Notifying Passengers of Port Time Changes

You must try not to use the word profitable with such disdain.

Oceania's is in an upper mid-market niche, not at the uppermost level. Nobody was ever throwing around caviar with a trowel on Oceania.

 

Everything, from food costs to entertainment costs to porting costs must be figured into the equation and the best possible compromise reached.

 

They felt like they had to make an adjustment to how fast they ran the ships between ports, so they made it, but the proof in the pudding is that the newer generation of cruises have port times which are apparently agreeable to everyone, and they haven't been making changes to those itineraries.

 

 

I think this topic has really been beat to death with some defending the changes and others appalled by them. For me the problem lies in changing them close after final payment so it would seem people can not cancle. Hopeful this is at an end and the actions of Oceania going forward will win back some trust in their published information. Only time will tell. On a side note I never felt Oceania was not profitable, I always wanted them to make a return on their investment, only in a way that was fair to both of us.

 

Sent from my SM-T320 using Forums mobile app

Edited October 26, 2015 by hypercafe

Oceania could cancel every single port on a cruise and sail around in circles and some people will justify it. It's a scam pure and simple to make these changes after final payment, or worse yet, while on board with no explanation. I don't care how good the food is (and it definitely is) I'm not traveling simply for the food, If I were I'd go to New York or San Francisco for two weeks.

It is painfully obvious the changes were put in place to increase the executives share of the upcoming $50M bonus and was done in a harmful manner without notice and intentionally done to mitigate cancellations and/or pick up some of the cancellation money again increasing money in their pockets.

 

 

I don't know the answer - just asking.

Is the company's bottom line (re: $50M bonus) not for all 3 lines - NCL, Oceania & Regent?

If so, why change only the O port times and not those on NCL (with many more and much larger ships using more fuel) & Regent?

Edited October 26, 2015 by Paulchili

I don't know the answer - just asking.

Is the company's bottom line (re: $50M bonus) not for all 3 lines - NCL, Oceania & Regent?

If so, why change only the O port times and not those on NCL & Regent?

 

Do you know for sure this is what happened? Have there been no similar complaints on the other two lines about changed port times? (I'm asking in all seriousness because I don't know.)

 

Meanwhile...wow, this thread took a very interesting turn! :eek:

 

I have not yet had my first O cruise, so I have no knowledge of their history. But if I'm reading this correctly, it seems that they are openly acknowledging that they reduced port times on a block of recent, and upcoming, cruises AFTER final payment, for the sole purpose of reducing their costs. Which I would have to agree is rather slimy.

 

Can anyone tell me what specific cruises were/are affected, or at least what block of time? Meaning...can I trust the posted itinerary for my January cruise?

 

The answer to this could have direct financial impact on me.

Do you know for sure this is what happened? Have there been no similar complaints on the other two lines about changed port times? (I'm asking in all seriousness because I don't know.)

 

No, I do not know this for a fact, just indirectly. I followed NCL forum for a while during this time as we had a "test" NCL cruise coming up - I saw no discussion on this topic (and NCL is quite hostile towards FDR, so I am sure that would be a topic if that had happened)

Also, we have a Regent loyalist posting here frequently - no comments about this "phenomenon" happening on Regent AFAIR. However, I do not follow that forum

 

Can anyone tell me what specific cruises were/are affected, or at least what block of time? Meaning...can I trust the posted itinerary for my January cruise?

 

Our cruise is on 1/24 and 2 months after final payment - no changes.

If you are some time after your final payment and had no changes then it's probably not going to change (just a guess)

 

The answer to this could have direct financial impact on me.

 

See my answers above

Edited October 26, 2015 by Paulchili

Thanks for your answers, Paulchili! My cruise is on Jan 3, so I'm going to trust that the port times will stand. I sure hope so - I've already paid deposits to five different dive ops.

 

FTR, I do realize that weather and sea conditions can impact port arrival times. I accept this risk. What I would NOT accept would be the cruise line changing port arrival times for financial reasons, with no notice (or at least, no notice until it's too late to do anything about it).

 

As for the rest of this discussion...all I can say is...wow! :eek: :cool:

...I do realize that weather and sea conditions can impact port arrival times. I accept this risk. What I would NOT accept would be the cruise line changing port arrival times for financial reasons, with no notice (or at least, no notice until it's too late to do anything about it)...

I also realize and accept port changes due to weather, security and a number of other reasons. However Oceania Marina lost 23 hours of port time on the 3 Nov from Lisbon to Cape Town and 8 hours port time from Cape Town to Rio, and no surprise this was announced after final payment. This was done purely for financial greed. Oceania and some of their blind defenders have major credibility issues with me.

 

Thom

Paulchili- I would think comparing Oceania itineraries and NCL itineraries really are apples and oranges, Most NCL ships are on weekly itineraries that embark and debark from the same port and are sail virtually the same set of ports throughout the season, perhaps there are some NCL ships that alternate between 2 sets of itineraries but again the itineraries they sail are very similar throughout the season and offer little variety.

 

On the other hand, Oceania may repeat an itinerary or two over a season but they are more likely to vary their itineraries to accommodate back to back and Grand Voyages throughout the season and it is much rarer to see their ships embark and debark from the same port, all these things lead to greater complications in figuring port timing, the days of week, number of ships in port, tides, distance to travel etc. etc.

 

Not trying to be an apologist for Oceania, just offering an explanation as to why there may need to be more adjustments made to the Oceania port times than there are to NCL.

I would feel a little better about port time changes prior to embarkation if they were better publicized. With today's computer technology, it shouldn't be difficult to autogenerate email notifications directly to passengers. Certainly, there is no need for the TA to be the conduit of the information.

 

Harry

With today's computer technology, it shouldn't be difficult to autogenerate email notifications directly to passengers. Certainly, there is no need for the TA to be the conduit of the information.

 

Harry

 

Not so. Any booking made through and by a TA has to be channeled to the passenger via the TA as a matter of principle - how could you possibly leave the TA out of ANY communication with the passenger (or v.v, for that matter).

I agree about those who booked directly with O.

Good point!

Maybe O could email the passenger and cc. the TA or email the TA and cc. the passenger? Recall one of the programmers who redesigned the website! Let O join the 21st century!

 

Harry

Edited November 2, 2015 by harryw

Good point!

Maybe O could email the passenger and cc. the TA or email the TA and cc. the passenger? Recall one of the programmers who redesigned the website! Let O join the 21st century!

 

Harry

 

Let's not take the responsibility of communication away from the TA. They are being paid a good commission and have a responsibility to communicate to their customers. If Oceania did all of the communication directly (even with a copy to the TA), many passengers would contact Oceania directly. IMO, it isn't about Oceania joining the 21st century but rather, TA's doing their job.

 

P.S. I do realize that many people have a close relationship with their TA...... but, when it comes to cruising on Oceania, you need a TA that regularly books cruises on Oceania and has a contact person at headquarters.

But ultimately, the TA often does not notify the passenger of the port time changes.

It's little consolation that the TA will get his/her commission. This system is broken!

 

Harry

We are on a Nautica cruise departing 13th Feb and have seen from the O website that port times have changed for 4 ports, but no notification has been received direct from O. The overall effect is 5 hours less time in ports, and the worst change is arrival in Tianjin has been moved from 12 noon to 4pm for a 2 night stay in port before disembarkation - this will have a major impact on touring time in Beijng.

 

Not impressed with the way Oceania treats it's passengers and we will not be booking again in a hurry - not what we expected from a premium cruise line.

So sorry to hear about your port changes. It's perplexing to me that with 21st Century computer technology, O can't just do an automatic e-mail blast to all booked passengers whenever there is a port time change. (I don't think that my TA's feelings would be hurt.) We're leaving on the Riviera Sunday. Hopefully, there won't be any "surprises"...

 

Harry

We are on a Nautica cruise departing 13th Feb and have seen from the O website that port times have changed for 4 ports, but no notification has been received direct from O. The overall effect is 5 hours less time in ports, and the worst change is arrival in Tianjin has been moved from 12 noon to 4pm for a 2 night stay in port before disembarkation - this will have a major impact on touring time in Beijng.

 

Not impressed with the way Oceania treats it's passengers and we will not be booking again in a hurry - not what we expected from a premium cruise line.

 

Did you book directly with Oceania or a TA?

Actually, I am not sure that you would want to go to Beijing on the first day anyway. It takes 3 hours (or even more, depending on traffic) to travel to Beijing each way. Even if you docked at 12 noon, you are talking about 5 - 6 hours travel time back and forth (unless you are prepared to deal with the bullet train on your own). How much time would that give you to see anything in Beijing? Would an hour or two of sightseeing be worth 6 hours of travel time?

Might be worth considering spending a couple of days in Beijing after the cruise.

JMO.

We are on a Nautica cruise departing 13th Feb and have seen from the O website that port times have changed for 4 ports, but no notification has been received direct from O. The overall effect is 5 hours less time in ports, and the worst change is arrival in Tianjin has been moved from 12 noon to 4pm for a 2 night stay in port before disembarkation - this will have a major impact on touring time in Beijng.

 

Not impressed with the way Oceania treats it's passengers and we will not be booking again in a hurry - not what we expected from a premium cruise line.

I was on the Marina 28 Nov Cape Town to Rio. As I stated in Msg 33 above I accept changes beyond the control of the cruise line, but these last minute changes are purely for the convenience and profit of the cruise line. In my end of cruise survey I rated the cruise as "Excellent" and answered "Would you cruise with Oceania again?" with "Definitely Not". Sorry, but Oceania screwed me once and unless they step up and accept responsibility (not holding my breath) I will not be giving them the opportunity to screw me again. There are lots of other travel opportunities out there.

 

Thom

We are on a Nautica cruise departing 13th Feb and have seen from the O website that port times have changed for 4 ports, but no notification has been received direct from O. The overall effect is 5 hours less time in ports, and the worst change is arrival in Tianjin has been moved from 12 noon to 4pm for a 2 night stay in port before disembarkation - this will have a major impact on touring time in Beijng.

 

Not impressed with the way Oceania treats it's passengers and we will not be booking again in a hurry - not what we expected from a premium cruise line.

 

Sure is. They should , tell you what the problem is so you can at least understand why.

Did you book directly with Oceania or a TA?

Actually, I am not sure that you would want to go to Beijing on the first day anyway. It takes 3 hours (or even more, depending on traffic) to travel to Beijing each way. Even if you docked at 12 noon, you are talking about 5 - 6 hours travel time back and forth (unless you are prepared to deal with the bullet train on your own). How much time would that give you to see anything in Beijing? Would an hour or two of sightseeing be worth 6 hours of travel time?

Might be worth considering spending a couple of days in Beijing after the cruise.

JMO.

 

There are many on our cruise who are going into Beijing on the day of arrival and staying overnight - the 4 hour change in time will definitely impact on their plans.

There are many on our cruise who are going into Beijing on the day of arrival and staying overnight - the 4 hour change in time will definitely impact on their plans.

 

Yes - in that case it will impact their plans.

It could be the Chinese government that is causing the problem. We had that in Shanghai when we were there this past February. Our port time changed at the vary last minute and was due to China officialdom and not Oceania.

We are on a Nautica cruise departing 13th Feb and have seen from the O website that port times have changed for 4 ports, but no notification has been received direct from O. The overall effect is 5 hours less time in ports, and the worst change is arrival in Tianjin has been moved from 12 noon to 4pm for a 2 night stay in port before disembarkation - this will have a major impact on touring time in Beijng.

 

Not impressed with the way Oceania treats it's passengers and we will not be booking again in a hurry - not what we expected from a premium cruise line.

 

 

You didn't say whether or not you're planning to stay in a hotel in Beijing during the two-night port call. Given the distance between Tianjin and Beijing and the clogged roads between the two places, I sure hope so. Considering Oceania has "taken" four hours out of your port call, take them back by eliminating the commuting you would have done using the ship as your hotel room. The extra money you'd have to spend on an in-town hotel will be compensated by the sights and experience you'll get to enjoy rather than commuting.

 

Even with the 4:00 PM arrival you would still be able to have a memorable first evening in Beijing. Some options...

... eat an authentic Chinese dinner (I recommend one of the famous Peking Duck restaurants assuming you'll be traveling with small group)

... go up to the viewing platform of the new CCTV Tower. (It is open until 10:00 PM)

... stroll along Gui Jie (Ghost Street) where every store front is a brightly lit restaurant. Even if you don't eat in any of them (and I have no particular names to recommend) the long stretch of neon signs of Chinese characters really emphasizes you're in a foreign place.

... there used to be an open air market of food stalls selling skewers of very, very exotic food (think crickets, scorpions, etc.). I don't know if this still exists. During our last visit in 2008, we didn't visit there, but we still remember our 1999 visit there. (We only looked. No sampling.)

... and, of course, all the major building are brightly lit at night. Consider taking a driving tour of Beijing to see the many of the buildings and public squares you'll visit in depth the next day.

 

Others are suggesting you add some pre- or post-cruise time in China, and I enthusiastically second that idea. But even if you can't do that, the simple act of staying in Beijing with greatly improve your time there.

Edited December 29, 2015 by Pet Nit Noy

 

... there used to be an open air market of food stalls selling skewers of very, very exotic food (think crickets, scorpions, etc.). I don't know if this still exists. During our last visit in 2008, we didn't visit there, but we still remember our 1999 visit there. (We only looked. No sampling.)

.

 

 

Yum Yum -- still there Wang fujing street..

 

 

Oceania did same for the Shanghai stop on the Beijing to Hong Kong Nautica cruise. Did not give any notice just posted time changes to the web page itinerary. BAD FORM!!!

 

For our Hong Kong to Istanbul cruise they did give notice -- because they had to cancel the overnight land excursions that many people signed up for. This one was excusable since it was an early Suez convoy.

Edited December 29, 2015 by PaulMCO

Yum Yum -- still there Wang fujing street..

 

Thanks! Good to know in a city that is rapidly re-inventing itself, some things remain the same.