Regent Seven Seas, Please Listen: Luxury Is Really About Service

Goldring Travel August 12, 2008

I guess with a bit of irony I commented in my post this morning that Regent’s trumpeting $40,000,000 of hardware upgrades on the Voyager and Mariner was good news, but there needs to be a significant improvement in the service department. I was just taking a look over at the Cruise Critic boards and saw

New Regent Seven Seas Ship Delayed Until 2012…At Least.

Goldring Travel August 6, 2008

On Monday, Prestige Cruise Holdings announced its plans for the new Oceania Marina…and some interesting insight into the future for any Regent newbuild(s). According to Seatrade, PCH has entered into a deal for potentially five (5) ships to be built by Fincantieri…all with the same hull; three for Oceania and two for Regent. While there

Message Boards – Do They Reflect The Cruise Experience Being Discussed

Goldring Travel August 4, 2008

One concern I frequently encounter, and a commenter on this blog mentioned again yesterday, is that some message boards reflect a certain personality and people wonder if the board’s posters are a reflection of passengers on board. My answer is emphatically: NO. There is a very interesting dynamic. Taking any cruise line, message board posters (those

Perspectives on Travel Agents – “Only The Best Are Likely To Survive”

Goldring Travel August 1, 2008

Last night I received a most unusual, and welcome, email from CruiseMates.com; a website that I visit once in a great while. It is more of an information hub than a message board community (which also has information but mostly from its members) such as CruiseCritic.com. The CruiseMates email was entitled, “Thank Your Travel Agent”.

I Demand a Free Cruise!

Goldring Travel July 29, 2008

I have been reading a thread on Cruise Critic about Seabourn cancelling a March 28, 2009 repositioning cruise from St. Thomas to Ft. Lauderdale. Seabourn – giving eight (8) months prior notice – has offered a 10% discount plus a $200 onboard credit. The Host chimes in immediately that the compensation sounds low and then

What Drives Me Crazy About Message Boards and Why I Am Here

Goldring Travel July 22, 2008

As many of you know, someone incorrectly posted on Cruise Critic that Seabourn “stole” away a Silversea ship…then it was that it was meant to be a Silversea ship and that “Some people were even crossed with Seabourn for taking over the contract! ” Where does this stuff come from? Then, on the Silversea board

Seabourn Odyssey Is NOT a Silversea Ship – Updated

Goldring Travel July 21, 2008

There is a rumor being spread on Cruise Critic that the Seabourn Odyssey is a Silversea ship that Seabourn sort of took away from Silversea. That is simply untrue…as are some of the other conjectures. It amazes me how this stuff gets started. Now, let’s just take a moment and think about it. Would Silversea

It’s The Annual Awards Season – Yuk!

Goldring Travel July 10, 2008

Last night I received an email from Crystal trumpeting that it was named the best large ship cruise line for the 13th year by Travel and Leisure Magazine. While I believe Crystal is, in fact, the best large ship cruise line, I take exception to the poll of some “readers” of that publication as being

Where Did the “Critic” in Cruise Critic Go?

Goldring Travel July 2, 2008

As many of you know, I had posted for years on Cruise Critic under the moniker of Iamboatman. My postings have stopped essentially because the concept of “critical” discussion of cruise lines has become forbidden and anyone who dares challenge a poster’s comments could summarily have his/her posts removed, be suspended or banned. In essence,

Windstar’s Wind Surf – Caribbean – January 2014

Goldring Travel Blog – Making Waves

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