Jump to content

March 25, 2020 Oceania Update


bbtondo
 Share

Recommended Posts

2 hours ago, sydivy said:

We were booked on the Polynesian cruise from Tahiti leaving 3/26/2020. It was canceled and we are awaiting a full refund from Oceania as promised. We had taken out a separate ins. policy independent of Oceania. The company is AIG. They are refusing to give a refund. Only will allow a credit for a future cruise. Has anyone out there received a full refund from their ins. company whether AIG or other? Thanks.

 

 

My sister and I both have pre-existing conditions and took out a travel insurance policy to cover them. When I took out the policy I asked what would happen if we cancelled before the trip even took place. We were told we could not get a refund for the policy but could carry the policy forward to be used on another trip. I will have to check to see the time period in which it has to be used. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, bbtondo said:

This is totally unacceptable to me. 

On a broader scheme, I've received two emails from the CEO of Hurtigruten and two from Oscar Munoz of United Airlines. Has anyone gotten anything from Oceania? I haven't and we sailed with them in December and recently  canceled a cruise with them for Sept. PR doesn't seem to be in their vocabulary. Is that typical of most cruise lines?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, clo said:

On a broader scheme, I've received two emails from the CEO of Hurtigruten and two from Oscar Munoz of United Airlines. Has anyone gotten anything from Oceania? I haven't and we sailed with them in December and recently  canceled a cruise with them for Sept. PR doesn't seem to be in their vocabulary. Is that typical of most cruise lines?

Unfortunately even paying lip service to the needs of the customer is something that disappeared from NCLH once FDR took over as CEO. Everything is about how to squeeze a few extra dollars a day out of the cruiser in order to boost earnings... he's said as much at his quarterly earnings calls....and that's more out of NCL's customers rather than Oceania's or Regent's because NCL is the financial engine that drives NCLH's results due its size relative to the other two cruise lines in the group. Don't get me wrong...I have nothing against companies earning healthy profits...I just don't like it when they have a  "customer be damned " attitude .

 

 FDR does such a good job of producing financial results, or at least the financial results that count toward the bonus measures in his employment contract that in 2018 he earned nearly as much as the CEOs of Royal and Carnival combined, despite NCLH being by far the smallest of those three largest cruise holding companies. FDR earned $22.5 million in 2018, as opposed to Carnival CEO Arnold Donald's $13.5 million and Royal Caribbean CEO Richard Fain's $12.4 million.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, clo said:

On a broader scheme, I've received two emails from the CEO of Hurtigruten and two from Oscar Munoz of United Airlines. Has anyone gotten anything from Oceania? I haven't and we sailed with them in December and recently  canceled a cruise with them for Sept. PR doesn't seem to be in their vocabulary. Is that typical of most cruise lines?

Yes, I have.

Mar 10: "A Message From Your Oceania Cruises Family"

Dear Oceania Club Member,

Amid this evolving global health situation, it’s difficult to know what to expect next. As we continue to adapt and work through it together,..."

and

Mar 13: "Important Update"

"Dear Valued Guests,

I’d like to share an important update on Oceania Cruises’ response to COVID-19. With COVID-19 impacting communities around the globe,..."

 

Maybe others?

   
27 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

Unfortunately even paying lip service to the needs of the customer is something that disappeared from NCLH once FDR took over as CEO.

Not sure if you did not receive any. Mine came as a message from Bob Binder, who is Oceania's President & CEO

 

Edited to add PS.

27 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

...FDR earned $22.5 million in 2018, as opposed to Carnival CEO Arnold Donald's $13.5 million and Royal Caribbean CEO Richard Fain's $12.4 million.

 

I find Executive salaries ridiculous in many cases. They get what they get because  the compensation committees view someone else's. Rising tide and all that.

Edited by YoHoHo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, YoHoHo said:

Yes, I have.

Mar 10: "A Message From Your Oceania Cruises Family"

Dear Oceania Club Member,

Amid this evolving global health situation, it’s difficult to know what to expect next. As we continue to adapt and work through it together,..."

and

Mar 13: "Important Update"

"Dear Valued Guests,

I’d like to share an important update on Oceania Cruises’ response to COVID-19. With COVID-19 impacting communities around the globe,..."

 

Maybe others?

   

Not sure if you did not receive any. Mine came as a message from Bob Binder, who is Oceania's President & CEO

We've only sailed with them once so no. 'Course had only cruised with Hurigruten twice. We have no "status" with either but I guess it's big company vs. small.Or one gives a something and the other doesn't. I'm paying attention to this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, YoHoHo said:

Not sure if you did not receive any. Mine came as a message from Bob Binder, who is Oceania's President & CEO

I don't recall getting any...but I don't currently have any Oceania cruises booked. I do have NCL cruises booked and I also didn't get anything from them as I recall.

 

Regardless some form letter filled with platitudes isn't what I'm concerned about. NCLH's corporate attitude has taken a turn for worse in the past couple of years. The only thing that has kept me cruising is that the ships' officers and crew still are trying their hardest to make your on board experience as good as possible. One ship general manager that I have a very good relationship with  shakes his head about some of the stuff corporate is making them deal with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, njhorseman said:

The only thing that has kept me cruising is that the ships' officers and crew still are trying their hardest to make your on board experience as good as possible.

Changing "The only thing" to "One thing" I do agree. The on-board experience provided by the professional and hard working officers, staff and crew is why I prefer Oceania. And Corporate would benefit from having their feet on deck.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, sydivy said:

We were booked on the Polynesian cruise from Tahiti leaving 3/26/2020. It was canceled and we are awaiting a full refund from Oceania as promised. We had taken out a separate ins. policy independent of Oceania. The company is AIG. They are refusing to give a refund. Only will allow a credit for a future cruise. Has anyone out there received a full refund from their ins. company whether AIG or other? Thanks.

 

I don't know about AIG and cannot comment on them. YOUR policy is the deciding factor, sydivy and policies do vary, even maybe from the same company so what others bought and you bought can be different. With insurance you should have professional advice and do not base your decisions on my comments. If you bought the policy from an agent they could be able to help answer your questions.

 

Covering cancellation there is a value even if there is nothing to claim because the CL cancelled. The value is that one is covered from the start of the policy to when the cruise was cancelled. In a way it is the same as if the cruise was taken and had no claim. The insurance company was covering risk. It sounds like they are not having to pay out because you are getting a full refund.

 

As others have posted because the cruise was cancelled you might be able to get them to carry forward the policy to future cruise instead of a refund. That could be to your benefit. There is a separate board on CC for Travel Insurance and some very good posters - you might want to research there too.

Edited by YoHoHo
typos and such
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, Paulchili said:

Have they given you a specific reason why they are refusing it?

Yes, policy states that cancellation must occur up to 15 days after purchase of policy in order to get refund...however, this is not ordinary circumstances. The cruise was canceled for G's sake. Travel Insurance International is giving full refunds. Anyone else having trouble? So many other businesses are relaxing their policies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, sydivy said:

Yes, policy states that cancellation must occur up to 15 days after purchase of policy in order to get refund...however, this is not ordinary circumstances.

Are you seeking refund for the cruise or for the cost of policy? If the former, why would they refund the cruise fare 15 days after the purchase of the policy when you didn't even pay for the cruise (unless you got the policy at final payment?)

 

You also said this:

The company is AIG. They are refusing to give a refund. Only will allow a credit for a future cruise. 

How can AIG give credit for a future cruise? I though only the cruise line can do that,

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

Are you seeking refund for the cruise or for the cost of policy? If the former, why would they refund the cruise fare 15 days after the purchase of the policy when you didn't even pay for the cruise (unless you got the policy at final payment?)

 

You also said this:

The company is AIG. They are refusing to give a refund. Only will allow a credit for a future cruise. 

How can AIG give credit for a future cruise? I though only the cruise line can do that,

 

They have to be talking about a refund of the policy premium.  Insurers routinely give you a credit toward your next insurance purchase in these circumstances but I've never seen one refund the premium. I explained this yesterday back in post #74 of this thread.

Edited by njhorseman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, njhorseman said:

They have to be talking about a refund of the policy premium.  Insurers routinely give you a credit toward your next insurance purchase in these circumstances but I've never seen one refund the premium. I explained this yesterday back in post #74 of this thread.

I, on the other hand, have never heard of an insurance company refunding your insurance premium (after a certain period after the purchase) just because you "no longer want or need the policy" because O may refund your cruise fare.

I'd like to have a refund of my home owner's insurance premium as I didn't use or need it last year.

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Paul, we did once have a refund of our trip insurance policy.  I wish I could positively remember which one that was.

 

But I think, I'm pretty sure, that it was when Ren went belly-up.  Which is a difference situation from what is happening now.

 

Mura

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

46 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

I, on the other hand, have never heard of an insurance company refunding your insurance premium (after a certain period after the purchase) just because you "no longer want or need the policy" because O may refund your cruise fare.

I'd like to have a refund of my home owner's insurance premium as I didn't use or need it last year.

Trip cancellation  is a unique product, not at all comparable to homeowners or auto insurance. In auto or homeowners you have been insured against covered perils  that could have resulted in a loss from the effective date of the policy. You could have had a fire in your home or an auto accident literally a minute after your policy became effective. That is often not true for travel insurance  because in most cases cancellation penalties have not kicked in yet at the time you purchase the policy. 

 

It's very common for a traveler to buy a policy within 10 days to  2 weeks after making a deposit on their trip in order to secure a waiver of the pre-existing condition exclusion, and for those who choose to do so, cancel for any reason coverage. But for other than bookings made close enough to the date of travel to already be within the cancellation penalty window, it may be months or even over a year before the insurer would actually be potentially liable for a claim.

 

When I book a cruise today that sails 18 months from now if I decide to cancel a year from now in almost all cases I get my full deposit back, so my trip insurance company has had no potential claim liability for all that time. That's why it's common for them to grant a credit toward a future policy. They've had use of your money for all that time, but had zero potential claim liability for that time.

Edited by njhorseman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

When I book a cruise today that sails 18 months from now if I decide to cancel a year from now in almost all cases I get my full deposit back, so my trip insurance company has had no potential claim liability for all that time.

Thank you for pointing out the differences between those two insurance product - I obviously was not aware of that.

I will keep that in mind for the future.

Edited by Paulchili
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Back to Oceania's Update.  Nothing.  Carnival just canceled all cruises until May 11th.  Some of their cruises for later dates also. Full refund or fcc credit with shipboard OBC.  Your choice.

 

Oceania.  Hellllooo???  I feel like the last kid to be picked for a team.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, bbtondo said:

Back to Oceania's Update.  Nothing.  Carnival just canceled all cruises until May 11th.  Some of their cruises for later dates also. Full refund or fcc credit with shipboard OBC.  Your choice.

 

Oceania.  Hellllooo???  I feel like the last kid to be picked for a team.....

The longer it takes oceania to respond to the current global conditions and update their cancellations and sailing schedule the less likely it is that I will re book my Baltic cruise for 2021 with them. I may just go with Windstar or Princess to the Baltic next year. Oceania, your loyal customers are disappearing daily....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, susiesan said:

The longer it takes oceania to respond to the current global conditions and update their cancellations and sailing schedule the less likely it is that I will re book my Baltic cruise for 2021 with them. I may just go with Windstar or Princess to the Baltic next year. Oceania, your loyal customers are disappearing daily....

Are you kidding you would go with Princess..thats cutting your nose to spite your face..

 

Edited by Jancruz
  • Like 3
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Jancruz said:

Are you kidding you would go with Princess..thats cutting your nose to spite your face..

 

I like Princess. The only reason I did not go with them this cruise was the number of ports they stop at versus Oceania, which is more. The cost on Princess is much less than with Oceania. For a port intensive cruise like the Baltic the ship is almost irrelevant as I won't be on it much except to sleep. Windstar would be more equivalent to Oceania both in experience and cost. I will decide as soon as Oceania gets their act together and I see how they treat their customers. The fact that they won't allow me to transfer the current deposit to the same cruise in 2021 is just nuts. They would rather spend all their time processing a refund and then collecting another deposit rather than just move the deposit with one computer transaction. My TA inquired and was told I would be charged a $500 admin fee for 2 people to transfer the deposit. This is not a productive use of Oceania employee time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, susiesan said:

I like Princess. The only reason I did not go with them this cruise was the number of ports they stop at versus Oceania, which is more.

Oceania usually has 3 full days in SPB - that is not the case for most cruise lines.

You really need as much time in SPB as you can get - lots to see & do.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, susiesan said:

 The fact that they won't allow me to transfer the current deposit to the same cruise in 2021 is just nuts. They would rather spend all their time processing a refund and then collecting another deposit rather than just move the deposit with one computer transaction. My TA inquired and was told I would be charged a $500 admin fee for 2 people to transfer the deposit. This is not a productive use of Oceania employee time.

 

Isn't that because you are already in the penalty period for your cruise?  I can transfer my deposit from my fall cruise to next year with no penalty.  Or cancel with no penalty.  
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, KS&JW said:

 

Isn't that because you are already in the penalty period for your cruise?  I can transfer my deposit from my fall cruise to next year with no penalty.  Or cancel with no penalty.  
 

Yes, I am in the penalty phase due to the corona virus pandemic. I had every intention of making the final payment and taking this cruise. Oceania knows it will be cancelled. There will be no flights to Europe in June, there will be no European ports accepting cruise ships in June. I am waiting for them to officially cancel so I won't be charged the penalty if I cancel myself. The rules have changed, but Oceania is woefully behind many of the other cruise lines in adapting to the new world of travel. The airlines aren't charging anything to cancel flights. It seems Oceania is one of the few cruise lines charging people a fee to cancel cruises.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

Oceania usually has 3 full days in SPB - that is not the case for most cruise lines.

You really need as much time in SPB as you can get - lots to see & do.

My Marina cruise had 2 days in SPB. It had 7 other ports not counting Copenhagen and Stockholm, the beginning and end. It was a great itinerary and will be run next Aug. 29, 2021. This is the sailing I'd like to transfer the deposit to as long as it doesn't cost me anything. $500 to do a few minutes of work on a computer? Ridiculous.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, susiesan said:

It seems Oceania is one of the few cruise lines charging people a fee to cancel cruises.

That does not sound correct

They with hold the Admin fee amount if you cancel during the cancellation period depending on the length of the cruise

 You should have cancelled back in March when you started whining about it

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...