Well, that was…..strange

[Gpilon]

We have had a hold on a GS on a Grandeur cruise for July 22, 2024 that we had to decide on today. “Let’s do it” we said. Our TA came back and said our $6.5K deposit was, per Regent, non-refundable. We mentioned something about a “place where the sun doesn’t shine”  and took the hold off the suite/cruise. Five minutes later, our TA calls and says “Regent have gone back to their original cancellation policy” which means if we cancel up til March 2024, we lose only $100/person. Regent….losing the customer centric appeal? Our last 2 Splendor cruises were also in GS’s and we never encountered this before. Hopefully this will be a great cruise….??

[Silver Sweethearts]

It appears that Regent may have added the July 22, 2024 cruise to its inaugural season for the Grandeur, and non-refundable cancellation penalties are rather stiff then (we believe around 25% for a Grand Suite).  One interesting thing is that the season should end about July 1st, so your cruise is not in the inaugural season window (but maybe they extended it).  

[Vertygo]

Here’s the standard cancellation rate chart, inaugural season or not. You were either very lucky or they really want your business. Hope you have that $100 in writing, but most of all hope you don’t need to cancel & have a wonderful cruise.

 

DAYS PRIOR TO VACATION DATE	CANCELLATION AMOUNT PER PERSON
CATEGORY	RS	MS-H
Deposit Date-121	25% of fare	$100*
120-91	50% of fare	15% of fare
90-61	75% of fare	50% of fare
60-31	100% of fare	75% of fare
30-0	100% of fare	100% of fare

 

[Gpilon]

9 minutes ago, Vertygo said:

Here’s the standard cancellation rate chart, inaugural season or not. You were either very lucky or they really want your business. Hope you have that $100 in writing, but most of all hope you don’t need to cancel & have a wonderful cruise.

 

DAYS PRIOR TO VACATION DATE	CANCELLATION AMOUNT PER PERSON
CATEGORY	RS	MS-H
Deposit Date-121	25% of fare	$100*
120-91	50% of fare	15% of fare
90-61	75% of fare	50% of fare
60-31	100% of fare	75% of fare
30-0	100% of fare	100% of fare

 

We ensured we got the $100/person cancellation fee in writing......had we not, we would have simply let the hold expire. Thanks.

[Gpilon]

15 hours ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

It appears that Regent may have added the July 22, 2024 cruise to its inaugural season for the Grandeur, and non-refundable cancellation penalties are rather stiff then (we believe around 25% for a Grand Suite).  One interesting thing is that the season should end about July 1st, so your cruise is not in the inaugural season window (but maybe they extended it).  

Weird, indeed. Just wondering if that Regent gets push back that they “amend” policies to sell the suite? Been to Kapalua 9 times….love Maui. You live in Paradise. 

[cruiseej]

I think all the cruise lines are doing some experimenting and testing around more stringent deposits. For a long time, they've made it very easy for people to hold a cruise with a modest and mostly refundable deposit, and then decide if they really want to go 120 or 90 days in advance. 

 

It's a trend throughout the hospitality industry. More high-end restaurants are now requiring a credit card to hold a reservation, witch a change for no-show or last-minute cancellation. More hotels and auto rentals are offering their best prices if you make a non-refundable prepayment. And I think cruise lines — which have a much higher-cost product — are inevitably going to try to cut down on the late cancellations they can't resell, leaving cabins empty without generating revenue. In some cases, it may be requiring larger deposits.  Or earlier penalty periods for cancellation. Or better prices for full prepayment. Or partially non-refundable deposits. Silversea, for instance, has gone to a split pricing scheme for higher-priced "door-to-door" and lower priced "port-to-port" fares, with the latter having a non-refundable 25% deposit.

 

I expect to see the cruise lines continue testing what customers will accept and what they will rise up against, as they try to boost revenues and whittle down their massive debt from the Covid shutdown. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I'm confused. I assumed a G is a Grand Suite.  But the table in posting #4 mentions RS, which I assume means Regent Suite.

Edited July 9, 2023 by Wendy The Wanderer

[Gpilon]

1 hour ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

I'm confused. I assumed a G is a Grand Suite.  But the table in posting #4 mentions RS, which I assume means Regent Suite.

We are in a Grand Suite. The post from Vertygo references the Regent Suite. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

1 minute ago, Gpilon said:

We are in a Grand Suite. The post from Vertygo references the Regent Suite. 

Yes, and the big penalties were clearly only for the RS.

[Gpilon]

3 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Yes, and the big penalties were clearly only for the RS.

When we decided to book off our hold, our TA advised deposit was non-refundable. Not going to accept that 1 year out so told agent to remove our hold. Five minutes later Regent comes to us with a $100/person cancellation fee up to March or so. Coincidence….have a hard time believing that. 

[Gpilon]

16 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Yes, and the big penalties were clearly only for the RS.

We were up your way 3 weekends ago. 2 nights in Vaughan then 2 in Burlington. Great weather and time spent with family and friends. 

[papaflamingo]

16 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

I'm confused. I assumed a G is a Grand Suite.  But the table in posting #4 mentions RS, which I assume means Regent Suite.

"G" is a Deluxe Verandah, and the second cheapest category ("H" is the cheapest).  "GS" is a Grand Suite.   And you are correct, "RS" is the Regent Suite.

Edited July 10, 2023 by papaflamingo

[Wendy The Wanderer]

6 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

"G" is a Deluxe Verandah, and the second cheapest category ("H" is the cheapest).  "GS" is a Grand Suite.   And you are correct, "RS" is the Regent Suite.

Sorry, that was a typo.  I meant a GS, the suite the OP mentioned.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

22 hours ago, Gpilon said:

We were up your way 3 weekends ago. 2 nights in Vaughan then 2 in Burlington. Great weather and time spent with family and friends. 

You were lucky then.  Weather so far this summer has been up and down like a roller coaster.  Hot and muggy, rainy and cool, smoky as all get out.  It's nice now, but getting hot again.

[Gpilon]

44 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

You were lucky then.  Weather so far this summer has been up and down like a roller coaster.  Hot and muggy, rainy and cool, smoky as all get out.  It's nice now, but getting hot again.

We know we lucked out. With family and friends in both TO and Montreal, we follow weather up there closely. Flew in on the Friday and back to Savannah Tuesday. No rain whatsoever, but hot enough. Easy flights…Delta….Savannah to Atlanta to TO then TO to Atlanta to Savannah. All 4 fights slammed with not a seat available…..but all on time. 

Edited July 10, 2023 by Gpilon