Why go with Regent?

[rallydave]

4 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Does your experience include working for Regent?  Not sure how you would know how much Regent pays for their contracted flights as this seems to be a closely  held secret.  In order to make the comments you did, one would need to know how much the contracted flight cost Regent - how much the air credit is - and, finally, how much of the Regent fare is charged to passengers.

 

Actually, this is getting off track.  This is not necessarily what the TS is looking for so perhaps we should allow the thread to continue on topic!?

I do know that air fares are going up.

I do know how much the air credits are

I do know that Regent air fare credits have gone down.

I do know that Regent like all companies needs to make profits to stay in business

I do know that all companies including Regent want to make profits from all items they are selling including air fares.

I do  know that Regent is making profits.

 

All I do know is available in the public domain to everyone 

 

With all I do know I don't have to know how much Regent pays for their contracted flights to come to  my generalization.  And, remember making a profit is a good thing for any company.

[Travelcat2]

6 hours ago, rallydave said:

Just remember Bill, the amount of credit you receive is most likely less than the amount included in the fare for your flights.  

 

The crux of my posts has been in response to your statement above.  It seems that you prefer looking at the negatives when it comes to Regent.  Unless you know something that the rest of do not know, it is neither more or less likely that the amount included in the fare is more than the credit. 

[ronrick1943]

4 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

The crux of my posts has been in response to your statement above.  It seems that you prefer looking at the negatives when it comes to Regent.  Unless you know something that the rest of do not know, it is neither more or less likely that the amount included in the fare is more than the credit. 

I agree with you, but even if the credit is lower---who really cares, I've been happy with all my air credits.  And you have a choice to take it or not--it's really but to each person as what they want to do--not Regent.  And I like the idea that they let you decide.

[Focused1]

11 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

I agree with you, but even if the credit is lower---who really cares, I've been happy with all my air credits.  And you have a choice to take it or not--it's really but to each person as what they want to do--not Regent.  And I like the idea that they let you decide.

Exactly, who cares. You have a choice and most of us compare the credit to posted fares and make that choice that is the best deal for us. 

 

We are booked on the Splendor out of BCN ( round trip) next May and current BC fares shown from my east coast location are equal to the credit offered by Regent. If I add the deviation fees (as we always deviate), then it is a better deal to take the Regent credit and book our own fares. We never use the transfers so haven’t incorporated it into the equation. 

[Just2guys]

22 hours ago, wripro said:

But any line that posts a brochure fare as what the fare should actually be and then gives you a 50% off fare alongside it to make you think you are getting a bargain will hardly be honest when it comes to any part of its marketing.

 

Seriously, I hardly think that this qualifies or disqualifies the honesty of any cruise line.  I have a stack of brochures from just about all of the luxury and premium cruise lines that market in the U.S. sitting here next to me on my desk...and almost all of them play the "50% off" game.  And, they've all been doing that off-and-on for many years now---at least since the early 2000s.  At this point, I imagine that everyone but a true novice knows how that game is played. 

 

What I find more annoying are lines saying that they are "all-inclusive"...but then neglect to put the "taxes, fees, and port charges" into the rate, instead burying it in the fine print.  But, that's another story...

 

Dislike Regent for whatever you like---service, ships, whatever.  But, I hardly think "50% off" qualifies as a some sort of barometer of "honesty".

[Travelcat2]

45 minutes ago, Just2guys said:

 

What I find more annoying are lines saying that they are "all-inclusive"...but then neglect to put the "taxes, fees, and port charges" into the rate, instead burying it in the fine print.  But, that's another story...

 

 

The subject of taxes, fees and port charges (and fuel costs) is a bit more complicated than it seems.  Actually, fuel costs were also added in the past.  The difficulty came about several years ago when fuel prices were soaring dramatically.  Cruise lines (including Regent) kept raising their fuel costs to keep up with ever-increasing prices.  

 

I don't recall exactly what happened but there was a lawsuit about fuel charges and cruise ships (in the State of Florida I believe) and as a result, Regent bundled everything into the cruise fare.  So, when prices of fuel go up, ports are missed, etc., it no longer matters to passengers (well, it does matter if you miss a port but some of us forget that we are not paying for the "latest fuel hike").  

 

If someone recalls more details about the lawsuit, etc., please post!

 

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

1 hour ago, Just2guys said:

What I find more annoying are lines saying that they are "all-inclusive"...but then neglect to put the "taxes, fees, and port charges" into the rate, instead burying it in the fine print.  But, that's another story...

 

Dislike Regent for whatever you like---service, ships, whatever.  But, I hardly think "50% off" qualifies as a some sort of barometer of "honesty".

 

Seabourn does this (charges the taxes and port charges separately.) One of the few things I don't like about Seabourn.

 

And I so agree with you--that particularly poster seems to harp on this issue with "free" amenities so much it's like a broken record.  After all, Oceania does the same 50% thing I believe.

[Hambagahle]

Dave - I know because you have told me face to face that you have a problem with FDR.   I told you at the same time - face to face! - that I do not.  And I am not totally sure what your problem is... But that doesn't matter.    I think FDR runs a great company.  I love Oceania.  I love Regent.  (I am not ready for Norwegian...)   but please, as a friend, don't let your feelings about FDR get in the way of a real discussion about the pros and cons of Regent...

 

Speaking for myself --  I choose a cruise from the itinerary.  Also from the ship and the line.  I am limited to Regent and Oceania because I have experience on both and like both and am not a "risk taker".   for the last 3 cruises we have been on Oceania and loved each one!  Next one - Regent.  Because the ship (Spendour) is going where we want to go (Panama Canal).  We would have preferred Oceania because we take few excursions but we don't want to be on the old R ships...which go through the canal.  Hence Regent.  And are very excited about it!!

[Travelcat2]

Gerry - agree with your last post.  BTW, you and I are a perfect example of two posters that disagree on many things but keep it civil and try to understand each other's point of view.  You are a positive influence on the Regent board.

 

Now - about Oceania - another area where we disagree (and in this case - even Dennis agrees with me when he often agrees with you:-) is food.  While we both enjoy the specialty restaurants (and in the suites that you and I stay in, we can dine there every night), as you know, we do not like the MDR and especially do not like the Terrace Cafe.

 

Did you read on another thread (not sure which one but it is current) when a poster updated a thread about Oceania and has it has gone downhill (food wise) in the past year and also shared that the MDR is closed at lunch now,

 

I suspect that you and I will have some interesting discussions on Splendor (or as you spell it, "Splendour").  It is amazing how much trouble it is the spell the name of the ship the way that many people in Europe spell it.  My system continues to change it to the other spelling ...... but it worked when I put it in quotes).  

[rallydave]

36 minutes ago, Hambagahle said:

Dave - I know because you have told me face to face that you have a problem with FDR.   I told you at the same time - face to face! - that I do not.  And I am not totally sure what your problem is... But that doesn't matter.    I think FDR runs a great company.  I love Oceania.  I love Regent.  (I am not ready for Norwegian...)   but please, as a friend, don't let your feelings about FDR get in the way of a real discussion about the pros and cons of Regent...

 

Speaking for myself --  I choose a cruise from the itinerary.  Also from the ship and the line.  I am limited to Regent and Oceania because I have experience on both and like both and am not a "risk taker".   for the last 3 cruises we have been on Oceania and loved each one!  Next one - Regent.  Because the ship (Spendour) is going where we want to go (Panama Canal).  We would have preferred Oceania because we take few excursions but we don't want to be on the old R ships...which go through the canal.  Hence Regent.  And are very excited about it!!

Gerry, not quite sure why you would think my feelings for anybody is getting in the way of a real discussion about pros and cons and how and why credits for air may or may not provide enough money to purchase you own air because the air credit is the same for everybody no matter where they live and not specific to the flights from your location to and from the  cruise.  Nevers said anything negative or that Regent did anything wrong.  Bill was lamenting his inability to purchase flights with the Regent credits and was simply giving some reasons why that was possibly occurring.

 

Was in no way being negative or letting feelings no matter what they are in the way of explaining something that confuses many people thinking the credit was for their specific location which based on the fares being the same no matter your home location. Then I got attacked by a poster accusing me of working for Regent or having insight to Regent privileged information.  I explained what I know based on publicly available information and that I had no insight to what Regent pays.

 

Have no idea how what I posted resulted in two different people thinking I was being negative??

[Twitchly]

So, gently nudging us back on track here, thanks to everyone who has posted their thoughts about this line so far.

 

What I’ve heard people say they liked about Regent:

- the all-inclusiveness of the fare

- perks with higher-end cabins

- more onboard space per passenger

- business-class flights

- itineraries

- larger cabins

- informal daytime dress code

- friendly passengers

- familiarity

 

Anything else?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 28, 2019 by Twitchly

[flossie009]

2 hours ago, Twitchly said:

Anything else?

 

The overall ambience on Regent ships is what keeps us coming back to them.

I realise that “ambience” is a very nebulous term but for us it sums up what is so attractive about the “Regent Experience”

[xrvlcruiser]

Outstanding staff/crew/officers!

 

[Ladys Mom]

Other considerations are:

casual dress code in evenings, as well

Outstanding food in specialty restaurants

Ability to get dining room food by room service

Interesting shore excursions with little or no upcharge

Excellent affinity program

[califsealion]

I like that the ships are on the smaller side compared to a lot of cruise ships.

[ronrick1943]

On 7/28/2019 at 12:07 PM, Travelcat2 said:

Did you read on another thread (not sure which one but it is current) when a poster updated a thread about Oceania and has it has gone downhill (food wise) in the past year and also shared that the MDR is closed at lunch now,

We were on Oceania last December, "food has gone downhill" is an understatement, I have to say the terrace grill was the best food on the ship.  I don't send food back very much, however we did on this cruise--and many other table also send food back.  Service was poor---one time we had been seated and within two minutes they wanted to take are food order, yes food order not drink order.  

[markdgriffin]

On ‎7‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 6:32 AM, Twitchly said:

Hello, all. 

 

My DH and I took our first cruise together last year with Viking Ocean and had a wonderful time. Since then, Regent has discovered us and we’ve been receiving a lot of their marketing materials. We’re pondering another cruise in a year or two, so we’re looking at options. 

 

I’ve paged through a bunch of the posts here to get a better picture of how Regent differs from everybody else but it’s still unclear. So I’ll just ask: What sets the Regent experience apart from other cruise lines?

Attempting to objectively answer the original inquiry from this thread:  We experienced Regent for the first time this year (May Barcelona to London) after having been invited by my sister and her husband who had cruised Regent five times previously.  Our previous cruising experience includes 5 cruises on Carnival, Norwegian, and Holland America.  Simply said, we had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed the ship, the itinerary, the tours, the crew, the fellow passengers, the entertainment, the business class flights, and the pre-cruise hotel in Barcelona.  We typically approach any experience with an open mind and a positive attitude and therefore enjoy most.  Not once did we stop and think what a sorry SOB the CEO of the cruise line (someone we've never met and never will) might be nor did we parse every word of the marketing materials associated with the trip to determine whether something included was code speak for overcharge!  Maybe we got totally ripped off and maybe we further enriched the CEO of the cruise line - we don't know, but what we do know is that we had a relaxing vacation filled with great experiences on a stunningly beautiful ship with interesting people while being served graciously by a crew who truly seemed to enjoy what they were doing.  We ate great food at every meal and drank very good wine by the bottle.  We participated in tours we will remember fondly, and in the case of the D-Day tour - reverently, forever.  We were on a boat with 700 or so other passengers who also had a wonderful time with the exception of a few - I could count them on one hand - who griped and complained too much, set their expectations at an impossible level, expected other passengers to sacrifice for their sake, yet thankfully never could get others to join their misery party.

 

My suggestion is to pick an attractive itinerary and give Regent a try.  The bill will seem high when you pay it, however; when you arrive back at home - no more bills!

[Travelcat2]

Well said!

[John182]

I confess that I had reservations when we booked our first Regent Cruise last year. Could that extra cost possibly be worth it? In short yes it was for all of the reasons stated in the posts above. The ambience of the cruise was just wonderful. The key difference for me was the people we met, both fellow customers and crew. They all seemed to have some fantastic tales and anecdotes to share. Oh and the only point that I would add to the list above was that there is no class system on board. Yes guests in higher suites and in higher tiers of the loyalty programme could book earlier and have unrestricted access to the speciality restaurants, and quite rightly so, but there was no area of the ship out of bounds to those of us staying in lower category suites. Contrast that to other cruise lines who seem hell bent on creating ships within ships for their suite guests - I cannot see the point in paying lots of money for a mega suite on a Celebrity ship for example when you could go for a luxury line. Just my point of view of course.

 

Of course we are now hooked and looking forwards to our next Regent adventure.😊

[Travelcat2]

John182 - glad that you got "hooked".  Agree with you about the 'class' system on most cruise lines.  We also find the passengers on Regent friendly, well traveled and a delight to be around!

[SWFLAOK]

On 7/27/2019 at 8:52 AM, Focused1 said:

Exactly, who cares. You have a choice and most of us compare the credit to posted fares and make that choice that is the best deal for us. 

 

We are booked on the Splendor out of BCN ( round trip) next May and current BC fares shown from my east coast location are equal to the credit offered by Regent. If I add the deviation fees (as we always deviate), then it is a better deal to take the Regent credit and book our own fares. We never use the transfers so haven’t incorporated it into the equation. 

Just curious as to which east coast location you fly out of . We just flew out of MIA to BCN and the regent credit didn't come close to paying for a BC fare.

[Focused1]

13 minutes ago, SWFLAOK said:

Just curious as to which east coast location you fly out of . We just flew out of MIA to BCN and the regent credit didn't come close to paying for a BC fare.

We fly out of RDU (Raleigh). Current quoted fare for business class (next May)round trip is $3053. 

[rallydave]

12 minutes ago, SWFLAOK said:

Just curious as to which east coast location you fly out of . We just flew out of MIA to BCN and the regent credit didn't come close to paying for a BC fare.

There are a few other considerations regarding booking your own flights vs. taking regent air.  First you are most likely buying non-refundable tickets vs Regent where you air fare is refundable as part of the cruise fare to the extent you haven't gotten to the penalty phase.  And, you really are not getting any cash for cancelling your Regent air simply a reduction in final payment so you will need to come up with the money for the air fare much sooner than when you make your final payment.

 

Just some more considerations that which is less expensive.

 

[Travelcat2]

IMHO, getting a reduction in your fare is nothing to sneeze at!!!!  The main reason to use Regent air instead of doing it on your own is, if there is a problem, Regent will rebook your flights at no additional cost while booking on your own fare would put the responsibility on you.  While this does not happen often, it does happen.  An upcoming cruise to Dubai may need to be rebooked as the waterway that takes ships to Dubai is potentially in danger.

 

 

[SWFLAOK]

20 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

IMHO, getting a reduction in your fare is nothing to sneeze at!!!!  The main reason to use Regent air instead of doing it on your own is, if there is a problem, Regent will rebook your flights at no additional cost while booking on your own fare would put the responsibility on you.  While this does not happen often, it does happen.  An upcoming cruise to Dubai may need to be rebooked as the waterway that takes ships to Dubai is potentially in danger.

 

 

And since we're scheduled to be on Voyager for 32 nights starting in December, after it passes Dubai and arrives in Singapore, and our flights provided by Regent are booked through Dubai on Emirates both ways, we are relieved that we did not book anything outside of Regent. We're  still very hopeful that we'll be able to do this cruise, and are really looking forward to it.