Carnival to Dump Six Ships

[grapau27]

3 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Most cruise lines say that tips are discretionary, which allows you to delete the auto grats, if you want.

Yes they do or they would have to call them Service Charges.

Some companies only allow you to pay or stop autogratuities but Princess allow you to change the amount up or down.

We have always paid ours and given extra for exceptional service but that is for another thread.

[drsel]

Costa has a 10 Euro per person per day mandatory service charge.
this is not considered as tips

[Josy1953]

51 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Yes they do or they would have to call them Service Charges.

Some companies only allow you to pay or stop autogratuities but Princess allow you to change the amount up or down.

We have always paid ours and given extra for exceptional service but that is for another thread.

We always pay and give a little extra  but on one occasion on Princess we would have liked to reduce the autogratuity for the waiters in the MDR because they were the worst we have ever had but couldn't because it would have impacted the best cabin steward we have ever had over 52 cruises.  We gave the cabin steward an extra tip in cash which he told us he had to hand in but would get it back after they had checked that we had paid the full autogratuity.

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, Josy1953 said:

We always pay and give a little extra  but on one occasion on Princess we would have liked to reduce the autogratuity for the waiters in the MDR because they were the worst we have ever had but couldn't because it would have impacted the best cabin steward we have ever had over 52 cruises.  We gave the cabin steward an extra tip in cash which he told us he had to hand in but would get it back after they had checked that we had paid the full autogratuity.

Hallelujah - after 15 weeks I almost welcome a tipping  thread! But please, stop now.  

[molecrochip]

Oceana is about to go past Netley Abbey as she makes her way up Southampton Water.

[joeecco]

18 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

Oceana is about to go past Netley Abbey as she makes her way up Southampton Water.

P&O announced she’d be in Newcastle for a least a few months - are we thinking she’s moved south to be stripped and scrapped?... 😞 We have a Dubai cruise for March 2022 and all these rumours of her being scrapped are very unsettling 😞 

[wowzz]

13 minutes ago, joeecco said:

P&O announced she’d be in Newcastle for a least a few months - are we thinking she’s moved south to be stripped and scrapped?... 😞 We have a Dubai cruise for March 2022 and all these rumours of her being scrapped are very unsettling 😞 

Not sure about scrapping. All speculation at this stage. Plenty of time to make other arrangements if she leaves the fleet (and Dubai is not great anyway!)

[joeecco]

2 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Not sure about scrapping. All speculation at this stage. Plenty of time to make other arrangements if she leaves the fleet (and Dubai is not great anyway!)

Appreciate your opinion but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to go haha. If she does leave the fleet it seems highly unlikely they’ll move another ship from the fleet to replace her itinerary’s when Aurora and Arcadia cruises are lucrative with adults only prices and the rest of the fleet meets the demand of Southampton and Caribbean sailings? As you say it’s all speculation but the rumours are getting louder. And her moving from her berth at Newcastle doesn’t help the case. We have everything crossed. 

[wowzz]

16 minutes ago, joeecco said:

Appreciate your opinion but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to go haha. If she does leave the fleet it seems highly unlikely they’ll move another ship from the fleet to replace her itinerary’s when Aurora and Arcadia cruises are lucrative with adults only prices and the rest of the fleet meets the demand of Southampton and Caribbean sailings? As you say it’s all speculation but the rumours are getting louder. And her moving from her berth at Newcastle doesn’t help the case. We have everything crossed. 

You're right - just speculation at the moment. I hope things work out for you. At least you have plenty of time to sort out an alternative holiday, unlike those booked for this Christmas. 

[joeecco]

2 minutes ago, wowzz said:

You're right - just speculation at the moment. I hope things work out for you. At least you have plenty of time to sort out an alternative holiday, unlike those booked for this Christmas. 

Yeah course. We’ve had 5 holidays cancelled this year already as have so many others. We were booked in Iona for 10th October, missed the luck by 5 days haha! Also booked for Ventura for NYE but concerned about this not going ahead either considering it’s supposed to be a party cruise.. time will tell 😞 

[No pager thank you]

9 hours ago, drsel said:

Costa has a 10 Euro per person per day mandatory service charge.
this is not considered as tips

Conscious not to drift off the topic, but just to say I'm in the group which says that's another good reason not to travel Costa.  The other one I read is a possible fuel surcharge if oil goes above $70 a barrel - pull the other one!

 

As it's mandatory, and not just discretionary, customary, expected or amendable/removable (even if you have terrible service), then it should be included in the headline price - as a point of principle. The next thing could be excluding port taxes, presenting prices VAT free etc.

 

However P&O go from here, best to just ask customers to pay what they feel is the actual price necessary to provide the product.

 

If you want to have a drink, plus pay any % tab, go on a tour then that is your choice etc, but it should be possible (if a tad dull perhaps) to just pay the brochure price.

[tring]

Looks like Oceana is docked at Ocean Terminal.  Anyone know any more about where she is heading after that or what she may/may not be offloading?

[Bin man]

Vts has her leaving 6pm 8 /7/20 local coastal 

[Presto2]

23 minutes ago, Bin man said:

Vts has her leaving 6pm 8 /7/20 local coastal 

 

Any indication of where she is going?

[molecrochip]

20 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

 

Any indication of where she is going?

Currently Weymouth Bay as the deal 'is not yet complete'. That may well change before departure. Expectation is she is heading towards Greece but thats by no means confirmed.

 

Eyes on the ground report shop products and theatre equipment/other electrical removed. Shop stock would come off even if just a long lay-up. If it was going to another brand without Carnival, I would expect the theatre equipment to stay. If furniture starts coming off then panic as that would indicate scrap.

[Eddie99]

You really wonder what the Newcastle jaunt was all about - or whether plans for her future have unexpectedly changed since she sailed north?

[molecrochip]

2 minutes ago, Eddie99 said:

You really wonder what the Newcastle jaunt was all about - or whether plans for her future have unexpectedly changed since she sailed north?

They have changed. She was due to be there until mid-September and would then have sailed Newcastle-Southampton-Dubai (crew only) to commence a winter season. That WAS the plan when she went up.

[Presto2]

2 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

Currently Weymouth Bay as the deal 'is not yet complete'. That may well change before departure. Expectation is she is heading towards Greece but thats by no means confirmed.

 

Eyes on the ground report shop products and theatre equipment/other electrical removed. Shop stock would come off even if just a long lay-up. If it was going to another brand without Carnival, I would expect the theatre equipment to stay. If furniture starts coming off then panic as that would indicate scrap.

 

If the furniture comes off I don't want to know ....... i hope she goes to a good home in Greece. Then again we last saw Oriana in Athens last August when she had been sold. She was in the harbour area and ironically Oceana was there too. I remember saying that if Oceana was the one being sold I would be gutted ... 😞

 

If she is off to Greece they have sold her ...... hope she goes to Louis Cruise Lines as that was our first cruise line .....

 

 

[Presto2]

1 minute ago, molecrochip said:

They have changed. She was due to be there until mid-September and would then have sailed Newcastle-Southampton-Dubai (crew only) to commence a winter season. That WAS the plan when she went up.

 

Bet the crew will be gutted too as every time we have been on Oceana the crew have said how much they love her. To be honest it was when Andy Willard was Captain so hopefully they will decide to keep him !!!

[Presto2]

PS And this is for Andy --- if they scrap her I will never eat Heinz again .............................

 

😞

[molecrochip]

7 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

 

If the furniture comes off I don't want to know ....... i hope she goes to a good home in Greece. Then again we last saw Oriana in Athens last August when she had been sold. She was in the harbour area and ironically Oceana was there too. I remember saying that if Oceana was the one being sold I would be gutted ... 😞

 

If she is off to Greece they have sold her ...... hope she goes to Louis Cruise Lines as that was our first cruise line .....

I've not been able to pin down where she could be off to. Favorite options appears to be Greece for Astro Ocean (same cruise line which bought Oriana) or Italy for scrap.

 

Astro Ocean have big expansion plans so its not beyond possible that a deal had been done to sell Oceana / other small ships from P&O to them last year when the deal was done for Oriana. What may have changed is the timescale for such transfers. Only issue is that Oriana has not sailed full under the Piano Land name yet.

 

What you often find is that the ships were sold months/years before they transfer and leased back on a maintenance agreement to fulfill a certain proportion of voyages. 

Edited July 6, 2020 by molecrochip

[Presto2]

3 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

I've not been able to pin down where she could be off to. Favorite options appears to be Greece for Astro Ocean (same cruise line which bought Oriana) or Italy for scrap.

 

Astro Ocean have big expansion plans so its not beyond possible that a deal had been done to sell Oceana / other small ships from P&O to them last year when the deal was done for Oriana. What may have changed is the timescale for such transfers. Only issue is that Oriana has not sailed full under the Piano Land name yet.

 

What you often find is that the ships were sold months/years before they transfer and leased back on a maintenance agreement to fulfill a certain proportion of voyages. 

 

I remember sailing out of Genoa on Oceana on our last cruise on her and saw Costa Concordia being scrapped. It made me go cold and was so very sad. Would hate to think she is scrap -- that lovely atrium that I have never seen any ship beat we have been on (including all the bells and whistles of Celebrity Edge) --- what a shame. 

[Captain_Morgan]

14 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

I've not been able to pin down where she could be off to. Favorite options appears to be Greece for Astro Ocean (same cruise line which bought Oriana) or Italy for scrap.

 

Astro Ocean have big expansion plans so its not beyond possible that a deal had been done to sell Oceana / other small ships from P&O to them last year when the deal was done for Oriana. What may have changed is the timescale for such transfers. Only issue is that Oriana has not sailed full under the Piano Land name yet.

 

What you often find is that the ships were sold months/years before they transfer and leased back on a maintenance agreement to fulfill a certain proportion of voyages. 

 

If i were betting, I would put money on this as being the most logical destination/outcome as I'm sure when Astro Ocean purchased Oriana they likely put in an offer for Oceana/Aurora/Arcadia on a long term plan.  This long term plan of course was obviously sped up considerably under the current circumstances and with Carnival needing capital or at the very least trying to stem the outward flow of cost versus (non) revenue they saw an opportunity to shed some tonnage sooner rather than later.

 

With that said, I wouldn't be surprised either to hear during the upcoming corporate call tomorrow if they announce more than Oceana's departure...

[joeecco]

33 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

Currently Weymouth Bay as the deal 'is not yet complete'. That may well change before departure. Expectation is she is heading towards Greece but thats by no means confirmed.

 

Eyes on the ground report shop products and theatre equipment/other electrical removed. Shop stock would come off even if just a long lay-up. If it was going to another brand without Carnival, I would expect the theatre equipment to stay. If furniture starts coming off then panic as that would indicate scrap.

What deal is not yet complete? 

[Presto2]

1 minute ago, joeecco said:

What deal is not yet complete? 

 

That's the million dollar question ….