Regent Seven Seas Explorer Athens to Istanbul Full Travelogue

[Dr. Cocktail]

1 hour ago, BellaOnline said:

 

It is just so strange to me that donkeys, brutal walk, or brutal line are the options the town provides to people - especially elderly people who might need to get to their medicine. The tour write-up didn't warn about an 'hour wait to get down to the tender, waiting standing in the heat'. That kind of information might be a make-it-or-break-it issue for some people. I know the town wants to keep a historic feel about the process, but surely for safety reasons there should be another quicker / safer option, too.

100% agreed - why they (they being the town) haven't built a second cable car is beyond me except .... from their point of view - why?  Keeping people waiting in town really has no negative consequences for them. Better to keep people waiting and possibly buying more stuff.

 

You could tender to the far side of the island but that then means more buses on the road....

 

ps .... thanks for the  tip on the wine!  Forewarned is forearmed!!!  We will be charmingly Canadian in our polite insistence!

[RetiredandTravel]

1 hour ago, BellaOnline said:

 

 

I will note something odd about wine here. Passengers get base-level wines for free, unlimited, and then you can pay to get more expensive options. On a given evening's menu they show you ONE white and ONE red for the free options. That's it. If you ask for a wine list, they only show you the for-pay wines. There is no way to know what all your free white and red options are. It might easily be that the free white on tonight's menu is a very acidic sharp one which just doesn't go with your chosen main dish. You'd rather have a buttery chardonnay. But now you're stuck in a guessing game asking them what other free whites they have, and having them try to describe those options to you. It makes no sense at all. It took a few days into the cruise before we started to have a sense of what our options REALLY were, to know what we could order with different dishes.

 

 

 

Hi,

 

There are actually several "included" wines that are available, you can ask for anyone of them at any time.  It is a frustrating process to find out all the included wines but its worthwhile because there are generally some of much better quality that they don't advertise.   We have always asked for the French Burgundy Chardonnay that is very good, far superior to the Chilean one.   I've seen lists published here from some bars, maybe just make friends with one of the wine people or bartenders to get more information.

 

Attached is an older list but it gives you a sense of what's available.  Someone here may have a more recent list.

 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2645719-current-explorer-complimentary-wine-list/

 

 

 

 

 

[forgap]

Regent often has a wine tasting in the atrium early in the cruise.  You can get a nice overview of the range of complementary wines and peruse the other wines on offer for a cost.  I have never had an issue getting something I liked.  
 

[cwn]

2 minutes ago, forgap said:

Regent often has a wine tasting in the atrium early in the cruise.  You can get a nice overview of the range of complementary wines and peruse the other wines on offer for a cost.  I have never had an issue getting something I liked.  
 

 This is the best way to find some free wines to your taste. At that event they will help you to find ones to your taste and it is fun. 
 We have never had a problem at dinner, DH taste the one they bring and OKs it or ask for a different one giving them a general type he likes. I go to the tasting as I am a bit picky and find one I like usually a red. I ask for that every night. After a night or two in the CR , it is always waiting for me. Of course if I find I like what DH is having that night I have some of that one too. Point is there is not only one free red and white on offer each night….that is just the red and white they have chosen to feature that night. Tell steward what you like and they will find something on the included list that should suit you.

[kjbacon]

This is a great report, thank you for posting. We are holding a Middle East and Greek Isles cruise so this is very helpful!

 

We are in complete agreement on the art and also think that the Riviera art is a stand out.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 9/2/2022 at 8:41 PM, califsealion said:

 

This phrase sounded so familiar I had to google it. It's from a computer game I probably last played 40 years ago. Why does my brain keep these sorts of things???

 

I'm enjoying your travelogue!  Looking forward to the rest!

I remember very well those twisty little passages, all alike!

[BellaOnline]

2 hours ago, Dr. Cocktail said:

100% agreed - why they (they being the town) haven't built a second cable car is beyond me except .... from their point of view - why?  Keeping people waiting in town really has no negative consequences for them. Better to keep people waiting and possibly buying more stuff.

 

You could tender to the far side of the island but that then means more buses on the road....

 

ps .... thanks for the  tip on the wine!  Forewarned is forearmed!!!  We will be charmingly Canadian in our polite insistence!

I suppose if enough people refuse to come ashore because the passengers don't want to deal with the hassle, the town might then put in a faster way to get up and down. Or maybe when someone has a serious medical issue up on top and sues the town for not having prepared a faster option ... or when a donkey squashes someone!

[BellaOnline]

1 hour ago, RetiredandTravel said:

There are actually several "included" wines that are available, you can ask for anyone of them at any time.  It is a frustrating process to find out all the included wines but its worthwhile because there are generally some of much better quality that they don't advertise.   We have always asked for the French Burgundy Chardonnay that is very good, far superior to the Chilean one.   I've seen lists published here from some bars, maybe just make friends with one of the wine people or bartenders to get more information.

 

Attached is an older list but it gives you a sense of what's available.  Someone here may have a more recent list.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2645719-current-explorer-complimentary-wine-list/

 

Yes absolutely there are a range of wine options but the ship makes it really troublesome to figure out what those wines are. Which makes no sense. I'd think they'd want passengers as happy as possible, so they want to keep coming back. A poorly matched wine can make food taste less than stellar, and now people are blaming the chef when it's the wine's fault ... 

 

My mom filed a mid-cruise comment card with a number of items. She got calls back on pretty much every item except this one. This one, they ignored :).  She asked one of the sommeliers and got a non-answer of 'it changes'. Of course it does - so does their actual full wine list, too. At least a list that is mostly accurate is better than no list at all ... heck, there was one night they 'ran out of Champagne'. Suspicious ... they certainly had plenty the next morning for the Champagne and Caviar breakfast ... 

[BellaOnline]

2 hours ago, forgap said:

Regent often has a wine tasting in the atrium early in the cruise.  You can get a nice overview of the range of complementary wines and peruse the other wines on offer for a cost.  I have never had an issue getting something I liked.  

Hmmmm we didn't see a wine tasting on the schedule, but we could have missed it. We are wine aficionados so we might have more specific types of wine we enjoy with certain dishes than most people. We of course understand the trade-off of a ship only carrying a small inventory of options. My mom cruises quite a lot. So I do understand it's a balance. But for example I would want more detail than 'Californian Chardonnay' or 'Burgundy Pinot Noir'. To me each is too wide a range of flavor options. And at the same time I don't really want to spent twenty minutes playing twenty questions with the sommelier. I'd rather just look down a list, figure out what my best compromise is, and choose it. 

[BellaOnline]

1 hour ago, cwn said:

 This is the best way to find some free wines to your taste. At that event they will help you to find ones to your taste and it is fun. 
 We have never had a problem at dinner, DH taste the one they bring and OKs it or ask for a different one giving them a general type he likes. I go to the tasting as I am a bit picky and find one I like usually a red. I ask for that every night. After a night or two in the CR , it is always waiting for me. Of course if I find I like what DH is having that night I have some of that one too. Point is there is not only one free red and white on offer each night….that is just the red and white they have chosen to feature that night. Tell steward what you like and they will find something on the included list that should suit you.

 

I suppose the challenge for me is I eat different things on different nights. The wine I want with a filet mignon is going to be very different than the wine I want to have with pork piccata and so on. So I can't just find one wine and keep drinking it. I like LOTS of styles of wines, based on the situation  :). I adore Arrowood viognier and Stag's Leap cabernet. I love Chateau Maucoil Chateauneuf du Pape. But it depends what dish I'm having. Something that would be perfect for the viognier could taste awful with the cabernet. So I really don't want someone else making those decisions for me.  I want the full list.

[BellaOnline]

1 hour ago, kjbacon said:

This is a great report, thank you for posting. We are holding a Middle East and Greek Isles cruise so this is very helpful!

 

We are in complete agreement on the art and also think that the Riviera art is a stand out.

Now we just need one uber-ship which combines the food of this cruise with the art of the Riviera ... 

[irishwitchy]

We normally order off the list, but once in awhile we don’t.  However,  ordering off the list the first night seems to get the sommelier attention and after that they are very quick to recommend a free wine based on what   I just ordered,  a reasonable one on the list or something special.  Also,  attending the wine tasting,  which normal held at the perfectly horrible wine drinking time at 10:30am!  I also believe all of the wines may be lined up in a couple of places that you can go check them all out.   

[RetiredandTravel]

1 hour ago, BellaOnline said:

Yes absolutely there are a range of wine options but the ship makes it really troublesome to figure out what those wines are. Which makes no sense. I'd think they'd want passengers as happy as possible, so they want to keep coming back. A poorly matched wine can make food taste less than stellar, and now people are blaming the chef when it's the wine's fault ... 

 

My mom filed a mid-cruise comment card with a number of items. She got calls back on pretty much every item except this one. This one, they ignored :).  She asked one of the sommeliers and got a non-answer of 'it changes'. Of course it does - so does their actual full wine list, too. At least a list that is mostly accurate is better than no list at all ... heck, there was one night they 'ran out of Champagne'. Suspicious ... they certainly had plenty the next morning for the Champagne and Caviar breakfast ... 

 

 

I agree 100%.  They (all "luxury" cruise lines) should just have complete lists of the "included" wines easily available but they don't.    I don't think this is by mistake.

 

There is no way the highlighted wines of the evening go well with all the dishes.   My suggestion is to try to find out more information perhaps ask what Red Bordeaux is included.  It may be easier to get more information in a little less stress free environment than dinner at CR. 

 

The Connoisseur list is also very reasonable but its starts around $60-70.

 

IMO the quality and transparency of the included wines leaves much to be desired.  

 

 

Edited September 5, 2022 by RetiredandTravel

[DaveFr]

About a month ago I posted the Complementary and Connoisseur wine lists from my Splendor cruises in June and July. (See Wine Lists) While the wines on the list change from time to time, the lists are a pretty good example of what is normally available.

 

Dave

[wcsdkqh]

To add to Dave’s comment above, just try asking reception for a list of included wines for each restaurant. I’ve done this on several pre-Covid cruises and received the lists the following day. Not sure if the lists are available post Covid or not. Can’t hurt to ask.

[Techno123]

My husband still teases me about this but our only (for now) Regent cruise was on Voyager having previously cruised on Oceania (and Seabourn but that was as a total cruising newbie so we didn't really know the ropes 😁). Oceania had a wine list (paid for by the glass or included if you had the drinks package) so we could choose the wine we fancied each evening. On Voyager I tried a few of the included wines at the 'horrible wine drinking time of 10:30am'. I asked if there were any others available and was told no. I asked for a list and was told there wasn't one. Then at both lunch and dinner that day there were included wines which hadn't been at the tasting and several more arrived over the course of the cruise. I then chatted with another passenger who had many nights with Regent and he had been given a printed list on the first day which we had a peruse of but it really, really annoyed me at the time as I felt I had been lied to twice in quick succession. Definitely a first world problem but it was as if the wine list was top secret and only provided to 'special' passengers 😂 I had a chat (complain is too strong a word) with the hotel manager and lo and behold, he managed to print off the 'list that didn't exist' for me too 😜

[Yankeeclipper1]

1 hour ago, Techno123 said:

it was as if the wine list was top secret and only provided to 'special' passengers 😂

 

Ah - getting the included wine list.  Every luxury line protects that document as if it was Top Secret.  On SilverSea the F&B manager admitted that it was intentional and actually against policy to provide a list. This is what he explained - it had to do with provisioning and presenting what was in quantity until the next provisioning. Many of the included wines are not available in the quantities that could be provided for meal service. Many of the available included wines that are “hidden” are remainders from previous provisioning - or are leftovers from wine contracts no longer being fulfilled.  Additionally, each of their provisioning points may have different items loaded.  I said OK - great explanation BUT with the detailed inventorying and oversight over all spirits and wines it is not hard to quickly sort and print a list - he did for me.  

 

Presently - on the first day of a cruise - I seek out the F&B manager and politely state I do not want to play the wine guessing game and would he/she be so kind as to provide an included wine list I can study - if not possible, then I would like to set up my own wine tasting each day - tasting 3-4 reds and 3-4 white.  Several times when the promised list never arrived  - we did our own tastings, making it our own special event - in various lounges and had sommeliers bring us three or four samples of included reds and whites.  By the 3rd day we had a nice list of maybe 20 wines for the rest of the trip.  Have done our own wine tastings 3 times and it was actually fun. 
 

[cwn]

That is basically what my DH does at the dinner table at the beginning of the cruise waiting for our meal. Had not thought to do it in the lounge. We usually get cocktails but that sounds like fun.

We were told the same thing about the included wines. And on the world cruise one of the ones we really enjoyed was running low so they sent some bottles to the suite. Sometimes they do run out a wine and can’t get more especially on the longer 2-4 month cruises.

[Gilly]

But finding wines we liked has never proved to be an issue - we've simply tried the one on offer that evening (for who knows, it might be our new favourite?) and then asked for an alternative if it wasn't to our taste.  Repeat as necessary until we've come across one we prefer.  For me, as a reliable alternative I will often choose  the Villa Maria NZ Sauvignon Blanc....always there, but only offered on the menu once every so often.  My dh's goto is the Chateauneuf du Pape - again, always available on request.  We're really not connoisseurs at all and never feel the need to pay for a premium wine, having always identified perfectly acceptable bottles available as included.   Talk to the Sommelier, explain your preferences and they will endeavour to satisfy your wishes in exactly the same way as every Regent staff member will, given the opportunity.

[papaflamingo]

15 hours ago, BellaOnline said:

 

I suppose the challenge for me is I eat different things on different nights. The wine I want with a filet mignon is going to be very different than the wine I want to have with pork piccata and so on. So I can't just find one wine and keep drinking it. I like LOTS of styles of wines, based on the situation  :). I adore Arrowood viognier and Stag's Leap cabernet. I love Chateau Maucoil Chateauneuf du Pape. But it depends what dish I'm having. Something that would be perfect for the viognier could taste awful with the cabernet. So I really don't want someone else making those decisions for me.  I want the full list.

I"m definitely not a wine expert, I simply like a wine or not (ok...I'll bring about anything 😜).  However my wife is a bit more particular.  The wines offered in Compass Rose are, supposedly, selected to specifically compliment the dinner offering.  But whenever my wife wants something different, she simply asks for a specific type of wine i.e. Pino gris, or a specific wine.  instead or the hassle of a wine list that may or may not be available, simply ask the Sommelier if he or she has a wine you'd like, or what wines of a specific type do they have. 

Loving your review.  We are doing some of the similar ports next year so I'm very interested in your take on them.  😎

 

[Techno123]

14 hours ago, Yankeeclipper1 said:

Presently - on the first day of a cruise - I seek out the F&B manager and politely state I do not want to play the wine guessing game and would he/she be so kind as to provide an included wine list I can study - if not possible, then I would like to set up my own wine tasting each day - tasting 3-4 reds and 3-4 white.  Several times when the promised list never arrived  - we did our own tastings, making it our own special event - in various lounges and had sommeliers bring us three or four samples of included reds and whites.  By the 3rd day we had a nice list of maybe 20 wines for the rest of the trip.  Have done our own wine tastings 3 times and it was actually fun. 
 

What a good idea might have to give that a try 😁 Whilst I know what I like I am not averse to trying something new and indeed some really interesting wines were provided by the sommelier when we didn't like the recommended 'pour' but what a faff for them when they are busy. I can understand the reason for not providing a wine 'menu' to everyone and there are many who are quite content so there are probably not that many of us who want the list. But if someone does ask then adding a caveat that whilst these are the wines available today, some wines are in small quantities so may not be available throughout the cruise, I for one would be a happy bunny and I probably wouldn't have stewed for a couple of days nor have been ribbed by hubby for stressing over such a tiny thing 😂😂

[labonnevie]

18 hours ago, wcsdkqh said:

To add to Dave’s comment above, just try asking reception for a list of included wines for each restaurant. I’ve done this on several pre-Covid cruises and received the lists the following day. Not sure if the lists are available post Covid or not. Can’t hurt to ask.

We always make a point of seeking out a wine steward the day we board and requesting a list of all included wines be sent to our cabin. On Explorer in January, it arrived that day. Saves the experimentation game. Often the wines we choose to drink don’t “appear” until several days into the cruise. But we start enjoying them the first night. 

[BellaOnline]

20 hours ago, irishwitchy said:

We normally order off the list, but once in awhile we don’t.  However,  ordering off the list the first night seems to get the sommelier attention and after that they are very quick to recommend a free wine based on what   I just ordered,  a reasonable one on the list or something special.  Also,  attending the wine tasting,  which normal held at the perfectly horrible wine drinking time at 10:30am!  I also believe all of the wines may be lined up in a couple of places that you can go check them all out.   

Part of the wine staff's claim was that wines would become available or unavailable on a day by day basis. I really think they should have a wine tablet, like many restaurants do, so you could quickly scan it and see what was available that night. That would save them from printing and tossing lots of paper lists every day, or making patrons play the guessing game.

[BellaOnline]

19 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

I agree 100%.  They (all "luxury" cruise lines) should just have complete lists of the "included" wines easily available but they don't.    I don't think this is by mistake.

 

There is no way the highlighted wines of the evening go well with all the dishes.   My suggestion is to try to find out more information perhaps ask what Red Bordeaux is included.  It may be easier to get more information in a little less stress free environment than dinner at CR. 

 

The Connoisseur list is also very reasonable but its starts around $60-70.

 

IMO the quality and transparency of the included wines leaves much to be desired.  

I remember one time their recommended red would have been completely atrocious with the dish I was going to order. Their recommendations might match with their 'most popular dish' of the evening, but as you said there's just no way that it could possibly pair well with every single item on their menu.

[BellaOnline]

19 hours ago, DaveFr said:

About a month ago I posted the Complementary and Connoisseur wine lists from my Splendor cruises in June and July. (See Wine Lists) While the wines on the list change from time to time, the lists are a pretty good example of what is normally available.

 

Dave

Our crew told us due to current volatility in the shipping market that the wine list was changing day to day, which means even preparing ahead doesn't always give solid information once one is moving from port to port. Again I point to them claiming they ran out of Champagne one evening ...