Don't believe anything they tell you

[fishr]

We recently cruised on the Nautica out of Venice. I checked (and double checked) with Oceania about our ship's location and they sent us to the wrong place, requiring us to walk over an hour with our luggage to find the ship. They also gave me wrong information about the availability of port shuttles. Considering how excellent the service is on board, you would think that people providing information at their head office would do a better job.

[LHT28]

So where was the ship docked??

[fishr]

It was docked at Maritima-which we could have reached quickly, easily and cheaply. Unfortunately they told me that it was at St. Basilio which required a very expensive (and ultimately unneccesary) water taxi ride, followed by an hour and fifteen minute walk with our luggage.

[pinotlover]

In the case of this example provided: who is the “They” that gave you the bad information? They is plural, therefore multiple sources gave you bad information?

 

If you chose to use the Oceania Call Center to obtain an answer , instead of your TA, never assume you’re talking to anyone “ at the head office “. You’re on a 1-800 line that may be going anywhere.

[LHT28]

OH no

Was that the port listed on the final cruise summary? 

Maybe the port authority changed it  as they sometimes do  depending on the day

 

Too bad you could not get  a land taxi from SB to  the other port

No way would I have made that walk  with luggage & survived 😉

[Essiesmom]

Recently sailed on Insignia.  Was not sure we would leave from Terminal J in POM because a Seabourn ship was also in.  Just a check on the Marine Traffic app told me she indeed was docked at Terminal J.  Same would have been easy in Venice and unnecessary aggravation would have been avoided.  EM

[alfagee]

Considering all the flooding in Venice, perhaps this was a last minute change.

[LHT28]

Curious

when you came to the dock & no ship was there  why not just ask the water  taxi to take you to the other port??

Seems like  a simple solution 

[DeeniEncinitas]

37 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Curious

when you came to the dock & no ship was there  why not just ask the water  taxi to take you to the other port??

Seems like  a simple solution 

Same here. We would of done a water taxi too. I would of been very frustrated with their (OP) situation.

Denise😊

[fishr]

Unfortunately they were long gone by the time we realized we were in the wrong place! And we called Oceania repeatedly and couldn’t reach anyone.

[LHT28]

Sorry but how could you not notice  there was  no ship there??

 

 

Did you not have the Port agent's contact info on your final cruise email??

 

[Tansy Mews]

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

 

Did you not have the Port agent's contact info on your final cruise email??

 

Is that normally in the Blue Book or in an email? I will be on the lookout for it. Thanks.

 

Frances

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Tansy Mews said:

 

Is that normally in the Blue Book or in an email? I will be on the lookout for it. Thanks.

 

Frances

It is usually on the FINAL CRUISE SUMMARY email 

has the port address & the port agent or rep  contact info

Not sure if in the Blue book or not

[Jay23]

I am very interested in the OP's report.     Next summer we will be sailing into Venice on Sirena but the Port Schedule for Venice no longer  shows whether it is Marittima or Basilio although Sirena is listed as being in Venice on the date.       The general inference is that the smaller ships go to Basilio, but Sirena is staying overnight so I can't imagine we would be docked at Basilio.  I have a lot of time now to find out, but from the OP's  post it is obviously not an easy task and, maybe,  it is not necessarily shown in the Blue Book or the final cruise summary, I don't know.  It would be necessary to pre-book a (land) taxi to the airport from Basilio.      Obviously I will consult with our TA when the time comes.     J     

[Trevor Fountain]

10 minutes ago, Jay23 said:

I am very interested in the OP's report.     Next summer we will be sailing into Venice on Sirena but the Port Schedule for Venice no longer  shows whether it is Marittima or Basilio although Sirena is listed as being in Venice on the date.       The general inference is that the smaller ships go to Basilio, but Sirena is staying overnight so I can't imagine we would be docked at Basilio.  I have a lot of time now to find out, but from the OP's  post it is obviously not an easy task and, maybe,  it is not necessarily shown in the Blue Book or the final cruise summary, I don't know.  It would be necessary to pre-book a (land) taxi to the airport from Basilio.      Obviously I will consult with our TA when the time comes.     J     

Land taxi? You do realise this is Venice your talking about? You can pre-book a Water Taxi, but there are only land taxi's, as far as Pizzale Roma.

[Tansy Mews]

5 hours ago, LHT28 said:

It is usually on the FINAL CRUISE SUMMARY email 

has the port address & the port agent or rep  contact info

Not sure if in the Blue book or not

thank you

[TERRIER1]

1 hour ago, Trevor Fountain said:

Land taxi? You do realise this is Venice your talking about? You can pre-book a Water Taxi, but there are only land taxi's, as far as Pizzale Roma.

We took a private car service from San Basilio to the airport. Getting from San Basilio to Maritema is another matter. You can take the vaporettos. 

 

The small ships (like the R ships) do not necessarily always dock at San Basilio anymore. Ships like Windstar, large private yachts etc will go there and if the pier is full the smaller ships go to Maritemo.

[Jay23]

2 hours ago, Trevor Fountain said:

Land taxi? You do realise this is Venice your talking about? You can pre-book a Water Taxi, but there are only land taxi's, as far as Pizzale Roma.

Thank you for your observation.    Of course I know it is Venice,  but the whole of the city is not built on water, and I can assure you there is a road from San Basilio to Marco Polo Airport, via Piazzale Roma, and the taxi takes around 30 minutes and costs about €40.

It does have to be booked in advance which is why it is important for passengers to know which dock their ship is using.  J

[LHT28]

I would not think it would be an issue  when you are sailing INTO Venice  as for people looking at where the ship is docked to board

If you are prebooking  a land taxi  I am sure they will find the ship it is not like they have not been there before

 

I would have thought taking a land taxi would have been cheaper, faster  & would be able to take you to the correct dock 

[fishr]

Let me clarify a few things: First although my wife and I are seasoned travellers we haven't done much cruising so we don't know all the "tricks" others might know such as calling the port agent instead of the cruise line etc. I should point out that one of the six of us caught up in this fiasco is an experienced cruiser, especially with Oceania. I don't think getting to San Basilio by land taxi was an option (I could be wrong). In retrospect I should have just told our hotel concierge we neede to get to the Nautica and he would have found out it was at Maritima.

Some of your comments imply that the bunch of us are idiots and shouldn't have gotten ourselves into this situation. That is both untrue and unhelpful.

The bottom line is that when a passenger calls Oceania for information, the information should be accurate. They also should have been available to us by phone while we were stuck at San Basilio. If we had been able to reach them, they could have sent water taxis to pick us up (at their expense). As I previously pointed out our taxis disappeared as soon as we paid them. They could see that there was no ship there but took off anyway.

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, fishr said:

The bottom line is that when a passenger calls Oceania for information, the information should be accurate. They also should have been available to us by phone while we were stuck at San Basilio. If we had been able to reach them, they could have sent water taxis to pick us up (at their expense). As I previously pointed out our taxis disappeared as soon as we paid them. They could see that there was no ship there but took off anyway.

I doubt  they would have sent a water taxi at their expense

If you could see no ship just do not get off the water taxi  ..he would not be able  to just take off 

JMO

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, fishr said:

The bottom line is that when a passenger calls Oceania for information, the information should be accurate.

 

Why of course...a clerk in Miami should absolutely know what is happening every single minute on the ground in Venice.

 

2 hours ago, fishr said:

They also should have been available to us by phone while we were stuck at San Basilio.

 

Why of course...they should stay open 24/7 just to be able to field a question that they have no idea about.

 

2 hours ago, fishr said:

If we had been able to reach them, they could have sent water taxis to pick us up (at their expense).

 

Why of course...Oceania should pay for any expense regardless.

 

2 hours ago, fishr said:

As I previously pointed out our taxis disappeared as soon as we paid them. They could see that there was no ship there but took off anyway.

 

And there's the rub.  Somehow that nasty taxi driver could see there was no ship, yet all six of you somehow managed to miss that salient fact.  You paid the driver, left the taxi, and somehow THEN you all realized there was no ship.

 

Wow.

 

IMO, sometimes an individual or group has to just be responsible for their own actions.  I've been in airports where a flight was posted for one gate, yet it got changed to another before departure.  Is it the airline's fault if I miss that flight?  No - there's a responsibility of the passenger to do their due diligence in ensuring proper completion of travel.  Somehow it seems you want to toss that responsibility over to Oceania. 

Edited November 26, 2019 by FlyerTalker

[Jay23]

Fishr............I agree absolutely with you.   You and your companions were not familiar with Venice and could not have known the all the eccentricities of this unique city.   Oceania should be able to give you all and any information you needed.   Your hotel staff could possibly have assisted you, wh0 knows   J

[edgee]

20 minutes ago, Jay23 said:

Fishr............I agree absolutely with you.   You and your companions were not familiar with Venice and could not have known the all the eccentricities of this unique city.   Oceania should be able to give you all and any information you needed.   Your hotel staff could possibly have assisted you, wh0 knows   J

This thread is a perfect example of the pros and very disappointing cons which, while not unique to this Oceania board, are far too common here. Unfortunately, there are some very active participants who see fit to be rather mean and to belittle less experienced cruisers who ask a question or report a problem. At the same time, some of these experienced participants are great at providing very helpful advice, albeit not always in the most polite way. 

[LHT28]

So the OP  did not answer my question about the port info provided on their Final Cruise Summary ..what did it say the port location was?

 

Maybe like the T & C's  no one reads  that email either🤔

 

 I would never trust the  call centre  I ask my TA  if I need  to know something important & she finds the correct info