After being dragged kicking and screaming onto our first cruise, most of us gladly return to Royal Caribbean, Princess, Celebrity and other mainstream cruise lines for subsequent great vacations. We love the cruise experience, visiting terrific ports from our comfortably familiar home away from home.
Often, we have evolved from cramming our family into an interior room and taking no shore excursions to mini-suites and a combination of shore excursions and onboard expenses that cost as much as the cruise itself. It's not that we could no longer enjoy a cheaper version of the trip but rather that, as life has gone by, we realized that our time has become more valuable than the marginal cost to splurge. In the process, we elevate our vacation experience from great to phenomenal, and we enjoy re-living our vacations in our minds and in conversations for years.
We may, in fact, not even realize that we can now afford a luxury brand, or that it might even cost less.
Perhaps you are ready to step up to Regent Seven Seas, easily one of the most inclusive vacations of all. All of the rooms are suites, with the smallest being 301 square feet. On Seven Seas Voyager and Seven Seas Navigator, all the rooms have balconies, while on the smaller Seven Seas Mariner, 90% have balconies. If you're already going in a mini-suite, this should definitely pique your interest because of what else is included.
Do you fly to embark your cruise? Regent takes care of those details for you, and includes economy flights for free. For Penthouse Suites and above, there's free Business Class Air. Of course, we don't want you to worry about catching your cruise, so one night pre-cruise in a 5-star luxury hotel, including breakfast, is also included, and for some embarkation ports following unusually long flights, three nights pre-cruise accommodations are included. Because this is RSSC, the transfers and tips are all handled.
Oh yes, and the gratuities on board the ship are also covered with the cruise price.
Do you enjoy adult beverages? Gourmet coffee, fine wines, mixed drinks, sodas...they're all included, everywhere on the ship, including your stateroom. It's a great place to buy a round of drinks, becaue they're all included, except if you want to step outside of the large choice of wines included to purchase a special vintage, and even then they are priced like they would be in a wine store on land rather than at a restaurant.
Speaking of restaurants, Regent Seven Seas Cruises has alternative dining restaurants, including their outstanding steakhouse Prime 7 on all three ships and the Le Cordon Bleu-inspired French restaurant Signatures on Voyager and Navigator. Yes, you must make reservations and space is limited, but there is no extra charge. Of course, the main dining room, Compass Rose, will also tempt you nightly. Do you want to be alone? Have the menu from Compass Rose served course by course in your suite, all at no extra charge.
Let's see, what else could we ask for? Shore excursions are included, and not bus tours that drive you to shopping stops from which you can't escape but truly great excursions that bring you up close and personal with the destinations, with a selection that allows you to pursue your passions. There are some a la carte offerings, perhaps involving helicopters or a limo driver to take you precisely where you want to go, for which you can pay additional, but it isn't necessary.
In price comparisons with mainstream cruises in mini-suites that factor in flights, pre-cruise hotel, gratuities, drinks, alternative dining and shore excursions, RSSC often ends up costing less. I know for many of you, it would be true, but perhaps you don't identify yourself as being in the correct demographic.
Anyone with the price of admission can go on a Regent Seven Seas cruise, but here are three typical passengers. Do you fit one of these description?
1. Empty Nesters, often two income couples, who make on average $145,000 per year and have accumulated a net worth, including home equity, IRAs and 401Ks, that makes it a smooth sail to retirement. The average age of about 61 indicates the kids are on their own, leaving the couple with disposable income.
2. Retired couples, or at least one retiree in the couple, with an average age of 67 and household income of $58,000.
3. Independent, unmarried women and men who love to travel, whether with friends or on their own.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises does have children's programs, but this is really primarily a cruise line that caters to adults who are seeking new, unique destinations to add to their travel portfolio.
While Regent is country club casual in its approach, Cunard is a traditional luxury line, with formal balls and passengers dressing to the nines. I recently toured Queen Victoria in San Pedro, and she is a beautiful ship. I like her much better than her big sister Queen Mary 2. The feel of the two ships is very different. While Queen Mary 2 was heralded as the largest ship in the world upon arrival, Queen Victoria feels rather intimate despite her 90,000 tons. The Royal Court Theater, the two story library and the Queen's Room, a ballroom with a huge dance floor, stretcha out to welcome throngs, but most of the other public spaces feel like they belong on a smaller ship. This season in Europe, Queen Victoria is often priced competitively with Princess.
While the inclusions are in line with mainstream cruises rather than the all-inclusive approach of Regent, Cunard pioneered the specialized treatment of suite clients. Princess Grill and Queen's Grill suites have their own dining rooms, lounges and special amenities to go along with their spacious suites.
By the way, all the photos are from Queen Victoria, taken with a Blackberry when we toured the ship last weekend.
