How happy are you with your Regent experience?

[mangia bene vivi felice]

Let me start with this: I almost fainted when I saw our final settlement/bill.

 

$166.

 

We took our first Regent cruise this June. The stellar itinerary swayed us away from our beloved Silversea. We are now converts. This was an over-the-top experience.

 

Our only regret? Seriously over packing. We heard that RSSC was "country club casual," but we did not want to be surprised. I brought too many Silversea outfits, most of which never came off the hanger (in our nice-sized walk-in closet.) We loved the relaxed atmosphere -- not just in dress code, but also in the general nature of our fellow voyagers. The environment onboard is quite convivial and casual. We came home with new and wonderful friends (three couples will be joining us in the Caribbean next year!)

 

This was by far the friendliest group of people and staff. The dining experience, exquisite (and I am super picky.)

 

Kikki, you cannot go wrong with Regent!

[H20TGP]

We have just returned from our Royal Baltic cruise. ( 28th July to 4th August 2013 )

It was our first cruise with Regent and our first proper cruise not counting a Carnival 3 night booze cruise from Miami a couple of years ago.

That cruise could easily have put us off cruising for life!

The Baltic cruise was perfect in every way, weather not so great but it didn't matter with so much to do and see. We enjoyed Prime 7 and Signatures but to be honest Compass Rose was just as good.

Our deluxe suite was better than I had hoped for and it was a shame we couldn't spend more time in it!!

Wonderful staff all over the vessel.

If we do choose to cruise with another company I fear they will have a hard act to follow.

 

Tom & Sue

:)

[SNAFL]

We are looking at Regent's Istanbul to Rome in October. It appears to be a deal too good to pass up. Anyone done that cruise?

[Travelcat2]

We are looking at Regent's Istanbul to Rome in October. It appears to be a deal too good to pass up. Anyone done that cruise?

 

Yes -- we did that itinerary and loved it. Istanbul is one of our favorite cities in the world and it hard to beat the Italian Riviera. You will have a fantastic cruise:)

[RachelG]

Love, love, love that cruise, and the perfect time of year. Try to spend at least a day ahead in Istanbul.

[pingpong1]

Well, I guess I would have to echo some of TC's comments. After hearing "boatloads" of negatives over the past few months, it's nice every once in a while to hear some positives about Regent every now and then! Perhaps they're "victims of their own success". Once the bar is raised so high, everyone expects it to go even higher! With our long-awaited cruise to the Med coming up in a little over two months from now, I'm getting excited, and looking forward to a nice single-malt out on the pool deck and a lovely filet in Prime 7. How can life be better than that! Regards to all.

[wripro]

Great attitude, pingppong1. I hope you really enjoy you really upcoming cruise.

[JPR]

Most of the critics just want Regent not to slip. I may now prefer Oceania Riviera and Marina, but my next two cruises are on Voyager and Navigator...

[Travelcat2]

Most of the critics just want Regent not to slip. I may now prefer Oceania Riviera and Marina, but my next two cruises are on Voyager and Navigator...

 

I'm curious. When you post that you "may now prefer Oceania Riviera and Marina", what do you specifically mean? We loved our Riviera cruise and have nothing negative to say. However, Regent is still our cruise line of choice (except for the Navigator). Anxious to know more of your thoughts. Thanks:-)

[jhp]

In keeping on topic of the thread, I'm one of those happy Regent campers as well. Have been with the line since 2000, maiden year of the Navigator, over 30 cruises in all, most of them the shorter ones 7-14 days, a few longer. I've tried Silversea twice along the way, and was pleased with that too, actually felt like I was on Regent/Radisson, as they offered the same. I first chose to cruise them for an odd cruise in Asia with my adult daughter mostly in Malyasia that had a "can't say no to this one" price. We loved it. One of these days, I'd like to try Seabourn, have been reading their board for years and have friends who've been happy there as well, and there's Oceania, and Azamara, all in time!

 

What I love every time I get on a Regent ship is....most everything! The warmth I feel from the staff from the minute I step on the ship, and room attendents in particular, the room service (and I use that every morning), the variety of activities onboard for any interest from onboard lectures on history, ports, arts, space, politics, whatever, and the elaborate sea day teas, trivia, bingo, Liar's Club, gaming, all within an atmosphere that is well, refined, never ever "circus", no crazy pool games with microphone blaring on deck all day, and only necessary ship announcements intruding into the cabins. I catch the shows now and then, or duck in for a few minutes being late from dinner. Best ever entertainment was on a crossing, can't remember which one, but the Platters were onboard. They brought down the house for every performance. That tells my age ;) And another crossing to South America, where we had great tango entertainers from South America in Horizon and other venues. And I love the choice of dining venues, but CR always fine for me.

 

Of course, nothing is perfect all of the time, and there have been some glitches from time to time, nothing to raise cain about, or I would not keep coming back. I try to settle them on the spot, and have not been disappointed. On every cruise, I always book another ahead into the future for the price break, and disembark looking forward to my next one. I'm not enthused for the incuded excursions, used to be fun to plan private ones with others, or hire a cab in the port and just do the same things for less than the line was charging. But change is always certain, and this more inclusive model has worked for Regent. Then there are people who easily swing between Regent and other lines, Oceania included, but continue to return, when the itinerary and price are right.

 

SNAFL, you can't beat those ports on the Istanbul to Rome, I've been booked on it for months (mainly for the pre-cruise to Cappadocia, and recently added the next cruise to make it a back to back). The Med is probably my favorite area to cruise, I'm reapeating all but a couple of them, always more to see and do when you only have a day. But I do love the sea days that come with longer cruises, say in Asia where it takes more time to get from port to port.

 

So, while like many, my eye is always looking at the many choices we have, for my likes right now, I continue to stick with my old favorite.

[mushroom]

We appreciate the opportunity to choose an included excursion and invariably choose one that allows us to get an overview of the destination. Almost always the free city tour or free trolly is a short trip and takes place early in the day. We then have the remainder of the day to plan our own itinerary for the time that is left in port. When we know in advance that we will have several hours in the afternoon before sailing, we plan in advance for a private excursion to a specific point of interest. Just saying...this works for us.

[JPR]

TravelCat2:

 

Please see my detailed post re Riviera and Oceania vs. RSSC ships, in response to yours, on the "Is Regent Slipping?" folder.

 

Surprised you don't remember reading iit, but to summarize: Quality and variety of restaurants, great kitchen cooking class facilities and Chef Kelly, arts room and classes, butler service, larger penthouse suites, spa (sauna, steam room, relaxation area), exercise facilities and equipment, espresso bar, 18-hole putting green, pool and pool chairs, concierge and executive suites, etc. RSSC Voyager wins only on its basic suites, which are significantly larger and have walk-in closets while Oceania's are poorly placed right next to the bed, and perhaps overall service plus, of course, all-inclusive policy (which you pay a premium for).

 

All-inclusive is not a net advantage for us since we pre-order bottles of wine for 30% off on Oceania and Regent's house wines have declined, and we generally book our own tours which are superior to each line's; therefore,, we can get a Penthouse Suite on Riviera or Marina for about the same net price as a regular suite on Voyager).

 

Itineraries are first for us, and we're Gold on Regent. But all things being equal, we prefer Riviera and Marina. YMMV.