Oceania

After booking O Life category with Oceania, and paying them to provide airfare, you would think they would assume responsibility if your flights are delayed and you have missed your connection. Not the case! We also missed the ship for two days, accrued hotel, airline, food, and taxi expenses. Oceania said they would not take responsibility for anything. They didn't offer us anything!

BEWARE

Yes, you have said that in a previous thread. (This is a duplicate post already discussed in a previous thread 3 weeks ago). When you called your insurance co, how much did they pick up?

I'm not defending Oceania but there is nothing to "beware" about. Perhaps better would be to admonish people to BE AWARE what the policies are before they get into the situation. Way too many people tend to think that just because you book your air through Oceania that they are liable for all of what you experienced. As has been mentioned many times this is what insurance is for.

You might want to consider a more descriptive heading for your post than "Oceania." This is the Oceania board and every post is about Oceania.

That's why we always arrive 2 or 3 days pre cruise and take out Insurance

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I can understand that the OP is unhappy how things turned out for their cruise but travel has its surprises. We always do our own air and arrive the day before the cruise ... but that does not guarantee everything. In March due to a large snow storm in the NE we had to change our flight to the day of the cruise out of Miami. Luckily our flight got us to the ship in good time. We were responsible for the increased cost of the tickets ... but no change charge. So, despite our careful planning Mother Nature intervened. We were very glad to get on board.

The only time the ship will wait for you, is if your on the ships tour.We where docked in Shanghai on the Royal Vicking Sun many years ago and the train trip out of Shanghai was 6 hrs late and the ship waited for the tour to return.

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When booking air, the cruise line only acts as your agent i.e travel agent. If there is a problem, then it goes back to the airline for anything like mechanical issue, else back to travel insurance think weather. Try reading on cruise air and cruise insurance boards to learn about this. It's true the cruise lines typically market saying things like "we will assist you when things go wrong" which means they will help rebook and even in a few cases pay for something but they are not under contract to do any more than a travel agent would if there is a problem.

Simply just like you need to read a Contract before you sign it, you have to read the cruise Terms and Conditions before you book. Believe in the T's and C's for all cruise lines that include air, it is clearly stated that they take no responsibility for your flights. And, you know what "assume" means.

Always read the T's and C's, they are always slanted toward the writer and not the buyer.

I'm sorry but there actually ARE times when ships do wait for air passengers to arrive. We have had this happen at least twice in Miami when several inbound flights were delayed. At first we couldn't quite understand it and then someone pointed out that there is a very good reason the ships waited: the ability to make MONEY from guests who spend it on board.

I'm sorry but there actually ARE times when ships do wait for air passengers to arrive. We have had this happen at least twice in Miami when several inbound flights were delayed. At first we couldn't quite understand it and then someone pointed out that there is a very good reason the ships waited: the ability to make MONEY from guests who spend it on board.

Just guessing here.

Perhaps it depends on the delay - like an hour vs 8+ hours?

Also when and where the next port of call is and how easy/difficult it may be to get the late passengers there?

We waited 6 hours once for late planes---I don't think "O" should be able to pick and choose what they want to do----wait or sail. I believe if you book their air they should get you to the ship---Don't forget sometimes they book you to arrive a few hours to sailing. If "O" is making the choice of when you fly-it should be their problem. And that's why we always book are own flights and arrive early and enjoy the city. Also we're well rested to enjoy the cruise.

agree 100% they pick your flight,they should be responsible

While agree they should the t'&c's say otherwise and those rule and buy buying your cruise you agree to those t's&c's

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How long should they wait in your opinion? What if waiting for you means they miss their first port of call? Should the other passengers that didn't wait until sailing date to fly in have a say?

There is an entire thread on the River Cruising Forum about how precarious it is to fly in the day of embarking. We never do it for good reason! Thinking the ship should wait for you because you're in a blizzard in Denver goes beyond the ME thing!

There are not many cruise lines that have control over the airlines & weather related delays

If you call their hotline do they try to put you on another flight?

Does the airline do anything for you?

We have been delayed but the airline took care of us until they could get us home

We were flying to Barcelona, booked through Regent on Air France in Business Class. Another Air France passenger was joining an Oceania sailing. I called the Air Desk because we were told by the desk agent there would be a strike in Paris and our connection would not take place. The lady on Oceania called the Air Desk for Oceania. I was re-routed via Geneva to join the ship. She missed her cruise. Same air desk.

I think more people should spend some time reading the Oceania website before they put money on the table

From their website: highlighting mine,

"Can I add air to my reservation?

Oceania Cruises, as an added service to our guests, offers arrangements for air travel in conjunction with a cruise. Air arrangements, including routings, are at Oceania Cruises' (or its agents') discretion, and are based on flight availability and agreements among various airlines, Oceania Cruises and independent contractors. Special requests, including class of service upgrades, specific carriers and routing, are at the discretion of Oceania Cruises. Upgrades apply to International flights and may not apply to U.S. domestic or intra-continental flights within North America, Europe, South America, Asia or Africa. Air allowance is subject to prevailing rates at time of change. In making these arrangements, Oceania Cruises acts only as an agent on the guest(s') behalf, and does not operate, control, or supervise any airlines and will not be responsible for carriers failing to meet schedules whether or not air tickets were issued by Oceania Cruises. Air tickets are refundable to Oceania Cruises only and are considered a part of the total cruise or cruise tour fare. Any airline-imposed fees that result from changes to or cancellation of air arrangements are the sole responsibility of the guest. Due to government regulations, if you are delayed or unable to board at embarkation, you may not be able to board at a later time. In such event, Carrier shall have no liability to refund any cruise or cruise tour fares."

Exactly.

It's always easier to blame someone else but oneself.

If you feel that the O provided flights are too close to ship's departure or the connections too tight, ask for different flights, even if it involves some fees

I respectfully disagree Paul Oceania should NOT make the flights or connections "too tight" ...we shouldn't have to come up with changes ...and "fees" .They are well aware of schedules and embarkation time

I know what the terms and conditions say and I can read here the belief that if O books the air fare, it needs to accept responsibility. Here's a real experience.

In all our cruising, I booked O only once and it was that one time our connection to an overseas flight was weather delayed. The result was a missed cruise departure and 2 less days of cruising.

What Oceania did:

They flew us to the original departure port and then paid for another flight where we caught up with the ship

They paid for those flights as well as ground transportation from a hotel to the new port.

What Oceania did not do:

Pay for a hotel room or meals

Work with the airline to get us directly from the US departure to our new embarkation port. We were shall we say chagrined to find a plane leaving from the next gate at JFK for our new port and at the same time as our plane to boot. But our luggage was on board and at that point no change of planes was possible.

What we did:

Collected 100% of our out of pocket costs from our insurance carrier.

Our assessment:

Oceania acted in good faith and delivered more than they were obligated to do

I respectfully disagree Paul Oceania should NOT make the flights or connections "too tight" ...we shouldn't have to come up with changes ...and "fees" .They are well aware of schedules and embarkation time

Then one should take the air credit and book the flights themselves.

Oceania books the cheapest available flights. That is why their flights are often cheaper than what you can get yourself.

You get what you pay for - cheaper flight with potentially many connections/overnight flights, tight connections or arrival times, etc or pay more for better flights (with deviation or buying yourself).

You can't always have your cake and eat it too - pay the lowest fare and have the best flights. Most of the time things work out well but with flying there are always potential problems. Everyone has to decide their risk tolerance for the assigned flights given ALL the facts as posted by ORV (i.e. Oceania is NOT responsible to get you there on time) and take responsibility for THEIR own decisions. You are not obligated to take their flights if you don't like them - we never do.

"Free" (included) flights are but an option that one can take or not - much like a drinks package or tours; only if you like it and feel it's a good deal.

Exactly.

It's always easier to blame someone else but oneself.

If you feel that the O provided flights are too close to ship's departure or the connections too tight, ask for different flights, even if it involves some fees

Or take the air credit, at least for the flight to the ship.

I know what the terms and conditions say and I can read here the belief that if O books the air fare, it needs to accept responsibility. Here's a real experience.

 

In all our cruising, I booked O only once and it was that one time our connection to an overseas flight was weather delayed. The result was a missed cruise departure and 2 less days of cruising.

 

What Oceania did:

They flew us to the original departure port and then paid for another flight where we caught up with the ship

They paid for those flights as well as ground transportation from a hotel to the new port.

 

What Oceania did not do:

Pay for a hotel room or meals

Work with the airline to get us directly from the US departure to our new embarkation port. We were shall we say chagrined to find a plane leaving from the next gate at JFK for our new port and at the same time as our plane to boot. But our luggage was on board and at that point no change of planes was possible.

 

What we did:

Collected 100% of our out of pocket costs from our insurance carrier.

 

Our assessment:

Oceania acted in good faith and delivered more than they were obligated to do

Thank you for sharing.

Regarding getting to the original departure port, your airline is on the hook for that, I think, maybe why you did not get the plane at the next gate? Air lines have a contract with you to deliver from point A to point B, no guarantee on the exact timing. So maybe O did not pick that flight up? The connection to the next port probably was on O. Sometimes you never know the details.

Very glad you had insurance coverage. Again thanks for sharing.