Confused about pricing and offers!

[vegasdriven]

Ok, I am going to be very careful not to mention any names of TAs or companies, though I assume Regent, and Cruise Critic are alright to talk about, as we are on CC site, and Regent boards. Please let me know if I have this wrong.

We are very much looking forward to our upcoming cruise on Voyager, Jan 7- Miami to Miami-10 days.. We were very pleased when we booked in Aug, to receive the price at par, paying the charge in Canadian for the American price, quite as substantial savings for us.

Since , I have been telling everyone and sundry about this great deal that Regent offers!

 

Being the detail oriented individual that I am, I decided to see if our category was sold out, or if prices have risen in general, and I was surprised to see that the same category is available (guaranteed), but at a much higher price-$6699 as opposed to $5199 which is what we paid. Now, don't get me wrong, I am happy that we got it at the lower price, but it got me thinking, that seems pretty close to what you would pay if you were paying in Can$ without the at par promo, however the 6699 price is in that promotion. Hope I'm being clear here, and you are still following along.

 

Ok, so I looked up the deal that this site is showing for that cruise, and it is being listed at the original price. Something smells wrong here!

 

I wonder if anyone would be kind enough to look at the Regent site (what you see in the states), and let me know what the price of that cruise shows to you.

 

[Travelcat2]

Okay - so I did a bit of research.  You didn't mention the category to check so I checked a few:

 

Lowest Category (full) $5,199/person

"G" - $5,599/person

"F" - $5,899

"E" - $6,199

 

Keep in mind that Business Class air is not available because the ship departs and returns to Miami - a domestic port (note:  as strange as it sounds, Canada is considered domestic by Regent and by most U.S. based airlines).  

 

If you opt out of air, there is a $300/person credit

If you opt out of the hotel (if you are in a concierge or above suite), the credit is $150/person

 

 

 

[vegasdriven]

Thanks Travelcat!

That is a bit disappointing as what we see here in Canada for the lowest category is $6699. Now, as I said we were lucky enough to pay the $5199, and I am happy for that, but it does not look good for future cruises if they are being sold as at par, but the price we see is an inflated price.

To my way of thinking false advertising! I guess it might be worth it to talk to customer service while on board.

[Anna201213]

So it is not Canadian at Par  if the price is $ 5199 US why it is $ 6699 in Canadian money for the same category. I live in Canada. 

Category G: $7199 

                 F: $ 7599

                 E: $ 7999

 

I do not understand at par is supposed to be at par

[Wendy The Wanderer]

15 hours ago, Anna201213 said:

So it is not Canadian at Par  if the price is $ 5199 US why it is $ 6699 in Canadian money for the same category. I live in Canada. 

Category G: $7199 

                 F: $ 7599

                 E: $ 7999

 

I do not understand at par is supposed to be at par

 

I'm Canadian too, but can't check the prices right now because I'm in the States for a while. But this does sound fishy.  I do believe that their standard USD->CAD adjustment online is not dynamic, but static, but the above shouldn't be happening.

 

Is it possible that the at-par offer no longer applies, since final payment is past, and the cruise is imminent?

[vegasdriven]

Hi Wendy- that could be possible except that it states right on the offer- CA$ at par!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

3 hours ago, vegasdriven said:

Hi Wendy- that could be possible except that it states right on the offer- CA$ at par!

 

I guess the only way to check with being checking with a TA.

[bccolaman]

We booked an at par sailing a few weeks ago, our final price was definitely at par and not the $$ showing on the Canadian website.   Think it is confusing as the website is not adjusting the rate automatically.

This will be our first sailing with Regent after several with Celebrity and am excited about cruising again!

[Henk123]

The price here in the Netherlands for G suite is: €4539 = $5094 = CAD 6745

 

[DatawCruiser]

Hey there VegasDriven,

 

Looks like we are on the same cruise.  Just wanted to let you know that after we booked our concierge suite, there was an offer for a 3 category upgrade.  We checked with our TA who was able to score a penthouse B suite for us. I'm not sure if this is still available, but is worth asking.  See you in Miami.

[vegasdriven]

Datawcruiser- Very nice! We have not received any offers to upgrade- possibly because we booked a guarantee (we will probably be shaking at the back of the boat😄).

I guess I could check with my ta, but in any case this is our first cruise with Regent or any luxury line so I am sure we will be happy with our room, I have the ear plugs ready.

See you onboard.

[golfgirls]

In my experience, the Canadian website shows the USD price plus the conversion rate as the price that we see.  So it is important to be able to go to a US site, perhaps your TA’s or another one in the US, to see what your pricing should be for a special offer at par.    I do often rely on the good ole ‘brochure’ for this purpose as well.  These ‘at par’ offers are definitely the best prices for we Canadians in my opinion but yes you do need to do a bit of investigation to find your ‘real’ price. 

 

Any good TA will get both USD and CAD info right away.

[vegasdriven]

golf girls- I was wondering if that was the case- that you need to find out the us price and ask for that. However when I booked back in Aug the price I saw on the Can site was the same or very close to what was on the US site. I know this because I checked with a couple of online Ta's, one of which told me she could not give me that price at par, but then she called me back to say she could (that whole thing put me off using her), so I took it to a local ta, which didn't work out so well for other reasons, but I did get the price I wanted at par.

Obviously, I need to get on this "good" ta thing as soon as possible. If only I knew how to find one, sigh!

[1982CruzStart]

one good way is to ask your fellow CC'ers onboard the ship.  Maybe you can ask people at the M&M if they are willing to share their TA experiences. 

Good luck. It makes a lot of differences to us Canadians to find someone that can offer the extra perks. 

[vegasdriven]

Yes, Cruzstart that is a good plan. I hope there will be a M&M on this cruise, but I have my doubts as there is no rollcall established as yet.

I can just see myself hanging out at the bar accosting everyone who walks by😏

Nah, not my style. I dont plan to work that hard at it, but if the opportunity presents itself, I will take it.

Knowing how helpful everyone is on this forum, I think we will do just fine.

[Cerinda]

Vegasdriven, if we can find each other onboard --I'm often found in the Observation Lounge with my nose in a book-- I'll happily share my TA contacts with you. Looking forward to it!

[vegasdriven]

Cerinda, I might be right there beside you with my kindle🙂

I did see there are a few people registered for a M&M, and I tried to add the two of us, but as we have a guarantee cabin we don't have a room # so I'm not able to do that at this point. I will keep checking to see if there will be enough people registered to have one.

Hope to meet you

Debra

[UUNetBill]

I just contacted my TA today to see about getting on this one as well.  If we put it together, I'll get on the M&M, too - but we're looking at the GTY so won't have a cabin # either...

 

Here's hoping...I need a getaway!!

[vegasdriven]

UUNetBill, hope you get onboard🛳 Does it seem like this cruise is not booking that quickly- I am surprised that they still have everything available down from the upper tier suites on the Regent site?

Sure hope there is an M&M on this cruise.

[UUNetBill]

2 hours ago, vegasdriven said:

UUNetBill, hope you get onboard🛳 Does it seem like this cruise is not booking that quickly- I am surprised that they still have everything available down from the upper tier suites on the Regent site?

Sure hope there is an M&M on this cruise.

Vegasdriven, yes, I was surprised at the availability, but dining reservations and excursions were pretty picked over.  A quick call to Regent straightened out the dining issues and we found some excursions we liked but we’ll talk to DS once we get on board.

 

I’m just happy to have another cruise booked...