Cape Town to Rio - Voyager Review

[ToxM]

Seasoned Oceania cruisers try out Regent. How did it go? 

 

It was an adventure. 

 

We are seasoned Oceania cruisers, and seasoned transatlantic cruisers. We booked our own flights and took the transfer from the airport to the Southern Sun and joined the 4 day/3 night precruise. The hotel is fine, in a great location, and the staff could not be nicer. 

 

The precruise tour was exceptional, our guide was excellent, there was a small problem with the air con on our coach back from the game drive, but apart from that everything went smoothly. Anyone who complains about the picnic lunch at the winery is deluding themselves and the buffet dinner and breakfast at the hotel was more than adequate. South Africa is beautiful, the game drive was wonderful and lunch at Aquila was again more than adequate. 

 

First Regent problem of the cruise - we never got tags sent to us, and the company dealing with the precruise tour had not been given any by Regent either. I marked our cases as best I could and hoped the AirTags would do their job. How difficult would it be to make sure there are spare generic tags available? 

 

Voyager is a lovely ship, embarkation was easy and swift (although to be handed a glass of champagne then practically ordered by a member of the entertainment team to go straight to muster was a bit of a dampener on what should have been a special moment!). Muster done I had to pop to reception to ask if the hose lift for my cpap machine could be fixed by someone - after a little bit of negotiation this was done and an excellent job was done as well. 

 

Our cabin was available very quickly and after a rather sparse lunch (more on that later) I had got us an extra reservation at Chartreuse for the first night and we were off to get settled. Lovely cabin, the walk in closet is such a nice little touch, I loved the bedding and enjoyed the bed. 

 

Luggage arrived 20 mins before we sailed. This was unnecessary stress. Could have been sorted very easily. 

 

We were in Code Red for the duration of the cruise.  Partly due to infection (Noro) from the previous cruise, and I think we added some covid and increasing infection during the cruise. I heard the number 80 quoted by various people - and we were a little over 500 on board passenger wise. This meant no place settings, asking for sugar, milk, salt and pepper, sauces, and meant considerable burden on the crew and a disruption to the way they are used to doing things. 

 

We had a wonderful pool BBQ one evening early on - it was truly amazing, and held great promise for the rest of the cruise, but sadly that was the high point.

 

I am a very patient person, I don’t get upset, but when every meal becomes an adventure between asking for something and what you receive - well it becomes tiresome. Every single order for room service was wrong - Regent Club and Cheese plate became a Regent Club and a Cheese and Ham toasted sandwich, hot chocolate arrived without cups! The buffet was in chaos - we had to be served (quite right too, Oceania does it with no problem!), and this slowed things down, egg orders were misplaced, never came, or came wrong. In the dining room I ordered pancakes with a side of Canadian Ham, I received 1 square of thin ham a quarter of the size of an iPhone screen. My husband ordered Eggs Benedict - was asked how he wanted his gags done - lightly - one arrived barely done the other was hard boiled! We did politely point this out to the restaurant manager. We heard a lot of complaints around us during dinner - people having to move because an area was boiling hot, then not getting their food, then getting it cold, which they sent back, and when it returned it was the same dish dried up from being in a microwave! As I said every meal was an adventure in how much the staff listened to everything you said or just the first few words of your sentence - they were overworked. 

 

We enjoyed both specialities, and enjoyed Sette Mari once they had appeared to send away our waiter who was not really in the game that night - his assistant stepped up very well. I appreciate the concept of SM, but would have appreciated a more casual dining venue for the evenings. It was difficult to get in there unless you timed it just right. 

 

We missed Luderitz, and made it to Walvis Bay. We missed St Helena, no issue with Mother Nature deciding our fate, but we had three ports (overnight in Walvis Bay) and we made one of them. You would hope the entertainment team would step up and provide some extra activities? There was no block party (due to Noro and probably Covid), they started the boat building competition - but that never had a finale, no country fair. Krew Kapers was great and well attended.  Entertainment was sparse - thank goodness for our afternoon poker tournaments!

 

We had great weather during most of the crossing - it was very hot - there was no regulation of chair hogging - this elevated itself too an Olympic sport with people on the deck at 6am to bag something in the shade!

 

There was something missing from this cruise - a staff member confirmed that Voyager is understaffed, and I would imagine they lost some more staff due to Noro or Covid (there were more than a few staff wearing masks for periods of time). It was chaotic and unsatisfying at times, despite the crew trying to do their best. A can do attitude helps nobody if the do is wrong. It was sloppy at best. The food was all over the place quality wise and never excelled Oceania. 

 

At the start of the cruise we wanted to go see Sweet the cruise consultant to get a future cruise certificate, we decided that we didn’t want one in the end. 

 

This all sounds terrible and I am sorry Regent fans. I wanted to love Regent, and given normal circumstances, I probably would, but this was - for the price point - not the greatest experience. I will try them again if a good bargain comes up, but the experience I had (and talking to others they felt the same) was not what I feel Regent sells

[1982CruzStart]

So sorry you didn't have a great experience. Thank you for taking the time to post your review. 

[pappy1022]

The issues you encountered is unacceptable for a luxury cruise line let a lone  bargain basement cruise line. 

[PhD-iva]

ToxM, thank you for posting your experience on Regent Voyager. I enjoy your posts on the Oceania forum. I’ll be boarding Voyager on 2 February. I hope they have straightened everything out. I hope you straightened them out, otherwise see you back on the Oceania forum!

[Jim_Iain]

Really enjoyed you well written review of your experience on your first Regent cruise.  

[PhD-iva]

So far, the biggest complaint on my Voyager rollcall, which includes the Rio to Buenos Aires segment, is that the Internet $uck$.

[Lady Meer]

We were on the 28 day Voyager cruise in November from Barcelona to Cape Town and fully agree with ToxM. This was our first Regent cruise and we expected better. Our room staff and butler were excellent, as were some of the restaurant staff but on the whole they definitely lacked training.  Service for both food and drink was very mixed - sometimes great but in the whole, not so good. The food, on the whole was very good.
 

We had a lot of sea days, 12 I think, which we normally enjoy. Like ToxM we had a deck BBQ but no country fair. There was a crossing the equator ceremony (with the biggest swordfish I have ever seen) but nothing else.  We had the same 3 speakers for the whole cruise, one (very good) wild life expert and 2 port speakers, one covering history and one current info. One was good, the other not so.

 

We were not notified of any Covid or Noro onboard.

 

On the positive side, we really enjoyed the African ports and the Regent tours we took. Some guests moaned about the poor a/c on the buses, bathroom facilities and understanding the tour guides but, as one guide told us ‘TIA - this is Africa’ ! 
 

We really enjoyed the trivia sessions, which were very popular, there was one ‘name that tune’ quiz which was good and thought there could have been more! The wait staff on the deck were very efficient and friendly, as were the staff in the bars. We did some bean bag tossing and other deck games which were fun.
 

Did we enjoy the cruise? Very much. Would we cruise with Regent again? Yes, as we had already booked Japan on Explorer in March. We are looking forward to comparing the 2 experiences, but whatever happens we’ll have a good time.

 

 

[pappy1022]

I agree 100% that the difference between very good and excellent on Regent has been the inconsistency of service and food. I do believe that training and proper management oversight is the key to improving things back to excellent. I also believe that in time, Regent will do that as long as they listen to their customers, focus on continuous improvement and make sure that their necessary cost cutting is not geared toward customer facing initiatives.

[PhD-iva]

I just received this morning, an update on my Voyager rollcall (continuing on from the Cape Town TA) that code red has been reinstated.
Well, this is probably a necessary policy, but it will perhaps reduce the enjoyment of the cruise. Of course, not as much as getting sick!

[ToxM]

51 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

I just received this morning, an update on my Voyager rollcall (continuing on from the Cape Town TA) that code red has been reinstated.
Well, this is probably a necessary policy, but it will perhaps reduce the enjoyment of the cruise. Of course, not as much as getting sick!

 

Such a shame they can’t nip it in the bud, it’s clearly going to take more than a deep clean 😞

[ysolde]

11 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

I just received this morning, an update on my Voyager rollcall (continuing on from the Cape Town TA) that code red has been reinstated.
Well, this is probably a necessary policy, but it will perhaps reduce the enjoyment of the cruise. Of course, not as much as getting sick!

What going on?  Nor? Covid?

[BaileyMJ]

1 hour ago, ysolde said:

What going on?  Nor? Covid?

Norovirus

[CardowMD]

I wonder if it’s something in food supplies secured in South Africa. Seems like this has been persistent on Voyager for over a month. Or another virus picked up along the way.

[BaileyMJ]

While I have not heard an official explanation but the following was told to me by passengers on the transatlantic portion

  The outbreak began on the cruise segment before the Capetown to Rio and the first people affected was some from the entertainment production group - it was inferred that they pick it up on shore perhaps from an excursion.   
  It just spread from that point on and it seemed that once they proceeded to transatlantic crossing the protocols seem to help mitigate the spread 

  I embarked in Rio and per the Captain they thought the numbers were good and you needed x amount of days with no new cases reported to lift code red and that was achieved but sadly just for 1 day

  I have been diligent to avoid any possible contact and it has worked and I am having a wonderful cruise

  I pray we all can stay safe for the next segment

[ToxM]

1 hour ago, BaileyMJ said:

While I have not heard an official explanation but the following was told to me by passengers on the transatlantic portion

  The outbreak began on the cruise segment before the Capetown to Rio and the first people affected was some from the entertainment production group - it was inferred that they pick it up on shore perhaps from an excursion.   
  It just spread from that point on and it seemed that once they proceeded to transatlantic crossing the protocols seem to help mitigate the spread 

  I embarked in Rio and per the Captain they thought the numbers were good and you needed x amount of days with no new cases reported to lift code red and that was achieved but sadly just for 1 day

  I have been diligent to avoid any possible contact and it has worked and I am having a wonderful cruise

  I pray we all can stay safe for the next segment

 

There was an increasing number of cases throughout the TA, I heard the figure of 80 guests at one point and I am unsure if that was peak. As we were not a full sailing (just over 500) this is a large number. 

 

The two guest performers had to cancel their last show due to both of them being ill. 

 

I also tested positive for covid yesterday after having felt unwell since Monday when we got home. Obviously I don’t know where I picked it up from, but the timing would suggest the ship. Thankfully as yet hubby is still ok. I have managed to avoid Covid til now (5 cruises since the pandemic). Statistically it was going to get me I suppose.

 

For anyone on Voyager at the moment - be careful of hand rails, use sanitiser, and good luck!

[lisajltx]

On 1/26/2024 at 10:54 AM, ToxM said:

Seasoned Oceania cruisers try out Regent. How did it go? 

 

It was an adventure. 

 

We are seasoned Oceania cruisers, and seasoned transatlantic cruisers. We booked our own flights and took the transfer from the airport to the Southern Sun and joined the 4 day/3 night precruise. The hotel is fine, in a great location, and the staff could not be nicer. 

 

The precruise tour was exceptional, our guide was excellent, there was a small problem with the air con on our coach back from the game drive, but apart from that everything went smoothly. Anyone who complains about the picnic lunch at the winery is deluding themselves and the buffet dinner and breakfast at the hotel was more than adequate. South Africa is beautiful, the game drive was wonderful and lunch at Aquila was again more than adequate. 

 

First Regent problem of the cruise - we never got tags sent to us, and the company dealing with the precruise tour had not been given any by Regent either. I marked our cases as best I could and hoped the AirTags would do their job. How difficult would it be to make sure there are spare generic tags available? 

 

Voyager is a lovely ship, embarkation was easy and swift (although to be handed a glass of champagne then practically ordered by a member of the entertainment team to go straight to muster was a bit of a dampener on what should have been a special moment!). Muster done I had to pop to reception to ask if the hose lift for my cpap machine could be fixed by someone - after a little bit of negotiation this was done and an excellent job was done as well. 

 

Our cabin was available very quickly and after a rather sparse lunch (more on that later) I had got us an extra reservation at Chartreuse for the first night and we were off to get settled. Lovely cabin, the walk in closet is such a nice little touch, I loved the bedding and enjoyed the bed. 

 

Luggage arrived 20 mins before we sailed. This was unnecessary stress. Could have been sorted very easily. 

 

We were in Code Red for the duration of the cruise.  Partly due to infection (Noro) from the previous cruise, and I think we added some covid and increasing infection during the cruise. I heard the number 80 quoted by various people - and we were a little over 500 on board passenger wise. This meant no place settings, asking for sugar, milk, salt and pepper, sauces, and meant considerable burden on the crew and a disruption to the way they are used to doing things. 

 

We had a wonderful pool BBQ one evening early on - it was truly amazing, and held great promise for the rest of the cruise, but sadly that was the high point.

 

I am a very patient person, I don’t get upset, but when every meal becomes an adventure between asking for something and what you receive - well it becomes tiresome. Every single order for room service was wrong - Regent Club and Cheese plate became a Regent Club and a Cheese and Ham toasted sandwich, hot chocolate arrived without cups! The buffet was in chaos - we had to be served (quite right too, Oceania does it with no problem!), and this slowed things down, egg orders were misplaced, never came, or came wrong. In the dining room I ordered pancakes with a side of Canadian Ham, I received 1 square of thin ham a quarter of the size of an iPhone screen. My husband ordered Eggs Benedict - was asked how he wanted his gags done - lightly - one arrived barely done the other was hard boiled! We did politely point this out to the restaurant manager. We heard a lot of complaints around us during dinner - people having to move because an area was boiling hot, then not getting their food, then getting it cold, which they sent back, and when it returned it was the same dish dried up from being in a microwave! As I said every meal was an adventure in how much the staff listened to everything you said or just the first few words of your sentence - they were overworked. 

 

We enjoyed both specialities, and enjoyed Sette Mari once they had appeared to send away our waiter who was not really in the game that night - his assistant stepped up very well. I appreciate the concept of SM, but would have appreciated a more casual dining venue for the evenings. It was difficult to get in there unless you timed it just right. 

 

We missed Luderitz, and made it to Walvis Bay. We missed St Helena, no issue with Mother Nature deciding our fate, but we had three ports (overnight in Walvis Bay) and we made one of them. You would hope the entertainment team would step up and provide some extra activities? There was no block party (due to Noro and probably Covid), they started the boat building competition - but that never had a finale, no country fair. Krew Kapers was great and well attended.  Entertainment was sparse - thank goodness for our afternoon poker tournaments!

 

We had great weather during most of the crossing - it was very hot - there was no regulation of chair hogging - this elevated itself too an Olympic sport with people on the deck at 6am to bag something in the shade!

 

There was something missing from this cruise - a staff member confirmed that Voyager is understaffed, and I would imagine they lost some more staff due to Noro or Covid (there were more than a few staff wearing masks for periods of time). It was chaotic and unsatisfying at times, despite the crew trying to do their best. A can do attitude helps nobody if the do is wrong. It was sloppy at best. The food was all over the place quality wise and never excelled Oceania. 

 

At the start of the cruise we wanted to go see Sweet the cruise consultant to get a future cruise certificate, we decided that we didn’t want one in the end. 

 

This all sounds terrible and I am sorry Regent fans. I wanted to love Regent, and given normal circumstances, I probably would, but this was - for the price point - not the greatest experience. I will try them again if a good bargain comes up, but the experience I had (and talking to others they felt the same) was not what I feel Regent sells

We were on the same cruise, and I agree with everything you said. I will add that the Voyager is really showing its age, was dark and dingy in the hallways. Our bathroom smelled of mold, and I had a cough when in our room. Service was poor, food was main line cruise ship quality. We were very disappointed especially after our great experience on the Explorer right before Covid. We just booked our next cruise, not on Regent but on Explora Journeys.