We arrived at Fort Lauderdale airport, collected our bags, and took a cab to the port. The security guard at the entrance was snippy when I told her the name of our ship was "the Regent Navigator." "Next time you should know the name of your ship," she said, which suggests it was on her list as the Regent Seven Seas Navigator. Ah, well.
We were ushered onboard immediately and sent up for lunch -- a welcome "bonus" meal that makes embarkation on Regent a pleasant experience. Our cabin was well laid out -- bathroom with both shower and tub, walk-in closet with safe, a dresser with a 120 volt plug, queen size bed, sitting area with DVD player, flat screen TV, and a bottle of chilled "house" bubbly on the table, desk with a stocked refrigerator (beer, bottled water, soft drinks), and a veranda.
Navigator is beginning to show her age. Some of the fabrics are frayed, and the decor is dated. There is a lot of movement at times, perhaps because the Navigator's hull was planned for a Russian icebreaker. The size and overall atmosphere are fine, however, and the crew seem to enjoy making the passengers happy.
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The food in the Compass Rose was excellent, and the buffet on deck 10 provided fine breakfasts and lunches. For the first week the reservations-required Portofino had a wine tasting followed by a sit down dinner. The second week it morphed into an "Italian steakhouse" with an appetizer and desert buffet. The wine tasting was accompanied by appetizers and was worth skipping dinner at the Compass Rose. The Italian steakhouse was nothing special.
We were cruising over the Easter holiday, and several of the ports were virtually shut down, so we took a few tours. The drive-in volcano on St. Lucia is worth a look, and this was combined with a plantation visit that includes a "cocoa dance" (not what I expected at all).
Some experienced cruisers complained that the officers weren't as involved as they expected, but overall Regent has a fine product. At the end of two weeks we were relaxed, wined and dined to our heart's content, and even had seen the "green flash" one sunset. Disembarking was efficient, but don't pay $29 per person for a transfer to the Ft. Lauderdale airport. The cab fare is only $15. We'll be back to try the Voyager later this year.
