Will there be any further Regents cruises in 2020?

[flossie009]

15 hours ago, loriva said:

For those of you who have cruised with Regent before--this would be our first cruise on the line, but we have experience with a number of others--how long before your cruise did Regent notify you of the cancellation of your cruise?  Did they offer any benefits beyond the 100-percent FCC under Regent Reassurance? 

Regent has stated that it will give at least two weeks notice of cruise cancellations, so there should not be any more of the sudden last minute disappointments suffered in mid March.

Typically Regent now appears to be cancelling batches of cruises one month at a time. It looks likely that July sailings will be cancelled soon as they have now been waitlisted on the website.

As to refunds:

• Up to now, if Regent cancels they offer 125% FCC; or alternatively you can opt for a 100% refund, but with a long wait to receive the refund
• If the guest cancels after final payment then Regent Reassurance offers 100%FCC (with some variations by country in which the cruise was booked)

I think that is all correct, but I am sure others will chip in if not.

Hope you get to enjoy your first cruise with Regent 😎

 

Edited May 18, 2020 by flossie009

[loriva]

4 hours ago, flossie009 said:

Regent has stated that it will give at least two weeks notice of cruise cancellations, so there should not be any more of the sudden last minute disappointments suffered in mid March.

Typically Regent now appears to be cancelling batches of cruises one month at a time. It looks likely that July sailings will be cancelled soon as they have now been waitlisted on the website.

As to refunds:

• Up to now, if Regent cancels they offer 125% FCC; or alternatively you can opt for a 100% refund, but with a long wait to receive the refund
• If the guest cancels after final payment then Regent Reassurance offers 100%FCC (with some variations by country in which the cruise was booked)

I think that is all correct, but I am sure others will chip in if not.

Hope you get to enjoy your first cruise with Regent 😎

 

Thank you, flossie009, for your very thorough response.  As a long-time user of CC.com, I've eagerly read many threads on the "Regent Experience" in planning our hoped-for upcoming cruses on Regent and have come to anticipate your posts will provide very useful and well-sourced information.  I've enjoyed reading them very much as we weather our "safer-at-home" regimes.

 

 

[bissel]

I so agree with you that Flossie is solid. I always read her posts if I am interested in the subject as she is accurate and clear in her thoughts and expression.

[Travelcat2]

Things are looking up (according to this mornings news) for a few countries (Greece and Israel in particular).  Greece may open to tourists net month.  Cruises will likely open soon after that.  All is definitely not lost for 2020 (even if it has a heck of a rough start).

[GOARMY]

TC:

 

You are correct as to sudden decision to confiscate liquids.  Intelligence services (UK, Netherlands, US) uncovered a terrorist plot to utilize a certain type of explosive which could be carried into the passenger compartment of an aircraft concealed in what looked like a harmless liquid.  One of the would-be bombers burned up his shoe--while aboard an aircraft in flight--when the device activated.  He became known as "the shoe bomber".  He currently remains in a US federal prison and will get personal service of three meals a day for the rest of his miserable life. 

 

GOARMY!

 

[Roger88]

I dont see a reason for them not to be. All the companies are resuming operations right now. Regent, just like a few other is deeply in debts but it still has a chance to recover due to a high demand at the moment. I only wonder when this time will come. Hope it wont take forever 

[mrlevin]

2 minutes ago, Roger88 said:

I dont see a reason for them not to be. All the companies are resuming operations right now. Regent, just like a few other is deeply in debts but it still has a chance to recover due to a high demand at the moment. I only wonder when this time will come. Hope it wont take forever 

 

Roger, have you ever sailed on Regent?  Have you sailed on any cruise?  Have you been crew onboard?

 

Welcome to the Regent board,

 

Marc

[Travelcat2]

GOARMY - thank you for refreshing my memory.  Now that you mentioned it, I remember it clearly.  

 

Roger88 -  I wonder why all cruise lines are lumped together in terms of when cruises will resume.  The challenges are quite different on a , 6,000 passenger ship vs a 500-1,000 passenger ship.  I would assume that Regent's Navigator (490 passengers) would have more challenges than Regent's Mariner (700 passengers).  For those reasons, it might make sense to approve ships (or cruise lines) individually,  Just a thought.

 

I echo Marc's welcome to the Regent board!

[eliana]

When .regent resume sailing will they stick to the current(I.e. old) schedules or introduce new ones?

[Roger88]

6 minutes ago, eliana said:

When .regent resume sailing will they stick to the current(I.e. old) schedules or introduce new ones?

I think it will be a whole new schedule for them. I expect them to return somewhere in Autumn to pick up those who didnt have a chance to book due to high of demand. And there will be plenty of those who'd love to cruise with Regent. But again, we dont know the current policies and the schedule  

[Wendy The Wanderer]

41 minutes ago, eliana said:

When .regent resume sailing will they stick to the current(I.e. old) schedules or introduce new ones?

 

That's a really good question; I was just thinking about that while I was perusing the 2021 schedule.

 

If Frank Del Rio's scenario plays out, they will start by deploying a single Regent ship, perhaps in October, then feeling their way forward, depending on factors like what ports will accept visitors, how airlines have started back up, retooling the ships for the new normal, and what customers are willing to book.  Will New Zealand and Australia open up over the winter?  Are passengers willing to accept the risk of certain countries?  Just one example, the Seychelles has said they have closed to cruise lines (not sure about other travellers) until 2023, I believe.

 

So I suspect that for fall 2020 and spring 2021, there will be big changes.  And maybe more permanent changes over the rest of 2021, at least, again depending on flight and port availability.

 

My bellwether is the 2021 world cruise, on which I was booked.  If it goes ahead, and sails successfully, able to visit French Polynesia, NZ/Aus, Singapore, India, etc., then that will be an indication to me that the new normal isn't so bad. I have no strong feeling that that will happen.

Edited May 19, 2020 by Wendy The Wanderer

[Travelcat2]

I think that we will need to be flexible with itineraries.  We fully expect changes in our November itinerary.  While the past does not always portend the future, Regent typically tries to replace one port with another.  When that does not work, it becomes a sea day.  

 

Here is an article that is related to this thread (but not necessarily this post).  Note, as we all know, things change from day to day, so, the comment in this article about the U.S./Canadian border is incorrect.  The opening has been extended around 4 weeks.  https://thepointsguy.com/guide/reopening-soon-a-country-by-country-guide-to-coronavirus-recovery/?tid=editorial&utm_source=TPG Daily Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1225536&utm_usr=62eac437-df92-42c6-ac49-30e5c2cc1a93&utm_msg=d69b48f599af44748af4cb6fd1012019&utm_date=2020-05-19

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

The latest on the Canadian/U.S. border situation, closed for another month at least:

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/border-canada-us-closed-1.5575214?fbclid=IwAR1jC2Uv0xXkp8-Jo-DJALm9Lhl5ODOJC86NrwO1ufZauVCO-FzMZfMJSSU

[Travelcat2]

6 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

The latest on the Canadian/U.S. border situation, closed for another month at least:

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/border-canada-us-closed-1.5575214?fbclid=IwAR1jC2Uv0xXkp8-Jo-DJALm9Lhl5ODOJC86NrwO1ufZauVCO-FzMZfMJSSU

 

It is sad in terms of those that are hoping to cruise out of Vancouver.  However, I understand that some people are concerned (on both sides of the border) about opening.  I can only hope that this will end sooner rather than later.

 

Edited to say that Frank Del Rio did not make a firm statement that cruises will resume in October.  In fact, he was hesitant to predict any timeframe.  It all depends upon the science, numbers and the CDC.  Cruises could resume in August or September - if the numbers are right and the CDC is satisfied with the measures being taken by cruise Ines.

Edited May 20, 2020 by Travelcat2

[flossie009]

I did not see anything in FdR’s interviews that indicated that Regent would be operating any of its ships in August.

From the interview with CC:

While NCLH will have a similar phased strategy, Del Rio said he would start sailing with ships on all three of his lines, albeit in smaller numbers.

"The working plan that we have today is in month One ... it would be three Norwegian vessels, one Oceania vessel and one Regent vessel," with the number of ships sailing increasing gradually as momentum builds, he said.

As for when that might be, Del Rio said that "reasonable expectations" pointed to late in quarter three (September) or early quarter four (October through December). He said that it would take six months or so to get the entire company fleet back into service.

 

To me that indicates that one Regent ship  might be operating in September at the earliest.

I hope it is earlier but doubt it, and probably not without significant amendment to the existing schedules.

[Belfast Taxman]

So it is not just a question of when, but where?

As I have said before, I do not expect any Regent European cruises this year and no transatlantic sailings either (sorry Susan). Rather it will US based cruises (Caribbean being the most likely) for US residents.

perhaps the best indicator is the sort of cruises now available to book for August from the likes of Carnival and Disney - three or four night cruises from Miami stopping at their island resorts and Cozumel only.

lets hope the hurricane season is quiet this year

[Foggyzx9r]

4 hours ago, Belfast Taxman said:

So it is not just a question of when, but where?

As I have said before, I do not expect any Regent European cruises this year and no transatlantic sailings either (sorry Susan). Rather it will US based cruises (Caribbean being the most likely) for US residents.

perhaps the best indicator is the sort of cruises now available to book for August from the likes of Carnival and Disney - three or four night cruises from Miami stopping at their island resorts and Cozumel only.

lets hope the hurricane season is quiet this year

Spot on I’d agree. The US based that Carnival are indicating I would imagine are trial runs, one: to see if they can operate with some form of “safe” cruising and two: prove to CDC that it works and then hopefully have that accepted on a worldwide port basis. That is a significant amount of work to achieve.

On a side note and to backup Belfast Taxmans post Spain has shut its doors on cruise ships until the state of the alarm is over. The caveat is that will stay in place unless the cruise line can prove sufficient measures taken to prevent any spread to the population.

Majorca Daily

[Travelcat2]

Flossie - FDR was trying not to give a specific timeline (at least this is what he said during his television interview).  I believe that he said that it would be irresponsible to give a probable date.  The “resume date” likely depends on many factors, including approval by the CDC.

 

Belfast Taxman - you are probably correct about most of Europe but Greece has been making a lot of positive comments the past week (foreign tourists possibly returning next month).  If this occurs, they could allow cruise ships shortly thereafter.

 

You do bring up a good point.  For those people that feel that Regent may do cruises close to the U.S., the hurricane season is not only risky but it is the wrong time of the year weather wise for places like Mexico,  Central America etc.    People/ships will not be safe from hurricanes between now and November.  

[flossie009]

6 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

Flossie - FDR was trying not to give a specific timeline (at least this is what he said during his television interview).  I believe that he said that it would be irresponsible to give a probable date.

So are you saying that the interview with CC that I quoted in post #115 was mis-reported or fake news?

[BBWC]

30 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Belfast Taxman - you are probably correct about most of Europe but Greece has been making a lot of positive comments the past week (foreign tourists possibly returning next month).  If this occurs, they could allow cruise ships shortly thereafter.

 
Greece cannot unilaterally decide to allow foreigners to enter as the country is part of Schengen, so people entering Greece could enter other European countries without border controls (if current inter-Schengen controls are lifted). It has to be a EU/Schengen decision.

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, flossie009 said:

So are you saying that the interview with CC that I quoted in post #115 was mis-reported or fake news?

 

No - I am saying that he does not want to give a timeline but is consistently being pushed into giving a probable date.  IMO, he is giving a probable date several months in the future but, his hope (and the hope of many of us) is that it will happen sooner.  Obviously, safety is his top priority. So, if Carnival sails in August and things go well, September may well be a resume date.

 

In terms of news - it changes daily.  It is not "fake" news but more news of the minute.  What is said one day many times changes the next (at least in U.S. news - not sure about other countries).  There are days that it seems that there is no way that we will sail in 2020 and other days when it seems as if we'll be sailing in the third quarter of 2020.  

 

BBWC - just reporting what I read.  The article discussed that some countries in the EU have opened borders between countries (only open to the countries that are bordered).  The requirement for opening these borders was having approximately the same number of new cases of the virus and having adequate hospitals available.  It went on to say that Greece hopes to welcome foreign visitors/tourists next month.  I am not questioning your post - just stating what I read.  Not all countries in the EU are the same - not all countries have had the dramatic number of illnesses and losses from Covid-19 (just as some states in the U.S. are vastly different from one another in terms of the cases of this horrible virus).

[Travelcat2]

flossie - further regarding FDR's statement that was televised (he was not in studio).  It is post #1 on the thread below.  He makes a statement about 2020 cruises a little after minute 3.  I believe that this has been posted somewhere previously but there have been so many threads, it is easier to simply post what was on the Oceania board.  

  

BBWC - below if one of several articles regarding opening Greece to foreign visitors.  I could not readily find the one that I read yesterday, however, if you search "Is Greece opening to foreign visitors", you'll find several items that discuss this issue.

 

https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2020/05/19/greece-foreign-tourists-tourism-borders-dates/

 

Edited May 20, 2020 by Travelcat2

[Eager2Travel]

We are booked on LA to LA in October currently scheduled to go to Mexico.  In my happy dreams it becomes a US West Coast cruise and takes place because it is all US.   With no air travel for us.  Everyone needs a fantasy in these challenging times.

[SusieQft]

4 minutes ago, Eager2Travel said:

We are booked on LA to LA in October currently scheduled to go to Mexico.  In my happy dreams it becomes a US West Coast cruise and takes place because it is all US.   With no air travel for us.  Everyone needs a fantasy in these challenging times.

If they are going to do this, they had better hurry.  I am planning to cancel my October LA RT instead of making final payment.  However, the US ports may not be open for cruise ships by then either.  Or at least they will not say now for sure that they will be open in October.

[Eager2Travel]

35 minutes ago, SusieQft said:

If they are going to do this, they had better hurry.  I am planning to cancel my October LA RT instead of making final payment.  However, the US ports may not be open for cruise ships by then either.  Or at least they will not say now for sure that they will be open in October.

Thanks Susie Qft if you see this.  I didn't realize how close we were to the penalty period of the cruise.  I was only focused on final pay.  Since Regent owes us tens of  thousands of dollars from the cancelled April cruise I certainly not about to trust them with more of our money.