live from sven seas voyager!!!

[seabourndt]

after a bit of trouble with the wireless connection on boar ship. i finally got in, irt seems i still have to pay for a package as if i was using a pc but never mind. the connection in my cabin comes and goes. the meet on board is a total letdown despite my tries i saw pat who was in 1025 but nothing more.

 

boarded the ship quickly ands my suite was ready, buffet lunch in le veranda rest,things i don't like are ashops are the wrst choice i have seen onboard ship nothing of interest. a lot of vibration innmy cabin being at the back, the balcony was nort so bad. had a nice dinner in compass rose yesterday caviar,gazpacho soup, black angus steak and pineapple cake that was stochy. today are at sea on dasy 30mph windsi think waves nmot too large.

will try posting again

dave

[popper]

thanks for the en route update - have a super time.

bad vibration? which cabin are you in?

[seabourndt]

did reply but not there, wasa in 877 at thev aft corner but due to vibration i changed to 965 shame asa the balcony is smaller. having a greatr time day 5 at sea. lovely sunny day seas a bit calmer but still motion. had country fair on deck 1st time for me.i did comment on small portions in signatures and shop is very poor and wrote a letter saying sorry which is great. 2 days tom go till miami.

dave

[Suite Travels]

I am on the same voyage as you and last I heard we are going to Ft. Lauderdale. The Voyager needs to be dry docked. Carpets need to be replaced furniture needs updating and the pod's will be replaced when in Freeport dry dock. We can feel the vibration on deck 11.

 

We have 10 cruises on Crystal and 4 with Regent. We have to say that Crystal wins hands down for us. The food is as good as Celebrity and has not been a wow factor. The service could be more polished. The deck buffets compared to what Crystal displays is laughable. How Regent won the number 1 spot is amazing. I guess because of the suites and the open dining appealed to most. With Regents new price structure that is almost as equal to Crystal and Seabourne I think we will stay with a proven product that we like.

 

Just our two cents.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Hi Suite Travels,

 

Have you been able to confirm the date of the upcoming drydock(s)? I'm on the 12/4 sailing and am looking forward to a freshened up ship :)

 

 

Rag

[esther e]

Hi Rag

We're on the 11/30 sailing and it's the first day out of dry dock. So we'll keep it in real good shape for you, I promise!!!!!!:D Have a good cruise. I know you will.

Esther

[JPR]

We didn't have a problem with the portions, but if they are too small for you why not just ask for double portions? I have never had such a request denied.

[caviargal]

Hi Rag

We're on the 11/30 sailing and it's the first day out of dry dock. So we'll keep it in real good shape for you, I promise!!!!!!:D Have a good cruise. I know you will.

Esther

 

Esther, now I am even more anxious for your reports back. Suite Travels has me a bit concerned.:(

 

While I know she needs a drydock, I have always been impressed with some of the things she/he says are not very good (laughable buffets, wow, not at all what I experienced and I am foodie!). I do sense a "crystalized" slant on things so I will chalk it up to that at the moment. Open dining and suite size sure are significant in my book.

 

And I know that in cruising as in all things, one size does not fit all.

 

Can't wait for your report:).

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Hi Rag

We're on the 11/30 sailing and it's the first day out of dry dock. So we'll keep it in real good shape for you, I promise!!!!!!:D Have a good cruise. I know you will.

Esther

 

Thanks Esther!

 

One note of caution about your 4-day'r. While I'm not associated with cruise ships, I am an engineer, and as such we always plan in time for "slips" in schedules for large projects. Your 4-day'r being right after a major drydocking strikes me as a "sacrificial" segment :eek: If they have any issues during drydock or their schedule slips at all, your segment may get shortened or canceled. If I were you, I would have backup plans for things to do, if you are flying into the area for the cruise. RSSC would probably pay for your hotel etc. (just a guess on my part) if there is a slip.

 

 

Ragnar "Worrywort" D.

[esther e]

Rag

No problem. We live 5 hours from FLL and with past experience with Radisson, they will be more than kind to us. Not a worry here.

 

CG, if we all liked the same MD, we'd never get an appt. Crystal may be a fine line, but never will we sail it because of the 2 seatings. Period. You personally know me, and know I will be more than fair and honest. Nothing to lose or gain, right? I will be in touch as soon as we get home. And if Rag is right, we may join you on your cruise.:)

 

Esther

[Pam]

We were on Voyager in August/September for the Copenhagen-London cruise. Our fifth cruise with Regent, second on Voyager. Yes, we saw some spots on the carpets around the elevators, but the food was excellent in our opinion. Suite Travels, we cruised with you on Mariner a few years ago, and you didn't like that cruise, either.

 

We love the open dining, the size of the Regent suites, and no tips. All of that stacks against Crystal, in our opinion.

[Suite Travels]

Pam I remember you and we are both lucky to be cruising eiither line. However I think Crystal is a bit more polished and does not let their interiors of their ships get in such a neglected state. We have seen Crystal replacing carpet in the middle of a crusie.

 

As for portions of food, we are not big foodies <sp?> but what is presented in the Compass Rose is not something that I would not even present for dinner in our home. And if you are on the Lido Deck for lunch >Veranda> you may just wait 20 minutes for a glass of water. We watched elderly guests carrying their own plates with no assistance. Regent does not offer trays. Doors are not automatic so try and balance your salad and entree and open the Lido doors. We assisted several guests at lunch and not ONE crew member came to assist.

 

We have met a very nice lady that has been on this line for many years and she is very upset. Example: Dance Host's sitting around not doing their job. Ms. Victoria who is the cruise consultant not doing her job...always to busy or running off to a function. Simply never available to repeat guests.

 

We have been on this 17 day cruise and have occupied a Master Suite and have NEVER been contacted by guest relations or Ms. Victoria asking how we were doing or would we like to meet her concerning a future cruise.

 

That being said we will say that Ian, our butler is the best and you will be lucky to have him. Enjoy Regent......NOT FOR US.:(

[esther e]

Are you sure you're talking about Regent??? We've been on 9 cruises with them, and never once ran into one thing you're saying. Oh well, we'll see.....

[TheWaywardTraveler]

This being our first cruise, I have nothing to compare, but we are having a glorious time - of course taking a 2 week sabbatical in the middle of school may have something to do with it :) . Also, our station in life is not comparable to most we are sailing with, so my expectations and experiences in life may be quite different – even though, fellow pax are gregarious and enjoyable. I feel the service we have experienced is top notch – our butler, Sanath; and stewardess, Ginalyn, have been exceptional – our needs are met before we even know we have needs!!

The food I’ve experienced has been excellent, last night at Compass Rose the veal chop was the best I’ve ever had, and the chocolate orange truffle cake was divine. The French Brasserie and Italian Steakhouses they have had at La Veranda had beautiful appetizer buffets followed by served courses that always had something I liked on the menu. Signatures had impeccable service and their food was well done – for me the servings were more than adequate – but then, I have not had a hunger twinge since stepping on board. Tonight we try out Latitudes and celebrate our anniversary – the menu looks interesting (Vietnamese inspired), so I’ll let you know what happens. We have not eaten on the pool deck – DH abhors eating outside, so I can not speak to the service there, but the wait staff in LaVeranda has been helpful to us and others, especially on the slightly bouncy days. George, Marta and Merili are so personable!

As to the condition of the ship – you can tell in some areas that it’s time for a refreshing; a few scuffs and scratches; some water marks on the carpet, especially near the pool deck, and wear in the some of public areas.

Oh, oh! This has turned into a book, suffice to say – we’re impressed and are exploring what our next Regent cruise will be.

[Jim B]

I am also a little shocked at Suite Travel's comments.

I have been on 4 going on 5th 01/09/07 cruises with Regent Seven Seas

Cruises and have never experienced anything like that.

Always someone there to take our tray.

The doors were electric and automatic.

Maybe they are talking about the old Regent Cruise line that is out of business??

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Wow, granted the carpets need to be replaced, but I've certainly never experienced anything like that on Regent! The comment about the Compass Rose food not being fit to serve in your own dining room sounds pretty weird to me, I thought the food on Voyager last summer was wonderful (it was a spotlight on food cruise.) I did have to wait about 10 minutes for a cup of tea once on deck, but there's always someone to help you carry your plate from a buffet.

[OrpingtonT]

Pam I remember you and we are both lucky to be cruising eiither line. However I think Crystal is a bit more polished and does not let their interiors of their ships get in such a neglected state. We have seen Crystal replacing carpet in the middle of a crusie.

 

As for portions of food, we are not big foodies <sp?> but what is presented in the Compass Rose is not something that I would not even present for dinner in our home. And if you are on the Lido Deck for lunch >Veranda> you may just wait 20 minutes for a glass of water. We watched elderly guests carrying their own plates with no assistance. Regent does not offer trays. Doors are not automatic so try and balance your salad and entree and open the Lido doors. We assisted several guests at lunch and not ONE crew member came to assist.

 

We have met a very nice lady that has been on this line for many years and she is very upset. Example: Dance Host's sitting around not doing their job. Ms. Victoria who is the cruise consultant not doing her job...always to busy or running off to a function. Simply never available to repeat guests.

 

We have been on this 17 day cruise and have occupied a Master Suite and have NEVER been contacted by guest relations or Ms. Victoria asking how we were doing or would we like to meet her concerning a future cruise.

 

That being said we will say that Ian, our butler is the best and you will be lucky to have him. Enjoy Regent......NOT FOR US.:(

 

You are on the cruise, not me, so I have to accept how you find things. Nevertheless, I must say a word in defence of Victoria, the cruise hostess, who has ignored you. On our October cruise in the Med she was particularly welcoming, remembering our names after the briefest of introductions, seeking us out at functions to say "Hello" and having a chat in her spare time. What we particularly liked was when an elderly lady for whom nothing was right,who grumbled at her seating in the Horizon lounge (which she herself chose) and seeing no-one wanted to approach her, Victoria went up, sat down and said "Do you mind if I sit here and have a chat until the Quiz starts". In doing so she made the grumpy one feel wanted and welcome.

 

There is a lot to her job and, in my opinion she did it well, on that cruise at least. If you speak to her, please send best wishes from Mr & Mrs Noon and say we are looking forward to seeing her again on 11 December out of Fort Lauderdale.

 

Thanks.

[Suite Travels]

There are only four lines that we have sailed over the last twenty years and they would be Crystal, Silver Sea, RSSC and Celebrity. So our comparisons come from our own personal experiences. We find Rgent to be far better than Silver Sea and Celebrity which they are in a mass market category.

 

We have sailed with Crystal many times and that is what we are comparing. Crystal may not have the largest suites or open dining although you do have the choice of two venues and their is no restriction on how many times dine in them. We were told the limit was two per voyage on Regent. We have enjoyed Signatures twice and that is what Crystal service offers in their main dining room every day. The service has been inconsistent on this voyage sometimes excellent and sometimes not. As for La Veranda if you go to the buffet and want to eat by the pool you might get someone to help you with your plate or plates. Today I held the door open for a couple who were trying to navigate their way to the pool area and one of the officers was standing close by. This is not acceptable and I don't care what rank he had, he should be the one assisting.

 

If you have not traveled Crystal then I can't explain it to you. We have met two other couples who have traveled with Crystal and they agree it is just not the same service. Please don't get me wrong Regent has a great product it just needs a little refining. Regent Hotels and Four Seasons are six star products and if Regent is going to lend their name to this line they need to polish up a bit.

 

We will cruise again on Regent if we hear better reports or if the ports are of our interest.

[Gail C]

>>>We find Rgent to be far better than Silver Sea and Celebrity which they are in a mass market category. <<<

 

SilverSea is hardly "mass market" category.

[caviargal]

>>>We find Rgent to be far better than Silver Sea and Celebrity which they are in a mass market category. <<<

 

SilverSea is hardly "mass market" category.

 

You beat me to it, Gail; I was about to post the same thing:).

[DreamBoatAnnie]

I think Suite Travels was referring to the latter, Celebrity, not the former, SilverSea. I'm sure if she's cruised three luxury lines she's well aware of which is mass market and which is not. :)

[JDRMYS]

Regarding the condition of the Voyager, we find it to be generally excellent. We have seen very little worn carpeting, but even if the carpeting really does need replacement we would rather that it be done the way that Regent is doing it: During a dry dock. We have been on a ship (Seabourn Pride) while carpets were replaced at sea. We had to stumble over workmen and walk down partially uncarpeted hallways. It was not a pleasant experience. We knew that we were going on a cruise that was just prior to a dry dock and expected some slight wear and tear from the last 12 months' cruises.

 

In terms of vibration, we do feel some -- more than in past cruises on the Voyager. Still, we are in of of the Sevens Seas Suites all the way aft, just over the engines, and we have found the vibration to be slight and not objectionable at all. We would book this same suite any time!

 

We're sorry that Suite Travels is not enjoying their cruise. We were once on a Crystal cruise that we did not enjoy. We voted by not returning to Crystal. However there are many Crystal loyalists and we respect their preference.

[seabourndt]

great to hear of the coments, sorry to be critical but i have to be honest. just met asnother couple in horizon suite who did not find the vibration a problem it must be me. had a lovely dinner in compass rose tonight. the black angus beef was good but a bit tough. still don't think i will return to regent unless i get a really good deal

dave

[JPR]

We were on Voyager for its British Isles trip in late August-early September, and found that all you have to do is ask and the staff will gladly help open doors, carry your plates, replace inadequate food, etc.

 

If staff is then rude, you complain to a supervisor. But I have rarely experienced rude staff on a Regent ship, and I've been on eight cruises on four different ships...

[Suite Travels]

Point well taken, but you should NOT have to ask the staff the hold the door open whilst you are trying to juggle two or three plates. That is what I simply call anticipating the guests needs.