Are some people too hard to please?

[eliana]

O to be an American. Maybe we should book through a US agent, but are prices higher across the pond!

Edited July 15, 2014 by eliana

[TedC]

It occurred to me that the very unhappy Regent critic could possibly have an easy excuse to never sail Regent again even if his wife or partner want Regent!

[Responder]

Eliana, maybe that is a UK thing, because in the US if the price reduces and your suite category is still available, they will rebook you at the lower price. You really have to look at it though, because sometimes it doesn't turn out to be less. Our TA does this automatically for us--which is great because it means I don't constantly have to be checking, and sometimes I get a nice email surprise telling me the cost of the trip has gone down.

 

Hmmm!

 

I am booked on a future cruise and paid in full.

 

A lower priced cabin became available on a GTY basis and both my TA and I called Regent.

 

The answer was that if they switched cabins I would have to pay the cancel and re-book penalty which would be more than the savings.

 

Where's the logic? And we are beyond Gold with Regent.

[RachelG]

If it is past the final payment date, you are definitely out of luck. I was talking about before final payment is due.

[kennicott]

Travel Cat 2 says: "In my opinion, it is not possible to define "luxury" as it is subjective. People that enjoy HAL or Princess will not automatically enjoy Regent. On the other hand, they may love Regent and never go back to anything less than "luxury".

 

Berlitz says it best: "Luxury cruising should be a flawless combination of ship, facilities, food and service. Unfortunately, the word has been degraded by marketing people and advertising agencies--you can even get a "luxury" burger these days".

 

I had to chuckle, when, after reading a number of previous posts regarding "luxury" I picked up one of my HAL brochures, on two of the first pages I quit counting the number of times they used the words "luxury", "luxurious", and luxuries---after 10. Suffice to say the Madison Avenue types regard them all as "luxury" lines.

 

Now, we use HAL, Princess and Regent regularly. Can't really regard any one of them as "Luxury". For the money though, on a generally equal length voyage in the same area of the globe with relatively similar shore excursions, Regent generally is a cut above in most categories, particularly the absence of nickel and diming so prevalent nowadays among most lines. But not always is Regent better. We had hundreds of sea days on HAL and Princess before we discovered Regent. Regent was great, but there is still a lot of reasons for us to enjoy Princess and HAL, the distinction is not all that much different. We certainly have not abandoned Princess and Hal, e.g.---we board the Royal Princess in 8 weeks.

 

But, when Regent compares prices for similar cruises with the other two, I believe that to be a logical comparison, it is not like an apple/orange thing. When those costs are remotely close, then it says something for the competitive value of Regent's service and product.

[jhp]

kenicott, I just returned from my first Princess cruise, and believe me, my impression is WAY less than the experience on Regent, but we all enjoyed it immensely! We had nice cabins about same size as Mariner, but with deeper balcony. My family all in a row with 3 mini-suite cabins.

 

I managed to avoid what I don't like about "big ships", and just walked past the crowded areas to other areas I saw along the way, certain bars were almost empty, everywhere, most of the time, as were certain sunning areas on the deck. It was my first cruise with them, after over 30 cruises with Regent, and I felt I got good value, all in all. Doesn't bother me to throw my card on the table for drinks, or wine with lunch dinner, or whatever. Our cabin credits took care of most of the damage. It is the excursions that can kill you on these cruises. So expensive, and if you take many, pricing more equal to Regent, but still the large number of pax.

 

From my long association with cruising Regent (and a couple on Silversea) I just can't put Princes and Regent in the same league, however. In any way at all, except for better pricing at the beginning.

 

For sure, I agree with your last paragraph.

[Travelcat2]

Travel Cat 2 says: "In my opinion, it is not possible to define "luxury" as it is subjective. People that enjoy HAL or Princess will not automatically enjoy Regent. On the other hand, they may love Regent and never go back to anything less than "luxury".

 

Berlitz says it best: "Luxury cruising should be a flawless combination of ship, facilities, food and service. Unfortunately, the word has been degraded by marketing people and advertising agencies--you can even get a "luxury" burger these days".

 

 

But, when Regent compares prices for similar cruises with the other two, I believe that to be a logical comparison, it is not like an apple/orange thing. When those costs are remotely close, then it says something for the competitive value of Regent's service and product.

 

I don't think that everyone agrees with Berlitz's opinion or the opinion of anyone who writes about travel. For instance, what would a "flawless" cabin look like? The same question can be asked about service..... what is "flawless" service? Not everyone wants someone watching them like a hawk while they are dining in what some restaurants think of as excellent service.

 

In terms of the comparisons, we may have to agree to disagree. Costs can certainly be compared - especially when you start with a suite that is equal to those on Regent. However, what about the ships? To my knowledge (and I could certainly be wrong), HAL, Princess and Celebrity do not have 490 or 700 passenger ships. They probably have more dining venues than Regent and more than likely more activities than Regent. IMO, even comparing Regent with Oceania is apples and oranges (although, since we sail on both lines, it isn't too difficult to compare prices for the suites, included alcohol, tips and internet). The "feeling" and atmosphere are not something you can compare as each of us have our own likes and dislikes. In terms of Oceania and Regent, there are very similarities.

 

Must agree 100% about a "luxury burger" but I would love to try one someday:)

Edited July 16, 2014 by Travelcat2

[dabear]

A few observations. Princess does have a 700 pax ship, the Pacific Princess, which is a former Rennisance r class ship. Princess has not upgraded it as much as the other r class ships in the Oceania or Azamara lines. While I do think RSSC's comparisons to other lines is a fair one , assuming like kind features, the other lines can be less expensive if you book excursions independent from the line . Other costs (air, drinks, gratuities, etc will be different from time to time).

[Travelcat2]

A few observations. Princess does have a 700 pax ship, the Pacific Princess, which is a former Rennisance r class ship. Princess has not upgraded it as much as the other r class ships in the Oceania or Azamara lines. While I do think RSSC's comparisons to other lines is a fair one , assuming like kind features, the other lines can be less expensive if you book excursions independent from the line . Other costs (air, drinks, gratuities, etc will be different from time to time).

 

Forgot about those ships (one of which is reportedly being sold to Oceania). Still when you compare "Princess" to "Regent" they do not specify whether it is a Princess 700 passenger ship (with tiny cabins, tiny bathrooms and no walk-in closet) or a 2,500 passenger Princess ship. IMO, more specificity is needed in order to even attempt that comparison. Also, I cannot think of "like" features other than, for instance, the Voyager and the "Pacific Princess" are both ships. They both sail on water. They both have 700 passengers - both serve food............. Perhaps you can help with what is alike with the Pacific Princess and the Voyager or Mariner (really not being sarcastic which isn't detectable when writing -- seriously cannot see similarities).

Edited July 16, 2014 by Travelcat2

[dabear]

Forgot about those ships (one of which is reportedly being sold to Oceania). Still when you compare "Princess" to "Regent" they do not specify whether it is a Princess 700 passenger ship (with tiny cabins, tiny bathrooms and no walk-in closet) or a 2,500 passenger Princess ship. IMO, more specificity is needed in order to even attempt that comparison. Also, I cannot think of "like" features other than, for instance, the Voyager and the "Pacific Princess" are both ships. They both sail on water. They both have 700 passengers - both serve food............. Perhaps you can help with what is alike with the Pacific Princess and the Voyager or Mariner (really not being sarcastic which isn't detectable when writing -- seriously cannot see similarities).

 

I agree that they are not comparable ships or comparable experiences, although the r class ships have beautiful libraries.

[LindaM]

I agree that they are not comparable ships or comparable experiences, although the r class ships have beautiful libraries.

 

The show lounge on the R ships is terrible. You cannot see the performers if someone is in front of you, as there is minimal grading and a very low ceiling.

 

I don't see why Regent can't compare itself to another line, if they are comparing the same size of cabin. On other lines, you have to pay through the nose to get a 300 sq.ft. cabin and I'm not even thinking about the huge bathrooms. I actually think Regent is a good value...but mostly for people who drink and like included excursions.

 

Flawless service....I just want someone to take my order. They do that on other lines. You don't walk up to the bar and wait while the bartender is shmoozing with others. Or, there is only one person taking orders in the showlounge. Also, it's nice to be able to find a cleaned off table for breakfast or lunch. I'm not saying Regent is bad. We just had one bad experience that should not have happened. I expect people to do their jobs. And, managers to manage. I'm sure our next experience will not be a repeat.

[Suite Travels]

Forgot about those ships (one of which is reportedly being sold to Oceania). Still when you compare "Princess" to "Regent" they do not specify whether it is a Princess 700 passenger ship (with tiny cabins, tiny bathrooms and no walk-in closet) or a 2,500 passenger Princess ship. IMO, more specificity is needed in order to even attempt that comparison. Also, I cannot think of "like" features other than, for instance, the Voyager and the "Pacific Princess" are both ships. They both sail on water. They both have 700 passengers - both serve food............. Perhaps you can help with what is alike with the Pacific Princess and the Voyager or Mariner (really not being sarcastic which isn't detectable when writing -- seriously cannot see similarities).

 

Jackie, he is comparing apples to oranges. How can one compare Regent, Crystal, Silversea, Seabourn with NCL or Princess or any mass market line.:eek:

[jhp]

As I said above, I just got off a Princess cruise to Alaska; we had small children with us, it was a more appropriate family cruise, for the little ones, so I chose to cruise this line, and the price was great, and I arranged private tours for some ports. We had a lot of fun, but I did not expect Regent,when I pay so much less. I was pleasantly surprised.

 

I noticed that every day, everyone onboard up and about seemed so happy, as luckily we had good weather. The public areas were beautiful, the service and food in the DR was fine, there were many areas that were not crowded, and some were, because of all the activity. I chose to avoid those events, just not for me on a ship. Tough for me to take in the big ship experience, so I choose to whittle it down to what I like.Their small kids club was nice.

 

I, for one, just do not think it is helpful to anyone who has not cruised a line to pass judgment if they have not cruised them. It happens from time to time here. Best just to post about those ships you have sailed. We all read and hear about other lines from friends, but if you haven't experienced them, how can you comment on a board like this dedicated to one line when you haven't cruised the other lines?

 

suite travels, I have no idea what your past cruise experiences are, except I know you like and know other "luxury lines". Of course they are apples and oranges. Why can't one enjoy both fruits under different circumstances? No offense intended.

 

Regent can do anything they want with cost comparisons so long as the facts are correct.. But I know any excursion on any line when it involves a boat or a plane is very expensive when it is not included. Either way, you pay in the end. To each his own. I know R will be my line of choice many times into the future, but I will continue to look at others as well.

Edited July 17, 2014 by jhp

[Travelcat2]

Jackie, he is comparing apples to oranges. How can one compare Regent, Crystal, Silversea, Seabourn with NCL or Princess or any mass market line.:eek:

 

Guess you see it the way that I do. Also, thankfully there is no need to board NCL, Princess or any other mass market line in order to know the sizes of their ships, the sizes of their suites and the "class distinctions" that exist on each line as these facts are clearly spelled out on the respective websites. Obviously we do not know what the food tastes like or what the atmosphere is on these ships. However, people looking at Regent are in the same boat (so to speak). They only know what they are told by their TA, friends and the general comments on Cruise Critic.

 

I have recently posted on another thread that the officers and crew that change between Oceania and Regent agree that there are few similarities between the two cruise lines even though one is luxury and the other is ultra premium. Prior to my sailing on Oceania I read that they were quite similar. Having cruised them once with another booked, from our perspective, Regent and Oceania are apples and oranges;)

 

jhp: Surprised to read that you will be sailing Oceania's "R" ships in the future (unless my assumption is incorrect...... the only "R" ships I'm aware of are on Oceania). Actually, I get confused when initials are used since "O" can be Oceania or can mean the "O" class ships (Marina or Riviera). "R" is their "R" class ships but sometimes I confuse it and think they are talking about Regent.

 

In any event, Regent will market their ships the way they want to. We have spoken to many people -- mainly from HAL, Oceania and Princess -- that did not find that Regent met their expectations. My main point on this thread is that it isn't all about $$$ -- it is about the whole experience. Hopefully people considering Regent will do research and determine if Regent is the right fit for them. Hopefully, if Regent isn't, Oceania will be. :)

[Suite Travels]

Guess you see it the way that I do. Also, thankfully there is no need to board NCL, Princess or any other mass market line in order to know the sizes of their ships, the sizes of their suites and the "class distinctions" that exist on each line as these facts are clearly spelled out on the respective websites. Obviously we do not know what the food tastes like or what the atmosphere is on these ships. However, people looking at Regent are in the same boat (so to speak). They only know what they are told by their TA, friends and the general comments on Cruise Critic.

 

I have recently posted on another thread that the officers and crew that change between Oceania and Regent agree that there are few similarities between the two cruise lines even though one is luxury and the other is ultra premium. Prior to my sailing on Oceania I read that they were quite similar. Having cruised them once with another booked, from our perspective, Regent and Oceania are apples and oranges;)

 

jhp: Surprised to read that you will be sailing Oceania's "R" ships in the future (unless my assumption is incorrect...... the only "R" ships I'm aware of are on Oceania). Actually, I get confused when initials are used since "O" can be Oceania or can mean the "O" class ships (Marina or Riviera). "R" is their "R" class ships but sometimes I confuse it and think they are talking about Regent.

 

In any event, Regent will market their ships the way they want to. We have spoken to many people -- mainly from HAL, Oceania and Princess -- that did not find that Regent met their expectations. My main point on this thread is that it isn't all about $$$ -- it is about the whole experience. Hopefully people considering Regent will do research and determine if Regent is the right fit for them. Hopefully, if Regent isn't, Oceania will be. :)

 

I did mean the Oceania ships. I read your blog when you sailed with them and it peeked our interest. So why not give it a try. We have sailed Princess twice, Celebrity and Carnival. Celebrity was not too bad. Thank goodness we all have choices.

 

I just noticed you were replying to JHP. I need another cup of coffee.

[kennicott]

R-ships =Renaissance Cruises. Most everyone knows of the famous, or infamous, R-Ships of Renaissance. This was a response to Travelcat 2's comment and reply to Dabar, that Princess has no small ships--which Princess indeed does, "R-class". Actually, not long ago and for a while Princess operated three of these R ships, Tahitian Princess, Pacific Princess and the second Royal Princes, (Tahitian now name changed to Ocean Princess is still ready for your booking).

 

Anyone familiar with Oceania should know that R class ships were the backbone of Oceania which began when Frank Del Rio, former CEO of Renaissance,drug himself up out of the economic gutter, after the disastrous financial collapse of Del Rio's "Renaissance" and founded Oceania, by breathing life into a couple of the R Ships then in receivership, moth-balled and coated with cosmoline.

 

Like Princess, Oceania still operates the same ships.

 

http://oceanliner-pictures.com/cruise-blog/news/the-eight-cruise-ships-of-the-r-class-of-renaissance-cruises-for-which-shipping-company-they-cruise-today.html

Edited July 18, 2014 by kennicott

[jhp]

Guess you see it the way that I do. Also, thankfully there is no need to board NCL, Princess or any other mass market line in order to know the

 

jhp: Surprised to read that you will be sailing Oceania's "R" ships

 

:)

 

TC of course, to me, and should possibly be to you as well, R ships mean Regent to me,since we both cruise them all the time. I had no idea that could be misinterpreted to a long time cruiser as you. I have not cruised Oceania yet, hope to someday, but not yet.

 

Way too many good cruises booked into the future on Regent and another, but I just finished a very nice cruise on a big line,with my family and grandchildren, and have another cruise in the future on a former Ren ship, if that is any interest to you, which it won't. The point of my previous post, as in times past, is that until you have sailed on a particular line, you are simply not qualified to post a "real review". That is the purpose of this board, to truly be able to post an on any cruise line one has sailed. Just my opinion.

Edited July 18, 2014 by jhp

[nana541]

Kennicott thanks for posting that info...very interesting link!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[hondorner]

...Anyone familiar with Oceania should know that R class ships were the backbone of Oceania which began when Frank Del Rio, former CEO of Renaissance,drug himself up out of the economic gutter, after the disastrous financial collapse of Del Rio's "Renaissance" and founded Oceania, by breathing life into a couple of the R Ships then in receivership, moth-balled and coated with cosmoline.

The only thing wrong with your description is that Frank Del rio was never in an "economic gutter", and it wasn't Del Rio's Renaissance.

 

FDR was indeed Co-CEO of Renaissance for a period, but he was never the sole CEO, nor was he the owner of the cruise line. His Co-CEO was in charge of operations while he was in charge of marketing. He was named co-CEO after the then owner's policies placed them in jeopardy. The primary problem was they eschewed travel agents in a period when most cruisers depended on TA's to recommend a cruise. Del Rio changed that problem and led Ren back towards financial health.

 

In fact, Ren became so much more economically viable under Del Rio's guidance they became attractive to buyers. The cruise line was sold in May, 2001. However, the new owners had their own candidate for CEO and Del Rio and his Co-CEO were shuffled out.

 

The new owners were not able to continue that economic viability and in September, 2001, after the tragedy of 9/11 made it clear that travel would not be at the forefront for some period of time, the new owners of Renaissance declared bankruptcy.

 

Approximately a year later, in 2002, the receiver for the 8 "R" ships recognized the sound management of Del Rio while he was Co-CEO of Ren and offered him the opportunity to charter one or more of the ships. He formed a new company with about $14M in capital (a pittance in the cruise industry), built an organization and sailed the maiden voyage on July 5, 2003. Approximately 4 years later, in 2007, he sold about 70% of the company to Apollo Management for something around $1Billion -- an incredible gain.

 

Wisely, Apollo retained the entire management team, and after their 2007 purchase of Regent, rolled both cruise lines into a new division of Apollo called Prestige Cruise Holdings, elevating Del Rio and his management team to run both cruise lines. Since then, they have purchased the chartered R ships, constructed 2 new highly regarded ships, completely renovated the 3 Regent ships and are constructing a new Regent ship that is due to be the most luxurious ship at sea. Their 3 "R" ships are actually in better condition than when new, something that cannot be said for the others, including Azamara and especially the Princess and P&O R ships.

 

There is no comparable success story in the cruise industry; so much for the "economic gutter."

[Travelcat2]

Don, thank you so much for posting the true story -- it was needed on this thread (IMO).

 

In terms of "O", "R", etc., as a newbie to Oceania, I had no idea what people on the Oceania board were talking about when they use initials as I had no reason to know the history of the cruise line (wasn't it over 10 years ago that Renaissance went out of business?) Once I sailed on the newest "O" class ship on "O", I understood and still dislike the initials (for those of you who speak English, I wrote "Once I sailed on the Riviera on Oceania........")

 

JHP, I did understand what you meant -- just showing how easily the initials can be misinterpreted - sorry:o I'm glad that you enjoyed Princess and think that you would probably enjoy Oceania. In terms of giving opinions (based on statistics on websites) of ships we have not sailed on...... guess we will not agree on that subject. Prior to our sailing on Silversea and Oceania, I did a lot of research and found no surprises when we went on board. While we did not know what the atmosphere would feel like, everything else was pretty much as expected. Actually IMO, you can't really tell what the atmosphere on Regent will be since it varies from cruise to cruise. The first segment of this cruise was quite different than this one (not bad or good - just different).

[trvlrs]

We sailed with Regent on the Voyager and thought everything was perfect.

 

We had a very different experience on Regent Mariner the past 10 days. Service was good, suites and hallways in need of update and the officers quite arrogant.

What I mean by this, it is easy when everything is running smoothly to give a great review but a company is really judged by how well they handle a glitch or a problem and Mariner unfortunately did not come to par. It is very poorly managed.

A 3 hour check in for us (4 hours for others) and no Regent representative in sight to assist. We put the episode behind us and had a great cruise only to experience similar chaos at check out. Absolutely not acceptable!!

 

I am sure your cruise will go well and you will have a lovely time....

[dabear]

Let me add one additional factor to Hondoener's story of R (Renaissance) .R was unique in marketing as it booked directly with pax, bypassing (or without paying commissions to TAs). After 9/11 and an economic downturn in the cruise industry, TAs were not about to recommend R since the market was tough and they would not get any financial benefit from a booking with R. I believe the eight popular r class ships were sold off to 3 different cruise lines. They are nice, somewhat elegant ships but the standard balcony & other cabins (+ the washrooms) are small. We've been on 3 of those ships, O's Regatta, Azamara Journey and Tahitian Princess.

Edited July 21, 2014 by dabear

[findacruise]

We sailed with Regent on the Voyager and thought everything was perfect.

 

We had a very different experience on Regent Mariner the past 10 days. Service was good, suites and hallways in need of update and the officers quite arrogant.

What I mean by this, it is easy when everything is running smoothly to give a great review but a company is really judged by how well they handle a glitch or a problem and Mariner unfortunately did not come to par. It is very poorly managed.

A 3 hour check in for us (4 hours for others) and no Regent representative in sight to assist. We put the episode behind us and had a great cruise only to experience similar chaos at check out. Absolutely not acceptable!!

I am sure your cruise will go well and you will have a lovely time....

 

I was dismayed to hear this about the Mariner suites and hallways being in need of an updated. Guess they weren't attended to on recent drydock...or am I mixed up...thought she was updated. We sail on her in February. Other items of concern, too, but hopefully more easily corrected.

[trvlrs]

I was too! I was given the impression on this board that the ship was refurbished. The lounges were and I believe most common areas as well as the name suites. We had a category C on the 10th floor and those were old as well as the hallway. Sorry....

[spindrift]

We have been on Oceania 15 times with a 16th the first of next month, so obviously we are their cheerleaders because every aspect has been to our satisfaction. My husband's favorite spot is the Terrace for most all meals where we can sit outside and enjoy the fresh air & sights (depending on the weather, of course). The staff, and we mean all of them, are outstanding. We cannot recall any issues with the staff in our trips with Oceania.

 

True that the standard rooms are somewhat small. We previously had PH category and moved to Concierge because we just didn't take advantage of the butler's service plus the trips are port intensive, and we were not in the room very often; however, they were well appointed.

 

The only dislike I have are the cabanas. They blocked the whole front of the ship if you wished to view outside forward.

 

We love the Marina as the rooms are more roomy, and we love the Concierge Lounge, which we use regularly. Very nice.

 

We, however, changed from Oceania to Regent for our Cape Town to Singapore trip as I felt there were many more perks. We are really excited about sailing on Regent. Our neighbor has been on many, many Regent, and recommends them highly. The one thing I will miss is seeing the crew with whom we became so familiar. It was great to board O and see all the faces, and even some of the crew remembered us by name.

 

I'm sure that if we find the Regent experience as good (I'm sure we will since it is under FDR), then we will get to know the crew as well. with regular sailings. It is like "coming home." Can't wait for our first w/R.

Edited August 1, 2014 by spindrift