The sale of Regent to Apollo is expected to close in January. Now might be a good time to let them know, from a customer point of view and in the spirit of “continuous improvement,” what changes we’d like to see made to Regent’s award-winning product. Therefore I’d like to start a thread or even a poll around this idea.

Warning: This is not meant to be a complaint list. Rather is should be a compendium of items that we as cruisers would like to make the cruising experience even more enjoyable.

However, it need not be limited to things we’d like to see incorporated in a “new-build.”

Even small improvements can have great impact on customer enjoyment (and loyalty). For example, during the 2007 World Cruise, on his own volition and while enroute, Capt. Dag had a forward railing fabricated and installed on Deck 12…finally giving guests an unobstructed view forward. This area quickly became a favorite for photographers and passengers to watch the Voyager’s arrivals and departures, close passages, sunsets, etc.

Thus, to start things off:

• I would like to see a dramatic improvement in each ship’s satellite bandwidth. The world is rapidly changing and more and more people depend upon Internet connectivity, particularly on long voyages. Such an improvement would allow the use of program such a Skype to stay in touch with loved ones, share important life events, and more efficiently conduct business (if one were so inclined?).
• I believe Regent needs to institute an automatic disconnection of the Internet after a certain amount of time with no activity. Sometimes people (particularly those of us with free Internet) remain on-line for hours when they are in their cabins. I am not an expert, but I must think that this degrades connection speed or impacts bandwidth usage.

If this thread develops some good ideas, maybe Ngaire could bundle them up and share them with Mark Conroy and his new upper-management.