Regent Flights - with and without deviation

[ssawjo]

1 hour ago, rallydave said:

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.

Strongly agree.  We will be arriving early because we are taking Regent's land program for this cruise.  Thank you.

[ssawjo]

1 hour ago, cwn said:

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

Don't like that but it might be worth it to delay departure.  We'll see.  It is a loooong way off and who knows what is in store for cruising.  Thank you.

 

Bill

[UUNetBill]

17 hours ago, ssawjo said:

Don't like that but it might be worth it to delay departure.  We'll see.  It is a loooong way off and who knows what is in store for cruising.  Thank you.

 

Bill

There are some of us who just consider the $175/pp deviation fee as part of the cost of a Regent cruise as we almost always deviate to make sure we arrive in plenty of time and/or stay over a day or two before or after the cruise.  It's money well spent to ensure you get the flights you want.

 

Also, you only have to pay the deviation fee if you accept the offered flights - otherwise you can just take the standard Regent flights or take the air credit and book your own flights.

Edited August 12, 2020 by UUNetBill

[SusieQft]

I am thinking about booking flights for Navigator, Miami to New York in May 2021.  I am guessing maybe there is a 50% or less chance it will sail, but the current booking terms allow no penalty cancellations.  I am not in a Gateway City, so the cost of doing it through Regent is much more than I can do on my own, especially since I plan to use miles.  But I have a question about what airports to choose.

 

I assume that when my itinerary says Miami, that means Miami and not Port Everglades.  Is that a safe assumption?

 

We end up in New York, but I have no idea where the port would be or which airport would be the closest or easiest.  Right now the flight options out of EWR look slightly better than JFK or LGA, but I could go with any of those.  I am looking at flights leaving just after 2 pm from any of the three, connecting through ORD.  I could instead get a nonstop flight out of JFK at 11 am, but that sounds like it would be cutting things a bit too close.  Any advice?

 

I assume that Regent offers disembarkation transfers for a price for those not booked on Regent Air.  Do they stage you at a hotel somewhere with snacks and beverages available, or just take you straight to the airport?

[loriva]

1 hour ago, SusieQft said:

I am thinking about booking flights for Navigator, Miami to New York in May 2021.  I am guessing maybe there is a 50% or less chance it will sail, but the current booking terms allow no penalty cancellations.  I am not in a Gateway City, so the cost of doing it through Regent is much more than I can do on my own, especially since I plan to use miles.  But I have a question about what airports to choose.

 

I assume that when my itinerary says Miami, that means Miami and not Port Everglades.  Is that a safe assumption?

 

We end up in New York, but I have no idea where the port would be or which airport would be the closest or easiest.  Right now the flight options out of EWR look slightly better than JFK or LGA, but I could go with any of those.  I am looking at flights leaving just after 2 pm from any of the three, connecting through ORD.  I could instead get a nonstop flight out of JFK at 11 am, but that sounds like it would be cutting things a bit too close.  Any advice?

 

I assume that Regent offers disembarkation transfers for a price for those not booked on Regent Air.  Do they stage you at a hotel somewhere with snacks and beverages available, or just take you straight to the airport?

 

Susie,

 

We were scheduled to be on the reverse itinerary on Navigator in October, which Regent cancelled.

 

In New York, we were scheduled to depart from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal:  https://www.nycruise.com/manhattan-terminal/  The closest airport is La Guardia.

 

Yes, Miami is different from Port Everglades.  Its cruise terminal website is here:  http://www.miamidade.gov/portmiami/cruise.asp

 

I know transfers from the airport to the cruise terminal and return were offered, but we never reached that stage.  I don't know about the Regent transfer "experience" as we have not yet sailed with Regent.

 

Hope this helps, and that you can sail!

 

[rallydave]

2 hours ago, SusieQft said:

I am thinking about booking flights for Navigator, Miami to New York in May 2021.  I am guessing maybe there is a 50% or less chance it will sail, but the current booking terms allow no penalty cancellations.  I am not in a Gateway City, so the cost of doing it through Regent is much more than I can do on my own, especially since I plan to use miles.  But I have a question about what airports to choose.

 

I assume that when my itinerary says Miami, that means Miami and not Port Everglades.  Is that a safe assumption?

 

We end up in New York, but I have no idea where the port would be or which airport would be the closest or easiest.  Right now the flight options out of EWR look slightly better than JFK or LGA, but I could go with any of those.  I am looking at flights leaving just after 2 pm from any of the three, connecting through ORD.  I could instead get a nonstop flight out of JFK at 11 am, but that sounds like it would be cutting things a bit too close.  Any advice?

 

I assume that Regent offers disembarkation transfers for a price for those not booked on Regent Air.  Do they stage you at a hotel somewhere with snacks and beverages available, or just take you straight to the airport?

Believe most ships come into Manhattan with a few into the other side of the river in Brooklyn.  Traffic in NY is horrendous so need plenty of time to the airport.  Not sure I would even do a 2 PM flight let alone an 11 AM.

 

Have read that might be better to use Newark as lot of traffic and construction to the other 2 airports.  Might google getting to the airports from Manhattan for ideas.  Yes options for non Regent air but, extremely expensive although for New York everything is expensive.  Really doubt in NY there are staging at hotels as never know how long the trip is and only for really late flights if at all.  Expect straight to airport and the transfer not leaving the port until full,  Hope this helps.

[John G]

3 hours ago, SusieQft said:

I am thinking about booking flights for Navigator, Miami to New York in May 2021.  I am guessing maybe there is a 50% or less chance it will sail, but the current booking terms allow no penalty cancellations.  I am not in a Gateway City, so the cost of doing it through Regent is much more than I can do on my own, especially since I plan to use miles.  But I have a question about what airports to choose.

 

I assume that when my itinerary says Miami, that means Miami and not Port Everglades.  Is that a safe assumption?

 

We end up in New York, but I have no idea where the port would be or which airport would be the closest or easiest.  Right now the flight options out of EWR look slightly better than JFK or LGA, but I could go with any of those.  I am looking at flights leaving just after 2 pm from any of the three, connecting through ORD.  I could instead get a nonstop flight out of JFK at 11 am, but that sounds like it would be cutting things a bit too close.  Any advice?

 

I assume that Regent offers disembarkation transfers for a price for those not booked on Regent Air.  Do they stage you at a hotel somewhere with snacks and beverages available, or just take you straight to the airport?

 

I’ve cruised into NYC twice. Both times RSSC used the Manhattan Cruise Terminal on the west side of Manhattan, at about 53rd Street.

 

Although La Guardia is the closest airport in terms of distance, if you’re arriving on a weekday morning, Newark is what I would recommend (and in fact is the airport I used). Traffic can really get tied up going to La Guardia, whereas it’s usually not too bad going to Jersey in the mornings.  I’d especially use Newark if you’re connecting through ORD – in the past Newark used to have hourly flights to ORD, so if you do miss a flight it’d be easier to get another (don’t know what the schedules are like now, though).

 

You can usually just get a cab right outside the terminal (that’s what I’ve done). Or call for a Lyft or Uber. Or order a car service. Regent usually offers transfers that you can purchase, but typically those are just a bus. BTW, Regent’s transfers tend to be pricey; if there are two of you, it would probably be cheaper to book a car service.

 

[diebroke]

I have flown fly in & out of EWR & LGA 6 or 7 times a year for many years. I have many scars to show for it. Now, I haven’t been on an airplane to go anywhere since Jan. 31^st.

As has been pointed out, the Manhattan Cruise Terminal is on the west side of Manhattan, not too far north of the Lincoln Tunnel. A short drive puts you on the Jersey Turnpike straight to EWR. It’s farther, but against the traffic & may be faster. I think an hour to EWR is a safe bet. I don't know what the ground transportation queuing process is for Regent at that cruise terminal. To get to LGA, you have to go cross-town Manhattan at rush hour. Travel time is kinda unpredictable & could be a nightmare. LGA used to be a dump, at least the United terminal. The construction made the terminal & traffic worse. Both should be better by next May.

I might be willing to go for the nonstop out of JFK if you could be certain that you could depart the cruise terminal no later than 7:00am. But, I tend to take chances on business travel to get home sooner.

Both EWR & LGA have among the highest % of departure delays in the U.S. & I would say I miss my connecting flight 20% of the time. Planning a connecting airport based on a missed connection is good advice & knowing what the back-up flights are well in advance reduces stress.

My info may be old, but if you go to EWR, I would take Uber or a private car service. NY taxis can’t pick up passengers in NJ. So, if they take you from Manhattan to EWR, they have to return from EWR empty. They used to charge double the meter rate.

Also, before eliminating mileage tickets, I would check with the airline to see what their change or cancellation fee policy is now. United has never charged a change fee on mileage tickets for people with a high mileage status & has been waiving that fee for all other passengers for the last few months.

Hope all this planning for May, 2021, is justified, but I enjoy the planning process.

[Bounce]

We are a family of 6 booked in two E suites flying from Orlando to Rome. Would Regent ever separate a family on flights!?! Our TA says she has never heard of them doing this-but I’m concerned. 

[rallydave]

7 minutes ago, Bounce said:

We are a family of 6 booked in two E suites flying from Orlando to Rome. Would Regent ever separate a family on flights!?! Our TA says she has never heard of them doing this-but I’m concerned. 

While don't believe this issue has arisen on this board,  nothing is absolutely for sure.  A lot depends on seat availability when flights are booked.  For instance if you are changing planes in Europe, the Business Class .  is smaller so some of your party may be back in coach.  This is because Business is only guaranteed for the over water portion.

 

IMHO best way to avoid this issues is to bite the bullet and deviate thus booking flights 270 days out vs. the normal 75 days out.  This does cost $175 pp but, can get you your choice of flights and booked much earlier as with the Pandemic, flights have become limited across the board.  In order to get your full family on the same flights without deviating could cause you to be not flown directly to Europe but, change of planes in the US before the overwater.

 

One way or another you will get to your cruise but, we have a new reality so no guarantee what happened in the past will happen in the future.  Not trying to scare you but, traveling is different now.  Best of luck and have a wonderful cruise.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

36 minutes ago, rallydave said:

...

IMHO best way to avoid this issues is to bite the bullet and deviate thus booking flights 270 days out vs. the normal 75 days out.  This does cost $175 pp but, can get you your choice of flights and booked much earlier as with the Pandemic, flights have become limited across the board.  ...

 

Sounds like good advice normally, but with flights being cancelled routinely during the covid crisis, I'm not sure if this makes sense.

[rallydave]

7 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Sounds like good advice normally, but with flights being cancelled routinely during the covid crisis, I'm not sure if this makes sense.

And your thoughts make a lot of sense as well except they are traveling with 6 people for which cancellations could make it difficult to all get on same flights

 

you are correct that there is no fool proof solution to the OPs issue and he/she needs to make that decision. 

[Texas Duck]

2nd Post - I posted earlier to a similar but different topic..

 

I booked our airfare yesterday - 270 days from embarkation date.  Perhaps my good experience may help other Regent travelers from middle part of Texas.

 

*     I called the Regent Air Concierge department at 877.722.7772 (they open at 8am Central Time) on the 272 day before embarkation date.  We used a TA but called the  Regent number directly.  Was not sure if 270 days was when you were leaving for the cruise or the embarkation date -- it is EMBARKATION date.  So, called back two days later and talked with Air Concierge.

*     Air Concierge records indicated that we were entitled to free coach instead of business class airfare.  Air Concierge transferred me to sales and they corrected their mistake immediately.  They then transferred me back to Air Concierge.

*     They OK'ed our first choice which was British Airways from Austin nonstop to Heathrow.  Short flight after that to Stockholm.  I know, I know, hopefully BA will be flying that route next June.  Both the pond and continent flights are business/first class.  I also am aware that European business/first class is not like the USA.

*     I had done my research and was able to book the window seats with two windows - A350-1000.

*     We wanted to arrive in Stockholm the day before embarkation - not the morning of.  We preferred Austin over Houston (we live in Texas Hill Country).  We knew about and were happy to pay the $175 and the $249 pp  charges.  HOWEVER, remember that if you book directly with BA, you will pay about $125 pp (each way) to get seat assignments before the 24 hour open period.   YOU DO  NOT pay the early booking seat assignment fee by going through Regent.  Offsets some of the Regent fees.

*     Regent forwarded the flight information overnight to our TA.  The TA this  morning recorded and sent us an invoice.

 

Helped a fellow traveler make the same flight reservations.  They confirmed and she paid immediately.  She did not use a TA but rather booked directly with Regent.  A little easier but no big deal either way.  

 

[flossie009]

For information, British Airways retired its final 747s today:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-54457434

We have some fond memories relaxing on the top deck when flying to/from a Regent cruise 🙂

 

When we do get to fly long haul again, the new Club Suites introduced on some of BA's aircraft look to be a comfortable update to BA's previous offering:

https://www.headforpoints.com/2020/05/05/british-airways-club-suite-business-class-guide/

 

[1982CruzStart]

20 hours ago, flossie009 said:

For information, British Airways retired its final 747s today:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-54457434

We have some fond memories relaxing on the top deck when flying to/from a Regent cruise 🙂

 

When we do get to fly long haul again, the new Club Suites introduced on some of BA's aircraft look to be a comfortable update to BA's previous offering:

https://www.headforpoints.com/2020/05/05/british-airways-club-suite-business-class-guide/

 

They were starting to get pretty tired looking but we also had some great trips in the upper deck. One of my best flights was from London to Dubai overnight.  There was hardly anyone up there and I had a blast with the 2 flight attendants while everyone esle slept. They were so funny. 

Susan, I hope all is well with both of you.

[flossie009]

6 hours ago, 1982CruzStart said:

Susan, I hope all is well with both of you.

Yes, Kathy, we are making the best of our time at home ............ but would rather be travelling again.

 

[loriva]

First, thanks to all for their posts and insights into how this process works.  This is our first sailing with Regent (well, we hope it will be--track record of two cancelled cruises in 2020) and our first time booking air through a cruise line.  (We've sailed plenty of time with other lines, both from domestic and international ports, but always booked our air independently.)

--Based on info here, I called the Regent Air Concierge a couple of weeks prior to the date we could make our flight reservations to ask who are the contract carriers out of Orlando (MCO) and Miami (MIA), the two closest gateways to our home, to our destination of Athens (ATH).  Regent uses Delta, United, Air Canada, Lufthansa, American Airlines,  and British Airways for these routes.

--I used this information to focus our flight search.  (I'd already been tracking flights via Google Flights, determining that the flight credit from Regent would not cover the price of flights booked independently--Regent provided greater value, in other words.)  My priorities were minimizing stops (no non-stops to Athens from either gateway), shortest flight duration (while allowing time for transfers--the routing with 37 minutes between flights in O'Hare did not make the cut), and timing (MCO is an hour's drive away, MIA three.)

--I called the Regent Air Concierge department at 877-722-7772 (I think they are in Miami and open at 0900 hours Eastern Time).  I thought maybe we could book 270 days out from the start of the Regent pre-cruise land package we purchases, but as others have noted it is 270 days from the day you actually BOARD the ship.  I learned in the call with the Concierge that many of the return flights I had hoped to use were non-starters as Regent would not allow any flights departing prior to 1300 hours--a full EIGHT hours after the ship is scheduled to dock.  They did say they would allow a 15-minute waiver (departure at 1245 hours in our case), but nothing more.  That eliminated my preferred return on United, which departs at 1215 hours and would have had us into MCO at 2015 hours, a decent time for the drive home.  We had to accept a flight that departed an hour later--1315 hours--but that does not arrive at MCO until THREE hours later due to a longer layover en route (again, no non-stop options).

--They emailed the itinerary for my review--but to our TA, not us.  Likely because we use the "big box" TA, it took a full two days to receive the proposed itinerary.  On the day we had to accept or reject the itinerary, I called our TA to make some changes (changing outbound airline to same as inbound, Air Canada both ways instead of American for outbound.)

--The itinerary showed up in my account on RSSC.com after booking, but the information is bare boned--no seating or class information, for example.  I was able to use the airline booking code (RLN), however, to find that information on the airline's website.  What you can do on the latter is limited, however, since the booking is from a third party--for example, I cannot add our frequent flyer numbers.  I will have to call the Regent Air Concierge again to try to do that.  This appears to vary by airline as I was able to link the initial Regent itinerary to my AA frequent flyer account and make changes to seating, fill in passenger information, etc.

 

Overall, while the experience was okay in the end, we will likely not take the air through Regent without compelling reasons to do so (a remote location for departure or return, or a significant difference in fares).  The booking conditions are too restrictive (and we are conservative on departure and connection times) and having to work through two other parties (Regent and TA) is time consuming.  We used Regent's air as the price is about $1,000 less per person than we could buy independently for the same routing and class and because we had a bunch of FCCs to use up from our cancelled cruises (inclusive air counts as cruise fare to use with bonus FCCs).  Maybe because our connections are through Canada, we did receive Business class the entire routing.  (The first leg on the initially proposed itinerary on American, through Philadelphia, was also in First.)  

[wcsdkqh]

Another reason to use Regent Air is due to changes that may occur with the cruise itinerary or flights. In today's environment I would not take a chance on my own arrangements if there is a chance they may change, and leave last minute changes to me. I just don't want to have that possibility hanging over me.  Regent will handle required changes for you if they are Regent Air arrangements. In the past, I generally booked my own air if I could save a few dollars, but for the next year or so, I will let Regent deal with air.  By the way, it has been a couple years since I was able to beat Regent Air prices, even with the deviation charge.

[1982CruzStart]

i am somewhat surprised by your experience. We usually deal directly with Regent Air for our flights. We have our TA release our file to us so we can deal directly with Regent Air. In the past they have always emailed us the preliminary itinerary for our review and approval and only emailed our TA with the final itinerary we agreed on. 

Glad you finally got it all straightened out, though not perfect seems to work pretty good for you. 

We have had issues with some airlines as well, some we could deal with directly online whereas others we had to go through Regent Air to make seat selection changes etc.  As you said it is up to each airline to decide how to deal with the booking. Air Canada is a pain when it comes to making changes. 

 

[loriva]

20 hours ago, wcsdkqh said:

Another reason to use Regent Air is due to changes that may occur with the cruise itinerary or flights. In today's environment I would not take a chance on my own arrangements if there is a chance they may change, and leave last minute changes to me. I just don't want to have that possibility hanging over me.  Regent will handle required changes for you if they are Regent Air arrangements. In the past, I generally booked my own air if I could save a few dollars, but for the next year or so, I will let Regent deal with air.  By the way, it has been a couple years since I was able to beat Regent Air prices, even with the deviation charge.

 

As they say "your mileage may vary."  I've read reviews here where folks reported getting very little assistance from Regent Air when they had flight problems.  Nothing is ever perfect, but I just found dealing with Regent Air and my TA to add extra layers without a huge gain.  It is nice to have the option, however, and to be able to decide going forward which option looks best.

[Dolebludger]

I have the problem that air by Regent is business class only for intercontinental flight legs, for flights within North America, it is basic economy, which is no go for us. So we have to take the intercontinental legs from Regent, and take its skimpy credit for North American legs which we would duplicate, only in business class. Then we have to match up North American legs with the timing on Regent’s intercontinental business class  legs included in the fare. This is now a problem too risky to take, given the changeable nature of airline schedules these days.

[wcsdkqh]

Regent has never put us on economy on the domestic legs with Delta when we deviate and pick flights. Domestic legs have always been first class.  Perhaps the airline makes a diff.

[rallydave]

9 minutes ago, wcsdkqh said:

Regent has never put us on economy on the domestic legs with Delta when we deviate and pick flights. Domestic legs have always been first class.  Perhaps the airline makes a diff.

It isn't Regent dong the domestic upgrades, it is the airline.  The airline will upgrade the domestic flight connecting with an overwater flights if there are seats available to be upgraded.  This means that there might be open seats but, based on capacity and projections, upgrades are not available.  So, it all depends on what is available when Regent books you.  Also domestic upgrades are only available if you are flying on the airline for the overwater portion's metal or more limited to airlines in their Alliances.  So you won't get upgrades between any of the domestic majors and if on a foreign airline for the overwater, only their Alliance Partners.  Not a simple subject with many variances and just plain luck.  Regent will always accept the upgrade if it comes thru when booking the flights and like I said it is up to the various airlines situations at the time of booking.  That said if it is the same airline or an Alliance Partner, you can most times contact the domestic carrier and ask to be waitlisted for an upgrade on that portion.  They can see you are Business for the other flights and most will do that waitlist. You will not be very high on the upgrade waitlist but, might just get the upgrade if you are lucky so all is not lost if you don't get the upgrade when your flights are booked.

 

In the case of Dolebluger, he lives in a small town with only small commuter plans that take him to Denver, Dallas, etc. and they have either no First Class section or very limited so generally upgrade seats aren't available to him. 

[wcsdkqh]

Makes sense. Thx for the additional info.

[Roger88]

Regent is one of those cruisers that is making up for all its passengers have lost this year. Probably one of those most informative companies that keep on posting stuff. I would like to see them more active in social media