Hunding

What a wonderful, wise and generous post. Your viewpoint is applicable pretty much everywhere, I would think, and not particular to the ports of call of "Mayan Mystique." Many thanks.

FWIW, we've been in aft PH3s before - and will again in March/April from Hong Kong to Istanbul - and never heard any noise from above (or below). Enjoy your cruise!

This is the stuff of nightmares. Oh, okay -- and "daymares," too!

Absolutely fight this..they WILL give you your original cabin back....or ask for BIG compensation

Jancruz1

+1

Good luck!

What time does the usual flight from Tahiti leave to LAX the same day as disembarking the ship?

It varies, depending on the day and the airline. And it is not unusual for an announced departure time to be changed at the last minute. Some pax have had to wait as much as 12-15 hours from the time of debarkation for their plane to depart. We got lucky -- had a 10-ish AM departure on Air Tahiti Nui, arrived at LAX (two hours ahead of Papeete) a little after 8 PM. A gentle suggestion: Avoid Air Tahiti Nui, if you can.

I was on the same cruise and totally agree. We missed the whale watch but we did get this "Crabby Caesar"

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Oh, yes! Otherwise known to some of us as "Breakfast in Hoonah!" A little light on the vodka, I thought, but very generous with the King Crab. Those of us who missed out on Deb's whale watching jaunt consoled ourselves with these.

Much better than any US Carriers. You might inquire about a cost to upgrade to premium economy. They have a decent and real PE (as opposed to UA and Delta).

Thanks, PaulMCO. Truth to tell, we've taken advantage of O's Business Class offer from L.A. to Hong Kong, and from Istanbul back to L. A. ($999 each way). I was curious about the airlines O contracts with for Asia, because we have flown BC on O flights to Europe and back, and one in particular was…unfortunate. Cathay Pacific sounds swell -- we'll hope for that instead of a domestic carrier.

Cathay Pacific sometimes. We had several American passengers routed through Vancouver using Cathay Pacific on our last Asian cruise.

Would you be willing to share your experience on Cathay Pacific?

Might anyone know -- perhaps/probably from experience -- on which airlines Oceania flies its passengers to Asia from the West Coast?

Thanks.

Interesting you say that River cruises are great for DIY'ers. I might have to give them more consideration. I was always under the impression they were like those package bus tours in Europe, only on a river boat instead of a bus...and all the sightseeing was included guided tours, which isn't our travel style.

Most, or all, of the "included guided tours" -- if they are included -- are optional. You are certainly not obligated to go on them. Many river cruise pax go off on their own -- no problem.

Yes Peter

This was a wonderful cruise except for my whale watch that I planned for a year, but in the end we had a wonderful time. I highly recommend this itinerary especially SEA to SEA. Hope we catch up with you and Randy sometime soon. Deb

Thanks, Deb. I certainly remember all the work you put in for our "whale day" in Hoonah, only to fall victim to the weather at sea the previous night. We all appreciated your efforts so much. And, dammit, one day you will frolic with a pod of whales!

We are booked for the Hong Kong to Istanbul voyage in March, 2016, but, honestly, Deb, I don't know if we'll follow through. The bait-and-switch going on fleet-wide with arrivals, departures, time in ports, etc., is alarming to us since we already have 17 sea days scheduled as it is. Abbreviating port times begins to alter the whole concept and character of what is to be for us a 'voyage of discovery' -- save the last three, we have never been to any of the ports/countries on our itinerary. Rather, it quickly evolves into a repositioning cruise, and that is not what we signed up for. We still have two weeks before any penalties kick in, so we'll decide within the week. Sending fond wishes, Peter

Sept 8, 2015. Looking into booking the Regatta to cruise Seattle to Seattle to Alaska. Has anyone completed this cruise? What is your input on missing out on going to Denali?

We sailed on Regatta on June 25, 2015, for 12 days to and from Seattle. Excepting one dreadful night at sea -- okay, let's be very clear, the weather, not the ship or the captain or Oceania -- it was as glorious a cruise as we have ever enjoyed. If I "need" to go to Denali or Anchorage or Seward, all worthy and rewarding destinations, I'm sure, I will. Another time. But I cannot extol the "wonderfulnesses" of the cruise we were on too much.

GO!

Thank you for contacting Oceania Cruises.

 

We apologize if the recent modifications may have caused you any inconvenience. We needed to make some slight modifications to our arrival and departure times for a few select scheduled ports of call on a few upcoming voyages. In some instances the ship will arrive into port slightly later than scheduled or leave slightly earlier. You have our assurance that this will not impact our impressive collection of shore excursions and the amount of time in each port is designed to still provide guests with ample time to explore these exciting destinations.

 

I show that you have not purchased any tours through Oceania Cruises. Even if you decide to do tours independently each port of call visited is giving our guests more than 8hrs to see the port. This should provide not only our tour operators but any independent operators you may be working with to see the various sights at the destinations being visited.

 

Again we apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to welcoming you onboard.

 

Regards,

 

Mauricio Sotomayor

Senior Supervisor, Call Center Operations

Oceania Cruises

8300 NW 33rd Street | Suite 100 | Miami, FL 33122

Office +1 305 514 2242 Toll Free +1 800 531 5658, Ext. 2242 | Fax +1 305 514 2222

MSotomayor@OceaniaCruises.com

http://www.OceaniaCruises.com

 

Your World. Your Way.®

Award-Winning Mid-Size Ships | Destination Specialists | Finest Cuisine At Sea | Country Club Casual Ambiance | Extraordinary Value

facebook.giftwitter.gifblogger.gif

 

 

 

 

 

Sent: Wednesday, September 09, 2015 2:33 PM

To: Guest Relations - OCI

 

Subject: To the attention to Mr. Frank Del Rio

 

Good day Mr. Del Rio

 

We we be sailing on the November 3rd departure (25 day sailing from Lisbon to Cape Town, Confirmation #: 2109207). I received this from my TA last week (see bottom of page):

 

Ridiculous!!

To me, it shows a lack of consideration and organization less than 2 months prior to sailing, and of course, long after final payment.

A total of 23 hours of port time is now GONE. Vaporized!

Plus a lot of trouble for those of us who have arranged private tours.

And the 2 hour delayed arrivals in particular? 10 am? 1000+ passengers ALL get off at 10, right? Make that more like 10:30-10:45, if we are lucky, and the customs officers and other unplanned delays, traffic, etc. don't cause us to lose more time. So exactly how much time does that leave us?

I am NOT happy!

I've been sailing with OC for years and am at Gold level, but not feeling the Golden treatment. Perhaps Oceania feels that they can get away with this as most passengers will moan and groan, but eventually just suck it up.

NO explanation, no apologies, just here it is, and btw...have a lovely day 😀

FYI, I sailed on Seabourn for the 1st time last November, 39 days Monaco to Cape Town (LOVED Seabourn!) and experienced no rescheduling or changes whatsoever (and on a similar route to what this cruise is doing).

So, before we even set foot on board, we're already dealing with issues. (You should also know that we have done ALOT of cruises, on various lines btw.)

I have a decision to make as I have a $2,000 credit to spend with Oceania and was looking at a Black Sea cruise next year, but honestly, am seriously reconsidering my options as I don't feel like booking for something advertised only to have another bait and switch pulled on me.

Well, Toranut97 hit the nail on the head! "Slight," "slightly," and "a few" -- all adverbs and adjectives deployed to justify changes in port times by the individual in charge of Oceania's tours. Or so it seems. It pretty much looks like a well-there-you-are kind of explanation -- doesn't really require much between-the-lines reading or explication, does it? The implication being that "OUR CHANGES IN PORT TIMES WILL NOT IMPACT OUR SHORE EXCURSIONS! But any individual arrangements you might have made may be impacted…."

This is all seeming to evolve into a rather ugly situation, isn't it? No, on second thought, very much more saddening than "ugly."

Ergo, we are reconsidering our Hong Kong-to-Istanbul voyage -- and fortunately have the time to cancel. But, my goodness, this bait-and-switch, as several posters and friends have noted, is a particularly nasty corporate decision. And may I say, seems a very profound betrayal of the years-long relationships that have developed between Oceania and its loyal passengers.

These are the times we live in. Time passes, things fall away……………….

Does it really matter, it's only for a short time.

Rick

Well, I know, we're talking, what, 6-8 hours for an "R" ship? But the OP does have a point, don't you think? I mean, the stench is fairly overpowering, and if you've a mind to use your balcony/deck during the process, well…you'll probably change your mind. But, c'mon, let's face it, there is no avoiding bunkering…unless you want to fly home early!

;)

I have read all the posts here and elsewhere requesting some sort of response from "FDR" or "Mr. Del Rio" on this matter, and the many I'm-in-the-know comments of past passengers, such as: "Don't kid yourself, he's completely in charge," and "It was a condition of sale that Frank stay in charge of Oceania and Regent," and "Are you kidding? This is his baby!"

Okay. Perhaps. That would certainly be reassuring to most of us.

But I would like to suggest that maybe - just maybe - that might not be the case any longer. It does seem possible, and wholly in the nature and character of corporate takeovers/purchases, that what may have been true initially is no longer so. It is not without the realm of possibility that Mr. Del Rio's range of powers and decision-making responsibilities have been superseded by someone else, or by another entity within the NCL corporate structure.

Which, if true, is a very distressing development. I don't know about you, but I always felt FDR was the guy who was looking out for everyone, a sort of pater familias. I hope that is still the case. However, we mustn't feign shock if it isn't - it's 2015, and in corporate America (if not, indeed, everywhere), there is, ultimately, only one prime consideration: The Bottom Line.

After 4 cruises all on the smaller ships, I guess I'm a slow learner, I've figured out a couple of things. The ships can only refuel (bunker) on the starboard side so the veranda can't be used while this is going on, it stinks. The fan from the smoking area blows out that same side and you can smell the smoke. Go Port side if you can. Good luck Robbie22.:D

Sorry, but this is simply not true. Regatta bunkered from the port side in San Francisco on Wednesday, September 2, 2015.

A shame regarding the present conditions, but there is virtually nothing to see at all in Lesbos. You can walk the streets for 1 hour and back to ship. It should never have been an Oceania port stop. This was everyone's opinion on our cruise last year.

Oh, I am so sorry you found Mitilini…um…lacking. We were there in 2012 and had a glorious day! We walked up to the fortress, and spent several hours walking-and-crawling around inside and outside the keep; ambled downhill to the exquisite museum (the mosaics are sensational); then down through neighborhoods all closed up for the Greek version of siesta; thence, finally, down into town, around the marina to a taverna on the water, where we had a platter of calamari and one of grilled sardines, all liberally doused in fresh-squeezed (from my very own hand!) lemon juice. Climbing aboard the tender to return to Regatta was bittersweet.

We are hopeful that, come April, the current crisis will have abated, and we will be able to spend another day - as scheduled - on Lesvos.

Very disconcerting, all this. Hadn't given it much thought, but remembered what friends (now aboard Regatta's Panama Canal cruise) said last week when we met in San Francisco -- a number of their arrival/departure times had been changed, resulting in less port time.

So now I am left to wonder whether this will become policy for Oceania, or whether, as several posters have observed, this is a one-off for the first calendar year after the acquisition by NCL. We are on a 35-day Asian cruise next year, and the 17 sea days already scheduled constitute, for us, the proverbial "elegant sufficiency." Abbreviated port calls would rather defeat the purposes and the allure of the 'extended voyage' -- new adventures, new ports of call, a bounty of "first times," and the like.

I guess we'll have to wait and see. (Though administrative and other penalties click in in less than two weeks, so my waiting period is itself mightily abbreviated!)

The Captain announced that the Mariner will not stop at Lesbos today, saying the number of refugees has increased causing problems on such a small island. Sea day today.

 

Also, we toured Istanbul with a private guide for two days and thoroughly enjoyed our visit. It was warmer and more crowded than we would have preferred, but what an amazing place. So glad we were able to make it.

So glad you invested with a private guide in Istanbul -- who was s/he? Obviously, you would recommend him/her, yes?

reminds me of a cross country flight where one engine spectacularly flamed out in sight of all passengers.

 

The captain came on the pa and and set us all at ease by saying:

 

"... And we are going to try and make it back to mccarran..."

 

panic ensued.... :cool:

lol!!

Hello all. I'm booked on Riviera this August on a 14 day itinerary that is a combination of two 7-day itineraries.

 

My question: Do they repeat the same 7 day menu on the 2nd half of the cruise?

 

I was on a 14 day Riviera cruise last summer that was a true 14 day (not B2B) and they did not repeat the menu. Worried that since this is a combination of two 7-days that the menu may repeat.

 

Anyone know?

 

Thanks!

…and you can always ask for something that's not on the menu on a given evening. As ridiculous as it may seem, I just wanted a "break" once, and asked for a tuna salad sandwich with chips for dinner -- not even a raised eyebrow (well, at least, not from the waiter).

Just FYI, the OP didn't mention that our last 2 ports between Dublin and London were canceled.

Just to be clear -- three ports have been cancelled?

We are boarding the Riviera on Monday, and were notified yesterday that they have cancelled the two stops in Egypt. This on top of the cancelled port in Tunis really changes the feeling of this cruise.

 

There are a few people that would like to see Oceania extend the stay in Israel instead of replacing Egypt with stops at beach resorts in Turkey and Cyprus.

Any thoughts..........

I have no idea what "beach resorts" you will be visiting instead of Egypt, but if Antalya is one of them, you must attempt to get to Perge and Aspendos, two remarkable ancient cities with wonderful Roman ruins, and, in the latter, a gargantuan and well-preserved amphitheater. On Insignia in 2007, never having heard of Antalya, we booked at the very last-minute a tour to these sites, and were rewarded with one of the most surprising and delightful days of our cruise.

Kiwi_cruiser

Many thanks for the pix. Insignia was the first Oceania vessel on which we sailed - happy memories.

Lovely idea. Company not likely.

Ditto.