How should I report a problem with a shore excursion?

[Pudgesmom]

We've recently returned from a TA on the Splendor. We only took a single excursion, for which we paid $89 apiece. It was described as a dressage performance of Andalusian and Lipizzaner horses, plus a snack and a taste of wine. Dressage, for those who aren't aware, is an advanced form of riding using precise movement and a beautiful partnership of horse and rider. I am a long term rider, and have several friends with imported Andalusian horses who ride dressage. I was extremely excited to see this performance with local horses at a nearby stable.

 

This wasn't what we got. Two busloads of people were brought to the farm, where we viewed many mares and their babies. Then, much to our surprise, a flamenco dancer showed up. She was not described, and we have seen plenty of flamenco dancers.  After she danced for several numbers., a man rode a young horse in a circle at a walk round and round this dancer. Definitely NOT dressage. We were then provided the small snack and sent home. We would never have taken this excursion to see a dancer and stand in a field with a bunch of horses. I do the second at home every day.

 

I went to the shore excursion desk and voiced my concerns both about the description and the provided excursion bearing no resemblance to one another. They did have some horses and a snack...  It was the second to last day of the cruise. The shore ex person took down my name and cabin number. I waited a day for a response, and having received none, planned to revisit the shore excursion desk on the last day. Sadly, I had a small medical issue and was unable to do that. Since that time, there has been zero follow-up from Regent. 

 

I guess its left a poor taste in my mouth, particularly since all of our information -  names, past cruises (our first), loyalty nights -has disappeared from the website. In addition, I have since discovered that this stable hosts all of the cruise lines, and specifically describes the tour as a flamenco dancer plus mares and babies. I'm assuming that someone messed up the descriptions in the  listing and none but me knew  or cared what dressage is, or they were overwhelmed by very cute baby horses. 

 

Any suggestions on someone I can contact about this issue? 

Edited May 2, 2022 by Pudgesmom

[Pcardad]

The person was the Destinations Manager. Now, you could call Corporate, but I have clients who have spent millions who have not received a response to letters written so who knows.

[Gpilon]

2 hours ago, Pudgesmom said:

We've recently returned from a TA on the Splendor. We only took a single excursion, for which we paid $89 apiece. It was described as a dressage performance of Andalusian and Lipizzaner horses, plus a snack and a taste of wine. Dressage, for those who aren't aware, is an advanced form of riding using precise movement and a beautiful partnership of horse and rider. I am a long term rider, and have several friends with imported Andalusian horses who ride dressage. I was extremely excited to see this performance with local horses at a nearby stable.

 

This wasn't what we got. Two busloads of people were brought to the farm, where we viewed many mares and their babies. Then, much to our surprise, a flamenco dancer showed up. She was not described, and we have seen plenty of flamenco dancers.  After she danced for several numbers., a man rode a young horse in a circle at a walk round and round this dancer. Definitely NOT dressage. We were then provided the small snack and sent home. We would never have taken this excursion to see a dancer and stand in a field with a bunch of horses. I do the second at home every day.

 

I went to the shore excursion desk and voiced my concerns both about the description and the provided excursion bearing no resemblance to one another. They did have some horses and a snack...  It was the second to last day of the cruise. The shore ex person took down my name and cabin number. I waited a day for a response, and having received none, planned to revisit the shore excursion desk on the last day. Sadly, I had a small medical issue and was unable to do that. Since that time, there has been zero follow-up from Regent. 

 

I guess its left a poor taste in my mouth, particularly since all of our information -  names, past cruises (our first), loyalty nights -has disappeared from the website. In addition, I have since discovered that this stable hosts all of the cruise lines, and specifically describes the tour as a flamenco dancer plus mares and babies. I'm assuming that someone messed up the descriptions in the  listing and none but me knew  or cared what dressage is, or they were overwhelmed by very cute baby horses. 

 

Any suggestions on someone I can contact about this issue? 

If payment was made on an AmEx card, I would contact them. 

[Pudgesmom]

1 hour ago, Pcardad said:

The person was the Destinations Manager. Now, you could call Corporate, but I have clients who have spent millions who have not received a response to letters written so who knows.

Thank you. We have already decided Regent isn’t the best fit for us, and this is just further confirmation .

[fizzy]

We agree with you 100% As a somewhat accomplished rider,  I can imagine how absurd this excursion turned out to be. The fact that you had to pay extra makes it even more annoying. I will be following to see how they handle this. It's not like you can get a do over.

[RetiredandTravel]

I'm not sure which is more egregious the excursion or Regents response.  You pay extra for an excursion to see a horse dressage and get a flamenco dancer with a guy on a horse doing circles around her.  When you ask Regent for your money back you get radio silence??

[TomBeckCruise]

We have friends that were abandoned by their guide in Palma, Majorca. The group had to catch city buses back to the port.

They complained when they got back and the response was, "we use contractors".

In Regent's defense this was Voyager's first cruise in two years, and I suspect the "contractor" and/or their employees might have been new and untested.

[mj_holiday]

Did you have a chance to comment about this on the survey given at the end of the cruise?  In addition to writing Regent I would look for the contractor on line (which may be difficult) to make a comment on a travel web site about the contractor.

[RetiredandTravel]

I understand that cruise lines aren't going to fully reimburse people for poor cruise experiences but you would think in a case like this that something like a $100 OBC (or a bottle of Champagne) and an apology would go along way.    Not a big investment to restore faith. 

[TomBeckCruise]

2 hours ago, mj_holiday said:

Did you have a chance to comment about this on the survey given at the end of the cruise?  In addition to writing Regent I would look for the contractor on line (which may be difficult) to make a comment on a travel web site about the contractor.

contractors are unknown for the most part.  It did not happen to me. It was our friends who were sailing with us.

 

2 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

I understand that cruise lines aren't going to fully reimburse people for poor cruise experiences but you would think in a case like this that something like a $100 OBC (or a bottle of Champagne) and an apology would go along way.    Not a big investment to restore faith. 

Unlikely from Regent.  The tour was free.

 

This cruise made me realize why I had not taken a cruise line shore excursion since 2007-8?  I always book private guides, and that is part of the reason Regent is not right for me.

 

In 2007 we visited the Gardens of a sight in Great Britain. We stayed at the fairly large garden for about 30 minutes, and at the tiny gift shop for about 45 minutes.  We then had a horrible bowl of soup with a beer. Finally we were given two hours to shop in about 5-6 small shops in the area.

What a waste of a day.

[RetiredandTravel]

1 hour ago, TomBeckCruise said:

 

Unlikely from Regent.  The tour was free.

 

This cruise made me realize why I had not taken a cruise line shore excursion since 2007-8?  I always book private guides, and that is part of the reason Regent is not right for me.

 

In 2007 we visited the Gardens of a sight in Great Britain. We stayed at the fairly large garden for about 30 minutes, and at the tiny gift shop for about 45 minutes.  We then had a horrible bowl of soup with a beer. Finally we were given two hours to shop in about 5-6 small shops in the area.

What a waste of a day.

 

 

Actually I was talking about Pudgesmom but in the case you mentioned some sort of gesture would have also been in order.  It appears to me that there seems to be a tendency to put their head in the sand.  An apology with cookies or wine would go a long way. 

 

We've only done a couple Regent cruises but have been generally happy with the base excursions.  We found the guides in Japan to be exceptionally well prepared, the buses were very crowded tho.  When we get in larger crowds like the Golden Pavilion it gets chaotic so we just go on our own. Kyoto was a place that a private tour would have been a good idea.   I agree that the food & drink venues miss the mark, generally places that cater to large groups.   

 

Read about your Voyager cruise, just not acceptable. 

 

Edited May 3, 2022 by RetiredandTravel

[fizzy]

I thought that this was an upcharge excursion and if so, a full refund should be in order. Nobody needs any more "free" booze or cookies.

[RetiredandTravel]

34 minutes ago, fizzy said:

I thought that this was an upcharge excursion and if so, a full refund should be in order. Nobody needs any more "free" booze or cookies.

 

 

I'm making this over confusing.  My point is if they aren't going to refund pudgesmom's money (which seems unlikely) then at least an OBC and and apology would be nice.   I'm not getting the feeling Regent has sincerely acknowledged a mistake and apologized.

 

In the case of "included" excursion TmBeck mentioned where the people were stranded I suggested cookies & booze and maybe most important an apology.   I got the feeling that they were basically told to pound sand.

 

 

7 hours ago, TomBeckCruise said:

We have friends that were abandoned by their guide in Palma, Majorca. The group had to catch city buses back to the port.

They complained when they got back and the response was, "we use contractors".

In Regent's defense this was Voyager's first cruise in two years, and I suspect the "contractor" and/or their employees might have been new and untested.

 

[DatawCruiser]

My last cruise on Splendor in February had 2 ridiculously bad excursions and less than impressive meals.  I cancelled my only future cruise with them and will wait until things improve.

[RachelG]

Having done probably 200 excursions with Regent, I would say most are good, some are great.  And there are a few which really are terrible.  Unfortunately this sounds like one.  And the thing is, I have done the excursion that the OP described a few years back and it was excellent.  A real dressage with Andalusian horses. And my husband know horses—we own a ranch.  So I suspect there is something up with the tour operator.  But no excuse.  OP should get their money back.

[Pudgesmom]

2 hours ago, RachelG said:

Having done probably 200 excursions with Regent, I would say most are good, some are great.  And there are a few which really are terrible.  Unfortunately this sounds like one.  And the thing is, I have done the excursion that the OP described a few years back and it was excellent.  A real dressage with Andalusian horses. And my husband know horses—we own a ranch.  So I suspect there is something up with the tour operator.  But no excuse.  OP should get their money back.

What I think happened is Regent gave the wrong description. The tour we did get is shown online for many other cruises. Maybe  they had a dressage show and the past like you saw,  but somehow switched to this stable. 
 

Below you can a horse and rider compete in a dressage competition. The Second is a short video I took of the excursion we did.
 

I was told here by Picardad that many of his clients had tried and failed to get refunds. 

I did cover it in my last day online form and spoke to my TA who pretty much said they don’t follow through on this stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pudgesmom]

On 5/3/2022 at 7:13 AM, RetiredandTravel said:

I'm not sure which is more egregious the excursion or Regents response.  You pay extra for an excursion to see a horse dressage and get a flamenco dancer with a guy on a horse doing circles around her.  When you ask Regent for your money back you get radio silence??

Yes- radio silence. No one has contacted us in any way shape of form.

[fizzy]

I guess when you accept the "free" excursion choices there would be less options for complaints. The fact that you paid extra for something that wasn't remotely as advertised is really annoying. Is there a reason that they just won't admit the error and make things right?  How many guests were on this excursion and were they also disappointed?

[rallydave]

3 hours ago, fizzy said:

I guess when you accept the "free" excursion choices there would be less options for complaints. The fact that you paid extra for something that wasn't remotely as advertised is really annoying. Is there a reason that they just won't admit the error and make things right?  How many guests were on this excursion and were they also disappointed?

Actually you pay for ALL excursions including the ones that are said to b are "free".  The correct term for the "free" excursions is "included:  No doubt that you pay for the "free" excursions in every port as part of your cruise fare just like the "free" air, "free" hotel, etc. so even the "free" excursions should have some type of refund however based on history, that simply will not occur.

[Pcardad]

11 hours ago, Pudgesmom said:

What I think happened is Regent gave the wrong description. The tour we did get is shown online for many other cruises. Maybe  they had a dressage show and the past like you saw,  but somehow switched to this stable. 
 

Below you can a horse and rider compete in a dressage competition. The Second is a short video I took of the excursion we did.
 

I was told here by Picardad that many of his clients had tried and failed to get refunds. 

I did cover it in my last day online form and spoke to my TA who pretty much said they don’t follow through on this stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_5529.MOV 51.64 MB · 0 downloads
 

 

I am sorry but I didn't say that. I said "but I have clients who have spent millions who have not received a response to letters written"...and I do. This couple wrote two letters to corporate about an issue and never got a reply. I was speaking to the hit or miss results of writing to corporate. They were not writing about an excursion nor seeking a refund.

[fizzy]

31 minutes ago, rallydave said:

Actually you pay for ALL excursions including the ones that are said to b are "free".  The correct term for the "free" excursions is "included:  No doubt that you pay for the "free" excursions in every port as part of your cruise fare just like the "free" air, "free" hotel, etc. so even the "free" excursions should have some type of refund however based on history, that simply will not occur.

Of course...poor attempt at humor. We are still in the group that wished that an opt out choice was available.

[Pudgesmom]

4 hours ago, Pcardad said:

I am sorry but I didn't say that. I said "but I have clients who have spent millions who have not received a response to letters written"...and I do. This couple wrote two letters to corporate about an issue and never got a reply. I was speaking to the hit or miss results of writing to corporate. They were not writing about an excursion nor seeking a refund.

I guess you didn’t specify the meaning of “clients” or “spending millions.” A casual reader would read that as more than 2, specifically with the millions spent comment afterwards. 
 

I know you’ve had many great experiences. We’ve had only one. You “always” stay at the Four Seasons in Miami. We stayed at the East Hotel, where our room lacked any separation from bathroom and bedroom and is one of the most poorly rated expensive hotels in Miami.
 

 There are several other places where our experience was different from yours, long term cruisers and other posters here. I’m not going to profile them as we had many great moments in our cruise. 

Edited May 5, 2022 by Pudgesmom

[Pcardad]

38 minutes ago, Pudgesmom said:

I guess you didn’t specify the meaning of “clients” or “spending millions.” A casual reader would read that as more than 2, specifically with the millions spent comment afterwards. 
 

I know you’ve had many great experiences. We’ve had only one. You “always” stay at the Four Seasons in Miami. We stayed at the East Hotel, where our room lacked any separation from bathroom and bedroom and is one of the most poorly rated expensive hotels in Miami.
 

 There are several other places where our experience was different from yours, long term cruisers and other posters here. I’m not going to profile them as we had many great moments in our cruise. 

I apologize to you, Pudgesmom, if my response came across in any way negative...that was certainly not my intent. I have also had negative experiences but if I judge them to be isolated incidents then I do not post them so as not to discourage others. However, Regent, like any other company, has its shortcomings and I think those should be discussed here, mentioned in comment cards, pointed our to the GM and whatever other method is most appropriate for the circumstances in order to get the issue corrected. The positive experiences are mentioned by myself and my clients in great detail on the mid-term cruise card and the final cruise card along with names and specific examples. Good people are hard to find and Regent owes 95% of its success to its people.

[Pudgesmom]

My reason for posting was to inquire where I could share my concerns about a shore excursion. I could not find any information on the website.

 

I also wanted to share an experience.

Edited May 5, 2022 by Pudgesmom

[SWFLAOK]

We've had shore excursions that did not meet our expectations on a number of cruise lines, including Regent. If they're just not up to our expectations, we report that on the survey that they ask us to fill out. and give them all of the details.  If it's really bad,  where we might have felt we or others were in danger, then we've gone to the concierge desk, and reported it. They wrote it done.

Was anything done for any of these situations? We don't know. We've never received any feedback on a survey that we've filled out on a cruise (and we almost always do so).

But since your excursion did not meet your expectations, I think sharing it with Regent on their survey, and sharing it here is the best you can do.