pinotlover

I have long come to the conclusion that the Survey is more about you and a marketing device than an actual useful tool. What do you believe Oceania gets out of that final Survey maybe filled out by thousands every couple of weeks? How many times have you ever gotten a response from O mgt. from a foal survey. Just look at this Board as an example. If they receive a thousand surveys telling them their food is always excellent, outstanding, Michelin Star quality; while maybe a hundred gives exceptions with them and post complaints, what respond is expected? The few told them what they thought, got it off their chest, and move on to most likely book another cruise. Surveys can be powerful improvement tools when looked at during snapshot time frames. A constant ongoing survey just becomes another task. It’s for the customer, not really the company. Statistically, for a 1000 passenger ship, a cross section of 50 survey respondents gives the line the same information as would a 750 response survey. So if some don’t get their surveys done, it’s not statistically relevant and something to spend money on. It’s just more of a PR event. I try to identify those outstanding performers on my handwritten mid cruise survey and bring up any items I feel important hen. Life goes on. If doing the final makes you feel better then keep at it. Maybe yours will be pulled out of the hat to be read.

Jazznruby; If the announcement that the port was being skipped was made at 6:30, the rest of us could have gone back to bed. The ship had long sailed past Chacabucco. I will agree with your one point, that having sailed with Peter the Shoe previously, I don’t give a lot of credibility to anything he says.

Specifics please. Is that best location and deck for an Owner’s Suite, a PH, B2, or steerage?

I suppose this original conversation goes back to a major complaint many of us had on our March Marina cruise. Cruisers vs Travelers. We had a 7:00 tendering going into a port , Chacabucco to be exact. Passengers started filling into the Lounge at 6:45 or so and waited to get our tendering tickets. We sat, while the Lounge continued to fill. Covid was rampant aboard ship , yet Destination Services kept giving excuses for not starting to hand out tendering tickets. Finally at 7:30, a passenger lit up his computer to report we were nowhere near Chacabucco and by ship speed had passed it 5 hours previously. Destination Services made a quick exit from the Lounge. At 08:00 the Captain announced we were skipping Chacabucco as if the decision had just been made. A lot of disgruntled Travelers that had been up for quite awhile, cramming in breakfast, and getting ready to go ashore. Peter the Shoe, the absolute worst CD in Oceania’s fleet, said the Captain doesn’t want to make early morning announcements that might disturb the Cruiser’s sleep. So there you have it. You have the OP’s side, that likes to sleep late, and my side that wants to visit the ports. Pick your team, there is no win-win or draws.

I’m quite sure the Concierge knew that when he told them. It did accomplish its purpose of placating the passenger while aboard though.

If Oceania actually cared about their passenger’s comments they’d make the process easier. Oceania does many things well, however anything to do with communications or IT isn’t on that list.

NO. End of cruise survey can only be done while aboard ship.

Uniworld blows the other river cruise lines away . Not even competitive.

Just flawed Survey. One cannot act as if the R ships don’t exist in a Survey. O does multiple things wonderfully. They need to be applauded for what they do well. These types of surveys generate more skepticism than interest.

We stayed over in Cinque Terre then caught a 7 ish am flight to IST , with a reasonable layover, and then on to ORD landing around 5:30ish pm. Not sure if that helps you any though. Your overnight would be at FCO on your dime.

May be more complicated. I don’t believe the cabana is included in any tour prices. You can have a cabana if you choose to pay separately for it. Therefore it is an extra not included in the SM credit, thus requiring a charge to your account. It would be the same as taking a tour without lunch provided. It’ll be there if you choose , but you must pay separately. Not chargeable under SM.

And so it likewise is utilizing Oceania Air. You choose them, you get what they give you. Fairly simple. Now for the “ No complaining “ part! 😂

Chances are very highly likely that your B2B is also listed as a Grand Voyage and the FCC will be applied to the GV. While a few B2B still exist, they are a rarity now.

Any other ports you’re willing to sacrifice? Just imagine all the FCC you might get if they cancel the next 3-4 ports? Personally, we prefer going to the ports as advertised. Never been to Saguenay. Can one fly or drive there from the Midwest for $500 to see the missed port?

Only rarely in the GDR. Racks are available in PG and RG.

Back early Covid, beef prices crashed. They went down and stayed down while feed prices ( corn and soybeans) rose dramatically due to repeated poor harvests in South America. Farmers sold off their herds because they were losing money. After the sell off, with inventory reduced, prices went back up but still not enough to compensate for high grain and hay prices. There has been no desire or effort to rebuild the herd sizes. I don’t see those economics changing anytime soon. At this point, it would take at least two to three years to rebuild herd sizes, so nothing will change rapidly in the marketplace. What the market now has is higher beef prices but still a shortage of particularly good quality beef. The upper end steak houses are willing to pay to get the quality their customers demand ( and are willing to pay for). The cruise lines can’t afford to venture there. Of course none of this affects delivery of a steak medium well that was ordered medium rare! Except for the longer you cook it, the tougher it can become.

That second evening may well be the Captain’s Reception. I always try to have ours on the first evening in Horizons. We meet on the starboard side mid room.

How about “Their Ship, Their Way? Perhaps Oceania looks at multiple deciding factors before making a decision on this issue. Perhaps there is no iron fist rule on any of the decisions to be open or closed. What is this obsession with iron class rules or procedures? How about this: You’re on vacation, go with the flow! Then make a monumental move for many and….. Read the Currents! If my plans includes a terrific lunch ashore, I could care less if the GDR is open for lunch. So my question is “ Does having the GDR open for lunch affect others shore excursion plans? “ If so, how many of those are there?

I have a highly professional Travel Agent and know how to use her. It’s Monday afternoon, I’d already have an official response for this question, via that highly professional Travel Agent, from Oceania. No guess work required.

Three different dinners, three different prices. Your number is on the low end.

Hopefully the OP will realize that some variation occurs on the different voyages. There is no one answer to the question. Moral to story: Read your Currents daily for information on your cruise. The CD normally announces it also a couple times per day.

Oceania has a few very popular itineraries they only run once per year. They can book up almost immediately with just pre bookings. If it is a long cruise and you particularly want a particular cabin for one of those cruises, book a Grand Voyage ( B2B ) with the added cruise before. The algorithms fills all the prebooked GVs before the single segments. I know people wanting the top suites that use this technique regularly to get the cabin they want. Combinations, Permutations, and Probabilities. Use the math to increase your odds.

Oceania has dropped its deviation fee for flying in a few days early or after disembarking. So currently no fee. At 270 days pre cruise, you can request your air arrangements from Oceania. I believe it is best to have an itinerary picked out and have your TA submit it to Oceania Air. Oceania Air will then come back and either accept your itinerary or tell you how much extra it will cost. Then the negotiating begins.

New policy is not unreasonable. People need to commit. People walking at 90 days leaving a quarter empty ship, that was unreasonable! That left Oceania only 90 days to fill a ship, while ex passengers tied up cabins.

Seems to vary. Some started at 9:15 and over by 10:00 on our Vista cruise.