Live from Mariner - July 9th Civitavecchia to Venice

[Sunprince]

So sorry to hear about your terrible experience on the Mariner. I am considering a Mariner sailing for next summer but if this is any indication of the experience, then I will be heading over to Silversea. Anyway...perhaps you should write a formal letter/complaint to executive management at Regent (and copy FDR) and explain all the things that did not meet expectations. I would think a goodwill gesture is appropriate in your situation. Shame about the officers behavior on the ship..these are the people that you need to count on when things go wrong and I think Regent executive management needs to hear this feedback directly from you.

 

ps, in your letter, include the part of the staff reusing towels at the pool! If a poor guest expereince doesn't get their attention then a health/sanitation issue normally does!

[RachelG]

I am not familiar with this CD. She was not the same as we had last month on Mariner, and I have not heard this name before so she is either totally new or brought over from Oceania. That is probably part of the problem.

[trvlrs]

I am not familiar with this CD. She was not the same as we had last month on Mariner, and I have not heard this name before so she is either totally new or brought over from Oceania. That is probably part of the problem.

 

She was quite young, barely 30 years of age or younger. We did not see her during disembarkation and as I said earlier only on TV, the constellation theatre at the end of the show and during trivia. I don't think she interacted much with guests but I could be wrong. We didn't see much of her....

 

I remember quite well the CD we had on Voyager, a very interesting man. Who can forget his signature sentence over the loud speaker every morning: "It's a Gloorious day!!" ? I remember him interacting with guests. In the morning, he was always around the coffee connection and La Veranda talking to guests. In the evening, we saw him quite often in the observation lounge and then in the horizon lounge. He seemed to be everywhere....

[trvlrs]

So sorry to hear about your terrible experience on the Mariner. I am considering a Mariner sailing for next summer but if this is any indication of the experience, then I will be heading over to Silversea. Anyway...perhaps you should write a formal letter/complaint to executive management at Regent (and copy FDR) and explain all the things that did not meet expectations. I would think a goodwill gesture is appropriate in your situation. Shame about the officers behavior on the ship..these are the people that you need to count on when things go wrong and I think Regent executive management needs to hear this feedback directly from you.

 

ps, in your letter, include the part of the staff reusing towels at the pool! If a poor guest expereince doesn't get their attention then a health/sanitation issue normally does!

 

Sunprince, I might follow your advice and I better do it soon before I calm down. Pardon my ignorance, what does FDR stand for?

 

Our cruise wasn't terrible. We had a great time!! We usually don't like to complain. We take things with a grain of salt and as part of the travel adventure.

 

We had a series of unfortunate events and the last one tipped the scale:

- Very long check in lines

- We thought the ship was refurbished and the suites weren't (small disappointment)

- All elevators not working for a few hours (felt sorry for the elderly around dinner time)

- Espresso machine out of order in the pool area

- Used pool towels refolded (I know a few guests complained. Heard a few around the pool and someone said they brought it up to the GM attention)

- the final straw was the way the checkout of our group color was handled

 

I doubt and I sure hope it is not the norm but as I said I needed to vent....

This cruise was world apart from the impeccable voyage we had on Voyager.

[Travelcat2]

FDR is Frank Del Rio, CEO of Prestige Cruise Holdings which is the parent company of Regent and Oceania. Kunal Kamlani is President of Regent and Oceania (just added that in case you wanted to write to him).

[Sunprince]

Sunprince, I might follow your advice and I better do it soon before I calm down. Pardon my ignorance, what does FDR stand for?

 

Our cruise wasn't terrible. We had a great time!! We usually don't like to complain. We take things with a grain of salt and as part of the travel adventure.

 

We had a series of unfortunate events and the last one tipped the scale:

- Very long check in lines

- We thought the ship was refurbished and the suites weren't (small disappointment)

- All elevators not working for a few hours (felt sorry for the elderly around dinner time)

- Espresso machine out of order in the pool area

- Used pool towels refolded (I know a few guests complained. Heard a few around the pool and someone said they brought it up to the GM attention)

- the final straw was the way the checkout of our group color was handled

 

I doubt and I sure hope it is not the norm but as I said I needed to vent....

This cruise was world apart from the impeccable voyage we had on Voyager.

 

 

I agree...I rarely complain about the small things and try to make the best of things when something goes wrong. However, your experience in Venice and the terrible disembarkation process was unacceptable. Not knowing where your luggage was and being denied disembarkation in combination with the absece of the ship's officers is (I want to say negligent but will likely get in trouble for that) so I will just say it is grossly inadequate of the usual Regent experience!

Edited July 23, 2014 by Sunprince

[trvlrs]

FDR is Frank Del Rio, CEO of Prestige Cruise Holdings which is the parent company of Regent and Oceania. Kunal Kamlani is President of Regent and Oceania (just added that in case you wanted to write to him).

 

Thank you Travelcat2 :)

[trvlrs]

I agree...I rarely complain about the small things and try to make the best of things when something goes wrong. However, your experience in Venice and the terrible disembarkation process was unacceptable. Not knowing where your luggage was and being denied disembarkation in combination with the absece of the ship's officers is (I want to say negligent but will likely get in trouble for that) so I will just say it is grossly inadequate of the usual Regent experience!

 

I'll keep you posted if I ever hear from Regent....

[rarin2go]

We have also had negative experiences with embarkation and (to a lesser degree) disembarkation and with excursions. The common factor, I believe, is that all three are organised by Destination Services and that department is, it seems to me, the largest source of complaints about the otherwise excellent RSSC product.

 

Unfortunately Destination Services do not seem to be the responsibility of any of the officers on-board and undoubtedly they have a difficult job to do, heavily reliant as they are on external service providers in the various ports but this does not, IMO, excuse the failure adequately to inform passengers - at times the impression given is of passengers being simply an unavoidable complication of their lives.

 

It's such a shame as excursions are now so central a part of Regent's marketing and disembarkation is Regent's last chance to reinforce the '6 star luxury service' message.

[Travelcat2]

As most of you know, embarkation and disembarkation is not handled by Regent employees -- it is handled by port employees. They hold Regent signs, etc. in order to direct passengers to their luggage, transportation, etc.

 

Destination Services is run out of the main office in Florida (not by the officers on board). While officers try to assist passengers with issues related to Destination Services, the actual control is not with them.

 

As a person who does not like included excursions (as I've said hundreds of times), I feel that writing your experiences on your questionnaire (as both my DH and I did yesterday) is extremely important. Information about excursions need to be filtered through to headquarters and this is the best way to do it (other than writing them directly).

 

Just adding my two cents.

[rarin2go]

As most of you know, embarkation and disembarkation is not handled by Regent employees -- it is handled by port employees.

 

As stated in my post I do know that the shore-side handlers are not Regent employees but external agencies. But Destination Services organises and employs these external agents and is therefore responsible for the issues that arise in terms of customer relations. It may be that it cannot prevent issues arising shore-side but it should be doing all it can to inform passengers and minimise their impact - there does not seem to be much evidence of this happening.

 

The point of my post was not to seek advice on complaining or completing cruise questionnaires but to express my opinion of the impact of Destination Services shortcomings on Regent's reputation.

[marinaro44]

Destination Services is run out of the main office in Florida (not by the officers on board). While officers try to assist passengers with issues related to Destination Services, the actual control is not with them.

If this is the case it is a big mistake. The hotel director or general manager should have this group in his or her domain. Too many things can go wrong with excursions and disembarkation procedures and there needs to be a senior manager on board the ship to resolve them. Saying "it's a main office in Florida problem" is simply weak.

 

Speaking of senior officers, during our 25 days on Regent they were conspicuous by their invisibility. We never saw the General Manager until our 25th night when we encountered--you guessed it--a disembarkation problem. Senior officers should be regularly engaged with passengers so that if any kind of issue or significant annoyance arises, a passenger can raise it directly without being made to feel as if he was asking for an audience with the Pope. This is simply good business, as it resolves problems before they fester and wind up as a public gripe on Cruise Critic.

[Responder]

If this is the case it is a big mistake. The hotel director or general manager should have this group in his or her domain. Too many things can go wrong with excursions and disembarkation procedures and there needs to be a senior manager on board the ship to resolve them. Saying "it's a main office in Florida problem" is simply weak.

 

Speaking of senior officers, during our 25 days on Regent they were conspicuous by their invisibility. We never saw the General Manager until our 25th night when we encountered--you guessed it--a disembarkation problem. Senior officers should be regularly engaged with passengers so that if any kind of issue or significant annoyance arises, a passenger can raise it directly without being made to feel as if he was asking for an audience with the Pope. This is simply good business, as it resolves problems before they fester and wind up as a public gripe on Cruise Critic.

 

Good post...

 

We are beyond Gold with Regent and have had little or no engaging with senior officers over the last 10 years. Once in a while we may get to know a Maitre 'd or Sommelier, but we don't seem to get invited to the dinners and events with the senior staff that some others post about.

One recent posting talked about dining 7 nights in Prime7 with various officers. We seem to be limited to maybe a handshake at the Captain's dinner.

 

We, as other, have had a few problems over the years with excursions before they were inclusive. On those occasions when the excursion was unsatisfactory, in order to cancel or adjust our charges, they always had to contact the home office for permission.

[Mjflowers]

Good post...

 

We are beyond Gold with Regent and have had little or no engaging with senior officers over the last 10 years. Once in a while we may get to know a Maitre 'd or Sommelier, but we don't seem to get invited to the dinners and events with the senior staff that some others post about.

One recent posting talked about dining 7 nights in Prime7 with various officers. We seem to be limited to maybe a handshake at the Captain's dinner.

 

We, as other, have had a few problems over the years with excursions before they were inclusive. On those occasions when the excursion was unsatisfactory, in order to cancel or adjust our charges, they always had to contact the home office for permission.

 

It would seem that one must seek out the senior officers. Let it be known that you are there. Engage conversation with them. You might have to tackle one to get his or her attention, but a little jocularity is well worth the extra dinners in Prime or Signatures. Isn't it?:confused: 7 nights? That has to be a record.

[Travelcat2]

If this is the case it is a big mistake. The hotel director or general manager should have this group in his or her domain. Too many things can go wrong with excursions and disembarkation procedures and there needs to be a senior manager on board the ship to resolve them. Saying "it's a main office in Florida problem" is simply weak.

 

Speaking of senior officers, during our 25 days on Regent they were conspicuous by their invisibility. We never saw the General Manager until our 25th night when we encountered--you guessed it--a disembarkation problem. Senior officers should be regularly engaged with passengers so that if any kind of issue or significant annoyance arises, a passenger can raise it directly without being made to feel as if he was asking for an audience with the Pope. This is simply good business, as it resolves problems before they fester and wind up as a public gripe on Cruise Critic.

 

Are your 25 days on Regent one cruise? The reason I ask is that we have noticed that Oceania General Managers that transfer on to Regent do not tend to engage guests as much as Regent G.M.'s do. It has to do with the culture on Oceania -- very different than Regent. The G.M. on our current cruise is an exception.... he is from Oceania and has sailed on Regent a few times and embraces the Regent culture. He is very easy to talk to and regularly has dinner with guests.

 

It is true that you do need to make an effort to get to know the officers on board. It seems as if most invitations to dinner are for the highest levels of the Seven Seas Society and guests in the top suites (Grand or Master). They also invite people they have met on past cruises. This cruise has, at least for us, been unusual in terms of our interaction with officers that we did not know previously. The lost luggage issue had us in contact with the G.M. and Executive Concierge on a daily basis. The result was us having more invitations than we typically do on a cruise.

 

Regarding the excursions (that I dislike most of the time), they have changed the procedures numerous times and none seem to work well. The best disembarkation to board buses, IMO, was in St. Petersburg. Due to immigration/passport issues, they cannot assign buses inside of the theater. And, you need to be holding your tour ticket when you get off of the ship. Once you are off of the ship you are handed a bus ticket. This sure was better than waiting in the theater and having people stampede to the desk to get a bus ticket when the tour was called.

 

It really sounds as if almost all of us would have been frustrated with this Mariner cruise. My fingers are crossed that our disembarkation tomorrow goes easily -- especially our ship is due to be one hour late (no fault of Regent's).

[marinaro44]

This isn't about dinner reservations. It's about good management practice. On ships with $500-1000 per day fares, where expectations are especially high, this is even more important.

 

Senior officers (i.e., captain, hotel director, food and beverage manager, etc.) Should ask to join tables at breakfast, brunch, and lunch buffets, greet passengers returning from excursions at the gangway, roam the coffee bar several times a day. As one Azamara captain said to my wife: "This is how I get the pulse of the ship." Running past passengers through the corridors while being video recorded is no substitute for substantive engagement with passengers.

[Travelcat2]

This isn't about dinner reservations. It's about good management practice. On ships with $500-1000 per day fares, where expectations are especially high, this is even more important.

 

Senior officers (i.e., captain, hotel director, food and beverage manager, etc.) Should ask to join tables at breakfast, brunch, and lunch buffets, greet passengers returning from excursions at the gangway, roam the coffee bar several times a day. As one Azamara captain said to my wife: "This is how I get the pulse of the ship." Running past passengers through the corridors while being video recorded is no substitute for substantive engagement with passengers.

 

 

Hmmmmmm, not disagreeing, but the Captain is "driving" the ship and checking routes most of the time (while the ship is occasionally on auto-pilot, they use manual ways to navigate the ship). The G.M. (formerly Hotel Manager) is up to his ears in handling things on board. For instance, on the last segment there were 50 people without luggage. He coordinated with the Executive Concierge for 12 days to get luggage for the passengers. Also, when a couple was "missing" in a port, he was personally walking the the streets to find them. On this cruise, there was the port security alert yesterday which required him to contact headquarters in Florida. Additionally, he had to put a plan in place to assist passengers whose flights will be disrupted due to the late arrival of the Voyager.

 

The officers do go through the Coffee Connection several times a day. They are also on the gangway very often when guests embark and debark. Based on your comment, I wonder if they are recognized. Sometimes they are not in their formal uniforms but always have the "stripes" on whatever they are wearing. Also, their offices are very visible on the Voyager and Mariner (not sure about Navigator) and their doors are open 90% of the time. Anyone (passengers or crew) are welcome to go in ...... ask questions...... state concerns, etc.

 

We have not been at a meal in La Veranda, Compass Rose, Prime 7 or Signatures where we have not seen the Food and Beverage Director, Assistant Food and Beverage Director and Dining Room Manager. They are always there -- visiting tables and asking if everything is okay. On this cruise, the Executive Chef has visited tables multiple times. I'm really puzzled as to what more is expected of them.

 

In terms of joining guests for lunch or dinner........ most of the time they eat in about 20 minutes and return to their duties. When they host a table with guests, the meal tends to last up to 2 hours. Obviously they do not have time to do 2 hour lunches and/or dinners every day.

 

I agree that the fares on luxury lines are high. However, we find the officers on Regent more accessible than on Silversea (we have sailed on Silversea three times) and on their sister cruise line, Oceania (granted - this is a ultra premium cruise line) but still....... there is little to no interaction with officers on these cruise lines.

 

Perhaps you will look closer at who stops by your table at meals and who greets you when you board the ship. You may be pleasantly surprised:)

[marinaro44]

Hmmmmmm, not disagreeing, but the Captain is "driving" the ship and checking routes most of the time (while the ship is occasionally on auto-pilot, they use manual ways to navigate the ship). The G.M. (formerly Hotel Manager) is up to his ears in handling things on board. For instance, on the last segment there were 50 people without luggage. He coordinated with the Executive Concierge for 12 days to get luggage for the passengers. Also, when a couple was "missing" in a port, he was personally walking the the streets to find them. On this cruise, there was the port security alert yesterday which required him to contact headquarters in Florida. Additionally, he had to put a plan in place to assist passengers whose flights will be disrupted due to the late arrival of the Voyager.

 

The officers do go through the Coffee Connection several times a day. They are also on the gangway very often when guests embark and debark. Based on your comment, I wonder if they are recognized. Sometimes they are not in their formal uniforms but always have the "stripes" on whatever they are wearing. Also, their offices are very visible on the Voyager and Mariner (not sure about Navigator) and their doors are open 90% of the time. Anyone (passengers or crew) are welcome to go in ...... ask questions...... state concerns, etc.

 

We have not been at a meal in La Veranda, Compass Rose, Prime 7 or Signatures where we have not seen the Food and Beverage Director, Assistant Food and Beverage Director and Dining Room Manager. They are always there -- visiting tables and asking if everything is okay. On this cruise, the Executive Chef has visited tables multiple times. I'm really puzzled as to what more is expected of them.

 

In terms of joining guests for lunch or dinner........ most of the time they eat in about 20 minutes and return to their duties. When they host a table with guests, the meal tends to last up to 2 hours. Obviously they do not have time to do 2 hour lunches and/or dinners every day.

 

I agree that the fares on luxury lines are high. However, we find the officers on Regent more accessible than on Silversea (we have sailed on Silversea three times) and on their sister cruise line, Oceania (granted - this is a ultra premium cruise line) but still....... there is little to no interaction with officers on these cruise lines.

 

Perhaps you will look closer at who stops by your table at meals and who greets you when you board the ship. You may be pleasantly surprised:)

I'm sorry to have to say this but most of what you wrote above about the senior officers is just laughable. Either that or Regent ships are so poorly run that the senior officers are consistently having to put out fires resulting from incompetent or poorly-trained staff. There are at least five officers on the bridge staff who are capable of "steering the ship," for example.

 

I will restate that on my 25 days I did not lay eyes on the general manager until the 25th night when I had to ask at the guest relations desk to see him and was treated as if I had asked the impossible. Rather than emerge from his office somewhere behind the guest relations desk to come to see me, a guest with a grievance, I had to be escorted to his office to see him.

 

You would really boost your credibility here if you'd stop defending Regent from every bit of warranted criticism that appears on this board. Oh, and I do know how to recognize four and four-and-a-half stripers when I see them. You needn't be so condescending.

Edited July 25, 2014 by marinaro44

[Patti22]

I agree with TravelCat2,

We have been on, I believe, 8 Regents cruises (don't know exactly how many days) and we have always interacted with the senior officers. They are everywhere and always speak to guests who speak to them. I also agree that they have a lot of responsibility and can't be out and about all of the time.

 

Food and Beverage Director and Dining Room Managers were always present and wandered from table to table to see that all was okay.

 

Marinao44, it just sounds like you have had a different experience, but it is not our experience at all.

[Sunprince]

Personally I don't understand the attraction to dining with the ship officers. Perhaps it is enjoyable for some, or simply makes them feel more important. I would rather interact with other interesting passengers.

 

Regarding dining multiple times in the speciality restaurants with the ships officers - I disagree with this practice as I think it is unfair to those passengers who are trying to book a reservation in those restaurants. Ships officers should not be taking up that space that paying passengers should. If they want to host a table then it should be in the main dining room.

 

Also, dining with the officers encourages a bit of a "class system" where some guests are percieved as being more important than others. One of the best selling points of Regent was supposed to be that everyone is treated the same once on board, but is that really the case?

Edited July 25, 2014 by Sunprince

[Responder]

Personally I don't understand the attraction to dining with the ship officers. Perhaps it is enjoyable for some, or simply makes them feel more important. I would rather interact with other interesting passengers.

 

Regarding dining multiple times in the speciality restaurants with the ships officers - I disagree with this practice as I think it is unfair to those passengers who are trying to book a reservation in those restaurants. Ships officers should not be taking up that space that paying passengers should. If they want to host a table then it should be in the main dining room.

 

Also, dining with the officers encourages a bit of a "class system" where some guests are percieved as being more important than others. One of the best selling points of Regent was supposed to be that everyone is treated the same once on board, but is that really the case?

 

My friend....

 

You said it far better than I could..

 

The only advantage the few times over the years that I was invited to dine with some staff member or such, was that they served a better quality wine than the ordinary mortals received.

 

No matter how many times you may hear to the contrary, and you will shortly hear it again, a pseudo class system does exist...certainly on Regent as well as any other ship I have been on.

You made a very valid point about the officers taking up space in the specialty restaurants and as we have read, keep inviting the same privileged guests over and over. We have often seen this on Regent for sure.

[RachelG]

We usually are invited to dine with senior officers once or twice per cruise on Regent. And usually enjoy it very much. It is not something we seek out, but if given the invitation, we generally accept. The GM on our recent Mariner cruise was very helpful with sorting out my computer issues, and I truly appreciated his efforts. If we had not had dinner with him early on in the cruise, where I mentioned the problem I was having, I would have never thought to even ask his assistance.

 

I do think the senior officers are more approachable and interact more with passengers on Regent than on either Silversea or Oceania. But that could be just because we have more days on Regent than the other two, so you just get to know people more with time.

[wripro]

Agree with Sunprince. Officers are there to run the ship, not be social companions. Most dinners with officers include forced conversations and many are just not that good at socializing. That's not a criticism, It's not their job. We don't ask the entertainers to drive the ship. Why should we ask the officers to amuse us?

[EAGLESLOVER]

I have to agree with Rachel G.

We have only been on two Regent cruises with our third scheduled for September. We certainly cannot be thought of as Regent regulars or long-timers. We both work very hard to be able to cruise occasionally on Regent, which is a luxury for us.

We were lucky enough to have Lorraine as CD on both cruises, first on the Mariner and then on the Navigator. When we reintroduced ourselves on the Navigator she invited us to Dinner.

We had a lovely time with her and the director of entertainment for Regent (and Oceania I believe) who was on board due to the introduction of new shows, and two other couples.

We learned all about how entertainment is chosen and what is involved with putting on the shows. Lorraine is a wonderful CD and a lovely person and a good time was had by all.

[Travelcat2]

marinaro44: Sorry that you feel that my posts are condescending - they are not meant to be. If you were discussing excursions, you would not see me defending Regent. It depends upon the subject of the thread.

 

Sunprince: I do understand that not all passengers have an interest in interacting with the officers and/or staff. We find the officers and crew more interesting than passengers -- only because most passengers are doing the same thing that we are........ traveling around the world on land and/or ships. We have made lifelong friends with passengers on Regent but have also done so with officers and the crew. It is simply a matter of different likes and tastes.

 

In terms of a "class system", I suggest that you (or anyone else) sail on Oceania or any other premium or main stream cruise line to see a true class system. There is a class system on Regent based upon how many nights you have sailed on Regent. IMO, Regent officers can dine with whomever they wish. If you spend the time to get to know the officers and wish to dine with them, you can. If you have not wanted to spend time with officers, that is fine but criticizing those of us who do isn't really fair.

 

Patti22 and RachelG: You seem to understand where we are coming from. It is certainly fine to have a different opinion but seeing things the way we do is fine as well.