Smithsonian Enrichment Collection Disappeared From Our Cruise

We booked our Rome to Venice: Jewels of the Adriatic cruise next April because it had the Smithsonian Enrichment Collection and was visiting places we wanted to see. When I was looking at our booking today I noticed that it is no longer listed on our cruise. Must admit that we are very disappointed about this. I understand that changes are made but one can't help but feel let down when something they were looking forward to is dropped.

Will Regent offer lectures on upcoming ports? If so - has anyone experienced these lectures and how good are they?

We booked our Rome to Venice: Jewels of the Adriatic cruise next April because it had the Smithsonian Enrichment Collection and was visiting places we wanted to see. When I was looking at our booking today I noticed that it is no longer listed on our cruise. Must admit that we are very disappointed about this. I understand that changes are made but one can't help but feel let down when something they were looking forward to is dropped.

 

Will Regent offer lectures on upcoming ports? If so - has anyone experienced these lectures and how good are they?

Hi - I wanted to look at your cruise but the "name" does not tell me the dates or the ship (wonder why Regent uses names that basically mean nothing). Anyway, I was curious as to whether it is a port intensive cruise or not.

It is a port intensive cruise - listed in my signature. Navigator April 23, 2016

We were excited to have a Smithsonian guide along on some excursions plus giving evening lectures. My original description lists: An enriching onboard experience brought to life through The Smithsonian Collection by Smithsonian Journeys - an engaging enrichment program.

Thank you! I looked at your cruise and am wondering why they would offer the Smithsonian Collection by Smithsonian Journeys on your cruise since the earliest you disembark the port is 5:00 p.m. and some ports as late as 10:00 p.m. This program is brand new and I suspect that Regent randomly added this to cruises without thinking it through. By the time guests return to the ship, get ready for dinner, eat, etc., it would be time for the show (or even later).

I understand the disappointment but it did not really make sense to have a program that few would attend. Your itinerary is wonderful -- hope you enjoy it.

Ummmm - because a part of the program was having the Smithsonian representative along on excursions to add an enrichment to them. Personally we would rather attend a lecture in the evening on an upcoming port rather than go to entertainment. How could you make a supposition that few people would attend?

I really did not want to start a discussion on why or why not they should/shouldn't/ might have/ could have, etc. etc. or to be told that it would have made no sense at all to offer the program. They did offer it, it is gone.

Just wanted an answer to my question: Does Regent offer lectures on upcoming ports? If so - has anyone experienced these lectures and how good are they?

While I can't tell you what Regent's thinking is, my experience has been that passengers go to dinner late when the ship departs late. And, the shows have a low attendance. For better or worse, the shows and the lectures are generally held in the same place. I suspect that, since the entertainers are onboard for the whole cruise anyway, if few people show up for shows, it costs Regent less money than hiring lecturers for a port intensive cruise.

I have no idea if there are any upcoming port lectures other than what is on Regent's interactive television (and that is basic information). While I know that this isn't what you want to hear, Regent ships are fairly empty on port days so little goes on until Tea Time and Trivia (4:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m.) The Regent experience is completely different on itineraries with a few sea days - two lectures per day (one generally about the area in which you are sailing). Also, much more to do onboard such as wine tastings, talks by Canyon Ranch Spa, etc. Some people prefer port intensive cruises while we prefer as many sea days as possible (probably because we've cruising in the same general areas for 11 years:-)

Just need to point out that your reasoning does not make any sense. The Smithsonian program will be on this cruise: BARCELONA TO LISBON

IBERIAN CHARM | 7 NIGHTS | DEPARTS MAY 23, 2016 which is port intensive and has some very late nights leaving port. :confused:

Just need to point out that your reasoning does not make any sense. The Smithsonian program will be on this cruise: BARCELONA TO LISBON

IBERIAN CHARM | 7 NIGHTS | DEPARTS MAY 23, 2016 which is port intensive and has some very late nights leaving port. :confused:

You are right -- it does not make sense. I based my opinion on your port intensive cruise. As I mentioned, this is a new program. I cannot imagine a lot of people attending a lecture if they take full day excursions. On nights when departure is 9:00 p.m. or later, even the restaurants are half-empty. I'll be interested in learning more about lectures in the evening. Sorry that I couldn't help:o

No problem. While we like the ambiance on a ship and we do like sea days (which is why our Alaska cruise departed from San Francisco) - this trip was booked to visit places we have not been. We tend to stay up late and get up early to make the most of our days. I have no doubt that we will enjoy our time on the Navigator along with the included excursions that we decide to do.

The Dubai to Cape Town cruise had a lecturer mentioned and an excursion he was going to attend. Now the website doesn't mention him and that excursion isn't showing on the excursion list. We were looking forward to it.

He isn't on the Smithsonian lecturer list anymore either.

I know things change, and there is still 4 months to go, bit we were hoping for interesting lectures particularly on the ports we will visit.

We are on the inaugural Smithsonian cruise, and, frankly it is kind of a flop. The Smithsonian lady has given one lecture on each of the first four days of the cruise, and will accompany our Sardinia tour today. And that is the end for her.

Her lectures are underwhelming. She reads from prepared text with her head down while still pictures are projected on the screen. And her focus is on art history, which is fine if that's your thing, not so much if you're interested in other things.

Our non-Smithsonian lecturer on our Baltic cruise, Sandra Bowern, was infinitely better, with dynamic multimedia presentations. If they use someone like her on your cruise you'll be much better off.

And fwiw, we leave four of our ports at midnight, so that isn't a factor in how they choose the cruise.

Thanks cAPS lOCK oN - this is really the information I was looking for to help us make a decision. I assume each person representing the Smithsonian on one of the cruises will be different so it will be the "luck of the draw."

We are going to continue with our original cruise. It is going to places we have not yet seen and to be honest after spending all day yesterday looking through the offerings on all the lines and the months we can cruise it is still the one I want to go on. If we didn't do the cruise I would plan two weeks land based - one week on Kauai and one week on Maui but that's more work for me since my other half does not really get involved until we are on our way! :eek:

Hope your excursion today was memorable. Thanks again.

The Dubai to Cape Town cruise had a lecturer mentioned and an excursion he was going to attend. Now the website doesn't mention him and that excursion isn't showing on the excursion list. We were looking forward to it.

He isn't on the Smithsonian lecturer list anymore either.

I know things change, and there is still 4 months to go, bit we were hoping for interesting lectures particularly on the ports we will visit.

Agree with you jillyf. Maybe they will find someone for your cruise before you leave. Sounds like Smithsonian committed and then could not follow through with lecturers for the cruises.

luv2c00k - You should definitely not change your plans based on Smithsonian's lack of involvement. This is an excellent cruise, and having the Smithsonian as a partner hasn't hurt or helped that. The product stands on its own.

... Personally we would rather attend a lecture in the evening on an upcoming port rather than go to entertainment. How could you make a supposition that few people would attend?

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Just wanted an answer to my question: Does Regent offer lectures on upcoming ports? If so - has anyone experienced these lectures and how good are they?

I've never known Regent to offer evening lectures, although it's a great idea since the pseudo Las Vegas-style entertainment usually leaves us cold.

Port lectures have varied, but often the lectures provided have nothing to do with the ports at all. But the ones that we've attended have generally been very good.

It does sound like this is an issue with Smithsonian more than with Regent, and that they sommitted, but then couldn't come thru with all the lecturer's they promised., I have no way of knowing that of course, but its just a guess on my part.

Enjoy your cruise, I'm sure you will have a wonderful time in spite of this.

Agree with you Joanne - sounds like the Smithsonian is the problem here.

Wendy - we very seldom go to the evening entertainment in the theaters. Living in the DC area we belong to various venues and go out most weekends to some form of entertainment. We cruise to learn more about the areas visited. That being said - most evenings on a cruise you can usually find us in the piano bar until it closes - no matter how early we are getting up! :D

Thank you all. I am looking forward to our cruise and I know we will have a good time.

We just got on the Voyager this afternoon and this is also a "Smithsonian" cruise. From reading the description of the lecturer, he appears to have a fascinating background so I am looking forward to what he has to talk about. He is scheduled to give nine lectures and accompany three excursions, each of which cost extra. I hope the lectures live up to their descriptions - will let you know as the cruise progresses.

I can totally understand why the OP is disappointed, each of us book a cruise for many different reasons and for those of us who truly enjoy lifetime learning and enrichment, a good lecturer can really add enjoyment to a cruise.

gnomie :)

luv2c00k: I just double checked our two "Smithsonian" cruises that we will be on this year. So far nothing has changed. On our Cape Town cruise, the lecturer will accompany us on only one excursion (and it is one of the included ones). On our Istanbul cruise, they are escorting two - both premium excursions.

There will likely be various reports and reviews on this new program (as there will be with the new entertainment that is forthcoming). It appears that Regent is trying up upgrade their enrichment programs -- only time will tell if their expectations (and ours) will be met.

The confusion on this subject so far reminds me of when Regent ran cruises that "spotlighted" different things (wine, food, chocolate, dancing, etc.) There were many people on one cruise that were understandably upset when they learned that the chocolate did not make it onto to their cruise. A month later, we joined the Navigator for our "Spotlight on Wine" cruise. You can imagine our surprise when we found chocolate everywhere on the ship (not sure where the wine was). Apparently the chocolate finally arrived and we were going to have a Spotlight on Chocolate cruise whether we liked it or not (actually, it was quite yummy).

We just got on the Voyager this afternoon and this is also a "Smithsonian" cruise. From reading the description of the lecturer, he appears to have a fascinating background so I am looking forward to what he has to talk about. He is scheduled to give nine lectures and accompany three excursions, each of which cost extra. I hope the lectures live up to their descriptions - will let you know as the cruise progresses.

 

I can totally understand why the OP is disappointed, each of us book a cruise for many different reasons and for those of us who truly enjoy lifetime learning and enrichment, a good lecturer can really add enjoyment to a cruise.

 

gnomie :)

Thanks gnomie. Will be interested in hearing about your experience with the Smithsonian. Our Alaska cruise on Princess had an excellent person adding to our experiences. Sometimes the lectures were early morning before disembarking - we were always up and enjoyed learning what our day might hold for us.

We would pay extra cost for an excursion accompanied by a Smithsonian representative. At this point we have picked excursions that will give us time to explore on our own.

Have fun on your cruise!

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The confusion on this subject so far reminds me of when Regent ran cruises that "spotlighted" different things (wine, food, chocolate, dancing, etc.) ...

Oh how I loved those "Spotlight" cruises. We did three 'back in the day'. A spotlight on chocolate, one on wine and food, and one on classical music. The latter one was in the Black Sea and they had a trio of Ukrainian classical musicians who did concerts onboard and talked also about the Soviet and post-Soviet music training in Eastern Europe. We also had excursions that included musical events in several places (before they were inclusive.) It was wonderful.

The food and wine spotlight was MC-Dover and included several wine tastings, a champagne tasting, olive oil tasting, cooking demonstrations, it was terrific.

If Regent still did things like that, it might justify their high prices. But all that seems to be water under the bridge, the above cruises were 11 and 9 years ago.

I agree. It seems “enrichment” & “luxury” don’t go together.

We have done several trips with Lindblad. We couldn’t ask for more enrichment. It does come up short on the luxury part. Seabourn & Regent have provided us luxury but little in the way of enrichment. I am tempted to try Silversea’s expedition ships although their idea of enrichment seems to be to explore the most remote regions of the planet. I’m o.k. with that.

In my mind the Smithsonian lecturers will have to go some to beat Terry Breen. Just saying......

+ 1

Fortunately, Terry is still working with Regent (at least she is currently on the Navigator doing the Alaska itineraries). Agree that she is hard to beat!