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New to Regent, Old to NCL - is it time to jump ship :o)?


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I've enjoyed browsing in this forum, and have learned a lot but have a few questions. We've sailed with NCL several times and have always enjoyed it. Did a Viking River cruise this spring and it was ok. I think my DH and I are ready to try Regent. For reference, just to get a general idea of the type of passengers we are, on NCL, we always book a balcony, we rarely use the buffet - just for breakfast before an early shore excursion, or a very late lunch, when the crowds are gone. We dine in the main dining rooms or specialty dining. What difference will we experience? Is it worth the price jump from a balcony cabin on say the Dawn or Gem to come to Regent? Are there any kids? We're thinking G2 may be a good cabin level to start. I welcome any comments and insight! Thanks

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I've enjoyed browsing in this forum, and have learned a lot but have a few questions. We've sailed with NCL several times and have always enjoyed it. Did a Viking River cruise this spring and it was ok. I think my DH and I are ready to try Regent. For reference, just to get a general idea of the type of passengers we are, on NCL, we always book a balcony, we rarely use the buffet - just for breakfast before an early shore excursion, or a very late lunch, when the crowds are gone. We dine in the main dining rooms or specialty dining. What difference will we experience? Is it worth the price jump from a balcony cabin on say the Dawn or Gem to come to Regent? Are there any kids? We're thinking G2 may be a good cabin level to start. I welcome any comments and insight! Thanks

 

Let me address one point: breakfast before excursions. Remember room service is always free on Regent. We love dining out so we only used room service for breakfasts before early excursions. On five cruises they have never let us down. Breakfast is always served within fifteen minutes early to on time based on the time we request on the menu we hang on the doorknob. I don't have experience with NCL so I'll let the veterans answer the other questions. I hope you have a great cruise!

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Being a long time Regent cruiser and having just disembarked from the NCL Bliss, I am able to give you some insight (hopefully). Please keep in mind that the Bliss is our only NCL experience and it was a christening cruise which made it a bit different.

 

In terms of children, if you sail when school is in session in the U.S. rather than during the summer or school breaks, there are generally between 0-10 children onboard. The most children that I have heard of on a Regent ship was on the Mariner in Alaska when there were 100 children (guessing that this was in mid-June through mid-August. Most of our cruises have 0-2 children.

 

Compared to NCL, it is never crowded on Regent. Having said that, when several excursions are leaving early, La Veranda (the buffet restaurant for breakfast and lunch) can get a bit crowded (depending upon the ship). It sounds as if you are interested in Explorer (our favorite ship). As mentioned above, you can get a full meal through room service and have a delightful breakfast on the veranda if you choose to do so. Alternatively, Compass Rose (the main dining room) is open at 8:00 a.m. if there is enough time to have breakfast there. The pool deck also has a buffet for breakfast and you could go to the Coffee Connection for cereal, muffins, toast, etc.

 

A G2 suite is a bit small for Regent customers but is likely fine for passengers coming from mainstream cruise lines since they have smaller staterooms. Suggest looking at at the square footage in the G2 suite and compare it to what you are used to on NCL. The Explorer F1 and F2 suites are amazing and I would suggest those if they are within your budget.

 

Strongly recommend booking with a TA that regularly books Regent cruises rather than booking through Regent directly. Most luxury TA's will give you a percentage of your cruise fare back as well as providing OBC's on some itineraries. It is definitely worth having a TA that can assist you.

 

Gosh, there is so much that I would like to share (such as booking your excursions and dining reservations for the specialty restaurants online) but it is likely best for you to ask questions. Below is a link to "FAQ's" on the Regent website. This will answer some questions for you. If you have additional questions, post them and one of us will be happy to answer them.

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VTgreentraveler - WARNING! WARNING! Cruising on Regent can become extremely habit forming!! You might find yourself saying, Holy Cow, Why did we wait so long!! Another caution is that it can also be very injurious to your wallet, but you may find that you can mitigate the damage a bit by trying some of the less expensive itineraries at first and allow yourself to "grow into it" and "absorb" the Regent experience. Transatlantic cruises (also called "re-positioning cruises") offer a more modest per diem (per day) rate, while still offering the opportunity for enjoying a few very nice ports (on both sides of the Atlantic) while being able to enjoy many at-sea days to just relax and be waited on - hand and foot. Remember also, that air fares from most major gateway cities to and from the embarkation and debarkation ports are also "included" in the fares. Best Regards.

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VTgreentraveler, I am sure you would love Regent.

The main differences to NCL would be the luxury of space, a higher crew to guest ratio (i.e. great service) and not having a bill for extras at the end of the cruise.

As others have said book through a Travel Agent and for your first booking don't forget the Regent Ambassador Programme

If you do not have friends or family who have cruised previously on Regent then someone from this Board would be sure to volunteer

Before booking check the suite sizes as they do vary from ship to ship

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I've enjoyed browsing in this forum, and have learned a lot but have a few questions. We've sailed with NCL several times and have always enjoyed it. Did a Viking River cruise this spring and it was ok. I think my DH and I are ready to try Regent. For reference, just to get a general idea of the type of passengers we are, on NCL, we always book a balcony, we rarely use the buffet - just for breakfast before an early shore excursion, or a very late lunch, when the crowds are gone. We dine in the main dining rooms or specialty dining. What difference will we experience? Is it worth the price jump from a balcony cabin on say the Dawn or Gem to come to Regent? Are there any kids? We're thinking G2 may be a good cabin level to start. I welcome any comments and insight! Thanks

 

The poster that wrote about transatlantic cruises is correct. They are amongst the least expensive (Caribbean itineraries also tend to be more reasonable). Since you are looking at suites on Explorer, there are some more reasonable itineraries as well. You likely have selected one that you are interested in. If not, I would go to the Regent website and check out all sailing on Explorer.

 

In my personal opinion, you have selected the best choice for sailing on Regent. It is really hard to beat Explorer. Regent has tried to bring their other ships up to the level of Explorer and, while they did a good job, they cannot add an extra dining venue (as Explorer has), and the regular suites (F1/F2/Concierge) have double sinks in the bathroom, loads of storage, etc.

 

Almost forgot that the biggest difference (besides crowds on NCL) is the noise. The volume of most of the ship is off the charts. However, on Regent, even the loudest music is not as loud as on NCL. I wondered how they could make a piano blast on NCL. Guess they have microphones in it or something.

Edited by Travelcat2
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The poster that wrote about transatlantic cruises is correct. They are amongst the least expensive (Caribbean itineraries also tend to be more reasonable). Since you are looking at suites on Explorer, there are some more reasonable itineraries as well. You likely have selected one that you are interested in. If not, I would go to the Regent website and check out all sailing on Explorer.

 

In my personal opinion, you have selected the best choice for sailing on Regent. It is really hard to beat Explorer. Regent has tried to bring their other ships up to the level of Explorer and, while they did a good job, they cannot add an extra dining venue (as Explorer has), and the regular suites (F1/F2/Concierge) have double sinks in the bathroom, loads of storage, etc.

 

Almost forgot that the biggest difference (besides crowds on NCL) is the noise. The volume of most of the ship is off the charts. However, on Regent, even the loudest music is not as loud as on NCL. I wondered how they could make a piano blast on NCL. Guess they have microphones in it or something.

 

As a pianist myself they can put tiny microphones on the soundboard of the piano for speakers but they can be adjusted to different levels. A sound meter helps depending on the size of the venue to adjust. Many piano vocalists have it too loud and you can’t hear the vocals.

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Wow! Such great info! Thank you all so much! My DH and I are looking at a Miami to Miami Caribbean cruise in December 2019 to get our feet wet in the Regent World! (We are doing Venice to Rome on NCL this fall.)While the itinerary in the Caribbean isn't totally unique to us, the idea of having other shore excursions that we may have passed up before is part of the draw. We also looked at a similar trip on Viking but even though it seemed to be less expensive, I think extras, like shore excursions, will add up.

I think we will stick with G2 cabins. We like to be towards the aft of the ship and they seem to be in a pretty a good location for us. Starting small....

For those of you who have been on NCL, how much different is the dress? We are not the "Garden Cafe" dinners on NCL, we use the main or specialty dining rooms so I like to think we dress pretty well, country club casual you might say.

Tipping - I now all the gratuities are included in the fare - do people tip on top of that?

Having done France in Viking river this year, I was very happy using them for air but I'd think going to and from Miami I can do that ourselves, so we can have a bit of flexibility - thoughts?

And anyone what to volunteer to be our Ambassador? My sister will be sailing but her cruise is too far out to use her!

TA - I've used Costco with great success in the past and know they handle Regent. I've spoken with a Regent Rep who says I can book with him and transfer to Costco. I've done that with NCL. I may try that.

I am getting excited!

thanks again for all your insight!

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Wow! Such great info! Thank you all so much! My DH and I are looking at a Miami to Miami Caribbean cruise in December 2019 to get our feet wet in the Regent World! (We are doing Venice to Rome on NCL this fall.)While the itinerary in the Caribbean isn't totally unique to us, the idea of having other shore excursions that we may have passed up before is part of the draw. We also looked at a similar trip on Viking but even though it seemed to be less expensive, I think extras, like shore excursions, will add up.

 

Having included excursions is a big draw for people new to Regent. This should be a money saver for you - even though you have done the Caribbean previously.

 

I think we will stick with G2 cabins. We like to be towards the aft of the ship and they seem to be in a pretty a good location for us. Starting small....

 

This should work well for you. Just look at the suite on the Regent website to double check that this is what you will be comfortable in.

 

For those of you who have been on NCL, how much different is the dress? We are not the "Garden Cafe" dinners on NCL, we use the main or specialty dining rooms so I like to think we dress pretty well, country club casual you might say.

Tipping - I now all the gratuities are included in the fare - do people tip on top of that?

 

Based on what we saw on NCL, Regent is quite different in terms of dress code. The dress code on Regent does not permit jeans, shorts, flip-flops, tennis shoes or hats after 6:00 p.m. (almost anything goes during the day with the exception of bathing suits without a cover-up and bathrobes). Men wear slacks and a collared shirt after 6:00 p.m. (these an be Dockers or something similar or dress pants. Some passengers wear sports jackets and even suits in the specialty restaurants but this is not required).

Having done France in Viking river this year, I was very happy using them for air but I'd think going to and from Miami I can do that ourselves, so we can have a bit of flexibility - thoughts?

 

I would look at how much the air credit is that Regent will give you as compared to what you would pay to fly to Miami. If Regent's included air is less money, I would go with them.

 

And anyone what to volunteer to be our Ambassador? My sister will be sailing but her cruise is too far out to use her!

TA - I've used Costco with great success in the past and know they handle Regent. I've spoken with a Regent Rep who says I can book with him and transfer to Costco. I've done that with NCL. I may try that.

 

In my opinion, you are doing yourself a disservice by booking with anyone other than a TA that regularly books Regent and gives a percentage of your cruise fare back in cash and also provides on board credits on some itineraries. You should be getting at least 5% back on your Regent cruise.

 

 

I am getting excited!

thanks again for all your insight!

 

I think it may be easier for me to respond to your posts below your posts above (in green)

 

One more point...... be sure to set up your account on the Regent website after you book the cruise. Once set up, you should book excursions the day that they are available for booking (and the same applies to dining reservations).

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Travelcat - thanks for the info! Costco gives OBC and a cash card upon return and I get 3% back on the Costco credit card although I typically use my Chase card because their travel rewards and trip insurance is better. I'm not sure of the value of the cash card on the cruise I am looking at. What TA would you recommend? I think we are set for dress code. I'd say we currently follow the "no jeans" after 6pm anyway. Cruising is good excuse to use my nice clothes, but I prefer to avoid too many formal nights!

I think we are ready to bite the bullet and book!

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Travelcat - thanks for the info! Costco gives OBC and a cash card upon return and I get 3% back on the Costco credit card although I typically use my Chase card because their travel rewards and trip insurance is better. I'm not sure of the value of the cash card on the cruise I am looking at. What TA would you recommend? I think we are set for dress code. I'd say we currently follow the "no jeans" after 6pm anyway. Cruising is good excuse to use my nice clothes, but I prefer to avoid too many formal nights!

I think we are ready to bite the bullet and book!

 

Unfortunately, due to CC rules, we cannot recommend a TA. However, since you get 3% back on your Costco card, that isn't too bad. We do use our Chase Sapphire card to charge cruises for the same reason that you do. Sometimes we have enough Chase points to book our airfare.

 

Definitely think you should bite the bullet and book:D

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One thing to keep in mind when comparing the air credit to what you can book on your own is that, if you are flying from other than a "gateway city," Regent adds a surcharge. Also, if you want to name your own flights rather than take what they give you, or you want to fly in early or out later, a deviation charge will apply.

 

On the other hand, if you use their air, transfers to and from the ship are included. Things to keep in mind when deciding whether to go with Regent air.

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Forgive me for not knowing the rules re naming TA - 20 push-ups for me.

I do not live in a gateway city but live 7 miles from a very nice little airport. Time and expense to get to a gateway city are very much in mind. Booking air on our own gives us flexibility to get to Miami a day or so ahead to explore that area, or just sit on a beach and relax :o). And those Chase points come in handy! If international air travel was involved I'd probably lean towards Regent.

I've done it! I've booked it! 550 days to go!

thanks to all of you for your help. I do hope I am able to meet you on the high seas some day.

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Forgive me for not knowing the rules re naming TA - 20 push-ups for me.

I do not live in a gateway city but live 7 miles from a very nice little airport. Time and expense to get to a gateway city are very much in mind. Booking air on our own gives us flexibility to get to Miami a day or so ahead to explore that area, or just sit on a beach and relax :o). And those Chase points come in handy! If international air travel was involved I'd probably lean towards Regent.

I've done it! I've booked it! 550 days to go!

thanks to all of you for your help. I do hope I am able to meet you on the high seas some day.

I am also new to Regent. Like you we are "getting our feet wet" but in Nov. and on a 44 night cruise! Yeah..."all in!" Anyway, a comment on air. Depending of course on flights, I am a retired Airline pilot. I decided I didn't want to go economy to Hawaii (Hawaii is considered "domestic"), so I took the credit and put it towards a very reasonable first class ticket, reasonable because we get an employee discount. However for the return trip from Sydney I am using the included Regent Air. International flights are Business class. I deviated for $175 per person so we could spend 4 days in Sydney. Also I was able, with the deviation, to pick my favorite airline AND secure business from Sydney to Los Angeles and First Class from Los Angeles to home. The price, had I booked it myself, would have been DOUBLE the Regent air credit, and that would be using the Employee Discounted rate. You can book a flight if you deviate 270 days prior to your cruise.

So, my point is you should definitely price out the difference between what you can get a flight versus the Regent air credit. It might be well worth the $175 per person deviation fee to go on the day, airline, and flight of your choice. One more point, any airline and flight you choose through Regent must be a contracted carrier with seats available. But it appears that most major airlines are available.

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VTgreentraveler: if you are on the 12/7/19 Explorer voyage we'll be happy to be your Ambassador. There are time limits to do this and the online form is easy to do....we would just need your booking details. You can contact us at .... tippers14 at yahoo dot com

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Travelcat - thanks for the info! Costco gives OBC and a cash card upon return and I get 3% back on the Costco credit card although I typically use my Chase card because their travel rewards and trip insurance is better. I'm not sure of the value of the cash card on the cruise I am looking at. What TA would you recommend? I think we are set for dress code. I'd say we currently follow the "no jeans" after 6pm anyway. Cruising is good excuse to use my nice clothes, but I prefer to avoid too many formal nights!

I think we are ready to bite the bullet and book!

 

Any good knowledgeable luxury specialist Travel Agent will beat the pants off of Costco, both price and service wise. And if you want you can still used the Costco branded credit card and get the cash back.

 

 

IMO credit card included travel protection is a poor substitute for travel insurance, particularity when it comes to medical coverage. Read the fine print very carefully.

 

 

J

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Any good knowledgeable luxury specialist Travel Agent will beat the pants off of Costco, both price and service wise. And if you want you can still used the Costco branded credit card and get the cash back.

 

 

IMO credit card included travel protection is a poor substitute for travel insurance, particularity when it comes to medical coverage. Read the fine print very carefully.

 

 

J

Agree!!!

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well, I guess I should look for another TA.

And I will look at the other travel insurance.

thanks again

We've used Costco twice, and it worked out just fine for us. Both times, though, we took Regent air, used Regent for the pre-cruise hotel stay (we were in Concierge suites), and used Regent for transfers.

 

If we had more complicated plans maybe a more hands-on agency would have been needed, but we didn't. And the ~ 5% of your booking you get back on a Costco card is a substantial perk, assuming you'll shop there anyway.

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We've used Costco twice, and it worked out just fine for us. Both times, though, we took Regent air, used Regent for the pre-cruise hotel stay (we were in Concierge suites), and used Regent for transfers.

 

If we had more complicated plans maybe a more hands-on agency would have been needed, but we didn't. And the ~ 5% of your booking you get back on a Costco card is a substantial perk, assuming you'll shop there anyway.

 

You can do way better than that with an experienced luxury Agent. It is easy to get back better than 7%, particularly if you use a cash back card, like Costco or Amex (or Airline Card ). Plus, there are additional onboard credits often available. Most good Luxury Agents have an intimate knowledge of the ships, which cabins are best and what to avoid; they know how the Regent Air Dept-deviations works, about the various dining venues, the ShoreEx. No Costco agent is remotely familiar with Regent on this level. Plus when it is 2am and you're stuck/or in trouble in some far away foreign County, who you gonna call??

 

 

IMO, you are really missing out of a lot of money and other benefits and services by not using a truly experience independent agent.

 

 

J

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IMO, you are really missing out of a lot of money and other benefits and services by not using a truly experience independent agent.

 

 

J

I disagree about missing out on a lot of money. As I said, the cash card was around 5% of the booking, plus 3 % for using the credit card, plus several hundred in OBC.

 

But I do agree that the service isn't up to a specialty agency, or even close. In our case it didn't matter, but ymmv.

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Sailed on NCL twice. Most recently this past May on Pride of America for the Hawaii Itinerary. Also sailed on Regent many times.

 

There is really no comparison. Yes, you are on a cruise but it is a totally different vacation.

 

The basic stateroom on Regent would be like a mini-suite on the Escape

Its like having a UDP and UBP but the drinks and the food are much much better. MDR on Regent is better than Specialty on NCL.

Excursions are pretty much the same but included on Regent.

Service level is incredible compared to NCL

NO CROWDS. A truly relaxing atmosphere.

 

In the hotel world think Four Seasons vs. Holiday Inn.

In the car world think Rolls Royce vs. Toyota.

 

NCL is a good cruise line, however it is just hard to find luxury and a resort type atmosphere on a 4,000 pax ship.

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Wondering if anyone could compare a room in The Haven to let’s say a Regent Concierge Suite. I know there are differences in drinks, excursions, etc. but have heard that The Haven is great and includes a lot of dining options and I am sure other unique things to that category. Worth a look for a soon to be Regent Platinum traveler or not worth bothering?

 

 

Pat and Marg

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