Voyager, Dubai to Rome.

[Travelcat2]

I am a little confused. This segment of the World Cruise was suppose to be 17 nights - Dubai to Istanbul. It sounds like this is a 7 night (?) cruise from Dubai to Rome with few (if any) port stops. For those passengers who took the option of going from Dubai to Rome, what type of compensation would they receive for not having taken the scheduled cruise?

 

If we have flown all the way to Dubai -- only to be greeted by Mark Conroy and the news about the Voyager going to Rome, my inclination probably would have been to take the cruise to Rome. The thought of immediately flying home would not have been appealing. However, I would have assumed a "normal" cruise (in terms of food, entertainment, service) along with "free" phone calls so I could rebook my flight home and make whatever other arrangements were necessary. On top of that, I would expect (at a minimum) a refund for the days we did not sail (difference between the 17 night cruise and the shorter one), expenses to be paid for airline changes and a hefty future cruise credit.

[xrvlcruiser]

Dubai to Rome is 19 days (april 1-19), not 7.

 

We are getting a 50% refund but no future cruise credit plus the "normal cruise" as you describle it.

[Travelcat2]

Dubai to Rome is 19 days (april 1-19), not 7.

 

We are getting a 50% refund but no future cruise credit plus the "normal cruise" as you describle it.

 

Oops -- I was way off on that one. Somehow I thought the ship would arrive in Rome this coming week. I used the term "normal" cruise to describe a typical Regent cruise. Reports from the Voyager have been mixed in that regard. Thank you for letting me how long the current voyage is.

[Caroldoll]

cruise as she is in September. Where we differ a little is that I believe that this problem will be fixed in an expeditious manner in Rome and that the level of service will return in time. However, I am a little hesitant to make the final payment..but I believe that is in June? We should see about the level of service and if the Voyager gets back in the water before that, I should think. However, if it is iffy and if most of the travelers were not made "whole" somehow, it would definitely leave a bad taste in my mouth. Bottom line, this problem was not a "fault" of Regent. Insurance is such a problem as they only want to "make you whole", but their idea of "whole" is not paying! I hope it works out for all of you. There should definitely be some compensation for being "put in this situation"..and that probably should come from Regent in the form of a future credit that the insurance company may not be able to glom on to???? For those who went to Dubai--you are real troopers and gamblers..it should would not have been me! I do hope that you find a way to enjoy the rest of this mess and I hope that Regent can get its act together and step up to the plate. I join Travelcat in being "concerned".

[PaulaJK]

Travelcat, I think that you captured our frame of mind. We had arrived in Dubai the evening prior to embarkation. We were not keen on being in a hotel in Dubai for a few days until flights could be arranged, Plus once home, we still needed to utilize our vacation time. So we stayed.

 

Larry, You are a most positive thinker. There were indeed 3 options. All were fair. All had sub issues. e.g. The lovliest option, the Mariner, had hotels here and there and flights until you would board her on 4/9.

True, You make your choice, you pay your money. But you can remain

disappointed that the choice you had made after much thought [seeing these ports via cruise] fell off the radar screen. That doesn't mean a pout or a fury. There is, afterall, reality. But I find the idea of no regrets rather

limiting.

[2serendip]

Is life on board improving at all? The impression I have is that service has been severely curtailed, there's not much in the way of sea day entertainment or activities, and the food is poor by usual Regent standards. Is this a correct assumption? If so, I'm very disappointed in Regent right now.

[PaulaJK]

This is only one person's opinion but I think that things have settled into the usual routine with regard to programs and service. The cuisine and dining room service are the usual. So too the entertainment which I find rather weak so far. Our cabin service has been very good. The poolside service is just about non existent with dirty glasses and towels lying about for hours and of course, you set up your own chair. I do not know whether this reflects personnel cutbacks or other woes. Apparently the crew also has rec'd a letter with 3 options and there is much unhappiness being expressed by them. Many are being sent home unexpectedly and are saying things along the line of 'But I have a family to support.' Others are unhappy about what they state is an offer to remain on board at a markedly reduced salary and have to perform any task [e.g. pant]. I have heard this from multiple crew members, which in itself is rather unusual.

[Travelcat2]

It's amazing that Mark Conroy is on board the ship and the service at the pool is so poor (is he still there?) This ongoing problem appeared to have been solved according to recent reports. The service around the pool on our Navigator cruise last month was exceptional.

 

In terms of the staff, I understand why they would be upset, however, they should never share their feelings about their employer (or the options they were given) with passengers. Obviously this is just my opinion.

[xrvlcruiser]

Service is not curtailed and has not been at any point on this trip at all. I cannot speak about the pool area since we don't spend any time there.

 

The activities on sea days is exactly what it has always been - no change. Lots of choices. Reactions to the entertainment is very personal so I won't comment - one persons "wonderful" is the the next ones "terrible".

 

The food has been very good on the whole trip - no change in the past 3 weeks. We had a large re-provisioning in Muscat - at least 5 containers.

 

Mark Conroy left in Muscat. While he was on board, he spent alot of time out and around talking to passengers and hearing what they had to say.

 

We are not disappointed with Regent - everyone both on board and in the States has been working very hard to get all 400+ of us to the destinations we requested - and there are a number of different ones - not just "home" but to the Mariner and on a variety of overlands. It has got to be very complicated. I'm glad to they are there working for us!

 

As of the day we sailed form Dubai, there were more staff than passengers so I don't think there are personnel cuts in relation to the number of passengers.

 

I agree with TravelCat2 regarding the staff sharing their feeling with passengers.

 

Do I think it is a shame that some staff will have to go home when the ship is in dry dock (for a dry dock of undetermined length) but many of those leaving are at/near the end of their contracts - or would be in FtL. And by the way, the staff on board during December drydock worked hard doing painting, laying carpet, cleaning up after other jobs were done etc.

 

Please - have a little more patience. We are being very well taken care of on board and there is a tremendous amount of hard work going on behind the scenes.

[cruiseluv]

Call me insensitive, but I wouldn't want to be spending thousands of dollars on a cruise to be listening to the crew complain about their personal situations. We are all human and have problems and while I empathize with their situation I wouldn't want that to be front and center.

 

Are they giving their opinions in response to questions by the passengers or unsolicited?

[xrvlcruiser]

In response to someone who said that the Full cruisers way out numbered the people who were not - I don't think that is true.

 

The original Full Cruiser number was something like 240. A number have left for a variety of reasons over the trip and if you add to that, the number (something 30) who got off in Dubai, my guess is that the number is pretty equal.

 

I have not asked anyone but it is an educated guess.

[Threechicks]

Dear Travelcat 2 - I agree about the staff. I know that some passengers ask too many questions of the staff and encourage them to open up with their problems. There is a fine line between being friendly and being nosy. A respectful professional relationship works best for both sides.

[Travelcat2]

The fact that some of the crew are reaching the end of their contract explains a lot regarding their attitude since many of them may not be picked up for another contract. Although I don't know the details, Regent will be hiring and training their own staff instead of using an employment agency. They are only hiring the best of the current staff (those that do a great job and do not complain to passengers perhaps???). The turnover cannot be completed until the current crew's contracts end. Reportedly, the crew that Regent hires gets better benefits and will know when their next contract begins (something they are not aware of now).

 

Kinda off topic -- sorry. It's always good to hear from passengers on board the Voyager. We're thinking positive thoughts about the Voyager. Hopefully they will be able to fix the problem in drydock -- and she'll be on her way again.

[Island Cruiser]

This whole pod situation is most unfortunate for everyone--passengers current and future, the company (couldn't happen at a worse time), and the crew. Those crew members are inevitably facing awful alternatives. Either return home early without the pay you expected to earn or remain on board doing all the scut work that can't be done with passengers on board. I can only imagine their discontent. It is understandable some might be a bit more candid about their plight with questioning and sympathetic passengers in spite of the "code of silence" that is the norm. But I'm not ready to start telling passengers when and with whom to talk on board any ship. Pat

[xrvlcruiser]

Before we boarded, we heard that the staff was changing but in reality, most of the people on board were familiar faces. Certainly there were some new ones - that has always been the case - and as the cruise progressed, some of the staff left (end of contract, other reasons) and new people came on board - again, mostly familiar faces but some new ones.

 

It has always been thus. IMHO simply not a big deal.

[Travelcat2]

This whole pod situation is most unfortunate for everyone--passengers current and future, the company (couldn't happen at a worse time), and the crew. Those crew members are inevitably facing awful alternatives. Either return home early without the pay you expected to earn or remain on board doing all the scut work that can't be done with passengers on board. I can only imagine their discontent. It is understandable some might be a bit more candid about their plight with questioning and sympathetic passengers in spite of the "code of silence" that is the norm. But I'm not ready to start telling passengers when and with whom to talk on board any ship. Pat

 

I certainly agree about the unfortunate situation with the pod and how it affects so many people. At the risk of sounding as if I am diminishing the situation, similiar job losses and hardships are happening in the U.S. daily with, in some cases, international consequences.

 

Coming from a H.R. perspective, it really is in the employee's best interest not to bad mouth Regent. Any future employment with Regent would disappear if these type of comments were to get back to on-board Regent management. We do enjoy talking with crew members -- about many subjects. They have so much they can share about their experiences working on cruise ships. Discussing how upsetting the situation is with the Voyager going into drydock is fine -- however, IMO, specific details about their contract and/or their feelings about whether or not Regent is treating their employees fairly. . . it's just not appropriate.

[sea lover]

Peggy, once again thanks for your positive comments. From what we have heard, this WC was better then ever. Sorry that they had the pod problem, but when you are on a ship, unfortunately things can go wrong. Remember when the Royal Viking hit a reef in Egypt and we had to abandon the ship? All is well that ends well. Have a safe trip.

[xrvlcruiser]

>>Remember when the Royal Viking hit a reef in Egypt and we had to abandon the ship?<<

 

How could I forget? April 4th, 1996 . . . and not very far from where we are now.

 

There are a number of "us" (both staff and passengers) on board.

[Island Cruiser]

Jackie, you are entirely right. Crew shouldn't bad mouth Regent to passengers. And Regent, as employer, has every right and good reason to insist that they not do that. It amazes me how successful the cruise lines are in enforcing this principle. It is really rare to hear crew scuttlebut on a cruise ship. Deck 3 is a floating "real world" and out of bounds to us passengers. Decks 4 and above are theatre with the crew the actors and passengers the audience. And that's the way it should be and it works well for all. But SHIP happens and sometimes these barriers break down a bit. And it sure is interesting when they do. I really don't begrudge a passenger taking interest when it does. I do. I'm all ears. And I consider the information I get for what it's worth (just as I do information posted on message boards). Our first cruise was on the old Island Princess in 1993. It was her last cruise of the Alaska season. After dropping us off in Vancouver she was headed to Hong Kong for drydock and a long overdue facelift. Most of the crew were Europeans. They were ending their contracts in Vancouver. And they had been informed that after drydock Princess would be staffing the ship with Phillipinos. You barely had to be awake to hear about this from this crew yet they were delightful and didn't take out their disappointment with us passengers. On the PG in 2005 we perceived "fraternization!" Under the circumstances Voyager has experienced, it is understandable (though not defensible) that some crew discontent would filter through. If I were on board, I'd be a receptive ear! I don't pry. But I'm a receptive ear! But I'll not offer others advice on how they should communicate with the crew nor did you. Pat

[giustot]

Pat, I love your post. Perhaps some day we'll write a novel about life aboard a cruise ship from the crew perspective and call it "Deck 3." Tom.

[ridolphi]

Tom (and Pat) what a great idea. We have been cruising since 1969 and we have learned a lot from the perspective of "Deck 3" over the years.;)

[PaulaJK]

Just a quick note to say that all goes well on board. People are relaxing and enjoying whatever activities appeal to them. Life is normal even as we proceed through the Gulf of Aden. Regent has added security personnel for the voyage. Last night guards could be seen out on deck, standing watch with those hoses available. We sail with many other ships within visual range and have seen a helicopter or two overhead.

 

A clarification---I sense that many may be thinking that pax are angry with Regent. I have not heard one person express anger. People understand that Regent is trying to help them with plans [an over whelming task I suspect] and in many cases, offer quite attractive alternatives. There is no grumbling about Regent on board and much sympathy for Regent, Voyager and her crew.

[ridolphi]

Thanks for the update Paula. Glad things have "settled" so to speak into a more normal shipboard routine.

[traveller333]

Paula, I've noticed you seem to flip back and forth as to how things are going on the ship and your degree of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. I'm glad to hear that things have settled down and you're enjoying your cruise even though it is not what you envisioned.

[Admiral Horatio Nelson]

The fact that some of the crew are reaching the end of their contract explains a lot regarding their attitude since many of them may not be picked up for another contract. Although I don't know the details, Regent will be hiring and training their own staff instead of using an employment agency. They are only hiring the best of the current staff (those that do a great job and do not complain to passengers perhaps???). The turnover cannot be completed until the current crew's contracts end. Reportedly, the crew that Regent hires gets better benefits and will know when their next contract begins (something they are not aware of now).

 

Kinda off topic -- sorry. It's always good to hear from passengers on board the Voyager. We're thinking positive thoughts about the Voyager. Hopefully they will be able to fix the problem in drydock -- and she'll be on her way again.

 

Contracts on cruise ships are always staggered, they never end at the same time. There may be a number of crew leaving but many were probably also meant to be staying well past the world cruise. Crew changes occur constantly that is proven to be the most efficient way to man a ship. So effective that the US navy now uses this system to cut costs as the ships can remain on location.

 

As for the way crew are recruited, yes this has changed, but not in the way you might think. Crew were once supplied by an agency (V-Ships of Monaco) but now they are doing this themselves. However most crew were simply required to sign a new contract either onboard or before they started their new contract. Furthermore, all training occurs onboard, so the training they receive will be the same as before. There may be changes to the type of training but it will all still happen onboard ship. The change from the agency to Regent recruitment is superficial as far as the running of the ship goes.

 

As far as the crew receiving better benefits, I haven't seen any of this myself as I still have many friends who work there, their comments have been generally indifference and some negative.