MMarianne

Ah…memories! We were on that 11/29 Istanbul to Dubai cruise. The pulling back of the offer to cancel for a FCC was just plain wrong. Oceania hid behind their legalese rather than take care of their customers. I really believe the management-level crew were silenced by the Oceania lawyers. “We are within our rights! Do not act too nice or give any perks! We don’t want to appear that we did anything wrong!” I recall looking at the Oceania website after they changed the itinerary and name. Wish I had taken a screen shot bc I clearly recall seeing incredible deals, prices, free drink packages offers for last-minute passengers. So many empty cabins to fill! But nothing special for those who paid full price. As I said earlier, we had an ok time. Just not worth even half of the price we paid.

When I checked in on Day One, I asked the Head Conciege and she gave me a # in the mid 400’s. Someone else posted that they were told 500. Ship was VERY empty. Crew member said they got extra days off, which is nice. A couple of others mentioned how bored they were. Talk about quiet sea days! Looking forward to going home. Viking only from this point on!

Thank you. We among those reluctant to board but decided not to walk away from our money. We made it through the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and are no longer between Somalia and Yemen. We will be in Abu Dhabi tomorrow. We kept up with the news and took some comfort that cargo ships were the targets (sorry, but it helped.) My thoughts now that we are safe is how boring this cruise was. We are not into all the games. The deck was sooooo windy; it wasn’t enjoyable to spend time outside walking or by the pool. (Some were, and good for them.) Paid for the private concierge spa terrace and never used it because of the wind. Met many nice people who just like to cruise. People from cold Canada who seek the sun. People who love this particular ship and will go anywhere. But we selected this cruise for the amazing itinerary and Oceania’s changes were so drastic that they even changed the name. A few perks would have helped a bit, but nope. Bottom line: Definitely not worth the money for us. But to the people who are cruise junkies, I’m not being sarcastic when I say good for you. Different strokes for different folks.

Yes, but…I don’t think anyone was more persistent than I was to try to get money back or a credit. Wonder if people maybe knew something I didn’t since the ship is so empty. (I covered my exhaustive list of everything I tried in a previous post.) The closest I got was my credit card company telling me I’d have an answer by December 4, five days after embarkation. Made our decision to board and making the best of it.

I am on this cruise and have not seen nor heard any of the negative behavior described. Every encounter I have had with other passengers and crew has been very polite. Any references to the changes has been humorous. Not sure what the goal here is with the repeated negative postings about other passengers. BTW I will disagree with the statement about no promises were broken. A promise was made to me by Oceania on October 23 and subsequently broken. Not whining, so don’t go there with another posting. Just stating a fact.

Just a reminder, Oceania offered an FCC to those of us who called. Oceania rescinded their offer. Oceania made so many changes that they even changed the name of the cruise from “Holy Land and Arabian Jewels” to “Classic Mediterranean.” Not even close to what I paid $$$$ for. On our Viking Los Angeles to Sydney cruise, we missed Melbourne, a port in New Zealand, and one South Pacific island -all because of weather. Understood. IF I had gotten the FCC that was promised to me, I’d happily be home in California enjoying family and Christmas preparations. We are definitely making the best of it. I am not complaining to other passengers, just giving information to potential Oceania passengers.

My thoughts after interacting with Riviera staff…The reception/housekeeping/dining staff are as pleasant as can be. I very politely asked if they knew of any issues with this cruise and they did not. However, the higher level (spoke to two but can’t recall titles) were aware but offered no apologies or offers. Stonefaced. (I posted earlier that one told me they were instructed NOT to make any offers on board.) Not a lawyer, but I bet the Oceania legal department directed them not to do or say anything that makes it look like Oceania did anything that wasn’t within their contractual rights. Any special perks or even verbal empathy might be given interpreted as an admission of “guilt.”

My concern for this trip is the drone attacks in the Red Sea. Although my son assures me that the Navy destroyer will take care of them 😳

Will do! BTW a few minor glitches as our embarkation day ends… Suitcases left out in the pouring rain between scanning at terminal and when they were delivered to our rooms. Suitcases, some clothes, and a couple of books soaked. Probably not Oceania’s fault. When I let them know, they did offer pressing service. Yay! Of course I just HAD to ask this person (management type) if she and others were aware of the situation with this cruise and if we were going to get any fun perks. She said her hands were tied; upper management in Miami said “absolutely not.” Not the way I would run things, that’s for sure.

We decided not to cancel unless we were 💯 sure that it would be covered. So here we are.

Hello from the Oceania Riviera in Istanbul😳 Not a happy camper, but here we are. I tried everything to cancel. No luck. There are only 400 passengers on board with a capacity of 1250! Did other people figure out a way to cancel that I couldn’t? My last ditch effort was my credit card, but despite sending them all the requested documentation and repeated phone calls, my case was pending day after day. Finally late last night they told me the insurance examiner will call me on November 30 or December 1!!! We are trying to be positive and make the best of it. Not off to a good start: just saw that they changed our shore excursion tomorrow morning to 7:00 am instead of 8:30 am. Reason: Ship is leaving Istanbul earlier than planned - at 2 pm. 😩

Banned from NCL? Bring it on! Never, ever will I cruise with any ship affiliated with them. I tried to (unsuccessfully) link an article from Independent UK that had responses from three different cruise lines regarding Middle East cruises. READ AND COMPARE! Too late for me for this trip, but hopefully others will take note. MSC Sinfonia cancelled its winter program as Haifa was a highlighted port. Passengers can claim a full refund or choose an alternate sailing. Celebrity Infinity cancelled their Eastern Mediterranean sailings for Feb-April ‘24. Passengers can cancel w full refund. Oceania “reserves the right to amend, cancel, or make substitutions for any travel component without prior notice to the guest, including hotels, ports of call, or other modes of transportation if, in its opinion, the situation requires a change of arrangements.” Likely all cruise lines have such language, but appears many try to do better than what they are allowed to do. FYI - I’ve been treated extremely well by Viking over the years, but the allure of this particular advertised cruise sucked me (and my money) in.

As said before, silence=consent/complicity. I will be not be silent. I believe it’s important to share what we know and let others (including Oceania execs— round file or not) know what we have learned. Any of you that think these comments are a waste of time do not need to participate.

Many of us board November 29 in Istanbul. WE know. I’m taking a big supply of Xanax. 😩

I sent the earlier article about drone strikes + threats of attacks to Oceania CEO and others. Could you send this one? Good for them to hear from different voices. cortega@oceaniacruises.com fdelrio@oceaniacruises.com