Seeking info on flight arrangements for 2/2015 French Polynesia cruise

[KathyPet]

We are booked on the 2/4/15 10 day R/T trip. The Mariner is scheduled to arrive in port at 6 AM that day on the last day of a 30 day cruise from Auckland. All the flights I can find feed through LAX and appear to depart late in the evening and arrive very early the day of departure. Can anyone tell me what airline Regent uses and what the process is for getting on board as I am sure that passengers arrive quite exhausted since a lot of folks must have to fly into LAX from other locations and then change planes for the last leg of the flights? We are coming in from Dulles and are considering using FF miles for the IAD/LAX trip and staying over at a airport hotel one night prior to departure from LAX. Has anyone done this? I am assuming that using FF miles for the IAD/LAX does not cause any deviation fee since Regent Air is not going to be handling that and thus doesn't care how or when we get to LAX?

[TedC]

Kathy, have your TA check what airlines Regent are using and work with the TA to get best routing.

 

Regent obviously uses most economical airlines depending on fares for areas of the world they sail to and from. Regent often uses Star Alliance - depends on contracts Regent has at any time.

 

Many of us look for best routing and deviate when it makes sense for our convenience.

[mushroom]

We're on the same cruise and are also planning to overnight - actually spend two nights - in LAX to break up the trip. We're also using Regent's flight only from LAX to PPT and return. Our travel agent seems to think it will be on Air Tahiti Nui. At one time, this airline had some flights out of Dulles...but not everyday. Are they still doing that?

[Baggywrinkle99]

We've just done a similar cruise (Crystal! sorry!) and getting to Tahiti inevitably involves two or more flights wherever you're coming from. Air Tahiti Nui fly direct from LAX and I believe Hawaiian flies via Hawaii. I saw Air New Zealand planes at Papeete airport but don't know where they'd come from. Either way it's a long trip so at least one night in LAX to break the journey is probably a good idea.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Unless they do a charter it will almost certainly be Air Tahiti Nui (ATN). Try to spend a night in L.A. for sure, but a night or two pre-cruise in Tahiti as well. It's a lot of flying. Not sure what Regent does about dayrooms if you fly in the day of the cruise, but I would bet they would make some arrangement.

[KathyPet]

We're on the same cruise and are also planning to overnight - actually spend two nights - in LAX to break up the trip. We're also using Regent's flight only from LAX to PPT and return. Our travel agent seems to think it will be on Air Tahiti Nui. At one time, this airline had some flights out of Dulles...but not everyday. Are they still doing that?

 

Well how nice to meet up with someone on the same cruise so far in advance. Where are you flying from? We are also considering flying into LAX on the 2nd using United FF miles and arriving about 7 PM EST. We have lots of Marriott points so were thinking about using them for the night of the 2nd and then making a reservation for the 3rd just so we can have the room and taking a nap that afternoon. If we then have a late evening flight on Air Niuhi we will just tell,the hotel we are leaving and check out and get to the terminal. We flew to Hawaii a few years ago just stopping to change planes and those flights were really tough on DH's and my older bodies. It took us two full days in Hawaii just to recover.

Haven't decided if we want to stay over on the return trip but that would be just for one night.

 

Air Tahiti has a code share flight with American from IAD but then if we didn't want to go straight through Regent would probably charge us the deviation fee and we don't have any FF's with American.

Edited February 10, 2014 by KathyPet
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[RachelG]

Highly rec flying I a day ahead if you possibly can. That way you don't have to worry about missed connections.

[forevertravel]

Air France also flies from LAX to Papettee. We are booked on Tahiti to Tahiti cruise December 2014. We are flying into LAX in the afternoon and catching AF fly to Papettee. We are staying in Papettee at the Intercontinental for two nights to rest and then get on the ship. On the return the first flights out of Papettee (both AF and Air Tahiti) leave at 8:40am and 11:00 pm. Since we cannot make the 8:40am flight (we are due to arrive at 7am), we are staying at the Intercontinental for the night (otherwise what are we to do with luggage for one day) to get a good night's sleep and leaving on the morning flight. We are staying overnight in LA and catching the morning flight to Orlando (I don't want the red eye). We are doing the flights on our own. I was afraid Regent would put us on the red eye back to Orlando. Air Tahiti does not fly on Wednesdays and on Saturday and Sundays the flights leave LA at 3pm and arrive in Papettee after 9pm. I figured Regent would put us on that flight and we would arrive on the ship after 10pm. We didn't want that. The ship leaves at 5am the next morning. So, making our own arrangements and using a combination of miles and money was the best solution.

Edited February 11, 2014 by forevertravel

[sevenseassailor]

We are booked on Mariner from Miami to Papeete and paid for the business air upgrade ($2500pp) for flights home. Just got our proposed air routing home (Dallas) from Regent today. Ship docks in Papeete at 6:00am and they have us on an Air Tahiti Nui 8:40am flight to LA in business class where we arrive at 7:00pm. We then connect 5 hours later to an American Airlines flight departing shortly after midnight to DFW. THE PROBLEM IS THE AAL FLIGHT IS IN COACH NOT FIRST CLASS. I know it says intercontinental flights in business but in past years the whole trip was in BC or FC. I'm growing weary of the new regime running RSSC and their cost cutting. Think we will just cancel this cruise and make a new home with Seabourn. Have seen most of the ports in the world after 880 days of cruising so the "excursions included" hook Regent has, no longer is big deal to us. BTW, we have been to all the ports on this cruise and most more than once. Why did I book this? We like long cruises and know many of Regent's crew members.

[Baggywrinkle99]

Based on our recent experience Air Tahiti Nui Business Class is probably on a par with AA Coach. A bit more legroom maybe but that's about it :(. Also, even if you dock in Papeete on time at 6am an 8.40am departure for an international flight seems a bit tight?

[forevertravel]

My understanding is that unless you're on same airline (both international and domestic) the domestic part is in economy. Last year Regent flew us from Istanbul to Orlando. Because both flights (Istanbul to Newark and Newark to Orlando) were in United we flew business from Istanbul to Newark and first to Orlando. If we had been on a different airline for Newark-Orlando, that portion would had been in economy. We are doing the Papettee to Papettee cruise in December. I used miles to fly Orlando to LAX and then booked us on Air France from LAX to Papettee. I didn't want to fly economy from LAX to Orlando neither did I want to be put on the red eye. We are staying in Papettee for two nights prior to cruise to rest and then one night prior to flight. I don't see how if the ship arrives at 6am we could make the 8:40 flight. We are spending the night at the Intercontinental and catching the AF 8:40 flight to LA. We are then staying in LA for one night because I don't want the red eye. We'll get a good night sleep and catch the morning flight home. Those are the rules Regent has regarding flights. Let's face it, when you fly to Europe is a pretty good deal to upgrade to business. To Tahiti, I found it too expensive. Don't let this sour you on Regent. You still get the best with them. Just do your own flight arrangements. Since we used miles to get to LA, booking Premium Economy in AF was cheaper than taking Regent upgrade to business in Air Tahiti. I have not heard great things about Air Tahiti. At least in AF Premium Economy we get a bit more room and a foot rest. It's an overnight flight so I figure we'll sleep next day at Intercontinental. Enjoy your cruise.

[gnomie1]

We are also on the cruise from Miami to Papeete - although the dates are not our first choice (we would have preferred traveling in December), we booked this cruise for the warm weather. However, this will probably be our last Regent cruise, we are just getting tired of paying premium prices (six star) and getting four star service.

 

For starters, we prefer to book our own airfare - Regent provides us a $300 credit for the flight from NYC to Miami which is acceptable. However, they also only provided a $300 credit for the flight from Tahiti back to NYC!!! The cheapest flight available in coach is approaching $2000 so obviously something is seriously wrong here and we do not appreciate being cheated. I looked into booking business class with Regent and there would have been an additional $3000 charge per person for a total cost of $3,300 - however, only the flight from PPT to LAX would be in business, the transcontinental flight would be in coach. For less than what Regent would be charging us, I can book business class from PPT to NYC. However, the $300 credit for the international flight home was the straw that broke the camels back, the chance of cruising with Regent in the future is quite slight, even though we are now platinum.

 

I also have concerns regarding making an 8:30am flight - since this is a new itinerary, we have no experience to rely on, but even if the boat does dock at 6:00am (scheduled for 7:00am), it seems quite tight.

 

We recently got off a 35 day cruise and are truly annoyed at how the Regent bean counters seem to be working overtime with their cutbacks. If you are going to advertise and charge as a six star luxury experience, then provide that experience, but don't expect that your passengers are so stupid as to not see through the tricks. For the money that Regent is now charging, we are able to find much nicer ways to vacation so our remaining days with Regent are very limited.

[Baggywrinkle99]

If our experience with Air Tahiti Nui procedures is anything to go by then a 8.30am departure is very ambitious. We were firmly told to go to the actual gate ONE HOUR before departure which seemed excessive but those were the Air Tahiti rules apparently. If you take into account possible delays with check in, security and immigration beforehand, let alone delays docking or disembarking it's asking for trouble IMO. The airport is about a 15 minute drive from the dock.

 

For peace of mind alone I would seriously consider spending that day/night at the very relaxing Intercontinental resort/hotel and then flying out the following morning.