First Time Cruiser on Regent!

[cheeseheads4ever]

I’m sure many of my questions have been asked and answered many times but… we are Celebrity Cruisers but with a Celebrity's cutbacks we are looking at expanding our horizons and possibly trying Regent or Oceania. 
I don’t know anything about the two cruise lines. Positives or negatives 

A little about ourselves. We are in our late 60’s. Fairly active and can be inactive also. We like to gamble some. Like cocktails and good food. Good music. Good deal on cruise.

We would need a balcony. Sailing to the Caribbean from Florida.

We are easy to please people and are not high maintenance.

Any help you could give us would be greatly appreciated. We just want to make sure we are not out of our league and we would be happy.

 

 

 

[pappy1022]

I have been on Regent and Oceania but it’s been a couple of years. I have a cruise on Regent Splendor next week. I enjoyed both very much. I will say that I think that Regent has better food but others will give the nod to Oceania. I also think that the cabins on Regent are better but had no complaints on Oceania. I think you would be happy with either. Given everything being equal, I would choose Regent but my first priority is the itinerary. I haven’t cruised any other lines than Regent and Oceania so I can’t compare to other cruise lines. Go for it and see what works best for you. Try them both on short cruises. 

[dabear]

We've been on both RSSC & O, but most recently we've taken a number of cruises with Azamara & Celebrity. Our next cruise will be on O' new Grandeur which looks elegant. Agree that you probably would be happy with both (food, service, entertainment, etc) but R is mostly all-inclusive. O is more ala carte. R has larger cabins & is more luxurious than O, but at a higher price. 

[GeorgiaPeach51]

FWIW, here is my lengthy report on our first Regent cruise on Explorer after way too many on Celebrity.  This might help you, since you are a former Celebrity fan, as we were.  You sound similar to us, so I hope it helps you.  Keep in mind that it was the first cruise after the COVID restrictions ended.  I wrote another one for our second cruise, which was on Splendor, and that cruise was more typical.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2835144-first-time-on-regent—boarded-explorer-today/

I can tell you briefly, that we think Celebrity doesn’t begin to compare to Regent.  No contest.  Regent, by a mile.

 

We are taking our first Oceania cruise in November, only because my sister and her husband prefer Oceania, so I cannot give you any info on Oceania.  Good luck with your decision.

 

Joanie

[ChucktownSteve]

9 hours ago, GeorgiaPeach51 said:

FWIW, here is my lengthy report on our first Regent cruise on Explorer after way too many on Celebrity.  This might help you, since you are a former Celebrity fan, as we were.  You sound similar to us, so I hope it helps you.  Keep in mind that it was the first cruise after the COVID restrictions ended.  I wrote another one for our second cruise, which was on Splendor, and that cruise was more typical.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2835144-first-time-on-regent—boarded-explorer-today/

I can tell you briefly, that we think Celebrity doesn’t begin to compare to Regent.  No contest.  Regent, by a mile.

 

We are taking our first Oceania cruise in November, only because my sister and her husband prefer Oceania, so I cannot give you any info on Oceania.  Good luck with your decision.

 

Joanie

Thank you for reminding me of your cruise and the link. 

 

Cheeseheads4ever, After becoming Elite+ on Celebrity, our first Regent cruise was on the Navigator May 2022 for 16 nights Miami to Montreal. Then 14 nights on the Mariner September 2022 Vancouver to L.A.  Our third cruise was 16 nights on Splendor in January 2023 from L.A. to Miami.

 

We were in two concierge suites and one Penthouse which were purchased during covid when nobody was booking so we got great pricing with category upgrades.  They were actually much cheaper than Celebrity who had raised prices drastically to absorb all the FCC they had to issue.

 

(I did a Reflections veranda cruise in December 2021 and we did an S1 Sky Suite  on  Apex February 2022)

.

On Regent, all the specialty restaurants are included.  We got several additional reservations just by inquiring and being flexible in time or sharing.

I was impressed with the food offerings in the MDR, Compass Rose.  Tons of seafood and steaks along with the rotating entrees.  Just about everything was excellent. 

I enjoyed all the included excursions in every port and the included pre cruise hotel at two embarkation ports. We didn't do Miami because we drove to the port the same morning.

 

Service is excellent.  Premium ltr bottles are given you in the suite.  Premium liquor is included at all the bars.

We didn't like the Navigator however there are tons of fans among Regent's regulars. It's their smallest ship.  We liked the Mariner then liked Splendor even more.

 

Regent is so far a cut above Celebrity it isn't funny.  Regent does raise their rates every month or so, thus the earlier you book, the less the price.

 

Just the other week I was looking at a lower suite on Regent's new ship, Grandeur, in the Southern Caribbean.  Regent was 2026 and Celebrity was 2025.  Regent was almost $100pp/pn less than a Celebrity SS but had all the real included perks and quality.

 

With Celebrity's astronomical pricing and excessive cut backs in service and food quality, I find it hard to believe I'll be going back but I can't say never.

 

We currently have two Azamara cruises on the books for December 2024 and May 2025.

 

I found the other Regent passengers non pretentious and friendly. The dress is county club causal without any formality. Both things I enjoy as well at tthis stage in our lives. We're 70.

 

I like longer cruises as you can see.  Celebrity has also cut back on the cruise lengths which is another thing I like better about Regent.  I don't want a 7 or 10 day sailing.  I hope this gives you some idea of our experience and if you select a Regent cruise that you enjoy it immensely.

Edited September 6, 2023 by ChucktownSteve

[cheeseheads4ever]

Thanks ChucktownSteve and Georgiapeach51 for the incredible write ups on Regent!

[cheeseheads4ever]

When is the best time to book for the best deals?

[ChucktownSteve]

Just now, cheeseheads4ever said:

When is the best time to book for the best deals?

When the new itineraries are first released or as close to that as possible!  The further out the cruise, the lower the pricing.  Remember as suites fill, the pricing increases as well.

[cheeseheads4ever]

I really like the all suites idea, everything included. Prices seem much higher than Celebrity but you aren’t comparing apples with apples. Plus a smaller ship is nice too.

Thanks for the help.

[mj_holiday]

When comparing two cruise lines cruises, I would build a spreadsheet listing what is included in each.  First is the suite size and compare it to a similar size on the other cruise.  After listing everything I give a dollar value to what it would be to get that on the cruise that doesn't have it.  Pricing seems to come in very close.  Remember that many itineraries also have an included pre or post land trip.

[pappy1022]

I’ve done the price comparison because I needed justification in my mind to pay a premium price for a premium product. For our British Isles trip, the biggest difference is Regent’s included business class air. International airfare is extremely expensive these days. Regent will give you a credit for arranging your own flights but in our case it wouldn’t even cover a premium coach fare. I would prefer that shore excursions weren’t in the all inclusive fare because I am not a fan of large group tours and they don’t offer a credit for not taking the ship’s excursions but it is what it is. When all the numbers are added up, Regent is remarkably close in price to other premium cruises from Oceania, Silversea, etc.

[dcbiker97]

As another Celebrity Elite+ thinking of trying Regent, I’ve been looking at the various stateroom categories. On Celebrity we always sail in a Celebrity Suite or higher because it has a separate bedroom and a sofa bed.  Every ship’s Celebrity Suite, even if a different ship class has separate bedrooms/sofa beds.  Looking at Regent, that doesn’t seem to be the case.  Are the 1br with sofa bed ship dependent on Regent (meaning is one ships Penthouse different than another)?

Edited September 6, 2023 by dcbiker97

[ChucktownSteve]

38 minutes ago, dcbiker97 said:

As another Celebrity Elite+ thinking of trying Regent, I’ve been looking at the various stateroom categories. On Celebrity we always sail in a Celebrity Suite or higher because it has a separate bedroom and a sofa bed.  Every ship’s Celebrity Suite, even if a different ship class has separate bedrooms/sofa beds.  Looking at Regent, that doesn’t seem to be the case.  Are the 1br with sofa bed ship dependent on Regent (meaning is one ships Penthouse different than another)?

Yes each ship class has different SF and layouts than the other ships.  So you can't look at one ship and expect it to be the same as the other.  I really liked the marble baths and walk in closets. Tons of storage too!

I took the air credit since my cruises were not across the pond so I upgraded to Business.  Their flights would have been coach.. I also took a hotel credit for one of the cruises.

[Jim B]

Very difficult to compare Regent with anyone other than Silver Seas, and Seabourn, and that 

is also tough to do. Every other cruise line operate differently.

Regent is all inclusive. The price shows all inclusive, but does allow you to either not use the Regent air and get a price reduction for that. On international flights it shows business class, but a new twist allows you to pick premium economy and price reduction if you wish. 

Oceania's 3 newer ships are close to Regent ships size, other than Navigator. they offer economy air, but you have to pay extra for excursions, premium booze packages, tips.

Booking a Regent cruise shortly after it shows up is really important to do right away. It is different on Regent.

The lower tier cabins are basically the same, They just cost more the higher deck you are on. 

This is why they sell out so fast if you would like to save a little on the cabin price. 

[Lonedaddy]

We sailed Celebrity several times pre-covid in our late 40's to early 50's.  We always stayed in a celebrity suite or sky suite and enjoyed the personal attention in Luminae.  The prices started rising and I looked at Regent as a comparison and it was comparable in price all-in with Business air and shore-excursions so we gave it a whirl.  We found that personal attention was everywhere, and the lack of crowds and space were wonderful on regent.   The shows on Celebrity might have been a little better than regent but some of the special regional acts regent brings are first class.  So I don't think you would be disappointed with Regent.  I have not sailed Oceania as I think regent is a better value for us.  

Edited September 6, 2023 by Lonedaddy

[CruiserFromMaine]

I echo many of the sentiments above.  We’ve been on Regent (once), Oceania (once) and Celebrity (eight or so). Celebrity pricing for Aqua class and suites is very high. Celebrity has good cruises, with lots of live music and very good entertainment. 
 

But if you want upscale, really take a look at Regent. Oceania has great food too, but on their older ships, many of the cabins are small with hard-to-explain-how-small bathrooms. Entertainment is better on Regent than Oceania but better yet on Celebrity. 

 

Think hard about what you want and what’s important to you then take a cruise! 

[1982CruzStart]

We have done a number of cruises on Regent and on Celebrity. We cruise for itinerary and we took the Celebrity ones when the ports we wanted to visit weren't offered by Regent on any of their ships.  Our Celebrity cruises were in suite class and enjoyed them but from my perspective Celebrity doesn't compare to Regent. When we were going back to Regent after a couple of Celebrity cruises, I ran the numbers including all the things that are important to us, Celebrity was almost as expensive and not in the same class as Regent. 

 

Celebrity turned me off when we had paid for Suite class but all the wines we liked were too expensive for the included wine list and then they were pushing the additional liquor package.  As well the only place to get an included drink outside Luminae was in Micheal's and we wanted a little more freedom to have a drink without being nickeled and dimed.   Our class of suites on Celebrity, though slightly bigger were not near as nice as our cabin on Regent. Every once and a while i take a look at Celebrity offerings but find their Suite Class has gotten so expensive that in all respects, Regent is much better value for us. 

 

i also found the people that travel on Regent are much more laid back and not trying to impress anyone else with what they have. 

[wineoclock]

Also looking for a new home so following here.