Shore Power On Board - Vista

[beechwood]

Must say, I have just about had enough with Oceania.  First of all they cancelled my June 2023 Vista cruise when, instead of valuing the guests who had already committed to them, they decided to charter the ship to a group. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I received a notification that the end port on my August 2024 cruise on Riviera would no longer be Venice (a big attraction of Venice was that we wanted to add on a few days there independently). Also, the final week’s itinerary had been changed significantly to accommodate the omission of Venice and Civitavecchia was now the disembarkation port.  Now, only several days later, I receive notification that St Malo has been substituted with Southampton on my forthcoming August 2023 cruise. As a  UK citizen living only a couple of hours from Southampton, I have no interest in spending a full day here particularly given that I would be paying Oceania handsomely for this and also helping them to carry out their maintenance work.

 

[shepherd really]

21 minutes ago, beechwood said:

Must say, I have just about had enough with Oceania.  First of all they cancelled my June 2023 Vista cruise when, instead of valuing the guests who had already committed to them, they decided to charter the ship to a group. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I received a notification that the end port on my August 2024 cruise on Riviera would no longer be Venice (a big attraction of Venice was that we wanted to add on a few days there independently). Also, the final week’s itinerary had been changed significantly to accommodate the omission of Venice and Civitavecchia was now the disembarkation port.  Now, only several days later, I receive notification that St Malo has been substituted with Southampton on my forthcoming August 2023 cruise. As a  UK citizen living only a couple of hours from Southampton, I have no interest in spending a full day here particularly given that I would be paying Oceania handsomely for this and also helping them to carry out their maintenance work.

 

You are not in the penalty period yet, correct?  Just cancel the cruise, given the changes that would be reasonable.

[osandomir]

2 hours ago, beechwood said:

Must say, I have just about had enough with Oceania.  First of all they cancelled my June 2023 Vista cruise when, instead of valuing the guests who had already committed to them, they decided to charter the ship to a group. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I received a notification that the end port on my August 2024 cruise on Riviera would no longer be Venice (a big attraction of Venice was that we wanted to add on a few days there independently). Also, the final week’s itinerary had been changed significantly to accommodate the omission of Venice and Civitavecchia was now the disembarkation port.  Now, only several days later, I receive notification that St Malo has been substituted with Southampton on my forthcoming August 2023 cruise. As a  UK citizen living only a couple of hours from Southampton, I have no interest in spending a full day here particularly given that I would be paying Oceania handsomely for this and also helping them to carry out their maintenance work.

 

When our March 2023 Asia cruise that we booked two years ago was changed significantly (not a surprise) we canceled right away and booked another cruise (a safer bet) that we liked. Now we’re going to Europe in couple weeks. This cruise has been completely sold out for a few months, so apparently the others like the itinerary as well.

 

Nowadays, some changes are unavoidable. We are learning to be flexible. Maybe you can find something that suits you better.

[njhorseman]

3 hours ago, shepherd really said:

You are not in the penalty period yet, correct?  Just cancel the cruise, given the changes that would be reasonable.

I might be mistaken, but I thought that deposits in the UK were non refundable .

[avw]

5 hours ago, beechwood said:

Must say, I have just about had enough with Oceania.  First of all they cancelled my June 2023 Vista cruise when, instead of valuing the guests who had already committed to them, they decided to charter the ship to a group. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I received a notification that the end port on my August 2024 cruise on Riviera would no longer be Venice (a big attraction of Venice was that we wanted to add on a few days there independently). Also, the final week’s itinerary had been changed significantly to accommodate the omission of Venice and Civitavecchia was now the disembarkation port.  Now, only several days later, I receive notification that St Malo has been substituted with Southampton on my forthcoming August 2023 cruise. As a  UK citizen living only a couple of hours from Southampton, I have no interest in spending a full day here particularly given that I would be paying Oceania handsomely for this and also helping them to carry out their maintenance work.

 

That's a LOT of disappointment! Three times in a row would be way too much for me. I decided to try Oceania because the Vista looks to be a gorgeous new ship and I liked the itinerary with long stays in port and overnights (like Azamara does regularly). The itinerary is almost identical to an itinerary I did last year on Azamara (my favorite cruise line). When Azamara missed 2 ports on a 24 night cruise last summer (neither was their fault), they surprised guests with a future cruise credit (almost $1000 for me) to express their regret. I applied it to one of the b2b cruises I am taking with them next month. I'm very surprised that Oceania didn't even say "sorry".

[beechwood]

Yes, a cancellation fee of £200 pp is payable 180-91 days prior to the cruise. I would also forfeit the £200 paid for air travel.  In addition, £1500 future cruise credit had been applied to the cruise from the cancelled Vista cruise. This credit had to be used on a cruise booked by 24th May 2023 for a cruise starting before 23rd May 2024 and Oceania have told my travel agent that this still stands.  As the whole point of this cruise was to be in August in the Mediterranean on Vista and there is only one cruise matching this (the one I’m on) there is nothing else suiting my requirements. I only go on Oceania cruises in the summer school holidays as they give a respite from school aged children! The rest of the year I book my holidays independently in Europe.

 

I would add that this would have been my 9th Oceania cruise and, maybe I  have been lucky, but there has never been a cancelled port or changed itinerary beforehand over the past 8 years.  It does seem that Oceania are now using a variety of excuses (covid excepting) to suit themselves.

 

 

[ToxM]

I think Southampton has a big new shiny electrical power coupling thing that newer ships are keen to make use of to save on fossil fuel costs. 

 

Southampton is a great jumping off point for lots of lovely trips. It may not be St Malo, but you have historic Winchester, the New Forest, Stonehenge (although I prefer Avebury and thats just as easy to get to). Oceania persists in calling the port London, but it’s not really and the South of England that is easily accessible from Southampton are much nicer to visit. 

 

At a push you could certainly also do the Cotswolds, or Bath. it’s certainly not just a point to connect to London from. 

 

Keep your lemons or make lemonade I suppose. 

 

 

[chengkp75]

4 hours ago, ToxM said:

I think Southampton has a big new shiny electrical power coupling thing that newer ships are keen to make use of to save on fossil fuel costs.

Unless Southampton is different than most other ports around the world, shore power is more expensive than generating ship's own power.  The reason ships hook up to shore power is because they are required to do so.  The ship has had to spend a lot to get the shore power hookup installed on the ship, the port has had to spend a lot to get the infrastructure installed for the shore power (and they are going to pass the cost to the users - the ships), and then they can charge a premium for the actual power used, since it is mandatory.

[ToxM]

Just now, chengkp75 said:

Unless Southampton is different than most other ports around the world, shore power is more expensive than generating ship's own power.  The reason ships hook up to shore power is because they are required to do so.  The ship has had to spend a lot to get the shore power hookup installed on the ship, the port has had to spend a lot to get the infrastructure installed for the shore power (and they are going to pass the cost to the users - the ships), and then they can charge a premium for the actual power used, since it is mandatory.

Well there ya go … I didn’t know the specifics, I just know the shore power thing was installed. Even less O can do about it if it is mandatory then 🙂

[beechwood]

9 hours ago, ToxM said:

I think Southampton has a big new shiny electrical power coupling thing that newer ships are keen to make use of to save on fossil fuel costs. 

 

Southampton is a great jumping off point for lots of lovely trips. It may not be St Malo, but you have historic Winchester, the New Forest, Stonehenge (although I prefer Avebury and thats just as easy to get to). Oceania persists in calling the port London, but it’s not really and the South of England that is easily accessible from Southampton are much nicer to visit. 

 

At a push you could certainly also do the Cotswolds, or Bath. it’s certainly not just a point to connect to London from. 

 

Keep your lemons or make lemonade I suppose. 

 

 

Thanks for the recommendations for trips to take from Southampton.  As I have lived in the Cotswolds for 35 years I am very familiar with all the locations you mention.  I’m sure anyone from overseas, or even outside of southern England, will enjoy most of the suggested destinations.
 

For myself and husband, the whole point of a cruise is to independently explore both new and  previous destinations outside of the UK. I wouldn’t even consider purchasing a cruise with a UK port of call.  The cost of this cruise works out at around £700 per day so this is what I am paying for the opportunity to spend a day in Southampton or it’s surroundings, albeit recognising that this sum includes food and perhaps the use of a sun lounger if the British weather co-operates.  At least I can be happy in the knowledge that Oceania is able to 

carry out its maintenance obligations without losing any revenue earning time…..

 

 

[ToxM]

16 minutes ago, beechwood said:

Thanks for the recommendations for trips to take from Southampton.  As I have lived in the Cotswolds for 35 years I am very familiar with all the locations you mention.  I’m sure anyone from overseas, or even outside of southern England, will enjoy most of the suggested destinations.
 

For myself and husband, the whole point of a cruise is to independently explore both new and  previous destinations outside of the UK. I wouldn’t even consider purchasing a cruise with a UK port of call.  The cost of this cruise works out at around £700 per day so this is what I am paying for the opportunity to spend a day in Southampton or it’s surroundings, albeit recognising that this sum includes food and perhaps the use of a sun lounger if the British weather co-operates.  At least I can be happy in the knowledge that Oceania is able to 

carry out its maintenance obligations without losing any revenue earning time…..

 

 

Glad I didn’t suggest Bourton on The Water to you then LOL 

[LHT28]

46 minutes ago, beechwood said:

Thanks for the recommendations for trips to take from Southampton.  As I have lived in the Cotswolds for 35 years I am very familiar with all the locations you mention.  I’m sure anyone from overseas, or even outside of southern England, will enjoy most of the suggested destinations.
 

 

Always a  good idea  to put your Country  in your profile  then  you will get information that relevant 

JMO

[jondfk]

On 3/14/2023 at 5:31 PM, kruzin2010 said:

Thanks bb32.

Not sure I want to go to London, then come back, to head there the next day.  Would make sense to just disembark on the 17th, but then we lose a day….not sure what we will do.  Thanks for the info

 

I'll offer a perspective around an extra, unplanned day in port, from our sailing on Regatta last September.

 

We boarded in Los Angeles just as a weak hurricane was approaching northern Baja, our foreign port was meant to be Ensenada the day following something that seemed foolhardy under the circumstances, we hoped a waiver to the PSA might be requested and granted sending north along the coast of California as planned, alas that didn't happen.  Instead, we remained tied adjacent to the pier in San Pedro for 27 hours following our planned departure.  O managed to pull together a short list of shore excursions for that extra day - a list a bit longer than their normal offload day offerings.  Many took advantage, others took some time around the San Pedro waterfront or made short independent excursions to Pacific Palisades and the like.  A port was lost (Eureka I think) which was a shame, but the time aboard was thoroughly pleasant.  

 

At times like these, life is what you make it, and it is helpful to know in advance to allow for a bit of planning.

 

[steven40]

So Oceania is offering no compensation for St. Malo being removed from the itinerary??? This was one of the attractions for making the booking in the first place!! Have just undertaken a Ponant cruise in Tasmania and they removed a key port. They offered a A$2,000 compensation. Why is Oceania not offering something similar???  

[Flatbush Flyer]

41 minutes ago, steven40 said:

So Oceania is offering no compensation for St. Malo being removed from the itinerary??? This was one of the attractions for making the booking in the first place!! Have just undertaken a Ponant cruise in Tasmania and they removed a key port. They offered a A$2,000 compensation. Why is Oceania not offering something similar???  

Read the T&Cs and Ticket Contract to which you agreed by paying your deposit.

[osandomir]

19 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Read the T&Cs and Ticket Contract to which you agreed by paying your deposit.

It’s not about T&Cs. I’m pretty sure Ponant has something similar in their Ticket Contract. But we don’t have to assume that Oceania is the same as Ponant or any other cruise line. Dropping the most interesting ports without any compensation definitely leads to passengers disappointment. But booking with Oceania means to be in agreement with their business model. Otherwise, we all have choices.

[LHT28]

5 hours ago, steven40 said:

So Oceania is offering no compensation for St. Malo being removed from the itinerary??? This was one of the attractions for making the booking in the first place!! Have just undertaken a Ponant cruise in Tasmania and they removed a key port. They offered a A$2,000 compensation. Why is Oceania not offering something similar???  

Have you called Oceania & asked  ??

[Jayne E]

6 hours ago, steven40 said:

So Oceania is offering no compensation for St. Malo being removed from the itinerary??? This was one of the attractions for making the booking in the first place!! Have just undertaken a Ponant cruise in Tasmania and they removed a key port. They offered a A$2,000 compensation. Why is Oceania not offering something similar???  

Oceania does offer compensation. We had an entire cruise cancelled and another cruise eliminated 4 Croatia and Venice ports and replaced with Turkey. Each time O offered $250 SBC for the “inconvenience”.  We cancelled both!