Solvency of Cruise Lines

[mrlevin]

11 minutes ago, B-2-Bs Best! said:

I believe it's his son , not his brother.

 

You are correct; my mistake.

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, B-2-Bs Best! said:

I believe it's his son , not his brother.

 

You are correct - his son runs Destination Services - a department that is almost impossible to run. It was his brother that was fired and subsequently rehired.  I have no idea what role his brother plays but he seems like a really nice man with a lovely family.    The family member who, IMHO, I predict will follow in his grandfather's footsteps is his grandson!  I love the fact that Regent is run as a family company as much as possible.  When I have been to Regent Corporate, it does seem like one big family - a family that cares deeply about each other (and you do not have to be a blood relative to be part of the family).

[Dolebludger]

Well, I have no information, except that Frank del Rio happened to be involved with two cruise companies (Ren and NCLH) that were struck with major problems far beyond his control. After 9/11 nobody wanted to fly very far. As Ren did not sail from any US ports, they suffered from the public's "fear of flying". Now with the pandemic, people are not allowed to fly to many international places, and cruise lines are forbidden to sail until sometime late in July - if then. None of this is or was in the control of FDR. I know nothing of his relatives. I hope none of us are held responsible for what our relatives do or don't do! As I said before, we have cruised Regent when FDR was in charge, and the cruises were just fine. Not perfect, but no cruise ever is.

 

I live in a "mountain tourist town" of Durango CO. Restaurants and bars have been closed due to the pandemic. Everyday it seems I read in our news paper that another such place has gone out of business. Locally, Our steam powered excursion train cannot run. I am seeing the tourist industry right here falling apart. So it surprises me not at all that the same thing is happening nationally and internationally. I see the demise of the tourist industry as I drive around my little mountain city (in a car with double sealed windows wearing a face mask) and see everything closed except grocery and hardware stores (allowed to remain open). No tourists. This time of year, I usually have problems finding a parking space in town. Now I have my choice of hundreds. But it doesn't matter. There is no place for me to go there. 

 

From my point of view, I am not optimistic about the future of any part of the tourist industry, including cruises. That is why I advise all who can to "get your money back". And, no, it is not the fault of FDR.

[RJB]

1 hour ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

You are correct - his son runs Destination Services - a department that is almost impossible to run. It was his brother that was fired and subsequently rehired.  I have no idea what role his brother plays but he seems like a really nice man with a lovely family.    The family member who, IMHO, I predict will follow in his grandfather's footsteps is his grandson!  I love the fact that Regent is run as a family company as much as possible.  When I have been to Regent Corporate, it does seem like one big family - a family that cares deeply about each other (and you do not have to be a blood relative to be part of the family).

Destination services seems to be the best part of Oceania and Regent.  Run great.   Need more of them. 

[Travelcat2]

Just now, RJB said:

Destination services seems to be the best part of Oceania and Regent.  Run great.   Need more of them. 

 

You may be one of the few people that think so.  I'm glad that you appreciate them.  I have fought against included excursions for years but, to be totally honest, part of that is due to the fact that we did 18 or so years of international travel plus 16 years of sailing on Regent so we have little desire to do excursions (preferring to do our own thing).  

 

The few times that we have been forced to deal with Destination Services has been horrendous.  I won't go into detail as I don't want to put our negative experiences into possible new cruisers minds.

[rallydave]

11 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

The few times that we have been forced to deal with Destination Services has been horrendous.  I won't go into detail as I don't want to put our negative experiences into possible new cruisers minds.

Have to agree about the horrendous non-service from Destination Services.  It is truly the worst part of the Regent experience.  So many problems so many times.    We need to provide new cruisers with the good and the bad so they can make an informed decision on where to spend thousands of dollars.

 

And run by the bosses son. 

[Dolebludger]

i guess I am ignorant, but after more RSSC cruises than I can recall the number, I don’t know what “destination services” is. So what is it?

[Silver Sweethearts]

As we recall, it is a more formal way of saying Tour Desk.

[Dolebludger]

I guess we haven’t had a problem with “destination services” I.e. “tour desk” . Our last Regent cruise was about three years ago on the Mariner from Tahiti to several FP islands, to Easter Island, to Lima Peru. The ship passed by an island in FP with the best snorkel view of tropical fish, but no excursion. We asked for one and got one at no extra cost. But I can’t deny thar some guests have had problems, and for the price of a Regent cruise, they shouldn’t have any.

[cruiseczarina]

I too agree about the horrendous non-service from Destination Services.  It is definitely the worst part of the Regent experience.  I have wasted more time fixing their mistakes, specifically in the corporate office pre-cruise.  Onboard the staff are mostly well organized, helpful and courteous.  

[fudgbug]

For those who don't want the included tours on Regent, it would be great if they would offer a credit like they do for airfare.

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, fudgbug said:

For those who don't want the included tours on Regent, it would be great if they would offer a credit like they do for airfare.

 

I've been nagging about that for years.  We get a credit for air and hotel but not excursions.  All three of these items are provided by outside contractors so it would not change the onboard all-inclusiveness of Regent.

[Dolebludger]

I agree that guests should be able to opt out of “included shore excursions” for a reasonable credit. I would also like to be able to opt out of North American only flight legs for a reasonable credit  because those legs are basic economy. And by “reasonable” I mean the cost I would have to pay if I booked those legs in that class.

 

Now as to cruise line solvency, and as this is a Regent forum, i suggest that anybody interested in this topic “google”up “ NCLH stock price”. The site will show that plus contain links to financial articles relevant to this matter. Or they could ask their financial advisor. 

[cruiseluv]

On 4/20/2020 at 1:25 PM, Travelcat2 said:

 

I've been nagging about that for years.  We get a credit for air and hotel but not excursions.  All three of these items are provided by outside contractors so it would not change the onboard all-inclusiveness of Regent.

I know you have and I've applauded you for it, I hate this feature. I wonder if maybe , due to what I think will be a difficult relaunch of cruises, and people looking for better "deals", Regent will consider excluding excursions and lowering prices. I think it would open Regent to other cruisers that now feel they're priced out

[freddie]

Maria - Like you, we hate included excursions and almost never use them, although, like so many of us who are similarly inclined, it is highly annoying to "pay twice" when we arrange our own private excursions.  However, I would be enormously surprised if Regent were to abandon this selling strategy, since it very much differentiates Regent from its luxury competition.  Those of us who have traveled on Regent for years recognize that the increased fares demanded by Regent include the charges for those excursions that we don't wish to take; but new passengers, particularly those moving from mainstream or premium lines, might consider those "free" excursions as a very tempting element of trying out Regent.  

[SusieQft]

As a Crystal fan and Regent newbie (assuming my bookings sail), I feel compelled to weigh in on the included excursions.  This was a major part of the reason that I decided to try Regent.  Regent's prices are generally higher than Crystal's, but adding up the cost of the Crystal excursions convinced me that maybe the price difference is acceptable.  Since I live in a "non-gateway" city, the included air is more of an irritation to me than a benefit so far.  So as others have commented, there are people like me for whom the included excursions are a significant selling point.

[Travelcat2]

I understand that it is a selling point and I am not suggesting doing away with included excursions but rather giving an opt out option.  Additionally, if someone that oops out and would like to take an excursion, they can pay for it.  The computer can be set up fairly easily to accommodate this.  Obviously I've given this a lot of thought, however, so far, Regent has not liked my idea.

[rallydave]

7 hours ago, freddie said:

Maria - Like you, we hate included excursions and almost never use them, although, like so many of us who are similarly inclined, it is highly annoying to "pay twice" when we arrange our own private excursions.  However, I would be enormously surprised if Regent were to abandon this selling strategy, since it very much differentiates Regent from its luxury competition.  Those of us who have traveled on Regent for years recognize that the increased fares demanded by Regent include the charges for those excursions that we don't wish to take; but new passengers, particularly those moving from mainstream or premium lines, might consider those "free" excursions as a very tempting element of trying out Regent.  

And don’t forget Freddie the  free excursions are a significantmy profit center. Profit on the markup on the actual excursion  cost plus 100% profit on the total price (tour operator price plus markup) when the cruiser doesn’t take the excursion each port day when dollars have been added to the cruise fare for every port day. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I admit when we were looking at world cruises about 18 months ago, the Regent trip was more attractive because of the included excursions.  At the time, it seemed daunting to plan all those ports privately, or organize group tours with fellow cruisers, since not many cruisers tend to do that (except Oceania, and we had no intention of doing a WC on that line).  The depth and breadth of choice of excursions seemed very attractive in that context.  Viking offered one "free" excursion per port, but by all reports, those are often quite lame.

 

Otherwise private excursions are best.  But not often practical.  Unless we're travelling with friends, they are often too costly, except for various parts of the third, or emerging world, where private is absolutely the best and affordable.  But we love Regent, so we don't mind going with the inclusion.

[GrJ Berkshire]

13 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

I admit when we were looking at world cruises about 18 months ago, the Regent trip was more attractive because of the included excursions.  At the time, it seemed daunting to plan all those ports privately, or organize group tours with fellow cruisers, since not many cruisers tend to do that (except Oceania, and we had no intention of doing a WC on that line).  The depth and breadth of choice of excursions seemed very attractive in that context.  Viking offered one "free" excursion per port, but by all reports, those are often quite lame.

 

Otherwise private excursions are best.  But not often practical.  Unless we're travelling with friends, they are often too costly, except for various parts of the third, or emerging world, where private is absolutely the best and affordable.  But we love Regent, so we don't mind going with the inclusion.

Totally agree , the excursions attracted us to Regent and are a good deal.

 

[1982CruzStart]

2 hours ago, GrJ Berkshire said:

Totally agree , the excursions attracted us to Regent and are a good deal.

 

Being all inclusive with the excursions was the reason we tried Regent in the first place.  Before Regent offered cruises in CAD when our dollar was tanking we did stray to Celebrity suite class for a couple of cruises because they offered great exchange rates and most important the itineraries we wanted. 
We really like the what Regent offers including the excursions and the pre and post cruise trips. I understand those who cruise a lot with Regent would want to opt out of the excursions for ports they have been to many times.   I doubt Regent would want to go that route as it would negatively impact their pricing model. 

[mrlevin]

32 minutes ago, 1982CruzStart said:

 I doubt Regent would want to go that route as it would negatively impact their pricing model. 

 

Sort of like "Canadian dollar at par;" Regent is able to discount cruises for Canadian while still keeping USA prices higher and not honoring onboard price guarantee.

[Travelcat2]

51 minutes ago, 1982CruzStart said:

Being all inclusive with the excursions was the reason we tried Regent in the first place.  Before Regent offered cruises in CAD when our dollar was tanking we did stray to Celebrity suite class for a couple of cruises because they offered great exchange rates and most important the itineraries we wanted. 
We really like the what Regent offers including the excursions and the pre and post cruise trips. I understand those who cruise a lot with Regent would want to opt out of the excursions for ports they have been to many times.   I doubt Regent would want to go that route as it would negatively impact their pricing model. 

 

Based on my discussions with Regent, you are likely correct.  However, keep in mind (and I am sorry that I keep repeating myself but some posters do not read previous posts), that I am not trying to stop included excursions - only wish to give an opt out option.  There are people that have left Regent and gone to other luxury lines due to included excursions being included in the fare. After all, we are all paying for those "included" excursions.  Some of you may not have been on CC when included excursions was implemented.  It was quite an uproar by cruisers that have been to most of the ports repeatedly and did not want to pay for an excursions that they did not want.

 

Perhaps Regent will weigh their options when trying to get people to book cruises in the future.  It is a way of allowing some passengers to pay a little less money for their cruise fare..... having some passengers return that left Regent while keeping their "draw" for new passengers.  There is no doubt that included excursions draw new people to Regent.  However, it is also important to keep their long time customer base.  

 

 

[fudgbug]

3 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Based on my discussions with Regent, you are likely correct.  However, keep in mind (and I am sorry that I keep repeating myself but some posters do not read previous posts), that I am not trying to stop included excursions - only wish to give an opt out option.  There are people that have left Regent and gone to other luxury lines due to included excursions being included in the fare. After all, we are all paying for those "included" excursions.  Some of you may not have been on CC when included excursions was implemented.  It was quite an uproar by cruisers that have been to most of the ports repeatedly and did not want to pay for an excursions that they did not want.

 

Perhaps Regent will weigh their options when trying to get people to book cruises in the future.  It is a way of allowing some passengers to pay a little less money for their cruise fare..... having some passengers return that left Regent while keeping their "draw" for new passengers.  There is no doubt that included excursions draw new people to Regent.  However, it is also important to keep their long time customer base.  

 

 

I agree with you.  We've been cruising with Regent since 1992 way before it was Regent.

[Guerncruising]

I, for one, am quite happy to accept Regent excursions, my wife is less bothered. We have our own minds and I love the history etc., whereas my wife prefers to stay onboard to enjoy those facilities. 

In my early research into Regent I was happy with their pricing. I do like to look for offers though.