Regent/NCLH implements new tipping program

[flossie009]

12 minutes ago, UUNetBill said:

I, for one, love to chat with the crew if they're not too busy ........

 

I suspect that this was the point that @Ragnar Danneskjold was trying to make in post #78

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

UUNetBill has is about right.

 

Polite engagement, with genuine interest, is great, but talking a busy crewperson’s ear off about banal subjects is not so great.  And I’ve seen the latter happen all too often.  

[rcandkc]

We just got off great cruise on Navigator from nyc to Amsterdam.  No mention of this temporary idea in any way. 

[ronrick1943]

7 minutes ago, rcandkc said:

We just got off great cruise on Navigator from nyc to Amsterdam.  No mention of this temporary idea in any way. 

I realize this post is off topic, but glad you had a great cruise on the Navigator -I;ve ben hearing bad things and we've booked the ship for a cruise.  Thanks for posting this.

[rcandkc]

2 minutes ago, ronrick1943 said:

I realize this post is off topic, but glad you had a great cruise on the Navigator -I;ve ben hearing bad things and we've booked the ship for a cruise.  Thanks for posting this.

Like any of the ships...depends on mix of officers, crew, and passengers and this cruise it all worked. 

[Travelcat2]

10 minutes ago, rcandkc said:

We just got off great cruise on Navigator from nyc to Amsterdam.  No mention of this temporary idea in any way. 

 

Good to hear that this was nipped in the bud - thanks to Cruise Critic posters.  

 

Rick - hope that you enjoy the Navigator .  It is just not our thing.  And, fortunately, you will not have to put up with power outages, listing in the ocean, etc.  However, you will have to put up with no Observation Lounge, only one specialty restaurant, etc.  IOO (in our opinion) the Navigator is not terrible - we just prefer not to spend money on something that we do not really care for.

[ON cruiser]

Having waded through this thread, I am glad that Regent reacted quickly and kiboshed the program. Yet, with respect to Mr. Montague, he was unnecessarily defensive in his accusatory comments. I take him at his word that Regent did not intend to be making money off the backs of its crew through the symbiotic redemption of certificates at shops onboard. Yet the conclusion drawn by many posters in that regard, given how the program was (ill) conceived, was entirely reasonable in the circumstances.

 

All of us who have been in corporate life understand the risks of "group-think", where an idea sounds good from far but, up close (or in the execution/implementation) it is actually awful. Similarly, most of us know that before sending something, one should read and, indeed, re-read it, or have another person look at it, so long as that other person is entrusted and empowered to say, "whoa" if necessary. In the old days of postal mail, letters could be reviewed and revised. From dictation to transcription a cool-down period was automatic, and often beneficial. Nowadays, one can immediately email, post, or tweet and, at times, live to regret it, as some politicians and executives have found out.  

 

While it may momentarily feel good to respond in kind to what one thinks are unfair remarks (in this case, reading objectively, in my view the criticisms made by some other posters were again, in context, quite reasonable), taking the high road is always the best bet. That especially applies to the CEO of an entity responding to customers of that same entity--after all, why antagonize or alienate loyal customers? The response of Regent, via its CEO, to kill the program was timely and appreciated by the many who opined that the idea was ultimately a poor one. Announcing that decision, then state something along the lines that, "we have heard your comments. While we assure you that our intent was not to profit from rewards given to our hard-working teams on the ships, we can understand how that could have been perceived. Rest assured, such was never our intention...".  Yet leave out the unnecessary swipe at other posters.   

 

Having received my Notice of AGM and shareholder package, Mr. Montague is very well compensated (no objection at my end; I voted to approve the advisory "say on pay"). Yet, given all that, I agree with those who posted that he should develop a thicker skin, and also have his VP of Communications review his postings before he hits "enter". 

 

Having passed along that free advice (which may be worth the price paid!), I can also add that our first cruise on Regent, the Navigator from NYC to Amsterdam, ending May 30, was a mainly very good experience. Far more pros than cons. We thus at RSSC to our list, along with Seabourn, as both lines have their pluses and minuses. Once I shake off the jet-lag, if time permits I will try to do a review.  

[cruiseluv]

ON cruiser, thank you for your thoughts, couldnt agree with you more. For the CEO of a company to make his debut here with those ill tempered words was IMO ill advised.

Glad you enjoyed your Regent cruise, if time permits would love to read your review as we will embark on Navigator in a few months.

[rcandkc]

26 minutes ago, cruiseluv said:

ON cruiser, thank you for your thoughts, couldnt agree with you more. For the CEO of a company to make his debut here with those ill tempered words was IMO ill advised.

Glad you enjoyed your Regent cruise, if time permits would love to read your review as we will embark on Navigator in a few months.

Navigator is going in for a dry dock after the current charter.  This is good so a few worn items can be replaced.  These items did not interfere with our enjoyment of the NYC to Amsterdam cruise at all, but needed. 

[Dolebludger]

Well, what we really need to know is this poorly conceived program apparently crashed and burned before it even got started.  There were many bad things about this program. One thing that was ignored by the CEO is that it could NOT be used with non-refundable credits. As just about everything onboard is included, it is rather difficult to dispose of these non-refundable credits, so in theory many guests might have used the program with these. But refundable credits are the same as cash, so it was in fact calling for a cash tip that crew members could only use to buy the rather overpriced goods and services from the onboard stores and spa, which I think are private contractors. So the COE's statement that the program was "a way for guests to dispose of their unused credits" was misleading and incomplete, as he conveniently did not mention that non-refundable credits could not be used. 

[UUNetBill]

On 6/1/2019 at 3:03 PM, cruiseluv said:

ON cruiser, thank you for your thoughts, couldnt agree with you more. For the CEO of a company to make his debut here with those ill tempered words was IMO ill advised.

Glad you enjoyed your Regent cruise, if time permits would love to read your review as we will embark on Navigator in a few months.

FWIW, that wasn't his first batch of posts here, just the first under the new 'Verified' account.  He had posted many times in the past - both Jason M and Jason O, as well - to clarify issues that had been raised here.

 

I'll admit that his previous posts had appeared more measured and well thought out; maybe someone used to proof his posts before he hit "Submit"?  Or maybe he was just having a 'bad-hair day' or something, who knows?  I sure have my share of those...

[Travelcat2]

20 minutes ago, UUNetBill said:

FWIW, that wasn't his first batch of posts here, just the first under the new 'Verified' account.  He had posted many times in the past - both Jason M and Jason O, as well - to clarify issues that had been raised here.

 

I'll admit that his previous posts had appeared more measured and well thought out; maybe someone used to proof his posts before he hit "Submit"?  Or maybe he was just having a 'bad-hair day' or something, who knows?  I sure have my share of those...

 

Wondering if all of this criticism is is going to cause Jason M to think twice (or three times) before posting again.  

[cruiseluv]

7 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Wondering if all of this criticism is is going to cause Jason M to think twice (or three times) before posting again.  

Frankly, if he's going to express contempt of his paying customers maybe its better if he doesnt post

[Hambagahle]

Is everyone SURE "beyond a reasonable doubt" that it was indeed Jason Montague who posted?  Might it have been a "send up" ??

[captn337]

Should make him think twice about how he responds, not if he responds. Jackie you should know better than anyone. I am always amazed how much criticism you receive and how well you handle it. He could learn from you.   Ron

\

 

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, Hambagahle said:

Is everyone SURE "beyond a reasonable doubt" that it was indeed Jason Montague who posted?  Might it have been a "send up" ??

 

100% positive ...... CC has verified it.

[Dolebludger]

Just curious. Was this program ever actually instituted on any cruise, or was it just announced and then abandoned?

[Travelcat2]

16 minutes ago, Dolebludger said:

Just curious. Was this program ever actually instituted on any cruise, or was it just announced and then abandoned?

 

See post #1 on this thread.

[UUNetBill]

21 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Wondering if all of this criticism is is going to cause Jason M to think twice (or three times) before posting again.  

I hope not...but I sure hope it causes him to think twice about how his replies might be taken.  Those last few were unnecessarily terse - nasty, even - and were not characteristic of his normal posts.  He might have been having a bad day, but the old policy of re-reading your communications after you've had a chance to cool off would have been helpful here...

 

21 hours ago, cruiseluv said:

Frankly, if he's going to express contempt of his paying customers maybe its better if he doesnt post

I'd still like to see both of the Jasons post - we've gotten some good information from them in the past.  But I agree that the posts should be a bit more tempered...quite a bit more, actually.

[cruiseluv]

Ive been on Cruise Critic for years and had never seen a post from him before, but have seen many from Jason O. Has he been Regent CEO for a while now? I thought he was a recent addition. 

[Travelcat2]

As someone who regularly has posts misinterpreted or misunderstood, I feel that Jason Montague has been blasted a bit too harshly.  I believe that he posted his honest feelings at the time..  Would you rather he post something that isn't true or sugar coat it lest someone get upset?

 

It is possible that I'm coming from a different perspective since I (along with a whole lot of others) have met and spent time with both Jasons and other members of the Corporate Team.  They are so open and honest and truly care about their passengers and crew.  Sometimes being honest can also mean being a bit harsh.  If I were the head of Regent, I would not exactly be thanking people for posting that Regent is just money grubbing.

 

IMHO, "we" (CC'ers) can be much more harsh towards others than Jason Montague could ever be.  

 

[UUNetBill]

35 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

As someone who regularly has posts misinterpreted or misunderstood, I feel that Jason Montague has been blasted a bit too harshly.  I believe that he posted his honest feelings at the time..  Would you rather he post something that isn't true or sugar coat it lest someone get upset?

 

It is possible that I'm coming from a different perspective since I (along with a whole lot of others) have met and spent time with both Jasons and other members of the Corporate Team.  They are so open and honest and truly care about their passengers and crew.  Sometimes being honest can also mean being a bit harsh.  If I were the head of Regent, I would not exactly be thanking people for posting that Regent is just money grubbing.

 

IMHO, "we" (CC'ers) can be much more harsh towards others than Jason Montague could ever be.  

 

Jackie, I don't know the Jasons personally although I've met M and corresponded via email with O and I've always found them to be polite and gracious - and most always a great source of information direct from the source.

 

But if you go back and re-read the posts in question I'm pretty sure you'll agree that they were a bit harshly worded.  Definitely not was I'd expect to read.  Regardless of the background of those posts, I'd have preferred to see them worded a bit more gently.  

 

Apparently I wasn't the only one somewhat taken aback at the tone.

[forgap]

I think that we all agree that Jason M has been gracious and forthcoming in past posts.  For what it’s worth, I say give him a pass. He may have been tired, grouchy, and stressed and made a defensive post.  Let’s move on rather then make this a hallmark of his management style.  

[UUNetBill]

3 minutes ago, forgap said:

I think that we all agree that Jason M has been gracious and forthcoming in past posts.  For what it’s worth, I say give him a pass. He may have been tired, grouchy, and stressed and made a defensive post.  Let’s move on rather then make this a hallmark of his management style.  

Agreed.  

[Travelcat2]

Also agree!