Riviera TA Missed Ports-- Odd Situation

[Paulchili]

2 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

In your case I guess you'll still be doing a little "laundry" if you want to convert it to refundable.

I certainly will be 🙂 

[Ken the cruiser]

5 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

You do not have to be part of  a group  to  get a group booking price

Some TA's  have group booking prices  but no formed groups

Maybe you are getting a group booking price & that is why you get the refundable  OBC

No, we book through our Oceania PCC and then transfer the cruise to our TA if their perks are worth it, and they usually are when it comes to Oceania and Crystal cruises.

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

No, we book through our Oceania PCC and then transfer the cruise to our TA if their perks are worth it, and they usually are when it comes to Oceania and Crystal cruises.

I think you missed my point

moving on

[PaulMCO]

I would not blame Terry and his great pictures.  What I would blame is "cheap O" adding streaming (and of course charging for it) without dramatically increasing the bandwidth it purchases from MTN.  You can only do so much with compression (that is what Speednet and Wavenet does).  The streaming, facetime  and other services use far more bandwidth than any pictures you can upload.

 

[sitraveler]

Not so major problem on Marina.  No bedtime chocolate.  Something is wrong with existing supply.  O well.

[Baandb]

On 11/30/2018 at 3:30 AM, ABoatNerd said:

What is common to all the fall cruises with the many missed ports is this - Oceania explained little, treated guests as idiots incapable of understanding the circumstances of future weather and not worth consulting with.

 

Are you serious?

 

Do you really expect the captain to send out a survey to guests, asking them if they prefer to skip a port or visit it and risk injury to guests?

 

Sorry - but I would rather put my trust in the captain (and his support team in Miami) who have the data, skills and experience to interrupt the information and make the most appropriate decision.

 

Although in general I disagree with your assertion that Oceania treats guests as idiots - in this particular scenario I am glad that they do.

 

The day that Oceania consults my fellow passengers about how to navigate the ship in inclement weather is the day that I stop sailing with Oceania.

[Doubt It]

Baandb, have you reviewed all the threads and reviews of the affected cruises since Sept 2018? 

 

In particular, read the 10 reviews on the Regatta sailing.

 

There was no significant weather affecting the ships that would prohibit tendering or substituting alternative ports. In many of the fall cruises the initial weather concern either evaporated and or was minimal due to an adjustment in course at the beginning of the cruise.

 

The point is - with clear weather, as the many CC posters noted, no attempt was made to substitute ports. Posters and reviews are highlighting the lack of interest in substituting ports - it is not about adjusting due to poor weather. It is about not seemly trying to substitute ports when the weather is behind or never materialized. That is the point.

 

Over 23 sailing with Celebrity, on numerous occasions Captains elaborated on weather conditions, ship traffic and port arrival/departure adjustments. Port substitutions happened, but in 23 years never missed a port. On Oceania I have missed 4 ports over 2 cruises. 

 

I am new to CC, and my joining CC was suggested by my TA because of the disappointing cruise on the Regatta. She had other passengers on the same voyage.

 

I have taken the time to read every Oceania review for the past 2 years. Further I have read 2 years of reviews for Azamara, Celebrity, Crystal - nice feature of CC.  It is obvious to me there were more notations of missed ports in Oceania reviews than the other cruise lines even after adjusting for the size of each fleet.

 

Is it a scientific assessment, no. But it is enough to confirm suspicion in my mind about Oceania as a service provider. I shared this assessment with my TA and my friends shared it with their TA's - so the message is spreading. 

 

Add in the dubious mechanical track record of Regatta, it makes the situation worse. My TA will not book clients on the Regatta.

 

Consulting with your customers is not a sin. If you do not wish to be consulted, that is your choice. Do not assume other customers feel this way, and they obviously do not.

[Shawnino]

Bandb,

 

The oddity here was that

--The Captain didn't seem to agree with Miami's call to get as far South as quickly as possible.

--We were certainly in no short-term hurry as we stopped in Malaga as scheduled. 

--For whatever reason, the plan was not followed. In scrubbing two port days we picked up only 60 miles. Reasons for not adhering to the plan to head South were never communicated to pax.

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, Doubt It said:

Baandb, have you reviewed all the threads and reviews of the affected cruises since Sept 2018? 

 

In particular, read the 10 reviews on the Regatta sailing.

 

There was no significant weather affecting the ships that would prohibit tendering or substituting alternative ports. In many of the fall cruises the initial weather concern either evaporated and or was minimal due to an adjustment in course at the beginning of the cruise.

 

The point is - with clear weather, as the many CC posters noted, no attempt was made to substitute ports. Posters and reviews are highlighting the lack of interest in substituting ports - it is not about adjusting due to poor weather. It is about not seemly trying to substitute ports when the weather is behind or never materialized. That is the point.

 

Over 23 sailing with Celebrity, on numerous occasions Captains elaborated on weather conditions, ship traffic and port arrival/departure adjustments. Port substitutions happened, but in 23 years never missed a port. On Oceania I have missed 4 ports over 2 cruises. 

 

I am new to CC, and my joining CC was suggested by my TA because of the disappointing cruise on the Regatta. She had other passengers on the same voyage.

 

I have taken the time to read every Oceania review for the past 2 years. Further I have read 2 years of reviews for Azamara, Celebrity, Crystal - nice feature of CC.  It is obvious to me there were more notations of missed ports in Oceania reviews than the other cruise lines even after adjusting for the size of each fleet.

 

Is it a scientific assessment, no. But it is enough to confirm suspicion in my mind about Oceania as a service provider. I shared this assessment with my TA and my friends shared it with their TA's - so the message is spreading. 

 

Add in the dubious mechanical track record of Regatta, it makes the situation worse. My TA will not book clients on the Regatta.

 

Consulting with your customers is not a sin. If you do not wish to be consulted, that is your choice. Do not assume other customers feel this way, and they obviously do not.

"...the message is spreading."

 

No one is disputing that you and several other "wannabe" mariners are displeased with Oceania's navigation decisions.

Of course, you're still discounting the complexities (cited in earlier posts) of emergent port arrangements, enigmatic weather challenges and the impossibility of comparing any commercial seaborn experiences with so many variables.

 

But, be reminded that you (and the relatively few other unhappy CC posters you mention) represent little more than a rounding error in the "bottom line" of a cruise line that has, for the fifteen years of its existence, maintained a high level of extremely satisfied repeat customers.

 

IMO, your best course of action would be to return to Celebrity where, despite the mediocre food and thundering herd, the ship Captains will allegedly "consult" with passengers before making navigational decisions.

 

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, Doubt It said:

Consulting with your customers is not a sin. If you do not wish to be consulted, that is your choice. Do not assume other customers feel this way, and they obviously do not.

 

I do not believe  any ship's Captain would be CONSULTING  with the pax  

He is  in charge  not the PAX

Informing the pax of what is going on is  another matter

 

as I have said before & probably will say it again

Ships  cannot just pull into another port  they need to get advance permission from the port Authority  & if other ships are already scheduled  or got permission to dock there  it is  more of an issue

JMO

[ORV]

You guys do realize Doubt it and Nerd are the same poster? 

 

Writing style is too similar. 

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

"...the message is spreading."

 

No one is disputing that you and several other "wannabe" mariners are displeased with Oceania's navigation decisions.

Of course, you're still discounting the complexities (cited in earlier posts) of emergent port arrangements, enigmatic weather challenges and the impossibility of comparing any commercial seaborn experiences with so many variables.

 

But, be reminded that you (and the relatively few other unhappy CC posters you mention) represent little more than a rounding error in the "bottom line" of a cruise line that has, for the fifteen years of its existence, maintained a high level of extremely satisfied repeat customers.

 

IMO, your best course of action would be to return to Celebrity where, despite the mediocre food and thundering herd, the ship Captains will allegedly "consult" with passengers before making navigational decisions.

 

 

Gee...what a surprise...somehow I don't remember any Celebrity captains  consulting with passengers when ports were missed...and I have missed more than one port on Celebrity. 

 

While I might fault Oceania for failure of senior officers to adequately communicate with passengers...I've experienced that myself...the people who think you can just sail your ship into some other port and find docking space as if you were driving to your local supermarket and finding a parking space in the lot are living in a fantasy world.

[wripro]

19 hours ago, Baandb said:

 

Are you serious?

 

Do you really expect the captain to send out a survey to guests, asking them if they prefer to skip a port or visit it and risk injury to guests?

 

Sorry - but I would rather put my trust in the captain (and his support team in Miami) who have the data, skills and experience to interrupt the information and make the most appropriate decision.

 

Although in general I disagree with your assertion that Oceania treats guests as idiots - in this particular scenario I am glad that they do.

 

The day that Oceania consults my fellow passengers about how to navigate the ship in inclement weather is the day that I stop sailing with Oceania.

I'd be happy to put my trust in the Captain. Problem is I believe it's the beancounters in Management who push the decision to miss ports and shorten time in ports.

[StanandJim]

10 hours ago, njhorseman said:

the people who think you can just sail your ship into some other port and find docking space as if you were driving to your local supermarket and finding a parking space in the lot are living in a fantasy world.

+1

- bye the bye, I believe that we all know what happens to Cruise Lines, or ANY business,  when the beancounters lose their influence-

[Shawnino]

Really SandJ?

The bean counters could have prevented that?

Do explain how...

[wripro]

4 hours ago, Shawnino said:

Really SandJ?

The bean counters could have prevented that?

Do explain how...

This is an outlier situation. Most of the port cancellations seem to be called because of storms that never develop or are not that severe. 

[Doubt It]

Wripro, summed up perfectly.

 

All cruise lines face bad weather, docking restrictions etc, as I said, take a look at the CC reviews for many cruise lines and Oceania has more port cancellations reported by guests than other lines. Hiding behind the "safety first" label is not necessarily the situation in all weather (or other) instigated situations. Convenient for the cruise line though and provides an excuse to avoid the hard work of substituting ports for the benefit of the guests.

 

Accept this, question it, be in denial, any ones choice.

 

Considering people choose Oceania partly for the itineraries which are more interesting than the mass lines, the port cancellation question is a significant cause for concern.

 

With social media, consumer complaints gain more traction and disbursement - impacting a brand is not too hard. 

 

The fact this and other related threads exist is telling.  The very few folks on this board are a tiny fraction of the former guests who are likely thinking the same thing and making vacation decisions potentially not in favor of Oceania.

 

 

 

 

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

22 minutes ago, Doubt It said:

.....vacation decisions potentially not in favor of Oceania.

Rounding error.

[StanandJim]

On 12/10/2018 at 7:44 AM, Shawnino said:

Really SandJ?

The bean counters could have prevented that?

Do explain how...

That photo is of a cruise ship being scrapped.

My pont was that when a Cruise Line or ANY company, for that matter, starts acting without thinking of the bottom line.....the writing is often on the wall.

Research Royal Viking and/or Sitmar, someday-  you will see what I mean.  

 

[LuAnn]

You know...DH and I were on this cruise...and were grateful to O and the Captain for making the decision to avoid a major storm. I saw the FB videos of what happened in the Canary Islands...that we missed!! I would call that a "wise choice"...but then...I haven't spent my entire life learning the "ways of the seas" and being a Captain of an ocean going passenger vessel...or operating a cruise line.  I think it's called being a "Monday Morning Quarterback"????...when you try and "guess" what could have/would have happened???

 

We missed 2 ports...because that was the safe thing to do....so...next time...just don't get on a ship....if you want to guarantee being in that port. I have sailed all over the world...both in private and public vessels...and trust me...you want to "err on the side of caution"...at least that's what I want to do with my life and the life of my loved ones....As Paul says  "YMMV" 🙂  LuAnn

[wripro]

2 hours ago, StanandJim said:

That photo is of a cruise ship being scrapped.

My pont was that when a Cruise Line or ANY company, for that matter, starts acting without thinking of the bottom line.....the writing is often on the wall.

Research Royal Viking and/or Sitmar, someday-  you will see what I mean.  

 

None of those lines went out of business because they didn't cancel ports. And Oceania had better start thinking of its customers in addition to its bottom line or it will move to the head of your list.

[Shawnino]

4 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Rounding error.

 

I don't know where you've picked this habit up from, but it's most unfortunate.

At least twice now in this thread, instead of trying to discuss facts, you're merely dismissive of people posting them.

 

Inattention to customer service has crushed many companies.

Many people on this cruise were not happy with what was at the very least poor communication about the sailing schedule.

How you skip two ports and only pick up 60 mi. will, unfortunately, always be a mystery.

[Ken the cruiser]

57 minutes ago, LuAnn said:

You know...DH and I were on this cruise...and were grateful to O and the Captain for making the decision to avoid a major storm. I saw the FB videos of what happened in the Canary Islands...that we missed!! I would call that a "wise choice"...but then...I haven't spent my entire life learning the "ways of the seas" and being a Captain of an ocean going passenger vessel...or operating a cruise line.  I think it's called being a "Monday Morning Quarterback"????...when you try and "guess" what could have/would have happened???

 

We missed 2 ports...because that was the safe thing to do....so...next time...just don't get on a ship....if you want to guarantee being in that port. I have sailed all over the world...both in private and public vessels...and trust me...you want to "err on the side of caution"...at least that's what I want to do with my life and the life of my loved ones....As Paul says  "YMMV" 🙂  LuAnn

We are also on that cruise and agree 100% with you!

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, Shawnino said:

 

I don't know where you've picked this habit up from, but it's most unfortunate.

At least twice now in this thread, instead of trying to discuss facts, you're merely dismissive of people posting them.

 

Inattention to customer service has crushed many companies.

Many people on this cruise were not happy with what was at the very least poor communication about the sailing schedule.

How you skip two ports and only pick up 60 mi. will, unfortunately, always be a mystery.

Your rant is the "conjecture" of amateurs. That a few unhappy passengers represent a "rounding error" is the only "fact" here.

BTW, I explained in an earlier post that 60 miles in a "straight line" could be hundreds in a holding pattern, et al.

Let it go. No one is listening to your "sky is falling" for Oceania.

[StanandJim]

4 hours ago, wripro said:

And Oceania had better start thinking of its customers in addition to its bottom line or it will move to the head of your list.

As you will read from several subsequent posts in this thread,  there are times when skipping ports is the RESULT of thinking about the Passengers.  

If YOU prefer the "full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes" approach, then so be it, but please don't assume that you necessarily speak for everyone.