Dolebludger

We will never use the Miami airport again. It is a sprawling facility wherein some gates and lounges can be literally a mile apart. And there were no trains, busses, or people movers in operation when we were there last March. It is a crowded and confusing place.

As this issue began with Regent’s last 2024 Alaska cruise this last August, and as Regent advertised its 2025 cruises as using Seward as a start/departure location, I feel that anybody who was mislead by its 2025 ads should receive full compensation and transport as required by the start/stop location misstatement. I am concerned, even though we have taken our last Alaska cruise. We are only concerned with misleading advertising, and Regent’s repeated refusal to make matters right for guests harmed by it.

On the Splendor, there are tubs in concierge suites.

Last March on the Splendor, we missed this tender port due to high seas..The captain sent out a tender to test the seas, and I could see it from our balcony. It bobbed up and went down below the waves. We had a booked excursion it St. Barths, and I said ‘I ain’t going” based on what I saw. A few minutes later, excursions there were cancelled. This is not unusual with tender ports. I don’t blame Regent for this, because I cancelled before the captain did!

Our two Celebrity cruises were in suites on S class ships. Maybe five years ago, and we never went to the evening shows. In fact, we haven’t been to evening shows on any of the 25+ cruises we have taken. That is not the reason we take cruise vacations. But, I can see both sides of this issue. If ships have adequately sized and designed theaters, I doubt that this would be an issue. But, I suspect on some X ships they are not. And that is the real problem. If you have a ship with 3000 guests, the theater should be designed with 3000 good seats. Only if this is not the case, cruise lines resort to reserving seats.

I looked on a map, and interestingly, Whittier and Seward appeared to be very close in location to each other. If guests relied on info that the “start” or “stop” port would be Seward and it was changed to Whittier, it seems that Regent could take care of the transportation without much expense. And I am confused, because I don’t know if Regent is still providing land transfers to or from Anchorage to or from whichever port is used. And if it is not, I read that it is giving a $500 credit for a service called Blackline limo service. Is this correct?

It was only about a week ago that I received a mail ad from Regent that still listed Seward as an embarkation (and disembarkation) port. I was surprised after the mess with the surprise port change to Whittier late last summer season, and after the changes in land accommodations that apply to those booked after July 1. I still haven’t figured it all out.

I hate to say this, but for guests who booked on Regent’s recent ad showing Seward, Regent’s T&C say this is its problem.

Well, I am the one who hasn’t cruised Celebrity in five years. It was twice, in the Retreat (though it wasn’t called that then). It was fantastic, for the price. We, like many others, didn’t cruise during the pandemic. When we were satisfied it was reasonably safe to travel and cruise again, we were literally shocked by the fare increase for the Retreat — making it more expensive than Regent and Silversea in some itineraries.So our last three cruises have been on Regent. But they were booked before the changes Regent made mid summer, so that may no longer be true. So for future cruises we will consider the Retreat before we book anything. All I advise is, for those who want a nearly all inclusive cruise, shop around.

Yes, there are sub forums here on CC for all the lux and near-lux lines. Take a look at them. You’ll see that all is not roses with them either. And in no way does Celebrity “stink”. For some levels of accommodations, it is “best in class”. But for Retreat and maybe Aqua it, at least for a time, was overpriced compared with the lux and near lux. But my info on this is a few months old, and there have been price increases and service cutbacks since I did a full comparison, so I don’t know about booking and price comparisons right now. What I do know is all lines are struggling under massive debt loads at very high interest, so I expect all of them are going to try new things (usually cutbacks) to deal with that situation.

Well, sorry if I offended anybody. The whole idea with the Retreat was to offer those who normally take lux lines a reasonable other choice to the lux lines, at less cost. And late in the last decade X did that. Now, not so much. I have reviewed what a Retreat cruise costs, and what a lux line cruise costs now. With all the changes (none for the benefit of guests), we may just stay in our home on a mountainside in the Colorado mountains until ALL the cruise lines get real! And, yeah, I think all guests on a cruise should have equal treatment in the areas open to all guests. It is confusing when a ship has exclusive venues for suite guests. Should that exclusion extend into areas accessible to non-suite guests with privilege granted to the suite guests? IDK. But should non-suite guests face an extra charge for priority seating? I think not, as it is nickle- and diming the non suite guests.

When we “discovered” Celebrity Retreat late in the last decade, we found a cruise option which was almost as good overall as the Regent and Silversea cruises we had been taking — for a much lower fare. We had the same service in the Retreat, including the in suite mini bar, drinks in the Retreat venues and ship wide, and Retreat only places to escape the crowds that sometimes were experienced in parts of the main ship. Plus, we could get a larger suite for less money. But in more recent times, we have found the Retreat more costly than the lux lines, so we have returned to them (Regent). But last July Regents stopped including air and ground transfers in their prices on new bookings after then. As a result, I don’t have a handle on the comparative costs. Regarding the reserved theater seating, if it were offered only to Retreat guests, it might be understandable. But to sell this perk to non-Retreat guests seems like more nickel and diming.

Back to the original topic, was Regent’s change from Seward to Whittier a permanent change or a one time thing? I ask because Regent’s ads for Alaska have shown Seward for the 2025 season.

Yes, Silversea may not be competitively priced at all times and for all itineraries. These days we all must do some shopping, and assume nothing.

On Silversea, the lowest level room is a suite of about 285 sq ft with balcony in addition. All suites have a butler. Higher level suites have free laundry. The whole ship has benefits like the Retreat as to drinks and dining. Some shore x are included, as is in suite mini bar. Basically, there are more benefits than in the Retreat, and all public areas are available to all guests. So, fact is, the whole ship is like the Retreat+.

Well, I agree that Celebrity can reserve theater seats for whoever they deem “priority guests”, as long as people know what to expect when they book. If they do, and book anyway, they did so with knowledge of the deal. But Celebrity has been having too many “surprises” lately. It seems that long time, regular X cruisers were given no info about the reserved theater seat areas prior to booking, and this new thing came a surprise when they were paid up and onboard.

While we usually don’t attend shows in the theater on any cruise, I understand that many choose Celebrity for the quality of their shows, and may be upset by the change in access. And when we cruise we go on lux line, or in a suite category on other lines. When we don’t feel we can afford this we don’t cruise. (This happens a lot lately.) But I understand that reserving theater areas would upset those for whom the shows are a highlight on cruises, especially if this is a change made after they booked.

IMHO, the theater problem began with the ship’s design. The Edge class ships carry about 3,000 guests. But the theater doesn’t accommodate 3,000. Thus, under any system, there will be lines and confusion. This is one reason to take a much smaller lux line ship. All the theaters in all those ships I’ve been on had theater capacity for all guests — which numbered 300 to 750 full occupancy. Those ships don’t offer the activities and venues of a large ship, but they also don’t have lines and crowds.

It seems that Celebrity is trying to offer all levels of cruising, from “bare bones” budget to luxury.and encountering problems doing so. Many cruise lines seem to be making controversial changes. Maybe this is due to the tremendous amount of high interest debt they incurred during the pandemic. IDK. Last Spring I suggested here that Regent just might be a less expensive alternative to the Retreat. But back then air and land transfers were included in the fare. But for bookings made after July 1 this is no longer the case, so my previous suggestion may not be valid. I’m going to take a break from cruising until (and unless) things settle down a bit.

When we on the Splendor London to London cruise, we deviated to get direct flights Denver to London RT. We also deviated to arrive London one day early. We payed for the room at Regent’s hotel for the first night and Regent paid for the last night. When we arrived in London we paid for transport to the hotel as it was one day early. Regent handled transport to the port on embarkation day and to the airport on disembarkation. This all was last August. It is a confusing situation for sure.

I thought Regent ships in Alaska had changed the use of Seward as a departure or final port to Whittier. But today I got a Regent ad in the mail that lists Seward to Vancouver and Vancouver to Seward cruises in 2025. So is the port Seward or Whittier?

I’ve read the Regent dress code many times, and I apparently missed out on any mention of shoes. Quote?

Sounds like things are going backwards! We were on the Splendor in mid-August this year in Europe (pre Starlink) and had no problems with email, forums, and financial info sites. We had only the included WiFi. But to be fair, this cruise did not involve going way out in the ocean. The ship was always near the coast.

We have always purchased travel insurance on cruises and other trips. We fortunately have never needed to make a claim due to a cruise foul up. But we had travel insurance through use on our American Express Platinum card for a simple domestic trip involving flights from Durango CO to Boston MA with a connection in Denver. Due to an airline problem in Durango, we missed our connection in Denver to Boston. The airline couldn’t get us a replacement flight for this for three days! But the airline agreed to refund all our fares paid to them, and fly us back to Durango the next morning for free. This trip wasn’t necessary, so that was fine, except for the $300 we paid for one night at the airport hotel. The travel insurance that came with this AnEx card paid the $300. I have never heard of any travel insurance that wouldn’t cover the out of pocket expenses incurred by the OP.

I understand that Regent FINALLY provided transfers to Whittier for those already in Seward — after initially denying responsibility for this. I have heard no comprehensive explanation of these events. Now, as to scheduled ports to visit (between embarkation and disembarkation) the T&Cs give Regent freedom to change or even miss those with no responsibility to the guests. Understandable and usually done due to bad weather or political unrest at or near those ports. But that was not the issue here