Cruises Cancelled Through End of June

[TrulyBlonde]

1 hour ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

 

 

 

I expect  that most of the world is angry, furious, anxious, worried, etc. about this pandemic.  The world as we knew it, no longer exists.  This is not caused by Regent or any other company yet sometimes it is easier to blame this issue on Regent - a company that was successful in January and was falling apart in April.

 

Comments are below your paragraphs above.

This sounds exactly like what the Media is trying to blame our President for??  The economy was great, jobs for all, money for cruises etc. Then the scourge hit us, not just in USA but Worldwide.

[mrstanley]

In order to get my deposit back I’m forced by Regent to make final payment and then hope this cruise gets officially canceled and then wait 90 days or more to get my money back. I’m not interested in a FCC.

 

Per my TA if I don’t want to make final payment I need to give her a written request that I want to cancel the cruise.

Must be done before final payment date.

My deposit now becomes a FCC .

My friends have been told the same thing.

Would love to know how many other people booked on summer cruises are as annoyed as I am.

[orvil]

I can certainly sympathize with MrStanley's frustration.   I think he is correctly upset.  If RSSC isn't going to operate his cruise, he should be able to apply for the return of his deposit without any penalty before the final due date.

 

It's a very bad policy on all of the cruise lines parts.  I opine that there will be a segment of the customer base that will be so disgusted with their treatment, it will be a long time before they deposit long term money with any of the cruise lines.

 

Even worse, we see a long list of people waiting for refunds and only a handful of people who's refunds have been forthcoming.

 

I made my final payment about two weeks before all hell broke loose.  Believe me when I say I regret my timing.  Two weeks after I submitted my final payment, I knew my segment wouldn't operate.  Venice-Venice.  Not going to happen.  I had to patiently wait until RSSC got around to cancelling before I could get in the queue for refunds.  

 

MrStanley, I wish I had a good answer for you.  Your situation sucks.  

 

Edited May 12, 2020 by orvil

[Travelcat2]

3 minutes ago, TrulyBlonde said:

This sounds exactly like what the Media is trying to blame our President for??  The economy was great, jobs for all, money for cruises etc. Then the scourge hit us, not just in USA but Worldwide.

 

Thankfully, nothing political has been said prior to your post.  However, it is true that everyone is being blamed for the virus.  I have said repeatedly that this is a worldwide crisis - one that no one was responsible for.  It is how we deal with the crisis that is important.   Once we start wearing masks and keeping our distance, we will be able to resume cruising (as well as having our children go back to school, people going back to work, etc.). 

 

The one thing that I am guilty of is defending a company that I personally feel has done everything possible for their customers.

[mrstanley]

Excuse me.... if Regent wants to do everything for their customers then refund their money and do it without penalty and in a timely manner. I don’t think thats asking too much. Don’t hold me hostage!

Not smart.

[orvil]

There is the rub.  They haven't done everything possible.  They are withholding refunds for services not rendered and are not processing them in a timely manner.  It appears that they are not even processing them at all.

 

Furthermore, they are not putting any additional resources towards working through the backlog of refunds.  If they were actually processing refunds, we would see a dribble of people getting their refunds on a regular basis.  We are not hearing about any refunds.

 

The airlines are refunding cancelled flights at a reasonable rate.  That's why you aren't hearing people screaming about it.

 

If NCL's accounting department isn't working full time, it's a direct management decision.  They should have shifted additional resources to deal with the accounting backlog.  They seem to have time to process the reservations with FCC.  It's duplicitous.  

Edited May 12, 2020 by orvil

[mrstanley]

People should be screaming when they have thousands of dollars tied up with a

cruise line .

[Travelcat2]

We have about $75K plus $45K FCC’s  “tied up” with Regent” and the only people I am screaming at are people that do not understand the situation.  Actually, I’m not really screaming - just trying to reason.  

 

As a reminder, we were one of the people on the March 14th cruise that was cancelled 24 hours before embarkation.  That sailing was almost 100% Regent repeat customers.  It was devastating.  I’m taking it out on my luggage that I refuse to unpack.  In any case, I have not seen anger from passengers on that sailing.  Tears - yes but not anger.  Just an interesting observation.

 

What I truly do not understand is canceling a cruise when waiting a month would have entitled them to a refund (plus paying it off in full).  

 

However, you are as entitled to be angry and bash Regent as much as I am entitled to defend them.  

[SusieQft]

20 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

What I truly do not understand is canceling a cruise when waiting a month would have entitled them to a refund (plus paying it off in full).

It is waiting approximately a month plus approximately 90 days, and having to markedly increase the amount invested on top of that.  It is ridiculous to have to fork over more money in order to get your deposit back.  Which is one of the reasons I will probably cancel my October booking before the final payment date, which in my case is the same as the start of the penalty phase (other than the admin fee, of course).

[GOARMY]

TC (and others):

 

Another reminder from a couple who were at San Diego on March 13th.  Already checked-into Regent's hotel; already had seen Splendor (while on a limo being transported from the airport to hotel) nicely secured at a Pier.  Waved "hello".   Only partially unloaded one of the bags in our nice room before having lunch. 

 

Just a hunch that the cruise was not going to happen.   

 

Neither tears nor anger either later that afternoon, or currently.  It was fortuitous Regent canceled that cruise literally 12 hours before scheduled boarding.  We were fortunate.  Able to return to our residence via a sparsely-occupied 2.5 hour flight on the 14th. 

 

For perspective:  It took my brother and his wife three additional weeks to get back to their home located only five miles from ours.  Reason:  they were stuck-aboard HAL's Zaandam at that exact-same time.

 

We remain in the long line awaiting a full refund for that cruise.  I guess the best word to describe feelings at this point is frustration.

 

GOARMY!

 

   

[CBWIR]

6 hours ago, mrstanley said:

My friends and I are VERY annoyed with Regent. They know that they are not cruising anywhere this summer but will not

go ahead and cancel cruises. We are booked on The Navigator... July 28 from Copenhagen to Amsterdam. The final payment was originally due in February but was delayed until May 29th. We all have deposits on this cruise and will not get it back unless we make final payment. 

Last time I looked at my calendar today is May 11 and your final payment isn't due until May 29. Why would you even think about final payment. As many have said this will most likely be cancelled before final payment is due. What the world needs now is more gin martinis and tranquilizers.

[bissel]

CBWIR. Thanks for dropping in. I hoped you would. Can you give us your opinions on a few things?

NCL got a few billion from investors. When would that money actually go into the line’s coffers? Wouldn’t they be dispersing it quickly in order to retain good will?

Tell us again it will all happen. You were earlier so reassuring. Can we hear it again?

Thank you for this and anything else you’d like to add is always most welcome!

[cruiseluv]

2 hours ago, mrstanley said:

People should be screaming when they have thousands of dollars tied up with a

cruise line .

Then listen to your gut feeling , dont make final payment and tie even more money. It almost sounds like extortion. And yes, I would be annoyed too, but you missed your chance to cancel and get your deposit back before they extended final payment date

[SusieQft]

13 minutes ago, cruiseluv said:

Then listen to your gut feeling , dont make final payment and tie even more money. It almost sounds like extortion. And yes, I would be annoyed too, but you missed your chance to cancel and get your deposit back before they extended final payment date

But wait until just before the deadline, just in case Regent does cancel your cruise by then.

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, SusieQft said:

It is waiting approximately a month plus approximately 90 days, and having to markedly increase the amount invested on top of that.  It is ridiculous to have to fork over more money in order to get your deposit back.  Which is one of the reasons I will probably cancel my October booking before the final payment date, which in my case is the same as the start of the penalty phase (other than the admin fee, of course).

 

In your case, since you are interested in doing a Regent cruise, wouldn’t it be better to wait until Regent cancels so that you can get the 125% FCC that can be used to book another cruise?  We did that for our January cruise (that also could be cancelled and the FCC would then go into yet another booking).  

 

I think that our individual situations make a difference in terms of what we decide to do.  If Regent cancels our November cruise, we will likely take the cash as we have so as we don’t want too many FCC’s.  

[SusieQft]

13 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

In your case, since you are interested in doing a Regent cruise, wouldn’t it be better to wait until Regent cancels so that you can get the 125% FCC that can be used to book another cruise?

Maybe, although even a 100% FCC would be more than we still owe on our other Regent booking, let alone 125%.  There is nothing in Regent's current offerings that looks good and fits with our other commitments.  Maybe if there were something in the fall of 2022, but we don't know what they are offering.  We already have bookings on Crystal for 50 days in 2021 (hopefully) and a world cruise in 2022.  Plus we have a lot of timeshare weeks to use, and if we have to cancel this Aug/Sept there, it will be a real challenge to use them before they expire while we are doing so much cruising.

 

So if Regent announces the rest of their 2022 itineraries in the next 2 or 3 weeks, it would really help for me.  I just don't see that happening, though.

Edited May 12, 2020 by SusieQft

[dabarton]

We were booked on the May 12 Splendor

cruise Venice - Rome and after everything started happening in Italy we were very unsure about what to do.  We had paid in full months before. So we cancelled our cruise on Mar 10 knowing the current policy at that time was a 100% FCC anytime through 2021.  3 days later on  Mar 13 Regent chsnged their pokicy to offer full cash refunds or 125% FCC. Not knowing this, on Mar 16 we called to rebook to a different cruise  No one mentioned to us anything about the new policy!  We went ahead and rebooked a more expensive cruise for Dec 2021

When we found out that had we waited only 3 days later, we could have gotten a full refund of our $26000, we were outraged and called Regent supervisors asking for the same consideration given to others on our cruise to no avail!   We emailed the CEO of Regent who also responded the same.  No exceptions because we had cancelled.  

For the sake of 3 days!!

 More than likely  we will go on this cruise in 2021 but rest assured it will be our last!   The luxury cruise industry requires big sums of your money paid in full way too soon before their product is delivered 

Regent is unfair, inflexible and we have learned our lesson!

 

[giustot]

dabarton, you make a very valid point. Regent's March 13th decision to suspend operations and offer full refunds came late. It should have been made at least a week earlier. We know now that with all the information available at the time the cruise lines knew they would not be able to sail. Those passengers who had the foresight to cancel early were penalized. 

 

By the way, when Princess announced its refund policy they made it retroactive for 30 days to cover the passengers who canceled before the cruise line did.

 

Tom.

[Travelcat2]

What some posters may not consider is that, under normal circumstances, whenever you cancel there is a $200 fee.  Plus, once you enter the penalty phase (where many of you are now), you owe them a lot more money - up to 100% of the cruise fare (if you do not have insurance to cover it, you are out a lot of money.

 

Regent owes a refund if they cancel a cruise.  There is nothing in the contract that states that passengers that cancel before Regent cancels is owed anything.   It is good that Regent does gives FCC’s to canceling passengers. Regent also has no obligation to offer 125% FCC’s when they cancel a cruse.

 

[SusieQft]

TC -- Unless you have Cancel for Any Reason on your insurance, it will not cover you for cancelling because of the coronavirus or any other reason you think the trip would be unsafe, or even if government regulations prohibit you from going.  Cancel for Any Reason is very expensive, and usually covers only a set fraction (generally 75%) of the cost of the trip.

[machotspur]

5 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

What some posters may not consider is that, under normal circumstances, whenever you cancel there is a $200 fee.  

It is good that Regent does gives FCC’s to canceling passengers. 

 

 

As is often stated on these boards these statements are only applicable to US (& Canadian ?) guests.

For European, and Aussie/NZ guests I believe - the MINIMUM you will lose when cancelling - at any point after making the booking - is 20% of the value of the cruise.

And Regent have never offered me any FCC when i've cancelled. 

 

The cost of us cancelling our December 2020 Voyager cruise today would be around $9,000, compared with $200 for those on the other side of the Atlantic.  

 

[rallydave]

5 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

Regent owes a refund if they cancel a cruise.  There is nothing in the contract that states that passengers that cancel before Regent cancels is owed anything.   It is good that Regent does gives FCC’s to canceling passengers. Regent also has no obligation to offer 125% FCC’s when they cancel a cruse.

Everything quoted is absolutely correct.  However, and there always is a however while the 125% looks like a good deal for the customer, looking at it from a Regent point of view there are certainly benefits to them as well.

 

Reports that fares have risen for future cruises means that even with the 125% the costs to the customer may be greater than if prices remained the same thus in total more income for Regent.  In addition it is possible the 125% FCC may not be redeemed while once the cash is paid, it is gone.  Plus 125% in FCC is likely to cost less in total dollars to all cruise lines that the 100% refund .  Finally appears most if not all cruise lines have moved to this 125% FCC as an incentive in order to maintain cash flow and not run out of cash sicne the FCC's even if redeemed now will not incur any Regent costs for many months until the customer actually sails..

 

It is important to look on all sides of an issues in order to determine which side ends up better off with any offer.  In some cases it can be a good deal from both sides but, remember the cruise line is in the business of making  profits which is a good thing but, they have all the necessary information to know what is good for them while most customers don''t look at deals like this from all sides.

[Mjflowers]

12 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

We have about $75K plus $45K FCC’s  “tied up” with Regent” and the only people I am screaming at are people that do not understand the situation.  Actually, I’m not really screaming - just trying to reason.  

 

As a reminder, we were one of the people on the March 14th cruise that was cancelled 24 hours before embarkation.  That sailing was almost 100% Regent repeat customers.  It was devastating.  I’m taking it out on my luggage that I refuse to unpack.  In any case, I have not seen anger from passengers on that sailing.  Tears - yes but not anger.  Just an interesting observation.

 

What I truly do not understand is canceling a cruise when waiting a month would have entitled them to a refund (plus paying it off in full).  

 

However, you are as entitled to be angry and bash Regent as much as I am entitled to defend them.  
However, not all of us are able to afford the luxury of unlimited K’s. Some need their money to live on, not “tied up
“ with Regent. A little insensitive.
 

 

[mrstanley]

I don't understand why anyone from the UK would want to book a cruise with Regent since the cancelation policy for

those citizens is really awful. Way too much money to loose.

[Travelcat2]

8 hours ago, SusieQft said:

TC -- Unless you have Cancel for Any Reason on your insurance, it will not cover you for cancelling because of the coronavirus or any other reason you think the trip would be unsafe, or even if government regulations prohibit you from going.  Cancel for Any Reason is very expensive, and usually covers only a set fraction (generally 75%) of the cost of the trip.

 

Agree 100%.  Unless. you have the expensive coverage, you typically have to pay if you cancel a cruise - especially cruises that were due to sail in the next couple of months.

 

In the U.S. and Canada, when someone books a Regent cruise, they have money tied up for months.  For cruises over 15 nights, you enter the penalty phase 5 months prior to the cruise,  

 

Under normal circumstances, if you cancel a cruise scheduled to depart in late August, you would lose 50% of your money (take into consideration what SusieQft posted above).  Instead, Regent will give you FCC's.  In this case, Regent loses money as they typically would receive a penalty fee.  Where Regent makes money (short term) is when they cancel a cruise and a passenger elects to take the 125% FCC (50% of passengers on all three NCLH cruise lines).

 

In terms of cruise lines being inflexible - unfortunately, they likely learned their lesson.  If, for instance, you need surgery and  learn this a month before a cruise,  you would want their money back.  If this was done, there would be passengers who lost their father-in-law, broke their leg, etc. etc. etc. that would want the refund.  Does anyone remember when airlines would refund flights if you had a doctor's note?  I wonder how many "false" doctor's notes were submitted before airlines stopped this practice.  People are simply not always honest (wondering how many people have booked Regent cruises for 2020 with the expectation of them being canceled so they can get the 125% FCC).  

 

mrstanley posted while I was typing.  Have to agree with him, I do wonder why people on the other side of the pond book Regent cruises when the cancellation fees are so high but that is likely a discussion for another thread.