Explorer Feb 14 review

We just returned from a 10-day Western Caribbean journey on the explorer. For anyone considering sailing on this ship, our suggestion is to not hesitate and go for it.

This was our first Regent cruise and will not be our last. Our concierge level stateroom was spacious and had more storage space then we could fill. The bathroom was large and had drawers and shelf space to hold anything we could bring. We liked having 2 sinks, a tub and a shower. Having the laundry right down the hall was very convenient for washing swimsuits after snorkeling. The food was amazing. Our favorites included: Pacific Rim and Prime 7, don’t miss the 14 layer chocolate cake, trust me you will love it. The pools were heated and well used; we were concerned that they would be too cold for us, not an issue. Bob enjoyed the lectures, and we found the evening entertainment to be excellent. We laughed to Bruce Smirnoff’s humor, swayed to Doug Camron’s melodic violin, danced to the Broadway and 60’s music and swooned to Tammy & Andy’s beautiful singing. Each night we listened to Tim’s excellent piano playing and enjoyed “Name the Tune” with friends until the wee hours.

The staff was very caring, sweet and helpful. Anything we asked for was delivered without hesitation. For example, Bob requested IPA beer and the next day a supply was in our cabin. We found out later that it was not carried onboard and someone went to port and purchased it for Bob. Just one example of how above and beyond everyone goes to make sure the passengers are taken care of.

I could go on and on, but I think you have the gist. We have booked another trip on the Explorer.

There were a few areas that need improvement.

* The Internet connection was iffy at best.

* We did not enjoy the shore excursions that we took from the ships offerings; this may be because of the itinerary, however at this time it is our only means for comment.

* The cooking class was a huge disappointment. Bob has a shellfish allergy and we checked prior to booking the cooking class that it was only “fish” and no shellfish. The class began with scallops and then moved to shrimp. Although they switched to fish for Bob, there was serious cross-contamination in the ovens and Bob got quite sick. We requested a refund and wanted to leave the class. The head chef would only refund Bob. We missed two of the recipes because of the time spent talking to her. We stayed even though we did not want to. It felt like the cooking school was a concession that was not run by Regent. Their main concern was the money; not that the passengers were taken care of. Also but not as important, the chef teaching was not good. She forgot steps and the food was not great.

I personally am glad to hear your well balanced review. Everything can't be perfect and you seem to be a person who views a glass half full, rather than half empty. We had a wonderful time on The Explorer from Miami to Los Angeles and even though everything, just everything was not perfect we booked an entire month of December on that ship. What is not to like!

Really appreciate your review and agree with the positives and one of the negatives - the excursions. Wish we could opt out (and receive a credit as we do with hotels and flights).

The Culinary Kitchen is run by Regent - with Regent crew members and is typically wonderful. Did you report the problem to the General Manager? Hopefully you did mention it on the mid-cruise and final questionnaire as these are read by management in Miami. Misrepresenting the class was wrong on many levels. However, since only your husband had the allergy, it kind of makes sense that only he was refunded the money.

In terms of the internet connection, some passengers have problems and others do not. During our 3 cruises on the Explorer, the internet worked fine most of the time (we avoided times when everyone was onboard on sea days and before excursions left in the morning). There are places where the satellite signal is weaker than in other places.

It is great to know that you really enjoyed your first Regent cruise. IMO, the only problem with Regent is that it becomes addicting:evilsmile:

Loved your review, Sharon2975. We also were thrilled with our recent Miami - LA cruise on the Explorer, and couldn't believe the level of luxury. One area that could be improved ... and this overlaps with your comment ... was the Internet. Wifi was spotty, and almost non-existent on the last days of the cruise as we sailed from Mexico to LA (even at 2AM). The Explorer needs to provide reliable Internet, most definitely.

Sharon,

Thanks for your very well balanced review and glad to hear you had a good cruise

Interested in your comments regarding the cookery class. We are booked for 'Gone Fishing' on our cruise in April, so hope the standard of teaching improves; fortunately we have no food allergies

As this is a cruise we are considering for 2018, I would be very interested in some specifics on the excursions that you did not like, and why. This would be very helpful when we do our booking - if we do a booking.

Also, any comment on the availability of pool lounge chairs? Other posts have complained about lounge hogs, reserving chairs for hours and not showing up.

Thanks.

So glad that our review was well received. Here are some followup comments: Travelcat: as to the refund of the cooking class, We both wanted to not take the class since it was mis-represented as "fish only" Chef Kelly would only refund Bob (since we stayed there was NO refund) and not me, since I did not have an allergy. In retrospect, since Bob got sick, the money should not have mattered and we should have left the class. As to reporting this, it was the final day of the cruise and we had filled out our forms and placed them in the box prior to taking the class, so we did not report it to the ship. Do you know if there is a way to report it to Regent now? We have told our TA.

As to the the shore excursions: Costa Maya, we signed up to snorkel and took the tram to the beach. The beach was unappealing and we got right into a cab and returned to the ship. those that stayed reported seeing no fish in the mirky water. we visited the ruins in Belize. from what we heard the ruins in other stops were better. As snorkelers we felt that the shore excursions did not identify the best options and maximized the water time. We loved our day in Cozumel where we arranged our own snorkel trip, well worth the cost and time to arrange.

That said: We LOVE the ship, the food and the STAFF. Cant wait to return. We will not take another cooking class, and will carefully consider the shore excursions.

Thank you for your review and followup. It is great to read good, balanced reviews.

Great review! Thanks for sharing your experience.

What was the name of the chef? You should have gone to the top to complain onboard. The shellfish misrepresentation alone merits a full refund for both of you, at a minimum.

dont remember the name of the chef teaching the class. Chef Kelly was in the cooking school office and she is the person we spoke to about the shellfish. I agree that I should have taken this further on the ship. It was the last day of the trip and I just wanted to enjoy the little time we had left. Everything on the ship was so hassle free that the issue with the cooking class really stuck out like a sore thumb, that is why I thought it must be a concession since everyone else on the Explorer went way over and above to make sure the passengers were happy. Thanks JPR for understanding our frustration.

dont remember the name of the chef teaching the class. Chef Kelly was in the cooking school office and she is the person we spoke to about the shellfish. I agree that I should have taken this further on the ship. It was the last day of the trip and I just wanted to enjoy the little time we had left. Everything on the ship was so hassle free that the issue with the cooking class really stuck out like a sore thumb, that is why I thought it must be a concession since everyone else on the Explorer went way over and above to make sure the passengers were happy. Thanks JPR for understanding our frustration.

Chef Kelly manages the Culinary Program for Regent (Explorer only) and the two Oceania ships that have a Culinary Center. The seafood cooking class was obviously misrepresented and I have full confidence that this will not happen in the future.

Sharon,

The thing that makes me hesitant to book the Explorer is that I have heard and read that the "basic suites" are much smaller than on Regent's other three ships. For cruises of 14 days or less, we have always been comfortable in the basic suites on the other three (except we upgrade to a balcony on the Navigator) -- but we wouldn't want them any smaller. I realize you booked a more up-scale suite, but do you have any information or comments on the basic suites?

Sharon,

 

The thing that makes me hesitant to book the Explorer is that I have heard and read that the "basic suites" are much smaller than on Regent's other three ships. For cruises of 14 days or less, we have always been comfortable in the basic suites on the other three (except we upgrade to a balcony on the Navigator) -- but we wouldn't want them any smaller. I realize you booked a more up-scale suite, but do you have any information or comments on the basic suites?

While I am not Sharon, we have toured all categories of suites on the Explorer. IMO, a "basic suite" would be a category F1/F2 on the Explorer which is the best basic suite that we have ever seen (loads of storage, large bathroom and a closet similar in size to the ones on the Voyager and Navigator. The issue is that Regent built two levels below what I would call "basic suites". At one time there was a lot of discussion of making the "G" or "H" level suites for people traveling alone. I don't know what happened but there are no "single" suites on the Explorer (but the "G" and "H" suites should be). While I feel that these suites are perfect for singles, they do not work well for two people (this opinion is shared by our TA who is one of the top sellers of Regent).

So, while I highly recommend the F1/F2 suites, I cannot in good conscience recommend the "G" or "H" suites for anyone that has sailed on Regent's other ships. For people moving up from mainstream or premium cruise lines, these suites may work just fine (they have a balcony, small bathroom and small closet).

Thanks for the reply, over our many cruises we have adopted a rule for us, "get at least 250 sq. ft excluding balcony or don't go". G and H on the Explorer are 219 sq. ft. And cost more per day than much larger suites on Regent's other ships -- and the other ships charge plenty! Absent some sort of a really great sale, I doubt we will ever take the Explorer.

The thing that makes me hesitant to book the Explorer is that I have heard and read that the "basic suites" are much smaller than on Regent's other three ships. For cruises of 14 days or less, we have always been comfortable in the basic suites on the other three (except we upgrade to a balcony on the Navigator) -- but we wouldn't want them any smaller. I realize you booked a more up-scale suite, but do you have any information or comments on the basic suites?

Hi

There is another thread on CC about G2 (G1 would be the same) which might help:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2458538

For a cruise of 14 nights or less, if the itinerary (and price) was right I wouldn't hesitate to book a G2 on Explorer.

We were on the same cruise as Sharon, in a G2.

I haven't added our review, as just about everything has been covered in this and other threads. There is much to like, a few niggles, but perfection is in the eye of the beholder.....

lprp,

Thanks for the link. Read all of the thread. There was one erroneous post that stated the Explorer Gs were the same size as the Mariner Gs. Regent's site states that the Explorer Gs are 219 sq. ft. and the Mariner Gs are 252 sq. ft. -- not counting balcony size.

I too might take an Explorer G if the price and itinerary were "right". But so far, the Explorer prices seem to be considerably higher than the Mariner, Voyager, and balconies on the Navigator.

It's all a matter of personal tastes IMO. We just don't like tight quarters. To some, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that those who have cruised other Regent ships know that the lower category Explorer suites are much smaller before they book.

lprp,

 

I too might take an Explorer G if the price and itinerary were "right". But so far, the Explorer prices seem to be considerably higher than the Mariner, Voyager, and balconies on the Navigator.

 

.

I just did a quick comparison of a 10 night Caribbean cruise on the Mariner and Explorer for this month. There is a $600/person difference between the two ships. While I would not consider the Explorer price "considerably higher", it is higher. The next level up on the Explorer is $900/person more than the Mariner but, IMO, the suite is so lovely that it is worth a lot more than that (suites larger than the Voyager, larger bathroom with two sinks - large shower and tub).

Everyone has different tolerances when it comes to suite size. On the Mariner and Voyager we would only book a PH but on the Explorer, the F1/F2 suites are fine for us (and funnily, we do not care for the PH suites on the Explorer).

Travelcat,

I certainly agree that the F1 and F2 suites on the Explorer look very inviting. We may splurge for those someday. But we'd NEVER book an H on the Explorer, while we would (and have done so) on the Mariner. Perhaps the price differences between the Explorer and other Regent ships has changed. Frankly, I haven't checked lately.

This thread answered a question for me... whether to take (or not) a cooking class on Explorer. (I have taken two Cordon Blue courses (not classes..) on the Mariner in the distant past and several classes on Oceania's Riviera more recently). I shall not be taking a class if Chef Kelly has anything to do with it. Simply not professional -- and the way the OP was treated shows that too...

Well, my wife and I have always enjoyed the classes, including several with Chef Kelly. Your loss.

Agree with you -- Chef Kelly was delightful. We thoroughly enjoyed our classes with her on the Riviera. As you no doubt know, she is the head of the entire Culinary Center program on Oceania's Riviera and Marina as well as on Regent's Explorer. I would not hesitate to take a class that she was giving.

to be clear: Chef Kelly did NOT teach the class we took. The person who was the "teacher" seemed over her head. I love to cook and spend a lot of time in the kitchen, trust me when I tell you that this teacher should find something else to do as teaching cooking is not her calling. Her major concern seemed to be watching the clock to make sure she was running on time. She went so far as to assign one of the "students" the job of reporting the time to her all through the class.

We took the class hoping to come home with some new ways to prepare fish.

Last night I cooked Steelhead using one of my tried and true recipes. It was so much better then anything we had in the "class".

to be clear: Chef Kelly did NOT teach the class we took. The person who was the "teacher" seemed over her head. I love to cook and spend a lot of time in the kitchen, trust me when I tell you that this teacher should find something else to do as teaching cooking is not her calling. Her major concern seemed to be watching the clock to make sure she was running on time. She went so far as to assign one of the "students" the job of reporting the time to her all through the class.

We took the class hoping to come home with some new ways to prepare fish.

Last night I cooked Steelhead using one of my tried and true recipes. It was so much better then anything we had in the "class".

While we have not taken a "class" on the Explorer, we did two excursions where the Culinary Chef accompanied us. They were in the process of transferring from the Chef that was onboard in November-early December to another Chef. She was a slightly older lady (not wanting to name anyone as it is not fair). Does this sound like the person that was the Chef of your class?

Also, IMO, the Culinary Kitchen Chefs get so involved in what they are doing (which includes helping the students) that asking a student to keep track of time is likely a good idea.

Sharon, I understand that your experience was not positive (mostly because of your DH's allergy to shellfish which you should have been warned about). However, on Oceania, there is almost 100% positive feedback about their culinary classes (and they use the same Chefs that are being used on the Explorer). And, so far, on the Explorer the reviews are also positive. It seems that your experience was an anomaly (or perhaps this is an issue that only occurs with fish classes and maybe the fish classes should be discontinued or refigured).

I feel that CC posters should know that the majority of passengers that take either the Culinary classes or excursions are in for an amazing and wonderful experience.

Definitely the case on our December 28, 2016 Panama Canal cruise, but the solid teacher retired from the cruise line to pursue a restaurant career again.