Based on the Regent brand, I was expecting a lot more than was delivered. I have been on other Luxury cruises which far surpassed this experience in every way possible. Even cruises which are lower in the luxury scale have often (if not always) surpassed the entertainment and enrichment series which is so important on TAs with many days at sea. The cabin was acceptable but like the rest of the ship worn and tired. The food was plentiful and certainly looked appetizing. In fact the issue was not the looks of the food or the variety, rather the flavor or lack of it....this was true in all restaurant venues. The one place where the cruise truly stood out is in service. I cannot site one exception - all staff members were courteous, professional and willing to do everything for your comfort. I would give Regent a 50/50 chance of getting us back on board. Read Less

I recently sailed on a trans-Atlantic voyage and a western Med cruise. I had a Grand Suite for the first segment and a Penthouse Suite on the second leg. Both staterooms were equipped with a bluetooth Bose speaker. I enjoy listening to my own playlists on Spotify. If you do too, I recommend that you download your favorites before leaving home as streaming services are blocked once you're on board. The Grand Suite was spacious and it was nice to be able to host a cocktail party for nine. The butler arranged for a bartender and canapes. It was a very nice get together. We also enjoyed the convenience of having a second bathroom. The crossing was very smooth - one of the best, according to the Captain. The itinerary was interesting and featured some nice ports of call. I especially liked Madeira and Cadiz. Would highly recommend this as a wonderful way of getting to Europe. Read Less

Anyone reading my other reviews will know that I am a huge fan of Regent, we have met many lovely people over the years, welcomed them to our hoes and even gone to their weddings. As Cruise Critic makes clear in its own review of the Voyager, the make up of the guests are generally well educated, well travelled people and they choose Regent because they will meet likeminded people. The ship, staff, officers and entertainment were all exactly as I describe in my review of the first half of our cruise. Thoroughly decent, hard working and friendly people who I would happily sail around the world with forever. Why then, you will be asking, have I rated this cruise 'terrible'. The simple answer is that having broken our 17 day cruise in two without telling us, there was also one other fact that Regent had omitted to mention when we booked - which was that they had booked two groups of 250 each on 'corporate incentive trips'. We can only speculate (and Regent has not denied) that there was always a plan to split the cruise and that these two groups were already booked on the Voyager when we booked 9 months ago - that can be the only explanation for limited availability to us and then lots of availability for the first 10 days. So, 500 passengers got off in Miami on 5 March and two groups got on. One group was no problem, well behaved, beautifully dressed although ultimately they were a group and would wear their corporate T-shirts to remind us we were on a corporate trip and did not join in with things like trivia (which went from standing room only to three teams overnight). However, the second group were something else. As I want to ensure that Cruise Critic print this review I will not go into detail about them, suffice to say there was a virtual mutiny aboard especially with the 73 guests who had booked a 17 day cruise and were now trapped on a ship with 250 people on a 'booze cruise'. Guests were demanding meetings with the captain (what could he do?), the corridors being patrolled every evening to try and enforce the dress code, the pool deck became a no go area. There was no mid cruise survey done... Yes we were on a lovely ship, with lovely food (delayed due to our fellow guests ordering everything off the menu in one sitting) and we got to see some lovely places. But it was that feeling of dread coming back to the ship, the frustration of not being able to go to the pool, the worry that any of them would be on an excursion we were booked on. But most importantly it was that feeling of betrayal that this beloved brand that have looked after us so well and who we have such fond memories of, could have done this to us in such a cold and calculating way. Regent have assured us, in writing, that this was a mistake and will never happen again. However, they seem to believe that because we have had so many lovely trips with Regent we can overlook one bad experience. We work very hard to be able to afford the Regent experience and this was a week of our lives and precious holiday time that we will never get back and for which we paid full price. We have come home more stressed and frustrated than when we went which is getting worse by the day as Regent head office bury their heads further into the sand and refuse to recognise the problem. Mistakes happen but the art of good customer service is how you recover from them and it seems that Regent still have that lesson to learn. As soon as they realised the scale of the problem they should have dispatched a senior executive out to the ship to apologise in person and offer those affected something. This is not about money, it is about recognition of the monumental mistake made (or imposed on them from above) and there are many things that they could have done which would have cost them very little at the time. Read Less

Husband and I are in our 50s and been on dozens of cruises - from carnival (in my youth) to Crystal. Many family cruises on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Crystal. We chose this ship because we have been curious about the all inclusive, “exclusive” reputation of this line, we like the size- less than 1000 passengers, and ease of travel to embarkation port was a priority. Had been to most of these islands before(many times) so we hoped to give some business to these special places recovering from hurricanes. The positives: embarkation and debarkation were easy. our stateroom, 703, was large, comfortable bed and linens, great bathroom with separate tub and shower and delicious lavender bubble bath provided. Our cabin steward was fantastic - Victor! As was his assistant. We enjoyed the Mensa and trivia competitions daily and Name that tune, and took home a bunch of loot to promote Regent 7 Seas and boast our success. There was a lot of interest in these activities which isn’t always the case so that enhanced our trip, there is always a jigsaw puzzle going near the library which we enjoyed - I think we finished a dozen 1000 piece puzzles. Daily mah jong was appreciated and we enjoyed the honor system very nice library. Oscars were while we were at sea and many of the nominated movies were available for free in our stateroom. The negatives: we booked our cruise in January so people had already prebooked all of the desirable excursions. Since they are included in the cruise price, this was a big disappointment and you should be aware before booking. We were not told of this problem when we booked our cruise. The other significant issue we had was there was a serious under supply of shaded lounge chairs. On sea days, one would need to get to the pool deck by 7 am to get lounge chairs and never leave for more then 30 minutes or someone could remove your pool gear and take the lounge. I saw numerous conflicts about this. It would have been entertaining except for the price everyone has paid for this experience. Now for the food ...this was so hit and miss. We had a very nice meal in Prime, the steakhouse. An inedible meal in the Italian specialty restaurant. Fair dinner at Chartreuse, the French specialty restaurant. Their snails didn’t have butter or garlic. Imagine that. The main dining room had uneven service and had me longing for the old days when you knew your waiter and bus boy and they took care of you. I guess this is the downside of inclusive tipping. I had amazing fish on this ship. Poor pasta. BAD fruit. I couldn’t believe how bland the melons, kiwis, were and almost non existent berries, which I love. The giant shrimp cocktail were always terrific. The bread never tasted fresh and the deserts were fair. Nice cheeses. There are a handful of tables outdoors off the back of the ship near the buffet. This was the best place for breakfast and lunch. We only went to one show. It was embarrassing. Hard to watch people try so hard and just not have it. The dancing was quite good but then they sang. I’m now seeing why some other lines have the dancers sing along with a recording or lip sync. We traveled with our 18 year old. They had a great time but they are low maintenance and just happy to be there. There was almost no one their age. This crowd is older - 70+. All drinks are included. They made a lot on us in that respect. We enjoyed the wines offered at dinner and husband had a beer during the day. I doubt we would travel this line again but maybe if the itinerary was just right and not available from Crystal or Celebrity. Read Less

Nine months ago we booked a 17 day cruise to the Caribbean and Cuba. There was limited availability - penthouse and above but it looked a really good itinerary and 17 days is a good length of time to meet lots of interesting people. Without notification, Regent split the cruise into 10 days in the Caribbean and 7 days around Cuba. We only found this out because some friends booked for the first 10 days and we could not, at the time, work out why there was now plenty of availability on this segment but not on the 7 days which was waitlist only. This review relates to the first 10 days which were fantastic. I shall post my review of the second 7 days separately. It is important that anyone reading this reads the second half. This cruise went to many of the islands devastated by the hurricanes the previous year, which had quickly recovered. It was a great itinerary and it was good to be supporting them as they rebuilt their homes and towns. We had not seen the Voyager since her make over and she looks amazing. There was a great mix of people on board and plenty of familiar faces - including the captain's double! The entertainment was the best we have known on a Regent ship and the entertainers the friendliest and nicest of people. We were delighted to be sailing with Andy Heath the cruise director and his delightful wife Tammy. Captain Stan was once again at the helm which made us all feel very safe and the General Manager Anatoli is one of the friendliest and most ever present general managers we have come across. The food and beverage team under Director Daniella were so hard working - ever present in every restaurant and bar, with one of our particular favourites being the very hard working Dominic, the Prime 7 Maitre D' who is ever present at breakfast clearing plates and ensuring everyone was ok. Shane in Chartreuse remembered our names and greeted us like an old friend every time we saw her. A big thank you to the medical team on behalf of one of our friends we were travelling with who became unwell during the trip and could not speak highly enough about the care and service she received. There are a couple of small pointers for Regent - the television in the cabin welcomes only my husband and not me despite this being the 21st century; and they are definitely doing something weird with the meat - I see another reviewer has suggested that they are precooking it. It is not a welcome change. The excursions were all great - lovely snorkelling. We particularly enjoyed Dominica which is like St Lucia but not so spoiled by tourism and Puerto Rica which was great and if we had known how interesting the town was we would not have gone on an excursion to the rainforest. Our penthouse cabin was probably one of the best we have had in terms of layout and it was always immaculate and our butler Suraj very friendly and keen to help with anything. Great lectures which were much more applicable to that part of the world than last year - pirates, sugar cane etc. Read Less

The ship was medium sized but it had a great variety of activities and great food options across board. I loved the spa and the casino. The cabin was really spacious and we had a wonderful view and best of all, the price includes air tickets, land and port excursions and all beverages... including the minibar! We loved the service onboard, and don't make me talk about the Wellington steak or that tremendous lobster; we would then move onto "simple" things like grilled salmon or grilled chicken and they were awesome too. We were to several islands that were devastated by the hurricanes last year, and we were stunned to see how fast they were recovering. Personally, I loved the excursion to the rainforest on Puerto Rica, a very pleasant experience (the city is interesting too, we just wanted to go and meet with nature). This was an awesome experience, and I hope we can do this again, hopefully with little us (haha)! Read Less

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BACKGROUND INFO: We have done many cruises on many different lines, Silversea, Seabourn, Azamara, Celebrity, RCCL, Holland America, Paul Gauguin. We have done majority of our cruises on Silversea and wanted to see what Regent was all about since fellow Silversea cruisers spoke highly of Regent. You never know if a cruise line is for you unless you try it for yourself. We live in Florida so we didnt need a hotel or airfare for this cruise, we just drove to the port of Miami and parked across the street from the ship which was very convenient. EMBARKATION: It was a bit slower than usual for a smaller ship but I think that was because we arrived right when 2 buses pulled up filled with passengers from the local hotel. But considering the number of people arriving at the same time, we were process fairly quickly and easily. We stepped on the ship and were immediately greeted with a glass of champagne and were informed that our suites were already available so we made our way to our suite to drop off our hand luggage. CABIN: We had a deluxe veranda, suite 816, slightly forward of mid ship. Room is good size..comparable to the type of room we get on Silversea and Seabourn. This ship was refurbished a couple years ago we were told but there were elements in the room that didnt seem to have been changed. The cabinetry in the bathroom looked kinda old. The room was decorated nicely, but didn’t have a luxurious wow factor. Just nice. The room did lack in storage. There is a nice walk in closet typical of most luxury ships but it lacked storage in the room. Normally in the living area, there are drawers or some type of wall storage , but there was none. No shelving on either side of tv. And below tv, was just a desk, with a fridge on one side and a big cabinet full of glasses which is wasted space. Only 2 tiny drawers in bedside tables. We did like the high and large coffee table in front of sofa as it was perfect both in size and height for room service. Bed was very comfortable, one of the most comfortable on a luxury ship. Water pressure was great and we had fantastic suite attendants who maintained the room. Everything was always perfect. We could hear our neighbors a bit through the walls, which was a first for us. Usually we hear nothing. SHIP: . After unpacking we explored the ship. Its a nice ship and we could notice many of the public areas that had received refurbishment. But there seemed to be a disconnect in terms of style. In some places, it seemed kinda modern luxury, other places sort of French in style...didnt seem to flow well, but was still pretty and ship appeared to be in good condition. We loved the huge pool deck area with lots of chairs. Larger than what we expected but during the cruise we did find it difficult to find a couple chairs together. Pool was always packed and forget about trying to get a lounger in the shade along the sides....folks must get out there early to lay their claim. We also enjoyed that large walking track above the pool and the putting green, shuffleboard , croquet at front of ship. DINING: Food is very subjective but we found the buffets at breakfast and lunch to be lacking in variety compared to Silversea and Seabourn’s buffets. After a couple days we avoided the buffet. Normally for breakfast we ate at Compass Rose which is the main dining room and for lunch we always ate at the pool grill, both were pretty good. Nothing to write home about, but good. They seemed to shine when it came to dinner. Everything we had was very good. I thought the variety on the main dining room menu was better than Silversea and SEabourn. They have one side of the menu of items always available (same every night) and the other side is chefs specials. Food was excellent. It did seem that perhaps they are short handed in the dining room. Service was good, but waiters always seemed worn out and rushed due to the number of tables they were responsible for. The specialty restaurants were Sette Mari, (Italian), Chartreuse ( French)and Prime 7 (steakhouse). We ate all of them and found them all to be excellent! Service was probably the best at Sette Mari. My only complaint is their reservation system for reserving specialty restaurants. You have 2 mos before cruise to reserve a table at Prime 7 and Chartreuse. Once on board the first day, I tried to get a 2nd res at Prime 7 but was told no , that I had to wait until day 3 to ask for a second one. They want to give everyone a chance to eat there at least once. But in my opinion,everyone has had 2 mos to reserve a table, if you fail to plan your cruise, res should open to anyone first come first served once on board. They also are lacking table for 2... mostly big tables and we dont like to share tables. I dont want to meet strangers at dinner. So this was a big negative for us. ENTERTAINMENT AND ACTIVIITIES: Typical of most luxury cruises, its a mix of the ship’s singer/dancers/performers and then random one man shows. We did all the ship’s performers nights but skipped all the other evenings. Their performers are good, but the productions are obviously not of the quality and wow factor of a bigger ship...so it was par for the course for a luxury cruise...entertaining but again nothing to write home about. The only show we skipped was one that was music from before our time. Same with the one man shows ...the content didnt sound interesting to us (46 and 51). The shows appeal to an older crowd, which is the majority of their clientele ...at least on our cruise, the average age was much older. We were definitely one of the youngest on board. We didnt participate in other activities such as trivia, bridge etc...all the usual ones... SERVICE: Regent truly excels here. Service was excellent across the board. We met a lot of wonderful crew members who treated us like gold....felt like we were good friends right from the beginning ! We had dinner one night with one of the ship’s officers and he couldn’t have been nicer. Sometimes, those dinners can be awkward and tedious trying to find common ground to discuss, but it was super easy and fun with him. EXCURSIONS: Excursions are included in price of cruise. We did excursions at every stop except for Grand Cayman and Key West. Excursions were fine, some better than others. OUr favorite was ATVs in both Cozumel and Costa Maya. Our least favorite was Mayan ruins in Belize...that was mainly because of the terrible old school buses they use ...extremely bumpy ride and it was a lot of driving. Couldn’t wait to be done with it. Harvest Caye Belize’s is a private island owned by Norwegian and its fantastic!!! we would love to go back. This place is beautiful with lots to do fo everyone . There’s a huge beach with hundreds of chairs, restaurants, bars, shopping, zip line, water sports....aviary...its awesome!!!! A must do!!!!! Wish we had skipped our excursion here and spent more time on the private island. Read Less

We chose this cruise to give Regent a try. We do about 4-6 cruises a year on premium and luxury lines (Seabourn, SilverSea, Celebrity, Azamara, Paul Gauguin, etc.). We have been watching for a Regent cruise to depart from our local ports in FL and this one popped in and worked with our schedule. Boarding the ship at Terminal J in Miami was easy as usual. Boarding the ship was like the rest, champagne and a warm welcome. Suites were ready right away. The public areas on the ship are nicely appointed with a modern update on the aging ship (completed 2003). You can clearly see where the original features exist and where it has been updated in 2016 in its last refurbishment. For example, old marble, brass railings, heavy hard to open sliding veranda doors, plywood painted cabinets in the bathrooms compared to the modern furniture, carpets, linens and serving items. Soft renovation versus a hard one. Walking through the main areas upon entering the ship gave me hope that the ship had a nice modern style throughout, but entering the corridors and staterooms quickly changed that vision. The staterooms felt like stepping back in time to an old French hotel. The carpet we peeling away from the walls, separating at seams and sofa had stains. The bathroom had the original fixtures which were clean, but the cabinets were simply painted plywood, would close and looked very cheap. The wood in the stateroom was high gloss look and has permanent fingerprints all over. I tried to wipe them off. The size and layout is common and decent for a long cruise. The only frustration with layout was the lack of storage in the room. Aside from the walk-in closet with about 6 drawers there is no other usable storage in the stateroom. Under the sink was filled with extra supplies. The desk area is a fridge on one side and glasses and various other items on the other. You have two small tables on either bedside, but the drawers are too small to be practically used. Restaurants were all decent food wise, but not as good as SilverSea or Seabourn. Steaks are all pre-cooked and just re-fired for warmth and sometimes barely warm. Sides and desserts were better than the main courses I tried. Wine and other beverage selections were quite good. The buffet areas at La Veranda and the Pool Grill are very narrow and get quite crowded. The salad area and cold fixings area food were warm, never kept cold and crisp. Other food in both areas were great. Bars were a lot of fun and most times get good crowds for socializing. Music options are all venues were quite good. Entertainment casts were good, but not like you'd find on a big ship. To me that isn't a bad thing per se. Large ships have bigger budgets and venues were smaller ships often have good talent who work within the smaller venues and theaters. No complaints on entertainment, just observational comparison. At the end of the day it was the amazing crew and passengers that made the cruise for us. Crew was very friendly, service attentive and professional. Passengers were a good mix of ages from 40's on up to still living and most were quite social. Ports of call and excursions were good for the places we visited and no complaints there. I would do Regent again, but I would prefer not to go back to Voyager unless the itinerary is unique and bucket list worthy. We did hear multiple staff say that since NCL bought Regent the focus has been primarily on money and not passenger experience. Miami based cruises get a lot of corporate guests from NCL and crew feel the pressure. Some worry that the few years under NCL has made a dent in Regent's luxury offerings and worry it won't make them better in the long run. Read Less

We booked this cruise as kind of a last-minute getaway for my wife's birthday. Figured what better way to celebrate a milestone than being in St. Maarten on an all-inclusive luxury cruise, right? Here's my breakdown of the ship, crew, etc: Common Areas: Again, I saw no signs of wear - the crew was ALWAYS cleaning, painting, tweaking, etc. - I really can't find fault anywhere.  Seriously.  One lunch at Compass Rose, I saw that all of the LED accent lights were off-white, but one 8' section was light blue.  That's honestly how deep I had to dig to find anything I didn't think was perfect. Dining: Probably the best I've had in recent years.  One evening in Compass Rose, I had an entree delivered that was merely warm.  Just one.  I know this has been a point of contention lately so I was watching out for it, and I really don't see a problem with it at all.  It may be a problem in other venues or in other sections or with other servers, but good Lord, I didn't see it.  All other times, my courses were delivered hot and delicious. I had previously had minor problems with service in the pool grill/bar area.  Well, THAT'S obviously been addressed.  I couldn't finish a meal or a snack or a drink without being visited within 30 seconds asking me what they could bring me.  I guess corporate really is listening.  Pool service went from barely passable to superb between our last cruise and this one.  Kudos, Regent. Crew: I figured it would be good when we were approached by Francisco about 5 minutes after boarding and he said, "Hey, I remember you guys - how are you?"  This was from August '17.  And he remembered us.  He then said, "Welcome home" - and that set the course for the rest of the cruise.  We recognized quite a few staff and crew and they all made us feel very welcome.  Not once did I encounter anyone who wasn't smiling and eager to help.  I usually see about one or two gloomy Gus types on a cruise, but I honestly didn't see a single one this trip.  It was very refreshing. Officers/Staff: We didn't interact much with the staff other than the GM, Davor, who seemed to be everywhere on the ship at the same time.  The man runs a tight ship, literally.  The CD team was Andy and Tammy and they were as chipper and happy as always.  Reception and Destination Services were stellar this time - even when we were in line waiting to ask a question and the guests in front of us kept berating them, they never lost their smiles or professionalism.  I was impressed. Ports: I'll be general here because everyone has different expectations here, but we stopped in Great Stirrup Cay, San Juan, Tortola, Antigua, St. Barts, and St. Maarten.  All I can say is that there will be something for everyone in at least one or two of these ports.  There are still signs of damage from Hurricane Irma on all of the islands, but it's amazing how quickly things are coming back online.  Don't expect perfection, but most of the tourist things are up and running. Excursions: Again, many things to choose from, whether it's lying on a beach, shopping, sightseeing, or getting a bit more adventurous, there's something for everyone.  I did the parasailing, the walking culinary tour, the stingray swim, the ATV adventure, the semi-submersible, and the helmet dive.  If anyone has any specific questions about any of these, I'd be glad to try and answer them. Internet: You're going to hear different stories on this one, so take this with a grain of salt...but after years of me griping and complaining about the internet, it was actually usable pretty much every day for me on this cruise.  Usually a bit slow, but I was always able to get online.  Streaming services (Pandora, YouTube, FaceTime, etc.) were blocked on the standard connections.  I heard that Regent is offering an 'enhanced package' that gives you more unfettered access, higher speeds, and no blocking - for $39/day or something like that.  Wasn't worth it to me. Bottom line:  the full-time IT guy never - NEVER - had a problem logging in and getting internet access, whereas other non-IT people kept saying the internet sucked (or until they listened to me about how to get working again).  You make the call... Summary: Bottom line, we loved this cruise.  We usually go to the Mediterranean or the Baltic or somewhere where the travel wears you down a bit...this one was a 2 hour flight for us.  Honestly, the worst part of the trip was the 2.5 hour drive home from the Charlotte airport.  It's usually about an hour and 40 minutes, but between rain and accidents it was bumper to bumper almost the entire way.  I'd heard horror stories about the Miami Cruise Terminal but we had no issues there at all, knock wood.  We had about a $12 Uber from the hotel to the terminal, the porters got our luggage at the curb, we checked in in less than 20 minutes, and were on board by noon.  We were in our cabin at 1:00.  Smooth as silk. Our butler made us want a butler all the time.  The ship was in fantastic condition, the crew was spot on, food and service were better than any cruise in recent memory.  In fact, this cruise was so good we booked another one for next year in addition to the one we already had booked. My wife's birthday was, in her words "Best.  Birthday.  Ever."  Who can argue with that? Read Less

Our first luxury cruise experience. Came well recommended, and after much research decided this would be good value for a luxury xperience. Even after all that research we were not prepared for the level of service, such a carefree 10 days, surrounded by sunshine and smiling faces (crew and passengers alike). Excellent food experiences, though surprisingly slightly disappointed in Prime 7, but Chartreuse was a wonderful experience. Compass Rose, beautiful, and always delicious, . From breakfast to lunch to Teatime, to cocktails,to dinner, we were spoiled in every way. Our suite was lovely, spacious, and comfortable in every way. Very comfy chairs on the balcony. Ours was the lowest category cabin, but it did not feel like it, the bed was heaven, and it was kept spotless by our by our 2 very sweet attendants, as well as keeping us well stocked with champagne, and anything else we wanted. The fresh fruit in the room was of the best quality. The included excursions were also very good. We picked this itinerary to have a relaxing, luxury experience, and we were very happy, and would definitely consider more cruises with Regent. Read Less

We came with high expectations but they were not met. This is not entirely the fault of Regent Seven Seas but ours in choosing the wrong destination. We have been often on Seabourn, on Silversea and on Crystal so feel able to give a balanced comparison. First off the ship was new, clean and well maintained. As a piece of equipment it couldnt be faulted. So the ship is nice. But it wasn't all good. The mainly Filipino crew were very pleasant and polite. But often things didnt go right--delays and confusion with orders. We think this might be because there might be a shortage of crew for the tasks allocated. It's probably a middle management issue. The food was OK but not superlative but really, it would be hard to have a valid complaint about the food. The entertainment was amateurish and a bit embarrassing at times. The crew tried hard but we were expecting something better. Also there were little bits and pieces found on Seabourn that Regent Seven Seas didnt do. Seabourn usually has live music and a bit of a party as a ship leaves port but on this cruise you could have been on a cargo ship. But the real issue is the itinerary. This is not Regent's fault: we made the decision ourselves although they might have oversold the delights of the ports. You can hardly expect them to point out the flaws--no one would book. But the ports were dismal. Some seemed to be concrete arms around which tacky tourist shops selling the most appalling junk were congregated. The Mayan ruins were not well explained although in our case we used the services of our archeologist daughter who was with us to fill in the many gaps. So the destinations were totally forgetable and I certainly wouldnt bother revisiting any of them. But as I said, that was our choice and Regent can't be expected to turn the ports into something they are not. But be warned. On some cruises we felt we were on a floating mauseleum such was the age of the other guests. But pleasingly here there were a scattering of families with children and people still professionally engaged rather than in their 80s and 90s. So I think there is a need to pick which cruise might attract younger types, assuming that is what you prefer. So in summary, the ship was nice and the food OK. But the little touches that make a cruise were missing and at these prices you'd expect them to go that extra mile. But they didnt. Read Less

We have been on over 50 cruises and have been on all types of ships and cruise lines .My biggest measurement of a cruise is value for the dollar . So if you pay a lot you should get a lot and the same the other way . This cruise line just is not worth what you pay unless you uses everything that is included in the price . There sales pitch is that if you add up all your expenses on a typical cruise that you get a better value . In this case that did not happen . The ship is very nice an very clean . If you are a big drinker of hard drinks and go on a lot of excursions then this cruise line would be better for the cost . The food was always top notch and for dinner there where a great many options that you could have every night . The service is amazing with everyone being very nice at all times . I do love the fact that you can get simple drinks at the pool with out having to use your card all the time . I also find its really had to decide if the small ships with limited people ( nice around the pool ) or large ships with bigger suites for the cost and more entertainment is the way to go . So I guess we will just have to keep trying .... Read Less

Hi everyone: I have previously submitted reviews of our experiences on Crystal, Oceania, Seabourn, and Silverseas. This time we decided to try Regent Seven Seas. We had heard they are the best in terms of overall luxury. At the outset let me say two things: 1. We had a great time on each of these cruise lines. We were fortunate not to have experienced any disasters like lost luggage, getting sick, horrible service, horrible rooms, cancelled cruises, etc. Furthermore, the staff on each of these cruise lines was fantastic. 2. As I'll shortly discuss, my new favorite is Regent. (It used to be Oceania.) But this is subjective. I have spoken to others aboard this same Regent cruise that I am on, and a few prefer Oceania; a few prefer Silverseas, and a few preferred Crystal. Sorry! I know that doesn't help But as a chef on this cruise said: at this point, the differences are small. As he said, on Seabourn there is more free caviar, but on Regent, there is more free lobster tail. You get the picture, I hope. Now, on to the review: I have always stressed the food as the main topic I discuss, and the criterion I use to judge among all these top cruise lines. Your priorities may be different. While Silverseas did offer a choice of pillows that Regent did not, the food on Silverseas was my least favorite among these cruise lines. I had felt that the "expensive stuff"--like lobster, tuna, steaks, etc., was missing on Silverseas. For the amount we paid for the cruise, this was inexcusable. While the food on Crystal and Seabourn was better than on Silverseas, I had liked the food on Oceania the best. I think that I will now have to go with Regent as being best in the food department, but it really is too close to call. It may just be that I enjoyed the choices (menu items) on the 10 day Regent cruise more than those on the Oceania 10 day cruise. Regent recently added lobster tail as a daily choice on their dinner menu. Oceania also offers this. While Oceania also offers sushi and sashimi nightly, I felt it was always "sitting" in it's water as it defrosted, and was not that enticing. The sushi and sashimi on Regent is not served every night, but when it is, it is of a higher caliber. Regent also serves seared tuna pieces quite often, and they are definitely "sushi" caliber. Somehow I enjoyed dinners more on Regent than Oceania despite the fact that Regent does not offer lamb, aged steaks, pork steaks and tuna steaks every night as does Oceania. I felt the nightly menus on Regent were better. They offer more choices and more side dishes. The steakhouse, "7", on board the Regent Voyager is excellent as are the specialty restaurants on the other cruise lines as well. The steaks are aged and appear to be cooked in the same super hot oven that real steakhouses use to get that "crust." However, many guests were not thrilled with the other specialty restaurant on the Voyager, Charteuse. Tea time, however, definitely goes to Oceania. The pastries at Tea time on Regent are simply not as good as those on Oceania. However, Regent has a better selection of cookies than does Oceania. Most days for lunch, the grill is open on Regent, and you can choose from swordfish steaks, tuna steaks, salmon and tuna burgers, pork chops, lamb chops and steaks. This does come close to making up for the fact that these items are not served nightly on Regent as they are on Oceania. Aside from the grill, I think Regent had more lunch choices than did Oceania, but as I said: it's almost a toss up. Breakfasts are all similar: plentiful with the same options. I didn't find much difference. The ships' layouts are quite similar between this Regent and the Oceania ships we have been on. (Sorry, I forget their names, but they should be in my previous reviews.) The room on Regent is larger than on Oceania. And I think I am comparing like cabins. Regent has a separate sitting room with a couch, separated by a curtain, as did Seabourn. The Oceania cabin did not have this. Also, the shower on Oceania is comically small. On Regent, it is bigger and you get a full size bath tub as well. There is much more closet and shelf space on our Regent room than there was in our Oceania room. Service on all these high end cruise lines is the same as far as I can tell. The gyms were also similar. Same for pool and hot tubs, sauna and steam room. Internet is a disappointment on Regent as it was on all the other cruise lines. But, it seemed to at least work in terms of being able to check emails, etc. I seem to remember Silverseas internet being very bad, and Oceania's not much better. Excursions and alcohol, and everything is included in Regent. On Oceania, you have to purchase a beverage package and excursions are not included. My wife found the wine "pours" much more generous on Regent. and, since she bought the wine package on Oceania, this surprised us, since in essence each pour is free--so why wouldn't they pour a more generous amount? Entertainment is similar among the cruise lines whose names I have mentioned. To sum things up: many guests let the destinations dictate which cruise line they took, since they are all so similar, and each shines in a different way. My favorites are Oceania and Regent; my wife loves Seabourn. We were both disappointed in Silverseas. We felt Crystal has declined in recent years. I believe they were sold and this may be why, but they are still a top choice among many other passengers we spoke to. (And, in all fairness, many also like Silverseas.) Thanks for reading, Mike January 2019 Read Less

Just returned from the best Holiday Celebration my wife and I have ever had and it probably was the best Birthday Party I've had since I was a kid. A heartfelt thank you goes out to the officers and crew of the Seven Seas Voyager for 10 wonderful days with perfect weather, outstanding dining and a warm and accommodating setting throughout. The Voyager was everything we were expecting from Regent Seven Seas - having in the past cruised aboard Seven Seas Mariner and Explorer. It was very much appreciated that the Christmas decorations that decorated the common areas of the ship remained up and illuminated throughout the end of this New Years cruise. It extended the feeling of the cruise to encompass the feeling of both Christmas and New Years. Being a 'Holiday Cruise' and a relatively short duration one at that, there were more than a few families cruising with children; from as young as 2-3 years to adolescence. I can't criticize Regent for selling the cabins to those families but I will scold a few of the 'Parents' for not living up to that Title. There were, too often, kids running around Compass Rose, Constellation Theater and even Prime7 and Chartreuse. Similar conduct at the Pool [Grill] or La Veranda was excusable - since that is where children are most appropriate. I'm pleased to say that some parents appeared to control their offspring and I don't recall ever seeing any kids in the Casino or Lounges. The 'Stars' of the Cruise, as you would expect, were the Cruise Director / Social Hostess team of Andy and Tammy who seemed ever present at any and all events aboard, genuinely warm and receptive and made the voyage a dream come true. The Assistant Cruise Director Luci, the Gen Manager Devor and all the other Department Heads kept the ship and the ship's services operating flawlessly. One single concern / suggestion that was raised regarding a specific server in Compass Rose was resolved / implemented discretely by Restaurant Manager Catalin and remained flawless throughout the remainder of the cruise. The nightly entertainment / production show cast was wonderful to experience and additionally a pleasure to socialize with. They are 12 individuals that work hard to appear to be a full Broadway Show Cast. Not to mention their being Beautiful both in appearance as well as personality. The Guest Comedian Bruce Smirnoff's humor was appropriate for the Baby-Boomer audience, maybe not so much for the children aboard - but they shouldn't have been in the theater anyway, but rather in bed. Another excellent Regent cruise. Looking forward to the next one - not soon enough. Read Less

We were on the Regent Seven Seas Voyager for the 10-day Western Caribbean including Cuba. This was our first cruise with Regent and will likely be our last. We wanted to try out Regent (along with other upscale/luxury cruise lines) after cruising with many others. This was our 49th cruise overall. We have cruised on Seabourn several times and most of my comparisons are with Seabourn, since they are both comparably priced and target the high-end luxury cruising market. There were differences between Regent and Seabourn. Most significantly, you get “free” shore excursions included with Regent, while you pay for them separately on Seabourn. We have also sailed on Viking Ocean, where the shore excursions were included. However, on Viking Ocean, the “free” included shore excursions were very limited, usually a 2-3 hour bus tour. Regent had many more free/included excursions in each port. However, these “free” shore excursions are clearly part of the fare. You pay for them in advance. At our port of call in Cozumel, we were to tender in (which doesn’t make sense in the first place, since there is plenty of dock space for up to 8 ships and we are a luxury ship—you would think they would pay for the dock space). But due to “high swells” when we arrived (we didn’t see any—no whitecaps, no swells and I have pictures to prove it), the Captain decided to skip the port. We were scheduled to do the Dolphin Swim & Ride, which would normally be a $129/pp shore excursion. If we were on Seabourn and had scheduled that shore excursion, then the ship canceled the port call, we would be refunded that money. Not so on Regent, since it is “free” with your cruise fare. Well, yes, it is “free” but you definitely pay for it as part of your cruise fare. No compensation, nothing. So Regent makes money by skipping a port (vs. other cruise lines that lose money by skipping a port, since they have to refund all shore excursions). So Regent is financially incented to skip a port. Not to mention that there were 8 other cruise ships in Cozumel and we were the odd one out. So why we were tendering in the first place? I have no idea. Cozumel is an island without a protected harbor. Yet plenty of dock space. So Regent was apparently too cheap to pay for the dock space (even when they decided they could not tender), which is unfortunate. The average age onboard is probably 70-75 years old, which might explain why they decided not to tender in Cozumel. A bunch of old people might have difficulty tendering if the seas had swells, so let’s skip the port and save a boatload of money. Easy decision for the Captain. Bad decision for the passengers who wanted to go ashore. The shore excursions, in general, were poorly managed and not at all what was advertised. You would think for a cruise line where virtually everyone is taking your shore excursion, you would have the shore excursions part down pat. Not so. For example, the times in almost every port were highly variable, with start times and end times varying by as much as an hour from what was originally published. And, due to the high number of guests participating in the shore excursions, the wait times were often excruciating. We once waited over an hour and a half in the theater for our shore excursion to start. Also, what is published for the shore excursion is often not what you actually get. One example was a “Farm to Table Experience” where we were supposed to make a stop at a well-known Havana restaurant, then visit two of the farms that supply the restaurant, then back to the restaurant for lunch. A total of 4 stops. Instead, we skipped the restaurant altogether and went to a pig farm that supplied the restaurant, then had lunch on picnic tables there. Not the farm to table restaurant experience that we signed up for. But because it was “free” there was no compensation nor refund. Very disorganized and very poorly managed, which was surprising. We thought the shore excursions would be top-notch. They were not. On the plus side for the ship, the Constellation Theater was quite nice for a ship this size. Much larger and nicer compared to the show lounge on Seabourn. It is two levels and good sight lines throughout the theater. The production show cast was new for our sailing, yet they were quite good in the choreography and dancing category. The male vocalists lacked power and one in particular (Elliott) was consistently off key (he has forever ruined “Roxanne” for me), but the female vocalists were better. A disappointment is that the opening night “entertainment” was the port lecturer. Many people in the audience either left or fell asleep. Other than the production show cast, which did 4 shows, there were only two other entertainers onboard (a singer and a magician), who each did 2 shows. A prior cruise director filled in (very nicely) for another show when one of the performers could not make it due to the ship skipping Cozumel. The Compass Rose restaurant (main dining) was a general disappointment. Seabourn offers a very relaxed and elegant dining experience. We expected it to be similar on Regent, but not so. The waiters have 24 people to attend and apparently there is no 1:1 assigned assistant waiter, so they are constantly running. Therefore, any special requests were often ignored or simply forgotten. They were simply stretched too thin to provide high quality service. The food was good, although not as good as Seabourn (or Oceania or Viking Ocean or even Windstar for that matter). The buffet was poor, not even as good as we have seen on mid-tier lines like Princess, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. We were surprised by the lack of quality of ingredients in the food preparation. We expected top shelf, like what we have seen on Seabourn. That was not the case. An example was serving Atlantic farm-raised salmon. We would have expected Pacific wild-caught salmon. Yes, it is more expensive, but this is a luxury line and we expected upscale dishes. It was very hit-and-miss. On the plus side, the cheese plates for dessert were generally good quality cheeses, consistent with what we have seen on Seabourn. But the other dishes were generally closer to what you would expect from a mainstream cruise line rather than upscale. The pool deck area is nice with terrycloth coverings on the loungers. They also have a decent-sized gym which was typically not very busy. Most of the older people were laying on the loungers out on the deck instead of exercising in the gym. The sea days were severely lacking in scheduled activities. Probably the best comparison point would be with Oceania (Regent’s sister company), where Regent was consistently underperforming Oceania. On Oceania, there were activities going on all over the ship throughout the sea days. Not on Regent. Again, an older, more sedate crowd. So maybe being 50-somethings left us wanting more. But we expected at least what we had seen on Oceania. That wasn’t the case. No sports other than “unhosted” meeting of players. I went to two of these and I was the only one who showed up. Eventually I convinced my wife to try out the different sports available around the ship (all of which were otherwise vacant), such as ping pong, bocce ball, croquet, shuffleboard, putting, etc. The ship itself is old and showing its age. During our 10 days, we had a problem with the entry door to our cabin (where the latch would not securely lock due to warping of the door), our safe (failed twice during the cruise requiring hard resets from security) and the hose in our shower started leaking, requiring replacement. Stuff is just getting old/dated/wearing out. There is visible rust on the balcony railing. The common areas are dated and some hallways smelled musty. Perhaps this ship is due for dry dock soon and they are just letting things go until then. Our cabin was a good size cabin, similar to a comparable cabin on Seabourn, although Seabourn has much nicer bathrooms and bathroom amenities. Again, Seabourn seems to understand luxury, Regent apparently does not. Even very minor things like toilet paper, on Regent it was the lowest quality, very thin, etc. Small thing, but a luxury hotel would know and understand the difference. As does Seabourn. Regent provides one free Internet login per cabin, which is better than Seabourn (where you have to pay for Internet unless you are in one of the larger suites). It is a little awkward to only have one login, since only one person can use it at a time, but this is definitely a plus over Seabourn. Like most cruise ships, onboard Internet is slow and spotty, so it didn’t always work. But since it was “free” you simply would try again later. And perhaps being free also impacted bandwidth, with all other guests accessing at the same time. Certain high bandwidth sites such as YouTube were restricted access. Both Regent and Seabourn offer free gratuities and free drinks. The quality of the wines offered on Seabourn is consistently better, usually $15-$20 bottles while on Regent they are usually $10-$12 bottles. On both cruise lines, you can pay additional to purchase more expensive wines. Both cruise lines also keep the minibar in your stateroom stocked throughout the cruise. The ship has a free launderette where you can wash and dry your clothes for free, which is nice for a longer cruise such as this. Same on Seabourn. Overall, the cruise line is not a 5-star luxury experience. It is not a Four Seasons nor Ritz Carlton experience. It’s not even a 4-star experience (Hilton, Hyatt). It is more aligned with a 3-star hotel experience such as Radisson, which is the original name of the cruise line (Radisson Seven Seas) or Marriott or Sheraton. Do not book Regent expecting a luxury cruise. It’s not. Read Less

Chose Regent for its all inclusive and luxury claim. While the accommodations were excellent and the food was good the overall pool grill and veranda restaurant service was less than stellar. No table service. Customer must find a table, obtain a tablet umber, the proceed to cafeteria line and place order for breakfast or lunch. Self service only. Many times no clean tables available outside. 20 minute wait for hot dog or hamburger is unacceptable. Ice tea orders taken but rarely fulfilled. Combined liquor and ice tea orders seemed to confuse staff. Lots of service staff running around but little organization. All inclusive luxury does not include caviar. One dolop rationed at Sunday brunch ONLY. At other times caviar available for a charge of $100 to $175. Preposterous!! Embarkation a bit slow but acceptable. Disembarkation very smooth and fast. Only hiccup came upon embarkation where instructions sent us to wrong dock for boarding. Read Less

We had booked a suite high and forward to limit the effects of the vibrations, i was surprised, not bad at all. The ship is smaller so it took me a while to get adjusted to the ceiling height and general smallness of the ship, it needs refreshing and i heard it was due in the near future. The smaller ship gives you a more intimacy feeling. The stewardess were as usual amazing , always smiling and they have the worst job, cleaning up after us. There was a small decrease in quality of the service especially on the veranda. Maybe a very small decrease in the number of staffs The food was very good with a few hiccups, soufflé's are basically warm cake, good but not a soufflé , the pastry/croissant were not as flaky as in the other ships, the french baguette was amazing, the selection of cheeses was very limited, every day i saw the blue cheese, there is thousand of cheeses in the world , could have been better, the food was very good in general The excursions were fine, the buses 70% of them were uncomfortable if you were unlucky on being the last ones on the small bus, you were stuck over the wheel with your knees in your face. The organization for the excursions , checking in was bad, especially when the others ships have a different system, you come in, checkin, they give you a number then you sit until your number is called, here everybody would line up until they called your excursion number, and you do not want to be the last ones on the bus, so most people are standing to get their buses tickets Tenders , especially the first one was horrid , they picked up on it and got better. We missed the meeting of the waters, the negro river and amazon because the ship was late leaving the port by one hour, got too dark, i blame the captain, he should have been more organized or in the morning announce the event by speaker. Overall, a good trip, what made the difference was the speaker Terry Green, she made this cruise, she was terrific , and reading the river of doubt , which narrates the expedition of Teddy Roosevelt down the amazon was also very helpful. The cruise director Andy is terrific as are all of the crew, always smiling and greeting you. Read Less

This was my first Regent cruise. It was chosen for its itinerary and except for one stop, it was wonderful. PROS: Smaller ship means smaller number of passengers, easier to maneuver on board. Crew was exceptional. Everyone, from tender attendants to officers were pleasant and engaged with the guests. They truly made you feel welcomed and special. The 24 day trip allowed you to form friendships with fellow guests and staff. The all inclusive aspect of Regent is a joy. No worries- all is included! Entertainment was top notch. The Orchestra had such talented musicians, the singer/dancers were broadway-worthy and most of the guest entertainers were entertaining. CONS: Navigator has a lot of vibration. I did get used to it but took a few days. One of the shore stops was awful. Boca De Valeria was purely a staged "village" fill of children begging for attention but 8n reality they want you money. I do understand that tourism is important for these people but I also feel that it was a total waste of a day. Another day in Manous or Santarem would have been much better. There were so many sites to see in those cities and only 1 day each was not enough. Overall, I loved this cruise and the Navigator. Looking forward to another Regent vacation!! Read Less

November 25,2018 to the Amazon Very enjoyable, but would not say that the Amazon is interesting.Just another muddy river with very little of interest. In spite of this, the cruise and ports in the caribbean are OK. Ship nice,very clean and welcoming.. We are not entertainment or late night types so the quality of show is not applicable to us.o us. The only short coming is the PRIME 7 restaurant. It brings down the quality of the ship.. The food is bad and we can assure you that most passengers who tried it did not go again.The food elsewhere on the ship is far better. All areas of the ship were were clean and well kept. Drinks were readily available Pool deck nice, not noisy and service excellent. At all times service was superior. Always with a smile, Quick and professional. Unfortunately we contacted bronchitis, so we missed some of the excursions, but the ones we did go on were fine. Read Less

My husband and I were celebrating our 30th anniversary and wanted to have a special event. We had never sailed on a luxury cruise before, and Regent seemed to be the all around best. Mostly it was, but there were some issues. STAFF: Wonderful! Did not meet a single person who was not helpful, friendly and personable. They were all an amazing group. CABIN: Were pleased with the cabin and especially the walk-in closet. Could not get the tub to work. The shower temperature was either cold, lukewarm or super hot. The thermostat for our cabin did not work; the temperature was arctic and I was in sweaters and using the extra blankets. After a week and a half it was fixed. I was surprised by how small the veranda was. The bed was very comfortable. One evening the power to the bathroom and walk-in closet went out. It wasn't fixed until mid morning the next day. EXCURSIONS: Couldn't ask for more choices. The excursion staff ran things very smoothly. MAINTENANCE: The ship had several problems, in addition to the items mentioned above. Our corridor had a water leak. One of the main lounges had a persistent water leak and could not be totally used. FOOD: Overall, our favorite restaurant was the main dining room, Compass Rose. They had a nice standard menu and an interesting special menu each evening. I was very disappointed in the "premiere" restaurant, Prime 7. I was really looking forward to the king crab legs. They were in a huge pile and mostly not legs. Bland. On another evening I ordered prime rib and it was too tough to cut. The afternoon tea event was awesome - really spectacular offerings. The ship barbecue was good. I loved the small ship size which led to making some nice friends. But given some of the problems we experienced, I did feel disappointed that the whole trip wasn't top notch. Read Less

Last time we cruised on Regent was four years ago and it was on the Mariner. This, over three week, voyage gave us about three months total on that ship. Soon after we boarded we checked out the Main Dining Room, The Compass Rose, and wondered if we were on the right ship. We weren't aware that the Mariner went through an extensive refurbishment last March. Quite a change in the MDR, not just in the general decor but with wait staff and cuisine. Special shout out for the wine pairing sommeliers. Now, don't get me wrong, the Mariner was always great, but it was now super. For years now we have listed Regent as our favorite line and the Voyager as our favorite ship. Sure wish we could scratch up the simoleons to book them more often and for longer durations. Cruise lines love to give romantic titles to their cruises, this one was "Havana Dreams, Panama Scenes". I suggest that it should have been the "Hurricane Dodger", LOL. When we left Anchorage, AK we were keeping an eye on a dying hurricane out in the Pacific off the Baja Peninsula in Mexico which had doubled back toward the mainland. Then we heard about Hurricane Michael moving into the Gulf of Mexico, which was likely to prevent us from visiting Cuba. Survived those okay and had an enjoyable visit in Cuba and the countryside there, a great transit of the canal on a beautiful day all the way but then, five days after the canal, we returned to the ship after touring Acapulco, Mexico and found a letter from the captain on our bed explaining that a big, already Cat 5, hurricane was dead ahead of us, Hurricane Willa, and another smaller one coming up from the south toward our present position at the time. In order to put some distance between us and Willa we turned southwest for a day or so then northwest. Eight days sailing non-stop between North America and Maui, 3800 miles, instead of the scheduled six days to cross from San Diego. Our captain had chosen the most prudent course of action which was to bypass the planned ports of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on Tuesday and San Diego on Thursday and instead spend those days at sea navigating our course far away from the storm systems, with a new arrival into Kahului, Maui one day early for an overnight stay. On the way across the Pacific we learned of Typhoon Yutu, which was the largest yet in 2018, it had just hit Saipan and Tinian on the other side of the Pacific from our location. At that time the Accumulated Cyclone Energy, or "ACE," was by far the highest ever recorded, or using that criterion, it was the worst hurricane season on record since records began early in the 19th century. Our extra sea days were due to weather situations, the longest number of those we have experienced was nine and that was also due to an accident, a lady compound fractured her ankle so we had to turn back in order to get her off the ship for medical attention. All total we canceled two port visits due Willa, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and San Diego, Ca, plus one port canceled at the last minute due to political unrest, Nicaragua. Out of that we gained two more "At Sea Days" and another day and a night in Kahului, Maui. Hey, I saw more flying fish that voyage than I've seen in years. But it was all good for us since we love sea days and life on board was exquisite due to Regent's fine service, cuisine quality and on board activities such as that involved with one of my favorite aspects of cruising, the enrichment lectures, particularly those addressing the theme of the voyage or aspects of the area of the world the cruise is taking place in like history, naturalism and geography. On this voyage we had two lecturers, Michael Scott, a botanist and historian and Lt. Colonel Bill Rothschild a NASA Rocket Scientist and engineer. Scott's presentations fit perfectly into the area of the world we voyaged but Rothschild's were very interesting as well. I think they spoke a dozen times each and I attended every single lecture, perfect attendance. Not to mention my sometimes twice daily hot tubs and the wonderful service from the ships pool bar. In a way this was a strange voyage, smooth seas and nice warm days all the way, yet we have were surrounded by hurricanes most of the distance. But all voyages can't be absolutely perfect. We did experience a few glitches, minor as they were. We planned on three formal nights which somehow got changed to two. But the last one they scheduled on the last night of the voyage, which was a port day preceded by six sea days. Nobody plans like that. Neither did they, toward the end they rescheduled the formal night to the last sea day, hurray. We almost always purchase pre-cruise and post-cruise hotel and transfer packages and so we did this time as well. On the pre-cruise hotel, which was part of the cruise package, they changed the hotel on us a few months before sailing, no big deal. But then a few weeks before sailing, after we had received the nice final formal cruise packet in the US mail, they flip flopped again and changed the hotel back to the original. Somehow we missed the email notice of the second change. So ended up in the wrong hotel. By the time we figured out there was something wrong we had already booked into a very fine room in the wrong hotel. Regent determine it was all our fault, so gave us a choice, stay in the wrong hotel and pay for it yourself or move over to the other one which we are paying for. We moved. On the post cruise hotel, the Royal Hawaiian in Honolulu, Regent was right on top of this and changed hotels for us when they discovered Waikiki hotels were just hit with a massive labor strike and the Royal was included. They got us into a very nice waterfront hotel that was not on strike. Good on them. In summation, I realize Regent's prices are pretty steep and going up, so are the other line's prices that we frequent. But you have to say this about Frank Del Rio (FDR)'s lines. The other lines seem to not only be increasing prices but also engaging in a commensurate ratcheting down of overall cruise quality. While at the same time, Regent is enhancing over all cruise quality. Read Less

We chose this 28 day back to back cruise as we had not been to Alaska in many years and all we had to do is fly one way as we live in Florida. We flew to Vancouver and since we had a penthouse we received a free night at the Four Seasons Hotel. Embarkation was easy and after a small lunch in the Veranda our luggage had been delivered and our cabin was ready. Service and food on the ship were superb. We really enjoyed the Veranda for breakfast and lunch and had most of our dinners in Compass Rose. The menu selections were huge and it was always hard to decide on an entree so we usually shared between the two of us. Chartreuse was not our favorite but we enjoyed Prime Seven (especially the whole Maine lobster) several times. The excursions in Alaska were exceptional. We went whale watching (saw hundreds), and loved watching the dolphins play and the bald eagles who were spotted in the trees by our guide. We had a dungeness crab feast in Ketchican (all you can eat)! Two ports were cancelled (Nicaragua because of unrest and Grand Cayman because of Hurricane Michael). Would not want to go back to Acapulco or Guatemala. Mostly life on the ship was great. There was good weather and we enjoyed just sitting by the pool reading or going to lectures and playing duplicate bridge (there was an excellent bridge director (Joyce from Saskatchuan) . Looking forward to our next Regent cruise (Tahiti to Singapore 2020) Read Less

We wanted to go through the Panama Canal. We chose this itinerary because we LOVE Regent - all inclusive, never have to swipe your card or take care of anything. Air arrangements included and taken care of. First class all the way, in shore excursions and transfer arrangements, included a pre-cruise stay at the Kimpton Epic hotel in downtown Miami. Mariner just got out of dry dock in early April, all the public areas were completely redone, and cabins received a minor face lift. It’s a beautiful ship - we were in a Concierge E level cabin, large enough to be comfortable for our 18-day leg of this cruise. Embarkation in Miami was frustrating - computers were down and they could not register us. We sat in the cruise terminal (over lunchtime, so everyone was hungry and Impatient), with little information and only cookies to eat. They finally started to bring out a few trays of sandwiches which were snapped up by the first people they passed - none for the rest of us. We were finally called up by cabin category to have them register us by hand. Not a good way to start our vacation... Our cabin was very nice, although we sailed on the new Explorer last year and this is not quite that nice. This cabin’s bathroom had only one sink, but the shower was large enough and the bathroom worked just fine for us. Ship activities were low-key as the average passenger on this line is retired and does not need on-board climbing walls and surf pools. The pool area has cushioned lounges, a warm salt pool, a couple of spa tubs, and best of all - waiter service from the bar, and an attendant who comes around to clean your sunglasses. I used the spa twice for massages - pricey but very good therapists. Food on this cruise has to be experienced to be believed. It is like dining in a fine restaurant every day. There is a buffet for breakfast and lunch, but also a white tablecloth, fine dining alternative as well. For dinner, there is the Compass Rose main dining room, complete with sommelier, wine stewards, and impeccably uniformed waiters. While there seemed to be more new staff on this sailing (perhaps because the ship just got out of dry dock) who were less experienced, I am sure that will be addressed in the days to come. We did have issues with getting water and coffee refilled, and the wait staff was evidently learning to use a new ipad type ordering system that made ordering slow and occasionally incorrect. Food was fresh, cooked to order, and we typically spent 2 1/2 to 3 hours at dinner every night - we traveled with friends and made new friends as well, so dinner conversation was interesting and lively. Disembarkation was organized and smooth, with plenty of porter help for luggage. We have signed up for a cruise on the new RSSC Splendor in 2020, and look forward to another wonderful vacation with Regent. Read Less

We are long time Regent customers but had not sailed with Regent for two years account a previous problem. In the interim, we sailed with luxury lines, Crystal, Seabourn and Oceania. We chose the transatlantic crossing to try the new (for us) Explorer and because of the price. We also love going to Bermuda. We had an overnight in Bermuda where I chose to wear formal Bermuda attire, of coat, tie, Bermuda shorts and folded over knee socks (picture attached) I was asked to leave the bar as I had shorts on. Next, I experienced the only poor service, rude employee, of the cruise, the reception desk manager. I explained that we were docked in one of the most formal British protectorates in the world and that my attire was local custom, and requested to be allowed to wear formal Bermuda attire in Bermuda. The correct answer for the location was to check with the hotel manager or else make a simple apology. Instead I was given a lecture about local customs and how bad it could be in Papua, New Guinea (loin cloth). Steam was rising from my ears. With my bad experience highlighted I will say that the ship lives up to its billing of the most luxurious ship ever built. There is marble granite and exquisite light fixtures - EVERYWHERE. The overall decor of the ship is no less than 10 out of 10. Words and pictures can't describe it adequately. When I went into a private stall in the restroom I was in an eight foot by four foot marble box. Simply amazing. Service was generally excellent in all dining venues and bars. The ship was not completely full and extra visits to the specialty restaurants were available, especially if you were willing to share a table or eat late. Food in the main dining room, The Compass Rose was excellent. Of all the restaurants we rated Prime 7 as number 1. We did not enjoy Pacific Rim, but we are not Asian food fans so please consider this review neutral there. Overall passengers on the Explorer dressed better than other lines, a plus for us. 80% of men wore jackets at night and half of those wore ties. Our room was a Penthouse which we enjoyed (see below). We enjoy butler service on cruises and have learned to make use of them. Unfortunately, we did not get the best one as service could be slow or forgotten. We spoke with other passengers who had no problems so I must assume that we just drew the wrong one. We went on two shore excursions which were excellent and included. We missed the final port due to engaging in a man overboard search and rescue for a passenger from another ship who had fallen or jumped overboard. So, with all of the great that that can be said about this cruise why only 2 stars? Beyond the bad experience in Bermuda we can say that it boils down to value and inflexibility. Value - we have seen Regent take price increases each year. We chose this trip due to its lower cost and included business class return air from Spain. Backing out, my estimated value for the cruise, we paid just over $500 per day per person for the cruise. Good deal, but a quick check of category Penthouse B cabins this summer will reveal prices that can approach $1500 per day (which include business air). Over the past few year Regent strives to make more and more included. Shore excursions, drinks, specialty restaurants, and just starting - free laundry. To get the full value for all of this you need to take advantage, and most of us don't. And then there is another phenomenon that seems to be more prevalent on Regent than on other top lines. My wife and I call it "forced shopping". On this cruise we had a combined total of $1,100 (USD) shipboard credit. The credit came from American Express, the ship and the travel agent. Regent is"all inclusive" and Since we are not big spa people, and don't partake in top shelf spirits or wine, we have to spend it (or lose it) in the shops. We ended up purchasing lots of stuff we never would have elsewhere. And the shops aren't cheap. Up until about 2010, you were able to visit the future cruise consultant and roll the shipboard credit into a future cruise. That ended and we became free agents in the luxury market. Finally, inflexibility. The shorts incident aside (a perfect example) we found that the staff works from a very regimented script or playbook. One day we told our (excellent) waitress that we were praying for calm seas. She lets us know she was praying for a calm boss. On the last full day, we completely packed early in the morning and stashed the bags under the bed. The cabin steward pulled out the completely full bags and put them on the bed, because - that was what the script called for. In fairness this may be Regent's way of managing service but we found it to be a little stiff. We will be back on Regent but it will likely take 2 years or more. Read Less