Explorer: live from 10/20/23 Japan Cruise/ positives & negatives

[Stickman1990]

8 hours ago, 2guysabz said:

We have had 2 tours so far and the guides have had excellent English and been very gracious. Can’t fault that in our experience although have other reasons to fault Regent. 

Same for us - we’re currently on Explorer and the included tours have been good - well structured, good guides including their English skills  

 

We’re dealing with our “other issues” which are service related and hopefully they will improve. They have already made changes to the breakfast hours in La Veranda and Compass Rose to give more time for people to dine there in the mornings - hopefully that reduces the congestion and delays we’ve experienced in the first couple of days 

[many cruises]

11 hours ago, LewiLewi said:

 

We were on the Explorer from Sept. 20 till Oct. 9, Vancouver to Tokyo, and had the same problem with Japanese tour guides. We could not understand them, the tours were not good; one guide actually read from a script the entire time. She did not understand English at all, and could not answer any questions. 

We also had a guide who read from a script & had no idea how to answer any questions asked.  Very irritating from the customer's point of view!

[2guysabz]

3 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

Same for us - we’re currently on Explorer and the included tours have been good - well structured, good guides including their English skills  

 

We’re dealing with our “other issues” which are service related and hopefully they will improve. They have already made changes to the breakfast hours in La Veranda and Compass Rose to give more time for people to dine there in the mornings - hopefully that reduces the congestion and delays we’ve experienced in the first couple of days 

 

[makai 7]

Sadly, it sounds like there has been no improvement to F&B since our Explorer cruise in March-April this year.  We had a long discussion with Jennifer and hoped things would improve.

 

We are reluctant to book any future cruises with Regent due to the last two cruise experiences, even if we lose some FCC sitting in the “bank” due to canceling other booked cruises.

[papaflamingo]

23 hours ago, makai 7 said:

Sadly, it sounds like there has been no improvement to F&B since our Explorer cruise in March-April this year.  We had a long discussion with Jennifer and hoped things would improve.

 

We are reluctant to book any future cruises with Regent due to the last two cruise experiences, even if we lose some FCC sitting in the “bank” due to canceling other booked cruises.

What issues did you have?  We are on Explorer in Feb. so sincere question.  If you started a thread can you link me to it?  Thanks

[Stefken]

On 11/13/2023 at 1:39 AM, Stickman1990 said:

We’re currently on Explorer in Japan and sadly the service on restaurants is sub standard - that assessment being based on multiple services misses across multiple groups dining in various restaurants. We’ll be arranging a meeting with the Food & Beverage Manager to outline the issues as I can’t believe that any manager would be happy with the service that guests are experiencing

 

I’m not talking the likes or dislikes for particular items on the menu - that comes down to personal preference although I guess they can be messed up but that doesn’t seem to be the issue so far - it’s about the service standards 

 

What we are experiencing is different than what we experienced on Explorer this time last year 

 

Examples are poor speed of initial service on being seated including drinks orders, tables setup with utensils and taking of orders in La Veranda and then poor delivery of meals - over hour long waits for breakfast items in Compass Rose today for at least 4 groups of friends 

 

Thankfully our experience in Pacific Rim last night was pretty good - both food and service 

 

I just wanted to post about this as it has been a surprise and a disappointment to us and our many friends onboard - enough to start impacting the overall enjoyment - and I’m sure Regent don’t intend that to be the case 

 

This isn’t a case of comparing/ranking performance with other lines we’ve sailed on in the last year which are Regent, Silversea, Viking and Explora Journeys - sadly (or I guess fortunately) we’ve never experienced this level of service misses on any of those lines - this is about what is an acceptable level of delivery on any luxury line

 

[Stefken]

Must admit, I’m getting more than a little concerned about our upcoming cruise, boarding Bangkok on 25th. This is a 29 day cruise, and I don’t relish having to seek out F & B managers to air concerns over running and problems with catering etc. and staffing, this cruise is fully booked, so it will be busy. 
 

we have high expectations as this is our 4th Regent cruise and all previous ones have been fantastic. 
 

 

have Regent sent all the good staff etc. to the Grandeur, if so it doesn’t say much for what they think of the other ships and what the passengers on them expect to receive from Regent.

 

Makes me wonder if never to book a cruise when a new ship is coming on line.

 

not going to cancel, but hope to be pleasantly surprised by the cruise experience.And thank all on this thread who have tried to sort things out for us later cruisers.
 

 

[John Cruise]

Just lower your expectations.

🫤

[papaflamingo]

19 hours ago, Stefken said:

Must admit, I’m getting more than a little concerned about our upcoming cruise, boarding Bangkok on 25th. This is a 29 day cruise, and I don’t relish having to seek out F & B managers to air concerns over running and problems with catering etc. and staffing, this cruise is fully booked, so it will be busy. 
 

we have high expectations as this is our 4th Regent cruise and all previous ones have been fantastic. 
 

 

have Regent sent all the good staff etc. to the Grandeur, if so it doesn’t say much for what they think of the other ships and what the passengers on them expect to receive from Regent.

 

Makes me wonder if never to book a cruise when a new ship is coming on line.

 

not going to cancel, but hope to be pleasantly surprised by the cruise experience.And thank all on this thread who have tried to sort things out for us later cruisers.
 

 

If you haven't already, read this thread on here "Thoughts from the Current Tokyo to Bangkok Explorer Cruise."  It talks about Explorer and some of the issues you mentioned.  As you follow the thread the posts all talk about how after a few days of "confusion" the food and service improved.  Honestly, we have noticed that the first day or two of a cruise can have slower wait times, etc.  The crew has a lot to do on turnaround day and there are frequently new crew members joining the cruise.  This simply leads to some slowdown in service but it only lasts a day or so, and no, I have never discussed this with anyone.  I simply let it work out which, so far, it always has.  But your comment that you "don’t relish having to seek out F & B managers to air concerns" should not be your concern, on the contrary, if you have issues you should definitely bring them up with the appropriate supervisors.  Otherwise no one will know about the issue and you may not ever get it resolved.  As you can see reading through the referenced thread, Regent "falls all over themselves" trying to correct ANY issue that a passenger has.  They only have to know the issue has occurred. 

[Stefken]

5 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

If you haven't already, read this thread on here "Thoughts from the Current Tokyo to Bangkok Explorer Cruise."  It talks about Explorer and some of the issues you mentioned.  As you follow the thread the posts all talk about how after a few days of "confusion" the food and service improved.  Honestly, we have noticed that the first day or two of a cruise can have slower wait times, etc.  The crew has a lot to do on turnaround day and there are frequently new crew members joining the cruise.  This simply leads to some slowdown in service but it only lasts a day or so, and no, I have never discussed this with anyone.  I simply let it work out which, so far, it always has.  But your comment that you "don’t relish having to seek out F & B managers to air concerns" should not be your concern, on the contrary, if you have issues you should definitely bring them up with the appropriate supervisors.  Otherwise no one will know about the issue and you may not ever get it resolved.  As you can see reading through the referenced thread, Regent "falls all over themselves" trying to correct ANY issue that a passenger has.  They only have to know the issue has occurred. 

Thank you. Get your point. 
 

I’m just going to enjoy, and take each day as it arrives. I’ve enjoyed our previous cruises so much and have others booked, it will be what We make it, everything else a bonus.

 

Just being in the sunshine will lift my spirits, as well as meeting new people and seeing new

sights.

🛳🛳🛳🛳🛳🛳

[Trip Tramp]

We are looking forward to the cruise and meeting all of you.

Since it is a bit of a trip to get to Bangkok and back from Bali, we will be taking advantage of both the pre and post cruise options. We've stopped in Bali for just part of a day on a previous cruise and really wanted to go back and spend a few days there.

 

Maybe we will even meet some of you on the journey to get to Bangkok.  We fly out of LAX on American Monday evening Nov 20.

[chaunceyb]

We are on the North Pacific Passage, April 13-May 1, Tokyo to Vancouver. Have been to Tokyo before, very busy and crowded city. We figure the three hotel nights in Tokyo are "free/ included" so we are using the hotel as our base and have booked our own tours that go oustside of Tokyo, one of them going to Kamakura. This will be our second Regent cruise (did Ireland in 2022 on the Navigator). We have heard the Explorer is a beautiful ship.

Also, when the Russia port was cancelled, Regent added another Japan stop - other cruise lines may have just added another sea day - Regent did the right thing!

Tokyo restaurant suggestion - the shrimp tempura is not to miss!

[makai 7]

On 11/15/2023 at 10:09 AM, papaflamingo said:

What issues did you have?  We are on Explorer in Feb. so sincere question.  If you started a thread can you link me to it?  Thanks

Here’s a link to my review.  I got flamed for my personal experiences and opinions by the cheerleaders, as usual on these boards.  I also posted a “Dear John” type note which was severely flamed as well.

 

[forgap]

1 hour ago, chaunceyb said:

one of them going to Kamakura.

What tour are you doing?  We thought we would go it alone via train.  I found an interesting website for a walking tour which ends at the great Buddha.  As a teen, I visited Kamakura many times as we were posted nearby at the Yokosuka naval base.  
 

https://blog.japanwondertravel.com/hidden-places-kamakura-10168

[chaunceyb]

2 hours ago, forgap said:

What tour are you doing?  We thought we would go it alone via train.  I found an interesting website for a walking tour which ends at the great Buddha.  As a teen, I visited Kamakura many times as we were posted nearby at the Yokosuka naval base.  
 

https://blog.japanwondertravel.com/hidden-places-kamakura-10168

We booked a private tour to the Tokyo countryside and then on the second day a private tour to Kamakura/ Enoshima.

[MMDown Under]

On 11/13/2023 at 11:39 AM, Stickman1990 said:

We’re currently on Explorer in Japan and sadly the service on restaurants is sub standard - that assessment being based on multiple services misses across multiple groups dining in various restaurants. We’ll be arranging a meeting with the Food & Beverage Manager to outline the issues as I can’t believe that any manager would be happy with the service that guests are experiencing

 

I’m not talking the likes or dislikes for particular items on the menu - that comes down to personal preference although I guess they can be messed up but that doesn’t seem to be the issue so far - it’s about the service standards 

 

What we are experiencing is different than what we experienced on Explorer this time last year 

 

Examples are poor speed of initial service on being seated including drinks orders, tables setup with utensils and taking of orders in La Veranda and then poor delivery of meals - over hour long waits for breakfast items in Compass Rose today for at least 4 groups of friends 

 

Thankfully our experience in Pacific Rim last night was pretty good - both food and service 

 

I just wanted to post about this as it has been a surprise and a disappointment to us and our many friends onboard - enough to start impacting the overall enjoyment - and I’m sure Regent don’t intend that to be the case 

 

This isn’t a case of comparing/ranking performance with other lines we’ve sailed on in the last year which are Regent, Silversea, Viking and Explora Journeys - sadly (or I guess fortunately) we’ve never experienced this level of service misses on any of those lines - this is about what is an acceptable level of delivery on any luxury line

I hope you haven't caught Covid and are having to check out room service.  Bon Voyage for the remainder of your cruise.  

I have had an experience in the past where too many crew were new and inexperienced.  Our young server even got seasick and couldn't work.  

I hope you receive satisfactory feedback from management.  

[MMDown Under]

4 hours ago, makai 7 said:

Here’s a link to my review.  I got flamed for my personal experiences and opinions by the cheerleaders, as usual on these boards.  I also posted a “Dear John” type note which was severely flamed as well.

 

Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences.  I wish fellow passengers wouldn't shoot the messenger.  

[papaflamingo]

On 11/16/2023 at 1:48 PM, makai 7 said:

Here’s a link to my review.

Thanks.  Interesting. 

[pappy1022]

We were on Splendor in September and I would agree that restaurant and bar service was slow at times and I would say on multiple occasions the food was not cooked correctly to our order and/or wasn’t as good as expected. It was difficult to get good lobster tails (rubbery at times) and the steaks were OK but not what I expected. Oddly enough, the steak & lobster was better in Compass Rose than at Prime 7. If I had to use 1 word to describe the food and service, it is inconsistent. Sometimes great but sometimes not what you expect from a high end cruise line like Regent.