Seven Seas Voyager Reviews

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We completed a cruise in Venice and began a new one on the same date. As the cruises were booked months apart, they were considered by Regent to be separate cruises (different booking numbers, etc.) The only travel we did for this cruise was to move from one suite to another. This was handled beautifully by our super butler, Perag. We were moving to a suite that was not normally handled by Perag but he requested to move with us. The butler for our new suite, Ronnie, graciously agreed so we were able to have him with us for the full 20 nights. The only difficulty we had in changing suites was that our passports did not follow along with us. Reception almost did not find them at the end of the cruise. When they were found, they were "upstairs" and they had concluded that we disembarked May 3rd and were traveling without them!? Guests that were continuing on to this cruise were given the option to take an included tour of Venice (a good way to get us off the ship so they could clean, etc.). It was an excellent tour. We returned to the ship and found our new suite ready and we were anxious to continue our adventure. We enjoyed Venice tremendously. My view of Italy (which was set in my mind after a week in Rome 20+ years ago) was changed instantly when we arrived in Venice. The city is clean, safe (this was a problem in Rome), easy to navigate, and simply a beautiful, amazing place to be. Whatever tour you take in Venice, I advise allowing time to walk around St. Mark's Square. Although a bit touristy, it's vibrant, full of shops (some quite upscale) and gives you a real feeling for the city. Do you know how the famous "Bridge of Sighs" got it's name? Answer a bit later:-) The first four ports were repeats of what we had just done (Ancona (Italy), Dubrovnik (Croatia), Kotor (Montenegro) and Corfu (Greece). A few words about each: 1. Ancona -- why does Regent stop there? It is a lovely bay with nothing byt a but of tourist shopping). Some passengers left their excursions to go back to the ship. 2. Dubrovnik - walked around Dubrovnik this time rather than taking a tour. We enjoy Dubrovnik -- an unusual city. We were surprised to learn that most of the crew on Regent are now permitted to go ashore in Dubrovnik. 3. Kotor -- No tour last cruise. This time we went on the "Historic Kotor and Seaside Resort of Budva). Very good good with time to walk around the loely city of Budva. Unfortunately we were thre too early and most places opened as we were leaving (more about this later). 4. Corfu -- Again, we did not take a tour as we had done one on the previous cruise. All I can say is that Corfu was much better on the tour than it was walking around. Being on a 10 day port intensive cruise (no sea days) tires you out. We were fortunate that we were repeating some ports so we created our own sea days (not as good as the ones where Regent has activities during the day). Taormina (Sicily) was our first "new" port and the beginning of our time on the Italian Riviera. We took the Sicilian Wine Road tour. This was booked for the area we would drive through rather than wine tasting (which was fine). The views were amazing. Mt. Etna spewed smoke the entire time we were there. Locals said that the smoke and small explosions given off by the volcano was allowing it to release pressure. Sorrento was the best excursion we have taken in our years of travel. "Positano and Lunch at Ristorante Quattro Passi". The cost of this tour was $179/person and could be paid by on board credits. This two Michelin star restaurant exceeded all expectations by a mile. Everything about this excursion was amazing. This tour is limited and should be booked as early as possible. We were wait-listed and were fortunate to clear the wait list. Note: Thankfully, this tour was by mini-bus -- much nicer and smaller groups (2 mini buses with approx. 12 passengers each). Oddly enough, since we had just visited Positano, the next port was Amalfi/Positano. Yes -- another sea day:-) Florence (Livorno) is a very long ride from the port. Most excursions were 9+ hours. We opted to go for the Hills of Lucca and Wine Tasting tour -- only 5 1/2 hours. At the risk of sounding like a recovering wino, we selected this tour as it drives through Tuscany and stops at a winery with beautiful views of the area. It was a lovely tour. The port was the most miserable looking place we had seen on the two cruises. Fortunately things improved immensely a few miles away from the port. Last but certainly not least was Portofino. We cancelled the Cruising the Italian Riviera excursion as we had been doing that for days and the port is so vibrant and lovely that we had to go in and walk around. It is hard to have a "favorite" port. . . . however, this one is very special. Answer to the question: We were on the Bridge of Sighs. Prisoners walked over this bridge on their way to a really miserable prison. They would look out at the canal for possibly their last look at Venice. . . . and they would sigh. Okay -- so most of you knew that but I didn't and found it interesting. The excursions on Regent are very difficult for some of us to accept. Being on a luxury cruise typically does not mean long lines and 390 passengers on 16 buses going to the same place (at somewhat different times). Some comments: 1. Destination Services is doing a much better job despite the long lines we sometimes encountered getting into the Constellation Theater. According to the Asst. Cruise Director, they were able to get 650 passengers off of the ship in 45 minutes (he noted that it should have taken a half an hour.) 2. Having buses leave 15 minutes apart and take different routes is good in theory. Attention is not paid as to whether it makes sense for a bus to arrive at a winery for wine and a lovely food spread at 9:00 a.m., arrive for lunch at 2:30 p.m. when you left the ship at 8:00 a.m., or arrive at a shopping area when everything is closed. This was happening repeatedly. 3. Passengers pay little attention to the announcements in the theater that asks you to take your seat and wait for your bus number to be called. This complicates the process as the announcements to depart the ship are only made in the theater. Unfortunately, some passengers are willing to do almost anything to get a front seat (including removing the "Reserved" sign that is meant for disabled persons). 4. More attention should be paid to restroom stops. Waiting 2-3 hours after breakfast for the first stop is a bit long for some people. It would be helpful if Regent literature explained that coins are needed for the restrooms in many places. Without them you can not get in. I cannot imagine how 650 people on various tours and buses on a small island could be handled efficiently. So, if it can not be handled correctly, why is Regent allowing unlimited buses on these tours? Somewhat related to excursions is the fact that there was a majority of passengers new to Regent on both cruises. We really enjoy chatting with "newbies". New passengers to Regent may not find the excursion process as irritating since they may be used to traveling on ships with 2000+ passengers and Regent is definitely not crowded compared to that. However, new passengers to Regent who have sailed on Silversea, Seabourn and Crystal may see the all-included excursion crowds/lines to be akin to a cattle call. Excursions are set by corporate so I am not considering them in my overall rating. The service on both cruises was exceptional. Food in Compass Rose was very good to excellent. Food is subjective. My DH and I had the same meal at the same time and had different opinions. If what you ordered is not to your liking, please say something. It will be fixed or something else will be prepared for you. Prime 7 was good (better on the last leg) and we avoided Signatures on the second cruise. The crowds in Compass Rose that affect service is something that really cannot change. When someone said that the service was slow I asked what time they arrived at CR. The answer was usually between 7:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. -- the busiest times. I cannot think of any restaurant, that does not accept reservations, that can handle 200-400 guests arriving at the same time. IMO, they do a wonderful job handling the crowd -- it is just a bit slower than at other times. We receive impeccable service if we arrive early (before 7:00 p.m.) I noticed on this cruise that La Veranda was also full to capacity on several nights. They may have to do a lottery to dine in the soon to be opened Sette Mari at La Veranda since there is no reservations:-) Bottom line is that Regent is still exceptional. The staff, starting at the top, will do anything within their power to make your experience as perfect as possible. I can not stress enough how important it is to let the General Manager, Food and Beverage Manager or Dining Room Manager know if you are having concerns or difficulty. If you wait until the end of the cruise to tell them you did not like something, your experience was not as good as it should have been and Regent was not given the opportunity to make things right. They do care -- very much!

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We chose this Regent cruise mainly because of the itinerary, but also to try another smaller cruise ship. Having sailed with Azamara (Quest) twice and Silverseas (Silver Spirit) once, we feel the first Azamara cruise, which was before they became Club Cruises is our preference. The dining areas and menus were more to our liking, although the entertainment was low key. Comfort, service and friendliness of the crew is excellent on all 3 ships. On Sunday morning before our day of departure from Heathrow we attempted to check in for our BA flight on line. This was not possible as Regent had not supplied us with valid e tickets following our change of plan 2 months previously when we decided against a pre cruise stay in Athens, therefore changing flights. We spent 4 hours desperately 'phoning BA, their ticketing agent and finally, after much trawling through paperwork, an emergency 'out of hours' number for Regent UK office. The ticketing agent saved the day as he recognised our dilemma and went the extra mile to issue the new e tickets. Regent offered $200 on board credit for our trouble. We surely needed a holiday after that as BA had told us earlier we would not be able to fly as things stood! Not a good start. We arrived in Athens and were transported directly to Voyager in Piraeus. Progressing through the terminal and security prior to boarding was crowded, slow and not conducive to luxury cruising. However once on board we were quickly handed our room card keys and went to the Verandah for a pleasant lunch with plenty of wine! Feeling more relaxed, we ventured to our room, which was as we expected - spacious, comfortable & with a bottle of champagne chilling. After un packing and freshening up we went off to meet other Cruise Critics prior to dinner. So nice to put faces to names! A very pleasant hour or so spent mingling. Dinner was in Compass Rose and slightly disappointing. Up early to be served breakfast in our room as an 8am start to go ashore in Santorini. Delayed a while as windy. Very good excursion. Enjoyed Dinner in the Verandah. We had got into the swing of things, but had noticed all excursion start times were roughly the same and ours were earlier than when we booked and we felt rushed in the mornings. We were on holiday after all. We were told "guests like to be back for lunch" which finished at 2pm. in the restaurants. Why not extend this by an hour? The pool grill was open later, but not everyone enjoys that busy area. We actually cancelled the excursion in Kavala as the start time was 8am, an hour earlier than originally booked and the duration had been extended from 3 hours to 5.5 hours! The excursion taken in Rhodes was OK but actually we could have easily walked to the Palace and taken a more leisurely tour on our own. We returned to the ship before concluding the trip. Ephesus was interesting and probably should be rated as more strenuous, as there are a lot of steps in the Terrace Houses and outside where there is no hand rail. Mykonos was delightful and we would consider returning for a land holiday. Arriving in Istanbul was impressive! Willie Aames (cruise director) gave an interesting running commentary as the ship approached the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace. We sailed a short distance along the Bosphorus in order to view the bridge which links Europe with Asia. After lunch we joined the excursion to the Mosque and Palace. It was a holiday weekend and therefore extremely crowded with long queues, which was unfortunate but also atmospheric. We dined in Prime 7 on our last evening and were slightly disappointed with the meal. The on board entertainment was superb, particularly the Cirque Voyager - amazing skill and all while the ship was sailing in very strong wind!! Disembarkation was smooth as was the transfer to the Ritz Carlton. Check in there was fine and we enjoyed complimentary coffee in the lobby overlooking the Bosphorus, whilst our room was prepared. The view from our huge and comfortable room was great. It is at this point that we realised how a cruise ship spoils you. Food and drink available 24/7 and no bill!! In the Ritz, 2 after dinner coffees - ??10.00. A big thank you to the Captain and crew for providing an excellent service. So was the cruise good value for money? A resounding YES. Would we go again? YES.

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We began our journey in Vancouver, Canada where we boarded a Lufthansa flight to Istanbul with a brief stop in Frankfurt. As usual, the customs procedures in Frankfurt were a bit tedious. We selected a different lounge than we normally use and found it less crowded and much nicer. Arrival in Istanbul was easy. We stopped by the visa desk and obtained the required Turkish visas within two minutes at a cost of $25 each. The lengthy line at Passport Control was tiring. Finally, we were off in search of our Regent Representative. The first Regent Rep. we located piled our luggage on a cart and looked for our names to check off. They were not there. We told him that we were part of the group with a pre-cruise to Cappadocia (pronounced Cappa dok ya). He off-loaded the luggage and we went on seeking the next Regent Rep. who did not have our names either. He did suggest that we stand in a particular spot and said that the Rep. would show up. After 15 minutes or so (and asking more questions), the Regent Rep. that had our names showed up. Unfortunately, all of us had to schlep all of our luggage to the bus. We arrived at the lovely Ritz Carlton, the same hotel we stayed at previously. We were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves on the Club level where food and drinks were served. Our plans for going out to dinner went out the window after the wonderful food offering at the hotel. After dinner we sat and had a couple of drinks in the lovely Club lounge. Breakfast in the morning was amazing. The buffet has a wide array of choices. We were happy and very impressed with the hotel. Around 8:30 a.m. the following morning we were off with 19 other Regent guests to the airport where we boarded a Turkish Air Flight. It was a one hour flight to the city where the airport an hour away from Cappadocia was (cannot recall the name). Due to flight delays, we were approximately one hour late. Once we arrived, once again it was our responsibility to manage our own luggage. Fortunately, some of our luggage remained in Istanbul where it would be delivered to the Voyager when she arrived. We arrived at the restaurant quite late (about 2:30 p.m.) and had a delightful lunch (no alcohol -- this was a strict Muslim restaurant). We had nice soft drinks and bottled water. We were all tired and were fine with changing the itinerary around so our day would be a bit shorter. Regent used two hotels for the group. The "premium" hotel was The Cappadocia Cave Resort. It is a unique, beautiful hotel. The balcony of our suite overlooked the amazing valley. Dinner at the restaurant was confusing and disappointing. The Guide told us that we could dine any time between 7:00 and 10:00 p.m. When we arrived at 7:30 p.m., there was a table for 21 set up and the expectation was that everyone would show up at 8:30 p.m. We were permitted to sit down and ordered a bottle of wine and ordered (not even water was included at this hotel). As other members of the group came down, they were seated at the same table. The service was so slow that, by the time we were served dessert, guests who arrived 45 minutes after us were deserved dessert at the same time. Food was mediocre In the morning there were 75 hot air balloons (according to the guide) taking off. It was beautiful sight to behold. Many guests joined in the hot air balloon ride (additional cost). We preferred catching up on our sleep. They arrived back late so we started out a bit behind time-wise. The day we spent in Cappadocia was magical. In all of our travels, we ahe not seen the unique beauty that is Cappadocia. From the fairy chimneys to the underground city, it was all amazing. To get a tiny look at this wonderful spot, you may want to Google it. Pictures, however, do not do it justice. There are cave houses, cave hotels, fairy chimney's also turned into residences and restaurants. It was worth all of the time and energy put forth to get there. Our excellent Guide bribed people to get us in to the underground city. It was a holiday weekend and there were people waiting to get in as far as the eye could see. We bypassed the line and viewed this magnificent place. Lunch was the best food we had since arriving in Cappadocia. Dinner that night at the hotel was arranged properly and the food was somewhat better. Breakfast at the hotel is quite nice. The ride back to the airport (they utilized a closer airport this time) was uneventful. The airport was quite small and had no crowds. After, once again, dragging our luggage into the terminal, we flew back to Istanbul for the tours. This was still a holiday weekend and the area was packed. If that were not enough, they were filming a James Bond movie in Istanbul that created traffic tie-ups. We entered the Blue Mosque with no problem whatsoever. Saint Sophia was also fairly easy to get into. Topkapi, on the other hand,was so bad that we gave up. We walked for a long way to get there only to learn that it would take a long time to get in and that it would be packed once we were inside. By then it was approximately noon. The group was going for lunch after Topkapi. We decided to go on our own and take the tram to the ship (after thanking and tipping our wonderful Guide). Being onboard the Voyager is always an amazing experience. Such understated beauty and kindness from the crew. The weather every day of the 10 day voyage was between 70F and 76F (one day it approached 80F). Clear skies, sunny (there was rain for one hour in Anaconda, Italy -- a port we are at today and still have no desire to leave the ship -- not an attractive port). Service has been incredible. Food in Prime 7 was the best we have had to date. Food in Signatures is different as it has to be now that Regent's affiliation with Le Cordon Bleu has ended. The mushroom soup, while extremely good, was not the mushroom soup that they had last year. To be fair, we have never been fans of Signatures but did have an enjoyable meal. Compass Rose has been right on point. We still ask for a table in Zaldys section. He somehow knew we would be on board and looked for us the first night (we were in Signatures). We were quite happy to see each other the second night. The ports have been lovely. I was completely amazed by Kotor, Montenegro. I was not aware of the beauty of that port. We did not take an excursion in Kotor but will be doing so on this leg of the cruise. We had been we Santorini previously. This time the ship anchored at a place where you can just board a bus and drive away (no donkeys or trams). we were taking a wine tour with the new company, something like Wine Trails. It was a lovely tour but not worth the price. The best part of the tour was the Tour Guide. He was the best Guide we have had in our 25 years of international travel. Evan should be a trainer for other tour guides. He does not talk too much or too little. he has a sense of humor and is quite no-nonsense when it comes to dealing with the people at our stops. If the description of something is not to his liking, he will add information to it. Completely blown away by this young(ish) man. In Ephesus we did the Terrace Houses that everyone raves about. It is definitely amazing. Heed the warnings about people with walking difficulties having problems on this tour. The stairs up are easy. Going down is very difficult and there are no handrails. Montenegro was simply amazing. Beautiful views, lovely scenery. We again took a wine tour. This one started out to be one of the best tours we have had. We went to an olive oil processing plant (no longer in use except for tourists). We were shown how the horse walked in circles as the olives were pressed (beautiful horse -- doesn't like to do the demonstration but puts up with it. We were then served jugs of homemade wine, prosciutto, homemade cheese, salad), olives and homemade bread. Did I mention that this was 9:30 a.m. Well, we were all on vacation so we enjoyed it completely. The rest of the tour was a bit slow. The winery wine was not that good (no one purchased wine there). Still, a great day. We took "sea days" while other people were in port because, as I mentioned, we are repeating some ports on this leg of the cruise". The cruise ended with an overnight in Venice. We did the "included" gondola excursion. It sounds gimmicky and touristy but was fabulous. A highlight of the trip On the day when most people were disembarking, we went on the St. Marks Square and Doges Palace tour. Quite nice. We are amazed with Venice. This was a place we had no interest in visiting as we heard it was dirty, etc. The information we received was completely untrue as it is a clean, vibrant city. It is crowded but will be much more so in the summer. While much of this is a review of our pre-cruise, I hope Regent reads it and corrects the very few problems we had (mainly luggage handling). There are people who asked our opinion of Cappadocia and, having now been there, we would recommend it without hesitation. Forgot to mention the shows (which we typically do not attend). The Cirque Voyager is better than any show we have seen on Regent (we have seen other versions on the Voyager -- this one was unique and simply amazing! A must see! At the risk of being called a "Regent Cheerleader" (I don't consider that negative), the people on this ship, from the Captain down are caring, warm, professional, trustworthy and hardworking individuals whom it is always a pleasure to see. There was not one person who did not give excellent service on our cruise. Bravo Voyager crew!

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We are not frequent cruisers, this being only our third cruise since 2003 and our first with Regent Seven Seas. Our flight from Heathrow was at 8:15 so we stayed overnight at the Heathrow Sofitel and booked parking there as well. It was reassuring to know that our car would not be moved while we were away. I wasn't even asked for my key. The Voyager is the largest ship we've been on and we wondered how crowded it would feel with 700+ passengers. We needn't have worried. We rarely saw the other English passengers who shared the same flight out and we never felt as though it was full, even in the dining room. It had also been refurbished in November 2011 so everything was fresh and new. We were off the ship every day so which left little time to get involved with other activities, although we were often in the Horizon Lounge in time for the Trivia quiz. The service was fantastic. The crew were friendly, cheerful and accommodating and nothing was too much trouble. Part way through the cruise Comment cards are left in your suite so that you can raise any issues you've had. We had one or two minor suggestions and these were followed up by the Executive Concierge who left a message on our suite phone to go and discuss them with him. I mentioned, in passing, that my starter in the Signatures restaurant wasn't what I expected and almost as soon as I got back to the suite I had an apologetic phone call from the restaurant manager and an offer for us to eat there again.

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Regent Voyager is a lovely ship, brilliant captain, smiling and ever helpful staff, very clean, pleasant artworks (in the main), great library, and a stunning itinerary that included Oman, Petra, the pyramids, Jerusalem, Dead Sea and Masada. Our cabin was perfectly maintained by our stewardess. And it was all inclusive - no chits to sign. Who could ask for more? Call me Oliver Twist, but I can. The ship was let down a little by food in the main dining room. It was similar in quality to RCL and far below Seabourn, and Azamara. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't as good as I had been expecting. The specialist restaurants were a little better, but not much. It could be that my judgement of the latter is a little jaundiced because we booked a table for two but were put on one with six (very nice) people. However the biggest disappointment was the La Veranda buffet. It isn't fit for purpose. Now my cruising experience is limited to half a dozen different lines but they all, without exception, have had what is perhaps best described as a U shaped buffet. You can walk in one side and if seating is scarce continue round to the other side to check the situation. Not with La Veranda because it splits along the stern part - a Berlin Wall of serving stations. So you have two identical mirror-image buffets. And identical includes the food offered - it's the same on each side. Ridiculous. This can lead to the silly situation where the bacon or whatever on one side has gone and you can see some on the other side, but can't reach it. So you have to call a server for assistance. This also limits choice: with a flow-through layout other ships can offer twice the number of items. Senior staff were good but some junior waiters were not fully trained, especially when it came to wine. I asked for a Cote du Rhone and received something completely different. Oh yes, it said "Cote" on the bottle but not one that was within a hundred miles of the River Rhone. However on the whole there was a good choice of included wine throughout the ship (if you knew what to ask for). Did buy three "premium" wines but left two and returned one. Not actually bad, but dead. Maybe wine doesn't keep well on a ship. In the evening La Veranda becomes a themed (Indian, Chinese, Mexican whatever) eatery that is part waiter service and part buffet. We tried it once and it was ok. However turning it into a quasi bistro means that there is nowhere on Voyager to enjoy basic - collapse in a heap back from a long tour, can't be bothered to change - help-yourself simple food. Despite the failings of La Veranda this is a good ship and I would sail on her again without hesitation. In fact Voyager has pushed Seabourn Odyssey down to third place in my list of favourite ships. The food on Odyssey is way better but Voyager just edged it with its free excursions. And they were excellent. My top ship? Azamara Journey.

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