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Food - Regent and Oceania

Travelcat2

By Travelcat2,
in Regent Seven Seas Cruises

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Hambagahle

Hambagahle

Posted
Posted

Gerry, tea is on this end of the ship -- just a medium walk to the elevator up to the 15th (or 14th or ???) deck to Horizons. To go to the Terrace Café, it depends upon how fast you walk:-) We had breakfast in the Executive Lounge because I was too lazy to walk the length of the ship for breakfast:-)

 

In terms of who will be the G.M., I will certainly ask. Information on the C.D. is very unreliable right now (and has been for 2-3 months) but will ask. My best source is actually on vacation now. When he is back on an Oceania ship, I'll email him.

 

 

Thanks Jackie - but actually we will be in the Owners Suite on Deck 8 which is at the stern - so the restaurants etc will be fine for us. Just we will have a long long walk (or so it sounds from your description!) to get to tea at Horizons. And on our last cruise we developed a habit of a Calvados at Horizons after dinner too... I think we shall have to find another bar!

 

Anyway - look forward to hearing more as you have it to tell us! And I do wish people would stop making snide comments. Your thread/post/photos are great!

Gerry

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computerworks

computerworks

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computerworks -- if you are reading this, please post more of your lovely photos. Thank you again! Do you have any of Red Ginger or Le Reserve?

 

I sure do... I'll add them later.

 

Just had a "What hath God wrought" moment with TC... her pics are now coming in to me.

 

Here we go...

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Travelcat2

Travelcat2

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I am stunned. Just did a live, face to face session with Amazon -- from Columbia. Everything is fixed but am having trouble signing out. Go figure. Will answer questions and get back on topic soon. Difficult for me to "hunt and peck" on kindle

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Travelcat2

Travelcat2

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Happy to hear that people are enjoying this. IMO, the beauty of the Riviera is more interesting than it has been in the past because the Regent Explorer could have some of the features you see here. Keep in mind that the cost of this suite is no more than we have paid for 10 nights in a Regent PH and this is a 14 night cruise (alcohol is an additional $120/day).

 

Three people can easily stay in a Vista Suite. There are 1 3/4 baths. Since there are no plugs in the bathrooms (except for a razor), the extra plugs around the suite are necessary. I have my hair "stuff" plugged into the "gym" area.

 

I lost a post a few minutes ago so I'll post this and touch on NCL.

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Ron&Sue

Ron&Sue

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TC2, thanks for the info on the Vista Suite. It is lovely. With the six bottles of liquor included plus the welcoming bottle of champagne, Amex bottle of wine, happy hour and La Reserve, we found no need for the drink package. Suites are like flying first class it is hard to go back to coach, we seem to enjoy Oceania's suite so much it would be difficult to go to regular cabin on Regent. We have done the regular cabins, penthouse and upper suites on Regent and still find Riveria/Marina so much better. Explorer will be beautiful, I am surprised to hear it will be in the Caribbean. Your pictures are great and appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to post.

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Travelcat2

Travelcat2

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Good for you being open minded. It is a beautiful ship to be sure.

 

Yes Carole -- I am kind of advertising Oceania. I think it woud be a nice change for Regent guests -- only on certain itineraries. There are negatives as well. I am trying to be fair to both cruise lines.

 

Host Dan, agree with above posts -- the 2nd bathroom has a shower which makes it a 3/4 bathroom.

 

Okay -- about NCL. Before I can fairly discuss this I must discuss what I have learned about Oceania customers. They are extremely, extremely loyal to Oceania. Many go back to Renaissance and certainly to Oceania before it was purchased by Apollo. They are also loyal to FDR and look up to him. FDR and his family are the founders of Oceania. It was family and remained family - at least until NCL stepped in. One can argue whether this was good or not, but, I know that Oceania was built from FDR's heart. I also know that once he and his lovely DW started working (think refurbishments) on Regent, this became part of their family as well.

 

Now back to this cruise. For obvious reasons I will do whatever is necessary to avoid information being attached to any specific crew member. When I stepped onto the ship, I "felt" that something was off. It certainly was not the food or service. I did not know what it was until computerworks emailed me to let me know that Mr. Kamlani resigned.

 

The only reason I felt concern is because NCL indicated in their public statement that nothing would change. An officer on Regent also stated this. He said that things will remain the same for 5 years. NOTE: YES - I AM YELLING (NICELY) THIS IS ALL HERESAY. Less than a month after the take-over by NCL, the President is gone. More heresay...... there have been more Oceania employees fired than Regent employees.

 

Do not want to lose this so it will be continued.

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Travelcat2

Travelcat2

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There are some crew members that will not discuss what has taken place. There are others that state that they will resign if FDR leaves. Again, the impact of Kunal's departure is felt dramatically more on Oceania than on Regent (according to sources).

 

I was asked why we may not cruise beyond 2016. My DH and I have been blessed by being able to travel internationally since 1986 (or 1987 -- brain drain). We have gone everywhere we have wanted to... some places multiple times. We went through Apollo purchasing Regent -- it had some very low moments. At this point, we are not sure we want to go through changes yet again. I suppose it depends upon the changes. We want to see FDR's vision (i.e. the Explorer).

 

In general, we do not want the drama that "could" take place with the NCL take-over. I personallly do not have confidence in the CEO of NCL. When Apollo purchased Regent, I did not feel that FDR understood the cruise line. Note: I respect FDR more than almost anyone in my life -- he is honorable, honest and one of the most benevolent people we have met. However, what I am posting would not be a surprise to him. Continued.

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Travelcat2

Travelcat2

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We have only two Regent cruises booked in 2015 -- one April 2nd (too late to cancel) and one in November. We did not book anything in between because of my upcoming surgery. However, since I decided to have surgery in December, we could book something in mid-2015. I will be watching and reading CC boards very intently in the next few months. I will be looking for balanced reviews. Any further bookings will be based upon that.

 

Back to food. We dined at Polo - the P7 equivalent. Once again, there are things in Polo that I wish were adopted in P7. I cannot say that Polo is better than P7 but I could not find anything in terms of service to criticize (and I looked for something). One of my lobster claws "tiddly winked" onto the floor when the server tried to remove it from its' shell. Soon two claws arrived at the table to replace it. Absolutely amazing service.

 

I am not happy to see some of the best butlers - once on Regent - now on Oceania. IMO, Regent is the "luxury" cruise line and should be a step above Oceania (just a small step). Is the food on Oceania better than Regent. I still believe it is not (except in some specialty restaurants). We will dine in the Terrace Cafe one night -- not for the lobster which is easily obtainable in Polo but for the sushi/sashimi. Will report back.

 

I have forgotton to take pictures of too many things. Believe it or not, CC is not foremost in my mind when we are on vacation. I'll send photos from Polo to computerworks tomorrow.

 

Correction to an earlier post. The passengers who told us that the time went forward one hour last night was wrong. Hope it did not mess up his day too much. Actually it goes forward one hour tonight. We will arrive in Aruba noon tomorrow. This is a fun port since I can shop for my 35th anniversary ring. If we do not find it in Aruba, we will look on our April cruise (I'm not in any hurry:D)

Edited by Travelcat2
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Caroldoll Great Review Rare

Caroldoll

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The stores are amazing. I trust you can FORCE yourself to find something for those 35 amazing years! LOL...Denny is the real deal.

 

Everything about Aruba is clean. The taxi driver we had wanted to make sure we didn't have sand on us when we got his cab.

 

Don't get kidnapped though! Have a fun time.

 

Don't be bothered that the butlers are better (they are, except I love the one we had Pritham)..and don't be bothered that you have more of a choice of restaurants (you do) and don't be bothered that the suites are so beautiful (they are); just put it out of your mind that they are premium economy or whatever you call it...they are newer...their parts are not worn out (like mine and those on an older ship) and they are very nicely decorated! Just concentrate on a good time...and maybe, just maybe, that last cruise in 2015, you will pick one on Oceania! Maybe the two we are on!

 

Hang in...you are having a good time!

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Wendy The Wanderer

Wendy The Wanderer

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Funny, I didn't think much of Polo, not compared to Prime 7.

 

And remember that experience with things like butlers is anecdotal. I did not like my Riviera butler much at all, he was too ingratiating and desperate for us to say nice things about him on our evaluation of him.

 

I happen to feel that FDR has been neglecting Regent in favour of Oceania--I don't think he does "feel the love" in the same way for Regent.

Edited by Wendy The Wanderer
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sonar

sonar

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My intuition is what it is. I am a hypnotherapist and reiki master -- all of this fits in with my on again/off again intuition. Prior to the announcement I also posted that I no longer trust what NCL says.

 

Thank you. That pretty well says it all.

What does your intuition tell you about the food on Oceania vs. Regent ?

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Mjflowers

Mjflowers

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You can only express your opinions if you are TC or one of her posse

 

Many times she has told others that this board is about Regent (unless it is her posting)

 

 

JMO

:)

Will see what happens when FDR is the next one to fall. Someone posted that if this happened a change of cruise lines would follow. Keep you fingers crossed. Corporate will prevail.

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