phillipahain

7 hours ago, Mahogany said:

Really? Your booking decisions are made by an individual music player?

When the only entertainment and only bar there is .... is spoilt by such dross yes it sure does ductate bookibg decisions 

Just do not understand why Silversea employ Guitar players who simply cannot sing let alone sing in tune especially on Endeavour 

The Pianist was wonderful  but last evening on Endeavour when you want to have a quiet drink in Observation it was spoilt by the awful playing and what purported to be completely out of tune so called uninteligble singing ....it had already driven us from cancelling bookings in the grill ..Has totally put us off ever thinking of SS 

On 2/13/2024 at 4:51 PM, Pcardad said:

 

This can happen with any cruise line - especially when you are dealing with countries that might have a.....more laid back attitude.

 

 

Common with every cruise line. You are lucky you left early as Drake is no joke. I've been across it in a much smaller ship in 

 

 

 

 

 

You were in Antarctica and probably had bad/limited LOS with the satellites 

 

 

We did Antartica on Golden Princess in 2008 and had perfect Internet entire time and had contacts following us on webcam ....Regent needs to up its game on Internet pronto 

We have been lucky enough to sail on Regent  Oceania, Silver Sea and Seabourn ....there is in many ways a wider choice of food on Viking and personally i like Main Dining Room for Breakfast and some Dinners ...but prefer World Cafe for lunch ...Dinner varies greatly both in terms of whats offered and how its cooked...my choice for dinner would be World Cafe but other half insists on MDR although the sound levels at Dinner is very high and  when one of you relies on hearing aids makes conversation extremely difficult ...we always go for 6pm  but find it amusing that desserts are never served before 7pm .

I honestly think all the above lines are subjective food wise but what i do like about Viking is the open sandwiches offered at the coffee bar on Deck 1 ...but we much prefer the overall cruise experience on Regent other than a recent BCN to Cape Town on Voyager 

On 2/12/2024 at 1:23 PM, Mapomp said:

First, I know food is so very subjective, what I like you may find repulsive, but in general.....  I'm looking at Panama Canal on (I think?) Mars.  We recently cruised Regent Splendor and Oceania Vista (for reference) and loved them both, for food and the ship.  From what I've been able to research, I think I'll love the ship, but I haven't been able to find much about the food or any sample menus.  And I'm unclear about how many specialty restaurants there are.  I have more questions, but I'll keep this to food related for now. 

Help?

Thanks!

MA

Totally agree about return from Belize yesterday  Viking really needed to have made arrangements ,,,,thankfully i had thought ahead and  snagged 2 each of the lovely beef and  smoked salmon open sandwiches at the Coffee Bar on Deck 1 as did others  who like my other half took one look at Pool Grill queue and decided against it ....

Yes there are nice things about Viking but i just do not think it rates as Number 1 hence why i wondered how they got the rating .......itinery and service is everything when you have been fortunate to cruise many lines and unless something changes Viking wont be our choice 

4 hours ago, LisaDee said:

It’s so interesting how different people can have very different experiences/preferences.  We are also on board Viking Mars, currently enjoying a beautiful sea day as we sail toward our delayed stop in Cozumel.  I’ve really enjoyed the guitarist Michael and the genre of music he plays (acoustic singer-songwriters from the 1970s mixed in with bands like the Beatles and few more modern singers).  My spouse and I are happy to sip our drinks quietly as we enjoy the music and sea view so the music volume doesn’t bother us.  We haven’t had a problem getting drinks in Explorer Lounge even at the busy before-dinner hour.  

 

We’ve mostly eaten at World Cafe.  The line stretches out the door of the Restaurant at busy dinner times so we stopped going.  We’ve enjoyed Manfredi’s but at Chef’s Table the food was lukewarm and is just not our cup of tea although it seems we’re in the minority since others love it.   

 

Our biggest complaint was yesterday after returning from our excursion in Belize the World Cafe had already closed for lunch.  We were starving and our only lunch option (other than room service which takes 30 minutes during non-busy times) was the Pool Grill.  The line was very long, stretching along the pool deck.  It was confusing who was in line for the Grill and who was just using the salad bar, with people jumping the line from the salad bar into the longer Grill line.  The guys behind the grill were working so hard and getting food out as quickly as they could but they really needed some management staff to organize the lines.  Better yet, Viking should have anticipated the high demand for lunch as large groups arrived back on board via the tenders and they should have kept World Cafe open until after the last tenders returned.

 

Overall we’re very happy with Viking and will continue to include them when considering cruise options.  Our cabin (a PV, plenty of room and great storage) and the public spaces are spotless and beautifully decorated.  

 

We wish they had more varied itineraries in the Caribbean.  We cruise this region every winter and like to visit a variety of ports so I think next year we’ll try another line since we’ve done both the West Indies and Canal itineraries already.

Voyager Lounge Drinks service issue is not new or untrained staff ...the Waiters are brilliant however it's the actual bartenders who are thin on the ground ....you can have the lounge full of guests and at least 4 Waiters but still only 1 bartender who can't cope with fulfilling the orders ....Officers never around so the issue does not get fixed .

Currently on Viking Mars ....and whilst the ship is perfectly kept and public space is huge etc...cabins are compact to say the least and food is hardly spectacular 

What really gets me is its takes over 30 mins to get a drink served in Voyager Lounge before dinner ...the guitarist there between 5 and 6pm is truly awful and  can't sing and hopeless, shows are  OK but all produced at full pitch deafening decibels , food is OK but nothing spectacular 

Yes there's some nice pieces of furniture and other features but honestly cannot work out who or how it's rated No 1

So used to other ships having push button automatic detergent dispensers 

Sad to say after our Odyssey cruise around Japan in April on SS with a flight after 10pm  ....they claimed there were no Day Rooms or indeed any tours and instead we were dumped at Marriot Osaka so called Hospitality room ...see the photos 

The transfer to the airport was a total shambles much later than all had requested and as for Osaka Airport so called Business Lounge for Emirates disgusting was only word that applied with nothing in the least edible or drinkable 

Silversea truly shot themselves in the foot over that 

Anyone recently got off the Norway /Baltic Seabourn Odyssey       cruise and know who this person was ? 

Friends were on it and really could not believe how any passenger could bring on a dog claiming it was a   service dog       yet also had a maid 

It was assumed they were ultra rich long time Seabourn member in a top suite who could do as they liked apparently not from USA 

They wondered how the ship catered for its " doings"   as everywhere seemed to whiff of it 

As the friends have 2 lovely dogs of their own they are not anti dogs but even I understood that you had mountains of paperwork etc to jump through before a dog was allowed on board 

We were quite shocked to meet and become friends with a couple on Navigator who are across the hall from this family on deck 6  and the constant screeching emitting from said 2 year old means they will no longer sail on Regent 

The odd times  we have heard said child schreech was enough ...no we are not anti children ...have 2 of our own and 6 grandkids we cared for till they started school ...but time comes when a screeching child on something like a Regent Cruise spoils things 

Like many others have never seen a toddler or even 4 or 5yr olds onboard any of our Regent Cruises and as we are Platinum ! 

Hence it came as hell of a shock to see the 2 yr old clambering over everyone of the chairs in the Navigator Bar /coffee bar while Father looked on ...nor have we ever seen 4 or 5 yr old girls dancing up and down the slope from Seven Seas Lounge bar and into Theatre again with Mother etc simply looking on ....it may well be someone had words as not seen silly behaviour since ..although 2yr old screeches very often 

Not sure what Regent is gaining by encouraging such young children nor do we understand the attraction of taking them as it seems most adults simply enjoy the Adult atmosphere of Regent 

I totally agree theres no way i would cruise with small children .....i was simply interested in what folk would say 

Currently on Navigator there is a family ( not officers or crew ) travelling with 2yr old boy and 2 girls circa 4 /5/6 ......1st day the boy was clambering over all of the chairs in Navigator Coffee/drinks bar while parents looked on.

The girls were later dancing back and forth from Show lounge bar in and out of theatre again parents said nothing.could be something was said as not since witnessed same 

Regent just does not seem to me to be the right cruise line for very young children   

Its going to make life very difficult if Regent does not sort out where Voyager is docking in Sept because if its Tarragona i dare not book tickets to see inside Sagrada Familia and they will be sold out long before 

10 hours ago, labonnevie said:

We took our entire family on a HAL cruise for our 50th anniversary. This included six grandchildren. Five of the six ranged in age from 10 to 16. They were great and had a fabulous time.
The youngest was 2. It didn’t go well, mostly for the parents. The 2 year old was out of sorts the whole time, didn’t sleep well, was impatient at meals etc. 

A definite no, based on our experience. 

HAL   NCL, Princess, RCL etc etc are a whole different ball game to Regent, Seabourn  SS, Crystal which are basically 5/6 star and simply dont have facilities for children 

52 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

Plenty of Regent Captains and Officers have brought their families onboard for a cruise...not to mention plenty of clients. If you want to be with your family - bring them. From my experience, the kids that come on cruises are as well behaved, if not better, than the adults.

Captains wife and 7 yr old son were onboard out of New York ...totally impeccable behaviour was a joy to see 

49 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

Plenty of Regent Captains and Officers have brought their families onboard for a cruise...not to mention plenty of clients. If you want to be with your family - bring them. From my experience, the kids that come on cruises are as well behaved, if not better, than the adults.

The Captain did have his wife and budding Pilot son age 7 on board out of New York..whole different level of incredibly respectful  behaviour though 

All above comments are my thoughts exactly ...currently on said cruise Rekyavick to Southamptom and theres a 2 Yr old boy clambering over every chair in Navigator coffee / bar ...2 girls 5 or 6 yr old were loose in Stars theatre bar on 6 dancing and prancing about  with parents taking no notice whatever in either case....

Seems the Parents have more money than sense to me !

Interested to know what others think ....

Purely because of itinery ......Seabourn October 2022 69 days ..     far too many tours cancelled .....Entertainment good because John was CD and EVA was exceptional...dont like the theatre though or the Buffet 

..SilverSea March 2023.. 19 days     Tours were so so but it was Japan ....dont like the theatre and entertainment was poor ....food was better than Seabourn 

However unless things have changed drastically its still  Regent 1st 2nd 3rd and beyond 

Will find out soon

      Oceania does not match Regent and have done Celebrity long ago 

On 5/18/2023 at 7:27 PM, indoorsy said:

hello,

I am new to this forum. I just placed a deposit with RSSC for a 7 day Caribbean cruise on the Grandeur. I'd been looking at Silversea Nova cruises 

 

My concern... I am big on sitting by the pool - it is one of my favorite things. I am reading about the issues with pool chair hogs. I also read that they've instituted a new 

 

We did a ton of research and chose Regent because of their reputation for food/drink quality and nice excursions. 

 

I do like the idea of all the pool areas on Explora Journeys but how do you know when it is 

 

Any advice, or encouragement you can offer?  WWYD?

Not long left a Silver Sea cruise and it sure did not compare to Regent ....all cruise lines beds are either a King or 2 singles you choose they deliver  and pool chair hogs are same on all lines ...at least Regent has bought in a policy about unoccupied loungers 

On 5/10/2023 at 2:36 PM, slidebite said:

Oh darn it! I missed David by 1 cruise lol - he's probably my favourite CD.

David Nevan is 2nd only to Ray Solaire who is a legend 

On 5/4/2023 at 1:43 PM, seasickphil said:

Regent do have to compete with other cruise lines for providing excursions but the non Regent cruises i have taken post Covid no excursions that you have to pay for have been cancelled, not seemingly like Regent who according to other threads are cancelling with very short notice of cruise date. So if other cruise lines are not cancelling excursions (or are they?) why are Regent having to?.

Seabourn is supposed to be 6star line but umpteen excursions on the 69 day Grand Pacific were cancelled with just 36 hours notice and nothing to replace them when you had booked them and used a massive OBC to pay for them at start of 69 days it became a huge issue since there was nothing ekse to use OBC on