Ocean Countess British Isles cruise 09/10

[colfred]

Booked a British Isles Discovery cruise on the Ocean Countess leaving Liverpool 4th September 2010 turned out to be the cruise from hell.

Started in Liverpool, embarkation procedure was excellent that was probably the only thing I could say about it positively. We sailed from there to Oban. When we arrived we queued for 45 minutes to get off the boat on a tender. No explanation at all by the shore excursion staff. Told they had 3 tenders out but only 1 was working which worried me, as they were lifeboats and they had only just started the cruise. Oban was lovely and a good start to the cruise then things went down hill drastically.

Next stop was the Orkneys after a really windy crossing we should have predicted they wouldn't get the tenders out but no they waited until we arrived to tell us we were not getting off, as it was unsafe.

Then onto Invergorden arrived in Force 10 gales but not blaming this on the captain, fully appreciated his decision to stay in port until the wind died down. Left Invergorden at 10 o’ clock seven hours behind the scheduled time.Our next port of call was supposed to be Honfleur but we were told we wouldn't make it because of the 7 hour delay at Invergorden so we stopped at Zeebruge instead.

Next stop was Guernsey arrived at 11 o clock took over an hour to get 3 tenders ashore then theCaptain withdrew them. At 2 o’ clock they decided to get the Guernsey ferry boat to take people ashore as people where now getting very upset with the tendering service. At 3.15 we boarded the tender arriving in Guernsey at 3.30 only to be back on the last tender for 5.15.

By this time I was fed up, angry and starting to get cabin fever. After making complaints one of the shore excursion staff(Lauren) got us tickets to be on the first tender for the Scilly Islands the next day. However I don't think anyone appreciated the comment made by Lauren "I've never been so glad to see the back of you lot" when embarking the lifeboat!

So the cruise continues to the Scilly Islands to dock at 7 o’clock the next morning and disembarking for 8. I was excited to be off at 8 and on the first boat so up early and ready by 7.30 only to see someone from the shore tender to embark and go to reception. I knew it, we weren't going to get off here either- right again. Another port missed. Let's see where will we be able to get in next said the shore excursion staff maybe Falmouth or we might go straight to Ireland! No we can't go to Falmouth as we have missed the tide we have to go straight to Cobh. Arrived in Cobh at 8 o’clock that night. What a night we had on shore a lovely stop. This uplifted a lot of the passengers who got off the ship.

So you can see from the itinery we were promised we stopped at few of the promised ports. People were very disappointed and upset. Quite apart from the missing of the ports the cruise director and his shore excursion staff did not seem very apologetic or understanding about the upset onboard. However on the last night I think they knew how the passengers felt as the cruise director told everyone to tick excellent on the questionnaire as none of us would be coming back again so it didn’t matter.

If the Captain felt they wouldn't be able to stop in these places some contingency plan should have been put into effect but we all felt it wasn't even thought of. Phoning ahead to assess weather conditions seemed to be something they didn't even think of.

Quite apart from that the food was not up to scratch I saw mould on tomatoes that were obviously put in a fridge and brought out the next day. Also yoghurt that was out of date and can you believe out of date water! For tea and coffee drinkers this was cut off at 8.30 at night so that you would spend money on the extremely overpriced drinks.

The cruise director though did put on extra activities when you couldn't get off and if throwing bean bags in a bucket or disorganised lectures floats your boat then you would have been happy. There was also other mindless activities like felt sewing and lavender bags and of course bingo!

Having cruised many times with various cruise lines I felt like I was on a sit com and hope to write one after this cruise as we had such a laugh about the mindless games they expected people to be grateful for when we couldn't get off the ship.

This company have now a PR disaster on their hands as the boat was full and we found no one who would recommend this cruise line to anyone. Many first time cruisers said they would never cruise again, which is sad, as we have had so many wonderful cruise experiences.

This cruise has left many people upset and itching to get home to write for compensation. After all they are the experts and if they thought their tenders would not be suitable they should have made suitable arrangements for passengers to visit the ports they itemised in their itinery.

I for one will ensure that I write to the people who advertise the cruise in many newspapers and of course, where I can, cruise reviews so people know what this company are like.

On most cruises I have been on the cruise director always starts the show in the evening have you had a good day? David didn't ask this question once. He kept his head down as he walked about the ship for fear of being on the other end of yet another disgruntled passenger.

I would like to end on a positive note and say we met some lovely people who were patient, funny and showed their excellent running skills when leaving the ship at Liverpool!

[monas queen]

I didn't read the above posting until after returning from Ocean Countess's positioning cruise from Liverpool to Plymouth, which had one call (at Cobh) en route.

 

We had an uneventful trip as far as weather went, so there was none of the disruption that was suffered above.

 

I can confirm that the food was decidedly average, probably because the ingredients were the cheapest available. This did not excuse the flabby streaky bacon at breakfast, or the toast that someone said you could "tile a wall" with! Our one formal dinner had roast beef and yorkshire pudding as a main course, and the beef was a very cheap cut and rather tough. Ice cream, if ordered, came nearly fully melted, as did the sorbet.

 

Service was mostly friendly, but unrefined and unsophisticated - plates were passed across other passengers, waiters leaned over you to pour your neighbour's tea or coffee (out of an open jug). When plates were finished with, waiters would ask for them to be passed to them, across other passengers. At one meal, on a rectangular table for eight, the cups and saucers were placed on one end of the table, with a request that they be passed along! This is something that I have never before encountered on a cruise ship, no matter how few stars they have.

 

As our cruise was not returning to Liverpool, we had a large number of coaches to bring us back. At check-in, a record was being kept of who had left cars in the docks compound, as some coaches would return people direct to the car park. All other coach passengers were told that they would be returned to the point of departure - Langton Dock, and anyone who has been there will know that this is the last place you would wish to be taken to if you are relying on public transport, as it is miles from anywhere. It was suggested that there would be taxis on hand, which we knew to be highly unlikely - even local taxi drivers don't like going there, if they can find the place! No request for a city centre drop off was even going to be considered, no matter who was approached.

 

In the end, due no doubt to representations made by passengers on each coach, the drivers and their bosses managed to get Cruise and Maritime management to agree (while we were being driven north) that those who wanted to go into the city could be taken to Lime Street station, at an additional charge of £2 per head, which we believe was mostly going to Cruise and Maritime, as the vehicle charterers. Well, at least it saved us from trying to find a taxi (a taxi from Bootle had cost £8 on the way out) and got us back to somewhere civilised. Our thanks to the vehicle operators, who succeeded where we, and numerous of our travelling companions, had failed.

 

The ship itself is nice, and well laid out, though there are some signs of age. There has been some refurbishment since her Cunard days, but much of the accommodation is original.

 

I'm afraid that the way that the vessel is operated detracts from the good points, and we are unlikely to be pursuaded back.

[colfred]

If anyone travels on this ship they will be highly disappointed it does not give in my opinion value for money. The food is like you say very mediocre and I have never found any cause for complaint on any other cruise I have been on before. Like you will never travel with this company again.