A quick review of our recent TA on Voyager

[ysolde]

Took our first Regent cruise (a TA, lots of sea days), earlier this month. Just  returned this past week. It was a 14-day cruise. Overall, it was very good. Embarkation was less chaotic than most, but still chaotic. We were advised prior to our cruise that the original embarkation time we had been given had been pushed back by an hour and a half because the Coast Guard had to inspect the ship. No worries. Nonetheless, when we arrived at the port, there was a huge mass of people and embarkation seemed to be at a standstill. We got through the process fairly quickly, though the long line of people on the gangway after we checked in and were told to embark was a bit daunting. Once on board, we immediately checked in with our muster station (we had already viewed the safety video on-line several times), and then we went to our cabin.

The Voyager, like most Regent ships, is an all-suites configuration. We were not disappointed in our veranda category suite, with its comfortable bathroom, walk-in closet, spacious bedroom area (with cozy vanity area where I did my make-up every day), living room area with sofa, table (large enough for in-room dining), desk (over which the television -- all programming included -- is), and veranda. We used the veranda more on warm days. Once it began to rain, we looked out the sliding doors from the couch. It was an efficient use of space -- we never once tripped over anything.

I have a shellfish allergy, and got menus the day before. This made me realize they were going above and beyond for my safety. All restaurants (including specialty restaurants) are included. I liked the French restaurant best. DH liked the steakhouse best. TBH, the main dining room was usually excellent, though the menu could get repetitive. Some of the specials in the main dining room (Compass Rose) were excellent. They had a fantastic Angus beef empanada as an appetizer at lunch several times that was amazing. They always had great quality filet mignon. And simple things, such as consommé, they just nailed. Delicious.

We usually went for coffee at the coffee shop (Coffee Connection) in the afternoon. They make all kinds of fancy concoctions, but I stuck to an espresso (excellent, not bitter), while DH had his usual Americano.

They have service in the cabin twice a day, with an excellent team of cabin stewards. One thing I appreciate, as a person with a mobility impairment, is that they still provide individual toiletries. I know this is controversial and possibly bad for the environment, but my hands are not large or strong enough to squeeze out those large bottles they put in the showers in hotels and cruise ships, so I usually travel with my own toiletries. When a hotel or cruise ship still offers individual toiletries, it makes me so happy, because it means I can use their toiletries, and save my own stuff for the next trip. Regent's toiletries (L'Occitane's Jasmine and Bergamot) are a neutral scent that works for both men and women. I shower at night, so I did not find it clashed with my perfume in any way.

I had heard bad things about the entertainment on Regent. It's low-key. There was a piano player who was reminiscent of Victor Borge. A good singer (lots of Bette Midler with some Barbra thrown in there, so I was happy). An evening of 70s singer-songwriter covers. IOW, they know their target demographic. By day, there are afternoon teas (themed), jigsaw puzzle tables, needlepoint, speaker series (very good), games, trivia, etc. It's easygoing fun. The other thing to know is that it's a small cruise. You get to know your fellow passengers. People talk to each other.

 

The spa is excellent and friendly without the hard sell that can make spas on other ships a bit discomfiting.  This place was an oasis of calm on an already quiet, laid-back ship.

The only thing that was a bit of a letdown was the excursions. There simply were not enough excursions for people with mobility impairments: One in Bermuda, none in the Azores, one in Cadiz. The one in Cadiz was awful (we had taken a better HOHO tour in Cadiz in November).

Disembarkation was a simple, no-nonsense process that had us off the ship and on a transfer bus (provided by Regent) to BCN in about 20 minutes. The trip home (BCN-EWR-PHX), while long, was pleasant. Regent's included business class airfare meant we got to fly United's Polaris to Newark and first class to Phoenix. Not a bad way to end the trip, all in all.

So now we understand what all the fuss is about. If you are looking for a quiet, no fuss (no go-karts, no rock climbing walls, no zip lines, no Broadway shows) cruise, with friendly passengers, this may be the cruise line for you. We have already booked two more cruises and are looking to book a third.

 

 

[Avidtravler]

Hi Ysolde

Glad you enjoyed your trip. Just wondering if there were nightly shows in the Constellation Theater. Hard to believe entertainment was as sparse as you described.

[ysolde]

3 minutes ago, Avidtravler said:

Hi Ysolde

Glad you enjoyed your trip. Just wondering if there were nightly shows in the Constellation Theater. Hard to believe entertainment was as sparse as you described.

Yes.  There were nightly shows: A comedian (we skipped him, as we heard he was mediocre); the in-house singers and dancers (quite good); the singer (really good), the pianist (funny and quite good).  Everyone was up more than once, as it was a two week cruise, but they never repeated an act.  This was very different from a TA we did on NCL last fall, also two weeks, where they simply repeated the same acts (presumably because there were enough things going on each evening that you never saw the same thing twice).  But really on a cruise that long there are nights (especially when you have an early excursion in the morning) when just turning in early to watch a movie seems just right.

[slidebite]

Good review. Glad you enjoyed your firrst Regent experience.

 

We were also on this cruise and enjoyed it. I agree the embarkation could have been better run, although the contracted port people were the primary problem.

 

Remember how we all had boarding #s? Well, once the guy said really loud "5-6-7-8" (like he was calling them) but nobody heard him immediately say "don't come up yet or something along those lines. So of course everyone came up. They desperately need a decent PA/system for this, there is no excuse for it to be as haphazard as it was.

 

Service was actually better than I expected it to be on board and I really have no complaints with the ship or service itself. I was being called by name by the 2nd day, and by the 3rd many had us memorized. I really don't know how they do it so well.

 

We watched the magician/illusionist/comedian before Bermuda, and he was not our cup of tea, and I too heard not the best reviews from the other comedian so we didn't bother. Good things about the Regent performers and that singer you were mentioning... Sarah Tehrani I think? Can confirm there was always something every evening in the constellation. I really liked the Regent performers helping out with the activities on board. They also floored me with the name memory/recognition.

 

I am not mobility challenged, but I could absolutely believe you had issues. Only being 3 ports, there wasn't a ton to chose from. The tour we had in Cadiz to the Andalusian Equestrian College, the main tour guide was awful. Easily the worst guide we've ever had on Regent. We actually *lost* people and he was just an all around bad guide. I still have no idea how/when they made it back. The guide at the college itself however was *excellent* and made the trip worthwhile. The stop at the sherry Bodega on the way back to the ship was mediocre. Mrs. Slidebite and I enjoyed exploring the old part of Cadiz after we returned.

 

Bermuda and Azores were both good ports IMHO and the weather was great, other than the departure from Bermuda easter Sunday... and the day of the country fair on the pool deck of course was not exactly optimal, but it was do-able.

 

We had a lot of fun, but those jump ahead hour changes were wearing thin.

[ysolde]

@slidebite, we lost people on our Panoramic tour of Cadiz, too!  Well, first, I started to notice that people were falling asleep on the bus.  Then, we took a really long stop for photos at a fairly random place, because we were going to be returning to the port too early.  That's when some passengers decided to return to the ship on their own.