Drdleo56

We like Regent but I will say that Seabourn and Crystal are luxury. The service on Crystal and Seabourn are a notch better as well as food and presentation. Seabourn has beautiful suites and non PH staterooms are very comfortable and well laid out. Crystal may have smaller staterooms but they are very comfortable and well designed.

Luxury is not just your stateroom or suite. Luxury is primarily outside the room and what is delivered.

Regent has not been number one for a few years and even Viking beat all of them in 2016. I know blame it on the Russians.

We have two WC's booked 2018-2019 what is the next shoe that will drop? We heard that last years WC in Sydney for New Years was a disaster and laughable for a six star cruise line. What does Edie do besides being the face of Crystal? Thankfully the crew are still excellent as well as the service but it should go beyond the onboard experience.

People do book cruises because of themes either Jazz, Food, Broadway etc and then end up not having that experience.

I am concerned that Crystal Cruise Line may be engaging in false advertising -- or minimally is grossly mismanaged.

 

While this may involve their river cruise product, I have also had an issue with their ocean cruise advertisement. (I was once booked and paid to sail on a cruise advertised as a food and wine cruise, only to have it changed to a jazz cruise. While I realize that things sometimes change, the theme of a cruise is often why one chooses to sail a particular cruise.)

 

Currently, I am booked on the Crystal Mozart's holiday cruise, leaving Vienna on Dec. 23, 2017. I emailed the company to ask a question about the Michelin restaurant amenity, only to receive the following response -- direct from Crystal:

 

Due to the Holidays the Michelin restaurants are not able to accommodate our guests. Please rest assured that we will have a Holiday Dinner onboard with onboard entertainment as we normally would.

 

I am absolutely dumbfounded that Crystal would give such an answer. Offering this amenity is something Crystal uses to set itself apart from their competition. Additionally, they continue to advertise the amenity for this same cruise and for holiday cruises in 2018!

 

I am currently waiting to hear more from the company about how this amenity can continue to be advertised, yet they know they cannot deliver.

Have you heard the old Dionne Warwick song? I am dating myself LOL. Promises, promises I'm all through with promises, promises.

You are not alone. Many on here and I think the majority are tired of all these mistakes with information. Only a few people will defend Crystal's decisions and many silly mistakes made in their distribution and media. Terrible editing and misspellings and advertising. We have caught many over the last couple of years in their brochures. How do these people retain their jobs is beyond me.

Hi Jeff, thanks for the explanation:)........I don't even normally get coffee at "coffee shops"......but I do enjoy a cup every

morning here at home. I use KUREIG.....you know the coffee machines with the K cups. And I enjoy a cup when having

dessert if I am going out to dinner.

Lois we love our Kureig. We order breakfast blend and Kenyan coffee which are Free Trade from Green Mountain.

It's very hard to find good coffee on cruise lines. Starbucks is too bitter for us. We drink coffee black.

We booked it before it was made a President's cruise. But knowing what we know now we might have changed our plans. It definitely takes away quite a bit of the pleasure of a cruise. And Edie didn't seem interested in chatting with the non TAs. We had a laugh about it with some friends we met on board who were like us, younger than the average luxury cruiser. She didn't seem interested in talking to the people who should be the future of her business if it hopes to succeed. She was really enjoying all the sucking up the TAs were doing though.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Our experience was the same a couple of years ago. Really nothing special about it. I will,say Thomas Mazoulum Sp? was very approachable to everyone. We enjoyed cocktails with him and his lovely wife.

Edie was busy with her favorite TA's and adoring guests. So 50 Crystal cruises did not warrant her attention to us who have sailed Crystal since day one on the Harmony. It's all about Edie, you need to adore her.

I have not seen cell phone chatting in CR at anytime. I have seen some photos or snapshots of pictures being taken which is no big deal. We certainly don't want ship photographers roaming the dining room.

More news on the Ritz Carlton yachts.

https://www.porthole.com/ritz-carlton-takes-to-the-sea-with-luxury-yacht-collection/

TravelCat, you have been corrected about facts that you had wrong on Crystal and other lines that were wrong. I know Keith has corrected you from time to time.

I don't have time to go back through thousands of your posts as I am fairly new to CC but when I was lurking here in the past you have been wrong.

You caught that too, huh? :cool:

You both miss my not so good point. What I am saying is when I need another medical opinion i.e. specialist I confer with a colleague who knows whatever practice he/she is in.

As for cruising I will consult a trave professional who has actually been on the line not just reading about in a travel magazine. We also will talk to our friends who actually have sailed on a particular line. I am not interested in opinions from people who have never sailed the line. What credibility does that hold?

I have read a lot of misinformation from posters here about Crystal and Seabourn.

Our choice for not sailing the Explorer is based on feedback from friends who have sailed her and they know what we like in terms of luxury cruises and we all are seasoned cruisers. The complaints that we heard at least from two couples was the service was uneven or hit and miss. They thought the ship was OTT glitzy which we don't like. Food was good to mediocre and service at times what they said was like watching grass grow. Their favorite ship is the Voyager and Mariner and will not be returning to the Explorer. So having those opinions of people I trust we will stick with ships we know well and not be set up for disappointment.

I pay no attention to cheerleaders or people who have never sailed on a particular line. I also don't pay attention to posters here who we don't know what we like or our expectations.

Eighty or more flash pictures during dinner is a "momentary thing"??

Eighty pictures is momentary? 😆 I think one or two would qualify for momentary.

TravelCat asked..."Drdleo56, you state that some Regent passengers have been on Crystal's yacht. Have you read any reviews that you would care to share with us since there hasn't been a word about it on the Regent board."

The people, actually six are not members of this site and neither was I but have been lurking off and on since 2001 and have many Radisson/Regent sailings so I very well know the line probably more than you. We sailed Regent before finding Crystal and Seabourn and found the quality to be a few notches better on these lines.

As mentioned by another poster you have never sailed Seabourn nor Crystal so you just make a judgement call. Doctors do not make judgement calls on diagnosis guessing. We need to be thorough and so should you. I certainly can speak as my husband and I have sailed all of them.

I'm done as you certainly will have the last word as always.

Regent is hit and miss. We like the consistency on Seabourn and Crystal so we definitely give them the edge. Silversea is too formal for us and the new ship the Muse does not have a MDR. You need to make reservations months out and you may not be able to get into the speciality restaurants or you are waitlisted.

I think it's great to see a new ship. Competition is good. And if Regent is smart they will do what they need to keep you. It will depend on a lot of things besides price. Even if Regent losses one cruiser because someone wants to try them-that's not good for Regent. I enjoy the lux part of a cruising, I don't enjoy the dress up part-so that alone would be a problem for us. We cruised SliverSeas once and for us once was all I needed to see it wasn't my ship. However I enjoy Ritz-Carlton Hotels from time to time and yes they really do it right. So I'll look forward to seeing what they have to offer. We cruised "O" for awhile and now have booked Regent for the next 3 cruises. I do enjoy being loyal to a line, but change is good for us from time to time. I don't want to cruise because I'm loyal, I want the cruise to be the best ever that brings be back---Then the loyal part falls into place.

Rick

Ron, and you are fair with comparisons and not a cheerleader for any.

Thank you

Agree with you about Scenic although they need to insure that they market to North America.

 

In terms of the old Seabourn ships, they were for sale forever and were finally purchased by Windstar. If smaller ships were doing so well, why did Regent, Silversea and Seabourn start building larger ships? I feel it is as Bill said - it is about revenue. It is also about what customers want.

 

Have any Regent regulars booked Crystal's "new" (purchased and renovated) yacht? I would think that anyone interested in that experience would jump on an opportunity to sail on a yacht that is run by a major and known luxury cruise company. The popularity of that boat would be one indicator of what luxury cruisers are seeking (in addition to what they already have).

If you are talking about the Espirt not the new mega yacht that maybe built..yes Some Regent clients have been on it.

We think the Ritz Carlton with the parent company Marriott can do a bang up job on this journey. We would love to try it knowing what Ritz Carlton service is all about.

We still sail Regent, Seabourn and Crystal but have no desire to meet the Explorer. From what I read the RC will not be a expedition ship but will be very elegant and probably the most luxurious mega yacht at sea with the vibe of a luxury line. Price point? Nobody knows yet but it will definitely have an impact in the luxury cruise lines.

Time will tell.

Ritz Carlton will put pressure on the luxury cruise market. Very impressive!

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/c...ise-brand.html

http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/yachts

We are Centurion members as well. AMEX Platium and Centurion offer two for one business or first class tickets on participating airlines fully refundable. I think Alaterror Airlines is in the program. To be honest we are not big fans of Alatalia or terror airlines. Emirates is our go to airline in first or business for most of our travels.

We have sailed Regent many times but we will give the edge to Seabourn and Crystal for service and food and attention to detail.

TravelCat , if you would stop perpetuating and defending this thread it will disappear. Many posters disagree with you. Some of us must agree to disagree. Geez

A few inaccurate answers. On BTO nights caviar is served in the CDR and on those nights you may have it delivered to your stateroom. Caviar is also available for purchase from a caviar menu at very reasonable prices anytime.

The Vintage room is not $1,000 PP. The whole room can be had which seats 14 people for $2,600. If you joint a group and not private it breaks down to $185PP.

PH and above have unlimited visits to Prego and Nobu. Tastes has no charge and unlimited for everyone. Tastes is very popular.

Service on Crystal is a few notches above Regent. Seabourn is also excellent in service. The problem with Regent is it can be excellent but sometimes not so good especially around the pool bar. Crystal has excellent service in that area.

We think the food, shows, enrichment are the best at sea. JMHO

All category's are all inclusive with alcohol with the exception of excursions. You are paying for Regent excursions upfront. So not really free on Regent. We do private on Crystal and Regent.

As someone who reads this board regularly in order to try to learn more about Regent before I go ahead and book my first Regent cruise, I must say that what you've written here is a very well articulated version of what I've just been thinking.

I also agree. A very articulated post indeed.

Juli and I have sailed Regent and Crystal and probably will again

given the right itinerary. I think we are entitled to make our comparisons regarding any luxury line. For us, we have sailed all of them unlike TravelCat. Regent has many pluses and Crystal and Seabourn have theirs as well.

This is Cruise Critic for Pete sake. If people want to see something on Regent that other lines have they have every right to express their opinion without retaliation from posters.

I actually resent being told that this subject is way off topic. Dang we are still talking about fresh juice. Is this not the topic?

I want my Mojito with fresh juice made from scratch. If Crystal and Seabourn can do this Regent certainly can and btw fresh juice can last a few days and if the bars all had juicers it take a minute to do not all day.

TravelCat, please allow people to express themselves it's their board to and their cruise line. So if they see something they want changed it does not matter what you think. Comments should be made here and comments whilst onboard as well. Cheers

I have been a lurker for years and we are Titanium and have refrained from posting here because I feel I will get bashed giving my opinion by some posters and being told by a non-moderator I am off topic. Other people like me who lurk or contribute occasionally feel the same way.

Opinions should be welcomed even if you disagree but not telling people they are off topic.

Flossie, you are one of my favorite reads on here with balanced comments.

This has been brought up previously but comparing Regent to another cruise line is, IMO, off topic so I will resist the urge to respond.

This is not off topic IMHO. Why not know what other luxury lines are doing. We have many cruises on Regent and Crystal and yes Crystal does have juicers at all the bars with bowls of fresh fruit and blenders for the foo foo drinks all made from scratch. We have only had fresh OJ on Regent never asked for anything fancy. I wanted fresh grapefruit juice at breakfast and they had none but they did have grapefruit go figure. Seabourn had fresh juice when we last sailed them. I can't remember Silversea except they made the best Bloody Mary from scratch not a mixer like you would find in the store.

We have seen this behavior across the board. Crystal, Regent and Seabourn oh I forgot SS. No line is exempt unfortunately.