Alaskan Prime off to less than stellar start

[flossie009]

When I read the early posts on this thread I was willing to give Regent and its suppliers the benefit of the doubt.

A glitch with one couple requiring them to be moved from the expected 5* hotel to an adjacent 4* hotel was obviously annoying but certainly not a big enough issue to involve the President & CEO.

Having read TripAdvisor and other reviews it also seemed a little unfair to tarnish the Stanford Court hotel as a 2* dump.

 

However, having read msmillie's post, quoted below, I have changed my opinion.

 

The free hotel package is not free, it is included in the cost of the cruise. These cruisers were promised accommodations that they did not receive. I talked to several passengers onboard the Mariner, they told me that they were left stranded at the Fairmont for four to five hours, and that they were not assisted with moving their luggage to a different hotel, one passenger said they were offered $10.00 to pay for a taxi to get across the street to the Stanford Hotel. They were told to return to the Fairmont for breakfast, The above quote states, “that it is unlikely that Regent will do anything about the incident,” Well it is my opinion that Regent should do something to compensate these passengers for their stress and inconvenience and to develop procedures to adequately assist passengers in the future.

 

It now comes to light that numerous guests were treated very badly; either because Regent failed to supply the correct details to the hotel or because the Fairmont had grossly overbooked.

In view of the time taken to sort the issue it sounds like the Fairmont were simply not expecting the number of Regent guests who turned up.

In any event the guests' contract is with Regent and presumably the "Regent" Representatives and the Fairmont were in contact with Regent Miami in order to find a resolution.

 

The time taken to resolve the issues, expecting guests to shift their own luggage between hotels and then requiring them to walk across the street to get their breakfast is totally unacceptable. [i would not be surprised if there was a huge queue for breakfast at the Fairmont if they were so overbooked]

 

Since it is unlikely that anyone from Regent will come on these Boards to offer an explanation, it would be good if the OP or msmillie's friends could let us know how the issues were eventually resolved and what Regent are reporting as the root cause of the problems encountered.

 

I seem to remember that about a year ago Regent said they were appointing a senior manager to review all their shoreside activities in order to improve the customer experience; unfortunately this doesn't seem to have borne fruit.

 

We have a direct interest in the reported issues as we are joining a Regent cruise in San Francisco this coming September.

We are arranging our own transfers & hotel, but have friends sailing with us who have decided to rely on Regent's arrangements.

I wonder who will have the least stressful and most luxurious experience :confused:

[flossie009]

There have been so many times over the years that this forum could have been used effectively and to Regent's advantage to clarify something or explain company policy before it flows, yet again, into mention of Regent lawyers.

I agree and at one point it did seem that Regent had decided to engage more frequently on these Boards.

Unfortunately that useful dialogue seems to have dried up. One can only presume that senior managers at NCLH/Regent and/or their lawyers decided that playing dumb is a safer policy :(

[poss]

Interestingly, Regent does involve itself with CC: the whole Meet and Mingle shebang. Of course that's a different kind of "involvement."

[RachelG]

I actually was thinking about this, and a similar incident came to mind. We were booked into the Fairmont in Vancouver with reservations I had made myself. Our flight was terribly delayed, so that we arrived about 2 am. On arrival at the Fairmont, they did not have a room for us--had given ours away as they were oversold and we were late. At any rate, they got us a room at the Four Seasons including breakfast, paid for our cab there, then back the next morning, and put us in a suite for the remainder of our stay. I wasn't happy at the time, but they redeemed themselves with good customer service.

[Travelcat2]

I actually was thinking about this, and a similar incident came to mind. We were booked into the Fairmont in Vancouver with reservations I had made myself. Our flight was terribly delayed, so that we arrived about 2 am. On arrival at the Fairmont, they did not have a room for us--had given ours away as they were oversold and we were late. At any rate, they got us a room at the Four Seasons including breakfast, paid for our cab there, then back the next morning, and put us in a suite for the remainder of our stay. I wasn't happy at the time, but they redeemed themselves with good customer service.

 

Unfortunately, as you and others have noted (and at least one poster has been shut down when they tried to explain their experiences with hotels), this does happen more times than we hear about (and we would not have known about this incident if a thread had not been started about it). I could cite numerous times when there have been delays of several hours ......whether it be for an airplane that was delayed (that some people believed was Regent's fault), delays getting from the hotel to the ship, delays in getting onto the ship for various reasons and the list goes on. It is easier to blame Regent and be done with it. Let's not let the facts (that we do not know about) get in the way of rumors.

 

poss - yes, Regent does support CC on the Meet and Mingles and you can see how happy(?) passengers have been that have not received invitations and missed the events or when the event is scheduled at such a poor time that hardly anyone attends. On our 2020 cruise, those of us on Roll Call have unanimously decided not to register for the Meet and Mingle and will do our own thing (a Meet and Greet). We already have it planned ...... even the date and time.

 

 

P.S. ccpm - yes we all (obviously that includes myself) make statements on CC that we believe are true (or misremember) but are not. When we learn of the error, we return to the thread to set the record straight.

Edited May 8, 2018 by Travelcat2

[Pam]

Is wifi free for everybody on Regent now? It has been so long since I was on a Regent ship, and when I was, wifi wasn't free below a certain status (when we were silver it was free, but at one time I thought that was bumped up to gold). Might the OP not have wifi?

[Travelcat2]

Is wifi free for everybody on Regent now? It has been so long since I was on a Regent ship, and when I was, wifi wasn't free below a certain status (when we were silver it was free, but at one time I thought that was bumped up to gold). Might the OP not have wifi?

 

Yes Pam - it is "free" for all passengers. This is the TS's first Regent cruise and they are likely caught up in the experience.

[fizzy]

I actually was thinking about this, and a similar incident came to mind. We were booked into the Fairmont in Vancouver with reservations I had made myself. Our flight was terribly delayed, so that we arrived about 2 am. On arrival at the Fairmont, they did not have a room for us--had given ours away as they were oversold and we were late. At any rate, they got us a room at the Four Seasons including breakfast, paid for our cab there, then back the next morning, and put us in a suite for the remainder of our stay. I wasn't happy at the time, but they redeemed themselves with good customer service.

This story illustrates a very classy way of handling the problem.

[pingpong1]

RachelG - I always enjoy your insight and posts on these boards. Your experience with the Fairmont in Vancouver raises a question (and is really goes to the core of this discussion). Did you reserve/guarantee that room at the Fairmont with a credit card and with the booking agreement that if you didn't eventually show up at the hotel (a late arrival guarantee), your card would still be charged for the agreed upon room rate for that night, whether you used the room or not?

 

I (and most likely many of us) have stayed at hundreds of hotels all over the world and whenever I have ever pre-booked/reserved a room at a hotel, I have always provided a credit card to hold and guarantee the room for the night - and no matter whether I show up or not - my credit card is charged for the room. Under those booking conditions (guaranteed late arrival), unless I missed some basic legal loophole - the hotel cannot legally "resell that room" to someone else, since they have entered into a legally binding reservation contract with me and received pre-payment from me to bind that contract. If they're going to charge me for that room, whether I show up or not, that room better darn-well be empty and available for my use no matter whether I show up at 3PM in the afternoon or at 1AM in the middle of the night. Otherwise, the hotel is in breach of contract. They cannot "sell" the same room for the same night twice, as long as they're receiving payment for it from the first customer.

 

So, that is why I'm wondering in your example, if you "guaranteed late arrival" with your credit card with that reservation? One thing that is also "helpful" (and also a courtesy) is if the booked guest can call or email the hotel during the course of travel to inform them that your travel has been delayed and that you'll be eventually arriving late (which I have also done many times) - but that notification is not a condition of the "late arrival guarantee" - just a courtesy. I have never heard of a case where a pre-paid room was sold out from under a previously paid booking.

 

In the OP and Msmillie's examples, the passengers didn't even arrive late to the hotel. There simply were not rooms available for them upon their arrival! I think the question many of us have with the OP's experience is that Regent is a huge worldwide corporation (under the umbrella of NCL), with tons of lawyers at their disposal and tons of lodging contracts worldwide. As TC pointed out in post #33, Regent "knows", almost exactly, how many rooms they'll need, on which night, and at which hotel - 60 days out. If they have contracted (with Fairmont SF) for "X" number of rooms, on "X" night, at a rate of "X" dollars per room, and have paid a huge contractual amount of money up front to that hotel to "hold" and guarantee those rooms -- It seems, at least to "this guy", that it would be a contract violation for those "X" number of rooms NOT to be available on that day for the required number of booked Regent guests who show up at the reception desk.

 

In a "past life", I used to be on the board of directors of a large humane society. We would have annual functions where I would "book and block" many rooms at a local hotel for out-of-town supporters. I would reserve "X" number of rooms at the hotel and would pre-pay for those rooms. All of those rooms were ALWAYS available for all the number of guests I and the hotel had agreed to, without fail, and no matter what hour of the day the guests arrived. It was not difficult or "uncertain".

 

This should not be an "issue" with Regent passengers either, UNLESS Regent's contracts do not contain a prohibition against the hotel "rebooking" or alternatively using those rooms for other non-Regent customers! In that case, this would be Regent's "fault" (oversight) and not the hotel's - and would be a failing on the part of Regent to "protect" their customers from disappointment and a poor "luxury experience".

 

From a simple risk management (and public relations) standpoint - unless the public relations "fallout" from a screw up like this is inconsequential to Regent (which I'm not asserting here) - I would think that Regent would make certain that their lodging contracts were written in such a way as to legally forbid any of their contracted hotel properties from "reselling" those guaranteed number of blocked rooms to anyone else after Regent has contracted and paid for them. Particularly when that "promise" of a "pre-cruise luxury hotel experience" is one of the prime cornerstones of their marketing plan.

[RachelG]

Yes, Pingpong, I did indeed guarantee the room with a credit card. I didn't know we would be arriving late until we were in route. Yes, I should have called, but it should not have made a difference. I had no idea that they would give our room away. I was really really mad at the time, particularly since I had two very grouchy tired kids with me. Another couple (on our same flight) also had the same issue as I recall.

 

And just 2 weeks ago, at a completely different grade of hotel, my son had the same experience. He was attending a cattlemen's conference in a small town. Not a lot of hotel options. I had reserved his room at Hampton Inn with my credit card. He didn't show up till after midnight, and they had given it away. They told him the hotel was overbooked and sent him across the street to a Motel 6. He didn't make a fuss, because he doesn't really care where he sleeps, but I would have been livid if it had been me. They did not charge us.

[WesW]

On occasion when a thread may have reputational impact on the Regent brand, I forward to the President of Regent, Jason Montague. Below is what Jason explained to me this morning:

 

Thanks Wes - the Hotel unfortunately did not let us know they overbooked the hotel until passengers were getting there so we had to scramble to get them in other hotels. Obviously difficult when it was a third party mistake but nonetheless we are responsible as we chose that Hotel property as our partner. Working to make it up to each impacted guest when they board.

All the best.Jason

Edited May 8, 2018 by WesW

[ronrick1943]

1. When you have a "guarantee" room reservation, the hotel should hold that room no matter what time you check in.

2. Should they be over booked and gave your room away they need to compensate Regent/you period.

3. Since Regent booked the room Regent should handle the problem and compensate you for any inconvenience. Regent will get back

from the hotel as they are the contractor.

4. You can't compare this with late aircraft arrival or delayed ship boarding, it's just not the same thing.

5. People that post shouldn't post wrong information then correct it later. If you don't know the facts about what your talking about you

shouldn't post until you get the facts. That's how people get wrong information and pass it on to others.

6. I also agree with others the it's just good PR for Regent to monitor this board and correct wrong information-they don't have to give

detailed information---just a correct statement if they see things going down hill.

7. Regent does compensate you when something goes really wrong and Regent has control and or contracts with another supplier. Regent

deals with the cruiser, then works with the contractor for what Regent needs. It has happened to me and we've been compensate by

Regent. What happened, the amount of compensation is between us and Regent.

[pingpong1]

Hi Wes - Good info! I think everyone might "understand" when things like this happens if it is explained and acknowledged. Regent could help itself a lot by having a more proactive and forward leaning public relations operation. Would you consider coming out of retirement!!??

[ronrick1943]

On occasion when a thread may have reputational impact on the Regent brand, I forward to the President of Regent, Jason Montague. Below is what Jason explained to me this morning:

Thanks Wes - the Hotel unfortunately did not let us know they overbooked the hotel until passengers were getting there so we had to scramble to get them in other hotels. Obviously difficult when it was a third party mistake but nonetheless we are responsible as we chose that Hotel property as our partner. Working to make it up to each impacted guest when they board.

All the best.Jason

 

Now that was a great most, wouldn't have it been to have that information a while back direct from Regent and this post wouldn't have gone on like it did. Thanks Wes for posting. Rick

[flossie009]

On occasion when a thread may have reputational impact on the Regent brand, I forward to the President of Regent, Jason Montague. Below is what Jason explained to me this morning:

 

Thanks Wes - the Hotel unfortunately did not let us know they overbooked the hotel until passengers were getting there so we had to scramble to get them in other hotels. Obviously difficult when it was a third party mistake but nonetheless we are responsible as we chose that Hotel property as our partner. Working to make it up to each impacted guest when they board.

All the best.Jason

Wes,

Thanks for this and good to hear that Regent recognises its responsibilities, whoever in the Regent supply chain is at fault.

[WesW]

Kevin, Rick, David & Susan--you are very welcome.

 

No worries Jackie.

 

Ida points out the dozens of mistakes I make each week, fortunately taking her on a Regent cruise (or for the first time next March a Seabourn cruise Myanmar & Malayasia) helps balance the mistake scale :)

 

Pingpong1/Kevin, thanks for thinking of me and tho spent a wonderful year (Army loaned me) with Fleishman-Hillard PR and over a decade of PR Service with the Army & Joint Services, priority now is making Ida happy and cruising :)

Edited May 8, 2018 by WesW

[Travelcat2]

Hopefully what happens between the passengers and Regent will be kept confidential - on this and all issues.

 

Wes, thanks for acknowledging that we all make mistakes. Some are funny like yours was and other things are posted based on incorrect information given to the poster. In any case, no one intentionally posts incorrect information.

 

In the meantime, hotels will continue to give away guaranteed reservations, flights will cause us grief on a regular basis and mistakes will be made by Regent and/or their contractors. Such is life!

[fizzy]

Wes,

Thanks for this and good to hear that Regent recognises its responsibilities, whoever in the Regent supply chain is at fault.

Very well put.

[Travelcat2]

Wes,

Thanks for this and good to hear that Regent recognises its responsibilities, whoever in the Regent supply chain is at fault.

 

According to the response from Jason Montague, Regent was not at fault - the hotel was at fault and Regent tried to correct it (even though it is technically not their responsibility to do so). Regent cannot take responsibility for all airlines and hotels they contract with - particularly when they are major national companies. This no more Regent's fault than it is Regent's fault when an airline cancels a flight that Regent had their passengers booked on. So many times hotels, land contractors, tour operators make mistakes and Regent is left to pick up and pieces and try to make their customers happy. The alternative would be to stop including airfare, hotels, transfers and excursions to their passengers.

 

As Mr. Montague stated it was a "third party mistake". Just want the facts to be presented as Mr Montague stated and that Wes was kind enough to post!

Edited May 9, 2018 by Travelcat2

[LynnRuns]

I respectfully disagree. Regent has decided to offer an "all inclusive product" to it's consumers. Just as my company outsources work or services that are not part of our core competence to 3rd parties, Regent does the same. They want to provide a product that includes air, excursions and hotels. These services are not in their set of core competencies, so they outsource the services to a vendor.

When the quality of service by one of outsourced providers is not up to our company's quality commitment, I can assure you our customers are not being told to get over it, it's a 3rd party's fault and not at all our problem. Our customers expect us to make things right. As should Regent.

My guess is that Regent eventually did, though not timely enough for the thread starter.

(Btw one night in the Stanford is cheaper than the Faitmont, so I would also guess that Regent would have recouped some cost which should be used offset the cost to make amends with their customers.)

[Travelcat2]

I respectfully disagree. Regent has decided to offer an "all inclusive product" to it's consumers. Just as my company outsources work or services that are not part of our core competence to 3rd parties, Regent does the same. They want to provide a product that includes air, excursions and hotels. These services are not in their set of core competencies, so they outsource the services to a vendor.

When the quality of service by one of outsourced providers is not up to our company's quality commitment, I can assure you our customers are not being told to get over it, it's a 3rd party's fault and not at all our problem. Our customers expect us to make things right. As should Regent.

My guess is that Regent eventually did, though not timely enough for the thread starter.

(Btw one night in the Stanford is cheaper than the Faitmont, so I would also guess that Regent would have recouped some cost which should be used offset the cost to make amends with their customers.)

 

As you may or may not know, cruise lines work under a totally different set of rules than companies in the United States. you may want to look into taxation, etc. for cruise lines - you will likely be surprised at how different they are. Then, when you have time, take a good look at the Regent contract. It basically says that they are not responsible for anything unless something happens to their ships. So, what Regent does for their passengers is above and beyond what they are required to do (by far).

 

They do not "outsource" hotel or airlines but rather contract for a certain number of rooms or seats on fights. If Regent (or any other cruise line) suddenly became responsible for errors that airlines or hotels make, it would be a problem.

 

It would have been impossible for Regent to react to the hotels mistake when they did not know about it until after Regent guests were being displaced. And, we have no idea what the TS thinks at this point as they have not returned to this thread.

 

In terms of what what Regent pays for each hotel, due to the number of passengers they need to find hotel rooms for, they regularly put their passengers into different hotels and the rates are not the same - some are better than others. It is a matter of supply and demand. They have never reimbursed a customer because their hotel was less money than someone else on the same cruise.

 

I understand how easy it is to place all the blame on Regent but it would really help if all of us knew exactly where Regent's responsibilities lie. This would avoid some of the long threads and arguments such as we are having on this thread.

 

Sometimes I am told that I always stick up for Regent (not true BTW). Rather than sticking up for them, I read (and reread) the legal documents that we are given when we sail with Regent as well as what is shown very clearly on their website. To be honest, it can be frightening since (as I just mentioned) they are not responsible for most things that occur. I'm not judging whether this is right or wrong - it just is what it is. Either we accept it and sail with Regent or we opt for another type of vacation.

 

Not trying to start another debate or argument. I really believe that this thread would end if everyone read the legal document as it makes things extremely clear.

 

P.S. Cannot resist stating the most harsh (In my opinion) rule that Regent and most other cruise lines have. If you or the person you are traveling with die the day before the cruise, you are still responsible for the cruise fare. If you do not have insurance, this is the reality.

Edited May 9, 2018 by Travelcat2

[CruisetheCs]

If Regent contracted with the hotel to buy rooms and then sells the rooms as part of a package to the customer, then Regent has some responsibility to those who bought the package whether it is a moral or legal responsibility or simply a matter of integrity.

 

Jason Montague seems quite clear about this concept when he says, "Obviously difficult when it was a third party mistake but nonetheless we are responsible as we chose that Hotel property as our partner.

 

If someone wants to put forth an argument that Regent has no responsibility, then I would suggest that the appropriate person to debate the issue with is Mr. Montague rather than on this thread.

 

My issue in all of this is Regent's antiquated communication strategy. If WesW hadn't stepped in as Regent's communication channel, we still wouldn't know what happened

[Travelcat2]

Not going to argue as the contracts speak for themselves, but will say that anyone could have contacted Jason Montague and he would have answered. He he very responsive to Regent customers and is also a lovely man!

 

I will post one paragraph from the contract as it pertains to hotels:

 

":g. If any component of Your CruiseTour, such as the hotel at which You are scheduled to stay, is changed or substituted, We will use reasonable efforts to obtain a substitute for such component which is substantially equivalent therefore, but shall have no liability to You in connection with such substitution or change."

 

If all posters on this thread read the contract, the conversation would be completely different.

[MalbecWine]

I respectfully disagree. Regent has decided to offer an "all inclusive product" to it's consumers. Just as my company outsources work or services that are not part of our core competence to 3rd parties, Regent does the same. They want to provide a product that includes air, excursions and hotels. These services are not in their set of core competencies, so they outsource the services to a vendor.

When the quality of service by one of outsourced providers is not up to our company's quality commitment, I can assure you our customers are not being told to get over it, it's a 3rd party's fault and not at all our problem. Our customers expect us to make things right. As should Regent.

My guess is that Regent eventually did, though not timely enough for the thread starter.

(Btw one night in the Stanford is cheaper than the Faitmont, so I would also guess that Regent would have recouped some cost which should be used offset the cost to make amends with their customers.)

 

Excellent explanation!

[MalbecWine]

Not going to argue as the contracts speak for themselves, but will say that anyone could have contacted Jason Montague and he would have answered. He he very responsive to Regent customers and is also a lovely man!

 

I will post one paragraph from the contract as it pertains to hotels:

 

":g. If any component of Your CruiseTour, such as the hotel at which You are scheduled to stay, is changed or substituted, We will use reasonable efforts to obtain a substitute for such component which is substantially equivalent therefore, but shall have no liability to You in connection with such substitution or change."

 

If all posters on this thread read the contract, the conversation would be completely different.

 

TravelCat all contracts have holes in them and can be challenged. Small claims court would be the easiest and cheapest way to go. You file in your state and pay a fee for filing and if a Regent lawyer does not show up, the plaintiff will get an automatic judgement.

 

The problem, is the loss worth it but out of principal some people will use those methods to make a point.