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Results of my complaint.


janecambridge
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As some of you know we were unhappy with our Marina,French Polynesia cruise during the last 4 days of our cruise.Before I continue this is about the answers to my concerns and there were many positive sides to our cruise.I have also failed to comment,at the moment,on some of these points that the Vice President,James in Miami, has replied to.I would like to hear and would value your comments.

 

Regards the embarkation which left many passengers,some disabled,in 2 hours of extreme heat with no water,shade or toilet.I was informed that Claudio Melli spoke to passengers and discussed the problems and give a full explanation.The fault was the Port Authority.They did not maintain Oceania high standards.

 

Ice removal from rooms was because ice has historically known to have the ability to harbour bacteria .No comments on removal of our suite bar glasses for plastic ones.

 

After customer relations discussions with Vice President and senior directors in UK and USA,stationing a crew member outside every restaurant is now a possibility as passengers do not return to their staterooms to use their own bathroom facilities as advised by the captain.on our code red it was up to the maitre de or hostess to encourage the use of sanitisers.

 

Sincere apologies were given regards the books in our suite being wrapped in white garbage bags and left for a couple of days on the floor.They are discussing this particular code red action to ensure it does not happen again.

The general manager will be looking at ways to alleviate the pressure on his teams and provide support to ensure that the service provided is not affected so heavily.

A strong onus is placed on the fact that their procedures have as minimum impact on guest experience as possible.

 

Gym and casino left open: chlorine wipes are provided for staff in the gym with daily sanitation logs recorded.

Gym and casino were sprayed nightly as per protocol.

Cards from casino were discarded nightly.

 

Use of umbrellas on tenders,not being sanitised between use: they had a used umbrella and unused bin separate at gangway.used umbrellas were being sanitised by teams between use.

 

No hand wash stations for staff in restaurants: vessel was constructed in this way,although points are being taken on board to include refit points.

 

Staff handshaking and embracing passengers during code red: Staff are to limit handshaking.corporate representatives on board at the time reported seeing elbow touches and fist bumps.however the handshaking will be added to the learnings and points made following the outbreak revision of the plan,which is looked at at each outbreak.

 

Fruit delivery to cabins during code red.: fruit is sanitised and thoroughly rinsed prior to being placed in cabins.

 

Lack of information during code red: announcements were made regularly by Captain and cruise Director as per outbreak prevention and response plan protocol once 2% threshold of guests with symptoms and suspected GI was reached.

 

Suite,never told when things would be removed: They will consider revising this policy in order to communicate the “why” behind removing certain items.This may be a generic letter in each stateroom with explanation.This is in the revision of the plan.

 

Was there already a GI issue before we embarked? : No there was not,also no outbreak during the following cruise.

 

In the reply I received,the topics of the outdoor games being used regularly with no sanitation,hand to hand use of keycards daily,out of date ship,information on TV for last 3 days, cabin not hoovered for 4 days were not addressed.Nor were my concerns at the ‘behind the food counters’ in the buffet or bar staff holding straws in their hands.Also my clinical concerns about the hospital clinic were not mentioned once.

There was no response at my concern regards the embarkation of Pitcairn Islanders during the height of the outbreak and the handling of all their goods by passengers.

Edited by janecambridge
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For complaint letters, as in life, it is probably best to restrict yourself to the three to five issues which caused the most angst....:confused:

 

Having been on the same cruise as the OP, I had about a 20 way tie for issues causing the most angst, so whittling down the list to three or four items might be easier said than done.

 

Our list is longer because we were unfortunate enough to have been quarantined for three days due our reporting some relatively mild GI symptoms to the ship's medical department. I'm not complaining about the quarantine decision per se but rather the totally disrespectful way we were treated and the medical staff's refusal to actually listen to our medical history, and possibly adjust my treatment to reflect a pre existing condition that can produce some similar symptoms without my being infected with noro virus or a similar pathogen.

 

Then there was the inability to obtain an adequate diet that was suited to the individual's medical needs or even forgetting that, just getting any food served at proper temperature within a reasonable amount of time after ordering.

 

By the way, the part of the response that states there was no GI outbreak before the OP embarked in Lima is a flat-out lie by Oceania. About a week to ten days into the prior cruise segment the way tables were set in the Terrace Cafe changed from having full place settings on the table similar to what you would see in the dining room to having a smaller amount of flatware rolled in a napkin and no bread plates set out. I asked one of the headwaiters why, and he told me it was due to some cases of GI illness being reported . Not full-blown code red conditions and procedures, but there were initial steps being taken to attempt to prevent the further spread of illness.

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not sure what the complaints were

Is this a letter in response to your complaints or your complaint letter hard to tell?

 

You can ask people to wash their hands after the loo but how do you enforce that?

Have a crew member stand outside the stall & lead them to the sink ?

People are supposed to be adults but you would not notice by some of the behavior

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not sure what the complaints were

Is this a letter in response to your complaints or your complaint letter hard to tell?

 

You can ask people to wash their hands after the loo but how do you enforce that?

Have a crew member stand outside the stall & lead them to the sink ?

People are supposed to be adults but you would not notice by some of the behavior

I admit that it may be easy for me to recognize what is what because I was on that cruise, but I think it can be reasonably understood by someone who was not with a careful reading.

 

The first sentence of each paragraph generally contains the complaint. In most of the post, about the last two thirds, that's pretty obvious by the use of a colon, ":", to delineate the complaint. The remainder of each paragraph has Oceania's response.

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not sure what the complaints were

Is this a letter in response to your complaints or your complaint letter hard to tell?

 

 

 

Apologies LHT28.Quote :”Before I continue this is about the answers to my concerns and there were many positive sides to our cruise.”

Also the heading is “results of complaint”.I think I detailed my complaint a little while ago and also wrote a review. It may be too long winded to repeat every detail.

 

 

njhorseman,did you communicate your problems with Oceania and if so what were the results,if you don’t mind me asking.?

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Apologies LHT28.Quote :”Before I continue this is about the answers to my concerns and there were many positive sides to our cruise.”

Also the heading is “results of complaint”.I think I detailed my complaint a little while ago and also wrote a review. It may be too long winded to repeat every detail.

ok

but it may take longer for people to look up your complaint to compare with the results

 

 

Were you not allowed to pick up the bag of books off the floor?

If an outbreak of something.. plastic glasses while not pleasant can be disposed of why would you question that practice ?

 

some of your complaints seem like nit picks to me

 

Best thing to do is make sure you are doing everything to be healthy & let others worry about themselves

 

Short of confining people to their cabins for the 1st 48 hrs not sure what can be done

JMO

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ok

but it may take longer for people to look up your complaint to compare with the results

 

 

Were you not allowed to pick up the bag of books off the floor?

If an outbreak of something.. plastic glasses while not pleasant can be disposed of why would you question that practice ?

 

some of your complaints seem like nit picks to me

 

Best thing to do is make sure you are doing everything to be healthy & let others worry about themselves

 

Short of confining people to their cabins for the 1st 48 hrs not sure what can be done

JMO

 

 

The point about the books is the 3 piles wrapped in garbage bags and left in suite.Not necessarily that they were on the floor.

The drinking glasses were removed after 6 days of code red.Bit late and very annoying with a bar and celebrations in our suite.

 

 

I had also been told that there was a gastric problem prior to our embarkation by a member of staff.

I agree with njhorseman on this one.

Edited by janecambridge
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The point about the books is the 3 piles wrapped in garbage bags and left in suite.Not necessarily that they were on the floor.

.

sorry I guess I read the post wrong

 

"Sincere apologies were given regards the books in our suite being wrapped in white garbage bags and left for a couple of days on the floor."

 

Many cruises that stop in Lima seem to have some sort of G.I. brought onboard

 

not just cruises either a friend did a land trip to Lime came down with the bug & then a month after returning home was struck down again

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sorry I guess I read the post wrong

 

"Sincere apologies were given regards the books in our suite being wrapped in white garbage bags and left for a couple of days on the floor."

 

Many cruises that stop in Lima seem to have some sort of G.I. brought onboard

 

not just cruises either a friend did a land trip to Lime came down with the bug & then a month after returning home was struck down again

Agree about Lima. Our cruise on Regatta two years ago from Buenos Aires arrived with ‘GI’ illness on board necessitating a deep clean and continued Code Red as clean did not work. Ship had come from Lima.

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Cruise ships are on high alert coming and going from Lima. We had an overnight, then disembarked Marina there two years ago. A few days prior hand sanitizers and sanitizing info were delivered to staterooms. There was no illness on board. Special shoe cleansing devices were at the gangway.

 

I didn’t understand all the issues raised in the complaints but totally agree handshaking should be banned, always.

 

Good idea to install sinks at the entrance to eateries. However on other cruise lines, including Viking, virtually no one used them.

Cruise lines, restaurants, hotels cannot treat adults like nursery school students. You can lead a horse to water, but....

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njhorseman,did you communicate your problems with Oceania and if so what were the results,if you don’t mind me asking.?

 

I had every intention of doing so, but on one of our flights home we encountered a serious and potentially dangerous situation that the airline totally mishandled. I spent a lot of time communicating with the airline about it, including filing a formal report as was suggested to me by one of the flight attendants who wasn't exactly thrilled herself about what happened. By the time I got through with several weeks of exchanges with the airline I no longer had the desire to beat my head against the wall with Oceania.

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Cruise ships are on high alert coming and going from Lima. We had an overnight, then disembarked Marina there two years ago. A few days prior hand sanitizers and sanitizing info were delivered to staterooms. There was no illness on board. Special shoe cleansing devices were at the gangway.

 

 

 

I didn’t understand all the issues raised in the complaints but totally agree handshaking should be banned, always.

 

 

 

Good idea to install sinks at the entrance to eateries. However on other cruise lines, including Viking, virtually no one used them.

 

Cruise lines, restaurants, hotels cannot treat adults like nursery school students. You can lead a horse to water, but....

 

 

 

When we sailed on Anthem of the Seas, I never saw anybody not use the sinks at the entrance to the buffet. A crew member was enforcing it, albeit very nicely. Worked very well as some people claim the sanitiser upsets their skin. Says something about the clientele of Viking if they cannot be bothered!

 

 

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Cruise ships are on high alert coming and going from Lima. We had an overnight, then disembarked Marina there two years ago. A few days prior hand sanitizers and sanitizing info were delivered to staterooms. There was no illness on board. Special shoe cleansing devices were at the gangway.

 

I didn’t understand all the issues raised in the complaints but totally agree handshaking should be banned, always.

 

Good idea to install sinks at the entrance to eateries. However on other cruise lines, including Viking, virtually no one used them.

Cruise lines, restaurants, hotels cannot treat adults like nursery school students. You can lead a horse to water, but....

 

On our SA cruise from Valprasio to Miami was the first time in almost 50 cruises that I've seen the shoe cleaning sponge trays at the gangway. I was like, what is this?

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On our SA cruise from Valprasio to Miami was the first time in almost 50 cruises that I've seen the shoe cleaning sponge trays at the gangway. I was like, what is this?

 

We could have used those in Lima and maybe they have them now but that was the worst port I have been in because of the tar. We disembarked there and had to wait outside maybe an hour for the busses to pick us up and our shoe bottoms were covered in tar. I was wearing Sandals so the tar also got on the footbed. It was a mess.

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We could have used those in Lima and maybe they have them now but that was the worst port I have been in because of the tar. We disembarked there and had to wait outside maybe an hour for the busses to pick us up and our shoe bottoms were covered in tar. I was wearing Sandals so the tar also got on the footbed. It was a mess.

 

It's actually for killing germs, not really for cleaning. I think due to all the dogs roaming around.

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I assume your complaints are valid

 

 

Personally I would never expend all this energy and time complaining and writing to management about so many faults with a cruise. Unless you expect some sort of refund, it will get you nowhere.

 

Vote with your wallet instead. Choose another cruise line

 

 

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I assume your complaints are valid

 

 

Personally I would never expend all this energy and time complaining and writing to management about so many faults with a cruise. Unless you expect some sort of refund, it will get you nowhere.

 

Vote with your wallet instead. Choose another cruise line

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Yes I think that is an obvious decision.But too many people complain amongst themselves and don’t do anything about it.

I was hoping that things would be taken into consideration to help with future cruises.We cannot normally afford the Oceania Suite,18 night cruise we took.We are just normal everyday middle road workers who were celebrating 2 special occasions.So the deterioration of the hospitality on last 4 nights was a big deal for us.We cannot afford it again.

Another point was the poor cross infection risks I saw during the whole cruise.A gastric outbreak can be lethal for some passengers.It is NOT all about poor passenger hygiene.Some people look through tinted glasses at the wonderful Oceania cruise company.God bless their health.

The health clinic was dreadful.If they carry on like it they will be sued at some point for a negative outcome.

OK,say I’m a nit picker,say I’m wasting my energy,at the moment I’m not bothered.

I have not asked at any point for compensation.I know some passengers have asked and have got it.But what good is money off a future cruise if you are unsure you will go again.

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Yes I think that is an obvious decision.But too many people complain amongst themselves and don’t do anything about it.

I was hoping that things would be taken into consideration to help with future cruises.We cannot normally afford the Oceania Suite,18 night cruise we took.We are just normal everyday middle road workers who were celebrating 2 special occasions.So the deterioration of the hospitality on last 4 nights was a big deal for us.We cannot afford it again.

Another point was the poor cross infection risks I saw during the whole cruise.A gastric outbreak can be lethal for some passengers.It is NOT all about poor passenger hygiene.Some people look through tinted glasses at the wonderful Oceania cruise company.God bless their health.

The health clinic was dreadful.If they carry on like it they will be sued at some point for a negative outcome.

OK,say I’m a nit picker,say I’m wasting my energy,at the moment I’m not bothered.

I have not asked at any point for compensation.I know some passengers have asked and have got it.But what good is money off a future cruise if you are unsure you will go again.

 

Sorry your special occasion was spoiled.

Given your dissatisfaction, do you think you will cruise with Oceania again? The marketing hype did not match your experience ie. Poor Customer Service , dreadful health clinic and medical care, staff inattentive to ensuring passenger hygiene, and your other complaints? Would you say Oceania is not good value for the amount you paid for the cruise? Considering another cruise line net time?

Best of luck.

King

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It’s a difficult one because we believe in Oceania.There is so much that we prefer to other cruise ships we have been on.Had it not been for the problems,thy would be our number one! The other passengers help make it what it is as well as staff,ambience and food.

I would say Oceania is good value,generally,just half price service towards the end.

Things are difficult at the moment for me,health wise,so I will put it to rest and think hard about our future with Oceania.It is so disappointing more than anything else.

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I assume your complaints are valid

 

 

Personally I would never expend all this energy and time complaining and writing to management about so many faults with a cruise. Unless you expect some sort of refund, it will get you nowhere.

 

Vote with your wallet instead. Choose another cruise line

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I see what you're saying.

I'd likely do what you suggest.

But I applaud those who do take the time and energy because there's a chance (admittedly, a small one) that it'l improve matters for future cruisers.

So, well done Jane!

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