Disappointed.. 200+ days on Regent. Weird on Explorer

[Travelcat2]

I think that most of us have had disappointing missed ports (for various reasons).  That is the risk we take by cruising rather than visiting places on land vacations.  However, it is thankfully rare that the Captain and disabled passengers are blamed for the missed ports.

 

 

[Hambagahle]

Could it be that the waiter who was asked and replied it was the Captain's decision was referring to the head of his/her section?  I know in the US the person heading up a restaurant section is often referred to as the captain...

 

We have been on a ship when relatively low swells prevented tendering...the wind wouldn't allow the ship to be moored in such a way as to protect the tenders and getting from the tender platform into the tender was considered dangerous.  So the port was cancelled.  We were on Caribbean cruise...can't remember which ship but might well have been the Navigator.  By the way Jackie - we have done a trans-Atlantic on the Navigator and though the ship handled the seas very well.

[moogwan]

I am on this cruise. The answer I received about the windows (not from the captain but another highly placed official) was that because of the predicted weather (12 foot seas and 50 knot winds) and the way the ship was facing in port, there was the possibility of hard waves hitting CR windows. The safety drapes were closed to protect diners in the event a wave blew out a window.

 

[fudgbug]

On 5/7/2019 at 1:34 PM, Hambagahle said:

There are SO many factors involved in tendering --  first and foremost I would think is - can you be SURE to get the tenders back to the ship at the end of the day?   We were in the Baltic on the Voyager.  Missed a tender port (island off Sweden and I forget the name!)  Captain Knut said at the time that the week before people had had to be left onshore for the night because winds would not permit the sea anchor to work.  And he didn't want that to happen to us.   So we sailed by - Bornholm perhaps?.   We were supposed to anchor off St Tropez.  John McNeil (Navigator) said swells were too much to safely board the tenders.  So he put "the pedal to the metal" - his words exactly - and we went to Villefranche where because of the protected anchorage we had no problem

 

PLUS I cannot imagine that Regent would put Captain Serena as Master of the Splendour if she were not qualified.  I have not - yet - met her.  But from what I read she IS more than qualified...

Captain Serena is wonderful and highly qualified.

[SGolffan]

On 5/7/2019 at 2:55 PM, kjbacon said:

 

I hope my response did not cause you to feel this way but if it did, I am most sincerely sorry. Please don’t keep your comments to yourself! I’ve felt that way on here occasionally but as long as we are all polite, vive la difference. How boring would these boards be if post after post read exactly the same.

 

I am still a little touchy over the riding Captain Serena took over our bad weather. I witnessed very rude and unkind behavior from guests and found myself completely frustrated with the rumor mill.

No you are awesome! We are staying away from the rumor mill on the ship and as stated we are huge supporters of Regent, we feel so blessed! 

[cruiseluv]

Well, I guess we'll never find out the answer about why were the drapes/ blinds closed...

[SGolffan]

Nope! The answer did not make any sense to us.  I am not hiding behind a screen and thanks to this blog that provided us a great idea! Go ask her.

[SGolffan]

The blinds are open! 

[SGolffan]

Again original post and the blinds are back open! 🇮🇹👏👍❤️💃

[DavidTheWonderer]

8 hours ago, Hanoj said:

... I haven’t yet cruised with Regent, only Viking. But the recent harrowing incident (I was not onboard) with the Viking Sky has eroded my confidence in Viking, so I’m seeking to learn more about Regent and others lines. ...

 

We're opposites: I've got a lot of nights on Regent and have been lurking on the Viking Ocean board.

I don't think the Viking Sky disaster is entirely Viking's fault. The propulsion system that failed is more-or-less the same one used by many if not most cruise ships.  It was more bad luck according to folks who know more about marine engineering than I.

However, I know that Viking river cruises can be very nice provided nothing goes wrong; if something does go wrong they seem the worst of the various river lines at dealing with it.  Viking Ocean seems to be continuing the tradition.

For example, there was a recent debacle with Viking Ocean involving an Alaska cruise starting in Vancouver: they failed to actually get dock space at the day and time given the passengers, so the passengers had to stay basically in a shed in the cruise terminal provided by Viking until they actually got to dock the ship.

I've experienced things going wrong on Regent cruises, and have always been impressed with how well the company jumps in with all necessary resources to deal with it.

I'm not saying Regent is the one true cruise line (blessed be its name) and all others are apostates. But they do some things very well, including dealing with problems.

[rallydave]

The real issue is the lack of communications.  This is a common occurrence on most cruise lines and really all over the place.  Lack of communications causes worry, rumor, etc.  It would be simple to simply communicate with the entire ship when out of the ordinary issues occur and I include the crew so they can pass the correct information to customers who don't get the information or need additional information.

 

The worst thing that can be done or not done is to change what the expected is and not inform the paying customers and provide the rationale for the change.  And just saying safety raises more questions than it answers.  This is not unique to Regent and a real easy method to avoid worry rumors, and the like.

[SGolffan]

On 5/7/2019 at 2:55 PM, kjbacon said:

 

I hope my response did not cause you to feel this way but if it did, I am most sincerely sorry. Please don’t keep your comments to yourself! I’ve felt that way on here occasionally but as long as we are all polite, vive la difference. How boring would these boards be if post after post read exactly the same.

 

I am still a little touchy over the riding Captain Serena took over our bad weather. I witnessed very rude and unkind behavior from guests and found myself completely frustrated with the rumor mill.

We had great conversation with her and would never start the rumor mill.  Thankful and blessed we can travel the way we do.  Again, never from from my first blog putting the Captain down. 💃👍👏❤️🥰

[SGolffan]

On 5/9/2019 at 5:50 PM, rallydave said:

The real issue is the lack of communications.  This is a common occurrence on most cruise lines and really all over the place.  Lack of communications causes worry, rumor, etc.  It would be simple to simply communicate with the entire ship when out of the ordinary issues occur and I include the crew so they can pass the correct information to customers who don't get the information or need additional information.

 

The worst thing that can be done or not done is to change what the expected is and not inform the paying customers and provide the rationale for the change.  And just saying safety raises more questions than it answers.  This is not unique to Regent and a real easy method to avoid worry rumors, and the like.

Totally agree. We spoke to the General Manager and there was a communication problem on the ship.  And Please!!! Nothing against our Captain. 

[Pinksunset]

Why don’t we all move forward and stop all personal attacks here?  We share a common love of cruising on Regent, on this board.😊

[mikenbob]

99% of Regent cruisers are perfectly delightful people.

[orvil]

Having been an employee of an airline in a past life, it is very hard to find the correct cause for a delay or an action by a large company.  You don't want to lie to a customer and you want to help them with their problem.  But, the decision is many pay grades above your level.  You usually don't have the complete picture of the situation, just a small portion.  It's frustrating for everyone involved.  Patience is indeed a virtue.