LIVE REPORT from Riviera - NEVER AGAIN!

[brobin111]

3 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

And some wonder why I mention the expectations of those cruising in PH and above? 😞

You're right. When I pay for more I expect to get more - wouldn't you?  That said, the service was excellent and I never expect much from O on the entertainment agenda.  If  food quality and entertainment were my only beefs I wouldn't even care.  And, no, they were not performing cats - they were imitating them.

[brobin111]

2 minutes ago, GregoryPaul said:

I don’t really get the idea of tying food, drink, entertainment, port or excursion expectations to level of cabin or suite. Lousy (or terrific) food is lousy (or terrific) food no matter the square footage of your cabin. Good friends, we have cruised with have taken inside cabins while we “luxuriate” in an aft suite. They are probably more discerning food critics than we are. Where does it say that they have to accept less? 

 

Same goes with our sons who know more about music than we do but don’t want to spring for the big suites.

 

Ditto excursions, ports visited  etc.

 

I think that once we get past the obvious suite amenities, all passenger expectations are - or should be - about the same for the same cruise.

Absolutely correct!

[ak1004]

6 minutes ago, brobin111 said:

You're right. When I pay for more I expect to get more - wouldn't you?  That said, the service was excellent and I never expect much from O on the entertainment agenda.  If  food quality and entertainment were my only beefs I wouldn't even care.  And, no, they were not performing cats - they were imitating them.

 

Personally I wouldn't. We sailed on O in inside, balcony and suite - we always knew that the only thing we get for being in a suite is extra space (plus extra reservations in specialty restaurants). That's it. O is not Celebrity when you get a different service and different food for being in a suite.

[basenji56]

13 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

 O is not Celebrity when you get a different service and different food for being in a suite.

Or Viking Ocean where you can't get decent excursions unless you book the higher priced cabins.

[LHT28]

yes the upper suites get different entertainment than the lower cabins  so  expectations for  chipmunks that entertain are higher🙄

Back in the early year some of the singers were  just out of Chipmunk school  for singers 🙄

 

[GregoryPaul]

Unless the matrix glitched and i missed it, we are on an Oceania forum meant for discussion around Oceania cruises.

[LHT28]

6 minutes ago, GregoryPaul said:

Unless the matrix glitched and i missed it, we are on an Oceania forum meant for discussion around Oceania cruises.

you are on Cruise critic   where anything goes 😃

[Tranquility Base]

17 hours ago, brobin111 said:

The measure of a company is more than what they do right, it's how they treat their customers when things go wrong.  Every other cruise line we've sailed has done something meaningful when there's been a major change to an itinerary even though they didn't have to.  That's what creates loyalty to a brand.  

 

We were on another cruiseline about 6 months ago.

We were docked for the day at a very nice city for exploring.

We ended up docked there for 2 overnights due to a storm between us and our next 3 ports.

 

We received:

1. A detailed letter explaining the situation when we returned to the ship on the 1st day;

2. A detailed letter with a further update when we returned to the ship on the 2nd day.

3. The revised itinerary required missing 2 of the next 3 ports.......totally understandable and accepted.

4. An FCC of 15 % of the fare paid;

5. $100 OBC.

 

We received excellent communications from senior staff onboard.

Even though the situation was obviously outside their control we received a generous goodwill gesture.

 

It helped being docked at a nice port, but I am sure the reason we heard only disappointment and NOT complaints and grizzles was down to the communication and the goodwill measures.   

 

 

Edited March 24, 2023 by Tranquility Base

[brobin111]

10 minutes ago, Tranquility Base said:

We were on another cruiseline about 6 months ago.

We were docked for the day at a very nice city for exploring.

We ended up docked there for 2 overnights due to a storm between us and our next 3 ports.

 

We received:

1. A detailed letter explaining the situation when we returned to the ship on the 1st day;

2. A detailed letter with a further update when we returned to the ship on the 2nd day.

3. The revised itinerary required missing 2 of the next 3 ports.......totally understandable and accepted.

4. An FCC of 15 % of the fare paid;

5. $100 OBC.

 

We received excellent communications from senior staff onboard.

Even though the situation was obviously outside their control we received a generous goodwill gesture.

 

It helped being docked at a nice port, but I am sure the reason we heard only disappointment and NOT complaints and grizzles was down to the communication and the goodwill measures.   

 

 

That's exactly how it should be done! Which line? I want to sail with them.

[AMHuntFerry]

3 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

And just for this--"The Burt Bacharach tribute surely has him spinning in his grave!"--I was spinning by the pool almost in ecstasy rockin' out to Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love that one Saturday am on Sirena last November! They even played it to the very end. Now if only I could get more metal, some punk, some British invasion, and some '90s grunge!

If you have a Megadeth T (or similar), wear it next time. Those really quiet staffers who usually float in the background will all of a sudden smile and start talking to you and nickname you "Megadeth". \m/

[AMHuntFerry]

duplicate

Edited March 24, 2023 by AMHuntFerry
too late to delete-sheesh

[Jancruz]

1 hour ago, brobin111 said:

That's exactly how it should be done! Which line? I want to sail with them.

and we want you too!!

Jancruz1

[mauibabes]

DITTO Jancruz 1  
We definitely do not want someone who doesn’t enjoy Oceania to sail on one of the O ships. No one should be miserable on a lux cruise and then make life miserable for others.  We all know we can not make everyone happy 100% of the time 😇 but we appreciate all the effort the O ship staff go to to make our cruise vacations memorable for all the RIGHT reasons. 
Under 60 days and excited to be on Vista.

Mauibabes 

[MEFIowa]

3 hours ago, AMHuntFerry said:

If you have a Megadeth T (or similar), wear it next time. Those really quiet staffers who usually float in the background will all of a sudden smile and start talking to you and nickname you "Megadeth". \m/

Sadly, my t-shirt collection has always been light on rock bands. I want the 1977 Led Zeppelin shirt, as well as the Rolling Stone tongue, The Who, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Sex Pistols, Offspring, and more, but I never buy them. I always end up with lots of t-shirts from places I've visited. When I'm cruising overseas, I tend to wear a lot of my Paraguayan t-shirts. Would they nickname me "The Paraguayan"? 😉 

[MEFIowa]

6 hours ago, brobin111 said:

You're right. When I pay for more I expect to get more - wouldn't you?  That said, the service was excellent and I never expect much from O on the entertainment agenda.  If food quality and entertainment were my only beefs I wouldn't even care....

I expect to get what I've paid for as per the contract/agreement. I studied O before my 1st cruise with them in 12/2021 so I knew mostly what to expect. Regardless of how much any of us spent on our cabins & any specific amenities that came with those, we'd eat the same food in the Specialty Restaurants, TC, MDR, Waves, & Baristas, and we'd get the same entertainment & lecturers & on-ship activities. And we couldn't even try to reserve a pool lounger all day, for we had better be on it or using it coming from the pool periodically. There would be little class "segregation". My expectations tend to be reasonable, for the magic formula is always the same: Happiness = Reality - Expectations. And this has certainly served me well during COVID and in our current situation 3 years in.

[CurlerRob]

9 hours ago, ak1004 said:

I think that asking for 30% FCC is completely unrealistic. I don't think ANY line would provide such FCC. The best we got in all our cruises was 10% FCC from SS, which I thought was VERY GENEROUS.

 

Interestingly enough, here is part of the text of a letter we received during a South America trip on another cruise line (not a luxury one). The highlight, as expected, was to be Cape Horn, which we lost due to extreme weather.

 

"We do share in the disappointment our guests experience in missing a planned port of call or scenic cruising destination and again, we deeply regret that weather conditions have required us to make these changes to ensure your safety. Therefore, as a token of our appreciation and goodwill, we want to offer each of you a Future Cruise Credit equal to 25% of the base cruise fare paid for the March 31 to April 13 sailing segment. The terms of this credit are detailed on the back of this letter. We hope this gesture will signify our commitment to our guests."

 

We were novice cruisers at the time, had no expectations of any accommodation and were staggered by this level of generosity. We proceeded to sail that line for another 8 years, in no small part due to the company's exceptional treatment.

 

There's lots of mileage in showing your clients you care, even if it's not that significant a recognition ... 🍺🥌

[njhorseman]

19 minutes ago, CurlerRob said:

 

Interestingly enough, here is part of the text of a letter we received during a South America trip on another cruise line (not a luxury one). The highlight, as expected, was to be Cape Horn, which we lost due to extreme weather.

 

"We do share in the disappointment our guests experience in missing a planned port of call or scenic cruising destination and again, we deeply regret that weather conditions have required us to make these changes to ensure your safety. Therefore, as a token of our appreciation and goodwill, we want to offer each of you a Future Cruise Credit equal to 25% of the base cruise fare paid for the March 31 to April 13 sailing segment. The terms of this credit are detailed on the back of this letter. We hope this gesture will signify our commitment to our guests."

 

We were novice cruisers at the time, had no expectations of any accommodation and were staggered by this level of generosity. We proceeded to sail that line for another 8 years, in no small part due to the company's exceptional treatment.

 

There's lots of mileage in showing your clients you care, even if it's not that significant a recognition ... 🍺🥌

Obviously since you mentioned that you sailed that line for another 8 years, the cruise took place many years ago when the cruise lines were profitable. A profitable era makes it a lot easier for a cruise line to be generous,

Today, after the pandemic shutdown, the major cruise line holding companies are all mired in debt, short on cash, still losing money and have been hanging on by their fingernails. Insolvencies and bankruptcy reorganizations are still not out of the question. Under current circumstances cruise lines are loath to give away anything. Their loyalty is to the cruise line's owners...the stockholders, not passengers. If they lose some customers as a result they believe the lost customers will be replaced by new ones, and I suspect they're right as only a minority of people have ever cruised.

[KimKM]

21 hours ago, njhorseman said:

My post addressed one short passage written by the poster. I suggest you reread it. It consists of a totally nonsensical claim that Oceania sold a cruise to Bermuda "knowing that it probably wouldn't happen". 

I'm sorry that you found my opinion that a cruise line, doing business for years, should have a fairly good idea of the best times to sail to Bermuda, "totally nonsensical". Everything that I have read seems to indicate that March is a very bad time to schedule a Bermuda cruise. I suppose that, silly me, I thought that Oceania would have experience enough to know the worst and best times to include certain ports. I have learned that I can't trust the cruise line, and I will have to double check and do intense research, in the future.

 

Also, I'm shocked by how many "very knowledgeable experts" on here, can't comprehend that NO ONE is saying that Oceania should have taken us to Bermuda despite dangerous conditions. I specifically said that wasn't the problem, but I'm assuming it's not as enjoyable to mock me if you don't make me sound totally ridiculous. My "beef" is that I don't think they should run that itinerary in March, and that their communications with guests is awful. I'm sure that someone will still critique something else that I've said here, but I still get to have an opinion and share it.

 

 

[KimKM]

2 hours ago, mauibabes said:

DITTO Jancruz 1  
We definitely do not want someone who doesn’t enjoy Oceania to sail on one of the O ships. No one should be miserable on a lux cruise and then make life miserable for others.  We all know we can not make everyone happy 100% of the time 😇 but we appreciate all the effort the O ship staff go to to make our cruise vacations memorable for all the RIGHT reasons. 
Under 60 days and excited to be on Vista.

Mauibabes 

I can assure you that I didn't make anyone "miserable" on our cruise. I was grateful for the wonderful restaurant, bar and cabin staff. They were great. I was friendly and enjoyed the other cruisers that we met. I only shared our displeasure on the mid-cruise survey, which is what I thought I was supposed to do? When the head chef and the head bartender spoke to us, I was calm and respectful. I am an adult and I can be displeased by a situation without acting like a toddler. There was a women disembarking in front of us who yelled at the staff on the way out... that wasn't me, because I don't blame anyone but corporate. 

[CurlerRob]

11 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

Obviously since you mentioned that you sailed that line for another 8 years, the cruise took place many years ago when the cruise lines were profitable. A profitable era makes it a lot easier for a cruise line to be generous,

Today, after the pandemic shutdown, the major cruise line holding companies are all mired in debt, short on cash, still losing money and have been hanging on by their fingernails. Insolvencies and bankruptcy reorganizations are still not out of the question. Under current circumstances cruise lines are loath to give away anything. Their loyalty is to the cruise line's owners...the stockholders, not passengers. If they lose some customers as a result they believe the lost customers will be replaced by new ones, and I suspect they're right as only a minority of people have ever cruised.

 

You correctly ascertained that this was some time ago - my point was that FCC over 10% was not unheard of.

 

Clearly, times are much tougher for the lines - but if they do believe that customers are disposable, that is a quicker road to an unwanted end. Recognition of issues and problems doesn't have to be expensive - good communications and even a token gesture go a long way to instilling loyalty. That was the point of my final sentence. 🍺🥌

[brobin111]

4 hours ago, mauibabes said:

DITTO Jancruz 1  
We definitely do not want someone who doesn’t enjoy Oceania to sail on one of the O ships. No one should be miserable on a lux cruise and then make life miserable for others.  We all know we can not make everyone happy 100% of the time 😇 but we appreciate all the effort the O ship staff go to to make our cruise vacations memorable for all the RIGHT reasons. 
Under 60 days and excited to be on Vista.

Mauibabes 

Who is "we" and exactly who were the "others" onboard that were made miserable?  I didn't wear my disappointment on my sleeve nor did I do or say anything to make anybody else onboard "miserable."  Indeed, I was not "miserable" myself - just annoyed at the way O handled the situation but didn't share that with other pax or non-management staff.  If this thread made you miserable remember that this forum is called Cruise Critics - not Cruise Cheerleaders.

Enjoy your cruise on Vista!

Edited March 25, 2023 by brobin111

[chloemonkey]

3 hours ago, KimKM said:

I can assure you that I didn't make anyone "miserable" on our cruise. I was grateful for the wonderful restaurant, bar and cabin staff. They were great. I was friendly and enjoyed the other cruisers that we met. I only shared our displeasure on the mid-cruise survey, which is what I thought I was supposed to do? When the head chef and the head bartender spoke to us, I was calm and respectful. I am an adult and I can be displeased by a situation without acting like a toddler. There was a women disembarking in front of us who yelled at the staff on the way out... that wasn't me, because I don't blame anyone but corporate. 

We were also disappointed in the revised itinerary....but were happy to have been on the cruise prior during  which we enjoyed perfect weather and sea conditions.    And we were also respectful in our responses when communicating our displeasure at the "new" ports after having lost both Bermuda and Great Stirrup Cay...and we also witnessed people actually yelling at the poor entertainment staff young lady who was merely at the front of the line expressing wishes for us all to have safe travels as we exited the ship.  I just had to shake my head in wonder as to what these people possible thought that they were going to achieve by yelling at this poor gal "NEVER AGAIN OCEANIA!"......She was dumbfounded and tried her best to be understanding.....people never cease to amaze and or disappoint me.  I felt that there were many on this trip who just could not resist wanting to be heard regarding their displeasure....and many of us who were also disappointed...were just forced to listen....

[ak1004]

10 hours ago, KimKM said:

I'm sorry that you found my opinion that a cruise line, doing business for years, should have a fairly good idea of the best times to sail to Bermuda, "totally nonsensical". Everything that I have read seems to indicate that March is a very bad time to schedule a Bermuda cruise. I suppose that, silly me, I thought that Oceania would have experience enough to know the worst and best times to include certain ports. I have learned that I can't trust the cruise line, and I will have to double check and do intense research, in the future.

 

Also, I'm shocked by how many "very knowledgeable experts" on here, can't comprehend that NO ONE is saying that Oceania should have taken us to Bermuda despite dangerous conditions. I specifically said that wasn't the problem, but I'm assuming it's not as enjoyable to mock me if you don't make me sound totally ridiculous. My "beef" is that I don't think they should run that itinerary in March, and that their communications with guests is awful. I'm sure that someone will still critique something else that I've said here, but I still get to have an opinion and share it.

 

 

 

Call me naïve, but I do NOT believe that Oceania (or any other line) would schedule a cruise to somewhere knowing in advance that this is not a good time to sail there. The fact is that as others mentioned, other ships did call Bermuda few days before or after.

 

It is also my understanding that OP was offered compensation, he just did not consider it appropriate, based on the fare he paid. Maybe this compensation would be appropriate for someone who sailed in the inside cabin but not one of the upper suites?

 

As for lack of communication - well, we don't know the whole story. In one of the recent reviews someone gave the Marina 1 star because they cancelled a port and did not call him at midnight to let him know.. they announced the change at 7am (if you don't believe me, here is the review - https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=697149)

 

So basically the whole "NEVER AGAIN" comes to the amount of compensation that OP expected based on the amount of money they paid.

[mauibabes]

@KimKM@brobin111  accept my regrets for my unintended perceived snarkiness. We have friends who were on your cruise and as I read more, others are responding about the discontent of some guests.  I use the “we” in general terms. DW and I love sailing on Oceania and our O family of guests and staff are very special to us.  We have sailed on O for over 15 years and we know how much Oceania values their guests and their staff. I hate to see people not enjoy themselves on O because it has been successfully built on a strong commitment to customer service, providing outstanding value and a genuine love shared with their returning guests, aka Repeaters.  

To all posters, enjoy your next cruise, wherever it might take you and on whatever line you choose and good luck managing expectations.

Mauibabes
 

[GregoryPaul]

He said he was offered a $200 FCC and that he could use it on an upcoming Asian cruise for which he has (now, had?) booked 3 Vista Suites. I have no dog in this fight but if true, Oceania could have done a lot better, current stock price (NCLH up 5.56% YTD) be damned.