Oceania post-cruise hotel problem!

[wripro]

Yes, thanks for letting us know you had a happy ending.

[Starlaker]

Nice to know that Oceania made it right. I thought that they would. One more comment on the hotel packages. I really do appreciate all the information I have received from cruise critic members. On our Baltic cruise we let the cruise line make all our arrangements (air, hotel, transfers) because we weren't confident in our abilities to arrange everything in Copenhagen. We noted that the hotel was extremely expensive, but we just thought that was the going rate. That was before I started reading the cruise critic boards and learned so much. Now I make my own arrangements and get the flights and hotels I want at a much more reasonable rate. Thank you cruise critic. Now I can go buy some more shoes for my cruise!

[billie5]

It can and does happen that your hotel reservation is not honored, whether or not you make it yourself, and whether or not you confirm multiple times before arrival. This is a problem even in the United States, and what you can do about it is rather limited. There are all sorts of reasons why a hotel might find itself overbooked (including its own booking policies). In the majority of states in the U.S., for example, guests can not be forced to evacuate their rooms at the end of their reservations (but don't try it in California, where even the police can be called -- this is a real exception among the various states). In most states hotels are required to come up with comparable accommodations and no more, but if they do not, the burden would be on you to file a civil suit.

 

God knows whether you would have any protection or rights in Spain!

 

On the other hand, whether or not this was under the control of Oceania (and my guess is that they were stiffed by the hotel), I would hope that Oceania would voluntarily agree to recompense you for the inferiority of your final accommodations.

 

Bill

[billie5]

Sorry, I did not see that Oceania had made it right. That is great.

 

It is unlikely that any of this was Oceania's fault, so I don't get why you would expect them to take responsibility.

 

Bill

[markshale]

I had a similar experience once with a hotel chain and they refunded the whole amount of my vacation at their properties. Very good of Oceania. Its speaks very well of them.

 

In regards to people and their desire or not to get the best price - I being in sales for 25 years to this day don't get it. But it is indeed true, some of us make it a sport to get the best deal and learn every angle to work in which to arrive at that best deal while others don't enjoy this process and don't want to learn. Even when presented with the facts some will opt for the more expensive way.

 

No matter how rich some people are they will always work the deal but others won't. Some people think their time is better spent making the big bucks than saving the small ones. It goes completely against my grain, but I have seen it over and over through out the years. People who don't mind paying the full freight are usually excellent customers, and very easy to work with. Who am I to judge?

 

Mark

[smartlady25]

We just returned from a wonderful cruise with Oceania that went from Athens to Barcelona. The staff, with the exception of the destination services people, were wonderful. The food was fantastic. The room was very comfortable and well laid out with lots of storage space and a comfortable bed. We arranged for three nights pre-cruise in Athens and three nights post-cruise in Barcelona through Oceania. It was very expensive, but we felt it was worth it to have them make the arrangements. We booked the cruise and pre and post options a year ago. We researched the hotels before making our decision. They work with two hotels in each of these cities. In Athens everything went extremely well. We were greeted at the airport and transported to our hotel. The Hotel Grand Bretagne was wonderful. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for our post-cruise arrangements. We were dropped off at our hotel after completing a tour of the city. We wanted to be near the beach, so we chose the Hotel Arts, a Ritz Carlton property. We tried to register, but were told we did not have a reservation! Not only did we not have a reservation, but neither did four other couples from our cruise! The Oceania representative told us the hotel was at fault. The hotel and the Oceania rep. went back and forth for nearly four hours. They were finally convince to provide us with lunch while we waited. The hotel was fully booked, so they took us elsewhere. We only had three days in Barcelona and by the time we were finally in a room, it was after 5 PM. The hotel they put us in was also supposed to be a 5 star hotel, but it was not! The El Palace was built in 1919, and it looks like they have not updated the lobby and restaurants in nearly 100 years. It was in the middle of the city, not near the beach. It did not even have a swimming pool. This was not equivalent to the one we had paid for by any means. We looked up and compared the rates between the two hotels and what we had paid. We paid $2798 for the three nights in a club level room! I checked on Expedia and the junior suite that they put us in averaged $426 per night for the dates we were there, that is $1278 for three nights, a profit of $1500 for Oceania. The club level at the Hotel Arts, had they had vacancies would have been $606 per night which comes to $1818. We will never know if it was an error by Oceania or Hotel Arts, but in my mind, when you are paying that kind of money, Oceania should have confirmed our reservation in advance. I think they do have responsibility here. I will never let them book my hotel reservations again! If you are traveling with Oceania and have allowed them to book your hotel I would recommend that you verify the reservation with the hotel of your choice directly.

 

My question is, has anyone else had this experience? Does anyone have any advice or suggestions about how to get a refund from Oceania? It really put a damper on the end of our trip, used up a lot of our valuable time, etc.

Yes, I had the problem in London and when I got home I e-mailed N Fellows at Oceania Cruises using her first Initial and Last Name (don't know if I can actually put it here) with the info about the terrible accommodations we were given - room #, etc. We got a full refund!!!!!! I was so pleased with the speed of response. However, I just had a problem with a terrible mattress this year on the Regatta and the response was less than favorable. It even went to their Risk Management Person. I am still going to continue sailing on Oceania as I am really happy with the size, service, etc. but I won't ever sail below Concierge Level as this last time I did because the people I was sailing with didn't want all the heavy food in the restaurants (one is a vegaterian) which is the major difference in the brochure and when speaking with their agents. WRONG!!! My bed was a disgrace!!!!! I am deciding if I should write directly to Bob Binder to let him know that Oceania employees consider a mattress topping an AMENITY!!!!! I have been told this will not be the case anymore but I am not sure. I have booked on the Marina April 16 Barcelona to Rome on the Concierge Level and I look forward to having a great experience. Please don't hesitate to share your story with Oceania. Perhaps you will get the same superior response I did with my Post cruise experience. I am still hoping to get a decent response for the problem with the bed. They have offered me a credit for my next cruise which I will use although it in no way made up for the sleepless nights. I want Bob Binder to be aware of the responses I got from his staff. Hope you fare as well as I did as it doesn't matter whose fault is it, you paid Oceania so IT IS THEIR FAULT NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY!!!!!!! Good luck.

[LHT28]

but I won't ever sail below Concierge Level as this last time I did because the people I was sailing with didn't want all the heavy food in the restaurants (one is a vegaterian) which is the major difference in the brochure and when speaking with their agents. WRONG!!! .

I have no idea what you are talking about :confused::confused:

 

Everyone on the ship gets the same food ...it is not like Cunard where they have different restaurants for the "classes"

 

Maybe we are back to the Force feeding issue

Heavy foods??

You can speak to the chef about providing more suitable dishes for vegetarians or better yet notify "special services" well in advance if they require special foods

 

We have never booked Concierge & always have had good service.

We have not had a problem with any of the beds ...but it is a personal choice if you like soft or firm mattresses

 

Hope the Marina cruise will work out better for you

[happy cruzer]

I have no idea what you are talking about :confused::confused:

 

Everyone on the ship gets the same food ...it is not like Cunard where they have different restaurants for the "classes"

 

Maybe we are back to the Force feeding issue

Heavy foods??

You can speak to the chef about providing more suitable dishes for vegetarians or better yet notify "special services" well in advance if they require special foods

 

We have never booked Concierge & always have had good service.

We have not had a problem with any of the beds ...but it is a personal choice if you like soft or firm mattresses

 

Hope the Marina cruise will work out better for you

 

So why don't you just ask for clarification instead of attacking this poster with your force feeding comment?

 

I too would like know about the heavy foods mentioned. Did they make requests that were denied? Where they used to how another cruise line's menus were set up?

 

Additional info would be appreciated.

[billie5]

Cynadav, "fault" generally refers to a mistake, an error, culpability. It is unlikely this hotel mistake was due to Oceania, and shouting it (in the sense of capitalization) does not make your claim any more valid.

 

On the other hand, if one wants to consider responsibility, then sure, I believe the booking agency - Oceania in this case - should accept responsibility, whether or not it is their fault. But I believe I indicated that in my post.

 

Bill

[billie5]

Sorry, Cynadav. My "fault." I meant to address the above comment to Smartlady. Please accept my apology.

 

Bill

[LHT28]

So why don't you just ask for clarification instead of attacking this poster with your force feeding comment?

 

 

Sorry I forgot to add the :D:D to the line

But you may have missed the humour of another thread about the Force Feeding

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1254194

 

Enjoy

Lyn

[LHT28]

I think by refunding the OP's money they did take the responsibility for the error by whomever caused the problem ...hotel or res agent

 

Would you not think so??

 

Seems from reports on Trip Advisor & other hotel sites, the El Palace hotel was recently renovated and most people gave high praise of the hotel.

It was not what the OP had booked...yes it would be disappointing but they did have room & not just dumped on the street ..... yes someone was at fault & Oceania made it right.

 

I am sure it soured their trip experience

 

Sometime life is not perfect

 

Lyn