How To Gain 10 pounds in 10 days without even trying

Everyone relates cruising with eating but the food served on Regent was arguably the best food served at sea.

Compass Rose (the main dining room) serves breakfast, lunch and dinner in an open seating environment. I only ate there for dinner. Reservations are not required, but a healthy appetite is as there are a plethora of menu choices each evening. Portions are perfectly sized -- not mammoth -- so you can enjoy eating more than one course and still have room for dessert if you so desire. Mike desired! He desired creme brulee every night we ate in there and now he is having some trouble buttoning his pants!!!!

Signatures is the Cordon Bleu restaurant (French, intimate, sophisticated). Even the menu itself is classy; so classy in fact that I did something totally classless and took one home with me. I couldn't help myself -- it was just too pretty to leave behind! Anyway, in here you will get the most top-notch service to be found on the ship. Food is beautifully prepared and presented and served with a flourish: Voila! The silver domes are removed in sync by two waiters to reveal your dish. The staff in this restaurant have just the right air of snobbery needed to make you feel you are dining in an exclusive French venue and you can rely on them to help you select just the right combination of dishes to make your dinner a culinary experience to remember. If you can get two reservations at this restaurant right away-- make them. You will most definitely want to return after you have dined there once, and it is sometimes difficult to get a second (unless you are flexible with day/time) if you wait too long.

Prime 7 is the newest restaurant to grace the Mariner and is fashioned after an American high-end steak house. Dinner choices are predictable to some extent (various cuts of steak, lamb, pork, surf & turf, etc.) but the meat itself is of the highest quality. The filet mignon accompanied by lobster tail could be cut with a butter knife! The chop house salad is a treat, but the Ceasar is uninspired although they do include a whole anchovy. As for the side dishes -- the potato dishes look better on paper than in actuality and the vegetable choices are again predictable. This is a dining venue for those with a hearty appetite looking for a BIG meal. Take a look at this lamb chop ordered by one of our dinner companions...it reminded me of something from a Flintstones cartoon with a giant prehistoric bone! We ate here more than once, and enjoyed it immensely, but there was nothing offered here that couldn't be found done just as well at a high-end steakhouse on land. They do, however, have an original concept: everyone is served an amuse bouche before dinner which consists of a miniature kobe beef burger on a miniature bun, smothered in some kind of tasty sauce. It's very good -- try it!

LaVerandah is the casual dining venue. Daytime it offers a breakfast, then lunch buffet. Breakfast has typical fare (eggs, breakfast meats, hot & cold cereals, muffins, etc.) plus some unexpected items like cold cuts. Lunch offerings change daily with numerous hot dishes, a carving station, and pre-made cold sandwiches. The concept here is similar to the Pool Grill where you pick your seat/table either inside or outside, and then waiters are available to assist you carrying plates that you have loaded to your table. The waiters will also get food from the buffet for you if you wish although most people want to go up to the buffet themselves to see what they are in the mood for! At night time, they keep only one side of this restaurant open and also close down the outside patio. The buffet is then only comprised of appetizer and antipasti dishes while your main courses are ordered off the menu. The food here also is very very good and you have the added bonus of not having to dress up for dinner which is a major plus it seems, especially for the men who hate to wear a suit and tie.

Room Service is a final dining option and I think self-explanatory.

Food is also available outside of regularly scheduled hours: mini tea sandwiches during the afternoon tea time (whether or not you are playing trivia!) can be found in the Horizon Lounge; fruit and cold cuts can be found in the Coffee Bar; cookies and hot refreshments can be found in the Garden Promenade between Stars Nightclub and Coffee Connection 24 hours a day

There is no shortage of ways to gain weight on this cruise!