Review of Voyager Baltic Cruise - July 11-18

[txladycruiser]

Following is our review of our recent (July 11-18) Baltic cruise on the Regent Seven Seas Voyager:

Perspective and Context. First,we are not seasoned cruisers. This was our fourth cruse and our first cruise with Regent. That being said, we have traveled extensively in Europe and always go first class so our evaluation of food, service and accommodations is from that perspective. Second, we are booked on the World Cruise so this was, among other things, a “test flight” for that cruise. Third, as some commenter’s have already noted, it was brutally hot (and we are from Houston) and unfortunately, though no fault of Regent, the heat may be our lasting impression.

The Voyager. Very simply, we loved the Voyager; almost everything about it. Our suite (Category C) was very thoughtfully designed, down to the smallest details. It seemed very spacious, more than the 306 sq. ft. would suggest, due in part to this attention to detail. The Voyager sailed completely full; we were told there were 733 guests in all including third persons in some suites. But, you wouldn’t know it. It didn’t seem full. They don’t herd cattle on the Voyager. We never had to wait long for an elevator and, as often as not, we were the only ones in the cab. We never waited for a table in the Compass Rose or the Veranda for longer than two minutes. We were immediately seated in Prime 7 and Signatures even though we arrived early. Embarkation, disembarkation and group tours were a breeze. Regent has definitely “figured it out” in this respect and everything went off without a hitch. Embarkation took maybe ten minutes and disembarkation less. As for the Constellation Theater, We typically arrived five minutes before the nightly show and we never had a problem being seated in a good location.

The Restaurants. We thought the restaurants were uniformly very good to excellent. We dined at Prime Seven and Signatures once each, the Veranda twice and the remainder of our meals were taken in the Compass Rose. We did not try room service. While we enjoyed both Prime 7 and Signatures, we enjoyed the Compass Rose more. The service in all of the restaurants was excellent; the menus were more varied in the Compass Rose and the food just as good. We did not experience any delays or stressed-out service issues that have been occasionally mentioned in the comments.

Service. The service level was, in our opinion, uniformly outstanding. I have never seen so many smiles. You could literally not sit down without someone putting a drink and canapés in front of you. We were so impressed with the Butler service that we upgraded our World cruise to a Butler cabin.

Our observations regarding “Issues” in the Comments:

Service Levels. Obviously we cannot compare previous service levels to the service we experienced. I can only say that the service level we experienced, without exception, exceeded our expectations and was much higher than many of the five-star hotels we have stayed in.

Children on Board. Yes, there were children of all ages on board, not many but more than a few. In our opinion this is a non-issue. Without exception, they were well mannered and behaved and Curmudgeon that I am, cannot image that they adversely affected anyone’s cruise experience.

Captain Dag. Okay, I admit that this was a seven day cruise, that there was no opportunity to bond with the crew and that we may have a different opinion after the world cruise. That being said, I find it hard to understand the attention this issue has received, how it somehow makes a huge statement with regard to “the state of Regent “or why it would have any impact on anyone’s cruise decision. Who may be the captain of the Voyager during the world cruise does not even register on our radar.

The “Vibration”. Well, there is a vibration in the aft and it is noticeable. After the first night, I heard some guests were requesting a room change but of course the ship was full. We both adjusted to the vibration very easily and after the first night we were pretty much lulled into the rhythm of the ship and had no trouble sleeping. Since we are booked in virtually the identical cabin on the WC, we made the decision that it was not a problem for us but I can also see why it may be a problem for some.

The Food. This is so subjective it is really hard to comment on and again we are not privileged to have cruised on Regent in “the good old days”. If you are expecting asparagus ice cream or other cutting edge culinary creations, you are probably going to be disappointed. If you enjoy a wide range of fairly traditional well prepared menu items, you will probably be pleased.

Park West. Regent is aggressively promoting Park West to the point that they were interviewing its art experts on the Regent TV channel. This may be a contractual obligation.

Laundry/dry cleaning service. We used this service multiple times because we brought the wrong clothes (due to the heat). The service was prompt and the quality was excellent. There were no delays whatsoever.

Entertainment. We were a bit disappointed that there was no “name” entertainers scheduled but the performances by the Regent singers and dancers was excellent. We particularly enjoyed their original production of “Sailing through Broadway”. And, the review put on by Regent crew members was energetic and lots of fun. We were surprised that the attendance level of the shows was so low, only once exceeding 50% of capacity. This could be due to this cruise being somewhat of a ‘forced march” through six ports in seven days. With the heat, jet lag and full-day tours, it was hard to stay awake for the 9:45 show starting time.

Relative Cost. I am not going to enter the cost-benefit debate of Regent as compared to other cruise lines. Other commenter’s have done so exhaustively. I will only say what a pleasure it is to have a relaxing vacation and never open your wallet; to never sign a chit for a tour or for anything else save the shops and casino of course; to never have to pay for a drink or to pay a surcharge to dine at a premium restaurant. And, it was nice to not worry about who to tip and how much. We did make a contribution to the crew welfare fund in lieu of a tip, but this is strictly voluntary (and, unfortunately in our opinion, this option is not even mentioned by Regent). How much value one places on these intangibles is a personal and financial decision, but to us it was worth quite a lot.

Tours. I won’t comment on individual tours except to say that if you are planning a trip to St. Petersburg and can afford the cost, taking a private tour is well worth it.

Critique.

Internet Connectivity. Internet connectivity was slow and unreliable. This was not a particular concern on a seven day cruise but is very concerning to us on a WC length cruise where communications, investment management and bill-paying is critical.

TV; Channel Selection. This was a real disappointment both in selection and quality. We only had access to Fox news, CNN international and Euro sports (that, on our cruise, was obsessed with reporting about grown men riding bicycles). My question is: if they can receive the Fox News and CNN International broadcasts, why not ESPN, CNN Domestic or the myriad of other available satellite channels. Again, not a problem on a seven day cruise but on the WC with many sea days, it is an issue to us. As for as quality, there is no HDTV and the picture is fuzzy at best. Note to Regent: you can get flat screen TV’s with high definition broadcasts at Holiday Inns.

[Travelcat2]

Your review mirrors our feelings about our favorite ship on one of our favorite itineraries. Thank you for taking the time to give such a comprehensive review. If you do not mind, I would like to comment on a couple of items.

 

Park West: Yes, Regent is under contract with this company. It is unfortunate as they have been found to be at fault in at least one old lawsuit and again recently (relating to fraud). It is the hopes of many repeat Regent customers that the contract will not be renewed. Oceania, our sister company, did not renew their last contract.

 

Television Channel Selection: Channels are dependent upon satellite reception. Regent definitely has ESPN when it is possible to receive it. In terms of "domestic" CNN, the first question would be domestic where? The U.S., U.K.? Since Regent passengers come from all over the world, CNN international seems to cover all of their bases.

 

Entertainment: While there is no "name" entertainment, Regent will be debuting a wonderful group of performers on the Mariner and Voyager either late this year or early next year. They were on the Navigator this summer and are excellent. This was the first time we saw the theaters full for every performance. I would be surprised if they were not on your World Cruise.

 

Internet Connectivity: I have been told that this is a an issue on all cruise lines. There are places in the world where there is no access (parts of Alaska being on this list). The worst part is when you (or I) spend an hour working on a post only to lose it and have to attempt to recreate it from scratch. The best thing to do is prepare your work in Word -- then copy and paste it into an email or CC post.

 

Reading your review makes me long for the Voyager. Unfortunately, our next Voyager cruise isn't until November, 2011.:o

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Thanks for the great rundown on your cruise, very well organized.

 

Regent has never been into "name" acts, in my experience at least.

 

I don't know why they can't at least carry BBC World--Azamara does this, and this would be on the top of my personal list.

 

I can't wait until they get rid of Park West.

 

Lucky you, World Cruise!

[WC11]

Yes the internet is slow and unreliable at times and it seems Regent really needs a new provider. Fox News is always there, it fads out from time to time but anywhere in the world it works. Other news channels come and go depending which part of the world your in. We even got the Turner Classic Movie Station in the Indian Ocean, for an hour. The entertainment system works well and has lots of new movies, it's not HD but it's not bad. Unfortunately some of the DVD's are scratched up and freeze in the middle of the movie which is really frustrating.

 

You will appreciate returning to your normal electronic needs when you return to home but doing the WC you can survive. Of Any ship I have been on Voyager has the best in suite entertainment. Sure beats VCR's and those little 13 inch TV's that we have all had to tolerate.

[mariners]

Last year, we had a few days where we had no access to the internet. However, if you are on the world cruise, you will get some free phone time and that will allow you to keep in contact with the outside world. Great review! Thanks!

[RachelG]

The internet connection issue is much worse if you go very far north (and I would suppose south too, though I haven't been there on board ship yet). Above the Arctic circle, it was pretty much nonexistant on our Norway cruise. Satellite positioning apparently is the problem.

Cruising in "normal" areas, I have had pretty good luck with getting service except sometimes in port where there are very large buildings and a lot of interferance.

[WC11]

Last year, we had a few days where we had no access to the internet. However, if you are on the world cruise, you will get some free phone time and that will allow you to keep in contact with the outside world. Great review! Thanks!

 

That is if the phones work, which they didn't half the time. They fade in and out too and you can't depend on that. The cell service would go down when the ship's phones would. They need to fix some stuff and they know it.

 

I'm not expert but I would dump the way they use the internet to get Fox News. Use the bandwith to speed up the internet. You can usually get one news channel from somewhere.

 

As for the vibration that's just the personality of the Voyager. It doesn't bother some people, but some hate it.

[Chapter2]

Great write up. We are sailing July 2nd for the 10 day cruise. We are overwhelmed trying to figure out which tours to sign up for. I appreciate the highlights. Some of the tours are 3 to 4 hours in st Pete One we are considering is 8 hrs. Would you recommend one tour per day. The dinner with the tsars makes for a long evening. Would you do one of the short excursions on the same day as the dinner? We don't want to miss out but also don't want to cram too much in. Anyone else having suggestions let me know.

[txladycruiser]

Chapter 2:

 

We highly recommend a private car and guide when touring St. Petersburg. There are at least three distinct advantages compared to a ship tour. One, there is a rule that tours of 5 people or less go to the front of the entrance line (which can be daunting when entering the more popular sites). Two, you are able to spend as much or as little time as you wish at each venue. Three, we had really interesting and surprisingly candid conversations with our english speaking guide.

 

Enjoy your cruise

[nana541]

Chapter 2:

 

We highly recommend a private car and guide when touring St. Petersburg. There are at least three distinct advantages compared to a ship tour. One, there is a rule that tours of 5 people or less go to the front of the entrance line (which can be daunting when entering the more popular sites). Two, you are able to spend as much or as little time as you wish at each venue. Three, we had really interesting and surprisingly candid conversations with our english speaking guide.

 

Enjoy your cruise

 

We hired a guide and driver for 2 of the 3 days in St Petersburg... Did not use Regent private tours as the cost was beyond belief... We used the Regent group tour for Catherine's Palace on the 3 rd day and also did the evening ballet.

The private tours ended up costing $1200 US for both days of 8hrs each.... Thought it was a bargain and did not need a Russian Visa as the approved Agency you are not req. Remember if not on a tour you can NOT get off the ship to tour on your own without a visa which must be obtained well in advance

From Visa agency for $$