Yes, and with all much-deserved respect to all good TAs, here's the problem - in reading the current details, Regent has mostly just shifted some aspects of costs between different buckets, so one would need to be willing to unbundle to get the maximum benefit. TA's - I'd be very interested in your comments on this, as well as what I'm missing here, as I suspect that the critically-important relationship that you maintain with your key travel providers (like Regent) could potentially be strained by what looks like the best option for situations such as mine, which at least appears to be to unbundle everything. Here's my less-than-hypothetical example:

- The currently booked cruise fare is $11,100, minus our Seven Seas Society discount. This fare includes LAX-PPT-LAX coach airfare.
- I've also booked Business Class Upgrades for the LAX-PPT-LAX segment, through Regent at $6100 total cost. We're flying BOS-LAX-BOS to start and end the itinerary in First Class using freebie frequent flyer miles.
- The quoted price for our pre-cruise and post cruise stays in Tahiti and Bora Bora through Regent total to $7360. To be factual, Regent's currently corrupted version of their data base shows this with the wrong hotels, at the wrong price of $9560.
- The currently marketed price for a Cat C would be only $8590 (saving $2510), with 2-for-1 coach flights LAX-PPT-LAX, and an option to upgrade to Business Class for about $7200.
- Current market price to book Business Class flights directly with Air Tahiti Nui is only $6800 (saving $500 vs. current booking after taking the air portion out of the new-price cruise booking). That's less than just the UPGRADE that Regent currently quotes for a new booking.
- Current market price to book overwater bungalows pre and post cruise direct from the hotels is only $4250 (saving $3110), at current exchange rates.
- Factoring in the crusie-only flight discount, if I change to "cruise only" with Regent and book everything else direct with the suppliers, I can save a whole lot of money, even after adding back in the flights from Tahiti to Bora Bora on Air Tahiti (about $850), transfers (a few hundred dollars), but then subtracting the air portion refund included in the cruise fare. I assume that the port, handling, and security costs, and the Seven Seas Society discount will be a wash.

- Percieved down-side: 1) Everything is now a la carte, and must be managed, but I have no problem with that. This itinerary is much simpler than many I've dealt with, 2) No day room on final day back at Tahiti, but that just means spend more time on Bora Bora instead and adjust flights to optimize layover (wait a minute, that's also actually an "upside"!...)
- Percieved up-side: 1) Save thousands of dollars, 2) Transfer and fly between hotels, ship, and islands when I want to rather than with the herd.

What am I missing here? And should I retire from the grind and become a TA? ;)

Cheers,
Ken