We just disembarked NAVIGATOR in New York a few days ago (A crossing from Barcelona).
First off, let me say that we absolutely love Regent... but I feel I must write about our disappointing experiences onboard this crossing.
The ship appeared surprisingly understaffed. Dining Room waiters and Bar personnel were few and far between. Dinner service was terribly slow; oftentimes, we missed most of the evening performances... or had to go without coffee and dessert... in order to get to the theater in time.
The quality of the food has gone down quite a bit. Escargots, for example, were rubbery and tough... something we've not experienced ever before on Regent. Steaks/veal chops, sinewy and a bit tough. Lobster tail, wasn't 'shelled' at the table, unless requested. But first, you had to find the waiter...
The pool luncheon buffet seems to be more limited in variety than ever... and again the quality has gone down. Specials seem to be inexpensive things like "Tex Mex"... not very appealing for such a first-rate ship.
The hamburgers by the pool appeared to be very thin frozen patties of lower quality beef... their look and their taste was obvious. And the size of the burger itself has diminished... the size of the bun is so much bigger than the burger itself. We've always enjoyed delicious burgers by the pool in the past, and so this change was surprising. Just as an experiment, I ordered a burger in Compass Rose the following day... which the menu said came from Prime 7... just to see the difference. And the difference, to be honest, was not very much. The burger may have been a wee bit larger, but the taste was just as bland, and the quality of the beef was less than thrilling.
A grilled tuna at the pool had to be returned by our friends onboard because of a very strange taste and smell. The head waiter was very apologetic... of course, it's not his fault.
As I mentioned, bar service has also deteriorated. Far fewer waiters than ever... very long waits for drinks... and no one around to supply refills. We had to flag someone down. A few nights ago... after waiting 30 minutes for a cocktail refill at the Stars Bar... we just left the bar.
Same in the Dining Room. There seemed to be fewer Wine Stewards onboard... or if they are there, we didn't see them. And they seem to no longer actively refill wines at the dining table, unless you wave them over, and make the request.
Two nights ago... a fellow guest ordered his favorite brand of rum... the bar waiter told him "we don't have that at this bar... you need to go to another bar to get that." And so the guest had to walk to the other bar, get his drink there, and then rejoin our group in the original bar. Outrageous!
Finally... the internet connection onboard is simply unacceptable. Both TV and internet service rarely works at all while in port. And at sea... it's impossible to download anything. One document took me seven hours to download. As someone who still operates a business while traveling, this situation is very frustrating and again, unacceptable, in 2022... And we even 'upgrade' to their highest-priced service. Nothing changed... a complete waste of money. And the live TV service (various news programming) was never available in port. Even in NYC... the screen said problems with connecting to the satellite. Nonsense. I've never experienced internet and tv service as bad as this on any of Regent's other ships... and, in fact, on any other cruise line. So my advise would be to avoid NAVIGATOR if you need to communicate with business or loved ones at home.... or are interested in watching live News Programs (especially when we heard of the death of Queen Elizabeth II).
And lastly... the quality of the cast of the production shows was quite poor... clearly inexperienced... with poor singers and dancers. We saw one and a half shows... and never went back. It was too uncomfortable.
Overall, we were sadly disappointed... lack of personal, food quality down, and a clear 'come-what-may' attitude in the bars and dining room... ... unexpected, as we had excellent experiences onboard SPLENDOR and EXPLORER just a few months ago.
It makes us wonder if Regent may no longer be willing to invest in NAVAGATOR to keep her up to their usual high standards, and may be more focused on the newer ships. Perhaps understandable, I guess. But they do not seem to realize that when they allow one ship... albeit, their oldest ship... to slip in quality and service like this, it diminishes their overall brand. Not a good thing.
PLEASE REGENT... please take a more focused look at NAVIGATOR. She's a wonderful ship with lots of charm. The onboard experience MUST be brought up to your regular standards.
