Regent Seven Seas Navigator - Disappoint

[fizzy]

What are the duties of a GM on any ship? If something of a repair nature is clearly brought to his attention, would he not contact the proper crew to take care of the matter? Would he not re-direct staff to dining areas where service has bogged down? It might even require authorizing staff overtime pay to ensure that Regent quality does not suffer. What exactly would be the job description for this job? If his hands are tied or he is not interested in some of the unglamorous aspects of the job, perhaps the term GM is a misnomer.

[fizzy]

On the Regent website under the careers heading is a very clear job description for what is expected for a Regent GM. It is not my opinion and it is not a bunch of maybe stuff. It is exactly how I would have expected it to read. What is done or not in reality is a different discussion.

[Travelcat2]

Sorry fizzy - still not "getting it". :confused: Is the G.M. suppose to have carpeting replaced mid-sea?

[RachelG]

I personally know this GM and cannot imagine him threatening to put someone off the ship unless the person was bein completely impossible to deal with. It would have been interesting to be a fly on the wall to hear the conversation.

[fizzy]

I know you're still not getting it. That's OK.

I absolutely believe that there is some spare carpeting onboard for any number of emergencies of one sort or another. Certainly a good will gesture which probably would have resulted in those pictures not being posted. I also do not believe that those carpets magically looked that way overnight. The GM should walk his ship regularly and make note of those things that need immediate attention. Reading the Regent GM job description was all that I needed to see. These types of issues are not ones that I have noticed in the past but maybe you have just gotten used to them.

[Travelcat2]

I know you're still not getting it. That's OK.

I absolutely believe that there is some spare carpeting onboard for any number of emergencies of one sort or another. Certainly a good will gesture which probably would have resulted in those pictures not being posted. I also do not believe that those carpets magically looked that way overnight. The GM should walk his ship regularly and make note of those things that need immediate attention. Reading the Regent GM job description was all that I needed to see. These types of issues are not ones that I have noticed in the past but maybe you have just gotten used to them.

 

Guess we have to agree to disagree. The G.M. has no ability to change the carpeting - whether they have extra carpeting available "somewhere" or not. I doubt if Regent carries extra carpeting on regular cruises. While it is possible that there is a limited amount of extra carpeting on the ship (doubt it), they would also need carpet installers and would have to install carpeting while passengers are on board.

 

The G.M.'s do regularly walk through the ships and note what needs to be fixed or attended to. This information is probably reported to Miami who either provides the tools/staff/products or decides to wait for the next refurbishment or a port where someone can come onboard and fix the problem in a few hours..

 

Finally, I do notice things but don't stress or become upset by them. What I am adamant about is service and food and Regent does not disappoint.

[fizzy]

My final thought would be that if you find stained and dirty carpet acceptable, who am I to argue? Despite the issues of "what IS that stain?", I would worry if there is more of a systemic problem if this is acceptable in public areas. Done.

[DaveFr]

While there are certainly a few stains on the carpets on the ships, the large areas that appear to be stained are not stained. Instead, these areas exhibit what is called permanent pile reversal shading. Google "permanent pile reversal shading" to read about it. You'll see many pictures of carpets that look like the carpets on Regent.

 

Basically, in permanent pile reversal shading, some carpet tufts bend in a different direction than tufts in adjacent areas. This causes light to reflect off the bent tufts while being absorbed by the straight tufts. This is why some areas appear lighter than adjacent areas that appear dark. It has nothing to do with good or bad light. A sporting event, such as the World Series, where the grass appears to have alternating light and dark stripes, shows what happens when light reflects differently off adjacent areas. The grass is the same color but is mowed in different directions causing the appearance of alternating light and dark stripes.

 

Replacing shaded areas with new carpet is unlikely to fix the problem. New carpet replacing shaded carpet tends to exhibit the same shading in a relatively short time. Even if Regent had extra rolls of carpet onboard, when would they install the new carpet? Installing carpet is a messy, noisy operation. In addition, the glue used to attach the carpet pad to the floor smells and the smell would linger for a week or more. Take the infrequent complaints about sewage smells and multiply them many, many times to get an idea of the passenger response to frequent carpet installation.

[macleay]

Sorry fizzy - still not "getting it". :confused: Is the G.M. suppose to have carpeting replaced mid-sea?

 

I haven't sailed Regent and am not commenting on the Navigator, just on the question of whether a carpet can be replaced mid-sea. Yes it can, and the carpets in the hallways were replaced on our recent cruise on Norwegian. It took about 1-1/2 days for the hallway our room was located on. We had to watch our step, but the workers were very accommodating and we had no problem with it.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

We were on a sailing on the Navigator in 2006/2007? When they did a soft goods replacement and were refurbishing cabins and replacing carpet all over the ship. The workers were land based people and were staying in passenger cabins. They replaced the carpet in both cabins and hallways during our cruise

[Travelcat2]

Based on what DaveFr said, I would not want to see, hear or smell carpeting being replaced while on a cruise and I am happy that this is something that Regent no longer does (based on the year posted -- this was done when it was owned by the Carlsons - not PCH or NCLH).

 

macleay, have to give you a lot of credit for having such a good attitude about having this type of work done on a cruise that you were paying good money to enjoy. Had it been me I would have been in the General Manager's office within minutes as the smell of glue gives me a horrible headache!

 

Dave, I do remember the explanation you gave as it was the same issue on the Voyager. For some odd reason we have sailed only on the Mariner for over a year and have looked at the hallway carpeting and the carpet in front of the elevators. They seem to be holding up well without shading or other issues. The one area that used to show wear (outside of the Observation Lounge) is no longer carpeted which seems to have solved the problem.

 

Getting back to the Navigator reviews, there are two recent positive reviews, one negative review and this thread where the OP did not really explain what the issues were. Based on that, perhaps the Navigator is neither as bad - or good as we are reading.

[Suite Travels]

We also have seen carpet and furniture replaced on several cruises sometimes it cannot wait until dry dock. I know on Crystal they do a lot of the work at night. I would think the captain and the HD would make those decisions.

[xrvlcruiser]

A reminder: the Navigator goes into Dry Dock in April of this year.

 

Peggy

[ChatKat in Ca.]

At no time was there any glue smell

[macleay]

We didn't have any glue smell that I noticed either. It really wasn't a big deal, the workers were very accommodating--we'd have to step around the carpet and pad in the areas they were working, but that was it.

[RiotAct]

The post made by the OP is not helpful at all. Its sort of a "Hit and run".

 

There seem to be quite a few of those lately...

[Travelcat2]

It is sad in a way that people join CC or make their first post in order to leave a short, poor review. Many times OPS that do this get flamed. Fortunately this was not the case here. The OP probably did sail on the Navigator and either had not done enough research on Regent and had unrealistic expectations, had an aft suite in rough seas or learned that Regent is simply not for them. Perhaps they did not return to this thread since there is nothing anyone can really say to change the experience they had.

[newlondon]

Jacquie, I continue to address you that way as that is what your e-mail uses. If I am incorrect please let me know. You state that all you are interested in is service and food. Not going to get into the service, in general fine, but we take issue with your statement that Regent delivers on food. You have read many of my previous posts and know what I refer to.

[Travelcat2]

Jacquie, I continue to address you that way as that is what your e-mail uses. If I am incorrect please let me know. You state that all you are interested in is service and food. Not going to get into the service, in general fine, but we take issue with your statement that Regent delivers on food. You have read many of my previous posts and know what I refer to.

 

For some reason I like the way that you spell my name so keep doing it:)

 

I know that food is subjective and I truly have had better food on our last two cruises on the Mariner (September and November) than we have ever had. And, I really do like the food on Regent better than Oceania (except Jacques which is amazing on the Riviera). This doesn't mean that you or others will agree with me. I may have "different" tastes...... give me salmon sashimi every day for lunch and I'll be thrilled. Also love fish (particularly sea bass from South America), a good steak once in a while, Regent's Osso Buco (once per cruise), and some good pasta with red sauce. Also love when Regent has a whole turkey that they are carving for lunch and enjoy the Indian buffet with authentic spices that you can add yourself. Also enjoy their consommé and a few other soups.

 

What I don't like on Regent is their Mexican buffet (but it was better on our last cruise). I don't care for salads in general but take a little of it with blue cheese sprinkles -- at least there are non-salady (made up that word) that I can put on my plate. I have too many dishes in Prime 7 that I do not enjoy but also have had excellent steak. I feel the same way about Signatures but they usually prepare rack of lamb to perfection (at least for me). Signatures has also improved quite a bit - hoping that when it becomes "Chartreuse" it will be good. I'm not crazy about some of their chicken dishes but love the small chickens that are carved at La Veranda.

 

My point is that are many things that I find excellent on Regent - more than enough for anyone to eat. I have had to learn which items that they prepare that do not meet my tastes. After so many cruises on Regent, I can pretty much guess which days there will be menu's that I may not like. And, unlike on Oceania, we can order just about anything that we like 24 hours in advance. We generally order steamed lobster, Miso Glazed Sea Bass, Chateaubriand or rack of lamb in advance.

 

Almost forgot - we don't generally care for the potatoes/veggies on our plate so, if we want potatoes or veggies (I don't like veggies either - kind of goes with my feelings about salad) we order them separately -- either mashed or baked potato (my DH orders French fries).

 

Anyway, you now know much more about my food tastes than you wanted to know but hopefully also understand why I feel Regent's food is so good.

[Jim B]

Seamefirst:

Sorry that your 1st experience doing a Regent cruise was on the Navigator.

Been fortunate to cruised on Voyager, Mariner, Diamond, Paul Gauguin, Navigator, and in 2017 Explorer. Course Diamond and Paul Gauguin are no longer in the Regent fleet.

Because of itineraries we liked, the Mariner is the ship we have been on the most,

but say we like it and the Voyager about equal. That said we did one cruise on the Navigator

and will not do another.

Wish you would reconsider and give Regent another try on Voyager, Mariner, or Explorer.

Think you may have a way different positive attitude after doing that.

[annual cruiser 63]

Having done eleven cruises over fifteen years and read this website religiously, I cannot understand why Regent has not sold Navigator. For cruisers who have sailed Regent's other ships, many avoid Navigator. For those like us who travelled Navigator first, Regent is a non- starter. Sitting in the back of the ship still within sight of Miami and listening to the bottles behind the bar shake rattle and roll, we knew there was way too much vibration for us; problems with the room plumbing and the inability of the staff to fix moved us along to other lines.

[forgap]

I'll weigh in since we were on for the 2nd segment of the world cruise this year.

- no brown water

- beautiful refurbishment

- terrible aft vibration that is not felt in mid or forward cabins

- too much furniture in some public spaces making it feel crowded

- beautiful library

- does not handle the sea very well - rolls with the ocean even in mild swells - impossible in rough seas.

- service and amenities the same as on all Regent ships

 

Bottom line for me is that I will never sail on Navigator again. I realize that she is a favorite of some passengers, but, I think it's time to sell a retrofitted Russian "spy" ship! But, Regent has its reasons for keeping her on line and I have a choice as to which ship I sail!

[GOARMY]

Second most of the most recently-posted overview. History: Several sailings on Navigator--Montreal to New York, or back the other way. Most recently; within the month while doing a Miami-Amazon River-Miami cruise.

 

Based on homework, including input from our TA before that initial boarding, selected a forward suite. Have continued that pattern. Vibrations experienced while aft at lounges and La Veranda were not concerning. We also benefited from the itinerary and time of year as to sea (or St. Lawrence Seaway) conditions. Moderate.

 

Outstanding service and cuisine on all cruises. Certainly, rocking and rolling on a moderate sea while in one's cabin will detract from the overall experience. That's why we book "crossing cruises"--Atlantic or Pacific--on the other Regent ships (Explorer in March-April from Miami to Venice, for example). Bigger is better

 

Wait for it--wait for Explorer II (or whatever name Regent decides) to come on-line in 2020. I would wager that Navigator will be "retired".

 

GOARMY!

[UUNetBill]

Wait for it--wait for Explorer II (or whatever name Regent decides) to come on-line in 2020. I would wager that Navigator will be "retired".

 

GOARMY!

I've been wondering about the fate of Navigator once Regent launches the new ship. I don't know if Regent wants to be a 5-ship line or not.

 

Although I have a soft spot for the Navigator (she was our first cruise ever) I could see them either selling her - or - maybe she would be a good candidate for a reconfiguration into something more along the lines of an excursion ship - empty out some of the aft suites and add Zodiacs or other goodies and sail her to some more 'out-of-the-way' places. Yeah, she shakes and bounces, but she's still a pretty robust little tub.

[JPR]

Wow, this old January thread came back from the dead today for some reason, like a horror movie monster.

 

My understanding is that the Navigator is Regent's most profitable ship. Fine for cruises on relatively calm waters, I agree with the views that she sails the oceans like a cork....