papaflamingo

I'm sure cost cutting is high on the list as cruise lines try to recover from the Covid shutdown,. But as a new Regent cruiser you won't notice them. I can't really explain the airline issue for you, other than airlines are flying very full and higher prices. So this will impact Regent's airline costs and will be factored into the cruise cost. At least here in the U.S. they do say that the included airline only from specific gateways. If you live in a non-gateway city there is an additional charge. Likely that's your problem. I assume you live in a non-gateway city and must come a night early to catch your Heathrow flight? Can you catch a later flight to Heathrow and connect on same day? As for the hotel allowance, and the booked hotels due to the Pope's visit, check and see if any rooms are available and at what cost. That'll tell you why they have to cancel. I doubt that they're "running a number" to decrease costs. We sailed since covid and found the even with supply train issues and new crewmembers, Regent did a great job to deliver the same experience as before. We didn't notice any cutbacks and the only one I can think of is closing the Pool Grill for dinners. I'm sure this is a cost cut because of the minimal use on most cruises. However I believe they didn't even offer the Pool Grill until around 2018 so it's not like it was a traditional Regent offering. People tend to "read into" things. I take them at face value. If Regent cancels a hotel because of a huge event at the port city, then I accept that they cancelled the hotel because of a huge event in the port city, not as a prelude or result of declining revenues.

Are you on the Oct.3 sailing on Voyager? We are also on that cruise. We also live in Atlanta and are flying a couple of days early. I opted for the Delta non-stop, figuring it's worth it to be non-stop. Also got the non-stop home from Rome on Delta with no uncharge. Looking forward to this cruise. It'l be a good one. 😎

The article is written from a very cynical point of view and ignores the lowering of prices as well as increasing cost. In 1897 (when I got hired) the average price to fly was $587. In today's dollars that is $1542 today. The average air fare today is $392 which, in 1987 would have been $149. The airlines added seats because people wanted cheap tickets. With the fluctuating oil prices and demand for low fares it was all they can do to be profitable. it has nothing to do with a concerted effort to make people miserable enough to buy higher priced seats. It simply has to do with rising costs vs. decreasing air fare. The was driven by multiple events (like 911 or Covid) including demand, fuel costs, Southwest Airlines, etc. You can say the same for cruise lines. In 1987 the cruise experience on major lines was significantly different than today, and significantly cheaper. Our first cruise in 1998 cost $750 per person for an inside cabin. Today that would be $1376. I can get an inside cabin for on the same week, same ship for $470 or in 1998 dollars $256 I doubt the cruise lines purposefully made the experience worse just to drive people into expensive suites. It was simply a shift in the economy from a "Neiman Marcus" experience to "Walmart." People want to pay as little as possible so the corporations adjusted to be profitable on as little as possible fares. It's all the wishes of the consumer. So sure, "agree to disagree." But if you really examined how cost structures change, you won't find any discussion or idea about "calculated misery," in fact quite the opposite.

I spent 29 years as a major U.S. airline pilot. Admittedly I was never involved in any financial decisions but I don't accept the premise that airlines purposefully make economy miserable to force sales to higher priced seats. Pricing is competitively based. The airlines charge what the competition allows. The cost of an economy ticket is extremely low in general, especially if compared to many years ago. The airlines added seats in order to carry enough passengers to make the flight profitable. When I got hired in 1987 our break even load factor was 52%. After the fare dumps in the early 90's the break even load factor climbed rapidly and is now around 72-78%. So the planes need to average that to simply not lose money.

Missing a port is always hit or miss (pun intended). You simply don't know until it happens. Most 3rd party excursion companies understand this and will allow a full, or at least a partial, refund if the ship misses the port for any reason. We did 40 nights from Montreal to Southhampton and missed ports in Greenland and one in Iceland but made every port in the UK. If you want to book a third party excursion then look for ones that have a full refund or at least only keep a small deposit and go ahead and book them. I wouldn't let the fear of cancellation of a port drive any decision. You really just never know with a cruise.

DOH! Wrong Monday. We board on Mar. 13. 😎

We're on the same cruise! We are just finishing the repair of our house from a water line break on Christmas. Need this cruise desperately! 1 more week! Can't wait! 😎

I actually wasn't questioning your comment that excursions run $150 per person, but your comment "c Sure Regent loves customers who don't take the included excursions and that is pure profit and adds to the bottom line." I suspect, don't actually know, that Regent books excursions at a guaranteed amount regardless of how many show up to take the excursion. I also suspect that to add extra busses, etc. they will now need a certain minimum to warrant the cost. If they go to optional excursions, and a particular excursion doesn't get enough to meet the minimum cost. they'll end up cancelling that excursion. As it stands today, it seems they book...say a bus for 60...at a fixed cost for UPTO 60 people and if only 10 book it, it goes anyway. So those who choose to sit on the ship or book their own excursions, are supplementing the rest of us. But I doubt seriously that people failing to show up on any excursion is actually " pure profit and adds to the bottom line."

I'm not so sure your comment is accurate. Regent pays to book the excursion and likely pays a "full bus" fare. If it's $1000 to book a bus with enough room for 60 and only 30 people show up, the cost to Regent doesn't come down nor does the cost to the passenger increase. It's simply supplemented by those who don't take excursions. That's also why, for me, I don't want to see a credit for excursions. If that happened they'd have to instituted a minimum number for an excursion to go or charge an upcharge if the excursion isn't full.

You might want to recheck your daily rate. We have 5 cruises booked and we are nowhere near $1200 or more per person on any of them, and that includes a 70 night Grand Cruise in a Penthouse. As for King crab, the crab population is really down right now. It's probably not a matter of cutting back and more a matter of unavailable supply. The crab population has been very low for a year now. Also not sure what liquor you're looking for, but my cruise last June-July I had no issues getting what I wanted, of course that certainly is a function of "taste." I think people are confusing cutbacks with supply chain issues. The supply chain is still stretched very thin due to Covid recovery. Many companies simply shut down, and many workers changed jobs. Supply dropped significantly and demand rose way faster than expected. Additionally air fare has gone up "hugely" due to high demand and shortages of crews and higher fuel cost. Many companies simply aren't going to grow back to pre-Covid numbers so prices will remain high and supply will remain a concern.

I agree with the others.... go non stop. Pay the deviation fee and see how much extra the non stop will be. Might well be worth it.

First, take complaints with a HUGE grain of salt. People tend to blow things out of proportion. Take the age of Navigator. It was totally renovated around 2018 or so. Yes she's small and there is a vibration in the aft section, so it any vibration bothers you book a midship or forward cabin. But a lot of people don't mind the vibration. We spend 40 nights on Navigator from May 28, 2022 through July 7, 2022. We loved the cruise. I thought the service, considering there were a number of new crew due to the recent return from Covid, was excellent. Food was great. There is only 1 specialty restaurant, Prime 7 plus Compass Rose and Sette Mari. But we had the full blown Sunday at Sea Brunch and it was fantastic. Navigator simply doesn't have the "bells and whistles" you'll find on Explorer class. But neither does Mariner or Voyager. We enjoyed Navigator so much we are headed out on her again in 10 days. Yes, she's older, but looks great. Yes she vibrates in the aft but so do other ships and it's avoidable by booking forward. No she doesn't have Chartreuse or Pacific Rim, but otherwise the food was as good as any other Regent ship. Entertainment was ok. I don't sail Regent for the shows so not a factor. Has only 1 nice lounge, but there are a couple other small ones plus the pool bar. But I found her very intimate, comfortable, and friendly. Remember, all this is very speculative. I love Navigator others don't. So... I say if you like the itinerary and price, give it a try. Go with realistic expectations and you'll likely enjoy the cruise.

I wasn't "blaming the victim." But how would you like it if someone came into your business, purchased your product, smiled and said "thank you" and left, only to go on social media and complain to literally thousands of future consumers of your product, that the product or service is not up to standards without ever giving you any warning or opportunity to correct the problem? Do you think that's a fair way to handle the situation? I'm not "defending Regent," I'm only saying that in most everyone's experience Regent will "jump through hoops" trying to correct any issue, real or perceived. If they refuse to fix the situation, THEN bring it up on social media.

And therein lies the problem. If you don't discuss your problem with the appropriate people and give them a chance to correct it, it simply compounds the problem for future cruisers. Nothing is "endemic to Regent butlers." Regent always strives to correct issues. But can only do so if given the chance. When you say nothing and then come on social media insinuate the unsolved problem is "endemic to Regent" it gives people the impression that Regent doesn't live up to it's hype and doesn't care to. Most here have experienced the opposite, that when Regent doesn't live up to their hype, and is notified on board, the issue is usually resolved to the highest level possible. If your butlers gave you poor service, and you didn't let anyone know, they can't correct the service. In my opinion only, and not trying to be snarky, but saying nothing to the cruise line at any point, either on or after the cruise, then you are part of the problem, not part of the solution.

We all prefer to commend people for superlative service, and in general that's the service we've had on all our Regent cruises. But when someone fails to live up to the standard of the job it needs to be dealt with. Either mention it directly to the person so he or she can correct the issues, failing that their supervisor, failing that put it on the survey. That's sort of the point of the survey, to reward good and correct bad. Only placing it on social media does nothing but create a bad impression of the cruise line with no way for the cruise line to respond or correct it.

I know they charge per person, but really fares are more per cabin. Just ask solo cruisers. The website clearly states that internet access for less than a Concierge suite are "per cabin," "FREE Unlimited WiFi includes one log-in, one device, per suite. Concierge Suites and higher receive up to four logins, four devices, per suite."

Here is the dress code from the Regent website. Most people adhere to it. There is no Formal optional nights on cruises of 15 days or less. Even then it's optional. I take a sport coat and tie and generally choose to wear the sport coat to Prime7 and Chartreuse as we like to make those nicer venues more of a "date night." "Attire ranges from Casual to Formal Optional. Casual wear consists of resort-style outfits; some examples are jeans, shorts, t-shirts, and tennis shoes. Casual wear is appropriate for daytime both on board or ashore. Casual wear is not appropriate after 6:00 PM, with the exceptions of while dining at the Pool Grill or Pool Bar and on the final evening of the cruise. On the night prior to disembarkation, guests may need to pack their luggage early due to morning flights the next day. With this in mind, on the last night of every voyage, we will relax the dress code for dinner to Casual. Otherwise, the recommended 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; slacks and a collared shirt for gentlemen. Sport jackets are optional. Casual wear is not to be worn at dinner, once again with the exceptions of while dining at the Pool Grill and on the final evening of the cruise. Ties are not required."

We were on Navigator in June and July and hardly anyone wore masks on board. Some would wear them on tour busses, but that was about it. So if you don't want to wear a mask there is, at this time at least, no requirement to do so.

A couple of comments. Often Regent only visits a port once or twice a year, so building a steady supply of excursion operators isn't an option, so they end up with limited excursions. However as to a rating system, most ports they seem to use the same excursion companies as all the cruise lines use in those ports. Likely because they are part of NCL so they seem to book the same companies that NCL uses (makes sense anyway). I have found that often if you simply put the description or title of the tour in a websearch it will bring you to one of the review sites, or another cruise line site, that will show reviews of the same excursion. You have to read carefully to make sure it's the same, but it is one way to find reviews on some of the excursions, especially in ports that cruise lines always visit. Also if you go to the Ports of Call section here in CC you can often find the same excursion or something close. You have to weed through a lot of comments unfortunately, but you an often get good info. I've found it very helpful in getting reviews.

Although I haven't contacted anyone to verify this, I believe, based on the letter, that all you have to do is administer a test to yourself and follow the "verification" steps outlined. Yes, this certainly can lead to abuse, but we're all adults and the theory is we're honest. If they wanted one of the internet monitored tests they would specify that. Those aren't actually "self tests," they're "monitored tests."

WOW! We spend 40 night on Navigator from May 28-July 7 and had a completely opposite experience (except entertainment. Agree on entertainment). But the food was good to excellent, service was on spot, including bars. Had a wonderful time and have Navigator booked for next month.

We've only waitlisted for one tour in 82 nights on Regent. It cleared while we were on the cruise (actually I think they added to the cruise). So I can't speak with authority, but it seems that if there's enough interest and have the ability they'll add busses to the tours. Obviously boat tours and other small venues can't add capacity, but busses can often be added. Covid did impact shore excursions as many companies ceased operations so that is a big limit that can't be overcome quickly. If there are no more seats and no more busses, then nothing can be done. Unfortunately if access to all excursions is a "deal breaker," then you need to decide if the Regent experience is worth it to you.

As noted the Butler will do just about anything you want, including unpacking and shining shoes. We have only had 1 butler and we loved him. We, too, are low maintenance, but found it nice to have a single source for all questions and requests. We did the canapés a few times and enjoyed them. One day when he brought the canapes he asked if we were having a drink. I said yes so he asked if he could get it for me (I drink bourbon on the rocks). I said "that would be very nice, thank you," at which point my wife chimed in with "it's only bourbon poured in the glass, you can get that yourself." 🤣 One of the really nice uses was when we had back to back shore excursions. We would have our butler place lunch in our cabin at a specific time so we could eat while we were changing for the second tour. Saves a lot of time so we wouldn't have to rush lunch. Our last cruise, no butler. We did miss him, but I will only book a Penthouse for cabin size, not the butler. But he/she sure is a nice perk to have.

We did some of these ports this past summer on Navigator. In Kirkwall we did ORKNEY'S ARCHAEOLOGICAL WONDERS and enjoyed the tour. Did not do Small Group and wouldn't since a lot of the tour is done on your own. For us the small group wasn't worth the upcharge. In Belfast we did THE TITANIC TRAIL and really enjoyed the tour. Again, no need for small group. But it was interesting to see the museum. It focuses more on Belfast's building of the ship rather than the sinking,. I'm a "ship junkie" so seeing where the Titanic was build was really interesting for me. Glasgow we went to Sterling Castle. Again, don't think small group is necessary as you can basically tour the castle on your own,. We enjoyed it. Beautiful castle. In Liverpool we did the Small Group In the Steps of the Beatles. Here we were very happy we did the Small Group as the guide was excellent and we were able to spend more time at each stop having only around 12 on the bus. As a Beatles fan, we loved this tour. If you're not much of a Beatles fan you might want to look at other options. Waterford we did KILKENNY CASTLE & WATERFORD CRYSTAL and enjoyed this tour also. Only glitch was one lady wandered off after lunch and we had to search for her. Almost missed the Waterford Crystal but made it anyway. Again, not the small group, and other than the lady wandering off, don't really think the small group is necessary. Small Group vs regular tour is really dependent on both the tour and the interest level you have. I won't book a small group unless it's a tour that will have a lot of narration and I'm very interested in the tour, like the Beatles tour we did. On a tour where there is a guide the small group is better for time, questions, narration, etc. On a tour where you are stopping for an unguided tour, don't see the need. But that's really up to you. The small group is nice being limited to 16 people, however keep in mind you might be trading a large bus with 30 or so on it for a small bus filling all the 16 seats.

This is becoming a more and more expressed desire. For me, it means the beginning of a slippery slope downward. Next to go will be included alcohol and wine, replaced by a drink or wine package. Honestly, what I like about Regent is being the most inclusive cruise line out there. I don't like to have to research ports and tour vendors anymore, I simply pick a tour that sounds good to me. I also agree that the rebate for excursions will not be all that much. Honestly, other luxury cruise lines offer more of an "Ala carte" cruise. By removing included items you are simply making Regent the same as the other cruise lines. In my opinion it will change the business model and become the beginning of a down hill slide.