Explorer 10-day Caribbean trip report

Let me start this trip report/review by setting the stage with a couple of important bits of information. First, we are a just retired couple in the mid-60's age bracket. Second, we are total rookies at this cruising business with only one prior cruise to Alaska on Seabourn this past summer. After that experience, it's safe to say we are now hooked on cruising. We had already booked a Seabourn Antarctica cruise for next December when we decided at the last minute to hop on this Regent cruise. In doing so, we were only able to secure what I'll term the leftovers in the excursion department so take my excursion reports with a grain of salt. And, naturally, everything I share is just our humble opinion. That and a buck fifty will get ya a cup of coffee.

Since my husband and I had quite the discussion regarding the pros and cons between the two cruise lines, I think I'll outline those first.

PROS:

1. We stayed in Superior suite 708 and it was fabulous. It's a larger accommodation than Seabourn's Veranda suite with a larger balcony and more comfortable seating. I believe the shower in the bathroom was also much larger.

2. Excellent cocktails! Lol, ok you can see where my priorities fall. I found the bartenders on Explorer to be quite skilled and the signature cocktails impressive.

3. Even though we didn't participate, the casino activities were well advertised, and they even had Bingo! Next trip I will be giving Bingo a go.

4. The Café was divine and the expresso machine was the bomb! We really enjoyed the small food buffet and the elegant atmosphere.

5. Actually, the above are all I have on my pro list, but in reflecting back I do think I quite enjoyed the overall beauty of the ship and would have to give it high marks in that department. My husband, who was adamant after the cruise that he would only sail with Seabourn going forward, has mellowed somewhat and allows that itinerary might be a draw, as it was in this case. We initially looked at the Seabourn Caribbean offerings and did not care for the hoola-hoops we would have had to jump through in order to get to and from Barbados.

CONS:

1. We did not enjoy La Veranda at all. I know, food is subjective. That being said, if we are strictly comparing La Veranda to the Colonnade, Seabourn wins breakfast, lunch and dinner. The same with the Pool Grill. While Regent has more variety at the pool grill, the ambiance and food quality at the Patio Grill on Seabourn was a winner for us. I do give HIGH MARKS to the specialty restaurants, as well as Compass Rose. We enjoyed all our meals in those venues and compare them favorably to the food we had on Seabourn.

2. No outside OPEN AIR table and chair seating were a huge drawback for us. Unless one wanted to stand at the railings or sit in pool loungers, there was no comfortable seating anywhere on the ship to enjoy the ocean. While we thoroughly enjoyed our balcony, I was longing for a nice environment to view the vistas. We really longed for the Seabourn Square back patio with comfortable patio tables, chairs and sofas. As well, at the front of the ship, there was not access outside the Observation lounge.

3. Noise. Unless one held their nose just right while shutting the slider to the patio, the cabin would be engulfed with a dreadful whistling of the wind. There were also all manner of unidentified bangs and the ship shuddering.

4. My husband especially did not like the tendering process on Regent. Initially I thought I would like the tenders themselves better, but the getting on and off process spoiled that for me quickly. Hubby chalked it up to the Captain though I have no opinion on that being clueless as to what's involved in the entire process.

5. Champagne and Caviar breakfast was held on the same day as the Galley Market lunch, plus there was a blow out fish spread at the Pool Grill at the same time. Poor planning and on a 10-day cruise one would think they could spread it all out a bit.

6. No pillow gifts. Lol…I really missed the cool little sussies that came along with the chocolates on Seabourn. I still use my eyeglass cleaning cloth on a daily basis.

7. Terrible music. I know, I know…again very subjective. As a matter of fact, I have seen people rave about Boogie and Kashia on this board, but we truly wouldn't walk across the street to hear them play. We also didn't enjoy the show band or whatever they were called. Deborah on the piano in the Observation lounge was a good singer, but she piped in accompaniment from her iPad that made it sound very old fashioned. All in all, we never found any current music to enjoy anywhere. Somebody give me some Bruno Mars or some Ed Sheeren or heck, just about anything other 40's, 50's elevator music.

8. One last thing I found strange. Escorts into dinner in the evening were very selective and I could find no rhyme or season as to why one person was escorted over another. Did it have something to do with one's suite? If so, I find that tacky. With that said, I don't really enjoy the escorts, so I was quite happy to enter on the arm of my spouse.

Back soon with a day by day synopsis of the voyage.

Thanks very much for your detailed & balanced Explorer review mamapirk/Clay & Gretchen.

Your #2 con is precisely why we booked Silversea for our Norway fjords cruise last July over the Explorer--no top deck for viewing. On the other hand, for those itineraries with stunning outside views (e.g., milford sounds, halong bay, Chilean) fjords we have cruised on the Voyager and Mariner.

Saturday, March 10th

We had a late flight out of Dallas arriving in Miami just past midnight. We stayed at the Miami Hilton to be close to both the airport and the cruise terminal. The hotel transportation from the airport to the hotel was poor. It took us 45 minutes to snag a ride and I was way past my patience point while husband was insistent on the hotel fulfilling their obligation. What can I say…we all have our idiosyncrasies?

Sunday, March 11th

After sleeping in as long as possible we grabbed a taxi to the cruise terminal and were there in literally a flash. The porters met us curbside and processed our bags while we continued inside for the embarkation process. In less than thirty minutes we were on board and exploring the ship. We chose La Veranda for lunch and sat on the back patio enjoying the view. This was probably the best meal we had in La Veranda the whole cruise so was quite happy and sated at this point. As most first days go, we spent the remainder of the day exploring the ship, becoming acquainted with our cabin and unpacking as well as attending the mandatory drill. I must say the drill was much more involved than on Seabourn and I totally approve. On our Seabourn Alaskan cruise we were not required to try on the life vests and I discovered it was a little bit more complicated than I envisioned so was happy to have the instruction. For dinner that night, we chose to go low key with Italian at Sette Mari and turned in early to catch up on some much needed sleep.

Monday, March 12th

Our first sea day spent cruising Bahamian waters. We slept late and ordered coffee to the room. While enjoying our coffee a Code Mike in La Veranda come over the loud speaker. I should have asked someone what that meant, but since I did not I'll ask here. I assume some sort of medical intervention was needed? We lunched at La Veranda where our disenchantment began and continued for the rest of the cruise. To be honest, we should have tried Compass Rose or the specialty restaurants for lunch and did not…a miscue on our part. As for breakfast, we ended up ordering room service many days and thoroughly enjoyed it on our balcony. In the afternoon, we had our first of many wonderful coffee creations at The Café and then moved along to the Pool area for margaritas. We are not sun and pool people and it's a good thing as it was covered over every minute of every day. I like people, but I don't like that much togetherness! I was also very excited to try the afternoon tea as I'm something of a tea snob having spent much of my youth in British territories. I'd been perusing pictures of the tea spread in advance of the cruise and was prepared to be charmed. However, while tasty, it was not the proper tea I'd envisioned, and I really missed my Seabourn scones. One had to ask to receive a scone as they were not routinely offered from the trolley and many times I didn't bother. Trivia was held during tea and that set a different tone from the relaxed affair we experienced in Alaska. Dinner was at Compass Rose where we had the worst waiter I have ever encountered be it on sea or land. He was so bad it was almost comical, and it very nearly put us off CR for the rest of the trip. Common sense took over at some point and we returned to have the absolute best service and experience via Anthony who we asked for from that point forward. After dinner we moved on to the production show and found it delightful.

Tuesday, March 13th

Another sea day where we again gave La Veranda another chance. So-so eggs benedict and what in the world does one need to do to get a second cuppa coffee in this joint? Lol…sorry, another vent. We found service to never be mediocre. It was either stellar or poor. Thankfully, more stellar than poor, but that only made the poor stick out like a sore thumb. We topped off lunch with a margarita from the pool grill area, but with all the windows there was no place to really relax and enjoy it. Back to the room for a nap before tea and trivia at 4pm. We attended a Virtuoso cocktail party prior to a stellar dinner at Chartreuse. We were not interested in the evening entertainment in the theater so had an after-dinner drink before returning to the room.

Wednesday, March 14th

This morning we docked at St. Kitts early at 10am. We skipped breakfast and tried to have a nice lunch at the Pool Grill, but it took 45 minutes to get our order. Everyone seemed to be clueless as to the status of my grilled fish and when it came the food was unfortunately overcooked. We took a ship excursion in the afternoon where we had to cue in the hot sun to wait for our tour to be called. This seemed to be the drill in every port for every excursion. The excursion was an open air tour of the island on a bus that was tightly packed. The guide was personable, and we enjoyed the views. It was ok…basically a pleasant enough way to spend the afternoon aside from the packed bus. Regent doesn’t seem to roll with the idea of giving their guests spacious tour seating. Back on the ship we spent our evening relaxing in the suite and had the most delicious room service meal served on the balcony. Desserts on Regent are extraordinary I might add. We also found it easy to hop down to any bar for a drink "to go" which we would often enjoy on our balcony. Our absolute favorite drink on the cruise was the Wild Alaska which I am currently trying to recreate at home with some success.

Thursday, March 15th

Our sail-in to St. Lucia today was glorious. I spent it on the balcony snapping pictures and enjoying the breeze. The weather has been pitch perfect as well. We ordered pastries and coffee to the room to enjoy during sail-in. For lunch we went to La Veranda where we both had Caesar salads which were excellent. A light salad or cold cuts are the ticket for LV. Our tour this afternoon was an open air trolley through downtown and to the beach. Lame. Totally lame and not in any way worth the expense Regent incurred. Again, packed in like sardines and no breeze at all while touring downtown which was really only a visit to a Catholic church for a quick tour. Back on the tram we headed to the beach where most were ill-equipped nor prepared for the 30 minute sojourn. No place to sit and most of our fellow passengers were elderly with no interest nor ability in getting their feet wet at the beach. I can safely say the entire trolley load of us were happy to be returned to the ship. We dressed for dinner and had cocktails in the Explorer lounge before dining at CR. Dinner and drink were excellent and service was outstanding. A nice ending to the day.

Friday, March 16th

This turned out to be the absolute best day of this cruise for us. We enjoyed a complimentary Virtuoso excursion that was beyond compare. We spent the morning touring Antigua and hitting all the high points near St. John’s. Our guide was exceptional, and we spent just the right amount of time at each stop. Nelson’s Dockyard was perfection and from there we headed to English Harbor where we lunched overlooking the yachts and sailboats. The rum punches were potent and the food tasty. We also had the opportunity to get to know our fellow passengers and enjoyed seeing them over the course of the rest of the cruise. This was a long excursion, taking up most of the day, but every minute was relaxing and enjoyable. And no over crowded buses! Back at the ship we had late afternoon cocktails on the balcony before our Prime 7 reservations that evening. Our sweet waiter added to our enjoyment of the meal. The tuna tower and the 11-layer chocolate cake were highlights. After dinner we again tried to find a lounge to get caught up in the musical vibe and enjoy a cocktail, but it was a no go. It may just be the luck of the draw as to who is booked on each cruise, but we were most fortunate on our Alaskan cruise to have excellent music where we shut the lounge down each night.

Saturday, March 17th

Today, St. Barth’s. I was up at the crack of dawn and watched the sail-in from the top deck while my husband slept in a bit. It was a long tender to shore where we strolled the main street area enjoying the ambiance as well as watching the sailboats sail out for trials of some sort. After doing a bit of shopping we returned to the ship where we retreated to our balcony to watch the million (and even at least one billion dollar – we googled it) yachts in the harbor. The sailboat teams were also quite visible from our balcony. Not sure if it was a regatta or team trials taking place. We ordered dinner and drinks to the balcony where we stayed until the sun set.

Sunday, March 18th

Our first sea day on the return to Miami. Out of the three over the top meals options today, we chose the Sunday brunch at Compass Rose. Being new to the line, and probably hesitant to wander around to have a good look, we missed a few options that we didn’t notice until we were leaving. It was quite the spread though and beautifully laid out. Not to mention delicious. I seem to be using that word a lot. <wink> After lunch it was back to the balcony for more sun and ocean watching. We did dress for dinner and were in the Observation lounge for cocktails and to watch the sun set. Magnificent does not even begin to cover it. Hubby captured some great photos. We had dinner reservations at Pacific Rim and I am here to say it was the best meal of our trip. I read here that the soft-shell crabs are not to be missed and that is an understatement. I may have to book another cruise just to eat at Pacific Rim again. Everything we had that evening was too good for words. After dinner, we waddled to the theater for the David Niven show. That guy has an incredible voice and I really enjoyed his show. Though if I’m being totally honest it did border on being a little cheesy. IMHO he was definitely “playing” to the older crowd. And here I am at 64yo and hardly believing I just typed those words.

Monday, March 19th

Our last sea day of the trip. Would you believe it was another balcony day? Breakfast AND lunch eaten out there. In the afternoon I would pop down to the pool bar for beach drinks to bring back to the balcony. At least we were not the only ones. Our next door suite neighbors spent nearly every day out on their balcony as well. And if I stood to have a better look at the ocean I could see quite a few others enjoying their balconies as much as we were. For dinner it was off to Sette Mari to eat open air on the back deck. Good food and another wonderful sunset. Watched the World Beat show in the theater after dinner. It was just ok. I guess I’m a harsh critic.

Tuesday, March 20th

The last day of the cruise at Great Stirrup Cay. We had every intention of going ashore, but as we sailed in the island did not look to be our cup of tea, so we spent the day on the ship. Naturally we put in a little balcony time and in the afternoon we leisurely packed, so we would have no mad rush late in the evening. Cocktails and sunset at the Observation bar in the evening and a final feast at CR with the incomparable Anthony. A wonderful last night.

Wednesday, March 21st

Since our plane did not leave until late afternoon, we booked the Regent HOHO tour with transportation to the airport. My, my, my…what a nightmare that experience turned out to be for some folks. Yet again, it was necessary to pack as many people as possible into the HOHO buses which met us at the terminal. Consequently, about 15 of us were jam packed on the first floor of the bus with NO WINDOWS and water dripping on us from the A/C. We expected to be taken to the Bayside Marketplace to store our bags and then start the tour of our choice, however bags were taken from us at the terminal and the tour began immediately. It’s a HOHO bus, right? One should just hop off and wait for the next bus, right? Not so, my friends. The guide, who was up top, would ask who wanted to stop and since no one up top wanted to, we didn’t. And our driver did not speak English. When we finally made it back to the Marketplace it was such a relief. Many people had earlier flights than us so that ended up being their only experience. Luckily, we were able to catch a different bus and had a delightful tour of South Beach. We even had time for lunch at the Marketplace and some people watching. Then it was on to the airport and home. We ended as we started, arriving home after midnight.

For what it’s worth, that is our trip! If nothing else, I had fun writing this recap and reliving it all over again.

Very nice review. Do give Regent a second chance regarding excursions. You really need to look at the description. If it involves only buses, just stay away. But they do have some great ones.

Mamapirk, Thank you for sharing your first Regent sailing experience! Every review especially first timers' on Regent are anxiously awaited by those of us that have not yet taken the plunge. Enjoyed the descriptive trip report, it allowed me to feel that I sailed along with you.

I do agree about lack of outside spots to watch ocean on Explorer. For many it is their favorite Regent ship,,,,it rates 3rd with us.

Nice even report, thanks for taking the time. We enjoy our deck when we cruise, it just makes for a nice cruise.

" We skipped breakfast and tried to have a nice lunch at the Pool Grill, but it took 45 minutes to get our order. Everyone seemed to be clueless as to the status of my grilled fish and when it came the food was unfortunately overcooked."

As to the excerpt above from your review, the Pool Grill is not that large, and we are having trouble figuring why it took so long to get your fish? There are not that many items on the menu you order from when seated at the tables there, and we have had most of them - but never with any delay. What excuses did the servers give? Did you have a word with whoever was in charge?

Thanks for your good detailed review. I'm glad that you found a number of things to enjoy about your cruise, and I hope that you'll give the Voyager or Mariner a try. We've loved those two ships for a number of years. Like rcandkc, I'm sure that Explorer, with its absent outdoor forward viewing space (the presence of absence or the absence of presence?), would not be high-up on our list of favorite Regent ships.

Happy continued sailing. When that bug bites, it's a delicious feeling.

Mamapirk - A quick question. Since my only exposure to "luxury ocean cruising" (note - For me, I only use the term "luxury" to define cost - not to define the actual cruise experience) is on Regent, would you return to Regent again as a "go to" cruise line or are you more partial to Silver Sea and Seaborne, overall, after your first experience with Regent?

Saturday, March 17th

Today, St. Barth’s. I was up at the crack of dawn and watched the sail-in from the top deck while my husband slept in a bit. It was a long tender to shore where we strolled the main street area enjoying the ambiance as well as watching the sailboats sail out for trials of some sort. After doing a bit of shopping we returned to the ship where we retreated to our balcony to watch the million (and even at least one billion dollar – we googled it) yachts in the harbor. The sailboat teams were also quite visible from our balcony. Not sure if it was a regatta or team trials taking place. We ordered dinner and drinks to the balcony where we stayed until the sun set.

Sunday, March 18th

Our first sea day on the return to Miami. Out of the three over the top meals options today, we chose the Sunday brunch at Compass Rose. Being new to the line, and probably hesitant to wander around to have a good look, we missed a few options that we didn’t notice until we were leaving. It was quite the spread though and beautifully laid out. Not to mention delicious. I seem to be using that word a lot. <wink> After lunch it was back to the balcony for more sun and ocean watching. We did dress for dinner and were in the Observation lounge for cocktails and to watch the sun set. Magnificent does not even begin to cover it. Hubby captured some great photos. We had dinner reservations at Pacific Rim and I am here to say it was the best meal of our trip. I read here that the soft-shell crabs are not to be missed and that is an understatement. I may have to book another cruise just to eat at Pacific Rim again. Everything we had that evening was too good for words. After dinner, we waddled to the theater for the David Niven show. That guy has an incredible voice and I really enjoyed his show. Though if I’m being totally honest it did border on being a little cheesy. IMHO he was definitely “playing” to the older crowd. And here I am at 64yo and hardly believing I just typed those words.

Monday, March 19th

Our last sea day of the trip. Would you believe it was another balcony day? Breakfast AND lunch eaten out there. In the afternoon I would pop down to the pool bar for beach drinks to bring back to the balcony. At least we were not the only ones. Our next door suite neighbors spent nearly every day out on their balcony as well. And if I stood to have a better look at the ocean I could see quite a few others enjoying their balconies as much as we were. For dinner it was off to Sette Mari to eat open air on the back deck. Good food and another wonderful sunset. Watched the World Beat show in the theater after dinner. It was just ok. I guess I’m a harsh critic.

Tuesday, March 20th

The last day of the cruise at Great Stirrup Cay. We had every intention of going ashore, but as we sailed in the island did not look to be our cup of tea, so we spent the day on the ship. Naturally we put in a little balcony time and in the afternoon we leisurely packed, so we would have no mad rush late in the evening. Cocktails and sunset at the Observation bar in the evening and a final feast at CR with the incomparable Anthony. A wonderful last night.

Wednesday, March 21st

Since our plane did not leave until late afternoon, we booked the Regent HOHO tour with transportation to the airport. My, my, my…what a nightmare that experience turned out to be for some folks. Yet again, it was necessary to pack as many people as possible into the HOHO buses which met us at the terminal. Consequently, about 15 of us were jam packed on the first floor of the bus with NO WINDOWS and water dripping on us from the A/C. We expected to be taken to the Bayside Marketplace to store our bags and then start the tour of our choice, however bags were taken from us at the terminal and the tour began immediately. It’s a HOHO bus, right? One should just hop off and wait for the next bus, right? Not so, my friends. The guide, who was up top, would ask who wanted to stop and since no one up top wanted to, we didn’t. And our driver did not speak English. When we finally made it back to the Marketplace it was such a relief. Many people had earlier flights than us so that ended up being their only experience. Luckily, we were able to catch a different bus and had a delightful tour of South Beach. We even had time for lunch at the Marketplace and some people watching. Then it was on to the airport and home. We ended as we started, arriving home after midnight.

 

For what it’s worth, that is our trip! If nothing else, I had fun writing this recap and reliving it all over again.

 

Mamapirk, Thank you very much for this well balanced and Honest report. It really is a relief to read an realistic story like this on CC. The ardent Regent cheer leaders probably won't like it, but we really do appreciate your input! Said that, we hope you try Regent once more, we love the line and you help the realists among us to keep them sharp!

Paul

Mamapirk, Thank you very much for this well balanced and Honest report. It really is a relief to read an realistic story like this on CC. The ardent Regent cheer leaders probably won't like it, but we really do appreciate your input! Said that, we hope you try Regent once more, we love the line and you help the realists among us to keep them sharp!

Paul

One thing that is not totally clear to me, perhaps I am not a careful enough reader to discern it - bottom line, how would you rate your cruise experience (1-5 stars if you'd like), and will you cruise on Regent again?

Bob

Oops, totally messed up that post. I didn't mean to quote Paul. my question is for the OP, if that is not clear:confused::confused:

Your #2 con is precisely why we booked Silversea for our Norway fjords cruise last July over the Explorer--no top deck for viewing. On the other hand, for those itineraries with stunning outside views (e.g., milford sounds, halong bay, Chilean) fjords we have cruised on the Voyager and Mariner.

I had no idea the deck plans between the ships were that different. I'm looking at the Mariner, Deck 6, Horizon Lounge right this moment. Is that outside bar seating I see on the deck plan? So one could theoretically grab a coffee from The Coffee Connection and walk it through to the outside seating at the Horizon Lounge?

And the deck wraps around the Observation bar as well?

Very nice review. Do give Regent a second chance regarding excursions. You really need to look at the description. If it involves only buses, just stay away. But they do have some great ones.

We are literally the king and queen of last minute jaunts. I don't savor the anticipation of a trip...I just want to get on with the program. Everyone we know is shocked we booked this upcoming Antarctica trip a year in advance. We generally wake up one morning, look at each other, and decide to grab the next plane out of town. Going forward, should we cruise with Regent again, I'll know to book private excursions should the better Regent tours be full.

As I'm typing this, I just realized I probably made another crucial mistake in not checking with destination services to see if any of the better tours had cancellations. In our defense, we were probably in mental overload taking it all in and finding our way in a new environment.

As to the excerpt above from your review, the Pool Grill is not that large, and we are having trouble figuring why it took so long to get your fish? There are not that many items on the menu you order from when seated at the tables there, and we have had most of them - but never with any delay. What excuses did the servers give? Did you have a word with whoever was in charge?[/quote

 

The waiter took our initial order and promptly delivered our drink order. When I realized I was plowing through my bloody mary with no sign of food in sight, I asked the waiter if he could check on our order. He never got back to me, so I walked myself over to the sweet gal taking orders at the grill and inquired about our food. I watched her confer with the grill chef and he had the order in hand saying it was next up. It was still a longish wait after that. Folks all around us were receiving their food, so it was an odd deal. And when I say it took a full 45 min. to get the order, I'm not joking. A blip on the map in the whole scheme of things, but I still had to mention it in my review.

Mamapirk - A quick question. Since my only exposure to "luxury ocean cruising" (note - For me, I only use the term "luxury" to define cost - not to define the actual cruise experience) is on Regent, would you return to Regent again as a "go to" cruise line or are you more partial to Silver Sea and Seaborne, overall, after your first experience with Regent?

My husband and I would certainly go with Seabourn first, but that doesn't mean it would be the right choice for everyone. The very things we prize in a cruise experience could very well be inconsequential to another person.

Mamapirk, Thank you very much for this well balanced and Honest report. It really is a relief to read an realistic story like this on CC. The ardent Regent cheer leaders probably won't like it, but we really do appreciate your input! Said that, we hope you try Regent once more, we love the line and you help the realists among us to keep them sharp!

Paul

Everyone is very welcome for my humble thoughts. I spent many months reading cruise reports before we ever took our initial plunge and found them so helpful I wanted to return the favor.

Oops, totally messed up that post. I didn't mean to quote Paul. my question is for the OP, if that is not clear:confused::confused:

I think I would give it a 4 out of 5 stars based solely on the lack of comfortable, fresh-air outside seating with great views...especially since it would be so easy to accomplish both on Decks 12 and 5. But as I said in another post, that's just something very important to us and others might not care a fig. My husband spent his entire career as a computer engineer holed up behind a desk in massive dark, dusky, temperature controlled environments, so in a way retirement feels like he's been let out of prison and he just wants to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. We did accomplish that to some degree on our balcony, but wanted more.

As to whether we'd sail with Regent again, the best I can give you at this point is a maybe. As I prefaced at the start of my review, we are rookies at this. I think our thinking going forward will be to book Seabourn first unless the itinerary does not suit in which case we would probably give Silversea a try, and perhaps Oceania in one of their larger suites, before coming back to Regent. Not saying that we wouldn't, just that we need a bit more experience under our belts first.

I had no idea the deck plans between the ships were that different. I'm looking at the Mariner, Deck 6, Horizon Lounge right this moment. Is that outside bar seating I see on the deck plan? So one could theoretically grab a coffee from The Coffee Connection and walk it through to the outside seating at the Horizon Lounge?

 

And the deck wraps around the Observation bar as well?

You will find Mariner (and Voyager with one major shortcoming) much better for viewing from outside decks. On both ships you could grab and coffee and sit on fantail aft outside of Horizon Lounge; comfortable seating included. On Mariner, there are outside wings to the observation lounge where you can go to take unobstructed pictures. On Voyager you actually have to go one deck higher to Deck 12 where it is fantastic viewing forward; with the one shortfall of not being able to duck in to get warmed up quickly.

One of the big shortfalls to Explorer (and Splendour) in my opinion was the removal of Horizon Lounge with the spa being put in rear of ship instead. Horizon Lounge, both inside and outside, is one of my favorite places on the ship.

Please give one of Regent's older ships a try; I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Marc