First post Covid cruise

[thomastoo]

We just returned from our first post Covid cruise aboard Splendor. I thought I would give some random personal thoughts about the cruise, the ship and Regent. We previously have sailed with Regent five times, all on Explorer. Splendor is very similar to Explorer with a few minor changes that seem to be improvements. The sight lines in the theater on deck 5 have been improved. The changes to coffee connection and meridian lounge are an improvement. Not sure why they closed one access to the observation lounge.

There were not any Covid restrictions on board or on tours. A few people wore masks, but the majority did not. 

In my opinion the entertainment was a step above what we had previously experienced on Explorer.

Now the bad part. It seemed that there was not adequate staffing in some of the restaurants. Service was not up to Regent standards. In particular we ate twice in Prime 7 and the service was slow and the food not particularly good. We did better in Chartreuse and Pacific Rim. Maybe our experience was not representative of everyone. Twice they had a French and Spanish buffet for dinner in la Veranda instead of the usual Italian dining. Perhaps because the buffet needed less staff.

Previously we have had a concierge suite but this time we were in a penthouse. The layout of the room is a little strange but we really enjoyed having a butler. He made the extra expense worthwhile.

Regent is a great line and I am sure they will get things right.

[PhD-iva]

Thanks for your thoughts and observations.

[irishwitchy]

Interesting about the buffet for dinner,  we really like the Italian dinner as an option.  We both really dislike buffets,  I hope that was a one off.  Where was the cruise?  Was it not full?  We have never stayed in penthouse,  because I want a tub!  

[Portolan]

15 minutes ago, irishwitchy said:

Interesting about the buffet for dinner,  we really like the Italian dinner as an option.  We both really dislike buffets,  I hope that was a one off.  Where was the cruise?  Was it not full?  We have never stayed in penthouse,  because I want a tub!  

But, on Regent, you can just see that it's a buffet in La Veranda (very unusual in our experience) and head back to Compass Rose or inquire about no-shows at the specialty restaurants.  You'll never be forced to have a buffet dinner.

[irishwitchy]

1 minute ago, Portolan said:

But, on Regent, you can just see that it's a buffet in La Veranda (very unusual in our experience) and head back to Compass Rose or inquire about no-shows at the specialty restaurants.  You'll never be forced to have a buffet dinner.

Well, aware!  I don’t even like the Sunday buffet thing,  sub par food in my opinion.  The sushi was yucky,  the desserts were yucky (looked great, tasted bland),  there was a great piece of meat being carved that actually tasted very good.   I rather have a perfect prepared omelet with bacon and great fruit.  

[SWFLAOK]

7 hours ago, thomastoo said:

We just returned from our first post Covid cruise aboard Splendor. I thought I would give some random personal thoughts about the cruise, the ship and Regent. We previously have sailed with Regent five times, all on Explorer. Splendor is very similar to Explorer with a few minor changes that seem to be improvements. The sight lines in the theater on deck 5 have been improved. The changes to coffee connection and meridian lounge are an improvement. Not sure why they closed one access to the observation lounge.

There were not any Covid restrictions on board or on tours. A few people wore masks, but the majority did not. 

In my opinion the entertainment was a step above what we had previously experienced on Explorer.

Now the bad part. It seemed that there was not adequate staffing in some of the restaurants. Service was not up to Regent standards. In particular we ate twice in Prime 7 and the service was slow and the food not particularly good. We did better in Chartreuse and Pacific Rim. Maybe our experience was not representative of everyone. Twice they had a French and Spanish buffet for dinner in la Veranda instead of the usual Italian dining. Perhaps because the buffet needed less staff.

Previously we have had a concierge suite but this time we were in a penthouse. The layout of the room is a little strange but we really enjoyed having a butler. He made the extra expense worthwhile.

Regent is a great line and I am sure they will get things right.

We also just returned from from Splendor, Southampton to Barcelona, following the previous Southampton to Southampton. It was our first experience with Splendor, with most of our previous experience on Voyager. Our last cruise on Regent was back to back Singapore to Singapore, Singapore to Sydney, Dec to Jan, 2019 to 2020, on Voyager in a Penthouse B, which we loved. This was our 3rd attempt at this Splendor cruise, due to Covid delays, in a Concierge E.

We loved the layout of our cabin on Splendor since it was wider rather than narrower. It wasn't quite as wide as the Penthouse B on Voyager, but it worked for us. We didn't miss having a butler, and our room stewards provided really excellent service.

There was definitely a problem with staffing. At many ports, we saw staff leaving and new staff arriving. Quite a few of the staff had been asked to extend their contracts. We felt that the staff was doing a very good job, while bringing the new arrivals up to speed.

We did, however, have problems with Prime 7. We had booked the first night of our first segment, and everything was perfect. Both my seafood and meat choices were perfect, and the service was well paced. We ate there for lunch during the first segment, and it was also a good experience. During the second segment, the service was slow at lunch and dinner. Our dinner near the end of the cruise was not good at all. There were several large tables, even at 6:30, and one had an officer dining with them. They were given all the attention by the waitstaff. The food that night came poorly cooked, and of inferior quality to what we had previously.

We totally enjoyed our 2 dinners and 2 lunches at Chartreuse, and our 2 dinners and a wine lunch at Pacific Rim. The food and service were all excellent.

Our biggest complaint was with Destination Services. They seemed to schedule too many excursions at the same time, and normally it was over lunch. When 500 people return to the ship at the same time, and the only place still open to eat lunch is the Pool Grill, it's hard to find a place to sit. They had to reopen La Veranda a few times to provide lunch. I'm sure that affected dinner service. I think our second segment was near capacity. The first was not.

[BBWC]

We also just got off in Barcelona after joining in Stockholm. Fully agree that Prime 7 was a disappointment. Large groups, slow service, and uninspiring entrees. Usually, Chartreuse is our least favorite restaurant, but on Splendor we very much enjoyed every meal we had there. The other problem we had was in Compass Rose. Soups, hot appetizers and side vegetables were almost invariably tepid. The service did at times feel overwhelmed.

[Huggsy]

On 10/14/2022 at 4:38 PM, thomastoo said:

We just returned from our first post Covid cruise aboard Splendor. I thought I would give some random personal thoughts about the cruise, the ship and Regent. We previously have sailed with Regent five times, all on Explorer. Splendor is very similar to Explorer with a few minor changes that seem to be improvements. The sight lines in the theater on deck 5 have been improved. The changes to coffee connection and meridian lounge are an improvement. Not sure why they closed one access to the observation lounge.

There were not any Covid restrictions on board or on tours. A few people wore masks, but the majority did not. 

In my opinion the entertainment was a step above what we had previously experienced on Explorer.

Now the bad part. It seemed that there was not adequate staffing in some of the restaurants. Service was not up to Regent standards. In particular we ate twice in Prime 7 and the service was slow and the food not particularly good. We did better in Chartreuse and Pacific Rim. Maybe our experience was not representative of everyone. Twice they had a French and Spanish buffet for dinner in la Veranda instead of the usual Italian dining. Perhaps because the buffet needed less staff.

Previously we have had a concierge suite but this time we were in a penthouse. The layout of the room is a little strange but we really enjoyed having a butler. He made the extra expense worthwhile.

Regent is a great line and I am sure they will get things right.

Interesting to read your post, we did Splendor in February (first time in a Superior - loved it). Will be treating ourselves to a Penthouse in April, not necessarily for the Butler experience but nonetheless looking forward to it. Can I ask what you particularly liked about it and what you engaged him/her for? Also, when do you know to ring for Room Service or ring your Butler? First world problems, I know!🙄

[Eno-Bob]

Thought we would add another opinion to this thread.  We were on the same itinerary as SWFLAOK – two segments Southampton to Barcelona.  We had done two earlier cruises on Splendor this year and thought this on was the best one of the three.  For us, things seem to have smoothed out and were as close to “normal” as we have seen. 

 

Talking to some of the senior staff, there are still staffing issues and a big part of the problem seems to be getting Visas for staff.  That problem has led to contract extensions and cases where a staff member was planning to go to one ship being diverted to another ship where they wouldn’t need certain Visas.  There are new staff all the time and, although they get training before they start sailing, there is a learning curve once onboard.  We thought that the senior food service managers like Jorge and Daniela did an excellent job training new staff and watching over restaurant service.  We didn’t have any service issues or food complaints at any of the restaurants.  We dined at Prime 7 four times during the two segments and we thought the service and food quality were as good as ever.  We dined there the very first night of the first segment and the very last night of the second segment and noticed no difference in service or food quality.  Obviously, other’s experience varied.  We were approached by Martin the Maitre ‘D or one of the other managers a few times during each meal to ask if everything was alright.  We know that serving the larger tables can sometimes through service off, we’ve seen groups turn away their server several times because they weren’t ready to order which can through timing off for later arrivals.  Not sure what the “uninspiring entrees” at Prime 7 were – the Prime 7 menu hasn’t had any significant changes since the Explorer was launched in 2016.

 

There were two nights that Sette Mari had “special” buffets that were Country and Port related – the foods of Portugal.  They have done that for a long time and don’t think they are related to staffing issues.  They are provided to give passengers a “taste” of local foods and some folks look forward to those nights.  Obviously, some folks don’t like the big Sunday buffets, but others love them – there was only one Sunday open for buffet during these two segments but the itinerary had to be changed due to a day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth, so we missed that opportunity – for us that was disappointing. 

 

It was a great cruise for us, and we would give it 5 Stars!

[hamasgirl]

We are currently on Splendor, starting in Barcelona on Oct 11.  So far our experience has been excellent.  It feels to us like pre-Covid Regent with an extra dose of care from the crew.  We are sailing in a Penthouse C for the first time and are really enjoying the extra space.

 

So far our experiences with the various restaurants have been excellent.  In Compass Rose where we have most of our dinners and breakfasts have delivered tasty meals with prompt and courteous service.  After the second day the various greeters at the front desk knew our name, suite number, seating preference and waiter preference.

 

We have had a couple of lunches in LaVeranda and then in the Pool Grill.  Again...very tasty food and all served piping hot.  Service is prompt and given with a smile.

 

I have to tell you all about 1 experience that I had in LaVeranda at lunch.  Our tour bus returned at 1:30 and by the time we were through Security and upstairs it was 1:40 PM or about 20 minutes from closing time.  Already one side of the seating was closed and we were directed to the other side.  I thought..OhOh...this is going to be a tough lunch to enjoy since they are going to rush us out.  Nope!

 

We were greeted warmly and made welcome.  One of the hot dishes that they had on offer was Chinese Ribs but by the time I got to them, the section was empty and as I turned away one of the staff behind the counter asked if I wanted them they could get them for me.  I said...no thats OK..I don't want to cause any problems and that I knew that they were closing and I went back to my table.

 

Shortly after that, the gentleman in the jacket running our side of the restaurant came over and said that he would personally get me the ribs if I could wait about 5 minutes.  And sure enough...in 5 minutes time, he brought over a whole rack of ribs, steaming hot, with an extra dish of barbecue suace saying that the chef thought that I would enjoy the extra sauce.  Wow...were they good...and I shared them with my DH .  I thanked the staff very much...and we didn't leave the restaurant until 2:30...and nobody rushed us or greeted us with anything but smiling faces.  Now that is service!!

[fudge]

Thank you for sharing that. We join the Voyager on Friday, my taste buds are singing already! We have also booked a Penthouse suite as someone said, not because of the butler although that will be nice, but the extra space, we are in suite 1055 which has a huge wrap around balcony at the stern or back of the ship as I call it, getting really excited now.