The Value of FCC

[Pcardad]

Any new commission is based on how the new cruise is booked. Cash or FCC (100%) are commissionable. Any part of the 25% bonus FCC is not.

 

I am not a real TA...but I sure do appreciate how Regent covers us for our work. 

[Travelcat2]

Now can we get back to the topic of the value of FCC's.  Another good thing about FCC's is that there is no limit as to how many times they can be transferred.  We already booked one cruise that was canceled - transferred the FCC's to another cruise that may be canceled.  If it is, we'll transfer the FCC's again.  IMO, this is a good thing.

[greykitty]

15 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

Now can we get back to the topic of the value of FCC's.  Another good thing about FCC's is that there is no limit as to how many times they can be transferred.  We already booked one cruise that was canceled - transferred the FCC's to another cruise that may be canceled.  If it is, we'll transfer the FCC's again.  IMO, this is a good thing.

What I don't like, if I'm reading the most current FAQ, is that the FCC is not transferable to another person.  I would have thought there'd be some flexibility there given the current situation.  

 

The Future Cruise Credit is issued to the guest(s) electing to cancel their reservation under Regent Reassurance and is not transferable to any other guest.

[lincslady]

My DH and I did one of the short shakedown cruises on the Voyager, many years ago.  It was not perfect, as it was definitely a shakedown.  The way that worked was that you paid for it, but the amount was taken off any future cruise you did on that ship - so it was a freebie for us, in that we did a further cruise on the Voyager, in the Captain Dag days, with the appropriate  amount taken off the total.  And quite a few more, as we had loved the old Radisson Song of Flower, the all inclusive precursor to Regent cruises.  And liked the style.  Funnily enough, I ages ago wrote to the then chap in charge (forgotten his name, old age creeping on) and he replied saying that they  would never go down that route!

[Dolebludger]

Although it does not affect us personally ( had no cruise booked that was cancelled) one thing that worries me about FCCs is that the “book and use” time is too short. Just in my own opinion.  Also they are good for 125% on a replacement cruise, but nobody is giving us the fare on the replacement. What if it is 130% of the original fare? Is it a good deal then?  You see, with all the FCC,s issued, there will certainly be no bargains on cruises close in the time of the opening of cruising until after the expiration  if the FCC’s . After that, there may be good deals if there is no vaccine and more cure.  But I don’t guarantee that!

[phillipahain]

Just had one of 2 linked B2B cruises cancelled ...the price match options offered are simply not possible due to other family comitments plus the cruises offered are not even similar .....as the cruises were fully paid we can take the 125% FCC however all the similar itineries /same number of days/same category cabin in 2021 are much much more than the 125%

 

Pretty sad that Regent refuses to offer sensible price match offerings as much though i love Regent really dont want the added expense

[pappy1022]

Welcome to bait and switch. 125% sounds good until you pull away the covers on the “deals”. No thank you Regent.

[phillipahain]

12 minutes ago, pappy1022 said:

Welcome to bait and switch. 125% sounds good until you pull away the covers on the “deals”. No thank you Regent.

Yes pretty sad way of trying to keep customers 

[flossie009]

3 hours ago, phillipahain said:

Yes pretty sad way of trying to keep customers 

This is not necessarily about keeping customers, but rather it is about trying to keep hold of the customer's money to help keep the company afloat.

 

However, I am not understanding the angst about what Regent are offering. Regent are trying their best in difficult circumstances by offering three choices in the event of them cancelling:

• a full refund
• a price match on a future cruise (this choice may not always be offered; and if offered the selection of cruises may not suit)
• 125% FCC

Not sure what more they could/should offer 🤔 

 

 

3 hours ago, pappy1022 said:

Welcome to bait and switch. 125% sounds good until you pull away the covers on the “deals”. No thank you Regent.

How can it be described as "bait & switch". The customer has choices that can be made and the 125% can be applied to an existing booking in which case no price rise is applicable.

[UUNetBill]

39 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

This is not necessarily about keeping customers, but rather it is about trying to keep hold of the customer's money to help keep the company afloat.

 

However, I am not understanding the angst about what Regent are offering. Regent are trying their best in difficult circumstances by offering three choices in the event of them cancelling:

• a full refund
• a price match on a future cruise (this choice may not always be offered; and if offered the selection of cruises may not suit)
• 125% FCC

Not sure what more they could/should offer 🤔 

 

 

How can it be described as "bait & switch". The customer has choices that can be made and the 125% can be applied to an existing booking in which case no price rise is applicable.

Flossie - agreed - this is a tough time for ALL businesses, but travel and leisure providers especially.  It's naive to think that prices won't increase after the new protocols are put in place.  Hell, the local hamburger shop has raised prices due to COVID, why would we expect a cruise line to hold fares steady?!?

 

If the future itineraries aren't a good value proposition for you, well, just take the full refund and plan another vacation.  Easy.  We've taken one 125% FCC, will probably take a refund on our January cruise if it doesn't go, and we'll play the ones further out as they come.  Although I've missed cruising this year (well, we actually sailed last January but it seems like years ago) there are many other vacation options out there...I'm researching some now in case we're cancelled...

[RJ2002]

32 minutes ago, UUNetBill said:

Although I've missed cruising this year (well, we actually sailed last January but it seems like years ago) there are many other vacation options out there...I'm researching some now in case we're cancelled...

 

Same here.  This situation has us now considering non-cruise vacations options...  near term domestically, and longer term perhaps abroad.  It all will depend on the situation of course, and the ability to do it safely.  We enjoy cruising so much, particularly on Regent, but we've also always enjoyed the freedom, independence and spontaneity of land based travel.   I've already taken a domestic flight for a family matter, and am happy to report I survived, Covid free.  👍

 

I am optimistic cruising will return, but in the meantime we're looking around.

 

edit:  WRT FCC's, so far we are taking refunds so that we have the added flexibility for other types of travel

Edited August 11, 2020 by RJ2002
reference to FCC

[SusieQft]

The 125% FCCs seem like a good deal for both Regent, which gets to hang on to the money, and for the passenger, who gets an extra 25%.  But consider that Regent has handed out a LOT of these 25% bonuses.  Every time someone uses them, Regent takes a 20% cut in revenue on that future voyage.  This is on top of the pain of no income for many months.  So it only makes sense that Regent is very unlikely to cut prices, especially not while all those outstanding FCCs are out there.  On the other hand, I'm sure that some of those FCCs are going to expire unused.  It is hard to tell at this point if that will be enough to make up for the 20% "loss" Regent will have on those that are used.

 

Once all the FCCs have all been used or expired, it will be a very different world.  New revenues will be needed more than ever to repay the debt being incurred now.  But some people will still be reluctant to sail.  Not everyone, obviously, but perhaps enough to affect the supply and demand ratio.  So there will be both upward and maybe downward pressure on prices.  Only time will tell how this will play out.

[rallydave]

4 hours ago, SusieQft said:

Every time someone uses them, Regent takes a 20% cut in revenue on that future voyage. 

Not necessarily Suzie.  First of all Regent has use of the money interest free for quite awhile.  Realize interest rates are low but, still a help to pay the extremely high interest bonds recently sold.

 

And, based on recent reports fares are going up significantly for now so that impacts the value of the FCC's.  Too many variables to come up with a specific percentage of the cut in revenue.

 

Like you said, only time will tell and in fact we will never know as NCLH only reports in the aggregate of all three owned cruise lines.

[Kiwifromkiev]

On 6/23/2020 at 4:51 AM, Travelcat2 said:

Now can we get back to the topic of the value of FCC's.  Another good thing about FCC's is that there is no limit as to how many times they can be transferred.  We already booked one cruise that was canceled - transferred the FCC's to another cruise that may be canceled.  If it is, we'll transfer the FCC's again.  IMO, this is a good thing.

TC2, how does this work - when we received FCC, it had to be used for travel within 2 years and booked within 1 (as I recall). Back in early March, it seemed that by October 2021everything would be back to normal (ha, what a joke!). So I am just trying to understand - are you saying that it can be re-booked, but only if the cruise is cancelled?

[Pcardad]

If you use a FCC and the cruise cancels or you use Regent Reassurance then you get a new FCC.

 

Your TA will only get paid on the first use of the FCC however so those of you who get a kickback won't keep getting it if you keep recycling the FCC.

[pappy1022]

Meanwhile, I have all my money back in the bank since I took the cash refund and I don’t have to worry about whether my next scheduled cruise is going to go, and if it does, whether the ports will be fully open or changed and whether the onboard experience will be so different that it isn’t worth the procedural hassles. If you paid for a cruise, via new cash or FCC’s, and you find out prior to the cruise that the route/ports have been changed dramatically and that previous cruisers don’t enjoy the new COVID-19 procedures, can you cancel your cruise and not lose your money or FCC’s if it’s within weeks of the scheduled cruise, based solely on the new itinerary or procedures? 

[rallydave]

Probably not Pappy. Ts and Cs specifically allow for those types of changes so most likely you will have 2 choices take the cruise or cancel thus losing the amount depending on where in the penalty phase you are. 
 

this is why taking the cash refund was the best choice for most people as from reports the 25% bonus with FCCs may not cover the increased cruise costs. 

[pappy1022]

All the more reason to take the cash and wait and see what happens. There is so much uncertainty. Thinking back to March when this all hit the US, my thinking that it would be well under control by the fall of 2020. But here we are and the numbers are far worse then they were in March/April. I would have lost a lot of money on that bet..

[Pcardad]

If you have Regent Reassurance, you can cancel for any reason within the term prior to sailing and get a full FCC. Most cruises are 15 days prior - plenty of time to make an informed decision for most people. You can cancel if you don't like the captain on the ship - any reason at all.

 

It's your money - make the decision that is best for you. We all know what some people have done as they have made it crystal clear. Just please respect those people who make different decisions and we will be one happy little family.

[rallydave]

2 hours ago, Pcardad said:

If you have Regent Reassurance, you can cancel for any reason within the term prior to sailing and get a full FCC. Most cruises are 15 days prior - plenty of time to make an informed decision for most people. You can cancel if you don't like the captain on the ship - any reason at all.

 

It's your money - make the decision that is best for you. We all know what some people have done as they have made it crystal clear. Just please respect those people who make different decisions and we will be one happy little family.

The problem is two fold, the extremely long time to get the FCC and that you don't get your money back just FCC so if you don't want to or can't cruise again, your money is gone.

 

So if people unfortunately get sick or for some medical reason can't travel, the FCC is worthless.

[Pcardad]

2 minutes ago, rallydave said:

The problem is two fold, the extremely long time to get the FCC and that you don't get your money back just FCC so if you don't want to or can't cruise again, your money is gone.

 

So if people unfortunately get sick or for some medical reason can't travel, the FCC is worthless.

 

Regent will transfer the FCC in the medical event that a person cannot sail....or in the event of their death. Or so I have been told by multiple people in writing when I inquired to protect my clients.

 

PS - if you re-book, Regent will process the FCC in a day or 3.

Edited August 19, 2020 by Pcardad

[rallydave]

Just now, Pcardad said:

 

Regent will transfer the FCC in the medical event that a person cannot sail....or in the event of their death. Or so I have been told by multiple people in writing when I inquired to protect my clients.

 

PS - if you re-book, Regent will process the FCC in a day or 3.

That's really great if true.  The facts of this matter is that the Ts and Cs don't say that.  If true and sincerely hope it is true it should be spelled out in the Ts and Cs otherwise it can be what is in writing if for instance management changes.

[Pcardad]

Just now, rallydave said:

That's really great if true.  The facts of this matter is that the Ts and Cs don't say that.  If true and sincerely hope it is true it should be spelled out in the Ts and Cs otherwise it can be what is in writing if for instance management changes.

 

Or you can do what I did....get it in writing from Regent. I have a couple of emails discussing the topic. This met the comfort level of my clients. While I certainly do NOT speak for ANYONE other than myself, I can share my personal experience and the advice I gave to my people. Had they not received this response, they would not be opting for FCC.

[rallydave]

I  very much respect and praise the work you do for your clients and glad you posted what you did for others who would have no clue as to this potential eventuality.  Unfortunately only a very small percentage of Regent cruisers read CC and don't have the wherewithal to contact the proper person to get this in writing

 

Would be much better if the Regent Reassurance terms included these issues so the base T's and C's would remain the same and everyone would have the same answer you and your clients do.

 

Really glad we had this discussion so others are now aware of options not included in Regent Reassurance as written and kudos to you for protecting your clients.

[Pcardad]

I have no idea what would happen if this were put to the test....but it's a starting point. I would suggest people contact the TA's and see what happens. With a relatively older client base...some of whom spend over a million dollars a year, Regent must understand that this could be a concern under the circumstances.

 

I think certain types of travel insurance may cover this as well. I currently have a few emails out on that right now.

 

Keep in mind that Regent's reply may be different for a person with a $4,000 FCC vs a $4,000,000 FCC....that would not be unheard of nor entirely unexpected.