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Regent Flights - with and without deviation


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We are planning a cruise to Alaska and would like to extend our departure from Vancouver. If we fly out two days later than scheduled what will our cost be?

 

Only Regent can give you an exact cost as depends on the cost of the flights 2 days later. Can tell you that right now you will pay a minimum $350 ($175 pp X 2) plus any upcharge for the new schedule. Oftentimes there is no upcharge but, can be and only Regent can give you that information after you start the deviation process.

 

Remember, you can and should start the process 270 days prior to cruise departure and you pay nothing until you agree to the deviation and all of the costs at that time.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We are booked on the Explorer holiday cruise, Cape Town to Cape Town. We originally booked the cruise with the included air. If you book your own air Regent deducts $6,000 per person. We had considered deviating so we could book the flights we wanted, and we also considered booking with miles. We ended up booking the flights ourselves through Emirates and paid for them ($11,000). The flights are Los Angeles to Dubai, and Dubai to Cape Town. Realizing that we would lose transfers from Regent, but Emirates includes all the transfers, including the ride from our home to the airport and on the return from the airport to our home. In addition to that, Emirates includes a hotel stay on the stopover in Dubai, including meals. We paid $11,000 for the tickets, so saved $1,000 plus did not have to pay the deviation fee of $350 ($175 per person). We also paid with American Express so got 5 x membership rewards points. Thought I would share if anyone is thinking about booking their own air.

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  • 2 weeks later...
We are booked on the Explorer holiday cruise, Cape Town to Cape Town. We originally booked the cruise with the included air. If you book your own air Regent deducts $6,000 per person. We had considered deviating so we could book the flights we wanted, and we also considered booking with miles. We ended up booking the flights ourselves through Emirates and paid for them ($11,000). The flights are Los Angeles to Dubai, and Dubai to Cape Town. Realizing that we would lose transfers from Regent, but Emirates includes all the transfers, including the ride from our home to the airport and on the return from the airport to our home. In addition to that, Emirates includes a hotel stay on the stopover in Dubai, including meals. We paid $11,000 for the tickets, so saved $1,000 plus did not have to pay the deviation fee of $350 ($175 per person). We also paid with American Express so got 5 x membership rewards points. Thought I would share if anyone is thinking about booking their own air.

 

 

 

Could you tell me how many hours is you’re flight to Cape Town?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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Hi - I'm not Carol but am familiar with flying to Cape Town from the West Coast of the U.S. Emirates actually takes longer than most airlines but they do put you up in a hotel for the approximately 8 hour layover in Dubai. It takes 15 hours 55 mins. to get from LAX to Dubai. After the long layover it takes another 9 hours 45 minutes to get to Cape Town.

 

Although Emirates is suppose to be a fantastic airline (that does not fly out of our nearest international airport) British Airways is much faster to get to Cape Town. They go LAX to Heathrow - 10 hours 20 minutes where there is a 2 3/4 hour layover. The flight from Heathrow to Cape Town is 11 hours and 35 minutes.

 

Unless things have changed, Regent contracts with both airlines but I would compare the cost to book it yourself with the air credit you would receive from Regent to do so.

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Hi - I'm not Carol but am familiar with flying to Cape Town from the West Coast of the U.S. Emirates actually takes longer than most airlines but they do put you up in a hotel for the approximately 8 hour layover in Dubai. It takes 15 hours 55 mins. to get from LAX to Dubai. After the long layover it takes another 9 hours 45 minutes to get to Cape Town.

 

Although Emirates is suppose to be a fantastic airline (that does not fly out of our nearest international airport) British Airways is much faster to get to Cape Town. They go LAX to Heathrow - 10 hours 20 minutes where there is a 2 3/4 hour layover. The flight from Heathrow to Cape Town is 11 hours and 35 minutes.

 

Unless things have changed, Regent contracts with both airlines but I would compare the cost to book it yourself with the air credit you would receive from Regent to do so.

 

True, the flights routing through Dubai take a bit longer, but we looked at:

 

1. With BA there is a slightly less than 3 hr. layover. What if the first flight is delayed and you miss your connection? 3 hours is a pretty long layover but it is a possibility. It happened to us about a year ago when we were at Heathrow and we missed our connection due to a delay. We did get on another flight later that day but had to hang around at the airport for many, many hours.

 

2. The actual "flight time" with Emirates on the two flights is 25 hours. 40 minutes vs. around 21 hours 55 minutes on British Air. That difference is 3 hours 45 minutes of flying time. We thought it would be good to break those two flights up and stay in a hotel to refresh, which is included at no charge with Emirates, in both directions. They transport you back and forth to the hotel and includes meal at hotel.

 

3. We have heard that Emirates is an "amazing" experience so wanted to give it a try. It is always ranked in the top 5 of all airlines in the world. On the other hand British Air is usually rated much, much lower.

 

4. The added perks of the free transfers from our house to the airport (in both directions) and from the airport to the hotel in Cape Town, and from the ship to the airport in Cape Town are not included with British Air.

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Carol, may I assume that you booked this on your own rather than through Regent? I'm only asking because many Regent passengers have flown Emirates but I have not heard of them being picked up at their home. So, I assume that this benefit is not offered when you book through Regent (but obviously I could be wrong).

 

As posted, Emirates is a higher rated airline than BA but personally, I would not want to spend time in Dubai (been there - done that - don't want to do it again). While the hotel is nice, 8 hours, In my opinion, is a long time.

 

We are taking a 17 1/2 hour flight on Tuesday with a 3 hour layover (Cathay Pacific - another highly rated airline). During our 3 hour layover in Hong Kong we will utilize the showers at the airport - have packed a charge of clothes and prefer that to a hotel where I wouldn't know what to do after taking a shower. We have also taken showers at Heathrow - love the full bathrooms - large with a great shower. I suppose price would be a big consideration as well. You never know, if Emirates starts flying out of Vancouver, we might give it a try IF the layover is not 8 hours.

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Carol, may I assume that you booked this on your own rather than through Regent? I'm only asking because many Regent passengers have flown Emirates but I have not heard of them being picked up at their home. So, I assume that this benefit is not offered when you book through Regent (but obviously I could be wrong).

 

As posted, Emirates is a higher rated airline than BA but personally, I would not want to spend time in Dubai (been there - done that - don't want to do it again). While the hotel is nice, 8 hours, In my opinion, is a long time.

 

We are taking a 17 1/2 hour flight on Tuesday with a 3 hour layover (Cathay Pacific - another highly rated airline). During our 3 hour layover in Hong Kong we will utilize the showers at the airport - have packed a charge of clothes and prefer that to a hotel where I wouldn't know what to do after taking a shower. We have also taken showers at Heathrow - love the full bathrooms - large with a great shower. I suppose price would be a big consideration as well. You never know, if Emirates starts flying out of Vancouver, we might give it a try IF the layover is not 8 hours.

 

Jackie, we booked it on our own, but I would imagine if we booked it through Regent we would get the same perks. Once the flights are booked you go on their website and add the transfers and the overnight stays, just like selecting seats. Another thing we got is 5 x membership rewards for putting on Am Ex Platinum, which we would not have gotten if went through Regent. We saved money by booking ourselves as well. The flight cost was less and we don't have to pay the deviation fee. Who knows how it will turn out, but we thought we would give it a try. :)

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Carol, based on all of those benefits, you definitely did the right thing! We saved $3,500 by booking our Cathay Pacific flights on our own. Since we are Titanium Seven Seas Society members, we have no deviation fee and get a private transfer from the airport to the ship (alternatively, we could get a private transfer from our home to the airport but since that requires going through the border of Canada, I doubt if that would work.

 

Hope that you post during or after your cruise. I still predict that you'll love it!

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Carol, based on all of those benefits, you definitely did the right thing! We saved $3,500 by booking our Cathay Pacific flights on our own. Since we are Titanium Seven Seas Society members, we have no deviation fee and get a private transfer from the airport to the ship (alternatively, we could get a private transfer from our home to the airport but since that requires going through the border of Canada, I doubt if that would work.

 

Hope that you post during or after your cruise. I still predict that you'll love it!

 

Thank you! Have an amazing cruise yourself! What is the itinerary and which ship? By the way, just got back from Silversea Expedition Cruise to Antarctica. It was spectacular. You can read my review on the Silversea board.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2610280

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Thank you! Have an amazing cruise yourself! What is the itinerary and which ship? By the way, just got back from Silversea Expedition Cruise to Antarctica. It was spectacular. You can read my review on the Silversea board.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2610280

 

As soon as I'm done packing I definitely want to read your review. We will be on the Voyager for the first time in over 2 years -- Bali to Hong Kong (Bali is the very long flight but not as long as yours will be). Interestingly our flight home is non-stop - Hong Kong to Vancouver!

 

P.S. Couldn't wait and just did a quick read of your review. What an amazing trip. I might have mentioned this before but our 40th anniversary is next year - interesting that we were married one year apart. Not sure that I could have done that polar bear plunge either.

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Carol,

I also think you made the right decision. We are on the same cruise and used Alaska miles to fly Emirates first class. WE love stopping in Dubai and breaking up the long flight period. We love Emirates and are not particularly fond of British. Regent did say they use Emirates to go to Cape Town without an upcharge, but we love taking those showers at 40K feet in First Class!

Maria

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Carol,

I also think you made the right decision. We are on the same cruise and used Alaska miles to fly Emirates first class. WE love stopping in Dubai and breaking up the long flight period. We love Emirates and are not particularly fond of British. Regent did say they use Emirates to go to Cape Town without an upcharge, but we love taking those showers at 40K feet in First Class!

Maria

 

Wow! How awesome that you are flying first class. How many miles did that set you back? I have lots of miles with various airlines but did not think of using them for these flights. I thought they would be difficult to get. You are on my same cruise? Where are you flying from? Feel free to email me.

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Carol,

It's 200K miles per person one way to go First Class on Emirates from SFO to Cape Town. (The first time we did this it was 90K miles).

We chose the flights with a 16-hour layover because we like Dubai and really wanted to break the trip up. Using miles, you get the hotel and meal vouchers but not the pick-up at home. Alaska Mileage Program is the one known for Emirates flights.

We booked the RT Cape Town cruise about a year and a half ago. I didn't really want that long a flight two times, so when we were on the Voyages last October (the Med and Israel) I started looking at the difference in air credit, the discount for a combo cruise, and overall cost and it turned out it just made sense to stay on the Explorer to Rio. So now we're on the waitlist for an upgrade from United on January 19th (Regent uses American and Delta from South America).

Maria

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We are taking the So. Africa cruise Dec. 22nd on the Explorer, looking for info on flights. We're flying out of Florida, found a significant difference in time if we go MIA to ATL to JNB (all Delta) and then So. Africa airlines to CPT; doubt despite the $175pp deviation fee they'll let me do this. We're going in 5 days early to Capetown.

 

Anyone know any good flight combinations out of Miami?

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We are taking the So. Africa cruise Dec. 22nd on the Explorer, looking for info on flights. We're flying out of Florida, found a significant difference in time if we go MIA to ATL to JNB (all Delta) and then So. Africa airlines to CPT; doubt despite the $175pp deviation fee they'll let me do this. We're going in 5 days early to Capetown.

 

Anyone know any good flight combinations out of Miami?

 

Cape Town is extremely difficult to get to from the US. You are now almost exactly at the time when you can deviate, in fact on 3/27 you will be 270 days prior to your departure. There is no charge at all if you don't agree with their offers so no harm no foul if you get a deviation going and see what you get.

 

Only aware of direct (not non-stop) flights from US to Cape Town from Atlanta (Delta) and Dulles (South African). Many people go thru London, Dubai, and other European locations. Not easy, fast, or cheap to get there so Regent with a deviation might be best. You never know if you ask for a deviation and no cost if you accept.

 

Seem all of the connections from Miami are thru Europe/Middle East except Delta thru Atlanta and as you say, longer time and most expensive. Try matrix.itasoftware.com for best info on your choices.

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We flew to Capetown from Washington DC to JNB to CPT on South African Airlines and returned on the same route. We used United mileage. So I guess you can fly from MIA to D.C.

I think the route you picked is good. You can also fly from JFK to JNB to CPT on South African. Again you need to fly from MIA to JFK.

Check them all out for deviation fee.

Also check out self purchase price on South African and get Regent credit.

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We are booked on the Explorer holiday cruise, Cape Town to Cape Town. We originally booked the cruise with the included air. If you book your own air Regent deducts $6,000 per person. We had considered deviating so we could book the flights we wanted, and we also considered booking with miles. We ended up booking the flights ourselves through Emirates and paid for them ($11,000). The flights are Los Angeles to Dubai, and Dubai to Cape Town. Realizing that we would lose transfers from Regent, but Emirates includes all the transfers, including the ride from our home to the airport and on the return from the airport to our home. In addition to that, Emirates includes a hotel stay on the stopover in Dubai, including meals. We paid $11,000 for the tickets, so saved $1,000 plus did not have to pay the deviation fee of $350 ($175 per person). We also paid with American Express so got 5 x membership rewards points. Thought I would share if anyone is thinking about booking their own air.

 

Carol,

 

Thanks for posting this. I was disappointed to find no frequent flyer combinations that worked for us (apparently Cape Town during the holiday season is so popular BA doesn't open any business frequent flyer seats) so was going to use Regent flights. But your post reminded me to check with AMEX travel regarding their International Airline Program discounts. Emirates wasn't participating but Lufthansa was and the discount more than covers the $39 per ticket fee and the positioning flight to LAX. In fact, it also covered the travel insurance for the flights (we normally don't get that for frequent flyer tickets.) And you still get the 5x MR points booking the flights with AMEX travel.

 

Thanks for the inspiration!

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Carol,

 

Thanks for posting this. I was disappointed to find no frequent flyer combinations that worked for us (apparently Cape Town during the holiday season is so popular BA doesn't open any business frequent flyer seats) so was going to use Regent flights. But your post reminded me to check with AMEX travel regarding their International Airline Program discounts. Emirates wasn't participating but Lufthansa was and the discount more than covers the $39 per ticket fee and the positioning flight to LAX. In fact, it also covered the travel insurance for the flights (we normally don't get that for frequent flyer tickets.) And you still get the 5x MR points booking the flights with AMEX travel.

 

Thanks for the inspiration!

 

Even though we have so many miles I was afraid it would be difficult to get award seats and especially during the holiday season so we splurged and bought the tickets on Emirates, as you know. It was a bit less than taking the air with Regent and I wanted to try Emirates anyway. What did it end up costing on Lufthansa and can please share the details on the flights you booked? I like Lufthansa too....we once flew them first class to Europe and it was a great experience. I am interested in knowing about the travel insurance for the flights as well. Was that through Lufthansa? If you would prefer to email me, my email is in my signature.

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My Father and his girlfriend will be going from Venice to Monte Carlo in June.

They booked a suite with a travel agent.

They live in NY and their TA put them on a flight from Newark to Venice, no problem.

The return flight from NCE will have them stop-over in London and transfer to British Airways.

I see availability on Delta direct from NCE to JFK on the day they arrive and the following day.

However, the TA tells me that Regnant will not allow/no room on those flights.

I would prefer that they don't transfer and that they not fly British as its business class

is 2-4-2 configuration and they would have to climb over other passengers to get out.

I believe they have already don't the air deviation but are these flights set or is there

a way to change the return flight.

When I contacted Regent they informed me that all contact would have to be through

the travel agent or the TA would have to inform Regent that they can speak directly with

the passengers.

Any ideas how to get on the Direct Delta flight?

Thanks

Neal

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My Father and his girlfriend will be going from Venice to Monte Carlo in June.

They booked a suite with a travel agent.

They live in NY and their TA put them on a flight from Newark to Venice, no problem.

The return flight from NCE will have them stop-over in London and transfer to British Airways.

I see availability on Delta direct from NCE to JFK on the day they arrive and the following day.

However, the TA tells me that Regnant will not allow/no room on those flights.

I would prefer that they don't transfer and that they not fly British as its business class

is 2-4-2 configuration and they would have to climb over other passengers to get out.

I believe they have already don't the air deviation but are these flights set or is there

a way to change the return flight.

When I contacted Regent they informed me that all contact would have to be through

the travel agent or the TA would have to inform Regent that they can speak directly with

the passengers.

Any ideas how to get on the Direct Delta flight?

Thanks

Neal

 

Neal, your post is confusing, did they deviate and specify their flights or not?? The TA does not set the flights, Regent does if you don't pay $175 pp to deviate. If they did pay, they must have agreed to the flights they got and if the TA charged for the deviation and then approved it on his or her own, that is a problem. Generally you can only specify your flights if you pay for the deviation and if there was a deviation and you want to change what was agreed to you have to pay the fee again and there might be an increased cost because you are so close to the flights.

 

We really need the rest of the story to try to help but, in reality, your Dad is probably stuck with these flights. You said don't on the deviation but, do you mean they deviated and in that case you might be able to change to a non-stop but, will cost at least $350 plus any additional cost for the flight you want. With deregulation, flight prices change daily starting low and going up as you get closer to the flight date and we are now less than 3 months from the flight. Good luck but, yes, you do have to go thru the TA as that is a requirement.

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Dave,

 

They did a deviation.

The TA did book flights. When I asked why she booked the connecting flight

she told me that was what Regent would allow.

It didn't/doesn't sound right to me.

That is the basis of my question, could we go through Regent or is it too late?

Not a big deal but I'd rather a direct flight even if it is a day later.

Thanks,

Neal

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Dave,

 

They did a deviation.

The TA did book flights. When I asked why she booked the connecting flight

she told me that was what Regent would allow.

It didn't/doesn't sound right to me.

That is the basis of my question, could we go through Regent or is it too late?

Not a big deal but I'd rather a direct flight even if it is a day later.

Thanks,

Neal

 

Thanks for the update Neal. That's kind of what I thought but, wanted to make sure. You or your father should never have allowed the TA to confirm the deviation without your input and agreement. You can try all kinds of different flights and don't pay the $350 until the customer agrees. Lesson learned for next time. The rules say that once you agree to the deviation and pay the $350, any changes will require an additional $350 plus any flight cost differences.

 

If the TA booked those flights without your agreement, would think you could tell him that was a no no and you or your father should have been the approver and he needs to cover the $350 plus any additional flight costs. The thing is any company paying for your flights will try to pay as little as possible and they may not have a contract with Delta for that return flight.

 

As I said earlier, it is fairly late in the process for your flight so there might be extra costs. Usually connections are less expensive than non-stops. It may be more than you and/or the TA will want to pay at this point as an additional $350 is a given from Regent. Not sure what if anything your TA is giving in the way of perks/OBC/rebates. He is making a good chunk of change for booking you father he he or she did not do the right thing for your father. Pretty sure Regent will be firm on the additional deviation cost and hopefully not too much of an upcharge for the non-stop.

 

You could also get permission to negotiate with Regent from your TA, only problem there is that would eliminate your TA paying for the second deviation. You could PM me if you like, just click on the contact Dave link below and we could even talk on the phone if you give me your phone number off line. Some nuances don't want to discuss here.

 

Thanks,

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We live near Denver and love to go from Denver direct to Frankfurt and then to wherever the cruise starts. I am a retired pilot and understand the risks of misconnections and lost luggage if we go through Chicago or Dallas or anywhere in the US. Flying Lufthansa to do this cost us an extra $1000 each plus an extra $350 each to delay a few days in FRA. Not counting the air dev fee, of course. This is the first year we had to pay extra for Lufthansa.

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