Has Regent gone downhill post COVID? Oceania better?

[SWFLAOK]

6 hours ago, labonnevie said:

If the tour is something we’re really interested in, and a small group is available, we take it. Have not been disappointed.
Have, fortunately, not experienced the problems of being sandwiched among the big buses. Can see where that would be frustrating. 

That was what we did in the past, and only a few times have we been disappointed by a regular tour bus or 2 arriving at the same time at each of our stops. But on this cruise, there were very few popular excursions, so there were many large buses for the same 3 or 4 excursions that we paid a significant amount extra for.

We have still booked 2 back to back cruises on Regent for next year, but we will not be paying for any small group tours.

[vistaman]

5 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

Why are you afraid to book Navigator?  

because she is old  -  and she is not having all the luxury of the recent ships it seems 

despite there is a bathtub in the lower categories ....

[CardowMD]

@SWFLAOK This was thru another cruise line, but if all the stops are the same may reconsider some of my tour choices.

[caribdvr]

23 hours ago, WESTEAST said:

Interesting post as we have often considered Regent as we usually sail with Oceania and select based on itinerary. FYI, Oceania's fares (Simply More program) now include a specified $ value of credit for you to select any Oceania Excursion (varies depending upon length of cruise) and wine, beer and champagne is included at lunch and dinner. Gratuities are often provided by TAs.  Unless you like your cocktails or drinks at any time of the day, Oceania is close to these Regent amenities.  That said, stateroom size can be smaller on Oceania; then again, depends upon what stateroom you select.  As far as Excursions, the included Regent excursions have not always been appealing to us (many panoramic bus tours) and we would have to pay for the not included ones or, as we do often opt for an independent tour.  Number of passengers varies:  four R class smaller ships have 670 passengers, the two O class ships have 1250 passengers and the Vista (new Allura class) has 1200 passengers. On our recent Japan cruise Oceania provided a complimentary 3 day hotel + tours in Tokyo; we stayed at the same Hilton hotel and had the same tours as a Regent cruise so no difference in this particular included land program. Will continue to look at Regent itineraries and compare costs. Luckily there are choices for everyone.

Comparisons are not easy!  With the Exotic Tokyo special, the regent trip is about the same as Oceania and Viking.  Not entirely apples and apples, because Oceania is longest at 18 days and the others are 14 and 15 days.  But then you get the 3 days on land on Regent.  Regent may be the best value, but what it really has is the best sail dates, which is what made the final decision.

 

Thanks for everyone helping me understand!

[WESTEAST]

10 minutes ago, caribdvr said:

Comparisons are not easy!  With the Exotic Tokyo special, the regent trip is about the same as Oceania and Viking.  Not entirely apples and apples, because Oceania is longest at 18 days and the others are 14 and 15 days.  But then you get the 3 days on land on Regent.  Regent may be the best value, but what it really has is the best sail dates, which is what made the final decision.

 

Thanks for everyone helping me understand!

Decisions decisions😀 - we loved Japan (beware Japan is very strict about Customs and Immigration with fingerprinting, photo recognition, etc. and this was done upon arrival at Haneda airport then onboard, when leaving Japan for South Korea and again when returning to Japan).  At each port of call in Japan, you have to show your passport as well. Enjoy your cruise!

Edited May 13 by WESTEAST

[2SailingNomads]

Having sailed now 30 times and over 600 days all on luxury lines (Seabourn, Scenic, Ponant - once, Crystal & Explora both again once, and Regent) I really like Regent and have another 46 days booked with Regent.  No cruise line unfortunately ticks all the boxes, if could take the best of Explora, Regent, Seabourn and Scenic combined it would be amazing.  For the right itinerary I would book Regent before the rest of them. 

[maggie.1008]

How would you compare Explora to Scenic? I know the ship is much smaller. 

[JSOL1]

Just to add our experience. We’ve been on 3 Regent cruises (Explorer, Granduer and Splendor) and tried Oceania in between. We wanted to try different options to compare.

 

We enjoyed Oceania overall with nothing bad to say at all. However, we do prefer Regent overall and have 4 more booked including a World Cruise.

 

When we returned from our Oceania cruise, we compared true cost as best as we could and found that although the Oceania cruise was roughly 20% cheaper, for us the premium is worth it on Regent. If for nothing else the room size comparison. Passenger size was somewhat noticeable on Oceania, but nothing terrible.

 

We also found little things annoying enough that we didn’t care for. For example the way they price internet (one device at a time for free tier), having to show a card every time for the upgraded drink package (we are not big drinkers but do like our preferred cocktails when we do).

 

Overall food, service and overall experience were wonderful on Oceania, but I guess we’re Regent fans at the end of the day.

[howiefrommd]

Have done a fair amount on both Regent and Oceania. We are very itinerary driven.  For us they are kind of interchangeable, both with their positives and negatives.  One thing I will say is that post COVID I have not noticed much change cruise wise (except some overworked/overwhelmed staff).  I can say that I have noticed much difference in trying to deal with customer service, flight issues and certainly hotel issues.  It seems almost like they have abandoned the concept of customer service (pre-cruise).  If they could only replicate their cruise side to their shoreside, they would be a truly luxury product.

 

in the luxury space, they have lots of upcoming (and extremely well financed) competition coming in the next year or two, it will be interesting to see how they all fall out.

[chaunceyb]

Have not sailed on Oceania but have sailed many times on Crystal. Just returned from the Tokyo to Vancouver cruise on the Explorer. The Regent Explorer is a beautiful ship and certainly was equal to Crystal in terms of food and service, but the Explorer has an edge on the Symphony and Serenity when it comes to suite size and the included laundry service. Will be cruising on the Symphony in November and excited to see any changes that have been made to the ship.

[drkitkat123]

8 hours ago, JSOL1 said:

If for nothing else the room size comparison. Passenger size was somewhat noticeable on Oceania, but nothing terrible.

I know they say that Oceania has the best food at sea but I did not realize that produced a noticeable change in passenger size!

[JSOL1]

Well done!😂

[2SailingNomads]

On 5/14/2024 at 12:01 PM, maggie.1008 said:

How would you compare Explora to Scenic? I know the ship is much smaller. 

Scenic only has 224 pax and 7 restaurants, all good.  Only 2 for lunch. Some of the best service from crew and true mixologists who you can challenge to make a unique cocktail.  Open bridge policy and senior officers mingle with crew.  Engine room tour, sure thing. Extensive  included spirits.  That is the good.

 

Explora much bigger entry level rooms and daybed on veranda.  Walking track, outdoor pool, exercise equipment, 5 outdoor bars, entertainment at night at all the bars.  Much better entertainment and guest speakers.  Best buffet at sea IMO.

 

Totally different experience Scenic for an expedition. Ross sea or artic. Explora for a relaxing cruise.  

[Cjohns16]

Last year , 2023 my wife cruised 4 times Oceania and once on NCL Regent. Both cruise lines are good but Oceania is no where close to Regent cruises. The Seven seas Explorer is very elegant, beautiful art work. Oceania food was dated and offered us the same menus over our 4 cruises , which was disappointing. 

Oceania  staff and service was not good   whereas Regent was very good. We will cruise with both again one day  but our focus is now with Crystal  Cruises. 

[SellaVee]

We are fans of Oceania, and had a fantastic cruise on Marina last year.  Simply More caused me to jump ship, because I didn't want $1000 worth of excursion credit that I probably wouldn't be able to use.  Although Regent also provided included excursions, they advertised that they provided everything, including a pre cruise hotel and transfers, if you have the right kind of stateroom.  This was to be a "one click" experience, with nothing for me to book but the cruise package, provided we upgraded to concierge at a considerable cost.
 

Sadly, Regent has fallen at the first hurdle and let us down before the cruise has even started, by declining to provide the hotel and transfers, at fairly short notice, in the great scheme of things, leaving me to organise it myself, and providing an inadequate amount of refunded cash to cover the cost.
 

The good news is I’ve been able to book most of the excursions I wanted, apart from a few that are waitlisted, but of course, I’m now not completely confident that they won't be cancelled.  

[JSOL1]

10 hours ago, SellaVee said:

We are fans of Oceania, and had a fantastic cruise on Marina last year.  Simply More caused me to jump ship, because I didn't want $1000 worth of excursion credit that I probably wouldn't be able to use.  Although Regent also provided included excursions, they advertised that they provided everything, including a pre cruise hotel and transfers, if you have the right kind of stateroom.  This was to be a "one click" experience, with nothing for me to book but the cruise package, provided we upgraded to concierge at a considerable cost.
 

Sadly, Regent has fallen at the first hurdle and let us down before the cruise has even started, by declining to provide the hotel and transfers, at fairly short notice, in the great scheme of things, leaving me to organise it myself, and providing an inadequate amount of refunded cash to cover the cost.
 

The good news is I’ve been able to book most of the excursions I wanted, apart from a few that are waitlisted, but of course, I’m now not completely confident that they won't be cancelled.  

A tip for waitlisted excursions. As soon as you get onboard go to the excursions desk and let them know even if you’re waitlisted. They will give you an idea of how long the waitlist is and suggest you go to the auditorium the morning of the excursion to check with them.

 

we got lucky on our last cruise because we got on 2 waitlisted excursions this way. It’s kind of a ripple effect as you get your waitlisted choice your alternate excursion will open up for someone else. Good luck!

[DaveA]

On 5/21/2024 at 10:11 AM, SellaVee said:

Sadly, Regent has fallen at the first hurdle and let us down before the cruise has even started, by declining to provide the hotel and transfers, at fairly short notice, in the great scheme of things, leaving me to organise it myself, and providing an inadequate amount of refunded cash to cover the cost.

Are you another casualty of Regent's failure to provide hotels in Reykjavik or have they caused the same problem somewhere new?

[SellaVee]

9 hours ago, DaveA said:

Are you another casualty of Regent's failure to provide hotels in Reykjavik or have they caused the same problem somewhere new?

Reykjavik it is, but I've also heard tell of problems in Barbados.  It's the lack of transfers that really bugs me, because we're actually going to be out of pocket on that, and we paid a lot extra for concierge.

[SellaVee]

On 5/21/2024 at 8:22 PM, JSOL1 said:

A tip for waitlisted excursions. As soon as you get onboard go to the excursions desk and let them know even if you’re waitlisted. They will give you an idea of how long the waitlist is and suggest you go to the auditorium the morning of the excursion to check with them.

 

we got lucky on our last cruise because we got on 2 waitlisted excursions this way. It’s kind of a ripple effect as you get your waitlisted choice your alternate excursion will open up for someone else. Good luck!

Thank you.  One of our very few waitlisted excursions cleared a few weeks after I’d chosen my excursions so I have high hopes.