Israel Next week Voyager

[Pcardad]

I am from Harding.

[NYC-London]

1 minute ago, Pcardad said:

I am from Harding.

Know the area very well and have dear friends who live on Sand Spring Road

[Pcardad]

5 minutes ago, NYC-London said:

Know the area very well and have dear friends who live on Sand Spring Road

That's about a mile west.....small world.

[NYC-London]

1 hour ago, irishwitchy said:

Yup, Short Hills Mall in my stomping ground, also.  

 

I would have been very upset, if I needed to go on this current cruise, which has turned into a Greek island cruise.   I’m only 64,  but I think I will be sticking to land trips, that I can control instead of being at the mercy of paying for one thing and getting something very different.  

My office  is in Florham Park so when I see your location I sometimes wonder if we have run into each other 

 

I totally agree with you regarding land trips - there are a number of dream destinations on my bucket list and other than for Antarctica, I plan to do them all by land while I am still young enough to take such trips.

[NYC-London]

3 hours ago, PaulaJK said:

Hello NYC. We are Short Hills Mall locale. The one you mean? Yes, very interested in Lonedaddy’s MBA mention. I guess surprised since not MBA..but I can say that world of mouth is very strong here…in malls, clubs, etc.

You are so correct regarding the power of word of mouth in this neck of the  woods , more so than other areas of the country where I have lived

[Pcardad]

9 minutes ago, NYC-London said:

You are so correct regarding the power of word of mouth in this neck of the  woods , more so than other areas of the country where I have lived

Probably in the same clubs together I would guess.

[cruiseluv]

1 hour ago, NYC-London said:

Yup, that is the mall - wouldn't it be funny if we all know one another

 

Columbia High School grad

I lived in Westfield many years , that was my mall 

[PaulaJK]

2 hours ago, cruiseluv said:

Short Hills Mall! Would that be near Summit, NJ by any chance? 

Absolutely..also near Short Mills, Millburn, Livingston and a few other towns

[CrushIt]

6 hours ago, Lonedaddy said:

When I got my mba (a long long time ago) the marketing professors said the cost to lose a loyal customer is ten times  less than the cost to gain a new customer.

That sounds like a quote from a professor who never worked a day outside of academia. I also studied marketing for my business degree and a little post-grad work. Never really understood the power of customer service until I owned and operated my businesses. My own experience in this age of the internet is that I’m always better off keeping loyal customers and growing by word-of-mouth referral. Would love to hear from other business pros. 

[CrushIt]

3 hours ago, rallydave said:

This is not the purpose of insurance. If this were to happen look for cruise insurance costs to significantly increase. 
 

we already have this with cancel for any reason and those costs are significantly higher and in most cases only cover approx 75%.   Be careful what you ask for as the results will cause unintended conquences.  

Agree. The cost of the insurance is already outrageous. And when I first skimmed through one policy that was recommended by our TA, it just didn’t make sense for us. From what I’m reading here, it would have been worthless, anyway. I believe in the Law of unintended consequences. So let’s not make the cost of the cruise and insurance climb out of sight. 

[giustot]

8 hours ago, Lonedaddy said:

When I got my mba (a long long time ago) the marketing professors said the cost to lose a loyal customer is ten times  less than the cost to gain a new customer.

That's a difficult sentence for me to understand. Am I correct in believing that what you want to say here is that it costs 10 times more to gain a new customer than to keep a loyal customer.

Edited October 16, 2023 by giustot

[giustot]

5 hours ago, rallydave said:

Don’t believe there will be any tightening or any needed. The terms and conditions  (rules) are well spelled out and not ambiguous at all. Believe the problem is that the vast majority of cruisers fail to read or understand the rules and believe the cruise lines are completely responsible for everything which is the furthest from the facts

I don't believe the rules allow you to sell one cruise and deliver a completely different one. If I were on the cruise, I would argue that when I booked and signed my contract with you, it was for a Holy Land cruise that would include Jerusalem and the Pyramids. You could not deliver it and I understand why. But since you can't offer me a comparable cruise, you must offer compensation. And you knew this well before the ship sailed, when I could have canceled and stayed home.

 

For a time after Israel was canceled, the Voyager was still going to Egypt, too close to the war zone for comfort. Passengers were being forced to take that cruise to Egypt, potentially putting them in harms way, and causing great emotional distress. No one does this to their customers, at least not the ones they want to keep.

 

The mark of a great company is not one that performs well when everything is going fine, A great company performs well when everything is going badly.

 

Some people want to give Regent the benefit of the doubt and say they just wanted to put stockholders first. Well, safety comes first. Personally, I think Regent just screwed up on this.

[Lonedaddy]

1 hour ago, giustot said:

That's a difficult sentence for me to understand. Am I correct in believing that what you want to say here is that it costs 10 times more to gain a new customer than to keep a loyal customer.

Correct.  I guess I could have phrased it better but after a long flight to Istanbul and only a few hours sleep, I’m surprised I could type on the phone.

[fizzy]

4 hours ago, giustot said:

I don't believe the rules allow you to sell one cruise and deliver a completely different one. 

As it turned out, it happened to us. A very simple beach cruise, paid in full, days off from work, flights purchased, SURPRISE, turned into a cruise to Cuba....focus on Cuba. We were offered a different cruise, different dates, different itinerary, blah blah blah.... but no thank you on our part. Just please refund our $$$. They had a waitlist for this cruise after Cuba was announced and could have easily resold the cabin. There was that hard NO I keep hearing about. We came to learn that we weren't the only unhappy campers on the ship because we met them day after day never getting off the ship. At any rate, we now find Silversea to be an excellent choice which never would have happened if this nonsense had not occurred. The "name" of the cruise was even changed.

[roninman]

12 hours ago, irishwitchy said:

Years ago,  we had picked out a cruise that had Turkey, Israel and Egypt.   Well, Turkey had issues and it was looking like Egypt was next, but Regent wasn’t committing to canceling the Egypt ports or not.  

For those defending the cruise line by stating that no one could have foreseen this tragic situation, and therefore the poor cruise line gets to keep passenger money, we should all understand that risk of  unexpected geopolitical events is always part of the business  environment, and contingency plans should have been developed long ago. 

 

  This is not the cruise line's first rodeo.

 

In this case, apparently contingency plans were not put in place (eg, no ability to dynamically expand airline travel department via third party contracts, or mandated weekend hours), or to introduce carefully staged flexibility toward refund/credit plans.  At least to the consumer, it appears the line simply made a business decision to not implement not-unheard-of risk contingencies, and instead decided to go seat of pants.  In other words, lack of planning was a conscious decision, most likely based on cost savings.

 

To this day it doesn't appear there has been any public comment by management, either to current, or future, or potential passengers.  Management has left its harried airline agents, or independent travel agents here, to speak for them but without even communicating with even them.  It's hard not to believe management want to just ignore it until it all goes away,  Until next time.

 

Takeaway:  Cruising is a great way to travel on sunny days.  On not so sunny days, some lines reveal their true colors.

 

Meantime, consumers here bandy back and forth about contract this or contract that.  Management is content to sit back and let them bicker among themselves.

Edited October 16, 2023 by roninman

[Lonedaddy]

Reply I received from guest services prior to our trip.  The “if your had booked your own air comment” was flat out wrong.  I believe the airlines we more than accommodating especially if one has status in their FF program. 
 

To me this response was indifferent and patronizing.  
 

I removed our friends name for privacy.

 

 

Thank you for reaching out and providing detailed information regarding your air travel arrangements for the upcoming Seven Seas Voyager cruise with your friends. We understand the importance of a seamless and convenient travel experience, particularly for a first-time cruise with Regent.

Firstly, I would like to express our sincere concern for Mrs. X recent open heart surgery and her need for a more accommodating flight itinerary.

Please note, Guest Relations is limited in our scope of response with this inquiry as we mainly provide assistance with post cruise concerns, not future reservations.

In an effort to better assist however, we have thoroughly reviewed your proposed flight changes and possible alternatives, including swapping your seats to accommodate Mrs. X needs and exploring the possibility of the 2 1/2 hour connecting BA flight 688at 12:55 pm in economy. However, after consulting with the Director of Air Services, we regret to inform you that due to the complexities of the current booking and our airline policies, we are unable to make the requested modifications to your existing reservations.

It should serve to note that had you instead booked your own air, you equally would not be able to call the airline and simply make this change as the airlines would consider it a cancellation, as name changes to an entirely different person is not permitted. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and understand the significance of a smooth travel experience, especially for Mrs. X comfort and well-being.

 

 

 

Edited October 16, 2023 by Lonedaddy

[Pcardad]

6 hours ago, giustot said:

I don't believe the rules allow you to sell one cruise and deliver a completely different one. If I were on the cruise, I would argue that when I booked and signed my contract with you, it was for a Holy Land cruise that would include Jerusalem and the Pyramids. You could not deliver it and I understand why. But since you can't offer me a comparable cruise, you must offer compensation. And you knew this well before the ship sailed, when I could have canceled and stayed home.

 

For a time after Israel was canceled, the Voyager was still going to Egypt, too close to the war zone for comfort. Passengers were being forced to take that cruise to Egypt, potentially putting them in harms way, and causing great emotional distress. No one does this to their customers, at least not the ones they want to keep.

 

The mark of a great company is not one that performs well when everything is going fine, A great company performs well when everything is going badly.

 

Some people want to give Regent the benefit of the doubt and say they just wanted to put stockholders first. Well, safety comes first. Personally, I think Regent just screwed up on this.

You are misquoting me. Any for-profit company is required by law to act in the best interests of their shareholders. This is almost always consistent with treating their customers well. However, some decisions made by a company may result in some customers not being happy. Regent obviously decided that, with over 600 showing up for the cruise, that they didn't need to issue refunds. I would have offered a FCC to those who did show up. The idea that Regent would intentionally bring people to a vey dangerous area is simply not a realistic concept. They simply have never and would never do this. I hope those of you who did show do receive a FCC for the loss of some very nice ports.

[Mudhen]

Now that at least some of you have made it to the ship(no small feat) could you give us a report of how your cruise is going?

[roninman]

28 minutes ago, rallydave said:

 

And if znyine thinks fdr would have made a difference. The answer is a resounding no with junior even worse than dad and still impacting all areas of NCLH 

NCL shareholding is at least 70% institutional (think:  Blackrock, Vanguard, etc).    You know, cruising would be a great business if we didn't have to deal with these annoying passengers all the time.

 

[dabear]

9 hours ago, giustot said:

I don't believe the rules allow you to sell one cruise and deliver a completely different one. If I were on the cruise, I would argue that when I booked and signed my contract with you, it was for a Holy Land cruise that would include Jerusalem and the Pyramids. You could not deliver it and I understand why. But since you can't offer me a comparable cruise, you must offer compensation. And you knew this well before the ship sailed, when I could have canceled and stayed home.

 

For a time after Israel was canceled, the Voyager was still going to Egypt, too close to the war zone for comfort. Passengers were being forced to take that cruise to Egypt, potentially putting them in harms way, and causing great emotional distress. No one does this to their customers, at least not the ones they want to keep.

 

The mark of a great company is not one that performs well when everything is going fine, A great company performs well when everything is going badly.

 

Some people want to give Regent the benefit of the doubt and say they just wanted to put stockholders first. Well, safety comes first. Personally, I think Regent just screwed up on this.

You're wrong. I am an attorney. Advertising does not create a contract. The words of an agreement create a contract. If one party reserves the right to change an itinerary & the other party agrees to it that's a binding contract. It may not be good marketing , but a contract is a contract.

[roninman]

39 minutes ago, dabear said:

Advertising does not create a contract. The words of an agreement create a contract.

Absolutely.  Yet plenty of firms challenge contracts on various grounds all the time (some example grounds can be listed, yet as they are not claimed to apply to anything here, no need to list any examples).

[Sunprince]

4 hours ago, roninman said:

This is not the cruise line's first rodeo.

 

In this case, apparently contingency plans were not put in place (eg, no ability to dynamically expand airline travel department via third party contracts, or mandated weekend hours), or to introduce carefully staged flexibility toward refund/credit plans.  At least to the consumer, it appears the line simply made a business decision to not implement not-unheard-of risk contingencies, and instead decided to go seat of pants.  In other words, lack of planning was a conscious decision, most likely based on cost savings.

We are thinking alike! For cruises embarking in higher risk ports, why did a “plan b” not exist in advance? Designating an alternate embarkation port, emergency staffing plans, protocols re air changes, dealing with customers and cancellations etc. It boggles my mind that apparently none of this was in place, or even thought of.  I am no expert in running a cruise line, but this seems very obvious at least to me. 

[dabear]

1 minute ago, roninman said:

Absolutely.  Yet plenty of firms challenge contracts on various grounds all the time (some example grounds can be listed, yet as they are not claimed to apply to anything here, no need to list any examples).

Agree, but such grounds do not apply here.

 

[kathy49]

You know the posters here represent a very small % of the passengers..I assume some are on other facebook groups etc. but often when people get what they want (FCC or even refund) they are just glad  and move on quietly and don't post same online. I think some are getting what they want...probably those with top revenue Regent TA agents working with their contacts to satisfy the customers.

[HotelSnob1]

We are in the ship now and service is fabulous, probably even more so. There was no problem at the port as we arrived independent and were on and in our suite at 3:20. Laundry washed, shore excursions booked, stewardess arrived and jotted down  our needs & habits, and luggage arrived shortly thereafter. Dinner & cocktails at Compass Rose.  We came upon some serious “weather” today while tendered - 47 mph in the afternoon … tenders were delayed in getting back to the ship …but they made it okay …  all good for us in the Voyager. Bon Voyage!