Poor Reviews?

Aloha All,

 

Well, since our return from our October trip on the Voyager, we have been extremely busy in our businesses, so I have been completely away from the CC boards for several months.

 

I am a bit surprised to see a fairly large number of poor reviews for Regent between August and November of 2013. Are there any regulars who have cruised Regent recently who can speak to their recent onboard experience?

 

We had a great trip in October, but it seems that a number of recent Regent customers have not been impressed. Would like to hear your thoughts. We booked another trip while onboard, but business circumstances may force us to consider either changing itinerary or cancelling, so I ask this with some self-interest in mind.

 

 

Belated Happy New Year to All and Aloha from Hanalei!

We were on the Voyager in October and had a lovely trip in every way. We are leaving in less than two weeks on Navigator and have two more booked after that.After having such a nice trip I was dismayed to see the complaints that I feel may be unjustified. I think that people's expectations sometimes far exceed the actual reality and I would all aspects of life in that statement, not just cruising.

We will not hesitate to continue to book Regent. The only problem with our last trip were the crowds in Florence and Rome. So therefore we will see a lot of the Navigator in the future-we'll stick closer to home and enjoy the delightful ship and her crew.

And to those who don't care for _______________(fill in the blank) considerately ask a staff member for assistance or advice in fixing the problem--I'm sure it will be taken care of to your satisfaction. When we first cruised Regent with my mother, there were some issues of HER making and she was treated with respect and courtesy far exceeding expectations. When she fell she was treated (at no charge ) with compassion and professionalism.

Do we like Regent? YES>

We were on the Voyager last August on the Baltic 12 day Stockholm-Southampton cruise and both my wife and I considered it to be the very best cruise ever, and we have been on many over the past 50 years.

 

Not much else to say...

Aloha, Sorry tis is OT but have been waiting for you to post. Where is your business? We will be on Kauai in February and seeing the island and thought might venture by. Mahalo. Joanna

We've sailed on each of the Regent ships and have not had any major complaints in the past. We are, however, booked on an Oceania TA in April, and are anxious to make comparisons between the two lines, the service, food, amenities, excursions etc.

 

It does appear that some former Regent regulars have switched over to Oceania for various reasons (see other threads), but we'd like to see for ourselves, although we do think Regent is fabulous in all ways.

We've sailed on each of the Regent ships and have not had any major complaints in the past. We are, however, booked on an Oceania TA in April, and are anxious to make comparisons between the two lines, the service, food, amenities, excursions etc.

 

It does appear that some former Regent regulars have switched over to Oceania for various reasons (see other threads), but we'd like to see for ourselves, although we do think Regent is fabulous in all ways.

 

We are primarily Regent cruisers (Platinum) but we cruise once a year on Oceania. We find the two lines like sisters but not twins. The smaller Oceania ships are much different than the two newer, larger ships, but each size has its' own fans. Enjoy your cruise.

Edited January 12, 2014 by AWED23

We sailed on Voyager last January-February for 35 days from Sydney to Hong Kong. It was well run and an excellent staff took care of everything in a first class manner. I do not have any idea why the 1 or 2 bad reviews were made regarding the same cruise that others reported as being excellent. I would really pay them no mind as I believe they also mentioned bad weather which as yet I do not think Regent has any control over.:D

It was with much reluctance that we booked the Navigator in Aug.2013 for our 3rd cruise to Alaska. There had been so many negative reviews concerning the ship...you name it: service, food, rough water handling, vibration,etc. We have been on the Mariner and Voyager and were anxious to cruise on the Navigator. I am so delighted we made the choice to "hang in there" and give it a go. I daresay this was one of the most enjoyable sailings we have had the pleasure to be a part of. Honestly, I can not think of one negative remark concerning this cruise. I'm of the opinion that a cruise is what you make it. We made some delightful friends and still keep in touch via email from NYC, NC, Ukraine to Australia. The food was every bit beyond excellent, the crew knew our name from day 2 and went out of their way to please. Our young Captain was very friendly and made as few interruptions over the PA system as a courtesy to the passengers.

 

I could go on and on but the bottom line is we have booked a cruise in Mar 2014 on the Navigator which should be proof positive of our love for this ship. Just hope some of our crew buddies haven't changed ships:(

 

Patty

We had our best cruise with Regent, and also our worst. What made the difference? The people. We shared the best cruise (Voyager, Sydney-Beijing) with a group of friendly, relaxed, interesting, polite strangers who quickly became friends, many of whom we have cruised with again. We endured the worst cruise (Navigator, Alaska) with a group of rude, hostile, demanding boors who basically ruined the whole experience with their negativity and atrocious behaviour.

 

We all know the type of people who find fault with anything and everything and unfortunately cruises seem to attract more than their fare share of these types who do affect the whole ambiance and tone. The hard working and long suffering crew have to bear the brunt of this and it's hardly surprising that sometimes their patience and goodwill are tested beyond their limits.

 

I'm not saying that negative reviews aren't valid and some complaints are genuine but some people's expectations are totally unrealistic so I'm afraid I take these things with a very large pinch of salt.

We are primarily Regent cruisers (Platinum) but we cruise once a year on Oceania. We find the two lines like sisters but not twins. The smaller Oceania ships are much different than the two newer, larger ships, but each size has its' own fans. Enjoy your cruise.

 

Our first Oceania cruise will be on the Riviera, which is still about 500 people more than the Mariner or Voyager, and is probably also as large as we'd ever like to go!

 

Thanks - I'm sure we'll have a great time, as this is our first TA and a first time with our own butler! :)

 

~Benita

We had our best cruise with Regent, and also our worst. What made the difference? The people. We shared the best cruise (Voyager, Sydney-Beijing) with a group of friendly, relaxed, interesting, polite strangers who quickly became friends, many of whom we have cruised with again. We endured the worst cruise (Navigator, Alaska) with a group of rude, hostile, demanding boors who basically ruined the whole experience with their negativity and atrocious behaviour.

 

We all know the type of people who find fault with anything and everything and unfortunately cruises seem to attract more than their fare share of these types who do affect the whole ambiance and tone. The hard working and long suffering crew have to bear the brunt of this and it's hardly surprising that sometimes their patience and goodwill are tested beyond their limits.

 

I'm not saying that negative reviews aren't valid and some complaints are genuine but some people's expectations are totally unrealistic so I'm afraid I take these things with a very large pinch of salt.

 

I absolutely agree with and can relate to everything you're saying, as we've seen the same in the past. The best thing to do is to ignore the negativity, enjoy the positive and fun people, and have a great journey! ;)

 

~Benita

Our first Oceania cruise will be on the Riviera, which is still about 500 people more than the Mariner or Voyager, and is probably also as large as we'd ever like to go!

 

Thanks - I'm sure we'll have a great time, as this is our first TA and a first time with our own butler! :)~Benita

 

;) ;) You picked a great ship for your first TA and Oceania cruise. We have it booked for the same TA but in 2015.....Don't mess up the ship!....You will seldom notice the extra passengers.

We traveled on Regent ships twice this year. On the Voyager in March for Asia cruise and Mariner in Sept for Greece, Israel, and Turkey. Both cruises were awesome! The service was great, the food delicious, and all-in-all we had a great time. We love cruising with Regent and have never experienced a bad cruise. We have cruised in all three ships and have no complaints. Don't be influenced by bad reviews. Some people are never satisfied and find reason to complaint with everything.

Edited January 12, 2014 by forevertravel

We traveled on Regent ships twice this year. On the Voyager in March for Asia cruise and Mariner in Sept for Greece, Israel, and Turkey. Both cruises were awesome! The service was great, the food delicious, and all-in-all we had a great time. We love cruising with Regent and have never experienced a bad cruise. We have cruised in all three ships and have no complaints. Don't be influenced by bad reviews. Some people are never satisfied and find reason to complaint with everything.

:cool: Amen to that and a big ditto....+1

Our first Regent cruise is this summer, and last night I read through all of the Voyager's member reviews on this site. Some of the bad ones were pretty hilarious: there was one that said Regent was racist against Brits (not a race!), one said that Regent should have known better than to schedule a cruise during bad weather season in Greece, another where the reviewer sniffed at the "rail drinks" that were included (give me a break!).

 

The thing to remember is that as a rule, people post reviews when they are extremely upset, our extremely pleased (and that there's no pleasing some people). So the ratings always form sort of an upside-down bell curve. Plus there really aren't that many reviews on this site for Voyager, just 107, going all the way back to 2003. That's not much of a sample size.

 

If you took the reviews seriously on a site like Trip Advisor, you would never travel anywhere.

Caps Lock On - Greetings from a relative "newbie" (we have 2 Regent cruises under our belt and one more coming up in June). I have rarely read the formal reviews for the very reason you say. They generally reflect the "extremes" on either side of the scale ("I Want to have the Captain's Baby" or, "Our lawyers are preparing the lawsuit").

 

But DW and I read some of the reviews of Voyager yesterday, just for fun. Most were positive but 2 of the really negative reviews were written by people who were on our very same cruise around the Med this past October. I couldn't believe that those two sets of cruisers were even on the same ship/cruise we were on! I can only think that they came on board with an "attitude" to begin with, and that they were determined to FIND things that were "wrong" in order to perpetuate their misery. That's a hell of a lot of money to spend beforehand to intentionally make yourself unhappy. I'd actually rather that they DON'T come back (as they promised), just so they don't inadvertently ruin things for the rest of us!

 

They were describing totally different (bad) circumstances than what we experienced onboard Voyager. It seemed like if things went "wrong" before they even reached the ship (certainly not within Regent's control), then they came onboard "loaded for bear" and they themselves allowed the smallest detail or shortcoming to cloud the rest of their entire experience for the total duration of the cruise.

 

Did we find everything "perfect"? Of course not. I thought the prunes on the breakfast buffet could have been a bit colder! :D But champagne and all other drinks were over flowing, the meals were great (particularly since I and DW didn't have to cook them), the wait staff throughout the ship were all friendly and were trying their hardest to make things comfortable, and the showers were hot every morning. Sewer smells in the plumbing? Just run water down all the sinks to fill up the "traps" and the smell went completely away.

 

There was plenty of good food, good single malt in the bar, we didn't hit an iceberg, and we saw a ton of wonderful sights! I especially thought the performers (singers, dancers, and band) all worked their butts off to put forth very enjoyable and well-staged nights of entertainment. I hated to have to leave the ship at the end of the cruise!

 

I would be interested (maybe not) to know how some of these "complainers" live their lives at home? Are the levels of meals, service, and entertainment that they get in their own homes of that high a quality that they can plausibly fault what they experience on Regent? Do they ever get "cut off" in traffic? Do they ever experience a "red" (vice "green") traffic light? They must (not) be a lot of "fun" to be around in their normal at-home, work, and social settings. They must not comprehend that the limited time all of have remaining on Earth is fleeting and precious. Enjoy every day! They should take heart just by the fact that they can afford to go on a Regent Cruise! That alone should make them happier than they seem to be. Best Regards to all.

Pingpong, thank you for the very insightful and interesting report!

Caps Lock On -

 

I can only think that they came on board with an "attitude" to begin with, and that they were determined to FIND things that were "wrong" in order to perpetuate their misery. That's a hell of a lot of money to spend beforehand to intentionally make yourself unhappy. I'd actually rather that they DON'T come back (as they promised), just so they don't inadvertently ruin things for the rest of us!

 

Pingpong - I especially like your statements above, but all your observations are great! :)

 

~Benita

Well said, ping pong!

Thank you for that.

We are going on Regent for the first time in April (Mariner). I have read these reviews too and got a little nervous about our choice of Line. You have put it all into perspective. There certainly are a few travellers who are determined not to have a good time. Yours is a good, well balanced review and I will be writing my thoughts on our cruise later in the year.

Caps Lock On - Greetings from a relative "newbie" (we have 2 Regent cruises under our belt and one more coming up in June). I have rarely read the formal reviews for the very reason you say. They generally reflect the "extremes" on either side of the scale ("I Want to have the Captain's Baby" or, "Our lawyers are preparing the lawsuit").

 

But DW and I read some of the reviews of Voyager yesterday, just for fun. Most were positive but 2 of the really negative reviews were written by people who were on our very same cruise around the Med this past October. I couldn't believe that those two sets of cruisers were even on the same ship/cruise we were on! I can only think that they came on board with an "attitude" to begin with, and that they were determined to FIND things that were "wrong" in order to perpetuate their misery. That's a hell of a lot of money to spend beforehand to intentionally make yourself unhappy. I'd actually rather that they DON'T come back (as they promised), just so they don't inadvertently ruin things for the rest of us!

 

They were describing totally different (bad) circumstances than what we experienced onboard Voyager. It seemed like if things went "wrong" before they even reached the ship (certainly not within Regent's control), then they came onboard "loaded for bear" and they themselves allowed the smallest detail or shortcoming to cloud the rest of their entire experience for the total duration of the cruise.

 

Did we find everything "perfect"? Of course not. I thought the prunes on the breakfast buffet could have been a bit colder! :D But champagne and all other drinks were over flowing, the meals were great (particularly since I and DW didn't have to cook them), the wait staff throughout the ship were all friendly and were trying their hardest to make things comfortable, and the showers were hot every morning. Sewer smells in the plumbing? Just run water down all the sinks to fill up the "traps" and the smell went completely away.

 

There was plenty of good food, good single malt in the bar, we didn't hit an iceberg, and we saw a ton of wonderful sights! I especially thought the performers (singers, dancers, and band) all worked their butts off to put forth very enjoyable and well-staged nights of entertainment. I hated to have to leave the ship at the end of the cruise!

 

I would be interested (maybe not) to know how some of these "complainers" live their lives at home? Are the levels of meals, service, and entertainment that they get in their own homes of that high a quality that they can plausibly fault what they experience on Regent? Do they ever get "cut off" in traffic? Do they ever experience a "red" (vice "green") traffic light? They must (not) be a lot of "fun" to be around in their normal at-home, work, and social settings. They must not comprehend that the limited time all of have remaining on Earth is fleeting and precious. Enjoy every day! They should take heart just by the fact that they can afford to go on a Regent Cruise! That alone should make them happier than they seem to be. Best Regards to all.

 

Ditto! We were on that cruise with you and we had a lovely time as well. Just because I thought Rome and Florence were WAY TOO CROWDED I won't blame Regent I promise! Leave on Navigator next Friday--CAN'T WAIT!!!!!

Edited January 13, 2014 by debijaynes
spelling

Thank you for that.

We are going on Regent for the first time in April (Mariner). I have read these reviews too and got a little nervous about our choice of Line. You have put it all into perspective. There certainly are a few travellers who are determined not to have a good time. Yours is a good, well balanced review and I will be writing my thoughts on our cruise later in the year.

 

Our very first cruise was on the Mariner, when she was brand new and we were still learning about cruising and everything that goes with it. We absolutely LOVED Regent and the Mariner, and continue to do so.

 

Be prepared to be spoiled and pampered, have fun, eat well, and enjoy every minute of it!

 

Happy sailing and looking forward to your review! :)

 

~Benita

Interesting AWED, We were on the same cruise last year and absolutely agree with you. In addition several occurrences were beyond Regent's control and I thought the compensation was absolutely appropriate. Incredibly we had a drink with a cruiser who was upset because the whole fare was not refunded in cash. Give me a break!

Interesting AWED, We were on the same cruise last year and absolutely agree with you. In addition several occurrences were beyond Regent's control and I thought the compensation was absolutely appropriate. Incredibly we had a drink with a cruiser who was upset because the whole fare was not refunded in cash. Give me a break!

....Yes Old,Venerated and Ancient One, I also heard two couples up in the O lounge b......g about the meager ammount they received. Kidding aside, it sometimes bewilders me how some people are ever able to enjoy life with all the complaints they seem to constantly have. I just wish they had been with me in July of 1952 way up in the North Atlantic aboard DD694, USS INGRAHAM, 5 days of 75+ knot winds and 25 ft. seas with both evaporators broken down....Now that was not a "Luxury" cruise. We had the NEW JERSEY with us as the Flag and they seemed to just skate through. Oh well, back to my sofa, nap time here in the NW.....Got a hunch that Ping Pong is the fuzzy beard amongst the three of us...:cool: Edited January 13, 2014 by AWED23

I wonder if this phenomenon of frivolous complaints about petty things is due to the gross sense of Entitlement that pervades modern life. It certainly exists in the younger generation but I've also noticed it in older people too - people who could and should know better. But then again there are people who are just miserable so and so's and there's no pleasing them. In fact, they are only happy when they are UNhapoy about something and casting a pall of gloom and misery all around them. Not the kind of person I want to cruise with.

 

My other pet theory is that The Whingers are swept up in the glamour and sophistication of cruising so skilfully portrayed in all the cruise lines glossy brochures. Elegant, beautiful people draped around bars, lounges and staterooms drinking champagne from cut crystal glasses and dining off fine bone china on pristine white linen swathed tables, served by immaculately liveried, smiling personal butlers and waiters. You would think they were the only guests on the ship! Perhaps the realisation that they are sharing the experience with several hundred other sometimes equally demanding people, and that despite everyone's best intentions things do sometimes go wrong comes as a bit of a shock?