April 10 to select shore excursions but still not listed

[greenolaker]

I am really frustrated with my first Regent cruise and the ability to select shore excursions. We can select them April 10th but I am still not able to get the PDF e-mailed to me. There are some listed on the web site with prices but others that were there yesterday are no longer showing. When I try to have the PDF mailed to me it has the message that no shore excursions are available yet. I have called Regent a few times. I was told to not go by what is on the web site and wait for the PDF. This morning I was told that the shore excursion desk is having a problem with the PDF and I "should" get a PDF this afternoon once the problem is fixed. At this rate, I doubt that I will be able to log  on to select excursions when it opens at midnight EST. Is this typical? My travel agent called yesterday and was told that the PDF is not available. 

[RachelG]

Even though they are having trouble with the PDF, you should be able to go online on the rssc.com site and see what excursions are probably going to be offered.  I have never had them email me a PDF.  I just look online ahead of time, pick a few that I think I would like, then when the day for booking comes around, I book them online.  There are always a few last minute changes, so look at the list when booking to make sure something you would really like hasn't been added.  And have a couple of back up choices in case what you had pre-picked isn't actually being offered. 

[greenolaker]

Thanks Rachel.  I have been looking at the web site and selected some excursions for each port. The problem is that some that were listed yesterday are not listed anymore i.e. private car, etc. The selection is a lot smaller today with fewer  excursions offered in each port.The two different Regent agents told me not to go by what is offered on the web side as the PDF will have the authentic list of excursions. I guess I will see when I can select the excursions at 11 p.m. CST tonight.

[rcandkc]

I would be frustrated too.  My husband is not up at 11 so I’m doing the booking but we have always been able to get list a day ahead so we can go over together.   I’m sorry this is happening and I don’t know why it is. It should not in my opinion. 

Edited April 9, 2019 by rcandkc
Added

[Travelcat2]

In all of our Regent cruises, we have not had precise excursion details in advance and it hasn’t been a big deal.  What is available is information on excursions offered previously which is helpful and allows us to plan excursions that we hope are still being offered.  My DH and I have a list of excursions that we hope to book weeks before they are available for booking.  

 

As we know, Regent has contracts with many tour operators.  They try to have all contracts, pricing and excursion offerings ready months before the cruise.  This is quite the challenge.  And, there are times when some excursions are not finalized on the date when excursions open for booking.   This is the way it is.

 

If excursions are not ready, this means that no one can book them so it there should be no concern that they will be booked up.

 

 

[forgap]

8 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

In all of our Regent cruises, we have not had precise excursion details in advance and it hasn’t been a big deal.  What is available is information on excursions offered previously which is helpful and allows us to plan excursions that we hope are still being offered.

This is really not the case.  On all of our cruises we have had a thorough pdf copy of listings.  Recently, however, this has changed.  We had a thread on CC about this as many of us want to peruse the list over a glass of wine in anticipation of the voyage.   Sure, excursions are tweaked beyond the day we choose them, but having nothing listed is a new, unfortunate phenomenon.  

[greenolaker]

Just wanted to post an update. I never received the PDF. I went online at 11:00 p.m. CST and it listed every excursion as not available. I thought I would give it one more go before I went to bed so at 11:20 p.m. I went online and every excursion was available!  I was able to book every excursion with no problem. There were no new excursions listed and no many choices in each port. We want to book a private car in Saigon which was an option in the what was offered on previous cruises but not offered on our cruise. I will call my travel agent to find out if it can be booked on board. 

[flossie009]

28 minutes ago, greenolaker said:

We want to book a private car in Saigon which was an option in the what was offered on previous cruises but not offered on our cruise. I will call my travel agent to find out if it can be booked on board. 

I am sure Regent will offer this option; however booking through them will be pricey.

Why not try investigating booking direct with a local company, either on-line or via your TA; unless you have lots of OBC to use.

 

Very annoying that you were not able to get a pdf for available excursions ahead of time.

[Paul Bradley]

1 hour ago, greenolaker said:

I went online at 11:00 p.m. CST and it listed every excursion as not available. I thought I would give it one more go before I went to bed so at 11:20 p.m. I went online and every excursion was available!  I was able to book every excursion with no problem. 

 

That's exactly what happened to us when we did our excursion bookings for Alaska. The only difference for us is that we did actually receive the pdf the day before, although the excursions were very similar, if not identical, to those listed previously on the website. 

[SWFLAOK]

On 4/10/2019 at 10:30 AM, greenolaker said:

Just wanted to post an update. I never received the PDF. I went online at 11:00 p.m. CST and it listed every excursion as not available. I thought I would give it one more go before I went to bed so at 11:20 p.m. I went online and every excursion was available!  I was able to book every excursion with no problem. There were no new excursions listed and no many choices in each port. We want to book a private car in Saigon which was an option in the what was offered on previous cruises but not offered on our cruise. I will call my travel agent to find out if it can be booked on board. 

I went online at 11:00pm in Galveston TX and was able, through "my bookings", to see what was available at each port for booking. There were way fewer excursions available than what was shown as "previously offered" excursions for our cruise, and no private cars or vans were listed. Unfortunately, the 2 excursions I had most wanted to book (Kato park in Kuching, and Franklin Islands in Cairns) were not listed, so I had to make other choices. It took me over an hour to do the bookings, but I got it all done and confirmed with an email. When we spoke to our TA about it, she said that excursions change a lot in some areas, such as SE Asia, and past excursions are often no longer available since tour operators come and go. The excursions I really wanted (not car or van), were no longer shown on "previously offered" excursions for this cruise when I checked it at 7:00am on the 10th.

I didn't try for a PDF since we're currently on vacation in Texas, and a PDF is harder to get downloaded than going to a website. 

[greenolaker]

18 minutes ago, SWFLAOK said:

I went online at 11:00pm in Galveston TX and was able, through "my bookings", to see what was available at each port for booking. There were way fewer excursions available than what was shown as "previously offered" excursions for our cruise, and no private cars or vans were listed. Unfortunately, the 2 excursions I had most wanted to book (Kato park in Kuching, and Franklin Islands in Cairns) were not listed, so I had to make other choices. It took me over an hour to do the bookings, but I got it all done and confirmed with an email. When we spoke to our TA about it, she said that excursions change a lot in some areas, such as SE Asia, and past excursions are often no longer available since tour operators come and go. The excursions I really wanted (not car or van), were no longer shown on "previously offered" excursions for this cruise when I checked it at 7:00am on the 10th.

I didn't try for a PDF since we're currently on vacation in Texas, and a PDF is harder to get downloaded than going to a website. 

I received an email yesterday from Regent informing me that I could now book my shore excursions. It also mentioned The Executive Collection which offers private cars and guides and to call Regent to find out about it. I called and would be able to book a private car for Saigon. The price was around double booking a private tour on my own but I have tons of shore credits that I probably wouldn’t use so I think I can use them for this. Anyway I will call tomorrow to confirm that. 

 

It is disappointing that so many excursions that were listed on the web site as previously offered excursions are not offered now. I was able to book something for all of our ports and even today nothing is sold out. 

[UUNetBill]

12 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

I went online at 11:00pm in Galveston TX and was able, through "my bookings", to see what was available at each port for booking. There were way fewer excursions available than what was shown as "previously offered" excursions for our cruise, and no private cars or vans were listed. Unfortunately, the 2 excursions I had most wanted to book (Kato park in Kuching, and Franklin Islands in Cairns) were not listed, so I had to make other choices. It took me over an hour to do the bookings, but I got it all done and confirmed with an email. When we spoke to our TA about it, she said that excursions change a lot in some areas, such as SE Asia, and past excursions are often no longer available since tour operators come and go. The excursions I really wanted (not car or van), were no longer shown on "previously offered" excursions for this cruise when I checked it at 7:00am on the 10th.

I didn't try for a PDF since we're currently on vacation in Texas, and a PDF is harder to get downloaded than going to a website. 

Did you try calling Regent directly to see if maybe some other options are available?  I know they've helped me in the past with waitlists and other issues, not sure if they have access to excursions that aren't on the website, but it can't hurt to call...

[SWFLAOK]

No, but our cruise TA called yesterday, and she checked that the excursions we were looking at were not currently available. We have worked our excursions around the "previously offered " excursions, but we are definitely still very disappointed. Skipping the port in Brunei due to political issues, and then adding 4 hours to the stop in Kuching, while eliminatinating excursions at that port makes us unhappy. We will go to the Wiildlife park in the afternoon when we will

see no orangutans based on previous review. We did not want to do that excursion but it is the only nature excursion offered in a long day in port.

[gb58]

We were able to book all of our excursions for our Cultural Awakenings cruise in December on April 10th. with no problems. 

On our last (first) Regent cruise in November, we booked all of our excursions in advance. However, the choice when we got on board was much better. We were able to go to the Excursions Desk & switch some of our booked excursions for ones which we liked better. Maybe that will be the case this time as well.

[SWFLAOK]

I will check again in the future to see if the excursions we really wanted become available and ask our TA to make the changes. She likes it when we give here something to do now and then. And we'll check again when we get onboard. On our previous Regent Cruise, we were able to get all of our excursions online, in advance, and did not have to look at what was available after boarding. On other cruise lines, we have found few, if any, additional excursions offered. On several cruises on other cruise lines, we have found our confirmed excursions cancelled, with no additional excursions offered. On one cruise line (Sea Dream) all of our excursions were cancelled, due to lack of participants, and we had prepaid for them. We had to get our TA involved to get our money back. 

[UUNetBill]

Maybe I've just been lucky over the past 10 years but I've found that between the website, the occasional call to Regent's home office, and some quick inquiries on board I've been able to get the excursions I've wanted probably about 98% of the time.  We did have one or two cancelled for lack of participation (and a 3-day pre-cruise trip as well) but for the most part they've been able to accommodate us.

 

I hope you're able to get everything set up to your satisfaction.

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

I tried to get the PDF before my excursion booking date, which was the other night. They were never posted. This was the first time it has happened. Spoke to Regent. There was a glitch in their system. But  I was told that the tours would be available on line at the designated time. They were. I made my selections. But it took me over an hour for chore that is normally 10 minutes. 

I had to review them and check time availability. 

I hope my next cruise excursion PDF is available before selections are open. 

Sheila 

 

 

[rcandkc]

I hope Regent will address this issue.  My husband is not awake when it is the opening time to pick tours.  I stay awake to do it. We like to pick together.  I don’t think 24 to 48 hour advance listing is unreasonable.  Please Regent fix this. 

[Travelcat2]

On 4/10/2019 at 3:31 AM, forgap said:

This is really not the case.  On all of our cruises we have had a thorough pdf copy of listings.  Recently, however, this has changed.  We had a thread on CC about this as many of us want to peruse the list over a glass of wine in anticipation of the voyage.   Sure, excursions are tweaked beyond the day we choose them, but having nothing listed is a new, unfortunate phenomenon.  

 

I did not mean that the pdf was not available - I meant that we have never needed one.  We look at previous excursions on the Regent website (which has been improved and is now easier than ever to find excursions for different ports) and make decisions (also with a glass of wine). When excursions open up, I book whatever is available that we chose previously.  If my DH were asleep (doesn’t happen to people that live on the west coast because we book at 9:00 p.m.), I would guess as to which one he would choose.  If I’m wrong, I’d call Regent the next morning and change it.

 

For newbies that book lower category suites, you will not be able to book excursions until after higher categories and the Seven Seas Society members book (we book at 140 days - forget when others book - information is available on the rssc.com website - I can’t access it at the moment).

 

We end up cancelling at least 70% of included excursions so - even if you can’t book online, there are plenty of cancellations and you can usually get one of the included excursions.  On the other hand, Regent Choice excursions are sometimes limited so they may be harder to come by (even we do not cancel those).

 

 

 

[LadyandtheTramp]

The last time we booked excursions (Feb. 18 for our upcoming Oct. cruise), we were able to obtain a PDF of all excursions for all ports for our 30+ day trip almost a week in advance of booking day.  Linda and I both independently reviewed all of them to select our favorites - which we then input into an Excel spreadsheet by date so that we could compare and prioritize the selections. (Yeah, I know, I know) 

 

Then, on the 18th, Linda went online at midnight and saw that every excursion was fully booked.  Kept trying for about half an hour, then came in and complained; we discussed canceling the cruise if there weren't going to be an excursions that we could do.  (Our whole purpose in cruising is port-calls to see different parts of the world.)  When we woke up six hours later, she tried again, and was able to book every one of our first choices for excursions.  So we think someone was literally asleep at the switch when the excursion booking should have gone live.

[Paul Bradley]

1 hour ago, LadyandtheTramp said:

Linda and I both independently reviewed all of them to select our favorites - which we then input into an Excel spreadsheet by date so that we could compare and prioritize the selections. (Yeah, I know, I know) 

 

Don't worry, you aren't alone......! 😉    By doing that, I was able to get us two interesting excursions per day in two ports, and as we're unlikely to get back to Alaska, that's a big plus. 

 

Heck, I'm an Excelaholic - use it all the time at work and I've spreadsheets for everything at home, so why not cruise excursions....?! 😂

[SWFLAOK]

On 4/21/2019 at 8:07 PM, Travelcat2 said:

For newbies that book lower category suites, you will not be able to book excursions until after higher categories and the Seven Seas Society members book (we book at 140 days - forget when others book - information is available on the rssc.com website - I can’t access it at the moment).

It will be our third Regent Cruise, and we're in a Penthouse Suite. I booked at midnight of April 10th for our December 6th cruise because I was able to book excursions 240 days out. I did not receive any notification other than excursions were available for me to book. I had make my selections  based on previous excursions available, but many were not available. I did my best selecting both included and paid tours, but as I said, a few that I really wanted weren't offered, and our TA confirmed they weren't offered. 

And the Regent website was extremely slow at 11PM central time, and took over an hour to book excursions when I already knew what I was looking for. It took me about 10 minutes extra to choose excursions other than what I had planned. All of the excursions were available.