tour bus bathrooms

[titong]

My wife and I are taking our first Oceania cruise on August 23, 2012 through Europe. This is a port intensive tour with a stop at a different port every day. Last year I took a cruise on Princess and swore I would never go again. The reason all the tour buses we went on had a bathroom. The problem-the bathrooms were locked and they would not let the passengers use the bathroom. I complained to Princess and they acted like they could care less. Is this the same on the Oceania tours? If so, I will not be taking them.

[Jancruz]

My wife and I are taking our first Oceania cruise on August 23, 2012 through Europe. This is a port intensive tour with a stop at a different port every day. Last year I took a cruise on Princess and swore I would never go again. The reason all the tour buses we went on had a bathroom. The problem-the bathrooms were locked and they would not let the passengers use the bathroom. I complained to Princess and they acted like they could care less. Is this the same on the Oceania tours? If so, I will not be taking them.

 

Some busses have bathrooms some do not..there are always many bathroom breaks on every tour..if you definitely need a bathroom on the bus I would not take the tour..

Jancruz1

[pacheco18]

If you take a tour on a bus without a bathroom expect to wait in a line while 25 women wait to use one bathroom.

[Jancruz]

If you take a tour on a bus without a bathroom expect to wait in a line while 25 women wait to use one bathroom.

 

LOL..I thought it was a man writing and there is never a line in the men's room

Jancruz1

[ducklite]

None of the buses we were on during our three weeks in Europe had bathrooms and none of the bus rides were more than maybe 75 minutes--certainly not so long that one would need a rest room between the ship and the destination.

[titong]

Perhaps I should clarify. I am a male and what aggravated me more than anything else, was that all of the tour buses I was on had at least one bathroom. However, the driver would not let anyone use the bathroom. As a matter of fact, the bathrooms were closed with a lock on them. What is the point of their being a bathroom on the tour bus, if the passengers can't use them?

[pacheco18]

The bathrooms may not be working.

They may not want to deal with cleaning them.

There could be other sanitary issues.

They are not obligated to provide a bathroom on the bus.

 

 

If you want to go to the bathroom when you want to, avoid tours on large buses.

[titong]

The bathrooms may not be working.

They may not want to deal with cleaning them.

There could be other sanitary issues.

They are not obligated to provide a bathroom on the bus.

 

 

If you want to go to the bathroom when you want to, avoid tours on large buses.

 

Isn't that like saying you cannot use the bathroom in your Oceania cabin because the bathroom may not be working.

They may not want to bother with cleaning them.

There could be sanitary issues.

They are not required to provide a bathroom in the Oceania cabin.

 

If you want to go to the bathroom when you want to, avoid taking an Oceania cruise. :rolleyes:

[ducklite]

Perhaps I should clarify. I am a male and what aggravated me more than anything else, was that all of the tour buses I was on had at least one bathroom. However, the driver would not let anyone use the bathroom. As a matter of fact, the bathrooms were closed with a lock on them. What is the point of their being a bathroom on the tour bus, if the passengers can't use them?

 

Often they are purchased that way but never set up to be used by the purchaser. They don't have water in the tank for flushing or hand washing.

 

Again, the longest ride we ever took was 75 minutes. Just use the bathroom on the ship right before your tour starts.

[ducklite]

Isn't that like saying you cannot use the bathroom in your Oceania cabin because the bathroom may not be working.

They may not want to bother with cleaning them.

There could be sanitary issues.

They are not required to provide a bathroom in the Oceania cabin.

 

If you want to go to the bathroom when you want to, avoid taking an Oceania cruise. :rolleyes:

 

Apples to oranges. If I were you I'd avoid taking any cruise, because I've never seen a bus with a working bathroom on any shore excursion.

[titong]

Apples to oranges. If I were you I'd avoid taking any cruise, because I've never seen a bus with a working bathroom on any shore excursion.

 

I have been on several recent Crystal cruises-and on the few shore Crystal excursions I went on, all the tour buses had a bathroom on them that the passengers could use. However, I don't know if that is the policy on all the Crystal shore excursions or not. I have not tried to find out, because almost all the cruises I take now are transatlantic cruises. I am taking this Oceania cruise which is a tour intensive different port everyday cruise, only because my wife wanted to.

[Mura]

When I was doing a Bus & Truck Tour way back when as a singer, our bus had a bathroom but we opted NOT to use it for various reasons ... as I recall, mostly they had to do with aromatic considerations. (I do remember a tenor who got desperate and opened the window ...)

 

We had plenty of rest stops so in general that bathroom wasn't needed, and besides, we were all in our 20s or maybe early 30s.

 

I do know that on our Marina cruise last October the one or two ship's tours that we took DID have bathrooms which WERE used.

 

It may depend on the bus.

 

Of course, one guy in the bus was sort of trapped in the bathroom because it was located at the bottom of the stairs by the back stairway exiting the bus ... or maybe that was our Viking cruise in April ...

 

IF bathroom availability is a priority, I would recommend private tours. It's a lot easier to ask a guide who has 4-8 people for a bathroom break than it is on a bus with many more people.

 

Mura

[LHT28]

 

IF bathroom availability is a priority, I would recommend private tours. It's a lot easier to ask a guide who has 4-8 people for a bathroom break than it is on a bus with many more people.

 

Mura

I agree

The private tours may work out less expensive also ;)

[Paulchili]

LOL..I thought it was a man writing and there is never a line in the men's room

Jancruz1

 

There is when the women take it over :D

[no fuss travel]

In a lot of countries in Europe it is difficult for the bus companies to dispose of the waste generated so they keep their bathrooms locked on the buses. We found this out while touring in Spain.

[pacheco18]

Isn't that like saying you cannot use the bathroom in your Oceania cabin because the bathroom may not be working.

They may not want to bother with cleaning them.

There could be sanitary issues.

They are not required to provide a bathroom in the Oceania cabin.

 

If you want to go to the bathroom when you want to, avoid taking an Oceania cruise. :rolleyes:

 

Not at all

 

When you book a cabin you are promised a working bathroom.

 

Not so when you book a bus tour.

[aohkay]

On our 2 Oceania excursions in the Med, there was not bathroom on the bus. Our tours were approximately 4 hours long and whenever we had a break, there were long lineups to use the public facilities.

 

Having said that, it wouldn't deter me from taking future Oceania excursions.

[titong]

On our 2 Oceania excursions in the Med, there was not bathroom on the bus. Our tours were approximately 4 hours long and whenever we had a break, there were long lineups to use the public facilities.

 

Having said that, it wouldn't deter me from taking future Oceania excursions.

 

+1. Thank you. Very good answer. It is a fact that Oceania considers itself a luxury cruise company-and luxury cruise companies tend to attract older customers. In light of that, maybe someone from Oceania can post here and give an answer as to why they seem to not contract with tour companies that provide bathrooms on their tour buses.

[JimandStan]

+1. Thank you. Very good answer. It is a fact that Oceania considers itself a luxury cruise company-and luxury cruise companies tend to attract older customers. In light of that, maybe someone from Oceania can post here and give an answer as to why they seem to not contract with tour companies that provide bathrooms on their tour buses.

 

I don't believe that it has anything to do with Luxury, but is a factor of how long Shore Excursion passengers can expect to spend on those buses.

 

If someone is ill, or incontinent enough to need access to a bathroom constantly, then specialized arrangements should be made.

[Jancruz]

There is when the women take it over :D

 

ROTFL

Jancruz1

[aohkay]

+1. Thank you. Very good answer. It is a fact that Oceania considers itself a luxury cruise company-and luxury cruise companies tend to attract older customers. In light of that, maybe someone from Oceania can post here and give an answer as to why they seem to not contract with tour companies that provide bathrooms on their tour buses.

 

I think this is more a European thing than an Oceania or Princess thing.

 

There very well may be environmental laws against dumping grey/ black water; and in fact a lot of these small historic towns wouldn't even have sanitation stations.

 

In fact, I shudder to think what it would be like over the years if of all of those tour busses in the Med had a bathroom.

[Love.II.Cruise]

In a lot of countries in Europe it is difficult for the bus companies to dispose of the waste generated so they keep their bathrooms locked on the buses. We found this out while touring in Spain.

 

I'm so glad I read this. We'll keep this in mind when we are in Barcelona for 5 nights before our cruise.

 

I will say that on our last cruise (Princess) we had to take a bus from Anchorage to Whittier. It was a very nice bus (best I've ever seen, I kid you not!)... actually it was a HAL bus. The driver did "recommend" that the restroom only be used for number 1. But I do not know why. :confused:

 

We got delayed by an hour and half due to a major accident that stopped traffic in both directions. Some people did go and use the restroom, but we did not.

[capecodder2]

In my tour guide days in the USA, the bathrooms on most of the buses were really for "emergencies" only - dumping is a problem in many places (either there isn't anywhere to do it, or environmental issues prevent it). If you have ever ridden near a well-used bathroom, you will not enjoy it and someone has to sit there. Just understand that there is a reason for not using them whether you understand or agree with it or not. It has nothing to do with the cruise line, the rules are not made or controlled by them. As said above, there are many bathroom stops on any excursion we have made and lines are a fact of life as any woman will tell you. Be glad you are a man.

[Paulchili]

In my tour guide days in the USA, the bathrooms on most of the buses were really for "emergencies" only - dumping is a problem in many places (either there isn't anywhere to do it, or environmental issues prevent it). If you have ever ridden near a well-used bathroom, you will not enjoy it and someone has to sit there. Just understand that there is a reason for not using them whether you understand or agree with it or not. It has nothing to do with the cruise line, the rules are not made or controlled by them. As said above, there are many bathroom stops on any excursion we have made and lines are a fact of life as any woman will tell you. Be glad you are a man.

 

A voice of reason :)