flyboyswife

26 minutes ago, ysolde said:

That depends on the airline you are flying, whether you have a credit card with them that allows you to check luggage free of charge, whether you have elite status with them that allows you to check luggage with them free of charge, etc.  

 

When you fly back to the US in business class, you will probably have two checked bags allowed per person.

So not included with regent? They covered airfare only? Thanks!

This is probably a stupid question however we are new to regent and new to having airfare included in a vaca in general. We fly DCA to MIA on Tuesday before getting on the Voyager for a TA to Barcelona.  I’m wondering how many cases (if any) I may check as part of what I’ve paid RSSC before I have to pay out of pocket. TIA!

PS I’m aware of the free laundry and plan to take advantage (in case anyone is tempted to tell me not to overpack). Just interested in the number of included cases, thanks!

10 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

That discount was a Regent special if I recall...the TA doesn't have any incentive to have you pay at time of booking. That's why it doesn't stack.

So frustrating - Regent didn’t offer that to us. We originally held reservation with them directly but when I did my due diligence and got a quote from an impersonal TA (who told us of the 25% for paying in full), we called Regent back, asked for the 25% promo and Regent told us we had to do through the TA to get that deal. So we called the TA back, they pulled the reservation over and we paid. Saved 10k and I’m moping over $100; I just thought I had it all figured out!  So do you think Regent gave the one shareholder the OBC by mistake? This will continue to bother me….

17 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

here is no TA discount, they all get the same pricing (although there might be a "special" underwritten by either a consortium or Regent Account Manager). If a TA chooses to give a kickback to a client it wouldn't affect the shareholder credit. It is possible that another promotion conflicted though - or that the first shareholder credit was applied in error. Here is the fine print.

OP here. We got a 25% discount for paying in full at the time of booking with our TA - that’s why I said TA discount. Two cabins. Two shareholders. Shareholders are married BUT each have their own separate/individual brokerage accounts, each holding 100 shares (we book in separate cabins for trip insurance purposes…don’t get me started).  I’d love to call and find out what the heck (!!) but not at the risk of the first shareholder (me!) losing the OBC.  

3 hours ago, PaulMCO said:

You said same booking different cabin??  You only get it for the shareholder in the booking.  Did both cabins have shares??

 

Our next cruise has special discounts but these were Regent promotions.  I assume you had a special travel agent group promotion??

yes - two different shareholders, two different cabins; booked together. One submitted in February and got it. The other submitted last week and declined. Massive TA discount so I get why they have an exception, I just wonder why it wasn’t evenly applied. Though I can assure you the shareholder who was granted the OBC is NOT asking any questions, lol!

1 hour ago, wcsdkqh said:

Never seen or heard of that exclusion before. Must have been one hell of a discount. I've booked several cruises with promotional discounts and did receive the shareholder benefit discount.

It was, but like I said, it was applied to other cabin - same booking. Thinking about telling them to resubmit with a different email.

OP here. There are exclusions. What’s weird is that another cabin in the booking - same reduced price - DID get the OBC. Seems unfair that one in the group gets the benefit while another does not, however, I’m inclined not to call and inquire for fear of having the granted OBC taken away.

Has anyone ever received a reply like the following with regards to the shareholder benefit?  I need to pull up the info again on the NCL page; I don’t recall there being any exclusions. 
 

“Thank you for taking the time to complete the Shareholder Benefit form and submit your request. Unfortunately, this booking has a promotion which offers a significant discount and is not combinable with the shareholder benefit, so we are unable to add the benefit.”

On 3/2/2023 at 6:13 PM, Pjones9139 said:

Welshfamily:

 

My TA told me that the Pope was going to be in Lisbon around that same time in early August and that Regent was unable to secure enough rooms in light of this. 

 The Pope and 20,000 young adults - it’s World Youth Day...all week! My16yo can’t wait!

12 hours ago, Catlover54 said:

 

I like your proposed approach, but based on the borderline hostile comments, we are in a minority. 

 

3 hours ago, irishwitchy said:

Well,  at least there is one person that feels the same way, as I do.  Yes, the hand bag is needed for the phone, room key, glasses and teeth picks (food gets stuck in there).  I also collect the cork of the wine I drink.  Since, one of gifts that Regent gives out with Regent points is a purse hook - lots of people must use a hand bag! 

….

Glad, I started a new topic and new folks jumped in with their opinions.  

Add one more to the minority and I haven’t even been on my first Regent cruise yet! I dislike this type of fussing anywhere. I will definitely (& politely) make my preferences known. They can fuss over my 80yo mom and my 16yo daughter!  Thanks for the heads!

P.S. And I’m glad you started a new post…this is the slowest board on CC. 🥱

We paid in full when we booked in Nov 22 in order to secure an additional 25% off from TA. Since cruise is paid in full, Regent saying we can’t get promo. Does this sound right to everyone?

On 12/5/2022 at 6:08 PM, Pcardad said:

RSSC group or friends of Regent? Can you link it? I need to know which ship top call a friend on...ty!!!

Ooh, you’re gonna get busted!!

On 12/11/2022 at 5:29 PM, DavidTheWonderer said:

I wouldn't share this with the riff-raff, but people who read this board are certainly not in that category.

If you stop by one of the specialty restos or the maitre d  late in the afternoon, there may well be a cancellation and they will be happy to give the reservation to you.

Great tip! Thank you so much!

Specifically wondering if our advance specialty restaurant reservations are limited to only the number of us (me and hubs) in the cabin.  Taking our first Regent cruise in April (14 day TA). I’ve heard about people dining with other passengers and even crew and both scenarios appeal to us. 

Specialty dining reservations open next month and I’m wondering if I can make an advance reservation online at a specialty restaurant for 4 people (the two of us in our cabin plus two unknowns who we’ll meet on the ship).  Obviously if we don’t meet anyone we want to dine with (unlikely!) we would change the reservation to only the two of us, but we’d love the opportunity to meet others and have the reservation available. Has anyone done this? TIA!
 

I thought the whole point of booking early was to lock in the price. Why would adding a person - when you’ve paid the supplement - change that? I’d fight it (or have your TA fight it). Keep us posted!

Earlier this week we booked a transatlantic for next April. Purchased travel insurance from our TA. When we did this in the past, we were sold an AIG policy - this time it was with a company called Zurich. I’d never heard of them before but the coverage is significantly greater that what we had previously and the reviews are very positive.

CWN & Papa, thank you both so much for taking the time to really break this down for me. I truly appreciate your help and you’ve given me a lot to think about and discuss with my family. 

On 10/30/2022 at 7:41 AM, papaflamingo said:

He did everything for us from booking extra dining in a specialty restaurant to bringing canapés in the afternoon.  Any questions or issues he handled.  

Papa (wow, you’re really helping me, thank you!) - my mom (experienced Regent cruiser) is telling me we have to book our dining and excursions before we board so butler not worth it (her opinion). Has this changed? Or are you limited to what you book in advance and the butler helps with adding things you can’t access in advance?  Any other specifics you used the butler for? I love the idea of packing/unpacking help!

4 hours ago, cwn said:

“Regent will  get what you want if it is part of the existing contracts for seats they have with the various airlines.”

But only if you pay for the deviation, right? They’re not going to get me what I want unless I ask them for a deviation…and pay. This is my understanding. 
 

Please, if I’m wrong, let me know. To me it sounds like I get what Regent gives me - unless I’m requesting/paying for the deviation.

Papa - thanks! He’s with Kalitta. I’m not understanding your comment:  If they can't offer you something you want, you simply don't deviate and let them figure it out.  
 

I thought the whole point of the deviation is they give you what you ask for. Appreciate your help!

Papaflamingo - Thank you. Very aware of how the airlines work as you suspected; my husband is an international freight carrier. We’re flying DCA-MIA. So in your opinion, no benefit to having Regent do the deviation? Would we get a credit of any kind for passing up this one way route (included in cruise fare)?

We were thinking of requesting IAD for the return - but it doesn’t look like there are any nonstops from Barcelona. So we’ll likely keep DCA. 
 

Thank you again for responding!

Greetings all! New to Regent and wow, this page has been a tremendous resource.  My mom is treating my family to an amazing Regent cruise and has asked me to handle the booking.  I’m trying to be a good steward of her finances....  We are about to book 2 concierge level (possibly higher) cabins on the Voyager for the April 2023 TA from Miami to Barcelona. Here’s the dilemma du jour: this cruise encompasses my teen’s spring break but she’s still going to miss 4 days of school. I’m really not comfortable with her missing more than that. So, I want her to fly to the embarkation city after the school day ends on the day before the ship leaves.

Questions:

Based on what I understand re Regent Air, I need a deviation for (at least) my daughter and one adult (to cut costs, the other 2 adults may just take what Regent assigns). If I do this - i.e. for only 2 of the 4 travelers, I believe I will need to book the cabins in such a way that the two with deviations are in the same cabin.  Let me know if you disagree - i.e. can only one person in the cabin have a deviation?

If I’m correct and both passengers in the cabin have to get deviations, I’m inclined to book my husband and daughter in the same cabin with both of them getting the deviation.  I can book my mom and I in the second cabin, flying on whatever Regent provides. Once on the ship, we get the rooms sorted out so that my husband and I are in one cabin and my mom and daughter in the other. Any problems with this approach?

Alternatively, I buy my husband and daughter’s flights independently - i.e. pass on using Regent Air for this route.  They would still need Regent Air for the return. We also still need the hotel room for the night before we sail.  I’m considering this option because the current price of their desired outbound air tickets is less than the $175 deviation.  Is there a benefit to paying for a deviation even though the deviation costs more than the specific flight?  I wonder if by going the deviation route, Regent is responsible for the flight and any issues that arise - vice my buying separately and if something happens, my husband and daughter would be on their own. If this is the case, and in order to avoid additional deviation charges, should my requested deviation be a generic “non-stop after 5pm local time from DCA” instead of a specific flight number (which could later be cancelled)?
 

Sorry this is so long. I’m looking at a booking that requires full payment immediately, so I want to have all my ducks in a row. Thank you!

Wendy & Lady - thank you both. I truly appreciate the insight. If it were me paying, I’d definitely do my own travel. However, my mom is gifting us this vaca so we will do it her way. I’m quite confident my husband and I may never cruise our old cruise lines again after this trip, so I will keep all of these tips in mind.  Thank you again!

1 hour ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

She can then just purchase the pre-cruise hotel night, which will get her the perks she wants--she won't have to pay a deviation fee for flying in early, and she'll get a transfer to the ship.

She is pretty adamant, LOL, but I’ll explore this option. I’m not understanding the “deviation fee” issue. Does Regent usually fly passengers in the day of departure? She definitely wants to go down to Miami the day before the ship departs. Thank you!

2 hours ago, jeb_bud said:

 

we have only cruises Regent so we can’t compare it to mass market cruising but I suspect the difference between your other cruises and Regent will be bigger than between categories on Regent. 

ABSOLUTELY!! We are thrilled to experience cruising the Regent way!  Thank you for your thoughts on the PH butler. My thought was the more personalized service might be nice since we’re traveling with a 16yo & 83yo - both of whom may need a little extra attention. Thanks again!