After reading last 2 Regatta reviews posted

[alexandra cruiser]

am a little concerned...

 

Complaints about Excursions and hi prices.Hope this was a glitch on that cruise,,,not overall problem.

 

Have Regatta booked for Sept...

 

Anyone else have similar problems?? :confused:

[Aruba]

Oceania's shore excursions are not cheap and never have been -- that's nothing new.

[Mura]

We left Regatta on August 30th after the Black Sea cruise. Of all the "R" ships, we've been on Regatta the most.

 

High ship's tour prices are, as has already been said, nothing new. The other option is to do as many do and book private tours. I realize many people have very good reasons for preferring ship's tours, but if cost is a problem the easy answer is to find others with similar interests at roll calls.

 

I will say that Regatta seemed to have slipped a bit, mainly in the restaurant area. I wonder if too many of their best people are now on the new ships.

 

We were irritated our first night in Polo with the constant queries of "how is everything?" Once or twice is fine, but more than a dozen? Except for Terrace, all the restaurants had minor glitches -- forgetting to bring a dish or bringing the wrong dish comes to mind. None of these were serious enough for us to lodge a complaint, but service wasn't as good as it has been in the past.

 

And while the food was very good, it wasn't AS good as it has been in the past.

 

Mura

[JimandStan]

am a little concerned...

 

Complaints about Excursions and hi prices.Hope this was a glitch on that cruise,,,not overall problem.

 

Have Regatta booked for Sept...

 

Anyone else have similar problems?? :confused:

 

Actually, in the reviews that concerned you, their opinion of the onboard experience and the food was still stellar, so that should give you some comfort.

 

As far as Oceania Shore Excursions are concerned, they are more expensive than "doing it yourself", but I cannot help but feel that the Line is caught between a rock and a hard place on that score.

 

First, you have the new people who are coming up to Oceania from the mass market lines, who think that the Excursion prices should be similar even though Oceania is catering to a tiny fraction of the big guys passenger load. Think of it, a Royal Caribbean or a Princess regularly book tens of thousands of tours in a given week. How can a little guy compete?

 

The next group are the people who used to sail all inclusive, but are trying Oceania to save a buck. They tend to have their own particular set of grievances.

 

Then too, Oceania attracts a well travelled and "can do" type of passenger who will seldom shy away from touring independently or forming groups, so the pool of possible participants falls even further.

 

Frankly, I suspect that after you consider staffing, transportation, insurance and taxes, this isn't a very profitable sideline for Oceania, despite the prices, yet they MUST keep offering Tours, because it is expected that the Cruise Line will offer some alternative.

 

Our Ace in the hole is in knowing that we can do it better and cheaper on our own.......and then return to a magnificently run ship

 

That is the way that I handle it, at any rate-

[LHT28]

 

The next group are the people who used to sail all inclusive, but are trying Oceania to save a buck. They tend to have their own particular set of grievances.

 

Then too, Oceania attracts a well travelled and "can do" type of passenger who will seldom shy away from touring independently or forming groups, so the pool of possible participants falls even further.

 

Frankly, I suspect that after you consider staffing, transportation, insurance and taxes, this isn't a very profitable sideline for Oceania, despite the prices, yet they MUST keep offering Tours, because it is expected that the Cruise Line will offer some alternative.

 

Our Ace in the hole is in knowing that we can do it better and cheaper on our own.......and then return to a magnificently run ship

 

That is the way that I handle it, at any rate-

 

I agree

DIY or private tours with your fellow ship mates

If you need hand holding type tours then you pay the price

[TKS]

.

 

Our Ace in the hole is in knowing that we can do it better and cheaper on our own.......and then return to a magnificently run ship

 

Beautifully stated, and my sentiments exactly.

[aohkay]

We did 3 wine tours sponsored by Oceania. We enjoyed all of them and thought the prices were fairly reasonable. The tours were well run and we had great guides for 2 out of the 3. :)

 

We also did DIY as well.

[wripro]

Like many others here I always do private tours unless it's inadvisable. For the most part though I find the price of O's excursions, like the price of its internet rates, far higher than luxury lines like Seabourn.

[Floridiana]

If you buy an excursion package, Oceania's shore excursions are similar in price to privately organized tours with good guides. Overall, we have had excellent ship's shore excursions by various lines.

 

Just in case you go down under: In many New Zealand and Australian ports, great shore excursions were offered on the pier or in town by local companies. We also used public transportation there and walked.

[pacheco18]

If you buy an excursion package, Oceania's shore excursions are similar in price to privately organized tours with good guides. .

 

I must disagree.

They are still pricier and you do not get to choose your guide, your itinerary or which people you tour with.

 

I believe shore excursions are a colossal ripoff on Oceania. I am not sure it just a question of size or scale.

 

On our last O cruise, O was charging 3 or 4 times what we paid for luxurious small group private tours that were far better in scope. Many cruisers were quite angry about the prices.

 

For me, it is Oceania's worst feature (worse than the entertainment which has improved! LOL)

[crowpro]

We have primarily used the ship offered tours from Oceania and have only once been disappointed with the tour. They are a little more money I will admit, but there is some security that goes with a ship tour. Some people do not want to go through the hassle of checking out local tour operators. To each his own. Enjoy your cruise.

[ChadnKate]

We are traveling on the April 20-May 9, 2013 Regatta cruise. It stops at 10 ports not including Miami or San Francisco. Oceania now offers two levels of savings. You can sign up for unlimited at a fixed price and substantial discount. For this cruise it was set at $1,099, or if you book 6 or more you get 15% off the already discounted (10%) tours for pre cruise booking, for a total of 25% off. Either way Oceania has reached out to those passengers who can make up their minds before the "last minute."

The discount should pay for most everyone's wine and drinks on board.

 

Hope this helps.

[taxjam]

We normally use CC Roll Call & do private excursions. On this summer's 21 day Viking Expeditions cruise to the Iceland, Greenland, Faroe Islands, Shetland Islands, Isle of Skye, etc. we had concerns because several of the ports had virtually no tourist infrastructure, cancellation policies if the ship had to skip the port because of conditions (this actually happened with one port, and timing and distance in a couple of ports. So we decided to try Oceania's "YOUR WORLD COLLECTION" À La Carte Excursions for which you get 25% off the selected excursions there is a minimum number you must book. On our cruise we had to book 8 excursions to qualify for the 25% off. Even at 25% off, I wouldn't consider Oceania's excursions a bargain. We spent $1624 for the 8 excursions (16 excursions/slightly over $100 each). What did we think of the excursions? Two were excellent, four were fair/adequate and two were awful. With hindsight, I would book the 2 or 3 really problematic excursions with Oceania at list price and do the rest of the ports as private excursions. However, the 8-pack, as I called it, it was relatively painless involving minimal effort. To be fair, we also did 5 private excursions; four were excellent, but one was poor.

[rallydave]

Frankly, I suspect that after you consider staffing, transportation, insurance and taxes, this isn't a very profitable sideline for Oceania, despite the prices, yet they MUST keep offering Tours, because it is expected that the Cruise Line will offer some alternative.

 

 

Have to disagree quite a bit with your above statement. Pretty sure excursions are one of the largest if not the largest profit centers of PCH. Destinations covers both Regent and Oceania. In you consider above, the only costs to PCH is staffing; transportation, insurance, and taxes are paid by the tour operator and would be pretty much the same whether catering to a monster of the sea, a PCH, or an independent signing up independently. From what I have seen and researched, PCH values excursions at approximately double or more than what the exact same excursion would charge someone walking up to the tour operator. That means at least a 100% profit less the staff, of course.

 

Excursion complaints are the biggest complaints on both the Regent and Oceania board and for good reason with PCH more concerned with profits than satisfying the paying customers. Just look at who's relative has recently been promoted to Vice President even with the ongoing complaints.

 

Huge profits, indifference to complaints, and an almost complete lack of refund to true issues on excursions continue with no end in sight. A common response to complaints is you are the only one with a complaint even when it is known that many others lodged the same complaint. Highly doubt these issues will end as long as the almost obscene profits from destinations continue.

[TKS]

I agree O's tours are expensive, and we've also experienced some good shorex with them and some not-so-good. But, something that hasn't been factored in here is the tour operators themselves. Let me give you an example.

 

Last December aboard Regatta on a Panama Canal cruise we booked a small local tour guide in Punta Arenas to visit the rain forest, but of course there were the huge tour busses for O-booked tours on the pier headed for the rain forest as well. There is only one way out of Punta Arenas, and our little 14-passenger van was in front of all the "big guys" when a strike blocked the road ahead for almost an hour. With the tour guide on his cell phone with his boss during this time, they determined there was no telling when/if the strike would break up, therefore effectively cancelling the day we had planned. The tour guide gave us a decision - go back aboard ship with no cost to us, or take a "side trip" to the mango groves for a tour with another small company for a fraction of the cost of the entire day we had booked. Two of our group chose to go back to the ship, but the rest of us were game for the side trip. The tour operator took us to a nearby local business for an hour boat tour of the mango groves (not what we had planned, but a well-run and fun trip none-the-less). When we were done they happily announced we could go on our original tour, in a slightly shortened version, since the strike had ended. We went, had a wonderful day, and when we paid the bill at the end of the day we discovered the tour operator did not charge us at all for the "side trip" and discounted the day's tour below what we had originally agreed due to the hassle. He only asked we note his extra services when we talked about Punta Arenas and his company (which we did in our CC and Tripadvisor reviews). When we returned to ship we discovered the ship tours were simply cancelled, and those people spent the day either roaming around the pier area (very touristy), aboard ship or picking up what taxi's, etc. they could after the cancellation of the busses.

 

My point? During the day discussion with our tour guide revealed the ship tours were run by the only operator in this port with big busses, so they got the majority of the business, but they were more expensive and less flexible as a result.

 

Since O needs to have the availability for larger numbers of people, they are kind of "stuck" with those larger operators. The "little guys" must be more flexible and more entrepreneurial to make a living. Hence, O is obligated to work with the limited number of large tour operators in any port and is subject to their business practices and longer term contracts. Large companies in most countries get the lion's share of business at top prices, but they often provide less service than their "mom and pop" competitors, who must be more flexible and more competitive in pricing to get their small "piece of the pie", the same as in the U.S. (think of the banking industry in the U.S.:eek:).

 

I agree, sometimes the ship tours are the best option. They are simple, often the "safest" and are certainly "no hassle". I expect to pay for that safety net. But, for myself, I've found the "hunt" for the "right" small operator and the "right" tour package and participants here on CC, and on her sister site Tripadvisor, is part of the fun of cruise pre-planning. The interaction with the small local businesses and tour guides also provides the added advantage of getting a little better interaction with the local people than with the large operators, as long as you are careful to get all your expectations and agreements in writing beforehand.

[globevest]

taxjam.....the cruise you refer to looks to be exactly what I an looking for. I would appreciate it if you could point me towards the cruise line/trip provider. Thank you.

[azevedan]

TKS - I'd really love to know who you went with.

I'll try to dig up your review.

or please email me at azevedan(at)yahoo(dot)com

Kthnx

[alexandra cruiser]

Reviewer said MDR waits long?Staff there poor?

 

Complained about OLD passengers.

 

Poor communication to cruisers,etc...........

 

Hope this was somewhat just due to the Hurricane problems. They took similar cruise and must admit I m getting a little concerned about this.

 

Anyone have any thoughts?:confused:

[Mura]

I haven't read that review -- guess I will just to see what was said -- but we were on Regatta in August and didn't encounter any problems like that.

 

Although it isn't that far off to say the demographics are older folk, but even very elderly people that I've met on the "R" ships are still young at heart ... at least most of them are. (Of course, now that I officially qualify as elderly myself, maybe I wouldn't notice if they were!)

 

We didn't have any problems with service in the GDR and we didn't have any waits ... well, we did one night, but when everyone comes in at the same time it can be difficult. Most of our meals in the GDR were breakfast or lunch, but we did have several dinners there.

 

Mura

[LHT28]

Anyone have any thoughts?:confused:

Stop reading the reviews

 

Maybe people were old to them if the poster was born in the year of his/her I.D.

Each cruise will have different demographics but the majority age ranges from 50 to 70 most are very active in mind & body

 

You seem to dwell on the negative posts ??

[candbgirl]

LHT28 I think you are correct. If the OP goes expecting to have problems he probably will. I was on the Regatta in June and experienced absolutely none of these issues. The Regatta is an amazing ship with an equally amazing staff. I wish I was back in my nice cabin right now. I'm actually having a hard time booking another cruise that is not Oceania. My usual travel companions have hopped on 2 upcoming cruises-one HAL and one Celebrity. I think I'd sooner wait and book another cruise on the Regatta. :)

[LHT28]

I'm actually having a hard time booking another cruise that is not Oceania. My usual travel companions have hopped on 2 upcoming cruises-one HAL and one Celebrity. I think I'd sooner wait and book another cruise on the Regatta. :)

I agree it is hard to go with the other lines once you have been on Oceania ;)

 

Lyn