Is Regent pricing themselves out of the market?

[gnomie1]

In previous years, by the time New Years rolled around, the majority of summer cruises on Regent would be nearly sold out. We use to always book as soon as the new itineraries were made available. A number of times, months later, when friends wished to join us tried to book, they were disappointed to learn that the cruise was sold out. However, this year, things are different. It appears that availability for a majority of the cruises for this upcoming summer is wide open. We just recently inquired about a few cruises and our agent told us there were many suites still available for each of the cruises we were interested in which surprised us.

 

The other evening we went to a travel presentation conducted by a local, well known travel agent. It was geared only to high end travel and the majority of attendees are well traveled individuals and are well able to afford to travel in luxury. It was quite interesting when the presenter talked about Regent. Many of the people in the audience had traveled on Regent at least once, some were more experienced Regent travelers who had achieved platinum status. Many people were complaining that the cost had just become too high for the product offered and others were complaining that the quality was not the same. It was eye opening to listen to the comments. The majority of people in attendance may not be in the 1%, but most certainly in the top 5%. If these people believe that Regent is becoming too expensive, where does that put the rest of us?

 

Summer is right around the corner, it does not give Regent much time to sell the many empty cabins still available. I expect to see some more major promotions, of which some have started with the $499 upgrade to business class and other discounts being offered.

 

gnomie :)

[Travelcat2]

I assume that if/when Regent no longer is selling cruises as well as they have been in the last few years, they will look at incentives to reduce the cost to passengers. According to vacation related publications, Europe has been a slow-seller for a couple of years. Even if you love the Med., how many times in a row can you go there? Many luxury travelers avoid summer months (according to what many posters on CC indicate). When you look at desirable itineraries, such as the Cape Town to Cape Town sailing in November, 2015 you'll see that they sold out almost the minute they were released.

 

On the other hand, I do wish that prices would come down so we could booker higher suites.

[Sunprince]

IMO, the answer is Yes, Regent pricing is too high. I have spent A LOT of time doing price (and other) comparisons between Regent, Seabourn and Silversea and on all counts, Regent pricing is much higher even after removing the air credit and an allowance for excursions (which no one seems to want anyway). I have also seriously considered cashing in my Regent Future Cruise Credit. Even with the $499 business air promos, Regent is still not a great value as I can arrange my own business class air, plus have a lower base fare on Seabourn or Silversea and still come out ahead.

 

So, Regent people, please book your Regent cruise this summer and don't migrate to Seabourn or Silversea and use up their capacity. That way, I might get an even better offer for the cruises I am watching on Seabourn and Silversea! :)

Edited January 9, 2015 by Sunprince

[ChatKat in Ca.]

I had lunch today with a travel agent whol told me that the economy is back and clients are booking in record numbers. Her data suggests that many cruises are sailing very full. So if that is the case and Regent is not - they may very well be over priced.

[Goofyisme]

Regent is no longer a decent value proposition for my travel needs and desires.

[tubeamps]

I was on the Mariner in the Med 9/2013 and thoroughly enjoyed it. Tried Crystal 10/2014 New England Canada and thought it was ok, but I preferred Regent.

 

After looking at the latest fares it appears that Regent is very close to pricing themselves out of the market. I was looking at Australia, New Zealand itineraries and thought the rates were a little over the top,

 

With fuel costs nose diving one would think there should not be the same upward trend in pricing that we have seen in recent years, but apparently not.