I just realized

[Sky Sweet]

Good friends of ours just came back from a cruise to Alaska on Regent. They raved about how wonderful the food was and how everything was included. They didn't have to pay extra for specialty restaurants or wine with dinner. My initial reaction was for what they paid everything should be included and then I realized something. The smallest cabin on that Regent ship is comparable to a sky suite on Celebrity. So if you consider what it cost to take an Alaskan cruise in a Celebrity sky suite, dine at their specialty restaurants, and have wine with dinner, the price for that cruise would be very similar to what it would cost on Regent.

 

With this in mind, my husband and I are thinking very seriously about trying Regent. These friends are use to dining at five star restaurants, so if they think the food on Regent is excellent, I am confident that it is.

[Lois R]

Good friends of ours just came back from a cruise to Alaska on Regent. They raved about how wonderful the food was and how everything was included. They didn't have to pay extra for specialty restaurants or wine with dinner. My initial reaction was for what they paid everything should be included and then I realized something. The smallest cabin on that Regent ship is comparable to a sky suite on Celebrity. So if you consider what it cost to take an Alaskan cruise in a Celebrity sky suite, dine at their specialty restaurants, and have wine with dinner, the price for that cruise would be very similar to what it would cost on Regent.

 

With this in mind, my husband and I are thinking very seriously about trying Regent. These friends are use to dining at five star restaurants, so if they think the food on Regent is excellent, I am confident that it is.

 

Hi:) sounds like you are comparing apples to oranges

(in my little ole opinion anyway).

Regent is considered a Luxury line and so you pay more.

Yes, more is "included" in that price.

 

But I am sure you have seen threads when people

compare...this one to that one.

 

I would think Regent and Celebrity are 2 different animals.

 

Fortunetly, Celebrity gives me what I need for a price

I can afford. (thankfully).:)

[Lois R]

oops....the boards are acting up again:eek: :rolleyes:

[Sky Sweet]

Hi:) sounds like you are comparing apples to oranges

(in my little ole opinion anyway).

Regent is considered a Luxury line and so you pay more.

Yes, more is "included" in that price.

 

But I am sure you have seen threads when people

compare...this one to that one.

 

I would think Regent and Celebrity are 2 different animals.

 

Fortunetly, Celebrity gives me what I need for a price

I can afford. (thankfully).:)

 

Hi Lois :)

 

That was the point I was trying to make. On the surface it seems that Regent is much more expensive than Celebrity because of the difference in their lowest prices. However, when you consider the fact that Regent's lowest price is based on a cabin that is equivalent to a sky suite on Celebrity, that difference becomes very small for people who book suites on Celebrity, especially if they pay extra for specialty restaurants, wine, etc.

 

In other words for people who book suites on Celebrity, Regent is probably a better value because with Regent you are paying for a luxury cruise instead of a mass market (aka premium mass market) one.

 

However, this is not true for people who book insides, oceanviews, or balcony cabins on Celebrity because they are significantly less expensive than any cabin on Regent.

[HAM]

Good friends of ours just came back from a cruise to Alaska on Regent. They raved about how wonderful the food was and how everything was included. They didn't have to pay extra for specialty restaurants or wine with dinner. My initial reaction was for what they paid everything should be included and then I realized something. The smallest cabin on that Regent ship is comparable to a sky suite on Celebrity. So if you consider what it cost to take an Alaskan cruise in a Celebrity sky suite, dine at their specialty restaurants, and have wine with dinner, the price for that cruise would be very similar to what it would cost on Regent.

 

With this in mind, my husband and I are thinking very seriously about trying Regent. These friends are use to dining at five star restaurants, so if they think the food on Regent is excellent, I am confident that it is.

 

GO FOR IT! If you would book a suite on Celebrity anyway, check it out.(And let us know),

[madelinerose]

Friends are about to do a 65-day cruise on HAL, but still rave about the Paul Gauguin from several years ago. ;)

[Skeezics]

Sky Sweet

 

Very interesting you posted this thought. We are Celebrity cruisers (10 cruises). In May of 2007, wanted to book an Australia/Hawaii cruise on the Mercury. (We live in Southern Calif.) We usually book suites, spend a good amount on board and dine several times in the specialty restaurant. As I recall the Penthouse was $12,000 pp, RS was a few thousand less and so on down to a Sky Suite. I started looking around and came upon Regent, who actually had a better itinerary, it came Australia/LA. Airfare only one way! Regent's entry level cabin was approximately the same as a SS. Combined with the fact that it is all inclusive, their Big Band Music Festival - we are dancers - it was a no brainer. (I could actually go up two categories and still be under a RS price and have a longer cruise.) So on Dec. 5, we will be on Regent sailing our way home for 18 days. Hope we are not disappointed. I will let you know when we get back.

 

We have two cruises booked in the future: Constellation Sept. 5, 2009 TA(our favorite ship)

Azamara Feb. 20, 2010. Asia (Haven't deserted Celebrity)

 

Waiting for the fall 2010 - 2011 schedule and may switch out the Feb. Asia cruise for their 18 day Autumn Asian sailing, if it is still offered and has a port stop in Cambodia. Barb

[Seahorse44]

In 2001 we did Alaska on Regent Seven Seas Mariner - it was a fantastic trip, rooms big and beautiful, food great, excursions great. If the price is good for you, I'd say go for it. It was a splurge for us, but was worth it for us, too. I think splurges are good once in a while!:)

[TRadle]

I'm not so sure about that math. We had a Regent cruise booked for December '08 that was cancelled. In its place we booked two Celebrity cruises in Sky Suites for less money than the one Regent cruise. We've already taken the first cruise and didn't have a huge bill at the end. We ate in the speciality restaurants, order a bottle of Crown Royal for the cabin, and drank at the bars as well. We'd have to have a 2K bill at the end of our cruise in December to match what we would have paid on Regent.

 

Oh, the December cruises are apple to apple itineraries.

[Skeezics]

Think the key point is on board expenses. . . . .some people do come off with a hefty tab

[Leejnd4]

Sky Sweet, we've done two Regent cruises - the Med on Voyager, and French Polynesia on the Paul Gauguin. These were far and away our favorite cruises - in fact, our favorite travel experiences overall. At the time, when we did an apples-to-apples comparison of similar itineraries on Regent vs. Celebrity (meaning similar size cabin, factoring in what you have to pay for on Celebrity vs. what's included on Regent), it WAS very close - which is why we went with Regent. And it was, in every respect, a superlative experience, definitely several steps up from Celebrity.

 

Unfortunately, Regent has increased its prices significantly since then. When I was shopping around to find a cruise for our next desired itinerary (the Med with a stop in Alexandria Egypt, since I promised my Mom I'd take her to see the pyramids on our next trip), I did a direct comparison of similar itineraries for Regent, Silversea, Oceania and Celebrity - and the Celebrity cruise ended up being close to $3000 per person less than Regent. And that's factoring in the added costs that I will have to pay on Celebrity for what's included on the all-inclusive luxury lines: tips, specialty restaurant charges, wine and alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, bottled water, etc. etc.

 

Some people have speculated that Regent's recent price surge is due to the fact that they went from just wine-inclusive to all-alcohol inclusive in Jan. of last year. I'm sure there are many factors involved, but I would MUCH rather have had them remain just wine-inclusive and keep their prices lower! In spite of how fabulous those cruises were, I just can't justify spending an additional SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS for the luxury experience.

 

Now, if dropping that kind of money doesn't give you heart palpitations, I will tell you that it was AWESOME and it almost makes me want to go out and buy a bunch of lottery tickets to win myself enough to go back to them. Seriously - I've been on several cruise lines including Regent, RCI, Celebrity, and Windstar, and traveled all over the world, and I've never experienced the kind of service, food, and just overall luxury that we had on our Regent cruises. I could sit here and detail all the wonderful ways in which Regent surpassed any of my other travel experiences - but I'll just get myself all depressed that I can't afford them any more. :(