Schedule Changes - Istanbul to Athens

What is going on with Oceania? We have just been notified of our 3rd schedule change and we have not even sailed yet. Sailing on 9/27. All of the changes in docking/departure times have resulted in less time in the ports. Luckily our guide in Santorini was still available and I am hopeful our Ephesus guide will still be available but have not heard back yet.

I have been on Oceania cruises where there has been one schedule change or we had to miss a port because of weather or because there is a terrorist warning. I have also been on a cruise and they decided to spend 2 days in one port and not go to another port, but this is getting crazy - 3 schedule changes on one cruise.

I understand port issues and it being out of their control sometimes but why are they having to change times so much. Would appreciate thoughts on why this keeps happening.

Your post it titled Istanbul to Athens. I will assume the port change is similar to what Costa and Crystal did this week by canceling the Istanbul cruise port due to the unrest in that area.

Civi to Istanbul also has several changes ... including arriving in Istanbul around noon instead of 9:00aor so for an overnight stay. So Istanbul has not been cancelled by O at this point ... would create a huge mess since it is a turnaround port. I feel bad for those who were relying on that day to tour the city before flying out.

None of the changes the OP mentioned are for Istanbul. They are all for the Greek Islands. And there have now been four changes as of today for a 7-day cruise. No port changes.. only arrival/departure times. That forces us all to call DIY tour companies and change things for each change they make!

Really can't figure out "why" so many changes: Can't be tides (as an Oceania representative erroneously suggested on the phone today!) since tides are predictable years in advance. Can't be weather since it's 1-1/2 months away. Can't be how long it takes to travel to the next port since they do that all the time. And none of the other ships in these ports have changed their times on the "ships in port" website. So... ???

One possibility for all the changes decreasing your time in port as well as increasing the time between ports might very well be time to the next port. Absolutely true that these times are well known and set years in advance. The possible reason is money in that by taking extra time between ports the ship sails at a slower speed andt thus uses less fuel saving money. Another poster recently reminded us of the $50,000,000 bonus for savings in the first year of the purchase of PCH by NCLH which goes to the stockholders of the previous PCH which includes many of the current Oceania Executives. Every dollar Oceania can save compared to last year adds dollars to the pockets of many of the ex PCH executives as well as other stockholders.

One possibility for all the changes decreasing your time in port as well as increasing the time between ports might very well be time to the next port. Absolutely true that these times are well known and set years in advance. The possible reason is money in that by taking extra time between ports the ship sails at a slower speed andt thus uses less fuel saving money. Another poster recently reminded us of the $50,000,000 bonus for savings in the first year of the purchase of PCH by NCLH which goes to the stockholders of the previous PCH which includes many of the current Oceania Executives. Every dollar Oceania can save compared to last year adds dollars to the pockets of many of the ex PCH executives as well as other stockholders.

Good idea for "possible reason" except that on this cruise:

Ephesus went from 8AM - 8PM to 11AM - 11PM

Santorini went from 8AM - 8PM to noon - midnight

Heraklion went from 8AM - 8PM to 11AM - 11PM

Rhodes was changed from 8AM - 8PM to 8AM - 5PM (This is the only one to "short-change" us)

So it definitely doesn't appear to be travel time, since they are both leaving later and arriving later by the same intervals, except for Rhodes. So no extra time is being gained to get to the next port, except for Rhodes.

So I still think we don't have a clue why this all is what it is...

Ephesus went from 8AM - 8PM to 11AM - 11PM Santorini went from 8AM - 8PM to noon - midnight Heraklion went from 8AM - 8PM to 11AM - 11PM Rhodes was changed from 8AM - 8PM to 8AM - 5PM (This is the only one to "short-change" us) Actually while they have given you the same amount of time in Ephesus, Santorini, and Heraklion, they have lenghted the actual sea time between the ports from 12 hours to 13 hours. Also, they have limited the daylight hours in all three ports as well have extended the departure time to 11 PM or midnight which for many people lessens the time available in port who don't want to stay up until late hours. Plus another possibility is a savings on dinner since everybody would be back on board for dinnere each of those three ports and have dinner on board while in order to enjoy the same number of port hours people would need to eat dinner on shore. Also, under the new timing stores and historic sights will be closed way before ships departure which does lessen your on shore enjoyment and touring so you have really lost time in all 4 ports. While we can't be sure of the exact reason for the changes, can't think of any reasons that will benefit the passengers but, a couple at least which benefit the cruise line as well as PCH stockholders pockets.

We have been on Marina in July Baltic Sea. On the second day we found a paper in our room which noticed that we will be in the most ports one to two hours shorter. Is it the influence of NCL?

As a poster stated in the prior threads on this subject. Oceania informed them that this is an across the board change in port times for the remainder of 2015. By cutting port time the ships can sail at a slower speed thus saving $$ in fuel costs. Bottom line, it is a cost cutting measure.:mad:

As a poster stated in the prior threads on this subject. Oceania informed them that this is an across the board change in port times for the remainder of 2015. By cutting port time the ships can sail at a slower speed thus saving $$ in fuel costs. Bottom line, it is a cost cutting measure.:mad:

"Cutting Corners" thread Post #40