very surprising and maybe a policy with this ship but for diabetics and those conscious of sugar intake, only 'nsa' cookies were available. Overall, we enjoyed the cruise, as the weather was very good and we met some nice people. However, we would not travel on the Explorer again, as we believe that it has problems in terms of comfort and service and does not represent the value expected.This would not deter us from travelling with Regent again but we would probably go with Silversea or Seaborn for the next cruise Read Less

DONT BOOK SUITE IN BACK OF EXPLORER>all suites in back. we were in 880. don't book a suite in the back of boat . View blocked by half walls instead of a see thru railing. So when u have room service on your balcony u get to look at the half wall. Or when u lounge u only see the half wall. no one told us the agents did not know. all the brochure photos show glass see through railings, so instead of relaxing in thew room we had to find a public sitting area everyday. I talked to reception they said they could not do anything to move to a view room. Have tried to write to CEO no response. also some loud night noises some vibrations ?? should not be on new ship. Also pool deck chairs were always filled with someones personal book or ? so very difficult to use pool deck chairs. staff should have regulated when people leave. same old resort lounge chair game. get up early put a book on chair reserve for the whole day. staff was very friendly looked like they enjoyed the work. restaurants very good food service and presentation. Read Less

We chose this cruise for the itinerary and because we had heard that Regent was a 5 star experience. Our last cruise was on Oceania Nautica and we had absolutely loved it. We decided to try Regent with it's all-inclusive liquor and excursions. First, what we liked: Our cabin was great (Penthouse with a fabulous butler). The all-inclusive liquor meant we didn't feel nickel-and-dimed at every turn. The room attendants were incredible and the destinations team were very helpful. I loved Marla, the Social Hostess and Terry Breen, the guest lecturer. And what we didn't like: Meals could go on forever, since there didn't seem to be enough waitstaff to bring the courses. The waitstaff was uneven, as well - some were attentive and helpful (thank you Gianluca, Tomaz and Federica!) and others seemed to be waiting for their shift to be over, while providing the minimum amount of attention. And the food was also uneven. For example, in the beginning, the hollandaise sauce was pretty good. After the first week, they forgot how to make it and served a tasteless, gloppy substance. Whatever happened to the lemon juice? I also admit that I really missed the Lido on Nautica. There was no place to have a completely informal meal in the evening - all the restaurants had dress codes. That's fine, but sometime you just want a plate of salad after a day of excursions! The reception desk didn't provide very good followup on requests. But my favorite incident was this: One morning, we were having breakfast in our cabin before setting off for an excursion, when we heard a loud "BANG". It was the glass in the slider to our verandah breaking! Most of the glass remained in the door frame, but there was a substantial amount of glass shards sprayed into the room. I called the butler, who arrived and was shocked. We left to get breakfast at one of the restaurants and to go on our trip. When we got back, the workers were still replacing the glass. This was completed by the time we returned from lunch. No one from management ever bothered to come and see if we were all right. The butler showed up as we were getting ready for dinner and I told him that I expected someone to at least ask if everything was okay. When we got back that night, there was an impersonal note of apology from the hotel manager and a box of chocolates. Okay, we actually were fine and I love chocolate...but the point is just that there was never any actual concern for an incident where we could have been seriously hurt. It is this lack of attention to detail that (to me) makes the difference between a top-notch experience and an okay one. My other complaint was the spa. The women's locker room had none of the niceties that one would expect - no dressing table, no lotions and especially no hair dryers. Really? Read Less

We make spring crossings every year and decided to try the Explorer to see what it is like. Unfortunately, we booked a cat G suite which is very small, around 250 sq ft with only 24 inches of hanging space in the closet. I think this category was originally designed for single travelers, but couples were booked in all of them. They are still working out many problems left by the shipyard. A couple of major omissions compared to the rest of the fleet are the lack of a forward open deck to enjoy sailing in to ports and there is no rear lounge. The "Horizon" lounge is called Meridian and is located mid-ship. There is no rear entry to the Compass Rose so those with suites in the aft have to walk all the way to the forward lifts, go to deck 4 and walk a long way rearward to access the restaurant. It was particularly difficult for guests with mobility problems. The ship has a lot of wasted space and the decorations are too gaudy for our tastes and toe overall ship size is too large for us. The staff, as always is excellent and the food has generally been quite good. Many guests feel as we do and prefer the other ships to the Explorer, particularly the Navigator & Mariner. Read Less

As with many guests , we were first time on Regent having been Azamara fans , and wanting a somewhat more up-market experience. We were lured by the “6 star” advertising, and earlier reviews. We have mixed feelings about the R7S experience. It’s noticeable that Mariner is bigger than Quest/Journey : approx 100ft longer , and 10 feet broader . ( and 48k tons as opposed to 31k tons) (and yet similar guest numbers : 700 as opposed to 650 Az guests). The interiors are more opulent, and the extra space is very evident in the public areas. The “standard” cabins have proper bathrooms, unlike the tiny shower cubicles on Azamara. But then the deck 8 cabins on Azamara are superior to Mariner standard cabins...so price comes into play. The “uniqueness” of Azamara is the staff and officers attitude and welcome. The officers on Mariner are practically invisible , as is the Captain. Even his PA announcements are very difficult to understand due to his accent. Whilst we encountered a few really great staff, the majority failed to impress. In particular they have many Eastern Europeans , and we found their attitude rather brusque , functional and business-like. Their level of English comprehension and speaking also sometimes lead to minor difficulties. They seemed under pressure a lot of the time , and thus service was inconsistent... getting plates cleared , or a refill was always slightly stressful. Each individual “incident” was trivial in itself , but you could never quite relax and get the 6star experience that Regent promise. I stress again a few staff members particularly in Compass Rose stood head and shoulders about the rest in terms of genuine care and attention. (eg we’d always ask for a table in Riskys section on Compass Rose.) This attitude issue extended to security staff : sometimes you’d be greeted with a smile and “welcome back Mr blogs”, but more often that not , they just scan your card with no words or eye-contact which is in sharp contrast to what we were used to experiencing on the Azamara. The Mariner food I believe is superior to Azamara. We are vegetarians , so cannot speak to the normal menus , but their plates looked good , lobster , steak.... There was always one vegetarian option, but once we had established contact with the Executive chef , he made daily specials for us , which were really good. We had a good meal in Signatures , the service there is particularly good and you were made to feel special. The Pool Grill always seemed a bit chaotic. The (buffet) lunch “out the back” was always a pleasure (Verandah), although vegetarian choices were very limited. There are 3 “bars” to meet before dinner..so it hasn't quite got the focus of the Azamara pre-dinner meet-up, but there is so much extra space, it still works well, either “dancing” on 6 or enjoying sunset on 12. The song and dance shows are slick and professional if a bit kitsch for my liking.. I cannot comment on the excursions as we tended to do our own thing. The free all-day champagne is obviously a distinguisher from the Az’s weird drinks policy and there’s none of Az’s crazy “only some cocktails are free” policy. (But someone told me the AZ are now serving prosecco as part of the AI wine list) The demographic was noticeably younger that a comparable Caribbean cruise last year on Az Journey. I.e. significant numbers in their 40s and 50s on Mariner as opposed to all “seniors” on Az. Dress code was followed better on Mariner than on Azamara : although there were still some “polo shirts” in the evenings , overall most folk made the effort to dress up. (smart dresses and jackets). So do I prefer Az or Regent...?...tricky...There is undoubtedly something really special about the ambience and welcome that you get on Azamara from all the staff. Does that over-rule the extra space , opulence and free fizz on Regent???? Some repeat Mariner guests told us they thought standards had slipped since the purchase by Norwegian. Read Less