Online Dining Reservations

[DeanoNorthPerth]

Does anyone else have problems with the above? On our last Oceania cruise it proved impossible and (after much complaining) I ended up organizing them by email direct to Oceania. At the time I figured it was something to do with being in Australia.

But now I am trying to make reservations for another cruise we are on and still unable to do any bookings - despite being within the time period. I get to the page where you are asked to Invite Guests if you wish but when I press Continue nothing happens for ages then it comes up with page cannot be displayed. Very frustrating.

I have tried to ring the Customer Service (what a misnomer!) in Sydney but continually get the busy signal. Not sure what else to do.

Has anyone else had similar problems?

[JimandStan]

Nobody from down under EVER wants to hear this, but the Australian outfit which has the (state sanctioned) monopoly on selling cruises in Australia has decided that since your options are buying from them or not cruising, then no service absolutely trumps good service, at least as far as their ledgers are concerned.

 

They literally cannot lose you as a client unless you stay at home or change your primary residence to someplace out of Oz, and the laws, and contracts, are ALL on their side.

 

It is a ridiculous situation, made worse because it is perpetrated by Australians on Australians, but things are unlikely to change unless you find a David to challenge this particular Goliath.

 

Any Volunteers? :D

[Ka Honu]

I had heard that but apparently it's not exactly the case. Good article sort of explaining the Australian issue here.

 

 

[seabird15]

Booked my reservations last night with no problems. We are in Concierge and could book one in each of the specialty restaurants. We were on Oceania last year and had no problem booking more times while onboard but it was on the smaller ship. Keep trying because if you like to dine early these times fill up first.

[JimandStan]

I had heard that but apparently it's not exactly the case. Good article sort of explaining the Australian issue here.

 

 

 

As I read it, that article restates my position in forty thousand words. :rolleyes:

[LHT28]

Booked my reservations last night with no problems. We are in Concierge and could book one in each of the specialty restaurants. We were on Oceania last year and had no problem booking more times while onboard but it was on the smaller ship. Keep trying because if you like to dine early these times fill up first.

Did you book via the Australian website?

The OP may want to know how you did it

[Ka Honu]

As I read it, that article restates my position in forty thousand words. :rolleyes:

 

Probably so although I got the impression that the cruise lines were (also) a good part of the problem. That's what obfuscation is all about.

[JimandStan]

Probably so although I got the impression that the cruise lines were (also) a good part of the problem. That's what obfuscation is all about.

 

I can't help but think that if this were some sort of sinister plot to continue the so called "obfuscation", it would be in the Cruise Lines interest to keep service uniform across the board to minimize the incentive for Aussies to search elsewhere.

 

Over the course of several years, I've been very involved in trying to help Australian friends play on a more level playing field, and sometimes we are able to find an Agent or an Executive who is willing to bend the rules; unfortunately, as soon as the Australian Travel Company gets wind of it, they threaten legal action and we are all back to square one.

 

Trust me, this IS Australians doing it TO Australians.

[YoHoHo]

Would be different if there was competition as well. If O 'sanctioned' two agents then I am sure things would improve.

O knows of the problems with their agent in Australia and have not apparently intervened.

 

back to the OPs immediate problem, unfortunately problems with browsers not displaying can be caused from many things so troubleshooting can be long. it is hard to tell from just what you see (or don't) if the problem is at O's end or for some wacky reason you ARE denied or using a different website, as Lynn suggested or

perhaps if you got as far as selecting the other party they are not yet within the booking period and the browser is having trouble displaying the page or overlay etc.

 

For my work I use browsers all day long and see wacky stuff on a regular basis, especially as web designer incorporate more visual but less functional 'improvements'

 

Close all browsers (I always run two different ones at the same time and they both have memory creep especially with googley apps), re-open just one, clear the cache (temporary pages) and try again from the start.

 

It is unfortunate that you are also having trouble phoning. That would frustrate me more than the web site issues. And that is indeed where you are stuck with problems jimandstan complain about. I agree that you should let O know about your displeasure with the agents. The more complaints the more likely something will be done. Your comments just might be the that improves things for everyone.