Shore excursion wait list

[forgap]

We are booked Bangkok to Dubai in April 2014. We have taken two previous Regent cruises and I have never been wait listed for excursions. Booking opened on October 10th and I booked at 12:02 central time as I had done previously (yes, a bit obsessive!). The cruise does not seem to be fully booked. However, we are wait listed for 4 of the ports for tours that would be highlights of our Asian trip (elephant riding in Ko Sumai, Spectacular Phang Nga Bay in Phuket, Bombay by Lights in Mumbai, and walking tour of Old Dubai) I've read previously that excursions clear or Regent adds more busses. I'd hate to miss out. I would book private excursions, but I'm fearful that we might miss sail away due to traffic or some unexpected delay. Insight anyone?

[RachelG]

Almost always the wait list clears. The only one of these that I would be concerned about possibly not clearing is the elephant ride because that is something where there are only x number of slots, and they would not be able to add more. Almost any walking or bus tour, they can add an extra guide or bus once they know what demand will be.

[Travelcat2]

Our experience has been the same as RachelG's. When it is possible open the excursion to more guests, it is done. Even with the elephant ride, an additional excursion, at a different time, can be offered, it will happen.

[newlondon]

forgap, I am stunned that the Elephant ride was closed. It was one of our primo desires and so we called Regent ahead of time. They were very accommodating, but it turned out there was no problem any way.

I want to fill you in, however. This is not as it appears in the Regent brochure or web site. This is a VERY commercial operation; not in the jungle and not in our opinion done as well as possible. The sequence of events is an amusing elephant show, but, with very loud music and commentary. If you do go be sure to sit in the front row as the elephant will pass the basket to you and your significant other can take a picture of you and the hephalump (AA Milne). Off then to the monkeys harvesting coconuts. Somewhat interesting but would be better in the jungle rather than a commercial show place.

Finally the elephant ride. This comprises an almost head to tail stream of elephants with uninterested and in some cases inebriated drivers. The path goes around the commercial operation and at no point do you feel you are riding any thing other than a tame or circus elephant in civilization.

We complained to the desk when we returned, but I'm sure nothing was done.

Two other comments. The lunch leaves a lot to be desired and the ride out and back is quite uncomfortable.

[Sunprince]

This is so sad. I am dismayed that elephants (and other animals) are treated this way around the world. This is anmial cruelty IMO. It is a real shame that these type of excursions are included in a Regent cruise. Please give this some thought before supporting these types of activities. I couldn't imagine ever wanting to do this excursion and just the thought of it makes me sick. When travelling, there are many ways to see exotic animals in their natural environment and this is not one of them.

[Travelcat2]

We also find the way animals are treated around the world upsetting. We have spent time in Thailand -- from the north to the south and, although some animals are used as a form of entertainment, they feed and care for them quite well. We have visited training camps in Northern Thailand and were quite impressed. In some cases, they are treated better than wild animals in captivity in the U.S.

[forgap]

Thank you for your encouragement and your thoughts about the treatment of the elephants. It made me pause and reflect and I'm less eager to participate in that tour. We have a close friend who studies empathy in primates and other animals. Elephants, in particular, have a keen intelligence, comraderIe and loyalty to their clans. Thanks for the reality check!

[newlondon]

forgap, You obviously understand what is going on. If DW and I had known we would never have supported the excursion.

As I said we complained at the excursion desk, but the fact that the same tour is being offered means nothing was done.

I have posted a question to management, which I hope will be answered, as to why when issues like this come up we don't get answers on CC.

11/7 is when I will hope for a solution.

[Travelcat2]

forgap, You obviously understand what is going on. If DW and I had known we would never have supported the excursion.

As I said we complained at the excursion desk, but the fact that the same tour is being offered means nothing was done.

I have posted a question to management, which I hope will be answered, as to why when issues like this come up we don't get answers on CC.

11/7 is when I will hope for a solution.

 

Do not believe this will be answered on 11/7 since the "rules" for posting questions are pretty specific about customer service issues not being addressed. You might have better results contacting a manager in Florida that is in charge of excursions.

 

In terms of animal cruelty, the show I just saw on Orca whales in Sea World was disgusting. These are also very intelligent mammals -- wish more could be done to close the Orca shows and release these animals back into their environment. They, too, have extreme loyalty to their clans. Very sad. Sorry to be off topic in this paragraph -- some things are important enough to be mentioned as much as possible IMHO.

Edited November 3, 2013 by Travelcat2

[newlondon]

Hi Jackie, Actually I asked why management doesn't reply to POLICY issues and complaints since they obviously monitor these boards:confused:

[Travelcat2]

Hi Jackie, Actually I asked why management doesn't reply to POLICY issues and complaints since they obviously monitor these boards:confused:

 

Guess we'll see if he responds. It is my understanding that issues /complaints that are reported when someone is on board a ship is read by corporate and the G.M. is notified so it can be corrected. I've read responses from FDR several times on the Oceania board and a couple of times from Mr. Kamlani on the Regent board. My guess is that there are too many complaints -- most that are specific to the passenger making the comment/complaint and do not need to be posted on a public board. Wouldn't responding to every criticism on CC encourage more criticism?

 

IMO, the best place to address a problem is on board the ship. We have not had 100% perfect cruises. There was one time when an item on the salad bar (cucumbers to be specific) were being cut wrong and ended up being wilted and swimming in it's own juice. How is that for a petty complaint? My DH was really upset about it and spoke to the G.M. The next day a meeting was set up with the head chef, another chef, the G.M. and ourselves. The cucumbers have been perfect on every cruise since.

 

I have complained on CC about included excursions -- no one has responded. It doesn't take much to figure out that this is something that isn't going to be changed in the foreseeable future. There have been comments about single supplements that remain unaddressed. It makes sense to me that if they can fill the ship with double occupancy, they have no incentive to sell a cabin for less money.

 

IMO, CruiseCritic is a great place to ask questions, voice opinions (positive and negative) and discuss cruising in general. I'm trying to think of a reason why Regent would want to answer every comment/complaint.

 

Sorry for being long winded:-)

[newlondon]

I hope you will read my question to Graham. It is a question about being consumer friendly as opposed to being specific. I do not feel that cucumbers should be answered on CC; but why shouldn't all inclusive excursions.

Actually my specific issue which is policy not a complaint is; why aren't there RSSC personnel on every bus?

Let's see where the answers come down.

[Travelcat2]

I hope you will read my question to Graham. It is a question about being consumer friendly as opposed to being specific. I do not feel that cucumbers should be answered on CC; but why shouldn't all inclusive excursions.

Actually my specific issue which is policy not a complaint is; why aren't there RSSC personnel on every bus?

Let's see where the answers come down.

 

That is a great question!

 

P.S. Just read your question for Graham. Why should they answer questions on a public board instead of replying personally to an email? The same questions keep coming up over and over - year after year. I only monitor a couple of other boards....... do you know of any cruise line that has someone regularly answering questions on CruiseCritic?

Edited November 4, 2013 by Travelcat2

[Sunprince]

I hope you will read my question to Graham. It is a question about being consumer friendly as opposed to being specific. I do not feel that cucumbers should be answered on CC; but why shouldn't all inclusive excursions.

Actually my specific issue which is policy not a complaint is; why aren't there RSSC personnel on every bus?

Let's see where the answers come down.

 

I suspect that would add up to a lot of people and cost, given the number of excursions. It would be much cheaper and practical to pay the local guides/tour companies. Perhaps you could frame your question in relation to why you would want to see an RSSC person on the bus (i.e. what value and service would they provide) and maybe there are alternatives to solve your concern?

 

ps, I couldn't find your question to read it

[rallydave]

I suspect that would add up to a lot of people and cost, given the number of excursions. It would be much cheaper and practical to pay the local guides/tour companies. Perhaps you could frame your question in relation to why you would want to see an RSSC person on the bus (i.e. what value and service would they provide) and maybe there are alternatives to solve your concern?

 

 

Sunprince, fail to see a single penny of cost for having a Regent employee on each bus. After all, these people are paid the same amount whether they remain on the ship, leave the ship on their own or accompany the bus tours.

 

On the other paying the local guides/tour companies would certainly increase the tour costs by requiring additional personal who do cost money. In addition, the local people would not have contact info for the ship nor the best interests of Regent and the passengers. Most of the Regent tours we have gone on have had a Regent representative on each bus and they seemed to have back packs with phones, two way radios, first aid supplies and the like. Most, if not all passengers would prefer a Regent rep and for zero extra cost, the best choice.

[Sunprince]

Sunprince, fail to see a single penny of cost for having a Regent employee on each bus. After all, these people are paid the same amount whether they remain on the ship, leave the ship on their own or accompany the bus tours.

 

On the other paying the local guides/tour companies would certainly increase the tour costs by requiring additional personal who do cost money. In addition, the local people would not have contact info for the ship nor the best interests of Regent and the passengers. Most of the Regent tours we have gone on have had a Regent representative on each bus and they seemed to have back packs with phones, two way radios, first aid supplies and the like. Most, if not all passengers would prefer a Regent rep and for zero extra cost, the best choice.

 

Perhaps you can articulate for us which staff on the ship would fill this role?

[rallydave]

Perhaps you can articulate for us which staff on the ship would fill this role?

 

Glad to list the people who I have actually seen supporting the rours:

 

Cruise Director and staff

Entertainers, guest entertainers and theater staff

Casino Staff

Shop Staff

Officers not essential when in port

Lecturers

Medical staff not needed on board

Any staff not needed during port time

Staff volunteers wanting to go on the tours.

 

Sure there are others but, that should be enough.

[Sunprince]

Glad to list the people who I have actually seen supporting the rours:

 

Cruise Director and staff

Entertainers, guest entertainers and theater staff

Casino Staff

Shop Staff

Officers not essential when in port

Lecturers

Medical staff not needed on board

Any staff not needed during port time

Staff volunteers wanting to go on the tours.

 

Sure there are others but, that should be enough.

 

Thanks for clarifying. In my experience, a great tour guide is one who is a local expert with a passion for sharing "their" experience and location with us. It would be great if the cruise director and staff had the experience and resources to do this for Regent passengers. Again, this would be logistically difficult given the number of tours/day and the multiple ports involved. Perhaps there could be "special" tours (vs all tours) led by staff (who are qualified to do so). If a passenger wanted a "staff led tour" then they could sign up. Also, I'm sure that just because the ship is in port does not mean there are large numbers of staff sitting around with nothing to do. From what I have heard, they work quite hard already.

[rallydave]

Thanks for clarifying. In my experience, a great tour guide is one who is a local expert with a passion for sharing "their" experience and location with us. It would be great if the cruise director and staff had the experience and resources to do this for Regent passengers. Again, this would be logistically difficult given the number of tours/day and the multiple ports involved. Perhaps there could be "special" tours (vs all tours) led by staff (who are qualified to do so). If a passenger wanted a "staff led tour" then they could sign up. Also, I'm sure that just because the ship is in port does not mean there are large numbers of staff sitting around with nothing to do. From what I have heard, they work quite hard already.

 

Not sure where you got the idea that any of us were suggesting crew members being the tour guides. That is furthest from what we are suggesting. The tour guides stay as they are today with local people doing the guiding.

 

What we are suggesting is that at least one crew member come along in each bus as a sort of chaperone. They would carry a way to communicate with the ship if any issues occur during the tour such as illness, accident, late arrival back at the ship, etc. NO staff led tours are being suggested.

 

The crew members would simple be a safety net taking care of issues that the tour guide is not able to take care of. All crew members are capable of performing this job.

 

Hope this now makes more sense.

[WesW]

RallyDave is laser spot on.

 

Last December on our Voyager, Mumbai to Bail cruise, due to the exuberance of the Indian Guide in Cochin to help me off the Regent included excursion bus, led to me missing the last step & resulting in a nasty lower leg gash. Within seconds the Asst. Boutique Mgr on the Voyager (who was our Regent escort) pulled out antiseptic wipes from her first aid kit--believe her action prevented me from having a nasty infection.

 

Believe strongly Regent should have an escort on every excursion bus.

[Travelcat2]

RallyDave is laser spot on.

 

Last December on our Voyager, Mumbai to Bail cruise, due to the exuberance of the Indian Guide in Cochin to help me off the Regent included excursion bus, led to me missing the last step & resulting in a nasty lower leg gash. Within seconds the Asst. Boutique Mgr on the Voyager (who was our Regent escort) pulled out antiseptic wipes from her first aid kit--believe her action prevented me from having a nasty infection.

 

Believe strongly Regent should have an escort on every excursion bus.

 

I was hoping that you would post. I certainly remember when you were injured on your excursion during our cruise. Fortunately, there was someone onboard to assist you.

 

While contractors from the spa, casino, boutique, etc. cannot be forced to accompany an excursion, there would definitely be some volunteers (assuming that the Asst. Boutique Mgr. was a volunteer). For better or worse, Regent needs to know in advance how many escorts they have available for each excursion rather than randomly asking for volunteers at the last moment. The issue goes back to "included excursions". When there are 20+ buses going out, it may be a challenge to find someone for each bus. If Regent cannot have an escort for each bus, the excursion should be limited to the number of buses that can have escorts (IMO).

 

Speaking for my DH and I, we are willing to accept responsibility for ourselves but feel that communication between the ship and the excursion vehicle is critical.

Edited November 5, 2013 by Travelcat2

[Sunprince]

Not sure where you got the idea that any of us were suggesting crew members being the tour guides. That is furthest from what we are suggesting. The tour guides stay as they are today with local people doing the guiding.

 

What we are suggesting is that at least one crew member come along in each bus as a sort of chaperone. They would carry a way to communicate with the ship if any issues occur during the tour such as illness, accident, late arrival back at the ship, etc. NO staff led tours are being suggested.

 

The crew members would simple be a safety net taking care of issues that the tour guide is not able to take care of. All crew members are capable of performing this job.

 

Hope this now makes more sense.

 

Ok thanks, I got it now...I misunderstood what I thought you were suggesting. I can understand that some passengers may need more support when on an excursion. For me, I am happy to be responsible for myself but I do think someone back on the ship needs to monitor whether there are delays or major incidents on the excursions.

[Patti22]

I agree with TC2 and rallydave about having a Regent rep on excursions. I have seen these Regent reps help someone who has an injury (with a first aid kit), take someone to the bus who became too tired and also served as the "sheep dog" who made sure that all were back on the bus. Rallydave did a great job of identifying who these people might be and I always appreciate the fact that they have a way to assist with any issues that come up and a way to contact the ship if anything comes up (traffic in several ports in SA).

[kej1]

We booked a cruise from sydney to Auckland and have found all tours we are interested in ( even paid tours) are booked full. We are wait listed in every port despite being in a very high end Suite which supposedly has priority. Calling regent they tell me tough luck and our TA can do nothing. Very frustrating for a cruise line that advertises all inclusive tours. We will most likely go back to Seabourn after this trip.

[jhp]

We booked a cruise from sydney to Auckland and have found all tours we are interested in ( even paid tours) are booked full. We are wait listed in every port despite being in a very high end Suite which supposedly has priority. Calling regent they tell me tough luck and our TA can do nothing. Very frustrating for a cruise line that advertises all inclusive tours. We will most likely go back to Seabourn after this trip.

 

kej1, I just don't think this is going to happen for you. There's a mistake, surely. Hang in there. I hate to say this, but if you are in a "very high end Suite" it just won't. I am one who always books a "standard" suite, and may expect that, and have never have a had a cruise where I did not get most of what I wanted, and expect it when I book late. But it always seems to come through.