We had been looking to circumnavigate Australia for years and were delighted when we saw this itinerary on Regent. We'd seen others but they were always over the holidays and weren't keen to be away at that time. It was amazing to see the entire continent -- intriguing history, friendly people, amazing wildlife -- plus Bali and Papua New Guinea to boot. What's not to like?

Navigator is a ship that gets a bad rap. This was our first cruise on Navigator (our other was on Voyager), and after reading reviews here, we were concerned. Yet needn't have been. Her size means she is easy to navigate (pun intended) and is conducive to meeting people. Folks invited us to dinner (a first for us) and we did the same. Made terrific friends from Germany, UK, Netherlands, Canada and USA. A real family feel -- including crew.

For an older ship, she is in good shape and was recently given a bit of a face lift, which resolved some past issues -- I'm looking at you Brown Water. Yes, her stern vibrates, she has no forward viewing lounge and only one specialty restaurant. But none of this mattered once the cruise began. Our mid ship cabin didn't vibrate, we loved happy hour in Stars lounge and Compass Rose was terrific -- and had enough variety even for our long voyage. Read more