Regent Flights - with and without deviation

[Retired Happy Camper]

Travelcat2, terrific response!  You just made CruiseCritic a terrific asset.  I hope my TA reads your response so she can better inform new clients.  Wouldn't it be great if Regent would post this info on their website so new guys (like me) wouldn't have so much trouble getting basic information?

[UUNetBill]

3 hours ago, Retired Happy Camper said:

Travelcat2, terrific response!  You just made CruiseCritic a terrific asset.  I hope my TA reads your response so she can better inform new clients.  Wouldn't it be great if Regent would post this info on their website so new guys (like me) wouldn't have so much trouble getting basic information?

There's a wealth of information on Flight Deviations (most of it from Travelcat, actually) in the sticky at the top of the board.  Good info there, too, if you want to pass on to your TA.  Also, make sure your TA is familiar with Regent and luxury cruising - it might make your life a lot easier!

[MalbecWine]

We don’t use cruise air travel with any line.  We arrange it ourselves or air consolidators it must be First or Business.  Our coach days are over with unless we have to fly SW and they are not bad.

Edited March 20, 2019 by MalbecWine

[Ep010835]

10 hours ago, Retired Happy Camper said:

Travelcat2, terrific response!  You just made CruiseCritic a terrific asset.  I hope my TA reads your response so she can better inform new clients.  Wouldn't it be great if Regent would post this info on their website so new guys (like me) wouldn't have so much trouble getting basic information?

 

She's amazing, isn't she!

[Travelcat2]

You guys are making me blush (not sure what that emoji is).

 

Cruise Critic is a hobby and nothing makes me feel better than to know that my advice has helped someone.  

 

Retired Happy Camper - our TA does has this advice on their website.  I learn from them and definitely from personal experience.

 

Thank you so much for the very kind comments💓

 

 

[SWFLAOK]

On 3/20/2019 at 6:50 PM, MalbecWine said:

We don’t use cruise air travel with any line.  We arrange it ourselves or air consolidators it must be First or Business.  Our coach days are over with unless we have to fly SW and they are not bad.

The flights we've been provided with through Regent for our next 2 cruises have been bargains compared to what we would have paid for our excellent business class seats flying from South Florida. They're business class all the way. The credit would not have come close to covering it.  But we don't use points for our flights, or use air consolidators, and never fly SW (we only use Jet Blue in the US). To each his own but it's worth asking for a deviation, and turning it down if you don't like what Regent can book for you. There's no charge if you don't want what they offer and book your own.

[ccruzer123]

 

We are having problems with Regent getting flights we want for a trip from PHX - BCN.  I found several flights that would work for us, but our TA was told that we couldn't book these flights via Regent because they were not "I" (whatever that means).  These flights had only one connection.

 We have deviated in the past without any problems out of TUS  but now it seems nothing works with Regent.  The air credit they are giving is about 1/4 of what it would cost to purchase the ticket outright so it looks like we  will need to go with Regent Air.  Question:  Has anyone flown PHX- BCN with Regent?  What airlines did Regent give you?  Were you able to deviate out of PHX? Because of husbands limited mobility we only want one connection flights.  Suggestions, please.

[Travelcat2]

I did a search using a random date and found tons of flights with only one connection.  Check out this website http://matrix.itasoftware.com/#view-flights:research=PHXBCN (that hopefully still has the search that I did).

 

 Have your TA go down the list until they find one that Regent is contracted with (meaning that the flight is contracted as well as the airline).  

 

Assume that your TA has already asked Regent which 1-stop flights are available.

[ccruzer123]

Travelcat2....Thanks for looking.   I also did the same on numerous sites.   Gave my TA a list of acceptable flights for us and the TA contacted Regent Air.  They told the TA that those flights were not available.  I then spent almost an hour on the phone with the TA trying to figure something out.  The TA is going to contact Regent Air again this morning and see what they can come up with.  We have always been able to get the flights we wanted but for some reason, things are not working out this time.  If nothing works then we will have to start looking for something out of TUS with 2 stops, which we have done in the past.  I'll just have to make sure our connection times are not to short.  Had over 2 hour layover in LHR on trip to Stockholm last year and missed the connection, so we might need something longer.

[vegasdriven]

We have booked a cruise for Mar 2021, and just for interest sake I decided to look at flights Vancouver-Rio, and Barcelona- Van using the matrix.ita site. Obviously there would not be any flights available at this very early date, so I put in dates for Jan, 20, returning Feb, 20. Shockingly high, in fact more than the cost of the cruise altogether.

I did another search for Nov, 19-Dec, 19 just to compare, and again almost the same price wise. Is this the norm? I was looking at business class, as that is what Regent offers with this cruise, and I realize things could be a little different if you eliminate the domestic flights that are included in the matrix software, but still!!

Anyone have any insight, or comments?

[rallydave]

12 minutes ago, vegasdriven said:

We have booked a cruise for Mar 2021, and just for interest sake I decided to look at flights Vancouver-Rio, and Barcelona- Van using the matrix.ita site. Obviously there would not be any flights available at this very early date, so I put in dates for Jan, 20, returning Feb, 20. Shockingly high, in fact more than the cost of the cruise altogether.

I did another search for Nov, 19-Dec, 19 just to compare, and again almost the same price wise. Is this the norm? I was looking at business class, as that is what Regent offers with this cruise, and I realize things could be a little different if you eliminate the domestic flights that are included in the matrix software, but still!!

Anyone have any insight, or comments?

Yes, while in North America round trip is twice one way while on overseas flights there are times where round trip is less than one way.  Also you are looking at "open jaw" flights most likely on different airlines  which are generally more expensive than a round trip to and from the same airports.  Finding reasonably priced flights especially in Business Class for Trans Atlantics is very expensive and why almost always better to take Regent's Business Class flights as their credits for not taking flights will not come close to purchasing flights yourself.

[vegasdriven]

Thanks, rallydave. This cruise is looking like a better deal all around!

[Travelcat2]

vegasdriven - you likely use the same airport that we do (YVR).  We find flights to/from South America to be quite challenging so I would recommend deviating your flights 270 days prior to the day of embarkation of your cruise.  

[vegasdriven]

Thanks Jackie- that is what I was thinking of doing. I was going to ask for advice on deviating, but you beat me to it.

You're always looking out for us newbies. Appreciate it🙂

[Pinksunset]

Thank you for the invaluable information and excellent explanation on air deviation, Jackie.  I also realize that while our TA said she was a Regent expert, we stayed in a “named” suite, did not receive a rebate nor much of OBC.  We also overpaid for Regent Business class.  I am much better prepared for our next Regent adventure.  Thank you! 😊

[Travelcat2]

You are very welcome!

[UUNetBill]

On 4/2/2019 at 3:43 PM, vegasdriven said:

We have booked a cruise for Mar 2021, and just for interest sake I decided to look at flights Vancouver-Rio, and Barcelona- Van using the matrix.ita site. Obviously there would not be any flights available at this very early date, so I put in dates for Jan, 20, returning Feb, 20. Shockingly high, in fact more than the cost of the cruise altogether.

I did another search for Nov, 19-Dec, 19 just to compare, and again almost the same price wise. Is this the norm? I was looking at business class, as that is what Regent offers with this cruise, and I realize things could be a little different if you eliminate the domestic flights that are included in the matrix software, but still!!

Anyone have any insight, or comments?

Debra - not from Canada but we've also looked at booking our own air in the past and it's usually the 'open jaw' that bites us.  I've priced R/T BC air from CLT to different European ports and although pricey, it's not crazy expensive...but when I add a different return city the prices always jump, and significantly.  In fact, I've never been able to find BC air for the amount of the air credit. 

 

Where it comes in as a plus is for people who have airline miles or other types of discount programs.  That's where the air credit comes in handy.  For us, though, using the included air and transfers has always been the best solution.

[vegasdriven]

I will check this out with Regent or ta later on, but how do you think it might work if we are deviating to be able to book 270 days out, but because we will be doing the 3 day pre cruise we would arrive on the first day of that excursion, so hoping we would still be able to be picked up at airport by Regent, and transported to hotel.

I know it has been said if you deviate you don't get the transport, but is that because usually you would be arriving on a different day?

[boblerm]

On 3/20/2019 at 6:50 PM, MalbecWine said:

We don’t use cruise air travel with any line.  We arrange it ourselves or air consolidators it must be First or Business.  Our coach days are over with unless we have to fly SW and they are not bad.

Any recommendations on consolidators or hints as to how to use them?

(Or is it a no-no to ask about this as it is about travel agents?😨)

[MalbecWine]

5 hours ago, boblerm said:

Any recommendations on consolidators or hints as to how to use them?

(Or is it a no-no to ask about this as it is about travel agents?😨)

Some consolidators are in house TA’s and some are not.   Ours is not but not  sure about this on CC with their rules.  You can google ticket consolidators and start  looking around.  Ours was a reference and we have used for fifteen years.

[1985rz1]

Does anyone know which airline(s) Regent currently uses for Tokyo?  We'll be departing from PHX connecting in either LAX or SFO.

[Travelcat2]

50 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

Does anyone know which airline(s) Regent currently uses for Tokyo?  We'll be departing from PHX connecting in either LAX or SFO.

 

There are so many airlines (most that Regent uses) that go from PHX to NRT.  The likely choices are American, United, Delta or British Airways.  Not sure if they use JAL - maybe someone else knows.  The most important thing to remember is to deviate 270 days prior to your cruise.  Most Regent passengers do deviate so when Regent assigns flights (around 75 days prior to the cruise), all that is left is what no one else wants.  Just something to think about.

 

Note:  The first leg - PHX to wherever and then onto NRT will be coach (unless you are fortunate enough to find an airline that has availability in Business/First Class and you are using that airline from PHX to NRT).  Also, flights from PHX are likely not overly crowded but the flights to NRT may be.  The reason is simply because many smaller airports have plane changes in L.A. or San Francisco, for instance, so there are many more passengers from Regent on the non-stop part of the flight.  Hope that this helps!

[snuggarelli]

1 hour ago, 1985rz1 said:

Does anyone know which airline(s) Regent currently uses for Tokyo?  We'll be departing from PHX connecting in either LAX or SFO.

 

Sea-Tac also has direct flights to Japan.  I believe ANA flies that way, as well as JAL.  JAL is going to be cheaper than ANA typically.  My sister and her family as well as my mom live in NorCal (by Monterey and Sac).  It was cheaper for them to fly up to Seattle via Southwest or Alaska, and then re-check in and take JAL to Narita.  They normally would've taken SFO primarily (flights from SJC are usually more expensive than SFO, and I don't know if OAK goes direct or not).  So, it must've been worth the extra time to go through baggage claim and re-checking in.  The information I'm presenting is very recent - they are currently in Japan as we speak.  You'll have to report back on the boards what route and airline they ended up giving you, as I'm interested in hearing what they end up doing, unless you choose to deviate and request your own specific flights.

Edited April 17, 2019 by snuggarelli

[Travelcat2]

16 minutes ago, snuggarelli said:

 

Sea-Tac also has direct flights to Japan.  I believe ANA flies that way, as well as JAL.  JAL is going to be cheaper than ANA typically.  My sister and her family as well as my mom live in NorCal (by Monterey and Sac).  It was cheaper for them to fly up to Seattle via Southwest or Alaska, and then re-check in and take JAL to Narita.  They normally would've taken SFO primarily (flights from SJC are usually more expensive than SFO, and I don't know if OAK goes direct or not).  So, it must've been worth the extra time to go through baggage claim and re-checking in.  The information I'm presenting is very recent - they are currently in Japan as we speak.  You'll have to report back on the boards what route and airline they ended up giving you, as I'm interested in hearing what they end up doing, unless you choose to deviate and request your own specific flights.

 

Were the flights booked through Regent?  Did they deviate?

Edited April 17, 2019 by Travelcat2

[snuggarelli]

I cannot seem to edit my comment.  The flights I mention were not ticketed by Regent.  I shared this in case Regent goes the same route (as my understanding was that it was cheaper), if you don’t like what Regent presents and end up taking the air credit instead and you find that this is actually a good route, or if you present it as an option to Regent because this route works for you as part of the air deviation request.