We love Regent, but...options?

[UUNetBill]

Okay, first off, let me say that this post isn't intended to start a flame war. Rather, it's the opposite - I'm trying to educate myself, and I hope at the same time to provide a valuable thread for others to enjoy.

 

So, having said that - my wife and I have sailed almost exclusively on Regent. We took a foray onto Cunard because of the itinerary...it was okay but not great. It was a good cruise for the money, let's leave it at that.

 

But having read all of the discussions about which luxury line is the best, or the most luxurious, or the most this or that, it got me thinking that there have to be some viable options to always sailing Regent. The problem is that we don't have unlimited time or money to sample all of the options. So I'd like to ask for CIVIL and FAIRLY UNBIASED opinions on the pros and cons of lines other than Regent. We were specifically looking at Crystal, Seabourn, Oceania, and Silversea.

 

I know that different people value different things on a cruise. What we like are open dining, smaller ships, good wine/food, smaller groups on excursions, and comfortable suites. The casino, shows, shopping, etc. are nice but not critical. Variety of ports is a plus as well, which is another bonus of smaller ships.

 

Right now, I'm mostly interested in Seabourn, followed by Oceania and Crystal. Right or wrong, my impressions of those lines are: Seabourn is a nice option but you may be on a larger (1,250 pax) ship; Crystal has fixed dining for the most part, smaller cabins, and a somewhat more reserved clientele; and Oceania is like an a la carte Regent on a slightly lower budget. (I know here is where the flaming may begin, and I'm sorry - that is merely my perceptions from reading these boards for years - it's not based on personal experience!!)

 

I would be grateful - very grateful - if I could get more information of everyone's experiences on other lines and what you all like/dislike about them all - Regent included.

 

I'm going to believe that this won't start a flame war and thank everyone in advance. :D

 

So...thank you.

 

Bill

[Host Dan]

FYI the 3 Seabourn ships hold 450 pax. not 1250.

[RachelG]

Here is my 2 cents worth.

 

We have also sailed Silversea several times and quite like it. We do have some more cruises booked with them. There are formal nights, but I am ok with that (husband just goes along with what I say). You can always eat in La Terraza those nights if you don't want to dress up, but I would feel odd not dressed at least semi-formally when most others around me are in formal attire.

 

We did not love Oceania for several reasons. My husband hated having to show his card every time he wanted a drink. We bought the drinks package, but showing the card just irritated him.

The cabins are a lot smaller than we are accustomed to on Regent, unless you get to the very top levels. And if you do that, you might as well just stick with Regent. The closets are much smaller, definitely not the walk-in we are accustomed to.

Internet was terribly slow, worse than I have encountered on either Regent or Silversea (even in the Arctic where you expect it to be slow or nonexistent).

The Main Dining room is lackluster, so you have to eat in one of the specialty restaurants every night if you want a special meal. I love CR on Regent, so really was disappointed in the Main Dining room on Oceania.

I would cruise on Oceania again given the right itinerary, but I am not sure I could convince my husband.

 

I have friends who love Crystal, but I just can't see me on the larger ships or enjoying the fixed dining.

 

As far as Seabourn, I would definitely consider if they would change their smoking policy. I refused to try Silversea until the smoking policy was changed.

[WesW]

Bill, well done--nice tactfully written post.

 

Tho, not on your short list, believe SS hits the key features y'all are looking for in a lux cruise line.

 

Silversea has open dining--we like the multiple venue options Silversea (Main Dining room, Italian venue (La Terraza) at night, French (tho $40pp surcharge) venue (Le Champagne), (on the Silver Spirit) Japanese (Seishin (free at lunch, $40pp at dinner) Grill (al fresco where you cook your own steak/seafood) pool grill, and room service. Bill, we enjoy the cuisine (you can special order almost anything if you give Maitre’d 24 hrs notice (e.g. Steak Diane, Dover Sole, Thai Dinner, Crepe Suzette). Comp wines are good, the connoisseur wine list is loaded with good value. Moreover, like Le Cordon Blu was on Regent, Silversea now has L’Ecole des Chefs, led by Chef David Bilsland (he teaches in small groups (techniques, and even knife skills). We also like that Silversea has their own Wine Ambassador. On our last fall crossing, Lawrence (lives in Piedomont) hit a grand slam discussing Italian wines. He lives gave us tastings of the very best Super Tuscans (Ornelia, Sassacaia, and Solaia). And, the day to day sommeliers in the dining venues are knowledgeable too and will help you pick a nice wine with your meal. You pay for most of your Silversea excursions (buses are generally 15-25 folks) but guest services/destination services is very well run. Silversea also runs very special land trips (we are taking their two day Carnaval land trip in Rio Feb 7,8) Your basic veranda suite on Silversea is very similar to a veranda suite on Regent. If you go their homepage you will find some nice offers (all inclusive Asia, for example). And Silversea has developed a niche that no other lux line has moved into (SB does go to Antartica but not on an expedition ship) yet (Expedition cruising (Artic, Antartica, Galapagos) We are sailing on the Silver Galapagos in September preceded by a five day Machu Picchu private tour. Like other cruise lines, Silversea is building a new ship the Silver Muse that will begin sailing in the spring of 2017. We like Regent but will wait until there is a change in corporate top leadership before we sail with Regent again. Good luck on the luxury cruise search.

Edited January 7, 2016 by WesW

[UUNetBill]

Rachel, Wes - thank you for the informative (and prompt!) replies! I appreciate the information very much. When my wife and I first decided to try a cruise rather than the usual family meet-up or fly-and-drive vacations, CruiseCritic was instrumental in helping us decide which line to try. This was back in 2009, and as we all know, the industry and offerings have changed quite a bit in the last 6 1/2 years. One can read through reviews and blogs and websites and still come away confused. I've found the best way is to come right out and ask!

 

You've both given me some things to think about. We're already booked for summer of '16 on Regent, but we're taking my mother and her husband on a trip in '17 and for them I think the itinerary will be the deciding factor so I wanted to have options on other lines should Regent not offer anything that met our date/destination criteria.

 

Thank you again, and if anyone else cares to chime in, feel free! :)

 

PS - HostDan - thank you, too - for some reason I thought Seabourn had different classes of ships with different capacities and I haven't gotten to the 'make a spreadsheet to compare lines' point yet. :)

Edited January 7, 2016 by UUNetBill

[Travelcat2]

We have also sailed on Silversea (3 times - 3 different ships) and Oceania (twice - on the Riviera).

 

Agree with the points that Rachael made but did find staying in a upper suite a bit better than the experience in an upper suite on Regent (I have not mentioned this previously). IMO, one reason is that people in PH and above suites are treated differently on Oceania while everyone on Regent is treated the same (once you walk outside of your suite).

 

We stayed in a Vista Suite (huge suite with small workout room) on the Riviera. It comes with three or four bottles of alcohol. This was fine when we had someone up to our suite for dinner but we do not typically drink in our suite. So, we purchased the premium alcohol package and also purchased the internet package (only 1 log on per suite while we are used to both of us logging on at once). The cost for this particular itinerary was approximately the same as Regent but this is not always the case. We do not use out butler very much but this butler was determined that we would like him. He ended up learning where we were every night before dinner and made a point to escort us to the restaurant. We had the best butler service that we have experienced to date.

 

The food in the specialty restaurants is very good to great but we do not care for the MDR or La Veranda equivalent (in fact, we avoid their buffet restaurant as much as possible -- while the selection is amazing, the quality, in our opinion, was simply not there). We dined in specialty restaurants every night. From what I hear, the top suites on the Explorer will also permit dining in specialty restaurants every night if that is your desire.

 

We also enjoyed Silversea's Whisper and Shadow (ships the size of the Navigator with 50 less suites leaving a lot of public space - beautiful ships). Unlike Wes, we do not care for their newest ship, the Spirit - I think that it is an acquired taste. It was built during the downturn of the economy and it shows. I believe that the ship they have under construction (Silver Muse) will be much better - if not great. My biggest complaint about Silversea is that they do not refurbish their ships as often as Regent - it seems that the focus is on buying expedition ships and fixing them up rather than taking care of their existing ships.

 

Food on Silversea is approximately as good as Regent. We like their buffet restaurant better than Regent and their MDR less than Regent. We paid to dine in Le Champagne with three other people and all of us disliked it (and it was next to the smoking room which wafted into the restaurant). We were given a complimentary return visit and the food was okay (not as good as Jacques on Oceania). We did get tired of "dressing up". While there were a few nights when my DH did not have to wear a suit and tie or jacket, it wasn't enough for us (and he is not the type to wear polo type shirts to dinner - he always dines in slacks and a long sleeved dress shirt on Regent).

 

We have only done one excursion on Silversea and did not have to be herded into the theater to wait for our number to be called. It was an excellent excursion (a bit pricey). Excursions on Oceania were over the top expensive but they have a new program that is extremely complicated (probably because I have not taken the time to study it) and has some included excursions.

 

The bottom line for us, after five non-Regent cruises, is that we are most comfortable on Regent. I am glad that we tried other cruise lines (although we would be almost platinum if those five cruises had been on Regent:-) but are now pretty much sticking with Regent. If Oceania or Silversea had an itinerary that we really wanted, we would go again (only in a large suite on Oceania's Riviera or Marina and only on Silversea's Whisper or Shadow in a Silver suite).

 

That is my two cents (maybe a nickel because it is so long:)

[findacruise]

We have the most days with Oceania and find the PH on the larger ships quite adequate for us. We totally agree that their shore excursions are overpriced. We don't mind the bit about showing our card. I guess because that's how we started out. The buffet doesn't bother us, nor does the fact that someone serves the items we ask for. We enjoy being able to go up there in the evening after a long day and get sushi, something from the grill and if it's nice out, sit outside. The alternate dining venues are good to excellent. Again, all subjective.

 

The new O'Life they just rolled provides some choices to consider, with most cruises offering free unlimited internet on 1 ID in all categories of cabins and a choice p/p of OBC, standard beverage package, or some excursions.

 

Regent - we fell in love the first time we cruised on Voyager. We took our first cruise with Regent because it was a great last minute deal that included shore excursions in an area (Middle East) where I didn't want to book them myself. We have cruised them 2 more times. Lately, the itineraries haven't matched what we were interested in at the time we could go. I'm sure we'll be back.

 

Seabourn - We are taking our first Seabourn cruise RT Singapore 2/14. I am looking forward to checking them out. I know the smoking policy has been mentioned so we will see what we think. The size of the ship appealed to us, as did the itinerary. We were originally booked on a Silversea Cruise and then their 2nd inspection failure came for the ship we were going to be on. No way were we going so we canceled. Wanted to stay in the same part of the world and lucked into this SB cruise. If you are interested, Id be glad to provide feedback after we return.

 

Guess that's my 10 cents worth!

[UUNetBill]

TC, finda - thank you both, too, for your input.

 

I remember back in early '09 when my wife and I were trying to choose our first cruise, it was set seating and smoking policies (and formal nights, too, as I recall) that led us to Regent. I think I'd be most comfortable on Regent just because of familiarity, but it's sounding like my '17 vacation could possibly be with another line because it really does sound like 4 flavo(u)rs of the same snack...

 

And findacruise - yes, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on your upcoming cruise. All input is welcome!

[Suite Travels]

Well our two SS trips on the Shadow were abysmal and our five Regent cruises were ok but nothing memorable. I am a Crystal cheerleader admittedly and after 24 cruises with them they have never failed us in service, food or anything and we have high expectations.

 

Currently we are on the Serenity with 700 guests and we have been able to dine anytime we want in the MDR plus the superior speciality restaurants. The ship is larger but you never feel that 700 people are on board. We are in the CP which boasts 1,500 sq. ft....ok we splurged this time. The standard cabins are really well laid out and plush. The world cruise starts after ours and they are sold out and some are on our cruise now.

 

Seabourn we will not try as of late, the reviews about service and food are not good and the new Thomas Keller cuisine is not too widely accepted.

 

People pick their own comfort zone with cruises and that is fine. We know what we like and seek a true six star experience which so far has been Crystal and never disappoints us. Just our two cents.

Edited January 7, 2016 by Suite Travels

[Sunprince]

Thanks for your post Bill, it is actually a good discussion to have for those of us that are not the so called "cheerleaders" of any one particular cruise line.

 

I might be in the minority, but I've taken the opposite approach that you have...being that I am testing out most of the luxury lines. I have done Regent, Seabourn, Windstar (not in the luxury segment but I just really wanted to do one of the sailing ships), and in the process of booking a SS cruise. Will try Crystal in the future, but waiting for the new ocean ships (their current veranda "suites" are too cramped for me)

 

Regent, SS and Seabourn are all comparable (although slightly different), I wouldn't really hesitate to book any of these 3. Things will be different but in the bigger scheme of things not enough to really matter, other than your unique personal preferences. To me, Regent does offer less value considering higher per diem pricing and included excursions that I do not really care for.

 

Re Seabourn smoking, I am highly allergic to smoke, but did not have a problem at all. Part of this is luck, in that we did not have a smoker on the balcony next to us. We did find service, wine and food better on Seabourn and also liked the space ratio on the 450 passengers ships...it makes a huge difference 450 vs 700 passengers). Much more personal service.

 

Good luck with your travels.

Edited January 8, 2016 by Sunprince

[Caroldoll]

Every line has a plus and a minus. I have done them all. Agreeing with everything that Rachel and TC said...here are the things I didn't like

 

On Seabourn, I thought the food was horrible with the exception of the bread sticks and the hamburgers, LOL. I did not like NOT having a butler. I do love having a butler.

 

On Silversea, I really disliked having to drag "dress up" clothing. It didn't like not being able to eat before 7:30 and I thought the food was unspectacular.

 

On Oceania, I am distressed with some of their new policies and the port changes and time changes. We were basically theirs for life until this started. We do NOT like O-Life as we like private tours. We DO love the Owners Suite as we have a private huge back verandah. We will not be booking more on Oceania until they settle down on the port and time changes.

 

We initially loved Crystal. Then I got "funny" about older ships. We recently are back on those older ships. We prefer larger cabins. The food is superb. The service is superb. I detest a MDR, but theirs is perfect.

 

We have also been on Regent. Our last Regent was a back to back, the first cruise that they started including tours. What a difference. We don't like included tours. We loved the stateroom size. We felt the service was spotty. I was also nervous about older ships. We will be on The Explorer. Still, you don't get full value out of Regent unless you take their tours.

 

I understand that you don't have time to "try stuff out", but if you could stand a smaller cabin, then try Crystal and see what you think.

 

You can rely almost entirely on what TC and Rachel said above.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

We were spoiled by Regent when it was Radisson. We have found it spotty and lackluster the last few cruises in both food and service quality. We actually won an Oceania Cruise and did a Greek Isles cruise and enjoyed the small ship and we booked a Baltic with them. At that time we could book a package of excursions on Oceania and we found we could do private tours with others as we did some of the time on the old Regent. I find Oceania and Regent to be very close in their product with Regent giving you a little more personalization. But I also found if we did a Penthouse on Oceania we could do the private tours via the roll call or on our own. I find on both the entertainment quality and wow factor is non existent. The casinos are quite blah. If I had to pick between Jacques and Signatures - the food on Jacques is much better. The other specialties are about the same. Loved the La Reserve Experience on Riviera and Marina. On our last Regent Cruise they had excursions you could pay extra to go on and the price was really about the same as doing a private tour but was on a full bus. Not luxurious at all.

 

One thing I do like is there is a passenger difference. I found the Oceania passenger is more gregarious. People are more down to earth. I never felt that there is any distinction among how people are treated. Our last Oceania Cruise we were offered a last minute deal that was a misprint in the advertising and we took a A1 (small!) cabin on the O Marina and it was ok with us. We had avoided Crystal for many years because of the older ships and smaller standard cabin, the formal night requirement (which there used to be on Regent!) and fixed seating. There are a few things that bother me - the word Free when it's merely included.

 

Last October we did book a Crystal Cruise on the Symphony in the smaller cabin for two weeks. We know the itinerary was a primary reason we chose it (I wanted to cruise from New York and end in Miami/Fort Lauderdale area where my best friend lives) It was only 60% booked. I gave up doing spa time on the R and O ships because of Canyon Ranch and the ridiculously high prices. The spa on Crystal was lovely and a bit more reasonable. The ships were impeccable. Service was stellar. I loved the Bistro - a bar with coffee and snacks/meals all day. The entertainment arrangement of a happy hour in the grand lobby/Crystal Cove nightly between fixed seating times. So many venues for music at the same time. Piano Bar, Movie theater. And the enrichment lecturers, University at Sea classes. The Palm Court where there is dancing at Happy Hour and the room where tea is held is stunningly gorgeous. The ship had Dining by Reservation so you can arrange an alternate time for dining in the Main Dining Room. A friend of ours (Hi Freddie!) was displeased with those arrangements and told us before our cruise so we changed to fixed dining. We actually had a table which would hold 4 but reserved for two and we were able to have others join us. We know that's not standard but we did like that. We found service without compromise. The room for us was well appointed and comfortable. The bathroom worked fine for us despite the smaller footprint. On Regent, Oceania and Crystal I use the desk as a dressing table so we worked just fine.

 

Editing to add that wine is a hobby for us. The included wine on Regent has declined in quality. On Oceania, we actually used to buy packages of wine on boarding or when the had a Wine Sale because we enjoyed the labels. The last Oceania cruise we found little we liked on the wine list and went to the liquor store and bought wine we liked and paid corkage to drink it onboard. On Crystal, we found wines we loved because the sommlier undstood what we liked and actually sought out wines for us that were on the included list. Some of the boutique wineries wines were so enjoyable, I actually ordered them when I got home.

 

Our 2016 cruises are on Crystal. I don't see Regent as an option although we are Gold. I am find the fares and other expenses out of line for the value. Oceania has raised prices to that level too. We actually have taken to doing more land tours on Tauck which is much to our liking. Considering I want to go to Cuba or Ireland next that will probably be my mode of travel.

Edited January 8, 2016 by ChatKat in Ca.
Added a few more details.

[UUNetBill]

To everyone who has posted here - thank you very much for your input. I appreciate everyone taking the time to post their thoughts and experiences, and I very much appreciate the objectivity of all the responses.

 

Although we're already booked on Regent this coming summer, it sounds as if our '17 vacation might have some exciting new options to consider.

 

Again, thank you all for your replies!

[Suite Travels]

To everyone who has posted here - thank you very much for your input. I appreciate everyone taking the time to post their thoughts and experiences, and I very much appreciate the objectivity of all the responses.

 

Although we're already booked on Regent this coming summer, it sounds as if our '17 vacation might have some exciting new options to consider.

 

Again, thank you all for your replies!

 

It is great that you have so many choices. It would be boring if all the lines were the same.

[UUNetBill]

It is great that you have so many choices. It would be boring if all the lines were the same.

 

What is boring to one may be comfort to another. :D

 

I agree that it's great to have choices, but with only time for one real vacation a year, I'd hate to be on a cruise that I wasn't completely enjoying.

[poss]

Ahoy, Bill-- You may have done this already, but if not, you'll find lots of info by doing a search on the Regent board (and on the boards of the other lines you're interested in as well).

 

E.g., there's a separate post about Regent cf Crystal, with last posting Jan. 6 this year. (It has 171 replies if you have the patience.) There's one comparing Regent and Seabourn, last post Feb 2(I forget which year!)

And lots and lots and lots of comparisons between Oceania and Regent. And lots on Regent and Silversea.

 

Have fun!

[Travelcat2]

Hi Bill -- while we have spent $$$ on other cruise lines, the bottom line was that Regent is just fine. Just want you to think through your decision to try other cruise lines. On the other hand, if there is an itinerary that you are anxious to do and it is not available on Regent, go for it. What I would not do is take a cruise on another cruise line for an itinerary that Regent does (unless it was dramatically less money than Regent).

 

For a big change, how about booking the Explorer? They have two itineraries that are very competitive price wise........ Rome to Miami in November, 2016 and Miami to Barcelona in March 2017.

[RachelG]

Agree with TC, if there is an itinerary not available on Regent, or if the timing is not right on Regent, that is when we sail other lines. That is where all the silver sea cruises fit in the picture. Otherwise, we prefer regent due to the perks we get from having so many days.

My son and daughter in law just got of PG in Tahiti and loved it. We had sailed on PG when it was managed by Regent. From my son's report (he has been on Regent several times), it is just as good now as ever, so we would consider her as well.

[NJBelle]

Hi all, we have been on Crystal, SS and Regent all in the last 15 months. As I have said in posts before, my favorite cruise is the one that I am on. But if I had to pick right now (I am on land), I would say that Regent is our favorite line. And specifically, we have had several cruises on Voyager (Regent) in the last couple of years, and that is our favorite ship of all the lines we have been on.

 

We have about 10ish (each) cruises on Regent, SS and Regent. Most of our Crystal cruises were our first cruises with our daughter - started when she was 5 (she is 21 now). We left Crystal about 8 or so years ago, and began with Silversea, then Regent - and really never looked back. They are now our favorites and we see them (SS and Regent) as kind of equivalent. At this point, we base our cruise decisions on the itinerary - and then if both are doing the same cruise, we look at the price and the specific ports. Also, we love sea days, so that is a factor as well.

 

After our daughter went to college (2 years ago), we tried Crystal again (the basic staterooms were just too small for 3 people when one is a teenager, so that is when we left Crystal). We still liked many things about Crystal, but that fixed dining is just a deal breaker (although we really don't like the small cabins after experiencing SS and Regent - and if you go to Penthouse, that is a whole other financial ballgame). The Crystal cheerleaders say that Dining by Reservation "works like a charm", and it can (on our first leg of a back to back) and it doesn't (the second leg). For us, dining is so important, having miserable dining (and taking a crap shoot on whether you will or not) is just not what we are willing to do . We will sail Crystal when there is open dining on the new ship, and look forward to that.

 

Because it seems that Seabourn is the other luxury line (out of Crystal, SS and Regent), we have decided to try them out - we have signed up for a cruise in Feb of 2017 (on the new ship). I have read lots of stuff on this site about Seabourn; many love it and some grouse about it, but it seems like it offers what we are interested in. The smoking issue does worry me, but I guess we are willing to take the chance in order to have first-hand experience. We will let everyone know how that first Seabourn cruise shakes out - only 14 months away!

 

In the meantime, we have a Silver Spirit cruise planned for the fall of 2016 and a Regent cruise "pending".

[Suite Travels]

Whatever you decide have a great time.

[Prada Cowboy]

I have to say I did have the most horrible cruise of my live on the SilverSea Spirit! Food was horrible, service was non existent, my Butler was horrible, the officers were super snobby and screamed at the crew in front of passengers, no welcome on board no nothing! There were just 2 crew members who did excel! Very unhappy crew! The only good thing was a met some nice people!

 

Oceania we did like a lot! Food was spectacular! Service was so so, had a bad butler while our friends was fantastic! Loved the comfy lay out on the Riviera!

 

Seabourn was amazing until Carnival took over, have not sailed the new class of ships as of yet!

 

WE ARE IN LOVE with SEADREAM YachtClub, small rooms but you basically just sleep and shower there! Excellent food and service! Fantastic low key Guests!

 

Booked on Regent Explorer and will see how she will make up for "The most luxurious ship ever build"!

 

By the way MS Europa 2 is AMAZING!!! Loved every bit of my cruise on her!

[UUNetBill]

Hi Bill -- while we have spent $$$ on other cruise lines, the bottom line was that Regent is just fine. Just want you to think through your decision to try other cruise lines. On the other hand, if there is an itinerary that you are anxious to do and it is not available on Regent, go for it. What I would not do is take a cruise on another cruise line for an itinerary that Regent does (unless it was dramatically less money than Regent).

 

For a big change, how about booking the Explorer? They have two itineraries that are very competitive price wise........ Rome to Miami in November, 2016 and Miami to Barcelona in March 2017.

 

TC, thanks - my wife and I are looking forward to sailing on Explorer, but a TA is out of the question for mom. She has a fear of "being out in the middle of the ocean" - she looks at the maps of Med voyages and she thinks that those are close enough to land to be fine if anything happens. And who am I to correct my mother? :D

[newlondon]

Hi Bill, On a closed thread I mentioned I will be spending a lot of time in your lovely city as GD1 was accepted and will attend Furman. Any advice about staying and dining would be greatly appreciated. My e-mail is wsloan.nlatgmail.com. Love to hear from you.

[newlondon]

Hi again Bill, In response to your original question we have sailed SS,RSSC (Voyager only) and O-once.

In your request for civility let me say that the intention of each line IMO is a somewhat similar experience, but with some differentiation.

I happen to agree with Wes (sorry he changed from ColWes) that if you can deal with the formal nights SS is the best. We found the food superior to Voyager, but not Oceania. The Whisper is IOO the best ship at sea when it is in pristine condition, unfortunately not always true.

We loved Voyager until we experienced the food on our SYD/HK cruise. The rest of the trip was great but even in CR there were inedible meals. Sette Mari was no better. DW and I would leave either venue and if we had had a passable meal we would high five.

To us the best compromise at the moment is Oceania. We were blown away by the food in all venues-we were on a R ship. The service and more importantly the crew attitude was over the top. Yes, the excursions are also over the top expensive but the roll call will help you deal with that. Major issue to us was that the cabin sizes were too small. Same reason we don't do Crystal.

Hope this helps.

[Suite Travels]

For those of you that live near a port I suggest that you contact your TA to be given a tour of ships that will be in port a good TA can arrange it so you can see it for yourself. You really can't tell by looking at a brochure.

 

We did meet some Regent people on the Serenity last night at the CC meet and mingle and they thought the average cabins were very well laid out and had tons of space for their stuff. We always take the suites as we have a tendency to take way too much.

 

As I mentioned, SS was an awful experience for us and we won't be back for sure.