Included Shore Excursions

[jjs217]

I'm thinking about a first time Regent cruise in Feb 2015. From what I understand, (reading the small print), there is no guarantee of getting on a desired included excursion. Since I would be booking fairly late in the process, I'm concerned that it wouldn't be worth the higher cost (over Seabourn/Crystal) to go with Regent, if indeed all the excursions are booked up. Are there any frequent Regent cruisers out there who have had a problem getting listed for an excursion, or is Regent just covering their bases? I would appreciate any feed back. Thanks.:confused:

[cAPS lOCK oN]

We don't have as much experience as some of the other posters, but on our last cruise it wasn't a problem. People that were waitlisted for excursions reported that their excursions opened up once they were on board. The theory is that Regent starts with a limited amount of room on these things and then add capacity (e.g., extra buses) as the situation warrants.

[Travelcat2]

If you are booking Regent for their "free" excursions, I would book another cruise line. We do not cruise Regent for this "benefit". Rather, we cruise Regent for their service, food and culture. IMO, you cannot compare Regent and Crystal as they are so different (Crystal has smaller cabins, open seating by reservation, etc.). Some people prefer Seabourn to Regent and others do not. You did not mention Silversea -- we find them quite good but much more formal than Regent.

 

While we like many of the excursions that you pay for, we are not fans of "free" or "included" excursions. However, if you like bus tours, Regent's are probably as good as other cruise lines. We prefer smaller or private excursions. We pay more for Regent because we feel that the Regent Experience is worth it -- not because we like the excursions.

[jjs217]

Thank you cAPS lOCK oN. That does kind of make sense.... they see how many list for a particular excursion.

 

Nice try Travelcat 2, but I think you totally missed my point. I realize Regent is a step up from Crystal and Seabourn in certain areas, i.e. food service. That said, I wouldn't book any luxury vacation, just for a freebie. If your condescending attitude is typical of the Regent guest, maybe I will just stick to Seabourn. I've never met anyone while onboard that particular cruise line who wasn't lovely.

[xrvlcruiser]

Like TC2, I sail Regent for the experience but have always enjoyed the included tours.

 

Dinner on Crystal: either early or late seating (6pm or 8:30pm). Dinner by reservation is just that: make a reservation ahead of time and show up for that time.

 

There is flexibility but you cannot just arrived and expect to be seated, Which is how it works on Regent.

 

Peggy

Edited October 18, 2014 by xrvlcruiser

[JMARINER]

I'm thinking about a first time Regent cruise in Feb 2015. From what I understand, (reading the small print), there is no guarantee of getting on a desired included excursion. Since I would be booking fairly late in the process, I'm concerned that it wouldn't be worth the higher cost (over Seabourn/Crystal) to go with Regent, if indeed all the excursions are booked up. Are there any frequent Regent cruisers out there who have had a problem getting listed for an excursion, or is Regent just covering their bases? I would appreciate any feed back. Thanks.:confused:

The short answer is Yes; you will probably get to get on most excursions. Caveats depend on where you are going. City tours are usually ok, they just get another bus or stuff a few more on. The smaller the tour is the more likely there will be problems getting the tour. I can not think of a time that I was truly disappointed in not getting a particular tour. My history, 31 Regent Cruises since 2001.

 

j

[Travelcat2]

Thank you cAPS lOCK oN. That does kind of make sense.... they see how many list for a particular excursion.

 

Nice try Travelcat 2, but I think you totally missed my point. I realize Regent is a step up from Crystal and Seabourn in certain areas, i.e. food service. That said, I wouldn't book any luxury vacation, just for a freebie. If your condescending attitude is typical of the Regent guest, maybe I will just stick to Seabourn. I've never met anyone while onboard that particular cruise line who wasn't lovely.

 

Hmmmmm, I think you missed my point as well. I do not think that Regent is a step up from Crystal or Seabourn. I feel that they are different experiences. My personal preference is Regent but many other people prefer Crystal and/or Seabourn. In terms of "free" excursions, IMO, you get what you pay for. We do not sail on Regent to meet other passengers. However, from what I have seen, passengers on Regent, Oceania and Silversea are all well traveled, intelligent and nice to be around. Yes -- I am different that other Regent cruisers -- we prefer the company of Regent crew and officers to other passengers. Not sure why you took my post so negatively as it was not meant that way.

 

In terms of whether or not you will get on excursions that are totally full, it depends upon the ports. If Regent can add more buses to accommodate guests, they will. However, there are some ports that can only accommodate a certain amount of bus loads. In those cases, the only way you will get on an excursion is if someone cancels. We have cleared most waitlists but not all. In the end, however, we are usually the ones that cancel.

Edited October 18, 2014 by Travelcat2

[HanaleiSailor]

TC writes: We do not sail on Regent to meet other passengers. However, from what I have seen, passengers on Regent, Oceania and Silversea are all well traveled, intelligent and nice to be around. Yes -- I am different that other Regent cruisers -- we prefer the company of Regent crew and officers to other passengers. Not sure why you took my post so negatively as it was not meant that way.

 

Aloha TC,

 

You have written something like your comment above in a good number of posts here on CC, and I probably would not think anything of it if we were not in the tourism and hospitality business.

 

We have a good many customers who are seasonal regulars; they come to the North Shore of Kauai every year, and sometimes some of these regulars want to become close holiday-home "friends" with some of our staff. I find this occasionally to be a somewhat difficult situation. The fact of the matter is our staff are paid fairly well to treat all of our customers with respect and to be friendly to our customers. I have to remind our staff to be very careful in that these frequent guests will always be customers first and friends second.

 

The issue is that the guest really has all of the power in these relationships, as almost all of the interaction between the guest and the employee takes place at our place of business. A customer could complain about one of our employees if something happens with a friendship, or a customer might stop patronizing our shop if there is an issue in which a member of our staff turns down offers of outside activities with the customer. From what you have said in the past on CC, you seem to be able to deftly navigate this minefield; however, I felt compelled to write something here to remind us all that there is a power relationship in play between a guest and any member of staff.

 

Of course, because I live on the North Shore and many local residents are also customers in our cafe, I must be careful as well to make sure that I treat these local friends as customers first when they are in my place of business. We even tell our staff that when they have family visiting, we should always treat them as customers while they are in our café. We want to show aloha and to make sure that everyone has a good experience, so we have to be very careful about playing favorites, and also keep up at least a thin veil of professionalism between the staff and our guests.

 

I think the Regent staff overall is excellent; I too like to chat with the staff when they have time, but I suppose since I am in the business, I am always hyper aware of taking time away from the duties of the staff, or even if a staff member has a breather for a few minutes, to just let them enjoy a few moments of peace.

 

We have a hurricane spinning around us near the Hawaiian island chain this weekend, and we are scheduled to fly to Honolulu tomorrow in order to catch a flight to LAX to begin our next Voyager cruise on Sunday morning. Please send your good thoughts our way to keep the bad weather away so we are able to catch the Voyager in Rome on time!

 

Aloha from Hanalei,

Mark

[Mjflowers]

Hmmmmm, I think you missed my point as well. I do not think that Regent is a step up from Crystal or Seabourn. I feel that they are different experiences. My personal preference is Regent but many other people prefer Crystal and/or Seabourn. In terms of "free" excursions, IMO, you get what you pay for. We do not sail on Regent to meet other passengers. However, from what I have seen, passengers on Regent, Oceania and Silversea are all well traveled, intelligent and nice to be around. Yes -- I am different that other Regent cruisers -- we prefer the company of Regent crew and officers to other passengers. Not sure why you took my post so negatively as it was not meant that way.

 

In terms of whether or not you will get on excursions that are totally full, it depends upon the ports. If Regent can add more buses to accommodate guests, they will. However, there are some ports that can only accommodate a certain amount of bus loads. In those cases, the only way you will get on an excursion is if someone cancels. We have cleared most waitlists but not all. In the end, however, we are usually the ones that cancel.

 

"We prefer the company of Regent crew and officers to other passengers"

Must be lonely at the top.

[Travelcat2]

Safe travels Mark!

[Responder]

"We prefer the company of Regent crew and officers to other passengers"

Must be lonely at the top.

 

As you are aware, nothing changes.

 

The scary part is that people who are not familiar with the poster, might actually think this is what the Regent culture is all about.

 

As you indicated, it's really sad.....but, the beat goes on..

[jjs217]

Thanks to all for the great information. I do want to try Regent, and will continue to follow-up and book the Feb 2015 cruise. By the way - 99% of you DO sound really nice!! :rolleyes:

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I enjoy the staff on my cruises very much, especially the waitstaff. But I can't imagine cruising so that I can socialize with them--they're too busy. I rarely socialize with higher-level staff, save for the occasional dinner invitation.

 

Just got off the Paul Gauguin, which has the friendliest staff at sea, but besides having dinner with the captain and the CEO (not bragging, it was the work of my TA I believe), we didn't "socialize" with staff, just enjoyed interacting with them while they did their duties. Met many fine fellow passengers.

 

I guess if you don't want to socialize with fellow passengers, then you'd choose a two-top at dinner every night.

[Responder]

I enjoy the staff on my cruises very much, especially the waitstaff. But I can't imagine cruising so that I can socialize with them--they're too busy. I rarely socialize with higher-level staff, save for the occasional dinner invitation.

 

Just got off the Paul Gauguin, which has the friendliest staff at sea, but besides having dinner with the captain and the CEO (not bragging, it was the work of my TA I believe), we didn't "socialize" with staff, just enjoyed interacting with them while they did their duties. Met many fine fellow passengers.

 

I guess if you don't want to socialize with fellow passengers, then you'd choose a two-top at dinner every night.

 

Or maybe a suite in the crew's quarters...

[gnomie1]

Although I believe that Destination Services is one of the weakest links in the Regent chain, for the most part, we enjoy the excursions. Not to say that we have not have our fair share of disappointing trips, on the other hand we have had some wonderful, memory making experiences.

 

We also like the excursions because it gives us a chance to meet other passengers, which we truly enjoy doing. Since my Mom has a hearing problem, she has problems making conversation during dinner due to the background noise. But excursions allow us to meet people one on one and have nice chats. I can remember only a handful of trips where the bus was completely full and my Mom always works her way up front so that she can hear the guide.

 

Although in reality the excursions are not "free", it is a nice feeling to know that if something happens and you cannot go on the excursion (unless you have paid the surcharge), there is no penalty.

 

My vote would be to give Regent a go and try it for yourself - the way some people write about the excursions on this board one would get the opinion that they are not very good - for the most part, I disagree. While not the same as a private tour, I would not refer to them as "you get what you pay for" (.i.e., since they are "free", they are garbage)- far from it.

 

gnomie :)

[Responder]

Although I believe that Destination Services is one of the weakest links in the Regent chain, for the most part, we enjoy the excursions. Not to say that we have not have our fair share of disappointing trips, on the other hand we have had some wonderful, memory making experiences.

 

We also like the excursions because it gives us a chance to meet other passengers, which we truly enjoy doing. Since my Mom has a hearing problem, she has problems making conversation during dinner due to the background noise. But excursions allow us to meet people one on one and have nice chats. I can remember only a handful of trips where the bus was completely full and my Mom always works her way up front so that she can hear the guide.

 

Although in reality the excursions are not "free", it is a nice feeling to know that if something happens and you cannot go on the excursion (unless you have paid the surcharge), there is no penalty.

 

My vote would be to give Regent a go and try it for yourself - the way some people write about the excursions on this board one would get the opinion that they are not very good - for the most part, I disagree. While not the same as a private tour, I would not refer to them as "you get what you pay for" (.i.e., since they are "free", they are garbage)- far from it.

 

gnomie :)

 

Agreed...For the short time we have been on the Lisbon-Miami crossing, we have gone on a few "free" tours and they were all quite nice. The assembly in the theatre was better than ever and they went smoothly...and were interesting.

 

Sadly, there were no staff members to converse with so we could only speak to ordinary mortals...;)

[newlondon]

Responder, You are not helping the tone of this thread. Please give it a break.

[pingpong1]

gnomie1 - 5 Stars! I Totally agree with your point of view regarding the "included excursions". We've always found them to be good value and have enjoyed the interaction with the majority of other passengers who, by in large, are "just like us". :p Elimination of those "included excursions" would probably mean the end of our Regent experience. We have never found the size of those tour groups to be "too big".

 

With the exception of a few privately-booked tours which we took, by necessity, in Rome/Florence (before our Regent cruise began) we've found all the included tours that we've signed up for to be quite enjoyable - and that includes the rides on the buses along with meeting and conversing with many of our fellow passengers on those excursions. For us, that has been a significant and enjoyable part of the whole "Regent experience".

 

As in your Mom's case, my elderly Dad has greatly enjoyed going on all the included excursions that we've signed up for and I think he has enjoyed meeting and talking to many of our fellow passengers on those group (included) excursions - far more so, than he does in the more "formal" setting of the dining venues - which actually make him feel a bit uncomfortable.

 

All the other "regular" Regent passengers we've met during these "included excursions" have been most kind, considerate, and accommodating with respect to Dad's limited mobility and hearing capabilities. I fondly remember several kind passengers in our excursion helping me get him into a small high-speed zodiac boat (on an included excursion) that took us out to a small island in Alaska for a walk through a gorgeous old growth forest and then later drinking coffee and eating fresh smoked salmon on the small rocky beach of that same island. Three years later, Dad still talks about the wonderful time he had on that "boat ride". The fact that the tour was an "included excursion", rather than a separately paid for private tour (at what would be a considerable additional expense) would have no significance to him (or us). We all enjoyed it very much.

 

Perhaps my "vote" doesn't count as much as certain other passengers but I would never like to see those included excursions eliminated from Regent's total "package". And in reality, I think most of us know that it's not as if Regent's future prices would actually be "reduced" if those included excursions were eliminated. Best Regards.

[Responder]

Responder, You are not helping the tone of this thread. Please give it a break.

 

Just curious....

 

What is the tone of this thread and by whom was it set?

 

As I read other replies, I wonder why you don't suggest that they tune up as well?

[Travelcat2]

pingpong1: As I have said many times, I do not want to see included excursions go away -- just would like the opportunity to opt out and to receive a small credit as Regent customers are able to do with hotels and airfare. IMO, excursions fall into the same category as hotels and air -- they are provided by outside companies and the services they provide are not onboard the ship.

 

When I indicate that "you get what you pay for". Regent excursions are included up to a certain dollar amount. Excursions that exceed that amount become Regent Choice excursions that the passenger must pay for. So, in many cases (not all), the included excursions are not as good as Regent Choice Excursions or as good as small group excursions that can be booked off of the ship. We also find excursions in some parts of the world dramatically better than in others. The best included excursions we have experienced was in the Middle East. Scandinavian excursions were also excellent but several had a cost associated with them.

 

When you board a Regent ship, there is a detailed description of excursions in your suite. You learn how long you will be on the bus -- how long each stop will be, etc. We cancelled several excursions on our last cruise because some 5 hour excursion had 3 hours of transit time (1 1/2 hours each way to and from the destination). At the time, we did not want to spend that much time on the bus. Another problem we had on our last cruise is that the excursions ran over time (by up to an hour and a half). This did not work for us as we had other plans for the day.

 

I feel that there is a difference when people are visiting these ports for the first time. As long as passengers new to Regent do not expect a "luxury" included excursion, they will probably enjoy the excursion. For those of us who have visited ports multiple times, some prefer doing their own thing (walking around the town -- sitting outside of a restaurant drinking coffee or having tapas and Sangria as we did in Spain) and people watching.

 

pingpong1: You mentioned that ending included excursions could be the end of your Regent experience. As you know, Regent lost quite a few long term customers when they added included excursions. These passengers (now on other luxury cruise lines) have indicated that they would return if included excursions were removed.

Edited October 18, 2014 by Travelcat2

[freddie]

We are also, like Responder, on Mariner at the moment. Even though we are not even remotely fans of included excursions, we have had good experiences on two out of three excursions so far on this cruise.

 

We booked the cruise very late, only three weeks ago, and found that most of the tours were waitlisted. So far, several of those that we wanted have cleared since we boarded. Of the three tours that we have taken, each was on a bus that was only half full, allowing loads of room for everyone.

 

Responder, as you didn't make it to our CC meet & greet because of your bridge group, we'd still like to meet you. Please feel free to leave us a message at cabin 929 so that we can organize a handshake.

 

Jjs217 - Most of us really are nice. Often, the rather peculiar dynamics of the CC message boards present a picture of Regent passengers that is not at all a proper reflection of the reality of the shipboard experience.

 

Cheers, Fred

Edited October 18, 2014 by freddie

[marinaro44]

pingpong1: As I have said many times, I do not want to see included excursions go away -- just would like the opportunity to opt out and to receive a small credit as Regent customers are able to do with hotels and airfare.

As I have said many times, if you can opt out for a credit then the excursions are no longer "included." Passengers would simply be paying the amount of the credit for their excursions.

 

Someone who doesn't drink wine will want a credit for not drinking it. Someone who doesn't drink any liquor will want a credit for being a teetotaler. Someone who doesn't want to eat at a table for four or six after their one allotted pre-reserved dinner in a specialty restaurant will want a credit for not going.

 

Excursions are "included," and, like gnomie and Responder, I'm glad they are. Those who find it abhorrent to be on a bus with 25-30 others should just arrange to do their own and stop complaining.

[RachelG]

I was cruising with Regent before excursions were included, and I actually don't mind the included ones. Just made my excursion reservations for a silversea cruise (where they are not included), and paid quite a good sum, more than enough to make up the difference in price between a similar cruise on regent and this one. Only problem was that regent is not having an itinerary like this. So I went with silversea.

 

I could have done private excursions, and in some ports, we are doing our own thing. But some places it is just more convenient to use the ships excursions. And it is awfully nice if they are already included.

[msmillie]

pingpong1: As I have said many times, I do not want to see included excursions go away -- just would like the opportunity to opt out and to receive a small credit as Regent customers are able to do with hotels and airfare. IMO, excursions fall into the same category as hotels and air -- they are provided by outside companies and the services they provide are not onboard the ship.

 

Travelcat, passengers did indeed have the chance to opt out of hotels and "receive a small credit" now hotels are only provided for Concierge and higher suites only. I am one of those passengers that does enjoy the quality & convenience of Regent excursions. When I compare fares of other cruise lines the included excursions tips my choice in favor of Regent. Angie

[Travelcat2]

As I have said many times, if you can opt out for a credit then the excursions are no longer "included." Passengers would simply be paying the amount of the credit for their excursions.

 

Someone who doesn't drink wine will want a credit for not drinking it. Someone who doesn't drink any liquor will want a credit for being a teetotaler. Someone who doesn't want to eat at a table for four or six after their one allotted pre-reserved dinner in a specialty restaurant will want a credit for not going.

 

Excursions are "included," and, like gnomie and Responder, I'm glad they are. Those who find it abhorrent to be on a bus with 25-30 others should just arrange to do their own and stop complaining.

 

 

I am trying to understand your first paragraph. Are you suggesting that when you opt out of airfare, as many do, they would "simply be paying the amount of the credit" for their airfare? I know that you are fairly new to Regent and may not have opted out of airfare. When you opt out, the credit you receive is usually not enough to purchase a plane ticket from your home airport to the embarkation port.

 

In terms of liquor, etc. as explained in my earlier post, I am only speaking of things that do not take place onboard the ship. Airfare, hotels and excursions are not onboard experiences. Although Regent, Silversea, Seabourn and Crystal are considered all-inclusive luxury cruise lines, they do not all include excursions, airfare or hotels.

 

One does not have to find it "abhorrent to be on a bus with 25-30 others". To people asking questions regarding Regent included excursions, they may want to know that they could be on a bus with 25-30 others (or only 15-20 - depending upon the excursion). They could also be going with multiple other buses to the same place (or not). We had quite an enjoyable excursion a couple of weeks ago -- 25 people on the bus and only one bus going to the destination.

 

msmillie, I was not happy to see the pre-cruise included hotel go away for some passengers. As everyone knows, on luxury cruise lines, I believe that all passengers should be treated the same. I also agree that the excursions offered on other cruise lines can be expensive (particularly on Oceania which isn't a luxury line but had to mention it). The reason some people no longer sail on Regent is because they do not want to pay for included excursions (this is what they have posted on CC numerous times). It seems fair to me to give a credit to passengers who do not want to participate in included excursions. lMO, this would not affect those who want to take included excursions any more than people doing their own air affects people who choose Regent air.

Edited October 18, 2014 by Travelcat2