Switching to Regent

[bhopal21]

My partner and I are in a similar situation as the OP. We have cruised 20+ times on Princess, always in a suite; but the product has been cheapened by Princess to the point that it is almost an "a la carte" event. We had rather had a price increase instead of decontenting the cruise experience.

 

We have yet to book a Regent cruise but the Canada/New England itinerary looks like a good start.

 

From the responses to Brightonbuoy it looks like it may be time to take the plunge.

 

Mike:)

[irishwitchy]

Make the switch. Our first cruise was on the navigator to Alaska. We travel quite a bit, but being locked on a ship I wasn't so sure about. The next cruise was celebrity in the Galapagos, but that is a very small ship and everything is included. Last summer we used celebrity again because of a coupon from celebrity and I liked the itineray in Norway. I have to tell you we stayed in the Aqua class , so we got to eat in blue, but the nickle and diming, ordering a $100 bottle Of wine that they didn't have after all and they tried to replace it with it $150 bottle (this happened twice) and a bunch of other crap made us say back to regent we go!!! We will be sailing on the Explorer in 2016. Overall, I like the smaller ship and hated having to show a badge to get my free drink on celebrity.

[Atriumgirl]

I'm getting a vibe here that those with true wealth , used to the finest things in life, aren't that happy with the " luxury" on Regent. However those who deem themselves " financially comfortable ", ie the majority, will be more than happy with the "luxury" they receive. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but that seems to be what I'm reading between the lines.

 

 

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Those are the vibes I'm getting too.

We cruise Celebrity and Regent but much prefer Regent, only book on Celebrity when we are lured by price and itinerary. We sail on Silhouette in two weeks and as each day passes I wonder why! We have not sailed on Navigator, only on Mariner and Voyager but love them both. The staff on Regent are all so friendly and helpful - no grumpy barmen or stewards. No constant upsells on Regent, everything is so relaxed. We were on Mariner in May and will be again in September, can't wait. As TC2 says, Regent is addictive. Enjoy.

[Atriumgirl]

We don't travel in high-end suites, we travel in Aqua on Celebrity and grades H or G on Regent.

[Suzez]

We are doing our first cruise with Regent next year. It is a treat to ourselves for being married 30 years. We are also sailing with Celebrity in September for the first time. I do think it is worth sailing with a different line. You get different experience. I don't think I would want to sail with the same line all the time. We have booked concierge balconies for both ships.

As our cruise is on Navigator end April next year. Am I right in thinking that she will have had an extensive refit?

[Sunprince]

My partner and I took our very first cruise (ever) on Regents Navigator approx 18 months ago. We enjoyed it and found the majority of other passengers lovely. We were some of the "youngest" on board, so if you mingle well with an older crowd, which we do, you will be fine. The food was good, the service also good, but not intuitive. The service around the pool was spotty and there were issues with the clearing of tables etc outside on La Veranda. These were relatively minor things. Overall, very good, but not "luxurious". We had a penthouse suite, with great butler service. The suite itself had a dated decor (personal preference/opinion) and the woodwork needed refinishing, but overall it was spacious.

 

We may return to Regent in the future but have found prices to have escalated and value lowered. We are celebrating our 20th anniversary this week and will be embarking on a Med cruise with Seabourn next week (at a much lower cost than a similar Regent Mariner itinerary). Seabourn will be an experiment for us and we will see if we like it. We will definitely be comparing experiences between Regent and Seabourn and will report back if anyone is interested.

Edited July 1, 2015 by Sunprince

[OctoberKat]

Seabourn will be an experiment for us and we will see if we like it. We will definitely be comparing experiences between Regent and Seabourn and will report back if anyone is interested.

 

Yes, please.

[brightonbuoy]

Here's a stupid question!

 

Concierge cabins get a coffee maker I believe. That's fine for me but my partner drinks tea. Does this coffee maker offer tea or can you get boiling water from it ( can bring own teabags )

 

I know it's a dumb question but someone may surprise me!

 

 

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[Sunprince]

Order your tea/coffee from room service. The coffee maker took up too much space so we asked the butler to get rid of it. I think he put it under the bed! I wouldn't bother with it unless you like to make your own coffee and use bottled water.

[JPR]

It's an Illy Espresso Maker. OK, but not nearly as good as Nespresso's espresso machines...

[cruise beginner]

Another dissenting opinion. I have cruised Regent 5 times and I much prefer Seabourn. What drives me nuts with Regent is their "free" excursions. Of course, they are not free, but are built into the cruise price. But, with a Seabourn cruise, if an excursion is cancelled, or the ship misses a port, you get your money back for the excursion. With Regent, you do not as the excursions are "free". I also think the service is much better with Seabourn. I am planning our first Silversea for this winter, so can't comment on that line. We love Sea Dreams, but the cabins are small, so if that is an issue, you have to go elsewhere.

[Travelcat2]

We would have tried Seabourn years ago had it not been for their horrific smoking policy. Although they have changed it somewhat, smoking on the balconies is a deal changer for us.

 

We find Silversea to be very similar to Regent (and is now starting to include excursions on some itineraries). Their dress code is a pain but is tolerable. We find one of their dining venues a bit better than Regent and the main dining room not as good as Regent. However, other people may not agree.

[SuzCruise]

Brightonbuoy, would you mind sharing why your last Celebrity cruise was dreadful? We cruise RSSC most often but have cruised Celebrity once before and thought it was a great product for the money. We were looking at doing a last minute cruise in a month on the Reflection in a RS. We feel RSSC has gone downhill a bit in the last few years and I am sure the cost cutting has gotten to Celebrity as well, and perhaps we will no longer find it a good deal for the money? I'd appreciate your insight.

 

SunPrince, how was Seabourne? I thought your summation of RSSC perfectly described our feelings on it as well, so I am very interested to your opinion of Seabourne in comparison.

 

Thanks to you both in advance!

[brightonbuoy]

Brightonbuoy, would you mind sharing why your last Celebrity cruise was dreadful? We cruise RSSC most often but have cruised Celebrity once before and thought it was a great product for the money. We were looking at doing a last minute cruise in a month on the Reflection in a RS. We feel RSSC has gone downhill a bit in the last few years and I am sure the cost cutting has gotten to Celebrity as well, and perhaps we will no longer find it a good deal for the money? I'd appreciate your insight.

 

SunPrince, how was Seabourne? I thought your summation of RSSC perfectly described our feelings on it as well, so I am very interested to your opinion of Seabourne in comparison.

 

Thanks to you both in advance!

 

Hi,

 

Our last Celebrity cruise was on the Constellation, one of the older Millennium class ships. We are more fans of the Solstice class ships.

 

The Constellation was very tired and the service was appalling.

 

We have been on Reflection and as you are in a RS you should have no problems. Lovely space. We have had a RS on Silhouette before. We aren't saying we will never go back to Celebrity.

 

Like all cruise lines, Celebrity have had some cost cutting also over the past few years.

 

We decided we wanted a change and are treating ourselves as we both had big birthdays this year. We will see what happens. If this doesn't work, we will try Seabourn, Crystal or Silverseas next. Maybe even Windstar.

 

 

 

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[tallship]

We are celebrating our 20th anniversary this week and will be embarking on a Med cruise with Seabourn next week (at a much lower cost than a similar Regent Mariner itinerary). Seabourn will be an experiment for us and we will see if we like it. We will definitely be comparing experiences between Regent and Seabourn and will report back if anyone is interested.

 

I would be very interested as well

[1982CruzStart]

I am also looking forward to reading your comparison between Regent & Seabourn. Thanks in advance.

[lincslady]

Me too - we are regular Seabourn passengers, and have very recently been on Regent Mariner. I have some definite views, but would love to hear someone else's for comparison.

[newlondon]

Lincslady, Would love to hear your independent opinions as the two lines now appear to be close competitors. Please don't wait for someone else's opinion.

[pingpong1]

Lincslady - I too, would like to hear your thoughts/comparisons re Regent & Seabourn. Best Regards.

[lincslady]

A bit of history - we had cruised with Radisson/Regent many times, mostly on the dear old Song of Flower, but not with this line for probably 6 or more years. Then tried Seadream, Silversea, and Seabourn, and Seabourn fits our requirements the best. We all have different needs and wishes on cruises, and ours is essentially good food and wine, served by interesting and knowledgeable staff. Others will care more about excursions, or other things.

 

Our main problem was the quality of the meals apart from dinners in the specialised restaurants; the difference was amazing. The Veranda cafe at breakfast and lunch was not especially good food, not constantly refreshed as it is on Seabourn Colonnade, and virtually all buffet, with only fried eggs etc. available to order. This contrasts with SB, where you can order all the usual breakfast goodies, like eggs benedict and pancakes and have them served. Orange juice on Regent was not good. I cannot swear that it is freshly squeezed on SB, but it is good. We tried the dining room for breakfast, and eggs benedict were poor and blueberry pancakes leathery. I could go on, but will not for now! Wine - we were offered 2 whites or reds at our first lunch; I asked the wine pourer where the sauvignon blanc was from, she said I don't know, it is called Terra. On SB the wine servers know far more about the wines, which in any case are better, and are therefore more willing to bring you something different. Lunch at the pool grill included a choice of about 10 different burgers! Food you ordered was brought with a 'cruet' with sauces etc. in chip shop type plastic squeezy bottles. On SB it is brought by your waiter, on a tray, in dishes and served with spoons on to your plate. A small thing, but we noticed the difference in 'elegance'. Service was mostly very good and cheerful, but slightly 'robotic'. I am sure some of our problems were due to the fact that we were sort of newbies, as some people who cruise Regent regularly say they can get all sorts of different wines included on request, but we did feel that SB is much more accommodating to everyone, and certainly has slightly better quality wines and more choice.

 

We felt that since our last Regent cruise the catering quality had gone down, possibly due to now including excursions? Most other passengers seemed to think it was fine, and there were certainly a few on board to whom quantity was more important than quality.

 

For those to whom the excursions (we did 2, and they were well organised) are important, Regent probably supplies what they want. And those who always cruise Regent, like us with Seabourn, will know their way around to get the best which is available. But we will not cruise Regent again, for the above reasons - which are important to us.

 

It will be interesting to hear what Sunprince thinks - I hope they do not read this until they get home and have made their own minds up, though I would not expect to influence anyone.

[fizzy]

We have SB on plan for 2017 and were very interested to read your comments. It sounds like you noticed little details that became part of the big picture. The only way to make valid comparisons is to actually sail on both lines so you have been more than fair in your observations.

[lincslady]

Thanks fizzy - I do think it is unfair to rubbish a cruise line you have never travelled on, which does happen on these boards sometimes.

 

Just to slightly rectify the balance, Regent has much more comfortable pool loungers than Seabourn currently does (I think they are changing them), and there is no smoking on Regent balconies, and only in a special smoking room indoors, which currently does not apply on Seabourn, though they do keep improving this situation. For some people this is a make or break situation. We do not find it too onerous to work round it; indoors it is just one of the two bars, only after 8 p.m., and only one outdoor bar out of 2 allows smoking - and it opens earlier in the morning!

[lincslady]

P.S. I mean the outdoor bar which does not allow smoking opens earlier!

[Eager2Travel]

However, much as we enjoyed the fine service and excellent crew on Seabourn we had the misfortune of having smokers on both sides of us. Can you imagine a sailaway in pristine, magnificent Antarctica with the smell of cigarettes and what seemed to be cigar (though that is not suppose to be allowed) coming onto you balcony? 21 days at sea without being able to change the situation.

 

Seabourn has wonderful touches Regent doesn't but we love balcony time and the smoke made it very unpleasant. We actually had to go inside several times. We are hesitant about rebooking with them. It is all reduced to luck.

[Winner]

Since the Seabourn Antarctic cruises are never filled to capacity the Hotel Director should have been able to move you to a suite without smokers on either side. Cigars are not allowed on balconies; again a word with the HD would solve that problem.