UPDATE on pre-cruise hotel rip-off

So I have just spoken to Regent, who said "yes", we can have shipboard credit instead of the hotel room! I had to go through the agent, but no problem. I have actually taken a refund instead of the shipboard credit, as it's a port intensive cruise so who knows how much time we will actually be on board to spend it in spa or wherever...

Anyway, it was a win in my book as we now have 3 nights in the room of our choice in the hotel, paid for independently. We will not get the transfer from the hotel to the port, but that doesn't bother us as it's very close.

Wow... that's great!!! Really didn't think they would do that. I learn something new every day:)

Yes, good to know the options

Out of interest, was the credit for the 'inclusive' hotel night comparable to what Regent charge for additional nights?

Which once again proves that everything they call "free" on Regent is something you pay for.

Which once again proves that everything they call "free" on Regent is something you pay for.

Did that actually need proving? I thought we were all pretty much in agreement that the correct term is 'included', not 'free'.

And again, when you do the price comparison with other cruise lines, there's really not a big difference in cruise fares, all things being equal.

But to get back on to the topic of included (not 'free') pre-cruise hotels, after 6 or 7 years of cruising, my wife and I came to the conclusion that even though it may be more expensive taking the Regent pre-cruise hotel, in the overall scheme of things it's worth it to us to just let Regent handle the arrangements and to get the included (not 'free') transfers as well. When you're spending the thousands (tens of thousands, usually) of dollars for a luxury cruise, what's a few hundred to not have to worry about transfers and booking your own hotels? I used to advocate just finding a hotel and booking it, whereas she insisted on letting Regent handle things. I finally gave in, and I have to admit, it's nice not having to shop around and worry about an additional booking. For us, it's a small price to pay for the peace of mind we get. I understand we're in the minority here, and please don't bother typing out long, detailed explanations on why we're just throwing money away - we KNOW it's more expensive and we choose to consider it a convenience fee. If I was that concerned about a few hundred dollars, I'd cruise another line.

As always, your mileage may vary.

I have many times gotten a credit (taken right off the top) for no use of hotel, just like I always take the air credit. Nothing new.

Did that actually need proving? I thought we were all pretty much in agreement that the correct term is 'included', not 'free'.

Have you gotten a credit for not taking the "free" shore excursions?

Have you gotten a credit for not taking the "free" shore excursions?

That is not currently offered on Regent!

Have you gotten a credit for not taking the "free" shore excursions?

Wish we could!!

Have you gotten a credit for not taking the "free" shore excursions?

Exactly.

Have you gotten a credit for not taking the "free" shore excursions?

Nope. Just like I've never gotten a credit for only having an orange for breakfast instead of a full hot meal...or for skipping that nightcap...or for not attending an enrichment lecture...

Fact is, all of these things are included in your cruise fare - whether you choose to use them is irrelevant - they're available for you to enjoy, or not enjoy at your discretion.

Frankly I just get a bit tired of hearing all of the discussion about what's free or what's included or who doesn't get credit for what inclusion(s) they don't want. People keep singing the praises of other cruise lines that don't make you pay for everything that's included (or free, pick your term). Everyone has the option of sailing on one of those other lines - no one is forcing anyone to sail Regent (that I'm aware of).

When you visit their website, the fares and what you're paying for are fairly well defined - in my opinion, THAT'S the time to decide what's fair or not, not after you've booked and/or sailed. I originally selected Regent specifically because of their all-inclusive nature. If I'd have wanted to arrange my own air or lodging or excursions or transfers, I'd have chosen Crystal or Seabourn or Silversea, etc.

Okay, I'm off my soapbox now. Sorry. I'm just a bit cranky today. Off for a second cup of coffee. *whew*

Nope. Just like I've never gotten a credit for only having an orange for breakfast instead of a full hot meal...or for skipping that nightcap...or for not attending an enrichment lecture...

 

Fact is, all of these things are included in your cruise fare - whether you choose to use them is irrelevant - they're available for you to enjoy, or not enjoy at your discretion.

 

Frankly I just get a bit tired of hearing all of the discussion about what's free or what's included or who doesn't get credit for what inclusion(s) they don't want. People keep singing the praises of other cruise lines that don't make you pay for everything that's included (or free, pick your term). Everyone has the option of sailing on one of those other lines - no one is forcing anyone to sail Regent (that I'm aware of).

 

When you visit their website, the fares and what you're paying for are fairly well defined - in my opinion, THAT'S the time to decide what's fair or not, not after you've booked and/or sailed. I originally selected Regent specifically because of their all-inclusive nature. If I'd have wanted to arrange my own air or lodging or excursions or transfers, I'd have chosen Crystal or Seabourn or Silversea, etc.

 

Okay, I'm off my soapbox now. Sorry. I'm just a bit cranky today. Off for a second cup of coffee. *whew*

It is okay to be a bit cranky;) From what I understand, Regent only gives "choices" for items that take place off of the ship (air and hotel in particular). As most posters on the Regent board know, I have long been a proponent of an opt out credit for excursions because excursions are not part of the "onboard" experience but rather are run by outside contractors off of the ship.

Agree that the onboard all-inclusive experience should be left alone and, like you, we always (or almost always) want Regent to take care of us from the moment we land until we are in line at the airport at the end of the cruise. They do such a great job.

Hi "NetBill" - At the risk of prolonging the "crankiness" (hope you've had that second cup of coffee :p), there's quite a bit of difference between the price of an orange on the breakfast buffet and all the "included" excursions provided to all on a typical cruise.

I like the "included" excursions, myself. At least for now. And I would continue to gladly use them and "individually benefit" from them if we decided to take any further Regent cruises in the future. But I don't have 200+ "Regent nights" under my belt, either, like some of the other folks on the board do, who would like to seem them become "optional and excludible".

I think some who don't like them "included" feel (and without any verifiable foreknowledge of this) that if Regent were to make them optional, and therefore deductible from the final cost (like airfare and pre-cruise hotel), that Regent would lower the final invoice cost for each customer if the "included excursions" were subtracted from the price. I think that is a huge leap of faith. Like buying a new car today (at least in the U.S. market), you just simply can't buy the car without the "included" A/C (thereby receiving a commensurate/assumed discount off the total price of the car). That's just not how our cars are sold. If you don't like the car's A/C.....don't turn it on!

As you have rightly pointed out, the "included" excursions (and oranges at breakfast) are simply part of Regent's marketing plan/product and are built-in to their price structure. I have no false hope (or desire) that the price of a Regent cruise would go "down" significantly if the excursions weren't included. If anything (not my wish), I can easily see at some point Regent raising prices as they continuously have, AND "limiting" the number of "included" excursions on any particular cruises, based upon the length/number of port stops on each cruise, with any "additional" excursions taken (over the base amount) appearing as an extra charge on the final invoice.

As you correctly said, people have to assess for themselves whether Regent's prices (which are continuously on the rise) and product, as offered, continues to be "worth the money" to each individual and determine whether they still think it's "worth it" to keep paying the price in the future. Best Regards.

We also like the 'all inclusive' offering from Regent (including flights, airport transfers and excursions), and generally find Regent to offer better or comparable value to their competitors

On one Regent cruise we had a couple of ports missed or shortened in time due to mechanical issues with the ship. That of course meant that we could not take the 'included' excursions that we had signed up for months in advance. After contacting Regent upon our return we did in fact get OBC for our next cruise because of the missed 'included' excursions. My perspective was that we had paid for those excursions in our cruise fare and due to issues with the ship and not weather we were unable to take something we paid for so i asked for some consideration for that. We fortunately got some as a one time act of good faith and i was happy about it.

We enjoy sailing Regent because of the all inclusive nature. I can understand not liking the included excursions if you cruise with them a lot to the same ports but that is not the case for us. We cruise to see different places so the included excursions work for us.

Well, I've not only had my second cup of coffee, but a third as well. :D

Apologies if I offended anyone earlier - it just seems as if we go through cycles of 'Regent bashing' here, and I've always been of the mindset "If you don't like something, don't buy it." Which is how my wife and I ended up with Regent in the first place! Regent fit our needs better than the competition did.

For better or worse, Regent's pricing model is what it is, and although I agree that prices have crept (shot?) up the last few years, well, what hasn't?

We could spend all day making comparisons with dining, automobiles, airlines, and whatever else we've compared cruise lines to over the years and never come up with a 'right answer.' I, for one, am just thrilled to have the options we have in the luxury cruise segment. I have no doubt that there are options out there for everyone. I just wish that people could be a bit less vocal about their disappointments. I like to think that if I took a cruise on another line and didn't like it that much, I'd maybe post reasons WHY I didn't like it without being overly dramatic. Come to think of it, we DID take a cruise on another line once and we weren't that crazy about it. I'll have to delve back into my old posts and see if I made any comments about that cruise...

Anyhow, no more coffee for today. I think it's time for lunch. :p

Well, I've not only had my second cup of coffee, but a third as well. :D

 

Apologies if I offended anyone earlier - it just seems as if we go through cycles of 'Regent bashing' here, and I've always been of the mindset "If you don't like something, don't buy it." Which is how my wife and I ended up with Regent in the first place! Regent fit our needs better than the competition did.

 

For better or worse, Regent's pricing model is what it is, and although I agree that prices have crept (shot?) up the last few years, well, what hasn't?

 

We could spend all day making comparisons with dining, automobiles, airlines, and whatever else we've compared cruise lines to over the years and never come up with a 'right answer.' I, for one, am just thrilled to have the options we have in the luxury cruise segment. I have no doubt that there are options out there for everyone. I just wish that people could be a bit less vocal about their disappointments. I like to think that if I took a cruise on another line and didn't like it that much, I'd maybe post reasons WHY I didn't like it without being overly dramatic. Come to think of it, we DID take a cruise on another line once and we weren't that crazy about it. I'll have to delve back into my old posts and see if I made any comments about that cruise...

 

Anyhow, no more coffee for today. I think it's time for lunch. :p

When it is time for a glass of wine (just kidding:-) Agree with you 110% about the negative threads (especially ones with inflammatory subjects). We used to get more "reviews" that indicated such in the subject and discussed everything related to the cruise -- the positive and not so positive. I'm with you - if you don't like Regent, cruise on another line.

In terms of present active threads, the hotels that Regent books for passengers have been over-priced for at least the 12 years that we've cruised with them. No one is forcing you to book extra hotel nights through Regent. The chairs on the Navigator - really? For anyone that is upset about them, check out the Explorer "images" in their latest brochure -- same as the Navigator (and presumably the Mariner and Voyager will follow suit).

Nothing is perfect. As everyone knows, my gripe is included excursions. However, I would rather pay for included excursions that I don't want in the cruise fare than pay the prices for excursions on Oceania or Silversea. While I would be thrilled if we had the ability to opt-out of excursions but this is no longer a deal breaker for us.

Three 1/2 hours until my glass of wine. Perhaps this is just a grumpy day:cool:

When it is time for a glass of wine (just kidding:-)

Is 'breakfast' the wrong answer?

Three 1/2 hours until my glass of wine. Perhaps this is just a grumpy day:cool:

That's the beauty of living in the Eastern time zone - wine (or scotch) time for me is in about 51 minutes. :cool:

Well that discussion got interesting!

Just to clarify, as the OP, we travel Regent, Seaborn etc precisely because we want the all-inclusive aspect on board. I don't have a problem with the "free" excursions, most of which we don't use. I was just taken aback at the outrageous cost of UPGRADING a hotel room via Regent, as opposed to booking via the hotel itself.

I also understand some people want the convenience of one agency handling everything (flights, hotels, transfers, cruise).

That said, really looking forward to our cruise in Sept on the new Explorer!

Did that actually need proving? I thought we were all pretty much in agreement that the correct term is 'included', not 'free'.

 

...

It seems Regents copy editors and spokesweasels would disagree.

Well, I've not only had my second cup of coffee, but a third as well. :D

 

Apologies if I offended anyone earlier - it just seems as if we go through cycles of 'Regent bashing' here, and I've always been of the mindset "If you don't like something, don't buy it." Which is how my wife and I ended up with Regent in the first place! Regent fit our needs better than the competition

 

Anyhow, no more coffee for today. I think it's time for lunch. :p

When it is time for a glass of wine (just kidding:-) Agree with you 110% about the negative threads (especially ones with inflammatory subjects). We used to get more "reviews" that indicated such in the subject and discussed everything related to the cruise -- the positive and not so positive. I'm with you - if you don't like Regent, cruise on another line.

 

Three 1/2 hours until my glass of wine. Perhaps this is just a grumpy day:cool:

Yes the love it or leave it argument is very useful. It always manages to soothe emotions and bring calm to the hearts of all those involved. I always felt better when someone said "if you don't like the health care system in the USA then move to Canada." And so to further soothe those who are stuck reading threads with inflammatory content. I'll just say, if you don't like threads with criticism of Regent, then maybe you should just go on to another thread.

See how helpful and welcoming that advice is! Now doesn't every one feel better?

I don't know whether to move on to coffee, wine, or a tranquilizer, or maybe all three. :)

Where, oh where, is the 'LIKE' button ;)

Where, oh where, is the 'LIKE' button ;)

Sorry but "s******ing here! ":D

Sorry but "s******ing here! ":D

The word i was saying was not in the least bit offensive, just so you know! :)