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On 5/31/2022 at 8:34 AM, wineasmusic said:

We did the standard Silversea plan with 2 nights in Quito. We hired a guide to see Quito most of the day. Well worth seeing. Stayed in the old town area and did not try to do to much as it is 9200ft, so some huffing and puffing. We booked a year ago, so they may have a different plan now. Included was a Quito by night tour which left at 5 and returned about 7:30.

Wineasmusic,  Can you recommend the guide you used in Quito?  Thanks.

Wineasmusic,

Thanks for your reports.  Very helpful.  We are booked on the Origin 7/23/22.

The package did include two nights in Quito.  We did a deviation and added a third night.  Our flight arrives near midnight and we wanted two full days to adjust to the altitude and get over our jet lag.  The cost to add a night and deviate was reasonable.

We were in the Galapagos in 2006 with Lindblad. It remains one of our most amazing trips and we are looking forward to returning.

We cancelled our cruise on April 16 and received our refund on May 31.

On 4/10/2020 at 7:47 AM, bitob said:

My TA raised hell with them

Another TA my friends are using is doing the same.

Get your TAs involved

We are the friends.  Our TA was able to get a cash refund processed even though we are within the 120 day period.  First they offered a 125% FCC which we declined. Now waiting to see how long before credit appears on credit card.

17 hours ago, Paulchili said:

I am surprised that OP received any money from the TA without cruising.

We receive a "loyalty" check but only after the cruise is completed.

Paul,

Some agencies send the “loyalty” check after final payment but before the cruise date.

Bye. 

1 hour ago, susiesan said:

Who remembers Renaissance?  I do. That is why I am leery to make the final payment. If the cruise end sup being canceled by O and I get a refund so be it. But if O goes under I am out thousands of dollars. As posters above said, no one knows what Oceania 's fiscal siuation is. With the publicly traded cruise lines we have some info on financiall health. We have none on Oceania. I don't think the travel insurance that comes with credit cards covers financial default. I can afford to wait 90 days for a refund but I can't afford to just lose the money.

Oceania is owned by Norwegian.  Norwegian is publicly traded.

19 hours ago, RJB said:

Yes, and they are taking care of their problem by shutting down for 2 months or so.  Probably overacting but just following the media hype.  19 cases out of about 3600 people on board.  Most likely get more noro cases on most sailings.  Take care and stay safe.  

What you call media hype is reality.  Take off your rose-colored glasses there in Florida and get real. Or do you think this pandemic is fake news?

5 hours ago, susiesan said:

I am wondering, with so many people canceling their cruises scheduled for the next few months over virus panic, how may passenger cancellations would it take for Oceania to decide it is not economically feasible to run a particular cruise sailing? Has Oceania ever done this before, cancelled a sailing for lack of interest? Have their ships sailed with less than half the cabins occupied? I am thinking about cruises that are overseas, like mine in the Baltic. If airlines were to stop flying from the US to particular countries or even to Europe as a whole, but the cruise wasn't cancelled, then Americans would have to cancel the cruise since they couldn't get there. How many empty cabins would Oceania sail with? Airlines sometimes cancel particular flights if they don't have enough tickets sold to justify the expense of flying the plane. They use the excuse of mechanical problem and book passengers on another flight.

If people cancel after final payment, they will lose their money.  Oceania would then profit by keeping the money and not providing room and board to those people.

On 2/29/2020 at 8:27 AM, ORV said:

"the best pizza"?

 

I was with you till then. Just goes to show different tastes for different people. I think it's some of the worst pizza I've ever had. And I love pizza. 

Totally agree about the cardboard “pizza.”

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

To the OP, Glad you had a great cruise . I believe 14 day and shorter cruises on their O Class ships is where Oceania really shines and excels above the competition. 🍷

What happens on Day 15?

Julie is one of our favorite CD’s as well.

We were recently on Nautica and had a CD, John Ekin, who was new to us. His announcements were minimal and his favorite phrase was “read the Daily Current.”

He was good at running trivia, no nonsense and a lot of fun.

He also did a magic/comedy show one night which was quite good.

We are on this cruise. O made it very clear that they would refund Kenya visas which were sold on board for $99 p.p.

As to Mozambique visa, yes, O did send inconsistent information.  Our TA told us they were required so we prepaid $99 p.p. to O.  When we got onboard, we told reception that we did not plan to go ashore in Mozambique and the visa fee was credited back to us.

Overnight in Cape Town was always scheduled. 

17 hours ago, pinotlover said:

We have the same continual issues with parents not wanting to vaccinate their children. 

 

Is there a big sign posted aboard ships reading: No mosquitoes! Why does one believe they’d be safe wandering around the deck? 

 

If one is to frail to take the shots, they’re to frail to take the cruise. Pick another cruise to take.

Your analogy to the anti—vax movement is erroneous. The anti-vaxxers have a false fear with no scientific basis that vaccinations cause autism.  By refusing to vaccinate their children, they put the children at risk as well as the general population. Witness the current measles outbreak in the Portland area.

Yellow fever is caused by mosquito bites and is not contagious. A person’s failure to get vaccinated puts no one else at risk.

The additional problem on this current cruise is that Oceania did not notify us in advance of this requirement. Their pre-cruise information said the YF vaccination is recommended, not required. 

Furthermore, the CDC recommends that YF vaccine should be “given cautiously” to persons over 60. There is a much greater risk of serious side effects and even death.   I would venture to guess that 80% of the passengers onboard are over 60..

On 1/4/2019 at 12:47 PM, edgee said:

I truly believe that Oceania has a corporate culture of evasiveness non communication and elusiveness as regards customer service. Senior officers are a very reserved bunch..almost appear surly at times when in presence of guests. Recent experiences I have had include late boarding on Insignia in NYC (disembarkation from previous cruise was delayed due to late arrival) and handling of persistent Norovirus problem on long Marina cruise. "When in doubt, cover up." is their operating mantra compared to other cruise lines. I still cruise with them because I like their product, but all things equal I will choose another cruise line, partially because of this corporate culture...strictly by the book, hold your cards closely, never reach out to the customer in a helpful way if it can be avoided, culture.

And yet you persist in sailing with O.

On 11/5/2018 at 8:06 AM, DavidTheWonderer said:

 

 

I think this is relevant to the Oceania / Azamara debate.  Many posters have commented that with the exception of the one happy hour a day, Oceania tends to be sort of dead: beautiful lounges with hardly any people: folks tend to stay in and perhaps entertain others in their cabins.  Azamara is quite different in that regard, with much more night life.

I believe Oceania now has two happy hours a day - one is late night - after the show.

No, you do not have to put your luggage out. Your butler and cabin attendants will take care of the move for you.

Everything hanging in your closer can remain hanging and will be moved on hangers. Your luggage should be packed and will be moved as well. Don’t forget your safe. 

Dan;

 

 

Oceania can institute any policy they choose. They can’t however make false claims and false innuendoes and hide behind Liberian registry. They need to adhere to their advertising and promotions, or suffer from cruisers calling them out on their false claims .

Registry is Majuro, not Liberia.

the R Ships do not work anymore and the Newer ships are teriffic but need to be up dated. At this rate there in no future for Oceania as we know it. Need new ships as every other cruise line is getting. Too bad that we will have to look elsewhere in the future.

They work fine for us.

You’ve been complaining about Oceania and talking about leaving for some time. How’s that working out for you?

I would agree that Viking is a significant threat to Oceania and Azamara - Viking has built in river boat customers, new ships with modern amenities (vs R ships) and advertises alot.

 

Example - went to a info session on Scenic River cruises - very high end river cruise company from Australia and debuting a custom exploration yacht this season and another next year. About 200 guests mostly 50 yrs plus. The TA did a poll of ocean cruise customers, the most hands went up for Viking Ocean by far, by far. No hands for Oceania and a few for the mass lines

 

 

 

Not sure about Scenic being very high end. We did a Danube cruise on Scenic and were underwhelmed by the food and service.

Do the guests have to have a passport or could other I.D. be used ?

Do you recall if there were other choices for I.D. ?

 

Lyn

I believe they would have accepted a drivers license but I’m not positive. We don’t usually have friends in port either but my sister and her husband happened to be vacationing in Bermuda so it was a nice treat.

Also, I believe Oceania reserves the right to say no as I imagine they don’t want too many guests coming aboard.

The guest policy has recently been changed. We learned of it by chance when we were disembarking in Bermuda on Sirena last month. We overheard the people on line next to us mention that friends were coming aboard for lunch.

We inquired of the Concierge and learned of the policy. You need to request the visit 48 hours in advance and fill out a form with the guests’ information including passport number. There is a fee for each meal. I think lunch was $35 p.p., so much for high tea, so much for dinner, etc. We subsequently took advantage of this and it worked well.

We also used them last month for two days in Havana. Our guide was Alejandro and he was excellent.

You do not read everything that I post, or you can not read English, but most things we are very happy with. I will not just be a cheerleader for O when they are wrong.

Oceania should be shot?