Regent vs Oceania aka Luxury vs Premium Plus

Sometimes it is not about money staying in top suites. Some are fortunate to receive suite upgrades. Same holds true with free cruises.

Regent is smart filling top suites and extending free cruises to people they know will inform others about their positive experience.

Never happened to us, but if it it did, I would not tell or post anything about it and keep our mouths shut. No one likes braggadocios comments.

We don’t care what suite you are in and I would not If lighting strikes tell anyone we got a freebie or comped.

are you saying that those who stay in the top suites are different from regular regent guests? in what way?

No - definitely not! We are all the same - just as in life. This is why it is so important to me that everyone is treated the same on Regent (and other luxury cruise lines) - regardless of the suite that you are in. The benefits basically exist prior to boarding the ship and inside of your suite.

poss - you were correct (and I could probably have left off the "totally" part). Being in a large suite is sort of like sailing in a small apartment. You have the extra bathroom, tons of rooms to relax - have dinner in your suite at a dining room table, enjoy the huge balconies (unless you are in a forward suite and then the balcony is useless when the ship is moving). In the Master Suites on Voyager and Mariner you have two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. You could easily have a friend or family member stay with you. It is a different experience. However, as mentioned, we have sailed in every suite type and are comfortable in most of them (just miss the extra half bath).

I disagree about writing about what suite category you are in on Cruise Critic when it is pertinent to the subject. While I don't typically say what suite we are in, when someone asks a question about a particular suite, I am happy to respond and let them know our experience. This has nothing to do with bragging but rather sharing information. As has been said, many times people in upper suite have taken advantage of upsells (which is how we got the upper suites 80% of the time).

I also do not feel that people that stay in upper suites (except perhaps the Regent suite) are "rich". People have different priorities. Some Regent cruisers may borrow money to be able to cruise on a luxury ship while others save for a long time to have the experience. Some people cruise once or twice and year and others more than that. What is particularly interesting to me is that some passengers that book the lowest category suites are able to cruise many more times that some people in upper suites. The bottom line is that it should not matter to the rest of us.

The getting "comped" (if you can call it that) is a different issue. I recall vividly when we were invited on the christening cruise of Explorer. My first reaction was not to write about it on CC as it would cause a negative reaction (which it definitely did). On the other hand, I was able to share some first hand information from the new ship and the christening (with photos) that most others could not share.

As the old saying goes, do not judge - lest you be judged. We post (or do not post) for reasons that may not be obvious. I just learned that a long time Regent customer (and a CC member) has not posted once about their cruises. That is their choice - just as posting from our cruises is ours.

No - definitely not! We are all the same - just as in life. This is why it is so important to me that everyone is treated the same on Regent (and other luxury cruise lines) - regardless of the suite that you are in. The benefits basically exist prior to boarding the ship and inside of your suite.

 

poss - you were correct (and I could probably have left off the "totally" part). Being in a large suite is sort of like sailing in a small apartment. You have the extra bathroom, tons of rooms to relax - have dinner in your suite at a dining room table, enjoy the huge balconies (unless you are in a forward suite and then the balcony is useless when the ship is moving). In the Master Suites on Voyager and Mariner you have two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. You could easily have a friend or family member stay with you. It is a different experience. However, as mentioned, we have sailed in every suite type and are comfortable in most of them (just miss the extra half bath).

 

I disagree about writing about what suite category you are in on Cruise Critic when it is pertinent to the subject. While I don't typically say what suite we are in, when someone asks a question about a particular suite, I am happy to respond and let them know our experience. This has nothing to do with bragging but rather sharing information. As has been said, many times people in upper suite have taken advantage of upsells (which is how we got the upper suites 80% of the time).

 

I also do not feel that people that stay in upper suites (except perhaps the Regent suite) are "rich". People have different priorities. Some Regent cruisers may borrow money to be able to cruise on a luxury ship while others save for a long time to have the experience. Some people cruise once or twice and year and others more than that. What is particularly interesting to me is that some passengers that book the lowest category suites are able to cruise many more times that some people in upper suites. The bottom line is that it should not matter to the rest of us.

 

The getting "comped" (if you can call it that) is a different issue. I recall vividly when we were invited on the christening cruise of Explorer. My first reaction was not to write about it on CC as it would cause a negative reaction (which it definitely did). On the other hand, I was able to share some first hand information from the new ship and the christening (with photos) that most others could not share.

 

As the old saying goes, do not judge - lest you be judged. We post (or do not post) for reasons that may not be obvious. I just learned that a long time Regent customer (and a CC member) has not posted once about their cruises. That is their choice - just as posting from our cruises is ours.

"As the old saying goes"

Unless you wear jeans after 6.🙂

I think that the fact that the Explorer first cruise was complimentary was not what bothered some people - it was that the glowing reports on that cruise and the ship in particular were, surely, coloured by that fact, and those reading them were not made aware of this until it was virtually forced out of passengers.

I think that the fact that the Explorer first cruise was complimentary was not what bothered some people - it was that the glowing reports on that cruise and the ship in particular were, surely, coloured by that fact, and those reading them were not made aware of this until it was virtually forced out of passengers.

Would you mind clarifying your post? I really would like to understand what bothered some people and am not sure why the "glowing reports on that cruise and the ship in particular" would bother people. Are you thinking that the reports were colored by the fact that the cruise wasn't paid for? And, I'm not sure what was "virtually forced out of passengers".

I don't recall how many people posted from that cruise other than myself. I tell it like I see it and we did fall in love with Explorer the moment we stepped foot on the ship (despite some of the design quirks). As a long time Regent customer, I would have felt the same if I had paid top dollar for that cruise (and the 3 Explorer cruises that we booked and paid for after being on the christening cruise).

We were happy with the Mariner and Voyager....... until we sailed on Explorer. Since our first four Explorer cruises, we have done one on the Mariner and one on the Voyager (with another Voyager cruise coming up this year). We determined after our Voyager cruise earlier this year that our cruises in 2019 and beyond will be on Explorer (or Splendor). This decision was a no brainer for us. We have been fortunate enough to do land trips or cruises to just about everywhere in the world that we want to go, so our decisions are based on the ship.

We do not “have to cruise”. We are Europeans and also have been just about everywhere on the planet that we want to go to. We prefer large suites with second bathrooms and good balconies. For which - we save. We don’t cruise often but choose to cruise AS we like it WHEN we like it and to places we WANT to go. For the rest - we stay home in Switzerland and play golf. A nice life really...

For the last few cruises we have been on Oceania. Next one in 2020 Is on the Splendour. On an itinerary we have done before and loved. So want to do again..

I rather think this will be our last cruise but - who knows?

All this to say - different people cruise OR travel OR stay home for different reasons.

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We have cruised Regent and Oceania. We take large suites - Owners/Vista/Oceania suites on O. Seven Seas Aft (Mariner) on Regent and now are booked in a Grand Suite for our next cruise. We don't do many excursions - actually on our last Oceania cruise we only used one of the Oceania excursions on the entire cruise. Might sound blasé to say so but we've been just about everywhere and know what we want to do in each port and then do it on our own. So paying Regent prices with included excursions is a bit wasted on us! But we do drink (!!) so to the Oceania fare we have to add the Premium beverage package which adds up to about $150/day for the two of us. We can't use either the Regent or Oceania included air because our TA is in the US and we live in Europe... we take the discount for non use and then book our own.

 

Food - I haven't been on Regent for about 5 years now. But I do find the Oceania food - all over the ship - better than my recollections of Regent food. I am interested to see how it will be on Splendour versus my recollections!

 

All in all - they are both good cruise lines. For us it is the itinerary that is important!

 

And all that said - I am really looking forward to hearing your reactions and comments as your cruise continues...

I've sailed with both Oceania and Regent, and I agree that the food is better on Oceania.

With Regent, you're obviously paying a premium for the all-inclusive experience; however, I just discovered the hard way that Regent is definitely cutting corners on that experience. I am booked on the Explorer - Lisbon to Cape Town, 24 days, November 28, 2018 - and have learned that Regent will not be offering shore excursions for all passengers at all ports. In some cases, ALL excursions in some ports were sold out on the first date they were available for booking, even though I was online at midnight EDT that day.

When I called Regent, they informed me that they have no intention of adding additional excursions. I've spoken with two customer service agents and a supervisor, and I was directed to read the Terms and Conditions, which state "Free unlimited shore excursions are on a first-come, first-served basis and are subject to availability."

A common sense interpretation of "availability" in those Terms and Conditions would be that passengers may not receive their first choice of shore excursion. However, Regent claims that this availability condition means they are under NO obligation to provide excursions for all passengers. It's an absurd interpretation, in my opinion, particularly for a company that so aggressively promotes the "all inclusive experience." Most disturbing, it provides Regent with justification to radically reduce the number of shore excursions available on all their cruises.

We do not “have to cruise”. We are Europeans and also have been just about everywhere on the planet that we want to go to. We prefer large suites with second bathrooms and good balconies. For which - we save. We don’t cruise often but choose to cruise AS we like it WHEN we like it and to places we WANT to go. For the rest - we stay home in Switzerland and play golf. A nice life really...

 

For the last few cruises we have been on Oceania. Next one in 2020 Is on the Splendour. On an itinerary we have done before and loved. So want to do again..

I rather think this will be our last cruise but - who knows?

All this to say - different people cruise OR travel OR stay home for different reasons.

 

 

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Curious about your Spendour itinerary since you loved it and are returning.

Would you mind clarifying your post? I really would like to understand what bothered some people and am not sure why the "glowing reports on that cruise and the ship in particular" would bother people. Are you thinking that the reports were colored by the fact that the cruise wasn't paid for? And, I'm not sure what was "virtually forced out of passengers".

 

I don't recall how many people posted from that cruise other than myself. I tell it like I see it and we did fall in love with Explorer the moment we stepped foot on the ship (despite some of the design quirks). As a long time Regent customer, I would have felt the same if I had paid top dollar for that cruise (and the 3 Explorer cruises that we booked and paid for after being on the christening cruise).

 

We were happy with the Mariner and Voyager....... until we sailed on Explorer. Since our first four Explorer cruises, we have done one on the Mariner and one on the Voyager (with another Voyager cruise coming up this year). We determined after our Voyager cruise earlier this year that our cruises in 2019 and beyond will be on Explorer (or Splendor). This decision was a no brainer for us. We have been fortunate enough to do land trips or cruises to just about everywhere in the world that we want to go, so our decisions are based on the ship.

How does Regent determine who gets a freebie? I know friends who have cruised in the top suites for many years and spend top $$$$. They are not CC members but cruise Regent 3-4 times a year.

I guess if you get close to corporate and officers you might be lucky. If it were me I would not mention this on social media..just keep it to yourself because some customers might be put off by hearing this and they have spent more money than the comped cruiser no matter who it is.

A review could have been done without knowing the cruise was a freebie. I learned to keep my mouth shut and have humility as a child.

“I learned to keep my mouth shut and have humility as a child.“

Could not agree more. Some just cannot resist letting everyone know when they are given free cruises and getting upgraded for free in top suites 20% of the time.

+1 agreed. Learning about other's freebies and frequent upgrades is off putting, and certainly not good PR for Regent.

“I learned to keep my mouth shut and have humility as a child.“

 

 

Could not agree more. Some just cannot resist letting everyone know when they are given free cruises and getting upgraded for free in top suites 20% of the time.

Thanks Uncle D, that is called proper upbringing. My adopted kids would never do this. You are not born with class your parents teach you. What was it back in the day? Mind your P’s and Q’s and don’t brag at school. IMHO, that applies here as well.

Let’s get on with the reports from people who are actively enjoying their cruise. Can’t wait to be on the Splendor.

“I learned to keep my mouth shut and have humility as a child.“

 

 

Could not agree more. Some just cannot resist letting everyone know when they are given free cruises and getting upgraded for free in top suites 20% of the time.

I DO NOT get free upgrades - I get upsell offers that we have paid as much as $5-10K (as do many others). IMO, this depends upon your TA. While many TA's get upsell information, it is up to them to contact their customers immediately as these offers go quickly. If you have a one person TA office and they are away for a few hours with no back-up person - or if they do not check their email often enough, you lose out.

In terms of the poster that indicated that I could have posted without saying that it was an invitation only cruise....... not sure how one could post from a ship that hasn't even had their maiden voyage yet ...... a christening that was shown live on the internet and was on many news channels......... I did not boast about being invited but was harassed by some posters - asking the question over and over as to whether or not we paid for the cruise. I indicated that we were "invited" and suddenly some posters had no idea what that word meant. To add to that I was accused of being dishonest about it.

Keeping secrets is never a good idea as someone always ends up learning the truth anyway so why not tell the truth in the first place? So, I will continue to tell it like it is and be honest about it. Not sure which is worse, not telling the truth or bullying!?

We have been offered upsells as well and we have a terrific TA who sells a lot of Regent and only deals with luxury lines. We like our suite and stay with it. With over 200 luxury cruises on many luxury lines we have never been given a freebie and staying in top suites but we don’t hob knob with the crew or corporate. We simply want to meet other guests and many have become good friends as well as crew.

The real people you meet on a cruise and not officers is the reason we like cruising.

We have been offered upsells as well and we have a terrific TA who sells a lot of Regent and only deals with luxury lines. We like our suite and stay with it. With over 200 luxury cruises on many luxury lines we have never been given a freebie and staying in top suites but we don’t hob knob with the crew or corporate. We simply want to meet other guests and many have become good friends as well as crew.

 

The real people you meet on a cruise and not officers is the reason we like cruising.

"Class"...you understand it and was lucky to learn about it early on. Thank you.

We have been offered upsells as well and we have a terrific TA who sells a lot of Regent and only deals with luxury lines. We like our suite and stay with it. With over 200 luxury cruises on many luxury lines we have never been given a freebie and staying in top suites but we don’t hob knob with the crew or corporate. We simply want to meet other guests and many have become good friends as well as crew.

 

The real people you meet on a cruise and not officers is the reason we like cruising.

That sentiment is how we feel about cruising as well. We go with friends when they are available the same time as us but also cruise alone if others are not available. Going in a group is great fun but the downside is that you don't really get to meet a lot of other passengers. Going alone it is getting out there and meeting other people, learning about other places from people who live there and experiencing new places. All experiences on a ship you can pretty well experience at home. We like to meet other people and enjoy the social interactions. We don't spend a lot of time in our cabin and would prefer to have a meal with great company than dine alone in a cabin.

Here is the thing. It depends upon what you want. We have been Regent cheerleaders, but right now we are in a Celebrity Royal Suite in Alaska for a bit less that a similar itenary we could have taken on the Regeny Mariner. Our suite is a real suite with a big living /dining room 27’ by 14’, plus separate bedroom, walk in closet, bath with shower stall and jacussi tub. The balcony is huge with lounge chairs, a dining area, and a hot tub. The MDR for suite guests

To try to continue, after my iPad cut me off, the MDR for suites on Celebrity is less crowded and quieter than on Regent. And speciality restaurants are at no charge, by reservation. Cincierge abd butler really do help. Laundry is done for us, included, as are drinks all over the ship. It is basically what a Regent cruise should be but for a 550/sq. Ft. Suite instead of a 257 sq. Ft. Room.

On the negative side. The buffet is a zoo, but suit guests have full room service, so who cares. A bigger negative is the limited TV channels, where all movies are PPV at $15!

Curious about your Spendour itinerary since you loved it and are returning.

Panama Canal cruise LA to Miami - we did this same itinerary (some ports are different though) in 2005 on the Mariner. We found it the most interesting cruise we have even done, especially from the point of view of learning about the canal. We are eager to see the new locks that have been built since and we like Central America which is about as different from Switzerland as any place could be! Regent has better lecturers than Oceania IMO but lately we have been cruising Oceania because we find their food better than Regent! So this time I suppose you could say it is "mind over matter". But being on a brand new ship in a lovely suite with big terrace will more than keep us from missing the food at Jacques!

To try to continue, after my iPad cut me off, the MDR for suites on Celebrity is less crowded and quieter than on Regent. And speciality restaurants are at no charge, by reservation. Cincierge abd butler really do help. Laundry is done for us, included, as are drinks all over the ship. It is basically what a Regent cruise should be but for a 550/sq. Ft. Suite instead of a 257 sq. Ft. Room.

 

On the negative side. The buffet is a zoo, but suit guests have full room service, so who cares. A bigger negative is the limited TV channels, where all movies are PPV at $15!

Glad you're enjoying Celebrity, and it's a line I wouldn't mind trying.

The giant ships and crowds are definitely a huge strike against for me though. The buffet and trying the different restaurants is one of the major reasons I look forward to cruising. Eating room service, which nice maybe a couple times, doesn't appeal to me at all.

Our first Regent cruise has ended and I will try to make my review of the trip and a comparison to Oceania Riviera, so hold on here we go!(English is not my first language so please have some lenience for gramatic errors and misspellings)

The Ship:

I found the ship to be in great shape and no big signs of wear and tear, the layout of the ship was very nice and I really liked the atrium witch gave a nice airy feeling to the ship.

We hade a midship suite and the broad center corridor felt great, one did not have to be pressed against the wall when someone passed, this was not at all as the cramped corridors at Oceania witch have one narrow corridor on each side of the ship. Was was it luxury? Yes for me it gave a luxury feeling walking the corridor!

All the bar lounges had nice layouts and where in good shape, the Compass Rose looked really lovely with a nice modern look but we also like the more classic style in GDR on O.

The pool deck was nice and with plenty of loungers however we did miss the Balinesean beds they have at the pool deck on O, the pool itself was of nice size but the whirlpools was much smaller then on O. We do spend a lot of time at the pool deck and on O it can be a little bit crowded especially after lunch but that did not happen here, maybe people just take advantage of the included excursions and stay longer in port.

Suite:

Compared to a Penthouse on O the Veranda suite on Voyager is a little bit smaller but the layout is very nice, the bathroom are about the same size and I think the lighter marble is much nicer then the dark they have on O, both me and my wife liked the walk in closet and it had a much better layout on Voyager then on O. One thing thats have been worrying my wife before the cruise was the bed, she just love the beds on O witch she thinks are just about the best..... Well not anymore now she has a new favorite bed, the kingsize bed on Voyager where just outstanding.

The balcony are definitely smaller on Voyager then on O but on the other hand the table was bigger so it was possible to have a nice veranda breakfast, I have nerver understood why the large Penthouse balconies on O have at table that are don't even large enough for two cups of coffee!

Service:

We think the service on O are very good but overall I think that it was even better on the Voyager, the feeling was that there where a higher crew to guest ratio, and that they where a bit more attentive in most places especially the wine service witch on O sometimes can be a challenge.

When it comes to our room stewardess Leah and Suraij I can only say that they where the best we ever had on any cruise, they made an excellent job taking care of our suite and any requests we had it was instantly taken care of, just fabulous!

Roomservice also made an excellent job and was always on time and the food was hot.

In a Penthouse on O we do have a butler so did we miss him? Actually not much, we mainly use him for roomservice so his just a well dressed roomservice guy. It´s nice that he brings canapés but they also ruin your appetite so it might be better without. And our great stewardess and the nice roomservice combined was like a butler to us!

The poolservice was a little bit so so on the Voyager and i think that they have somethings to learn from Oceania, On O there is usually 2 guys who just manages the pool deck, towels, loungers and to keep the pool deck look nice, on the Voyager it seemed like the ones who served the drinks also managed the pool deck, this did not work out that well and several times towels where missing and the over all impression was not as good as on O!

Beverage:

The included wines where ok, some not so good but we found a red and a few withes that was very drinkable, the house Champagne Jacquart is nice and we had quit a few of them:D.

When it comes to cocktails I think Regent have room for some improvement, as a matter of fact a lot of improvement. This was the biggest disappointment to us, there where only a few bartenders onboard who could make a decent cocktail and only one who made good ones, the drinks in the poolbar was most of the time not good at all, sloppy made without any finess at all, it came to the point that we could not order drinks from the pool waiters, you just had to go to the bar yourself to supervise the bartender making it, they also either had no clue what Champagne is or they just wanted to pour something cheaper. After a few days I stop order "Champagne" and just order Jacquart but the message just did not go thru anyway, I don't know how many times I had to tell them to change bottle as they try to pour you some sparkling wine.

Another example is the Bloody Marys, they did just pour like 2/3 of vodka a splash of mix and boom there was your drink, no tabasco, no worcestershiresås, no selleri or no olive. If I order a drink att 10.00 am I don't want to get drunk from one singel drink which just taste vodka with a little tomato juice!

Making cocktails is just like cooking food you just have to have some sense to mix the the right amount of ingredients to make it taste good ,and I´m sorry to say that on the Voyager the most of the bartenders lacked that skill and it was a major disappointment for us and did not feel luxury at all I´m afraid. Oceanias drinks may be a little weak sometimes but the overall quality is far superior to the ones on Voyager.

To be continued......

Thanks for sharing your Voyager on board experience Winters Gate.

We were on the sailing immediately before yours and agree 100% with all your comments about Voyager.

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Here is the thing. It depends upon what you want. We have been Regent cheerleaders, but right now we are in a Celebrity Royal Suite in Alaska for a bit less that a similar itenary we could have taken on the Regeny Mariner. Our suite is a real suite with a big living /dining room 27’ by 14’, plus separate bedroom, walk in closet, bath with shower stall and jacussi tub. The balcony is huge with lounge chairs, a dining area, and a hot tub. The MDR for suite guests

Interesting handle, I would have thought you were an Aussie or Kiwi with that name.

We are doing the opposite to you, trying Regent instead of Celebrity. The suite restaurant , Luminae , is really excellent IMHO. It is like dining in an intimate bistro every night, you find it difficult to actually give up a night to go to the specialties. If you think the buffet on Celebrity is a zoo you should see the one on Carnival (long story). Reading the Edge blurb makes me think that Celebrity may be making a push into this market segment.

I find the drinks to be excellent on the premium package but the wines can be a little ho hum. I am expecting better wines on our upcoming cruise, especially as it is a Wine immersion cruise. Will be disappointed if the cocktails are sub standard as I will only have a few and don't want to waste my time with an inferior drink. I do find that cocktails can be better if you use better quality ingredients. Grey Goose instead of Smirnoff, Patron instead of Jose Cuervo, Havana Club instead of Bacardi, Tanqueray10 instead of Gordons etc.

I am a little concerned that we might find the ship a little quiet as there are still 150 empty cabins on our cruise (Voyager) and we are expecting an older crowd. Regardless I am sure we will have an excellent time.

Am enjoying the review and agree with almost everything. I'm a bit surprised about the bartenders but do know that some bartenders do not have the skills to make a proper drink. One of the thing that we joke about on Oceania I the "thimble size" drinks (and these drinks are not inexpensive). Surprised to learn that they were pouring Jacquart. I know that Regent tends to serve this champagne in the suites when you board but they generally pour a much better brand (name escapes me at the moment) in the lounges. Agree with the last poster that it is best to tell the bartender which alcohol to pour (Patron or Don Julio are the only tequila that I drink onboard).

Looking forward to the food review since Oceania passengers seem to think that they have the best food. While I am not a fan of Oceania's food, we feel that Jacques is one of the best French restaurants at sea.