REGENT SPLENDOR

[as3369]

We were on a 10 day Baltic cruise on Splendor in the Summer 2023.  Our ship missed three ports due to so-called "weather" issues, even when we saw other cruise ships docked.  

 

Presently we are considering a Summer 2024 14 day voyage to Iceland and Greenland.  Curious to learn if this is still an ongoing with Splendor missing ports.  Definitely want to take this under consideration before booking.  Thanks for your responses!

[Pcardad]

All cruise lines miss ports due to weather. I've never seen Regent do it more than any other.

[rcandkc]

The decision is up to the Captain.  Some may be more comfortable in bad weather than others. 

[mrlevin]

2022 Navigator Greenland Iceland cruise we totally missed Greenland but added day in Iceland and day in St Pierre.  We ended up losing six ports on that cruise but added four other days in port.  You take your chances and North Atlantic can be fickle.

 

We are taking the same cruise this summer on Mariner which has three ports in Greenland and scenic cruising so hoping for the best.

 

Marc

Edited February 9 by mrlevin

[pappy1022]

On our British Isles Splendor cruise in September 2023 we made every port with several being tenders. I’ve heard of ports being missed, including Regent, for reasons other than weather, but those normally are categorized as the mysterious “operational issues” reason. When you hear that reason being used, it’s my sense that they don’t want to tell you the specific real reason. 

[papaflamingo]

1 hour ago, mrlevin said:

2022 Navigator Greenland Iceland cruise we totally missed Greenland but added day in Iceland and day in St Pierre.  We ended up losing six ports on that cruise but added four other days in port.  You take your chances and North Atlantic can be fickle.

 

We are taking the same cruise this summer on Mariner which has three ports in Greenland and scenic cruising so hoping for the best.

 

Marc

We were also on that cruise.  Yes, missing Greenland was a bit disappointing, but when I looked at my weather app and it was "heavy rain and 50 kt winds" I figured I'd "deal with my disappointment."   But it was a fantastic cruise!!!!  And I thought St. Pierre was a fun stop. Something really unique and unexpected.  But everyone needs to understand, the weather in the North Atlantic, especially somewhere like Greenland, is very fickle indeed and very unforgiving.   That's why it's so desolate. 

[rcandkc]

I’m actually amazed we made it to Greenland summer 2022 on Voyager.  We did miss 1 port but made it to Nuuk after DAYS and NIGHTS  of terrible fog.  The fog horn never quit but it was worth it. 

[H2O Polo Willie]

Missed two ports last year on a Splendor cruise around the British Isles.  One was Belfast and the explanation was that there was a big festival or holiday which seemed pretty weak as one would think they would have known about something like that well in advance.  The other was Cork and I don't recall why we missed that one - maybe weather.  We missed Visby in Sweden on an August cruise on Oceania in the Baltic due to high winds and the Falkland Islands on an Antarctic cruise also due to high winds.  Maybe we are bad luck. 

[papaflamingo]

3 hours ago, H2O Polo Willie said:

One was Belfast and the explanation was that there was a big festival or holiday which seemed pretty weak

Why do you think Regent, or any other cruise line for that matter, would lie about why they are missing a port?  

[pappy1022]

I don’t think they accused Regent of lying. They did rightfully ask why Regent didn’t know about the festival or holiday prior to arriving in Belfast. I think that is a responsible question. 

[papaflamingo]

1 hour ago, pappy1022 said:

I don’t think they accused Regent of lying. They did rightfully ask why Regent didn’t know about the festival or holiday prior to arriving in Belfast. I think that is a responsible question. 

Yes, they did ask a "responsible question" (or were simply told by announcement of some sort), and were given an answer, that, "there was a big festival or holiday."  They stated  that "seemed pretty weak."  If that isn't a statement that they don't believe the stated reason, in other words they think  Regent is lying, then how would YOU interpret it?   😏

 

Edited February 14 by papaflamingo

[cruisevirgin24]

13 hours ago, H2O Polo Willie said:

Missed two ports last year on a Splendor cruise around the British Isles.  One was Belfast and the explanation was that there was a big festival or holiday which seemed pretty weak as one would think they would have known about something like that well in advance.  The other was Cork and I don't recall why we missed that one - maybe weather.  We missed Visby in Sweden on an August cruise on Oceania in the Baltic due to high winds and the Falkland Islands on an Antarctic cruise also due to high winds.  Maybe we are bad luck. 

You may have visited Belfast during the marching season. This takes place in Spring, with July 12th, Orange Order Parade, being the peak of the season. July 12th is the annual Protestant commemoration of the defeat of the Catholic King James (1690) and historically these marches have resulted in violent clashes. Since the Good Friday agreement the marches have been relatively problem free, except for a couple of years, 2013, 2018, 2021. Perhaps you were due to dock in Belfast and unexpected clashes had occurred. Regent would have known about the festival but not anticipated that it would be unsafe.

I am neither Northern Irish or an historian so please excuse any inaccuracies!

[mj_holiday]

On 2/8/2024 at 1:06 PM, as3369 said:

Presently we are considering a Summer 2024 14 day voyage to Iceland and Greenland.  Curious to learn if this is still an ongoing with Splendor missing ports.  Definitely want to take this under consideration before booking.  Thanks for your responses!

The cruise to Iceland and Greenland can have weather issues.  Our cruise to Iceland/Greenland in 2019, we missed one port in Iceland and delayed leaving the Faroe Island port. As we were getting ready to get off the boat in Greenland, a lady next to me said that this was their 3rd attempt to get to Greenland.

[as3369]

2 hours ago, mj_holiday said:

The cruise to Iceland and Greenland can have weather issues.  Our cruise to Iceland/Greenland in 2019, we missed one port in Iceland and delayed leaving the Faroe Island port. As we were getting ready to get off the boat in Greenland, a lady next to me said that this was their 3rd attempt to get to Greenland.

Geez.  Our travel partners had a scheduling conflict so we decided to pass on this trip.  We are going to head to South America & Antarctica early next year but still need to plan a cruise between now and then.

[pappy1022]

6 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

Yes, they did ask a "responsible question" (or were simply told by announcement of some sort), and were given an answer, that, "there was a big festival or holiday."  They stated  that "seemed pretty weak."  If that isn't a statement that they don't believe the stated reason, in other words they think  Regent is lying, then how would YOU interpret it?   😏

 

I will let the person who wrote this, answer what they really meant. Maybe you interpreted it correctly. My interpretation, and thus my comment, was that Regent’s response was weak, in the sense that Regent should have known about a big festival or holiday well in advance of the scheduled docking. 

[mrlevin]

I believe it was the 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday agreement; a date known in advance but Regent may not have realized it would be such a large celebration when they came out with their schedules.  

 

edited to add:  I cannot find the original post so I may be totally wrong.

Edited February 14 by mrlevin

[Dolebludger]

It seems possible that a large local celebration at a port could cause unavailability of excursions and local transportation — thus creating legitimate grounds for cancelation of that port stop.

[H2O Polo Willie]

The date we missed Belfast was a Saturday May 28, 2022.  I took a look at the date of the agreement (April 4) and the date that it was approved by voters in a referendum (May 22, 1998).  That said it is kind of close enough in time date wise for a "big holiday" to be a good explanation although it would have been the 24th celebration in 2022.  A celebration on a weekend day makes more sense than one during the week.  In any event, I am not asserting that Regent was lying in any respect - just that the information could have been more specific or detailed other than "a big holiday".  I note the cancellation of the port only for information purposes.  I was certainly not jumping up and down on the deck, screaming at the crew and I don't believe that I even raised the issue in the post cruise survey.  Bottom line is stuff happens.

[flossie009]

1 hour ago, H2O Polo Willie said:

The date we missed Belfast was a Saturday May 28, 2022.

Orange Order NI Centennial Parade

(Irish Times Report)

Understandable that the port was skipped, but it was bad planning by Regent to have scheduled a stop in Belfast that day.

[labonnevie]

We stopped at Belfast years ago on the day of the Orange marches. 
It was…uh, interesting. 

[Lonedaddy]

On 2/13/2024 at 9:12 PM, papaflamingo said:

Why do you think Regent, or any other cruise line for that matter, would lie about why they are missing a port?  

$$$$ we also missed belfast on a 2022 cruise citing some holiday again.  Holidays aren't like weather, strikes or acts of war.  

[Pcardad]

9 minutes ago, Lonedaddy said:

$$$$ we also missed belfast on a 2022 cruise citing some holiday again.  Holidays aren't like weather, strikes or acts of war.  

You think they cancelled their berthing months out in order to save the berthing fee and then blamed it on a holiday?

[Lonedaddy]

37 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

You think they cancelled their berthing months out in order to save the berthing fee and then blamed it on a holiday?

They notified us the of the cancellation upon embarking.  

[Pcardad]

1 minute ago, Lonedaddy said:

They notified us the of the cancellation upon embarking.  

OK - not sure how that fits into your comment. If they cancelled a few days out, they didn't save any money on the berthing. Do you think they cancelled it months out (far enough to not be charged) and then didn't tell yo until you boarded?

[Lonedaddy]

15 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

OK - not sure how that fits into your comment. If they cancelled a few days out, they didn't save any money on the berthing. Do you think they cancelled it months out (far enough to not be charged) and then didn't tell yo until you boarded?

I really don't know but it was poor form to not be away of holiday's where you cannot berth.  Especially when people don't find out until they have boarded.  How could regent not be aware of this?  (But wait I guess they weren't aware of the NZ biofouling regulations either.) If you think the way regent handled these situations, then Some would say you are wearing rose-colored glasses.  

Edited February 16 by Lonedaddy