Pies4u

We are “Gold” status with Regent - 6 cruises - with 2 more booked, and have just come back from 11 nights on Explorer. We did our first Silversea cruise in March on Dawn. I’d concur with the view that Regent has lost its way somewhat. Inconsistent dining experiences with significant deterioration in range and presentation of food at breakfast & lunch plus too many inexperienced and unaware staff were our conclusions. Excursions are a chore, rarely, if ever, departing on time due, in part, to the clumsy way they are organised, At the time, I thought Silversea was different but not quite as “good” overall - but, on reflection, I’d say that there is a far better choice of dining venues and, generally, better standard of presentation of dishes on Silversea. The fact that there are 8 restaurants, including the exquisite La Dame, novel Silver Note and the inventive Salt Kitchen elevate them way above Regent at the moment in the culinary stakes. They also scored highly in comparison in respect of the way they organise excursions, meeting shoreside with none of this going to the theatre and “exchanging 1 ticket for a bus ticket” nonsense. On balance, we are now slightly concerned that we have 2 cruises scheduled with Regent but at least 1 of them will be on the newer ship, Splendor, in a named suite. We are considering just dropping the 38 night Voyager cruise planned for 2026 but I guess there is time for Regent to show some serious improvements. Unless Regent get their act together, I fear they will lose customers and not only to Silversea but also to Oceania, who we experienced last year. Oceania actually offer great vfm and their cuisine is every bit on a par or better than Regent. Jacques and Toscana are amongst the best restaurants we’ve eaten in on any cruise line. The main dining room is far more efficient than Compass Rose on Explorer. The issues of paying for drinks and larger ships with more guests are negatives but we were surprised how much we enjoyed the ship (Marina) and the quality of service, which was exemplary throughout tbh. As others have stated, it becomes a matter of personal choice and taste but, despite the formality, Silversea appear offer the best value for us based upon cuisine, service, ambuence and organisation/administration.

Our conclusions were that the quality and range of food available at both the breakfast and lunch buffets had deteriorated, considerably, from our pre-Covid cruises. There were no berries throughout the whole cruise, never saw a blueberry, raspberry or strawberry. No beetroot in the salad range either. The whole cold fish and meat island was depleted and had nothing like the normal range. It was like they had to ration it on a daily basis. I have no idea what they did to the mustard herring, but that was inedible, the mustard sauce was nothing like is usually is. Plus, they were just “young, brown, sardines”, which taste completely different to the mature “Atlantic” herring - which the plain and cream options, clearly, were. Generally, most restaurants were ok but the lasagne served in Sette Marie was a soggy mess and we just don’t care for the food in Chartreuse, full stop, so I wouldn’t criticise individual dishes too much. (However: My wife’s chicken was inedible and the lobster/mousse is an unpleasant experience anyway!). Sadly, the tomato soup amuse bouche in P7 used to be our favourite too - but on the 2 occasions we had it this time, it was far too spicy. I used to think I’d like a bowlful as a starter but you couldn’t eat a bowl of the version served this time, you’d lose the power of speech and destroy your taste buds. Thus, I’d say that whilst c 85% of the food was fine and prepared & presented well, it’s the 15% that wasn’t that sticks in your mind. Never felt like that in any other Regent cruise. It all seemed a bit underwhelming tbh, which is disappointing for a luxury line. The ship itself is is pretty good shape, we were unlucky in getting a P’ house B with torn carpet and damaged bathroom cupboards but the bathroom itself, shower, beds and lounge/dining areas were all impressive. The entertainment team were very good too - as were all the staff, the usual helpful, friendly and courteous service was evident throughout the ship.

They used to state the beachside Sheraton from memory. We are doing Rio to Lisbon on Splendor in March 2025, I guess it might change by then!

We just did the “Vibrant Tokyo” pre-cruise package & agree with rkaratsu. The Hilton was simply overcrowded, 800+ rooms, and over 300 on the package made it chaotic at best and farcical rapt worst. It is a stop over hotel for flight crew and they had at least business conferences going on too - breakfast was certainly not a “luxury” experience. As for the trips, well too little time at the impressive National Museum and a waste of time looking at expensive shops in Ginza really didn’t help. The final morning, prior to joining the ship, was fine. The Meiji shrine, pleasant gardens and the Fuji TV observatory tower is a decent as to pass 3 hours or so tbh. I wouldn’t bother with the pre-cruise deal again if hotels are going to be questionable and the volume of guests too high. When it is included as part of the cruise it would seem odd to refuse but I’d prefer to be located in a better quality hotel and just have a couple of half day trips to places worth spending some quality time in! Alternatively, provide credit for the package and allow folks to organise their own time. Overall, not too impressed - and it slightly detracts from the high end product that Regent are trying to market. We had a totally different experience in Hong Kong in 2018, top class hotel, superb organisation and a dedicated bus for each day. Only c 35 per bus & only 3 in total. Very pleasant experience compared to the current “Hilton fiasco”.

Schipol is, probably, the worst major airport in Europe! It certainly provided us with the worst post cruise experience last year. Shocking signage, awful customer service from check in and other staff plus you walk miles, go up and/or down stairs or escalators, if they are working! Only a helpful cleaner actually provided clear advice on where to go. The whole place was shambolic, ridiculously over crowded and we vowed never to return from there again. I know it is due for extensive improvements, they may have commenced already, but it was simply dreadful. Paris CDG runs it a close second but I’d avoid Schipol at all costs tbh.

Yes, you usually get the best offers for future cruises if you book on board. Not sure how that would work for one just 2 months away. Presumably, that will be fairly well filled and the suite choices would be very restricted, which limits the discount available. I don’t know if there’s a specific policy on discounting but a cruise that is over a year away and less than 50% sold would be more likely to attract benefits in my view.

Have only experience of 1 cruise - but 2 cruise consultants. Have to say, they were both fantastic. Very courteous, helpful, friendly and efficient service in my view. I prefer the direct approach, as opposed to using a TA. At least you get to resolve your concerns & questions without waiting for a 3rd party, you sort your own queries and requirements with a dedicated member of SS. The only downside to that seems to be that many (all?) TA’s can offer some obc, but I’m content to do my own bookings and save the extra legwork, phone calls or visits to a TA.

The quiet bar is the small Observation/Library bar - very rarely anyone in there, never more than an handful, after dinner on our recent 22 night cruise. Very pleasant spot with an exterior area too.

We got the back pack and assorted items with it, hand gel, masks, water spritzer etc in a Grand Suite on .pDawn in March.

We also stayed at the 1898 after a regent cruise - very pleasant rooms and great location. Just beware of the wooden floor at the rooftop bar & pool! If it gets wet it is very slippery, my wife went “base over apex” on it but, fortunately, was on,t shaken up but no serious damage. Would still go back, staff and breakfast also very good there too.

It is a very long way from Rome to Piraeus - hefty taxi fare! It’s in a different country. I’d be tempted to stick with Civitivecchia tbh, which is far enough. Sorry, sarcasm is the lowest form of wit - but the highest form of humour.

No, he’s a predictive text dude! Typed “side” but this dude popped up.

We stayed in a GS - 12 days in Caribbean followed by a crossing to the Canaries and Madeira, disembarking in Lisbon. We were able to use the huge balcony extensively in the Caribbean and on the first day at sea of the crossing. After that, it became far less usable until we were in port. There is some dude protection, a screen which gives protection to the dining table and chairs on the side - but it is entirely dependent upon wind direction. As we had a fantastic 12 days in the Caribbean, we got great vfm out of the balcony. Anyone just doing the 11 day crossing, with 8 days at sea in total, would not do so in my view. The suite itself is superb, the dining area is spacious and would be great for an in suite dinner. We only had the occasional breakfast or room service and canapés. The bathroom and walk in wardrobe are great, well appointed and practical. Nothing not to like, it is a magnificent space. I looked in a Silver Suite, not stayed in one, and have to say that it looked like a smaller version of the GS but without the huge forward facing balcony. It looked pretty good to me and the butler gave me the full guided tour! On a shorter cruise or one with a lot of sea days, we’d be happy in the Silver and save money. Hope that helps.

Sorry, meant to say “……SS and Regent staff….” - as they both have the same rules and apply them with the same approach.

The general rule is - quite rightly - no food or drink in the pool or jacuzzi. The fact that some waiting staff actually ask people if they want a drink when they are in the jacuzzi is one of those irritating aspects of luxury cruise lines. It is a safety, hygiene and communal harmony issue in the final analysis. To be fair most Regent staff seem to be pretty good at resolving issues when folks wander into the pool clutching a drink in one hand!

Not sailed on Vista but we were on Marina in the Baltic last Sept. Thought the restaurants were excellent, Toscana & Jacques in particular. Not quite up to Regent in many respects, minor things/little touches, but very good service and a very comfortable ship. The staff were friendly, courteous and helpful. (It is our only Oceania cruise to date). We were in a Vista suite and enjoyed a few perks but rarely got to use the huge balcony due to the wind and generally poor weather. I’d expect Vista to offer the same quality experience - I’d say the evening dining is on a par with Regent tbh but we prefer Regents b’fast and lunch buffet quality & range.

Had no problem in 7 seas aft suite on Voyager - lovely ship. We were in s e Asia and experienced zero vibration. I think Voyager and Mariner are a great option, not as glam & glitzy as the newer ships and no PAC Rim, of course, but they are still beautiful and luxurious vessels. I’d say itinerary is the most significant factor for us and whilst our next 2 cruises are on Explorer and Splendor we’d go on Voyager again anytime if the price and itinerary were right.

Apart from the awful lasagne my wife had in La Terazza, we found the food to be generally excellent on our recent Dawn cruise. That was our first SS cruise so it was an interesting comparison with Oceania & Regent. Tried room service hamburger, which was very good tbh but found the pizzas at Spacca….to be a tad uninteresting and fairly ordinary tbh. All other evening meals at La T were excellent, the prawns and steak there were superb. Only dined in Atlantide twice in 22 nights, food was lukewarm and indifferent - the steak there made me ill! The surf and turf in Kaiseki was beyond words, best lobster I’d tasted in a ship other than Jacques on Oceania. The lobster bisque in La Dame was also exceptional. The meals in SALT were all very pleasant - we had 5 from memory. Personally, I don’t think there was an individual restaurant that was superior to Jacques or Toscana on Oceania Marina or Prime 7 on any Regent ship (in respect of quality of food, presentation and menu variety) but, overall, it was interesting to try new dishes and sample the SS culinary experience. Other than the 1 dodgy lasagne and the steak ant Atlantide all the other meals were enjoyable and service was first class throughout. I’d say S Dawn offered a better choice of restaurants than even Oceania - to have the pizza and The Grill options in addition to 6 other restaurants is very impressive on a smaller ship. I’d certainly be happy to experience SS cuisine again!

You can just inform your butler, on a daily basis, each morning usually where you are going to dine. Equally, if you have specific plans fir certain nights, you can get several sorted at a time. It’s worth making the 2 or 3 (depending on which ship) x “1 per restaurant” in advance in any event.

We recently had our first SS cruise - 22 nights on Dawn - and found the restaurant booking system to be absolutely hopeless. We opted for 7 - 8 and I was advised we’d be allocated specific times once on board. We discovered we’d been given 7.00 pm for every booking! Had to change them all, so why don’t SS do the same as every other cruise line that offers bookings and enable you to book a specific time on the quarter hour? Why inconvenience virtually every customer, and cause unnecessary changes left, right and centre? Plus, having been waitlisted for 2, Kaiseki and La Dame, we found out hours prior to the booking that we now had a confirmed booking. On both occasions the restaurants were less than half full, all night! Apparently, La Terrazza had been fully booked every night prior to the cruise commencing - everyone was told they’d be “waitlisted”. Somehow you just know that was also complete nonsense. Thought it was one of the poorest aspects of our cruise tbh, together with embarkation, which was an utter farce in Barbados. Pity, because many aspects of the cruise were excellent, particularly the excursion process - meeting shoreside instead of herding people into the theatre and issuing bus tickets like others do, the SS system was much more user friendly and practical.

Just as an aside: Even if it is expressly required, I doubt anyone over 60 could get a yellow fever jab in the UK now. We tried several years ago and the medical advice then was that it is regarded as too high a risk. We got the certificate with an “exemption” stamped on it - that us universally accepted under WHO regulations. My brother had his jab when he was 62 - but it was the same appointed clinic that advised me, 3 years later, that it is no longer deemed to be safe for over 60’s.

Agree - Paris CDG & Schipol are dreadful airports, absolutely awful. Unfriendly and unhelpful staff, extremely busy, shockingly poor signage and generally Schipol is supposed to be getting a new terminal - the whole place needs condemning in my opinion!

It appears to be port/country specific. We are on Dawn, embarking in Barbados in March, and there are no pre cruise tests required. I checked again today. You only need a test for Japan if you have travelled via China, HK or the Philippines etc.

This all sounds odd to me. There is no additional requirement for fully vaccinated (3 not the 4 most Brits have had) passengers entering Japan. The UK Gov site is up to date and it makes no reference to pre-arrival testing.The SS site, and the Japanese immigration link, make it clear that fully vaccinated passengers do not need to do a test unless they are entering from Chinese territories. The critical issue is completing their “fast track” admin process in advance, that’s all. No idea where the original poster got this info from. Until it appears on the official sites I wouldn’t worry about it.

That’s all very helpful, thanks, I appreciate the responses. The conclusion is that it is sensible to make a couple of bookings for the restaurants that particularly appeal and chance the rest. (I see absolutely no sense at all in cramming dates in when I have no idea how I’ll feel or what/where I might prefer to dine). I am also far less keen on making loads of bookings in advance then simply cancelling them later - that is what unnecessarily fills up restaurants in advance & can prevent everyone else who wants to dine there making reservations! It seems somewhat selfish to me but I know a lot of people do it. Why book something that you probably have no intention of fulfilling? Still, each to their own.