Excursions sold out on day 1

I am very disappointed that even though I went onto the website to book my excursions within 5 minutes of the allowed date, there were 6 that were already sold out. Some of these were the free ones and some were the ones that we pay for. Since I have not travelled on Regent since they included excursions, what is the expectation for them to add more availability. I know some frequent flyers are allowed to book earlier than us newbies, but it does seem fair that on day 1, we are already shut out. My travel agent has called but the response was to "just keep checking". Is there a wait list? I ultimately would not be happy to go this far and spend this much and not be able to see what I am willing to pay for, or really want to see. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.

We had a similar problem. We are booked on a LA to Miami Panama Canal cruise Jan 15, 2017. We were able to select excursions early because of our status. We were unable to book one port because all the excursions were closed. In the past we've been waitlisted and they've added additional groups to sold tours. I don't know what's going on but it doesn't make sense to me that they were sold out so early. Our TA put us on a wait list. By the way extra charge tours were also unavailable. This is our 4th Regent cruise and this is the first time this has happened. When it happened in the past. It was because I wanted to change an included tour to an extra charge tour a month after we originally made

our choices. When we boarded they had added a group and we were in it.

Keep checking. You may have run into poor website design regarding excursions that are not sold out but are not yet available for booking. In the past, when an excursion was not ready to be booked, the website would not display a message saying that the excursion was not yet available for booking and requesting that you try again later. Instead, an excursion sold out message was displayed. I kept checking and eventually the excursion opened and the sold out message disappeared. You may be in the same position as I was in the past. Good luck

Try again. When we booked the excursions for our 9/3 SF to NYC cruise on the Mariner, we logged in when excursions opened, and everything appeared to be sold out. What it really meant was that the excursions weren't quite ready on time. 20 or 25 minutes after the supposed opening time, we were able to book all of our desired excursions.

If that still doesn't work, call Regent and have them book the excursions.

We did a last minute booking a few months ago.Eventhough the tours were 'supposedly sold out' we had Regent put us on the waiting list for those we wanted.

We had booked through an agency but Regent had no problem with my request directly to them

We we first arrived in our stateroom.....we had tickets for every excursion we had requested waiting for us !

TC, Here is an opportunity for you to use your closeness to RSSC management to truly solve a problem, Please jump on it with the same enthusiasm you use to praise the company's practices.

TC, Here is an opportunity for you to use your closeness to RSSC management to truly solve a problem, Please jump on it with the same enthusiasm you use to praise the company's practices.

This should be interesting.

TC, Here is an opportunity for you to use your closeness to RSSC management to truly solve a problem, Please jump on it with the same enthusiasm you use to praise the company's practices.

??? IMO the excursion issue has been a pain in the butt since it was started. Believe me - Regent management knows my feelings (which is to allow opt out or do away with included excursions) as well as everyone else's opinion. Remember that Regent has people reading these boards. I'm sure that the last thing you want to hear (again) is my ranting about herding passengers like sheep in the theater, multiple buses at a restroom stops, etc.

P.S. So much for the incorrect notion that I enthusiastically praise the company's practices. This notion lives in the minds of some posters only. IMO, Regent is the best fit for us -- we enjoy our cruises immensely but it is not for everyone.

If the excursion section on your website does not indicate that you are "Wait Listed" for the tours that are currently sold out, ask your TA to ring Regent direct and ensure you are put on their wait list. Let your TA know how important some of the excursions are to you, and then both of you should continue to check the status going forward. In my experience, once there are enough people to fill an extra "bus", Regent will open the tour again - always providing that there are sufficient buses in the port you are visiting !! You may have to accept that some tours are very limited due to local availability - always find yourselves a fall-back 'Plan B' which on Regent is pretty much just as awesome. Enjoy.

Jacquie, I am totally aware of your feelings about excursions. That, however, doesn't seem to match up with the majority of posts on these boards; although,in fairness, some others are in agreement with you.

My point is, however, that you could help make the overall experience better by discussing the shortcomings in the scheduling process with your insiders in Miami.

Jacquie, I am totally aware of your feelings about excursions. That, however, doesn't seem to match up with the majority of posts on these boards; although,in fairness, some others are in agreement with you.

My point is, however, that you could help make the overall experience better by discussing the shortcomings in the scheduling process with your insiders in Miami.

I understand that many people like the "free" excursions, It has brought many former non-luxury cruisers to Regent. As I mentioned, they already know all of the pluses and minuses of their included excursion program. IMO, it is not possible to run a program where 700 passengers can book multiple excursions - may or may not show up for them -- deal with people that complain that they can't get on an excursion....... then when buses are added there are complaints of overcrowding (which there definitely is in some ports).

To go off topic - just for a moment - are you looking at any Explorer cruises in the future? The transatlantics are priced incredibly well (which could be why we are booked on three of them:-)

P.S. Not sure what "insiders" you think I know. I have a friend at Regent in Miami whom I do not discuss Regent with and also someone that sometimes calls Seven Seas Society members at the conclusion of a cruise. Of course, I've met some people from the corporate offices in Miami onboard cruises but I carry no influence with them whatsoever (nor them with me).

Because this is our 50th anniversary year we are doing independent travel in the UK. Next year back to Regent on Venice to Rome 10/3. We greatly prefer port intensive and therefore avoid TAs.We would love to try Explorer; the PHs look terrific, but the itinerary we selected checks so many boxes including Delos, Patmos, Rhodes, Crete, and Malta.

Maybe some day our paths will cross as they almost did in Capetown.

BTW I totally agree the excursion offered by O was equally fabulous to what you received from R ie. Safari camps.

WOW - Happy 50th Anniversary:D :D :D What an incredible milestone!

Maybe what Regent should do is charge for the excursion if you don't turn up. I found that people just booked because they were 'free' then didn't bother cancelling.

We booked to do a wine tasting on Oceania (an extra charge of $20) and only Dh, myself and one other man turned up out of the 20 who had booked. I suggested to the chief sommelier that those who didn't show should be charged and we were allowed to drink the very nice wine he had on offer but sadly, that didn't happen 😔however the staff had gone to a lot of trouble setting things up and I think it is very selfish when people 'can't be bothered' to cancel things so others can have the opportunity to partake.

T123, BZ, couldn't agree more!

...

To go off topic - just for a moment - are you looking at any Explorer cruises in the future? The transatlantics are priced incredibly well (which could be why we are booked on three of them:-)

...

The Lisbon - Miami crossing looks great to me. Not sure I could ever persuade David to do another crossing after being on Riviera--he did not like the ambience of that ship, however beautiful it was. We'll see how he does on an 18-day trip on Mariner, albeit with lots of ports.

We had a similar problem. We are booked on a LA to Miami Panama Canal cruise Jan 15, 2017. We were able to select excursions early because of our status. We were unable to book one port because all the excursions were closed. In the past we've been waitlisted and they've added additional groups to sold tours. I don't know what's going on but it doesn't make sense to me that they were sold out so early. Our TA put us on a wait list. By the way extra charge tours were also unavailable. This is our 4th Regent cruise and this is the first time this has happened. When it happened in the past. It was because I wanted to change an included tour to an extra charge tour a month after we originally made

our choices. When we boarded they had added a group and we were in it.

I'm on that same cruise. Cabo sold out immediately! It made me think that it didn't even happen. Worse, we could have booked early but we lured friends over from Seabourn and said we would book with them. There is hardly anything the entire cruise and no place on the web page to wait list. I'm pretty sure our friends will rush back to Seabourn after this and we will go with them. This is the first time this has happened to us.

I solved my Regent included excursion problem.:rolleyes: I traded it for slightly smaller cabins and fixed seating dining, which I do not find as distasteful as big bus tours that are over priced.

Someone suggested calling Regent to book tours - it's a good way and by doing that, you talk to a person who might be able to give you more specific information.

Peggy

Someone suggested calling Regent to book tours - it's a good way and by doing that, you talk to a person who might be able to give you more specific information.

 

Peggy

"Might be" being the operative phrase here. I've found the gang in Miami to be hit or miss. They helped us modify dining reservations that I couldn't change online...but they also told me that Navigator hadn't been refurbished yet...a week after she left drydock and was already sailing again.

But I'd definitely call them, at least give them a try.

As DaveFr indicated, usually when excursions are not ready for booking, they will indicate that they are full. Usually it has to do with contracts with certain providers not being in place but are fixed within a week or so of when bookings open. This has been an issue since included excursions were introduced a few years ago.

Wendy - just saw your post from a while ago........ we are on the Lisbon to Miami crossing as well as the Rome to Miami and Miami to Barcelona crossings on the Explorer. The pricing on these crossings was lower than most Regent cruises and we have been to just about everywhere on our bucket list and enjoy being on the ship.

Chatkat - Glad that you found another cruise line since Regent obviously wasn't "doing it" for you. It is far better to find a cruise line that you enjoy rather than complaining and/or being upset with Regent. Recently it seems that there are more people complaining about minute things on Regent rather than making the decision to change cruise lines. Yet, after all of the complaints, they continue to book Regent. This reminds me of people doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

As many posters know, we are not fans of included excursions but it is not a deal breaker for us. We simply do not go on most "free" excursions and do our own thing. Yes - I know that we are paying for excursions in our fare but when you are paying $$$$$$, the extra doesn't really matter (it kind of reminds me of people not wanting to pay $175/person for flight deviation but pay $20K+ for a cruise.)

In any event, there will likely be openings on Cabo and other port stops soon. Agree with Peggy that calling Regent is a good idea.

Bill,

To state the obvious if you find someone at the end of the phone at Regent, get their name and phone extension and when you call get to that person.

I will also say that most of the people I've spoken to have been helpful and able to resolve my tour issues and book the tours I wanted when I couldn't do it on line.

Peggy

Certainly in the UK the Regent office is usually very helpful with excursions and will put guests on a waitlist for 'sold-out' tours.

It seems that Regent have disabled the 'wait-list' option that used to be available on the website. Is this correct?

Certainly in the UK the Regent office is usually very helpful with excursions and will put guests on a waitlist for 'sold-out' tours.

 

It seems that Regent have disabled the 'wait-list' option that used to be available on the website. Is this correct?

flossie, don't remember Regent ever having an on line waitlist option, at least in the US. Seem to remember people had to phone Regent to be waitlisted.

RallyDave, we have always booked our excursions online, via the website, and on occasion I think we've added our name to the waiting list that way. When on board, we've then found a set of tickets in our suite with our chosen excursions included. Occasionally, there have been doubles - because a waitlisted excursion has become available when we'd already put our names down for a second choice (so we've returned those tickets to the Destinations desk right away). The only time a waiting list hasn't been an option is where the numbers are limited to however many the facility allows: the one that springs to mind is the Batik workshop in Penang, where there are only twelve workspaces.