Contacting Oceania---Need Someone High Up

[Paulchili]

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??

 

Actually I would not worry about being "bumped" after final payment. I have never heard of this happening on Oceania. The case in point here is clearly a TA issue. Oceania may overbook, but just like airlines, it will not bump anyone arbitrarily. Rather, it will find a way to "reward" (compensate) some people with future credit or other incentives to move their booking. For those that are able to do so, it will be a good deal.

A win/win situation.

Enjoy your O cruise.

[burm]

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

 

From what I have seen and understood, no cruiseline just bumps passengers, they make them an offer they can't refuse. As I mentioned above, the person was offered a 100% refund and an equal credit for a future cruise. A totally free vacation that they had the right to refuse.

The line makes an offer then keeps sweetening the offer until someone bites.

 

The OP's unfortunate situation was not just because of overbooking. (And I still don't see that their disatrously inefficient TA has gone far enough to make amends)

 

Has anyone here ever been bumped due to overbooking and not generously compensated?

[Bruin Steve]

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??

 

 

Don't get nervous...

99.99% of all bookings go through without a hitch...This glitch was most probably the fault of a negligent TA. The OP SHOULD be hammering that TA to make it right (I would hope the laws in whatever jurisdiction in which the TA is located requires them to carry Errors and Omissions Insurance. But that TA should be doing EVERYTHING it can to make the situation whole or better for the OP--including exerting pressure on Oceania to help them out and move them to the top of the list...OR getting them onto another cruise or cruise line during the same time period--even if it's a costlier cruise...and then paying back some sort of concessions beyond that--rebate, OB credit, future cruise severely discounted--or something of that sort.

 

Oceania is correct about better deals through the TA...Of course, not all TAs will better the cruise lines prices...but many will discount the price or give you a bonus like onboard credit or prepaid free gratuities or free shore excursions...You just have to find the right TA...But the Cruise Lines will NEVER undercut their TAs...That would put the TA industry out of business...and the Cruise Lines, pretty much ALL of them, really count on the TAs to advertise and push the product, to act as an outsourced resourse--sort of an extended reservations department. The travel agency business helped build the cruise industry into what it is today...

 

That said, I don't think the Canadian/American thing is really a problem at all--except in currency conversion--which is really more perception than anything else...the exchange rates at any one time are what the exchange rates are--one Canadian Dollar does not equal one US dollar--so they need to convert prices into Canadian Dollars...

 

BTW, my TA is in TORONTO, though I live in Southern California...but she actually works for an agency in Atlanta, Georgia...and we deal in US Dollars...This is the internet age, location means nothing...I use my TA not only for discounts and deals, I use her because she is GOOD...I never have a problem like the OP had...My TA arranges all payments on my credit card charged directly to the Cruise Line...and always quickly gets me written confirmations from the cruise lines e-mailed to me...If there's an issue with payment, she follows up on it...

 

Far better to have a GOOD TA working on your side...A GOOD TA minimizes the likelihood of any screw-ups...

[burm]

Although I too am Canadian I now deal with one of the big American internet travel agencies which does a lot of advertising here on CC. This company was highly recommended to me by a friend who used to own her own travel agency. She has dealt with them for many years and absolutely raves about them. So far I have gotten cruises at a much better deal than through the cruiseline or any Canadian company.

 

Pay with a credit card that offers travel insurance and you will be as well covered as possible.

[itsjb1]

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??

 

 

 

 

Here is what I can tell you from my experience. I have been very impressed by the way Oceania has handled this. They seem to genuinely care about what has happened. We have never cruised Oceania, and I get the impression that they are trying to give me an incentive to do so in the future. The only thing that I fault Oceania for is that I do not believe that they should take the action of cancelling a cruise reservation that has been booked through a TA without actually speaking to a live person(either the booking agent or another agent at the agency) and documenting their file accordingly. Emails and faxes are fine, but you can never be 100% sure that they have been received by the intended recipient.

 

If you deal directly with Oceania, you will be in control and will get copies of all communication. However, you may miss out on special deals or incentives that some agencies may get. If you use a TA, please get proof and written confirmation from the TA that Oceania has received your payment. I understand that Oceania send the TA invoices marked paid, or some other document when each payment is received.

 

I understand that all line overbook. When push comes to shove, if you have paid in full, I believe that you will either get a room or be offered a fantastic deal to walk away. See one of the posts, above. I was told that Oceania has never had a situation of a fully paid pax that wanted to cruise, being denied.

 

I hope that this helps.

[hondorner]

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??

Wow, a lot of negativity in that post. If you are that nervous, in the face of all of us that have never had problems, you may never find a cruise line that suits.

 

Point by point --

 

All vendors, manufacturers, etc., have a price to which they must adhere in order to protect their agents -- For example, if you buy something direct from a manufacturer, they charge list price in order to protect their dealers. It's the same in the cruise industry -- if a cruise line gave a better deal that a travel agent, how long do you think they would keep those agents? Renaissance Cruises tried that in the '90s and failed miserably. It has nothing to do with your being Canadian.

 

There is no better way to handle booking than to overbook. It is a science, and consulting firms recommend it. Cruise lines have an extensive data base with the history to predict how many people will cancel in a typical situation. If they did not accept a certain number of over-bookings, they would have to scramble at the last minute to fill those staterooms. Typically, this would mean significant discounts for last minute bookers, precisely the ones who do not deserve the discounts because they are not supporting the cruise line by booking early. There should be no pre-cruise worrying, precisely because they DO do it for us -- figure out how to fill the staterooms while not losing money.

 

There is NO potential of getting bumped. A few years ago, someone actually was bumped, even though they were part of a family vacation. FDR jumped in, worked out a way to get them a cabin, saved their vacation and made it worth their while. It was a happy ending that those of us who have been around Oceania for a few years will never forget. As I said to someone else, they will ASK you if you are WILLING to be bumped, in return for compensation and perks. All you have to do it say, "No." There is no reason to worry. Someone else will see the benefit of the compensation and postpone their cruise -- if it ever comes to that. It is VERY rare for Oceania to misjudge the amount of over booking -- it is much the same science as underwriters for insurance companies.

 

Oceania is considerably different that the "rest", but only you can be the judge of that -- and only after you experience it, not by unnecessary paranoia.

 

And, yes, Apollo does own a percentage of NCL, but Apollo does not involve itself in management decisions, and NCL is not part of the management that handles Oceania and Regent. Apollo created a division called Prestige Cruise Holdings, and placed Oceania and Regent under that umbrealla, with Frank Del Rio as CEO.

 

It seems as if you are grasping at straws to denigrate Oceania, and I don't understand why?

 

{EDIT} If I repeated anything in previous responses, it was because I was typing at the same time, and I guess I'm a little slower typist...:rolleyes:

[lovecruisingtoo]

Oceania may overbook, but just like airlines, it will not bump anyone arbitrarily. Rather, it will find a way to "reward" (compensate) some people with future credit or other incentives to move their booking.

 

 

Airlines do Voluntary Denied Boarding (VDB) and Involuntary Denied Boarding (IDB). IDB is compensation is governed by various laws. Naturally, airlines do prefer to use VDB so they minimize their costs. If they do not get enough volunteers they will IDB people.

[sizzle_sisters]

And, yes, Apollo does own a percentage of NCL, but Apollo does not involve itself in management decisions, and NCL is not part of the management that handles Oceania and Regent. Apollo created a division called Prestige Cruise Holdings, and placed Oceania and Regent under that umbrealla, with Frank Del Rio as CEO.

 

It seems as if you are grasping at straws to denigrate Oceania, and I don't understand why?

 

No not at all.

I was curious about the connection with NCL, as I had just been reading something about Mr Del Rio being promoted or changing jobs or something.

 

I certainly wouldn't be trying to "denigrate" a cruise line that I am eager to spend $$$ on ???? I'm very careful on researching a cruise prior to taking, even with being overly cautious, I was a little disappointed with the one I just got off, hate when that happens.

Sorry if I think out loud, or ask too many questions. Just trying to get a fair balance of others thoughts who have cruised Oceania.

[hondorner]

No not at all.

I was curious about the connection with NCL, as I had just been reading something about Mr Del Rio being promoted or changing jobs or something.

 

I certainly wouldn't be trying to "denigrate" a cruise line that I am eager to spend $$$ on ???? I'm very careful on researching a cruise prior to taking, even with being overly cautious, I was a little disappointed with the one I just got off, hate when that happens.

Sorry if I think out loud, or ask too many questions. Just trying to get a fair balance of others thoughts who have cruised Oceania.

I apologize for being too harsh with you. I've just been a little upset with CruiseCritic the last couple of days, and let it get to me. That, and I've been working all day in the Florida sun for a couple of days, and it might have left me a little addled...:rolleyes:

[Jana]

I apologize for being too harsh with you. I've just been a little upset with CruiseCritic the last couple of days, and let it get to me. That, and I've been working all day in the Florida sun for a couple of days, and it might have left me a little addled...:rolleyes:

 

Where's your hat???

[hondorner]

I always have a straw hat with a wide brim in Florida. I used to go through about 6 a year, but I have to be more careful because the Walmart price is up to over $10! But, we have been erecting a small above-ground pool at our country place, and the sun has been really intense. My job has been sifting some of the fine Florida sugar sand to use as a base under the liner. I got the sand when I was excavating a ditch for a new water line with my mini-excavator. The sand is soft and has a consistency like talcum powder. I'm shoveling the sand onto a sifting screen mounted on the bucket of my front end loader, then moving it to a stock pile beside the pool to be spread right before we install the liner. The sun has been brutal.

 

There -- now you know a heck of a lot more than you wanted to know, and that was the ultimate thread wander! :eek: