Regent Flights - with and without deviation

[Travelcat2]

Lufthansa has a non-stop fight from Washington Dulles to Barcelona.  Interestingly, they use United for their flight.  

 

17:40 - 07:45,  0 Stops  , Duration08 h 05 min	IAD - BCN LH7946 Operated by United Airlines	USD  2,150.70 Lowest fare on this day.

 

So, while United no longer shows this flight on their website, it is shown on the Lufthansa website. If this has also been cancelled, there is no other direct options.

 

The best website that I've found to see what flights are available is this one http://matrix.itasoftware.com .  You cannot book flights on this site but you will see options.  Of the options available, I personally would select Lufthansa.

 

The only possible issue that I see is that your cruise is fairly close and Regent passengers have been deviating flights for your cruise since 270 prior to embarkation.  So, many desirable flights may not have seats available.

 

I recommend that you have your TA call Regent and ask them about that flight (if you do not have a TA, call them yourself).

 

Note:  Regent's contracts with airlines are for a certain number of seats per flight so the flight may not be full but Regent's allotment may be full.

[TWG_ag]

I also use Matrix/ITA and that Lufthansa is a United codeshare that runs seasonally and ends Oct 25th. I will be on the b2b Barcelona to Miami so that is why I have to get to BCN. I am exploring deviation and or changing my exit to Newark to get a non-Stop from there. Have my TA working on it, was just looking for any other detail to support the decision. Thanks for the response.

TW

[snorkle lover]

We will be taking the Explorer in April 2020 from Barcelona to Lisbon. We want to spend a few days in Barcelona prior to getting on the ship. If we decide to do this on our own and not use Regent land add on how do we determine the number of days to deviate (270) . Is the 270 from the day the ship leaves Barcelona or from when we fly in a few days earlier??

Still not sure if it is better to do it on our own ( we never been to Spain) or use Regent land tour and hotel.

Any advice??

[rallydave]

9 minutes ago, snorkle lover said:

We will be taking the Explorer in April 2020 from Barcelona to Lisbon. We want to spend a few days in Barcelona prior to getting on the ship. If we decide to do this on our own and not use Regent land add on how do we determine the number of days to deviate (270) . Is the 270 from the day the ship leaves Barcelona or from when we fly in a few days earlier??

Still not sure if it is better to do it on our own ( we never been to Spain) or use Regent land tour and hotel.

Any advice??

Sounds like you want to deviate your air with Regent and that is available 270 days prior the day your cruise departs.  As to using any and all ships land add-ons, always much more expensive to use the cruise lines add on.  It may have many people and you have no choice in the itinerary.  Doing it on your own would get you a significant savings and doing a land tour with a tour company will also net you a significant savings and you can tailor that tour to your wants much easier than a ships tour.

[snorkle lover]

Thank you for helping me understand the deviation. So we need to start checking flights soon.

Also, I appreciate your input about making our own hotel and tour arrangements while in

Barcelona. 

[firefox33]

After reading through many of these comments, questions and answers, I feel like a cruise rookie even though we been on over a dozen cruises.  We and another couple are going on Regent’s March 2020 cruise from Tokyo to Bangkok. It will be our second cruise on Regent.   On our previous cruise we signed up about 60 days before the cruise so we didn’t really have the “Custom Air” option.   We have just pasted the 270 day mark so we are in the Custom Air window.  There is currently a lot of discussion among the four travelers regarding paying the $175/per person fee for Custom Air.  

Our departure city will be Detroit, a Delta hub.   Delta has a nice direct non stop flight to Tokyo.  Also Delta, partnering with Korean Air, has a one stop (Seoul) return from Bangkok to Detroit.   Some in the group believe Regent being a  “high quality, first class, luxury cruise line” will most certainly book us on these “obviously” convenient flights.   We wouldn’t know until 75 days before the cruise! 

So far Regent hasn’t given us a clue. 

Any thoughts or comments? 

     

[rallydave]

17 minutes ago, firefox33 said:

After reading through many of these comments, questions and answers, I feel like a cruise rookie even though we been on over a dozen cruises.  We and another couple are going on Regent’s March 2020 cruise from Tokyo to Bangkok. It will be our second cruise on Regent.   On our previous cruise we signed up about 60 days before the cruise so we didn’t really have the “Custom Air” option.   We have just pasted the 270 day mark so we are in the Custom Air window.  There is currently a lot of discussion among the four travelers regarding paying the $175/per person fee for Custom Air.  

Our departure city will be Detroit, a Delta hub.   Delta has a nice direct non stop flight to Tokyo.  Also Delta, partnering with Korean Air, has a one stop (Seoul) return from Bangkok to Detroit.   Some in the group believe Regent being a  “high quality, first class, luxury cruise line” will most certainly book us on these “obviously” convenient flights.   We wouldn’t know until 75 days before the cruise! 

So far Regent hasn’t given us a clue. 

Any thoughts or comments? 

     

Like any other  profit making business  Regent will book you on the flights at the lowest cost for the most part.  It is free to check on flights now as you only pay the deviation fee if you accept one of their offers.  You can give your TA a list of 3 acceptable flight possibilities and they will tell you which they will do and if there is any upcharge.  YOu can not accept any and try more until you agree or decided to take their choice at the 75opr so day mark and be too late to get good flights.  Have flown Delta One internationally and if was pretty bad IMHO.   Best to fly non-US carriers  Korea is pretty good.  Doubt you will get the "convenient" flights.  People from the west coast to Miami usually get red eyes and have hear some pretty bad connections with better non-stops available.  No cost to ask and the $175 pp might be a bargain??

 

And, remember Business is only on the over water portion unless you get lucky and are on the same airline for the entire trip where you might get first class over the US to the West Coast.  Can't be definitive but, likely those in the group thinking those flights likely are likely incorrect.

 

Problem is by the time you get the the 75 day mark likely all the contracted seats and good flights are already booked so Regent has to use less attractive to stay within their contract flights and budget  

Edited June 19, 2019 by rallydave

[Wendy The Wanderer]

11 hours ago, firefox33 said:

After reading through many of these comments, questions and answers, I feel like a cruise rookie even though we been on over a dozen cruises.  We and another couple are going on Regent’s March 2020 cruise from Tokyo to Bangkok. It will be our second cruise on Regent.   On our previous cruise we signed up about 60 days before the cruise so we didn’t really have the “Custom Air” option.   We have just pasted the 270 day mark so we are in the Custom Air window.  There is currently a lot of discussion among the four travelers regarding paying the $175/per person fee for Custom Air.  

Our departure city will be Detroit, a Delta hub.   Delta has a nice direct non stop flight to Tokyo.  Also Delta, partnering with Korean Air, has a one stop (Seoul) return from Bangkok to Detroit.   Some in the group believe Regent being a  “high quality, first class, luxury cruise line” will most certainly book us on these “obviously” convenient flights.   We wouldn’t know until 75 days before the cruise! 

So far Regent hasn’t given us a clue. 

Any thoughts or comments? 

     

 

One good reason to just pay the deviation fee for any cruise, is so that you can book your flight a day or two before the cruise.  This is always a good idea, and especially so when you're flying so far. NO use being on this lovely ship if you're half asleep, plus the risk of some glitch that makes you miss embarkation.

 

As for airlines, I know that the US domestic carriers get a bad rap; I can't comment on Delta but I personally would have a good look at seatguru.com and look at the seat configurations.  For other lines, I'd have a good look at connections, etc., for lines like Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, and perhaps Air Canada, and see if you can see good flights.  We've done Cathay Pacific To Bangkok and loved it, even just in Premium Economy; I'm betting their Biz is really nice.  I've also heard that Singapore Airlines is really great.

[Sharle]

we just paid the deviation fee and booked our flights to come in a day earlier for the previous cruise to this, Hong Kong to Tokyo. We fly Delta all the time and are very happy with international business class. The best part is that all the seats have an aisle so you don't have to climb over anyone to get up. I'm not sure what the bad rap is toward them we've never had a problem.

[Mystictraveler]

No doubt you have checked to see how much it would cost to just buy the tickets on your own and take the airfare credit from Regent. We are on the Bali to Hong Kong cruise a couple of months before yours. We were able to book a great connection from Houston to Bali on EVA at a cost which was less than $50 more than the Regent credit plus the $175 deviation fee and we booked it prior to 270 days out. The flight is fully refundable for $300.  We booked our return using miles. Good luck!

[FlyerTalker]

15 minutes ago, Sharle said:

We fly Delta all the time and are very happy with international business class. The best part is that all the seats have an aisle so you don't have to climb over anyone to get up. I'm not sure what the bad rap is toward them we've never had a problem.

 

A couple of the "raps":

 

First off, most of DL's international flights are still on 767s.  These flights use the Thompson Vantage seat which does provide for all aisle access.  OTOH, the seat is designed so that you have to completely clear the armrest/surface area in order to open or close the tray table.  Also, the seat flattens out so that you have your feet and lower legs in an enclosed footwell that restricts movement and is often referred to as a "coffin feeling".  The seating is tight, and one can easily feel cramped, especially compared to the openness of herringbone and reverse herringbone products.  It's better than a barcalounger style for sleep, but far from state of the art.

 

The inflight service is good but not impressive.  Other carriers have better bedding, food is good but not special, and wine choices have been slowly going towards a lower pricepoint.

 

DL is a consistent product and their operational performance is better than most.  It's just that there's little wow factor other than the doors they have put on their new suites (which are still just variants of the Vantage seat).

[Sharle]

I see where Delta might not be the best. It works for us. I don't drink so don't care about the wine choices. From our preferred airport the choices are somewhat limited. My experience with American and British Air are worse. We loved virgin but don't always have that option. I find most of the lay flat seats uncomfortable even when you have more leg room. The seats are too narrow and hard to get comfortable.

 

I am happy to get somewhere in reasonable comfort and on time. In my opinion per the original poster, if I could get a direct flight from Delta vs. changing from a "better airline" I would take the direct flight.

 

By the way the original flight proposed by Regent was on American through Chicago in February. The change to Delta did not cost extra.

[firefox33]

Thanks for the comments, they are appreciated!   We have flown Delta internationally many times and don’t have access to Cathay Pacific or EVA for these flights in and out of Detroit.  Also these flights use Delta’s new A350 flagship planes with their latest business class seating.  AMERICAN Airlines always means connecting through Chicago or Dallas , United requires connections through IAD, IAW etc.   We have done this twice, always with connection issues.  Some of the non US airlines probably offer better food and inflight service but Delta’s has always been reasonable and on time!

We are waiting to hear from Regent on our flight choices.   

[Travelcat2]

Just did some checking on Matrix-ITA (here is a link http://matrix.itasoftware.com) and am surprised by the lack of flights.  Fortunately FlyerTalker chimed in - he is likely the most informed in terms of flights as he sails Regent regularly (as do I).

 

Obviously the great airlines that have been mentioned (Cathay Pacific, etc.) are not options for where you live.  I still would avoid American based airlines if at all possible.  Why fly on a luxury vacation on a sub-par airline?

 

The best flight that I could find (based on a random date in March 2020), from Detroit to Narita is on ANA.  There is a short flight and a short layover in DFW and then you go non-stop to Tokyo.  On the return flight, there are better choices - Lufthansa (they definitely are contracted with Regent), Korean Air, etc.

 

Of course, there are other options if you were able to get to an airport that has more flights.

 

I also want to mention that Regent does not always look for the cheapest airlines - they are not that kind of company.  Instead, they contract for a certain number of seats of select flights.  

 

The issue with waiting until 75 days prior to the cruise is that some seats are sold out.  For instance, when you take Luftansa to almost anywhere, you need to stop in Germany.  So, if you fly from Bangkok to your home, the flight to Munich or Frankfurt will be packed since it is a hub.  However, the flight from Germany to your home will likely have plenty of availability.  

 

Try to explain to your friends that they are spending thousands of dollars to cruise on Regent and another $175/person to have the best available flights (with comfortable lie flat seats) is to deviate flights (or to use Regent's new term - to use Custom Air).  It is worth every penny.  

 

Also, if you are not in a Concierge or above suite, you would have got fly in the day of embarkation (quite a risk in my opinion).  If you wanted to fly in the day before, you would have to pay the $175/per person anyway as that is a deviation.  

[firefox33]

Hello Travelcat2,

Thank you for all your comments!   You obviously have a lot of experience with Regent., and at looking and finding flights. 

Our travel dates are March 3 to Tokyo, returning from Bangkok March 27.  We arrive 3 days before the cruise begins.  Looking forward to seeing Tokyo.

The flights we’re looking at are Delta 275 to Tokyo, it’s the only non stop I’ve found on Matrix.   Return flights in general seem to either go through Tokyo or Seoul.   Not sure we care which because from either Delta has a non stop to Detroit.  Looking at Delta 7918 to Seoul operated by Korean Air because it’s a code share partner with Delta.  Then Delta 158 to Detroit.

[rallydave]

6 minutes ago, firefox33 said:

Hello Travelcat2,

Thank you for all your comments!   You obviously have a lot of experience with Regent., and at looking and finding flights. 

Our travel dates are March 3 to Tokyo, returning from Bangkok March 27.  We arrive 3 days before the cruise begins.  Looking forward to seeing Tokyo.

The flights we’re looking at are Delta 275 to Tokyo, it’s the only non stop I’ve found on Matrix.   Return flights in general seem to either go through Tokyo or Seoul.   Not sure we care which because from either Delta has a non stop to Detroit.  Looking at Delta 7918 to Seoul operated by Korean Air because it’s a code share partner with Delta.  Then Delta 158 to Detroit.

Confused firefox.  You originally asked about deviating or not deviating and what kind of flights Regent would book for you at 75 days out.  From the above post, you have to deviate as if you don't you will be booked to arrive on the day of the cruise and depat on the last day of the cruise.  Later on Wednesday you said you were waiting for Regent to get back to you re flights meaning you had already asked for deviated flights.  Now Friday and would have expected you to have a response by now with your flights booked???? 

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, firefox33 said:

Hello Travelcat2,

Thank you for all your comments!   You obviously have a lot of experience with Regent., and at looking and finding flights. 

Our travel dates are March 3 to Tokyo, returning from Bangkok March 27.  We arrive 3 days before the cruise begins.  Looking forward to seeing Tokyo.

The flights we’re looking at are Delta 275 to Tokyo, it’s the only non stop I’ve found on Matrix.   Return flights in general seem to either go through Tokyo or Seoul.   Not sure we care which because from either Delta has a non stop to Detroit.  Looking at Delta 7918 to Seoul operated by Korean Air because it’s a code share partner with Delta.  Then Delta 158 to Detroit.

 

Hi - glad that my comments were a bit helpful.  Good to hear that you are arriving 3 days prior to the cruise.  We have only visited Tokyo for 1 day and it definitely was not long enough.  It's good that you found a non-stop to Tokyo.  As much as we dislike U.S. based airlines, we may have chosen Delta - but only because it is non-stop.

 

Korean Air looks good - just learned that Delta is an investor in that airline.  I copy and pasted the seats below (they are completely flat-bed even though they don't look it).

 

Prestige Suites

Dramatically larger space, 180-degree full flat seat

 

 

 

 

 

[Boats07]

Travelcat2 Thank you for the excellent information regarding deviation.  We are close to making that call for our cruise next year on Splendor.  The website you provided is a big help.  Thanks again!

[firefox33]

Hello rallydave,

Thanks for reviewing my posts.   Don’t due very often, probably shows!  

My original contact on Tuesday with with Regent was in the form of questions regarding their contract status with Delta for the Detroit to Tokyo flight.

The following day, they turned it into a formal Custom Air request.   Regent says I should have a reply within 72 hours, but usually within two business days.  Their time is about up.

We are arriving 3 days before the cruise begins as part of a Regent pre cruise land package, so whether we “deviate” or not we will arrive 3 days prior to our cruise.

[Ep010835]

1 hour ago, Boats07 said:

Travelcat2 Thank you for the excellent information regarding deviation.  We are close to making that call for our cruise next year on Splendor.  The website you provided is a big help.  Thanks again!

 

TC’s the bomb!! 😃

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

Korean Air looks good - just learned that Delta is an investor in that airline.  I copy and pasted the seats below (they are completely flat-bed even though they don't look it).

 

Be  VERY careful when considering KE in business (Prestige) class.

 

Those "suites" are attractive, but are not found on all routes.  In fact, not even a majority.

 

Here is a link to a very comprehensive guide to KE aircraft and cabin configurations (updated as of April 2019).

 

https://upgradedpoints.com/korean-air-us-routes-plane-types/

 

[Travelcat2]

Thank you - you are so kind Ep010835😻

 

Flyertalker - there is a reason why you are the expert in this field.  Thank you for explaining the details about Korean Air's Business Class.  Definitely important information!

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

13 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

Flyertalker - there is a reason why you are the expert in this field.  Thank you for explaining the details about Korean Air's Business Class.  Definitely important information!

 

Thanks, but far from the expert.  Always learning now things, new tricks and new pitfalls.

 

The KE seating article should be a warning to everyone -- there is frequently a disparity between cabin configurations within an airline's fleet, let alone with that aircraft itself across carriers.

 

Probably one of the greatest disparities is at Emirates, which has leveraged the image of their first class cabins to position themselves as a complete luxury carrier.  On their A380, the business class seats are lie-flat with plenty of extra personal space to the sides in a 1-2-1 layout.  Yet on their 777 (which comprises the bulk of their fleet), the biz seats are still slant-boards in a 2-3-2 layout that is quite cramped.  World of difference, but you need to proactively be sure that you are getting the right seats.

 

How do you get to know which flights to book?  The sad news is:  Research.  Then check again.  And don't make assumptions.  When paying the big bucks, it matters what you are buying (either in direct ticket costs or wrapped into a cruise fare).

 

And yes, EK is slowly introducing new seats into the 777.  They are lie-flat, but still not offering full aisle access.

[Travelcat2]

Flyertalker - cannot believe the coincidence.  I was just looking at Emirates for flights from Dubai next year.  I took a break and saw your post.  Unfortunately, Emirates does not fly to Vancouver but does have a non-stop flight to San Francisco (on an A380).  We are anxious to finally try this airline (but will have to pay a premium to Regent).

[FlyerTalker]

Just an FYI - EK codeshares with Alaska, so you might be able to get a flight from DXB to SFO, then on to SEA and BLI all as one ticket.  Not sure about how that might work on a Regent-supplied ticket.

 

Definitely better to get the A380 DXB-SFO, instead of the 777 on DXB-SEA.  And if need be, it's also an A380 on one of the flights DXB-LAX.