Further Navigator Schedule Manipulation

[Travelcat2]

It does sound as if a special offer was made for the waitlisted cruise(s). On the other hand, it is not unusual to have a cruise fully booked more than a year in advance. Our upcoming November cruise on the Explorer was booked very early, however, due to cancellations had openings that people were able to take advantage of. If a cruise was important to you, I would waitlist.

[Clay&Jenn]

Yes, that was my point, how strange that Eager2travel was not allowed to waitlist; with almost a year to go, there should be a waitlist for the waitlist...

[RachelG]

Just saw this thread.

 

Here is my take on Zika. Unless you are pregnant, the risk is minimal. Most people are completely symptomatic and don't know they have the disease. They are now screening donated blood for it as it has been transmitted that way, and the donors (who apparently felt fine, otherwise would not have donated) had no idea they were infected.

 

I just read the statistics from Puerto Rico. The incidence of the disease has increased dramatically. But out of over 5000 cases, there was only one death (from thrombocytopenia --low platelets-- in an older man) and who knows what his baseline state of health was. The vast majority of people were a symptomatic or recovered quickly without any lasting problem. There were no cases of Guillan Barre in this group, so I think the risk of that is minimal, probably less than with regular flu.

 

The issue is with pregnant women. The virus can cause severe birth defects, primarily microcephalic which means the brain does not grow properly.

 

My own opinion--I would not hesitate to travel in a Zika area taking normal precautions; however, I would not advise my daughter-in-law to go there without really effective contraception. And we were looking at a family trip on Mariner as the prices are so good.

[Gilly]

Whilst on board Mariner in January, we spotted an Explorer itinerary we fancied and visited the cruise consultant to book - except it was full. Unsurprising, because it was still the "maiden season" and the cruise began and ended in the USA* (which made the thread re the Jones Act on another forum an interesting read!) It was also cheaper than the same itinerary on Navigator a month or so later - odd. So we added our names to the waiting list - even though at that time, no-one was sure how long the waiting list was (or what those on the waiting list were waiting for in terms of suites etc). We specified our first choice, but said we'd consider anything (with the possible exception of the Regent Suite!!) and came home to wait.

 

For ages, we were #12, we were told by Regent UK, but then, we moved to #7 where we remained until it was almost time to pay the final balance. Suddenly, we and others have a confirmed booking for the suite of our choice as a result, it seems, of Regent offering an alternative "steal" on another cruise (the Miami-Lima route on Mariner next January).

 

I relate the story to support the query re waiting lists. If we were allowed to join the waiting list (of unknown length) for a cruise almost a year in advance by paying our deposit and agreeing to the Ts & Cs, on the understanding that, if the suite of our choice didn't become available we could transfer that deposit to another booking, then why it can't be done in this case does raise a few questions.

 

* The Jones Act thread explained why there's a port call at Cartagena on our itinerary; something we'd not really thought about until then.

[Eager2Travel]

We did not push our request to wait list as the consultant was quite firm in her statement that Headquarter would not allow her to take more bookings. As there were two other people waiting for her services and it was close to the end of the cruise we just took the path of least resistance.

[Travelcat2]

We did not push our request to wait list as the consultant was quite firm in her statement that Headquarter would not allow her to take more bookings. As there were two other people waiting for her services and it was close to the end of the cruise we just took the path of least resistance.

 

Was this an onboard Cruise Consultant? Have you double checked with your

TA? If you are interested in a particular cruise I would definitely pursue it further.

[Eager2Travel]

It was the onboard cruise consultant. I haven't pursued it with my TA. We just booked the more expensive Explorer cruise that does the itinerary one month earlier. It is only a few minutes ago in a suspicious moment that I wondered if that was Regent's way of filling the mostly available more expensive Explorer cruise. What can I say? I guess I have a suspicious nature.

 

Thanks, TC for the suggestion of checking with my TA. She is out of town until the beginning of next week.