What happened to regent

[makai 7]

We know the restaurant manager on the voyager (Francisco) very well.  He too is very frustrated with the supply issues for Regent, he told us that there is one provision management service for all cruise lines, and it has been a real struggle to get supplies for the ships.  They are still playing “catch up” from the shut down, and delays in container shipments make it even worse.  The container is not arriving at a port until after the ship is long gone, then requiring a pick up and shipment to another port where they hope it will arrive before the ship.  The head chef also confided that he was unable to get supplies at some ports due to local resistance to sell to the ship.

 

They are still short staffed as well, and some countries (Brazil) have special requirements that prevent some crew from joining until the ship is no longer in Brazil.  It is an ongoing struggle, and yet everyone was still smiling and the answer to any request was YES.

 

We had a few disappointing meals (prime 7 has been a problem for us on every cruise), and it does feel like the quality overall has decreased over the years.

[Techno123]

Having just got off the Navigator we initially found that the service in Compass Rose was a bit too quick! We arrive at 8pm and like to linger over our meal, enjoying each course with a break in between and we are happy to spend 1.5 hours doing so, catching up with the show part way through. A quiet word with our waiter brought the food delivery down to perfection for us. Your waiters are not mind readers, so unless you tell them, they won't know your preference for speed of service.

 

As far as food is concerned we found the chicken a bit on the tough side but the fish was lovely and OH enjoyed his fillet mignon and we did not notice a lack of anything we wanted.

Edited December 24, 2022 by Techno123

[LewiLewi]

On 12/23/2022 at 10:10 AM, cwn said:

As for Compass Rose on the Splendor, if you read my report, and I tired to be fair, as we love Regent. We were on the ship for 17 days, got off Tues and only ate in the Compass Rose  one time for dinner. The service was really off and the food didn’t impress us. We also ate there for the famous Sunday Brunch and it was fancy looking but the food was just ok. We did enjoy all our meals in Chartreuse,  service, attention to detail and food were great. We ate there the most, but Sette Mari was also very good. Prime 7 was hard to get into, service good but food less so. I had Alaskan King Crab, but the wedge salad was just some odd pale green leaves. Where as Prime 7 on Navigator was packed last night and service was spotless. The wedge salad look like a wedge salad should look and was good.

Oh, I did report on the issues we had, no response except after three reports the hot water was turned on in our shower. We did get a little testy over that issue needless to say.

We also got off Splendor on the 20th and King Crab was not on the menu at Prime 7. It had been on the menu this past Feb., but not on this cruise. How were you able to order it.?

[cwn]

11 minutes ago, LewiLewi said:

We also got off Splendor on the 20th and King Crab was not on the menu at Prime 7. It had been on the menu this past Feb., but not on this cruise. How were you able to order it.?

The huge plate of nothing but kegs was not available because the Alaskan ruling. But there was a small plate that included sone Alaskan king Crab legs. I ordered it on Splendor, not a huge amount but some. I ordered it with two Lobster tails and no scallop. It is not Regents fault what the King Crab is in short supply, blame  nature, over fishing or Alaskan lortectibg their resources.

[LewiLewi]

14 minutes ago, cwn said:

The huge plate of nothing but kegs was not available because the Alaskan ruling. But there was a small plate that included sone Alaskan king Crab legs. I ordered it on Splendor, not a huge amount but some. I ordered it with two Lobster tails and no scallop. It is not Regents fault what the King Crab is in short supply, blame  nature, over fishing or Alaskan lortectibg their resources.

I ordered the same seafood sampler and also a lobster. It was a disappointment. The sampler did have a tiny king crab leg but the lobster was tiny and dried out, so tasteless that I hardly touched it. I hope that this improves as it was so good in Feb.

[gaeltrav]

We were on the TA on the Splendor in November We had an excellent cruise but there were definite supply chain issues Within the first week they ran out of Stella Artois,diet ginger ale and Splenda. as well there was a real shortage of fresh berries after the first few days no raspberries ,blueberries or blackberries just a lot of canned peaches and pears. None of these were a game changer but a bit of a disappointment 

[the_dylaness]

Canned peaches and pears?! 

My children's school provides better fruit options than this. That is definitely disappointing. As you said, not a deal breaker, but kind of disheartening.  (For what it is worth they LOVE the sugary canned peaches and pears when they do have them... but that is not the point!)

 

[cwn]

At least on the Splendor earlier in Dec and in the Navigator now both out of Miami there is plenty of fresh fruit. There have been a hand full on wonderful ripe sweet strawberries in our room every day plus many choices in the food venues. It might be different in others parts of the world.

Edited January 4, 2023 by cwn

[irishwitchy]

When I was on Splendor last June in Norway and Iceland, berries were hard to find, also.  As we all know, berries don’t have a great shelf life.   However,  we did have fruit in the room and that was very good - I don’t eat canned peaches and pears.  (Nursing home food in my opinion.) 

[Georgia_Peaches]

It seems that no matter which board one reads they are subject to find these sorts of threads. I came here bc I’m disappointed with the comments about service and supply issues on my go-to’s like Celebrity and NCL. With their suite prices, it seems only logical to go with a more luxury line like Regent ( if we’re going to pay it anyway). I guess staff and supplies are truly felt industry-wide. 
 

we are looking at an Alaska itinerary on the Explorer for 2024. The very first post I saw was one about Explorer having issues right now on an Australian itinerary. I’m not deterred, though. I will continue to research. As No cruise or line is perfect, If the positive out weighs the negative, we will give Regent a try. 

[fudgbug]

6 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

It seems that no matter which board one reads they are subject to find these sorts of threads. I came here bc I’m disappointed with the comments about service and supply issues on my go-to’s like Celebrity and NCL. With their suite prices, it seems only logical to go with a more luxury line like Regent ( if we’re going to pay it anyway). I guess staff and supplies are truly felt industry-wide. 
 

we are looking at an Alaska itinerary on the Explorer for 2024. The very first post I saw was one about Explorer having issues right now on an Australian itinerary. I’m not deterred, though. I will continue to research. As No cruise or line is perfect, If the positive out weighs the negative, we will give Regent a try. 

We've been sailing on Seven Seas, Radisson now known as Regent since 1992 and have never had a disappointing cruise.

[CJANDH]

On 1/3/2023 at 7:18 PM, the_dylaness said:

Canned peaches and pears?! 

My children's school provides better fruit options than this. That is definitely disappointing. As you said, not a deal breaker, but kind of disheartening.  (For what it is worth they LOVE the sugary canned peaches and pears when they do have them... but that is not the point!)

 

We are just finishing our Miami to LA holiday cruise. The comment on fruit selection is correct. We saw our first papaya today and no mangos ever.

[Snackdaddy]

On 12/25/2022 at 9:17 AM, LewiLewi said:

We also got off Splendor on the 20th and King Crab was not on the menu at Prime 7. It had been on the menu this past Feb., but not on this cruise. How were you able to order it.?

We disembarked the Navigator on Dec 22, 2022 (MIA to MIA) and had no problems ordering a plate of King crab legs in Prime 7.  When it arrived our table mates were very impressed. Our cruise on the Navigator was one of the best we have taken. No issues to report. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

14 hours ago, Snackdaddy said:

We disembarked the Navigator on Dec 22, 2022 (MIA to MIA) and had no problems ordering a plate of King crab legs in Prime 7.  When it arrived our table mates were very impressed. Our cruise on the Navigator was one of the best we have taken. No issues to report. 

What were your over all impressions of the ship?  We are looking at a Med cruise in 2024 on the Navigator.  I read it is the oldest and smallest ship in the fleet.

[Snackdaddy]

2 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

What were your over all impressions of the ship?  We are looking at a Med cruise in 2024 on the Navigator.  I read it is the oldest and smallest ship in the fleet.

Hello Georgia_Peaches,

 

Our overall impressions were great. We were very impressed with Regent's ability to maintain such an older ship.  There was some rust here and there, but that's expected on an oceangoing vessel.  Even some of the newer megaships rust here and there.  One staff member remarked about how the Navigator holds a "special place" in the hearts of NCL Holdings.  To that point, their attention to maintenance detail clearly showed. There was some rocking and rolling but, hey, we were on the ocean. 

 

We've been around the "cruise block" a few times and life on the Navigator was one of the best we have experienced.  The small size of the Navigator was perfect for me (us).  My knees are starting to fail, so walking around a smaller ship was great. The crew and food was amazingly great too.  Hopefully you won't be disappointed.  If you've been on newer/larger ships, think small (intimate) and you will be fine.

 

Take good care.

[Georgia_Peaches]

43 minutes ago, Snackdaddy said:

Hello Georgia_Peaches,

 

Our overall impressions were great. We were very impressed with Regent's ability to maintain such an older ship.  There was some rust here and there, but that's expected on an oceangoing vessel.  Even some of the newer megaships rust here and there.  One staff member remarked about how the Navigator holds a "special place" in the hearts of NCL Holdings.  To that point, their attention to maintenance detail clearly showed. There was some rocking and rolling but, hey, we were on the ocean. 

 

We've been around the "cruise block" a few times and life on the Navigator was one of the best we have experienced.  The small size of the Navigator was perfect for me (us).  My knees are starting to fail, so walking around a smaller ship was great. The crew and food was amazingly great too.  Hopefully you won't be disappointed.  If you've been on newer/larger ships, think small (intimate) and you will be fine.

 

Take good care.

Thank you for taking the time. 😊 I really appreciate the input.  Have watched a few video tours of the ship and I think it's going to be perfect. 

[GOARMY]

Given:  The Navigator's hull, laid-down in the Soviet era, was designed for an icebreaker-capable spy ship; given its age; given certain, shall I say, peculiarities pertaining to handling in rough and rolling seas; given lack of a forward-facing Observation Lounge; given only one reservations specialty restaurant (Sette Mare is open seating)--

 

None of the above have dissuaded us from booking numerous segments over the past 13 years.  Look forward to another series this May starting at NYC. 

 

One key factor is The Crew.  Great loyalty to the ship.  Having been on all Radison/Regent ships (except Splendor) over the past 20 years, this factor is particularly relevant.  Even with all the dislocations associated with the pandemic and difficulties in getting Crew back onboard, the service level has been consistently maintained.  It is an extra bonus to see so many of the same Staff time and time again.  

 

GOARMY!

 

 

 

Edited January 6, 2023 by GOARMY
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[Gilly]

I would describe the Navigator experience as "classic Regent cruising", in all the best senses of that word.  We love being on board and would very much look forward to another Navigator cruise, though as we book an itinerary rather than a ship, we just have to keep our fingers crossed that she's going to head somewhere interesting in the next few years.  Agree 100% with @GOARMY about the exceptional staff too, many of whom seem to favour being on Navigator.

[papaflamingo]

12 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

What were your over all impressions of the ship?  We are looking at a Med cruise in 2024 on the Navigator.  I read it is the oldest and smallest ship in the fleet.

We did 40 nights this past summer on Navigator.  We also loved the outstanding crew, intimacy, quiet atmosphere, and great food very important on a port heavy cruise.  We were in the North Atlantic. Yes she's small and the ride can be felt.  But it was never so bad we couldn't walk or get around.  It's a ship, a relatively small ship, you will feel the seas.  But that's cruising.  I love the small, friendly, intimate feel of Navigator.  So the vibration in the aft portion of the ship, the ride, etc. didn't bother me.  We loved her and have booked this March on her. 

[Kristal Blade]

On 1/5/2023 at 2:32 AM, CJANDH said:

We are just finishing our Miami to LA holiday cruise. The comment on fruit selection is correct. We saw our first papaya today and no mangos ever.

But… we had a tropical fruit lunch buffet one day, with the widest range of tropical fruits I had ever seen on a cruise! The days following that buffet these fruits were on offer as breakfast options in La Veranda. I enjoyed dragon fruit, mangosteen, rambutan plus others I’ve never tried before.

[flossie009]

On 1/4/2023 at 6:32 PM, CJANDH said:

We saw our first papaya today and no mangos ever.

We did see papaya and mango (not ripe) on offer; usually at breakfast rather than lunch.

As @Kristal Bladesays the tropical buffet lunch had an amazing selection of fresh fruit.

 

If a particular fruit that you want is not on display, a polite request will often bring it to you if it is on board.

 

 

[SWFLAOK]

On 12/24/2022 at 8:21 AM, rcandkc said:

On the cruise they ran out of Diet Coke they still had Diet Pepsi.  I personally cannot drink Diet Pepsi.  The cruise had more sea days than expected due to very foggy conditions so that may have contributed. 

We were on Splendor for back to back cruises in mid September through the first week in October. We had Diet Coke in our frig throughout our cruises. I don't drink it every day, but any time I did, it was replaced the next day. We spoke to the bartenders, and they said that they had been unable to get certain beverages for a long time. They said that they requested the out of stock liquors and wines every time they submitted an order, but they were not receiving what they requested when their orders arrived. One of the bartenders was experimenting using combinations of other liquors to give the same flavor as those that weren't delivered to them. He did a very good job.

[GaCruiser53]

At least you are moving around and visiting ports. You could be on the Explorer where we are sitting 17 miles off of Australia getting the hull cleaned.  All of our ports of call have been cancelled.  Started I Sydney and visited Melbourne for NYE.  Then we were told that the hull needed to be cleaned.  We have been at sea since Jan 1 and ‘hope’ to make port in Auckland by Jan 12.   

[rcandkc]

1 hour ago, GaCruiser53 said:

At least you are moving around and visiting ports. You could be on the Explorer where we are sitting 17 miles off of Australia getting the hull cleaned.  All of our ports of call have been cancelled.  Started I Sydney and visited Melbourne for NYE.  Then we were told that the hull needed to be cleaned.  We have been at sea since Jan 1 and ‘hope’ to make port in Auckland by Jan 12.   

I’m so sorry for this situation.  Terrible. 

[bitob]

We are on Voyager. Only supply issue is lack of escargot in Compass Rose. The container didn’t make the ship. Should I cancel all my future Regent cruises??????