Not Feeling Special

Several years ago I learned on this board that if you had a favorite brand of spirit you could request it in advance and Regent would put it in your cabin. I have done this on our four prior Regent cruises. It was a nice touch by what I considered to be a premium cruise line. I recently made a request for our upcoming cruise. I was told they could do it, but I would have to pay for the "added cost". No doubt there is an added cost (about thirty dollars over the brand Regent carries), but in the past they had been willing to absorb this cost. They are not willing to do that any longer. No doubt some poster will tell me to pay up and shut up. I can see that logic. But to me it is a nice touch that is no longer there, and makes me feel that Regent is cutting every cost it can identify. The brand is changing and not in a good way.

Several years ago I learned on this board that if you had a favorite brand of spirit you could request it in advance and Regent would put it in your cabin. I have done this on our four prior Regent cruises. It was a nice touch by what I considered to be a premium cruise line. I recently made a request for our upcoming cruise. I was told they could do it, but I would have to pay for the "added cost". No doubt there is an added cost (about thirty dollars over the brand Regent carries), but in the past they had been willing to absorb this cost. They are not willing to do that any longer. No doubt some poster will tell me to pay up and shut up. I can see that logic. But to me it is a nice touch that is no longer there, and makes me feel that Regent is cutting every cost it can identify. The brand is changing and not in a good way.

Guess this explains the $166 up charge for Hendricks Gin in another thread. Based on the Hendricks upcharge, seems unlikely the upcharge will be as low as $30 as the OP suggested.

dog1: This is a disappointing change. Someone on an upcoming cruise is receiving Hendricks in his suite at no charge (he emailed Regent headquarters). Out of curiosity, what alcohol were you requesting?

P.S. BTW, I would not pay the upcharge. If there were not good alternative on the ship, I would purchase what I wanted at the airport and take it onboard (but would not be happy about it).

While the person on the other cruise was told by regent that he would receiv a bottle of Hendicks in his suite no mention of whether he would be or would not be charged was stated. Based on this thread my gues is that he will be charged.

As often is the case with answers from customer service they provide incorrect and/or incomplete responses

Based on our experience, I would be extremely surprised if there were a charge involved in this case.

Since customer service representatives for most cruise lines seem to be lacking in terms of passing on current information and/or answering questions, it is yet another reason to have an excellent travel agent. In my 11 years of sailing on Regent, the only times I have called them is to change excursions (hopefully this will be able to be accomplished online in the future). The rest of the time we ask our TA and receive the answers that we need.

This seems to be a trend throughout their philosophy. We have not sailed with them in over a year and when I checked on sailing on the Explorer next year I learned that the free hotel night is only available in certain cabin levels and it seems that some of the benefits in our SS Society have been reduced. I was ready to book on Monday but I think I will look at alternatives first.

'free" hotel usually at least an E category, it is clear in brochures. Breakfast is also included and transfer to ship.

"Free" hotel is usually E category or above.. It is clear in brochures, includes"breakfast and transfer to ship. Done it many times. Like to get to port city a day early in case flights are late or changed. Don't have to sweat it!

Several years ago I learned on this board that if you had a favorite brand of spirit you could request it in advance and Regent would put it in your cabin. I have done this on our four prior Regent cruises. It was a nice touch by what I considered to be a premium cruise line. I recently made a request for our upcoming cruise. I was told they could do it, but I would have to pay for the "added cost". No doubt there is an added cost (about thirty dollars over the brand Regent carries), but in the past they had been willing to absorb this cost. They are not willing to do that any longer. No doubt some poster will tell me to pay up and shut up. I can see that logic. But to me it is a nice touch that is no longer there, and makes me feel that Regent is cutting every cost it can identify. The brand is changing and not in a good way.

What brand did you specify? Was it one of the ones that in the past has been provided free to suites? For example, we always request Tanqueray gin and Johnny Walker Red for our cabin and have never been charged. Are they now charging for these two now? Obviously Henricks gin has never been on their complimentary list. so there would be a charge.

"Free" hotel is usually E category or above.. It is clear in brochures, includes"breakfast and transfer to ship. Done it many times. Like to get to port city a day early in case flights are late or changed. Don't have to sweat it!

STand corrected.

Just got latest brochure and it DID NOT explain "free' hotel - apparently that has gone with hoop skirts! TOO BAD! I miss the hotel not the hoop skirts!

STand corrected.

 

 

Just got latest brochure and it DID NOT explain "free' hotel - apparently that has gone with hoop skirts! TOO BAD! I miss the hotel not the hoop skirts!

Okay - I am now thoroughly confused and we do not receive brochures - only emails from Regent. Are you saying that the "explanation" of the "free" hotel is gone or the "free" hotel is no longer offered? I assume that the included hotel still exists for "concierge" suites and above since a hotel was listed for our November, 2016 Explorer cruise.

captbuzz: The major change to the Seven Seas Society benefits was made last year -- you now have to reach "Gold" status before you receive unlimited included internet. However, Regent runs quite a few specials that include some included internet and the upper suites also receive a limited amount of internet (only one person in a suite can use it at a time). I believe the change to the included hotels occurred in 2013. Rather than just cost cutting, much of what Regent has done is make the Category "E" and above suites more desirable by adding benefits. Since the "regular" suites are the same size on the Voyager and Navigator, there was no reason for a person to book an "E" category over a "D" category (except location).

Hope that you reconsider the Explorer -- it is expected to be a wonderful ship with many amenities, new restaurants, a Culinary Center, etc. We found the prices a bit too high for the first few sailings so we booked the transatlantic in November which has more "normal" pricing.

$166 upcharge for Hendricks Gin? That's ridiculous. It's a $30 bottle.

I have asked for a specific liquor and have always been accommodated as recently as last September.

Is that $166 for one bottle in your suite or for them to stock it in all the bars as well.

Is that $166 for one bottle in your suite or for them to stock it in all the bars as well.

Based on the report of the person who received the bottle and the bill as reported in another thread, the bill was for the bottle delivered to his suite and this person sent the bottle back along with the bill.

The OP of this thread reported that when they asked for a specific bottle for their next cruise they would have to pay the "added cost" which was not defined however the OP was thinking about $30 but, based on the "added cost" for the Hendricks, expect the cost to be significantly higher.

And for those cheerleaders who keep posting that nothing has changed since the purchase of PCH, this is but another indications that things are in fact changing and not for the betterment of the passenger. Remember, management needs to increase the bottom line as much as they can in order to get the most of the $50M bonus based on savings at the end of year one of the purchase. And any increased charges will increase the savings for the previous stockholders of PCH.

I don't blame him for returning it. Hendricks is not considered expensive or exclusive. It is approx. $30 retail. If someone ordered Louis XIII Remy Martin then you would expect to pay big $$$$. Or pay for something like Johnnie Walker Blue.

I guess I'll find out on the next cruise.

I clarified what happened with the gin on a recent post which disappeared (along with many others....who knows?) Recalling suggestions made here, we asked our butler if he might see if he could replace the bottle of Tanqueray in our fridge with a bottle of Hendricks, since it was our favourite. Sure enough, the bottle arrived later with the bill. We couldn't quite believe the price tag, checked and double checked before returning it with thanks, but no thanks. This was on Voyager, in March this year. I agree, Hendricks is a premium product and we would have considered paying a little extra...just not $166 for a bottle of which more than half would probably have been left behind at the end of the cruise. (I think we consumed about three inches of the Tanqueray!)

I'll be interested to see how others fare in this department. I can't refer to previous experience since we've always been more than happy with the included liquor - and remain so.

Forgive me if this has been covered, but I am new to this board.

Is there a listing anywhere of the inclusive spirits on Regent?

Thanks,

Scott

Just off Voyager in May, a wonderful cruise! We asked our cabin steward for a bottle of Courvoisier Brandy and Glanmorangie whisky. We received both but was quite surprised to get a VSOP 1 litre bottle of Courvoisier brandy. There was no question of being billed for it. For the record we were in an F category suite.

You're going off-topic, Scottie. That almost never happens!

 

Travelcat2 wrote a comprehensive list here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=46219283

 

But also, if you go to your booked cruises online - and I assume you will have a cabin with a butler - there should be a link to let you pre-order booze (and other things) for your cruise. If you can't find it, write back and I'll try to cut and paste from mine - although I don't know if that form is the same for every itinerary and ship.

My whole LIFE is off topic.

Thanks friend!

:D:D:D,

Scott

Since it has been a few years since we sailed on Regent (or any line), I have a question; if you order a mixed drink and specify the brand, are you charged extra for the call brand? If so, then I would expect to pay extra for a bottle of that brand in my suite. If not then that is really, really bad customer service.

Absolutely no charge for calling premium brands. There are a few upper top shelf alcohols that do have a charge but very few. You can get Grey Goose, Chopin, Titos, Stoly and many other vodka choices. For tequila they have Don Julio Anejo and Patron Reposado (misspelled). I printed a entire bar list recently and can re-post it if you would like to have a look (it does include the few brands with a charge and shows the charge).

I feel that the "attempted" charge for Hendricks was an error as posters have been able to pre-order it without charge prior to and after Gilly took her cruise. One member of our Roll Call was able to pre-order it 16 months in advance of our Explorer cruise.

Regarding bottles of alcohol in your suite, you can usually get 2 bottles of non-premium alcohols or 1 bottle of premium. We generally get either Don Julio Tequila, Grey Goose Vodka or Jameson Irish Whiskey.

You seemed to have forgotten that there is no assurance that your roll call member will not be charged for his Hendricks. All that regent wrote is that a note will be put on his account to provide the Hendricks. Won't know until late 2016 if he is or is not charged extra.

We all know how regent customer often provides the wrong answer to a question or request so can't use that example until he is actually on board.

You seemed to have forgotten that there is no assurance that your roll call member will not be charged for his Hendricks. All that regent wrote is that a note will be put on his account to provide the Hendricks. Won't know until late 2016 if he is or is not charged extra.

 

We all know how regent customer often provides the wrong answer to a question or request so can't use that example until he is actually on board.

All the recent comments regarding my Hendrick's request has left me curious so I've emailed Regent asking for a clarification on their policy and their intentions on whether or not I will be charged. I'll post Regent's response when ever I get it.

Z and TB

All the recent comments regarding my Hendrick's request has left me curious so I've emailed Regent asking for a clarification on their policy and their intentions on whether or not I will be charged. I'll post Regent's response when ever I get it.

 

Z and TB

Regardless of the policy, I'll bet you a drink that you will not be charged. Headquarters would not offer it to you if there would be a charge! Have to laugh as it appears that everyone is reading our Roll Call.

P.S. Hope you are feeling better:)

I'm probably one of the biggest complainers when it comes to Regent's policy on Hendricks! It's absolutely ridiculous to me that they can't provide it as part of their included gins, of which I believe they have a total of 4. Thank goodness they got rid of the horrible G'vine gin (they charged an extra $10 for it).

Last year on my Voyager cruise Dubai to Cape Town I made a special request for a bottle of Hendricks and a bottle of Aperol. When I arrived in my cabin I had a bottle of Tanqueray and a bottle of Apple Pucker. I asked my cabin attendant to remove the bottles as they weren't what I ordered and I wouldn't be drinking them. The next night after I returned to my cabin after dinner there was a bottle of Hendricks and a bottle of Aperol waiting for me. I was pretty impressed, until the next afternoon when someone rang the doorbell with a bill for $67 for me to sign for the Hendricks. I refused to sign it and would have returned the bottle, but I received I phone call from Marcel (?) the next day who said they wouldn't charge me for it.

I'm interested to hear what Regent tells Zqueeze1, as I'm on the Mariner in October and would prefer not to have to try and find Hendricks prior to boarding.

I was happy to discover on my Mariner cruise in May they now have Aperol as part of their included liquors.