Air Deviation Questions

[JIMinNC]

We just booked our first Regent cruise this weekend - next June for Alaska - and am looking to educate myself on the whole air deviation issue. We are still about a month from the 270 day point, so I need to get it all figured out before then. All of our other trips and cruises on other lines we have handled our own air, so this is the first time for us to use included air.

 

We are doing the Denali adventure pre-cruise (we embark in Seward) but may spend one or two nights post-cruise on our own in Vancouver. We'll probably just use our Marriott Bonvoy points there instead of paying Regent their exorbitant rate for what appears to be their only option - the Trump hotel in Vancouver. Can anyone suggest a thread or other source to understand the best way to play the air issue with Regent?

Edited August 19, 2019 by JIMinNC

[Brownie54]

"Regent flights-with and without deviation" 

First entry on CC Regent Seven Seas Cruises page.

[papaflamingo]

We deviated on our cruise last year.  I like to do things myself, so I made the arrangements directly with Regent Air.  To do this I had to get my  TA to contact Regent and give her permission for me to work directly with them.   Since I live in ATL I wanted a Delta flight from Sydney to Atlanta via LAX.  I was up on the Delta reservations webpage with the flights in front of me that I wanted.  I gave the Regent Air agent the desired flight numbers and she verified that they were available via their contract and there was no additional charge.  As I was talking to her I saw seats disappear!  She actually BOOKED the flights as I was talking to her.  I then had an email with 48 hours to accept the flights.  

I would suggest you have your desired flights worked out and either you or your TA can work with Regent to see if you can get booked. 

So, very easy and the Regent agent I worked with was simply Spectacular!  

[JIMinNC]

Thanks, I started reading the deviation thread at the top of the page, but it is so long, it is a bit imposing to get through, so that's why I posted the question. Still slowly going through it.

 

We don't use Travel Agents any more, so I booked direct with Regent online. I guess my biggest question is when do I need to reach out to Regent? I read I can't do anything until 270 days out, but is that 270 days from cruise departure or 270 days from the start of our pre-cruise tour (we are doing the Denali tour pre-cruise, so will need to fly in about four days before ship embarkation. I know the flights that I want, so hopefully Regent will have space on those flights. We live at a big American Airlines hub city, so AA seems to offer us the best options with the most direct routings.

[jeb_bud]

To avoid dilution of information it might be a good idea to post your questions on the other thread. You might get more and more comprehensive answers there. 

[UUNetBill]

1 hour ago, JIMinNC said:

Thanks, I started reading the deviation thread at the top of the page, but it is so long, it is a bit imposing to get through, so that's why I posted the question. Still slowly going through it.

 

We don't use Travel Agents any more, so I booked direct with Regent online. I guess my biggest question is when do I need to reach out to Regent? I read I can't do anything until 270 days out, but is that 270 days from cruise departure or 270 days from the start of our pre-cruise tour (we are doing the Denali tour pre-cruise, so will need to fly in about four days before ship embarkation. I know the flights that I want, so hopefully Regent will have space on those flights. We live at a big American Airlines hub city, so AA seems to offer us the best options with the most direct routings.

I'm not sure why you don't use TAs any more - it's actually in your best interest to use one who's familiar with the Regent brand and many will send you a rebate check or help you get OBCs you wouldn't otherwise get.  But that's not what you asked...

 

The 270 day clock (and any other clocks, for that matter) are triggered from the sailing date, regardless of any pre-cruise bookings.  You'll get mo' better answers on the Air Deviation thread but since you're booking directly with Regent, I'd go ahead and call them and have them walk you through the dates, options, etc.  Get the info straight from the horse's mouth, as it were.  

 

Enjoy!

[NCCruzQueen]

14 minutes ago, UUNetBill said:

I'm not sure why you don't use TAs any more - it's actually in your best interest to use one who's familiar with the Regent brand and many will send you a rebate check or help you get OBCs you wouldn't otherwise get.  

 

I usually get both from my TA.  JIMinNC, shop around for a TA that gives you benies.

[JIMinNC]

27 minutes ago, UUNetBill said:

I'm not sure why you don't use TAs any more - it's actually in your best interest to use one who's familiar with the Regent brand and many will send you a rebate check or help you get OBCs you wouldn't otherwise get.  But that's not what you asked...

 

The 270 day clock (and any other clocks, for that matter) are triggered from the sailing date, regardless of any pre-cruise bookings.  You'll get mo' better answers on the Air Deviation thread but since you're booking directly with Regent, I'd go ahead and call them and have them walk you through the dates, options, etc.  Get the info straight from the horse's mouth, as it were.  

 

Enjoy!

 

We used a local travel agent for an Azamara Mediterranean cruise last fall (that was our first cruise in 11 years), and felt they added very little value - a small additional OBC and a small savings on air fare. We wound up booking our pre/post-cruise hotels ourselves because the prices we got through the TA were no different than what we could get through marriott.com. For our Paul Gauguin cruise earlier this year, we did it all ourselves direct with PG, Air Tahiti Nui, and Hilton and much preferred the direct approach and eliminating the middle-man. It's so easy to just book things online on your own, I see no reason to filter everything through a third-party like a travel agent. We booked our Regent cruise last Friday night and filled out all the forms online in less than 15 minutes. No need to wait for a TA to reply to messages or emails, which was always frustrating when we used the TA for last fall's cruise.

 

Thanks for the clarification on what date the 270-day clock is based on. I'll probably reach out to Regent in the next week or so just to confirm exact dates and best process. We know when the pre-cruise starts, so we know when we'll be flying in to Anchorage, but we still need to decide how many nights we're going to stay post-cruise in Vancouver (one or two) to get our return date. We'll be booking our own post-cruise hotel.

Edited August 19, 2019 by JIMinNC

[Travelcat2]

Strongly agree with what Bill has posted.  Luxury TA's that give rebates give back a percentage of your cruise fare plus OBC's (on some itineraries).  It is definitely worth booking with them.  Plus, if you book with a TA, they are looking out for you and will not recommend a suite in a bad position (for instance, under the pool deck or other areas that are noisy).  Regent has to fill all of their suites so they may not be looking out for what is best for you. 

[JIMinNC]

2 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

Strongly agree with what Bill has posted.  Luxury TA's that give rebates give back a percentage of your cruise fare plus OBC's (on some itineraries).  It is definitely worth booking with them.  Plus, if you book with a TA, they are looking out for you and will not recommend a suite in a bad position (for instance, under the pool deck or other areas that are noisy).  Regent has to fill all of their suites so they may not be looking out for what is best for you. 

 

We just prefer to eliminate the middleman. We picked our suite based on the info in this forum, looking at the ship's deck plans, and avoiding those obvious problematic locations.  

[Travelcat2]

2 minutes ago, JIMinNC said:

 

We just prefer to eliminate the middleman. We picked our suite based on the info in this forum, looking at the ship's deck plans, and avoiding those obvious problematic locations.  

 

That is fine.  I just don't like to see so much money left on the table.  Our TA also looks out for price decreases and/or promotions on a daily basis and keeps their customers informed.  They have their own contact people at Regent that they work with on flights, etc. which has worked out perfectly for us.

 

We tend to do our own thing in terms of planning (and yes - even selecting our own suite).  We only contact our TA to book the cruise and assist with the flights that we have selected ourselves.  If there is a problem, of course we contact them as well.  The amount of money we receive in rebates icing on the cake. 

 

 

[JIMinNC]

3 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

That is fine.  I just don't like to see so much money left on the table.  Our TA also looks out for price decreases and/or promotions on a daily basis and keeps their customers informed.  They have their own contact people at Regent that they work with on flights, etc. which has worked out perfectly for us.

 

We tend to do our own thing in terms of planning (and yes - even selecting our own suite).  We only contact our TA to book the cruise and assist with the flights that we have selected ourselves.  If there is a problem, of course we contact them as well.  The amount of money we receive in rebates icing on the cake. 

 

 

 

I'm sure our perspective is impacted by the fact we've never had good service when using a TA - frustratingly long waits for email replies and call backs, obvious input/clerical errors, finding better deals ourselves than what they said was the "best" deal, etc. If I have to double check everything they do, why not do it myself from the start...

[rcandkc]

1 minute ago, JIMinNC said:

 

I'm sure our perspective is impacted by the fact we've never had good service when using a TA - frustratingly long waits for email replies and call backs, obvious input/clerical errors, finding better deals ourselves than what they said was the "best" deal, etc. If I have to double check everything they do, why not do it myself from the start...

When you are on your Regent cruise keep your ears open.  Other passengers then can give you TA guidance. 

[1982CruzStart]

I understand your perspective regarding TAs. I mostly use our TA to get the rebate and the OBC. You can book your cruise and do everything yourself then transfer the booking to a TA within 30 days to get whatever benefits they are offering. The rebate cheque can be 5 - 10% of the cruise fare so you are leaving a fair amount of money on the table.  Your choice of course.

Like you i prefer to keep as much control as possible and that is why i have my TA release our booking to Regent so i can deal with Regent Air directly. 

You can mostly get your cake and eat it too using a TA that gives you money back.

Enjoy your cruise. 

[UUNetBill]

34 minutes ago, JIMinNC said:

I'm sure our perspective is impacted by the fact we've never had good service when using a TA - frustratingly long waits for email replies and call backs, obvious input/clerical errors, finding better deals ourselves than what they said was the "best" deal, etc. If I have to double check everything they do, why not do it myself from the start...

Yep - if that's the case I'd doing it on my own as well - but if you find a good TA, well, they can be worth their weight in gold, IMO.  But...but...how does one find a good TA that knows Regent well???

 

31 minutes ago, rcandkc said:

When you are on your Regent cruise keep your ears open.  Other passengers then can give you TA guidance. 

Well, look at this - might answer the above question.   😁

 

Honestly, I've worked with several different TAs over the years and the good ones have been a great help - finding fare reductions before we did, finding great hotels at a MUCH lower rate than Regent, knowing suites/ports/excursions that we might like, etc.  If you're only planning on doing this Regent cruise and moving on, you'll probably be fine - but if you plan on sailing with Regent in the future, a good TA can be a good ally.

 

Whatever you choose to do, enjoy your Regent cruise!!

[taxare]

Jim, you didn't ask about this but if you haven't done this look at the Member referral credit thread. If you complete the form within 14 days of your deposit you will get a $250 credit towards the cruise you just booked. Look for the Seven Seas Ambassador program on the RSSC website. My email is on that thread if you wish to consider this. Enjoy Regent, it is terrific and this board is particularly helpful!

[1985rz1]

22 hours ago, JIMinNC said:

 

I'm sure our perspective is impacted by the fact we've never had good service when using a TA - frustratingly long waits for email replies and call backs, obvious input/clerical errors, finding better deals ourselves than what they said was the "best" deal, etc. If I have to double check everything they do, why not do it myself from the start...

Sounds to me you had a TA problem.  You might want to consider trying new one that has connections with the lines you are interested.  We've never experienced any of the problems you mention above with ours for either Regent or Oceania...and  the TA has been proactive with schedule changes, stateroom selections and requested changes, and much more, in addition to providing OBC and/or rebates, PPG, and service not offered by the cruise line directly.

 

I agree that the service you got is unacceptable, and doing it yourself is preferable to what you experienced.

 

Edited August 20, 2019 by 1985rz1

[JIMinNC]

2 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

Sounds to me you had a TA problem.  You might want to consider trying new one that has connections with the lines you are interested.  We've never experienced any of the problems you mention above with ours for either Regent or Oceania...and has been proactive with shedule changes, stateroom selections and requested changes, and much more, in addition to providing OBC and/or rebates, and PPG, not offered by the cruise line directly.

 

 

Our market is dominated by two large multi-location TA organizations. There are other smaller independents but they have very little visibility in the market, so it's hard to evaluate them and know their expertise. I do know a few of the smaller ones focus on group travel, but obviously not all. Trying to sort out online agents seems even more of a crapshoot, especially when it's so easy to just DIY.

 

In any event, our travel plans are more or less set through 2021 with Regent Alaska in summer 2020 and Azamara Greek Isles in fall 2021 already booked. Our other trips will revolve around our Marriott and Hilton timeshares, Marriott Bonvoy points, Hilton Honors points, and AAdvantage miles. TAs can't help much with that. If we book any cruises for 2022 and beyond, maybe by that time we'll learn of a TA that can provide some value. Open to try if that's the case.

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

Just to remind you that although I use a top TA, getting all the bells and whistles, there are times I like to check with Regent myself. If you advise your TA that you will be speaking  to them yourself, you can have the best of both worlds. 

Sheils

[1985rz1]

3 minutes ago, JIMinNC said:

 

Our market is dominated by two large multi-location TA organizations. There are other smaller independents but they have very little visibility in the market, so it's hard to evaluate them and know their expertise. I do know a few of the smaller ones focus on group travel, but obviously not all. Trying to sort out online agents seems even more of a crapshoot, especially when it's so easy to just DIY.

 

In any event, our travel plans are more or less set through 2021 with Regent Alaska in summer 2020 and Azamara Greek Isles in fall 2021 already booked. Our other trips will revolve around our Marriott and Hilton timeshares, Marriott Bonvoy points, Hilton Honors points, and AAdvantage miles. TAs can't help much with that. If we book any cruises for 2022 and beyond, maybe by that time we'll learn of a TA that can provide some value. Open to try if that's the case.

Our travel also plugs in point and miles for stays and flight, so we understand your choice.  Many years ago we chose an online agency that has a long history and a superb reputation and have dealt with the same agent since.  But the agency is an upscale cruise specialist only with connections to our preferred lines, so we don't use them for air, hotels, or private excursions This works for us since we prefer doing those things ourselves (points, miles, etc).  The agent is so responsive and trustworthy we simply don't worry about the cruise, and focus on screwing up our land and air reservations ourselves.

 

We tried local all service travel agents for cruises a long time ago, and like you were frustrated with the service.  

 

Regardless, you'll have a great cruise on Regent.

[NCCruzQueen]

2 minutes ago, JIMinNC said:

In any event, our travel plans are more or less set through 2021 with Regent Alaska in summer 2020 and Azamara Greek Isles in fall 2021 already booked. Our other trips will revolve around our Marriott and Hilton timeshares, Marriott Bonvoy points, Hilton Honors points, and AAdvantage miles. TAs can't help much with that. If we book any cruises for 2022 and beyond, maybe by that time we'll learn of a TA that can provide some value. Open to try if that's the case.

Hi Jim,

 

I book cruise travel with a luxury cruise travel agent.  You can google and find a list of excellent, well-known agencies.  On our April 2020 34 night cruise, we have $600 in OBCs (Onboard Credits) from our TA's travel network.  On our August 2020 12 night cruise, we have $400 OBCs from the same network.  On our January 2021 10 night cruise, the same network provides us with $400 OBCs.  

 

Many TAs are apart of different travel networks that provide these credits to travelers.  It's there for the taking.  Not all travel agents or cruises provide these benefits, but they make cruising a bit nicer.

 

I also book land travel online using hotel points.  These onboard credits are just one reason I use a TA.  

[JIMinNC]

18 minutes ago, NCCruzQueen said:

Hi Jim,

 

I book cruise travel with a luxury cruise travel agent.  You can google and find a list of excellent, well-known agencies.  On our April 2020 34 night cruise, we have $600 in OBCs (Onboard Credits) from our TA's travel network.  On our August 2020 12 night cruise, we have $400 OBCs from the same network.  On our January 2021 10 night cruise, the same network provides us with $400 OBCs.  

 

Many TAs are apart of different travel networks that provide these credits to travelers.  It's there for the taking.  Not all travel agents or cruises provide these benefits, but they make cruising a bit nicer.

 

I also book land travel online using hotel points.  These onboard credits are just one reason I use a TA.  

 

So far we've managed to get pretty lucky with OBC, even with direct bookings. Our only recent TA booking, last fall's Azamara 8 day western Med cruise, came with $1800 of OBC, but only $200 of that came from the TA, the rest came from Azamara. Based on my pre-cruise shopping, that would have been available to us on a direct booking also. That was our first cruise in 11 years, so we opted to go the TA route, but after seeing the limited value provided by that agent/firm, we booked this year's Paul Gauguin cruise direct. We were able to get PG to add two promos to our booking and we came away with $600 OBC for the 7 nt June cruise. For our Greek Isles Cruise in fall 2021, we booked direct with Azamara and have $1100 OBC on that one, all from Azamara, but $500 of that was compensation for a major itinerary change that forced us to move our cruise from fall 2020 to fall 2021. Having OBC on Azamara is important as they are not quite as all-inclusive as Regent and even PG. We don't have any OBC for our June 2020 Regent Alaska cruise, but with Regent being so all-inclusive, that is less of a negative.