New to Regent - educate me please!

[janets here]

My husband and I are in our early 40s and have cruised with Celebrity Cruises and Azamara. We love their ships, food and service.

Would we feel the same way about Regent? Apart from bigger staterooms, what can we expect? We're not too fussed about entertainment, but enjoy meeting interesting people, eating good food and finding a quiet spot to sit down with a book.

Looking forward to your comments!

[NC&KY]

Let me make clear that I am much less experienced than others on this board. We went on two Celebrity cruises before going to Tahiti with Regent, so I actually haven't been on a "real" Regent cruise; that's coming up in August. But I don't think I'll ever go back. The small ship, the open seating at dinner, and most importantly, the absence of the "nickle-and-diming" that used to bug me to death on Celebrity have changed my mind. It simply put me at a peace of mind not to have to worry each evening how much a bottle of wine will be or whether I should have an espresso. The all-inclusive pricing was very important, but the small ships with the much more person service also contribute to a more relaxed atmosphere. Given your ages, I assume you are still working and that a cruise is a vacation; same for us (although we're 15 years older than you). I think you will find the Regent experience allows you to get away from your work mentality easier than Celebrity does.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

I'd say you'd be pretty spoiled and your ability to sail on the Mass Market Cruises would be greatly impaired. Happened to us. Very hard to step back. We did Regent and then a Celebrity. We hated the Celebrity experience after the Regent cruise. Then again our expectations are also very high as well and there were issues with our Celebrity cabin.

We love Regent. It's our favorite although I will say we also love Oceania as well!

[cruzndiz]

Janet: the larger stateroom was one of the things that I totally forgot about as being an added perk on Regent ;)

Read my blog from my January cruise to get a feel for what you can expect! Enjoy

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Janet, I'm sure you would love Regent. As someone else said, no nickel and diming, all inclusive, including cocktails, wine and any other kind of drink, anywhere. In fact, it's very hard to spend money on board these days, except for the spa. Wonderful service, a vey spacious feel, no crowding, so you should find that cozy nook easily. Although that may very well be in your lovely stateroom, with its walk-in closet!

Regent is known for its great service and wonderful dining--new specialty restaurant Prime 7 is very popular. No charge for these either.