papaflamingo

We were on Grandeur last month. Dianara was not only in the Coffee Connection, but also Compass Rose serving wine and the theater serving drinks. By FAR one of our FAVORITE crew members (in a huge bunch of favorite crew members).

If you look at a map, Abu Dhabi is nowhere near the Red Sea where the Houthis are attacking shipping. There is currently no greater threat in Abu Dhabi than there was in the past.

They're giving them a discount (I believe 30%) on 3 specific cruises OR 100% refund! Why do they need FCC when they get 100% refund? There are NO "restrictive limitations" since they can get 100% refund. "The entire inventory of cruises" IS available since they get a 100% refund. Not actually sure what the problem is. Take the 100% refund and book whatever cruise desired, or take the 30% discount on the offered cruises. Remember, it's not like Regent asked the Houthi to shoot missiles at ships in the Red Sea.

The person who the article was about did a few things wrong. First, sounds like she opted not to try to catch the cruise. If she had purchased tickets to meet the ship, it's possible that her insurance would have paid for them. She also, after going home, filed a Trip Delay claim, not Cancellation. The policy clearly states that to cancel for any reason you must file before the cruise begins, She stated she filed the cancel for any reason claim later. So here's the thing... I always buy insurance. But I always look at the policy to know exactly what I'm buying. I have had to cancel 2 cruises (one this past Oct.). I looked at the policy and got my "ducks in a row" before filing any claims. If she had done that, maybe she wouldn't have had a problem. I'm not defending the cruise line nor insurance companies, but as adults, it's on us to make sure we know EXACTLY what we are doing and ask appropriate questions.

I suspect that the people on the cancelled cruises were offered cruises with availability and were about the same cost of the cruise that was cancelled. Surely you don't expect Regent to offer someone a cruise that is sold out or much norm expensive than the cruise that was cancelled do you? Oh, by the way, they also have a 100% refund option.

Absolutely true. But we were on Mariner in Dec. and the "word" was that they were finding some seal issues in the system that prevented the vacuum from building in areas. They took the entire system down (I think it was the entire system) for a relatively short time when we were in port one day to work on it. Sadly all they can do is troubleshoot when trouble occurs. My son was a Navy Pilot. When he deployed for 7 months on the U.S.S. Bush (they also have vacuum toilets) and the system was not working the entire 7 months. They actually had to dedicate a couple of crewmen full time doing nothing but keeping some section of the toilets working throughout the ship. My son told me that first thing in the morning an announcement was made as to which "heads" were operable.

We were in a Superior Suite which is the same layout as a Concierge so that could certainly be a factor. It seems higher suites (Penthouse and above) also seem to not have much of an issue. Would make sense since the beds in the suites below Superior Suites are against the shared wall.

Honestly, y'all are overthinking the soundproofing issue. As I said somewhere on here, we were on Grandeur a few weeks ago and we only heard our neighbors from one side, the side with the couch, and only a couple times, and I was sitting on the couch as, apparently, was my neighbor. My wife could barely hear them (if at all) from the bed. The couches were back to back with only a wall separating them so I heard him talking (since I was also on the couch) and barely his wife answering from across the room. We were traveling with friends who were on our other side, the side with the tv. We never heard them and they never heard us or the tv. But bottom line, if you have neighbors that are excessively loud at times when you're trying to sleep, simply let them know politely and I bet they'll make the effort to be quieter. But I'll say this, I loved Grandeur and the soundproof issue was so minor that it won't even factor into my decision to book again. Just sayin'.

For the non-stop Haneda-Atlanta on Delta the up charge was $1000 per person. Figured since it's about 13 hour flight, it was worth it. If I was to purchase the flight using my employee discount (I'm retired Delta) it would cost about $5500 per person (without my employee discount the cost would be $6100 per person). I think the air allotment today for one leg is $2850 so you can see even adding the $1000 I save about $1200 per person using Regent air. And I believe when we first booked the cruise the air allotment was a bit less as it's gone up as the airlines are getting more expensive.

We were also on that cruise. Yes, missing Greenland was a bit disappointing, but when I looked at my weather app and it was "heavy rain and 50 kt winds" I figured I'd "deal with my disappointment." But it was a fantastic cruise!!!! And I thought St. Pierre was a fun stop. Something really unique and unexpected. But everyone needs to understand, the weather in the North Atlantic, especially somewhere like Greenland, is very fickle indeed and very unforgiving. That's why it's so desolate.

I wouldn't "not sail Regent" because the pricing on a sold out cruise (waitlisted only) that leaves in a month on their brand new ship is high. Regent is a "for profit" business after all. As such they'll charge whatever the market will bear. That's why it's always best to book as far in advance as possible, as the ship sells out the prices go up. The stockholders would have it no other way. True story.... a number of years ago I saw an INSIDE CABIN on a Royal Caribbean cruise, one of the older class ships, for $100,000 PER PERSON!!! 😱. It was the only cabin left, so I guess they figured, what the heck. Don't know if it sold or not. But it certainly didn't make me say "won't be booking again." I simply laughed and moved on to cruises that I found more in my price range.

I understand your disappointment, but have to say, this was not unique to Regent, all the cruise lines did similar cancellations. Why not just look for a similar itinerary? There are lots of cruises that go to the Caribbean islands that were on your original. So really nothing that unique. Why not just book one of those?

Thanks! Wow...some pretty interesting cruises! I assume they haven't given any prices yet?

What are the "3 new itineraries?" Are they posted on line?

Hmmm.....ummm..... ok....sure... if you say so. You're welcome (I guess). However I'm guessing that, like me, you have no idea how the contract really works and are simply "opining." And I'm retired airline, and I have no idea either, All I can pass on was what I was told. And I was told Regent doesn't profit from air fare. Believe it or don't, it really makes no difference, the cost of the cruise is the cost of the cruise and the cost of air is the cost of air. Book it or don't based on what YOU perceive as "value."

Don't know... but likely. I turned it down and opted for the non-stop.

I can't argue with your logic at all, but the difference between "included air" and "cruise only" on line is the air credit. So if I choose to pay my own air, I can see on line how much "cruise only" will cost and it's a published rate. For example, if I look at the May, 2, 2026 Navigator cruise from Bangkok to Tokyo the "all inclusive fare" (includes air) is $19,299. The "all inclusive cruise fare" (no air) is $13099. So the air credit is $6200. If I follow it out and select "Atlanta" as my departure, the total for 2 is $37,288 and if I select Los Angeles as my gateway, the cost is also $37.288. When I select "no air" the total for 2 is $24,888 or $12,400, $6200 per person. I checked some other gateway's too (Mobile, Milwaukee, and Omaha) and the price doesn't change. I will say the "booked" cost is lower than the published fare, Don't know why, probably my frequent cruiser discount.

Actually, we are flying Tokyo to Atlanta in March. When I deviated, I called Regent (I always handle my own deviation requests) and when I was talking to the very nice agent and found that the non-stop on Delta from Haneda to Atlanta had an up charge, I asked what could I get without the up charge for the same day. She told me I could get Japan Airlines to Boston (I think) then JetBlue to Atlanta (coach only on JetBlue). So I chose the non-stop. But if you handle your own deviation, they'll tell you what flights are available on straight contract rates, so you can find out the routing they'll likely give you.

I have not been on Explorer, we go in 2 weeks so it'll be a great time to compare. But I'd like to say two things I found.... we really liked the hot tubs in the aft on Grandeur. We would go out there around 5 pm with our friends and there'd be hardly anyone there so the 4 of us would have one of the tubs all to ourselves. If anyone else was there, having 3 tubs, one very large, allowed for groups to be in their own tubs and lots of space. We really loved sitting there and "hot tubbing" after a shore excursion, watching the wake. The second comment, and this is really, for me, the biggest issue. Looking at the picture of Explorer's theater, it appears the "sofas" behind the chairs are straight where on Grandeur, in most rows, they are curved. Looks nice, but I found that the curve of the "sofa" made it quite uncomfortable and I would move to a straight "sofa" or chair. I personally think the straight "sofas" are a much better idea.

Coincidently, we sailed Mariner on Dec. 2 and Grandeur on Jan. 8. We had one day where the toilets were shutdown while we were in port so they could fix the situation. And another where they shutdown in our cabin for an hour or so, and that was on a 10 night cruise. It's a shipboard problem for sure, and I don't think anyone really knows what is causing it. BUT, at one point it was going around that there were some air leaks in seals in the system preventing the system vacuum from working and that was what they were trying to deal with. Interestingly, my son was a Navy Pilot for 20 years. He deployed on the USS Bush and the Bush had the vacuum toilet system, For the 7 month deployment the system never fully functioned. Each morning they'd announce which "heads" were available for use. They assigned some personnel to do nothing but keep toilets operating for the entire 7 months! As to the noise situation, yes, we could hear our neighbors (I was in an F-2 cabin 811). But ONLY from one side, the side with the couch. And I was sitting on the couch when I heard them. I suspect he was on his couch too, talking to his wife across the room. But it was maybe 3 times in 16 days and never when we were trying to rest or sleep. So I agree the insulation issue is there, but honestly we were never bothered by it. And we never heard our neighbors on the "tv" side of the cabin and they never heard us, we were traveling with them and I told them if the tv gets too loud let us know. They never heard it. So.... who knows.

Well, I can only comment on what I found. And since Regent's credit was actually almost exactly the same as Royal Caribbean's price for a similar routing, it indicates that if they are "keeping" any of the air cost, it's extremely small and would be no more than an administrative fee. But heck... it is what it is and I can't even come close to matching either Royal Caribbean's cost or Regent's cost and I get a 25% or greater discount on Delta via an employee discount program. But can I ask, what is your "limited experience?" I would be sincerely interested in what leads you to the conclusion that Regent is keeping some of the air cost.

My guess... it was a combination of "slipping" and Covid. There are still a lot of issues surrounding the 2 years that the cruise lines were shutdown and their recovery. Supply chains are still stressed worldwide. For example, Makers Mark bourbon had to reduce their overseas shipments, and is no longer available on Regent ships. Shore excursion companies went out of business and haven't started back up. Regent fights with all the other cruise lines for those limited tour companies. Crew members found better jobs at home as their economies began to recover and job markets opened. All the cruise lines (it seems) added ships. That created a demand for thousands of NEW crew members. Example, Grandeur alone added an additional 550 crew member jobs, and RCCL Icon of the Seas added nearly 2400 NEW crew jobs. That's 3000 NEW JOBS on just 2 ships!! So the availability of crew, especially those with the experience to deliver the service on Regent is hard to find. So yeah... it seems the ships are understaffed and availability of certain items, food, alcohol, wine, etc. is more limited. But Regent still seems to respond to any request or try to rectify any issue a passenger has. And if you compare to other cruise lines, Regent is doing as well or better in delivering their product.

I read somewhere (can't really remember where) that the air credit is the actual amount that Regent pays for air, that they don't make money off of it. I can't actually say where I read that, but last year when I booked our Hong Kong to Tokyo cruise (we leave next week) I compared a similar cruise, Singapore to Tokyo, on Royal Caribbean. When you look at Royal Caribbean cruises you can also access their Air Dept. and find out what their air costs would be. So I priced Business Class to Singapore and return from Tokyo. The cost to purchase those flights using Royal Caribbean was actually a bit MORE than the Regent Air credit. It could have been the difference between flying to Singapore vs. Hong Kong, but it was very close. So that indicates that what I read Regent about not making money on their air program is probably correct.

The cost of air is factored into the cost of the cruise, and it's based on contract rates. Maybe Regent doesn't have contract rates with Icelandic to London. Maybe you can call Regent and ask to deviate and see if they'll let you go on Icelandic for less. You might be able to get cheaper rates if you ask to be in economy or premium select too. But the advertised rate is what their contract is to that port city.

Not necessarily. We had to cancel our Oct. cruise due to Covid. The cost of the cruise, fully refunded less port fees which Regent refunded, was way more than all the premiums I've paid over 25 years and 40 cruises. We also had a claim in 2011 due to a family death. Regent cruises are so expensive, one claim and you'll be way ahead of all the premium costs of your cruise lifetime.