drcandon

This is a review of the Regent cruise Singapore to Sydney on Feb 2. I always post a review of the Regent cruise we went on not so much for the experienced Regent customers but more for those either considering Regent for the first time or for those who have no been on that cruise or that ship before. Please be warned ahead of time this is very long..please forgive me.. This is also not a supplement to the blog already posted live but my independent thoughts from my point of view, so that being said, to start…

The ship Voyager – overall impression. We have been on her before but that last cruise was a whirlwind Europe one and we did not really get so much down time. This time, we did, and this round was also after the last renovation. The ship overall is up to the normal Regent standards, that being very good to excellent. They were sanding and painting some of the railings during our cruise so that part looked a bit odd, but maintenance must be done. This ship has very good use of outdoor space. The walking track is well designed if you go from one end to the other ( game area to game area) is a decent walk. The runners are asked to stay confined to a smaller circular area, but is still good. The game or activity area is well maintained and – for our cruise at least – even on the numerous sea days – available for use. Of course that could have been because it was so incredibly hot and playing paddle tennis would have been an interesting sweaty challenge. The pool area was well maintained and the staff was actually removing bed savers (those folks who think that leaving a book on a lounge for hours while they wander about is fair). Because it was a full ship the beds were in constant use and the staff put some more up on the top deck and the deck under the lifeboats...first time I have ever seen a Regent ship do that – so everyone could have a chance to just lay around. The interior of the ship is beautiful, well designed – and seem to always have a quiet corner you could go to get out of your cabin – if so inclined. I still think the coffee connection is in an odd place , but is serviceable. One nice thing I really like about Regent ships ( at least the 3 we have been on) is that the stupid casino ( sorry to any who like that) is small and out of the way so you don't have to constantly ramble through it like on the other cruise lines – trying to desperately suck money out of you. Of course the boutique is a walk through, but on Regent ships the staff don't harass you as you wander through..again a big plus for this cruise line. The bars are in a reasonable location and were never packed. In fact most of the time I wondered if anyone even knew about the Observation lounge. This is probably because Regent has one of the highest guest to space ratios in the business. My one complaint is the library is not a self contained area and like the coffee connection is for lack of a better explanation – a wander through space. If you are sitting reading a book..someone is always passing by you. Nothing is perfect. The new carpet is just an odd design..clean, well maintained but reminds me of the game, Quirkle. The other thing that is funny is the art work down the guest halls...really who gets paid for painting 3 watermelon slices on white?

Restaurants...the refurbishment in the Compas Rose is well done and makes this main restaurant seem less crowded (all main restaurants on all ships are kinda crowded especially on sea days with a full ship). The new menu is super and even when the specials of the day did not appeal to us, the “always available” was great – especiallly the lamb chops with mint jelly. The new order system of electronic hand held devices works perfectly and we never ever waited long for any course. Of course your experience will vary with the time you arrive. This cruise was very odd as the main restaurant was full within 45 min. of door open at 6:30, not like the other Regent cruises we have been on. I did hear one complaint when one of the experienced waiters was sick and one of the staff from another restaurant was pulled in to fill the gap...the timing was off..geez give people a break will you. Prime 7, is well Prime 7...this was never my favorite restaurant. It was very highly coveted during this cruise with folks lining up down at reservation pleading for another...okay you can have my extras..( not that I had extra – just saying). I did enjoy the massive serving of crab legs I had. And much to our surprise Regent actually read the “do you have any special event” area and gave us a happy anniversary embarrassing song and real great chocolate cake slice..yummm. Sette Mari at La Veranda was the usual Italian spectaculer and I love the lasagna as the main. La Veranda ( Sette Mari’s daytime changeover) always had a great selection of food to eat too much of – especially the huge shrimp at noon. There was a very well done different noon buffet every day on the pool deck – except for me the seafood one could be skipped (don't like the smell of cooking fish – personal preference). And as a side note the burgers are huge and with a beer to wash it down – perfect.

Which leaves poor Chartreuse...oh how I miss menu 2 and 3 of the old Signatures. The new designed plates are really nice...Well let me put it this way, Signatures, especially menu 2 and 3 was my favorite restaurant, on a past Regent cruise once we got past menu one, we tried to get in every night. My wife and I struggled to find something we liked this time. And that is why I have to rate this place as not so good anymore...NOW before anyone jumps all over me, I was told that I got the bad menu and the other 3 or 4 (I was told 4 – think only 3 ) were excellent..I just got the crappy one...Maybe so, but even on Signatures number one –the not so hot menu – I still found stuff I like. I used to love the old Bon Appetit – lift the coves off the plates...Now they just plunk it down – honestly I don't think the staff even like the restaurant – it kinda shows. AGAIN, before people who love Regent tell me I am full of it, this is my personal opinion – the restaurant was mostly full every night. AND remember I said this used to be my absolute favorite.

Staff. Wow what a huge huge improvement. All the staff- even the guys tasked with the duty of scraping rust on the scorching hot days, were very cordial and always said hello or some kind of greeting and always smiled. What a difference compared to other cruise lines that actually grump at you if you dare look at them. I cannot sing enough praise about our room stewards. After we met them and they got the hang of our pattern we never ever saw them...we actually had to hunt them down to get a photo of them. On this cruise we were fortunate to have a butler for a luxury. Despite the fact we never really utilized him like some other overly demanding guests did...he never never was too busy to at least say hello or ask how our day was going or if we needed anything...When I asked for a refill on the Scotch bottle I barely got off the phone when he delivered it (OK a bit of an exaggeration). The room was maintained in perfect condition- I just can’t say enough about them. Other people on the cruise we met had the same remarks about this cruise. Frequent cruises remarked that the staff happiness has had a remarkable turn around lately. One gentlemen I talked to who also sails Crystal a lot said they are better than that line. Just to make a point on a previous Regent cruise, the one we took to the Amazon, the staff seemed harried and a bit short on conversation. So something, perhaps in management has improved?

Excursions...okay here we go down the rabbit hole again. For those who used to sail Regent many moons ago, before the excursions became part of the package, this is still an adjustment phase. But, please let me tell you, that on other cruise lines if they could make you sit on top of each other in a bus, they would. On all but one excursion, on say a 50 seater bus they only filled it to about 60 % capacity – so if you did not want to sit with someone – you could go it alone. Now what about that other one time I mentioned ? What happened was the jumping crocodile excursion had to be canceled due to high water. So, UNLIKE other lines that just say sorry chuck – out of luck, Regent got a few more buses for an already running excursion and gave the guests the chance to go on that one. Unfortunately, that port does not have huge buses EXCEPT for their version of school buses (which are still major huge air conditioned buses). And also that port does not have many of those particular type of buses, so every seat on the buses they had, had to be filled. Still the buses were big air conditioned coaches…

The quality and choice of the excursions varied port to port – but were the best that port had to offer. I keep saying this and with the risk of making some people mad – try mainstream excursions – you will kissing the feet of the excursion desk folks in this line. Nuff said…

As for the ports themselves. Jakarta was what I has expected – very busy and crowded, luckily we were there on a Sunday so the 3 million migrant workers that come in every morning and the 2 hour traffic jams were not there. However all the parks and public areas especially the miniature village were packed. Win some, loose some. I understand Regent goes to Jakarta for an experience but another Indonesian port would be a better idea. Bali was a huge disappointment to me, I was unprepared what to expect. Bali is not a Asian version of a tropical paradise like say Fuji. The one side of the island is a jammed, village to people jammed village intensive maze. The other side of the island is a national park but trying to get there would take literally more hours than the ship would have been in port. On the positive side we saw lots of temples and architecture that I was interested in. In essence we chose one of the wrong excursions, the one with the terrace rice paddies would have been better. Others found it very interesting. I was just not ready for the human congestion. Komodo was an incredible experience. I was expecting from some photos a wind swept almost desert like dried out island. The area we explored was hardly that. Yes it was not exactly rain forest style, but way more lush then I thought. And we saw well over 20 of the monsters! Semarang, to some was a washed out mess. We did the horse back to the ancient hilltop temples. Yes it was a bit wet and it rained slightly in the mountains, but that just added to the incredible vista – and kept the other tourists out. The Australian ports I had pre read about and was not surprised at any of them. I guess because I had to opt out of the Great Barrier Reef excursion, I wanted to get the best of all the others and we did. We did a number of sanctuaries and nature walks through parks, billabongs and wet land forests. Everyone we met was great. I highly recommend the Kuranda train ride, the view from the gorge is breathtaking. We also got out and walked the small towns, again just hopped the shuttle to town, after our excursion. One thing I was amazed at in Darwin is, once you get past the 4 or 5 miles of human habitation along the coast, the vast Australian interior is miles and miles of more miles of no-one….not even a house along the road...

Oh one more thing, the pre and post. The pre at Angkor Wat was perfect. The hotel was beautiful, the staff had a bit of a language issue – yea it is Cambodia. The post was a surprise the hotel was literally a 5 minute walk from the Opera house in Sydney. The staff at the hotel was very good. It is not anyone’s fault that everything is hideously expensive in Sydney – except for some local wines and beer! As a side note funny instance, the only real Aussie wine we are familiar with is a brand exported to Canada called Yellowtail. Well being the rubes we of course are, we went to a small liquor store stuffed in a corner at the Quay and looked for it. I am not fond of Yellowtail but thought it was a mid range Aussie wine. When I told the friendly guy behind the counter he started to laugh uproariously. His answer and I quote...AY mate that eese the swill we export to the reast of the foolish pelicans. We keeeeep th’ goood stuff. He pointed to a (okay don’t fall over ) six dollar bottle of red that he said was miles better. Never to be one to know better than back away from an obvious challenge, I bought it figuring it would be good mouth wash...I was wrong, even that bottle makes Yellowtail seem crappy...( Just in case the Yellowtail manufacturers read this, this is strictly a personal opinion and subject to error and poor taste buds). Oh yes, we actually bought a couple three other bottles he said were very popular and good...he was right! To sum up, Sidney itself is, for a Canadian, just like Toronto, clean, busy busy and in most places very expensive. But unlike Toronto, has small bars with local craft beers everywhere.

A final note on a controversial subject tipping..not on the ship I want to stay out of that firestorm, I am talking in the ports. Unfortunately, in countries that actually used to think tipping was an insult, namely Singapore, Cambodia and Australia – now it is commonplace. But still not expected or demanded like in the Caribbean. Just an FYI.

Overall thoughts and impression. This was a cruise of a lifetime for my wife and I. I am extremely grateful we had this chance. We have to save for our cruises and as such sacrifice a lot. I am not asking for sympathy I am only stating this to say we expect to get our money’s worth out of such an endeavor ..and we did.

If you would like to see some photos please go to

https://www.facebook.com/DonCWoodPhotography

I will be posting a set or sets of series concerning the various ports and subjects in the near future - as soon as I get them sorted out and developed

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Travelcat..hope I did not stir up too much going on about Boca being a fake village..but the reality is..it is..that aside, it is still a decent representation of a modern typical Amazonian river home ( minus the satellite dish ..hahaha)...

I hope i don't open up another issue, but I believe I am quoting Ms. Breen correctly in that she warns us as travelers to the Amazon to NOT give money or encourage the people to trap the sloths and parrots - just to get a buck from the tourists. Again I could be incorrect but I believe she said that the parrots wings are cruelly clipped to prevent them from escaping AND the sloths - once taken out of their home tree are doomed to a slow death. What you do with this information is up to you. Certainly I would check with Ms. Breen to ascertain the accuracy of these statements. Sorry for briefly hijacking this thread.

Oh well...the bugs were interesting..once moth that stayed on the top deck near the netting was the size of my open palm..and we only got rid of the huge crickets about 2 days from the return trip to Miami...

We were supposed to be there during the high flower and fruit season but did not see much..how about the trees now???

Travelcat...looks like I did not get to you in time...but on the way out of the Amazon (you are going back to Miami correct?)..and if the time of day is right as you leave the mouth watch how far out to sea the brown water of the Amazon extends to the Altantic..we were there when the rainy (high water) season was over for about a month. I had to get up at 5 am as we entered the mix zone and that was around 150 miles out..so I was told..it is amazing to see deep blue Atlantic one minute and see fresh muddy Amazon the next!

And a comment about the buses...the best we had were in Parintins on the way out..They were small (maybe 20 seats) and had what was the best they could do for air..which was not too much..

I can't say about the buses in Manuas as we did the piranha fishing..which sounds cheesy...BUT that excursions takes you down a small tributary off the main river maybe for 20 miles...then you really feel like you are in the Jungle Queen movie. Yes, you do get to fish for Piranha..which by the way are not easy to catch...

Oh yea...on that excursions there are plenty of the brown dolphins to see!!

One more small thing..if you are not entomophobic (scared of bugs)...get out early in the morning before the crew cleans up the bugs for the night..let me know what you think of the size of the moths and crickets...duck when they come at you !!!

I want to emphasize again that even though we wandered around on our own in Manaus, even late in the evening to the Opera house..you must keep a vigil..They can spot a tourist a mile away and even though we never got bothered ..one older lady on our cruise got a close encounter she was not too happy about. They never hurt her but she got swarmed...

I just don't want to mislead anyone!

Oh yes...one more thing..on the tenders back and forth from Boca..look in the water..there a lot of pink dolphins.it is the best place to see them..!!

We were on the Regent Amazon cruise a bit ago on the Mariner..my DW has been following the thread and asked me to interject a few things that might help a bit...We went from Rio to Miami - but the itinerary in the amazon is the same.

So..here goes...I dropped the malaria pills after about 2 days...For the entire length of the cruise we saw maybe 2 and not the malaria causing ones ( night biters). At Alter do Choa the water is a black as night and is totally safe to go for a swim. Don't waste your time swimming where they drop you from the tenders, walk into town and turn to the left at any street..go to the public beach..the water is like a bath tub!! As far as the souvenir shop everyone is going on about, it is at the end of the main street, they all speak reasonable english and it has a lot of stuff in it - mostly hand crafts. For those that are Canadian on the trip with you Travelcat tell them NOT to buy any wood products, they will be confiscated at the Canadian border. As far a Boca goes, don't take to much time in the manufactured village, instead either take a cheap boat upstream to a little less manufactured village OR, better still either walk the path directly through the jungle to the village behind the small mountain ( about 3 K) or walk following the river to various real small settlements..to see how folks really live....a real eye opener. BUT it is how and humid!.

At Manuas...definitely go to the Opera house, either via a tour or walk yourself.. As a warning it is a long walk because you cannot go in a straight line it is a zig zag path. Keep your wits around you and you wallet hidden and you will be okay. We walked there twice - once a night!. AND if you are contemplating the night Cayman tour - my advice - stay on the ship. It is 3 hours of fumbling around in the dark hoping to grab a tiny Cayman ( they scare away the big ones- on purpose).

And yes, go to the Boi Bumba - it is so worth it..but try to get in the first 2 rows...anything else and you will not be happy...Also if you get out of the show on time AND they still have tour space available - go on the tour to see the actual Boi Bumba assembly areas and the arena...it is a hot ( very hot) tour but so worth it. The HUGE creatures makes things from Mardi Gras look tiny

Guess that is it for now..feel free to ask any questions..

If you want to see ahead of time some photos here are direct links to my facebook page for the amazon..they all have public security so everyone should be able to access them..

Boi Bumba

https://www.facebook.com/DonCWoodPhotography/media_set?set=a.593210797504467.1073741851.100004466567223&type=3

Amazon Cruise

https://www.facebook.com/DonCWoodPhotography/media_set?set=a.571453666346847.1073741848.100004466567223&type=3

Life on the Amazon

https://www.facebook.com/DonCWoodPhotography/media_set?set=a.587174984774715.1073741849.100004466567223&type=3

So, to answer my own question..we finished doing the alternate dining selections a few days ago. We are on the 18 day Singapore to Sydney coming up the end of January and we got only 2 - one for each alternate restaurant. We did NOT get 2 for each 7 day leg. I am not sure if this is a change in Regent policy or not...that is for another discussion, but that is what we were able to select. We will try to get other when we get on board. I am sorry it took so long to update..I was otherwise occupied

Thanks to all that replied.....

My recollection on this topic is a bit off and I would like to be correct. We are on upcoming 18 day cruise end of Feb 2018..how many days of specialty restaurants do we actually get. Is it just 2 + 2 ( ie 2 per week - one of each - we are on the Voyager). Or do they throw in an extra 2 on for the extra 4 days? Hope that makes sense.

TIA

Okay...thanks folks...I was wondering about that..it looked like there was none..

This will be our first time on the Volendam and her sister ships. We have been on the Vista class before. We know what the spa looks like on the Vista class, but I cant seem to find photos of the spa on the Volendam. So, I am looking for some information, does the spa on the Volendam have a hydropool like the bigger ships? And do you folks have any photos of the gym as well?

Please and thanks

Perhaps I was a bit rambling in my question. We have been on a few Regent cruises before and for the excursions we have followed along on the available ones , by following the links on the website. And yes, certain available ones have come and gone....but there was at least a few listed. This is however a bit odd ( I think) as the Indonesian ones...in particular Bali ( a very tourist centric port) are missing. Except for as I stated he executive car. Anyway, since others have noted this as well...I think this will calm the wife unit down

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I realise before I start that their are loyal Regent customers who do not like the included excursions and I am not posting this question to get any adverse reactions...I am just curious about this aspect in particular..or this oddity as we have not encountered it in past Regent cruises

My question is has Regent changed their posting policy on how to select the included excursions. Normally you can look at the past excursions for a port to get an idea on what is offered and then at the correct time (either 240 or 180 days) your window to select opens up. On the cruise we have booked, the Jan 2018 Singapore to Sidney, no excursions for the Indonesian ports, (save for the executive car) and a few for the Australian ports are listed..I was absolutely assured by the regent reps that at the correct time ( in our case 2 more days) that all the excursions will be listed. As you can imagine this gives my DW some stress as she is a well in advance planner and wants to "pre -look" ahead of time...not just on the open day.

I am just curious on other Regent cruises if this is now a trend?

And on a more perhaps serious note ..is this just because there is an issue with this cruise???

I know you folks are not Canadian, however our Canuck Gov travel site is quite good and its recommendations are current..

https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/health-safety/diseases/yellow-fever

We did the amazon cruise on the Mariner last year and faced the same dilemma. In Canada, our public health clinic (where we go to get the various shots) actually strongly discourages the yellow fever shot. Especially if you have any auto immune problems like Rheumatoid arthritis, Graves, etc etc...I had or have Graves and was advised to use the waver form, which for Canada looks exactly like the immunisation form...You just get your doctor to sign it and it is accepted as an opt out in Brazil. The only country that might give you a bit of a hassle is French Guiana and Devils Island..but even then they did not even look...As fas as malaria pills go, those mosquitos are night biters and with only 1 night excursion into heavy bush ( the spotting of the caymans) it was a major waste of time. My wife took them for the duration..I gave up after 2 days past the Cayman spotting...Oh yes, we did every excursion into the "jungle" and even went off by our own in a couple places ( especially the fake village).. and only saw one mosquito and it was the end of the rainy season.

If you are curious please check out my Facebook page on the amazon cruise, the photos are public, but you can friend me if you like...

https://www.facebook.com/DonCWoodPhotography/photos_albums

or

https://www.facebook.com/DonCWoodPhotography

Look for the albums on life on the amazon , amazon cruise and the Boi-Bumba folk festival..

One post note though..if you or anyone you know is pregnant or going to be...I would avoid any Zika prone areas like Brazil until the pregnancy is over...

Wow folks...thanks for the great replies..We really appreciate it...I wish we could deviate the hotel to another room for the same Regent price but we are a bit chicken..oh well..Regent agreed to the pre pre deviation as long as we stayed in their choice hotel..so okay..just bite the bullet...

Anyway..we think we might now do 3 days pre (pre)...Day one day arrive on Cathay about 12pm and then a down day for jet lag..maybe walk to the Botanical....

Next day buy the 48 hour HOHO..and the half day tour ( I know that is a duplication...but we want to be able to wander around a bit).. Then do the night zoo with dinner (Front of the line is more expensive but it cuts the 40 min wait to 10)...

Next day morning HOHO to catch a few things as suggested on this thread and then meet up with the group in the afternoon...

At least that is the plan for now...

Oh yea we are coming in from Canada...Pearson Toronto - lay over 3 hours in Honhy Kong..

Hi Everyone... I would like to ask an opinion from this group. We are already on the pre to Siem Reap on the 2018 Singapore to Sidney. Since I doubt we will ever be back to that particular area again, the DW and I would like to do a couple extra days pre pre on our own. We are staying in the hotel of choice from Regent which is weirdly " The Regent"...

I would like to know from those who know or know someone who has been there how many days extra they would stay and what they would see.

Before I am gently told that there are areas of the board to ask this...I do not (respectfully) want an answer like... go to Universal Singapore..which although I am sure is remarkable...Florida is much closer...I hope that does not come off too rude..

So, I guess I am curious from this group what they would do and see - time extra as well

Thanks in advance..

Interesting..on the Amazon cruise they had Dos Equis and another Brazil local that for the life of me I can't remember...On the last Europe one, no Sam Adams but they stocked a local Italian brand (again sorry forgot to write it down).. I wonder if the stock can vary on the location???

Interesting review and thanks for posting. We have not been on the Explorer yet - perhaps soon. We really like the other Regent ships and encourage you to give them a try. Just watch the cabin you book...some still shake a bit. What I find the most interesting is the claim that other cruise lines make that they too are luxury or 5 star...however the "phraseology"...And then read some of the reviews on Regent..and cannot help but chuckle to myself... I am certainly not a Regent cheerleader, there is a lot that Regent can improve on, entertainment being one....however try some of the other 5 star lines (that I will not mention names of), the BIG production numbers they claim are at best totally boring and overproduced and at worst I have seen much better done in local high schools. Regent productions are smaller in nature but as good. I am sad that Signatures is gone ( i understand)...it was my favourite..especially the rotating menus. What I do like the most about Regent is that once you step on board - that is it for your credit card and your pocket book....On other 5 star lines the credit card fun never stops...Oh and as for the internet...yes, again Regent could improve that especially considering the price of the cruise...but once again...on the other 5 star line you were extremely lucky to get 35k in your cabin AND you paid by the minute...

Hi folks...It has been a while since we sailed on HAL due to life getting in the way..now that we are back and booked on an upcoming BtoB..I notice that the dress code or the wording as changed...It used to state Formal ..now the label is well...different. So I am curious if a Suit or dinner jacket is no longer required...I do have some nice dress sweaters ( not like Mr. Rogers) and would prefer to wear them. What has everyone observed on men on what used to be "forrmal" nights..

thanks

Thanks all...did not really want to go on an excursion just to put in time..so we will see when the instructions appear!!!

Hi Folks..

This is the first time we have done back to back on HAL (or any cruise line). I have a question of what happens when you return to port to go out again on the second leg ( specifically Ft. Lauderdale). I have conflicting info from other cruisers - some say you have to get off the ship and go in a holding area, others say they have a holding area on board that you just go to and wait for port clearance...For those who have done a BtoB at Ft. Lauderdale..which is it???..We are on an upcoming Nieuw Amsterdam cruise..thanks

Well if a private limo guy is not for you, may I suggest Viatour. We have used that company in several pre and post cities for Regent and other cruise(s); instead of doing the pre and/or post offered by the cruise line. This company appears to use the normal trained guides available in every port and they will store your luggage for you. Now, just a warning, they, like all tour companies, unless private, work on volume. So, expect to be on a bus with other folks. The tour we had in Rome a few years ago was actually what they called a small group tour ( a bit more costly). The tour had only 5 other couples, included prompt service door to door and actually really did skip the line to get into the Vatican ahead of the throngs.

We just came off the Navigator a few days ago. The refurb on her has made the ship fresh again. The re-arrangement of the public areas has added more space - or it seems that way, and that is all that counts.

The room refurb is especially nice. The colours are not my favorite ( I hate modern grey white black), but this was done to good taste. Funny thing is they left the old brown tallboy in the closet. The only thing I missed is I usually haul around a lot of camera stuff and I missed the shelf above the desk to put lenses, etc on.

I did find the Compas Rose service to be a bit spotty this time around, but Seti Mari is vastly improved - so much so we had dinner there 3 nights. We only got one Prime 7 - mainly because I simply forgot to ask until the 4th day out. But, as you can read in my recently posted review - Prime 7 is not my favorite anyway. I did miss Signatures (what it used to be called) - especially since they have 3 rotating menus and on longer cruises you can hit all three. The lounges between 8 and about 10:30 were vacant - maybe one or two couples. On this cruise they only got populated about 11pm...but never crowded.

If a good itinerary came along again, I would sail the Navigator again, but I would not especially seek out cruises to get on the ship. That sounds contradictory, so I hope you know what I mean.

Oh..one thing I forgot, even though the service was a bit uneven in the Compass Rose, the décor has gone from ho hum to spectacular. The new carpet, wall treatment, chairs and coverings, lighting ( really cool they can vary the LED colour) and down to the plates made this area look especially nice...And for those who are workout freaks, the new equipment in the gym is especially nice. They are multi machine variations of course, but now each machine can do various body parts. The treadmills and ellipticals look new and the old creaky weight benches are gone...

Hi Travelcat2....In response to the noise. I posted a question about a month or so about that issue when we first got an invitation to upsell (glad we held off - much much better deal 2 weeks out). At that time folks were kind enough to give us a heads up on the issue. So, when the upsell came up we had a choice of 4 cabins ( seriously..there was that much movement). We choose 938 which was directly under the Pool Grill work area. We knew that at 5 am in the morning they would be getting ready, and yes we did hear at bit. Only once was bad when a crew member must have dropped a tray of food OMG. Other then that the crew are very considerate and walk softly and the noise was acceptable. Then most of the day the crew don't move much as they are waiting on folks and heard nothing. Then around 4pm when they clean up, it gets noisy again. The then rest of the night is silent...

Now, I asked another couple who were directly under the entrance to Prime7 and also has tables above them and they heard major noise right until Prime 7 closed. It started again at 6 am as the early eaters started wandering around...

Other couples in those suites that I asked had similar reports..especially on the smoking side..some major noise at 2 in the morning on the one day at sea.

Nothing on the chlorine...but maybe since they have moved from heavy chlorine to that salty tasting stuff( whatever that is) that issue is gone..

Would I recommend paying full price for a Navigator suite...for full price no...if you get a really really good upsell yes, but bring earplugs..

Oh yes, read your question again ..because our suite was under the pool grill no noise from pool maintenance....

To answer the question on the Explorer..yes, actually we were booked on the leg from Athens to Istanbul (almost the same time this year)

until they changed it (because of the Istanbul problems). Since the itinerary was not to our liking, Regent changed it for us with no penalty because they instituted the change...So, yes we still plan on going on her..we are now booked on the Voyager for the Singapore to Australia leg in 2018, perhaps then we will book on board for the new ship..who knows

Hi Folks...I always post a review of the cruise on Regent we take, not to brag, but to help newbies and maybe those who have never sailed either that ship or that particular leg before. Again these are my opinions, based on personal experience and reflect only that as honestly as I can.

Ship condition...beyond excellent. We have sailed the Navigator before so had a basis of comparison. The recent refurbish on this ship has certainly helped her. She no longer looks long in the tooth but quite fresh. Some of the exterior points need a fresh dose of white paint, but sea water is merciless. The new carpeting in most areas is not garish and for the most part tasteful. The rearrangement of the coffee connection, library and a couple other areas helps to make this smaller ship seem more spacious. The show lounge is the same layout but looks a bit less crowded - not sure what they did there. She still rattles a bit in the butt end, and has some brown water, but no where near as bad ( brown water) as it was. The vibration is like a vibrating chair, not like the back and forth sway vibration of the Voyager. It seems better controlled and we were in the same basic location (aft) as before.

Crew...What can I say, we have sailed 3 other lines and without a doubt the crew is beyond reproach. WITH ONE notable exception which I will talk about later with full details as neutrally as I can. We got a last minute upsell so we ended up with a butler, who on the first day took over 45 minutes of his nutty first day schedule to help with a broken zipper on a critical piece of luggage ( a hard sider - the only one we take now due to luggage weight). For this extraordinary service we did do the unthinkable in this cruise and gave him a very small tip at then end...but only because he went way way out of his normal routine to help us ..Oh yes, he also got take from ship stores and gave it to us then took another hour of his time at the debarkation day to tape the luggage close to make sure it stayed closed. The room was kept immaculate. The rest of the ship same. They had to do a bit of sanding on the interior rails and actually escorted people up and down the staircase to make sure they did not touch the fresh varnish. Lets see other cruise lines do that. I will say out front because most of the crew is only in their first or second rotation ( because experienced crew went to the new ship - rumour) and as such there were some rough spots here and there. For example we did wait close to 20 minutes to even get bread served on the Captains welcome night. Wine was flowing though. The deck and lunch crew were a little confused on the Italian buffet day. Tables got slow to be cleaned off.

Suite condition.... before I get going we got an incredible upsell to a navigator suite and despite some drawbacks, we decided to go for it. So this will be a bit biased, sorry. The suite was beyond what we expected. We had a penthouse on the Navigator before ( another upsell) and it was nice, this was spectacular. It is only a few square feet larger then a penthouse on the other ships but felt much bigger. The full size table was great to have breakfast on!. I cant say for the rest of the cabins, but we had plenty of storage room. I carry a lot of camera equipment and my only complaint was that I usually stuff all the lenses and such above the desk. Now the stupid TV is there..The new wall coverings, carpet, furniture etc was much improved. I usually hate modern black and white colours but this was ok. The closet had the old brown tall boy drawer set..kinda funny they did not replace that?

Ports, Ports of call -Well, I know this is a sore spot with past Regent customers. The included excursions never bothered me, expecially if I have to pay tons of money on another cruise line, end up on a bus with 50 people going to the same place with 10 other buses following. I would much rather be on a bus with Regent not have to pay for a bus with only 20 people, Unless you are willing to pay for an expensive private guide ALL ports now offer the same thing. When you have 2 mega ships and 3 other smaller ones on an island smaller then say Toronto is then nothing can change logistics..

. Regent at least tries to get there first or last...

Food quality - In Seti Mari, the young lady Theresa was beynd excellent - we went there 4 times, not just for her but also for the wonderful lasagna. Compas rose was a bit hit or miss and some of the menu items I personally did not like. However, others did, it was always full. Wine Selection this time were very good. Prime 7 - never my favorite was to me stuffy as usual. Yes, the food is great, crab great, just not my personal favoruite. I preferred the old Signatures better, but Navigator does not have that restaurant.

Pre and Post excusions - We did both. The Greece pre was incredible. If you ever get to do it Dephi is the highlight, just make sure you are in good shape. One young lady on the tour who had a "workout" bracelet on said it registered 45 stair stories to the top. I am in decent shape and my legs were like rubber to get the top.Oh yea, hope for the days the new Acropolis museum is closed, then they take you to the Acropolis instead. The museum is a waste of time. The Post was Rome. The usual the Vaticam etc, but this time because the new pope does not use the summer residence it was open to the public..incredible is all I can say. My wife who is a garden girl..fjust could not belive the grounds.

So that was the good - overall up to Regent standards..some will argue not 5 star but to a simple country boy like me, as good as I will ever get.

Now for the bad again this is my view of what happened but facts are facts. On the third night of the cruise my wife ordered her usual Ceasar salad. I also get one but that night as good fortune would say, I found another one more appealing. So the salad came and my wife was joyfully munching away and then noticed on her next fork full a strange shape. The only reason she just did not eat it, was I interrupted her taking a phot of a sunset out the window. She looked down and there stiin gon her fork as was a HORNET - (yes it was dead but that does not matter). I was in the salad from the kitchen because it was covered in Caesar dressing..We immediately called over the waiter who literally freaked and called over the head waiter, then the Maitre'd. The salad went back with a curt, sorry, and a new one arrived. So, being a 5 star cruise line I expected at least an apology from some one in charge. would you not??? We waited for THREE days and nothing. Two days later, the head waiter came over to us and said perhaps we should just let it go and "get over it". Yes , English is not his first language, but seriously...Finally, I got really annoyed so went down to Reception, who after hearing my story, all of it including the get over it. Sent several emails to the Food and Bev manager and I guess the Dining Room Restaurant manager. I asked them if any of the officers had heard of this and no one had. They though it was ridiculous that after 3 days not even a word. We got back to our suite and the phone was literally ringing off the wall. It was the Food and Bev manager who of course now apologized, but then had the nerve to say he already did...I mean we are getting older but in my former line of work remembering faces was a critical part of my job..I had never seen him before. He then came to our dinner table and apologized again. I guess we should now forget about it. But here is the crux of the matter, I am deathly allergic to stings. I carry an epi pen wherever I go, but not to a controlled dinner environment. If I had got the salad and then hit the stinger, well the reprocussions would be much worse. And just for information, venom does not become ineffective upon an insect death only heating congeals the protein to make it harmeless..

Okay so much for that. All in all a great cruise, so much so we put a hold on another on board. I will not let the actions or rather inactions of one or two people mess up my holiday. And, yes, I put that both on my mid cruise comments and my final comments.