I have been waiting for a time when our kids are occupied for my husband and I to take our next Regent Cruise. Well, the kids are signed up for sleepaway camp and lo and behold the European Cruise I was hoping to take on the Voyager does not exist for the dates we can go. I am guessing dry dock or a charter for June 15-June30 '09. I was really hoping to hit Northern Europe or something like that. SO. . . if we can't do Regent (we've been to all but Alaska and aresaving that to do with the kids)what cruise line would you choose. We love Regent for the ship size, service, cabins and less formal dress. Any ideas would be so appreciated. It's been so long since we've sailed ALONE!

Nancy

Consider Oceania. on 6/15/09 there is a 14 day Baltic cruise (London-Stockholm) and on 6/17 a 10 day Med cruise (Rome to Barcelon). Much has been written to compare Regent with Oceania - check the Oceania section of this web site or talk to the folks at B&K

Ted

Silversea would probably be the most similar cruise line to Regent in that it has similar standard cabins and is all inclusive, even if the ships are somewhat smaller than the Voyager and the Mariner. We were on CAMEL this year and it was fine. I didn't notice a cruise on the Silversea Web site in Northern Europe that was exactly in your time frame, though there were some that were close. Also, many Silversea cruises that aren't significantly discounted tend to be even higher than Regent.

We like Regent a lot also, but we're trying Oceania in February around S. America in a PH cabin, which is similar to Regent's standard cabins on the Voyager and the Mariner. The price was right, and we think we can live with signing for drinks and paying for tips separately. I noticed they had a cruise in Northern Europe during what I think is your time frame. See this Oceania Cruise . If we really like Oceania, we might even take this itinerary at another time.

There have been numerous threads on LCT and on Cruise Critic comparing the lines.

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Eugene

Edited to add: Great minds think alike. I was posting my 2 cents while Ted's posted.

Celebrity.

Oceania is wonderful! I would choose it over Regent if they had the itinerary we want. The ships are beautiful. They have the MOST comfortable beds and linens and food, in my opinion is better than Regent. Our experience on Oceania was A+. Do not hesitate to select this cruiseline. :lct:

I understand that Oceania is not inclusive though. Does that mean that there is a charge in all the specialty restaurants as well as alcohol?

Thank you everyone for your great suggestions. I have really ripped my hair out trying to make something work to no avail. I think we may end up take the kids on a cruise later in the summer. As for our couples only trip, I think we're going to do a river barge trip in Provence or the Venice to Paris Oriewnt Express trip with add on time in London at the end. That is what is seeming to fit the dates for us right now. I do want to try Ocenia, but the dates of their trip do not fit our schedule. Darn summer camp!!

Oh either of those options sounds great!