The Review Continues--Looking Back on the 2025 Regent World Cruise; Part III
The third in a series focusing on our recent 150-day World Cruise aboard the Seven Seas Mariner.
ENTERTAINMENT:
Guest Entertainers: Overall, we enjoyed the guest entertainers. We always tried to see the musicians, singers, and pianists. We were less excited about the magicians and comedians, but passengers who enjoy that sort of entertainment were pleased with the performers.
Regent Signature Orchestra: Excellent musicians. We looked forward to their music, whether as an accompaniment to other entertainers or playing a set on their own.
Production Team and Onboard Enertainers: Talented. We only watched the production shows once, or sometimes twice, since the same shows are repeated each segment, but we enjoyed them when we went. Towards the second half of the cruise, we were happy to have later (and long) dinners with other couples or retire to our stateroom for a quiet evening.
Krew Kapers: Always entertaining and well worth watching, the crew puts on an all-crew variety show towards the end of each segment. We loved supporting the fantastic crew whenever we could and always attended; they deserved endless rounds of applause and accolades for their heartfelt effort and entertaining performances.
ENRICHMENT LECTURES:
Excellent, until they weren’t. During the first half of the cruise, Sherpa and I attended most of the lectures. There were numerous lectures on the upcoming ports of call, covering history, culture, and key points of interest. During the Antarctic segment, we had an Antarctic specialist team, a group of four scientists, including a geologist, botanist, and whale biologist. They were all incredible speakers and also spent a lot of time on the decks helping with sightings, as well as in Headquarters (the Card Room), answering questions and identifying whales, birds, dolphins, and other marine life.
They were all an excellent addition to the cruise, and many of us wondered aloud why nothing similar was planned for the Alaskan segment, especially since we had seven consecutive days at sea and the speakers offered nothing in depth about the upcoming ports, nor Alaskan culture, history, the flora and fauna, etc.. What a missed opportunity! This was one of our biggest disappointments—the topics and quality of many of the second-half lecturers.
MEDICAL:
No one goes on an epic cruise expecting or wanting to utilize the services of the medical staff. And yet, when the ship has over 600 passengers, most of whom are in their 60s to 80s, there are bound to be visits to the clinic.
Yes, we did utilize the clinic’s services, though for the most minor of issues. Yet, those visits gave us some insight into the workings of the mysterious set of rooms hidden behind double doors on Deck 4. We had contact with the doctor and two nurses/physician assistants on several occasions. All were professional and competent for the services rendered. (I had a persistent cough early on and wanted cough medicine. That warranted a brief exam, including tests to rule out COVID-19 and the flu. Once they established I simply had a cough, the doctor prescribed a cough syrup—my reason for the visit—and cough lozenges. I returned a week later, cough still present, to make sure I still had only a “simple” cough, and was reassured I wasn’t contagious, but only had a lingering symptom. Again, tests confirmed I was fine. More cough medicine was prescribed. Cost? Zero, as medical consultations and treatments were a World Cruise inclusion.
(This Regent policy is changing, and in the future, only medical consultations will be included in the cruise fare. This change created an uproar when it was announced mid-cruise at a cruise promotion event, and considering many of the 2025 World Cruisers were the airline equivalent of “frequent flyer “ status — Commodore, Diamond, and Titanium members in the Seven Seas Society hierarchy—it’s uncertain how the change will affect cruisers going forward.)
Have you ever wondered how a medical or dental issue would be managed if the ship’s facilities couldn’t take care of the problem? I can report that in my case—a broken filling in a molar—all went forth without problem. I explained to the physician onboard that I’d lost part of a filling and needed to see a dentist. She checked the upcoming ports, chose the next port with the appropriate resources, i.e., a dentist who could see a cruise ship passenger, and made all the necessary arrangements. She also provided me with the necessary Regent paperwork to file for reimbursement with my dental insurance. When we arrived at Puerto Montt, the port agent met me at the ship’s medical clinic, then escorted me to a taxi, and then to the dental office. He helped translate as I explained the problem, then gave me detailed instructions on how to return to the ship.
The dentist had asked his English-speaking, college-aged son to come into the office so he could translate during the dental procedure. Ninety minutes later, I had a reconstructed molar and a bill for services rendered. Cash or credit card. $400 USD. My dentist checked the tooth yesterday and pronounced it a “job well done.”
VALUE FOR MONEY:
The cost of the cruise, including airfare, three overlands—New Zealand, China, and Japan—and all the items we purchased on the ship, such as hair styling, special events like classes and tastings, massages, cash advances for tips, boutique items, and all paid excursions. Expensive? Yes. However, we feel we got our money’s worth—an experience that will live forever in our memories.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Itinerary and Destinations: Our first-time visits to so many continents, countries, and ports of call far exceeded our expectations. Visiting so much of the world in such a short time really gave us the opportunity to compare and contrast, engage with citizens of numerous countries and cultures, and have meaningful conversations with artists and brewmasters from around the world.
People we met: The passengers, officers, and crew! We can’t say enough about the relationships we cultivated with so many people on so many levels. Wonderful!
Opportunities abound for finding art! This was one of my primary goals—searching for art wherever we went. What a fantastic experience. And now I want to travel more and focus specifically on fiber arts and ceramics. Wish me luck!
Sherpa’s ability to find “destination beers”: He found it “amazing that we could find locally brewed beer everywhere we docked. There were many fine beers, and it was good to see that the mega-breweries have yet to conquer the world beer market.”
DISAPPOINTMENTS:
Lecture series: specifically in the second half, as noted above.
Older Ship: The less-than-stellar condition of our stateroom and the flooring on Decks 11 and 12. (Pool decking and walking track, in particular.)
Not updating the cake! We were so excited to see this cake when we boarded in Miami. A tiny flamingo sculpture greeted us. Each day in port, we eagerly awaited the “destination” sculpture on the cake, and watched as our cruise unfolded in confectionary figures. But suddenly…no more tiny figures! Sporadically, entire segments would go without. Perhaps silly, but we looked forward to the tiny progression of cultures and were always glad to see when new ones were added.
Onboard Technology: Difficulty in navigating the in-room television system. Inability to easily watch/listen to lectures on TV—no on-demand feature; instead, an impossible-to-manage loop. In this day and age, the lack of a phone app to manage reservations and schedules is inconceivable to us.
Buffets: We loved the elaborate buffets served in Compass Rose, but we were disappointed that there were only three brunches during our five months onboard. There were several lunch or dinner buffets served on the pool deck during the cruise, but we most loved the Compass Rose brunches. Those were always events worth attending!
SURPRISES:
The Good: Quality and quantity of Regent-included excursions in nearly every port of call. We were also surprised at how much we loved EVERY port. Small or large, we found something enjoyable to see and do every time we left the ship.
The Not-so-good: How much of a pain it was to anchor and have to tender into a port. It sounds easy enough in theory, but weather, combined with the questionable safety of some passengers who insisted on tendering into ports after being told only able-bodied individuals should attempt the rough-weather transfers. Yes, it would be hard not to go ashore, but isn’t one’s safety more important?
The Good: For the most part, the shuttle bus system worked well, helping us explore more of the nearby towns, before or after excursions.
The Not-so-good: We didn’t realize, until boarding, that the cruise would be less than half full of world cruisers. I found it somewhat disruptive when, every two weeks or so, passengers and crew we had befriended disembarked. We had mistakenly expected everyone who boarded in Miami to cruise to San Francisco.
The Good: Overlands! When we signed up for our first-ever world cruise, we had no clue about overland excursions. Sure, they sounded fun—get off the ship, travel “Over Land” for a few days, then get back onboard. It sounded fun, but it was nothing we needed to do. We were going on a cruise, right? Not going on an overland tour! However, after a month onboard, hearing other passengers discuss these mini-trips, we decided it was an opportunity not to be missed. We’d been getting flyers announcing there was still some availability, and we investigated the destinations. Then we chose to go on our first, a four-day, three-night overland trip in New Zealand, and loved the experience so much that we signed up for two additional overlands — Xi’an and the Terracotta Warriors, and Japan‘s Ancient Capitals. We loved the more intensive explorations, and we also discovered it was a great way to get to know other couples. Win-win in our books.
The Very Bad: Most of the people we met were wonderful; they were kind, curious, intelligent, and interesting people with whom we enjoyed spending time. However, others were not so wonderful: they were demanding and flaunted their privilege, including being unkind to the very people—the crew—who worked constantly to please, placate, and provide an over-the-top cruising experience. We had long conversations with at least three crew members who had been driven to tears because of unpleasant interactions with passengers. Not okay. Not okay at all.
The end of the line: 6:14 AM on June 6, 2025, and the Seven Seas Mariner approached the pier in San Francisco. Four of our heaviest suitcases had been sent ahead—Luggage Forwarding would deliver them to our home. (Three arrived on June 10; the fourth took a wee detour, but came on June 11. Excellent service!) Our two carry-on suitcases were already in transit to the waiting area by the transfer buses. We only had two backpacks left, which contained my computer, our valuables, our medications, and a couple of books for the airplane ride home, plus two works of art I hadn’t trusted in our luggage. It was time to say goodbye to our home away from home, a small space we’d grown to love and made into our own space.
Did we love world cruising? Unequivocally yes!
Would we do it again? See you aboard the Seven Seas Splendor in 2028!!
I have been sailing with Regent for 20 years and am constantly amazed at how wonderful the crew are! I can't imagine how anyone could be so mean and rude that they made them cry 😡.
Do you remember when Captain Abhi had the entire tender crew up on the stage - and we gave them a standing ovation? I was so happy to see them get the recognition ☺️. That was my idea and Captain Abhi liked it enough to make it happen. He is such a class act!
I continue to be impressed with all of your posts! I know they took inordinate amounts of time to do. I also appreciated your positive outlook and your balanced outlook.