Can You Think of a Reason not to Book a Regent Cruise?

[ChucktownSteve]

Hi,  We've never sailed a luxury line but are about to book a Concierge cabin on the Mariner Sept 2022 for a 12 night Alaska cruise .  We've sailed several mass market cruise lines plus premium ones, Oceania and Azamara.   We thought we'd step it up to luxury to see if we enjoy it.  However I've been trying to figure out which line to book; Regent or Silversea.  We do like the smaller, intimate ships.  I tend to look for value. We're leaning towards Regent because, while they're more expensive, it appears as if they may be a better overall value.

 

The Regent reviews I've read are mixed.  Not knowing the authors or their tastes, it's hard to tell if they're being objective or a nitpicker.  Would anyone like to share their opinion please?  Thankx.

 

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Mariner is a lovely ship, that's all I can say.  And Regent does a good job in Alaska, I can vouch for that too.  Not sure that a concierge cabin is worth it, frankly, but perhaps it is since you get to pick excursions earlier than some.

[ChucktownSteve]

1 minute ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Mariner is a lovely ship, that's all I can say.  And Regent does a good job in Alaska, I can vouch for that too.  Not sure that a concierge cabin is worth it, frankly, but perhaps it is since you get to pick excursions earlier than some.

 

Thankx for the input. I realize Mariner is an older ship.  Is she well maintained? It sounds like it's ok but you didn't want to say anything bad about it. 🙂

 

I was told that Concierge includes all transfers, the pre cruise hotel plus priority reservations for both excursions and restaurants that the deluxe verandas don't receive. I'm wondering which Vancouver hotels they use?

[pingpong1]

Chucktown - Since you say you "tend to look for value", rather than just looking for the cheapest price (I'm the same way), Mariner is rather unique (when compared to Navigator or Voyager).  On Mariner, the D through F suites are rather small (really small! Compared to those on Navigator and Voyager).  But on Mariner the PH A through C's are rather "Huge", when compared to Navigator and Voyager.

 

As long as you're already willing to consider paying extra for a Mariner Concierge Suite - which is no larger than a Deluxe Veranda....consider paying an extra $2K per person...which would "only" be an extra $180 per night/per person....and move up to a Penthouse C Suite.  I'd recommend a PH C on Deck 8.  The Mariner Penthouses are 449 sq ft vice 301 sq ft for the Concierge/Veranda...nearly 50% larger!  Just saying. Best Regards.😉

 

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

1 hour ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

Thankx for the input. I realize Mariner is an older ship.  Is she well maintained? It sounds like it's ok but you didn't want to say anything bad about it. 🙂

 

I was told that Concierge includes all transfers, the pre cruise hotel plus priority reservations for both excursions and restaurants that the deluxe verandas don't receive. I'm wondering which Vancouver hotels they use?

No, I love Mariner--she's my favourite of the three so-called older ships. I have not been on any of the "new" ships.  When I first sailed Voyager she was "brand new", 2006.  Mariner's a year older I think, so not much older than 15 years or so.

 

The ships are all beautifully maintained actually.  I personally have no desire to try to the newer, glitzier ships, although I would, if the price and itinerary were right.

 

That being said, I'm not booking any cruises until the whole covid thing gets cleared up, i.e., what restrictions will there be onboard, when will we get vaccinated, etc.

[mrlevin]

Navigator 1999,  Mariner 2001, Voyager 2003; I sailed first on Mariner in 2002, Voyager in 2003, and Navigator in 2004.  Hands down; Mariner is my favorite ship.  Cat H suites are perfectly fine size; 265 sq ft plus balcony.   Mariner public spaces are fantastic and the ship is so easy to navigate.  Update in 2018 modernized all the soft goods so ship feels new.  Only drawback are the doors on Deck 10 to access the pool deck weren't updated during dry dock; I would think that has been handled now in response to COVID.

 

Marc

[Dolebludger]

Actually, I understand that category H suites are larger on the Mariner than on the Explorer and Splendour. The Mariner is one of our favorites. And the Mariner is the smoothest running Regent ship we’ve been on. No vibration problem under some conditions in some areas like Navigator and Voyager. The only bad thing about the Mariner is the shower tub combination can be difficult to use. And many suites below concierge still have them. They are hard to enter, as the tub floor is about 8” higher than the adjacent floor. And difficult, as in the shower there is only about 6’ headroom. We never had anything but a great cruise on the Mariner, despite having to fight the tub/shower a few times

[ChucktownSteve]

5 hours ago, pingpong1 said:

Chucktown - Since you say you "tend to look for value", rather than just looking for the cheapest price (I'm the same way), Mariner is rather unique (when compared to Navigator or Voyager).  On Mariner, the D through F suites are rather small (really small! Compared to those on Navigator and Voyager).  But on Mariner the PH A through C's are rather "Huge", when compared to Navigator and Voyager.

 

As long as you're already willing to consider paying extra for a Mariner Concierge Suite - which is no larger than a Deluxe Veranda....consider paying an extra $2K per person...which would "only" be an extra $180 per night/per person....and move up to a Penthouse C Suite.  I'd recommend a PH C on Deck 8.  The Mariner Penthouses are 449 sq ft vice 301 sq ft for the Concierge/Veranda...nearly 50% larger!  Just saying. Best Regards.😉

 

 

 

Thankx for some valid points pingpong1.  It makes good analytical sense. 

 

The last several cruises we usually booked aft facing cabins.  However on the Mariner, it pretty well has to be a Horizon suite or higher cat.  We have, earlier this year, stepped up to our first aft suite which will be on Celebrity Apex in February 2022.  I'm not sure at this point that size will matter until I see how we like Mariner's Concierge cabin.

 

We'll probably be enjoying the Regent cruise and views that we may not be spending an overly amount of time in the cabin.

 

I appreciate everyone's input.  I'm feeling a bit more comfortable about going for it. Now I hope my DW will enjoy it.  The first time I upgraded her to first class on Delta in the 90's, she complained that the flight attendant wouldn't stop bothering her; asking to bring her things. 🤣 Now she prefers it on long flights.

Edited December 11, 2020 by ChucktownSteve

[Silver Sweethearts]

10 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said:

We do like the smaller, intimate ships.

Regent can certainly deliver that at 700 guests on the Mariner (versus 2,910 on the Celebrity Apex that you mention), and having 2,210 less passengers around you on the Mariner makes quite a difference no matter which cabin class you choose.

[ChucktownSteve]

4 hours ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

Regent can certainly deliver that at 700 guests on the Mariner (versus 2,910 on the Celebrity Apex that you mention), and having 2,210 less passengers around you on the Mariner makes quite a difference no matter which cabin class you choose.

 

You're correct.  That's why we have two Azamara R class ships booked next year with under 700 passengers and are looking at Mariner.  TY

 

We wanted to see if a Celebrity suite and the Resort area would make a difference.  Celebrity has been cutting costs over the past several years and recently doubled the fares for identical cruises.  It makes the jump to the luxury lines easier to make considering the narrowing fares gap .

Edited December 11, 2020 by ChucktownSteve

[Wendy The Wanderer]

5 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said:

You're correct.  That's why we have two Azamara R class ships booked next year with under 700 passengers and are looking at Mariner.  TY

And what cabin class have you booked on Azamara?  I've only done them once, and loved it, mainly because of the ambience onboard, very friendly with a host of extremely loyal passengers.  Their equivalent of a PH, the Club Continent Suites, are spacious but to my mind not very well laid-out, and under the pool deck which means noisy in the mornings and evenings at times.  I have no knowledge of their large named suites other than that there aren't very many of them.  Their standard balconies are small.

 

The ships themselves don't compare to Mariner, in my opinion, at least Quest (but they're mainly identical).  I loved their large casual dining space, with its large buffet--I expect that will be a thing of the past when they sail again. The White Nights event was fun, as was the Azamazing night, albeit kitschy.  The specialty restaurant was good. A more casual approach in general than Regent, I found.

[ChucktownSteve]

24 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

And what cabin class have you booked on Azamara?  I've only done them once, and loved it, mainly because of the ambience onboard, very friendly with a host of extremely loyal passengers.  Their equivalent of a PH, the Club Continent Suites, are spacious but to my mind not very well laid-out, and under the pool deck which means noisy in the mornings and evenings at times.  I have no knowledge of their large named suites other than that there aren't very many of them.  Their standard balconies are small.

 

The ships themselves don't compare to Mariner, in my opinion, at least Quest (but they're mainly identical).  I loved their large casual dining space, with its large buffet--I expect that will be a thing of the past when they sail again. The White Nights event was fun, as was the Azamazing night, albeit kitschy.  The specialty restaurant was good. A more casual approach in general than Regent, I found.

 

We have P1s, center aft, on the Greece and Caribbean sailings.  On our 12 night Baltics cruise we had a starboard cabin overlooking The Hermitage in St Petersburg for three days/nights.  Our Azamazing evening was a private St Petersburgh Symphony Orchestra event.  We also had Lech Wałęsa come onboard in Gadansk to speak with us after several townswomen made a traditional polish, family style dinner for about 90 of us. It was an amazing cruise.

 

I'm hoping Regent Seven Seas can blow our socks off in other ways. 😄

[mj_holiday]

We prefer Regents cruises, but have sailed Azamara and have another one booked (because of the itinerary).  We enjoyed Azamara but didn't quite feel as pampered as we are on a Regent cruise. What a choice to have.  If itineraries were the same between Azamara and Regents, I would pick Regents.  We have an up coming cruise on Regents and recently saw similar one on Azamara for what looked like a lot less.  But after doing an items by item comparison of costs (air fare, drinks, laundry, transfers, excursions) to prices looked comparable.  We enjoy the Regents included excursions including the ease of booking them.

[jjs217]

In answer to your question?  NO!!😀

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

We have five Regent cruises booked.... love cruising...love Regent!

sheila

[slidebite]

The nice feature with the concierge was the shuttles and pre-night hotel which basically make it everything done to get to the ship for departure. I think this is super useful in a part of the world you are not familiar/language barrier or just very uneasy and there is value in that for me.

 

That said, Vancouver is not exactly a difficult, crime ridden festering part of the world and I don't think the premium for concierge would be worth it for me personally.

 

If you can swing it, I agree the PH may be a way to go.

 

Mariner was my first Regent cruise and I loved it. We'll likely go back on it this fall when things start to hopefully normalize a bit.

[ChucktownSteve]

3 hours ago, mj_holiday said:

We prefer Regents cruises, but have sailed Azamara and have another one booked (because of the itinerary).  We enjoyed Azamara but didn't quite feel as pampered as we are on a Regent cruise. What a choice to have.  If itineraries were the same between Azamara and Regents, I would pick Regents.  We have an up coming cruise on Regents and recently saw similar one on Azamara for what looked like a lot less.  But after doing an items by item comparison of costs (air fare, drinks, laundry, transfers, excursions) to prices looked comparable.  We enjoy the Regents included excursions including the ease of booking them.

 

TY. That's pretty much how I looked at it. 😅

[ronrick1943]

Regent is a great line, service as always been great, food as always been better than expected most of the time.   Mariner is the ship I like best--just a really nice size ship.  One of the nice things you don't need to keep showing your cruise card all the time during your cruise.  Tours are nice, but that isn't the reason we cruise.  We cruise to enjoy are time, relax and do a lot of nothing, which is why we go for the bigger suites.

[Ladys Mom]

The only reason for not using Regent is if you really want to plan your own shore excursions using guides you have hired.  The cost of shore excursions is built into the cost, and Regent will not adjust the fare if you don't want to go on the excursions.  This is opposed to a reduction in fare if you want to get your own air reservations or want to travel on coach out of the US rather than business class.  By the way, we have generally loved the Regent excursions and find it reduces the planning time tremendously.

[Kwaj girl]

23 minutes ago, Ladys Mom said:

The only reason for not using Regent is if you really want to plan your own shore excursions using guides you have hired.  The cost of shore excursions is built into the cost, and Regent will not adjust the fare if you don't want to go on the excursions.  This is opposed to a reduction in fare if you want to get your own air reservations or want to travel on coach out of the US rather than business class.  By the way, we have generally loved the Regent excursions and find it reduces the planning time tremendously.

 And it's looking more and more that you won't be able to go off on your own anyway once cruises restart.  You'll HAVE to use the ship's excursions or stay on board if certain organizations get their way.  🙄

[jjs217]

I find that Regent's included shore excursions cover a good range of tours - from the 3 hour city tour with little walking - all the way to the more strenuous or active.  It seems they always have some which include lunch - which is nice for a change of pace from the ship dining.  No complaints.

[Ladys Mom]

1 hour ago, jjs217 said:

I find that Regent's included shore excursions cover a good range of tours - from the 3 hour city tour with little walking - all the way to the more strenuous or active.  It seems they always have some which include lunch - which is nice for a change of pace from the ship dining.  No complaints.

I totally agree.  Except for the time we paid an upcharge for a tour that consisted of a 2 hour bus trip, a one hour tour around a park, and a 2 hour bus trip back to the ship.  This is by far the exception.

[penfriend]

We have done three cruises on the mariner and were booked to do the Splendor in 2021 which was cancelled. You will not go wrong with Regent and the Mariner. Concierge is not worth the extra cost. We have had suites 811 and 893, the same size and with plenty of space. I don't think a pre-cruise hotel night is included in the standard fare. In place of the Splendor, we have booked for the first time with Silversea because of the cruise date and itinerary which was  not available from Regent; otherwise we would have gone again with Regent. We are looking forward to seeing how the two lines stack up against each other.

[Gcto]

No

 

[ChucktownSteve]

Well we went ahead and pulled the trigger on a 12 night AK, starboard concierge cabin cruise.  Thankx for all the input.

 

Although it's by far the most we've spent for a cruise,  I'm hoping the price will be justified by the degree of excellence. The only problem I foresee is that should Regent deliver, I'll find it difficult to return to mass market or premium cruise lines.