It's often mentioned as a truism that Cruise Critic is a very small slice of cruise passengers, so therefore it's not a good idea to judge a cruise line by its CC forum β but nevertheless I must say I have never seriously considered Regent because of the cattiness of that forum. [Note: I am not talking about anyone posting on this thread, and I haven't read that forum in some time]
I have a theory that the devotΓ©es of Luxury cruise lines are actually less happy than those of us who sail on Premium lines. I read so many 'luxury' posts that reek of 'nothing is ever good enough' β and on Regent there was [I haven't read it lately] so much Oceania-bashing, at a time when most reports were that Oceania had better food, because it was important to certain people to stress that Regent is 'Luxury' while Oceania is 'only Premium.' That was a huge turn-off.
I don't care how a cruise line is rated β and there is no industry standard about stars or classes anyway. After 34 cruises on 15 different lines [with 5 more booked, and 1 new line (Windstar)], I know pretty much what I'm looking for: (1) an interesting in-depth itinerary; (2) very good food and service; (3) a veranda cabin [for the light more than lying about on it] with enough room to walk past the bed. I get that reliably on Azamara and Noble Caledonia, and I expect to get it on Windstar next January [French balcony but good enough] Can I hope to get it on my two upcoming Silversea cruises? β recent reports are not reassuring, but I booked before the massive price increases last month so the fares still promise decent value and one can hope they will 'right their ship.'