Regent Seven Seas Navigator - Disappoint

[seamefirst]

My husband and I decided to celebrate our 45th anniversary by booking the Regent Seven Seas Navigator on 10/29/15. We had always thought about going on Regent to experience an "upscale" all-inclusive cruise. Well, were we ever disappointed! From start to finish, we were not impressed with, service, food or all the luxury they tout in their literature. We wrote Regent and did get a "canned" reply. Will not cruise with Regent again, we will go back to Celebrity, Azamara, and Holland America.

[1982CruzStart]

So sorry to hear you had a disappointing experience. That is particularly crappy when you are cruising for a special occasion. We have not sailed on the Navigator, only on Voyager and had a wonderful experience those 3 times.

Hope all you future cruises return to being great experiences.

Edited January 10, 2016 by 1982CruzStart

[ChatKat in Ca.]

My husband and I decided to celebrate our 45th anniversary by booking the Regent Seven Seas Navigator on 10/29/15. We had always thought about going on Regent to experience an "upscale" all-inclusive cruise. Well, were we ever disappointed! From start to finish, we were not impressed with, service, food or all the luxury they tout in their literature. We wrote Regent and did get a "canned" reply. Will not cruise with Regent again, we will go back to Celebrity, Azamara, and Holland America.

 

 

Can you be specific so we can talk about it?

[Travelcat2]

Also sorry to read that you were disappointed in your cruise. Unless things that you were unhappy with were specific to the ship (vibration, public area sizes, etc.), your experience would likely have been the same on other ships. As is often said, Regent is not for everyone.

 

To others reading this, when we "try out" a different cruise line (Silversea for example), we take the shortest, most inexpensive cruise that we can find to avoid paying more money for something that we may not like and would not do this on a special occasion. I do realize that sometimes you will only splurge for a special occasion and are wiling to take the risk. Wish more people knew about Cruise Critic so they could read the good and not so good about each cruise line.

 

Want to second what 1982CruzStart posted. Do hope that your future cruises return to being great experiences.

[Calif Beachgal]

We sailed on the Navigator from Montreal to NY starting 10/8 - first time on that ship after numerous trips on the Mariner and Voyager. Our experience was great - from our lovely stateroom to the great food and service. Our only regret was the lack of a forward Observation Lounge that we were fully aware of but the itinerary sold us. The included excursions were all great and very well managed. CD Jamie Logan and his wife are two of the best and are nearly always around greeting passengers and answering all questions. We were very impressed by Sette Mare which became a lovely restaurant in the evening with excellent food. Also impressed that if the breakfast crowd grew too large to handle they opened Prime 7 next door for additional seating.

 

As others have mentioned it would be helpful to hear exactly what the problems were.

[cruiseluv]

The post made by the OP is not helpful at all. Its sort of a "Hit and run". I understand that it provides some outlet for her frustration, but not much anybody can comment due to the lack of details. Interesting she registered on CC just to give that brief "report".

[ChatKat in Ca.]

Good point, Maria. Yes, I agree. Also agree about Jamie and Dana.

[trouper75]

We have almost 300 nights aboard Regent ships. 2 weeks on the Navigator. IMHO the only cure for the Navigator is to send it to Davey Jones locker. Never again for us but we have 2 weks on the Mariner coming up and the Panama Canal next January to try out the Explorer. I urge seemefirst to try again on either the Mariner or the Voyager.

[UUNetBill]

I'd be curious to hear more details from the OP as well...we've got two previous cruises on Navigator and have liked them both, and we're booked again next summer...

[Travelcat2]

I am less worried about details than other posters. Sometimes posters have such high expectations of a "luxury" cruise line that only a private yacht would meet their expectations (IMHO). Perhaps they had one of the suites without a balcony or butler. One may almost expect a butler to take care of your every need. It is obvious that the OP did not do any research on Cruise Critic and (again IMO), this created an unrealistic expectation.

[TxnAquarian]

I am less worried about details than other posters. Sometimes posters have such high expectations of a "luxury" cruise line that only a private yacht would meet their expectations (IMHO). Perhaps they had one of the suites without a balcony or butler. One may almost expect a butler to take care of your every need. It is obvious that the OP did not do any research on Cruise Critic and (again IMO), this created an unrealistic expectation.

 

 

 

I think you're right with this point. When my husband and I did Crystal (it was his first, my eighth), I had built up the experience so much that he was underwhelmed. He thought it was lovely, but I think I did him a disservice by going on and on about how great they are. We are doing Regent in June (his first, my fourth), and I am not touting it as anything amazing or building it up....although the outrageous price has probably set the expectations for him already lol

 

It's too bad the OP didn't enjoy their cruise, but I don't think the Navigator is a great ship to gain an introduction to Regent. I think they would have been better off on the Voyager....but then, who knows, maybe they would have found problems with any ship.

 

 

 

Michael

[Travelcat2]

Michael - it will be interesting to learn what your husband thinks of Regent. Definitely agree that unrealistic expectations can be detrimental. Hope you both enjoy your next Regent cruise:)

[Catpow]

The original poster was not the only one who had issues with this particular cruise - and this poster had been a Regent passenger previously.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com.au/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=516672

[Travelcat2]

The original poster was not the only one who had issues with this particular cruise - and this poster had been a Regent passenger previously.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com.au/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=516672

 

Very interesting! Must admit that "some" cruises are not as good as others. Our worst Regent cruise was on the Voyager - our favorite ship (this is one out of approximately 23 cruises). This was not enough to have us leave Regent.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

Conjecture is worthless and strays from the original post. Detailed information from the OP is really what would be helpful

[cruiseluv]

The original poster was not the only one who had issues with this particular cruise - and this poster had been a Regent passenger previously.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com.au/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=516672

 

Just read that review. His cabin was way back, not surprised he experienced all the shaking. Surprising he had never read about the Navigator if he's a member of Cruise critic. I will agree that the staff were lying when they acted like nothing is wrong. The position of Guest Relations on the Navigator must be tough.

[tommiroke]

Just read that review. His cabin was way back, not surprised he experienced all the shaking. Surprising he had never read about the Navigator if he's a member of Cruise critic. I will agree that the staff were lying when they acted like nothing is wrong. The position of Guest Relations on the Navigator must be tough.

 

Reading the entire review shows that the vibration on this particular cruise was a propeller problem that was over and above the normal aft vibration and the staff appeared to refuse to explain the situation stating that nothing was wrong when they had to be aware of the underwater team waiting in Montreal to affect repairs.

 

This lack of communications appears to be a common issue with Regent and Oceania. If in fact the GM lied as was described and threatened to throw the OP off the ship, he certainly should be fired immediately. Defending real and known issues with lies is completely unacceptable and threatening passengers with real issues is abhorrent!!!!! The OP was a Naval Officer with many years at sea on ships with much worse vibration than Navigator and like others who have no issues in aft suites on Navigator, the usual small vibration should not have been an issue so he may have been aware of the small vibration yet chose aft not expecting the extreme issues over and above the normal vibration.

[Travelcat2]

Reading the entire review shows that the vibration on this particular cruise was a propeller problem that was over and above the normal aft vibration and the staff appeared to refuse to explain the situation stating that nothing was wrong when they had to be aware of the underwater team waiting in Montreal to affect repairs.

 

This lack of communications appears to be a common issue with Regent and Oceania. If in fact the GM lied as was described and threatened to throw the OP off the ship, he certainly should be fired immediately. Defending real and known issues with lies is completely unacceptable and threatening passengers with real issues is abhorrent!!!!! The OP was a Naval Officer with many years at sea on ships with much worse vibration than Navigator and like others who have no issues in aft suites on Navigator, the usual small vibration should not have been an issue so he may have been aware of the small vibration yet chose aft not expecting the extreme issues over and above the normal vibration.

 

I went to the review section to find the OP's review -- the only reviews I could find for October cruises were rated 5 stars. Here is a link http://www.cruisecritic.com/v-5/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=131 .

 

The review that you mentioned was from someone else (definitely a negative review) that sailed in September. Just wanted to clarify.

[tommiroke]

I went to the review section to find the OP's review -- the only reviews I could find for October cruises were rated 5 stars. Here is a link http://www.cruisecritic.com/v-5/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=131 .

 

The review that you mentioned was from someone else (definitely a negative review) that sailed in September. Just wanted to clarify.

 

Your clarification is completely unnecessary. That September review, while not from the OP's cruise is a great example of completely unsatisfactory service and of a Hotel Manager who needs to be fired for his actions. That review from an experienced sailor describes the attitude on the Navigator which most likely continued to the OP's cruise which was also unsatisfactory.

 

While without additional information, difficult to know exactly what went wrong with the OP's cruise, the Sept review identifies what seems to be systemic issues aboard the Navigator.

[UUNetBill]

I have to admit, those photos of the carpet and the peeling drawer veneer bother me. I've noticed little things like that before, the occasional stain or scratch, but those carpets were terrible. I know others have said that the carpet they use shows 'discoloration' depending on how the light hits it, but that doesn't look like bad lighting to me, it looks like obvious and extensive staining. And that repair was terrible, too - it looks like it was done by a 5-year old with a butter knife and Elmer's glue.

 

I'm not overly concerned as our next Navigator cruise isn't until after the drydock this spring, but good Lord, that looked bad. Here's hoping they get the water issues fixed by then, both brown water and flooding...

 

:(

[ChatKat in Ca.]

Those water issues have been documented for years

[fizzy]

Without hearing about a great, big dry dock.... why are some of these maintenance issues not being corrected on a daily basis? No...not the vibration. Staffing should be corrected and provisions could be enhanced. You do only get one chance to make a first impression. To find out that many of these issues are ongoing shows a lack of respect to customers. What happened to the hotel director on this ship? I'm wondering if he is getting orders from above and is basically powerless to take corrective action?

[Travelcat2]

There are some excellent recent reviews of the Navigator. Certainly not everyone is disappointed in the ship, crew, food or service. The staffing "issues" are the same on every Regent ship. While staffing up for the new ship, there have been some minor hiccups. On our final questionnaire last month I did mention the need for better training as there are new crew members on just about every cruise and many do not have enough training. I've gone as far as suggesting that Regent "encourage" Celebrity and Princess crew members to join Regent (much as Viking Ocean has done with Regent crew members). IMO, hiring staff with mainstream or premium ship experience is better than no experience at all.

 

The Navigator clearly needs to be refurbished. While I have no doubt that the carpets are clean, they are stained and the frequent cleaning is not taking care of it. If you think back to the years of issues with carpeting on the Voyager, Mariner and Navigator, the carpets appeared dirty after a couple of months. I do wonder how the Navigator carpeting could get so stained since the last refurbishment. Yes, the furniture needs to be replaced and it will be done next year (a bit late but it will be taken care of). This does appear to be a big negative in terms of booking cruises on the Navigator prior to dry dock.

 

Not trying to start a water issue subject but we have experienced "brown" water on all three ships at one time or another. It is more prevalent on the Navigator. I believe that it has something to do with the tanks -- the rust sediment at the bottom. When it gets stirred up, it can go into the pipes and ultimately into passenger suites. I do wonder why the tanks are made of a material that rusts!?

 

I have sailed with Davor previously and he is definitely one of our favorite General Managers (along with Franck and Andreas). I would not be so quick to judge him as we do not know the situation. On our last cruise my DH saw someone screaming at the top of their lungs to the Receptionists outside of the G.M.'s office. I seriously doubt if Davor would threaten to remove someone from the ship if they were calmly discussing issues with him in his office.

 

Regent has had communication issues in the past but I've recently seen signs of improvement. The Mariner had some type of mechanical issue last month and the Captain explained to everyone (via the intercom - making sure that it went into all suites and public areas) what was going on and why we had to lessen our speed for the next 2-3 days. Also, this month, Regent put a notice on their website advising customers of a telephone problem and giving an alternate number.

 

In any case, the OP did not write that review. Other posters that sailed on the Navigator on the same month as posters gave it 5 star reviews. It seems that we are making judgements with almost zero information (other than was purportedly happened the previous month on the Navigator). I am not going to give more credence to a negative review than to a positive one -- unless I knew the whole story.

Edited January 11, 2016 by Travelcat2

[fizzy]

[quote)

While I have no doubt that the carpets are clean, they are stained and the frequent cleaning is not taking care of it. .

 

When the coffee stain on my t-shirt does not wash out and the stain remains....I pitch it. I don't care who or how lovely the GM is on the ship....my thought is that he may have zero power to take matters in hand for correction due to orders from the top. If random people are reporting the same things I guess it must be that they are making it up. Why not fix things on board that are fixable during the sailing to at least give the impression of some good faith attempts?

[Travelcat2]

[quote)

While I have no doubt that the carpets are clean, they are stained and the frequent cleaning is not taking care of it. .

When the coffee stain on my t-shirt does not wash out and the stain remains....I pitch it. I don't care who or how lovely the GM is on the ship....my thought is that he may have zero power to take matters in hand for correction due to orders from the top. If random people are reporting the same things I guess it must be that they are making it up. Why not fix things on board that are fixable during the sailing to at least give the impression of some good faith attempts?[/QUOTE]

 

I am not certain what it is that you expect the G.M. to fix. They do have power to do many things but do report back to their direct superior in Miami which makes sense. My only point about the G.M. is that he would not randomly threaten to remove a person from the ship. There has to be a darn good reason.

 

They undoubtedly wish that throwing out their carpeting was as easy as discarding a t-shirt but this is obviously not the case. These ships are in operation 24/7 and the crew is always fixing items, repainting the outside of the ship, re-varnishing handrails, etc. They do as much as they can do while there are passengers on the ship. Even the constant re-varnishing of the handrails becomes upsetting to guests due to the odor.

 

While on board last month I inquired as to why the refurbished suites (upper suites) had lovely bathrooms but the sink area had the old "gold" marble that makes it appear dated. The response was simply that there is not enough time to do it during dry dock and it is not something that can be done while at sea while passengers are on board.

 

I vividly recall being upset the first time I boarded the Voyager and saw what appeared to be dirty or stained carpets. After that cruise I decided that there is always something to find fault with. Either I was going to give up cruising, give up Regent (which we enjoy very much) or concentrate on how many things are wonderful about the ship, the crew, the food, service, etc. From reading the last two reviews from passengers on the Navigator, it seems that they did not let the physical condition/faults of the ship ruin their vacation.

 

P.S. Not sure what is wrong with the quotes - I quoted fizzy and it ended up quoting myself. I have highlighted the fizzy's comment.

Edited January 11, 2016 by Travelcat2