Regent AI - how much do you spend on-board

I was wondering what the average on-board per person is? If pax avoid the casino, spa and shops, what else is there to spend money on?

Nothing much, depending on your status. For those who aren't at least Silver, there's the internet--I'd bet that's the biggest expense. Laundry and dry cleaning would be next I would imagine. For those who aren't Gold, there's printed newspapers that you can order.

I was wondering what the average on-board per person is? If pax avoid the casino, spa and shops, what else is there to spend money on?

I never have a bill nowadays. Don't gamble or use the spa, have some free pressings through Seven Seas Society membership, am happy with the poured wine. Just a contribution to the crew fund if there has been exceptional service.

We wasted money on buying The Times as we only received 3 copies out of 7 but were charged for 7 and are still waiting for the promised refund! I guess there aren't many takers for a UK newspaper.

We bought a bottle of wine in Prime 7 and thought it money exceedingly well spent.

I'm pretty sure you cannot use on board credit to donate to the Crew Fund. I would double check about that with Reception/someone from the Pursers Office or the GM.

That should not keep you from donating though!

Ended up with a $300 bill, was half Spa and half laundry.... We are Silver so Internet was free :)

Spend all of our OBC at shops and laundry - nothing is left.

I usually end up having to get some very expensive wine or scoth just to use up my shipboard credit; never a bill at the end.

The only thing we spend is quality time enjoying Regent's superb hospitality and meeting new friends.............:rolleyes:

I never have a bill nowadays. Don't gamble or use the spa, have some free pressings through Seven Seas Society membership, am happy with the poured wine. Just a contribution to the crew fund if there has been exceptional service.

I'm pretty sure you cannot use on board credit to donate to the Crew Fund. I would double check about that with Reception/someone from the Pursers Office or the GM.

 

That should not keep you from donating though!

We tried to donate all our OBC to the crew fund, and were abruptly, and rather rudely, told by guest services that we could certainly NOT do that.

I still don't understand the reasoning behind that!??

Apparently it really isn't our money to spend as we see fit?? Even if our travel agent gave it to us?

Have to say, it was the only time we experienced any rudeness on a Regent ship.

So, no, in our experience, one's OBC cannot go to the crew fund, though I am at a total loss to understand why not.

It almost made us want to cancel our upcoming, third Regent cruise ... but not quite. We'll see how it goes.

Regards,

Jan

It is a large warehouse type store in the US. They offer services other than the stuff they sell in their stores.

We have the warehouse Costco stores here in the UK, but they do not offer TA services here.

We tried to donate all our OBC to the crew fund, and were abruptly, and rather rudely, told by guest services that we could certainly NOT do that.

 

I still don't understand the reasoning behind that!??

 

Apparently it really isn't our money to spend as we see fit?? Even if our travel agent gave it to us?

 

Have to say, it was the only time we experienced any rudeness on a Regent ship.

 

So, no, in our experience, one's OBC cannot go to the crew fund, though I am at a total loss to understand why not.

 

It almost made us want to cancel our upcoming, third Regent cruise ... but not quite. We'll see how it goes.

 

Regards,

Jan

The rudeness was completely untoward and unacceptable.

But as for the OBC, no, it's not for us to spend as we wish. At least the non-refundable ones (which most of them are.) They are meant to be spent on ship's services, and are limited to such. And they do in fact expire at the end of the cruise. So donating the remainder to the crew fund is like asking for a refund. Which is not part of the bargain.

Good explanation Wendy. I had never thought of it like that. Makes perfect sense now. Still no excuse for the rudeness however.

The rudeness was completely untoward and unacceptable.

 

But as for the OBC, no, it's not for us to spend as we wish. At least the non-refundable ones (which most of them are.) They are meant to be spent on ship's services, and are limited to such. And they do in fact expire at the end of the cruise. So donating the remainder to the crew fund is like asking for a refund. Which is not part of the bargain.

Thanks for the explanation, Wendy. I can see where Regent's own OBC (for example, for booking on board) would be non-refundable, and donating it to the crew fund doesn't serve its intended purpose.

But ... I would think a TA's obc should be different? On other lines, when I have not spent all of my travel agent's obc gift, I have always been able to "cash it out," so to speak, before the end of the cruise.

But rules are rules, and Regent has the right to specify their own.

It's not a big deal; it was just the experience at the desk that was a little jarring. The whole Regent experience is so calm, relaxing and Zen-like that this one encounter kind of stood out. Maybe the CS rep was having a bad day.

I forgot to answer the OP's question! Sorry!

Tim, we spend very little on board Regent in the shops or spa, and none in the casino. The shore excursions that have a supplement, we have always paid for well before the cruise. We spend a little bit on premium brands of scotch, but little to none on wine as we have found Regent's included wines to be very good. We get Internet free as we are silver, which is an amazing perk, imo.

Regards,

Jan

They truly are all-inclusive and not much to spend your money on. Even tips are included though people sometimes leave an extra tip for great service. Spa, internet, casino and shopping are the only onboard activities with a charge. We usually book at least a few of our own private tours as some of the free ones offered are really not that great. So we usually spend money on those but if you plan on only doing the included tours then that's a non-issue

If you want the Zen experience, stay away from Reception:o Actually, the grumpiest people we have seen on Regent have been in the Spa. This has occurred more than once. It seems that their staff has two personalities..... one when they are working on you (massage, pedicure, facial, etc.) when they are wonderful. However, when we dropped by to ask a simple question, we were greeted by "Oscar the Grouch". (that ended up being the same person who later did my pedicure).

The suggestions on this thread have all been great ones. We think of it as Monopoly money. I generally buy a "different" type of watch on each cruise. I enjoy wearing my "cruise watch collection" while on board. Also, since we always cruise before Christmas, we pick up a few items in the Boutique for gifts.

TC2 -

I'm really sorry to hear that your experience with the spa has been so bad. I used it a couple of times on board the Mariner in May and found the services were very good. And the staff was extremely nice, friendly and funny when I just popped in not once, but twice. And they encouraged me to come back with any more quesions or concerns. Maybe they were just concerned about something in their personal life and were having a bad day. Better luck on your next spa adventure!

TC2 -

I'm really sorry to hear that your experience with the spa has been so bad. I used it a couple of times on board the Mariner in May and found the services were very good. And the staff was extremely nice, friendly and funny when I just popped in not once, but twice. And they encouraged me to come back with any more quesions or concerns. Maybe they were just concerned about something in their personal life and were having a bad day. Better luck on your next spa adventure!

Thanks for your interesting input. We haven't been on the Mariner in almost two years but will remedy that problem(?) in March. Will pop in there and perhaps will book a pedicure:-)