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Seven Seas Mariner

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Two years ago, my wife and I with three other couples enjoyed a GREAT cruise on this ship. 

Accordingly, another couple and ourselves chose to repeat our positive previous experience with this 16 day cruise.  Spoiler Alert- Big big MISTAKE!  Very little worked on this so called "Luxury Experience" .  It is quite obvious that the "bean counters" at Regent have decided to squeeze every single dollar out of every single cruise and then let the customer "suffer" their decisions.  The problems began with the so called "Free" Airfare.  This is nothing more then a marketing ploy as the cruise fare is increased by $ 300 per couple if you decide to take their "Free" airfare.  Regent's response, when questioned, it that if you do not take the "Free" Airfare they will credit $ 150 pp.  So much for the "Free" Airfare!.  We decided to upgrade our flight to LAX via First Class @ an upcharge of $ 699 pp.  When we finally received our flight information we found that Regent had booked 4 Senior Citizens to fly out of Miami on a 6:30AM flight to Chicago!  Yes... fly to Chicago in mid-winter!  We would have to get up at 3 AM in the morning to try and catch that flight.  Really!  When we objected, our travel agent finally had Regent offer us a 9:30 flight from Miami to Orlando and then to LAX.  Somewhat better but that "new" flight was @ a $350 per couple upcharge!  We declined and made our own First Class flight to LAX.  Regent included a one night stay at the" Beverly Wilshire" Hotel which was fine.  After checking in we were told that Regent had a "Hospitality Suite" available for all information about the next days travel to the ship.  The so called "Hospitality Suite" offered NOTHING in the way of either Food or drink!  Not even a bottle of water!  The Regent "representative" could answer none of our questions except to say that our luggage should be ready to be picked up at 7:30 AM and we should meet in a Hotel Ballroom @ 11:15 AM.  The "free" included breakfast was not offered in the Hotel's restaurant but instead was a buffet-style "Holiday-Inn Express" type of breakfast.

Shame on "Regent" for that!   The buses to the ship did not even arrive until 1:30 in the afternoon!  Regent"representative offered little information except to wait.  

Arriving at the pier involved another l o n g wait.  Once on the ship we again had to wait even though our quarters were supposed to be ready at 1:30 PM.  No apologies were offered for the delay!

We heard through the grapevine that the ship was inspected by the Coast Guard that day and experienced some "difficulties".  In addition, many of the crew's contracts had expired and they were leaving and a new crew had come onboard.

       Many of the "new" crew were in-experienced and it showed.  They just did not know what to do.  Breakfast in "Compass Rose" took close to a hour and 45 minutes.  Two years ago at breakfast, you were immediately served juice and coffee/tea and a server came right offer and offered Muffins/Pastries.  Now, we waited and waited and waited.

Finally, we were served Coffee/Tea and then waited some more to juice.  The server offering pastries/muffins made only a single pass at the table and did not return.  Each morning we had to ask our server what the Breakfast "special" was.  They either did not know or were instructed not to offer that information.  Orders are transcribed via Tablets and mistakes (missing orders) were common.  Coffee refills had to be requested.  An order of Smoked Salmon and a Bagel resulted in being presented with a single small scoop of cream cheese.  You had to request more cream cheese or ask for a triple serving of it when ordering.  Head Waiters tried very very hard but were totally overcome3 by problems/issues with the kitchen and the inexperienced staff!  Breakfast service at "Compass Rose" was overall a failure!

     Our quarters were excellent as was our Butler and Steward!  Kudo's to them!

    Dinner at "Compass Rose" matched that of Breakfast except the food quality overall was fair at best.  We dined 5 nights at the "Pacific Rim" Restaurant and overall both the food and service was excellent.  The steakhouse. "Prime" featured quality food and excellent service also.  As to the French "Chartruese"... forgetabout it!  Poor food and even worse execution.  Service was even worse as demonstrated by our request for Onion Soup.  Both "Chartruese" and "Prime" share a kitchen with two separate lines working.  Onion Soup is offered at "Prime".  Two of use requested Onion soup at "Chartruese" and were told NO!!!.   No exceptions..!!  Way to go Regent!  We never went back to "Chartruese" with their poor food.  

      As to the cutbacks- portion sizes have been cut back... obvious to us was the fact that previously when ice cream was ordered as a desert, you received 3 scoops plus a cigar shaped cookie (a "Pirouette"".  Now, only 2 scoops and no cookie!  Cost savings are now the norm and not the exception as to both the quality and quantity of the food.  An example of the cost cutting is the fact that on one night dinner was ONLY served on the pool deck as a buffet.  ALL other Restaurants were closed so either eat at the buffet or order room service.  There is little question that this "move" by Regent saves them money overall.  At dinner, I like to be served and help myself to a buffet.  

     Overall, the crew is very very nice and helpful.  However, here again, Regent drops the ball.  One night a notice was placed on our bed that "Painting and Varnishing" of our deck were take place the next day.  We returned to our room and noted one crewman was entering our cabin with a paint bucket/varnish materials.  We followed him in and noted another crewman working on our deck and they finished shortly afterwards.  However, they had left the doors leading to the deck open, so our quarters were both hot and humid as well as smelling from the paint/varnish.  I called to complain and was told it would not happen again.  Two days later, in the late afternoon, my wife was napping, and I was shaving.  Our curtains were open and I then noted a crewman on our deck, varnishing.  I chased him away and again complained that our privacy had been compromised.  I received an apology again but clearly this is no way to treat a passenger.

I do not expect perfection in an imperfect world.  However, if I am paying top dollar for a cruise experience, ( over $ 30,000 in this case) , I do expect more then we received from "Regent" on this cruise.  In speaking to other repeat "Regent" passengers on this cruise, I found my experiences not to be that unusual.  The conclusion reached appeared to that "Regent" has changed... sadly, not for the better...

"Bean Counters" in charge + inexperienced Crew makes for one forgetable cruise!!

We have cruised for a number of years with different cruise lines but promised ourselves that one day we would try one of the supposed most luxurious cruise ships. After much research and saving we decided to try Regent Seven Seas Explorer and booked the Mexican Riviera to Panama Canal cruise.We flew to Los Angeles and were transferred to a 1st class hotel for the first night bit of a shock in the bar 2 beers $48.00. We were informed to be downstairs by 11am for coach transfer to ship but then waited 1 1/2 hours for collection which I considered very poor. On arrival at the port we had another wait of over 1 hour before we could book in, this was the worst book in of any cruise we have ever been on and was starting to wonder whether we had made the right decision to cruise with Regent, later on board we were told this was due to a customs inspection of the ship if we had been told the reason for delay a number of passengers would not have been so angry. We eventually got on board and went to our cabin 1409 which was a D grade Concierge. The cabin was presented immaculately with a wealth of cupboards and hanging space for clothing, the bathroom had a bath and large walk in shower. The balcony was large with very comfortable reclining chairs.Our cabin stewards were excellent even going to the trouble of decorating our cabin on my Birthday with balloons and happy birthday banner, a large cake and champagne was also supplied. We ate in all the restaurants while on board and the standard of food and waiting service was excellent as was the menu and the best of any ship we have ever sailed on. Due to the low number of passengers only 750 only one show at 9.30pm was performed but at no time was it necessary to get into theater early to get a seat, we walked in a 9.25 and could always find a good seat. The production shows were 1st class as was the guest entertainers. Most of the many and varied excursions ashore are included and of a good and interesting nature, a point to note that a few trips have a supplement to pay but check once on board and a very similar trip may have been added which is included but was not shown when booking. The bar staff again were excellent and no matter what drink or cocktail you wanted it was available.It would be nice if a day room at a hotel was included on disembarkation as you have to leave ship at 9am and in our case our flight was not till the evening a hop on hop off trip of Miami was included but was poor and once completed at 1pm waited a further hour for luggage which was stored by the bus company. One day I will hopefully cruise with Regent again as we will always compare other ships to this which will be a very hard act to follow.

Excellent way to travel 

Liverpool

This is only the second time that I have composed any dialogue regarding our many cruises around this unique planet. 

This cruise, on Regent SS "Explorer", was chosen by us more than two years ago. It takes a lot of discussion, a lot of planning, a lot of 'buyers' remorse, a lot of tender anticipation before deciding on the correct fit that an Ocean Going Cruise will make. 

Two years ago a significant birthday, for myself, was looming on the horizon and the two of us (TC2 and myself) wanted a cruise that would meet the requirements of that birthday. Since my birthday, by default, had two distinct dates ( another story, another time) the 2019 Explorer Cruise from Santiago to Los Angeles would be a perfect fit for both dates.

Since we live in the northern area of the USA it can and does have very obtuse weather conditions during the winter. Our weather assumption, unfortunately, proved correct and caused us to change flights, incur unexpected hotel stays and invoke extra costs to an already expensive cruise. But, if we did not accomplish this we would never have reached the ship on time for embarkation.

Taxi scams at the Santiago Airport added more frustration to our journey and being 'World travelers' we should have known better.

The flight from Dallas/Fort Worth to Santiago, Chile. was made on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Comfortable and on time flight but we would never have made that flight had we not changed out flight from Vancouver to be one day earlier. However, our luggage arrived with us and having that not happen more than once, we were surprised.

Boarding the "Explorer" ship and climbing the gangway to be greeted with a Champagne "Welcome Aboard" is always exciting, even though we have done this so many times. We have told each other, "do not take it for granted".

We were, indeed, fortunate to obtain a 'Master Suite' due to a last minute 'upsell' which we offered to accept. It is a fine example of what Regent can put into a luxury ship. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms (one full) and a deck that commands more than 180 degree view as well as an expanse that would accommodate a Rothchild party. Put this together with Butler Service and it would be hard to find an equal.

It just so happened that the "Discovery Channel" camera crew were on board with us filming for one of their episodes of "Mighty Cruise Ships". In order to cover the complete ship they need to film a Butler served dinner service en Suite. We were innocently chosen to be the couple that was provided this service. The episode will not air for about eights months but it certainly should be interesting and also give a boost to Regent.

The Discovery Channel film crew attended my birthday get together. Balloons, festoons and canapes together with a full Marzipan cake for me and an Opera cake for TC2, baked by the Regent Pastry chef, all made it a Happy Birthday and unforgettable memorable occasion.

The crew is always our second family and we look forward to greeting each one of them on our regular Regent cruises. General Manager, Massimo, met and greeted us as we boarded the ship and made sure that attention, care, service and safety were all prime. We particularly enjoyed being invited to an Explorer Suite on Deck Eight where we met and became extremely close with the guest of that suite. We also were fortunate to join, for cocktails in the Explorer Lounge, two outstanding guests, 'Master and Madame Echo'. 

I would like to comment on some items that Master Echo has reported on in his cruise critic review.

1) Electric cut off when you leave the suite. This items is about par for most hotels. I presume it is a method of conservation. However, since the ship provides its' own electricity you would think it is not necessary. It is most likely a safety item especially for batteries and chargers that are left plugged in. Because we don't want to keep putting the card key into the slot each time we enter we chooses to use either a cardboard or stiff paper insert and leave it is as long as we "own' the suite. It works fine for us.

2) Cabin cleanliness. I was surprised to learn that some funnel smut had collected in the room and also that a solitary and wayward grape had not been cleaned away. For our own experience we have found housekeeping to be above par but understand that some items can be missed. Where's that 'white' glove?

3) Vibration. Like individuals, we are different. So it goes for ships. We expected big things from Explorer when she came out. "This one is not going to vibrate and she is not going to have dischordent frequencies. She is going to be so stable you won't know your on a cruise!" Obviously not so. Every ship, again like ourselves has its' idiosyncrasies. They all creak, they all sway and they all have haunting vibrations. A super example of this is the "Navigator". It has always had problems. They have 'fixed' it several times, but it still has problems. If you 'fix' one frequency in one place it transfers to another. That is the ship world. Given the amount of weight on the Explorer, with glass, marble alloyed Prayer Wheels, etc. etc. it is a wonder that she even got our of Italy.

3) Water quality. Water quality on the ship is always a concern. It is conserved and osmetically re-cycled. Problems to emanate from rusty boilers but while it is unsightly it does affect the cleaning power. Personally, I found the shower water to be so clean that it left my shampoo squeaky clean. Most people do not realise that 'conditioners' change the structure off the hair and eradicate its' history. I do not think you can get away without putting chlorine into a swimming pool. It is ubiquidous. I found the Infinity Pool to be quite strong with this additive.

4) Gratuities. Regent classifies itself as "All Inclusive". Therefore you should never have to dig into your pocket for anything. Coming from the U.K. I am very stingy. I work for my money, I get a salary, I do expect anything else. The early coffee house in Britain in the 17th Century gave rise to the TIP. (To Insure Promptness) It has now grown, due mainly to American influence, some that is not just expected but demanded. It seems that if you do not give a 'Tip' you are embarrassed and the worker relies on this embarrassment. Regent contracts their employees. Their employees get paid well for what they do. Nowhere in the contract does it say, "Thou shalt receive a tip or extra awards for doing your job". Should you wish to contribute to a crew 'welfare' fund then do so, but you can do it without be embarrassed by it.

I was extremely upset to see a head-waiter canvassing every table in Compass Rose, on the penultimate night, shaking hands with each customer and instructing them to make note of his name in the 'Comments' report. It was also noted that some exchange of dollars was taking place.  

5) Explorations. The Ships' Destination Services has historical problems. Each of the port and each of the tours brings it's own problem. Dealing with contractor busses, variable languages, countries, ethnicities, safety, reliability, comfort, needs a lot of tact and experience. Transform this into on-board guests who always want to be first in the line at the supermarket and it can be a bee-hive to avoid. But, seeing the world and it's history is why we cruise. Patience!

6) Internet. On board Internet is almost a permanent failure. Contacting Satellites hovering 25,000 miles above the Earth is expected but cannot always be justified. Nature is, however always present. Climate, Gravity, Sun Spots and a myriad of galactic and global influences have a big influence on our Internet system. Just like the movies, we expect instant response but even electricity takes time to get from one place to another. Again, it pays to be patient and through in a little levity. I just wait until I get home.

Just a word or two on Dining. The Pacific Rim on Explorer was a new and exciting addition. Being our fifth cruise on Explorer we had eaten in Pacific Rim several times. It took us four or five of those visits to finally grasp what the menu is about. Now, when we attend, we know what it is that we like and we  have adjusted ourselves to the Asian Infusion method that type of cuisine. Service is always impeccable as provided by mostly Russian servers.

Happy Birthday

Yes, this is a beautiful ship. Cabins have loads of storage room, food is wonderful, and the drinks never stop flowing, Actually, the amount and quality of liquer available is incredible.  Pre dinner cocktails are accompanied by appetizers, and that is shortly after 4:00PM tea time.  so much foodi.

BUT,shore excursions are not the highlight. FOr most ports, staying aboard is preferable. most excursions begin with at least an hour bus ride. now these do enable you to see the countryside, but after that the feature of the excursion still is disappointing. 

all of the onboard staff is so observant and always cheerful.  THeree is always someone cleaning and polishing .

the entertainment is  ok. the production company is made up of very talented young people,who have been given less than spectacular material.   WE especially enjoyed the house bands Dixieland presentation the last night. 

Heard only positive comments about the lecturers on board.Cooking class was fun,and there are many activities during the day if you wish to participate.  current movies are offered in the theatre with popcorn!  SEating in the theatre is poorly designed. it is nearly impossible to move along with rows with benches and tables. THe rows with rotating chairs have more leg room.  Sight lines from the balcony are terrible

BOth embarkation and disembarking are well organized.

Panama Canal leaves something out

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

Inconsistent

The service is always great on Regent cruises but this particular cruise was the WORST that I have ever been on. It started with the interaction between Regent and the travel agency     ( Vacations to-go) that we booked the cruise through. They never seemed to be on the same page and struggled to communicate effectively with one another and then with us; each company blaming the other for the series of errors that we were exposed to such as booking our flights to and from the wrong citiesand  getting assigned a room designed for disabled passengers.

The excursions they offered were generally unprofessional and contained very little entertainment value for the amount of time you were on them. For whatever reason ( perhaps 'kickbacks' from the stores?), Regent continues to 'force' its guests to participate in visiting  gift shops/ shopping 'experiences' on nearly all shore excursions. They need to design excursions that don't involve shopping "opportunities" if iheir guests prefer not to waste time shopping. 

The new Explorer is 'pretty'  but has several flaws. The restaurants offer a variety of menus but the quality of the food is not 4 Star. The Pacific Rim and French restaurants are new additions but are not very appealing. On a couple of floors, the space between the elevators and the staircases is so narrow that passengers are forced to navigate  through a congested  area. This created a safety hazard and is certainly a faulty design that needs to be addressed. Door handles in the common pathways were coming loose on some doors and were misiing on a couple of others. Some of us got stuck in an elevator for 30 minutes when it broke down and one hallway had to be closed due to a malfunctioning overhead  sprinkler system. 

Lastly, the entertainment in its theater and lounges was subpar to those we've experience on most other cruises.

Perhaps the Explorer will improve with age but we won't be taking another cruise on it to find out. Hopefully its future passengers will enjoy a better sailing experience than what we had.

Last Time on Regent

This was our 3d cruise on Regent after  a 7 year gap, having taken 2 river cruises, sailing cruise, and travelled independently in Europe and Asia.  We enjoyed it and will probably take another Regent cruise as our next excursion aboard a ship. We didn't pick Regent as our first cruse, but rather made a yes-no decision to accompany friends who had booked on Regent. Once we had the Regent experience we booked  the following year to get the on-board discounts and repeat the wonderful experience.  

By anecdotal comparison to my colleagues positive experiences on other lines, I cant imaging stepping down to the nickel and dime business model of other cruise lines. All inclusive really is all inclusive on Regent.coffees, cappuccinos, imported  beer, nice wines, top shelf liquor all flow without charges, chits, or gratuities, or special bracelets or beverage cards.  No tipping. Yet despite that, the staff all smile, and ask how they can help  satisfy your request. For ,us a discriminator was asking for blue cheese stuffed olives in our evening cocktail. Except for one bar right outside the compass rose, the request was always--"yes, absolutely, but it may take a bit longer to get the blue cheese." And there was no gratuity for going out of the way to honor our request.  

On the other Regent experiences we could make reservations to dine in the specialty restaurants once  per cruise. (Again, all inclusive, no up-charge.) On the Explorer they had a reservation desk to enable multiple reservations in the specialty restaurants after ensuring everyone had a chance to go to every one. That was a nice touch. Plus they were open for lunch on a rotating basis with a similar but lunch sized menu. One day there was a line at Compass Rose and the matre'd looked at the computer and asked if our group of 4 wanted to go to Chartreuse French restaurant where there was no wait. Very professional and quality service to do that. 

We thoroughly enjoyed the Italian themed dinners on La Veranda when not dining in the specialty restaurants. In fact we preferred it to dinners in Compass Rose (which were always wonderful offerings of daily specials or standard offering of fillet, lobster...) because we could sit outside on the stern with full waiter service, linens, stemware, and a sommelier at the ready. Their menu changed every couple days as well. 

As a negative, I was surprised an the number of physical problems on such a new ship. We saw a fire suppression sprinkler open and saturate hallway on the 11th deck. Just a mechanical fault that was remedied and the carpet dried with fans for a couple days.  A doorhandle came off the pool deck entry and was missing for days. The pass card lock cover from our room fell off twice and was ultimately glued back in place. a fresh water pipe leaked in our corridor and the engineers spent a 1/2 day fixing it and drying the carpet. Teak work was peeling.  Hinges and latches on the sporting deck were being repaired.  It was just strange to see so much repair work--not the routine maintenance of a ship in salt water--on a new vessel.  One oddity was the blocked stairwell from deck 5 down to deck 4 at the stern where it led to the Compass Rose restaurant. back end. That's a design flaw because other Regent ships have front and back entrances to Compass Rose with matre'd stations while Explorer only has a front entrance. So it was strange to see straps and a cone blocking one flight of a multi-deck public stairwell.

Entertainment was pretty good. The guest musicians and magician varied from outstanding to good. The orchestra was outstanding, whether playing music in a venue or for one of the stage productions. But the song and dance troupe wasn't any where near as entertaining as we experienced on other cruises. It seems there were a guy and gal couple who were being featured and given leading roles when some of the other singers who had less seniority were clearly more talented and enjoyable to watch.

Our shore excursions were fine. They are masters on Regent at organizing and controlling the different tour groups from the show lounge. Very smooth. But probably because we were touring very poor areas of Central America there was a limit to desirable venues and sights so it got crowded once there with multiple tour busses and groups from Regent and other cruise ships. There wasn't much orchestration to deconflict 16 busses from arriving or departing a venue at the same time. We didn't have that kind of disorder on our previous Regent shore excursions.  But they do a great job of finding interesting venues and quality guides. 

The enhancement activities were multiple and age appropriate for almost-retired and early retired. The 2 lecturers were under the "Smithsonian" banner and delightful and informative. Unfortunately one day the speaker was in a lounge and a corn-hole/baggo tournament was scheduled right outside the entrance with open doors so the cheering was a bit disruptive to the lecturers discussion session. A small detail with consequences. There was a wide variety of things to do or attend, especially during at-sea days.

Explorer also has teaching kitchen with about 14 individual stations. We signed up for 3 of the courses and found them a great addition to their on-board offerings. Yes, there was an up-charge but it was appropriate. My wife is a an accomplished cook for entertaining groups but she too learned fully enjoyed the teaching sessions with a great chef/instructor, Two asst chefs prepare, portion into small cups, or chop the ingredients in advance. So participants are doing something new and different in preparation and not standing there chopping and peeling. Of course, appropriate wines are served. But when we did have some small amount of knife work or grating to do, the wine didn't come out until that was done.  We'll do more of these again. It was unique, fun, informative, and you ate what you prepared.

Regent is just a wonderful cruise experience,. But somehow it's just not the same flawless perfection with nothing left to chance that we had on our earlier cruises with them. So we'll continue to try other travel options, such as river cruises, sailing, and large yacht trips and not just keep booking every trip as a Regent ship excursion.

Elegant ship, superb dining, great enrichment, good entertainment

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

An one time expierience

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

Lot of Money for not Much Better

My wife and I just completed a two night ‘mini-cruise’ aboard Regent Seven Seas newest and most luxurious ship, the Explorer.  We have sailed aboard Regent Mariner before and were looking forward to seeing how Explorer compared.  Regent claims that the Explorer is not just their most luxurious ship, but the most luxurious ship afloat.  Although I have not been aboard every ship afloat, Regent’s claim is not overstated.

How does one define luxury?  For me, it is defined by the overall design; size of the suites; accommodations within the suites; the pristine, well thought out décor, trims, paintings, flooring, carpet---the general ambience; the food choices and quality; the selection of beverages and complete food service; the professional and warm crew and staff; but most of all, the attention to detail to all of the above.  Regent is known for all of this on their other vessels, but Explorer is in a class by itself.  

I had seen pictures and videos of the ship and was impressed, but upon my first steps aboard, I realized that this ship cannot be appreciated in a two dimensional world, it must be seen and experienced in three dimensions.  The grandeur and majesty of the Grand Salon area demands a real-time presence.  It is spectacular while being both functional and welcoming.  That’s hard to do.  Something that looks majestic from a distance often cannot bear close scrutiny.  This is not the case with Explorer.  The details scream out, “Look at me!” and close up the workmanship is extraordinary.

Our Concierge level suite was spacious, well decorated with a huge amount of closet and draw space.  The bath area, with a double sink as well as both a stand-up shower (with great shower heads!) and a bath tub with a shower was larger than expected.  It allowed for two people to prepare at the same time without stumbling into each other.  The bed was super comfortable; the TV was large (never turned it on) and the welcome bottle of champagne was most welcome.  The balcony was spacious and with beautiful wicker looking furniture.  

As far as the meals are concerned, only being on board for two nights, our evening meals were taken at Pacific Rim and Prime 7 restaurants, while we had breakfast at Compass Rose and lunch at La Veranda.  The service we received at all of the restaurants we chose was professionally perfect and often punctuated with genuine warmth and concern for the enjoyment of our meal.

The décor of both Pacific Rim and Prime 7 were up to par with the finest of land based restaurants.  Pacific Rim offers Pan Asian dishes that are light on the palate and beautifully presented.  The appetizer menu is challenging because you want to try everything.  We had several starters and they met our expectations.  For our main course, the Lobster Tempura was truly outstanding.  I would also recommend the Mochi for dessert.

Prime 7 holds a special place in our hearts as this was where my wife and I had our wedding dinner (on the Mariner) in 2010.  Nothing has changed.  It is still my favorite steak house on dry land or on the water.  It is the attention we received from the caring staff of the Prime 7 who served us that made our evening special complemented the outstanding food choices.

If there is a thread running through our all-inclusive Explorer experience it is the attention to detail.  Whether it is the ship’s overall design or the softness of the carpets on the stairways or the mirrored view looking out of the mid-ship elevator which doubles the size of the area or the smiles of crew and staff each time they see you, it was the consistent attention to detail that made me feel that this ship and those who are part of the staff and crew, make it the most luxurious ship afloat.

Were there any negatives?  I’ll be picky.  The light system in the suite is very complicated to figure out and after two days, I was still turning on and off the wrong lights in the room.  The shower system in the walk-in shower comes without directions and it takes some experimenting to tame it.  Once you’ve accomplished this, it adds to the luxury experience. 

To summarize, if you are looking for an all-inclusive luxury cruise experience, why not go with the most luxurious ship afloat—Regent Seven Seas Explorer.

The Most Luxurious Ship Afloat

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