Voyager in depth review Oct23-Nov2 cruise

[drcandon]

Warning..long post..

 

I know that post cruise reviews are not common on this thread as they are in other areas of this board. However due to the large number of newbies on the this cruise (Voyager Oct 23 to Nov 2 - Rome to Venice), I thought it might be a good idea. We really are newbies ( in comparison) ourselves are are still uncertain what to expect in some circumstances. So, risking the wrath of the more experienced I am going to do one. A couple of items to put this review in perspective. We purchased the business class upgrade because DW is moderately claustrophobic so being around 30 people is better then 300. Also we were offered an up sell to Penthouse Cat A which we took. So my opinions will be based on that

 

First thing you see on embarkation is the

 

Overall Ship Appearance - the ship was in very good shape, everything looked clean and new. The new carpeting looked like it was installed professionally. The colour and pattern may be a matter of choice, but is was well done. A lot has been said about the racing stripe on the side on her. Again a personal opinion, but solid white on any ship makes her look like a hospital ship. Certainly it is not a gauche pattern mess as on some of the other lines. Everyone I talked to thought that once you see it from a bit of a distance it is okay. All the common rooms were in super shape and stayed that way throughout the duration. The crew was always polishing something. Only one small issue was told to me that a plumbing problem happened on deck nine and one cabin got a bit wet as did the carpet in the hall. We have been on the Mariner before and the overall deck layouts seem similar in some respects. The only issue newbies seemed to have was to get to the Horizon lounge located stern and very near Signatures which caused folks to get confused, because it looked like you were heading to Signatures and not the lounge. Prime 7 was easy to get to located near the shops. Coffee connection (deck 5 forward)also caused a bit of confusion for some reason, but most found it. Those that used the gym found the difference between the Mariner and Voyager odd, there is a hall way to get back and forth, but the doors directly linking them say emergency exit only. Newbies found no confusion at all, although most newbies found the gym a bit cramped. All of these areas looked very nice. The theater was well laid out with only a few seats having line of sight issues

 

Cabin...The cabin was well beyond what we expected, the overall appearance was just like new, which from information told to me should be expected since all cabins in the cat and above got a makeover. Despite that, the cabin was very well laid out, lots of room to maneuver. DW loves the walk in closets. Bathroom was large. Beds, super comfortable. Room air conditioning worked great - a far cry from other lines we have been on. The balcony is a bit small, (room for 2 chairs and a small table) but considering the passenger to space ratio on Regent is almost the highest in the industry finding an empty spot in the over all ship was easy. I guess this part of the narrative should be in the first paragraph, however in this area, Regent definitely has going for it over other lines. The ship never felt crowded, even at the new Cirque type show which had full attendance. On other lines, with popular shows you run down from the dining room to get a seat. anyway back on point, the cabin was a winner. We did have one issue, the hot water was actually cool warm for the first day or so, but was quickly fixed.

 

Itinerary...much has been said in the past about the included excursions and the old way of pay as you go. Well, coming from other lines where after or before the cruise you are bankrupt after paying for the excursions - especially in Europe. I can say that even though you are on buses like other lines this was absolute heaven, knowing that even the longest intensive excursion was completely covered in the cost of the cruise. One thing that I have to point out that may not be well known to Regent only customers, true you are now bused around like on other lines, but unlike other lines that pack 40 people on a 30 person bus, Regent has the common decency to put maybe 10 to 15 folks per tour group and per bus..try that on lets say Carnival... So much for that point. The itinerary of the cruise was good , very port intensive ( no sea days) and after a few 7 to 10 hour tour days some of the older folks were already starting to wear out and we had along way to go. Overall, again, comparing it to other lines I would say Regent is doing the right thing. Seriously they have to be competitive in some ways and attracting newbies (using promotional ideas like included excursions) are the way of the future for the company. IMHO. Also, Regent is in no way capable of demanding a certain level of expertise from the shore guides and companies, they can request it and certainly in most cases get it. It was noted that the variation in presentation was in some ports pretty far apart. But human personality comes into play

 

Crew...I don’t know how to praise the crew. we have been on a number of cruises on various lines and it still amazes me how professional, personable and dedicated the Regent crews are. I never saw a grumpy crew member. Even the maintenance folks (who on other lines are the most miserable) always had a smile or a hello. And considering that for most of the crew english is not their first language, maybe not even their second or third, they always tried a bit. As mentioned we had a penthouse suite, therefore a butler, which I was a bit leery about, He was amazing, I don’t have enough pages to tell you folks how good he was. If you have the chance to up sell to a butler based suite, if they are all like this fellow - then take it. We had to hunt down the other 2 cabin folks to say thanks and good by, that is how unobtrusive they were. Once they learned your daily routine, you never saw them, expect for a sparkling clean suite. Again, more then I can say for other lines who cabin folks always seemed to be barging in at the wrong time. Also a welcome sight was David who we last saw on the Mariner is now the maitre d of Prime 7 and Katrina who is now one of the head wait staff in Signatures, glad to see they had promotions.

 

Restaurants and Food... Everyone says that I walk to a different beat so, here is my statement which I am sure others will vehemently disagree with. In the vernacular of the younger generation., I just don’t get off on Prime 7. If I never got a reservation in it , then no loss. So go ahead and flame away. Yes, it was very atmospheric . The food is fresh cooked by a separate chef etc etc. I just don’t see what the big deal is. That being said DW loved the filet. I have had better prime rib...I was promptly told to try the crab legs and shut up. Well, next time. Okay, true to form, I loved Signatures, the presentation and non stuffy ( as compared to Prime 7) wait staff were great. Compass Rose was perfect, okay, we arrived promptly at 6:30 and we are usually one of the few folks at that time so maybe that has a bearing on it. All the meals were timely and so well done we did not try anything else (except the two specialty). Food was excellent, great choices, presentation was perfect. Again comparing to other lines - this was head and shoulders above anything else.

 

 

Looking at the length of this discourse I think that is enough..I hope this helps some who are considering Regent for the first time. I am in no way a Regent cheerleader, I don’ t have enough cruises with them to fit that. If I had a complaint I would have leveled it constructively, but I don’t. Yes in comparison Regent can seem very pricey and maybe they are in truth, but the level of service and inclusions in amazing. I hope they continue.

 

Overall conclusion - well worth it.

Edited November 6, 2013 by drcandon

[josephone]

This is a lovely review. Thank you for taking the time to write it.

 

My big question is whether the vibration was still so strong at the aft of the ship. We found it quite uncomfortable.

 

Is the coffee connection a big space? Love the idea, but thought the Mariner had a better coffee connection space and was much more inviting.

 

We all appreciate your efforts to explain the changes.

[Travelcat2]

As a long time Regent cruiser and cheerleader, I really appreciated your balanced review of the Voyager and agree with many of your points.

 

The Voyager does have lovely, spacious suites -- larger than the Mariner. On the other hand, the Mariner has large public areas and a large Coffee Connection. It seems that whichever of the two ships you sail first ends up being your favorite:-)

 

We have gone back and forth on Prime 7 and Signatures. Most of the time we have not appreciated Signatures. However, on our last cruise (Mariner), the food was to die for. Prime 7 is also not a favorite but has occasionally had amazing crab. Food is subjective and the food available from different parts of the world is not always of the same quality which needs to be considered. Fortunately, if you do not care for the taste or preparation of your food, you can select another dish. We pretty much know which dishes we love and which are not up to our expectations.

 

It is interesting that you made a comparison of excursions with Carnival. I have long felt that passengers from mainstream cruise lines will find Regent excursions excellent because the buses are not stuffed to capacity. However, our experience has been more like 25 passengers per bus and multiple buses going to the same destinations. If you have 10-15 passengers on your buses, consider yourself fortunate.

 

Again, thank you for taking the time to post your review:)

[RachelG]

Thanks so much for posting your review. It is nice to hear from a newbie!

 

I agree with you about prime 7. I know a lot of people love it, but it is just not "all that" to me. I always order the Dover sole and it is quite good, but everything else is not that special to me.

[OrpingtonT]

Great, interesting review. And I totally agree with all of it, though I have no background to make comparisons with Carnival or indeed any other lines. You did not mention La Veranda or Sette Mari. I enjoy the latter, evening outlet very much, personally.

[rarin2go]

Great to read another positive review - we agree with you on everything - especially your preference for Signatures over Prime7 - thanks for taking the time :)

[TedC]

Thanks for the very comprehensive review.

 

Prime 7 has fantastic onion rings which I love but shouldn't eat more than one or two! Unfortunately, the word "moderation" seems to be missing from my vocabulary

[debijaynes]

Lovely review and we agree with all points.

We seem to have had TWO great meals in Prime 7 with no complaints at all--the minority I believe.Signatures was also VERY good for us as well.

I will disagree with the Coffee Connection kudos that most people seem to have. Compared to the Navigator the coffee area on the Voyager is a very cold and unwelcoming place, somewhat to be likened to a school cafeteria. AND-- the coffee was better in the cabin with our breakfast! Go figure!

[pingpong1]

Tom - Like you, I very much enjoy La Veranda/Sette Mari. I spent more eating time there than at the other dining venues. It was never crowded. In fact, throughout the cruise and everywhere on the ship - nothing ever seemed crowded. It was a delight to be able to just walk in and sit down most anywhere you wanted to.

 

As I said earlier, I enjoy the breakfast buffets. whether it be the smoked salmon and cream cheese, fresh fruit, or eggs and sausage (haven't quite gotten used to the baked beans for breakfast yet, but I do like the little cooked tomatoes :p

 

At dinner (in Sette Mari) I had the most delicious veal. Very lean and cooked just right, with a wonderful light marsala wine sauce. And a side dish of buttery angel-hair pasta. All accompanied by a wonderful bottle of Valpolicella. Yummmm! Can't wait to get back. I might have to find a cardiologist who wants to travel with me and sit at my table while I'm eating....just in case. Regards.

[drcandon]

Sorry, still jet lagged a bit..to answer some of the questions..

 

Vibration - We had one of the Cat A Penthouse cabin near the rear of the ship (because of the up sell)...originally we had a more central cabin. We never noticed any vibration at all. We also spent a lot of time in the Horizon lounge on deck - outside ( mainly failing asleep after dinner!) and never felt any vibration. Also we were one of the deck walkers after dinner and again - none. However, I must qualify this reply, first, the various water bodies we were in were almost like glass ( we lucked out on the weather) , second, on the cruise line we come from we always book a suite on the stern ( because they are larger and have huge decks) and are quite used to vibration and rocking and rolling...

 

Coffee Connection, yes it was a bit cafeteria like come to think of it, and it had 10 tables - that I can count in the photo, I took of it. It is shaped like a lazy "L" (mirrored that is). So the area is actually quite large, but because of the layout - not "cozy"... Still nice - Irish coffees were done to perfection.

 

La Veranda/ Sette Mare...looking back on my logs (yes, I write an extensive log - can't you tell). We had breakfast in La Veranda once, the rest of the time we got a bit lazy and had room service ( which was excellent and on time). The breakfast was very good and any special orders were dealt with quickly. Also on the very long day that we had a 10 hour tour, the ship was very accommodating and opened up both sides of Sette Mari and turned it into a kind of buffet - because all the tours were getting back so late..That is how I found out about true Lemoncello ( Thanks Marie)...Anyway, the food was very very good...

 

Tours - yes you are right - the groups were small 15 to 20 max , and they did have several buses, agree..so in essence they did dump 4 to 5 buses in each tour destination. But I must qualify that in, our tour groups did not make the mess. In some of the ports we had MSC dump 3500 and Celebrity dump 2200, add those buses in and well, that was the problem. In the ports that we shared only with the Mariner or another small Italian cruise ship, it was no issue. Also, I was told by our tour guide in Venice, who was a very nice young lady, that our ship came in with no issues - we even had a few folks waving from the "shore", but unknown to us, was that before MSC rolled in they were planning another swim out blockade, but I guess the Italian/Venetian police stopped it. The big ships are actually shaking their houses and they are quite tired of it...

[debijaynes]

Watching those BIG ships come in from our hotel (Westin Europa) was terrifying. The thought of something happening defies comprehension. NO ships should be allowed to pass by ST Marks, including Regent ships. Venice is much more valuable then that. Take a tour boat if you want to see it from the water.

 

Referencing Setti Marie--what is all the fuss about for that venue? We went for the first and last time. I don't mind buffet service for lunch, but for dinner? The night we were there it was packed.The food was so-so but the service when needed was very good.

 

At one tour in Corfu there were six buses and a group of 4-wheeler(subaru type cars) in the parking lot. We were at a SMALL restaurant to see a folk loric presentation and have a small snack. If you have seen the ad on TV for the chidren's play where the parents are knocking each other down and coming to blows-- well that was it. The man in fron of me hit several people and told them to move and people were on chairs. And that's just what I saw! Priceless!!!!