Voyager is SCREWED in Athens - Cruise CANCELLED

[Travelcat2]

OUCH! Until you have walked in my shoes.......we spent precisely $8,684.60 on a non-refundable business class ticket to Athens for the "cruise to nowhere". Sorry, but that is a considerable expense for a long weekend away (albeit with some really great people!). Like jhp, I think Regent will do right by us.....or at least I hope so!

 

I certainly agree with you, however, despite what you have been through, your attitude towards Regent and booking another cruise has been better than most. Also know that Regent's communication has been on-existant which is frustrating at best.

 

When you say that you feel that Regent "will do right by us", are you referring to reimbursing your independent air? Also, are you able to pay a fee and transfer your business class ticket to another flight? Just curious?:)

[Anna B.]

Yes, I am referring to our air and also to our forced overnight at Paris CDG Marriott. Our ticket with Continental is non-refundable and has a change fee of $800., so basically the best we could do would be a one-way return from Venice - Cle with a significant fare increase.

 

Regardless....Regent has been great. They are working with us and giving us great deals on future cruises. Whether or not they decide to reimburse for extraneous expenses like airfare, we have yet to see. But I am very optimistic that they will take good care of us. There is no precedent to what happened to us in Athens. I just think they are being very careful.

[tallship]

However, I'm beginning to understand why Regent is targeting a segment of the population that is currently not cruising on Regent. Many repeat customers are not satisfied with anything and have a feeling of entitlement. There does not seem to be any appreciation for what has been done already. Very sad.

 

I find this post offensive

 

As jhp has said - just quit now

[rallydave]

Many repeat customers are not satisfied with anything and have a feeling of entitlement.

 

 

Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black.

[Travelcat2]

Travelcat, you are off base. Many have been posting nasty msgs about Regent but not jhp. Many of us expect Regent to make us whole; it will just take time. So far, I have been given a 25 night cruise for what I paid for 14. In addition, Regent has agreed to pay my independent air and other expenses. I expect all others will be similarly accomodated. However, until we see the money, we will be a little hesitant (Regent says I should have check in three weeks).

 

I think the point that jhp and I made was for you to stop posting on this thread as you are not helping anything or anyone.

 

Marc

 

Marc, I have to disagree just a bit with you. First of all, JHP's comment was rude -- plain and simple (as is the other person -- above). . . but, I've become accustomed to this from certain people (over and over and over).:rolleyes: No one (except CruiseCritic) has the right to shut anyone up!

 

Thank you for posting the details of how you have been treated by Regent. It is helpful to those who have yet to receive a penny from them (one of them posted on another thread today).

 

Because I felt it better to listen than to post, I said very little early on in this thread. Then, when the Regent bashing started heating up (and I knew that Regent was taking care of things -- even if they were being silent), I spoke up.

 

There comes a point when the bashing becomes so overwhelming that it is upsetting to those reading this thread who have upcoming cruises as well as those who are considering sailing with Regent in the future. Many of you on this thread are Regent loyalists and know very well that Regent takes care of their customers. Yet, the way some posters come across makes it sound like everyone will be out thousands of dollars.

 

I am going to continue to post the "other side of the story" to the extent that I am aware of it. As always, I am not posting to those of you who know what is going on. . . . . I am posting for newbies, for those who were on the October 3rd scheduled cruise who truly are not in the loop because their TA may not be passing on information and anyone who is simply interested in reading something other than the doom and gloom future of Regent and/or the Voyager.

 

Marc, it was also good (and surprising) to hear that you will be reimbursed for independent travel. This is quite unusual, but, the situation is quite unusual. Really hope this situation does not happen again -- it is really difficult for all involved.

[CruisinGerman]

Dear friends:

 

I really don't care where you bought your cruise -- whether direct, from a full service travel agent, from a discount travel agent, etc.

 

Whatever happened to your American values that everyone is treated equally?

 

Someone who purchased a cruise directly from Regent has the same right to be returned to his or her original financial position as if the cruise had never been booked as someone who booked through a travel agent.

 

Here in Spain, at times I use a travel agent, and other times I don't. But that doesn't convert me into a second class citizen if I don't choose to use one.

 

There is probably an internal argument for Regent treating me better if I don't use a travel agent, since Regent didn't have to pay commission on the booking and there is probably more money in the pot to make my situation whole versus another passenger who paid the same as I did, although a percentage of the other passenger's money went to the travel agent.

 

Of course I do not necessarily advocate booking direct, and fully recognize that many travel agents work very hard and deserve every penny they earn and even more, I just don't see the argument that a disrupted trip will necessarily be resolved better if you use a certain travel agent versus not using that or another agent.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[ridolphi]

There is no "refund process" so to speak, its being automatically done, re credited to your credit card or cards used, or if paid by check, then a check will be issued. They are refunding anything booked with Regent, such as air, hotel, etc. It takes a little time though, we have been refunded everything at this point except our initial deposit and I have been told it is in progress.

 

Now, out of pocket expenes are a different thing, as of course Regent is not refunding those automatically. If you submit a request for pre cruise expenses, booked independently they will evaluate those individually.

 

We, like Marc, Anna B and jhp are at this point pretty happy with how we have been treated, yes I would have liked to see a higher amount of FCC's for those on the two week Oct 3 cruise, as they are the same as those on the following one week, but overall we feel good about how Regent has responded. Even though we did our own outbound air, they flew us home in biz class. The replacement cruise offerings are not repositioning cruises, in most instances they are segements of the 2011 World Cruise, most of which were longer than the original cruise. For those that were able to take advantage of one of those, they were given a pretty good deal including air if it had been orginally booked thru Regent (if you had not originally booked your air with Regent, then you could add it, but you did have to pay the cost to do so)

 

Its easy to sit at home and "armchair quarterback" so to speak, but only those that were there and experienced it have the right to complain or not complain, to be satisfied or not satisfied and to judge Regent good or bad. Otherwise, like Anna B said, "when you've walked in our shoes".......!

[Travelcat2]

Good to hear that things are going well for some of you. In terms of armchair quarterbacking. . . . . it's pretty much what all of us on these boards do all the time. It's nice to have a forum where opinions are allowed.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I think it's fair for we armchair quarterbacks to at least comment or question, since some day we may walk in your shoes. So far, I think Regent is doing a good job, but I agree with some that having a good travel agent makes a difference here--those without one have to be more proactive in making sure they are kept in the loop on offers and compensation.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

It just occurred to me to wonder if Voyager's assessment/repair is being affected by the strikes still going on in France.

 

I sure wish somebody at Regent would just tell us what's happening. Are they in drydock, or are they waiting? Has the damage been assessed? Etc., etc.

[OrpingtonT]

It just occurred to me to wonder if Voyager's assessment/repair is being affected by the strikes still going on in France.

 

I sure wish somebody at Regent would just tell us what's happening. Are they in drydock, or are they waiting? Has the damage been assessed? Etc., etc.

 

 

I have been wondering that too. Although I understand that the strikes are mainly by public sector workers because of restrictions planned on their retirement dates and pension rights.

 

Hear, hear to your second para.

[hondorner]

...I really don't care where you bought your cruise -- whether direct, from a full service travel agent, from a discount travel agent, etc.

 

Whatever happened to your American values that everyone is treated equally?

I didn't get that feeling from thje previous post. My understanding was that if one chooses an experienced agent, one will get better service -- from that agent. And, if one chooses an inexperience agent, or an agent that tends to treat all cruise lines the same, one may not get as good service.

 

Finally, if one books directly with the cruise line, then one is depending on his or her's ability to sort things out with limited knowledge, compared to the expertise of an experienced agent.

 

The point is, Regent treats everyone the same -- the same information is available to all. However, and experienced agent has developed the expertise to know what to do with the available information.

 

There is nothing wrong with our American values -- which include accepting responsibility for one's actions. If a person makes the wrong choice when booking a cruise, that's not Regent's fault.

 

I don't use the same agent as many others on this site, but my agent is very familiar with Regent and has spent years developing the expertise to handle situations. If they had not, I would not use them. At the same time, I have worked diligently to develop a close relationship with the agency.

[ljk76]

Posters here might want to check out the Celebrity boards about the current Century debacle. It seems, from afar, that Regent has handled their crisis with considerably more professionalism. And one ship of a fleet of just three surely impacts the line more. Our recent Mariner cruise impressed us greatly, but Regent's response to this recent crisis really demonstrates a superior level of commitment to their customers, even though it may not be perfect.

[Hambagahle]

I have been reading this thread with some interest - I worked in the travel industry, albeit not in an agency nor with a cruise line (!) for some 25 years and I know from that experience that crisis management is never easy nor is it ever perfect. This was a severe disappointment to all who expected to cruise on the Voyager, and no matter how well Regent responded that disappointment won't go away.

 

However I can make a contribution regarding the French strikes, Yes, it is predominantly public sector workers who are affected by the planned change in retirement age (right now they retire very early, and are being asked to work a couple more years...) and the demonstrations have affected not only the transport system - planes and trains cancelled - but also the delivery of oil from refineries. This must be making it hard for the shipyard workers to get to work - and we here in Switzerland were warned last night that we must expect significant flight cancellations and delays for flights to France because planes are not able to be refuelled. Lack of oil will soon also mean a slow down in deliveries of things that come by road, including food to supermarkets etc.

 

It is "strike season" in France, and this "industrial action" (or I would prefer to say "industrial non-action") is likely to go on for some time. It is bound to slow everything down, no matter how high a priority is put on a job. The October 27 cruise is only 10 days away... can the job be done in time or will Voyager have to head for Barcelona when she comes out of the dry dock?? Presumably she will have to be out of the dock by 25 October at the latest to make the sailing deadline from Athens.

 

More information from Regent would certainly be helpful and would help us all stop speculating as to what might happen!!

[Pincus]

Excellent, timely note, Hambagahle.

 

Thanks.

[JPR]

Regent Care has never been a good deal, and this latest debacle merely reinforces that conclusion--even though Regent's legal position seems correct. Get TravelGuard or another top-rated trip cancellation policy instead. Much better deal, though neither insurance premium would be refundable in this situation.

[Suite Travels]

We use Travel Guard for every cruise or land based vacation where we have deposits. In this instance I see no way of recovering the premium because the ship had a mechanical issue. I believe that Regent will make you whole but not for the insurance that you ELECTED to take.

[jhp]

CSA is allowing a transfer of the insurance to another cruise provided no claims were made is my impression

[Suite Travels]

Can you post the policy here? We would all like to see this, regardless of what cruise line. Again, we do feel so sorry for the Voyagers.

[jhp]

Suite Travels, are you asking ME to do this? This is an issue between me and them, if what I said is correct! Of COURSE I am not going to post this. Others who know me on this board know I am pretty private with stuff other than relating facts I know, and an opinion now and then..

[xrvlcruiser]

The Celebraty Century is docked very close to the Voyager in Marsailles.

[Hambagahle]

I just read some other disquieting news ... the lorry drivers are preparing to join the strikes, which means that delivery of everything in France will be slowed down and roads possibly blocked (they have done this before!) And teh people who deliver the money to ATM's are also going on strike. To say the least it is going to make travel in France hard... and yesterday someone told me that the port of Marseilles has been blockaded by strikers. However I haven't actually read anything that supports this. Our local Swiss paper, le Temps, is saying that this could get worse than in May '68. All in all it is too bad that the Voyager is in a French port for its repairs...

[Travelcat2]

I am assuming that any parts needed to complete the Voyager repair arrived prior to the strike (at least I hope so). Like many others, I'm checking to see if there is any movement from it's current position (nothing so far).

[rallydave]

I am assuming that any parts needed to complete the Voyager repair arrived prior to the strike (at least I hope so). Like many others, I'm checking to see if there is any movement from it's current position (nothing so far).

 

Did a little research and it appears the strike at the port is against the refineries and not closing the port although with the lorry drivers striking, not much can be delivered.

 

Sincerely doubt that any needed parts were delivered before the strike as the strike has been going on since before Voyager reached the Port and doubt the required parts could be determined before the dry docking occurred.

 

As has been mentioned by others, would really help if Regent would provide some sort of status, good or bad. Would think if the problem was on the way to being fixed or fixed, Regent would be communicating that to all. In this case, it would appear that silence is telling us that there are issues and/or delays which really hurts those trying to plan whether or not they will be sailing in 9 days or on cruises after that.

[Suite Travels]

I think I know which TA you are talking about. The agency is listed in CN as one of the top producers with Regent,Crystal ,Seabourn. They do bend over backwards for the client.