Port call dropped, Mark Conroy responds

[kvisf]

Yesterday I learned that Savannah was dropped from the April 25 Navigator cruise to Bermuda because of port construction. The visit to Savannah was a big attraction of this itinerary for us, so this morning I emailed Mark Conroy, and within an hour I had his response. The correspondence is pasted in below. I am impressed by the responsiveness and hope that a Savannah excursion can be added to the Charleston port call, as I suggested. More important is the evidence that Regent's leadership is accessible to its customers and responsive to their input.

 

"Mr. Conroy:

 

 

My wife and I are booked on the April 25 Regent Navigator cruise to Bermuda, traveling with two friends. This will be our third Regent cruise, and their fourth.

 

 

We were especially looking forward to the port call at Savannah, and were very disappointed to learn yesterday that the ship will have to skip Savannah due to port construction. An extra day has been added to the Charleston visit.

 

 

Since Savannah is only a two-hour drive from Charleston, would Regent consider adding an excusion by coach to Savannah to the Charleston visit? It seems that it would be possible to make the round trip by bus and work in some of the previously scheduled Savannah excursions, at least during the full days that the ship is in port in Charleston. For us and probably other guests, this would be a very welcome way to recapture the value and interest of the original itinerary and a confirmation of Regent's commitment to its guests.

 

 

Thanks for considering this suggestion.

 

 

Sincerely,

(signature)"

"Dear Mr. _____,

Thank you for your email, we too are sorry that the Port of Savannah decided to notify us at the last minute of the changes. It appears to us that hey do not really want to have cruise ship call.

I can only guess they must have received some stimulus money to move ahead with the project on a short notice.

You suggestion of offering a tour to Savannah from Charleston is a good one and I have copied our destination service department and have asked them what is possible.

We look forward to welcoming you aboard.

Kindest regards,

Mark"

[RachelG]

Good to see a quick responsive answer. Hope you have a great trip!

[shoshona2]

We are booked on the 2011 Cruise to Bermuda and it is a day shorter than the 2010 one and Savannah was NOT on the port's list when we booked. At least you guys will get another day in Charleston -- we have from noon to midnight there on April 17th. I would rather have an extra day in Charleston than go to Nassau.

 

Sheila

[tallship]

Thanks for posting this. Mark Conroy is one of the most respected and responsive CEOs in the cruise business.

[rpjsaj]

I am also booked on the April 25th cruise to Bermuda. Savannah was an important port in our deciding on this cruise, so this is very disappointing. What is really disappointing is that I had to find this out on this board. Regent is extremely poor in communicating to their customers. I just went to their website, and there was no news item about this. It only became obvious when I looked at my booked shore excursions and saw that Savannah was no longer there. Oh, and if I looked at the itinerary, it was not there. Well, guess what, since I booked the cruise many months ago and booked shore excursions months ago, I would not have looked unless I saw the information in this forum. I have been to Charleston on land trips and, therefore, was only mildly interested in stopping there. I have never been to Savannah, and was very interested in stopping there. I don't blame Regent for the port being eliminated because they had no control over it. I DO blame Regent for not notifying me.

[turtlemichael]

What is really disappointing is that I had to find this out on this board. Regent is extremely poor in communicating to their customers.

 

Well they must be inconsistent as a port change on a future cruise was this week notified to my agent by Regent and then passed on to me. Is it possible, if you've booked through an agent, that the culprit is the agent not Regent?

[TWG_ag]

I was also notified by my agent who forwarded the formal Regent notice to me the same day. If you booked directly, I would agree that you have a Regent complaint, but if through an agent or other service, they failed you. As for the prompt notice on the boards, those of us that follow them always swap info sharply. So even a good agent might not be as fast as the most active Cruise Critic posters.

 

As for disappointment, I am also not happy to lose the port, but the city of Savannah and state of Georgia made this call not Regent. The only thing you can blame Regent for here is trusting the words of government officials. Something we all suffer from most days.

 

If you have never been to Charleston, you will not have trouble filling the extra time there. We have been there several times and are still looking forward to the time there. We even took a special Valentines weekend there once and had a great time.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I've also been informed of port changes in the past, in a timely fashion, by Regent via my TA.

[commodore2010]

I am also booked on the April 25th cruise to Bermuda..... . I don't blame Regent for the port being eliminated because they had no control over it. I DO blame Regent for not notifying me.

 

Blame your TA not Regent. TA's do not want Regent or any other cruise line to contact THEIR customers under no circumstances. Thats one of the reasons why I don't use them:)

Friends of mine have shown up half way across the world only to find the cruise was cancelled(Celebrity). Thier TA neglected to tell them of the mechanical problem and notify them of the cancellation.

[judebarsto]

This just emphasizes the point that you need to have an excellent TA. Not only are they able to give you financial perks like on board credit and cash rebates, they are also able to give you lots of info that the cruise line itself may not.

 

For example, our TA just sent us a reminder that passport prices are due to increase very soon in case anyone has to renew. And this is for our cruise that won't be sailing until June 2011! I'm sure she will be sending other pertinent info as time goes on. In fact, she has said that she will look at the air arrangements that Regent will be offering this summer from all of our departure cities, so that we may have a bit of an idea of what they may offer us in 2011. (no guarantees, I realize). But I don't think Regent would do something like that.

 

In addition, her TA website has all sorts of timely and useful info on the ship itself, cabin selection, travel insurance, shore excursions, embarkation and debarkation, etc, etc, that are not just copied from Regent's website. This info has been gathered by the travel agents themselves, who are Regent (and other luxury) cruise line specialists.

 

I'm happy to have found this TA.

[kvisf]

Just to update this thread, last week Regent added a Savannah excursion to the Charleston port call. It's a two-hour ride each way by coach, with a "panoramic tour" of points of interest and then free time for lunch/shopping or whatever, on your own. This originally appeared as a $149 per person added cost excursion, then the price dropped to $49, but as of yesterday it's free.

 

I must admit that I was a little confused by the uncertainty about cost (our party of four could have done better, costwise, arranging something independently than the $600 initial cost), but my overall reaction is that I am extremely impressed by Regent's responsiveness. As others have noted, it isn't Regent's fault that a very attractive port call, that apparently motivated a number of guests to book this cruise, had to be dropped. It seems to me that they have done a very fine job of responding to their customers' input and preferences.

 

As I've never cruised on any line other than Regent, I'd be interested in the opinions of others -- would any of the other lines (excepting, perhaps, the luxury lines) have gone out of their way like this? Would their CEO's have even answered the email?

[MerryLady]

Last week?! We booked through Regent direct, and they have not yet advised us of this new excursion, only that all the Savannah excursions had been canceled. :confused: Doesn't matter though, as we don't want to ride on a bus two hours to get there. Savannah will just have to wait for a future trip someday.

[WesW]

KVISF, Frank Del Rio, CEO of Prestige Cruise Holdings (in charge of both Regent and Oceania) and the co founder of Oceanis is the role model for Cruise line CEOs.

 

IMO FDR is the most active, passionate CEO of any cruise line today--please see his CC post in the thread below (#26) (his 110th CC post by the way..which tells u a lot about his passion for Oceania cruisers on Cruise Critic)

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1173846&page=2

[JACKHAWK]

Hate to tell everyone but Savannah and Charleston are more than two hours away from each other. I would say closer to 3 hrs. We live in Bluffton and I would allow 2.5 hrs. to drive to Charleston and 40 minutes the other direction to SAV. Both towns are beautiful with lots of history.

[hondorner]

Agree with Jackhawk; computer Street Atlas shows only 107 miles, but almost 2-1/2 hours -- and that depends on traffic. Most of the route is on US 17, which is very, very pretty (billed as the scenic route), but it goes through many small towns, slowing down for each. Add in the city traffic at each end, and it will almost certainly be at least 2-1/2 hours, probably 3 hours. Have driven it many times; will be heading up that way next week to Myrtle Beach, a bit further up US 17.

[Travelcat2]

KVISF, Frank Del Rio, CEO of Prestige Cruise Holdings (in charge of both Regent and Oceania) and the co founder of Oceanis is the role model for Cruise line CEOs.

 

IMO FDR is the most active, passionate CEO of any cruise line today--please see his CC post in the thread below (#26) (his 110th CC post by the way..which tells u a lot about his passion for Oceania cruisers on Cruise Critic)

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1173846&page=2

 

I'm sure there is a good point that you are making -- just trying to figure out what it is. Frank Del Rio is, of course, the CEO of Prestige Cruise Holdings. However, Oceania and Regent are run completely differently. While it is nice to know that he has a passion for Oceania cruisers, does this really pertain to Regent? IMHO, Mark Conroy, who reports to FDR, represents Regent in the best possible way. While FDR may be behind it all, Mark Conroy manages Regent in a way that does not require intervention of the CEO -- he is the best!

[fjdelrio]

YES it does

FDR

[Travelcat2]

YES it does

FDR

 

Appreciate response. Sorry if my comments were a bit harsh -- however, some of us are a bit touchy when it sounds as if Regent and Oceania are married instead of lovely, but separate siblings;) Would love to hear from you more on the Regent board.

[kvisf]

Thanks Jackhawk and Hondorner for providing the straight scoop on Charleston-Savannah travel time. Savannah was a big attraction of this itinerary for us, and we appreciate Regent making this last minute arrangement. At least it's the scenic route! Perhaps we'll ask room service to pack us a box brunch to sustain us through the trip . . .

[hondorner]

Savannah is gorgeous. We stopped there for just a couple of hours last year, and took one of the "trolleys" built on a bus chassis to tour the highlights. Our son and daughter-in-law were there recently, stayed in a B & B and went on the "ghost tour". They loved it, too. Even if you only have a few hours in Savannah, it's probably worth it, especially if you have another day to visit Charleston. While you're in Charleston, try to stop at one of the many roadside stands where ladies weave the famous Gullah Sweet Grass Baskets, available nowhere else.

[cruzndiz]

Just to update this thread, last week Regent added a Savannah excursion to the Charleston port call. It's a two-hour ride each way by coach, with a "panoramic tour" of points of interest and then free time for lunch/shopping or whatever, on your own. This originally appeared as a $149 per person added cost excursion, then the price dropped to $49, but as of yesterday it's free........

As I've never cruised on any line other than Regent, I'd be interested in the opinions of others -- would any of the other lines (excepting, perhaps, the luxury lines) have gone out of their way like this? Would their CEO's have even answered the email?

 

No and No (if you are taking luxury lines out of the question)

Well done, Regent!!! :D

[AdvenLee]

Thanks to "the boss" (Mr. Del Rio) for providing great, attentive leadership. Just my simple, little input, so here goes. My husband and I have sailed with Regent, Oceania, and just recently Azamara. While the Voyager (Regent) is my very favorite, I have enjoyed all. However, Azamara, IMO, does not quite match the standards of Regent and Oceania. I do think there seems to be a niche for all. If I could afford Regent with never having to sign chits I would do so. However, since we are both retired and big bucks are not piling up, we are quite satisfied with Oceania and have booked an A4 category on the TA in November, 2011. I love hearing all the comments and am quite impressed that both FDR and Mark Conroy are responsive to cruisers. So, many thanks to you both!! A Happy Cruiser who would love to keep cruizing!!!