gollane

Mariner suite 876.

Very convenient location for us, 3 up to LA Verandah and 1down to the boutique, we always use the stairs and this, shower only, suite fulfilled our needs perfectly. 

Should you travel from Rome in the direction of Istanbul a starboard cabin would be a better choice, better views and more sun, maybe. 

On 4/18/2022 at 1:02 PM, papaflamingo said:

 I believe any compensation for inconvenience across the cruise industry is FCC not cash.   Sadly cruising, just like any other vacation, is a "live and learn" situation.  If you fly on a specific airline, and hate it, you don't get compensation, you get "miles."  If you book a hotel and it's substandard, you don't get compensation, you get "points."  It is how it works.  There is no obligation at all for any cruise line to give any compensation for "non-enjoyment."  

This cruise was not ' non enjoyment ' to be blunt, they took peoples money under false pretences and did not deliver what we paid for!!  

On 4/11/2022 at 5:32 PM, 1982CruzStart said:

Gosh i hope it is before my cruise in August.  Sorry there are so many challenges especially when you pay the kind of money required for a Regent cruise.  I hope Regent provides some kind of compensation for all the passengers but i won't hold my breath. 

 

We have just received £500.00 per person future cruise credit after the debacle that was this cruise. 

Great!  so we have to spend even more money just to get their generous offer? 

I think not. 

Does anybody here have experience of successfully completing the plf? 

I ask because the form doesn't seem to cater for flying in, staying one night and then leaving on a cruise ship. 

Any advice would be welcomed. 

Thank you Mr Levin👍

Hi, to all you Regent fans out there. I have one question, do the window view suites on deck 6 have one way glass? 

I really don't want to keep the curtains drawn all the time. 

Thanks richws, Hurtigruten will be getting a call tomorrow morning. 

Seems strange to me that Hurtigruten cancelled the May 2nd cruise 7 days ago but my TA has still not been officially notified, thereby delaying the refund process even more, not happy about that. 

I noticed that last week there were 4 Scottish cruises on sale but as richws says this and 2 other cruises are no longer on sale only May 22nd is available 

They are hanging on to our money as long as possible, rather mean as it is obvious that they will be cancelled. 

There are not many cabins available for the equivalent cruise next year either. 

We are in exactly the same situation as the op except we're uk based , the cost of cancelling and rebooking for next year comes to around £1500.00. So we will pay up and hope they cancel.

The annoying thing is that the latest update on their website is dated 22/11/2020 

somewhat out of date! 

5 hours ago, HelenJD said:

Will the deposit not get converted to FCC on the UK? 

I wish, the UKt&cs are the toughest in the industry even though we are about 160 days out we stand to forfeit our deposit, the EU terms allow cancellation for €100. 00 pp. Strictly speaking we're not in the EU

Rssc t&cs seem to vary from day to day and region to region. We did book in July last year. So it is not at all clear which terms we booked under. 

On 7/19/2019 at 8:13 AM, Hambagahle said:

Jackie -  I was actually referring to the RSSC.com site where there is a separate one for Europe, another for the UK and then for the USA.   Well, actually same site but one is referred to different RSSC addresses depending on where the site thinks you are from!   Because I am in Switzerland the site "deems" I need to be hooked up to RSSC in Frankfurt.  That is the last place I would go for information because I live in the Suisse Romande and if I cannot get info in English I would like it in French.  RSSC Frankfurt sends me all sorts of information in German.  OK - I speak and read German adequately but not enough to read legalese T&Cs.  PLUS and this is a big one - all the fares are in Euros.  We do not use Euros here - we aren't members of the EU and we have the world's strongest currency, the CHF.   I cannot get onto the US site and wish I could because I happen to use a USD account to pay for cruises!!   It is what we call here a "casse-tête" - a nuisance.  Would be great if Regent would allow us to opt for the site that suits best.  US/UK/EU !

6 minutes ago, Hambagahle said:

It's OK - after 14 March I doubt I will ever want to cruise again...

 

We feel much the same in, fact we are now in the process of cancelling our October cruise, it looks like we will loose our £3000.00 deposit unlike the US where cancellation is $100.00 per person. 

On 7/19/2019 at 8:13 AM, Hambagahle said:

Jackie -  I was actually referring to the RSSC.com site where there is a separate one for Europe, another for the UK and then for the USA.   Well, actually same site but one is referred to different RSSC addresses depending on where the site thinks you are from!   Because I am in Switzerland the site "deems" I need to be hooked up to RSSC in Frankfurt.  That is the last place I would go for information because I live in the Suisse Romande and if I cannot get info in English I would like it in French.  RSSC Frankfurt sends me all sorts of information in German.  OK - I speak and read German adequately but not enough to read legalese T&Cs.  PLUS and this is a big one - all the fares are in Euros.  We do not use Euros here - we aren't members of the EU and we have the world's strongest currency, the CHF.   I cannot get onto the US site and wish I could because I happen to use a USD account to pay for cruises!!   It is what we call here a "casse-tête" - a nuisance.  Would be great if Regent would allow us to opt for the site that suits best.  US/UK/EU !

Whatever you do don't use the UK site the t&cs are not at all favourable 

22 hours ago, Belfast Taxman said:

That answer does not of course apply to many non-USA bookings. For avoidance of doubt, I am sure it is correct in relation to US bookings.

You can say that again, in the UK we loose our entire deposit!!! 

Thanks a million. 

We are sailing on the William Shakespeare in 10 days on the Rhone and Soane, having done this trip before with Emerald waterways it will make a very interesting comparison. 

Watch this space after the 24th of September. 

I don't remember being offered a choice of dining times, if I had I would not have chosen 6pm but you can change. 

The drinks package is bookable in advance or on board,  this entitles you to one bottle of wine per night and as stated the cheapest wine is about 50pounds (inc vat). The package does save money but I don't feel it is a generous offer. 

Much better to have a couple of drinks in your cabin and just buy a glass with meals. 

13 hours ago, gollane said:

Here is my view on our 12 days classic round trip on the Kong Harald,7March/18 march.

Fix your own luggage tags with your name  & cabin No before boarding the transfer bus, otherwise you will have to transport your own bags from reception (deck 3) to your cabin.

If embarking in Bergen you will board on deck 5 and have to find your cabin as there is no one to offer directions.

You will need to be patient at check in if you are part of a charter flight,very slow .

For the benefit of our drinking companions around the world ,we saw very many people carrying bags clearly marked DUTY FREE ,some with 3 bags!,and none were challenged,the staff really aren't bothered,I doubt if you will be challenged.On that theme there are many outlets for alcoholic beverages during the voyage.They are vinmonopolet's the 3 we used were in Tromso in the Nerstranda  shopping area,visible from the ship,and in Hammerfest & Stomarknes,very easy to find very close to the dock.Just be discreet when boarding,we found the wine boxes good value eg 1.5 litres of chenin blanc for just over £20.00..

If you aren't happy with your assigned dining time see the maître d on the first night and they will do their best to change it for you,we went from 6pm to 8.30 without problem.Also the fine dining restaurant,Kysten,is excellent,the menu looks expensive but full board passengers only pay the cover fee of about £20.00 and no more,well worth a visit.

Our cabin ,344,on deck 3 seemed small at first but there is plenty of storage for the 11 day trip,there is no tv or kettle in these cabins.Deck 5 cabins have a walkway outside and the windows are not one way glass !

If showering at sea do not leave anything on the bathroom floor as the shower tray is very shallow and if the ship rolls the floor will flood as my soaking slippers prove.

The shower is the smallest we have ever seen on a ship.The lectures on board are popular so you need to be in good time,the only padded seats are by the windows.Importantly  check the website before booking excursions as the brochure doesn't list the times,the website does and some visits take place at dusk or in the dark.

Hurtigruten call this the most beautiful cruise in the world,it is,the scenery is breath taking.

Oh one final point about  on board drink prices the prices shown all have 25% vat added to them.

Hope this helps you to enjoy the trip.

3 hours ago, hallasm said:

.. and gratitude as well.

Thank you for the detailed review. 

Did you see Northern Lights and how was the waters along the coast?

Yes the lights showed up on four nights although I missed one alert. 

The open sea was a little choppy on the way to, I think, Honningsvag but I'm not sure however the last nights open sea leg was very rough ,enough to clear all the shelves in our cabin. But living

on the Isle of Man we're used to rough seas.

Overall the weather was very kind to us.

Here is my view on our 12 days classic round trip on the Kong Harald,7March/18 march.

Fix your own luggage tags with your name  & cabin No before boarding the transfer bus, otherwise you will have to transport your own bags from reception (deck 3) to your cabin.

If embarking in Bergen you will board on deck 5 and have to find your cabin as there is no one to offer directions.

You will need to be patient at check in if you are part of a charter flight,very slow .

For the benefit of our drinking companions around the world ,we saw very many people carrying bags clearly marked DUTY FREE ,some with 3 bags!,and none were challenged,the staff really aren't bothered,I doubt if you will be challenged.On that theme there are many outlets for alcoholic beverages during the voyage.They are vinmonopolet's the 3 we used were in Tromso in the Nerstranda  shopping area,visible from the ship,and in Hammerfest & Stomarknes,very easy to find very close to the dock.Just be discreet when boarding,we found the wine boxes good value eg 1.5 litres of chenin blanc for just over £20.00..

If you aren't happy with your assigned dining time see the maître d on the first night and they will do their best to change it for you,we went from 6pm to 8.30 without problem.Also the fine dining restaurant,Kysten,is excellent,the menu looks expensive but full board passengers only pay the cover fee of about £20.00 and no more,well worth a visit.

Our cabin ,344,on deck 3 seemed small at first but there is plenty of storage for the 11 day trip,there is no tv or kettle in these cabins.Deck 5 cabins have a walkway outside and the windows are not one way glass !

If showering at sea do not leave anything on the bathroom floor as the shower tray is very shallow and if the ship rolls the floor will flood as my soaking slippers prove.

The shower is the smallest we have ever seen on a ship.The lectures on board are popular so you need to be in good time,the only padded seats are by the windows.Importantly  check the website before booking excursions as the brochure does list the times,the website does and some visits take place at dusk or in the dark.

Hurtigruten call this the most beautiful cruise in the world,it is,the scenery is breath taking.

Oh one final point about  on board drink prices the prices shown all have 25% vat added to them.

Hope this helps you to enjoy the trip.

I would say that the average age is over 65,at least it is on the Kong Harald at the moment and some of them are rather pushy but most are good company. 

The Isle of Man will be very very busy at that time for us anyway ,if you don't want to take an included excursion you could walk to the end of the bay,about 1.5 miles, and get on a vintage electric tram to Laxey or even do the whole trip to Ramsey.Alternatively get off in laxey and take another tram to the top of our only mountain,Snaefell which has a café at the top.

To get back you would have to do the trip in reverse.

In the sea terminal there is a visitor centre where lots of advice is available,maybe you could buy a transport rover ticket which is good value if you are adventurous.

There is also a Victorian steam railway only a short walk from the harbour.

Peel is another place to visit by bus or taxi where there is a heritage centre.

I don't think you could entertain yourself in Douglas all day,we are a very friendly and helpful lot over here ,everyone will be only too pleased to help out and answer any questions you have.

Hope you enjoy our lovely little island.

Well here is an update for all you kind, helpful people.

I decided to email RSSC's ceo politely asking why they penalised their UK clients so heavily compared our US cousins.

Very soon after I was contacted by the London office again explaining my complaint,they said they would check the

relevant t&c's coming back with the reply that they couldn't be changed but they were prepared to cancel the cruise at no cost to me.

This obviously shamed our TA  into also refunding their cancellation fee of  £300.00.

Today my card has been credited with the full amount.

Well done Regent ,needless to say I am very happy with the outcome.

1 hour ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Thank you for your comment.  I am always happy to learn new things.  Being a possession of "the crown" is very special indeed (it sounds better than just being a part of the UK).  Is the Isle of Man part of Brexit?  And, what is your currency?  

 

Sorry for getting a bit off of your topic.  I was very surprised to hear that you have a TA that would charge you for anything.  In the U.S., TA's pay us to use them (not all but some).  Please let us know if/how this issue is resolved.

 

P.S.  Bob, according to past posts, this poster has sailed Regent in the past - just not for a long time.  Just wanted to make this comment even though I know how completely off topic the discussion of which Regent cruise to take in the future is.

We are in a strange situation regarding Brexit, we have a trading agreement with the EU, and have to abide by their rules but we're not eligible for any subsidies. Come brexit we will simply take whatever crumbs the UK leave for us, the channel islands will be In a different  but similar position. 

We have our own Manx currency which has parity with the pound btw. 

That said we would never contemplate leaving this wonderful island. 

2 hours ago, flossie009 said:

 

Are you saying that the TA charged you a fee, on top of Regent's deposit, for booking the cruise? Normally UK TAs offer a cruise price discount rather than charging a fee.

Presumably the TA is now attempting to recover their "lost" commission. Since this would have come out of the monies due to Regent it seems somewhat inequitable for you to have to forfeit your full deposit and reimburse the TA for loss of commission.

Charging an admin fee of say £50pp for the cancellation would be OK, but any more would not be justifiable.

 

I assume that this TA will no longer be your TA in the future.

The Regent(UK) office might also be interested to hear that a TA is attempting to charge excessive additional cancellation fees to one of its prospective customers

 

If disagreements continue, it may be worth contacting ABTA for advice; Regent(UK) is a member and your TA probably will be as well. 

Our agent charges 150gbp per person cancellation fee! but they can provide good prices. 

The stock answer is 'please note our t&c's' all very well but when responding to online or email offers you normally click the link without checking conditions first. 

I did check with Regent UK and got the same answer, sorry sir it is clearly stated in our t&c's.