Sopwith

My wife wants to do a Disney cruise, largely on the recommendation of her sister, who is a Disney fanatic. I am trying to keep an open mind, but am having the expected reservations: too many kids, too many mice, etc. We are a 60 yo couple.

 

The Caribbean itineraries are less than inspiring, but the ones we're looking at are for the Fantasy. I can sort of live with the kids and mice, but my main fear is the 4000 pax. Most of our cruising has been on HAL, a few on Princess, one on Celebrity. The size of ship we're most comfortable with is in the 1200 - 1900 range. We tried the Emerald Princess and at 3600 found it very overcrowded, with insufficient deck space and facilities for the load. Just got off the Noordam, which at 1900 pax was pretty much maxed out for the size of hull and number of decks.

 

Disney is known for handling (and hiding) crowds well on land, IME, but is it the same on these mega-ships? Is it too crowded and congested compared to the average HAL or Princess ship? Can we get away from the bustle without hiding out on the verandah all day?

 

Comments appreciated. Thanks.

So we have done our cruise on the Fantasy. Here's my impression, for what it's worth.

Firstly, as with everything in life, it's all about expectations and relativity. To enjoy a Disney cruise one must definitely reset one's expectations. If you're after the full-on, high energy, intense, loud, musical, entertaining, crowded, child-infested Disney experience, you won't be disappointed. As with most things they do, Disney did an outstanding job of delivering their product.

Having said that, a Disney cruise is nothing like any other cruise (by design). The ship is magnificent, but is clearly a clever ruse to keep you contained and under control while their marketing machine throws everything they have at you for seven days non-stop. It is nothing like a traditional cruise.

The ship is the most crowded we have been on by far, with the possible exception of the Emerald Princess. On the pool decks it was never possible to walk four steps in a straight line. It is possible to get away from the crowds and intensity in the adult areas, but that doesn't save you from the intensity everywhere else on the ship, especially in the dining rooms. At most meals it was difficult to carry a conversation because of the noise. Despite going while school was in session, there were many, many school age kids aboard. By the fifth or sixth day it was clear that both the kids and the parents were exhausted and tapped out.

It is not something I would do again, except possibly with the grand kids and their parents along. The deal would have to include a separate cabin for the grandparents, and it would be for four days, max.

If you want a water-borne Disney experience, it is the right place to be. But don't delude yourself into thinking it's a cruise.

As long time cruisers, mostly with HAL and Princess, we recently booked our first Oceania cruise, looking for a more upscale experience in the face of declining product from the others. I looked at this as a great opportunity for O to win us over from HAL.

 

We booked the cruise and then got into the air deviation game. We asked for specific flights and a return about 10 days after the cruise from a different city. They have proposed a $150 each deviation fee, fair enough, but on top of that they want another $400 each for the price differential. Based on the fares I see from the airlines, I don't believe this truly represents the extra they will actually pay.

 

The real problem arises when we asked for a credit if we book our own air, and were offered a paltry $199 each for a transcon return flight. It looks like they have offered the taxes, and not much else.

 

Bottom line, the extra $1100 they're asking for is interestingly just a few dollars less than what it would net out at if we book our own air.

 

I'm not getting a good feeling here, and I hope this isn't a sign of things to come with Oceania.

So we've completed our first Oceania cruise on the Riviera. It was great! Very satisfied, and we will definitely cruise with O again.

Now, about the air deviation deal. I took the opportunity to discuss the deal with the O Club Ambassador, or the future cruise lady, I'm not sure which she was. She did have little or no interest in listening to my issue, however. She initially tried to blame it on the TA, which came over as a cheap shot. It very quickly became evident that both I and my TA know more about airline booking classes than she did. (For the record, I am a frequent flyer and know the game pretty well. My TA used to work for one of the major airlines, booking cruise passengers, so she also knows the game inside out.)

In any event, here is what I was told. Oceania contracts with several of the major airlines (not all, based on my experience) for their air travel. They book the lowest priced, cheap crap booking class they can lay their hands on (no surprise there). Moreover, they commit to a minimum number of seats; she said per flight, but I'm a little suspicious and think it might be per route. The credit you are offered depends on whether they think they can sell the seats they have committed to. If it is close to sailing date, the credit will be less. The most credit you will ever be offered is $300 in North America and $900 to Europe (if your experience is different, please don't flame the messenger, that is what I was told.). It is also noteworthy that the credit will be the same regardless of where you travel to or from within NA or to/fro Europe.

So, what can we conclude from this? Firstly, Oceania is a first class product, once you're on the ship. The air travel is a different matter. As we all know, "free" does not mean "free". It means you pay for it whether you use it or not. If you're prepared to accept the cheap crap booking class they offer you, it is a good deal. If you're the least bit fussy about schedule, routing, seat selection, etc, you may be better off sucking it up, taking the financial hit and booking your own. It is probably not worth the deviation fee to have them do it. If you can't do it yourself, most TAs will charge about a third of that to do it. The one good feature is that you can see what they offer you before you decide whether to accept it.

Finally, once you understand the air deviation game, it makes all the advertised cost comparisons to other cruise lines invalid.

Force you to buy air from them?

 

I must have missed that

We use miles and take the credit

We have never been "forced "

The credit I was offered if I booked my own air was barely enough to cover the taxes and surcharges on the ticket they would havepourchased on my behalf. In other words, I had the option of booking my own air, but paying twice except for the taxes and surcharges. Perhaps "forced" is too strong a word. "Hosed" would be more to the point.

Here's an update, if anyone's interested. Got the docs yesterday with the airline PNR, so I looked up the reservation to check on seat assignments. Outbound on AA the assignments were bad. I was able to go through the seat selection process on the AA website and tried to purchase exit row seats. After going through the whole process it kicked me out on the last screen because it was booked by a TA. Asked the TA to book them but she was confronted with a 45-60 minute wait on hold, so it's pending. It's early enough it should be okay.

On the inbound on AC no seats were assigned. I asked the TA to book them using my Elite status on AC. She managed to book the seats but was told my status is worthless on the fare class Oceania has booked :mad:.

I thought O billed themselves as a luxury, premium cruise line, but apparently this doesn't include the flying part, which they more or less force you to buy from them. Hope it gets better once we're on the ship.

Thx for all the info. Sounds like I'll have to hold my nose and go with Hertz.

Anyone know which car rental agencies run a shuttle from the Oceania terminal in Miami? In particular I'm wondering about Avis. Prefer to stay away from Hertz due to a recent bad experience.

Thx.

With any kind of luck they won't cancel it and try to do critical work like replacing propeller shafts seals on the fly, like they did last year. Total disaster.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1724552&highlight=zaandam+nightmares

On Aug 2, I booked two back-to-back Riviera Jan 2014 cruises from MIA-MIA-MIA. The air credit on the first cruise was $199 pp, on the second cruise it was $299 pp. .

 

Our nearest air gateway is SEA.

 

 

Nautica Norway Jul 2014

Regatta Buenos Aires-MIA Mar 2014

et al.

Sounds like the same cruise we're on, and from a nearby gateway.

I'm literally flummoxed by your position.

As a business person living within the capitalist system, do you not believe that Oceania has the right to use the Air allowance as a throttle to either encourage or discourage using Oceania Air?

Yes, of course they have the right. But when they use that right to take advantage of a new customer we're not off to a very good start, which is the point of my original post. If I thought the credit offered fairly reflected the allowance they carry in the cruise fare there would be no issue.

With all respect, the airlines have no economic connection to the cruise lines, O or others. If you were returning from the same city 10 days later the small deviation fee would most assuredly cover the change. Their much-reduced airfare on the group bookings to and from the departure/arrival ports are based on that itinerary. If you return from another city the airline fee is almost always more. This has absolutely nothing to do with Oceania or any other cruise line as they call the airlines and make the change just as you and I would. And I don't believe any cruise line would be anxious to absorb the higher airfare to please or retain passengers. I am a past airline employee to understand this and a past Oceania passenger to appreciate that Oceania will give you the most value for your money and an incredibly wonderful cruise experience. My husband and I have cruised on 6 cruise lines on almost 20 cruises and Oceania is our choice for quality, great customer attention and the food.

What you say may be true to a point. I fly a lot and know about air fares and how they vary. This is why O has whacked me with an upcharge. The point a few people seem to be missing is that the $199 credit they offered covers the taxes and surcharges and not much more. I simply don't believe the allowance built into the cruise fare to cover the "free" air fare is only $199. I do believe they're trying to take advantage. We'll see when we get on the ship and have a chat with the future cruise person.

By the way, earlier today I booked a trip from YVR to TPA, C$673 all in. Even if O were to get a 50% discount, the credit should be close to $350.

The OP seems to have disappeared so all the answers are moot points...

Jancruz1

I'm back. I was laying low because things appeared to have gone sideways with talk about transatlantic (TATL) vs transcon, which is Vancouver to Miami and Orlando to Vancouver. And no, I definitely did not mistake the non-gateway surcharge with the credit, since YVR is indeed one of the gateways. I'm simply saying that for a round trip airfare, which would cost me between $650 and $1000 if I book on my own, even allowing for the discount O would likely be able to negotiate, their offer of a $199 credit is out of order.

It is fairly clear to me that their strategy is to set the price point just below what I could do it for myself, and pocket the difference. This is not a good way to start what could be a lasting relationship.

And by the way, my TA used to work for a major airline and was the one who worked directly with the cruise lines for air bookings, so she knows the game pretty well.

A couple additional of comments:

Re the so-called "free" air: TANSTAAFL.

Routing is YVR --> MIA outbound, MCO --> YVR return. Nothing out of the ordinary, should be fairly easy and relatively inexpensive for O to book.

To clarify, we have the flights we want. My objections are (1) the measly credit that was offered if we book our own air, i.e. a fraction of what they would have actually paid on our behalf; and (b) the amount of the upcharge for the specific flights we requested, which I believe is more than they will actually pay above and beyond what is allowed in the cruise fare.

We have accepted their proposal, and are moving forward on that basis. My point was that O had a chance to dazzle us and win us over, but have started off with this, which is disappointing for what we thought was a premium cruise line.

We'll go, we'll enjoy the cruise, and we'll decide whether we stay with O or try something else. (Almost) everything we've heard about O is good, I just hope they live up to it after this hassle with the air deviation.

As long time cruisers, mostly with HAL and Princess, we recently booked our first Oceania cruise, looking for a more upscale experience in the face of declining product from the others. I looked at this as a great opportunity for O to win us over from HAL.

We booked the cruise and then got into the air deviation game. We asked for specific flights and a return about 10 days after the cruise from a different city. They have proposed a $150 each deviation fee, fair enough, but on top of that they want another $400 each for the price differential. Based on the fares I see from the airlines, I don't believe this truly represents the extra they will actually pay.

The real problem arises when we asked for a credit if we book our own air, and were offered a paltry $199 each for a transcon return flight. It looks like they have offered the taxes, and not much else.

Bottom line, the extra $1100 they're asking for is interestingly just a few dollars less than what it would net out at if we book our own air.

I'm not getting a good feeling here, and I hope this isn't a sign of things to come with Oceania.

My wife wants to do a Disney cruise, largely on the recommendation of her sister, who is a Disney fanatic. I am trying to keep an open mind, but am having the expected reservations: too many kids, too many mice, etc. We are a 60 yo couple.

The Caribbean itineraries are less than inspiring, but the ones we're looking at are for the Fantasy. I can sort of live with the kids and mice, but my main fear is the 4000 pax. Most of our cruising has been on HAL, a few on Princess, one on Celebrity. The size of ship we're most comfortable with is in the 1200 - 1900 range. We tried the Emerald Princess and at 3600 found it very overcrowded, with insufficient deck space and facilities for the load. Just got off the Noordam, which at 1900 pax was pretty much maxed out for the size of hull and number of decks.

Disney is known for handling (and hiding) crowds well on land, IME, but is it the same on these mega-ships? Is it too crowded and congested compared to the average HAL or Princess ship? Can we get away from the bustle without hiding out on the verandah all day?

Comments appreciated. Thanks.

In Dutch the ui is pronounced like ow in English, as in "how".

In other words, Zow'- der- dam.