I was on the PG in March 03 and it was my first cruise. Based on everything I read at the time and then experienced on the cruise - it was Ultra Luxury - basically the definition of Ultra Luxury Cruising. But I have been reading reviews lately and it just seems like the PG is different from what I experienced. Also - I did go on to cruise many more Regent cruises on Mariner and Voyager and they compared nicely to my experience on the PG.

Then I recived the recent PG brochure - not quite the same brochure I received in 02 when I was considering the PG - so what is up?

Also - something else I noticed in the recent reviews - Only Buffet Breakfasts and Lunches? Oh my that's not Ultra Luxury - at least not what I like about Ultra Luxury Cruising....

There has been the option for buffet breakfast and lunch for as long as I have been sailing RSSC so that is nothing new, I am not sure why the buffet option surprises you?

I guess it's a case of different strokes for different folks, my idea of "Ultra luxury cruising" is many different dining options. I, for one, am not one who likes to sit in the dining room for breakfast or lunch. I much prefer to have room service breakfast and lunch outdoors.

Todd, are you planing on sailing the PG again?

Todd, I was on the PG in May. For breakfast and lunch, you had the choice of table service in L'Etoile or buffet in Le Grill. Or, of course, room service. I found the PG fully comparable to the other RSSC ships. Fewer dining options, just because it's a smaller ship, but very good ones. In fact, of the four ships in the fleet, I thought the main dining room on PG was the best. But that could have just been while I was there--chefs don't stay forever.

Todd, as for the reviews, I am not sure what you have been reading lately but the ones I have been reading have all been very positive.

Karen -

I was thinking about doing it again - it is rather exotic and I do consider it a value in FP compared to the land based stays.

Crystal -

Good to hear about table service - i really dislike buffets and much prefer table service - I was just over on Cruise Critic and I got the impression that it was buffets only for breakfast and lunch.

Oh and Island Cruiser posted this on CC "On PG, you don't have the option of a sit down dining experience at breakfast or lunch. "

That seems odd - no?

Maybe you should ask the poster on CC to clarify. Even so, I don't agree with you that offering buffets would make a ship not "Ultra Luxury Cruising" Doesn't Silversea have a buffet offering at the pool deck for lunch? If not, I would really miss that option.

I will ask over on CC about the dining options - personally if I have the option of buffet vs sit down order off the menu I will pick the latter every time.

posted the question on CC....

Oh and offering buffets is one thing only buffets is another - that's my point - only buffets I have a problem with.

LOL! I just asked the question based on the most recent reviews - I too would like some clarification....

Todd,

Island Cruiser is Pat and he's LCT too. We all did PIP together when Grand Circle had taken over the PG. It was not the best time for that little gem. The buffet was breakfast and most people did that, but, you did have the option of just being seated and ordering what you wanted. We aren't buffet people either - we avoid La Veranda because we like dining. There were a few food issues but I've heard they've been rectified. Service was always good on the PG although Laurent and some of the others are now over on Voyager. The dining room Apicus is no longer but it has a new name.

I am thinking of sailing her again before Regent ends her management contract. Hopefully there will be 2009....

I got that impression also and am glad you asked the question since I'm no fan of buffets either.

I think the reason I love the pool grill buffet so much is that I can make a big salad and order a piece of grilled salmon and not feel guilty about what I ate the night before ;)
Plus, I just LOVE eating outside!

Funny that Pat would say that, since I thought I remembered that he and Fred had a sit-down breakfast at least most days on the PG (but I could be confusing it with another cruise!)

Myself, I prefer having a buffet, since I'm like Karen and I like being outside, so the Grill is perfect for me, breakfast and lunch.

There was one day on the PG cruise that we were on with Fred and Pat when the only lunch option was a buffet. Just one day. The story behind that lapse is long, basically boring, and RSSC later acknowledged that it was a foul up on their part.

Wendy and I have done the PG three times, one a two week back-to-back. We're tentively booked to do the PG again in December 2008. So that pretty well makes our opinion about the PG clear.

-- David

Breakfast and lunch on the PG are indeed mostly buffet, but there are limited cooked-to-order choices available at each meal. At breakfast, eggs/omelets are cooked to order and you can order waffles, pancakes, eggs benedict, and so on. For lunch, you can order steak sandwiches, hamburgers, veggie burgers, grilled fish, etc. There is also a "pasta station" at lunch each day and I believe a carving station. Also the room service menus for both breakfast and lunch seem pretty complete. But at lunch there is not the more elaborate, multiple course menu changing daily as there is in CR on the other ships.

I like it this way - I like to eat outside during the day, I like to get my food with minimal waiting at breakfast and lunch, and I try to eat a little lighter at those meals :) The lunch buffet changes daily to a different theme.

Dena

Right, it's coming back to me--breakfast choices like lamb chops, eggs benedict...are available for order. And eggs, bacon, etc. to order (in the main dining room, or La Veranda, can't remember--at Le Grill omelettes to order only.)

But for the most part, at Le Grill at least, the buffets are really nice.

When we were on the PG for 14 days in the summer of 2005 L'Etoile was closed for breakfast and lunch. So there was no "formal" breakfast or lunch service such as you find on the Voyager or Mariner or, I guess, most if not all other luxury cruise ships. Our first cruise was on the old Island Princess and even on that old tired ship we sat down every morning and afternoon in the dining room to order our freshly prepared meals from a nice menu rather that eating at the buffet. Unless the buffet has a special WOW factor, we opt for table service when we cruise. Others, of course, prefer a buffet or room service.

At the time, you either ate breakfast or lunch at the La Veranda buffet or Le Grill buffet or ordered from room service. La Veranda DID offer a "menu." It was a pre-printed five by eight card coated in clear plastic like you find in diners all across America. Real class! You could ask the assistant waiter who filled your coffee cup and cleared your dishes to fetch you standard breakfast items from the kitchen. We did that every morning--delicious eggs benedict, baby lamb chops, the works. So we dined for breakfast every day as Wendy correctly recalls. The only deficiency--orange flavored water served as "orange juice." The lunch 5 X 8 menu listed a few standard room service items e.g. hamburgers and "catch of the day." We ordered the catch on the first day out--Mahi Mahi. We prefer prepared to order. Wors't serving of fish I've ever eaten. After that, buffet food only. A friend of ours sailing the PG six weeks later had the same experience with her Mahi Mahi. Each day thereafter she asked the waiter to name the catch simply out of curiosity. It was the same every day--Mahi Mahi. The cheese service at the lunch buffet was three two pound rectangular blocks of unlabeled cheese plunked down on a big cutting board like it had just been lifted from the display shelves at Costco with dry french bread offered at the side, dry because it was either leftover from breakfast or sliced too early. The food served at the buffet was good ordinary filling buffet food. I like almost all food and ate well and too much every day. I'm not a food snob by any means. But I think I do know the difference between ordinary buffet food and five-star. The food served in La Veranda was the latter. During the first seven days of our 14 day cruise we sailed with a wonderful informal group (which included Chat Cat and Wandra) most of whom were PG repeaters. Every one of them opined the food service had declined from previous years.

Would I sail the PG again? Absolutely if there weren't dozens of other itineraries I want to sail before I repeat one. The service we received was up to Regent's high standards, the cabins small but nice and the itinerary magnificent. But I would go expecting less in the culinary department so as not to be disappointed.

It appears the summer of '05 was a low point for the PG (long story). I think Regent has upgraded the food service since then. I read generally good reports about it and several have posted that L'Etoile is again open for breakfast and lunch. If so, bravo! I still doubt that the food service is up to the standards on the other Regent ships. But maybe it is. I know they rotate some of their good chefs to the PG. I hope so.

Patrick

So we still don't know if there is sit down service in the main dining room but according to Crystal, who is the most recent cruiser to post, there is, lol.

Unless.... Dena, when did you sail?

I just called the Regent's corporate office and spoke to Eric who advised me that the PG does have buffet and sit down options for breakfast and lunch.

Thanks Cruisedreamer, we now have an answer! Todd, how recent were your recent reviews that you read?

Karen-

This came up on the most recent thread over on CC for a cruise 8/22/07 - the topic was started by IAMBOATMAN.

We sailed in December 2005 and December 2006, so Crystal is more recent than us. I wish we were sailing in December 2007!

Dena

oops!

It is confusing, isn't it? I wonder if the Regent rep was correct in that you can order off a menu for breakfast and lunch, but they may not be aware that the menu is fairly limited, doesn't have a selection of courses, and doesn't change every day like the lunch menu in CR on the other ships. Or it could have changed to what I'd call full menu service since we were on 9 months ago, but that's not what the CC reviewer seems to be indicating.

Dena

Sigh. Diamond had hardly any option for lunch--a miniscule menu in the main dining room. A giant, mediocre lunch buffet upstairs. I've always had great buffets on the other ships, and there have always been (sometimes limited) options to sit down and order.

You have to remember how far it is to FP and how limited the resources are for Regent quality items. It is very expensive there. they have to import almost everything. When we had the photo tour, Bernard the photographer, told us that whole communities get together and one or two people fly to Hawaii to go to Costco to bring back food. It's cheaper to do that. Their luggage is cooler's with dry ice!

There's no question you can order off a menu for breakfast and lunch. I did find L'Etoile nearly empty for both those meals--I wonder if people were even aware that it was available (particularly since we had a lot of rain on my cruise, so that outdoor eating wasn't always appealing)! It is true that the menu is not huge, but I found it satisfactory. The choices were a little sparser than on other RSSC ships I've been on, but there was variety and they were perfectly willing to put together something I requested that wasn't on the menu.

If you go, order the banana pancakes at breakfast. They are unlike any I've ever had--yummy.

I think I may be considered an expert...I'm booked for my 5th PG trip next April and do recall that any time I wanted a sit down that L'Etoile was open for breaky and lunch with a nice menu, though somewhat limited. Personally I prefer room service on my balcony for breakfast.

The final day they offer a grand buffet lunch until 1 PM while passengers are disembarking. I prefer ordering from a menu for portion control, and while the final lunch is a buffet, it's very high end food. This is a far cry from the way most ships boot you out of your room at sunrise and starve you until your number is called to leave!!

I adored the Diamond but the Paul Gauguin is my favorite now.

Todd, my friend -

Since I met you on that amazing PG trip back in '03 (was it really THAT long ago?!), I should comment.

There are pick your own food & serve yourself lines & then there are others......

Do you remember the sushi lunch on the PG? Yes, we served ourselves.... but have you ever had fresher tuna? It was amazing.I can't remember how many times I went back for more!

I found on other sailings that the sit down breakfasts often got there servings (as did room service) from the buffet. Don't recall what the deal was on the PG.

As long as the food is good & prepared well, I don't care. I do love eating outside up deck, but that's just me. Breakfast looking out on the ocean or a port is just heaven.

Todd, be well. Hope to see you in the near future.

Doug

BigfanofPG: We are booked on PG in April also. Which one in April will you be on?