TRAVELORE DESTINATION REPORT: The Regent Seven Seas Navigator From New York To Montreal, An Experience That Harkens Back To The Days Of Old World Cruising Without The Formality

As a child growing up in the 1960s and 70s I was privileged to experience grand ocean liners in a day when cruising was considered a very special experience. A recent 10 night sailing from New York to Montreal on the Regent Seven Seas Navigator with several stops in New England and Canada demonstrated how in a time when many cruise ships have become more like small cities with five to over seven thousand passengers with 'carnival-type' atmospheres there is a successful niche market  for smaller luxury ships catering to travelers appreciating more personalized service that harkens back to the days of the grand ocean liners of the past.

Regent Seven Seas is the most inclusive luxury cruise line including unlimited premium alcoholic  beverages, round-trip air on domestic flights and business class on intercontinental flights,  gratuities, gourmet dining, shore excursions, ground transfers, WiFi, spa access, health club, fitness classes, entertainment, enrichment lectures, and 24 hour room service.

The Regent Seven Seas Navigator with a capacity of 490 guests in spacious all suite accommodations was recently extensively refurbished in Brest, France.  One of the most impressive facts about the ship is they sail with  a 1 to 1.42 passenger to staff ratio including 52 chefs.

Evening entertainment on the ship was better than expected with full scale musical reviews by the talented entertainment crew, a five piece orchestra, a ventriloquist and Broadway star Jeri Sager.

Our spacious suite included a welcome bottle of champagne, large walk in closet, stocked refrigerator, large screen television with current on-demand movies, bathroom with separate shower and tub and premium L'Occitane amenities.  

Pictured from Prime 7 are one of their beautiful cuts of prime beef, tuna tartar, their signature caramel popcorn ice cream sundae, Maine lobster, 14 layer cake, and crab cake.

Prime 7 Steakhouse.

We were thrilled to have 2 seatings at the Prime 7 Steakhouse on our voyage, the included but only reservation required restaurant on the ship. Depending on the category you book you are guaranteed at least one seating. We recommend going online a few weeks prior to your sailing when you are given notice to get the most preferable seating times.


The other exceptional dining venues on the ship include the Compass Rose, the ship's main dining room and La Veranda for buffet style breakfast and lunch. In the evening La Veranda becomes Sette Mari at La Veranda, a very good Italian restaurant. If you don't feel like dressing for dinner after a long day of touring your dinner will be beautifully presented in your suite, along with your preferred beverages.  The pool grill for lunch and more casual evening dining is also a nice alternative. The barista at the Coffee Connection is also always available for specialty coffee drinks. One day she prepared an excellent dairy-free vanilla frappuccino.

For those on special diets be assured that the chefs will alter your meals as if you had a personal private chef. After making the kitchen staff aware of your specific needs you will have menus delivered to your suite the evening before for pre-ordering. I am pescatarian and my travel partner has a dairy allergy. We were most impressed with specially prepared alternative desserts and how all the restaurant servers made sure even breads served to my travel partner were dairy-free.

Compass Rose Restaurant

Pictured from the Compass Rose are the Thai chicken curry,  seared tuna,vegan fruit dessert prepared specially for my dairy-free travel partner, Alaskan crab salad, tuna tartar, and spa selection of grilled Dorade fillet with Cajun spices and salsa and black beans.

We were honored to dine with the captain, Master Atanas Kostadinov and one of his senior officers at the Compass Rose.

For more details about Regent Seven Seas we strongly encourage you to visit: https://www.rssc.com/ and @RegentCruises on Instagram.
You can also view more of our  photos on Instagram @allenbarkus