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Regent Seven Seas-NOT worth the $$$!!!


DJinLA
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This cruise line is NOT worth the excessive cost! Service was lackluster, people did not follow up and they do not inspire loyalty in passengers. The positives were the passengers were interesting and the rooms very well appointed.

 

Staff had very poor follow up and we heard many, many people (who were regulars on this line) say they thought the service was poor and were looking to other high-end lines in the future. Dining staff was VERY slow, and if you didn't ask the "right" person for the specific item you needed (i.e. wine pourer ONLY poured wine), you had to wait...and wait...and wait! The entertainment we saw was good, but service was so slow in the dining room that we often mist some or all of it.

 

If you want more intimate travel, high end, try a small riverboat. Much smaller rooms, but you can go on 2-3 of riverboat cruises for the price of one of these trips. This line just isn't worth it.

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DJinLA,

 

Would you please share a bit more information regarding your unpleasant cruise on Regent - which ship, when did you sail, what itinerary? How was your stateroom? How were the port excursions? Were your poor dining experiences limited to the main dining room, or all dining venues? What were the specific issues not addressed or followed up on by Regent?

 

As a first timer to the Regent line, I am interested in your assessment, however, your first post is vague and offers no insight with respect to your negative experience.

 

Many thanks.

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Sounds to me like a seagull reviewer - fly in, make a lot of noise, crap all over everything, fly away again...

 

I'd be interested on how the OP quantified the 'they do not inspire loyalty in passengers' comment - my wife and I are two weeks away from our sixth cruise, and 5 of those 6 have been on Regent. I'd say they inspired loyalty in US, at least.

 

I'm predicting no further posts from this individual, although if they DO post I hope there are more details provided!

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Oh, and I don't know which riverboat cruises are being compared here, but I looked at several different European riverboat cruises and didn't see THAT much of a price difference. They were less expensive overall, but it's also a very different experience overall...I think it's comparing apples and kumquats.

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I read with caution any review or post that is either a glowing depiction of perfection or a complete slam without any detail, especially if it's a first time poster.

 

Yes, DJinLA is likely a "one hit wonder," but it's only fair to be given the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise ;)

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I too suspect the OP will never show back up. Having been on Regent cruises as well as river cruises, there is absolutely no comparison. Food on Regent is more varied and generally better, as I would expect, though the food on AMA in Europe was quite nice.

Yes, the wine person is the person who pours your wine. That is his/her job. And the wine person doesn't serve the meal because that is the waiter's job.

The smallest cabin on a Regent ship is way larger than the regular cabin on a river boat, and the bathroom is hugely larger, so yes, I would expect Regent to cost more and am happy to pay it.

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This cruise line is NOT worth the excessive cost! Service was lackluster, people did not follow up and they do not inspire loyalty in passengers. The positives were the passengers were interesting and the rooms very well appointed.

 

Staff had very poor follow up and we heard many, many people (who were regulars on this line) say they thought the service was poor and were looking to other high-end lines in the future. Dining staff was VERY slow, and if you didn't ask the "right" person for the specific item you needed (i.e. wine pourer ONLY poured wine), you had to wait...and wait...and wait! The entertainment we saw was good, but service was so slow in the dining room that we often mist some or all of it.

 

If you want more intimate travel, high end, try a small riverboat. Much smaller rooms, but you can go on 2-3 of riverboat cruises for the price of one of these trips. This line just isn't worth it.

I wrote a full review of Regent after my recent Barcelona to Lisbon cruise - the good, the bad and the ugly. However, I agree with DJ in LA. See the whole review if interested under Regent Voyager Reviews. Title: "Lack of Response".

 

Here is my final comment after not accepting Regent's insufficient remedy:

 

On our first day, May 23, we smelled a strong diesel odor in the cabin. It was present when we were still in port and it did not abate when we set sail from Barcelona. It was lingering when we returned from dinner but decided to go to bed. We both noticed it getting worse. It got so bad that finally at 1:00 am, I called Reception.

 

In the age of The Concordia, food safety concerns on Silversea and many issues on various Carnival brands, frankly we were concerned about the effects of diesel and the possible mix with carbon monoxide. We were nauseated.

 

The on duty Receptionist explained I was not the only one and to open the balcony door which I thought would make it worse. We opened the door and it did improve it. The noise of the water and the breeze however would not let us sleep. Many in our same general area of the ship commented or complained too. It went on for 2 nights and into the 3rd day. Concierge agreed smell was horrible.

 

I requested a room change - but was told they were full.

 

Finally, on day 3, The General Manager, did credit my internet service as a token gesture of good will. He said "Miami" was aware of the diesel fuel complaints. He said that any requests for compensation would have to be taken up with Miami. We had two sleepless nights and were forced out of our cabin because of the odor.

 

Regent offered two $500 credits toward a future cruise. 8% credit although 30% of our cruise was ruined.

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Finally, on day 3, The General Manager, did credit my internet service as a token gesture of good will. He said "Miami" was aware of the diesel fuel complaints. He said that any requests for compensation would have to be taken up with Miami. We had two sleepless nights and were forced out of our cabin because of the odor.

 

Regent offered two $500 credits toward a future cruise. 8% credit although 30% of our cruise was ruined.

 

While the idea to solve the problem during the cruise may be a good idea for many cruise lines, it hasn't been and continues to not be a good idea for Regent. The problem is that the home office has to get involved and does not allow the ship management to make many of the necessary decisions. And, even when the home office responds, it usually takes more time to get even a piddling amount of restitution if, at all and then it is only in the form of future credits meaning people have the possibility of enduring the same or similar problems again.

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I got off the Mariner this weekend. Other than the oppressive heat it was a fine cruise. But I talked to a fellow from LA (maybe the original poster), who hated everything about the cruise.

 

Specifically, the room steward in his Grand Suite wouldn't give him soap (??), the wifi didn't work in his room, he hated the tours, he put forth some conspiracy theories as to why we went to Villefranche instead of Antibes, and he thought the service around the pool was poor.

 

OTOH - our butler and room attendants were fantastic, wifi worked everywhere for us, the tours were fine, and since we were going to Monaco Villefranche worked better for us. We didn't use the pool.

 

We had some dining room issues, but overall it seemed like he was on a different cruise than we were.

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Oh dear, it seems one posters (1) review isn't likeable to one other posters (1) review. I agree that there should be more depth and maybe the poster will come back in time if they are not too frightened to do so.

 

I'm pretty new here myself and have had a good response to my questions but there does seem to be a bit of a snobby vibe on here which could make new posters a bit reluctant to add anything.

 

Also, why would you ask someone to compare Regent to other luxury lines? Why would you assume they had been on others? I think that is a bit unfair.

Please excuse me (in advance) if i don't reply right away.

 

Pam.

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Oh dear, it seems one posters (1) review isn't likeable to one other posters (1) review. I agree that there should be more depth and maybe the poster will come back in time if they are not too frightened to do so.

 

I'm pretty new here myself and have had a good response to my questions but there does seem to be a bit of a snobby vibe on here which could make new posters a bit reluctant to add anything.

 

Also, why would you ask someone to compare Regent to other luxury lines? Why would you assume they had been on others? I think that is a bit unfair.

Please excuse me (in advance) if i don't reply right away.

 

Pam.

 

I do hope that the OP will return. I would like to respond to your comment about asking about other luxury lines or previous cruises. This really speaks to the subject of expectations and is not meant as a negative. The Regent Experience can be different for people that have not cruised before, those that have cruised other luxury lines and/or passengers that have cruised on non-luxury cruise lines but Regent was their first luxury experience. It is really helpful, at least to me when I answer questions, to have an idea of what type of cruising you have done previously.

 

The OP has done river cruising and prefers that to Regent. There is nothing wrong with that. There is a poster on CC that thought of Regent as a lower level of luxury (and this was the posters first luxury cruise). I have since learned that they have cruised on a luxury barge (have looked up the ship - only 4 suites -- very luxurious -- and, about the cost of mid-level Regent ships). Knowing this posters background of sailing on a luxury barge helped me to understand why they felt the way they did about Regent.

 

IMO, the snotty vibe that you feel may simply be the style of writing that some people have. I have never had an argument with a person on board a Regent ship - even when we disagree (and even if I say the same thing face to face that I would write on Cruise Critic). The written word can easily be taken the wrong way.

 

In any case, the more information we have, the more we can understand the situation.

 

televisu: I could not find your review but was interested in what you posted on this thread. IMO, Regent could have done much more to satisfy you so that you would consider sailing with them again. I'm still interested in knowing how the rest of your cruise was. How was the food? Was the service up to your expectations?

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I do hope that the OP will return. ..

 

televisu: I could not find your review but was interested in what you posted on this thread. IMO, Regent could have done much more to satisfy you so that you would consider sailing with them again. I'm still interested in knowing how the rest of your cruise was. How was the food? Was the service up to your expectations?

 

Not likely given the initial response and bullying of one with a single post by the other posters.

 

Here's the review from televisu: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=506159

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Whilst your comments are understandable i still think there is a snobby and (snotty?) element to this thread.

 

I don't recall the OP saying they were actually on a riverboat cruise, just mentioned that it would suit others better.

 

I agree that sometimes words can be misconstrued but the overall vibe isn't what new posters want to see when they looking for advice to find about Regent cruises for the first time.

 

There is a lot of value from these threads and people learn a lot (i did) so please don't make it difficult for others.

 

Thanks

 

Pam.

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Not likely given the initial response and bullying of one with a single post by the other posters.

 

Here's the review from televisu: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=506159

 

Thanks so much for the link. That answered all of my questions. We have also sailed on Silversea and Oceania - both lovely cruise lines. IMO, Silversea really has a great product. Had we started cruising with them 11 years ago instead of Regent, we would probably still be a customer. televisu gave a very fair review of Regent in my opinion.

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I think we all need to take the advice people are given when they use trip advisor ignore the most glowing and the most derogatory and what is left in the middle is probably going to be a fairly good reflection of what you will experience. To slag off a service provider with little additional information is as unhelpful as failing to see that your favoured service provider doesn't always get it right :)

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Whilst your comments are understandable i still think there is a snobby and (snotty?) element to this thread.

 

I don't recall the OP saying they were actually on a riverboat cruise, just mentioned that it would suit others better.

 

Pam.

 

If my response sounded snotty or snobby, I certainly didn't mean it that way. But if the OP is recommending that others try a river cruise over Regent for a better level of luxury and hasn't actually done one, that is poor advice.

 

River cruises are fine, but a totally different thing than an ocean cruise. You really can't compare. And I will probably go on more river cruises in the future, but as my husband says, it isn't Regent.

 

And BTW, only the wine person pours wine on silversea too.

 

As far as the other person who was disappointed mainly due to a pervasive diesel smell in the cabin, I would've pretty upset and complaining about that too. Though I doubt there is much that could be done if the ship is full.

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If my response sounded snotty or snobby, I certainly didn't mean it that way. . . . .

 

I think the "snobby" etc criticism is more likely directed to the likes of the "seagull" analogy post, which accused the OP of "crapping all over everything", and the fact that some then delighted in such language.

 

As for critiques of first posters, well, you have to start sometimes! When I posted my first Regent cruise reviews and comments three years ago and was new to posting, though I had provided a lot of details about what I liked and disliked, certain frequent posters and Regent fans became very defensive.

 

The OP obviously did not have a good time, and more details would be helpful, of course, but that does not invalidate his opinions.

 

As for the wine pouring and other assignments, it was very frustratinf to me on Regent when DH and I were seated at an aft table that was shaking so badly

we could not stand it and wanted to be moved but could get no one's attention other than the wine girl's for twenty minutes,and the wine girl just wanted to pour wine, and had no interest in calling someone to help us resolve our problem. "Not my job and will not/cannot do anything to find someone whose job it is" is perhaps the OP's concern. Many non-cruise industries and facilities (including health care) that have good customer service ratings earned them because of perception of team "can do, can find someone to help" efforts.

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My post ("Note, it was post #1 for the OP. Chances are, based on experience with negative posts right out of the starting gate, they will never be back.") was neither snobby nor snotty, nor derogatory to the OP in any way, and was not in any way a "critique" or "sad". It was simply a prediction that has developed into fact. I further predict the the OP has not read any of the comments. Again, not derogatory, but an observation based on 9 years experience with these forums and many, many "one post" participants.

 

If I'm wrong, I welcome the OP to Cruise Critic, to continue to comment, to participate and become part of the community; and like all the others who expressed interest, would like additional details.

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