not Reducing prices as far as I can tell

[jhenry1]

I had to cancel our Africa cruise for December of this year as I feel certain there will not be a vaccination in time for us to go and so today I called to get a price on the same cruise for next year in Dec and actually moved down from a PH A to a PHB category and the price is $6,ooo more for next year with a step lower category suite .  Grant it the cruise has 2 added days.  Not sure what to do. Has anyone else experienced the price increase?  Maybe just this cruise since it is around 19 months away.  Or was the price dropped on the cruise for this year as people began cancelling their cruises early. We booked the cruise for this year in FEB.  

[GrJ Berkshire]

Why the surprise?

If the ships have to sail less than full ( pre covid numbers ) for social distancing and dining capacity the price will not reduce. This will be the 'new normal' as elevator capacity etc will not allow 700+ on the ships (400 on Navigator ).Equally flights will be severely reduced and never as cheap again.

[jhenry1]

But hopefully by Dec of 2021 there will have been a vaccination in place for sometime and all of that will not be necessary. 

[Belfast Taxman]

I agree with GrJ Berkshire. The concept of cut price deals to lure back cruisers is a short term illusion with Regent and other luxury cruise lines. As I identified in my earlier thread “the value of FCC”, even with the extra 25% there is no guarantee that you will not be out of pocket when re-booking.

As for a vaccine, we can hope but there is no guarantee here either

[pappy1022]

I suspect that Regent will try to lure passengers via splashy headline incentives such as the $1000 shipboard credits and lower down payments as I have already seen them advertise for the 2021 cruise that I have in mind. 

[Guerncruising]

Well, as of today, we have had no new cases for 27 days and no known active cases as from today. In fact they are actively searching for asymptomatic cases. 

So I thought that I would have a look at next year’s offerings (new brochure arrived yesterday). I found several cruises that I fancy, definitely no price reductions but plenty of increases. 

I totally agree with Gr J Berkshire and can’t for one minute see why Regent should reduce prices when it may not be possible to run things in the same way as the past. It will be interesting to see what the new normal is for cruising.

I’ll carry on looking though. 

[crickette]

There is a website that tracks prices for each cruise, from the date it was announced, to current pricing.

The Dec 8 2020 cruise started at 15799 in a PHB and April 1 2020 its price was 16799.  With 6000 alotted for air

 

The Dec 7 2021 cruise started at 18799 when it was announced last August, with no changes to date.  Again 6000 for air.

 

So I don't see that big difference in pricing you found.  Are you sure air is not the reason for the difference?

[jhenry1]

How do you know what the air cost is.  We always use the free business class air with regent so never take any air credit.How would you know if the difference is due to increased air prices?

[pingpong1]

Many of us saw this quote from Mr. Del Rio in a interview he gave on May 7, 2020 - 

 

“I don’t believe for a minute that the mature audience is not going to cruise anymore.  These are the most loyal customers. They’ve got the time to cruise. They’ve got the money to cruise and, quite frankly, they’re pissed off that they can’t cruise right now. They’ve got a bucket list. They’ve got a short time left on this planet, and they want to make the most of it.”

 

If the CEO of NCLH himself, holds this view as to the sentiment and pent up "demand" (for cruising) from his most loyal customer base (regarding their eagerness to get back on Regent ships), why then would he feel any"need" whatsoever, to reduce fares at all, upon resumption of cruise operations?

 

I'm sure that there are many of us on this board (and remember, we represent just a small percentage of Regent's total customer base) who simply "can't wait" for Regent cruises to start operating again - at whatever fare price/s Mr/s Montague and Del Rio feel are "appropriate".  Regards.

[pappy1022]

I guess I dont share that opinion because I do have a limit on what I am willing to pay for a cruise. I’m in My mid 60’s, healthy and enjoy cruising but there are many other things on my bucket list besides cruising. I have sailed on other luxury cruise lines and enjoyed them as well so there are options. Regent has a right to get whatever a price the market is willing to pay. Supply and demand will dictate what that price ultimately will be. 

[Dolebludger]

The problem as I see it is we are yet to learn the rules and restrictions under which the cruise lines will be allowed to sail. Some regular cruisers may feel they are too restrictive for an enjoyable cruise and others may feel they are too lax for safety.  Either opinion will result in the person not cruising. Until we know the rules and restrictions on future cruises, we can’t really measure demand, and neither can the cruise lines. 

[pingpong1]

7 minutes ago, Dolebludger said:

The problem as I see it is we are yet to learn the rules and restrictions under which the cruise lines will be allowed to sail. Until we know the rules and restrictions on future cruises, we can’t really measure demand, and neither can the cruise lines. 

Dole - I heartily agree that "we" (those of us who chat on this board but are not "in" the cruise industry) have no accurate way of measuring future demand.  But I would assume that industry executives (like Del Rio) certainly have (and pay for) access to very accurate marketing and customer preference data, along with surveys (on disposable income) of their target customer base.  They will not set fares that are "higher" than what the traffic "will bear".  And if certain cruises don't seem to be selling well, they will add some of the little temporary "sweeteners" that others have mentioned ($1,000 OBC's, 50% reduced booking fees, etc. - neither of which have large negative impacts on their revenues) to drive the needed passenger loads back up to achieve acceptable profit levels.

 

18 minutes ago, pappy1022 said:

I guess I don't share that opinion because I do have a limit on what I am willing to pay for a cruise. I’m in My mid 60’s, healthy and enjoy cruising but there are many other things on my bucket list besides cruising. I have sailed on other luxury cruise lines and enjoyed them as well so there are options. Regent has a right to get whatever a price the market is willing to pay. Supply and demand will dictate what that price ultimately will be. 

Pappy - I certainly agree with you.  I (personally) am not willing to pay "any price" to go on a future Regent cruise, either.  I've never had 3-4 cruises booked at any one time (unlike some posters on the Regent/Oceania boards).  And my Regent cruising history (so far - over 9 years) has only averaged about one cruise every 2 years.  I don't believe Regent will set (increase) their fares to a point that crosses or breaks an "unacceptable threshold" that most of their loyal/frequent customer base would be unwilling to pay in the future.  At least they apparently haven't done so yet, over the past 10 years of steady increases.  Most of us on this board still seem to be "fine" with booking and sailing on future (Regent) cruises.  Regards.

[Travelcat2]

The fact that some of us are eager to cruise does not necessarily have to do with the fares.  Our four cruises (with one exception) were booked prior to this year and yes, we are anxious to return to cruising.  We do have a limit - one that we were able to exceed because of the 125% FCC's (a booking that would have cost over $60K will cost us $12K).  One should not underestimate how valuable FCC's can be.  Many of us that had our cruises canceled by Regent were upset, disappointed, etc.  Having the option to book another cruise with FCC's enabled us to be able to book a more expensive cruise or perhaps book a suite category that we would not typically booked.

 

Regent has increased fares on "some" itineraries quarterly for quite a long time. This is not something new.  Agree with pappy1022 regarding supply and demand.

Edited May 27, 2020 by Travelcat2

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

Herb and I have five future cruises booked. We are older and agree with what FDR said about our group. We have limited time left to enjoy cruising and will take advantage. We would rather spend it on cruising than leaving it to our kids! (And they agree with us!)
sheila

[SusieQft]

51 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

because of the 125% FCC's (a booking that would have cost over $60K will cost us $12K)

Reading between the lines, it sounds like you had an "over" $48K FCC, which would have cost you "over" $38.4K.  So the way I would look at this is that your ~$60k cruise actually cost you over $50K.

[Travelcat2]

27 minutes ago, SusieQft said:

Reading between the lines, it sounds like you had an "over" $48K FCC, which would have cost you "over" $38.4K.  So the way I would look at this is that your ~$60k cruise actually cost you over $50K.

 

The cruise that was cancelled was around $33K (we had just taken an upsell to a higher category suite).  I have no clue what our FCC's were that were transferred to our new cruise, however, since we had a balance of $12K, we paid around $45K for the new cruise.  My DH handles the finances of our cruises while I do all of the bookings (including figuring out air, excursions, etc.).   In any event, we do not want to go over $50K for a cruise.  If we do, we will take a transatlantic cruise to make up for it.  In recent years we have sailed on Regent twice a year (with a quick, inexpensive 7 day cruise out of Seattle or Vancouver on another cruise line in September).  

[Boats07]

29 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

The cruise that was cancelled was around $33K (we had just taken an upsell to a higher category suite).  I have no clue what our FCC's were that were transferred to our new cruise, however, since we had a balance of $12K, we paid around $45K for the new cruise.  My DH handles the finances of our cruises while I do all of the bookings (including figuring out air, excursions, etc.).   In any event, we do not want to go over $50K for a cruise.  If we do, we will take a transatlantic cruise to make up for it.  In recent years we have sailed on Regent twice a year (with a quick, inexpensive 7 day cruise out of Seattle or Vancouver on another cruise line in September).  

Travelcat2, doing directly to you for a quick question.  We are booked on a cruise on Splendor in January and just received the SBC that is now being offered.  Are SBC able to be used for excursions and/or cooking classes?

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Pat

[cruiseluv]

3 hours ago, pingpong1 said:

 

I'm sure that there are many of us on this board (and remember, we represent just a small percentage of Regent's total customer base) who simply "can't wait" for Regent cruises to start operating again - at whatever fare price/s Mr/s Montague and Del Rio feel are "appropriate".  Regards.

Its not a matter of what Del Rio and Montague feel its appropriate, It'll be what the market will bear. The proof will be in the proverbial pudding, lets see how many people flock to cruises when they start operating. You can't judge by the small sample on this board, these are, for the most part, people that cruise frequently and are very pro Regent

[cruiseluv]

16 minutes ago, Boats07 said:

Travelcat2, doing directly to you for a quick question.  We are booked on a cruise on Splendor in January and just received the SBC that is now being offered.  Are SBC able to be used for excursions and/or cooking classes?

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Pat

I'm not Travelcat, but the answer is yes

[Travelcat2]

18 minutes ago, Boats07 said:

Travelcat2, doing directly to you for a quick question.  We are booked on a cruise on Splendor in January and just received the SBC that is now being offered.  Are SBC able to be used for excursions and/or cooking classes?

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Pat

 

Adding to cruiseluv's response (which I thank you for) if you have set up "My Account" on the rssc.com website, you will see the SBC's.  When you book your excursions and/or cooking classes, it will be deducted from the amount that you have.  

 

I'm sure that you will love Splendor.  I've only seen photos, however, our favorite ship is Explorer (that we will be on in November and January - fingers crossed) and Splendor is very similar.  We will not be sailing on Splendor until March so I'll be anxious to learn how much you enjoy your cruise!

Jackie

[Boats07]

10 minutes ago, cruiseluv said:

I'm not Travelcat, but the answer is yes

Thank you!

[Boats07]

4 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Adding to cruiseluv's response (which I thank you for) if you have set up "My Account" on the rssc.com website, you will see the SBC's.  When you book your excursions and/or cooking classes, it will be deducted from the amount that you have.  

 

I'm sure that you will love Splendor.  I've only seen photos, however, our favorite ship is Explorer (that we will be on in November and January - fingers crossed) and Splendor is very similar.  We will not be sailing on Splendor until March so I'll be anxious to learn how much you enjoy your cruise!

Jackie

Thank you Jackie, after I asked the question, I logged onto RSS website and it was all on the page with our cruise.  

We were to be on the 4/16-5/12/2020 and used our FCC for the Caribbean cruise in January and a cruise in April in the Mediterranean and still have FCC to use while we are on board to book another trip.

Our TA got us the new SBC that is now being offered.  Very pleased we were able to have that added on both cruises that were already booked.

Thank you for your information 

Pat