Explorer suite 880 question

[travelglobetrotter]

We recently returned from our first Regent cruise on Navigator and were very impressed with the spaciousness of the suite we had.  Now we're looking at Explorer, and the suites and verandas seem to be much smaller.  Our TA says that 880 is a very desirable location, but it looks much narrower and possibly smaller than than others of the same cat G2 located on deck 6 midships (637 is available).  We'd be grateful for any comments on either location.  We're long time Oceania pax, and Marina's veranda cabins are seemingly only slightly smaller than what we're looking at on Explorer.  Thanks,  Marlene

[daetchief]

Aloha Trotter,

 

We were on the Explorer a year or so ago.  We met a couple of ladies who were in 880 and my impression of it was it seemed very long and narrow.  The ladies seemed to adapt to the configuration - they had the bed split into two twins; but it seemed more intended for a single.   One comment they made to my admiration of their aft facing balcony was “There is too much soot from the funnel to use it at sea.”   That deeper discouraged me from opting for an aft cabin...

[scuba diver]

Here is a link to a Youtube video of 881, the cabin next door.  It does appear from the video that it is more narrow than other cabins that we have been in on other Regent ships.  However, we have booked an aft cabin on the Splendor.  There is also a review of an Explorer aft cabin in the "Suite Guru".  I can't remember the cabin number so you will have to check the numbers for aft cabins and find it.  I also remember one comment on the aft cabin railings and that is they are solid, making it impossible to look out while sitting down.

 

 

 

 

 

[flossie009]

Unless your overriding requirement is an aft facing suite, I would recommend moving to an F2 grade suite on Explorer.

The D, E and F grades are an excellent size & layout and arguably the best value suites on the ship.

 

As regards aft suites, we have in the past stayed in Horizon suites on Mariner which were great, but are much larger than suites in the equivalent location on Explorer or Voyager.

On a couple of occasions we had minor soot problems - usually when leaving port, i.e. slow speed but full power. I understood that with the use of cleaner fuels this problem is much less prevalent nowadays.  

[travelglobetrotter]

Thanks for your comments which helped us decide against the art suite 880. 

[Travelcat2]

We were on the christening cruise of the Explorer and toured every suite category on the ship.  We would not book a "G" or "H" suite due to the size (its is smaller than it looks).  When Regent originally talked about building the Explorer, they discussed "single" suites.  IMO, the "G" and "H" suites would be perfect for singles but tight for couples.  The bathroom is about 25% of the size of the F1/F2 suites.  There are some people that don't mind it but most Regent cruisers are avoiding these suites so I feel that you made a good choice.

Edited November 8, 2018 by Travelcat2

[MalbecWine]

Has anybody been in suite 878?  We are booked from Barcelona to Miami...if so what did you think of the MS.

[UUNetBill]

Late to the party (as usual) but I'll echo the previous posters - unless cost is the main driving factor, I'd consider an F2 the minimum on Explorer, even if you're a smaller couple and really, really love each other.   

 

Of course, each of us do our own cost/benefit analysis but for us, the extra few hundred dollars are money well spend to have the larger closet and room to turn around.  On our first cruise on Explorer, we were in an F2, and we later decided to bring my mother and her husband along - we booked them in a G2 to save a few $$ - and once we were on board, I regretted my decision.  Especially considering this was their first cruise.  They did okay but it was noticeably more snug than our F2 and I think the price difference was only $300/pp.

 

YMMV.

 

Bill 

[Travelcat2]

Bill, I'm sure that your parents enjoyed the cruise in their smaller suite (especially since they were not already accustomed to larger ones).  While the suite itself wasn't too bad, the bathroom was a deal breaker.  Bathrooms may not be an important thing to some people but having a large shower, normal size bathtub, two sinks and tons of storage space is pretty darn nice (and that is what you get in the F1/F2 and concierge suites.  

[UUNetBill]

1 hour ago, Travelcat2 said:

Bill, I'm sure that your parents enjoyed the cruise in their smaller suite (especially since they were not already accustomed to larger ones).  While the suite itself wasn't too bad, the bathroom was a deal breaker.  Bathrooms may not be an important thing to some people but having a large shower, normal size bathtub, two sinks and tons of storage space is pretty darn nice (and that is what you get in the F1/F2 and concierge suites.  

Jackie, you're correct that they loved the cruise in the G2 (I still get 'thank yous' from them quite often) but if someone has cruised before, especially in a slightly larger suite, the smaller G and H cabins will feel snug.  For me, the small closet was more of an issue than the small bathroom, but taken together they're a deal-breaker for me.

 

I just looked at some Explorer fares, and here's what I found:

 

Cat	10 day fare	24 day fare
F2	$11,099	$18,599
G1	$10,699	$18,199
G2	$10,399	$17,999

 

So on a 10 day cruise, it's $700 more to go from a G2 to an F2, or just $400 from a G1 to an F2.  So just $40-70 per day.

On a 24 day cruise, it's just a $600 bump from G2 to F2 or $400 from a G1 to an F2.  That's just $16.67-$25/day for the larger cabin, better closet, and nicer, larger bathroom.  I know $400-700 ain't chicken scratch, but taken as a percentage of the cruise fare it's really not that much.  For us, we just factor an F2 into the cruise fare and call it a day.