Kids Sail Free

[eroller]

I’ve sailed Regent mid-summer in the Med for 7-days, prime season for kids and they were a non-issue.  Yes there were some but I barely noticed, and as others have said very well behaved.  I’m not a big fan of kids but having some does bring a little life to an occasion.  
 

I don’t imagine any Regent sailing is going to be overloaded with kids.  Let’s face it they are not very kid friendly.  It’s not the cruise line I would bring my kids on.  There is nothing for them to do.  I would stick with the larger family friendly lines that have the water parks, etc.  The kids that do sail on Regent have to be that special breed that are content with occupying themselves and behaving in public.  They do exist, you just don’t see them that often. There are also very few cabins that even accommodate 4 persons so that means two cabins is necessary for many families.  So that is not a cheap proposition.  The kids are only free if occupying the extra berths in a cabin. This marketing is just to let families know that Regent does welcome multi-generational families.  It’s a big market and one I’m sure Regent doesn’t want to completely ignore, but I don’t think Regent has any intention of becoming the next Carnival or Royal Caribbean.   

[flossie009]

15 hours ago, SellaVee said:

"This summer, embark on a family adventure across Europe in unparalleled luxury with our NEWLY ADDED Kids Sail Free voyages."

 

I wish I'd known they were going to do this before I booked.  I don’t know what made me think I was going on a adult orientated voyage.

As others have said, special savings for families is not new - some form of promotion is always on the RSSC website.

Regent have probably just added a few more European voyages that maybe weren't selling that well.

 

Regent has never marketed its ships as adult only, but in our 15 years of sailing with them we have a) never seen that many kids on board and b) those we have encountered have been well behaved & polite

 

15 hours ago, SellaVee said:

Looks like my first Regent cruise will be my last.

Hope you enjoy your cruise on Splendor, and can get over your present feelings.

Your cruise certainly looks to be a very good deal, but I still doubt that you will see many kids on a cruise of 18 nights.

Hope you made good use of the two category suite upgrade to go for an F2 which is an excellent suite.

[labonnevie]

59 minutes ago, eroller said:

There are also very few cabins that even accommodate 4 persons so that means two cabins is necessary for many families.  So that is not a cheap proposition.  The kids are only free if occupying the extra berths in a cabin. This marketing is just to let families know that Regent does welcome multi-generational families.  It’s a big market and one I’m sure Regent doesn’t want to completely ignore, but I don’t think Regent has any intention of becoming the next Carnival or Royal Caribbean.   

In 2018, we wanted to take our family on an Alaskan cruise for our 50th. Total of six adults and six kids (ages 2 to16). Couldn’t make it work on Regent due to the three per cabin. Used HAL instead in two high end suites for less than the Regent price. Kids enjoyed it more than they would have enjoyed Regent. 

[Pcardad]

7 minutes ago, labonnevie said:

In 2018, we wanted to take our family on an Alaskan cruise for our 50th. Total of six adults and six kids (ages 2 to16). Couldn’t make it work on Regent due to the three per cabin. Used HAL instead in two high end suites for less than the Regent price. Kids enjoyed it more than they would have enjoyed Regent. 

HAL is a great line...we use them as well. Heck, I have fun on RCL every year too.

[gcorgain]

Regent has also taken the number of ships from 3 to 6 in recent years, more than doubling capacity. So they need to fill those other beds.

 

Not that I really want a ton of kids, nor do I think their ships are well suited for them. If I were to organize a multigenerational cruise, I think there are several lines that are a better fit.

[NYC-London]

3 hours ago, Lonedaddy said:

With added ships, bookings better be at an all-time high or they would be in dire straits.   If that is their main concern, then they may not be addressing the issues in their own workings.  Time will tell.

They keep saying that bookings are at an all time high, but I checked the availability on the cruises specifically marketed as free to children 17 and under and on those sailings, there is widespread availability amongst all suite categories. This was a marketing decision to try and increase bookings on sailings that are not sailing very well.

 

While some cruises are either wait listed or have limited availability, there are a large number where it appears that the bookings are very slow. I received an email last week from my TA which some unadvertised incredible bargains for sailings later in the year. There is also a travel website that has "last minute cruises" and there are a number of Regent sailings available for significant savings.

[Pcardad]

3 minutes ago, NYC-London said:

They keep saying that bookings are at an all time high, but I checked the availability on the cruises specifically marketed as free to children 17 and under and on those sailings, there is widespread availability amongst all suite categories. This was a marketing decision to try and increase bookings on sailings that are not sailing very well.

 

While some cruises are either wait listed or have limited availability, there are a large number where it appears that the bookings are very slow. I received an email last week from my TA which some unadvertised incredible bargains for sailings later in the year. There is also a travel website that has "last minute cruises" and there are a number of Regent sailings available for significant savings.

 

Just so you know...."Sample prices are in U.S. Dollars and are per person, double occupancy, and do not include U.S. government fees, taxes, port expenses or airfare unless otherwise noted".

[Whinenowine]

1 hour ago, labonnevie said:

In 2018, we wanted to take our family on an Alaskan cruise for our 50th. Total of six adults and six kids (ages 2 to16). Couldn’t make it work on Regent due to the three per cabin. Used HAL instead in two high end suites for less than the Regent price. Kids enjoyed it more than they would have enjoyed Regent. 

Yeah, the smallest suite that could accommodate the 4 of us was a Seven Seas Suite.  For roughly the same price we ended up getting the largest suite on a Celebrity ship, which worked out better.  More kid friendly, tons of perks, 3x the indoor space on 6x the outdoor space.  Not Regent, but good enough.

 

Having said this...I would echo the comments of others that, in my experience (in general), kids in these rarefied airs tend to be well travelled, well parented and well behaved. Not always, of course, but generally speaking.  Once they were of a certain age, we started taken our kids all over the place.  They know how to behave at a Michelin 3-star, on a Regent (or similar) cruise or at a posh resort.

Edited February 12 by Whinenowine

[NYC-London]

I think people are overthinking this.

 

I speak from experience:

 

First of all, when children sail "free", that is only for the ship portion of expenses. It does not include airfare, one night in a hotel and transfers, all of which cost extra. When Regent offers business class flights, they do so with availability of deeply discounted business fares and some flights only release two of these seats per flight. Usually the only time more seats are released is when flights are not selling well, and due to the pilot shortage and airline cutbacks in flights, the number of discounted business class seats is very limited. If you want Regent to arrange for the airfare for the children, they generally charge more than buying directly from the airlines. One cannot book the adult tickets through Regent and the children's ticket directly with the airline so generally we have to take the air credit and make our own air arrangements and more often than not, the fares are higher than the credit provided by Regent.

 

 If traveling with only one child, they can sleep in a regular suite outfitted with a sleeper sofa. If traveling with two children, one must book a named suite in order to have room for the sleeper sofa and the foldaway bed.  So while we are very happy in an F1 Superior suite, our cost immediately increases substantially because now we must book a much more expensive cabin. In order to take advantage of the special children's fares, there must be one full fare paying adult passenger for each child.

 

The children (they are now young adults) are gold members and have had some amazing experiences which they cherish and we are so glad we were able to take them on as many cruises as we did. However, it is not "free" or "cheap" to take children on Regent and the current offer is a marketing gimmick to sell cabins on slow selling sailings. Taking more than one child on a Regent cruise is an expensive proposition and I cannot imagine the current promotions attracting more than a handful of children in total. All of the savings are for sailing in the summer of 2024 and right now business class flights from the USA to Europe for the summer months are quite expensive.

 

I can see this promotion being attractive to families looking for a multi-generational holiday, especially to grandparents who have sailed with Regent previously and know what to expect and in those situations, the children generally hang out with their family, especially if traveling with either siblings and/or cousins. And for many people, cruises to Alaska are appealing to the entire family and the cost difference between Regent and the other mass market cruise lines is generally not that substantial. The same does not hold true for the "free" sailings being offered. I do not know if the children promotions are also available in the UK and Europe because without the need for international business class tickets, the cost would be much less but overall taking a child on a Regent European cruise is an expensive proposition and is much less expensive on the mass market cruise lines. 

 

And finally, on sailings with children promotions, they usually offer special programs and activities for them, especially on sea days and are generally well attended because the children enjoy them.

 

 

[NYC-London]

1 hour ago, Pcardad said:

 

Just so you know...."Sample prices are in U.S. Dollars and are per person, double occupancy, and do not include U.S. government fees, taxes, port expenses or airfare unless otherwise noted".

I have priced out a few of the offerings - I know that the airfare is not included but the FINAL price for the "last minute" savings can be as much as 40% lower than the same offering on Regent, the "inclusive cruise fare" price. This is not a one off, there are a number of sailings available.

[Pcardad]

18 minutes ago, NYC-London said:

I have priced out a few of the offerings - I know that the airfare is not included but the FINAL price for the "last minute" savings can be as much as 40% lower than the same offering on Regent, the "inclusive cruise fare" price. This is not a one off, there are a number of sailings available.

I am pricing them now and, so far, they are all the same as what Regent offers. I will keep going.

[NYC-London]

Well, I am booked for one of the deeply discounted cruises and my friends just booked another one and I can assure that the total price we paid is MUCH less than the same price as offered by Regent even with all the current promotions available, such as 2 suite upgrade, additional savings, etc.

 

I do know that the "codes" necessary to price out at the discounted rates are not readily available to all Regent agents (not sure why) - I know that my friend's TA could not match the prices being offered by the last minute TA agency, no matter how she tried, at one point questioning the validity of the fare. My friend had to do some research and digging and once they were able to provide the TA with the information, she was then able to price out and match the fares offered by the "last minute" TA. On one deeply discounted cruise that I booked, I was even able to get the additional SSS discount being offered for that specific sailing.

[Pcardad]

56 minutes ago, NYC-London said:

Well, I am booked for one of the deeply discounted cruises and my friends just booked another one and I can assure that the total price we paid is MUCH less than the same price as offered by Regent even with all the current promotions available, such as 2 suite upgrade, additional savings, etc.

 

I do know that the "codes" necessary to price out at the discounted rates are not readily available to all Regent agents (not sure why) - I know that my friend's TA could not match the prices being offered by the last minute TA agency, no matter how she tried, at one point questioning the validity of the fare. My friend had to do some research and digging and once they were able to provide the TA with the information, she was then able to price out and match the fares offered by the "last minute" TA. On one deeply discounted cruise that I booked, I was even able to get the additional SSS discount being offered for that specific sailing.

What I am saying is that I can see Regent pricing, stripped of the extras, down to what's on that site. I do know that Regent does offer some last minute pricing outside of the US market but what is on the site I looked at is no different than what a normal TA can get. To the best of my knowledge, even though TA's are paid different commissions, they access the same pricing. Some "discounts" are merely specials that you "have to ask about" but any decent TA will get the best pricing offered by their person no matter what. 

[rcandkc]

6 hours ago, Pcardad said:

What I am saying is that I can see Regent pricing, stripped of the extras, down to what's on that site. I do know that Regent does offer some last minute pricing outside of the US market but what is on the site I looked at is no different than what a normal TA can get. To the best of my knowledge, even though TA's are paid different commissions, they access the same pricing. Some "discounts" are merely specials that you "have to ask about" but any decent TA will get the best pricing offered by their person no matter what. 

I could tell on my last Mariner cruise in November that something was up.  There was lots of availability and then suddenly all waitlisted.  Many many new passengers were on board from UK.  No problem but I didn’t have that opportunity if only offered outside US.  That does not seem fair. 

[Pcardad]

16 minutes ago, rcandkc said:

I could tell on my last Mariner cruise in November that something was up.  There was lots of availability and then suddenly all waitlisted.  Many many new passengers were on board from UK.  No problem but I didn’t have that opportunity if only offered outside US.  That does not seem fair. 

Different countries have different rules/laws/etc. and I suspect that Regent would also like to expand their market share a little bit.

[cruisevirgin24]

6 hours ago, rcandkc said:

I could tell on my last Mariner cruise in November that something was up.  There was lots of availability and then suddenly all waitlisted.  Many many new passengers were on board from UK.  No problem but I didn’t have that opportunity if only offered outside US.  That does not seem fair. 

The UK/US prices are not comparable.  US prices include Business air fare  for international flights as standard. The UK prices include economy flights as standard, with Business upgrades at a supplement.

Additionally, discounts are offered at different times to each market. Presently the kids travel for free offer is not available on the UK website.

[papaflamingo]

8 hours ago, rcandkc said:

I could tell on my last Mariner cruise in November that something was up.  There was lots of availability and then suddenly all waitlisted.  Many many new passengers were on board from UK.  No problem but I didn’t have that opportunity if only offered outside US.  That does not seem fair. 

We had a cruise booked on Navigator in March of last year.  Four days before the cruise Regent gave us the opportunity to switch to Mariner one of 2 or so cruises in Nov. or Dec. with an upgrade to a Penthouse and a significant refund (yes, we took the deal).  So that may be one of the reasons your cruise filled up. 

It's like so many other things.  You don't really know (without asking) how much someone really pays to be on the same cruise, hotel room, airline flight, car rental, etc.   It's just a factor of marketing and maximizing profits.  About all you can do is find a cruise you want at a price that you consider "worth it" and book the cruise and never look back. 

 

[fizzy]

Behavior is key. We watched a diapered infant being dunked on a Navigator cruise....apparently the child of an officer. There was also a diapered old guy at the other end of the pool. I guess they were both dealt with because they returned to the pool the next day sans diapers. What demographic has raised this group of 30/40 year old entitled passengers that want to bring their naughty misbehaving kids with them onboard?

[Pcardad]

1 hour ago, fizzy said:

Behavior is key. We watched a diapered infant being dunked on a Navigator cruise....apparently the child of an officer. There was also a diapered old guy at the other end of the pool. I guess they were both dealt with because they returned to the pool the next day sans diapers. What demographic has raised this group of 30/40 year old entitled passengers that want to bring their naughty misbehaving kids with them onboard?

What demographic has raise this group of 70/80 year old entitled passengers who want to misbehave themselves (get drunk, fight, berate the staff, argue politics, etc.) on board?

Edited February 13 by Pcardad

[SellaVee]

3 hours ago, cruisevirgin24 said:

The UK/US prices are not comparable.  US prices include Business air fare  for international flights as standard. The UK prices include economy flights as standard, with Business upgrades at a supplement.

Additionally, discounts are offered at different times to each market. Presently the kids travel for free offer is not available on the UK website.

BIB, Oh yes it is!  (Panto season has started early).  You just need to look for it.

[fizzy]

59 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

What demographic has raise this group of 70/80 year old entitled passengers who want to misbehave themselves (get drunk, fight, berate the staff, argue politics, etc.) on board?

SCORE!   It's clearly an inherited trait.

[UUNetBill]

My two cents (or pence or pesetas or whatever) is in over 100 nights on Regent I can count on one hand the number of issues I've had with kids on board.  We initially selected Regent to avoid kids on the cruise (nothing against kids, we have two who were with their birth father in the summer so we cruised without them and didn't see the need to be surrounded by other kids) and I can honestly say that the worst thing I've seen was a group of maybe 5-6 teens hanging out on a staircase somewhat blocking passage, and 3-4 younger kids playing too loudly in Compass Rose.  Both issues were dealt with quickly and quietly.  We did have one other issue with kids running up and down the hallway at like 10-11 PM where we had to stick our heads out and yell at them to quiet down...we actually had more of a problem with their parents than the kids.

 

In all of our cruises it's usually the adults who cause the most issues.  Rare as it is, we've encountered rudeness, entitlement, drunkenness, elitism, etc. in a handful of passengers.  But it's such a small percentage - much smaller than you encounter in the general population these days, I'd wager - that we don't let it deter us.  We also had an early cruise that was hosting a company group that was probably over 100-150 people, and THEY were worse than any kids we've had on board.

 

As others have said, certain itineraries and dates tend to be more kid-heavy than others and we tend to avoid those.  I also agree that the 'Kids Sail Free' is more of a marketing line than any kind of problem.  I wouldn't let it bother me at all.

[UUNetBill]

1 hour ago, Pcardad said:

What demographic has raise this group of 70/80 year old entitled passengers who want to misbehave themselves (get drunk, fight, berate the staff, argue politics, etc.) on board?

Pcardad - exactly.  There's always a certain percentage of people in ANY age group who are, for lack of a better term, @$$holes.  My secret to a happy life is to smile and avoid these people like the plague.

 

Our last cruise, we had just boarded and were having some champagne in the main atrium when we heard a commotion off to the side...it was a woman, maybe mid to late 80s unleashing her fury on the poor girl at the desk because "HER CABIN WASN'T READY AND WHERE ARE MY BAGS AND WHY CAN'T I GO TO MY CABIN" ad nauseum - and this was at a crazy high volume.  It was maybe 12:30 or 1:00 PM.  I was literally standing up to walk over to her and tell her to shut the %$&@ up when my wife steered me away (rightly so, I guess).  But after the crone left, I went over and apologized to the poor crewmember (who was near tears) and told her to let me know if the old bat gave her any more lip on the cruise.  😁

 

I just don't understand how someone can be on board a lovely ship with champagne flowing and a wonderfully attentive crew...and be cranky over nothing.  Just blows my mind.

Edited February 13 by UUNetBill

[Pcardad]

4 minutes ago, UUNetBill said:

Pcardad - exactly.  There's always a certain percentage of people in ANY age group who are, for lack of a better term, @$$holes.  My secret to a happy life is to smile and avoid these people like the plague.

 

Our last cruise, we had just boarded and were having some champagne in the main atrium when we heard a commotion off to the side...it was a woman, maybe mid to late 80s unleashing her fury on the poor girl at the desk because "HER CABIN WASN'T READY AND WHERE ARE MY BAGS AND WHY CAN'T I GO TO MY CABIN" ad nauseum - and this was at a crazy high volume.  It was maybe 12:30 or 1:00 PM.  I was literally standing up to walk over to her and tell her to shut the %$&@ up when my wife steered me away (rightly so, I guess).  But after the crone left, I went over and apologized to the poor crewmember (who was near tears) and told her to let me know if the old bat gave her any more lip on the cruise.  😁

 

I just don't understand how someone can be on board a lovely ship with champagne flowing and a wonderfully attentive crew...and be cranky over nothing.  Just blows my mind.

I couldn't agree more, my friend.

[Whinenowine]

3 hours ago, fizzy said:

SCORE!   It's clearly an inherited trait.

Yah, ironically it's those cantankerous 70-80yr olds (Boomers) who raised the self-entitled 30-40yr olds (Millennials).  So I guess what goes around, come around!   😜