A Full Review of Seven Seas Grandeur

Taking a direct flight from Edinburgh is always a bonus for me and this is what I managed on my recent Regent cruise on board Seven Seas Grandeur.
I took a direct flight over to Stockholm, an overnight stay near the port allowed us an evening in Stockholm although it was a little far out from the city so we just had something to eat In the hotel before an early night.

The weather wasn’t on our side but some much needed rain was the forecast and it really did rain! Embarkation was smooth and we were on board in about 45 minutes from dropping off our cases. A quick glass of Champagne to welcome us onboard before heading to deck 11 to the pool grill for lunch. Plenty of options were available with a small buffet selection or cooked to order options, there was also the ice-cream station that offered ice-creams, milkshakes and frappes. I found the selection of flavours changed daily (not saying I had ice-cream everyday)!!

After lunch we headed to our suite to get settled and unpack for 5 nights on board. The great thing with Seven Seas Grandeur being a smaller ship is that the ship often docks in port overnight and this was the case for Stockholm. We were staying in the Veranda Suite, the smallest of the suites on board and I was a little disappointed this didn’t have a walk in wardrobe. This has been feedback to Regent and they are actually removing these suites and redesigning them so this wont be an issue in the future.
The balcony was a great size with a large table and chairs perfect for alfresco dining if the weather allows. 
We also had a bottle of Champagne and a bottle of Vodka along with plenty of mixers available.

Dinner this evening was planned for Pacific Rim a signature Pan Asian restaurant, I went with sushi to start and it was fabulous. All the restaurants offer a signature cocktail too, something a little different but themed with the restaurant you are in. These are normally brought out as a welcome drink but if you enjoy it you can order more!

Day 2 and we headed off on an included shore excursion. The benefit of small ship cruising is often longer stays in port. We had arrived in Stockholm and our itinerary offered overnight stops in Stockholm, Warnemünde and Copenhagen in just the short 5 nights we were on board.

We took the took to the Ice Bar where they had some fantastic ice sculptures, from her the plan was a short city bus and walking tour. The weather had other plans though and with a lot of rain the guide was great and asked what we would prefer so the tour was adjusted to offer a more comprehensive bus tour through the city as it was very wet and most people were not dressed for the amount of rain we had!

One of my favourite and most surprising things I enjoyed was the on board entertainment in the evening. Having cruised on many ships I am partial to a good production show in the evening. I have found in the past small ships tend to offer more low key events.

The evening production show on board Regent was absolutely superb, with a team of 12 singers and dancers along with a 7 piece live band this made for amazing entertainment.

As Regent Seven Seas is part of NCL Holdings you can really see the calibre of the singers and dancers, they really put on amazing shows, as good and if not better than what I have seen on some super big ships!

Along with the on board entertainment team they also had outside acts come on board for a few nights. In keeping with the Scandinavian theme we had an amazing ABBA duo tribute one evening. If the production show isn’t your thing there was also often a live duo or pianist in a couple of other venues on board. We even had a lively night of karaoke.

If you find some small ships a little too quiet in the evenings I would definitely recommend trying Regent as you won’t be disappointed!

We also made use of the spa facilities one afternoon, with the facilities included (spa treatments are payable). We had a lovely relaxing afternoon testing out the steam room, ice room, sauna and a lovely relaxation room. The aft of the ship once you had walked through the spa had a lovely outdoor lounge area with multiple hot tubs and super comfortable lounge beds and seats.

One thing that doesn’t get enough recognition is the Valet Laundry service offered for all suites on board Regent. This offers a free laundry service meaning you really don’t have to overpack leaving more space in your suitcase for gifts! I had decided to have some laundry done and left it outside my suite at 8.50am, this was brought back at 6pm all done! Fantastic service, it’s spoiled me now though I never want to go home from holiday with a suitcase of laundry ever again!

Finally it was time to disembark in Copenhagen, not before a quick wander along from the port to see the famous mermaid, another perk of small ship cruising is how close they can get to the city centre. It was just a short 10 minute walk for me. I could see another ship in port but much larger it was unable to get as close as us and a shuttle bus was required to get close to the city centre.

Overall I had an amazing time on board Regent Seven Seas Grandeur. Food, drinks, service and entertainment were some of the best I have experienced at sea.

To get your Regent Seven Seas Cruise in the diary, give our team a call today!