Regent Ship Comparison (not about COVID-19)

[pappy1022]

Although I don't plan on going on a cruise until late 2021 or 2022 (I have a cruise booked for September 2020 but will likely cancel), I do like to dream and plan, and I started looking at cruises to the British Isles (the one I have currently booked), the South Pacific (Tahiti area) and the Australia/New Zealand areas. My preference of ships is either Splendor or Explorer but that limits me to predominantly the British Isles. What are your thoughts on the 3 areas I am considering and equally important, what about the Mariner, Voyager and Navigator? Is the ship choice a reasonable criteria for selecting a cruise? All three destinations have my interest and are on all my list of "to do" destinations. Thank you, stay safe and do something kind for a neighbor in need. 

[GrJ Berkshire]

Pick your destination not the ship, Regent is great on all ships, personal preference might get some posters to say one rather than another but the Regent experience is great on all.

 

Only 1 negative to mention avoid the bath/ shower combined cabins on Mariner, they are dangerous with the step in and out and unusable if you are 6ft or more in height for normal showering. The shower only cabins( suites) are much better. Personally over 100 nights on all 5 ships- not been on Splendour-  never really use the bath tub.

[UUNetBill]

Well, you're going to get a lot of opinions on this...so here's mine.

 

Part of it depends on what category cabin you usually book and the itinerary.  Although we love Explorer, we wouldn't hesitate to sail on any of the ships in the fleet (when they sail again, obviously) - our number one criterion is the itinerary; for us the ship is secondary.  That said, the Explorer-class ships offer more to do - extra restaurant(s), Culinary Arts Kitchen, etc - but they're generally pricier and IMO you need to be in an F category or above - the G and H cabins are too small.  We like the smaller feel of Navigator but you feel more of the mechanical aspect of the ship and there's only one specialty restaurant available.  I think this makes Navigator a better choice for shorter, more port-intensive cruises.  Voyager and Mariner are both lovely ships and they both seem to have their followers.  I'm probably least familiar with Mariner, but I remember loving both of my cruises on her.

 

So IMO, itinerary is a much more important factor than the ship you're on...and depending on which ship you're on, you need to be cognizant of cabin selection.  Explorer and Splendor I book F and above due to size and layout.  Navigator I book F and above because I want a balcony.  Voyager has larger basic cabins than Mariner, but Mariner has slightly roomier public spaces.

 

So all of the ships are different, but they all have the service and amenities.  I say book by itinerary, go, and enjoy.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

For Tahiti, nothing beats the Paul Gauguin (presuming they're still in business.)  The best experience for this area--small ship, wonderful ambiance, specializing in the South Pacific.

[flossie009]

37 minutes ago, GrJ Berkshire said:

Pick your destination not the ship, Regent is great on all ships, personal preference might get some posters to say one rather than another but the Regent experience is great on all.

+1

 

This previous thread might be of use when comparing Regent's ships: 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2740135-mariner-navigator-or-voyager/

 

[Travelcat2]

We would sail any Regent ship except for the Navigator.  While she has quite a following, we are put off by the way she handles rough seas (not too well), the lack of a forward observation lounge, having only one specialty restaurant and the crowds inside of the ship when there is inclement weather and passengers need to stay inside.  

 

Besides for Explorer, our favorite ship is Voyager.  Some people prefer Mariner because there are more public areas.  However, if you are selecting a suite lower than PH, the suites are quite cramped compared to Voyager.  Mariner PH and above suites are wonderful.  Note:  On Mariner, there are either bathtub suites or shower-only suites.  Many people find the bathtubs on Mariner to be difficult to get into and out of and the ceiling in the tub is very low which could make it uncomfortable for those over 6'.  The shower-only suites have great showers and are usually the first suites that people book.

[papaflamingo]

We did our only cruise so far with Regent on Mariner.  44 Nights Honolulu to Sydney.  I upgraded to a Penthouse and we loved every minute of the cruise.  The penthouse on Mariner is beautiful and large.  Well worth the upgrade if you are on a long cruise.  I would highly recommend Mariner for that Tahitian cruise.  

We are supposed to do Navigator in June from Montreal to Dublin including Greenland, Iceland, and the British Isles.  I was very excited about this cruise knowing the limitations of Navigator.  I had a forward of midships cabin booked and don't need all the specialty restaurants as this is a fairly port heavy itinerary. But I was looking forward to the small intimate ship.

So in my very limited experience, I'd say go with the itinerary but pick your cabin carefully.

[flossie009]

1 hour ago, papaflamingo said:

The penthouse on Mariner is beautiful and large.  Well worth the upgrade if you are on a long cruise.

+1

I agree that the PH suites on Mariner are well worth the upgrade, as are the Horizon suites on Mariner.

[wristband]

I second Travelcat's negative points on Navigator.  Having had a multi-week cruise, I would not return for the very reasons she cites along with the cramped beehive "intimacy" at the buffet for lunch and dinner that others seem to enjoy. 

 

Do note cabin size on Mariner is smaller than Navigator.  When first in the Navigator cabin, I did not believe that could be so until I saw the dimensions on paper.

 

Mariner, for us, is a far better choice. 

[ddsun1]

We have sailed on Mainer, Voyager, and Explorer.  To date, Explorer is our favorite ship, although Splendor might have been after our cruise.  So unfortunately, our Splendor April 1st journey was cancelled.  Last summer, we placed a deposit for Navigator, May 31, 2021, NYC - Reykjavik.  Although this is perhaps off topic, should we not cruise on Navigator?  The comments on the beehive above (and other comments) have caused some apprehension (not that any of us need more).

Thanks!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Rather than "cramped" when referring to Navigator I would prefer the word, "intimate".  I like the ship, quite a lot, and love their standard balcony cabins.  And the "intimate" situation only occurs when the weather is bad enough for the decks to be closed.  It can also be pretty bouncy in heavy seas.  For those reasons, I would prefer not to do Navigator for a cold-weather cruise.  But otherwise it's a lovely ship.

[Travelcat2]

48 minutes ago, ddsun1 said:

We have sailed on Mainer, Voyager, and Explorer.  To date, Explorer is our favorite ship, although Splendor might have been after our cruise.  So unfortunately, our Splendor April 1st journey was cancelled.  Last summer, we placed a deposit for Navigator, May 31, 2021, NYC - Reykjavik.  Although this is perhaps off topic, should we not cruise on Navigator?  The comments on the beehive above (and other comments) have caused some apprehension (not that any of us need more).

Thanks!

 

I don't think that anyone is advising you not to sail on Navigator.  If your Navigator cruise next year was going to be your first Regent cruise, it would be different since you would not be able to compare it with the other three ships.  However, for someone that has cruised on the other Regent ships, Navigator could be a disappointment.  

 

As I have explained in prior posts, our favorite non-Regent ship is Silversea's Whisper.  She is approximately the same size as Navigator but has 50 less suites.  This makes all

 

My favorite non-Regent ship is Silversea's Whisper.  She is generally the same size as Navigator but has 50 less suites.  It makes all the difference in the world.  Plenty of open spaces, no "beehive" at the buffet, etc.  So, in my opinion, if Regent took out some suites and enlarged La Veranda, added a. Observation Lounge and made sure that there were comfortable open areas, I would probably recommend the ship.  Since you have been on Voyager and Mariner, you likely know the difference in size of the lower category suites on the two ships.  Navigator has the larger suites (very similar to Voyager) rather than the smaller Mariner entry level suites.  

 

As long as you know the shortcomings of the ship, if the itinerary and price is right, go for it!

[flossie009]

1 hour ago, ddsun1 said:

Although this is perhaps off topic, should we not cruise on Navigator?  The comments on the beehive above (and other comments) have caused some apprehension

Before cruising on Navigator we also had some reservations because of adverse comments that we had read.

However, we enjoyed being on the ship as you will see from this blog  of our first Navigator sailing:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2644816-notes-from-a-navigator-novice-hong-kong-to-singapore/ (see post #3 for a summary of positives & negatives).

 

The ship had a makeover last year: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2673195-seven-seas-navigator-embarks-on-first-voyage-following-refurbishment/

 

We have further booking on Navigator for later this year. Hopefully the present difficulties may be sufficiently abated; we will have to see.

[Travelcat2]

Just looked at my last post and it is a bit of a mess ........ sorry.  I scratched my cornea and am having difficulty seeing what I am typing.  Will try harder

 

In terms of Navigator (again), someone was on her since her last refurbishment and felt that it looked old and tired.  Still, that would not be a reason not to sail on her (but the other items that I've mentioned may be).

[labonnevie]

We have cruised on many lines including Windstar, Oceania, HAL, Seabourn and 8 times on Regent.

We used to always choose based in itinerary. As we have gotten older I guess we are getting more picky.

Four of our Regent cruises have been on the Navigator, totaling close to 60 nights.

Now the ship has a greater impact on our choice.

While we always come back to Regent and Seabourn and we probably will not cruise on the Navigator again.

Totally agree with TC2: 

"We would sail any Regent ship except for the Navigator.  While she has quite a following, we are put off by the way she handles rough seas (not too well), the lack of a forward observation lounge, having only one specialty restaurant and the crowds inside of the ship when there is inclement weather and passengers need to stay inside. "

The other choices available are more to our liking. BTW our first Regent cruise was on Navigator and we loved it.

[UUNetBill]

18 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

So, in my opinion, if Regent took out some suites and enlarged La Veranda, added a. Observation Lounge and made sure that there were comfortable open areas,

 

12 hours ago, labonnevie said:

Totally agree with TC2: 

"We would sail any Regent ship except for the Navigator.  While she has quite a following, we are put off by the way she handles rough seas (not too well), the lack of a forward observation lounge, having only one specialty restaurant and the crowds inside of the ship when there is inclement weather and passengers need to stay inside. "

The other choices available are more to our liking. BTW our first Regent cruise was on Navigator and we loved it.

I've always thought it would make sense to go ahead and eliminate the G and H 'non-balcony' cabins on Navigator so Regent could honestly say they were an 'all-balcony' fleet.  All of the non-balcony suites are on decks 5 and 6 forward, with the deck 6 non-balcony suites on the starboard side.  If they eliminated all of the G and H cabins it would drop the passenger capacity from 490 to 416 but give you a LOT of extra public areas to work with.  I'd think you could move P7 from deck 10 to deck 5 portside and still have room to add Chartreuse.  You could relocate the library and/or card room to deck 5 starboard or deck 6 port.  Moving P7 would give you room to expand La Veranda into that space.  Still wouldn't address a forward observation area, though.

 

Of course, I'm no ship designer or cruise line bean counter, so I don't know if these changes would be feasible or economically sound - but I'm sure it would be a cheaper alternative than building a new ship.  Maybe the smaller passenger capacity would allow the ship to slip into a new role as something like 'expedition lite' and sail to areas Regent doesn't normally hit.  I know Jason M has said Regent won't do expedition ships, but this might be a good compromise.

 

Even with a redesign and repurposing, though, she would still be an older ship (laid down '88, launched '91, entered service '99) with an inherent vibration issue.  Of course, with the current situation, this all might be moot...

[bissel]

UUnet Bill,

truly excellent ideas and details of improving the Navigator. It always felt way too crowded for us and we won’t go on it again.

We are Mariner fans for many reasons. Explorer feels too closed in from the sea. Nice restaurants though.

[GrJ Berkshire]

2 hours ago, UUNetBill said:

 

I've always thought it would make sense to go ahead and eliminate the G and H 'non-balcony' cabins on Navigator so Regent could honestly say they were an 'all-balcony' fleet.  All of the non-balcony suites are on decks 5 and 6 forward, with the deck 6 non-balcony suites on the starboard side.  If they eliminated all of the G and H cabins it would drop the passenger capacity from 490 to 416 but give you a LOT of extra public areas to work with.  I'd think you could move P7 from deck 10 to deck 5 portside and still have room to add Chartreuse.  You could relocate the library and/or card room to deck 5 starboard or deck 6 port.  Moving P7 would give you room to expand La Veranda into that space.  Still wouldn't address a forward observation area, though.

 

Of course, I'm no ship designer or cruise line bean counter, so I don't know if these changes would be feasible or economically sound - but I'm sure it would be a cheaper alternative than building a new ship.  Maybe the smaller passenger capacity would allow the ship to slip into a new role as something like 'expedition lite' and sail to areas Regent doesn't normally hit.  I know Jason M has said Regent won't do expedition ships, but this might be a good compromise.

 

Even with a redesign and repurposing, though, she would still be an older ship (laid down '88, launched '91, entered service '99) with an inherent vibration issue.  Of course, with the current situation, this all might be moot...

Good ideas here Bill, I like these. Better spending on this than the fantasy of a sixth ship , if they can get through the current covid crisis, they will not need the capacity in the next few years