My thought was that question 2 about the theater seemed biased: are these really the only two options? Is this a trade-off Regent has previously discussed? If a smaller (500 person) theater is deemed adequate, why is there a need for a second, smaller venue? Why couldn't there simply be one 500-passenger theater?

I've only been on 5 Regent cruises (2 PG, 2 Diamond, 1 Voyager), far less than many of you on this forum, but I have never seen the theaters completely full. Are there times that everyone on the ship turns out for an event?

Or would it be possible, with a slightly smaller theater, to move to two shows a night on some nights -- an early and a late? It seems many people don't go to the shows currently because they're tired and want to get to sleep. Why not have an 8:30 and a 10:00 show? The early diners could go to the early show and still turn in early; the late diners wouldn't have to rush through their meals to make the show. It might not be feasible for all the entertainers, but certainly would be for some. Broadway shows do two two-and-a-half hour shows a day; two 50-minute shows on a ship ought to be feasible for some performances.

I'd sure vote for Regent to shrink some facilities, like the theater, if it enabled them to add a few extra cabins and keep the prices down for the majority of cruisers. Does the boutique area need as much space as it's given on Voyager? It seems like a lot of space devoted to a not widely-used resource. With many -- certainly not all -- passengers bringing laptop computers and having WiFi access throughout the ship, could the computer room be a little smaller?

As for dining, I don't mind terribly if we have to wait for a table. We, too, had the pre-all inclusive experience of maitre d's sending us to a nearby bar for drinks on the house until a table became available -- who could complain? We tend to eat on the later side, and we understand that the room may be full if we show up a little after the main evening rush. But we're there to relax, so we don't have a problem if we need to wait a little until some of the early diners complete their meals.

-- Eric