Mariner veranda cabins

[rallydave]

6 minutes ago, Hambagahle said:

Here in Switzerland there are a lot of hotels in mountain resorts with 30 day cancellation policies - cancel within this time and you forfeit your entire cost of stay UNLESS they can re-rent the room.  In which case you get a 100% refund.  I think cruise lines should be like that!

Absolutely agree with you Gerry.  And will add, it's not just cruise lines that have this issue.  Seems the same occurs if you book flights, hotels; really everything involved with travel.  As Dolebudger stated the law makes him refund if he rebooks and that is based on a state or local law.  Problem, at least here in the US is that it would take a Federal law to make this happen.  

 

No laws in the US to protect consumers and with the lobbying power of these multi-billion dollar travel business, seems unlikely that we will ever be protected in the US.

[Dolebludger]

5 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

I have to ask, how was money "extorted" from you?  You mean that because you chose to cruise rather than use your insurance and book at a later time, and Regent held to the terms of their contract, that they "extorted" money from you?  

 When we returned I checked on the matter and found that it would have been several hundred dollars less had we booked the concierge "suite in the first place. I have repeatedly admitted that I should have canceled and used my travel insurance. So I am partly to blame. But I feel that Regent is partially to blame too for not better accommodating my wife's disability. The tub/shower combo involved is (in my opinion) not very usable by anybody with even a slight orthopedic disability. I am on the verge of being unable to use them, and my only disability is old age..

[Travelcat2]

57 minutes ago, Dolebludger said:

 When we returned I checked on the matter and found that it would have been several hundred dollars less had we booked the concierge "suite in the first place. I have repeatedly admitted that I should have canceled and used my travel insurance. So I am partly to blame. But I feel that Regent is partially to blame too for not better accommodating my wife's disability. The tub/shower combo involved is (in my opinion) not very usable by anybody with even a slight orthopedic disability. I am on the verge of being unable to use them, and my only disability is old age..

 

I think that the issue that some of us are having is understanding how Regent was partially to blame.  Are you sure that there was availability in the category that you paid for (the guarantee) that was shower only?  These tend to sell out way before the bathtub suites.  I ask this question because if there was availability, you would have been able to move (within your category -- not an upgrade based on your "guarantee" booking).  We recently changed suite on a cruise that we are taking this year and there was no issue at all since there was availability.  

 

Strongly agree that the bathtubs on the Mariner are difficult at best but also understand that some people will not book a suite without a bathtub (such as the PH suites on Explorer).  To me, the best solution to the bathtub issue is to replace the bathtubs with "normal" ones that most people can get into and out of.  The time and cost is probably no higher than taking out the bathtub and putting in a large shower.

[Dolebludger]

TC2, 

Agreed!!! The problem with the tub/shower combo for those with disability (and those without) is that the tub floor is 8" higher than the bathroom floor. As I recall there are no grab handles to help with the process. No where else in the world have I seen a tub like those! 

 

All must understand that after my wife's back surgery we were going through difficult times, to say the least. The surgery did not go well. She was prescribed opioids for post surgery pain and developed opioid induced psychosis and had to be hospitalized again. She was only partially mobile for a time, and we had to hire in-home help. By cruise time, she was able to cruise with NORMAL facilities (the Mariner 's tub/shower aren't normal facilities).

 

And yes, I feel that charging me more in total for a concierge suite than if I had booked it in the first place was wrong. I have no idea whether there were available H suites with shower only. I was rather overwhelmed at the time and asked our TA to take care of getting us a shower only guarantee based on my wife's disability. The TA responded that the paid upgrade was the only way do do it, so I assume all the H suites with shower only were taken -- or at least that is what Regent said.  I do know that the conceirge suite was available, as we got it at a late date. I still think Regent was partially at fault, but of course will do nothing about it except consider the incident when considering future cruises.

[Henk123]

Back to the post.

The combi on Mariner is not a bath and not a shower.  Bath is short and small and shower is small (with curtain) and low ceiling.

[Dolebludger]

HENK,

 

Yes, let's get back to the point. All you say is true. I would only add that the fact that the tub bottom is 8" higher than the bathroom floor makes entry difficult (and dangerous) unless one is an athlete! I've never seen anything like it on a ship or anywhere else.

[papaflamingo]

10 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

 When we returned I checked on the matter and found that it would have been several hundred dollars less had we booked the concierge "suite in the first place. I have repeatedly admitted that I should have canceled and used my travel insurance. So I am partly to blame. But I feel that Regent is partially to blame too for not better accommodating my wife's disability. The tub/shower combo involved is (in my opinion) not very usable by anybody with even a slight orthopedic disability. I am on the verge of being unable to use them, and my only disability is old age..

I agree 100% that the tubs on Mariner are hard to get into and out of.  We just completed 44 nights with one.  I told my wife many times that I can't believe that they have them considering the demographics of the customers on Regent.  But they  do.  So, you say that you could have saved several hundred dollars if you'd booked the concierge suite in the first place.  So why didn't you?  I'm guessing that the H guarantee that you booked was significantly cheaper than a concierge suite.  So I don't follow your reasoning.  Prices do go up as the ship fills up.  This is standard in the industry.  That's why I always book early, so I can lock in the rate. And if prices go down before final payment (at least on other lines) you can get the reduction (I assume this is the same with Regent).  So I'm still not seeing how Regent "extorted" money out of you.  

I'm sorry, I'm really not trying to be argumentative or a jerk.  I just don't see your reasoning.  

Edited January 11, 2019 by papaflamingo

[Dolebludger]

We did’t sign up for concierge at booking because we didn’t know my wife would need back surgery at that time. Given this fact, we didn’t see concierge as a good deal. It is no larger than cat. H suites, and include no services we didn’t already have due to our gold status. |if my wife had not needed the surgery, the cruddy shower/tub combo would have been only a minor inconvenience, given our physical conditions at booking time. That is why we didn’t book concierge in the first place. But my wife’s physical condition changed for the worse due to the surgery after booking, and she could not handle that sorry shower/tub combo. The rest of the story and complaint I have already posted.

[Hambagahle]

Actually those bathtub/shower combinations are really very standard here in Europe and I didn't find any problem in getting in and out of the bath in order to take a shower.   That said - I am pretty mobile and relatively "svelte" and so is my 81 yr old husband.   I would actually rather one of those high and narrow baths than a jacuzzi which is so wide and long I "float" around it and cannot for the life of me get out of it!!

 

The one time though that we had a "normal" "suite" (in inverted commas because it isn't a real suite) on the Mariner we could hardly move in the bedroom.  It was really  really "tight".  No worries with the bath!!

[forgap]

Do the  penthouse suites and above on Mariner have the dreaded shower/tub combo or are they just in specific cabins below penthouse level?  Thanks! 

[travelwell]

Yes, there are the shower/ tub combos throughout the higher levels of the ship. If you go on Regents website and look at deck plans the rooms marked with a star are shower only. Our travel agent pointed this out prior to booking so we would have options. We choose shower only. 

[seaknots]

On 1/11/2019 at 5:11 AM, Dolebludger said:

We did’t sign up for concierge at booking because we didn’t know my wife would need back surgery at that time. Given this fact, we didn’t see concierge as a good deal. It is no larger than cat. H suites, and include no services we didn’t already have due to our gold status. |if my wife had not needed the surgery, the cruddy shower/tub combo would have been only a minor inconvenience, given our physical conditions at booking time. That is why we didn’t book concierge in the first place. But my wife’s physical condition changed for the worse due to the surgery after booking, and she could not handle that sorry shower/tub combo. The rest of the story and complaint I have already posted.

 

sorry for your problems but time to move on