Overbooking on Regent? How is that possible?

[wapato2]

I have noticed that the word "Overbooking" has sometimes been used, indeed on a separate thread today. While I'm aware of Airlines overbooking as their standard policy, but a cruise ship?

 

How can it happen?

[mrlevin]

Cruise ships also overbook for the same reason that airlines do. Oceania got in a lot of trouble with folks on this board a few years ago when they called a couple the day before they were to fly to Europe to catch their cruise; FDR had to do a number of mea culpas.

 

Regent always looks for volunteers to give up their booking for a a decent amount of money. I am sure ChatKat can give you more feedback on the incentives as she took the deal last year.

[Responder]

Cruise ships also overbook for the same reason that airlines do. Oceania got in a lot of trouble with folks on this board a few years ago when they called a couple the day before they were to fly to Europe to catch their cruise; FDR had to do a number of mea culpas.

 

Regent always looks for volunteers to give up their booking for a a decent amount of money. I am sure ChatKat can give you more feedback on the incentives as she took the deal last year.

 

This was an interesting e-mail we received from Regent just before our Mar 29 Navigator cruise......and yet the ship was full....

 

We would like to present your clients with a limited time opportunity to experience the added luxury of a

suite upgrade at a special price on their upcoming March 29th, 2011 Seven Seas Navigator 10-night

voyage. This offer is extremely limited and is made on a completely voluntary first-come, first-served

basis. Your clients may choose to upgrade their accommodations to the Penthouse Suite for $400 per person.

The going retail price for this significant upgrade currently ranges up to $6199 per person.

Penthouse Suites are the same size as other balcony suites, but are on decks 9, 10 and 11 and also

include Regent’s butler service to make our guests’ stay even more welcoming and effortless.

All upgrades will be final and irreversible.

[mrlevin]

This was an interesting e-mail we received from Regent just before our Mar 29 Navigator cruise......and yet the ship was full....

 

We would like to present your clients with a limited time opportunity to experience the added luxury of a

suite upgrade at a special price on their upcoming March 29th, 2011 Seven Seas Navigator 10-night

voyage. This offer is extremely limited and is made on a completely voluntary first-come, first-served

basis. Your clients may choose to upgrade their accommodations to the Penthouse Suite for $400 per person.

The going retail price for this significant upgrade currently ranges up to $6199 per person.

Penthouse Suites are the same size as other balcony suites, but are on decks 9, 10 and 11 and also

include Regent’s butler service to make our guests’ stay even more welcoming and effortless.

All upgrades will be final and irreversible.

 

Responder, this is due to the amount of "guarantees" that they probably sold. It is better to get $800 than to get nothing. We did the same thing on our recent 25 night cruise for just $1500 for the two of us.

[Travelcat2]

Regent has been offering paid upgrades for some time. The overbooking issue surprises me as well. Unlike airlines where a certain percentage of passengers just do not show up, the amount you would lose on Regent is significantly higher. I wonder if Regent somehow makes money on this. My non-mathematical mind cannot calculate it. They sell all cabins. . . plus a few. Then they pay customers to give up their cabin and take another cruise. If anyone cancels in the last 30 days, Regent keeps the money. . . . not a bad deal for them.:)

[hondorner]

Cruise lines have statistical experts working in the reservation departments who are very much like life insurance actuaries. They use historical data to predict how many cancellations they will have on each cruise, and accept over bookings to counter those cancellations. The ideal number of over bookings would exactly match the number of cancellations. However, nothing is perfect, and they occasionally miss the number. In those cases, they will make space available by several different tactics. When there is a lack of cabins in a certain category and a surplus in another, the offers to upgrade begin. The process at Regent and Oceania is to offer those upgrades to early bookers in order to free up the space for latecomers.

 

People cancel all the time. Many cancel just before final payment, when there is no penalty at Oceania and just $100 per person administrative fee at Regent. Most of the excess bookings are taken long before this date, in anticipation. However, cancellations continue up to the date of sailing, for many reasons. I was booked on a back to back cruise of 14 and 10 days last March and suffered a small stroke 2 days before departure. I had full recovery in a few days, but had to cancel both cruises. Fortunately, I received full reimbursement from travel insurance That sort of situation is not unusual, and if they did not overbook, that cabin would have been empty for the voyage.

 

If the ship is full, they begin offers to move to a different cruise. Again, the early bookers are favored over the newcomers. This is in contrast to some mass market lines where waiting until the last minute to book in order to garner upgrades or discounts has become an art form. Regent also follows a policy of making the cruise more expensive for latecomers rather than less; that encourages early booking.

 

A key point is that the numbers "work" more often than they don't, and the number of such offers to upgrade or take another cruise are really minimal, although sometimes certain cruises can become inexplicably popular and the numbers miss by a mile.

 

When upgrades are offered, even for low amounts, those paid upgrades actually increase the bottom line. They may not represent how much a given cabin could have been achieved in a perfect world, but anything is better than an empty cabin. Don't forget, the person who is going to occupy the now available cabin will likely be paying full fare. Also, the very late cancellations in which they enforce the penalties for canceling also create the revenue used to pay for offers to upgrade or move to another cruise.

 

The most important thing to remember is that FDR's stated policy is that no one will be bumped due to over booking. They will just keep sweetening the offers until someone volunteers and the necessary cabins will be freed up. Thus, over booking should not be a concern to anyone, and could be of benefit to those who accept the sometimes generous offers.

[Responder]

I was booked on a back to back cruise of 14 and 10 days last March and suffered a small stroke 2 days before departure. I had full recovery in a few days, but had to cancel both cruises. Fortunately, I received full reimbursement from travel insurance That sort of situation is not unusual, and if they did not overbook, that cabin would have been empty for the voyage.

 

That cabin would have been empty, but didn't they already get paid for it? I wasn't aware the travel insurance company got reimbursed from the cruise line.

[cruiseluv]

That cabin would have been empty, but didn't they already get paid for it? I wasn't aware the travel insurance company got reimbursed from the cruise line.

 

I believe that if the cruise company can sell the cabin vacated late in the process they in essence get double for it. As you say, they got the payment from the original passenger who is now canceling , and now get payment again from the new passenger. I have never heard that the insurance company has recourse against the cruise line.

[mrlevin]

The most important thing to remember is that FDR's stated policy is that no one will be bumped due to over booking. They will just keep sweetening the offers until someone volunteers and the necessary cabins will be freed up. Thus, over booking should not be a concern to anyone, and could be of benefit to those who accept the sometimes generous offers.

 

The "Dear Mr. Del Rio" thread has been pulled from CruiseCritic Oceania board. This thread was started by Toranut97 when they were unceremoniously bumped from an Oceania cruise. I was going to recommend that everyone read this thread to see that Oceania did bumpt people involuntarily and why, today, there is the new policy as stated by hondorner. I didn't know that FDR had the pull to get a whole thread removed from these boards; Laura, do you want to explain?

[ChatKat in Ca.]

Thus, over booking should not be a concern to anyone, and could be of benefit to those who accept the sometimes generous offers.

 

There is a point you miss, Don. Someone like me who booked a guarantee on a full ship for a very infrequent itinerary and the ship was oversold so I would have had cabin assignment on arrival. We would have then been concerned about the cabin location. When the offer to bump came in, we took it because we had some concerns about that There were multiple b ump offers on that itinerary - at least three to the group of people we were sailing with and that for a 240 cabin ship is too high. They need a new person in passenger management or to let go of the greed.

[cruiseluv]

There is a point you miss, Don. Someone like me who booked a guarantee on a full ship for a very infrequent itinerary and the ship was oversold so I would have had cabin assignment on arrival. We would have then been concerned about the cabin location. When the offer to bump came in, we took it because we had some concerns about that There were multiple b ump offers on that itinerary - at least three to the group of people we were sailing with and that for a 240 cabin ship is too high. They need a new person in passenger management or to let go of the greed.

 

I'm confused... Regardless if the cruise had been oversold or not , by accepting a Guarantee you relinquish control of what cabin you're assigned to, don't you? Last time on Mariner we had a Guarantee and didn't find out our cabin number until 3 days before cruise. Actually, we were already in Europe when we found out what it was.

[hondorner]

... or to let go of the greed.

Not sure I understand the "greed" remark. Didn't your offer include incentives greater than what you paid? From where do you think these incentives came? That's how they use the excess $$$ -- most people interested in the cruise line bemoan the hit on the bottom line when their best attempts at cabin management occasionally run afoul.

 

Rest assured, in the long run, that reservation management works a whole heck of a lot better than not over booking at all.

 

Of course, if one really doesn't like the management no matter what they do, one will find ways to believe bad things about them...

[crooz4fun]

I'm confused... Regardless if the cruise had been oversold or not , by accepting a Guarantee you relinquish control of what cabin you're assigned to, don't you?

 

Yes you do, but the cruise line is better off getting more $$$ voluntarily from someone willing to upgrade to the better cabin and giving you the guaranteed cabin you have been promised than they would be by upgrading you to the better cabin and getting nothing for it.

[wapato2]

So, if I understand the responses to my question: An over-booking can only happen if a specific suite type is not available and the Passenger opts for the Guarantee status.

 

I was told that the Guarantee status gave me a Suite even if at a higher price, but I guess if ALL the suites are sold, there's NOTHING higher up.

 

Is that it?

[mrlevin]

wapato, for some reason, my previous reply to you was deleted....

 

Even if you have a specific suite you can be offered a buyout. If you are really interested in a buyout, let your TA know. We are on an oversold cruise this October and may take a buyout if the offer is too good to pass up.

[hondorner]

So, if I understand the responses to my question: An over-booking can only happen if a specific suite type is not available and the Passenger opts for the Guarantee status.

I think your question is whether an over booking affects you or not?

 

If you have a suite number assigned, the only way you will be moved to a different suite is voluntarily as a result of an upgrade or upsell offer (omitting the extremely rare occasion when a VIP might want you suite ;)).

 

If you have a guarantee, once you receive your assignment you probably won't even realize that it once belonged to somebody else who either canceled or moved up to vacate it for you.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Yes. I think the concepts of a "Guarantee" and overbooking are orthogonal. I.e., when asking about the issue of overbooking, the concept of a GTY is a red herring--they are not related.

 

No one who is booked and paid on Regent needs to worry about getting involuntarily bumped. If they get an offer to be bumped, they may accept it.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Of course, if one really doesn't like the management no matter what they do, one will find ways to believe bad things about them...

 

Wow Don, that's a pretty strange remark. Not sure what you're implying by it.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

I spent the first 20 years of my working career working with the very same market Regent caters to - high net worth individuals who wnat to be pampered and expect excellence.

 

The problem with much of what is being done is not excellence. The actions on the part of the management at Regent now opposes what the high end classy market wants. They don't want to feel less than others, they want excellent service and no hassle from the initial contact. Certainly they don't want to plan for a vacation and have the stress of a potential bump. They don't want to wait in line for excursions - on line or in person. Book the excursion, have the tickets in the room like the old days and meet at the gangway. That is classy. Waiting in a theater until a number is called is not. Telling someone that they cannot get a reservation in the upscale restaurant is not excellence. Telling someone that their brand of choice is only available in the other bar is not.

 

The excellence starts from the beginning. Not when you board the ship. The word No should rarely be uttered.

[laryrob]

I spent the first 20 years of my working career working with the very same market Regent caters to - high net worth individuals who wnat to be pampered and expect excellence.

 

The problem with much of what is being done is not excellence. The actions on the part of the management at Regent now opposes what the high end classy market wants. They don't want to feel less than others, they want excellent service and no hassle from the initial contact. Certainly they don't want to plan for a vacation and have the stress of a potential bump. They don't want to wait in line for excursions - on line or in person. Book the excursion, have the tickets in the room like the old days and meet at the gangway. That is classy. Waiting in a theater until a number is called is not. Telling someone that they cannot get a reservation in the upscale restaurant is not excellence. Telling someone that their brand of choice is only available in the other bar is not.

 

The excellence starts from the beginning. Not when you board the ship. The word No should rarely be uttered.

Amen!

[Eager2Travel]

We have sailed Regent many times. We have never received an upgrade offer even though we would have accepted it. On our last cruise (we just returned) some were offered the upgrade at a reasonable rate. We were not even when our TA made an inquiry about getting one. We were offered it at the full fare one week from sailing. Obviously the upgrade was available. We booked a year out so being a late comer is not an issue. Is it a function of who you use as a travel agent? I am feeling like a second rate past passenger at Gold level .

[les221b]

 

If you have a suite number assigned, the only way you will be moved to a different suite is voluntarily as a result of an upgrade or upsell offer (omitting the extremely rare occasion when a VIP might want you suite ;)).

 

I can't speak for Regent, but that's not true on Oceania.

 

In our last two trips we were told that our cabin was changed (twice on the first

trip and once on the second trip). For the first trip, we found out about it perhaps

3 months in advance. For the second trip, we didn't learn about the change until

we registered on board.

 

In all three cases, the cabin was being upgraded (without our asking), so we had

no cause for complaint. But it was strange on the second trip to tell our room number to the person checking us in and having them not find it in their registry. I was

particularly concerned because the luggage tags which Oceania supplied no

longer matched our room number.

 

Les

[ridolphi]

You better not Marc or I will come and haunt you for the rest .of your life. You and Arlene are one of the reasons we signed up for this, as we have already done it, but now I have two clients going and they really want to go, so they probably, well who knows, but not likely would take a buy out. I would if it were just us -- but you better be on that cruise. LOLOLOL.:p:p:p If you guys and a few others I can think of don't end up going, we would be really really disappointed.

 

Luv you guys.

[hondorner]

Originally Posted by hondorner

If you have a suite number assigned, the only way you will be moved to a different suite is voluntarily as a result of an upgrade or upsell offer (omitting the extremely rare occasion when a VIP might want you suite ;)).

 

 

I can't speak for Regent, but that's not true on Oceania.

 

In our last two trips we were told that our cabin was changed (twice on the first trip and once on the second trip)...<snip>...In all three cases, the cabin was being upgraded...

Isn't that what I said?

[les221b]

Isn't that what I said?

f you have a suite number assigned, the only way you will be moved to a different suite is voluntarily as a result of an upgrade or upsell offer

 

 

It's a question of which word you want to emphasize. :)

 

There was nothing voluntariiy (on my part) about the upgrade. If I had any reason

for wanting my original cabin (perhaps next door to a friend), I couldn't have

stayed there. I was moved, and had no choice in the matter.

 

Les