rallydave

40 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Thanks.... I guess we will just have to start out figuring out if this cruise is for us and then calculate the deviation cost vs booking on our own.

Another hi up for you. In order to get a price for your deviation you have to have booked the cruise, wait until 210 days before embarkation then contact regent air with a non refundable $75 charge unless you accept the offer. 
 

then if you don’t accept their offer you have to contact regent air again and possibly the previous offer is no longer the same price or even available. Not easy but is what it is. 

17 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

I've been reading this thread for the past couple hours.  Excuse me if it has already been asked and answered but wasn't able to find it via search.

 

We are looking at booking our first Regent Seven Seas cruise from Cape Town to Miami via Lisbon for May 2025.   Ideally we would use RSS Business Class from San Francisco.  

 

Ideally we would like to fly to Cape Town a week early and take a side trip on our Own  to Victoria Falls and a Safari.  Is this possible or is this considered a deviation?    I've traveled on business worldwide my entire career and very comfortable booking our own air but their prices look better than what I project at this time (that far out). 

 

I wanted to get a general idea of options before calling RSS.

Easy answer any flight change from arrival in day of embarkation and day of disembarkation is a deviation. 
 

and you can deviate I believe for 30 days and you don’t have to fly in Cape Town. You can fly to johansburg or other cities if you choose. No telling the cost difference though. 

11 minutes ago, TheShag said:

Looking for some advice please. I know the challenges of air travel these days [especially departing from a smaller airport - Auckland]. I have paid the deviation fee and got my flights along with seat selection. Although we are weeks away from the 60 day 'payment date' [cruise departs 20/12/24], I see that some of the booked UAL return flights segments [on the UAL website] appear to no longer be operated. In order to potentially avoid an even more horrendous flight itinerary, should I call RSSC Air and explore alternatives? Will this incur a charge? Thanks kindly!

Before calling regent check your itinerary on UAL website. When there are changes like you describe the airline automatically changes your flights and are updated where you can see them. If you are happy with changes if not then contact regent. Once your flights are ticketed you can make changes by phoning UAL

Any changes by airline can be modified for free no matter how small a changes at no charge and IMHO much easier to do direct with airline but only after flights are ticketed at 75 days out as more changes likely 

See my post on this subject. You are not necessarily correct. All dependent on the airline having availab  one first class seats in first. You may or may not get first domestically

actually regents moving the deviation time to 210 days significantly dff icreases the chances of first. Not deviating and letting regent book significantly the chances of not getting first. 
 

would be great if always first but totally untrue. 

It is not necessarily regent booking you in coach for the domestic portion of yor overseas flights  you see it is the airlines who are booking you in coach

sn international overseas flight with domestic segments if both are on the same airline or code share will be first class domestic business class over water unless the domestic flight does not have first class availability 

this is the same no matter who books the flights based on booking date so you can’t blame regent if the airline gives you coach. 

On 6/13/2024 at 1:53 AM, koalabear6314 said:

I am looking at an Antarctic expedition cruise in 2026 but am a little concerned by the size of the deposit for a cruise that’s over 18 months away . $5376 for a non refundable booking or $6111 for a refundable one isn’t exactly small change.
 

As we are sailing on Seabourn soon is there a possibility of reducing this deposit if we book on board, or any other way to reduce the initial outlay ?
 

Many thanks for any advice. 

Sounds like you are dealing with a bad TA.  As far as I know and per Seabourns policy everything is refundable up to a certain time depending on the length of the cruise and the longest when payments become non refundable is 6 months prior.  You need a new TA.

17 minutes ago, Kwaj girl said:

 

Not at all!  Just sayin' that today's travelers need to understand where to place 'the blame.'

Why does blame need to be placed? So far we are a mostly free country. In terms of spending our money we have the choice of where and how much. 

1 minute ago, Kwaj girl said:

 

Mind you...it's not Regent dragging you all over the US - it's the airlines and what they are willing to provide to cruise lines (and other tour operators) at contract rates.

Is it wrong for airlines to maximize income/profits?

6 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

Book, settle your air via deviation and you still have plenty of time to cancel before the penalty deadline.

Using that logic and for 2 people still out $350 non refundable for the deviation. 

1 hour ago, papaflamingo said:

Why is it concerning?  Regent will charge for air whatever they have to pay for air.  Yes, contract rates are getting harder and harder to find so the cost is going up.  We have a cruise from Papeete to Auckland next March.  The air credit is $9800 per person!  THAT'S Regent's cost! Prices are simply going up and beyond Regent's control.  So all they're doing is recognizing that to continue to offer Business Class means pricing in whatever Business Class fare they can get.  Like I said, our cruise is about $10,000 per person.  To go Coach, I can do it for around $2000. That's a $15,500 savings in the price of the cruise for 2.   So a $30,000 cruise for 2 becomes a $14,500 cruise for 2.  

This entire change is nothing more than a Marketing tool to show a more competitive price for the cruises.  

Actually your post should read “regent will charge what the want for your air”  same for credit   Not necessarily what they actually pay or would pay. 
 

Because fares that include air are identical no matter your starting airport actual fares paid by regent will vary widely depending on the length of your flight while under the current process everyone on the same cruises has the same amount of money included in their fare. 
 

since we don’t know exactly how costs will work starting July 1 we don’t know if the calculations will stay the same or be different. 

Unfortunately nobody as yet knows how regent is going to price these changes. And there are unknowns and knows for the current pricing

unknowns include nobody know how much regrnt actually pays for your flights. Nobody knows what credits are based on your location

knowns  on any given cruise everyone pays the exact same amount for air no matter where you live. Everyone gets the exact same credit no matter where they live for not taking sir. 
 

regent pays different amounts for air depending on your starting location. 
 

this change may or may not change these known snd unknowns. One more known regent is going to price the air so that they earn profits in the aggregate. May lose for some but to stay in business prices have to be skewed to be profitable for all companies. 

6 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

Call and get a price for a cruise today. Call again after July 1. Compare.

True but no way to know the reason for the price change.  Could be the two tier booking or a general change or even an increase or decrease based on your home location 

you see currently the cruise price including sir is the same no matter where you live. It is possible this change will take into account your home location and thus peoples fares including air will vary based on actual flight costs. 
 

bottom line many possibilities and only the bean counters know for sure. 

30 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

We may not get these answers until after July 1....

Don’t believe the question will ever be answered as no way to compare prices after jul1. All kind of reasons for price changes and info only available internally to regent. 

4 minutes ago, SusieQft said:

True enough, for airline initiated changes, but doesn't Regent step in a get you a new air itinerary if the ship is delayed or changes it's disembarcation port?  Of course, at that point it will not be your carefully chosen deviation, just whatever they can find.

Likely they will step up but a completely different issue than asked aboutL

32 minutes ago, CardowMD said:

Please correct me if I am wrong, but if you get flights thru Regent and there are last minute delays or itinerary changes, the will adjust your flights accordingly. With all of the issues around the world this was important to me. In addition, even with a $500 deviation on one flight, going thru RSSC saved me about $2500.

Believe you are incorrect. Ticket contract clearly states regent is not responsible for third party bookings which include flights. It is true at times regent has been proactive with flight issues and provides a phone number for travel issues but cannot be aware of all flight changes and delays. 
 

IMHO best to attempt to contact regent while also contacting your airline yourself in person on the phone or website. Only the airline can finalize flight changes as regrnt still has to go thru them  being proactive is your best action.  Good luck on your flights and cruise. 
 

By the way ethos is the reason many people deviate to arrive day(s) early. 

Don’t believe anybody but the bean counters at regent can answer your and they are too busy counting beans to answer. 

On 6/5/2024 at 7:22 AM, papaflamingo said:

Regent isn't "unbundling" flights, they're only offering Premium Select and Economy along with Business Class as an option. The flights will still be booked at contract rates with Regent so will still be bundled, along with addition of  Blacklane for alternate transportation needs. 

You are partially correct. Regent is allowing you 2 options for booking your cruise. One without air so unbundled and the other with bundled air where you choose the air class or service with price differences thus bundled. 
 

Remember the ticket contract still states regent is not responsible for third parties which includes air. Regent does help with air issues but not legally required to 

so an unbundled option and bundled option when you book 

33 minutes ago, chamima said:

 

 

What makes you think you won't get airline points for you flight if you book through Regent?

We have a flight on Delta and it shows on my Delta app as a normal booking so I expect to get points.

I also chose my seats and expect lounge access.

 

 

 

We had to make an adjustment ot our booking (the Regent rep booked the wrong day) and I didn'y have to pay a second $75.

 

***

As to points some airlines are changing their policies to only provide mile if booked direct with airline. Believe American so comment may or may not be correct

fir your comment on my comment regent had to correct their error so no charge. In the case I responded to the poster needed to know both ways which was cost effective so each call to regent for that is for sure chargeable 

You are missing some significant issues with your plan. First of all you will never know what you paid for your sir as PO art of your cruise fare. You can only know what the regent credit for not taking your included air  next each time you or your ta call the air desk costs you another $75 

next air fares can change quite often so each time you contact regent for your air or contact the airline likely the prices will change so you are in a catch 22 with the possibility of when you make your decision it is based on faulty information. Good luck with your choices 

3 minutes ago, lprp said:

I may well be over thinking this, but, by effectively unbundling the flights from being a booking, it removes the onus on Regent to ensure that the passenger to get to the ship, home, or wherever.

Think back to the beginning of Covid when the cruises were cancelled and passengers who had booked the fully packaged trip and were stuck had to be transported home by Regent.

in the UK, it may also remove some of the protection that booking a package holiday provides.

LP

At least in the US while regent does at times ensures the passenger gets where they need to per the US ticket contract regent has no legal requirement to cover any third party bookings even though the bookings are done by regent

so at least in the US the unbundling does not have the effect mentioned by the poster. 

10 minutes ago, mrlevin said:

Already is.  If you look at the two different columns of prices today and then get the "air credit" you will find that there is an additional $250 per person difference in price that is not in the credit.  And, if you price out concierge and above there is the credit for the hotel that you only get if you say no hotel.  In 35 cruises with Regent we have never used Regent air (until tomorrow with a deal we could not pass up).

 

Marc

Absolutely true. Just remember when regent or any other company makes changes to ther pricing it is for sure to increase their profits and not to help their customers. 
 

Even the recent fast food special pricing that has been reduced in intended in the long run to improve profits as soon as the social pricing ends. 
 

Companies are not altruistic to the customer as the bottom line keeps the company open and in business. 

Seems to me the significant change that nobody has mentioned is that the all inclusive fare does not include any air while the Ultimate includes air is all possible flavors so no credits for not taking air and multiple pricings for the Ultimate which also may mean that unlike today where air is included and everyone pays the same amount for the air included in the prices no matter your home airport, since you will be able to chhhse your class of service they may als price your cruise differently depending on your home airport location.

Believe there is more to come with the removal air for the ultimate.

11 minutes ago, TheShag said:

Well I just did my 210 day booking to/from Australia/New Zealand from USA. Despite the best efforts of the Air Dept agent, the available flights are sub par unless I was to fork over ~ $4-6000 USD per person per segment! Now that I have that off my chest, I was wondering from more seasoned cruisers whether, as time marches on, I can change those flights? As they have me booked with United for all segments, RSW-IAH-SFO-SYD and AKL-LAX-EWR-RSW [the exception being AKL-LAX on Air New Zealand], is there any hope that I could contact UAL for more advantageous bookings? Secondly, these bookings have layovers ranging from 3 to 10 hours. Although the RSSC agent said that I have access to lounges [I'm assuming Polaris due to First/Business class tickets], is that comment as safe as 'money in the bank? I have seen comments where that seems not to be the case for some travellers on some airlines. Thanks very much for your thoughts on these issues!

Really doubt you will have any luck with voluntary changes as regent generally books restricted fares 

and for sure no changes until approx 75 days before departure as while your flights are booked they aren’t paid for until approx 75 days to flight. 

40 minutes ago, Texas Duck said:

Hello from the Texas Hill Country.  I have some questions about booking airfare with Regent (or not) BUT firstly I cannot figure out if I can have  the most recent postings come up first instead of last.  I hope my question is clear - any suggestions?

Simply look at the posts which have how long ago the post was made which will tell you the order 

as far as air it is automatically included with regent. If you don’t want regent air you will get fare credit and then your responsibility. 

Well you probably need to fly a day earlier in the 19th arrive London 20th travel to Portsmouth on 21st and board 22nd 

May be too late to deviate as that starts 210 days prior to embarkation  generally if available and you fly on same airline you get first class domestically but again may be too late. 
 

suggest you pay the $75 to talk to regent sir and see what they can do for you as pretty sure would cost you more than the regent sir credit. Likely best to deviate and pay what you likely will for this deviation and hope for first domestically or perhaps drive to Seattle a regent gateway and fly to London non stop. Not too long a drive to Seatsc.