Reduced port stays

[Wasasalad]

10 hours ago, Pizzasteve said:

Hope Oceana management reads this thread and stops.  My family are spending like $50k for an upcoming holy land cruise this summer.  If the stops are reduced Oceana which was becoming my preferred line will lose our business and I will cancel our later booked Regent cruise.

My cruise has been cut by one hour at each of seven ports! I booked because of the long in port days! Alaska

I’ve been following the Bermuda cruises! They have been missing Bermuda! I’ve been on 30+ cruises to Bermuda over the years and never missed the stop! I’ve asked to move my Bermuda cruise until 2024! I may end up canceling! I only booked because it’s Bermuda! As it is when I booked we were leaving Bermuda at 4pm now it’s 7am! I don’t call that a day in Bermuda!

I’m new to Oceania and may leave before my first Oceania cruise!

[Guest ldtr]

8 hours ago, njhorseman said:

 

 

Very simply the major cruise line holding companies have yet to return to profitability after the pandemic shutdown. They have billions in debt, a shortage of cash, and have been teetering on the brink of insolvency. They're hoping for a return to minimal profitability later this year, but even then it's going to be years before they'll be able to return to some sense of normalcy in their operations and product quality. Inflation certainly hasn't helped either, nor has an apparent labor shortage that is leaving the ships understaffed.

You can add to that a number of changes outside of cruise line control.  A number of ports have implemented restrictions of one type or another on cruise ships ranging from max size of ships, limit number of ships, to max number of passengers, etc.  You have have environmental restrictions such as the ones along the west coast of north  impacting   cruising speed in some areas, including Canada and Alaska.  With Asia and other places not yet back to full speed you have ships that would previously been in other areas fighting for port space in Alaska, the Caribbean and even Europe.  Several cruise lines are extending beyond what has been the traditional cruise season in some areas. Basically with some of these issues added to the issues restarting, the heavy debt loads these other issues are making it rather difficult for the various cruise lines to operate as they did prior to covid.

[sofietucker]

4 minutes ago, Wasasalad said:

My cruise has been cut by one hour at each of seven ports! I booked because of the long in port days! Alaska

I’ve been following the Bermuda cruises! They have been missing Bermuda! I’ve been on 30+ cruises to Bermuda over the years and never missed the stop! I’ve asked to move my Bermuda cruise until 2024! I may end up canceling! I only booked because it’s Bermuda! As it is when I booked we were leaving Bermuda at 4pm now it’s 7am! I don’t call that a day in Bermuda!

I’m new to Oceania and may leave before my first Oceania cruise!

Holy guacamole. Bermuda should be at least 3 full days, at minimum, 2.5. That's a lot of sea days for a short-circuited cruise,

[Guest ldtr]

4 minutes ago, Wasasalad said:

My cruise has been cut by one hour at each of seven ports! I booked because of the long in port days! Alaska

I’ve been following the Bermuda cruises! They have been missing Bermuda! I’ve been on 30+ cruises to Bermuda over the years and never missed the stop! I’ve asked to move my Bermuda cruise until 2024! I may end up canceling! I only booked because it’s Bermuda! As it is when I booked we were leaving Bermuda at 4pm now it’s 7am! I don’t call that a day in Bermuda!

I’m new to Oceania and may leave before my first Oceania cruise!

\Several cruise lines are shortening port stops in Alaska.  Some new rules are in place in some areas of Canada and Alaska forcing ships to slow down to reduce the impacts on whales.  You also have ports reaching saturation, with even Juneau looking to limit the max number of ships in port. You also still have some problems with Skagway forcing ships to go to other already crowded ports.  

[njhorseman]

38 minutes ago, Wasasalad said:

My cruise has been cut by one hour at each of seven ports! I booked because of the long in port days! Alaska

I’ve been following the Bermuda cruises! They have been missing Bermuda! I’ve been on 30+ cruises to Bermuda over the years and never missed the stop! I’ve asked to move my Bermuda cruise until 2024! I may end up canceling! I only booked because it’s Bermuda! As it is when I booked we were leaving Bermuda at 4pm now it’s 7am! I don’t call that a day in Bermuda!

I’m new to Oceania and may leave before my first Oceania cruise!

Normally there are few cruises that call on Bermuda in the winter. This year many more than the usual number were scheduled and as luck would have it the weather conditions this winter have caused frequent gale warnings and generally high wind conditions . Because Bermuda's ship channel is shallow and narrow it would have been impossible for a large cruise ship to safely navigate the channel and there was no choice but to cancel those port calls.

 

A return to more normal weather conditions will mean that ships will be able to dock there.

 

i think your experience with Bermuda cruises has been fortunate. We've been regular cruisers to Bermuda for 35 years and while none of our Bermuda port calls were cancelled outright on several of the cruises either our arrival in Bermuda was delayed by a day or the ship had to depart early because of  winds. On one cruise both occurred, cutting a planned three day stay down to 1 1/2 days. During hurricane season some  Bermuda itineraries have ended up being changed to Canada/New England or Bahamas itineraries upon occasion due to tropical storms and hurricanes.

 

[sofietucker]

But here's the deal--whether it's AK, Bermuda, or Key West (or my current concern, Bordeaux). as soon as the rules & regs--or apparent but pretty much ongoing currents--change: it seems like it would be incumbent on the cruise lines to CHANGE their itineraries. Like ASAP when the new requirements are announced.  To support the guests that they are trying to book in an honorable manner.

[Jayne E]

Way too many shortened port times, cancelled ports and an entire itinerary cancelled!

14 day cruise on Riviera, December 2024, Southern/Eastern Carib cancelled and replaced with 12 days Western Carib. $250 SBC offered for “inconvenience”.  We cancelled!

August 2023 Riviera, all Croatia ports cancelled and replaced with 2 stops in Igoumenitsa and 2 other unknown Greek ports….notified after final payment.
Last week notified that Venice (expected Trieste) and Croatia ports cancelled. Replaced with a sea day, Izmir & Istanbul. $250 SBC offered for “inconvenience”. We cancelled!

This May is our free 20th cruise. We will then monitor these boards regarding cancelled ports, shortened times, etc. with regard to continue cruising with Oceania.  A shame, as food and service is still excellent. However, management is messing up the product. 

PS: Don’t advertise Le Verdon as Bordeaux. The Bordeaux port is in the heart of Bordeaux and was a wonderful overnight.  Le Verdon is an isolated port with not much to see at all. Two hours each way to Bordeaux. 

 

Edited March 20, 2023 by Jayne E
Added to text

[sofietucker]

8 minutes ago, Jayne E said:

Way too many shortened port times, cancelled ports and an entire itinerary cancelled!

14 day cruise on Riviera, December 2024, Southern/Eastern Carib cancelled and replaced with 12 days Western Carib. $250 SBC offered for “inconvenience”.  We cancelled!

August 2023 Riviera, all Croatia ports cancelled and replaced with 2 stops in Igoumenitsa and 2 other unknown Greek ports….notified after final payment.
Last week notified that Venice (expected Trieste) and Croatia ports cancelled. Replaced with a sea day, Izmir & Istanbul. $250 SBC offered for “inconvenience”. We cancelled!

This May is our free 20th cruise. We will then monitor these boards regarding cancelled ports, shortened times, etc. with regard to continue cruising with Oceania.  A shame, as food and service is still excellent. However, management is messing up the product. 

 

 

Oh Hail No! I would be outraged at all of the above changes, having sailed those itineraries many times and very specifically have chosen my ports. To be crude, eff that.

Edited March 20, 2023 by sofietucker

[ak1004]

7 hours ago, Jayne E said:

Way too many shortened port times, cancelled ports and an entire itinerary cancelled!

14 day cruise on Riviera, December 2024, Southern/Eastern Carib cancelled and replaced with 12 days Western Carib. $250 SBC offered for “inconvenience”.  We cancelled!

August 2023 Riviera, all Croatia ports cancelled and replaced with 2 stops in Igoumenitsa and 2 other unknown Greek ports….notified after final payment.
Last week notified that Venice (expected Trieste) and Croatia ports cancelled. Replaced with a sea day, Izmir & Istanbul. $250 SBC offered for “inconvenience”. We cancelled!

This May is our free 20th cruise. We will then monitor these boards regarding cancelled ports, shortened times, etc. with regard to continue cruising with Oceania.  A shame, as food and service is still excellent. However, management is messing up the product. 

PS: Don’t advertise Le Verdon as Bordeaux. The Bordeaux port is in the heart of Bordeaux and was a wonderful overnight.  Le Verdon is an isolated port with not much to see at all. Two hours each way to Bordeaux. 

 

 

Looks pretty clear to me. The same way as Paris (Honfleur), London (Portsmouth) and many other ports.
 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

There are tons of posts about another competing cruise line changing ports, sometimes early on, and sometimes not.  My hunch is that some of this is likely due to ports being overstuffed and not able to allow every ship in that wanted to be allowed in.  Or maybe the cruise lines don't want to tender in. 

 

As for our sold out 12 day cruise with almost as many port calls, we had only two hours taken away, each on a separate day.  That won't affect my enjoyment of the cruise.  I usually don't stay ashore the last hour of a stay in any port, and being able to enjoy a more leisurely breakfast isn't a bad thing either.

 

As for the Bordeaux visit mentioned (circled) above, any changes made may  be a factor having to do with the tides.  The tides on the estuary and river in France where Bordeaux is located can dictate when the ship comes in and leaves.  We will be awaiting favorable tides when we visit; Oceania has arranged excursions in the area ending in Bordeaux, or passengers can stay on the ship and cruise down the river to Bordeaux.  But each trip to Bordeaux is different...ours has a late afternoon/overnight and full day next day in Bordeaux.  But others do not.

Edited March 20, 2023 by IWantToLiveOverTheSea

[Jayne E]

47 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Looks pretty clear to me. The same way as Paris (Honfleur), London (Portsmouth) and many other ports.
 

Sorry, your comparison doesn’t work in this case as Bordeaux has a beautiful port located in the heart of the city. Paris, London, Rome, Florence do not….reason for long drives to visit.  The Oceania 2 day stop in Bordeaux is wonderful. Le Verdon is not.

[ak1004]

Just now, Jayne E said:

Sorry, your comparison doesn’t work in this case as Bordeaux has a beautiful port located in the heart of the city. Paris, London, Rome, Florence do not….reason for long drives to visit.  The Oceania 2 day stop in Bordeaux is wonderful. Le Verdon is not.

 

Some O cruises stop in Bordeaux, others in Le Verdon. Not sure the reason, could be port availability, weather etc. But it's clearly mentioned in the itinerary. Nobody should feel misled. 

 

P.S. London also has a port close to city center, but only small ships can dock there.

[LHT28]

8 minutes ago, Jayne E said:

Sorry, your comparison doesn’t work in this case as Bordeaux has a beautiful port located in the heart of the city. Paris, London, Rome, Florence do not….reason for long drives to visit.  The Oceania 2 day stop in Bordeaux is wonderful. Le Verdon is not.

Well at least you know  it will be a long commute  so you can choose not to do a cruise  that stops  there

 

 

[sofietucker]

2 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Some O cruises stop in Bordeaux, others in Le Verdon. Not sure the reason, could be port availability, weather etc. But it's clearly mentioned in the itinerary. Nobody should feel misled. 

 

P.S. London also has a port close to city center, but only small ships can dock there.

That being said, other ports we've visited that require a long drive to a featured city (Cadiz, Honfleur, Le Havre, Warnemunde, Livorno) at least are themselves towns of interest. We've walked off the ship and wandered locally in each of these. But in Le Verdon? Nothing, as far as I've been able to discover (think Gydynia). Plus apparently no public transportation, so we're at the mercy of the ship's shorex or another tour company. 

[ak1004]

1 minute ago, sofietucker said:

That being said, other ports we've visited that require a long drive to a featured city (Cadiz, Honfleur, Le Havre, Warnemunde, Livorno) at least are themselves towns of interest. We've walked off the ship and wandered locally in each of these. But in Le Verdon? Nothing, as far as I've been able to discover (think Gydynia). Plus apparently no public transportation, so we're at the mercy of the ship's shorex or another tour company. 

 

This might be true, but this is not the point. My response was to poster who claimed that they advertise Le Verdon as Bordeaux. They are not. They clearly mention that it's Le Verdon.

[MEFIowa]

Though part of this issue, situation, comes with peak travel times. IF you're cruising when all the other cruise lines and tourists want to be where you want to go, you can expect such issues. Whether reduced port times, missed ports or sub-optimal ports. Sometimes it is best to travel outside of peak times.

 

So in this case, IF you want to go to Bordeaux on a beautiful Monday May 29th day, O will take you to Le Verdon. If or how you get to Bordeaux is up to you. May 29th being the start of the American summer holiday season, that exact weekend, for that is Memorial Day! And will continue to Labor Day (9/4/23)

[ak1004]

4 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

 

So in this case, IF you want to go to Bordeaux on a beautiful Monday May 29th day, O will take you to Le Verdon. If or how you get to Bordeaux is up to you. May 29th being the start of the American summer holiday season, that exact weekend, for that is Memorial Day! And will continue to Labor Day (9/4/23)

 

Accidently we will be on this sailing.. but the funny thing is that the very next sailing shows the actual Bordeaux, not Le Verdon, with overnight.

 

 

So everyone can decide what they want to do, but the information is there. No misleading.

[MEFIowa]

2 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Accidently we will be on this sailing.. but the funny thing is that the very next sailing shows the actual Bordeaux, not Le Verdon, with overnight.

 

 

So everyone can decide what they want to do, but the information is there. No misleading.

BUT do NOT forget the PRICE of the cruise. Peak cruise time usually means peak cruise prices.

 

This "Western Europe Allure" cruise on Riviera had a cruise-only fare of $4199 for a B4 as of 2/2022 brochure.

 

The earlier "Iberian Havens & French Charms" showed Le Verdon in the 2/2022 brochure and it listed then cruise only at $3799 for a B4. A price difference of $400 PP.

[sofietucker]

1 hour ago, MEFIowa said:

Though part of this issue, situation, comes with peak travel times. IF you're cruising when all the other cruise lines and tourists want to be where you want to go, you can expect such issues. Whether reduced port times, missed ports or sub-optimal ports. Sometimes it is best to travel outside of peak times.

 

So in this case, IF you want to go to Bordeaux on a beautiful Monday May 29th day, O will take you to Le Verdon. If or how you get to Bordeaux is up to you. May 29th being the start of the American summer holiday season, that exact weekend, for that is Memorial Day! And will continue to Labor Day (9/4/23)

Point very much taken: we're on this sailing to replace a spectacular itinerary we'd booked, to less traveled, smaller Baltic islands--in JULY, when every person in Scandinavia is on holiday. (Been there in August too: everything's shut because the shop/restaurant owners are out crowding the beaches along with us. I exaggerate, but not by much.) DH: "What, are we nuts?"

 

We try pretty hard not to cruise in the summer months. And thought, well, school will still be in session at the start of our cruise, so it can't be but so bad. Our last trip to Bordeaux coincided with the opening of the harvest in St Emilion, a thrilling medieval ceremony (mid-September). This time, the vines will still be waking up, so strolling the vineyards sampling grapes is out. Weather should be perfect though!

[1985rz1]

2 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Some O cruises stop in Bordeaux, others in Le Verdon. Not sure the reason, could be port availability, weather etc. But it's clearly mentioned in the itinerary. Nobody should feel misled. 

 

P.S. London also has a port close to city center, but only small ships can dock there.

The river tides also have a strong influence on which port is used.

[susiesan]

20 hours ago, janecambridge said:

No SusieSan but we have booked for next summer. solentrichard has a great blog on the very ship we will be on . Zagreb to Dubrovnik. Could be worth a read. 
just Google his name and lady Eleganza.

Thanks, Jane. I hadn't read about that ship yet. I found a company called APT Tours that runs this cruise, is that who you booked with?

https://www.aptouring.com/trips/europe/euccdr14/apr2024-oct2024

 

Can you email me to discuss this cruise? susiesan8 at gmail.com

Edited March 20, 2023 by susiesan

[susiesan]

11 hours ago, Jayne E said:

Way too many shortened port times, cancelled ports and an entire itinerary cancelled!

14 day cruise on Riviera, December 2024, Southern/Eastern Carib cancelled and replaced with 12 days Western Carib. $250 SBC offered for “inconvenience”.  We cancelled!

August 2023 Riviera, all Croatia ports cancelled and replaced with 2 stops in Igoumenitsa and 2 other unknown Greek ports….notified after final payment.
Last week notified that Venice (expected Trieste) and Croatia ports cancelled. Replaced with a sea day, Izmir & Istanbul. $250 SBC offered for “inconvenience”. We cancelled!

 

 

Why are all Croatia ports being cancelled now for a cruise in August? What is the reason being given? I don't see that Riviera is in the Med in August 2023, she leaves in June.

[1985rz1]

1 hour ago, susiesan said:

Why are all Croatia ports being cancelled now for a cruise in August? What is the reason being given? I don't see that Riviera is in the Med in August 2023, she leaves in June.

In our case, we booked a Venice to Istanbul in October, 2024, on Vista.  Venice, Hvar, and Dubrovnik have been replaced by Rome, Amalfi, and Catania.  The reason given is the ship restriction size that Venice is imposing.  It was not stated, but I'm guessing that too many people have complained about the alternative ports forced on cruise ships to use as "Venice," and the stiff competition by all lines vying for those alternate ports has become problematic.  We are disappointed about Venice, a city we enjoy. However, we wouldn't have embarked in Venice, anyway,  so the impact on our expectations wasn't an issue since we've been to Venice and Dubrovnik before and this cruise was chosen because of the itinerary in Greece and Turkey.

[MEFIowa]

1 hour ago, susiesan said:

Why are all Croatia ports being cancelled now for a cruise in August? What is the reason being given? I don't see that Riviera is in the Med in August 2023, she leaves in June.

Per the 2023 Collection of Voyages:

 

Nautica is in the Adriatic in August: Italian & Dalmatian Darlings (8/2-13/2023), for Split & Korcula; Cinematic Med (8/13-25/2023), for Zadar; Romantic French Riviera & Italy (8/25-9/8/2023), for Dubrovnik. All four of those cities in Croatia

 

Riviera is off Norway & Scotland in August (8/5-23/2023) and then Scotland, Ireland, France and into the Baltic (8/23-9/14/2023).

[pinotlover]

22 hours ago, Buckwheel said:

I agree with you completely. 

 

What seems like a sham is Oceania advertising one product then delivering another. Everyone knows it saves money to reduce port stops and times. IMHO, Oceania would have more support if they had accurate port stops and schedules when they released  cruise itineraries. Routinely changing schedules down the road, including sometimes after final payment is fraudulent.

 

Of course, they are unable to predict weather. If a port must be skipped due to extreme weather that is the correct decision to keep safety in the forefront. 

Except they flat out lie about the weather.

 

Oceania cancelled our Falklands tour three days before we were to arrive and said nothing. Tour operators sent messages to passengers that their tours were cancelled. Destination Services told all inquiring that the ship was going to the Falklands as scheduled. The ship never set a course to the Falklands from Punta del Estes. A day before planned arrival the Captain came on and said the Falklands were being cancelled. In a letter he wrote the cancellation was due to 40 ft seas and high winds at the tendering location.

 

I received an email directly from Patrick Watts saying the seas were calm with only a light breeze as had been forecasted. Two other ships came into port and had easy tendering operations.

 

I can tell another similar story of the episode in skipping Chacabuco. 
 

Our three missed ports don’t include the ports where our stays were cut short earlier.