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This Oct
21 to 28 Worldwide Travel and Cruise’s Steve and Diana Bloss along with
Regent’s Mario Villalobos,
hosted 9 clients and their guests on the Voyager from Athens to Monaco.
This cruise, which sailed only 4 days after the 2006 Conde Nast Readers
Choice Awards announcement giving Regent the award for the Best Luxury
Cruise Line (ships of over 500 guests) and overall ratings ahead of
Crystal, Seabourn, Silversea and Windstar, was indeed a very special
experience. Our participants were in total agreement by the end of the
cruise.
Sometimes our clients comments say it better than we do and this time
included; “Wow what a ship” from Vince Aspromonte of the Masters Group
and “A once in a life time event” from Jim Schultenover of the Krisam
Group. Cathy Zappia of Carlson Canada put it the best however, “Regent
Seven Seas is definitely redefining the meaning of luxury cruise ships”.
But the best one which both Worldwide and Regent like to hear the
most is, “Go ahead and issue the charter contract” from a client we
can’t name, coming at the end of the cruise.
Mark
Conroy the President of RSSC, was on hand to attend our cocktail
functions as well as our formal meeting to bring all of us up to date
about the changes coming to Regent, ex Radisson Seven Seas. Let me
quickly summarize what’s happening to the ships of Regent. Basically
all of their ships are getting new interior décor and soft goods, new
luxury bedding and linens, flat screen TVs and DVDs along with a host of
other interior décor issues. Two of the most surprising things, however
in today’s world of cruising, is that they are adding more money to the
daily food budget and investing in more crew training fleet wide. The
Navigator, Regents oldest ship built only in 1999, gets expanded spa
facilities, an additional suite and even more upgrades. All of these up
grades will be completed by March of 2007.
Just one
quick comment about the weather on our cruise and then on to some
details on the ship, the weather was fantastic! If you have ever
wondered what cruising in the Med in October is like, try it, you’ll
like it. Cool’ish mornings, if you’re from South Florida, but great
sunny days and laying around the pool is definitely in order. But what
is even better, the sights are of course all open but the massive crowds
of the summer months are gone.
The
Voyager is currently the only ship to offer all suites, and all of them
with balconies, in the industry. With only 350 suites in 8 categories
she is great for groups and an ideal size to charter. The smallest
suite is a generous 356 sq ft while the largest suite is a 2 bedroom, 2
½ bath luxury townhouse with 1,403 sq ft. If you really want to impress
a group consider blocking the Penthouse Suites, which are the next
category up from the standard suites. They are 370 sq ft but come with
over the top butler service and extra daily amenities and other
goodies. Well worth it!
The
Voyager has an amazing 6 dining venues for only 700 passengers. They
include the main dining room Compass Rose, with open seating nightly.
The Veranda Restaurant which is buffet style for breakfast, lunch and
dining at night becomes an “ala carte” Italian Bistro that is casual
and extremely good. Of course there is the Pool Grill that stays open
until 4 pm if you get a hamburger attack.
I have
saved the three best for last, not necessarily in order but you do need
reservations for all three. Latitudes Restaurant is a fantastic
surprise if you are a fan of Asian Fusion Cooking. While you are
presented a menu it’s just to tell you what you will be experiencing as
you get a taste of it all. The food was the best I have ever tasted on
a cruise ship period! Signatures Restaurant is the only Cordon Bleu
restaurant at sea. Needless to say you will have a menu with a
decidedly French flair. If you didn’t get to experience Latitudes you
would be saying that this is the best food you have ever had on a ship.
I think that there must be some real competition going on behind the
scenes in these kitchens! Last but certainly not the least is the 24
hour room service. You can order off any menu during dinner hours for
course by course room service, or have a perfect breakfast served or a
late night snack for your first jet lagged evening. The service was
great.
The food
and service in general was as good as it gets. What most people will
really appreciate is the creative selection of menus in all dining
venues. You never have a case of only seeing one option you would like
to try. And speaking of options you have a larger than normal selection
for each and every course in each restaurant. The plate presentations
for all meals was exceptional. Do you think I liked the food and was
impressed?
There
are 4 bars and lounges some of which are entirely non-smoking. These
rooms are of varying sizes and ideal for group functions. One lounge is
open late and thankfully plays disco and
other music that can be danced to. It is interesting to note most of
the passengers seemed to be between 45 and 60 years of age. Starting
January 1st 2007 Regents rates will include all open bar
throughout the ship with the exception of some real top shelf brands.
As
 this
was a themed Classical Music cruise we didn’t really experience the
normal shows in the multi-level showroom. Other entertainment options
are deck music and live music in the Horizon and Voyager Lounges in the
evenings.
Regents
fleet of 3 ultra deluxe ships sail in the following areas offering 7
night cruises:
Alaska
The
Caribbean from Ft Lauderdale
The
Mediterranean
The
Baltic
Shorter
cruises can be arranged on a charter basis but allow planning these
about 2 years in advance.
Worldwide highly recommends taking a
Regent Seven Sea cruise.
Contributed by: Steve Bloss -
March 2003. The views expressed in this report are solely those of
the author and not necessarily those of WWTCA |
