We sailed with Regent on Seven Seas Voyager from Istanbul to Dubai over 21 nights. We booked and paid for a concierge level cabin and selected cabin 741 from the deck plans as we felt that, being midship and not too high, it would be more stable than some other cabins. After an absolute comedy of errors involving our booking disappearing completely, amongst other things, we finally boarded at Istanbul. We were greeted on board by a steward with a dribble of sparkling wine (champagne?) and then left to find our own way to our cabin, which was not overly difficult.

The cabin was small but adequate, with sitting area, bedroom area, bathroom, small verahdah/balcony, and large closet. It was not a stateroom, it was a cabin, and calling it a stateroom was misleading. We noted that the concierge level amenities (coffee machine, binoculars, pashmina etc) were not present but presumed, from reading other literature in the cabin, that the coffee machine was not there because of safety concerns. It was only on day 10 or 11, when we went looking for the binoculars, that we realized that everything else was missing. On enquiring at reception, we were told that our cabin had been downgraded to deluxe, and we were not entitled to concierge amenities. Hmm...we had already had NUMEROUS problems with our booking, largely caused by Regent's complete inability and/or refusal to COMMUNICATE with their clients, and now we discover that we have been DOWNGRADED with not so much as a whisper!!!!!!!!!!!!! After proving to reception that we had indeed booked and paid for a concierge level cabin, and asking the following day as to what was happening, the missing amenities appeared the next afternoon with no explanation, no apology, nothing.....!!! Nor were we ever offered a change of cabin up to concierge level. So if you are looking for a cruise line which cares and communicates, the Regent is probably not for you.

The included excursions were basic but acceptable, as the ports were all on minor Greek islands (except for Rhodes), or minor Arabian ports, with not a whole lot to offer anyway. The guides which we had were local and knowledgeable and all spoke good, comprehensible English. The excursions which we wanted to do and which offered the most interesting locations were all charged as extras - no surprises there. We originally booked to go to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings, but due to the political upheaval in Egypt these were cancelled and other ports were added and/or rescheduled. This rescheduling caused havoc with our pre booked and paid for excursions, and once again Regent FAILED to COMMUNICATE with us (or with any passengers) as to what was happening and/or what options they could offer for the new ports/dates. They also told us quite categorically that we were not booked on any of these excursions and once again I had to provide proof of our bookings. Our TA was next to useless as she disappeared for 3 weeks to do a French river cruise, then disappeared again later in the process, and Regent's agents in Sydney (Wiltrans) were also very NON COMMUNICATIVE and UNHELPFUL when we had major issues which needed sorting out. Read more