Rangoon Tide Tables Redux

Just five moths from sailing, our three full days have been shortened to arrival at 1030 and leaving at 1130 on third day; just 49 hours in port. I am sure glad i signed up for afternoon tour instead of morning tour on first day so that and trip to Bagan look good.

Marc

Quelle surprise!! Once again, for the (third, fourth, fill in the blank) time, those pesky tide tables and river current charts seem to have nefariously hidden themselves from the operations people at Regent, who should, of course, check those tables and charts prior to the scheduling, marketing, and selling of cruises which have river ports included. Certain river ports, such as Rangoon/Yangon, are particularly sensitive to tides and currents, making it imperative that those conditions should be reviewed before schedules are set and tours are laid out.

What is concerning about this situation is that, even though the tidal and current information is readily available years in advance (and for the most part quite accurate absent something unusual such as a typhoon) , Regent apparently continues to not bother checking the river data until a few months before the cruise in question. This is by no means Regent's first time at this Rangoon Rodeo; yet Regent performs in the same fashion with respect thereto over and over. Sadly, that suggests a certain degree of cynicism towards the reasonable expectations of Regent passengers, for many of whom the stop in Myanmar is a key draw of the cruise.

One may ask: Is it unreasonable to suggest that Regent marketing should get proper advice from Regent operations prior to laying out and selling cruises, to ensure that an effort has been made that the port schedules will be practicable and that Regent passengers will have a decent sense of the times in the various ports? All of us are well aware that ship happens and that port schedules are subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances; but that does not excuse the failure to check and address entirely foreseeable circumstances.

I sometimes mildly criticise Regent for not being consistent

Well with the port of Rangoon in Burma they are always very consistent in shortening their time in dock from that first advertised, thereby annoying their guests :(

However, I hope everyone on the cruise manages to maximise what they manage to see in this fascinating country

flossie, you hit the nail on the head, it is not so much that the port visit is shorter, it is that every year Regent publishes a schedule with three days in port and then around the time final payment is due (or in this case the day after), they shorten the stay. Why don't they just advertise two days and "surprise" us by adding an extra day in port.

Marc

We were told that the Myanmar stop was cancelled on the 17WC due to low water in the River.

We were told on March 3rd. The stop was to happen March 19-22.

The changes worked well but needless to say, a number of people were disappointed.

Peggy

Just five moths from sailing, our three full days have been shortened to arrival at 1030 and leaving at 1130 on third day; just 49 hours in port. I am sure glad i signed up for afternoon tour instead of morning tour on first day so that and trip to Bagan look good.

 

Marc

Here's something that may help make the reduced time a little more interesting.

I have recently completed a full review of Yangon, formerly rangoon.

Here is the link...

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2017/06/23/one-way-to-do-yangon-rangoon/

One amazing place to visit. Do enjoy.

Flooding in Burma during the monsoon season is not unusual but does appear to be worse this year:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-floods-idUSKBN1A90QA

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/floodwaters-swallow-myanmar-pagoda-9058862

Dont know how far in advance those tide tables go out, but Regent is doing Itineraries 2 years plus in advance.

Is it possible that the flood levels of this particular river are changeable in a way that can't be predicted? Climate change is anything if not capricious.

We actually skipped Myanmar totally on world cruise!

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