First Time Regent Cruise -- Short/Medium Review

[JerryAM]

My wife and I returned from our first Regent cruise this past Monday, having spent 10 spectacular days/nights on the Explorer in the Easter Caribbean.  We are in our early 60s (well, my wife just turned 60 a couple of weeks before the cruise), having previously been on family cruises on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.  In short, this was the best and most amazing cruise, with the perfect ambiance for us.  Some specifics:

 

1.  Fellow Passengers:  Everyone we met and talked to was extremely nice and courteous, which made for an extremely pleasant cruise.  We had great times speaking with those both younger than us as well as older.  Certainly no "class" distinction was noticed (whether age, nationality or any other factor); we had no idea if anyone was in a higher or lower level suite than us.  

 

2.  Service:  The crew was outstanding in trying to give us the best possible cruise.  We certainly were impressed at how we were addressed by name on most crew interactions.  Any request (we made few) was quickly handled in a professional manner.  A few months prior to the cruise, when speaking with Regent regarding our excursions, I requested a particular brand of soda (Zevia) for our suite; although no promises were made, the soda was there upon our arrival -- although this was a small thing for us, the logistics for Regent likely were complicated, so it shows that Regent will do what it can to meet its customers needs. 

 

3.  Ship:  Suite and public areas were superb.  Having breakfast on our balcony was a very pleasant experience.  We attended 2 Culinary Kitchen classes, which were excellent -- Chef Stephano was a great instructor.  Fitness room, while small, had a full range of quality equipment, with no waiting.  We are not song and dance fans, so we did not attend those shows; the comedian (Fred Klett) was excellent -- I laughed during his entire show.

 

4.  Excursions:  On past cruises, we always arranged our own excursions.  Having Regent handle everything certainly was a major plus.  All of our tour operators were top-notch, including being concerned with our safety (all involved being on a boat at some point).  As well, all of the tour employees were very enthusiastic, wanting us to have a great time.

 

5.  Food:  For the most part excellent.  Pacific Rim, Prime & and Chartreuse were all excellent -- we were able to get 2 extra nights at Pacific Rim (likely helped that we like to eat late).  Our first Compass Rose meal was a disappointment as to service and food -- we sat in the middle area (to see what it was like); although we thought we went a bit later than most, the service was slow and the food not cooked properly.  Our 2nd visit was the complete opposite -- we sat in the back right area (low ceiling) and had great service and food; this was a better location for us.  Our last Compass Rose meal was interesting in that we were invited to sit at the table of Staff Captain Silic;  we thought this meant we would be with at least 3 or 4 other couples, but it turned out to be just him and the 2 of us.  It was well worth it, and we certainly appreciated the invite, as we had a good time talking to him about various topics (turns out that his wife is expecting twins in May, so we could give him some tips as we are the parents of triplet boys).  We tried all of the lunch options, all of which were fantastic -- we especially liked the Pool Grill area and its many choices.

 

6.  Complaint Handling:  Although we do not like to complain, we pointed out a few minor things on the mid-cruise comment card.  We were amazed that when we were at dinner the next night, someone came to our table to discuss these and to see if these items were being handled better.  This level of customer care is beyond what we have ever seen before.  Even at our dinner with Staff Captain Silic, he was interested to know if we had an concerns or issues.

 

7.  Tips:  No, not gratuities forthe crew, but the tips that are on these boards.  We found them helpful and made it a bit easier for us as first -timers.  Thanks.

 

Based on our overall experience, we will stick with Regent for our next adult-only cruise (hopefully  in 2022), as we see no need to try a different luxury line.   

 

Jerry

 

 

 

 

[UUNetBill]

Jerry - I'm glad you liked your cruise as much as you did.  It's refreshing to see someone who appreciates the service and dedication of the crew and seems to just enjoy some time being pampered.  You touched on many of the same things my wife and I love so much about the brand...I've made some posts recently about how Regent bends over backward to try and help make our vacations special.  Are they perfect?  Nope, but damn close.  Are they for everyone?  Nope, and vive le difference I say!

 

Hope to see you all aboard some day (yes, we already have one booked in '22 🙂 ) - I'll buy the first round!

 

PS - thanks for taking the time to post.

[Camillus112]

Hello Jerry,

We were also in the cruise ending last Monday in Miami.  I agree it was a very nice cruise.  In my mid-cruise evaluation I commented on the difficult embarkation due to the incompetent contractors used for transport to the Miami terminal.  Although we found all service persons were very attentive, they were not as professional as those on other luxury lines (SB, SS, Crystal).  Some Regent regulars commented that many of the experienced crew were transferred to the Splendor.  Albeit these comments, we highly enjoyed the cruise...especially with the great weather that allowed for many hours in the pool...and pool deck bar...and grill...

[JerryAM]

Thanks Bill.

 

As to the professionalism of the service persons, I have no experience with other luxury lines;  as expected, service is well above the mainstream lines we have been on in the past.

 

We did think that the embarkation process took longer than it should have, as we waited in line a long time.  Perhaps not being in the regular terminal and the need to review each page of each passport caused some of the delay; but even taking that into account, it still took a long time.  Regent should consider a better system, perhaps with smaller groups called up (to eliminate the long lines), with refreshments served to those whose group is not yet called.  Our bus ride from the hotel to the terminal was okay, as I expected it to be a large group process -- I did my best to relax mentally during the entire embarkation process and not worry about the timing of when we would first step onto the ship.

 

Jerry

[Travelcat2]

We have had experience with Silversea and Crystal.  Not exactly sure what "professional" means in terms of service.  It seems as if some people prefer more formal service than Regent has (Silversea is more formal but the actual service is pretty much the same as Regent).  We have only taken one Crystal cruise and found the service to go from the top (above Regent service) to below Regent's service (in other words, a bit inconsistent).  We prefer knowledgeable , intuitive but friendly service.  Regent meets our criteria perfectly.

 

In terms of embarkation, IMHO, Miami is one of the worst cities in the world for this.  Most of the ground staff at MIA are unionized so Regent is not permitted to help (or do anything else).

[Camillus112]

7 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

We have had experience with Silversea and Crystal.  Not exactly sure what "professional" means in terms of service.  It seems as if some people prefer more formal service than Regent has (Silversea is more formal but the actual service is pretty much the same as Regent).  We have only taken one Crystal cruise and found the service to go from the top (above Regent service) to below Regent's service (in other words, a bit inconsistent).  We prefer knowledgeable , intuitive but friendly service.  Regent meets our criteria perfectly.

 

In terms of embarkation, IMHO, Miami is one of the worst cities in the world for this.  Most of the ground staff at MIA are unionized so Regent is not permitted to help (or do anything else).

 

As I said, we found staff attentive in their desire to serve, but not very knowledgeable on ship details (where can I find...?); on what could or could not be served or substituted; etc.  Crew at La Veranda were mostly new and some had language difficulty.  I think subsequent training will make them fine professionals in their field of work.

 

I referred to the Regent contractor and their disorganization in preparing for transfer to the port, not to port union workers.  

 

All in all, we enjoyed the cruise.

[Gcto]

On 3/5/2020 at 12:47 PM, Camillus112 said:

Hello Jerry,

We were also in the cruise ending last Monday in Miami.  I agree it was a very nice cruise.  In my mid-cruise evaluation I commented on the difficult embarkation due to the incompetent contractors used for transport to the Miami terminal.  Although we found all service persons were very attentive, they were not as professional as those on other luxury lines (SB, SS, Crystal).  Some Regent regulars commented that many of the experienced crew were transferred to the Splendor.  Albeit these comments, we highly enjoyed the cruise...especially with the great weather that allowed for many hours in the pool...and pool deck bar...and grill...

So were we and I can only agree with your observations. Ship, Staff were great, food outstanding, trip was relaxation pure. 

Transfer from the hotel to the ship was a bit confusing and information almost non-existent. Waiting area at the hotel was small with not enough seating options for many older passengers. But once we were on the ship, all was well. 🙂

Interesting to read about the mid-cruise comment card. We did not receive them this time (we've done a few Regent before). I thought they might have disappeared and were replaced with the electronic form, but now reading about them, I makes me wonder. Our cabin attendant was cutting a few corners and we needed to remind her a few times about missing things. Not a big deal and (in our experience) not a common occurrence, but now I'm wondering if those missing cards were on purpose.  

 

 

[Camillus112]

Hello Gcto,

 

We did receive the mid-cruise assessment form, but I was unable to do the on-line, on-cruise final review.  Why?  The last two days I tried to meet with the computer person who would help me (and provide a computer), but his hours were not consistently kept, and I was not ready to forfeit my last days on the cruise trying to catch up with him.  Ergo, I did not submit the review.  I hope you did.  

[Gcto]

26 minutes ago, Camillus112 said:

Hello Gcto,

 

We did receive the mid-cruise assessment form, but I was unable to do the on-line, on-cruise final review.  Why?  The last two days I tried to meet with the computer person who would help me (and provide a computer), but his hours were not consistently kept, and I was not ready to forfeit my last days on the cruise trying to catch up with him.  Ergo, I did not submit the review.  I hope you did.  

yes we did, we had some problems last year with the online form, but what I learned then, came in handy this time and the form was no problem. Once I was in the system (regentcruisereview.com) all was working. Getting in though, was causing problems for a lot of fellow passengers, some I could help .