Will there be any further Regents cruises in 2020?

[jawz33]

With final payment date approaching, I am more than a bit anxious.  I am still waiting on a refund from Celebrity.  
We are booked on Navigator, Caribbean bound in late Oct, and I have read so many differing thoughts my head is spinning. 

A crystal ball sure would come in handy now.
According to FDR, Regents and Oceania will make a phased return later this year.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5340/

Any guess which vessel will be first?

 

Edited May 9, 2020 by jawz33
Wrong Tense

[mrlevin]

4 minutes ago, jawz33 said:

Any guess which vessel will be first?

 

Splendor 28 Nov or 7 Dec.

[Travelcat2]

51 minutes ago, jawz33 said:

With final payment date approaching, I am more than a bit anxious.  I am still waiting on a refund from Celebrity.  
We are booked on Navigator, Caribbean bound in late Oct, and I have read so many differing thoughts my head is spinning. 

A crystal ball sure would come in handy now.
According to FDR, Regents and Oceania will make a phased return later this year.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5340/

Any guess which vessel will be first?

 

 

As you noted, FDR estimates that they will resume cruising in the 3rd quarter (late).  However, many of us think that Caribbean itineraries will be amongst the first to sail so late October sounds pretty good.  Wish that we all had crystal balls.

 

We are still holding strong for our early November cruise.  Since FDR indicated that they will follow the same guidelines that people ashore are following at the time of the cruise (social distancing, masks, etc.), it will be the same on the ships.  We personally do not have a problem with that.  Since he guesses that the first few sailings will have only 50-60% of the total capacity, social distancing should be easier.

 

Crossing our fingers for all of us.

[jeb_bud]

I’m hoping for the October La to La cruises on Mariner, particularly the October 12 departure. 

[cruiseluv]

1 hour ago, jawz33 said:

With final payment date approaching, I am more than a bit anxious.  I am still waiting on a refund from Celebrity.  
We are booked on Navigator, Caribbean bound in late Oct, and I have read so many differing thoughts my head is spinning. 

A crystal ball sure would come in handy now.
According to FDR, Regents and Oceania will make a phased return later this year.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5340/

Any guess which vessel will be first?

 

 

I would highly doubt that cruise will happen, ergo I wouldnt make that final payment. Actually, with the uncertainty in the industry I wouldnt make any final payment on Regent or any cruise line for that matter

[Travelcat2]

In my opinion, passengers that have booked and are hoping for a cruise to sail (vs. the very few that want to book - only to get FCC's), should make final payment since final payment is due quite a long time before we know what the world will look like in October/November.  There is nothing to lose to stay the course and see if it does sail.  If it cancels, there will be a refund or FCC's.

[RachelG]

I agree with Travelcat.  If you are ok with cruising provided the cruise isn’t cancelled, you should go ahead and make final payment.  If the cruise is later cancelled, you will get your money back or a generous future cruise credit.

[wristband]

Why not cancel now, get your cash back, then wait & watch for much lower fares in 4Q?  More than likely,  demand will be anemic to get on a cruise ship headed for ports which are questionable in terms of their welcome.

 

Have you seen how Oceania is now deeply discounting its fares?  Regent will likely have to follow to fill excess capacity. 

 

 

[Pcardad]

https://nypost.com/2020/05/09/carnival-swamped-with-bookings-after-announcing-august-return/?utm_campaign=iphone_nyp&utm_source=pasteboard_app

[Travelcat2]

22 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

https://nypost.com/2020/05/09/carnival-swamped-with-bookings-after-announcing-august-return/?utm_campaign=iphone_nyp&utm_source=pasteboard_app

 

Thanks for posting that.  I am surprised that so many want to return to cruising on very large ships.

 

wristband - I believe (but do not know) that Oceania wasn't selling as well as Regent before the pandemic as they had a lot of specials and discounts going on.  IMO, Regent is very different and continues to make offers that are not the same as the "discounts" on Oceania.  

 

In terms of cancelling a booking now and waiting for prices to go down in the 3rd quarter.  I would bet that any discounts would remain "mid-single digits" as FDR has stated.  However, if the cruise is cancelled and the poster takes the 125% FCC, they would be getting a much greater discount on the next cruise that they book.  The bottom line for most of us that are booked in the 4th quarter of 2020 is that the cruises are able to sail (with port changes if required).  

 

[tripperva]

If they will sail with only 50% capacity for safety sake, how will they decide who to bump from sold out cruises ?

For example, the Christmas cruises are always sold out or nearly so. Will they select by accommodation or by status on Regent or by when the booking was made, or what ?  The travel agents will be as angry as the bumped passengers.

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

Just my opinion.... based on FDR statements that at first, only one Regent ship will sail. We really don’t know which ship that will be, and if there will be a change of itinerary specifically to meet criteria for safe sailing. 

He also stated that if all goes well, a second ship will be then be added. 
I don’t think any of us can predict which ship and what the itinerary will be. 
🤞that it is Splendor and it is MIA-MIA.....end of November. 
sheila

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

10 minutes ago, tripperva said:

If they will sail with only 50% capacity for safety sake, how will they decide who to bump from sold out cruises ?

For example, the Christmas cruises are always sold out or nearly so. Will they select by accommodation or by status on Regent or by when the booking was made, or what ?  The travel agents will be as angry as the bumped passengers.

I recently checked the Christmas sailing on Splendor. Miami-Miami. It was not full. Plenty still available. Thought of switching from our 11/28 sailing but decided against it. Two reasons... it was very expensive and there may be children onboard. Nothing against kids ( we have 14 grandkids).

sheila

 

[SusieQft]

18 minutes ago, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

I recently checked the Christmas sailing on Splendor. Miami-Miami. It was not full. Plenty still available.

How do you check this?  I looked at the Regent website, and it shows only what categories are still available, guarantee only, or unavailable.  It does not show how many cabins are still open in each category, at least not without a lot of very laborious one cabin at a time searches.  If you just looked at the main information page about the itinerary, the "available" cabins could each have well over half booked already.  The Christmas cruise does have more "unavailable" categories than any of the other Nov/Dec Splendor cruises.

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

Susie... I did exactly what you mentioned. I was really thinking of switching so I spent the time. 
sheila

[douginct]

We are booked on a Caribbean (Miami to Miami) cruise in December (our fourth Regent cruise). Final payment is due in August.  There is very little chance we will go even if Regent is sailing then.  We are nervous about being on a ship if the expected recurrence of the virus happens and do not want the less than luxury experience that will likely be provided at that time - masks, spacing etc.  Will make a decision before final payment.  So there will likely be lots of space on those winter 2020-2021 cruises.  I am absolutely sure I am not the only one feeling like that.

 

My personal opinion - I would rather book a luxury resort vacation on a Caribbean island where at least if things get bad again I can more easily get to an airport and fly home right away.  I don't want to be stuck on a ship that may not be allowed to dock in many ports and wind up quarantined in my cabin.

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, tripperva said:

If they will sail with only 50% capacity for safety sake, how will they decide who to bump from sold out cruises ?

For example, the Christmas cruises are always sold out or nearly so. Will they select by accommodation or by status on Regent or by when the booking was made, or what ?  The travel agents will be as angry as the bumped passengers.

 

Frank Del Rio “expects” ships to be only 50-60% full when cruises start up.  He made no mention of limiting passengers.  However, if he wanted to do so, they probably would have the website show “waitlisted” when they reach a certain number of bookings.  Just a guess.

 

SusieQft - there is a site that I cannot name here it is a TA site.  I have checked on Regent cruises there.  You can see how many suites are available and the suite numbers.  This does not work for all cruise lines but does work for Regent.

[cruiseluv]

7 hours ago, douginct said:

We are booked on a Caribbean (Miami to Miami) cruise in December (our fourth Regent cruise). Final payment is due in August.  There is very little chance we will go even if Regent is sailing then.  We are nervous about being on a ship if the expected recurrence of the virus happens and do not want the less than luxury experience that will likely be provided at that time - masks, spacing etc.  Will make a decision before final payment.  So there will likely be lots of space on those winter 2020-2021 cruises.  I am absolutely sure I am not the only one feeling like that.

 

My personal opinion - I would rather book a luxury resort vacation on a Caribbean island where at least if things get bad again I can more easily get to an airport and fly home right away.  I don't want to be stuck on a ship that may not be allowed to dock in many ports and wind up quarantined in my cabin.

I agree 100%, no way I would make final payment until I know what the "final product" is going to be. Not interested in participating in a masquerade parade( unless it was during Carnevale!)

[Travelcat2]

We used to go to luxury (and non-luxury resorts) and loved it.  However, compared to cruising, we would find it quite boring now.  We would rather wear masks in public spaces than not cruise.  Apparently, the determining factor regarding face masks and distancing, according to Frank Del Rio, is what precautions are in place in the U.S. at the time of sailing.  Regent will follow those guidelines.

 

Further, he said that he would not sail his ships until he could look his grandsons in the eye and tel them that it is safe.

[fizzy]

4 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

 

Further, he said that he would not sail his ships until he could look his grandsons in the eye and tel them that it is safe.

Would this not be the PR opportunity of a lifetime...if true,  for Del Rio to take these kids on a variety of NCLH branded cruises.....if they know how to behave..... and show the world that he stands behind his words?

[tripperva]

2 hours ago, fizzy said:

Would this not be the PR opportunity of a lifetime...if true,  for Del Rio to take these kids on a variety of NCLH branded cruises.....if they know how to behave..... and show the world that he stands behind his words?

Please,please do not suggest taking children on Regent cruises.

[ddsun1]

17 hours ago, SusieQft said:

How do you check this?  I looked at the Regent website, and it shows only what categories are still available, guarantee only, or unavailable.  It does not show how many cabins are still open in each category, at least not without a lot of very laborious one cabin at a time searches.  If you just looked at the main information page about the itinerary, the "available" cabins could each have well over half booked already.  The Christmas cruise does have more "unavailable" categories than any of the other Nov/Dec Splendor cruises.

Susie,

Would you explain how to do the 'one cabin at a time' search?  I have tried on all our past Regent cruises and never figured this out!

Thank you!

[pappy1022]

21 hours ago, jawz33 said:

With final payment date approaching, I am more than a bit anxious.  I am still waiting on a refund from Celebrity.  
We are booked on Navigator, Caribbean bound in late Oct, and I have read so many differing thoughts my head is spinning. 

A crystal ball sure would come in handy now.
According to FDR, Regents and Oceania will make a phased return later this year.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5340/

Any guess which vessel will be first?

 

No one has a crystal ball, just opinions. Here's mine, if you are comfortable with the possibility of the ship and port experiences being potentially different (e.g. wearing a mask on the ship, no large group entertainment, missing ports, etc.) then by all means pay the final invoice and be prepared to go on the cruise if it sails or get a refund or FCC's if it is cancelled. If not, then cancel and get your money back. Personally, I wouldn't be comfortable with a compromised cruise (whatever that might be) and I cancelled my September 2020 cruise to the British Isles. That cruise was port intensive and it was very important to me to do the land based excursions. I will still do a British Isle cruise in the future but I want to see how the industry shakes out and then I will choose the cruise line and itinerary that appeals the most to me. As they say, a bird in the hand (in this case $) is worth 2 in the bush (in this case the uncertainty). Good luck with your decision. Follow your heart and your instincts because no one knows where this is going.

[fizzy]

39 minutes ago, tripperva said:

Please,please do not suggest taking children on Regent cruises.

What a very funny comment....under the circumstances.  Good for the Goose, good for the Gander.

[Kwaj girl]

People, PLEASE!  Do you really believe this is the "new normal"? This  'physical distancing' over the long run is not the way humans live.  What happened after the Spanush Flu...or Ebola...or SARS...none of this nonsense for sure.