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We sail exclusively on Regent because of the included excursions. Sometimes we do our own thing but mainly we do their excursions. We have traveled around the world for many years by land. Now its nice not to have to spend so much time finding the right tour agency.

This is part of Regent signature and marketing tools. It makes first time cruisers in the luxury market take a good look at Regent. Take it away and there is no distinguishable difference from the other companies.

We think most Regent cruisers feel the same way we do.

Sheila

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Just to back up the 2009/2010 dates for included excursions, we found these in our files:

 

 

UK Flyer for cruises in 2009:

 

164bf2bd708b824ffc2b3ee1d2e6045b.jpeg

03f8dbc4702ed047f78c605f035225a1.jpeg

 

 

Brochure for cruises in 2010:

 

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We must learn to throw old paperwork away!!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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I guess we are in the minority as we like the included excursions and it was one of the factors for why we started with Regent. We were still working when we took our first Regent cruise and it was great to not have to spend hours trying to research and book private tours.

 

As we don't have the opportunity to cruise as much as some we are still cruising to new places and still enjoying the included excursions. Most have been very good, a few not so much but overall we are happy with them.

 

We sail exclusively on Regent because of the included excursions. Sometimes we do our own thing but mainly we do their excursions. We have traveled around the world for many years by land. Now its nice not to have to spend so much time finding the right tour agency.

This is part of Regent signature and marketing tools. It makes first time cruisers in the luxury market take a good look at Regent. Take it away and there is no distinguishable difference from the other companies.

We think most Regent cruisers feel the same way we do.

Sheila

We agree with 1982CruzStart and Bellagio Cruisers.

This is our take based on our experiences of Regent excursions over the last 9 years.

The concept of “free shore excursions” (i.e. included excursions) is very popular with many cruisers. For us it was one of the selling points that made us want to try cruising with Regent.

Since our first Regent cruise in 2009 we have cruised often with Regent as we like the size of their ships, the ambience on board, their itineraries and the true all-inclusive nature of what Regent offers.

We do not find that the quality of the excursions suffers as a result of being included. We have enjoyed many very good included excursions; some average and the odd ‘turkey’.

Regent generally manages its excursion programme well. We find the staff at Destinations Services to be polite, helpful and efficient.

Booking excursions on line works OK, but there are some improvements that could be made. In particular, we wish Regent would re-introduce the ability to put yourself on waitlists; this facility used to be available but was withdrawn.

We have always found staff in the Regent Office to be very helpful and efficient in fulfilling any requests that cannot be completed on line.

It is probably time that the excursion information, both on the website and on-board, be revamped to encourage more people to actually absorb the accurate, but boring, descriptions.

We have always found the information on the website to be as comprehensive as that available on board.

If you cruise to the same ports multiple times then there will be a limit to the number of totally different tours that are available on subsequent visits, especially in ports where the number of tours available is limited. That is only to be expected.

Tour check-in could be improved. It would probably be better for tour groups to meet on-shore rather than in the theatre apart from those ports where congestion on shore is an issue.

When meeting in the theatre, there needs to be strict queue control, easy circulation and better notices of what guests are expected to do. One issue at tour check-in is the occasional rude & pushy guest who either fails to read or listen to clear instructions and/or ignores those politely waiting.

Most fellow guests on included tours we have found to be friendly and polite. There is the occasional ‘loudmouth’ or those that choose a tour that does not suit their interests or mobility and then blame Regent or the tour guide for their own poor decisions.

Guests who book every excursion available and then cancel at the last minute must create an administrative nightmare for Regent as well as causing unnecessary expense.

Many people cruise with Regent because they like the ambience on board even though they do not take full advantage of all that is on offer. We do not hear constant calls for a credit from the non-drinkers, or those who do not go to the shows in the theatre, or those who do not use the Pool, or those who do not use the gym, or those who do not like a particular Speciality restaurant.

Those who object to Regent offering included excursions could always opt to sail on another cruise line that is a better match for them.

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We agree with 1982CruzStart and Bellagio Cruisers.

This is our take based on our experiences of Regent excursions over the last 9 years.

The concept of “free shore excursions” (i.e. included excursions) is very popular with many cruisers. For us it was one of the selling points that made us want to try cruising with Regent.

Since our first Regent cruise in 2009 we have cruised often with Regent as we like the size of their ships, the ambience on board, their itineraries and the true all-inclusive nature of what Regent offers.

We do not find that the quality of the excursions suffers as a result of being included. We have enjoyed many very good included excursions; some average and the odd ‘turkey’.

Regent generally manages its excursion programme well. We find the staff at Destinations Services to be polite, helpful and efficient.

Booking excursions on line works OK, but there are some improvements that could be made. In particular, we wish Regent would re-introduce the ability to put yourself on waitlists; this facility used to be available but was withdrawn.

We have always found staff in the Regent Office to be very helpful and efficient in fulfilling any requests that cannot be completed on line.

It is probably time that the excursion information, both on the website and on-board, be revamped to encourage more people to actually absorb the accurate, but boring, descriptions.

We have always found the information on the website to be as comprehensive as that available on board.

If you cruise to the same ports multiple times then there will be a limit to the number of totally different tours that are available on subsequent visits, especially in ports where the number of tours available is limited. That is only to be expected.

Tour check-in could be improved. It would probably be better for tour groups to meet on-shore rather than in the theatre apart from those ports where congestion on shore is an issue.

When meeting in the theatre, there needs to be strict queue control, easy circulation and better notices of what guests are expected to do. One issue at tour check-in is the occasional rude & pushy guest who either fails to read or listen to clear instructions and/or ignores those politely waiting.

Most fellow guests on included tours we have found to be friendly and polite. There is the occasional ‘loudmouth’ or those that choose a tour that does not suit their interests or mobility and then blame Regent or the tour guide for their own poor decisions.

Guests who book every excursion available and then cancel at the last minute must create an administrative nightmare for Regent as well as causing unnecessary expense.

Many people cruise with Regent because they like the ambience on board even though they do not take full advantage of all that is on offer. We do not hear constant calls for a credit from the non-drinkers, or those who do not go to the shows in the theatre, or those who do not use the Pool, or those who do not use the gym, or those who do not like a particular Speciality restaurant.

Those who object to Regent offering included excursions could always opt to sail on another cruise line that is a better match for them.

 

 

Fabulous posting as always, you guys keep it real and we had some wonderful times with you on the Mariner..

Dinner, staying up late and partying and fun (included) excursions, there was even a wee dance lesson in there too.

Hope we can do it again some day.

 

Pam.

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Interesting how some of you have documents or copies of documents from 9 years ago. I'm lucky if I have something from last year:evilsmile:. However, as I posted on the last page, I was able to find the 2009 date on CC.

 

While I hesitate to discuss excursions as it has been discussed ad nauseam, since Flossie posted why she likes them, I'll post my views. It should be noted that I do not compare any onboard inclusions (alcohol, etc.) as these are are provided onboard vs. hotels, airlines and excursions that take place off of the ship. This is something that I' have discussed with Regent corporate several times and we are in agreement. Having said that, Regent customers have the option to opt out of hotel or flights and receive a credit. This is not the case with excursions.

 

I agree that check-in for excursions need to be improved and made consistent throughout the fleet. However, as flossie mentioned, there are people that cut into the line and do not follow the procedure. Nothing is going to change that.

 

Disagree that cancelling excursions (within the timeframe listed on your tickets) causes Regent any more expense than they already incur. For instance, if one wants to cancel an excursion in advance of the cruise, they need to call Regent - speak to a Customer Service Representative who then has to look up your records and find/change/cancel your excursion. Onboard, however, you return your tickets to Destination Services, they remove you from their list and provide tickets to someone on the waiting list.

 

Our experiences with included excursions is a bit different than what flossie posted.

 

First, it is rare when there is not either some "loudmouth", someone that is rude or people that remove handicapped placards and insist on sitting in the front seats, etc. On our last cruise (that ended last month) a mother and her daughter (maybe 11 years of age) ran to the bus in order to get the front seats. Once on the excursion they lagged behind and people had to wait for them.

 

On the issue of waiting, people arriving either to the tour bus late or late from a stop could not be more annoying!

 

There is an issue on bus tours that I really don't have an answer to. When the tour is in a very hot area and there is either no air conditioning or the air conditioning does not keep up with the heat and you are sitting on the side of the bus where the sun is beating down on you, it presents a problem. People on the cooler side of the bus want to see out of the window but the people that are boiling on the sun side of the bus would like to close the curtain.

 

Tours often run late and the reason is typically that the last stop is a shop. Passengers are typically anxious to get back to the ship at the time listed in the excursion details. Some passengers have another excursion and want to grab a bite before they leave again -- others need to eat. While there are legitimate reasons for a tour being late back (a landslide covering the road in Alaska was a good one), tours should return to the ship on time.

 

Staying with the "on time" issue, we have been on at least 2 excursions where the passengers were angry and yelling at the tour guide to "take us back to the bus". We didn't yell but we clapped. There are times where you are not only late but the excursion is awful and you just want to go back to the ship. Even with 100% of the passengers wanting to go back, sometimes they will take you back and other times they take you to another shop.

 

Then there is the issue of multiple buses (6-8 sometimes) that are doing the same excursion. They try to change the order in which they visit places but this has meant having wine or beer tasting at 9:30 a.m. (this has happened multiple times) or having lunch at 3:00 p.m. when the tour left at 8:30 a.m. (obviously this is for excursions that include lunch). Even with different routing, we have arrived at a restroom stop with 3 other buses and only 2 stalls for women. How is that luxury?

 

As Rachel and I have mentioned numerous times, there are people taking excursions that are beyond their capabilities. This slows everyone down. Again, on our last cruise (obviously this wasn't our favorite cruise), a man was yelling not only at the tour guide but at the passengers because he thought we were walking too fast. We actually were not walking fast and wondered why the man had even taken the excursion.

 

There are places in the world where excursions are necessary -- the Middle East and parts of Africa come to mind. In the Middle East, many of the distances are quite far before you reach your destination and there are security issues in some areas. Either Regent or the tour company provides security in places where it is needed which is a plus. Also, we found the excursions in the Middle East to be superior to those in the Mediterranean or the Caribbean.

 

Those of us that are not fans of included excursions are not asking that they be stopped (at least I am not although a part of me wishes that it was like it was prior to 2009). People enjoy them - it attracts people to Regent and that is a good thing. However, if we an opt out of other things that take place off of the ship, there is no reason why we should not be able to opt out of excursions (even if the credit was rather minimal).

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Crikey Jackie, it's no wonder that you don't like "included excursions" with all the yelling, pushing and shoving and the misuse of the front (disabled) seats....!!!!!

 

I can say from my point of view that we have never had any real issues with them and in fact like a previous poster pointed out we would rather try out the "included excursions" before trying to find out on our own what a new city or town has to offer.

Maybe you were just in the unfortunate position of choosing the wrong excursions at the wrong time. :(

 

We, on the other hand, like lots of similar guests love the "included excursions" and will continue to enjoy and make the most of them.

 

Pam.

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We drink a glass or 2 of wine a day, no other alcohol; never use the gym, the theater, the bars, the pool. Would be nice to be able to opt out of all that and receive a small rebate. But realize that's not going to happen – and it shouldn't.

 

Main reason we chose Regent was the included excursions. We've been way, way more satisfied, even delighted, than not. Once or twice a cruise in our dozen or so years of cruising we choose a paid excursion, simply because the tour has more appeal for us. I truly haven't noticed a big difference in quality. Have had excellent and mediocre guides on both kinds. Have had the occasional boorish tour mates on both. Fortunately, we don't object to touring with a busload of others. In fact, we've even less enjoyed the few private excursions we've taken: don't enjoy having to relate if we don't feel like it. (Sometimes we do feel like "relating"; sometimes not.)

 

In short, I would be sorry if a program were instituted that gave rebates for non excursion takers, in large part because I believe that we all "use" the Regent facilities and programs to different extents: just the name of the game.

Edited by poss
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W

 

In short, I would be sorry if a program were instituted that gave rebates for non excursion takers, in large part because I believe that we all "use" the Regent facilities and programs to different extents: just the name of the game.

 

poss, I agree that the onboard inclusive package cannot and should not be dissected. Whether or not we use all of the programs and facilities on the ship does not matter. I also understand that many people enjoy included excursions.

 

My issue is with three items that are included but take place off of the ship - namely, excursions, air and hotel (which we pay for in our cruise fare). Regent gives a credit for air and/or hotel but not excursions - this makes no sense to me.

 

In my opinion, those of us that might opt out of excursions and receive a small credit would not have a negative impact on passengers. In fact, perhaps there would be less people taking excursions - less crowding - fewer buses, etc. Smaller groups could also be accommodated in more places. There are some former Regent passengers that have stated on CC that they would return to Regent if they did not have to pay for excursions in their cruise fare.

 

There could be an option for those that opt out of included excursions to take an excursion if they pay for it. It would be easy to program the computer to show who has included excursions and who does not.

 

The point that I don't seem to be making is that this would not impact passengers that want excursions any more than someone opting out of air or hotel impacts their Regent experience as all of these things take place off of the ship.

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TC2,

Sorry I missed your post acknowledging the date of 2009. Your post 12, including the PS, appeared to be challenging others and insisting that the earliest date was 2011; no matter.

Interestingly in 2009 although excursions were included airport transfers were not.

 

Could the reason that we disagree on the quality of excursions and the demeanour of passengers on those excursions be that we generally try to avoid tours lasting more than 4 hours* and tend to opt for tours that do not just entail riding on a bus all the time?

 

We take our time carefully reading the tour descriptions to ensure that the tours we choose are really going to provide us with something interesting and hopefully slightly different from just a guided bus tour. We are usually happy with our choices, although sometimes we get it wrong.

In some ports, if the tour offerings are not to our taste, we are happy just taking the port shuttle into town and exploring on our own.

 

* exception being for locations that require a long journey to visit e.g. as you say in places such as the Middle East

 

 

PS: Of course the opt-outs for which Regent offer a credit (i.e. airfares & hotels) occur before or after the cruise not during.

Anyone can opt out of the included excursions on Regent simply by not booking them.

Edited by flossie009
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flossie's PS +1: Excursions are part of cruising in a way that flights and hotels are not. Anyway, I don't want to debate any of these kinds of things; just wanted to voice my opinion. I hope that I say nothing more on the issue. 'tis what 'tis.

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TC2,

Sorry I missed your post acknowledging the date of 2009. Your post 12, including the PS, appeared to be challenging others and insisting that the earliest date was 2011; no matter.

Interestingly in 2009 although excursions were included airport transfers were not.

 

Could the reason that we disagree on the quality of excursions and the demeanour of passengers on those excursions be that we generally try to avoid tours lasting more than 4 hours* and tend to opt for tours that do not just entail riding on a bus all the time?

 

We take our time carefully reading the tour descriptions to ensure that the tours we choose are really going to provide us with something interesting and hopefully slightly different from just a guided bus tour. We are usually happy with our choices, although sometimes we get it wrong.

In some ports, if the tour offerings are not to our taste, we are happy just taking the port shuttle into town and exploring on our own.

 

* exception being for locations that require a long journey to visit e.g. as you say in places such as the Middle East

 

 

PS: Of course the opt-outs for which Regent offer a credit (i.e. airfares & hotels) occur before or after the cruise not during.

Anyone can opt out of the included excursions on Regent simply by not booking them.

 

We also thoroughly read the information on the website regarding each excursion. However, we do not get to see a detailed schedule until we get onboard (i.e. how long we will be at each stop). It is the detailed descriptions that cause us to cancel once onboard. We also tend to take 4 hour excursions that too many times end up being 5 hours.

 

In the Middle East, the excursions are almost all 10-11 hours and most/many of them were wonderful (although we generally do not like to be on long excursions.) We enjoy wine/food related excursions very much - many of them have a cost which we don't mind. We also enjoy excursions in Africa but generally dislike excursions in South America. The best and worst excursions that we have been on were in the Mediterranean (the best in Greece - the worst in Italy). As I have mentioned, the excursions on our recent Asian cruise were mostly disappointing.

 

In my opinion, (and this has been the case all along), it is too challenging to coordinate excursions for so many passengers in every port (not usual for up to 500 passenger signing up for the same excursion). With an opt out option, Regent would likely have less people - especially on itineraries where there tend to be a high percentage of return guests.

 

There are currently at least two threads about excursions and the fact that they are not yet on the Regent website. While I understand that negotiations between Regent and the tour guides happen - after 9 years one would think that this would not happen as frequently as it does. One would also expect that the coordination of passengers/buses prior to the excursion would be sorted out and would be handled the same way on each ship.

 

Need to respond to your sentence "Your post 12, including the PS, appeared to be challenging others and insisting that the earliest date was 2011; no matter." It is truly interesting how the written word can so easily been misconstrued. Posters think I (or other posters) are challenging or belittling when we are simply disagreeing with a policy. In the case of post 12 I was stating what I and another poster recalled. However, it bothered me so I took the time to research it further. By the time I found the 2011 date, my editing time was about up so rather than do a new post, I added a "P.S.". None of us are perfect and I try to correct my errors and acknowledge that I was mistaken. This is exacerbated by some posters that do not post anything about the topic other than to criticize posters.

 

My stance on "opting out" is not only for us -- we continue to book Regent cruises -- but there are some posters (now on other boards and sailing with other cruise lines) that felt so strongly about not paying for included excursions that they left Regent.

 

There appears that nothing can be done about able bodied passengers sitting in the front seats or taking excursions that are beyond their capability so excursions will continue to be what they are. I accepted it a while ago but when problems arise - such as they have been recently, my old feelings about having an opt out policy comes back in my mind.

 

Hope that this post does not come across as rude, challenging or anything else other than my opinions and why I feel the way that I do about this topic.

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Say that Regent offers an OBC or rebate to those passengers who wish to opt out of included excursions:

 

Big Question: What would happen if everybody on a particular sailing opts out of the included excursions? Then what? What if 80% opt out this sailing and 10% next sailing? How will Regent sustain any quality of service at their Destination Services Desk or at local ports? What about the vendors at local markets? How would they be able to staff with knowledgeable, dependable guides not knowing if they could offer work to them? There are so many HUGE IFS associated with this type of business model. In my opinion it would quickly drive Regent to not offer ANY included excursions.

 

I understand the wishes of some to opt out of included excursions but using the airfare and hotel "off ship" examples is not a legitimate comparison. Those costs are categorized as direct one to one costs. The airfare "rebate" to the customer is a win for Regent. They will offer you less than they pay any consolidator for your airline seat. The same is true for opting out of the hotel. Regent will give you a combined per person rate less than their cost of the room at the hotel. Not getting into the meals, transfers, etc that only adds to Regent's profits. This is basic cost accounting: Cost = X, rebate = X minus a percentage that Regent feels comfortable with charging you for not using their services. Yes, you pay them more to do nothing for you. For some, including me, it is worth that cost as I plan other activities to coincide with my cruise vacations.

 

When you are dealing with excursions it is not a one to one direct cost as with airline flights and hotel rooms. There are many, many variables that will go into the accounting algorithm for the destination services department. My pencil has been retired too long to get into that morass.

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mdunne48 - some good points but some that I disagree with. Firstly, the odds of more than 10% of passengers opting out of excursions is extremely small. What if 80% of passengers opted out of the hotel? What would that do to the hotel chains that Regent is contracted with? And, with airlines, Regent gets a discount rate likely based on the number of seats that Regent passengers will occupy. Would they no longer be able to get the rates that they currently receive if a high percentage of Regent passengers opted out? I tend to think of the U.K. which only represents less than 20% of Regent passengers. It appears that they do not have the choices of airline that those of us in North America have.

So, while your "IF's" are valid, they also apply to airlines and hotels.

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We agree with 1982CruzStart and Bellagio Cruisers.

This is our take based on our experiences of Regent excursions over the last 9 years.

The concept of “free shore excursions” (i.e. included excursions) is very popular with many cruisers. For us it was one of the selling points that made us want to try cruising with Regent.

Since our first Regent cruise in 2009 we have cruised often with Regent as we like the size of their ships, the ambience on board, their itineraries and the true all-inclusive nature of what Regent offers.

We do not find that the quality of the excursions suffers as a result of being included. We have enjoyed many very good included excursions; some average and the odd ‘turkey’.

Regent generally manages its excursion programme well. We find the staff at Destinations Services to be polite, helpful and efficient.

Booking excursions on line works OK, but there are some improvements that could be made. In particular, we wish Regent would re-introduce the ability to put yourself on waitlists; this facility used to be available but was withdrawn.

We have always found staff in the Regent Office to be very helpful and efficient in fulfilling any requests that cannot be completed on line.

It is probably time that the excursion information, both on the website and on-board, be revamped to encourage more people to actually absorb the accurate, but boring, descriptions.

We have always found the information on the website to be as comprehensive as that available on board.

If you cruise to the same ports multiple times then there will be a limit to the number of totally different tours that are available on subsequent visits, especially in ports where the number of tours available is limited. That is only to be expected.

Tour check-in could be improved. It would probably be better for tour groups to meet on-shore rather than in the theatre apart from those ports where congestion on shore is an issue.

When meeting in the theatre, there needs to be strict queue control, easy circulation and better notices of what guests are expected to do. One issue at tour check-in is the occasional rude & pushy guest who either fails to read or listen to clear instructions and/or ignores those politely waiting.

Most fellow guests on included tours we have found to be friendly and polite. There is the occasional ‘loudmouth’ or those that choose a tour that does not suit their interests or mobility and then blame Regent or the tour guide for their own poor decisions.

Guests who book every excursion available and then cancel at the last minute must create an administrative nightmare for Regent as well as causing unnecessary expense.

Many people cruise with Regent because they like the ambience on board even though they do not take full advantage of all that is on offer. We do not hear constant calls for a credit from the non-drinkers, or those who do not go to the shows in the theatre, or those who do not use the Pool, or those who do not use the gym, or those who do not like a particular Speciality restaurant.

Those who object to Regent offering included excursions could always opt to sail on another cruise line that is a better match for them.

(y)

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TC-- the business model you are espousing for the Regent Destination Services department is not sustainable. When you introduce random variables on both sides of the cost equation you end up in the RED ......or worse.

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TC-- the business model you are espousing for the Regent Destination Services department is not sustainable. When you introduce random variables on both sides of the cost equation you end up in the RED ......or worse.

 

Okay - so how is the air and hotel model sustainable?

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Both Air and Hotel have secondary and tertiary markets where Regent can "sell" / "dump" unused inventory if or when necessary thereby reducing exposure. In the excursion market I am not aware of any similar devices.

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TC-- the business model you are espousing for the Regent Destination Services department is not sustainable. When you introduce random variables on both sides of the cost equation you end up in the RED ......or worse.

You have brought up a lot of good points that I had not thought of. What would be your best guess as to how it is handled with vendors and guides when a listed excursion gets canceled due to lack of interest? Obviously the passengers who were planning on a specific excursion and in effect, paid for it.....are out of luck through no fault of their own.

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Flossie's description of her view of excursions is pretty much the same as ours. Though we began cruising with Regent before they were included, we welcome the ability to pick and choose how we spend our time in each port of call, usually opting for an overview on our first visit and subsequently making a more specific choice if we find ourselves in a port for a second or third time. We also travel independently throughout the year and it makes a change for us to join an organised tour, even if at the end of any cruise, we're more than ready to do our own thing again.

 

At the risk of repeating myself from another thread, another topic - for us, luxury means having a choice. We choose Regent because it suits us well and the included excursions are all part of that product. I don't for one minute expect Regent to adjust/amend/redesign their offer because it doesn't suit my wishes/preference because thankfully, we are fortunate to have the luxury to make a different choice - to do our own thing when we choose to or to look elsewhere, as we are all entitled to do.

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Both Air and Hotel have secondary and tertiary markets where Regent can "sell" / "dump" unused inventory if or when necessary thereby reducing exposure. In the excursion market I am not aware of any similar devices.

 

Wish that I understood your explanation but appreciate the time that you took to post. The point that I seem to be missing is how Oceania (for instance) and some other cruise lines can give you the option of whether you want some included excursions or not. While you do not receive a cash credit for not taking the offered excursions, you are given a choice of some excursions, on board credits, alcohol package, etc.

 

Gilly - my posts are not about choice - I have addressed the fact that we accepted this a long time ago - did leave Regent for a short time and returned, etc. It is about lost customers, frustrated customers and the ever increasing cruise fare. This would give passengers a choice that would slightly lower their fare and allow passengers to book excursions outside of Regent. Most importantly, it takes absolutely nothing away from the passenger that enjoy the excursions.

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P.S. The TS on another thread "Included Shore Excursions" stated (2nd page towards the bottom) that they would not be sailing on Regent for their 3 future cruises due to the included excursions. This is a recent example of what I've been saying.

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P.S. The TS on another thread "Included Shore Excursions" stated (2nd page towards the bottom) that they would not be sailing on Regent for their 3 future cruises due to the included excursions. This is a recent example of what I've been saying.

 

But that's fine! It's their choice to choose a different product. We can't all like the same thing - that's why there is a range of luxury cruise lines offering similar but slightly different combinations of broadly the same range of features. One of those features will be the key to their eventual choice, because it will be non-negotiable on their terms. You clearly don't feel strongly enough about the included excursions to vote with your $$$s - or at least, what you found when you did proved to be less preferable to you than Regent, even with the excursions included. I'm sure Regent discovered a long time ago that they can't please all of the people, all of the time. The fact that they please enough people to fill their ships and make a profit is enough.

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