Domestic First Class Question

rallydave,

Thank you for your response -- it makes sense. It is getting very complicated to chose a cruise these days. Like, if the credit for not taking regent air is insufficient, we may have to consider other lines like Silversea that do not include "free air" but have a bit less costly fare. I am one of a growing number of travelers who avoids domestic economy class like the plague. As we live in Durango, CO which is not a Regent "gateway city" we of course have to provide our own air to a gateway city, which would be either Dallas or Denver. We are served only by small regional jets with only economy class. But that is a short flight and I find regional jet economy class less miserable than it is on longer flights in larger planes.

As Regent is certainly not an "economy class" cruise line, one would think they would be more helpful and understanding of a guest who dislikes economy class air as much as "economy class" cruising. Oh, well, perhaps someday.

Thanks again.

You are very welcome Dolebludger. Now that you remind me about living in Durango which my DW and I spent a couple of lovely days last September while taking in the Utah National Parks, forgot that you also have to pay the non-gateway fee if you book direct with Regent so even more reason to take the credit and purchase your own First Class ticket to Miami.

Have actually found recently that First Class in relation to Coach is actually quite competitive when you consider that you get (2) 70 lb suitcases each that you will have to pay for. We are flying out of Toronto so we can stop in Iceland this August for our next cruise and purchased First Class tickets to Toronto which, when including the baggage charges for coach makes the price for First Class within a few dollars of what we would pay for coach.

Also looked at Houston to Miami for our 2017 cruise and First Class again is competitive with coach considering the luggage charges. YMMV

I have a question along these lines. We are considering booking a "Miami to Miami" Regent Caribbean cruise. It will involve no international flights. It also will involve a short commuter jet flight to either Denver or Dallas on which first or business class will not be available, and the involve a flight to Miami from either Denver or Dallas on which first or business is available -- and the reverse on return. With Regent providing the air, how can we upgrade the longer leg to and from Miami to business or first?

I did a quickie check on Yapta (IMO the easiest way to find flights). There is a non-stop flight on American Airlines from Denver - the round-trip price is $1,625 for two. Non-use air credit for Miami is pretty low (generally $300-$350/person) so you would end up paying about $1,000 for the flights. It is worth seeing what Regent would charge you for those flights in First Class (you can absolutely do it through Regent - we've done it on cruises into or out of Miami a couple of times). However, I do not believe that you can deviate to go to First Class - it is a separate issue.

IMO, airlines have done everything in their power to make things difficult for passengers (and doing a "money-grab" at the same time). Regent does what it can to maneuver the constantly changing airline rules.

Hope you are able to book Regent. I've seen you on the Silversea board and, as I mentioned, Silversea is a very good cruise line but that tie that you don't wear in the Caribbean could be an issue (my DH always packs one -- just in case).

Cannot definitely answer your question without knowing how you were ticketed and what airlines are involved. I can guess you are on Icelandair from Newark to Tampa and possibly Jet Blue or another domestic carrier to Newark. Looking at the Icelandair website they do show Jet Blue to Newark. They also show 2 bags at 70 lbs for the fights but, only if Regent booked you thru Jet Blue. Also shows you in economy comfort to Newark.

 

If Regent booked the flights separately and not with Icelandic for both flights, probably you would not get the 2 bags at 70 lbs on the Newark flight. Hopefully you have your booking number and if only one number for both flights, would expect you to be on the Jet Blue code share and get the Business luggage for both flights.

 

Suggest you go to the Icelandic site and put in your booking code and see what they say for luggage. If 2 codes, check the domestic flight to see what that airline allows.

 

All depends on how Regent Air booked your flights. Hope this helps and if my guess is incorrect, please provide your flight numbers and airlines and I'll try to look them up or you can simply check on the airline websites with your booking number and get the info yourself.

We have 2 airline reference numbers. But when we go to the Iceland Airline website, and use the "over the pond" reference, all flights are shown.

I hope what Travelcat2 says is correct as we think we'll be checked through to our final destination.

Thank you both for your help.

I did a quickie check on Yapta (IMO the easiest way to find flights). There is a non-stop flight on American Airlines from Denver - the round-trip price is $1,625 for two. Non-use air credit for Miami is pretty low (generally $300-$350/person) so you would end up paying about $1,000 for the flights. It is worth seeing what Regent would charge you for those flights in First Class (you can absolutely do it through Regent - we've done it on cruises into or out of Miami a couple of times). However, I do not believe that you can deviate to go to First Class - it is a separate issue.

 

IMO, airlines have done everything in their power to make things difficult for passengers (and doing a "money-grab" at the same time). Regent does what it can to maneuver the constantly changing airline rules.

 

Hope you are able to book Regent. I've seen you on the Silversea board and, as I mentioned, Silversea is a very good cruise line but that tie that you don't wear in the Caribbean could be an issue (my DH always packs one -- just in case).

Just to add to what TC posted, I checked airfare for the Feb 14, 2017 Explorer Miami to Miami cruise. I assumed that you would arrive in Miami the day before the cruise begins. Nonstop flights in First Class from Denver on American (to Miami) or United (to Ft. Lauderdale) cost about $800 - $900 per person round trip, depending on the flight. The air credit is $300, so the real fare would be about $500 - $600 per person.

Regent adds $799 per person per flight to upgrade to first class. So a round trip First Class ticket booked through Regent would cost $799 x 2 = $1598 plus $175 for an air deviation plus $300 for the air credit you would not get. The total per person would be $2073.

IMO, this is an instance where you are MUCH better off booking air on your own than through Regent. $500 - $600 per person versus $2073 per person is a no-brainer. :D

Hope this helps.

Just to add to what TC posted, I checked airfare for the Feb 14, 2017 Explorer Miami to Miami cruise. I assumed that you would arrive in Miami the day before the cruise begins. Nonstop flights in First Class from Denver on American (to Miami) or United (to Ft. Lauderdale) cost about $800 - $900 per person round trip, depending on the flight. The air credit is $300, so the real fare would be about $500 - $600 per person.

 

Regent adds $799 per person per flight to upgrade to first class. So a round trip First Class ticket booked through Regent would cost $799 x 2 = $1598 plus $175 for an air deviation plus $300 for the air credit you would not get. The total per person would be $2073.

 

IMO, this is an instance where you are MUCH better off booking air on your own than through Regent. $500 - $600 per person versus $2073 per person is a no-brainer. :D

 

Hope this helps.

While this does support my contention that booking yourself is less expensive than letting Regent take care of your flights, there is one issue I forgot in my previous comments. Buying these tickets on your own including the First Class, means you are buying a non-refundable ticket and if you should need to cancel you might be on the hook for those tickets depending on the cancellation reason as well as if you have insurance coverage that covers the reason for cancellation while by letting Regent buy your tickets, at least until you are in the penalty phase you can cancel your air at no cost.

Yes, with more research, I have found that I can get a $300 pp fare reduction for not using Regent air to Miami, and the cost af a first class ticket is a bit over $800 pp, so a $500 or so difference pp for first class. As mentioned above, that is much better than the upgrade deal Regent offers.

As I said before, I don't understand why Regent makes it so difficult to upgrade to first or business class. Regent is not an "economy" cruise line, and I can't understand why they don't realize that their guests don't like "economy class" for any part of their trip. In case you haven't noticed, passenger space in domestic economy has been shrinking. So much so that the FAA is investigating the safety aspects of the shrunken accommodations. Like, how can the passengers get out in an emergency when they are wedged in? Also, we have a case of the shrinking number of rest rooms so that passengers are ordered not to wait in line for them. So I suspect I am not alone in refusing to fly economy (except on short commuter runs where it is the only choice). Rather than fly economy for any distance, I'll just stay home. There's lots to do here in Durango.