melbox4

On 11/19/2023 at 12:08 PM, Lonedaddy said:

Just reviewing my FCC they gave me.  What a joke - First of all I used a FCC from the NZ cruise back in January that regent screwed up.  So, the deducted that from my "fare paid" for the calculation which reduced my new FCC to a miniscule amount.  Kind of a double dip in my option for if I would not have used the NZ FCC on this cruise but rather applied it on my future and probably final regent cruise it would I would have received more.  Also the fact that not everyone was treated the same with the regent air debacle, some such as us should have been offered more.  Our friends who booked the lowest cabin received their air 3 days before and 3 nights hotel in Istanbul whereas we who had booked the pre-cruise package arrived the night before and had no opportunity to see Istanbul and still had to pay $100 bucks for a Turkey visa.   As well stated on the SS board by @wristband :"I am sad to say, again my opinion, Regent has lost its way since it reopened and their new CEO Andrea appears lost at sea about the decline and chorus of customer complaints."

 

I wholeheartedly have to agree.  I am no spring chicken at 61 but still have several good years of cruising and I really don't think Regent values their customers anymore and thinks they can just replace them.  

They do not value their customers. We were so excited to try Regent for the first time. It was a nightmare. We missed three ports because of Regent’s inability to reschedule us correctly. They refused to pay for our Athens hotel and transportation to meet ship. Customer service was often rude. Then there were the Regent loyalists posting that added insult to injury. We will be cruising Crystal, SilverSea or Seabourn…might try Ritz Carlton. Adios Regent! 

20 hours ago, olga1900 said:

Mel,

thank you for your direct reply. I got very few.I was wrong. we’ve never been to Crete. Wife was sorry they moved the excursion from a place she had wanted to go. Tell me how the Crete excursion was? I had to tear off the Crete patch that Amazon found me in an English store. If you would like it email me:

larryjohnson@webtv.net

Olga1900…I hope you get to replace the Crete patch soon as well.  We enjoyed Crete. It is a charming island. I am very glad you were not intimidated by others to post. What you shared is important and valuable input. 

7 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

By "on the Nile", what do you mean?  You mean a two-days stop in Safaga?

On the Viking cruise, you fly into Cairo. They have a guide set up & you tour Cairo 3 days. Then they fly you to Luxor. In Luxor you get on a River Boat to cruise the Nile for 7 days. 

On 10/25/2023 at 2:48 PM, olga1900 said:

Crushlt,

im replying to you as one who cancelled the same time. My TA gave up on R and is working our insurance claim. As I said on CC earlier one  reason was medical in that we paid for special air to make it less stress on two 80 year olds with high blood pressure.And the only reason for the trip was Israel and Egypt. Terrorizm and a longer trip to Istanbul are reasons enough. I ordered from Amazon flag patches for my hat for every country.

I had to rip off Egypt and Israel. We’ve been to the other ports.

Larry

 

 

Your post was very touching. I could sincerely tell this was a big disappointment for you. As a medical professional  I am comfortable with saying your age and medical condition justify RSSC refunding your cruise. 
While on board, several fellow cruisers told us stories of Regent making things right when things were a miss. They were shocked to hear our story. One couple told a similar story to ours…only Regent paid for their hotel and transfer when they missed their port.

Please post us on your RSSC Holy Lands conclusion. I am hoping you get to replace your patches. Maybe with another cruise line…we did the Nile last year on Viking. It was fabulous. Careful on the month you choose to travel due to the heat. 

1 minute ago, CrushIt said:

Are you sure about the insurance? We don’t buy the cruise insurance because it looked worthless to me. Just met a guy who had a cruise cancelled by the line a few years ago (something about the ship damaged from a mishap). He said that the insurance company made it so difficult to file the claims that there were points where he almost gave up. Then, ended up getting far less than he thought he would. 

We purchased Travelers International through USAA. After being told we weren’t covered by the weekend emergency crew for Travelers…underwriting told us Monday we were covered. A few years back, we had to file a claim when we were stranded due to a FL hurricane. They were good about reimbursement. 
I think RSSC refusal to cover my hotel and transportation is because they know insurance will cover. I was told by my insurance company that if I take the FCC that my missed ports won’t be paid back by insurance. 

It was the “best of times…it was the worst of times…”

The Best:

Once on board, the staff was very accommodating and friendly. The food was decent. The shows were ok. We enjoyed the excursions.

The Worst: 
The lead up to the cruise was something out of “National Lampoons Family Vacation.” The Air and Customer Service Department were often unhelpful, rude and condescending. Regent Air scheduled two flights into Istanbul that would not allow us to get to the ship on time. We ended up flying into Athens.We were promised a ground transfer in Athens after our flt was canceled and we had missed 3 ports. Later RSSC would not provide the promised transfer in Athens. We were on our own for Athens Hotel as well. Regent told us we could board the ship at anytime before 4:00 pm in Athens. The night before we finally boarded were sent an email at 10:00 pm telling us to arrive at 7:00 am at the port.
I hate that they won’t provide a paper coffee cup to go. They say it is to be “Green.” It feels more like a cost cutting tactic wrapped in the “Green” disguise. After all the cruise ship is a big floating polluter. 
So for us the $27000 we spend for this cruise was not worth it.

Sure insurance will cover some of the loss…but why would anyone spend that kind of money to be treated so poorly and not compensated very well? 

19 hours ago, Sunprince said:

What a disaster! And embarkation is tomorrow! Have you tried calling Regent customer service and insist on talking to a supervisor.  Ask for cancellation and full refund.  See what they say? 

Thank you. After this suggestion yesterday I did what you suggested. Ty again. 

14 hours ago, roninman said:

Technically I can understand that Regent is not responsible for the airlines- how can they be?  However, Regent is responsible for arranging transportation to get you to your boat.   In its brochures it states that airfare is included, hence they need to make suitable arrangements to transport you.   When you pay $175pp for a deviation they are renewing the commitment.   When you pay an extra $75 for the privilege of speaking directly with the air team, they are upping the responsibility again.

 

If they can't get the pax to the embarkation port in a reasonable fashion, it seems a refund is due (at a minimum).  Or, as Regent- and now Oceania- seem to like to tell people:  "read the contract."

Agree 💯 

15 hours ago, pingpong1 said:

Sunprince - I absolutely agree with you.  And Melbox4 - I think this is a really important point!  Ever since I first joined CC and in particular, since following along on all the Regent Forum discussions for those years...the constant/consistent/never ending/"written-on-a-stone-tablet" justification for using Regent Air (rather than "going it alone") has always been that if there's "Ever Any problem at all" with your air transportation (arranged/booked paid for through Regent)...Regent was always going to be your "best buddy", that they'd move heaven and earth for you, and that they would provide immediate hands-on assistance...no matter what...to "get you to that ship - come heck or high water!"

 

And so now Mel is telling us that they seemingly have just "cut him loose" and told him to call Lufthansa on his own.  And to add the final insult...gave him a Lufthansa "non-weekend" phone number to call... that won't even be answered until 2 more precious and time-critical days have elapsed?

 

Tell me again (anyone) why I should ever rely on Regent Air to get me to/from the ship, rather than arranging my own flights - personally and directly - with my own favorite choice/s of airlines?  Did I also understand (from one of the previous posts) that Regent Miami was "finding it difficult" to contact the Voyager in order to "see if it was okay" for the delayed passenger/s (delayed through no fault of their own) to board the ship in a subsequent 2nd/3rd port, if they couldn't make it to Istanbul before the ship left (which the now won't)?!  "Asking Permission", really?!  Boy, I really don't understand "that one!"  🤔

 

By this time (actually way before now), someone way up the Regent "food chain", and in an actual "decision-making position", should have been offering these major-affected folks a full refund PLUS FCC's to use towards a new/later/future cruise!  In the "big scheme of things", that goodwill compensation would be a tiny fraction of their gross yearly revenue!

 

Maybe I need to stop posting on this thread...it's cranking up my BP way too high! Time to pet the cat! 😺    Best Regards to all.

Thank you to all responding excellent points. It has been a big learning curve for me. Although in my earlier posts I was a bit sassy…this thread has helped in my education of cruising. For that I am grateful. 
Initially, Lufthansa refused to reissue a ticket past Istanbul. The airline refusal was based on the next port which we would be permitted to board was more than 250 miles from Istanbul. I called Regent and asked to speak to a supervisor J. I pointed out to J that Haifa was more than 250 miles from Istanbul. J informed me that Lufthansa had no responsibility to get me to the next port. J said he would call the emergency air and see if there was anything they could do. My TA stepped in at this point. It took her all day but we ended up with new 1st class tickets issued on United.  The emergency air seemed to have a change of heart after J called them. 
I feel that if Regent is arranging to book air they need to be more supportive from the get go. 
We hope to be joining the Voyager soon. 
Just for the record “Melbox” is an XX and not a XY 😂. 
 

19 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

Future Cruise Credit.

Thank you 🙏 I ❤️ the friendly Pcardad version. Seriously ty

18 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

I've been posting every day...thanks for thinking about me!

Pcardad we will have to reschedule our cocktails on board. 

14 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

That is better then saying "No refund!" I've also heard they are issuing FCC now.

FCC ?

9 minutes ago, Sunprince said:

What a disaster! And embarkation is tomorrow! Have you tried calling Regent customer service and insist on talking to a supervisor.  Ask for cancellation and full refund.  See what they say? 

They told me I must call Monday to request a refund. 

37 minutes ago, Sunprince said:

If you used Regent air and they cannot get you to the port of embarkation on time, then are they offering you a cancellation/refund option? What does the contract say for this circumstance? I would think if they can’t fly you into Istanbul on time, then a refund should be offered.  I would not join the cruise at a secondary port…too complicated and you are losing your cruising time!

The after hours air department is not really helping. They just gave me the number for Lufthansa and asked me to call Lufthansa. I called that number and it is for a closed office till Monday. My flts were booked with Lufthansa. Lufthansa has now canceled my return flt from Rome. I am told by Lufthansa I can fly to Istanbul and then to Athens to catch the ship. But I must pay for the flt from Istanbul to Athens. They say because Athens is more than 250 miles Lufthansa won’t pay for it. Isn’t Haifa more than 250 mile from Istanbul where my original flt was to start.  That makes no sense. 

 Our flt was canceled out of our home airport. There are no flights that will get us to Istanbul on time. We have been told since 10:30 last night that  the after hour’s emergency team has been trying to contact the ship. The ship is not responding about allowing us to board in the port in Mykonos or Athens. Bozcaada does not have an airport. We have been waiting for a response since last night. This is very disappointing. It feels like RSSC is letting us skip through the cracks. 

7 minutes ago, roninman said:

What a treat if the cruise line had made gestures to indicate we were all in this together, how as a team can we deal with it, how can we demonstrate we care?  

 

How much better than repeated lectures here on how the carrier had every right to do everything they did (or did not do), approaching the point where passengers are being blamed for their own plight?

 

At the end of the day, customers are bearing the brunt.   The cruise line retains its dollars, albeit possibly incurring extra overtime by the air team.

 

Consumers are weird, in that they tend to apprehend this as one sided.

 

 

 

27 minutes ago, Texasrocks said:

15-Oct	Istanbul, Turkey	EMBARK	7:00PM
16-Oct	Bozcaada, Turkey*	8:00AM*	6:00PM*
17-Oct	Mykonos, Greece	8:00AM	6:00PM
18-Oct	Athens (Piraeus), Greece	7:00AM	8:00PM
19-Oct	Santorini, Greece	8:00AM	6:00PM
20-Oct	Rhodes, Greece	7:00AM	4:00PM
21-Oct	Chania/Souda, Greece	7:00AM	3:00PM
22-Oct	Argostoli, Greece	8:30AM	4:00PM
23-Oct	Messina, Italy	8:00AM	6:00PM
24-Oct	Salerno, Italy	7:00AM	5:00PM
25 Oct	Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy	6:00AM	DEBARK

 

Happy to be traveling in a different direction. 

19 minutes ago, roninman said:

Exactly.   WE risk it, as the risk is passed to the customer, not the vendor.   We have become accustomed to being lectured about this rule as though it is a law of nature, not simply a corporate decision to pass business risk to the customer.  

 

Still, there are ways a corporation can help mitigate the risk so that it is not so one-sided, such as by freely offering refunds or future credit should half the "Holy Lands" voyage been cancelled, as in this case.  But such gestures need to be done up front, right away, before customers are put through the "alternate flights" dance.

 

To their credit, competitive cruise lines did exactly that.   Whereas this, the self-proclaimed "world's most luxurious cruise line" did exactly the opposite- immediately announcing "no refunds, no credit."   

Regent has made some poor choices. I am most shocked at the poor customer service from air department. Atrocious.

16 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

I sympathise with all those who have had their travel plans so disrupted by the present ghastly situation. I hope you reach the ship safely & comfortably, and have an enjoyable cruise despite all the hassle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What about those on board who still wish enjoy the cruise; including experiencing the fabulous things that Egypt has to offer?

 

If you personally feel unsafe in taking this cruise or flying to Istanbul on Friday 13th, then surely it is up to you to decide what to do; including cancelling if you are uncomfortable with proceeding with your booking. As regards cancellation penalties you will then have to put your arguments to Regent and/or your Travel Insurer.

 

I am well aware of my options Flossie09. Your point is moot since the cruise is preceding. Those who want to go will in fact go.

Kathy49 your point is valid.

13 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

I disagree. This is a nightmare situation for Israel. This is a logistical challenge for the cruise lines and a First World problem for everyone else.

I disagree with you. It is a nightmare for us. It is beyond a nightmare for Israel. It is a pure senseless tragedy for Israel. It will take years for Israel to recover from the atrocities. It is all the more reason I would like a refund. It will be hard to totally relax and enjoy the cruise knowing people in the area are suffering great loss. I feel a sense of great conflict about this. I feel your statement is full of assumptions.

3 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

Regent email address are typically in this format....

FirstInitialLastName@rssc.com

Thank you!

2 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

Wrong email address.

 

Do you have the correct address? and if yes would you provide?

19 minutes ago, Texasrocks said:

Agree.  My TA working on this used to work at SS for Mrs. Conroy.  So he has quite a bit of experience.  He said when he had an issue with regent he could call Mark.  He said while he sympathizes with the issue regent is dealing with, they have really dropped the ball.  Just a simple call to him or me could have solved the issue.  He is working his way up the supervisor chain now, but frankly time is running out.  

My TA was able to get our flight changed back to Business. So I give a high five to RSSC for correcting the downgrade.

I am still hoping they choose to reroute, refund or provide a credit. I understand that this is a nightmare situation for RSSC. However the American custom/saying  "customer comes first" should always be remembered. The rudness yesterday was not good customer service.

1 minute ago, Texasrocks said:

Hiding

Remember FB and twitter both under Regent not RSSC.

52 minutes ago, melbox4 said:

AndreaDemarco@rssc.com according to google

She is also on LinkedIn under AndreaD President.