10-night Baltic Cruise (Copenhagen/Stockholm)

It is hard to pass up an opportunity to visit some of our favorite Mediterannean ports, especially aboard a luxury cruise line such as Regent Severn Seas. So, when we were invited back aboard Seven Seas Voyager for a follow-up review, it did not take long for us to rearrange our schedule.

GETTING THERE

Getting to Athens was fun (insert sarcasm here). After a two-hour flight from DFW to Chicago, we boarded our AA flight to Rome. This gave us nine hours to once again ponder why anyone chooses to fly internationally on a US airline. The interior of the vintage 767 was tired and unwelcoming and the leg room non existent. AA must have the only remaining CRT television screens in the industry on international flights. The off-color screens treated us to two incredibly boring movies and repeats of CBS Eye On American. And, unlike most European, Asian or Middle Eastern-based airlines, you pay $6 per drink for wine, spirits and beer in Economy Class. Drinks are complimentary in Business Class. The bottom line is, if you can afford Business Class, AA is an acceptable choice. If not, pay a little extra and go with British Airways, Virgin or one of the other international carriers.

We arrived in Rome the next morning where we connected with an Aegean Airways flight to Athens. Finally, a new and clean aircraft! This two-hour flight was a pleasure, in comparison, with a friendly Greek crew and a small lunch snack. We arrived in Athens a little early, about 2:00 pm. A word to the wise: in Rome, flight numbers are often dual numbers so it is necessary to watch the departure screen a little longer until your flight number appears next to the appropriate destination. We couldn't find our flight number on the departure screen until we watched long enough for it to finally appear. Also, our destination was Athens, but the departure screen listed our flight number as going to Rhodes. Athens was the first stop before Rhodes. I'm not sure how we were supposed to know that.

Rickee poses for a parting shot with Dimitri. We were met outside baggage claim in Athens by our driver, Dimitris Stamatelatos, who would shuttle us from the airport to the ship in Piraeus. It is very important in Athens to book a reputable taxi in advance. Taxis in Athens can be less than respectable, often quoting one fare, then raising the fare once you arrive at your destination. Dimitris came highly recommended to us and we were not disappointed. After packing our two large bags into his Mercedes and tying the trunk down with rope, we were off on a 45-minute drive to Piraeus. As a result of the 2004 Olympic Games, there is now a wonderful multi-lane highway to Piraeus so the trip is much more enjoyable. Dimitris dropped us off right at the pier where we were to check in for the cruise. He is part of Star Group, a group of independent drivers who provide quality transfers and tours. If you are planning a cruise into or out of Athens, we highly suggest that you contact Dimitris in advance (http://www.stargroup.gr) to reserve your transfer. Also, if you plan to spend a few days in Athens, Dimitris can provide a variety of guided tours. We had considered taking public transportation from the airport to Piraeus as there is regularly-scheduled bus service, but the number of stops the bus made, plus having large luggage, made this a less-than-desirable option. Also, we were not sure where the bus would drop us in Piraeus and how far we would be from the cruise terminals. Even though the private transfer was much more expensive than the bus (50 Euro vs. 6 Euro), after flying all night and changing planes a few times, we were very glad to just walk to the waiting car and be transported straight to the cruise terminal in luxury and comfort.

Of course, if you purchase your air travel through Regent, a transfer to the ship is included. If you don't book your air through them, you can still purchase a transfer from the airport to the ship from Regent. If you are traveling to Piraeus independently, be aware that there is a Terminal A and a Terminal B at the port in Piraeus and we weren't sure from which terminal our cruise was departing. I had called Regent's customer service line a few days before, but the woman who took my call could only tell me that the ship departed from Piraeus and not the specific terminal. Dimitris took us to A first, but we quickly found out we were in the wrong place. We then had to figure out how to get to Terminal B. After only one U-turn, we were headed in the proper direction. An NCL ship was also departing from Terminal B so there were lots of people milling about and standing in line to enter the terminal. We were met at our vehicle by a Regent representative who made sure our luggage was dropped off properly and then escorted us past the long lines and into the cruise terminal to the security checkpoint. We had our cruise tickets and passports checked, went through security with hand luggage X-rayed, then boarded a shuttle bus that would take us to the ship. Once aboard Voyager, we were escorted to the theatre where we checked in, provided a credit card for charges, had our photo taken for our key card and had a glass of champagne. It was a simple and quick process and a great way to begin our Grand Mediterranean voyage. Next stop was our suite where we met our cabin stewardess, Belinda, and butler, Jitesh, both of whom we enjoyed for the two days we occupied that particular suite. More about that later.

CruiseReport.com Tip

We highly recommend the luggage delivery services offered by Luggage Free. Before we left for Athens, we had arranged to ship our luggage to the vessel using the service of Luggage Free (http://www.luggagefree.com). This company arranges for your luggage to be picked up at your home and ships it to the vessel so it is waiting for you when you arrive. At the end of the cruise, they pick it up at the ship and send it to your home. There is some paperwork to be completed before the luggage is picked up, but all in all, it is a simple process. Luggage Free scheduled our luggage pickup for the week before our cruise was to leave so it really forced us to get organized early. We photographed our bags and made a list of the contents, just in case. However, due to some issues with Customs personnel in Athens being on strike or threatening to strike, we were unable to ship our bags to Athens. I'm happy to report, the Customs strike in Athens has long since been resolved and Luggage Free is back to business as usual there. We did use Luggage Free to ship our bags back to Dallas from Monte Carlo at the end of the cruise and I have to tell you, the service was wonderful! Since Regent partners with Luggage Free, we just dropped off our bags at Reception on Deck 5 the morning we disembarked. Getting to the airport in Nice with no bags to check was a treat! The best part, by far, was not having any bags to claim at Customs in Chicago and none to claim at DFW. Luggage Free had told us that it would take about a week for our bags to get to us, but we got off the ship and arrived home on Wednesday and the bags were delivered by FedEx on Friday! This service is not cheap but it is well worth it not to have to hassle with luggage.
SEVEN SEAS VOYAGER

Seven Seas Voyager In 2004 we did a Transatlantic sailing aboard Seven Seas Voyager. A lot has changed since then. Back then, it was “Radisson” Seven Seas Cruises, now it is “Regent”. Guests were treated to free wine with meals, but cocktails and other spirits were not complimentary in the bars and lounges. Now, all drinks throughout the ship are complimentary. And, perhaps the biggest change of all, the company has new owners as of this year. The same company that owns Oceania Cruises now owns Regent Seven Seas Cruises, too. So, when we are asked why we review ships on which we have previously sailed, the answer is obvious: Things change.

One thing that has not changed is the condition of Seven Seas Voyager. Thanks to continuous maintenance and immaculate housekeeping, the ship looks as fresh as she did when we first sailed her. Even the exterior of the ship reveals fresh paint everywhere, something a lot of cruise lines let fall through the cracks. Even so, she is scheduled for a maintenance dry-dock in February of 2009 where lots of new and exciting upgrades will be accomplished.

One of the most notable advantages of a Regent voyage their ability to make a 700-passenger vessel feel much more intimate. Part of this is due to the high ratio of space per passenger, and part may have to do with each suite having its own private balcony. Suites are so comfortable and spacious that fewer guests feel the need to occupy public spaces to avoid the feeling of claustrophobia that comes along with some other cruise lines' cabins.

Our Penthouse Suite (Cat. A) was originally suite 1023 amidships. However, after the second night we became very aware of a persistent foul odor. After bringing this to the attention of Guest Relations Manager, Allistair Sellers, we were fortunate to be transferred to a vacant suite on Deck 9 aft, suite 963, where we remained until the end of the cruise. Suite changes like this are not always possible, especially with a full ship, so we were lucky. However, a couple of days later, we re-visited 1023 and no longer could detect the odor, so the problem must have been addressed. Housekeeping had originally placed a couple of air-purifying machines in the suite to try to correct the problem, but that didn't seem to help. If it was, indeed, a problem with the air conditioning system as they thought, apparently it was soon fixed.

The Penthouse Suite is a comfortable 370 sq. ft.including 50 sq. ft. of balcony, and, even though not as large as the Penthouse suites aboard Seven Seas Mariner, these suites have a nice layout and are extremely comfortable.

PENTHOUSE SUITE – CATEGORY A

All suites now feature flat screen TVs. There are three categories of Penthouse Suites (A, B & C) with Category A and B including the services of a butler. The various categories are determined by the suitesÂ’ locations on the ship. Higher deck locations are typically a higher category. And, even though we thoroughly enjoyed the services of our butler, Darren, it should be noted that you can save a little money with a Category C Penthouse on a lower deck and still enjoy the spacious accommodations. Even the standard Category D-H Deluxe Suites are spacious and far exceed typical cruise ship staterooms in both size and layout.

We only noticed a few things that were different in our suite from our previous cruise such as the new flat-screen LCD television which replaced the old tube-style TV. An iPod docking station has been added. Regent now has their own brand of shampoo, conditioner, bath gel and body lotion or you can choose Anichini products that are made with olive oil. Everything else is the same. The walk-in closet is large and spacious and is big enough so that I could actually get dressed in the closet each morning without disturbing Rickee! There is hanging space for long garments with padded satin hangers included. The built-in dresser with five drawers comes in very handy. Interestingly, we noticed that the closet in our Deck 10 suite was about 6 to 8 inches wider than the one in our Deck 9 suite. The hooks placed on the wall of the closet are great for hanging jackets or belts. There are also hooks on the bathroom door and on the entry hall wall. There is a shoe rack on the closet floor and the electronic safe is found in an open cabinet above the dresser. A hair dryer and a shoe horn are also placed in one of the dresser drawers. Bathrobes are plush and heavy and slippers are provided. Speaking of bathrobes, once again, we saw people in their bathrobes in the public areas! Hopefully, they were on their way to or from the spa. It's hard to believe that people would have to be told that bathrobes are not suitable attire for public areas.

There is so much storage space available in this Penthouse suite that we didn't even fill up all the drawers! In addition to the huge walk-in closet with built-in dresser, there is a drawer in each of the nightstands, a drawer in the vanity, three drawers in the desk plus additional storage space below the sink in the bathroom. Three wall-mounted glass shelves on each side of the vanity are useful for placing toiletries. There are also various shelves and cubbies where things can be placed out of your way. Another nice feature is an abudance of US-type plugs that came in handy for re-charging electronics. A curtain can be pulled separating the sleeping area from the sitting area. We really liked having the large window above the desk which, in addition to the glass patio door with floor-to-ceiling glass, filled the room with lots of natural light during the daytime.

The sit-down vanity with magnifying makeup mirror gets lots of use. If you want to use the hairdryer, it has to be plugged in at the vanity. A full-length mirror attached to the wall next to the suite entry door is in the perfect location. One of the guest laundry rooms is located just across the hall from our suite and I saw lots of people using the washers and dryers. The ship also offers laundry and dry cleaning service.

One thing we found interesting was the lack of firm pillows available on the ship. We asked our wonderful cabin steward, Lemuel, if he could find some firmer pillows for us and he later tells us that the ship has no firm pillows. But, he did stuff two of the soft pillows into one pillowcase which made for a slightly firmer pillow. This is just one example of how Lemuel went above and beyond to make our stay enjoyable.

While our Deck 9 suite was very comfortable, there was a lot more vibration noticeable, especially when the ship was under full power. This vibration caused things in the suite, such as the glassware, to rattle. Other than that, both suites were relatively quiet and comfortable. Temperature control in both suites was excellent. We did notice a lack of water pressure in the shower in 963 and the shower had a tendency to flood the bathroom floor depending on the orientation of the ship. Several times, the water pressure was so low, Rickee had to get out of the shower and use the handheld shower nozzle in the bathtub to wash the shampoo out of her hair. The water pressure was fine in the separate bathtub.

The in-suite television system features a few closed-circuit channels with shore excursion information, port talks, restaurant menus, etc., that play 24-hours a day. Of interest were a series of programs called "Jamie's Journeys," wherein Cruise Director, Jamie Logan, personally explores activities and places of interest in various ports of call. We also had a movie channel, CNN International, BBC and Fox News. Occasionally, we were treated to some European sports networks, also.

I donÂ’t recall if Wi-Fi was available on our prior cruise aboard Voyager, but it certainly is now. We were able to use our MacBook laptop to access Internet and email from our stateroom with varying connection speeds. Internet access is never great aboard a ship, however, the connection speeds we achieved were useable most of the time. The cost of Internet access ranges from $.25 cents per minute to as much as $.55 cents per minute depending on the package of time you purchase.

250 minutes for $65 ($.25)
100 minutes for $35 ($.35)
Pay as you go $.55 per minute

This compares favorably with other cruise line Internet rates throughout the industry. For our 11-day cruise, we required 350 minutes for a total cost of $100.

Our butler, Darren You have to nit-pick to find room for improvement on Regent's suites. So, here it goes. They need to come up with a better reading light for the bedroom. I smacked my head on the light every time I got into bed! Other than that detail, the rooms are pretty much perfect.

Our butler, Darren, checked the mini-fridge daily and replaced anything we had consumed. He also made the best microwave popcorn and brought it to us complete with a gravy boat of melted butter! This was a wonderful treat we enjoyed when we watched movies on the DVDs we checked out from the ship. The DVD selection is huge and is found in Club.com, the Internet Cafe on Deck 5.

DINING

The dining experience aboard Seven Seas Voyager is not quite as good as we remembered, and certainly not as good as what we experienced last year aboard Seven Seas Navigator. There was a general lack of seasoning of virtually every item, from soups to entrees. That said, the dining is still very good and far above most cruise ships. The dinner service throughout the ship seems to have retained its high standards for quality, presentation and taste. We found the best meals were in the evenings in Compass Rose, which is the shipÂ’s main dining room, and La Veranda, the Lido buffet that is transformed into an Italian restaurant for dinner. The La Veranda lunch buffet was not much better than any mainstream cruise ship. Of course, the experience is better because it is a much nicer restaurant, and there is great service and complimentary wine and soft drinks. But the food is lacking.

We had breakfast in Compass Rose one morning and ordered Eggs Benedict, which was delivered with Hollandaise sauce which had been burned! Apparently, they had placed the entire plate underneath a broiler which had dried out and scorched the Hollandaise. Another morning, we visited La Veranda for the breakfast buffet. The made-to-order omelet was excellent, but RickeeÂ’s pancakes were brought to the table ice cold.

In the evenings, it is as if a completely different kitchen staff takes over. The meals in Compass Rose were expertly prepared and presented. Our dinner at Latitudes, the ship’s Oriental fusion restaurant, was very good, as well. Latitudes has a new Indochine menu prepared with modern French cooking techniques. We dined there on the third night that the new menu had been served. Everyone gets soup and salad, and you can order multiple main courses which are served in small portions. Side dishes are served family style. La Veranda converts into a casual “Italian Steakhouse” each evening. When we dined there, it was packed, and we soon learned why. The food and service were superb. A huge antipasta bar offers an array of cold appetizers that will leave you straining to eat your main course. We did not have the opportunity to dine in the popular Signatures restaurant on this journey, but we spoke with several guests who raved about the food.

We dined in our room one evening and found the service (delivered by our butler, Darren) and food, which we ordered from that night’s Compass Rose menu, to be very good. A Greek buffet was served poolside one afternoon for lunch, and a French lunch was served poolside on another. The pool grill serves items such as burgers and hot dogs cooked to order accompanied by a nice salad bar. You select a table and then tell a waiter your table number and your food is delivered to your table. Ice cream is always available by the pool at lunchtime. There are two afternoon tea services, with the one in the Observation Lounge designated as the “quiet tea.” Cookies were always available in the Coffee Corner on Deck 5 along with a selection of coffees and teas.

ENTERTAINMENT 

Regent Seven SeasÂ’ entertainment rivals that of much larger ships. The Regent Signature Orchestra provides musical backup for the Regent Singers and Dancers, a troupe of entertainers who are actually employed by the Peter Grey Terhune company. Peter Grey Terhune has provided the singers and dancers for Regent (and previously Radisson Seven Seas) for as long as we can remember, and we have always been impressed with the quality of talent. On our voyage, a professional international champion ballroom dance couple from Australia was featured in the production shows and they also taught complimentary ballroom dance classes during our voyage.

In addition to production shows, we were entertained by Italian tenor, Corrado Amici, accompanied by pianist, Daniel Hidalgo; internationally-acclaimed classical pianist, Adam Johnson; Gosia Zalewska, a classical harpist; and singer/actress Brenda Cochrane, known as “The Voice”.

The ship even provided the World Series games (rebroadcast due to the time difference) on the big screen in the show lounge so guests could follow the Phillies and Rays. Big-screen movies, complete with popcorn and sodas, were shown in the Constellation Theatre on several occasions featuring fairly recent releases. Cruise Director, Jamie Logan, hosted such fun games as Guesstures and LiarsÂ’ Club involving audience participation. They even managed to squeeze in a a few games of Bingo at a cost of $12 for four games.

Even though this was a port-intensive itinerary with only one sea day, there were still plenty of things to do during the day on the ship. A varied selection of exercise classes was available each day. There were deck sports such as shuffleboard, ping pong, and paddle tennis. A nice selection of board games was available on Deck 5 and there was the ever-present huge jigsaw puzzle to be completed. We sat at the game tables there and played a rousing game of Scrabble on more than one occasion. You could earn prize tokens for winning certain activities, such as Baggo, team trivia, golf putting, bocce ball and the daily Voyager Quiz. These tokens could be redeemed for certain logo items at the end of the cruise. Bridge, gin rummy and other card games were available. Late-night Karaoke was surprisingly well attended. Various venues around the ship offered music and dancing, both before and after dinner. There was even a Halloween Disco Party held on October 31, with a prize awarded for anyone in costume.

The library is well-stocked and there is a huge selection of DVDs available in Club.com that can be checked out and viewed in your suite. Enrichment lectures were held each day with destination specialist, John Tabbutt-Mccarthy, providing history and pertinent details about our next day’s port. The Casino de Vienne held various gaming tournaments, and if you couldn’t spend enough in the Casino, there were the art auctions and various special “collections” on sale in the Boutique. The onboard Carita Spa on Deck 6 forward offered discounted services on port days.

Solo travelers, joined by shipÂ’s hostess Lisa Del Vecchio, had lots of planned activities to keep them busy such as pre-dinner cocktail parties and breakfasts where they could meet other solo travelers.

[AD-LUXURY]
THE ITINERARY

Our Grand Mediterranean voyage began in Athens (Piraeus) and ended in Monte Carlo with only one day at sea. During the voyage, the port of Naxos had to be switched to Messina due to weather and high seas making tendering dangerous in Naxos. This was our first time to cruise in Europe in October and we have now decided that this is definitely the time to go! On our previous visits during the hot summer months, the crowds and the temperatures were overwhelming. During October, the crowds are gone and the temperatures in the low to mid-70s. It did rain a few times, but IÂ’ll take a little rain over the heat and the crowds any day.

In addition to information provided in the daily port lectures, a wealth of information about each port is found in Passages, the daily schedule of events delivered to your suite each evening. Information, provided by FodorÂ’s, includes a description of sights to see including the address, information about shopping and currency, internet and telephones. A map is also provided. In most ports, local tourism information representatives come aboard to offer advice and recommendations and give directions. In certain ports, Regent provides a shuttle service from the ship to a central location in the port city.

Rickee in front of the library at Ephesus. Regent offers many and varied excursions in each port. In Kusadasi, Turkey, we took the shipÂ’s motorcoach excursion to the ancient city of Ephesus, an amazing place. At the end of this excursion, we were dropped off at a Turkish carpet store near where the ship was docked. We were treated to drinks and snacks, educated about what it takes to make a true Turkish carpet and shown many beautiful carpets. That evening, we returned to Ephesus for a classical music concert under the stars presented by the Aegean Chamber Orchestra and held in the magical setting of the ancient ampitheater. The music was beautiful and the setting was truly one-of-a-kind.

In Marmaris, Turkey, we chose to walk into town through the marina where large, expensive yachts are parked. There are waterfront restaurants along the way with menus translated into English. We found our way to a mini-Grand Bazaar with shop after shop offering items ranging from clothing to souvenirs. After a few hours walking around taking in the local culture, we took the shipÂ’s shuttle back to Voyager.

It was a national holiday in Heraklion so most everything was closed. Parades and celebrations commemorated the day Crete told Hitler that he could not bring troops there. We opted to stay on the ship and watch the festivities from the bow.

One of the retro city buses in Malta. Our next port was Valletta, Malta, and it was raining in the morning. We had taken a jeep excursion there on a previous cruise so, after the rain stopped, we decided we would walk into the city and look around. I must mention here that it is an uphill walk to the city and includes 132 small steps at one point that must be climbed to reach the traffic circle right outside the city gates. There was also another large ship in port, so the crowds were a little bigger in Valletta. The area where the ship was docked had vaults that had been converted into shops and restaurants and the cruise terminal itself had a few shops selling such things as liquor, jewelry and souvenirs. That evening, Regent offered its guests a complimentary concert at one of the most unique European classic Opera Houses, the Manoel Theater. VivaldiÂ’s Four Seasons was performed by the 13 musicians of St. James Consort.

In Messina, where the ship went instead of Naxos because of bad weather, you could take a bus to Taormina for $30 if you wanted to tour on your own. The ride to Taormina is about 90 minutes one way. Messina, itself, is a big gritty port city with fine architecture including many churches and mansions that can be discovered within the maze of narrow streets.

CruiseReport.com Tip Buy your train tickets from the newsstand in the terminal instead of standing in line at the station ticket window. SorrentoÂ’s main district is perched above the marina on a cliff. From here, excursions to Capri, Pompeii, Positano and the Amalfi Coast were available. We opted to walk up the hill into the city and find the train station to take In the theatre at Pompeii the 30-minute train ride to Pompeii-Villa dei Misteri for 3.60 Euro each for a roundtrip ticket. The train station in Pompeii is just a few hundred yards from the entrance into the ruins. Admission into the Pompeii ruins is 11 Euro per person and be aware: they do NOT take credit cards or American money there for admission into the site. There is an ATM located near the entrance so you can get Euros. We also rented an audio guide for 6.50 Euro. You must leave a form of ID at the audio guide checkout stand which can be retrieved when you bring the audio guide back. Visiting Pompeii this time of year was so much better than being there in July or August. It was not so crowded and the temperature was much cooler than in the summer. It poured rain for a few minutes while we were there, but luckily we were inside one of the ruins that had a partial roof to keep us dry. After exploring this amazing place for a few hours, we decided to head back to Sorrento and stopped for some pizza at a small restaurant next to the train station. After the train ride back, we hurriedly shopped a little then headed back down the cliff to the dock where the tender was waiting to take us back to the ship. Sorrento itself is a charming little town where you can spend hours wandering the alley-like streets lined on both sides with shops selling items ranging from food to art to clothing and souvenirs.

Our next stop was Ajaccio, Corsica, the birthplace of Napoleon. We arrived here on a Sunday, so not much was open in this lovely pastel-colored walking town. We got off the ship and walked around the town a little, finding only restaurants and a few souvenir stores to be open. It was nice to walk along the waterfront promenade.

Civitavecchia, the port city for Rome, is located quite a distance from Rome. Regent offered a shuttle service to the port gate. If you wanted to take the train into Rome on your own, it was still about a 10-15 minute walk to the station from the port gate. The train ride into Rome is about 48-68 minutes, depending on where you want to go in Rome and the cost for a ticket is 9 Euro. The onboard destination specialist said to purchase a BIRG #5 ticket which is a roundtrip ticket that also gives you access to all public transportation in Rome. Regent offered a total of 11 excursions to Rome and the Vatican.

Livorno, the port city for Florence and Pisa, was the last port on our voyage. It was raining most of the day while we were here. Since Florence is quite a distance from Livorno, Regent offered many excursions to both Florence and Pisa and also to places in the Tuscan countryside, such as Lucca, Siena, and San Gimignano. Train service is available into Florence and you can pick up a train schedule from the local Livorno representative that comes aboard.

Disembarkation

Our trip ended in Monte Carlo, Monaco. The night before arrival in Monte Carlo, luggage had to be placed outside your suite by 11pm with the proper colored tag indicating your destination after you leave the ship. This is always a struggle for Rickee since she has to figure out what to do with liquids that must be packed but are needed the morning she leaves the ship. Luckily, this time since we were using the services of Luggage Free to ship our luggage home, we were able to drop the luggage off at Reception the morning we left the ship.

Suites must be vacated no later than 8:30am. We had breakfast in Compass Rose and watched the rain from our table next to the windows. We had made arrangements with a transportation company, Med Tour (http://www.med-tour.com), to transport us from Monte Carol to the airport in Nice, where we were picking up our flight to London. Regent was charging $95 per person for its airport transfer and $495 for a private car and $595 for a van! A taxi to the airport would run about 100 Euro and they only take Euro. The transfer with Med Tour was 69 Euro and our driver arrived right on time to pick us up. The van was new and clean and our driver spoke very good English with a slight French accent. The drive to Nice took about 40 minutes even in the rain and we were at the airport in Nice with lots of time to spare. We highly recommend that you contact Med Tour if you need transportation or would like to tour the French Riviera area.

Summary 

This part of the Mediterannean is so amazing that any cruise is going to be wonderful. We have been to this part of the world many times, and we can say from experience that is even better when you visit the Med aboard Regent Seven Seas. In addition to being an excellent cruise line, Regent's ships are smaller than the huge 2000+ passenger ships that now visit these areas, yet have most, if not all, of the amenities. The smaller size makes getting on and off the ship quick and painless. A Mediterannean vacation is something special, so why not pay a little more and do it right?