Contacting Oceania---Need Someone High Up

[itsjb1]

Thanks for all of the suggestions, but I do not think that there is much hope. Oceania has told me that the cruise is oversold and that there are quite a few fully paid pax who do not have a cabin and that they will be having to make the offers anyways. They will not even put me at the top of that list. All of the others who have paid in full will have to go first.

 

It really is a case of giving up hope and disappointment, even if we get all of the money back. We booked over a year in advance and I have spent countless hours doing research and booking private tours. Booking so far in advance, I was able to get the airfare on points. For various reasons, these were the only 2 weeks that were possible to travel.

[cruzmaven]

Such a shame.:(

 

Any chance of an alternate cruise line with a similar itinerary, departing same day or within a day or two?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Well you need to get that deposit back--*someone* needs to do this for you!

[LHT28]

All great advice. However, when you deal with a TA who deals almost exclusively in cruises, you expect things to get done. Unfortunately, whether it is the TA's fault, Oceania's fault or a combination of the 2, we are the ones who end up suffering. As it was considered a cancellation, the penalty appliesand the deposit is lost. As a good will gesture Oceania is offering a future cruise credit, but I am not sure that we will be able to use it . Hopefully our TA will reimburse us for the lost deposit, but who knows.

It is too bad that you lost out on your holiday.

I agree with the others that the TA should have followed up & is ultimately responsible for the lack of communication between their office & the cruise line. They should give you any monies lost. You paid them on time.

 

If you cannot get your airmiles back maybe you can find another cruise going during the same time frame.

 

Lyn

[burm]

Definitely keep fighting this! If you let things slide, so will your TA. They would be very happy if you just keep quiet and suck up your disappointment.

[lovecruisingtoo]

If you cannot get your airmiles back maybe you can find another cruise going during the same time frame.

Lyn

 

I believe all the major programs allow you to redeposit the miles. However, there is a fee involved. Normally about $150-$250 per ticket. I would expect the TA to reimburse you for that expense as well as the deposit.

 

Also, before you give up entirely, I would fax and email to FDR. He might have more compassion than some of the lower level people who just "follow the rules".

[columbusnj]

While this seem to be the TA's fault, I have not been pleased with Oceania's corporate office staff. I have found them to have an attitude and to not be helpful. I only hope that the staff on the ship are not the same.

 

I just want to chime in and ask how can a cruise line overbook a cruise. I am taking my first Oceania cruise in September, and I have heard that Oceania overbooked that cruise also and are asking passengers if they are willing to change their cruise. This scares me.

[hondorner]

You said it -- they are asking people if they are willing to make a change -- not telling them they must. This should encourage you, not scare you.

[burm]

I have been advised by our travel agent that Oceania cancelled our reservation for our upcoming cruise. They say that they never got the final payment from our travel agent, which , the agent says they sent, but it was not cashed.. Oceania claims that they left a voicemail for our agent, advising that they did not get payment, but never actually spoke to anyone. Our agent advises that there is no way that a message could have been left, as their system was down that day.

 

Of course, the cruise is sold out.

 

I can not believe the terrible business practice of Oceania cancelling a cruise that was booked over 1 year in advance without actually speaking to a live person.

 

Anybody know anyone at an upper level of Oceania that I can contact?

 

Was this an Ontario travel agent? If so you should contact TICO,

 

http://www.tico.on.ca/ This is the government agency that deals with tourism and travel agency complaints.

 

If you are dealing with an American TA they can probably still tell you what route to go.

 

Good luck and let us know what happens.

[burm]

I just want to chime in and ask how can a cruise line overbook a cruise. I am taking my first Oceania cruise in September, and I have heard that Oceania overbooked that cruise also and are asking passengers if they are willing to change their cruise. This scares me.

 

Some people seem to get lucky due to their overbooking. We know someone who was offered a full refund plus a free future cruise when they were willing to cancel on 2 weeks notice.

[lovecruisingtoo]

 

I just want to chime in and ask how can a cruise line overbook a cruise. I am taking my first Oceania cruise in September, and I have heard that Oceania overbooked that cruise also and are asking passengers if they are willing to change their cruise. This scares me.

 

Same way airlines overbook. From a business point of view, you want to sail with all cabins full. If one is empty, it is lost profits. Cruise lines have statistics on how many people normally cancel at the last minute and they use this information to overbook. Yes they know that at times they will guess wrong and have to pay people off to not go on the cruise. However, this cost is probably insignificant when compared to the additional revenue that they get when the overbooking works as planned.

[itsjb1]

Here is an update of where we are.

 

The TA has agreed to refund the entire amount, including the deposit. Will not have to go to TICO .

As a goodwill gesture Oceania has agreed to give us a future cruise credit for the amount of the deposit. Not sure if we will be ble to use it in the time limit, but at least it is something.

 

We are in the process of looking at keeping the existing air and doing a land holiday. We will need to get from Athens to Istanbul, likely by air, but that is being worked on.We will likely look at a couple of Greek Islands or a tour of Turkey.

 

 

Miles can be redeposited with a penalty within a certain timeframe. If we do not book something by the date(or more likely a few days before) we will pay the penalty and redeposit the miles.

 

 

Not a perfect result, but much better than I thought 24 hours ago.

 

 

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.

[LHT28]

While this seem to be the TA's fault, I have not been pleased with Oceania's corporate office staff. I have found them to have an attitude and to not be helpful. I only hope that the staff on the ship are not the same.

 

I just want to chime in and ask how can a cruise line overbook a cruise. I am taking my first Oceania cruise in September, and I have heard that Oceania overbooked that cruise also and are asking passengers if they are willing to change their cruise. This scares me.

I do not understand your statement ...if the TA messed up what do you want O to do?

Seems they are trying to get the OP on another cruise but may not be when they want to travel or the dream cruise they had booked.

They could have said tough luck deal with your TA but they seem to be working with the OP and their TA to come up with a solution

 

As for overbooking all lines do it just like the airlines!

 

Lyn

[LHT28]

We are in the process of looking at keeping the existing air and doing a land holiday. We will need to get from Athens to Istanbul, likely by air, but that is being worked on.We will likely look at a couple of Greek Islands or a tour of Turkey.

 

Glad to see your trip will not be a total loss

I would check and see if you can get on a cruise from Athens

I noticed there is a couple of other cruise lines leaving on July 25th from Athens not as long as the Oceania cruise but they end up in Istanbul

 

Enjoy your trip

 

Lyn

[satchiesmom]

Here is an update of where we are.

 

The TA has agreed to refund the entire amount, including the deposit. Will not have to go to TICO .

As a goodwill gesture Oceania has agreed to give us a future cruise credit for the amount of the deposit. Not sure if we will be ble to use it in the time limit, but at least it is something.

 

We are in the process of looking at keeping the existing air and doing a land holiday. We will need to get from Athens to Istanbul, likely by air, but that is being worked on.We will likely look at a couple of Greek Islands or a tour of Turkey.

 

 

Miles can be redeposited with a penalty within a certain timeframe. If we do not book something by the date(or more likely a few days before) we will pay the penalty and redeposit the miles.

 

 

Not a perfect result, but much better than I thought 24 hours ago.

 

 

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.

 

So glad that you will be able to salvage a workable vacation out of all of this mess. I'm with those who think it probably was your agents fault (if she/he didn't receive an immediate confirmation by fax or email, it should have been followed up on). Big Kudos to Oceania for trying to help resolve this issue. Many cruiselines would not be so generous.

[lovecruisingtoo]

 

We are in the process of looking at keeping the existing air and doing a land holiday. We will need to get from Athens to Istanbul, likely by air, but that is being worked on.We will likely look at a couple of Greek Islands or a tour of Turkey.

 

 

You should definitely look at the Windstar cruise from Athens to Istanbul. It also departs on July 25th but for just one week. Arrives in Istanbul on August 1.

 

Have done Windstar about 5 times and love it. Small ship, about 148 passengers maximum. Casual atmosphere, open seating, good food and service. You can not describe the feeling when they raise the sails and play 1492 as you leave ports.

[itsjb1]

You should definitely look at the Windstar cruise from Athens to Istanbul. It also departs on July 25th but for just one week. Arrives in Istanbul on August 1.

 

Have done Windstar about 5 times and love it. Small ship, about 148 passengers maximum. Casual atmosphere, open seating, good food and service. You can not describe the feeling when they raise the sails and play 1492 as you leave ports.

 

 

Looks very interesting. How is the motion compared to an Oceania ship?

[lovecruisingtoo]

Looks very interesting. How is the motion compared to an Oceania ship?

 

Our cruise this summer will be our first on Oceania. However, we have been on both Windstar and Celebrity. The Windstar ships have 2 sets of stabilizers which makes the cruising very stable. We found it to be more stable than the Celebrity ship. In Portifino, the seas were fairly high and they could not set anchor. We did not even feel any motion. Windstar then went to Genova and bused us to Portifino at no cost. Being a "small" ship, they have options that bigger ships do not. However, being a small ship does have it's downside. Very small casino, very limited entertainment at night etc. But on the plus side, you can talk to the Captain at any time (just walk up to the bridge), get to know more people and the crew etc.

 

When we were on the Istanbul to Athens run the cruise was very calm and we had a lot of fun. With so few people on board you get to know just about everyone. Also, they have an on deck BBQ which is not to be missed. If you search the Windstar forum you will see that they probably have the most loyal following of any cruise line. Sure, they do not really "sail" most of the time but it is still a lot of fun to see the sails set.

 

Also, with Windstar, you do not need to worry about tendering. A couple of tenders and they have everyone ashore! Also, in some of the ports you can even swim off the back of the ship. Not too many people can say they have done that.

 

If Windstar offered the same itinerary as we are taking this summer, I would take Windstar in a heartbeat.

[Jana]

I think it's a fabulous idea if you can get a stateroom on it. They are wonderful. It's not the same as an Oceania cruise would be but in its way it's just as pleasing. The small ships are beautiful, collegial, and fun. They can go places that even Oceania can't get to and hug the coastline more closely too. They actually pioneered the "celebrity chef" concept in 1994 by hiring Joachim Splichal to design their culinary program. I think the partnership ended when Windstar was purchased by Ambassador Group but the concepts are still in place.

 

As for movement, well it's a much smaller vessel, so there would likely be more movement. On the other hand, cabins are much, much, MUCH closer to the water, so the roll and sway is also much less.

 

The ships have all the modern amenities that you'd want, plus a sports platform for snorkeling and other watersports which is available when safety allows.

 

OK, it isn't Oceania, but it's a terrific alternative, you'll end up in Istanbul and can finish your time by doing a land tour there!

 

Jana

[Jana]

Lovecruisingtoo, we were obviously posting at the same time!

 

Jana

[Dreps]

I just went through this thread hurriedly, and it really is sad. But please don't conclude that you are better off booking directly with the cruise line. Our TA in the States has numerous Canadian clients who would never book directly instead of through her agency. It is inconceivable to me that this could happen if you had booked through a top-notch TA. Quite frankly, I think that you should be given more than a future cruise credit for your deposit. Did you ever pursue this with FDR?

 

Whatever you end up doing, I hope you enjoy it.

[cruzmaven]

Wrong thread, sorry.

[burm]

As a goodwill gesture Oceania has agreed to give us a future cruise credit for the amount of the deposit. Not sure if we will be ble to use it in the time limit, but at least it is something.

 

.

 

 

What is the time limit on the cruise credit?

[itsjb1]

What is the time limit on the cruise credit?

 

Usually must be used two years from the date of issue. We can only travel during the summer months and already have plans for Summer 2010. When I explained the situation to the person at Oceania, they were able to extend it to September 2011. Now we are looking forward to the Summer 2011 Summer Collection of cruises so that we can book something.

[sizzle_sisters]

WOW, I'm in the middle of giving Oceania a try for next June. This makes me nervous.

I called Oceania directly to ask how exactly the free air and 2for1 goes. She told me they prefer we use a T.A as they are often able to give us a better rate than Oceania direct.(found that strange). She didn't specifiy if this was d/t me being a Cdn or not.

I clearly see this posters problem as travel agency's fault all round, they screw up and yes, I met a few... quite a few actually. But what blows me away is that cruise lines over book routinely. Nothing I hate worse than the wheel coming off the cart in the final leg of the race. There must be a better way projecting putting a head in every bed for every sailing. Geez Frank spend some money for some fancy consulting. Think of the no advertising slogan you can have......"No precruise worrying, we do it for you"

So as a Canuck, do I go with or without a T.A? Do I still have the potential of being bumped even after final payment? I thought Oceania was a top notch above all the mega box boats, they sound just like the rest....... :(

Speaking of which, doesn't Oceania Parent Co own NCL too??