was I wrong?

[liindajean]

This is the entire email I sent to Mr. Conroy on Aug.22: (with no response)

 

Dear Mr. Conroy,

My name is Linda T*******, and my husband and I had booked a penthouse suite on the Navigator for our 40th anniversary. Unfortunately, our cruise was one of the canceled cruises due to the early dry dock. These things happen, I know.

But, when we were contacted by our TA, we were told that our only choices were to book one of two cruises in Feb., take a $500. credit, or cancel. That seems a little harsh. Completely rearrange your plans, try to find a substitute on short notice, or take $500 towards another cruise. $500? That won't go very far. Prices are higher in 2010.

Luckily, we WERE able to rearrange our schedules for the Feb. cruise. So, why am I writing? I just wasn't made to feel that Regent wants our business. When my husband was booking the Feb. cruise with our TA he asked if anything could be done ..a little "extra"..anything. Just something to compensate us for the huge change in our plans. We don't cruise a lot, we had only $100 shipboard credit from Costco..but he and our TA were told "No". Nothing could (would) be done. We would have been pleased with a little extra OBC...just something to make us feel that " Yes! We're sorry and we want you to cruise with us."

So, that leads me to my original question: Was I wrong to rebook to the Feb. cruise? Do you care?

Sincerely,

Linda T*******

[cruiseluv]

Hi Lindajean,

 

I think it was a good idea to send that letter to Mr. Conroy. He is known to respond to correspondence, even to e-mails. I don't have his e-mail but maybe somebody here knows and can chime in. Some years ago I had an issue with a cruise on Voyager. As suggested by my TA , I sent a letter to the Manager of Customer Relations. When weeks went by with no response I sent a copy of my letter via e-mail to Mr. Conroy. Next day I had a response from the Customer Relations mgr. I don't think it was a coincidence.

 

I find Regent's lack of a goodwill gesture in this case disturbing. I know in the past they have offered lavish incentives( as compared to what you got) for people to rebook. Hopefully Mr. Conroy will respond to your letter with an improved offer.

[WesW]

Maria/Cruiseluv, very happy to chime in; linda try Mark Conroy at:

 

MConroy@rssc.com

 

Linda, agree with Maria, you were spot-on in contacting the CEO of Regent (Mark Conroy)..everytime I correspond with Mark, he writes back, and generally what I want to hear. Mark is also on facebook:

 

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/profile.php?id=1166298113

[VistaRio]

Hi Linda,

I am not a RSSC cruiser, though I did look hard at some 2010 itinerarys, so I am familiar with them in general. As such, you can take or leave my comments:

 

Am I reading correctly that you are giving RSSC a hard time for 'only' giving you a free $500 credit? To me this seems like you are asking for, frankly, a hand out rather than gracious compensation for the inconvenience. Naturally, if you had incurred additional un refundable expenses, that would be certainly on the table as a justified complaint, but it appears you suffered only inconvenience, not financial repurcussions. (And I don't intend to diminish the inconvenience part)

 

Again, I don't intend to upset, but my outsider's perspective thinks the cruise line is being generous, or at the least, not 'disgenerous'.

[liindajean]

Hi Vista V

The $500 is towards a NEW cruise..not in addition to the cruise. And as I said, the prices are higher in 2010. (Is that what you thought?..I'm not sure...)

So, nothing for just changing to a different cruise (in a different year!:()

[Travelcat2]

I agree with VistaV. We had a cruise cancelled and received a $500 credit towards our next cruise which was very much appreciated. If you are booked on the February cruise -- isn't that the one that is offered at a special savings?

 

The above poster has made Mr. Conroy's email address available to many people. Unfortunately, this may have diluted any effect your email may have (or anyone elses).

 

Another issue is your TA. If they had any clout with Regent, they could possibly have obtained a onboard credit for you. I understand your frustration and do hope your enjoy your February cruise!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I agree that the compensation sounds reasonably fair to me as well, although at times in the past Regent has been more generous. I think they could also have extended the offer of a replacement cruise at the same price to more similar cruises, but I understand why they would not want to replace it with a European cruise which is probably intrinsically pricier to beginn with. I would also want them to apply the $500 credit immediately to the cruise that I rebooked.

[Mike2131]

We were booked on one of the canceled cruises but are "locked" into the mid-December time frame. Since we do not have the flexibility to take one of the 2 February cruises Linda referenced, we will get the $500 future cruise discount that has to be used for a sailing before 12/31/2010. Not a great offer since prices are significantly higher in 2010. If we cannot get back non-refundable costs related to this cruise from Regent (for their decision), we will be out several hundred dollars just for the pleasure of having tried to sail with them. In light of the way they handled this situation, please remind me why we would want to try it again with Regent?

 

We are glad other affected passengers will be able to take advantage of the replacement cruises, but the offer does not help us at all. At this point, we just want to be made whole and move on.

[dlalpw]

This is the entire email I sent to Mr. Conroy on Aug.22: (with no response)

 

Dear Mr. Conroy,

My name is Linda T*******, and my husband and I had booked a penthouse suite on the Navigator for our 40th anniversary. Unfortunately, our cruise was one of the canceled cruises due to the early dry dock. These things happen, I know.

But, when we were contacted by our TA, we were told that our only choices were to book one of two cruises in Feb., take a $500. credit, or cancel. That seems a little harsh. Completely rearrange your plans, try to find a substitute on short notice, or take $500 towards another cruise. $500? That won't go very far. Prices are higher in 2010.

Luckily, we WERE able to rearrange our schedules for the Feb. cruise. So, why am I writing? I just wasn't made to feel that Regent wants our business. When my husband was booking the Feb. cruise with our TA he asked if anything could be done ..a little "extra"..anything. Just something to compensate us for the huge change in our plans. We don't cruise a lot, we had only $100 shipboard credit from Costco..but he and our TA were told "No". Nothing could (would) be done. We would have been pleased with a little extra OBC...just something to make us feel that " Yes! We're sorry and we want you to cruise with us."

So, that leads me to my original question: Was I wrong to rebook to the Feb. cruise? Do you care?

Sincerely,

Linda T*******

Send it certified return receipt -that way you know he received it and then follow up in 10 days the same way.Regent seems to be having quite a few operational problems lately(booking excursions/restaurant reservations on line,timing and communication when the services would be available and handling the cancelled and interupted cruises). Have your TA press as well.

[WesW]

Linda, fyi..here is a thread (from this past May) that reflects the timliness of Mark Conroy's answers to

emails from Regent Clients...pls let us know what you hear from him.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=19748748

[traveller333]

I think the compensation Regent is offering is fair.

 

It sounds like you feel better writing Mr. Conroy, so be it. In the future though, rather than book with a Costco agent I would book with an agent who specializes in luxury cruise lines, they will carry more weight with Regent due to their volume of business.

[wripro]

Did Regent offer compensation for nonrefundable air in connection with your original cruise?

[dlalpw]

I think the compensation Regent is offering is fair.

 

It sounds like you feel better writing Mr. Conroy, so be it. In the future though, rather than book with a Costco agent I would book with an agent who specializes in luxury cruise lines, they will carry more weight with Regent due to their volume of business.

This is probably true as a practical matter but from a good business practice perspective a customer should be a customer-irrespective of the TA in matters like this--or Regent should make it part of their consumer disclosures that one will receive closer attention if booked by a TA 'favored" or specifically "recognised" or "designated" by Regent as a Regent Luxury Cruise specialist or something like that. How one is treated when things go terribly awry as they did here shouldn't depend on who is the customer's TA. A bad business move

[liindajean]

This is probably true as a practical matter but from a good business practice perspective a customer should be a customer-irrespective of the TA in matters like this--or Regent should make it part of their consumer disclosures that one will receive closer attention if booked by a TA 'favored" or specifically "recognised" or "designated" by Regent as a Regent Luxury Cruise specialist or something like that. How one is treated when things go terribly awry as they did here shouldn't depend on who is the customer's TA. A bad business move

I agree.

[jhp]

Understandably, you are upset about the canceling of your cruise. Quite evident, actually, from several postings! That's okay, you are surely entitled to feel whatever way you like about Regent and the way you have been treated in this case. However, Mike, I will tell you that my first cruise with Regent (then Radison) was also canceled back in, I think 2000 or 2001, its first year, nonetheless. I don't remember the time frame, how close it was to the cruise, but remember that the incentive to rebook came as a surprise to me, as it was my first cruise ever, other than a Carnival thing once. I rebooked from the canceled Panamal Canal cruise to one going to the Baltics That was about 24 or so cruises ago with them.

 

Had I not rebooked that cruise, I would have missed what has become my favorite cruise line. I have also maneuvered myself over to Silversea a couple of times on my own, just to try the line, and love it as well. To me they are mutually interchangeable in terms of food, service, entertainment etc. I just choose for price and itinerary, but many times choose Regent because my TA escorts several cruises a year, and I enjoy the many people I first met here on cc a long time ago who are also her clients. You can see I have been on this board awhile, even if I don't have K's of posts! I am working toward Titanium level with Regent, so I do love the line.

 

I have also been on a cruise with Regent where there was a pod problem in Alaska, and we arrived at port a day late. All my extra expenses for changing the air reservations were handled in a timely manner by Regent after I presented them with the charges to my credit card for the changes.

 

I hope you will give Regent another chance. I don't think you will be sorry.

[Mike2131]

Understandably, you are upset about the canceling of your cruise. Quite evident, actually, from several postings! That's okay, you are surely entitled to feel whatever way you like about Regent and the way you have been treated in this case. However, Mike, I will tell you that my first cruise with Regent (then Radison) was also canceled back in, I think 2000 or 2001, its first year, nonetheless. I don't remember the time frame, how close it was to the cruise, but remember that the incentive to rebook came as a surprise to me, as it was my first cruise ever, other than a Carnival thing once. I rebooked from the canceled Panamal Canal cruise to one going to the Baltics That was about 24 or so cruises ago with them.

 

Had I not rebooked that cruise, I would have missed what has become my favorite cruise line. I have also maneuvered myself over to Silversea a couple of times on my own, just to try the line, and love it as well. To me they are mutually interchangeable in terms of food, service, entertainment etc. I just choose for price and itinerary, but many times choose Regent because my TA escorts several cruises a year, and I enjoy the many people I first met here on cc a long time ago who are also her clients. You can see I have been on this board awhile, even if I don't have K's of posts! I am working toward Titanium level with Regent, so I do love the line.

 

I have also been on a cruise with Regent where there was a pod problem in Alaska, and we arrived at port a day late. All my extra expenses for changing the air reservations were handled in a timely manner by Regent after I presented them with the charges to my credit card for the changes.

 

I hope you will give Regent another chance. I don't think you will be sorry.

I appreciate it and the thought behind it. I had a longer response composed and unfortunately lost it when I hit the send button. I will try to pare it down for this second attempt.

 

I tend to be very critical (and yes, I'm afraid judgemental) of customer service because that is what I do day in and day out. Among other duties, I am the client relations manager in a luxury automobile dealership so I deal with difficult situations daily. One of the most important weapons I have in my arsenal is timely and accurate information. I try to always make sure external and internal clients are well informed. Bad news does not age like fine wine and the longer one takes to "come clean" the worse the reaction. Now the client is not only disappointed with the outcome but also mad because they were not kept informed or (worst case scenario) lied to. The old adage is very true - "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." On a scale of 1 (the absolute worst) - 10 (the absolute best), Regent is scoring about a 2.

 

OK, I have said enough on this topic and (reading between the lines) need to move on to other matters. I do reserve the right to open my big mouth again, however, if Regent's score manages to slip to a 1 - LOL.

[cruiseyguy]

Compensation can become a very slippery and costly slop for cruise lines in these tough economic times. Celebrity has reached the point where it often has to give away free cruises to thousands of passengers whenever a cruise is cancelled because of the expectations of compensation that have built up. I think Regent is doing the right thing by holding compensation for cancelled cruises to a realistic and fair level.

[traveller333]

This is probably true as a practical matter

 

Dialpw, yes, that is what I meant to imply. It may not be right but unfortunately I believe it becomes the reality. Just as with frequent flyers or frequent hotel guests; the higher the $volume, the more they will go out of their way to make ammends. I feel it is likely the same with TA who book lots of business with a particular cruise line.

[jhp]

I am interested to know what you have booked instead, and even more, how you like it after your cruise! I know it will not be on Regent, but no harm done in posting here!

[liindajean]

This is the entire email I sent to Mr. Conroy on Aug.22:

 

Dear Mr. Conroy,

My name is Linda T*******, and my husband and I had booked a penthouse suite on the Navigator for our 40th anniversary. Unfortunately, our cruise was one of the canceled cruises due to the early dry dock. These things happen, I know.

But, when we were contacted by our TA, we were told that our only choices were to book one of two cruises in Feb., take a $500. credit, or cancel. That seems a little harsh. Completely rearrange your plans, try to find a substitute on short notice, or take $500 towards another cruise. $500? That won't go very far. Prices are higher in 2010.

Luckily, we WERE able to rearrange our schedules for the Feb. cruise. So, why am I writing? I just wasn't made to feel that Regent wants our business. When my husband was booking the Feb. cruise with our TA he asked if anything could be done ..a little "extra"..anything. Just something to compensate us for the huge change in our plans. We don't cruise a lot, we had only $100 shipboard credit from Costco..but he and our TA were told "No". Nothing could (would) be done. We would have been pleased with a little extra OBC...just something to make us feel that " Yes! We're sorry and we want you to cruise with us."

So, that leads me to my original question: Was I wrong to rebook to the Feb. cruise? Do you care?

Sincerely,

Linda T*******

I received a gracious email the next day from Mr. Conroy stating he would "look into it" and that they were looking forward to "welcoming us aboard".

(I received this response after posting email to the address given by Co. Wes.) Thanks, Colonel.

I'll post after I hear back from regent.

[Travelcat2]

I received a gracious email the next day from Mr. Conroy stating he would "look into it" and that they were looking forward to "welcoming us aboard".

(I received this response after posting email to the address given by Co. Wes.) Thanks, Colonel.

I'll post after I hear back from regent.

 

Mr. Conroy does read this board. The odds of receiving a response went up dramatically when you posted on CC. That is the good part. Since this forum is so public, IF Regent decides to offer you additional compensation, they will be pretty much obligated to do the same for EVERYONE whose cruise was cancelled in November and December.

 

We have written to Regent and had good response. . . however, it was something we kept to ourselves. I'm telling you this so you can think about whether or not you want to make Regent's response public.

[breezepark]

Mr. Conroy does read this board. The odds of receiving a response went up dramatically when you posted on CC. That is the good part. Since this forum is so public, IF Regent decides to offer you additional compensation, they will be pretty much obligated to do the same for EVERYONE whose cruise was cancelled in November and December.

 

We have written to Regent and had good response. . . however, it was something we kept to ourselves. I'm telling you this so you can think about whether or not you want to make Regent's response public.

This is a tricky area Travelcat2 - while I agree some decorum is necessary in making public ones' special arrangements, if no one shares any success stories then all we will read on this board are complaints - seemingly unresoved.

And it was on this board that I learned about the oversold status of my cruise, through the posting someone shared of the offer they received (but I had not) to rebook or cancel. Without that knowledge I could not have alerted my TA to notify me if an offer came our way. I remain grateful to that now forgotten poster for sharing, but am sensitive to the difficulties of the issue.

[Travelcat2]

This is a tricky area Travelcat2 - while I agree some decorum is necessary in making public ones' special arrangements, if no one shares any success stories then all we will read on this board are complaints - seemingly unresoved.

And it was on this board that I learned about the oversold status of my cruise, through the posting someone shared of the offer they received (but I had not) to rebook or cancel. Without that knowledge I could not have alerted my TA to notify me if an offer came our way. I remain grateful to that now forgotten poster for sharing, but am sensitive to the difficulties of the issue.

 

I agree that it is a sensitive and tricky area. Our TA has so many Regent clients that we get the information we need from them rather than on the boards. When we had difficulty on an excursion, we wrote to Regent directly. I do feel that both your TA and Regent should be notfied of problems. It seemed that Regent (and Mark Conroy) might be uncomfortable if they think their correspondence will appear in a public forum. Not sure if you've seen them -- Mr. Conroy has posted letters on this board in the past.

 

Really happy to hear that you learned of the oversold status of your cruise here - hopefully Regent made things right for you. When CC members read reviews of cruises where something does not seem right -- we post to make cruisers aware if something is unusual with their cruise. I can't tell you how many times those of who have voiced our opinions about the overbooking of the Mariner have been blasted for saying anything.

 

Hope you give sail Regent again in the future.:)

[cruiseluv]

I received a gracious email the next day from Mr. Conroy stating he would "look into it" and that they were looking forward to "welcoming us aboard".

(I received this response after posting email to the address given by Co. Wes.) Thanks, Colonel.

I'll post after I hear back from regent.

 

I am glad for you! From previous experience I was sure he would respond.

[breezepark]

I agree that it is a sensitive and tricky area. Our TA has so many Regent clients that we get the information we need from them rather than on the boards. When we had difficulty on an excursion, we wrote to Regent directly. I do feel that both your TA and Regent should be notfied of problems. It seemed that Regent (and Mark Conroy) might be uncomfortable if they think their correspondence will appear in a public forum. Not sure if you've seen them -- Mr. Conroy has posted letters on this board in the past.

 

Really happy to hear that you learned of the oversold status of your cruise here - hopefully Regent made things right for you. When CC members read reviews of cruises where something does not seem right -- we post to make cruisers aware if something is unusual with their cruise. I can't tell you how many times those of who have voiced our opinions about the overbooking of the Mariner have been blasted for saying anything.

 

Hope you give sail Regent again in the future.:)

I am very content with the deal Regent made for us to cancel our cruise to Alaska this year and have booked it for 2010. But I would not post what that deal was because sure as I did someone else would post their better deal and then I would feel bad :)

 

PS I have also learned from these boards that a good TA is someting to be desired. Will have to find one someday.