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2 FOR 1 Offer - does it really mean you get two people for the price of one?


spazwok
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My husband and I are looking to book the Alaska cruise departing from San Fran on the 1 May 2015, and have noticed that on the Australian site that it is on the 2 for 1 offer page. Unfortunately the Australian site does not give you automatic quotes, you cannot book online and the office is not open on the weekend.

 

I have submitted a request for more information, but I was wondering if the '2 For 1' special offer, actually means that you will get two passengers for the price of 1 on the advertised sailings?

 

That to me sounds like an offer to good to be true, so just wanted to see what people more familiar with this cruise line thought. We have never cruised with Regent before. We have only previously cruised with Princess.

 

We are also quite young - 30s - and I was wondering if we would be out of place on this cruise line?

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Don't know what the Aussie site look like, but on the North American one the "regular" versus half-price amounts are clearly marked so there's no confusion. So for a couple, you pay double the discounted, half-price price.

 

You will be at the low-end of the age demo, but in summer, in Alaska, there should be more of an age mix, including families.

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Hi, when we booked our Regent cruise from Australia two years ago we thought the same thing - it is misleading and there are plenty of critics of this form of advertising on the Regent board. I assume you're looking at the SF to Vancouver 9 night trip on the Navigator.

 

Prices for Australian customers on the Australian website (but in $US!) start from $3,999: that means per person. No you don't get two fares for this amount - the inference is the cruise should cost twice this. And if you compare an Orion cruise around (say) the Kimberleys, it would for a comparable suite. You can't really get a straight US to Australian comparison in prices as the US fares include airfares, so the Australian website reduces the fares somewhat to compensate for this. This is probably as clear as mud. There is only one actual agent in Australia, but they sub-contract to a number of other Travel Agents, where for example, you may be able to get Frequent Flyer points for booking through them. Sometimes, the advertised fare will be discounted by a few hundred dollars - you need to ask for a discount when you make your query.

 

Basically it seems to cost around $A1,000 per day for you both by the time you factor in exchange rates. But there's really no more to pay unless you take helicopter tours and choose to drink premium wines; in reality the mixed drinks/cocktails represent better value. Or spend up big in the Salon or boutique. After 73 days on board our account was $61!

 

Would Regent be OK for people in their 30s? Well we're older than that, and we were relatively young, but we were on a long cruise. Alaskan cruises tend to have more families as the cruises are shorter, so I'm sure you'll be fine. And we had some fascinating conversations with some of our fellow travellers who were in their 80s - a chap down the corridor was 100! Yet we still found like minded souls to party with if we felt like it.

 

We were looking for a relaxed, comfortable and all inclusive experience - and this we found. An effort was made for an understated quality experience - top quality linen, glassware etc, but without the need to have gold taps or caviar at every meal. Think Melbourne rather than the Gold Coast. And we loved that we could eat when we felt like it and with whomever we liked, rather than fixed dining.

 

Feel free to ask any questions you don't think a travel agent may answer.

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Hi, when we booked our Regent cruise from Australia two years ago we thought the same thing - it is misleading and there are plenty of critics of this form of advertising on the Regent board. I assume you're looking at the SF to Vancouver 9 night trip on the Navigator.

 

Prices for Australian customers on the Australian website (but in $US!) start from $3,999: that means per person. No you don't get two fares for this amount - the inference is the cruise should cost twice this. And if you compare an Orion cruise around (say) the Kimberleys, it would for a comparable suite. You can't really get a straight US to Australian comparison in prices as the US fares include airfares, so the Australian website reduces the fares somewhat to compensate for this. This is probably as clear as mud. There is only one actual agent in Australia, but they sub-contract to a number of other Travel Agents, where for example, you may be able to get Frequent Flyer points for booking through them. Sometimes, the advertised fare will be discounted by a few hundred dollars - you need to ask for a discount when you make your query.

 

Basically it seems to cost around $A1,000 per day for you both by the time you factor in exchange rates. But there's really no more to pay unless you take helicopter tours and choose to drink premium wines; in reality the mixed drinks/cocktails represent better value. Or spend up big in the Salon or boutique. After 73 days on board our account was $61!

 

Would Regent be OK for people in their 30s? Well we're older than that, and we were relatively young, but we were on a long cruise. Alaskan cruises tend to have more families as the cruises are shorter, so I'm sure you'll be fine. And we had some fascinating conversations with some of our fellow travellers who were in their 80s - a chap down the corridor was 100! Yet we still found like minded souls to party with if we felt like it.

 

We were looking for a relaxed, comfortable and all inclusive experience - and this we found. An effort was made for an understated quality experience - top quality linen, glassware etc, but without the need to have gold taps or caviar at every meal. Think Melbourne rather than the Gold Coast. And we loved that we could eat when we felt like it and with whomever we liked, rather than fixed dining.

 

Feel free to ask any questions you don't think a travel agent may answer.

 

OMG Thank you so much for this information! It has been really helpful and cleared up a lot of the uncertainties that we had. I will speak with them tomorrow and will give you a shout if I still have some queries.

 

I didn't find their website explained things very well and I was wondering why there was such a price difference on the US site to AU. Also I didn't realise the AU site is in USD which also changes the game a little since the dollar isn't doing too well these days.

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Two for one means absolutely nothing. What they do is calculate how much they want the fare to be, double that and then advertise that you are getting two for one. It's a marketing gimmick which surprisingly, many people fall for. I guess that's why they keep doing it.

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My husband and I are looking to book the Alaska cruise departing from San Fran on the 1 May 2015, and have noticed that on the Australian site that it is on the 2 for 1 offer page. Unfortunately the Australian site does not give you automatic quotes, you cannot book online and the office is not open on the weekend.

 

I have submitted a request for more information, but I was wondering if the '2 For 1' special offer, actually means that you will get two passengers for the price of 1 on the advertised sailings?

 

That to me sounds like an offer to good to be true, so just wanted to see what people more familiar with this cruise line thought. We have never cruised with Regent before. We have only previously cruised with Princess.

 

We are also quite young - 30s - and I was wondering if we would be out of place on this cruise line?

 

 

Here is a direct link to the Regent US page for your cruise Link . US price per person start at $4,500 of window, $5,300 for Balcony and $8,600 for a true suite. Price includes air, but I do not think that is international. If you don't use the air you will get credit/reduction in price. Hope this helps some.

 

FWIW, I hate Alaska on a cruise ship in the Summer; it is super crowded and not much to see unless you take expensive shoreX. May and late September are probably the best times to cruise there, so you may luck out.

 

Age? The shorter the cruise the younger the crowd. So you will fit in fine.

 

j

32/425

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Here is a direct link to the Regent US page for your cruise Link . US price per person start at $4,500 of window, $5,300 for Balcony and $8,600 for a true suite. Price includes air, but I do not think that is international. If you don't use the air you will get credit/reduction in price. Hope this helps some.

 

 

j

32/425

 

Are you sure that Australian residents receive an air credit/reduction in price for non-use air?

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Yes, they do. If I click on the link provided by JMariner, as an Australian resident it automatically takes me to the Australian site whether I like it or not. JMariner states the starting price for the cruise is $US4500, when I look at it it says $US3,999 an F Balcony $4809 ($5300) and Navigator Suite $8109 ($8600) - about $500 less per passenger. For a Europe cruise (and it's hard for me to check) I would think the price difference would be higher as the airfare to Europe is higher than that to San Francisco. It's a small compensation in some ways as it will cost an Australian resident far more than $500 to get to most departure points.

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Yes, they do. If I click on the link provided by JMariner, as an Australian resident it automatically takes me to the Australian site whether I like it or not. JMariner states the starting price for the cruise is $US4500, when I look at it it says $US3,999 an F Balcony $4809 ($5300) and Navigator Suite $8109 ($8600) - about $500 less per passenger. For a Europe cruise (and it's hard for me to check) I would think the price difference would be higher as the airfare to Europe is higher than that to San Francisco. It's a small compensation in some ways as it will cost an Australian resident far more than $500 to get to most departure points.

 

Thanks for the response:-)

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Thanks all! I also got a quote from the Australian representative today and it was $4800 pet person.

 

At the moment we are weighing up our options for early May. We are trying to fit it in a 6 week trip to the US. Just waiting now for HAL and Princess to reveal their Alaska timetables.

 

I do like the idea of leaving from San Fran though!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

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