Notifying Passengers of Port Time Changes

[wripro]

kitchencruiser,

 

That is the difference between sailing on a luxury line and one that is not. Most luxury lines dock at close in ports, i.e. Along Tooey in bangkok which is twenty minutes away rather than Laem Chabang which is three hours away. And in Saigon they dock practically in the city center. It makes a big difference in how you spend your time in port, sightseeing or on a bus getting there and back.

[Paulchili]

Kitchenercruiser,

Are you sure about docking locations in Bangkok & Saigon?

We are on the Jan 24th cruise ending in Bangkok (overnight) and I have arranged for a private tour on first day and airport pick up on second day - both from Klong Toey (based on info from Oceania & confirmed by both companies). I don't think that they would have quoted the prices they did if we were docked 3 hours away in Laem Chabang.

Ditto for Saigon

Edited January 3, 2016 by Paulchili

[Kitchenercruiser]

Paulchili,

 

I had my travel agent call Oceania 2 days ago and she reported that the port we will dock at for Ho Chi Minh City is Phu Mi which is 80 miles away. I almost booked "ItourVietnam", a travel company which had excellent reviews on Trip Advisor. The young woman told me that there were three possible ports and they only pick up from one port near the city. The tip-off was that the printed itinerary Oceania sent to me differed from the one online. There are now several vans/cars for hire added so I booked a vehicle.

Don't really want to do this for Bangkok but I read in a different posting (not this thread) that we would be docking in Laem Chabang and I am concerned because this is our point of departure at the end of our second cruise. I went online and sure enough, there are all kinds of private cars/vans for hire again.

I have an e-mail in to our travel agent for that one as well.

[Kitchenercruiser]

Paulchili,

 

Sorry, the info I have is for the first cruise we are taking - Singapore to Hong Kong. I do have a question in to my TA re: docking for Ho Chi Minh City and Bankok on the second cruise. I really hope we can get closer because my husband and I want to try one of the private tours in HCMC.

The online itinerary for the second cruise isn't really complete yet, which is why all these changes drive me crazy in terms of planning.

[TravelerThom]

Those affected by the shortened port times should be sending letters of their dissatisfaction to Oceania H.O.

Bitching here will do no good

…

Not a lot you can do after final payment unless you want to lose your $$ but you can choose with your wallet for future cruises

Frankly I don’t think me writing Oceania would make one bit of difference. Marine Contracts have traditionally been written with an “escape clause” to protect the company against unpredictable situations (weather, labor unrest, new security risks, etc.) that prevent meeting the listed schedule. Oceania has for some months been changing a number of their schedules not for unpredictable situations, but seemingly just so they can sail slower, thereby reducing fuel consumption and directly increasing their bottom line. The “escape clause” makes this perfectly legal. If the company has a better explanation, they should be sharing it with dissatisfied customers. IMO the company has decide that the number of passengers that they will lose by their conscious decision to not deliver the product that they sold is so small that they will have no difficulty filling their ships with a) people who are unaware of this, or b) people who really don’t care about the listed itinerary and are happy to accept the (admittedly very good) on-board experience.

 

My intent posting here on Cruise Critic was to help at least a few fellow travelers who book for itinerary aware of what has been happening and may end up happening to them, so that they may make more informed decisions. IMO helping fellow travelers is “doing good.” I acknowledge I offer nothing of value to people who don’t care about the amount of time they have in port.

 

I am voting with my wallet in the future, and it is with some sadness that I will no longer enjoy Oceania’s very good on-board experience, but I choose to not deal with a company who is not making good faith attempts to deliver the product they have sold.

 

Thom

[2552phxcrzr]

I understand why there is so much frustration about these post-final payment itinerary changes for no purpose but to sail slower and thus save money ... at least that's the consensus reason in the face of no legitimate explanation from O.

 

That said, I personally would never book a cruise just for a specific port or series of ports. Too many things can go wrong before and during the cruise to change not just hours in port, but the itinerary itself. Our travels include cruises and land vacations, and the latter is the best way to control how much time to dedicate to those places that are of particular interest to me.

 

Note that I said "personally" ... I would hope that posters here would respect my opinion just as I respect theirs ;)

[Kitchenercruiser]

Paul Chili

I just received an e-mail from my TA this morning who is awaiting further info re:Saigon. The O agent is checking with Marine Operations Dept. to verify if the info given 2 days ago by O agent is correct. The latest agent this morning told our TA that the Saigon pier is called the Lotus Pier, 15 miles away from city, and not Phu Mi, which is 80 miles away. She hopes to find out before we fly in 12 hours.

 

If this is the case, I am requesting a refund from Oceania for the car we booked and will make the private tour arrangements that we wanted.

 

This morning's agent "confirmed" that we are docking at the Port Authority of Thailand - berth 22A, 444 Tarua Road, Koong Toey. This is for the January 8th trip.

 

So sorry for any misinformation but I would have thought that the agents knew what they were doing.

[Paulchili]

Paul Chili

I just received an e-mail from my TA this morning who is awaiting further info re:Saigon. The O agent is checking with Marine Operations Dept. to verify if the info given 2 days ago by O agent is correct. The latest agent this morning told our TA that the Saigon pier is called the Lotus Pier, 15 miles away from city, and not Phu Mi, which is 80 miles away. She hopes to find out before we fly in 12 hours.

 

If this is the case, I am requesting a refund from Oceania for the car we booked and will make the private tour arrangements that we wanted.

 

This morning's agent "confirmed" that we are docking at the Port Authority of Thailand - berth 22A, 444 Tarua Road, Koong Toey. This is for the January 8th trip.

 

So sorry for any misinformation but I would have thought that the agents knew what they were doing.

 

Glad it worked out.

Have a great cruise - perhaps we shall meet on the 1/24 cruise :)