Quest Review Thread from a Regent Cruiser's Perspective

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I've been posting this on the Regent board since most of my comments are couched in comparisons between the two lines, for the benefit of Regent cruisers considering Seabourn.

 

But here's the link, feel free to take from it whatever you like. Overall we liked Quest very much:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2685027

[Roxburgh]

Thanks for posting the link and I enjoyed reading your well balanced review.

 

Sadly, from time to time. glitches happen. On our last Seabourn cruise I wasn't too happy with some of the 'crowded' tours. I spoke to the Guest Services Manager (who is now Guest Services Manager on Quest) and it got fixed.

 

Also agree with your comments on the MDR being insufficiently open for breakfast and lunch. That is an ongoing complaint on this board too.

 

I have only cruised with Regent once (Voyager) and we also had 'glitches'. The only one that was a showstopper for us was the cigar smoking at the only outside bar. That may have changed now but we haven't been back as a result.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

...

 

I have only cruised with Regent once (Voyager) and we also had 'glitches'. The only one that was a showstopper for us was the cigar smoking at the only outside bar. That may have changed now but we haven't been back as a result.

 

Yes that used to bother me in the past since I'm very sensitive to cigar smoke. I believe cigars are still allowed in smoking areas. Funny because one of the reasons we didn't try Seabourn long ago was because of the smoking policies, which now have been changed of course.

[wripro]

The truth is the from cruise to cruise things can differ on any cruise line or any ship. There are so many variables. Which is why I would never base my choice of a cruise line on one cruise. And which is why I'll take Seabourn over Regent any day simply because of Regent's absurd policy of charging for excursions upfront whether you take them or not (I do not, btw, as I always do private excursions.) Plus two of their ships suffer from vibration issues in the stern (Voyager and Navigator) and I personally prefer the decor and atmosphere on Seabourn. But that's just me.

[DavidTheWonderer]

The truth is the from cruise to cruise things can differ on any cruise line or any ship. There are so many variables. Which is why I would never base my choice of a cruise line on one cruise. ....

 

Perhaps your observations would attain a wider readership if they were posted on the original thread over on the Regent board, since it has been going on for a while now with a number of posts and replies.

 

 

There I wrote, "... there are variations in quality on the same ship with similar itineraries. I once did a back-to-back with the identical itinerary on the same ship with the same staff, and the differences were huge." So at least we're in agreement on this point.

 

And you don't need to defend Seabourn against Regent fans too strenuously in this case. As you will see (unless you have already done so), our posts have been largely positive about our one Seabourn experience, and in some cases explicitly say that Seabourn does a better job than Regent.

[rcandkc]

Years ago Regent allowed smoking at the outside pool bar. It was horrible trying to walk up to it for a drink. This was changed several years ago so that the smoking area is on the opposite side of the bar. This really helped. I wish there was no smoking anywhere but appreciate the changes that have been made.

[Kevnzworld]

I read the review and thread and overall I think the observations were fair. Seabourn is good but not perfect.

A decade ago I sailed on Regent exclusively and I liked it...until I tried Seabourn which I now prefer.

I like the informality and style of Seabourn versus Regent or even Oceania.

Hopefully your next Seabourn cruise will be an improvement, especially if there’s better weather !

[MightyQuinn]

We were also on this Quest cruise. We thought it was OK but certainly not SB at its best. We loved the itinerary and had a great time poking around in the ports, a few of which were new to us. We took a couple of SB shorex and thought they were well planned and executed ... with the obvious exception of treading water in the tenders for upwards of 30 minutes in Cap-Aux-Meules while SB and local authorities figured out the clearance process!

 

For the most part, we were disappointed in the lectures and agree that the speakers lacked content knowledge of Canada. I cringed at all the mispronunciations of Newfoundland, including by the know-it-all destination specialist. We didn't attend much evening entertainment and what we did see left us convinced we made the right choice. We enjoyed Ross as CD as well as the social interactions we had with the entertainment staff.

 

However, we were most unimpressed by the number of inexperienced staff, many of whom were brand new to SB and clearly in need of additional training. On numerous occasions in different venues, we witnessed staff who clearly had no idea what they should be doing and without any supervisors to point them in the right direction. Even worse, they seemed very hesitant and tentative in their approach to guests. If this was our first SB cruise, we may not be back. However, we know they can do better and happily look forward to our upcoming Encore cruise.

 

Wendy/David, are you sure the folks who were late coming back to the ship in SP&M were on an SB shorex? According to Destination Services, the last SB zodiac excursion was at 1:15 pm. With a duration of 1.5 hrs, any guests would have been back to the ship long before all aboard time. From our balcony, we saw the latecomers arrive at the port and run up the gangway about 10 minutes after the Captain made the announcement about leaving them behind. We had no idea who they were but figured they were on a private zodiac excursion.

[Roxburgh]

I read the review and thread and overall I think the observations were fair. Seabourn is good but not perfect.

A decade ago I sailed on Regent exclusively and I liked it...until I tried Seabourn which I now prefer.

I like the informality and style of Seabourn versus Regent or even Oceania.

Hopefully your next Seabourn cruise will be an improvement, especially if there’s better weather !

 

I think you are right. We are very comfortable with the Seabourn 'ambience', we now know a lot of the crew, we have diamond benefits and Seabourn still has itineraries that entice us.

 

I have no doubt that Regent, Silversea and possibly others are also very good if not outstanding. But while Seabourn continues to deliver a product that we like, why change?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

...

Wendy/David, are you sure the folks who were late coming back to the ship in SP&M were on an SB shorex? According to Destination Services, the last SB zodiac excursion was at 1:15 pm. With a duration of 1.5 hrs, any guests would have been back to the ship long before all aboard time. From our balcony, we saw the latecomers arrive at the port and run up the gangway about 10 minutes after the Captain made the announcement about leaving them behind. We had no idea who they were but figured they were on a private zodiac excursion.

 

As far as we know, from talking to a couple who were on the excursion while we were bobbing in the tender at the dock, awaiting our clearance at Cap-aux-Meules. They claimed it was an SB excursion, in fact they kept going on about that fact. There was a morning excursion and an afternoon one. Don't know anything further on that.

[goldenrod]

As far as we know, from talking to a couple who were on the excursion while we were bobbing in the tender at the dock, awaiting our clearance at Cap-aux-Meules. They claimed it was an SB excursion, in fact they kept going on about that fact. There was a morning excursion and an afternoon one. Don't know anything further on that.

 

 

 

Question do Seaborne fares include tours and air and are the TVs interactive on demand programming?

 

 

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[Mr Luxury]

Question do Seaborne fares include tours and air and are the TVs interactive on demand programming?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thankfully not for tours

Tv's are interactive and have on demand and account options

 

Sent from my SM-G955F using Forums mobile app

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Question do Seaborne fares include tours and air and are the TVs interactive on demand programming?

 

Regent is the only line I believe that includes most excursions in the fare. I would prefer they not be, but then again, most are very good, buses are not normally completed full, and extra-cost excursions are reasonable and are smaller and include nice features. Even in the "old days", Regent excursion prices weren't bad--Seabourn prices on this trip were very high, I found. I prefer private excursions, but that's not always possible.

[wripro]

Perhaps your observations would attain a wider readership if they were posted on the original thread over on the Regent board, since it has been going on for a while now with a number of posts and replies.

 

 

There I wrote, "... there are variations in quality on the same ship with similar itineraries. I once did a back-to-back with the identical itinerary on the same ship with the same staff, and the differences were huge." So at least we're in agreement on this point.

 

And you don't need to defend Seabourn against Regent fans too strenuously in this case. As you will see (unless you have already done so), our posts have been largely positive about our one Seabourn experience, and in some cases explicitly say that Seabourn does a better job than Regent.

 

I'm glad you posted similar reactions on the Regent board. old for you. But I wasn't defending Seabourn, It needs no defense imo. No cruise line needs defense because we all seek something different and different cruise lines provide what we want. I was merely stating my personal preference and the main reason for it.

[wripro]

Regent is the only line I believe that includes most excursions in the fare. I would prefer they not be, but then again, most are very good, buses are not normally completed full, and extra-cost excursions are reasonable and are smaller and include nice features. Even in the "old days", Regent excursion prices weren't bad--Seabourn prices on this trip were very high, I found. I prefer private excursions, but that's not always possible.

 

The reason Regent includes excursions in its prices is because you are paying for them upfront whether you use them or not. That's why their fares are higher.

[happy cruzer]

Regarding smoking - I thought I saw it mentioned that Seabourn has a smoking area on the smaller ships on deck 5 aft near the pool?? How does that work out? Does the entire area get smokey? Thanks.

[Roxburgh]

Regarding smoking - I thought I saw it mentioned that Seabourn has a smoking area on the smaller ships on deck 5 aft near the pool?? How does that work out? Does the entire area get smokey? Thanks.

 

Seabourn has several smoking zones. The one on Deck 5 has never been a problem in my experience. Same for the one on Deck 9. There have been a few occasions when the Deck 7 one has been 'smellable'.

[toseaornottosea]

Regent is the only line I believe that includes most excursions in the fare. I would prefer they not be, but then again, most are very good, buses are not normally completed full, and extra-cost excursions are reasonable and are smaller and include nice features. Even in the "old days", Regent excursion prices weren't bad--Seabourn prices on this trip were very high, I found. I prefer private excursions, but that's not always possible.

 

I think you will find that Viking Ocean Cruises includes excursions in the fare.

[MrCheeky]

One of the main reason my wife and I would not consider Regent is the "all-inclusive" aspect of the excursions.  Like many others, we prefer to select the tours ourselves and aim for a more intimate, specialized experience.  Viking may be an exception as they offer some itineraries that Seabourn does not.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 10/7/2018 at 4:53 PM, toseaornottosea said:

 

I think you will find that Viking Ocean Cruises includes excursions in the fare.

 

As I understand it, Viking includes *one* excursion in each port, usually either a walking tour or a bus tour of some kind.  I've read various opinions about them, some positive, some negative.  Regent offers usually many different excursions in most ports, or at least a variety.

 

And wripro, yes, I know that you pay for them in the fare--I've said that repeatedly.  And I don't find Regent fares any higher than Seabourn, especially if you factor-out the business air that they include by default.