Two for one deal.

[Swyre]

Just got back from the Mariner trip from Istanbul to Rome. Didn't think I'd much like cruising but I loved it so I'm looking to book another one.

 

I booked the cruise directly with Regent but the consensus seems to be that one should book with a travel agent.

 

Now Regent are offering a "two for the price of one" deal as long as I book my next cruise within a month which presumably I can't do thro' a travel agent.

 

I intend to book my next cruise for next February and the two for one deal offered by Regent looks pretty good and I'm inclined to go for it.

 

Advice please.....

 

Thanks

 

R

[tallship]

Can you provide more details as to the offer? Last June, we were offered a significant discount on a couple of sailings but only while onboard.

[Swyre]

The deal is if you book on board or do so within thirty days of finishing the cruise. I don't know any more about it.

 

Rik

[rallydave]

Just got back from the Mariner trip from Istanbul to Rome. Didn't think I'd much like cruising but I loved it so I'm looking to book another one.

 

I booked the cruise directly with Regent but the consensus seems to be that one should book with a travel agent.

 

Now Regent are offering a "two for the price of one" deal as long as I book my next cruise within a month which presumably I can't do thro' a travel agent.

 

I intend to book my next cruise for next February and the two for one deal offered by Regent looks pretty good and I'm inclined to go for it.

 

Advice please.....

 

Thanks

 

R

 

Don't understand your comment about not being to book thru a TA within a month or less?? Booking thru a TA should not take any longer than directly thru Regent. The only difference is that you call the TA first and after you and the TA end your call, they immediately call Regent and book the cruise for you. Guess there is a time difference and that is the amount of time you spend on the phone with the TA.

 

Also, believe the two for one you are talking about is a two for one deposit which your TA should be able to get based on you having been aboard within 30 days. The two for one fares are continual Regent offerings and nothing special or that Regent can do for you that your TA can't.

 

In other words, booking thru a TA gives you the exact same pricing as booking thru Regent direct plus the benefits of extra discounts/OBC's/etc. that the TA will give you that Regent won't. Booking thru a TA is a no brainer and will be identical to better than booking direct with Regent,

 

Also, don't forget, with a TA you have an advocate on your side for any issues while booking direct gives you only a Regen employee who will not be an advocate for you.

 

Could be Regent is giving you false info to entice you to book direct with them thus saving Regent the TA's commission and increasing Regent's profits at your expense??

[esimon]

why can't you book thru a TA??

[tallship]

One would have to compare the base fare

Most fares are 50% off at the moment

I do know that Regent is offering a reduced deposit promo

Maybe one the TA online can chime in

[rarin2go]

Just got back from the Mariner trip from Istanbul to Rome. Didn't think I'd much like cruising but I loved it so I'm looking to book another one.

 

Now Regent are offering a "two for the price of one" deal as long as I book my next cruise within a month which presumably I can't do thro' a travel agent.

 

I intend to book my next cruise for next February and the two for one deal offered by Regent looks pretty good and I'm inclined to go for it.

 

Advice please.....

 

Thanks

 

R

 

I can confirm that you can get the benefit of the 'book onboard or within 30 days' deal even if you book through a TA - that's just what we did ;)

[Portolan]

Now Regent are offering a "two for the price of one" deal as long as I book my next cruise within a month which presumably I can't do thro' a travel agent.

 

Once you have established a relationship with a TA, any on-board bookings will automatically be assigned to that TA. Not that we've had the desire to, but I'm sure you can break this link with a specific TA if you later change agents.

 

Been so long, I can't remember how we first linked up with our current TA, but if you have an agent in mind, you can also provide that for your first on-board booking. Or, like others have noted, you have 30 days post-cruise to find a TA and have them get the same deal for you.

 

Also, as many, many have noted, there is no downside to using a TA that I've ever heard articulated and plenty of upsides. No risk, either, if you use a reputable agent as in all of our charges (deposit, final payment) are to Regent not the agent so they won't take your money and then go out of business.

[tnr]

You can also book through Regent while onboard and then transfer the booking to TA.

[nana541]

tnr is exactly right.... Book on board and then transfer booking to a TA who deals with Luxury Cruises... Those TA offer incentives and you still get all the Regent credits for the on board bookings! Can't give any TA names on CC, but Google Luxury Travel Agents who specialize in Regent... You won't be sorry, I was just very sorry I did not figure this out sooner... Lost out on considerable $$ and OBC :(

[Travel2Learn]

The 2 above postings are correct. Book with Regent, then transfer the booking BEFORE final payment. That gives you time to find a TA you are comfortable with, provides good, fast service, etc..

[rallydave]

tnr is exactly right.... Book on board and then transfer booking to a TA who deals with Luxury Cruises... Those TA offer incentives and you still get all the Regent credits for the on board bookings! Can't give any TA names on CC, but Google Luxury Travel Agents who specialize in Regent... You won't be sorry, I was just very sorry I did not figure this out sooner... Lost out on considerable $$ and OBC :(

 

While your comment regarding booking with a TA who deals with luxury cruises is regularly stated by others, it really isn't necessary to only deal with a luxury cruise specialist. There are good and bad TA's in luxury agencies and non-luxury agencies. Certainly to book a cruise with someone who is familiar with Regent but, there are general TA agancies who have excellent TA's and provide more service and more benefits than the agency some on here are touting without naming them. This TA doesn't give the best deals or benefits nor do they provide any better service than hundreds of other TA's. Better to find someone you can work with, knows Regent, provides excellent service/rebates/OBC's, etc. than limit yourself to one who simply calls themselves a luxury agency and then costs you more.

[Travel2Learn]

rallydave, I agree and prefer a TA whose company does alot of booking with Regent and other luxury lines, but also mass market cruises and pre or post cruise tours. The TA's prompt response to phone calls, their general availablility, and rebates are all factors when I choose a TA.

[nana541]

Agreed! That being said my TA of 30yrs does offerexcellent service along with a series of fees she has gleefully charged me thru 3 Regent cruises an A&K 21 day tour and numerous other "Lux" vacations :(

She even begrudgingly gave me a $50 OBC on Regent.... All while making $1,000's in commissions.... Have learned the hard way about benefits of shopping a bit for a TA...

Make no mistake mine did an excellent job while failing to share any benefits routinely offered by many other TA's...

Shame on me for not really paying attention to casual comments of others regarding the Benefits of booking with other TA's..

 

Lesson more than learned...

[newlondon]

Interesting nana451, sounds like you haven't switched yet; nor have I. My TA doesn't charge but I regularly send her a check for all the work she does. You may remember I started a thread about rebates and obc, the upshot being I would have had to leave her to get the benefits. I chose not to.

[rallydave]

Interesting nana451, sounds like you haven't switched yet; nor have I. My TA doesn't charge but I regularly send her a check for all the work she does. You may remember I started a thread about rebates and obc, the upshot being I would have had to leave her to get the benefits. I chose not to.

 

Actually shocked that you would send your TA an additional check for work the TA is paid to do by the cruise line. Recently found out that Regent is paying TA's 17% commission on their cruises so consider a cruise at $15,000 for two that means the TA is getting approx $2,250 for their work in booking you. Can't believe they would spend at most more than 20 hours for what they do and that would be for an inexperienced TA. That comes to $112.50/hour on the low side of the rate and IMHO plenty sufficient for the job. With Regent, most cruises are more than the $15K example so the more expensive, the higher rate per hour. Am assuming that your TA also books hotels, pre/post-cruise packages and other amenities in which the hotel, tour, etc. also provide commissions to the TA so the more they do for you, the more the TA receives in commissions.

 

It's nice that you do that and feel it is necessary but, am concerned before long some TA's getting that might find it beneficial to charge the customer in addition to the commissions they get from the providers of the services.

 

We've got a TA who rebates 10% or more of the full cruise fare and happily does it so they must feel they are making a good profit and you are getting no rebate and paying extra to your TA. Guess we simply don't get it???????

[nana541]

You caught me feeling a bit pissy this morning and yes as of the last Regent cruise with my TA begrudging $50 OBC I am switching to a new TA....

Unbelievable that it took me this long to wake up... Let's see charge me $25 for a reservation after I transferred my Regent onboard booking to her and how much of a commission did she get and for 30 yrs this has been going on...

Yep call me stupid and call her penny wise and dollar foolish!

[newlondon]

Rallydave and Nana451, I understand exactly where you're coming from. Question; what value do you put on friendship and effort? I admit I am comfortable and therefore don't watch every penney but a pleasant experience when I want above and beyond makes it worth it. An example is being pickpocked in St. Petersburg, Ru and because it had never happened before my not being prepared. My TA made sure that the rest of the trip would still go well including getting me funds so I could bring home gifts. Visa was hopeless. I got no relief from them for over the two weeks that was remaning and they did not help me with a dispute with the hotel in St. Pete.

You may now understand why I do what I do:)

[tombo]

My understanding is that if you book while on board, you get the onboard discount, can designate a travel agent and you can transfer your deposit without penalty to a different cruise (once only) if you decide to change your mind on which cruise you want. You can book within 30 days after disembarking and still get the onboard discount, but you don't get the one-time transferability feature. Thus I think the best way to go is to book personally while on board, assign the booking to your TA is you like, and preserve the option to treat your deposit as a placeholder for a future cruise choice.

[nana541]

Newlondon...seems you grt extraordinary service from your TA...that would make a differance and would make me think long and hard. My TA has been a friend for years, but the level of service while good has certainly never risen to that level. As I said even a $50 OBC was given most unhappily :( this is the point I started questioning my loyalty...

[newlondon]

nana451; Couldn't agree with you more:) I don't want some one who takes advantage of me. A $50 obc doesn't cut it.:mad:

[RachelG]

My understanding is that if you book while on board, you get the onboard discount, can designate a travel agent and you can transfer your deposit without penalty to a different cruise (once only) if you decide to change your mind on which cruise you want. You can book within 30 days after disembarking and still get the onboard discount, but you don't get the one-time transferability feature. Thus I think the best way to go is to book personally while on board, assign the booking to your TA is you like, and preserve the option to treat your deposit as a placeholder for a future cruise choice.

 

You have said it perfectly!

[rallydave]

Rallydave and Nana451, I understand exactly where you're coming from. Question; what value do you put on friendship and effort? I admit I am comfortable and therefore don't watch every penney but a pleasant experience when I want above and beyond makes it worth it. An example is being pickpocked in St. Petersburg, Ru and because it had never happened before my not being prepared. My TA made sure that the rest of the trip would still go well including getting me funds so I could bring home gifts. Visa was hopeless. I got no relief from them for over the two weeks that was remaning and they did not help me with a dispute with the hotel in St. Pete.

You may now understand why I do what I do:)

 

Thanks for the explanation newlondon. Sometimes it isn't a matter of money so understand where you are coming from. As to Visa, understand the hopelessness of them. That's why I've been an extremely happy customer of American Express for over 40 years now. I've gotten much more back from them financially than their membership fees and, the service has been unbelievable. Had I had your issue, would have had a new card as well as money, if necessary within 24 hours in the US and 48 hours overseas without any doubt. A simple collect phone call to them.

 

Lost my card in Auckland a few years ago, called them and they had a new card waiting for me at the Continental Presidents Club the next day when I got there. I've got cards from most of the large banks and none come even close to the American Express service and benefits. And, it isn't Visa or Master Card where the issues are, it's the bank that issues the card where the issues are. For instance, just got a new Visa from Citi and their web site and customer service are abysmal while my Visa from my local Credit Union has customer service close to American Express but, no benefits compared to Amex.

[nana541]

Well unfortunately in very rural Southern Oregon no one takes American Express except Costco :(

[poss]

Just to add: A person can book a cruise early (say in order to secure the cabin one wants) and then if one is on board months later, it's still possible to obtain the on board booking discount. I THINK I'm correct about this, not 100% sure.