We had wanted to try a Regent cruise for a long time and had actually booked one in 2011 but I ended up in the hospital and we had to cancel. So when we decided on a British Islands trip we decided that this was the one to fulfill that long postponed desire. We went with the concierge suite for the extra hotel day in Reykjavik which we did enjoy ( although the excursion we went on was longer than I had anticipated and we ended being up for about 40 hours before hitting the sack that night). The suite was spacious, our steward was very attentive but the bed was higher in the middle than at the edges so sleeping was an adventure every night. For a luxury cruise line the tv entertainment was the most limited that we had on any of our cruises (this was our ninth) and soon got boring. We were used to larger ships so this was something new to us - a ship that had almost as many crew members as passengers. The service was great from the bar staff to the dining room staff to our room steward. We soon got to know the names of many of them and they remembered us as well. The food was very tasty but aside from the everyday choices the daily specials were limited - more so than on some other cruise lines. I was particularly disappointed in the lobster. Good lobster has a sweet flavor with a soft texture when prepared well - the two times I had it on this cruise failed on both criteria. It had little flavor and was a little tough - very discouraging. That was balanced out by some different takes on staples like onion soup. A redeeming factor for meals was the buffet - they did have a small but varied selection that was different and, at times, more exotic than on other cruises we had been on. We always enjoyed ourselves there. Entertainment and activities were limited but the ones they had were enjoyable - they just needed more than the one offering but on a small ship ( Read Less

We chose this cruise due to its unique Itinerary. We've had enough of St. Petersburg, which dominates the other Scandinavian cruises. We had never been to Iceland, the Faroe Islands or the Shetland Islands, or most of the other stops in Norway, Denmark or Sweden. My wife has never seen Norway. We loved Explorer during our Panama Canal New Year's cruise at the beginning of the year. It sails superbly, even in rough weather. Explorer is one of our three favorite cruise ships, the others being Oceania Riviera and Marina (whence came Explorer's wonderful teaching kitchen, pan-Asian restaurant, and spa layout). Voyager and Mariner would come next on our list. The infinity pool is underutilized; people seem not to realize it's open to everyone. We went through the Panama Canal from there; far better view than from the Observation Lounge one criticism is the infrared "sauna," which isn't close to being hot enough for sauna lovers. Also, running out of aqavit on a Scandinavian cruise is inexcusable! Food and service were excellent. We favor Pacific Rim and Prime 7, but Chartreuse was very popular too, though there is a strong split opinion; we much prefer Jacques on Oceania). Compass Rose is far better than the MDR on Oceania, but try to get a table in the quieter back rooms. One secret is the superb authentic Irish Coffee made in the Cafe. Entertainment as good, especially the British comedian. Smithsonian lecturer was knowledgeable but a very mediocre monotone speaker; Regent needs to find more dynamic speakers. Read Less

We have sailed on Regent going back to when they were Radisson, ( Pre-Regent days), and thought they were excellent. We last enjoyed them a year ago in Alaska, and we were looking forward to sailing on their new ship the Explorer. Advertised as the most luxurious ship a-float, we thought this would be the ultimate in Regent Cruising. Suffice it to say I assume that the cost of the ship and its extensive art work and decor must be paid for somehow, and so cuts must be made. It is the little things such as food served lukewarm, or tepid. A request at lunch for a German or dutch lager beer and getting served " Tiger Beer " from the Philippines. A Concierge that immediately responds; "We are not offering any Compensation", when all you were doing was making them aware of an issue, ( while never asking for any compensation). Ordering an Asian stir fry dish listed on the menu in the Pacific Rim Restaurant and being asked how you wanted it cooked? Really? Going to the Patio for lunch and taking a dish from the stack just placed by the kitchen staff and finding the first plate still has food residue stuck on it. When reported and shown to the server, they simply took it away and left the stack of dished it came off of in place for other passengers to take their plates from. I have no idea if the other plates were clean or may have also have had some residue stuck on them as well. Is it possible as Regent has increased the size of this newest ship to add more passengers that they have lost ability to continue to provide World Class Customer Service? Our overall experience made us feel as if we were on a Princess, or Celebrity Cruise, good but not " Luxury Class, not world Class. Goodbye Regent and Hello NCL. Service for the masses, good but not luxury. For us, if I want that type of service I can Cruise with Princess, or Celebrity, or Royal Caribbean. For luxury though, I will be comparing to SeaBourn, and SilverSea Read Less

We chose this cruise partly because of the reviews and partly because it went to a few places that we have not been before. First, the good: They had an excellent lecturer aboard and I thought his presentation was phenomenal. They had one great restaurant: Chartreuse, for French, but you can only book it once. The suite was adequate, lots of drawer space. The seating area could be partitioned off with curtains, so it could be considered an actual suite. Decor is very dark with low ceilings. I am 5’6” and could place my whole hand on the ceiling. Now the negative: We have cruised before with Seabourn and Silverseas. This did not compare to those lines in any way. The main issue is the overall experience: We felt like cattle. Like many other luxury lines, they include the tours in your price, but unlike others our experience, they make no attempt to control the quality of the tours. On Silverseas, we had a crew/staff member on every bus and on every tour. If something went wrong, that person was able to manage it or intervene. Regent makes no effort to even ask for reviews of the tours. The most obnoxious part was the tour departures: They ask you to line up early on board to turn in your tour ticket and get a bus number. There are a lot of buses on a 700 guest cruise... then you wait and wait in the very dark “Constellation Lounge” until your bus is called. Often twice a day. You spend a very long time hanging out in this lounge with staff repeating the same thing over and over... Then you line up to offload and get on the buses. I do not remember any waits or lines for the tours on with either Silverseas or Seabourn. Finally, the food is just ok. They rely heavily on buffets. Their returning customers seemed happy with that. There was exceent restaurant, Chartreuse. The other two were just OK. There seemed to be a dichotomy of opinion between people who cruised with them often and the newcomers to Regent. The returning customers thought it was just the best experience, and the newcomers were talking mutiny. Our experience was exactly what we wanted to avoid on a cruise. Perhaps it is caused by the move back to larger ships. It has put us off cruising for the future. One of the reasons we chose Regent was because of the glowing reviews. Please don’t be fooled. Read Less

This cruise took us from Iceland, through the Faroe and Shetland Islands, to Norway, Sweden, and ending in Copenhagen. What a wonderful experience - we will find it difficult to “go back” to regular cruising. The service was outstanding, drinks were generous and ubiquitous, our cabin was so luxurious that we didn’t mind spending time in it, excursions were informative and geared to the capabilities of the “over 55” set that is the primary passenger profile. Beautiful ship with original artwork, glass sculptures, etc. Only complaint is that, since airfare is included, they make the arrangements, and you have no say in your air itinerary unless you pay a $175pp fee. Domestic airfare is coach, not what you expect for a luxury line that transports you in Business Class for overseas travel. Our next cruise leaves Miami and ends up in San Francisco - we don’t expect to have to travel coach cross-country, and the cost for upgrade is very high. The rebate if you choose not to use their airfare is not enough to cover travel cost. We do like the convenience and security of using them to book air, but wish that they would just include travel arrangements that are suitable for a luxury vacation for ALL of their cruises.. We did have to stand outside in a cold wind with slight rain, waiting to embark onto the ship. Other passengers told us that having to stand in line out in the cold (and it’s cold in Iceland even in August) was not normal. Did not like that. Hotel in Reykjavik was poor, but they are building more new ones all around. Our room was small, no A/C so we had to keep the window open even in the rain, listening to the traffic below. Mold in the shower. I suggest RSSC find a better hotel there or get the Blue to improve. Read Less

Fortunately for us our inclusive pre-cruise hotel in Reykjavik was in a great location in the old town, however talking to many of our fellow passengers it appears we were very lucky and most were in hotels some distance from the city centre. Taking advantage of our pre-cruise time we took a privately arranged Golden Circle Tour, which despite the so-so weather was an amazing day out giving a great introduction to the history and geology of Iceland. Embarkation was by far the worse we have ever experienced with a huge queue outside on the dock before check-in. Fortunately the weather was ok as that wait would have been horrible in the rain. However, once onboard with a glass of champagne and efficient check-in, the wait was quickly forgotten. This was our second cruise on the Explorer, the first being one of the early cruises post launch in 2016. On that cruise we felt the majority of the cruise staff were very inexperienced with many of the waiting staff making the most basic of mistakes. Fortunately a year on, service is much improved with the majority of bar and restaurant staff being highly competent and even remembering preferred drinks after a couple of evenings. The itinerary was fantastic with 2 other ports in Iceland, then onto Faroe Islands and the Shetlands followed by 3 days experiencing the Norwegian fjords, along with ports of call of Skagen, Oslo and Gothenburg before disembarking in Copenhagen. The choice of excursions at each port ranges from sedentary bus tours to active cycling or hiking tours. They are well organised and usually led by informative and entertaining guides. Group size is limited and we’ve never felt the size to be too large to be able to fully enjoy ourselves. There is an excellent choice of restaurants, all of them of extremely high quality. Our least favourite is the evening Italian restaurant Sette Mari where service can be quite chaotic, with either rushed or desperately slow service. It’s very popular so would be better if this was a reservation only restaurant to avoid the long queues or if the weather doesn’t allow for outside dining consider opening up the whole of the restaurant. At least one of the speciality restaurants is open at lunchtime which makes for a relaxed change from the more usual buffet fare available at the Pool or La Veranda. Read Less

I chose this cruise because of the itinerary. We spent a few days in Reykjavik on our own and stayed at Reykjavik4You apartments because I liked the location more for walking in town. It turned out that Seven Seas gave us enough back for not staying in their preferred hotel that it almost paid for our 2 night stay in Reykjavik. The ship seemed very nice to us. It was lovely having pretty much everything paid for. It meant we never gave a second thought to whether or when we wanted drinks or similar items. It isn't that we drank that much, but it was nice not thinking about it in reference to cost. On the other hand, we may have taken more shore excursions than we actually wanted since they were mostly free, which lessened free time for exploration. We were in concierge suites because it didn't cost that much more than basic ones and gave us the first choice on shore excursions. Our steward was excellent about keeping our cabin clean and providing plenty of what we liked the most without our saying anything to her. For example, she kept us in red grapes when we didn't eat the green ones, while my mother's cabin was supplied predominantly with her favorite green ones. The food was probably the biggest let down on the cruise. After a couple of room service breakfasts, we had all our morning meals in La Veranda, and they were very nice. When the weather was good enough, we ate on the rear balcony. We usually had lunches in La Veranda or the Pool Deck, as well. The meals were fairly simple, but fine. Our dinners in Compass Rose were almost always fine. They weren't gourmet, but they were well prepared with fresh ingredients. Dinner in Setti Mare at La Veranda was not good. None of us enjoyed eating dinner there at all. The specialty restaurants were a particular let down. Prime 7 gave us fairly tough steaks and lobster, among other dishes. The desserts weren't very good either. It isn't a restaurant I would have gone to a second time or a first time if I were to cruise on their ships again. Signatures, which I think is no longer on Voyager, had better dishes, but not that great. Occasionally we got nice appetizers in the Observation Lounge with our before dinner drinks, but usually they weren't very good. The cookies that were out on the pool deck and the coffee lounge were generally no better than packaged cookies, and the afternoon teas didn't offer much that we liked, either. We didn't take advantage of the entertainment services except for enrichment lectures and their cirque show, both of which we enjoyed. Service really was good on Voyager. Everyone seemed to make a big effort to greet us, and the staff who checked us on and off the ship learned our names very quickly. The shore excursions were hit and miss. Some were marvelous, and some were a waste of time. Our favorite was a free one to Vigur Island in Iceland. Our least favorite was a river walk in Oslo, which turned out to be a creek that mostly went past nondescript factories that had been converted to apartments or office buildings. We are not very experienced cruisers as we've only been on 3 other cruises: a Holland America week in Alaska, an independent Galapagos week long cruise, and a one week riverboat cruise on the Columbia and Snake Rivers in Oregon and Washington. Read Less

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

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

We embarked on the Rekjavik to Stockholm cruise this past June and found the quality degrading in several areas. 1 - The hotel in Reykjavik (Icelandair Rekyjavik Marina) was awful and certainly not up to Regent's previous standards. The bathroom was separated from the room by frosted glass sliding doors that didn't close completely and were only inches from the bed. The shower didn't have a pan floor so water ran all over the bathroom floor when you used it. The floor tiles were so slippery when wet that we laid down 3 bath towels to avoid falling. Only liquid hand soap was provided for sink and shower. No shampoo, conditioner or lotion. 2 - The suite was typical pleasant cat. D,E,F,G,H but the sink drain leaked and 2 lights were out in the bathroom. Of course these were fixed when we complained but why did we have these problems in the first place. 3 - The Voyager had an annoying vibration in our suite and it even could be felt in the observation lounge on deck 11. I assumed a problem with the engines or propellers. I was told that it happens when the ship goes fast. Never had that before and after hearing that there were propulsion problems earlier in the year my suspicions were confirmed. It is good that the ship is going into drydock in October. She needs it. 4 - Food and wine not what it used to be. Lower quality wine being served in all restaurants. Thanks to Boris, the head wine sommelier we got a list of all wines the ship had in stock for pouring (about 75 different labels) and were able to choose satisfactory labels from that. This was the only cruise in our 123 days with Regent that I had to send steaks back because they were full of gristle and fat. Compass Rose and Prime 7. The lobster in Prime 7 was overcooked also. We are booked for 63 days on the Voyager in 2014 and I am having second thoughts before committing the final payment. Read Less

As Silversea fanatics, we never thought we would "jump ship." It was the itinerary on the Voyager, --Reykjavik to Copenhagen that sold us on Regent. The ports were stellar -- Reykjavik, Isafjordur, Akureyri (Iceland), Torshavn and Copenhagen (Denmark), Lerwick (United Kingdom), and Alesund, Geiranger,Flam, Bergen, and Oslo (Norway). We were absolutely delighted with Regent. The Voyager is a lovely ship, -- sleek, simple elegance. We had a Horizon View suite (highly recommended.) As previous reviews of the Voyager have provided excellent in-depth coverage of the ship, I thought I would simply add a few highlights. BLOCK PARTY Genius! At the sound of ship's "cocktail bell," we were invited to grab a glass from our rooms and head out into the hallways to meet our neighbors. Wine, champagne, and appetizers were served by the ship's staff. Captain Gianmario, General Manager Franck Galzy, and Cruise Director Willie Aames combed the decks and hallways greeting the guests. The atmosphere was festive and fun. From then on, we could greet our neighbors by name. Such a creative, thoughtful touch. CHAMPAGNE AND CAVIAR FOR BREAKFAST A lovely Sunday breakfast tradition. What luck! We had two Sundays on the ship. Talk about living la dolce vita. ENRICHMENT LECTURES We have lost count of the number of cruises we have taken. At least fifty. Sandra Bowern was, in our opinion, the best enrichment lecturer of all. Not only was she supremely knowledgeable, -- her engaging, cheerful, charming, and warm style was absolutely wonderful. ESPRESSO MACHINE IN SUITES There are many venues on the ship for coffee, including room service. The problem, we find, is that in order to obtain coffee, one most likely will have to encounter people. We love people. After a cup of coffee, that is. (We barely talk to each other until at least a half cup is downed.) Sipping espresso from our balcony with our darling little demi-tasse cups while arriving at the port of day ... exquisite. ENTERTAINMENT We thoroughly enjoyed the shows. We especially appreciated the variety of the shows and the talent of the Jean Ann Ryan Singers and Dancers. Real dancers! With real bodies ... wow. Seriously -- on some cruise lines the dancers have so much silicone that, in case of emergency, possibly the best survival technique would be to simply hold on to a dancer. (Guaranteed floatation.) The trio in the Voyager Lounge, Nature's Rhythm, drew us in nightly. They played a variety of music and the dance floor was rarely empty (but not full, which was sweet.) The tall one who played the base had the most amazing voice. They were also hilarious...sprinkling a dose of their quirky dry humor throughout their show. THE STAFF What a personable lot! All of them. Two stand out: Willie Aames, the Cruise Director, was one of the most down-to-earth cruise directors we've met. Willie even conducted the non-denominational Sunday service. He crafted a lovely service, sharing his experience of going from a movie star-to playboy-to becoming an ordained minister. Very touching. Willie was a refreshing change from the "Rico Suave" types we're used to. In fact, he was often seen wearing hand knit sweaters from the local Scandinavian ports. He was approachable and genuinely kind. Conny the Concierge was our hero. Icelandair managed to lose our luggage. The agent at Icelandair promised our luggage would arrive the following day. Nope. Not the following day, either. Or the next. We called a number of times and the agent, let's just call him "Lars Liarsson," kept promising: "your luggages vill be dare een da morgen." Once we got onboard and gave the information to Conny, she was all over Icelandair. And effective. She gave us frequent updates on her progress. On day four of the cruise, she personally delivered our suitcases. We doubt that we would have been reunited with our luggage without Conny. So grateful. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In wrapping up, we were, basically blown away in the best way by the entire cruise. We encountered just one glitch: THERE IS ALWAYS ONE (in every crowd) Regent Seven Sea's "no tolerance" policy on smoking was another influence in our decision to try RSSC. It was not long after setting sail that we were aware that someone was smoking. Uninvited carcinogens aside, we are also stench-averse. And what a stench! Once we traced the location of the culprit, we left a nice note on his cabin door requesting that he cease smoking on his balcony. It might have been my imagination, but it seemed as if he stepped it up. I don't much like being a tattle-tale, but we were cruising in one of the most staggeringly beautiful places, -- blessed with a sheer abundance of purifying pristine alpine air...and yet -- there was that stench. We made a report. The situation was immediately investigated, but the guy denied that anyone in the cabin smoked. What could they do? So the stench continued. So...do you know what I did? I shot him. With my camera. It was a good shot. Crystal-clear obvious who was smoking and where. The guy was that idiot-arrogant...leaning on his balcony, just puffing away. He saw me take the picture. What a scowl! Then he disappeared. So did the stench. Ah. Clean, clear air. He didn't smoke on his balcony again until the last morning of the cruise. I guess he figured: "what're they going to do? Kick me off the ship?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With a twelve night cruise and only one negative experience, we can call this one fabulous cruise. We will forever treasure our memories of our Vikings and Vistas voyage on the Voyager. We can hardly wait for our next cruise with RSSC. Read Less