Voyager vs. Explorer: Night and Day!

[NapaJamie]

I just returned from the 'Flamenco Flourish' itinerary on the Regent Voyager and had to share my impressions for those of you trying to decide which vessel to choose for your next trip.

I took the 'White Nights, Enchanting Days' trip from London to Copenhagen last June on the Explorer, and my two experiences were very different.

 

Explorer:  Unrivaled luxury across the ship. Fixtures gleamed. Fabrics were clean. Staff members were on-point, gracious, and many felt like friends after a couple of days. Our steward was absolutely charming. Pacific Rim served us the best meal of the voyage. Everything ran like clockwork. I was absolutely stunned by the perfection of it all and couldn't wait to sail with Regent again.

 

Voyager:  Threadbare despite a semi-recent refurbishment. Fraying carpets, stains everywhere. Staff seemed disconnected and we only got to connect with Ella in the downstairs lounge. Never formally met my steward, though she barged in to our room without knocking at 9pm one night. The two specialty restaurants were crammed, with bare-bones decor in what seemed like banquet rooms dressed up a bit. After being on the Explorer, this ship felt like a tin can.

 

Of course we will sail with Regent again, but only on the Explorer and Splendor. Your mileage may vary, this might help if you're on the fence.

 

[UUNetBill]

Well, of course everyone has different opinions on what their favorite ship/crew/cruise is, and although I agree that Explorer is our favorite ship right now we sure didn't find Voyager 'threadbare', nor did we find the service lacking.  In fact, our January cruise on Voyager was one of the most 'together' cruises we've ever had with Regent - the crew was spot-on, dining was usually great and often excellent, and the bar service was superb.  My wife proclaimed it one of the best Regent cruises we've been on - and we've sailed on every ship in Regent's fleet multiple times...

 

Maybe there was some change in the ship's officers and/or crew between January and your cruise, and maybe the ship had some high-wear cruisers in the last six months, I don't know - but we found our Voyager cruise to be excellent across the board.

 

YMMV, of course...

[flossie009]

As far as I know, Seven Seas Voyager has not had a major refurbishment since October 2016; is over 2.5 years "semi-recent"? Generally Regent ships are refurbished every 3 years.

Descriptions such as "threadbare" and "tin can" sound a bit OTT, but I respect your honest opinions. Sorry that you had such a poor experience on Voyager but glad you enjoyed Explorer.

 

We will be sailing on Voyager later this year and are looking forward to the cruise. Hopefully the management issues reported will have been sorted by then.  

[Travelcat2]

NapaJamie - we also will only sail on Explorer (or Splendor).    

 

While some posters may have taken your "tin can" comment in a different way than you meant it, when you do a comparison of the Explorer and Voyager (or Navigator or Mariner), I agree with your comment.  

 

Obviously, the management issues will move from ship to ship so I do hope that you mentioned something in your comment card.  We have learned that you can be on the same cruise/ship - have a change of officers/crew while on the cruise and have the whole feeling of the cruise change.  As you know, Regent has some superb officers and crew but there are some that need to learn some people skills.  

 

Speaking of officers and crew, the next few months should be interesting since there have been quite a few promotion.  In the case of the two promotions to Staff Captain, they have are both wonderful and very capable individuals and the change should be seamless.  The one promotion to F&B Director that I am aware of (Vladimir) is a home run for Regent.  He already rivals some of our favorite F&B Directors.   Time will tell how the other new hires and promotions will work in the long run.  For now, I'm sitting and waiting for Daniela (F&B Director) to be promoted to General Manager

[ronrick1943]

1 hour ago, Travelcat2 said:

NapaJamie - we also will only sail on Explorer (or Splendor).    

 

While some posters may have taken your "tin can" comment in a different way than you meant it, when you do a comparison of the Explorer and Voyager (or Navigator or Mariner), I agree with your comment.  

 

Obviously, the management issues will move from ship to ship so I do hope that you mentioned something in your comment card.  We have learned that you can be on the same cruise/ship - have a change of officers/crew while on the cruise and have the whole feeling of the cruise change.  As you know, Regent has some superb officers and crew but there are some that need to learn some people skills.  

 

Speaking of officers and crew, the next few months should be interesting since there have been quite a few promotion.  In the case of the two promotions to Staff Captain, they have are both wonderful and very capable individuals and the change should be seamless.  The one promotion to F&B Director that I am aware of (Vladimir) is a home run for Regent.  He already rivals some of our favorite F&B Directors.   Time will tell how the other new hires and promotions will work in the long run.  For now, I'm sitting and waiting for Daniela (F&B Director) to be promoted to General Manager

Haven't done Voyager--but total agreement about Vladimir, one of the best - And Daniela also outstanding and a General Manager she'd do a great job.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

This is quite disconcerting and I hope it's not generally true.   I expect a luxury experience on all of these 'luxury' ships, and aside from Explorer being so fresh and new, that experience should be generally comparable.  Period.

[wcsdkqh]

I was looking at a Voyager cruise in early 2021, and was concerned about what the overall condition of the ship would be, and what the refurb schedule was.  TA was told by his Regent contacts that Voyager is scheduled for refurb in October, 2020.  If you look at the Voyager schedule for October, 2020, there is a gap between Oct 20 and Nov 2 (in Barcelona), so this would seem to confirm the refurb in Oct, 2020.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I'm also worried about Mariner.  That ship was the last do get the previous round of refurbs, and isn't scheduled for another one until right after the end of the world cruise in Barcelona, May 2021.  I do love Mariner, but hope it doesn't feel threadbare.  I would hope they still go all-out to make the WC memorable in general, in terms of staffing, entertainment, enrichment, etc.

[Gilly]

I recall expressing similar thoughts prior to our cruise immediately before Mariner's last refurb and am probably quoted somewhere or other expressing relief that it wasn't in the least bit shabby or worn, that yes, some areas could use an update but there was nothing to feel concerned about.

[Travelcat2]

Keep in mind that some people do not feel the same about the Explorer as we do.  After doing four cruises on Explorer (including the christening cruise), we did a couple of Mariner and a couple of Voyager cruises.  The difference was quite amazing.  Not sure what it was (definitely nothing to do with anything being threadbare) but the difference was so significant that we are trying not to sail on Mariner or Voyager again (we already do not sail on Navigator for many reasons).

 

I have posted this on other threads but it bears repeating.  On Explorer:

 

1.  There is an extra dining venue and a great one at that!

 

2.  You dine in specialty restaurants at lunch rather than CR.

 

3.   The gym is dramatically better (and larger) than on other ships.

 

4.  The public spaces are amazing.  This is an area where Explorer and Mariner go head to head (because, prior to the launching of Explorer, Mariner had the best public spaces.  IOO (in our opinion) having the lovely seating areas on the same deck as the Business Center, Reception, Destination Services and the Cruise Consultant's office is a perfect area for people watching (or watching the sea).  There is nothing like this on the Mariner or other ships.

 

5. The over the top Sunday brunch is CR is only available on Explorer (and only on a sea days - once per cruise).

 

Yes - there are a couple of negatives that are not negatives for us:

 

1.  The theater on Explorer has issues that will be not be on Splendor.  We know where to sit on Explorer so it does not affect us.

 

2.  There is no area outside of the Observation Lounge and no rear lounge.  Having stayed in too many forward suites (on Explorer, Mariner and Voyager), we know that it is too windy to properly utilize this space.  We do not miss an aft lounge as we rarely used it on the other ships.  Plus, the outside area on Voyager (and I believe Mariner as well) has smoking - at least on 1/2 of the rear balcony area.

 

So, to stay on topic (rather than discussing Mariner), Explorer is (IOO) quite a bit better than Voyager (suites, lounges, public areas, etc.).  In fact, we are booked on an Explorer cruise for November, 2020 and were looking at a Voyager itinerary for December, 2020 (less money and a great itinerary).  However, the fact that it is on Voyager made the decision for us ........ we will be sailing on Explorer.

 

 

Edited May 30, 2019 by Travelcat2

[Wendy The Wanderer]

3 hours ago, Gilly said:

I recall expressing similar thoughts prior to our cruise immediately before Mariner's last refurb and am probably quoted somewhere or other expressing relief that it wasn't in the least bit shabby or worn, that yes, some areas could use an update but there was nothing to feel concerned about.

 

Funny Gilly, yes, we were also on Mariner just before its last refurb and the ship was in fine shape.  That's reassuring, thanks for reminding me of that!

[Sharle]

was on Voyager in March and did not feel that the staff or facilities were lacking in any way. 

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

If we are interested in a particular itinerary, it doesn’t matter to us which RSSC ship we sail. August was 20 days on Navigator and March was 16 days on Explorer. 

If we just want to cruise during a specific time frame, we will always choose Explorer. 

We have four future cruises already booked. Two were itinerary driven. Fortunately, one was on Explorer and the other on Splendor. 

The other two were chosen for relaxation. One on Explorer and the other on Splendor 

We are happy campers on any ship, however we do prefer Explorer and soon, Splendor. 

Sheila

[Pies4u]

We have just returned from 20 days on Explorer - our second cruise on this ship. We have also been on both Mariner and Voyager.

 

In terms of suite/bathroom sizes etc, opulence and grandeur Explorer wins comfortably but in respect of overall layout, design and general ambience then I much prefer the other 2 ships tbh.  I still find it ridiculous that Explorer has no outside forward area beyond the pool nor any aft facing lounge.  The Explore lounge itself is dark, unwelcoming and depressing and far too compact if there happens to be any popular entertainment happening in there. It is also almost impossible to see anything anyway due to the strange layout with seats facing away from the stage area and huge pillars in the room!  Of course the speciality restaurants on Explorer are impressive - well, P7 & Pacific Rim are but Chartreuse, yet again, failed to impress with unimaginative and fairly bland/tasteless food and poor service on the desk on arrival. Well, no service at all to be quite frank - an unattended desk both times we ate in there, which is pretty shoddy. Contrast that with PR - where the service is beyond reproach every time - and we ate in there 5 times.

 

Despite not having all the trappings and finery, Voyager is still a lovely ship (we loved it in SE Asia in April 2018) and we'll get to see Mariner again in November whilst cruising around South America. Explorer. Can't wait - but would be cautious about booking Explorer again tbh.  It is only the exceptional staff that we'd miss.

[wripro]

A thread topic like this "Explorer vs. Voyager" is just like the endless threads on dress code, children onboard the ships etc. You will get as many opinions as there are posters and it is always important to remember that these are just opinions, not fact.

[Travelcat2]

13 minutes ago, wripro said:

A thread topic like this "Explorer vs. Voyager" is just like the endless threads on dress code, children onboard the ships etc. You will get as many opinions as there are posters and it is always important to remember that these are just opinions, not fact.

 

I'll be happy to post facts about our favorite ship.  Just let us know what information you are interested in. Hopefully you will give Explorer a try sometime!

[wripro]

2 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

I'll be happy to post facts about our favorite ship.  Just let us know what information you are interested in. Hopefully you will give Explorer a try sometime!

Quote all the fact you want. I'm sure someone else will quote facts about the Voyager bringing us right back to the fact that everything is an opinion. Even yours!

[Travelcat2]

Just now, wripro said:

Quote all the fact you want. I'm sure someone else will quote facts about the Voyager bringing us right back to the fact that everything is an opinion. Even yours!

 

That gave me a good laugh.  Thank you!

[wripro]

1 minute ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

That gave me a good laugh.  Thank you!

Glad to help. Besides remembering that everything here is an opinion it's also important to remember to bring our senses of humor with us when we log in to CC.

[seaknots]

op napajami what was thredbare and why like a tin can?

 

see you only join cruisecritic to make bad about voyager 👎

[UUNetBill]

Well, my opinion is that I don't understand the posters who claim that Regent ships are virtual rustbucket trawlers or derelict cargo ships or the 'Black Pearl' just before their scheduled refurbs.  I mean seriously, it's not like Regent lets their fleet disintegrate before they update them.  Whether one of their ships has just come out of drydock or if it's two weeks away from one, the crew is always like a swarm of ants scurrying all over the ship doing maintenance and upkeep all the time.  True, you may see a ding or two in a cabinet or maybe a fray on a carpet edge somewhere, but the ships are generally kept (dare I say it?) ship-shape regardless of where they are in the refurb cycle.

 

We've sailed in ships just out of drydock and on ships just before drydock and frankly, we couldn't tell much difference.  Maybe if we really, really looked closely we could see some telltale signs, but I don't take a cruise to critique the ships -  I take a cruise to relax, rejuvenate, eat, drink, and be pampered.  And in that case, well, mission accomplished, Regent.

[DavidTheWonderer]

1 hour ago, UUNetBill said:

... We've sailed in ships just out of drydock and on ships just before drydock and frankly, we couldn't tell much difference.  ...

Agreed. Sometimes if the ship is just out of drydock and they've done a lot of work, schedules will slip and various tradesmen will be on board finishing things up after the ship has sailed with passengers on board. Of course, Regent really doesn't want this to happen, but as the saying goes "ship happens".

[Floridiana]

What's the dry dock schedule on Regent? Every 2 years, every 3 years, every 4 years....

 

I have sailed on a  Princess ship before dry dock and swore, never again. Teak deck buckled at one spot, staircase carpets looked like a herd of elephants in muddy boots had trampled up and down. Buffet had sanitary issues.

[Snore42]

Just got off from 12 days on Voyager.  Didn’t see any areas that looked ‘threadbare’.   No complaints with the crew either.  Everything was running great, any hiccups were fixed very quick.      Anyone I spoke to onboard didn’t seem to have any complaints either.

 

Not sure how long it’s been going on but Compass Rose does have a hybrid menu everyday at lunch with items from Prime 7, Chartreuse AND Pacific Rim.   So not having the specialty restaurants open during lunch wasn’t missed on this trip.