markdgriffin

4 hours ago, Boats07 said:

Thank you for the great review.   We will be on our first Regent Cruise next April and you definitely looking forward to it.  

You are in for a treat!  Regent somehow delivers an unmatched level of service.  Enjoy!

1 hour ago, flossie009 said:

Excellent choice; the PH suites on Mariner are a very comfortable size & good layout.

In my opinion those with shower only are much better than those with the bath-shower combo.

Good to know because the cabin we booked is a shower only arrangement.  Thank you for your insight.  Any advice regarding keeping our butler busy?  We didn't have a butler in our Concierge suite on Explorer so we aren't sure how to utilize the service.  We once stayed at St. Regis hotel and a butler was provided.  He came to our room, let us know he would be more than happy to help us with anything we needed.  My wife and I looked at each other, said we can't think of anything at the moment, and never saw him again because I never could think of anything we needed that wasn't readily available. 

Chose a Penthouse Suite on Mariner for the Alaska cruise after exploring cabin sizes.  Concierge level cabin did seem small although, prior to our experience on Explorer, it would have seemed lavish.  See how Regent works?  Spoils you! 

Our Alaska cruise in 2020 will be on the Mariner.  While the Explorer will likely be impossible to beat, we are looking forward to experiencing a different Regent ship.

Barcelona to Southampton May 19 - June 1 on Explorer.  At the invitation of my sister, who is a six-time Regent cruiser with the seventh booked onboard, we (my wife and I) accompanied her and her husband on a 12 night Western Mediterranean itinerary.  My sister told me to prepare to be spoiled and she could not have been more accurate.  Contrary to other posts, we experienced zero negative experiences while on the ship.  Ship was stunningly beautiful with obviously high quality furnishings and finishes throughout.  Our cabin, a Concierge D on Deck 10, was efficiently designed, very spacious, with an abundance of storage, and luxurious throughout.  Dining was an outstanding experience every meal which included breakfast room service six times, two dinners in each specialty restaurant, and multiple meals in all other venues with the exception of the Pool Grill which we didn't try.  Entertainment was very enjoyable with a guest performer, Will Martin, exceeding all others.  The Culinary Arts Kitchen was both fun and informative the two times we attended.  Five treatments Canyon Ranch Spa were very good and professionally executed.  We booked tours at each port through Regent, some of which were included while others incurred a charge, and all were informative, enjoyable, educational, with excellent guides.  Most notable of the tours were Horses and Flavors of Cartagena, Dinner at Chateau du Tertre in Bordeaux, and the D Day Landing Beaches in Normandy which placed us on Omaha Beach one week shy of the 75th Anniversary of D Day - very moving and an experience I will never forget.  And, to save the best for last - service - Regent's staff is something unique and a testament to excellent hiring and training practices on behalf of the cruise line.  We encountered above-and-beyond, excellent service multiple times while on the ship and experienced no unpleasant interactions whatsoever with any of the crew members.  From our perspective; while the ship is beautiful, the food great, the entertainment enjoyable, the tours well executed, and the itinerary excellent; the most noticeable point of difference is the service oriented, pleasant, friendly, and helpful crew literally everywhere you turn.  Consequently, we are now hooked and booked an Alaska cruise in 2020 while we were onboard.  We marveled though, at the thankfully few passengers who were snooty, rude, miserable, and unreasonable.  A shame because I know from my experience anyone could have a wonderful time if they would simply allow themselves to do so.  You can't please them all but Regent does the best job I've seen pleasing at a very, very high rate.

Zero negative experiences while onboard the ship, however; one complaint regarding the tours: people participate in tours who should not due to physical limitations.  Regent makes abundantly clear via multiple outlets the physical requirements of each tour and further, the physical limitations that should prevent someone from taking each tour.  Unfortunately, on literally every tour we took, people were present who should not have been, placing tour guides in a challenging position.  Some on our tours were downright rude by asking the tour guide to slow the tour to their preferred pace which in certain instances caused elements of the tour itinerary to be missed.  One person asked that a tour to be slowed because her back hurts when she climbs stairs yet in the tour description, clearly stated, those who can't climb stairs are advised not to take the tour.  Another insisted rudely that a tour be slowed because those in the back of the line couldn't keep up (we weren't walking briskly) so the tour guide noticeably slowed down.  Later, in the same tour, someone fell while stepping down from a curb and was thankfully fine, yet the tour guide was chastised rudely for going too fast.  We missed planned parts of that tour.  On yet another tour, a couple wanted to make sure the tour guide would wait for them when we arrived back at the ship so they could be helped back onboard.  Unfortunately, this is an unpleasant problem for which I have no solution.  Regent can't be placed into a position of evaluating everyone's physical condition before each tour and the tour companies and their guides can't be expected to turn people away at the bus either.  Passengers simply need to be honest regarding their abilities and not allow their selfish desires negatively affect a larger group. 

Regent now has yet another loyal customer who, as long as fun and memorable experiences like this cruise repeat themselves, will come back time and time again.  The price is high which results in expectations also being high, yet our expectations were consistently exceeded.  Can't wait for Alaska next year!