Celebrity Cruises Suite Lover...Regent??

[lawgirl]

Hello. I know this is totally subjective, but we are really struggling.  And I have been reading and reading!

 

We have cruised a fair amount, and at this point we love Celebrity suites. The refurbed ships now offer Renovated suites (300 to 400 square feet for cabin, without counting verandah which is 75 to 100 feet), exclusive suite only restaurant, lounge, outdoor area and are all-inclusive except for excursions and air (though we always get a huge OBC).  Premium drinks, tips, WiFi. 

 

I realize from going to Hawaii, Europe, Africa, Russia, South America, etc that flights and excursions aren’t cheap. So the added business class  air is attractive with Regent.   

 

But we are a little picky and I do tons of research to book private or small group excursions, so I am not sure about free Regent excursions and if they are nice/fun.  We rarely take ship excursions, as I picture big buses with a few people who are either unhappy or running late ... just touristy I guess.  So maybe the free excursions will be disappointing or hard to get good ones if they get booked quickly.

 

Anyhow, I was ready to book Galápagos and Machu Picchu with Celebrity for a second time, but it over $30,000 for two.  Because  of the cost, I decided to look at luxury lines and at Regent I found some nice itineraries involving Israel, Egypt and Europe.  Voyager and Mariner.  

 

However, I am a creature of habit and a little scared about trying Regent.   I love the itineraries, but am worried about spending  $25000 to $30000 On a cruise and spending  2 or more weeks on a ship if we will be disappointed. (As my husband reminded me, we could buy a whole new car!)  And of course there are some unflattering reviews about the food, small cabins, storage, etc.  And I do bring a lot of clothes/shoes!  😊

 

We can only afford a veranda or maybe concierge suite.  

 

Will we love Regent?  Anyone who loved Celebrity make the leap?  I know there are those who love every cruise line from Carnival on up....but i am hoping for honest advice. I am confused!! Thank you all, as I know many of you have answered lots of questions before.  

 

 

[Travelcat2]

Hopefully we can make your decision a bit easier. We took our first Celebrity cruise last September.  We stayed in a Royal suite and enjoyed Luminae and Michaels Club but were not impressed with the food and service on the rest of the ship!I

 

Try to imagine the entire ship having the food and service that you experience in the suite only venues on Celebrity!  That is Regent. 

 

As you likely know, tips, specialty restaurants, premium alcohol (think Grey Goose vodka, Patron tequila, etc.), most excursions are also included.some excursions are more fun/interesting than others. Try going to the rssc.com website, find a cruise that you are interested in and read the excursion descriptions.

 

Lobster, Filet Mignon and other delicious entrees are available in Compass Rose (the MDR). And you can order anything that you wish (as long as they have the ingredients) with 24 hours notice.  

 

While I could go on and on about Regent is, it is not for everyone (trying to be honest). The ships are dramatically smaller.  Therefore, you will find a more relaxed atmosphere inn Regent, less shops and some things are just on a smaller scale than Celebrity. There are generally very few or no children on board except during the summer.  This in and of itself changes the atmosphere  

 

May I suggest that you find a luxury TA - one that had sailed Regent and regularly books cruises with them.  Many of these TA's will give a percentage back on your cruise fare and, on many itineraries, will provide some OBC's.  Most importantly, they can give you advice such as which does to book and which you may want to avoid (like being in a suite under the pool deck).

 

Hope that I've given you something too think about!

Edited August 4, 2019 by Travelcat2

[Kitekat]

3 hours ago, lawgirl said:

Will we love Regent?  Anyone who loved Celebrity make the leap?  I know there are those who love every cruise line from Carnival on up....but i am hoping for honest advice. I am confused!! Thank you all, as I know many of you have answered lots of questions before.  

 

We have been loyal Celebrity passengers for many years, although not in suites. We rarely took their tours, preferring to find something a bit more personal or do something a bit different. We took our first Regent cruise three years ago on Voyager and a couple more since then. We have not sailed in anything higher than a Penthouse and choose Concierge as VFM for us, coming from the UK.

 

We are foodies and have several Michelin starred restaurants close to us that we dine at regularly. While not to this standard, we find the food is very good and Compass Rose is my preferred restaurant of choice on Voyager. I would say that the general standard is higher than Murano. (And I loathe Qsine on Celebrity).

 

We always choose the Premium drinks package and find the basic offering on Regent much better. And they will try to get your preferred tipple if they don't generally stock it, if you give them sufficient notice.

 

We have taken tours with Regent and it's fair to say that some have been a bit 'packaged' but others have been fine. We have also taken some paid excursions (some Regent tours require a supplement) and they were good. 

 

The service on Regent is personal and excellent. I think you would enjoy Regent and if, the price and itinerary are right, I'd definitely go for it!

[hypercafe]

I believe the thing you will notice most is the vast difference in the size of the ship and what that entails. No grand atrium or restaurants, limited fitness centers, limited stage shows, limited shops, small pool area. If you like the food in Luminae you will not be disappointed. The true all inclusive aspect is nice, just partake in what you want. If you have the time I would suggest a short trip to give it a try before committing to a voyage.  Have fun!!!

[taxare]

We did two Celebrity Aqua class cruises, which were enjoyable, tried Regent and never looked back. Our sixth Regent cruise is soon! As far as the excursions, we have generally found them to be fine, not great, but interesting and the guides mostly good. Regent is starting to offer small group excursions at an additional cost. If you are in a popular cruise destination you will notice that the number of passengers on Regent excursions is smaller than the much larger ships. As TC2 has often said, once you are onboard everyone is treated the same no matter which level of suite you are in. I second the recommendation for an experienced Regent travel agent. As an aside, we just did the Tauck Machu Picchu and Galapagos trip that sailed on the Silver Galapagos and it was terrific. We are all so blessed to have these choices available to us.

[1982CruzStart]

We took a couple of Regent cruises after years of sailing on HAL. We then did a couple of cruises on Celebrity in suite class because they offered the itineraries we wanted. We enjoyed them very much but for us Regent is our cruise line of choice.  As long as we can find the itineraries we want with Regent we will stick with them. 

 

We enjoyed the food on Celebrity though we prefer the food on Regent.  I spent hours and hours researching and booking small group tours for our Celebrity cruises and enjoyed most of them but we also, for the most part, enjoy our Regent excursions. This year we are trying out a small group excursion in Israel. We also occasionally buy Regent Choice excursions which we are doing this year to get to Petra. Whether doing a small group private tour off of a Celebrity ship or doing included excursions on Regent occasionally we have been with passengers that were less than fun to be around. It can happen anytime unless you do all your tours with just people you know. 

 

We aren't people that need all the bells and whistles of a larger ship. We enjoy the size of the Regent ships and what they offer. 

 

Good luck with your decision. Enjoy whatever you decide to do. 

[lawgirl]

Thanks for the advice! I am not quite sure how to find a luxury TA. One of my very good friends is our TA and books our cruises. But I don’t think she has been in Regent.  

[Henk123]

If you can choose between Voyager or Mariner I should choose the Voyager for the cabin space. They are larger and the bathroom will haven and a bath and a shower.

For the included excusions we never had an overloaded bus. They will put in more busses so the groupsize keep "small".

 

 

Edited August 4, 2019 by Henk123

[alwaysonaship]

I have cruises on Celebrity, and was sorry as I have seen it go downhill. I think you will love Regent. The above posters have given great answers.  We also prefer smaller ships.  

[Travelcat2]

5 hours ago, lawgirl said:

Thanks for the advice! I am not quite sure how to find a luxury TA. One of my very good friends is our TA and books our cruises. But I don’t think she has been in Regent.  

 

Unless your friend is going to rebate you at least 5% of your cruise fare,  I recommend spending the time to find a luxury TA.  Your friend should understand that since I am assuming that he/she has not been on Regent, does not have helpful information for you, a rebate or a significant amount of OBC's.  Over the years, we have read about too many people using friends/relatives and have lost on on the benefits of having a luxury TA.

[merlot101]

We have been in suite class on Celebrity.  The only place I could get the quality of alcohol was in Michaels.  Even though we had the upgraded package, we were limited else wear.  We always had to keep our key card handy for drinks in the theater. 

[Travelcat2]

12 minutes ago, merlot101 said:

We have been in suite class on Celebrity.  The only place I could get the quality of alcohol was in Michaels.  Even though we had the upgraded package, we were limited else wear.  We always had to keep our key card handy for drinks in the theater. 

 

You are describing just one of the reasons why we sail on Regent.  However, in the past two years we have taken very short but "fun" cruises on different cruise lines (West Coast itineraries).  This gave us the experience on Celebrity.  We had a great time but we would not sail Celebrity on a "normal" cruise.

 

Yes - Michaels is good but there is always the feeling that they want to be tipped (even if tipping is included).  Coming from an environment where tipping is not expected, this was unsettling to us.  I do not like the feeling that we are being treated a certain way for tips.

[lawgirl]

27 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Unless your friend is going to rebate you at least 5% of your cruise fare,  I recommend spending the time to find a luxury TA.  Your friend should understand that since I am assuming that he/she has not been on Regent, does not have helpful information for you, a rebate or a significant amount of OBC's.  Over the years, we have read about too many people using friends/relatives and have lost on on the benefits of having a luxury TA.

Hello. I know no one can recommend TAs on this forum, but can anyone tell me how to find a luxury TA?  I see that Regent lists some...is that a good place to look?  Also CC had an article saying to look at Signature Travel Network or similar sites that you can search on. Are those good ideas? Or just a google search for luxury cruise travel agent? Thanks!

[Travelcat2]

15 minutes ago, lawgirl said:

Hello. I know no one can recommend TAs on this forum, but can anyone tell me how to find a luxury TA?  I see that Regent lists some...is that a good place to look?  Also CC had an article saying to look at Signature Travel Network or similar sites that you can search on. Are those good ideas? Or just a google search for luxury cruise travel agent? Thanks!

 

We are allowed to discuss "consortiums" such as Signature Travel, Virtuoso, and a number of other consortiums.  You can also try Googling the information (cannot tell you specifically how to Google it but most people can figure it out).  

 

Sorry, but I have no idea what TA's are on the Regent website but it may be worth a call or two to learn if they give rebates on the cruise fare.  We used to use a Virtuoso Agent - they gave benefits but not cash rebates so we switched (we prefer cash)

[alwaysonaship]

9 hours ago, lawgirl said:

Hello. I know no one can recommend TAs on this forum, but can anyone tell me how to find a luxury TA?  I see that Regent lists some...is that a good place to look?  Also CC had an article saying to look at Signature Travel Network or similar sites that you can search on. Are those good ideas? Or just a google search for luxury cruise travel agent? Thanks!

Yes, the cash back is very important and I average about 8% on all our bookings with some additional on board credit.

[alwaysonaship]

9 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

We are allowed to discuss "consortiums" such as Signature Travel, Virtuoso, and a number of other consortiums.  You can also try Googling the information (cannot tell you specifically how to Google it but most people can figure it out).  

 

Sorry, but I have no idea what TA's are on the Regent website but it may be worth a call or two to learn if they give rebates on the cruise fare.  We used to use a Virtuoso Agent - they gave benefits but not cash rebates so we switched (we prefer cash)

I called regent and told the guy I was going to book a 12 night cruise , gave him the itinerary and ask what he would give me. He said nothing. I moved on.

[pdaniel]

We couldn’t agree more with what The Cat posted noting the differences.  We enjoy the Celebrity suite experience and even Royal Caribbean suites on occasion, especially with family, but our favorite cruise line is Regent!

[Mickb]

We have sailed Celebrity Eclipse in a suite and also Voyager in an ‘ordinary’ veranda Suite. Celebrity was very good, but of the 2 ships we felt Voyager was significantly better in terms of space, quality and variety of food and service. Celebrity’s entertainment programme was better though. Voyager is however a much smaller ship and we had some bad weather which Eclipse would have dealt with much better!

 

[Travelcat2]

12 hours ago, alwaysonaship said:

I called regent and told the guy I was going to book a 12 night cruise , gave him the itinerary and ask what he would give me. He said nothing. I moved on.

 

This is why you should not book with Regent.  Find a luxury TA that will give you a percentage back on your cruise fare and OBC's.

[kaleighsgram]

You’ve come to the right place for good advice. We have been in many suites on Celebrity and for the most part enjoyed it. Luminae was good but I find Compass Rose so much better. I still remember the time we were in a suite on Celebrity Eclipse with a drink package and the bartender would not give me two bottles of Sprite  at lunch even tho he could see my husband sitting at the table with his walker. DH had to get up and get his own drink. It was the last time I wore a lanyard around my neck. I can’t speak for any Regent ship but Explorer and Splendor on April 1 but I will tell you Regent is wonderful and we will never go back.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

3 hours ago, kaleighsgram said:

You’ve come to the right place for good advice. We have been in many suites on Celebrity and for the most part enjoyed it. Luminae was good but I find Compass Rose so much better. I still remember the time we were in a suite on Celebrity Eclipse with a drink package and the bartender would not give me two bottles of Sprite  at lunch even tho he could see my husband sitting at the table with his walker. DH had to get up and get his own drink. It was the last time I wore a lanyard around my neck. I can’t speak for any Regent ship but Explorer and Splendor on April 1 but I will tell you Regent is wonderful and we will never go back.

 

This is horrifying, and underlines why I love Regent.  Sprite?  Are you kidding me?

[lawgirl]

Hello all. 

 

 

 

[Travelcat2]

4 hours ago, kaleighsgram said:

You’ve come to the right place for good advice. We have been in many suites on Celebrity and for the most part enjoyed it. Luminae was good but I find Compass Rose so much better. I still remember the time we were in a suite on Celebrity Eclipse with a drink package and the bartender would not give me two bottles of Sprite  at lunch even tho he could see my husband sitting at the table with his walker. DH had to get up and get his own drink. It was the last time I wore a lanyard around my neck. I can’t speak for any Regent ship but Explorer and Splendor on April 1 but I will tell you Regent is wonderful and we will never go back.

 

Reading your post made me not want to go on Celebrity again (we tend to book "odd" cruises in September - short itineraries on the West Coast).

 

Had to laugh about the lanyard. I keep telling people that passengers do not wear them on Regent (except for less than one handful of people), but you definitely "get it"!  

 

You also have cruised on our favorite ship (Explorer) and will be on Splendor when we get off.  Really like y our tastes.

[kaleighsgram]

53 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Reading your post made me not want to go on Celebrity again (we tend to book "odd" cruises in September - short itineraries on the West Coast).

 

Had to laugh about the lanyard. I keep telling people that passengers do not wear them on Regent (except for less than one handful of people), but you definitely "get it"!  

 

You also have cruised on our favorite ship (Explorer) and will be on Splendor when we get off.  Really like y our tastes.

I think what bothered me the most was watching my husband go through this...a man who, because of brain cancer, had to learn to walk and talk all over again. Perhaps it was a power trip on behalf of the bartender but it definitely was inexcusable.

Perhaps we can talk you into extending your trip on Splendor. I hear New York is pretty in April.

Pat

[Travelcat2]

5 minutes ago, kaleighsgram said:

I think what bothered me the most was watching my husband go through this...a man who, because of brain cancer, had to learn to walk and talk all over again. Perhaps it was a power trip on behalf of the bartender but it definitely was inexcusable.

Perhaps we can talk you into extending your trip on Splendor. I hear New York is pretty in April.

Pat

 

Hi Pat,

 

The more that I think about it, the more upsetting it gets.  So good to learn that your husband has survived brain cancer and is learning to walk and talk again.  Hope that his recovery continues and that he remains cancer free forever!

 

Unfortunately Splendor is pretty booked up for next year but we would enjoy sailing with you and your husband in the future.  I would be happy to get him a many Sprites (or anything else) that he needed,

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Jackie