Explorer: live from 10/20/23 Japan Cruise/ positives & negatives

[many cruises]

This is our first Regent Cruise to Japan.
Positives:

great room steward

nice (but dated) cabins

 

Negatives:

*Pre-cruise tours chaotic

*Couldn’t understand the Japanese pre-cruise tour guides
*Couldn’t hear the Japanese pre-cruise tour guides

*Complaints from many about all Japan Tours

 

Regent is supposedly the top cruise line.  This is shocking to us because we did not experience unrivaled luxury.  How can the top cruise line have tours where every guide (except in Busan, Korea) has problems communicating in English?  Regent is very aware of these problems with their Japanese Tours, but they continue to book these cruises and act like everything is top notch.  They blame the shut down due to Covid for not having proper guides, yet they continue to take our money regardless.  Maybe they shouldn’t be cruising to Japan if they cannot provide tours where you can understand and hear the guides?  

[cwn]

1 hour ago, many cruises said:

This is our first Regent Cruise to Japan.
Positives:

great room steward

nice (but dated) cabins

 

Negatives:

*Pre-cruise tours chaotic

*Couldn’t understand the Japanese pre-cruise tour guides
*Couldn’t hear the Japanese pre-cruise tour guides

*Complaints from many about all Japan Tours

 

Regent is supposedly the top cruise line.  This is shocking to us because we did not experience unrivaled luxury.  How can the top cruise line have tours where every guide (except in Busan, Korea) has problems communicating in English?  Regent is very aware of these problems with their Japanese Tours, but they continue to book these cruises and act like everything is top notch.  They blame the shut down due to Covid for not having proper guides, yet they continue to take our money regardless.  Maybe they shouldn’t be cruising to Japan if they cannot provide tours where you can understand and hear the guides?  

Tours can be good or bad on any cruise line at any time. It has been hard for all segments of the travel industry to recover from Covid. Given that and what we experience daily in the service industry at home, I feel your statements are a bit harsh.

There have been good reports and mixed reports about Regent’s Japanese cruise on this board since Japan opened to cruising. The Japanese cruises seem to be improving recently.

But since you think the Explorer is dated… it is one of the newest ships and a favorite of many….your expectations mat be a little to high. Regent might not be a good fit.

[many cruises]

When every Japanese tour was poor for the reasons discussed above, it is not a problem caused by Covid.  The one good tour we took was in Busan, Korea.  The guides’ English was clear and easy to understand.  When you pay over 30k for a cruise, your excuses are ridiculous.  If Regent cannot supply what the customer paid for, they should eliminate that cruise.
 

As you stated, the Explorer is not a good fit for us.  We like cruise lines that stand behind their product, where you get what you pay for.  

[Techno123]

You visited Japan - English is not their first (nor possibly second or third ) language. During lock down, people who work as guides did not have chance to practise their English language skills and Japan has only recently opened so we all need to try to have a little patience (that said from someone who is taking a Far East cruise on Explorer in less than 2 weeks).

 

With regards to hearing the guides, I don't understand why Regent don't use the vox (or similar) systems. We have used them on river cruises and they are excellent. You don't have to huddle together looking like a tour group 😂

[papaflamingo]

6 hours ago, many cruises said:

This is our first Regent Cruise to Japan.

Have you cruised to Japan on other lines? 

[mj_holiday]

many cruises

I hope you included your tour comments on the end of cruise survey. 
 

 

[forevertravel]

I don't see how you can find the Explorer "dated". The Explorer, in my opinion, is a beautiful, luxurious ship. The cabin is elegant in my opinion. As to the guides we don't book a cruise for the guides or their language skills. Try to find good guides in US who speak a good foreign language. We are booked on Tokyo to Vancouver cruise next year and looking forward to it. Regent is definitely not for you. Enjoy other cruise lines who meet your expectations.

[RetiredandTravel]

15 hours ago, many cruises said:

This is our first Regent Cruise to Japan.
Positives:

great room steward

nice (but dated) cabins

 

Negatives:

*Pre-cruise tours chaotic

*Couldn’t understand the Japanese pre-cruise tour guides
*Couldn’t hear the Japanese pre-cruise tour guides

*Complaints from many about all Japan Tours

 

Regent is supposedly the top cruise line.  This is shocking to us because we did not experience unrivaled luxury.  How can the top cruise line have tours where every guide (except in Busan, Korea) has problems communicating in English?  Regent is very aware of these problems with their Japanese Tours, but they continue to book these cruises and act like everything is top notch.  They blame the shut down due to Covid for not having proper guides, yet they continue to take our money regardless.  Maybe they shouldn’t be cruising to Japan if they cannot provide tours where you can understand and hear the guides?  

 

Our Japan cruise on Regent (Mariner) was in 2019.  Our included pre cruise tours were also very chaotic.  Its my understanding that Regents "farms" out the pre cruise logistics and the people in charge although very nice were very poorly organized.

 

Every tour guide (and bus driver) we had on Regent in Japan was exceptional.  They spoke perfect English, were funny, professional and well prepared.  Most of the guides were retired women (one American man) and again they were great.  The buses were 90-100% full which didn't bother us but some felt they were too crowded.  The only issue was some venues were so crowded that we lost our guide.

 

So I wouldn't totally discount the impact that Covid has had.

 

Edited October 30, 2023 by RetiredandTravel

[tubeamps]

On board Explorer now after 3 day pre cruise .

Breakfasts at hotel were fine, tours were well coordinated. No over crowded buses, on time, guides were good, spoke English well.

 

Only bump in the road so far was embarkation after a morning of tours.

Didn’t get to ship until 2 pm. Would have preferred ending tours earlier and getting to ship earlier. Not a big deal.

 

In a penthouse suite, certainly not dated by any measure I can think of.

Going to first dinner soon will report back.

 

The ships public rooms, restaurants seem very nice, as do the menus.

 

More later.

 

[mj_holiday]

Which pre-cruise were you on, Vibrant Tokyo?

[sabrefan]

Tube amps, thank you for for your report on on your current Japan cruise. We go on our first Regent cruise in April of next year as well as our first Japan cruise. I have been to Japan several times years ago on business. Certainly anxious to read further reports on your experience both on the cruise and land excursions. We too are also doing the Regent 3 day pre cruise excursions. I know Tokyo is a very large city with a lot of people so that could create a hectic situation if you were in a tour group. Looking forward to your further reports.

[rkaratsu]

I was also on this cruise (plus did the Vibrant Tokyo precruise) and perhaps unlike others, I enjoyed my time on the Explorer and in Japan. (Might be some mitigating factors here. Some details to follow):

 

Just some random thoughts:

 

- Precruise. As others have stated, the precruise was a bit of a cluster at times. But if you get it included, I do think that just the three “free” nights at the hotel (with IMO a nice breakfast buffet) is worth it. I didn’t use the transfers (was between $45-50 for a taxi between Haneda and hotel and then from hotel to cruise terminal. If you fly into Narita then I would take the transfer because taxi to hotel is going to hurt…)  I did two of the included tours. To Regent’s credit, here were between 28-32 people on a bus that held 44 so it didn’t feel crowded but here just wasn’t much guiding, just being dropped off and picked up from different spots in Tokyo.

 

- Our cabin. In another post, I wrote about getting offered an “upsell” (not upgrade! 🙂) and I guess this was a bit of a game changer. (In essence, for the price of a PHB, we were put in a Master Suite. Besides the extra space, the perks were great!  (More about this later…)

 

- The food. One of the suite benefits was being able to eat in a specialty restaurant every night. So we did (with the exception of two Indian dinners in Compass Rose (which were nice) and once in Sette Mari (meh…)  I would say that the service in the specialty restaurants is definitely better than in Compass Rose (we went there for breakfast once (the caviar Saturday and was never offered he caviar!) Pacific Rim is still our fave but this time, I actually enjoyed Prime 7. Granted, I am not a huge meat eater but his I thought the prime rib and a rib eye were good. (Probably comparable to a mid-tier chain steakhouse like Outback.)  Oh, and the Asian buffets were pretty bad (being genres calling it on the level of a Panda Express. And I thought since we were in Japan there might be at least some supermarket-level sushi but I don’t recall ever seeing sushi in the buffet.)

 

Like others, I would agree that the breakfasts in La Veranda were a lot of the same but at the same time, considering what I generally eat for breakfast at home, I guess I shouldn’t complain… 
 

And FWIW, my favorite bites on this cruise were: 1). the amuse bouche shot of tomato soup in Prime 7; 2), the porchetta at lunch on the last sea day in the Veranda (I guess crispy pork skin and force meat has a special place in my heart…); 3). the pizza at the Pool Grill. (I am not by any means a pizza gourmet but I ate my share here); and 4). the hot dog at the pool grill. I think I only eat hot dogs on cruises so this might explain why they taste so good (?)
 

- Room service. Before this cruise, we never really did it but because we had a butler, he said whatever time we put for delivery, we would be his first delivery. (I guess another suite perk.) But even if you do not have a butler, when you fill out your room service order, even if it is not listed, just write it in and it should magically appear. (For example, I asked for (and received) hints like peanut butter, baked beans, papaya, etc. None of these are one the menu card.)

 

- Laundry. Without a doubt, IMO this is the best perks that Regent offers (and is available to all) According to the Housekeeping Manager, the are 14 full-time staff just doing laundry.

 

-The entertainment. The four times we have sailed on Regent, it has all been on the Explorer so the shows have always been the same. But this time, they did really change up the content of the Broadway and Divas and Divas shows and  we appreciated this. (Now why they keep the Paradis show is beyond me…). Wasn’t into the comedian or lounge acts but YMMV…

 

- Other suite perks. The caviar service was cool. And we did get to pick an officer to have dinner with so went with Food & Beverage Mgr since I understand F&B (as opposed to what the heck would I talk to the captain or hotel manager about?) Best thing about the dinner (in Chartreuse) was having staff there falling over each other and getting a couple of nice bottles of Cabernet off of the paid wine list! (Actually also talked about things like why Regent doesn’t do a chefs table, the thinking behind what is on the free wine list, why no A5 Japanese wagyu offered on this cruise and hat is Regent’s policy if a crew member wanted to do a YouTube channel.

 

- Shore excursions. Like others have said, these were a bit all over the place. I will say that we did have a couple of guides who were terrific (in particular a woman named Asako in Miyazaki (but I also think she did tours in Nagasaki.) She could do stand up comedy.) If I could do it over again, I would do a private tour of Kyoto and Osaka (since we overnighted there. Spent way too much driving to get to Kyoto and once there only saw one temple (albeit pretty spectacular) and one castle.

 

And I must give credit to the Destination staff for arranging a private tour once on board. Basically this cruise had a change in port to a place called Sasebo and when I looked on a map, I saw that it was fairly close to Karatsu City (uh, see my username…) I asked if I could get a driver and an English-speaking guide to check this place out and they made it happen! (In the end, I really have no ancestral ties to Karatsu but it was pretty cool to see places like Karatsu Burger and Karatsu Ramen and the Karatsu City Hall (and the city does have a nice castle (it overlooks the South China Sea) and is well-known in pottery circles for ts cool ceramics (which unfortunately even with my name I can’t get a family discount.☹️)

 

Well this has gone on way too long! (I am on flight home and have free wifi with ANA (which is better than on the ship although I didn’t think the ship wifi was horrible if all you wanted to do was email, post to CC and/or browse the web. Oh, and kudos to ANA. The service onboard is next level and the food solid (do the Japanese menu!)

[forgap]

Curious minds want to know…..what were the answers to your questions posed to the F & B Manager?  Loved your post!   I think we have very similar points of view!  

[RachelG]

The OP hasn't responded recently, but I will add my 2cents. We had several really terrible guides in Japan this spring, but also some great ones.  Regent relies on local agencies to book these guide--they aren't hired directly by Regent. We have had terrible and great guides all over the world, not just in Japan, on Regent as well as Silversea and Oceania. 

 

As far as the suites on Explorer being dated, really??  hardly so. It is one of the newest ships and very modern. 

[rkaratsu]

3 hours ago, forgap said:

Curious minds want to know…..what were the answers to your questions posed to the F & B Manager?  Loved your post!   I think we have very similar points of view!  

The answers to all of the questions were pretty much the same: Available supply chain (he said they were ordering three years out) and having consistency across the fleet (offering the same thing across the entire fleet.) Pretty much non-answers. I pressed about the free wine list (there are other $12-15 bottles of red from places like Rodney Strong or Chateau Ste Michelle that are better than Raymond and these are also mass producers and the response was my comments were noted but to also put them in the eval.

 

As far as what he would if one of his waiters (for example) was producing YouTube content and he said it wouldn’t happen. (Mind you, there is a dancer on a other another ship that does behind the scenes YT videos so not sure what is going on. I think these videos are great PR for Regent since they are all fluffy and positive.)

 

Actually the F&B guy (as well the the head of housekeeping who really didn’t say very much) were very nice and TBH, after a couple of nice bottles of Cabernet, I guess I didn’t care that I really wasn’t getting any answers of substance… 😀🍷

[GOARMY]

The F&B Manager is definitely on top of List for a dinner "partner".  

 

Recently (May-June on a Navigator B2B) with F&B Manager Brandon Haylock.  

 

Accepted a dinner invitation first-extended by the Head Sommelier during our initial "Welcome Aboard" La Veranda lunch.  We have become wary of accepting invitations which, in the pre-COVID days, usually resulted in meeting at a table for six--or even eight.  My wife has hearing difficulties which make it challenging to participate in large table conversations.  The Sommelier assured us it would just be the three of us.  

 

Given that my wife is a gourmet cook who takes almost-every Cooking Class when aboard Explorer--this was a no-brainer.  The first dinner at Compass Rose was delightful.  I stayed out of the conversation, as Brandon and my wife explored details of certain sauce presentations going best with certain entrees.  Way-beyond me. And yes, the Wait Staff was very-attentive, particularly when Brandon sent back a special bottle of red wine which was initially met to go with our entrees.  Not-up to his tasting standards. The replacement was delicious.  

 

This led to a second invitation during the second cruise phase.  Brandon, from South Africa, asked us to join him at a special dinner featuring only South African cuisine paired with South African wines.  Yes.  Another positive experience.  None of those dishes was on the regular Compass Rose menu.  Unique courses prepared under his supervision.  Now--that is attention to detail.  

 

Have had positive experiences on other Regent cruises when dining with a F&B Manager--but none with so much individual attention as that experienced on our most-recent one on Navigator. 

 

So--if one has the opportunity, go for it.   

 

GOARMY!

 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2023 by GOARMY
Additional relevant information.

[the_dylaness]

I just want to say... peanut butter is a 'write in' on the breakfast menu?
Probably because it is so expensive, I guess.

 

 

 

 

[RELS]

1 hour ago, the_dylaness said:

I just want to say... peanut butter is a 'write in' on the breakfast menu?
Probably because it is so expensive, I guess.

 

North American peanut butter is not available elsewhere. European versions of peanut butter are just not the same.

[tubeamps]

Day 2 on board. We are in Shizumi , ideal weather.

we took the basic Regent MT. FUJI highlights. Well organized, about 24 on our bus. Very good but not great, took about 4 hours, wonderful scenery.

 

Last night at Compass Rose had a ribeye steak, not as thick as I would like but a good cut of meat cooked correctly to medium rare.

 

Tonight first specialty at Chartreuse.

Bar service has been excellent, butler is nice to have, already used laundry give that an A.

Someone asked which pre cruise package, it was Vibrant Tokyo.

 

The physical attributes of the ship get an A from me.

[mnocket]

On 10/31/2023 at 9:21 AM, rkaratsu said:

I thought the prime rib and a rib eye were good. (Probably comparable to a mid-tier chain steakhouse like Outback.)

WOW  My first Regent cruise is next month.  Maybe my expectations are set too high.  

[many cruises]

On 10/31/2023 at 7:27 AM, mj_holiday said:

Which pre-cruise were you on, Vibrant Tokyo?

Yes, Vibrant Tokyo.

[nfcu]

20 hours ago, mnocket said:

WOW  My first Regent cruise is next month.  Maybe my expectations are set too high.  

You're right.  I never heard Outback described as a "mid-tiered steakhouse chain".  Wonder what a low-tiered steakhouse chain would be then.

[pingpong1]

1 hour ago, nfcu said:

You're right.  I never heard Outback described as a "mid-tiered steakhouse chain".  Wonder what a low-tiered steakhouse chain would be then.

Ooh, Ooh...I know!    "Steak 'n Shake"!  🤪

[makai 7]

1 hour ago, pingpong1 said:

Ooh, Ooh...I know!    "Steak 'n Shake"!  🤪

Ponderosa… remember them?

[pingpong1]

1 hour ago, makai 7 said:

Ponderosa… remember them?

Now, I'm getting hungry!...How about Bennigan's, York Steak House, Steak & Ale, and the "ultimate"...Bonanza Steak House!  And during all those years, I was quite happy (and never too proud) to spend some money in all of them!  Regards.