Regent Seven Seas - Voyager

I discussed this Baltic Cruise line in a previous post. I have been on a few different cruise lines, and it's not just the destinations, you need to take into account your preferences on the size of the ship, the typical traveller on board, family cruises, culture immersion cruises, luxury, age-appropriate, etc.

On this particular cruise, we decided to see if we could visit the ship's galley.  With our request granted, a group of approximately 20 people assembled to go the ships galley. The head chef took us on the tour through the galley and explained the mechanics of storing, cooking and serving the 700 passengers on board to the standard they need to meet.

The amount of bread baked daily is astronomical; fresh food is brought on board at every stop and usually consists of whatever is the local fare.  There are descriptions and pictures of how each plate is cooked and presented. The head chef comes in at 5 pm to do a run through, and all items on the menu are prepared and submitted for inspection. If all is satisfactory, then the staff get ready for the passengers selections. Before each meal goes out it must be like the picture, or they must start again and at the end of the night explain as to why their plates weren't up to par.

On board our particular ship we had a young but capable Swedish Captain. He was seen around the vessel often and was readily available. Our cabin being approximately three suites from the bridge made it more likely to bump into the captain, which we did. He was a delight to chat with and had a great sense of humour.

I would recommend that you choose your cruise line carefully as it can make the difference between a good cruise holiday and an excellent cruise holiday.  If you're interested, my new book on 'Who What Wear of Cruising' is to be released end of February. In it, I discuss cruise lines, dress regulations, ship terminology and tips on getting the most of your cruise. Please email me for more details at tanyalococo@gmail.com

Baltic Sea Cruise

The day arrived for us to board our cruise ship for the next ten days to explore the Baltic Sea.
We chose to cruise with Regent Seven Seas Voyager a luxury cruise ship that carries approximately 750 passengers. Cruising on the smaller ships allows you to visit ports that the superliners cannot get into, makes disembarking at each port easier and has the feel of a resort where you make new friends easier.
I love the smaller cruise ships, having been on some others up to 3,500 people I found that this size services the traveller who wants to explore places not as often visited and can cater for the serious traveller who enjoys luxury, service and all inclusive prices.

While awaiting to be transferred to the ship from our hotel, I asked one of the crew members that was organising us when we'd be allowed into our cabins after embarkation and was promptly informed 'there are no cabins on this ship, only suites!' Yep, I'd been told! I have to admit that he was right, and you can't call them rooms or cabins they're all too large for that and yes I agree they are all suites.  We enjoyed a penthouse suite about mid range on the cost scale. Being prone to sea sickness and not a good sea traveller I wanted a suite that was high up in the decks, this one was on deck 10 just behind the Captain's bridge.

We had a personal butler, who was friendly and made you feel that nothing you asked for was too much. The Regent Seven Seas is all inclusive from food, alcohol to the tours at our destinations. It wasn't necessary to put your hand in your pocket unless you wanted souvenirs.

This ship has the two main dining rooms, one a la carte and one buffet, plus two speciality restaurants, one French restaurant and one Steak- house and of course, a coffee area with a good Barista, if you're Australian you'll appreciate that, and it served delicious snacks.

Our ship left Copenhagen to arrive in St Petersberg a day & 1/2 later. Being at sea gives you time to relax and explore the ship, enjoy the food, bars, shows and get to know your fellow passengers. The onboard Spa was a hive of activity on an at sea day and the staff are quite gifted in their area of expertise. Not to forget, you can also have a flutter at the casino or end the day at the nightclub. With the ratio of the crew to passengers being 1 to 2, we were taken care of so well.