Culinary Arts Kitchen

[Travelcat2]

Rick, if you think about it, this is truly not an emergency (people having difficulty getting into and out of Texas and other areas affected by the hurricane is). We need to keep our priorities straight.

 

Regent personnel do not sit around all day reading Cruise Critic (keep in mind that 95% of their customers do not post on Cruise Critic). Since Mike Moore knows about the website, has anyone yet asked him about this? If not, why not?

 

As a couple of us have indicated, the ability to book classes was on the website and apparently it isn't now. Had it been, the classes would have been filled up by now. It doesn't matter how long ago you booked - what matters is when classes are open for booking. This is one area that I agree Regent needs to figure out. It is 90 days, 60 days, 30 days? Passengers need to know when they can book (and hopefully, it will be a level playing field).

 

I have taken classes on Oceania and definitely do not think that they are a waste of time. The classes seem to target cooks with experience but not tons of experience. After all, some passengers in the class do cook but are hoping to learn how to make pasta (for instance). Those experienced with making pasta, preparing fish and other things that are offered in the classes are not likely to get as much out of it as others. Both my DH and I loved the classes. And, they should be better than on Oceania since you have to share a cooking station there but have your own station on Regent.

 

The lack of a chef for Thanksgiving could be an interesting dilemma. However, IMO, Regent should still be booking classes since they have plenty of time to entice one of their chefs to be onboard Explorer using this big U.S. holiday.

[jctdlt]

Speaking of Thanksgiving, anyone. Know if Explorer has a special dinner?

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

Speaking of Thanksgiving, anyone. Know if Explorer has a special dinner?

 

 

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Yes - they have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on the menu. If Thanksgiving is a sea day, they also do a parade that ends with Santa Claus coming down the stairs (or going up the stairs). It is a funny parade that makes a lot of people smile. Pretty sure that the parade it is done on all of the ships but don't remember much about it last Thanksgiving when we were on Explorer -- just remember the dinner. This year we'll be on the Mariner on Thanksgiving -- really looking forward to it.

[paratrooper69]

Well, much to much time for me one this one. But Flossie009 I couldn't agree with you more-you said everything and I do hope Regent is reading as they need help on customer service.

Paratrooper69, if your on the TA this Nov 2017-this would be a mistake on Regents part if sold out and not stating that information. I booked in late May and deposit was paid on May 30th. I asked about cooking classes at that time, my TA called Regent and was told no classes could be booked at that time. I also called Regent once a month to check as I wanted to take a few classes for fun, each time I was told Regent wasn't ready. Now that I've paid for the full cruise I've called 2 times on Friday and on 2 time on Saturday just to be sure-Regent said not ready yet and they have gotten many calls on this.

TC2, The more that I think of your answer "THIS IS HARDLY AN EMERGENCY" how sad is that answer. You know when this cruise sails full that's over $6,000,000 in revenue fare before anyone spends any money-I really think Regent can and should do a better this! Rick

I am on from rome. The customize link was there, when I first booked. I looked at the classes and decided they weren't going to teach me anything, so i didn't sign up for any. All I know is that by November 2016, they were all showing as filled.

 

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[EAGLESLOVER]

We were on the Mariner for Thanksgiving several years ago. They did have their own version of the Macy's thanksgiving parade. It was a lot of fun!!![emoji4]

 

 

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[CruisetheCs]

IMO, Regent has no responsibility to report on this board or any other board. However, have you considered that this thread blossomed over the weekend and Regent is closed? This is hardly an emergency!

 

If you reread my post, I did not suggest that someone should have posted on CC yesterday nor did I hint that this was an emergency. Rather I said that it would be interesting to see if anyone from Regent posted here sometime.

 

What I was saying is that Regent should be proactive by anticipating rather obvious questions that guests will have such as the process for making reservations for the culinary center. When there are problems with a procedure, the problems should be noted online so guests don’t have to search for answers to obvious questions. If the issue of reservations for the culinary center has been floating around behind the scenes for sometime, as I gather it has from posts on this thread, then Regent should have addressed the issue prior to any post on CC.

 

Nor did I say that Regent has a responsibility to respond to CC posts on this board. But if they have a competent communications division Regent will respond in some manner to issues that arise on CC as well as in other forums. What I did highlight is that Regent has a history of not being responsive to some issues raised on CC. The lack of any credible explanation for schedule changes due to tides is a big communications fail when the credibility of the basis for the schedule change is a repeated lengthy focus on a major public discussion board.

 

A competent communications division would have an internal communications system in place so that Regent agents can give out accurate information rather than vagaries. There should be a mechanism to identify common questions that come in to call centers and a mechanism for ensuring that such questions are answered correctly by agents in the call centers as well as online.

[ronrick1943]

Rick, if you think about it, this is truly not an emergency (people having difficulty getting into and out of Texas and other areas affected by the hurricane is). We need to keep our priorities straight.

 

TC2, what a cheap shot! We all know of what happened in Texas is really bad, that's why I (and I guessing a lot of others) send a check to the RED CROSS on Saturday.

 

The problem with Regent on the cooking class should have been taken care of months ago and would have with a competent communications and marketing department as CruisettheCs stated in her post (which was nicely done).

 

I enjoy your post and get good information from them, however you truly have problem when Regent gets it wrong and this time they did. Also Regent was working over the weekend selling cruises or I wouldn't have been able to call and reach an agent. PS/I made a mistake-I booked and paid the deposit in June 2016. Rick

[DaveFr]

Speaking of Thanksgiving, anyone. Know if Explorer has a special dinner?

 

 

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They have a special Thanksgiving menu that evening when Thanksgiving occurs during a cruise. This year, Thanksgiving is one day before our Explorer TA begins so I doubt there will be a special dinner.

[Travelcat2]

TC2, what a cheap shot! We all know of what happened in Texas is really bad, that's why I (and I guessing a lot of others) send a check to the RED CROSS on Saturday.

 

The problem with Regent on the cooking class should have been taken care of months ago and would have with a competent communications and marketing department as CruisettheCs stated in her post (which was nicely done).

 

I enjoy your post and get good information from them, however you truly have problem when Regent gets it wrong and this time they did. Also Regent was working over the weekend selling cruises or I wouldn't have been able to call and reach an agent. PS/I made a mistake-I booked and paid the deposit in June 2016. Rick

 

I brought up Texas because it is related ..... not to guilt anyone. There are quite a few people from Texas that sail on Regent. While the least of their problems is getting to their port of embarkation right now, getting home from a cruise is a big deal. Regent knew that they had customers that would be affected and always are proactive in these instances. So, my point was that their focus is likely on the passengers that need their help rather than on the Culinary Kitchen classes.

 

It seems that some people read only the positive parts of my posts. I agreed with you that Regent needs to get their act together and let passengers know exactly when booking is open for culinary classes. Regent did get it wrong and I did not defend them. Rather, I gave ideas of how one might get a correct answer about what is going on with the classes on your cruise. I also mentioned that this is the weekend and later added that Regent has other, more important things on their plate at the moment. IMO, this is not defending them - it is giving advice on how to handle a difficult situation that cannot be handled at the moment.

 

Yes - Regent has had communication issues in the past (much worse than what we experience nowadays). To be clear...... I think that Regent should have exact dates that their passengers are aware of as to when they can book classes. I believe that they should be taking reservations for your cruise - even if they don't exactly which chef will be onboard in November.

 

The options to contact Mike Moore, Jason O'Keefe or even Jason Montague are still there. However, I would not expect an immediate reply for reasons that I've given already. Regent is a fairly large company and it is likely that these gentlemen are not even aware of the issue.

[paratrooper69]

I just went to my booked cruise page and the culinary page is still there and still sold out. That is why you can't book them now. Maybe this discussion would have been better served on the Roll Call forum.

[DaveFr]

I just went to my booked cruise page and the culinary page is still there and still sold out. That is why you can't book them now. Maybe this discussion would have been better served on the Roll Call forum.

Thanks for the information. I have a feeling that you're seeing the culinary page because your cruises are startiing on Nov. 8 and not Nov. 24 like the rest of us.

 

Due to poor website design in the past, Regent has frequently said that excursions were sold out when they were simply unavailable for booking. They use the sold out designation to cover two distinct situations.

 

IMO, the same thing is happening here. Regent is really telling you the classes are not available for booking while not telling the rest of us anything on the website. At the very least, Regent should put a notice on the website about the current unavailability of culinary classes on the Nov. 24 cruise.

[ronrick1943]

I just went to my booked cruise page and the culinary page is still there and still sold out. That is why you can't book them now. Maybe this discussion would have been better served on the Roll Call forum.

 

Thanks for the information and this does surprise me. I booked the cruise and have a invoice on June 8, 2016 that my cruise was booked and deposit was paid in full. At that time I asked about the classes and was told they can't be booked, I also called about every month and always told no, finally was told they would be up for booking when the tours could be booked. Booked the tours and was told no cooking classes yet. When I called both Friday and Saturday this week was told they had no idea when they would be posted and no one could book until they are posted, Regent had no idea when that would be for the Nov 24th Lisbon/Miami cruise-to check back later. So I'm surprised at what you say as others on this post say the same thing I'm saying regarding the classes. I do plan to write Mr. Keefe as this is not the way I want to feel or start a cruise on Regent.

Thanks for your input.

Rick

[DaveFr]

Rick, read my post just before yours. I think it explains some things.

[ILoveMyDogs]

Yes - they have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on the menu. If Thanksgiving is a sea day, they also do a parade that ends with Santa Claus coming down the stairs (or going up the stairs). It is a funny parade that makes a lot of people smile. Pretty sure that the parade it is done on all of the ships but don't remember much about it last Thanksgiving when we were on Explorer -- just remember the dinner. This year we'll be on the Mariner on Thanksgiving -- really looking forward to it.

 

you should have given a spoiler alert about the parade for those of us on this sailing JK

[jctdlt]

Yes - they have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on the menu. If Thanksgiving is a sea day, they also do a parade that ends with Santa Claus coming down the stairs (or going up the stairs). It is a funny parade that makes a lot of people smile. Pretty sure that the parade it is done on all of the ships but don't remember much about it last Thanksgiving when we were on Explorer -- just remember the dinner. This year we'll be on the Mariner on Thanksgiving -- really looking forward to it.

 

 

 

Thank you. Looking forward to Santa!

 

 

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[ronrick1943]

Thanks for the information. I have a feeling that you're seeing the culinary page because your cruises are startiing on Nov. 8 and not Nov. 24 like the rest of us.

Due to poor website design in the past, Regent has frequently said that excursions were sold out when they were simply unavailable for booking. They use the sold out designation to cover two distinct situations.

IMO, the same thing is happening here. Regent is really telling you the classes are not available for booking while not telling the rest of us anything on the website. At the very least, Regent should put a notice on the website about the current unavailability of culinary classes on the Nov. 24 cruise.

 

Let's hope this is the case, thanks so much. I though I need read it but I guess I must have miss it or I was writing as you were and got posted before me. Rick

[Travelcat2]

you should have given a spoiler alert about the parade for those of us on this sailing JK

 

Sorry that I didn't give a spoiler alert. Hoping that this is something that you can look forward to! Which ship will you be on for Thanksgiving?

[jctdlt]

Sorry that I didn't give a spoiler alert. Hoping that this is something that you can look forward to! Which ship will you be on for Thanksgiving?

 

 

 

We are on the Explorer. First time and excited. Leaving from Rome.

 

 

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[ILoveMyDogs]

Sorry that I didn't give a spoiler alert. Hoping that this is something that you can look forward to! Which ship will you be on for Thanksgiving?

 

The Explorer . This will be our first transatlantic cruise.

[Travelcat2]

The Explorer . This will be our first transatlantic cruise.

 

We did two transatlantic cruises on Explorer - one in November and one in March, It was wonderful. Hope that you enjoy every minute!:D I believe that John Barron (C.D.) will be onboard for the crossing. Make sure not to miss his show -- it is the best show on Regent!

[beaujolais]

Thanks for the information. I have a feeling that you're seeing the culinary page because your cruises are startiing on Nov. 8 and not Nov. 24 like the rest of us.

 

Due to poor website design in the past, Regent has frequently said that excursions were sold out when they were simply unavailable for booking. They use the sold out designation to cover two distinct situations.

 

IMO, the same thing is happening here. Regent is really telling you the classes are not available for booking while not telling the rest of us anything on the website. At the very least, Regent should put a notice on the website about the current unavailability of culinary classes on the Nov. 24 cruise.

 

Thanks DaveFr this seems to be the most obvious reason as to why no-one is able to book any classes yet so we will all have to await Regent deciding when to make the classes available. Eventually there are going to be some great "chefs" on board

 

Just as a side I look forward to meeting you all at the M & M gathering

[paratrooper69]

Sorry. The only culinary classes showing are indeed on the Rome to Lisbon leg, and they are still shown as closed.

 

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[Travelcat2]

Sorry. The only culinary classes showing are indeed on the Rome to Lisbon leg, and they are still shown as closed.

 

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Since there will obviously be a chef on the Rome to Lisbon leg, I suppose it is possible that there won't be culinary classes on the crossing due to the holiday? It would be surprising but certainly is possible. I think that it was on one of our Explorer crossings that there wasn't a Cruise Consultant onboard so we couldn't make onboard bookings -- it may have been last November.

[paratrooper69]

Since there will obviously be a chef on the Rome to Lisbon leg, I suppose it is possible that there won't be culinary classes on the crossing due to the holiday? It would be surprising but certainly is possible. I think that it was on one of our Explorer crossings that there wasn't a Cruise Consultant onboard so we couldn't make onboard bookings -- it may have been last November.

Definitely a chef on this leg, there is an excursion with the chef to the markets in Barcelona, with a meal at a 2 star Michelin restaurant, tapas of course.

[Travelcat2]

Definitely a chef on this leg, there is an excursion with the chef to the markets in Barcelona, with a meal at a 2 star Michelin restaurant, tapas of course.

 

The culinary excursions are top notch and great fun! Enjoy!