Margo,

LOL!!! That's so funny, I was thinking the same thing. Just give me room and board and I'll be the most enthusiastic cruise consultant you could wish for!

WOW I am right behind Margo and Maria !!! Sign me up!!!! :app: :app:

"WILL WORK FOR CRUISES R US!"

This was a great review (thanks JanR, makes my already anticipatory feelings for the PG skyrocket) but more importantly I hope the Regent lurkers really pay attention to what is being said about the cruise consultants. I've never had an issue with the ones we have dealt with on the mariner, but it sounds like the ones on the Navigator and Voyager in the examples highlighted have much to learn about what it means to be a consultant!!! I'd be VERY concerned about this feedback!

One one cruise, I made a note to the Cruise Consultant - no appointment needed and it was done. It was simple. I got a letter back on the door confirming the booking. Very simple. I've had some very terrific cruise consultants. One I remember well was Janet? who was on the PG for a long time but then when Grand Circle took over, she went to another ship. On Mush, My TA took care of my appointment on board and we did not even need to see the cruise consultant. What a great TA!

Karen...could you move the "Hijacked" part of Jan's review? -I sad that we've taken it over - especially after all the time taken to give us such good feedback on their cruise.

Just an idea, if it possible.

Margo, I can't move part of a post :(

I notice that the only volunter cruise consultants are Margo, Maria, Joanna, and Denise. I think some gender balance is required here, so I'm the natural choice for the "gentleman cruise consultant."

When do we sail?

-- David

David, I will flip you for it! Of course I believe in equality. The girls should get two and the guys get two. Which one do you want? I'm easy. I'll just take whatever is left over. LOL

David and Don,

I think that as a gentleman, you also have the option of being a social escort/ host on Regent, or whatever they call that, to dance with the unattached ladies. I don't think they hire women. Too bad , as I love to dance! It could be a second career ;) !

So ahem, as David's wife, and someone who would like him to dance more (with me), let me revert to closer to the original topic. Has the onboard booking discount changed for 2008, or is it the normal 5%? Can you still book a cruise in advance, and then apply the discount to that booking when you are on board? Enquiring minds need to know...!

No longer the standard 5% Wandra.

If you go to my web under "specials" it lists all the society savings and onboard bookings for all ships and all cruises for 2008. These are now "set" amounts that do not fluctuate and are based on category purchased. These are not listed on Regents Website.

http://www.bkrssc.com/I_2008_ONBOARD_Savings.htm

http://www.bkrssc.com/I_2008_SOCIETY_Savings.htm

Hi,
Enjoyed your review-we got off in Barcelona, just prior to your boarding.
We also had "issues" with the on board booking lady whom shall remain nameless.

Our friends even suggested she have a sign up sheet for appointments and we were told that "I don't do that". However, it's not just the wait that was the problem- I can wait, but then I would like attentive service, not service with"an attitude", which is what we got. Helaine

Actually, Regent does have some 'part timers' in that position. I don't know what the qualifications are, but I seriously considered applying after my first Radisson cruise!
Yes, I think Gudren is great...I was disappointed she wasn't on TAP.
Lynn

Thanks Ngaire, I had forgotten that. Is it still possible to retroactively apply a saving to a booking done before the onboard? (I'm thinking that waiting until December when we're on board Voyager might be kind of late to get the right cabin if we decide on our 2008 cruise.)

Wendy that was asked by JoAnn and answered by Ngaire in this thread http://www.luxurycruisetalk.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=003338

Ngaire, I am confused as to how the savings work. So, if we book a cruise there is a fixed amount not a fixed percentage off?

WANDRA
At this time it is still possible to retroactively add onboard savings to an already booked cruise as long as the as the price on the cruise is the same and the category you have booked is still available.

In other words you could just cancel and start all over again. It is logical for them to allow this to be done. This is not the official policy this is something they just do as a courtesy. You cannot depend on that 100% It could also change.

SEDONA
Starting in 2008 instead of a percentage amount of savings (5%) it is now a set dollar amount and the amounts for every cruise for society savings and onboard discounts are listed on those links I posted above.

WANDRA
At this time it is still possible to retroactively add onboard savings to an already booked cruise as long as the as the price on the cruise is the same and the category you have booked is still available.

In other words you could just cancel and start all over again. It is logical for them to allow this to be done. This is not the official policy this is something they just do as a courtesy. You cannot depend on that 100% It could also change.

SEDONA
Starting in 2008 instead of a percentage amount of savings (5%) it is now a set dollar amount and the amounts for every cruise for society savings and onboard discounts are listed on those links I posted above.

Thanks Ngaire, sorry I forget these things.

I'm actually considering the 14-day Marquesas trip next December. But we won't be onboard Voyager until this December. And since we always book an H window cabin, I'm worried about those being gone. It's only a $400 saving, but...

I've also been toying with the 2008 Voyager spring crossing, and think it would be too late to book a G cabin in December, for an April cruise. Or a May Alaska cruise.

It is always best to book ahead. If the price has gone up or you have to book a higher category waiting can cost you even more money than the onboard booking saves. If it is still available you win out both way, cabin category, price and the onboard booking.

You cant lose EXCEPT remember if you are not SURE which cruise you want the PG has an immediate penalty for cancelling - an administrative fee of $100 per person.

I am probably being dense...so, I booked two cruises on board and received an on board savings I can transfer these to two other cruises? What if I change one or both cruises? Can I transfer ONE time to another on board credit savings on another cruise that is posted on your board? But, only if I remembered to do this when one board the first time? I have been painting, so it may be the paint fumes....

Do any of these on board credits get taken up by on board occupancy as with the airlines?

Andi you can transfer each of those onboard bookings you made to a cruise ONE TIME. So you have two "in the bank" so to speak. Dont worry about all this I have all your records and will be sure you things in the correct order.

I do not understand your last question at all. Onboard bookings whether made actually "onboard" or when you get home and book have no preference one way or another. Whoever calls and makes a booking gets to select from all cabins available.

Andi, paint fumes can get to anyone! Are you playing with us here? ;) I THINK Ngaire has told us that if you do an on-board booking, you can only change it ONCE to another cruise for each of your on-board bookings. I don't think you have to remember anything else.

I don't understand your question about on board credits getting taken up by on board occupancy as with the airlines? Probably something going way over my head here! Nothing unusual! ;) ;)

Oops, Ngaire and I were answering same time. Sorry Ngaire, I should not try to speak for you. I will try and refrain in the future.

You can answer for me anytime Olivia. You know as much as I do. I think it is wonderful how much knowledge you all have. The power of shared information. Marvellous!!

Well, I was just having a little fun with Andi, since I know her from TAP! And MUSH. And ROAR. Honestly, I only try to learn all this stuff to save a few dollars because I am tight, and want to stretch my cruise dollar like anyone else!

BTW, I'm not real happy about the changes Regent has made with this $ amount rather than the 5% for on-board bookings. I think we as passangers are losing a little bit each time along the way. Not much, just an inching up in revenue for Regent.

I try and save questions/info into a folder but as Ngaire knows ..I do not always succeed -

lol...I was kind of making a joke...a bad one at that. I seem to always call the airlines for their special deals and they are gone because they have been used up and only the higher rates prevail. I was just worried, like Olivia, that Regent's deals are melting away bit by bit and on board bookings may sometime soon go in the direction of only being available for those cruises actually booked on board on a first come first served basis..

Actually the set rates may not be all bad.

Consider a booking with society savings of 5%. When you add the onboard booking, or a future cruise credit, or the air credit that 5% would reduce in value to a lower figure. Now it will stay constant.

On some bookings you will get more with the set value figure on others you will lose.

Adiminstratively it is much easier to have set rates. Once you put that figure on the invoice it is there to stay. I would get so many calls "why are you giving me less society savings now"

They had added an onboard booking but trying to explain that is why they get less society savings, so many people just did not understand.

Andi, I understand what you are saying. I wish Regent was not moving in this direction, and would restore the things that were special to previous cruisers, like the 5% SSS savings, and the 5% on board booking of "yesteryear". I guess bookings must be so great that they can ignore the bargain seekers for a value criuse!

Well, as long as the quality remains as high as it was on TAP, I will not complain. It really was superb. Food, service, everything....There was absolutely no slippage. In fact, I have seen an improvement. I guess it all comes down to value....as long as I can afford my princess tastes!! I guess there may just be fewer cruises... :mecry:

Let me add that since I spent most of my adult career in sales, that it seems Regent is looking short term instead of long term. Right now, they have a great reputation and are selling well, so they feel they do not need to give the savings they used to, but 4 or 5 years down the line, there will be someone else in the 'elite' position and they will have lost the old faithfuls to someone else because they went for the fast buck when it was available instead of taking care of their regular passengers.
Lynn

Going back to the discussion on the Cruise Consultant...

....if you want to spend quality time with the Cruise Consultant, based on past experience, invite her/him to dinner where you can have a wonderful conversation. Truthfully, if you can swing a Signatures reservation, that goes over even better.

I agree completely. She took care of us efficiently and with a smile. We also had the pleasure of dining with her one night, and I found her to be a delightful tablemate.

I guess I'm the rarity because the cruise consultant on the Navigator in Jan. 06 was also wonderful. We were unsure of which trip we wanted to do, and she took the time with us (not excessive time) to explain the good and bad of both. Right now her name escapes me but I found her friendly and helpful.

That's her name

I will chime in here.

Some of the problems I think stem from the fact that these people have too much to do now. It is hard to be helpful when you are under incredible stress. Even if you catch them without the line they must be exhausted.

Everyone is now more aware of the onboard booking advantages, the ships are sailing fuller than ever, I have bookings I cannot make because the ships are so full.

I remember that the cruise consultants office used to be empty a lot now there are lines. They also have other duties involved with the society program.

Regent is aware of the problem and I think things will improve. Standard procedures to speed up the process will help a lot and perhaps limiting their duties would also be wise.

There will always be some that shine and some that are not as good. Such is life in every position in any company.

I also have learned my lesson, that we should go see the cruise consultant asap upon boarding, instead of leaving it until the day before the cruise ends. It's not fair to her, and we are the least of her worries.

I am actually a bit amazed that from one paragraph in my review that so much discussion has been made of the cruise consultants. In fact, no less than two other threads have been created to speak about it.

However, I think that the actual issue that I had with "she-that-must-not-be-named" has some how gotten lost.

For our part, the issue was not a long line or a rushed consultant when there were many other customers waiting. If that has been the unfortunate experience of others, I understand.

However, our disappointment with this one crew member (out of 446 other wonderful crew members) is that in two occassions where there were no other waiting customers, we received a dismissive attitude of indifference.

Let me clarify that on our cruise the ship did have self-booking forms available which would allow someone to book a cruise with no need to speak to a consultant. If you already know what you wanted to sail, the ship had really made it an easy process.

My opinions. Your mileage may vary.

v/r

Jan

I have never seen the booking forms, but then I had never seen the sign in sheet either. As I now understand it each cruise consultant handles all this the way they wish to handle it. That is why there is so much inconsistency. I think some consistency would help so we all "learn the ropes".

The cruise consultants have become an issue for many people and none of us want to spend time on vacation waiting in lines.

Your situation was different. It was the attitude that concerned you as it would if the crew member had been a waiter or any other person on the ship. THe flood gates just opened on the issue of cruise consultants.

There are many issues going on here on the cruise consultant. Some have had great experiences as well. Different cruise consultants at different times on different ships = different experiences.