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RSSC rebrands as Regent Cruises
October 18, 2005

Ultra-luxury cruise company Radisson Seven Seas Cruises plans to change its name next year to Regent Cruises.

Captain Dag Dvergastein, master of the cruise line’s “six-star luxury”, all-balcony-suite, 700-passenger cruise vessel Seven Seas Voyager, outlined coming developments and new cruises in Sydney yesterday.

Seven Seas Voyager is one of a fleet of four luxury cruise vessels operated by Radisson Seven Seas Cruises, represented in Australia by Wiltrans. Radisson Seven Seas Cruises is in turn owned by the giant Carlson group, which is keen to revive its Regent brand on the hotel front, particularly in Asia. It sees a name change for the cruise line as an element of this.

Captain Dvergastein said the name Radisson, as applied to the cruise line, caused some confusion in the American market. The Radisson brand does not always denote upscale properties in the US, although Carlson is moving the brand upmarket.

Seven Seas Voyager will visit Australia next February as part of its 2006 World Cruise. It will sail from French Polynesia to New Zealand and then to Sydney, arriving 1 February 2006 and spending three nights in the city before heading to Phillip Island, Melbourne, Adelaide, Albany and Fremantle; thence to Bali.

Radisson Seven Seas Cruises is known for its imaginative and stylish shore excursions and events, such as dinner at great Ancient Egyptian temples in Luxor and Karnak and concerts by Dame Kiri te Kanawa. Wiltans managing director Diane Patrick said special visits to the races have been organised for passengers during this summer’s Australian visit.

Captain Dvergastein said all suites aboard Seven Seas Voyager had balconies and cabins were “the biggest in cruising” at 34 square metres plus balcony.

“Our passengers feel that that is more than big enough. It’s such a nice stateroom.” The ship includes rooms like that throughout, he added, to eliminate any “A-class versus the rest” atmosphere.

Seven Seas Voyager will return to Africa in 2007 on an “Around the World in 11 Nights” itinerary, its most extensive world cruise ever. The itinerary was designed after listening to feedback from past passengers. It visits five continents. By the end of the 111-night adventure, passengers will have seen and explored ports of call in Antigua, Barbados, Brazil, St Helena Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, Seychelles, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, China, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Oman, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Monaco and Spain before returning to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

PN

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Originally posted by Chris:
Will they drop the "seven seas" from the ship's names?

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Originally posted by Waynaro:
They could simply add "REGENT" in front of the name

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Or for more confusion, call it "Regent Seas Cruises"

Does it not? Not top class, but certainly higher than average, surely? I have only stayed in one Radisson Hotel though, where they messed up our booking, dumped us in a Best Western down the road for 2 nights, then provided the best room [4 poster, separate dining room, 'gold' taps etc] for the remainder of our stay.

At least Radisson means something to me, Regent denotes nothing.

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Originally posted by PamM:
"The Radisson brand does not always denote upscale properties in the US"

Does it not? Not top class, but certainly higher than average, surely? I have only stayed in one Radisson Hotel though, where they messed up our booking, dumped us in a Best Western down the road for 2 nights, then provided the best room [4 poster, separate dining room, 'gold' taps etc] for the remainder of our stay.

At least Radisson means something to me, Regent denotes nothing.

Pam

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Radisson Hotels in the US are considered average at best. No better than a Marriott or Hilton, and often times worse. Being a flight attendant, I stay at almost all the hotel brands in the US. Radisson tends to rate rather low. The problem is they are very inconsistent. Some of their hotels are quite nice, and others are run down worse than a Holiday Inn. It all depends. In any case, Radisson is in no way associated with luxury in the US.

I might add that Radisson is not all that well known of a brand in the US. They are not nearly as large as Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton, Holiday Inn, etc. and many people would never think of them when shopping for mid-priced hotels.

I personally don't think Radisson is a great name for a luxury cruise line, but neither is Regent. If they were smart, they would have simply gone with Seven Seas Cruises or Seven Seas Cruise Line.

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Originally posted by eroller:
Radisson Hotels in the US are considered average at best.

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Like Pam, as a Brit I thought they wer upmarket. The one or two that I have stayed in Europe were pretty good and certainly NOT cheap. I don't think that I've stayed in a US one.

Chains like Hilton etc do not seem to have any set standard anymore. There are pure dumps and very nice ones. Likewise Holiday Inn. Some HiExpress's are better than the next door Crowne Plaza, can't win sometimes.

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:

Like Pam, as a Brit I thought they wer upmarket. The one or two that I have stayed in Europe were pretty good and certainly NOT cheap. I don't think that I've stayed in a US one.

To me, the brand name 'Hilton' sounds VERY upmarket. I only recall staying in one, in America, and it was pretty good and very good value.

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I think the Radisson reputation in Europe is probably different than the US. I've stayed at about 20 Radisson's in the US. They were all very different. Some were quite nice, others were just ok. None were luxury like a Ritz or Four Seasons. I would rate Westin and W (two favorites of mine) well above Radisson as well. I consider Radisson mid-market, like Sheraton and Hilton.

What I am finding is that even mid-market hotels are adding luxury features like premium bedding and wireless internet connections. It kind of parallels what is happening in the cruise industry.

Unfortunately I find very little consistency within most mid-range hotel brands. Luxury and premium brands like Ritz, Four Seasons, W, and Westin offer a great deal of consistency, as do the economy brands which tend to be pretty standard. It's the brands in between which have a consistency problem ... Radisson, Hilton, Hyatt, Sheraton, Marriott. Too many hotels under individual management with not enough quality control to maintain corporate standards.

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Originally posted by eroller:

I think the Radisson reputation in Europe is probably different than the US. I've stayed at about 20 Radisson's in the US. They were all very different. Some were quite nice, others were just ok. None were luxury like a Ritz or Four Seasons. I would rate Westin and W (two favorites of mine) well above Radisson as well. I consider Radisson mid-market, like Sheraton and Hilton.

What I am finding is that even mid-market hotels are adding luxury features like premium bedding and wireless internet connections. It kind of parallels what is happening in the cruise industry.

Ernie

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Radisson SAS is the first international hotel chain code to offer free broadband - as part of its E@syConnect service concept - across hotels in Europe, the Middle East & Africa. The service includes High Speed as well as wired and wireless Internet access. Free broadband has been available in most Radisson SAS Hotels since September 1st, 2005, and will be available in all hotels by the end of 2005.

For more information about this service and a list of hotels that offer it, please visit www.freebroadband.radissonsas.com.

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[ 10-19-2005: Message edited by: Ocean Liners ]

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Originally posted by Waynaro:
So Regent Cruises it will be. Regency Cruises comes first in my mind .

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Don't forget. The luxury Regent brand was initially established in Hong Kong 35 years ago and really set the service and product standard for the Asian luxury hotel market.

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Regent International Hotels was founded in Hong Kong in 1970 as a joint venture between Mr. Robert H. Burns, who became chairman and chief executive officer of the company, and Tokyu Corporation of Japan*.

From 1970 to 1979 the company opened and managed a number of prominent hotels, but gained truly international recognition in 1980 with the opening of The Regent Hong Kong, which brought a new dimension in amenities and service to hotels in the city and attracted attention throughout the world. It was in this way that the hotel innovatively combined the Eastern standard of service excellence with the Western standard of luxurious spaces.

In August 1992, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts acquired Regent International Hotels. Several new Regent hotels opened during this period, including the highly successful The Regent Jakarta, Indonesia, which continues to set new standards in luxury accommodations and service in its market.

In November 1997, Carlson Hospitality Worldwide, one of the major operating divisions of the global travel and hospitality industry conglomerate, Carlson Companies, acquired Regent International Hotels from Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. Four Seasons continues to manage, under license from Regent International Hotels, Regent hotels located in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Taipei and Beverly Hills in Los Angeles.

www.regenthotels.com

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Not only in Asia but also in Oceania, the grand 5-star Regent of Sydney opened in 1982, with views over Circular Quay and the Harbour, and has became Four Seasons Hotel Sydney.

The Regent Auckland (now Stamford Plaza) completed in February 1985.

*The Capitol Tokyu Hotel opened a little more than 40 years ago as the Tokyo Hilton.

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Regent International Hotels and The Regent brand name are synonymous with luxury and service in hotels and resorts around the world.

The company is renowned for its total dedication to customer service and enjoys a clearly defined leadership role in the luxury market. Backed by the financial strength and business-building resources of Carlson Hotels Worldwide (USA), Regent has embarked on a selective global growth program, entering new markets and offering expanded worldwide presence in the luxury hotel category.

At present, Regent hotels and resorts are located in the cities of Almaty in Kazakhstan, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Taipei and Beverly Hills in Los Angeles. The Regent Esplanade Hotel in Zagreb, Croatia, which joined in May 2004, is the newest addition to the exclusive Regent portfolio. New properties under development around the globe include: The Regent Ningbo and The Regent Beijing in China; The Regent Boston at Battery Wharf Hotel and Residences in Boston, Mass.; and in Florida, The Regent Winter Park, near Orlando; The Regent Bal Harbour; and The Regent South Beach in Miami.

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[ 10-20-2005: Message edited by: Ocean Liners ]

Seven Seas would have been the obvious choice.

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cruisemole wrote:
Regent Cruises sounds like a cheap fly-by-night operation with a rusty old converted ferry.

Seven Seas would have been the obvious choice.

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Agreed.

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Originally posted by eroller:
I think the Radisson reputation in Europe is probably different than the US.

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Interestingly, when I have stayed in some cheaper/nasty hotels around the worlds, I've often seen flight attendants staying in them too!

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:

Interestingly, when I have stayed in some cheaper/nasty hotels around the worlds, I've often seen flight attendants staying in them too!

Do they often put you in the cheap ones, Ernie?

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:

Interestingly, when I have stayed in some cheaper/nasty hotels around the worlds, I've often seen flight attendants staying in them too!

Do they often put you in the cheap ones, Ernie?

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It all depends. Anything International will be a first class hotel for safety reasons. We stay at some pretty gorgeous hotels Internationally.

Domestically, it all depends on the city and the contract. Smaller cities often use less expensive hotels like Holiday Inn. In larger cities, the hotels are usually very nice. Westin Horton Plaza in San Diego, Renaissance in Seattle, Crowne Plaza Allerton in Chicago, The Mutiny in Miami, the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco, etc. etc. Not what I would call dumps. All hotels have to have interior hallways, more than one floor (are rooms must be on the 2nd floor or above), and food must be available at a variety of hours. We have hotels in the city center for layovers over 16 hours, and near the airport for layovers under 16 hours. These are minimum standards, and Holiday Inn is about the lowest quality hotel we stay at. We have a hotel committee (comprised of flight attendants) that works with Corporate Crew Accommodations to source hotels that meet minimum requirements while offering Delta the best contracted rate.

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Originally posted by lasuvidaboy:

Most U.S. carriers have employee unions (Delta does not) that set minimum standards for their crew's layover hotels.

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Thankfully Delta has never needed a union (only the Pilots and very small group of Flight Dispatchers). Delta is probably the least unionized airline around. Employees at Delta have always been well taken care of and respected, and also paid slightly higher than any other competitor. A union has never been necessary. We have many employee specific involvement groups working side by side with management on just about every issue affecting our work lives. Unlike most airlines, at Delta the employees and management work together as a team rather than against each other. It's not always successful but in general it has worked for us. Unions have tried to organize but they have been voted down every time, usually by a landslide. Of course times have changed, but Delta has always had a great corporate culture.

I don't know of any other airline where the employees actually pitched in to buy the company a new airplane. It happened at Delta. Delta has a very proud history, which unfortunately is fading like so many other US airlines. The glory days are over, but it's still good enough that no one is knocking down the door to leave.

As well as these 2 property's, the "KING" so to speak was always the Regent Hong Kong - Still rated one of the best hotels in the world, although now known as the Intercontinental Honk Kong. Of all the 5 Star deluxe hotels in the world i have stayed (of which there are many) this Hotel is definately the Stand out! Designed and Built for Regent, it has a stunning harbour front position in Kowloon with a view to die for, a "real" lobby where just entering you feel like a royal or movie star. The whole hotel just ooozez elegence and the service is impecable - benefiting from its asian location.

Then ofcourse we all saw "The Regent Beverly Wiltshire" in Pretty Woman, which was in LA and i guess Australian's just assumed that Regent represented "Deluxe" worldwide.

Still today, the "Regent" name has far more meaning here in Australia than "The Four Seasons", people still refer to the Sydney property as the Regent!

As for Radisson, well that is a very ordinary brand here in Australia, Hyatt/Hilton/Sheraton/Shangri-La/Intercontinental would represent the current Deluxe 5 Star brands, with Marriot/Renaisance/Crowne Plaza/Sir Stamford etc being the next level down and then Radisson would be on par with Novotel / Four Points / Holiday Inn type 4 Star property's.

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Originally posted by P&O:
The "Regent" brand in Australia was probably the "Pinnacle" of 5 Star + luxury during the 80's and 90's. The Regent Sydney had a remarkable reputation, first class service, famous restaurant, and a prime position overlooking the Harbour bridge and Opera House, this property was so good, Four Seasons retained its ownership when they onsold the Regent Brand.

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Fabulous hotel! Loved my week long stay there back in the late 80's.