Excursion Postings

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

LoonCall,

 

I'm definitely listening and happy to explain further details.

 

You've noted that we announce available shore excursions at 240 days prior to the voyage, and I confirm this remains accurate. I think we may be one of the few lines that publishes this information so far in advance and as you can imagine, it requires a huge undertaking to secure these plans and space requirements from all of the individual tour operators we work with around the world that far out. There are usually a few ports that we end up having to wait on for finalization but for the majority, we are able to confidently release at 240 days prior. There are occasions where additional options may be added, so it's important to check back once in a while too.

 

A couple of months prior to the 240 day mark, the historical shore excursion listing is suppressed intentionally from the voyage information page. We do this for a couple of reasons... to clear the shore excursion listing to be able to populate the available options accurately at the 240 day mark and also to avoid any disappointment from guests that may assume that the historical offering will be offered verbatim on their voyage.

 

I offer the following suggestion to assist you in researching the historical shore excursion listing, particularly when we're a few weeks away from the 240 day mark and when you may not see everything detailed.

 

From our home page, click on FREE Unlimited Shore Excursions in the main toolbar.

Click on Destination and select your sailing region. (You may have to look at two regions to see all options for your particular voyage.)

Once you've reached your sailing region, all of the ports in the region are listed at the bottom of the page and you may click on any to view the previously offered shore excursion options. You may also click on Ports & Excursions link at the top of the sailing region page to reach the port selection options more quickly.

 

Lastly, we recognize how important the shore excursion information is in your planning process. We are actively working on additional features and tools to better assist in your vacation planning. There is more to come in this area and your feedback has been tremendously helpful in our development of these future enhancements.

 

Everyone knows I love RSSC. My first sailing was 25 years ago on the Raddison Diamond. And I hope I will be sailing with them for many more years.

For me, this is my main issue with Regent, and I feel that Jason's statement has not satisfied my frustration

A very important question for him:

Will we ever get back to the old system whereby we can print a list of the available excursions for our cruise, for our review and decisions, before the date when we can make our selections?

It's that simple.

I think that's what most of us want.

[LoonCall]

Agree, Bellagio that was a question I had as well. Accessing the excursions (when they are finally available) through the website is awkward when you have two people trying to review the options. It's much easier to sit down and make notes on certain tours and then talk them over.

[bigmac1av]

Agree. It doesn't have to be 240 days before, but at least on week before the date we can book would be appreciated.

[Portolan]

I expect the issue is with all cruises, but I'll add another peg point: our Alaska cruise next May opens for excursion booking this Friday (2 days from now). I double-checked to see that this is the date shown under My Bookings. Only the generic (or possibly specific) list of tours shown with no times or costs (for the Choice excursions). I'll also add my "vote" for the previous listing of excursions which expanded the details only when clicked.

 

Excursions were bookable today as promised. The only issue was having to reconsider the new and missing offerings from the generic listing and making some quick decisions. Much more pleasant in the past when we could consider the offerings in advance and have our decisions made.

 

I should also note that for many ports where we are in port for a long day, every excursion in every port was timed to exclude a second excursion (except one offereing). Now, you might think this is being greedy, but many offerings are very modest (short tour through town, short show, etc.) which would nicely combine with one another and the cost to Regent would likely not be more than the single, longer excursions being offered. This hasn't always been the case. Specifically, we've been on Baltic cruises where it was perfectly possible to combine two or more short excursions during long port days.

[Portolan]

Correction to my immediately preceding post. There are, in fact, a couple of opportunities to combine short excursions...probably missed when I was reviewing these this morning on a Kindle. So, for example, the Lumberjack Show in Ketchikan is offered at 4 or 5 times so its possible to combine it with some of the shorter options.

 

I guess our biggest disappointment in the offerings was driven by the itinerary. Since this is the first Alaska cruise of the season and is repositioning the Mariner after it reaches the west coast, we'll be arriving into Juneau from the north at daybreak. Hence no Tracy Arm offering (or visit by the ship to the outer reaches). At another port (forget which at the moment), we depart earlier than the normal one-way Alaska itinerary so no evening whale watching opportunity. Oh well!

 

Still, very much looking forward to being on Mariner shortly after its scheduled dry dock next year.

[LoonCall]

Wanted to update my OP. Excursions were bookable Sunday 9/17. On Saturday available postings showed in my account without times or cost. After reviewing the options, I found 4 ports did not have the first choices I selected from the historical excursion listings and still no Alhambra tour for Granada and no tours available for Lisbon. This is apparently due to the fact that Lisbon is a turn port and tours are not offered until onboard due to low guest counts. Lisbon in particular is frustrating as the cruise is sold as one itinerary and should include tours for that port low number of guests or not. At this point I am reconsidering my decision to book this cruise as my frustration level with the excursions continues to rise.

 

I also wanted to note that I've had further communication with Jason O'Keefe and appreciate him reaching out and offering some explanations. My take is that he is genuinely receptive to comments from customers and while he stands solidly behind the Regent product he acknowledges there is always room for improvement in any business. I hope that the Regent higher ups feel the same.

[Travelcat2]

Regent never offers regular excursions in turnaround ports. This is typical for cruise lines and, IMO, is not something that needs fixing. We have found the excursions offered onboard to be adequate - no complaints whatsoever. The focus on turnaround days is to get the passengers off of the ship and prepare the ship for guests that will be boarding. They likely offer the excursions to get continuing guests out of their hair.

[Portolan]

and no tours available for Lisbon. This is apparently due to the fact that Lisbon is a turn port and tours are not offered until onboard due to low guest counts. Lisbon in particular is frustrating as the cruise is sold as one itinerary and should include tours for that port low number of guests or not. At this point I am reconsidering my decision to book this cruise as my frustration level with the excursions continues to rise.

 

to clarify/add to what TC2 posted, never fear. Since there are likely a modest number of B2B cruisers, and to avoid confusion by those ending/starting in Lisbon that they can get a tour that day, they won't list these on the web site. When you board, or shortly thereafter, they will provide those carry-over cruisers with a list of options for (in this case) Lisbon. We had the same situation in April for Barcelona and they had several tours available and they weren't just get-them-off-the-ship opportunities. We took a very nice winery tour on that occasion. As I recall, they were all "free" options. and, in our case, they even shifted all of our stuff from suite to suite while we were off ship since, when we booked the first segment later, the same cabin wasn't available all the way through.

 

They'll take nice care of you, no worries!

[LoonCall]

Regent never offers regular excursions in turnaround ports. This is typical for cruise lines and, IMO, is not something that needs fixing. We have found the excursions offered onboard to be adequate - no complaints whatsoever. The focus on turnaround days is to get the passengers off of the ship and prepare the ship for guests that will be boarding. They likely offer the excursions to get continuing guests out of their hair.

 

I don't know if that is the case or not. However, Regent advertises included excursions for the port; if there are no offerings until onboard that should be noted.

[LoonCall]

Thanks for the reassurance, portolan.

[Travelcat2]

I don't know if that is the case or not. However, Regent advertises included excursions for the port; if there are no offerings until onboard that should be noted.

 

I have never seen excursions listed On Regent's website for a embarkation port unless the ship overnights there. Could be a website error.

 

We have only done BTB cruises twice and were not impressed with the excursion offerings. OTOH, we are not fans of included excursions!

[LoonCall]

"I have never seen excursions listed On Regent's website for a embarkation port unless the ship overnights there. Could be a website error."

 

 

The website has excursions listed and has had them listed for that port since I booked 6 months ago. Pre website reconstruction.

 

 

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/EXP180515A/activities/regent-choice-plus-free/day-8

[Travelcat2]

"I have never seen excursions listed On Regent's website for a embarkation port unless the ship overnights there. Could be a website error."

 

 

The website has excursions listed and has had them listed for that port since I booked 6 months ago. Pre website reconstruction.

 

 

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/EXP180515A/activities/regent-choice-plus-free/day-8

 

These two cruises were obviously set up incorrectly initially (or, sometimes they have longer cruises and break them up into two and they could have neglected to fix the longer itinerary). The most important thing I read using your link was:"Shore excursions on the first and last day of a cruise are only available for guests who are combining back-to-back voyages to create a longer cruise. Those guests may organize custom tours through the Destination Services Desk on board."

[flossie009]

Looncall,

I suggest you contact Regent, either direct or through your TA, as the difficulties you are encountering must be the result of a website error.

 

Since you booked your cruise (EXP180515A) as a 16 night cruise from Barcelona to London you definitely should be able to book excursions for all ports, including Lisbon. As you rightly say there is a selection of excursions listed for Lisbon on the Excursions tab for this cruise.

 

Had you booked as a B2B (i.e. EXP180515, 7 nights, plus EXP180522, 9 nights) then the advice about having to wait until you are on board to book excursions in Lisbon might have been correct.

 

When you contact Regent I would also press them about excursions to Alhambra. Answers to your previous question on this subject indicated that some guests had been given erroneous information about the availability of excursions to Alhambra this Summer. :rolleyes:

 

Best of luck, and don't stress.

Try to bear with the vagaries of Regent's pre-cruise information, website issues and excursion/dining booking glitches. :(

When you finally board Explorer you will have a fabulous time :D

[flossie009]

"Shore excursions on the first and last day of a cruise are only available for guests who are combining back-to-back voyages to create a longer cruise. Those guests may organize custom tours through the Destination Services Desk on board."

As I understand it, the TS/OP has not combined back-to-back voyages to create a longer cruise, but booked a single cruise as marketed and sold by Regent.

In Looncall's case the phrase that you have quoted would only apply to Barcelona (first day) and London (last day), not to the intermediate port of Lisbon.

[LoonCall]

As I understand it, the TS/OP has not combined back-to-back voyages to create a longer cruise, but booked a single cruise as marketed and sold by Regent.

In Looncall's case the phrase that you have quoted would only apply to Barcelona (first day) and London (last day), not to the intermediate port of Lisbon.

 

That is correct Flossie.

 

To make matters worse as I posted earlier there was still no tour to the Alhambra listed as of yesterday. Today there is an option showing SOLD OUT. How can that be possible? You can imagine my frustration level with Regent right now since I've been inquiring about this tour option for nearly two months.

[flossie009]

That is correct Flossie.

 

To make matters worse as I posted earlier there was still no tour to the Alhambra listed as of yesterday. Today there is an option showing SOLD OUT. How can that be possible? You can imagine my frustration level with Regent right now since I've been inquiring about this tour option for nearly two months.

Yes, I can well imagine your frustration.

However, the only practical thing you can do is to ring Regent and ask to be put on the wait-list for the Alhambra excursion

[Travelcat2]

That is correct Flossie.

 

To make matters worse as I posted earlier there was still no tour to the Alhambra listed as of yesterday. Today there is an option showing SOLD OUT. How can that be possible? You can imagine my frustration level with Regent right now since I've been inquiring about this tour option for nearly two months.

 

You live in the U.S. (a definite advantage) and while frustrating, our TA would have it sorted out in one day. I cannot stress enough that a top Regent TA is almost a necessity. While this likely won't help you, my hope is that it helps the many posters reading this thread.

 

It is likely that the excursion is not sold out but if you have to depend upon Regent Customer Service to help you ........... you likely will never get the correct answer. This is one reason that CC is so valuable!

[LoonCall]

I actually have a top Regent TA and she is frustrated as well. Point being a TA should not be a necessity to deal with Regent.

Edited September 21, 2017 by LoonCall
Incomplete

[Travelcat2]

I actually have a top Regent TA and she is frustrated as well. Point being a TA should not be a necessity to deal with Regent.

 

Agree that a top Regent TA should not be necessary but it is. Some TA's claim to be "top" with Regent but not all are (after all, which TA would admit to not being a top TA?). We cannot discuss specific TA's on Cruise Critic but I'm aware of some TA's that sell a lot of Regent cruises but are not very helpful to their clients. I have yet to present an issue to our TA that could to be answered quickly (unless it was a holiday or weekend....... while they do respond on weekends, their Regent contact does not).

 

Your issue is not unique or that unusual. A response should be relatively easy to get.

[LoonCall]

Agree that a top Regent TA should not be necessary but it is. Some TA's claim to be "top" with Regent but not all are (after all, which TA would admit to not being a top TA?). We cannot discuss specific TA's on Cruise Critic but I'm aware of some TA's that sell a lot of Regent cruises but are not very helpful to their clients. I have yet to present an issue to our TA that could to be answered quickly (unless it was a holiday or weekend....... while they do respond on weekends, their Regent contact does not).

 

Your issue is not unique or that unusual. A response should be relatively easy to get.

 

You have no knowledge of my TA and the comment is insulting and not the point. I choose how much or how little to utilize their services and as Regent sells directly to customers, as well as through agencies, guests should be able to deal with them directly and efficiently.

[Travelcat2]

You have no knowledge of my TA and the comment is insulting and not the point. I choose how much or how little to utilize their services and as Regent sells directly to customers, as well as through agencies, guests should be able to deal with them directly and efficiently.

 

As stated, the point of my post was to help people reading this thread since no one on this board can help you directly. Of course Regent Customer Service should be able to deal with issues directly and efficiently - no one has ever argued that. However, since there appears to still be a communication issue at Regent Corporate, I strongly advise people to have a TA that is able to get answers from other sources within Regent.

 

To put this issue into perspective, we are talking about excursions - while frustrating, it is simply about excursions. Whether you can book turnaround excursions in advance or not ...... whether it is a computer error or not ......... etc. Getting upset with me or anyone else that is trying to help won't change the issue. All we can give you is our opinions and experiences. Obviously you can choose to listen to those opinions or reject them.

 

You seem to think that your TA is good so perhaps you should allow them the opportunity to get answers for you. Whatever they learn will certainly be more accurate than what you read here or what you hear from a random Customer Service Representative at Regent.

[LoonCall]

"To put this issue into perspective, we are talking about excursions - while frustrating, it is simply about excursions. Whether you can book turnaround excursions in advance or not ...... whether it is a computer error or not ......... etc. Getting upset with me or anyone else that is trying to help won't change the issue. All we can give you is our opinions and experiences. Obviously you can choose to listen to those opinions or reject them."

 

I was talking about excursions and you brought up how your TA would have sorted it all out and the importance of having a top notch agent; which is not the issue and honestly not helpful to the situation.

The issue is Regent's failures in the shore excursion department, plain and simple.

[UUNetBill]

Although you should be able to call Regent directly and get prompt, straightforward, and most of all correct answers from their phone agents, this is not always (okay, actually rarely) the case. I can't help you with booking excursions on the 'flip' day on a B2B as I've never done one - but I can agree with TC that 99% of the time it's better to let your TA find the answers for you as the phone reps are less than knowledgeable when it comes to things like this.

 

I know my TA has been able to get answers for me in an hour after I've spent 3 or more phone calls trying to figure stuff out. But the bottom line is that even if Regent sells cruises directly to consumers, the level of service you'll receive is a complete crapshoot.

 

I've had phone agents tell me that Navigator is in drydock when their own website showed her as being refurbished and sailing with passengers on board. I've had phone agents tell me that certain excursions are available when I knew for certain they weren't. The only consistently good experience I've had calling Regent directly was to fix dinner reservations - and the reason I had to call was because their website wouldn't let me set things up.

 

Regardless of how good your TA is, I'd let them deal with Regent - because no matter how good the on-board experience is, the home office staff usually leaves a lot to be desired.

 

Just my opinion, of course.

[DaveFr]

Loon Call,

 

Am I missing something? As I read the website description of the Lisbon excursions, it does not list the excursions available for Lisbon on your cruise. Instead, it notes that excursions are not finalized for Lisbon. It then lists previous Lisbon excursions. There is no guarantee that all of the previous excursions will be available on your cruise. The excursions to be offered to the in-transit passengers in Lisbon cannot be determined at 180 or 240 days before the cruise since exact transit passenger counts are not known until much later. Passengers embarking or disembarking in Lisbon are not entitled to take excursions on that day.

 

The Alhambra excursion may not be sold out. In Regent website speak, "sold out" may mean that the excursion is truly sold out or that the excusion is not yet available for booking. Keep checking the status of the excursion. It may become available for booking.

 

Hope this helps.