Notifying Passengers of Port Time Changes

[harryw]

On our last cruise, we were given no advance notice that times in a few ports were shortened or lengthened, until we read it in the ship paper the night before. Is it possible they were in an embarkation document I overlooked? Or is this standard procedure?

 

Harry

[2552phxcrzr]

We were notified of the changes on our recent Nautica cruise by an email from our TA ... she forwarded an email she received from O. This was soon after final payment.

[kazu]

We received no notification on our port time changes for our upcoming cruise. I assume that the blue book is printed early as it has the old port times in it.

[Paulchili]

We were notified of the changes on our recent Nautica cruise by an email from our TA ... she forwarded an email she received from O. This was soon after final payment.

 

Ditto here.

[sitraveler]

I think there are 2 different issues. One is operational changes caused by weather or other local issues, these can occur beyond the cruise lines control. There have also been a number of changes to published schedules which Oceania has declined to explain. The world wonders.

[kimiata]

On our last cruise, we were given no advance notice that times in a few ports were shortened or lengthened, until we read it in the ship paper the night before. Is it possible they were in an embarkation document I overlooked? Or is this standard procedure?

 

Harry

 

Hi Harry, we were on the same cruise. It seems like we were notified ahead of time about the early departure from Kotor but I didn't know about the other changes either. In both Sorrento and Taormina we felt rushed trying to make it back to the tender in time. It was only after we got back onboard and I compared the original departure times to the actual times that I realized they had both been changed from 6:00 to 5:00.

 

Kim

[newbie60]

We had two port times altered on our recent cruise. The blue booklet had the original times. Approximately 21 days before sailing, Oceania sent an email to our TA detailing the changes.

[wripro]

This is getting worse and worse. Now they're not only shortening some port times after final payment they're shortening others on board without even notifying in advance.

[kazu]

This is getting worse and worse. Now they're not only shortening some port times after final payment they're shortening others on board without even notifying in advance.

 

On board is a different situation - there can be a multitude of reasons from the weather to the harbor master of the port - some things no Captain of any cruise ship has control of. Those usually cannot be helped and are part of cruising.

[vival]

This is getting worse and worse. Now they're not only shortening some port times after final payment they're shortening others on board without even notifying in advance.

 

We have just come off the Coastal Treasures Cruise on Marina. We were also very unhappy about shortened port times! The original times were in the blue book but we were given the shortened times on a separate sheet with our final documents. We lost 2 hours in Palma and in Sorrento and 1 hour in Marseille which definitely made us feel rushed and not able to do what we had planned. Also we were late arriving in some ports including Rome which meant we couldn't make the train we had planned. On any other cruise we have taken we were able to leave the ship pretty close to the stated arrival time, but this was not the case this time. What annoyed us about this was that there was no reason or apology given. There were a number of unhappy people on this cruise!

 

That said Marina was a lovey ship and the food was excellent. The crew were very friendly and service was good - although we never came into contact with any of the officers, so different from Azamara in that respect.

[StanandJim]

although we never came into contact with any of the officers, so different from Azamara in that respect.

Considering the age and maintenance level of their two ship fleet......Azamara had better do something.

They have a few interesting itineraries, but with the way that they charter their ships at the drop of a hat, I'd never take the chance again.

[DOJO466]

Considering the age and maintenance level of their two ship fleet......Azamara had better do something.

They have a few interesting itineraries, but with the way that they charter their ships at the drop of a hat, I'd never take the chance again.

 

A bit off topic here Jim (and or) re Azamara. We are all wondering about OCEANIA'S new penchant for changing port times after final payment and it looks like in some cases here not letting people know until onboard. I had expected you to chime in either pro or con, yet you do neither. And I am sure you must be well aware of some goings on internally and if perchance you don't...do you think this is a fair practice for such a respected cruise line? One that we have all come to know and love? Please do not go spewing about "read the fine print..the line has the right blah, blah" we all understand that.

Changes are coming here and we need to either accept them or look elsewhere for something that more fits our needs. We shall see. Deb

[Dwtlion]

I think there are 2 different issues. One is operational changes caused by weather or other local issues, these can occur beyond the cruise lines control. There have also been a number of changes to published schedules which Oceania has declined to explain. The world wonders.

 

It is possible that economics are playing a role in the earlier departures. An extra hour at sea means a lower speed needed to make the next port. Lower speeds results in lower fuel consumption. And, that equals dollars saved.

[harryw]

Fortunately, the port time changes didn't have a domino affect for me in terms of bus or train connections, but two in our party had booked a private bike excursion which had to be shortened at the last minute. And I was disappointed.

 

Oceania need to have better communication and transparency by informing passengers of the reasons, e.g., the CD mentions the next day's port in the Theatre at the end of the previous day's show, but could also advise and apologetically explain the revised port time.

 

Harry

[Leejnd4]

It's definitely concerning to read all this. On my upcoming January cruise on Riviera, I'm planning on scuba diving at 5 of the 8 islands we'll be visiting...and all of the dives are with local dive ops. They all require that I be at their shop by 9:00 am, and our itinerary shows that we'll be at each port by 8:00, so I didn't consider this to be a problem. All of the dive ops are very close to the cruise dock.

 

However, if we end up arriving late, I may miss the boat - literally! Which would be a major bummer as the main reason I picked this itinerary was for the diving.

 

Most of the dive ops do require a deposit, but they all say I get the deposit back if the ship fails to make port. What I don't know is, do I get my deposit back if we make port, but late?

[StanandJim]

A bit off topic here Jim (and or) re Azamara. We are all wondering about OCEANIA'S new penchant for changing port times after final payment and it looks like in some cases here not letting people know until onboard. I had expected you to chime in either pro or con, yet you do neither. And I am sure you must be well aware of some goings on internally and if perchance you don't...do you think this is a fair practice for such a respected cruise line? One that we have all come to know and love? Please do not go spewing about "read the fine print..the line has the right blah, blah" we all understand that.

Changes are coming here and we need to either accept them or look elsewhere for something that more fits our needs. We shall see. Deb

 

As far as I can understand this issue, Deb, there was indeed a three or six month block of cruises for which Oceania felt that they had to amend the port hours. The first of those cruises have already been sailed.

 

It's not a question of Oceania continuing to make changes, but it may appear that way to the casual observer because there is a stream of passengers who gradually learn of the block of changes as newer voyages unfold.

 

The confusion is further compounded by the "I hope this does not happen to me" posts which often draw in future otherwise unrelated sailings.

 

If port changes become an ongoing issue, I agree that Oceania's credibility would be in question; I just don't see evidence of that happening, as of yet.

[TERRIER1]

Why were the port times changed to begin with?

[StanandJim]

Why were the port times changed to begin with?

 

Off the cuff, and this is strictly my opinion, I would say that a new standard of what the "profitable pace" from port to port is, came into use.

 

At any rate, voyages after "the change block" have been announced with port times figured according to the new standard, and people seem to find them acceptable.

Edited October 26, 2015 by StanandJim

[Sopwith]

If port changes become an ongoing issue, I agree that Oceania's credibility would be in question; I just don't see evidence of that happening, as of yet.

 

If telling you one thing before final payment, and telling you something else after final payment, or not at all until you're abooard, doesn't call O's credibility into question, I don't know what does.

 

This is the kind of crap we've learned to expect from the airlines, not a supposedly premium cruise line.

[TravelerThom]

As far as I can understand this issue, Deb, there was indeed a three or six month block of cruises for which Oceania felt that they had to amend the port hours...

Sorry, but changes after final payment to improve their "profitable pace" does NOT equal "had to" in my opinion, but rather equals Bait and Switch.:mad:

 

Thom

[TERRIER1]

 

If port changes become an ongoing issue, I agree that Oceania's credibility would be in question; I just don't see evidence of that happening, as of yet.

 

I think O's credibility is called into question now. We sign up for a cruise in good faith based on a port schedule. O changing that schedule to fix their bottom line is not a credible practice.

[Paulchili]

....so just when do YOU determine it is ongoing??

 

Speaking for myself, our January Nautica cruise is now 2 months after final payment and there are no port time changes - so I am hopeful that there will be no further changes after the initial "adjustments" when our Nov Marina cruise was changed significantly.

[Paulchili]

 

This is only one instance of many that call into question Oceania's credibility and the smart people are already bailing as evidenced by the many special offers now necessary to allow the ships to sail almost full. Won't take long for the bottom line to go down with all of the "special" fares and promo's.

 

Talking about credibility - how many "smart people that are already bailing" do you know for a fact to be bailing because of port time changes? Is it more than 10?

Oceania promotions and special offers where there long before the port time changes and have more to do with increased ship capacity (2 O ships + Sirena) than port time changes.

Edited October 26, 2015 by Paulchili

[cbb]

our RTW16 has been pretty consistent in its port itinerary from our deposit date in early January to now and in fact, sometimes time has been added to some ports.

 

Please, let's not get testy and judgmental about other posters....it's just not cool.

[hypercafe]

Off the cuff, and this is strictly my opinion, I would say that a new standard of what the "profitable pace" from port to port is, came into use.

 

At any rate, voyages after "the change block" have been announced with port times figured according to the new standard, and people seem to find them acceptable.

 

I would expect to see "PROFITABLE PACE" on a mass market line, not a line that charges the price Oceania does. The only savings to the line is fuel and the price of that is low. These prices and times were figured out when the price of fuel was hight so I can only think Oceania wanted to make more on each trip. Oceania knows their customer base likes port time and likes to do their owne thing, to change it right after final payment is really taking the trust out of the relationship between the line and the passangers. How can I book a trip, make my plans and feel safe in that the line will not change the deal last minute?

 

 

 

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