Regent
Seven Seas Cruises

Ideal for People who Want:
To feel as though aboard a floating hotel; opulent accommodations; open-seating restaurants

Should be Avoided by People who Prefer:
A beautifully decorated fitness center; children's facilities; to tip or not tip according to their own levels of satisfaction

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Onboard Experience:
Aiming to attract well-heeled and well-traveled non-cruisers under 60, Regent Seven Seas has designed Voyager, its second all-suite, all-balcony ship, as a floating hotel, with inconceivably spacious standard suites and four brilliant restaurants in which passengers dine when they like, and with whom.

This is by no means to suggest that the line has turned its back on those who prefer a more traditional cruise experience. The ship features such traditional onboard activities as a casino and showy theatrical productions. There are two formal nights, complete with a welcome (and, then, farewell) reception hosted by the captain, trivia contests, arts and crafts, fitness classes and even bocce tournaments.

Deacute;cor:
The suites, all with balconies, are the attraction on this ship; with but one center hallway bisecting the accommodations decks, it is apparent that the even the smallest staterooms coming in at over 350 sq ft, are roomy beyond the average cruisers imagination. The largest suites at a full 1403 sq. ft leave the occupant with no desire to ever leave, even when the cruise is over. The rest of the ship offers small patches of surprisingly over-stated surroundings in a sea of mostly beige and brown.

Public Rooms:
Seven Seas Voyager is compact enough to be easy to navigate, yet spacious enough to offer seclusion any time of day. Deck four is the center of activity, featuring the Compass Rose Restaurant, Constellation Theater, Voyager Nightclub and the Casino. On Deck Five forward is the shore excursion desk and the purser's office. Midships to aft brings alternative restaurants Latitudes and Signatures, and the second showroom - Horizon Lounge. Deck six houses the library and Spa. On Deck 12 the Observation Lounge offers fabulous vistas through three walls of windows.

Some good news is that Seven Seas Voyager offers well-equipped complimentary self-serve laundry rooms on each level of passenger cabins. The bad news is that they seem to bring out the worst in some passengers, who actually spend time they could be enjoying in ports of call staking out washing machines.

Cuisine:
Compass Rose, the main dining room, serves all three meals, concentrating at dinner on such traditional favorites as lamb chops, Beef Wellington and lobster. There are also three alternative menus -- the Judith Jackson Health Menu, a vegetarian selection that accommodates lacto and ovo-vegetarians, and an always-available "simplicity" selection like sirloin steak, boneless chicken breast, or salmon filet.

Signatures, the ship's ritziest eatery (jackets always required), features a set menu designed by an offshoot of Le Cordon Bleu, the prestigious French culinary institution. This is the place to celebrate that extra-special occasion.

The Latitudes Restaurant's whimsically decorated dining room seats just 72 passengers, and is typically booked for the week by 6 p.m. on the day of embarkation. Its menu, which changes every night, features the cuisine of such disparate regions as Napa Valley and New York state. There is just one seating, at 7:30 p.m., for which passengers line up at the door to be seated in turn. There are tables for two, though in some cases strangers are asked to share bigger tables.

No extra fee is charged to passengers who dine at either of these two alternative restaurants.

Open for breakfast and lunch, La Veranda, ostensibly the ship's buffet eatery, is buffet on a very high level indeed, ranging from the very innovative (the tangy fruit salsa) to the very familiar (salads, omelets). In the evenings, La Veranda is transformed with lighting and festively colored tablecloths into a full-service eatery with a tapes bar (with items ranging from buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes to tapanade) and dessert buffet.

Complimentary red and white wine flows at all restaurants at dinner, with selections corresponding to the menus' regional themes.

Twenty-four-hour room service is consistently prompt and pleasant. At dinner, you can order course-by-course from the Compass Rose menu.

Service:
From the moment a white-gloved steward warmly greets you as you board, and then escorts you personally to your cabin, you're apt to feel as much a guest on a friend's private yacht than a paying customer. The staff makes a point of quickly learning every passenger's name and preferences. The servers in the restaurants are so knowledgeable about the food and wine they serve; you can't help but imagine they've actually tasted them.

Entertainment:
Each night there is one main event in the gorgeous Constellation Theater ranging from "Caesar to Mussolini," a dramatic history and art lecture, to the produced-for-Voyager "On A Classical Note," featuring singing and dancing to opera and Gershwin, to "Lullaby of Broadway" and "Oh, What a Night."

Elsewhere, the Horizon Lounge, the secondary venue, has a nice dance floor on which to cut the rug to the strains of the Voyager Five Orchestra. The Voyager, the ship's disco, features edgier tunes (and karaoke). The Connoisseur Club has leather chairs, a fake fireplace, and a lot of cigar smoke. The low-key Observation Lounge after dinner features a Celtic-inspired harpist and pianist.

Because the itinerary is typically port-intensive, daytime activities are relatively skimpy. There is a daily middlebrow "popcorn classic" movie ("Planes, Trains and Automobiles," "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," that sort of thing), bridge, and golf putting.

Cabins:
There are nothing but suites on this ship, the smallest being an incredibly spacious 356 square ft. There's a (relatively) separate living area with a coffee table that converts to a dining table, and beds that convert from twin to king, lovely marble bathrooms with separate tub and shower, in-cabin DVD players, large-screen televisions, and mini-fridges that are stocked daily - and complimentarily - with juice, soda and mixer; all passengers receive a complimentary one-time alcohol set-up. Balconies are compact, but comfortable in spite of the chairs being plastic. Four suites are wheelchair-accessible; some can accommodate three.

Passengers who book the "Penthouse Suite" and beyond (this includes the Seven Seas, Voyager, Grand and, topping out at 1,403 square feet, the Master Suite) are attended by butlers, who book reservations at restaurants both at sea and on land, oversee special requests, and deliver a daily plate of cocktail-hour hors d'oeuvres.

Fitness:
RSSC was so pleased with Carita of Paris's spa on Paul Gauguin that it got Carita to go fleet wide. The fitness room is under decorated and a bit dismal, but does offer the usual machines. There's a separate room for workout classes, which include yoga, abs stretches, and gymnastic ball stretching and the like.

The ship has one pool, flanked by two Jacuzzis. Even on a gorgeous sunny afternoon at sea you can be assured of finding a deck chair in the not-gorgeous pool area. You can jog on he top-most deck, or play paddle tennis, shuffleboard, or even bocce.

Children:
There are no dedicated kids' facilities, though on select voyages RSSC does operate its Club Mariner Youth Program, whose counselors plan activities and events for children of all ages. And let's not forget the whole shelf of children's literature in the library.

Fellow Passengers:
Seven Seas Voyager attracts primarily affluent, well-traveled American couples.

Attire:
On the one formal night per cruise, an unusually high percentage of passengers really do wear formal attire. At all other times, you can't go wrong in country club casual, day and night.

Tipping:
Regent Seven Seas asserts pretty unambiguously that "gratuities are included in your cruise fare," but passengers should nonetheless feel free to tip for special efforts and services (such as the butler).