Navigator Cruise Regent Line

[Wendy The Wanderer]

So why are they doing the major refit next year prior to deployment in Alaska?

 

I have only been on Navigator once, December 2006, and I did experience the a/c problems, the vibration problems, and some minor housekeeping problems. Other than that, and the lack of viable alternative dining (which has been mitigated slightly), I thought she was a lovely ship. Not as nice as Voyager, for sure.

[Travelcat2]

Admiral, with all due respect, haven't you been off of the Navigator for some months? Yes, they continue to change the staff as contracts run out. They are changing from having their employees sent from an outside vendor to Regent hiring and training staff. It is very apparent which employees on board know they are on their last contract vs. employees who have been picked up by Regent.

 

At no point have we noticed poor maintenance. To the contrary, the ship is being touched up (paint) and worked on all of the time. It definitely needs some mechanical work but has been deemed seaworthy. They will probably change out an engine next year, as well as generator(s) and do some pipe replacement. The air conditioning has not been a problem on this cruise (as many know, I am writing this from the Navigator). We had a 15 minute power outage -- other than that, everything mechanically is working ell!

 

Contrary to popular believe, the Navigator is not being sold any time soon .... nor, is a new ship anything more than a thought in the future (probably due to the economy). The Navigator is scheduled for a 22 day dry dock in April, 2010.

 

I agree that the Navigator will always have the aft vibration due to it's hull (just as the Voyager will always have a similar vibration -- due to other reasons). Yes -- I love the Voyager. . . but, this is one sweet little ship (JMHO):D

[Hambagahle]

Travelcat - It is a relief to read what you have to say, written as it is on the Navigator at the end of your cruise...I have never been on the Nav. and I must say am in two minds about our trans-Atlantic cruise in May. Were it not for the fact that we are fully paid and have our air tickets I would be tempted to switch to the Voyager. But we will have to stay where we are!!

 

I for one am really looking forward to getting your full report on the cruise...

[Island Cruiser]

Admiral, I am among those who love Navigator. I love her in spite of her mechanical challenges. Your comments ring quite true to me. We had some air conditioning problems. It didn't spoil our experience, but they were there. The vibration problem is obvious. Our TA had advised us not to book an aft cabin and it was good advice. I remember the Captain's welcome aboard party in the theatre. We were not only vibrating away but the odor of diesel fumes was noticable as folks munched on their free caviar. We read regularly of electrical failures on board and brown water attacks. None of this has kept us from booking the Navigator again. We love her in spite of these challenges. Thanks so much for posting again. Pat

[Charsie]

I know you speak the truth. I'm sorry to hear Giuseppe has left the company, I adored him. I wonder if Miki is still Maitre D' somewhere, do you know? He's one of my favourites.

 

I had such fun on The Diamond and The Navigator for so many years, but now with Neil Broomhall, Sam P, Giuseppe, Alex S, Roberto T, Monaliza, and so many of the other "originals" who made my experience onboard spectacular gone (crew DOES count to me) it won't be the same... I'm glad my next cruise is on The Mariner (Alaska 9/9/9).

 

If you know about Miki, please let me know.

[JoAnne B]

Still almost two months from my next Navigator cruise, I'm hoping that I won't be disappointed. She's been my favorite ship since the Diamond left the fleet, but I can't deny the constant problems with air conditioning, flooding, vibrations, etc. Those frustrations have always been offset by the great staff. I am a bit concerned that the intimacy of the ship is being lost with the latest change in ownership and changes in onboard management.

 

I have said this before, but if Regent wants to be considered a luxury line, it absolutely has to fix it's biggest problem: lack of consistency. Even then they won't please everybody, but nothing will chase passengers away faster than lack of confidence that they will have a great, problem-free cruise. With the price increases and people watching their budgets, expectations will be even higher and they can ill afford bad reviews.

 

I have not yet booked 2010 cruises. I'm hoping that I'll be so pleased by my upcoming cruise, that I'll be ready to book. If not, well..there are always other lines to try.

[traveller333]

It does concern me why several of the senior executives within Regent have left the company within the past year as well as Captains and now to hear about Giuseppe.It gives one an uneasy, unsettling feeling that there are major problems internally that we aren't privy to. Add to this the turmoil the website has been in, not sure it will ever be as good as the previous Regent site.

 

I've never been a fan of the Navigator and think she's seen her better days. I do enjoy both the Voyager and the Mariner. I've never had the same problems on these ships as I have on the Navigator and feel they are far superior.

[Pam]

We leave a week from today, and embark the next day. The cruise had a good pricetag, we are going to be with friends, and somebody else will be cooking. I won't be blind to problems, but those three things start me out ahead of the game.

[OrpingtonT]

Excellent attitude to take and I hope you have a wonderful time.

[LOGHL]

I know you speak the truth. I'm sorry to hear Giuseppe has left the company, I adored him. I wonder if Miki is still Maitre D' somewhere, do you know? He's one of my favourites.

 

I had such fun on The Diamond and The Navigator for so many years, but now with Neil Broomhall, Sam P, Giuseppe, Alex S, Roberto T, Monaliza, and so many of the other "originals" who made my experience onboard spectacular gone (crew DOES count to me) it won't be the same... I'm glad my next cruise is on The Mariner (Alaska 9/9/9).

 

If you know about Miki, please let me know.

 

Disembarked the Navigator on the 16 of Feb, and had the pleasure of having Miki as our Maitre D' on our cruise.....Wonderful as always

[cruisr]

It does concern me why several of the senior executives within Regent have left the company within the past year as well as Captains and now to hear about Giuseppe.It gives one an uneasy, unsettling feeling that there are major problems internally that we aren't privy to. Add to this the turmoil the website has been in, not sure it will ever be as good as the previous Regent site.

 

I've never been a fan of the Navigator and think she's seen her better days. I do enjoy both the Voyager and the Mariner. I've never had the same problems on these ships as I have on the Navigator and feel they are far superior.

 

 

Another senior executive leaving: It was reported in SeaTrade Insider that Ken Watson, the exec VP of Sales and Marketing is resigning effective 3-31 and will not be replaced.

[Charsie]

Thank you Chelonia, that's so good to know!

[tourguide97]

I was on the Navigator last march and I thought it was great. Only disappointment was only one restaurant but found the food quite tasty.

 

Some cruisers will never be happy on their cruise unless they have something to complain about. Last year, one couple told me they thought Holland America was better then Regent.

 

Having worked with the public for many years, I have learned that you can not ever, ever please everyone and I think this is the case for these folks.

 

T.G.

[Travelcat2]

We are currently on the Navigator (last day). This thread seems to have two themes -- the Navigator and departures of some staff. I read on another thread that Guiseppe had been looking for a land job for a long time. In my opinion, many of the staff changes have been for the better.

 

There are currently two electricians (brought in from Italy where the ship was built) trying to figure out the electrical problem. They are not ignoring it -- they are actively working on it. The air conditioning has been fine during our 11 night cruise (in the very warm Caribbean).

 

The vibration on the Nvigator is caused by the hull -- it isn't something they can fix. The ship will be in a 22 day dry dock in April, 2010 during which time they will work (or replace?) an engine, add a Prime 7 restaurant, etc.

 

I will review this cruise when we return. The best thing about this ship is service and the suites. The worst is the food and the service. ;)

[cruiseluv]

I wonder where are they carving the space for the Prime 7 restaurant?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Yeh, I'm really curious about that too!

[PaulaJK]

Travelcat,

 

I hope that your cruise ends smoothly and your travel home is stress free.

How did you like St Barth's?

We all eagerly await your comments/review. I am guessing that there were some very good areas of service and some that need improvement...perhaps in the CR [?] where I have found service to be spotty. You were lucky with the a/c. It is a per cabin issue. We were not lucky with the a/c and it negatively impacted our cruise as we lost sleep due to warm cabin temperatures.

 

Paula

[Travelcat2]

Quickie answers -- people are waiting for the five computers (need more on this ship). Portofino is being split in half -- as you walk in, the left side will be Prime Seven. When you look at it, it's a pretty obvious split.

 

Paula, the trip was great and is ending very good. We didn't spend as much time in St. Barths as we expected. We were doing excursions every day -- we just walked around the streets for a bit.

 

I'm off to Gaileo to sip a martini, write more of my review --- then trivia:)

[cruiseluv]

Will that part now be closed off for breakfast and lunch??

[mariners]

Looking forward to your review! Enjoy your martini - wish I was there to join you.

[Cruisewoman79]

Travel Cat I wish I could join you for a martini too but I will do that in September on the Voyager! 183 days until I depart, not that I'm counting down or anything.

Will look for your review.

Enjoy!

Kate

[scuba diver]

Travelcat2:

 

Don't forget to mention my private balcony access on deck 6 in your review.

 

Looking forward to the "rest of the story" too.

[Host Dan]

Looking forward to your review TravelCat! I'm sure it will be "well rounded" as usual!

 

Host Dan

[Travelcat2]

Travelcat2:

 

Don't forget to mention my private balcony access on deck 6 in your review.

 

Looking forward to the "rest of the story" too.

 

I did forget to mention your private balcony access on deck six. We looked at that deck quite a bit. There is definitely a walkway on your side of the ship (port), however, there is no way to access it from the suites. The only negative I can see is that you may want to keep the curtains drawn if you aren't dressed. There could be a bit of noise. . . but, during the day, there is noise from many things throughout the ship (anchors and tenders being lowered and lifted, noise from the pool on deck 9. At night, it should be very quiet. The movement of the sea is much less on deck 6 (we were on deck 11).

 

Cruiseluv, Portofino will probably remain open on both sides for breakfast and lunch until the 22 day dry dock in April, 2010. Portofino is very popular for breakfast and lunch -- Prime Seven will really cut into Portofino's space -- not sure how that will work.

 

I have a rough draft of my review (it is kind of long). I'll put it in the "Review" section tomorrow where it will await CC approval. If approved by CC, I'll link it to a Regent thread. It probably will take a few days for CC to look it over.

[Jim B]

The Navigator is in excellent condition.

The food was excellent. True the menu was smaller but choices were good.

The service was excellent.

The cabin stewardess was excellent.

Really like the show lounge. Very comfortable place

and designed nicely.

 

On sea days the pool deck was very crowded and so they also use the upper deck.

Might as well forget about a walking track any time with all the lounge chairs up there.

The vibration on the stern, (back), of the ship.

Must say it was worse than I expected. Glad our cabin was more forward. (625)

Not bad there.

Starboard side on deck 6 has balconies. Port side only windows. There is a walkway

on port side. No problem with a view. You might see a little of the bottom of a tender

but not a big deal. I agree you may want to make sure your curtains are closed while dressing, but I never saw anyone go out there, (except me), on the whole cruise.