Concerns about changes to upcoming Grandeur ports

[mrstanley]

Jssinc

 

We r on the December 21 cruise.

We also have a cruise in April 2024 that we paid in full.

 

Thanks for posting! I’m contacting my TA tomorrow! 

[NE John]

On 12/7/2023 at 11:51 AM, bitob said:

I’m a very good attorney

It’s a loser

Weren’t you also affected by your luggage dumped in NY Harbor after leaving the Queen Mary 2? 
You’ve had a rough year of travel! Sincere wishes for a quiet holiday season. 

BTW, I’m not stalking you, some of our friends are taking Regent for the first time next spring (and their first cruise in years) and doing some research about Regent for them. This thread reinforces the idea to manage one’s expectations while traveling. Even with high-end lines like Regent. 

 

On 12/7/2023 at 11:51 AM, bitob said:

[bitob]

4 minutes ago, NE John said:

Weren’t you also affected by your luggage dumped in NY Harbor after leaving the Queen Mary 2? 
You’ve had a rough year of travel! Sincere wishes for a quiet holiday season. 

BTW, I’m not stalking you, some of our friends are taking Regent for the first time next spring (and their first cruise in years) and doing some research about Regent for them. This thread reinforces the idea to manage one’s expectations while traveling. Even with high-end lines like Regent. 

 

That was me!!  We just keep going 😁

[NE John]

On 12/12/2023 at 7:53 AM, bitob said:

That was me!!  We just keep going 😁

I just heard that the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal operator installed netting on the luggage operations feeding ships. Maybe your angst and pushing helped changed policy for the good. And added some common sense!

[Chateaunole-du-pape]

On 12/10/2023 at 4:38 PM, jssinc said:

I also find almost all tours fully booked by the time we are allowed to book a shore excursion.

Really?

 

We booked our first Regent cruise last May, 33 days before departure. Category H guarantee on Splendor - literally the cheapest possible cabin. We were able to book included excursions in all but one of our scheduled ports, and also managed to get all three specialty restaurant reservations in advance - two a bit late, one at our preferred time. (Bonus: three days before boarding, we were assigned our cabin, and it was a Concierge D.)

 

We booked our second cruise, sailing this coming June, on November 3. We have ~10 ports and were able to secure our desired excursion in all but one of them; we waitlisted for the one that was not available, and we cleared the standby list within a week or so. Again, we're not in an upper-tier suite; we confirmed a Concierge D this time, and the excursion-booking window was already open for all cabin classes, yet pretty much everything we wanted was available, including some really intriguing ones.

[Vizsladog]

The letter states that to "facilitate"..."the final stages of commissioning shore power", "we will be modifying your upcoming cruise" by omitting Acapulo, Cabo and Ensenada, adding PV, a sea day and an overnight in LA.  

Without even reading between the lines, it seems that additional time in LA is needed for this commissioning.  From what I understand from the above posts, Regent eventually came through (as they usually do) with a generous rebate of 500 OBC + 20% FCC.

However, since the itinerary change seems to be only to accomplish non-emergent work on the ship (that is, not weather or safety related) that for some reason was not already performed, IMHO it would be more professional for Regent to allow those who are not appeased by the 20% FCC to cancel and get a full refund.  Folks have different reasons to cruise, and the missed ports may have been the most important reason for some.  To me, Regent is being short-sighted here and may lose some potential long-term cruisers.  Just my two cents 🙂

[papaflamingo]

13 hours ago, Vizsladog said:

Regent is being short-sighted here and may lose some potential long-term cruisers. 

I doubt they'll lose any cruisers because they're skipping Acapulco, which was destroyed in a hurricane last month, Nicaragua which has political unrest, and Cabo and Ensenada (being replaced by Puerto Vallarta).   EVERY cruise Iine change itineraries.  The "bucket list" items on this cruise is the Panama Canal and sailing on the brand new ship.  

We are on the return trip in less than 2 weeks. I hope they cancel those ports for us and add Puerto Vallarta and give US the $500 OBC and 20% FCC!  After all, if you see Puerto Vallarta  then you've seen Cabo and Ensenada.  Not much difference.  I would love 20% FCC though! 

[the_dylaness]

For us, it's not so much about returning to a place like PV... it's about getting off the ship, being active, seeing natural beauty via activities like hiking... not able to be recreated onboard.

[GMIAC]

1 hour ago, the_dylaness said:

For us, it's not so much about returning to a place like PV... it's about getting off the ship, being active, seeing natural beauty via activities like hiking... not able to be recreated onboard.

Before boarding Grandeur, I'd have felt this way too. But then I boarded Grandeur.  🥰

[papaflamingo]

13 hours ago, the_dylaness said:

For us, it's not so much about returning to a place like PV... it's about getting off the ship, being active, seeing natural beauty via activities like hiking... not able to be recreated onboard.

You only lost 2 ports as Puerto Vallarta was added along with an overnight in LA.  Considering the political climate and crime threats  in the ports lost, you wouldn't want to necessarily wander the port cities or go on any hikes by yourself.  You might want to read the State Department Travel Advisories about the ports cancelled.  

Edited December 28, 2023 by papaflamingo

[PhD-iva]

On 12/27/2023 at 8:44 PM, papaflamingo said:

You only lost 2 ports as Puerto Vallarta was added along with an overnight in LA.  Considering the political climate and crime threats  in the ports lost, you wouldn't want to necessarily wander the port cities or go on any hikes by yourself.  You might want to read the State Department Travel Advisories about the ports cancelled.  

Of course, you can add Los Angeles to the “do not travel” category. 🤯

[Bruce61]

This thread, the thread about the Mariner changes, the portion of the Grandeur Live thread about chair hogs and the food, all strike a resounding theme in two respects - Regent is consistently inconsistent and there are frequent posters on this forum who will find a reason to find “goodness” or find a reason to stand up for Regent even when it is clear Regent has blown it.  Make no mistake, I am here because I want to learn the good and bad about Regent while I commit $40K on my next vacation chosen on Regent because of the itinerary, and not just candy-coated reviews.  But, please take all comments (including mine) with a bit of skepticism.  At least I do.

 

Yes, there are people commenting how bad the service and food has been - some say the worst they ever had on Regent.  Then I see other people comment the food is the best it has been, and then say in their next breath that it has been coming out warm and not hot. That is not acceptable.  Overcooked  or lukewarm food is not acceptable on a five-star ship.    Slow service at breakfast when shore excursions have an early start is not acceptable.  Sure there is room service for a limited menu which is usually served at tepid temperatures.    

 

On my Explorer cruise in September, there were really good things and really mediocre things.  Nothing bad or I would look elsewhere.  The “hard product” (I.e., the ship, cabin size, and itinerary, along with everything included) are what keep me coming back.   I’d love it if the service and food were as good as the rest,   I can only hope.   Some here love Compass Rose over the specialty restaurants.  My experience was the opposite.  Doesn’t make me right or wrong,  Just different experiences.

 

I have seen comments that people talked to the food and beverage managers, or the hotel manager, or made mid-cruise comments, to get service to be improved.  Why on earth should that be necessary?  What are they going to tell their staff that they previously had not told them?  Other than perhaps making sure the ones who complained got better service, I doubt substantive changes could be made on the fly.  The ship did not magically gain additional kitchen staff mid-cruise.   The inexperienced server or chef did not magically improve because someone complained.  How is any of this acceptable?

 

Some here seem to excuse inconsistent handling of the chair hogs on the pool deck.  If five star hotels in Hawaii can enforce a 30-minute rule, then so can Regent.  

 

I see people commenting their cruise on Navigator in about a year has a substantive change or was outright canceled, with no real explanation.  Unacceptable, but for them it is at least a year out so they can cancel.  Still, some here find excuses.  On the last Grandeur trans-canal cruise, Regent cancelled three ports for the wonkiest reason which it had to know in advance.  Sure, they offered some discounts to cruisers.  Again, some looked for the silver-lining.  When one books an itinerary, takes time off of their schedule, and pays big bucks, they deserve transparency and customer service.  It apparently took a lot of bad PR and complaints for them to offer more than $500 in on-board credit.  I would have demanded a 50% refund, not 20% FCC.  But that is me.   

 

Other posters have opined that some actions by Regent were deceptive.  Others jumped to defend Regent from their actions and castigated the other poster for using such a term.  I am well experienced professionally with challenging what is deceptive.  Sometimes it is purposely deceptive and sometimes words or actions are misconstrued.  My opinion is that if the changes to the itineraries, if known well in advance of the sailing, were withheld, that is deceptive and clearly intended to keep people from cancelling before making final payment.  I have no facts to say one way or another so I won’t make the jump to accuse any intentional wrongdoing.  But, still, some here would find excuses for Regent.

 

I previously commented on misleading advertising in print and online marketing materials used by Regent in promoting their “distinguished suites.”  One or two people agreed with me.  One poster castigated me for not researching the heck out of the website to learn the misleading advertising only applied to certain distinguished suites.  I had never sailed Regent and had an hour to decide whether a paid upgrade was worth the expense.  I say misleading because it was to me.  I thought I was getting an amenity when upgrading to an Explorer Suite,  which I did not get.  But that is really not the point.  The point is the lack of a reaction after a complaint.    After I complained directly to Regent by email, put it in written comments to them directly through their website, and posted it here, the print and website advertising have not changed - including that just two weeks ago I got a brochure with the same misleading text.  I could come to the reasonable opinion they intend for it to be misleading.  Others will still disagree and like Regent contend the word “may” infers that one also “may not” get what is clearly promoted as an added amenity among others being listed in advertising.  Let the buyer beware will be the theme of some posters here.  Unacceptable to me.

 

The conclusion - make up your own mind but Regent is inconsistent and has to improve.  A magical itinerary means nothing if they can change it arbitrarily and without notice after you no longer have a chance to cancel.  

Edited January 4 by Bruce61
Typo

[bitob]

I am on day 27 (I think lost count) on grandeur 

 

I am no cheerleader for regent or any cruise line. I also sail seabourn and silversea. Was a crystal regular before the “deception” and i have 15 cruises on Oceania. I’ve been on queen mary, Paul Gauguin, azamara. Celebrity and others. 

 

imo this is one of the best cruises I’ve been on. Not for the ports. We have been almost everywhere. I chose this long cruise for the ship and I was not disappointed

 

Great service. Wonderful food 

excellent enrichment and entertainment. And lots of fun on board too. County fairs, bridge and other activities   We’ve made some new cruise friends 

 

was it perfect?  No. I had a really bad meal in chartreuse. Do I care? No. I spoke to chef because it’s the way I operate 

 

I think my standards are pretty high. Just my opinion 

[pappy1022]

Well said Bruce. I think the entire cruise industry is going through a lot of changes post COVID, with staffing issues, country or local specific rule changes, customer service, partner issues (eg. guides, airlines, and others). I also think that the financial pressures all cruise lines have because of the huge debt they incurred to keep their businesses alive during the COVID shutdown have made their executives focus more on financials than other aspects of their product. While I accept that Regent and other cruise lines have significant challenges, it shouldn’t be viewed as an excuse but should be viewed as an opportunity to improve and to differentiate themselves vs the industry. That starts with better customer service and better communication as well as being upfront and truthful about issues and not hide behind the usual explanation, “operational issues”. We all know that “stuff” happens from time to time, no one is perfect. What’s important is how one responds to that “stuff”, by being open and honest and taking care of their customers to hopefully make them life long customers. I always consider Regent when I am planning a cruise and most times I choose them. I understand that I am paying a premium for the 5 star  experience. My last cruise in September was very good but there were too many hiccups to justify a 5 star experience. Some minor, a couple of them major. I will still consider Regent for future cruises but I admit that I will also look harder at other options. In fact, I chose a different cruise line for an upcoming French Polynesia cruise.

[bitob]

Just now, pappy1022 said:

Well said Bruce. I think the entire cruise industry is going through a lot of changes post COVID, with staffing issues, country or local specific rule changes, customer service, partner issues (eg. guides, airlines, and others). I also think that the financial pressures all cruise lines have because of the huge debt they incurred to keep their businesses alive during the COVID shutdown have made their executives focus more on financials than other aspects of their product. While I accept that Regent and other cruise lines have significant challenges, it shouldn’t be viewed as an excuse but should be viewed as an opportunity to improve and to differentiate themselves vs the industry. That starts with better customer service and better communication as well as being upfront and truthful about issues and not hide behind the usual explanation, “operational issues”. We all know that “stuff” happens from time to time, no one is perfect. What’s important is how one responds to that “stuff”, by being open and honest and taking care of their customers to hopefully make them life long customers. I always consider Regent when I am planning a cruise and most times I choose them. I understand that I am paying a premium for the 5 star  experience. My last cruise in September was very good but there were too many hiccups to justify a 5 star experience. Some minor, a couple of them major. I will still consider Regent for future cruises but I admit that I will also look harder at other options. In fact, I chose a different cruise line for an upcoming French Polynesia cruise.

Hope you chose Paul Gauguin. Gold standard for French Polynesia. I’ve done it twice. Highly recommend 

[GMIAC]

I suppose I'm a more laid back type, and look past service or food glitches more on a cruise ship than I would on land. There's something about being on a cruise ship, especially one like Grandeur which is on the smaller side in the industry, that makes me feel like everyone, guests and crew, are all in it together, and one group can't exist without the other. Never mind that I'm paying and the crew is being paid, I feel a synergy and know that we're all in the same boat, so to speak. Just as the crew is there to make us happy, we're also there to make the crew feel appreciated. I suspect I'd make a great Communist.  

[pappy1022]

8 hours ago, bitob said:

Hope you chose Paul Gauguin. Gold standard for French Polynesia. I’ve done it twice. Highly recommend 

Yes I did. The 11 day cruise. 

[bitob]

Just now, pappy1022 said:

Yes I did. The 11 day cruise. 

Great decision. Our first cruise was 10 day society island. The second cruise was an itinerary they do once a year ; 14 night Papeete to Fiji. Both amazing. Enjoy

[2SailingNomads]

There are many good and some not so good things on this cruise.  Overall we have really liked the food, which of course is very subjective, but getting a dish that is only warm at best is not 5*, no food from the lunch buffet in La Veranda has been close to hot. Service has mostly been very good, well I went for breakfast today and waited 7+ minutes until someone asked if I wanted a coffee.  Not 5* 

 

Service at the bars (dare I write this as 2 nights to go) has been excellent with no complaints except for the bottle of red wine that clearly should have been discarded 2 days earlier. 

 

Chair hogs, yes the (I think English) couple who had 6 chairs between them, really pitiful inconsiderate people, who were not on any of them for 5 hours.  

 

The self important entitled person who brings her dog to restaurants.  

 

The entertainment is probably the best we have had on 27 cruises.

 

No recognition by name other than from our butler, room attendant, and one waiter in Prime 7.  I remember our first cruise on Seabourn 15 years ago going to breakfast the first morning and 10 people addressed us by name.  Not on Regent. 

 

Do not find the officers to be very friendly, except for the Captain.  Nor the CD or social host. 

 

Issues with our not inexpensive suite, most of which should have been resolved before the ship first sailed.  

 

Butler has been great.

 

Included wines are some of the best of any sailing I have been on.

 

Only did 1 ship tour - which was an upcharge and it was disappointing, lesson learned.  We usually do not do ship tours but thought since there was an upcharge it would be OK.  

 

Jorge the Maître Di, who we know from our cruise last year on the Splendor is great.

 

Everyone has their opinion.  This is mine.

 

[pappy1022]

I think Jorge was outstanding as well on our recent Splendor cruise. He was always cheerful and energetic. We also had 2-3 servers who were outstanding as well but they all disappeared toward the latter part of the cruise. We suspect the “not to be mentioned by name respiratory illness” was the cause. Destination services was Regent’s Achilles heel as far as service is concerned. The food for the most part was very good but there were too many misses on quality and preparedness to call it a 5 star experience. Those issues were resolved quickly by sending back the meals but it’s not great to wait for a meal while the other 5 people with you have theirs. Bar service was slow at the pool deck and after the shows. I felt that there weren’t enough servers to take care of the number of people in the venues. The weather was cool on our cruise so there weren’t any issues with chair hogs. Entertainment overall was good. The piano player was just OK.  Our concierge cabin was great, that was 5 stars. Shore excursions ranged from great to poor with most being good. We did one private tour (6 people) and it was outstanding. It really highlighted the difference between private tours and ship arranged tours. But you have to do your homework to find a great tour guide. Flights arranged via the Regent deviation process, hotel accommodations, transport, and the ship itself were very good. Overall I would give it 4 stars and yes, despite the things that could have gone better, I will cruise with Regent again. At the end of the day, we all have different expectations, different experiences and different priorities as far as what’s most important to us. I think Regent does try hard to correct things when you tell them about miscues but I also think there are some systemic issues that they need to correct via staffing, training and better oversight. The world has changed post COVID and we see it every day all around us. Maybe it’s going to take some more time for things to improve in the travel and service industries but maybe this is the new norm. 

[Snh lname]

On 1/4/2024 at 9:18 PM, 2SailingNomads said:

There are many good and some not so good things on this cruise.  Overall we have really liked the food, which of course is very subjective, but getting a dish that is only warm at best is not 5*, no food from the lunch buffet in La Veranda has been close to hot. Service has mostly been very good, well I went for breakfast today and waited 7+ minutes until someone asked if I wanted a coffee.  Not 5* 

 

Service at the bars (dare I write this as 2 nights to go) has been excellent with no complaints except for the bottle of red wine that clearly should have been discarded 2 days earlier. 

 

Chair hogs, yes the (I think English) couple who had 6 chairs between them, really pitiful inconsiderate people, who were not on any of them for 5 hours.  

 

The self important entitled person who brings her dog to restaurants.  

 

The entertainment is probably the best we have had on 27 cruises.

 

No recognition by name other than from our butler, room attendant, and one waiter in Prime 7.  I remember our first cruise on Seabourn 15 years ago going to breakfast the first morning and 10 people addressed us by name.  Not on Regent. 

 

Do not find the officers to be very friendly, except for the Captain.  Nor the CD or social host. 

 

Issues with our not inexpensive suite, most of which should have been resolved before the ship first sailed.  

 

Butler has been great.

 

Included wines are some of the best of any sailing I have been on.

 

Only did 1 ship tour - which was an upcharge and it was disappointing, lesson learned.  We usually do not do ship tours but thought since there was an upcharge it would be OK.  

 

Jorge the Maître Di, who we know from our cruise last year on the Splendor is great.

 

Everyone has their opinion.  This is mine.

 

Overall, this reflects our experience as well. Many staff members recognized us from a previous Splendor cruise. Minor problem, Splendor is the only RSSC ship we have been on. I guess we looked like some one else. Not an issue. 
 

When we had our first dinner at CR, we heard a call “momma and papa.” We looked up and it was Nino, our waiter from Navigator last year who we “adopted.” Needless to say, we had superb cuisine in CR for the entire cruise. We had a special dietary requirement (Kosher Proteins) which were carefully taken care of. We were advised in another thread to seek out Denver. When we met him, we  quickly had our dedicated breakfast server. We were not in a real rush for any meals, so we didn’t mind any waits and our food was always well prepared and proper temperature. 
 

What can I say (ok, write) about Jorge (George, as he preferred). He was WONDERFUL. He knew our seating preferences for breakfast and dinner and always found us wonderful locations with our Nino. He was also fun to talk with and just a mensch. Pardon my New York-ese. 
 

We have nothing to criticize here.

 

We were in a Penthouse with a fabulous butler, Rajib. On a previous cruise we had unfortunate butler experiences. Rajib was always a call away and anticipated all our needs (once he knew what they were). With the Kosher Proteins, we had to notify CR or Prime 7 ahead of time so they could defrost and prepare them. Rajib was a great interface. … and he kept my pretzel dish full in the cabin.

 

We were not happy with the Panama  Canal crossing. We expected to have some orientation/enrichment in the Theater about the building and features of the Canal. NOTHING! When I asked the CD about this, I got some “answers” like licensing and other excuses. NONSENSE! When we crossed on Holland America, we had an expert speaker, videos, videos available on the cabin tvs, etc. Grandeur had Dr. Ranelli (sp?) aboard for other superb enrichments who could have been giving Canal enrichment. Then, they had a Canal pilot (or someone) give a talk in the Meridian Lounge. You have a ship with 750 passengers and have the talk in a space for less than 100 people.
 

The ship and the Canal were our reasons for cruising. This was unacceptable, in our opinion. 

I could not get the RSSC appraisal “app” to stop blowing up, so I gave up. 
 

Well, I’m tired and I’ve written enough. Someone asked my overall opinion, I answered 8.9 and an incomplete. I may enhance later on. 

 

Also the best Internet on any cruise. Thank you Elon for Starlink.

[the_dylaness]

Helpful to read these comments- thank you for sharing. We board tomorrow and hope they will rectify the canal enrichment situation!

[bitob]

5 hours ago, Snh lname said:

Overall, this reflects our experience as well. Many staff members recognized us from a previous Splendor cruise. Minor problem, Splendor is the only RSSC ship we have been on. I guess we looked like some one else. Not an issue. 
 

When we had our first dinner at CR, we heard a call “momma and papa.” We looked up and it was Nino, our waiter from Navigator last year who we “adopted.” Needless to say, we had superb cuisine in CR for the entire cruise. We had a special dietary requirement (Kosher Proteins) which were carefully taken care of. We were advised in another thread to seek out Denver. When we met him, we  quickly had our dedicated breakfast server. We were not in a real rush for any meals, so we didn’t mind any waits and our food was always well prepared and proper temperature. 
 

What can I say (ok, write) about Jorge (George, as he preferred). He was WONDERFUL. He knew our seating preferences for breakfast and dinner and always found us wonderful locations with our Nino. He was also fun to talk with and just a mensch. Pardon my New York-ese. 
 

We have nothing to criticize here.

 

We were in a Penthouse with a fabulous butler, Rajib. On a previous cruise we had unfortunate butler experiences. Rajib was always a call away and anticipated all our needs (once he knew what they were). With the Kosher Proteins, we had to notify CR or Prime 7 ahead of time so they could defrost and prepare them. Rajib was a great interface. … and he kept my pretzel dish full in the cabin.

 

We were not happy with the Panama  Canal crossing. We expected to have some orientation/enrichment in the Theater about the building and features of the Canal. NOTHING! When I asked the CD about this, I got some “answers” like licensing and other excuses. NONSENSE! When we crossed on Holland America, we had an expert speaker, videos, videos available on the cabin tvs, etc. Grandeur had Dr. Ranelli (sp?) aboard for other superb enrichments who could have been giving Canal enrichment. Then, they had a Canal pilot (or someone) give a talk in the Meridian Lounge. You have a ship with 750 passengers and have the talk in a space for less than 100 people.
 

The ship and the Canal were our reasons for cruising. This was unacceptable, in our opinion. 

I could not get the RSSC appraisal “app” to stop blowing up, so I gave up. 
 

Well, I’m tired and I’ve written enough. Someone asked my overall opinion, I answered 8.9 and an incomplete. I may enhance later on. 

 

Also the best Internet on any cruise. Thank you Elon for Starlink.

Totally agree about the lack of enrichment about the crossing. This was our 6th crossing. Nothing. The story of the building of the canal is fascinating. Every other line had great presentations. The narrator was subpar imo

[the_dylaness]

Isn't there a Regent person who follows some of these boards? Mike, or something like that? I'd love to know his thoughts on this. I am really disappointed to hear I'm getting on the newest member of "The World's Most Luxurious Fleet" and shouldn't anticipate a reasonably good educational experience about the highlight of the trip. (My first and perhaps only PC cruise?)

[bitob]

I mentioned a good deal of it to the GM Franck when I was on board.

I did not mention the poor enrichment aspect of the Canal crossing.  I assume it is too late to fix the issue but if you really want to try, I would contact corporate