How happy are you with your Regent experience?

We are looking to book a special cruise for next year, 2014, as it will be our honeymoon and so we are looking for a luxury cruise experience and we like that Regent is all inclusive so we don't have to worry about where we eat and what we have to drink and also tipping is included. We've also noted that excursions are included on a first come, first serve basis and I am just wondering what the quality is like.

We do look to get value for money and at first glance the cost of these cruises is a bit ouch on the pocket but are they worth this extra cost as opposed to getting a suite on one of the other cruise lines and paying for a drinks package?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated! :)

Kikki - I asked a similar question a few weeks ago, you might find answers to some of your questions here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1783005

But in a nutshell, my wife and I started cruising Regent a couple of years ago, and we were also looking for a nice vacation, bang for the buck, etc - and after extensive research we settled on Regent based on the all-inclusive manner of the cruise. When you do a dollars-to-dollars comparison, Regent is not much more expensive than other lines, and in some cases, it's even less. I don't think you can beat the small-ship feel (yeah, I know some of the other lines have smaller ships...) and the itineraries that Regent offers.

Their prices have crept up lately, as have most prices, but I really don't think you can go wrong booking a Regent cruise if you find an itinerary that works for you.

Whatever you choose to do, good luck and happy cruising! :)

And a few more thoughts - it's more than just booking a suite and buying a drinks package. Regent includes drinks, tips, open seating, excursions, specialty restaurants, etc. that are all added cost on other lines. To us, not having to swipe a card or sign for everything is a huge factor in our choice...

My husband and I (along with both sons on and off) have cruised extensively with Regent and are very pleased. We feel we get our money's worth. If not, we would look elsewhere.

My husband wants everything included. He does not want to have to sign a check or swipe a card to get a drink, etc. We are going to do an Oceania cruise next year, and I have already warned him. I will make it as inclusive as possible by buying the drinks package, buying the internet package, etc, and we will have a concierge suite. As such, our total cost will probably be about the same as what we would spend on a similar cruise on Regent. So though it may look less expensive on another line, by the time everything is added in, Regent is about the same.

We do enjoy the smaller ships. And we know so many of the crew now, that it is like returning home. Our only real complaint is that many of Regent's cruises to more interesting and unusual destinations are too long for us to be gone from work. 14 day cruise is about all I can do with work schedule.

As far as included excursions, I can take or leave. We were with Regent before included excursions. The excursions are the same now, but more people take them. Some of my favorites have been the ones for which there is no extra charge too.

As far as included excursions, I can take or leave. We were with Regent before included excursions. The excursions are the same now, but more people take them. Some of my favorites have been the ones for which there is no extra charge too.

I'd agree with that - we usually take one or two 'upgraded' excursions each cruise, and some of those have been amazing. But just as often, the included ones are pretty good.

I just read an article that broke down total cost vs. base cost on some different cruise lines. It said that Carnival cruises usually average 75% over the base cost per person, Celebrity is about 50% over the base rate, and Regent was like 10-15% over, I'd assume based on upgraded excursions, internet, etc. The big plus for me is not feeling like I'm being nickel and dimed to death.

I just want to take a cruise soon!! LOL!! :D

Aloha,

My wife and I run a very busy business in a small Hawaiian town; we serve 6-800 people everyday, and on top of this, we operate a small wholesale business as well. Thus, when we were finally able to get away together for the first time in some 4 years, we wanted to have someone else make all of the arrangements so that all we had to do was to get on the plane and sleep on our way to Italy.

After a few hiccups in the booking process (our TA left the agency as we were making the booking and another took over), we thought that the service provided by Regent was excellent from the time we arrived in Venice until our departure from Rome. We had great, reasonably priced Business Class flights from Honolulu and a free post night in Rome. The food and service on the Voyager were excellent; in our view, as operators of a high-end tourist- based business in an isolated location, it is a minor miracle that Regent provide the qulaity of staff and service that we experienced on our cruise. The logistics must be a nightmare; however, they pulled it off with grace.

The food ranged from good to excellent and the shore excursions, most of the ones we did were the included ones, were for the most part good as well. We had only one excursion which was somewhat disappointing, mostly due to the fact that there was insufficient time in port.

We lived overseas for many years and have traveled a great deal, mostly in the Pacific Rim, Asia and Europe, so the travel was not new to us, but the level of service, quality of the cabin and the common areas of the ship were a very pleasant surprise--while onboard, we booked a trip for this year.

Bon Voyage!

Aloha,

 

My wife and I run a very busy business in a small Hawaiian town; we serve 6-800 people everyday, and on top of this, we operate a small wholesale business as well. Thus, when we were finally able to get away together for the first time in some 4 years, we wanted to have someone else make all of the arrangements so that all we had to do was to get on the plane and sleep on our way to Italy.

 

After a few hiccups in the booking process (our TA left the agency as we were making the booking and another took over), we thought that the service provided by Regent was excellent from the time we arrived in Venice until our departure from Rome. We had great, reasonably priced Business Class flights from Honolulu and a free post night in Rome. The food and service on the Voyager were excellent; in our view, as operators of a high-end tourist- based business in an isolated location, it is a minor miracle that Regent provide the qulaity of staff and service that we experienced on our cruise. The logistics must be a nightmare; however, they pulled it off with grace.

 

The food ranged from good to excellent and the shore excursions, most of the ones we did were the included ones, were for the most part good as well. We had only one excursion which was somewhat disappointing, mostly due to the fact that there was insufficient time in port.

 

We lived overseas for many years and have traveled a great deal, mostly in the Pacific Rim, Asia and Europe, so the travel was not new to us, but the level of service, quality of the cabin and the common areas of the ship were a very pleasant surprise--while onboard, we booked a trip for this year.

 

Bon Voyage!

Great to read this. Makes me look forward to our March cruise even more.

Regarding cost, you might look at a recent post in another thread on this board, link below, which compares Regent costs with Oceania, which bills itself as an "upper premium" line, and one that gets generally excellent reviews here. We have taken five Regent cruises in the past few years and have been very happy with the overall experience. It's hard to quantify the satisfaction of having everything included, but one aspect of it is that once you board the outbound flight, you can pretty much count on being on vacation, no more keeping a mental running tabulation of extras. The included excursions have been mostly good, the food good to excellent, and the onboard staff great. Plus, no crowds or lines, dine where, when and with whom you like, and excellent suites and public areas.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=37300391#post37300391

We are also in the all inclusive club. We have been sailing with Regent since 2004 and with the exception of an occasional glitch on rare occasions, we are very pleased.

As I have said in many past posts, we go with our feelings and satisfaction index. It is great to put away the credit card after boarding, and with the exception of shopping ashore, nothing has to be signed. Some may consider this a quirk but we don't function too well with debt service.

So what if I have to send back a dish because it wasn't cooked to my spec. Happens in lots of restaurants. Same with hotels...maybe they missed a white glove inspection on the desk. Life is way too short to piddle with the small things. In the big picture, they please us in most every respect....and should they ever really begin to fall apart, we'll worry about it at that time.

Go with them. Almost guaranteed that you will have a wonderful cruise.

We still have 2 cruises booked with them this year and can't wait.

We will be taking our fifteenth Regent cruise next month with two others already booked. We have also sailed on Silversea for their itinerary. We are obviously very pleased with our experiences on Regent and feel it is worth the money. Regent ships are more of a friendly country club environment while cruise lines such as Silversea feel very formal (probably because they are:-)

You mentioned that excursions are on a first come first served basis. While this is true, it is rare that Regent is not able to accommodate guests on the waiting list for a particular excursion. If they can add more buses -- they will. IMO, the quality of the excursions is dependent upon the ports. For instance, our excursions in the Middle East and the Med. have been wonderful while our excursions in some parts of South America have been fairly bland. If you are used to excursions on large ships, you will find Regent excursions easy to manage. However, if you are used to small group excursions, you may find Regent's 5 or 6 buses to the same destinations a bit off putting. We do a combination of small group excursions provided by non-Regent tour guides, Regent excursions and Regent Choice excursions (those which you pay for).

One reason it is difficult to compare excursions is, again, the ports. For instance, when we were in Israel, Regent included 11 hour excursions that included lunch and visits to amazing sights. In two Indian ports, the buses were run down with minimal air conditioning (this was the best available in these ports). Also in India, we were in modern buses and stayed at a luxurious Marriott Hotel and the Taj Palace (a beautiful hotel with amazing food). I suppose the bottom line is that you need to do research -- ask questions on CruiseCritic, etc.

If you let us know what itinerary you are considering, we'll share our experiences with you!

remember that you can always book your own excursions that are usually less than the concierge group excursions that Regent offer. that being said we just went on the small, only 8 people in a van conceriege excursion to the Mekong delta and it was lovely. If you do book your own excursions remember to leave plenty of extra time as the ship will not wait for private excursions to return .

Cruise critic members have been great in recommending local tour operators. Also, your TA probably has a list of preferred vendors.

Appreciate the answers, thank you! Yes... I am also thinking that the all inclusive aspect is most attractive. I have cruised before but my fiance hasn't (we are going on the NCL Jade in March) so he will get his first experience and as he has always wanted to cruise, I know he will be biting my hand off to get a cruise booked for next year. :)

I also like to hear that it isn't too formal and like the "country club" vibe... I am still adding up the costs and if Regent do any special offers, we will pay them great attention, it all sounds very good and I don't mind a smaller ship experience, a cruise is a cruise after all!

As this is your honeymoon Kikki, you might want to take a look at the Paul Gauguin, a smaller ship formerly managed by Regent which still operates much like Regent and was for several years cited as the #1 cruise ship for a honeymoon. French Polynesia where she sails is certainly romantic, and it is a beautiful ship, reputed to continue to be exceptionally well run. Check it out!

Our Regent experience has always been wonderful. I can't think of one instance when we were disappointed. The food, service, ambiance has always been outstanding. With our first Regent cruise I thought my husband was going to balk at the cost. Not at all....he's hooked on Regent. Once you're exposed to cruising with Regent is hard to go back to mainstream cruise lines. Yes, I'm disappointed prices are going up a lot, they only offer free night before cruise for Concierge (I wish they will get rid of Concierge levels) cabins, and upgrade to business has gone up quite a bit (I can understand by another $100 but $300 each way is steep), and yes, I will shop and compare in the future. However, that said, the Regent experience is great and I hope it continues. We are booked next month and I hope the service and food will be as good as in the past. We never do private tours so I have no issue with included tours. In fact, all the ones we have taken have been good. As one post read "you may send back a dish because is not cooked to your liking or whatever, however, that happens at restaurants also". Kiki, if you can, do book your honeymoon with Regent.

We have over 300 nights on Regent ships and have never been disappointed. Everything, from the large staterooms, great food, open seating, included excursions, friendly and efficient staff, etc, it's all top notch. Prices have gone up quite a bit lately, expecially the business class air upgrade, but we still have two future cruises booked and are shopping for more!

Hi, Noel, miss you guys!

Does Really Really happy count!

We had been cruising for 20 years, exclusively with Princess and HAL. We never had a cruise with them that we didn't enjoy although, as with anything in life, there was an occasional blemish. We prefer the longer excursion type voyages, three weeks or more. The longest was on the Prinsendam for almost three months.

But then, in May 2010 we happened upon Regent. Haven't really looked back since, I hardly even gloss others brochures and offers anymore. Our fourth cruise on Regent will be in August on the Voyager. My wife discovered the first one, Navigator. We pretty much share all the positives mentioned in previous posts here. She really likes the absence of nickel and dimeing.

For me Regent stands out in these areas.---Quality of shore excursions.---Quality and size of suites.---Outstanding demeanor of all the crew, i.e. room stewards, bar tenders, waiters, wine stewards, officers, etc.--Staff to guest ratio--Ship design, size and condition--I particularly appreciate the dining arrangements, no waiting, no assigned seating unless we ask to be with someone and almost always get a table for two when desired.--Wine selection is pretty darn good too.

We have really enjoyed our Regent cruises. Be on the Voyager in two weeks. Just heard about the following debacle on the Silver Shadow. Glad I didn't listen to fellow voyagers and give Silverseas a go.

http://www.adn.com/2013/07/26/2993052/inspection-finds-concerns-on-cruise.html

What type of itinerary are you thinking of for your honeymoon, kikk21? Tropical, Europe, Alaska?

We love Regent and have about 100 nights onboard. At the moment we feel that Regent just doesn't have the value proposition for us, and we're exploring elsewhere (Oceania.) But we do love the relaxed feeling, the great service and pretty well everything about our experiences on this cruiseline.

I will second that you might want to consider the Paul Gauguin in Tahiti. It's a long trek from the U.K., however, which is a consideration. But it's a lovely ship and a dream location, perfect for a honeymoon. We'll be back there for a 5th trip we hope in 2014.

We are very happy with Regent. We are platinum now and with 99 days on 4 cruises next year we will be getting close to titanium. It is the over all experience that we truly enjoy as compared to our multiple cruises on Seabourn, Silver Seas and Crystal. We also cruise on Oceania for some itineraries. :D

Wow - cannot believe that this thread has risen after so many months. I am fairly certain that the OP is no longer checking this thread. Still, the "Regent Experience" is as great as it was when we first started sailing on Radisson/Regent ..... almost 10 years ago:-)

Appreciate the answers, thank you! Yes... I am also thinking that the all inclusive aspect is most attractive. I have cruised before but my fiance hasn't (we are going on the NCL Jade in March) so he will get his first experience and as he has always wanted to cruise, I know he will be biting my hand off to get a cruise booked for next year. :)

I also like to hear that it isn't too formal and like the "country club" vibe... I am still adding up the costs and if Regent do any special offers, we will pay them great attention, it all sounds very good and I don't mind a smaller ship experience, a cruise is a cruise after all!

Kiki - let me echo the thoughts of another poster in telling you that the Paul Gauguin experience in French Polynesia is a fabulous trip - we were there in 2009 with our son, DIL, and two grands - they are divers-what great dives, and also spent a night in one of the over water hut thingys and LOVED it. We also celebrated our anniversary while there and took a special excursion on a private yacht with a cocktail party and food with 10 others - it was a wonderful thing - celebrating watching the sunset and moonrise with friends - while we have traveled all over the world on holidays - this one we will cherish for a lifetime - it is also one of the reasons we love, love, love Regent - we are doing a 12 day in September and have been looking forward to it for 14 months!!!!! While we cruise with almost all lines,and are frequent travelers on 2, Regent is our FAV at this point and has been for several years - go - you will not be sorry.

Regent NOT formal, but they do have optional formal nights on longer cruises for those who like to dress up -most pax favor casual dress outlined on Regent site.

As I mentioned earlier we love the Regent experience and have never been disappointed. Once we cruised with Regent we never looked back. I love not having to sign for anything. All the excursions we have taken (some we paid) have been very good and never more than 30 people. We were ready to book Paul Gaugin for French Polynesia and then Regent came out with new itinerary including French Polynesia. We booked the December cruise immediately. The reasons we decided to book Regent instead of PG were: Regent has larger cabins, all excursions are included, laundry room on every deck, very good itinerary, and we know we won't be displeased. We also get free Internet and phone which is a big plus. Our TA recommended we book Regent instead of PG even though she's cruised with PG many times and likes it a lot. You can't beat the size of the cabins in Regent. So, whatever you decide....enjoy. I don't see how you could go wrong with Regent.