Glauriebee

Regent knew they were not in compliance when we boarded in Auckland. It is not the passengers fault or problem to solve. We were set adrift near Bay of Islands with ONE count it, one, cleaning boat and ONE diver in the water. Honestly, the Explorer is huge. And they had one boat and one diver/scrubber (there were two, but they went one at a time). The ship floated for days prior to our cruise. And sadly, for days during ours, too. Refueling needs brought us into one terrible port, which we left early, as soon as the tank was full. Regent knew we were heading back out for more cleaning. This debacle is not our responsibility, but is their responsibility, both contractually and morally. A total refund, please, like the prior cruise received. We will then feel that the company shouldered their part. How would they even OFFER a cruise to New Zealand without fully understanding what their “Biofoul regulations” were. Other lines offer a “cruise to nowhere”. Now it seems, Regent does, too.

Hull-cleaning, the view from our room on Regent Explorer January 14…

Regent is just wrong. They knew the Explorer wasn’t meeting the strict NZ environmental regulations. That is Regent’s responsibility, not ours. They took their chances on fixing their problem with a capacity load of passengers embarking from Auckland in January 12. They were not able to comply again, and again not the passengers responsibility, for one, two, three days, refueling stop, four days, and on and on. Domino effect, port after port, from New Zealand to Australia, they failed. We paid to see fantastic portions of the world and definitely did not. We never would have lifted off from our home base if Regent had done the right thing and admitted their continuing non-compliance. Regent knew they did not comply and are getting away with it and with our money.

Regent Seven Seas Explorer cruise from Auckland to Sydney, January 12-January 26 2023, ran afoul of the biofoul mess. As a dissatified customer, it is obvious that Regent knew the preceeding cruise had run into multiple days of hull-cleaning time and trouble and that there was a distinct possibility that the trouble was not definitively addressed on a ship the size of the Explorer during the previous days. My husband, best friends and I traveled nearly 10,000 miles to board a cruise that then floated maddeningly offshore from New Zealand for several days and was then denied entry into the fiords, even after “cleaning”. Along with the three fiord locations, we missed highlights/ports which Regent had showcased in their descriptions of our cruise. No Napier, Bay of Islands, Burnie Tasmania or Geelong. We had no desire to call on, nor was there anything planned to see in Timaru, to which we tendered and which was substituted at the last moment, nor Gisbourne, another last minute addition. We also missed one day in Melbourne, undoubtedly due to some of this, where we had independently purchased (and subsequently forfeited) Australian Open tix. Hundreds of passengers, through a petition, asked for Regent to compensate them for something which was not the passenger's fault and which the cruise line was all too well aware. So far, we have been offered a small amount for what was to be an unforgettable cruise of a lifetime but instead turned into something unforgettable for a wholly different reason. Very sad that Regent has taken this customer-unfriendly position. https://maritime-executive.com/article/fourth-cruise-hit-with-biofouling-as-new-zealand-and-industry-meet