Regent Seven Seas first impressions ...

[ArtsyCraftsy]

I disembarked on October 10 from my first cruise on Regent Seven Seas on the Mariner: 28 days, “Serene Sunsets” starting in Vancouver, BC on September 12 to Alaska and down to San Francisco for 10 days; then 18 days from San Francisco to Miami via the Panama Canal.  I’ve been letting things sink in before writing my impressions, but I think I’m ready now …

 

First and foremost — I’m so impressed with RSSC’s attention to detail, commitment to providing the best guest experience possible, and general friendliness and camaraderie of the passengers and crew.  I had been on only two previous cruises, both on Holland America, which I enjoyed, but RSSC takes the cruise experience to a whole other level.  Bear in mind that I travel solo — 

 

Positives first:

 

1.  Cabin — I booked a Concierge Suite, primarily because while a larger cabin might have been my first choice, I couldn’t figure out what I’d do with a butler if I had one.  I had cruised on Holland America in their Neptune Suites — 500+ square feet — so I was a bit concerned about the smaller square footage of the Concierge Suite (300+ square feet including veranda).  I was surprised that it didn’t feel “cramped” at all — while smaller than a Neptune, the general amenities are the same (in-suite coffee maker, mini-fridge, concierge service, etc.).  By the end of the first week, I felt completely “at home” and started thinking about the possibility of taking a longer cruise in the same cabin category.  More on that later …

 

2.  Food — everything exceeded my expectations.  I’d heard that RSSC dining was superb, but so was Holland America’s (especially on the Amsterdam, my first cruise; my second HAL cruise on the Rotterdam was hit-or-miss … ).  But the Mariner main dining room was what I’d call 5*, while HAL’s main dining room would be 3*.  As an example, the Mariner’s Main Dining Room menu of items available every day reads much like Holland America’s “Pinnacle Grill” menu (specialty dining venue; $35/person additional charge), but on steroids!  Many more options, many more sauces, more sides, etc.  And the daily changing choices on the Mariner were extremely creative and varied.  I ate twice in Prime 7 and three times in Chartreuse — both were excellent.  I also dined in Sette Mari — similar to Holland America’s “Canaletto” — “upscale” Italian — and thoroughly enjoyed that.  And of course La Veranda offered excellent casual options, but more sophisticated than Holland America’s Lido — although with fewer choices overall.

 

3.  Service — I experienced good service on a daily basis from both cruise lines, although I did find the overall service level on the Mariner to be more personalized.  It’s hard to quantify, but I found I didn’t have to specifically ask for certain things on the Mariner; my cabin stewards seemed to pick up on my daily routine and adjusted their activities to that without my having to say anything, while on Holland America, I found myself having to specifically ask for certain things, often more than once.  It’s a small thing, not a deal breaker, but certainly something I noticed.  Also, I was very impressed with how the Mariner staff handled a couple of situations, one involving a dental mishap; the other involving an apparent misunderstanding among MDR policies re: sharing tables.  Since I didn’t encounter similar specific incidents on either of my Holland America trips, I can’t compare how they would have handled them.  But I was very impressed with how RSSC dealt with the situations, their responsiveness, and going “above and beyond” to make my experience as painless and uncomplicated as possible.

 

4.  Overall “vibe” — RSSC shines in this regard, most likely due to the smaller guest population.  I thoroughly enjoyed the “Block Parties” that occurred twice (once on each “leg” of my cruise), and the overall friendliness of fellow guests and crew, who constantly surprised me by calling me by name even when they hadn’t served me previously.

 

I have some mobility issues — mostly breathing related, but also orthopedic — which make disembarking in certain ports difficult, especially if I have to walk long distances to get to excursion pick-up points, etc.  I can get around the ship just fine, although I have to go more slowly than I'd like sometimes, but I do so without "aids" (I'm fiercely independent, but I'm also a realist concerning my limitations ... ).  This means that in some ports, I’m physically unable to participate in excursions or even get off the ship (especially if tenders are involved in less-than-smooth waters).  No problem on the Mariner — there was always a lot to do onboard, and not disembarking was viewed as a valid choice while in port.  This was not the general feeling on Holland America, where those of us who were unable to disembark due to physical challenges often received comments from fellow passengers (and even from some crew members) that our experience was somehow “less than” that of other passengers who were able to participate fully in port excursions/etc. — “If you’re just going to stay onboard, why take a cruise at all?  Just book a hotel somewhere and stay for a week … “  Having to explain again and again that I find the onboard experience every bit as valuable as the port experience gets old after awhile.  I never felt I had to explain myself on the Mariner — staying onboard was a perfectly valid choice.

 

Negatives:

Apart from the aforementioned misunderstanding re: MDR table-sharing policies (which was handled very nicely), I honestly cannot find any fault at all.  Everyone from Captain Green all the way to the cabin stewards and wait staff in the dining venues performed admirably.  Getting to know so many fellow guests and crew on a much more personal basis than I’d experience on HAL was such a pleasure!  I’m basically a textbook introvert — crowds wear me out, but I do fine in small groups — and I never felt compelled to be more “sociable” than was comfortable.  This was not the case on Holland America.  Again, those of us who weren’t as driven to participate in onboard games/etc. were often called out for not participating.  I never encountered that on the Mariner.

 

Conclusion:

The overall RSSC/Mariner experience was so positive that I booked RSSC’s 2020 “Navigate the World” world cruise the day after we left San Francisco on the way to Los Angeles.  I spent an afternoon going through all the numbers comparing it with HAL’s 2020 World Cruise.  The RSSC base fare on the Mariner came in at $20K cheaper than HAL’s base fare for a comparable cabin/comparable length cruise (131 days for RSSC vs 128 days for HAL) without adding in all the extras that HAL charges (wine/drink packages, excursions, gratuities, etc.), not to mention all the world cruise extras that RSSC provides (visas, free onboard medical, first-class airfare to/from embarkation/disembarkation port, luggage service, etc.).  Although RSSC’s “per person, double occupancy” fare is higher than HAL's, the “single supplement” makes a huge difference — so far, in my experience, the single supplement on RSSC runs around 40-45%; on HAL, it’s 100%.  I was able to book the same Concierge Suite I was then occupying (972 on the Mariner) — I kept asking myself “Can you see yourself living in this cabin for 4+ months?” and my answer was always “Why, yes!  Yes, I can!”

 

I’ve also booked RSSC’s 2020-21 “Grand Cape Horn Adventure” — 68 days, also on the Mariner, around South America and the Amazon, October 29, 2020 - Jan 5, 2021.  That means I'll be spending Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's onboard -- should be a lot of fun!!

 

Bottom line:

I will still look at Holland America due to their interesting itineraries — I have two HAL cruises booked for 2019 (Hawaii-Tahiti-Marquesas in Mar/Apr 2019; and Incan Empires in Sep/Oct 2019).  But RSSC will definitely be my first choice as long as it's economically feasible.

 

For those who've cruised other non-luxury lines, all I can say is you might be very impressed by RSSC's overall cruise experience.  I'll admit I'm new to this whole "cruise thing," but after two HAL cruises, I found RSSC to be an excellent "step up," especially for solo travelers.

 

Lana in Bellingham, WA

 

[Hambagahle]

This is a very interesting, well written and fun to read comparison.  Thank you Lana!  Great that you saw so many positives about Regent (and I totally agree with what you say!).  And also great that you enjoy solo travelling AND are able to do it.   

[travelwell]

I am so glad you had a great experience. I hope you will continue to write on your cruising experiences, especially your 2020 WC. 

[liptastic]

Enjoyed your comprehensive review. Its lovely to hear you have booked a further 2 long voyages and you have so much to look forward to. Glad you had a great time on Mariner, and thanks for posting.     Jean.

[poss]

So glad that you enjoyed your first Regent experience, and may you enjoy many more.   I envy your being able to take those long cruises.   Lucky lady! 

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

Been following your postings on your Regent cruises. So glad you are now part of our “groupie” sailors on Regent. You expressed all the reasons we love it. Envy your world cruise choices. Would never be able to convince Herb to do it. Enjoy!

sheila

[SC Retired Cruiser]

A very well written review.   We enjoyed meeting you at the meet and greet on the SF to Miami segment.  Happy travels!!!

 

Bob and Maria

[macbest]

Nice to hear of another “convert”. The regent experience is what draws us back year after year. No mention of the typical 1550-3000 people on HAL vs the 700 max on Mariner. To me this is a big selling point. More personalized attention throughout the ship. 

 

And yes yes we love the food on Regent. Your description and comparison of just the left side of the menu in CR is right on. I’ve never seen that on any ship. And those options are all excellent. Can’t wait till our next sailing in Feb. 

[ArtsyCraftsy]

9 hours ago, macbest said:

Nice to hear of another “convert”. The regent experience is what draws us back year after year. No mention of the typical 1550-3000 people on HAL vs the 700 max on Mariner. To me this is a big selling point. More personalized attention throughout the ship. 

 

And yes yes we love the food on Regent. Your description and comparison of just the left side of the menu in CR is right on. I’ve never seen that on any ship. And those options are all excellent. Can’t wait till our next sailing in Feb. 

 

I knew fairly early on, even before my first cruise, that I would NOT be happy on one of the mammoth mega-ships.  In addition to being an introvert, I have a slight tendency toward claustrophobia -- not "panic-attack" level, but certainly uncomfortable under certain circumstances, one of which is standing and milling around in a large crowd of people.

 

I posted here on the second or third day of the cruise, I think, that I felt like I was in "foodie heaven" on the Mariner.  I enjoy the occasional (ahem!) glass of wine -- and attended the wine tastings including both of the "connoisseur's wine lunches" (extra charge, and worth every penny).  I'm not an expert by any means, but I like to experiment and the all-inclusive RSSC fares make that easy and convenient.

 

Unfortunately, I won't be back onboard an RSSC ship again until I board the Mariner in January 2020 for the world cruise.  Meanwhile, I have two HAL cruises (28 days and 35 days respectively) and a short 7-day Oceania trip in 2019 to keep me occupied.  Oh, and a trip back "home" for my 50-yr high school reunion in September just before the second HAL cruise.

 

Lana in Bellingham, WA

 

[UUNetBill]

We took our first cruise on Regent in 2009.  Then our second cruise on Regent in 2010.  Around Christmas of 2010 we found a good deal on a 15-night Christmas in the Islands thing on the QM2 so we booked it.  About 2,700-2,800 passengers, I think.  Although it was a beautiful ship and rode well in rough seas, the nickel and diming, the lines for EVERYTHING, and just the extra, oh, I don't know - crowdedness? - sent us gratefully back to Regent where we've been ever since.

 

I can't even imaging being on one of the 6,500 passenger behemoths with the slides and ziplines and shopping malls and...ugh.  I saw a thing on TV about one of the "Godzilla of the Seas" class ships (can't remember which one) and just looking at the throngs of people and the hustle and bustle all over the ship...the mashup of 'typical American bodies' on the pool deck...bullhorns on deck...nope, not for me.  Thank God we have choices.

 

I seem to recall years ago when they announced their plans for a new build that eventually became the Explorer that they'd mentioned it would carry 1.200 or 1,250 passengers and they got a LOT of pushback from everyone in attendance.  Apparently they listened as the new ships came in at 750 and not 1,250.  Makes me much happier.

[Ep010835]

All of this absolutely blows me away. In the very best possible way. I've just booked our first RSSC cruise. The Amazon River cruise in 2020. I find myself looking right past 5 other cruises we have booked on other lines between now and then. Everytime I read descriptions and reviews like Lana's, my anticipation grows!

It's difficult to try to establish in our imaginations which component of the RSSC experience we are going to like best. They all sound absolutely wonderful. 

Can't wait. 😀

[ronrick1943]

Only thing I can add for EP010835, you're going to enjoy the cruise. We've cruised 3 times on Regent and have 4 more booked--next one in April 2019 and really can't wait-----well, we can wait but we're really looking forward to April.