Voyager-live Venice to Monaco

By way of an introduction we emigrated from the UK to a Mediterranean Island called Cyprus 14 years ago. We decided to take our first Regent cruise out of Venice to Monaco, a 10 day cruise.

Only having sailed with Silversea and Seabourn it will be interesting to compare the cruise lines.

We arrived in Venice last afternoon for a one night pre cruise stay in the J.W. Marriot. Because we live relatively close to Italy the 3 hour plane journey was no big deal. We arrived at Marco Polo International airport at about 13.00hrs,thankfully our luggage arrived too.

We had no pre-arranged transport to the hotel so we opted to go for the public water taxi;the ticket desk was easy to find the staff was very helpful. The ticket cost was 15 euros each compared to a private water taxi of 130 euros.

We boarded the taxi which was comfortable, it took 1hr 25 minutes to reach San Marco, this is where we catch the free hotel shuttle water taxi which runs every 30 minutes to the hotel, and this journey was 20 minutes only.

The hotel is very nice but expensive if you want to eat or drink. The Regent rep was on hand in the lobby to explain the procedures for the next day.

After checking in we took the hotel water taxi back to Venice and had a very pleasant evening in Venice, the last shuttle leaves at 00.30 so enough time to walk around this beautiful city. The shuttle drops you off at St Mark’s Square, easy to see all the sights.

If you shop around eating and drinking is not that expensive, there are plenty of shops which pleased Mrs. Fudge!!

After a comfortable night’s sleep we had a lovely breakfast and are now waiting to board the shuttle to the ship which takes about 50 minutes we leave the hotel at 11.45 am.

Really looking forward to the cruise Regent sounds fantastic.

Any questions please do not hesitate to ask. :cool:

Looking forward to your updates, especially your cruise line comparison.

Enjoy your cruise.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Forums mobile app

I'm also very interested in hearing your thoughts on how Regent compares to other lines; we've only sailed Regent (except for one quick getaway on Cunard) but we've looked at Seabourn and (cough, cough) Crystal as they both have some interesting shorter itineraries.

We just came off Explorer on a somewhat similar itinerary (Barcelona-Venice) in April, I'm curious to see how you like Voyager.

Enjoy your cruise!!

We boarded the ship at 13.00 hrs. It went fairly smoothly but as expected the line was very long indeed. As usual we ate lunch and very nice it was to. At 14.30 the announcement was made to go to our suite.

We booked suite 940 a concierge suite, we chose this suite to be on a par with SS and Seabourn, our choice was well made, the suite is very well appointed and equally as good if not slightly better than SS and Seabourn.

A lovely sunny day in the med, relaxing afternoon including the muster drill.

This evening we eat in prime 7 a specialized restaurant, the menu looks very good indeed.Overall a good start to the cruise, the ship looks in good order, the pool grill is comfortable, and the staff is very welcoming indeed, all smiling faces.

Two points of importance, in this suite we get “free” internet for one device which up to now works fine, we have booked excursions every day at no extra cost, SS and Seabourn could learn from this cruise line.

The “sail away” is at 11pm, not sure after one or two glasses of wine we will be awake for that?

I've never done a nighttime sail-away out of Venice, but I can vouch for the daytime sail-ins being spectacular. Personally, I'd proabably find a nice outdoor space to have a nightcap and watch the sail out anyhow...might be nice, too...

fudge,

Glad to hear that your first impressions are good. You obviously don't regret not taking the upgrade 'offer'.

Have an enjoyable cruise. Even though you have an excursion booked for each day, make sure you leave some time just to be able to relax and enjoy the ambience of the ship :)

Good to hear from you. I would be long asleep before the 11 pm sailaway! Have fun.

Well our first dining experience was very nice, the food was of a high standard as was the service. The only down side was the noise, it is a small restaurant so you could hear every word spoken, in fact it was very noisy indeed, you wouldn't go there for a quiet romantic meal!

We rounded off the evening in the observation lounge with a cocktail.

The overnight sailing was very smooth, docking at 07.00hrs.

After a very nice breakfast, Mrs Fudge had her eggs Benedict on deck 11 we are off on our first excursion to the city of Raveena Italy, a wine tasting tour, lets start as we mean to go on I say. :cool:

a wine tasting tour? - you could do that without leaving the ship :)

You are right, the wine tasting carried on when we returned to the ship. :D

Two small items for note to the ladies: If you have a penthouse suite the Regent site says you will be provided with Hermes toiletries, these have now been withdrawn,secondly you may wish to bring your own hair dryer, the one provided in suite is small and quite ineffective.

Our first trip off the shop was mixed, unfortunately it was a bank holiday and as such the traffic was just impossible, no fault of anyone the day just got longer trying to get back to the ship, a decent trip however with the wine tasting.

Probably preaching to the converted here, we had our first meal in the Compass Rose with new friends we met on the cruise, the food was delicious, I had the rib eye steak which was very tender indeed.

Today we visit Zadar Croatia, a first for us, so far the cruise has matched all our expectations, one or two small issues with room service but nothing major.

Fudge glad you are having a great time. Thanks for posting, and look forward to next instalment. Jean.

Great to hear that you are enjoying your cruise. I would take a wine tasting tour any day. Have a wonderful cruise.

Z and TB

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We left Croatia at 4 pm for a long sail to Kotor, Montenegro. The last two hours before docking at 10 am have witnessed some of the most stunning scenery we have ever seen on a cruise. We pass through fjords with beautiful scenery on either side of the ship.

Being in the med the sailing is completely like a mill pond, the weather has been very kind to us, sunny and very warm every day.

Breakfast this morning is champagne and caviar, never to early to enjoy a glass of bubbly we say. :')

We leave the ship at 10 am for yet another trip, we miss lunch but we dont mind that.

Only one minor problem, Mrs Fudge like a hot bath in the morning, unfortunately the water is never hot enough, maybe its the time of day with lots of usage? :mad:

We have just docked on the pretty Island of Corfu, Greece.

No trip today, its laundry day, boy we live in the fast lane!!!

We are eating in the Chartreuse restaurant this evening looking forward to that very much.

Another very hot day today just what the doctor ordered.

After four days aboard Regent we cannot help compare this cruise line with Silversea and Seabourn.

There are subtle differences between the cruise lines but not deal breakers, one stand out difference is the time it takes to get a drink, the crew can walk straight past and not ask if we want a drink which we find most unusual? Does that sound like I cannot live without a drink??? ;p

We do miss the formality of Silversea but that does not suite everybody, all the passengers on this voyage appear to like the "laid back" approach and thats fine.

So its a very lazy for us except I may have ironing to do later, what a chore that is!

 

 

After four days aboard Regent we cannot help compare this cruise line with Silversea and Seabourn.

 

There are subtle differences between the cruise lines but not deal breakers, one stand out difference is the time it takes to get a drink, the crew can walk straight past and not ask if we want a drink which we find most unusual? Does that sound like I cannot live without a drink??? ;p

 

For poolside drinks, do they regularly bring round trays of freshly made cocktails to try, in addition to taking specific orders, like they do on SB? Or is it more like SS in that they have an orders only system?

Enjoy your day!

So far, there are no cocktails offered during the day, this morning we sat on the pool deck with 6 other people, we were not asked did we want a drink for 2 hours, so it was off to the bar myself to get our drinks, however this has not detracted from our cruise, I do not expect to be waited upon hand and foot.

Several other guests have commented on the "slow" bar service.

So far, there are no cocktails offered during the day, this morning we sat on the pool deck with 6 other people, we were not asked did we want a drink for 2 hours, so it was off to the bar myself to get our drinks, however this has not detracted from our cruise, I do not expect to be waited upon hand and foot.

 

Several other guests have commented on the "slow" bar service.

For the price of the Regent cruise I think I do LOL. I must say my upcoming cruise in 2018 will be my first.

So far, there are no cocktails offered during the day, this morning we sat on the pool deck with 6 other people, we were not asked did we want a drink for 2 hours, so it was off to the bar myself to get our drinks, however this has not detracted from our cruise, I do not expect to be waited upon hand and foot.

 

Several other guests have commented on the "slow" bar service.

Thanks for your reply. Glad it's not detracting from your enjoyment!

So far, there are no cocktails offered during the day, this morning we sat on the pool deck with 6 other people, we were not asked did we want a drink for 2 hours, so it was off to the bar myself to get our drinks, however this has not detracted from our cruise, I do not expect to be waited upon hand and foot.

 

Several other guests have commented on the "slow" bar service.

It is good to hear that you are enjoying your cruise. In terms of bar service, a mention to the F&B Director would solve the issue of slow service. It is also a good idea to make note of it on your mid-cruise comment card.

Have to say that I find it "interesting" that a cruise line would walk around with pre-made drinks on the pool deck. Besides for the fact that the ice begins melting and watering down the drinks immediately, they are not being made to order (with the preferences of the passenger).

In terms of Silversea, their dress code is certainly a preference for some but not others. We really enjoy Silversea but are on the side of having a more relaxed dress code.

Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

For poolside drinks, do they regularly bring round trays of freshly made cocktails to try, in addition to taking specific orders, like they do on SB?

We have seen this done occasionally on the Pool Deck with Regent, which is a nice way to try something different to one's normal tipple. Also, they sometimes bring around cool towels and fruit skewers.

However, I agree that the bar service on the Pool Deck can be sporadic at times.

We have seen this done occasionally on the Pool Deck with Regent, which is a nice way to try something different to one's normal tipple. Also, they sometimes bring around cool towels and fruit skewers.

 

However, I agree that the bar service on the Pool Deck can be sporadic at times.

Thanks for this flossie.

Seabourn do it with alarming regularity (!) during the day, particularly on sea days. You're spot on, what I too enjoy is the opportunity to try something different to my usual tipple. Good to know that Regent have done this too.

Have to say that I find it "interesting" that a cruise line would walk around with pre-made drinks on the pool deck. Besides for the fact that the ice begins melting and watering down the drinks immediately, they are not being made to order (with the preferences of the passenger).

The idea of this is that guests can sample different cocktails to their usual, or mocktails are also offered. Nobody is forced to try one! Usually two or three crew members are serving on the pool deck and the drinks are served quickly. It's just a fun way to try something different and they tend to do this every hour or so. At this time all guests are free to order whatever else they may wish to drink according to their own preference.The remainder of the time crew members go around the pool deck taking orders as normal.

I'm generally more of a brown liquor person, either whisky neat or maybe old-fashioneds or Manhattans. But when I'm on a cruise I generally get a bit more experimental with my adult beverages. I've found that the bartenders generally have some good suggestions - and I've even found some nice recipes on a phone app that we've worked on. All in good fun!

Not sure I'd like trying cocktails being carried around on a tray unless they were fresh from the bar...and I mean really fresh. I abhor watery cocktails.

And frankly, as much as I hate to say it, the cocktail service is usually lacking on the pool deck, to the point that I always just walk to the bar for a drink. I think that's one part of the overall bar service that could be improved.

Today we visit Taormina, Sicily, where mount Etna is situated.

Mount Etna is one of the worlds most active volcanoes and is the highest and largest volcanoes in Europe

The volcano has erupted more than 130 times 8 times in the last 30 years, there are 4 active craters at the summit, lets hope today it chooses to stay quiet. ;p

Last evening we dined at the Chartreuse restaurant, it was a lovely experience, the best meal we have had on board by far. As we left we were asked if we wanted to book again which we did, although you can only book on line the one time you can book once on board.

Tonight we are dining in our suite, we have been invited to a cocktail party in a penthouse house suite prior to our meal which we are looking forward to.

Overall apart from a few minor glitches the cruise is going well.

Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread. :D

Our visit to mount Etna was very good.

It was quite a long coach journey to close to the summit however, once there the scenery was breathtaking, we actually got to walk around one of the craters.

Last evening we decided to try in suite dining, it did not go to plan. They forgot to delver the meat for our curry meal and could not locate it! We ended up eating the rice, oh well we put it down to experience.

Today we are in Amalfi, Italy, a picturesque town who's roots go back to the 6th century.

After a rainy day yesterday we are back to clear skies and sunshine.

We have a boat trip today for a change from sitting on a bus, looking forward to that.

The Seabourn Odyssey has just pulled up along side our ship, maybe the passengers are looking over wondering what Regent are like and visa versa, we have sailed on her twice, a lovely ship.