Jason OKeefe

Thanks, that is what I thought, but got our Regent docs on a Splendor cruise we have booked. The paper work is showing the 180 day and the 75 day dates on our booking.

 

Guess I will call our TA tomorrow.

 

Thanks

I encourage a quick double-check of your booking to verify we have your SSS #'s entered accurately.

The new casual dinner option at the Pool Grill is now available on all ships.

I suggest any Onboard Credit is shown, as well as booked excursions and reserved dining venues.We often forget and it would be nice to be reminded before embarkation. It helps in deciding which Regent Special tours to take.

eliana,

The onboard credit information is coming soon to the MyAccount portal. Look for that to go live prior to any website updates, and ultimately coming early this Fall.

Thanks, Jason O

So I'll repeat this (from the 2021 itineraries thread) here because they're more likely to read it here.

drib,

I acknowledge the errors and misspellings you've noted. All of these items will be updated promptly today.

Appreciate your help in correcting and catching these as always!

Thanks, Jason O.

Many have given feedback to Regent over the years that the ability to cancel excursions on-line would be a convenient and effective enhancement.

Also the reintroduction of being able to waitlist for excursions on-line would be beneficial.

 

flossie009,

Both of these items are on the table as part of the requested enhancements.

Our intended goal is to add more functionality to the MyAccount portal that will allow greater customization of your experience without having to make a call.

Jason O.

Jason:

 

 

In a previous thread you mentioned that suggestions from Regent passengers are appreciated with regard to the design of the website - here is another:

 

 

Previously when making restaurant reservations and selecting "share", one could specify either a 4 or 6 seat table - that option is no longer available. We enjoy sharing with two other people, but a table larger than that can be difficult for individuals with hearing problems - please bring back the option to select the size table for sharing.

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

gnomie :)

gnomie,

Thanks for the suggestion, I will add your request to the list of items for review.

To help align expectations, please note the first round of updates is not expected to impact the MyAccount portal as this update is expected in 2019.

Jason O.

The issue regarding combo booking shore ex and dining reservations has been fixed as of this morning. Please let us know if you happen to run into any additional challenges. Again, apologies for this nuisance and thank you for your understanding as we worked through this fix.

I also wish to acknowledge your feedback about our website. As already hinted, we are actively engaged in a major website redesign that will advance the capabilities and functionality of our site. You should expect to see some elements of this redesign revealed by years' end. The site will be deployed in stages in order to do this smoothly or more importantly - correctly, throughout the course of 2019. Rest assured we are testing these enhancements and have solicited feedback from various resources in an effort to build a best-in-class website that will take us well into the future.

I will look forward to your feedback once we begin releasing the new designs and functionality.

In 3 weeks, I will be taking my Mother on a nice RSSC. My luck, I ended up breaking my foot and having surgery last 10 days ago.

 

Currently, I’m in a splint. Next week, my doctor might put me in a cast or a boot.

 

My questions for anyone with experience in his matter. I thank you in advance and apologize for the typos for i am using an iPhone.

 

1) if i am in a cast, I’m almost certain i can not wear long pants for the diameter of the cast will not allow it. I know the dress code after 6 required long pants. Will they make an exception for me? I will of course wear a nice jacket, shorts and shirt.

 

2) what is the best way to go on excursions, flights and get around in the Ship? Currently I have crutches and a manual rolling scooter. I’m a pretty active, mid 40 year old male.

 

Thank you in advance!!! I want this to be the best time for my Mother.

 

El Capitan Z,

RSSC will offer reasonable accommodation or exception regarding the dress code policy towards any guest that may have a disability or physical ailment such as yours. This is not dependent on shipboard management, it is considered policy. Should you need any further reassurances, feel free to get in touch with me at jokeefe@rssc.com.

Shore excursions will be challenging to be honest, as these will require negotiating the motor coach steps and a fair amount of walking in many cases. I'm going to make a suggestion and it may surprise you since most of our guests look forward to enjoying the Free Unlimited Shore Excursion options. You may want to consider some private tour arrangements to augment your selections. These options would be at additional cost and vary by port. A full day or half day private car option in a couple of ports will likely extend your enjoyment with much more ease as these can be catered to your interest as well as your ability. Alternatively, you may also choose to rent a wheelchair or even a scooter through specialneedsatsea.com and have it delivered to the ship for your personal use throughout the journey. Then you may request access to handicapped accessible tours through our reservations team pre-cruise, which may incur additional cost depending on the tour, albeit a lower cost than a fully private option.

Lastly, I encourage you to check with your travel insurance provider for any additional advice or assistance that may be offered to you since this was an unexpected challenge to your travel plans.

All the best on your upcoming journey, Jason

Thank you for your response.

 

Initially, several ports had no excursions available and, according to two of your employees, no wait lists; however, all issues, with the exception of São Tomé, were eventually resolved with the assistance and persistence of my travel agent.

 

Shire excursions in São Tomé, according to your website and your employees, are still not available. Your website states today that they will be available 180 days prior to sailing - a date that obviously has already passed. In addition, on Saturday, your employees, including a supervisor, cited that port’s “poor tourism infrastructure” as a reason for the unavailability. It’s important to note that, on Saturday, Regent was offering Premium Choice shore excursions in São Tomé.

 

If you are able to determine that excursions are indeed available in São Tomé, I would appreciate it if you could add my husband and me to a walking tour or, if that is not offered, a highlights-type tour. I would also respectfully suggest that your website administrator updates the details for that port’s shore excursions.

 

Elaine and Gary

Booking #2182363

Greetings and thank you for the booking information.

Please give us 24-48 hours to follow-up. We're just waiting to hear back from our local tour operator for this port and we'll see what we can offer to round out your tour selections. Given the time difference, I expect we'll hear back by tomorrow hopefully.

Thanks, Jason

I am booked on Regent's Explorer - Lisbon to Cape Town, 24 days, November 28, 2018 - and I just learned that Regent will not be offering shore excursions for all passengers at all ports. In some cases, ALL excursions in some ports were sold out on the first date they were available to me, even though I was online at midnight EDT that day.

 

When I called Regent, they informed me that they have no intention of adding additional excursions. I've spoken with two customer service agents and a supervisor, and I was directed to read the Terms and Conditions, which state "Free unlimited shore excursions are on a first-come, first-served basis and are subject to availability."

 

A common sense interpretation of those Terms and Conditions would be that passengers may not receive their first choice of shore excursion. However, Regent claims that this condition means they are under NO obligation to provide excursions for all passengers. It's an absurd interpretation, in my opinion, particularly for a company that so aggressively promotes the "all inclusive experience." Most disturbing, it provides Regent with justification to radically reduce the number of shore excursions available on all their cruises.

Cudot,

Upon reviewing your voyage, our Free Unlimited Shore Excursion options remain available in all 12 ports during your journey. We did have limited options in Walvis Bay, however, the team was able to secure additional tour space on several options for this port early last week.

Feel free to advise which port you may have trouble finding available options and we can attempt to assist in securing your choices if you're not able to find them.

I can find my cruise on the website, but when I select "view this booking," it takes me back to the homepage. Same when I select "shore excursions." Have not had this problem before, wondering if anyone else is experiencing this?

 

Thanks.

Papaflamingo, Portalan & Wes,

We've identified this issue applies to guests booked on combo voyages, and expect the fix to be completed by the first week of August. In the interim, any dining or shore ex additions/changes for guests booked exclusively on combo voyages will need to be called in to our Reservations team until the update is completed. We apologize for this inconvenience.

Reggie,

 

Valletta is spelled wrong here:

 

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/SPL200706/summary and

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/SPL200914/summary and

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/SPL200924/summary and

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/SPL201024/summary

 

That's a lotta Valletta!

 

Oporto is spelled wrong here:

 

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/SPL200804/summary and

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/SPL200830/summary

 

Thanks Drib for the head's up, these have now been corrected.

Are you sure you will get a private car? Regent has changed the wording of the Titanium benefit and specifically declines transfers from hotels.

 

From the Titanium Tier Level FAQ section of Regent's USA website:

We provide complimentary transfers on embarkation from the airport to the pier and from the pier to the airport on disembarkation - these transfers may not be private if other guests are on the same flight or similar arrival time.

 

We only provide transfers to the pier on embarkation day from the airport and to the airport from the pier on disembarkation day. We do not provide transfers to and from hotels to the pier.

Anchorbuoy,

Thank you for bringing this item to our attention. The information was posted incorrectly on the FAQ section, as there have been no changes to the Titanium-level transfer benefit.

The verbiage under the FAQ has since been updated to read as follows:

Question

Can you explain the complimentary transfers in the Titanium Tier Level?

Answer

The transfers are private car transfers when it is "to and from home" if you live within a 50 mile radius of the pier. If you don't live within 50 miles, private car transfers from airport to pier and from pier to airport areprovided. Transfers between the ship and airport are available worldwide for embarkation and disembarkation.

The benefit is available one time on each end of your voyage, for a maximum of two private car transfers per sailing. If your reservation includes a Pre- or Post-Cruise Hotel or Land program booked through Regent Seven Seas Cruises, you may choose which transfer is upgraded to a private service; either the airport to hotel or hotel to ship. Guests booking independent hotel arrangements are eligible for private transfer benefit on embarkation and debarkation day only, and is limited to a 50 mile radius from the pier.

Titanium Members sailing voyages up to 14 days receive FREE Private Sedan transfer accommodating 2 large suitcases and voyages 15 days or longer receive FREE Private Van transfer accommodating 4 large suitcases.

. . . to no longer show ongoing cruises; it only shows future cruises. I have taken advantage of Cruise Finder to see where the ships were and where they were going.

 

Jason O, is this a new "feature" or just a temporary "glitch?"

 

thanks,

 

Marc

Marc,

This was something we were reviewing and considered removing to make it easier for new customers to interpret only voyages that were available to book. In the end, we decided it was best to leave this active for those guests and travel agents that may want to see where their friends/clients may be at during a given voyage.

They were suppressed for a couple of days, but now everything is back to normal and these 'in-progress' voyages are now visible.

At 5 months from sailing, there are 2 ports that have no excursions available, despite one having two time slots, both apparently filled. What is the advice from fellow Regent travelers on this, please? I have been checking back regularly, and nothing changes. Also, no waitlist is showing up either. :confused:

Worldtraveler 4727,

Which voyage are you speaking about, or which ports of call are the one's missing tours? I'd be happy to look into this further for you and respond back.

It was sent to us Jason and next June will be our very first cruise with Regent ;p

garyb(uk)

We look forward to welcoming you on board your first RSSC voyage next year!

You are correct, we have also sent the survey to Future Booked guests as we acknowledge you will ultimately become Past Guests in due course.

 

Is the sweepstake open to all survey responders or only those resident in North America?

flossie009,

Yes, the sweepstakes opportunity is open to U.K. and Australia guests as well. And more specifically, I should add clarity that this is available to U.S guests vs. all North America residents.

Yesterday an email was sent from a research partner on behalf of Regent Seven Seas Cruises with our brand name spelled incorrectly. We apologize for their mistake, and the confusion this may have caused.

Feedback from our past guests is extremely valuable and this survey was sent to a randomly selected group of past guests, and there is a sweepstakes for a free cruise on Regent Seven Seas Cruises for those complete the survey.

I noticed that the Culinary Classes were not uploaded to book, for our Explorer Oct 7 sailing like they had been the last couple of sailings. I called Regent reservations and a nice young man said he would check into it and get back to me(I'm booked through an agent).

I got a call back within a few hours and he told me that the Explorer classes will not be uploaded online until 4-5 months prior to sailing. To me this is an issue since we get to book our other excursions Feb 9th. Maybe Chef Kelly is changing the classes and that is why its delayed.

Dallasgal,

Thank you for your interest in our culinary classes aboard Seven Seas Explorer.

Culinary Arts Kitchen classes have been developed for voyages through mid-September 2017 only at this time or basically through the end of the 2018 Baltic season right now.

Chef Kelly is currently working on developing the curriculum for the Fall Mediterranean season as well as for the Winter 2019/20 season. I suspect there will be some new options to enjoy, so please stay tuned. Look for more details to be released later in May.

One of the great Platinum/Titanium benefits is discount on choice shore excursions and land programs; 10% for Platinum and 25% for Titanium. A new caveat has been added to website concerning this benefit; it does not apply to OVERLAND programs. These are the programs such as Taj Mahal and Temples of Bagan and many more. This is a new reduction as we did get discount on Bagan trip last year. I have no idea why this exception was carved out. That 25% discount was one of the big benefits I was looking forward to when I make Titanium; although it is still good for pre/post cruise programs and shore excursions, this exception is significant. BTW, they also exempt discount on private cars/vans; I don't know if this is new change or been around previously.

 

Marc

Greetings Marc,

I hope all is well on board.

I can confirm this adjustment was made in March last year due to the limited availability of our overland programs. The private car exclusion has always existed, however, it was not clearly articulated and we subsequently updated this detail when we adjusted the overland program exclusion.

Our original intent when we launched the loyalty savings benefit for Platinum & higher members was to incentivize towards our Regent Choice shore excursion tours and the pre/post hotel stays and land programs exclusively.

To take this one step further though, I will commit to discussing these two exceptions in the next review of our loyalty program benefits. It is worth us reviewing again to see if we might offer any additional flexibility on this in the future.

As I understand it, the TS/OP has not combined back-to-back voyages to create a longer cruise, but booked a single cruise as marketed and sold by Regent.

In Looncall's case the phrase that you have quoted would only apply to Barcelona (first day) and London (last day), not to the intermediate port of Lisbon.

Loon Call,

 

Am I missing something? As I read the website description of the Lisbon excursions, it does not list the excursions available for Lisbon on your cruise. Instead, it notes that excursions are not finalized for Lisbon. It then lists previous Lisbon excursions. There is no guarantee that all of the previous excursions will be available on your cruise. The excursions to be offered to the in-transit passengers in Lisbon cannot be determined at 180 or 240 days before the cruise since exact transit passenger counts are not known until much later. Passengers embarking or disembarking in Lisbon are not entitled to take excursions on that day.

 

The Alhambra excursion may not be sold out. In Regent website speak, "sold out" may mean that the excursion is truly sold out or that the excusion is not yet available for booking. Keep checking the status of the excursion. It may become available for booking.

 

Hope this helps.

I would like to clarify that this is in fact a combination cruise or also known as a letter cruise where two segments are combined. Lisbon is the turnaround port or the in-transit port during this combo voyage. Thank you DaveFr for articulating this further. We are aware of this issue and due to technology challenges have not yet completed a solution to allow the shore ex information to be only shared with guests on the combination voyages. I will also acknowledge that the combination cruise messaging needs to be updated. The terms will be clarified further and until a permanent fix is able to be completed. We continue to actively pursue a resolution to this as we recognize the guest counts on our combination voyages continue to rise, so there is a need to update this permanently.

The terminology of Sold-out vs. Waitlist has been in our review. The functionality currently allows for only a open or closed status for each individual tour. Therefore, we've chosen to retain the term Sold-out for the time being and continue to allow Waitlists on a request basis for each of these. As we continue to develop further enhancements to our shore excursion booking functionality in the near future this will be updated.

Our team continues to monitor your suggestions. Please continue to keep them coming.

I know there have been recent comments about Regent's lack of excursion information but can't seem to find the thread.

I'm currently 18 days out to being able to book excursions and of 14 ports (with 2 days in Bordeaux) 8 ports only show private car/van options available. This has never been my experience in the past. Regent is not providing passengers the opportunity to review and research any of the excursions. Really annoying.

 

Would like to hear from Jason or someone at Regent about what is going on.

LoonCall,

I'm definitely listening and happy to explain further details.

You've noted that we announce available shore excursions at 240 days prior to the voyage, and I confirm this remains accurate. I think we may be one of the few lines that publishes this information so far in advance and as you can imagine, it requires a huge undertaking to secure these plans and space requirements from all of the individual tour operators we work with around the world that far out. There are usually a few ports that we end up having to wait on for finalization but for the majority, we are able to confidently release at 240 days prior. There are occasions where additional options may be added, so it's important to check back once in a while too.

A couple of months prior to the 240 day mark, the historical shore excursion listing is suppressed intentionally from the voyage information page. We do this for a couple of reasons... to clear the shore excursion listing to be able to populate the available options accurately at the 240 day mark and also to avoid any disappointment from guests that may assume that the historical offering will be offered verbatim on their voyage.

I offer the following suggestion to assist you in researching the historical shore excursion listing, particularly when we're a few weeks away from the 240 day mark and when you may not see everything detailed.

From our home page, click on FREE Unlimited Shore Excursions in the main toolbar.

Click on Destination and select your sailing region. (You may have to look at two regions to see all options for your particular voyage.)

Once you've reached your sailing region, all of the ports in the region are listed at the bottom of the page and you may click on any to view the previously offered shore excursion options. You may also click on Ports & Excursions link at the top of the sailing region page to reach the port selection options more quickly.

Lastly, we recognize how important the shore excursion information is in your planning process. We are actively working on additional features and tools to better assist in your vacation planning. There is more to come in this area and your feedback has been tremendously helpful in our development of these future enhancements.

Jason / Mike - Speaking of navigation, hope you're making sure the new site is Section 508 Compliant while you're doing the replatforming.

IndiTraveler,

Yes and for everyone's benefit, Section 508 ensures the site is compliant with assistive technologies (software or hardware used by people with physical impairments). We have an external vendor that is facilitating those requirements for us and will take a few more weeks to complete.

To add clarity to this thread, I can confirm we do not allow dining tables to be reserved. This has been our longstanding policy and it has not changed. Groups are also not permitted to reserve tables and are encouraged to arrive early in effort to be seated close together. Select physical conditions or limitations often require additional consideration otherwise and we will accommodate appropriately.

Many guests do arrive early to Compass Rose to be seated by the windows and when they are available.

Additionally, our dining room team attempts to seat guests in the same area or within the same wait staff's area when possible in order to allow a more consistent level of personal experience. When the dining room is busier, sometimes this not always possible.

So Jason, are they going to do something about the excursions? It was fine when you could see all the excursions listed, click on one and then see what it entailed. Now we have to scroll through every excursion to see what they are. Not user friendly at all. It seems every time a website is revised, they take away the good things with the bad.

Yes, we're going to be condensing it down so you see only the first few sentences of each description along with the option to expand if you want to see more information. It will make the page shorter and so much easier to view the options.