Regent Splendor Review

Jan and Tracey give their thoughts of their 7 day cruise from Trieste to Rome on the Regent Seven Seas Splendor. They cover everything from the ship, cabin, food, service, entertainment, spa and much more. After giving their 3 ups and 3 downs, they discuss what it would take to get them back on a Regent cruise.

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[EG-nxsl]

Appreciate your objective, realistic reviews of the not-so-good along with the good❤ So many other reviews feel like soft marketing they’re just not helpful.

[brentbelesky]

Traveled on Regent Explorer May 2024…..everything was excellent! Loved Chartruese!

[salliestewart]

Good video. Thanks for your honest review

[nkdgolf]

We were on the Splendor in May and luckily we did not have the same experience as you in the specialty restaurants. Service, food etc. was over the top exceptional. Guess we were just lucky.

[arbasd]

We have sailed on Splendor a few times and find your review spot on. Awesome ship but the last few times service was just a bit off as I think they are cutting costs and crew. We always get at least a penthouse suite and they seem to be spreading the butlers (and I am sure most of the staff) across more rooms, like all the NCL brands (Oceana and NCL) have done. The food and beverages seem of OK quality but not that great. Frankly their recent price increases have also made us look elsewhere and we have done SIlversea and are trying Explorer Journeys next month on Explorer 1. I would be interested in hearing your side-by-side comparisons of the luxury brands. (Silversea, Seabourn, Explora Journeys, Scenic, Ritz Carlton, and Regent). Of course when when the Four Seasons launches its new Yacht...I expect that will be more like a SUPER LUX experience well above what is in the market today...especially for the prices they will charge.

[dresadin]

Very informative. Great to hear the good and the bad. I am considering a Regent's cruise. Just now considering luxury cruises. I have a May 2024 cruise on the SilverSea Nova as my first luxury line cruise.

[karenamore]

I am looking at the splendor for a single cruise next year. I found that because of the high single supplements on other lines regent is actually a better value because everything is included and they don’t have the high supplement on the particular cruise I’m considering. Great review thank you. I feel confident now booking it.

[savagecub]

The past year my wife and I have done three cruises. Two on Regent and one on Royal Caribbean. After factoring in the cost of onboard WiFi, shore excursions, beverage packages and laundry service the Royal Caribbean cruise ended up costing about as much as the Regent cruise wherein all those perks were included. Not only are the alcoholic beverages included in the bars and restaurants on Regent you also get a bottle of your preferred spirit in your room and if you empty it they bring you another ! Additionally there were several times on the Royal Caribbean cruise that we had to wait to be allowed to enter the buffet as it was at capacity. I will admit however that the Royal Caribbean cruise had far better nightlife.

[csh]

A good review. I sailed Splendor in late 2021 and thoroughly enjoyed Chartreuse. Sounds like staffing has changed perhaps. Found I liked Compass Rose most of all, funnily enough, as the changing menu meant new options and service was always first class. Will be on Grandeur later this year, so I'll get to see how things are in general.

[MrToryhere]

My wife and I tried Regent twice before COVID. Our experience was very much the same as yours. There was a certain blandness to the whole experience. However, this may have been a cultural thing as we found Regent to be less cosmopolitan than the other ultra luxury lines we’ve tried.

[richlayendecker]

Thanks very much, I enjoyed the review and your observations seem to match with my limited experience. I have had only one Regent cruise on the Explorer and are scheduled for one on the Voyager in '24.

[alporcien]

Thank you for the review. We will do ours soon.

[johndefalque]

The ship looks elegant throughout! I hear there is a 1-1 ratio with staff, so poor service shouldn't happen. Most rave about Chartreuse, I'm in Quebec so I get enough french food. It does look like they just have tiny amuse bouche portions. I don't gamble or smoke. Pompeii-would love to see that! 10 grand is steep!

[eah]

Our impressions of Splendor match yours (we sailed her on a Christmas & NY Eve Panama Canal cruise Dec 22/Jan 23). We LOVE Pac Rim, and have done exactly what y’all (yes, we’re from Texas - Austin area - also) did with the appetizers; likewise, we’ve experienced Pac Rim on Explorer as well, and the all-female staff service in that venue on both ships … from the Maitre d’ to the bus staff … outshines all other venues by a long margin.

Agree with the comments on Prime 7 - not so much as a Texan, but as a steak eater … in our 60’s, we’ve eaten a lot of steaks around the world in some of the best restaurants AND we’re not too shabby at cooking them ourselves at home; so, it takes a bit of an edge for a steak joint to really stand out, and IMHO Prime 7’s only “standout” is the caramel popcorn sundae dessert. The best steak I’ve had on a Regent ship has been in Sette Mari.

Similarly, there’s nothing about Chartreuse on either ship which really is a “must” … and that includes the service which we feel is the worst among all dining venues. Example, we sat for a half hour with no wine service once before catching the eye of the smartly attired Head Sommelier who was just meandering among the tables “looking important, ” so we asked him for wine; rather than promptly serve us himself to rectify the oversight, he merely told one of his overworked (already inattentive to us) wine servers to attend to us when time permitted … and we continued to wait not receiving wine with our appetizers, only finally getting attention when our entrees were served. I know, “first world problem” - but when you pay six star money to a line priding itself on service excellence, this is unacceptable. Like y’all, we’re not snooty folks who look for shortcomings at every turn, but having sailed Regent many times, we recognize when service and food quality fails to match their much-heralded standards on which they (in their advertising) clearly pride themselves.

The spa is overpriced for the quality … DO NOT get a haircut there😮. Excursions do need some work … post-COVID “excuses” are getting tiresome and should be rectified by now.

Finally, all of those specialty dining shortcomings aside, Splendor was a gem. Exceptional cleanliness throughout (shoot, even the tenders were beautifully clean & well-maintained), great outdoor spaces, comfortable lounges, exceptional entertainment (David Nevin was CD when we sailed her - he’s on Grandeur now, plus as you observed how the entertainers are “ambassadors, ” two actually asked us to dine with them one evening), enrichment lectures really complemented the ports of call far beyond our expectations, the Culinary Arts Kitchen is remarkably informing & educational at a modest upcharge which we felt was well worth the cost, and our suite was an outstanding living space rivaled only by the service received from our butler and attendants.

[robert_sovitsky]

You both seem very kind and honest without being mean spirited ! Great review 🙂

[KSuse]

In the Spa, did you report your issues so they could correct it? And also report service issues on Chartreuse to F&B Manager? Hopefully they can make adjustments. Will be on Splendor in 2 weeks. Thanks for your review.

[traceybartlam]

I hope this was just a glitch! We have great service and food at all restaurants onboard Voyager in September and are due on Splendour this summer. I really hope they’ve sorted out what sounds like staff shortages maybe

[saris]

Many other commentators say the same thing about Prime 7. Sette Mare and Chrartreuse.

[savagecub]

I can’t fault the crew members for not knowing your names. You each have bisexual names - could be male could be female. How are they supposed to know who’s who ? 😂

[westhavenor]

Chartreuse was my least favorite restaurant as well. Liked Prime 7 and Pacific Rim though. Enjoyed the breakfast buffet at La Veranda though.