papaflamingo

Again, that's how it works. Insurance always pays out first for something like this. That's the point of insurance. You were made "whole" so why are you upset that your travel insurance paid rather than Regent? It sounds like you want to punish Regent for a problem that was really the airline's fault. You have to understand that Regent contract flights are deeply discounted so they are not always the most desirable itineraries. The airlines publish a close connection and it's legal, so Regent accepts it. Happens all the time. It's not up to a Regent agent to decide if a connection is doable or not. If your insurance hadn't paid out, or you didn't have insurance, and since Regent arranged the flight, then they would have paid out. Either way you would have been reimbursed for the lost cruise.

Not sure it really matters. If you are entering fjords, etc. you'll usually go out the same way so you'll see both sides from your cabin. As for the route, looks like land is mostly on the port side, but not sure you'll be close enough during transit to see the land. I usually select a starboard cabin as the ships seem to mostly dock starboard side to the pier and I like sitting on the balcony watching the activity. BUT, that is port dependent so you really never know. One thing to keep in mind, once you book, if you decide you'd rather switch cabins and any in your category are open you can always change.

If you have "wifi calling" enabled on your phone you won't need WhatsApp. As mentioned, simply put your phone in "Airplane" mode and connect to the internet. Your phone will show you in Wifi calling, i.e. if ATT it'll say "ATT wifi" where it shows the carrier. Now you can use your phone just like you're at your own home. WhatsApp is good if you're calling internationally to avoid international rates but you'll still need to be on the internet, and whomever you call will need WhatsApp to receive the call. But if your phone is in wifi calling then it doesn't care where in the world you call from, the rates are exactly like you would pay at your house.

What difference does it make who pays for the missed cruise? That's exactly why someone buys Travel Insurance. If you go up on any airline's website you'll see ridiculous connections as "legal" connections. Regent has contract rates with most airlines, that's how they offer the flights so cheaply. But they aren't getting the non stop, they get the 54 minute connection in Atlanta flights. If you buy on a "cheap airline tickets" website, you'll find the same connection times. I would also imagine that if you didn't have Travel Insurance, and you used Regent Air without deviation then Regent would accept responsibility for the missed cruise. But you had Travel Insurance, so THEY accept responsibility. Honestly.... who really cares as long as you get reimbursed for the missed cruise? A question though.... how late did you book the cruise? I thought you could deviate pretty much any time. Did you try to change the flights to a better connection once assigned? Asking seriously so that I know if I get in that situation.

Isn't that what I said when I said that "any money's, be it refund or FCC, would be deducted from the Travel Insurance?" The poster didn't get a refund from Regent but did get full refund from their Travel Insurance. So what difference would it be if they got FCC from Regent or not? In fact, isn't it better to get 100% refund from the insurance company rather than a FCC that needs to be used within a year?

Thanks...not sure my wife would agree though. 🤣

To add to what wcsdkqh said, in this particular case JetBlue has no first class. Had Japan Airlines code shared with Delta or United, then it would have been a first class seat. As mentioned, as long as it's a "Business Class" ticket all the way through. One thing... when you talk to Regent Air and are setting up a deviation, they'll not only tell you that it's First Class or not, but on U.S. airlines, at least, you can select your seats while on the phone with them so you'll seats assigned as much as 210 days out.

Ok...we can go around and around but if you read the contract that YOU agreed to, you'll find that the cruise line has every right to change the itinerary. If you're not happy, and you believe that "other cruise lines stepped up" then by all means you should cruise other cruise lines. That only makes sense. No one should book a cruise on a line they don't trust or like. By the way... as to my analogies, if your flight to a hub is delayed for weather and you miss your flight to your final destination then you sleep in the airport or get a hotel at your expense. The airlines won't pay for it. Also, hotels "walk" people frequently to other hotels with no refund, you get a room at the new hotel for the same price. And if a Disney ride breaks, you don't get a discount just because it's the only ride you wanted to go on... similar to a port cancelling. You get use of the other rides, just like you visit the other ports. Anyway, probably beat this dead horse enough. Guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I wish you luck in your future cruise endeavors.

Correct...IF you select a flight itinerary that Regent has contract seats on. If they don't have contract seats on the flight they will offer it to you with an up charge. You can take it or leave it at your choice. You are only charged the $175 per person if you accept the deviation. The $75 call charge will still stand. To give you an idea, we booked our desired flight Atlanta to Hong Kong with NO up charge. The return from Tokyo to Atlanta had an up charge for the non stop or we could connect on Japan Airlines to the East Coast then JetBlue in coach to Atlanta. I chose the up charge as it was worth it to me. But I didn't have to. When you look at flights, look for flights that have two Business Class fares, one refundable, one non refundable. It is more likely that Regent will have contract seats on flights that offer two Business Class fares. Also have at least 3 choices when you call, and don't hesitate to ask what they can book you in for no additional. They are very easy to work with.

As one whom I'm sure you consider a "Regent cheerleader," I will say that all I'm doing is expressing my opinion and my personal experience. Sorry if I haven't experienced the "drop in service" that you have, but the simple fact is I haven't. Has nothing to do with "cheerleading" or not. I have cruised a number of different cruise lines and so far I have found Regent to be the line I like best. That, and I understand that cruising is very dynamic and nothing ever goes perfectly. I'm just willing to not let little stuff ruing my cruise.

Regent gets air at a deep discount. I've priced it with an employee discount of at least 25% and can't come close to touching Regent's cost. I have also priced it via Royal Caribbean Air and they have been right at the amount Regent credits, so they also get it at very deep discount.

We use Regent Air on all our Regent cruises (well the international one's). We love it and have nothing but great experiences from Regent. We deviate on all our cruises (I'll never fly in the day of the cruise), but for domestic departures and arrivals I take the air allowance and book my own air or drive. I am retired Delta and have access to an employee discount of at least 25% of any published Delta rate. Even with that I find I can't come near the cost of a business class seat through Regent. We have paid some up charge for non stop flights on some itineraries, but that's my choice as non up charge flights had stopovers that I simply didn't want to deal with. And even with the up charge the flights were minimum $1000 per person cheaper than I could get with my employee discount. I fly domestic on my own because I find that with my discount, it isn't much more to fly First Class when I consider the Air Credit, the $175 deviation fee, and baggage fees for coach class domestic. And again, I will not fly the day of the cruise. So anyway, I have not found Regent Air to be anything but easy to work with and we've been totally satisfied (so far). We do have a flight to Hong Kong in Feb. that only has 1 hr, 49 min stopover in SFO so we'll see how that goes. But that wasn't Regent's fault, I deviated to the flight at my request when it was a 4 hour stopover, and United changed the departure from SFO leaving us only 1 hour and 49 minutes. Still wondering how we'll handle that one. But I will say, when I called Regent Air up they were very helpful in looking at alternatives and there was no additional $75 charge since we were calling about an earlier deviation.

They didn't "unilaterally substitute...one product or service." The airlines changes times and aircraft all the time on their routes. If you only want to fly on a 777 in a "suite" and they substitute a 767 and fully reclining seat, and you choose not to go, you lose your money if on a non refundable rate. If you get to the gate and they have an equipment substitution you can't say "gee, send me home, give me a full refund, and thousands of future credit" just because you don't like the seat configuration or type of aircraft. If a situation arises and the aircraft is delayed beyond the control of the airlines and you miss a meeting, guess what.... you're out of luck. If your flight is delayed and you miss the cruise, the airline doesn't pay for the missed cruise. These are just the ways the industries work. And the same can be said about most travel or leisure services. Be it an amusement park like Disney and you show up and it's pouring rain or your favorite ride breaks down, to hotels that have to move you to a sister hotel due to some reason. Happens all the time. That's what travel insurance is for.

I appreciate your offer of the "fire extinguishers, may take you up on it. 😎 If you have the ability to switch to a totally different cruise, it's the same as letting you cancel and get a refund. The ship is still sailing, ports have been substituted, etc. If everyone switches cruises for free, it takes cabins out of inventory and leaves cabins empty on the current cruise. Money that can never be recovered. It would be a HUGE loss to the cruise line. Again.. why should they have to accept that loss? Ports are canceled or changed all the time. Just because you might not have cared in the past doesn't mean others don't. As I said earlier, last year we booked a cruise with a segment to specifically see Greenland. Greenland cancelled for weather. Should we have been given a chance to change cruises? And what about those who boarded Voyager in Athens, before the unrest? How do you give someone the option to change a cruise they're already on? I'm as sorry as anyone this happened. We were supposed to board in Athens and it was our "bucket list" to see Israel and Egypt. But I got Covid on the day we were leaving for Athens and, obviously, couldn't go. So visiting Israel and Egypt may never happen now (getting old). So I get it. I know I will never get a chance to see Greenland. That's how it goes.

The customer isn't responsible for the war that broke out, nor is the cruise line. When you book a cruise you have until final payment date to cancel with very little penalty. Then there is a sliding scale as to amount of refund you get as the cruise approaches. The cruise sailed. There were no cancelled days, ports were substituted, they managed to get the passengers to an embarkation point. Tell me then, just because they had to cancel ports due to civil unrest beyond their control, why they are responsible? EVERYONE knows that once final payment has passed you've agreed to pay for the cruise no matter what happens, other than a cancellation by the cruise line. That's what Travel Insurance is for. You are unhappy because the ports you want to visit are no longer available, at no fault of either you or the cruise line, but you didn't get Travel Insurance with "cancel for any reason," and your Travel Insurance won't cover the cancellation because.... the cruise didn't cancel, you don't want to go now, so you want someone else to take the financial hit, the cruise line. Sorry, but that's not how it works. Something no one has mentioned..the Travel Insurance companies, the actual companies that DO take the risk, aren't paying out either... and you know why? Because the cruise wasn't cancelled. Sorry but that's the risk we all assume when we book a cruise. That's the nature of the industry and it isn't going to change. And the cruise line doesn't "get to keep the money," they, in fact, are still providing a full cruise with full port stops and full service. They only "get to keep the money" if you decide not to go. It's no more "one sided" than any other industry.

At the risk of getting totally flamed, a lot of people have been calling for Regent to "do the right thing." Why is Regent responsible to take a gigantic financial hit because of a war that breaks out in Israel? We were supposed to be on the current Voyager cruise and I got Covid on the day we were to leave for Athens. No one has considered that this cruise wasn't JUST Haifa to Rome, it was also Athens to Rome. So a significant number of passengers boarded before the war started. What about them? Should they also get 100% refund? Should Regent have offered them the opportunity to disembark in Istanbul and get a free trip home along with a huge refund? And what about other cruises that lose ports for weather or other reasons? We did Montreal to Southampton last year and one of our major goals was to see Greenland. Greenland cancelled for torrential rain and 50 kt winds. So..no Greenland. Should we have been offered a full refund because the ports we wanted to visit canceled for reasons beyond Regent's control? Sorry, I know this will ruffle a lot of feathers, but when you book a cruise there is a contractual understanding that you may not get to the ports you want. My wife and I discussed that when we booked this one. We knew going in, given the historic instability of the region, that we may not get to either Israel or Egypt. We knew we were taking that risk and were wiling to accept it. If you want a guarantee to see a port, you need to book a land tour, NEVER a cruise. How can any of this be Regent (or any other cruise line's) fault? Why are they responsible to accept such a huge financial loss because they can't get into a couple of ports and, as per their contract, substitute new ports?

Not to worry.... you can wear a ball gown every night if you want, no one will judge you for OVER dressing. It's your cruise, enjoy it.

If you go on line to any airlines you'll find these itineraries as "bookable." Regent simply has contract rates on certain flights. The close connection flights are least desirable so most likely to have contract rates. You need to look at your flights very carefully and if it's a very close connection, see if you can get it changed. That's why we always deviate 210 days out and go at least a day early. But it isn't really Regent Air's job to determine what published itineraries are "reasonable" or not. If the airline publishes it, they'll book it. My advice to you is to pay the $175 deviation fee and book flights 210 days before your cruise departs. Then you'll most likely get what you want, and will at least get something you can control and will be acceptable to you.

The Travel Insurance will always kick in first. Since they were fully compensated, why would Regent ALSO compensate them? You don't get paid twice. And any money's, be it refund or FCC, would be deducted from the Travel Insurance.

I think you misunderstood. If you re-read the original post they were completely compensated for the missed cruise by their travel insurance.

Just to add what others have said.. the 210 day is the first day you can DEVIATE with Regent. You are NOT taking the air credit, but you will still use Regent Air, but will pay $175 per person to work with them to book your flights early. You may have an additional up charge if they can't get contract rates on the flights you want. These days it's harder and harder to find really desirable itineraries that will be "free" with Regent. So decide if you want to pay any up charge, or have them find an early booking that will have no up charge, or take the credit and book your own air. On our upcoming cruise I got what I wanted to Hong Kong for no up charge, but had the up charge to get the non stop home from Tokyo. They told me what the "free" option would be and I decided I'd rather pay the up charge. But either way it was still cheaper than booking on my own, and as a retired Delta pilot I get at least a 25% discount on Delta flights.

The cruse lines lost BILLIONS with the 2 year shutdown. They need to recover. The faux leather pouch was pretty worthless really. Just the fact they still send luggage tags is something. Royal Caribbean stopped that YEARS ago. You had a choice of downloading and printing your own tags, having tags added at the port, or paying (I think) $15 and have them mailed to you. Honestly, we download everything to our phones (no need for cell service as the important docs. are saved on the phone) and don't print anything. Much cleaner and easier in my opinion. But every penny saved pre-cruise is a penny they don't need to save on the ship.

The dress code is very simple and as long as you abide by it no one will "look down" on you. Unless your cruise has a segment of 16 nights or longer there will be no Formal Optional night. Here is the dress code regarding just women: "onboard dress in the evenings is Elegant Casual. Dinner dress for ladies includes a skirt, or slacks with a blouse or sweater, a pant suit or dress". https://www.rssc.com/frequently-asked-questions/onboard

Honestly we have never stayed in a Regent supplied hotel, always took the hotel credit and arranged our own transportation. But from what I've read here, if you want you can actually send your luggage with Regent in the morning and go on your own to the ship. I would certainly tell someone if I was planning on doing that, but sure seems possible if you want. As for getting on the ship, you can board anytime really, as long as you're there before they shut boarding down. Not sure about Regent, but we once arrived at 2:30 for a 5 pm sailing on Celebrity and we were the last to board. I had heard that 3:30 was when they cutoff boarding to close out the manifest, 90 minutes before sailing, but don't really know if that's true or not. However for us, we board early so we can get settled and start enjoying the cruise. But if you want to do lunch at the hotel and head over at 1, shouldn't be a problem.

For me cruising has always been about expectations. I try hard to keep them real and so far have not been disappointed. So... my "take on this." I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist so I doubt that Regent is purposefully adding more and more ports to "save money." It's the ports that many of us, me included, cruise for. Heck just read the Voyager thread at how ticked off people are for MISSING ports. Let me say.. I LOVE sea days. But if I want a "sea day" I can always stay on board and have "run of the ship." But Regent would NEVER be a cruise line I would book for shows, games, etc. I'd book a mega liner for those things. I sail Regent for the ports and the overall relaxed experience. I don't want to be out "drinking and partying" until 2 am anymore...too old. If I want that, I'll book an Oasis class ship on Royal Caribbean in the Caribbean. I want to see the ports. We have only done 2 Regent cruises but they totaled 84 days! We use Regent to "see the world." As for cutbacks. Yup...the Covid shutdown killed the cruise industry. Something similar happened after 9/11. The cruise experience changed dramatically. We were just starting our "cruise life" and sailed predominantly on Royal Caribbean. But after 9/11 everything changed. We are seeing some of that after Covid. However we didn't really see much difference between our 2018 Regent cruise and our 2022 cruise. I don't care either way about the block party. I go, it's a nice touch, but not a big deal for me. I love the Sunday brunch, but I also realize they only happen on sea days. So if you're not at sea on Sunday, you won't have one. We had one on both our cruises. I don't care much about all the games and trivia, so not really a "game changer" for me. I like lying around the pool or reading on my balcony when at sea. Had a deck BBQ on both cruises. They're fine. I don't care all that much because they are crowded, there's a "fight" for table space, etc. I enjoy them of course and appreciate the effort, but if we don't get one...fine by me. I found the service was exceptional on both our cruises. The food was too. But then, I didn't get this body of "pure steel and sex appeal" by being a picky eater. 😜 So I have NO complaints about anything.Oh yeah....we did miss ports on both cruises, but I simply roll with the punches because I realize that's the nature of cruising. So that's my take. I guess it all really adds up to what we individually enjoy the most. I like the Regent business model for the very reasons others seem to be questioning, the port intensive cruises, relaxed atmosphere, quiet after hours with relaxed music and good after dinner drinks, and the slow and quiet at sea days. But that's me. If I want non stop excitement I'll go on a large mega ship with slides, broadway shows, 25 bars, zip lines, carousels, flow riders, etc. Otherwise, a nice bourbon with a book on my balcony is just fine with me. 🥃😎