Seabourn Vs Regent?

We have cruised with Regent nearly 200 days and feel after Norwegian purchased Regent & Oceania in 2014 things have slid down hill. We are foodies and think the food/wine quality is not the same.

Our friends have always cruised Seabourn; however, not Regent.

Thoughts?

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We have cruised with Regent nearly 200 days and feel after Norwegian purchased Regent & Oceania in 2014 things have slid down hill. We are foodies and think the food/wine quality is not the same.

 

Our friends have always cruised Seabourn; however, not Regent.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

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Why we may want to try Seabourn

Our Feelings

Regent Cruise Line not the same after Norwegian Purchase

My husband and I have cruised nearly 200 days on Regent cruise line and it has changed after Norwegian purchased Regent and Oceania. We have cruised on all four ships after the buyout and Norwegian has diminished the quality of the Regent Luxury line, while still charging the Regent premium price. Disappointing as we use to speak highly of the Regent brand and can no longer do so. We are currently on the Voyager from San Francisco to Montreal for 28 days.

Listed below are the changes we have noticed and not for the better:

Entertainment

* By cutting costs Norwegian termed their contract with the Jean Ann Ryan production company. What a huge miss... We couldn't wait to watch the Productions/Cirque de Soleil while cruising and now we don't even go to the shows. The quality of the entertainment crew is like watching a high school production and the bios reflect so. Bios commenting they are excited to be leaving the country for the first time or happy to be on their first cruise. When you are paying the price for a luxury line the entertainment should reflect so. We have been on board eight days and the entertainment for two of those nights were movies: Beauty and the Beast and Pirates of the Caribbean. Did they buy the rights so it can be shown on all three lines: Norwegian, Oceania and Regent. Isn't Beauty and the beast a kid movie - not many kids on board?

Wine

* We use to thoroughly enjoy the various wines offered and typically provisioned around the region you were cruising. This is not the case anymore, Norwegian is now purchasing from very large vintners that can supply all three cruise lines and cutting cost. We may have purchased a bottle prior to buyout; however, now we average buying a bottle every other night for assortment. Very limited rotation now.

Food

* Lunch

The Compass Rose for lunch had a quite varied menu selection including Canyon Ranch/healthy options and build your own sandwich. Now they offer the same exact menu, everyday and on every ship. They do offer one daily special selection; however, you hope it's something you like or you are back to the same menu. It feels they are pushing you to go to buffet style eating rather than dining on white table cloth. We are now eating more at La Veranda buffet just for assortment.

* Dinner

Prior to Norwegian purchasing Regent we couldn't wait for dinner and to view the dinner options. We would always say after our cruise, wow not one bad bite. Not anymore... The creativity, quality and preparation are nothing near the Regent standards we use to know.

* Service

While we have had great service it has been spotty. We feel the quality of the service is lacking up to Regent standards.

Good note!

Housekeeping has been doing a fantastic job on this cruise, yet on our last cruise our Steward did a poor job.

For what we spend and knowing the decline in quality we are switching to another five star luxury cruise line.

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http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=54065255

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Well, we're Gold in Regent, and we've just taken the plunge and booked our first Seabourn for a year from now. We were on Mariner last winter and loved it, but prices generally are crazy. The only real perk we get is unlimited free internet, and we're willing to forego this.

The downside for us is the dress code--we prefer country club casual, but we can work this out, at least to try a ship (Quest) that is about the size of Voyager, but has only about 450 passengers. The standard staterooms look lovely.

Our recent experiences on Regent were mixed (Mariner was fine but Voyager seemed a bit below standard). We're staying away for a while because I think, at least for the moment, they've outlived their price point.

Having said that, I have to admit a bit of dissatisfaction with our recent cruise on Encore. The experience was "not quite Seabourn," mostly in terms of service, communication, and training. I'm hoping that was due to the ship rather than the line (lots of threads on that topic) and am looking forward to next summer when Odyssey will hopefully restore my faith.

Well, we're Gold in Regent, and we've just taken the plunge and booked our first Seabourn for a year from now. We were on Mariner last winter and loved it, but prices generally are crazy. The only real perk we get is unlimited free internet, and we're willing to forego this.

 

 

 

The downside for us is the dress code--we prefer country club casual, but we can work this out, at least to try a ship (Quest) that is about the size of Voyager, but has only about 450 passengers. The standard staterooms look lovely.

Wendy, we have tried both Regent and Seabourn and prefer Seabourn for a number of reasons. Service is better and more personal on Seabourn and the ships more spacious. Seabourn suites are larger and nicer than Mariner. Seabourn is a younger crowd (of which we are in this category) but we prefer the "more mature" crowd on Regent as they just seem to be more interesting group of people to us.

Our main reason for not sailing Regent has really nothing to do with what I've said above. We find Regent pricing excessive, even when stripping out the included business class air. Being Canadian doesn't help given the fx impact. As an example, we spent 14 days on Seabourn this summer at a cost per day that was nearly half of a similar itinerary on Regent. Seabourn simply offers more value and a better overall experience.

Hope you enjoy your Seabourn cruise....what itinerary did you pick?

As for dress code, I would not worry. Khakis and a collared shirt is fine most nights. No need for a jacket at all since you can skip formal night and eat at another venue.

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We have to agree with SGolffan about the decline that we experienced on our last cruise with Regent. As long time Regent cruisers (since they were Radisson) we always enjoyed excellent quality for the money we spent. However on our last cruise with Regent in August we were disappointed enough to now give Silversea a try. While the Explorer is a stunningly beautiful ship, the overall quality of the cruise 'offering' is significantly poorer. Pre-cruise and post cruise flight and land arrangements were very poor and seemed to reflect your 'suite class' booked. The higher your fare, the better your flight and land arrangements. Food on Regent is now comparable in quality and taste to standard cruise line and not a luxury line. Food offerings never varied no matter where the cruise was sailing, lacked creativity in presentation or taste and were often delivered lukewarm. Breakfast offerings never changed and coffee was really awful. We even tried The Cafe for French Press coffee only to have the press show no grounds at all at the bottom once we had poured the coffee into the cup! And Internet access was basically non-existent for the majority of our time on the ship.

We, on the other hand, have discovered Seabourn and thoroughly enjoy its product. Internet is always available and accessible. I would much rather pay for something that I want to use and get access to it than be offered something for 'free' that is not available. Food experiences on Seabourn are very nice. They make sure to introduce new food offerings depending upon the area where the ship is sailing and offer 'Shopping with the Chef' in various ports so you can experience how the Chef shops for those 'extra special things' while in port. Coffee is hot and tasty, with French Press coffee offered as part of the breakfast offering in the buffet as well as the restaurant and the assortment of special coffees in the Seabourn Square Coffee Bar are great. Seabourn crew are probably the most warm, friendly and most helpful that we have encountered on any cruise. They quickly get to know who you are and what you prefer and provide a high level of service quietly and effectively.

So needless to say, Regent is now on the bottom of our list of preferred lines and we will only be sailing them in the future should their itinerary be one that can't be found with any other line. Seabourn is number one on our list and we have two more cruises booked with them for next year. And we have just booked with Silversea on the Silver Muse ship to try them out.

I appreciate your feedback! We will definitely be booking a cruise with Seabourn.

We are going on our first river cruise with Crystal from Switzerland to Vienna.

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I would rate 1. Seabourn, 2. Silver Seas, 3. Regent, 4. Crystal

However I would rate Oceania 1. for food. Love their 2 larger ships with 4 specialty restaurants.

Wendy, we have tried both Regent and Seabourn and prefer Seabourn for a number of reasons. Service is better and more personal on Seabourn and the ships more spacious. Seabourn suites are larger and nicer than Mariner. Seabourn is a younger crowd (of which we are in this category) but we prefer the "more mature" crowd on Regent as they just seem to be more interesting group of people to us.

 

Our main reason for not sailing Regent has really nothing to do with what I've said above. We find Regent pricing excessive, even when stripping out the included business class air. Being Canadian doesn't help given the fx impact. As an example, we spent 14 days on Seabourn this summer at a cost per day that was nearly half of a similar itinerary on Regent. Seabourn simply offers more value and a better overall experience.

 

Hope you enjoy your Seabourn cruise....what itinerary did you pick?

 

As for dress code, I would not worry. Khakis and a collared shirt is fine most nights. No need for a jacket at all since you can skip formal night and eat at another venue.

Hi Sunprince. Yes, our friends whom we have cruised with on Regent three times have come to terms with the Seabourn dress code and has advised us the same. We are cruising with them.

And I agree with you about the pricing. I do enjoy the warmth of returning to Regent, just can't get my head around those prices. Looking at the suites on Quest, they look about the same as Voyager, i.e., bigger than Mariner.

Our itinerary is a bit unusual, since I'm Canadian--never thought I'd do a leaf-peeper cruise. Montreal-Montreal next September, down the St. Lawrence and up around Newfoundland and back. An easy introduction since it involves no planes for us. We live in downtown Toronto and taking the train is fairly pleasant. And if we want to fly we can take Porter, a 15 minute cab ride from home, and a couple of days in Montreal will be nice.