Voyager Live Rome to London

[dvalentine823]

Hi,

 

I am a lurker mostly, but will be posting my experiences starting tomorrow on my pre cruise night. Wife and I arrived in Rome a couple of days early to tour around and will be catching a taxi over to the official Regent hotel tomorrow.

 

Curious to see if any of the latest negative reviews have merit, as we have sailed with Regent twice before and have had great times. Hopefully, we will be just as happy with our experience!

 

 

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[RachelG]

Looking forward to following along. Voyager is our favorite.

[pingpong1]

dValentine - Thanks so much for deciding to "take us along" on your cruise to London. We'll be on Voyager in about 4 weeks. In the meantime, please "take care of her and don't break anything!" :p

 

A lot of the negative reviews amaze me, as well.....like the person who complained about "all the cigarette and cigar smoke in the Conneseur Club"! :eek: Well, DUH! What else would they expect??

 

Best Regards.

[Travelcat2]

Really looking forward to reading your comments. We will be back on the Voyager at the end of next month.....but are now wondering if the Mariner is actually the better ship.

[Patti22]

Thank you for taking us along. We had to cancel our August cruise as our wonderful dog became very ill on recent Sydney to Singapore cruise. Staying home for now.

[Travelcat2]

Thank you for taking us along. We had to cancel our August cruise as our wonderful dog became very ill on recent Sydney to Singapore cruise. Staying home for now.

 

Wishing you the best. We understand what you are going through and applaud your decision:o

[dvalentine823]

Pre cruise hotel outside if Rome, Sheraton Golf, is probably more on the order of a three star. Not a place I would stay if it were not part of the package. If booking this itinerary, I would recommend making your own arrangements. More to come....

 

 

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[Patti22]

Thank you, Travelcat 2,

All pet lovers know what this is like.

[dvalentine823]

Decent breakfast at hotel. Buses leave for port at 15 minute intervals starting at 10:30.

 

 

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[dvalentine823]

Local regent rep to arrive does not know if passengers are assigned to groups or whether we jus wait in line for a turn. A limitless disorganized!

 

 

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[KirkNC]

Look forward to your report!

[pvgal]

We just got off the Voyager after 106 day cruise and stayed in the Sheraton Golf for one night. I agree that it is not 4 or 5 star hotel. The people going on the next cruise were all just sitting around waiting for a bus to take them to the ship. It did not seem organized to me.

 

The staff of the Voyager are the best. Enjoy your trip.

 

Eileen

[dvalentine823]

Embarkation fast and efficient. Rooms were nice and my pre ordered two bottles of alcohol were in the suite. Met steward and asked for another bottles of wine and some triple sec, and they were delivered.

 

Very nice meal at Compass Rose. I had an apple tart, Caesar salad and the lamb, wife had mussels, salad and bass. All were very good, equal to a five star restaurant in the states. So far, I am not sure what all the gripes are about.

 

Met another couple today who were very disappointed in the pre cruise at the Sheraton.

 

 

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[pingpong1]

Dvalentine - Thanks for the update. I'm looking forward to hearing more. We're getting excited about our up-coming embarkation.

 

PVGal - Many gripes about the Golf Sheraton, going back quite a ways. But in this case, "nothing ever changes". Regent must be getting a "deal" (contract) that is simply too good to pass up. And Regent cannot plausibly claim "ignorance" of the situation. The complaints have been numerous over time, well-documented, and from very experienced travelers. I can't understand why Regent would want to "start" passengers out with a disappointing pre-cruise hotel experience. How many complaints does it take, before they're taken seriously?

 

Best Regards

[Patti22]

This is why we always book our own hotel and transportation to the ship. I enjoy researching the hotels and often find a small boutique hotel that it is charming.

 

Thank you valentine823 for your updates!!

[Travelcat2]

Regent is limited as to which hotels can accommodate 400-600 guests (guessing the number). IMO, the start of a cruise vacation tends to be less than a luxury experience. Many passengers fly coach and are taken by bus (in most cases) to the hotel and then a bus to the ship. The hotels Regent has booked us in have been average to excellent (the Ritz Carlton in Istanbul, the Four Seasons in Sydney were excellent). We occasionally book our own hotel and figure out how to get to the hotel and then to the port. One time we contacted the hotel and asked the cost to upgrade to a higher level room. We paid the difference between what Regent paid and the cost of the upgraded suite and considered it quite reasonable. Although transfers are included with the hotel, many times we take a taxi to avoid the bus. It really depends upon if you want Regent to take care of everything for you or whether you would prefer making arrangements on your own. It is nice having a choice.

 

We are also looking forward to boarding the Voyager at the end of next month. I had to laugh about the comment "So far, I am not sure what all the gripes are about." Some people like to look for something to complain about. Sometimes the food is not to someone's taste. Long time cruisers, such as myself, can be overly critical - especially if something was not as good as it was several years ago (I hope I do not do that:-) People new to Regent may be comparing it to other ships experiences or simply prefer some other type of experience for various reasons.

 

Most people who post on the Regent board are like the OP -- open minded and giving Regent a fair chance. Nothing is perfect but the officers and crew onboard Regent ships do their very best to give the guests the best experience possible (in my opinion).

[dvalentine823]

Sorry that I have not been posting religiously. Tours, food and alcohol have made me very tired. And that is a good thing!

 

The only weak spot of the trip is the mildly disappointing food in Setti Mari. I made the mistake of having Carbonara in Rome, and then having the same onboard. Not good!

 

Other than that, the food, service, cleanliness, politeness of staff, etc. have all been what I have come to expect.

 

Skipping the tours to walk around Los Carunas today.

 

Barring any major snafus, we will cruise again in three years, and will be on Regent!!!