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The main dining venue, the spacious Compass Rose, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The cuisine centers on European-inspired dishes as well as flavorful vegetarian and kosher dishes and nutritious, calorie-controlled Canyon Ranch SpaClub specialties. Elegantly decorated in warm golden and maroon hues, Compass Rose delights with a beautifully refined atmosphere blessed with natural light during the day.
Serving breakfast and lunch, the super-casual indoor/outdoor restaurant La Veranda seems to be the ship's top breakfast choice for those who don’t order room service for their morning meal (many passengers do). The morning and lunchtime buffets are exceptional, with different offerings each day. One day you might get an international assortment of stews, as we did on a recent Alaska cruise, or a salmon and halibut feast, which was presented in during a port stop in Ketchikan.
La Veranda sometimes serves regional specialties that often reflect the cuisines of the countries called on, such as grilled lamb chops with Spanish sherry sauce or pan-sauteed Mediterranean sea bass. Dishes are presented in a buffet style that displays the diversity of the menu. La Veranda also features an authentic pizzeria and a shaded, open-air veranda for dining al fresco. In the evening, part of the room turns into an Italian eatery with an amazing antipasto selection and sinful dessert self-service buffet plus table service for entrees. The food is so good we ate there three times during our seven-day cruise.
Each evening, La Veranda transforms into Sette Mari at La Veranda, a casual, intimate dining experience. You can enjoy an extensive menu of authentic antipasti and Italian specialties served a la carte and paired with fine Italian wines. Sette Mari at La Veranda is open for dinner only.
Open only for dinner, the intimate supper club-like restaurant Prime 7 dishes out some mighty fine prime beef and a Tomahawk veal chop to die for. It also serves fish and veggie offerings. You need to reserve your space online almost immediately after booking your cruise because, even though it’s complimentary, it books up fast. A true classic in every sense, Prime 7 sets a new standard in steakhouse fare with its contemporary interpretation of an American favorite.
Handsomely decorated with supple leather wing-back chairs, burnished woods and rich earth-toned fabrics, Prime 7 exudes a distinct, intimate elegance. All the traditional starters are here, including jumbo lump crab cakes, New Zealand lamb chop, scallops with smoked bacon, Oysters Rockefeller and French onion soup. The beef served is all USDA Prime and dry aged at least 28 days to ensure the ultimate tenderness, juiciness and flavor.
We loved Signatures, open for dinner only, and only wished we could have gone back for more, but it was always booked (reservations are required). The cuisine leans toward French flavors with additional continental offerings, all adding up to an exquisite dining experience with tantalizing tastes and enticing presentation. Classics such as quiche au camembert and foie gras terrine with plum marmalade tease the palate.
The ultimate come-as-you-are dining venue, the Pool Grill is quite popular on warm days. You can even wear a bathing suit with a cover-up. The buffets offer salads and such with top-quality burgers made from beef, turkey, vegetables or salmon available. Stroll over straight from sunbathing or swimming in the pool. Drop by before or after a shore excursion. Enjoy a snack between activities. The Pool Grill is open air yet abundantly shaded for comfortable dining. You'll also find milkshakes, malts and hand-dipped ice cream desserts sprinkled with all your favorite toppings. The best time to go is after the rush at 1:30 pm or so.
The baristas create great cappuccinos and other coffee drinks at Coffee Connection, a nice little spot that bustles from early morning till night. Along with your java boost, you can enjoy pastries, sandwiches, cookies, fruit, cheeses and cold cuts. You also have the option of juicing up the joe with some Cognac or other adult beverage.
Canyon Ranch SpaClub offers an attractive, intimate setting with very pricey spa services customized for you alone. Enjoy an array of treatments including signature massages and therapeutic bodywork, aromatherapy, ayurvedic and seaweed treatments as well as facials. There is also a salon offering hair care, manicures, pedicures and other services to glam you up. The men’s and women’s locker rooms have a steam bath (which didn’t work during our cruise) and a sauna, showers and toiletries.
Canyon Ranch fitness experts lead popular exercise classes, such as Pilates, yoga and aerobics and are on hand to offer advice and demonstrate the use of fitness equipment. One-on-one training can be arranged with a fitness instructor. Equipment includes Lifecycles, free weights, striders, StairMasters, treadmills, weight benches, a Nautilus machine, workout mats and step benches. Guests under 16 are not permitted in the fitness center unless accompanied by an adult.
In addition to planned activities in the fitness center, take advantage of other sports-related activities throughout the ship. Deck 12 provides golf cages, shuffleboard, paddle tennis and a full-circle jogging track. Eleven laps around the Seven Seas Mariner track is equal to one mile.
On the first all-suite, all-balcony ship, you don't have to go up on deck to enjoy the spectacular scenery. In fact, it's right outside the sweeping glass doors that open onto your private balcony. So if you are so inclined, you can sit back in your own lounge chair, sip a drink from your in-suite bar and watch the world go by right from your private indoor/outdoor living room.
We stayed in a Deluxe Veranda suite that was kept neat and clean by two of the best attendants ever. It had a wonderful writing desk, flat screen TV, bath with shower, king bed, mini fridge stocked with my wine and Richard's beer and gin, terry robes, slippers, lots of towels, a throw for cool Alaska days and nights on our balcony, and it was close to the free laundromat (sending out clothes to be washed is pricey on ships unless you have a shipboard credit).
Travel writer Patti Pietschmann was hosted on the seven-day Alaska cruise from Seward to Vancouver by Regent Seven Seas. See Cruiseable's Ethics & Disclosure policy.
Updated from an earlier review.
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