Hello Fellow LCT'ers!!! Had to take 2010 "off" and book (ahem) a lower priced cruise line since we're treating the kids and grandson...but we just booked Segment 1 of Circle SA back on the Mariner in 2011 so we're totally excited about that.

My question, since I've never used Regent air, and I know so many of you probably have -- do they fly you in the day of departure? Also, post debarkation, if the only flights out are early a.m. do they expect you to stay overnight or do they get you off the ship ASAP to make an early a.m. flight?

On our 14 Regent/Radison cruises we used their air on all. From PHX-FLL for instance they could not get us there day of, so they put us up at the Embassy Suites in FLL at their cost. If you can't make a flight post cruise using their air I'm sure they would do the same. We were never disappointed and there was never a hitch. Now that we're with Silversea we do the same. However, SS does not put you up at their expense.

Thank you Doug!

I have been trying to book on our own w/FF Delta miles; which I have always done. Delta has gone crazy! I went on line last week and for Europe on business clas they wanted 340,000 miles pp. Went on this morning and they are up to 800,000 pp. I am going to be dropping AMEX and go the Chase card for British Air miles. I am done w/Delta.

OHHHHHH I so agree!!!!! I have FF flights booked for next Oct but no more accumulating Delta pts for me ---nightmare!!!

Judy, we've dropped mileage credit cards period. Now we use our Costco Amex card for everything then cash in the refund certificate at end of year (you don't have to use it for Costco purchases). Then we put the money in the bank saving it for "business air." We add a little of our own money each month. Now we have a tidy sum to fly business on our own terms. So glad to stop wasting time and effort of ff miles (although we do have a few miles to spend).

Editing to answer your original question. We often use Regent air. Lately, they have been flying us in on the day of the cruise. Of course we could pay the deviation fee and come in early (plus pay for hotel room ourselves). We will probably start doing this. When we cruised from Vancouver to Singapore, Regent brought us in on day of the cruise. We were some of the very last passengers to board. What if our plane had been delayed? Also, read the fine print in the contract before assuming that it's there responsibility to get you to the next port.

Do not over look the discounted business class air fares that can be available with some airlines. There are restrictions which can be an issue but if you are firm on doing the cruise it can work out.

I use the AMEX for cruise charges and the AMEX points can be used for some air lines. We have used the AMEX points for two past trips on Virgin Atlantic and for TUT. VS has a miles and dollars program which can be a good option. Carol and I find the VS Upper class very acceptable business class. One draw back to VS is they do not operate from a lot of US cities. As we are in So Calif. the LAX - LHR option is a good one for us.

We have found that we need to go in a least one day before boarding if not two so doing our own air is best for us.

Hi Doug
we are taking our first regent cruise and are flying phx-fll. Trying to decide if we should deviate, so any info you can give us would be appreciated..you hear such horror stories about missed flights...

I have used Regent Air and FF miles through AMEX and there are advantages to both. I weigh both flight schedules and costs before making decisions. The advantage to using Regent Air is that they seem to keep track of your whereabouts and inform the ship of any difficulties. They also take good care of their own regarding flights out and/or accommodations should a situation occur on the ship...like a bad engine that causes you to miss your connections. I have seen the Captain hold up the ship departure for luggage and passengers who are Regent Air and have had difficulties with flights not of their own accord. Hence, we often take Regent Air. Once there was trouble on the Mariner and we missed our post cruise. We had to fend for ourselves to reschedule, whereas Regent took very good care of its own air passengers. We came out whole, but had to scurry for ourselves.

We don't take Regent Air when the air schedule just isn't good for us. When we booked our last trip to Asia, they didn't have any direct flights available for us. We paid a bit more, but got flights to our liking through AMEX two for one. Other times, we use points, but we try to save those for land trips. As others have said, deviation is available for early arrival or later departure at an additional cost. If you change plans, Regent hits you again with another departure cost.

I usually look up which airlines and schedules are going / coming from our destinations and then try to get Regent Air first, especially if they are offering a "deal."

Hope this helps.

thank you for your insight..it was very helpful.
linda