Impressions by Regent veterans of first-time Seabourn trip, Quest Sept/18

[poss]

David, we experienced the waving townsfolk in Ireland, port of Cork. So lovely.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

David, we experienced the waving townsfolk in Ireland, port of Cork. So lovely.

 

It is lovely, isn't it poss! Last time that happened to us was Santo Tomas in Guatemala. We did have brass bands several times in the Black Sea years ago. Boy, are we lucky little hot dogs, or what?

[freddie]

The ship sounds interesting and mostly nice, but the way they treat customers that you relate is awful.

 

Rachel - I will respectfully beg you not to generalize that the several instances of poor customer service that Wendy & David have accurately recounted indicate in any respect that the overall treatment of passengers on Seabourn is or was "awful". Indeed, as you will note from their comments, most of the customer service on the cruise was very good.

 

From our experiences on many Regent cruises, as well as on Seabourn, Silversea, Crystal and Hapag Lloyd, we can cite isolated instances of poor customer service. For example, at the port stop for Navigator in Dunedin, NZ, the head of Destination Services (in response to quite reasonable inquiries from many passengers on the rail excursion as to where we were supposed to board the train) declared that she would decide what information to give to passengers and, further, that it was a mistake to give too much information to passengers, as that simply confused them. She seemed to have forgotten that the passengers were her customers and that many of them had far more travel experience than she had. Does this indicate that Regent has awful customer service? Of course it doesn't.

Edited October 4, 2018 by freddie

[pingpong1]

Rachel -

 

"....in response to quite reasonable inquiries from many passengers on the rail excursion as to where we were supposed to board the train, declared that she would decide what information to give to passengers and, further, that it was a mistake to give too much information to passengers, as that simply confused them. She seemed to have forgotten that the passengers were her customers and that many of them had far more travel experience than she had.

 

Does this indicate that Regent has awful customer service? Of course it doesn't....

 

Freddie - I would agree that one instance, like you cite, cannot reasonably be used as an example of "all" customer service on a particular cruise line. But it does certainly raise the question, in my mind at least, as to why any cruise line ("luxury" or not) would accept or tolerate any display of behavior or attitude such as that, on the part of any employee - particularly an "officer" (an employee wearing "gold" on their shoulder boards) who was in such a visible and customer intensive position as destination or excursion services?

 

Displaying an attitude like that is not easily forgotten and leaves a lasting negative impression in the minds of paying customers for a very long time (after all, you still remember it). Is one employee's value to the company worth so much as to offset the significant negative reactions among the customers that such a remark like that would engender? Regards.

[freddie]

pp1 - I don't wish to derail this very informative thread regarding a comparison of Regent and Seabourn; but I will respond to your comments in the spirit of discussing customer service on both lines, as we have experienced such.

 

I gave the example of poor customer service on a Regent cruise simply to demonstrate that such lapses may occur on even the best managed of luxury lines. The lady in question was not an officer but was the head of Destination Services, an entity that seems to suffer on nearly every cruise that we've taken on any line. In fact, she was subjected to "additional training" by the General Manager, with whom we became quite delightfully acquainted due to the incident and with whom we spent a couple of marvelous lunches and dinners (including his wife), as we all shared a grand passion for fine French cheese.

 

We do not consider such isolated instances of poor, dubious, or bizarre customer service on Regent or Seabourn (or any other line that we have sailed) to be sufficiently significant to discourage us in the slightest from continuing to patronize those lines. Of course, if such objectionable service were to be frequent on any line, that would be an entirely different matter. Fortunately, we have not experienced such.

 

As long as we're discussing differences between Regent and SB, I will admit that in one respect we are not happy with SB. That is the closure of the Restaurant (aka Main Dining Room, Compass Rose, whatever) for lunch on port days, leaving the only options for lunch to be the cafeteria (aka The Colonnade, the SB version of La Veranda), Pool Grill (not so good on cold days), or room service. In this respect, Regent is the clear winner by a country mile, as Regent always provides a quiet, elegant, white tablecloth option for lunch.

[DavidTheWonderer]

Rachel - I will respectfully beg you not to generalize that the several instances of poor customer service that Wendy & David have accurately recounted indicate in any respect that the overall treatment of passengers on Seabourn is or was "awful". Indeed, as you will note from their comments, most of the customer service on the cruise was very good.

...

 

In fact, Wendy wrote in Part II, "Overall, the staff were wonderful." I agree,

 

In retrospect, I think I perhaps should not have mentioned the few lapses at all, since more than one person's comments indicate that my remarks are being mis-interpreted by some.

[poss]

I believe that what Rachel meant was that the details related were awful. At least that's the way I read her post.

 

David: I don't think it's a mistake to mention lapses. Both of you gave a wonderfully detailed and balanced report, with fine emphasis on all the positives.

[Got2Cruise]

In fact, Wendy wrote in Part II, "Overall, the staff were wonderful." I agree,

 

In retrospect, I think I perhaps should not have mentioned the few lapses at all, since more than one person's comments indicate that my remarks are being mis-interpreted by some.

 

 

 

A newbie like me finds all the comments relevant. If I’m paying a lot of money I’m not willing to overlook major mistakes. If your reporting is based on facts, you shouldn’t have to worry about brand loyalists getting upset. Mistakes happen. It’s how the mistakes are dealt with that separates the brands. Thank you and Wendy for posting.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Yes, I do want to reiterate that our experience was very positive. The service for the most part was outstanding. There just were some glitches, fairly big ones. I don't think David has even told his story about the martini!

 

It's just that for me, I didn't leave the ship "in love" with Seabourn. The way we fell in love with Regent, all over again, on our Miami-Lima Mariner trip in 2017. Or the way we are permanently in love with the Paul Gauguin.

 

I agree with Fred about the Restaurant being closed on port days for lunch. And I found that having it open for one measly hour at breakfast was nonsensical and inconvenient.

 

This ship goes to the Antarctic. I think it was in the Arctic recently as well. Surely they could do better handling a cold weather destination than they did.

[DavidTheWonderer]

People in general really like it when others use their names. On Seabourn, in The Restaurant and for dinner in the Colonnade they took our suite number when seating us, and the servers always used our names which presumably were on their tablets. After a while some would obviously just remember us. In other venues, the staff would often get to know regular customers, sometimes by name, and even without that worked hard to remember their preferences.

 

 

On our Mariner cruise from Miami to Lima it seemed they were going even further. After a couple of days they often were addressing us by name without us telling them our suite number. Sometimes this would happen when we passed each other in the corridors. I have a theory that they were studying our photographs in their off-hours, and memorising faces and names. It was surprising and lovely. Of course, we have been on Regent enough that we are Gold status, and perhaps they made particular efforts to memorise faces and names for higher status passengers. Nonetheless, for a ship with about twice the number of passengers of Quest, it was quite impressive.

[jenidallas]

The suite number request on Seabourn is so they can cross-check for food allergies and dietary requests. I appreciate that they take this extra step as for some passengers not double-checking could precipitate a medical emergency.

 

It doesn't hurt with the name recall either. And yes, they in fact do display photos/names on the corridor wall in a crew area. They are required by day 2 to have memorized a specific number (quizzed, apparently). And I've been told there are perks for memorizinv more than required like preference for time off requests and extra tour group spots.

[DavidTheWonderer]

...And yes, they in fact do display photos/names on the corridor wall in a crew area. They are required by day 2 to have memorized a specific number (quizzed, apparently). And I've been told there are perks for memorizinv more than required like preference for time off requests and extra tour group spots ....

 

Fascinating in a sort of scary way. Thanks for the information.

[SLSD]

We heard the Seabourn "Country Western" musical show on Ovation this last June. I was appalled. We are from Texas and lived in Austin as college students during the height of country music in our state. The Seabourn show bore NO relation to the country music we know. Even so, we sat through it shaking our heads. We liked the performers and had met and chatted with them throughout our cruise. They were nice people (not strutting or anything like that). They did as they were instructed. I would have loved a real country show a la The Grand Ol' Opry.

[MalbecWine]

Sorry Texas and I went to TCU but Nashville is still the reigning city for country music. Love country anyway.

[SLSD]

MalbecWine, that's why I mentioned getting country singers from the Grand Ol' Opry!

[Fletcher]

This ship goes to the Antarctic. I think it was in the Arctic recently as well. Surely they could do better handling a cold weather destination than they did.

 

I was on the Quest to Antarctica and South Georgia earlier this year and the experience was very similar to a more traditional expedition ship with a quarter the number of passengers. The Quest has an expedition team of about 20 people and they were absolutely brilliant.

 

BTW, a few posts back you talked about the passengers who were late back at St P&M. They were on a zodiac trip. I don't believe Regent do zodiacs do they?

[rcandkc]

I was on the Quest to Antarctica and South Georgia earlier this year and the experience was very similar to a more traditional expedition ship with a quarter the number of passengers. The Quest has an expedition team of about 20 people and they were absolutely brilliant.

 

BTW, a few posts back you talked about the passengers who were late back at St P&M. They were on a zodiac trip. I don't believe Regent do zodiacs do they?

 

The passengers that were late back were on a Seabourn trip...not Regent. It was something that happened while on the Quest.

[SLSD]

We had a situation on one excursion (Baltic Cruise) where the excursion guide left several of us behind on a hike in a national forest. We had slowed down to keep another passenger (who was walking with a cane) company. We were not very far behind at first. Fortunately, SB had sent a "minder" along and she stayed with us. Our excursion guide was nowhere to be seen---and we came to a fork in paths and none of us knew which way he and the group (not a very large group) had gone. Our SB minder did not have contact info for the guide and was reluctant to call back to the ship. Finally, we found another excursion group from the ship and hooked up with them. Our guide was clueless and not concerned about leaving 4 passengers behind.

 

On another excursion the guide did not know what time we were supposed to be back at the ship. When passengers told him, he laughed and said he was sure the ship would not leave us. That was beside the point! We knew the ship would not leave 20 passengers on a ship's excursion. We arrived back at the ship 45 minutes later than we were supposed to. The guide had not planned our time well and, as a result we were late.

[Fletcher]

The passengers that were late back were on a Seabourn trip...not Regent. It was something that happened while on the Quest.

 

Yes, that was my point. Regent doesn't do zodiacs which makes them a rather less attractive proposition for some itineraries.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Yes, that was my point. Regent doesn't do zodiacs which makes them a rather less attractive proposition for some itineraries.

 

These were local tour operators, not Seabourn zodiacs. This was not an expedition trip. Of course Regent does excursions like that.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

A few things I've thought about:

 

Our suites were changed without us knowing, prior to boarding. This happened to both us and our friends. We had been offered upgrades a couple of weeks before the cruise, to a higher deck but the same cabin type--we declined. When we got to check-in we were both told that we weren't in the cabins we thought, but had been moved up two decks. Turned out well, good midship location on deck 7, although there was a little noise from the pool deck, but it didn't bother us at all. But I think Seabourn might have told us before we travelled that our suite assignment was being changed--if I had some specific reason for being on deck 5, I would have been ticked off.

 

We did have one hell of a storm coming up the strait between Labrador and Newfoundland. The captain warned us, but not of the severity, and many people were sleepless that night. Breakfast started in the Colonnade and much crockery and glassware was broken (in Obs lounge and Seabourn Square too.) So the Colonnade was closed and breakfast moved to the lower Restaurant. That whole day was bad, although not as bad as the hurricane winds we had in the night (yes, you heard me right.) I feel that the captain could have warned us more strongly--perhaps he didn't know, but he should have. I was seasick that morning, having not taken my medication until 3am that morning when I woke up bouncing around the bed.

 

Seabourn probably has a slightly better selection on the in-suite entertainment system. A fair selection of music as well as movies, although the quality of the sound system wasn't anything special. They had BBC, as well as the usual CNN, Fox, CNBC, etc., not sure if Regent has BBC these days.

 

I didn't like the tenders much. There were two large steps down into the bays where people sat,and then most people got to sit sideways. No windows to see out.There were a handful of high seats in the main entry area as well where I guess you could see out a bit. Fairly claustrophobic.

 

High Tea is a very subdued affair on Quest, but nice. Tables in the Observation Lounge are laid with white linen and tea cups, and tea is chosen from a menu on entrance, and is loose, served with a strainer. Food is presented simply, on the two side buffet areas, one with little sandwiches, the other with desserts, including the requisite, and reportedly dry,scones and clotted cream. And the pianist plays nice quiet classics.

 

Another serving glitch: one day I came in alone and sat down by the window during tea. As I had walked in, a server offered me a plate of sandwiches (so I guess they do pass them around), and I took several. But once seated, no one came and offered me tea, or any kind of drink. In fact servers passed me by and ignored me completely. Not sure what was going on there.

[SLSD]

All of these observations are interesting to me. I have loved tea on the Encore and Ovation and look forward to seeing what it is like on the Sojourn in May.

[DavidTheWonderer]

...

High Tea is a very subdued affair on Quest, but nice.

... /quote]

 

High Tea is far from being something I have any interest in. But from what I've observed from afar, this is one of the very few things that Oceania does spectacularly well.

[Stickman1990]

High Tea is a very subdued affair on Quest, but nice. Tables in the Observation Lounge are laid with white linen and tea cups, and tea is chosen from a menu on entrance, and is loose, served with a strainer

 

 

Loose tea - excellent

That’s certainly different

I don’t suppose you happen to know the brand of tea (not the style) that Seabourn use do you? Anyone?

[DavidTheWonderer]

... I didn't like the tenders much. There were two large steps down into the bays where people sat,and then most people got to sit sideways. No windows to see out.There were a handful of high seats in the main entry area as well where I guess you could see out a bit. Fairly claustrophobic. ...

 

We've been on a lot of tenders from a variety of ships. I didn't think their quality was much of an issue: they're all sort of cramped and exposed to the weather. but it is only for a brief time.. Seabourn taught me differently: theirs are the most uncomfortable I've experienced. I wouldn't even mention this since it is so minor, except for the snafu in the Magdelans where we sat in the cold for about 30 minutes at the dock without being allowed off because of some snafu involving customs and immigration. Suddenly the quality of the tender became an issue.