Destination Services

[cruzemaven]

There have been many negative comments by recent Oceania passengers about the shore excursion desk aboard both ships. We were intending to book some shore excursions...does anyone have something good to say either about the tours or in their dealings with the excursion desk? Thankyou.

[goeurope]

Well, on a REGATTA cruise last fall, they were good about having stacks of local maps, tourist brochures, etc. available in most of the ports. Depending on the port, the info was either on the Destination Services counter or on a table nearby.

[ClaudiaF]

We were on Insignia in May and although we did not use ships tours /we prefer to arrange drivers/guides privately in advance.. they did have local knowledgeable people at a few ports ( where we had not made plans) on the ship at the destinations area who gave out some great information , with maps etc. I thought that was terrific!

[roothy123]

I thought DS was criticized too much. They DID have maps, train schedules, etc. most of the time, but if you're smart, you'll look all that stuff up on the internet before you get on the ship. Some people were critical of DS, but I think if you're going to be an independent traveler, you should act like one and don't expect to have your hand held every time you want to get off the ship. One person expected them to tell her where the nearest ATM in a port was, and I think that's expecting WAY too much, especially since Oceania is new and hadn't been in those ports more than a few times! Someone else criticized them for telling independent travelers to be careful on the Spanish trains, and to be VERY careful with personal items in Barcelona on Las Ramblas. They assumed this was to get people to take their tours, but I've seen that kind of warning in tour guides, so I don't think they were totally making those things up. It's just good common sense to warn people of known dangers - even if only an occasional tourist has a bad experience!

 

OK - now on to the shore excursions themselves. I can't comment on them, since we did EVERY port on our own - using trains, occasional rental car, feet, whatever. However, the general consensus seemed to be that the excursions were overpriced but well organized and they hit the highlights. The buses I saw (loading and unloading) looked modern and adequate and the tour guides on board spoke good English. If you're not up to doing it on your own, by all means book the shore excursions! If you can afford it, book a private driver! If you can't afford the shore excursions, do a lot of research and head to the nearest train or bus station! In Europe, that's usually a pretty easy way to travel!

[spindrift]

I can't help but respond to "roothy's" attack on comments about the tour services aboard ship. I have been sailing many, many years, on very fine ships and each had a wonderful tour operator on board on whom you depended without having to go to the internet to find your own tours.

 

Looking to a first class operation for the trips should also include a competent tour service on board, and I am sure Mr. Watters and Mr. Del Rio feel the same way. I was an avid cruiser on Crystal when they first sailed, and they had first class services on the tour desk, which made the whole trip each time very successful.

 

Obviously, Roothy, belongs to the younger generation and has no understanding of what we really look to in cruising. We aren't just looking for transportation to specific areas but we are looking for a vacation. I do hope that if all the negatives are, in fact, not just personal opinions but really reported facts, that Oceania will look for improvement in this arena. I expect to be on them in the very near future, and I shall make a judgement at that time, but "roothy," please don't be quick to recommend that the travelers decide their own plans before they board. Let's bring the professionalism back to the cruise lines and depend on them for a wonderful vacation.

[Merriem]

We did take a tour in the three ports we were in on the Transatlantic.

 

The Azores: This was an excellent tour, great guide, no complaints.

 

Maderia: Since we had been there three times already, we decided to take a tour of the island. I also had 25 stitches in my leg and was not up to walking around town. The bus was fine, the guide read everything for three hours. Poorly done.

 

Jerez: This was a disaster. They dropped everyone off from the bus, and it became a walking tour. The man in the wheelchair need assistance from someone. Of course he was not informed that was was not suitable for someone unable to walk. My husband spend four hours helping his wife get him around town. No one was made aware that this would be walking on cobblestone streets, and there were many people that were very displeased.

 

We normally go on our own, but due to my injury, we used the "Destination Services". It was a totaly waste of money. They had the worst tours of 18 cruises.

 

Again, we do not make it a habit of organized tours, but in this case we had to.

 

Most ships offer shuttles to downtown. They did not in any port. The port in Madeira, Funchal has changed a great deal and there is a lot of construction. Their needed to be for safety some better way for people to get to town vs walking.

[joan24]

We just got home from a Stockholm to Dover cruise on the Regatta. We only took one tour, to Gdansk since the time in port was very short. We had a wonderful guide who was fluent in English, very informative, and really pleasant to be with. We did the other ports on our own. I, too, feel that the majority of shore excursions were overpriced.

Joan

[mpslaw]

Again, do you understand that things are expensive in Europe because our dollar is not worth what it used to be. How do you think our neighbors in Canada like touring in the U.S. For those of us used to the mighty dollar...well it's history...I think the use of the word "expensive" has to be taken in the context of how much do other cruise lines charge for similar tours at the same time and in the same area not what it cost last year in Mexico or somewhere in the word where the dollar buys more. Remember folks "apples v. apples". And I don't work for Oceania and I don't mind paying $8.00 for a good house wine because I know that $8.00 is the going rate in first class restaurants.

[spindrift]

Mr. Del Rio and Mr. Watters--perhaps the "Destination Services" needs to have a good looking at. If I were to read these comments about the service in our hospital, I would be spending a lot of time on this special "customer service issue." It seems to be the only one concerning all of your passengers, and you certainly want repeat passengers, right?

[cheech]

I agree with Joan. Just back from Regatta 6/29.

Try to do as much research beforehand and then at the different ports of call do it on your own. My wife and I DID USE the ships excursuons in almost every port only because I had to use a cane for walking and unfortunately could not do too much on our own. Found that the ships excursions were way over priced though. Also, after the ships excursions had all left the ship, a local tourist board authority came on board in Amsterdam to tell the remaining passengers what to see, how to get there and other information. I think Oceania should have at least mentioned this aspect to their passengers beforehand. I think Oceania would still have been able to fill their own excursions, but at least give everyone an option. In addition, most of the people working in the shoe excursion office were unfriendly.

Hope this helps.

[Glenad]

My husband and I just returned from the Stockholm to Dover cruise. We like to do our own thing in port, but decided to go with the organized excursions in St. Petersburg and Berlin. We were very impressed with the tours. The guides were extremely knowledgeable, the groups were not too big (as is the case with the huge cruise ships), the tours always left on time. All in all we were happy.

 

We found ALL the staff to be very friendly and helpful. If you go to or watch (on the tv in room) the shore excursion lectures, that also tells you about the ports and what to do if you don't want to go on an organized excursion. These lectures were given in plenty of time to make a decision as to whether you wanted to go on your own or with a tour.

[ClaudiaF]

Prices of shore excursions are just high in Europe ( I don't think that it it's only on this cruiseline).. We most always do our own thing -preferring to hire our own drivers to see what we want at our pace, but even the private drivers this year have been really pricey.

[jazzsea]

I've just received an email from the husband of a client of mine sailing on Insignia (June 26 Dover to Copenhagen).

 

"Jo called last night from the North Cape of Norway @ 1 AM their time, sun shining and warm for a change, mid 70's.

She went fishing, a horror story. 27 people, 8 rods, no rod holders, no seating, incomplete railing (man overboard??) in the bow of the "converted for the day ambulance boat". No safety talk or if there were life jackets or where they were. Jo had 2 - 10 minute fishing periods, one she spent untangling the line.

Oh, and then the Captain (I use the term very loosely) told the passengers they could fish off either side of the boat. Well, Jo Anne piped up, "no you can't, the lines will tangle". They did it anyway and sure enough, the lines became tangled. Some with poles would not give them up so others could have a turn.

A real fiasco. 5 people will file a protest w/the ship attempting to get their $$$ back. One guy caught 2 10# cod, Jo struck out. She's not happy."

 

I have eight other horror story emails to edit and display. (I only edit out the swear words.)

 

Think seriously before buying the tours offered by Oceania.

[goeurope]

It might be more accurate to say, "Think twice before purchasing a tour that's being offered for the first time (whether from Oceania or any other cruise line).

 

For that matter, even a long-popular tour from an established supplier can be disappointing if the tour vendor has trouble finding enough top-quality guides for the day of your tour. Hiring a private guide isn't a guarantee of satisfaction, either: Many guides are excellent, but what if you get a guide who isn't? Or if the guide's specialties are history and culture, but you're mostly interested in shopping?

 

Then there are the taxi drivers who act as unlicensed guides: They may be nice people, and they may have interesting anecdotes to tell, but how can you be sure that they're giving you accurate information? (That may not matter if you just want someone to drive you around and point out the sights and shops, but if you're seriously interested in history and culture, you may be better off taking a group tour with a licensed guide than relying on the knowledge of a cab driver.)

 

One way to avoid disappointment with tours and excursions is to go ashore on your own. Buy a good map and a locally published guidebook and go exploring, unless you have a physical impairment that slows you down. You'll save money, and you'll go home with your own custom-made memories.

[jazzsea]

I posted my reply because I not only have first person knowledge of the tours on Oceania but I also have sailed on over 80 other cruises.

 

In thirty years of cruising I have never experienced an excursion office quite like the one that we experienced on Insignia, June 14 - 26.

 

The staff was rude and inexperienced. They were more interested in selling their tours than in giving passengers correct information about the tours.

 

Not everyone that cruises is brave enough or computer savey enough to handle their own tours. When we cruise, we expect the cruise line to offer excursions that allow us to visit the points of interest in or around our port area.

 

Oceania gives the impression in their literature that they are a deluxe cruise line. They are not a deluxe cruise line. Their cabins are small and the amenities offered are no where near deluxe. Passengers pay good money for this cruise experience. Telling the passenger that they should go out and find their own tours is like telling them that if they don't like the food they should bring "take-out" from port.

 

We all like cruising for various reasons. Mostly, I think, we expect that all of our major vacation needs will be met while aboard. We have food choices and stateroom choices and even choices for our dining companions. On some ships we can even choose the kind of entertainment we wish to see. Why should we be satisfied with a cruise line that does not make our port calls enjoyable? Why make excuses for a cruise line that does not deliver what their literature advertises?

 

I've been on tours where the coach has broken down; where the tour has been detained by bad weather and have even been on tours where the road has washed out. In one case the tour took us to a museum that was closed. I don't recall either Radisson or Holland America Line charging us for tours that did not meet their standards. Maybe it is because those two cruise lines stand behind what they offer their passengers and that they actually have standards to uphold.

[Merriem]

After a two week transatlantic cruise on March 15th, my comments have hardly been taken seriously. It is nice to have another well traveled cruiser comfirmed my opinions of Oceania.

 

I am sorry your trip was not satisfactory, mine wasn't either. I wrote to Oceania multiple times, and emailed them, never a response.

 

NOT RECOMMENDED!

[CITYMOTHER]

We have found the Destination Services Desk to be extremely helpful. We have taken many of their tours on our eight cruises with them. With the exception of a couple with tour guides who could not be understood, (which the DS Desk has no control over other than to hear from their passesngers).

They contract their tours and if you have a problem, let them know.

 

They keep maps available; usually have a local representative to give helpful

tips at every port.

 

We have done some 36 cruises and the cost appears to be in line with other cruise companies.

[digby]

We have booked only "O" tours from all three ships on 3 continents and have always found them to be worth the money. I have always found the staff at the DS desk to be most helpful. Of course we don't expect to be led by the hand around the world. We do a lot of research before leaving home even in ports where we have booked "O" tours.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

We were on the Nautica June 20-July 2 - Istanbul to Athens and we took the Discovery Package of tours, so we toured in every port. I did not have the usual amount of time before the cruise to research what I wanted to do in the ports.

 

Each of the excursions has a difficulty rating. Clearly on the web it says what the suitability is for people with physical challenges. Mine were all strenous and required a lot of walking on cobblestones, climbing stair etc.

 

All of the guides were good or better. We left two tours early because we wanted to see things that were not on the excursions.

 

We found the tour desk very helpful. The tours were very well organized. We usually do a mix of private guides and shore excursions when we sail but this time we used only O's excursions (except in Istanbul, we did hire a private guide one day - in addition to doing the all day O Excursion). The buses were never packed full and the groups were a perfect size. Busses were newer and clean. Maps were available for each port. A local destination guide came aboard at each port for those with questions as opposed to the Destination Services staff needing to answer those questions that they may not have an answer for.

 

As for cost, we've sailed Regent/Radisson extensively the last 5-6 years and we found the prices about the same. Did anyone check the price of gas and exchange rate for the Euro? Europe IS expensive.

 

We were very pleased with what we did and the excursions really played a major role in booking our next Oceania Cruise next year.

[Benita]

We took one Oceania tour on our last cruise (in Sochi, Russia because we did not want to buy a Visa). The tour was fine. In all three ports in the Ukraine, as well as in two ports in Turkey, we hired guides from services we found on the Oceania yahoo board, as well as cruise critic. In Kusadasi and Istanbul, my husband and I had a guide, driver, airconditioned car or minivan, and a full day of sightseeing, with admission fees included in the price. Both tours were longer and included more than the Oceania tours, and were the same, or less, in price. This was for just two of us, not a busload of people sharing one guide.

In the Ukraine, there were six of us (we met four others on Cruise Critic). We had three days of intensive touring, seeing much more than was offered on Oceania's tours for less money than going the big bus route with Oceania.

When we spoke with the other passengers at the end of the day, everybody seemed to enjoy the Oceania tours. They felt their guides were good- they just did not see as much and had to cope with one guide for 20-30 people.

I always visit a place with the thought process that I may never return there and I want to see as much as possible. This is more easily accomplished with a small group. The added kicker is if the price is the same or less, I go for the private excursions and have never been sorry.

[phlewt]

A few comments:

 

a. On our two O cruises, I never felt pressured to purchase the O shore excursions. I was glad that they did the best they could to describe their offerings prior to arrivial at each port. I was also glad that they often brought someone local on board to answer questions and make maps available, etc.

 

b. The O shore excursions are most likely priced a bit higher than what one would pay if they booked directly with a local tour operator. There is certainly overhead involved in arranging for such tours, and the extra charge is reasonable for the convenience factor.

 

c. We have used some O shore excursions and some private tours. Our experience with both has been quite positive. The O excursions often consist of a bus with around 30 other people. If you want a smaller group and you have the time to research, you are probably better off booking directly with a private tour operator or making arrangements at the dock upon your arrival.

 

d. Things might run a bit smoother with the HAL's and other cruise lines, but of course they don't cover all the different ports that O does, and you certainly don't have the O small ship experience on your cruise.

 

e. All in all, we can work around the shore excursion offerings from O and have a great experience.

[LHT28]

This was an old thread that was brought forward yesterday ...

 

Things may have improved a bit since 2004 when the thread was started

[lahore]

Here's a strange post from me: I actually thought the tour desk was really useful - and I have never taken a cruise tour in my life, nor would I. I actually completely agree with "Roothy", and at the same time encourage everyone to do whatever they feel comfortable with. I also go for a vacation, but to me a vacation means getting away from crowds, including crowds of our fellow passengers - all very nice onboard, but I don't want to travel every step of the way with the same people!

 

Doing our own thing, and being researched to the back teeth - we nevertheless appreciated the port presentations, the free brochures and local experts that the travel desk people brought on. I even went down there one night when our schedule was changed in Japan and had a chat with them about how we might best do something private we were planning given the suddenly changed situation. They were very helpful in full knowledge that they weren't going to sell me anything.

[boxsterr]

We are about to take our 8th cruise with Oceania. We have had both good and bad experiences with Destination Services. Our last cruise was the 35-day Hong Kong to Athens. We saw a fantastic improvement in this department. The Destination Services Director, Cinthya, was fantastic and worked well with the concierge, Robert. We have done some tours on our own, some with the large group and also arranged some private tours through Oceania.

We have had the range of good and bad from all sources, but isn't that part of travel?!! When we arrange it ourselves, we have no one to blame!!

I do think that one has to decide what your level of comfort is and this is sometimes dependent upon what part of the world you are in. While I much prefer the smaller groups, I would not arrange my own tour if I was concerned about missing the ship.

Safe travels to all,

Brenda

[JeannieMD]

We have just returned from the Dover to Stockholm Baltic tour, and I feel I must comment on some of our experiences with Destination Services. We were a group of 6 travelling together and had done extensive research on the ports prior to the cruise. We felt we were able to handle most ports - except Berlin and St. Petersburg - on our own.

I was overwhelmed by the support that we received from Kristine, the Destination Services Director. Her port presentations which were also available on the ship's tv station were very informative and not just geared towards people doing the ship's tours. Details regarding currency, taxis, bus numbers, points of interest - even which type of footwear advised - were extensive. Maps, bus routes, local tourism guides, and appropriate currency were available in each port.

Whenever we happened to run into her on board, she would gladly answer any questions that we might have. Never have I met someone so knowlegable and so eager to assist passengers.

We did the Oceania tour into Berlin and were very pleased with the excursion. The prices on all tours seemed comparable to other cruise lines. It is possible to do these tours more reasonably independently especially if you are travelling with a group and can share the cost of taxis, etc.

However, with the Regatta tours, you can rest assured that any catastrophe that strikes ( bus breakdowns, accidents, late returns. etc) will be their responsibility. Sometimes this insurance is well worth the price.