2SeaAll

On 4/28/2024 at 12:13 PM, drgigi said:

Does anyone know what hotel Crystal is using or recommending in Barcelona in October?  Or does anyone have recommendations? Our favorite now has a 3 night minimum in October.  Thank you.

The Hotel Arts and Cotton House have been mentioned in response posts. We have stayed at both several times; my perspective: Arts - more like a destination resort than short stay hotel; beautiful hotel with wonderful service, pool deck etc., fabulous buffet breakfast, and good (expensive) dinner tapas restaurant. If you have AMEX Platinum or Centurion, best to book through them for upgrades/resort credits/included breakfast; not a fan of the location for exploring Barcelona. Cotton House -: very nice city hotel with unique history and decor; well-located to conveniently explore Barcelona; very standard (nothing special) breakfast; restaurant very good for dinner with expansive, reasonably priced (for hotel) menu; pleasant back terrace setting - - significantly less expensive than Arts.

I have no specific details or knowledge to add to the conversation. However, I do recall that an Oceania official commenting on the substitution of Ember for Jacques many months ago did state that there was a corporate decision to maintain multiple points of differentiation between ship classes that drove the Ember decision. As my wife and I very much enjoy Jaques, it gives us further reason to select Riviera/Marina when all other factors point towards that selection.

BTW, we sailed Vista several months ago and gave Aquamar Kitchen glowing accolades in our review; it is definitely a positive addition.

3 hours ago, MarkWiltonM said:

Thank you for your review. We will be on Vista Dec. 1. A couple of questions if you know the answers:

 

(1) We have a reservation for Ember for dinner but I believe it's supposed to be open for lunch as well. Is this true and do you need a reservation?

 

(2) How was Toscana? We have not enjoyed it on two other ships and I know the menu is the same so not sure we should try it again or not. But maybe "third time's the charm"... (The Italian restaurant on Virgin Voyages is excellent, as are most of the VV restaurants, but we don't find those ships the least bit comfortable overall.)

As others have stated, Ember was never open for lunch during sea days and we have no expectation of seeing it opening.in the future.

Regarding Toscana we liked it very much, with probably our best meal of the cruise being in Toscana. Although we have not been longtime Toscana cheerleaders, we now view Toscana very favorably when and if (and only if) you are very careful with your menu choices. In our early Oceania sailing days we considered Toscana a 'meh" choice and viewed it as a gimmicky restaurant with a lot of "show" (expansive Olive Oil cart with a too long recitation, and a good but showy cheese wheel presentation); however, the "show" aspects have been moderated, and they have gotten back to the fundamentals of service and food preparation. In addition to the oft-published Toscana menu recommendations we found two outstanding recent additions: 1. a tomato and burrata salad presented in a vertical stack rather than horizontally on a salad plate, and 2 a "godmother" pasta dish with grilled prawns [the ship's godmother has a lemon cream pasta recipe that is over-the-top outstanding even though my first reaction upon seeing the menu description was to be grossed-out - don't know whether this and a companion dish will be exclusive to Vista]. Some pax love Toscana and others don't like it at all - I've been in both camps and accordingly I would recommend that you give it a try!

Happy sailing!!

My wife and I were on the recent Montreal>Miami cruise, booked in a PH stateroom. Given the limited publicly available perspectives for Vista, we would like to contribute to this forum by sharing our thoughts regarding the positives and the shortcomings of our experience, as well as sharing a few thoughts for improvements previously shared with Oceania. Due to the subjective nature of our assessments and the variability of ship/port provided services, we fully expect that others on our cruise or other Vista cruises may offer a different perspective or may have had different experiences onboard. Also note that we did not have Simply More and that this program went into effect two days after our sailing.

Bottom Line: Vista is a generational improvement that exceeded our expectations. The cruise was an absolute delight.

OVERALL

·        Design aesthetics excellent overall: pleasing color palette, updated styles, and materials; design aesthetics created an atmosphere of restrained elegance, tranquility, sophistication and contemporary feel.

·        Except for Red Ginger, the redesign of dining rooms enhanced the dining experience and seemingly facilitated more efficient service.

·        Mechanicals worked well throughout, except one elevator was repeatedly out of service.

·        Wi-Fi marginally improved, but the Spain-based Starlink server is annoying and, on occasion, made for an inconvenient browsing experience (typically linked to Spain-based websites when looking for USA based websites, even with VPN connected); better results achieved by linking to search target through Apps.

IMPROVEMENTS

·        Dining room design, particularly Polo Grill, Grand Dining Room, and Terrace Café

·        Vista Lounge – more comfortable, better sight lines, improved acoustics, and more technologically advanced stage and effects; trade-off is somewhat limited capacity for fully-booked cruise. With one show per night, it seemed to skew dining surge to earlier times and single level design made extreme crowding the rule for popular guest entertainers.

·        Very good guest entertainers

·        Terrific Cruise Director (Ray) and Future Cruises Ambassador

·        Addition of The Bakery

·        Evolution of Barista Café [Note: Oceania is transitioning away from Illy brand and to its own, proprietary coffee beans roasted “in-house”]

·        Aquamar Café is an outstanding addition.

·        Computer center greatly expanded and enhanced

·        Enrichment Lectures seemed upgraded and more relevant.

·        Pool-area seating, sunshade, and innovative integration of pool proximity seating made for a much more pleasant experience with less “chair-hogging.”

·        Aquamar Spa Concierge area at front of ship is much improved

·        Bathroom in PH staterooms

·        Although skeptical pre-cruise, we did not miss the walk-in closet and grew to view the hybrid closet in our Ph stateroom as a positive improvement [need to open/butterfly suitcases to store under bed].

DISAPPOINTMENTS

·        Ice cream – subpar texture and flavor – needs a good, branded premium ice cream rather than an in-house Oceania-prepared alternative.

·        Red Ginger design aesthetics are cold/sterile/antiseptic and not experience-enhancing; needs some color and design/decoration features consistent with Asia without resorting to kitsch – big negative change from Marina/Riviera

·        Limited TV channel selection and access to post-season MLB games and NFL football; American sports interests not well accommodated either in-room on TV, and/or alternatively in bars/theatres

SUGGESTIONS

·        Port Days: 1. Display gangway info on elevator screens; 2. Include the street addresse (and/or monument markers) for docked pier to in Currents to preclude situations such as our experience in Quebec City where 2 taxi drivers did not know (and could not find) the location of our Pier by pier #.

·        Aqua di Parma toiletries were very nice, but exceptionally hard to use, especially in the shower

o   Needs flip top rather than screw top

o   Label lettering for shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel could not be read without strong reading glass or a magnifying glass

·        Open Aquamar Café for dinner on limited basis, if possible (may require Aquamar expansion)

·        Correct annoying reflection of TV screen on lacquer material of closet exterior wall perpendicular to TV in PH design when viewed from bed

·        While we were pre-disposed to dislike Ember because it dislodged Jacques, we nonetheless really enjoyed Ember, subject to the following:

o   Must pro-actively ask for “slow-down” or you will be rushed through the meal - normal-ish pacing should be the default

o   Noise level can be high and should be corrected structurally – carefully choose table and do not necessarily accept “assigned” table.

o   Classic American/Regional dishes are not always correctly prepared. A prime example is the Lobster Roll which when prepared properly, according to New England recipes, is a grilled roll (with or without a small amount of butter for grilling), pulled, unadorned lobster with spices, and a very small amount of mayonnaise. The Ember version was served on a proper (but not grilled) cold roll , and the lobster was a lobster salad with a significant amount of mayonnaise – a very ill-conceived attempt to replicate a regional classic - even though high quality ingredients were used - only to be spoiled by poor preparation.

Those booked on future Vista (and Allura) sailings are in for a treat!!

Many thanks for the prompt and extremely helpful responses to my inquiry. Clearly "mediocre" is the operative word for the Iceland Air experience, with the principal trade-offs being price, and convenience (in some circumstances), taken together with the brevity of the East Coast U.S.>Iceland flight. Once all my cost and timing factors are determined (including home>JFK commute times) a clear path will be defined. It was somewhat encouraging to me that nobody came forth with horror stories of mishandling of checked luggage by Iceland Air; issues regarding seat comfort/food/service are consistent with the consensus of available reviews.

Hope to meet many of you on future voyages.  

Thanks again.

Flight advice would be most appreciated based upon experience flying into Iceland. We currently are on waitlist for cabin on Symphony doing Iceland circumnavigation around Iceland in 2024 - can’t wait to sail Crystal again. 

Preliminary thinking had been to book Iceland Air in Saga Class from EWR or BWI with included “stopover” in Iceland for duration of cruise, then continue with air leg to Rome to celebrate our anniversary over several days, then board a Rome to Lisbon cruise we have booked; easy and very cost efficient plan for airfare. 

However, reviews of Iceland Air - particularly checked baggage experience - has given us great pause. We would be traveling heavy on baggage due to the trip duration

and weather variations necessitating lots of clothing. If we cross off Iceland Air our limited options include either Delta or Emirates from JFK  - comfortable, but much more expensive options for East Coast US>Iceland>Rome.

Comments, thoughts, benefits of first-hand experience appreciated. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.  

On 4/30/2023 at 12:12 AM, HongKongAlan said:

Thanks Potolan

 

That is good news. We were last on the Explorer in 2017 so I was hoping that there might be a refresh happening. Presume the ship was still up to scratch when you sailed?

 

We were on Explorer in April (Tokyo>Yokohama); I agree with previous comments and observations with the exception that electronics connectivity is clearly a product of circa 2014 architectural design. The few USB connectors are only USB-A (no USB-C)/limited # of 110V receptacles; bedside 110V receptacles under night table drawer etc. I commented on post-cruise review as GM had told me he was unaware of any plans to update in-cabin electronics/connectivity in drydock. I mentioned to him that Oceania Riviera connectivity update from late 2022 drydock provides a good example for Regent to follow. Hoping my nudge will be enough for RSSC to avoid missed opportunity. 

14 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

Here's a screen shot of an old Martinis menu. They were refurbed for 2023.

Thank you. I've obviously missed this one on our Oceania cruise prior to Riviera, February 2023.

If anyone can post a photo of the "new" [curtrent?] Martinis Bar drink menu i would be very appreciative. There are drinks on this menu that are not available elsewhere on the ship. As a point of reference, the menu I am seeking has a drink named "4 Stripes" or similar [as I can best remember from a February Riviera cruise]; I'm most interested in the content description for that drink and one other cocktail on that menu.

Thank you.

On 11/22/2022 at 7:12 AM, forgap said:

They can also keep track of food allergies. 

Food allergies, preferences, + dietary restrictions are stored in the passenger profile and accessible to wait staff and kitchen via Cabin #. Also, owned wine bottles are stored by cabin # in the wine cellar, so Sommelier needs your cabin # to access opened bottles (whether purchased onboard or brought onboard with corkage fee paid). Also helps catch potential missed reservations (or reservation not being kept). 

We are considering choosing the Olife House Select alcoholic beverage package option for one of our upcoming Caribbean cruises - then upgrading to the Premium Select Package. In the past we have sailed Oceania sans alcoholic beverage packages. Does anyone know if the Premium Package wine list is upgraded from the House Select Package wine list??

This will be an experiment for us, as it will be our first Silver status cruise with prepaid gratuities; we will also have the Shareholder OBC benefit. The shore excursions in the Caribbean are not compelling, so the premium beverage package may be our best alternative use of OBC. We have previously brought favorite bottles on board and paid corkage; we know that in any case Oceania wine list bottles will be inferior to our curated selection, but expect to enjoy full bar included access. Absent this choice we will take cash and default to Spa/Gift Shop to burn our OBC.

Thanks for any insights you can provide..

Aknay T, can you give us any more info on the Covid situation. We are supposed to go on RIV on 5/17 and I am having angst about the situation. How do they handle tenders? Are they crowded as usual? What about tours? Do they limit the size? Any insight into how Oceania is keeping guests safe would be very much appreciated. THX so much. 2seaall

The reserve wine list in my suite lists the Dolce Far Niente 2010, 375ml, at $95.

The Gaja Promis is not listed. There are 8 Super Tuscans listed, from $60 to $335, most priced at the lower end of the scale.

 

I brought a suit and sport coat. In general most guests are leaning towards elegant casual, and I have not had a reason to bring out the suit. Everyone is dressed nicely, but not formally. Formal Option is only on cruises of 15 nights or more. A sports coat in the specialty restaurants is perfect, with or without a tie.

Really prompt follow-up, thanks. I'm saving packing the suit based on your info. Reasonable onboard price for Dolce.

The Gaja Promis has been an on-board staple on Oceania, usually centrally displayed in the glass wine wall in their main dining room, so surprised if not carried. Sometimes listed as some shortened version of "Gaja Promis Ca' Marcanda". If you get a chance could you see or ask if the included wine list offers any Ripasso? Not asking about cousin "Amorone" as I believe lowest one is at least $12-$15 over the cost threshold on which they operate.

Again, many thanks.

Thanks so much to everyone for the insights into life onboard Explorer. My wife and I board in Lisbon on 25 Aug and this thread has added enormously to the anticipation. A few questions - wine and dress; in particular on wine I may be confusing Regent pricing with Oceania. I think Regent is usually much more reasonable, since it is [should be] an upgrading increment from an included base.

Can you get onboard prices for Gaja Promis [super Tuscan] and [Far Niente] Dolce. Also availability of a Ripasso on the included wine list. My recollection of Promis and Dolce is that they were priced in the $150-$165 bottle range. They cost me about $36 and $49 respectively, so worth the schlepping if that is, in fact, the price range on Regent. It seems like included wines top out at about $16-$18 retail, so most Ripassos are slightly above those margins. We usually find something that works for us (a Malbec, Syrah/Shiraz or Montepulciano du Abruzzo - but may be confusing with Celebrity), however we usually want to have one or two "special wines" available, probably for Prime 7 or Chartreuse on this cruise.

Secondary issue re: packaging a dark suit for men. My thinking is to go with the proverbial blue blazer as my dress-up option, as I can wear it on the plane and stay light on my packing. Am I likely to feel under-dressed sans a suit in the most dressed up environs (I assume Prime 7 and/or Chartreuse)? Am I correct that there are no formal or semi-formal nights anymore?

Thanks for any info and insights you can provide.

I can vouch for that (we were on the same cruise) those Brazilians really enjoyed extended lunches too. I guess there weren't many purchases for them to audit.

If services, such as spa services, are prepaid (if possible) before sailing into Brazilian waters, are the services free of the tax? Will the tax be added at the time the services are performed because the time of service determines whether or not the tax applies?

Has anyone tried the prepayment approach?

Thanks.

After 30 minutes on the phone with Cruise Enhancements, I'm not sure I'm confident with their answers.

I know that hours have been a moving target and operations are being tweaked since initial opening, and may still be evolving. I'm also told that hours are at the discretion of the Maitre'd and can vary between ships and even between cruises on the same ship. We are sailing on Infinity, R/T from Buenos Aires on January 31, 2016.

The hours advised by Cruise Enhancements were as follows: breakfast (7:30 - 9:30 a.m.); lunch (noon - 2:00 p.m.); brunch (no knowledge); dinner (6:00 - 9:00 p.m.). The info provided by Celebrity did not differentiate between port and sea days. Breakfast seems to begin somewhat late in a few ports where the ideal private excursion starting time is in the early a.m. It also seems that brunch rather than breakfast and lunch may be served on some or all sea days - unsure about that data point.

Any first-hand recent experience would really be appreciated for our planning purposes.

I heard that they don't have Perrier Jouet anymore. Is the Grgich Hills Chardonnay gone as well?

 

Hope you had a fabulous cruise down under.

 

C

Thank you to all for responses, with special call out to Coach Tom who gave me some great info by e-mail.

I've settled on bringing 2-3 very good bottles from home, and then buying selectively in port during the cruise. The lack of transparency and predictability in the 7 bottle package, along with the lack of flexibility to build a "right-size" package for our particular cruise were the determining factors rather than the cost per se.

Starting in day 3 and through day 9 we will be in French, then Italian ports, so the buying opportunities are obvious. On day 9 we are doing a full day Tuscany tour with a highly acclaimed sommelier that hopefully concludes with some bottles to bring home, using the space allocation and wine diapers that we packed to bring wine from the U.S. On a different itinerary/different number of cruise days it could be a different result, but this should work for us this time.

Thanks again.

The 7 bottle minimum package was announced in November 2014, but put into place starting with sailings in October 2014. Our experience onboard our October cruise was that the package structure was very inflexible - 7 bottles, no more, no less and had to be charged to one account, thus discouraging sharing. At that time the list was expected to change from cruise to cruise. An onboard sommelier explained to me that Oceania was promoting the package as curated, but was really offering a "clearance" package including end-of-stock inventory and slow sellers, interspersed with a few good wines.

If the program remains in place as established in October/November we will purchase a few bottles of wine in Barcelona prior to our next cruise and happily pay the $25/bottle corkage onboard, and then buy a few bottles in France during the cruise. We used to buy 3 or 4 bottles on day one at the pop-up display (usually by the pool) from a decent wine list at a package 30% discount, and were very satisfied with the prior plan, its offerings and its convenience.

Any updates that will help us plan for our upcoming cruise would be most appreciated.

I always love reading this... Someone's going on a fantastic cruise & all they seem to care about is a football game! I mean really!

Thank you so much for your enlightened, constructive insights. I was not previously aware that I needed it, but it would be very helpful to me (and others cruising on Celebrity) if you could publish your list of approved activities that meet your standard for worthwhile things to do while on a "fantastic cruise". I’m sure I could get the list by writing to Sen. Joe McCarthy, but it would be easier if you just published it.

I’m preparing to tell my son travelling with us on a family cruise that he cannot watch college football, one of his true passions. Instead of spending the morning and a part of the afternoon by the pool before he hopefully watches a key match-up or bowl game, he now has to spend the whole day by the pool. But - it’s for his own good – he just does not know it, but he will enjoy the fantastic cruise more if he puts aside all his personal interests and passions not on your approved list. If he asks me what does it mean to “on a fantastic cruise” what should I tell him? No college sports or DVDs or music because they would interfere with his enjoyment of the cruise. How about casinos – we have casinos near where we live and we can go there any time? How about the shows – we have theater in Philadelphia and New York – no reason to subtract from our enjoyment of the fantastic cruise by spending time on activities that can be done on land.

I’m a lost soul. Among the many reasons I enjoy cruising is the opportunity to meet people with divergent backgrounds and interests. Wow, I am wrong. Among the 3,000+ people on Reflection will be others who enjoy college athletics, people who spend some of their time on the computer while at sea, and people who spend time in the casinos. Help me, as I clearly don’t want to be their friend. Maybe I could help you by drafting a letter to Michael Bayless telling him that Celebrity needs to remove all the TVs, slot machines and computers so that Celebrity customers can enjoy their fantastic cruise. I don’t think Celebrity’s CEO understands that!

Can you tell - I found your simple comment to be totally misplaced and offensive to anyone who might have an interest that you do not share. Perhaps a simple comment from a simple mind!

We were on millennium in Asia last month, they had ESPN and ESPN2 in the cabin which showed a lot of football games live, also showed soccer from various leagues along with champions league soccer. All of these games were shown live

We are sailing on Reflection in the Caribbean during the holiday period. Any guesses or answers as to catching college football on TV? Anyone recall from past experience?

Thanks.

On our cruises there has been a tent in most ports with drinks (water, fruit punch) & some chairs (not many)

 

For the spa deck there was a trolley out side the entry with drinks on it...sodas & water

No alcohol in the spa area which is fine for me, it is not a party area

If those changes have been implemented since our last Oceania cruise it would be most welcome. We had put both items on our comments card. It's good to know that comments are considered and sometimes acted upon.

O could learn a lesson from how the specialty coffee locations are handled on Celebrity and Azamara.

 

Of course on Celebrity the coffee is not included (unless you buy one of the drink packages) but there is a wide array of delectable tea sandwiches and pastries that are available to all at no cost throughout the day -- enough for breakfast or lunch).

 

On Azamara the Mosaic Cafe (which is the entire deck 5 area in front of the shops on their R ships) is a fabulous and comfortable place to get coffees and small bites (included). I find Baristas on the O ships very uncomfortable (yes, I know, supposed to be like a coffee bar in Italy where everyone stands up and has coffee). I want to sit in a comfy chair and linger with my latte. I hope that the R ship version of Baristas will be a more comfortable place to linger.

Completely agree that Cafe al Bacio on Celebrity blows away Baristas in almost every respect - seating, location, food and drink menu, socialization etc. Celebrity took a mediocre prior concept - Cova Cafe - and tweaked it until they came up with a real winner.

The Spa Deck on the O class ships, available to Concierge and above (and apparently finally key accessible only) is a meaningful perk. The good news, but also the problem, is the isolation of the area. While we don't expect Evian spritzers and cold towels every 15 minutes, it would be nice if there were one pool butler and one pool waiter who were responsible to cover the area once on an hourly basis; we have been there on occasion when they never appeared. Service is random, seemingly without any assigned responsibility.

Finally, a real pet peeve because it is so simple and so little cost - upon embarking the ship in port, why is there not a welcome back tent, an attendant, cold water, and something such as fruit punch. The absence of any greeting and warmth is so Carnival/NCL-ish; in fact, they may even do better, I'm not sure.

Come on FDR - Oceania is terrific, the little things that would make it GREAT are so simple to implement.

We are just back from our first Oceania cruise, 14 nights on the Marina in French Polynesia. Except for a couple of small things, we were quite impressed...actually, we loved it.

 

It seems like there are more than a few experienced Oceania cruisers here, but, experienced or not, does anyone have ideas on how Oceania can make things even better?

 

I'll start:

 

• Waves Grill and Ice Cream bar could be open longer hours...maybe until 6 pm? A few times we would return from shore late afternoon and could have used a bite...you know, just to get us through to dinner(!) But, a sandwich or salad and a scoop of ice cream would have been welcome. I know room service is available, but we prefer to unwind around the pool at that time of day.
  
• I thought it might be nice to have a few cookies out in the Terrace Grill, perhaps, for a little bedtime snack...we have often enjoyed a cookie and milk or coffee/tea on our verandah before turning in.
  

I must say, kudos to the waiter who, setting up for breakfast late one night in the Terrace Grill, noticed me at the coffee machine, and ran over to set it up just so I could have that last cappucchino!

 

 

What other idea might people have?:)

Port excursion offerings that include a top-end of high quality and creative tours (at a reasonable premium tour price), together with more standard offerings that are fairly priced. Look to Crystal and, to a degree, Silversea for examples of inspired excursions and to Princess, Celebrity etc. for fair pricing levels on more typical type tours.

We mostly love the onboard experience on Oceania (agree on all previous comments re: Waves and Baristas), but the decision to sail Oceania is a decision to put a lot of time and effort into independent touring. IMHO, Oceania shore excursions are grossly over-priced and uninspired. For these reasons there are itineraries and geographies where we cross Oceania off our list of possibilities.

I also want to note that we were very impressed with the Jean Ryan shows on our recent Regent cruise. We understand that Oceania has contracted with them and look forward to upgraded entertainment aboard Oceania. Unfortunately, I don't believe the the stage capabilities and theatre layout on Oceania were planned with premier entertainment in mind (. . . port intensive cruise, focus on food. . . etc. etc. seem to have made entertainment an after-thought in the design prioritization). Can physical theatrical limitations be remedied without massive changes in dry dock - don't know, but I would like to see it done.

I am WAY behind on reading your latest adventure (I was on the same cruise with you and your family in Alaska last May)

From what I have been reading about Roaton you are lucky they skipped it. Many violent crimes against tourists.

We were lucky enough to access the port in Roatan - Mahogany Bay. Mahogany Bay in Roatan is well set up, accessible, and interesting in the way it displays the history of the people of Honduras. There is a man-made beach in a direct, nearby walk from Mahogany Bay (West Bay Beach) that provides an easy diversion for the day; we saw the beach fairly close-in as the ship left the port. I'm not sure whether or not there is an entry fee for West End Beach, but would assume there is. There was a substantial security contingent in Mahogany Bay, and would have to assume that to be the case in West Bay Beach.

We went on a Regent excursion to Tabyana Beach. The ride through the countryside was interesting and informative as to the local culture. The beach itself was gorgeous and very tourist friendly with beach security guards ever-present. While Regent did nothing to enhance the excursion - mostly just transportation and beach - it was a very enjoyable day.

We consider ourselves lucky; it's a shame that some cruises miss this scheduled port, and there is info that Honduras is constructing an alternative port that will be much more accessible. As to crime - it's a Caribbean Island and experiences have a strong relationship to the risks taken and the precautions exercised. We did not observe any incidents of any kind whatsoever.

Dave, very well said. We very strongly concur as evidenced by our cruising in 2013; 42 days on Silversea, 0 on regent, 2014 (15 days booked on Silversea, 0 booked on Regent).

 

We also use frequent flyer miles/hotel points to leverage our international travel (e.g., flew first class to Lisbon last March, FC to London last July and FC to Madiera last November). The three voyages we sailed on Silversea last year would have cost us thousands (multiple) more on Regent (even after factoring in that we paid for all our excursions on SS).

 

However, if you cherry pick your voyages on Regent, on rare occasion, Regent does offer a good itinerary at good value--we booked Capetown to Capetown in Nov 2015 at about $380 per diem. Regent also includes a good pre excursion coupled with this Capetown voyage (4day safari or 4 day winelands tour) for $499 pp (our Taj Mahal pre cruise on Regent in Dec 2012 was $0 (included in price), now however Regent charges $499 pp for these pre cruises) .

Couldn't agree more that Regent can be a great choice on a highly selective basis. We recently did a western Caribbean cruise on Regent (see review at http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=251572) just to test Regent after a long absence. The test had certain limitations as Navigator doesn't have Signatures and it is the oldest, smallest and most limited-facilities ship in the fleet. We did, however, get to experience Regent Shore-ex, something that was much less relevant on their eastern Caribbean itineraries. Airfare was not a meaningful part of our evaluation as we typically fly on self-purchased airfare (domestic) or FF (international BC).

Many aspects of Regent cruises are first class, but to claim six-star status one very important factor is consistency. Six-star status cannot be rightfully claimed when only certain elements are six-star and others fall below/well-below that threshold. For those for whom value-for-money is not a major consideration, Regent offers an easy, convenient format and usually charges a too-high premium that is not a part of that demographic's consideration. For my wife and I we are value conscious enough that it does enter into the equation. When the itinerary and the pricing are right we will consider/choose Regent, but then [and this is key!] not think about value-for-money any further when onboard and allow ourselves to enjoy the strong-points of a Regent cruise.

Our future cruises do not presently include any Regent cruises, but may in the future. We think that Regent is clearly capable of upping their game - constrained only by a bottom-line calculus and the desire to increase margins pre-IPO - and look forward to the launch of Explorer in 2016 and [hopefully] anticipate that this will lead to fleet wide upgrades at some point.