Tryan, this is probably the most dreadful thing that could possibly happen with regards to your vacation and you have my most hearfelt sympathies. I too certainly hope that this situation is rectified in your favor.

However, I must take exception to Marcies accusation regarding the TA in question. Having been in the travel industry for over 25 years, I am totally certain that Tryans' agent must be in tears over this fiasco. The main problem that I can see is the fact that this has happened over a holiday weekend and believe me, very few people in authority are available to help at RSSC.

I will, along with everyone else on this thread, be saying prayers for you.

Howard

Just a bit of f/u. I heard from Mr Conroy this morning via email. He wrote that he would look into this and get back to me.

OH, WOW, I am appalled. I have not posted on here since Marcies's World Cruise in 2005 (I was on the pre-world cruise part before she got on). I haven't posted because I haven't had a cruise planned and reading all these glorious testimonials just frustrated me. Well, I finally planned another cruise for the summer of 2008 and thought I'd stop by and start getting all excited again.

This is truly the wrong kind of excitement. I can't wait to hear an update on this fiasco.

I think the compensation is adequate if it was voluntary.

Tryan70:

First, as I advised you on another board, you should be contacting an attorney who knows or can access Florida contract law if you can, as your Contract with Regent is governed by Florida law. In numerous states , when the buyer of services has fully paid, the seller can't arbitrartily back out without being subject to a whole laundry list of damage items, regardless of what the contract may say. If that is true in Florida, you position may be stronger than you think. If not, you should know that too so your demands will fit the law. It is good to see that Mark Conroy is aware of this mess -- but you can bet he is consulting HIS lawyer!

Tyran,

Sorry to her of your situation...u should be in the midst of wonderful anticipation vs. this tremendous let down by Regent.

I have communicated with Mr. Conroy at least a dozen times..and most of the time I get a personal reply and with a very reasonable
answers/resolution. As the poster above (island girl) referenced the pod problem, I let Mr. Conroy know Regent was getting unfavorable attention by Regent cruise fans second to none (LCT'rs)

He replied back with a very comprehensive and
detailed reply personallly back to me, which I posted on LCT and CC.

I think you action plan is good (direct to Mr. Conroy) also recommend you send him an email with
copies of this thread and the cc thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=619525

That way he will know this situation is affecting
Regents reputation in dozens of loyal Regent fans.

Am betting he will give you a reasonable answer...sure hope so....I am very disappointed in how you are being treated by Regent.

Mr. Conroy's email:

Mconroy@regentexperience.com

Good luck and pls keep us posted.

Wes

This is shocking and super-scary.

In 2002, Mariner was broken and a cruise from Barcelona to Rome was cancelled out from under a family trip with 3 weeks notice. Regent (then Radisson) made us whole -refund for cruise, air and other miscellaneous expenses - we were able to book on Silversea with the same itinerary with the same departure and about the same fares (had to pay a bunch more for air!). I thought the customer service was more than fair, and cemented my allegiance to R. But this? I am hopeful that a reasonable explanation, followed by a "fix" and an apology will take care of this. If not, my confidence in Regent is badly shaken.

I still say this is a strange scenario. Something just does not sound right to me. I am not sure what has happened, but I still feel there has been some kind of mix up. Give Mark a little time to respond. I know he is traveling right now.

As to the call to Regent please also understand when you call the reservations number this is like a call center. The people there are wonderful but do remember they are not executives with Regent.

Please recognize that when things are out of the box this is not the place to get answers. They do a great job with the things that they handle but something of this magnitude needs to be addressed at a higher level. The person who you spoke with was correct, there is not really a direct supervisor over Inventory that she could have connected you to at that time in the office where she is located. Nolan is one of the people in Inventory and is probably assigned to the Voyager right now.

I know there is a time restraint here and the timing could not be worse with this long weekend upon us. I hope that next time I look at this thread that you will have heard from Mark and some sort of logical resolution is at hand.

I'm wondering why Regent or any cruise line overbooks? It seems that one way or another after the final payment is made they have their $$. If someone cancels after final payment, they still have their $$ and the passenger goes through insurance (if they have it) for reimbursement or they're just SOL. Maybe I'm missing something??

I do remember on the WC when Marge passed away, her cabin remained empty except for her belongings for the remainer of the trip. When I inquired if it was re-sold, I was told "No, Marge paid for that cabin until April 30th when the WC ends."

It would seem to me that if there was this overbooking problem that there are others (entertainers, speakers, dance hosts, etc. that would get bumped before a full paying passenger). ???????????????

All I can say is.....thank the heavens for Ngaire (and Ken) - I never worry about one little detail!!!! A great TA is a gift! Joanna

Yes, I have that same question. Could it be the overbooking takes place prior to the final payment period, in anticipation of people cancelling ? Sometimes they might hit their prediction right, and other times not. Throughout the years I have read many threads about overbooking ( not on Regent), but it was always resolved via passengers which were offered very attractive compensation to give back their cabin. With the exception of that Oceania fiasco that the OP referenced, I don't recall ever reading something like this.

OK, Karen and Olivia, I did not interpret the cruise for 2008 as "free" and I am sure you are correct that it is. I agreed with Ardis that I didn't think the compensation was fair, and because it is so close to sailing I still feel that way. I think Regent will find her a cabin, but I think she should still be compensated in some way for the emotional upheaval they put her through.
Lynn

Ngaire, I agree about this being a strange scenario and I still wonder about there being a mix-up.
That being said, the individual I spoke to at the call center confirmed what my TA had told me. Confirmation or denial of bumping was all I was looking for from the call center. I definitely recognize it was not the fault of the operator who answered, but it's hard not to get frustrated and I did FEEL like I was getting the run around. Whether I was or not I'll have to leave to the judgment of others as I'm too close to this to tell.

I recognize that the 3day holiday weekend contributed to the communication impasse; but I already felt the timing of this "bomb" was particularly egregious (on purpose??), so I'm less than sympathetic to that argument.(sorry, but I just can't help feeling that way)

That being said, I wanted to thank everyone for their advice. You've really helped me make good use of what could have potentially been "lost time" and I thank you.

tryan - I'm still hoping that there's going to be a happy/golden ending to this story! Hang in there!

Masaki

One more thought that does not justify being bumped by any means. Tryan, are you a single traveller with a cabin that is only a 40% supplement. That might explain why they bumped you instead of a couple that would be paying more for the same cabin.
As a single traveller myself, I would hate to think that is the reason, but it may have come into the reasoning in Regent's mind.
Lynn

Lynn, she has mentioned on CC that she is traveling with her husband.

I wonder how many others were "bumped" from this cruise? The reason I wonder is that, almost always in the past when a fiasco impacts even a fairly small number of cruisers, multiple reports very soon find their way to the cruise boards. I have looked at all such boards of which I am aware, and can find no other complaints of such "bumping" from this cruise. Because of this, I wonder if tyran is the only one "bumped."

I say this NOT to doubt tyran's truthfulness, of which I have no doubt. To the contrary, if only one person has been "bumped" from this cruise, that increases the possibility that all that is involved is a clerical error or computer glitch. I sure hope so!!!

I am reserving judgement. But what's bothering me about this situation is not the overbooking. That , as far as I know, is done by most if not all cruise lines. It's the way this was communicated to Tryan and the unilateral "offer" of compensation ( totally involuntary). Apparently by a low level employee and then her TA ran into a wall, not being able to talk to anybody in management because everybody had left for the Holiday. What kind of protocol is that for delivering bad news?

I was somewhat thinking the same thing and wondering if any others had been bumped, but haven't seen any other posts.

I did notice the other day on RSSC site, that all cruises on Voyager,and most if not all on Navigator are "waitlist" only from Sept till the Nov 11 crossing, which has a few cabins available. Sure hope that doesn't mean others will find themselves in the same prediciment. I have clients on an Oct cruise, as well, we are booked for the "grand crossing".

Sure hope Tryan gets a resolution from Mark Conroy and ends up being able to take her cruise. Maybe we will get an update sometime tomorrow.

There is one level of this fiasco on which I do not reserve judgment. Regardless of the outcome of the "bumping", a company like Regent that runs a "365" operation should never allow its home office to be run without some person with authority there, even if it is a holiday weekend.

I would also be livid if this happened to me - only 10 days prior to the cruise. We've sailed with Regent now 9 times and find that they have a great product but when something goes wrong they don't initially handle it well but after a bit of back and forth usually come up with a satisfactory solution.

We're on the Voyager right now and it is not full for this cruise. I find it apalling that they would overbook and not tell people after final payment. Before final payment, I can understand totally.

I just want to let our original poster know that I am still hoping for the best and that tomorrow will bring news that this was one big mistake and that she and husband are back on the cruise they had planned and paid for. I saw the first posting on Cruise Critic and responded, then was tied up in preparing for our own road trip. (I'm now sitting in a beach house at a computer and can see the Atlantic Ocean over my left shoulder beyond the sea oats.)

I'm so glad that you also posted over here on LCT where you'll get plenty of listening ears with sound advise. I could not tell you over on CC that my TA, who I knew would move a mountain for her client if necessary, is our very own sweet & fantastic Ngaire.

Thanks, Olivia, I don't often go to cc....I missed that she was with her husband.
Lynn

Shouldn't we hear something soon? The long weekend is over.

So what's the story?

I'm waiting with baited breath and departing this evening for Alaska.

I'm hoping for a happy ending . . .

Sorry, meant to post earlier but the day after a holiday is always busy.

I am satisfied with the outcome. I didn't hear from REGENT directly, but my TA called me this morning (I had emailed her over the weekend, including the links to the message boards as well as my communication with Mr Conroy) with an update. By mid-day she reported back to me that "the bumping" was rescinded, that I am back on board and in the same suite as I had been before. As a "good will" gesture REGENT has posted a shipboard credit to our suite. As all I wanted was a reinstatement of what I had paid for, I am satisfied with this outcome.

I want to thank everyone again for their concern and their advice. I think I can say "literally", I couldn't have done this without you. Thank you.

That's wonderful news, Tryan 70. Thanks for letting us know! Our experience with Regent has always been good and often stellar. While I'm glad this has been resolved to your satisfaction, I regret you've endured a long weekend of uncertainty, stress and disappointment.

Kudos to all on the board who made good, practical suggestions to help Tryan70.

If you're game, we'd love a little sea mail. Bon voyage and safe travels.

Cheers, Anne

That is really great news. I was trying to hold back on judging Regent, but was ready to cancel our DC cruise if this wasn't rectified. I hope you can put this behind you and enjoy your vacation. I'm sure there may be some lingering feelings of doubt and disappointment.

Tryan, Regent has never let me down before, and I am so happy to hear they have restored your reservation, and made up for it with a shipboard credit. I think you had a lot of people pulling for you on this experience. Actually, the outcome does not surprise me at all, except that you had the tenacity to make it happen! Never should have been a problem in the first place.

Glad to hear this Tryan. Not sure what happened here but I still think some mistake was made in the first place. This is just not the way Regent works. Have a wonderful trip.

We all are delighted to hear of the outcome. Have a great trip!

What is missing,however, is an explanation. Does this mean someone else will be bumped? How did it happen? How likely is is to happen again? I am convinced it was an error, easily remedied when it was discovered, but...

I am so glad to hear this. I have been popping in and out all day on this board just watiting for an update. But I, too, am wondering what exactly happened and what is Regent doing to prevent this nonsense from happening again. I'd feel better knowing it was some low level clerk who misunderstood what he or she was supposed to do rather than some executive who actually tried to pull this stunt.

I too am glad this has been resolved to your satisfaction. It seems to me that Regent has handled this poorly not once but twice.

The first time when it notified your TA just before a holiday weekend that you were involuntarily bumped with no further explanation. And the second time when, again without explanation, it notified your TA just after the holiday weekend that the bump had been rescinded.

This situation was not handled correctly at all. And it makes you wonder what's going on at Regent. Tom.

I'm thrilled for you! Hopefully this won't happen again, to anybody. I wonder what caused it; we'll probably not find out.

I agree with Tom. This was not handled well. They at least owe Tryan an apology--directly. It makes you wonder what would happen to someone not savvy enough to bring the problem public to the company's core clientele.

Of course, it hasn't caused me to cancel any cruises with them. Bit I'll admit I'm left feeling rather uncomfortable about them. But I'm also remembering a situation I had a few years back in which a problem came up and RSSC stepped up and resolved.

I POSTED THESE POST ON THE OTHER THREAD BUT DECIDED TO PUT THEM HERE AS WELL.

Tryan I am delighted it all worked out. Personally I had no doubt that things would be fine. This just did not make sense to me I knew something was strange in the entire situation

I know we all like to have answers all the time but if the situation resolves itself that is what counts.

During this situation I have asked if any policies have changed in this regard and I have been told they have not. The policy IF there is a situation that requires someone to be bumped is to ask for volunteers. With this policy and the generous offer I cannot imagine they will not find people who will take them up on the offer. This is very important that we know no policy has changed.

I have quite a few people on that particular cruise that I KNEW would take a bump gladly and offered that to Regent. It was not necessary, and I was not taken up on that offer.

Obviously with no change in policy some sort of error was made. I have no knowledge of what happened, but a logical explanation would be if someone accepted a bump and then the wrong booking number was entered in the system that set this all in motion. Once people were back at work on Tuesday morning this was fixed. We all wanted it fixed sooner but there could be many steps in the process to figure out went wrong. With everyone off work it is pretty difficult to do that over a holiday weekend.

When Tryan called Regent the person contacted in the reservations center was just reading her computer screen and confirmed the bump. The reservation person has no way to understand the sequence of events or why that happened she can just see the bump on the screen.

Tryan, I must say reading your posts that you are a very logical and fair person and I wish you a wonderful cruise and I hope you will now post more often. It is like you have become part of the LCT family over this mess.

It is pretty obvious it was a unique and unusual glitch. Tryan even has her same cabin back. They did not need my offer to bump one of my guests. Someone must have volunteered.

Bumping is so rare with Regent that most TA's dont know the policy is to get volunteers. No fault with the TA here why would that TA know the policy. I know only because it has happened to me ONE time in all these years. If I had this call on a client I would have known instantly something was wrong.

If this had happened midweek this might have been solved right away and not even been an issue. Timing was unfortunate but lots of work takes place a day before a weekend or holiday. This was not planned to happen on this day it just was the day that this was handled and entered in the system.

Computers are wonderful but when a mistake is made it can create such a problem in a huge data base and often difficult to track the source of a wrong entry. Once it was a work day this was figured out pretty quickly.

I really do not think anyone has anything to worry about here. Freaky mistakes do happen, we all have made them but the chance of the same freaky error happening twice are slim. So anyone booked and worrying about this happening to them I think it is a needless worry.

Ngaire: This episode has really made points for you in my book. The fact that you were willing and took the time to try to find out the facts and check for volunteers among your clients is outstanding. Thank you for caring for ALL of us, not just your people.

Ardis

I wanted to give just a f/u that I think will put many worries to rest. This morning I received a call from Ken Watson. This call was followed by an email in which Mr Watson expressed an apology both personal and from the company for the manner in which the above events were handled. In particular he acknowledged that mistakes were made, but some good will come out of this event in that it pointed out a need for improvement in inventory control and the guest notification process. I again expressed I was quite satisfied with the ultimate outcome and very happy that he had called (I think I can finally breathe easy that there won't be any problems during embarkation). I just wanted to share, that in the end, REGENT got it right. Looking forward to a stress free cruise.

Tryan that is just great! Thanks for letting us know!

Tryan, you had a lot of people pulling for you on this one. I had no doubt in my heart that it would work out in the end, and you have been most gracious during what was not a pleasant PR event for Regent, and a bad 3 day weekend for you. It is always nice when parties come to a mutually satisfactory conclusion to problems.