jean163

23 hours ago, WESTEAST said:

If your cruise has a day or two of sea days with time to spare, the Scavenger Hunt is lots of fun! 

 Oh my that sounds like fun.  However with 13 Oceania cruises under our belt we've never had one.  Is it something on the big ships, as we only have been on the 'littles'?  There was an art search on one cruise but you had to find details in pictures on the walls, very detailed and we knew of no one who undertook it.  Details please! 😁

On 10/23/2021 at 4:47 AM, FLMom said:

That’s fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing. We are joining Riviera for the full sailing for Rome to Miami. Is the fitness center open and are masks required while exercising? I’m hopeful mask restrictions will ease once we leave the EU and start the actual crossing (there have been reports of that on other ships) but I’m prepared for anything. We are just so happy to be traveling again!

The mask mandate applies as it is an EU regulation.  We will be sailing from Miami to LA in December on Insignia and understand there will be no mask requirement on board as it isn't required when sailing from the US.  I assume when in international waters there will be no mask requirement so you should be mask free for your trans Atlantic.  We did that route a few years back on one of the small ships and loved it.  We did follow a hurricane so it got a little rough and Bermuda was a mess when we got there but it sure beat a very long plane ride and was a nice way to change your inner clock!

From those folks who have cruised this year:  How is O handling the onboard activities they have us do for those treasured 'O' points?  Do they still do team trivia, music trivia, putting, ping pong etc?  How about the entertainment, is it capacity controlled or ...?  Would love to hear how things have changed on board in the last couple of months for those that have previously sailed.  As a seasoned Oceania cruiser I'm looking forward to doing all the things I love besides visiting foreign lands!  I've already read enough about the food, which of course is another wonderful things about O!

Jean

Oceania will do it on board for Canadians needing it at the end of the cruise.  They pay as well.

Yes, the 60 day cancellation without penalty is definitely not normal and has been put in to try and stem cancellations.  Our Oceania cruise is also over the 14 days and we did make FP back in June.  Now we have until 60 days prior to get a full refund.  I have absolutely no idea what the penalties are after that, whether it's an immediate 100% or a gradual increase.  We will check closer to that time which, for us, is Oct. 21 as our cruise departs Dec. 21.  I did not know about this change to the cancellation until I read it here so I hope, before you cancel, you check with O that your cruise hasn't had an exception made and you just haven't heard about it.  My hope is that O will keep moving the cancellation penalty start date later and later in the hopes that things will improve, then we will hang on.  Right now it's not looking very hopeful.  It isn't the ship that is the worry, it's the ports and perhaps having to forego any time off the ship at all.  The mask policy is another deterrent which we thought we had avoided.

On 9/7/2021 at 5:07 PM, SedonaJoel said:

The only reason to cancel early rather than waiting.  It gives you the ability to book a replacement cruise and get a good cabin.  That is what I did.

 

Argentina is still closed to visitors.  My guess is that Oceania will cancel their entire South American itinerary and substitute a Caribbean itinerary.

 

Joel

We already have another cruise booked for August 2022, different itinerary.  We really only booked this holiday one as a way to 'get away' so wouldn't just rebook.  Did they offer you a refund or a FCC Joel?

23 hours ago, jean163 said:

We are booked on the 16 day holiday cruise Miami to LA (leaving Dec. 21).  Had to pay in full back in June (6 months out).  Now we're in penalty of 50% and going up to 75% later this month.  We have heard NOTHING about a relaxation of penalties from our TA or Oceania.  Has anyone heard anything about this sailing?  Certainly it includes Central America and South America on Christmas Day.

 

Thank you Cruise Critic posters all!  I emailed my TA and she has confirmed that our  Dec. 21 cruise is penalty free for cancellations up until Oct. 21.  Wouldn't have known that without these boards as she said because we were already paid in full when the change came that we didn't get an email.  (Don't think that's right and she probably just didn't forward it!...)  Now we can relax a bit before finally deciding whether to pull the plug.  Really hope that things have calmed down by then and we can go and enjoy.

We are booked on the 16 day holiday cruise Miami to LA (leaving Dec. 21).  Had to pay in full back in June (6 months out).  Now we're in penalty of 50% and going up to 75% later this month.  We have heard NOTHING about a relaxation of penalties from our TA or Oceania.  Has anyone heard anything about this sailing?  Certainly it includes Central America and South America on Christmas Day.

On 8/12/2021 at 12:27 PM, liamur14 said:

You are correct , we have other insurance for  travel interruption or cancellation.

We have medical but need the travel interruption/cancellation insurance.  Who have you found?  We do see there are policies that exclude Covid though so if interruption is due to that it's not covered.

21 hours ago, Evilmuffin said:

I have trips planned about every six months until 2023:

5 - 15 Dec 2021 - 10 day Panama Canal on Eurodam (originally Dec 2020 but cancelled)

15 - 22 Dec 2021 - 7 Day Tropical Caribbean on Eurodam (booked last week)

21 Jun - 17 Jul 2022 - 14 days to Kenya (Giraffe Hotel) and then two weeks in Germany

20 Jan - 9 Feb 2023 - Ocean Endeavour - Antarctica, Falklands and South Georgia

13 - 25 Jul 203 - Ocean Endeavour - Iceland to Greenland (originally Jul 2020 but rescheduled)

 

It will be interesting to see which trips I will actually get to go on.   The first two trips on the Eurodam, HAL has a great program for cruises before 31 December.   If not, I don’t think I would go.   I hope by the time June comes around, things are more settled.    What I like about having the trips booked so far ahead, I figure once things get back to kinda normal (if ever), there will be a high demand for them and prices will be jacked up.   Plus now if a trip gets cancelled, I only have to wait around 6 months for the next one.

Have you been able to find cancellation and interruption insurance for your December cruises?  We are booked for one on the 21st and keep hitting brick walls as to cancellation insurance though medical seems to be slowly being offered again.  This will probably decide whether we go or not...

We are booked for the holiday voyage on Oceania, Miami to LA.  Oceania will NOT provide any insurance to any of their Canadian passengers.  This is getting very difficult and of course we're in penalty now.

On 7/6/2021 at 5:28 PM, Kkate said:

I have been trying for the last week to get medical travel insurance for pre-existing conditions but I've been told no insurers in Canada will cover a cruise right now. Is anyone else having this problem or have any suggestions?

Yes, we have a cruise booked and fully paid for in December of this year.  The Federal Government still has an advisory in effect against cruising so we have been unable to get medical or trip cancellation insurance.  We've been told that, until the Gov't removes the advisory we can't get any insurance to cover a cruise.  Ironic in that they have announced that cruise ships can come into Canadian waters and ports effective Nov. 1 of this year but haven't removed the advisory against going on a ship.  I guess we just have to keep waiting but it's kind of a game of chicken as we wouldn't travel without medical insurance.  Apparently there will be more travel related announcements in August so fingers crossed that advisory will be removed and then insurance should be available. 

We have been told there is no cruise insurance of any kind at the moment for Canadians because of the no sail advisory.  We haven't been able to get trip cancellation or anything for our December 2021 cruise.  Has anyone found a company that will provide either trip or medical insurance (not necessarily Covid) for cruises while the advisory is in effect?

PET is talking about Oceania's T&Cs.  I took the TA's message to mean that the loss of the full deposit was because of an Oceania 'rule' and I haven't read here that O's T&Cs vary by country.  I have certainly read about the differences in the UK with the payments going through the TA rather than direct and that some TAs have their own overriding terms that mean any cancellation by the client, presumably at any time,  forfeits the deposit.  So maybe it's the TA that won't refund the deposit and nothing to do with O?  Is that right PET?

32 minutes ago, Pet said:

HI - Grateful for advice, especially fellow UK Oceania cruisers who seem to have been in a similar position. Booked on Marina's cruise on 21 Nov from Europe to USA but have today advised my Travel Agent that I wish to cancel before the 121 days before departure stated in the T&Cs which I read to show that at worse £200 pp would be taken from our deposit for admin charges. However the TA suggests that the whole deposit would be lost if I cancel now, This doesn't seem to be the outcome for other  members who have cancelled prior to the stated 121 days minimum. The TA suggests transferring the deposit to another Oceania cruise but that doesn't appear very practical in the foreseeable future or would it be best to ask for a FCC?

Email from TA below:

 

Thank you for your email.
Oceania have not cancelled your cruise at this current time and therefore if you wish to cancel the cruise, you would lose you deposit in total.
I would suggest you wait until nearer your balance due date 16/08/20, to see if they have made any further updates or cancelled the cruise and therefore they may offer you a cash refund but only if Oceania cruises have cancelled the cruise.
If Oceania do not cancel your cruise by the 16/08/20, I can look into transferring the cruise to a another ship and sail date to ensure you do not lose your deposit.
Many thanks

I would think the T&C at the time of booking would apply and they've been standard for years!  So it was a cruise of less than 15 days and you weren't booked in a suite?  If so, when you cancel more than the 121 days out you should get ALL your deposit refunded (in  £) with the exception of the administration charge.   Additionally, you can request the £200/pp admin charge be held on your account as a FCC.  We did this for a July cruise that was under deposit in March.  We cancelled prior to the 121 days, not Oceania, got all but the admin fee returned through a refund to our credit card and the FCC is on our account (and hopefully we'll be able to use it one day).  I'm in Canada so, unless Oceania's T&C differ by country you would be correct!

Maybe they've recently decided to have a go at refunds to Canadians!  I contacted my TA a few days ago and voila it's on my credit card now.  92 days, just glad it's resolved as didn't want to start any kind of dispute, either with O or the CC company (it was a deposit paid direct to O)!  Signing off this forum now, good luck to everyone still waiting!

20 minutes ago, HOLIDAYREADER said:

It is on Oceania's own terms and conditions for the UK which is not the same as ABTA which is an organisation which guarantees the money if the TA goes bust. We have contacted our TA, they contacted Oceania directly who told them that they would not consider paying their UK clients until 90 days from 31st March although the cruise was cancelled on 13th March. They said that after this time it could take more than 14 days to process claims leading to a refund period of 120 days +. Of course, our TA could have paid us and waited for a refund from Oceania as one UK TA has done; I presume our TA does not have the funds to do it due to the down turn in business.

We're in Canada,  cancelled ourselves on March 10 and it was deposit only.  We have received nothing.

15 minutes ago, KatieBelle said:

 

Or the short answer would be "No".

I had actually read through all 19 pages and could only see speculation and that those around mid-March were possibly in a bit of a mess.  I guess that's me!  Thank you for your response, FF's was uncalled for but that seems to be their thing. 😕

We cancelled March 10 and still no refund of our deposit for a cruise August 15..  Does anyone know what order they're working on?

Has this thread been stopped for some reason?  Nothing posted for a month now.

We are sailing later this month and in September in Northern Europe on Oceania Nautica. Can any recent travellers tell us who the cruise director has been and also the entertainment group?:D