Open message to Frank Del Rio

[tanny18]

Mr. Del Rio,

I write to you for every passenger on the Regatta sailing August 26th from San Francisco. As you can read from all the other posts on Cruise Critic, we are so very, very disappointed in the elimination of the port of Victoria, albeit a short stay, for "preventative maintenance to an engine." Could Oceania not have foreseen this maintenance weeks ago and provided us with the unfortunate information then, rather than 11 days prior to our cruise. Not only have you inconvenienced many of us with the elimination of Victoria, but have reduced the time in Juneau for really no good explanation at all. We leave Skagway at the same time, but arrive 2 hours later and have to leave hours earlier!! To insult us by giving us a $250 per person credit for a future cruise, leaves very much to be desired. You have a group of people, some of us having cruised with Oceania from the beginning and are extremely loyal, who are being deprived of something they have looked forward to seeing. There are some who will never book with Oceania and therefore never use the 'credit.' Others have talked about the port charges Oceania will not have to pay in Victoria. We assume that the port charges are not prepaid by Oceania in Victoria, but prepaid by us. Is there a credit for these port charges forthcoming?

We are all hoping that the slowness of the ship and the maintenance of the engine will not bode ill for us and that we are safe sailing on the Regatta.

For myself and my husband, I can only say that we will continue to sail with Oceania, as we have 4 more sailings booked, but disappointment is mild word to use.

Please talk to your executives, your engineers and whoever else had a say in this decision, and perhaps you can rearrage the inconvenience and make everyone happy. Word of mouth goes a long way in keeping cruise lines afloat.

As a comment unrelated to Alaska, I will say that Oceania did a wonderful thing on our cruise this past April from Dubai to Athens. When all the other cruise ships coming from Dubai up thru the Red Sea cancelled ALL the ports from othere to Athens, Oceania gave us alternate itinerary and kept almost every one of the ports in place, and for this I thank you.

So, in closing, let's see what you can do for us.

Arlene Tannenbaum, Oceania cruiser since October 2003 (which was on the Regatta)

[sldispatcher]

I hope that you will enjoy your cruise. Your comments were well thought out and certainly well intentioned.

 

For what it is worth, I think Victoria and that area deserve more of your time than a short cruise stop.

 

I hope you'll consider booking a vacation and spending several in the area..or combining it with a Vancouver trip. I love the gardens..but a short cruise stop is hardly enough time to truly appreciate those.

 

As far as the inconvenience, I am no Oceania apologist (they don't need one). I have only sailed on them once and hope to do so again.

 

From what I can tell, and from prior experiences, they have actually gone over and above the customary had it been another line. $250 is quite generous.

 

My next two steps would be....

 

1) plan my land based trip to Victoria and the surrounding area...

2) act like the Oceania brochure was the JC Penny catalog from 40 years ago and just dream of all the places you could go and spend your new found Oceania dollars....

 

But above all, I think you will still have an oustanding cruise...

[Mura]

I hope that you will enjoy your cruise. Your comments were well thought out and certainly well intentioned.

 

For what it is worth, I think Victoria and that area deserve more of your time than a short cruise stop.

 

 

For what it is worth, I absolutely agree. I have traveled through the area several times (I was born and raised in L.A. although I've lived in NYC for many years) and the Pacific Northwest (on both sides of the border) is one of my all-time favorite areas. A brief stop on a cruise doesn't do justice.

 

I love the San Juans, I love Victoria Island, I love Vancouver ... and I love the drive east at least as far as Jasper, if not more. (I have driven three times across Canada.) And I almost forgot about the Olympic Peninsula ... you need a lot of time to really see and appreciate this area.

 

At the same time, I understand the frustration these passengers are feeling. We were booked on the August 14th cruise until Oceania convinced us to switch to an October cruise in Europe. It does seem most unfair that the August 14th cruise seems unaffected by these changes while the August 26th cruise is severely impacted. I'd be just as unhappy.

 

And for an Alaska cruise to suddenly have lots of sea days they didn't count on (I also love sea days) plus time in a port they don't really care about, meanwhile missing the ports they DO care about ... well, that's really not something to make a cruiser happy.

 

I have to say that Oceania seems to be making many of their most loyal passengers very unhappy these days ... and that doesn't bode well for the future. I know of two couples who have abandoned Oceania completely because of dissatisfaction with last minute changes (while they were on a cruise) in the past year.

 

So far we are very happy with the change we made since we had a significant upgrade in cabin status at no cost to us, but if they start changing ports ... I won't be happy either. (Last minute changes to ports where you tender, I understand ... with other changes I might not be so understanding.)

 

Mura

[amer_can]

Let's hope that Mr. del Rio is reading, listening and hearing these comments. I am now sorry we did not accept the offer of an earlier cruise (because of overbooking on Aug.26th) as this one has started out on a sour note.

[mmark14]

Sailing on Marina. This was our fifth cruise with Oceania and we were so looking forward to the new ship. While the food and staff met all our expectations, the itinerary and worse, the value, did,not. We missed two ports due to tendering precautions, which was so disappointing, but perhaps unpreventable . Having a substitute form one port might have helped. We also were shuttled to Honfleur, where we were supposed to be docked.

However, the most disappointing part of the trip was to find out that the British passengers paid half of our cost and were given $1000 shipboard credit in addition!

We really do love Oceania and hope that they realize how their actions are affecting the attitudes of their loyal customers.

[LHT28]

However, the most disappointing part of the trip was to find out that the British passengers paid half of our cost and were given $1000 shipboard credit in addition!

.

Interesting!!

 

Were they billed in GBP or USD??

I do not think they get any airfare or credit with their prices

Usually the UK & Australian passenger are getting worse rates that N.A. passengers

[caroak]

We took our first Oceania cruise on the Insignia in May which we really enjoyed other than a few MDR wait staff and food issues. Fortunately, the only impact the generator problem caused was for us to arrive a few hours late in Amalfi which was a non-issue.

 

While on the cruise the head engineer came into our cabin to adjust the air conditioning. When I mentioned the generator problems he said something that was surprising and confusing. He said very emphatically that there were no generator problems and that it was just maintenance and they are always doing maintenance. We assumed he knew what he was talking about because he was the head guy but it's hard to understand why he would say that when O publicly stated otherwise. Undoubtedly, this confuses the issue and makes one wonder what's up with O and what's the real story with the ongoing itinerary changes especially at the eleventh hour. It seems there is something else going on here.:confused:

 

We were planning a Northern Europe cruise in 2013 but will now seriously look elsewhere. Nothing would be more disappointing than to be told at the last minute that you're cruise is not quite the one you booked and especially if it was past the refundable point.

[mmark14]

They were billed in GBP, but converting to $ it was half our price. I am not including air in this calculation. this was confirmed by numerous British passengers and discussed with then staff on board.

[wripro]

A $250 future cruise credit is not only NOT generous it's nothing more than a marketing ploy to try and get people to book more cruises.

[LHT28]

They were billed in GBP, but converting to $ it was half our price.

Interesting

[Benita]

A $250 future cruise credit is not only NOT generous it's nothing more than a marketing ploy to try and get people to book more cruises.

 

I thought it was pretty tacky myself, although that pales in comparison to the lack of communication.

[Leonid]

A $250 future cruise credit is not only NOT generous it's nothing more than a marketing ploy to try and get people to book more cruises.

Very well said.

[English muffin]

Sailing on Marina. This was our fifth cruise with Oceania and we were so looking forward to the new ship. While the food and staff met all our expectations, the itinerary and worse, the value, did,not. We missed two ports due to tendering precautions, which was so disappointing, but perhaps unpreventable . Having a substitute form one port might have helped. We also were shuttled to Honfleur, where we were supposed to be docked.

However, the most disappointing part of the trip was to find out that the British passengers paid half of our cost and were given $1000 shipboard credit in addition!

We really do love Oceania and hope that they realize how their actions are affecting the attitudes of their loyal customers.

 

Hello mmark14

I am very surprised that the "Brits" paid half the price compared to US costs plus $1000 OBC for the same cruise. To make a true comparison, the exact same cabin on a cruise only basis has to be compared. The Med cruises are going to be cheaper for the British as our European flights are cheaper than the US flights. I would like to know the name of their agent . I have cruised 30+ cruises and I have never , never,received an OBC paid gratuities etc from a UK agent. The only time we have received an OBC + other "freebies" is when we have booked through a US travel agent and that is becoming extremely difficult as a number of cruise lines will not let the "Brits" book through a US agent. This includes Oceania as we had to book our last and next cruise through a UK agent and we will not have any OBC.

There is always someone on board who tells you that they have paid the lowest price.

[qldtraveller]

Sailing on Marina. This was our fifth cruise with Oceania and we were so looking forward to the new ship. While the food and staff met all our expectations, the itinerary and worse, the value, did,not. We missed two ports due to tendering precautions, which was so disappointing, but perhaps unpreventable . Having a substitute form one port might have helped. We also were shuttled to Honfleur, where we were supposed to be docked.

However, the most disappointing part of the trip was to find out that the British passengers paid half of our cost and were given $1000 shipboard credit in addition!

We really do love Oceania and hope that they realize how their actions are affecting the attitudes of their loyal customers.

Hi mmark14

I think you might be being fed a "red herring".

We do not get it any cheaper. We have the US based airfares taken out(as we need to fly a long way to get to many ports) but have gratuties included in our fares here in Australia(yes, we must pre-pay these as I think due to Australians general poor reputation as tippers globally as we pay our service staff quite high wages here).

 

We have noted for many years that USA and Candian based people received amazing prices for cruises. We get so frustrated that we cannot take advantage of them.

 

We have never received on-board credits for any of our cruises with RSSC, Oceania, P&O, Princess or HAL as the Aussie TA's generally do not provide them.

 

In general, apart from a couple of cruise companies, we NOW have to book and pay the local price and we can no longer book with the USA so we are open to price fluctuations when paying final payment. This was the case 12 months ago.

 

If we book an Oceania cruise on board an Oceania vessel this is still transferred to the Australian agents for Oceania who then price it based on the savings offered and in AUD and we may get and onboard booking savings included.

 

The one we have just booked we saved $USD2.00 as we have a good exchange rate.

Fortunately, the Aussie Dollar is way above the USD at this time and therefore we are getting a slightly better price or equal price today. 12 months ago we were having to pay $AUD1.20 to $USD1.00.

 

We are open to exchange rate fluctuations on a daily basis.

 

This does not just apply to Oceania cruises either.

 

As I said I think they may have received a very very special prize or you are fed a "red Herring".

[qldtraveller]

Mr. Del Rio,

I write to you for every passenger on the Regatta sailing August 26th from San Francisco. As you can read from all the other posts on Cruise Critic, we are so very, very disappointed in the elimination of the port of Victoria, albeit a short stay, for "preventative maintenance to an engine." Could Oceania not have foreseen this maintenance weeks ago and provided us with the unfortunate information then, rather than 11 days prior to our cruise. Not only have you inconvenienced many of us with the elimination of Victoria, but have reduced the time in Juneau for really no good explanation at all. We leave Skagway at the same time, but arrive 2 hours later and have to leave hours earlier!! To insult us by giving us a $250 per person credit for a future cruise, leaves very much to be desired. You have a group of people, some of us having cruised with Oceania from the beginning and are extremely loyal, who are being deprived of something they have looked forward to seeing. There are some who will never book with Oceania and therefore never use the 'credit.' Others have talked about the port charges Oceania will not have to pay in Victoria. We assume that the port charges are not prepaid by Oceania in Victoria, but prepaid by us. Is there a credit for these port charges forthcoming?

We are all hoping that the slowness of the ship and the maintenance of the engine will not bode ill for us and that we are safe sailing on the Regatta.

For myself and my husband, I can only say that we will continue to sail with Oceania, as we have 4 more sailings booked, but disappointment is mild word to use.

Please talk to your executives, your engineers and whoever else had a say in this decision, and perhaps you can rearrage the inconvenience and make everyone happy. Word of mouth goes a long way in keeping cruise lines afloat.

As a comment unrelated to Alaska, I will say that Oceania did a wonderful thing on our cruise this past April from Dubai to Athens. When all the other cruise ships coming from Dubai up thru the Red Sea cancelled ALL the ports from othere to Athens, Oceania gave us alternate itinerary and kept almost every one of the ports in place, and for this I thank you.

So, in closing, let's see what you can do for us.

Arlene Tannenbaum, Oceania cruiser since October 2003 (which was on the Regatta)

Life on a cruise.

 

I guess you can be disappointed with changes but as the small print says they have the right to change ports and access etc.

 

We have this issue quite often in the Pacific and I guess it is a minor irritation for what is a very pleasant time enjoying visiting other areas and seeing different people, cultures and countries.

[LHT28]

I would like to know the name of their agent . I have cruised 30+ cruises and I have never , never,received an OBC paid gratuities etc from a UK agent. The only time we have received an OBC + other "freebies" is when we have booked through a US travel agent and that is becoming extremely difficult as a number of cruise lines will not let the "Brits" book through a US agent. This includes Oceania as we had to book our last and next cruise through a UK agent and we will not have any OBC.

There is always someone on board who tells you that they have paid the lowest price.

 

Not to get too far off the topic but when I read MMark's post I did a google search

On the Oceania uk site there were some deals with OBC's or bonus savings

I suspect they were trying to fill the ship

just like some of the deals on the US website

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/promotions.aspx

 

Also some UK sites that had some deals but I am afraid they cannot be mentioned here

 

back to the regular topic

 

Lyn

[mmark14]

I know it is unusual, but it is true. On this cruise, I am comparing apples to apples. As a matter of fact, the British passengers ( and again there were a number of UK citizens who confirmed this) , were in a B1 cabin which I am comparing to a lesser B3 cabin. I do suspect that Oceania wanted to promote the line in the UK and found this cruise a convenient way to do this.

I can understand their motivation, but not with this discrepancy in cost.

[sbrauner]

We were on the same cruise as MMARK14 and we were horrified by the act that the British paid 1/2 what we did. This was confirmed by the Concierge and the Club Ambassador. When we got home we called Oceania Guest Relations as directed by the onboard staff and spoke to the Director of Guest Relations. She proceeded to tell us that this was indeed true and since there were many empty cabins at final payment time, they gave the British a very special deal since they didn't have to get air.

 

This cruise was very, very expensive. We could have done at least 2 other cruises on any other line. The food and service was superb and that is it. The entertainment is very amateurish and everything else is just mediocre. We have been on 5 Oceania Cruises and will never cruise with them again. We had a cruise booked already for July 19, 2012 and cancelled it after speaking to the Director of Guest Relations who was not very helpful to say the least. We also didn't go to 2 ports which was not the fault of Oceania but we are sure we paid port charges for it.

 

We had extra days at sea and there is not much to do onboard this ship other than read or play cards especially since the weather was very cool

 

We hope Mr. Del Rio reads this posts and sees how many customers they have lost from this Marina sailing. Everyone we knew said they would never cruise with Oceania again if we weren't given something since we paid twice the price of the British. We were so looking forward to this cruise and were disappointed, angry and generally unhappy

[LHT28]

Everyone we knew said they would never cruise with Oceania again if we weren't given something since we paid twice the price of the British. We were so looking forward to this cruise and were disappointed, angry and generally unhappy

I am not sure what your point is

you booked & paid for the cruise which you must have been happy with the price at the time .

You only became upset & unhappy when you found out that some passengers paid less for their cruise :confused:

Your choice to be unhappy & not enjoy the cruise

 

If no one had mentioned that they got a cheaper fare you would be none the wiser.

 

Check other cruise lines they are always discounting their fares to fill cabins

especially to residents of the ports cities in Florida

 

It is like the airlines you may have paid full price & the person beside you paid half price do you demand something or stop flying that airline :eek:

 

When I book a vacation I know someone may pay less & as long as I am comfortable with the price I paid then it is not going to ruin my trip

 

 

Just my 2 cents

 

Lyn

[Mura]

As far as Lyn's point above, I think she is right. When we were cruising on Renaissance we quickly learned NOT to say what we paid. They were discounting things left and right, which is probably a good reason why they went under. No one ever paid full fare unless they weren't aware of the fact that they didn't need to.

 

But as to the general complaint I do have to say that I have heard from several (not a lot) Oceania loyalists who have been upset with their cruises for various reasons and say they will never sail with O again. I know of two couples from last year's Midnight Sun, one of which always books an OS or VS, who were so unhappy with a subsequent cruise that they cancelled their already booked cruises and have switched to Azamara.

 

Will they be happier on Azamara? I don't know. But they are angry enough at the non-service they got from Oceania personnel with what they felt were very valid complaints that at least for now they are going elsewhere.

 

I'm seeing far too many posts here recently that tell me that Oceania's customer service -- which was never great -- is slipping lower and lower, while the prices increase.

 

As far as discounts to British passengers who didn't need airfare, considering that Oceania does provide air fares built into the cruise fares -- I can see a reason for favoring the British with lower cabin fares, especially with a cruise that was undersold.

 

BUT ... too many itinerary changes have been happening lately without sufficient notice.

 

We switched to the October 21st Rome-Istanbul cruise on Marina, partly because of the great upgrade in accommodations that cost us nothing, partly because of the itinerary. Since it remains very much undersold, I'm feeling a bit nervous about possible itinerary changes. Maybe I don't need to worry ... but these days I can't feel confident.

 

And I really feel for the August 26th Alaska passengers!

 

Mura

[LHT28]

 

As far as discounts to British passengers who didn't need airfare, considering that Oceania does provide air fares built into the cruise fares -- I can see a reason for favoring the British with lower cabin fares, especially with a cruise that was undersold.

 

Mura

Mura just one point the included air is only for North American clients

UK & AUS passenger do not get this

 

I just compared an upcoming cruises from both USA & UK Oceania websites

UK fare 2099 GBP = 3464USD converted

 

Same cabin same cruise less air US site

USD 3549 = 2149 GBP converted

 

It may sound like 1/2 price but is it really;)

[Mura]

Yes, I know, Lyn. In general the UK and Australian passengers pay a lot more. For a lot less service.

 

It doesn't sound like really half price, and I suppose the original complainant wasn't factoring in the free air part. Just the bottom line.

 

Mura

[trina2]

Hi mmark14

[...]We have never received on-board credits for any of our cruises with RSSC, Oceania, P&O, Princess or HAL as the Aussie TA's generally do not provide them.[...]

Not so. Shop around for your TA. On our last cruise, we received pre-paid gratuities and USD250 OBC each. Some TAs (depending on volume of sales they can provide) can always offer better deals.

 

Having said that, as far as I am aware, free air is never offered for Oceania cruises (though I have seen it offered by a couple of others) for Aussie market, nor is a credit towards it offered.

 

Also, we are not offered the same fares as US/Canada.

 

 

To Lyn & Mura,

I noticed you didn't give comparison price from Aussie website. Probably because you cannot get a price on Aussie website - you have to ask for a quote:mad: - which is very annoying. Why can't we have prices listed on Aussie website like US website? If airlines can give us prices 6 months out (including taxes & fees - though taxes & fees are subject to change due to exchange rate up until full payment is made), why can't Oceania?

[Dutch Explorers]

However, the most disappointing part of the trip was to find out that the British passengers paid half of our cost and were given $1000 shipboard credit in addition!

 

Step on a plane, go to a hotel or go on a cruise, there is always somebody who paid less and there is always somebody who paid more.

This time the UK passengers were lucky, most of the times it is the other way around.

[LHT28]

To Lyn & Mura,

I noticed you didn't give comparison price from Aussie website. Probably because you cannot get a price on Aussie website - you have to ask for a quote:mad: -

That is why

I know my friend Rhonda is completely frustrated with the Aussie GSA there ;)

 

Lyn