Why Regent and other luxury lines are a good value

[goldenrod]

We have cruised on main stream lines and 4 times on Regent and once on Silver Seas, both Regent and Silver Seas being much more expensive than the main steam lines. But which is a better value? Well here's what I think, when you cruise a main stream line the folks who take the suites and mini suites are in essence subsidizing the inside cabin crowd. Everyone on the ship gets the same food the same entertainment only because it's averaged out to the entire ship, is that fair? Why should someone paying one fifth of others get the same perks. On the luxury lines fares are not much different for all except for a few super large cabins so the cost is much more fairly distributed and the food, perks and service are far above that of the main stream lines. Why? Because it's not a case of the haves subsidizing the have nots as on the main steam lines. So I believe value wise the luxury lines are the best value, unless you are one of the inside cabin crowd on a main steam line and getting the same food, entertainment and service as those paying much more and subsidizing your cruise.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I'd have to crunch a lot of numbers, but I'm not sure you're right about the cost of "most" cabins on Regent at least. I would say that the cost of moving up the stateroom ladder is rather steep. I'm speaking as one who has always booked an (almost) minimal suite.

 

On the PG for example, the F, E and D (non-balcony) cabins are quite reasonable, with a jump up to a C balcony of more than $1K pp between F and C on the 7-day itinerary.

 

If I look at a typically-discounted 10-day European cruise on Voyager, I see a premium of about $1K pp from an H to a E, and then huge leaps up to a Penthouse of about $2.5K pp.

 

Of course, you're right in that there is no "steerage" equivalent on Regent, i.e., the inside cabins. But I thought that on many lines that these passengers in fact do get treated differently. No? Obviously they do get the same food, although perhaps not the same access to specialty restaurants. And do not those suite passengers get lots of perks consistent with their status?

[Jade13]

Why should someone paying one fifth of others get the same perks. quote]

 

They are paying for better Real Estate.

[Jade13]

subsidizing the have nots as on the main steam lines. quote]

 

"Haves and Have Nots"? I know a lot of people that travel multiple times per year and choose not to a take a Suite because they will not be inside their stateroom that much. I don't consider them "Have Nots".

 

Anyone who cruises, even on a Mass Market line certainly "Has" compared to the World population. Cruising on any line is a luxary to most of the world.

[Dolebludger]

I respectfully disagree that those who cruise in more expensive suites are subsidizing those who stay in more basic cabins -- just as I disagree that drinkers are subsidized by non-drinkers on all-inclusive lines (a subject for another day).

 

Rather, space and amenities are at a premium when one travels. The striking difference between coach and first class seating on airlines is an example -- for just a few more cubic feet of space. It is a similar thing on ships.

 

But I do agree with the OP that isn't wise to pay for a suite that is way up-market on a ship that is way down-market -- unless that suite also brings better service, dining, food quality, and the like. I know of a "budget" line that I won't name that has some ships with a suite that is over 5000 sq. ft. in area, and quite costly. Yet, booking this suite brings no improvement in most of these other cruise factors. So rather than booking this suite, I would prefer and recommend a more reasonable size suite on Regent, Seabourn, or Silversea so I could enjoy better quality when outside the suit and probably save a little money as well.

[cruiseluv]

Frankly, these threads about the "value" in luxury cruising, are getting out of hand. It's becoming like an echo chamber where we are all patting ourselves on the back at how sophisticated we are in recognizing the intrinsic value of not having to sign chits for drinks, not having to stand in lines, having waiters anticipate our desire for a specific type of drink, being around like minded people, so on and so forth.

Maybe we are trying to convince ourselves that paying over $700 per day per person is all worth it.

 

As nyfeds said, quite elitist.

[BILLP1]

Elitist? Maybe just spending our money as we want to and enjoying our vacations.Some people enjoy Days Inn and others prefer a Ritz. Each to his own.

[Leejnd4]

Frankly, these threads about the "value" in luxury cruising, are getting out of hand. It's becoming like an echo chamber where we are all patting ourselves on the back at how sophisticated we are in recognizing the intrinsic value of not having to sign chits for drinks, not having to stand in lines, having waiters anticipate our desire for a specific type of drink, being around like minded people, so on and so forth.

Maybe we are trying to convince ourselves that paying over $700 per day per person is all worth it.

 

As nyfeds said, quite elitist.

 

Cruiseluv, I disagree that these threads are elitist. There may be the occasional comment that might come across as such, but I think these are all valid discussions.

 

If your comment about them "getting out of hand" is about the NUMBER of these threads, or how frequently these topics are discussed, keep in mind that there are always new folks coming onto these boards. So topics that have been covered in depth in the past will always come back, as a new crop of posters want to discuss it. (Most people prefer to start new conversations in which they can participate, rather than use the search feature and read reams of old posts.)

 

And then there's people who just like to talk about cruising when we're in between cruises, so we don't mind covering the same topics ad infinitum! :D

[caviargal]

Suite perks differ by line. We generally cruise HAL when looking for a 7 night itinerary. For our upcoming HAL cruise, the fare for our suite (SB) is approx 3000 per person. For that we get a large cabin (380-500 sq ft), large balcony, complimentary laundry and dry cleaning, access to the concierge lounge where we can get great specialty coffees, light meals, a hot spot, concierge assistance, etc. We also have a private restaurant for breakfast that is very nice and quiet and which we enjoy as often as possible. Fresh flowers, fruit baskets, DVDs delivered to the rooms, full menus deliver to the stateroom daily in case we are interested in room service, priority embarkation and debarkation.

 

We will dine at least 5 nights in the premium restaurant at $30 per person, I take fitness classes and use the T pool (both extra), we drink nice wines with dinner, have a martini before. I drink a few bottles of water each day. All of these add up to a tab of 1200 or so for the week, so $7200 for the cruise.

 

While we enjoy HAL, it is still a mass market experience and we would prefer Regent but they only rarely offer short itineraries, except in Alaska. We prefer warm weather cruising.

[Travelcat2]

Suite perks differ by line. We generally cruise HAL when looking for a 7 night itinerary. For our upcoming HAL cruise, the fare for our suite (SB) is approx 3000 per person. For that we get a large cabin (380-500 sq ft), large balcony, complimentary laundry and dry cleaning, access to the concierge lounge where we can get great specialty coffees, light meals, a hot spot, concierge assistance, etc. We also have a private restaurant for breakfast that is very nice and quiet and which we enjoy as often as possible. Fresh flowers, fruit baskets, DVDs delivered to the rooms, full menus deliver to the stateroom daily in case we are interested in room service, priority embarkation and debarkation.

 

We will dine at least 5 nights in the premium restaurant at $30 per person, I take fitness classes and use the T pool (both extra), we drink nice wines with dinner, have a martini before. I drink a few bottles of water each day. All of these add up to a tab of 1200 or so for the week, so $7200 for the cruise.

 

While we enjoy HAL, it is still a mass market experience and we would prefer Regent but they only rarely offer short itineraries, except in Alaska. We prefer warm weather cruising.

 

Regent offers a few 7 night Carribean cruises -- usually in the Western Carribean (Belize, Cozumel, Hondurus, etc.) The pricing on these cruises are low (at least compared to other Regent cruises).

[MICone]

I found this discussion rather amusing, with a slight odor of pretentsion, but don;t agree with the conclusion that suites and junior suites subsidize inside cabin guests.

Using the Voyager as my reference point, the "main stream" lines offer substanially larger ships, providing a vast variety of entertainment amenities, unavailable on the Voyager. Ie Multiple swimming pools, waterslides, ice skating rinks, rock climbing,, various themed bars etc. As one respondent pointed out already, you are merely paying extra for the real estate you are occupying.

[jhp]

Only because I have finally reached a level to get a lot of perks on Regent (free internet, free pressing and laundry, free newspaper every day, lots of phone time) do I finally feel like I am getting some extra "value" on Regent, as I use or enjoy these perks, and I'm glad they have them with the latest price increases! But what did I do several months ago? I booked the Silver Sea Whisper for Dubai to Athens because my TA was giving a great discount on a group cruise, and it was less than Regent's price at the time I booked! No perks! Remains to be seen whether I will see "value" until I have taken the cruise!

[Minn.cruisers]

We being fairly newbies to cruising, still board a ship wide-eyed in awe of the experience, and every vacation we take is heaven for us. We research ships and itineraries, read reviews and realize an experience may have been different if another had cruised the same, and book a cruise on many different factors. The CC threads were new to us, and we have learned alot form reading and joining in often on discussions on subjects of interest. I guess I always thought the higher priced suites, although a nice experience to enjoy, paid the premium of the cruise for others in the smaller cabins, and a higher level of service is expected. I'm sure. We have been pleased with the service received on our past cruises, and can't imagine it better (although I'm sure it can be...) We have had balconies our last 2 cruises (enjoy them so much), and our 1st cruise was an inside cabin years ago (booked as a group cruise with no input from us at that time). Reading this thread has been enlightening in some ways for me. I hadn't really thought of some cruiselines as being 'mass market' lines, although they are the lines most advertised, IMO, to the general public anyway. When planning a cruise, I have looked into these 'luxury' lines, and they do have a luxury pricetag, which has deterred me thus far in our final choice of booking a cruise. I have always wondered why, and now realize it must be because they are adult oriented, for the most part, and secondly I'm sure the same cruisers frequent these ships repeatedly and have a comraderie of sorts as well. Being new empty nesters, we miss the kids, but not that much, usually, and when on a cruise the solitude of peace and quiet is appealing, and expected or ...hoped for at the very least. We may someday look further into booking a cruise that is a reach budgetwise on these 'luxury liners'.

[Iamboatman]

What a nice post. :)

[Minn.cruisers]

:p ...I kinda felt like I stepped off the CC thread lightrail into a different dimension....

[Minn.cruisers]

Yes, and we are booked on one for 2009. Not for the ports at all, as they are all forgettable IMO, but for the experience overall. Frankly, there are just too many families sailing these days on the mass market lines and we don't enjoy being around kids. About the only option left to meet our needs are the luxury lines where are not likely to be kids aboard.

 

Oh, my....how can you stand it !!!! :p 7 cruises planned all at once, I think I have gone over to another dimension....:cool: I would like be going totally insane.... you lucky gal.

What has been your most memorable cruise/cruiseline/itinerary. (I see itinerary isn't a high priority). We love the Caribbean, and are looking forward to sailing the Southern next cruise.

[caviargal]

Oh, my....how can you stand it !!!! :p 7 cruises planned all at once, I think I have gone over to another dimension....:cool: I would like be going totally insane.... you lucky gal.

What has been your most memorable cruise/cruiseline/itinerary. (I see itinerary isn't a high priority). We love the Caribbean, and are looking forward to sailing the Southern next cruise.

 

My most memorable cruise ever was the Radisson Diamond to the Greek Islands and Turkey in the early 90s. While I did not care for Greece, I loved Turkey; also, it was my first luxury cruise and I was hooked. What a fabulous experience! I also loved my cruises on Sitmar and Home Lines, both very special lines with wonderful service and cuisine.

 

Frankly, I rarely cruise for pleasure these days as the luxury lines are my preference but budget and time does not allow me to choose these very often. Mostly I cruise for business (I am in the incentive business) and the RSSC cruise in 2009 is the only pleasure cruise on my horizon. The rest are adult only AI esorts and land trips to Europe, our personal preference.

[Minn.cruisers]

While I can't imagine any cruise not being pleasurable I suppose a career in cruising does become everyday, like any job eventually does.

I am surprised to hear that Greece wasn't cared for. Santorini is a dream cruise for me. We love the warm tropical cruises we've gone on so far, and want to go on many more, and Greece is one of my fantasy cruises way up on the list. Or a land vacation and staying in one of those whitewashed/blue roofed cave dwellings would be so amazing too. I'm a romantic...that is why I love cruising so much I guess. Thanks for sharing your most memorable cruise.

[hvsteve1]

Here's a new article in the Smarter Travel newsletter that addresses this very subject.

 

http://www.smartertravel.com/travel-advice/top-10-reasons-to-upgrade-to-luxury.html?id=2536673&source=nltype_senior&value=2008-04-15&u=3D99DAF200

[sysop123]

I've been cruising with Regent (formally Radisson) for 15 years, and noticed that their service and attitude have deteriorated significantly. I had to cancel my cruise with them because my father passed away. I wrote to their Customer Relations Manager, Gair O'Neill, with a copy of my father's death certificate to request a credit to be applied to my next cruise with them. This is normally allowed with most reputable cruise companies. I have a friend who had a similar situation with Celebrity, and he had full credit to be applied to his next cruise. Not only did Regent refuse to give me full credit, but I did not receive a return phone call from Gair O'Neill, although I called and left messages on his voicemail on more than 5 occasions.

So, in my humble opinion, Regent is WORSE than Celebrity, but charges a lot more for their cruises.

 

We have cruised on main stream lines and 4 times on Regent and once on Silver Seas, both Regent and Silver Seas being much more expensive than the main steam lines. But which is a better value? Well here's what I think, when you cruise a main stream line the folks who take the suites and mini suites are in essence subsidizing the inside cabin crowd. Everyone on the ship gets the same food the same entertainment only because it's averaged out to the entire ship, is that fair? Why should someone paying one fifth of others get the same perks. On the luxury lines fares are not much different for all except for a few super large cabins so the cost is much more fairly distributed and the food, perks and service are far above that of the main stream lines. Why? Because it's not a case of the haves subsidizing the have nots as on the main steam lines. So I believe value wise the luxury lines are the best value, unless you are one of the inside cabin crowd on a main steam line and getting the same food, entertainment and service as those paying much more and subsidizing your cruise.

[cruiseyguy]

sysop123-Contrary to what you assert, I know of no cruise line that will apply a forward credit in the event a passenger must cancel after final payment, regardless of the reason. Celebrity has a form of cruise "protection" that it sells, which will allow this. In addition, travel insurance will, under certain circumstances, reimburse any payments lost as a result of cancellation.

[Prada Cowboy]

Caviargal...you are right! The greek Isles are not very impressive and actually Santorini was my least favourite. I have no idea what the hype is about this Island. Mykonos and Hydra are the only 2 nice islands there.

 

I have sailed mainstream and luxury, but for me mainstream is as good as a done deal of the past. We always sail in the best suites on mainstream lines, which always come as well with a hefty price tag. Food and service is still the same as the rest of the ship...yes you get a bit of extra perks, but you need them not to be in line with the other 2500 guests on board. There as well you get nickled and dimed to the maximum.

 

Actually a Regent (or other luxury) cruise is far more inexpensive then a main stream cruise in a top Suite! You get better food and service, everything is included, better itineraries and you sail with more likeminded guests in luxury!

 

We do mainstream (HAL) if we go with friends or family, but otherwise they would not see me anymore.

[Prada Cowboy]

I've been cruising with Regent (formally Radisson) for 15 years, and noticed that their service and attitude have deteriorated significantly. I had to cancel my cruise with them because my father passed away. I wrote to their Customer Relations Manager, Gair O'Neill, with a copy of my father's death certificate to request a credit to be applied to my next cruise with them. This is normally allowed with most reputable cruise companies. I have a friend who had a similar situation with Celebrity, and he had full credit to be applied to his next cruise. Not only did Regent refuse to give me full credit, but I did not receive a return phone call from Gair O'Neill, although I called and left messages on his voicemail on more than 5 occasions.

So, in my humble opinion, Regent is WORSE than Celebrity, but charges a lot more for their cruises.

 

 

I am sorry for your loss, but if you do not have had travel insurance, you will not see a dime, regardless of cruise line! Read through your contract!

 

I went through the same thing in fall...but it was my mistake! NOT the cruise line!!!

[caviargal]

I am sorry for your loss, but if you do not have had travel insurance, you will not see a dime, regardless of cruise line! Read through your contract!

 

 

I agree that is correct, with the VERY rare exception perhaps for the line's most dedicated clients.

 

We always cover ourselves with insurance. Regent's decision not to refund your money does not, IMO, indicate a decline in customer service.

[Prada Cowboy]

I agree that is correct, with the VERY rare exception perhaps for the line's most dedicated clients.

 

We always cover ourselves with insurance. Regent's decision not to refund your money does not, IMO, indicate a decline in customer service.

 

You are right!

 

I just saw you want to see the Yodel X-Mas Markets! Nuernberg and Augsburg have the nicest once. You also should go to Innsbruck or Salzburg, if you can! I also saw you will be getting on the Navigator, when I maybe get off her from the Transatlantic...would love to extend and have to see how it would work out for my partner.