Regent Flights - with and without deviation

[rallydave]

14 minutes ago, Kate-AHF said:

Okay, the above begs the question.... does Regent usually (I know all bets are off in the current environment) contract with Turkish Air?  I can live with Lufthansa, but would like not to.

Don’t think so however since Turkish air has lower fares might fit into the amount regent would pay plus there are times regent will put you on a flight you choose with an additional upcharge. You don’t have to fly on only airlines has contracts with if you are willing to pay their upcharge. Just include the flights you want and the air desk will let you know. You don’t pay the $175?until you agree to the flights. 
 

you might even take the credit and book yourself on Turkish. Take the option that costs you the least. 

[Kate-AHF]

3 minutes ago, rallydave said:

Don’t think so however since Turkish air has lower fares might fit into the amount regent would pay plus there are times regent will put you on a flight you choose with an additional upcharge. You don’t have to fly on only airlines has contracts with if you are willing to pay their upcharge. Just include the flights you want and the air desk will let you know. You don’t pay the $175?until you agree to the flights. 
 

you might even take the credit and book yourself on Turkish. Take the option that costs you the least. 

  It's difficult to project what fares will be next year, but when doing a dummy for this fall based on the same dates as last year, TA was 1k more pp than the credit.  For sure, I will keep an eye out as to what is the best deal, particularly since transfers are not necessary (for us) on embarkation, and included in the post-cruise.

[wcsdkqh]

In this day and age of flight cancellations and Cruise itinerary changes, do not underestimate the value and convenience of having Regent handle flights And associated headaches.

[Flgreg]

Not sure if this has been mentioned before (so many posts on this topic) but.....we used custom air on our 7-19 cruise and used it again for a 11-20  cruise. We were fully aware that the $175 per person fee is not refundable. Sadly, we just cancelled the November trip but were pleasantly surprised to be told the custom air charge we paid will be applied as future cruise onboard credit.

[Travelcat2]

15 hours ago, Flgreg said:

Not sure if this has been mentioned before (so many posts on this topic) but.....we used custom air on our 7-19 cruise and used it again for a 11-20  cruise. We were fully aware that the $175 per person fee is not refundable. Sadly, we just cancelled the November trip but were pleasantly surprised to be told the custom air charge we paid will be applied as future cruise onboard credit.

 

I believe this was done due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the temporary loosening of cancelation rules for their customers.

 

With the crisis in the airline industry, it is possible that there could be new contracts with Regent.  Since people that deviate (aka use “custom air”), 270 days prior to the cruise, it may be more difficult to determine what things will look like when your cruise date gets closer.  Stay in touch with your TA (or Regent if you booked through them).

 

IMHO, it is more important now to book with Regent than at any other time.  If your cruise cancels or switches embarkation/disembarkation ports, Regent takes care of it at no additional charge.  However, if you book yourself - either paying for it or using points, it could be a hassle to cancel without a fee (the airlines are now allowing changes but this is temporary).

[BettyDol]

Hi Kate-AHF,  I don't know what the current situation is with the deviation details, but, I thought it might be interesting to comment on my last deviation experience,  We were booked on the since cancelled Explorer TA, Miami to Barcelona.  Our flight of choice for the deviation was Barcelona to LAX on  Lufthansa.   We had taken that flight 3 times before.  The first and second times, we had to pay $500.00 per person due to the Lufthansa up charge.  This time the up charge  was $1000.00 per person.  WE opted for the British Air flight with zero up charge.  Of course, in the end all the planning was for naught as the whole shebang was cancelled!  I mention this as you need to be aware of possible up charges when planning your deviation choices.  Good Luck!!

[chaunceyb]

1 hour ago, BettyDol said:

Hi Kate-AHF,  I don't know what the current situation is with the deviation details, but, I thought it might be interesting to comment on my last deviation experience,  We were booked on the since cancelled Explorer TA, Miami to Barcelona.  Our flight of choice for the deviation was Barcelona to LAX on  Lufthansa.   We had taken that flight 3 times before.  The first and second times, we had to pay $500.00 per person due to the Lufthansa up charge.  This time the up charge  was $1000.00 per person.  WE opted for the British Air flight with zero up charge.  Of course, in the end all the planning was for naught as the whole shebang was cancelled!  I mention this as you need to be aware of possible up charges when planning your deviation choices.  Good Luck!!

 

[chaunceyb]

This will be our first cruise on Regent this coming January. We booked our air using their concierge air service ($350.00 per person) and they booked us a really great United route last week. I check on United.com today and the reservation has vanished! I call United and they tell me it was canceled because Regent failed to ticket the reservation! If I had not checked on United (I check regularly on my other flights), I would not have know that the reservation was canceled - maybe even all the way going to August final payment date! Very disconcerting, thought Regent was a step up!

[chaunceyb]

22 hours ago, wcsdkqh said:

In this day and age of flight cancellations and Cruise itinerary changes, do not underestimate the value and convenience of having Regent handle flights And associated headaches.

This will be our first cruise on Regent this coming January. We booked our air using their concierge air service ($350.00 per person) and they booked us a really great United route last week. I check on United.com today and the reservation has vanished! I call United and they tell me it was canceled because Regent failed to ticket the reservation! If I had not checked on United (I check regularly on my other flights), I would not have know that the reservation was canceled - maybe even all the way going to August final payment date! Very disconcerting, thought Regent was a step up!

[rallydave]

10 minutes ago, chaunceyb said:

This will be our first cruise on Regent this coming January. We booked our air using their concierge air service ($350.00 per person) and they booked us a really great United route last week

A little confused with your comment about the concierge air service being $350 per person.  As far as I know the price hasn't gone up from the $175 per person round trip,  Perhaps you meant $350 for a couple??

 

Just noticed you are in Hawaii so might be the $175 deviation fee plus $175 for a non-gateway city  since Hawaii is not an included Gateway

 

Thanks,

Edited May 9, 2020 by rallydave

[chaunceyb]

Sorry you are correct, $175.00 per person. Hopefully Regent can straighten it out Monday, but issues like this one is one reason why we always book our air and hotels directly!

[chaunceyb]

32 minutes ago, rallydave said:

A little confused with your comment about the concierge air service being $350 per person.  As far as I know the price hasn't gone up from the $175 per person round trip,  Perhaps you meant $350 for a couple??

 

Just noticed you are in Hawaii so might be the $175 deviation fee plus $175 for a non-gateway city  since Hawaii is not an included Gateway

 

Thanks,

This will be our first cruise on Regent this coming January. We booked our air using their concierge air service ($350.00 per person) and they booked us a really great United route last week. I check on United.com today and the reservation has vanished! I call United and they tell me it was canceled because Regent failed to ticket the reservation! If I had not checked on United (I check regularly on my other flights), I would not have know that the reservation was canceled - maybe even all the way going to August final payment date! Very disconcerting, thought Regent was a step up!

[chaunceyb]

Sorry you are correct, $175.00 per person. Hopefully Regent can straighten it out Monday, but issues like this one is one reason why we always book our air and hotels directly!

[SusieQft]

27 minutes ago, rallydave said:

Just noticed you are in Hawaii so might be the $175 deviation fee plus $175 for a non-gateway city  since Hawaii is not an included Gateway.

The non-gateway fee is (or at least was last year) $249 pp round trip, or $124.50 pp one way. 

[Travelcat2]

10 minutes ago, chaunceyb said:

Sorry you are correct, $175.00 per person. Hopefully Regent can straighten it out Monday, but issues like this one is one reason why we always book our air and hotels directly!

 

Don't you feel that. booking your own air during the pandemic is risky?  Regent could change embarkation/disembarkation ports, shorten or length a cruise, etc.  If you book through them, it will automatically be taken care of for you by Regent.  If you book on your own, you are obviously on your own to deal with the changes.  We have booked on our own but would be concerned to do so right now as we had a very difficult time with the airlines when our March 14th cruise was cancelled.

[chaunceyb]

We did book through Regent but they failed to ticket the reservation so United canceled it. 

[chaunceyb]

We have had no problems with United for canceled flights, United has waivers in place and they issue travel certificates that can be used for future United flights.

Edited May 9, 2020 by chaunceyb

[chaunceyb]

Regent was very generous to give us Business all the way from Lima to Honolulu. They just need to have their reservations ticketed!😊

[Travelcat2]

6 hours ago, chaunceyb said:

Regent was very generous to give us Business all the way from Lima to Honolulu. They just need to have their reservations ticketed!😊

 

Regent does not ticket their booked reservations until closer to the time of cruising.  United and other airlines know this.  In all of our years cruising with Regent, this is the first time I’ve heard of an airline cancelling a reservation.  

 

My concern was not United canceling a flight but rather Regent changing the ports of embarkation and disembarkation.  

 

We tend to fly non-U.S. based airlines whenever possible.  We have not flown on United for a long time but have had nothing but issues with American Airlines (changing flights a month before our cruise - having us leave MIA at 6:00 a.m. which was an impossibility.). The second time that it happened they gave us a certificate for a future fight that we will never use as we do not plan on flying that airline in the future.   

[chaunceyb]

Regent rebooked our reservations on United - so for now we are good to go!

[Travelcat2]

On 5/11/2020 at 3:49 PM, chaunceyb said:

Regent rebooked our reservations on United - so for now we are good to go!

 

That is great news!

[Travelcat2]

International carriers that no longer have First Class (and which still have it) during the pandemic!  \\

Jun 29, 2020

VANISHING FIRST CLASS First-class suites offer plenty of advantages — from better food to personalized service to critical personal space — but, with demand for international travel essentially falling off a cliff, due to closed borders and travel fears, airlines are beginning to trim their most expensive offerings. We've seen a number of extended cuts in recent weeks, with some of the world's most prestigious products taking a hit. While many will only be temporary pullbacks, so far we've seen a handful of products disappear from many routes, including Etihad's A380 Apartment, Singapore's new suite, Lufthansa first class and more. Get the full scoop, with: RIP: These airlines have stopped offering first class All major U.S. airlines cut inflight service, lounge access Lufthansa grounds Airbus A380 fleet through at least 2021 In most cases, these products are expected to fly again once demand returns — but, for now, when that'll actually happen is anyone's guess. -Zach Honig, Editor-at-Large

 

Edited June 29, 2020 by Travelcat2

[ssawjo]

Deviation Question:  We are planning to disembark in Cape Town in Nov. 2021.  We plan to take a short trip to Namibia, a few days, and return to Cape Town to return to Miami, Fl (not our original airport, PHX was).  Would this trigger a deviation fee?  We have "free business class" for this voyage.  

 

Thank you.  This will be our first Regent cruise and looking forward to it.

 

Bill and Kathi

[cwn]

2 minutes ago, ssawjo said:

Deviation Question:  We are planning to disembark in Cape Town in Nov. 2021.  We plan to take a short trip to Namibia, a few days, and return to Cape Town to return to Miami, Fl (not our original airport, PHX was).  Would this trigger a deviation fee?  We have "free business class" for this voyage.  

 

Thank you.  This will be our first Regent cruise and looking forward to it.

 

Bill and Kathi

If you delay your return, it will require a deviation fee. 

[rallydave]

1 minute ago, ssawjo said:

Deviation Question:  We are planning to disembark in Cape Town in Nov. 2021.  We plan to take a short trip to Namibia, a few days, and return to Cape Town to return to Miami, Fl (not our original airport, PHX was).  Would this trigger a deviation fee?  We have "free business class" for this voyage.  

 

Thank you.  This will be our first Regent cruise and looking forward to it.

 

Bill and Kathi

Yes, this is a deviation.  A deviation is anytime you don't use the included air as Regent books and that is getting there on the day of departure and return on the day of disembarkation.

 

Since you will be paying the deviation fee strongly suggest you also arrive for the cruise a few days early to make sure you don't miss the boat.