Regent vs. Crystal

[Timbuktu123]

We have cruised on both and I am happy to say that we are happy with both and it allows us to have a greater choice of itineraries.

 

Having just returned from a Regent cruise the most obvious advantage Regent has over Crystal is interaction with the crew. When we sailed on Crystal, there were a few opportunities to interact with officers and rarely with entertainers and those situations felt very canned. On Regent the crew and entertainers are very approachable and we made many friends and had lots of laughs with them. On long ocean voyages this can really help make the sea days as good if not better than the port days.

 

Itineraries make or break a cruise for us. Crystal has some really nice itineraries as part of their world cruises. The down side is if you want a penthouse or better (we get those to be at least as good as what we get in a standard cabin on Regent), they're almost impossible to get if you want to sail on segments of a world cruise. Crystal is also much more expensive if you get the penthouse and pay for all their tours.

 

Food is the best on Crystal and almost any comfort food I could dream up, they delivered.

 

I would recommend Regent over Crystal if you want the easiest time with land tours. They'll take care of everything, however that may not mean its the best thing to do in a port. Crystal, by not offering included tours, gives the more experienced traveler the option to do something on their own which may be a better way to spend time in the port. Crystal does seem to offer some of the most elaborate tours if price is no object.

 

I would say Crystal is more of my "Kick the bucket" cruiseline (meaning if I knew I was going to kick the bucket, I'd splurge on a Crystal World Cruise with all the trimmings).

 

Finally we prefer a bit more effort from our fellow passengers in dressing up. Regent has formal optional nights which turn out to be a real toss-up. From dinner jackets to jackets with no ties and sneakers. Quite amusing. Crystal's passengers still seem to be pretty well dressed.

[schub229]

We don't think you can go wrong with either Crystal or Regent. We happen to prefer Regent for ourselves with everything included, but Crystal has been following suit in some areas. As far as we're concerned, it's the itinerary that's the deciding factor. Why don't you try each one and see for yourself? We're very excited about the new Regent Explorer coming next summer!

[Bfson]

Wehave been on both in recent years. The food on Crystal is betterbut their balcony cabins are tiny and the layoutof the beds and closet are poor. For us it's Regent by a length.