Randyk47

This was our experience when we started cruise vacations years and years ago and is or at least was particularly true of the big mass market lines. Some of the lines, particularly the upper market luxury lines, do better nowadays but then again some have an upcharge if you want to book a specific time, route, airline, etc. End result is you can typically do better on your own and worst case is you might pay slightly more but earn the miles for your travel and have more control over your flights. We've racked up some nice miles over the past four years with several long hauls in first or business traveling to and from Barcelona, Rome, Athens, Venice, and Istanbul.

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

"Now on the surface you wouldn't think flying from San Antonio to Dallas would add all that much to a ticket but as soon as you ask a cruise line to do that the once included or discounted airfare goes up typically $400 to $600 per person. All kind of surprising and a bit irritating as we could book our flights to Dallas for a lot less."

If the cruise line can book you on AA or BA out of DFW, just book your own ticket on AA SAT-DFW. AA will protect you on separate tickets if you are "connecting" between AA and any oneworld carrier.

Randyk47

Actually it's a little bit more complicated than that because we also have to forego the frequent flyer miles on the cruise line purchased legs. In the long run it's just been easier, cleaner, and sometimes cheaper to book our own travel.

DJ_Iceman

Hey, I totally agree with those who prefer to book their own travel, maintaining that control, earning miles, etc. But then again all of my peers at work have EAs book their travel for them, while I do my own because I'm picky and want what I want.

Many people in the world do not obsess over travel points like we do here at this site. And part of the allure of a "luxury" cruise line like Regent is the promise that everything will be hassle-free and taken care of. That's part of what you pay extra for. So to a customer who has that expectation to then be pretty much given the shaft has to be a disappointment.

Calliopeflyer

I'm sure it is a disappointment, but I personally think Regent has a lot of people hoodwinked over their "inclusivity" idea..........Though they say they include everything and are a luxury line, in reality some of what they include is not a luxury product. I'm speaking also about included excursions - in fact, it seems so many of the included excursions are below the standards of many of their passengers that they have had success adding and charging extra for some better-run and better-managed excursions (the ones more in line with what would call "luxury").

Live and learn, I guess. Personally, I don't sail with them because their pricing for solo passengers is poor value, and I can get much better value on another luxury line.

For me, researching the flights and plans at ports and stopping points is part of what I enjoy about a vacation - a big part of building my anticipation.