Return to Regent on "Journey to the Arctic"

I'm heading out the door today to fly to Dublin. We will be boarding the Voyager in a couple of days for the 15-day Iceland/Greenland cruise. This will be my first RSSC cruise since 2009 (also on Voyager), so it'll be interesting to see how Regent has changed....if at all. We were originally booked on a Mediterranean cruise (my favorite destination) on a different cruise line, but once I saw this itinerary I knew we had to go. This will be the first cruise I have done in years in which all the ports are new. I'll be posting throughout the voyage to give my thoughts and observations to those who are interested.

Michael

Will be following with interest!

Have a great cruise, and I hope everything lives up to your memories and expectations :)

Bon Voyage! Look forward to you taking us along for the journey!

Safe travels and look forward to your posts. It's not s cruise we have taken before but it interests us so look forward to your reports. Jean.

I am very interested in this itinerary, so thank you for taking the time to post!

Have a great cruise. Looking forward to your reports

Can't wait to hear about. We did similar a few years ago and it was one of our favorites.

Thanks, everyone! Just arrived to a wet Dublin after a nice flight with Aer Lingus from San Francisco. We will be exploring today and tomorrow. I'll have more to say after we board the Voyager on Sunday. Looking forward to getting settled on the ship. I can't relax living out of a suitcase pre-cruise :)

Michael

Looking forward to hearing about this journey. The itinerary really appeals to us! Thanks for taking the time. ENJOY!!!

Great, looking forward to your thinking about the cruise---sure you'll be enjoying the trip and I'm sure we all look forward to hearing more.

Hi everyone! Just wrapping up Day 3 of our 15 day cruise. It was great to step back onboard Regent after not having sailed with them since 2009. Boarding in Dublin was very quick and easy with an amazingly friendly ground crew there. Coming onboard, the first thing we noticed was how great the ship's public areas looked, but how dated the suites and hallways looked. Having said that, the rooms, while dated, have been kept in great condition.

Crew has been very friendly from wait staff to housekeeping to social staff. Literally everyone we pass in the hallways or in any public room say hi or good morning or good afternoon. It's felt very welcoming. In addition, food has been excellent to amazing for all meals. We have not had any let downs yet. Fresh fruits in the buffet, wonderful fish, crisp vegetables, great soups. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to start pacing my food intake. I already asked the servers not to bring bread or the petit fours by at dinner :)

I do feel that where Regent has paled in comparison to other upscale lines is at the pier during port days. Each day of the cruise has been cold and rainy and there is no shelter provided when reboarding or any little warm drinks or anything provided. On Crystal and Azamara, a little canopy is always set up for cover with crew members providing cold towels, cold drinks or hot chocolate. Regent does so much right that this omission is glaring to me. It feels really impersonal and typical of a mainstream ship.

Dublin was a fabulous embarkation port in terms of a place to spend a few days. We stayed at The Marker Hotel which was fantastic and a 20 minute walk from the center of the city, so we definitely got our steps in. We found everyone in Dublin so lovely and enjoyed some great food.

The first port was Belfast. We were lucky enough to know people there who took us around for the day. The Titanic museum was interesting. We went to see the parliament building and Belfast Castle. We also asked our friends to take us into the residential areas and got to look in one of the lovely homes that our friends are selling.

Today we were in Greenock, Scotland, and took the train into Glasgow. It was a bit blah. Just a typical big city. Not much character.

Tomorrow is a sea day en route to the Faroe Islands and the first day the casino and shops will be open, due to all of our late night departures.

More in a few days.

Michael

Hope your weather improves. It sounds like you are off to a good start. In my experience, they only put up the canopy for reboarding when it is a tender port. The thinking is that if you are at a dock, you can get immediately onboard since there are no lines, so no need for the canopy or hot drinks outside. At tender ports, I bet there will be one

Also hope that the weather improves. We are looking to a similar itinerary next year but, unfortunately, it is on the Navigator and my DH really does not like sailing on that ship. Looking forward to more reports!

..... We are looking to a similar itinerary next year but, unfortunately, it is on the Navigator and my DH really does not like sailing on that ship. .....

The Explorer is visiting Iceland in July 2017 - tempted? :)

The Explorer is visiting Iceland in July 2017 - tempted? :)

Always tempted by the Explorer but it takes a lot to make us travel in the summer (too crowded at airports, kids on the ships, etc.) The Navigator will be there in mid-late August and early September next year which, IMO, is a bit better than July. My DH may change his mind about the Navigator........ time will tell. I'll be sharing information from this thread with him.:)

Always tempted by the Explorer but it takes a lot to make us travel in the summer (too crowded at airports, kids on the ships, etc.) The Navigator will be there in mid-late August and early September next year which, IMO, is a bit better than July. My DH may change his mind about the Navigator........ time will tell. I'll be sharing information from this thread with him.:)

We have done Voyager and have a Mariner cruise coming up. We are looking at a Navigator cruise around Australia/New Zealand in 2/18. Am curious to know your opinion of the Navigator and why your husband doesn't like it.

We have done Voyager and have a Mariner cruise coming up. We are looking at a Navigator cruise around Australia/New Zealand in 2/18. Am curious to know your opinion of the Navigator and why your husband doesn't like it.

The issues we have had with the Navigator are:

1. Does not take rough seas as well as other ships (the only ship he got seasick on was the Navigator but we were on deck 11 forward - it is better mid-ship and on lower decks).

2. Small public spaces.

3. Only one reservation restaurant - P7.

4. No forward lounge

The Navigator is a beautiful ship (even more beautiful now from the photos I've seen). The regular suites are larger than the Mariner (same as Voyager) but the PH suites are no larger than regular suites.

There are a lot of people that love the Navigator and some that chose not to sail on her.

Our favorite ship is the Voyager but the Explorer may topple the Voyager off of her top spot:)

The issues we have had with the Navigator are:

 

1. Does not take rough seas as well as other ships (the only ship he got seasick on was the Navigator but we were on deck 11 forward - it is better mid-ship and on lower decks).

 

2. Small public spaces.

 

3. Only one reservation restaurant - P7.

 

4. No forward lounge

 

The Navigator is a beautiful ship (even more beautiful now from the photos I've seen). The regular suites are larger than the Mariner (same as Voyager) but the PH suites are no larger than regular suites.

 

There are a lot of people that love the Navigator and some that chose not to sail on her.

 

Our favorite ship is the Voyager but the Explorer may topple the Voyager off of her top spot:)

Thank you for the information and your prompt response.

We are back out at sea today and it is COLD!! Foggy all day with the ship's horn blowing. Seas are a little rocky, but nothing rough. Captain said we will be able to see the Aurora Borealis this weekend while we're in Iceland. We have been in our room most of the day, as the public spaces are filled with parked scooters and people sleeping on chairs. This is a really low-energy group. Very little activity anywhere on the ship, day or night.

Service continues to be great, in our opinion. I felt for the pool grill guys who had to stay outside all day, bundled up. You can't go anywhere on the ship without friendly hellos. People we've met on the ship say that they think service is more inconsistent than it used to be. But we've been really happy. We ate at Sette Mare the other day which was fabulous! The Gorgonzola beef filet was what I had and it was incredible. The only disappointing food I've had all week was the unappetizing burger at the pool grill - but I didn't have high expectations considering the venue.

Yesterday we were in Torshavn, Faroe Islands. Spectacular ! I did a 7-mile run along the coast and saw the most incredible scenery - the greenest grass, rolling hills, cliffs that dropped off into the ocean, sheep farms in which they were being sheared, gorgeous little houses with sod roofs. It was magical. The town of Torshavn is lovely as well. Cute little shops and cafes and very friendly people.

We reach Akureyri, Iceland tomorrow morning .... The first of two Iceland stops before crossing over to Greenland.

Michael

Thanks Michael for the updates. Enjoy you time in Iceland and Greenland.

I agree with you Michael re the reception on return to the ship. We are fairly recent Regent fans, first cruise in 2010. One of the things that really gave me a buzz was the reception on return to the ship in India, Dubai to Cape Town cruise, in sweltering heat we were greeted with cold towels, champagne, music and a genuine 'welcome home'. We have really missed this on our last few trips especially as we watched other cruise lines set up camp alongside with all the frills and wondered why Regent had not bothered. We cruised Azamara last year and they always made a special effort for the returning passengers. But that was the only plus for them! Great to read your reports, glad you enjoyed Dublin :)

Thanks for the reports. You have a treat in store for you in Iceland. There are many wonderful sights. We greatly enjoyed our two visits there.

I am following your blog with great interest as we will be leaving on a very similar itinerary on Crystal on July 9. We will visit Norway, The Faroes and Iceland as well as several other ports.

I have been looking at the temps and am going to start packing next week. When you say cold, what level of cold ? [emoji4] Any tips?

Thanks so much.

Following this closely - my wife and I have just started looking at Iceland itineraries and need to start getting educated. Thank you for posting about your trip!