Never cruised…would Regent Mediterranean be for us?

[Gray Lady]

My husband and I are in our late 60’s to mid-70’s. We would like to take a dream cruise to the Mediterranean. We have never cruised before or been to Europe. This trip would take a lot of our savings, so we want to are sure it is right. We are thinking of the spring of 2024. It may be our one and only time going. Would Regent Seven Seas be a good line for us? They have some very nice itineraries and we like the idea of everything being included in the price, including excursions. The pricing seems steep, but is it justified for what you get? I appreciate any opinions that can be offered. Thank you in advance! 

[cruiseluv]

Maybe many here would disagree with me, but if this is your first, and maybe only trip to Europe, I would not recommend a cruise. If I was in your situation I would pick the countries in Europe I’m interested in visiting and find a top shelf tour company that has a tour covering those countries. Tauck Tours comes to mind

[GOARMY]

Gray Lady:  There will be many responses.  And options for consideration.  

 

Here is another one, albeit not an ocean cruise or a land excursion via many hotel stops.

 

That would be on a river boat traversing rivers in a particular country say--Portugal, France, or Germany. 

 

Based on experience:  my recommendation for the river itinerary is Uniworld.  All-inclusive (sans airfare to get there and back).  We have augmented many ocean cruise segments over the last 25+ years (Regent, Silversea, Seabourn, Holland America) to European countries with a few travels with Uniworld. 

 

With that said--

 

Regent will provide a great experience--in our experience--should you choose the cruise ship option.  

 

GOARMY!

 

 

[janecambridge]

We did our first and only sail on Regent in  the med and it was great. Didn’t need a top cabin/suite as we were out everyday. Always easy to get private tours or ‘do your own’ thing. 
 

We are booked on another Regent ship this year. For some  reason we decided on Seabourn last year (first and last trip with them even though offered $1000 each afterwards compensation). Oceania had been our favourite but disappointed  with a few things so going back to Regent . 
 

Go to the med, spring is a beautiful time. 

[CruiserFromMaine]

I agree that you should explore the River cruise option. Take a look on those forums for ideas. Our go-to line is AMA. Not all-inclusive but excellent food and service. 

[alainciao]

I agree with cruiseluv.  I love cruising but we have also done land tours.  If you want a real taste of Europe then a land trip is better.  If you want luxury and a small bite of each country then a cruise. On a cruise you don't get to wake up in the morning and experience a breakfast at a local cafe and then have the entire day to experience the region.  Tauck is a great company but there are many good land tour options with lower rates.  River cruises are in between, the main difference is you will get a closer feel for fewer countries, depending on itinerary of course.

[RachelG]

The advantage to cruising, either ocean or river, is that you only have to unpack once, and that most of your travel time is at night.  If you do a land trip, you are in multiple hotels, maybe a different one every night or two unless you decide to just stay in one place and explore around there.  We have done all 3 types of trip.  Cruising is now our preference, though we still do the occasional land trip, and every time we do, I end up wishing we had done a cruise instead.

 

I think the Med is ideal for cruising because you can be in an interesting port every day.  Regent prices seem high, but they really are truly all inclusive.  We have done Oceania also, and while the quality is there, after you add in everything that you have to pay extra for, there is little to no difference in price if you are comparing comparable cabins.  On Regent, you can go with the lowest cabin and be perfectly fine. 

[slidebite]

Our first real med holiday was a cruise (Regent) and it was fantastic. Wouldn't have been to far of a stretch to call it a bucket list trip and we weren't disappointed, other than the weather which caused some port changes but even then it wasn't a massive detriment.

 

I'll go contrary to some others here and actually say an ocean cruise is actually a good idea for a first trip because it gives you a really good taste of where to come back to and spend more time with more of a land based holiday although a river cruise would be similar in that regard.

 

We did both west and east/Adriatic in 2 weeks which was stellar, but it wouldn't be a crazy idea to focus on West OR East (one or the other) which might give more options.

 

Is the pricing steep? Well it's not cheap, but I think it's all about value and what you get. Go with a more mass market line, pay for a balcony suite and everything else that is an add-on, excursions and business class layflats from North America, it very quickly begins to level the playing field. I haven't mentioned the shipboard experience where you might not be able to get a seat in the theatre venue for entertainment or walking around the buffet area looking for a table which is rarely an issue with Regent.

 

The biggest risk of going Regent as your first cruise is that is going to be the bar that other cruises will be measured.

[mj_holiday]

We are in our early 70s and I think a cruise (a Regent cruise) is a great idea for first trip.  If you take advantage of everything they have to offer you will have a great trip.  I recommend use an experienced Travel Agent to book the cruise.

 

We have done several land based vacations, and repacking every couple of days for  your next stop does get exhausting.  We have enjoyed a river cruise, which was very nice, but probably won't get close to the Mediterranean. 

 

On a Mediterranean cruise, the one thing you will need to watch out far is getting tired from doing an excursion every day, instead of a sea day every so often or at least a short 2-3 hour excursion..  

[Pcardad]

River Cruise - 100%. Not only will you be right in the center of things at each stop, you will be able to go for twice as long. The incremental benefit of a cruise lessens as you get closer to the top of the offerings.

[jeb_bud]

Lots of good input here. I won’t repeat it but I will suggest that you avoid a cruise with Italy stops the weeks before and after Easter. 

[Gray Lady]

1 hour ago, jeb_bud said:

Lots of good input here. I won’t repeat it but I will suggest that you avoid a cruise with Italy stops the weeks before and after Easter. 

That makes perfect sense, and something we hadn’t thought about. Luckily, Easter is the end of March in 2024, so we will look for later in April. Thank you!

[wcsdkqh]

Only problem with river cruises in the summer is if water levels are down, and they frequently are, then your river cruise turns into a bus cruise.

[RetiredandTravel]

If you have never been to Europe I would say London, Paris & Rome are must sees and IMO a cruise (ocean or river) isn't the best way to experience these cities.  One of the best parts of these cities is experiencing the culture, food & wine, this is a big limitation of ocean cruising.  Also a one day excursion just doesn't do these cities justice.  At least start the cruise in Rome and spend a few days there before the cruise.  Either way I hope you have an enjoyable and memorable trip.

[Got2Cruise]

I think a cruise is the perfect way to experience the Mediterranean for the first time. Regent is wonderful.
 

I’ve experienced mass market, luxury, and river cruises in Europe. River Cruises are fine but you want the Mediterranean not small cities next to a river. 
 

Yes you will get a taste of each city, sort of like eating all appetizers and no main course. But big deal. Sometimes a little bit of each is fine. You can always go back another time for in depth. 
 

There are ways to get the most of your time. Opt for the extra cost premium tour to the Vatican. You won’t be able to see everything, but one worthwhile thing to experience in each port is easy. 
 

Cruising allows you to travel between cities in a relaxed and carefree manner. You are picked up from the airport by Regent and that’s it. Not a care in the world. The Compass Rose main restaurant is excellent. Plenty of time to experience authentic restaurants for lunch or a drink and tapas.  

[Pcardad]

I go back to your comment that this would take a lot of your savings. Being your first cruise in a VERY port heavy journey, you will not spend that much time on board vs. exploring. I would pick another line - we use Holland America for port heavy cruises sometimes as we can get a huge suite for short money and spend twice the time seeing ports.

[puppyluv1]

If you choose a cruise, you can consider extending your trip by spending a few nights in the embankment city and the disembarkment  city where there is generally a lot to experience.  

[RetiredandTravel]

Either way I would highly recommend a serious tour of Pompeii.  We found Pompeii absolutely fascinating.

[Roccaforte]

Before covid we did a land trip through Southern Europe.  We flew between cities, needed transportation to hotels, check in, unpack, find nice dining, checkout, another driver to airport.  Meanwhile we noticed a beautiful cruise ship was following us from port to port (Capri, Taormina etc.).  It just made me jealous - I would need to unpack only once, we would dine in luxury, no more airports (especially when we experienced an air traffic controllers strike in Naples).  Our next trip was a cruise to Turkey and the .Greek Islands.  We loved it.  Cruising is now our preferred way to go.  It’s just so easy.  There are so many great itineraries out there.  You can pick the cities you want to see the most  and extend your visit on each end.  We’ve tried lots of cruise lines.  Regent is hard to beat.

[slidebite]

1 hour ago, RetiredandTravel said:

Either way I would highly recommend a serious tour of Pompeii.  We found Pompeii absolutely fascinating.

That was our biggest disappoint with our med cruise was missing that. When Voyager had the incident in Civitavecchia we ended up losing a day and that was unfortunately the day 😞

 

Oh well, and excuse to go back I guess!

[RetiredandTravel]

3 minutes ago, slidebite said:

 

Oh well, and excuse to go back I guess!

 

 

It definitely is.  We took a private tour from Positano, very close.  The tour guide also took us to lunch at this small local restaurant owned by an Italian lady.  One of the best Italian meals we have ever had.

 

I'm sure you know this but almost the entire town was preserved by the Mount Vesuvius volcano lava. Amazing.

 

Hope you get to see  it.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 2/10/2023 at 5:27 PM, Pcardad said:

I go back to your comment that this would take a lot of your savings. Being your first cruise in a VERY port heavy journey, you will not spend that much time on board vs. exploring. I would pick another line - we use Holland America for port heavy cruises sometimes as we can get a huge suite for short money and spend twice the time seeing ports.

I have to agree here.  Depending on the length of cruise you want or can afford, you might also consider Azamara.  They are small ships, with smaller cabins, but considered "premium".  The ambience on the ships is very nice, and the service and food is good.  Many of their itineraries tend to be 7 days or so.   And if you did that (or HAL, as above), consider doing what Puppyluv suggests below: Spend a few days in your embarkation port and/or disembarkation port.  This idea can help you choose which itinerary.  We did this with Azamara, Rome-Rome, 7-days only, but we spent time in Rome and Florence before and after.  We did it with a 7-day cruise years ago, Athens to Istanbul, and have spent time in Nice and Northern Portugal before and after a cruise.

 

On 2/12/2023 at 9:04 AM, puppyluv1 said:

If you choose a cruise, you can consider extending your trip by spending a few nights in the embankment city and the disembarkment  city where there is generally a lot to experience.  

 

[irishwitchy]

I have lots of thoughts on this topic, but let’s narrow down, your why for a Cruise in that part of the world!  Spring,  is great choice of time - it won’t be as hot!   Is there a particular port that you really want to see or you just love Spanish or Italy food?  If money is a concern,  you may get a longer cruise for a better price if you pick a Regent cruise not on their newer ships Splendor and Grandour.   Are you more interested in the food, shopping, museums, churches or historical sites?  Not looking at Greece? 

 

 

 

[Gray Lady]

Irishwitchy, you bring up some good points to ponder. We are more interested, right now at least, in a Western Mediterranean cruise. We would like to experience Greece on a possible future cruise and also Spain, Portugal, and Morocco (God willing we stay healthy enough). We want to concentrate on the French and Italian Rivieras. As a previous poster said, we would like a “sampler” of the area. We would like to see the main sites in each port, and then we can possibly come back in the future to explore those areas that we find enjoyable or interesting. I know we don’t have time to see much of the museums or historical sites, but we can at least experience a bit of each. We are thinking of a 14 day Barcelona closed loop tour or else 12 day Rome to Barcelona. We haven’t even looked at the ships themselves, only the itineraries. We hope to add on a few days at the beginning and end of our cruise. Having never been to Europe or on a cruise, we feel better having the excursions and everything taken care of for us. We also don’t want mass market huge ships. We could go to the Caribbean for that!  From what I have read, you seem to get a better experience on luxury cruise lines, plus all the add-ones with other lines make the prices very similar. Hope this helps!

[Countess Rosamunde]

Don't get me wrong. We LOVE Regent and we'll be cruising again on the Voyager in May, with another Regent cruise booked next June. But for a first time all inclusive Med cruise with really exceptional excursions you might look into Tauck's Small Ship cruises which they run on Ponant ships. Tauck is renowned for their extraordinary land tours and they've translated that into a group of great ocean cruises. I'd strongly encourage you to check them out.

Regent's ships are much more luxurious than the smaller Ponant/Tauck ships. The Ponant cabins are more sparse (Nordic, I guess) and there are less dining options. (Although Ponant is a French cruise company so the food is pretty great for a cruise ship.) Like Regent all drinks and tips are included, so that's apples vs. apples.

But the point of these Tauck/Ponant cruises is NOT on the boat. It is ports, the expert and exceptionally engaged Tauck tour directors (several for each cruise), the guest lecturers they bring onboard and the very special excursions. Excursion groups tend to be much smaller than Regent groups. Never over 30 people and sometimes just two or three of us with one of the expert tour directors taking us to see something really special they've personally discovered in that port on a past trip.

So many Regent passengers seem to schedule their own excursions, even though they've already paid for the included ones because they aren't satisfied with the provided offerings. For the most part, in my opinion, at least, the Tauck excursions, are the sort of tours you remember for a life time and you hope for when you schedule your own private guide. Many are things you can't even do on your own, like a private before hours tour of The Hermitage, with a demo and lecture by the man who winds the gold peacock automaton.

If I could put the port and lecture experience of the Tauck cruises with the gorgeous ship experience of Regent I'd have the absolute perfect cruise package for me. 

If you do go the Tauck way I would suggest finding a Tauck group only cruise since some are run along with regular French passengers booked by Ponant and that can be a bit distracting.

Any way you go I know you'll find the right cruise for you and have the time of your life!