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Regent Seven Seas Cruises

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Seven Seas Mariner

We wanted to visit the Amazon. It was worth the price of many sea days (which we normally try to minimize). We just returned, arriving in Miami Jan 6, 2020. It was a solid 4 star experience, based on 20 cruises on 12 cruise lines. The all-inclusive feature is nice, although for those of us who don’t drink, free alcohol is not a benefit. Not being nickel-dimed is worth it, unlike certain cruise brands.

Check-in/boarding was ‘different’ in Rio, where we waited in a hangar like terminal until boarding time, then walked up the ramp into the ship where check-in tables were set up in the reception/atrium area. We’re used to the photos taken - boarding cards prepared etc. check-in process being done in the terminal;  however, it was relatively painless and efficient.

Our concierge cabin on deck 9 was fine, if a little small. Bathroom (bathtub/shower etc.) was nice, nothing special but no issues (toilet plumbing acted up in our section of cabins several times during the 3 week cruise, but fairly quickly repaired).

Food was good, comparable and maybe somewhat better than Oceania, our previous standard. All the restaurants provided fine dining, good ‘everyday selections’ and several new items on the menu each evening. Service was in general very good. 

The Veranda buffet offered very good selections every day, with fresh fruit, pastries, a breakfast special every morning and eggs cooked to order. Cold cuts, salmon, and such were available every day, along with many kinds of bread/bagels/muffins etc. The dessert selections were very good, along with cookies (everywhere on the ship, all day, beside the cappuccino/Latte machines - a definite self discipline challenge). Lunch selections were varied and also very good. One complaint  about the Veranda buffet is that it is only open for breakfast and lunch. If you don’t want to dress up and spend the time to ‘dine’ every night, the grill on the pool deck is your only option. The food there is mostly good and you can order chicken wings, burgers and such, but it is somewhat limited.

Entertainment was good. Some excellent guest performers were on board, along with a very good naturalist/Amazonia speaker and an Apollo 9 astronaut. The ships dancers were excellent. The 5 piece band was outstanding. The singers were decent. One show was performed at 9:30 PM, on most days.

Excursions: very good. We had no trouble booking excursions (free). Some were booked in advance, a few were booked only days before (our biggest excursion was booked privately, our usual MO when wanting to see a particular attraction(s) without having to compromise, nor wait for a busload of other passengers).

Service/hotel staff were very good, with very few exceptions. 

Reading the small percentage of 1 and 2 star reviews of the Mariner highlights an issue of the passenger demographic that book the 6 star lines; specifically, a good percentage of high-worth individuals, many of whom are getting on in years and have mobility issues; some have airs of entitlement to go with very high expectations. Consideration for others can sometimes be lacking. Example: walking slowly down a narrow ramp with a walker, one old gentleman was overheard saying to his wife (who was trying to move out of the way for those behind), “don’t try to make room, they can just wait”. Another example is getting on and off tenders. Regent does not enforce their own rules about who can and can not ride, consequently, boarding/debarking tenders behind physically impaired passengers can be an exercise in patience – (I am in my late 70’s).

To recap, nice interesting cruise. Would we book Regent again? Certainly, given a desirable itinerary.

The Amazon

We were excited to take this cruise because we wanted to visit the Amazon. 

Additionally friends had told us how wonderful Regent  Cruise lines is

The shore trips were marginal and poorly executed. The guides were extremely inexperienced and lacked knowledge

The best bird sightings were at the zoo in Manaus. Not what we expected. 

The food was barely average. It lacked creativity and the ingredients were sub-par.  We were told that the Italian food was the chef’s interpretation of Italian recipes. Since the chef was German, the interpretation was far from true Italian cuisine. The seafood was “fishy” tasting and sauces were offered on all meats,  mostly to disguise poor flavor.

Additionally the included wine  selection was extremely poor and mostly 2018 red wines.

We have cruised many different cruise lines and can honestly say from what we have been told Regent did not perform up to normal standards

The specialty restaurants had inferior quality meat supplies. Very disappointing!

The staff made the only redeeming difference in what otherwise was a very dismal Cruise

We would not recommend Regent to anyone.

Poor cuisine and lack of variety

Interesting itinerary, all inclusive ( my cruise account was USD $ 14.50 at disembarkation)

high standard food variety, expertly presented in modest portions, very good complimentary wine, with fairly price premium wine list for special occasions. Brilliant Sommeliers food and wine six course lunch which was thoroughly educational. Great coffee shop with a properly trained Barista adjoining a well stocked library with daily copies of at least 6 international newspapers available. Free laundrettes and wifi were real bonuses. Free excursions varied in standard but were usually worthwhile - always the option to break off and individually explore if the group shuffle got you down.

The crew were well trained and appeared to enjoy their jobs. The operation was expertly lead by a female Captain who engaged with passengers and ran a well oiled organisation.

Given that there were a number of critical Cruise Critic posts I was very surprised at the overall high standard of the vessel immediately prior to a major refurbishment. It should be outstanding after being worked on for 20 days by 1400 contractors and the crew.

This is truly an all inclusive, high quality cruise experience. The rate per day on this trip was excellent value for money but most future cruise are priced at considerably higher levels. I suspect Viking will take market share from Regent but they are lifting their game and competing hard.

Impecable service standards on a 6 star ship heading for refurbishment

This cruise was from Rio de Janeiro to Miami on March 8, 2017 on regent Seven Seas Mariner.

This was the worst high end cruise line I have ever experienced.

We have been cruising on Seabourn and Crystal for the last 5 years.  We decided to try Regent as they had an itinerary that was attractive and we wanted to see how they compared.

We liked the all-inclusive fee structure with business class air.  Well the business class was only on the international flight and not the other 5 flights we needed to get to Rio from our house and back.

What were the issues?

1-	The service they used to transfer us from the airport to the hotel (we had one night in Rio before the cruise) was a disaster.  They gather about 10 us from the United flight and said they were waiting for some additional people. We waited about 30 minute more and we were all getting anxious to leave.  No more passengers came so they told us to proceed to the bus.  Well out the door we went into a very hot and humid curb side and NO bus.  We waited about 10 more minutes and a rundown very small bus arrived.  Finally we would get some relief from the heat.  No we didn’t as the bus air-conditioning was on but it was cooler outside the bus then inside.  Everyone opened the windows. Not a good way to get the first taste of Regent. I know that better busses were available as the bus that took us from the hotel to the ship was fine. My grade F-.

2-	The main dining room, Compass Rose, had the worst service on any ship that we have used.  In the 21 day cruise I had to ask for more water every meal except for 2.  The salt and pepper shakers both contained salt (one was labeled pepper) three times and once the adjoining table had the same issue.  One time they gave us only 3 menus for the four of us.  After 5 minutes we had to ask for another. We once finished our first course and they had not asked us if we wanted wine.  We had to ask for it.  The servers in this main dining room were both under staffed and not trained.  Service for the most part was slow.  I know this sounds like nit picking but when this happens meal after meal it is annoying.  On no other cruise have we had such consistently poor service. Grade, D.

3-	One morning at 7am they were making announcements in the public areas for 1 hour.  Now you were not supposed to hear this in your room but it did wake me up and was very annoying. Our room was 834 and not that close to any public areas. Another F.

4-	The lecture for the most part was just one person.  I am use to a variety of lectures and various topics. Give them a C based on variety.

What did I like?

1-	The shower was the best of any ship.  Regent has started to convert their shower tub arraignment into just a shower.  We had one of the converted cabins.  Shower an A+.

2-	The butler and room attendants were very good and friendly.  I’d give them an A.

Will we travel on Regent again?

	Probably not.

Not impressed with Regent

Absolutely fabulous!  Great food and friendly service.  

Since Mariner was due for refurbishment in a few weeks, I was concerned that it would be very "tired".  I found that was not the case.  The refurbishment had to be postponed a year because of damage by Hurricane Matthew to the facility that was to do the work.

We got a reasonable offer to upgrade to a Penthouse suit from our deluxe suite G.  The suit was roomy and well appointed.  It was fine but the remodeling next year will be welcomed.  Since we upgraded we had a butler who was very attentive.  However, I have never felt that a butler was a necessity.  

Captain Teo Srdelic was very friendly and reacted well with the guests.  Cruise director Paul Reynolds did a great job as did his assistant, Olivia.

The staff was outstanding.  A new menu in the Compass Rose restaurant was initiated after our first leg.  The new menu is great (we had experienced it on the Navigator and Explorer last year).  Then new menu caused a bit of delay in service for the first night or two.  We were warned about this but after a couple of days the delays were not longer there.

Disembarkation was a little delayed due to the Miami baggage handlers.

Mariner Buenos Aires to Miami

We recently spent 21 nights on Regent Mariner’s Amazon Jungles and Rainforests cruise. Although this was our 20th cruise, it was our first cruise on Regent and probably our last. If you are expecting the luxury cruise experience touted in the Regent Brochure, you may find yourself greatly disappointed.

Protect Your Health! –  “The Cruise Crud”, as some of my fellow passengers called it, was making its way around the ship. Not as nasty as the Noro virus, but not fun. Stuffy head, watery eyes, chest congestion and a nagging cough. You could hear people coughing all over the ship. Once you heard the cough, you knew someone was sick. At our dinner table one night, 4 of the 8 people were sick. One gentlemen left in the middle of dinner to go back to his cabin.

We saw examples of unsanitary behavior on the Mariner. The two most striking incidents included a Manager at the Pool Café taking plates of cookies and rearranging the cookies with his bare hands (after he was just moving tables and chairs) and a server dropping silverware on the floor, picking it up and putting it back into service. We were very concerned about our health aboard the Mariner.

Luxury Accommodations? Based on Regent Brochure, we expected our cabin to be on par with a room at the Ritz Carlton. However, our cabin was dated, there were paint drops on the drawers, scratches on the TV, holes in the sheer curtains, a hole in the curtain linings and grease stains on the sofa (See attached photos). So if you are expecting luxury accommodations aboard the Mariner, you may be disappointed.

Fine Wine? The Regent brochure touts “…fine wine”. Fine wine is definitely onboard, but it won’t be served to you - unless you are willing to pay extra for it. Maybe it’s just me, but after I spend $20,000 on a cruise I expect a somewhat decent glass of wine without paying extra for it.

What you actually get on the Mariner is the illusion of fine wine.  Your table is set with Riedel crystal wine glasses, the Sommelier approaches you with the silver tastevin hanging from his neck, he presents the bottle to you for inspection, he offers you a taste for your approval, then carefully pours the precious nectar into your glass. The dirty little secret is that the wine he’s pouring is a $6.50 bottle of Backhouse Pinot Noir!

The wines are changed frequently, there is no printed wine list for the wines they pour and the Wine Stewards don’t like to talk about the wine served. One passenger told me that he photographed the labels of every wine he was served (22 bottles) and looked them up online. The most expensive wine was $14.99 with most wines averaging about $10 retail. The cheapest wine I was served was La Terre Cabernet, which can be found for as little as $4.92. Shame on you Regent.

Food – Everyone talks about the food, so I’ll be brief.  At La Veranda (Buffet Breakfast & Lunch) the food is mediocre and service is worse. As one fellow passenger told me “get a lot of different things and eat what’s least offensive”. I don’t think he meant to be that harsh, but you get the idea. Service at La Veranda is poor. It’s often difficult to get your water, coffee or drinks refilled or silverware replaced. Not once did anyone ever ask us if we were enjoying our meal or if we needed anything. The Managers just seem to stand around talking to each other. If you want something, you need to be aggressive and flag someone down and ask for it. We also heard one of the wait staff making derogatory comments about some of the passengers which is just unacceptable. Regent’s “commitment to excellence” is notably missing at La Veranda.

Service – First let me say that we received some outstanding service from some very dedicated and highly trained staff. I’d say we received outstanding service 25% of the time. We received very good/good service 25% of the time and average/below average service 50% of the time (with an emphasis on below average).  Most of the staff work extremely hard, but that doesn’t always translate to outstanding service. Something appears to be lacking in terms of training and staff management.

You’ll find luxury only in the pages of the Regent Brochure, we certainly did not find it on the Mariner. Don’t be fooled by the marketing hype. Of the 20 cruises we have taken, Regent ranks as the worst.

Regent Mariner – Not a Luxury Cruise Experience!

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

Not 5 Stars

This was our first trip with Regent. Started in Rio & then to West Africa, the Canaries, Morocco, Malaga finishing in Barcelona. The captain & staff were first class. Nothing was too much trouble. Our penthouse suite was kept immaculately.
The included tours were a mixed bag. In Malaga our guide had difficulty shepherding the coachload of passengers through the crowded back streets. On arrival at the Picasso Museum we were informed that only small groups were allowed in & our party would have to be split. As part of the second batch we were asked to wait outside the building. Stood there for 1/2 hour whilst another guide appeared & tried to negotiate admittance. Wasn't worth the effort. None of Picasso's important works were displayed.
Even more variable was the food on board. A light breakfast in the room included soggy toast. Was replaced the following day with soggy Danish. Dispensed with these & tried a favoured American staple - waffles. Arrived in equally poor condition. Having sampled some poor cooking we were invited to meet the chef & catering team. They were aware of problems & informed me that these had been "identified".
The worst cuisine was in the Italian restaurant when for 3 nights they changed the format to Spanish. My wife's paella was dry. Tasted as though it had been reheated. My own cod dish wrapped in cabbage was inedible. The maître d' explained it was a new dish that had not been well received.
Catering standards fell short of other luxury lines. Oceania is part of the same group but offers better food.

Excellent service - shame about the food

REGENT CRUISE online ads said "OVER 300 UNLIMITED EXCURSIONS INCLUDED on the $30,000 cruise that my wife and I had paid for Rio to Miami 21 days cruise. Weeks before the start of the cruise, we were wait-listed on about 50% of our excursions that we signed on. In Fortaleza, our first excursion after embarking from Rio de Janeiro, the captain arbitrarily chose not to dock the ship; thus deprived the over 650 passengers a much-needed stop after several sea days. The water in Fortaleza was calmed when we look out the veranda contrary to what the Captain claimed that the ship had difficulty with the gangway. He made the excuse that “his decision was to insure the safety of the passengers. At St. Bart's we failed to get our excursion ticket “Highlights of St. Bart’s” because “we were on the Wait-List.” Michael the Destination staff asked us to wait stand-by at the Constellation auditorium. After almost 2 hours, he asked us to go ashore and wait again for another 2 1/2 hours. Another Florida couple also waited. Regent load the passengers with tour tickets on several waiting taxicabs. When it was our turn to ride the waiting taxicabs; Michael decided not to utilize the waiting taxicabs and informed us that there would be no tour for us ---5 hours after we waited patiently.
The evening SHOWS were mostly mediocre compared to the many cruises that we have done with Seabourn, Celebrity, Norwegian, Holland, Windstar etc.
Regent Cruise is like the equivalent of HMO in healthcare. Pay first before the services are delivered. The problem is once Regent got the payment of $30,000; we saw great deal of reluctance in delivering the promised services which Regent advertised. Many Regent customers were likewise disappointed by Regent’s poor management of the cruise line and their “false and misleading advertising.” Safe to say we and another couple from Hawaii will never cruise Regent again. We plan to cruise 3-4 times a year. Regent will not be on our list. There are better values for the money with Seabourn at ½ the price of Regent. Avoid Regent Cruises.
 

OVER-RATED, OVER-PRICED REGENT CRUISE

The Mariner is in need of a major renovation of carpet and updating amenities. The Crew was fabulous, they could not have been nicer and more attentive. The food was surprisingly good with the exception that the sociality dining rooms never changed menus or offered a special for the evening for appetizer or main courses. it was always the same. POOR planning ! Compass Rose the main dining room did change their selection every night and you could count on finding something you want to try. The Pool grill server fresh seafood and did a masterful job of serving a huge hungry crowd most days. Drinks were served none stop around the pool and most people did drink all day and night ..no drunks put lots of liquor was served none stop.
The tours and ports of call were on the most part not great but better then not going ashore. Most port were not recommended to go off on your own and that was good advise. LOTS of very POOR people and horrible poverty beyond anything you have ever seen, very disturbing. The Rich are very rich but the hills team with stacked cubes of living space with no windows or doors and hordes of families living like the discarded. I thought the port were beautiful from afar but up close filthy.
The ship knew our flight home has been cancel and did not tell us we were not getting out of Rio on American Airlines due to ice in Dallas. The Oceana passenger has been informed that morning BUT we were dumped at the airport with NO HELP to get flights out of South America, It was crazy with hundreds of stranded passengers crushed into the airport and left to find their way home without any assistance from Regent at all. Delays out were estimated at 2-3 days. my husband and I got lucky and brave and found a supervisor to help find us a plane out that night to another city in the states (we didn't care what city ) because going back to Rio and finding a hotel and being told how unsafe it was to be in Rio by ourselves was NOT and OPTION.

renovations needed

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