Compared to the large cruise lines, Regent Seven Seas Cruises (often called “Regent Cruise Line” or simply “Regent”) has a small fleet of ships. Regent only operates three vessels, and moreover they are all small. (Again, they are only “small” relative to the behemoths of the cruise industry.) But the size of the Regent cruise line’s ships (or any cruise ship, for that matter) is largely irrelevant after a certain point – it is true that no Regent cruise ship is the size of two New York City blocks (unlike the world’s largest cruise ship), but who cares? Below we discuss each of Regent’s cruise ships – the Seven Seas Mariner, Seven Seas Voyager, and Seven Seas Navigator – although they are best handled together, as they are all quite similar.
In general, Regent’s ships, and the philosophy behind their design, are a lot like the Silversea cruise ships. Both cruise lines are focused on the luxury market, so they focus on attracting an “elite” group of high-paying customers, as opposed to as many people as possible. (The classic quantity versus quality distinction, with the luxury cruise lines obviously aiming for the latter.) Passengers are given more space on Regent’s ships (in fact, the Seven Seas Navigator has one of the “highest space and service ratios at sea,” says their website), giving each guest more privacy. Every room on each of the three ships is a suite, and every room has a balcony with the exception of a few rooms on the Seven Seas Navigator. With a crew-to-passenger ratio of 1:1.5, every passenger’s needs are amply provided for, which is all the more true on Regent thanks to their all-inclusive ways. (The service is “exceedingly indulgent throughout,” in the clumsy prose of the cruise line’s website.) Of course, all of the services and amenities come with a price, and since this price is quite high, the cruise line can afford to take on fewer passengers.
We said above that the ships are small relative to other cruise lines, so what does that mean? The longest ship, the Mariner, is 709 feet (216.1 meters) in length, which is obviously still large when compared to your average ship. The same can be said of the Voyager and the Navigator, which are 670 feet (204.2 meters) and 560 feet (170.5 meters), respectively. The Mariner and the Voyager are about the same width (roughly 90 feet, or 28 meters), but the Navigator, not surprisingly, is slightly smaller. The Mariner and the Voyager have exactly the same passenger capacity, 700, whereas the Navigator only holds 490 guests, so it is easy to see why there is so much passenger space on that ship. However, all of these ships are quite roomy – other cruise lines have much larger vessels, but they hold far more people as well.
So, Regent may not have the largest cruise ships, but they are certainly nice. If you can afford to take a cruise with Regent, any of these ships would be a pleasure to cruise on.
Check out our article on how to book a Regent cruise if you are interested in planning your vacation with Regent.