No more blue books??

[shepherd really]

7 hours ago, njhorseman said:

It's generally accepted in the industry that MSC Cruises are in a far better financial position than most other cruise lines because of the presumed profitability of the parent corporation.

 

MSC's luxury cruise division, Explora Journeys, is scheduled to commence cruising in July.

 

 

I bet people thought that about Crystal because Genting is so big. 

[njhorseman]

2 hours ago, shepherd really said:

I bet people thought that about Crystal because Genting is so big. 

Genting Hong Kong, the owner of Crystal, wasn't that big. Don't confuse it with the entirety of the Genting group. The Lim family structured its corporate organizations so that if a branch of their holdings was failing it could be easily pruned from the tree without having any significant impact on the group as a whole. Since GHK was a publicly traded corporation with the associated reporting requirements it was actually rather clear for some time that their house of cards stood a good chance of collapsing

 

While it's impossible to know the details of the finances and corporate structure of a privately held business such as MSC, there has never been the slightest hint of any financial issues and given the ongoing expansion of MSc's businesses there's every reason to believe that MSC Cruises isn't in any financial danger. For example in December 2022 MSC announced the acquisition of Bollore Africa Logistics, for which they reportedly offered 5.7 billion euros. Further, the creation of a luxury cruising division would be unlikely if there were any financial issues looming.

[jennybenny]

I have not received my "blue book" either, so I asked my TA... She said it was delivered on the 5th.😳 Now I need to see if someone else found it in the mail and put it somewhere. 😞

Is it a big deal if we don't have it? Just the luggage tags, right? 

 

Maybe it's a good think O is changing to print your own???? Will I be able to print them after check in? or if they were mailed I'm SOL? 

[LHT28]

25 minutes ago, jennybenny said:

I have not received my "blue book" either, so I asked my TA... She said it was delivered on the 5th.😳 Now I need to see if someone else found it in the mail and put it somewhere. 😞

Is it a big deal if we don't have it? Just the luggage tags, right? 

 

Maybe it's a good think O is changing to print your own???? Will I be able to print them after check in? or if they were mailed I'm SOL? 

Just  get the luggage tags at the port

 

 Check you Blue bin incase someone tossed them 😉

 

[DENIE]

On 4/16/2023 at 9:48 AM, MEFIowa said:

I would tend to concur, otherwise they should fire their marketing people!

 

Funny how each case is unique for a new person to O. On Jan 30, 2021 an O brochure fell out of my Saturday WSJ. Wife and I had never cruised and didn't want to. But it was during COVID so instead of recycling it, which I almost did immediately, I started looking it over. Found a port-intensive cruise late in 2021 that seemed reasonable. Talked with my wife. Booked it on Monday. Then upgraded our C to an A4 on the 2021 Presidents' Day Sale and have never looked back. Loved the 12/2021 cruise on Riviera so much we booked a late 11/2022 cruise on Sirena while still on board. And then before our 2nd cruise, in early 2022, booked 2 more in 2023 (Oct-Nov) and one in late 2024 (Sept). 

Same!!!  🙂

 

And the funny thing is that we did not even subscribe to the WSJ.  I recall it was also around the time you indicated.  We subscribed to the local Phoenix/Scottsdale paper, but for some reason ended up with a WSJ that day, with an Oceania brochure.  We had been Celebrity people before Covid, but with this brochure, the rest is history.

[Cliff-FLL]

And another Oceania brochure arrived with today's WSJ! 🙄

[Redtravel]

Blue book was nice, but not necessary.   I travel on other lines that don’t send out any advance package. Just show up at the dock, get checked off the list, luggage tags are then put on your bags,  show your passports, get your key, and embark.  Accept that expenses have increased and expect fewer frills.

[azam71209]

I just got the usual blue book and personalized luggage tags for each person-Barcelona-London, May 22.

 

Mary

[mauibabes]

Redtravel,

While the “Blue Book” is not necessary, I call it a “Touch of Class” and another of the little things that we have come to enjoy and expect from Oceania. We know we are paying for it, as we are ultimately paying for all this mailed brochures we often receive, but they are all amazing remembrances of trips past and maybe flips future. 
I really enjoy reading the many postings of all the “First timers” and meeting the first timers on an Oceania cruise who are amazed at the experience. Let’s just call it “A Million Little Things”, to steal a phrase/title from a TV program, that makes us know our Oceania cruise with our Oceania family is SPECIAL. We know we are blessed to have the privilege of sailing with you all. 
Yes, we ❤️🛳️ Oceania

Mauibabes

[Harters]

On 4/14/2023 at 2:49 PM, LHT28 said:

You get all the other info  by email  in the Final Cruise Summary

I'm presuming that, unlike some others, I'm not getting the blue book for our cruise in a couple of weeks. But should I have received the Final Cruise Summary email by now?

[grifdoglover]

@Harters yes. Call O or your TA however you booked.

[grifdoglover]

I personally don’t care for the blue booklet but I do want my port luggage tags

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Harters said:

I'm presuming that, unlike some others, I'm not getting the blue book for our cruise in a couple of weeks. But should I have received the Final Cruise Summary email by now?

Not sure how it works  now 

Or  in the UK 

I would call  who you booked with  but  I suspect it is the same infor you have gotten already

JMO

[rheasue38]

Hi!

The final cruise summary usually comes three weeks before a cruise. 

 

Rhea

[Harters]

Thanks for the advice. Emailed the TA's sales agent to ask. Now just waiting for their customer service team to get back to us.

 

By the by, I spotted online that Regent send their email at 14 days before, so maybe O will also be that (in which case, I'm still outside the date)

Edited June 2, 2023 by Harters

[banjineer]

For our O cruise last February, we didn't get our blue book so our TA got the tracking number from Oceania.  Turns out the blue book sat in a Seattle Post Office Distribution Center for more than a week before being delivered.   So we eventually did get the blue book with luggage tags but just a week before the cruise.

[Redtravel]

Still nothing.  Contacted my TA who said it was mailed on May 10th.  We sail in June.  Not putting much faith into getting it before we sail.  Don’t care about summary tags. I would like the luggage tags.  On my roll all, some people got docs and some didn’t. Hope that this isn’t an indication of O future.  I am checked in, have boarding passes, and hope for the best.

[basor]

2 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

Still nothing.  Contacted my TA who said it was mailed on May 10th.  We sail in June.  Not putting much faith into getting it before we sail.  Don’t care about summary tags. I would like the luggage tags.  On my roll all, some people got docs and some didn’t. Hope that this isn’t an indication of O future.  I am checked in, have boarding passes, and hope for the best.

Perhaps your TA can get a tracking number and address mailed to like bankijeer and see if and when it was mailed.....maybe not O's fault but US Post office...

[Redtravel]

11 minutes ago, basor said:

Perhaps your TA can get a tracking number and address mailed to like bankijeer and see if and when it was mailed.....maybe not O's fault but US Post office...

TA did that. O claimed that it was sent to my address.  I also checked the US postal informed delivery. Nothing

[basor]

12 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

TA did that. O claimed that it was sent to my address.  I also checked the US postal informed delivery. Nothing

When and where did the tracking number say it was delivered?

[grifdoglover]

Some cruise lines send to to the TA who then forward to the passenger.  If you book directly with the cruise line they send it to you.  I have always had to show our cruise tickets at the port.  You don’t get in unless you have the proper docs, passport, ticket etc.

[basor]

10 minutes ago, grifdoglover said:

Some cruise lines send to to the TA who then forward to the passenger.  If you book directly with the cruise line they send it to you.  I have always had to show our cruise tickets at the port.  You don’t get in unless you have the proper docs, passport, ticket etc.

The TA can also have the cruise line send directly to the passenger.....

[grifdoglover]

@basoryes so it is important to ask your TA when your documents will be arriving.  I don’t like third party involvement myself.

[basor]

3 minutes ago, grifdoglover said:

@basoryes so it is important to ask your TA when your documents will be arriving.  I don’t like third party involvement myself.

Ours have always arrived so never been an issue for us - just trying to offer ideas since it is an issue for you....sorry

[Redtravel]

I have my boarding pass.  I am also taking the ship transfers.  I don't think that not having the cruise booklet will be a problem.  Luggage tags would be nice. However, I can get tags at the dock.  In addition, I always put a itinerary in the outside pocket of my luggage. It helps if the luggage tag gets torn off or the luggage gets lost.