Dolebludger

I think the problem is, in some embarkation locations, really good hotels that can block off enough rooms for embarking Regent guests just don’t exist. So unless Regent wants to build hotels and go into that business (I’d advise against that), Regent has to settle for what is there. When we opted out of the Anchorage Hilton (which Regent uses) this last summer due to poor reviews, we booked a small boutique hotel in Anchorage that could not have accommodated all the Regent guests. I suspect that this may be the reason that some guests find Regent’s choice for them to be sub-standard in other locations as well. Regent has to book in hotels with the capacity to take all the embarking guests — and those may not always be the best — but are in many cases.

For Anchorage to Seward, there is also a scenic train. We took that last June, and recommend it highly.

Of course, some Regent supplied hotels are quite nice. The problem seems to be that some hotels (but not all) seem to have problems of inadequate staffing, neglected maintenance, and such. I hate to name names, but many of the Hilton properties seem to have these problems. And there seems to be a shortage of hotel accommodations in some locations. Reportedly, Regent is unable to provide hotel accommodations in Barbados, for example, due to shortage. And then, unreliable airline service has undoubtedly increased demand for pre-cruise hotel rooms in embarkation locations. If in any doubt about hotel accommodations, check Trip Advisor. If you find repeated complaints about the same things, look elsewhere.

Well,you are paying for it indirectly as Regent is paying for the hotel from money you pad Regent, the thing is, Regent doesn’t seem to always do a good job in selection. Perhaps it used to be a good hotel, but due to delayed maintenance and understaffing, it isn’t anymore. Lots of hotels like that now. If Regent wants to offer real luxury hotels it needs to conduct periodic checks, to ensure things haven’t gone downhill..The same with the included transfers. They used to be pleasant.Now too many have all,the luxury of a military induction. No doubt, for what we pay, we deserve better land accommodations and transportation than we often get.

I suggest that Regent should know that airlines have become very unreliable, and flying to a cruise on embarkation day is far too risky. The only exception might be where direct (no connection) flights are available. But that’s still risky. If one books Regent in lower suite categories (not concierge and above) Regent doesn’t provide the needed hotel accommodations, but the cost of one night hotel is cheap insurance. All independent travel advisors strongly advise against day-of-embarkation flights, and I’m sure Regent know why. Along these same lines, Regent’s provided ground transfers and hotel accommodations (when provided) aren’t what they used to be. Our last Regent cruise was last June in Alaska on the Explorer. We booked our own air, hotel, and ground transfers (thankfully). When we got onboard, we learned from fellow guests that the Regent provided hotel in Anchorage was far from luxury, and the ground transfer was a disorganized cattle call.

I am glad you enjoyed your stay at the Caribe Hilton. When did you stay there? I have never been there, but the recent reports on Trip Advisor are not favorable, to say the least. Not what I’d book if I had a choice, and I do. FWIW, Hilton seems to be buying up historic hotels, and letting them go to pot. Hilton bought the Del Coronado hotel in Coronado, CA. I stayed there back in the late 1970’s and it was the greatest! Now, customer reports are negative, since Hilton took it over.

Yes, we experienced no problem with the dress on X a few years ago. Long pants of some kind for men in evenings and a shirt with a collar. No shoe rule, except I think men were expected to wear some kind of shoe. Chicnnight was voluntary. I guess this boils down to no shorts and no t shirts..shouldn’t be a problem for anybody,

Well, I think dress codes should be abolished — pretty much, but I would still hesitate to book Silversea without taking a tux or dark suit and tie. It’s called peer pressure. So most questions about dress codes are really about what is customary rather than what is mandated. And along those lines, I would like to inform the OP that brown leather shoes should not be combined with black socks. But in the evening on a cruise, nobody will notice.

As mentioned in several posts, there are now shoes that an are a combination of low-top sneakers and smart casual shoes. They have leather uppers and soles like sneakers. I have some and wear them all the time. I almost think that leather sole dress shoes are passé. I tried on a pair, and almost fell. When last on an X cruise I wore these “combo shoes” to the Luminae and specialty restaurants in the evening. And I also wore good jeans. Nobody complained, and I had plenty of company. And nobody even thought about looking at my socks.

Jean, in the Old Days, the butler would have handled all these things. But since X SSs don’t have a butler anymore, I have no idea. With the recent price hikes on X suites (which were a great cruise experience, not long ago), we returned to Regent for our summer cruise this year. And we actually saved some money by doing so. On Regent, the room steward is the contact point for any correction of this kind, and it will be corrected. But on X, the steward is more like a hotel maid. On our cruise, the ship (Explorer) was in immaculate condition in all parts, including our suite. There were no signs of understaffing anywhere in that ship (and I was looking for it, and never found it). Just from the majority of posts by others here, it appears to me that X is badly understaffed. Now X doesn’t care what I think, and I have no “marriage” to Regent. But there are other lines that offer more bang for the buck than in X suites. For example I am looking at offerings from Windstar regarding their small motor ships. And those sound better than X suites, too.

It is unfortunate that Regent is having so much trouble lining up good, reliable land services in many ports. As we live in a tourist location, we are well aware that labor to work in service jobs is hard to find, in many places. But I would advise Regent to stop advertising “free unlimited shore excursions” and free hotel and transfers” because it (and we) know these things aren’t deliverable in many locations.

Just for the heck of it, I called the Windstar CS number yesterday to ask a few questions about their “motor yachts” relative to cruises out of Tahiti. My first (pleasant) surprise is that, once I got through the voice menu, someone quickly answered the phone! Where I live, if I call a business, it is an unacceptably long wait to get a person on the phone. It seems that on these ships, almost all suites are 277 sq ft inside room (except for the very few premium suites). Now, although some of the regular suites are called “balcony”, they are only “French balconies” which means that they have a large window that tools down from the top. No real balcony. Also, I learned that if one books at the all inclusive fare, everything in the suite fridge is included. Excursions are not included, but they aren’t on the PG either, but are on Regent. I guess it is a matter of getting a good TA to check pricing and “deals” from time to time. But, as (unfortunately) I won’t book anything on the (PG) unless it acquires an owner other than Ponant, if I had to book something in Tahiti right now it would be Regent — if the time factor was right. But the Windstar Star Breeze does have good pricing on the inclusive fare for window (not porthole) suites that are larger than on the PG. I hope this information is useful. Once, the PG was my favorite. But after Ponant refused to refund for cruise it cancelled, i wouldn’t book it again,— unless and until Ponant is out of the picture.

It matters not to me whether they call suite service providers butlers, retreat assistants, or room stewards. What does matter is the service that is (or is not) provided. On smaller ship lines, the steward and room service are far more active and reliable than in large ship lines. For example, on Regent, only the “super premium suites” have butlers. The rest do not. But it is the consensus of those cruising that line that steward, room service, other services, and the included socked mini fridge really make the addition of a butler unnecessary. The steward restocks the fridge and brings us any items we need. The steward renews the flowers and supply treats daily. Room service is prompt, and has a rather large menu. The only reason anybody needs a “butler” on a cruise ship arises when the other “departments” aren’t doing their job, which would seem to be the case with Celebrity.

Well, I think the Celebrity Retreat, as it is now, might find a market at a price much less than that offered by the true lux lines. But it is offering us a decreased product at a price higher than other lines that offer the full product. That “will not fly” for long.

Good, if Celebrity offers you the content you want at the price you want to pay, go for it. But what X has done increasing Retreat prices and reducing content makes me admit that there are better deals out there for me. That’s all..

Well, IMHO, no company of any kind that off shores it’s CSR dept. is a “better” anything. IMHO.

dog hog, Celebrity used to be one of the “better” cruise lines. It isn’t anymore, and that is the problem.

dog hog, with the “better” cruise lines, they can answer questions, and do so in a language I can understand.

Well, back to the original topic, which is a company moving its customer service staff overseas. The motivation is financial, for sure. But another motivation is to insulate management from complaints. The process with off shore CSRs is often so complicated that customers just give up. And that is just what management wants. And as to TAs, the reason many of us need them is to book flights and pre and post cruise hotels. TAs also are better able to compare cruise lines with comparable itineraries to help us find what we want for the best price.

On another post on the Celebrity forum, there is a report that X has moved all its customer service off shore. With that, we are unlikely to get a response beyond what is in the script of somebody thousands of miles away, who as no ability to address specific problems. If this report is accurate, this is another reduction in benefits by Celebrity, that harms all cruisers — not only those in the Retreat.

In looking at Celebrity offerings, the prices look OK in anything below the suite classes. But for those of us who enjoyed the Retreat as a former lower cost option to a lux line, we are very disappointed. Retreat prices are now higher than for comparable itineraries on the REAL lux lines (Silversea, Regent) and Celebrity has been reducing Retreat inclusions so that a cruise there is no longer comparable to a lux cruise — and even priced higher. So, it is back to these lux lines for us, and we even save some money.

I’m not wineoclock, but we were on the Regent Explorer this past June in Alaska. And we had cruised Regent many times before. Onboard, it was the best cruise of them all. However, we did not use the line’s hotel and transfers. Those who did said they were bad. And regardless of where you get your air, there are going to be foul-ups these days. But these things are beyond Regent’s control. And before we booked that one, we priced Celebrity SS and CS and found Regent concierge to be less expensive. We didn’t have a “butler” as such, but the room steward pool was very well staffed, room service was very prompt, and we had included use of the mini-fridge and in-suite spirits. The was no sign of understaffing, as has been reported on this thread. And we also had included laundry service, shore excursions, tips, and WiFi. We did not have priority embarkation/disembarkation, but with fewer than 750 guests onboard, it was not needed. IMHO, there is no reason to book Celebrity SS or CS suites instead of Regent. Four years ago, these Celebrity Retreat suites offered a great imitation of a lux cruise experience t a lesser cost. Now, Celebrity has reduced these lux inclusions an has raised price higher than a true lux line like Regent.

Yes, when I was on Windstar’s site, I couldn’t navigate to any rooms, except those with only windows — and not very large ones at that. Time to return to Regent, where all all suites have balconies — except a few window suites on the Navigator.

I have read elsewhere on this board that Bloody Mary’s is closed for a year for maintenance and repairs. Sad.

jjs, we’re you on a motor yacht or a sailing ship? From what I can determine, there is a real difference in those two categories. And if one is undecided, Regent is always a good choice.