Regent should now include drinks on board

[TheRegentExp.RESAgent]

larry1365 I will find out and i should have an answer for you by at least tomorrow.

 

and DocDesdin trust me i'm not travel agent thats for you, i do work for the cruise line as a res agent the reason i didnt fill in any info is because i just made this profile today ask me anything you want i'm here to help you guys and make your experience with Regent more memorable

[Leejnd4]

Just a question -- are you posting in an official capacity for Regent, i.e. have you been designated as Regent's official Cruise Critic representative as part of your responsibilities? Or is this something you are just doing on your own?

[Iamboatman]

Just a question -- are you posting in an official capacity for Regent, i.e. have you been designated as Regent's official Cruise Critic representative as part of your responsibilities? Or is this something you are just doing on your own?

 

I just asked the same question in another thread. I also want to thank RegentExp for all the information.

[Host Dan]

larry1365 I will find out and i should have an answer for you by at least tomorrow.

 

and DocDesdin trust me i'm not travel agent thats for you, i do work for the cruise line as a res agent the reason i didnt fill in any info is because i just made this profile today ask me anything you want i'm here to help you guys and make your experience with Regent more memorable

Hi,

Would you mind emailing me directly? It would be most appreciated. I have a question for you.

 

Host Dan

[TheRegentExp.RESAgent]

Just a question -- are you posting in an official capacity for Regent, i.e. have you been designated as Regent's official Cruise Critic representative as part of your responsibilities? Or is this something you are just doing on your own?

No i'm not a cruise critic, one of my managers had gave us the link of this site to read the story about the Mariner coming across and iceberg, and i was just looking around this site and saw that this site provide a message board and after reading some of your guys post and question i just thought i would register and answer some of your guys questions.

[TheRegentExp.RESAgent]

Hi,

Would you mind emailing me directly? It would be most appreciated. I have a question for you.

 

Host Dan

I will... as soon as i have an answer for you.

[bettywh]

I find it curious that a representative of the company would use such bad grammar, Regentexp.

Host Dan - what is going on here?

[TheRegentExp.RESAgent]

I find it curious that a representative of the company would use such bad grammar, Regentexp.

Host Dan - what is going on here?

Like I said in other post, i'm not a representative for the company i'm only a reservations rep who books with all of your travel agents.

[Leejnd4]

ResAgent, I would suggest you check with your supervisor, or your marketing department, before you continue posting as a Regent employee. This board is a very widely used tool among cruise passengers, so anything you post will be seen by literally hundreds if not thousands of existing and potential Regent customers. Your posts will be given a great deal of weight and attention, given that you are presenting yourself as a Regent employee. I suspect your marketing department would prefer to have some control over the information that you release here.

 

You might wanna ask your boss if he/she thinks this is okay...just for job security, ya know? I know of other cruise line employees whove been FIRED for posting on this board.

 

LeeAnne

[Dolebludger]

I don't pretend to know what is going on here regarding RegentExp.RESAgent's posts. But I have often wished that the cruise lines would actually designate an employee to monitor these and other cruise boards, and to reply to legitimate questions and comments. IMO, these boards have changed the whole marketing world of the cruise lines, and the boards can be a lines' best advertising or its worst condemnation, which no amount of paid advertising or PR can overcome. So, some cruise line input would not only be fair, but would be useful as well.

 

For example, I might hypothetically truthfully post "I was on XYZ ship in the Caribbean about six weeks ago, and couldn't get the suite air conditioning to cool below 78 degrees. This is a bit hot to me, and it diminished my cruise enjoyment" If not countered by more recent info, many readers here might avoid that cruise. But if a cruise line rep posted and said "We fixed the air conditioning problem on XYZ ship a little over three weeks ago, and now the suites are easily kept at 72 degrees", readers wouldn't avoid this ship due to the reports of bad AC, but instead would consider it provided that other comments were good.

 

In other words, posting here by a cruise line rep would be helpful in keeping info fully up to date, which in turn would be helpful to all readers in selecting their cruises.

 

Thanks,

Richard

[Leejnd4]

Richard, I fully agree with you! I think it would be great to have our own designated, official RSSC person who can give us the REAL story. This would certainly end so much of the aimless speculation that goes on here (not that it's not FUN to speculate aimlessly!).

 

However, I expect that should RSSC make a decision to designate an actual employee to post information and answers to questions, I would imagine they would choose someone who's JOB it is to do so...and would retain a great deal of control over how the information and answers are presented. I would expect that their posts would be highly polished and professional, and approved by their marketing department. You are right, this is a HUGELY powerful tool, and one that I suspect would not be taken so lightly as to allow random employees to post things without authorization or approval. That's what I would think, anyway.

 

LeeAnne

[Dolebludger]

LeeAnne:

 

Yes, that is exactly what I meant in my post above. An employee designated by cruise line management to participate in the cruise boards, who could supply us with accurate, current information.

 

And I would hope for good spelling and grammar too (although mine is no great shakes)! However, I recall a couple of years ago that a reliable poster made a post including a quote from an email he/she had received from an RSSC VP. That VP may have been a expert in running a cruise line, but as to spelling and grammar, he needed to go back to third grade!

 

So, my main desire is simply for accurate and up-to-date info from the cruise lines, as they must eventually realize that these boards are doing more ot sell or deter bookings than all their slick and expensive advertising.

 

Thanks,

Richard

[Host Dan]

Although this has gone "off topic" (again, but not nasty and argumentative) I will say that I doubt ANY cruise line would designate an employee to put information IN WRITING for the world to see... So now, who thinks Regent will become open bar? I do! ( I hope) ;)

 

Host Dan

[curiouscruiser]

Thanks Host Dan for keeping the boards pleasant! I'm all for open bar!

[Dolebludger]

Host Dan:

 

Hi! I believe it has ben officially announced that Regent will be open bar starting in '07, so there is little doubt about that!

 

As to cruise line management's reluctance to answer questions on a board like this one, I agree that management is slow to realize that these boards are "the new media" in which they should be putting forth their positions and answers. And if the answer is "we don't know yet" then that should be stated as well. We encounter the same management mentality in the Mercedes Benz Club of America, wherein responsible corporate personnel are reluctant to discuss issues and plans --- whether in person with our Club officers or via our own board. We are breaking down that attitude just a little, and I merely hope that all types of industries will get more involved in information sharing and problem solving where there exists an active and vital internet forum about their product or service --- and I'll say no more about this.

 

Thanks,

Richard

[Host Dan]

I agree with you totally Richard! I hope it gets to the point where corporate entities WILL post without the cloak of the internet, but that hasn't happened yet. I will say, that I know of several exec's of several lines that DO post, but make it known to CC as confidential. I welcome their posts, as, at least, I know they are valid.

Now, I would like to visit MY open bar!!

 

Host Dan ;)

[nyfeds]

Host Dan,

 

I thank you for your well-meaning posts.

 

I would hope that when a poster professes to be affliated with a cruiseline in any capacity, CC would ensure that such a claim is valid. The boards provide us with valuable information. I would hate to see important information misdirected and erroneous, coming from a bogus source.

 

Cheers to you, Host Dan! Have one for me!

[cruiseluv]

I'm sorry but.... Isn't it obvious that this is bogus?

[Leejnd4]

Well, yeah...but I think we were trying to be respectful. LOL! I always like people who cut to the chase. :D

 

Meanwhile, about that open bar...all I wanna know is, what brand of single-malt Scotch will be included? And will they serve Limoncello onboard, or will I have to bring my own home-brewed stuff? ;)

 

LeeAnne

[cruiseluv]

Well, yeah...but I think we were trying to be respectful. LOL! I always like people who cut to the chase. :D

 

LeeAnne

 

LOL! Well, your answers sounded so serious that I thought all of you really thought this person is for real. Now that that has been cleared I'm going to bed.

[Dolebludger]

But first let me digress. It isn't "obvious" to me that posts by "The RegentExp.ResAgent" are or are not bogus. As I said before, there was previously a post on this board containing a supposed quote from an RSSC VP, and that quote looked far more bogus than the current posts! But when I checked it out, it WAS NOT BOGUS. And the spelling and grammar in that quote were SO BAD! After that, I keep an open mind.

 

Back to open bar. One good thing about open bar that hasn't been mentioned is that, for some like me, it will help us REDUCE our drinking on cruises, so combining shore excursions with hang-overs won't be a problem! Keep in mind that my home (like Dan's) is "open bar", but I don't drink all the time. Heck, I don't even drink even one drink on most days. BUT, when I am placed in an environment where drinks are either usually not available, or available only at prices I consider high, I tend to "guzzle" when the bar is opened up. Such has been the case at times at the cocktail parties and at dinner on RSSC. And I NEVER drink at dinner any other time! I've been on "open bar" cruises before, and never feel the urge to "guzzle" any more than I do at home. But, I feel like I can visit a lounge and have a drink with my friends when, and only when, I want a drink --- without motivation from a "controlled environment.

 

Thanks,

Richard

[Iamboatman]

Has anyone thought about how much effort has gone into this issue as opposed to the inconvience of signing a chit for each drink while on a cruise for a couple of weeks?

 

I appreciate the ambience of not having to sign, but I really have a hard time getting my head around it being a major issue to hand over a card and sign (as one normally does at a country club) and paying the bill at the end of the cruise.

 

I say this noting that the price increases on RSSC as they may be related to the 2007 open bar costs would seem to be more than the cost of my present bar tabs on RSSC.

 

I appreciate that for some it is a bigger issue...maybe one of style and being more "upscale", but I don't feel like I am slumming it when the club asks for my signature and it really doesn't impress or unimpress anyone.

 

For me some of the other issues and the upcoming planned improvements of them are far more compelling when choosing a cruise line...and enjoying myself while on the cruise.

 

JMHO.:)

[Dolebludger]

I don't think the price increases on RSSC over the past several years have gone unnoticed. Just a few years ago, some of us hoped that RSSC could add in something like $15 per day per guest for open bar right then (their figures), otherwise keep their fares as they were at that time, and thereby continue to offer a consistantly lower price than Silversea and Seabourn, at that time. RSSC fares have been rising steadily over the past few years (even without open bar), and are rising again for '07. Some of the '07 increase is surely due to open bar, some due to other improvements, and some to increased fuel and labor costs, etc. But the result is that for '07, Radisson will not be GENERALLY offering any price benefit over Silversea and Seabourn. Of course, that may be fair, as RSSC may be contemplating an equal or superior product to those competing lines. But I still wish that RSSC could have found a way to have open bar and still have lower fares generally than Silversea and Seabourn --- which was theoretically possible at one time at least. But now, given how high RSSC's fares already were in '06 (and the rate of increase for each succeeding year over the past several years) I'm not convinced that much can be directly attributed to open bar for '07 -- above what the '07 increase would have been if open bar had not been adopted.

 

Thanks,

Richard

[Iamboatman]

I don't disagree about the increases in the fares and RSSC being right up there with Seabourn and Silversea...or that most of that cannot possibly be related to an open bar policy. I think it is a red herring which keeps swimming by.

 

One thing is for certain, there is a ways to go before RSSC can be the equal of SS or SB in many people's eyes. There is a certain quality of service that is trained over time and then made better. There are certain improvements that are being put in place, again over time. And then there are the itineraries. Many have commented that RSSC is not weak, but less diverse, in that regard...and well-experienced travelers do look at itineraries.

 

I am also not sure how RSSC is going to put those service levels to work with such large ships, but that is another thread.

 

My concern is that the level of service, amenities and itineraries may not be at the level the pricing warrents. (If RSSC winds up being a strong competitor of SS and SB, great, but it would be less than good if it is perceived as the weak sister with high prices.)

[blackbird71]

You're right of course. Silversea is 80% balcony. The rest are Vista suites (same size as the veranda but with picture windows instead of balconies). Still not a bad ratio:D

 

And there are some cold weather itineraries that the Vista rooms are the better choice. :)