Regent Cruise Line not the same after Norwegian Purchase

My husband and I have cruised nearly 200 days on Regent cruise line and it has changed after Norwegian purchased Regent and Oceania. We have cruised on all four ships after the buyout and Norwegian has diminished the quality of the Regent Luxury line, while still charging the Regent premium price. Disappointing as we use to speak highly of the Regent brand and can no longer do so. We are currently on the Voyager from San Francisco to Montreal for 28 days.

Listed below are the changes we have noticed and not for the better:

Entertainment

* By cutting costs Norwegian termed their contract with the Jean Ann Ryan production company. What a huge miss... We couldn't wait to watch the Productions/Cirque de Soleil while cruising and now we don't even go to the shows. The quality of the entertainment crew is like watching a high school production and the bios reflect so. Bios commenting they are excited to be leaving the country for the first time or happy to be on their first cruise. When you are paying the price for a luxury line the entertainment should reflect so. We have been on board eight days and the entertainment for two of those nights were movies: Beauty and the Beast and Pirates of the Caribbean. Did they buy the rights so it can be shown on all three lines: Norwegian, Oceania and Regent. Isn't Beauty and the beast a kid movie - not many kids on board?

Wine

* We use to thoroughly enjoy the various wines offered and typically provisioned around the region you were cruising. This is not the case anymore, Norwegian is now purchasing from very large vintners that can supply all three cruise lines and cutting cost. We may have purchased a bottle prior to buyout; however, now we average buying a bottle every other night for assortment. Very limited rotation now.

Food

* Lunch

The Compass Rose for lunch had a quite varied menu selection including Canyon Ranch/healthy options and build your own sandwich. Now they offer the same exact menu, everyday and on every ship. They do offer one daily special selection; however, you hope it's something you like or you are back to the same menu. It feels they are pushing you to go to buffet style eating rather than dining on white table cloth. We are now eating more at La Veranda buffet just for assortment.

* Dinner

Prior to Norwegian purchasing Regent we couldn't wait for dinner and to view the dinner options. We would always say after our cruise, wow not one bad bite. Not anymore... The creativity, quality and preparation are nothing near the Regent standards we use to know.

* Service

While we have had great service it has been spotty. We feel the quality of the service is lacking up to Regent standards.

Good note!

Housekeeping has been doing a fantastic job on this cruise, yet on our last cruise our Steward did a poor job.

For what we spend and knowing the decline in quality we are switching to another five star luxury cruise line.

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Very worrying. Not entirely surprised. But where do we go. We liked Seabourn, but they have deteriorated, and we do not like the formality of the dress codes on Silversea, nor the poor cabin sizes on Crystal.

I have to agree with some of your observations, and frankly, we only have about 75-80 nights on board so can't compare to anything before 2009...but...

I think the shows were hit or miss even before the buyout. Our last cruise had some talented performers, but a few really should have stayed in high school - in fact, that was the comment I heard most, that some of the performers "looked like they were in a high school show - and not an especially good one." This is really unfair to the more talented performers, as it only takes one really bad person to bring down the entire troupe.

I'm more of a brown spirits kind of guy, but even I've noticed the decline in the quality and variety of the included wines. Whereas most of them used to be 'good to very good', I'm seeing more 'okay to good' on board. Now that I think about it, the quality of the included wines used to be quite a bit better.

I had no issues with the food selection, though. I actually think the menu and availability is as good if not better than before, but the presentation is inconsistent.

I feel the service is at least as good as it was in '09 or '10 - although I wasn't really fixated on it back then, I think Regent still has a good overall feel to the service, both F&B and housekeeping.

So now comes the $100 question - if you were to leave Regent for another luxury line, who would you choose? It's always been my belief that all of the 'big four' lines are very similar in their product and only differentiated by small ways of doing business...I can think of one line I'd like to try someday if the itinerary and scheduling was right - who do you feel would provide a better experience (for the money) than Regent?

I have another opinion. I think that Regent has changed but for the better since being purchased by NCLH. (we currently have 375 nights on Radisson/Regent).

The biggest improvement, IMO, is the food. Many years ago I seem to remember that there was Filet Mignon offered in CR every night. That went away and has now returned (plus we have the options of lobster and many other high end choices). There are several options special dishes (appetizers, soups, salads and entrees) that are different every night. And, IMO, the quality has improved.

On our last cruise (that ended last week) the service in the restaurants was impeccable. The same can be said for our 4 Explorer cruises that were within the last 14 months. Our butler was so good that we are requesting him for our next cruise.

The ships are in better shape than they have ever been in -- new beds, new furniture - everything in the suites taken down to the bare walls and redone (except for Mariner that will be done next year). When we started sailing on Radisson, the ships were not in good shape mechanically -- the carpets needed replacing and some of the sheets were threadbare.

The wine is better some times than others. We always find a wine or two that we like. Interestingly, the same complaints are made on other luxury lines. I suspect that many luxury cruisers are wine connoisseurs and would find included wine to be less than desired.

The entertainment is subjective. I prefer the new NCHL group while other passengers preferred Jean Ann Ryan singers or dancers (or even the group that performed before JAR). I would not be happy with Beauty and the Beast. Was this an entire show or just part of the Broadway show? I seriously doubt if Regent shows are done on NCL ships as they definitely would not be appreciated by children and the younger demographic onboard NCL. However, NCLH is likely saving money by having their entertainers trained by the same company - even though the shows are different (note: we have sailed Oceania twice and did not see the same shows as on Regent).

Wish you happy sailing with whatever luxury line you choose. We went to Silversea for a while. It was very good but we were happy to come home to Regent.

I know! My husband and I were having the same discussion of where do we go? We love cruising. We haven't been on Seabourn, several friends have; however, they haven't been on Regent after Norwegian purchased, thus, we can't access their feedback. We booked our first river cruise in May with Crystal starting in Switzerland to Vienna.

How formal is the dress code on Silversea? We are looking into the Ritz Carlton yacht coming out in 2019.

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Travelcat2: The Beauty and the beast was a movie. The new version that was in movie theaters it wasn't even a production.

Thanks for the feedback all! Not sure where we would go... Ugh, we are about to hit titanium and don't want to switch; however, as my comments above disappointed and we miss the old Regent.

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I know! My husband and I were having the same discussion of where do we go? We love cruising. We haven't been on Seabourn, several friends have; however, they haven't been on Regent after Norwegian purchased, thus, we can't access their feedback. We booked our first river cruise in May with Crystal starting in Switzerland to Vienna.

 

How formal is the dress code on Silversea? We are looking into the Ritz Carlton yacht coming out in 2019.

 

 

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We had a cabin booked on Crystal Mozart this past summer but when we decided to invite our in-laws to come with us there were no more cabins...so we released our booking and went with Regent to the Baltic instead. I'm still intrigued by the new Crystal riverboats, though - they look amazing, but I'm not 100% sure they'll be able to keep them adequately staffed. It looks good so far, but their expansion plans have me worried.

I haven't sailed on Silversea but I've heard their dress code is a bit more formal than Regent's - which although it isn't a deal-breaker for us, it sure costs them some points in our book. I'd prefer not to have to lug suits and ties on my vacation...but that's just me...

I cannot say that I can identify with most of the TS/OP's post but, like Bill, we have only been sailing with Regent since 2009.

:confused: btw, I thought Voyager was in the Med not in North America :confused:

PS: We went to see the 2017 version of Beauty & the Beast only yesterday at our local cinema and thoroughly enjoyed it ................ but maybe we are just kids at heart

Sorry can't answer your $100 question... Wish I had the answer of where we would go if not Regent. Have you been on Seabourn?

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Oh, and FWIW, I don't think the 'cost-cutting' and/or 'changes in service and amenities' are exclusive to Regent - you should read some of the panicked posts on the Crystal boards - and I've seen some less than positive posts on Seabourn and Silverseas boards as well. Maybe not as vocal as here on the Regent board, but enough to make me think the grass isn't necessarily greener on another line...

Sorry can't answer your $100 question... Wish I had the answer of where we would go if not Regent. Have you been on Seabourn?

 

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Sgolffan, no, sorry - only one non-Regent cruise in my portfolio and that was on the QM2 many years ago. But just between you and me, Seabourn is at the top of my 'to try' list if I ever decide I need a change.

Yes - the TS is obviously on the Mariner - not the Voyager. Based on the fact that we just got off of the Mariner, I can attest to some food issues that we have not encountered in the past (hoping that the Executive Chef goes on vacation sooner rather than later and takes the F&B director with him). I detailed the issues in my thread and went into great detail on my Final Questionnaire which will go to Miami along with the others. I know that the G.M. and other crew members left in San Francisco so cannot say that the service was as great as when we were onboard.

I cannot say that I can identify with most of the TS/OP's post but, like Bill, we have only been sailing with Regent since 2009.

 

:confused: btw, I thought Voyager was in the Med not in North America :confused:

 

 

PS: We went to see the 2017 version of Beauty & the Beast only yesterday at our local cinema and thoroughly enjoyed it ................ but maybe we are just kids at heart

Sorry!! We are on the mariner! I will update. Great glad you enjoyed the movie; however, we feel entertainment on a ship of this standard should offer more than Beauty and the Beast as an opinion for the nightly entertainment. This is how we felt and it wasn't specifically about the movie; however the entertainment in general. [emoji4]

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My husband and I have cruised nearly 200 days on Regent cruise line and it has changed after Norwegian purchased Regent and Oceania. We have cruised on all four ships after the buyout and Norwegian has diminished the quality of the Regent Luxury line, while still charging the Regent premium price. Disappointing as we use to speak highly of the Regent brand and can no longer do so. We are currently on the Voyager from San Francisco to Montreal for 28 days.

 

Listed below are the changes we have noticed and not for the better:

Entertainment

* By cutting costs Norwegian termed their contract with the Jean Ann Ryan production company. What a huge miss... We couldn't wait to watch the Productions/Cirque de Soleil while cruising and now we don't even go to the shows. The quality of the entertainment crew is like watching a high school production and the bios reflect so. Bios commenting they are excited to be leaving the country for the first time or happy to be on their first cruise. When you are paying the price for a luxury line the entertainment should reflect so. We have been on board eight days and the entertainment for two of those nights were movies: Beauty and the Beast and Pirates of the Caribbean. Did they buy the rights so it can be shown on all three lines: Norwegian, Oceania and Regent. Isn't Beauty and the beast a kid movie - not many kids on board?

 

Wine

* We use to thoroughly enjoy the various wines offered and typically provisioned around the region you were cruising. This is not the case anymore, Norwegian is now purchasing from very large vintners that can supply all three cruise lines and cutting cost. We may have purchased a bottle prior to buyout; however, now we average buying a bottle every other night for assortment. Very limited rotation now.

 

Food

* Lunch

The Compass Rose for lunch had a quite varied menu selection including Canyon Ranch/healthy options and build your own sandwich. Now they offer the same exact menu, everyday and on every ship. They do offer one daily special selection; however, you hope it's something you like or you are back to the same menu. It feels they are pushing you to go to buffet style eating rather than dining on white table cloth. We are now eating more at La Veranda buffet just for assortment.

 

* Dinner

Prior to Norwegian purchasing Regent we couldn't wait for dinner and to view the dinner options. We would always say after our cruise, wow not one bad bite. Not anymore... The creativity, quality and preparation are nothing near the Regent standards we use to know.

 

* Service

While we have had great service it has been spotty. We feel the quality of the service is lacking up to Regent standards.

 

Good note!

Housekeeping has been doing a fantastic job on this cruise, yet on our last cruise our Steward did a poor job.

 

For what we spend and knowing the decline in quality we are switching to another five star luxury cruise line.

 

 

 

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FYI!! Misprint above - we are currently on the Mariner!!! Not Voyager!

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We had a cabin booked on Crystal Mozart this past summer but when we decided to invite our in-laws to come with us there were no more cabins...so we released our booking and went with Regent to the Baltic instead. I'm still intrigued by the new Crystal riverboats, though - they look amazing, but I'm not 100% sure they'll be able to keep them adequately staffed. It looks good so far, but their expansion plans have me worried.

 

 

 

I haven't sailed on Silversea but I've heard their dress code is a bit more formal than Regent's - which although it isn't a deal-breaker for us, it sure costs them some points in our book. I'd prefer not to have to lug suits and ties on my vacation...but that's just me...

The Crystal river boat does look amazing and agree with your comment about keeping adequate staff as they are releasing (I believe ) three new river boats. As mentioned we love to cruise and know this will be quite a different experience and looking forward to it.

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Yes - the TS is obviously on the Mariner - not the Voyager. Based on the fact that we just got off of the Mariner, I can attest to some food issues that we have not encountered in the past (hoping that the Executive Chef goes on vacation sooner rather than later and takes the F&B director with him). I detailed the issues in my thread and went into great detail on my Final Questionnaire which will go to Miami along with the others. I know that the G.M. and other crew members left in San Francisco so cannot say that the service was as great as when we were onboard.

That is very direct and personal criticism to be made on a public forum. Are you certain that your remarks are justified?

IMHO the complaints would have been better made privately face-to-face with the staff members concerned to give them each a chance to defend themselves.

Note: The red highlights are mine

On a good note even with the items I have mentioned above, we were on code red when we came on board. Regent did an excellent job handling the situation of taking several precautions to not have an even larger problem. We are off code red now. Understanding this can happen with any ship at any time.

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Deleted!

Thanks appreciate it!

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FYI, Regent was purchased Sept of 2014.

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FYI, Regent was purchased Sept of 2014.

 

 

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Interesting. Is that when it closed and the transfer was complete? I thought that it was closer to the end of the year (around November) and then the big change in management went into effect in mid-January to early February of the following year.

From my perspective, I look at the fact that the same person is overseeing Regent (from a higher level) as before the buy-out. The Board of Directors are mostly from Prestige Cruise Holdings. Except for NCL management which remained the same (as it likely should be), the management of Oceania and Regent have a long history with the respective cruise line. The biggest change is that they have more money to spend (as long as they reach their profit goals). As you may recall, Regent hadn't had a new ship since the Voyager (in 2003?). Now it has Explorer with another ship debuting in 2020. No matter how I look at it, just about everything at Regent is better than before.

I REALLY wish we felt the same way; however, we don't... things have changed for us in a negative way. For reference we starting cruising 2011 with Regent.

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To date, we have been exclusively Regent cruisers, (with a try on Gaugin, and O Riviera), and have loved it all! Explorer concierge/F 1 and 2 cabins IMHO are truly outstanding. Gold perks have thus far, kept us in the Regent fold.....In refererence to Bill's question above, we have however considered Viking as an alternative, as they have seemingly worked out some of the initial start-up glitches.......if we were to "stray" Viking seems like the closest fit/interest.

Yes - the TS is obviously on the Mariner - not the Voyager. Based on the fact that we just got off of the Mariner, I can attest to some food issues that we have not encountered in the past (hoping that the Executive Chef goes on vacation sooner rather than later and takes the F&B director with him). I detailed the issues in my thread and went into great detail on my Final Questionnaire which will go to Miami along with the others. I know that the G.M. and other crew members left in San Francisco so cannot say that the service was as great as when we were onboard.

Post#4 impeccable. This post opposite. Which is it.

Also, a little condescending toward the staff.

Will you use the same words on you letter to Miami?

.

To date, we have been exclusively Regent cruisers, (with a try on Gaugin, and O Riviera), and have loved it all! Explorer concierge/F 1 and 2 cabins IMHO are truly outstanding. Gold perks have thus far, kept us in the Regent fold.....In refererence to Bill's question above, we have however considered Viking as an alternative, as they have seemingly worked out some of the initial start-up glitches.......if we were to "stray" Viking seems like the closest fit/interest.

Agree - you give up a lot of perks when you go to another cruise line. What I would miss most is the crew that remember repeat guests and welcome you "home" when you get onboard. The vibe on Oceania was definitely different but the Riviera is a gorgeous ship (not as gorgeous as Explorer IMO). We also tried the Paul Gauguin but she was part of the Radisson/Regent fleet at that time (on lease).