Quick air question

[blondietoo]

Are we able to get premium economy instead of business class air with our cruise? Or do we need to just buy cruise only and do our own air.??

[Travelcat2]

You would have to take an air credit and book your own air.  By doing you you lose transfers to the ship (maybe back to the airport as well).  Why would you not want business class air?

[blondietoo]

7 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

You would have to take an air credit and book your own air.  By doing you you lose transfers to the ship (maybe back to the airport as well).  Why would you not want business class air?

I would love BC air but my husband is trying to keep the costs down. Thanks for your prompt reply.

[Travelcat2]

I get it - I'm the one that tries to save money on cruises in our family 

 

Suggest that you check with your TA and find out how much the air credit will be on your cruise (or let me know the ship you will be on and the month of sailing an I'll find out).  Many times, by the time you book your own airfare, you may not be saving anything.  Don't forget to add in the cost of transportation to the ship which could be a quick taxi ride or a long drive (Rome and London for instance).

 

[blondietoo]

2 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

I get it - I'm the one that tries to save money on cruises in our family 

 

Suggest that you check with your TA and find out how much the air credit will be on your cruise (or let me know the ship you will be on and the month of sailing an I'll find out).  Many times, by the time you book your own airfare, you may not be saving anything.  Don't forget to add in the cost of transportation to the ship which could be a quick taxi ride or a long drive (Rome and London for instance).

 

You make some good points....looking at November 16th 2019 Voyager Dubai to  Rome. Would we be better booking in January when on board the Explorer??

[Travelcat2]

You have me a bit confused because I'm seeing the November 16th 2019 Voyager cruise (20 nights) going from Dubai to Singapore rather than Rome.  In any event, I checked on the November 16th cruise.

 

If you have not booked this cruise, please wait until January for two reasons:

 

1.  On the ship, if you are the lower suites, you would get a credit on your cruise fare of $250/person.  If you are in a concierge suite you would get $325/person.  Additionally, you will receive $200 on board credit for the cruise that you are on (the January one).  You also get a price guarantee.  In my opinion, it is really worth it.  

 

2.  If you do not already have a luxury travel agent that gives a percentage back on your cruise, it really is a good idea to book with one.  The savings there alone is considerable (our TA gives us a check 2 weeks prior to our cruise ..... really a nice check got receive).  Although we are not permitted to list specific travel agents, they are not too difficult to find.

 

Last - back to your original question.  I see that your airport is YVR (same as ours - we live in Washington state - 50 miles from the airport).  A fast one-stop fight takes 19 hours (15 non-stop).  I cannot imagine not having a lie flat seat for that long.  We have done those long flights and being able to sleep helps us adjust to the time change much faster.

 

Flights to that part of the world are expensive.  I checked the Emirates website (using a different date since November, 2019 is too far out) and found that the coach one way fare to Dubai would be approximately $7,474 for both of you (Canadian). Note:  Regent uses Emirates (among other airlines) - one of the highest rated airlines in the world

 

Air credit from Regent is high - $11,600 (U.S. for both of you). So, for coach air on Emirates, you have already spent more than half of the air credit and you still need to get back from Singapore (or Rome - still confused about that one).

 

I think that I may be giving you too much information.  There is one more thing though........ it is best to "deviate" air 270 days prior to the cruise (more details on this if you are interested - there is a cost but you select your own flights based on airlines that Regent has contracts with).  if you let Regent select your flights approximately 3 months prior to your cruise, there will be fewer choices and it could take considerably longer to get there.

 

If you are asleep from boredom yet, I congratulate you.

Edited November 28, 2018 by Travelcat2

[Travelcat2]

3 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

You have me a bit confused because I'm seeing the November 16th 2019 Voyager cruise (20 nights) going from Dubai to Singapore rather than Rome.  In any event, I checked on the November 16th cruise.

 

If you have not booked this cruise, please wait until January for two reasons:

 

1.  On the ship, if you are the lower suites, you would get a credit on your cruise fare of $250/person.  If you are in a concierge suite you would get $325/person.  Additionally, you will receive $200 on board credit for the cruise that you are on (the January one).  You also get a price guarantee.  In my opinion, it is really worth it.  

 

2.  If you do not already have a luxury travel agent that gives a percentage back on your cruise, it really is a good idea to book with one.  The savings there alone is considerable (our TA gives us a check 2 weeks prior to our cruise ..... really a nice check got receive).  Although we are not permitted to list specific travel agents, they are not too difficult to find.

 

Last - back to your original question.  I see that your airport is YVR (same as ours - we live in Washington state - 50 miles from the airport).  A fast one-stop fight takes 19 hours (15 non-stop).  I cannot imagine not having a lie flat seat for that long.  We have done those long flights and being able to sleep helps us adjust to the time change much faster.

 

Flights to that part of the world are expensive.  I checked the Emirates website (using a different date since November, 2019 is too far out) and found that the coach one way fare to Dubai would be approximately $7,474 for both of you (Canadian). Note:  Regent uses Emirates (among other airlines) - one of the highest rated airlines in the world

 

Air credit from Regent is high - $11,600 (U.S. for both of you). So, for coach air on Emirates, you have already spent quite a bit of your air credit and you still need to get back from Singapore (or Rome - still confused about that one).

 

I think that I may be giving you too much information.  There is one more thing though........ it is best to "deviate" air 270 days prior to the cruise (more details on this if you are interested - there is a cost but you select your own flights based on airlines that Regent has contracts with).  if you let Regent select your flights approximately 3 months prior to your cruise, there will be fewer choices and it could take considerably longer to get there.

 

If you are asleep from boredom yet, I congratulate you.

 

[blondietoo]

24 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

You have me a bit confused because I'm seeing the November 16th 2019 Voyager cruise (20 nights) going from Dubai to Singapore rather than Rome.  In any event, I checked on the November 16th cruise.

 

If you have not booked this cruise, please wait until January for two reasons:

 

1.  On the ship, if you are the lower suites, you would get a credit on your cruise fare of $250/person.  If you are in a concierge suite you would get $325/person.  Additionally, you will receive $200 on board credit for the cruise that you are on (the January one).  You also get a price guarantee.  In my opinion, it is really worth it.  

 

2.  If you do not already have a luxury travel agent that gives a percentage back on your cruise, it really is a good idea to book with one.  The savings there alone is considerable (our TA gives us a check 2 weeks prior to our cruise ..... really a nice check got receive).  Although we are not permitted to list specific travel agents, they are not too difficult to find.

 

Last - back to your original question.  I see that your airport is YVR (same as ours - we live in Washington state - 50 miles from the airport).  A fast one-stop fight takes 19 hours (15 non-stop).  I cannot imagine not having a lie flat seat for that long.  We have done those long flights and being able to sleep helps us adjust to the time change much faster.

 

Flights to that part of the world are expensive.  I checked the Emirates website (using a different date since November, 2019 is too far out) and found that the coach one way fare to Dubai would be approximately $7,474 for both of you (Canadian). Note:  Regent uses Emirates (among other airlines) - one of the highest rated airlines in the world

 

Air credit from Regent is high - $11,600 (U.S. for both of you). So, for coach air on Emirates, you have already spent more than half of the air credit and you still need to get back from Singapore (or Rome - still confused about that one).

 

I think that I may be giving you too much information.  There is one more thing though........ it is best to "deviate" air 270 days prior to the cruise (more details on this if you are interested - there is a cost but you select your own flights based on airlines that Regent has contracts with).  if you let Regent select your flights approximately 3 months prior to your cruise, there will be fewer choices and it could take considerably longer to get there.

 

If you are asleep from boredom yet, I congratulate you.

Hey TC2 you are right it is Singapore...duh!!! Lots of great info that I will share with my husband. Thank you so very very much for taking the time to answer my questions...really appreciate it. It is settled we will book when on board the Explorer in January.

[Travelcat2]

Two quick things..... when you book onboard, the booking is given to your TA so they do not miss out on commission.

 

Second, http://matrix.itasoftware.com is the website I use to find out prices and which airlines fly to where.  I find it a useful tool.

 

Glad that the information is helpful!

[Jason OKeefe]

4 hours ago, blondietoo said:

Are we able to get premium economy instead of business class air with our cruise? Or do we need to just buy cruise only and do our own air.??

 

blondietoo,

 

Simply request a Custom Air Deviation and request Premium Economy as the preferred class of service.  The Deviation cost, plus the applicable differential from Economy to Premium EC will be offered to complete. If you're able to find better fare on your own after comparing the fare upgrade including the Deviation cost, then you have always have the choice of utilizing the air credit instead. 

 

It does not cost anything if you do not choose to accept the air deviation result. 

 

Please keep in mind, that if you choose to take the applicable air credit, the inclusive ground transfers are also removed as they are considered part of the air package and available to add a la carte if you choose to do your own air arrangements, so make sure you're considering this detail as well when comparing the two options side by side.    

   

[Travelcat2]

Jason - thank you so much for your post.  I obviously had no idea that Premium Economy is offered (but still think that 15-19 hours in a upright seat may be uncomfortable).

 

After all these years I still have a lot to learn!

[1982CruzStart]

On 11/28/2018 at 7:55 PM, blondietoo said:

Hey TC2 you are right it is Singapore...duh!!! Lots of great info that I will share with my husband. Thank you so very very much for taking the time to answer my questions...really appreciate it. It is settled we will book when on board the Explorer in January.

Now you can book 30 days before you go onboard and get all the benefits of booking onboard.  We did this for our 2020 cruse. We wanted to have it all set up as others were joining us so we did it under the 30 day prior booking opportunity. Worked great. 

[Portolan]

On ‎11‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 2:29 PM, Travelcat2 said:

Flights to that part of the world are expensive.  I checked the Emirates website (using a different date since November, 2019 is too far out) and found that the coach one way fare to Dubai would be approximately $7,474 for both of you (Canadian). Note:  Regent uses Emirates (among other airlines) - one of the highest rated airlines in the world

 

Pricing one-way international flights will always yield very high fares (except for a few airlines and regions).  For some randomly picked dates in mid-week for next October (closest to November which can be checked now) from YVR to Dubai and return Singapore to YVR, I find Business Class multi-city (since not a R/T) fares of $4-5k/pp.  These are 1 stop flights on combinations of Korean, Emirates and Singapore Airlines...all good experiences.  Just use the multi-city option on Google Flights.  These are regularly offered fares, not some form of bulk fare...Google Flights is not a booking engine.

 

For reasons largely inexplicable, you can book international award flights with no penalty over R/T or Multi-City, but one-way paid international is ridiculously expensive,

[pingpong1]

3 hours ago, Portolan said:

Pricing one-way international flights will always yield very high fares (except for a few airlines and regions).  For some randomly picked dates in mid-week for next October (closest to November which can be checked now) from YVR to Dubai and return Singapore to YVR, I find Business Class multi-city (since not a R/T) fares of $4-5k/pp.  These are 1 stop flights on combinations of Korean, Emirates and Singapore Airlines...all good experiences.  Just use the multi-city option on Google Flights.  These are regularly offered fares, not some form of bulk fare...Google Flights is not a booking engine.

 

For reasons largely inexplicable, you can book international award flights with no penalty over R/T or Multi-City, but one-way paid international is ridiculously expensive,

Hi Portolan - You've provided very useful information.  We never pay the "full posted fare" for international B/C flights.  Using an air-fare search engine can initially serve as a "filter" to find out which Airlines actually service your desired route, and then going to the individual airline's homepage can provide actual cost information.

 

In almost every case, buying your tickets as early as possible will  result in the cheapest fares (at least for international travel).  I've never "saved money" by delaying the purchase of tickets.  As soon as I know about a future trip, and as soon as the airline allows the booking/purchase (about 11 months out), I start shopping.

 

On one trip from Phoenix to Rome, I purchased R/T Delta B/C tickets as soon as ticketing was available and paid around $4,000/ticket.  I bought the tickets immediately.  I checked the same itinerary/airline 3 months later and the price (on Delta) had risen to $8,000 each.  Those were non-refundable tickets and (unlike BA) I was able to reserve the specific seats I wanted at the time of purchase.  At the same time, and on the same airline website and as part of the same transaction, I bought the airline-offered "refund insurance" for the full purchase price of the tickets.  The insurance premium was very reasonable (a percentage of the fare).

 

Buying  non-refundable fare tickets will always be significantly cheaper than the cost of refundable-fare tickets.  Even if you don't buy the ticket insurance or refundable tickets,  if health or family issues make it impossible for you to use those tickets, the money is not totally "lost".  You won't get a "full cash refund" of the ticket price, but if you cancel the reservation before the flight, the airline will give you a credit (minus a moderate "change fee") that can be used towards future travel (if used within a set time limit - usually one year).

 

All the above applies to ticket purchases in the U.S.  Laws and rules might be different in other countries.  Regards

[macbest]

On 11/28/2018 at 11:29 AM, Travelcat2 said:

If you have not booked this cruise, please wait until January for two reasons:

 

1.  On the ship, if you are the lower suites, you would get a credit on your cruise fare of $250/person.  If you are in a concierge suite you would get $325/person.  Additionally, you will receive $200 on board credit for the cruise that you are on (the January one).  You also get a price guarantee.  In my opinion, it is really worth it.  

Is this the typical credit received on board for any cruise or just the one they requested? We are looking at booking a July 17, 2020 cruise (Copenhagen to Reykjavik) and wondered if when we are on the ship in Feb it would make sense to book onboard. Sounds like you are saying it is. I didn’t understand the other post that said you could book 30 days before you board for this onboard credit for a future cruise and how that would be done. And if others could take advantage of it (we are traveling on the 2020 cruise with another couple).  

[Jason OKeefe]

40 minutes ago, macbest said:

Is this the typical credit received on board for any cruise or just the one they requested? We are looking at booking a July 17, 2020 cruise (Copenhagen to Reykjavik) and wondered if when we are on the ship in Feb it would make sense to book onboard. Sounds like you are saying it is. I didn’t understand the other post that said you could book 30 days before you board for this onboard credit for a future cruise and how that would be done. And if others could take advantage of it (we are traveling on the 2020 cruise with another couple).  

 

macbest,

 

The Onboard Booking offer applies to any future voyage booked on board and offers a $200 Instant Shipboard Credit on the current voyage you are sailing aboard to enjoy as an extra booking benefit. Plus, there is additional Onboard Bonus savings offered along with a few extra perks such as flexibility to cancel or move your voyage date if needed later.  

 

The Instant Shipboard Credit is not applied to the future voyage but is enjoyed on the one in which you actually booked your future voyage.  (so you'll receive and use this on your Feb cruise if you book your future 2020 Copenhagen booking on board).  The shipboard credit incentive was designed to encourage guests to visit the Cruise Consultant earlier in the cruise vs. waiting until the end.  This is also why the incentive is not applicable on the future voyage, as it's designed to be an instant reward on your current voyage. 

 

Earlier this year we enhanced the Onboard Booking offer whereas you may now reserve your future voyage prior to stepping on board your upcoming February 2019 cruise. Ultimately, we've expanded the window to access the Onboard Booking offer to now be accessible up to 30 days prior to embarking your Feb. voyage. The reason for this is that we want you to enjoy your upcoming cruise and some guests find they don't have the time to see the Cruise Consultant while on ship as they're so busy out enjoying the destination or the ship itself. This pre-cruise access takes that pressure away and allows you book your next future voyage more easily and yet you will still earn the $200 Instant Shipboard Credit on your upcoming voyage just as if you booked it on board.  There are no benefits lost by booking your next future voyage before you embark, as you receive exactly the same benefits as if you booked on board.

 

Our Onboard Booking offer is the most advantageous out there and combinable with most other offers.  If you're still uncertain of where you want to travel to next, our Future Deposit Certificate option is the next best choice where you don't have to pick a future date right away and you have up to 2 years to select your next voyage and still earn the Onboard Savings offer benefits.

 

Enjoy your upcoming voyage in February!

 

[Travelcat2]

Thank you Jason - you explained so much better than I could!

[Eno-Bob]

We just used the 30-day out onboard booking and it worked like a charm!  We’ll be on Explorer for the Cape Town to Cape Town departing Dec 22.  We had two other cruises we wanted to book “on-board” for the discounts that Jason described.  We were also looking at specific cabins, so we locked in the cabins and received all the onboard booking discounts as well as the $200 Instant Shipboard Credits on Nov 23.  I’m sure we’ll still visit the Cruise Consultant onboard, but we’ve booked the cruises we had already planned from the comfort of home. 

[commodore2010]

On 11/28/2018 at 3:00 PM, Travelcat2 said:

Two quick things..... when you book onboard, the booking is given to your TA so they do not miss out on commission.

 

Second, http://matrix.itasoftware.com is the website I use to find out prices and which airlines fly to where.  I find it a useful tool.

 

Glad that the information is helpful!

 

Great tool... Thanks  I'm saving it as a favorite.  

[Travelcat2]

Another good tool is https://www.timeanddate.com/date/dateadd.html .  While the Regent website has the dates when you can book excursions and dining reservations, trying to find out when you can deviate air is always a question.  I simply add the date of the cruise and subtract 270 days and viola - I have the date!

[jeb_bud]

21 hours ago, Eno-Bob said:We just used the 30-day out onboard booking and it worked like a charm!  We’ll be on Explorer for the Cape Town to Cape Town departing Dec 22.  We had two other cruises we wanted to book “on-board” for the discounts that Jason described.  We were also looking at specific cabins, so we locked in the cabins and received all the onboard booking discounts as well as the $200 Instant Shipboard Credits on Nov 23.  I’m sure we’ll still visit the Cruise Consultant onboard, but we’ve booked the cruises we had already planned from the comfort of home. 

 

Eno-Bob, since you booked two future cruises did you receive $400 in Instanf Shipboard Credits?

[pingpong1]

On 11/30/2018 at 6:02 AM, Portolan said:

Pricing one-way international flights will always yield very high fares (except for a few airlines and regions).

For reasons largely inexplicable, you can book international award flights with no penalty over R/T or Multi-City, but one-way paid international is ridiculously expensive,

Hi Portolan - I'm also finding the same "crazy" fare pricing for international one-way vs. R/T fares that you talked about.

 

Checking on a R/T flight (a year out from now) in B/C between Phoenix and Rome is around $4,200 (non-refundable) for the entire trip (on both DL and UA). But flying just one-way from Phoenix to Rome in B/C, during the same time period (and the same airlines) is around $8K!  That's nuts!

 

One immediate idea that comes to mind is to just book/buy the "cheaper R/T" (non-refundable) ticket for $4K.... use it one-way for the flight from Phoenix over to Rome to catch my cruise (I'm on a T/A cruise from Rome back Miami).  Then,  just "throw away" the unused/return portion of the ticket - I know they're not really paper tickets anymore - (from Rome back to Phoenix).  For the flight from Miami back to Phoenix, I'll have a separately-purchased "cheap" (non-refundable) F/C ticket .  Cost-wise, I'm still way ahead of the game (by more than $3K).  I wonder if anyone has "moral scruples" about doing that?  It's got to drive the airlines absolutely bonkers, and I'm sure I'm not the first/only person to ever consider or actually do this!  Regards

[Travelcat2]

Isn't booking "Multi-City" easier and less expensive?  That is what we do.  The only time the one-way issue comes into play for us is when we are using Regent Air one way and book our own air when flying home from Miami (so we can book First Class which we find is less money when you book it yourself).  

[Eno-Bob]

1 hour ago, jeb_bud said:

Eno-Bob, since you booked two future cruises did you receive $400 in Instanf Shipboard Credits?

Yes -- it worked the same as if we would have booked onboard with the cruise consultant.

[pingpong1]

1 hour ago, Travelcat2 said:

Isn't booking "Multi-City" easier and less expensive?  That is what we do.  The only time the one-way issue comes into play for us is when we are using Regent Air one way and book our own air when flying home from Miami (so we can book First Class which we find is less money when you book it yourself).  

TC - Unfortunately (and inexplicably) not.  Doing a "mock multi-city booking" online on several different air sites (Travelocity, UA, DL, Expedia, etc.) for next October....For a multi-city itinerary of one-way B/C seat from Phoenix to Rome, and then returning F/C from Miami to Phoenix, 2 weeks later, (all on one itinerary/booking), results in fares ranging between $9K and $11K per person.  Yikes!

 

Booking the R/T itinerary in B/C between Phoenix and Rome in Oct 2019 winds up around $4,200 and (and then just not flying the return leg on that booking).  A separate One-way booking in F/C from Miami to Phoenix is about $500.  For a total fare of around $4,700.  That's a price difference of at least $4,000+ per person.  Crazy, isn't it?!