Free Excursions: How good are they?

[marieps]

Hi All:

We plan to travel Regent for the first time Aug 2010 in Alaska. As you know, the fare includes "free unlimited excursions." I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts or opinions as to the quality of the "free" excursions, as compared to the "premium" excursions for which they demand an up charge.

If they're offering float plane tours and dog sledding for "free" I'd be shocked. Input much appreciated.

[poss]

On our four cruises with Regent, we've thought the excursions were, on the whole, very good indeed. The quality didn't change at all when they switched to "free" excursions. (We did Alaska on Mariner this past August.) The up-charge on given excursions wasn't because such excursions were to be a higher quality, but rather because of the built-in cost of the excursions, e.g. copters, floatplanes, dog-camps, etc. We loved the nature tour in Tongass Rain forest (free) as much as the floatplane (upcharge), and loved the Tracy Arm (upcharge) as much as the Sea Otter and Wildlife Quest (free). Each was excellent for what it was. The guides on our up-charge excursions, e.g., weren't better than the guides on our freebies. I know that many people choose to do independent excursions (I think even with the new policies?) because they feel ship tours are often of a lesser quality, or that one gets more individual attention on private tours. We don't have the comparison, but have been more than satisfied (with minor exceptions) with Regent's tours.

[marieps]

Thanks so much for your post. May I ask how much the upcharges were for your premium excursions? We have lots of OBC thru our TA, and will likely invest it in the excursions.

[Dreps]

We agree; the "free" excursions were of comparable quality to the excursions that previously cost. The very fancy excursions, often including meals, had supplements, but the cost was far less than the previous price of similar excursions before the new policy. Our experience is based on nonstop excursions during our intensive 7-day Baltics cruise that we took in August. Often we took two "free" excursions in one day; some friends took three, including one in the evening. Our only gripe is that we cannot use our shipboard credits in reserving the excursions online.

[NCCruzQueen]

marieps,

I was on the Mariner last month and we took 3 out of 4 free excursions. This was my 3rd time on a Regent ship in Alaska and found all the excursions similar to those on past cruises.

Ketichikan - Cruise George Inlet and Crab feast - enjoyed this excursion
Juneau - Whale Watching & Wildlife Quest - saw loads of whales
Skagway - White Pass Scenic Railroad By Steam Train paid $49.00 using SBC
Sitka - Sea Otter and Wildlife Quest - saw lots of wildlife - one of the best excursions on this cruise

Some people booked their excursions online charging to their credit card. Once onboard, they cancelled the excursion and rebooked to have it charged to their SBC. The Destination Desk was happy to do this for them.

[marieps]

Thanks Queen,

I have my TA researching a client sailing the PG with week to see if she also got to switch credit card bookings to SBC bookings with no incident. We are blessed with globs of SBC and want to invest it the best way we can. One can only take so many massages!

[Ka Honu]

We were on Mariner the week before NCCruzQueen and took the following excursions:

Sitka: Sea Otter & Wildlife Quest - free - excellent as she reported

Juneau: SWMBO went for the Mendenhall Glacier Helicopter trip but it was canceled due to winds so we visited my favorite pubs in Juneau. At about $110 as I recall, it would have been a lot cheaper than booking it independently.

Skagway: White Pass Scenic Railroad - free - a "must see" to really appreciate the history of the area. Did the steam train once and prefer this one. Do not sit in the right-side seats in the cars that don't have seats on the opposite side of the train. If you do, when everyone else switches sides at the top, you'll still be on the mountain side of the train (You want to be on the valley side in one direction or the other).

Ketchikan: Alaskan Chef's Table - free - good fun and great meal. The tour operator's brother (A.J.) was with us and was super interesting on wildlife and Alaskan life.

All in all, we recommend the freebies. About the only reason we might have taken the "premium" tours was if we wanted to fly or fish.

[NCCruzQueen]

I also heard the some of the float plane excursions were spectacular, esp. Misty Fjord.