Regent Air

[Cardinal Gal]

We are on the Dec 13 2023 CapeTown cruise. We are curious when we can expect our air arrangements to be assigned.  Also, does anyone know if Regent contracts with Delta?  United?  

[Pcardad]

70 days out but pay the $175 deviation fee and pick your own flights. Your TA can tell you how it works.

 

[RELS]

Regent will look for your flights 75 days prior to embarkation date. We just tried to get a Delta flight for our Dec 20 South America cruise, and Regent Air said they had  nothing with Delta. On the other hand, they found me something with Delta home from Barcelona for this month. It probably depends on the route.

 

Current wisdom says get on the phone with Regent Air as soon as you can (210 days pre-embarkation, so you are in the range now) because at 75 days who knows what will be available. Yes this means $175/person air deviation, but at least you have a booking that almost suits you. My TA spent 1-1/2 hours with Regent Air and they had an awful time getting a booking that we found acceptable.

[RELS]

2 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

70 days out but pay the $175 deviation fee and pick your own flights. Your TA can tell you how it works.

 

Not exactly. You can pick your flights, have your TA talk to Regent Air, and then be told that Regent can't get you any of them, or that there will be an upcharge for the itinerary you want. This just happened to us 😣.

[Pcardad]

7 minutes ago, RELS said:

 

Not exactly. You can pick your flights, have your TA talk to Regent Air, and then be told that Regent can't get you any of them, or that there will be an upcharge for the itinerary you want. This just happened to us 😣.

You send in 3 or 4 options - RA will price them all - you pick what you want. Simple.

[RELS]

Just now, Pcardad said:

You send in 3 or 4 options - RA will price them all - you pick what you want. Simple.

 

I wish. We sent three options for each direction. None of them were acceptable for outbound -- Nothing from any of the airlines we requested. They were able to come up with something acceptable for no upcharge.

 

Inbound we were offered one of our choices with an upcharge, and another itinerary, not on our list. For that one, they offered Premium Economy for one leg, Business/First for the other legs. and when we said yes, they said, oops, no PE.  We went with the upcharge, for that and other reasons.

 

I wish it was as simple as you say. We made our request as soon as allowed. It might have been because we're dealing with South America. I was able to get a pretty decent, not great, itinerary from Regent Air at the 75 day mark for a European cruise next week, but I have to arrive a day early, get my own hotel, and make my own way to the port.

 

 

[Pcardad]

Sorry you had that experience. In 450 nights, I've never had a problem getting something that worked for me. I think the earlier you submit, the greater your chance for success. I hope you have a wonderful cruise! 😃 

[mj_holiday]

For our South Africa cruise last December we were offered a Delta with a surcharge of $2000.  We also were offered a BA (AA) through LHR and return was United which we took.

 

We have always been offered something that worked for us.  One thing I do is ask for Seat Assignment (esp BA) when the flight is worked by TA.

[Cardinal Gal]

Our travel agent spent an hour and a half with Regent Air yesterday. We paid the deviation fee and requested Delta flights. We will be on Delta to CapeTown and British Air/American home. We were pleased with the flights and did not have to pay a surcharge. Thanks to those who took the time to help. 

[welshfamily]

We upgraded to business class which is not included in the Uk. None of our 4 choices were available. Although in took over  4 hrs and we had to travel a day before we had planned Regent did give us good flights and waived the deviation fee when we agreed to pay for the extra night in their as yet undecided hotel.

We were quite happy.

 

[PaulMCO]

Just a reminder, just talking to Regent air will incur a $75 fee, which is waived if you are successful and pay the $175 fee.

 

Finding good acceptable flights is getting harder, especially if you booked early.  The Regent air allowance is WAY BELOW the current pricing of air.  Particularly true for SA and Asia/Pacific.  What was a $4500 fare 18 months ago is now a $6500 to $8000 fare now.

[zak477]

The Regent air department begins to have flights available beginning 210 days from the end date of your cruise.  I know this as I booked my flights Istanbul to Dubai this past May for our November cruise. As platinum members there is no charge for deviation. We got the direct flights we wanted again no Regent fees charged. But the direct flights were limited and there is an additional charge for the actual flight. Our outbound Turkish Air was $600 ea. and the return on Emirates was $1100 ea. Still much cheaper than the starting prices of $4000+ posted.  

The stop over flights were listed with a minimum of 3 hrs. for connecting flights. 

So if you want a particular airline, business class doing direct Regent is very accommodating. 

[Gray Lady]

I may be missing something here. Is the deviation window opening 210 days from when your cruise ENDS or BEGINS. I am reading conflicting information. Thanks in advance for clarification. 

[red1head]

210 days out from embarkation. 

[Gray Lady]

Thank you. That is what I thought. 😀

[labonnevie]

13 hours ago, zak477 said:

The Regent air department begins to have flights available beginning 210 days from the end date of your cruise.  I know this as I booked my flights Istanbul to Dubai this past May for our November cruise. As platinum members there is no charge for deviation. We got the direct flights we wanted again no Regent fees charged. But the direct flights were limited and there is an additional charge for the actual flight. Our outbound Turkish Air was $600 ea. and the return on Emirates was $1100 ea. Still much cheaper than the starting prices of $4000+ posted.  

The stop over flights were listed with a minimum of 3 hrs. for connecting flights. 

So if you want a particular airline, business class doing direct Regent is very accommodating. 

For the same cruise, our flight (from LAX) on Turkish had no up charge and our return from Dubai on Emirates was $1600 pp extra. Both nonstops. We were fine with the upcharge as it saves 7 hours (we still are flying 16 hours) and a transfer. Very happy with the schedules plus have added Emirates free limo on both ends (Dubai and LA).
Look forward to seeing you on board. 

[zak477]

20 hours ago, Gray Lady said:

I may be missing something here. Is the deviation window opening 210 days from when your cruise ENDS or BEGINS. I am reading conflicting information. Thanks in advance for clarification. 

As we have already booked our flights, the 210 days window is the date when the cruise ENDS not  begins.  I don't know why folks are misleading you with the wrong info.

[zak477]

20 hours ago, red1head said:

210 days out from embarkation. 

I am sorry but that is not correct. As we have booked our international flights already via a three-way conversation with my TA & Regent it is 210 day from the END date not the start date. If you don't believe me, call Regent themselves.

[red1head]

That is interesting because that was not my experience. We booked based on the embarkation date. The disembarkation date is within the 210-day window and of course one can book any time starting 210 days out. The Regent website says, “…you may book your flights through Regent Seven Seas Custom Air Department within 210 days of sailing.” 

[pappy1022]

Agree with redhead. Ours was actually the prior 270 days but it was from embarkation

[mrstanley]

With booking only 210 from Embarkation how many seats will be available on flights?

Airlines sell seats 320 days out. 
 

Regent May have contracts but if there are no business class seats left then what?

Why the change to 210 days?

[PaulMCO]

10 hours ago, mrstanley said:

With booking only 210 from Embarkation how many seats will be available on flights?

Airlines sell seats 320 days out. 
 

Regent May have contracts but if there are no business class seats left then what?

Why the change to 210 days?

LOTS...  Airlines sell seats at 330 days out -- but my experience is the only seats booked so far out are FF seats.  Regent has contracts for X number of seats.  They changed the date because of the airlines and their frequent changes, this caused too much work in Miami with notifications and rebookings.

[papaflamingo]

11 hours ago, mrstanley said:

With booking only 210 from Embarkation how many seats will be available on flights?

Airlines sell seats 320 days out. 
 

Regent May have contracts but if there are no business class seats left then what?

Why the change to 210 days?

Depending on the airline you want to book on, you can always go up on the airline website and select flights you are interested in and, at least on Delta, you can see seats available.  But if they offer business class on those flights then seats are available.  Then you can present Regent with 3 or 4 alternatives and see what they come back with. 

No one really knows why they changed to 210 days out, but probably has to do with the air fare structures and all the crazy pricing changes that the airlines do these days. 

Here is what Regent recommends before you call for deviation: 

"Before calling our Custom Air Department, we recommend the following steps to allow you to finalize your air arrangements in one call.

Check flight availability using your preferred online flight finder.

Note any options that are your preferred schedule and routing - including the pricing you would pay independently for each of your chosen flights.

Now that you have the price to purchase air independently, you can make an educated decision to use Regent air or book on your own, utilizing our air credit.

If you have a preferred carrier or route where Regent requires a price differential, you will also be able to decide between purchasing independent air and taking the air credit or accepting the differential to book the air with Regent. Regent does not profit on air differentials.

It helps to be flexible - can you travel an extra day or two prior or stay a day or two later?

[mrstanley]

I understand how the Air Department works.

My concern is at the 210 day booking is how many Business Class seats are left when the airlines have been selling them months earlier. By the time you speak with the air department and then decide to get your own tickets the fares and availability has changed since those flights originally went on sale. 
 

We have been flying internationally again since September 2021. Planes are full.

 

[papaflamingo]

5 hours ago, mrstanley said:

I understand how the Air Department works.

My concern is at the 210 day booking is how many Business Class seats are left when the airlines have been selling them months earlier. By the time you speak with the air department and then decide to get your own tickets the fares and availability has changed since those flights originally went on sale. 
 

We have been flying internationally again since September 2021. Planes are full.

 

That's why I suggested you look on the airline's website before contacting Regent and see if seats are indeed available and how many if it's like Delta where you can view the available seats without booking.  I would prefer they'd left it at 270, but they didn't, so that's what we have to do.