Free unlimited valet laundry on 2018 mediterranean voyages

[flossie009]

As others have pointed out, the UK promotion is not particularly clear - there's a surprise with marketing information :rolleyes:

 

So I rang Regent UK today and the agent I spoke with checked the details and confirmed that the offer covers summer 2018 Med cruises on both Voyager & Explorer; unlimited laundry and pressing; applicable to new and existing bookings.

 

Those from the UK who have already booked the Med for this coming season might like to double check with their TA and/or Regent to ensure that this useful benefit is noted on their booking :)

[eliana]

We are on the Voyager from Dubai to Rome. Will we get free laundry for the Med part of the cruise?

[flossie009]

The Regent UK website now lists 29 Explorer and Voyager cruises in the Med this summer which include "complimentary* laundry and garment pressing"

 

eliana, unfortunately the first Voyager cruise listed is Rome to Venice (01 June). I think you are referring to the previous sailing, 12 May Dubai to Rome, which does not appear to be covered by this offer.

 

* so glad that Regent managed to avoid their over-used term 'free'

[journeyfan]

There's no reason to include free laundry as this cruise has sold out and is wait listed.

[eliana]

Are you suggesting that Regent only introduced free laundry for Med cruises that at the time it introduced it were not full. A relief for those in Gold and above.

[Travelcat2]

Are you suggesting that Regent only introduced free laundry for Med cruises that at the time it introduced it were not full. A relief for those in Gold and above.

 

Curious as to why you feel that the free laundry promotion for the Med. cruises is a relief for those in Gold and above. Actually, I think it is an insult to those in Gold and above but that is just my opinion.

 

P.S. I think you may be referring to the face that there isn't free laundry for everyone going forward which is a relief (at least for now).:)

[eliana]

I agree with your PS Travelcat. If all get free laundry the quality and timing will deteriorate. What’s the point of waiting three days for badly washed and ironed clothes. Regent seem to be eroding the benefits of their longstanding passengers. If they cannot think of other perks for Gold and above they should take a leaf from Seabourn and offer a free cruise after 100 nights or so. Or maybe free upgrades.

[Snore42]

Why does quality and timing have to erode because of this added benefit? Isn’t free laundry included on all grand and world cruises? I haven’t seen posting saying that these services deteriorated on those voyages. These criticisms have no proof behind them at this point.

[Travelcat2]

Why does quality and timing have to erode because of this added benefit? Isn’t free laundry included on all grand and world cruises? I haven’t seen posting saying that these services deteriorated on those voyages. These criticisms have no proof behind them at this point.

 

World cruisers are not complainers but even so, we don't know the facts. How many world cruisers are on the full cruise - on Regent's smallest ship? Has anyone asked a world cruiser what the laundry service is like on the world cruises as compared to regular cruises?

 

On our last cruise (Nov/Dec) there were a high number of gold and above cruisers (those that actually earned the benefit). I would say that our laundry was slower than normal - not a lot - perhaps half a day later than normal.

 

My biggest issue is simply that too many Regent customers have earned a benefit that is being given away!!!!!!!!(n)

[Mike hawkins]

I think it is a good idea, espcially since we turn Platimun on March 1

[Dolebludger]

TC2,

 

Again, I certainly agree with you that benefits earned by high SSS status should not be given away to all. My suggestion is merely that a "package pricing" be adopted similar to that on the Paul Gauguin, wherein we paid $160 for all our laundry to be done on a 14 night cruise. And if this dilutes benefits of high SSS status members, I definitely feel they should be given some additional benefits. Perhaps they should be given "choice excursions" at no cost, while they are at cost to others. Such a "package" might require pre-booking and payment so Regent would know how many laundry staff would be needed on a given cruise so as to avoid the "free internet" problem of slow service. In my opinion, high SSS status members get too FEW benefits, not too many. But also in my opinion, Regent's high "per piece" prices do not take into account airline policies and practices that require us all to take less luggage, thereby causing onboard laundry service to more of a necessity than a luxury. And this is an issue that (for us) intertwines with the matter of Regent's ever-escalating fares. The question becomes "are we getting value for our money" (even if we have the money). For us, the answer "it is doubtful". We were major Regent (Radisson) "cheerleaders" back in the last decade. The reason was that we felt that RSSC offered the best cruise for the price -- period. Now, due to a number of factors, we aren't so sure of that.

[Travelcat2]

TC2,

 

Again, I certainly agree with you that benefits earned by high SSS status should not be given away to all. My suggestion is merely that a "package pricing" be adopted similar to that on the Paul Gauguin, wherein we paid $160 for all our laundry to be done on a 14 night cruise. And if this dilutes benefits of high SSS status members, I definitely feel they should be given some additional benefits. Perhaps they should be given "choice excursions" at no cost, while they are at cost to others. Such a "package" might require pre-booking and payment so Regent would know how many laundry staff would be needed on a given cruise so as to avoid the "free internet" problem of slow service. In my opinion, high SSS status members get too FEW benefits, not too many. But also in my opinion, Regent's high "per piece" prices do not take into account airline policies and practices that require us all to take less luggage, thereby causing onboard laundry service to more of a necessity than a luxury. And this is an issue that (for us) intertwines with the matter of Regent's ever-escalating fares. The question becomes "are we getting value for our money" (even if we have the money). For us, the answer "it is doubtful". We were major Regent (Radisson) "cheerleaders" back in the last decade. The reason was that we felt that RSSC offered the best cruise for the price -- period. Now, due to a number of factors, we aren't so sure of that.

 

While you and I may never completely agree on this I appreciate the fact that you respect our earned benefits. I am not opposed to special prices for laundry but it has to not impact service. As mentioned before, Regent cannot hire extra people to work in the laundry as there is no room for additional staff (according to what I've heard for a few years). In order to put additional staff in the laundry, they would have to remove staff from somewhere else.

 

Also agree about increased fares on Regent. If we were not such a high level in their loyalty program, we would likely try less expensive luxury cruise lines. Silversea runs some good deals as does Seabourn. The only luxury cruise line that we would not sail on is Crystal. Still, we would be foolish at this point of our lives to give up benefits in order to take a sightly less expensive cruise.

 

We have had some recent talks with people in the industry and there is a school of thought that thinks that luxury cruise fares will level off and could actually decrease. I typically would not believe this but have seen how poorly Mediterranean and Alaska cruises have sold (but Asia, Australia, New Zealand and French Polynesia sale remain strong). Should there be any further issues with North Korea, Asia sales could also be affected. This would leave too many luxury ships to visit the parts of the world that do not have serious issues. Then, there are people like us that really do not like the Caribbean so there is another place that we won't be visiting.

 

It will be interesting to see where this all leads in the next couple of years.

[Travelcat2]

Why does quality and timing have to erode because of this added benefit? Isn’t free laundry included on all grand and world cruises? I haven’t seen posting saying that these services deteriorated on those voyages. These criticisms have no proof behind them at this point.

 

Update: learned from a friend that boards the Navigator tomorrow for the World Cruise and did last year's WC. There were 300 passengers last year and 200 this year doing the entire cruise so included laundry would have little impact on service. Having 750 passengers on the Explorer this summer, however, will likely have a big impact.

[Dolebludger]

TC2,

 

Actually, I do agree with you on virtually everything. I do not want included laundry for all. And if having a "laundry package" would result in reduced levels of service for laundry and other things. I wouldn't want that either. I recall the initial trial run of "all inclusive beverages" on the old Diamond back around 2004, and it was a "mad house". However Regent did institute this program a short time later on all its ships and somehow found a way to make it work. I had just been hoping that Regent would be able to work out a laundry package situation in the same manner.

[Travelcat2]

TC2,

 

Actually, I do agree with you on virtually everything. I do not want included laundry for all. And if having a "laundry package" would result in reduced levels of service for laundry and other things. I wouldn't want that either. I recall the initial trial run of "all inclusive beverages" on the old Diamond back around 2004, and it was a "mad house". However Regent did institute this program a short time later on all its ships and somehow found a way to make it work. I had just been hoping that Regent would be able to work out a laundry package situation in the same manner.

 

I think that it can work if it has limits. Having unlimited laundry for a set price could still overwhelm laundry crew but perhaps a bag a week for a certain dollar amount could be manageable.

 

Thinking about it more, those of us that earned unlimited free laundry are a bit spoiled. We send in two bags of clothes just to be ironed when we get on the ship and have all of the clothes that we've worn washed and folded for packing before we leave. If this was done by everyone on the ship (even if they were paying less for the benefit than is being charged now and they did what we do, it would be quite a lot of work and would definitely slow down service.

 

I do remember when alcohol became all-inclusive on Radisson but we don't go back as far as the beautiful Diamond - wish that we had sailed on her. The one thing that all-inclusive alcohol did was increase the fares. Included excursions did the same thing and now, included Business Class air has dramatically increased fares.

 

So, when we talk about fare increases, all of the inclusions certainly feed into it. At least we can opt out of air and hotels since they are provided by Regent contractors and strongly believe that we should be able to do the same with excursions (or anything else that is not provided on the ship). While air, hotel and excursions may be off topic, it certainly speaks to the fare increases. When we look at other luxury lines and find the prices lower, it is important to add back in the cost of these items since they are not provided free on other lines (at least not to the extent that they are provided on Regent).

 

What is interesting to me is that some of the highest priced itineraries sell out a year in advance so there are lots of Regent customers that do not look at the cost - only the itinerary. For those of us that do pay attention to prices, you either cut back on cruises as we have done or go to another cruise line.

[morneau]

It is utter nonsense to believe that offering a reasonably priced laundry package would cause deterioration of service for those SSS members with free unlimited laundry and pressing. These constant arguments against offering a laundry benefit to those willing to pay a reasonable package price, or gratis to those staying in the named suites as they are on comparable luxury lines (Silversea and Seabourn) are becoming ridiculous.

[Travelcat2]

It is utter nonsense to believe that offering a reasonably priced laundry package would cause deterioration of service for those SSS members with free unlimited laundry and pressing. These constant arguments against offering a laundry benefit to those willing to pay a reasonable package price, or gratis to those staying in the named suites as they are on comparable luxury lines (Silversea and Seabourn) are becoming ridiculous.

 

While you are entitled to your opinion, some of do not find the discussion ridiculous. As stated, I am not against a reasonably priced laundry package as long as it is not unlimited.

 

In terms of Silversea and Seabourn, it is nice that they give laundry to upper suites but they do not give free international Business Class air or unlimited free excursions. For that reason, looking at what they do and comparing it to Regent may not be a fair comparison.

[ronrick1943]

While you are entitled to your opinion, some of do not find the discussion ridiculous. As stated, I am not against a reasonably priced laundry package as long as it is not unlimited.

 

In terms of Silversea and Seabourn, it is nice that they give laundry to upper suites but they do not give free international Business Class air or unlimited free excursions. For that reason, looking at what they do and comparing it to Regent may not be a fair comparison.

 

Travelcat2, let's be honest about air, it's not free at Regent. You pay for it in the fare, if you don't take it your get a credit from the price. Rick

[Travelcat2]

Travelcat2, let's be honest about air, it's not free at Regent. You pay for it in the fare, if you don't take it your get a credit from the price. Rick

 

I have been saying that for years. You pay for air - you pay for the hotel - you pay for excursions as well as everything else. I can't stand the fact that Regent advertises "free" instead of "included". One of the points is that you can opt out of air - can opt out of the hotel but not excursions (which I know is off topic). Anything that is included on board the ship you also pay for but it is part of the Regent Experience and anything that takes place on the ship is part of that experience. So, "free" laundry would be another thing that everyone would pay for without having earned it.

 

IMO, if someone wants to book an upper suite and wants free laundry, sail on Silversea or Seabourn. However, if you want included international Business Class air, a pre-cruise night at a hotel and included excursions, sail on Regent. There is no need, IMHO, to add yet another item that will raise the fares as well as upset loyal customers. If included air, hotel and excursions were such a big draw, Regent's competition would be doing it. I subscribe to the notion that the grass is not greener on the other side. We have sailed Silversea with "free" laundry and opted to return to Regent where we had not earned the benefit (at that time). We simply felt that Regent is a better product.

 

This is really an irritating subject but one that needs to be discussed. If those that believe that earned benefits are to be earned rather given away, we need to speak up. If we don't, all of our earned benefits could disappear and there would no longer be a reason for some people to stay loyal to Regent.

 

Not sure what is up with Regent lately. First there was the unearned benefit for people in Grand suites and above to dine in a specialty restaurant every night (which effectively takes away tables from the rest of the cruisers - no matter how many days they have sailed on Then we have suites that are ready early for the same people upper suite passengers (once again ignoring passengers that could have 2,000 nights on Regent). Then in November, priority boarding was introduced which more and more people are becoming upset by (not surprised that reading about it isn't as upsetting as seeing it and being affected by it).

 

If this were not enough, I am speaking with people that say that Regent has priced itself too high (likely due to having too many off the ship inclusions) and people/friends are looking at other cruise lines. Some people that we know from Regent already left for other cruise lines and others are talking about it. So, rather than just leaving as others have done, it behooves us to speak up.

[flossie009]

I am sure that Regent management will have carefully checked the capacity of the laundries on their ships before allowing the marketing department to offer included laundry and pressing to all guests on this summer's Med cruises.

 

I mean, look how carefully they checked the capacity of Wi-Fi services on their ships before offering internet access to all guests :rolleyes: ...................... Oh dear, maybe not such a good example of thinking things through thoroughly in advance :eek:

[ronrick1943]

Travelcat2, I agree that everyone is entitled to their opinion. I also recall you said in one of your post that you didn't care what perks, benefits a person received in a upper suite as long as you couldn't see it and it was kept in the suite. That said I doubt that you can see my laundry being cleaned. But lets be real, Regent needs to be competitive in selling suites at full price, not trying to up sell them to guests already booked in other suites. When this happens it lowers the value of the higher suites. Regent knows how to market and they can do both----market the higher suites and still keep the SSS group happy. Seems like some SSS members I've talked with don't have the same opinion as you and that's OK your still entitled your opinion, but let others have an opinion too. Regent will do the right thing for all the people that cruise Regent, not just a few that are vocal. Rick

[Travelcat2]

Travelcat2, I agree that everyone is entitled to their opinion. I also recall you said in one of your post that you didn't care what perks, benefits a person received in a upper suite as long as you couldn't see it and it was kept in the suite.

 

Yes - I have said that many times but in my wildest dreams could not imagine Regent giving away Seven Seas Society "earned" benefits. I was referring to the larger suite, butler, extra caviar service, high end champagne, etc.

Regent needs to be competitive in selling suites at full price, not trying to up sell them to guests already booked in other suites. When this happens it lowers the value of the higher suites.

 

Regent is more than competitive - they offer more than Crystal, Seabourn and Silversea in terms if inclusivity. I cannot see how upsells lower the value of the higher suites. Do you feel that it is better to let the suites go empty (as I have heard that one luxury line does)? Instead of losing revenue for the upper suite, Regent receives double fares for the suite category that is being upsold and receiving at least 50% of the fare of the suite they are moving Into. And, those that take upsell offers are typically already in at least a PH suite as the price to up sell from the lower suites is very high.

 

Regent knows how to market and they can do both----market the higher suites and still keep the SSS group happy. Seems like some SSS members I've talked with don't have the same opinion as you and that's OK your still entitled your opinion, but let others have an opinion too.

 

If you say that you've spoken to "upper level" (Platinum and above) passengers and they have a different view than I have, I accept what you say. What you state is surprising because that is not my experience. In terms of those posting on this thread, keep in mind that "we" represent approximately 5% of Regent passengers.

Regent will do the right thing for all the people that cruise Regent, not just a few that are vocal. Rick

 

Responses in red above. Obviously everyone is entitled to an opinion and we are also entitled to politely debate a subject. I absolutely do not expect people new to Regent or are in the lower levels of the Seven Seas Society to agree with me. After all, why spend $$$,$$$ to get benefits when you can get it on your first cruise and not pay extra for it?

 

Now, I do have a question for you. It has been 3 years since we have sailed on Oceania. When we last sailed on the Riviera we stayed in a Vista Suite (equivalent to a Grand Suite on Regent) and did not receive free laundry. Is Oceania now giving free laundry to upper category passengers? And, were you offered free laundry on your Regent cruise since you stayed in a Grand Suite?

[UUNetBill]

This is kind of off-topic, I guess, but in a way it ties in to 'free laundry' and other inclusions, but...

 

Has anyone really done a 'true cost' comparison (well, as true cost as you can reasonably expect) between the Big Four lately? I've been looking at itineraries on Seabourn, Crystal, and Silversea and frankly I don't see a real cost savings with any of the other lines. By the time I factor in BC air (I don't have status on any major carriers anymore so I need to pay retail for airfare), transfers, a reasonable number of excursions, and any other goodies it seems like all four lines are pretty close in price.

 

I know that it's hard to figure pricing on different regions and different seasons, and especially now that most are including alcohol, specialty restaurants, tips, laundry (there's the on-topic word!) - is there really that much of a savings going to another line?

 

Maybe I should start a new thread for this question, but it seemed that we were heading into a comparison anyhow...

 

Thoughts?

[morneau]

Travelcat2, I agree that everyone is entitled to their opinion. I also recall you said in one of your post that you didn't care what perks, benefits a person received in a upper suite as long as you couldn't see it and it was kept in the suite. That said I doubt that you can see my laundry being cleaned. But lets be real, Regent needs to be competitive in selling suites at full price, not trying to up sell them to guests already booked in other suites. When this happens it lowers the value of the higher suites. Regent knows how to market and they can do both----market the higher suites and still keep the SSS group happy. Seems like some SSS members I've talked with don't have the same opinion as you and that's OK your still entitled your opinion, but let others have an opinion too. Regent will do the right thing for all the people that cruise Regent, not just a few that are vocal. Rick

 

+1....Agree wholeheartedly

[ronrick1943]

Now, I do have a question for you. It has been 3 years since we have sailed on Oceania. When we last sailed on the Riviera we stayed in a Vista Suite (equivalent to a Grand Suite on Regent) and did not receive free laundry. Is Oceania now giving free laundry to upper category passengers? And, were you offered free laundry on your Regent cruise since you stayed in a Grand Suite?

Travelcat2

 

Travelcat2, I have don't know. We haven't cruised on Oceania for a few years (because of an illness, travel not allowed for 3 years). Our first cruise after being allowed to travel was on Regent, (which we liked very much) we're booked on 2 more Regent cruises (Grand Suite) coming up. We will be on Oceania (Cuba Cruise) in December in an Owners Suite, I was told Penthouse and above get free laundry. So can't really give you an answer that is 100% correct, except laundry is included for that cruise. Rick