Regent Air Question

[Robroy]

Apologize if this has been covered on another thread - I ran through the Regent Air sticky but didn't find anything on this. My wife and I are looking at Voyager November 26th Miami-Miami - did this route about six years ago and look forward to returning to Voyager post-refurbishment. We're travelling from Toronto Ontario and Air Canada has direct flights daily. We usually arrive a day early - particularly if weather could be iffy....such as an early snowfall.

 

The air credit is relatively small ($300) and it makes sense financially to take their air but wondering if we're delayed leaving Toronto or if we miss their scheduled flight home (A/C has a 12:05 direct flight daily). My primary concern is if they book us the noon flight and we miss it due to delays with Miami port workers, would they look after rescheduling us to a later flight?

 

We've just decided to take this trip in the past couple of days and I will be on the phone to Regent Tuesday morning directly (and then turning the file over to my travel agent) - wondering if some of the knowledgeable people on this Board could shed some light for me?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Rob

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Remember when calculating credits that you'll be paying the deviation fee to come in a day early (but the credit is low!) I would think that, if you're in the airport already, Air Canada would quickly rebook you if your flight has problems. Noon should be plenty of time to get you home.

 

I'm sure Regent would help with difficulties but remember that legally they are not responsible.

[rallydave]

Assume when you say Direct, you mean Non-stop as Direct and Non-Stop are completely different. Direct flights do have at least one stop before reaching your destination. That said, based on lots of reports and business profitability, you most likely will be booked on a connection and not necessarily Air Canada depending on the cost as all businesses are cost conscious.

 

As Wendy correctly stated, Regent clearly states in their T's and C's that they are not responsible for third party travel arrangements although they do at times take care of travel issues. In the case you mention, would most likely be better to handle a missed or delayed flight directly with the airline as they are responsible for getting you to your final destination and can put you on a different airline depending on the situation.

 

Regent would have no idea of your issues without you contacting them and then they have to go thru the airlines and get back to you. Depending on the time and whether Regent is busy or even open, that could take quite awhile and waiting on them rather than working with the airline directly might delay you further. So work with the airline at the airport. Have a great cruise.

[Robroy]

Thanks Wendy and Dave. With credits this low it makes sense to take their air and see what they come up with for flights. I suspect the direct non-stop A/C would be attractive to Regent as the fares currently available to the public are quite low. Appreciate your thoughts - will be on the phone in the morning!

 

Cheers,

Rob

 

p.s. Wendy - will be interested to get your take on Seabourn!

[rallydave]

You are very welcome Rob. Know you didn't ask us but, we were previously Regent cruisers but, we moved to Seabourn last year with a 44 nite cruise and will be on Seabourn in a couple of months again and it is like nite and day. The Seabourn home office puts Regent is so caring and competent compared to Regent. While Seabourn is not as all-inclusive as Regent, we are able to fly using FF points and excursions are extremely reasonable and good compared to paying for them whether or not you take excursions every port and for similar excursions less costly than Regent Choice Excursions. All in all a much lower total price for a much better experience from booking thru debarkation.

 

Really don't know how Seabourn does it at such a low price point for a true luxury experience without the profits before customers of some other cruise lines both premium and luxury.

[Travelcat2]

Thanks Wendy and Dave. With credits this low it makes sense to take their air and see what they come up with for flights. I suspect the direct non-stop A/C would be attractive to Regent as the fares currently available to the public are quite low. Appreciate your thoughts - will be on the phone in the morning!

 

Cheers,

Rob

 

p.s. Wendy - will be interested to get your take on Seabourn!

 

It is not reallly accurate that Regent helps their guests with flights only “at times”. They help their guests with Regent air first and then attempt to help others (non-Regent air guests are assisted IF there is an issue with the ship).

 

In terms of non-stop flights, if you deviate 270 days prior to the cruise, the odds are much greater than if you wait for Regent to book you (because those of us that deviate get most of the prime seats). Regent contracts with most airlines but the contracts only have so many seats per flight.

 

Guess I missed the part of this thread where it asks to compare Seabourn with Regent. In my opinion, it is kinda of off topic - especially since they do not include air.

[FlyerTalker]

I suspect the direct non-stop A/C would be attractive to Regent as the fares currently available to the public are quite low.

 

Given that cruiseline air contracts are usually determined many months before actual flight, current pricing is barely relevant to Regent, or any other cruiseline. They are dealing with prices negotiated long ago and will use up their committed space first.

[rallydave]

Given that cruiseline air contracts are usually determined many months before actual flight, current pricing is barely relevant to Regent, or any other cruiseline. They are dealing with prices negotiated long ago and will use up their committed space first.

 

Wouldn't that depend on the available savings booking a great current fare at a lower price point than the contract price?? Save now and worry about using up committed space later.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Thanks Wendy and Dave. With credits this low it makes sense to take their air and see what they come up with for flights. I suspect the direct non-stop A/C would be attractive to Regent as the fares currently available to the public are quite low. Appreciate your thoughts - will be on the phone in the morning!

 

Cheers,

Rob

 

p.s. Wendy - will be interested to get your take on Seabourn!

 

Thanks Rob, it's getting close now! At some point I'll post about it, probably here on the Regent board, we'll see.

 

I was just looking at an air credit from 2010, Toronto-Florida. It was $500.

[FlyerTalker]

Wouldn't that depend on the available savings booking a great current fare at a lower price point than the contract price?? Save now and worry about using up committed space later.

 

Let's run a hypothetical....a company (such as Regent) has a bunch of inventory that they have already paid for. They are on the hook whether it gets used or not, and it has a practical finite lifespan. And you want them to say "Hey...we have all this stuff in inventory that we haven't sold, and there is strong competition for folks to buy on their own, not from us. Sounds like a great time for us to buy still more inventory that we might not sell."

 

Businesses build up inventory when there is a strong likelihood that they will be able to resell it at a profit. Econ 101. Or maybe 102.

[golfgirls]

Hi Robroy, we will also be on this cruise and look forward to meeting you.

 

A couple of thoughts about your flights. We are former Torontonians and have taken Regent flights many times. I agree with you that it can be risky and stressful to travel the day of embarkation, hence we usually travel at least the day before the start of any cruise. For this reason, we often take a Concierge level suite so that Regent takes care of the flights, hotel and transfers. That makes it very simple.

 

I can almost hear the CC reaction from the words that I just typed as yes, you can likely book a similar or better hotel than Regent plus pay for transfers with the cost differential for Concierge, so it really depends on what your comfort level is in doing your own thing vs. letting Regent take care of it.

 

We winter in Florida and Regent never puts us on a domestic flight from Miami before 3pm, therefore I highly doubt that your flight would be the Air Canada non stop flight that leaves just after noon. In my opinion, they will book a flight(s) that you will definitely be able to catch, which may include a bit of a wait in Miami.

 

Also remember that domestic flights typically do not include luggage fees. Regent Air credits were previously much more generous, so we often took the air credit and purchased a first class/business class domestic fare that was cheaper or comparable to the Regent Air credit plus luggage fees. Last year we upgraded our Air Canada flight via Air Canada, not Regent, which was a comparable cost to our luggage fees.

 

Oh my, now way too much information. Bottom line is that there are many options, go with the one that makes you most comfortable!

 

 

Pat and Marg

[Robroy]

Thank you all for your insights and comments. Dave - good to know what Seabourn also offers a first-class service. Wendy - I've seen many of your comments over the years and have completely agreed with your Regent commentary going back to our first Regent experience. Seems many of our expectations and thoughts about service and product are similar so your read on Seabourn will be interesting.

Pat and Marg - would be nice to meet you on board as well. We like this itinerary and it will be a good break before the onset of six months of snow and cold weather!:cool::cool: You're right about air credit lowering over the years now - YYZ-MIA is now a $300 credit. Looking forward to seeing what Regent can tell us tomorrow and if flights don't make sense, there's always the deviation. Thanks everyone and enjoy what's left of the Labour Day weekend!

 

Cheers,

Rob

[Travelcat2]

Given that cruiseline air contracts are usually determined many months before actual flight, current pricing is barely relevant to Regent, or any other cruiseline. They are dealing with prices negotiated long ago and will use up their committed space first.

 

As usual, you have the best, most accurate information. As mentioned before, current Regent cruisers - especiallly ones with in-depth knowledge of cruiseline air contracts is a real treat for Regent passengers. We have been without an “expert” for too long.