Yacht Club vs Regent Grandeur

[morpheusofthesea]

10 minutes ago, FLCruiser97 said:

Yes. More cons. Not too many pros. 

Yes. BUT.....We cannot recommend this for suites above Penthouse pricing, there is really no added benefit. At least we have not experienced any added benefit.  Thank goodness we have a Seascape Yacht Club booking next month.

Edited March 24 by morpheusofthesea

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, Essiesmom said:

I see you in Key West today:

 

I  could wave to you, but I'm on the port side sitting on my balcony, cushioned lounger on deck 7 in my MSC jacket as it is the coldest day of our cruise here in Key West.

[no1talks]

42 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"Yes, but I figure this audience is too young to remember those days."

 

My, but you are the raconteur, Mssr. Morpheus.

 

I think there is a book of cruise tales in need of writing.

[morpheusofthesea]

2 hours ago, no1talks said:

on formal nights. On those occasions, they are reserved for a fee.

Now that is worth paying for....at least once...just for the experience...like this cruise.

[Fogfog]

3 hours ago, no1talks said:

 

Unlikely. Once bitten, twice shy, as it were.

 

Ask the long-term veteran YCers. They will tell you of a time when passengers guzzled the included ultra-premium liquors, hoarded the minibar mini-booze to take home, and generally abused the beverage program.

 

No more really good alcohol included. MSC learned their lesson about passenger alcohol consumption at a lower cruise fare, relative to what other lines offer to their suite passengers.

 

It could be worse. The top suite passengers on some lines receive no drink package and still manage to pay way more than YC.

I remember reading all of that here

And we have been in YC where a pax sitting across from us in the lounge admitting to clearing out the minibar of snacks and liquor etc...

Have seen pics here on CC of pax doing that.

I looked straight at him and commented WHY would he need to hoard the minis in the room bar...

 

We regularly consumed the juices and coffee each day. Not the snacks/mini-bottles etc etc.

On the last sailing no choc covered strawberries. And the little boxes with a snack/macaroon etc n the evening were usually part of am coffee in the room

 

Re Opera etc.. One of our favs was the opera/ballet production on Merav. some 4 years ago

Just a really nice afternoon matinee and we appreciated the cast's work.

 

Sorry that Cirque disappeared from the Carousel aft lounge. On a 2020 B2B we did one of the two different dinner/show during each week. also was a nice evening. I know not everyone agrees with that. Both times we had reserved table- the 2 seat table port side-- so great view of the wake and the show.

 

We were sorry to miss the late great CD Gene Moimoi Young's show on our sailings. His fan base reports it was wonderful.

 

@morpheusofthesea  Didn't I read a page or so back that you  made reservations on this ship and suite for future sailings? 

Edited March 24 by Fogfog

[no1talks]

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"Now that is worth paying for....at least once...just for the experience...like this cruise."

 

Well, Queen Elizabeth is currently available for 9, 12, and 21-day Carribean cruise reservations out of Miami (round trip).

 

Sailings begin in October of '25 and conclude in April of '26. Presumably, the Alaska itineraries will follow.

Edited March 24 by no1talks

[morpheusofthesea]

2 hours ago, FLCruiser97 said:

I suspect that this will be the last cruise on Regent for you and the Mrs.

I was thinking at lunch today, how nice it is to have my fellow readers psychoanalyze me and read between my lines to ferret out what I need to hear. DW said I was making a mistake when I booked this cruise. I bought into the hype of a luxury experience. I get a butler that cannot get me a reserved table at a signature Grand Barbecue event for $30,000 Grand Suite, yet I can for $10,000 in a Royal Suite on MSC. These butlers are afraid to butt a charge (me) in front of another passenger. Instead he escorts us down early to stand in line. 

  Regent has not yet learned that catering to their least profitable guests is a outdated concept.

 

" Using Data analytics, financial modeling and consumer surveys to analyze the effectiveness of Loyalty Programs. The relationship between customer behavior and profitability found some distortions in the Loyalty Program. The way customers were using the program meant the highest spending and longest term customers weren't always getting rewarded proportionately for their value at the same time other customers that were earning rewards passively without spending enough to make it profitable for the business."

    This data analysis indicates that loyalty programs are rewarding the least profitable guests.

[morpheusofthesea]

2 hours ago, no1talks said:

 

My, but you are the raconteur, Mssr. Morpheus.

 

I think there is a book of cruise tales in need of writing.

They're all here on Cruise Critic. Morpheus's Tales of Cruise Woe

 

Edited March 24 by morpheusofthesea

[no1talks]

11 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"They're all here on Cruise Critic. Morpheus's Tales of Cruise Woe."

 

Better to have cruising Tales of Woe than contemplations on the Tree of Woe. (I can't resist an 80s film reference.)

 

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, Fogfog said:

@morpheusofthesea  Didn't I read a page or so back that you  made reservations on this ship and suite for future sailings? 

Yes. BUT changes are in the works. Having had more time to reflect. Thank God these cruises are not timeshares. I keep looking for silver linings. DW says Morph! Wake up!

Edited March 24 by morpheusofthesea

[no1talks]

12 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

"DW says, "Morph! Wake up!'"

 

Genie agrees!

 

[morpheusofthesea]

This is interesting. So far a dozen zodiacs filled with what appears to be military men in fatigues are zipping around.

[Fogfog]

4 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

This is interesting. So far a dozen zodiacs filled with what appears to be military men in fatigues are zipping around.

IMG_3831.mov IMG_3832.mov

🤔 

[Essiesmom]

Conch Republic naval exercises.  EM

[Fogfog]

2 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

Conch Republic naval exercises.  EM

ah ha

Now that is funny!

 

Years ago--sailing out of a port - we did have armed military boats from that nation to our port side during sail away... It was quite the show

[morpheusofthesea]

4 hours ago, no1talks said:

 

Well, Queen Elizabeth is currently available for 9, 12, and 21-day Carribean cruise reservations out of Miami (round trip).

 

Sailings begin in October of '25 and conclude in April of '26. Presumably, the Alaska itineraries will follow.

Perfect replacement for Regent Grandeur. Already picking out. Thank you. Thank you.

[travelwide]

Hope everything is OK. No posts for one day? Your fans want to hear more!

[no1talks]

38 minutes ago, travelwide said:

Hope everything is OK. No posts for one day? Your fans want to hear more!

He did post on another thread approximately 18 hours ago, so there is that.

[morpheusofthesea]

7 hours ago, travelwide said:

Hope everything is OK. No posts for one day? Your fans want to hear more!

 

7 hours ago, no1talks said:

He did post on another thread approximately 18 hours ago, so there is that.

Thanks. I am so disgusted with Regent Cruises. The only saving grace is the cabin and the balcony was closed off as was the pool and deck 12 and deck 5 from walking from an over abundance of caution due to the ship filled with old people. There was a smell of sewage on two occasions emanating from our bathroom, but the stewardesses took care of that each time. Getting off the ship was another fiasco. We got to the gangway at 6:30 am to be first off. Had to wait til 8:30 standing around (the chairs were too far away from the gangway exit and others inched their way in front of us). By 8:30 the area was packed, passengers next to us questioned a staff member as to what the problem was. His answer "That's not my department." (Instead of 'I will find out for you'). The staff are too aloof. The staff are the ones having a better time on this ship. The officers had reserved tables at the Grand Barbecue on deck 12, not the suites. We did not have the benefit of a butler to escort us down to the gangway, like on MSC.

   An officer only once stopped by the gangway to say that everyone will have to wait until ALL the luggage is off loaded, before we can exit the ship. On MSC ALL the passengers with carry offs(luggage) are let off as soon as the ship clears. Now here is the best (worst) part of the exit. The port staff directed all of us exiting to the only ONE elevator to get down to ground level. NO escalator or stairs. I asked the staff member if there were stairs or an escalator we could use. "No sir."  Only 8 passengers with carry on luggage per trip down.

   There was only one good aspect of the day. There was no fee to park in the parking garage.

P.S. I have been spending all day on the phone with our travel agent cancelling our two future cruises on Regent Grandeur replacing with Cunard's Queen Elizabeth Grand Suite and MSC Explora Serenity Suite, both new cabins for us.

Edited March 26 by morpheusofthesea
P.S.

[morpheusofthesea]

Here is the wine selection that we had complimentary in our cabin. I looked it up $8.50. It has a screw cap. Reminds of college days when Boone's Farm was the wine of the times. This is the wine of their choice for a Grand Suite. I usually give my stash of complimentary wine to my account when I return, I felt embarrassed, so I threw in the ball caps, knapsack, tin of pirouettes, and the 2 aluminum reusable water bottles that were the gifts in the cabin.

P.S. The book is my diary. I am getting forgetful in my dotage. And this is one cruise I do not want to forget.

Edited March 26 by morpheusofthesea
ps

[KeepCalmBearOn]

3 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

I am so disgusted with Regent Cruises.

 

As I said before, it has been at least 10 years since my last Regent cruise and I laid out why I abandoned them, but it sounds like the line has really deteriorated since my last time and that is sad. Dang near criminal at the prices they charge.

 

I used to hate the idea of the exclusive areas on bigger ships (Haven, Retreat, YC, etc) because it seemed so class-est and elitist and the egalitarian in me rebelled at the thought. That was of course until I actually booked The Retreat... I was like, okay, I put aside some principles for a bit. Never looked back.

Edited March 26 by KeepCalmBearOn

[morpheusofthesea]

29 minutes ago, KeepCalmBearOn said:

because it seemed so class-est and elitist and the egalitarian in me rebelled at the thought.

Do not feel bad. "Karl Marx was a German-born philosopher, economist, political theorist, historian, sociologist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best known for his theories that led to the development of Marxism. His ideas also served as the basis for communism. His books, Das Kapital and The Communist Manifesto, formed the basis of Marxism." He wrote something very interesting "If anything is certain, it is that I, myself, am not a Marist."

[MsTabbyKats]

1 hour ago, KeepCalmBearOn said:

 

I used to hate the idea of the exclusive areas on bigger ships (Haven, Retreat, YC, etc) because it seemed so class-est and elitist and the egalitarian in me rebelled at the thought. That was of course until I actually booked The Retreat... I was like, okay, I put aside some principles for a bit. Never looked back.

Yeah....ditto for us.  DH used to say he'd never stay in the Haven/YC unless he was incapaciated.  That day came...and I booked YC (he didn't have a choice...lol).  He loved it....it was like he had a 10 year rejuvination!

Money is meant to be spent...it's all about comfort and convenience.

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

He wrote something very interesting "If anything is certain, it is that I, myself, am not a Marxist."

He was an elitist.   "There is nothing wrong with that" MOTS

Edited March 26 by morpheusofthesea

[Fogfog]

Cruising is capitalism.

Not socialism and not social welfare. 

We do NOT feel badly for getting services we paid for when we sail.

Everyone has an opportunity to choose when, where and how they spend there $. 

Which is why MSC should not include YC with the bid up/free upgrade (nor X Retreat, NCL Haven etc). Want to sail YC/Haven/Retreat etc.. "show me the money" 😉

 

Your helpful and frank review MOTS, has me less wistful for our lost TP in 2021 (Canada-Alaska-Russia-Japan) 

 

Appreciate it very much

Edited March 26 by Fogfog