PINOTLOVER -
Either I misunderstand your post or you misunderstand mine.
We booked this Oceania Cruise 9 months out. In addition to the cruise fare, we paid Ocenaia $5,300 per person to upgrade to business class air. We assumed, reasonably I believe, that Oceania would have a bulk arrangement with one or more airlines that would secure reasonable travel arrangements.
Oceania has had our money -- every dime of it -- since July. We received the air itinerary only last week -- three weeks before the cruise. As soon as we saw this schedule, we set about trying to improve it and were given the choice to spend an additional $10,000. There are at least a half dozen better schedules Dallas to Dubai. And we are flying in 3 days in advance of the cruise for one of the Oceania land programs. Thus our attempts to have conversation with Oceania representatives to avoid 26-30 hours airport to airport.
We have no brand loyalty. We try to decide where we want to go and when we want to go and choose a cruise that lines up with our wants. We have cruised with RCL, Carnival, Viking, HAL, Regent and a couple of lines that have gone belly up. We are not inexperienced. But, we have never had issues like this one.