Regent Navigator Review - May / June 2016

[flossie009]

As Tim is off-line, I will give you what has been our previous experience as UK cruisers. Answers in red below:

 

Tim - do you know if Regent offers the "price guarantee" (rather new benefit) when you book onboard?

Yes, according to the Senior Guest Relations Director in the Regent UK office

 

I know that there are differences between booking onboard for U.K. residents vs. North America residents but am not sure what they are.

Booking on-board for UK guests gives the 'best of both worlds' - lower deposit, flexibility as US booking conditions but consumer protection as UK

 

Also, do TA's in the U.K. actually discount the cruises or give you back a percentage of your fare (as they do in the U.S.).

Additional discount

 

I ask because I know of no circumstance where we could get a better "deal" than booking onboard and transferring the booking to our TA.

I completely agree

[Travelcat2]

TC,

 

If you find any additional information on the comparison with Voyager, please let us know (of course, if on this board I'll just read it here). We haven't sailed on the Navigator but based on the comments of many (including you) we always felt that although it would be a fine Regent experience the ship itself did not thrill us as much as the Mariner or Voyager. But now I too am seeing some interesting itineraries and am willing to reconsider but still want more of a feel for it - I'm still a bit hesitant. I guess I'm not yet too old to change - we are even thinking about changing our travel agent (I know nobody can do a referral here). I think Jan sent you an email asking about your TA.

 

Best,

John & Jan

 

Hi John,

 

I didn't put your "CC name" with the person we have sailed with! Hope you and Jan are well.

 

Our "relationship" with the Navigator goes back a long time (before the "duck tail and before most of the extreme issues that the ship had were fixed). The last time we sailed on the Navigator was five years ago so keep that in mind. Since the size of the ship, suites and pubic public spaces has not changed much, I believe that my comparison will be close to correct (and others will pipe in if something has changed that I'm not aware of).

 

Positives:

 

-The ship looks beautiful after refurbishment.

-The suites are the same size as the Voyager's regular suites which, IMO, is a good size.

-The ship is smaller (cozier) than the Voyager

 

-What I consider to be negatives:

-La Veranda is too small and gets extremely full if the outside weather is poor. They generally open Prime 7 to accommodate overflow.

-Configuration of Prime 7 is odd (not a big deal)

-Signatures (soon to be Chartreuse) does not exist on the Navigator.

-PH suites are the same size as regular suites

-The only lounge with a view is Galileo's and it gets really crowded.

-The stabilizers do not work as well as on other Regent ships (Dennis has been seasick only once and it was on the Navigator - sailing from San Francisco to Alaska).

 

As you know, both ships have aft vibrations so we usually avoid aft suites and do not have an issue with vibration (but like to let people new to Regent know about the vibration on both ships). Our last sailing was after the "duck tail" was installed but the vibration was still more significant than on the Voyager (but less that it previously was).

 

I would sail on the Navigator again if the itinerary was right........ if the seas were "likely" to be fairly mild (no guarantees but I wouldn't do the Navigator in the Bering Sea or from Sydney to Auckland) ....... and if we could book Navigator Suite 1125 or a Grand Suite. Due to those requirements, we have not booked anything on the Navigator for 2017.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Jackie

Edited August 27, 2016 by Travelcat2

[Gilly]

English Tim/flossie009, don't forget too that you can still get the onboard benefits if you book within 30 days of disembarking. It might not be too late, Tim?

[Travelcat2]

English Tim/flossie009, don't forget too that you can still get the onboard benefits if you book within 30 days of disembarking. It might not be too late, Tim?

 

Is that also true of the "price guarantee"? To my knowledge, in the U.S., the "price guarantee" does not come under the 30 day rule. However, if the fare does not change, we have had our TA rebook a cruise made through them several months after disembarking the ship and we have received the onboard discount (but not the price guarantee). Not sure if this is the same in the U.K.

[Gilly]

Difficult to say - though we put a deposit on a waitlisted cruise whilst on the ship last January and booked another when back at home, (just) within the 30 days limit and neither price has changed in the meantime. I wouldn't expect the price on the waitlisted cruise to reduce - incentives have been offered to create space on that one resulting in a confirmed booling for us now. The Voyager cruise in a couple of weeks remained the same price even though it has appeared on a couple of flyers as a "special offer" - bearing in mind we got it at a discount, used cruise credit and our onboard savings too, it's still way more than we paid and I'm not sure business class flights and so on are in the "special offer price" either. Rather like phone tariffs, by the time all the extras and different benefits are added in, it's almost impossible to calculate accurately enough to make a comparison.

[flossie009]

English Tim/flossie009, don't forget too that you can still get the onboard benefits if you book within 30 days of disembarking. It might not be too late, Tim?

 

Gilly,

Thanks for that reminder, but I think the only on-board benefit that would be applied in the UK during the 30 day period would be the on-board booking discount

 

You would not get any of the other on-board perks that are sometimes offered (e.g. on board credit for the cruise you are on, free cruise DVD). Also I doubt you would get the 'price guarantee', the lower deposit or the flexibility in booking conditions (i.e. minimal forfeit for cancellation and being allowed to move the deposit to another cruise if circumstances change)................or have you found that these benefits are also offered during the 30 day period?

 

For us, the lower deposit and less onerous booking conditions/flexibility are of equal, if not greater, value than the on-board discount

[Gilly]

You're right, Flossie, but to be honest, a free cruise DVD isn't that much of a perk and though obc is useful, it's no deal breaker for us since we are not on board spenders. But the lower deposit, cancellation conditions and so on are the same as far as we are aware - certainly, that seemed to be the case when we booked this next Voyager cruise when we were back home last January. In particular, the lower deposit is useful, though at interest rates as they are, the benefit is marginal! I should add that we have never cancelled any travel arrangements because we've changed our minds - any changes would be because of factors beyond our control and would therefore be covered by insurance.

[flossie009]

Thanks, Gilly

 

Useful to know that all the important benefits are available during the 30 day window :)

[English Tim]

Day 5 at sea

 

Another glorious day, the sun shining almost continuously from arriving in Venice to departing Athens.

 

Rosy enjoyed some excellent enrichment lectures and both of us enjoyed the port talks. Apart from that we did a lot of walking around the deck or playing sport.

 

We expected to make good use of the coffee bar, but for the first time in my cruising history, there were no take-away facilities, as they claimed it created a lot of waste. The recommended solution was to buy a portable mug.

 

Day 6 Gythion, Yithion and Sparta

 

Today we visited a museum followed by (you've guessed it) a wine tasting!

 

 

 

 

 

Grand building for the wine tasting

 

 

[English Tim]

Gythion wine tasting continued

 

 

We all sat at long tables in the wine cellar

 

 

Back at the harbour

 

 

 

[English Tim]

Day 7 Crete

 

Here we decided to tour on our own, as the ship docked close to the town.

 

This is a port where it is possible to walk along the waterfront, which requires persistence, as when looking ahead, it looks like there is a fence, so most people walked along the busy road. We walked to a jetty where artists were selling their wares. Rosy was feeling more energetic than I, so she walked to the lighthouse and I sat on the harbour wall taking in the rays, on another hot sunny day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next we walked along a nice shopping street and Rosy visited the cathedral, before we stopped for coffee in a very nice park.

 

[English Tim]

Day 7 Crete continued

 

That evening we enjoyed dinner with the captain and his safety officer. I guess we were invited, due to me making suggestions about possible improvements to boarding at Venice.

 

Day 8 Rhodes

 

We took a tour by bus to some viewpoints and then returned to the old twon for a walking tour including the Master's Palace and a wine tasting at a traditional restaurant. We all sat in the garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[English Tim]

Rhodes continued

 

 

Masters Palace

 

Formerly owned by Knights of St John and restores by the Italian King in the 1940's, but then he lost the war and didn't get to visit (info courtesy of Rosy).

 

 

 

 

Wine tasting

 

 

[English Tim]

Day 9 Santorini

 

Today we had booked an energetic tour, taking a Greek tender to the dock, then a sailing boat to another island, where we hiked to the top of a volcano. It's just as well we were early, as this tour destination good very busy as we were leaving.

 

 

Dock for volcano hike

 

 

 

 

View from top

 

[English Tim]

Santorini continued

 

 

 

Ship with Santorini in background

 

 

Jetty

 

 

Next we had the option to swim in water turned brown with the iron from a hot spring. We had to jump or dive off the boat, into fairly cool water, swimming to the warm bit. It was overrated! If we swam to close to the land, a ferocious Alsatian would bark in a threatening manner. The only person we saw ashore was allegedly the dog's owner.

 

 

House where man and dog lived + goats

[Travelcat2]

Tim, thanks again for the great photos! I didn't understand one thing you mentioned above: "We expected to make good use of the coffee bar, but for the first time in my cruising history, there were no take-away facilities, as they claimed it created a lot of waste. The recommended solution was to buy a portable mug." Many times when I'm in the Coffee Connection, they make my coffee and I walk away with the mug (or pastry). What type of "take-away" facilities were you referring to?

[English Tim]

Santorini continued

 

Next we headed back to dock and took tour bus up long winding road to top of island and onto winery for another tasting, then we were dropped off at bus station and left to wander.

 

 

We had visited several times so Rosy went shopping for presents for grandchildren, whilst I sat admiring the view and passers by.

 

Then I took the cable car down (included in tour price). The cable car gets busier and busier as departure time approaches. The alternative transport is by donkey, but this not to be recommended as they seem unstable on the steep winding bath. Pedestrians have to negotiate this path and the donkeys / poo as they walk down, so best to take cable car.

 

[English Tim]

Day 10 Mykonos

 

This was our final port and most were thinking about the following day's early departure, but we were determined to enjoy another beautiful day.

 

 

 

 

 

We went on a beach trip, but it was so hot and difficult to find shade, that we returned early on local bus.

 

We enjoyed the peace and quiet on the ship.

 

 

This was yet another wonderful cruise, marred only by the embarkation and debarkation arrangements. Due to the incompetence of an inexperienced crew member, we missed our tour bus and took another bus direct to the airport. We should have had a city tour on the way to the airport.

 

The problems arose for us and may others because of a change in procedure from what had been done all cruise. All tour guests waited in theatre until their tour was called, but for this morning everyone had to register with the single crew member, as they entered the theatre. This would have worked fine had there not been two entrances. Many people just walked past and it got very confusing and the poor man was getting very stressed.

 

Anyway we got to the airport ok . The whole procedure was poorly managed and there was very little communication, which was very poor when we had all paid a lot of money for our holiday. It left a sour taste and we decided to avoid Regent except maybe the new ships.

 

We loved the friendly atmosphere and though the food and wine were excellent. Entertainment wasn't to our taste, but as the evenings were generally warm we often strolled on deck.

 

We enjoyed the exercise classes.

 

The excursions were very mixed and would be another reason to avoid Regent, as we generally like to go on our own.

[English Tim]

Tim - do you know if Regent offers the "price guarantee" (rather new benefit) when you book onboard? I know that there are differences between booking onboard for U.K. residents vs. North America residents but am not sure what they are.

 

Also, do TA's in the U.K. actually discount the cruises or give you back a percentage of your fare (as they do in the U.S.).

 

I ask because I know of no circumstance where we could get a better "deal" than booking onboard and transferring the booking to our TA.

 

That is exactly what we do as well. TA price, Regent on-board discount etc. As you say, Best of Both Worlds!

 

Thanks all re comments on pricing.

 

The onboard agent told us of all the benefits of booking onboard, but were only interested in the price! Our quote from our TA for Explorer, as considerably lower than onboard. The agent said there was nothing further that she could do for us and we left it at that.

 

When we got back we tried to book, but it then fully booked so we chose Oceania instead, our first cruise with them.

[English Tim]

Tim, thanks again for the great photos! I didn't understand one thing you mentioned above: "We expected to make good use of the coffee bar, but for the first time in my cruising history, there were no take-away facilities, as they claimed it created a lot of waste. The recommended solution was to buy a portable mug." Many times when I'm in the Coffee Connection, they make my coffee and I walk away with the mug (or pastry). What type of "take-away" facilities were you referring to?

 

All we were offered was a cup and saucer, which with my hand tremor I find challenging. A mug would have been fine, but none seemed available. n all other cruises, take-away cups with lid were provided. Mind you, even with the cardboard sleeve these could be quite hot.

[Travelcat2]

Thank you for the explanation. You have described a good reason for Regent to consider stocking insulated cups with a lid.

 

Sorry to hear that Regent left only one person in the theater to handle disembarkations. We find that going to the theater either for excursions or disembarkation can be chaos. Perhaps one door to the theater should be locked so that everyone enters through the same door. On the other hand, this could be a safety issue.

[English Tim]

Thank you for the explanation. You have described a good reason for Regent to consider stocking insulated cups with a lid.

 

Sorry to hear that Regent left only one person in the theater to handle disembarkations. We find that going to the theater either for excursions or disembarkation can be chaos. Perhaps one door to the theater should be locked so that everyone enters through the same door. On the other hand, this could be a safety issue.

 

If only one crew member available they should stay by the stage as normal, better still have two.

[CruisetheCs]

If only one crew member available they should stay by the stage as normal, better still have two.

 

Or more than two. I can't imagine why management would assign only one crew member. Anytime there is a problem with just one passenger's paperwork or someone asks a complicated question, it puts everything on hold for the other passengers.

[UUNetBill]

Or if you can't spare a second crew member, then perhaps at least having a sign posted to enter through the other door and check in with the crew inside would be helpful.

 

I'd noticed similar issues with our cruise last month; my wife and I were familiar enough with the procedures that it wasn't a big issue, but there was some confusion among the other guests. Me helped out as we could...but again, we shouldn't have to. :confused:

[Mjflowers]

Hi John,

 

I didn't put your "CC name" with the person we have sailed with! Hope you and Jan are well.

 

Our "relationship" with the Navigator goes back a long time (before the "duck tail and before most of the extreme issues that the ship had were fixed). The last time we sailed on the Navigator was five years ago so keep that in mind. Since the size of the ship, suites and pubic public spaces has not changed much, I believe that my comparison will be close to correct (and others will pipe in if something has changed that I'm not aware of).

 

Positives:

 

-The ship looks beautiful after refurbishment.

-The suites are the same size as the Voyager's regular suites which, IMO, is a good size.

-The ship is smaller (cozier) than the Voyager

 

-What I consider to be negatives:

-La Veranda is too small and gets extremely full if the outside weather is poor. They generally open Prime 7 to accommodate overflow.

-Configuration of Prime 7 is odd (not a big deal)

-Signatures (soon to be Chartreuse) does not exist on the Navigator.

-PH suites are the same size as regular suites

-The only lounge with a view is Galileo's and it gets really crowded.

-The stabilizers do not work as well as on other Regent ships (Dennis has been seasick only once and it was on the Navigator - sailing from San Francisco to Alaska).

 

As you know, both ships have aft vibrations so we usually avoid aft suites and do not have an issue with vibration (but like to let people new to Regent know about the vibration on both ships). Our last sailing was after the "duck tail" was installed but the vibration was still more significant than on the Voyager (but less that it previously was).

 

I would sail on the Navigator again if the itinerary was right........ if the seas were "likely" to be fairly mild (no guarantees but I wouldn't do the Navigator in the Bering Sea or from Sydney to Auckland) ....... and if we could book Navigator Suite 1125 or a Grand Suite. Due to those requirements, we have not booked anything on the Navigator for 2017.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Jackie

 

I read a pass post by you that if one has not sailed on a recent ship in the last 2 to 3 years it is very difficult to make an objective review. But here it is again about the Navigator. Not having sailed in a least 5 years your input seems out dated. Why not let someone that has actually been on the Navigator recently make a more informed report? Hope your requirements are soon met so you may once again go to sea on the Navigator. Although, it seems like a lot of ifs.