ysolde

6 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

@ysolde, Thanks for your explanation, but I cannot say that I am any the wiser with your arguments regarding the value you place on a Regent cruise against another form of vacation; especially when you say that cruising is not your favoured method of travel.

 

What leads you to believe that future Regent offerings will give less value than previously when compared to other forms of travel ?

 

On trips going where we wanted to get there slowly (such as on a TA, particularly on one with ports of call we found attractive but did not want to spend four+ days) or where we wanted an introduction to a part of the world about which we were curious but unsure (such as our recent foray to Brazil), Regent is often a perfect way to get from point "A" to point "B".  

On trips where we want to arrive at our destination and spend four+ days at a location, then move on to the next place, a cruise, any cruise, is not ideal.  We have never been the, "If it's Tuesday, it must be Belgium," type of travelers.  

19 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

I don’t think I understand 🤔
Regent is a cruise line that happens to offer some of its passengers the convenience of also booking flights to & from the cruise; as do many other cruise companies.

 

We choose Regent for the on-board experience, and realise that they have little or no influence on the service provided by any airline they book on behalf of their guests.

 

We also realise that the total price we pay to Regent will depend on what extras we ask them to include (flights, hotels, transfers etc). We weigh up the value & convenience of each of those extras on a cruise by cruise basis.

I don’t see the new fare options changing the way we look at Regent’s offerings.

Some of us are travelers, not cruisers, by nature.  Cruising is one way (and, frankly, not a preferred way) to travel.  Cruising on Regent has allowed us to sample little bits of parts of the world oh so briefly in the style and comfort we enjoy travel.  Ultimately, however, we are able to travel by air and rail and see other parts of the world (or even the very same parts of the world) more extensively at our leisure.  Regent's pricing offered a value proposition.  If that value proposition is no longer there, I have to assume those of us who are essentially travelers more than we are cruisers will fall away from Regent.  We will simply go back to traveling primarily by air and rail.  For example, DH and I had a lovely time this spring in the mountains of Germany and Austria (think the Interalpen Hotel in Telfs, for one).

4 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

Regent's air cost for Business Class is, and always has, been dependent on their cost for tickets.  You weren't getting "free air,"  you were paying for it in the cost of the cruise. Hasn't changed, never will change.  The cost of air has been climbing significantly since Covid, and Business Class, the airline's premium product, has risen the fastest and highest.  The flights are flying full. There is no reason to discount their premium product, that would be silly in a business sense, to lose profits so a cruise line passenger can get a better deal on a cruise.  And Regent isn't going to "eat" the cost increases, they'll continue to pass it on to us.  That's simply good business.

As to future cruising, we all have our opinion on "value."  It's personal.  For me, I like cruising and will continue to do so.  I will use Business Class as long as I can and will purchase my flight by the cheapest method, either through Regent or directly from the airlines, just like I have always done.  

Anyway.. it's simply  how things are today.  

Please do not claim to quote me and then misquote me.  I never once called it "free air."  I said Business Class was included in the price of Regent's International sailings.

And yes, I understand some choose Regent because it is a high-end cruise product.  Some of us choose Regent because it is a high-end travel product.  It is those of us who were choosing Regent as a travel product more than a cruise product who are likely to fall off here.

2 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

You are making assumptions.  You don't know if Regent contracts a flat rate from any published hub or not or how much they pay. You only know the air credit and if you don't like it, don't pay it. If you go on any airline website and put in city pairs, I looked at Atlanta to Auckland then Los Angeles to Auckland on Delta,  San Francisco to Auckland on United, and American through DFW.  Ironically on Delta it was about $700 MORE from Los Angeles than Atlanta (which may explain why it's hard to get Regent Air on Delta), on United about $300 LESS from San Francisco than Atlanta, and on American about $300 less from DFW than Atlanta.  So really nothing significant, and leads to the possibility of a flat rate from any published U.S. hub.

But even if it's city specific, so what?  Some will see costs go down, some go up.  But it'll still be what the airline charges Regent, it'll likely still be less than you can book yourself, and no matter what, you can always not use Regent Air and book on your own.  

What's the problem? It's really no different than today, so why all the anger and angst?  It'll either be a better air deal through Regent or not and you can accept Regent air or not.  

If it turns out that Regent charges substantially more for a business air package than they have in the past (when business air was just part of the cost of booking with Regent), it's not that we will accept Regent air or not.  It's that we will make a decision whether to go on a cruise or not.  For us, cruising with Regent was a cost-effective way to travel in the manner that we usually do (business class air, a certain level of hotel, good food, etc.), while getting to sip at bits of the world in comfort.  If it is no longer cost-effective to do so, it is simple enough to travel by air/rail and stay at hotels for longer periods of time so that we can actually experience the places we are traveling to more fully while we are still young enough to do so.  We just had such a trip to Germany and Austria in May (three weeks) and had a lovely time.  It takes a bit more organizing, but it is certainly do-able.

16 hours ago, jtfnow said:

Anybody else having a problem with the Regent website?  Not only painfully slow, but cannot get to some of the options while trying to choose shore excursions.  Any tips, suggestions or work-arounds?  Thank you.

 

Jim

I have found that the best work-around is to call Regent and speak to them.  Once I let them know the excursions DH and I want, based on my mobility limitations (and what appears feasible based on what the website is showing), I ask if what is showing up on the website is what is showing up on their end in terms of accessibility.  Once that is confirmed, they reserve the appropriate shore excursions for us.  Of course, once on board, we always confirm with the Destination Desk that the excursions we reserved are, in fact, still available and are appropriate to my mobility limitations.  Moral of the story: it's an old and creaky system, and it takes a bit of work to make it work.

We used to take the Acela First Class between NYC and Boston and it was easy and comfortable.  Depending on how early you purchase your tickets and the time of day and the day of the week you are traveling, First Class can be relatively reasonable.  We think it is worth it, given the level of service on board.

If you have a disability or other mobility impairment, Amtrak will offer assistance from the train to the taxi stand. You just need to let them know ahead of time, and then let them know again when you arrive in Boston.

Otherwise, yes, it may be easier to fly to LGA.

19 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

If you choose to use Regent Air today on an International flight you are already paying for Business Class.  If you choose to use Regent Air for a Domestic flight to a cruise, say Alaska or Miami, you are already paying for Economy Air.  If you choose to not use Regent Air you get the cost of air reduced from the cost of your cruise.  

What you will most likely find is that Regent will continue to offer Contract Rates for the cruise in whatever class you want to fly.  So if you want to fly Business Class you'll pay the Contract Rate just like today, and if you want to deviate you'll pay the contract rate plus any up charge if necessary, like today.  If you decide you want to save money and fly to Europe you'll pay the Contract Rate for economy or premium select.  Or you can simply not pay for Regent Air and buy your own tickets....just like today.  

Most the cruise lines offer an air option if you want.  That cost of air is whatever the cruise line pays for it.  Regent, as a marketing tool to differentiate from the other lines, simply include Business Class Air, but the cost of that air is about the same as you can find it on other cruise line.  I compared our cruise on Explorer last Feb. to a similar itinerary on Royal Caribbean, and was able to price Business Class Air via Royal Caribbean and it was about the same cost as Regent's Air Credit.  So...  they all offer Contract Rates.  There's absolutely no reason to think Regent won't continue to offer Contract Rates in all classes.  

Not exactly true, at least in our experience.  We have priced out Viking sea cruises several times, and as soon as we add in the business class air fare from our airport, the price becomes outrageous.  We have changed our minds about the cruises every single time, and gone for a Regent cruise, which prices out at considerably less.  This is what is concerning to me.

26 minutes ago, Let Me Travel! said:

Yes! Leaving Reykjavik on 9/26…spending two days prior just to see Iceland…doing Sky Lagoon, Golden Circle and Northern Lights excursions through Viator…staying at Hotel Borg..I’m so excited! Only 110 days to go…ok, ok,…started with about 400 days! LOL…I’m sort of obsessive…I’m excited about our aft facing suite…it has a HUGE balcony and we are planning to have a cocktail party on our balcony (depending on the weather) to see the Northern Lights. We are traveling with a group of people so we don’t want to dine separately from them in the Haven…we’ve stayed in the non-haven suites before and were very pleased with the service and amenities.  I think this cruise will be one of the best because of the ship (Prima) and the ports…what an adventure it will be!

Oh, that is so exciting!  DH and I have an aft-facing suite on Viva at the end of November.  Yes, the balcony is large, and given that it is a cruise with a lot of sea days, we are looking forward to spending time on our balcony reading, having a cup of tea, and looking out at the ocean.

I am so very sorry to read this.  My sincerest condolences to you.  Sending you loving thoughts as you begin this new phase of your life.

48 minutes ago, jeb_bud said:

I think you’re conflating Regent’s included air, which is part of the all inclusive fare, and deviating, which is a decision the passenger makes after the booking is completed. I don’t recall reading any complaints about Regent adding a surcharge to a booking that used the included air. 
 

Deviating is harder to do without a surcharge due to issues already covered on this thread but extrapolating that to not being able to know your price anymore seems a little extreme. We have two cruises in Europe booked for next year. I’ll be interested to see if deviating or booking on my own is the best way to go by then. 

Nope.  We have deviated every time we have booked with Regent, in order to get the exact flights we want.

Regent is now setting up a new system.  When you book your cruise, you book without airfare.  Or, you add (economy) airfare, for a fee.  Or you can add business class air, for a fee.  All the other cruise lines do this.  And all of them ask where you are flying from, to, etc.  Regent's cruises are often complex in terms of flights -- our last cruise saw us flying out of our home airport to Rio then cruising to various ports along the coast of Brazil, then across the Atlantic to various ports, then on to Lisbon, from where we flew home.  The other cruise lines base your airfare on where you are flying to and from, as well as class of service.  It is not less expensive to book with them  than it is to book your own flight (except in economy class).  However, it used to be more convenient to do so (although these days, who knows?).

One of the things we liked about Regent was the fact that if we liked a cruise, we knew the price as soon as we figured out our cabin category.  It did not matter whether we lived in NYC (as we used to) or in Scottsdale (as we now do).  You booked your cruise and you paid your price.  You would get international business and domestic economy (often upgradeable, if you had status with the airline booked).  It was part of Regent's all-inclusive ethos: one fare.

Now, it seems, booking on Regent will be no different than booking on Norwegian.  Want a flight with that?  No problem!  Tell Regent where you live, and they will price out an economy flight for you.  Want business class? No problem!  You'll have to pay for that, of course.  Just as if you were cruising on NCL.  Or any other mass market cruise line.

What's next?  Drinks packages?

Count me among those who find the dress code on Regent easy to follow: DH wears a long-sleeved shirt and khakis to dinner.  I wear a dress, appropriate to the weather (from Lilly Pulitzer in the Caribbean to jersey knit on a TA crossing in the off-season).

We just came back from a European vacation, part of which was spent at an Alpine resort just outside Innsbruck.  The dining room had a similar dress code, and we dressed exactly the same as we do on Regent: DH in his long-sleeved shirts and khakis, I, this time, in light merino wool dresses, as the evenings were chilly.

On 5/18/2024 at 12:39 PM, Lonedaddy said:

You should worry anytime you go through LHR.

Wiser words were never spoken.

On 5/17/2024 at 8:14 AM, minotaur said:

We did a cruise recently on Voyager which finished with an overnight in Lisbon. Some passengers were disembarking at 2.30 am for flights, we were off by 7am. So I don't think a 6.30 start will be a problem at all.

We were on this cruise.  We had a flight at, I want to say, 7:30 am, booked by Regent.  They put us on a bus leaving for the airport at 3:30 am.  It was brutal, but Lisbon Airport is notorious for being understaffed and for having long lines every step of the way, so were were happy to make it to our flight with plenty of time to spare.

This is a bit pricey but I have discovered No. 1 de Chanel powder to foam cleanser.  It is a very mild cleanser that is exactly what it sounds like: a powder that, when a bit of water is adder to it, becomes a foam.  I am one of those people with a fairly elaborate evening cleansing routine (micellar water, cleansing balm, mild cleanser, toner, tretinoin, serums, moisturizer).  So getting that one product in powder formula was a big win.

We don't do buffets.  On Voyager, we usually have breakfast in our cabin, and lunch in CR or at the Pool Grill, which has a limited but perfectly delicious light lunch menu.  I, too, find many of. the portions served at the restaurants to be too large, but I want to taste things just the same, so I request half portions or small portions of things like desserts or starchy side dishes.  At Prime 7, I always order the small filet mignon, and rarely manage to finish it.  The staff is happy to accommodate requests for smaller portions of dishes, in my experience.

I use Dermalogica Dynamic Skin Recovery SPF 50 moisturizer by day.  It is an excellent moisturizer with an SPF 50 that works well on its own or under makeup.

By night, when I travel, I use a travel sized Charlotte Tilbury Magic Night Cream.  It is a heavier version of CT's Magic Cream, moisturizes throughout the night, and smells heavenly (if you do not like scented products, skip this one).

4 minutes ago, cruiseluv said:

I don’t understand then if Regent knew way ahead of time that embarkation wouldn’t occur until at the earliest 5 pm, why did they bus those people to the terminal at 1 pm!! ?? They should have given them a bus tour or something to kill time!

I assume Regent did not have time to arrange for a last minute excursion, though I agree, in these circumstances, a HOHO might have done the trick.

Agree with @Gilly that our embarkation in Rio left something to be desired.  Fortunately, by the time we boarded the ship, DH and I felt entirely at peace.  We dropped off our bags, ate lunch with a wonderful couple, and explored the ship  It was the beginning of a wonderful cruise, with embarkation long since forgotten.

One of the easiest things in the day is to put on a dress and a pair of pumps in order to get ready for dinner.  The make up might take a little bit more time (it's amazing how much effort it takes to achieve the "no make up make up" look 😂 ).

Oh, I should add that we have a concierge doctor, and membership there reduces the price of MedJet Assist, so that's nice.  So check your doctor's website.  You never know.

We travel a fair bit (we will have a total of three cruises and two other trips in 2024). so we purchase annual trip insurance with Allianz.  We have not had to use it, but it appears to be fairly comprehensive.  We also have a multi-annual MedJet assist policy.  We also have the Citi Advantage Executive Mastercard, which has a travel insurance feature.  It covers trip delay/cancelation, lost/damaged luggage, that sort of thing.  I would have to look up which insurance covers what first.

On 4/21/2024 at 8:15 AM, Johnthesailor said:

Possibly because they might have posted in the heat of the moment out of frustration and now that they have been on the ship for a while they are having a great time and forgot all about the problem ( and the posting). Just a guess but it seems plausible and even likely.

I hope this is the case.  Count me among those who had a wonderful time on the voyage from Rio to Lisbon a few weeks ago (hello, @Gilly!).  For DH and me, it was our second time on Voyager, third time on Regent.  We love Voyager, love Regent (we have a Christmas cruise booked on Mariner in December/January 2025/2026 already, and are looking to book another cruise with Regent -- we just don't know where we want to go yet).  We feel like we have found a "home" with Regent -- the ships, the crew, and the fellow passengers are something quite special.

This thread is so wonderfully informative!  I really appreciate it.  Our cruise begins in very late November and goes into December.  We start in the Mediterranean, cross the Atlantic, then end up in the Caribbean, so we have a lot of sea days in there.  I'm thinking there will be plenty of Eggs Benedict to look forward to, and I like it.  I am also wondering whether we can request an occasional plate of mini brownies (or cookies, or something like that)  for our cabin, so that we can snack on them in the afternoon/evening while we relax on the balcony with a cup of tea, read, etc.  It sounds so idyllic.