Restart schedule

[captjohn]

Found this on Cruse Mapper.

 

NCLH's entire fleet (all vessels of the brands NCL-Norwegian, Oceania and RSSC-Regent Seven Seas) is with an expanded cancellation policy. All bookings on pre-scheduled itineraries (departures March 14, 2020, through May 31, 2021) were given the option to cancel (up to 48 hours prior departure) without penalties.

Eventually, NCLH canceled all RSSC cruises leaving between March 14, 2020, and late-September 2021. Operations are currently planned to resume on September 11, 2021, with the ship Seven Seas Splendor (Around Britain cruise roundtrip from Southampton UK, follows Mediterranean and Transatlantic repositioning to the Caribbean). Seven Seas Explorer restarts on Nov 2 (Asia from Yokohama Japan). Seven Seas Navigator restarts on Nov 5 (South America from Miami). Seven Seas Mariner restarts on Nov 14 (Caribbean from Miami). Seven Seas Voyager restarts on Nov 21 (South Africa from Cape Town).

All affected bookings received a full refund (100%) in FCC (future cruise credit) transferred to a booking made within 1 year (any itinerary, fleetwide) from the canceled departure date. RSSC's Regent Reassurance policy was expanded to offer penalty-free cancellations (for any reason) up to 15 days prior departure with full refunds (100%) in FCC.

[ssawjo]

Great, so what does this mean?  I am on the Voyager, or I thought I was, from Abu Dhabi to Cape Town on Oct. 30.  Is that now canceled?

[mrlevin]

2 hours ago, captjohn said:

Found this on Cruse Mapper.

 

NCLH's entire fleet (all vessels of the brands NCL-Norwegian, Oceania and RSSC-Regent Seven Seas) is with an expanded cancellation policy. All bookings on pre-scheduled itineraries (departures March 14, 2020, through May 31, 2021) were given the option to cancel (up to 48 hours prior departure) without penalties.

Eventually, NCLH canceled all RSSC cruises leaving between March 14, 2020, and late-September 2021. Operations are currently planned to resume on September 11, 2021, with the ship Seven Seas Splendor (Around Britain cruise roundtrip from Southampton UK, follows Mediterranean and Transatlantic repositioning to the Caribbean). Seven Seas Explorer restarts on Nov 2 (Asia from Yokohama Japan). Seven Seas Navigator restarts on Nov 5 (South America from Miami). Seven Seas Mariner restarts on Nov 14 (Caribbean from Miami). Seven Seas Voyager restarts on Nov 21 (South Africa from Cape Town).

All affected bookings received a full refund (100%) in FCC (future cruise credit) transferred to a booking made within 1 year (any itinerary, fleetwide) from the canceled departure date. RSSC's Regent Reassurance policy was expanded to offer penalty-free cancellations (for any reason) up to 15 days prior departure with full refunds (100%) in FCC.

I know this is cut and paste from Cruise Mapper however this is creative writing and its not even 1 April.  😄

 

Regent hasn't give FCC in many months.  Regent Reassurance is only good for sailing dates prior to 31 October 2021.  If Cruise Mapper released this prior to NCLH then someone is going to be in lots of trouble.  😄

Edited May 13, 2021 by mrlevin

[flossie009]

1 hour ago, mrlevin said:

Regent Reassurance is only good for sailing dates prior to 31 October 2021.

I agree that much of what is quoted from CruiseMapper is incorrect or incomplete. However, some cruises in 2022 are covered by Regent Reassurance depending on when they were booked.

I quote: 

"For reservations made between 18 May and 31 July 2020 on voyages embarking through December 2022, guests who have paid in full have the option to cancel up to 15* days prior to departure date and receive a 100% Future Cruise Credit.

For all reservations made before 18 May 2020 on voyages embarking on or before 31 December 2020, guests who have paid in full have the option to cancel up to 48 hours prior to departure date and receive a 100% Future Cruise Credit.

For reservations made between 1 August 2020 and 30 April 2021 on voyages embarking on or before 31 October 2021, guests who have paid in full have the option to cancel up to 15* days prior to departure date and receive a 100% Future Cruise Credit."

 

All very confusing 🤨

 

 

[flossie009]

3 hours ago, captjohn said:

All affected bookings received a full refund (100%) in FCC (future cruise credit)

All affected bookings were offered a full cash refund

[Portolan]

Yeah, so much incorrect information, it all must be suspect.

[Lonedaddy]

Regent is dragging their feet on the restart schedule.  The Oct 4 mariner out of Rome still shows June 6 as the final payment date, which is three weeks away.  They need to enlighten us if it is going and what are the current worse case restrictions on masks and such.  IMHOP it is going to be a huge SNAFU on many fronts and not very relaxing or enjoyable.  Not something I want to risk $$$$ on to find out.

[Pcardad]

Free advice...don't believe anything unless it is posted by Regent.

[Dwtlion]

1 hour ago, Lonedaddy said:

Regent is dragging their feet on the restart schedule.  The Oct 4 mariner out of Rome still shows June 6 as the final payment date, which is three weeks away.  They need to enlighten us if it is going and what are the current worse case restrictions on masks and such.  IMHOP it is going to be a huge SNAFU on many fronts and not very relaxing or enjoyable.  Not something I want to risk $$$$ on to find out.

Given the continual flux of trying to restart, Regent probably does not know if Mariner will sail. Given the uncertainty, Regent needs to quit jerking passengers around and move the final payment to 60 days.

The angst Regent is creating is not making any friends.

[ssawjo]

3 hours ago, Dwtlion said:

Given the continual flux of trying to restart, Regent probably does not know if Mariner will sail. Given the uncertainty, Regent needs to quit jerking passengers around and move the final payment to 60 days.

The angst Regent is creating is not making any friends.

Totally agree with your statement.

[Dolebludger]

I could be wrong, but I view Regent as a co-victim more than a villain. The CDC has discriminated against all cruise lines, imposing rules on them as if they were “means of public transportation” (planes, trains busses where much distancing is impossible) instead as the floating hotels that they are. Given those rules, cruise lines just can’t develop a reliable restart program.

[mrlevin]

3 minutes ago, Dolebludger said:

I could be wrong, but I view Regent as a co-victim more than a villain. The CDC has discriminated against all cruise lines, imposing rules on them as if they were “means of public transportation” (planes, trains busses where much distancing is impossible) instead as the floating hotels that they are. Given those rules, cruise lines just can’t develop a reliable restart program.

CDC has nothing to do with it; Mariner in October is in the Med.  It is totally up to Jason; scratch that; it is totally up to FdR.

[loriva]

Until Regent has a ship sail, isn't a global change of the final payment to 60 days prior to sailing a reasonable plan?  Yes, it's nice for the company to have cash in hand.  But aren't they burning more cash by having to pay staff to calculate and process refunds or FCCs (for those who went down that path when it was offered) than simply holding off those payments until a date when Regent can be reasonably certain a sailing will occur?  (Didn't FdR say in early May that Norwegian would not be able to sail from a U.S. port by the 4th of July because the CDC didn't issue guidance in a timely enough fashion--which was 60 days out from those projected July sailings?)  And isn't there the opportunity cost of potentially losing customers who feel left in limbo of having to choose between cancelling before final payment at the usual deadline or waiting out a refund if Regent cancels? 

 

[Cleckie]

2 hours ago, loriva said:

Until Regent has a ship sail, isn't a global change of the final payment to 60 days prior to sailing a reasonable plan?  Yes, it's nice for the company to have cash in hand.  But aren't they burning more cash by having to pay staff to calculate and process refunds or FCCs (for those who went down that path when it was offered) than simply holding off those payments until a date when Regent can be reasonably certain a sailing will occur?  (Didn't FdR say in early May that Norwegian would not be able to sail from a U.S. port by the 4th of July because the CDC didn't issue guidance in a timely enough fashion--which was 60 days out from those projected July sailings?)  And isn't there the opportunity cost of potentially losing customers who feel left in limbo of having to choose between cancelling before final payment at the usual deadline or waiting out a refund if Regent cancels? 

 

Agree 100%. We are booked on Explorer Nov 2nd for 30 nights and as of right now final payment is due June 5th. Don’t really want to put out all that money until we know a little more so we’re hoping they push payment back to September 

 

[Dolebludger]

Actually, we are more conservative than this. Until Regent sails and we can read the reviews here, we will not even put a deposit on a cruise. As of this date, we don’t know if a cruise will go. So many governments involved. And if it goes, we don’t know if the protocols and rules will be agreeable to us.

 

We get at least two Regent ads in the mail per week, and the prices average about $1K per day pp, for the lowest grade suite, except the Navigator window suites are less. And these prices are true for even Alaska cruises, for which Regent provides only economy air. Who paying this much fir a cruise wants economy air? What I think is this. Regent has issued so many 125% FCCs that it has raised fares by more than 25% to get some money in. Those of us who have no FCC problem don’t want one. Many want to see a cruise actually go before spending a dime on one.

[DavidTheWonderer]

4 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

Actually, we are more conservative than this. Until Regent sails and we can read the reviews here, we will not even put a deposit on a cruise. ...

That is similar to our feeling.  If you have ever done, say, a cruise just after a drydock you will know that it takes a while for the service to settle into Regent's normally high level. So we intend to avoid the 1st few cruises after things start up again.  And when things start up again is still uncertain.
As an act of faith (and impatience), a few months ago we booked Splendor for July 2022.  Our hope is that things will have settled down by then.
I hope our conservative-ness is mis-placed and those who have booked significantly earlier cruises have a spectacular time.

[pingpong1]

10 hours ago, DavidTheWonderer said:

That is similar to our feeling.  If you have ever done, say, a cruise just after a drydock you will know that it takes a while for the service to settle into Regent's normally high level. So we intend to avoid the 1st few cruises after things start up again.  And when things start up again is still uncertain....I hope our conservative-ness is mis-placed and those who have booked significantly earlier cruises have a spectacular time.

David & Dole - I agree with you both and can completely understand your sentiments.  I don't have "unlimited resources" and I don't want to (and can't afford to) be a member of the "club" that says, "well, if my first cruise (back) with Regent falls short...then I'll just put up with it and hope that the next cruise will be better!"  I want all of my cruises to be superlative!

 

Obviously, FDR and Jason don't want anyone (like ourselves) to be "hanging back" and waiting for the 3rd or 4th cruise to be completed, in order to give some time for things to "shake out" and start  "hitting the mark".  Your example of "the first cruise after drydock" is appropriate.  In this environment, I think the potential for significant hiccups is even more pronounced, with the entire fleet and multiple crews having been adversely impacted over the past many months, and will all be restarting from scratch.

 

On some of the first cruises after restart across the fleet, potential/actual problems could reasonably be more likely - with resupply issues, crew retraining, excursion companies restarting, normal routine maintenance and housekeeping having been long delayed, combined with having to meet new health protocols across the world in all ports and countries.  Everyone will be "holding their collective breaths" (no pun intended).  I'm sure we will all be anxiously awaiting to read the first reviews being posted once cruising restarts.

 

I do realize that not every ship is going to restart sailing at the same time, so the staggered starting schedule (with Regent) might mitigate some potential issues.  I'm sure that Miami will be in constant contact with each ship and wanting to hear continuous "daily status reports" from all department managers onboard.

 

The economic health of Regent (and the other cruise lines) rely upon many regular customers to step up, pay up, and eagerly get back onboard those first itineraries sailing again.  I'm guessing there will be plenty of folks willing and eager to do that.  I sincerely hope those first cruises go well for everyone.  I'm just hoping that our Mariner cruise, scheduled to get underway on Dec 18th, will "meet and surpass" what we've always been used to on Regent in the past.  Best Regards.

[Pcardad]

Some perspective - senior crew for 9/11 cruise being recalled in JUNE to prepare.

[pingpong1]

37 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

Some perspective - senior crew for 9/11 cruise being recalled in JUNE to prepare.

👍  Anything in that regard will be helpful!

[UUNetBill]

On 5/15/2021 at 12:19 PM, Dwtlion said:

Given the continual flux of trying to restart, Regent probably does not know if Mariner will sail. Given the uncertainty, Regent needs to quit jerking passengers around and move the final payment to 60 days.

The angst Regent is creating is not making any friends.

No angst for us - we're booked on an Oct 11 sailing, 98% sure we're gonna pull the plug and wait until our January sailing.  October seems too soon.  I always said I'd be happy to sail on the first Regent ship out, but in reality there are way too many unknowns for me to drop that kind of coin and not be sure we'll get the normal Regent experience.

[vegasdriven]

Bill, seeing you post again I believe is a good sign. We switched our Mar 21  Rio to Barcelona to Dec. 22 Panama on Splendour, and then when the upgrade your suite promo came out we decided to book Feb 22 Carribean on Splendour as well.

We will be watching your cruise in Jan.with much excitement. Hopefully you will give us all a little play by play as you go about enjoying your long awaited cruise.

This, of course is dependent on these cruises actually going (fingers, toes, legs, and eyes crossing😝). Probably much more likely for you US citizens, but even if we are not supposed to travel still, it will be worth it to us to do it, and self isolate for two weeks when we return home.

[Lonedaddy]

On 5/18/2021 at 2:53 PM, UUNetBill said:

No angst for us - we're booked on an Oct 11 sailing, 98% sure we're gonna pull the plug and wait until our January sailing.  October seems too soon.  I always said I'd be happy to sail on the first Regent ship out, but in reality there are way too many unknowns for me to drop that kind of coin and not be sure we'll get the normal Regent experience.

2 weeks to final payment on the oct 4 mariner.  I think the fact that they haven't made a decision to move the payment date or give a go-nogo on the mariner is a good indication of how the service is going to be.  Last minute decisions, inconsistencies and lots of let me check with my supervisor....

Edited May 22, 2021 by Lonedaddy

[mrlevin]

For those on the early Splendor cruises, any word from Regent on required insurance coverage?

[Pcardad]

I seriously doubt Mariner is going anywhere in October...and no word on insurance, required or otherwise.

[GOARMY]

Pcardad:

 

Based on your last--

 

October 31st sailing out of Barcelona on Mariner is still, technically, October.  But, 95% of that cruise to Miami is in November.  Probably grasping at straws on this one going, with odds now heading South to about 25% certainty.  

 

GOARMY!