papaflamingo

I think you misunderstood. If you re-read the original post they were completely compensated for the missed cruise by their travel insurance.

Just to add what others have said.. the 210 day is the first day you can DEVIATE with Regent. You are NOT taking the air credit, but you will still use Regent Air, but will pay $175 per person to work with them to book your flights early. You may have an additional up charge if they can't get contract rates on the flights you want. These days it's harder and harder to find really desirable itineraries that will be "free" with Regent. So decide if you want to pay any up charge, or have them find an early booking that will have no up charge, or take the credit and book your own air. On our upcoming cruise I got what I wanted to Hong Kong for no up charge, but had the up charge to get the non stop home from Tokyo. They told me what the "free" option would be and I decided I'd rather pay the up charge. But either way it was still cheaper than booking on my own, and as a retired Delta pilot I get at least a 25% discount on Delta flights.

The cruse lines lost BILLIONS with the 2 year shutdown. They need to recover. The faux leather pouch was pretty worthless really. Just the fact they still send luggage tags is something. Royal Caribbean stopped that YEARS ago. You had a choice of downloading and printing your own tags, having tags added at the port, or paying (I think) $15 and have them mailed to you. Honestly, we download everything to our phones (no need for cell service as the important docs. are saved on the phone) and don't print anything. Much cleaner and easier in my opinion. But every penny saved pre-cruise is a penny they don't need to save on the ship.

The dress code is very simple and as long as you abide by it no one will "look down" on you. Unless your cruise has a segment of 16 nights or longer there will be no Formal Optional night. Here is the dress code regarding just women: "onboard dress in the evenings is Elegant Casual. Dinner dress for ladies includes a skirt, or slacks with a blouse or sweater, a pant suit or dress". https://www.rssc.com/frequently-asked-questions/onboard

Honestly we have never stayed in a Regent supplied hotel, always took the hotel credit and arranged our own transportation. But from what I've read here, if you want you can actually send your luggage with Regent in the morning and go on your own to the ship. I would certainly tell someone if I was planning on doing that, but sure seems possible if you want. As for getting on the ship, you can board anytime really, as long as you're there before they shut boarding down. Not sure about Regent, but we once arrived at 2:30 for a 5 pm sailing on Celebrity and we were the last to board. I had heard that 3:30 was when they cutoff boarding to close out the manifest, 90 minutes before sailing, but don't really know if that's true or not. However for us, we board early so we can get settled and start enjoying the cruise. But if you want to do lunch at the hotel and head over at 1, shouldn't be a problem.

For me cruising has always been about expectations. I try hard to keep them real and so far have not been disappointed. So... my "take on this." I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist so I doubt that Regent is purposefully adding more and more ports to "save money." It's the ports that many of us, me included, cruise for. Heck just read the Voyager thread at how ticked off people are for MISSING ports. Let me say.. I LOVE sea days. But if I want a "sea day" I can always stay on board and have "run of the ship." But Regent would NEVER be a cruise line I would book for shows, games, etc. I'd book a mega liner for those things. I sail Regent for the ports and the overall relaxed experience. I don't want to be out "drinking and partying" until 2 am anymore...too old. If I want that, I'll book an Oasis class ship on Royal Caribbean in the Caribbean. I want to see the ports. We have only done 2 Regent cruises but they totaled 84 days! We use Regent to "see the world." As for cutbacks. Yup...the Covid shutdown killed the cruise industry. Something similar happened after 9/11. The cruise experience changed dramatically. We were just starting our "cruise life" and sailed predominantly on Royal Caribbean. But after 9/11 everything changed. We are seeing some of that after Covid. However we didn't really see much difference between our 2018 Regent cruise and our 2022 cruise. I don't care either way about the block party. I go, it's a nice touch, but not a big deal for me. I love the Sunday brunch, but I also realize they only happen on sea days. So if you're not at sea on Sunday, you won't have one. We had one on both our cruises. I don't care much about all the games and trivia, so not really a "game changer" for me. I like lying around the pool or reading on my balcony when at sea. Had a deck BBQ on both cruises. They're fine. I don't care all that much because they are crowded, there's a "fight" for table space, etc. I enjoy them of course and appreciate the effort, but if we don't get one...fine by me. I found the service was exceptional on both our cruises. The food was too. But then, I didn't get this body of "pure steel and sex appeal" by being a picky eater. 😜 So I have NO complaints about anything.Oh yeah....we did miss ports on both cruises, but I simply roll with the punches because I realize that's the nature of cruising. So that's my take. I guess it all really adds up to what we individually enjoy the most. I like the Regent business model for the very reasons others seem to be questioning, the port intensive cruises, relaxed atmosphere, quiet after hours with relaxed music and good after dinner drinks, and the slow and quiet at sea days. But that's me. If I want non stop excitement I'll go on a large mega ship with slides, broadway shows, 25 bars, zip lines, carousels, flow riders, etc. Otherwise, a nice bourbon with a book on my balcony is just fine with me. 🥃😎

There is no difference in cabin floorpan on Navigator between a Deluxe Verandah up through Penthouse. The only difference is location on the ship and amenities (you get more with a penthouse). Other ships the Penthouse is a different floorplan. But to answer your question for Navigator, a Penthouse A is simply in a better deck location than a Penthouse C. Other than that there is no difference.

You are correct, if you look at the booking it should be a single "business class" booking all the way. So that means First Class for the domestic leg. However if the airlines doesn't offer a through booking then you will possibly get coach for the domestic leg. In my case, the no up charge offer was Japan Airlines to (I think) Boston, then JetBlue to Atlanta. JetBlue to Atlanta has no First Class so it would be cattle car coach. I chose the up charge non-stop.

I'm still surprised..I've never heard of such a thing. I think the guy was full of it and didn't know what he was talking about. If you paid for the cruise and cancelled then you lose what you paid less port charges and taxes. I can't even imagine where anyone would come up with a $2000 charge to cancel. I don't think you have anything to worry about. I think there's some sort of communication problem here (on their part). And you're covered in THEIR contract. The cancellation schedule is very clear.

I would never get Regent's coverage...way too expensive (at least for now, maybe not when I'm older). I always compare policies and purchase the one that I feel best covers my needs. I have used a number of different companies over the years, always selected for a specific benefit according with what I feel I need to cover most.

As is frequently pointed out on these boards, nothing is "free," it's "included." If you want a $700 per night hotel room expect the prices to go up. If you want private transport to the port, expect prices to go up. If you want non-stop flights at your convenience, expect the prices to go up. If you want shore excursions with no more than a handful on each bus, expect prices to go up. That's the tradeoff. Regent only budgets (at least credits) $150 per person for a hotel room. Go on line and see what you can get in some of these cities at this point in time for $300 per couple, and that INCLUDES transport to the port. Prices for EVERYTHING has gone up. Regent is trying to provide in a climate of rising prices. Their constraints are pretty tight.

Yes, and if the cruise is cancelled you get a refund. The cruise hasn't been cancelled. But thanks for pointing that out.

Thank you...Actually mine wasn't too bad. We had the new booster a week before so that may have helped. Had a cough and some sinus blockage for a day, then it started improving daily and I tested Covid free 5 days later, unfortunately (or fortunately considering Israel and Egypt) the day after the cruise departed Athens.

It is for me... and good thing. We were supposed to be on this cruise (actually starting in Athens). On the morning we were to fly to Athens I felt sick and tested positive for Covid. Fortunately we had Travel Insurance.

Clearly you aren't familiar with the tourist industry or transportation industry. Have you ever had a flight late or cancelled? I worked in the airline industry for 29 years and the obligation of the airlines is to get you to your final destination within 6 hours. So if you miss a meeting or cruise for a late arrival, the airlines will not accept responsibility. So there's ONE other industry. When you ship something be it via truck, ship, or plane, they will give you a guaranteed delivery for an ADDITIONAL PRICE (basically you pay for late arrival insurance). Otherwise, it'll get there when it gets there. There's another industry. When you book a hotel room and you pay a non-refundable price and have to cancel because of ANYTHING, you don't get reimbursed. There's another industry. If you buy a piece of clothing and wear it in a rainstorm and get it muddy and ruin it, the store doesn't give you your money back. THIS is EXACTLY why there is a Travel Insurance industry... the airlines, hotels, stores, trains, busses, ships, are not going to accept responsibility for problems that are beyond their control. And THAT is the "natural law of nature." I didn't mention refunds or credits because they aren't worth mentioning. Other lines generally have done this when it's a situation that affects ONLY them, like a mechanical issue. But patience, this isn't over, Regent just might issue some sort of partial credit to compensate for missing Israel and Egypt. Give them time. If they do, great..if not...well there's always Travel Insurance that may reimburse for missed ports.

You should be able to get the port schedule from various sites on line. I always check so I can set up my transport. In fact I like to check all the ports of the cruise to see how many ships are in port that day. Additionally, when you get your boarding pass the port of departure is listed. Our Boarding Pass was ready 3 weeks before the cruise, plenty of time to re-adjust transport.

If you're "dreading the transfer from the hotel to the ship" why not simply set up private transfer?

EVERY cruise line does this. And why would the corporation accept a portion of the risk that a port may cancel, or you might get sick, or there will be a terrorist event, all events beyond the cruise line's responsibility? That's what Travel Insurance is for... to mitigate the risk.

What was the $ 2K+ charge for? That makes no sense to me. Once you've made final payment that's it. Unless you add something to the cruise that increases the cost there are no other charges. And I've never heard of being charged additional for not showing up or cancelling last minute. We had to cancel this cruise a couple weeks ago (we were to start in Athens) due to me catching Covid. Regent simply cancelled the cruise and are refunding me the port fees and taxes. The rest I claim against my insurance policy. And our cancellation actually came the morning we were to fly to Athens to board the ship. So did they tell you what the $2K+ was for?

Georgia Peaches... I assume you'll be flying out of Atlanta, we do too. ALWAYS deviate your flights! You can deviate at 210 days before departure of your cruise. The cost is $175 per person deviation fee (non refundable) and then any up charged depending on the flights you select. When you contact Regent Air (or have your TA do it), have as many itineraries available as back ups. It's getting harder and harder to get good flights in Business Class as. the airlines are shorthanded and operating full. So the most desirable flights will likely cost extra. It's up to you if you think that extra is worth it. My latest experience, just a few weeks ago, was excellent. We are going Hong Kong to Tokyo in Feb. I didn't want the Delta flight to Hong Kong as it changes to KAL in Inchon, Korea. So I found a United flight via San Francisco. I was able to book it with NO up charge. and I was able to get the non stop on Delta from Tokyo to Atlanta with about $1000 up charge per person. They discussed alternatives with me and I could have done Japan Airlines with a domestic connection on JetBlue so I opted for the non stop. But by the end of the conversation I had both flights arranged and seat selected. As for domestic flights I always book my own as they are in coach. You have to pay for luggage and if you want to go early you have the $175 deviation fee. So with the allowance from Regent plus the $175 (we always deviate to go a day or more early), plus the cost of luggage, it really isn't all that much more to just buy a First Class ticket. One other comment. You can use Regent Air both ways or just one way if you like. We took the credit to Montreal last year and booked our own flight up, but used Regent Air back from London at the end of the cruise. Hope this helps. Sorry if I got a bit long winded.

Unless they had "cancel for any reason" the Insurance won't pay as the cruise didn't cancel. It just ended up with a new itinerary.

Actually, I didn't think the credits were reasonable until I compared the cost of Business Class Air on Royal Caribbean to Asia and back. And it was about $500 per person more TOTAL than the Air Credit on Regent for our Asia cruise. The cruise we're going on is Hong Kong to Tokyo, and the Royal Caribbean cruise I looked at was Singapore to Tokyo, so that could explain the $500 difference, so actually they do seem to give a reasonable air credit. Additionally the credit for a hotel room is, I believe, $150 per person so $300 per couple which seems pretty fair for a hotel room.

Yes... I agree. But doesn't that contradict your earlier comment that if they stop offering these things it would "bring a significant reduction in fares?"

You have the option of turning down the hotel and getting a credit if the hotel is not to your liking.

Actually Regent Air has contract rates on only certain flights and seats. Unfortunately they are bound by those contract rates. If they can get you to the cruise via there contract then that's what they're going to do. I know this is a very unique situation, but we always deviate our flights and sometimes pay an additional up charge in order to get flights I prefer. But I have also run into times when they simply can't offer flights at all, not even with an up charge. So it would appear that is the situation you have run into, that they can get you and your friends to Istanbul via contract flights, so that's what they're going to do.