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Regent Flights - with and without deviation


Travelcat2
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Thanks Dave,

That's what I thought but just wanted to see if anyone had any further ideas.

I spoke with Regent and they said that once a TA is involved the TA must give

permission for us to speak to Regent.

I wasn't exactly sure how the flights are booked through Regent.

It probably would have been better to go through Regent for the flights.

It's not awful but it would have been nice to end the trip with as

few hassles as possible.

Thanks for the feedback

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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

 

As a regular Regent customer that deviates fights all of the time, I did understand what you were explaining. The problem seems to be that the request to deviate these flights may have been too late. Most of us book deviated air 240 days prior to a cruise. Regent only has a select number of "contracted" seats on the contracted flights. Once those seats are gone (even though there could be a lot of seats left on the plane), Regent will either put you on another flight or charge you extra for the non-stop fight that you were hoping to get.

 

In terms of having to have your TA say that it is okay to speak to Regent, I have heard of that before and it is annoying. When we are ready to deviate (again, 240 days prior to boarding), we send our top two choices for fights to our TA. They send the request to person they work with in the Air Department and it is either approved or other options will be suggested immediately. You can certainly do this for the flight that you wish to have on Delta. Although Regent contracted seats are likely taken by now, it is always worth a try.

 

Hope that this helps!

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  • 1 month later...
You are correct. The 240 previously stated is incorrect.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Hi Dave:

 

Should we expect business class air from Capetown back to the states on the Capetown to Capetown upcoming cruise in December?

 

Best Regards,

 

Wavefairy

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  • 1 month later...

Several posters on this board have had the experience of deviating and receiving First Class seats on the domestic portions of their itinerary. I know this only happens when the domestic and intercontinental legs are on the same airline (or maybe code-shares).

 

For those who have booked both domestic and intercontinental legs on the same airline, how often do you get the First-Class domestic seats? Is that something you requested of Regent Air, or did it just happen?

 

We just booked our second Regent cruise, Barcelona to Venice next April. I plan to deviate and request as my first choices direct intercontinental flights to Europe from SFO. Those itineraries tend to be more expensive than if we flew from SFO to the east coast before continuing to Europe, and I don’t know if they will be covered by the included fare or if we will need to pay extra for them.

 

On the other hand, there are many routings using the same airline that connect on the east coast, and would include First-Class domestically. Most of those arrive in Barcelona earlier which would give us more walking-around time before the cruise. We would actually prefer that as long as we didn’t have to sit in coach across the country.

 

A last question, for this post anyway, when you deviated and got the domestic upgrade, was that evident in the proposed itinerary you received from Regent before you accepted the deviation?

 

Joe

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Hi Joe - it seems that you have received some rather complicated responses so I'll make mine easy (hopefully :)). We have deviated on most of our 31 Regent cruises and are familiar with how they work. Below is the best way to deviate flights (which is simple):

 

1. Prior to 270 days before your cruise, look up flights on the internet and choose the ones that are best for you (your TA may be helpful in letting you know which airlines and flights are contracted).

 

2. Send your TA an email with two or three choices (with details). If part of your flight is within the U.S. (as Delta likely would be), ask that you get included First Class on the domestic leg. There are very limited First Class seats so booking early is essential.

 

3. Your TA contacts Regent and will get back to you with what is acceptable or not acceptable to Regent. Once you approve it, it is booked and you are charged for the deviation. If you get domestic First Class, you will know when Regent sends your TA the proposed itinerary.

 

I just looked at flights from NCE to SFO and did not see any non-stop flights. Lufthansa has flights that do not stop in the U.S. so they would be in Business Class all the way (stopping in either Munich or Frankfurt). This would be my personal recommendation

 

We are departing for a transatlantic cruise in November and deviated using Lufthansa. They have flatbed seats, good service and food.

 

The key to all of this is to book the day that flights open up. If you wait, seats can be full (note: Regent contracts for only a certain amount of seats on each flight so, while the flight may not be full, Regent can no longer book at their discounted rate.

 

Hope that this makes sense. I'll be happy to answer any other questions.

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Thanks TC2,

 

That was very useful. Assuming the Lufthansa flights are available they are high on my list. You are correct that there are no nonstop flights from/to SFO to Barcelona or Venice but there are many one-stops. The trick is avoiding transcontinental coach in the USA.

 

Speaking of which, do you have any idea how often you requested an itinerary with US legs where you were denied the domestic first class?

 

I think I know the answer to this but I'll ask anyway. Do you get frequent flyer miles on your Regent-arranged flights?

 

Joe

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Thanks TC2,

 

That was very useful. Assuming the Lufthansa flights are available they are high on my list. You are correct that there are no nonstop flights from/to SFO to Barcelona or Venice but there are many one-stops. The trick is avoiding transcontinental coach in the USA.

 

Speaking of which, do you have any idea how often you requested an itinerary with US legs where you were denied the domestic first class?

 

I think I know the answer to this but I'll ask anyway. Do you get frequent flyer miles on your Regent-arranged flights?

 

Joe

 

We rarely fly U.S. based airlines so most of our flights do not make a domestic stop. Our upcoming flight to Chile is the second time that we have a domestic leg and both times we had first class (interestingly, both incidents had to do with flying to South America where it is almost impossible to get an international carrier that we would feel comfortable flying). When we have to fly domestically (when we fly to Miami to embark on a cruise), we take the air credit and book our own first class flights.

 

Sorry but we do not use frequent flyer miles anymore. Hopefully someone else will respond.

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We have never booked air through cruise lines, but we find ourselves considering a last minute booking (in August, on the Explorer - Northern Europe). As a result, we are strongly considering the included air because of current pricing and lack of award seat availability.

 

If we were to use Regent for our air, would we be presented with flight options at the time of booking since the sailing is so close? I do understand that some of the preferred routings may not be available at this stage, but I would like to have some idea if we'd end up with poor timings and/or connections before we "pull the trigger" on whether or not to use Regent's air.

 

BTW, we do have an experienced Regent agent, and I will certainly discuss it with her. Just wanted to get some feedback here as well. ;)

Edited by RJ2002
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We have never booked air through cruise lines, but we find ourselves considering a last minute booking (in August, on the Explorer - Northern Europe). As a result, we are strongly considering the included air because of current pricing and lack of award seat availability.

 

If we were to use Regent for our air, would we be presented with flight options at the time of booking since the sailing is so close? I do understand that some of the preferred routings may not be available at this stage, but I would like to have some idea if we'd end up with poor timings and/or connections before we "pull the trigger" on whether or not to use Regent's air.

 

BTW, we do have an experienced Regent agent, and I will certainly discuss it with her. Just wanted to get some feedback here as well. ;)

 

Since flight information is provided approxx. 75 days prior to cruise, you are currently in that window so they would provide your flight information right after you book. To my knowledge no one is provided flight options unless you choose to pay $175 pp to deviate. You only pay after you accept one of the available choices. At this points your choices are probably limited and deviations without additional charges are limited as well. Don't believe you can "deviate" and ask for flights without actual booking.

 

Sorry, appears you might be between the proverbial rock and hard place at this time. Also a lot depends on your preferred airport and cruise starting point as well as end point and the number of flights available for your cruise. Perhaps your TA can get some information from Regent before pulling the trigger since regular flights are available now.

 

Good luck,

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We have never booked air through cruise lines, but we find ourselves considering a last minute booking (in August, on the Explorer - Northern Europe). As a result, we are strongly considering the included air because of current pricing and lack of award seat availability.

 

If we were to use Regent for our air, would we be presented with flight options at the time of booking since the sailing is so close? I do understand that some of the preferred routings may not be available at this stage, but I would like to have some idea if we'd end up with poor timings and/or connections before we "pull the trigger" on whether or not to use Regent's air.

 

BTW, we do have an experienced Regent agent, and I will certainly discuss it with her. Just wanted to get some feedback here as well. ;)

 

In my opinion, it is not all doom and gloom. Agree that you should have your TA check with Regent and see what is available. How good or poor the selections will be is dependent partly on where you are flying from. Many times we have found that we can get flights to Europe, for example but not to the port. This is obviously because there are not many Regent passengers departing from our local airport but there could be many, many Regent guests that are connecting in places like Frankfurt, Heathrow, etc.

 

Let us know how you do - wish you luck.

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rallydave, Travelcat2: thanks very much for your posts. Since we are novices with cruise air, it's good to have this information.

 

Our gateway is LAX, and what we try to avoid on Europe flights is a connection on the East coast... that's really what I'd like to know before we commit to using Regent air.

 

As you've suggested, we'll carefully check with our TA before we make a decision on the air.

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rallydave, Travelcat2: thanks very much for your posts. Since we are novices with cruise air, it's good to have this information.

 

Our gateway is LAX, and what we try to avoid on Europe flights is a connection on the East coast... that's really what I'd like to know before we commit to using Regent air.

 

As you've suggested, we'll carefully check with our TA before we make a decision on the air.

 

Not sure where you are flying to, suggest you look at Lufthansa. Regent contracts with them and there are no stops within the U.S. (same with British Airways).

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  • 2 weeks later...

We're booked on a Regent cruise in 2019 ending at Southampton (London), and the Regent Air on our invoice shows from SOU to YYC (Calgary, Canada). But there aren't any good flights from SOU without multiple stops and backtracking, only from Heathrow (LHR). Do any of you frequent travelers know what Regent does in this situation? Can we pay a deviation and ask them to transfer us to LHR for a direct flight on Air Canada instead of departing from SOU?

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We're booked on a Regent cruise in 2019 ending at Southampton (London), and the Regent Air on our invoice shows from SOU to YYC (Calgary, Canada). But there aren't any good flights from SOU without multiple stops and backtracking, only from Heathrow (LHR). Do any of you frequent travelers know what Regent does in this situation? Can we pay a deviation and ask them to transfer us to LHR for a direct flight on Air Canada instead of departing from SOU?

 

I would certainly think that you could deviation from LHR rather than SOU but do not know for certain. Double check with your TA (and if your TA doesn't know - ask them to check with Regent - they should be able to answer the question quickly). Let us know what they say.

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Thanks TC, I found another thread on this topic and think I got my answer, so I’m not going to worry about it until I let my TA know our deviation preferences, (I believe I know from our S.A. cruise a few years ago that we use the same TA, who are very Regent-savvy!) :D

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Thanks to all for the great information. We're taking our 1st Regent cruise in November to the Amazon. Went with included air and didn't do deviation. Gateway is LAX and am curious what others can share about airlines and times of flights that Regent uses.

 

Likely a red eye possibly with a stop in Dallas, Houston, or Atlanta, etc. depending on the airline, AA, UAL, or Delta, etc. Return, an afternoon flight likely with a similar stop on the way back. All depends on the flights Regent chooses based on availability/price/contract.

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Thanks to all for the great information. We're taking our 1st Regent cruise in November to the Amazon. Went with included air and didn't do deviation. Gateway is LAX and am curious what others can share about airlines and times of flights that Regent uses.

 

I did a quick check for the probable dates that you will be flying. While we are not a fan of U.S. based airlines, your best choice (shortest flights including layover) seems to be on American Airlines (when I narrowed the search based on total time, the only airline that showed up was American). We took American Airlines to and from Miami last November when we went to the Amazon but we took Regent's air credit and booked First Class flights on our own.

 

When considering Coach vs. Business/First, consider your luggage and the charges. You will be away for quite a while and we ended up packing things for the Amazon that we typically would not be packing so our luggage was 1/3 heavier. This wasn't an issue for us because we didn't book Coach.

 

If you have more question about flights, just ask and if you have any questions about the Amazon, I'll stop by your Roll Call to answer them. It is quite an amazing place!

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Likely a red eye possibly with a stop in Dallas, Houston, or Atlanta, etc. depending on the airline, AA, UAL, or Delta, etc. Return, an afternoon flight likely with a similar stop on the way back. All depends on the flights Regent chooses based on availability/price/contract.

 

Does Regent put you on a Red Eye? ....sure hope not. And, if so, would definitely not be the way start an amazing cruise.

 

Hoping to hear from someone who has done LAX - Miami.

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I did a quick check for the probable dates that you will be flying. While we are not a fan of U.S. based airlines, your best choice (shortest flights including layover) seems to be on American Airlines (when I narrowed the search based on total time, the only airline that showed up was American). We took American Airlines to and from Miami last November when we went to the Amazon but we took Regent's air credit and booked First Class flights on our own.

 

When considering Coach vs. Business/First, consider your luggage and the charges. You will be away for quite a while and we ended up packing things for the Amazon that we typically would not be packing so our luggage was 1/3 heavier. This wasn't an issue for us because we didn't book Coach.

 

If you have more question about flights, just ask and if you have any questions about the Amazon, I'll stop by your Roll Call to answer them. It is quite an amazing place!

 

American would be great as they offer non-stop flights. Our TA has assured us that we have Business Class flights.....even thought it's domestic. Since we're flying in November I'm thinking we could still do air deviation.

 

I followed your "live from" thread last year but appreciate any/all info about the itinerary.

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Does Regent put you on a Red Eye? ....sure hope not.

 

 

 

Have seen reports of that occurring from west coast to Miami. Because of the time change and length of flights difficult to get to Miami and make the flight.

 

All flights to Europe and other foreign locations are red eyes. They are less expensive as well. These are some reasons many people arrive a day or two early.

 

 

 

Just checked ita matrix and earliest arrival for a very early departure is about 330 pm which sure you don’t want to chance missing ship so pretty sure a red eye is what it will be. Sorry about that. Perhaps you can deviate st this late date and get in early evening the day before.

 

The only non-stop is the AA flight that if on time gets in to Miami at 3:55PM so awfully late for the scheduled 5 PM departure and probably miss the ship. Check for yourself. matrix.itasoftware.com has all the flights on all the airlines, AA, UAL, and Delta.

 

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Edited by rallydave
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