Opt-Out for Included Excursions?

[Observer]

Several people have commented (I am one of them!) about the increase in Regent base prices, doubtless caused at least in part by the included "free" excursions.

 

I share the perspective of others of this board who are fortunate to be reasonably seasoned travelers that at many ports I would like to simply go into town unescorted or to take a private tour to some place off-the-beaten path.

 

The argument some years ago for free drinks was that free liquor would bring people into the lounges. Free tours have led more people to sign up for tours, creating un-Regent-like conditions during muster each morning in the theatre, busses that are fuller (and thus tour groups so large that it's difficult to hear the guide), lines for tenders (especially when a number of tour busses return at the same time), and unnecessary additional expense for Regent (passed on in some way to the customer) when people sign up for ("free") tours that they in fact do not take. Additional impacts of the "free" excursions initiative are much more work for the Destination Services staff (which I understand has been reduced in size under new management) and frustration on the part of guests who are waitlisted for or closed out of tours for which they feel they have already paid on their base cruise fare.

 

Regent offers free air, but it also offers an option to opt out and receive a (fairly modest) reduction in cruise fare.

 

With the "free" excursions, why do they not also offer an opt-out? If the "free" excursions are worth what the brochures say they are, I would think that a reduction of at least $50-75 per person per port day would be in order. Thus, for a couple traveling on a 10 night cruise with eight port days, the rebate for opting out might be somewhere around $800-$1200.

 

Why not extend the opt-out rebate from the "free" air to the "free" excursions? According to my proposal, people who opted out of the "free" tour package could still sign up for tours on a space-available basis onboard, paying per excursion taken.

 

Thoughts?

[Hambagahle]

I am not sure where you got your information about over-full excursions etc but that was certainly not our experience on our Spring Mediterranean cruise!!

 

As to pricing I rather think that they make an assumption that not everyone will do every excursion they can. Also a couple of years ago Regent stopped using a tour operator to dothe excursions and started running them themselves. This most likely resulted in a cut in expenses.

 

For me it is very nice that Regent bill itself as "All inclusive" and really BE so. Including all one's drinks, excursions etc is a good thing, I think. I used to have to pay a bill of between $1000 and $2000 at the end of our cruise for the extras. This last cruise my bill was $300 -- $200 for the spa and $100 for laundry! I liked that.

 

For air - I only wish that regent would offer those of us who do not live in the US or the UK the possibility of having our airfares included. I would much rather that than have to pay several thousand extra to get to and from the cruise! Yes, we get a rebate because we cannot use the flights. But the actual cost to us is much much more!

[grapejuice]

I agree with you Hambagahle,

I was so excited reading the info on different cruises etc. and seeing airfares included. Then getting down to the fine print, learning that free air was only available in the USA.

I guess it is put in the "too hard' basket to implement it in other countries.

It would be very nice though to have that option.

[wristband]

I did not experience any unpleasant experience with Regent tours as cited above earlier this year. The tours we took were professionally handled and the excursions desk was staffed with knowledgeable, pleasant and unstressed staff who were eager to please.

 

Booking was incredibly easy in advance of the cruise, tickets were delivered to our room, getting on/off ship/tour buses worked fine and the guides provided were excellent. We also took it upon ourselves in several ports to design our own walking tours in advance with lunch at several pre-selected restaurants. We never felt "cheated" that we subsidized others enjoying Regent tours on those days we opted to go it alone.

 

I very much like the all-inclusive nature of Regent and like the freedom to pick and choose my drink and tours. Some wines and tours are not free - there is an additional charge which we, as passengers, can choose to assume or not.

 

If you do not enjoy alcohol, should you be given an exemption and a reduced fare? Again, I like the option to participate - or not - and I appreciate that I may "upgrade" at cost for a more expensive wine and unusual tour experience. But that is solely my choice. Some passengers enjoy the gym, others do not. Some enjoy the library and coffee bar, others do not. Should those amenities impose a separate usage charge and passengers who do not exercise or read books receive a discounted fare?

 

The airfare offset is, in my opinion, not analogous to free excursions. Everyone must travel to the embarkation port and many passengers, such as myself, employ frequent flier points for free or low cost travel. But we all must travel to the ship. Once onboard, I believe a key element of what makes Regent such a wonderful experience - what sets Regent apart from competition - is the cruise is all-inclusive without regard to whether a passenger chooses to partake of a tour, cocktail or expresso.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Two points.

 

This is anecdotal, but excursions were handled badly for us twice on our December Voyager trip. One excursion was handled well.

 

Or shall I say once it was handled badly by Regent: Constellation lounge full of folks being organized into busloads; too many buses all leaving at once for the same excursion; tours bumping into each other at the various sights; too many people on each bus. This was in Salvador in Brazil.

 

And one that was just plain overpopulated and had not been properly vetted: bus ride to the boat was a rickety local bus, without enough very narrow seats for everybody, so that folks had to make use of "jump seats" down the middle of the aisle; and the catamaran itself was *way* too crowded and the captain was a tinpot dictator who liked to hector his passengers and tried to make it into a party boat, despite the average age being about 65. Not serene, not dignified, too many people in the water trying to see too few turtles (the turtles were cool nevertheless.) This was Barbados.

 

We have a paid excursion planned this December, one that we have taken before as a "concierge" choice. It better be small!

 

This brings me to my second point: I don't think that it woul be viable for pax to "opt out" of the included excursions. It would be a real headache if someone wanted to opt back in, would it not? By paying full price, no doubt, which I'm sure some would like to do at the last minute.

 

I think the answer is more "concierge" excursions, those with a cost, but a reduced cost from previously. This would suit me. Of course, it also establishes a two-tiered excursion system which might see a degradation of the "free" excursions over time, which would lead to abandoning the whole thing.

[Emdee]

Like Hambagahle we had a wonderful experience on the Mariner in April.

Yes the theatre gets pretty crowded with people going for tours but I found that a great meeting spot to chat up friends we had made etc. The loading and unloading was handled very well indeed.

 

We will be on the Nav next month and I shall definitely report on how things are there.

 

I like the all inclusive nature and think its a positive improvement.

[PaulaJK]

I believe that Regent has dedicated itself to 'all' inclusive & is effectively utilizing the 'included' excursions to market & garner increased passenger loads/revenue. Therefore, I don't anticipate any change in this. At the same time, I believe that Regent will lose some of the 'old time' cruisers who do not care for this approach, especially as perceived to be a factor in markedly increased fares.

 

It would be interesting to learn what the average tour-taking rate was previously vs. now. Based [anecdotally] on my 6-7 weeks on board since the beginnig of this program, I would be very surprised if the number of pax taking tours had not increased. Also, in reading the boards it is not unusual to hear people state that they feel more compelled to take tours now that they are included in the fare.

 

Recent reports of tours, mostly from Alaska, have been pretty good. My own experience is a shade closer to Wendy's. I have found some crowding & confusion in the lounge, the buses full or close to full & some excursions of unacceptably poor quality. I have also found some to be within norm.

The destination services staff varies but there always seems to be a non responsive or surly person in the batch.

 

I wouldn't mind an opt-out with 1-2K $$ refund/discount. I would appreciate more concierge level options. Most of all, I would appreciate

the excursion system returning to its former self. In the end I don't know how strongly the excursion policy will be in determining whether I sail

Regent again. I am equally concerned about the full ships [Voyager sailed w. 740 pax over 7/4], cutback attitudes [guest entertainers,dance hosts]

and negative attitudes towards world cruisers and singles.

[MarilynA]

 

and negative attitudes towards world cruisers and singles.

 

Would Paula or anyone else please care to expand upon this comment, especially with regard to single/solo travelers? This concerns me quite a bit, since I recently booked 2 cruises on Regent, taking advantage of the 50% single supplement that they are offering on a number of cruises. Is the negative attitude coming from Regent management or from other passengers? How widespread is this attitude?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Removal of the gentlemen hosts, single supplements high, with discounts few and far between. 50% is now considered "great", but even those are fairly rare--we managed to find one in December. There used to be occasional better deals, and 50% used to be much more common I think.

[basedow]

In our experience recent excursions felt like cattle calls, even the ones with extra charges. I don't want to use them anymore and would rather do private or self guided. But Regent did raise their prices to reflect the included excursions, making SilverSea much more attractive to us.

[Observer]

As to pricing I rather think that they make an assumption that not everyone will do every excursion they can. Also a couple of years ago Regent stopped using a tour operator to dothe excursions and started running them themselves. This most likely resulted in a cut in expenses.

 

I am not certain as to what you mean by saying that Regent is running excursions by themselves. Clearly (at least to me), Regent cannot have its own busses and tour guides standing by in cities around the world. They have local companies that provide the busses and guides. Regent must notify the companies so many days in advance as to how many busses they will need, how many guides, etc. And they pay for whatever they reserved. On a recent cruise I was told by someone who surely should know that there are *many* no-shows for each tour. Nonetheless, Regent must order enough busses/guides for as many people as ordered tickets. Many people (I am told), including me, booked tours online for each port. After all, they were "free" (or included in the cost of the cruise). So why not? Throughout the cruise there were urgent pleas from the tour desk to return unwanted tickets (so that they might be able to order fewer busses or give the tickets to people who were waitlisted.) Nonetheless, there were many no-shows for the tours. People decided to sleep in, or it was too hot, or it was raining, etc. It cost the no-shows nothing; but it did cost Regent if they had hired one or more busses/guides more than they really needed, etc. My knowledgeable source on a recent cruise said that they simply cannot speculate that a certain percentage of people won't show. They have to get as many guides and busses as are necessary to accommodate all people who have received tickets (generally ordered online in advance). Can you imagine the out-roar if a tour was overbooked by 10% (as with the airlines) and everyone showed up? You can't tell the overbooked people to take the next tour (as airlines tell them to take the next flight). The ship is leaving that afternoon!

[janisegn]

i agree with basedow - my husband and i are not really "excursion people" - we'd rather just walk around a city and do our own thing - for our upcoming Jan'11 holiday i really doubt if we'll sign up for any included excursions - so if Regent did away with this program or offered an "opt-out" we'd be really happy - and far less likely to look at the other luxury lines -

[Island Cruiser]

I couldn't agree more with Observer's initial post. We often prefer to make our own shore arrangements. The fact that we have already paid for an excursion at each port stop as part of our cruise price is a serious disincentive to doing this. If and when we make our own shore arrangements we are essentially paying twice. That stings!

[Longhorn1]

Agree...we prefer private tours or our own arrangements. I think the excursions should be ala carte and feel that is more the norm in the context of a luxury line. The analogy regarding the airfare is accurate. I understand the marketing and what they are trying to accomplish but, having said that, the process and quality can be counter productive. If I were Regent management I would revisit the issue....

[ljk76]

The included excursions were part of what attracted us to Regent. That said, we're going to the Med and we would be doing an excursion in every port for this trip. I don't know that we would consider Regent for the Carribbean because we always just hop in a taxi and hit the beach on our own.

 

I had previously read primarily positive comments about the handling of the excursions, so I'm hoping that will be our experience. It certainly is a balancing act for Regent, pleasing their frequent repeat guests, while attracting new cruisers to their line. I suspect my husband and I reflect a certain demographic, baby boomers who have frequently cruised and are ready to move to a luxury line. Somehow the all inclusive approach really seems to fit the bill. I'll know a lot more come August 7th!

[colomom]

The free excursions was one of the main reasons we chose Regent for our first cruising experience, especially for a cruise to Alaska where excursions are known to be expensive.

 

If excursions were not included I would definitely consider a less expensive cruise line so I would have the extra money for excursions. I can understand not doing excursions in Europe where just visiting the port cities would be very interesting but, not in Alaska.

 

Perhaps very inexpensive excursions could be offered, which would please those who consider themselves "excursion" people. For those who would rather make arrangements for their day themselves, this would result in a "rebate" of sorts. But, I understand the marketing of "free" excursions, it is a big draw.

[Travelcat2]

Included excursions has put Regent in competition (price wise) with cruise lines such as Disney, Princess and HAL (according to several posters on CC). Regent is a luxury cruise line. . . . my definition of luxury does not include being herded into a theater -- then led like cattle to the area where you disembark. I have seen up to three busloads of passengers on the same tour (Alaska, May, 2010).

 

New customers to Regent love it -- it is the reason many people switched to Regent. Long term loyal passengers do not necessarily feel the same way. Regents parent company, Prestige Cruise Holdings, is working very hard to meet the needs of Regent's luxury cruisers. They have done quite a remarkable job in 2 years. The one area I feel they need to look at is their repeat, long-term customers as it sometimes feels like they are forgotten. Every business needs new customers. . . . and, the younger (age) market will continue to slowly grow. A good percentage of repeat customers are baby boomers. This age group is beginning to retire and will continue to do so for the next 20 years or so. They generally have more vacation time and disposable cash.

 

Perhaps we need a good poll on this subject. It is a good way to express our views. I may try to put one together.

 

P.S. I heard onboard the Navigator that gentlemen hosts will be returning (perhaps already have). Do not know this as a fact.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

Maybe a good answer to the all inclusive is to give each passenger some kind of credit to use towards their excursions. If they want a small concierge they can use all the excursion credits for a private tour or if not they can do the bus half day city overviews like the sister line, Oceania sells as a package - which are quite good. People have a vested interest in not letting the excursion credits go to waste and it would reduce the no show aspect of the tours without degrading the all inclusive aspect of the cruise.

[Mark_T]

Perhaps we need a good poll on this subject. It is a good way to express our views. I may try to put one together.

 

I'm not sure that polls on here are particularly representative of the 'new' market Regent seems to be targeting, but I don't doubt it would reflect the feelings of the long term repeat travellers.

 

I don't think that is where the marketing focus is right now though and for good or for ill, I think the changes are going to prove attractive for the market Regent wants to become the future long term client base.

 

Fortunately there are other lines that still offer what some people seem to prefer so it may mean a change of allegiance if the true 'all-inclusive' approach is not to people's liking.

[wripro]

As previously stated here included excursions is how Regent differentiated itself from the other luxury lines when the economy tanked and they needed to fill ships. It was an excellent strategy imo although, as with everything else that's included you are paying for those excursions with the higher prices. Should the economy improve to the point where bookings start to flow freely again I predict there will be no more included excursions and Regents line will be something like: "For the convenience of our clients we have decided to allow them to choose their own method of exploring ports and excursions will no longer be included." What that does to the price of cruises remains to be seen. I think the same thing will happen with Crystal's "as you wish all inclusive" OBCs.

[Travelcat2]

I'm not sure that polls on here are particularly representative of the 'new' market Regent seems to be targeting, but I don't doubt it would reflect the feelings of the long term repeat travellers.

 

I don't think that is where the marketing focus is right now though and for good or for ill, I think the changes are going to prove attractive for the market Regent wants to become the future long term client base.

 

Fortunately there are other lines that still offer what some people seem to prefer so it may mean a change of allegiance if the true 'all-inclusive' approach is not to people's liking.

 

You are so right about the poll. What was I thinking??? Wish I could remove it. Wripro's idea is good.

 

My confusion about the marketing is that Oceania is now using the word "luxury" -- at least on their website. They are, according to most travel writers and magazines, a premium cruiseline. Their new ships sound as if they are as upscale as Regent. Prestige cruise holdings has repeatedly said that they will not merge Oceania and Regent. They have never said that they would not switch them (i.e. Regent going down a level and Oceania up a level).

 

Regent ships have the children's programs, the oversized group excursions. . . . . while Oceania has neither. Which sounds like the luxury line?

[hondorner]

...They are, according to most travel writers and magazines, a premium cruiseline.

Upper Premium. They are in a unique niche that most travel writers and magazines cannot appreciate, and are sometimes too shallow in their reporting to explore fully.

 

I missed Oceania's use of "luxury" to describe the entire cruise line, but if so, they are only doing it because the essential word "Upper" gets lost far too often.

 

I define luxury in terms of food, tableware, bed comfort, service, cleanliness and maintenance and such, rather than in terms of what may be "given" to me after I have paid for it up front. In many ways, Oceania is at least as luxurious as others in these regards.

 

The difference, which I appreciate, is that having drinks and excursions included up front in the price removes those as items for me to consider while on vacation. I already made the hard decision to spend a little more for that privilege, now it's time to relax and enjoy it.

 

Even though I've paid for them up front, if I decide to walk into town instead, I will. The really nice thing is that enough of the excursions are less than a full day that I get to do both.

[marieps]

The OP deems the airfare credit "modest."

 

In my experience the credit for airfare was more than modest. Regent afforded my DW and I $1,500 total for air and we are spending about $1,100 booking on our own. The $400 will fund about half the upcharge

on our helicopter/dogsled excursion. I believe the airfare credit is quite fair.

[Travelcat2]

Upper Premium. They are in a unique niche that most travel writers and magazines cannot appreciate, and are sometimes too shallow in their reporting to explore fully.

 

I missed Oceania's use of "luxury" to describe the entire cruise line, but if so, they are only doing it because the essential word "Upper" gets lost far too often.

 

I define luxury in terms of food, tableware, bed comfort, service, cleanliness and maintenance and such, rather than in terms of what may be "given" to me after I have paid for it up front. In many ways, Oceania is at least as luxurious as others in these regards.

 

The difference, which I appreciate, is that having drinks and excursions included up front in the price removes those as items for me to consider while on vacation. I already made the hard decision to spend a little more for that privilege, now it's time to relax and enjoy it.

 

Even though I've paid for them up front, if I decide to walk into town instead, I will. The really nice thing is that enough of the excursions are less than a full day that I get to do both.

 

Oops, didn't mean to put Oceania in a lesser category that she belongs. What I was kind of saying in my post is that the new Oceania ships are as much luxury as Regent;)

 

Just reverified my information before I posted. If you "Google" Oceania Cruises, you'll find the title: Oceania Cruises - Luxury Cruise Line - Affordable Luxury Cruises ..

[gillianrose]

Oops, didn't mean to put Oceania in a lesser category that she belongs. What I was kind of saying in my post is that the new Oceania ships are as much luxury as Regent;)

 

Just reverified my information before I posted. If you "Google" Oceania Cruises, you'll find the title: Oceania Cruises - Luxury Cruise Line - Affordable Luxury Cruises ..

 

I just Googled "oceania cruises" and got the same as you did, and it is the direct link to the Oceania website.

 

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=oceania+cruises&cts=1280185427013&aq=f&aqi=n1g10&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=CZJG98hNOTOXlEov8jQPCjsj3DQAAAKoEBU_QVtg9