How to compare?

This spring I sailed in a Gorgeous Suite on Virgin Voyages, so when I sailed on Regent Seven Seas this summer, I wanted to find the most similar experience. The closest category on Regent Seven Seas for an apples comparison with Virgin Voyages’ Gorgeous Suite is the Regent Seven Seas Penthouse Suites. Both products are a premium version of each line’s onboard experience, and they feature similar benefits.

To keep things clean, I’m not going to compare every element of each line’s sales pitch. Things like in-room turntables or pillow selection are not what I’ll be focusing on here. In the hospitality industry, everyone likes to boast that they have the best stuff, and this is no exception.

As a Mega Rockstar, you can order dishes from the ship’s restaurant’s, like Extra Virgin. This is how it comes to your room.

Onboard Benefits Comparison

Pre-Cruise Benefits

Each line offers some pre-cruise benefits that are worth noting.

Intangibles

There’s plenty about every cruise line that just doesn’t quite match up with others in a neat 1:1 comparison. I’m going to try and describe some of what makes sailing each line special but isn’t something they clearly go head-to-head on.

Regent

The Seven Seas Explorer is their largest, and most extravagant, ship. It’s smaller than most cruise ships today so It’s easy to get your bearings no matter where you are onboard. Everyone guest who sails on this ship is in a suite. Every surface you see is elegant, even the common area bathrooms are done in marble. When you are at a bar or restaurant, your glass will never go empty, and you barely need to look toward a staff member before they are asking what you need. In short, you’ll want for nothing.

Here is my full write-up about our Regent sailing.

You will be one of only 700 or so guests, depending on how full the ship is. Nothing ever feels crowded because there simply aren’t many people. The environment that Regent curates is akin to a country club. Everything is quite relaxed, but in the evenings, more formal wear is expected in the common areas. The restaurants are quiet and often fairly private dining sessions. You’re never close enough to another table to overhear their conversation or vice versa. Posh and slightly reserved is an appropriate description for what it feels like on board.

The Regent Seven Seas Explorer observation lounge exemplifies their refinement.

Night life on the ship is calmer than many lines, dance parties and the like aren’t a part of the typical offerings. Live music is played in various areas, but the focus is often more on elegance than entertainment. However, having a quiet drink in the lounge while a piano is played is many folks idea of heaven.

Virgin Voyages Mega Rockstar

All of Virgin’s ships are chic and modern, there’s no air of stuffiness on these vessels. Although their reputation as “party ships” isn’t quite accurate, they certainly know how to have a good time. The legendary Scarlet Nights are something that you have to see to believe, and no other line throws a bash like that! Energetic but chill reverberates through every deck.

As a Mega Rockstar, you are made to feel special – like a big fish in a small pond. There are only 15 Mega Rockstar suites, and each has their own Mega Rockstar agent. You’ll get perks that no one else on the ship enjoys. The hosts at the restaurants make sure you are seated right away. You get first choice at seating for shows. Even when you fancy a trip to the spa, you can walk right in because Mega Rockstars have unlimited access.

Sailing as a Mega Rockstar just feels different. You arrive at the port by black SUV, pulling ahead of everyone and being brought right to the entry. You’re greeted, personally, by Mega Rockstar Agents who then check in with you every day to see if there’s anything you need. When you leave, that same agent takes your bags through the ship and all the way to the front of the disembarkation line. You stand out and feel it.

Is one actually better?

So, how Does Regent Seven Seas Compare to Virgin Voyages Mega Rockstar? You may have guessed this conclusion as you read, but there isn’t really a clear winner here. These may be two products that are quite close in offerings, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.

The two lines offer hugely different products. Virgin Voyages is relaxed but vibrant, the epitome of chill. Regent Seven Seas is refined and elegant, but not, as we were told by staff, stuffy. The vibes are worlds apart.

And, despite what you may be thinking, neither one of these lines seems to be particularly youthful or wizened. On both Regent and Virgin there are plenty of young and old alike when I have sailed them. It isn’t age that separates these experiences, it’s presentation and ambiance.

I will say, I think that there is slightly more value in Regent Seven Seas’ offerings. It comes down to one thing and one thing only, included excursions. I had excursions at every port we stopped at and I certainly got between $500-$1000 dollars in value from it. That’s not trivial, but it isn’t everything.

At the end of the day, for my taste, I still enjoy Virgin Voyages more. I like the more relaxed atmosphere where I can wear shorts to dinner if I feel like it. I love dedicated running track on top of the ship. Even though I’ve never been much for parties, I still enjoy dancing my heart out during Scarlet Night.

How Does Regent Seven Seas Compare to Virgin Voyages Mega Rockstar? Well, there’s not really a comparison to Scarlet Night and that’s part of what makes this hard.

Regent was excellent, but it’s not made for me. The person who will enjoy Regent is the sort of person that enjoys a country club. If you love delicate piano played while you sip on glass of merlot, this is for you. Most of all, if you really don’t want a crowd of other passengers to share the ship with, that is who Regent is for.

The conclusion is that if you are spending enough money to sail as a Mega Rockstar or in a Penthouse Suite on Regent, choose the line that best fits your vibe.

The post How Does Regent Seven Seas Compare to Virgin Voyages Mega Rockstar? appeared first on Far Far Away Travels.

That tag line alone should give you a sense for what the ship and line are like. Marble bathroom surfaces, tiled entryways in the rooms, included drinks, even included excursions. I’ll do my best to describe the feel of the ship and what our time onboard was like, but this won’t be a review like many of the other articles I’ve written.

I mentioned that we were invited to experience this ship and that meant that we paid a significantly discounted rate. We also sailed as part of a larger group of travel agents, which meant that the entire ship was well aware of our profession and our affiliation with the group. I can’t say that we were treated any differently as a result, I rather doubt we were based on the experiences other guests described, but I can’t rule it out. Because of that, I can’t give you a review that I know I can trust. Instead, I’ll simply describe what it was like.

What’s the line all about?

Regent Seven Seas Cruises, RSSC, pitches itself as the most all-inclusive and luxurious line in the industry. It’s hard to argue that point with them either, given what’s included.

First off, every room is a suite. Even their most modest rooms are larger than any stateroom on other lines I’ve been on. The Princess mini-suites seemed to be the closest comparison to what RSSC’s entry level rooms are.

The rooms are all very luxurious, especially for a cruise ship. The bathrooms have marble surfaces, the beds come with a pillow menu, and every room has a balcony – at least on the Explorer.

Hotel Reception on the Regent Seven Seas Explorer

All your drinks are included, and every restaurant has a sommelier. They are happy to customize drinks with specific alcohols and brands, if they are available. The wines are recommended by the sommelier each night, but they will open other bottles if you don’t care for their selection.

Laundry is included, daily, and so are the spa facilities, but not the services (like manicures). Perhaps the most unusual for a cruise line is the included excursions. RSSC provides a bevy of excursions to select from. As far as I could tell, they offer everything that the other lines would offer for excursions. Not all of them are included, but the ones that aren’t included are sold at discounted rates, presumably because RSSC is covering some of the cost.

Like I said, RSSC’s goal is to be the most all-inclusive line there is and they go a long way to ensure that they meet that. My time onboard the Explorer showed me their commitment to that.

Before you board

Once we got our room assignment, we were able to make our selections for the excursions. It was simple enough to do. Regent Seven Seas will have you create an online account and then you connect your account to the sailing you booked using your confirmation number. You may not have to do that, depending on exactly how you book, but we did.

Once your account is connected, it will show you the cruise itinerary and display all the available excursions. As I said, many excursions are included but not all of them. If there is a cost associated, it will be displayed clearly. The excursions have accurate descriptions, from my experience at least, and there are dozens to choose from. Selection was a simple click a checkbox followed by a checkout process.

I also experienced what to do if you want or need to change an excursion. One of the selections I made was cancelled before the cruise and I wanted to book something else. It’s not something that seems to be done online so I had to call Regent’s customer service. The call only took 5 minutes and was very easy to take care of and then I booked the new excursion I wanted.

Regent Seven Seas is so attentive to your needs, as I boarded on a very rainy and cold day in Whittier, the line provided umbrellas and carried my personal bags for me when they saw I was moving a lot of gear (mostly cameras).

Since our cruise was part of a familiarization program for travel agents, we didn’t get to experience booking our own dining. The Regent Seven Seas Explorer has three specialty restaurants that you can book dining times at. There is no additional charge for these restaurants but you do need to make reservations. Our times were scheduled by the program organizer to ensure that we got to experience all of them. Given the experience with the excursions, I can’t imagine that this part would be difficult or contain any major hiccups.

Regent Seven Seas, like many cruise lines, has options to arrange transfers to the port from hotels and book nights in hotels. We did not participate in that program but spoke to some who did and they said it was very typical of any line.

However, a word of caution to cruisers sailing from Whittier, AK on Regent… The dock for Regent in Whittier is brand new this year. We were the second or third cruise from the dock. The dock itself is owned by Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), Regent’s parent company, and isn’t yet on most maps. As of writing, neither Uber nor Lyft have it, and Google Maps shows it as a location, but there is no address associated with it. This dock is also quite a hike from Whittier’s “downtown” and existing dock, so don’t plan on walking from town to the NCL dock. All this wasn’t made clear to us before we got there, so I wanted our readers to know about it.

There is also an app for Regent Seven Seas, but I wouldn’t bother with it as it seems to be, put politely, non-functional, put impolitely, utter crap. Regent’s team did seem aware of their app’s lackluster performance, so perhaps usefulness is on the horizon for it.

Onboard Experience

Let’s be plain about one fact, Regent Seven Seas is luxurious. With that luxury comes many things that you expect and several that, even I, an experienced traveler, did not.

All the interior public spaces are grand and considered. The walls have dark, rich, wood on them. The bathrooms are done in marble and have small, cloth, hand towels to dry your hands with – germaphobes, don’t be confused by this, you use one towel and then you put it in a hamper so it gets washed.

There are multiple lounges with live performers in the evening. A café with excellent espresso and leather chairs to relax in. A library with thousands of titles and several spaces for games and puzzles. On deck 11, there is an observation lounge and bar where you can sit and watch the world go by.

The entrance to the Regent Seven Seas Explorer Observation Lounge gives a good sense of the line’s luxurious atmosphere.

Their pool and hot tubs were not well used on our trip, since it was cold and wet for most of it, but they looked enjoyable, nonetheless. On the Regent Seven Seas Explorer, the spa is included, but the infinity pool on the back of the ship that’s part of it isn’t heated, so it wasn’t a very popular space either. The rest of the spa seemed quite nice, but I didn’t have much time to use it. As I would expect, the gym was top notch, for a cruise line, and I count it as the second best I’ve been to after Virgin’s.

The Regent Seven Seas Explorer Has A Nice Gym

The staff are incredibly attentive and the staff to guest ratio allowed them to be. Because all the rooms are suites, max passenger capacity is only 750. That means a staff to passenger ratio that is solidly luxurious.

What I found most remarkable about the staff is just how helpful they were. When boarding, staff were carrying any bags that they could, and, when they saw one of us struggling with a couple uncooperative bags, two of them rushed over and each of them grabbed one bag. They even escorted you to your muster station immediately after boarding to ensure you know where it is.

The single most remarkable thing I experienced was from the housekeeping staff. Our sailing was in Alaska, early in the season. It wasn’t frigid on the trip, but the heat remained on in our cabin the entire time. This meant that air was exceptionally dry and that we were quite uncomfortable. I was wishing I brought one of our travel humidifiers, but I didn’t, so I resigned myself to discomfort. Gretchen, thankfully, was less resigned to discomfort and asked the housekeeping staff if they had a humidifier and, to my utter disbelief, they did! That’s something I’ve never seen before.

Elsewhere online, I’ve read others comment that on Regent Seven Seas, if the staff can say “Yes,” they do. From what I saw, that’s true.

Suites

The only thing that you can book on Regent is a suite. They have a wide variety of suites to choose from, but even their most modest are quite nice. Their Veranda suite measures 220 ft² interior with a 90 ft² balcony and there’s a deluxe Veranda that offers 255 ft² interior.

Their most common suite is the superior/concierge suite with 330 ft² interior and a range of 85-130 ft² and they only get bigger from there. The Penthouse suites, are 450 ft² interior with a 110-170 ft² balcony. Larger still, Seven Seas suites are 580 ft² interior and 240 ft² balcony.

A bottle of champagne and some sweet treats greeted us as we entered our Penthouse Suite.

Still greater space is afforded to the Explorer suites with 645 ft² interior and 170-270 ft² balcony. There are also grand suites, which measure in at 850-1010 ft² interior and range from 280-920 ft² of balcony space.

It doesn’t stop there, the two-bedroom master suite, which we didn’t get to see, has 1065-1120 ft² interior and a 830-990 ft² balcony. But even that isn’t the top. That honor belongs to the two-bedroom Regent suite, which we also didn’t get to see, that has a stunning 3155 ft² interior space and a 1290 ft² balcony, all to yourself.

During our time onboard, we didn’t stay in a standard suite, we paid to upgrade to the Penthouse Suite level because that was the closest experience to a Virgin Mega Rockstar, which I recently sailed as, and we wanted to compare them.

The penthouse suite is very lovely, to put it mildly, and it is the first suite level that comes with a personal butler. Our butler, Ryan, saw to our every need. He would bring us our room service when we ordered something, our laundry when it was finished, and anything else we thought to ask for.

Everything in our Penthouse Suite was lovely, especially the bathroom.

The sofa and chairs were quite comfortable and there was plenty of space to move around in. The mini bar was always kept stocked with drinks and clean glasses as well as still and sparkling water.

Interestingly, the bathroom came with dual sinks complete with two different amenity kits from two different companies. The shower had a rain head, a wand head, and six heads on the walls to really get that clean feeling. Everything in the bathroom was marble, of course, and it was a very nice space to do your makeup.

Storage space is not a problem, with a walk-in closet and drawers aplenty in every part of the room. Go ahead and pack your whole wardrobe, you can fit it in this room.

The only part I wasn’t particularly keen on was the bed. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but I can’t say it was notably comfortable either. I would say it is better than Virgin’s beds but not quite as good as Princess’ beds, with Princes still being the best I’ve slept at sea.

Food and Dining

There’s nothing quite as important as food on a cruise and there are plenty of options on the Explorer. I think it’s best to go through each location and discuss them briefly

Compass Rose (Main Dining Room)

I’ve never been in a dining room quite as gorgeous as this one. Décor doesn’t change the quality of the food, but it certainly makes it a nice place to be. Regardless, the adornments have nothing to make up for. Whether you are eating breakfast or dinner, it’s wonderful. For my tastes, this was the best meal I had on my sailing.

La Veranda and Sette Mari at La Veranda (Buffet)

La Veranda is a buffet and Sette Mari, which is what La Veranda becomes at night, is a blended dining style that I found a bit odd. Sette Mari has sit down dining with a server, but some portions of your meal are intended for you to serve yourself at a buffet. Although the food was quite good, I stand on principle that I don’t like buffets, mainly due to the higher chances for unsanitary conditions. I found this to be the weakest food on the ship and spent the least amount of time here.

Pacific Rim (Specialty Dining)

The entrance to Pacific Rim on the Regent Seven Seas Explorer

A Pan-Asian menu that features some bolder flavors. Of the specialty dining options, I had the best time here, even if it didn’t have the best individual dish. Unlike the rest of the ship’s provisions, I was able to add some heat to my curry. It wasn’t quite as “spicy” as I usually get from my local Thai restaurants, but it was spicier than most ship food gets – and yes, I asked for that. Those less inclined towards oral furnaces need not worry. The interior design of the restaurant is striking, making for a very contemporary experience, while not falling into the starkness all too common in dining establishments today.

Chartreuse (Specialty Dining)

Dining at Chartreuse was a bit like finding a unicorn in today’s culinary world because it’s a French restaurant. It’s uncommon, arguably rare to find a French eatery in the last decade or so, which made it a refreshing place to dine at. The furniture wasn’t my favorite, I found the chairs a bit uncomfortable. The food, however, made up for any lack in upholstery as it served the best dish I had while onboard. A pan seared arctic char prepared to perfection.

Prime 7 (Specialty Dining)

This is the steakhouse onboard, a rather ubiquitous sight on cruise ships these days. The food was as good as the best steakhouse, obviously, the menu emphasizes beef. More importantly, the wine selection was impressive. Should you ever visit, you will be spoiled for choice with reds.

Pool Grill (Quasi Buffet, Lunch Only)

I didn’t expect that I would want to highlight the hotdog that Regent served, but it was really good!

The pool grill seemed the most popular place for lunch on the ship, given that the seating was filled every day. It’s a rather odd setup for serving food though. There’s some dishes that are self-serve buffet style, like the salads, but then there’s things like burgers and hotdogs that are ordered with a server. Despite the strange mixed messages, everything I ate here was excellent, particularly the hotdogs, which I hadn’t expected. I still don’t like buffets, but the made to order portions were delicious.

One other thing to remember here: lobster nachos.

Coffee Connection

Although this café isn’t a full restaurant, it’s worth mentioning because it’s where most of the ship congregated each morning at one point or another. This is where lattes are obtained as well as some pastries. The cruise line likes to make a big deal out of their daily cronut, which changes each day, and passengers seem to enjoy. Personally, I didn’t think they were worth the fuss (and I don’t think they really qualify as a cronut either). The coffee, though, was the best I’ve had at sea, easily outstripping every other line’s cafés. If I’d had the time each day, I would have spent hours here each morning, doing some work or reading a book while sipping divine espresso.

Fresh pastries are always nice and the cafe on the Explorer had plenty.

Overall, the quality of the dining on the Explorer was blowing most other lines out of the water (pun intended). The only complaint I think is worth mentioning is that the specialty restaurants all seemed to have quite a long service time. Each dinner we had at the specialty restaurants was, at a minimum, two hours. I enjoy a lengthy meal, one that allows for discussion with my dining companions, but these meals pushed my sensibilities on that. We had several nights that were pre-planned by the coordinator for our group and we dined at 7 PM. We never made it out of dinner with enough time to see a show. Just something to keep in mind as you plan your meals.

Excursions, Drinks, and Other Extra Details

Since Regent is about the most all inclusive line there is, it’s prudent to cover how all inclusive they are.

Beverages

Almost all the alcohol and all soft drinks are included in your fare. There were a few scenarios, like tasting classes, where you paid extra for the drinks, but otherwise it was all included. This means that there is a refrigerator in the gym with bottles of Gatorade (or equivalent) that you can just take.

One word of advice, take the time to specify elements of your drink when ordering. For example, instead of asking for a dry martini, ask for an Aviation gin martini, with a lemon twist. If you specify the liquor, you will get better quality than if you don’t.

Excursions

The included excursions and the prorated paid excursions that I went on were fantastic! Some excursions were canceled, either due to weather, delays, or other issues, but what I did experience was excellent. I don’t imagine that these excursions are any different than what can be purchased through other lines or online, but Regent Seven Seas certainly worked with good vendors. On other lines I find that selecting excursions can be daunting task, mostly weighing the cost versus time, but on Regent, because many excursions have no added cost, it’s a lot more fun and encourages you to partake.

This excursion to the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau included whale watching. It was amazing!

Shops and Casino

Both the shopping area and the casino are smaller than on modern cruise ships. The Explorer was a massive refit from an ship built in the 90s, so it’s from another era in it’s dimensions and layout.

If you are interested in the casino, they have all the basics you’ll want, just maybe not the variety of tables and slots other lines have. The casino room, however, feels a bit like you’re in a Bond movie, which is fun and worth something in my mind.

The shops were oddly pushy, even aggressive in their selling. They also didn’t offer anything different than on other lines, which I found surprising. I was expecting a bit more haute couture, if not by definition at least by appearance. What exists is the same as any other ship I’ve been on, plus some extra desperation on the salespeople’s part. We were browsing the items in the store and one clerk would not stop harassing us with pleas to try on various pearl necklaces, which we rejected each time. It drove us out very quickly, which is, perhaps, why I never saw anyone else in the store.

Laundry

I’ve mentioned already that the laundry is included, which is the best benefit of all. I love coming home and having hardly any laundry to do. You simply fill a bag, fill out a slip that tells them what’s in there, and it returns the next day. Oh, and it comes back hung or wrapped in tissue paper and placed in a box. All I can say is, it’s lovely.

Laundry is delivered on hangars or in a box on Regent Seven Seas. Don’t mind my shirt I left out on the bed…

If you’d rather take care of your own laundry, there is a launderette, complete with chairs and a TV so that you can stay with your clothes if you are so inclined. I didn’t feel the need to use it, but it seemed quite capable.

Entertainment

Unfortunately, because of a very busy schedule, we didn’t have time to participate in the entertainment on the ship. Looking over the acts and offerings it didn’t seem particularly special. Some of our colleagues did see one stand up show and said it was fine, but a bit bland. I imagine that designing entertainment for a ship with only 700 passengers, give or take, is hard. I don’t think the onboard entertainment is the highlight of the line, but I don’t think the people sailing Regent Seven Seas would be choosing a line based on its entertainment options either. That is to say, if you want spectacular displays of theater, look elsewhere.

Live music, however, is featured all throughout the ship in the evenings. The musicians onboard were mostly in the jazz or classical fields, but there was also dance music in certain areas. I adore live piano and that was easy to find; it makes for such a relaxing audio-scape.

Conclusions

Regent Seven Seas is the ultimate in luxury and it comes with a price tag to match. Like I said, our fare was heavily discounted because this was a familiarization trip, sponsored by the cruise line. The intent is to wow us and show us everything they can do. Coming away from the trip, I certainly feel that I know what the line is all about.

This is the place you go when you’ve had enough of upselling, small cabins, and being crowded with other passengers. None of that exists on Regent Seven Seas, the only catch is that you pay for it. When I looked at other, similar length sailings, typical prices began at close to $6,500 per person. Regent does give us the ability to offer unpublished deep discounts on select sailings.

When you compare that to what other lines offer for similar prices, it actually comes out ahead in many head to head comparisons. To be fair, a lot of that value comes from the included excursions because most lines included drinks, spa access, laundry, etc., in their similarly priced categories. I have a feel, though, that people choosing Regent are not necessarily looking for the best value. Instead, I think they are looking for the best experience.

This is the humidifier that the Regent Seven Seas housekeeping team found for us when we said the room was dry. I still can’t believe they could do that for us.

On Regent Seven Seas, guests will find an amazing experience, I can say that with certainty. It is an experience of luxury, refinement, and being pampered. It is, like all lines, tailored to fit a certain approach or style. Where Disney appeals to families, Virgin Voyages creates a kid free environment, Princess has something for everyone, while Regent is a country club on the waves. They resisted being called stuffy when they spoke with us and I don’t think it was, but the vibe is very much country club, nonetheless.

I’ve found in my travels, as I talk with others, people tend to choose their preferred line based on the vibes more than anything else. It makes sense to me to do that. You’re on vacation, if you want a raucous party, you likely wouldn’t want to be with Mickey Mouse. Conversely, if you want refinement and gentle jazz saxophone in the observation lounge, you likely wouldn’t choose a line that has a happy hour.

Regent will appeal most to the people that like that sort of environment. A quiet sophistication is the definition of this line and if that calls to you, you may have just found your home on the ocean.

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