Thoughts from the Current Tokyo to Bangkok Explorer Cruise

[bizinsider]

There seems to be a thread about this cruise starting on an earlier thread from the October 20th Cruise. We thought we'd start a new thread here, based on the previous comments:

 

• On the guides, we concur: The guides have been fine with good English (they're native Japanese speakers) and good info. (We had a private guide in Kyoto, who was able to get us where we wanted to go... which included places not on Regent's tour.)
• On the an earlier comment on the October 20 thread on the lack of berries: Mystery solved. I asked the La Veranda manager about it and he said they simply can't get them in Japan. They're out of season and in Japan they're not allowed to procure from the local fruit markets. He said things should improve as we sail into Southeast Asia. I suggested they should include a sign on a fruit section at breakfast, with a brief explanation.
• On food service.... we agree 100%. La Veranda has been a huge disappointment, breakfast, especially. Oatmeal, eggs... all lukewarm to cold. (We spoke up!) This morning the poor woman running the toaster didn't know how it worked. 
• On the staffing... this must be a ship full of first-timers. Lot seem nervous. There seems to be an edge to the staff... not overly friendly. Coffee connection, in particular, is definitely understaffed... we would say they're not friendly but we simply think they're overwhelmed. Throughout the ship, very few people look you in the eye. No effort to connect. We have sailed mostly Regent, Seabourn and the old Crystal.
• On a positive note: The Vibrant Tokyo pre-cruise, as I mentioned in a separate post, was much better than expected. Our housekeeper Miriam, who has been with Regent for many years, is fantastic - exactly the personality that makes you feel welcome. She's a real pro. Andy the cruise director is as good as any we've had. Our trivia team is top notch and delightful. Also, this ship is incredible, the best we've every been on in terms of everything from soundproofing to the size/quality of the staterooms... and overall ambiance. (We're in a Concierge.) BUT we're finding ourselves comparing this trip in the early going to our last trip last June to Norway on the Seabourn Ovation, where EVERY staff person, from housekeeping to officers, would look you in the eyes and say, "good morning" or "good afternoon" or "good evening"... always with a smile... and often referring to you by name. THAT was an incredibly well-run ship. This one? We'll see if things improve. 

 

We realize others on this ship may disagree or may be having a different experience. We just wanted to share our early thoughts. If things improve, we'll surely be back with an update. We realize this is very early in the cruise.

 

Herb and Mary

 

PS - No, we haven't spoken to the food & beverage manager because we saw that @Stickman1990 had already done so. We did speak to the La Veranda manager, who seemed stressed. And of course, we'll complete the mid-cruise survey. 

[forgap]

Sounds like going to a new restaurant on opening week!  I wonder what is going on behind the scenes in terms of training and support.  I hope the staff get their “sea legs”soon.  

[minotaur]

I wonder how many staff have been transferred to Grandeur?

[Kwaj girl]

3 hours ago, minotaur said:

I wonder how many staff have been transferred to Grandeur?

 

Regent is likely transferring some crew members from all the ships so that would not likely result in a totally inexperienced  crew on any one ship.

[Stickman1990]

We are on Explorer at the moment too and thanks for creating this thread for discussion on our experience

 

We are a largish group of 9 couples from around the world, many experienced cruises, the minority past Regent cruisers (some with multiple cruises under their belt and we were on Explorer last December) and even 1 virgin cruising couple who are enjoying their first ever cruise. Personally we’ve cruised Crystal, Regent, Silversea, Explora Journeys, Viking and Seabourn so have a feel for luxury cruising and what it is reasonable to expect. We like the variety across lines and would never want a standard cookie cutter approach the various lines 

 

I’m pleased to say we are enjoying our cruise and also the standard included shore excursions so far in Japan as we have been lucky enough to have good guides who spoke English well

 

Sure I would enjoy faster internet - by comparison we were on the new Explora Journeys Explora 1 in Iceland and Greenland recently and they had Starlink - we were getting 140kbps down and 40 up consistently and could have 3 devices each connected simultaneously - by comparison here we can have 1 device per suite and the service is slow and does drop out periodically 

 

OK so now to the elephant in the room - dining service on the first couple of days - this was definitely an issue on the first 2 days - lunches and breakfast in particular. The restaurants were crowded as people prepared to go on early tours and came back for late lunches - they weren’t prepared for the numbers trying to dine add that resulted in congestion and delays of over an hour or in several cases just complete non delivery of meals. I just couldn’t bare to see the type of service experience my friends and other guests were getting so did raise these issues on social media and was preparing to meet with the Food & Beverage management as I never blame individual crew but look to management who set and implement standards and resources to deliver service levels to the requirement standard

 

However the Restaurant Manager sought me out and asked to meet to get feedback. That meeting occurred yesterday and I met with the Exec Chef, Restaurant Manager and F&B manager. I can say that I felt they genuinely listened and wanted to hear what we had experienced and discuss their solutions to the issues. They had already extended opening hours on both La Veranda and Compass Rose at breakfast times and added a small buffet at CR in addition to the a la carte options. They certainly improved things in CR but i can’t comment on how La Veranda was for breakfast yesterday, certainly it was fine for lunch where we enjoyed items from Greece as they featured them yesterday 

 

We have had no issues with the quality of the many dishes we’ve enjoyed across the ship - many very impressive and the occasional miss eg lamb chops - but overall very good and what we had expected 

 

Andy Heath, our cruise director, continues to lead a good entertainment team and we’re enjoying the shows, trivia and various games and activities around the ship 

 

If the service level stay as they’ve been in the last 24 hours we’ll be very happy 

 

Happy to answer any questions about things onboard 

 

 

 

[rloke]

We are on board our first Regent cruise and I have to say, so far, it is not too bad (minus the first breakfast chaos mentioned above). Is it heads and shoulders above Oceania (our most frequently used line)? So far, it is an empathic “no”. 

 

Currently dining in CR for breakfast on a sea day sailing towards Okinawa. Nice and serene so far. And service is excellent.

 

[bizinsider]

My quick update: Today is night/day from the first few days. We spoke with another couple we met on the cruise (at Trivia!) who agreed... suddenly, we're seeing smiles from the crew, and everybody seems much friendlier. Officers are out and about and accessible.

 

We did have a repeated food issue this morning at La Veranda and word went up the chain and pretty soon Donald, the f&b manager, was at our table. That's the way things should be.

 

We had one dish at dinner that was inedible that we turned back; someone else we met on the cruise did the same, independently. (Let's just say it wasn't in my mind what red snapper is supposed to look like or as grizzly as red snapper is supposed to be.) I exchanged it for the mushroom crepe my wife had... we had an incredible winner and both of us can't recommend it enough.

 

Moral of this story is to speak up and speak up early. They do want to hear from you if things aren't going well. Just be kind... as @Stickman1990 said, it's not the crew's fault.

 

Onward to Okinawa....

 

Herb

 

 

[Domvh75]

This is our first ever RSSC cruise booked as an early special birthday celebration. We were excepting wonderful things from the “world’s most luxurious cruise ship” after having incredible experiences on Silverseas and Crystal. Sadly, the first couple of days were disappointing. Our suite and amenities are excellent; however, the let downs were with the restaurants and bars. Definitely no WOW factor!

On the first night, after having to queue then wait for a table for two in CR, we were seated in a corner and forgotten about leading to long wait times to order and then to be served. The atmosphere was rather manic. The food was inedible. The second night in CR was similar with regard to getting seated but after giving feedback to the maître d’ there were subsequent improvements.

 

In the Meridian Lounge there was a single bartender and one waiter in the busy lounge resulting in long waits for service. The Explorer Lounge had most of the lights off that we were sitting in darkness. The floor was dirty.

 

We also had the same experience of the shambolic breakfast service that morning in La Veranda. The morning when we ordered room service breakfast, it was delivered late meaning we rushed to eat in order to make our tour departure on time.  Lunch at the Pool Grill was also a poor experience: long wait and wrong food arrived.

 

During first couple of days, when I asked staff about our food or drink orders, the response was always “we’re busy, Sir!” Yes we could see they’re busy but it made us feel like we were an inconvenience.

 

On the third night, while having drinks in the ML and after saying to the waiter it was not right he was having to work a busy bar on his own / he needed help, the drinks manager approached us and we gave him our feedback. Then the following day, while we were coming up the main staircase at reception, the bar manager approached us as he heard about our comments and we had a fairly lengthy chat. Also, later that day, the restaurant manager approached us to discuss our experience and feedback. 
 

We left like we were marked men! 😂 

 

Anyway, since the exchanges, there has been a marked improvement. Somewhat uncomfortably, nearly every staff in the restaurants and bars and even in the pool area are addressing us by name “Mr. First Name” and checking that we happy with the food / drinks, offering to get more, etc.

 

In our discussions with managers, the striking difference we noticed with this ship and our previous cruises, was the lack of managers presence. For example, on our last Silverseas cruise, the bar manager was going about checking things were going smoothly, moving staff to more busier areas and also engaging with the passengers. This was lacking since we embarked this cruise but noticed since yesterday, this was happening.

[bizinsider]

Update...

 

Things seem to be improving. Had an outstanding dinner at Chartreuse. (I had the halibut, Mary had the sole.) This was the Regent we remember. 

Herb

 

 

[chaunceyb]

Thank you for all the current Explorer reviews. We will be on the Explorer this coming April. We were on the Navigator in 2022 to Ireland - everything was pretty good considering there were still some covid restrictions. Tours were excellent!

But after reading some of these reviews it sure seems like Regent's marketing department is over promising and the Ship is under delivering what is being sold as a luxury cruise line? 

But we will be boarding the Explorer in April with open minds and positive thinking!🙂

Edited November 17, 2023 by chaunceyb

[Techno123]

I still wouldn't say the service is top notch and is definitely not as good as on Navigator in December. Yesterday (Thursday) we sat at a table outside La Veranda and waited 15 minutes to be offered a drink - only 1 sommelier who wasn't exactly rushing! And this morning (Friday) there were two, relatively inexperienced waitresses who were doing a sterling job but were totally rushed off their feet trying to reset tables, clear dishes, serve coffee and water etc (whilst recovering from seasickness after last nights very rocky ride 😜)

[bizinsider]

The executive concierge reached out after our mid-comment review on the forms provided in our rooms. He said he encourages passengers to reach out to him when they have an issue - and to do it early. If there is truly a liaison, he would be it. (In all our years of cruising, this was our first "executive concierge.")

 

There has been an enormous effort to make things better. In general, they are, though Prime 7 last night? That's another story. (S-L-O-W.) 😬

[Stickman1990]

2 hours ago, bizinsider said:

There has been an enormous effort to make things better. 

I agree there is a lot to enjoy on the cruise but unfortunately the “misses” on several things keep coming - and I’m getting to the point where I’m resigned to them happening as opposed to expecting them not to occur. I’m over being told they would have been ok if they knew of requirements like diet restrictions in advance when they knew months ago and and when we’d specifically raised things earlier on in the day and been assured it was under control 

 

Here's one example where we attended the paired wine lunch yesterday and my wife’s first two courses were fried chicken and nachos - clearly obtained in a hurry, after we pointed out that she couldn’t have the menu items, from the pool grill when we pointed out she couldn’t eat sesame and shellfish (we’d done that well in advance as well) - hardly a degustation experience that we paid $169 a head for 

 

 

The replacement for the seared scallop (one was served) was nachos…

 

I’ve also reached the point where I don’t want to raise them with managers as it just brings back reminders of the bad experience. If I did they’d apologise profusely and say it would never happen again - but when it occurs frequently that comment does little to take away the spoilt experience 

 

So I’m just going with the flow now and accepting the somewhat inevitable misses and moving on

[forgap]

Yikes!  Nachos at the wine lunch?  I’d insist on a refund. Unacceptable, and I’m not a difficult passenger!  

[makai 7]

This is why we gave up on raising issues (except when a specific Restaurant manager was on board).  They would make excuses, and promise that the issue would be resolved.  A big fuss over us would be made in Prime 7 upon return that made us very uncomfortable.

However the cheerleaders on this forum will continue to criticize that words should have been exchanged with someone in a position of responsibility,

[tryber]

Wow.  Nachos at a $169 wine-pairing dinner is like something you would see in a parody.  I am, however, dying to know how Italian wine pairs with nachos.  🙂 

[Stickman1990]

18 minutes ago, tryber said:

Wow.  Nachos at a $169 wine-pairing dinner is like something you would see in a parody.  I am, however, dying to know how Italian wine pairs with nachos.  🙂 

I’m pleased to report that once I raised this with the Food & Beverage team they credited the full cost of $169 for the lunch without any debate 

 

I will do a longer write up on our food and wine experiences as I want to cover that area off - overall we’ve been very happy with the dishes and restaurants we’ve enjoyed onboard 

[2guysabz]

Tonight in Compass Rose I had the worst meal I have ever had on any cruise. The appetiser, duck terrine with hoi sin sauce, had no hoi sin sauce and was a served as a wet sloppy warm mess. My tandoori chicken was just beyond any explanation and inedible. The chocolate mousse with mango sauce was not set or chilled and just awful.  We had food and service issues at the beginning of this cruise and provided mid cruise feedback. We have given them time to sort things out. Unfortunately, although service has improved, the quality of food has not. In Prime 7 the other night the surf and turf was served with very undercooked lobster. On pointing this out, the server removed the lobster from the plate with a fork onto a side plate. Then replaced it minutes later with a fresh one. One would have thought they’d have replaced the entire dish. We have heard numerous complaints about the food and service on board. This is our first ever Regent cruise and for a special birthday we exceeded our normal budget by some margin. It has not lived up to the hype to which Regent promote themselves and has fallen massively short of previous experiences on Silversea, Crystal, Azamara and others. Needless to say, we will not be sailing Regent again. 

[bizinsider]

Final thought from us... all in all it was a fine cruise. After our complaints, it was clear everybody was trying hard. Donald the F&B manager gets high marks for taking our criticisms seriously, ditto his team.

 

The highlight of the trip for us is where we are right now - the post-cruise excursion to Angkor Wat. Eighteen people. Salon is one of our very best guides, ever. Incredibly well-organized. Plus... he's a fantastic photographer. Got to be in Angkor Wat just before it closed when, thanks to his exceptional planning, there was virtually nobody left. He smartly juggled the schedule the next day to get us to the Ta Parohm (where "The Tomb Raider" was filmed) just after it opened... again, with few people. Can't express what a delighfully unexpected surprise that was.

 

This entire experience was on par with our Regent overnight in Luxor.

 

Cheers Herb & Mary