About to take the plunge ~ Tell me about Regent Shore Excursions

[JimAOk1945]

We are trying hard to decide whether or not to take our first Regent cruise next year. I would appreciate any feedback you would care to give me about the shore excursions you took through Regent.

 

The cruise we are thinking about is the 11 nights Mediterranean Barcelona to Venice cruise on Seven Seas Voyager.

 

Were you happy/unhappy with your experience?

 

Thanks!

[TahoeTraveler]

We have never been on that particular cruise, but the shore excursions for our upcoming cruise in November are rapidly turning into a pain in the posterior. Regent cancelled our Nassau excursion, without notifying us. We booked a different excursion; they just cancelled that one too. They are now only offering 4 excursions in that port. They also cancelled our excursion in St. Maarten, again without notifying us. They now are only offering 3 excursions in that port...none of which interest us.

 

My point in all this is, please don't base your decision on cruising with Regent on their shore excursions. Yes, I know they are included in the price, but Regent might not offer anything you'd like to do, or they may cancel the one excursion that you do want to do right out from under you. We cruise Regent without even considering shore excursions in the mix...nice if you can get what you want, but certainly not a deal-breaker.

[debijaynes]

We must be on the same cruise Nassau is a good port to stay on the ship The time before last there were six other Large ships in port with people coming off of them that were frankly quite frightening. A very good place to enjoy your lovely ship.

Debi

[TahoeTraveler]

Hey Debi, we're on the last 10 days of your 17 day cruise. We've posted on your roll call. And yes, Nassau is a great port to just stay on the ship for...just wish there wasn't a sea day the next day! I'm much more disappointed in the cancellation of the Two Flags tour in St. Maarten...was really looking forward to that one.

[debijaynes]

We love sea days! Have to update my countdown I am in the mountains of NC and am using my Nook and having quite the time of typing will get home Saturday and update all This will be our fifthRegent cruise the fourth on the Navigator.

Debi

[TedC]

My experiences tours were fine- sometimes in foreign country guide may not have best English. I usually grab free tours unless there is a much better tour with a modest surcharge.

[johnsburk]

We have been on a similar cruise on mariner. The tours were all very good, no complaints at all. We normally avoid long tours for health reasons. The only all day tour we were on was to Rome. We choose the Rome by private rail which shortened the commute to 30 minutes or so. This is a premium tour which does have an up charge but well worth it IMO. If I had any complaint about tours in general, it would be that the guides all think they should talk every single moment.

[RachelG]

For the most part, our excursions have been good to excellent, and we have been in this area many times on regent. Pick things you like, and donz't do an all day excursion unless it is something that is really special to you and not to be missed.

[Travelcat2]

I also do not think you should base your decision on whether to cruise on Regent based on shore excursions. Regent is a wonderful cruise line -- amazing service -- great food -- amazing suites, etc. IMO, this is what your decision should be based on.

 

Your previous cruises have been on larger ships so you may (or may not) be used to bus excursions that are usually 3/4 full (sometimes less and sometimes completely full). Most of the excursions are quite nice. However, some long time Regent passengers like ourselves do not find multiple buses going to the same location(s) to be luxury. To us, having 500+ people in the theater waiting to be called for an excursion is like being in the middle of a mob. Obviously, if you compare this to being on a ship with 2000+ passengers, it may not be a big deal. It depends upon expectations.

 

We have done excursions on the itinerary that you are doing and some were quite good.

[JimAOk1945]

Thanks to everyone who responded to my post (see #1). I appreciate all the informative feedback I've received.

 

We are considering Regent for several reasons. We have cruised on large ships for several years. We enjoyed all of them primarily for the good service and the itineraries.

 

Now we are talking about a small ship experience. From what I have gathered from visiting this board, I think Regent may be what we are looking for.

 

The itinerary we are considering for next year (post #1) looks fantastic. I welcome comments, suggestions, or tips from seasoned Regent travelers regarding shore excursions.

 

Thanks!

[HanaleiSailor]

Aloha Jim,

 

We cruised the med in both 2012 and 2013 with Regent and took 11 included excursions over those two cruises. I would say 8 of the excursions we chose were very good, two were Ok to good, and one was poor, but we struck out on our own on the poor excursion and still had a great day (I think that the poor one was our second time in Sicily). We also took one excursion which had an upcharge in Florence, and it was quite good as well.

 

We are most interested in history from Medeival to Antiquity and generally take the excursions which are listed as the most strenuous; this in itself may color the way we see the excursions as these excursions sometimes exclude a number of passengers who may not be up to a full day of walking, hiking, etc.

 

Also, we see the excursions as mostly a means of transport to get to sites we are interested in exploring, and we are willing to make a go of it ourselves and meet up with the bus back to the ship if necessary. We had an excellent guide in Dubrovnik, but we chose to leave the tour after the first half as we really wanted to walk the walls of the old city, and the rest of the tour was going out of the city to visit an olive farm. From all accounts, the farm tour and olive oil pressing was great, but we were happy to have stayed in Dubrovnik to do what we really wanted to do, and we simply taxied back to the ship on our own. Just make sure that if you do something like this to let the guide know and know exactly how to get back to the ship and how long it takes!

 

The service on Regent is great, and after having lived abroad for most of our adult lives before moving to Hawaii, we are happy to go with the flow and take the Regent tours and make the best of them.

 

Aloha from Hanalei,

 

Mark

[trvlrs]

Thanks to everyone who responded to my post (see #1). I appreciate all the informative feedback I've received.

 

We are considering Regent for several reasons. We have cruised on large ships for several years. We enjoyed all of them primarily for the good service and the itineraries.

 

Now we are talking about a small ship experience. From what I have gathered from visiting this board, I think Regent may be what we are looking for.

 

The itinerary we are considering for next year (post #1) looks fantastic. I welcome comments, suggestions, or tips from seasoned Regent travelers regarding shore excursions.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6cogi1HmFJk

Thanks!

Looking at your signature, it is your first Mediterranean cruise so no matter what tour you take you probably would enjoy. In general, the tours are anywhere from 20 to 30 guests. There are half day tours and all day tours. It depends what you are interested in.

On our last cruise, few days ago, we took the "biking around Lucca" ( Tuscany). Enjoyed it!! There were 19 of us. We also joined the Trogir/split tour in Croatia (about 20 of us). We stayed with the tour through Trogir and ditch them in Split. I don't want to sound jaded but I get tired of looking at churches and castles. We rather roam around on our own.

There is something for everyone but like the others said, do not base your decision to sail with Regent on the tours. We've taken a total of 3 tours. The two above and the ballet in st Petersburg.

We sail with Regent mainly for their suites and the size of the ship. We like the intimate atmosphere. By the third day, you get to know most of the guests. One big happy family. Good luck with your decision....

[JimAOk1945]

Thanks everyone. You've all been amazing. I have a lot to think about and discuss with my wife.

[jhp]

Jim , I count myself among the "seasoned cruisers" you asked to reply. And I have been to the Med many tiimes, land and sea. You just can't not like a cruise in this area. Why I have cruised there , several times.

 

 

After cruising with this line since 2000, over 30 cruises, none longer than 25 nights, most 7-14 nights. I just can't say enough good and suggest you give them a try. You never know until you do, what is right for you. I have sailed Silversea as well a couple of times, and trying Azamara in the spring. But nothing is ever perfect. The weather may bother you, or the service some night. Or the menu. Who knows?

 

As for included excursions, overall they are very good. But a big bus for most, not full, however.

But I loved planning on my own when they were not included. Now, I don't have to, nor do others. Then, as now, I was cruising with lots of friends. It just was a part of our fun that we had private vans at less than the cruise offered for a bus not full.

 

I just cruised on Princess, those excursions prices easily bring you to the same price as Regent (on a much smaller ship )!when you take several, and pick a comparable cabin to Regent, at least to Alaska.

 

Again, give them a try. At even the worst circumstances I can almost guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Edited August 1, 2014 by jhp

[KathyPet]

Have not been to Nassau with Regent but have been there with other cruise lines. it is a tourist trap of the first magnitude. I will never get off the ship if a cruise I am on stops there again.

did a Regent 10 day Barcelona to Rome two years ago. Loved most of the shore excursions.

Edited August 1, 2014 by KathyPet

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I avoid cruises that stop in Nassau. That's not to say that there are not nice places on the island, nor that it's a jumping-off point for some great vacations, but the cruise port area is the pits, especially if there are some megaships in port.