Regent compares itself to Silversea and Seabourn

[rallydave]

The biggest dollar value item in the comparison is the Business Class Air Fare. The problem is first of all many people don't fly Business Class and then neither of the other cruise lines include air so why the difference between those values?? And, air fare varies so much for various cities as well as air lines so while this one line item almost completely makes the case for Regent fares being reasonable with people flying different classes, from different cities, using different air lines and many times flying for points makes this line item extremely questionable. Also, believe Regent only provides a $3k credit for not taking the Business Class air yet the values for the other 2 cruise lines is in excess of $4K. Is this also a genuine error or????????

[iamheisenberg]

You failed to enlighten us as to whether the comparison was positive or negative ;) :D

This is very subjective.

 

Inasmuch as Regent posters will vehemently argue a point long past its shelf life, and inasmuch as neither Mr Pitt nor I are flame retardant, I will politely decline to answer that. :)

[Travelcat2]

The biggest dollar value item in the comparison is the Business Class Air Fare. The problem is first of all many people don't fly Business Class and then neither of the other cruise lines include air so why the difference between those values?? And, air fare varies so much for various cities as well as air lines so while this one line item almost completely makes the case for Regent fares being reasonable with people flying different classes, from different cities, using different air lines and many times flying for points makes this line item extremely questionable. Also, believe Regent only provides a $3k credit for not taking the Business Class air yet the values for the other 2 cruise lines is in excess of $4K. Is this also a genuine error or????????

 

Yes - included Business Class air is a high ticket item that many/most Regent cruisers take advantage of (unless they are using points). Non-use air credits is dependent upon both itinerary and category of suite you are staying in. Rather that over-complicating things, Regent used a set number. Generally it is difficult to find Business Class air for less money than Regent offers it for (transatlantic). I believe that 4K is a reasonable average cost per person (based on international flights that we book ourselves for non-cruise travel). So, do not see an error there. Again, people are going to do their own comparisons -- Regent is simply opening the door to thinking about fares differently.

 

P.S. The error on the size of the suite on the Quest was picking up the price and size for one category lower than stated. Since the comparison was printed, the cost of Seabourn (and likely Regent as well) has gone up so it is really important to double check numbers and for each person to do their own comparisons. The Regent comparison chart is a good place to start (copy and paste - take out their numbers and put in your own).

Edited September 4, 2016 by Travelcat2

[Isklaar]

 

P.S. The error on the size of the suite on the Quest was picking up the price and size for one category lower than stated. Since the comparison was printed, the cost of Seabourn (and likely Regent as well) has gone up so it is really important to double check numbers and for each person to do their own comparisons. The Regent comparison chart is a good place to start (copy and paste - take out their numbers and put in your own).

 

 

Can you clarify what you mean by "picking up the price and size for one category lower than stated" ?

They gave the price for a veranda suite. They gave the size of an ocean view suite. That was incorrect.

[Suite Travels]

Business Class is easy if you have miles on Amex or you can use the the two for one even in First Class. First is harder to get but biz is fairly easy. We never buy cruise air packages. Try using your miles/points first before buying the cruise package and you can take the air off your cruise and save quite a bit of money.

[Suite Travels]

Can you clarify what you mean by "picking up the price and size for one category lower than stated" ?

They gave the price for a veranda suite. They gave the size of an ocean view suite. That was incorrect.

 

I checked it out and you are correct. What Regent shows is incorrect.

[Travelcat2]

Can you clarify what you mean by "picking up the price and size for one category lower than stated" ?

They gave the price for a veranda suite. They gave the size of an ocean view suite. That was incorrect.

 

Agree - it was incorrect!

[Winner]

 

Based on years of reading posts on Cruise Critic, it still amazes me how many people do absolutely no research before booking a cruise. I recall that a few years ago Host Dan questioned me when I stated that I probably knew more about Seabourn than many passengers. IMO that was true as I had a prepared a spreadsheet with the sizes of each suite on the different ships along with other factual data that I could use to compare it to Regent.QUOTE]

 

Host Dan was correct. You wasted much time and energy on a spreadsheet comparing suite sizes and data. I don't believe you have ever sailed on Seabourn so your statistics are meaningless. Seabourn passengers sail on Seabourn for the service, fellow passengers and wonderful ambiance. (And the French fries are the best at sea)

 

Try Seabourn; you might even like it.

Edited September 4, 2016 by Winner

[Suite Travels]

TC mentioned many times she will not sail Seabourn because of the smoking policy. Well that has been resolved. I wonder what the next excuse will be.

 

We are looking forward to trying Seabourn next year which I hear is comparable to Crystal or maybe even better. We shall see.

[Travelcat2]

 

Based on years of reading posts on Cruise Critic, it still amazes me how many people do absolutely no research before booking a cruise. I recall that a few years ago Host Dan questioned me when I stated that I probably knew more about Seabourn than many passengers. IMO that was true as I had a prepared a spreadsheet with the sizes of each suite on the different ships along with other factual data that I could use to compare it to Regent.QUOTE]

 

Host Dan was correct. You wasted much time and energy on a spreadsheet comparing suite sizes and data. I don't believe you have ever sailed on Seabourn so your statistics are meaningless. Seabourn passengers sail on Seabourn for the service, fellow passengers and wonderful ambiance. (And the French fries are the best at sea)

 

Try Seabourn; you might even like it.

 

Kindly explain how factual information from the Seabourn website is meaningless. Everyone has to determine where they will travel in the world and how they will get there by doing research. Service, fellow passengers and ambiance are, IMO, subjective. I looked at factual information for all of the luxury cruise lines to determine which ones held an interest for me/us and which did not. Regent won for many reasons. When we decided to try another luxury cruise line, Silversea beat out Crystal and Seabourn (again, for factual reasons - nothing else).

 

This is off topic, but, if I had to base which cruise line I would sail on based on "fellow passengers", Crystal would lose (also for many reasons). Regardless of how I feel about Crystal and Seabourn, the factual information available on luxury cruise line websites have kept us cruising mostly on Regent and, depending upon itinerary, Silversea. We have no reason or desire to try new cruise lines (but may have 10 years ago if Crystal and Silversea's factual data had been different). At this point, we are aiming at Titanium status and will not be sailing on other cruise lines - no matter how highly rated they are.

 

To get back on topic, I urge anyone reading this thread to do their own comparisons and decide which cruise line is right for them.

[Suite Travels]

Ridiculous, you cannot make a judgment unless you have ACTUALLY cruised them. Crystal still beats Regent in ratings. It appears that Viking is rated number one this time around and beat Regent as well.

 

We have sailed Regent/Radisson years ago five times and it was not for us. We only sailed Regent because of our friends. They have never tried Seabourn or Crystal either and that was because of price. That being said, Regent appears to want to compare themselves to Princess, Celebrity but not to the luxury lines. Regent advertisements are nothing but puffery using the word FREE often and FREE business class. No...you are paying for it one way or the other.

 

PS: You really know nothing about Seabourn and I don't either until I sail them. Until then, I will wait and see when we step foot on that line and make my on judgement and that is the only fair way to do it.

Edited September 5, 2016 by Suite Travels

[SeagoingMom]

Regent claims in these comparisons that we will "see...how in each case (emphasis mine) Regent Seven Seas Cruises' all-inclusive luxury product is a better value," but when it comes to price per passenger per day, it is not true that Regent's price is best in each case. It is only in two of the 5 comparisons that Regent comes out as significantly less costly per passenger per day. Cost per day is a factor I, at least, use to decide on a cruise, and one Regent believes significant enough to calculate for me.

 

It is only the passenger himself who can judge the "value" he is getting for his cruise money, as we all value things differently. However, anyone can compare bottom lines, and Regent doesn't actually do a very good job of massaging whatever data is available to them if they can't even make themselves come out ahead in price per day in every comparison.

 

Regent's goal, IMO, is to do what others on this thread have suggested -- to get potential cruisers to take a second look at Regent who otherwise would dismiss it on price alone. (I also think Regent is counting on the idea that people's eyes will sparkle when the read the word "INCLUDED" over and over again in the "Regent" column of the comparisons, the same way folks get excited when they see "free shipping" advertised, as if the price of the item is not inflated to include that "free shipping.")

 

Hey, marketing is marketing, and if it works, good for Regent. All's fair... caveat emptor.

[lincslady]

TC - you probably wish you had not brought this one up! However, I could see the point of comparing (though not in this rather crass way) Regent with some of the, say, 4 star lines, to try to attract people to move up, but it would have been better to do it more subtly, and certainly not to compare with other 'luxury' lines, IMO. I wonder if it is working?

[flossie009]

Certainly looking at Regent's comparison tables, reading various reviews and on the advice of friends it has made us think seriously again about trying Seabourn and/or Silversea - even though we have been loyal to Regent for a number of years

[lincslady]

Flossie - oh dear, I don't think that was Regent's intention at all!

 

Hesitate to direct you to another line, but certainly one of them is IMO superior to Regent in almost every respect.;)

[Travelcat2]

I don't see anything wrong with trying another cruise line. We have done it and still prefer Regent. If someone is willing to pay $15 - $30K+ to try another line - go for it.

 

To put things into perspective, I haven't seen an ad in a long time comparing Regent to other cruise lines. I found this pretty hidden on the Regent website and do not know how old it is (as mentioned, prices on at least one cruise has gone up since the comparison was made).

 

Do I regret starting this thread? No - not at all. I'm always interested in the views of Regent passengers. It is disheartening when people that haven't sailed Regent under current management (or have not sailed Regent at all) seem to want to find fault with Regent consistently. In the case of this thread, Regent did make mistakes but it has given some readers a new way to look at Regent pricing which I think is a good thing.

[lincslady]

There have been quite a few of this type of Regent ad. in the UK over the past year or two.

 

I have cruised Regent recently - a year ago - and am actually a Gold member, so have cruised Regent and Radisson quite a few times in the past. We used to love the old Song of Flower.

 

We manage to cruise for, say, 10 days, on a similar line for approximately £2500 each (I am including a European air fare from the UK and transfers here as well). The only difference is that the other line does not include excursions - no loss to me.

[gnomie1]

Business Class is easy if you have miles on Amex or you can use the the two for one even in First Class. First is harder to get but biz is fairly easy. We never buy cruise air packages. Try using your miles/points first before buying the cruise package and you can take the air off your cruise and save quite a bit of money.

 

We have used Regent air only once - every other time I was able to get better rates on my own - true, I live in the NYC area with two international airports within one hour which provides for more choices, but if one is diligent and willing to take the time and do the research, most often they can find great discounts off business and occasionally first class international flights. On our upcoming flight, we are flying first class for less than the Regent business class upgrade fare.

 

gnomie :)

Edited September 5, 2016 by gnomie1

[Suite Travels]

We have used Regent air only once - every other time I was able to get better rates on my own - true, I live in the NYC area with two international airports within one hour which provides for more choices, but if one is diligent and willing to take the time and do the research, most often they can find great discounts off business and occasionally first class international flights. On our upcoming flight, we are flying first class for less than the Regent business class upgrade fare.

 

gnomie :)

 

Gnomie, good for you. You are a very astute flyer. Yes it takes some time and you can save a lot of money and fly the way we want to. I have seen Regents air and I know I can do better and so can a ticket consolidator (a good one) as a last resort.

Edited September 5, 2016 by Suite Travels

[MightyQuinn]

… To put things into perspective, I haven't seen an ad in a long time comparing Regent to other cruise lines. I found this pretty hidden on the Regent website and do not know how old it is (as mentioned, prices on at least one cruise has gone up since the comparison was made)...

And here's another perspective. The current Regent Europe Collection brochure (March through November 2017) has a "value comparison" on Page 36. It compares Regent to Silversea and Seabourn on select 2017 Med itineraries. A footnote shows comparison fares were valid as of 6/7/2016 for voyages in May 2017.

[Travelcat2]

And here's another perspective. The current Regent Europe Collection brochure (March through November 2017) has a "value comparison" on Page 36. It compares Regent to Silversea and Seabourn on select 2017 Med itineraries. A footnote shows comparison fares were valid as of 6/7/2016 for voyages in May 2017.

 

Thank you for letting me know as I'm still not receiving mail from Regent. Did they fix the Seabourn error?

[MightyQuinn]

Thank you for letting me know as I'm still not receiving mail from Regent. Did they fix the Seabourn error?

I'm not sure which error you're referring to for Seabourn. The comparison is to SB Odyssey and the quoted specs look correct. But I did notice the chart shows $140 for gratuities/service charges which is not correct. All grats are included on Seabourn.

[Isklaar]

TC2 - The incorrect Seabourn information was for the Quest and was detailed on an Amazon itinerary. It wouldn't be in a Europe/Med brochure.

 

MightyQuinn - Interesting that they also got the gratuities wrong for Odyssey in the Med :rolleyes:

Save

[Suite Travels]

Lousy marketing. Seabourn gratuities are well known to be included.

[Isklaar]

Lousy marketing. Seabourn gratuities are well known to be included.

 

Quite. Regent should know that.

 

Regent should also know that the 3 current Seabourn ships are identical in size. There is a slight difference in facilities in the spa on the Odyssey but the suites through each category are the same size on each ship, as is the space/guest ratio.

 

From Seabourn.com:

"Seabourn Odyssey has since been joined by two identical sisters, Seabourn Sojourn in 2010 and Seabourn Quest in 2011."