Just back - Regatta

[ToniL]

We just returned from the Barcelona- Lisbon cruise and wanted to share some feedback. 6 of us travelled together, ranging in age from 45 - 75. We all loved the cruise. One couple had a balcony room, and 2 couples had obstructed view rooms (6033 and 6046). You could see out the window in these rooms, but I wouldn't book anything more in the middle of the obstructed area as all you would see would be a lifeboat. Also, the obstructed rooms are a bit smaller and don't have a loveseat. The couple in 6015 could hear the lounge shows a bit, but not enough to disturb them (shows ended by about 10:45 usually anyway). All rooms had hair dryers, toiletries, bathrobes. Movies like Shrek 2, Man on Fire, Harry Potter, Stepford Wives, etc. ran on TV, as did a continuous loop of CSI as well as some documentaries related to ports and the standard ship stuff (weather, excursion promotions, etc).

 

Our senior couple went to shows and enjoyed them (violinist, pianist, musical play, etc.). They didn't compare with the big productions they've seen on HAL but did the trick. This was a port intensive cruise and we were pretty worn out after dinner. We used the casino a few times, but thought they should have a better selection of machines with bonus games. The shops were very small, but we had lots of shopping opportunities on land.

 

Now for food and drink! There were lots of wine choices in the 25 - 30 range, and every day there were drink specials for 3.95. The food was really impressive. Lots of fresh fish, prawns or lobster on every menu, etc. We didn't find the specialty restaurants to be necessarily better than the Grand Dining Room, but it was nice to have a change of pace and they were a bit quieter. People approaching the grand after about 8:00 sometimes had to wait for a table and the dining room was slower and louder as the evening went on, so we generally tried to start by 7. We ate in Tapas as well, and it was fine too. We usually had a quick Terrace Cafe breakfast, but a couple of times we order sandwiches and coffee through room service, which took about 20 minutes (they also had cold breakfast items on the room service menu, but we preferred getting clubhouse sandwiches). If you like strong coffee ask for it from the machine, rather than the big pots they carry around. We also served ourselves from the coffee and beverage station in the Terrace at times when the restaurant was closed. check the hours of operation carefully as there are a few gaps in time when most things are closed (although room service is always an option).

 

One of us is a smoker, and she was fine with having one outdoor and one indoor area for smoking. We loved things about the size of the ship, you could be anywhere quickly and embarkation/disembarkation were so much easier than on a big ship. The ship isn't as glitzy as the bigger HAL and RCCL ships we've been on (i.e. no high ceilings) but was attractive and well maintained.

 

I'll write about Ports later, but we did a mix of private drivers, cabs from the pier and ship excursions.

 

Finally, the staff was great. They were friendly and tried hard, any small glitches didn't mar the overall impression. I know I couldn't be that pleasant faced with some of the rudeness we saw from passengers.

 

That is all I can think of now, but I'll try to answer questions. I'll post something about the Ports later in the Port section of the boards.

[joan24]

Glad to hear that you enjoyed your cruise. We were on the Regatta in June--Stockholm to Dover--and will be on again in May, Venice to Barcelona. Who was the cruise director? Steve was cruise director in June and we were hoping that he was still on the ship. We loved our cruise and the ship.

Joan

[ToniL]

I'm having a forgetful moment, and can only say I'm pretty sure his name was Steve! He was late 30's or so, very athletic looking and friendly. We ran into him all over the ship, he really was out trying to connect with people.

[joan24]

Thanks Toni. It sounds like "our" Steve is still on the Regatta. He kept us posted on all the baseball scores in June.

Joan