World Cruise 2011 - Sydney - Beijing - Brief (ish!) Review

[room010]

We arrived home yesterday after a fabulous month cruising Australia and part of SE Asia. It was our first Regent experience and overall it exceeded our expectations in every respect. The ship is immaculate and the crew unfailingly friendly, helpful and efficient. Captain Sanguinetti is highly visible and very approachable. Our stewardess was delightful and no request was too small for her full and prompt attention (not that we had many requests because she seemed to anticipate our every need).

 

We were VERY lucky with the weather, especially as it's still the Wet/Cyclone Season for much of the route. We had only moderate or calm (sometimes glass-like) seas virtually every day and very little rain considering the season. During the whole trip we had 2 rough nights but the Voyager's excellent stabilizers meant very little discomfort whatsoever.

 

Random comments, mostly good and some bad, in no particular order:

 

1. Food. Always fresh and plentiful and beautifully cooked and presented in every restaurant, although it was a little bland and "unadventurous" with few spices or other stronger flavours. I guess they cater for the majority who prefer it that way. Sometimes the "hot" dishes served at the Pool Deck buffet were lukewarm or cold.

 

2. Drink. An excellent selection of wine and great sommeliers who know their subject and remember what you like.

 

3. Live Entertainment. We didn't attend all the performances because it's not really our "thing" but those we did see were very good (with one disappointing exception). The talented pianist Jon Darsk was particularly good, as was the cabaret singer Rhonda Burchmore. The ship's band was versatile and very professional.

 

4.. Lectures. The destination lectures were entertaining and informative (thanks John Tabbutt-McCarthy) but the enrichment lectures were perhaps a little "dry" for our taste. All were delivered from a very American perspective but it's an American ship with a predominantly American audience so it's hardly surprising.

 

5. TV/Movies. Several major world events occurred while we were crusing, not least the devastating earthquake/tsunami in Japan and the escalating events in Libya. We had to rely on CNN/Fox for our "news" so it was hard to untangle actual fact from media hype. Thank goodness for the (free) internet! I know the technology places restrictions on what's available but the limited TV choices were disappointing. However, the huge selection of movies, some of them bang up to date, more than compensated.

 

6. Service. Excellent, in fact we often had waiters vying for position to serve us and always with a smile. Nothing was too much trouble. Very impressive.

 

7. Cruise Staff. Again, excellent. Jamie Logan (CD) is a force of nature - he's energetic and enthusiastic without being pushy. The daily program always had something different and he was an active participant. The Destinations staff were patient (beyond endurance sometimes!) and Reception was efficient and helpful. We were less impressed with the Canyon Ranch Spa staff, some of whom didn't seem very happy.

 

8. Itinerary. Overall it was fine but I question whether Townsville is the best place to visit compared to, say, the nearby Whitsunday Islands. Thursday Island is very beautiful (we were blessed with perfect weather that day) but in all honesty there's nothing to see or do there. Most people tendered ashore, walked around for a few minutes, then went straight back to the ship. Bali was great but Pedang Bai is a long drive on poor roads to all the 'attractions'.

 

I may as well mention The Great Sandarkan Debacle here. It was our next destination after Bali and Capt Sanguinetti told us that because the entrance to Sandarkan harbour is usually blocked by a sandbar it is absolutely essential to arrive at high tide. It was therefore imperative that we leave Bali bang on schedule at 8pm. Rumours abound as to what exactly happened but our departure from Bali was delayed by 90 minutes which meant that we missed the high tide in Sandarkan and we had no option but to carry on to the next destination, Manila, missing Sandarkan altogether. Some say the delay was caused by a small group of passengers who were late joining the ship in Bali, others that it was a 'technical problem'. It it WAS indeed the late arrival of some passengers I always understood that in those circumstances it's up to them to catch up with the ship, not that the ship will delay departure, especially when it was so critical that we arrive in Sandarkan on time at high tide. There were quite a few unhappy cruisers that day....

 

When we booked this cruise several months we were emphatically told by Regent that the segment was Sydney to Beijing and that leaving or joining the ship at interim ports, eg, Darwin or Bali, was not possible. In the event passengers DID in fact leave or join the ship at those ports as well as a couple of others. I know that after Sydney the ship wasn't anywhere near full so perhaps Regent decided to offer more flexibility in order to get "b*ms on seats" ? Either way, they most definitely moved the goalposts. Perhaps the moral of the story is to hold off booking until (almost) the last minute.

 

9. Ambiance. I think Regent has got it just right. Informal enough to feel comfortable but people still make an effort to dress and act appropriately. We met some delightful people we now call friends. Of course there was a small handful of difficult, demanding, occasionally very rude, bullying people who made as much unnecessary fuss as possible over the tiniest thing but they were the same people who invariably dined alone every night. Wonder why?

 

10. Post Cruise Hotel. After a month of near perfection on Voyager than anywhere is going to be a letdown and the Marriott Beijing was no exception. It's OK as a big, city centre, chain hotel but it's 'tired' to say the least. Or maybe I just needed a reality check?!

 

Nevertheless, as cruises go this one was head and shoulders superior to any other we've been on and we will most definitely cruise with Regent again.

[RachelG]

Thanks for posting your review. I must admit that I too was puzzled when hearing that the departure from Bali was delayed due to late arriving passengers as I thought if you were late to the ship, they wouldn't wait for you and that you are responsible for getting yourself to the next port. What kind of special passengers were these that the ship waited on them?

Also did not think it was possible to book just a portion of this trip.

[mrlevin]

Bali to Beijing was a posted "mini-segment" for this cruise. It has been sold as a mini-segment since at least last summer. In addition, a Sydney to Darwin mini-mini-segment has been on sale.

The original cruising time from Bali was 2300. It was moved up to 2030 because of tides, winds, and the need to get to the sandbar on time. As Regent sold the mini-segment with departure time of 2300, they had to wait for the arriving passengers.

[buddy5009]

We are on the Voyager and heard basically the same story as MrLevin regarding Sandarkan. The silver lining was that we were able to spend more time in Manila. My wife and I thought this was a good tradeoff; we booked a car and driver for the day and visited the volcano lake. And, the fillipino crew were, of course, estatic. We also agree with the comment on Townsville...better to have spent another day in Sydney or Cairnes.

[txladycruiser]

Thanks for posting your review. I must admit that I too was puzzled when hearing that the departure from Bali was delayed due to late arriving passengers as I thought if you were late to the ship, they wouldn't wait for you and that you are responsible for getting yourself to the next port. What kind of special passengers were these that the ship waited on them?

Also did not think it was possible to book just a portion of this trip.

 

 

I believe the "special" passengers may have been a guest lecturer. There may have been other passengers also.

 

Karen

[room010]

Yes, the extra time in Manila was certainly VERY popular with the Filippino crew who got to spend a few more precious hours with their families. Our stewardess was positively glowing with happiness at seeing her children again.

 

I also agree that another day in Sydney or even Cairns would be a better use of time. You can't possibly "do" Sydney in only one day and getting to/from the Great Barrier Reef off Cairns takes a good chunk of time too. Some of the Queensland excursions had to be curtailed or amended, eg, the Karunda railway trip, due to the after effects of the floods/cyclone but there was remarkably little disruption considering the destruction that occurred only a few days before.

 

According to the 2012 programme I've seen Regent will be offering the same itinerary next year with the addition of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea after (?) Thursday Island. I think with some relatively minor adjustments it could be substantially improved. Over to you, Regent!