samana jan. 9 tour with terry

[hondorner]

Clearly the "logistics of tendering operations" had to do with the local authorities, in my guess, the organization that owns the resort island. It appears that they put up some obstacles to landing at the cay, Oceania most likely called their bluff by changing the tendering to the mainland, and the authorities backed down, letting Oceania change back. Clearly too, the specifics of what they did remain proprietary to Oceania -- not known for tipping their hand to the competition.

 

If one begins with the theory that the cruise line management is out to harass the passengers and squeeze every penny possible from operations, one is likely to come up with these wild theories. That's sort of like the Tea Party of cruise passengers.

 

But a quick review of Oceania operations, including the CEO's responsiveness and fairness (I believe directly extended to SusieSan some years ago on this forum), the fact that they spend more per passenger for food than even Regent, the lavishness of newbuild Marina, the care and maintenance of all their ships, and all the other things that experienced Oceania cruisers have to to love and appreciate, indicates that this is a well-run corporation with exceptional management whose number one priority is their passengers.

 

If they were the penny-pinching, evil-minded, stingy and slimy grinches that some members of this forum seem to believe, they would not be nearly as successful as they have been.

[raffeer]

Well said!

[susiesan]

Clearly the "logistics of tendering operations" had to do with the local authorities, in my guess, the organization that owns the resort island. It appears that they put up some obstacles to landing at the cay, Oceania most likely called their bluff by changing the tendering to the mainland, and the authorities backed down, letting Oceania change back. Clearly too, the specifics of what they did remain proprietary to Oceania -- not known for tipping their hand to the competition.

 

If one begins with the theory that the cruise line management is out to harass the passengers and squeeze every penny possible from operations, one is likely to come up with these wild theories. That's sort of like the Tea Party of cruise passengers.

 

But a quick review of Oceania operations, including the CEO's responsiveness and fairness (I believe directly extended to SusieSan some years ago on this forum), the fact that they spend more per passenger for food than even Regent, the lavishness of newbuild Marina, the care and maintenance of all their ships, and all the other things that experienced Oceania cruisers have to to love and appreciate, indicates that this is a well-run corporation with exceptional management whose number one priority is their passengers.

 

If they were the penny-pinching, evil-minded, stingy and slimy grinches that some members of this forum seem to believe, they would not be nearly as successful as they have been.

 

Oceania has always treated me extremely well, both in 2006 on my first cruise with them, then again when they canceled the original sail date I had booked for this Caribbean cruise, and they accommodated rebooking me to Feb. 25. It's one of the reasons that I chose to do this itinerary with O and not AZ. Both offered the nearly identical cruise at the same time for close to the same price. I still rate O's food the best I've ever had on over 38 cruises in my lifetime.

 

If what you speculate happened on calling the bluff of the local authorities regarding the island happened, it still seems there is far more to do in Samana than on a resort island. I don't get why a resort island would be a preferable place to land than at a town. And I still don't know why O will not allow pax to go ashore to Samana along with people who have booked their shore excursions if it's by O tenders also.

[hondorner]

...I don't get why a resort island would be a preferable place to land than at a town....

I don't get it, either, but then, as I said, I live in Florida and have no use for stopping at a beach (only possible exception was the hour I spent at the Baths beach in Virgin Gorda). But then, I've lost count of the number of Caribbean Islands to which I've been, and I can assure you that if you've seen two or three, you've seen them all.

 

The ship is my destination, especially in the Caribbean, and where it stops is almost incidental, although I do try to add new stops to my bucket list, even though I'm not seeing anything new.

 

It is what it is. Believe me, there is nothing new to see in Samana.