Regent Shore Excursions Post COVID

[pappy1022]

I am reading an increasing number of complaints about Regent included shore excursions, especially around the packed buses, for both regular and small group tours. These complaints seem mostly targeted to the post COVID shore excursions and often times people have said it’s due to the diminished supply of tour company options and availability. I thought I was smart to book several small group tours with shipboard credits, but I am reading that the small group tours are packing people in so tight that it sounds like the experience isn’t worth the additional cost. Certainly, it is less expensive to pack the tour buses vs adding another tour bus and spreading people out, so maybe this is all part of the belt tightening that cruise lines are experiencing. I also see that almost every available excursion on my specific cruise is sold out. So, I am interested in people’s comments about their post COVID only shore experiences no matter the destination. I am also interested in recent British Isle specific experiences since that is the itinerary I will be on and some people have surmised that the issues are possibly region specific. A lot has changed post COVID and I understand that the cruise lines have experienced the same issues as everyone else when it comes to hiring and training people and supply chain issues. I am asking for honest post COVID experiences only because I want to be sure that I have properly set my expectations for these “free” shore excursions.

[Techno123]

My experience from Navigator pre Christmas - Caribbean.

we did mainly active tours so no long coach journeys. We had a mixture of minibus (6 people plus driver/guide), walking tours (12 people) and a couple where we were picked up in an open sided lorry type transport which had wooden benches and was full (20 people) rattled but because of the type of road, this was best method. All were the Regent included not extra cost. The one coach we did take had 15 people onboard but it was a horse riding excursion so limited to number of horses.

Edited March 13, 2023 by Techno123

[swansong]

Our recent tours experiences in the Caribbean were as indicated, fuller buses than we have previously experienced two of which involved stops at ‘craft shops’ which we avoid and were not indicated on the descriptions.

We had one tour where there were only four of us on a 12 seater and we were asked to move to a similar bus next to us on the pier which was then full. We were most unhappy when the tour commenced to find that this was an entirely different tour to the one we had chosen. We turned our tickets in after this for our remaining booked tours.

[papaflamingo]

We did a cruise this past summer on Navigator from Montreal to Southampton.  We had no issues with the included shore excursions.  Busses were not full and the one Small Group tour we did was "In the Steps of the Beatles" in Liverpool.  There were about 10 of us on a small bus so we had plenty of room, the guide was spectacular and we had much more time to see things since he was leading a small group and not "herding" a large group.  

The popularity of excursions and filling them up is no different than pre-covid.  The only difference now is some tour companies went out of business so Regent has to compete with other cruise lines for the tours companies still in business.  We just need to accept that busses will fill up more now and excursions will book out faster.   That isn't anyone's fault, it's just the way life is right now

As to the British Isles, we enjoyed all the excursions we took.  Not sure if we were in the same ports you will be stopping at, but the excursions we went on were all good for us.  About the only snag we hit was when one passenger walked away after lunch and we had to spend about an hour searching for her.  Luckily we had a great tour guide who was able to work around the "lost hour" and still get us enough time to complete the tour.  Other than that, no complaints on any of the British Isles excursions.

[mj_holiday]

POST COVID Cruise

[mj_holiday]

Post COVID Cruise

We cruised Cape Town to Cape Town in December 2022.  Some of our excursions were very good but others showed the effects of being closed for many months. Several Tour Guides told us that we were their first tour since Covid.

This covered the Pre and Post events of the cruise.

Our Regent Rep in Johannesburg when we got in was just great, friendly and explained anything we would need to know.  When she saw DH looking for a tip she told us she had taken care of all of that. This definitely was not her first time at this.

Our Pre cruise Victoria Falls trip was good, but there was too many meals scheduled and we got fussed at for eating at the wrong place.  I felt this resulted from some inexperience.

Two Walvis Bay excursions which were very good and not over crowded.

Two Richards Bay excursions and neither was crowded and were very good.

Maputo - small group but in a small (brand new) van (crowded) and our seats didn't have any windows to look out of.

Durban - 2 full buses to the same place arriving at the same time, didn't work.

Mossell Bay - Full bus, driver had to stop at a gas station to ask directions.  Speakers in the back of the bus didn't work and that threw the guide.  Got to the waterfront area and the guide told different people different times to return to the bus, so we were very late getting back to the tender, very chaotic.  

IMO - the excursions for all RSSC ships are not getting the attention of Destination Services and when they do decide to make changes, it will be quite awhile before a situation can be fixed. (After our cruise, and the one right after, when will there be the next cruise that is in that area for any corrective measurers?)

I am looking at the excursions for our cruise in 2023 and hoping things will get better with more experience.

[pappy1022]

We are the only ship in port for eight of the 10 ports I will be visiting in the British Isles in September. Regent won’t have any excursion competition excuses for scheduling tour companies. At some point, the COVID excuses have to go away. Hopefully that is in 2023.

[mrstanley]

We have done 4 Regent cruises since September 2021. Post Covid.

 

The excursions are hit and miss. Some have too many passengers on the buses.

Some require lengthy bus rides. Some guides are not great. Too many mobility impaired passengers doing excursions they shouldn’t be doing. Too much time to board and off load the buses while on excursions.

 

 

 

 

[makai 7]

20 hours ago, mrstanley said:

We have done 4 Regent cruises since September 2021. Post Covid.

 

The excursions are hit and miss. Some have too many passengers on the buses.

Some require lengthy bus rides. Some guides are not great. Too many mobility impaired passengers doing excursions they shouldn’t be doing. Too much time to board and off load the buses while on excursions.

 

 

 

 

This sounds no different than our experiences pre Covid.  The excursions both pre and post have ranged from excellent with a reasonable size group to poorly executed with dismal stops and bad guides, overcrowded and with people who did not meet the mobility requirements.

all with exceptionally poor service by the shore excursion department.

my expectations are low, and I hope that I may be pleasantly surprised with some tours on my next two cruises.

[mrstanley]

I’ve seen very few passengers planning their own shore excursions while on a Regent cruise. Doing this is not easy.

The biggest issue is finding a tour that coincides with the time you are in a certain port. Another issue is getting back to the ship before it leaves… it’s not Regents responsibility. Another cost added to your cruise. Another issue is that in many instances the ship is docked distances from the main areas of where tours go.

 

We have 3 future cruises booked but I expect to see the same issues with the shore excursions. Some excellent, some ok and some bad.

[pappy1022]

I would like to think that Regent would care about the quality of excursions they offer and make continuous improvements to the tours and guides that they use. After all it is part of the quality experience that they advertise. Reading these boards, it seems like it’s a crapshoot, even before COVID and the excuses, and we will probably experience a mixed bag of good and bad excursions. I am particularly concerned about some of the comments where the buses or vans are overloaded and people wind up sitting on the floor. This seems like a safety issue and Regent should never compromise on safety. I for one do a lot of research on private tours and I have never had a dud. With Regent, it seems a shame not to use their excursions since you are already paying for them. The destination is the number 1 priority for me and my family. We travel to see and experience things and cultures. I would be very disappointed if our Regent excursions are duds. If Regent cancels an excursion or the excursion isn’t what it was advertised to be, will they refund your shipboard credits or money that you paid for small group or other extra cost excursions?

[cwn]

Refunds are few, only time for us was when almost everybody complained and they refunded what we paid extra. No refunds on free tours.

BUT in over 100 tours provided by Regent all over the world before and after Covid, I have never seen anyone have to sit on the floor!!!

 

Almost all tours we have taken with Regent have been good  and ma y were excellent, but I researched the tours provided very carefully. We don’t do high activity tours nor just sit on the bus kind. Read about places visited on the tour and most importantly read between the lines….time travel on bus to sites, about the site, amount of walking, steps, standing, free time, food offered and shopping location. Regent almost always states the size of the bus or van if you won’t be in a full size bus….. usually no problem in Europe, Asia some of South America and Africa. The small uncomfortable coastal buses and school type buses are used in the Caribbean, Pacific islands and sone poorer countries…that is all they have so be forewarned. Usually they hold about 20-25 people and mostly are almost full on popular tours. 

We like to sit near the back and in tours that use buses we have been able to haves a double seat for each of us with empty seats leftover most of the time.

 

Before we started sailing with Regent we did many private tours with a car and driver, but we also did ships tours. Regent draws from the same pool as all over cruise lines. We still do a car and driver some but most of the time we find something with Regent that is doing what we want.

Edited March 15, 2023 by cwn

[papaflamingo]

12 hours ago, pappy1022 said:

I would like to think that Regent would care about the quality of excursions they offer and make continuous improvements to the tours and guides that they use. After all it is part of the quality experience that they advertise. Reading these boards, it seems like it’s a crapshoot, even before COVID and the excuses, and we will probably experience a mixed bag of good and bad excursions. I am particularly concerned about some of the comments where the buses or vans are overloaded and people wind up sitting on the floor. This seems like a safety issue and Regent should never compromise on safety. I for one do a lot of research on private tours and I have never had a dud. With Regent, it seems a shame not to use their excursions since you are already paying for them. The destination is the number 1 priority for me and my family. We travel to see and experience things and cultures. I would be very disappointed if our Regent excursions are duds. If Regent cancels an excursion or the excursion isn’t what it was advertised to be, will they refund your shipboard credits or money that you paid for small group or other extra cost excursions?

One of the problem that Regent faces often is a "one and done" port stop.  Or at least a "few and done" port stop.  Many itineraries only go once or twice a year.  So getting loyalty from a shore excursion company is difficult when competing for tours in a port that other cruise lines visit all the time.  

I suspect Regent does care about the excursions but what can you do if you are competing with major lines who bring thousands every week to a port?  I have crosschecked some of the excursions with NCL and other cruise lines and it seems they all use the same companies.  

Also Regent states that they'll refund any shore excursion payment (that would only be uncharge excursions) if cancelled MORE than 36 hours before the excursion.  If within 36 hours there'll be no refund.

[pappy1022]

I will have my fingers crossed for good excursions. I hope that the fact that we will be the only ship in port on 8 of our 10 stops means that Regent doesn’t have any competition for guides and they can get good ones. I will report back after our trip in September.

[1982CruzStart]

Overall we have had very good luck with shore excursions including our cruise in Jan/Feb2023 and most if not all the time the buses were not full.  We have definitely had some questionable buses in areas where the tourist infrastucture is very limited but you just roll with the punches if you are going to visit 3rd world countries. I still remember our shore excursion in Mozambique where our bus had holes in the floor, there was a board keeping my DH's seat in place so he had to sit carefully and the door didn't close.  Didn't take away from a fascinating tour of an area we had never seen before and probably never see again. 

[Techno123]

3 hours ago, 1982CruzStart said:

I still remember our shore excursion in Mozambique where our bus had holes in the floor, there was a board keeping my DH's seat in place so he had to sit carefully and the door didn't close. 

And I bet that bus was its owners pride and joy 😁