flossie009

We have read the roll call and the main board thread regarding that cruise with great interest as we were originally booked on it. We changed to this Mariner holiday cruise well over a year ago, which was one of our better decisions. Regent were blindsided by events but in hindsight could have handled customer relations a lot better. As well as the drastic itinerary change, did you also suffer poor service and bad food quality ? Hope you have a better time on Grandeur ☝️

Not at all. Our expectations remain the same and Regent delivers for us. We still like what Regent offers and that is why we continue to book & sail with them. We have cruised with Regent on their various ships regularly since 2009 and ever since our first Regent cruise we have met those who were always looking into a rose-tinted rear view mirror. We well remember on our first cruise a couple telling us over dinner “It’s nowhere near as good as Radisson” We read with interest all the reports on Regent, both good & bad, but we can only report on our personal experiences. Obviously your own recent experiences have not lived up to expectations and you perceive that standards have dramatically deteriorated post pandemic. This is not what we have found. Reports from Grandeur generally seem to be positive. Hope you have a fabulous cruise 😎 PS: @pappy1022, What amused you in my post #52 ?

From this, and your post regarding entertainment on another thread, it appears that the Regent product no longer suits your tastes. In the last 12 months we have sailed on Splendor, Explorer, Navigator and now Mariner. We have enjoyed the quality of food (ingredients & preparation), service and entertainment on all the cruises. I sincerely hope you find a cruise line or other vacation destination that fulfils your requirements in the future.

Boogie & Kashia getting us into the Christmas spirit at the Dance Party on Mariner tonight IMG_7021.MOV

Making our way back to the ship after an excellent excursion in Grenada (GND-001 The Spice of Our Lives) A similar type of itinerary to yesterday in Guadeloupe ……… but so, so much better 😁 A group of 18 guests on a small bus with a congenial driver/guide. Plus very knowledgeable guides at each of the locations we visited (spiced jam factory, spice garden and a rum distillery)

Was it this one that we caught sight of at the rum distillery ? 🤣 Sorry your tour was no good. Ours was “OK”. Bus, driver & guide were good, but there were too many guests in the group, meaning that the guide was inaudible when off the bus. We have given feedback to Destinations. We are trying a tour of Spice Farms and another rum distillery this afternoon. Looking forward to seeing what dishes are offered at the Caribbean Buffet tonight

Fabio sends his best wishes A hummingbird in Guadeloupe Farewell Guadeloupe Good morning Grenada

Much slower today but still perfectly usable

This experiment seems to defeat the primary benefit of cruising; a new location almost every day. …………. but I suppose it saves on fuel 😉

I agree with Marc, Stephane is very approachable and always helpful. Do not hesitate to discuss your issues with him.

Yes it has been a bit rocky and it was a shame to miss St Bart’s. However the seas seem a touch calmer this morning, but still windy. Today is Friday or as we know it “Almond Croissant Day” 😋 going …….. ……… going ………. ………. gone Life is good 😎

…………. but many more have had excellent Regent cruises with perfect service

Sorry you had such bad first impressions. Since most of the issues are related to food & drink, I would ask to see the F&B Manager and run through all the items with him/her. The management on board would much prefer you bringing things to their attention immediately, so that they can address any shortcomings, rather than just complaining after the event on social media

Will do Real, genuine plastic 😁

Some pictures of the decorations around the ship

First Formal Optional night on Mariner last night and many were much dressier than a normal evening. Men’s attire ranged from dinner suits, jackets, bow ties, straight ties, a couple of kaftans and a kilt. Being a Christmas/New Year cruise more guests tend to bring their finery.

Why not just take the air credit and organise the flights yourself ………. if you think you can do better than Regent is offering 🤔

Boarded Mariner yesterday; good to be back on one of our favourite ships. Suite in good order. No toilet issues thus far (touching wood as I post this) Xmas decorations around the ship are beautiful. Starlink seems to be working OK. Speed tests from last night and this morning below:

BA207 (A380) scheduled departure 10:00, but delayed by about 1 hour due to a technical issue* Made up time and arrived Miami just after 15:00. Surprisingly swift through immigration, but quite a wait for baggage. Arrived at Biltmore around 16:30. We arranged our own flight but Regent also used BA207 plus the Virgin flight which I think arrived about an hour earlier. Coming back to the U.K. we are staying a night in Miami and then catching BA206, which is an overnight flight, as are most going from Miami to U.K. Again we arranged our own flight, using Avios. * The pilot told us that the technical issue had been fixed overnight but they had to wait for Airbus in France to sign off the repair. (Personally I don’t think they should have fixed the wing back on with duct tape, but what do I know 🤣)

If you are not assigned prior, then just write GTY on your luggage tag. As long as your name is clear, then your bags will find you.

This is the situation for those booking in North America, but U.K. Travel Regulations do not allow Regent to abrogate their responsibilities. This is a Regent(UK) issue that we have complained about previously ……… to no avail 🤨 You could always keep checking to see how many seat assignments remain before choosing to pay. However, I agree that BA’s policy of charging for Business Class seat assignments is appalling.

We stayed at the Biltmore, Coral Gables last night after our BA flight from Heathrow. We were given a large comfortable room with a nice outlook onto the golf course. Plenty of storage space in the room if on a longer stay. The Biltmore is an iconic building in a lovely neighbourhood, with lots of facilities However, for a hotel of this quality we were very surprised that there was no glassware in the room; only paper cups. However two wine glasses were delivered to our room promptly on request. This morning a breakfast buffet was served for Regent guests in a galleried events room past the swimming pool. Luggage has been collected and we will make our way to Mariner soon 😎

….,.. unless you have exec club status with BA Bronze can book 7 days before; Silver from time of booking