Peggy, I've had a few different experiences with the old Regent excursion "request" system. On one PG cruise, our excursion requests, submitted online, were somehow lost -- when we arrived onboard, the ship's travel desk had no record of them -- and we didn't get two excursions we wanted because they had very limited capacity and were full. One other time, we didn't get an excursion we wanted, even though our request was submitted shortly after we got the list to fax back. So perhaps that's why, to me, being able to get a confirmed seat in advance -- even if I have to pre-pay for it -- feels like an improvement.

I do recognize it's clearly a bigger deal on some itineraries -- like our upcoming Alaska cruise, where the excursions are a crucial part of the trip -- than others where many people ignore Regent excursions and go off to explore cities on their own.

Well, I'm not convinced that's correct. After all, if the vast majority of excursions going forward are free or very low cost, then how is it going to make a tangible improvement in their cash flow? There's not a lot of money involved.

But in my original post, what I was trying to say is that although you may feel you don't want to go along with the new system by prepaying, you should be aware that by taking such a stand, you might cost yourself an opportunity to get an excursion you want. It's certainly your prerogative to refuse to use the new prepay system, but if other passengers on your cruise do book in advance, by the time you board and try to book an excursion, it may already be sold out. Especially if it's a cruise with mostly free excursions, which may lead to more excursion bookings (and more advance bookings). I'd hate to see you or anyone miss out on a desired excursion because of past experience under Regent's old system; whether one likes it or not, Regent has changed the game.

-- Eric