Suite Allocation

Greetings all from a very wet and wild UK!

I am currently doing my homework re a future Regent Cruise.

Up to now we have always booked late on and have had a Guarentee Suite

( we did not know which suite we would be in until approx. 4-5 days prior to embarkation) which has been great and the last twice we have had a slight upgrade.

This time we are booking a good 6 months prior to the sailing - so what happens? Am I right in assuming our travel agent will give us a option of vacant suites within the category we are purchasing and then we state which suite we would like?

Thanks for your advice.

Swabs.

Generally, when you take a "guarantee", it does not matter how far in advance you book -- you do not receive a suite assignment until fairly close to the sail date. I have not heard of anyone being given a list of suites to select from unless they are booking a specific suite -- not taking a guarantee. Note: please consider that my response is based on what is typically done in the U.S. and Canada -- it could be different in the U.K.

Swabs,

In answer to your question about booking a specific suite in advance. Yes, your TA should be able to tell you specific available suites in the category you wish to book and they can then once you choose book you in that specific one as long as someone else hasn't booked before you do.

Suggest you look at the ship layout before contacting your TA and tell them which area to find available suites. If you can get to the US website, you can make a pretend booking and see some of the suites available and if you want one or two in particular, you can put those numbers in and the site will tell you if they are available.

Understand you booking late to get a guarantee as they aren't available until all of the suites in that category are spoken for.

Found last response a bit confusing. As far as I know, you cannot select a suite when you "guarantee". If you simply want to book a suite, you can book anything available.

I am confused by the OP's question too.

If you are not booking a "guarantee" then you should select your suite at the time of booking. Your T/A should have a choice of suites available for you to choose before you deposit. At least that is how I have always done it. Maybe in the UK the agents work different.

j

455/33

... Your T/A should have a choice of suites available for you to choose before you deposit. At least that is how I have always done it. Maybe in the UK the agents work different.

j

455/33

No that's how it works here too - in fact we have always been able to 'reserve' a specific suite for a few days prior to actually making the deposit while we trawl through the TAs for the best deal ;)

In UK: guarantee suite...unable to book in advance

Non guarantee suite...can book an individual suite.

We booked a guarantee penthouse,no choice of suite but I did specify I didn't want one of the two disabled suites as there was no bath.

Got a great suite..with bath!

If I read it correctly, what the OP is stating that usually they book quite late in the process and the only thing available is a guarantee, so they is no suite selection.

This time around they are booking much earlier and are asking how is the suite selection made. What I suggest you do, look at the brochure and see if there are any specific suites that you like and ask you TA to check it they are still available. Otherwise, you can ask you TA to tell you what suites are still available and you can look and see which one suits you and it is reserved for you.

gnomie :)

Greetings All, gnomie has it spot on!

What has happened is our TA has come back to us with a couple of suites, I have had a look and got back to her as would not be our first choice, she has now got back to us with a choice more to our liking.

Also I have found a website accessible from the UK where one can do a mock booking thus enabling me to see which suites are still available.

Thanks all for your comments.

Greetings All, gnomie has it spot on!

What has happened is our TA has come back to us with a couple of suites, I have had a look and got back to her as would not be our first choice, she has now got back to us with a choice more to our liking.

Also I have found a website accessible from the UK where one can do a mock booking thus enabling me to see which suites are still available.

Thanks all for your comments.

Perhaps things are simply done differently in the UK. We know before we book what our suite choices are because we check the website. (which you mentioned above). We then give our TA a list of suite numbers in the order of preference. IMO, it is important for your TA to know your preferences (i.e., no suites under a dining venue or the swimming pool, deck preference and whether you are looking for an aft or forward suite). Once we decide to book a cruise, we want that suite locked in ASAP.

Earlier this week we looked at a cruise for 2016 on the Mariner. At first glance there appeared to be a lot of availability. After looking into it further, there was only one suite that would have been acceptable to us. We contacted our TA and booked it immediately. We would not want to wait a few days or a week and have someone else book the suite.

Greetings All, gnomie has it spot on!

What has happened is our TA has come back to us with a couple of suites, I have had a look and got back to her as would not be our first choice, she has now got back to us with a choice more to our liking.

Also I have found a website accessible from the UK where one can do a mock booking thus enabling me to see which suites are still available.

Thanks all for your comments.

David and Susan here from uk please tell us which site you access to see which suites are available

A quick question - -

In reference to your post:

". . . Earlier this week we looked at a cruise for 2016 on the Mariner. At first glance there appeared to be a lot of availability. After looking into it further, there was only one suite that would have been acceptable to us. We contacted our TA and booked it immediately. . ."

Where do you look to check and see what cabins are available before you contact your travel agent? Is it somewhere on Regent's website?

I would love to know what suites are available before I contact my TA.

Thank you in advance.

Patti

Hi Pepc: Glad that you checked availability. Many times when we see "available" we assume that there are many suites available. As you saw, this is not always the case and some of the suites that are available may not be to your liking.

I will try to explain how to pretend that you are making a booking. This allows you to view available suites (up to 6 -- if you see six suite numbers listed, this usually means that there are more -- you'd need to check with your TA in this case)

Go to the rssc.com website

Click to "Find a Cruise" and go the page where you cruise details are listed. About 1/4 of the way down the page, on the right you will find "Plan my Cruise".

Fill out the information and click "Continue" (not send to agent:-)

When you get to the page that shows the suites -- which are "available", "guaranteed", "waitlisted", etc. you can click on the type of suite you are looking for and click. This brings up the suite numbers.

Let me know if this works for you:)

Hi flossie009 I am unable to publish the website on CC as I am sure it will be classed as advetising,

If you send me a private email I will send you the link.

Swabs

gillboothroydathotmaildotcom

Question for you TC2. When they bring up the suites that are available in the category you are seeking, do they show all the available suites or just a few, usually the less desirable ones they'd like to unload first? I ask this because some other cruise lines follow this policy. Thanks.

Question for you TC2. When they bring up the suites that are available in the category you are seeking, do they show all the available suites or just a few, usually the less desirable ones they'd like to unload first? I ask this because some other cruise lines follow this policy. Thanks.

When there are six or less suites available, all are shown. When there are more, they still list the same number of suites but I've learned that they do not or cannot list all of them. It seems to me that they are listing suites in order by deck. I just brought up a cruise on the Mariner for November 15, 2016 because they were bound to have a lot of availability. I selected Concierge Category "D". The following suites were listed:

1022

1023

1024

1025

1026

1028

In this example it seems that 1027 is already booked. So, while I can not be 100% certain, it does not seem that Regent lists their least desirable suites first. I would also check the location of a suite on the deck map before booking any cruise -- rather be safe than sorry.

swabs, tell your TA what category or price suite you desire. TA should know "good" or "bad " suite locations.

Many people want to be low and amidships for less motion. Maybe you want to be near stairs or elevator or not! Tell your TA what situation you want!

GOOD LUCK and Bon Voyage