Regent Seven Seas ... Free Shore Excursions

[OCruisers]

Are the Free Shore Excursions offered normally good or should you pay extra for another option?

[DatawCruiser]

I would suggest you read the tripadvisor reviews for the excursions at each location.  There are some good ones and some real stinkers.

[Stickman1990]

2 hours ago, DatawCruiser said:

I would suggest you read the tripadvisor reviews for the excursions at each location

How does one tell which of the excursions reviewed on Trip Advisor is one of the ones offered by Regent?  Isn’t it going to depend on the tour operator Regent use and what Athey specify for the tour?

[cwn]

Paying extra for a Regent tour is no guarantee that the tour will better. A lot depends on the port. There are only maybe one or two companies in each port, unless it is a big city that do tours and they do then for all cruise lines. 
Read about tours in general for different locations to get an idea what the tours are like. Trip Advisor and What’s in a port are good sources. Do some research on tour sites, see if any will be of interest to you. Over the years we have done great “free” and “for fee” tours, but we have had some real bombs of each kind on Regent. One really stands out as the worst and we paid $239 each for it in Westren Australia. It was basically an all day bus tour, scenery and stops of little note, terrible food served on paper plates with one napkin and a spoon. Complained but to no avail. 

[boblerm]

I have found that for the most part, the excursions have pretty matched what is in the descriptions on the web site.  If nothing in the included excursions sound appealing, I will choose an extra cost one.  I would not choose one of the latter just because it includes a meal, as in my experience they can be hit or miss.  I have generally been satisfied with the included excursions. 

 

One good way of getting information about possible excursions is to post questions in the various Ports of Call forums on Cruise Critic.

[RetiredandTravel]

1 hour ago, boblerm said:

I have found that for the most part, the excursions have pretty matched what is in the descriptions on the web site.  If nothing in the included excursions sound appealing, I will choose an extra cost one.  I would not choose one of the latter just because it includes a meal, as in my experience they can be hit or miss.  I have generally been satisfied with the included excursions. 

 

One good way of getting information about possible excursions is to post questions in the various Ports of Call forums on Cruise Critic.

 

 

We have a similar mostly positive experience with Regents included excursions.  They are usually on buses with a capacity of 40-50 people.   When we want a culinary experience we generally to do it on our own, the food excursions tend to be in larger mass market places that specialize in tourists.  

 

If you add more information on where you are interested in the excursions you will probably get more helpful feedback.

 

 

[rallydave]

14 hours ago, OCruisers said:

Are the Free Shore Excursions offered normally good or should you pay extra for another option?

Just remember, in reality they are not "free".  Everyone pays for the "included" excursions in the cruise fare you pay.  No different than the "included air" which also is not "free" and part of your cruise fare.

[mj_holiday]

We usually do included excursions, and they are generally good.  We have paid extra for excursions if the excursion is a "must see" like Petra in Jordan.  We avoid excursions that include food, these are mostly buffets.  But I do remember one excursion in Croatia (included) where we were treated to a nice sit down snack of cheese, bread, wine, vegetables.

The descriptions on Regent's web are pretty complete and pay attention to the level of difficulty.  While these are not completely accurate, they will give you an idea if it is something you want to do.  When you board, look through the sheet of additional comments and changes to excursions they will leave in your cabin.  I have found the level of difficulty of some excursions to have changed since I book them.

[wishIweretravelling]

1 hour ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

 

We have a similar mostly positive experience with Regents included excursions.  They are usually on buses with a capacity of 40-50 people.   

 

 

While they use the larger buses, the excursions rarely have more than 30 people on them--Regent leaves room to spread out.  At least, that's how it was pre-COVID. However, in ports that are a little more out of the way and/or have limited tourism infrastructure, they may pack them a little fuller.

[Jim B]

Probably not much help to you.

We normally do the free excursions, but have done a few of the extra cost ones.

Majority have been really good, but have had a couple very disappointing. 

I agree if you can do some research ahead of time would be helpful. 

Have found that if Regent hears bad reports about a tour they check it out and pull it 

if it turns out to be true.  

[RetiredandTravel]

4 hours ago, wishIweretravelling said:

While they use the larger buses, the excursions rarely have more than 30 people on them--Regent leaves room to spread out.  At least, that's how it was pre-COVID. However, in ports that are a little more out of the way and/or have limited tourism infrastructure, they may pack them a little fuller.

 

My last cruise  almost every excursion was 90-100% full.

[wishIweretravelling]

18 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

My last cruise  almost every excursion was 90-100% full.

I’ve rarely seen this. But then I’ve had just one Regent cruise since Covid, and I didn’t do any excursions that involved more than a ride to a destination. And even those were even sparser on the transport than before.

[RetiredandTravel]

11 minutes ago, wishIweretravelling said:

I’ve rarely seen this. But then I’ve had just one Regent cruise since Covid, and I didn’t do any excursions that involved more than a ride to a destination. And even those were even sparser on the transport than before.

 

It really wasn't that bad, just crowded at times.  The 3/4 model you mention is more relaxed.

[SWFLAOK]

Our last back to back cruise, Singapore to Singapore  and Singapore to Sydney, just before Covid, was 90 to 100 percent full on included excursions, which were most of what we booked. But we paid quite a bit extra for 2 excursions. One went very well, but the other was a snorkeling trip on a sailing cat from the pier that we were docked on, and it was more than 100 percent full. The boat was over what it was documented as its capacity, there weren't enough places for people to sit, and food and beverages were in short supply. I believe Regent allowed this excursion to be overbooked due to a last minute cancellation of another excursion, where those on the cancelled excursion were accepted by the other boat. It was a very unpleasant day. To reach the snorkeling area, they had one small tender that took 10 people at a time, dropped them off in the water about 8 to 10 minutes from the boat, then came back for more. They left a guide in the water with the snorkelers on the first trip, but I decided not to snorkel without a tender remaining with those in the water, and many others decided the same. Those who decided not to snorkel were offered wine or beer for their sacrifice of snorkeling in Australia. Those that snorkeled (including my spouse who was on the first tender) said that the snorkeling spot was nothing special, and very crowded after the 3rd boat arrived, and took that opportunity to come back to the cat.

[UUNetBill]

Agree with most everyone here - I think the excursions are, for the most part, good to excellent and on par with what you'd get if you booked independently.  Some of the 'must-see' excursions are worth the extra $$ for a Regent Choice upcharge or setting up a private tour.

 

In all of the excursions we've taken with Regent I can count on one hand the number that I feel were 'bad'.  Unless you REALLY want to do something specific I think you're fine with the included excursions.

 

PS - if there are any ports I'm not sure about, I stop by Destination Services the first day we're on board and ask them what they recommend - DS is usually a wealth of knowledge regarding the quality of the tours.  We've changed a few based on their recommendations and haven't been disappointed.

[papaflamingo]

On 2/22/2022 at 6:46 PM, OCruisers said:

Are the Free Shore Excursions offered normally good or should you pay extra for another option?

As others have said, both. .  Look at the included excursions and see if anything interests you. Then look at the uncharge excursions and decide if it's worth the upcharge.  Then try to research the things that interest you on independent websites to see if what you expect is what you will get.  But only you can decide if it's of value or not. 

Edited February 25, 2022 by papaflamingo

[rkaratsu]

We just did a "free" Regent walking tour of San Juan and thought it was terrific. (Others on same tour commented that it was one of the best guided walking tours they had ever taken and I couldn't disagree). Of course with these things, so many  factors come into play (in this case, the weather was perfect to walk, the group size was small (14) and everyone was of a similar fitness level so we moved about smoothly).  We have a few more of the free tours to go so if anything of note pops up, I'll post again.

 

But something else I might consider is a third-party travel guide. Particularly in the Euopean or Mediterranean ports, there are some very reputable/good value companies (with more interesting/flexible itineraries than Regent offered) that we have used in places such as StPB, Lisbon, Barca, etc. 

 

RK

[flossie009]

22 hours ago, UUNetBill said:

PS - if there are any ports I'm not sure about, I stop by Destination Services the first day we're on board and ask them what they recommend - DS is usually a wealth of knowledge regarding the quality of the tours.  We've changed a few based on their recommendations and haven't been disappointed.

 

.......... and remember that Destination Services, and their excursion providers, rely on customer feedback; so take the time to give them constructive feedback, both positive as well as negative.

 

[wishIweretravelling]

5 hours ago, flossie009 said:

 

.......... and remember that Destination Services, and their excursion providers, rely on customer feedback; so take the time to give them constructive feedback, both positive as well as negative.

 

Yes, this!!!!!

 

And give specifics. Not just “it was awful” or “it was great.” Be constructive but also be honest.

 

And a side benefit is that the DS folks get to know your tastes. One DS manager will constantly ask me what excursion I’m taking. A couple of times she’s told me “I don’t think you’ll like that—I’d suggest you change it” or “I think that’s one you’ll like.”  If it’s an excursion they’ve just started doing, she’ll ask me to find her afterward to give feedback.  

[UUNetBill]

I agree, too!  I've seen too many people abuse the DS staff if something doesn't go perfectly for them - what people don't realize is that the DS team knows a LOT about the shore excursions.  We've had them give suggestions too - once they get to know what you like/dislike they can really offer you good advice.  We always make a point to let them know both the good (most of them) and bad (rare, but it happens) of their shore offerings.

 

DS is always one of our stops on Day one, either to get advice, check waitlists, or just say 'hello'.