HeatherInFlorida

I've personally seen a lack of concern by Seattle in the last couple of years. Sadly from recent experiences the feeling I got from them has been "You're lucky we let you sail on Holland America".

 

Possibly like on board the Seattle office staff is stretched to thin. Poor "Christine Farris" must write a few thousand letters each day- everyone seems to get a reply from her :)

Wow!:( So sorry to read this. I remember when speaking of sailing on Holland America was something really special and people would say "Oooooh, Holland America ... one of the best". I can remember right here on this board standing up to a high level HAL staff member who posted often (you all know who I mean) as he told us we were just numbers, that HAL didn't care about us individually at all. And I swore it was not true, that no company could hold its standing if they stopped caring about individuals and focused on the bottom line alone.

Looks like he was right and I was wrong. No one understands more than I do that this is a business and the bottom line must always the focus. But if you stop appearing to care about your individual 'guests', then I believe it's a slippery slope to oblivion.

We are just 2 people who wanted to try HAL again. Now we won't. We're just 2 little nobodies so they won't even feel the boat move, but ....

Thank you Heather. We're excited about it but nervous, being "newbies".

 

The Oceania board has been a huge help and several CC'ers there have been kind enough to advise.

 

I'll certainly be doing a comparison - most likely to the Prinsendam who I feel is in a class by herself (not everyone agrees).

 

And enjoy your 30th anniversary on board:D

Thank you :) ... can't wait. We were on Prinsendam years ago and I agree it's in a class all by itself. We loved it. If you love the size, you would also love Oceania's smaller ships like the Regatta.

We were just on Regatta in November and loved it. When I was new to Oceania I found the board so helpful, too. While some complain it's an unfriendly board and if you don't just LOVE Oceania they go after you, I didn't find it like that. But then again I loved it!!! Still my reviews of both Riviera and Regatta are not over the moon throughout because nothing is perfect all the time no matter what anyone says. Stuff happens.

One great story about the Oceania forum and how helpful it can be ... Our first cruise was in January 2013 (I think we embarked the 3rd). On New Year's Day I noticed in my documents that my passport good not expire within 6 months of the cruise!!! I was used to Celebrity and Holland where it was less, about 3 or 4 months I think. I panicked!! I went straight to the Oceania forum and cried "HELP!!!:eek:". People were suggesting all sorts of things including running to Miami on the 2nd and hoping that the Passport office would take me without an appointment. Remember I was a newbie to Oceania and knew no one.

. Suddenly someone posted not to worry, that she had called an Oceania executive at home (New Year's Day!!!) and he assured her that he checked my itinerary and given the ports we were visiting in the Caribbean I would be okay. She told me what to do if I ran into any problems at the pier, but I didn't.

I was so impressed with her and what she did for a total stranger that I did some digging, found out she was a TA and now she's mine :). But she never mentioned or hinted to that at all and if I didn't research, I never would have known. So I'm hooked in more ways than one :)

My Nieuw Amsterdam October 7 Venice to Barcelona and NA October 19 Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale were canceled, for whatever reason.

I don't know if prior cruises were also canceled.

 

The trans-At was rerouted, and rescheduled, which meant Caribbean cruises were canceled, too.

That explains why our 11/8 Nieuw Amsterdam was canceled so evidently many more were as well which explains better why I couldn't do anything on their website yesterday no matter how I tried. My TA for Holland too me it had crashed ... that he couldn't get on either (I have a different TA for HAL because mine doesn't book it).

Jacqui, I want to wish you a wonderful cruise on Riviera in November:). I hope you love the ship and I know you'll love the food. I really look forward to your comparisons. We all have our favorites and somewhere there's a fit for everyone. For us, right now, it's Oceania. The Riviera is a magnificent ship, but I have to say we really loved the smaller Regatta which is why we're on her in April for our 30th anniversary.

I look forward to your review!

I was so sorry to hear this, Heather. I can only imagine how you feel. :(

I know you love Oceana but this would sure leave a bad taste in my mouth anyway. Sorry it happened.

I was disappointed. We really wanted to try HAL again hoping we could get that feeling back, but a "bad taste" is exactly what I got after thinking about it awhile. I told our TA that I didn't like the way they handled it and thought they could have given us a larger window to time to enjoy the shipboard credit. But clearly, in the end, they didn't care. So that's that. I was surprised that the TA agreed with me about that.

Sorry to hear this Heather. There are several threads where people have talked about their cancellations. You can't help but feel for them and their disappointment.

I wonder why I didn't see them ... have to look a little harder! I was wondering if this was a one time thing or whether there were more canceled. I seem to remember awhile back people complaining that often the shorter cruises would be canceled in favor or a charter. Maybe it's just me, but it just doesn't sit right with me ... like the individual doesn't matter and large groups take precedence. I understand it's a business and the bottom line is always most important, but at least a company should give the appearance of giving a damn .... like a personal note from HAL would have been nice instead of the form they sent to the TA.

Oh well ... such is life:)

It is still up on the website and I asked my TA about that and was told that it will be there until all the people have been notified and canceled. But if you try to book it he told me it will show up as unavailable or something like that. I guess they don't let everyone know at exactly the same time. As it is, when I went to look at the other cruises they were suggesting, the booking part of the website crashed and I was unable to look further. That may be fixed by now; that was earlier today.

We were booked on the Nieuw Amsterdam on 11/8/15 for seven days out of Fort Lauderdale.

As an "old" HAL cheerleader from way back, I can guarantee you that you will love Oceania Riviera. We jumped the HAL ship long ago for Celebrity but became disenchanted by that, too, and so we booked Oceania Riviera a couple years ago and this April we'll be on our 4th Oceania cruise on Regatta.

Recently we decided to give HAL another try and decided to compare 'apples to apples' by booking a Neptune suite on a 7-day Caribbean itinerary. Since we book PH category on Oceania, we felt it was only fair to compare with a Neptune suite. So I was really excited to go back and sail HAL again.

But today we were notified that they have canceled our itinerary. Done. Finished. No explanation. Yes they offered a $200 pp onboard credit as a consideration for our "trouble", but we have to sail by the end of 2015. Since this cruise was in November 2015, it would have been a bit more considerate to give us a few months to find another date that would work for us.

So even though it's a bit more money on Oceania, we've decided to go with what we already know we love and go back to on the Riviera January 2016.

I decided to peek here on the HAL forum to see if anyone else had been affected by Itinerary cancellations, but haven't seen any. I hope you enjoy your Oceania Riviera cruise and I'll try to remember to look for your commentary/review when the time comes.

Now that surprises me. I'd have thought that they would have moved the 'Round the World cruise to another R class ship and cancelled that ship's voyages as necessary till Insignia was seaworthy.

Well ... selfishly I'm much relieved. While I feel awful for all the disappointed WC passengers on Insignia and can't even imagine planning such an amazing cruise and then not being able to go, as someone who has been looking forward to our 30th Anniversary cruise on Regatta in April for over a year I have to confess I'm happy not to be the person disappointed.

There was no way Oceania was going to make everyone happy so they're just doing the best they can possibly do given the circumstances.

Heather, you really covered it all in your review. I ,too was on the Regatta with all of you. I am on a quest for someone on the cruise. Her name is Lauren and she is from NJ and what makes her stand out is that she cruised with her friend Judy who sold her beautiful semi-precious jewelry in one of the shops. Did anyone buy anything from Judy and possibly got her email? Or maybe you met Lauren. My email is vlampach at gmail dot com If anyone can help me I would really appreciate it.

 

Thank you,

Viviane

Hopefully someone will see this and be able to help you. I do know who you mean, but did not buy any jewelry from Judy. And I didn't meet Lauren. I wonder if you could try to find Judy through Oceania if you're not successful here? Good luck!

I suspect the Captain rubbed it in with the crew that HE got a kiss from Heather!!:)

We too were on the Nov 28 Regatta cruise and loved it. I haven't posted this until now but my wife was the sweepstakes winner for a free O cruise and this was the sailing. We love O and are sailing on the Marina in Jan 2015.

My only tiny minor complaint is that while very, very lucky to have won a free cruise we didn't get to dine with the Captain like Heather did :)

LOL LOL!!!:) I can only do 2 quotes at a time, but this is for Globevest, too. You have no idea how funny this is and how good it makes me feel. At 72 I don't think there's anyone other than my husband who is very excited about getting a kiss from me!!! But deep inside I'm still the girl I once was so it's all fun for me and you can carry this on as long as you want!!:) Joy will never go out of me no matter how old I get.

There really was a reason for our invite to the Bridge and to dinner with the Captain, but I'm not telling;). We've only cruised twice before with Oceania. I will say that it was such a nice gesture and I am so grateful to Kunal Kamlani for arranging it. I was so sad to come home to the news that he is no longer with Oceania :(.

I have been reading the postings on this thread started by Heather. We,too, are Oceania boosters. especially the Regatta. The size and the decor seem to fit us perfectly. We started on that class back in Renaissance days and have tried the Princess as well as the Azamara versions, but always come back to Oceania.

 

We will be cruising on her again for our 62nd Anniversary in April.

 

Heather; my parents were from Edinburgh.

My heritage goes back several generations, Doris :), but I'm no less proud of my Scottish roots which mostly comes from my father's side. My Mom was a mix of Scottish, Irish and English ... but still the British Isles!

Are you on "our" cruise 4/11? I think I may have seen your name on the roll call. We'll be celebrating our 30th anniversary, but we started late so doubtful we'll make our 50th. So we've decided to make this the equivalent.

I posted a tread several weeks ago concerning our first experience on the smaller ship; Regatta.

 

We have only sailed on Riviera and we also thought the bathrooms were not only small but the smallest we had ever seen.

 

The tread I posted asked the question why pay the same price per day on the Regatta/Riviera for similar cruises if you get 30% more cabin space on the Riviera.

I would agree with StanandJim's comment. The price of a cabin (for me) is not based on the size but what you are receiving overall on the cruise. There is no question in my mind that when sailing on the smaller ships, the level of service is greater if for no other reason than there are simply less people and it feels far more personal.

We can get a much larger cabin on another cruise line for less money. It's really not about size:)

Heather thank you very much for your well documented review and photo album. After checking out your avatar (and feet shots in the photo album) I am jealous not to have had the opportunity of a little kiss like the Captain ......lol I may have to break out my uniform.....just teasing......

 

I was keen to get back to an R ship (last week Insignia after refit) to compare the R ship experience with our more recent cruises on Marina and Riviera. We were not disappointed. I really enjoyed the opportunity of the daily Red Ginger entrees in the MDR.....the Miso Sea Bass was delightful and the Maitre D was happy. If you have not had the Dover Sole in Toscana please try it....even better than the Miso Sea Bass. Of course that could be just my taste.

 

Many thanks for your comments on a couple of my posts on the thread about the Insignia problems in St. Lucia. Barry

Barry, I blush :). You made my day. I asked the waiter in Toscana whether I should have the Sea Bass or the Dover sole and he recommended the bass. I had the Dover Sole at Jacques on Riviera and it was SO amazing. When we're on Regatta in April I will try the sole :).

It's a tough call between the Regatta and the Riviera for me. We really loved both ... of course it was on Riviera that I fell in love with Oceania. But we both really loved the ambiance of the smaller ship.

Selfishly I have to really hope they don't substitute Regatta for the WC because we're back on her in April. And Oceania would make just as many people miserable either way. At dinner with Captain McNeill a gentleman was saying he doesn't consider it a "real" World Cruise anyway because you can take so many segments. He and his companion had no interest in it because the same people would not be on the cruise throughout. But he recognized you might not be able to find 650+ people who can take 180 days out of their lives to cruise the world (not to mention the cost).

I digress from the subject and I apologize. I am really hoping that the accounts here on this thread are born out to be true for the majority of passengers and crew on Insignia. Reading here certainly seems to indicate that Oceania came through with flying colors both for the passengers and the crew. I would hope that no one would expect everything to be hunky dory thoughout such a horrifying emergency. We can only hope that O did the absolute best they could and so far that appears to be so.

I wish him the very best in his future. I have confidence he will do very, very well. I was so sad to learn this happened while we were on our Regatta cruise. He had sent a beautiful box of chocolates to our cabin and I wrote him a thank you note before I learned he was gone. I guess he'll never get that!:(

Ed, I must have just have been in the right place during her announcements. I never heard them! I would not have been happy if I'd heard one of them when I was in a euphoric zone during a massage:)

I'm actually surprised about it because I don't remember those 'updates' on our last 2 cruises. We just had the Captain at noon and that was it!

Buggins, so happy your husband is okay. Globevest, happy you're safely home and I can completely understand your wife's priorities:):).

I've always considered myself a bit compulsive to say the least and have tried to cover all bases in case of emergency wherever I am. However, I have also learned a great deal from this thread and the experiences so many of you have gone through.

I've always put money, car keys, charge cards, etc., in the safe, but I love the idea of photographing all docs, passport, etc., with the iPhone upon leaving home because I take that everywhere with me on the ship so I can take photos. I stopped bringing my laptop a long time ago, but do take my iPad ... maybe it's time for a mini that will fit in the safe;). Or just leave it at home.

Still so impressed with all those who went through this. It's quite a reminder that it can be any of us and there's a reason we go through muster drill every single time we're on a ship.

My apologies; the comments were not meant for you, but your comments highlighted the problems that I see. I did not mean to criticize you. Your comments indicated trepidation of posting here for fear of getting slammed, and that's what I meant to comment on. And no, I'm not angry, just disappointed.

If it's any consolation, NC&KY, I did not think your post referred to Heather.

 

The Azamara thread is intolerant of any but best of all possible worlds.

I would never have thought NC&KY was referring to me if I had not been directly quoted in the post. I'm really relieved because it really felt like a shot across the bow;) when I read it last evening. I truly appreciate the apology ... feel much better!:)

It's shouldn't be about 'us against them' and it wasn't always so. Frankly, I think this board is way kinder than others (i.e. HAL and Celebrity) where you are basically ostracized under certain circumstances. When I first joined CC it was for my love of cruising and my joy at meeting others who felt the same ... it filled the time between cruises and I could virtually cruise along with others.

But CC wouldn't be useful at all if we all did nothing but cheer our cruise line of choice. I happen to love Oceania right now; that could easily change. I have been in love with many cruise lines in the +30 years I've been cruising. But there is credible criticism and there is 'incredible' criticism. We have to weed it all out and decide for ourselves what to believe.

And we always have to remember that a person who loves Carnival is going to hate Oceania. That's why we have all different flavors to choose from.:):):)

I probably should let this go, but I can't. Most (but not all) other boards are not like this. As someone else said, you can't imagine the impact you have on those who are not Oceania lovers. With all due respect, I don't think you're doing Oceania any favors; you are simply driving us away from what appears to be an "us or them club" when we don't want to be either. Reading this board is painful, and you don't realize how out of kilter you are with the vast majority of the rest of the boards here. (And I fully expect the reply to be, "Then don't read it," but I hope you understand how that impacts my feeling about cruising with the people who contribute here.)

Wow! That was tough. I mean it… If you followed this board at all you would know I rarely post. I just got back from a cruise and I was flying high from it so I dropped by, wrote a review of my cruise and made a few posts. But you have just reminded me why I don't post.

If you had read my review, you would know that it was not a total rave at all. So I'm not at all sure why you came after me? You are very angry with someone, but as you would say, with all due respect, you're barking up the wrong tree. I don't know what set you off but all I said in my comment was that when you have a complaint about Oceania or any other cruise line and want to appear credible, you need to do more than just say you hated it. I stand by that statement.

Thanks for taking the time to write and post your very balanced review, Heather.

 

Although I am several decades away from my 11 years living at 86th and York, both children now live in Northern New Jersey, so it only has been two weeks since I walked the sidewalks of Manhattan! :D

Pam, when I lived in Manhattan, believe it or not I would ride my bike up to 86th and York where friends had an apartment. That was sometime in the 70's. I know the area well!

I am in awe of all of you who are posting our experiences and Globevest, when I finished the account of Dr. S, I had tears in my eyes. People like this are who keep my faith in humanity.

Buggins, your attitude is amazing. I so hope your husband is okay and I'm saying a little prayer for both of you.

One last bit of personal trivia before I hit the sack.

 

We left CMH on Sat 6th Dec to fly JFK then San Juan. At CMH plane had problems and was withdrawn from service. We were switched to CMH to MIA flight for connection MIA to SJU. Luggage was supposed to be switched.

Arrived in SJU 3 am 7th Dec with no luggage. Luggage was in JFK but eventually got to ship 1 hour before sailing. While the luggage was in JFK with no certainty it would get to the the ship my wife said to me "I hope this is not an omen for this trip".

 

Arrive home tonight...no luggage. I have traveled a lot for 45 years and never before have I lost luggage in both directions :cool:

I had to laugh at this ... next time when your wife says she hopes something isn't an omen, you might consider canceling the rest of the trip!!!:)

I'm so grateful to Buggins for his report and so far I'm very impressed. I'll be interested in ongoing reports as people arrive home, but sounds like Oceania stepped up to the plate and did as best they could under the circumstances.

I'm relieved because reading the news report linked here it sounded horrifying. I'm more apt to listen to the passengers.

Such a horrifying emergency for the crew and I am so sad for the families of those who were lost in the fire. Given what could have happened, I suspect most of the passengers will just be happy to get home safe and sound. Oceania's 100% refund plus 1/2 off a future cruise sounds very fair to me.

Looking forward to future reports.

For the Captain, maybe, but the new regime has the Cruise Directors adhering to the same policy-

 

Completely Ridiculous.

 

Even I could not sit and look at us (you know who you are), cruise after cruise after cruise, without a cocktail!

 

They're going to lose some very good people over this. :(

I really so wish CC had a "like" button :)

Harsh???? NO when you are responsible for hundreds of lives.

Very good move on the part of management. Thank you.

Please note I was agreeing with another poster who used the word "harsh" ... might not be the exact word I would choose, but close enough.

I guess I would agree with you if I thought there was no way to control drinking by officers on the ships. What I felt was "harsh" (or a better word might be extreme) was not allowing them to even have a glass of champagne for the welcome aboard toast, the farewell, and other such events. I hardly think a glass of champagne is going to put hundreds of lives at risk.

And I'm an alcoholic sober now for 27 years. I well know the many dangers of alcohol.

So are they allowed to have different experiences (and critique them) or not?

 

I said this under another thread, but it obviously bears repeating here:

I wonder if the people questioning the veracity of posters who dare express less than complete love of their Oceania experience realize just how much they turn others off to the cruise line?

And as for the treatment of newbies, it's cruel.

It is a common situation in any circumstance (polling, suggestion boxes, forums) that people are more likely to take the trouble to comment when something has gone wrong. Does not mean they should be doubted because they haven't first written 2,000 comments extolling rapturous experiences.

"Allowed"??? :) First, neither you nor I are the CC police and neither one of us have the right to say what should or should not be said. Anyone can say whatever they want. But all of us need to take responsibility for what we say. And if we have nothing to offer other than "it was awful!" we're going to get torn apart by Oceania lovers. And rightly so!!! We have to offer more than "I was disappointed" or "Oceania wasn't even close to what I expected".

If that weren't so I wouldn't have taken several hours to write what I considered a fair and balanced review of our recent cruise. I would have just come to this board and said I loved it but hated my lobster and the bathroom was a nightmare. Can you imagine the response I would have gotten? I can.

Gerry, I'm not sure where he'll be next. He said he'd be home for Christmas… In England. I asked if he'd be on the Regatta in April when we sail again and he said you never know, but doubtful. He had just gotten on when we did (11/28).