Considering trying a cruise with Regent sometime...any suggestions or advice?

I believe the thing that might hold me back the most from trying a Regent cruise - having investigated it further - is the inconvenience of their departure ports (at least for cruises originating in the US / Canada). It appears most cruises are out of (or ending in) NYC, Montreal, LA, or Miami. Being in PA, it's much more convenient for me to sail out of either Baltimore or Bayonne, and occasionally San Juan if I've of a mind to do a more southerly Caribbean cruise. NYC, I'm thinking, is a bit more of a hassle to go out of then the two departure ports closest to me, and the rest really involve flying unless I wanted to put together an extended drive / cruise trip. I'll keep Regent in mind and thank everyone again for all the replies, but my gut feeling is that the mainstream lines - especially for convenience sake - are probably a better 'fit' for me.

I believe the thing that might hold me back the most from trying a Regent cruise - having investigated it further - is the inconvenience of their departure ports (at least for cruises originating in the US / Canada). It appears most cruises are out of (or ending in) NYC, Montreal, LA, or Miami. Being in PA, it's much more convenient for me to sail out of either Baltimore or Bayonne, and occasionally San Juan if I've of a mind to do a more southerly Caribbean cruise. NYC, I'm thinking, is a bit more of a hassle to go out of then the two departure ports closest to me, and the rest really involve flying unless I wanted to put together an extended drive / cruise trip. I'll keep Regent in mind and thank everyone again for all the replies, but my gut feeling is that the mainstream lines - especially for convenience sake - are probably a better 'fit' for me.

The port in NYC is only about 30 min (depending on traffic) further drive than the Bayonne port. From my experience very convenient and easy to use as well. The NYC port that Regent leaves from also has a great view leaving or coming back to NY. It really is just up the water from Bayonne. Hopefully the port issue won't dissuade you!

I believe the thing that might hold me back the most from trying a Regent cruise - having investigated it further - is the inconvenience of their departure ports (at least for cruises originating in the US / Canada). It appears most cruises are out of (or ending in) NYC, Montreal, LA, or Miami. Being in PA, it's much more convenient for me to sail out of either Baltimore or Bayonne, and occasionally San Juan if I've of a mind to do a more southerly Caribbean cruise. NYC, I'm thinking, is a bit more of a hassle to go out of then the two departure ports closest to me, and the rest really involve flying unless I wanted to put together an extended drive / cruise trip. I'll keep Regent in mind and thank everyone again for all the replies, but my gut feeling is that the mainstream lines - especially for convenience sake - are probably a better 'fit' for me.

If you want to depart from an airport of your choice, take the Regent air credit and you can book your own air.

In terms of mainstream lines being a better "fit" for you, only you can decide that. Cruising on smaller ships isn't for everyone.

Whatever you decide, have a great cruise!

The port in NYC is only about 30 min (depending on traffic) further drive than the Bayonne port. From my experience very convenient and easy to use as well. The NYC port that Regent leaves from also has a great view leaving or coming back to NY. It really is just up the water from Bayonne. Hopefully the port issue won't dissuade you!

Yeah...you're right. I have a friend who has often cruised with Norwegian, and so has gone out of NYC many times. I can always get advice from him. It would be an interesting sail out of there. For any possible trips I'd do with Regent, I believe I'd focus on those leaving NYC as opposed to Miami.

If you want to depart from an airport of your choice, take the Regent air credit and you can book your own air.

In terms of mainstream lines being a better "fit" for you, only you can decide that. Cruising on smaller ships isn't for everyone.

 

Whatever you decide, have a great cruise!

Musn't you have already sailed with Regent in order to obtain the air credits you refer to?

Musn't you have already sailed with Regent in order to obtain the air credits you refer to?

No. If you check with your TA they can tell you the air credit amount for your cruise. Alternatively tell me the dates and ship and I’ll look it up for you.

Musn't you have already sailed with Regent in order to obtain the air credits you refer to?

Nope, that's one of the great things about Regent - although airfares are factored into the published price, you can have them credit you the cost of air and either fly or drive yourself to the departure port.

That's something I've never really considered as pretty much all of my cruises have been Europe or Alaska. The one cruise I actually did sail from NYC on was on Cunard, so air wasn't an issue on that one.

A lot of frequent travelers take the air credits on their Regent cruises and arrange their own air or upgrades. Good luck whatever you choose.

Have never sailed with Regent...mostly been on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. I get Regent's brochures literally every week - and sometimes more frequently. The trips look nice, as do the pictures in and around the ships. Any suggestions? Being honest in saying that the cruises are considerably more expensive than most other lines I've been with. Of course, I'd want to stay in the Regent Suite on the Explorer (LOL) Still can't quite wrap my head around the fact that there is a suite on a ship that has considerably more square footage than my house! I've read that the bed alone in that suite is reported to have cost in excess of 90k! I mean, seriously?

Don't forget it also contains a $250,000 Steinway Arabesque grand piano, too. One of only 50 in the world.

It would make my version of 'Chopsticks' sound better than it ever has...

Aloha all,

Long time since I've posted, read or sailed, so I have a little distance from the experience now. We may be a little different as we have only sailed Regent.

We sailed once a year for three years in a row: 2012-2014. We lived abroad for a good deal of our adult lives, and never thought that we would enjoy a cruise experience; however, I found a really great offer in the Amex Platinum Destinations Magazine for a Venice to Rome cruise on the Voyager, so we gave it a shot in 2012.

We had a great time, and I think that the price from HNL with Business/First Air all of the way to Venice, and a pre-cruise hotel night was less than 5k per person in a Concierge Suite. We found this to be a great value; thus, we booked aboard for the following year. With a few extra nights, the second trip was some 30% more expensive, but we gave it a shot, and again, the experience onboard the Voyager and on land was great.

Finally, we went to book a third trip for the following year while on board again, and the price creep continued with another 25-30% increase between our second and third cruises, but we bit the bullet and booked it.

Also, again, the onboard experience was good for the third trip , but we were treated miserably by the home office this time, and I had to write to the then President of Regent to coerce a Regent representative to honor the terms of the booking we made on board. This was time consuming and very frustrating.

Our business lives have changed a bit now, so we haven't entertained the thought of a long trip from Hawaii over the past few years; however, I must say that after our last trip, we thought about this a good deal, and we decided that with the huge year-on-year price increases, Regent no longer provided great value for us. Still a very nice on board experience, just too expensive for us when there are lots of other great ways to enjoy Europe. I just took a peek at current pricing on some itineraries, and I think that things are even more expensive now.

Given the right timing in our business, would I sail Regent again? Most likely. Would I do it at current pricing? Probably not.

Don't forget it also contains a $250,000 Steinway Arabesque grand piano, too. One of only 50 in the world.

 

It would make my version of 'Chopsticks' sound better than it ever has...

LOL on the Chopsticks comment....

Nope, that's one of the great things about Regent - although airfares are factored into the published price, you can have them credit you the cost of air and either fly or drive yourself to the departure port.

 

That's something I've never really considered as pretty much all of my cruises have been Europe or Alaska. The one cruise I actually did sail from NYC on was on Cunard, so air wasn't an issue on that one.

 

A lot of frequent travelers take the air credits on their Regent cruises and arrange their own air or upgrades. Good luck whatever you choose.

Travelcat mentioned that there is a specific air credit amount associated with a cruise, so if you decide to take the credit and book your own air, what happens in the event that the air itinerary you choose costs less than the amount of the credit? Must you submit to them the air itinerary that you chose and do they then reduce the credit by the difference between the two amounts?

Travelcat mentioned that there is a specific air credit amount associated with a cruise, so if you decide to take the credit and book your own air, what happens in the event that the air itinerary you choose costs less than the amount of the credit? Must you submit to them the air itinerary that you chose and do they then reduce the credit by the difference between the two amounts?

At least in our experience, all we do is decline using Regent's air and they give us a predetermined amount of credit and show we turned down the air option. Whatever arrangements we then make for air are our business and not theirs.

Regent doesn't care what your travel arrangements are or what they cost if you take the air credit. Be aware that by declining Regent Air arrangements, you are also forfeiting ground transportation from airport to embarkation port and from debarkation port. Still possible to save money by doing it yourself and getting the flights you want without any air deviation charges RSS will hit you with if you want changes to their air arrangements.

Travelcat mentioned that there is a specific air credit amount associated with a cruise, so if you decide to take the credit and book your own air, what happens in the event that the air itinerary you choose costs less than the amount of the credit? Must you submit to them the air itinerary that you chose and do they then reduce the credit by the difference between the two amounts?

Regent doesn't care if you save money or not. We took a $12K air credit and booked a flight for $8.5K (the same airline that Regent uses).

Having said that, the air credit domestically generally is much lower than for international business class flights.

We always did our own air, but I have wondered; I don't live in a "gateway city", so how would Regent Air work for me?

Pam-- There is an additional charge when flying out of a non-gateway city. Last time we flew out of a non-gateway city, the additional cost was a couple hundred dollars extra to fly approx 150 miles from Birmingham, Al to Atlanta.

Regent doesn't care what your travel arrangements are or what they cost if you take the air credit. Be aware that by declining Regent Air arrangements, you are also forfeiting ground transportation from airport to embarkation port and from debarkation port. Still possible to save money by doing it yourself and getting the flights you want without any air deviation charges RSS will hit you with if you want changes to their air arrangements.

I wasn't sure how this would work but it ended up working out great! I just booked my first Regent cruise yesterday - 28 days, Vancouver --> Miami in September-October 2018. I live in northern WA state about an hour from Vancouver, so I declined the airfare to Vancouver and was credited $525.

Since I still get the free hotel for one night, I'm taking the train from Bellingham to Vancouver the day before embarkation (cost: $25.60), doing my own transfer from the Amtrak station to the hotel, and the next morning, Regent will handle the transfer from the hotel to the terminal for embarkation.

For the return flight from Miami, I upgraded to 1st class -- the extra charge for 1st class is not much more than the credit I got for declining air to Vancouver, so it's basically a wash, and the travel should be easy (I love to go places, but getting there can be a real pain in the keister -- probably why I like cruise travel so much ... )

Lana in Bellingham, WA

Here’s something surprising about the Regent air credits that I learned when booking the TA that I’m currently on: you can use Regent air in one direction, and take the credit for the other. We were sailing from Rome to Miami, for which the included air was business class. The credit for both ways was $1300. We took Regent air for the flight to Rome, and declined it for the flight from Miami (our home airport is Raleigh-Durham, which costs a little over $100 for one-way from Miami). Rather than pro-rating the credit, we got a full 50% credit for declining the air in one direction.

This meant that we, in essence, got a business class (or, in our case, Delta One) flight to Rome for $650. Nice.

We are doing our first Regents in Nov. 1, Honolulu to Sydney. We declined the air to Honolulu but are using the air back from Sydney. Our credit was about 30% of the round trip, but the price was based on to Honolulu return from Papeete. As an airline retiree, we can get a First Class seat for not much more than the credit. BUT, from Sydney home, even with my employee discount, the cost credit (50% of round trip) is only about half of the cost of a Business Class seat. So, it's much more cost effective to let Regent fly us home. Yeah... I could try to "fly free," but if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it First Class all the way.

Great thread and not one negative comment. Not one poster stating it was good BUT...

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Since you have been on Mass Market cruise lines, you will really appreciate everything on a Regent cruise.

 

We have been on a couple mass market cruises before we took our first Regent cruise, and Regent is now our cruise of choice.

 

I recommend you build a comparison between what a cruise is like on Regent and what you can get on other lines. Things like cabin size (which is a big deal), number of passengers, number of staff per passenger, what's included - not just liquor, but specialty coffees, and soft drinks. Include ports of call for the cruises you are looking at, length of time at port and what excursions are offered. Be sure to include specialty restaurants and gratuities that are included. Also some Regent cruises will have lectures that either pertain to the ports you are going to (not shopping lectures) or a serious of lectures that are about a certain topic. This will help you see what Regents has to offer.

This a good point -- that there are small things included that make it a notch above. I remember my first Princess cruise after several Regent cruises where I went to the pool grill and asked for bacon and blue cheese on my burger. They looked at me like I was crazy as they politely told me my choice was American "cheese" or not. And I really grasped the difference could really be in the small stuff.

Have never sailed with Regent...mostly been on Royal Caribbean

We're like you, never cruised Regent before

My DW and I have cruised a lot since we retired in 2005. We did short trips 1 to 2 weeks before we retired. We managed to achieve Diamond on RCCl and Elite on Princess. We happened to find a Regent cruise Lisbon to Cape Town/ Cape Town to Cape Town. A nice long cruise which was fantastic. We were in a very nice aft suite with a butler. My first impressions were; card key used for the suite and getting on and off the ship; beverages included along with stocked bar; tours that are included and; cruise days awarded when we got on the ship:D:D. The crew was very nice and attentive. The dining was excellent. We met the Vivacious and sharing TravelCat2 (Jackie) and she provided considerable valuable information about Regent. Regent has become our cruise line of choice. Earlier this year we booked and traveled from Bangkok to Venice. What a great cruise, both of us like the smaller ships and the venues offered by Regent. As far as we are concerned unless one of the other lines offer an itinerary we cannot refuse, Regent is stuck with us. O BTW Jackie Hi.

My We met the Vivacious and sharing TravelCat2 (Jackie) and she provided considerable valuable information about Regent. Regent has become our cruise line of choice. Earlier this year we booked and traveled from Bangkok to Venice. What a great cruise, both of us like the smaller ships and the venues offered by Regent. As far as we are concerned unless one of the other lines offer an itinerary we cannot refuse, Regent is stuck with us. O BTW Jackie Hi.

Hi back at you:D. Hope that you enjoyed your Bangkok to Venice cruise!

Hi back at you:D. Hope that you enjoyed your Bangkok to Venice cruise!

Jackie, we really enjoyed our Bangkok to Venice cruise. it was almost 60 days, now that was different. The only issue was that we did not know that we had free laundry because of the B2B booking. There were some other issues but since I procrastinated in writing to Regent I won't go into them here. All in all, it was a great trip we have now circumnavigated the globe by ship. I think from now on we will book shorter Regent cruises but more than once a year:). Hope you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

John

I just started researching this line again. We did Regent in Apr 2010, the cruise that ended with quite a few nights in Padua, Italy since the Iceland volcano canceled all air across the Atlantic. Since that time we've become Elite on Celebrity and the highest level with Princess, and also cruised Viking, Uniworld, and Cunard. Our favorite line lately has been Azamara since we like smaller ships. All CC boards have been whining about how everything is going downhill. It is wonderful to find a positive thread about any line. Our finances has improved lately and we are seriously thinking about trying Regent again for 2019.