We were recently privileged to complete a two week transatlantic crossing on Regent Seven Seas Splendor from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro. Regent had long been on our bucket list but, in all honesty, the six star luxury cruise lines have been out of our reach cost wise so we jumped at the opportunity to experience Regent on this trans ocean sailing which was marketed at a much more affordable price point On all relative standards Regent is a true luxury cruise line. Indeed, it’s all inclusive product offering ranks it above most of its peers. The up-front cost may seem prohibitive at first (especially to those of us who have to finance their travel passion with South African Rands!), but when one takes into account what is actually included in the fare, the Regent product is actually quite attractive in the highly competitive luxury cruise market. In fact, apart from a couple of impulse purchases in their on board boutiques, we did not have to put our hands in our pockets for the entire fourteen day cruise. But is the Regent experience “luxury perfected” as it’s over hyped marketing blurb claims? On many dimensions the product cannot be faulted and these will be discussed in more detail below. But, by the same token, there are a few areas where we believe Regent does not meet the high bar they have self- imposed. The Ship By almost any measure the Seven Seas Splendor is a majestic vessel. Beautifully appointed throughout, she projects an atmosphere of refined elegance. All public areas are plushly furnished with plenty of comfortable seating, restaurants are uniquely designed including designer tableware and beautiful understated artwork abounds throughout the ship. Ably led by the engaging Master of the vessel, the prevailing atmosphere on the ship is one of laid back luxury where officers and crew are on hand to ensure the guests are pampered at every turn. Stateroom We had a Serenity Suite which was more than adequate for our needs. Extensive storage space and generally well equipped, the sea facing bed was a particularly nice touch enabling one to wake up to stunning seas views. The Regent All-inclusive Product Regent’s truly all-inclusive offering sets it apart from the competition. Most other six star luxury cruise lines offer top shelf liquor, included gratuities and free Wi-Fi. Many also include some free specialty restaurants and free laundry although many also have an up charge for some such services and specialty dining options. But few included all the above as standard and none offer unlimited free excursions in every port visited, a perk that really sets Regent apart from the competition. Itinerary We chose this cruise because we wanted to experience Regent and, being a Trans Atlantic crossing with limited port days, the sailing was relatively affordable. Fewer port days equals fewer costly shore excursions which we assume largely accounts for the relatively more competitive price for the cruise. Only five shore excursions were scheduled, one of which had to be cancelled because it was apparently unsafe to tender in St Helena due to high swells on the wharf-side. A big disappointment as we had been looking forward to a visit to this remote island. It also meant an additional sea day resulting in eight full consecutive days at sea before we docked in Rio. The three excursions we did participate in in Luderitz and Walvis Bay were unremarkable, except for the really enjoyable Seal and Pelican catamaran cruise in Walvis Bay which included a surprise tasting of freshly shucked Namibian oysters. Delicious! The only other scheduled excursion was on docking in Rio where we were privileged to visit the impressive Christ the Redeemer statue, one of the Seven Wonders of the New World. Very crowded, but a “must see” attraction. We had purchased the three night “Passion for Rio” post cruise programme through Regent that provided a useful introduction to the city’s main attractions and included a visit to a samba factory as well as spectacular views of Rio from the top of the iconic Sugar Loaf Mountain. The hotel Regent use for the post cruise programme, the Sheraton Rio Beach Resort, is a 26 storey behemoth with its own semi-private beach. A more than adequate venue but situated in a somewhat remote, relatively dodgy area adjacent one of Rio’s a sprawling favelas (shanty towns or slums) The hotel did provide a regular shuttle service to the nearest shopping area some ten plus kilometres away but if one wanted to see any other of Rio’s attractions, it was necessary to arrange private transport. We think Regent should reconsider using such an out of town venue for it’s post cruise offering. Somewhere closer to the Ipanema or Copacabana areas would be much more suitable for short term visitors to this interesting city. Weather With so many sea days on the itinerary, we were a bit concerned that we might experience some turbulent seas especially as this was an Atlantic crossing. However, apart from a couple of passing showers somewhere in the mid Atlantic, we were blessed with almost perfect weather throughout the cruise. Embarkation and Disembarkation Surely the worst embarkation experience we have had anywhere during our twenty plus years of cruising. Haphazard, disorganised and thoroughly frustrating! Although one had to pre-schedule an embarkation time, it appeared as if virtually all passengers arrived well before boarding time resulting in hundreds of people being herded into a restricted space waiting for the embarkation process to commence. Then there appeared to be no plan to board the large crowd in an orderly manner. Top suite guests first as is appropriate, then it was a surge with every man for himself! To be fair, the chaotic embarkation procedure was not entirely Regent’s fault. They had to contend with uncooperative South African immigration authorities who apparently refused to provide an immigration checking service at the time of initial embarkation as it was a Sunday. To actually complete immigration formalities this then necessitated the whole ship, passengers and crew, having to de-board to undergo a face to face immigration check which should in reality have been undertaken prior to the whole embarkation process as is normal elsewhere in the world. This proved to be a frustrating, time-consuming process compounded by Regent’s decision to only provide one single direction gangway to de-board and then re-board the entire ship. The chaotic embarkation process was our first impression of Regent and made us question the cruise line’s six star status at the outset. Our initial negative impressions were further compounded when our access cards failed to work on re-boarding after the immigration process. Frustratingly, Regent had to re-issue us new access cards three times before we were able to enter our stateroom! Service As we have come to expect as standard from the cruise industry, the level of service we received from all staff we interacted with was outstanding. We did however, feel the many staff members of the Splendor were somewhat undertrained. A few actually intimated to us that this was their first contract. However, they made up for their apparent inexperience and lack of intimate ship knowledge, with enthusiasm and infectious smiles, always willing to go out of their way to meet our needs. Dining Dining on the Splendor was a really mixed bag ranging from the absolutely exceptional to the bland and mediocre. It is difficult to mess up a breakfast but Regent came close to doing just that on a few occasions in their buffet restaurant. They really need to re-question their practice of passengers being required to place their order for eggs or pancakes etc., and then having these delivered to their table once cooked. Orders often get mislaid or mixed up and often results in an inordinate length of time before the order gets delivered. On more than one occasion we had to wait for over 15/20 minutes before a couple of overcooked, inedible poached eggs were delivered to our table! On the other hand, the more formal sit down breakfasts in the Compass Rose were of high quality. Extensive breakfast menu accompanied by quick and efficient service. We were particularly disappointed in the much hyped “caviar brunch” that is a supposed Regent tradition on Sundays. We only had one Sunday at sea during the cruise so we expected this tradition to be something special. However, no special brunch was offered at all – just the usual breakfast service and, unless one specifically enquired about it, the caviar option was noticeable by its absence. When finally served, the caviar brunch consisted of three small blinis with a scraping of caviar; hardly worth the effort and certainly nothing that befits the hype. Similarly, we were underwhelmed by the standard of fare in the buffet ant pool grill at lunch times. The food was typically bland and mediocre with very few, if any, wow options. The so-called themed buffet options were also very disappointing. Generally just the same old same old buffet offerings with two or three dishes depicting the theme of the day, be it Mexican or Indian and so on. Certainly, nothing special. The themed buffets we have had on Celebrity for instance, have been far more festive and extensive. Regent’s so-called sea food buffet was especially disappointing. Even on a cruise line such as Costa a similar sea food extravaganza was infinitely better in terms of both quality and variety of sea food on offer, while the ones we have had on Azamara have been exceptional, After our repeated disappointments in the lunch time buffet offerings, we decided to take our lunch at one or other of the specialty restaurants open for luncheon. These were invariably excellent and the seared tuna salad served in Prime 7 was of a particularly high standard. Regent however, fully redeemed itself when it came to dinner. The food and service in all five of the specialty restaurants was invariably very good to exceptional. We probably had three or four of the best meals we have ever had anywhere during our travels, on the Splendor. The dinners we had at the Pacific Rim and Chartreuse restaurants were especially memorable. In our view, the quality and presentation of food, level of service and the ambience of Splendor’s three main specialty restaurants, is equal to what one would expect from top end eating establishments worldwide. Bars and Lounges It was never difficult to find a comfortable place to sit and relax. Splendor has many beautiful, well situated bars and lounges throughout the ship, all offering their own unique ambience, signature cocktails and musical attractions. We spent many a relaxing hour soaking up the atmosphere in the Splendour Lounge with a two person duo providing musical entertainment, in the Meridien Lounge accompanied by members of the Ship’s resident band, or in the grand Observation Lounge enjoying late night Expresso Martinis to the sounds of Fabiano the resident pianist Entertainment We were surprised and impressed by the quality of the on-board entertainment. Apart from the musical accompaniments almost always on offer in the bars and lounges, the standard of the nightly shows was generally very good indeed. Two singers, both of whom performed more than once, were world class and their Adele and Neil Diamond tributes respectively, were outstanding. But the highlight was the two virtuoso performances by a world renowned Turkish pianist who plays non-stop for approximately 50 minutes per performance. An amazing feat of stamina and concentration, with not a note out of place! On Board Experience The daily programme of activities on the ship were quite extensive but there was a sameness about them that became a bit boring after a few days. We were also a little disappointed that more “special” events were not planned considering the cruise had so many sea days. The only event out of the ordinary was an American Fair which consisted of a range of basic funfair games during which participants could earn raffle tickets for prizes of Regent products. We were expecting at least one buffet extravaganza event similar to those which have been publicised in Regent promotions, such as a top deck barbeque or seafood feast. Nothing of the sort was arranged. We have no suggestions about what alternative options could have been offered. That’s what Cruise Directors are for - to anticipate and cater for passengers varying needs and wants! Overall Impression In some respects this Review might appear to be hyper critical. It is not meant to be so. It is rather intended to be an objective assessment of the Regent product evaluated against the standard they have set for themselves. They market their product a “luxury perfected” and, on balance, we believe they fall a bit short of this extraordinarily high bar. But does it offer a luxury experience? You bet! And would we wish to cruise with Regent again? In a heartbeat! We are inveterate cruisers having undertaken over twenty-five cruises on a variety of cruise lines over the past twenty odd years, including some luxury-lite cruise lines such as Oceania, Celebrity Edge class, and Azamara. But this cruise was our first experience of a truly six star cruise ship. Being in our twilight years, our cruising days are probably numbered so, whatever cruises we still have in the tank we feel should be ones that offer relative luxury. As such, we are exploring possible options of again experiencing Regent’s unique brand of luxury cruising, and a further Seven Seas cruise will remain firmly on our bucket list.

We have sailed on ships ranging from a 4 cabin barge to the Celebrity Reflection, with yachts, sailing ships, bargain lines like Costa, Carnival and Royal Carribean, and semi luxury lines like Sea Dream, Silversea, Crystal, Oceania, Europa, Emerald, and several others in between. This was our first cruise on Regent. Starting in Capetown we spent a few days in Namibia before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to Rio de Janeiro. A scheduled mid ocean stop in St. Helena was cancelled by waves. Our cabin, a port side Penthouse suite A on the 9th floor, was great, with a very nice balcony. We got direct sunlight on most afternoons and one morning so the balcony was most welcome. The cabin had two sinks, two TV’s, a fabulous shower, separate closet area with a large amount of space, a comfortable bed. The duvet cover was nice but we did get overheated a few nights. Nice toiletries in the bathroom. We boarded the ship a little after noon and had immediate access to our cabin. Our suitcases arrived within about two hours. In our suite category we had a butler who arranged our refrigerator, delivered snacks and got us additional reservations to the Asian specialty restaurant. The free laundry service in our category was brilliant and completed in a day. The cabin was cleaned twice a day without issue. We had a plumbing issue twice and each was resolved in less than an hour. Service in the main dining room was generally slow mornings even though there were few diners, it was generally good evenings. Service in the specialty restaurants was generally good. Service in La Veranda and the pool grill was okay: these areas tended to be very crowded. The pool was lovely if a bit salty, and underused even on the nicest days. I could swim laps even on the warmest afternoons. The two hot tubs on the pool deck were also available; I never saw them overcrowded. Loungers were generally available in the sun and usually in the shade. The 12th deck was very nice: we played miniature golf and walked the track. A nice pickle ball court was available. The ship has a nice library room on the 11th floor with numerous oversized Taschen books plus a lot of mysteries and fiction. An area with passengers books was rewarding and we traded out the books we had brought.. Both embarkation and disembarkation as well as passport details were handled efficiently with no significant delays. The dress code was pretty informal, but no one wore jeans or shorts for dinner. One night a portion of the passengers dressed up Titanic style and it was quite jarring. I mistakenly wore sandals to a specialty restaurant and was chastised but allowed to remain; thereafter I wore my crappy tennis shoes which were all I had. Passengers were, on the whole in the 60-80 range and not a young 60-80. (We are also in this range). This likely impacted the low key type of entertainment which I would call Show Biz Light; one night a singer imitated Neal Diamond to know great effect. There was no classical music that we noticed and nights like a Beatles music night just didn’t appeal to us; YMMV. We tended to be up early and went to sleep early and the ship was very quiet. If there were any children on the cruise it’s news to me. Going back to the passengers, there were many from the US, but also from Canada, England, Scotland, France, Italy, Sweden, South Africa and a few other countries. The dining areas could be noisy but the volume of dialog was generally not excessive. One of the highlights of the cruise was the arranged tours we took in Namibia and Rio; whether paid or free they were all very enjoyable. Some people didn’t like the Ghost town tour and it WAS windy with sand blowing but it was very picturesque. Our culinary kitchen experience was terrific and caused us to buy a new Mandolin and thermometer as soon as we got home. So, we loved the ship, loved our cabin, loved the tours, the pool and hot tub, we never expected anything from the entertainment, why not a 5 rating? It’s the food. Breakfast was fine with nice breads and pastries and my two cruise staples, herring and smoked salmon. Fried fish sampler lunch in Prime Seven was always good. Lunch in La Veranda was usually okay. Our meals in Chartreuse, both lunch and dinner were 2*; Prime Seven lobster tasted stale and chewy in an uncomfortable way; Filet Mignon was unconvincing. Compass Rose could make a risotto but their soups were insipid (eg, French Onion soup with no cheese and few onions, or with cheese slathered on a single crouton and not even melted) and other dishes were hit and miss. The Pool Grill was so so. Sette Mari was on point most of the time with surprising dishes like Vitello Tonnato, and grilled cold vegetables. Pacific Rim was the best of the specialty restaurants and we enjoyed multiple meals there, but even that is not a restaurant I would visit if I were home. The included wines were quite decent with a young but drinkable Bordeaux, Chablis, Pouilly Fuisse and many others. Mixed drinks we occasionally ordered were okay but not inspired. We did not drink at any of the bars. In conclusion, the food was quite disappointing given the general cost of a cruise of this sort. As food is a main pleasure of ours we would have to have an unusual combination of circumstances to return to Regent.

Entertainment personnel great. Suite staff great. Dining experiences ...Meh. food fair to lower. Wait staff foregetful. fancy show was poor. Cast danced appropriately on stripper pole. Shore excursions were fair to poor. This cruise was mostly sea days, so exposure to that tlaw was minimal. Land pack at end was awful. Guide took us to a souvenir shop, because it was "air conditioned space." It was cooler outside. Next day guide did not know when museum was open. Traipsing around rio in 33 degree (C) weather. Hot Hot Hot. Waited for group (tough walking) and guide left me in area with aggressive pan handlers. One bag did not make transfer to hotel and had to wait over two hours for driver to come back. Use Tile or apple equivalent to follow these people. Regent can notcbe proud of this cruise. Starlink was poor. Overall IT was poor. Post cruise survey could not accept vpn. Asked for paper form and was given blank stationary. "write to whoever you want."