British passengers on Oceania treated differently

[KetoCruiser]

Just returned from our first Oceania cruise and must say I am disappointed regarding the Cruise as a whole. We had a number of ports cancelled without notice because of biofouling and New Zealand’s requirements to clean the hull of the ship.  Our cruise was not operating in New Zealand waters but the following cruise was. Oceania made the decision to inconvenience our cruise so that it could meet  New Zealands long standing requirements .
 

We received no explanation or apology whilst on board, we even picked up tender  tickets the morning we were due to visit Kangaroo Island.  As you can imagine passengers were not happy as we were looking forward to visiting Kangaroo Island and the Great Ocean Road and our private arrangements had to be cancelled at very short notice.

Like many we wrote and complained to Oceania on our return home, we have kept in touch with fellow passengers via cruise critic roll call and as of today we have been the only passengers not offered any compensation for the inconvenience.  Passengers from Australia and the US have received a future cruise credit as an apology , however both my husband and myself plus another British couple have received nothing.

 

Does this happen often and can anyone explain why we are being treated differently. 
 

 

[ToxM]

1 hour ago, KetoCruiser said:

Just returned from our first Oceania cruise and must say I am disappointed regarding the Cruise as a whole. We had a number of ports cancelled without notice because of biofouling and New Zealand’s requirements to clean the hull of the ship.  Our cruise was not operating in New Zealand waters but the following cruise was. Oceania made the decision to inconvenience our cruise so that it could meet  New Zealands long standing requirements .
 

We received no explanation or apology whilst on board, we even picked up tender  tickets the morning we were due to visit Kangaroo Island.  As you can imagine passengers were not happy as we were looking forward to visiting Kangaroo Island and the Great Ocean Road and our private arrangements had to be cancelled at very short notice.

Like many we wrote and complained to Oceania on our return home, we have kept in touch with fellow passengers via cruise critic roll call and as of today we have been the only passengers not offered any compensation for the inconvenience.  Passengers from Australia and the US have received a future cruise credit as an apology , however both my husband and myself plus another British couple have received nothing.

 

Does this happen often and can anyone explain why we are being treated differently. 
 

 

Have you chased this with Oceania and or your travel agent? 

[Robjame]

The route to getting Oceania’s attention is through your Travel Agent. You are two customers whereas, if you chose your TA carefully, her agency does a lot of business with Oceania with multiple clients.

 

Have you contacted your TA and asked her agency to intervene on your behalf?

[ToxM]

20 minutes ago, Robjame said:

The route to getting Oceania’s attention is through your Travel Agent. You are two customers whereas, if you chose your TA carefully, her agency does a lot of business with Oceania with multiple clients.

 

Have you contacted your TA and asked her agency to intervene on your behalf?

To be fair, Travel Agents don’t have the same level of clout with providers in the UK as they do in the US, but as I stated above the first port of call (excuse the pun) is O or the TA. 

[KetoCruiser]

8 minutes ago, ToxM said:

To be fair, Travel Agents don’t have the same level of clout with providers in the UK as they do in the US, but as I stated above the first port of call (excuse the pun) is O or the TA. 

We have started copying in our TA and have asked them for help.

[ToxM]

Just now, KetoCruiser said:

We have started copying in our TA and have asked them for help.

 

Good - please let us know how this goes. Did the others who were on the cruise get notified of FCC whilst on board and did you get the same or any notification? 

 

 

[Mrs f.]

I am one of the others who was on this cruise.  There were many issues especially losing 2 ports due to biofouling cleaning for New Zealand.....and we weren't even going to New Zealand,  the next cruise was and they got 25% fcc due to " whatever".   I wrote to Oceania right after the cruise expressing my disappointment.    I know others who also wrote.  As of now....8 have received some compensation.....2 nothing (keto cruiser and a second British  couple)...the rest are waiting. 

 

Rather strange that Oceania has denied 2 British couples anything. We all had the same poor Oceania experiences. 

 

Yes, O is still our cruise line of choice, but when they don't play fair......

[LHT28]

As with many things  with UK agents  they take  a lot longer to inform  their clients

write  to Oceania

check you Oceania account & see if an FCC is in the online account

 

Just look at the cruises that were cancelled during covid  how many  UK booked cruiser  had to wait sometimes a year to get refunds from the agencies they booked through

Not always the cruise lines that are at fault

JMO

[ToxM]

54 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

As with many things  with UK agents  they take  a lot longer to inform  their clients

write  to Oceania

check you Oceania account & see if an FCC is in the online account

 

Just look at the cruises that were cancelled during covid  how many  UK booked cruiser  had to wait sometimes a year to get refunds from the agencies they booked through

Not always the cruise lines that are at fault

JMO

 

We really do get the short straw when it comes to usefulness of Travel Agents over here. 

[govanguy]

57 minutes ago, ToxM said:

 

We really do get the short straw when it comes to usefulness of Travel Agents over here. 

Fortunately, I have a great travel agent in Southampton. Her head office is in Scotland, where I reside .

I found her during lockdown as I was pursuing Covid refunds. She never lets me down.

She was swift in pursuing and obtaining refunds for multiple cruise.

[pinotlover]

This issue is bigger than just this cruise. Those of us booked for the 2023-24 circumnavigation want to know if Oceania plans on taking 2 of our port days to do hull cleaning for the following cruise as they did this recent cruise.
 

Since it’s a New Zealand issue, let those folks on the New Zealand cruise float around going nowhere while the hill gets cleared. Our cruise has plenty ( too many actually) sea days already and we don’t want more in order to facilitate a totally different cruise.

 

Oceania has not addressed this issue as of yet.

Edited February 16, 2023 by pinotlover

[LaCroisiereS'amuse]

5 hours ago, ToxM said:

To be fair, Travel Agents don’t have the same level of clout with providers in the UK as they do in the US, but as I stated above the first port of call (excuse the pun) is O or the TA. 

 

Depends who you use.  I go with an Oceania specialist & they are brilliant - we had an issue that wasn't resolved on board & 2 days after we were back we were on a conference call with our TA, 2 senior managers of Oceania UK and our issue was resolved within 5 minutes.

[Mrs f.]

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

This issue is bigger than just this cruise. Those of us booked for the 2023-24 circumnavigation want to know if Oceania plans on taking 2 of our port days to do hull cleaning for the following cruise as they did this recent cruise.
 

Since it’s a New Zealand issue, let those folks on the New Zealand cruise float around going nowhere while the hill gets cleared. Our cruise has plenty ( too many actually) sea days already and we don’t want more in order to facilitate a totally different cruise.

 

Oceania has not addressed this issue as of yet.

On a side note....Kangaroo island became YET ANOTHER sea day.  Many of us had gotten texts and emails from Kangaroo Island Trails during the night before,  telling us that our tour was cancelled because we would not be docking. We all thought it was some kind of spam became O had not said a word. We were all in the lounge clutching our tender tickets when it was announced on the speaker that we're not docking. How did the tour company know before it was announced by O?  Has any cruise actually docked at Kangaroo Island?  

[Guest ldtr]

13 hours ago, KetoCruiser said:

Just returned from our first Oceania cruise and must say I am disappointed regarding the Cruise as a whole. We had a number of ports cancelled without notice because of biofouling and New Zealand’s requirements to clean the hull of the ship.  Our cruise was not operating in New Zealand waters but the following cruise was. Oceania made the decision to inconvenience our cruise so that it could meet  New Zealands long standing requirements .
 

We received no explanation or apology whilst on board, we even picked up tender  tickets the morning we were due to visit Kangaroo Island.  As you can imagine passengers were not happy as we were looking forward to visiting Kangaroo Island and the Great Ocean Road and our private arrangements had to be cancelled at very short notice.

Like many we wrote and complained to Oceania on our return home, we have kept in touch with fellow passengers via cruise critic roll call and as of today we have been the only passengers not offered any compensation for the inconvenience.  Passengers from Australia and the US have received a future cruise credit as an apology , however both my husband and myself plus another British couple have received nothing.

 

Does this happen often and can anyone explain why we are being treated differently. 
 

 

If you made the booking in the UK, under UK terms and conditions  then you can always file a claim in the UK for a major deviation from the booked itinerary under the PTR.

 

Another cruise line (Viking) also ran into this and not only were they not allowed into ports in NZ, but also they were not allowed in ports in Australia until the problem was resolved.  

 

Once the inspection was done and the problem identified I do not think that they had much choice other than to clean the hull as soon as they could, based upon what happened with the Viking cruise

[cruiseaholic78]

We were also on that cruise and sent our complaints on 27th January, until now we have only  had a confirmation from Oceania saying they have received our mail.

Based on the above I think its time to contact our T.A. and see if they can do anything for us.

We are based in The Netherlands.

[KetoCruiser]

20 hours ago, ToxM said:

 

Good - please let us know how this goes. Did the others who were on the cruise get notified of FCC whilst on board and did you get the same or any notification? 

 

 

We did not even get an apology whilst on board, Oceania think they are like royalty, they don’t apologise and don’t explain. 
 

like most of us on the Roll Call we sent in a letter to Oceania explaining our dissatisfaction and disappointment.  Did not realise at the time that we should have gone through our TA to get a result.  All we received as a reply was a cut a paste letter similar to everyone else, but no offer of compensation.  
 

Unfortunately  prior to all this  inconvenience, we had booked a couple of future cruises with Oceania whilst on board. If our disappointment means nothing to the company, in comparison  to everyone else, then I would prefer to have our deposit returned and we will look for a company that wants our business.  Unlike the US if we cancel we will loose the deposit we paid. 

[Mrs f.]

We wrote to guest relations in Florida and followed that up a few days later with a call to our TA, who said her company would contact Oceania.  Took about 3 weeks total I think...January 26-February 14.

 

Also, interesting enough...the Americans got $500USD each.

The Australians got $700AUD each

The Canadians got $500CAD each

The Brits got zilch

[cruiseaholic78]

1 hour ago, KetoCruiser said:

Unfortunately  prior to all this  inconvenience, we had booked a couple of future cruises with Oceania whilst on board. If our disappointment means nothing to the company, in comparison  to everyone else, then I would prefer to have our deposit returned and we will look for a company that wants our business.  Unlike the US if we cancel we will loose the deposit we paid. 

If you booked them onboard don’t US conditions apply? Or did you transfer to a local UK based T.A.?
 

[KetoCruiser]

44 minutes ago, cruiseaholic78 said:

If you booked them onboard don’t US conditions apply? Or did you transfer to a local UK based T.A.?
 

It was transferred to our TA in the U.K. they did it automatically. Don’t think there was a choice.

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, KetoCruiser said:

It was transferred to our TA in the U.K. they did it automatically. Don’t think there was a choice.

if you book onboard  you can have the booking left with Oceania or you can let it go to your TA on record

Just  tell them when you are booking  onboard  what your choice is

 

When you have a issue  if you cannot resolve it onboard  then you should contact your TA    ASAP

 They are the ones that have the direct line to Oceania

 

If you do not trust your TA to act on your behalf  then you need a new TA

 

 You are not left out  because you are in the UK

 

 Oceania never discloses anything onboard 🤔

Their strong suit has always been lack of communication it is not  a new thing

JMO

[rbtan]

On 2/16/2023 at 5:47 AM, KetoCruiser said:

Just returned from our first Oceania cruise and must say I am disappointed regarding the Cruise as a whole. We had a number of ports cancelled without notice because of biofouling and New Zealand’s requirements to clean the hull of the ship.  Our cruise was not operating in New Zealand waters but the following cruise was. Oceania made the decision to inconvenience our cruise so that it could meet  New Zealands long standing requirements .
 

We received no explanation or apology whilst on board, we even picked up tender  tickets the morning we were due to visit Kangaroo Island.  As you can imagine passengers were not happy as we were looking forward to visiting Kangaroo Island and the Great Ocean Road and our private arrangements had to be cancelled at very short notice.

Like many we wrote and complained to Oceania on our return home, we have kept in touch with fellow passengers via cruise critic roll call and as of today we have been the only passengers not offered any compensation for the inconvenience.  Passengers from Australia and the US have received a future cruise credit as an apology , however both my husband and myself plus another British couple have received nothing.

 

Does this happen often and can anyone explain why we are being treated differently. 
 

 

Is your T/A American or British? Contact them & inquire what they can do. They get paid by the cruise line, so they should assist you. If not then try Oceania directly. If you knew this on board, you should have addressed it at that time. It's hard to get satisfaction after the fact.

[piscean]

Hello Ketcruiser

unusually Oceania are the only cruise company I know of where we in the Uk can cancel and get a full deposit refund within a given time frame. I believe it is 90 days, just before balance due date.

l’ve recently cancelled an Oceania cruise (booked with Regent instead) and the deposit was back fairly quickly.

My TA arranged this at my request.

 

 

 

[KetoCruiser]

12 hours ago, piscean said:

Hello Ketcruiser

unusually Oceania are the only cruise company I know of where we in the Uk can cancel and get a full deposit refund within a given time frame. I believe it is 90 days, just before balance due date.

l’ve recently cancelled an Oceania cruise (booked with Regent instead) and the deposit was back fairly quickly.

My TA arranged this at my request.

 

 

 

Thanks, will look into it, if we don’t get any resolution from Oceania. 

[KetoCruiser]

13 hours ago, rbtan said:

Is your T/A American or British? Contact them & inquire what they can do. They get paid by the cruise line, so they should assist you. If not then try Oceania directly. If you knew this on board, you should have addressed it at that time. It's hard to get satisfaction after the fact.

 We did raise the issue on board and we were told,  that within the terms and conditions they have the right to change itineraries.  Like I previously said we had no explanation or apology by the Officers on board at the time, My understanding is that the Captain left the ship the day before or just after. 
 

Our TA has come back to us and is appalled at the treatment we have received. I think they are now on the case. so fingers crossed they will get a resolution.

 

I am just so frustrated that this double standard happens . Are Oceania that naive that they don’t believe passengers keep in touch especially in cases where major issues arise on a cruise. 

[Zebra Cruiser]

Another disappointed Oceania cruiser.  I was lucky to receive the boiler plate reply with FCC (forget the fact that as a solo traveler I paid for two people), but the lack of open communication and differential treatment of guests is disconcerting.  Did you read the Cruise Passenger article that quoted a SPOKESMAN from Oceania stating the Regatta was on its way to Phillip Island, missing the previous 2 ports due to hull cleaning?? This was posted THE DAY BEFORE we were supposed to anchor at Kangaroo Island.  Oceania made an announcement to the public a day before they informed its passengers , who were waiting in the Regatta lounge to embark on tenders to the island.  This is not acceptable!  
 

https://cruisepassenger.com.au/news/queen-elizabeth-fourth-ship-to-fall-foul-of-new-zealands-environmental-laws/