Excursion wait list

Has anyone experienced being on the wait list for an excursion with Regent? We are in a concierge suite however we booked our cruise after the cut-off date for priority booking for excursions and found the champagne and lobster catamaran sail is booked. We are on the wait list and wonder if there is the possibility of others cancelling or if Regent will book a second excursion due to high demand?

There are frequent cancellations and/or added capacity for tours which have a waitlist. It is particularly common for the free tours to be over-reserved since many see no downside to adding tours that they are only somewhat interested in. Those frequently clear the waitlists. Once aboard all who have booked excursions will be reminded/encouraged to cancel them if their plans change...hopefully in time for the seats to be passed on to waitlisted folks.

That said, I would have to note that tours which have a specific infrastructure (like catamarans for yours) are harder for them to add extra capacity unlike additional buses and guides for the more general tours.

In November my wife and I were waitlisted on the Champagne and Lobster Catamaran excursion in St. John's, Antigua. We booked it about a month out. A couple days after embarking in miami we cleared the waitlist.

Hope you do to as it is a lovely excursion! We are currently on the Navigator and are enjoying the ship and crew tremendously!

In November my wife and I were waitlisted on the Champagne and Lobster Catamaran excursion in St. John's, Antigua. We booked it about a month out. A couple days after embarking in miami we cleared the waitlist.

Hope you do to as it is a lovely excursion! We are currently on the Navigator and are enjoying the ship and crew tremendously!

Thank you Vita. Hope you have a wonderful cruise experience. We are booked for March 18th aboard the Navigator. We cruised Alaska on the Mariner in 2001 when it was Radisson. Looking forward to a smaller venue and comparing the difference in ownership.

I am not a happy cruiser right now. I received an email confirmation from our TA yesterday that detailed our paid in full status but also detailed the excursions we have booked. I noticed a couple of the previously confirmed excursions were missing as were the wait- listed excursion. I went on to the RSSC web site and sure enough two excursions we has previously been confirmed on were now showing as wait-listed and the one wait listed excursion was now not even showing up as confirmed or wait-listed. Now this is the same TA that sent us an email last week asking us if we wanted to "downgrade" from a concierge suite to a window cabin and receive a $2850 refund. Very insulting! It was everything I had in me to hold back with respect to my real feelings. I responded to my TA stating the "missing" excursions were probably an oversight however, adding the insult of a downgrade to missing excursions was certainly not giving me the "6-Star Luxury" experience I was expecting. Maybe the fault lies with Regent or maybe the TA but either way it will better be corrected! Has anyone experienced this with Regent and were you satisfied with the outcome?

See my response on the upsell thread. Really think your TA needs to get on this immediately!!!!!!!

was this a forced downgrade, or an option to downgrade?

I was offered a downgrade. Not mandatory. I just thought this was somewhat insulting. If I wanted a lower priced cabin I would have chosen it originally.

was this a forced downgrade, or an option to downgrade?

I am wondering the same thing. Can they take your reserved cabin away from you?

It looks like a window cabin on your cruise has a price approximately $1500 less per person than a concierge suite. Was the regent offer to you changing from concierge to a window cabin plus $2500 back per person? If so same type offer as made on overbooked planes.

Regent absolutely cannot take your suite away from you. They can only increase their offers to make a change. I am shocked and horrified to see the fairly new "downgrade" offers being made on Regent. As I have stated, it is an insult. This type of thing may work on Oceania and NCL but not on Regent!!!!!

I'm on the same upcoming cruise and am having the same problem. Our TA is on the case and hope from other posts that Regent clears the wait list. What Regent should do is let patrons know ahead of time if excursions are booked up so a decision to sail on them can be made. Our main reason for sailing on them was the excursions otherwise I would have selected a different cruise. I've never had this problem with Seabourn, Crystal or SilverSeas.

I feel that this is almost a case of bait and switch... Not something a 6 star line should be doing.

I'm on the same upcoming cruise and am having the same problem. Our TA is on the case and hope from other posts that Regent clears the wait list. What Regent should do is let patrons know ahead of time if excursions are booked up so a decision to sail on them can be made. Our main reason for sailing on them was the excursions otherwise I would have selected a different cruise. I've never had this problem with Seabourn, Crystal or SilverSeas.

I feel that this is almost a case of bait and switch... Not something a 6 star line should be doing.

Most waitlists clear by adding more and more and more buses. The OP, however, is hoping to get on a special excursion that may have limited availability. Generally, the waitlist does not clear until you are on the ship. I suggested that the OP's TA contact Regent because they booked the excursion and suddenly their reservation dropped out of the system. Calling Regent will not help if the excursion is simply waitlisted.

You made a comparison of Silversea, Crystal and Seabourn. You need to consider that they do all include airfare as Regent does. As you may know, Crystal charges for specialty restaurants (if you want more than one reservation), Silversea charges to dine in Le Champagne and is beginning to include excursions -- it is likely to be a disaster for a while and Seabourn has smoking on balconies. Regent may not be the right fit for you, however, IMO, none of the luxury cruise lines are perfect.

If you are not "concierge" or above, you cannot book excursions until 180 prior to the cruise. There is still time to cancel.

Unfortunately, many people book as many excursions as possible which causes the waitlists. Once onboard, they realize that they have overextended themselves and would be completely worn out if they went on every excursion they booked. So, they cancel (hopefully -- sometimes they just do not show up and there are people on the waitlist sitting in the theater hoping that they will get on the excursion).

IMO, this is not a bait and switch. Rather, it is a policy that is almost impossible to manage successfully which is why we book Regent without considering whether or not we will take excursions. I have kept my fingers crossed for three years that Regent will offer an opt out option for excursions. We have learned that excursions we plan on our own are far better than what is offered for "free".

I wonder if corporate keeps on eye on past cruisers and make note of who never seem to use the included excursions, we don't, and also uses that as a planning tool. If enough people aren't using this service.....they are really coming out ahead! I would think this would be quite possible given the number of repeat customers.

Included excursions bring many new cruisers to Regent. There is no way they would do away with the program. However, it is still possible, with enough input from loyal cruisers, they could implement an opt-out policy.

IMO, there would not be multiple bus loads of people on most excursions or numerous waitlists if they were not being used. Threads such as this one demonstrate just how frustrating the program can be.

I think what I am trying to point out is if they have 700 people on a ship but are somewhat sure that X amount of people (who have paid for the excursions with their fares) are not going to be using the service, they are coming out way ahead in the money department. Having huge amounts of repeat customers would give them a good idea how to plan. We wish there was an opt out also.

TC2 -"Unfortunately, many people book as many excursions as possible which causes the waitlists. Once onboard, they realize that they have overextended themselves and would be completely worn out if they went on every excursion they booked. So, they cancel (hopefully -- sometimes they just do not show up and there are people on the waitlist sitting in the theater hoping that they will get on the excursion)."

I usually agree with you but here I think that because Regent created the situation of over-booked excursions; therefore Regent has the responsibility to "fix" it. Remember, Regent not only advertises "free excursions" but also advertises " free unlimited excursions". Besides with the Regent 75 minute between excursions rule, I have rarely been able to reserve more than 1 excursion per day.

I believe Regent's all-inclusive excursion system is a double-edge sword. Regent wants to include these as a value proposition for marketing purposes however the system is flawed. When a passenger books their excursions and finds that their particular "first-choice" excursion(s) are wait-listed, they book additional excursions at the same time as a back-up to the excursion they are really interested in. This problem then domino's as it causes other excursions to "over-fill" with passengers that will ultimately drop their second choice if their original excursion becomes available. I don't see how Regent can fix this without changing their process?

TC2 -"Unfortunately, many people book as many excursions as possible which causes the waitlists. Once onboard, they realize that they have overextended themselves and would be completely worn out if they went on every excursion they booked. So, they cancel (hopefully -- sometimes they just do not show up and there are people on the waitlist sitting in the theater hoping that they will get on the excursion)."

I usually agree with you but here I think that because Regent created the situation of over-booked excursions; therefore Regent has the responsibility to "fix" it. Remember, Regent not only advertises "free excursions" but also advertises " free unlimited excursions". Besides with the Regent 75 minute between excursions rule, I have rarely been able to reserve more than 1 excursion per day.

Yes - we do disagree on this issue. I recently posted the "small print" on the Regent contract and they are very specific that some excursions have limited availability. Basically Regent offers free, unlimited excursions, based on availability. Once again, if they would give passengers an "opt out" option, it is likely that there would be less people booking excursions they really don't care about but take because they are included. To be honest, we book excursions that we don't care about and usually end up cancelling. It sounds selfish but we pay for the excursions in the cruise fare -- we would opt out if we could but since we can't we may as well take a few short excursions.

O-Town Travelers: The system is definitely flawed. While excursions are handled a bit better now than a couple of years ago, IMO, it is almost impossible to handle up to 700 passengers on a daily basis that book everything they possibly can and then either cancel or do not show up. Really hope you get the excursions that you are waitlisted for.

TC2 -"Unfortunately, many people book as many excursions as possible which causes the waitlists. Once onboard, they realize that they have overextended themselves and would be completely worn out if they went on every excursion they booked. So, they cancel (hopefully -- sometimes they just do not show up and there are people on the waitlist sitting in the theater hoping that they will get on the excursion)."

I usually agree with you but here I think that because Regent created the situation of over-booked excursions; therefore Regent has the responsibility to "fix" it. Remember, Regent not only advertises "free excursions" but also advertises " free unlimited excursions". Besides with the Regent 75 minute between excursions rule, I have rarely been able to reserve more than 1 excursion per day.

Yes - we do disagree on this issue. I recently posted the "small print" on the Regent contract and they are very specific that some excursions have limited availability. Basically Regent offers free, unlimited excursions, based on availability. Once again, if they would give passengers an "opt out" option, it is likely that there would be less people booking excursions they really don't care about but take because they are included. To be honest, we book excursions that we don't care about and usually end up cancelling. It sounds selfish but we pay for the excursions in the cruise fare -- we would opt out if we could but since we can't we may as well take a few short excursions.

O-Town Travelers: The system is definitely flawed. While excursions are handled a bit better now than a couple of years ago, IMO, it is almost impossible to handle up to 700 passengers on a daily basis that book everything they possibly can and then either cancel or do not show up. Really hope you get the excursions that you are waitlisted for.

Wow! you must really feel strongly about this as I have never seen you "double post" before.

Jim C

Wow! you must really feel strongly about this as I have never seen you "double post" before.

Jim C

Oops -- that was really a computer error. I wrote the post and it got "hung up" so I copy and pasted it into Word. I couldn't even get back into CC message boards for half an hour at which time I tried again and it apparently worked -- twice. I do feel strongly about "free excursions" (dislike them intensely) but do not disagree with you as much. After all, the advertising is misleading.

Will try to watch those double posts :D

Hello all~

Hoping someone can answer a question here for a first- timer on Regent:

Our excursions window opens soon, and if an excursion we want is wait-listed, can I be put on the wait list AND sign up for a second choice as well??

Thanks!

Only once has our decision to book a cruise depended on one particular excursion - that one was "A Private Tour of the Vatican" and we called and ensured there was still availability prior to booking the cruise. Everything went well and it was a fascinating tour. But even on that cruise, I made sure that there were plenty of other things that made the trip worthwhile, as you never know if and when you'll miss a port based on mechanical issues, weather, security, whatever...for example, on that same cruise we booked, we missed our stop in Trieste due to high winds - it was a minor inconvenience for us, but there was one passenger who specifically booked this cruise so he could spend the day with his family in Trieste, who he hadn't seen in like 40 years or something...needless to say, this practically ruined his cruise, and it was our first port!

Our upcoming cruise was booked because it included the excursion "A Papal Audience at the Vatican" (detect a trend here?) and right after we booked, the cruise was rerouted to where this excursion wasn't possible. So we made alternate plans for that day in Rome and decided to make the best of the rest of the cruise.

It's Murphy's Law - the more you want a certain tour, the less likely you are to be able to get it. I'll be the first to admit, I've been disappointed on Regent cruises before, but I've also had some of the most amazing experiences in my life, too - so I try and remember the good and forget the bad.

Oh, and apparently I like typing, too. :D

Hello all~

Hoping someone can answer a question here for a first- timer on Regent:

Our excursions window opens soon, and if an excursion we want is wait-listed, can I be put on the wait list AND sign up for a second choice as well??

Thanks!

Yes you can.