snh01

Thank for the comprehensive blog - we travel in 3 weeks.   Looking at your drinks onboard, it prompts a question regarding drinks (beer, spirits, etc) on board.    On our recent Nile cruise, they were all local brands so Silver Spirits package was not worthwhile (although we had pre purchased) especially as one of us is largely a non drinker.   On the Mekong cruise are they local (and locally priced) or international (so priced as on other river/ocean cruises).   Thank You  

3 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

I think the least they could do would be to give a refund as an option to an FCC.  This may be especially relevant to those who haven't cruised a lot with Regent, and now have no intention or desire to book another.

This was requested when FCCs (which are of no value unless applied to an expensive future cruise) were offered (in response to an extensive email of feedback).

They refused point blank to consider this.

1 minute ago, papaflamingo said:

Ahh... well that's too bad it was so late.  I have to admit, I didn't wait for our cruise to cancel, I could see where this was going (they seemed to delay about a month or so from their announced schedules).  As to Regent having "lots of knowledge," I don't think this happened on the first 4 ships out.  Probably due to having more experienced crews to man them.  Possibly the same with the cruise line you cruised on earlier.  All the cruise lines pulled from their best employees when starting operations.  The problem stems from no real experience left when the last ship sails.  

Anyway, again, hope you get satisfactory results.  Hopefully all these issues have worked out as the cruise lines get back to full schedules.  But if you read other posts you see that staffing issues are abundant industry wise. The world has changed, sadly. 

Yes, with hindsight an earlier cancellation would have been wise but in UK that's still a 20% penalty so hard to walk away from.

10 minutes ago, papaflamingo said:

I certainly understand and sympathize.  I would not dare to suggest what one should think is fair compensation for a substandard cruise, too subjective for sure.  But much of this thread is very harsh and suggests that what you experienced is now the "norm" for Regent.  I believe that to be false, based on comments about all the other cruises going on.  What I feel likely happened is that Voyager, being the last ship out, had issues staffing her.  I would imagine that most old time Regent crews were called back as soon as openings came available.  I would imagine that after 2 years of shutdowns crew members chose to no longer work on cruise ships, that they found cruise jobs on other lines, and yes, sadly, some may have passed away due to Covid.  

I followed the events religiously (and still do). Every ship was delayed coming out.  We proactively cancelled because we could see the handwriting on the wall.  We are scheduled to sail on Navigator at the end of May,  Navigator also has it's issues, cancelled last week because too many crew members had Covid.  I expect, and hope, that by the end of May the "bugs" will be worked out and we'll have a great cruise. 

I truly hope you find satisfaction.  If 50% refund is your benchmark, good luck, but you never know. 

Unfortunately cancelling wasn't an option when Regent announced the delay from February to March as it was past final payment date in the UK and all monies would have been lost.

There are no doubt reasons why this happened but it can be equally argued that with the experience of it being the last ship out they had lots of knowledge from others to avoid these issues.

We travelled on another line in 2021 which was the first cruise back after 2 years and the experience was the exact opposite as they were ready and really focussed on service - so it can be done.

38 minutes ago, mrlevin said:

Wow, they offered you a lot more than they did us on the holiday Splendor cruises.

The exact amount was about $650....

On 4/11/2022 at 10:48 PM, Travelingwithstyle said:

Thanks for the update.   Hoping they do the right thing for you.  Keep us posted.

Well I didn't need to hold my breath long as I have a reply which is underwhelming... an offer of FCCs at around 10% of the cost of the cruise..... nothing else is on the table.

There were a lot of unhappy passengers on that ship and I don't see that offer bringing many of us back to try again especially as it will not even cover that %age on a replacement cruise at current prices.

On 4/8/2022 at 12:30 PM, Travelingwithstyle said:

Please keep us posted if you have any followup from Regent.  Im sure they know that things were not to standard.  It will be interesting to see if corporate addresses it with you once you get home.  It is an expensive trip to be on a "trial run".  Thank you for posting. 

Regent certainly know as when I called on my return home (to enquire about a feedback link that has still not arrived), I was told I wasn’t the first to have called that day to raise concerns.  
They asked me to email my issues which I did - 4 pages of them.  I have an acknowledgement but they say it may take 28 days to respond…….  I am not holding my breath.

8 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

Many new crew after being shutdown for so long - give them a week or two and the bugs will be sorted. 

That’s fine but I won’t be here in 2 weeks - we paid for this week !

I travelled on another line’s first cruise after 2 years a few months ago and they were exceptionally well prepared - it can be done.

On 3/28/2022 at 9:27 PM, Dolebludger said:

Our TA has advised us to avoid taking the initial voyage if a new ship because (he says) those voyages are problem prone. I suppose that a voyage on an existing ship that has been laid up for two years would be subject to many of the problems of a maiden voyage.I hope to hear more from the OP as this cruise progresses.

This might be wise but, when booked,Voyager was restarting on 15 February so this cruise would be 6 weeks later.    
Also these cruises were cancelled after final payment for this one so only alternative to cancel and lose the fare or switch to a much more expensive date.

I have travelled another cruise line’s first week back cruise last year and they were exceptionally well prepared and happy to see passengers back - it can be done well. 

On 3/27/2022 at 5:01 PM, snh01 said:

UPDATE

I made comments earlier about quality of the experience .

 

Our issues have been acknowledged - after meeting with GM and F&B executive.

 

Clearly there are challenges but they are aware and on the case

I regret that my confidence in the improvement has been misplaced.  Yes, some things have improved but many have not and some new ones have appeared. 

9 hours ago, Pcardad said:

Pretty simply to ask the GM for a piece of paper and write your comment in front of him...and ask for a copy after they stamp it rec'd. That would make your point.

I put it in writing and have met with him but my point is that Reception don’t even know how to deal with an unhappy client nor seemed to care

2 hours ago, JK B said:

We decided to brave one more trip to the Compass Rose instead of eating in our cabin.  Glad we did.  Service was great, my dinner was really good and we were addressed by name.  I do think the food on Crystal was better, but look how that cruise line ended up…I think they are really trying hard to please here and I am a happy gal this evening. We did get additional reservations in Prime 7 which I look forward to. I will reserve final judgement until April 5th.

I am pleased for you but I had to send back cold and undercooked meat this evening.    
However my biggest concern is that no senior waiter or maitre’d bothered to come over at the time, when I got a replacement (30mins later) or at the end of the meal to apologise or check it was ok.  What does that say about their concern for the client experience

i will be back in the GMs office again tomorrow (it’s not the only issue from today)

On 3/27/2022 at 3:29 PM, Pcardad said:

Go to the GM immediately and speak with him. Also ask for a cruise comment card and fill it out and hand it in (after taking a picture of it).

One of the issues when I offered comments at Reception was being told they don’t have a comment card !!

UPDATE

I made comments earlier about quality of the experience .

Our issues have been acknowledged - after meeting with GM and F&B executive.

Clearly there are challenges but they are aware and on the case

Thanks all.    
Several comments echo my thoughts but I was wondering whether this was becoming a more common practice (I have seen it on a couple of different company’s adverts recently).

The offer is from a large well known cruise TA so I hope all is well but probably makes sense to be (over)cautious.

My UK based cruise TA has offered a discount on my already booked cruise if I pay in full this week - 6 months ahead of final payment due date.   The discount is significantly more that I can earn in interest in that period.

They advise that the amount is still covered by their ABTA/ATOL cover - the TA will be holding it and not passing to the cruise line until the payment date. Of course, it paid by credit card then there is also S75 cover also.

I wondered if any others have recently been offered and accepted/declined such an offer and and pros/cons, thoughts or concerns I should have or consider.

We are also booked on 13th November Barcelona to Miami.  We are from the U.K. and have a paid a 20% deposit so if we don’t make final payment if the cruise is not cancelled before the 60 day period (which is 14th September) we stand to loose a substantial amount of money. Extremely frustrating.

Kitekat , I have emailed Regent Southampton as TA hadn’t a clue. Awaiting response.

I’m in the UK and booked on Brazil cruise on 15 Nov.

Yes. Both Regent UK and TA have confirmed change to 60 days. Also new payment date showing on the booking details in Regent booking/account.

Have also confirmed only penalty to that date is the deposit.

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Does anyone know if they also extended the penalty schedule?  If you delay final payment and then decide to cancel (before Regent cancels, or if Regent doesn't cancel), it sounds like you would still be subject to the normal cancellation penalties unless you pay in full to qualify for Regent Reassurance.  If you are paying with FCC, extending the deadline would not be much of a benefit, and the penalty schedule may not be a big deal anyway.  But if you are paying in cash it could be.

Regent UK have confirmed by email to me that it will only be loss of deposit until the balance payment date (although you might want to get this confirmed directly if you need to rely on it).

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.....

This is from cruise terminal website -

Ferry (Starting 3rd December 2016, Saturday) : In addition to land based transportation, the terminal can be accessed via a scenic ferry ride from both Kwun Tong and North Point public piers. A regular ferry shuttle service operates between the Kai Tak Runway Park Pier (conveniently located adjacent to the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, Rooftop Garden and Runway Park) and the two public piers.

Ferry Service Provider: Fortune Ferry

Sailing Route: North Point to and from Kwun Tong via Kai Tak Runway Park Pier

Sailing Timetable: Click here for full timetable

Fare: Adult fare per single trip $5

Senior (above 65 years) / Child (under 12 years) / Disabled fare per single trip $2.50

Unfortunately not. Of the Millennium Class, only the Constellation has a similar restaurant still (other ships have had this converted to a Tuscan Grill).

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The restaurant that a guest must dine in on the first evening of the cruise is pre-selected by Celebrity, however the guest can choose the time during which they would like to dine. All other dining times for the package beyond the first night will be made once onboard. Guests can speak to the Hostess at the Specialty Restaurant desk that is set up during the Embarkation process, or they can speak to the Maitre' d after completion of their 1st dinner. All dates/times are based on availability.

Note the last few words.

We booked the ultimate (all nights) package as we were boarding Equinox recently. On going to the desk at Murano to book our dining we were told that one night was completely sold - nothing available and one night only available in one restaurant at 6pm. The reality was after begging a Maitre D we got a slot for the "full" night and as the cruise progressed it seemed easier to move things around (I guess as people cancel and reschedule). However please be aware nothing was held back for us to book on some nights.

Great deal though at $29 pp pn...... But not for the waistline[emoji3]

Well at the start I bought an Adriatic buy one get one half for 2508gbp. It's now 3228gbp, so it is demand as the first rate was a good deal vs pre offer prices ... But now not so much but I guess that's demand caused by sales.

I guess it works out depending when you booked. No - not inflated on this occasion for us. I booked the previous offer at the weekend at Gbp prices similar to that via my US TA ( perks were better in UK for a change). On Wed prices dropped for second person and first person price is the same. Even losing deposit on rebooking (Agent insisted and it's in terms and conditions) I'm well ahead.