When he was informed about some uncommon itinerary modifications to his upcoming luxurious Baltic Sea cruise aboard Regent Seven Seas Splendor, Rick Miller was disillusioned. Then, when Regent Seven Seas Cruises proposed compensation for the altered schedule that Miller discovered unacceptable, his disappointment turned to anger.
He says the cruise line lowered the variety of nights of the voyage and skipped one port solely. In return for these itinerary modifications, Regent supplied him simply $500 in onboard credits.
Based mostly on Miller’s calculations, nonetheless, Regent owed him $4,000 for the missed evening of crusing. The cruise line disagreed. That’s when Miller requested TPG to research his grievance.
Does Regent owe Miller $4,000 for the itinerary modifications to this crusing, and can the cruise line pay up?
First, pandemic delays
Within the fall of 2020, even because the pandemic nonetheless had the complete cruise trade shut down, Miller and his spouse started planning a voyage.
“We booked a 13-night Baltic Sea cruise for August 2021,” Miller recalled. “We figured the complete pandemic could be passed by then.”
That, in fact, turned out to be an incorrect assumption.
Only a few months later, Regent gave the Millers the dangerous information. They would not be cruising in 2021 in spite of everything.
“Regent informed us it canceled our cruise due to COVID,” Miller mentioned. “We obtained a full refund however nonetheless wished to plan a cruise.”
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When the couple found that Regent had scheduled an nearly an identical 12-night cruise for August of this 12 months, they rapidly booked it, paying practically $50,000 for a Grand Suite on board Splendor. Their itinerary would take them from Southampton in England alongside the coasts of Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Latvia and Estonia earlier than terminating in Copenhagen.
With their new cruise confirmed, the couple deliberate their shore excursions and regarded ahead to this long-awaited journey.
It wasn’t till six weeks earlier than the cruise’s departure date that Miller would discover out a few stunning change to the journey’s itinerary.
‘We have modified this cruise’
In notifying the Millers of the change, the cruise line couched the announcement of Splendor’s altered schedule in an e mail framed as feel-good information about Regent’s dedication to sustainability:
“Our firm is dedicated to driving a constructive influence on society and the setting. As a part of our international sustainability program, Sail & Maintain, we’re frequently searching for alternatives to scale back our general carbon footprint and lately dedicated to pursuing internet zero greenhouse gasoline emissions throughout our operations and worth chain by 2050.
“As a part of our effort, we’re within the ultimate levels of commissioning shore energy on Seven Seas Splendor. This necessary sustainability initiative will present infrastructure for Seven Seas Splendor to connect with an onshore electrical energy grid to provide a lot of the facility wanted whereas docked.
“To facilitate this, we might be modifying your upcoming cruise by remaining in port in a single day in London (Southampton), England, on Aug. 7, and crusing as a substitute on the morning of Aug. 8. As well as, we might be changing the decision to Skagen, Denmark, on Aug. 9 with a day at sea.
Thanks to your understanding and assist of this necessary initiative, and as a token of our appreciation will present company with $500 shipboard credit score per suite.
Ought to you will have any questions, please contact your Journey Advisor or Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ reservation division.”
When Miller completed studying Regent’s message, he had questions. From his perspective, the cruise line was slicing the crusing by one evening and providing $500 in onboard credit score in change.
Many cruises spend the primary evening in port when passengers embark and the expertise begins then, with meals, an in a single day on board, and the remainder of the cruise expertise besides crusing. To Miller, although, it appeared like he was paying to spend an additional evening on the ship when he might simply e book an affordable resort for that night as a substitute.
He tried reaching out to the cruise line to see what different compensation they is perhaps keen to supply.
Not a typical itinerary change
After Miller’s pleas resulted in no response from Regent, he determined to ship his grievance to suggestions@thepointsguy.com. His request for assist quickly landed on my desk.
“Why would I wish to spend $4,000 to board a cruise ship going nowhere the primary evening?” Miller contemplated. “I might reasonably keep the evening in a resort someplace and get on the ship the day it is truly embarking.” Miller’s quibble was with the truth that he didn’t wish to board till the day of departure or to pay for what he perceived as an additional day on board given the later departure date. Nevertheless, that’s not all the time attainable in cases like this.
I learn via Miller’s paper path and agreed that the itinerary change did appear uncommon, however I wanted to dig a little bit additional to see what the precise circumstances had been and decide whether or not Miller and the opposite passengers scheduled for this crusing ought to have been given the possibility to resolve for themselves if they’d have appreciated to board the ship (and pay for) the evening earlier than the official departure.
Because it seems, every thing was within the timing of the departure and the logistics of embarkation and crusing.
However can a passenger choose out?
I reached out to our govt contacts at Regent Seven Seas to get some readability about this cruise. These are level individuals for media and shopper advocates like myself and never public-facing customer-service representatives that vacationers can get in contact themselves with to resolve points. Here’s what I wrote:
“Mr. Miller has expressed that he would not wish to spend practically $4,000 for an evening on board the ship when it is not going wherever. He wish to board the cruise on the day it’s truly crusing and be refunded for the missed evening.
Mr. Miller can also be disillusioned with the missed port of name (Skagen). I’m conscious that missed ports of name usually are not one thing {that a} passenger ought to anticipate to obtain compensation for (though small goodwill gesture vouchers are sometimes supplied by cruise strains in these circumstances) and I’ll clarify that element to him. However the financial compensation for the discount within the variety of nights of the cruise looks like an affordable request from a loyal, high-spending buyer.
Please tell us if that’s one thing Regent can approve. Thanks.
Greatest,
Michelle Sofa-Friedman
Shopper Advocate”
Very quickly, Miller emailed me to let me know that he had obtained a name from one other govt at Regent.
“She tried to persuade me that individuals like an evening within the port earlier than crusing,” Miller reported to me. “This consultant of Regent informed me that nobody else on the complete cruise had complained however me.”
That appeared unlikely, given the last-minute communication concerning the change. That mentioned, many luxurious cruise passengers do take pleasure in having an additional evening on board earlier than crusing to benefit from the ship’s facilities a little bit longer or to have additional time in a marquee metropolis like London.
Nevertheless, I adopted up with our govt at Regent — and it quickly turned clear the cruise line was standing its floor on this one.
Regent stands its floor
Once I requested Regent for additional readability about Miller’s request, our contact at Regent informed me that the couple couldn’t be a part of the cruise on the precise departure day.
“Hello Michelle,
With the ship crusing from Southampton at 8 a.m., Aug. 8, 2022, all company should embark Seven Seas Splendor on Aug. 7, 2022, as is customary process. Whereas we sympathize with Mr. Miller for the cancellation of the decision to Skagen, Denmark, as you say beneath, a missed port of name shouldn’t be one thing a passenger ought to anticipate compensation for. We really feel that our goodwill gesture of $500 on board spend is beneficiant. Moreover, in a single day stays in port are frequent, typically sought-after itinerary options and, once more, usually are not one thing that company would anticipate compensation for.
Although we do have essentially the most inclusive cruise expertise, there are a selection of ways in which the $500 onboard spend will be loved, for instance, within the spa, on a particular bottle of wine from the Connoisseur wine checklist, within the boutique or in vacation spot on a Regent Alternative shore tour.
Greatest needs, (Regent govt contact)”
This response closed the door on any risk of additional compensation for Miller or every other company on board this crusing of Splendor. The brand new departure time required that passengers be aboard the evening earlier than so the ship might sail on time at 8 a.m. the next morning as a result of logistics of the embarkation course of and port facility hours.
Sadly, Miller was not happy with the consequence and the dearth of readability across the modifications to his itinerary and has determined he’ll be taking his future enterprise elsewhere.
He informed me:
“Michelle, thanks once more. I’m canceling an 18-night cruise I had booked with Regent and can by no means board one other of their ships. That cruise fare is over $75,000, to allow them to simply [deal with that].”
What ought to passengers actually anticipate?
Cruise ship passengers beware: Your ship’s initially scheduled path might or might not resemble the place you truly go. The excellent news is that more often than not, your itinerary might be navigated as scheduled. However in the event you board your cruise figuring out that itinerary modifications are all the time attainable, you may be a lot much less susceptible to disappointment ought to your voyage get hit with an alteration.
Here is what to remember earlier than you intend your subsequent cruise:
Learn what your cruise contract says about itinerary modifications
Each cruise line throughout the trade features a clause about the potential for itinerary modifications. Together with that data comes the usual disclosure that the cruise line owes the passenger nothing if this occurs in your journey. Figuring out what’s contained in that contract is your first step to a profitable cruise expertise.
Purchase a cruise, not a vacation spot
By no means, by no means e book a cruise primarily based on a port of name that you simply completely cannot miss. If you happen to’ll contemplate your trip ruined in the event you miss any a part of your cruise’s itinerary, that is a recipe for potential catastrophe. All the time bear in mind the captain of your ship can change some and even the entire ports of name in your cruise for practically any cause. So in the event you actually have your coronary heart set on a particular vacation spot, an air/land/resort trip could be a more sensible choice.
Contemplate journey insurance coverage that gives protection for missed ports
Cruise ship passengers ought to all the time fastidiously consider their need for travel insurance. Some insurance policies will present a money profit in case your cruise skips a port of name. If you happen to splurge on a cancel-for-any-reason insurance policy, you may have the luxurious to resolve if you wish to take a cruise or not if the itinerary modifications dramatically earlier than embarkation.
Buy medical insurance coverage to your cruise
Do you know that many home medical health insurance insurance policies don’t cowl you for medical remedy on board a cruise ship or in another country? It is true, and remedy on a cruise ship will be very costly. Buying a comprehensive travel insurance policy with medical protection can guarantee you aren’t getting caught with the invoice for surprising sicknesses or accidents throughout your subsequent cruise. Use a web site comparable to InsureMyTrip.com to check insurance coverage insurance policies throughout the trade and decide one that matches your wants.
Pay to your cruise with a bank card that gives journey safety
The subsequent neatest thing to buying a complete journey insurance coverage coverage is paying to your cruise with a credit card that provides travel protection. As TPG reader Brett Smith lately came upon, the included insurance coverage safety supplied by bank cards such because the Chase Sapphire Reserve generally is a welcome aid in the event you get hit with surprising delays and bills. Make sure that to acquaint your self with all of your playing cards’ membership advantages earlier than you resolve which card to make use of to pay to your subsequent journey.
Do not e book nonrefundable excursions
As a result of your cruise itinerary is all the time topic to vary, it is by no means a good suggestion to e book third-party, nonrefundable shore excursions. In case your ship skips the vacation spot the place your exercise is deliberate, you may haven’t any recourse with the cruise line or the tour supplier. This is without doubt one of the causes it may be a good suggestion to e book cruise line-led excursions.
Do not cruise and not using a passport
This recommendation could also be a bit controversial. However as a shopper advocate, I’ve seen the terrible outcomes when issues go flawed and a passenger would not have a passport. Keep in mind, you possibly can’t fly internationally wherever and not using a passport. So in the event you get injured or sick or have an emergency and have to fly house, you possibly can’t do this with a delivery certificates or passport card. And in case your ship modifications its itinerary and offloads you and all the opposite passengers in another country, as Norwegian Escape did last March, your scenario might be immensely extra difficult if you do not have a passport with you. If you happen to needless to say vital itinerary modifications are all the time a risk, you may notice simply how precarious it’s to cruise internationally and not using a passport – even on a closed-loop cruise.
Take note of onboard bulletins regarding schedule modifications
Sure, your cruise ship will leave without you in the event you aren’t on board when it is scheduled to depart. The passengers most vulnerable to getting left behind? Those who ignore the day by day onboard updates and bulletins. These messages will all the time inform passengers of any modifications to name time again to the ship, and as a passenger, you need to by no means overlook them — until you do not thoughts getting left behind in your bathing swimsuit and flip-flops as you watch your cruise ship sail away without you.
Backside line
Vital alterations to a cruise schedule are uncommon. Small itinerary modifications to your cruise ship’s ports of name are extra frequent. However it doesn’t matter what sort of shift your cruise ship encounters, trip that wave and roll with the punches — as a result of in the long run, a day on trip all the time has the potential to be an awesome day irrespective of the place your cruise ship takes you (or doesn’t).
If you happen to or anybody has encountered an issue with a cruise line, airline, resort, trip rental firm, automotive rental company or bank card, ship your request for assist to suggestions@thepointsguy.com, and I will be glad to research and enable you, too.
