Regent Seven Seas Shore Excursions: Every Type Explained and How to Choose

Are Regent Seven Seas shore excursions really free and unlimited? Yes, over 4,500 of them, included in every fare across 550-plus ports. No add-ons, no pier-side surprises.

Regent also offers optional excursions that require a supplementary charge. Not because they're better, but because they're different: smaller groups, chef instructors, and private vehicles. The right choice depends on what the experience requires, not which costs more.

This guide breaks down every type, what each is best for, and how to choose the right ones.

Regent Seven Seas Excursion Portfolio At-A-Glance

What "Unlimited Shore Excursions Included" Actually Means

Every Regent Seven Seas cruise includes shore excursions in the fare. More than 4,500 excursions across 550-plus ports worldwide, at no additional charge.

The range covers:

• Guided tours of UNESCO World Heritage Sites
• Cultural exchanges through local food, music, and art
• Natural wonders, city landmarks, and everything in between

What this looks like in practice:

• Istanbul: trace the Bosphorus Strait and step inside the 17th-century Blue Mosque
• Fiji: mineral-rich mud bath at Sabeto Mud Pool, followed by a deep-tissue Fijian massage
• Iceland: drive through West Fjord mountain landscapes and visit a working fishing town

Tip: Popular excursions fill quickly. Availability is first-come, first-served. Concierge Suites and above include priority online reservations for shore excursions, a meaningful advantage when a tour has limited spots.

Regent Choice Shore Excursions: The Premium Optional Tier

Regent Choice Shore Excursions sit alongside the included tier. They require a discounted supplementary charge and deliver a different caliber of experience: smaller groups, more exclusive access, and tours that go well beyond the standard roster.

Think helicopter rides to Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska, seaplane adventures over Misty Fjords National Monument, or private behind-the-scenes access to world-renowned landmarks. These are the excursions built for travelers who want to go further.

Regent Choice covers nine distinct tour types, each covered in detail below.

Note: Small group tours within this tier cap at 16 guests, and Concierge Suites & above receive additional savings on Regent Choice Experiences and Land Programs.

Chef-Led Epicurean Enrichment Tours

These chef-led tours put a Regent Chef Instructor at the front of the group. The itinerary typically follows a market-to-table arc: shop for ingredients at a local market, explore the destination, then return onboard for a hands-on cooking class in the Culinary Arts Kitchen or a session in the Epicurean Enrichment Studio.

What makes them distinct is the bridge between shore and ship. The excursion doesn't end when you reboard.

A few examples worth highlighting:

• Valencia: boat tour of Lake Albufera's rice fields followed by a paella masterclass at Restaurante El Redoli
• Kobe: traditional Japanese knife-making techniques and premium Kobe beef prepared by a teppanyaki master
• Shimizu: shopping at Kashi-no-Ichi fish market followed by a hands-on sushi-making class

These tours are best for travelers who want to cook, not just eat, with hands-on food experiences across every region.

Note: Chef-Led Epicurean Enrichment Tours are available on all Regent ships except Seven Seas Navigator.

Food & Wine Tours

Where Chef-Led Epicurean Enrichment Tours put you in the kitchen, Food & Wine Tours put you in the cellar. These excursions are led by expert guides (sommeliers, chefs, and seasoned cooking instructors) and focus on the terroir: tasting, pairing, and understanding what makes a region's food and wine culture distinct.

A sampling:

• Sicily: medieval Taormina followed by a four-course lunch with five wine pairings at Vivera estate
• Santorini: Oia exploration, lunch at Artemis Winery, and a wander through the whitewashed lanes of Fira
• Amalfi Coast: Roman villa, artisan limoncello producer, and lunch at a family-run winery

Food & Wine Tours suit wine enthusiasts and food travelers who prefer tasting over cooking, as well as anyone who wants a sommelier as their guide through a destination.

Serene Spa & Wellness Tours

Not every shore excursion needs to be a sprint through a city. Wellness Tours are built around slowing down, and they connect directly to Regent's onboard wellness programming, from complimentary fitness classes to healthy gourmet cuisine.

Worth knowing: many Wellness Tours are part of the free Unlimited Shore Excursions. Some require a supplementary charge. Check the listing before you book.

A few from the program:

• Tenerife: sunset yoga class on a golden beach, focused on flexibility and breathwork
• Rome: thermal baths at Terme dei Papi in Viterbo, celebrated since the time of the Etruscans
• Corfu: yoga and meditation at a country estate followed by a fresh organic vegetarian lunch

These tours are a natural fit for travelers who want restoration alongside exploration, and they pair especially well with longer voyages where managing pace matters as much as the destination itself.

Eco-Connect Tours

Eco-Connect Tours are built around a simple idea: go somewhere, learn what the people there are doing to protect it. These small-group experiences connect guests with local communities and organizations working on conservation, sustainability, and environmental innovation.

With more than 150 tours across the program, the range is broad. Many are part of the Included & Unlimited Shore Excursions tier.

A few that stand out:

• Bordeaux: discover how Château de La Dauphine converted to biodynamic and organic farming, and how it elevated their wines
• Costa Rica: visit a sanctuary rehabilitating orphaned and injured sloths affected by deforestation
• Vietnam: hike Bach Ma National Park with a naturalist guide through its diverse flora and fauna

Eco-Connect Tours suit eco-conscious travelers and those building nature-first itineraries, particularly anyone who wants their time ashore to carry more meaning than a standard sightseeing route.

Behind the Design Tours

Every great building has a story behind it. Behind the Design Tours go past the facade and into the design process: the challenges, controversies, and personalities that shaped some of the world's most remarkable structures. The guides are actual architectural historians and not generalist tour leaders.

Many of these tours are part of the Included & Unlimited Shore Excursions tier.

Some examples:

• Oslo: how two extraordinary modern buildings, the Equinor headquarters and the Munchmuseet, transformed the city's skyline
• Marseille: an insider's look at the challenges behind building La Villa Méditerranée and the MuCEM with an architectural historian
• Barcelona: Torre Glòries and the design innovations that define the city's contemporary skyline

Behind the Design Tours are the right fit for architecture enthusiasts, design professionals, and curious travelers who want to understand what shaped a city, not just what it looks like.

Go Local Tours

Go Local Tours do exactly what the name suggests. Instead of landmarks, the focus is on people: local families, artisans, farmers, and residents who offer a direct window into the way a destination actually lives. These aren't guided tours. They're genuine exchanges.

Many Go Local Tours are part of the Included & Unlimited Shore Excursions tier. Some require a supplementary charge.

A few from the program:

• Bordeaux: dinner in a local family's home, with insight into the culture, cuisine, and wines of the region
• Andalusia: a day at a family-owned goat farm learning generations-old cheesemaking traditions
• Dubrovnik: watch villagers demonstrate flour milling, wool processing, and traditional bread baking in a water-powered mill

Go Local Tours work best for travelers who've been everywhere and want to actually experience somewhere, and for repeat visitors ready to see a familiar destination from a completely different angle.

Small Group Tours

Whatever the excursion, the small group tours are capped at 16 guests. That cap changes the experience: more access to your guide, more flexibility on the ground, and none of the bottlenecks that come with larger groups.

These tours fall under the Regent Choice tier and require a supplementary charge.

Some small group tours worth noting:

• Rio de Janeiro: full day covering Sugarloaf Mountain, Corcovado, and a traditional churrascaria lunch
• Juneau: whale watching through Stephens Passage and a Mendenhall Glacier photo safari with a nature photographer
• Melbourne: steam train through fern-covered valleys, kangaroos and koalas, and a winery lunch

Small Group Tours are the right fit for travelers who find large tour groups frustrating, anyone who wants more direct engagement with a guide, and those who prefer a quieter, more considered pace ashore.

Executive Collection and Bespoke Travel Arrangements

Every other type of excursion on this list has a fixed itinerary. The Executive Collection doesn't. You choose where to go, a private vehicle with a driver and/or English-speaking guide gets you there, and the day is yours to shape.

For travelers who want to go further, Regent's concierge team can build a fully bespoke experience from scratch.

A few examples of what private access opens up:

• Kyoto: Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, and historic gardens at your own pace across Japan's imperial capital
• Rome: skip the city center and head to Ostia Antica's Roman ruins, the lakeside towns of Bracciano, or the medieval village of Calcata
• Barcelona: beyond the city to Tossa del Mar's beaches, Tarragona's Roman ruins, or Gaudi's last major project at Colònia Güell

The Executive Collection suits independent travelers, families, and those with specific interests that don't fit a fixed tour, and anyone who finds group excursions too rigid for how they like to travel.

Accessible Tours

Accessible Tours are designed around mobility considerations from the ground up: step-free routes, shorter distances, no stairs, adapted vehicles with access ramps or lifts, and accessible restrooms throughout.

A few specifics worth knowing before booking:

• Accommodates a limited number of wheelchairs and mobility scooters per tour
• Guides cannot push wheelchairs; guests needing assistance must travel with an able-bodied companion
• Wheelchair and scooter dimensions and weight must be provided at time of booking

Some examples:

• Málaga: Accessible Granada Palaces tour through the Moorish palaces of the Alhambra and the Generalife gardens
• Tuscany: Accessible Pisa and Medieval Lucca, covering the Field of Miracles, Pisa Cathedral, and Lucca's medieval walls
• Normandy: Accessible D-Day Beaches and WWII Cemetery with adapted vehicles throughout

These tours are the right choice for guests with mobility considerations and wheelchair users, and for any traveler who wants confirmation that accessibility logistics have been handled before they step ashore.

The Cruise Web Advantage: Accessibility details change. Tour availability, ramp configurations, tender port requirements, and wheelchair scooter slot availability all vary by sailing and season. Our Cruise Experts verify the specifics for your itinerary before you book, so there are no surprises at the pier. Contact The Cruise Web to plan your accessible Regent Seven Seas experience.

How Your Suite Category Affects Your Shore Excursion Experience

Suite category on Regent isn't just about the size of your room. It directly affects how you access and experience shore excursions.

The priority reservations perk at the Concierge level is worth taking seriously. Popular Regent Choice tours, particularly small group tours capped at 16 guests, fill quickly. Being first in the booking window is a meaningful advantage, not a formality.

If you're planning a cruise specifically around certain excursions, that's the calculation worth making before you choose your suite.

For a full breakdown of what each suite category includes beyond excursions, see our Regent Seven Seas cruise inclusions guide.

How to Choose the Right Regent Seven Seas Shore Excursion

With more than a dozen excursion types across three tiers, the options can feel overwhelming. A few questions cut through it quickly.

What do you want to feel at the end of a port day?

That's the real starting point.

Free or Regent Choice?

The included excursions are genuinely good. Don't assume Regent Choice is automatically better. The distinction is access and group size, not quality. Regent Choice makes sense when the experience requires it: a private chef instructor, a capped group of 16, or an exclusive venue that can't accommodate a larger tour.

How much port time do you have?

Some excursions run three to four hours. Others fill a full day. Check duration before booking, especially on ports with late departures or tender requirements.

When to book early:

• Small Group Tours (capped at 16 guests)
• Chef-Led Epicurean Enrichment Tours in high-demand ports
• Any Regent Choice excursion on a popular itinerary

The right excursion mix depends on your itinerary, your travel style, and sometimes your suite category. Our Cruise Experts book Regent Seven Seas regularly and can work through all three with you before your booking window opens. Contact The Cruise Web.

The Cruise Web's Insider Tips for Regent Shore Excursions

Our Cruise Experts book Regent Seven Seas cruises regularly. A few things we tell every client before they finalize their excursions:

• Don't assume the specialty tours cost extra: Wellness, Eco-Connect, Behind the Design, and Go Local Tours all straddle both tiers. Many are included in your fare. Check the listing before writing them off as an upgrade.
• Run the Concierge suite math: The additional savings on Regent Choice Experiences and Land Programs, combined with priority booking access, can offset a meaningful portion of the suite upgrade cost depending on your itinerary. Worth the calculation before you book (or we can crunch the numbers for you).
• Book Small Group Tours first: Capped at 16 guests, they fill faster than anything else in the Regent Choice roster. Priority reservations at the Concierge level exist for a reason.
• Check your ship before booking a Chef-Led Epicurean Enrichment Tour: These tours are not available on Seven Seas Navigator. It's an easy detail to miss and an annoying one to discover after you've planned your port days around it.

Ready to start planning your Regent Seven Seas cruise? Our Cruise Experts can match you with the right itinerary, suite category, and excursions for your travel style. Contact The Cruise Web today by calling 1-800-377-9383 or visiting cruiseweb.com.

Frequently Asked Questions About Regent Seven Seas Shore Excursions (FAQs)

Are Regent Seven Seas shore excursions really free?

Yes. Over 4,500 shore excursions are included in every Regent Seven Seas fare across 550-plus ports worldwide. There are no add-on charges for these excursions.

What is the difference between Included Shore Excursions and Regent Choice?

Included Shore Excursions are free with every fare. Regent Choice Shore Excursions require a discounted supplementary charge. The distinction is access and format, not quality. Regent Choice offers smaller groups, chef instructors, exclusive venues, and private vehicles that the standard included excursions don't.

How many types of shore excursions does Regent Seven Seas offer?

Regent Seven Seas offers ten distinct excursion types: Unlimited Shore Excursions, Chef-Led Epicurean Enrichment Tours, Food & Wine Tours, Serene Spa and Wellness Tours, Eco-Connect Tours, Behind the Design Tours, Go Local Tours, Small Group Tours, Accessible Tours, and the Executive Collection.

Which Regent Seven Seas ship does not offer Chef-Led Epicurean Enrichment Tours?

Chef-Led Epicurean Enrichment Tours are available on all Regent Seven Seas ships except Seven Seas Navigator.

Do Wellness, Eco-Connect, Behind the Design, and Go Local Tours cost extra?

Not always. All four categories straddle both tiers. Many tours within each category are part of the free Unlimited Shore Excursions. Some require a supplementary charge. Check the individual listing before booking.

What is the maximum group size for Regent Choice Small Group Tours?

Small Group Tours on Regent Seven Seas are capped at 16 guests.

Does suite category affect shore excursion access on Regent Seven Seas?

Yes. All suites receive included unlimited shore excursions. Concierge Suites and above receive priority online reservations for shore excursions and additional savings on Regent Choice Experiences and Land Programs. Penthouse Suites and above include a personal butler who can assist with excursion planning.

What is the Executive Collection on Regent Seven Seas?

The Executive Collection provides a private vehicle with a driver and/or English-speaking guide. Unlike other excursion types, there is no fixed itinerary. Guests choose where to go. For a fully customized experience, Regent's concierge team can build a bespoke itinerary from scratch.