July 1 Price Increase?

[rallydave]

Further information regarding the increased cruise costs due to the split out of taxes/fees This morning I contacted Regent as a new customer and talked to a "cruise consultant". I simply asked what the new taxes/fees covered and let him know that those taxes/fees had to be paid to government agencies per the agreement that Regent has with the State of Florida.

 

The consultant hemmed and hawed, tried to look somewhere for an answer and just kept repeating sales taxes, airline taxes/fees and things of the like. Nothing about port taxes. He obviously has no clue as for instance, the latest brochure clearly states below the new tax that all air related taxes/fees are included in the fares above.

 

Finally he offered to provide me the phone number of corporate and that I should talk to the accounting department who would have the answer. Sincerely doubt I would be allowed to talk directly to accounting so simply gave up. In conclusion, not really sure if anyone at Regent knows what the extra charges are for and am convinced that they are applying the charges inconsistantly and that some people will pay more for this line item than the actual costs. How Regent will avoid the agreement with the State of Florida to pay 100% of the taxes/fees collected with this peanut butter approach defies logic and any reasonable explanation.

 

by the way, the brochure regarding air taxes/fees is most probably correct as many people refuse air and that money needs to be refunded as they are and I am convinced that most, if not all these taxes/fees are for port taxes as they are paid directly to the ports (governments) and airline taxes/fees are paid to the airline which does not comply with the regent agreement with Florida.

[Travelcat2]

You made one of my earlier points. Right now you cannot believe what you are told by Regent, what you read on their website or in a brochure. This is a massive communication failure.

 

Reminder: This still doesn't mean I hate Regent -- just their policies.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Reminder: This still doesn't mean I hate Regent -- just their policies.

 

I totally agree. Corporate is one thing, the ships themselves, staff and passengers quite another.

[NewToTheRivers]

Hi Old Grump - my husband and I are considering a Prague to Budapest Danube River Cruise and have it narrowed down to AMA or Tauck. I see that you've traveled with both. Would you share your thoughts on them and which company you preferred? Thank you.

Dianne

[OrpingtonT]

Hi Old Grump - my husband and I are considering a Prague to Budapest Danube River Cruise and have it narrowed down to AMA or Tauck. I see that you've traveled with both. Would you share your thoughts on them and which company you preferred? Thank you.

Dianne

 

Forgive me, Dianne, but why don't you start a new thread if you want to address Old Grump directly, or seek information on the River Cruise section of Cruise Critic.

[NewToTheRivers]

Thanks OrpingtonT. I'm new to using boards and didn't know how to go about it. I saw this particular poster traveled both AMA and Tauck so I tried to track him down. Is there a section here that gives instructions on how to start threads to someone? Thank you!

[jhp]

NewtotheRivers, I see that you are new here. I even had to search this myself, as I can't remember last time I have started a new thread!

 

Go to the main Regent page, where you see all the threads. In the upper right hand, click on "Forum Tools", and you will find a choice to start a new thread. Easy! As for River cruises, I have cruised once with AMA. It was fine, but Tauck is in another league up from what I've read. But it is much pricier as well.

[OrpingtonT]

Or, on the main page, as jhp describes you will fin a box on the left top which says "New Thread" click on that and away you go.