THe RIVIERA.....EXTREMELY disappointed!!!

It is Tuesday, February 13th. Today we were scheduled to visit St.Kitts via a wonderful excursion that was booked when we originally booked this cruise (2016).

Within all our cruise papers/details that we were given by our travel agent and that were sent to us by Oceania...it clearly states that St. Kitts was supposed to be a destination where the ship would DOCK. One of the reasons we booked on the RIVIERA (our first cruise on this ship and with this line) was that we hadn’t visited many of the islands and the itinerary had us docked at five out of six destinations (tendering only in St. Barts) assuring that we would see the majority of our destinations.

So this morning, our last destination before heading back to Miami, was a sunny, gorgeous morning and we were so excited that we were going to visit the many historical points of interest in lovely St. Kitts. Other couples we have befriended also had big plans. One of the husbands has a birthday tomorrow and his wife had purchased the ‘golf’ excursion for him as a gift. He has been looking forward to that the entire cruise. Another couple was planning on a catamaran excursion/snorkeling to Nevis.

All those plans, however, were canceled because the Riviera did not dock as planned. The Riviera, instead, was anchored and due to the swells and windy conditions the captain decided not to engage in the tendering operations for safety reasons.

We understand that thinking but are extremely annoyed that we did not dock the ship in the first place and according to the itinerary!

As we gazed out to St. Kitts from our balcony we noticed that the Jewel of the Seas (2501 passengers) and the AZURA (3597 passengers) were docked. The Riviera only has 1250 passengers.

My question on this site:

Why do you think we changed from docking in St. Kitts to anchoring and do you think it had anything to do with the two, much larger ships being in the same area and because of those larger ships number of passengers (far exceeding the little Riviera) the Riviera was ‘bumped’ out of a docking berth???

The captain has now pointed the ship back to Miami so we will have THREE days onboard.

Are we unhappy with the obvious change of plans in St. Kitts...yes. Cruises don’t come cheap and St. Kitts was a destination we were looking forward to visiting. But when it says the ship will be docked and it isn’t and when there isn’t an explanation from the captain about that kind of major change (anchoring versus docking)....it leaves a sour taste in your mouth.

My question on this site:

Why do you think we changed from docking in St. Kitts to anchoring and do you think it had anything to do with the two, much larger ships being in the same area and because of those larger ships number of passengers (far exceeding the little Riviera) the Riviera was ‘bumped’ out of a docking berth???

Those assignments are designated based on the needs of the ship (i.e, do they need to load water, supplies or fuel, offload waste, or get repaired).

With ships shifting ports like mad because of the hurricane, it is likely that the vessels which you saw at dock had needs which superseded those of Riviera.

Disappointing perhaps, but nothing that could be controlled by Oceania. Rivieras' Captain may or may not have been informed of the reason for the change.

Ships are only seen as point to point transportation on a transatlantic crossing. Otherwise, they visit ports via what are known as yachting privileges. The trip is what one is buying, not the ports (which is what it says all over the brochures, the website and the cruise contract)

Checking two sites with schedules for docking at St. Kitts I don’t see the Rivera listed. OPs issue is worth pursuing. Was the Rivera ever scheduled?

A change of itinerary is always annoying specially for those of us who book a cruise based on the itinerary. On Celebrity we get a refund if we do not visit a port. The refund is in the amount of the port fee for that particular port. I do not know how Oceania handles this.

Ivi

I'm also currently on Riviera. While we too are disappointed in not being able to tender in St. Kitts, I remember a tender ride to Maui a few years ago in a similar situation that was 15 minutes of pure misery - over and back. YMMV but I think the captain made the correct call.

As to docking priority and privileges, the harbor master makes decisions based upon multiple criteria. Maybe the docked ship had medical or other priority needs? As JimandStan stated, the 2017 hurricane season threw a lot of scheduling into chaos including ours.

We are enjoying the service and food on the cruise as was expected ;). Plus, I'm on vacation and not in the cold and rain of home :D. OP, I hope that after both of our initial disappointment in missing St. Kitts subsides, that we enjoy our remaining time onboard - Cheers!

I never ever pin all my hopes on a particular port for a cruise. The weather and other factors play a huge part on docking/tendering. I’m sorry you were disappointed, but safety first.

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We’ve had many destination disappointments, both on land and at sea. I could write a chapter in a book. Missing a port because of high wind, sea conditions is not uncommon. I’m sorry it happened to you.

Depending on the Riviera arrival time it may have been difficult even to dock in worsening weather.

I’ve also been on ships bumped from the dock to the anchor position-we were not told why.

Someone asked about port fees. Oceania does not itemize this fee so they will not be refunding anything.

No one likes missing a port, but the captain makes decisions based on passenger and crew safety, not whether it will disappoint you. I would think you should get your port fee back, though.

IMO you really didn't miss much....I didn't feel very safe on St. Kitts and it's at the bottom of my list of enjoyable Caribbean islands....along with Antigua.

If you want to be assured of getting to a port or any destination, do not take a cruise. Missed ports for safety issues are almost guaranteed. I am on seabourn now and we couldn’t dock at Ushuaia. Everyone was looking forward to excursions including the train to the end of the world. No one complained. Get over it.

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If you want to be assured of getting to a port or any destination, do not take a cruise. Missed ports for safety issues are almost guaranteed. I am on seabourn now and we couldn’t dock at Ushuaia. Everyone was looking forward to excursions including the train to the end of the world. No one complained. Get over it.

 

 

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Just curious...we’re heading that way next year about the same time...what was the issue? Note...on this particular itinerary, we are well aware ports are only penciled in.

SeAs too rough for ship to dock. They had to use zodiacs to pick up personnel and let entertainers off. We are in Antarctica now. Beyond awesome

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We've been to St. Kitts twice and didn't really care for it either time. We did NOT feel unsafe, however, but then again it's quite a while since we were there. Conditions may well have changed.

I too sympathize with the OP for being unhappy at not being able to see the port. Just because I didn't think that much of it doesn't mean they would feel the same and no doubt they would have preferred to make up their own minds about it's value as a port.

Most if not all of the Caribbean islands depend on ships to bring them just about everything you find in a supermarket for your daily existence and also of course heavy equipment etc. If a Harbour Master gives preference to cargo ships over cruise ships for dock space it is totally understandable.

Missing ports due to weather conditions is common. We have missed more than our share. The Captain made a call based on your safety. I suggest you stop worrying about this and enjoy the remaining couple of days of your cruise. And I totally agree with other posters that there is not much to see on St Kitts anyway.

Stayed at the Marriott on St Kitts for a week. We throughly enjoyed an all day island tour that circled the entire island, visiting a lot of historical as well as beautiful locales. We had a tremendous lunch at a restaurant right on the beach. Don’t understand why people wouldn’t enjoy the island unless they took the shorty tour and didn’t get far from the main port city! Very scenic island with lots of history.

Ports of calls, on cruise ships are always crap shoots. Enjoy your cruise!

We've been to St. Kitts twice and didn't really care for it either time. We did NOT feel unsafe, however.....

We were 2 women by ourselves with very aggressive male "vendors" swarming us. That didn't make us feel safe.

Had that happened to us, I'd have felt the same way. Not a pleasant experience.

Mura

The Caribbean is not all St Bart’s and most definitely not downtown NY! I personally love St Kitts and its shabby chique environs with its faded grandeur. These small Island Countries approximate 100,000-200,000 citizens and struggle to survive day to day let alone fancy up their buildings, what I enjoy is a different country, with beautiful gracious citizens living a life in parallel to mine and depending on my tourist input into their economy to survive. If you don’t invest a little imagination, look for the beauty of these Ports, interact with the locals, smile and see the bigger picture of your environs then you will only see the dirt and not the beauty within their poverty. Still on my cruise and first leg I walked round town on my own at 4pm, locals were out partying for weekend, stalls grilling food, local women with their steel pots on the pavement stalls selling their specials, beer being drunk but all very civilised. Walked round the streets and it was fun seeing another side if St Kitts where the locals were winding up/down for their weekend. You can treat everything you see as a possible threat or just enjoy it for what it is and behold the spectacle.

It is Tuesday, February 13th. Today we were scheduled to visit St.Kitts via a wonderful excursion that was booked when we originally booked this cruise (2016).

Within all our cruise papers/details that we were given by our travel agent and that were sent to us by Oceania...it clearly states that St. Kitts was supposed to be a destination where the ship would DOCK. One of the reasons we booked on the RIVIERA (our first cruise on this ship and with this line) was that we hadn’t visited many of the islands and the itinerary had us docked at five out of six destinations (tendering only in St. Barts) assuring that we would see the majority of our destinations.

So this morning, our last destination before heading back to Miami, was a sunny, gorgeous morning and we were so excited that we were going to visit the many historical points of interest in lovely St. Kitts. Other couples we have befriended also had big plans. One of the husbands has a birthday tomorrow and his wife had purchased the ‘golf’ excursion for him as a gift. He has been looking forward to that the entire cruise. Another couple was planning on a catamaran excursion/snorkeling to Nevis.

All those plans, however, were canceled because the Riviera did not dock as planned. The Riviera, instead, was anchored and due to the swells and windy conditions the captain decided not to engage in the tendering operations for safety reasons.

We understand that thinking but are extremely annoyed that we did not dock the ship in the first place and according to the itinerary!

As we gazed out to St. Kitts from our balcony we noticed that the Jewel of the Seas (2501 passengers) and the AZURA (3597 passengers) were docked. The Riviera only has 1250 passengers.

My question on this site:

Why do you think we changed from docking in St. Kitts to anchoring and do you think it had anything to do with the two, much larger ships being in the same area and because of those larger ships number of passengers (far exceeding the little Riviera) the Riviera was ‘bumped’ out of a docking berth???

The captain has now pointed the ship back to Miami so we will have THREE days onboard.

Are we unhappy with the obvious change of plans in St. Kitts...yes. Cruises don’t come cheap and St. Kitts was a destination we were looking forward to visiting. But when it says the ship will be docked and it isn’t and when there isn’t an explanation from the captain about that kind of major change (anchoring versus docking)....it leaves a sour taste in your mouth.

How's the rest of the trip? Enjoying the food? How about the ship? How's your cabin? Anyone on board issues?

You can treat everything you see as a possible threat or just enjoy it for what it is and behold the spectacle.

I've been to many places in the world and have learned how to be aware of my surroundings, then make common sense choices. Women who travel need to be discerning. Pie-in-the-sky idealism might sound good on paper (or a computer screen), but when the rubber-meets-the-road, it's best to trust our gut feeling and stay safe. Not every place is safe - not even for the locals.

How's the rest of the trip? Enjoying the food? How about the ship? How's your cabin? Anyone on board issues?

The ship is smaller than we’ve cruised on before (1250) but is not an issue. I love the decor! The staff is extremely friendly and helpful and the accommodations are very nice (again,....tastefully decorated in shades of soft turquoise and dark cabinets) although there is a little less room to store clothing but I left my suitcase open to act as another two drawers and slid it under the bed-works fine.

The food is excellent! I absolutely love the Grand Diningroom-so elegant and waiters are anxious to please! We also tried the specialty restaurants....Toscana, Jacques, Polo Grill and Red Ginger. We especially enjoyed Jacques. We ordered the sea bass for two and were impressed with the way it was served! The fish was enclosed in a puff pastry in the shape of a fish. The waiter sliced off the ‘tail’ and the ‘head’ and then cut the ‘body’ in two for serving. It not only was artistically beautiful, but the fish was so tasty!! I could go on and on about the quality and variety of the food!

Would we cruise again with Oceania? Absolutely! Does it compare with other cruise lines? Well, we have cruised on a variety of lines. About thirty years ago we cruised a few times on Princess and once on Norwegian which, at the time, were fine. Then, four years ago we took a cruise out of Venice on HAL’s Nieuw Amsterdam. We were upgraded to a Neptune suite which was great! The food was very good and the entire cruise experience was lovely. Last year we cruised on the Konningsdam (new ship) to Greece and the ship was just beautiful and bigger than the Riviera (2300+ to Riviera’s 1250). But it didn’t seem too big for us at all.

Thank you all for your comments!

Ships, and this goes for ANY SHIP, of any size from any Line, do not choose where they are berthed in a Port. The harbormaster from the port authority assigns their place.

 

Those assignments are designated based on the needs of the ship (i.e, do they need to load water, supplies or fuel, offload waste, or get repaired).

With ships shifting ports like mad because of the hurricane, it is likely that the vessels which you saw at dock had needs which superseded those of Riviera.

Disappointing perhaps, but nothing that could be controlled by Oceania. Rivieras' Captain may or may not have been informed of the reason for the change.

Ships are only seen as point to point transportation on a transatlantic crossing. Otherwise, they visit ports via what are known as yachting privileges. The trip is what one is buying, not the ports (which is what it says all over the brochures, the website and the cruise contract)

Richard & I loved the Jan.13 cruise on the Riviera. Sometimes changes are made to ports. If other ships are there, you might get the anchor as opposed to dock side. It's happened to us. We just go with the flow! If the port of call gets cancelled, you should have port charges reimbursed to your account.

No one likes missing a port, but the captain makes decisions based on passenger and crew safety, not whether it will disappoint you. I would think you should get your port fee back, though.

 

IMO you really didn't miss much....I didn't feel very safe on St. Kitts and it's at the bottom of my list of enjoyable Caribbean islands....along with Antigua.

St. Kitts is ok. Antigua not a fav??? One of our favorites! On Celebrity we book the Catamaran beach break with Lobster lunch. We visit several beaches & have a great time with plenty of swim time. The Lobster lunch was excellent. What are your reasons? I mean the beaches are great & the clear water is only eclipsed by Bonaire. It's not a great shopping island, but we don't cruise to shop! I'd have to say for all our cruising, only in Jamaica did we not feel safe. Never plan to go there again. Vendors were aggressive to the point where we actually escorted women who were in our excursion. We're a gay couple & know full well the religious bigotry(and here I thought the south was bad)& potential violence that can occur. For obvious reasons we avoid any form of "PDA".

If the port of call gets cancelled, you should have port charges reimbursed to your account.

Not on Oceania, Keith. They "include" port charges in the fares, so they aren't refunded.

St. Kitts is ok. Antigua not a fav??? One of our favorites! On Celebrity we book the Catamaran beach break with Lobster lunch. We visit several beaches & have a great time with plenty of swim time. The Lobster lunch was excellent. What are your reasons? I mean the beaches are great & the clear water is only eclipsed by Bonaire. It's not a great shopping island, but we don't cruise to shop! I'd have to say for all our cruising, only in Jamaica did we not feel safe. Never plan to go there again. Vendors were aggressive to the point where we actually escorted women who were in our excursion. We're a gay couple & know full well the religious bigotry(and here I thought the south was bad)& potential violence that can occur. For obvious reasons we avoid any form of "PDA".

As I said in my post, it was "IMO" - meaning, "in my opinion", which it was. I just didn't enjoy Antigua. Glad you did; to each his own.

You said you don't like Jamaica, but other people love it. We all have our own opinions about travel destinations and none are right or wrong - just a preference.

As I said in my post, it was "IMO" - meaning, "in my opinion", which it was. I just didn't enjoy Antigua. Glad you did; to each his own.

You said you don't like Jamaica, but other people love it. We all have our own opinions about travel destinations and none are right or wrong - just a preference.

From what I have seen and read most people do not like Jamaica. Not safe at all. I would not get off the ship there. Do not know anyone that loves it. Good luck. :(:(:(