Pet peeve with Miami

[forgap]

I recently called Regent with a visa question concerning China that I had already discussed with my TA.   I’m a bit compulsive and wanted to verify the correct information.  I called Regent and they didn’t immediately know the answer and had to contact the destinations department.   They said they would send the answer to my travel agent.  I said “Send it to me.”   They refused, as all communication has to go through our agent.  In the 21st century, this seems absurd.  So, 10 days later...crickets.   I have no idea whether Regent or my agent dropped the ball.   But, knowing my agent, I suspect Regent.  

 

I think this process is cumbersome and disrespectful to a passenger with questions for the home office.   Jason O’Keefe, what say you?  

[UUNetBill]

Well, I’m not Jason, obviously, but I agree that this is somewhat absurd.  I can see specific questions about your bookings needing to go through your TA, but general questions like that should be answered directly, I think.

[BBfromCA]

We also had 3 general questions about an upcoming 2020 cruise and the Miami office said we had to go through our TA. Our TA called and was told "we have to contact the correct department and get back to you". Even after she called 3 times over 3 months, never a call back. We told our TA to give up and we would try to get the answers when we got aboard our current cruise.  So the day after boarding on the Mariner,  I went to the Cruise Consultant to ask him the same 3 questions. He had answers for us within 2 days. Too bad it had to take us 6 months and getting aboard a ship to get answers that Miami should have been able to answer. The Cruise Consultant apologized as he said that Miami should have known the answers and returned the calls to my TA.

[Hambagahle]

While I do see that Regent has to communicate with the TA about "nitty gritty" I also think that they could/should release information to the passenger...   maybe cc-ing the TA  ??  Not too much to ask??

[UUNetBill]

It always surprises me how much the folks in Miami don't know about their product.  It's a shame, really, as most people I speak with there are friendly and professional and always seem positive when I need to call.  Setting up excursions and dining reservations has always been quick and easy for me, but there have been times I've been frustrated calling for simple answers.

 

My biggest head scratcher was a few years ago when Navigator was just out of her last drydock but not showing up as being at sea on Regent's website.  I saw her position on MarineTraffic.com as being where she was scheduled to be (Monte Carlo, I believe) but the Regent rep told me she was still in drydock.  When I told him that she wasn't in drydock but was showing as being in Monte Carlo, he then told me she was scheduled to go into drydock in a few weeks...even though Regent had already posted pictures of the upgrades online...I mean, c'mon - you have 4 ships and don't know when they're in service?  I'd much rather have someone admit they don't know something than to just make things up...

[Travelcat2]

Agree that Miami can be frustrating and long ago I suggested that the Customer Service Reps. be given daily updates so that they know what is going on with each ship.  OTOH, Regent is paying TA's a commission for servicing their passengers.  While I cannot speak for all TA's, ours has contact people at Regent and they can get answers very quickly and they do get back to us within a couple of hours.

 

There isn't an easy answer here.  Posters have long said that some information they obtained from Regent Corporate was incorrect (as Bill indicated above).  Personally, I would rather hear that they will find out the answer rather than be given wrong information.  However, follow-through is important and that issue needs to be resolved!  

 

For now I will continue to contact my TA for questions (except those regarding dining and excursion reservations).  If what they say doesn't sound right (rarely happens), they are happy to double check.  

[forgap]

The issue concerned a Regent post cruise to Xi’an.   I knew I did not need a visa for Hong Kong but I had read a number of horror stories on other cruise lines about passengers who were refused entry and put off the ship because they did not obtain a Chinese visa.  My TA inquired and was told that Regent had a “blanket” visa for those on the post cruise.  I wanted to check with Regent directly as I could vividly imagine a scenario where Regent might say that my TA must have misunderstood.    I know I may be overthinking this, but I wanted to do my due diligence and at least have an email from Regent stating the facts. 

[commodore2010]

I think you are correct in wanting that information.   We did a X'ian in the middle of a Regent cruise about 13 years ago and I am almost positive that we got/needed a visa.  Visa requirements change, so maybe you don't need it, but I would want to be certain.  I would check my passport for you, but I have renewed it since.

[forgap]

I know that a visa is needed for China.  The issue is that I have never heard of a “blanket” visa.   Does our passport get stamped in some way?  What if we are separated from the group?  

[forgap]

I just googled this and may have answered my own question.  This is from the Chinese embassy website:

Updated: 08/2007

 

What is  Tourist Group Visa

1.      The Tourist Group  Visa is the one that issued to a tourist group organized by the travel agency which comprises at least five (5) members who must travel together both in and out of China

2.      The Tourist Group  Visa is evidenced on the Group Tourist Form instead of on the individual passport.

 

 

Edited December 11, 2018 by forgap

[Jason OKeefe]

On ‎12‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 8:25 PM, forgap said:

I recently called Regent with a visa question concerning China that I had already discussed with my TA.   I’m a bit compulsive and wanted to verify the correct information.  I called Regent and they didn’t immediately know the answer and had to contact the destinations department.   They said they would send the answer to my travel agent.  I said “Send it to me.”   They refused, as all communication has to go through our agent.  In the 21st century, this seems absurd.  So, 10 days later...crickets.   I have no idea whether Regent or my agent dropped the ball.   But, knowing my agent, I suspect Regent.  

 

I think this process is cumbersome and disrespectful to a passenger with questions for the home office.   Jason O’Keefe, what say you?   

 

forgap,

 

Thanks for bringing this our attention and I can add the following insight:  

 

When you book through a travel agent, all cost related items associated with the booking are referred back to your travel agent as they control the administration of the reservation.  Our Reservations team can answer only general questions about the ship, accommodation details and/or itinerary/destination information.  Plus, they can assist with any elements related to the MyAccount section of the website and assist with pre-booking shore ex and dining requests.  Regent Choice tours are the exception from a cost-related perspective, as all other cost related items are referred back to your agent to complete.

 

Visa's fall into the cost category.  Some agents will secure these for their guests independently of RSSC and the reason why we do not facilitate for guests directly.  We have no way of knowing this detail and rather than confuse things potentially, we simply pass your questions on to them to further follow-up with you.  

 

This may seem absurd from a guest perspective, but it's just good business practice for us as we strongly value our travel agent relationships. They get annoyed when we give information out to their clients without their involvement, and they prefer for us to pass these details back to them for handling. 

 

Now, the fact that you did not receive a follow-up to your inquiry is another issue.  Feel free to send me a direct note w/ your booking # and I'll follow-up w/ the team to find out what happened.  Follow-through on these types of inquiries is critical and just good customer service.  This should not happen and am happy to address this issue should anyone encounter.