"Included Excursions" T's & C's question

From the Terms and Conditions..

Terms & Conditions:

Free Unlimited Shore Excursions are for full fare guests only, capacity controlled and subject to availability.

What does the "full fare guests only" part of it mean???

If your fare is discounted, or on sale, do you not get included unlimited excursions?

Whoever pays "full" fare??

Does anyone know what that means???

I "think" if you have a discounted fare for a child - or third person in your suite - is not paying the full fare doesn't get "included" excursions. Also it might not include air fare for third passenger.

I Hope this is clearer than mud!

Agree with last poster -- this is our understanding as well.

Likely also refers to interline rates and employee discounts.

Likely also refers to interline rates and employee discounts.

Do you suppose it's only those, or Firefighter, Military, Teacher, Police, EMT??

I was wondering about Interline as well... I fall into that category. I went to the Regent site to look at the ShoreEx and saw that in the Terms.

There is so little Interline info available (T's and C's) for each line. It's as if, no Interliners cruise and post information. Not their TA's of course, but Google-ing Interlining gets you listing, but no personal experiences. Nowhere..

I will call Regent Monday and ask.

"kimango".....Please post reply after calling Regent on Monday. I, too, am interested in the answer as to whether Interline passengers get free shore excursions. If we do not, I will not be looking at Interline anymore for Regent. I did Interline for Oceania, and noticed no difference in onboard experiences. There again, shore excursions were not included on the Regatta as they are with Regent. Thanks...

For those of us who are clueless as to what you are talking about, would you kindly explain what "interline" means. Thanks:)

TC,

I was also curious about the meaning of "Interline" and found a website that explains it. See http://www.allinterlineres.com/eligibility.asp. The specific eligibility for Regent is:

REGENT SEVEN SEAS CRUISES:

- Active airline employees (Scheduled and Cargo)

- Spouse of employee

- dependent children of employee

- Retired airline employees

- Parents of employee

- Parents-in-law of employees

- Friends sharing accommodations with said employees

- Active and Retired Military

Only one cabin per passenger, except that interline personnel traveling with a spouse and dependent children may request an additional stateroom that will be confirmed at Regent’s sole discretion.

Regent requires proof of Interline Rate Eligibility immediately upon confirmation of your booking. Without proof of qualified interline eligibility, Regent reserves the right to automatically adjust the price to the applicable retail rate prior to departure.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the information:-)

"kimango".....Please post reply after calling Regent on Monday. I, too, am interested in the answer as to whether Interline passengers get free shore excursions. If we do not, I will not be looking at Interline anymore for Regent. I did Interline for Oceania, and noticed no difference in onboard experiences. There again, shore excursions were not included on the Regatta as they are with Regent. Thanks...

I will post what info I get. Hope to help others. That's good to know about Oceania.

Question for you. With your Interline cruise, did you receiver the same "perks" as a non-Interline Pax?? Example, Pre paid gratuities, Internet etc.. if it was offered on your cruise??

I sailed O last year before becoming Interline eligible. Oceania is a great fit for us, we don't drink, and always do our own ShoreEx, however..

Regent has a great deal for Northern Europe (St Petersburg) and those Excursions in particular are pricey to do on our own.

I suspect, even thought the "regular pax" receive included air, I doubt it includes that feature for Interline rates, but will ask that as well.

Purely on the math (cabin size and fare and ShoreEx) the Regent is a better deal, than others..

Are Interlink eligible people able to book - even when the ship is almost full and they are full fare passengers wanting to book as well? I'm finding this subject very interesting -- it is something that has not been addressed on the Regent board previously (at least not that I can recall).

Are Interlink eligible people able to book - even when the ship is almost full and they are full fare passengers wanting to book as well? I'm finding this subject very interesting -- it is something that has not been addressed on the Regent board previously (at least not that I can recall).

Good questions..

I think Interline rates are available on sailings with more cabins open than the cruise line would like, and offer them up at great rates to qualifying pax. Also, sailings that are close-in, like 90 days or less (maybe after final payment dates?)I am just guessing, but that's what I can deduce from seeing the rates and dates.

You are right, there is very little information on ANY board here on Cruise Critic, let alone the web, on passengers first hand experiences on using Interline rates. I am not sure why.

There are certainly LOTS of people who qualify for these rates, but so little info.

I can find Travel Agents who book these rates, but not booking tips/ info. BTW, my son works for a US Airline as a mechanic, and that's how I would qualify.

Thank you so much for the additional information. Out of interest, I looked up the number of people in the active armed forces throughout the world. the numbers are astonishing (see this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_size_of_armed_forces )*

I tend to research just about anything that interests me. So, I looked up three airlines that Regent uses quite a bit. The following are approximate numbers:

Cathay Pacific (in Hong Kong only) 20,000 employees

Lufthansa (2011 numbers) 120,155

British Airways - 57,000

You are right - there at "LOTS" of people that fall into the category of people qualifying for Interline rates. It is amazing that anyone is ever able to get a cabin.

Due to the cost to sail on Regent, they do not see many active or retired members of the armed forces on board (except retired officers).

*While this is not updated information, the numbers are still staggering in terms of how many active or retired men and women plus spouses, children, relatives, etc.

It will be interesting to learn what Regent has to say about their included excursions:)

There was a discussion on the HAL board a while back about interline cruisers. IIRC, someone was complaining about the onboard services he had expected with his cabin but didn't get. It turned out it he booked an interline rate and wasn't entitled to the extras.

What I gleaned from the discussion (whether it's true or just rumour):

Interline rates are for airline employees.

They're offered on a stand-by type of basis, so they can be bumped, right up until the last minute if the cruise sells out, and often are.

They're "cruise only", and never include airfare. (That's up to the airline employee to arrange.)

You take what you get as far as cabin choice, i.e.: you get what's left over if anything.

It's bare bones, with no extra inclusions.

One cruiser commented that although she can get interline rates she rarely does because it's too hard to plan ahead with them.

I dunno - those rates are so low, I'd love to be able to qualify! Perhaps a pilot or other airline employee is on the board who can confirm or deny any of the above.

For what it's worth..Several years ago, husband was a chef a Radisson hotels and we were so excited by what was then called employee discount. It turned out to be useless 3 years in a row because the date at regular rates was selling well and date was important. I will say that after being notified that our sailing was not to be at special rates, we were certainly welcome to keep the reservation at whatever the rate was to the general public and we did. I assumed it was sort of like an airline employee flying standby. My thought was that as great as it sounded, unless you have total flexability in regard to dates, it was not very useful. Friends who have done this frequently on the big ship companies have had much more success picking a date and going "wherever" they are put on "whatever" ship they are put so that they do get their specific date. I would think that this is much more difficult on the small ship fleets. I wonder if the officers that have their families on board even have to get charged at all. Not complaining....just curious.

Regarding Interline and other Special rates, believe Interline only refers to those who work in the travel industry and does not include Military and other types of professions. Know their are companies who claim to be able to give you documentation proving you are a TA in order to get these lower rates but, have heard they are mostly scams or even if qualified, the chances of getting the cruise you want on the date you want is minimal.

There is a company that advertises heavily as a TA and although because of CC rules, can't provide the name, on their home page they do list the types of special fares they provide:

More Cruise Deals

Age 55+ Discounts

EMT Discounts

Firefighter Discounts

Interline Discounts

Military Discounts

Past-Guest Discounts

Police Discounts

Singles Discounts

Teacher Discounts

Following is their description of who qualifies for Interline Fares and the cruise lines that accept them. FYI, right now there are on 8 Regent cruises that have interline fares. Please note military is not included for interline fares.

From time to time, one or more cruise lines will offer special discounts on select sailings to customers who are employees of a domestic or international commercial passenger airline. Employees of other cruise lines, Amtrak, Federal Express, DHL, United Parcel Service (UPS), Astar Air Cargo, Worldspan, Sabre, Galileo/Apollo, Amadeus, and members of the Airline Pilots' Association (ALPA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), International Airlines Travel Agent Network (IATAN) and National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) may also be eligible. In some cases, the spouse, parents, parents-in-law and dependent children may book one stateroom if the interline eligible guest is not traveling. Retired airline and cruise line employees may also be eligible. You must present proper documentation at the time of booking to qualify for the special rates. For eligibility requirements for each cruise line, scroll down.

For a list of interline discounts offered by each cruise line, click the name below:

Azamara Club Cruises

Carnival

Celebrity

Costa Cruises

Croisières de France (CDF)

Cruise & Maritime Voyages

Crystal

Cunard

Holland America

MSC Cruises

Norwegian

Oceania Cruises

Paul Gauguin Cruises

Ponant Yacht Cruises

Princess

Pullmantur

Regent

Royal Caribbean

Seabourn

SeaDream Yacht Club

Silversea

Am hoping that the links that I copied don't carry thru into CC or will need to delete and reformat as links would violate CC rules. As I stated, can't name the company of provide links but, their site does provide good info on this subject should you be able to find it. Excellent, had to delete one extraneous name of the company but, the links are turned to blanks and don't take you to the site so hopefully this is within the CC rules and the TA in question has not been named nor are there any links to their site.

I will post what info I get. Hope to help others. That's good to know about Oceania.

 

Question for you. With your Interline cruise, did you receiver the same "perks" as a non-Interline Pax?? Example, Pre paid gratuities, Internet etc.. if it was offered on your cruise??

 

I sailed O last year before becoming Interline eligible. Oceania is a great fit for us, we don't drink, and always do our own ShoreEx, however..

 

Regent has a great deal for Northern Europe (St Petersburg) and those Excursions in particular are pricey to do on our own.

 

I suspect, even thought the "regular pax" receive included air, I doubt it includes that feature for Interline rates, but will ask that as well.

 

Purely on the math (cabin size and fare and ShoreEx) the Regent is a better deal, than others..

We did not receive any pre paid gratuities, airfare or anything but greatly reduced price of cruise. Yes, these are good bargains, however, they are selling unsold cabins, usually close to time of sailing, so one does not usually have great cabin selections. We are booking the Oceania Norwegian trip in Aug., 2014, through our TA simply because I know that we will never get that on Interline......usually full ship. Thus, if you want a specific date, itinerary, etc., the Interline way is probably not going to work.

We did not receive any pre paid gratuities, airfare or anything but greatly reduced price of cruise. Yes, these are good bargains, however, they are selling unsold cabins, usually close to time of sailing, so one does not usually have great cabin selections. We are booking the Oceania Norwegian trip in Aug., 2014, through our TA simply because I know that we will never get that on Interline......usually full ship. Thus, if you want a specific date, itinerary, etc., the Interline way is probably not going to work.

I am looking at a Regent sailing and a couple Azamara sailings and an Oceania sailing.

Take the Azamara sailing. Included in an AZ sailing, is gratuites, adult beverages, as well as soda's and such.

Regent includes, Gratuities, Sore Ex, beverages.

Oceania, pre-paid Grat's only on special sailings (so not ALWAYS) so not inclusive.

I would have to assume that on those specific items on those specific lines, you would get those included items, just like a regular pax, just not things like Free Internet, any OBC's.

Also, I think when you book, you book into the Category you pay for, ( inside, outside,balcony) just not any particular cabin. Just like a Guarantee.

For someone like me, who can sail very close to sailing date, and not particular about cabin, I think I am a good "candidate" for Interline cruising.

I will also check on "bumping". I have heard contradictory info on whether or not you can get bumped. I always get cancel for any reason Insurance, will have to check the policies on that..

Will post after I get the answers for all my questions.

Very interesting topic. AdvenLee and fizzy have reduced this to the common denominator: flexibility and last minute sailing. As a military retiree, I searched the interline page listed by TC2 and noticed that the interline rate for my upcoming Regent Navigator cruise (22 MAR 14) is listed for 600 dollars more per person than what we paid for it in May 2013.

The "discounted rates" that I found were for upcoming cruises departing in February 2014 which are listed at 50% less than the currently published rate found in vacations to go. In the case of a seven day Miami to Miami cruise, the discounted rate was 3500 versus vacations to go's 7500 rate. This "savings" sounds great, but we all could have had a similar lower rate by booking earlier.

FYI, for all military active, reserve, and retirees, I shop around for my rate then contact USAA (insurance company for military) and they have always provided the best rate.

Z and TB

Right now, looking at a cruise that is selling for 3659 (balcony)on AZ. AZ includes beverages, grats, and port charges.

The Interline rate for balcony cabin on that same sailing is 1680. I have to assume, it includes the same standard AZ features.

There are other perks that they are giving on that sailing, OBC, and air credit, both of which I would not use.

or

The Regent for (balcony) 2800.00 Northern Europe, includes standard things, Grats, Beverages,standard ShoreEx. Just not air, and wifi, and OBC's.

So, on the surface it looks like a great deal. Will try to get all my questions answered and post.

Regarding Interline and other Special rates, believe Interline only refers to those who work in the travel industry and does not include Military and other types of professions. Know their are companies who claim to be able to give you documentation proving you are a TA in order to get these lower rates but, have heard they are mostly scams or even if qualified, the chances of getting the cruise you want on the date you want is minimal.

There is a company that advertises heavily as a TA and although because of CC rules, can't provide the name, on their home page they do list the types of special fares they provide:

More Cruise Deals

Age 55+ Discounts

EMT Discounts

Firefighter Discounts

Interline Discounts

Military Discounts

Past-Guest Discounts

Police Discounts

Singles Discounts

Teacher Discounts

Following is their description of who qualifies for Interline Fares and the cruise lines that accept them. FYI, right now there are on 8 Regent cruises that have interline fares. Please note military is not included for interline fares.

From time to time, one or more cruise lines will offer special discounts on select sailings to customers who are employees of a domestic or international commercial passenger airline. Employees of other cruise lines, Amtrak, Federal Express, DHL, United Parcel Service (UPS), Astar Air Cargo, Worldspan, Sabre, Galileo/Apollo, Amadeus, and members of the Airline Pilots' Association (ALPA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), International Airlines Travel Agent Network (IATAN) and National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) may also be eligible. In some cases, the spouse, parents, parents-in-law and dependent children may book one stateroom if the interline eligible guest is not traveling. Retired airline and cruise line employees may also be eligible. You must present proper documentation at the time of booking to qualify for the special rates. For eligibility requirements for each cruise line, scroll down.

For a list of interline discounts offered by each cruise line, click the name below:

Azamara Club Cruises

Carnival

Celebrity

Costa Cruises

Croisières de France (CDF)

Cruise & Maritime Voyages

Crystal

Cunard

Holland America

MSC Cruises

Norwegian

Oceania Cruises

Paul Gauguin Cruises

Ponant Yacht Cruises

Princess

Pullmantur

Regent

Royal Caribbean

Seabourn

SeaDream Yacht Club

Silversea

Am hoping that the links that I copied don't carry thru into CC or will need to delete and reformat as links would violate CC rules. As I stated, can't name the company of provide links but, their site does provide good info on this subject should you be able to find it. Excellent, had to delete one extraneous name of the company but, the links are turned to blanks and don't take you to the site so hopefully this is within the CC rules and the TA in question has not been named nor are there any links to their site.

__________________

Exactly.

I didn't know if I could post that from that site. There are many discounts available, but I am specifically talking about the Interline (for Airline Employees). Just as you posted the qualifications.

It's now just finding out the "fine print" and T's and C's.

When you call Regent, suggest that you ask to speak to a supervisor. This question does not come up often and you would want to make sure you receive the correct answer.:)

I came across this old thread looking for the same info. I know this conversation was a couple of years ago, but did you ever find out anything? There is a whole list of things included in the fare on the Regent website. I called Regent to clarify what we could expect, and the rep was clueless... said I'd have to ask a TA. She said gratuities, beverages, and shore excursions are all included, but not air, the pre night hotel pkg. or transfers. Is that the same info you got? I assumed air wouldn't be included, but we just booked an Alaska cruise on Regent and dont want to miss out if we're entitled to the pre hotel pkg and transfers along with the other passengers. I did notice there weren't any added taxes, which looked to be around $200pp on other cruises to AK, so that's another significant thing that I hadn't heard mentioned was included!

I came across this old thread looking for the same info. I know this conversation was a couple of years ago, but did you ever find out anything? There is a whole list of things included in the fare on the Regent website. I called Regent to clarify what we could expect, and the rep was clueless... said I'd have to ask a TA. She said gratuities, beverages, and shore excursions are all included, but not air, the pre night hotel pkg. or transfers. Is that the same info you got? I assumed air wouldn't be included, but we just booked an Alaska cruise on Regent and dont want to miss out if we're entitled to the pre hotel pkg and transfers along with the other passengers. I did notice there weren't any added taxes, which looked to be around $200pp on other cruises to AK, so that's another significant thing that I hadn't heard mentioned was included!

Hope you booked thru a TA who can get you that definite information. Yes, Regent normally includes air in all fares and pre cruise hotel nite for concierge and above. If you did book direct, would call back to Regent and keep calling until you get someone who knows the answer and/or ask to talk to a supervisor. It has often been said on this board that if you call the cruise line 4 times you will get 4 different answers.

Perhaps you bought a special fare that doesn't include air as those exist as well. Also suggest you go to the R website as things are fairly well explained there as well. Good luck,