Oceania not bother answering emailed queries??

[Shawnino]

thanks SFB.

 

Yes the geo blocking and regional pricing models in favour of north americans by cruise lines specifically is reason it is very expensive for europeans on certain lines like oceania.

 

so i can look on my euro website and have another page opened on the USA website - and the difference is just maddening- double and more sometimes.

 

so for me to take a cruise from two hours down the road - european starting and based cruise - it's usually a lot more expensive for me than the american couple flying into europe for it.

 

if you american cruisers think about that in reverse - if i was given special rates as a european resident for a cruise starting in miami- that you as a USA based resident had to pay double for.?? how would you feel??

 

for europeans it;s probably even more annoying as one of the centre points of the european union is free movement of people, goods , services.

 

A smidgen of creativity is all you need.

[Bobtails12]

well my credit card would be geo linked to a european bank - so there no creativity possible there.

 

not opening a usa account for the sake of oceania

[LHT28]

I'm in Canada; I've used US-based TAs for years. Oceania, NCL, Lindblad... cruises, all-inclusives, hotels etc.

 

You are overthinking this.

Canadians are no longer restricted to using Canadian TA's we can use US TA's but other Countries are not as fortunate

 

Back before the internet Canadians had to book cruises through a wholesaler at an exchange rate a lot higher than the going bank rate

[Jay23]

Dear Mr Bobtails,

Just ask your question on CC and you will get a straight answer within minutes. No-one can advise you if you don't explain what the problem is.

However, we are all too late now, you have made up your mind that Oceania is not for you. I hope you find a lovely cruise to enjoy. J

[Bobtails12]

Well J.

 

Firstly if I am paying money to a company - and they have a contact system for queries i expect them logically to reply to that. not ignore queries - as Oceania have done.

 

Secondly my query was of a specific nature to a specific cruise that cc will not be able to answer.

[marylizcat]

If you are in Europe, you could use an online UK cruise travel agent. This would get you a discount on the price, making it cheaper than booking direct. You could then route your queries through them, by email. This is what we do.

 

 

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[Bobtails12]

Thanks M.

 

But firstly you are in England - so it would make sense for you to book in GBP.

It rarely- unless guaranteed parity- is worth booking in GBP for euro based citizens.

 

secondly my point - which has somewhat digressed is-:

 

Oceania have an online platform where they encourage you to raise your questions to them.

they do not state that that you need to go via a TA - effectively their distributers - as they DO sell direct.

yet - Oceania- the producer and direct seller of the product do not answer queries.

 

its the attitude of the producer and direct seller which I find less than tempting me to buy their product.

[Sea42]

Thanks M.

 

But firstly you are in England - so it would make sense for you to book in GBP.

It rarely- unless guaranteed parity- is worth booking in GBP for euro based citizens.

 

secondly my point - which has somewhat digressed is-:

 

Oceania have an online platform where they encourage you to raise your questions to them.

they do not state that that you need to go via a TA - effectively their distributers - as they DO sell direct.

yet - Oceania- the producer and direct seller of the product do not answer queries.

 

its the attitude of the producer and direct seller which I find less than tempting me to buy their product.

I agree with you that if a company's customer service is not meeting your needs you should look elsewhere.

[Pet Nit Noy]

Oceania have an online platform where they encourage you to raise your questions to them.

they do not state that that you need to go via a TA - effectively their distributers - as they DO sell direct.

yet - Oceania- the producer and direct seller of the product do not answer queries.

 

its the attitude of the producer and direct seller which I find less than tempting me to buy their product.

 

You have a valid complaint. Others have offered using TAs as a work around strategy to deal with your valid complaint. For a variety of reasons, you have rejected the use of TAs. So what do you expect to happen next? We are not in a position to change Oceania's practices. Most of us are sufficiently satisfied with Oceania -- whether that means their existing practices or our ability to use work around strategies -- that we're not going to cancel Oceania bookings or abandon Oceania. There comes a point where you just have to say that Oceania is not a good fit for you and move on. I hope you are at that point after participating in this thread, and I hope you find a great cruise line that works better for you!

[Bobtails12]

Thanks

 

but i fear my other half may have fallen in love with itinerary( we book normally based on itinerary/time in port/ food quality/ service) - so I thought oceania would meet these.

 

so i might be giving O my money yet !

 

funnily my question was prompted from here - from people saying large corporate groups and booked, taken over and ruined their trip- i had not thought of O as being suitable for that kind of booking- so I had asked whether there were any large corporate bookings on a specific cruise in august.

 

Oceania's failure to respond makes me wonder whether large (and loud) group bookings is something they are moving towards....and the non-response is deliberate.

[Pet Nit Noy]

Thanks

 

but i fear my other half may have fallen in love with itinerary( we book normally based on itinerary/time in port/ food quality/ service) - so I thought oceania would meet these.

 

so i might be giving O my money yet !

 

funnily my question was prompted from here - from people saying large corporate groups and booked, taken over and ruined their trip- i had not thought of O as being suitable for that kind of booking- so I had asked whether there were any large corporate bookings on a specific cruise in august.

 

Oceania's failure to respond makes me wonder whether large (and loud) group bookings is something they are moving towards....and the non-response is deliberate.

 

Oceania has always had sporadic large group bookings, but I don't sense any increase in this policy.

 

Your reasons for booking -- and in that order -- are what characterize the typical Oceania cruiser. Sorry, but that comment doesn't exactly help your decision making.

 

What is the wonderful itinerary?

[pinotlover]

Food and Wine Trails groups wouldn’t be classified as a large and boisterous group, even though a lot of wine is consumed by that Group. You can visit their website to see if they have a cruise planned on your date.

 

The Alumni Groups are rarely even noticeable, except for all the hats and T-shirts. So explain to me how Oceania is going to be able to predetermine whether 25 Yalies or 50 Texas Aggies are going to be “to boisterous “ in your opinion?

 

What guarantees exactly are you wanting in writing, so as you stated “ you can hold them to it” ? Here is a clue for you, any such correspondence from anyone short of Bob Bender, Oceania’s President wouldn’t hold much water and I doubt you’ll get a response from him.

[LHT28]

funnily my question was prompted from here - from people saying large corporate groups and booked, taken over and ruined their trip- i had not thought of O as being suitable for that kind of booking- so I had asked whether there were any large corporate bookings on a specific cruise in august.

.

Even if they did respond they would not tell you if any groups are booked on the cruise in question

I think the latest incident was an anomaly for Oceania

We have had several groups on our cruises but nothing like what was reported here recently

They have always had groups onboard but the one we encountered were nothing like the recent fiasco

 

 

JMO

[Bobtails12]

Well i think the one mentioned here was an insurance company sales men group.

 

but usually large groups do take over areas - even well behaved ones *( as you often have a group of 20/ 30 50 whatever arriving and leaving an area together instant noise etc)- ones not well behaved can be very unpleasant.

 

it's less of a guarantee rather the attitude- it someone from oceania replied saying bulk of that cruise is already booked by individuals and unusual for groups bigger than 20 to book at this stage - or they don't normally attract groups on european cruises - thats not a guarantee but i can see where they are going.

 

if someone answers absolutely we welcome large groups more the merrier- then i know where that is going

 

it's a bit like asking a cruise are they kid friendly - if someone answers absolutely we have loads of activities everywhere - kids welcome everywhere - at least 500 kids on board - i could then see where they were putting their marketing and customer focus

[excited cruise traveler]

I have to dispute the notion that OC's agents do not answer E-mails. I have dealt with more than one that have happily replied and gave me info that I wanted. Remember the echo that goes into the woods and comes back to you? It is a matter of tact and grace that helps.

[Bobtails12]

Good for you if you have received good customer service.

 

well you obviously can't speak for answering all their mails - unless you work for them and are the recipient.

 

they didn't answer mine- and others responded to me that they wait weeks for a reply or for no reply.

 

so inconsistent at best.

[cephelapodia]

Bobtails,

 

I had a similar experience with a long delay (but eventual definitive answer) on an email question. So, you may or may not get an answer.

 

There are many things that Oceania does very, very well. Process communication is not, in my opinion, one of them. This will continue on board. And it sounds like it is going to drive you bonkers.

 

They are very good at operating ships and running restaurants and providing excellent service on the hotel side of things. They are not very good at explaining some things.

 

For example, I was on the recent super-rainy French Polynesia cruise, and slightly more than half of my shore excursions ended up cancelled.

 

If I ran things, then inside the envelope of tour tickets waiting for passengers at embarkation, there would be an insert titled What to do if you have a cancelled excursion. That's not a thing that they do.

 

They can get you there and then ashore and to the tour operator and back and all that quite well, and even manage the communication about cancellations reasonably well. But from there, not so much.

 

Trying to get an explanation for how the refunds for the cancelled tours would work - which is actually quite simple - took checking with four people at two different desks.

 

The answer is that if a tour is cancelled and you don't book a replacement, credits go onto your shipboard account based on how the tour was paid for. O-Life package tours credit back as non-refundable credit at a fixed rate ($90, I think). Tours you paid for credit back as a refundable credit for the amount you paid. When they close out your account at the end of the cruise, they use up the non-refundable credit first, then the refundable. If there is any leftover non-refundable credit, it's gone. If there is any leftover refundable credit, it is paid back to you automatically. If there is a balance due, it bills to the credit card you provided at embarkation unless you cash out by the deadline on disembarkation day.

 

Simple and logical, right? Four people, two desks, and 45 minutes to get that explanation. And the Destination Services Desk had to mark everything in the system on the last day, so there wasn't an accurate statement. (That might be because of the large number of cancelled tours that trip, including all of the tours on the last day.) I just kept all the paperwork and decided to deal with it from home. I got a check for the expected amount 2-3 weeks later, before I even bothered to call them.

 

They seemingly would rather have the same conversation individually with every affected passenger than provide the information clearly and in advance. I don't get it. It makes no sense to me, but for whatever reason it's what they do. And we are unlikely to be able to change that.

 

So, if the situation with the email is bugging you, which I totally get, you are probably going to be frustrated by some of the process gaps and inefficiencies from now until the end.

 

On the other hand, if you can let that go - accept their shortcomings in exchange for the many things that they do so very well? If you can do that, I think you will have a wonderful trip. And if you can't, well, better to know now than later.

[Bobtails12]

many thanks for the logical and objective viewpoint cephalopodia.

 

it's good to know they do so many things well- and if this is their achilles heel - then i would take that into account- no company is perfect at every aspect - but sometimes you wonder if being bad in one area reflects the standard in others. in your objective experience it doesn't reflect all areas - so thanks that is good to know.

 

its good to know you did get a refund even if long winded process- so that is good from their viewpoint. i agree though- from simple time and efficiency of staff time- you'd think they'd agree a process and put it on forms in cabins or at reception- would seem to make their life simpler.

 

thanks again ceph.

 

also thanks pavovsky for the logical comments.

[lais]

thanks SFB.

 

Yes the geo blocking and regional pricing models in favour of north americans by cruise lines specifically is reason it is very expensive for europeans on certain lines like oceania.

 

so i can look on my euro website and have another page opened on the USA website - and the difference is just maddening- double and more sometimes.

 

so for me to take a cruise from two hours down the road - european starting and based cruise - it's usually a lot more expensive for me than the american couple flying into europe for it.

 

if you american cruisers think about that in reverse - if i was given special rates as a european resident for a cruise starting in miami- that you as a USA based resident had to pay double for.?? how would you feel??

 

for europeans it;s probably even more annoying as one of the centre points of the european union is free movement of people, goods , services.

 

Well I’m sitting here in Italy wanting to book my next cruise. I can only get the Oceania website with Euros and European pricing. One particular cruise I’m looking at has O life plus meaning it includes all the goodies plus the gratuities minus the air. After converting the Euros to USD the cost would be $7000 USD. I email my guy at Oceania and he quoted me $9000 w/o air or gratuities. So the pricing is much better in Europe.

 

How do you find the USA website?

I’m tired of texting my friend in the U.S. to look up cruises for me.

[Pavovsky]

Well I’m sitting here in Italy wanting to book my next cruise. I can only get the Oceania website with Euros and European pricing. One particular cruise I’m looking at has O life plus meaning it includes all the goodies plus the gratuities minus the air. After converting the Euros to USD the cost would be $7000 USD. I email my guy at Oceania and he quoted me $9000 w/o air or gratuities. So the pricing is much better in Europe.

 

 

 

How do you find the USA website?

 

I’m tired of texting my friend in the U.S. to look up cruises for me.

 

 

 

You could try hola which is an add-on application on Chrome but probably best not to use your credit card details through it as some say it can be security vulnerable.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Nattybugle]

I am interested in booking an Oceania cruise and I have filled in the form on their website 3 times now asking to be contacted - nothing. Surely this stuff isn’t that hard?

[lais]

You could try hola which is an add-on application on Chrome but probably best not to use your credit card details through it as some say it can be security vulnerable.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Hola? I’ll check it out. Thanks

[lais]

I am interested in booking an Oceania cruise and I have filled in the form on their website 3 times now asking to be contacted - nothing. Surely this stuff isn’t that hard?

 

Are you registered on their website? If so, do a dummy booking then I bet someone will call you. That’s how they originally found me.

[Pavovsky]

I am interested in booking an Oceania cruise and I have filled in the form on their website 3 times now asking to be contacted - nothing. Surely this stuff isn’t that hard?

 

 

 

The same thing happened to me which is why I was attracted to this thread. I approached a travel agent who allowed me to put an option down.

 

 

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[lais]

I am interested in booking an Oceania cruise and I have filled in the form on their website 3 times now asking to be contacted - nothing. Surely this stuff isn’t that hard?

 

Can you call them?