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Voyager-Venice to Athens-Mini-Review


taxare
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This was a short 7 day port intensive cruise. We were told there were approx 100 passengers doing a back to back, making it a 19 day cruise. This was our sixth time on Regent and have been on all ships except the Explorer. This was the first time we had been back on Voyager since she was renovated, and we thought she looked great.

 

Air-We used the Regent Air adding the deviation charge. We had terrific connections and have not experienced any of the problems that a previous thread had discussed regarding Europe-US flights.

 

Pre-cruise-We stayed in a G-Dlx Veranda Suite (I just posted a review on Bill's thread) so we didn't use Regent for the pre-cruise hotel. We did stay at the JW Marriott (as did many Regent passengers). As Marriott lifetime platinum, I was treated extremely well. I can understand why some would prefer to stay on the Grand Canal, but we didn't mind the shuttle to St.Mark's square. We really enjoyed our stay there.

 

Venice-Using Trip Advisor we hired a private guide for a day and a half, and she was awesome. This was our first trip to Venice and we loved it. We took a private water taxi to the ship, embarkation was very easy. Despite some weaknesses encountered on each cruise, it is the crew that keep us coming back. For example, the first check-in on the ship, the security person gave my wife a big hug and said welcome back. We saw and conversed with at least 6-7 of the crew that we had met before.

 

We found Destination services to be efficient and helpful. Improved since the last time we sailed in April.

 

Zadar-We went on the ship's Krka National Park tour and enjoyed it very much.

 

Bari-This was the hometown of the Captain, and he went with one of the tours. We sent to Sassi of Matera on the ship's tour and found it fascinating. There was a group of six guests that were loud and disrespectful of the guide. It detracted from our enjoyment of this excursion.

 

Corfu-We hired a private guide for Corfu. It was personalized for us and after the day before we were pleased to be by ourselves and enjoyed ourselves so much, we want to go back.

 

Katakolon, Olympia-We had been to Olympia and therefore took the day off and went to the spa, and relaxed all day. AHHHHH!!!!!

 

Santorini-We LOVE Santorini. We took the ship tour to the Prehistoric Museum and Nomikos Foundation. It was very interesting. There were six guests that couldn't keep up with the walking, so we ended up with eight guests at the end of the tour. It ended at a restaurant where we were supposed to have a little Greek mezze, there was so much food (delicious) we didn't have lunch. The guide was very good.

 

Mykonos-We did the ship tour of Mykonos and the Monastery. We are glad we did it and enjoyed the island and the town. The guide was average.

 

Athens-Took the ships bus to the airport, was uneventful.

 

FOOD-

 

Compass Rose-We really like the new menu. There is something for everything, We really liked our server and therefore asked for him the other three nights we ate there.

 

Setti Mare- It was ok, although we met a very nice couple that we spent some time with. IMO, the menu is getting a little stale there and could use a refresh.

 

Chartreuse-I know there are some on this Board that don't care for it since it changed from Signatures. We found the food and service to be excellent.

 

Prime 7-We also found the food and service to be excellent here.

 

La Veranda-It was fine, service was very good.

 

Room service-We got room service for breakfast three times due to the early excursion times. It was on time and the food was fine.

 

CRUISE CONSULTANT-

 

We had Gudren and found her helpful and efficient. We made an appointment as soon as we got on the ship and booked a 2019 cruise.

 

ENTERTAINMENT-

 

I am embarrassed to say we did not go to any shows except for Crew Capers which we always find time for. Between the early excursions and long dinners with new friends, we were just too tired to go. We did listen to the pianist a few times.

 

HOUSEKEEPING-

 

This was the weak link on this cruise. Unless we can't find the location or size of a cabin that we want, we get the lowest category of cabin meeting our criteria. The standard balcony cabins on Voyager are plenty big enough for us and we don't feel we need the butler. We have had some good-excellent cabin attendants on our previous cruises. All of the issues were minor, but they added up during the week. For example, we always leave a note the first evening as to what we want in the refrigerator. These are simple requests, when we came back to the suite there was 1 of 3 items. We sent out some laundry by the required 9am time to get it back the same day, we didn't get it back that night. The next morning we asked and she said she had it, just didn't deliver it. Crew Kaper night we left the cabin at 6 and put out our Service sign and returned at 9:15, the cabin hadn't been serviced yet. There were several additional items. We asked to speak to the head of housekeeping on the 5th day, and she came to our cabin right away. She explained that the lead attendant was brand new, this was her first week. She apologized profusely and said she will add additional training. They paired her with an assistant that was experienced, but I don't think it worked well. We have high expectations of Regent but we are not overly picky and we don't let this sort of thing ruin our cruise.

 

TIPPING-

Yes, I know this is a sensitive area, not trying to reopen the can of worms. We left an envelope for the Crew Welfare Fund, as we always do and received a kind thank you note from the Human Resources Manager.

 

Overall, the cruise was very enjoyable. The ship was in great shape, the food good to excellent, the cabin good, many nice passengers, and overall a wonderful crew. We will continue to sail Regent once a year. However, that doesn't mean we won't look at other options. Lat year we did a Scenic river cruise and it was fabulous. We are looking forward to seeing the Ritz Carlton Yachts and their itineraries. We are fans of Regent but not constant cheerleaders that believe they can do no wrong. When these threads stay respectful of each other, they are great resources and I thank you for sharing your experiences both positive and negative.

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Pre-cruise-We stayed in a G-Dlx Veranda Suite (I just posted a review on Bill's thread) so we didn't use Regent for the pre-cruise hotel. We did stay at the JW Marriott (as did many Regent passengers). As Marriott lifetime platinum, I was treated extremely well. I can understand why some would prefer to stay on the Grand Canal, but we didn't mind the shuttle to St.Mark's square. We really enjoyed our stay there.

Staying on the island is an experience, that's for sure. A bit pricey, even by Venetian standards, but worth doing at least once, IMO. It's peaceful just to walk the grounds. Tip: The blood orange sorbet at the rooftop restaurant is absolutely one of the most delicious treats we've ever had. It's been years since we stayed there and we STILL talk about the blood orange sorbet. :*

 

 

...For example, the first check-in on the ship, the security person gave my wife a big hug and said welcome back. We saw and conversed with at least 6-7 of the crew that we had met before.

 

We're starting to notice that as well - and it IS a great feeling, kind of like family. We took my mother on her first trip abroad last April and we were warmly greeted by Hans at the hotel in Barcelona, several crew members on board, and we even ran into a tour guide we knew in Piazza Navona in Rome. My mom thought we were celebrities or something. It was great fun.

 

We found Destination services to be efficient and helpful. Improved since the last time we sailed in April.

 

We'd noticed that as well - the past few years, DS has been a sore spot with us, but our last two cruises (April and August, both on Explorer) were dramatically improved. I guess the comment cards really DO work.

 

Santorini-We LOVE Santorini.... It ended at a restaurant where we were supposed to have a little Greek mezze, there was so much food (delicious) we didn't have lunch. The guide was very good.

Did you ever do the donkeys down the cliffs to the harbor? An experience not to be missed. :D And now my mouth is watering, too - the food there is incredible.

 

HOUSEKEEPING-

This was the weak link on this cruise....All of the issues were minor, but they added up during the week....We have high expectations of Regent but we are not overly picky and we don't let this sort of thing ruin our cruise.

 

I've noticed this to a certain extent as well. No major issues for us, but enough minor problems to be noticeable. We took my in-laws with us in August and they noticed it, too. No one thing that makes you angry, just a few minor niggles that get your attention. Kind of like a bunch of little paper cuts... :confused:

 

Overall, the cruise was very enjoyable. The ship was in great shape, the food good to excellent, the cabin good, many nice passengers, and overall a wonderful crew. We will continue to sail Regent once a year. However, that doesn't mean we won't look at other options. Lat year we did a Scenic river cruise and it was fabulous. We are looking forward to seeing the Ritz Carlton Yachts and their itineraries. We are fans of Regent but not constant cheerleaders that believe they can do no wrong. When these threads stay respectful of each other, they are great resources and I thank you for sharing your experiences both positive and negative.

Taxare, thanks for the balanced mini-review. I agree completely with your observations. For us, Regent is still our line of choice - but as an example, we usually have two or three cruises booked out in the future, this time we only have one - and didn't even book another one on board, which is unheard of for us. I still don't know that I'd be happier on any other ocean cruise line, but I'm looking at river cruises and small ship cruises as well. We'll see how it goes.

 

PS - I got your cabin review updated in the Suite Guru spreadsheets - thanks!

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I'll piggy-back on Taxare's review, to give our (me, my Husband, my Mum and Dad) impressions of the cruise. This was our first cruise with Regent; previously we've cruised with a variety of different British lines - we knew that there'd be some cultural differences for us. Please bear with any English terminology such as cabin for stateroom and lift for elevator.

 

PRE-CRUISE

Sending us pre-cruise information that spoke to us about being US/Canadian passengers didn't really endear Regent to us - especially when it said they'd need to keep our passports all week despite us currently being EU citizens and having right of access to all of the countries we were visiting - something I took up with Southampton.

 

I'd also note that I'm the lead passenger and pay for our trips, but Regent both on land and at sea keep addressing everything to my husband both in writing and in person. This is mightily annoying (to me and to him) and an example to my mind of 'everyday sexism' that I know some others have raised in the past (to the ire of others). If the British lines we use have no problem with recognising me as the lead why is it so hard for Regent?

 

AIR

We used Regent Air as we didn't really understand how deviation worked until it was too late. I suspect it wouldn't have made much of a difference to us even if we had, as the European direct market from our part of the UK is dominated by the lower cost airlines now and my TA was told that Regent wouldn't use budget lines even if it made our lives easier. Given the poor leg room and need to buy your own refreshments it's now difficult to view BA (with whom we returned) as any different from the budget lines - but there you go. It meant connecting flights both ways, with a particularly long journey home from Athens.

 

My parents missed the simplicity of the cruise company scheduling a flight and handling your luggage from start to finish, but understood why this approach isn't possible with a line that takes the core of its customer base from North America.

 

TRANSFER

We were thrilled at the thought of a trip by water taxi across the lagoon. Sadly, our taxi 'driver' took us around the top of the main island, through the maritime port and then past the garage plant to get us to the JW Marriott rather than on the more picturesque trip described by others on this board who have made the transfer previously.

 

PRE-CRUISE STAY

We booked D Concierge cabins so stayed at the JW Marriott the night before the cruise began. My husband and I scored an upgrade to a junior suite, which got the holiday off to a good start. We didn't mind the boat ride back and forward from the hotel to see the sights, and saw it as part of the adventure. Breakfast was good and the staff at the hotel were friendly and attentive.

 

EMBARKATION & MUSTER

Embarkation at the smaller San Basilio terminal was straight forward. My husband, who works in the wonderful world of health and safety was particularly impressed by the way that the crew, led by Margaret as cruise director, handled muster. We're all desperate to get on with our holiday and see muster as an imposition but the importance of taking this seriously was well communicated. Seeing one of the two Costa ships in port over the same weekend departing during muster gave many of us sobering thoughts about just how badly things can go wrong when they do go wrong at sea.

 

EXCURSIONS

Destination Services generally ran things well in the Constellation Theatre, although they did get behind on the day we were tendering in Santorini. We were surprised that we weren't asked to provide more detailed feedback on our experiences of the tours taken so that they could assess what had gone well and what had not in making future bookings and arrangements.

 

Zadar - my husband and I went on the Krka National Park trip and river cruise. The park was spectacular, but we had too much free time between finishing the tour of the waterfalls and hydro-electric exhibition and going on the cruise. Many in our group would've preferred free time in the town where we cruised to for lunch. Our guide on this trip was satisfactory.

My parents went on the Zadar and Nin trip, which they found a little overlong on the walking, but remarked that their guide was very engaging.

 

Bari - we all went on the Sassi of Matera trip, which we thoroughly enjoyed. The guide was a very good local who was able to recount his families own history in being moved from the cave dwellings to modern blocks of flats in the 'new town' in the late 1950's and early 1960's.

 

Corfu - we all went on the Acheillion Palace and Old Town trip. The Palace was packed as one of TUI's Mein Schiffs was in port and the German and Austrian connections with the palace meant that many from this ship had made this visit. We've been to Corfu twice in recent years, so went to the Liston for refreshments when we got to the Old Town. Our guide was friendly and informative on this tour.

 

Katakolon - we all went to Olympia and enjoyed it a great deal. The lectures (see below) had helped us with an understanding of the key features of the site. There were a number of guests in our tour group who were disrespectful of the guide in terms of timekeeping and what I'll have to call general ignorance. Despite this, the guide was fantastic and really enhanced the trip for us.

 

Santorini - my husband and I went on the Volcano, Hot Springs and Winery tour. Our guide was great and really helped to bond the group together as we headed up the volcano. My parents went to Akrotiri and enjoyed this visit.

 

Mykonos - my husband and I went to Delos. Unfortunately our guide was not very good - a number of us actually speculated as to whether she was a qualified tour guide at all. We know that some of the other groups from Voyager got excellent guides on this tour, so we seem to have been unlucky. My parents went on the Mykonos Town and Monastery tour - there was far more walking than indicated in the tour description and the tour overran by more than an hour.

 

FOOD

Weirdly, this is where we encountered what we perceive to be the biggest cultural differences for us and what will ultimately stop us from choosing a Regent cruise again.

 

La Veranda - for me and my parents the food was fine in La Veranda. My husband is wheat intolerant and found the lack of clear food labelling so far as allergens go disconcerting (we're used to EU food labelling rules, that allow people with food allergies and intolerances make informed decisions for themselves). He didn't want to spend every meal interrogating staff about what was in each buffet dish on what was, after all, his holiday and found he was living on a bland diet as a result. The waiting staff and management in La Veranda were very good.

 

Prime 7 - we enjoyed the food but the room is very dark and oppressive, with too little room between tables for the furniture selected. As a result staff struggled to serve diners.

 

Compass Rose - On paper this looked great and we know that many posters on these boards really like the new menus. For us it was a massive disappointment. Hot food and side dishes were served lukewarm on cold plates, which diminished our enjoyment of the food greatly and meant that we wasted more than we would have liked. After three nights of this, I raised it with one of the managers asking if it was a cultural thing and we were expecting something that isn't done elsewhere in the world. He assured us not and the next night they pulled out the stops trying to make things right, sadly even then my Dad got a bowl of fries that had been standing long enough to go cold before it reached the table. On subsequent nights, while we got warmed plates, the side orders continued to be lukewarm or cold when they arrived with us. The meals were all variations of meat/fish and two veg - I wouldn't want to be a vegetarian on this trip.

 

Service was patchy, and very slow. They forgot to serve elements of the meal some evenings, like when my Mum got the poppadum but not the pickles to go with it!

 

Others in the dining room seemed happy, we have to accept that its us not them. While not being gourmands, we do like our food properly hot and some variety in our meals, in this respect Regent doesn't seem to be the line for us.

 

Pool Grill - We wouldn't normally be pool grill users, this was our saviour at lunch times as it served hot food that was actually hot!

 

Afternoon tea - we went once and enjoyed it, especially the scones which were extremely light. My husband and Dad remarked that they got the best coffee of the week when we went there.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

We're not big 'users' of the entertainments on cruises, but here's what we did attend/use.

 

Lectures - Michael di Spezio delivered three lectures on the ports we were visiting, giving us a mixture of history, technology and mapping that my Mum and I enjoyed. The lectures definitely helped us put what we learned from individual guides on our excursions. I took a course on 5th Century BC Athens at university and the lectures and excursions have encouraged me to refresh my knowledge.

 

Trivia - we love a general knowledge quiz, but were reluctant to participate initially as we thought feared the focus would be North American. We were wrong and thoroughly enjoyed playing (although I haven't yet forgiven my Mum for overriding my suggestion of Sweet n Low with Sweetex!).

 

TV Films - the choice of films on the TV system was good and my parents watched several recent releases in the afternoons when they got back from excursions. Wonder Woman was made doubly interesting as some of the scenes set in Atlantis were shot in Matera and they had fun spotting places they'd visited a few days earlier.

 

Internet - the internet gave the same frustrations that many others have described in the past on these boards. I won't go over them again - my husbands description was 'like dial-up but far, far worse'. I relied on my smartphone for email, internet etc. as the new EU rules mean that it came out of my standard contract allowance (not much use for passengers from elsewhere in the world, I appreciate).

 

HOUSEKEEPING

While we couldn't fault the cleanliness of our cabin, the personal touch just wasn't there. We weren't asked about our fridge set-up, the cushions on one of my parents' balcony chairs were visibly, badly damaged but still being used, the hairdryer was pretty useless. The beds and pillows were not comfortable and none of us slept well for the whole week.

 

We also missed having a kettle in our rooms. I know they say it's a safety issue, but all of the British lines provide them and now the American lines that are placing a boat ex-Southampton for the summer season have found that they have to do the same if they want to attract British customers. Another of those cultural things really.

 

ALL IN ALL

We enjoyed ourselves, but it wasn't the unalloyed pleasure the brochures had promised ( I know, I know - don't believe the hype). For us the cold hot food and the feeling that the value for money for what we paid wasn't quite there are enough for us to be looking at British lines again for next summer. Clearly, I'm more of a little Englander than I'd ever expected to be!

 

I know there'll be readers who'll think that we're letting minor things override everything they hold to be great about Regent, but the joy of these boards when they work well is getting to hear others views and understand that we all have different showstoppers and things that we'll happily let ride in life.

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Tattycruiser - thank you for the detailed review. You bring up good points.

We also had a food temperature on the Mariner last month and now wonder if the menu change is what started it all. They are now putting side dishes in plates that may not be holding the heat. We did not have this problem prior to the menu change (and had the same experience as you did with French fries).

Have to agree that Regent, being a U.S. based company, passengers may see differences than when sailing on cruise lines based in their country.

In terms of handling luggage, this may depend upon the port of embarkation/debarkation. If we do our own hotel and transportation, most times we get out of the car/bus, identify our luggage and the next time we see it is on the ship (they are taken by porters that are tipped - not part of Regent). After the Regent hotel stay, luggage is put outside of your door and picked up by Regent representatives (not Regent employees) - the luggage is put on the bus and you. You should not be lugging your stuff around.

I would have a problem with Regent air if we lived in the U.K. While Brits gets some benefits that people in the U.S. and Canada do not, air is certainly not one of them.

I'm curious if you or your TA advised Regent of the food that your husband can and cannot eat. Generally they are very helpful in terms of allergies, etc.

Certainly understand that you are an "Englander" (so is my DH) and things are a bit different in the U.S. and on Regent. Speaking as someone born and raised in the U.S., I embrace the differences between the U.S. and U.K. - especially the food. Give me bangers and mash or Shepherds Pie anytime over a hamburger and French fries:D

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I'd also note that I'm the lead passenger and pay for our trips, but Regent both on land and at sea keep addressing everything to my husband both in writing and in person. This is mightily annoying (to me and to him) and an example to my mind of 'everyday sexism' that I know some others have raised in the past (to the ire of others). If the British lines we use have no problem with recognising me as the lead why is it so hard for Regent?]

 

I'm wondering whether you have the same last name? We had the opposite experience. We have different last names but my wife's last name starts with "C" and mine with "E". I don't recall this in the past, but on the TV it didn't say welcome to both just my wife, when we would call about something it was always my wife's name, when we got the cruise questionnaire at the end there was only one for my wife, which we rectified. So in our situation I'm the travel "lead" but my wife got either top or sole billing. Yes, I know, thats the way it should be :D . I did ask if they had a new software system on board, but was told no.

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Thanks fir this info Taxare. The plot thickens on how Regent determines lead passenger. My husband and I do have the same surname, maybe I should've kept my maiden name as my old H definitely comes before my current R.

 

I'm happy to report that we both received comment cards and glad that it's not the sexism I'd assumed.It looks like this could be as big a mystery as how cruise lines determine who get a cabin upgrade ;p.

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I'd also note that I'm the lead passenger and pay for our trips, but Regent both on land and at sea keep addressing everything to my husband both in writing and in person. This is mightily annoying (to me and to him) and an example to my mind of 'everyday sexism' that I know some others have raised in the past (to the ire of others). If the British lines we use have no problem with recognising me as the lead why is it so hard for Regent?]

 

I'm wondering whether you have the same last name? We had the opposite experience. We have different last names but my wife's last name starts with "C" and mine with "E". I don't recall this in the past, but on the TV it didn't say welcome to both just my wife, when we would call about something it was always my wife's name, when we got the cruise questionnaire at the end there was only one for my wife, which we rectified. So in our situation I'm the travel "lead" but my wife got either top or sole billing. Yes, I know, thats the way it should be :D . I did ask if they had a new software system on board, but was told no.

 

 

Allright; well this again is Regent at its best!

We are Platinum members, and for the past 17 trips in the last five years both our names were shown on the TV screen as welcome and I've been the lead.

However this year our 2 trips only my showed my wife's name on the TV, I didn't exist.

As my wife told me she was not planning to leave me after 47 years of marriage, and Reception did not know how to solve things, I rested my case....:cool: :halo:

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Huh. I'd forgotten that, but I noticed that on our last cruise as well. My wife and I have different last names as well and we'd always had both names on the Welcome screen on the TV. This past cruise it was only hers (and her M comes before my P - wonder if that's it?) I can't remember if we were both on the screen on the last few before that one, either.

 

But seriously, that should be an easy fix.

 

And truth be told, my wife is the planner and should be listed as the primary - she carries all the paperwork, makes any private tour arrangements, etc. I handle the cabin selection, dining and excursion reservations online. Unbalanced, I know - but that's how things shook out for us. :D

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And truth be told, my wife is the planner and should be listed as the primary - she carries all the paperwork, makes any private tour arrangements, etc. I handle the cabin selection, dining and excursion reservations online. Unbalanced, I know - but that's how things shook out for us. :D

 

I like how that works and guess that I'm the "primary" in my family........ I do everything that you mentioned above and he pays. Perfect;p

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You guys will love my husband, I read over the brochure and pick out a cruise I may be interested in. I give him the brochure and say which one looks good to you - we normally match. (This is rather easy, because we cruise to go places that a cruise is a better option(Inside passage Alaska, Galapagos, Norway and now the Panama Canal). Overall, we both like long land trips which I plan, better than a cruise. Truth be told I want to eat the local food and hang out in most towns longer than 8 hours.

 

Once I have his buy in - I do everything else, because after 34 years of marriage, I'm much better at making this stuff happen for the best price and experience. (my family calls me TourGuideKathy). We do sit down and look over the excursions together to pick them out!

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Maybe I am just too easy going, but I don't care whose name is listed first or to whom things are addressed as long as I am onboard and getting to cruise. I do all the planning, paying, etc, but George is usually listed first. Not a big deal.

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I would agree I don't care whose name is first, but they should be able to get both names on the screen.

That's kind of where I am - it doesn't really bother me, but if they're only going to have one name on the screen/paperwork/whatever, please make it my wife's name and not mine! And yeah, they should be able to do both names. I mean, what if you have two friends travelling together - why would you put one name on the welcome screen and not the other?!? Kind of tacky...

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That's kind of where I am - it doesn't really bother me, but if they're only going to have one name on the screen/paperwork/whatever, please make it my wife's name and not mine! And yeah, they should be able to do both names. I mean, what if you have two friends travelling together - why would you put one name on the welcome screen and not the other?!? Kind of tacky...

 

As usual, I agree with you Bill. Let me put things in perspective. Recently, my wife bought me a hat, and it says 1.3 on the back. I asked her what that meant? She said I told her she is always No 1 in the house (true), but then male dachshund is No 2 and female dachshund is No 3, so 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 and me 1.3. So.... I would have like to see my name on the screen so I can be 1.1 for a week!!! :D:D

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As usual, I agree with you Bill. Let me put things in perspective. Recently, my wife bought me a hat, and it says 1.3 on the back. I asked her what that meant? She said I told her she is always No 1 in the house (true), but then male dachshund is No 2 and female dachshund is No 3, so 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 and me 1.3. So.... I would have like to see my name on the screen so I can be 1.1 for a week!!! :D:D

 

Great and very funny post. I would rather see my kitties name on the screen than ours. It is interesting that I have never given much attention to who a "primary" is except when we buys cars. We tend to buy twin cars - on the same day so one needs my DH's name first and the other my name first so we can keep track of them. Other than that, I could care less how our mail is addressed and wouldn't notice if our names weren't on the television at all.

 

Now you have me thinking about what number I am. I'm voluntarily putting the 3 cats ahead of me so I'm probably 4.0:halo:

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  • 3 weeks later...

... ALL IN ALL We enjoyed ourselves, but it wasn't the unalloyed pleasure the brochures had promised ( I know, I know - don't believe the hype). For us the cold hot food and the feeling that the value for money for what we paid wasn't quite there are enough for us to be looking at British lines again for next summer. Clearly, I'm more of a little Englander than I'd ever expected to be! I know there'll be readers who'll think that we're letting minor things override everything they hold to be great about Regent, but the joy of these boards when they work well is getting to hear others views and understand that we all have different showstoppers and things that we'll happily let ride in life.

 

What a superb, thoughtful review. I hope that the Regent bosses read it and take heed. Thank you.

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I think food temperature is a cultural thing as I have travelled both in Canada and the USA and find that plates are normally cold and food warm rather than hot and often they will bring the main course whilst we are still eating our starter, but this experience is in restaurants and not American cruise lines.

Over here, we find the meals tend to be served hotter and on warm/hot plates which means the food stays hot longer.

Hubby is a firm believer that if food is meant to be hot, it should be hot and will send it back if it is too cool and ask to be served a hot meal.

So fingers crossed

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I think food temperature is a cultural thing as I have travelled both in Canada and the USA and find that plates are normally cold and food warm rather than hot and often they will bring the main course whilst we are still eating our starter, but this experience is in restaurants and not American cruise lines.

Over here, we find the meals tend to be served hotter and on warm/hot plates which means the food stays hot longer.

Hubby is a firm believer that if food is meant to be hot, it should be hot and will send it back if it is too cool and ask to be served a hot meal.

So fingers crossed

 

My husband and I eat dinner out at least three times a week and the plates are usually very, very hot. The server will tell us not to touch the plates. Mind you I'm not eating at any of the chains that can appear all over the states (Olive Garden, Cheesecake Factory, etc). So I don't know if they have hot plates or not! However, Regent plates should be serving at least the main entrée on a hot plate. I agree when I cruise in January, if the food is cold , it will be going back to the kitchen. On a side note, I was in Barabdos this year and the breakfast buffet had baked beans on it since most of the folks are from England - my husband and I looked at those and said yuk! So there are some differences on both sides of the pond!

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My husband and I eat dinner out at least three times a week and the plates are usually very, very hot. The server will tell us not to touch the plates. Mind you I'm not eating at any of the chains that can appear all over the states (Olive Garden, Cheesecake Factory, etc). So I don't know if they have hot plates or not! However, Regent plates should be serving at least the main entrée on a hot plate. I agree when I cruise in January, if the food is cold , it will be going back to the kitchen. On a side note, I was in Barabdos this year and the breakfast buffet had baked beans on it since most of the folks are from England - my husband and I looked at those and said yuk! So there are some differences on both sides of the pond!

 

For us, trying different countries food is all part of travelling and often I will by a recipe book and try to recreate dishes we have eaten. Having family in the rural mid west means I have had dishes that don't appear on the 'chains' menu.

I remember being taken to a restaurant and my cousin telling me, "there is no menu, it is whatever is in season and they are cooking" Dinner was lovely.

 

Sorry if i gave the impression that all plates are cold/lukewarm over the pond, we too have had hot plates, but unfortunately more of the cooler ones, and this has been in non chain restaurants too.

 

Just to add, baked beans are an English staple and there are good ones and bad ones. Just to throw an oddity in, I much prefer baked beans cold, straight from the can!!

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Just to add, baked beans are an English staple and there are good ones and bad ones. Just to throw an oddity in, I much prefer baked beans cold, straight from the can!!

 

My DH (British) loves cold beans out of the can and also eats beans for breakfast when we are on Regent. On our last cruise (September), for some reason the chef put garlic into the beans and barely heated it -- the taste of raw garlic in beans sent my DH to the Maitre 'D to comment. Regent, being as accommodating as they are, did a standing order for beans without garlic in the morning. I think that beans go rather well with bacon (American bacon) but the beans need to be hot.

 

I agree with you that people in the U.S. are a bit easier about food that isn't very hot. On Regent, I feel that the temperature of the food has a lot to do with the plates being used. If they do not retain heat, the food can be lukewarm by the time it reaches the table. Prior to the new CR menu, food was always hot on the plate (and soups do come up hot). Now, the plate that has the main dish is hot but the side dishes are not. Perhaps they need to use different bowls for the side dishes. This has been mentioned to Regent (likely by several of us) and I expect that the side dish issue will be resolved quickly.

 

I'm not a very fussy person and most things just don't bother me. However, I did have to comment about the food temperature on my Final Questionnaire so I hope that when we return to the Mariner next week that the temperature issues will be resolved.

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