Free business Air? Is it really Free?

[goldenrod]

We just booked a twenty four day cruise on the Regent Explorer if the business Air is free as advertised why would I get a $4000 back per person if I use my air miles to book my flight? I feel like we are actually paying $4000 per person for the Air! If I don't drink or only eat one meal a day I don't get money back.

 

 

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[ronrick1943]

Air by no means is free, it's a cost factored into the cruise. So are tours, drinks and the list goes on-however air they back if you don't use it. If all those things were free how would they make money. The words Regent should use are "included in your fare". Simple but the word "FREE" is good for marketing, nothing else.

[UUNetBill]

How to speak Regentese: Whenever you see the word "free", substitute it with the word "included". It's much more accurate.

[Travelcat2]

We just booked a twenty four day cruise on the Regent Explorer if the business Air is free as advertised why would I get a $4000 back per person if I use my air miles to book my flight? I feel like we are actually paying $4000 per person for the Air! If I don't drink or only eat one meal a day I don't get money back.

 

 

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Onboard amenities are included and passengers can not opt out. However, air and hotel are provided by contracted companies and take place off of the ship which is why opt out is permitted. As has been said, these items are included in your cruise fare so you are paying for them.

[goldenrod]

Personally I feel it would be better if the Business class Air were not included in the brochure pricing and just indicate that business class Air is available at a highly reduced rate.

 

 

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[wripro]

We just booked a twenty four day cruise on the Regent Explorer if the business Air is free as advertised why would I get a $4000 back per person if I use my air miles to book my flight? I feel like we are actually paying $4000 per person for the Air! If I don't drink or only eat one meal a day I don't get money back.

 

 

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Remember this when you are taking your "free" excursions.

[Dolebludger]

One problem I find with Regent's "free" (included, really) business class air is that, in some cases, domestic flight legs may still be in that horrible economy class in and out of the "gateway" airport. And when booking a cruise, there is no way to know if all flights from and to the gateway will be business class or not. To my observation, if the international flights from and back to the gateway airport are direct from the embarkation and disembarkation ports in the US, all will be business class. But if you must change planes in the US to get from gateway airport to post (and back) that totally domestic leg will be in economy. Confusing? That's my point! And some of us who live in the middle of the US don't want a 3 hour flight in economy -- period.

[Travelcat2]

Personally I feel it would be better if the Business class Air were not included in the brochure pricing and just indicate that business class Air is available at a highly reduced rate.

 

 

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As you likely know, this is how Regent was priced until a few months ago. Not sure why they made the change but as long as we can opt out, I'm fine with it. I believe that Regent's website shows the credit you will receive for opting out.

 

Dolebludger, as we have discussed on other threads, everyone would love included Business Class Air within the U.S. but there is one obvious reason why they do not offer it........ many/most flights within the U.S. do not have Business Class - only Economy and First. Regent guests can upgrade to First Class but the cost is higher than you can get yourself in most cases (likely because U.S. based airlines won't give Regent the type of contracts they need to include it.

[UUNetBill]

We've been upgraded to domestic First a few times - it seems that if you're on the same carrier domestically as you'll be taking across the water, you'll get the upgrade, but if you're changing carriers you'll be in economy on the overland portion.

 

Trying to upgrade a leg domestically is a challenge at best - you're almost better off booking from a gateway city on the coast you'll be departing from and booking your own First Class air to that city the night before. Extra hassle, but worth it.

 

Sure makes European getaways nicer since we moved from Colorado to South Carolina. ;p

[UUNetBill]

Personally I feel it would be better if the Business class Air were not included in the brochure pricing and just indicate that business class Air is available at a highly reduced rate.

 

 

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Up until just this year, Economy Air was included in your price, with a fairly reasonable Business Class upgrade fee. I guess Regent had enough folks taking the upgrade to make it the standard mode of transport. I know you can take a complete air credit, but I also seem to remember reading that you could 'downgrade' to economy air for a partial credit.

 

Keep in mind that if you book your own air, you'll lose your transfers. Not a problem for some people, but something to be aware of. We always just pony up for the Regent air since neither of us travel enough for work anymore to have the miles to burn on vacation. We like the peace of mind we get with knowing we can just call Regent if there are any issues with our flights.

 

Different folks and different strokes and all that. :D

[Kinkajou]

If you book your own air and then get an offer to add on to your cruise from Regent, you might not be able to change your flights without substantial penalties.

 

Not a happy camper, definitely would have added the 2nd cruise, if I had booked air with Regent. :(

[Travelcat2]

If you book your own air and then get an offer to add on to your cruise from Regent, you might not be able to change your flights without substantial penalties.

 

Not a happy camper, definitely would have added the 2nd cruise, if I had booked air with Regent. :(

 

Really good point. However, once I found the savings for the added 2nd cruise to be so good that it was worth the penalty. We do try to use Regent Air (deviated) whenever possible but was able to save $3,000 by booking our own air for a cruise we are taking nest year.

[JVilleGal]

We just booked a twenty four day cruise on the Regent Explorer if the business Air is free as advertised why would I get a $4000 back per person if I use my air miles to book my flight? I feel like we are actually paying $4000 per person for the Air! If I don't drink or only eat one meal a day I don't get money back.

 

 

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It's "Included" not Free :)

 

 

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