Regent Seven Seas Cruises attracts mostly well-traveled, affluent adults, generally 50-plus, who enjoy the complete all-inclusive experience. The majority are North Americans, and you'll find lots of loyal past Regent passengers, especially on the longer itineraries. Shorter cruises can pull in a slightly younger crowd, and you will find families onboard during school holidays, especially in Alaska.

Regardless of the actual dress code, Regent passengers do dress up for dinner. Daytime wear is casual (resort-style), up until 6 p.m., when it changes to "elegant casual" except on the final night of the cruise (when everyone is packing) or when dining at the pool grill or bar. T-shirts, shorts, baseball caps and sneakers are not allowed in any public area in the evening, but you'll usually find people take the dress code further, favoring the "elegant" part of the dress code over the "casual," with skirts or slacks paired with blouses or sweaters, pant suits or dresses for ladies and slacks and collared shirts for men. Jackets are optional, but they're fairly common.

On cruises longer than two weeks, there will also be two optional formal nights, when many passengers opt for even more formal dress.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises is fairly all-inclusive, wrapping up gratuities, shore excursions (and not just run-of-the-mill bus tours), pre-cruise hotel stays and transfers, beverages throughout the ship and in the in-suite mini-bars, unlimited Wi-Fi, specialty restaurants, and round trip business air on intercontinental flights or round trip coach air on domestic flights into the cruise fare.

What you will pay for are spa and beauty salon treatments, as well as laundry, the casino and retail shop purchases.

Since an exceptional roster of excursions is included in the fare, passengers take advantage of them all day in port. This also means they get to know one another more than on many other cruises, so there is quite a bit of social gathering on the ship. The entertainment is pretty traditional, with passengers enjoying Broadway-type productions, trivia contests, live music performances, culinary classes and educational lectures on the history and culture of the region.

Dining -- all complimentary -- is a major part of the Regent Seven Seas cruise experience, with passengers enjoying a fine dining experience in one of the specialty venues or in the main restaurant, Compass Rose, where you can order from a set menu or put together almost anything you can conceive of, from choosing the main ingredient to the method of cooking, kind of sauce and side dishes.

Best for: Couples and multigenerational families desiring a luxury all-inclusive cruise with spacious suite-style cabins and gourmet dining choice

Not for: Travelers who prefer a la carte drinks and tours, families who need nonstop entertainment, folks on a budget