pappy1022

Maybe, but everyone else on the ship was wonderful and when something wasn’t right, they apologized and fixed it. Destination Services was different and I only saw 3-4 different people working the desk and /or tables to hand out bus tickets. I spoke to the team lead in her office and I walked out of there understanding why the rest of the team had the attitude they had. It starts with leadership. I can’t accept the argument that it’s a staffing issue. Wait, it is a staffing issue …… they hired the wrong team lead.

Here you go

Destinations Services is the achilles heel for Regent. We had some recent blips with food a couple of times but the team was quick to apologize and make it right. Destination Services wouldn’t even acknowledge the problem and take responsibility, let alone do something about it. There needs to be some leadership changes in that department and some training on customer service. They must have missed that training session.

Whoever makes the reservation can add the other couple on that reservation by adding the friend’s booking number. No need for the friend to do anything. I would suggest that only one of you make the reservations for all specialty restaurants. Recently, we tried to be clever and each of the 3 couples booked 1 different specialty restaurant for all 6 of us and the Regent system got all confused and it turned out that none of the reservations were correct. We had to call Regent the next day to get it straightened out. They said their system couldn’t handle multiple reservations for the same people at the same time. Go figure. Another technical limitation for Regent. Technology isn’t their one of their core competancies.

The wine tasting event only included a couple of wines from the included list. Very uneventful. We did our real wine tasting at dinners. You have to keep asking for wines to try because they seem reluctant at times to offer more than the 1 or 2 recommended wines for that venue. We found a decent French wine and asked for it at every venue. Multiple times we were told that they didn’t have it. We called their bluff and told them that we had it in Chartreuse. They said it will take some time to get it from a different venue and it showed up pretty quickly. Eventually, the staff got to know our group and knew what we wanted. We did take a picture of the wine label to show them exactly what we were asking for. Moral of the story, keep asking and you may discover an included wine that you enjoy.

Our cruise around the British Isles had a so called Beatles show with a couple of cast members that sang Beatles songs in the atrium. It was terrible and we didn’t stick around for much of it. I had heard that Regent often brings on a Beatles tribute band when in Liverpool but that wasn’t the case for this September cruise.

They do the job that they are meant to do, get your luggage to the correct cabin. If this upsets you, be prepared for a few more disappointments. My recent onboard experience (you can read my detailed trip report in another post) was mostly very good with a few bumps along the way. The food, especially the lobster and steak (filet mignon) had a few big misses and destination services was less than stellar (I am being kind). My advice is to enjoy the good stuff that Regent does (most things) and shake off the things that don’t go as expected. In the end you paid a lot of money for your cruise, don’t let the small stuff become big stuff.

While on the bus, the speaker system is fine to hear the guide. Off the bus, you might as well be on your own because only the people right by the guide can hear what they are saying. This is especially true for the standard large group tours. Small group tours are a little better as far as hearing the guide.

Why can’t we expect Regent to work with hotels, shore excursions, transfers, etc. to provide a world class experience? Too many times, I hear the excuse that they can’t control things outside the ship. That is a cop out because they do have leverage and they do have choices they can make so the entire experience can be excellent. Sometimes, I don’t think they care about the external stuff. But that is what frustrates people the most so why not do something about it? I just had a great experience with the all included Regent cruise I recently took. Sure there were bumps both on and off the ship, but nothing major. Well, Destination Services was rude and not helpful, but fortunately that was just 2 interactions. Maybe I am testing my luck but the all inclusive still appeals to me (with the exception of shore excursions) but I’m sure I would feel differently if I had some of the experiences that members of this discussion board have had.

Many people keep talking about taking the air credit and booking their own flights, and I understand that logic, but the air credit that Regent provides is nowhere near the cost of booking flights on your own. I looked into this on my recent cruise and it would have cost me thousands of dollars more to book my own business class fare above and beyond the air credit. I was already shelling out a lot of money for this cruise and couldn’t logically spend thousands of dollars more. Fortunately, all went well, even the hotels and transfers that were included. When it works, it is wonderful not to worry about anything except getting to the originating airport. Regent markets this experience and although they don’t directly control some of the facets of this “all included” experience, they still have some responsibility, in MHO, to deliver what they sold you and that was an entire package, not just the cruise ship experience.

You will be fine

I want to buy snorkel equipment for our upcoming cruise and I’m looking for specific snorkel recommendations. Thank you in advance.

Thanks Wendy. I also follow your posts on the Regent site. We’ve decided to go with a Paul Gauguin 10 day cruise and will add a couple of days on land. We did choose a window cabin on deck 4. I know it won’t be like Regent accommodations but we are looking forward to this cruise. Now I have to figure out the air reservations. Although Regent includes more, it is 2X-3X the price and I just can’t justify that much of a difference. I also believe that Paul Gauguin will give us a better experience because the areas it can get to that a big ship can’t. I also believe that we will get a better feel for the culture and the people by choosing Paul Gauguin. Maybe I’m wrong but that’s what I believe from all of my research. I cruise for the destination first and the shipboard experiences and accommodations second. Thank you for all of your comments on both boards. I value your thoughts and comments.

I thank everyone for their opinions on this topic. I very much appreciate Regent and I would cruise with Regent most places in the world. I felt this time, the other option made sense. After all, for me it’s all about the destination.

I have spoken to people that have in recent years cruised with Windstar, Regent and Paul Gauguin in the French Polynesia and to the person they all had amazing cruises on all of these lines. Most pointed out the Paul Gauguin was their favorite because of the bays and “shallow” areas they could get to because of the size and structure of the ship as well as the vibe on board. They are in that area all year and people felt like there was better immersion into the culture of the area. I am choosing Paul Gauguin for our cruise based on all the research I’ve done, the cost and the vibe with their cruise. I will miss the all inclusiveness of Regent but their prices are 2X-3X more but the Paul Gauguin includes everything but excursions (I prefer private one’s) and airfare (I have points for that). I did give Windstar a hard look but they are bringing in a bigger (stretched) ship and will probably have some growing pains (IMO).

Just got off the Splendor and I would say that overall the nightly shows were OK but nothing special. We attended all of them and it was a good way to wind down the night. I would still cruise with Regent again because of the cabins, the food, the people, etc. just don’t expect the shows to wow you.

Thanks. I will look into that.

The commercial airfare looks like it is costing more than the cruise itself especially if you want to fly business class and even premium economy is getting up there. And on top of that, the scheduled layovers are lengthy from Texas especially on the return flights. Does anyone have any tricks or ideas on how to make the airfare more affordable? Does the cruise line offer any better deals for airfare?

I am definitely leaning toward the 10 day itinerary that you mentioned. Thank you for your input.

Regent just can’t get to places and inlets that the PG ship can in the French Polynesia. They also don’t offer cruises to this area in the months that we want to go.

Having just getting off the Splendor, I would say that Regent’s biggest dress code issue is that men have a collared shirt. They care less about the shoes and the pants. I witnessed this first hand.

I am looking into a French Polynesian (FP) cruise in 2024 or 2025 and I am leaning toward one of the smaller ships that stay in FP year round and can get to areas the bigger ships can’t. I would normally go to Regent as my first choice but their itineraries don’t match up to the offerings from PG and Windstar. For those of you who have done both Regent and either PG or Windstar could you please give me a sense of the major differences and help me set my expectations? I know neither of these cruise lines will match up to the standards that Regent has delivered but in this case I am all about the destination and the experiences for this once in a lifetime journey. We are not picky people but Regent has sure set a bar that I don’t expect to be matched by either PG or Windstar. Thank you in advance.

Thank you very much

I am looking at booking a Paul Gauguin cruise to French Polynesia. As background, I have always cruised with high end cruise lines Regent, Crystal and Oceania. Here are my basic questions to try an get a feel for what Paul Gauguin cruises are like: - what are the demographics of a typical cruise, e.g. nationalities, age range, etc.? - what is the dress code? - comments on best itineraries and length of cruise including don’t miss ports? - is a cabin with a veranda a must? - best months to cruise this area? - can shipboard credits be used for port excursions? - are there any benefits to book a cabin at a certain level? For example, on Regent if you book a concierge cabin or above you get included hotel stay, early access to select specialty dining venues and shore excursions as well as business class air. - anything else I should consider? Thank you for your responses and insight into Paul Gauguin cruises.

I agree. I wish they would address the continuing issues with Destination Services. It is a consistent theme on these boards that this group is the Achilles heel for the Regent experience. I personally got that “I don’t care” treatment and witnessed 2 other incidents when waiting to get my bus tickets.