Regents web site - Already Booked section

[Hambagahle]

Today is March 2 and still no sign of the Already Booked section on the RSSC website going live...it is 13.21 here which makes it 7.21 on the US East Coast...should have been working by now, I would have thought?

[scuba diver]

It is not working here on the Pacific coast either. However, I am going to give them a few hours. We may be the only two people up at this hour.

5 P.M. (1700) eastern standard time may be the best target hour to start the condemnation. A good marketing program never offers what it can't deliver.

[parisbully]

I believe their Corporate offices are in the central time zone. So it would be a 2 hour later time difference from the west coast. And 1 hour earlier from the east coast.

[scuba diver]

However, the more important question is, "What time is it in Panama?"

From the legal page of the Regent site:

"This site is owned and operated by Classic Cruises Holdings S. de R.L, a Panama company doing business as Regent Seven Seas Cruises,..."

[parisbully]

ok, so what time is it in Panama?

[scuba diver]

That's easy. It is the same time it is in Cleveland. :D

[tombo]

The Seven Seas Society section of the website is back up and running but, in my case, incorrectly. A prior cruise on PG from Fiji to Tahiti which was previously reflected correctly is now shown as a round trip from Papeete. Last November's cruise on Voyager from Rome to Fort Lauderdale (which was 2 B to B segments) is shown as one cruise from Osaka, Japan to FLL.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Hmm, I have no idea what my Seven Seas Society number is. I guess it's buried in some paper file somewhere. I want my login ID back, presumably it's coming.

[OrpingtonT]

Hmm, I have no idea what my Seven Seas Society number is. I guess it's buried in some paper file somewhere. I want my login ID back, presumably it's coming.

For your Seven Seas Society Membership number I suggest you e-mail RClarke@regentexperience.com

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Thanks, I found the number in an old statement. Managed to log in, and everything is right. Unfortunately we're just 2 away from Gold, not a big deal I guess. We will go Gold when we come up from our Rio trip.

[OrpingtonT]

But I still cannot get into the "already booked" sction to book my excursions. Early evening here in the UK!!!

[PaulaJK]

I am hardly surprised at this considering all of the problems over an extnded period of time. However, I do find it frustrating....and now I'm just imagining all of the upcoming confusion about tours and if/how/when they were paid.

[cruiseej]

The Already Booked site just went live, along with all the new Regent pricing on the main page. Lots of additional cruises this year now have free excursions.

Okay, I'm diving in to book excursions for us and my parents. Wish me luck! ;)

-- Eric

[Hambagahle]

Got here in Switzerland too - BUT it wouldn't take the reservation ID that I have so I will have to ask my travel agent in Zurich tomorrow!! At least they kept their word about 2nd March!!:)

[cruiseej]

Well, I've booked excursions for us and my parents, with no (apparent) problems. The Regent web site didn't show any sign of being slow or overloaded with people trying to use it. So far, so good.

The only thing I found a little odd is that the checkout page where you pay for excursions isn't pre-populated with any data -- you have to type your name and address in addition to the credit card information, even though they clearly have the address on file. Not a big deal by any means; it just struck me as less refined than most e-commerce/online buying web sites. It also just dawned on me that it never even asks for your email address, and thus doesn't send an email confirmation, as most online purchasing sites do.

My one complaint is the policy limiting people to advance booking only one excursion per day in port. On this first trip to Alaska, we very much wanted to do a whale watch and a helicopter flight to a glacier, and the best place to do both of those is Juneau -- but although the times readily permits both, I had to choose one. Since both of these have limited capacity, I'm assuming the one I didn't choose will be sold out by the time we board the ship three months from now; I hope I'm wrong. I might see limiting people to one free excursion per day for advance booking, but when we're choosing excursions we have to pay for, it would be better if they let people choose more than one. Oh well, I 'm resigned to the fact that this policy isn't likely to change anytime soon; maybe they'll modify it in time for the free excursions on 2010 cruises.

-- Eric

[lkakers]

Yep, the Already Booked section is indeed live now, but mine still has problems.

First, the dining reservations part isn't functional.

Second, and this is more related to my cruise than to the site, I think, but although my cruise sales in fewer than 70 days, RSSC still hasn't finalized the excursion list. So even though I can log into "Already Booked", I can't actually reserve anything.

I spoke to my TA this morning and said he's had trouble this morning with their service, even today. Apparently, this morning the phones actually went out, so he couldn't even get through for a while. He also did confirm that Regent really has not finalized the excursion list for the 5/7/09 Mariner sailing.

[DavidJ]

Our cruise is on the Mariner departing May 20, 2009. The pre booking excursions is excluded for our cruise and the pre registration form cannot be printed. It is a total mess for our cruise! I never had such issues with the old Regent website. I still do not think there is the answer for those that had shipboard credit and wanted to use it to book excursions. And for those getting "FREE and UNLIMITED excursions", the majority are not free and it is not unlimited. Our cruise does not qualify for that which may also be why the site cannot handle pre booking. I feel like I am still using technology from this past century. Clearly the Premium Cruise lines have a great advantage over Regent when it comes to Websites. Pierce

[OrpingtonT]

I managed to get through and booked some free excursions. There is no confirmation though, so all I can do is hope the information has got through. I don't want to commit to paid-for excursions just yet.

Ikakers. The dining reservations don't open until 28 days before sailing, if my memory serves me right.

[RachelG]

I also was able to get on and book some excursions. I was able to print off the confirmation page, which is what it instructs you to do. I did not buy any yet that you have to pay extra for.

[OrpingtonT]

I don't feel at all confident that my bookings have been registered. When I hit the "proceed to check-out button, I was returned to the home page and had to re-enter my details. I had no confirmation page, let alone an instruction to print it off.

[cruiseluv]

Does it give you the option to check what excursions you have booked?

[RachelG]

Does it give you the option to check what excursions you have booked?
I just logged back on to see. Yes, they are still there, listed as soon as I log in.

[lkakers]

I managed to get through and booked some free excursions. There is no confirmation though, so all I can do is hope the information has got through. I don't want to commit to paid-for excursions just yet.

lkakers. The dining reservations don't open until 28 days before sailing, if my memory serves me right.

Ahhh. That makes sense. I'll wait and check back in then!

Thank you!

[cruiseluv]

I just logged back on to see. Yes, they are still there, listed as soon as I log in.

That's good, at least you know they were not lost in cyberspace (since they don't send and e-mail acknowledging them).

[Portolan]

they must be hiring morons to do their we site. After seeing the posts that "Already Booked" was live I logged in for our July 2010 cruise. It acknowledged we are on that cruise and offered to book excurisons (!). OK, maybe this is a change so I tried only to be told I can't until 120 days out. Fair enough, but well-designed web sites don't offer options when they know they don't apply. Worst yet to come. When you navigate away from that page and then return, it has forgotten all about you. The old, pretty good in retrospect, web site at least kept track (via a cookie, no doubt) of what cruises you were on so each visit didn't start with it treating you like a stranger. Clearly Regent hasn't figured that long time, loyal cruisers with them don't like to be treated like a stranger each time they visit their site. This is the most sophomoric web site I frequent...hardly consistent with a luxury class image! And we LIKE Regent. We want them to survive and thrive!

[cruiseej]

I managed to get through and booked some free excursions. There is no confirmation though, so all I can do is hope the information has got through. I don't want to commit to paid-for excursions just yet.

I don't think we'll get any confirmation. Why? During login and check-out, it never asks for your email address! Seems very odd to me for a new e-commerce web site. But at least you can log back in and see what you've already booked, so you can tell whether your reservations got through or not.

I'm hoping in the future they'll bring together the different parts of their customer information systems so we'll be able to use a single sign-on to see our booked cruises, our booked excursions and restaurant reservations, our Seven Seas Society history, our guest information, etc. Right now, these all seem to be pieces of different systems. (I just found that the Already Booked site only lets me download a PDF Guest Information form for passport information, and the form says the information may be entered on the web site -- but it clearly can't, yet.) Hopefully what's available today is simply phase one of an ongoing project to improve customer interaction on the web site, because what's there now is pretty far from state of the art. But at least we can pre-book excursions! ;)

-- Eric

[azgkrudi]

I just don't understand why they don't even list something as basic as your suite number or guarantee level of your booking, like they used to (or at least specify "guarantee" without the suite level). How hard could this be? They used to be able to do it!?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I agree, it's incredibly lame. Can't understand what they are thinking.

[cruiseluv]

I agree, it's incredibly lame. Can't understand what they are thinking.

That's the point.... They are NOT thinking. And this is a cruise line that only has 4 ships to manage!

[OrpingtonT]

I just logged back on to see. Yes, they are still there, listed as soon as I log in.

Just tried again this morning. Nothing listed for me when I logged in with my booking number etc. So I ticked my first selection then it returned me to the home page where I logged in with my booking number etc. My first selection was on the summary, so I ticked off another, then was sent back to the home page and so on. Final act of "proceed to check-in" --just sent back to home page with no check-in or confirmation page to print off. So I have no way of knowing whether my requests have been registered or not.

Finally, there are no excursions listed for at least two of the ports, Bergen and Capt Dag's home port. Does any of this accord with your experiences (especially RachelG as you are also booking for the cruise I am on)

[OrpingtonT]

I have just logged back in and nothing is recorded on the summary!

[EZ99B5]

I have just logged back in and nothing is recorded on the summary!
Did you call Regent's UK office? We were having the same problem yesterday but it was fixed when we tried again this morning.

[cruiseej]

Does any of this accord with your experiences

It definitely sounds different than my experience yesterday. I was never sent back to the home page and forced to log in again. After making each excursion selection and clicking "Add", I was sent back to the main page for my cruise, where I could see a summary of what I had booked and could select a different port.

Is it possible that you have your web browser set to block cookies? I'm just wondering if there's something causing your computer not to get along with the web site. Do you have a different browser program you could try (e.g. if you're using a Widows computer and were using Internet Explorer, do you have Firefox on your computer so you could try that)? Alternatively, it could be that there's something not set up right with your specific cruise on the Regent site, but based on Rachel saying it worked for her yesterday, I'm thinking that's probably not the source of the problem.

-- Eric

[OrpingtonT]

It definitely sounds different than my experience yesterday. I was never sent back to the home page and forced to log in again. After making each excursion selection and clicking "Add", I was sent back to the main page for my cruise, where I could see a summary of what I had booked and could select a different port.

Is it possible that you have your web browser set to block cookies? I'm just wondering if there's something causing your computer not to get along with the web site. Do you have a different browser program you could try (e.g. if you're using a Widows computer and were using Internet Explorer, do you have Firefox on your computer so you could try that)? Alternatively, it could be that there's something not set up right with your specific cruise on the Regent site, but based on Rachel saying it worked for her yesterday, I'm thinking that's probably not the source of the problem.

-- Eric

Thanks. Yes I have tried a different browser (Firefox) with exactly the same result. I have lowered my security and privacy settings to no avail. Our cruise isn't until 26 June so I am not too bothered at the moment but it is a nuisance.

Thanks also, EZ99B5. I haven't rung RSSC UK yet, I'll persevere trying the site for a while.

[Hambagahle]

I finally got my ID number from my agent in Zurich, and was able to access the "Already Booked" section BUT cannot book excursions for my cruise (departs May 1 2009) since "these are not yet available" !! It also says something about excursion booking being available 120 days before departure. Since I am leaving in less than 60 days I think I am within this time period!!

I notice that several people were able to book their excursions. Why not the May 1 cruise I wonder?

I was able to fill out and submit the butler form but could only print out and fill in by hand the Guest Information Form. I do not understand why this is - if you can complete one form on the site, why not another. It (the Guest form) doesn't ask for a signature...

Clearly this part of the site is not yet complete...I hope Regent gets a refund from the firm it used to develop the site!!

[scotlady]

O.k. - from the website:

Please be aware that online Shore Excursion reservations are only available beginning with the following cruises:
Seven Seas Navigator May 10, 2009
Seven Seas Mariner May 27, 2009
Seven Seas Voyager May 8, 2009
Paul Gauguin June 6, 2009

We're on the May 16th PG, so it looks like we can't book our excursions on line at all! Why would they do this?

[cruiseej]

I finally got my ID number from my agent in Zurich, and was able to access the "Already Booked" section BUT cannot book excursions for my cruise (departs May 1 2009) since "these are not yet available" !! It also says something about excursion booking being available 120 days before departure. Since I am leaving in less than 60 days I think I am within this time period!! I notice that several people were able to book their excursions. Why not the May 1 cruise I wonder?

Clearly this part of the site is not yet complete...I hope Regent gets a refund from the firm it used to develop the site!!

I think you missed reading on the Already Booked page after you logged in where it says:
Please be aware that online Shore Excursion reservations are only available beginning with the following cruises:
Seven Seas Navigator May 10, 2009
Seven Seas Mariner May 27, 2009
Seven Seas Voyager May 8, 2009
Paul Gauguin June 6, 2009

So it's not a glitch in the system that you can't book online -- it's by design. Now the why's of the delay are obviously open to question, but at least it's not the fault of the program. My speculation is that they need time to get new software installed on each of the ships -- since new software is required to interface with Regent's main system to download the booked reservations -- and to train the onboard staff, and that they couldn't start that process until they deployed the new software this week. Just a guess.

Meanwhile, anyone traveling before those dates should probably contact Regent directly or via your TA to see if you can book or request excursions in advance by phone. Or others have reported that there will be an excursion request form when you receive your travel docs, and you can fax it to Regent then. Clearly, that's not as desirable as being able to do confirmed bookings online, but that's the way Regent has chosen to roll this out. (I'm not being a Regent apologist; just trying to help sort out the confusion.)

-- Eric

[ethelburga]

This is quite worrying. We have tried to everything according to the book but have suspect THAT WEBSITE may have beaten us. We are in the UK and when we booked our cruise 2 months ago, through Regent's office here in the UK, they initially accepted our bookings for shore excursions. In fact we have an receipt stating that we have paid for them. A few days later they called to say that actually the excursions couldn't be booked until 120 days before departure. So I called them 120 days before departure, but no, I had to wait a bit longer because the website was still under construction. However I would be able to book my excursions myself on line on March 2nd. So on March 2nd we tried to book on line. The site was working but it left a lot to be desired and at the end of the process we did not feel convinced that our bookings had been accepted. Today I called the Regent office in the UK, to check that by bookings had been successful. They could not help me. They were aware of the problems and tried to be helpful. They assured me that I was not the only one having problems and as soon as the office in the US opened they would try to sort it out (that would be 2pm UK time). The UK staff have not yet been trained on this system. They are getting their training at 3pm today. I have a nasty feeling that by the time this is sorted out the excursions I wanted to book will have been taken by those lucky few who managed to make the site work properly and we will miss out through no fault of our own. This is the first and will probably be the last time I get the chance to visit Alaska so it will be extremely annoying if we cannot to the things we want to do because of THAT WEBSITE.

[RachelG]

Based on your experiences, I went back to the web site just now. My computer had saved the booking number, so I just had to enter the 1st digit, but it is annoying to have to reenter this info every time.
My selected excursions are still listed, so that is all good.
Orpington, there are excursions offered in Bergen--they apparently haven't finalized them yet and so haven't entered them in the system. I will keep checking every day.
In Captain's Dag's home port, there are no excursions. Everyone just does the visit to the village, but it does not have to be pre-booked.

[OrpingtonT]

In Captain's Dag's home port, there are no excursions. Everyone just does the visit to the village, but it does not have to be pre-booked.

Good. That makes sense. Thanks.

I still am subject to the same troubles. Every time I click"add" I am taken back to the home page to log in again.

[ethelburga]

Now when I log on to the site it tells me I have not requested any excursions so presumably the "bookings" I tried to make yesterday were not accepted by the system. It seems pointless to keep trying as the result is always the same. Have twice called the Regent office in the UK where the pleasant and helpful staff clearly don't know how to cope with this problem. Their latest idea is that they will try to book online on my behalf. I hope they have more luck than I did!

[Portolan]

In Captain's Dag's home port, there are no excursions. Everyone just does the visit to the village, but it does not have to be pre-booked.

At least it was in 2007. Everybody invited to his home which is about a mile out of the village. Actually a pleasant walk though they also had shuttle buses. The village is tiny so there isn't much else to do, but this is a huge event for them. You know, "local boy makes good and brings 700 of his friends for a visit"!

[NC&KY]

Has anyone tried to enter passport information? It asks me if I'm from the US or the UK and then offers to download the form (in pdf format). Alternatively, it gives me the option to file it electronically, but when I hit that link, it takes me back to the sign in stage!

[diebroke]

Has anyone tried to enter passport information?

I tried with the same result you experienced.

[gdlamberth]

Found another little hitch. We're booked on a B2B2B (three 7 day segments on Navigator starting July 17). When I use our booking number I could only make reservations for the first segment. I called RSSC and found there are separate booking numbers for each segment. Our booking numbers for the second and third segments would not pull up those segments. Mark at RSSC said he'd make a note to the Web Page folks regarding how do folks booking multiple segments access all their segments. Also, got on about 2:45 MST yesterday and one of the tours in Istanbul was already full.
Greg

[cruiseej]

Greg, not quite sure why you posted your message here tonight after having posted it about 15 hours earlier this morning on another web site -- and getting a reply from a travel agent.

For those reading this thread who are not readers of that other forum, here's what the TA replied to your report about not being able to book excursions on multiple segments: "I have spoken with Regent and the e-solutions people are working on building multiple segments in the system. Appears they will be available but not sure how soon." And to your frustration with finding one excursion closed: "Also they may have gotten many requests for certain tours so while it may have appeared closed out they will reopen another tour so keep trying."

(I'm not criticizing; just trying to share whatever information we have to help ease the pain/frustration/confusion we're all living through with Regent's bumpy computer transition.)

-- Eric

[jhp]

Eric, perhaps he was just bringing this glitch about B2B's to the attention of people on this particular board. I didn't see that he was asking for an answer to his problem from other posters. It is his choice to post on two different boards. I do it all the time (as do you lately) as they have some members in common, and some not!

[gdlamberth]

jhp, you're right just "sharing." I'm guessing not a huge number of folks do B2Bs so no one here may have encountered this yet. Eric, sorry for the confusion. Once this function is up and running I'll report back on both boards.
Greg

[OrpingtonT]

Now when I log on to the site it tells me I have not requested any excursions so presumably the "bookings" I tried to make yesterday were not accepted by the system. It seems pointless to keep trying as the result is always the same. Have twice called the Regent office in the UK where the pleasant and helpful staff clearly don't know how to cope with this problem. Their latest idea is that they will try to book online on my behalf. I hope they have more luck than I did!

I think that we, in the UK, are experiencing more problems. I can now get to the stage where I tick the boxes for the various excursions but my final "proceed to check-out" always comes back with a message in red at the bottom "An error occurred during a "Request" call to NVS:(2101) Office and Currency code required"

The excursion requests are not saved and I have to start all over again with the same result. Any thoughts from UK or indeed US cruisers would be welcome.

[OrpingtonT]

Now when I log on to the site it tells me I have not requested any excursions so presumably the "bookings" I tried to make yesterday were not accepted by the system. It seems pointless to keep trying as the result is always the same. Have twice called the Regent office in the UK where the pleasant and helpful staff clearly don't know how to cope with this problem. Their latest idea is that they will try to book online on my behalf. I hope they have more luck than I did!

I think that we, in the UK, are experiencing more problems. I can now get to the stage where I tick the boxes for the various excursions but my final "proceed to check-out" always comes back with a message in red at the bottom "An error occurred during a "Request" call to NVS2101) Office and Currency code required"

The excursion requests are not saved and I have to start all over again with the same result. Any thoughts from UK or indeed US cruisers would be welcome.

[OrpingtonT]

Sorry for the double post. I don't know where that smiley frown came from in the first one!

[mrlevin]

No problems booking excursions for both of my August cruises. With limitation of only one excursion per day, I needed to prioritize and choose ones that I thought more likely to sell out (e.g., small group tours) and hope that others would still be available when we boarded.

[OrpingtonT]

The UK Regent Office rang me this afternoon, apologised for the problems on their website and offered to record our bookings for our cruise, which I was glad to do. Good service, eh?

[opheliaj]

We are booked on the 09/09/09 Mariner Alaska cruise. I was online a couple of days ago and saw that the excursions for our cruise are, for the most part, included and free. There is a nominal charge for some of the more expensive ones, but it does seem to be nominal.

We are traveling with friends and haven't been able to decide just yet on exactly which excursions we want to book. We hope to get to that within the next day or so.

Has anyone called RSSC to find out if their bookings were recorded? We intend to book ours online and certainly don't want to lose out on anything because of some sort of computer glitch.

[Cattravel10]

Just received e-mail from my TA today. She sent me invoice from Regent to her for my 6/10/09 sailing. On that listed my excursions I did online a few days ago. So all is well. Got what I wanted and am happy:):)

[DaveFr]

We are booked on the 09/09/09 Mariner Alaska cruise. I was online a couple of days ago and saw that the excursions for our cruise are, for the most part, included and free. There is a nominal charge for some of the more expensive ones, but it does seem to be nominal.

We are traveling with friends and haven't been able to decide just yet on exactly which excursions we want to book. We hope to get to that within the next day or so.

Has anyone called RSSC to find out if their bookings were recorded? We intend to book ours online and certainly don't want to lose out on anything because of some sort of computer glitch.
We're sailing on the cruise just before yours. On Monday, I booked one excursion to see what would happen. The excursion still shows in my excursion summary online as booked. Today, my TA informed me that she had received notice from Regent that I had booked an excursion.

So, it looks like you won't have any problems booking your excursions online. Regent appears to have discarded the former 120 day to seven day window for booking excursions online. Remember that you can only book one excursion per person per port prior to sailing.

Hope this helps.

Dave

[cruiseej]

jhp, you're right just "sharing." I'm guessing not a huge number of folks do B2Bs so no one here may have encountered this yet. Eric, sorry for the confusion. Once this function is up and running I'll report back on both boards.

Greg, sorry I was unclear and seemed like I was chastising you for cross-posting. I appreciate the sharing of all information (as I've also been trying to do). All I was noting was that you posted the glitch you found, but not the reply from the TA on the other board which at least partially addressed it with information from Regent. That's the only reason I posted -- to share that additional info for others who might be in a similar situation with a B2B and wondering if Regent knows or is doing anything about it. Sorry I wasn't clearer.

-- Eric

[Bearnaise]

I added a cruise's worth of excursions to my upcoming Paul Gauguin cruise and when I went to submit my credit card info, I received an error that the amount didn't match the credit card charge or something to that effect.

Not wanting to give up, I ended up starting over, adding one day at a time and charging each separately. That worked, but now I'll end up with 7 separate charges to my credit card.

[Skipper2]

Happy to report I just reserved tours with no problems. I am on same cruise as Bearnaise; interesting, the message says only certain cruises can reserve but our July cruise is open.

[Bearnaise]

Happy to report I just reserved tours with no problems. I am on same cruise as Bearnaise; interesting, the message says only certain cruises can reserve but our July cruise is open.
There's one excursion on Rangiroa, Scuba Tiputa Pass, that shows availability on both days, but it's only actually offered on the one of the days TBD. Since I didn't want to miss out, I had to book both days. Booking the same excursion on both days might be why we got the error, but it did allow me to book both days when I booked separately.

On another note, the online reservation page says: "In order to allow every guest the opportunity to book shore excursions for each day of their cruise, only one (1) shore excursion per day may be reserved online. To book additional tours, please contact Regent Reservations at 877-505-5370..."

So I called the number, just in case, and my expectations were confirmed: you can't book more than one per day until you're actually on the ship. Why they suggest calling to book additional tours, I have no idea, but since it's a toll-free number, it's their dime I wasted :)

[drifting_away]

I got the same error message, and I called Regent. We (the regent TA and I) think it may have to do with the fact that I had a $200 air deviation charge. When he brought up my total it was 200 more than the excursions. I did it over the phone and all is well!:D

[ethelburga]

The staff at Regent's UK office booked our excursions for us and all seems to be well - so many thanks to them.

[leese]

I am trying to book excursions for our July 24 Istanbul to Monte Carlo cruise. ALL excursions are giving the following message "Unfortunately this excursion time is currently sold out. Please visit the Destinations Services Desk onboard to check for additional availability." This is even for the excursions that aren't free. Any idea if these are in fact sold out? While many of the categories are full, 5 are not. I'm not too excited about going on a cruise where the draw of free excursions was a significant factor in booking and not being about to go on these free excursions!

Is it because of the following message? "Please be aware that online Shore Excursion reservations are only available beginning with the following cruises:
Seven Seas Navigator May 10, 2009
Seven Seas Mariner May 27, 2009
Seven Seas Voyager May 8, 2009
Paul Gauguin June 6, 2009"

I've looked for a message with other dates for excursions, but no luck.

[cruiseej]

I suggest you call Regent directly. There are clearly still some problems with their database in places. I can't imagine every excursion is sold out, and I don't suggest waiting until you board; a Regent representative might be able to go into the system and book your desired excursions by phone.

-- Eric

[OrpingtonT]

Does the 120 day rule still apply? If so the booking period isn't open yet. Though I do agree with cruiseej above. Give them a call.

[drifting_away]

Does the 120 day rule still apply? If so the booking period isn't open yet. Though I do agree with cruiseej above. Give them a call.

We were able to book and we are 150 days out. I think the 120 is off the table.

[cruiseej]

We were able to book and we are 150 days out. I think the 120 is off the table.

Before the Already Booked section of the web site opened for business last week, the placeholder text did still say 120 days, I believe -- but a number of people have reported that they've been able to book for trips beyond that this week since the site opened. However, people have also reported incomplete excursion lists and being unable to book for some cruises in July and beyond. For now, it doesn't seem clear what's driven by policy and what's driven by data entry issues getting excursions properly loaded into the new computer system. Perhaps Regent will at some point clarify on the web site, or to TA's, exactly how far in advance excursions will now be available for booking, but currently it seems the rule of thumb is simply to log in and see what is or isn't available for your cruise.

If anyone has gleaned an answer from Regent about how it's going to work going forward, please share! ;)

-- Eric

[Lsb58]

In our group of 8, 5 of us have booked excursions for a mid July cruise to Alaska with no problems what so ever. All of the excursions turned out to be free too, even the ones we thought had a small fee. F.Y.I..... I was curious about the cancellation policy for a "free" excursion and was told by a Regent rep that if you cancel less than 37 hours prior to an excursion, you will be charged the full price.

[scuba diver]

If you are not satisfied with the free tour do you get double your money back?

[cruiseej]

I was curious about the cancellation policy for a "free" excursion and was told by a Regent rep that if you cancel less than 37 hours prior to an excursion, you will be charged the full price.

It'll be interesting to see how they play this out. Will they take attendance and bill people full price for being a no show? What if someone is sea-sick overnight and a couple decides not to go on a tour -- could your free excursion for two people suddenly turn into a $600 bill because someone is feeling under-the-weather? That's a little scary...

-- Eric

[Lsb58]

As it was explained to me, the reason for this policy is to prohibit people booking multiple excursions and then making a last minute decision which ones they really want to do. I would have thought the one excursion per port per person policy would have taken care of the issue. I don't have a problem with the policy as regards someone who cancels an excursion at the last minute without just cause, as Regent has presumably incurred the cost. I would hope that illness, or any other circumstance outside my control would be taken in to consideration by Regent. Perhaps someone else who calls Regent will get a different answer. Hopefully it will be fully disclosed in the ship documents.

[cruiseluv]

In our group of 8, 5 of us have booked excursions for a mid July cruise to Alaska with no problems what so ever. All of the excursions turned out to be free too, even the ones we thought had a small fee. F.Y.I..... I was curious about the cancellation policy for a "free" excursion and was told by a Regent rep that if you cancel less than 37 hours prior to an excursion, you will be charged the full price.

Wow, seems very draconian. Is this policy documented anywhere? If not in writing and spelled out in a very conspicuous manner, they'll have a revolt if they try to apply it.

[Lsb58]

I wonder if the policy will apply to excursions that have a waiting list? If someone else is willing to fill an open spot, then there is no loss to recover via the cancellation penalty. Well...... I've certainly gone and opened the worm can!:p

[Lsb58]

Ok, gave this some more thought and went to my excursion summary on the Regent website. Along with other information the following sentence appears:

"In order to ensure quality guides and sufficient transportation, we must provide the tour operator with passenger counts at least 48 hours in advance. Therefore no refunds will be given within 48 hours of tour departure for cancellations or no-shows."

Not sure why I was given the 37 hour deadline by the Regent rep. I fully understand the penalty for a "no show" especially in the case of excursions requiring prepayment by Regent. I'd be interested in finding out if there will be any flexibility regarding cancellations due to last minute illness etc.

[DaveFr]

As it was explained to me, the reason for this policy is to prohibit people booking multiple excursions and then making a last minute decision which ones they really want to do. I would have thought the one excursion per port per person policy would have taken care of the issue. I don't have a problem with the policy as regards someone who cancels an excursion at the last minute without just cause, as Regent has presumably incurred the cost. I would hope that illness, or any other circumstance outside my control would be taken in to consideration by Regent. Perhaps someone else who calls Regent will get a different answer. Hopefully it will be fully disclosed in the ship documents.

Wow, seems very draconian. Is this policy documented anywhere? If not in writing and spelled out in a very conspicuous manner, they'll have a revolt if they try to apply it.
In the Already Booked section below your excursion summary there is some fine print. The first two sentences say: "In order to ensure quality guides and sufficient transportation, we must provide the tour operator with passenger counts at least 48 hours in advance. Therefore no refunds will be given within 48 hours of tour departure for cancellations or no-shows."

I'm not sure why folks find a 48 hour non-refund policy so draconian. It is very similar to the old system where the cost of our excursions was added to our shipboard account the first day of our cruise. I don't remember the exact time limit but to get a refund for a booked excursion, you had to cancel either 24, 36 or 48 hours in advance of the excursion. Cancellations for any reason within the specified time limit resulted in no refund. It is certainly less draconian than the apparently universal cruise line policy of assessing a 100% penalty for cancellations for any reason within a few days of initial embarkation.

Although a number of excursions are free to us, Regent still has to pay the tour operators for the number of passengers they have guaranteed 48 hours in advance. As a practical matter, how would Regent know whether an excuse for missing an excursion was valid? If someone said he or she couldn't go on an excursion because he or she had been seasick the night before, would Regent just have to take the person's word for it? What are the criteria for a valid as opposed to an invalid excuse? Who decides?

Sadly, there are people who would abuse a system that does not have a time limit on refunds. IMHO, the result would be that Regent would incur higher costs that would be passed on to us in the form of higher fares or excursion costs.

I feel for anyone who misses an excursion because of illness. However, missing activities or other things we have purchased as part of our vacation travel is just part of the risk we assume when we travel anywhere.

Dave

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I agree Dave, I think the onboard time limit has been something like 36 hours in the past. When the excursion desk is well-staffed, they have attempted to find someone to take your ticket for you, but no guarantees of that of course.

[Lsb58]

Dave and Wendy, I agree with your points. As I said, Regent is assuming the cost of these excursions and it's our responsibility to honor the bookings we make. I will be traveling with someone who is elderly and often suffers sudden debilitations. I simply want to be fully aware of the potential cost of a canceled excursion. The reality is, in order to book any excursions you have to click on the "I agree" button on the bottom of the page where the Regent policy is outlined. So I'm not sure there will be any recourse for the passengers who revolt!:mad:

[cruiseluv]

In the Already Booked section below your excursion summary there is some fine print. The first two sentences say: "In order to ensure quality guides and sufficient transportation, we must provide the tour operator with passenger counts at least 48 hours in advance. Therefore no refunds will be given within 48 hours of tour departure for cancellations or no-shows."

I'm not sure why folks find a 48 hour non-refund policy so draconian. It is very similar to the old system where the cost of our excursions was added to our shipboard account the first day of our cruise. I don't remember the exact time limit but to get a refund for a booked excursion, you had to cancel either 24, 36 or 48 hours in advance of the excursion. Cancellations for any reason within the specified time limit resulted in no refund. It is certainly less draconian than the apparently universal cruise line policy of assessing a 100% penalty for cancellations for any reason within a few days of initial embarkation.




My comment that it was "draconian" referred to the fact that we are now going from "free excursions" to we will charge you the full amount if you don't show up . Wonder how they will monitor that.

The fine print you quote from the "Already booked" section talks about "no refunds" (presumably referring to excursions you had to pay for). It doesn't say anything about charging back for free excursions if the passenegr doesn't show up. And my point is that if that is Regent's intent , they should spell it out clearly. Doesn't seem they have done that yet.

[cruiseej]

But we still need some clarification about what this really means:

"In order to ensure quality guides and sufficient transportation, we must provide the tour operator with passenger counts at least 48 hours in advance. Therefore no refunds will be given within 48 hours of tour departure for cancellations or no-shows."

To me, that means if I booked an excursion for $50, and I don't cancel by the deadline or don't show up, I forfeit my $50. That seems reasonable enough. But then what happens when the excursion is free? What do I forfeit? Lsb58 says he was told the penalty will be getting charged full price -- but what is full price? Is it the original price of these excursions before they were marked down to free? How will people even know what the original or full price is? On the booking page, they just show up as free.

I do think it's reasonable for Regent to impose some sort of penalty for late cancellations or no shows on free excursions, but some hidden "list price" a passenger has no good way of knowing doesn't seem right, either. I guess we'll find out over time; I just wish Regent would spell these types of things out from the outset, rather than leaving us to wonder and speculate.

(Editing to add that cruisluv beat me by a minute, but we were both obviously thinking along the same lines at the same time.)

-- Eric

[Lsb58]

I think I will call Regent again and see if I can get some clarification on this issue. I'll let ya know what I find out tomorrow.

[Lsb58]

I called Regent and was told the supervisor was not there, but I could email my question and she would forward it. I asked what price list they would be using to assess the excursion cancellation penalty, here is the answer:

It appears that you were not the first to bring up this topic.
The policy was to charge the fee.

However, we had to change that policy on the Free Unlimited.
If you have to cancel, we are no longer going to charge the fee.


So, hopefully that puts the lid back on the can of worms I opened! Hopefully this new policy will be part of our cruise documents. I appreciate the offer of free excursions and hope they are not abused by people who carelessly cancel at the last minute.

[DaveFr]

I called Regent and was told the supervisor was not there, but I could email my question and she would forward it. I asked what price list they would be using to assess the excursion cancellation penalty, here is the answer:

It appears that you were not the first to bring up this topic.
The policy was to charge the fee.

However, we had to change that policy on the Free Unlimited.
If you have to cancel, we are no longer going to charge the fee.


So, hopefully that puts the lid back on the can of worms I opened! Hopefully this new policy will be part of our cruise documents. I appreciate the offer of free excursions and hope they are not abused by people who carelessly cancel at the last minute.
I'm happy to hear that Regent will not charge the former full price for missed free excursions. However, I'd be surprised if they didn't charge at least their cost as a penalty. Not doing so would lead to passengers booking multiple free excursions per day (both prior to sailing and once on board) and then not showing up for some excursions.

Dave

[gdlamberth]

As of this AM (Tues 10 Mar 0730 MST) I still can not get into my second or third segments of our B2B2B. Additionally, I can not even get into the first segment any more. However, my AMEX was hit for the two small additional charge tours I reserved last week.

Greg

[cruiseluv]

I'm happy to hear that Regent will not charge the former full price for missed free excursions. However, I'd be surprised if they didn't charge at least their cost as a penalty. Not doing so would lead to passengers booking multiple free excursions per day (both prior to sailing and once on board) and then not showing up for some excursions.

Dave


If they go that route I hope it will be clearly noted on the screen where you book your excursions. Not the kind of thing that they should "surprise" a customer with as they are checking out on the last day. Seems as if Regent is making policy as they go. Sounds like amateur time there.

[DaveFr]

If they go that route I hope it will be clearly noted on the screen where you book your excursions. Not the kind of thing that they should "surprise" a customer with as they are checking out on the last day. Seems as if Regent is making policy as they go. Sounds like amateur time there.
I agree. I think that either the screen showing your excursions summary or the checkout screen would be appropriate places to discuss excursion cancellation or no show penalties for all excursions.

Dave

[Travelcat2]

I finally went to the Already Booked section -- expecting to find a big mess. Instead, I found that I was able to easily fill out the Butler form and view the excursions (with the costs involved) quite easily. Perhaps it is those that have "free excursions" that are having difficulty.

At the moment, I'd quite pleased that our cruise (9/7/2009) is not going to include excursions. It seems that many people (who did not expect to have free excursions in the first place) are becoming quite irate with Regent's new policies. There is no doubt in my mind that there will be many glitches involved in the free excursions in 2009. I suspect that this is the reason they are being offered in the first place (to work out bugs).

Having disembarked from the Navigator last Friday, I am very aware of how much of a hassle Regent excursions are already (i.e. getting priority on the tenders, etc.). I cannot imagine what a mess it will be when the excursions are free (especially Alaska).

Am I a bit negative? You bet! It will be interesting to read the boards for the remainder of 2009!

[calirose]

:confused:We are booked on Voyager May 8, and as of today I still cannot book tours. I get the message no tours available. Any hints as to what I might be doing wrong?

[cruiseluv]

:confused:We are booked on Voyager May 8, and as of today I still cannot book tours. I get the message no tours available. Any hints as to what I might be doing wrong?

Frankly, what's wrong is that Regent doesn't have their act together. If they were truly a "6 star" operation (as they self describe themselves), they would have a dedicated phone line where customer service reps would make the excursion reservations for the customers until this debacle gets fixed.

[azgkrudi]

Calirose, we are on the May 8th sailing, too - and we are able to book excursions online. Are you on the B2B (continuing on to Southampton)? I've learned from 2 others who are on the full B2B that they are not yet able to book excursions. We are on the first leg only and while we do have the ability to book excursions, I just don't trust Regent's system right now to be booking and paying for them up front. We'll take our chances that there will be availability when we get on board.

BTW, there is a roll call for our cruise in the roll call forum - be sure to add your name to the growing list! :) Looking forward to meeting you.

[Travelcat2]

I think if I say "calm down" I may be virtually hit with something.:confused: However, getting this upset is taking the pleasure of anticipating the cruise away.

Try to remember that the problems you are experiencing are being experienced by everyone else on your cruise. Even if the system remains screwed up until the day you depart for your cruise (as it did with us), people on board will be ready for the onslought of passengers without excursion or dining reservations. Somehow they made it all work.

It is beyond our control. . . and is definitely frustrating. It would be interesting to know why Regent is doing so many things at the same time. Their computer system is about 60% functional (just a guess), they are adding "free excursions" to different cruises, discounting 2009 cruises and now 2010 cruises. They need to go to juggling school as most of the pies they have in the air are falling on their head!

[calirose]

We are booked on the B2B to Southhampton. Maybe your correct with all the problems it may be risky to push for booking. It would be nice to see the prices for planning purposes. Oh well I am sure it will all work out in the end. We will be flying in to FLA on the 7th, because we will be coming from SFO. Hope to see some fellow cruise critic members.

[calirose]

Has anyone heard that the dress code has changed? In the Costco travel mag it was stated as contry club casual, that is a little had to believe. Although on the RSSC website they say only jackets are required in Signatures.

[cruiseej]

:confused:We are booked on Voyager May 8, and as of today I still cannot book tours. I get the message no tours available. Any hints as to what I might be doing wrong?

Have you tried calling Regent? A number of people who have been unable to book online -- particularly those on multi-segment trips -- have been able to book their excursions with a Regent representative over the phone.

It would be interesting to know why Regent is doing so many things at the same time. Their computer system is about 60% functional (just a guess), they are adding "free excursions" to different cruises, discounting 2009 cruises and now 2010 cruises. They need to go to juggling school as most of the pies they have in the air are falling on their head!

Add to that ongoing shifts in their reservations staffing in the aftermath of the buyout from Carlson, and making major changes to their entertainment, supply procurement, and onboard staffing! Travelcat, I'd guess that they had no idea they'd get caught in such a mess; the computer system was probably scheduled to be done far earlier, and the terrible economy no one expected forced them to cut prices now to fill their ships and not lose too much ground to competitors. Now they're just paddling upstream as hard as they can, hoping the pieces start falling into place. After all, let's remember that they've had three of their four ships (if you count PG) undergo major drydocks in recent months without any significant problems or delays, and the new online booking system hasn't fallen apart (crashed, lost data) since going live. But there's no doubt that the longer they have too many balls in the air, the more likely they are to drop some of those balls and do longer-term harm to their reputation and passenger loyalty.

-- Eric

[gdlamberth]

A 30 March update:

Now I can get into all three segments of our B2B2B and book tours. This is really great.

However, The on-line system still does not show 2nd days in Istanbul or Venice. Since these are segment interfaces that may be because no tours are being set up for those days. BUT, the on-line system also does not show our second stops in Santorini or Kusadasi. This I do not understand. Another interesting phenomenon is that ALL tours in Split are extra charge. When I checked with Regent they confirmed that was correct and a unique issue with Split and apparently not in Regent's control.

So it is getting better but still has a little way to go.


Greg

[Caroldoll]

on. I am not going to work it over any more though, just will do private tours and then I don't have to worry.

[jhp]

Caroldoll, are you talking about a cruise that is more than 120 days out, or the one that you SHOULD be able to book now?

[calirose]

Calirose, we are on the May 8th sailing, too - and we are able to book excursions online. Are you on the B2B (continuing on to Southampton)? I've learned from 2 others who are on the full B2B that they are not yet able to book excursions. We are on the first leg only and while we do have the ability to book excursions, I just don't trust Regent's system right now to be booking and paying for them up front. We'll take our chances that there will be availability when we get on board.

BTW, there is a roll call for our cruise in the roll call forum - be sure to add your name to the growing list! :) Looking forward to meeting you.
I am finally able to book online, but found out that if there is a credit (from travel agency or other) and you book online and pay ahead your credit will have to be used while onboard or you lose it. We will book onboard also. Hope to see you, it is getting close.

[JoAnne B]

I was disappointed when I got my documents for the 5/1 TA that I could not book online for tours in Bermuda. The website said that there were no tours for this cruise and that only departures on or after 5/10 were available. There was a fax order form with the documents. There was no mention of free excursions and a price was listed on the order form that it said would be charged to your onboard account. But it indicated that you would not know if you were actually on the excursion until you were onboard, as in the past. So if they could print the form why weren't the tours on the website? Once again disorganization strikes.

I was also disappointed that all tours started at about the same time between 9:30 and 10. Although the ship is in port until 4 pm, there were no afternoon tours. Since most tours were only an hour or two long, it would have been possible to do two tours, but it looks like most of us will be back onboard by lunch.

[cruiseej]

I was disappointed when I got my documents for the 5/1 TA that I could not book online for tours in Bermuda. The website said that there were no tours for this cruise and that only departures on or after 5/10 were available. There was a fax order form with the documents... So if they could print the form why weren't the tours on the website? Once again disorganization strikes.

JoAnne, I understand you would prefer to be able to take advantage of the new online booking system, but Regent has been consistent since the new system was launched in saying it is not available until the 5/10 cruise . I'm not sure I see any disorganization to complain about here; your cruise is being run off the old system, where advance bookings and payments were not possible. The tours aren't listed on the web site because your cruise isn't on this new system. In my opinion, Regent deserves criticism on many counts in the way they handled this computer system transition, but I guess I'm not seeing a foul here.

-- Eric

[Joanandjoe]

I was disappointed when I got my documents for the 5/1 TA that I could not book online for tours in Bermuda. The website said that there were no tours for this cruise and that only departures on or after 5/10 were available. There was a fax order form with the documents. There was no mention of free excursions and a price was listed on the order form that it said would be charged to your onboard account. But it indicated that you would not know if you were actually on the excursion until you were onboard, as in the past. So if they could print the form why weren't the tours on the website? Once again disorganization strikes.

I was also disappointed that all tours started at about the same time between 9:30 and 10. Although the ship is in port until 4 pm, there were no afternoon tours. Since most tours were only an hour or two long, it would have been possible to do two tours, but it looks like most of us will be back onboard by lunch.

Why would you do a ship's tour in Bermuda, anyway? That's a great place to do things on your own.

[Travelcat2]

I understand JoAnne's concern. We were not able to book excursions on our last cruise due to the computer system -- it is frustrating. In terms of excursions in Burmuda, I found the following in a 1 minute search:

So much to do! Enjoy the water, The Bermuda Railway Trail, parks, museums, taxi tours and more! Enjoy helmet diving in 10 feet of water and learning about the fish and surrounding reef life; kayak through ‘Paradise Lake’ in the middle of the Great Sound; learn about the history or geology of Bermuda’s parks; or cycle along the Railway Trail; spend the day on Nonsuch Island, a small piece untouched by man; the Maritime Museum is packed with history; the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo with animals from around the world to delight young and old; or the National Gallery featuring art & architecture in Bermuda. For more information on Helmet Diving, Snorkeling, Kayaking or other water tours, go to Boating & Sailing (http://www.bermuda.com/boatingsailing/) or Beaches & Watersports (http://www.bermuda.com/beacheswatersports/).

JoAnne, just a suggestion. . . . . book through one of the online companies -- most times they are better than Regent anyway.:)

[JoAnne B]

Actually, I have been able to look at the information on various tours and book tours online in the past. So I don't think it was out of line to expect the same level of service. If Regent wants to be considered a 6-star luxury line, then it needs to act like it. That their computer system is a mess is not in line with the reasonable expectation of a luxury cruise line.

I did get clarification that the May 1 cruise is not include in the "free excursion" program. That's not a big deal as I can find plenty to do on my own in Bermuda, and that is our only port. But I have received so many mailings with conflicting information on which tours were "free" that I was surprised to learn that this one wasn't included. Clear communications avoid disappointed customers, and that isn't Regent's strong suit.

[cruiseej]

If Regent wants to be considered a 6-star luxury line, then it needs to act like it. That their computer system is a mess is not in line with the reasonable expectation of a luxury cruise line.

I do understand your frustration; it's the frustration all of us were feeling from the demise of the old computer in December until the beginning of March when the new online booking system came online. For those of us cruising in mid-May and later, the new system is (mostly) functional and offers some advantages over the old system; for those who are cruising during the transition period until mid-May, it remains frustrating. I just think it's worth noting that the improvements in the computer system you're quite rightly looking for do now exist -- they're just not available for people cruising in the next 4-5 weeks.


But I have received so many mailings with conflicting information on which tours were "free" that I was surprised to learn that this one wasn't included. Clear communications avoid disappointed customers, and that isn't Regent's strong suit.

I'm a little confused myself. ;) Did you ever see any mailing which indicated your cruise would have free excursions? I haven't been aware of conflicting information; just the original limited list of cruises with free excursions, followed by the expanded list of more cruises with free excursions. But if you saw your cruise listed in any mailing as having free excursions, and then they took it away, of course you'd be justified in being upset. Otherwise, I guess I'm not understanding where Regent's communication in this area is at fault. (And I've certainly done my share of griping about botched Regent communications, so I'm by no means a Regent apologist.)

In any case, I hope you'll get past the frustrations when you board, and have a wonderful cruise!

-- Eric

[DavidJ]

I have tried to visit the already booked area of the website. Yesterday and today, the site will not take my reservation code for my cruise starting 5-20-2009. Is anyone else having a similar issue? Pierce

[benbax]

I have tried to visit the already booked area of the website. Yesterday and today, the site will not take my reservation code for my cruise starting 5-20-2009. Is anyone else having a similar issue? Pierce
Hi -

Yes I had the same problem yesteday for the first time. Booked for 5-16 on the Navigator and haven't had a problem with the webiste until yesterday.

[benbax]

9:55am EST

I just went to the site and was able to access the "already booked section."

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Me too, no problems.

[DavidJ]

Thanks guys. It is working for me now as well!:)

[ImPeaches]

Yuck!!! "Already booked" function is down again today, as of 3:00 p.m. Central time. Regent agent said to check back in a few hours.:confused:

[DaveFr]

Yuck!!! "Already booked" function is down again today, as of 3:00 p.m. Central time. Regent agent said to check back in a few hours.:confused:
I just tried it and it worked fine. Give it another try. If at first you don't succeed . . . . :D

Dave