bob brown

Our Oceania Club Ambassador, Cella, gave us aboard the Insignia on Monday, our future cruise presentation, and details (except fares, other than they would be rising), on the new Simply More program. For those booked prior to July 1st, for cruises starting October 1st, we would have the option to change from current program, either cruise only or O Life, to the new program Simply More, at the price in effect when the change is made. Or we could keep what we have. Further, if we currently have O Life booked, we could change it to cruise only, but would have to do that quickly, before July 1st…

Unless things have changed, I believe most of the passengers and crew on their voyages are German-speaking…I suppose they make bi-lingual or tri-lingual announcements on these voyages…

Thanks, I am aware of the other’s. None of them offer exactly what AQV currently does, nor at their fares.

Our Oceania Club Ambassador, Cella, did our Future Cruise presentation yesterday, and went over the new program, highlighting the differences. She confirmed that the included shipboard credit could only be applied for shorex, but could be applied to any excursion offered, regardless of price. They cannot be applied for pre or post cruise hotel stays, nor any enroute “overland” tours…

Yes. I zoomed in so you can see it better…

After flying in a trio of “techies” from Miami to work aboard the Insignia while were in Japan on various mechanical issues, including working on the frequently malfunctioning coffee machine in Horizons that I pictured in a previous post, they gave up on it and installed this new one…

My hope is that some other cruise line, either a start up with “deep pockets”, and experienced staff either purchase and refurb these two ships, or better yet, build new ones, and continue these itineraries; or an existing, well established one expand into this market and do likewise…

After reading this, I think you helped make up my mind about what I would do with my booked (canceled) 2024 Voyager cruise. At first I considered trying to switch to the last cruise this year if available, and delay my Mississippi River cruise until next year, if that option would work; but now I don’t think I would want to be on that last voyage, considering not so much the mechanical condition, but more on the morale of the crew. I will probably seek a full refund, and look for another cruise line, most likely Viking…

They do include a Bahaman port..

Don’t those ships reposition to do cruises along the southeast US coast each winter, or Bahamas/ Caribbean? The riverboats really don’t have much options…they don’t do the upper Mississippi or Ohio, only the lower Mississippi.

I looked at Pearl, but didn’t care for their itinerary…besides starting in Chicago, I really want to cruise the Seaway from Toronto to Montreal. I have already cruised the St. Lawrence from Montreal into the Atlantic…

Agreed…

Unlike the river cruises, which are all US registered boats, the Great Lakes ships are foreign registered, and they comply with PVSA rules, starting voyages in either US or Canada, and ending in the other country. That’s why they can employ foreign crew.

September 28 - October 10, Ocean Voyager, Chicago to Montreal…

I would have thought that AQV, being part of the larger Hornblower group, would have deep enough pockets to invest more in this market…🤷‍♂️

I was going to ask…the news can’t be very good for crew morale. Hope they don’t sail with “one foot already off the ship” attitude….🙁

We just spent two days at the Tokyo International Cruise Port, and there was no mention from anyone aboard, or information in the Currents about a shuttle. To our surprise, the port provided a free shuttle to the nearby (1 km), DiverCity Tokyo Plaza mall. Ran from about 8AM to 8PM, every 10 minutes the first hour, then 30 minutes thereafter.

She just called me back and said my travel agent was sent the details, but that I could choose between a full refund or a 120% future cruise credit. I’ll contact my TA…

Viking doesn’t sail from Chicago, and is much costlier, but if AQV is defunct on the Lakes, and no one takes over their operation, I may have to bite the bullet and try them…🤷‍♂️

Just heard that AQV sold the two ships doing the Great Lakes, and will end at the end of this season… Can you ask if they know whether another operator will continue the itineraries in 2024? The AQV phone center rep did not know…

I just called them, and they confirmed the news, and said they would send me a notice “soon”. The rep had no knowledge if the purchaser of the ships would operate the itineraries, or not. Only that I would receive a refund or future cruise credit “in her experience “…🙄

Thanks for the “heads up”! I haven’t received any notice from AQV regarding my booked Ocean Voyager September 2024 Chicago to Montreal cruise. What a disappointment, if it’s canceled. The article doesn’t say if another company will operate them, or not…🤔

Thanks for taking the time to post your experience!🙂

And…some lines give extra for sailing in a full suite. Some even give an extra day if you spend a certain amount for on board purchases…

Agreed, but the current method of awarding cruise credits in effect penalises those booking longer than 7 day cruises…