| 2010 Voyager World Cruise Beefs |
1) Tours not leaving promptly on published schedule.
A typical port scenario is a tour bus that is scheduled to leave for its tour at 9 am. 32 people show up on on time and are on the bus waiting to leave.
But 2 passengers are late, and now we all sit and wait for them to show up, sometimes up to 15 minutes ! This time is not recoverable and means our
tour will somehow be shortened. Ask most passengers, and they will say GO at 9 am without exception. Why should 32 people suffer for 2
inconsiderate passengers who should know better ?
A typical port scenario is a tour bus that is scheduled to leave for its tour at 9 am. 32 people show up on on time and are on the bus waiting to leave.
But 2 passengers are late, and now we all sit and wait for them to show up, sometimes up to 15 minutes ! This time is not recoverable and means our
tour will somehow be shortened. Ask most passengers, and they will say GO at 9 am without exception. Why should 32 people suffer for 2
inconsiderate passengers who should know better ?
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2) Waiting lists for tours.
Now that Regent tours are included and "free", some passengers book tours with abandon, and do not cancel or return tickets when they change their
mind. The waiting list system does not seem to be transparent or "fair", but rather a matter of timing when you walk by the Destinations desk to inquire
about a tour's latest status. Someone at head office needs to study this whole issue, and how best to go forward from here.
Now that Regent tours are included and "free", some passengers book tours with abandon, and do not cancel or return tickets when they change their
mind. The waiting list system does not seem to be transparent or "fair", but rather a matter of timing when you walk by the Destinations desk to inquire
about a tour's latest status. Someone at head office needs to study this whole issue, and how best to go forward from here.
3) Information dissemination.
Consider when you're in the shower, and an announcement is made in the hallways on the speakers, that you totally miss. Why not have a TV channel
(17?) that has a camera pointing at a white board, where ship staff can write bulletin updates for our viewing ? Nothing fancy is needed, just a white
board with a handwritten note like "ARRIVAL DELAYED TO SINGAPORE. NEW TIME 6 PM".
Consider when you're in the shower, and an announcement is made in the hallways on the speakers, that you totally miss. Why not have a TV channel
(17?) that has a camera pointing at a white board, where ship staff can write bulletin updates for our viewing ? Nothing fancy is needed, just a white
board with a handwritten note like "ARRIVAL DELAYED TO SINGAPORE. NEW TIME 6 PM".
4) No self service SD Card photo printer on deck 6.
I would think even with a nominal charge, a lot of passengers would use a Kodak self service terminal or the like, to print selected photos from their
camera's SD Card. We're all happy the big photo shop is gone....but wish the terminal had remained.
I would think even with a nominal charge, a lot of passengers would use a Kodak self service terminal or the like, to print selected photos from their
camera's SD Card. We're all happy the big photo shop is gone....but wish the terminal had remained.
5) The Internet turtle !
Here are true speed results from my Apple Ipod Touch "speed test" app, in kilobits per second.
Download speed: At home: 5290 KBPS On the Voyager today: 81 KBPS
Upload speed: At home 1172 KBPS On the Voyager today: 47 KBPS
Passengers are convinced this is not a technology issue, but rather a cost issue. Regent should spring the extra bucks to vastly improve this turtle,
because both passengers AND crew would benefit greatly. (A lot of time wasted by all right now, sitting at unchanging screens).
Here are true speed results from my Apple Ipod Touch "speed test" app, in kilobits per second.
Download speed: At home: 5290 KBPS On the Voyager today: 81 KBPS
Upload speed: At home 1172 KBPS On the Voyager today: 47 KBPS
Passengers are convinced this is not a technology issue, but rather a cost issue. Regent should spring the extra bucks to vastly improve this turtle,
because both passengers AND crew would benefit greatly. (A lot of time wasted by all right now, sitting at unchanging screens).
6) Equipment breakdowns
No newspaper for many weeks. Limited laundry due to equipment overloads. Coffee machine breakdown. Toaster breakdown. Is there no
redundancy aboard the ship ? Must we always wait for spare parts at some future large port ?
No newspaper for many weeks. Limited laundry due to equipment overloads. Coffee machine breakdown. Toaster breakdown. Is there no
redundancy aboard the ship ? Must we always wait for spare parts at some future large port ?
7) A six star ship on a world cruise should not be a training center for new staff
In the old days, the very best staff of a cruise line were hand picked to service a world cruise, but these days it seems more like new staff are hired on
shore with little past cruising experience....but likely at a lower cost ? Anyway, training of new staff aboard is painful to both the experienced staff who
have to spend their time educating, as well as the passengers who endure the learning curves.
In the old days, the very best staff of a cruise line were hand picked to service a world cruise, but these days it seems more like new staff are hired on
shore with little past cruising experience....but likely at a lower cost ? Anyway, training of new staff aboard is painful to both the experienced staff who
have to spend their time educating, as well as the passengers who endure the learning curves.
8) Tour bus prep
The Destination Services office needs to keep focus on their prime mission, which is to provide enjoyable tours to ship passengers. This means tour
buses should be advised to keep signage off the windows as much as possible, to avoid blocking the view, and to start the tour with clean, not dusty,
bus windows. And priority for the best tour bus seats, with the best views, should go to passengers, not support staff.
The Destination Services office needs to keep focus on their prime mission, which is to provide enjoyable tours to ship passengers. This means tour
buses should be advised to keep signage off the windows as much as possible, to avoid blocking the view, and to start the tour with clean, not dusty,
bus windows. And priority for the best tour bus seats, with the best views, should go to passengers, not support staff.
9) Deck 11, forward: no more ship port plaques
This was an incredibly knucklehead move on the part of Regent Head Office in Florida. Some decision maker completely misunderstood the headset of
their customer base, and removed all of the ship port plaques, replacing them with nondescript paintings hung on the walls. Whereas before we
passengers would fondly gaze at these plaques, and reminisce on ports we've seen, and look forward to those we have not yet gone to, all of those
emotions are now gone. When we visit the Observation Lounge now, it raises emotions no stronger than going to a school cafeteria.
This was an incredibly knucklehead move on the part of Regent Head Office in Florida. Some decision maker completely misunderstood the headset of
their customer base, and removed all of the ship port plaques, replacing them with nondescript paintings hung on the walls. Whereas before we
passengers would fondly gaze at these plaques, and reminisce on ports we've seen, and look forward to those we have not yet gone to, all of those
emotions are now gone. When we visit the Observation Lounge now, it raises emotions no stronger than going to a school cafeteria.