First Time RSS Cruiser - Dining + Experience Questions!

[VegasTW]

Hello RSS community!  
 

I just booked a Caribbean Holiday sailing on Splendor for end of 2021.   Our first RSS cruise, but have been on Celebrity and Oceania.   Although I realize Splendor was not able to sail this year due to COVID, those who have sailed other RSS ships can weigh in.
 

In my desire to enjoy planning as we lead into the next year (I’m calling it “cruise porn,” sorry for the cheesy reference, but necessary  after being home for almost a year), I was wondering if the CC community had recommendations on favorite dishes and experiences on their past cruises on RSS.   What are the “not to miss” elements?   
 

Thank you and hope to meet some of you on our sailing!  
 

 

Edited December 21, 2020 by VegasTW

[1982CruzStart]

i recommend that you make your allowed dining reservations as soon as you can to make sure you get the chance to visit each one.   The menu is so good in Compass Rose that many aren't as concerned about visiting the specialities but as this is your first time I think you want to try each one. 

 

The lobster tempura in Pacfic Rim is very good. 

The beef tartare is excellent in every venue. 

The dessert sampler at lunch in Prime 7 is worth trying at least once as it gives you a sample of most or all of the desserts in a small size.  1 is brought for the whole table.

I find the steaks except the filet to be too large so on one of our visits i had the king crab legs and they were delicious. You can make surf and turf out of any way you want.

You can also ask for virtually any appetizer to be made into dinner size or almost any dinner entree into appetizer size. 

 

Once onboard you can go to the reservation desk and can try and make extra reservations to the speciality restaurants though the success rate depends on how long the cruise is. 

 

We enjoyed going to Chartreuse or Prime 7 for lunch when we were onboard. No reservations, first come first served for lunch. Both of them are open on sea days and 1 of them open on port days. Compass Rose is not open for lunch except embarkation day.  We also enjoyed the pool grill (though not sure how they will handle the self serve parts of it with this whole Covid mess) on those days we couldn't get into one of the speciality restaurants for lunch. 

 

On port days particularily if we had early morning shore excursions we did room service breakfast. They were usually hot and served on time if not a little early. You pick the time frame you want it delivered. I generally asked for it to be closer to one time or another and was successful with those requests. For instance the range may be 6:30 to 7 and i would ask for it to be closer to 6:30 than 7 as 7 might be pushing it to make it for the shore excursion.  Any write in requests on the form were granted. 

 

As you may have already read you can ask for virtually anything to be prepared as long as you give 24 hours notice and they have the ingredients onboard. We haven't tried this as the menus are generally varied enough for us but i have read of many asking for ethnic food in particular with great success. For instance a special Indian dinner. 

 

Overall the staff is fantastic and will do their absolute best to get you what you want. 

 

I hope your cruise goes and you have a great time. Regent can really spoil you. 

[SusieQft]

3 hours ago, 1982CruzStart said:

on those days we couldn't get into one of the speciality restaurants for lunch. 

Why would this happen?  Do you need reservations for lunch?  Did you "not get in" because there was a wait time and you did not want to wait, or were you just turned away with no option to wait?  How often was it not possible to get into a specialty restaurant for lunch?

[Robroy]

Our experience was that it was simply first-come, first served so I suspect the poster's situation was it was full at the time and they didn't care to wait or return later. We normally went right at noon once the specialty restaurants opened and were successful every day. Lunches were uniformly excellent - enjoy!

 

Rob

[mj_holiday]

If you just want coffee in the morning while getting ready for breakfast, just pick up the phone. It should arrive in less than 5 minutes. 
The popcorn, Carmel, chocolate, ice cream Sunday is great in Prime 7. When we ordered it, I asked that it be split in 2. I had seen some and it was huge. 

[ronrick1943]

Think 1984Cruzstart was on point-can'r really had anything.  But I do like Prime7, the steaks great, the 22oz Ribeye outstanding.  We order one steaks for the two of us and have them cut it before they bring it out.  It's served on one plate and we each take what we want.  Also the crab is petty good.

 

[1982CruzStart]

19 hours ago, SusieQft said:

Why would this happen?  Do you need reservations for lunch?  Did you "not get in" because there was a wait time and you did not want to wait, or were you just turned away with no option to wait?  How often was it not possible to get into a specialty restaurant for lunch?

They don't take reservations for lunch.  On occasion we arrived a little latter and they told us they were full and would not be taking any more people for lunch that day.  As someone mentioned if you get there when they open you are likely to get in every time but if you arrive a little latter the restaurant may be full and then you may be out of luck. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

The Dover Sole filleted at your table.

[Guerncruising]

26 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

The Dover Sole filleted at your table.

With scallops, brilliant!

[VegasTW]

Thank you 1982CruzStart!    Your info is exactly what I’m looking for.    I’ve heard great things about the lobster tempura and the steak tartare.   I so appreciate you taking the time to post a detailed response.   Getting more excited by the minute!   

[VegasTW]

mj_holiday - Oh boy, my husband is going to love the pick up the phone and get coffee option.  Fear is he may never want to leave the suite.  Ha!  Good tip!  Thanks! 

Edited December 23, 2020 by VegasTW

[VegasTW]

Any suggestions on room service breakfast options?   One of my favorite experiences on a cruise is staying in my robe and eating on the verandah.    My cruise is a Caribbean over Xmas - much needed warm weather and beautiful views.   Thanks you guys for your good tips!  

[mj_holiday]

When we order breakfast for our room, I use the card and write notes on things (like 2 pots of coffee) that we want.  All of their food is good.  I don't order breakfast on the phone in the morning, because I think that would take awhile to get, think they have special area to get coffee quickly.

 

On evenings when we are tired from a long day we will order dinner in, something light.  And that has always been nice.

 

Also, you can review the dinner menus on TV to kind of help you decide what you want.

[1982CruzStart]

Sette Mari is also a nice option for dinner. No reservations, first come first served.  Half of LaVeranda is turned into an Italian restaurant at night. On every cruise we have been on we have had to get there shortly after it opened to get in at a reasonable time.  In particular if you want to eat out on the back deck of LaVeranda, be there right when it opens. Not sure how they will change it due to Covid but the setup before was a buffet for appetizers and dessert and then sit down service for the rest.  Good selection of Italian dishes.  

As you will be in the Caribbean eating a casual dinner on the  pool deck is another good option.  You can dress more casually to eat there though you can't then move to the theatre or indoor bars after dinner without meeting the dress code. 

As someone already suggested take a look at the posted menus and then make decisions about dinner from there. You can even drop by one of the speciality restaurants and see if they happen to have any openings. 

Food choices are never ending. 

 

Have a super cruise. 

[Silver Sweethearts]

On 12/23/2020 at 11:59 AM, VegasTW said:

Any suggestions on room service breakfast options?     

 

Eggs Benedict.

[docmark]

we have booked our first Regent cruise on Explorer(November 2021) , would like to see comprehensive review of restaurants, website is NOT detailed at all, are there any threads addressing this in detail? Appreciate any help and comments    . TIA  

[SWFLAOK]

We've been on 3 Regent cruises; Alaska on Mariner, Barcelona to Venice on Voyager, and back to back 32 nights on Voyager Singapore to Singapore, followed by Singapore to Sydney last December into January. We never saw Prime 7 or Chartreuse open for lunch on any of these cruises. Our 32 night back to back was in a Penthouse suite with a butler, and we weren't told that was available. He did help us get additional reservations for dinner once we were onboard and had used our prebooked reservations. Compass Rose has great food, with so many choices that dinner wasn't a problem. But I would love to have an alternative to Compass Rose other than the Pool Grill at lunch. If our September 2021 back to backs on Splendor aren't cancelled, we will definitely  ask about that.

[SWFLAOK]

And as for calling for a cup of coffee in the morning, that's what the Coffee Connection is for. The staff is very busy delivering breakfast to the cabins of those who have ordered it the night before. I wouldn't expect a quick cup with a phone call. When we didn't have the Penthouse suite, we had a Concierge level room, and have always had a coffee maker in our room so coffee or espresso was immediately available. That made it easier to make my way to the Coffee Connection for a cappuccino and a pastry before breakfast. I'm so looking forward to being back onboard next year.

[Silver Sweethearts]

3 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

But I would love to have an alternative to Compass Rose other than the Pool Grill at lunch. If our September 2021 back to backs on Splendor aren't cancelled, we will definitely  ask about that.

 

La Veranda makes a lovely place to have lunch - and no reservations required.

[flossie009]

6 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

We've been on 3 Regent cruises; Alaska on Mariner, Barcelona to Venice on Voyager, and back to back 32 nights on Voyager Singapore to Singapore, followed by Singapore to Sydney last December into January. We never saw Prime 7 or Chartreuse open for lunch on any of these cruises.

The speciality restaurants are only open for lunch on Explorer & Splendor (In lieu of Compass Rose for lunch on the other ships).

 

 

6 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

I wouldn't expect a quick cup with a phone call.

We have never had an issue ringing room service for coffee in the morning. They will warn you if the wait is going to be more than 10 minutes.

We usually use the breakfast card the night before if in port and on tour the next day. On sea days we simply ring for coffee when we wake up.

[mj_holiday]

We really enjoy having a cup of coffee while waking up and getting ready. If I go to the coffee connection in my robe someone will write about me in cruise critic. 

[SWFLAOK]

1 hour ago, mj_holiday said:

We really enjoy having a cup of coffee while waking up and getting ready. If I go to the coffee connection in my robe someone will write about me in cruise critic. 

We've seen it quite a few times, and this is the first time I've commented on it. I didn't even comment about the one with barefeet and nothing under the robe. She just picked up a cup of coffee and returned to her cabin.

[1982CruzStart]

15 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

But I would love to have an alternative to Compass Rose other than the Pool Grill at lunch. If our September 2021 back to backs on Splendor aren't cancelled, we will definitely  ask about that.

As Flossie pointed out, the speciality options are for Explorer and Splendor only. My post was directly in response to the OP/TS about their upcoming Splendor cruise so i didn't think to mention it was for those 2 only. Sorry for any confusion. 

[1982CruzStart]

Duplicate post. 

Edited December 27, 2020 by 1982CruzStart

[SWFLAOK]

5 hours ago, 1982CruzStart said:

As Flossie pointed out, the speciality options are for Explorer and Splendor only. My post was directly in response to the OP/TS about their upcoming Splendor cruise so i didn't think to mention it was for those 2 only. Sorry for any confusion. 

No problem. We're really looking forward to being on Splendor for the first time. I knew there was an additional specialty restaurant with Pacific Rim which we're looking forward to it.

For those not on Explorer or Splendor, Compass Rose is always open at lunch, and often has extended hours when excursions are running late. On "days at sea" the pool grill has had a themed lunch.

As for the the buffets, I'm not a big eater, and have never liked eating at buffets anywhere. Too many people picking on and off their plates (and often a used plate), and using fingers. It will be interesting to see how the restaurants handle this onboard in the future. I think Regent will get it right, but we're OK with eating in our cabin much more than we have in the past if that's what we need to do.