loriva

How bizarre.  I DO still see October 2020 cruises on Regent''s website.  I also looked it up earlier--Regent cancelled its last bunch of cruises on the 16th of June.  Maybe tomorrow is the day?

39 minutes ago, mrlevin said:

All this from CCL (and RCG too especially with respect to JV with Pullmantur and TUI and completing purchase of Silversea ) yet all we here from NCLH regarding disposing of ships and order of return of ships is crickets.  After they cancel October and November cruises I sure hope they come out with new itineraries that are similar to what is happening in Europe or what Crystal is doing in Caribbean.

 

Marc

Based on our cruise suddenly showing "waitlisted" across the board, hints on these boards from Pcardad, and NCLH new habit of cancelling new batches of cruises around the 15th of the month, we fully expect our NYC to Miami Navigator cruise scheduled for 30 October to be cancelled this week.  And, almost simultaneously, our TA will take final payment for Regent for the Singapore to Sydney cruise on Explorer scheduled for 20 December that Regent will almost certainly have to cancel--or significantly modify the itinerary.  Beyond the reason that they can, I still find it perplexing that Regent is not modifying their final payment date until closer to sailings as other lines, including NCLH Oceania, is doing.  It may be a short-term advantage to gather these funds, but seems more-costly long term.

Not apples to apples, but I thought Caribill's summary of CCL's statement to stock analysts made some interesting points on when cruising might start again and how that might be of interest to readers on the Regent boards.

"Summary of CCL Corp stock analysts conference call on 7/10/2020:

Of course Princess is part of CCL Corp, so is included as part of the information presented.

So far 53 ships are in full pause mode. Ships have sailed over 400,000 nautical miles to return crews home. Less than 10,000 crew members remain to get home.

The company has raised $10 billion in capital. Combined with earlier debt, average interest rate on loans is 5%.

Current burn rate is $650 million a month. With $7.6 billion liquidity, the company can go at least a year with no income. More money can be raised if needed. Expenses are still being cut. Marketing is essentially suspended. They are working to extend maturities of loans due to be paid in 2021.

Nine ships were scheduled to be delivered in 2020 and 2021. With delays averaging five months, there will now be five ships delivered in this time period, two in 2020 and three in 2021. There are no plans to cancel any ships that are contracted to be built.

There are plans to eliminate 13 ships from the current fleet, a reduction of 9% of passenger capacity. So far only two have been announced. Ships are being sold to areas where they will not be competing with CCL Corp brands.

It will be 2022 before capacity will again reach 2nd quarter 2020 capacity. With less efficient ships being the ones leaving the fleet and the newer ships being more efficient, when the capacity again reaches 2020 capacity, the fleet will be more efficient that it was in 2020.

If the top 15 ships in 2019 revenue were to sail again at full capacity, it would cover basic corporate and operating expenses. An additional 10 ships, also at full capacity, would cover the cost of the remaining ships being in pause mode.

Carnival Corp ships had less than their market share of Covid-19 incidents, but being the largest company received the most media attention.

Germany is closest in being able to resume cruising. Italy is next closest. (AIDA, a German brand will resume sailing with three ships in August, all on cruises with no ports on the itinerary other than the home port.)

Many of their brands have passengers from one area being over 90% of their customers. These include AIDA (Germany), P&O UK (UK), Costa (Europe), P&O Australia (Australia) and Carnival (USA). This can allow reopening with local cruisers as is being done in August with AIDA.

As of June 21, 2020, cumulative advanced bookings for the full year of 2021 capacity currently available for sale remain within historical ranges at prices that are down in the low to mid-single digits range, on a comparable basis, including the negative yield impact of FCCs and onboard credits applied. (The historical range includes going back to 2011.) Many FCCs exist that await new bookings that will utilize them.

Average passenger age on future bookings is 45. World cruise bookings are not doing as well as shorter cruises, probably because potential passengers do not know if the itineraries can actually be kept.

As of May 31, 2020, the current portion of customer deposits was $2.6 billion, the majority of which are FCCs. $121 million of the company's customer deposit balance relates to third quarter sailings and $353 million relates to fourth quarter sailings. So over $2 billion is for cruises after 2020.

There was an apology for the delay in providing refunds. As of June 21, 2020, approximately half of guests affected have requested cash refunds. Despite substantially reduced marketing and selling expenses, the company continues to see demand from new bookings for 2021. For the most recent booking period, the first three weeks in June 2020, almost 60 percent of 2021 bookings were new bookings. The remaining 2021 booking volumes resulted from guests applying their FCCs to specific future cruises. By the end of the third quarter this year, it is expected that incoming deposits will match outgoing refunds.

The company is not yet in serious discussions with the CDC on cruise resumption other than meeting the criteria for the current CDC hold on US sailings. Once governmental permission is given to resume cruising from Florida, cruising can resume in about 30 days. If a new crew must be quarantined first, it could take longer than 30 days.

The AIDA sailings will initially be at reduced capacity with social distancing (which they prefer to call physical distancing) in public venues. They will follow local guidelines for this which in Germany is currently 1.5 meters. They will start slow and observe behavior.

There is a built up demand for cruising. They will restart country by country, destination by destination. Over 1000 bookings were made the first day the AIDA August cruises were announced.

There was nothing mentioned about reduced capacities in the future for any of the Carnival Corp cruise brands, but expect bookings to follow the willingness of society to socially gather. Demand is expected to be more than needed to fill the ships in a staggered restart.

All Carnival Corp brands can operate between 30% and 50% capacity and generate positive cash flow. The number varies by ship size."

7 hours ago, Gcto said:

don't think it will happen. Our Australian friends tell us that the gov is clamping down fast and hard. Err on the side of... So I don't think they let cruise ships come in in December or January. Same for NZ. 

 

I believe you are correct.  But Regent will be collecting our final payment for this sailing in a few days.  It seems like more work for the line to collect the money on its normal timeline, then to have to do a second round of work when they cancel it.  I had my TA call Regent on Monday, but unlike other cruise lines Regent is sticking to its normal 150-day final payment deadline.

10 hours ago, flossie009 said:

All cruises on the Regent website through till the end of November are now shown as "waitlisted". 

First cruises shown with pricing & availability are:

Mariner - Dec 05, 2020

Splendor - Dec 07, 2020

Navigator - Dec 10, 2020

Voyager - Jan 19, 2021

 

☹️ ☹️ ☹️

Explorer's first sailing showing availability is 21 December, Singapore to Sydney. 

Australia is having a new spike in cases, with new travel restrictions even internally.  If the 14-day quarantine for non-Australians is still in place by the time of the sailing, five ports of call would appear to need to be cancelled not to mention its disembarkation port.  It seems unrealistic this sailing will occur--at least without a vastly changed itinerary or if things open up in Australia.

With apologies to those in pre-pause/transit, pause 1, and pause 2 who have still not received their refunds or FCCs.

We were scheduled to be on the R/T NYC to Canada and Greenland, departing 17 August 2020.  We cancelled the cruise via our TA on 02 April.  Subsequently, Princess cancelled this sailing as part of pause 3.  On 12 May, Princess sent us the "double your deposit" offer, which we accepted in lieu of a refund on 13 May--and received an email from Princess acknowledging our selection of the FCCs.  On 26 June (a Friday, for those keeping track), we received a REFUND on our CC for the monies paid toward this cruise.  Princess had returned our (unexpired) FCDs used to book this cruise to our Captain's Circle account some time back (before I started tracking progress.)

Prior to receiving the offer from Princess, we had decided to book this same itinerary in August 2021.  Thus, we opted for the double FCCs as we had paid about half of the total cruise price in advance of the final payment date (which we never reached) prior to Princess cancelling the sailing.  The doubled FCCs would largely pay for the sailing in 2021.   (According to the presentation Princess made to TAs when pause 3 was announced, the offer applied to all monies paid prior to final payment--not just the original deposit.)

I had read other postings about receiving refunds when they had requested FCCs, so had been keeping watch on both the credit card and Princess accounts.  While the refund from Princess was dated 26 June, it did not post to our credit card account until 02 July.  I called Princess and was transferred to Customer Relations (about an hour wait on hold in total).  The rep asked me to send her the email from Princess acknowledging our selection of FCCs, which I did the same day.  Waiting to hear of the next step from Princess.

So, a long way of asking--for those of who have experienced this receipt of a refund versus doubled deposit FCCs, had you paid a sum toward your cruise larger than a $100 FCD?  I'm not usually given to conspiracy theories or finding hidden motives behind actions, but in our case it is much cheaper for Princess to give us a refund rather than honor their "double your deposit" offer. 

Posting for the information of others, as I have learned so much from all of you.

21 hours ago, johng75370 said:

 I think it’s worth having your TA ask to have the final payment date extended.  We just made final payment on a Mariner sailing in October; had an issue with a referral credit, and they were flexible with extending the final payment.  

Thanks, johng.  I had wondered about that.  I will give our TA a call.

Take care,

Thanks, Flossie.  We are scheduled to be on Navigator on 30 October, what is now its next sailing, so grateful for your updates.

In normal circumstances, I understand collection of final payment 150 days before the cruise.  But these are not normal circumstances.  Regent has cruises for which it is collecting final payment where it knows already it will have to alter the itinerary substantially, if not cancel the whole cruise.  For example, Explorer's holiday cruise from Singapore to Sydney has two stops in Australia in Dec 2020 that it will not be making.  And who knows if it will be permitted to dock in Sydney in Jan 2021?  Making the final payment date 90 days prior to sailing as Oceania as done or 60 days as other lines are doing (such as Princess for all sailings departing through 30 April 2021) seems like a reasonable thing for Regent to do in such an uncertain climate.

21 hours ago, GOARMY said:

There are other dominoes that fall if Explorer cancels, or attenuates that Grand Voyage itinerary.  We were, initially, on the Sydney-Auckland 2021 segment. 

We, along with two other couples, are scheduled to be on the segment prior to the one GOARMY cancelled, the Singapore to Sydney holiday cruise.  Even if the Government of Australia opened up on 01 January 2021, there are two stops scheduled in Oz on 28 December (Darwin) and 31 Dec (Cooktown).  Our final payment is due to our TA on the 9th of July.  At least one major cruise line--Princess--has changed its final payment dates for cruises leaving until the end of April 2021.  Final payment for Princess is now due only 60 days prior to departure.  Given the uncertainty of what countries will allow cruise ships to dock, shouldn't Regent move the final payment closer to the actual sail date vice 150 days out?

Too late for the OP--hope he was able to take his cruise before the shutdown from the pandemic--but would like to add another vote for Lawrence.  We took a tour with him several years ago.  My husband forgot a tee-shirt he had purchased during the tour on Lawrence's van.  I contacted Lawrence by email and he mailed the tee-shirt back to us at no cost.  That kind of responsiveness and consideration goes a long way--he could have easily just said he didn't find a tee-shirt.  And the tour was excellent as well!

18 hours ago, Kwaj girl said:

I may be late in the game here....has anyone seen this relaunch list?  Post #36

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2752396-ncl-announcement-friday/page/2/

  

Just wondering if there's any truth to this.

Thanks for posting, Kwaj girl.

I wish there had been some sort of date associated with the list of ships and their "re-launch dates" in the photo in that post, as it does not appear to be current with recent events.  If the definition of "re-launch" means carrying passengers, a sail date of 08 October for Navigator does not make sense--its sailings prior to 30 October are to Canadian ports and we know the government of Canada has closed their ports through 31 October.  As someone stated, perhaps those are report dates for the officers and crew to prepare for trips a few weeks later?  We are scheduled to sail with Navigator out of NYC to Miami (with Bermuda and the Caribbean in between, during the end of the hurricane season) on 30  October.  Someone else has previously posted that cruise could be one of Regent's first out on the sea given it sails and ends in the United States.

For someone who likes to plan ahead, this is proving to be a major challenge!  I'm sure the cruise line personnel all think the same thing.  The SARS-COV-2 virus adheres to its own timetable, unknown to us.

7 hours ago, GrJ Berkshire said:

Just made our TA's day with a new booking for the first 2 legs of the Mariner world cruise, from SF to Auckland in  Jan 2022

Would have liked to go on but 34 days is by far our longest trip so far plus 3 days ground trip post cruise in Auckland, not sure with everything else in life can do more than this at present

Plus finances would be seriously hit by longer, but looking forward to after the Lockdown. It will get us to Tahiti and the South Pacific we missed out on with a Papeete- Lima cancellation in April owing to covid-19. Back on the Mariner , I think our favourite ship and love the PH's (with shower, no bath thankfully). Now just got to hope the Jan 21 South America trip BA - Lima happens?

Hi DrJ.  We're booked on the Papeete-Auckland leg with you.  (There is a Roll Call started for that leg; not sure about SF to Papeete.)  We have cruises booked in Oct and Dec this year, but who knows?  But we have this one to which we can apply FCCs if one or both are cancelled by Regent.

5 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Only problem is that it's during baseball Spring Training.  Since we missed most of the 2020 season, and if baseball is playing again, I would hate to miss it. 

Your post made me laugh, Wendy.  That is the reason our "safety" booking as a landing if cruises in October and December 2020 are cancelled due to COVID-19 is on Mariner from Papeete to Auckland departing 23 Jan 2022.  I wanted an East Asia itinerary, but it was in March,  With the Mariner itinerary, we'll be home about when pitchers and catchers report.

Thanks to labonnevie and others who have posted their experience with Regent applying the "Return to Regent" $500/pp SBC to existing bookings in exchange for accepting a 15-day instead of 48-hour cancellation policy.  I called our TA today (the "big box" one) and they called Regent, who applied the new SBC to our planned Singapore to Sydney cruise on Explorer in December 2020.  They would not apply it to the other cruise we have booked as we have made the final payment on it--understand and didn't really think they would, but it never hurts to ask (nicely).

Thanks again, all, for sharing.

On 5/9/2020 at 11:56 AM, jawz33 said:

With final payment date approaching, I am more than a bit anxious.  I am still waiting on a refund from Celebrity.  
We are booked on Navigator, Caribbean bound in late Oct, and I have read so many differing thoughts my head is spinning. 

A crystal ball sure would come in handy now.
According to FDR, Regents and Oceania will make a phased return later this year.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5340/

Any guess which vessel will be first?

For those thinking Caribbean itineraries (like the one on Navigator that OP and I are booked on), the following article was just posted.  Unfortunately, the article only covers travelers arriving via air.  Drilling down into one location--St. Lucia--their official tourism website notes "Information about the opening of seaports in Saint Lucia will be shared when it is available."  So, stay tuned...

https://www.afar.com/magazine/first-caribbean-islands-to-reopen-for-tourism-in-june?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=052120 Caribbean/FlexibleTravelBookings&utm_content=A&utm_term=Daily Wander (Have opened newsletter before)

36 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

Navigator is on the move again. She didn't stay long in Gibraltar and is now on the way to Barcelona (ETA Thurs 21st).

Presumably Navigator called in to Gib for supplies and maybe to drop off some crew:

Gibraltar Chronicle

Thanks for the update, Flossie009.  As I stated in another post, we are scheduled to make our first cruise with Regent on the Navigator on 30 October from NYC.  From what I've read on other boards, Navigator may be ultimately heading to Italy for dry dock?

4 hours ago, flossie009 said:

Regent has stated that it will give at least two weeks notice of cruise cancellations, so there should not be any more of the sudden last minute disappointments suffered in mid March.

Typically Regent now appears to be cancelling batches of cruises one month at a time. It looks likely that July sailings will be cancelled soon as they have now been waitlisted on the website.

As to refunds:

• Up to now, if Regent cancels they offer 125% FCC; or alternatively you can opt for a 100% refund, but with a long wait to receive the refund
• If the guest cancels after final payment then Regent Reassurance offers 100%FCC (with some variations by country in which the cruise was booked)

I think that is all correct, but I am sure others will chip in if not.

Hope you get to enjoy your first cruise with Regent 😎

Thank you, flossie009, for your very thorough response.  As a long-time user of CC.com, I've eagerly read many threads on the "Regent Experience" in planning our hoped-for upcoming cruses on Regent and have come to anticipate your posts will provide very useful and well-sourced information.  I've enjoyed reading them very much as we weather our "safer-at-home" regimes.

On 5/9/2020 at 11:56 AM, jawz33 said:

With final payment date approaching, I am more than a bit anxious.  I am still waiting on a refund from Celebrity.  
We are booked on Navigator, Caribbean bound in late Oct, and I have read so many differing thoughts my head is spinning. 

A crystal ball sure would come in handy now.
According to FDR, Regents and Oceania will make a phased return later this year.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5340/

Any guess which vessel will be first?

Back to OP and the original question, I believe we are scheduled to be on the same cruise as OP.  The TA will take our final payment this week.  I'm hopeful the cruise will go as it leaves and arrives at a U.S. port (NYC and Miami, respectively) and goes to Bermuda and then the Caribbean in between.  Who knows whether the islands will be open to cruise ships or not, but a small ship like the Navigator might be an easier-to-manage test case for them.

Of course, there are no guarantees--including that the cruise falls in the final month of hurricane season.  For those of you who have cruised with Regent before--this would be our first cruise on the line, but we have experience with a number of others--how long before your cruise did Regent notify you of the cancellation of your cruise?  Did they offer any benefits beyond the 100-percent FCC under Regent Reassurance?  (Princess offered us a 125-percent FCC for a cruise to Canada and Greenland in August they cancelled earlier in May--even though we had already cancelled our reservation.  As a cruiser, I thought that was pretty generous; as a CCL stockholder, we'll see...)

Many thanks,

9 minutes ago, arowe6 said:

Good catch. Didn't even notice until you said something. Leaving on Sunday as well. No room number on the mobile version, but room number on the desktop version. Should be interesting....

 

Andrew 🙂

Andrew--Roll Call folk are having an informal M&G at Outriggers before Sailaway and a formal M&G in Club 6 on 04 Dec at 1000 hours.  Please feel free to join us.

Happy sails,

While the app shows no room number, the website version to print the passes does.  More bugs...

Same issue as others for our Regal Princess sailing departing on Sunday.  Incomplete despite being complete and now suddenly complete.  But--it is not showing a room number although we selected one when we booked.  Is this the same with all?

Many thanks,

Lori

Now that the Caribbean sailings have begun, can anyone provide some insight into the "rhythm" of the cruise?

   --What nights are formal nights?

    --Which menus are in rotation?  Ones you particularly enjoyed or ones to skip for possible specialty dining?

   --What nights are which shows?

   --What activities did you enjoy onboard?

   --Where is trivia being held and at what times?

   --What is in Princess Live?  (Never sailed on Regal before, so not familiar with that venue)

Bonus points if anyone is willing to take the time to post menus or Patters or write a review.

Many thanks,

As an update, the Princess Coordinator for Group Onboard Services and Group Support has changed.  It is now Bernadine "Berna" Grayr <bgrayr@princesscruises.com>.  She also serves as coordinator for Coral Princess.

Thanks to all sailing on the Regal for providing updated information to those of us waiting to board.

CC.com now says Princess hosts a Meet & Mingle for all cruises.  Here's the language:  "Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle parties will be held on all Princess Cruises sailings. Please check the daily activities program, called Princess Patters, for notification regarding the day, location and time of the event. Should you wish to pre-arrange the Meet & Mingle for your sailing, please contact Princess Cruises Customer Service at 1-800-PRINCESS. Please make sure your efforts are coordinated so that only ONE person contacts Princess Cruises."

Can anyone confirm Princess is doing this?  When was your M&M arranged?  I called Princess to see if a date, time, and location for our Western Caribbean sailing in early December had been set but the customer service rep said they did not have that info.  We'd just have to find it on board.

Many thanks,