What Regent Cruises Are Really Like And Who They’re Actually For

If you’re considering booking a Regent Seven Seas cruise, there’s probably one big question you want answered before spending that kind of money – what is it actually like?

Regent is one of the world’s ultra-luxury cruise lines, and I think there’s an assumption that a cruise like this will be very formal, very quiet, and perhaps even a little bit stuffy.

I recently sat down with Polly from my team, who had just returned from her first Regent cruise, alongside one of our Cruise Globe travel agents, Em, who has been cruising with Regent for around 15 years.

Poly was experiencing Regent for the first time. Em was on her eighth Regent cruise.

I wanted to find out who Regent is actually for, what the atmosphere is like onboard and whether the experience is as formal as people might imagine.

Regent Isn’t Nearly as Formal as You Might Think

One of the biggest misconceptions about Regent seems to be that because it’s an ultra-luxury cruise line, everything onboard must be incredibly formal.

It really isn’t.

Formal evenings generally happen only on cruises of 16 nights or longer, and even then there may be only one.

Polly chose to dress up in the evenings, but she said there was absolutely no pressure to do so.

Most people were simply wearing nice but comfortable clothes. Men might wear jeans and a shirt, while women were wearing trousers and a nice top.

During the daytime it was even more relaxed. Polly wore jeans and a T-shirt, and apparently seeing guests wandering around in robes and slippers wasn’t unusual either.

So although Regent is definitely luxurious, it doesn’t sound like a cruise where you’re constantly worrying about whether you’re dressed correctly.

It Was Much Quieter Than a Mainstream Cruise

The thing that stood out most to Polly was how peaceful the ship felt.

On a large mainstream cruise ship, there is normally quite a lot going on. There might be music playing, announcements being made, people moving between activities and queues forming around popular venues.

Regent felt very different. Polly described the atmosphere as calm, quiet and genuinely relaxing.

In fact, during the entire cruise, she could only really remember one proper queue.

After a show finished, everybody came out of the theatre at the same time, and they had to wait around four minutes for a lift. Four minutes.

That became memorable purely because they hadn’t really queued for anything else.

Most of the time they’d walk up to the lifts, press the button, and one would appear almost immediately.

You Can Socialise Without Being Forced To

This is something I always want to know about smaller ships.

I love chatting to people when I cruise, but I don’t particularly enjoy situations where you’re forced to socialise.

Shared dinner tables, drinking games with strangers, and organised group bonding aren’t really my thing.

Regent seems to sit somewhere nicely in the middle.

Because there aren’t thousands and thousands of passengers onboard, you naturally start recognising people.

You might see somebody you met on an excursion, someone who goes to the same trivia every day, or the couple who always seem to eat dinner at the same time as you.

You say hello, have a quick conversation and continue with your day. Polly said most of her conversations happened naturally in lifts or around the ship.

Everyone seemed friendly, but there was no pressure to make friends if you didn’t want to.

That sounds like my kind of socialising!

Who Actually Cruises With Regent?

The passenger mix was broader than I expected.

There were people onboard celebrating their honeymoon, alongside passengers in their 90s who had been cruising with Regent for years.

There were also people who usually cruise with mainstream lines like MSC and Norwegian.

Nationality-wise, there was a real mixture too, including plenty of British and American passengers as well as guests from across Europe.

Children are allowed onboard Regent ships, but the experience isn’t really designed around them.

There are no giant waterslides or huge children’s areas.

If you’ve got children who are happy joining you for trivia, exploring destinations and sitting through longer meals, they might have a brilliant time.

If they’re expecting a floating theme park, this probably isn’t the right cruise line.

Regent Is Expensive, But A Lot Is Included

There’s no getting away from the fact that Regent is an expensive cruise line.

The initial fare can look dramatically higher than the price of a mainstream cruise.

The important thing is to look at what you’re actually comparing.

On a mainstream cruise, you might book the cruise and then add drinks, Wi-Fi, gratuities, speciality restaurants and excursions afterwards.

On Regent, a huge amount is already included. Drinks are included. Wi-Fi is included. The speciality restaurants are included. Gratuities are included, and a selection of shore excursions is included too.

That doesn’t automatically mean Regent will work out cheaper.

It does mean that simply comparing the headline cruise fare doesn’t tell you the whole story.

I’ve certainly taken mainstream cruises where, after adding packages and extras, the final cost has become considerably higher than the original price.

For somebody who likes having everything sorted before they leave home, there’s something very appealing about that.

There’s More Entertainment Than You Might Expect

One thing I sometimes assume about luxury cruise ships is that the more luxurious and peaceful they become, the less there is to actually do.

That doesn’t appear to be the case with Regent.

There was trivia, health and fitness activities, a spa, lectures, a casino and cooking demonstrations.

Some ships also have a cookery school, although those classes cost extra.

The evening entertainment surprised me too.

Lots of smaller luxury cruise ships have lounges that double up as theatres, but Regent still has proper two-tier theatres.

There were full-production shows, a crew show, a magician and comedian, karaoke, and several bars offering live music.

So although the overall atmosphere might be quieter than a mainstream ship, that doesn’t mean everybody simply goes to bed after dinner.

The Library Was One of Polly’s Favourite Spaces

One place Polly absolutely loved was the library.

She described it as one of the most beautiful spaces she’d seen onboard.

There were huge windows, loads of natural light, shelves full of books, crosswords and little trivia sheets.

It had almost an old-fashioned bookshop feel to it. Even on a rainy afternoon, it was incredibly peaceful.

There were plenty of other places around the ship where you could just sit with a book too.

And, perhaps most importantly, there were unlimited cookies available.

Polly and the team sampled them all – strictly for research purposes, obviously…

Included Excursions Could Be Particularly Valuable

The included shore excursions become especially interesting in destinations where excursions are traditionally expensive.

Alaska is a perfect example. I’ve cruised Alaska several times and shore excursions there can cost an absolute fortune.

Sometimes you can spend almost as much on excursions as you did on the cruise itself.

Having excursion options included can therefore make a big difference when comparing the overall cost.

Regent’s smaller ships can also visit ports that some larger cruise ships can’t easily access.

Their itineraries include plenty of smaller Mediterranean ports, along with cruises throughout Asia, Alaska, and elsewhere.

I can particularly see the appeal for people who already enjoy river cruising.

River cruisers are used to smaller ships, destination-heavy itineraries and having a lot included in the fare.

There’s also quite a natural crossover with lines like Silversea, Seabourn and Oceania.

And if you’re used to booking something like Norwegian’s Haven or MSC’s Yacht Club, Regent could be interesting to you too.

Instead of having the luxury experience contained within one section of a large ship, that style of service essentially applies across the whole ship.

One Story Summed Up The Service

There was one story from this cruise that really stuck with me.

One evening, somebody in Polly’s group sat down for dinner and realised he’d forgotten his reading glasses.

Apparently this had happened more than once during the trip.

Before anyone at the table could even offer him their own glasses, their waitress appeared with a box containing around a dozen different pairs.

He could try them until he found a pair that worked and then keep them for the duration of dinner.

Nobody had asked her to do this. She’d simply heard the conversation and knew exactly how to help.

That is the sort of thing people mean when they talk about intuitive service on an ultra-luxury cruise.

It’s not necessarily about having somebody hovering over you constantly.

Sometimes it’s somebody solving a problem before you’ve even had to ask.

So Who Is Regent Actually For?

After talking to Polly and our agent, I think Regent probably appeals to a much wider group of cruisers than people might initially assume.

You don’t have to already be an ultra-luxury cruiser.

Regent could work brilliantly for someone who normally books suites on mainstream ships, loves river cruising, or is planning a special trip where they want most things included from the start.

It probably isn’t the obvious choice if you want waterslides, huge parties or a ship packed with high-energy activities all day.

And, of course, the price will always be a major consideration.

But if what’s putting you off Regent is the idea that it might be stuffy, intimidating, or incredibly formal, Polly’s experience suggests otherwise. The atmosphere sounds surprisingly relaxed.

You can dress up if you want to, but you don’t have to. You can socialise, but nobody forces you to. There is plenty going on, without the ship ever feeling frantic.

And apparently there are unlimited cookies – that last point may have influenced me slightly…

Have a closer look at what Polly and Em had to say about their adventure on Regent Seven Seas here:

Thinking About A Regent Cruise?

If you’re considering Regent Seven Seas Cruises and aren’t sure which ship, itinerary, or suite would suit you, my team at The Cruise Globe can help.

We book Regent alongside all of the major cruise lines, which means we can compare different options and help you work out what actually makes the most sense for your trip.

You can get in touch through the booking form on EmmaCruises.com / The Cruise Globe – or just click the link below: