WC11

The Captain on the Crystal World Cruises (forget his name) was famous for parking the ship under a waterfall in Milford Sound and giving some of the the crew a bath on the bow. So Dag isn't the only one that does that.

Although you do wonder about what that does for the insurance?

Not wanting to stir things up but we do. There was a rumor that is well known now that was started after Dag's departure that Apollo flipped the line to to some other line. I was kind of happy about that because some of the complaints that are brought up in this tread I experienced. Until it was announced on the morning TV show that it was a hoax.

The WC just had problems other than the Dag issue. My personal favorite is the lack of AC for a couple of days on the equator. It just seemed Apollo needed to follow a learning curve and it took a month to figure it out. It didn't ruin anything and it was a great cruise when all was said and done.

I hope Regent finds a new owner someday and I'm not the only one. Regent is a fine line, they just need to act like a corporation not a monarchy with the King being in Ft. Lauderdale.

I would request that this thread be kept alive because it has caused a great amount of discussion on Regent's future. I want to be a one line man and Regent is still my choice.

Flyertalker, points well taken. However, as you have noted, the PR value of a captain in the eyes of the passenger is totally different from what a CEO expects, and the better he is at impressing the passengers in those areas, the better it is for the cruise line in future sales, whether it is schmoozing with those long time WC cruisers who book again and again, or a first time cruiser, who at least likes seeing him out and about, and greeting people.

 

I, like, PaulaJK, am not a captain/staff groupie or cultist. The only reason I have had the opportunity to dine with Dag a few times is the sheer fact of my number of cruise nights with Regent, nothing more. Doesn't affect my overall cruise experience whatsoever, he is just doing what the social hostess tells him.

 

My favorite things about Dag were his little diversions that perhaps do not gel with the "new way" on Regent under Apollo. Every passenger aboard with a sense of humore enjoyed them. Stopping at a port that was unannounced as a surprise, having the CD get off to waterski in the middle of the ocean, stopping on the water to buy waffles in Norway (or fresh fish anywhere), or to send off a tender with staff to break off part of an iceberg to display in Horizons at cocktail hour, or do some crazy thing meeting a freighter at some point and sending off a long-time entertainer with a toilet plunger on his head to deliver a bottle of liquor over some bet they had. None of these things jeopardized the safety of the ship or the passengers in any way, but brought whimsy and delight to the passengers. I could name so many more, but those days are OVER, and unfortunately, and we need to let them go!

 

I had the opportunity to chat with another R captain on a recent cruise. They have incentives directed by corporate. Fuel efficiency, safety and inspection, all related to nothing but the running and safety of the ship.

 

Nowadays, the captain under Apollo has been stripped of "supreme command" over the whole ship. No longer has prime authority over the "Hotel" end of things as I understand it. Frank delRio is welcome to beat me down on this one if I have my facts wrong! So I am even happier when a Captain now finds it worth the time to get out and do those PR things. It costs corporate nothing, but brings many rewards.

You got that right JHP you have to phone home to get permission to do anything. I remember leaving Bora Bora, there was this little island. We were standing above the bridge and talking with him about doing a tour and going around that island just for fun. He went inside and came back out and we headed West. He really wanted to go around that island and the frustration was written all over his face.

When I got hurt over something he came down to the ER in the middle of the night. He came back the next day and had the staff set up a TV in my room. When I recovered he made sure I knew how glad he was that I was okay. That was the last time I saw him in Cape Town.

I don't get excited about hob nobing with the Captain but I will be following his career. I would pick another line if he was in control.

He should of been allowed to complete the WC, the whole thing the way it was handled with all the spin and rummers was a PR Nightmare for Apollo.

I will say that the beginning of the the WC was like Old Home Week with the repeat WC'ers as Dag and the staff were all over the WC faithfuls. My thought at the time was how many WC's do you have to do before you receive this family like treatment?

This is pretty indicative of all World Cruises on all the lines. You have people do it every year and they get a majority of the attention. When there are tips involved it gets really out of hand.

But Dag was a good Captain as Captains go. It's not his job to become personal friends with every single passenger.

I disagree that Dag thought he was special. Although he did have seniority. many of the long time WC'ers remembered that things that Dag used to do. The special trips to special places, without phoning home for permission. I don't know the man or his history first hand, I am reporting what other's have said that have done multiple WC's . Most are unhappy with the new company because of cutbacks and policy changes by Apollo.

Convoy is on the Voyager now. His remarks at more Town Hall Meetings will be interesting. He will hold the new company line spinning all the improvements that Apollo is making too Regent management. It's going to be interesting what the future holds.

I doubt he was fired. I was at the Conroy Meeting watching all the body language. Not to mean to ad to rumor mill but he didn't like to be ordered around by the new company. It wasn't his ship like it was when the previous company owned the line. He couldn't go off and do his special tours that he was noted for. Instructions always came from the owners. With this new company it's obvious that the profit margin is number 1. It's also been a big rumor that they will flip it when they have made their money. The rumor was that had happened a few weeks ago when Jamie announce the line had been sold to the Koreans. Which was a pretty good joke

He certainly had charisma and charm like no other Captain I had sailed with. My guess is that he is headed to one of the other big luxury lines. But who knows?