Regents Brexit price warning and NCL profit warning

I can't be the only person intrigued by the recent letter informing me of price increases in the UK due to Brexit and the news that NCL have falling profits when I see today a full page ad in a national newspaper for Oceania.

Four cruises are advertised with 50% reductions e.g a penthouse PH1 reduced from £5129 to £2599 for 7 nights and a PH1 reduced from £7089 to £3259 for 12 nights PLUS upto $800 onboard spend. All in October and early November 2016 in the med.

If I hadn't already paid for my Regent cruise in September I would have been sorely tempted!

I guess that they can't fill the ships in the med and also guess that Regent will have the same problem, so I for one won't be booking early for our next cruise.

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I noticed the big sale for Oceana in small brouchures that keep getting posted to me. They seem to be reducing prices and including lots in the fare. We haven't cruise with Oceana before, don't even know why we keep getting the mail, but that seems to be another issue posted about on many occasions.

I know what you mean about booking early it's a chance you take as to whether you are getting the best price/deal for the cabin you want and flights you want or leave it to later and prices may be well reduced.

We have to book very well ahead due to work commitments, but if circumstances were different in years to come I would possibly wait and keep a close eye on the price. Hope you have a great cruise next month. Jean.

Thank you for your good wishes Liptastic. We haven't cruised with Oceania either but have been loyal to Regent mainly because of our gold sss status. However we hardly ever take excursions in the med and our biggest perk has been wifi and phone calls. As wifi is generally included now and is with the offers with Oceania and mobile calls are cheaper in Europe it is becoming tempting to give them a try. I need to estimate the bar bill though!! Whilst Regent would be our line of choice, value for money with them is becoming a bit of an issue.

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Swansong, I believe some of the small Oceania leaflets which we've been receiving (no, I don't know why, either!) have been advertising an all inclusive drinks package as part of the deal too. I can't go into detail since it's only something which my eyes have fallen on in between taking off the plastic wrap and putting the leaflet into the recycling bin, but I don't think I dreamed it ;-)

Gilly I think you are correct there. The offers seem to range from Internet access, drinks packages included and reduced flight upgrades to name a few. I seem to get at least one flyer/leaflet a week for no reason. :confused: Jean.

There are also some good deals to be had on Regent (in the UK anyway)

We are sailing Montreal to Miami in October at a very good price

The Amazon 25 night voyage on Mariner, 26 Nov, is outstanding value as is Dubai to Singapore on Voyager in December

A PH on Barcelona to Dubai (23 nights, 9Nov) is at an excellent per day rate and is being offered with included Business Class flights and $500 on-board credit

We would like to book Lima to Buenos Aires early in 2018, but will probably postpone our booking as the equivalent cruise in early 2017 has been discounted by over 25%.

Regent do not make it worthwhile to book early, despite their threat to raise prices by up to 7.5% to adjust for US/UK exchange rates

Flossie, we did Lima to BA last year and you're right, it was a dear do! Maybe you will remember that it was a disappointing experience for a variety of reasons and I wonder if that has resulted in slow bookings for 2017? You're right though, there is no incentive to book early, which gives people like us problems - we need to plan ahead and work around all kinds of commitments.

Interesting to read elsewhere on CC that the cruise before the one we're talking about - the Miami to Lima leg of the Circle South America voyage - was offered as a alternative cut-price incentive to people booked on the Explorer LA to Miami cruise in January. We were waitlisted for that, but as of a couple of weeks ago, are now confirmed. I guess a few people decided to literally jump ship, for which we are grateful!

Hopefully, by the time you book for 2018, the exchange rate will have improved. Fingers crossed!

I got letters with my last three onboard bookings that I am protected for price decreases all the way to sailing (I believe that is what it says). How do I find out about these "localized" sales in order to enforce this price guarantee?

thanks,

Marc

Marq I just keep an eye on the price on the web site frequently. We have never been on a cruise where to my knowledge the price has been reduced compared to the price we booked at. We are hoping to book a cruse for next year onboard on our cruise in a weeks time. Am I correct in thinking the booking will be transferred to our own TA if I give all the details on board? Also as you mention I think I have read somewhere that the price is matched if your cruise price is reduced?

Thanks, Jean.

I got letters with my last three onboard bookings that I am protected for price decreases all the way to sailing (I believe that is what it says). How do I find out about these "localized" sales in order to enforce this price guarantee?

 

thanks,

 

Marc

This may not be the right place to ask the question as it deals with issues in the U.K. Also, their consumer protection laws are very different than in the U.S. IMO, the onboard booking protection that you received is all the protection you need. Have you checked with your TA? They surely know exactly how the new onboard price protection works. It is doubtful that U.S. residents are eligible for anything offered in the U.K. unless you are a resident there.

I got letters with my last three onboard bookings that I am protected for price decreases all the way to sailing (I believe that is what it says). How do I find out about these "localized" sales in order to enforce this price guarantee?

 

thanks,

 

Marc

Regent will only guarantee the prices in the country of booking. We find it quite annoying that our family in UK can book a Regent cruise for substantially less than we can - even taking away the airfare, the price differential is still quite significant. We were trying to organize a large family reunion on a Regent ship but gave up on the idea b/c the family members on this side of the pond would have to pay 50% more than the family members on the other side of the pond and we could not justify it.

I wish Regent would post the "fine print" for the on board pricing guarantee - we usually always book a future cruise while on board, so I am quite interested in what it has to say, including the "legalese"

gnomie :)

I wish Regent would post the "fine print" for the on board pricing guarantee - we usually always book a future cruise while on board, so I am quite interested in what it has to say, including the "legalese"

 

gnomie :)

On the Explorer last week, the Cruise Consultant gave the same wording for the guarantee as when the program was first announced. The extent of the guarantee:

-----------------------------

BEST PRICE GUARANTEE

Booking onboard always comes with our Best Price Guarantee from the day you book up until the day of sailing.

Should there be another applicable public promotion offering a better value through a combination of lower price and amenities on the cruise and category you have selected, you will be able to take advantage of this new promotion plus the added benefit of the applicable Onboard Savings. Simply have your travel agent call Regent Seven Seas to have the new promotion added to your reservation (subject to suite availability).

Should there be a price reduction after final payment has been paid, the difference will be given to you in the form of a Shipboard Credit, suite upgrade, or a Future Cruise Credit at our discretion.

---------------------------------

On the Explorer last week, the Cruise Consultant gave the same wording for the guarantee as when the program was first announced. The extent of the guarantee:

 

-----------------------------

BEST PRICE GUARANTEE

 

Booking onboard always comes with our Best Price Guarantee from the day you book up until the day of sailing.

 

Should there be another applicable public promotion offering a better value through a combination of lower price and amenities on the cruise and category you have selected, you will be able to take advantage of this new promotion plus the added benefit of the applicable Onboard Savings. Simply have your travel agent call Regent Seven Seas to have the new promotion added to your reservation (subject to suite availability).

 

Should there be a price reduction after final payment has been paid, the difference will be given to you in the form of a Shipboard Credit, suite upgrade, or a Future Cruise Credit at our discretion.

 

---------------------------------

Anchorbouy,

Thank you very much for this post as it clarifies what I was wondering and trying to find out. Jean.

Apologies for my Post 6 above - I was not trying to start a US/UK pricing war

I was just reflecting on the title of the thread that we have a situation where NCLH are failing to meet their revenue targets and the GBP has taken a tumble against the US dollar, yet Regent still seem to be offering substantial discounts on some cruises in order to fill their ships

I therefore worry that this will lead to cutbacks in service levels in order to 'balance the books'

I sincerely hope that NCLH and Regent execs realise that many of us were attracted to the Regent brand because of their on-board level of service from well trained, efficient staff.........rather than overly-extravagant, glitzy new ships

I can see a 'flaming' coming but this is my concern for a cruiseline that I love

I don't think that anyone will be flaming you but might be a good idea to look at the fairly recent past as it is a good indicator of the present and future.

The downturn of the economy (which included a weak U.S. dollar) lasted a few years in the U.S. While not as surprising are Brexit, it was long lasting and impacted U.S. owned cruise lines. Regent's reaction was not to cut-back on service or food but rather to give an incentive to their customers that would save them money as well as encourage them to book a Regent cruise. That incentive exists today ......... included excursions. This was unique and filled Regent ships during those difficult years while some other luxury cruise lines were not able to do the same.

There have been a couple of times when it has been difficult for cruise lines to hire good staff. One was after several giant ships were built. Hiring was becoming difficult for all cruise lines and it showed to some extent on Regent (in terms of service and training issues). This year, with the addition of a new and larger ship (which IMO is not glitzy at all - photos do not do it justice), Regent has had to hire and train a lot of new staff. Having 25% newbies on each Regent ship has presented a few issues however, overall our experience on our cruises has remained excellent.

Brexit is a challenge more for U.K. passengers than for Regent. Regent (and other cruise lines) have a bigger challenge IMO - finding itineraries that passengers will be excited to go to and does not present a safety risk. U.S. passengers (approximately 80% of Regent cruisers), will book cruises - it is up to Regent to figure out new itineraries.

This is a very long way of saying that it is highly unlikely that Regent will cut back anything right now but will work harder to fill their ships with enticing itineraries. After all, if they cut back service or food, no matter how good the economy is, no one will book. That is like cutting off your nose to spite your face!

The after effect of the 'incentive' of included excursions was as I remember the increase in prices the year after they were introduced. As has been mentioned ad nauseam nothing is free, it's included and we pay for it!

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With business class air, I think Regent has reached the limit of what can be included in the fare. Even three day land is becoming ubiquitous. (Obviously, there is not the capacity to include spa treatments so that can't be included.) So, if they want to provide incentives in future, they are going to have to actually lower the price. No more adding cheap or free business air or land excursions in Asia; I guess they can add land excursions elsewhere but that is expensive in Europe. Will be interesting to see how they do, in fact, provide incentives in 2017.

Marc

The after effect of the 'incentive' of included excursions was as I remember the increase in prices the year after they were introduced. As has been mentioned ad nauseam nothing is free, it's included and we pay for it!

 

 

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I "think" that I agree with you but do not recall a year when Regent fares did not go up which means even before included excursions were implemented. Whatever Regent was doing during the downturn of the economy in the U.S., it worked. Granted, this was before NCHL purchased Regent so that needs to be taken into account (as well as the fact that NCHL is still being run by most of the same people that were part of Regent's previous owner, PCH).

Note: Just looked up the website for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. They quote the years of "The Recession" as being from 2007 - 2009. Other website quote five years rather than three.

The major difference between what is occurring now and during the last US economic downturn was that during the recession Regent was not owned by a publicly traded company that has more than 90% of their shares held by institutional investors as it is now. Therefore, they were not under the economic pressure they are in now to improve and to improve quickly. Wall Street does not have long term vision and you can by sure at the next earnings call all ears will be listening for some positive news, which if not delivered can be devastating to the brand.

After the stock tanked, there was not a buying frenzy even though it was listed as a "buy" by some of the "experts" - management will have to do something in the very short term to satisfy their investors.

gnomie :)

gnomie

The major difference between what is occurring now and during the last US economic downturn was that during the recession Regent was not owned by a publicly traded company that has more than 90% of their shares held by institutional investors as it is now. Therefore, they were not under the economic pressure they are in now to improve and to improve quickly. Wall Street does not have long term vision and you can by sure at the next earnings call all ears will be listening for some positive news, which if not delivered can be devastating to the brand.

 

After the stock tanked, there was not a buying frenzy even though it was listed as a "buy" by some of the "experts" - management will have to do something in the very short term to satisfy their investors.

 

gnomie :)

 

gnomie

Perhaps, however, whatever is done will not necessarily affect Regent. After all, the drop in stock prices was not specific to Regent. The issues in the world that may affect travel affects many companies. NCHL will not do anything to shoot itself in the foot.

In terms of people purchasing stock in NCHL, who would want to buy stock in a cruise line given what is happening in the world?

IMO, investors will be satisfied if NCHL cruise lines come up with new, different and safe ports of call. There have been many cancellations based on what I've read on Roll Call. When new, safe itineraries are offered, the cruise passengers will likely book.

To stay on point I should add that Brexit should have little impact on bookings. As has been proven, most luxury cruisers will continue to cruise despite currency fluctuations.

The stock is NCLH, not NCHL.

To stay on point I should add that Brexit should have little impact on bookings. As has been proven, most luxury cruisers will continue to cruise despite currency fluctuations.

You may, or may not, be right about the impact of Brexit on luxury line cruise bookings. However, it certainly will hit revenues for the US based cruise companies that price & charge their UK customers in GB Pounds

Regent has stated that it will change the £/$ exchange rate that it uses for new bookings after 01 Sept 2016 from 1.51 to 1.40. This new exchange rate will not be applied retrospectively to existing bookings. As of today the exchange rate is actually 1.29

So for payments on existing UK bookings Regent is losing over 14.5% and, assuming the GB Pound does not recover in the short to medium term, it will lose nearly 8% on new bookings after 01 Sept

Regent are presumably predicting that any greater price increases for UK customers will cause bookings to reduce dramatically which on balance would be worse for the bottom line

flossie, I certainly don't know if I'm right or wrong - it is just how things seem to me at the moment. All I have to base my opinions on is how bookings were during the severe downturn of the economy in the U.S. a few years ago (luxury cruise lines were affected but not as much as non-luxury cruise lines). The biggest difference now is that, in addition to currency issues in the U.K. and Canada, there are many ports that cruise lines are avoiding for various reasons and this is already causing cancellations. I read a Roll Call yesterday where two or three posters cancelled the cruise as they believed that Egypt ports would be cancelled (on their itinerary, Istanbul had already been dropped).

Canadian cruisers have been quite vocal about how the Canadian currency decline has affected their travel plans. I'm wondering if posters from the U.K. and countries on the Euro will change future cruising plans due to the decline in currencies.

It does seem like the next year will be challenging for all cruise lines. While I do believe that most luxury cruisers will still book cruises, the challenge may be what itineraries they will be seeking.

The stock is NCLH, not NCHL.

Sorry - I'm not at all familiar with the stock - only the parent company of Regent which is Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings Ltd. They refer to it as "NCHL" but apparently their stock shows up differently.

By the way, Brexit now appears to be having a positive impact on the British economy:

http://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/700959/Wages-up-and-unemployment-down-as-Brexit-Britain-booms