New RSSC website - only for Europe ??

[Hambagahle]

40 minutes ago, poss said:

Gerry:  Were you able to get the actual PDF of the excursion listings (i.e. with times), or just the list of excursions?   Every time I've asked, I'm told that the actual PDF, the thing with the details, doesn't come out until right around the time when excursions can be booked.    Frustrating, since I like to have a chance to mull them over, and time of departure is a factor in my choosing.

Yes Poss - full descriptions AND times (which are now the same times as the excursions I have confirmed for the cruise...)   Ask Jackie - she kindly told me "which buttons to press" !

[liptastic]

I just went onto the new updated website for the first time.  Quite liked the difference so far. Logged into my account and checked the booked cruises, and for the first time ever I managed to ask for email the PDF format for all excursions, and the email arrived almost instantly.

Start times and prices are shown along with full description of tours. Very impressed with this, although quite possibly this has been available before and I’ve not managed to find this facility?    Jean.

[Travelcat2]

On 7/17/2019 at 5:10 AM, Hambagahle said:

I just about had a heart attack when I went onto the RSSC.com site a few minutes ago  to review the shore excursions for our Splendor cruise in March 2020 - the site had completely changed and for about 10 minutes I could not figure how to get to my "Already booked" cruises.   just imagine!!   In this case "new" is not "improved".  I tried all possible ways including the menu - nothing to take me to "already booked" I finally noticed a little icon on the top righthand corner - looked like the head and shoulders of a person in a tiny circle.  I tried clicking on that and LO!  it took me to the section I needed.  Since our excursions are bookable from tomorrow morning I am glad I found this out today and am posting to make sure that if anyone else has the same problem they know what to do!!

 

Why on earth there is no mention regarding Already Booked Cruises I have no idea.  Presumably the tekkie who revised the site doesn't cruise !

 

I am curious too to know if this change in site only applies to those of us in Europe or if anyone in the US has noticed it ??

 

Gerry, I seriously wish that there were a CC website for Europe (not only the UK as they are not the only country).  Sometimes it is very confusing to respond to questions from people that may or may not state the country that they are in which can make our responses incorrect.

 

Also, if Europe had their own website, those of us in North America would not have to see the incredible specials that are offered in Europe/Mediterranean because cruises are not selling well and the cost of air is so cheap.  

 

Things change and it seems to be time to separate Europe, Asia, Australia/New Zealand, etc.  There are so many differences between what is offered that having one site (or, one site plus the U.K. site) is impractical.

 

In terms of the new North American website (could be similar in other parts of the world), CC members asked for changes and Regent is making changes ......... yet, people are still complaining.  Is this a no-win situation?

[poss]

Weird: I'd telephoned Regent just yesterday to ask about when I might be able to receive the PDF on excursions for our May cruise.   I called today and lo and behold, the kind Regent rep said he'd check just in case it happened to be available all these many months ahead.   Et voila, there it was.  He zipped the PDF to my email address.   All very odd: I certainly can't figure out the ins and outs, ups and downs.   So:  For those who like to see the excursions in advance, it seems it's not a bad idea to check periodically, even though the stated policy is that excursion PDF's come around the time that one can choose excursions.

Edited July 19, 2019 by poss

[Hambagahle]

Jackie -  I was actually referring to the RSSC.com site where there is a separate one for Europe, another for the UK and then for the USA.   Well, actually same site but one is referred to different RSSC addresses depending on where the site thinks you are from!   Because I am in Switzerland the site "deems" I need to be hooked up to RSSC in Frankfurt.  That is the last place I would go for information because I live in the Suisse Romande and if I cannot get info in English I would like it in French.  RSSC Frankfurt sends me all sorts of information in German.  OK - I speak and read German adequately but not enough to read legalese T&Cs.  PLUS and this is a big one - all the fares are in Euros.  We do not use Euros here - we aren't members of the EU and we have the world's strongest currency, the CHF.   I cannot get onto the US site and wish I could because I happen to use a USD account to pay for cruises!!   It is what we call here a "casse-tête" - a nuisance.  Would be great if Regent would allow us to opt for the site that suits best.  US/UK/EU !

[jeb_bud]

6 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

Jackie -  I was actually referring to the RSSC.com site where there is a separate one for Europe, another for the UK and then for the USA.   Well, actually same site but one is referred to different RSSC addresses depending on where the site thinks you are from!   Because I am in Switzerland the site "deems" I need to be hooked up to RSSC in Frankfurt.  That is the last place I would go for information because I live in the Suisse Romande and if I cannot get info in English I would like it in French.  RSSC Frankfurt sends me all sorts of information in German.  OK - I speak and read German adequately but not enough to read legalese T&Cs.  PLUS and this is a big one - all the fares are in Euros.  We do not use Euros here - we aren't members of the EU and we have the world's strongest currency, the CHF.   I cannot get onto the US site and wish I could because I happen to use a USD account to pay for cruises!!   It is what we call here a "casse-tête" - a nuisance.  Would be great if Regent would allow us to opt for the site that suits best.  US/UK/EU !

 

Have you tried installing a VPN and using a USA server?  That should fool rssc.com into taking you to the USA. Site. 

[Hambagahle]

I have VPN on my iPad but not on my computer (I need the VPN for SkyGo..)  Not sure how I would install a US server but I suppose I could ask...

[1982CruzStart]

8 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

Jackie -  I was actually referring to the RSSC.com site where there is a separate one for Europe, another for the UK and then for the USA.   Well, actually same site but one is referred to different RSSC addresses depending on where the site thinks you are from!   Because I am in Switzerland the site "deems" I need to be hooked up to RSSC in Frankfurt.  That is the last place I would go for information because I live in the Suisse Romande and if I cannot get info in English I would like it in French.  RSSC Frankfurt sends me all sorts of information in German.  OK - I speak and read German adequately but not enough to read legalese T&Cs.  PLUS and this is a big one - all the fares are in Euros.  We do not use Euros here - we aren't members of the EU and we have the world's strongest currency, the CHF.   I cannot get onto the US site and wish I could because I happen to use a USD account to pay for cruises!!   It is what we call here a "casse-tête" - a nuisance.  Would be great if Regent would allow us to opt for the site that suits best.  US/UK/EU !

i agree with you. I wish we had a choice of websites as we have the same website as the US but in CAD and we more often buy our cruises in USD as often we can get a better exchange rate through our financial institute than offered by RSSC.  As well if we book onboard or use the 30 day pre-cruise booking we have to book in USD, we don't have a choice, or at least that what i was told when i went to book.  

Some of the other cruise lines we occassionally look at give us the option of choosing which currency we want to use. It really shouldn't be that hard for RSSC to give us some options but i may be wrong.  It is such a pain as i have to go on the CAD website see what the costs are and then have to contact our TA to get the USD in order to determine which way we want to go. 

[baz48]

Figured out the problem with getting to my account on the website.  I had to clear all my browsing history and cookies to fully access the new website.

 

We got a printout of our excursions from our TA a few weeks ago so we could browse and make preliminary selections before being able to sign up next weekend.  It has all the details.

[flossie009]

On 7/18/2019 at 7:11 AM, flossie009 said:

Getting used to the changes on the Regent website but am worried that it appears to be somewhat unstable.

Navigating around the My Account section keeps throwing up random error messages. Anyone else having the same issues?

The new Regent website is fine and we finally got rid of the "gremlins" by clearing the computer browser cache.

 

I agree that it would be useful if Regent gave the facility to change country preferences. This facility might actually curtail the various "grass is greener on the other side" posts if guests were able to easily view relative pricing. 

Although there are specific geographic offers made, often the differences in Regent pricing between countries is simply caused by items such as differing flight arrangements, flight distances, or volatile exchange rates.

We find it particularly annoying that we are unable to access online Regent UK pricing when we are on board as our devices always force-change to the Regent US website 🥴

 

 

Cruising is an international business and the joy of cruising is meeting people from other countries and sailing on itineraries all around the world. The CruiseCritic website, including these Community Boards, reflects that welcome diversity.

There are already separate CruiseCritic websites for the US, UK and Australia although as far as I can see they all have the same content apart from the linked advertising.

Yes, there is sometimes confusion when someone answers a question about booking conditions, flight arrangements, cancellation & medical insurance, visas etc without noting or realising where the original poster resides or understanding the different rules & regulations that apply in various countries. However, the initial confusion is usually corrected within a short time and it is often interesting to reflect on the differences highlighted.

[Hambagahle]

What an excellent post, Flossie 009 -- I share your thoughts entirely!

[jeb_bud]

On 7/19/2019 at 7:17 AM, Hambagahle said:

I have VPN on my iPad but not on my computer (I need the VPN for SkyGo..)  Not sure how I would install a US server but I suppose I could ask...

 

I use NordVPN. When I run it I am given a choice of which country I want the BPN server to be in. I generally choose the country I am in at the time to minimize lag but I can specify any country I want. 

 

your VPN software might have a similar feature perhaps buried in the menus. 

[sanne]

There was a time some years ago that at the top right hand corner of the Regent home page you could select any country and then see different pricing in local currency. I used this a lot as I am Australian but have a US travel agent. 

 

Now there is no option. All I can see is the Australian site but only when I’m home. So annoying when we’re travelling as I can’t see the Australian pricing etc until we get home. 

 

 

[Travelcat2]

7 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

What an excellent post, Flossie 009 -- I share your thoughts entirely!

 

Have to disagree a bit.  In terms of the grass looking greener on the other side, this is because posters in other countries give us information about how much they pay, etc.  There is no way we (those of us in the U.S.) would have a clue what the sales/discounts were if it were not on posted on CC.

 

I do not blame Regent for not wanting open access to the U.K., Australia, etc. websites.  There would likely be hundreds of phone calls asking for clarification every time something appears "different" (which means hiring more Customer Service people and having them knowledgeable about what is going on in different countries).  It seems to me that it is difficult enough for these agents to follow what is going on in North America.  For many reasons (time differences, legal policies for instance) it is better for people to call the Regent offices in their own country rather than calling the U.S. over things that could arise if we had open access to websites.

 

In terms of what flossie posted about it being easy to sort out the differences on CC when we inadvertently give the wrong advice due to country that the TS is from, I strongly disagree.  I have occasionally responded incorrectly (giving information for the U.S. rather than the country where the TS resides) and received some harsh criticism from other posters for my error.  

 

Sharing comments regarding the ships, crew, food and excursions is great but it is best to stay away from airline information, deposits, cancelled cruises and things of that nature.  The easiest way to do this is to have sub-sets of the Regent board that will accommodate passengers from countries around the world.  

 

Yes - Regent is "sort of" an international experience (not nearly as much as Silversea is) but the focus remains on the countries that most passengers are from.  We do not cruise to meet people from other countries as we have plenty of opportunities to do that.  We cruise for the ship experience mostly and to revisit ports that we enjoyed (and occasionally there is even a new port or two).  

 

Sometime I hope that there is a thread about why people from Europe in particular sail on Regent since they have some great cruise lines available to them out of Europe (Europa 2, etc.) and they have more multi-lingual passengers and crew as well as regional food.  

[seaknots]

35 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

Sometime I hope that there is a thread about why people from Europe in particular sail on Regent

maybe they like regent 

[liptastic]

56 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Have to disagree a bit.  In terms of the grass looking greener on the other side, this is because posters in other countries give us information about how much they pay, etc.  There is no way we (those of us in the U.S.) would have a clue what the sales/discounts were if it were not on posted on CC.

 

I do not blame Regent for not wanting open access to the U.K., Australia, etc. websites.  There would likely be hundreds of phone calls asking for clarification every time something appears "different" (which means hiring more Customer Service people and having them knowledgeable about what is going on in different countries).  It seems to me that it is difficult enough for these agents to follow what is going on in North America.  For many reasons (time differences, legal policies for instance) it is better for people to call the Regent offices in their own country rather than calling the U.S. over things that could arise if we had open access to websites.

 

In terms of what flossie posted about it being easy to sort out the differences on CC when we inadvertently give the wrong advice due to country that the TS is from, I strongly disagree.  I have occasionally responded incorrectly (giving information for the U.S. rather than the country where the TS resides) and received some harsh criticism from other posters for my error.  

 

Sharing comments regarding the ships, crew, food and excursions is great but it is best to stay away from airline information, deposits, cancelled cruises and things of that nature.  The easiest way to do this is to have sub-sets of the Regent board that will accommodate passengers from countries around the world.  

 

Yes - Regent is "sort of" an international experience (not nearly as much as Silversea is) but the focus remains on the countries that most passengers are from.  We do not cruise to meet people from other countries as we have plenty of opportunities to do that.  We cruise for the ship experience mostly and to revisit ports that we enjoyed (and occasionally there is even a new port or two).  

 

Sometime I hope that there is a thread about why people from Europe in particular sail on Regent since they have some great cruise lines available to them out of Europe (Europa 2, etc.) and they have more multi-lingual passengers and crew as well as regional food.  

Travelcat 2 I for one feel this is a rather distasteful post against people in Europe as to why we do chose to cruise Regent.  Do you have any issues as to why we cruise with Regent?  

We enjoy immensely cruising on Regent for a wide variety of reasons and have never onboard felt out of place .     Jean.

[flossie009]

1 hour ago, Travelcat2 said:

There is no way we (those of us in the U.S.) would have a clue what the sales/discounts were if it were not on posted on CC.

 

🤔 Where do you see these posts about enormous Regent discounts outside the US? I must have missed them.

I do see the odd comment from guests outside the US wanting to book via US TAs.

 

To me it is all “swings & roundabouts” 

 

[Focused1]

2 hours ago, liptastic said:

Travelcat 2 I for one feel this is a rather distasteful post against people in Europe as to why we do chose to cruise Regent.  Do you have any issues as to why we cruise with Regent?  

We enjoy immensely cruising on Regent for a wide variety of reasons and have never onboard felt out of place .     Jean.

 

Agree.  Distasteful and somewhat offensive to Europeans for sure.

[Travelcat2]

2 hours ago, flossie009 said:

 

🤔 Where do you see these posts about enormous Regent discounts outside the US? I must have missed them.

I do see the odd comment from guests outside the US wanting to book via US TAs.

 

To me it is all “swings & roundabouts” 

 

 

I thought that I knew quite a bit of "British English" based on being married to a Brit for almost 40 years but "swings & roundabouts" is a new one for me.  Yes - you must have missed the many posts on more than one thread approximately 2-3 years ago when posters in the U.S. were going ballistic about fares in the U.K.  A friend in the U.K. even sent me copies of some of the discounted fares for the U.K. only.  Some people posted about trying to get the fares by using their relative's address in the U.K., etc.  At that time it was not about "the grass is greener......." but rather, many of us did not understand why Regent could or would offer these fares (I completely understand it now but did not at the time).  

Focused1 and lipstatic, am I now being bashed for asking an innocent question?  I would not feel that it was distasteful if someone asked me the same question.  I am fairly active on another board where this type of topic is discussed all of the time.  Currently there is a discussion about Europa 2 and why people in the U.S. may or may not like that particular cruise line (do not want to get off topic - just making a reference).  We also discuss why (or why not) we cruise Regent vs. other luxury cruise lines.  No offense is taken on that board so I am a bit taken aback that my intent could be so completely misunderstood on this board.  I am actually interested in why Europeans* are not sailing on the luxury lines that I hear so many good things about (again - especially Europa 2).😯

 

*To insure that I am not misunderstood yet again, I use the term Europeans to include the U.K. although, depending upon whom you ask, they are either part of Europe or they are not.  If referring to the U.K. as being European is also offensive, kindly let me know.  

 

 

[flossie009]

3 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

but rather, many of us did not understand why Regent could or would offer these fares (I completely understand it now but did not at the time)

I do not recall the debate, or heavily discounted fares, but what is your understanding as to why Regent discounted fares in the UK some years ago?

Certainly in the UK we do not get large swathes of OBC, discounted up-sells or free cruises.

I repeat, “what you gain on the swings you lose on the roundabouts” (translation: “six of one, half a dozen of the other”)

 

 

3 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

 I am actually interested in why Europeans* are not sailing on the luxury lines that I hear so many good things about (again - especially Europa 2).

So if Europeans aren’t sailing on them, who is?

Maybe they prefer other cruise lines. Why is this an issue?

 

 

3 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

I use the term Europeans to include the U.K. although, depending upon whom you ask, they are either part of Europe or they are not

The UK is, and always will be, part of Europe.

The process ongoing at present is the UK seeking to cease its membership of the European Union.

Edited July 21, 2019 by flossie009

[Travelcat2]

Gerry, I understand the Brexit situation, however, prior to the EU, some Brits (my DH included) felt that England was an island unto itself and was not part of Europe.  Keep in mind that my DH lived in London prior to when some posters were born so his views may be different.  I have no opinion but did not want to insult anyone. 

 

My curiosity about Europeans selecting Regent over luxury lines like Europa 2 is simply that - curiosity. I read so much about Europa  2, and Hanseatic ( likely misspelled) that I wonder why Regent is better. Is it cost, service, food or ?????  I suspect that it could have to do with language since we almost speak the same language.  Maybe it was was a dumb question but there was no malice behind it.  

 

In any case, if CC had even a sticky for issues that are specific to the U.K. (Or other countries), posters could still post on the Regent board but would have a place to go for issues specific to their country.

[Hambagahle]

I am coming late to this discussion - because of the time difference I suppose!   Let me add a few words from the viewpoint of a Swiss:

 

Brexit - Switzerland voted in 1992 not to join the EU and since then we have had to negotiate every single comma and "full stop" or "period" with the EU on everything.   And the EU has insisted that one agreement be dependent on the rest - i.e. if we vote one down here (and unlike all the other countries we have "direct democracy") ALL will collapse.  Sort of a sword of Damocles over our heads.   We thought several years ago that the British might learn from the Swiss experience.  Apparently not.  And the vote to leave two years ago still has us shaking our heads!  Britain will be treated just like us - wait and see!  That is enough on this divisive issue.

 

US versus British versus German versus French cruise lines:   One of the main reasons why people from my country cruise on Hapag Lloyd is that on those ships you have a German speaking environment.  And why they cruise on Ponant - French speaking environment.   We have 70% German speakers in this country, 20% French and 10% Italian roughly.  (Not taking into account those who speak our 4th national language which is Romansch).   Few Swiss would dream of setting foot on a line like Fred Olsen - far too "english" for us.   But if you are French speaking you are comfortable on Ponant.   Regent is working hard to make inroads into the European market - hence the Southampton and Frankfurt offices.  But they make mistakes - big ones as far as I am concerned!  I get mailings and emails from the Frankfurt office in German.  But I am not a German speaking Swiss and do not live in the German speaking area of my country.  Prices are in Euros.  And we do not use the Euro in Switzerland - why would we?   Before Frankfurt existed Southampton sent me stuff in English (fine with me...) and with prices in GBP.  Not fine.   So Regent has a way to go.    I try to do my bit in recommending Regent and Oceania to friends but still they opt for the European based lines.   It is what it is!

[flossie009]

6 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

In any case, if CC had even a sticky for issues that are specific to the U.K. (Or other countries), posters could still post on the Regent board but would have a place to go for issues specific to their country.

CC does have a section for UK Cruising and a section for Australia & NZ.

I do not see a need for further segregation, but if someone wants to start a selection of stickies for each and every country then I doubt there would be many objections.

 

4 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

Regent is working hard to make inroads into the European market - hence the Southampton and Frankfurt offices.  But they make mistakes

I do agree that Regent needs to take further steps to ensure they are accepted as truly International.

Regent(US) also needs to give their regional offices more autonomy. In our experience every issue that is not totally straightforward (that could be answered by reference to the Regent website) has to be referred back to Miami

[Hambagahle]

When I log on to CC I am told I am on the UK site and "invited" to visit the  USA site...

 

 

[Travelcat2]

Gerry, thank you so much for the detailed explanation.  You addressed the exact points that I was interested.  I can understand wanting to be on a ship where the passengers speak your home language.  

 

flossie - no - do not think that we need a sticky for every country any more than we needed a sticky for every airline or a sticky for every Regent ship on the Seatguru sticky.  It would be nice as a form of reference and can address how the included air, deposits, legal rights (that are definitely different in other countries) and any other pertinent information that is different than what we have in North America.

 

The problem is that I am not familiar with these issues to even start a thread (that could be called something like "Regent Air/Deposits, etc. Outside of N. America").  There are a group of U.K. posters (flossie definitely being one that knows most - if not all of the differences between what is offered here and in the U.K.).  Gerry's post above would have been great to see on an international sticky.

 

Note:  Who knows - if Regent saw an active sticky on these topics, they may pay more attention?

 

 

Edited July 21, 2019 by Travelcat2