Free “Luxury” One Night Pre Cruise Hotel, Breakfast and Transfer to Ship Question

[mpclaw]

Well, I would think if they are truly a class act, and promised “Luxury Accommodations, breakfast and transfer to the ship” they would stand by what they offered. I have booked my own room to be on the safe side, but it would be nice if they came through. But I am not holding my breath. $300.00 is not going to go far in Miami.

 

Regent also confirmed PH, charged us for it, then backtracked and put us in Concierge Class, refunded us the difference and we are now waitlisted. Won’t hold by breath either on this one.

 

Thus far somewhat underwhelmed. 

[UUNetBill]

12 hours ago, mpclaw said:

Regent also confirmed PH, charged us for it, then backtracked and put us in Concierge Class, refunded us the difference and we are now waitlisted. Won’t hold by breath either on this one.

That's one I've never heard before - I've heard of people being offered a bump up, but never moved down.  Honestly this sounds more like a TA thing than a Regent thing...if Regent did this and it wasn't something with your TA, I'd be raising hell.

[daetchief]

A few general considerations to keep in mind when you reference 'Included' benefits from external sources for any 'company'.  I will use Regent and a hotel room as an example.

 

- Regent has to predict the number of rooms they will need, and reserve a high percentage of that number possibly a year [or more] in advance.    Regent gets a discount because the hotel welcomes the room commitment.  

- If you reserve your suite [early] when rooms are plentiful, you are highly assured to have a room at the primary hotel.  The earlier you book, the better chance a room, or an additional room at the primary hotel can be offered or arranged.

- Sometimes Regent can't secure the number of rooms they want.  Sometimes they're not offered any additional rooms past the initial commitment.  It is then that the secondary hotel could come in to play.

- As the cruise date approaches; the room allotments at the preferred hotels can be exhausted.  Or the rooms are no longer available at the Regent's agreed upon price point.  Or, it's Super Bowl Weekend - Spring Break - or the Shriners Convention is in town...  Oopps!    The Plaza Hotel by Best Western might be your only option.

[islandchick]

On 2/26/2022 at 3:48 PM, cuddles115 said:

Stayed in AKA Brickell prior to Splendor cruise in February.  Nice, clean hotel in a good neighborhood.  You need 2 elevators to get to the lobby and room.  The breakfast buffet is poor.  They have 2 busses to the port.  Make sure you get on the first bus.  The second leaves about an hour later.

How did they only have 2 busses? I thought they had staggered times for embarkation. Could you explain how this worked because judging by the above comment I may uber it.

[rallydave]

16 minutes ago, islandchick said:

How did they only have 2 busses? I thought they had staggered times for embarkation. Could you explain how this worked because judging by the above comment I may uber it.

Really don’t think you can compare a previous cruise to a future one.  Might be one, two or more depending on the number of people at any hotel. Just like other comparisons YMMV. 

[islandchick]

36 minutes ago, rallydave said:

Really don’t think you can compare a previous cruise to a future one.  Might be one, two or more depending on the number of people at any hotel. Just like other comparisons YMMV. 

Both cruises are staggered boarding. Are they piling everyone on the bus and making them wait at the terminal?

[cuddles115]

4 hours ago, islandchick said:

Both cruises are staggered boarding. Are they piling everyone on the bus and making them wait at the terminal?

Guess there are fewer sales because of Covid.  They had 2 large buses and the whole embarkation , including Covid tax, took no more than an hour. The whole process worked like a well-oiled clock.

 

As an aside, we were Seabourn loyalists for the past 15 years. We championed SB and became angry should anyone say a bad word about SB.  That changed this February when we first sailed on Regent. It was like "night and day." Anything and everything were head over heels over Seabourn. I realize that you may have some reservation about Regent.  FORGET IT!!  Enjoy your cruise and , hopefully, you will become a Regent groupie.

[rkaratsu]

6 hours ago, islandchick said:

How did they only have 2 busses? I thought they had staggered times for embarkation. Could you explain how this worked because judging by the above comment I may uber it...

Having just gotten off of the Explorer, if I had to do it over again, I probably would have used Lyft to go to the terminal.  Yes, you have paid for the shuttle but I personally don't like sitting in crowded buses that aren't going anywhere.  I really don't think much attention is paid to designated boarding times other than when waiting to board your shuttle at the hotel.  Even with COVID testing (which sounds like it is becoming a thing of the past), once we got to the port, you boarded when you were finished with your COVID test.  (In other words, there was no corrolation between boarding time and when you actually got on the ship).  

[ChatKat in Ca.]

Rarely do I use the bus transfers from the hotel. It's a hurry up and wait situation almost always.

 

It depends on distance to the port. In Manhattan it's so easy to grab a cab.  Miami and Ft. Lauderdale too.  My next cruise is in Los Angeles and the Regent hotel is about 35 miles from the port. I might take the included transfer for that because it will be very costly to get there.  On one transfer, I took a cab but had my luggage go by the bus.

[Portolan]

We frequently take a taxi/Uber/Lyft from the hotel to the cruise port...if, as ChatKat notes, the hotel is near the port.  In August, we sail on Voyager from London (Southampton).  The hotel is the Park Lane Hilton (very nice...we've stayed there before).  From the hotel to the Southampton cruise terminal is 83 miles and nearly 2 hours by road.  We'll be on the bus.

Edited March 6, 2022 by Portolan

[mj_holiday]

I must admit, that we haven't paid much attention to boarding times. We will head to the terminal when we check out of the hotel.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 2/25/2022 at 8:11 PM, Sunprince said:

Definitely the correct definition of a "snowbird". Check out the urban dictionary  or other sources. A good % of Florida's winter economy is from "northerners" seeking warmer climates in the winter. "Snowbirds" also go to Arizona, Palm Springs etc for winter months. They do not stay in the typical hotels and not for a few days or a week. It's longer term . A snowbird is not the same as a "vacationer" seeking a quick winter holiday. 

 

You're right, it's not snowbirds, but vacationers.  College and school breaks mean a huge tourist influx at this time.  (BTW, I'm a snowbird.)

 

I'm not sure what you will find for $300/night, but I'm sure you can find something, perhaps at a somewhat higher rate.

 

On 2/27/2022 at 9:05 PM, mpclaw said:

...

Regent also confirmed PH, charged us for it, then backtracked and put us in Concierge Class, refunded us the difference and we are now waitlisted....

Wow, that is weird.  You actually had a booking in a specific PH suite, not a guarantee?  Never heard of this before.

 

And oh, no, we never take the bus to the port or back, always a cab or something similar.

[-Lew-]

5 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

I'm not sure what you will find for $300/night, but I'm sure you can find something, perhaps at a somewhat higher rate.

 

We like to fly in 2-3 days before embarkation so we declined the free pre-sail package.  We booked a king room using Hyatt points, transferred from Chase Sapphire Reserve, at the Hyatt Centric Brickell Miami.  Three cash nights would normally cost $1,427.

 

We also declined free air and booked two Comfort+ Delta seats BTV → MIA using points.

[docmark]

Lew, may I ask how many Hyatt points did you have to use for the 3 nights? 

[-Lew-]

34 minutes ago, docmark said:

Lew, may I ask how many Hyatt points did you have to use for the 3 nights? 

 

Certainly...  It was 23,000 points per night for a total of 69,000 points.

 

In my search I noticed other Hyatt brands in the area that require fewer points.  For instance, we're staying one night post cruise at Hyatt House Miami Airport for 15,000 points.

[tijc52]

We booked in December for a Splendor sailing next week (March 17).  I've been watching Miami hotel rates since then as I have been wanting to stay at the Surf Club and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity.  A "city view room" is listed at $5100/night!  So much for that idea.  The rates overall just seem crazy even for the high season.

 

Ended up booking the Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour using Marriott points, so now looking forward to trying it for a night.

[daetchief]

4 hours ago, tijc52 said:

Ended up booking the Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour using Marriott points, so now looking forward to trying it for a night.

The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne is a very nice option.   Stayed two nights after a cruise  [through Regent] and was most pleased by every aspect of the stay.

[tijc52]

10 hours ago, daetchief said:

The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne is a very nice option.   Stayed two nights after a cruise  [through Regent] and was most pleased by every aspect of the stay.

 

Stayed there a few years ago and really enjoyed the resort, but it's sold out when we'll be in town.  It was a great property.

[Gpilon]

2 hours ago, tijc52 said:

 

Stayed there a few years ago and really enjoyed the resort, but it's sold out when we'll be in town.  It was a great property.

We are on the March 17 Splendor cruise also, and Regent have us at AKA Brickell.

[Konagolfer]

We are on the Splendor April 5 trans Atlantic and Regent booked our pre-cruise night at the "East" hotel at Brickell Plaza.  Husband was worried about airline issues from Las Vegas to Miami so we decided to go one day earlier.  We had previously had stayed at a Hampton Inn in that area prior to another cruise on our own dime but Hubby did not want to change hotels so I checked the hotel website and the rooms were listed at $699 for the additional night we needed, so we asked our TA to see if Regent had any available rooms at their price.  TA replied the next day that Regent  had no more allotment of rooms.  So, by the time I went back to the hotel website the price had risen to $799 and with the tax and fees the price came out $935 for the one night!!

Noel

Diamond 1999, Song of Flower 2000, Mariner Maiden Voyage 2001, Mariner 2004, Mariner 2005, Mariner 2007, Voyager 2008, Mariner 2008, Navigator 2009, Mariner 2009, Navigator 2010, Navigator 2011, Mariner Circle South America 2012, Navigator 2013, Voyager 2014, Mariner Circle South America 2016, Explorer 2017, Mariner 2017, Mariner 2018, Mariner 2019

[asnaleah]

Oh my! Sorry you have this aggravating start to your vacation.

[Turn 8A]

We stayed there on our included night on our November cruise. Nice but certainly not worth $799. More like $199.

[Steve Q]

Regent booked us at the Diplomat Resort in Hollywood before our March 25th transatlantic. I have yet to meet anyone who was pleased. It took our bus over an hour to reach the ship on the day of the sailing.

[seniormom]

Our first Regent cruise was this past February out of Miami.  Our pre-cruise Regent hotel was the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables.  It was so-so.  The transfer to port was a bit of a cluster.  Being our first Regent cruise, we wanted to test out the hotel and transfer, even though we had heard many recommending to do it on your own.  Now we know -- base the decision on which port you are going out of.  Future Miami departures we will do on our own.  Cruising Alaska in June, but doing pre and post land tours, so won't be a decision to make.  Next one will be out of New York, so thinking we will likely do that hotel and transfer on our own.....

[Gpilon]

We were on a Splendor cruise departing Miami March 17. We flew in on the 16th and Regent’s choice of hotel was the AKA Brickell. Nice hotel but a pain to get to in a taxi from the airport because of construction. We were the first group to board a bus on the 17th at 11:15 and 15 minutes later were at the port. We were in our cabin at noon, which was advertised for a Grand Suite. Given proximity to port and size, cleanliness of room with a nice restaurant/bar with very friendly staff…....it was a good choice by Regent.