kathy49

I would have thought that an agent that is a preferred agency booking a high volume of Regent would have some good bargaining power to at least get a FCC or portion thereof...I would be making more demands for my agent to argue the case...Cruise lines do value their high producing agencies and will do more for them than independent bookings.. the cost of these cruises is very very high and I would really have a tough time walking away without trying.

It goes a long way for sure. Just had to cancel a short trip and hotel that had a substantial deposit and per contract could have just kept it but chose to refund in full and asked me to keep them in mind for my next trip to the area. I sure will. Another local tour company again within the contract chose to keep my money and at the same time admiting they could easily book more clients with that guide given prime fall foliage season. I filed an insurance claim on that one due to medical situation but will not use them when I go back...they were within their rights but inflexible to even keep the money to be used in the future a FCC of sorts for land tour.

I don't think they had a big choice...no complaint about what is now the itinerary other than it is very different and for many not that exciting. It is a chance you take booking any cruise that this can happen...they did what they had to do to avoid cancelling the cruise. Given the cancel/change policy I assume most will be onboard despite the changes.

Does make one wonder about cash flow issues. Not an expert on the financials but seems like Celebrity has a much larger corporate backing (I think) and may be able to deal with this situation easier.

Probably would not work because each passenger has a contract with cc that says they can do it.

They will automatically get port fees refunded less cost of new. That is quite an assortment of ports some I have to wonder what they will put together for excursions. Clearly my guess is for at least 1/2 of the travelers on the Oct. 15th voyage the highlight and reason for booking was Israel and Egypt including overnights. Outside of "cancel for any reason" insurance nothing covers itinerary no longer appealing. Maybe that should be included...over 25% of itinerary changed = refund. Never happen

nice you are okay with a Greek Island Cruise however they are traditionally much less expensive than the itinerary you signed up for..I would expect some serious obc if you are willing to still travel (and I realize there is not choice without losing everything.)

And don't be surprised if they change with mounting pressure. I am not sure how many more sailings are impacted this fall but I would not cancel until I had to....things can change.

There were many different stories at first....then slowly CCL developed the policy and again there was confusion but those in UK were getting full refund. But at this time at least that one is clear and fair.

at first there were reports on CC of being refused refunds....many people were getting different answers....it took a bit but then the policy was stated clearly. The Egypt port cancellation was a bit delayed but many more then took up Celebrity on the offer of FCC. I don't know of any being offered full refund from US. Maybe that is the case but most were FCC by booking another cruise at that time. Bottom line Celebrity took the high road even though they legally did not have to.

It would be interesting to see how each cruise line has handled their cruises with ports in Israel and Egypt and sailing within the next month. I am only familiar with Regent and Celebrity's response. Some like NCL have taken these ports off for the rest of the year and ultimately the others will follow. They have to make business decisions quickly and probably jockey for new ports but most not going to take their passengers anywhere near an all out invasion that is going to happen in Israel (Gaza) and close to ports in Egypt. As long as the cruise line can keep the funds by giving a FCC (or even with a bit of a cancel fee )I think that would be the best thing for all of them to retain customer loyalty. I don't expect any to just refund unless you are in UK where apparently that is required. Personally I think this itinerary for Regent will have more changes. Call me nervous in general but I would not want to be sitting anywhere in that area on a "luxury" ship known to have lots of Americans on board and don't blame those that are not comfortable.

The $2000 was some misunderstanding. I would not take that as any fact at all.

I don't think any of them will pay out a claim when the cruise is going with change of ports...other than air fare issues due to change of embarkation.

Regent is legally within its rights to refuse refund and frankly not sure how successful an insurance claim would be as the cruise is going and ports changed but within the legal limits of the contract. Unless you have cancel for any reason or come down with a fast case of covid or other illness not sure insurance helps here. That is why so many are in such a bad position...perceived danger is very different than a country at war ie Israel.

"other cruise lines immediately offered refunds" no not exactly how it went. Celebrity for example did not but after some time and the addition of not including Egypt they did come to a customer friendly resolution for 100%FCC if transferring monies to new sailing or 90% for them to hold FCC until you are ready to book. That to me is fair and Regent should have figured that out long ago.

Honestly those people working on this departure must be going crazy....as if not enough change then they get hit with a major big race...seems something like the Tour de France.

interesting replies here...not sure most are watching the news. This will not be short term...the actions taken above by NCL will be followed by all cruise lines. Israel off the program for 2023 and many are also cancelling Egypt, This could be a regional war as things get going. Lots of moving pieces and Israel has not even unleashed the massacre they promise. I would not consider an itinerary in this area for quite some time and sure to be daily itinerary changes.

that had to to disembark passengers....they are gone from there now.

I take it same cancel/change options? There could be more changes to come. Good luck to all

i see it on the list...El Al so good chance it will go as planned. El El must have some high tech way to avoid all the incoming. I wish them a safe on time trip...bet they will have a story to tell.

flight radar sites report most flights cancelled in/out of TLV and Haifa has some to Larnaca Cyprus..nothing to Istanbul.

Yes different rules based on your country of residency. UK seems to fair better often in these situations.

I am not imagining at all...what else can they do? I assume available ports are not that easy to find on short notice and this one has a local event. That said in general their response is poor and enough to not support them in the future.

I imagine they are now and will have to find "work arounds".

There is absolutely no guarantee that Egypt will stay on the itinerary...those decisions are day to day and sometimes hour to hour.....the big unknown right now is the magnitude of Isirael's response and what impact this has on the region in general. Anyone going on the cruise has to be prepared for port changes.