Regent Flights - with and without deviation

[Michael@ssrp]

FYI.....We are on the Explorer TA in Nov. 2016. Paid for business upgrade at $1299 pp, and deviated. Requested Swiss non-stop SFO-Zurich, with two hour layover, and then on to Rome also on Swiss. Request granted within minutes w no haggle or supplemental upcharge. Very nice!

[woogie]

Thanks for the input everyone.

 

I guess now my question would be.... After Regent tickets me, can I call the airlines to change my class of service directly with the airline if there is space available?

 

HMM...the air piece is always the hardest!

 

Carol

[Travelcat2]

Thanks for the input everyone.

 

I guess now my question would be.... After Regent tickets me, can I call the airlines to change my class of service directly with the airline if there is space available?

 

HMM...the air piece is always the hardest!

 

Carol

 

Hi Carol,

 

To my knowledge, the airlines will not allow you to change your class of service - even if space is available unless you pay the difference between coach and business class.

 

Jackie

[woogie]

Thanks Jackie....

I guess its coach class for us

 

Carol

[jctdlt]

Anybody have an idea of what to do? We are on world cruise and first class is given from Phoenix to Miami. Deviation time is coming up. The Gala Ball is the day we arrive along with a room at the hotel. Problem is coming from west coast we can't arrive until 5:pm. What are the chances Regent will get us there on time if we wait until 75 days out and let them book us. Quandary!

[ennegram]

We have a deposit on Regent Voyager's November 9th ’16 Barcelona to Dubai cruise. Our TA gave us the news that Regent's return flight choices from Dubai to the US include only flights that leave Dubai at 1 to 3 am in the morning and have 4 to 6 hour layovers in Europe. The average trip time is 23 to 26 hours and that doesn't include the 13 to 15 hours of wait time between Dubai hotel check out at noon and boarding time at 1 or 2 am! Has anyone else encountered this?

(On this cruise, business class flights are available for $499/person which seem quite reasonable but oh Regent's flight routing schedule!)

[rallydave]

Believe most flights from Dubai leave in that time frame, that said, there are probably better connections and perhaps flights leaving at more reasonable times.

 

Have you thought of having your TA contact Regent and ask what type of better flights you can get by paying the $175 pp deviation fee. There might or might not be extra costs as well but, you don't pay anything until you agree on flights and you can keep going back until you are happy or give up and keep your provided flights. This will allow you to deviate on the way to Barcelona as you are probably arriving on the morning of your departure from Barcelona.

 

Believe there is no question that there is unanimous belief that you don't want to arrive the morning of a departure in any non US port as delays do occur that could mean missing the ship. Good luck.

[ennegram]

Believe most flights from Dubai leave in that time frame, that said, there are probably better connections and perhaps flights leaving at more reasonable times.

 

Have you thought of having your TA contact Regent and ask what type of better flights you can get by paying the $175 pp deviation fee. There might or might not be extra costs as well but, you don't pay anything until you agree on flights and you can keep going back until you are happy or give up and keep your provided flights. This will allow you to deviate on the way to Barcelona as you are probably arriving on the morning of your departure from Barcelona.

 

Believe there is no question that there is unanimous belief that you don't want to arrive the morning of a departure in any non US port as delays do occur that could mean missing the ship. Good luck.

 

No problem with Regent for the outgoing flight. Will arrive in Barcelona 2 days ahead of ship departure. Would love to fly Qatar back but my understanding is Regent only uses BA,AF,KLM for this return itinerary. BA does have a flight leaving Dubai at 3:10pm and will try hard for this with a stopover in LHR but not having a good feeling about how flexible Regent will be. Deviation fee would be worth it.

Thanks for your response!

[AuntiElaine's boat]

Petlover-

did you find out anymore about your Regent Explorer flights? We don't leave until 9/24 -Venice to Monte Carlo/Nice airport and have been looking up air possibilities. There's a wonderful Delta non-stop, but it leaves Nice airport at 11:30---and Regent doesn't allow flights before 12:30PM. Amazing how many airlines have flights leaving before then! Lufthansa is out because they only have 45 minutes between flights from Frankfurt and on to JFK. British Air has 9:44 PM flight, but arrives in Venice at 9:45 Pm the night before the trip and by the time you get to the Marriott, it gets quite late. Am really looking forward to our cruise, but am fearful that waiting 75 days before the date, the "good" flights will be pretty well booked. Might go with KLM as we've used them twice before and had good experiences, plus we can add those cute blue and white Delft houses to our collections.

If anyone else can jump in and add clarity to our travels, we'd appreciate it!! Will the airlines be adding more flights between now and then?

 

Might it be worth it to risk the 11:30am nonstop? Transfer to Nice airport is 35km...maybe 40 minutes? If you can disembark at 8AM it should work? Or am I missing something?

[Jllewy]

Might it be worth it to risk the 11:30am nonstop? Transfer to Nice airport is 35km...maybe 40 minutes? If you can disembark at 8AM it should work? Or am I missing something?

There are a couple of nice solutions we've come up with over the years of Regent cruising. First thing to remember is that if you can afford to cruise with Regent, give yourself a pat on the back! If you want to take a particular flight that leaves at a great time and has efficient or no connections, consider disembarking and spending a night in the port of embarkation or near the airport, and then have a leisurely, stress free departure the next day. Another great tactic, when you have an overnight onboard in your disembarkation city, is to have a lovely day, and even dinner onboard, and departing the ship the night before everyone else disembarks. This plan works well in Asia and the Middle East. These tips involve a deviation fee if you're not Platinum or Titanium, but they allow you to end your holiday in a stress free manner - a great way to go!

[ennegram]

Thanks for the suggestions fellow travelers. We found a plan that works. Two nights in Dubai and then a mid afternoon flight to Heathrow on BA. Overnight in Heathrow (no stopover charge) and then an AA morning flight the next day to the West Coast. Already had the air deviation as arriving Barcelona 2 days before ship departure. We are grateful Regent had a variety of air choices and we found what we were looking for!

[AuntiElaine's boat]

There are a couple of nice solutions we've come up with over the years of Regent cruising. First thing to remember is that if you can afford to cruise with Regent, give yourself a pat on the back! If you want to take a particular flight that leaves at a great time and has efficient or no connections, consider disembarking and spending a night in the port of embarkation or near the airport, and then have a leisurely, stress free departure the next day. Another great tactic, when you have an overnight onboard in your disembarkation city, is to have a lovely day, and even dinner onboard, and departing the ship the night before everyone else disembarks. This plan works well in Asia and the Middle East. These tips involve a deviation fee if you're not Platinum or Titanium, but they allow you to end your holiday in a stress free manner - a great way to go!

 

I appreciate this advice, but I pretty much loathe staying in hotels and living out of a suitcase especially for just a night. When the cruise ends I just want to be home😁! Or going to another cruise😉

I am wondering if anyone has insight as to if it is doable to get to the Nice airport from Monaco port in time for an 11ish AM flight. I understand there is also helicopter service from Monaco to NCE (7 min flight time), but this may not work in stormy/windy weather. Private car should take 40min? or more?

 

I can't remember how "difficult" or "easy" the Nice airport is?

Any insight on this is very much appreciated.

[travlr21]

My husband and I are looking at Regent after many cruises with Celebrity. We are used to booking our own flights through Choice Air. With business class flights included with Regent we are a bit concerned about routing, but we are more concerned if there are portions that are domestic and thus a possibility that we will be in economy for a leg or two. Looking for information if anyone has recent experience flying to Europe from Vancouver. What routing have you had, which airlines? Thanks.

[Travelcat2]

My husband and I are looking at Regent after many cruises with Celebrity. We are used to booking our own flights through Choice Air. With business class flights included with Regent we are a bit concerned about routing, but we are more concerned if there are portions that are domestic and thus a possibility that we will be in economy for a leg or two. Looking for information if anyone has recent experience flying to Europe from Vancouver. What routing have you had, which airlines? Thanks.

 

Although we live in Washington state, our "home" airport is Vancouver. When Regent does our air, we deviate (cost $175/person) so that we can select flights 270 days in advance of our cruise (without deviation, Regent books flights around 90 days in advance so there are less flights available) and also select our airline and flights.

 

We request and almost always get approved for flights on British Airways. We have also been approved for Lufthansa and a few other airlines. Regent has contracts with most airlines but only a limited number of seats of each flight. BTW, we are flying Vancouver to Rome in November on BA!

 

Hopefully you are working with a good TA (one that regularly books Regent cruises). They can help you figure out the best flights to book (if you are deviating). Alternatively, you can select a couple of flights that you like and give Regent Air a call. They can be quite helpful.

 

Note: We are quite picky with airlines and will not accept flights on most U.S. based airlines or flights that are not business class.

[towel-animal]

I just posted this tip in a thread comparing British Airways' and Virgin Atlantic's business class, but figured it might also be useful to post here as well to anyone deviating to British Airways.

 

A select few of BA overnight flights in business class/Club World are what they call "Sleeper Service". Essentially, these flights offer an abridged business class service - meaning no multi-course meal (dinner is instead available pre-flight in the lounge), and limited in-flight service. These flights are designed to "maximize sleep time". Basically you board, have a pre-daparture beverage, then it's lights out and bedtime.

 

Those who wish to get as much rest as they can may enjoy this. But those looking to maximize the business class experience may wish to avoid these routes (see link at the bottom to view routes).

 

Regent did not inform us that the BA flight we were deviating to was Sleeper Service (they're probably not aware of this themselves). Had we known, we would not have accepted the flight. When we looked to switch to a different flight, between BA's fees and another Regent deviation, it made more sense just to upgrade the flight to First Class. But still a hefty expense we could have avoided had we been informed.

 

You can see BA's sleeper service routes here: http://www.ba.com/travel/club-sleeper-service/

[newlondon]

ta, This was a very helpful post as I was unaware of this policy. We frequently use BA business BOS/LHR and now none of the evening flights gives the full BC experience. What a bummer.

[towel-animal]

ta, This was a very helpful post as I was unaware of this policy. We frequently use BA business BOS/LHR and now none of the evening flights gives the full BC experience. What a bummer.

 

Glad I could help :)

[Paint Horse]

I did not see anything later than 2013 when I searched for this question, so I will ask.

 

If I do not want to use the included Business Class Air what is the credit we will receive?

 

Also, is it possible to change the Business Class Air to First Class?

[towel-animal]

I did not see anything later than 2013 when I searched for this question, so I will ask.

 

If I do not want to use the included Business Class Air what is the credit we will receive?

 

This can vary. But you can find out by doing a test booking where you decline the air. You'll then see what discount you received on the fare. Or just call Regent and ask.

 

Also, is it possible to change the Business Class Air to First Class?

 

Yes. We upgraded our upcoming British Airways flight from Business Class to First Class in order to fix our Sleeper Service dilemma posted earlier. While not cheap to do so, it was still at a substantial savings compared to booking the same flight through the airline instead of through Regent.

[Paint Horse]

Thanks for the information.

 

In 2013 the credit was listed in the thread as 400 per person. Is this still a common figure for this?

 

What kind of cost range are we talking about to switch to First Class? 10s, 100s, 1000s of dollars per person?

[towel-animal]

Thanks for the information.

 

What kind of cost range are we talking about to switch to First Class? 10s, 100s, 1000s of dollars per person?

 

Upgrading our BA flight from Business to First was $1,300 per person. (Note this was the cost of one flight- we only upgraded one-way and left our return flight on Delta in Business). However, by doing so, it also automatically upgraded the fare class of our intra-europe connection from discounted business to full fare business, which was a pleasant surprise. This makes a difference should you miss your connection for any reason and have to be rebooked.

[Travelcat2]

If I do not want to use the included Business Class Air what is the credit we will receive?

 

 

If you post what cruise you are on I can tell you what the air credit is.

[Paint Horse]

There are several we are looking at. The shortest one is Venice to Rome April 19 2017.

[DaveFr]

There are several we are looking at. The shortest one is Venice to Rome April 19 2017.

The air credit for that cruise is $2500. Hope this helps.

[Paint Horse]

Yes, thanks.