Website Update: Enrichment Content on Cruise Detail Page

[Mike Moore]

Good morning Cruise Critic! Quick update that went live yesterday - the Onboard Activities section of any specific cruise that you are looking at now shows any special programs, such as our Spotlights, Guest Lecturers and Bridge at Sea. 

 

If you scroll down to the Onboard Activities section, if there is any special enrichment program on the cruise, you will see the Enrichment Series item below in the first position. Clicking on the Learn More button will open a window with the information in the second screen shot below, where you can expand each by clicking the + symbol to read more details about each program.

 

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask, and as always thank you for your suggestions and patience as we continue to roll out more improvements.

 

 

[mrlevin]

Disappointed to see that the Grand Arctic Adventure does not have any enrichment listed such as lectures, bridge, or anything else.  

 

What happened to list of lecturers that used to be on website? Or, am I just website challenged?

Edited April 28, 2022 by mrlevin

[Mike Moore]

14 minutes ago, mrlevin said:

Disappointed to see that the Grand Arctic Adventure does not have any enrichment listed such as lectures, bridge, or anything else.  

 

What happened to list of lecturers that used to be on website? Or, am I just website challenged?

They can be found here: https://www.rssc.com/experience/enrichment/featured-luminaries

[mrlevin]

Mike, thanks for the link; nice to see Terry Bishop on Grand Arctic  Doesn't look like Sandra Bowern or John Freedman are back with Regent; at least according to pull down menu.

Edited April 28, 2022 by mrlevin

[baz48]

48 minutes ago, mrlevin said:

Mike, thanks for the link; nice to see Terry Bishop on Grand Arctic  Doesn't look like Sandra Bowern or John Freedman are back with Regent; at least according to pull down menu.

 

I see Terry is on for the last segment, which is good.  Wish he were on for longer.

 

Edited April 28, 2022 by baz48
correction

[cwbegg]

I found the link cumbersome.  Am I using it incorrectly?  I had to click on each person to find which cruises they were on.  If they weren't scheduled, it defaulted to the first individual (Ken Beattie).  I think a message "No Results Found" would be more informative.  At least you would know you hadn't clicked incorrectly.  I did not find Terry Biship listed under Onboard Activities for the Grand Voyage.  Couldn't he be listed with the dates he is onboard?  Otherwise, it doesn't appear there are any enrichment programs on the GV.  I wasn't aware of this link.  I don't spend a lot of time on the Regent website because it is so SLOW.

[Mike Moore]

45 minutes ago, cwbegg said:

I found the link cumbersome.  Am I using it incorrectly?  I had to click on each person to find which cruises they were on.  If they weren't scheduled, it defaulted to the first individual (Ken Beattie).  I think a message "No Results Found" would be more informative.  At least you would know you hadn't clicked incorrectly.  I did not find Terry Biship listed under Onboard Activities for the Grand Voyage.  Couldn't he be listed with the dates he is onboard?  Otherwise, it doesn't appear there are any enrichment programs on the GV.  I wasn't aware of this link.  I don't spend a lot of time on the Regent website because it is so SLOW.

It is correct that you have to click on each person to see what cruise they are on, yes. I'm afraid I'm not following your second scenario - what steps did you take to get to a lecturer that appears on the list yet they aren't on a cruise? 

 

We're doing a full audit of this section of the site to ensure if a program is only on a segment of a longer voyage, that the longer voyage is also listed.

 

The page is available from our home page by going to Menu > The Regent Experience > Enrichment > Featured Lecturers, for you future reference.

Edited April 28, 2022 by Mike Moore

[cwbegg]

Responding to your question "what steps did you take to get to a lecturer that appears on the list yet they aren't on a cruise?" When I select Dan Benedict, Sherry Hutt or James Kus, the drop down menu returned to Ken Beattie.

[Fredrik]

Excellent, any word on when we might cancel a tour and rebook a different one? Thank you for your continuing support and updates on the progress.

[Anna makes Spongecake]

Mentioning code SPO

[Mike Moore]

On 4/29/2022 at 5:22 PM, Fredrik said:

Excellent, any word on when we might cancel a tour and rebook a different one? Thank you for your continuing support and updates on the progress.

Currently you still have to call us to do that. We'll be changing that functionality with the new version currently in development, which we hope to launch later this year.

[loriva]

On 4/28/2022 at 10:19 AM, Mike Moore said:

Good morning Cruise Critic! Quick update that went live yesterday - the Onboard Activities section of any specific cruise that you are looking at now shows any special programs, such as our Spotlights, Guest Lecturers and Bridge at Sea. 

 

If you scroll down to the Onboard Activities section, if there is any special enrichment program on the cruise, you will see the Enrichment Series item below in the first position. Clicking on the Learn More button will open a window with the information in the second screen shot below, where you can expand each by clicking the + symbol to read more details about each program.

 

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask, and as always thank you for your suggestions and patience as we continue to roll out more improvements.

 

 

 

Thanks again, Mike, for keeping us updated on enhancements to the website.

 

So if we don't see this "Enrichment Series" icon listed under our cruise, it means no lecturers or other special activities?  Is there a timeline by which we'd expect to see lecturers assigned to a cruise--one month?  three?  six?  more?

 

Thanks,

[wishIweretravelling]

I thought I'd seen an email saying Terry Breen would be on Mariner for the Alaska season, but I don't see her on my upcoming cruise, or any other randomly chosen Alaska cruises. Nor is she on the list of enrichment lecturers. Does anyone know if she has canceled? Or did I dream that email?

[Mike Moore]

We're auditing all of the finalized lecturers and will be updating this area of the site over the coming weeks.

 

@loriva I'm afraid I don't have a good answer for you that will cover every scenario. We'll do our best to get the most information updated as soon as possible, so no - I wouldn't assume that if the Enrichment Series doesn't appear that there will be no lecturers. It's entirely possible that we are still waiting for them to be finalized, waiting for the bios of the lecturers, etc.

 

@wishIweretravellingI can confirm that Terry Breen will be onboard Seven Seas Mariner this year on the following sailings: May 25th, June 29th, July 6th, August 24th and August 31st.

[forevertravel]

It would be nice to find the lecturers by the cruise or at least by ship. I found it too cumbersome to look at each person before I could see what itinerary they were on. Not easy friendly in my opinion.

[Mike Moore]

15 minutes ago, forevertravel said:

It would be nice to find the lecturers by the cruise or at least by ship. I found it too cumbersome to look at each person before I could see what itinerary they were on. Not easy friendly in my opinion.

Hi forevertravel - trying to think how we might accomplish this to make it easier for you. If not presenting the information by lecturer, and instead showed all voyages on any one ship or destination that had any special guest lecturer, one would have to click down into the details of that cruise to see the person/topic, which seems more cumbersome than having an interest in the specific person/topic, and seeing all of the cruises that feature them.

 

Each lecturer is featued on the specific cruise as I shared in my first post, so we've attempted to satisfy two types of searches: a guest that puts the cruise first, where they can find any guest lecturer, or a person that puts the lecturer first, so they can find all the cruises they will be on. If we feature the lecturers by ship, one would have to go through each of the different ships to find a lecturer that they were intested in, but perhaps I'm not following how you'd like to see the information presented? 

[mrlevin]

Mike, any chance you can provide the same functionality for Cruise Directors as for lecturers?  There are some CDs where I would book a specific cruise if I knew they were "scheduled" to be onboard (knowing that there are all sorts of last minute changes).

[Mike Moore]

1 hour ago, mrlevin said:

Mike, any chance you can provide the same functionality for Cruise Directors as for lecturers?  There are some CDs where I would book a specific cruise if I knew they were "scheduled" to be onboard (knowing that there are all sorts of last minute changes).

My understanding is that those schedules vary a bit too much for us to have a high degree of confidence in posting them, so I don't think it's likely to happen. 

[boblerm]

On 5/1/2022 at 7:01 PM, Anna makes Spongecake said:

Mentioning code SPO

Anna makes Spongecake, welcome to Cruise Critic.

Can you explain what this means?

Thanks.

[wishIweretravelling]

22 hours ago, Mike Moore said:

 

 

@wishIweretravellingI can confirm that Terry Breen will be onboard Seven Seas Mariner this year on the following sailings: May 25th, June 29th, July 6th, August 24th and August 31st.

 

Thanks. Alas, she will not be on my upcoming May 5 cruise, but it's good to know she is still with Regent.

[Travelingwithstyle]

Hello Mike,

 

Could you please get an update on when the Grand Voyage will be able to book excursions in Bruges Aug 10th. Tomorrow makes 3 weeks that the segment had access and GV still doesnt.   Just tired of checking every day.  Thank you very much for any assistance. 

[Pathfinder88]

This would have been very helpful information to have for the recent TA cruise on the Splendor.  The “Enrichment” activities on that trip were a joke.  A cruise like that should be packed with engaging speakers on topics with mass appeal- there’s a lot of time to fill on sea days.  We had but two presenters for the entire 2 weeks, certainly well researched, however one’s historical subject matter was just too obscure, and the other was just too one note.  5 or 6 sessions from those presenters were too much.  For the first time in my cruising experience, there weren’t any port talks.  Don’t get me started on the entertainment.  IMO, Seabourn and Silversea are miles ahead with the quality of their enrichment and entertainment activities. 

[Anna is my Nana]

On 5/1/2022 at 4:01 PM, Anna makes Spongecake said:

Mentioning code SPO

 

Anna makes Spongecake is my grandmother.

 

What she posted above is in reference to this from the Regent website:

We discussed this over family dinner tonight and decided that one of us, Anna's favorite grandchild, would try to get a proper response to her post. (Thank you boblerm for not just skipping over it.)

 

It's not at all clear how "the mentioning" is accomplished, nor to whom, nor when, nor what happens after the mentioning. Is there a secret handshake or fist bump involved? Is the code to be mentioned only once, twice, or maybe three times, like Beetlejuice? From reading other posts in this forum, it's puzzling that the complimentary Voyage (why is that capitalized) events require a promo code. And if these are complementary events, are there also uncomplimentary events?

 

Additionally, Dad wants to know if there will be sweet soul music, like James Brown and Lou Rawls. (I don't know what he means, but I promised him that I would ask this if I posted.)

 

Thank you.

 

By the way, Nana worked at MGM studios in Culver City for many years. Ask anyone else who worked there in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, and chances are that they will remember her, and the spongecake, which is still awesome!

 

[xrvlcruiser]

Mike,

Based on what I could find on the list of lecturers, Terry Bishop is the only one on board during the entire Grand Voyage on the Navigator, and he is on for the last 2 weeks.

(I will also say I am always thrilled to sail with Terry and Julie - they are both great additions to any cruise.)

I assume this is not really the case but I had hoped that if this information has been added to the web site, it have more correct information and also, that it would be easier to access.

Good luck going forward in creating a more helpful and user-friendly site.

Peggy

[xrvlcruiser]

PS: I am glad to see Terry Breen's name listed and hope she will be on more trips going forward. She too, is a great asset on board!