Regent Flights - with and without deviation

[crickette]

Can anyone comment on Regent's use of KLM?  This would have been our preferred deviation flight, but they denied any affiliation with KLM, even if we paid fees.  Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Travelcat2]

On 10/25/2018 at 5:07 PM, crickette said:

Can anyone comment on Regent's use of KLM?  This would have been our preferred deviation flight, but they denied any affiliation with KLM, even if we paid fees.  Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Regent has contracted with KLM in the past but contracts change.  KLM is part of the SkyTeam Alliance that also includes Delta (another airline that Regent has used quite extensively).  Did you try to deviate 270 prior to the cruise?  I ask because Regent contracts are only for a specific number of seats on each flight.  When they no longer have contracted seats available, they stop booking the carrier.

 

I use this website to determine which flights are available, which are the fastest to the destination, etc.  We deviated our flight that is leaving next week and decided upon Lufthansa which we find is a good airline and contracts with Regent.  We also fly British Airways through Regent.  Hope that you find flights that you are comfortable with.

[patbob1]

We are on the Dubai to Rome cruise in April 2019 and deviated 270 days out and are on KLM. 

[jps1030]

On ‎10‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 5:31 PM, Travelcat2 said:

Regent has contracted with KLM in the past but contracts change.  KLM is part of the SkyTeam Alliance that also includes Delta (another airline that Regent has used quite extensively).  Did you try to deviate 270 prior to the cruise?  I ask because Regent contracts are only for a specific number of seats on each flight.  When they no longer have contracted seats available, they stop booking the carrier.

 

I use this website to determine which flights are available, which are the fastest to the destination, etc.  We deviated our flight that is leaving next week and decided upon Lufthansa which we find is a good airline and contracts with Regent.  We also fly British Airways through Regent.  Hope that you find flights that you are comfortable with. 

I'm agree withTravelcat2 Lufthansa is a very good airline try businees class much better as KLM

[Travelcat2]

Just realized that I forgot to link the website that I referred to above.  Here it is http://matrix.itasoftware.com  

[Sharle]

we have used deviation with Regent and had transfers included

[Travelcat2]

7 minutes ago, Sharle said:

we have used deviation with Regent and had transfers included

 

Did you stay in Regent's hotel or did you select your own hotel?  This makes a difference.  The Regent bus isn't going to stop at different hotels to pick up guests - they only pick up from hotels where Regent has booked passengers.  We are finally Titanium and have private transportation either to the hotel or to the ship (and then back to the airport).  For our February cruise, we booked our own hotel (far away from the crowds at the hotel that Regent booked).  Another Titanium couple has also booked their own hotel.  Since we are entitled to private transportation, we will be picked up from our hotel and taken to the port (about 75 kilometers away).  However, unless you are Titanium or make arrangements to meet the bus at Regent's selected hotel, transfers are generally not included.

 

 

 

[Sharle]

Stayed in Regent Hotel but used deviation on air. On trip home, stayed an extra day and had to use own transportation to hotel and from hotel to airport.

[cflutist]

Does anyone know which Airlines thatvRegent uses from SFO or LAX to Papeete Tahiti.

We have cruised in French Polynesia before and used Air Tahiti Nui which is my preferred airline. We are in Concierge so we get one night pre-hotel. 

If we decide to book our own air, are transfers included to the hotel and then to the port?

Thanks

[Gringram]

My wife and I are booked on the Amsterdam to New York cruise in August of 2019 and have a few questions regarding international flight routes and deviating from RSSC provided flights. The 270 day window is about to open and we are concerned the itinerary provided by RSSC (but not until 75 days prior to departure)will not suite our needs.

 

Our TA has informed us that if we opt out of RSSC provided flights, we would receive $1250/pp credit. A quick review of available flights (business class, either one stop or non stop) are considerably more than the credit ($3150 being the cheapest on itaSoftware). We have picked 3-4 itineraries that are suitable but are worried RSSC will only allow a domestic leg to an East Coast international departure.

 

Our departure gateway is SFO and would like to know if anyone has recent prior experience using the RSSC provided flight itinerary from the U.S. West Coast to Amsterdam or another Northern European airport.

 

Has anyone deviated from the provided flights?  We would be interested in hearing details and costs.

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, Gringram said:

My wife and I are booked on the Amsterdam to New York cruise in August of 2019 and have a few questions regarding international flight routes and deviating from RSSC provided flights. The 270 day window is about to open and we are concerned the itinerary provided by RSSC (but not until 75 days prior to departure)will not suite our needs.

 

Our TA has informed us that if we opt out of RSSC provided flights, we would receive $1250/pp credit. A quick review of available flights (business class, either one stop or non stop) are considerably more than the credit ($3150 being the cheapest on itaSoftware). We have picked 3-4 itineraries that are suitable but are worried RSSC will only allow a domestic leg to an East Coast international departure.

 

Our departure gateway is SFO and would like to know if anyone has recent prior experience using the RSSC provided flight itinerary from the U.S. West Coast to Amsterdam or another Northern European airport.

 

Has anyone deviated from the provided flights?  We would be interested in hearing details and costs.

 

We have deviated many times with Regent from the West Coast (Seattle and Vancouver).  The key is to pick a carrier that does not make stops in the U.S. (for instance, Lufthansa or SAS Airways).  Domestic carriers tend to have stops in the U.S. while foreign carriers do not.    

 

There is one other choice...... sometimes (emphasis on sometimes) if you book the same airline domestically that connects to an international flight, the airline may give you First Class on the domestic part and Business Class on the international portion.  Your TA can find out when they speak with Regent Air (we are flying in February from Vancouver to Houston and then on to Chile and American Airlines has us in First Class on the domestic portion ......... Vancouver is considered domestic ..... go figure:-)

 

May I suggest that you email your TA with your flight choices (at least two if not more choices indicating top choice, second choice, etc.). This makes it easier for the TA and, if your TA emails Regent, it is easier for them as well.

 

Good luck and let us know what you end up with!

[Gringram]

From reading the many threads on this topic we understand that RSSC has contracted prices with certain airlines. Is there a listing of acceptable airlines  (to RSSC)?

 

[jeb_bud]

14 hours ago, Gringram said:

My wife and I are booked on the Amsterdam to New York cruise in August of 2019 and have a few questions regarding international flight routes and deviating from RSSC provided flights. The 270 day window is about to open and we are concerned the itinerary provided by RSSC (but not until 75 days prior to departure)will not suite our needs.

 

Our TA has informed us that if we opt out of RSSC provided flights, we would receive $1250/pp credit. A quick review of available flights (business class, either one stop or non stop) are considerably more than the credit ($3150 being the cheapest on itaSoftware). We have picked 3-4 itineraries that are suitable but are worried RSSC will only allow a domestic leg to an East Coast international departure.

 

Our departure gateway is SFO and would like to know if anyone has recent prior experience using the RSSC provided flight itinerary from the U.S. West Coast to Amsterdam or another Northern European airport.

 

Has anyone deviated from the provided flights?  We would be interested in hearing details and costs.

We have only used Regent Air once, for a Med cruise next year. We also are using SFO as our gateway. In our case the preferred routing outbound was SFO to Newark then Newark to Barcelona. We deviated and got that combination in Business Class on both flights. 

 

Returning from Venice we wanted a nonstop from Europe to SFO. I sent our TA a list of three options with my deviation request and we got a Venice-Paris-SFO routing for our return. 

 

Based on on what I have read on these boards I would never leave it to Regent to choose our flights, especially because we start on the west coast. But based on my sample size of one I will continue to do my own research(it’s Matrix is a great resource, thanks TC) and make specific requests to Regent Air. So far, so good. 

[Travelcat2]

On 11/2/2018 at 7:55 PM, Gringram said:

From reading the many threads on this topic we understand that RSSC has contracted prices with certain airlines. Is there a listing of acceptable airlines  (to RSSC)?

 

 

There is no list - it would be too difficult to compile.  The contract seems to be not only with the airline but on certain itineraries.  For instance, some airlines that go to Europe and South America may only have contracts for the European routes (this happened to us once when we wanted an airline that we were fairly certain had a Regent contract but not in South America).  Also, keep in mind that there are a specific number of seats per flight that are contracted.  So, even though the flight shows that it is not fully booked, Regent may have filled their contracted seats and therefore cannot book more.

 

I can say that Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Emirates, Lufthansa, and British Airways usually have contracts with Regent.  So do domestic carriers but we prefer not flying on U.S. based airlines.  Some airlines are difficult to figure out.  If we want to fly Air Canada, Regent may or may not charge us extra.  Probably an issue with routes.  

 

In any case, deviating as far out as you can is a good idea.  We use this website https://www.timeanddate.com/date/dateadd.html to calculate 270 days prior to the cruise (the day that you can book).  I put in the date of the cruise and subtract 270 days.  Then, a a few days prior to the date, I forward my choices to our TA.

 

Hope that this helps!

Edited November 4, 2018 by Travelcat2

[FlyerTalker]

Excellent advice from TC2.

 

First off, remember that line from all those TV ads for financial advisors and funds - "Past results are no indication of future performance".  Just because there were contracts in the past doesn't mean that there are today.  Or for the future.

 

Also, as mentioned, contracts may or may not cover:

 

A) Your preferred airline

B) Your particular routing

C) Your particular dates

 

There may also be a contractual limitation on the number seats available for any particular airline, date or routing.

 

The bad part, from the consumer standpoint, is that you are flying blind.  You don't know the contract details, and as such, you have to make your best wishes known and hope that they conform to the availabilty that Regent has contracted for. Thus, the early bird has the best chance at the worm.

 

Finally, everyone should remember that the tickets available to Regent are almost always consolidator/bulk/contracted rate tickets.  These are different than tickets bought directly from the airline, in that they have different underlying fare rules.  Those rules may limit the transferability of the tickets, the rerouting rules and other restrictions.  In general, those restrictions will not be a problem IF (and note that word) nothing goes "wrong" with your flight operations.  It is when there are IROPS (Irregular Operations), such as weather, mechanical or crew issues, that these MAY interfere with your smooth completion of your travels.  Unfortunately, there is usually little you can do to find out what those restrictions may be without actually ticketing, often with an inability to then cancel out.

 

So always keep in mind that the "good deals" from cruiseline provided air tickets (including Regent) come with some catches that may or may not impact you.  TANSTAAFL.

[Gringram]

Thank You Travelcat2 and jeb_bud for the information, it has been very helpful as this whole thread has been an eye opener. We have forwarded 4 choices to our TA for consideration. Reading through the thread we had our hopes up the credit would cover most of the expense of booking our own flights. Not even close unless we want to fly coach from SFO to AMS. Credit is $1250 for the outbound (international) and $150 for the domestic from NYC to SFO.

[Gringram]

Thanks FlyerTalker, I think we can add “Buyer beware” and “Don’t ass/u/me” to the “Past results...”. This will be our 7th RSSC cruise and the first we have relied on them for airfare. Not a show stopper but certainly a disappointment when paying over $33k and then having to negotiate a decent air trip.

[RJ2002]

My question may have been answered previously, so apologies for asking it again.

 

Contemplating a r/t sailing from Miami, and the suite would not have concierge benefits - so no pre-cruise hotel is included.  If we use Regent for our air and are flying from the West Coast, would they put us on a red-eye (arriving on embarkation day) or would they fly us in a day early?  In the latter case, would we need to pay for the hotel?  Certainly won't bust the budget, but just curious.  We usually handle our own air, but this would be for a sailing coming up soon, so Regent would probably be a better deal.

[rallydave]

20 minutes ago, RJ2002 said:

My question may have been answered previously, so apologies for asking it again.

 

Contemplating a r/t sailing from Miami, and the suite would not have concierge benefits - so no pre-cruise hotel is included.  If we use Regent for our air and are flying from the West Coast, would they put us on a red-eye (arriving on embarkation day) or would they fly us in a day early?  In the latter case, would we need to pay for the hotel?  Certainly won't bust the budget, but just curious.  We usually handle our own air, but this would be for a sailing coming up soon, so Regent would probably be a better deal.

More than likely the red-eye in your case.  If for some reason you lucked out with a flight arriving the day before, you would be responsible for your own hotel and even if Regent got you a hotel room, you would be better off booking your own hotel as Regent prices hotel rooms per person while hotels price per room.

 

As has been said time and again, better to take the credit and fly in the day before on your own to be sure of making your cruise departure.  Regent is extremely clear in their T's and C's that they are not responsible for getting you to the ship if you miss it even if they do the air as they are not responsible for thrid party arrangements even if they make them.

 

Good luck,

[RJ2002]

rallydave, many thanks for the prompt response and your wise recommendation.

[Sharle]

Not sure if this helps,but. We used regent flights home from Stockholm and there were no flights late enuf to mesh with the cruise arrival time. They put us at a hotel, their expense, with included transfers.  When we used their air but with a deviation to our preferred airline the extra night was at our expense with no transfers.

[UUNetBill]

I think I already know the answer to this question but I'll ask anyhow...we're coming up on our first Regent cruise that departs from a domestic port (Miami) and I know we'll be in Economy for the flight down - I assume that the Economy baggage limits will apply on this flight?  My wife and I usually take a large and small bag each with a small carryon for electronics, meds, etc. - and when we're booked overseas we usually get the 2-bag allowance since we're in Business on the overwater portions.  But being domestic this time, can I assume that we'll be limited to one bag each without paying an additional fee?  Or are there bag fees for any bag you check domestically?  Honestly, I can't keep up with all of the airline corner-cutting...

 

Thanks.

[rallydave]

1 minute ago, UUNetBill said:

I think I already know the answer to this question but I'll ask anyhow...we're coming up on our first Regent cruise that departs from a domestic port (Miami) and I know we'll be in Economy for the flight down - I assume that the Economy baggage limits will apply on this flight?  My wife and I usually take a large and small bag each with a small carryon for electronics, meds, etc. - and when we're booked overseas we usually get the 2-bag allowance since we're in Business on the overwater portions.  But being domestic this time, can I assume that we'll be limited to one bag each without paying an additional fee?  Or are there bag fees for any bag you check domestically?  Honestly, I can't keep up with all of the airline corner-cutting...

 

Thanks.

Yes, you do know the answer and that is without status or a credit card with the airline's name and if not Southwest which is highly doubtful, you don't get any baggage allowance and will pay for all of your checked bags.  Most checked bag fees are about the same so if you don't know your airline, just look at the most likely and you will see what you will pay.  Second bag is usually much more expensive than first and over 40 pounds per bag gets expensive.

 

Have found in some cases buying a first class ticket results in lower out of pocket costs because of the bag fee and the fact that first class prices have come down significantly compared to coach as the airlines have found it better to sell first class seats at a lower price than give them away to frequent flyers.

 

And as to fares, airline fares are extremely cheap compared to many years ago in comparison to the cost of living increases in many other items.  Plus, we support pay for what you use like baggage fees as that helps keep the fares lower if one doesn't need the extras.

 

Good luck and fair winds and following seas.

[UUNetBill]

Dave, thanks for the quick reply.  I hadn't even thought about getting a First Class ticket, but you're 100% correct that that might be the way to go.  Shopping fares as we speak, er, type.  Thanks.

 

I guess it's a blessing and a curse that neither my wife nor I have status on any airlines any more.  I used to have quite a few miles, but my wife racked up status on quite a few airlines.  We miss the perks, but we sure don't miss living in airports...

[taxare]

Just to add another point of information. Today was 270 days from our UK cruise. Provided first and second choices to my TA for MIA-LHR. We received first choice on the outbound using AA and second choice on the return 

using BA, both nonstops. We could have received first choice on return but Regent was concerned it may be a little too tight to make the flight, especially if they make changes to the schedule which they often do. We are one of the odd ones that still like the old 747's upstairs, so BA is fine with us. So we paid our deviation fee, have our reservations and our seats. We both have Oneworld status so I don't know whether that impacted our getting BA seats. We are very pleased.

 

Bill, Unfortunately we still have status on several airlines, but when I buy tickets for the kids, some of the airlines reduce the baggage fees by a few dollars if you pay when you check-in online rather than at the airport.