Just returned from Voyager

[Down Under]

Thanks to all for your views on the Voyager. I tend to look on the positive and no matter what is served, I won't have cooked it so that's a very big plus! I am a chocoholic and I remember the Navigator 's chocolate afternoon being far superior to the Voyager's but it certainly didn't spoil my cruise! I just hope Compass Rose is up to its usual standard as I have never been able to fault it. As for tipping, the only one I would consider giving one to is the housemaid as I tried it once and it is jolly hard work!

[basedow]

My husband and I very much enjoyed CR and Latitudes this time around. We mostly avoided the Veranda as we thought the food and service were better elsewhere.

 

We did not feel anyone was expecting a tip and the only person we did tip was the housekeeper as indeed it is very hard work. She looked after us for the whole 17 days and did a very nice job.

 

Really we had no complaints about anything and had a lovely time.

 

To those who complain about having older people on a cruise, I suggest you adjust yourselves to it as cruises are a wonderful way for older folks who love to travel. In our youth and through middle age even, a cruise would have been too passive for us. Younger people may want to exert themselves more and immerse themselves more in the places they visit. I did all that over many years and don't regret it. Now cruising is a lot easier for us and we want to mix it in with other ways of travel.

 

Anyway the Voyager is an extremely pleasant way to travel!:o

 

Basedow

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Basedown, thanks for the positive comments! I tend to feel I'm pretty young, and sometimes feel the demographic skews a bit older, but then I realize I'm now 60 and my husband 65. So I'm beginning to sound like my grandmother who at 80, visited St. Petersburg Florida, and said she didn't like it because it was full of "old" people!!

[Nevian]

Basedow not exactly spring chickens ourselves (on a par with Wendy) and really enjoy company of all ages, but do prefer a balanced demographic.

 

Certainly not making a complaint based on age per se, perhaps better defined as outlook and this cruise was certainly not as lively overall as our last experience on Voyager (Monte Carlo to Dover 2006, which was very enjoyable) I also think cruises are not necessarily passive at all.

 

My issues were really based on a small perceived decline in service and restaurants, especially as you say La Veranda. It was hard not to notice how harried the wait staff sometimes appeared and how tired our steward seemed some days. Our suite was often not serviced until nearly lunchtime and could not help but feel (but cannot prove) that extra burdens had been placed on staff by a small cut in numbers. Morale did not seem quite up to previous standards as well, which is a shame as I think one of the great pluses Regent has is the staff. It did also occur to me that with the fall in USD take home pay rates for staff may have declined relatively.

 

As ever just a personal opinion! and by the way we also still enjoyed the cruise overall, just not in quite the same hurry to repeat the experience.

Nev

[Nevian]

Travelcat2,

Thankyou, I also enjoy your measured posts.

It is difficult to sometimes justify critisism of Regent, when I also ask myself what other cruise line would I favour in lieu. The answer is Seabourn and perhaps in view of costings little brother Oceania. Basedow is correct, it is still a great product but with the transition to higher costs and full inclusive policy it is prudent to value just what you are receiving.

 

It is also disturbing to me that this issue of tipping an inclusive product continues to rear its head. This is compounding and probably instigating the reports of 'tip searching'. If it is so unpalatable to USA consumers to accept the non tip policy, then as they are the major consumers, it may be better to lower fares and switch to a tipping policy. At the very least it would make for less confusion and discrimination for those of us with a culture not so predisposed.

 

Re la Veranda: we frequented it for majority of breakfasts and about half of lunches. Breakfasts were as stated very ordinary and you could say at 6 star level, quite mediocre. We are early risers and frequently arrived well before there was any patronage to speak of, because of this for example I decided one day to ask for a 'special'. Basically, asked for freshly scrambled eggs from omelet chef with the only addition of about a tablespoon of grated cheese to disguise egg flavour, served on top of plain slice of toast. I recieved no end of flak from my DH for this request and would not have been so daring if it was a busy time. The end result was not eaten as it was the standard eggs already prepared, topped with lumps of semi melted cheese and two slices of toast on the side. It was a very minor issue but indicative.

Lunches were almost bare of what I would call interesting salads. Best bet was the make you own Caesars. One day there was a very nice Nicois salad but for the most part they were on a par of what one can buy here in a very average supermarket, loaded with mayo etc. Where were the artichokes, roasted vegetables, really palatable olives and fetta etc?

 

I feel that you are quite correct, la Veranda lacks focus and seems to be just an 'anything goes' area. Regional and might I add seasonal specialities would be a big plus. Totally missing in this autumn cruise were the fabulous porcini we enjoyed a week later in Italy, the venison, pheasant and quail and even the hot smoked salmon so available in Scotland. I would have even had a go at haggis! Ok so not to everyone's taste but a smattering would have really lifted the whole game and that is what the 6 star rating should be about in my opinion. There was instead, papaya (tasteless), watermelon (better in a warm climate), mango ( hopelessly unripe and suffering from cold storage).

 

The pool deck area with its burgers etc was solid, though service was not up to much in either food or drink area, as has been stated elsewhere on this board.

 

Compass Rose was better for lunches and breakfasts but husband's favourite, the eggs Florentine and Benedict were a major disappointment. He had so enjoyed them previously and was eager to revisit. Not much to say but he didn't go back.

 

I imagine I sound rather critical but it was such a sharp diversion from our previous experience, which was so positive I feel it bears mention in light of the increase in costs and positioning as all inclusive. I am taking anoptimistic outlook and viewing this as a transitional period in management/ownership and happy to hear of improvements.

 

On very positive note the new beds, linen etc are terrific, and ship looks well cared for and improved since 2006. Drydock improvements sound mostly impressive.

Nev

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Certainly not making a complaint based on age per se, perhaps better defined as outlook and this cruise was certainly not as lively overall as our last experience on Voyager (Monte Carlo to Dover 2006, which was very enjoyable) ...

 

Nev, I too was on that 2006 MC-Dover cruise. In my opinion, the Voyager staff were at the top of their form for that cruise. It was fantastic! It was also a Spotlight on Food and Wine, which I think affected the dining experience. Service was spotless. I've done 2 cruises since then, on Voyager and Navigator, and although we enjoyed both, neither lived up to that standard.

[Down Under]

Nevian: I've been waiting over twelve months to enjoy my eggs benedict and florentine, so someone of importance had better read this and get their act together because I'll be on board Voyager on 27 September! What exactly was wrong with them? I can't imagine how any cook could spoil them - me, yes!

 

I'll be so disappointed if this cruise isn't up to the standard we've come to expect from Regent and I'm not hard to please!

[basedow]

Nev,

 

I do appreciate your comments re: la Veranda and I now agree about the tipping policy, even for the cabin attendant. (I think the attendants do work extremely hard!) I also gave money to the general fund for the crew.

 

I guess each cruise has its own character, some more memorable than others for the service and cuisine. For my money, if the ports are interesting and the "fates" are good, that's the cruise I will rate the best!:o

 

Basedow