Ultimate Cruise Ship

The bathrooms on the Encore do have a separate shower. And again, Regent can call the Explorer the most luxurious ship in the world but it means about as much as the Burj Al Arab calling itself a seven star hotel. Ratings mean nothing when you give them to yourself.

Why are you picking on my favorite ship today (just joking :D). IMO, you would be the perfect person to sail both on the Encore and the Explorer and then do a comprehensive comparison. Are you up for the challenge?

Why are people not booking G1 and G2 cabins? Our TA booked us in a G2 for a cruise in May. What is wrong with them? For a new luxury liner and the cost of the cruise, we are expecting a lot!

Hi PinkMEB

We are booked in a G2 on Explorer next week. We've been in G grades in both Mariner and Voyager and had no problem with them, although we definitely preferred our suite in Mariner as we had a large shower and no bathtub.

I'll let you know our impressions of G2 on Explorer.

I was quite disappointed by the documentary. I expected much more video of the finished product, especially clips on the suites and CR. They didn't even show the prayer wheel despite all the talk about weight.

TC, why don't you like the PHs? I correspond regularly with Gill and she was quite complimentary.

Must say, I see the reason for the furor over the theater.

I was quite disappointed by the documentary. I expected much more video of the finished product, especially clips on the suites and CR. They didn't even show the prayer wheel despite all the talk about weight.

TC, why don't you like the PHs? I correspond regularly with Gill and she was quite complimentary.

Must say, I see the reason for the furor over the theater.

Yes - wish they had shown the interior. IMO, the documentary was more about the company that built the ship than Regent. Not sure if you noticed that the "Regent" name was seldom mentioned. Even FDR was introduced as the CEO of NCL (which is accurate but, as such, he is also over Regent and Oceania).

About the PH suites. I suppose that since we have toured all of the suites twice, we have a different perspective than someone that has not had that experience. Three things stood out about the PH suites that made it less appealing than the F1/F2 and concierge suites. First, the closet is about 1/3 of the size of the other suites. Second, bathroom is smaller than the F1/F2 and concierge suites. Last, the wall between the bedroom and sitting area makes no sense. A friend of ours was on the christening cruise with us in a concierge suite and switched to a PH suite on the maiden voyage. Her preference was also the concierge suite. This is not to say that the PH suite isn't beautiful - all of the suites are!

Agree with all of the uproar regarding the theater. However, most of the seats in the theater on deck 4 have great views (as long as you avoid those darn columns).

Do you have anything booked on the Explorer?

Not yet, we are on Voyager in Oct. and Nautica next year. We are hoping to find a east-west Panama Canal on Explorer in 19.

We like having a butler, does a concierge have one?

Not yet, we are on Voyager in Oct. and Nautica next year. We are hoping to find a east-west Panama Canal on Explorer in 19.

We like having a butler, does a concierge have one?

Nope, no butler until PH level.

Not yet, we are on Voyager in Oct. and Nautica next year. We are hoping to find a east-west Panama Canal on Explorer in 19.

We like having a butler, does a concierge have one?

No, unfortunately they do not. We also like having a butler but when we were on our cruise in November, it was an an addition to our already booked cruise (an extension offer). The highest level available was F1 and the price was too good to turn down. While we missed the butler, we loved the suite. We had a dilemma when we booked an Explorer cruise in 2019. Since we would prefer not booking a PH suite (particularly not on a 3 week cruise), the next choice was a Seven Seas Suite (that we loved - based on our tours). We ended up booking a concierge suite because there was a $20K difference between the concierge and the Seven Seas suites. We simply cannot justify that amount of money to have a butler.

About the PH suites. I suppose that since we have toured all of the suites twice, we have a different perspective than someone that has not had that experience. Three things stood out about the PH suites that made it less appealing than the F1/F2 and concierge suites. First, the closet is about 1/3 of the size of the other suites. Second, bathroom is smaller than the F1/F2 and concierge suites. Last, the wall between the bedroom and sitting area makes no sense. A friend of ours was on the christening cruise with us in a concierge suite and switched to a PH suite on the maiden voyage. Her preference was also the concierge suite. This is not to say that the PH suite isn't beautiful - all of the suites are!

Jackie, we haven't sailed on Explorer yet but looking at the room layouts, the closet doesn't seem to be THAT much smaller; same with the bathroom - it looks to me like the sizes are close, but the L-shaped layout makes it seem less user-friendly.

Also, from the photos, it appears that the PH has pocket doors in the wall between the bedroom and sitting room so you could close the bedroom portion off completely. Can anyone who has sailed in a PH comment on that? Can you totally separate the rooms?

I mean, I'm happy in the D, E, and F1/2 suites from what I've seen and read so far, but it would be interesting to see if it's actually a more functional layout than the PH suites just in case any nice upsells appear on the horizon...

Bill, the PH layout had, in our opinion, pluses and minuses. We like the extra space and also appreciate the service of a Butler, though in many respects, we prefer the layout of the PH on Mariner and Voyager. The Explorer bathroom is spectacular with a great, spacious layout and separate WC within the bathroom. The shower is huge with both overhead rainshower and hand held, plus there is a set of 'body jets' on either side. Though we felt ambivalent about those (especially since the control was falling off the wall) we actually rather liked the whole arrangement after a couple of days getting used to it! The L shape of the room offers a great dressing/changing area...just as well because the closet is exactly that and could in no way be thought of as a dressing room.

The pocket doors do indeed separate the room into two parts very well, until there is any movement of the sea. When we arrived, one door was wedged open with a wooden shim which worked well in calm seas. When things became a little more rocky, and after two nights of wedging both doors open with chairs, our Butler decided to get something done and the maintenance crew came to fit a more permanent solution, fixing a doorstop to each of them. We questioned the design choice of sliding doors on a ship!

We very much liked the 'galley' area in the suite, especially when enjoying room service. More generally, however, it meant that food and drink related paraphernalia could be kept together, leaving other surfaces clear.

If I can offer further info/pictures, drop me an email via my blog.

I didn't realize that there were pocket doors by the wall. We had a pocket door in the Grand Suite - leading into the bathroom that had a wooden wedge under it to keep it from making noise. Hopefully that has been fixed by now as I stubbed my toe quite badly on the wedge.

Also forgot to mention the lack of a bathtub which is why the shower is so large. My DH enjoys bubble baths so he would definitely miss the tub.

Thanks. I will be anxious to hear what you think.

Hi PinkMEB, we got onboard yesterday and as promised have our first impressions of our G2 suite that has been quite harshly criticised.

As previously noted we have been in G grades on both Mariner and Voyager and had no issues with either. We preferred our bathroom on Mariner with a large shower over a tub that we don't use. So, when booking Explorer, a G2 (we didn't like the position of the available G1's) seemed fine, as the square footage is the same as Mariner, I have no doubt that this is the case, but, on Explorer the shape is long and fairly narrow, which means it feels smaller. The room is fine, the bed is super comfy, but the shower room (bigish shower) is quite compact as is the 'dressing cupboard'.

The whole ship has, in my opinion a feel of being slightly out of proportion size wise. The corridors where the suites are feel a little cramped. On the whole, I think I prefer stepping out of my suite and finding neighbours opposite rather than a wall.

Would we book a G2 again? Yes, depending on the length of the cruise and the cost versus the larger ones.

I'll provide further thoughts and impressions on the cruise and ship when we've been onboard a little longer and probably in a new thread.

For those who'd like a "hard" copy of the program, it is out on DVD as of tomorrow, March 21st. Available through Amazon and no doubt other vendors.

For those who'd like a "hard" copy of the program, it is out on DVD as of tomorrow, March 21st. Available through Amazon and no doubt other vendors.

Portolan, Thanks for the info! A lot of excitement about this ship in the news and in the threads. Have enjoyed the many reviews to date.