Regent air UK upgrade cost

[swansong]

We have over 20 years with Regent and have always upgraded our flights to Business Class. Regent UK prices include economy flights but upgrades have always been reasonable and below the airline’s normal cost.

I asked Regent (through my TA) for upgrade costs for Heathrow to Miami and return in February next year.

I have been astonished at their response. They are quoting £3789 pp. for upgrading ( remembering that we have already been invoiced for economy). We have double checked that this figure is correct.

 

The same flights ( same airline, same time) are available directly from the airline at £ 2450 pp return. Regent air allowance is £660 pp so the difference is £1999 pp.

 

So are Regent now using flights as a profit centre or don’t they want to provide flights as this seems almost unbelievable. Has anyone else experienced this issue?

[Jchisley]

That sounds very expensive ! Are you going on the Grandeur cruise 5 Feb? We are . I used avios points for our flights luckily , although couldn’t get business class for the return journey as they all disappeared the moment they were released but I’m hoping more might become available later.

[swansong]

It’s more than expensive, some would describe it as a rip off!
We are on Grandeur but 17th February. Obviously we are going to book our own flights as there are 4 of us, a huge saving. Flights are available as we speak at least.

[pappy1022]

Yes they are profiting from this “service”. They profit from every external “service” including airlines, hotels, excursions and transportation. They do have people on staff to coordinate all of these services, so there is some additional expenses incurred. The also have contracted rates for all of these services and their credits for not using one of these services is well below what they contractually pay for them.

[flossie009]

1 hour ago, swansong said:

The same flights ( same airline, same time) are available directly from the airline at £ 2450 pp return.

Is that the price for a flexible ticket (i.e. cancellable) or lowest cost (no changes)?

 

38 minutes ago, swansong said:

It’s more than expensive, some would describe it as a rip off!

........ or it could just be a question of supply & demand; meaning that Regent are unable to secure tickets at a lower cost under their contracts with the airlines

 

42 minutes ago, swansong said:

Obviously we are going to book our own flights as there are 4 of us, a huge saving.

Understandable; but you take on an element of risk (say if Regent makes changes to the cruise dates) unless the airline tickets you book are fully flexible.

Also your booking with Regent will no longer be considered a "package" under the relevant UK regulations.

 

 

Not sure what is happening between the cruise lines and the airlines but it is obvious from other threads that this is not just an issue for UK customers.

We normally try to book our own air (using Avios & companion tickets) but we have just been on a Far East cruise where we used Regent air for the outbound flight to Bali; they secured an excellent deal with Qatar for us, significantly below the price we could have purchased lowest cost Business Class tickets direct from the airline.

 

 

[flossie009]

11 minutes ago, pappy1022 said:

Yes they are profiting from this “service”. They profit from every external “service” including airlines, hotels, excursions and transportation. They do have people on staff to coordinate all of these services, so there is some additional expenses incurred. The also have contracted rates for all of these services and their credits for not using one of these services is well below what they contractually pay for them.

Are you suggesting that Regent should offer these services at a loss?

Personally I want the cruise line to survive these difficult economic times so that we can continue enjoying the product.

[swansong]

9 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

Is that the price for a flexible ticket (i.e. cancellable) or lowest cost (no changes)?

 

........ or it could just be a question of supply & demand; meaning that Regent are unable to secure tickets at a lower cost under their contracts with the airlines

 

Understandable; but you take on an element of risk (say if Regent makes changes to the cruise dates) unless the airline tickets you book are fully flexible.

Also your booking with Regent will no longer be considered a "package" under the relevant UK regulations.

 

 

Not sure what is happening between the cruise lines and the airlines but it is obvious from other threads that this is not just an issue for UK customers.

We normally try to book our own air (using Avios & companion tickets) but we have just been on a Far East cruise where we used Regent air for the outbound flight to Bali; they secured an excellent deal with Qatar for us, significantly below the price we could have purchased lowest cost Business Class tickets direct from the airline.

 

 

Thanks Flossie009, Yes they are the lowest fares and I accept that there is a risk. However we will be going a day or two earlier than originally planned just in case of weather, delays etc. If Regent change the dates of the cruise our insurance should cover it ( or so they say). Hopefully Regent won’t go out of business before then. I’m not happy about the situation but when the airfare upgrade becomes 50% of the cruise cost its not viable.

[flossie009]

16 minutes ago, swansong said:

I’m not happy about the situation but when the airfare upgrade becomes 50% of the cruise cost its not viable.

You are so right, and for a Miami flight Economy or Premium economy is not an option we ever like to consider 😲

 

[Techno123]

We just stick with cattle class but with extra legroom seats - the cost of business is another cruise so I prefer to suffer 😂😂. 

coming back from Miami in BA Economy plus just before Christmas only cost us another £100 each (same cost as emergency exit seats on the way out) Regent didn't charge us any more than the airline was charging them.

[irishwitchy]

23 minutes ago, Techno123 said:

We just stick with cattle class but with extra legroom seats - the cost of business is another cruise so I prefer to suffer 😂😂. 

coming back from Miami in BA Economy plus just before Christmas only cost us another £100 each (same cost as emergency exit seats on the way out) Regent didn't charge us any more than the airline was charging them.

I’m with you,  if the credit is high, I will happily take that and book my own tickets in various classes depending on cost.  I’m not spending $10,000 and so-so food  for a 15 hour flight.  I can suck it up for that time.  Luckily, I can usually get the extra leg room for free! 

[Pcardad]

They are profiting but this is nothing new....it is not a recent change.

 

[swansong]

1 minute ago, Pcardad said:

They are profiting but this is nothing new....it is not a recent change.

 

It’s never happened to us before and we travel with Regent regularly but mainly in Europe. We have several forthcoming cruises there and the Business class upgrade costs are far below what we would pay by booking directly with the airline.

[Pcardad]

17 minutes ago, swansong said:

It’s never happened to us before and we travel with Regent regularly but mainly in Europe. We have several forthcoming cruises there and the Business class upgrade costs are far below what we would pay by booking directly with the airline.

Perhaps it is a USA vs. UK....It's always been more expensive to book through Regent since I started in 2015.

[pappy1022]

1 hour ago, flossie009 said:

Are you suggesting that Regent should offer these services at a loss?

Personally I want the cruise line to survive these difficult economic times so that we can continue enjoying the product.

No, that is not what I am saying. They obviously have some cost associated with these activities. I was just answering the question as to whether Regent provides these external services at a profit. Of course they do and I don’t have a problem with that. What is reasonable is another story. Hotels are often 2X what you can get on your own. I do believe that Regent gets better rates for airfare then what I can do as an individual but their credits for not using their “included” flights is very low in my opinion. 

[flossie009]

7 hours ago, swansong said:

Business class upgrade costs are far below what we would pay by booking directly with the airline.

 

6 hours ago, Pcardad said:

Perhaps it is a USA vs. UK....It's always been more expensive to book through Regent since I started in 2015.

 

In the past whenever we have asked Regent(UK) for the cost of Business Class flights it has invariably been cheaper than we could source tickets direct; particularly for the ‘one way’ or ‘open jaw’ tickets required for most cruises.

[flossie009]

On 4/3/2023 at 2:54 PM, swansong said:

We are on Grandeur but 17th February.

 

Leaflet in the post today (sent from our TA)  Shows upgrades to Premium Economy on selected Regent Caribbean sailings.

Includes Grandeur, 17th February 2024

 

 

Strangely the offer is not yet shown on the Regent website.

 

 

[swansong]

38 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

 

Leaflet in the post today (sent from our TA)  Shows upgrades to Premium Economy on selected Regent Caribbean sailings.

Includes Grandeur, 17th February 2024

 

 

Strangely the offer is not yet shown on the Regent website.

 

 

Thanks for the info, we won’t do long haul unless in business but it still seems strange that they are basically overcharging for business in my case.

[Techno123]

59 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

 

Leaflet in the post today (sent from our TA)  Shows upgrades to Premium Economy on selected Regent Caribbean sailings.

Includes Grandeur, 17th February 2024

It is quite amusing that we are upgraded to Economy plus and the US passengers are down graded to it. I don't want to send the conversation off track but I have always wondered how much more US passengers pay in comparison to UK/other countries for the same cruise. (Well it's not the same - what with business class air, preferential cancellation policy and the 'ticket packet' 😜😜) Someone did post a link once but it took me to the UK site

[lprp]

3 hours ago, Techno123 said:

Someone did post a link once but it took me to the UK site

I’ve found that the only way to look at the US website and pricing is when in the US, or onboard a Regent ship. I used to work for a US company and somehow our web server enabled it too.

3 hours ago, Techno123 said:

It is quite amusing that we are upgraded to Economy plus and the US passengers are down graded to it. I don't want to send the conversation off track but I have always wondered how much more US passengers pay in comparison to UK/other countries for the same cruise. (Well it's not the same - what with business class air, preferential cancellation policy and the 'ticket packet' 😜😜) 

It’s quite ironic isn’t it? 
We always pay a supplement for Business Class, however, the price Regent wanted for our Mariner cruise this coming Christmas was almost double what our TA arranged it for!

The “ticket packet” we are sent is very disappointing, versus the package we used to get BC and that cruisers from the US still get. It makes us feel like second class citizens - pretty disgraceful.

[flossie009]

2 hours ago, lprp said:

I’ve found that the only way to look at the US website and pricing is when in the US, or onboard a Regent ship.

…………. and when in the U.S.A. or on a Regent ship it is impossible to access the U.K. website and U.K. cruise pricing, which is very inconvenient.

Many websites give the user the option to change country, but not rssc.com 🤨

Perhaps @Mike Moore can suggest a way round this issue.

 

 

[Yankeeclipper1]

3 hours ago, lprp said:

I’ve found that the only way to look at the US website and pricing is when in the US, or onboard a Regent ship. I used to work for a US company and somehow our web server enabled it too.

6 hours ago, Techno123 said:

 

Or use a VPN and adjust your browser settings.  I am currently looking at the UK Regent website from the USA, I assume the reverse would happen if I used a VPN from the UK to access USA sites.

[DaveFr]

1 hour ago, flossie009 said:

…………. and when in the U.S.A. or on a Regent ship it is impossible to access the U.K. website and U.K. cruise pricing, which is very inconvenient.

Many websites give the user the option to change country, but not rssc.com 🤨

Perhaps @Mike Moore can suggest a way round this issue.

 

 

Using a VPN, you can access Regent’s UK website from anywhere. First, select a UK server from the VPN. Then open the Regent website and click on the account link. Once you get to the account main page, the website will switch to the UK website. I just switched to the UK website from the Explorer in Nagasaki, Japan. Give it a try. 
 

Dave

[Mike Moore]

13 hours ago, flossie009 said:

…………. and when in the U.S.A. or on a Regent ship it is impossible to access the U.K. website and U.K. cruise pricing, which is very inconvenient.

Many websites give the user the option to change country, but not rssc.com 🤨

Perhaps @Mike Moore can suggest a way round this issue.

 

 

I am afraid we don't have a solution for that to offer.