Marina Review

[BillPizzaiolo]

If you all need a good laugh today read the Marina review on today's CC Front Page. It's their first review ! Very sad...;)

 

I guess they missed the boat according to this:

http://www.seasite.com/KnowledgeCenter/top_ten_lists/top_ten_midsize_ships_copy1.aspx

 

Bill

[2kiwis]

There is no doubt in my mind that they never got over the disappointment of the price discrepancy.

 

We agree with you Paulchili

 

We have cruised on Oceania ten times to date. We have not been on the Marina and have no comment to make in that regard, but if it is similar to the other ships, it is no doubt a great experience.

 

Having said that, on our first cruise we were also really distressed to inadvertently find out what we from NZ (and the Aussies and Brits) had paid in comparison to the USA/Canadian passengers. Not only that, we did not have the luxury of canceling our booking and getting our full deposit back, nor did we get free air compensation.

 

Therefore we can imagine how really upset these passengers must have felt. It leaves you feeling ripped off and certainly colours the way you feel about everything else. We are not talking small sums here - the difference was in the $1000’s.

 

The CEO of the ship (at that time) told us that it was company policy, and it was a big problem on the ships, as they constantly were faced with many very upset non-North American passengers when they discovered the big differences.

 

As mentioned there have been many threads devoted to this subject and some of us have found ways around it.

 

However, we believe it is reasonable to expect that everyone should be treated the same, regardless of country of origin, particularly when Oceania Cruise Lines are promoted in the UK, Australia, and NZ.

 

Cheers

[LHT28]

We agree with you Paulchili

 

Not only that, we did not have the luxury of canceling our booking and getting our full deposit back,

Cheers

 

I think that has to do with the travel industry in those countries

I could be wrong.

People we met on some cruises were from the U.K. & said if they cancel any holiday package or cruise they have to put it through their insurance to get the deposits back

So no cancelling for any reason in their case

Maybe someone in the know will comment

 

It is just what I heard from them

 

Lyn

[Paulchili]

While I totally agree with you in principle that everyone should be treated the same, 2 Kiwis, that may never happen.

British people, for example, have much better protection against fraud than US passengers do (dictated by certain government policies?).

I read somewhere on these boards that Spaniards (or residents of Spain) can get a ridiculously cheap (and good) annual policy for travel (health, trip cncellation, etc) - somewhere around Euro 200/year. We don't have that and if you buy an annual policy it will cost you a whole lot more. There are any number of inequities like this (Canadians do not get the same CC promotions we get in US, etc). I think it has to do with larger markets in US than those in Canada or NZ.

Sometimes you just have to take the good with the bad - I think, on the whole, it's still very good to be a KIWI :)

I am glad you found a way around the terrible pricing policies of NZ (and AUS) TAs. You may not have enough public support in NZ/OZ (or clout) to change the TA's policies in NZ but at least you should be able to book directly with O at the same price as everyone else - and that should be Oceania's policy.

[wripro]

In the UK TAs usually get a much higher commission rate than TAs in the US, giving them the ability to rebate a part of that commission to their clients. It's a trade off for not being bale to get their deposits back in case of cancellation. I guess.

[2kiwis]

You may not have enough public support in NZ/OZ (or clout) to change the TA's policies in NZ but at least you should be able to book directly with O at the same price as everyone else - and that should be Oceania's policy.

 

We completely agree.

[2kiwis]

In the UK TAs usually get a much higher commission rate than TAs in the US, giving them the ability to rebate a part of that commission to their clients. It's a trade off for not being bale to get their deposits back in case of cancellation. I guess.

 

The wholesaler (or someone) in Aus/NZ certainly try it on

 

When we booked our second cruise on-board Nautica we got home to an invoice that was $1600 per person!!! more than the quoted cost on-board. :mad:

 

So I guess you can understand why passengers get more than a little upset when they find this has happened to them.

[triplestar]

We all know that some passengers get a better price than others & after all we all buy goods at sale time, or book special deals at hotels and are pleased with the bargains. What we want is to feel that we got value for our money regardless of what others paid. Clearly the writer of the Marina review didnt feel he had & this coloured his whole cruise. He is still intitled to express his views of how he found the cruise .I have just booked a cruise on the Marina,but was unable to get the level of cabin I wanted. At first I thought upgrade but after reading this thread & review I decided to down grade. I know that although the cabin will not be the greatest I will still be able to enjoy all that the Marina has to offer & I feel that I have got a bargain & a bonus -- plenty of spending money for the spa etc. & will have a great cruise. So thank you to the reviewer Hydrangea

[CintiPam]

People who spend their time counting other people's money usually are not happy people. Truly sad how this affected the cruising experience for this reviewer.

[GeorgesGal]

Cruise pricing is much like airline pricing. One pays what on is willing to, knowing that all pricing is based on the number of seats/staterooms available at a particular point prior to flying/sailing. There will always be someone who pays more than I did and others who paid less. That is the name of the game - a crapshoot!

[Love.II.Cruise]

I don't think requiring participation would work. Many lurk and never post because they do not like the confrontational nature of the boards. They still count as hits to the board for advertizing.

 

You mean "they do not like the confrontational nature of the boards" but are not opposed to posting a review like this? :confused:

This OP is "asking" for confrontation, IMO.

I do not believe that anyone's first post should be a review, especially if it is a very negative one. The motives for such a posting are suspect, IMO

Of course, they can always be ignored or not taken seriously - as appears to be the case for this one

 

So for a long time I've used these boards to just learn and didn't participate or post. I was just to busy.

 

The last cruise I took, I decided to write a review. My first review (and only review to date) was negative on RCL. Please don't look it up, I don't want to defend it again. I joined a roll call on Oceania and "they" came and found me! Holy CRAP! I felt ambushed. Part of the problem was I was posting about a cruise I took in Jan in June (I had spent a two months relocating after my cruise and didn't post immediately afterwards). Cruise critic changed the date to sailing in June instead of Jan and it looked like I was lying because that ship was not in the Caribbean anymore. So I had to defend my case in a thread that I could only say were RCL strong advocates. Fortunately, someone from cruise critic admitted to the mistake they had made. But I still think some people didn't like my review.

 

As for price of a cruise. I don't want to know what you paid and I'm not going to tell you what I paid. :p