Mystictraveler Posted July 8 #26 Share Posted July 8 As we all know, one of the advantages of using Regent Air is you didn't pay for your air until you paid for your cruise which helped with "risk management". I actually booked a refundable business class ticket recently for a trip next February for a difference of about 7%, which I decided was worth it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ladys Mom Posted July 8 #27 Share Posted July 8 I’ve been looking at international airfares lately through the winter and spring. It appears that the fares are about what they were more than a year ago. I agree that over the last year they had gone up a lot. But the airlines have taken notice that the public is only willing to pay so much for business class. It seems to be running about $4-5,000 per person which is what it had been for quite a while. It may be that when Regent tried to renegotiate their contracts the airlines thought they could get more than Regent would pay. Now we are left with this new system on top of already higher cruise fares. This is making Regent’s ultimate fares less attractive when compared with Viking and Silversea newly all inclusive fares. I for one Regent goes back to a “reasonable “ all inclusive fare. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UUNetBill Posted July 8 #28 Share Posted July 8 5 hours ago, Pcardad said: You can still get the 'total package" and pay one price and all is taken care of. Or you can more easily provide you own air...which is an option many people like. I don’t see that it’s any easier - there’s always been an air credit, right? I don’t know, it just doesn’t sit right with me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcandkc Posted July 8 #29 Share Posted July 8 I guess I’m in the minority but I find it straight forward. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pcardad Posted July 8 #30 Share Posted July 8 31 minutes ago, UUNetBill said: I don’t see that it’s any easier - there’s always been an air credit, right? I don’t know, it just doesn’t sit right with me. I understand your perspective....they just got tired of taking all the heat for the airlines pricing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolebludger Posted July 8 #31 Share Posted July 8 We took the air credit on our Splendor cruise out of San Juan last March because only one airline (United) offered a direct flight from and to one of our accessible “Gateway” airports (Denver). We knew that Regent wouldn’t get that leg direct, and also we wanted BC air and Regent didn’t include that on this itinerary. On our next (Possibly last)cruise on any line, we used Regent’s deviation for the same reason We booked this well before July 1 and were able to deviate on a direct Denver to London and back on United for $350 to avoid the possibility of several layovers and connections. With the way we get to our cruises (BC and minimal connections) we are most concerned with Regent’s cruise only prices, along with BC prices. And I understand that Regent’s cruise only prices are generally up, and so is the cost of BC air. So I fear we are priced out at this time. And along the same lines, about a year or so ago we got an email from Regent offering a discount to any willing to downgrade BC air to premium economy. Just that one email, never heard anything more about it. Did anybody else get that email? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystictraveler Posted July 9 #32 Share Posted July 9 1 hour ago, Pcardad said: I understand your perspective....they just got tired of taking all the heat for the airlines pricing. I understand their position and it was becoming more and more evident that folks were having difficulty getting the flights they wanted without an upcharge. However, I do think they should have been more transparent about what was behind the changes and what customers should expect going forward. As I noted a few posts previously, a flight to South America from Houston was about $2,500 more expensive than a flight from Dallas. I still don't understand that one. The way they rolled out the changes makes the phrase "putting lipstick on a pig" come to mind. Loyal customers should be treated with more respect. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papaflamingo Posted July 9 #33 Share Posted July 9 22 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said: I'm talking about the base cruise fares. I.e., they used to be inclusive of business air (in North America), now they're not. At least since 2018 Regent "base" fare was NOT inclusive of business air. It was shown in the price posted for the cruise, but at the bottom of the web page it showed the "air credit" if you chose to book your own air. You could (and can) get a "hotel credit" if your fare included a hotel night, and a "pre/post excursion credit" if your fare included "free" pre/post cruise excursion and you chose not to take it. Then a year or so ago they broke out the cost of the cruise showing side by side on the web the cost with or without air. It was all marketing. Regent marketed it as "including business class air" but, in fact, it was always an optional add on. Really nothing has changed other than they've included an "economy air" option and added the $500 Blacklane credit. The cost of air, be it business or economy, will directly reflect the cost of air to Regent. They'll charge whatever it costs THEM to book the flight. If they have contract rates with an airlines, it'll be generally cheaper than booking on your own, just like in the past. If they don't have contract rates, it'll cost what it costs....just like in the past. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy The Wanderer Posted July 9 #34 Share Posted July 9 2 hours ago, papaflamingo said: At least since 2018 Regent "base" fare was NOT inclusive of business air. It was shown in the price posted for the cruise, but at the bottom of the web page it showed the "air credit" if you chose to book your own air. You could (and can) get a "hotel credit" if your fare included a hotel night, and a "pre/post excursion credit" if your fare included "free" pre/post cruise excursion and you chose not to take it. Then a year or so ago they broke out the cost of the cruise showing side by side on the web the cost with or without air. It was all marketing. Regent marketed it as "including business class air" but, in fact, it was always an optional add on. ... Yes of course, you could get an air credit, which was handy, but rarely equivalent to the price of booking your own business air flights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UUNetBill Posted July 9 #35 Share Posted July 9 32 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said: Yes of course, you could get an air credit, which was handy, but rarely equivalent to the price of booking your own business air flights. Historically, it seems like the only people who really benefitted from the air credit were the folks with a gazillion FF miles, the serial travelers who could get anywhere on points. We haven't been those people for a few decades now. I always looked at the air credit vs. my cost for air and it never made sense for me to take the credit. A few times it was close but even then I preferred to be booked through Regent so they could intervene if there were any flight delays. I was looking at some trips 'down unda' in '26 and just about choked on the airfare. That in conjunction with the base cruise fare increases are making these vacations an increasingly hard pill to swallow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1982CruzStart Posted July 9 #36 Share Posted July 9 With this new model our cruise booked for 2025 will likely be our last with Regent. We were attracted to them because of the included BC airfare that made flying BC affordable. When they averaged out the airfare across the US and Canada, it was virtually impossible for us to get BC airfare anywhere near the offered air credit so included airfare was a godsend. Now that we have to add on airfare from NYC to our gateway city it is likely Regent is priced out of our range. It probably means the end of cruising for us. I am so glad we booked 2025 before these exciting new options. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare forgap Posted July 9 #37 Share Posted July 9 25 minutes ago, 1982CruzStart said: With this new model our cruise booked for 2025 will likely be our last with Regent. We were attracted to them because of the included BC airfare that made flying BC affordable. When they averaged out the airfare across the US and Canada, it was virtually impossible for us to get BC airfare anywhere near the offered air credit so included airfare was a godsend. Now that we have to add on airfare from NYC to our gateway city it is likely Regent is priced out of our range. It probably means the end of cruising for us. I am so glad we booked 2025 before these exciting new options. Totally agree. The newest changes and price increases have left a bad taste in my mouth. I understand the economic realities of why the executives did what they did, but, in the process, they are loosing long time customers. Our last cruise in Japan followed an immersive land tour by a different company. The contrast in terms of excursions was HUGE and not to Regent’s advantage. The cruise itself was OK. Perhaps we were tired, perhaps the bloom is off the rose now that we are platinum. Bottom line, though, at these prices we should be impressed every cruise. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxare Posted July 9 #38 Share Posted July 9 On 7/7/2024 at 11:28 AM, Pcardad said: Air prices have increased by huge margins. Cruise prices also but remember they always increase every 3-6 months. We are living in a very inflationary time but we are always seeing MASSIVE returns in the equity markets which are far higher than any Regent fare increases. Pcardad, I respect your many posts and insights based on your significant experience in the travel industry. This one made NO sense to me. Because I purchased 1000 shares of Nvidia eighteen months ago has nothing to do with the value of a Regent cruise. Yes, I read the business news as you do about their significant debt, etc, etc. I'm with UUNetBill on this one. I realize things change and that there are inflationary pressures. However, I first used Regent many years ago because for the service, cabin size, included business fare flights, transfers, quality of food and never having to pull out a key card to charge something they became our vendor of choice for cruising. However, the prices have gone up quite a bit. I can often do better than their contract air rates and therefore I have to reflect on the relative value and ease of booking. The likelihood in the future that I will book a trip at their current retail rates is slim to none, I will always wait for a "sale" such as the two category upgrade, etc. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pcardad Posted July 9 #39 Share Posted July 9 4 minutes ago, taxare said: Pcardad, I respect your many posts and insights based on your significant experience in the travel industry. This one made NO sense to me. Because I purchased 1000 shares of Nvidia eighteen months ago has nothing to do with the value of a Regent cruise. Yes, I read the business news as you do about their significant debt, etc, etc. I'm with UUNetBill on this one. I realize things change and that there are inflationary pressures. However, I first used Regent many years ago because for the service, cabin size, included business fare flights, transfers, quality of food and never having to pull out a key card to charge something they became our vendor of choice for cruising. However, the prices have gone up quite a bit. I can often do better than their contract air rates and therefore I have to reflect on the relative value and ease of booking. The likelihood in the future that I will book a trip at their current retail rates is slim to none, I will always wait for a "sale" such as the two category upgrade, etc. I can clarify my point. Cruise prices, like prices for most items, go up. We have had some greater than normal increases lately for a variety of reasons. However, we have also seen some incredible increases in portfolio values. This lessens the price shock to this particular category of buyer. Your average Regent cruiser is probably far better suited to absorb inflationary increases due to the increase in their net worth. I know my portfolio has increased many times faster than cruise prices or air prices have. If you bought 1000 shares of NVidia for $50 a share 18 months ago then you have made well over a million and a quarter bucks in 18 months. Pretty silly to be complaining about relatively small price increases by Regent. The relationship exists because the stock market gains are partly because of Covid recovery - the same reason that we are seeing inflationary prices. The two are related...and this customer group probably benefits from the market appreciation more than any other group. And don't forget, Regent is not responsible for air costs and I totally get them distancing themselves from that pricing structure. You don't have to agree...but that is how we (we being myself and some friends in my investing group) see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxare Posted July 9 #40 Share Posted July 9 Thanks for your response. I will respectfully agree to disagree. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snorklelover Posted July 9 #41 Share Posted July 9 We have three cruises booked ( one this year and two next year) all done prior to the new format. The one cruise in 2025 is across the pond and includes BA. In looking at the total package with BA and same category that cruise has gone up over $5,000. Although, we are far from platinum, we have enjoyed sailing with Regent five times in the past few years. Sadly, with this increase, I am afraid that Regent is just a bit beyond what we want to spend on a vacation. We will be looking elsewhere in the future. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pcardad Posted July 9 #42 Share Posted July 9 34 minutes ago, snorklelover said: We have three cruises booked ( one this year and two next year) all done prior to the new format. The one cruise in 2025 is across the pond and includes BA. In looking at the total package with BA and same category that cruise has gone up over $5,000. Although, we are far from platinum, we have enjoyed sailing with Regent five times in the past few years. Sadly, with this increase, I am afraid that Regent is just a bit beyond what we want to spend on a vacation. We will be looking elsewhere in the future. I have booked over $5Million with Regent alone - these increases are MOSTLY due to airfare. The reason that Regent is splitting up airfare is because people are blaming them (Regent) for the price increases when the vast majority of the increases I price are for airfare and not the cruise. Obviously both have increased but the airfare is really driving this. Your reaction is EXACTLY what Regent wants to get away from...they are taking the hit for the airlines and they have had (I suspect) more than enough. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystictraveler Posted July 9 #43 Share Posted July 9 @Pcardad since you are more plugged in to some of the nuances of Regent, can you help me understand the following scenario which I posted about above. The outbound is Houston - Santiago and the return is Buenos Aires - Houston. The included BC airfare says it is from JFK and the cost is $5740. That is also the cost if I select Dallas as the departure city. However, when I select Houston, the cost jumps to over $8200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pcardad Posted July 9 #44 Share Posted July 9 8 minutes ago, Mystictraveler said: @Pcardad since you are more plugged in to some of the nuances of Regent, can you help me understand the following scenario which I posted about above. The outbound is Houston - Santiago and the return is Buenos Aires - Houston. The included BC airfare says it is from JFK and the cost is $5740. That is also the cost if I select Dallas as the departure city. However, when I select Houston, the cost jumps to over $8200. Now that Regent has totally separated themselves from the airlines price structure, I would think that pricing differential is all on the airlines. You could play around with a travel website and plug in your flights and then change the gateway cities and see....also change the dates and see if that matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snorklelover Posted July 9 #45 Share Posted July 9 1 hour ago, Pcardad said: I have booked over $5Million with Regent alone - these increases are MOSTLY due to airfare. The reason that Regent is splitting up airfare is because people are blaming them (Regent) for the price increases when the vast majority of the increases I price are for airfare and not the cruise. Obviously both have increased but the airfare is really driving this. Your reaction is EXACTLY what Regent wants to get away from...they are taking the hit for the airlines and they have had (I suspect) more than enough. I understand what you are saying. Yes, our portfolio has increased and happy about that however for us it just a matter of where best to spend our vacation dollars. As others have said perhaps Viking of Silverseas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJANDH Posted July 9 #46 Share Posted July 9 19 minutes ago, snorklelover said: I understand what you are saying. Yes, our portfolio has increased and happy about that however for us it just a matter of where best to spend our vacation dollars. As others have said perhaps Viking of Silverseas. Silverseas has much the same pricing structure with equally high BC air upcharges. I don't think you will find much better deals with them comparing the full cost of same category suites including all the extras. In my opinion, Viking doesn't offer comparable luxury. But it does require final payment a year or more out and if you use their air department you get BC at full market prices. The cost of luxury cruising is increasing across all the lines. We need to accept this higher cost, cut back on our perceived "needs" like lie-flat seats and luxury pre-cruise hotels, or join the rest of the travelling public on less luxurious vacations. A real first world problem!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pcardad Posted July 9 #47 Share Posted July 9 1 hour ago, snorklelover said: I understand what you are saying. Yes, our portfolio has increased and happy about that however for us it just a matter of where best to spend our vacation dollars. As others have said perhaps Viking of Silverseas. I see this from all sides, including the other cruise lines. If it matters, when I personally spend money on a cruise, it is usually with Regent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neamster Posted July 9 #48 Share Posted July 9 We booked our business class flight today: Air Canada Business Class: Kelowna/Vancouver/ Hong Kong. Return Tokyo/ Vancouver/ Kelowna, for $11,100 for the two of us. The cost with Regent would have been $16,236, and "restricted business", so no flight choice option. Must thank our excellent travel agent here. We have sailed Regent before, Business Class with a deviation, and it was worth it. Not this time. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pcardad Posted July 9 #49 Share Posted July 9 1 hour ago, Neamster said: We booked our business class flight today: Air Canada Business Class: Kelowna/Vancouver/ Hong Kong. Return Tokyo/ Vancouver/ Kelowna, for $11,100 for the two of us. The cost with Regent would have been $16,236, and "restricted business", so no flight choice option. Must thank our excellent travel agent here. We have sailed Regent before, Business Class with a deviation, and it was worth it. Not this time. Glad you found the best possible deal! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papaflamingo Posted July 9 #50 Share Posted July 9 8 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said: Yes of course, you could get an air credit, which was handy, but rarely equivalent to the price of booking your own business air flights. That isn't exactly what you said. You said "They used to be inclusive of business air (in North America), now they're not." But nothing at all has changed. Regent offers air at the cost to Regent from the air lines. That's as it's always been. They would agree on a contract rate, as I'm sure they try to do today, and that is the rate they charge you. But Business Class is a premium product and the Airline's money maker. They are flying full. There is no reason for an airline to discount the rate. So Regent can't get it. They publish whatever the rate they can secure for you. If you can buy Business Class air cheaper, then do it, just like in the past. We booked a cruise leaving out of Papeete. The air credit was round trip was $9800 per person. Today it's $10,100 per person, or $300 per person higher. BUT, it now includes $250 pp Blacklane credit. So the air cost only went up $50 pp. Nothing has changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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