Oceania Cancels Riviera June 10-17 2024 Sailing Barcelona to Rome

[Vineyard View]

That is a bit sad to hear.  Cruise lines operating under the rules imposed on them have to charge high prices. We looked at a few options a number of years ago and quite honestly didn’t see the value proposition.  If I am spending that kind of money, I don’t see the value in where they sail. 
we also looked at Viking Great Lakes expedition cruises. While I feel there may be more value in where they visit, for us, not enough to justify the price point. That said, others may not view it the same through their lenses, and that is just as valid as my opinion. 

[clo]

1 hour ago, Vineyard View said:

Viking Great Lakes expedition cruises

Ooh, now THAT sounds interesting! Thanks.

[TakingFlight]

Ponant also has Great Lakes cruises.

[clo]

2 hours ago, TakingFlight said:

Ponant also has Great Lakes cruises.

Thanks. An old friend of mine likes them a lot.

[terry&mike]

6 hours ago, clo said:

Thanks. An old friend of mine likes them a lot.

I also like Ponant a lot. We sailed them for a 22 night "Beyond the Polar Circle" expedition cruise in Antarctica and it was amazing. 

[Iamthesea]

14 hours ago, basor said:

Not a good start ...

 

The phone line for American Queen Voyages is now a voice message that states the following: "American Queen Voyages has made the difficult decision to shut down and all future cruises have been canceled. Guests and customers should expect to be fully refunded for canceled cruises."

Impacted guests are directed to visit www.aqvrefunds.com, however, that currently leads to a broken website that says access denied

 

The link now works.  Very sad!  I wonder if the newer Viking ship had anything to do with the AQ demise. 

Edited February 22 by Iamthesea

[Mrs f.]

On 2/20/2024 at 4:33 PM, bassethounddog said:

I just received an email from Oceania canceling  our Riveria Barcelona to Rome June 10-17 2024 sailing. It seems the ship will be repositioning from Asia to the Mediterranean. It cannot use the Suez Canal/ Red Sea, so will sail around Africa. It is my understanding that all Riviera Cruises May 14 to June 17 are cancelled. Full refunds were offered. 

We are on the November sailing from Barcelona to Capetown. Then it goes to Singapore 

[mbiggers]

On 2/20/2024 at 1:57 PM, Sthrngary said:

@bassethounddog First I had this happened to you and everyone else on this cruise or any cruise affected.  Did they offer you anything else besides a full refund.  Like a percentage discount off your next cruise.  Just wondering. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

No, I think Oceania is treating us very shabbily. “Here’s a refund, that’s it.” They definitely should provide FCC or onboard credit to take the sting out of the turmoil of having to change/cancel all our plans. Or, a great deal on a replacement cruise. Plus, we had $700 onboard credit each from the cancelled ports on our cruise in May that have now disappeared. $700 for canceling three ports but ZILCH for canceling the whole cruise? The more I think about it, the more offended I am- changing my whole attitude about Oceania. I’ll have our TA complain, but I’ll also write to them. Does anyone know the email of the best person to write?

Edited February 22 by mbiggers
Added text

[Sthrngary]

19 minutes ago, mbiggers said:

No, I think Oceania is treating us very shabbily. “Here’s a refund, that’s it.” They definitely should provide FCC or onboard credit to take the sting out of the turmoil of having to change/cancel all our plans. Or, a great deal on a replacement cruise. Plus, we had $700 onboard credit each from the cancelled ports on our cruise in May that have now disappeared. $700 for canceling three ports but ZILCH for canceling the whole cruise? The more I think about it, the more offended I am- changing my whole attitude about Oceania. I’ll have our TA complain, but I’ll also write to them. Does anyone know the email of the best person to write?

@mbiggers I have a strategy if you and other are open to it.  Let's start with why this happened.  Did Oceania go out of their way to make this cancellation happen or was it outside their purview? This like other situation including Covid-19 and bad weather is not a Cruise Brand Caused issue.  For my strategy to work, this is the reality.  Where most folks have an issue is on the topic of courtesy to loyal guest in a situation that neither party can control. Now, with that in mind, here is what I would do.

 

Write a letter, send it certified, to the four top executive of Oceania and the CEO of NCL. That is five letters saying the same thing just addressed to different people. In the letter explain without threating in any way your situation, how it makes you feel and what you feel would be a fair/reasonable resolution.  The tone of the letter must be very professional.  You have to acknowledge that Oceania Legally has no obligation other then to give you a full refund.  You are just asking for a professional courtesy.  

 

Send out these letters ASAP.  If you do not hear from them in four days, do it again.  There is something about a Certified letter that seems to get movement much more often then email, phones or text.  What many folks do is they threaten the brand.  They say things like, "I will never cruise your line again". "I will get my lawyer involved." "Your brand is horrible and I will tell everyone I feel this way."  Those types of attacks dissolve the potential positive effects of the professional business letter sent.  If it sound like I am confident about my approach, I am.  Yet every time I share this, I get heat from folks wanting just to vent.  Venting does nothing for me.  I want an accommodation so you get more with sugar. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

 

[Jim_Iain]

14 hours ago, TakingFlight said:

Ponant also has Great Lakes cruises.

We did the Ponant cruise from Milwaukee to Toronto in September.  Really enjoyed.   We are moving from X and looking for alternatives.   Ponant was our first non-Celebrity.   Would consider them again based on destination and cost.   

 

We have friends that are big Ponant cruisers and we wanted to take a teaser cruise close to home before flying half way around the world and finding out we hated it. 

 

BTW -   Ponant has a Loyalty Match program with most cruise lines and some hotels and they matched our Zenith Status to their next to highest level.  

 

We now have 2 cruises booked on Oceania and looking forward to our first cruise.   I think Oceania is going to be a good fit.

[Redtravel]

Viking often offers discounts as you get closer to the cruise date.  If you don’t want a specific cruise on a specific date, you might get a big break.  There are discount codes that can significantly drop the fare.  

16 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

That is a bit sad to hear.  Cruise lines operating under the rules imposed on them have to charge high prices. We looked at a few options a number of years ago and quite honestly didn’t see the value proposition.  If I am spending that kind of money, I don’t see the value in where they sail. 
we also looked at Viking Great Lakes expedition cruises. While I feel there may be more value in where they visit, for us, not enough to justify the price point. That said, others may not view it the same through their lenses, and that is just as valid as my opinion. 

[cruisemom42]

On 2/21/2024 at 12:23 PM, Redtravel said:

Not a good move. People plan, buy air, and look forward to a vacation.  Canceling is always disappointing. Just giving people a refund cuts wrong.

 

Still much better than what they did last fall to those passengers going through the Suez canal. O did not cancel and offered no options at all to those worried about the danger of the transit. 

 

 

[cruisemom42]

For me and I'm sure for other travelers, the US is nice but it can only offer so much. (And yes, I've seen a lot of it.). 

 

The world is a big place. Let's hope we'll continue to be able to travel it.

 

[Vineyard View]

3 hours ago, Redtravel said:

Viking often offers discounts as you get closer to the cruise date.  If you don’t want a specific cruise on a specific date, you might get a big break.  There are discount codes that can significantly drop the fare.  

Thank you.  I appreciate any tips. We have sailed on Viking multiple times, and yes, like other lines, last minute deals are often very good. Plus, regarding Viking, unless you have another cruise booked, PIF  dates are incredibly far in advance so it avoids that piece. Incorporating last minute booking though, with international airfare usually isn’t a great deal.