To those booked May 8 Voyager Fla-Southampton

[Mountainduo]

We are booked on the Reykjavik-Southampton leg, and have been excitedly anticipating it for many months.

Needless to say, we are very sympathetic to those whose cruises have been canceled. And, we are now nervous about our own fate, wondering if we are just weeks away from a similar disappointment (considering the obvious unknowns of the repair process in Rome).

We're curious exactly how Regent communicated with those passengers who were booked from Ft. Lauderdale through to Southampton. Did they offer airfare to Reykjavik and a special discount to still cruise on the second half of the itinerary?? That would make sense, and might be an indication of Regent's optimism about making the Reykjavik leg.

thanks

[PaulaJK]

I cannot answer your question but did want to mention that per Mark Conroy Voyager is expected to be in dry dock for 2-4 weeks. Or cruise ends 4/19 now. They continue to speak of needing to find dry dock space but I don't have any information as to where and when.

[giustot]

Mountainduo, my wife and I are booked on the same cruise as you. From what I've read elsewhere, passengers booked on the 23 night cruise were given three options. Each option comes with a $1,000 future cruise credit and payment of any hotel and air cancellation fees.

1. Take the second segment. Get a refund for the first segment and economy air to Reykjavik.

2. Switch to another cruise up to 23 nights for no additinal cost.

3. Get a full refund.

The information was communicated to pasengers through their travel agents. Tom.

[Mountainduo]

Thanks, Tom. Very clear and helpful.

We'll hope for the best. It appears that at full cruising speed the Voyager will need 5-6 days to move from Rome to Reykjavik. We'll hope the repairs complete on the early side of the 3-4 week projection.

thanks again

[PaulaJK]

Considering the debacle currently underway on Voyager, I would encourage you to take your refund and run. You have time to plan
another wonderful trip be it by land or sea. [This also leave you with the option to take another/future Regent cruise of your desires.]
The roll-on packet of 'options' that we are receiving does not equal your ability to make your own plans to your own destination on your own timetable.
We did not do this in Dubai and we made a mistake...but having to change everything at the last minute is a real challenge. Unless you are
ultraflexible, try to avoid that. Just my thoughts...........

[jhp]

Considering the debacle currently underway on Voyager, I would encourage you to take your refund and run. You have time to plan
another wonderful trip be it by land or sea. [This also leave you with the option to take another/future Regent cruise of your desires.]
The roll-on packet of 'options' that we are receiving does not equal your ability to make your own plans to your own destination on your own timetable.
We did not do this in Dubai and we made a mistake...but having to change everything at the last minute is a real challenge. Unless you are
ultraflexible, try to avoid that. Just my thoughts...........

Paula, while I empathize with your dissatisfaction aboard the current cruise pre-dry dock (that you were aware of being possible before you left home, albeit with little notice)this does not really clarify things for people on the May 8 cruise and those on the next one, as Regent seems to be changing with circumstances from what I am hearing from friends aboard same cruises starting May 8. I suggest anyone on this or the next cruise check with their TA or Regent to see what is the current information. We all have different "flexibilities" so to speak. Unfortunately, you did not, with vacation time being SET as there was short notice? Depends on what the offers are for the next cruisers. Not fair to turn what is a terrible experience for you (please, I do NOT debate that) into a continuing for one for those booked AFTER the pod is fixed. "SHIP HAPPENS", as they say, when you go on anything floating on water, you have to accept it. Likely, land travel a lot safer if you don't want these things to happen. Hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunami's who do you blame then for your ruined vacation? And how would your land hosts take care of you for a return when you were there?

[jhp]

They wouldn't let me edit, but I wish you had chosen to join the Mariner and had a great cruise in ports that would not be duplicates, like those on the WC!

[Colonel(Ret.)Wes]

Paula, your candor and first-hand observations/recommendations are appreciated....hang in there...r/wes

[jhp]

Wes, I am also hoping for the best for PaulaJK. However, this particular OP is not on that cruise, as bad as it might be for her.

[PaulaJK]

jhp

I do appreciate your post..and I readily acknowledge that one [moi] should be careful not to poison the well based on our current experience. By all means, May 8th cruisers should keep in contact with Regent and their TA. I sincerely doubt that Regent will wish to repeat the experience of its last 2 cruises. However, the problem that we ran into and the one which I suspect will also effect the May 8th cruisers is that the exact date of the pod being fixed cannot yet be ascertained. That means that the pax--despite any pre information -- may have travelled to their port of embarkation before they are fully informed about the status of the voyage. [I do not suggest that Regent is designing it this way but that reality dictates this.] IF that is important to you, then you might consider taking your full refund and planning an enjoyable vacation within your parameters. If you wish to hold out hope or want to see whether you can get a 'deal' ,then other choices are available to you. We may have felt adversely effected because we had already travelled from the East Coast to Dubai. Had we been embarking in a Med port, we may have taken another option.[Refund...rented a car...explored] I agree that we all have different interests and different flexibilites and that these must be factored into any personal decisions.

I am not certain why you persist in wishing that we had joined the Mariner but let me note that we,too, would have loved to join Mariner...but our schedule did not permit this. Also, I do not find this experience any omen that I should avoid sea journeys. Not going their on land disasters! Finally, if you remain in doubt, let me clearly state that I do not blame Regent for having their pod entangled. Actually I have a great deal of empathy for all of the trouble this is causing them.

Since this is our annual vacation, I also have empathy for moi. On a lighter note, some pax are happy with the pkg they have worked out. I spoke with a WC this morning who is flying from Rome to HongKong and picking up Mariner through Alaska! Neat treat. I also spoke with a man who queried why ever had I boarded in Dubai, in a tone that suggested I belonged in remediaton or an institution! Such is life on land or sea.

[CruiserPK]

Paula,

You continue to give us good information regarding your trip on the Voyager. While the switch to the Mariner would have made lemonade, for some such as you, it was a non starter due to vacation time. You have been very good about posting the facts and not discouraging others from cruising Regent. It is a hard thing to do when your cruise is not at their self professed "6 star" quality.

As someone who also experienced the Panama Canal cruise, that was also below par for Regent. You know of the things (and there were several) that caused us to cancel the circle of SA for 2010. I chose not to post my a review, because we had quite a few prior Regent cruises that were wonderful. We are watching Regent at the moment and will possibly rebook if we feel it is a good value and the staff are more cohesive. A distracted staff does not provide a quality trip. Just my two cents.

[cruiseluv]

Paula,

You may have commented on this already but I haven't seen it.... What is the level of service and ammenities on the cruise? If subpar , I don't think I would cut them slack for that. Obviously, they were upfront with you about the fact you would miss ports but not about a lower level of service.

Are you still going to visit the ports where you go to Petra and Egypt?

[PaulaJK]

Cruiseluv,
Our ports are Fujairah, Muscat, Safaga & Aqaba. We will miss Salalah, Sharm el Shiehk, Alexandria & Bodrum. That information was not firm pre departure from home but was stated as a possibility IF Voyager could not sail at full speed. The change from Istanbul to Rome was not announced until embarkation.

I do not think that service has been sub par but do hope that the crew's disappointment will not result in same. Our cabin and diningroom service has been good. The absence of service personnel circulating around the pool still exists but was a problem at other times also.

I am not certain what you mean by amenities.

Paula

[cruiseluv]

Hi Paula,

I'm glad you feel the level of service/ dining quality has not been impaired. By "amenities" I meant little things like sailaway party and other activities (eg entertainment, lectures, etc) that usually take place in a cruise.

[Island Cruiser]

Again, thanks Paula. Glad to hear service continues to be good even under these adverse circumstances. In the glass half full department, we did essentially your itinerary at this time last year on the Silver Whisper. You've got an exceptional treat awaiting you in Luxor and Petra--absolutely sensational port stops. These ports should help immensely with the understandable woes. Pat

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Paula, didn't you say in another thread that the food was nauseating? Was that a temporary blip?

[bv521]

We too were booked on the May 8th cruise to Iceland. We opted for the full refund (promised to hit my credit card within 72 hours) but since May 21st will be my 70th birthday, we scrambled to find another cruise. We lucked out. We are now booked on the Rotterdam out of NYC on May 16th with a very nice itinerary that ends in Rotterdam on the 31st. We have a deluxe verandah suite (556 sq. ft. with balcony - NO butler) for just over $11,000. Our category A on the Voyager (320 sq. ft with balcony) was over $14,000 (no air in either price). I personally would have preferred to still be on the Voyager but it was not to be. Signatures and Prime 7 seem much more appealing than Pinnacle, and I had enrolled Linda in the Cordon Bleu cooking classes. At the end of the day, we are thankful to be able to afford to cruise and to have such choices within our grasp.

[PaulaJK]

Wendy, I do recall using the word nauseating. I haven't referenced the thread but if it sounded as though I meant the food, I do not. The dining room [cuisine & service] is the same as always. [I think my 'nauseating' meant to describe my emotional reaction to the entire situation...as in sickening...perhaps I was too concrete with my choice of words]

The programs continue, Yesterday we had 2 lectures. The first by Dr. Isbout described this area as the cradle of western civilization and highlighted the importance of water in the evolution of mankind from hunters/gatherers to farmers/producers and the development of trade routes. We look forward to his four additional lectures.
The second was a 'special' in the sense that our reduced speed now leaves us transiting the Gulf of Aden for about 3 days. Regent has boarded Cmdr Bancroft's, the UK's head of anti piracy activities in the Middle East and Horn of Africa. He and his crew are sailing with us, at least through this area. He gave all sorts of interesting info and gave all sorts of reassurances.

Last evening we had the Captain's welcome party where Capt Dag exhorted all to make this a spectacular cruise. A lovely dinner followed....the evening's entertainment was David Howarth, a pianist-entertainer.

The other shows have been the PGT productions...rather a weak cast,I think but of course, that's personal opinion.

Where we may be a bit weaker, so to speak, is on those days when we had expected to be in ports. We'll see.

My sense is that things are settling down. Everyone has been promised that they will get home so we'll see how things go when we get actual details,etc. Many of the WC have been able to make delicious sounding other plans. The WC are having their 'finale' with hugs and photo taking. Since they comprise about 2/3rds of this manifest, it is easy to feel left out. I would be careful in the future to not sail in the minority, so to speak.

[Shorex]

For PaulaJK: thank you for your posts. They are calm, rational, factual, and most informative. It's like having a CC reporter on board -- "Here with the latest update on the situation is our reporter on the scene." :) The only thing missing is "film at eleven."

As a past and future Regent cruiser -- thank you.

[PaulaJK]

Than you for your kind words.

On board we have the funny situation of the dialy news being marked Sunday, our NYTimes paper from Saturday and when you pick up the Brit's paper, it's marked Monday. However, when you arrive in the dining room
for breakfast and you have caviar and champagne you KNOW it's Sunday!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Thanks Paula, glad things are settling down a bit and that you are having some enjoyable times. As for feeling left out, I'm thinking that must be more acute in the circumstances, with the WCers having to make sudden goodbyes. I do worry about the "Segmenter" phenomenon in general--we are booked on the last segment of the Discovery Collection in December, and I think about that a bit, but am not too worried.

[Pam]

Paula, this was what you said in your thread, on April 3rd:

CD Jamie, the redundant, has been on the airways promising a letter. It arrived today 4/3 at lunch time [I think that they're trying to save $ on food as it is nauseating.]

I'm hoping it was just a short-lived problem, seems maybe it was.

[PaulaJK]

Pam,

My apologies to all...I must have been in humor most foul . Can't even
remember what I had that day [just as well, I suspect]..........the food has been within Regent's standards. Today was Sunday breakfast and the champagne and caviar bar were in evidence. We had Arabian Delights on deck buffet at lunch with kebobs, curry and mezze; interesting and different. Loved the ice carving...a camel. Paula

[Travelcat2]

Paula,

Do they only have the caviar bar and champagne in La Veranda? We make a point to have breakfast there on Sundays -- just curious if it is also available in Compass Rose.

Regarding the food comment. . . you were going through a lot early in this cruise -- hope that the passengers have the answers they need and everyone is able to enjoy the remainder of the cruise. If something like this had to happen, at least it's on the Voyager (my favorite ship) -- it's in great condition (except for the pod) and has the 4 dining venues.

Hope you will keep us up to date on your journey!

[PaulaJK]

Travelcat, I had breakfast in the diningroom and the champagne and caviar definitely were there. If I were more adept at transfering hpotos, I would show you my lovely caviar topped scrambled eggs w chives!

[Travelcat2]

Travelcat, I had breakfast in the diningroom and the champagne and caviar definitely were there. If I were more adept at transfering hpotos, I would show you my lovely caviar topped scrambled eggs w chives!

I just printed your post and will stick the paper in my suitcase -- don't want to forget that yummy sounding breakfast. Thanks!:D

[xrvlcruiser]

Paula forgot that at Sunday breakfast champagne or mimosas are offered as well.