On-board Itinerary and dinning

Hi All,

I'm booked on the explorer for October of 2017 and am very excited for the trip. In July I am able to reserve restaurants on-board, but am unsure what dates are optimal. Often cruises have special dinner's like captains night were dinning in the primary dinning room is optimal. How am I supposed to know what nights to book special restaurants if I'm not given the information on on-board activities? Is an on-board itinerary ever released?

Also I will be sailing with my wife and am curious how dinner works. Are there multiple seating times? Will we have the same table each night, and will we have a table to ourselves or share with others?

Hi and welcome to the Regent board. I'll try to answer your questions and am sure that others will pipe in.

Firstly, open seating is just that - you dine anytime that the restaurant is open. The tables for two by the window do tend to go first so if this is important to you, I suggest getting to Compass Rose (the main dining room) when it opens at 6:30 p.m. The busiest times tend to be from 7:00 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. (more about that in a moment). When the restaurant is full, it can be more difficult to get tables for two. If you enjoy dining with others, simply let the Maitre 'd know and they will seat you at a larger table.

Unfortunately there is no onboard itinerary available in advance. The "special" nights are unique and can change but are generally as follows. The Captain's Reception is held at 6:00 p.m. on the second night (unless you overnight in the port where you embark in which case it would be the third night -- this is easy to determine in advance). The Captain's Farewell is the second to the last night (again, unless the ship overnights in the port where you disembark).

At the conclusion of the Captain's Reception and Captain's Farewell (which includes a not to be missed show put on by the crew), Compass Rose becomes mobbed. As with any restaurant, when you have 200-400 people showing up at the same time, this can slow down service dramatically. We try to get there either early or late to avoid the crowds.

Whenever the date is that you can book your dining reservations, keep in mind that the time is midnight Eastern Daylight Savings time. This means that you can book reservations on the west coast at 9:00 p.m. the night before (hope that makes sense). Dining reservations - particularly for Pacific Rim tend to book up quickly,

The Explorer is an amazing ship -- we have already sailed on her four times. You will have a great time!

Compass Rose (the main dining room) is open seating; dine whenever you choose, either as a couple or at a shared table.

With the comprehensive menu in Compass Rose, every night is optimal.

The three speciality restaurants (Prime 7, Chartreuse & Pacific Rim) must be booked in advance (no additional charge); again you can choose to dine as a couple or share with others. You may make one reservation in each speciality restaurant in advance of the cruise (on-line or by telephone); you may be able to make further reservations when you are on-board.

Sette Mari is again open seating with no reservations required. However is does fill up quickly each night so go reasonably early.

A daily itinerary is not issued in advance; Captain's Welcome Reception (6pm) will most likely be on the second night of the cruise; Production Shows/Visiting Entertainers normally start at 9:30pm

For us deciding which nights/times to pre-book the speciality restaurants is driven by what activities we may be doing on the day before and day after.

Further information about all the restaurants may be found on the Regent website:

https://www.rssc.com/experience/cuisine/

TC and Flossie have it pretty much covered! I also plan my specialty restaurant nights based on what excursions we have on a particular day. For example, if we're doing a LONG excursion with meals included, such as a cooking demo or something, we won't book a specialty that night - we often just call for room service on those nights.

And on the subject of cooking classes, if you enjoy cooking, the Culinaty Arts Kitchen is a lot of fun - they're a slight surcharge, but worth it in my opinion.

So you'd be wise to know which excursions you've booked, and when. Keep an eye on your return times, especially if you prefer dining earlier (as we do). Also be aware that reservations go quickly on sea days, too.

It's a little bit of planning, but well worth it! Good luck and enjoy!

PS - we won't catch up with Travelcat on Explorer days, but we're getting ready for our second trip aboard her in just a few months, with another planned further out. Suffice it to say we love this ship. :D