We were in the lower, non-balcony, suites. Other than the balcony they are essentially identical. Others we met, who have either been on multiple Regent cruises or who were first-timers, were equally pleased with their balcony and butlered suites. The beds were comfortable and the linens  were  very good. If you want nitpicking criticisms: My son complained about his pillow  being too soft and we had a few thread-bare towels; neither of which otherwise  would have been commented on. I really don’t think there is any issue at all  with the suites.

Keeping in mind the huge marketing of “The Regent  Experience”, and that Regent is calling itself a 6 star line, here are a  few of  the misses (BTW, I cannot tell you how many of the staff – from the bottom up –  commented how they disliked the Navigator compared to the Diamond, so much is  not directed at the on board staff, but home office planning, operations and/or  directives.):

Dinner – If you went to dinner by 7:30 pm you  probably did not have any problems, but if you liked to dine late (8:30 or  later) you found yourself waiting for 15-45 minutes for a table. By then the  pressures were well on the staff (who may well have been part of the problem  with the inability to turn over tables) and the service was more of  “OK, what do  you want” than polished service.

One evening we asked for 3 espressos, 1  vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and 1 cheese plate. We received 1 cup of  coffee…then vanilla ice cream…then 5 minutes later chocolate sauce…then as  we gave up on the espressos and cheese, the cheese trolley arrived. We politely  declined and left. The waiter was genuinely sorry, but that is not really the  point.

It was so bad (and acknowledged by the Hotel Director as such)  that one evening we were celebrating our friend’s 25th  wedding anniversary and I  went to the dining room early to arrange for a bottle of Cristal to be at the  table when we sat. I said “Just give me a time, as we know the problem with late  seatings.” I was told 8:45 pm. Well, we arrived and there was nothing.  Eventually we were, of necessity, sat by the kitchen and then the Cristal did  not arrive. When I reminded them, it came, but all the other glasses stayed on  the table and they kept asking if we wanted white or  red, but we couldn’t get  the champagne poured! So we tried to laugh it off – with our view of, and noise  from, the kitchen – but it was typical of the service and frustrating. (Oh, they  charged the $250 for the bottle with no apology.)

We ate at Portofino  twice and enjoyed both nights. The service and food was excellent. The “show” is  much different and more subdued from what
was on the Diamond, but still lots of  fun and a great alternative to the main restaurant.

Service?? –  After our day in Cadiz four of us just sat by the pool and watched the sea and  sunset as we left port. We could not get drinks served as it was after 6, so we  brought beers up from our suites.  Then we didn’t want to deal with the dining  room (see above) so we called room service to bring 4 hamburgers (I swear that  was all) to the pool deck. They said they could not because it was a public  area. OK, then bring them to my  suite, but when can I expect them. They did not  know because the kitchen was busy with dinner, but it would be more than 30  minutes. To Regent’s credit, I then went down to the dining room and it was  immediately taken care of.  However, for those that say Regent is on a par with  Seabourn or Silversea, that is clear evidence of an embarrassing inability to do  the simple things. Heck, drinks should have been offered and 4 hamburgers  presented without issue. What made no sense to me is that there is a “policy” of  not serving the area even with the minimal services we would have liked once the  grill and bar closes.  Burgers and beer on a plastic tray is not huge request on  a line marketed as 6 star.

Liquor Pricing – NOTE:   Regent Seven Seas is now liquor inclusive.  This was, frankly,  outrageous. I  have no problem paying for a drink and expect to pay for quite a  few drinks for myself and others on a cruise. However, the pouring of a measured  shot of  whiskey or charging $15 for two tiny glasses of white wine by the pool  (not full sized wine glasses) is a bit much. How about charging $4.50 for a  virgin  pina colada?

In the “You Won’t Believe This” category, after we finished our  above-mentioned hamburgers we had half a bottle of wine left, so we took it
into  the Galileo lounge to watch the Newly Not So Newly Wed Game. Within seconds I  was approached and told I would have to pay a corkage fee. I declined and was  approached again. I just said, “Please talk to Miki. He delivered the wine to  me.” There was a lot of head-shaking on that one!

Port Problem 1 – One great disappointment was that the  evening before we were to arrive in Bordeaux it was announced that we would not make Bordeaux Friday evening, but would arrive Saturday morning. The rumor was  that it was a problem with the tides. Please, tide charts exist and do so for years in advance. So our specially pre-made dinner plans in Bordeaux were nixed.  No apologies were ever given.

Port Problem 2 – I guess partially  my fault for not researching it enough, but the days certain ports were reached  just didn’t make much sense. Santander was a short day and, as it was Sunday  much of everything was closed and would remain closed even later.  (We did find  two nice tapas bars later in the day). It was an important public holiday when  we arrived in Lisbon, so it was pretty much a ghost town. (I was on an Ensemble  Travel tour to Sintra which was fantastic, so I lucked out.)  Barcelona was a 7am  to 3pm short day and as nothing (and I mean nothing) opens  before 10am, it was a  very rushed time. (We did have a great – though too fast  – lunch at Los  Caracoles though.) I won’t bore you with the details, but making it a better  timed cruise would not have been that difficult…especially after  missing out  on the Bordeaux evening.

Tour Problem 1 – We  signed up for a Tour  of the Medoc with a Visit to Château Mouton Rothschild and its world famous  museum for $84. I arrived on board to tour tickets for a Tour of the Medoc with  a visit to a Château for $125, so I checked with the tour  desk and, yes, it was  all in order for Mouton Rothschild. OK, I will pay the extra since a wine  tasting at a second growth Château is included. So we board the bus and when we  were well out of range of the ship they announce we are not going to Mouton  Rothschild…and the wine tasting is at a third growth vineyard! Complaints were  furious and the response was a discount to $84!  What?, that was what I was to  pay to go to Mouton Rothchild! (Eventually I had the entire amount refunded…on  the last evening of the cruise…because I took the time to explain how  important MR was in my plans.)

Tour Problem  2 – We signed up for  the Andalusian horses, which did not include the show, but did include “you will  assist at a rehearsal of the famous Andalusian Horse Dance show”. Instead, you  were dropped off at seats in the show arena and told we could watch the horses  for 10 minutes. OK, that sounds all right…but that was it (save a quick look  at the stalls and tack room). No participation in anything. Not even an  explanation of what the horses were doing!

Concerning the tours, this is  clearly a “home office” issue as the tours are arranged from there, not the  ship. The tour staff of Theo and Anne were excellent. (Jim, the manager, was  not). I never had a problem with a Regent tour before, but these problems were  fundamental to the tours; not mere
changes. It was, to my mind, like “bait and  switch”: Make the tours sound luxurious, but in reality know that they were  nothing special. It helps sell
the cruise and the tour. This needs a serious  look.

Also, we had a much better experience with the Cadiz tour. (I believe there were 2 buses for this.) Our tour guide was funny and informative.  He originally didn’t give us any time for the shop, but I asked and he consented  to it. (And, as you were there, I was the guy whose family held  everything up  buying the statues and tennis shirts…and kept apologizing to everyone because  I felt like we took over the single sales clerk). I felt our Tio Pepe tour was  actually quite good and our guide was charming. We felt the same about the sweet  sherry!

Ship Generally – I have heard about the vibration on Navigator and thought it was probably overstated. It is not. Many areas cannot be used as they would logically be because the vibrations are so strong. In the Galileo bar aft, you can literally watch and listen to the bar flex as it vibrates! Additionally, many of the public areas are just not well laid out and the frustration is readily noted by staff and entertainers. Hopefully with the soon to be dry docking the tiredness and awkwardness of some of the areas will be addressed.

Overall, the service was heads and shoulders better than on  the Mariner last summer, save the nightly disasters in the dining room. The food  was also far superior. The tour issues and port timings are not caused by those  on board, but the home office. The little things like serving a hamburger need  to be tended to. As for the problems with the ship, as seemed to be the mantra  on board, “It just isn’t the Diamond.”

I think the biggest thing is that  Regent should not market what it cannot deliver. There were just too many misses  and disappointments. I would think twice before I booked Navigator again.