Newbie to Ragent

[cuddles115]

I'm looking at concierge suites on the Splendor.  What is the difference between D and E suites?  Thanks in advance.

[DaveFr]

Basically the difference between D and E suites is location. The layout of the suites and their amenities are identical.

 

Dave

[Pcardad]

The more expensive the room, the closer it is to the bar.

[johng75370]

Likewise, looking to book my first Regent cruise; any bad cabin categories?  Looking at H (lowest), but liking the concierge perk of having a coffee maker.  

[Mudhen]

If we knew what ship you were interested in, we could be more helpful.....I'm assuming the Explorer or the Splendor?

[SusieQft]

1 hour ago, johng75370 said:

Likewise, looking to book my first Regent cruise; any bad cabin categories?  Looking at H (lowest), but liking the concierge perk of having a coffee maker.  

For a great deal of ship and cabin-specific information, take a look at the spreadsheets linked in the first post by UUNetBill at:

 

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, johng75370 said:

Likewise, looking to book my first Regent cruise; any bad cabin categories?  Looking at H (lowest), but liking the concierge perk of having a coffee maker.  

 

Most (not all) Regent repeat cruisers avoid the "G" and "H" categories on Explorer and Splendor as they are smaller than any suite on any of their ships.

 

F1/F2 suites on Explorer and Splendor are lovely - large bathrooms and plenty of storage area.

 

I would avoid any suite that is under the pool deck, a dining venue or lounge.  They are just too noisy.  

 

Note:  The concierge and above suites have an espresso maker rather than a coffee maker.  

[johng75370]

3 hours ago, Mudhen said:

If we knew what ship you were interested in, we could be more helpful.....I'm assuming the Explorer or the Splendor?

We’re looking at the Mariner; the 10 day out of Los Angeles in November.

 

Thanks to SusieQ and TC2 for the helpful suggestions/clarifications!

Edited June 7, 2020 by johng75370

[Foggyzx9r]

8 hours ago, Pcardad said:

The more expensive the room, the closer it is to the bar.

Oh that did make me smile on a wet and windy day. 👏

[WNcruiser]

Another newbie question 🙂

 

Are shore excursions and dining reservations booked according to cabin category like Oceania does? Or is everyone allowed to book on the same day? I couldn’t find anything on the website. Thanks! 

[DeepFreeze63]

Our favorite cabin(s) depends upon the itinerary. We have done 18 Regent cruises: Splendor-1 (magnificent) in E; Explorer -5 in E, F1 or F2; Voyager-6 in F or G; and Mariner-6 in F aor G. The F1 and F2 are terrific and very good value. The E cabins are good value (for us) on Splendor and Explorer AND where the embarkation sites are distant from the airport and/or the ship. There are lots of personal considerations in choosing among the cabins mentioned.

We found the F and G cabins "tight" but enjoyable during SHORT cruises on the Mariner. The Mariner is VERY stable even in rough seas and has wonderful public spaces.

As a "bad sailor", I find NO value in paying more to be on a higher deck. So, I have never chosen a D cabin.

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, WNcruiser said:

Another newbie question 🙂

 

Are shore excursions and dining reservations booked according to cabin category like Oceania does? Or is everyone allowed to book on the same day? I couldn’t find anything on the website. Thanks! 

 

https://www.rssc.com/frequently-asked-questions/you-sail This will answer your question except that it contains an error.  Almost everyone can book 240 days prior to the cruise.  The exception are passengers that are in suites lower than concierge.  The error is that Regent Choice excursions do not have to be paid with a credit card.  If you have OBC’s, you can use them to pay for these excursions.

 

An interesting tidbit about why Regent has concierge suites.  When the Navigator, Mariner and Voyager were built, all of the suites below PH level were identical (actually, there still are).  For this reason, people booked the lowest categories first.  So, Regent (under the former owners) added benefits to some suite categories in order to get them to sell.  They also changed the category of some suites with the better locations becoming concierge.  

 

Unlike Oceania, Regent tries to treat all passengers the same (once they walk outside of their suite).  This is one reason that we no longer sail on Oceania.

[johng75370]

19 hours ago, johng75370 said:

We’re looking at the Mariner; the 10 day out of Los Angeles in November.

Just caught the typo; it’s the October 12th on the Mariner.  F cabins there look great from a midship location standpoint. 

[ArtsyCraftsy]

22 hours ago, johng75370 said:

Just caught the typo; it’s the October 12th on the Mariner.  F cabins there look great from a midship location standpoint. 

My first Regent Cruise was on the Mariner In September-October 2018 in a Concierge E cabin (972).  I liked it so much that I booked the 2020 World Cruise in the same cabin.  
 

I’ll be on the Mariner again at the end of October (Oct 29) this year for the 68-day LA to Miami South America cruise, again in a Concierge Suite (this time in a D), and one more time in 2022 for the World Cruise again in my favorite Concierge E (972).  972 is located just aft of the aft elevator lobby on the port side; the Concierge D I’ll be in for the South America cruise (956) is more midship, about equidistant from the two elevators.  Other than location, the suites are identical.  The Mariner is a lovely ship with a sort of quiet relaxed elegance, with superb food, service, and “vibe.”  I travel solo and find the space and layout of the Concierge (and F categories) perfect.  
 

Lana in Bellingham, WA

[johng75370]

Thanks Lana!!  

1 hour ago, ArtsyCraftsy said:

The Mariner is a lovely ship with a sort of quiet relaxed elegance, with superb food, service, and “vibe.”

 

That’s exactly what we’re looking for; we’ve been mainly on Seabourn recently, and wanted to explore a bit and Regent has been on our list for a while.  Came to a decision this morning, and booked the H guarantee for the 7 day Oct 22nd Mariner sailing (will promise to keep ship clean for your Oct. 29th sailing!).  We’ll see how that goes, and will keep an eye towards Concierge cabin for a longer/later booking.  

Edited June 8, 2020 by johng75370

[wishIweretravelling]

On 6/7/2020 at 5:56 PM, Travelcat2 said:

 

  Almost everyone can book 240 days prior to the cruise.  The exception are passengers that are in suites lower than concierge.  

A small clarification of this. The point is accurate, but the reason is off a bit. Taking Mariner as an example, nearly 1/3 of the cabins (110 out of 354) are  "lower than concierge."  While a minority of cabins compared to the other categories taken together,  it's still a significant percentage. What does skew that number, however, is that Seven Seas Society members at Silver and above (21+ nights) levels can book 240 days in advance. Repeat sailors comprise the majority, and at times a significant majority, of passengers on most Regent sailings, so quite a few of us in those lower-level cabins can book excursions at 240 days.

[Travelcat2]

3 hours ago, wishIweretravelling said:

A small clarification of this. The point is accurate, but the reason is off a bit. Taking Mariner as an example, nearly 1/3 of the cabins (110 out of 354) are  "lower than concierge."  While a minority of cabins compared to the other categories taken together,  it's still a significant percentage. What does skew that number, however, is that Seven Seas Society members at Silver and above (21+ nights) levels can book 240 days in advance. Repeat sailors comprise the majority, and at times a significant majority, of passengers on most Regent sailings, so quite a few of us in those lower-level cabins can book excursions at 240 days.

 

Thank you for the clarification.  I tend to think that there are less suites below concierge level than there are (thanks for counting).    There are a lot of repeat Regent cruisers that do take the lower category suites since they are the same size as concierge (on Mariner, Voyager and Navigator).  

 

If I were new to Regent I would definitely book a concierge level (or above) suite if I could afford to do so.  Not having a pre-cruise hotel (or a credit to use for the hotel of my choice), arriving the day of embarkation and having most passengers booking excursions and dining reservations before me is not acceptable to me.  While Regent does save dining reservations for passengers that do not book onboard, the times and dates that are available may not be ideal (or you may have to share a table).  While they do add buses to excursions when possible, there are capacity limited excursions that could be full before you have an opportunity to book.

 

Note:  Last. paragraph was really for people new to Regent - you know all of this already

Edited June 9, 2020 by Travelcat2