Up next in 10
Days before heading off on Regent's newest ship, the Grandeur, the line launched new advertising promising that “nobody does it better”. In in they also claimed to have the “world's most luxurious fleet”, and that no cruise line beats them on destination experiences, hospitality, luxury spaces, and dining. Having been on Regent before, while I found them great, I didn’t think they beat every line, so this latest trip turned into the perfect opportunity to really test out if Regent now does do cruising better than everybody else. I am Gary Bembridge, and this is what I found. And as always to offer an unbiased review I booked and paid for this trip myself like every single cruise I go on
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0:00
days before heading off on Regent's
0:01
newest ship the Grandeur the line
0:03
launched new advertising promising that
0:05
Nobody Does it Better in it they also
0:07
claimed to have the world's most
0:09
luxurious Fleet and that no Cruise Line
0:11
beats them on destination experiences
0:13
Hospitality luxury spaces or dining now
0:16
having been on region before while I
0:18
found them fantastic and great I didn't
0:21
think they beat every line so this lades
0:24
trip turned into the perfect opportunity
0:27
to really test out if Regent now does
0:30
cruising better than everybody else as
0:32
they promise welcome aboard I'm Gary
0:34
bambridge and this is what I found and
0:36
as always to offer an unbiased review I
0:38
booked and paid for this trip myself
0:40
like every other cruise I go on first of
0:43
all a quick reminder of who and what
0:46
region 7 Seas is Regent is an ultr
0:48
Luxury Line owned by a Norwegian Cruise
0:50
Line group and the main competition is
0:52
silver sea Seaborn and Crystal they have
0:56
six ships in service I've been on three
0:58
of them and a new larger CL M of ship
1:00
called Prestige is coming in 2026 I'm
1:04
going to look at what they did well they
1:06
do the same as others and why they did
1:08
not do that well and finally whether I
1:10
found they do cruising better than
1:13
everybody else these days without a Shad
1:15
of a doubt the one thing they do well
1:17
are the ships and the daycor all the
1:19
ships look and feel luxurious with high
1:21
quality Furnishings fixtures artwork and
1:24
even the tiles and toiletries that they
1:27
use they are a really great design and
1:29
layout all existing ships except for
1:31
navigator have a broadly similar layout
1:34
grander is the most spectacular of all I
1:37
thought it would be helpful to share
1:38
with you the layout and Main venues on
1:40
Grandeur to show you why I think the
1:42
ships are great I'll start at the top of
1:45
the ship and work my way down now on
1:47
Deck 12 is a sports Deck with Crazy Golf
1:50
deck games paddle board court and
1:52
seating for the upper level of the pool
1:54
deck deck 11 has many many of the key
1:57
public areas in the front of the ship is
1:59
the constellation Lounge overlooking the
2:02
bow there's a very large well stocked
2:04
Library a card room connoisseur club for
2:07
smoking and cigars and one of their
2:09
signatures the culinary arts kitchen
2:12
where they run cookery classes also on
2:14
this deck is the pool the pool bar and
2:17
the pool Grill and La Veranda which is
2:20
the buffet restaurant which turns into a
2:22
specialty restaurant at night and I'm
2:24
going to dive more into the good and bad
2:26
about dining later on Deck 10 are two of
2:29
the special restaurants Prime 7 and
2:32
chus the next of the public areas are
2:35
right down on Deck five here is the
2:37
upper level of the constellation theater
2:39
a large open area with concierge
2:41
reception Excursion future creu sales
2:43
and prospectus photography studio where
2:46
you can book personal photo shoots also
2:48
on this deck is the fabulous coffee
2:50
connections for coffees and snacks an
2:52
area to do puzzles and the Meridian
2:54
Lounge where afternoon tea and some of
2:56
the entertainment is actually run at the
2:59
rear of the ship on this deck is a
3:00
Serene Spa with the gym above that on
3:03
level six there's also a fantastic rear
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Spa deck open to all but what actually
3:09
few people know about which is reached
3:11
by the changing rooms which have SAA
3:13
Steam and cold rooms on Deck 4 are the
3:16
final public areas with the main part of
3:18
the constellation theater a set of
3:20
rather fancy shops a decent sized Casino
3:23
plush grandier Lounge which hosts
3:25
evening live music and dancing and the
3:27
large compass rose which is the main
3:30
dining room now like other outry lines
3:33
there are guest laundry rooms on several
3:35
of the decks there are a wide range of
3:37
cabins which all have really modern and
3:39
stylish Decor I like them a lot on this
3:41
trip I'd actually booked for the very
3:43
first time a penthouse though usually I
3:45
would just book a standard Veranda or
3:46
conci Suite on a regent ship I also got
3:49
to view a Grand Suite that some people
3:51
that we met on the cruise were staying
3:53
in which was huge enormous and rather
3:55
spectacular the ships are stunning and
3:58
among the best in cruising for sure now
4:01
I want to move on to what I think the
4:03
region does the same as other Ultra
4:05
Luxury lines because there's a lot of
4:07
these while dining on board is excellent
4:10
I'm not sure that it is better than the
4:12
other Ultra Luxury lines let me talk
4:15
about what the options are all of which
4:17
are included within the fair so that's a
4:20
big plus the main dining room is the
4:22
compass rose it's open for breakfast and
4:24
for dinner theoretically you don't have
4:27
your own table but I found that if if
4:29
you really want a regular table and go
4:32
roughly the same time every day the
4:34
matro D can make it happen if you
4:37
actually request it now we really want
4:38
our own table uh and we pretty much had
4:40
the same table the one next to it for
4:42
almost every single meal the menus are a
4:45
decent size they're comparable though
4:47
with other ultr luxury lines the food
4:49
was good I don't think it was that
4:50
differentiated or elevated compared to
4:53
those other lineso but it was pretty
4:55
good food the dinner menu had a huge
4:57
standard item section which stayed the
5:00
same then daily changing options they
5:02
had Spar options they had vegetarian
5:04
options good and tasty overall like the
5:07
food we like Compass row we ate in here
5:10
actually a lot in fact we liked it so
5:12
much we ENT a speciality a little bit
5:14
less I'll talk later about where I think
5:16
dining though Falls from what I consider
5:19
the gold standard in luxury dining
5:20
because that is really important anyway
5:22
the next main venue is La Veranda the
5:24
breakfast and lunch buffet restaurant it
5:27
has varied lunch themes Mexican Italian
5:29
seafood and so on you can take daily
5:31
pasta orders from a pasta station you
5:33
can order things like hamburgers it's a
5:35
decent choice for the size ship good
5:38
quality Buffet the tables have
5:40
tablecloths on fully laid out with
5:41
Cutlery and glasses so I think it gives
5:43
a sense of feeling luxurious as a buffet
5:46
restaurant in the evening though this
5:48
venue becomes seti Mari a regent
5:50
signature it's a way to served Italian
5:52
restaurant you don't have to make a
5:53
reservation for this it has a great and
5:55
expansive menu in fact probably too much
5:58
on the menu on other region cruises it
6:00
was so popular that I needed to get
6:02
there before it opened if I wanted to
6:03
get a seat or I need to go kind of much
6:05
later in the evening on this particular
6:07
trip it wasn't that busy so we actually
6:08
went there a couple of times close by
6:11
laranda is the outdoor pool Grill the
6:14
place at lunch for great burgers and hot
6:16
dogs and they do have a setup kind of
6:18
for a healthy option breakfast that
6:19
starts quite early it's not open in the
6:21
evenings meaning there's no informal or
6:23
casual dining venue for dinner which I
6:25
actually really missed but much to my
6:27
disappointment the ultral luy compet
6:30
doesn't tend to have informal dining
6:32
venues in the evening either there are
6:34
three included specialty restaurants you
6:37
can get one booking in each of them
6:39
during a cruise although the highend
6:41
cabins don't have that limit you can
6:43
though also ask during the cruise to
6:45
make more bookings which actually seemed
6:46
pretty possible to
6:48
do there is prime 7even which like many
6:51
cruise lines have is a steakhouse it's a
6:53
nice venue very classic Steakhouse menu
6:56
and it's pretty good but I'm not sure
6:58
there's anything that really sets it
7:00
aside from other good steakhouses on
7:03
ships next is the French restaurant
7:05
chartar Rus I'm not a big fan of French
7:07
food I like the venue menu was decent
7:09
but it wasn't one of my favorites but
7:11
others seemed to enjoy it people I guess
7:14
you like french food the best part for
7:16
me was a large Petty fors trolley at the
7:18
end of the meal amazing the third and my
7:20
favorite specialty is Pacific gim this
7:23
is an Asian fusion restaurant with a
7:25
stunning venue and diverse and tasty
7:27
food from the region this is the most
7:29
impressive impressive of all the special
7:30
restaurants for me now one thing I see
7:33
as a weak point across all the
7:34
restaurants is actually desserts they
7:37
are overall pretty average which is
7:38
surprising because region actually do
7:40
one of the best afternoon tees at se so
7:42
there's kind of a disconnect there
7:44
afternoon tea is offered daily in the
7:46
Meridian Lounge many days it has it a
7:48
theme like cupcakes we were on a
7:49
Christmas Cruise so we had a seasonal
7:51
themed one often tea they do better than
7:54
the other competition in my view like
7:58
those other lines though including in
7:59
the fa room service it's got a good
8:01
standard menu and also the ability to
8:03
order anything of any of the menus of
8:06
any of the open restaurants at ordering
8:08
time which is great now unlike silver
8:10
sea and Seaborn caveo is not offered as
8:12
kind of standard Unlimited on Regent
8:14
every Sunday there is a caviar breakfast
8:17
they did run an added charge cavar
8:19
champagne event once on the trip another
8:22
thing which they do different to some of
8:23
the other Ultra Luxury lines is you only
8:25
get a butler in the highest grade cabins
8:28
unlike silver and Crystal which have
8:30
them in all cabins another thing region
8:32
basically does the same as other ultr
8:34
luxury lines in my opinion is the daily
8:38
program and activities it's a little bit
8:41
on the light side which is also true
8:42
though for other ultr luxury lines
8:44
because of the few passengers on board
8:46
and limited entertainment crew the
8:48
entertainment team is the cruise
8:49
director assistant Cruise director
8:51
social Hostess and then the theater
8:53
singers and dancers who help run
8:55
activities now the daily program
8:56
included things like hosted shuffleboard
8:58
hosted bag golf putting competitions da
9:01
trivia crosswood puzzles Bingo art
9:04
scavenger hunt and things like that
9:06
where in most cases passengers could
9:08
collect points to redeem for merchandise
9:11
trivia of course hugely popular they had
9:14
Bridge classes run by experts they had
9:16
no at a charge Fitness classes and those
9:19
at a charge and always sold out culinary
9:22
cooking classes they also had three
9:24
enrichment speakers which I will come
9:26
back to later because I have some issues
9:28
on what Reg do here now let me talk
9:32
entertainment overall there's some good
9:34
and bad things in here too being part of
9:36
the Norwegian Cruise Line group I always
9:38
expect region to have great
9:40
entertainment because it's one thing
9:41
that the Norwegian group generally do
9:44
really really well I have to say I do
9:46
see though some improvement from past
9:49
region trips with more on the way
9:52
meaning I do think they are starting to
9:54
Edge above the competition when it comes
9:56
to entertainment in the theater the
9:58
shows on Grandeur and those announced
10:00
and rolling out on the other ships are
10:02
kind of more themed with more
10:04
storytelling way more contemporary music
10:06
at last really slick dancing and large
10:09
especially for the Ship siize cast four
10:11
singers eight dancers and a seven-piece
10:14
band the band by the way also playing
10:16
evening music sets in the lounges the sh
10:19
on grandier included ignite the night
10:21
R's ball passion one night and buos
10:23
series icons Broadway unplugged those
10:26
kinds of themed shows additional live
10:28
music by the way in the the lounges was
10:30
provided by a singing jewer and a
10:32
Pianist and were very popular a weaker
10:34
area for me was the gas entertainers
10:36
they're pretty usual bookings from
10:38
standard Cruise Entertainer circuit that
10:40
are found on other lines in any kind of
10:42
category region 7 CS have some crew
10:45
based entertainment and standards like
10:46
the crew Capers talent show and on
10:48
longer cruises like the one I was on
10:50
they have a pool deck Country Fair we
10:52
each of the dep departments host stores
10:54
with challenges for guests to collect
10:56
raffle tickets really good fun really
10:57
high energy and those are really popular
11:00
standards if you like while the overall
11:02
entertainment is like the other lines I
11:04
think as I mentioned they have edged up
11:06
when it comes to Production shows so
11:08
very promising there Region C for solar
11:10
travel as well and like lines like say
11:12
silver sea they have a social Hostess
11:15
host a daily Meetup with the option of
11:17
going to dinner together but like the
11:19
others very limited solo deals Fair
11:22
levels and inclusions are broadly the
11:24
same that there are a couple of things
11:25
that I really want to note here they're
11:28
closest to the SE overall though with
11:31
the time of recording two key fairs and
11:33
fair types do change there all includes
11:36
a fair is like silver SE port to port
11:38
and their ultimate allinclusive fair is
11:40
like Silver's door Todo Fair on both
11:43
fairs included our sh excursions in
11:45
theory as many as you can do in a day of
11:47
course food drinks including Fine Wines
11:50
and Spirits basic starlink Wi-Fi though
11:53
with a hefty upgrade fee to get
11:54
streaming Wi-Fi laundry included which I
11:57
absolutely love and gratuities are
11:59
included now if you book a coner Suite
12:01
or above you also get a one night pre-
12:04
cruise Hotel included now the ultimate
12:06
all inclusive fair then includes
12:08
roundtrip flights in with economy as
12:10
standard these days transfers between
12:13
the airport and the ship and also to and
12:15
from your home and the airport there are
12:17
some issues though with these inclusions
12:19
that I do need to talk about making this
12:21
a good time to start to talk about what
12:23
I feel they don't entirely get right and
12:26
then when where I it out based on all
12:28
the things that they do whether I think
12:30
they are better than the others as they
12:32
claim many of the points I'm going to
12:34
raise are similar ones for my past trips
12:37
meaning I'm not sure that these things
12:39
have really changed earlier I said the
12:41
menus and food were good in the main
12:42
dining room but do they offer the best
12:44
dining in cruising for me the gold
12:47
standard in premium and luxury dining is
12:50
in kunard Queen's Grill here you have
12:53
your own table for meals but it's
12:54
anytime dining you have the same waiting
12:56
staff for all meals they get to know you
12:58
phenomenally well it's all Silver
13:00
Service meals don't come fully plated so
13:02
vegetables are served separately at the
13:04
table for example lots of dishes are
13:06
prepared tableside dool crepe cetes and
13:08
so on and of course you can order off
13:11
menu as much as you want but the dining
13:14
experience in the compass rose is not
13:16
like that at all it's like any regular
13:18
cruise ship main ding experience in
13:21
reality as I mentioned you don't
13:23
necessar have your own table so it's hit
13:24
and miss where you get which means that
13:26
the crew The Waiting staff don't get to
13:28
know you your you often have to wait in
13:29
line at the entrance to get allocated a
13:31
table and because you're shifting tables
13:34
and the staff are looking after many
13:36
tables it does feel a bit busy and it's
13:38
all a bit frantic and everything comes
13:40
pre-plated the second area that is a bit
13:42
weak are excursions now because
13:44
excursions are included within the fair
13:46
I think this is bringing now some
13:48
negatives the included ones are fine but
13:50
in my experience are not always the best
13:52
option in a port this was true on many
13:55
path trips and very much so on this one
13:57
that I went on the grand cruise that I
13:59
was on was a Panama Canal Transit from
14:01
Miami to Los Angeles most of the ports
14:04
are the exactly the same as a group
14:06
cruise that I'm running on Holland
14:07
America next year that's a premium not
14:10
an ultr category Cruise Line however the
14:12
excursions available to purchase and
14:14
what you can do in Port is way more
14:16
varied and significantly better on those
14:18
hor America trip than most of the
14:20
excursions included on this region trip
14:23
they clearly are not offering us the
14:25
best things to do now I assume because
14:27
they have to work within a budget the
14:28
region tour have to be a little bit more
14:30
basic more limited and I feel they're
14:31
squeezing the quality of excursions to
14:33
stay within that budget and to do better
14:35
tours often means going for paid for
14:37
ones or making your own plants which I
14:39
did for example in my last trip in Japan
14:41
Let me Give an example in Acapulco we
14:44
did the included Daya a resort but the
14:45
resort was not highend at all which of
14:48
course the line is the food is really
14:50
average and really poor but of course
14:51
you're coming off a luxury ship in Costa
14:53
Rica we did one of those aerial traway
14:55
tours in the rainforest compared to
14:56
other lines where I paid for it this
14:58
wasn't as slick we didn't have a guide
15:00
on the traa explaining what we're seeing
15:01
and it just didn't have the amount of
15:03
depth and detail as I mentioned when I
15:05
went to Japan I was using more paid for
15:08
tours to see the best of the places when
15:10
I went on regions so I do think that is
15:12
an issue another area which I do think
15:13
is an issue but one that is really easy
15:15
to address is enrichment on the crws
15:18
were three speakers they were
15:20
knowledgeable and accomplished speakers
15:22
there was one talking about their life
15:24
time of underwater exploration another
15:26
on psychology another one on of language
15:29
and the development of language however
15:31
for me it missed in their new promise
15:34
they say destination exploration and
15:36
immersion will be topnotch the best
15:38
there is excursions are not and nor is
15:41
enrichment on this one we were passing
15:44
through a region rich in histories
15:46
sometimes chaotic history sometimes
15:48
dramatic history incredible geography
15:50
with rainforests varied cultures
15:52
unfamiliar and less visited ports for
15:54
many of us and of course one of the most
15:56
significant engineering Feats ever the
15:59
Panama Canal that's what I wanted to
16:01
learn about but did not even the one
16:04
talk on Panama Canal was done by a
16:06
speaker when it obviously wasn't his
16:08
area of expertise it was nowhere nearly
16:10
as good as any other talk I've had in
16:12
Panama Canal when I've been through on
16:13
other lines there were absolutely no
16:16
Port talks to give us understanding of
16:17
the history the sites or even practical
16:19
things where we would be docking the
16:21
facilities there I mean tips for self-
16:23
exploring you know whether nurse ATM is
16:25
Pharmacy or shops worth which even many
16:27
premium and value lines do my other
16:30
region trips were the same so this was
16:33
not an exception I think one of the best
16:35
things that region could do is revamp
16:37
the enrichment program and Link it much
16:39
more to the excursions and to the
16:41
destination so bearing in mind
16:44
everything I've spoken about what did I
16:46
think coming away from this trip I had a
16:49
great time as I always do on Regent I
16:52
really do enjoy cruising on region 7
16:54
Seas all the ships I've been on have
16:56
been fantastic with Grandeur being the
16:58
most spacular the quality of the ship
17:00
the dining the crew and the service is
17:02
all excellent however is it better than
17:06
everybody else I'm not sure that it
17:08
necessarily is within this category for
17:11
me Silver sea and Crystal are a really
17:13
close match and it's hard to say that
17:15
one is better than the other and it
17:17
probably depends a little bit on what
17:19
things are important to you but for me
17:21
there is something about region that
17:22
makes them an extremely strong Contender
17:25
and I tend to lean a little bit more to
17:27
Regent overall in this C age however if
17:30
I'm looking atery that I want to do and
17:32
the best timing and ports on Silver SE
17:34
or Crystal certainly I would go on
17:37
either of those but if Regent really
17:39
addressed the issue of enrichment and
17:40
excursions I think that would Edge them
17:43
even further ahead now if you want to
17:45
find out why I think and I rate silver
17:47
SE so highly join me over this video
17:49
where I dive into the good and the bad
17:51
of silver sea see you over there
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