Change in Custom Air Procedures

[Snackdaddy]

Good morning Howie,

 

Our embarkation date is April 11, 2023 and we submitted our request this past Friday.  Our TA wrote this, "Current schedules receive priority and hopefully I will have a reply to your request sometime next week."

 

I'll keep you posted.

 

Take good care.

[Pcardad]

1 hour ago, Snackdaddy said:

Good morning Howie,

 

Our embarkation date is April 11, 2023 and we submitted our request this past Friday.  Our TA wrote this, "Current schedules receive priority and hopefully I will have a reply to your request sometime next week."

 

I'll keep you posted.

 

Take good care.

10-12 business days currently.

 

[Johnthesailor]

22 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

10-12 business days currently.

 

We are at 17 days and still waiting.  Maybe they did go to only 90 days out.

[Pcardad]

1 minute ago, Johnthesailor said:

We are at 17 days and still waiting.  Maybe they did go to only 90 days out.

Business days or calendar days? They only count M- F and don't count holidays...

 

What date was your request submitted - you would have a receipt for it.

 

 

Edited July 18, 2022 by Pcardad

[RJ2002]

I mentioned this on the Regent Flights sticky thread, but will restate here since it is pertinent.

 

We recently booked a last minute sailing, within about 35 days from embarkation.  This was just within Regent's window for providing air.   Our flight arrangements showed up on our RSSC account the same day we made our full payment - so it was really fast.

 

I would agree with previous comments that Regent seems to be prioritizing air arrangements based on sail date.  At least that was my experience.

[RetroRod]

2 hours ago, howiefrommd said:

I just received an email from my TA indicating that Regent is only doing deviations by "priority" and for bookings only within the next three months.  Historically it has been 270 days, which left a variety of opportunities for flights, etc.  I am concerned that reducing the window to 90 days, may restrict availability significantly.  

 

Has anyone heard anything similar?

 

Thanks,  Howie

I had my TA contact Regent regarding air by “priority”. The person answering the phone today knows nothing about this. I’ll know for sure in a few weeks when I make my air requests. Amazing that something that was always easy is now difficult and with confusing  info. 

[mrstanley]

Does this mean Regent will only book flights 90 out from your cruise?

 

Do they think people are going to make final payment without finalizing their flight?

 

What happened to Air Deviation?

That was 270 days out.

 

Some really needs to clarify things.

[mrstanley]

I agree with Retrorod:

 

Totally confusing!

[Go9ersjrh]

Update - We are now flying in a day early.  TA spent 2 hours on hold today and finally got our flights changed.  When I called and talked to a Regent agent, they told me that I would have to pay an air deviation fee on top of the cost for a night in a hotel that we had booked through Regent.  That would have cost us $1200 for an extra night at a $250 a night hotel plus one extra transfer.  I just couldn't justify it.  TA told me Regent agent was incorrect and that the change in air (we didn't request specific flights) was included with the hotel night.

In the end, we have the same flights LAX - ATL then ATL to Barcelona.  It really shouldn't be this hard.  We are 5 weeks out from the start of the trip.

[Pcardad]

4 hours ago, mrstanley said:

Does this mean Regent will only book flights 90 out from your cruise?

 

Do they think people are going to make final payment without finalizing their flight?

 

What happened to Air Deviation?

That was 270 days out.

 

Some really needs to clarify things.

They are still booking out that far - takes 10 - 12 business days.

 

[mrstanley]

Today my TA told me it could take up to 3 weeks to hear from Regent air.

They are so backed up due to all the canceled flights etc. 

[Pcardad]

31 minutes ago, mrstanley said:

Today my TA told me it could take up to 3 weeks to hear from Regent air.

They are so backed up due to all the canceled flights etc. 

We might be comparing apples to oranges....is 3 weeks 21 days or 21 business days? I have a request in process right now, I will let you know how long it takes.

[Snackdaddy]

2 hours ago, Pcardad said:

We might be comparing apples to oranges....is 3 weeks 21 days or 21 business days? I have a request in process right now, I will let you know how long it takes.

Likewise.

[RetroRod]

Not dealing with Regent Air for our cruise out of Barcelona to Southampton. I contacted my TA with the travel dates, times and airlines I wanted. He responded in one hour with my airline reservations (BA) and seat assignments  in business class. One less thing to worry about. 

[Pcardad]

1 hour ago, RetroRod said:

Not dealing with Regent Air for our cruise out of Barcelona to Southampton. I contacted my TA with the travel dates, times and airlines I wanted. He responded in one hour with my airline reservations (BA) and seat assignments  in business class. One less thing to worry about. 

No doubt it is far easier to book your own...but losing the support of Regent in the event of a problem with your flight...not sure what can make up for that.

[Lonedaddy]

17 hours ago, RetroRod said:

Not dealing with Regent Air for our cruise out of Barcelona to Southampton. I contacted my TA with the travel dates, times and airlines I wanted. He responded in one hour with my airline reservations (BA) and seat assignments  in business class. One less thing to worry about. 

I'm opting out of the air for our NYC-MTL cruise.  Air credit is measly 300 bucks but they wanted $1398 for First/business class upgrade Per person.   I just booked RT first/business class for 970 PP out of DFW.  we would be doing the deviation so that would have added another 175 pp. Sometimes it is better to just book your own especially domestically. 

[RetroRod]

19 hours ago, Pcardad said:

With the process Regent has in place,  i.e. contact TA, TA contacts Regent then TA contacts me I question the support that would be provided, especially with the time zone differences. I just don’t have confidence in Regent Air. I’ve done my own air, hotels etc for the last 25 years in both business and leisure travel so I’m pretty confident I can deal with what ever may come up  

19 hours ago, Pcardad said:

No doubt it is far easier to book your own...but losing the support of Regent in the event of a problem with your flight...not sure what can make up for that.

 

 

[Hearthosesteeldrumsplayin]

3 hours ago, Lonedaddy said:

I'm opting out of the air for our NYC-MTL cruise.  Air credit is measly 300 bucks but they wanted $1398 for First/business class upgrade Per person.   I just booked RT first/business class for 970 PP out of DFW.  we would be doing the deviation so that would have added another 175 pp. Sometimes it is better to just book your own especially domestically. 

So, if I want to book my own air, seems like I can cruise many other lines than Regents....Business class air has been the MAIN reason for going with RSSC.  I really enjoyed my 1st cruise with them last Nov, but I already have 2 more upcoming cruises, and if the air arrangements are still in the quandary they seem to be in now, I would certainly NOT have picked RSSC!  Fingers crossed this gets sorted out quickly!

[Pcardad]

35 minutes ago, RetroRod said:

 

In an emergency, you can call the Air Desk directly...I have done so. However, if you miss a flight, Regent will fly you to the ship. If you need to change your flight destination and you booked it yourself, you are buying a new ticket right?

[Pcardad]

16 minutes ago, Hearthosesteeldrumsplayin said:

So, if I want to book my own air, seems like I can cruise many other lines than Regents....Business class air has been the MAIN reason for going with RSSC.  I really enjoyed my 1st cruise with them last Nov, but I already have 2 more upcoming cruises, and if the air arrangements are still in the quandary they seem to be in now, I would certainly NOT have picked RSSC!  Fingers crossed this gets sorted out quickly!

This isn't a Regent issue, this is an airline issue...and while you can interface with the ticket counter directly, can you transfer your booking to the next port on the cruise without buying a new ticket?

[rallydave]

2 hours ago, Pcardad said:

This isn't a Regent issue, this is an airline issue...and while you can interface with the ticket counter directly, can you transfer your booking to the next port on the cruise without buying a new ticket?

 

Anyone including Regent will need to buy a new ticket in order to get to the next port.   Cannot board without a ticket and unlikely the flight to catch the ship will be on the same airline one flies to embarkation

 

2 hours ago, Pcardad said:

In an emergency, you can call the Air Desk directly...I have done so. However, if you miss a flight, Regent will fly you to the ship. If you need to change your flight destination and you booked it yourself, you are buying a new ticket right?

You you can call the air desk directly but, reports on CC have stated that nobody answers or messages left are not promptly returned.   This is not to say Regent will never fly you to the next port without additional charges.  Has happened however the T's and C's clearly state that Regent is not responsible for third party vendors including airlines booked by Regent.  Doubt the airline that flew you to embarkation will help either.  More likely Regent will help if you can quickly get ahold of someone in the air department quickly but, not an absolute as you stated.

[Pcardad]

32 minutes ago, rallydave said:

 

Anyone including Regent will need to buy a new ticket in order to get to the next port.   Cannot board without a ticket and unlikely the flight to catch the ship will be on the same airline one flies to embarkation

 

You you can call the air desk directly but, reports on CC have stated that nobody answers or messages left are not promptly returned.   This is not to say Regent will never fly you to the next port without additional charges.  Has happened however the T's and C's clearly state that Regent is not responsible for third party vendors including airlines booked by Regent.  Doubt the airline that flew you to embarkation will help either.  More likely Regent will help if you can quickly get ahold of someone in the air department quickly but, not an absolute as you stated.

Better for Regent to buy the ticket and not the passenger, yes?

 

And yes, the Reps will put you directly through to the Air Desk in the event of an emergency.

[rallydave]

3 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

Better for Regent to buy the ticket and not the passenger, yes?

 

And yes, the Reps will put you directly through to the Air Desk in the event of an emergency.

Yes if Regent actually buys the ticket.  As far as phoning the reps, that assumes tho te issues occur during the hours the reps are open which in many cases is not when the problem occurs.  My first thought for any air problem is to immediately phone the airline while getting in line if at the airport plus going online looking for a flight that will solve the problem   Waiting until getting in touch with the wright person at Regent simply delays actions to solve the issues as Regent alone cannot solve the problem without contacting the airline and doing things myself cuts out the likely delay and middle man.

[Pcardad]

12 minutes ago, rallydave said:

Yes if Regent actually buys the ticket.  As far as phoning the reps, that assumes tho te issues occur during the hours the reps are open which in many cases is not when the problem occurs.  My first thought for any air problem is to immediately phone the airline while getting in line if at the airport plus going online looking for a flight that will solve the problem   Waiting until getting in touch with the wright person at Regent simply delays actions to solve the issues as Regent alone cannot solve the problem without contacting the airline and doing things myself cuts out the likely delay and middle man.

I go to the ticket counter first, if I am there. But if I need a new destination, Regent gets involved.

[Lonedaddy]

5 hours ago, Hearthosesteeldrumsplayin said:

So, if I want to book my own air, seems like I can cruise many other lines than Regents....Business class air has been the MAIN reason for going with RSSC.  I really enjoyed my 1st cruise with them last Nov, but I already have 2 more upcoming cruises, and if the air arrangements are still in the quandary they seem to be in now, I would certainly NOT have picked RSSC!  Fingers crossed this gets sorted out quickly!

The regent air was a big plus going to new zeal and I couldn’t find a comparable flight to what they delivered for 3500 plus the 175 deviation.
 

They couldn’t help on the return from Bali/ Singapore since Singapore is considered Asia not Oceania but I was able to find flights on JAL using. 70k miles for business.  I plan to use them to Israel and back from Rome unless I can use mirage in which case I’ll take the air credit.  Probably same to South Africa but domestically it was a no brainer as I’m just not going to fly coach at this point in my life if I can avoid it.  Being Exec platinum on American  does help.