Misinformation

[clo]

14 hours ago, Hlitner said:

For that reason alone?  No.  The problem is that so many lines seem to fall into that same hole.  I have no clue why. There are a few cruise lines we now avoid, but that is for other reasons having to do with quality and value.  At the risk of sounding like boasting, we have mostly been everywhere (in terms of cruising) except Antartica) so changing ports is usually not a big deal.  But, for example, on our upcoming Oceania Vista cruise, the cruise line suddenly (and without any reasonable explanation) removed an overnight stay in Istanbul from the itinerary.  DW and I looked forward to returning to Istanbul (a place we really enjoy).  The itinerary change (removing both Istanbul and Kusadasi) was done after final payment and in the penalty period...without explanation!   I am sure there are many folks not happy about that change.

 

At the moment we will not book any more Explora Journey's cruises because we simply do not trust that company to keep any specific itinerary.  They are new, have made many itinerary changes (such as simply eliminating an entire season of cruising in Alaska) and never offer an explanation.  We do like the line, but will wait until we see signs that they can be trusted.

 

Hank

Thanks for that. And I'd be pretty unhappy with the Istanbul skip. We've been there twice and would love to retract some food steps 🙂

[Queen of DaNile]

15 hours ago, Hlitner said:

 But, for example, on our upcoming Oceania Vista cruise, the cruise line suddenly (and without any reasonable explanation) removed an overnight stay in Istanbul from the itinerary.  DW and I looked forward to returning to Istanbul (a place we really enjoy).  The itinerary change (removing both Istanbul and Kusadasi) was done after final payment and in the penalty period...without explanation!   I am sure there are many folks not happy about that change.

 

Thanks for sharing this. There is currently a great "deal" on a July cruise that ends with an overnight in Istanbul. Now you have me thinking this may not be such a great deal if Oceana has concerns about Türkiye. As with most cruise lines, transparency is not their long suit.

[dock]

@clo, would you pls share some Food stops in Istanbul, if that’s allowed. TY 

[clo]

40 minutes ago, dock said:

@clo, would you pls share some Food stops in Istanbul, if that’s allowed. TY 

Oh, sorry I can't. It's been 8 or 10 years. If I were there I could probably want to a couple. But I'm really into food and, honestly, I google and find reputable, local sources. They haven't failed me yet.

[Tranquility Base]

1 hour ago, dock said:

would you pls share some Food stops in Istanbul, if that’s allowed. TY 

We spent about 5 days on some recent cruises there.

I walked a couple of times back from the Galata Bridge area to the ship.

There are 2 or 3 streets which run parallel to, and next to, the Bosphorus.

In this vicinity there were lots of eateries which were reasonably busy.

The area around the JW Marriott  Istanbul Bosphorus.

I have no idea as to quality, but many were quite busy.

NOTE: this is in the area outside the Galataport security area, not inside.

[dock]

Thanks @Tranquility Base, we’re staying at the JW post cruise so will have some time to check a few out. Also watching a vlogger and he has featured a few place. 

[cruiserchuck]

13 hours ago, dock said:

@clo, would you pls share some Food stops in Istanbul, if that’s allowed. TY 

 

We were in Istanbul last November and had a great lunch at Kikirik Restaurant.  They serve traditional Turkish food.  One dish we tried was called Perde Pilaf, which was made of chicken, rice, almonds and spices in a puff pastry crust.  It was outstanding - we thought the puff pastry was better than the puff pastry fish dish served onboard in Jacques.  The restaurant is about a five minute walk from Galataport.

Edited February 23 by cruiserchuck

[mnocket]

On 2/21/2024 at 6:49 PM, Hlitner said:

Interesting post by the OP.  I simply call it "unforced errors" by the cruise line, and it happens with many lines.  It is difficult to understand, but cruise lines seem to relish keeping cruisers uninformed for absolutely no reason.  Over 50+ years of extensive cruising we have learned that many of the crew, that deal with passengers, also are uninformed.  It makes no sense, but many cruise lines have a habit of doing things that make no sense to passengers.  

 

Hank

I believe that practice is referred to as treating people like mushrooms😁

[no fuss travel]

Destinations staff do not work for Oceania.  Oceania contracts the people that work there.  Destinations has been caught many times with incorrect information that has been sent by the individual port services.  Yes, it is frustrating but that is just one of the many bumps you may encounter while traveling with any cruise line or tour company.  The CD is given no information from Destinations, so they really can't answer your destination questions. 

[urlaub]

On 2/20/2024 at 12:36 PM, pmatawan said:

I'm a season cruiser, but 1st time on Oceania. Let me start by saying after experiencing the food and service onboard Riviera, I would find it difficult to go back to other mainstream lines. Yes, O is pricier, but for me, at this stage of my live, worth it.

I've been onboard Riviera for well over a month now as part of a 72 day grand voyage sailing in Asia.

On occasion, I've had some inquiries that either staff was either unable to answer or provided incorrect information.

My first inquiry was related to when tender tickets would be available  for independent  travelers at a particular port. Destination services gave me a time and I arrived 30 minutes early, but they had already given out tickets for the first 3 tenders for independent cruisers(not ship excursions).

Another example was a port listed as a tender port(Ha Long Bay), which I had heard was now available as a docking location. Again, destination services could not confirm that we would in fact be docking and not tendering. Why am I able to get proper answers from members on this site and not from onboard staff?

Another example is inaccurate shuttle times published in Currents. In Ho Chi Minh City, Currents indicated shuttle service would not be available between 11am-2pm and 5pm-7pm due to meal breaks. Totally incorrect, shuttle service was continuously available. In another port there was no mention in Currents of the port shuttle  to the gate, some guests walked toward the gate and were picked up by the but enroute. The shuttles were not easily identifiable and O staff could not direct us to them.

When I inquired at reception regarding visa services and pricing, I was again given incorrect information. One last item, due to "technical issues" O found it necessary to shorten port times during one cruise segment. They were unwilling to explain what those issues were leading to rumors of an engine issue, which turned out to be the truth. But they fixed the issue after a week, but never readjusted our port times, we just arrived hours early to the last ports on that segment. For those of us with private excursions, it required numerous updates with our tour guides. Mid cruise surveys addressing some of these issues did not receive a response.

In fairness to Oceania, this is the first time this ship has been in this part of the world, but I feel they have some communication issues that should be addressed.

We were on 25 Oceania cruises. The last cruises were so terrible that we will not come back.

Oceana shortens many port times. Some because of "technical problems" some " because of the climate footprint" ( nobody understand). They also have sind four or five years really bad trained excursion employees. They nearly know nothing. They are able to book a tour but if you need something to know they cannot help ( or they do not want ). The same on the different ships. Normally you get back the port taxes if they cancel one. But Oceania refuse to do this.

Be careful booking Oceania.

[Snaefell3]

31 minutes ago, urlaub said:

We were on 25 Oceania cruises. The last cruises were so terrible that we will not come back.

Oceana shortens many port times. Some because of "technical problems" some " because of the climate footprint" ( nobody understand). They also have sind four or five years really bad trained excursion employees. They nearly know nothing. They are able to book a tour but if you need something to know they cannot help ( or they do not want ). The same on the different ships. Normally you get back the port taxes if they cancel one. But Oceania refuse to do this.

Be careful booking Oceania.

Gutten tag.  I fear you'll find this with all cruise lines recently, but it *is* getting better.

 

The reason is the two-year COVID shutdown.  A lot of the folks who were experts on tours or whatever needed a paycheck, started a new career, and didn't come back. Their replacements simply do not have the same depth of experience yet.  Secondly, the cruise lines that survived, survived with large debts and *are* cutting corners to get the debt paid of.