Included Excursions

[LWRcruiser]

In general what is your opinion of the included excursions on a Regent cruise. Pre-covid we always booked our own because I'd heard mixed reviews of the ones Regent offered. This is for a Mediterranean cruise - Venice to Barcelona. TIA for your responses -

[mrlevin]

I'm also doing Venice to Barcelona later this year; lots of choices on excursions both free and expensive.  No problem with excursions in the Med as plenty of volume so easy to add on one more bus or an additional tour.  Difficult in Africa (in my experience) wherein there was not enough availability for everyone to get on a tour let alone an included tour.

 

I have been very vocal since free excursions were added in 2009 against their inclusion.  I have accepted that they are here to stay so I have to learn to live with them.  I still cruise Regent even though we just went on a 23 night cruise and didn't take a single excursion; in fact, we never got off the ship.

 

Excursions already booked for next three trips and found tours to our liking in every port; we will see how many we actually take.

 

Marc

[RetiredandTravel]

We've had excellent experiences with Regent included excursions.  They are on a bus with probably 50-60 other guests and a tour guide so they are far from a private tour but work well for what they are. The tour guides except for one have all been great, very knowledgeable & engaged.  If you are going to a location with a lot to see that may be crowded I'd  recommend a more private tour.  Kyoto was an example for us, Rome/Florence maybe for you?

 

 

Edited February 1, 2023 by RetiredandTravel

[RELS]

We've had some really great tours with Regent, and some ok ones, but never any real duds. We tend to choose more active tours when they're offered. Sometimes there are city tours that bus or train you to the city from the port, set you free to wander, and then meet you at a specified time and place for the ride back to the port. We did this in Rome and Florence and bought timed museum tickets online ahead of time.

 

Personal opinion -- If you are spending any time in Barcelona, get tickets to go inside the Segrada Familia. The outside is interesting, but the inside is absolutely amazing!

[DeepFreeze63]

48 minutes ago, RELS said:

We've had some really great tours with Regent, and some ok ones, but never any real duds. We tend to choose more active tours when they're offered. Sometimes there are city tours that bus or train you to the city from the port, set you free to wander, and then meet you at a specified time and place for the ride back to the port. We did this in Rome and Florence and bought timed museum tickets online ahead of time.

 

Personal opinion -- If you are spending any time in Barcelona, get tickets to go inside the Segrada Familia. The outside is interesting, but the inside is absolutely amazing!

Amen, Amen! Sagrada Familia IS NOT ANOTHER CHURCH!

[RetiredandTravel]

Barcelona is fine but I'll take the Sistine Chapel w/lunch after - bucatini all'amatriciana & a gavi dei gavi every time.  Honestly I don't see how a cruise ship does justice to Rome but do your best.

 

[mj_holiday]

We take the included tours with some Regent Choice tours and they have been good to great.  However our one (so far) Post COVID cruise had several hiccups that hopefully are due to our tour being one of the first tours they had done since the COVID shutdown.

After getting to your cabin, you will find your excursion tickets and a "booking form" and this time there was an added 7 page flyer with more detailed descriptions and notations of any excursion changes and adjustments called out.  Most of the adjustments were for the activity level, getting more active. 

Many of our bookings had an adjustment to the activity, getting more active.  But this is very subjective.

All that aside, we will continue to do included and Regent Choice tours, beside part of the cost, booking a tour booked privately, there is always the possibility of:

Ship cancelling port due to many reasons, and

The tour returning after all aboard time and you missing the boat.

I do make sure I provide feedback (good or bad) to Destination Services either in person and always through end of cruise survey.

 

 

 

[GOARMY]

Based on about 20 years' off (COVID)and on (rest of time) w Radisson/Regent, augmented with occasional Seabourn, Silversea, and, until recently Crystal (sigh):

 

Uniformly positive--almost--regarding Regent either on "included" (not-really free) or Premium (most of which paid-for via OBCs) tours.  

 

Relatively small (no more than 740 passengers on Regent sailings with its "larger" ships when those are at near capacity) which results in correspondingly smaller groups of fellow passengers going on any particular tour.  Transports, either vans or busses, usually leave the Pier with plenty of room to spread out.  This is particularly relevant as many of us with COVID experience take extra precautions as to "social distancing".  

 

Best Regent tours were experienced when in Indonesia, Greece, The Baltic States, Spain, and Italy.  Key to enjoyment was linking up with smart, friendly, and approachable Tour Guide.  And--fortunately, our fellow passengers along for a particular ride/tour usually paid attention when adhering to time constraints; need to alter the itinerary; and not holding up the caravan by loitering in a shopping area for just one-more trinket.   

 

Of course, no guarantees, and YMMV. 

 

The "almost" noted above was on a pre-COVID shutdown tour at Helsinki.  Too-much itinerary; too little time; a Tour Guide who was difficult to understand combined to result in our bailing-out before the end.  Notified the Tour Guide we were going back to Explorer; did-so, and let appropriate Regent folks know of our experience--in-person and later during a mid-cruise Evaluation.  We were not the only ones who abandoned the Group. 

 

That aside: you pays your money as part of the basic fare; and/or you takes your chances when on either a private tour or a Premium one. 

 

GOARMY!

   

 

[papaflamingo]

I like the Regent tours.  I simply read the description and see if it's something I want to do.  We have found that, depending on the description and our interest level, that the uncharged Small Group Tours can be worth it.  Limits the group to around 12-16 so it's more personal and detailed.  But only on tours we are REALLY interested in. 

If you want to get a "third party" idea, go on other websites and put in the tour title.  Most of Regent's tours, or so it seems, are the same ones used by NCL or other cruise lines.  So often you can read reviews by other cruisers on the tours, or you find the tour listed with reviews.  

Also keep in mind you can always cancel.  Better to have a tour and not want to go than not have a tour and want to go. 

[LWRcruiser]

Thank you all for such thoughtful feedback!! It's super helpful. We're a group of 4 couples taking this Venice to Barcelona cruise. Some of us have been to most of the ports but the others have not traveled as much in this area. We're all meeting next week to discuss the excursion options so your comments and suggestions will definitely be part of the discussion!!

[slidebite]

I really like the Regent tours, I don't think I've ever been disappointed. Adriatic and Sicily in particular were standouts to me.

 

BUT

 

When we stopped in Rome/Civitavecchia I made a point of not doing a Regent tour and doing a personalized driver who picked us up in a car right at the pier, drove us to Rome and saw all the sights we wanted PLUS a personal tour with a dedicated guide at the vatican. Even took us to a local grocery stores for some special items I was looking for.

 

Not exactly inexpensive, but not stupid expensive either and in all reality probably the best money I've ever spent on a vacation. It was a long day but gosh darn it was great.... although the day was topped off by Voyager crashing into the pier leaving Civitavecchia!

 

If you want to PM I can give you specifics of the company we used for the private driver/tour but won't post as I think it's against the rules.

 

 

[cruiseej]

On 2/3/2023 at 8:14 AM, LWRcruiser said:

We're a group of 4 couples taking this Venice to Barcelona cruise. Some of us have been to most of the ports but the others have not traveled as much in this area. We're all meeting next week to discuss the excursion options

 

I'm in the process of coordinating planning for a group of 6 couples doing a cruise in the western Mediterranean in late spring, so I understand exactly where you're at in the planning process! 🙂 One of the things we like about doing a cruise-based group vacation is that it's very easy for people to do different things of interest to them without adversely affecting anyone else who wants to do something different. If it makes sense in some port to hire a private guide for all 8 of you, great! If in another port 4 people want to do one thing and each of the other couples wants to do something else, also great. Then you come back to the ship and share your experiences over cocktails or dinner, and no one has been forced to repeat things they've done, or miss something they wanted to see. 

[bitob]

I'm out on my own here.

 

I think the Regent tours are just awful

I am booking only private going forward.

 

In more than 20 years of cruising we always booked private tours.  We researched and hand picked our guide (and only got the very best), went where we wanted, stayed as much time as we wanted, stopped where we wanted to, left when we wanted to.  We usually had a group of 8 MAX.  We were never on  bus and never  followed a guide holding a flag and shouting out information.  On some tours, we actually were invited to the guide's home.  I am still in touch with many of the guides I have used and used some multiple times.  I often refer guides to others.  You really get to know a culture when you can have a personal conversation.  Plus, I refuse to wait for 23 women to take bathroom stop.  LOL

 

Call me a tour snob.  I am.  I want an authentic personalized experience.  I want to ask questions and have an exchange of information.  The only way to get that is with your own guide.

 

I just returned from 3 weeks on the Voyager.  I took one tour at the beginning that was fine because we just boarded a boat.  There was no touring or stopping -- just the water and some glorious animals.

 

The only Regent tours I would consider are those involving a boat or those involving just transportation to a town where you go off on your own.

 

We are Regent converts.  We think it's great in every respect -- except for the tours.

 

 

[pappy1022]

Sure you take your chances with a private guide but at least you can do research and look at comments left by other tourists. You don’t get a chance to research the guide that Regent subcontracted. You waste so much time with large group tours because it takes time for that many people to get on and off the bus, plus some people are notoriously late and you lose time and it can impact the time spent at the next stop. We pay for these tours in the base fare if we use them or not. It’s a money maker for Regent. Most folks say they are hit or miss. I wish Regent would offer a credit if you don’t take a tour. We are traveling with 6 people and we can get private tours for slightly more than the extra you pay for a small group tour on Regent. I will guarantee that a private tour, if you do your research, will be much more informative and customizable than any Regent tour. Sure, some private tours are better than others but I have never been disappointed in a private tour that I have thoroughly researched. Can’t say that about some Regent tours. 

[papaflamingo]

10 hours ago, pappy1022 said:

 I wish Regent would offer a credit if you don’t take a tour. 

That is an oft mentioned desire.  Problem is, if excursions have a rebate if not used, like flights, then the next is a rebate for non drinkers, a rebate for suites with butlers who don't want the butlers, a rebate for not using Prime 7 or other specialty restaurants.  In other words, Regent becomes like all the other cruise lines, NOT "all inclusive."  

Personally I simply figure that all the inclusions are inclusions and if I choose not to use them, well, my choice.  I feel that once everything gets broken down, you will lose the luxury of a cruise line that doesn't spend every day "hawking" uncharge items. 

[bitob]

we drink very little

 

So we are hardly using the included alcohol

We are not taking the  included tours.

 

we do let them do our laundry  LOLOL

 

Not stopping me from booking Regent.

[pappy1022]

Papaflamingo, that’s fair, I understand your point. With a good sum of OBC’s, I plan to do mostly small group tours to hopefully enhance my experiences. I have booked private tours in a couple of ports where I thought the Regent options were very limited in how short they were and what you could see, given that the ship was in port for a long time. I don’t cruise often and I never go back to the same area so my goal is to absorb and learn as much as I can and a good guide is critical to getting that experience. 

[Calicouturecowgirl]

On 2/4/2023 at 11:00 PM, slidebite said:

I really like the Regent tours, I don't think I've ever been disappointed. Adriatic and Sicily in particular were standouts to me.

 

BUT

 

When we stopped in Rome/Civitavecchia I made a point of not doing a Regent tour and doing a personalized driver who picked us up in a car right at the pier, drove us to Rome and saw all the sights we wanted PLUS a personal tour with a dedicated guide at the vatican. Even took us to a local grocery stores for some special items I was looking for.

 

Not exactly inexpensive, but not stupid expensive either and in all reality probably the best money I've ever spent on a vacation. It was a long day but gosh darn it was great.... although the day was topped off by Voyager crashing into the pier leaving Civitavecchia!

 

If you want to PM I can give you specifics of the company we used for the private driver/tour but won't post as I think it's against the rules.

 

 

Can you please send me details about the private driver/tour that you booked for Rome? This sounds like a great option. Thank you!