Just cancelled our Saigon Visit on Voyager!

We are on Voyager from Bangkok to Hong Kong. Saigon was to be the highlight for many of us. Unfortunately they have just cancelled our 2 day trip to Saigon due to the weather. Unfortunately this means an extra sea day and then an extra day in Brunei, which is our next port of call--probably the place we are least interested in spending an extra day. They had already cancelled the full day tour in Brunei we had previously booked, and we struggled to find even a half day excursion with anything interesting.

During our pre-tour excursion to Angkor Wat, our flight from Bangkok to Siemens Reap was delayed for more than 4 hours, so we sat in the airport for more than 6 hours, and didn't arrive at our hotel until 10:00 pm. Airport Check in was incredibly disorganized. The promised city tour of Bangkok before our trip to the airport was very disappointing, as they just drove around the city for 2 hours without even one stop to get off the bus and take photos or visit a site. Not a lot of happy campers

There are many bridge players in board, but no bridge instructor. Apparently there was an instructor on previous segments but they made her leave for this one because the cruise was oversold and they needed her cabin. So, unhappy bridge players as well, especially with the extra sea days.

The two lecturers are okay, but nothing special (we were spoiled by hearing Terry Breen on our cruise last year). They just cancelled our vietnam lecture that was to be held this morning. Do they think that just because we can't stop there we dont want to learn about the country?

I don't think there will be a lot of future cruise sign ups on this journey. This was our 5th regent cruise, but will be our last.

Sorry to hear that your cruise is not going as planned. Unfortunately nothing can be done about the weather. It is always disappointing when a port you are looking forward to is cancelled due to weather. Also, having plane delays is frustrating to say the least.

I looked up your cruise to check out the itinerary (love the ports) and noticed that the "speaker" is another one from the Smithsonian. We have generally found them to be disappointing. What I did not see was any mention of having a Bridge Instructor on board. Was this something that was advertised and then removed?

If you have time, would like to read your thoughts on the food, service, etc. You have many days left and hopefully Regent can make up for the things that were out of their control earlier in the cruise and you can enjoy the wonderful ports that you will be visiting.

We did the leg prior to yours Singapore to Bangkok. Have 15 cruises on Regent and this was the worse by far. Our post Angkor Wat was as you said. Destination services horrible and we had no weather issues. Management totally unresponsive to the numerous complaints made. We had to disembark ship at 545am for a 245pm flight that was only a 2 hr drive away! Many cruisers so upset they said they would never sail Regent again. Hope your cruise improves - unfortunately ours didn't . Also rethinking futur cruises!

They are trying to be responsive. I was told they are flying in a bridge instructor when we get to our next port, so there must have been a number of complaints. They also reinstated the cancelled lecture on Vietnam-I guess they thought it would make passengers unhappy to hear it, but obviously not! No idea yet what we will do with the extra day on Brunei. There is not all that much to see there in the first place, and since it is Tet, it could be hard to arrange alternative excursions. As you say, cancelled ports are a fact of life when cruising, but since Vietnam was a major reason for us and many others to have taken this cruise, it is disappointing.

TravelCat, food has been okay. A couple of entrees in Compass Rose were lukewarm, but we had an excellent dinner in Prime 7 last evening. We haven't been to Sette Mare or Signatures yet. Service has been fine, and everyone seems to be trying hard.

I am also sorry for the problems you are occurring and I am still of the belief that there have been cutbacks - I was able to witness it myself and others have reported on it, such as the situation with the bridge instructors. One cannot continue to promote themselves as the most luxurious cruise line and then cut back and hope the passengers do not notice. The constant excuse that there have been no cutbacks is getting really old - it was reported that there were significant bonuses to members of the C suites if expenses were cut and that is what is happening. The savings have to come from somewhere and the amount of savings required to receive the bonuses cannot be achieved solely by combined purchasing power and elimination of duplication of services. As someone who advises companies regarding cutting expenses, I see many things that may not be obvious to the other passengers but they jump out at me. Interestingly enough, on my last cruise I happened to run into a retired accounting professor who has sailed with Regent on many occasions and we were playing a game to see who can locate the most cutbacks (hey, we are bean counters, we play to a different drummer!)

Sitting on a bus for two hours just driving around without the ability to get out and actually view things and take pictures sounds more like a time killer than a city tour. The tour companies only provide the services that they have been contracted for so this must have been what Regent ordered.

Regarding speakers, I have been a cruises with great speakers and some not worth listening to. However, I have now been on two cruises with Smithsonian speakers and both times they were outstanding, so much so that the passengers ask for additional lectures which were provided to us. A special treat was if one of the speakers happened to be on an excursion and was knowledgeable about the area visited - this was actually a highlight for many passengers. One of the reasons we selected our next cruise was the fact a Smithsonian speaker is scheduled to be on board.

gnomie :)

Gnomie,

I think you would be doing us all a favor if you (and the accounting professor) made a list and sent it to Frank so he knows that we have noticed. Thanks, hopefully, in advance.

While I understand that some passengers do feel that there have been cut-backs, I have spoken to many Regent employees - both on the ships and in Florida and they are adamant that there have not been cut-backs. We also sailed on Regent more nights in 2015 than we have in the past 12 years and did not feel as if there were cut-backs. Rather, we felt that Regent was more on top of things than they have ever been. I could elaborate further but cut-backs is not the subject of this thread.

momOf3, it is really good to hear that Regent is trying to make things better for the passengers despite weather and airline issues. It sounds as if Regent is going above and beyond by flying in a bridge instructor (especially since I do not see it advertised for this cruise). From what I have observed, Regent tends to have Bridge Instructors and more lecturers on itineraries with more sea days.

I agree with you that Regent may have originally cancelled the Vietnam lecture because it would upset passengers to learn about a place they wanted to visit but could not.

We have also experienced the "time killer" excursions on the way to the airport - definitely disappointing - especially since you were in Bangkok with so very much to see.

We booked this cruise for next year but had to cancel as it conflicted with another cruise that we feel that we have to take. I'll be interested in hearing your impressions about Kota Kinabulu, Borneo. We spent a week there a couple of years after the first "Survivor" show was filmed there. It is a fascinating area of the world. Hopefully Regent will offer some indepth excursions there.

In terms of Destination Services........ my feeling lately is that if I can't say anything positive about them, it is best to say nothing (which in itself speaks volumes!)

Keep posting when you have the time.

Gnomie,

 

I think you would be doing us all a favor if you (and the accounting professor) made a list and sent it to Frank so he knows that we have noticed. Thanks, hopefully, in advance.

So funny you mention than because when we did make comment of it, they used the 'old corporate line, which seems to be repeated here non-stop, "there have been no cutbacks".

First of all, no luxury product would ever publicly admit that there have been cutbacks - that would be a kiss of death. That is why people like me are hired, to cut costs in methods that are least likely to be noticed. I have listened to CEO's of Fortune 500's on CNBC denying over and over that there have been any cutback to their products, when I (and many others) know that is far from the truth. In fact, in some industries, the employees are brought into training sessions to help them learn how to deal with cutbacks in a positive manner and it is drilled into their head that at no time are they allowed to acknowledge that there have been cutbacks so the fact that some on this board are reporting that they have been told there are no cutbacks in no surprise to me at all - in fact, I would be shocked if there was any ever mention or acknowledgement of a cutback.

Right now I am in my busy season (it is tax season in America), but I kept in touch with the accounting professor and I will contact him to see if we can put together a list of our findings. My Mom, who is not an accountant, was also able to recognize noticeable cutbacks, esp in regard to the food service and she took it upon herself to speak to upper management and was treated as if she has no idea what she is talking about which was quite discerning - it kind of reminds me of the story of the Emperor and His New Clothes - if you repeat the same thing over and over again people will hopefully believe it is true, whether it is or not.

gnomie :)

TC2,

There have been cutbacks on all the luxury lines. I highly doubt Regent is the exception.

Right now I am in my busy season (it is tax season in America), but I kept in touch with the accounting professor and I will contact him to see if we can put together a list of our findings. My Mom, who is not an accountant, was also able to recognize noticeable cutbacks,

gnomie :)

We would be very interested in the specifics of the cutbacks you noted and on which ships

We sailed on Voyager and Mariner during 2015 and did not notice cutbacks. Yes, we had a few minor complaints; yes, there were occasional annoying staff errors..............but no significant differences in service to our first cruise with Regent in 2009

TC2,

 

There have been cutbacks on all the luxury lines. I highly doubt Regent is the exception.

I am specifically talking about "people" or "crew" cutbacks of which there has been none. In fact, a couple of years ago, Regent had to figure out how to add a few crew cabins and, as many know, suites that could bring in revenue are being used by officers. The existing ships have no room to expand their staff. Back in what many look as the "good old days", Radisson/Regent ships were not running full and there were almost the same number of crew members as there are now. When the ships became full it did give a sense that there were less crew members when actually there were simply more passengers.

There was a big "flap" when Regent went from two stewards/stewardesses per suite to one. Again, there were talks of cutbacks. Probably due to complaints, Regent has gone back to two per suite which only meant that each "pair" had more suites to take care of.

I agree that all luxury cruise lines have made changes to offset the rising costs of running a cruise line. Rather than cutting back services or crew, it appears that Regent simply raises prices while cruise lines like Silversea add and then remove amenities, Crystal started charging for multiple visits to their specialty restaurants, etc. (which is, IMO, equally upsetting to passengers.)

Interestingly, I've noticed less posters consistently finding fault with Regent than there were only a few years ago. Food, dress and smoking policies were huge issues for passengers. Now it seems that passengers are kind of nit picking about chairs, the design of the suites, etc. (I am guilty of this too but try not to harp on it....... if I'm going to harp, it will be about excursions;))

I was just looking at some of the lovely Explorer photos and noticed they are using the phrase "the suite life" as NCL has been doing for years. Is this something new? I guess I just never noticed before.

I happily volunteer to join the Voyager again to teach art classes! They were so well-attended, fun and provided not only a great way to spend time on sea days, they were perfect venue for meeting fellow guests. We created art and life-long friendships!

Marcia

I happily volunteer to join the Voyager again to teach art classes! They were so well-attended, fun and provided not only a great way to spend time on sea days, they were perfect venue for meeting fellow guests. We created art and life-long friendships!

 

Marcia

My Mom, who is not very talented in the art department, still talks today about the fun that she had in your classes! I was so surprised when she would come back from a cruise and she would mention how much she enjoyed the art classes - Hopefully Regent will take you up on your offer!

gnomie :)

I happily volunteer to join the Voyager again to teach art classes! They were so well-attended, fun and provided not only a great way to spend time on sea days, they were perfect venue for meeting fellow guests. We created art and life-long friendships!

 

Marcia

They debarked the bridge instructors for this cruise because they over sold the ship, what maked you think that they would not have done the same for an art instructor too? :(

There was a time that this would never have been done. I am sure you remember when there was a harpist, several male dance hosts, an art or crafts instructor and dance teachers (Dieter & Ilsa). Where have they all gone to?

j

 

I'll be interested in hearing your impressions about Kota Kinabulu, Borneo.........

 

In terms of Destination Services........ my feeling lately is that if I can't say anything positive about them, it is best to say nothing (which in itself speaks volumes!)

I think that Kota Kinabalu will be cancelled too because of the storm.

The on board Destination Services staff now on the Voyager is an excellent group of people. The manager is Dagmara and also Micheal is at the front desk. Both have many years of experience. The problems that they have are from the Miami office, who set the policies and prices. Don't blame the staff for having to try to make silk purses........

j

They debarked the bridge instructors for this cruise because they over sold the ship, what maked you think that they would not have done the same for an art instructor too? :(

 

There was a time that this would never have been done. I am sure you remember when there was a harpist, several male dance hosts, an art or crafts instructor and dance teachers (Dieter & Ilsa). Where have they all gone to?

 

j

Unless it was removed from the website prior to the cruise, this particular cruise was not suppose to have bridge instructors (which makes sense given the itinerary). So, debarking the bridge instructors was obviously planned. I give high marks to Regent for responding to guest requests to have a bridge instructor. Since the current itinerary does not have an abundance of sea days, I'm a bit surprised that there are people that remain on board when the ship is at port and wanted a bridge instructor.

We have only sailed on Regent for 12 years and in that time never saw a harpist (nor were we looking for one). Dance teachers are now members of the entertainment group (they still have classes). Not sure why male dance hosts or art & crafts instructors are no longer there unless it is due to space restrictions. After all, they take the space of paying guests. My comment about cutbacks did not include these people.

Marcia - really wish that you were still on Regent. Although we never finished our baskets (our fault - not yours), we had an incredibly wonderful time with you. Have you spoken to Oceania regarding the classes they give onboard the Marina and Riviera? I can really see you on these ships for itineraries that include sea days.

......

 

We have only sailed on Regent for 12 years and in that time never saw a harpist (nor were we looking for one). Dance teachers are now members of the entertainment group (they still have classes). Not sure why male dance hosts or art & crafts instructors are no longer there unless it is due to space restrictions. After all, they take the space of paying guests. My comment about cutbacks did not include these people....

 

Well, there was a harpist as well as a pianist.

As far as space restrictions, you are correct, these additional entertainment staff did use passenger cabins. Which goes to the point that Regent has cut back on these passenger entertainment amenities in favor of revenue.

j

After a sleepless night due to rockin' and rollin' the Captain announced that we will also be missing the port a Kota Kinabalu Borneo--the only port other than Saigon that really was a must-see for us. It is not due to weather, but rather to the rearranged port schedule and where they can dock.

We will arrive in Brunei 2 days early, and will now overnight there. I'm not sure what they will have for us to do in Brunei--I contacted private tour agencies, and very little is available that is not already booked due to Tet--and we now have 2 days there.

Since we would now be a day early to Kota Kinabalu after our 2 days in Brunei, they apparently can't get a berth there, and so are going early to the Philippines, where we will now spend an overnight--I am not sure what we will be able to do with the extra day there, as excursions were already sparse.....

I have already lost the cost of tickets to an evening show in Siem Reap that I had pre-booked, due to the air travel delay the first night. I asked the concierge if she can get documentation for the flight delay so that I can try to get my money back from my travel insurance--she said she wasn't sure she could do so--but it is Regent's destination services, so they should be able to provide documentation of the delay, I would think.

Similarly, we lost the deposit for the private tour we arranged in Saigon, so I will need documentation of the cancelled port and hopefully we can get reimbursement. Just another annoyance on a disappointing trip.

We are all trying to keep in good spirits, recognizing that this is a "first world problem" and that we are luck to be on a beautiful ship and attentive staff, enough food, and nice guests....but I think I now recognize the down side of cruising in a way I didn't before...

On the subject of cutbacks: I guess that the business model is such that in effect those that pay the normal price to some extent subsidise those that take up offers which is ok when those numbers are small. With the latest 25% offers ( and even greater offers with Oceania in the uk ) this model won't work. I am no accountant but to meet profit targets there have to be significant savings somewhere. They are unlikely to be made in the back office so they will have to be on board. Whether we notice them will remain to be seen. Sea days are likely to be more profitable so I hope that the weather excuse isn't exaggerated!

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Swansong, we are currently on board Mariner and have also missed a couple of ports due to a heavy sea swell which is affecting the whole of the Chilean coast as far as I understand. Had you heard the frustration in the Captain's voice as he announced the news; if you'd listened as he went through the measures he had tried to take in order to get us safely to our planned berths or, if you had experienced the aborted tender landing at the first affected port, Iquique and seen how the seamen did their absolute best to bring a tender-full of passengers safely ashore and then back again, you would never have made that suggestion. Here, the sea has a swell of 4m right now and even when berthed in Valparaiso, Chile, yesterday, Mariner was moving continually, making the fuelling and reprovisioning process a challenge for all involved.

I understand momof3's frustration. It's horrible to look forward to visiting a port which is then cancelled and to miss two in a row is really disappointing. But unfortunately, we can't control the weather, which is more powerful than any of us. I can't imagine how a huge ship like this can bob up and down (slight understatement, but hopefully you know what I mean) so much, even when tied with more ropes than I've ever seen. I just hope the storm in the far east will quieten down and the rest of your cruise will make up for the disappointment.

Crystal is not cutting back and the reason they started charging after your two free visits in a fourteen day period is because the speciality restaurants are very popular and they wanted to make sure everyone could try them. If your voyage is over fourteen days you get two more free visits.people are NOT complaining about paying $30.00 for additional visits. The famed Nobu is on both ships and if you were to go to any of his land based restaurants you would be paying over $100.00 PP. Prego the other venue is by far the best Italian restaurant at sea.

Crystal is enhancing the product not shrinking the product or cutting back on amenities.

Crystal always has dance hosts onboard and scheduled lecturers...art instructor....golf instructor. Crystal blocks cabins for all of these including guest entertainers and does not sell them for revenue and eliminate programs even on a full sailing.

I wanted to add bridge instructors are on board when they know in advance they are having a group of players coming on board.

Suite Travels, what in the world does your response have to do with this thread? Have you EVER been on Crystal in bad weather during Chinese New Year, or on any cruise where things possibly went awry? I am currently on the Voyager, by the way. It is mostly about disappointments for missed ports because of weather. Okay, I'm not a bridge player,and long ago adjusted to no dance hosts on this line.

TC, was speaking of cutbacks and I was responding to her post regarding Crystal speciality dining charges. The subject of cutbacks was also brought up on this thread besides missed ports which happens to all lines. I have a feeling that you did not read all the posts and other complaints the poster had who is currently on board.

We are on Voyager from Bangkok to Hong Kong. Saigon was to be the highlight for many of us. Unfortunately they have just cancelled our 2 day trip to Saigon due to the weather.

There seems to be a considerable change on Voyager for the next sector from Hong Kong to Tokyo with ports being visited in a different order and the stay for Bejing being reduced to 1 day. It seems to be rather a late change to me but this is my first time with Regent. I have found other recent comments on these boards discouraging to say the least so I hope this is not another sign that I might have made the wrong choice for my cruise on this occasion as I was really looking forward to trying out Regent.