on board the Explorer

Sette Mari is great when you are back from tour and don't want to eat a protracted meal. Like others I would just enjoy the olivesnthings and then was happy with a couple of apps. I am not on Regent until next year but am looking forward to it.

Rachel, had we been more familiar with how Sette Mari works, we'd have noticed the lack of bread and nibbles and realised the implications. I'm pleased it's not just us who experience inconsistency, though as we cruise just once a year it's difficult to remember exactly what to expect. I'll admit too, that we don't like the rush for tables - by the time we're ready to dine it will likely be full. Since our next cruise is on board Navigator, however, we may have to review our dining preferences as we will have more limited choices. Still, if we dined in the updated Compass Rose every night, we'd be happy!

Try the Sette Mari on the Navigator, go with an open mind as it is very different from the other ships' Sette Mari restaurants. It has the ambience on a successful trattoria and with good service, at least every time we have been.

Thanks for everyone chiming in on the thread I started. It would be interesting to get feedback from the others on board, especially those who have found the service consistently excellent.

Last night we ate at the Compass Rose, it was Beef Wellington night. My wife took her St. Patrick Day exemption for Beef Wellington. The preparation was good, a little more duxelle than we have seen in the past. Mine was delicious. I would have liked a little more sauce but I didn't want to kick over a bucket.

We joined a table with two other couples after the others had been seated a few minutes, this seems to be the one constant in our train wrecks. The first couple gets the choice of bread, the last gets a menu. This did not bother me, but the other couple started to get annoyed. We got our wine started and everything seemed to be going okay. The wine service vanished. This really bugged the other couple as we discussed our experience with service issues on the ship this other couple started to behave boorishly, in my opinion. It ended with the other couple arguing with the waiter. In the words of Marcus Lemonis, "It is People, Product and Process". I think the people are good, I think the product is good. The process needs work.

We went to the Crew Capers Farewell Show, its hokey but the cast tried hard to their limit of their talent. It was fun and consistent with the others we have been to on Regent. The cast seemed to be only Philippino, none of the Eastern European crew.

After dinner we went to the theater to see the Paradis show. We sat in the balcony about 10 minutes before show time. No drink service. We saw one waiter attend to a few of the guests and then he disappeared. I went looking for a nearby bar but was afraid I would miss the show. We enjoyed the show. But future guests should sit on the main floor or BYOB.

We didn't go to any of the lectures. I suffered through the last election cycle and even now sometimes turn off my beloved Squawk Box when the politics get stirred up. I certainly didn't want our relaxing vacation away from real life roiled up with BS.

I will post after we get home with any final experiences of note. Hope my observations are helpful to someone.

Thanks for all your comments. Sorry service was such a challenge for you. Looking forward to reading your final thoughts. Safe trip home.

I do think they should make everyone sign a no political discussion form before boarding and confine violators to the engineroom. Please let me eat in peace!

Ha! I agree! We had someone on the World Cruise hang an enormous (I should say "tremendous") Trump banner from his balcony at every port. I thought the rule was that nothing should be draped on the balcony.....I have a lot of funny things do say about this but, because they are irreverent and scatalogical, I'll refrain from sharing in this forum!

We were on a cruise ship during the election AND in Acapulco Inauguration Day. I didn't want to hear another word!!!!

Anyway I ordered a Zambuca straight up and got it on the rocks. This continues the trend of little hitches.

.

They couldn't figure out what vodka soda short glass was. Came in a tall glass. Seabourn didn't get it right either, until I found the perfect bar waiter! Guess it was my fault for not saying "rocks glass"?

Sette Mari is quite pleasant if you sit on the deck outside on a nice night. I quite enjoy the Veal Milanese entree when it's on the menu, and some of the appetizers and pastas.

Otherwise, no way we would ever eat there.

Sette Mari is quite pleasant if you sit on the deck outside on a nice night. I quite enjoy the Veal Milanese entree when it's on the menu, and some of the appetizers and pastas.

 

Otherwise, no way we would ever eat there.

We tried dining al fresco at Sette Mari on our January Explorer cruise. We were there first thing, and it was lovely until it got dark. Perhaps they have corrected the lighting situation by now, but it got so dark we honestly could not see the food on our plates. The rest of the place was busy and we couldn't go inside to finish dinner, so we gave up. We weren't mad at all - just sorry we couldn't complete our meal.

Final thoughts on our cruise. Dinner Saturday was excellent at the Compass Rose. Even though we opened a new table and were sitting alone for a while. Everything turned out well. While we waited the waiters offered to reseat us to a table for two but we persevered and were shortly joined by two couples. The waiters were attentive and the courses came on a timely basis and our wine glasses were kept full. Just what we had expected when we booked Regent.

The final show was entertaining, the young folks did a good job singing and dancing.

Leaving the ship was organized and relatively painless. I was surprised we did not have to complete a customs declaration to clear customs. We purchased a coach transfer to the airport, more or less stress free although it took awhile for the A/C to get going. The coaches don't unload at the regular departures area. American Airlines location looked funky but we were going Delta and there were luggage carts available and we had only a short wait to check our luggage. We could have saved some time and money if we went by cab but the coach was comfortable.

My wife and I put a lot of information on our feedback form. I suspect we were not alone. I hope Regent takes the critiques to heart and works to get the bugs worked out.

I am on the Voyager now .

They have really done a good job on the refurbishment.

Had dinner tonight in Prime 7;

steak was perfect.

Heading on to New Zealand and the Bali .

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Thanks for sharing rustyrabb.

For your info, RachelG is on board with you and has a separate thread (Sydney to Auckland) that you may want to also post on concerning your Voyager experiences.

Pls see:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2601220&page=4

Enjoy New Zeland (the Dunedin Taieri Gorge Railway excursionis wonderful)