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Regent Seven Seas Cruises

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Mediterranean

Europe - Western Mediterranean

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Caribbean - Eastern

Europe - Eastern Mediterranean

Terrible

Excellent

Seven Seas Mariner

Kauai

Boarding started at 4 pm. Luckily my wife and I arrived excactly at that time and stood in line for only 1½ hours to check in. Less fortunate guests who arrived a little later stood in line for 3-4 hours and Regent's staff couldn't care less. Apparently they had some kind of computer problem but absolutely no senior staff/officer bothered to get out among the guests to ease the pain or give information. They hid in their offices.
With some exceptions the staff has an unengaged, mechanical approach to service - having (barely) learned what to say and do but their hearts aren't in it.
The quality of dinner cuisine is generally good. Breakfast buffet is good. Lunch buffet: Neither presentation nor selection is acceptable and the service is lousy. Pool grill serves hamburgers made of frozen industrial made beef patties(!).
But the worst part in our view is the atmosphere and style (or rather lack thereof). At the bar/lounge with the dance floor the pre- and post dinner music is provided by an orchestra - not a band. No singer and the main instrument a trombone(!) with the repertoire to match. The ambiance: Very few guests and a handful of musicians - all half asleep. At the (almost empty) night club the music was provided by an accustic (!) trio who could neither sing nor play.
If you - like my wife and I - grew up as teenagers in the sixties don't go. You won't like it.

Old fashioned.

Our first Regent experience and our last. You already have a review relating to the boarding on this cruise. Wheelchair users given no priority or real assistance. The excursions were hopelessly described for ease/difficulty in walking and the man On the Destination Desk was unhelpful and curt. One fills in a form re mobility concerns and no one takes any notice. Arrangements for meeting and assistance through airports hopeless apart from Heathrow arrival from Venice. It seems as though Regent management are unfit for purpose!
However,not all was negative. The staff were very friendly and could not do more for the guests. Accommodation and food were very good.
It seems as though all excursions are subcontracted to firms over which Regent have very little control, or choose not to supervise. Visit to Durress in Albania a prime example. It was such a dreadful visit, surely no one from Regent could have reviewed the area - no other cruise boats in sight!
When one spends top money for a highly rated cruise it's most disappointing to have to write a review like this.

Amalfi/Sorrento

The cruise was horrible. The ship became nothing but a floating restaurant. Even that was questionable. I asked for Chicken Francese and literally not even their French Trained chef knew what it was even though the company tells me it is a standard item. I upgraded to Penthouse. Butler did not have a working phone for more than half the trip, walked in on a maintenance crew working directly over our bed at 8:30 pm and in spite of my complaining to the manager (who said he could not tell them when to work even though what they were working on which was another room's air conditioning which was known from early morning.) One staffer with a Regent jacket and name tag could not tell me where a bathroom was located because as she said, "I am new here." Service workers such as waiters by the pool could not at all or barely speak English. My friend asked for sparkling water with lime and she got water--no sparkle and no lime. That may not be the end of the world but when it costs over $11,000 a person or $1000 per day per person, I say it becomes important. In my opinion, even the free tours were mostly not worth it. It took several hours driving which made some trips a 10 hour day which included sometimes 2-3 hours on your own. In my opinion, the concierge was a not worth going to for assistance. 99% of the time, he wasn't at his desk and when asking him for something, I could not count on what he told me. There was very bad and obvious lack of communication. Upon final departing, a bus was suppose to move us from one location to another. The Regent representative had absolutely NO knowledge of a bus. Therefore, literally, people with canes, walkers, swollen legs and feet, and just plain tired of walking, set out while the bus sat on the pier, unused and empty. This is the tip of the iceberg of my experience.
In my opinion, customer service on the boat was minimal. BUT what is worse, upon sending a long letter with my experience (which many people had in different forms) and telling the President that I and many others said they would never take another Regent cruise, their head of Customer Relations offered me a $250 per person on board credit. While their letter acknowledged that the cruise had "difficulties" and their letter ignored, therefore ,in my opinion, trivializing the serious points. I don't know about any of you, but after having spent over $22,000 and a trip where truly something bad happened every single day, to offer $500 is so insulting as to leave me speechless. But, their offer, in my opinion, is insight into their lack of dedication to customer service which is little to none and in my opinion their corporate attitude. These are my experiences and opinions based on that. I literally could go on for pages, but suffice it to say, their poor management was on display and I would say, don't waste so much money on them. There are much better things that could be done with over $20,000. I should have bought a car.

Waste of money

we have taken many cruises. 20+. ourr first cruise was on cunards carmania. WE have made 2 crossings on Q.E.2 and a Christmas cruise with our children (6) AND THEIR SPOUSES..WE ARE SEASONED CRUISERS. this cruise was the worst we have ever been on. t he ship was just out of drydock, it was not ready.to sail. furniture in the room was missing. phone did not work for 2 days. no remote for t.v. for 2 days our balcony was not useable for two days because they were washing the boat.water was pouring down and splashing all over the balcony.when they finished the wash down they then started painting the boat,the paint fumes made it impossible to use the balcony. that lasted for another 2 days. when painting was completed they discovered the painters had spilled white paint all over the varnished railing and everything else.they then had to sand the varnish and revarnish all the wood that smell was 10 times worse than the paint.the food was second rate. they could not even make a soft boiled egg.even though we tried for that every morning.omlets were rubbery and chewy,fruit cup full of unripe fruit. dover sole was horrible. I could go on forever,it never got any better,even after speaking to general manager Mr Davor Josipovic. our stateroom was lovely,the balcony was also large,our butler was good. bad experience top tp bottom

bad cruise

Actually I was pretty nervous taking a trip like this but after we arrived at the airport in Monte Carlo,  we were met by young professional Regent employees who quickly set our minds at ease.   The pre cruise stay at the 5 star hotel was flawless and the breakfast the next morning was fabulous.   As we entered the restaurant that was right on the Mediterranean, we could see our ship the Mariner.....what a sight.

  I really enjoyed the way we were taken care of by all employees on the Mariner.  Our room was beautiful with a very nice balcony.  There was a beautiful basket of fruit and champagne as we entered the room.  Also a big welcome to Bob and Beverly on the TV monitor.   

The food was delicious and lots of it.  We could visit any restaurant and sit anywhere we chose.  And hey.....no tipping.  It's all included.  You're not "nickeled and dimed" to death.

The tours we took were terrific.....usually took most of the day, but well worth it.  On returning from one of our day long tours, we were met by the welcome back band with stewards all around handing out glasses of champagne.  What a good time.

We took the 7 day Mediterranean Cruise that allowed us to see a number of cities in Italy, Croacia, and Greece.  That overview then allowed us a number of places we could revisit  later on.

Terrific cruise!!!!  Our next one will definitely be on Regent.

Pure Luxury.....It's all included!!!!!

We chose this particular cruise because we wanted a cruise without the need to fly to and from the ports. We live in southern Switzerland and rented a Hertz car (at the French side of Geneva airport) and drove to Monte Carlo. The reason for renting in that specific location was to avoid the huge drop charges which are incurred by returning a car to another country. We spent two nights pre-cruise in Monte Carlo, staying at the Port Palace Hotel. The hotel was lovely, with a nice harbourside location, yet close to everything in Monte Carlo (well, it is a small place!!). However if we do this again I would definitely pay extra for a room on the 4th or 5th floors to get a better view. Ours was on the 2nd, and we had a great view of the huge yachts moored in front of us, but not much else. We booked on a B&B basis, and the breakfast was very nice - on the 6th floor with super view!! The hotel also has a lovely terrace bar where we had our apEritfs both evenings. 
We sailed on Wednesday 7th April. We pre-booked a taxi through the hotel and it came right on schedule at noon. About 12.05 we were in the queue waiting to present our tickets and passports to the Security desk. Boarding was slow - I would guess there were 30 people ahead of us and since the actual security check was at the top of the gangplank it took time. We were directed to the Constellation Theatre for check in which went smoothly and fast. By about 12.45 we were seated in la Veranda for lunch. 
We have not been on board the Mariner for two years and we were really pleased with the re-decorations we saw, especially in la Veranda and the Compass Rose (and by the way, I would love to have a set of the la Veranda china at home! It is lovely!!) Another thing I noticed was that the pool was kept full, even when we were in port. For those of us who did not get off the ship very often, this was lovely, even though only one or two people swam - the weather wasn't that warm! 
By about 2.45 we went to our suite and were greeted by our Stewardess, Regina. This is the first time we have been in a non-Butler suite for years (husband was economising last year when we booked!!) and I must say I was worried about the level of service. I need not have been. Regina was superb and looked after our every need. She immediately re-did our bed and installed two duvets instead of the one. I think it would be nice if there was a "Stewardess Form" for us to complete before boarding, telling what sort of bedding we would like. I asked for a bottle of Mumm's Cordon Rouge instead of the "mousseux" that had been in the suite and also a bottle of Johnny Walker. She brought them right away. 
The new Interactive TV is wonderful...once we found out it was there and then learnt to use it!! 
There were around 50 regular posters from the Cruise Critic boards and their spouses and families on board, and with the help of another "CC-er" I had amassed a list of names and suites. On the first evening I met the Cruise Director, Dionne Lochner, and told her that I would like to see her the next day about organising a cocktail for us all. She said that she would handle this and did. The next day she rang, and told me that the F&B manager would be calling me in a few minutes. I then had a call from Davor Manager of F&B, who sorted out the party. His reply to the request was not "why" but "when would you like it?" and that attitude to me sums up all that Regent is, and why we sail with Regent The party itself was on the third night, right after the Captain's welcome (delayed because of long port stays in both Livorno and Civitavecchia to allow lots of touring). It was held in Stars, and the Captain, the GM, the Cruise Director and other senior crew attended. We all really appreciated this chance to meet face-to-face. It was a lot of fun and many thanks go to Davor and his team for setting it up!! 
We had dinner the second evening in Signatures with "Orpington T" and his lovely wife, Barbara, and son, and daughter-in-law. Lots of fun and superb food and wines. The following night my husband and I dined at Prime 7 - our first opportunity to do so. We just loved it!! The food was terrific - we had lobsters - and it was nicely presented. Finally that space has an identity and offers a great treat to all. (Especially to us since we live in Europe and Maine lobsters are not at all easy to come by! Apparently Prime 7 has a tank of live lobsters - wow!) We asked the next evening if there was any possibility of a second reservation on any other night...and to our glee secured a table for 2 at 6pm on the night before we arrived in Venice. Other evenings we ate in Compass Rose and enjoyed each dinner. One night there were Soft shell Crabs as a starter. We love these and cannot get them at all where we live. I mentioned this to our waiter, Angel. He arranged for us to have a special lunch of "Soft Shells" the next day in the Compass Rose!! 
The overall quality and presentation of the food in all three restaurants (we didn't eat dinner at la Veranda) is excellent. The choices are wide, and you can always ask for something that is not on the menu, such as Filet Mignon with BEarnaise, and we did! 
This cruise was very port-intensive. Most people left the ship for most of the day, yet all day long Dionne and her team offered things to do. I participated in a Putting Competition. We attended Tea Time Trivia almost every day. It was the most fun when Dionne ran it herself! She managed to take the "nastiness" out of some of the competitiveness and everyone had a great time. We didn't do too many excursions since I was not feeling 100% as a result of a respiratory infection I had contracted before leaving Switzerland. Nor did we attend any of the shows...early bed was better! We did visit Capri - our excursion was"Capri on the Lighter Side" - had a good guide and spent a lot of time in (planned) shopping and had a nice lunch at la Palma in Capri Town. We also took an excellent tour in Kotor - "Kotor and the Bay of Kotor". Our guide, Bruna, was most informative and we learnt a lot about Montenegro, the former Yugoslavia and especially Kotor. My husband took a walking tour of Dubrovnik. I had planned to, but was too tired so stayed on board. He said that was very good as well. In Venice we did not take tours but went on our own via vaporetto to Torcello for a wonderful lunch at the Locanda Cipriani, a special favourite of ours. I should also add that our arrival in Venice, in pea-soup thick fog, was very disappointing to most on board. Nothing could be done about it, of course...and the seamanship demonstrated by Captain Felice Patruno and the pilot was really impressive. At one point we could hear children shouting "ciao, ciao" but could not see them!! We have arrived in Venice by ship before, so we know what we and all the others missed... 
Disembarkation was amazingly smooth. I had expected total disorganisation but instead we were told we could leave (since we had our own travel plans) at any time we liked. We strolled off the ship at 8am, found our luggage with the help of a charming port representative - there were two ships disembarking at once! - and then took the free shuttle to the Piazzale Roma, arriving there just after 8.30am. Hertz had just opened up and by 8.45 we were leaving Venice for the autostrada and were home in under six hours... Two days later we dropped the car in Ivrea, thereby avoiding some 800 EUR in drop charges!! Of course this was also the disembarkation that was dramatically affected by the Volcano and air travel crisis. We were not involved but we have read since of all the wonderful things that Regent did to ensure that its air passengers who were affected were well looked after. 
It was a wonderful cruise, made more wonderful by the crew: Our stewardess Regina; Cruise Director Dionne and her assistant Chris; Captain Felice Patruno; Maitres d'Hòtel Delfin and Rommel; waiters Angel and Gerry; Wine Steward Ivan (whom we knew from the Navigator) and last but not least, Helga from Destination Services. Look out for them all when you are on board...they will not disappoint you and neither will Regent and the Mariner! 
I only have one criticism - there were lovely lilies in all the lounges - Horizon Lounge, Observation Lounge etc. I love them but they do not love me (and others as well, I think!) Somehow they make me sneeze and cough!! Perhaps a choice of other flowers would be safer. 


In spite of a full ship, standards are hgher than ever!

We had a great experience on this cruise and felt that we got real value for our money. The mood on the ship was positive and upbeat. We met some great folks from this board and had plenty of enjoyable dinners and conversations. 
Food and Wine - This was an area that really shined. The service and quality of food on this cruise was exceptional. Chef Cornel's menu selections were superb incorporating many old favorites (soft shelled crab, dover sole, beef wellington) as well as more local flavor (Greek poolside buffet, for example). We had many poolside buffets and they were all very good quality (Pasta buffet with an amazing large Tiramisu prepared in the largest paella pan I have ever seen; Indian curry, Greek, Mexican, etc). The wine selection was exceptional. We met a wine steward named Emmanuel early on in the cruise - he was fantastic. We loved every wine he suggested and he is a very pleasant individual - a great asset for Regent. Lots of "new world" wines served.On this cruise, I tried a number of selections from Chile - all really good. 
La Veranda, Compass Rose, Prime 7 and Signatures were all superb. I would have to give the edge to Signatures over Prime 7 although we enjoyed our meals very much in both venues. Service in all the venues was prompt and pleasant even though we had a full ship. Most notably, great service from all Compass Rose staff, Prime 7 (Kerti, Chimi, Dinur(sp?)), La Veranda (Sylvester - Thank you). The F & B Manager (Davor) was very visible asking passengers for feedback and checking in with them regarding their food. Pool Grill service was great as well. I love the PG menu on the Mariner and we ate there several times post excursion. One issue I noticed is that on a full ship the space in front of the buffet line in La Veranda gets really tight - this space as it is configured is not ideal. 
We had two "special" dinners in Compass Rose with our new CC friends - One was a curry dinner organized by Hambagahle and another one that arose during conversation at the Indian Curry dinner - we had an Indonesian menu for the second dinner (gado gado, soup, rendang curry and nasi goring). We had dinner with Elsa (social hostess), the Captain and other guests on the Captain's Farewell evening. Met some new friends that we have since been in touch with. Captain Felice is a very charming man. 
Cabin - Our cabin steward Marte was fantastic. Keep in mind that the safes in the closet are much smaller than those on Voyager and Navigator and will not hold a small computer. 
Excursions/Destination Desk - This was a port intensive itinerary and we grew tired quickly. We skipped one port (Olympia) and just enjoyed the ship that day. I am of mixed mind regarding the new included excursions policy. Some of the excursions were very, very good, others so so and still others were really bad so it is a bit of a mixed bag and this would likely vary with people's preferences as well. I had two minor suggestions in this area - 1) the timings for many tours were off by 1-1.5 hours so it was not possible to do two tours in a day in many stops. 2) Please have the disembarkation transportation fare options in line with local rates. For example, shuttle by coach bus to the airport was listed at $139 pp while local taxi rates for up to 4 persons was more in the range of 50-70 Euros. 
Most of the Destination staff were really lovely (Thank you Alejandro) but a couple of times they were not - likely due to a really full ship and many demands for changes, etc. 
Ports/Tours - I am happy to provide more detailed info on the tours we did - just ask. 
Livorno - We did Highlights of Lucca - You could do this one easily on your own. Sorrento - We did Capri on the Lighter Side - Mixed review. We were left on our own from 11:30-3. It would have been nice to have a "return at your leisure" option for this tour. Would also like to see a shopping tour (gastronomic or fashion) for this port. Rome - We did the Rome Panorama - it was very good Taormina - We just took the shuttle in and wandered around. Corfu - We did the Panoramic here as well. It rained this day a lot and my recollection is that we spent a lot of time waiting for the bus to depart from different stops Olympia - skipped this one Montenegro - Great bus tour - 25 hair pin turns - Good tour company - loved the sail in/out of this port - timing was off for this tour Sarande, Albania - We skipped this one. Many folks said it was quite depressing. Dubrovnik - We did Dubrovnik Riviera - really well done tour but the timing was quite off Venice - Unfortunate we encountered dense fog upon entry into the Grand Canal so we missed this. We did the St. Mark's Square tour and we missed most of it trying to visit hotels to make arrangements for the next couple of days. 
Reception - Great attitude, very helpful. Alistair is a very good Executive Concierge and went out of his way to help us make our final disembarkation arrangements. Alistair noted any special requests and always had great follow through. Brian, the Cruise Consultant is a very nice man. While we did not book another cruise onboard, I had a couple of really nice and informative conversations with him - an asset to Regent. 
Coffee Corner - This is a really great spot. Marcelino and Kerti were exceptional and we met lots of great folks just hanging out here. Best espresso machine on the ship is behind the bar in this area. Mariner had a great supply of bestsellers, DVDs, and games. 
Tea Time - Very well done. 
Entertainment/Daily Activities - Won at trivia a few times. Dione and Chris (CD and Asst CD) were fantastic on this cruise. They brought plenty of enthusiasm and connected will with many of the guests. We only went to a couple of shows and these were fairly mixed. This is one area that still needs work in my opinion. Again, people's personal preferences would likely drive their satisfaction in this area. We were also fairly tired so ended up skipping several shows. Ballroom Bravo was great but the Broadway was not. One exception is a new singer to the Regent lineup named Melanie - she can really sing and I enjoyed her performances a great deal. My suggestion would be to start the shows a bit earlier during port intensive itineraries. I also missed not having a Block Party. 
Lesson Learned - Book Regent's Air. Pay the deviation to select your own carrier and change of plans if you want to make changes. Due to the Volcanic Ash crisis, things were fairly chaotic onboard the last evening. They really did take care of stranded people booked on Regent Air and did so very well. They could have provided better information to all disembarking passengers but my sense is that the crisis was evolving as was their response. We had made our own arrangements and after a couple days stranded, we made it home. 
Thank you Regent for providing us with a memorable holiday. 



Mainer April 7 - A Great Cruise

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