What is the TRUTH on OBC's with Regent?

[Zoolander]

Our Alaskan cruise out of Seward is coming up in May and we have $1,000 in onboard ship credits. :p

Okay...we have no problem spending a good percentage of this in the spa, and upgrading to premium booze, but after that...

we don't gamble :(
and we have already booked and purchased our excursions :o

There are a couple members on this board that are saying they have received cash back (was this just a mistake, or one time deal?). Not sure how this is possible (or why Regent would do this :confused:)...but does anybody have the real policy on all of these OBC's?

I wish they were still doing the ala carte wine pairing meals, as I would certainly purchase that as well :cool:.

Thanks in advance.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

If I were you I would wait a couple of weeks and let the dust settle. I'm sure that between the TA's and Regent, this will get ironed out, I know my TA is working on getting clarification. Everybody is upset about it.

Not sure I ever knew about the wine-pairings--when was that?

[Zoolander]

We did a wine pairing meal on the Diamond (03?) and Navigator (06). I believe the cost was just under $100 a person. I believe it was something like a 6 course meal, plus, an upgraded caviar.

The sommeliar marketed it and put it on. It was also kind of fun to learn a little bit more about champagne, whites and reds.

Obviously the food was excellent.

There was only one meal per cruise and I would say it had a maximum of twenty people.

Funny story for anyone that has cruised on the Navigator in the Atlantic during rough seas. The cruise was so rough on the way back from Bermuda that we were not sure if we had seafood poisoning or were just under the weather from sea sickness. It took us over TWO WEEKS to recover. We are certain it was the 24 hours of constant up/down/side to side movements that was causing us to be unwell as have issues with our balance while back on land. Anyway...initially our symptoms were so strong that we were wondering about all of the booze we had been drinking and and all of the seafood at the wine pairing meal. We DO laugh about this though.

Still not sure why the Voyager doesn't do oceans and the Navigator doesn't do seas (where that flat bottom would be more appropriate).

Anyway...cash back on the OBC's would be nice, but not holding my breath. 1K is alot to spend in 7 days, but I won't mind trying!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

BTW, it was Diamond that had the flat bottom, not Navigator. It was certainly a very stable ship, wasn't it? I've been on Navigator when we had large swells for several days and lots of people were sick. Somehow I've gotten used to it, although I still keep drugs with me. Voyager seems to handle the sea pretty well, although I've been on her in the Atlantic, off Portugal when the swells were so high that the pool deck was closed.

I agree, cash back would be great, especially now that we are paying for excursions upfront (albeit many of them are now free, or almost free.)

Our OBC is usually only $300, and if you twist my arm, I can spend that in the spa quite easily!

[jhp]

Wendy, the Diamond was a big catamaran ;) Hardly a bottom at all. I have experienced rough seas on all of them. The ocean can bounce anything at all if it takes a mind to it.

[Zoolander]

Forgot that about the Diamond.

When the Navigator started moving so much because of the size of the swells we were told that the ship used to have the purpose of breaking up ice in Russia. That, I guess, would be the reason for the flatter bottom.

What was kind of humorous about the movment on the ship was that it was not your normal rough seas movement, it was up/down/forward/backward/side to side. You couldn't adjust to it, thank goodness it wasn't enough to knock you down, but it was enough to mess up your equilibrium for a couple weeks though.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Yeh, I know it was a catamaran. What I meant was that it didn't have a normal hull, and being "flat-ish", if you will, was very stable.

I knew Navigator was an ice-breaker hull, but did not realize that meant it was flatter on bottom.

[Travelcat2]

The only OBC that currently can be changed into cash is for those passengers that paid a Fuel Supplement. This is being done due a court order in Florida.

I agree that we have to wait until the dust settles before all of the new policies are finally put in writing.

[LOVE@CRUISE]

The only OBC that currently can be changed into cash is for those passengers that paid a Fuel Supplement. This is being done due a court order in Florida.

I agree that we have to wait until the dust settles before all of the new policies are finally put in writing.

The Gauguin gave us over $1200 in cash this past January, only $500 of which was fuel supplement. Did they make a mistake with the extra $700? They gave us no grief whatsover, and others were doing the same.:rolleyes:

[traveller333]

I wonder if it can be used toward the deposit of a future on board booking?

[Travelcat2]

The Gauguin gave us over $1200 in cash this past January, only $500 of which was fuel supplement. Did they make a mistake with the extra $700? They gave us no grief whatsover, and others were doing the same.:rolleyes:

Okay -- I am confused (and I think Regent is as well). It's great that you were able to get $1200 in cash on the PG. Passengers on our Navigator cruise last month were only able to cash in their fuel surcharge. It sounds like it depends upon whether the person on board the ship you are on knows what they are doing.

I am all for using OBC for excursions, future cruise booking, or cash. Regent just has to make up its mind:cool:

[jhp]

The cabin credits and OB booking credits continue to be a mystery re: cash advances to negate them. Unless your particular TA is willing to say yes, it is okay, and willing to back it up with a guarantee with their own funds, I would say best to wait until Regent clarifies their position on this, rather than to speculate further. Past posts are all over the place on this issue, which is not helpful to the casual visitor here looking for credible information!

[mrlevin]

I wonder if it can be used toward the deposit of a future on board booking?

This is always allowed.

[Travelcat2]

This is always allowed.

Interesting. . . . where is this information posted?

[mrlevin]

Interesting. . . . where is this information posted?

It is not posted anywhere that I know of. When you go to the cruise consultant to book your next cruise, say that you want to use your shipboard account instead of a separate transaction.

Of course, my last data point is last June. Regent could have changed this policy just as any policy can be changed on a whim. I have made a dozen onboard bookings and I have chosen to have it charged to my shipboard account in all except one instance.

[Caroldoll]

WILL NOT LET ME USE IT FOR TOURS. I would have to pay in advance. They said they will not return it in cash. However, I think it is the luck of the draw. If you have a pursor who is willing to give you cash, you are lucky.

This was the PG and we only wanted one tour. We do not want to go to the spa and we do not want to upgrade liquor. I will use some for the laundry and dry cleaning, but the people traveling with us wanted to use it for tours.

I consider this HORRIBLE and I am very unhappy. It is a terrible policy. For those who had $900--that is a whopping OBC to just use up.

Not only that--on a future cruise on the Voyager which does not include excursions, I can't even book excursions because I am on two segments.

My TA was able to call and book only one excursion. She was told they had not firmed up the others I wanted.

I can not believe this, but I refuse to let it ruin my trip. We have decided on the PG to just get on board and go right to excursions and book then--HOPEFULLY. They will let you use your OBC if you book on the ship--not in advance. In advance YOU PAY UP FRONT.

[PaulaJK]

Regent's computer booking issues seem relentless and their call center staff very poorly informed. Currently, to book a tour in advance you
have to pay in advance.....this is fine provided you can then recoup
any residual OBC in cash. To not be able to recoup the cash will be offensive and certainly will alienate pax. Hopefully, Regent is wiser than
to do this. The problem with the 'wait & see' advice is that while sage, the waiting has become far too long of tooth.

[lenbro]

I once read a post in which someone said they used their credits to buy chips for gambling and then cashed in the unused ones for cash. I don't know whether this is true.

[Rally]

The cabin credits and OB booking credits continue to be a mystery re: cash advances to negate them. Unless your particular TA is willing to say yes, it is okay, and willing to back it up with a guarantee with their own funds, I would say best to wait until Regent clarifies their position on this, rather than to speculate further. Past posts are all over the place on this issue, which is not helpful to the casual visitor here looking for credible information!

Well, since I do not work for Regent nor am I a TA I can only tell you our exeprience, and why would I not tell the truth? On our Feb 5 cruise Brisbane - Papeete, the Regent recepiton desk happily and promptly converted all of our on board credits into cash. Period. I asked on two seperate days, first for only $300 (to cover the cost of a privately booked excursion) and then, the day before disembarkation, for the balance (about $800.00) No problems, no questions, and walked of the boat with it.

[CatMom7]

We are booked on the Nov. 22,2009 cruise on the PG. One of the reasons we booked this cruise was we have $900 in SBC and we thought we would use the SBC to pay for the shore excursions, which is what we did on our previous PG cruise. To us, this change in policy was a price increase for the trip we hadn't anticipated. We don't buy premium liquor, we have already purchased some beautiful Tahia Collins jewelry, and we don't anticipate spending 900 in the spa just to try to use it up. Since we were upset with the change in policy our TA arranged a meeting with their Regent regional manager to get clarification on the policy. Their response was 'we cannot apply any ship board credits to our account until we actually board the ship.' In addition they told our TA that at this time they could not tell us we could get any of our SBC back in cash from the purser.

When we were on the PG previously, we found that there were a few excursions that regularly sell out so we were very happy that we booked these in advance. We will probably just book and pay in advance for those we absolutely don't want to miss and book the rest on board so we can use the SBC. Or, if the excursion is still available when we get on board, we could cancel for a refund and then rebook using the SBC.

We are hoping that enough Regent customers complain either to their TA or Regent so they change their policy. We love Regent but we've had so many issues with their customer service/computer system lately we might have to rethink our choice in cruise lines. I'm really hoping for Regent to get their act together so we can plan a 2010 trip.

[Rally]

We are booked on the Nov. 22,2009 cruise on the PG. One of the reasons we booked this cruise was we have $900 in SBC and we thought we would use the SBC to pay for the shore excursions, which is what we did on our previous PG cruise. To us, this change in policy was a price increase for the trip we hadn't anticipated. We don't buy premium liquor, we have already purchased some beautiful Tahia Collins jewelry, and we don't anticipate spending 900 in the spa just to try to use it up. Since we were upset with the change in policy our TA arranged a meeting with their Regent regional manager to get clarification on the policy. Their response was 'we cannot apply any ship board credits to our account until we actually board the ship.' In addition they told our TA that at this time they could not tell us we could get any of our SBC back in cash from the purser.

When we were on the PG previously, we found that there were a few excursions that regularly sell out so we were very happy that we booked these in advance. We will probably just book and pay in advance for those we absolutely don't want to miss and book the rest on board so we can use the SBC. Or, if the excursion is still available when we get on board, we could cancel for a refund and then rebook using the SBC.

We are hoping that enough Regent customers complain either to their TA or Regent so they change their policy. We love Regent but we've had so many issues with their customer service/computer system lately we might have to rethink our choice in cruise lines. I'm really hoping for Regent to get their act together so we can plan a 2010 trip.

I am not sure I understand completely, but want to calirfy my earlier post abut converting OBC (SBC) into cash. This was done ON BOARD --- I seriously doubt Rengent or any other company is going to convert OBC (SBC) into cash until and unless you are acutually on board the ship.

[CatMom7]

Rally, Sorry if I wasn't clear but the question for Regent was if we could get any of our SBC back in cash on board the ship. I don't know of any way you could get cash from the purser if you aren't on board. Regent's answer to our TA was to tell us no.

[Rally]

Rally, Sorry if I wasn't clear but the question for Regent was if we could get any of our SBC back in cash on board the ship. I don't know of any way you could get cash from the purser if you aren't on board. Regent's answer to our TA was to tell us no.

Thanks, CatMom, sorry I misunderstood. All I can tell you is our personal experience on the Brisbane - Papeete Feb. 5 cruise. I didn't ask ahead of time, I didn't ask the recepiton desk is it was okay, I just said (something like =) "Hi, I would like $300 of my OBC in cash, please" and she gave it to me. Later, I asked (and I think this is exactly what I said) "Hi, I would like my remaining on board credit in cash, please" and she looked it up on the computer and gave it to me, along with a receipt, which she asked me to sign.

[gailisacruzin]

Does anybody know if we could use OBC in the casino....take a couple of hundred in chips?

[Rally]

Does anybody know if we could use OBC in the casino....take a couple of hundred in chips?

Well, there seems to be some controversy here, but I was given cash for OBC and then could have done anything I wanted to do with it, including the Casino. Cash is cash.

[Peek-a-boo]

We are finding our own hotel at the end of our trip. Is it possible to use OBC for transfers from the port to hotel at the end of a sailing?

[Rally]

We are finding our own hotel at the end of our trip. Is it possible to use OBC for transfers from the port to hotel at the end of a sailing? Sure, if you convert your OBC into cash and use that =) Alternatively, you can book the transfer through the travel concierge, who will place the cahge on your on board account. I fyour OBC covers it, great, otherwise the balance will go on your credit card.

[Pam]

As of Sunday, straight from "the horses' mouth", you can no longer use OBC from Amex toward a future booking deposit. One of our group tried, was first told yes, then after contact with headquarters, was told this policy had been changed very recently.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Oh wow, I wonder why. That's just another nail in Amex's coffin. There will come a point when Amex Plat is not worth having.

[mrlevin]

As of Sunday, straight from "the horses' mouth", you can no longer use OBC from Amex toward a future booking deposit. One of our group tried, was first told yes, then after contact with headquarters, was told this policy had been changed very recently.

Pam, thanks for the update. It looks like the Navigator may have a very irate passenger onboard this August. :(

In addition to the $300 Amex credit, I have an additional $500 SBC from Regent. If that also cannot be used, that irate passenger will be extremely irate. :( :(

[Billybob62]

arc: Are you on the Navigator August 14 sailing from Athens to Istanbul?:)

[mrlevin]

I am. It will be a wonderful cruise mixing wonderful sites, fantastic food, great service, and a great group of friends, some of whom I have met before and some I have yet to meet.

Oops, I forgot to mention the free flowing beverages enhanced by the great Ouzo and Retsina ashore.

[Billybob62]

Marc: Are you or any of your friends going into Athens early or staying over in Istanbul? If so, what do you know about airport transfer from the Athens airport to the hotel and any advice on tours before we board ship. The same on the Istanbul end. Thanks.

Bill:):)

[mrlevin]

We were just in Athens for three days last year. Athens is a good city to do on your own if you can walk. Hit the Acropolis/Parthenon, Temple of Zeus, Agora, Plaka, and Syntagma Square. A good two days should be enough. August will be kind of hot so plan on some taxis. Think Atlanta in August and you have Athens in August. We used a guid to Temple of Poseidon and transfer to ship if you are interested but he might be booked up already.

When we get to Istanbul, we will be flying immediately to Copenhagen to board the Voyager so we will not have a post cruise. There are many people here and on other boards that have been to Istanbul and have great recommendations on hotels and guides. Sorry, I am of no help as I have never been to Istanbul.

Looking forward to meeting you onboard.

[Rally]

We were just in Athens for three days last year. Athens is a good city to do on your own if you can walk. Hit the Acropolis/Parthenon, Temple of Zeus, Agora, Plaka, and Syntagma Square. A good two days should be enough. August will be kind of hot so plan on some taxis. Think Atlanta in August and you have Athens in August. We used a guid to Temple of Poseidon and transfer to ship if you are interested but he might be booked up already.

When we get to Istanbul, we will be flying immediately to Copenhagen to board the Voyager so we will not have a post cruise. There are many people here and on other boards that have been to Istanbul and have great recommendations on hotels and guides. Sorry, I am of no help as I have never been to Istanbul.

Looking forward to meeting you onboard.That is wonderful news, Mr. Levin, but what exactly dowes it have to do with the subject of this discussion: converting on board credits to cash? Jut FYI, I also have never been to Istanbul =)

[mrlevin]

Rally, Post #34 was in a reply to questions asked in Post #33. No more no less.

I do not apprciate your attack.

[Rally]

Rally, Post #34 was in a reply to questions asked in Post #33. No more no less.

I do not apprciate your attack.

Marc, I did not mean to attack you and if you took it that way I apologize. I merely pointed out that your post (and for that matter the post you replied to) has nothing to do with this thread and perhaps, as a courtesy, ought to be posted somewhere else. No more no less. If someone asks about the weather in San Diego in the next post do you think it appropriate to reply on this post about Regent OBCs? Well, maybe yes? 'Scuse the ring =)

[jhp]

Rally, blame it on Billybob! Sometimes threads have a way of taking on another life, not that they should, it just happens!

On this thread, Marc (before replying to Billybob) was actually trying to address another OBC he has called an SBC. I'm certain I know what this is. (Right now, I don't) Do you? :)

[Travelcat2]

Marc, I did not mean to attack you and if you took it that way I apologize. I merely pointed out that your post (and for that matter the post you replied to) has nothing to do with this thread and perhaps, as a courtesy, ought to be posted somewhere else. No more no less. If someone asks about the weather in San Diego in the next post do you think it appropriate to reply on this post about Regent OBCs? Well, maybe yes? 'Scuse the ring =)

The high in San Diego Wednesday will be 72 degrees;) On the subject of OBCs, it's clear that Regent is in transition in terms of their policies. The OBC and excursion policies are being administered inconsistantly which is frustrating to many Regent customers. I would not assume that any of the above scenario's would be in place when you are on your cruise. JMO

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Bill, perhaps you should post a new thread to get your questions answered about Athens and Istanbul. I have done this route, but hesitate to put info here since: 1. it will get lost to others; 2. the moderator doesn't like threads that go off topic.

What's an SBC?

[Pam]

I'm going to take a wild guess that SBC = ShipBoard Credit, but I don't know where the difference lies. Maybe the SBC's are issued by Regent because of a missed port or other problem in the past?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Right, silly me. As for compensation for past cruise problems, I have received one of these, and it was in the form of a credit that could be applied to the price of my next cruise, not as an onboard credit.

[mrlevin]

The Amex credit shows up on my invoices as Ship Board Credit (SBC). In addition, Regent gave us $500 SBC for upcoming Med cruise. These are not associated with compensation for a past cruise (that I know of). Reminds me, though, that I still haven't received fuel surcharge refund from last year.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Me neither.