We chose this cruise for the itinerary, to visit places that would be difficult to get to otherwise. We had previously visited Japan, and one of us had been on an overland trip to Alaska. This was our 6th cruise and our second Regent. We decided to do the more expensive pre-cruise excursion which took in the Mt Fuji area. The pre-cruise itinerary was quite good, but unfortunately we had a very grey foggy day for our visit to the the Mt Fuji area. We stayed at a Hilton Spa hotel in Odawara, about 90 minutes from Tokyo and that was very enjoyable with the baths and traditional Japanese food. The cruise was generally good, although due to trying to avoid bad weather, we missed the port of Petropavlosk in Russia. We seemed to ride on the edge of teh storm for about 4 days. We were also unable to see the Hubbard Glacier due to fog and rain, despite cruising right up next to it. However, we were blessed with excellent weather in Kodiak & Juneau and decent weather elsewhere - better than we could have expected. Missing the Russian port meant we had 6 consecutive days at sea - everyone was well and truly ready to get off by the time we reached Dutch Harbour. All the Alaskan ports were good apart from Ketchikan which was unpleasantly touristy. The 3 Japanese ports were all interesting places to visit. Dining was miixed. We had 2 good and one average experience in Chartreuse, one great and one average in Prime. A couple of nice meals in the Italian place and Compass Rose was variable, but generally good. They seemed to us to have added more variety to Compass Rose since our last Regent cruise with more Asian food which suited us. Choice of wine is just confusing. There is a wine of the day and others area available if you request. You just have to know what to request. Entertainment was mixed. The magician Matt Marcy was outstanding and the singer Chris Ritchie very good. The Regent Show team wasn't particularly good. The enrichment program was OK. We found the political stuff from the ex-diplomat interesting and some of the sessions from the Alaskan resident interesting, but she was a bit unstructured. The gym was OK when we went and given the weather much of the time there wasn't much competition for space on the exercise deck (when it was open). The quiz was good fun and kept us sane for our 6 days at sea. Shore Excursions were generally well organised and mostly good. We visited Hitachinaka in Japan. The city made a huge effort and provided a dockside village, with stalls and entertainment for the entire day. The small Aleutian island ports of Dutch Harbour & Kodiak also went to a lot of effort. They have no real tourist infrastructure so everyone in the town pitches in - school buses were used for the day to ferry us around. Our main complaint would be that we had trouble getting the shore excursions that we wanted. Many were booked out and while we were wait listed for some, we were unable to wait list for others until we got on board. It made no sense. In Kodiak, all tours were booked out and a number of people couldn't get a tour. No tours were provided in Dutch Harbour, but shuttles to town were provided. Read Less

We chose this cruise for its interesting itinerary, which included calling at Petropavlovsk, Russia, en route from Tokyo to Alaska. We also had a three night pre-cruise package included. For reasons best known to themselves Regent flew us from London Heathrow to Tokyo Narita via Doha on Qatar Airways. A rather circuitous route, when LHR to Tokyo direct would have been a much shorter flying time. It took us 25 hours from leaving home (20-minutes from LHR) to arriving at the Hilton in Tokyo. As a result we had severe jet-lag and didn’t benefit from two full days in Tokyo due to exhaustion. We managed the first half-day afternoon tour, which was rather boring and involved a lot of time driving through Tokyo traffic. The following day, having been woken in the night by constant emergency service vehicle sirens, we were unable to take the morning tour. According to the other travellers we didn’t miss anything. Given that we chose this cruise because of time in Tokyo, the word disappointment doesn’t cover how we felt. Our spirits revived on boarding. The suite, 736, was spacious and comfortable and the crew welcoming. The three brief visits to Hitachinaka, Sendai, and Hakodate were interesting. Unfortunately our stop at Petropavlovsk was cancelled due to bad weather. All the passengers were disappointed as this was one place everyone wanted to see...after all it is a remote place that few tourists have been too. As a result we were six days at sea on a small ship with limited activities. The rain, wind and cold prevented anyone from going outside for fresh air. We were all stir-crazy by the time we reached Dutch Harbor, Unalaska. All though there were no tours on offer the local school buses were drafted in to shuttle us into the ‘town’. Not a lot to see but it was very enjoyable to walk around in the fresh air, seeing eagles, and looking around the settlement. All the stops in Alaska were great, we were blessed with warm weather and blue skies (apart from Ketchikan). Plenty of wild life to see: orcas, sea otters, black bears, eagles. The White Pass & Yukon railway was an excellent trip. The Seven Seas Mariner cannot be faulted for service, however the food was a disappointment. I found the meals to be average. The only time it was to a higher standard was when we ate in Prime 7 or Chartreuse. The entertainment was mediocre apart from Matt Marcy, a magician. The enrichment programmed left a lot to be desired...the female Alaskan lecturer was not a particularly good or inspiring speaker. The trip was made fun by the people we met and by the interesting Alaskan section of the journey. Was it worth the money? NO. We cashed in savings to pay for this trip of a lifetime...and, although the weather is always a risk, the overall ship experience did not live up to the hype of travelling with Regent. With hindsight for less than the cost of this cruise we could have afforded a package trip to Japan, plus an Alaskan cruise. Somehow I feel ripped off. Read Less

We have traveled extensively but are new to cruising. This was our second cruise both on Regent, I would rate the first an A and this one a B-. Cabin: The newly refurbished cabin was beautiful and the housekeeping was phenomenal. Housekeeping not only did their job well they also were very interested that we were happy & enjoying ourselves. Unfortunately our toilet overflowed which wasn't pleasant, water all over. I will say housekeeping did everything in their power to fix the problem and the head of housekeeping apologized. No one else from Regent on board seemed to care. When I asked reception if they could contact us when it was resolved they acted like I was bothering them. I would have at least expected an apology letter and a bottle of wine (all inclusive) or something. crickets!! Dining: Prime 7: Excellent food & service - great evening. Sette Mare: Service was great (ty Nixon). Food was 1/2 excellent - 1/2 average and poor, veal chops were great bronzino was awful, some pastas great some average. Compass Rose: Food was excellent, wide section. Service was decent, some excellent some ok. One big problem with Compass Rose is the new design, it is very bright and they have service stations every 10 yards so almost no matter were you sit you have constant dishes clanging in your ear all evening. Not well thought out. Chartreuse was poor, the menu was very limited, some of the food was ok some poor and the waitress had no interest in our experience. All meals in all restaurants were served at a reasonable pace. Pool Bar & coffee connection were both excellent. Embarkation: Well executed on both sides. Enrichment: Terrible. Entertainment: We don't go on Regent for the entertainment. Fitness Center: Nice new gym. Its small and crowded at peak times. The guy at the desk was pleasant. Onboard experience: All good, we don't partake in the games, with one exception. The on board customs in Japan (when we re entered from Korea) was to say the least a disaster and spiraled into mayhem. The procedure was communicated and executed extremely poorly by Regent, everyone was confused and angry. When one lady complained to the cruise director he actually barked at her and told her you people didn't listen. He would have been better off taking the bull by the horns and fixing the chaos. When you have a group of people who's average age is 70-75 and the alcohol is free you need to be very specific, disciplined and communicate clearly. :) Public Rooms: Mariner just had a beautiful makeover, lovely ship. Service: For the most part good. On our last cruise the service was fantastic, not only did they do their job well they also seemed to have a vested interest in your experience. Here they did their jobs correctly but many of the people had an edge. You felt like they either didn't like their jobs or you. One waitress in the Mariner Lounge was downright rude. I should say some of the people were fantastic, just not a majority. Excursions: Most of the excursions were well executed and interesting. All the tour guides were superb. All were well prepared, knowledgeable, personable and timely. My main complaint is that many of the excursions were very crowed. Value for the Money: With the money that Regent charges it has to be a 5 star experience. You can stay in a great hotel and eat at best restaurants in most cities for less money. Would we go on Regent again? Maybe but after or first experience we only looked at Regent. Now will also look at Seabourn, Crystal etc. Read Less

This is our 3rd Regent cruise, and 2nd on the Mariner. Happy on the 1st & 2nd cruises, but not so on this one. Let's start with the good points: * Excursions: Wide choice and well executed. * Drinks: Good variety, and quality. Wines range is excellent. Bar staff are great, and very flexible. Shout-out to Maya in Observation lounge for her great mixing skills. * Rooms/Ship: Nothing to complain about here. Very quiet (no noise from corridor or rooms next door). Matched expectations and the brochure promises. * Entertainment: Standard fare. Not what we come on a cruise for. * Lecturers: Up there with the best we have seen. * Main Dining Room (MDR): Never denied a table. Good food & varied nightly, but a bit unimaginative. A few small hiccups with a lunch that took 90 mins to arrive, but not a show stopper. But the elephant in the room is the fiasco that is the congested La Veranda/Sette Mare. BREAKFAST (La Veranda) * The congestion is horrible. One example: Toast is made by 1 staff member, and the numerous guests waiting for their toast block the already narrow passage. * The limited space makes some guests pushy and rude; especially if time is short before an excursion. * Saw one guest served under-cooked fried eggs; she did not eat them. * Never went a 2nd time. LUNCH (La Veranda) * Best described as an unpleasant bun-fight on busy days. Continuously running out of things (Main dishes, butter, cheese, etc). When asked, staff would replenish but it just adds to the crazy congestion, frustration, and delays. * Staff will take orders and deliver - which is great is you want your food cold. DINNER (Sette Mare) * 4 nights in a row: Denied a table for 4 between 19:30 ~ 20:15. Usually told the wait was 45 mins. Or told: "Suggest you come at 18:30 tomorrow". So we went to MDR each time. * 5th time lucky, but underwhelming food. So what is the problem? As we were on the same ship just 3 months ago, and did not have the same issues, I concluded it is simply that when full (as it is on this cruise) the La Veranda/Sette Mare simply can not cater properly for the guests on board. This is especially acute if the weather means the pool grill is unpopular that day/night. Once we realised all our frustrations centred on La Veranda/Sette Mare, we simply stopped going there. The little frustrations vanished and we really enjoyed the rest of the ship & cruise. Read Less

I would like to give a bit of back ground info on myself so that when reading this review you can judge if it is relevant to what you deem important in your cruise experience.  My husband and I are in our late 50's early 60's we have over 250 days on Seabourn, 150 days on Silversea and 60 days on Regent.  We sailed the Navigator for a month and loved that ship (even though I felt it was a little crowded at times).  We sailed on the Mariner in Nov/Dec 2018 and enjoyed the cruise experience very much.  We would sail on either of the three lines mentioned but the itinerary comes first for us.  In fact we have a Silversea cruise booked in June 2019, I will be taking my mother on the Voyager in August and we have a Seabourn cruise booked in February 2020.  In this review I won't go into the ports because there have been live blogs done of this cruise so I feel that is redundant.  What I will do is talk about the on board cruise experience.  I'm a positive person and I'm aware how fortunate we are to be able to vacation in such a luxurious way but want to give both the positive and negative views of our latest cruise so it may help others in selecting a cruise line that suits their needs whilst also giving a realistic view of what to expect and not what the glossy brochures portray. The good: Cruise director: John Baron is probably my favourite cruise director.  We sailed with him on Seabourn (his first actually) and then again on both Mariner cruises we have taken.  He is friendly, approachable a good entertainer (his show was really enjoyable) and a great trivia host.  We have also sailed with Marla (his assistant) on Seabourn many times and it is always nice to catch up with her. Compass Rose and both specialty restaurants.  Food was very good at all three of these restaurants. Wine: I feel Regent along with Silversea offer the best wines on any cruise line we have been on.  I also really appreciate the wine tasting of non revenue wines that Regent does.  I wish other cruise lines did this.  The selection of beer and spirits is very good. Cocktails:  The best of all three lines as mentioned above.  Yes, Seabourn has this new mixology cocktail menu.  Very trendy but honestly IMO not as good as Regents offerings.   Shore excursions:  I know a lot of guest really enjoy having the all included shore excursions.  I'm not a fan really as I like to do a bit of both and I know I could do that on Regent but I feel in some way I have already paid for these so I may as well take them.  I find I'm far more adventurous when sailing Seabourn or Silversea as I do a bit of both the cruise lines excursions an independent excursions.  Having said that I can not fault both the organization and the tours themselves.  They are as good as anything that you would pay for on either Silversea or Seabourn.   We did two tours that included lunch and both were a highlight of the trip. Room Service:  I really like the way Regent handles room service.  You place your order and then they call you just before it arrives to your room.  We often have breakfast in our room and it is so nice to get this call and be ready for when it arrives.  Seabourn and Silversea call you after to ask how your food was and inform you that they are going to pick up the tray.  Every time! This gets annoying and feels somewhat disingenuous.  Also when you ask for a glass of Champagne from room service they bring you a bottle.  Seabourn will bring you a glass.  So kudos to Regent for that. Quietness and stability of the Mariner:  This ship rides so smoothly in rough seas and we had a couple of days of those.  The noise insulation is very good.  Never heard our neighbour or any guests in the passage ways.  No vibration that we felt. Breads:  My husband loves bread (french bread in particular) and I will agree with him that Regent has the best bread of the three cruise lines.  Crusty French bread and great artisan breads. Internet: My husband is Tech person and he finds it very important to have good internet access so he can keep in touch with his business.  He appreciates that you can have multiple devices connected in your room.  The not so good: Waiting two hours to be served lunch in Compass Rose.  I later spoke with Ricky (Food and Beverage Manager) and he explained they were implementing a new ordering system and had some teething  problems. This did get better as the cruise went along.  We did get numerous apologies for the wait. He also let know that on our last cruise there were only 500 passengers on board and that this cruise they was at capacity with a full ship. La Veranda:  I can not tell you how disappointed we were in this venue.  Crowded beyond acceptable.  Extra tables were put in the walkway on both side of the buffet and whilst this was appreciated by guests trying to find a table it made the buffet even more crowded.  A full ship with early spring weather (some sunshine but mostly cool) and the Veranda could not handle the passenger numbers.  Management needs to have a good look at this problem.  Perhaps offering a special menu in Compass Rose for lunch to entice more passengers to dine there at lunch would help.  We just avoided going there as it was a disaster.  People bumping into one another.  Dishes running out (seafood platter) and people waiting in queues for 10 minutes to get a portion.  They just did not cope with the amount of guests trying to dine here.  People couldn't find a table, food running out, long waits for it to be replenished.  I also found the food here to be unimaginative.  This is where Regent falls down.  Seabourn's buffet is so much better in variety and quality.  I will say the pizza was good but honestly that was about it. Regent makes the best burger as sea I have ever tasted.  That is where the good ends.  Look at what Seabourn and Silversea do at night on their pool deck.  A real alternative dinning option.  The buffet on the Mariner for lunch is not great at the pool deck.  They had a Mexican buffet and Greek one day and that was just okay but they could really improve on the food offerings here. Afternoon Tea:  Again this is an area where Regent falls behind the other two lines.  Chocolate afternoon tea.  Same tea bags that you can get in any venue and a couple of the cakes were still frozen.  If it is not a special afternoon tea event, you get a small buffet and an offering of tea bags.  Both Seabourn and Silversea have a tea selection which is served at your table and on Silversea a tower of afternoon tea snacks.  Some times we like to skip lunch and just do afternoon tea but we did not do this on Regent. Entertainment:   Some good and some not so good.  The pianist Nicky was fantastic.  The Duo at the bar at the back of the ship are great in the disco but not really suited to pre- evening dance music.  An example of this is that we had a full ship and only 4 or 5 couples dancing.  They are not great and we had them on the last Mariner cruise as well.  Seabourn wins out in this regard as they have a trio and a guitarist and also a pianist so you have much more choice.  Silversea is about the same as Regent.  The guests entertainers were also a mixed bag.  The Australian entertainer was very good.  The Filipino vocalist who won The Voice (or something similar) was good the first night but not so good the second night.  The entertainment is not the most important part of a cruise for me but I do like to dance before and after dinner and we did not do much of this on this cruise as the Duo was really not good.  Summary: As you can see there are more positives than negatives and we really did enjoy this cruise.  Having said that we have never experienced so many little hiccups on one cruise before.  Yes, no cruise is ever going to be perfect or perfect for every guest on board but there were a lot of little hiccups that I have not mentioned. These hiccups happen on all cruise lines but on this cruise there were more than usual.  I have tried to be honest and balanced in my review as I think this helps perspective guests set their expectations and helps them to select a cruise lines that works for them.  I usually like to end my review with would I cruise on this ship again.  Well, yes and no.  I would not cruise Mariner on a cold weather cruise where there was a possibility of a full ship.  I would probably cruise Mariner again a hot weather cruise if the itinerary was right but it may not be my first choice. Read Less

A great itinerary in Southeast Asia. This was my fifth Regent cruise, and found the overall experience very good, but slipped from past Regent Cruises. Ship recently refurbished and very attractive. Would have rated it excellent, but for the dining experience, which I found to have slipped compared to previous Regent cruises. Menu in the Compass Rose was adaquate, not particularly creative. Service was inconsistent for both food and wine. I understand that a major staff change was made in port, an explanation, not an excuse. Dinner in Prime 7 a big failure. Ordered a filet, medium. Received a filet well done on outside, red raw on the inside. Not certain how they did that, other than cooking meat not completely thawed.Other dining options Dining in Chartreuse a beautiful experience. An imaginative menu, perfect excecusion. Have always enjoyed Regent, bot there were enough stumbles to suggest looking at other cruise lines Read Less