Israel Next week Voyager

[rcandkc]

1 minute ago, Sunprince said:

I agree that a FCC is appropriate, but it depends on the offer. But my question is…why is it acceptable business practice to put your customers through multiple hoops and iterations to get to the end state? Especially in this more stressful circumstance? It seems Regent has previous experience of how to take care of customers, so why is there so many obstacles now to get to the final decision?? That IMO, is extremely poor management. Something has seriously changed within the Regent/NCL management. 

Very troubling ☹️

 

 

 

[rcandkc]

4 minutes ago, rcandkc said:

Very troubling ☹️

 

 

 

I’ll state further…as of right now we have 6 cruises booked…I’m reading all this with much interest and concern.  So….very troubling. 

[CrushIt]

8 minutes ago, Sunprince said:

I agree that a FCC is appropriate, but it depends on the offer. But my question is…why is it acceptable business practice to put your customers through multiple hoops and iterations to get to the end state? Especially in this more stressful circumstance? It seems Regent has previous experience of how to take care of customers, so why is there so many obstacles now to get to the final decision?? That IMO, is extremely poor management. Something has seriously changed within the Regent/NCL management. 

I generally give people the benefit of the doubt. But I’m this case I really think they don’t care. 

[charltonkerry]

On 10/13/2023 at 9:38 PM, carMOM said:

I need to make this a long post. Please bear with me.

For the Navigator Nov 10 sailing from Istanbul which we are on, complete with pre cruise and post cruise tours booked as well as the overland packages in both Israel and Egypt, we cannot figure out how or where Regent can just substitute other ports and make it work.

The itinerary is 21 days finishing in Dubai.

Navigator has to get to Dubai on time because the next leg of the ship goes from Dubai to Singapore. 
Voyager's cruise on Oct 15 is different. It was supposed to repeat a set itinerary then do it again in reverse I think. Or something similar. It's not one leg of a longer itinerary.

For many passengers on Navigator, Istanbul to Dubai is just one leg of a grand voyage and they may have already been on board for weeks or months with more to go after Dubai.

Only this leg on Nov 10 puts the ship in danger. Once past Egypt or even Dubai ( if uprisings escalate), they're in the clear.

I don't know how many passengers join the cruise in Istanbul like us and how many are already onboard.
My point is Regent can't cancel the Nov 10 cruise. The ship has to get to Dubai. How do they minimize the risk and still provide a decent cruise while skipping the major and main stops on the itinerary? I don't think they can for the passengers embarking in Istanbul and disembarking in Dubai. Passengers already on the ship or staying on for the longer voyage might be ok with it.

Last year on a grand voyage on Explorer, the ship was turned around from New Zealand due to invasive barnacles on the hull and the whole New Zealand leg of that grand voyage was skipped while the ship added many sea days. I know passengers who were onboard  were offered cruise credits but I don't know how much. We joined that cruise after the debacle was over when it got to Bali. The passengers who had been on during the New Zealand experience and who were still on were generally ok with it because Regent stepped up with cruise credits. I don't know if any refunds were offered.

I'm not excited if Navigator ends up with almost 10 straight sea days with Israel and Egypt cancellations...possibly other ports cancelled if the Israeli conflict escalates.

If anyone has more experience dealing with these situations or if you're on Navigator on Nov 10. I would love to hear your thoughts.

 

Re the grand cruise question, this situation you are suffering is different to the grand cruise / cruise to no where, for many reasons, we were on this grand cruise so we know the situation, and the circumstances, although not from Regents perspective.
 

This is an unofficial / personal version which does not up agree with Regents assessment, once you get to the end you might understand why. A bit of preamble. A law was passed by New Zealand and Australia in 2018 that all ships entering their waters had to be certified that all debris had been removed this was to be brought into force at the start of 2020, when Covid was at its height and no one was sailing.
 

It all started to go wrong long before we reached Australia even, we should have had the keel cleaned in Bali, prior to entering Australian waters (this differs from Regent statement, but we learnt this from various unofficial sources on board) but for some unknown reason it wasn’t undertaken.

 

Australia were somewhat flexible and we had the keel inspected, I believe at the first port, then we started to hear rumours that there could be problems when we entered New Zealand waters as a few other ships were not being allowed in. On news years eve / news years day, ports started to be cancelled and we were told told that the keel was to be cleaned in a special area out at sea off Tasmania. This was done and took a couple of days, we were the allowed to dock at I believe Adelaide were the keel was inspected (we were allowed off for a few hours, the last time we got onto dry land for 15 days). Inspection was carried out and we departed for New Zealand, thinking oh well we only missed Tasmania and the New Zealand fjords, but we were calling in all the ports. No after 2 days, with no notifications we noticed the sun started to change position, we were turning and heading back to Australia as the cleaning process had not passed New Zealand requirements. Anyways for another 10 days (roughly) we were ether stationery having the keel cleaned or boomeranging between Australia and New Zealand via the Tasmanian sea. New Zealand finally accepted that we were in trouble (certain items were running very low ie there were no lemons for gin and tonic) It was debatable if we could make if to Auckland so the decided we could just sail to Auckland (we had flights book, and it was the last destination of the Grand cruise (and a major change over port for staff and guests, and a restocking point for the ship). it’s was our opinion that either Regent had dropped the ball and forgotten or ignored the fact that the keel had to be cleaned, but you can imagine regent didn’t agree with this, there explanation frankly didn’t match what we were told unofficially on the ship by many crew member.

 

Sorry about how long the above is but I thought I ought to explain why I started off by saying it was a different circumstances. We had many offers for free cruise credit, which we all complained about, but eventually they did the gentlemanly thing and offered a full cash refund for that section of the cruise. Which obviously we accepted (and spent on another Regent cruise). It’s my opinion that we all (every guest on the ship) got the full refund was because some one within the Regent organisation cocked up massively.

[HotelSnob1]

Not having a keel cleaned or pre-inspected when u know you are going into that kind of restricted environment is a MAJOR mess-up and smacks of disorganization or major indifference — 

[Texasrocks]

Made it to Ist friends arrived at hotel after 1am.  We didn’t see anyone with a regent sign at airport had to call the emergency line and they took 10 minutes to give me another number to call.  They have a hospitality room for us at hotel and 4 busses leave for port at 300 pm.  Getting prepped for chaos ( regent couldn’t you check us in at the hotel at 1 and give us ship card?  So when we arrived we could just go through security and get on board???? I also cringe at the thought of how shoreex for 5 new ports is going to be handled.  If it is like the NZ port change disaster they best put up queue lines like Disneyworld.  Trying to make the best of it but 25% FCC doesn’t cut it when you arrive the night before into a city with so many sights and you can’t even see them.  I certainly would have preferred they overnight in Istanbul but that is now water under the bridge like the air disaster.  I already cancelled three of our future cruises but kept one for using the FCC.  Very disappointed how this was handled so poorly.  I hope the execution onboard is better, but I fear the shore ex desk will be overwhelmed.  The final test for regent is now how they handle the fallout of angry customers.
 

and yes first world problems but there were fixable and in regents control how they chose to handle this.  If they would have just called and allowed me to fly to IST on Wednesday as planned and let me pay for my Hotel and tours, I would have been a lot less dissatisfied, but alas there was no choice.

 

[Texasrocks]

1 hour ago, HotelSnob1 said:

Not having a keel cleaned or pre-inspected when u know you are going into that kind of restricted environment is a MAJOR mess-up and smacks of disorganization or major indifference — 

I was on one of those cruises missed the bay of islands, the fjords Tasmania, great ocean road and several others.  Now this one, so basically 2 out of 3 of my regent cruises have been screwed up big.  So through my eyes regent isn’t knocking it out of the park.

[kjbacon]

We are on a similar itinerary next year and have been following. This entire situation is heartbreaking and feels very personal to me, given my heritage and with family living in Israel.

 

The thread is long so apologies if I’ve missed the answer to my two questions: 

 

Aren’t any of you being affected on this sailing using a travel agent?

 

If you choose to sail, you get 25% fcc but if you cancelled, you lose everything?

Edited October 15, 2023 by kjbacon

[lprp]

11 hours ago, GeorgiaPeach51 said:

We requested an FCC and the answer came back that it was “a hard NO.”

Completely agree that making this many port changes this far out is very different to changing course during the cruise due to weather conditions, etc.

I hope that O do the right thing and allow you the option of FCC.

Please keep us posted on this board. 
LP

[roninman]

12 hours ago, rallydave said:

We assume no responsibility in whole or in part for any delays, delayed departures or arrivals, missed connections...

They need to make a reasonable effort to arrange flights as advertised to get you to the boat on time.  If they are the ones who decided to change the location at the 11th hour, and cannot perform their responsibility in a timely and suitable fashion, while accepting and keeping money to perform these duties, they are certainly a target for any action, no matter how they try to absolve themselves by self-serving language.  In this case it sounds like they knowingly refused to make alternate arrangements for a customer (I wanted to go home for two days not being a valid excuse).  I'm not a lawyer, but would be interested to see how any decent lawyer couldn't pick through the contract they wave in the face of the customer and try to hide behind

 

 

 

[HotelSnob1]

1 hour ago, Texasrocks said:

Made it to Ist friends arrived at hotel after 1am.  We didn’t see anyone with a regent sign at airport had to call the emergency line and they took 10 minutes to give me another number to call.  They have a hospitality room for us at hotel and 4 busses leave for port at 300 pm.  Getting prepped for chaos ( regent couldn’t you check us in at the hotel at 1 and give us ship card?  So when we arrived we could just go through security and get on board???? I also cringe at the thought of how shoreex for 5 new ports is going to be handled.  If it is like the NZ port change disaster they best put up queue lines like Disneyworld.  Trying to make the best of it but 25% FCC doesn’t cut it when you arrive the night before into a city with so many sights and you can’t even see them.  I certainly would have preferred they overnight in Istanbul but that is now water under the bridge like the air disaster.  I already cancelled three of our future cruises but kept one for using the FCC.  Very disappointed how this was handled so poorly.  I hope the execution onboard is better, but I fear the shore ex desk will be overwhelmed.  The final test for regent is now how they handle the fallout of angry customers.
 

and yes first world problems but there were fixable and in regents control how they chose to handle this.  If they would have just called and allowed me to fly to IST on Wednesday as planned and let me pay for my Hotel and tours, I would have been a lot less dissatisfied, but alas there was no choice.

 

I would imagine once we are onboard today our suites would be ready b/c of the delayed boarding due to the bike race.

 

[Texasrocks]

8 minutes ago, HotelSnob1 said:

I would imagine once we are onboard today our suites would be ready b/c of the delayed boarding due to the bike race.

 

I certainly hope so as it will probably be 430 before we get there and get processed, but not sure luggage will be there before dinner

[HotelSnob1]

🤞🤞🤞

[flossie009]

On 10/13/2023 at 2:41 PM, forgap said:

Curious about what is driving Regent’s rigid response.  Is it the parent company or the new president flexing or is it her inexperience?  

 

 

On 10/13/2023 at 3:23 PM, forevertravel said:

Perhaps the new leadership of Regent is more concerned with bottom line. FDR was in charge of NCL Limited and Jason Montague was president of Regent during Covid. Both are now gone.

 

On 10/13/2023 at 4:55 PM, CrushIt said:

Let’s face it; RSS and NCL are now run by the bean counters and attorneys.

 

Jason M is an accountant, but perhaps has a better understanding of how customer (and staff) satisfaction impacts on the bottom line in the medium/long term.

 

In hindsight there appear to have been some very poor early policy decisions taken regarding this cruise and the lack of flexibility offered to guests; thus placing affected customers, and seemingly poorly briefed agents, under unnecessary extra stress.

 

Hope that those who successfully join the ship today can make the best of the revised itinerary and that those disembarking have a safe & comfortable trip home.

 

[melbox4]

15 hours ago, pingpong1 said:

Sunprince - I absolutely agree with you.  And Melbox4 - I think this is a really important point!  Ever since I first joined CC and in particular, since following along on all the Regent Forum discussions for those years...the constant/consistent/never ending/"written-on-a-stone-tablet" justification for using Regent Air (rather than "going it alone") has always been that if there's "Ever Any problem at all" with your air transportation (arranged/booked paid for through Regent)...Regent was always going to be your "best buddy", that they'd move heaven and earth for you, and that they would provide immediate hands-on assistance...no matter what...to "get you to that ship - come heck or high water!"

 

And so now Mel is telling us that they seemingly have just "cut him loose" and told him to call Lufthansa on his own.  And to add the final insult...gave him a Lufthansa "non-weekend" phone number to call... that won't even be answered until 2 more precious and time-critical days have elapsed?

 

Tell me again (anyone) why I should ever rely on Regent Air to get me to/from the ship, rather than arranging my own flights - personally and directly - with my own favorite choice/s of airlines?  Did I also understand (from one of the previous posts) that Regent Miami was "finding it difficult" to contact the Voyager in order to "see if it was okay" for the delayed passenger/s (delayed through no fault of their own) to board the ship in a subsequent 2nd/3rd port, if they couldn't make it to Istanbul before the ship left (which the now won't)?!  "Asking Permission", really?!  Boy, I really don't understand "that one!"  🤔

 

By this time (actually way before now), someone way up the Regent "food chain", and in an actual "decision-making position", should have been offering these major-affected folks a full refund PLUS FCC's to use towards a new/later/future cruise!  In the "big scheme of things", that goodwill compensation would be a tiny fraction of their gross yearly revenue!

 

Maybe I need to stop posting on this thread...it's cranking up my BP way too high! Time to pet the cat! 😺    Best Regards to all.

Thank you to all responding excellent points. It has been a big learning curve for me. Although in my earlier posts I was a bit sassy…this thread has helped in my education of cruising. For that I am grateful. 
Initially, Lufthansa refused to reissue a ticket past Istanbul. The airline refusal was based on the next port which we would be permitted to board was more than 250 miles from Istanbul. I called Regent and asked to speak to a supervisor J. I pointed out to J that Haifa was more than 250 miles from Istanbul. J informed me that Lufthansa had no responsibility to get me to the next port. J said he would call the emergency air and see if there was anything they could do. My TA stepped in at this point. It took her all day but we ended up with new 1st class tickets issued on United.  The emergency air seemed to have a change of heart after J called them. 
I feel that if Regent is arranging to book air they need to be more supportive from the get go. 
We hope to be joining the Voyager soon. 
Just for the record “Melbox” is an XX and not a XY 😂. 
 

[melbox4]

14 hours ago, roninman said:

Technically I can understand that Regent is not responsible for the airlines- how can they be?  However, Regent is responsible for arranging transportation to get you to your boat.   In its brochures it states that airfare is included, hence they need to make suitable arrangements to transport you.   When you pay $175pp for a deviation they are renewing the commitment.   When you pay an extra $75 for the privilege of speaking directly with the air team, they are upping the responsibility again.

 

If they can't get the pax to the embarkation port in a reasonable fashion, it seems a refund is due (at a minimum).  Or, as Regent- and now Oceania- seem to like to tell people:  "read the contract."

Agree 💯 

[melbox4]

19 hours ago, Sunprince said:

What a disaster! And embarkation is tomorrow! Have you tried calling Regent customer service and insist on talking to a supervisor.  Ask for cancellation and full refund.  See what they say? 

Thank you. After this suggestion yesterday I did what you suggested. Ty again. 

[TheShag]

Wow! What a thread. All I keep thinking about is how this would make an excellent case study for an MBA class once the dust settles. I hope everyone on the cruise eventually 'gets to a place' where they can enjoy themselves.

[zak477]

With the time difference between here and Istanbul, I hope all of you embarking today have now gotten on board and sent directly to your suites.  Also I do hope that arrangements were made to have all the luggage picked up from the hotel in the a.m. so you have your luggage in your suite upon arrival.  I would think that now Regent would have made arrangements to see to every detail to insure you have that Luxury cruise they advertise.  

Maybe they learned their mistakes with this cruise and the NCL & Oceania cruises so the changes being made for our November Navigator sailing proceeds smoothly. 

[kathy49]

I think the situation with Regal (and any other line) is to obviously take off Israel but leave Egypt on until closer to or after departure.  That way you minimize potential for cancellations and issues regarding ports.  Then they cancel Egypt or anything else in the area.  People cruising in Nov.. will not see Egypt being taken off this far in advance but it can happen. I think this is a strategy commonly used if things are falling apart in advance of departure.

[CrushIt]

5 hours ago, melbox4 said:

Thank you to all responding excellent points. It has been a big learning curve for me. Although in my earlier posts I was a bit sassy…this thread has helped in my education of cruising. For that I am grateful. 
Initially, Lufthansa refused to reissue a ticket past Istanbul. The airline refusal was based on the next port which we would be permitted to board was more than 250 miles from Istanbul. I called Regent and asked to speak to a supervisor J. I pointed out to J that Haifa was more than 250 miles from Istanbul. J informed me that Lufthansa had no responsibility to get me to the next port. J said he would call the emergency air and see if there was anything they could do. My TA stepped in at this point. It took her all day but we ended up with new 1st class tickets issued on United.  The emergency air seemed to have a change of heart after J called them. 
I feel that if Regent is arranging to book air they need to be more supportive from the get go. 
We hope to be joining the Voyager soon. 
Just for the record “Melbox” is an XX and not a XY 😂. 
 

I agree. RSS’s priorities just seem to be in a different place than ours. We have only cruised with RSS twice before. We don’t have other cruises booked like a lot of the posts have. We are in it for the ports of call and the ease and comfort of moving between ports and couldn’t care less if we ever have a sea day. We understand why many others who cruise often don’t mind the schedule change.

Our experiences with the crew and staff have been amazing. But, they all have bosses. Those managers did not cause this horrible war in the Middle East. But, they had choices along the way on how to treat their customers - those wanting to cruise, no matter where, and those whose sole reason for cruising was to visit two or three of the countries. I wish everyone on the cruise the very best.

[mrstanley]

Flying into a debarkation port and spending one night prior to boarding is very risky with all the delays, cancellations and lost luggage issues that travelers are encountering. Flying in the day the ship leaves is way to risky and stressful.
 

We have been cruising regularly with Regent for 22 years. We have never flown in without spending at least two nights prior to embarking the ship. The only exception is boarding  a cruise that leaves from Miami.

 

If you use Regent Air you may have multiple stops . 

 

[kjbacon]

A couple years ago, we were booked on a Viking Ocean cruise that had a drastic itinerary change due to Covid. They graciously offered full refunds, not just FCC’s, for those of us who were not interested in the changed itinerary.

[kjbacon]

And I should clarify that this was at the back end of Covid, not the beginning.

[forgap]

Anxious to hear the post-script after the travel gauntlet and embarkation. I’m sure that those who made it to the ship are sleeping in the Uber comfy Regent beds and they deserve to sleep in!