Capt Serena

[Kwaj girl]

In case you missed it:  "This week Regent Seven Seas Cruises announced that its newest luxury cruise ship, the Seven Seas Splendor, will be captained by Serena Melani. The cruise line said that Melani will be the first woman to be appointed captain of a brand-new cruise ship. She is a 20-year veteran of the maritime industry, having been with Regent in 2010, first rising to the rank of captain of her own ship in 2016. The Seven Seas Splendor launches in February 2020. "

[UUNetBill]

We have yet to sail with Captain Serena but I've heard nothing but good things about her.  Congratulations, Cap'n!!

[ronrick1943]

37 minutes ago, UUNetBill said:

We have yet to sail with Captain Serena but I've heard nothing but good things about her.  Congratulations, Cap'n!!

 

We have, she is a great Captain.  Very approachable, in fact we we're sitting in the Coffee Cafe and she walked up and ask if she could sit with us for a few mins-it turned out to be an enjoyable 20 mins.  Later in the cruise we were asked to have dinner with her (something we always say thank you but no), we said yes and had a super good time. Happy to hear this news has we'll be on the Splendor a few weeks after she goes into service.

[Travelcat2]

In our opinion, she is the most approachable Captain on Regent and she really cares about her passengers.  Also, in our very strong opinion, if she were on Explorer right now, so many people would not be sick (colds and coughs).  She knows how to keep a ship heathy.

 

I heard about her appointment to Splendor a couple of weeks ago. John Barron should be announced next.

[golfgirls]

Fantastic news. She is a wonderful Captain, a great storyteller and someone who is truly interested in learning about the world around her.  

 

Selfishly, I hope she will still be onboard in April when we will be on the Splendor crossing.  

 

And if Travelcat is correct with John Barron, a double yahoo!  

[Travelcat2]

If she boards in February, she would likely continue onboard through April.  I heard about John Barron from the same person that told me about Serena.

 

I predict (do not know) that Franck Galzy will be G.M.  Daniella (F&B Director) remains a mystery.  She was on Explorer most of the first year after she was launched and I asssumed that she would be on Splendor as well.  However, they need 1 1/2 more G.M.’s once Splendor is launched (not sure how they cut one in half).  Strong rumors on board (NOT confirmed) is that Daniela and Ricky are strong candidates.  

 

One overlooked F&B Director is Donald (who mentored Daniela).  Would love to see him on Splendor or Explorer.  

[Mudhen]

Lovely news about Captain Serena! She is a true asset to the line.

[Zqueeze1]

Awesome. Real glad to hear this. Capt Serena has the rare quality of leadership that makes everyone feel at ease in her presence and she treats us all the same. We’ve had the privilege to sit at her table twice and hope to see her in future cruises. Makes me want to book a cruise on the Splendor. 

Z and TB

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Congrats to her.  The only downside, for us, is that she probably won't be captaining Mariner in 2021 when we do our World Cruise.  We thought she was just great years ago on Mariner.

[Mr Rumor]

Wonderful news--Captain Serena is a Regent treasure!

[WesW]

As I mentioned to TC earlier, when we were on board the Mariner in November with John Barron (love him as CD, so much energy and so warmly engaging) he let Ida and I know (so proudly) one morning at Breadkfast, Capt Serena and he will be taking the Splendor out of the Shipyard for its inaugural season.  Wish we were still booked on the Splendor but we changed to the Explorer (along with Mr. Rumor) for Copenhagen to Reykjavik next July.

Edited February 23, 2019 by WesW

[GOARMY]

Great News! 

 

Have sailed with Cpt. Serena.  Have had very-positive experiences with John Barron aboard Explorer.  It will be two cherries on the ice cream to join them again aboard Splendor--March, 2020, San Diego to Miami--as we celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary.  John and I have shared many a quip on previous cruises.  He is, simply, a sincere, professional guy. 

 

With any good luck remaining--hope to see them again aboard several Explorer cruises planned for 2021. 

 

GOARMY!

 

 

 

 

 

[Hambagahle]

Well lucky US !!  I have read about Captain Serena and CD John Barron but never sailed with either.  Now - we will.  Ken and I are booked on the Splendor on 14 March 2020 out of San Diego.  WONDERFUL!   If Franck Galzy is GM that will be the "icing on the cake" - ou les cérises sur le gâteau!   We first sailed with him in 2006 on a TA on the Voyager when he was F&B Manager.  We had a lovely dinner with Franck and Louise Ross, then Social Hostess (with the mostest!).  And again with Franck on the Mariner on another TA in (I think) 2012.  Quelle chance!!

[JMARINER]

21 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

I.  However, they need 1 1/2 more G.M.’s once Splendor is launched (not sure how they cut one in half).  Strong rumors on board (NOT confirmed) is that Daniela and Ricky are strong candidates.  

 

One overlooked F&B Director is Donald (who mentored Daniela).  Would love to see him on Splendor or Explorer.  

Regent might think of bringing back from Oceania August Keuler.  August spend years as F&B with Regent before they moved him to Oceania and promoted him to GM.

 

Too bad Regent lost Florian Kibgilka to Viking. He would have been another excellent choice.

 

J

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, JMARINER said:

Regent might think of bringing back from Oceania August Keuler.  August spend years as F&B with Regent before they moved him to Oceania and promoted him to GM.

 

Too bad Regent lost Florian Kibgilka to Viking. He would have been another excellent choice.

 

J

 

Regent unfortunately lost some good people to Viking.   Agree that Florian was one of them.

 

I am not familiar with August Keller but I remember when Daniela (F&B) was sent to Oceania for a year or two.  It seems to be a secondary training area for Regent.  Fortunately they both have their initial training on Regent as, in my opinion as well as the opinion of some Regent officers, there is quite a cultural difference between Oceania and Regent.  As much as I would love to see Oceania’s GM Thierry on Regent, I would rather see a Regent person get promoted.

 

There is another room that I heard and will try to confirm tonight.  The Maitre ‘d in Chartreuse may be F&B on Splendor.  Lots of speculation!

[DavidTheWonderer]

As you may know, there is always some tension between the captain and the port appointed pilots.  The pilots largely take over the ship when they are on board.

 

When we did our Panama Canal transit, the Panamanian pilots managed to crash Mariner into the side of a lock.  Glassware was breaking in the bars, etc. etc. We heard that Captain Serena went thermonuclear up on the the bridge.

[Hambagahle]

When we were on the Mariner on a Panama Canal cruise we were told by the on board lecturer (great person who had worked 25 years for the Canal Authority) that this is the ONE time when a pilot takes over the command of the ship 100% and the captain just has to stand by.  I can only imagine how infuriating it would be for a captain to then have to watch her ship be crashed!!

[Drmitchwo]

We were on the first cruise after the mariner was refurbished. As we approached the Azores Captain Serena said that she would give us a calm time during dinnertime before we approached a storm she couldn't bypass. The whole crossing was very bumpy until we got to Bermuda.But Serena was reassuring and terrific. We exited in Miami but reboarded in Vancouver as she captained the repositioning through Alaska and then back to Miami through the canal. Great cruise.

We originally were on the Splendor February 2020 but didn't want to do the Canal again so we switched to the Mariner from Tahiti to Singapore.

Right now we are on the Seabourn Ovation Hong Kong to Hong Kong. We decided after 220 days on Seabourn we prefer Regent. Food, service and cabins!

 

 

Edited February 25, 2019 by Drmitchwo
Wrong word

[wishIweretravelling]

I haven't sailed with Serena yet, and look forward to doing so. I've sailed with John on both Mariner and Explorer, and found him to be a delight. I hope they're both still on (or back on) in January and March of 2021 when I have bookings on Splendor. The March one will be with friends whose only other "cruise" experience is on Hurtigruten (when it was still Norwegian Coastal Steamer) and Carnival at spring break time. 

[Docnduck]

Thank you Kwajgirl for the announcement!  We've sailed with Captain Serena several times.  She is a gem!  She has remembered us from her first captaincy on the Mariner, Lima to Buenos Aires in 2015.  Dinner with her is delightful, she's full of stories of her career and the challenges of advancing in a male dominated industry.  Can't wait to sail with her again!  Looking forward to Splendor in April 2020, Miami to Barcelona with her.

We've also sailed with John Barron several times.  Such an outgoing, open, friendly, funny, inclusive guy.  Can't wait to see him again, too!

Re: schedules--Captain Serena told us that the captains have a 10 weeks on, 4weeks off schedule.  CD's generally work 3 or 4 months on and 2 months off.  John's had the Christmas holidays off for the past several years, mid-December to mid-Feb, not sure if that's the schedule he's negotiated or just luck.  Will ask him the next time we see him.

[Docnduck]

Oops.  Our first cruise with Captain Serena was March 2016, Amazon.  It's been a pleasure to sail with her and misspoke re: first experience.

[Kwaj girl]

11 hours ago, Docnduck said:

Oops.  Our first cruise with Captain Serena was March 2016, Amazon.  It's been a pleasure to sail with her and misspoke re: first experience.

We were right there with you.  Looking forward to our next joint voyage.