Venture Submarine Issue

[SFTraveler53]

We are on the Venture cruise from St. John's to Manaus in Sept/Oct 24 and had booked a submersible excursion.  However, in February we received an e-mail from Seabourn notifying us that this excursion would not be offered "due to operational reasons."  Subsequently, I called Seabourn's excursion department and asked the representative for some additional information as to what was going on, and why.  It was news to the person I was speaking with and they said they would reach out to Expeditions and get back to me.  Since some time has now passed and that hasn't happened, I thought I would reach out on this forum and see if someone has more information.  Perhaps it is our specific itinerary, which has a number of sea days, but I assume there are several locations that would be amenable to a submarine excursion.  TIA.

[skybluewaters]

 

1....we received an e-mail from Seabourn notifying us that this excursion would not be offered "due to operational reasons."

   

    Operational reasons is the standard jargon SB uses when they cancel. Can mean anything.

 

2. I called Seabourn's excursion department and asked the representative for some additional information as to what was going on, and why.  It was news to the person I was speaking with...

   

    This is quite commonly the situation with the well-meaning but uninformed staff on the phone.

 

3....they would reach out to Expeditions and get back to me.  Since some time has now passed and that hasn't happened

   

    Once again, all too common.

 

I find that the employees initially answering the phones are not the ones who can solve your issues, except for the most straight-forward issues. Politely asking to speak to someone more directly involved in the situation can be helpful.  Often you will be put on hold briefly while the person on the phone consults with someone higher up.

 

I know this doesn't help you out, but at least you know you're not alone, fwiw.

And things get much better once onboard!

[reposado]

Its months away if its cancelled get your money back and move on. Presumably they want to operate it as much as they can as a sub is an expensive investment and they want return on its investment. They probably have their own good reasons why but I dont understand this entitlement as to why they need to give a full reason and explain "whats going on and why" to anyone who asks?

[calm down dear]

We were on the Pursuit last month in Chile and no submarine offered. Upon enquiry (at a great tour of the submarine garage) the driver(?) of the vehicle was very clear that they do not want to offer the sub when they believe visability will be poor - we were in glacial run off water and it was indeed very milky - he said the same with amazon, many areas not worth it and they were very conscious that it was a £££ expense for guests and they only want to do it if you can see !

[Timbuktu123]

I'm on Venture now and there three points:

1. Currently we're sailing in Western Europe where the sub wouldn't be used anyway, but what should be clarified to future passengers is that the sub is really only used where allowed by local ports and countries. Normally in Polar journies all you have to worry about is weather and sea conditions and not protectionist or other human-laws.

2. One sub onboard has a non-catasrophic oil leak and they only operate both subs to have a backup sub in case of a problem. Therefore one sub will knock out both subs if there's a problem.

3. Subs are not allowed to operate where the Jones act is in effect such as the U.S. and Japan since the subs are Dutch made.

[SFTraveler53]

@reposado. It's not an entitlement issue at all, it's a curiosity.  It's an expedition ship.  Seabourn has made a BIG deal about their submersible excursions on these ships.  It was offered on the trip.  Now, it's not. Sure, all cruises, and especially expeditions, are subject to change.  But, for example, if you're skipping, a port, you expect to be informed as to why.  Same deal.  Are the subs broken 5 months before the trip and unrepairable?  Has the itinerary now, belatedly, been determined not to have any sub suitable spots?  Might be important for someone who might like a submersible experience and wants to plan accordingly.  This board is all about getting and sharing information. Not sure what your "move on" reply accomplishes.

[Soapbox1964]

The operational reason on the trip we did was that they had not been able to secure a license from the relevant country to operate the submarines in their waters.  It happened a lot on that trip; quite simply a lot of countries will not give permission for submarine use. 

[commodoredave]

4 hours ago, SFTraveler53 said:

 But, for example, if you're skipping, a port, you expect to be informed as to why.  Same deal.

We are currently on the Silver Muse. Prior to departure, we had 3 booked excursions cancelled— all for “Operational reasons.”  Our friends recently sailed with Seabourn from Cape Verde, and two ports in Africa were cancelled for “Operational reasons.” While we would all like to have more information about what type of operational issues are involved, saying less seems to be consistent across the cruise industry. 

[skybluewaters]

16 hours ago, commodoredave said:

We are currently on the Silver Muse. Prior to departure, we had 3 booked excursions cancelled— all for “Operational reasons.”  Our friends recently sailed with Seabourn from Cape Verde, and two ports in Africa were cancelled for “Operational reasons.” While we would all like to have more information about what type of operational issues are involved, saying less seems to be consistent across the cruise industry. 

 

If an excursion is canceled, it's canceled, and knowing why doesn't help me or, in fact, even interest me. My only concern would be if there is an ongoing issue that may be due to a problem with the cruise line itself (and not the vendor) or if there is an issue with health or security that may recur. 

 

Otoh, if cancellations become frequent, my attitude would change.

[commodoredave]

3 hours ago, skybluewaters said:

 

If an excursion is canceled, it's canceled, and knowing why doesn't help me or, in fact, even interest me. My only concern would be if there is an ongoing issue that may be due to a problem with the cruise line itself (and not the vendor) or if there is an issue with health or security that may recur. 

 

Otoh, if cancellations become frequent, my attitude would change.

We didn’t care about the reason for cancellation of our excursions either. But if one of our primary reasons for taking a cruise was to visit a specific destination or two (e.g. Easter Island, Casablanca for Marrakech, Sete for Carcasonne, etc), I would be disappointed enough to ask why it was canceled.

[Woodrowst]

On 4/6/2024 at 6:06 PM, commodoredave said:

But if one of our primary reasons for taking a cruise was to visit a specific destination or two (e.g. Easter Island, Casablanca for Marrakech, Sete for Carcasonne, etc), I would be disappointed enough to ask why it was canceled.

One of the long standing rules of conventional wisdom has been that if there is a place that you must absolutely visit then a cruise is not the way to do it.  Go by land, not by sea.

[commodoredave]

5 minutes ago, Woodrowst said:

One of the long standing rules of conventional wisdom has been that if there is a place that you must absolutely visit then a cruise is not the way to do it.  Go by land, not by sea.

Perhaps a less convenient and more intensive way to do it, but your point is valid. Unfortunately may not work as well in some parts of the world such as the South Pacific, Arctic, Antarctic, et.