SusieQft

2 hours ago, boblerm said:

A few days later, the refund for port charges and taxes were credited back to my card.

Thank you, boblerm.  I had been wondering about the port taxes.  I am familiar with Crystal, which refunds the port taxes even if you cancel while in penalty.  And refunds them  to  the passenger's credit card even if the rest of the fare is a FCC.  Since Regent does not itemize the port taxes on a separate line, I was not sure how they would handle it. 

From your comment, I am assuming that regardless of who cancels or when, and whether or not there is any penalty or FCC involved, that Regent will refund the port charges to your credit card?

3 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

They had the "Circle of Interest" and we joined...

This sounds interesting.  Could you explain it for us Regent Newbies?

6 hours ago, DavidTheWonderer said:

Assuming China is typical, which is a huge unverifiable assumption, then the worst of the COVID-19 will be over in about 6 weeks.  So there is a reasonable chance that a May 22 sailing involving Canada will actually occur.  That said, I certainly would not even consider booking such a cruise right now. But "deceiving advertising" seems pretty harsh.

Unverifiable is putting it mildly, since we don't even know what is really happening in China.  Even so, AFAIK, China is not resuming cruise ship traffic any time soon.  Just because the curve has started down and people are going back to work (in China, for now) does not mean that people will not still be taking precautions and practicing social distancing.  Cruise ships and international travel will remain high risk activities, and I would expect cruising to be one of the last activities to resume.

4 hours ago, boblerm said:

The answer that I gave comes directly from a phone conversation with a Chase agent, that is the best that I can do. 

Thank you, boblerm.  That does address my question very nicely.  The answer surprises me, but was very good to hear. I don't have either Chase Sapphire card, but it is something that I have considered.  It was also good to hear that Regent allows the redeposit of the FCC, before the penalty phase, and splitting it between bookings.

19 minutes ago, boblerm said:

Have I addressed your question?

Not really.  You have implied but not said specifically that Chase will cover you for a FCC, as opposed to insuring the actual cruise fare paid for that cruise.  The FCC is "above the line" and not considered part of the cruise fare.  I think the answer would have to come directly from Chase, not what you think they would do.  Or from someone who has actually had Chase pay them for the value of a FCC.

If Chase will actually insure the value of the FCC, which regular travel insurance will not, it dramatically changes the decision matrix on whether or not to get a Chase Sapphire Reserve card.  This is especially true now that so many people have such large FCCs.

12 minutes ago, boblerm said:

SusieQft, it is correct that a regular purchased trip policy will not cover FCC.  However, as far as Chase insurance is concerned, it seems to me that whether the FCC portion is covered or not is moot, provided that ANY portion of the new cruse is charged to your card.  Once that is done, you are eligible for the full benefits, which for Chase Sapphire Reserve is $10,000 per person, maxed out at $20,000.

My question was not regarding whether or not you had paid for the FCC with your Chase card.

If you do not get regular insurance, then would Chase cover only the new payment (non-FCC), or would they cover the full cost if it is under $20,000?

Insurance companies usually do not allow you to double dip.  In other words, if you have regular travel insurance for the non-FCC portion, and Chase is only going to insure the non-FCC portion, then Chase is not providing any additional insurance above and beyond the regular insurance and you still would not be reimbursed for the FCC. 

4 hours ago, boblerm said:

Do you have a credit card that includes trip cancellation/interruption insurance?.  I just got off the phone with Chase card services with questions.  For my Chase Sapphire Reserve card, I have $20,000 of insurance even if a portion of the trip is paid with the card.  Since I am using that card to pay for the difference in cost between the cancelled cruise and the new cruise, I have that amount of insurance, and only have to insure the amount over 20,000, which I am able to do since my FCC is less than that amount.

Did Chase tell you that their insurance would cover the amount of the FCC?  As I understand it, a regular purchased trip insurance policy will not cover that.

6 hours ago, GrJ Berkshire said:

No this is correct, the UK government is talking about the over 70's  and those with underlying health issues not going out for 14 WEEKS

Oh, I guess I misunderstood.  I thought you meant those returning from a cruise.  If it means everyone over 70, etc., then of course it would be for their own protection.  That would be an overwhelming problem for society, just to keep them with food and toilet paper.  I guess home delivery services would have to spring up, because not everyone has family/neighbors/friends in the younger age groups to keep them supplied.

1 hour ago, GrJ Berkshire said:

In the UK the government is talking about the over 70's needing to self isolate for 14 weeks.

I assume you meant 14 days.  In any case, self isolation after possible exposure is for the protection of everyone else, not for the protection of the persons isolating theirselves.  So it makes no sense to apply such a rule only to those at most risk and not to others.

Roy, I'm sorry to hear that your trip got cut short.  I have been wondering what would happen to you on the QM2, and sadly now I know.  I thought that if any of the lines would be able to withstand the onslaught it would be Cunard, since they are used to long crossings without ports.   But in the end, I guess it was too much even for them.

Someone is telling you that you are not meant to circumnavigate the globe without flying....  Are you planning to try again?

I hope you make it home safely and easily.

15 minutes ago, Zqueeze1 said:

Amen to that. We may have dodged a bullet.  Real sorry we never met onboard. 
I am supposed to attend a reunion in Macon, Georgia in two weeks and now Uncle Sam has cancelled all non-local personal travel, so I need to join the many trying to get an airline refund. Can’t wait to be placed on permanent hold by AA. 
Z and TB

You can do it online.  Go to

https://prefunds.aa.com/refunds/

You still might have to wait to get in because everyone else is there now too.

3 hours ago, etual324 said:

taking the FCC for a cruise at a later date after this virus outbreak is over and you cancel said cruise how are you refunded 

money or more CC

Under normal circumstances, it was my understanding that the FCC amount would be lost, as it can only be used once.  Someone please tell me this is not the case.

5 hours ago, ArtsyCraftsy said:

Lana (now wishing she'd waited a few weeks to book the 2022 World Cruise) 

Lana, I am enjoying your blog and your uplifting attitude.  The new itinerary sounds like a terrific solution to what has become a huge mess in the rest of the world.  Hopefully Africa and South American will be able to stay isolated enough for this to work.

Will Regent let you cancel your booking and then rebook it using the new discounts/FCCs?  I know they will let you cancel it, at least, which might just convert a bit of the payment into a FCC, but can you then rebook it?  To me, it would be a major shortcoming if they will not allow this.

23 minutes ago, Travlover said:

Other cruise liners at least Crystal, you can use FCC as deposit payment.

Actually, Crystal's latest offer is that you can make a reduced deposit, basically the same amount as the administrative fee that will become a FCC if you cancel.  You cannot use your FCC to make the deposit, and you may not want to since you have to use the FCC all at once, and lose any unused balance.

Under normal circumstances, Regent's 15% deposit and final payment at 90 days are a better deal than Crystal's 25% deposit and final payment at 120 days or earlier.

The last few days have been a whirlwind of progressively better cancellation terms.  It is hard to keep up! 

On 1/17/2020 at 6:11 PM, westmount said:

If i have little, noisy kids at the next table, I simply change tables before sitting down, or change chairs at the pool, as it just easier to do so than get upset and complain. 

I would be curious to know how you "simply" accomplish this when the noisy party arrives after you have already sat down and ordered your meal.

I understand your point that we have to deal with the reality that other passengers do not always behave the way we want.  But a child is more likely to be disruptive than an adult, on the average.  Just because we can't control that does not mean we can't complain about it.  And of course, choose our itinerary wisely to reduce the chance of having lots of kids on the cruise.  Sometimes the promotions to encourage kids start after many have already booked, though.  I cringe when I see that added to a segment I have already booked.

I think one difference would be that when you buy trip insurance and want them to waive the exclusion of pre-existing conditions, you have to insure the full cost of the trip.  Any portion "paid" with Future Cruise Credits may not be included in the total cost, but if so it would have to be specified as such on the invoice.  And of course, discussed in advance with the insurance agent to make sure this is correct.

Another difference would be if the second cruise is cancelled, the amount of the Future Cruise Credit that had been applied would probably be lost, and a new administrative fee would be imposed on the remainder of the deposit, with a new Future Cruise Credit given for that amount.  Am I understanding that correctly?

We use "battery lights for closets," of which you can find many different ones on Amazon.  Ours take 3 AAA batteries.  We bring just one light and 6 rechargeable batteries.  We bring the battery charger anyway for mouse and flashlight batteries.  These LED lights are much brighter than the tea lights, and you can turn ours on and off by pressing on the domed top.  There is no flame-shaped light bulb sticking out of the top to get broken, and no need to bring a supply of disposable batteries.  It sits on a shelf inside the bathroom door where it is easy to find and turn on in the dark or with the hallway night light (at least on Crystal, but hopefully on Regent also) and provides just the right amount of light for us not to need the regular lights in the bathroom.  If we forget to turn it off when leaving the room, we just get to recharge it sooner, but normally one set of batteries will last a week or so.

2 minutes ago, Hambagahle said:

what is a "rollabord" bag?

a carry-on suitcase with wheels that you roll aboard the airplane.

I understand that the Deviation Fee is per transaction.  My question is about the non-gateway fee.  If it is $249 per person, per way, that would be $996 per trip for a couple, far more than the cost of renting a car one way (twice) to a gateway city, LAX in our case.  Since we would probably want to use deviation, the total cost, beyond the air credit, would be $1,171.  Or if I can find a reasonably priced flight out of Las Vegas, we can just skip Regent Air altogether, which as I said somewhat defeats the purpose of trying Regent.

1 hour ago, 1982CruzStart said:

For the first time we are booking from a non-gateway city and according to our TA the fee charged was for round trip not each way. 

1 hour ago, rallydave said:

It would make sense you TA would say that if you are round trip from a non-gateway city and using the air both ways.  Copied the below from a TA's website regrading non-gateway pricing:

 

"Free" air is not available for all airport gateways.

Air inclusive pricing is offered for 22 primary gateways. The gateways are Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Halifax, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York City, Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington, and West Palm Beach. Other gateway cities, where available, require a supplement of $99 to $249 per person, each way.

Now I am even more confused.  It makes sense that if I only use Regent Air in only one direction, the deviation fee "per person, each way" would apply.   The only way I can see CruzStart's TA making sense to say it is one charge round trip is if that charge is twice the one way charge, or if the last sentence from rallydave is not correct.  

I guess the way to know for sure is to ask for quotes both ways before I decide whether or not to drive myself to an approved gateway instead of flying from home.  For my two Regent bookings, I will drive to the port (in my nearest Regent "gateway" city) for the first one and have not decided yet whether or not to use Regent Air for the second in 2021.  The charge for non-gateway airports (in addition to the charge for deviation and the air credit) will probably tip the equation away from using Regent Air in general, which is unfortunate because that is one of the main reasons I was interested in trying Regent in the first place!

I had the impression that the deviation fee applied twice if you use it on both the initial and return flights.  Is this not the case?  I know the penalty for using the wrong airport does apply separately to each flight.

If I want to book a flight with Regent Air using deviation, what happens if I am on a very long cruise, let's say for example a World Cruise, lasting about 4 months.  There will be a large time gap between the initial flight and the return flight, and the return flight may not be posted yet at 270 days before the start of the cruise.  Would I then need to wait until both flights are available, or would I book them at separate times.  If the latter, when would the return flight become available to book through Regent Air?  Presumably they are routinely booking the flights longer than 270 days before the return flight, but not that much longer.

5 hours ago, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

I mentioned my disappointment in the shows last year with regard to the crude, constant mentioning the costs for everything. 

Too bad that they did not take your advice.

1 hour ago, forgap said:

It’s a cultural difference.  In Europe, it is the waiter’s job to scan and notice if something is lacking or if you need something.

In my experience, 99.9% in the US, waiters usually are not clairvoyant enough to notice that something is lacking unless it is so egregious that I feel compelled to "act out" in my body language.  Maybe European waiters are much better at mind reading, or perhaps European diners are just accustomed to acting out if something is needed.  Any interruption of conversation would be momentary, and the conversation can quickly resume.  For me, this is much easier to deal with than trying to flag down a waiter.  Do you want the waiter to interrupt your conversation to deliver your food?  That takes longer than a quick check if everything is okay.

I know that a discussion on Cruise Critic will not change a lifetime of experience and expectations, but I think the majority of Regent passengers are usually from the US, are they not?

I always thought it was a sign of good service for the waiter to check and make sure that everything is okay after they deliver your meal.  To me, service is lacking if they fail to do this.  Or if they do it so soon after the meal is delivered that I have not had a chance to taste anything yet.

The definition of entrée is confusing outside the US, for those of us who live in the US.  It took me a while to figure out why the entrées were all so tiny.  LOL