Tahitian Breeze Tendering Issue

[canuck.qc]

I was not aware concierge class had early tender advantages.

I too have sailed concierge and was not aware, nor have I read anything

about it prior to this post.

[MTZak]

Hello all. I received a response from Oceania regarding the tendering issue. This is the response.

 

"When we tendered it is somewhat true that tours get priority, but we do not FILL up the tenders with only Shore Excursion guests. We will put 2-3 coaches on there and the remaining 10-20 seats are given to independents who are required to collect a tender ticket from the lounge when they are ready to go ashore. These seats are available on every tender, but yes waiting time can occur if it is an afternoon arrival and everyone wants to go ashore at the same time."

We have cruised 9 times with Oceania and it has been my experience that this is exactly the way independent tendering is handled. We just got back from 45 day Papette to Sydney and the Bay of Islands tendering was a mess due to late arrival and many(including us) chose not to go ashore because of long wait for tenders. We could have gone in at 3PM, a 20 to 30 minute tender each way, and had to be back at 7:30. We chose to relax by pool

[MTZak]

If that is true, it is a very well-guarded secret. I was unaware of it after a dozen cruises in PH or concierge.

We have sailed in PH, concierge, and veranda, and have never been aware of a difference in priority tendering.

[Paulchili]

Hello all. I received a response from Oceania regarding the tendering issue. This is the response.

 

"When we tendered it is somewhat true that tours get priority, but we do not FILL up the tenders with only Shore Excursion guests. We will put 2-3 coaches on there and the remaining 10-20 seats are given to independents who are required to collect a tender ticket from the lounge when they are ready to go ashore. These seats are available on every tender, but yes waiting time can occur if it is an afternoon arrival and everyone wants to go ashore at the same time."

 

This indeed is true.

The only place it was a problem for us was at Easter Islands due to the fact that they could only use limited (2?) tenders due to the tricky approach to the tender pier. This slowed the tendering process significantly for all but especially so for the independents (like us, even though we arrived to the lounge very early). We had to wait 90 minutes for our turn.

[TERRIER1]

We never had a problem on the R ships with tendering due to their size. I am really concerned with tendering on the Marina due to her size in an area that is basically all tender ports. If this turns out to be a issue on the 4/7 Tahitian Breeze then I think future cruisers should consider the smaller ships like the PG in this neck of the woods. I am being optimistic that O will handle this correctly. However, O changed our embarkation time to 6 pm from 3 pm and never provided an area where we could leave or store our luggage until time for boarding. Just have wait and see.

[no fuss travel]

It was at the Bay of Islands where the problem was on the February 7th cruise. All the Oceania tours were tendered before they started to tender non-Oceania passengers with the exception of a few who complained to the Destination staff about not being treated properly. The real problem was that the ship knew that we would not arrive until very late and did not let independent passengers know until the point where they could not cancel their private tours and they lost their deposits as a result. A notice should have been sent out stating that we would not be arriving until much later so that independent travellers could have cancelled their tours. Destination services sat on the information and did not release it until it was too late. After the fiasco at the Bay of Islands, Destination services did not keep all independent travellers waiting until all Oceania tours had been disembarked for their tours. At one tender port, independent tour passengers actually were in the Marina lounge 45 minutes prior to arriving at the port to make sure they were off on the first tender available. The entire matter could have been handled with more tact by the Destination staff, which unfortunately at the time they were sadly lacking. The Destination staff also needs more information for independent travellers, for example when tiny museums close so that independent travellers do not waste their time walking over to the museum to find out that they have arrived too late and cannot enter. It would also be nice if they knew where free wifi was in each port or where wifi could be accessed. Yes, the seas were rough that day, but they only had 2 tenders operating for a very long tender and by the end of the day they had 4 operating. This was a management mistake and was rectified for the rest of the cruise. The comment I heard frequently from repeat Oceania passengers was that anyone that Oceania did not hire directly bent over backwards(Food services, housekeeping) whereas the Oceania hires (Reception, Destination Services) were lacking in customer relation skills. Now I personally found the Reception staff to be very good but tended to deal with one Scottish gentleman, but did find the few times I asked Destination Services for any information, they never had an answer to my questions. Destination Services to me means that the they should know about each port and be able to answer some basic questions. Most other cruise lines that I have sailed on, Destination Services have been able to answer questions from independent travellers and were polite to those not using the ships tours. Different strokes for different folks.

[Floridiana]

However, O changed our embarkation time to 6 pm from 3 pm and never provided an area where we could leave or store our luggage until time for boarding.

 

As far as I know, there is a storage area at the Tahiti airport. In addition, if you stay at a hotel in Tahiti, the hotel will store the luggage for you until you leave. And then, what happened to Oceania's offer to store the luggage in Papeete's town hall?

 

As for the Bay of Islands, didn't the local authorities provide a free shuttle to the interesting places nearby? Our tender arrived in walking distance to the treaty grounds with its guides and a short bus ride away from the small town of Paihia where the public ferry leaves for Russell. We were on a ship double the size of the Marina and made it ashore in driving rain. Another large ship was in the Bay at the same time.

 

We found that Australian and New Zealand ports provide plenty of safe and interesting shore excursions right on the pier or a short shuttle bus ride away. The shuttle busses were often free. Very few excursions needed to be booked through the ship or prearranged privately. No language barriers either for English speakers. No price negotiations, no hassle. Lots of friendly volunteers and helpers.

[no fuss travel]

Yes, Oceania did supply a spot at city hall to leave your luggage, but if you were coming from another island, you had to get your luggage from the ferry pier up to the city hall. In the heat, it was too much for several of the passengers.

 

Yes there was a shuttle at the Bay of Islands, but the shuttle was not there once we finally made it to land at 3:45 pm. We finally saw a shuttle coming the other way when we were about 15 minutes from the Treaty House. We wandered around the area as the last people are allowed to enter at 3:30 pm into the Treaty House. The people at the Treaty House were very nice about the whole thing, but it would have been nice to have known before we walked over. That is the type of information that Destination Services could have given out so that passengers knew not to waste time walking over to the Treaty House. The area where the locals were selling their crafts also was closing up by the time people were arriving as well.(Independent passengers). In retrospect, yes, I was glad I went ashore as we found the free wifi at the library and had a chance to do FaceTime with our children, its just that it was not all that rough and if they had been more forthcoming with information most of the aggravation that passengers were feeling could have been avoided. At the next tender port, they did give more information, so obviously they listened to passenger comments.

[TERRIER1]

Yes, Oceania did supply a spot at city hall to leave your luggage, but if you were coming from another island, you had to get your luggage from the ferry pier up to the city hall. In the heat, it was too much for several of the passengers.

 

Oceania is offering that option for the 4/7 cruise.

[Cheesi]

Oceania is offering that option for the 4/7 cruise.

 

 

How did you find out? I asked my TA about this issue and she said nothing has been announced yet.

[2kiwis]

Hi guys,

 

Just got off the ship after 34 unbelievably fantastic days. As far as the Isle Isle of Pines tendering story was concerned, we did have to go back to Numea to drop off the pilot, which cut the trip short, but everyone got their snorkling and beach time for the day.and ship excursions did not affect the tendering as there were NO excursions at that port. When we did have to do tenders, they made it a point to mix up the people taking excursions and those that did not, thus causing delays in Oceania excursions as well as some people having to wait for a tender as they came late and didn't want to wait around for their turn.

If you are not on an excursion on a tendering day, yes, you should go early as there are lots of people who want to go ashore, and with sometimes rough seas, it doesn't always go as quickly as they or we would like.

I just want to make the point that the staff did everything they could to be fair to all passengers, so if someone wants to tell a story simply as a complaint for not getting a discount etc, tell it correctly.

 

We were on the same cruise and it was just great and most of the time the tendering process was OK.

 

Having said that, the tender service at the bay of Islands, NZ, was the biggest fiasco we have experienced in our many cruises with Oceania.

 

We had turned up really early to get our tender tickets and while we were waiting in the lounge we were being told that it was a 20-30 minute tender ride in rough waters and as they were having trouble loading the tender everything was taking a long time. We were also told that independent travellers would go along with ship excursion people but that was quickly withdrawn, and all independent travellers had to wait a very long time to get off.

 

In the end, we waited 1 3/4 hours to get on the tender and many people coming into the lounge to get tickets just gave up and didn't get off the ship as they were being told to go away and have a cup of coffee and then come and see.

 

When we finally got onto a tender it only took us 11 minutes to get onto the tender, get to the shore and then off the tender. We couldn't believe it. It took only 8 minutes going back, so one has to wonder what on earth was going on.

 

All I know if dozens of people were so angry because the length of time it took to get people off the ship meant many just gave up. It was a complete fiasco.

 

As far as the Isle of Pines trip was concerned we were really bemused to hear that the stay was being cut short to take the pilot back.

We had left Noumea the night before, meandered around till we anchored at the Isle of Pines the next morning, and then had leave Isle of Pines early to go back to Noumea which meant losing more time on our way to NZ.

Oceania has done this trip before so one would think they'd get it better organised.

[TERRIER1]

Oceania is offering that option for the 4/7 cruise.

 

Correction - O ISN'T offereing that option. Pardon my typing.

[Cheesi]

Correction - O ISN'T offereing that option. Pardon my typing.

 

 

You had my hopes up there! I'm still hoping we'll hear something before we leave that yes it will be offered.

[Floridiana]

...

We wandered around the area as the last people are allowed to enter at 3:30 pm into the Treaty House.

 

Were you able to see the grounds but no guide was available any more? The house itself is the small residence of the pastor who initiated the treaty meeting. You did not miss much by not seeing the inside. Of course, a guided tour of the grounds would have provided the information necessary to appreciate the area's importance for NZ' s history.

 

I wasn't always happy with the excursion desk staff on the Riviera. They needed to update their 'timely information' skills.

[no fuss travel]

Were you able to see the grounds but no guide was available any more? The house itself is the small residence of the pastor who initiated the treaty meeting. You did not miss much by not seeing the inside. Of course, a guided tour of the grounds would have provided the information necessary to appreciate the area's importance for NZ' s history.

 

I wasn't always happy with the excursion desk staff on the Riviera. They needed to update their 'timely information' skills.

 

No, they would not allow us to tour the grounds. We wandered through the park outside and then walked back to town. We actually found the old building (Maori) and found quite a bit of information there. It was located on the other side of the bridge to the Treaty House. We then wandered through town and found the free wifi at the library. There were some Maori's putting on a free concert at the square where you had to go to board the tenders. They were lovely to watch.

[TravelerThom]

We are on the upcoming 18 Apr 2013 Marina from Papeete to Lima, and looking for responses from passengers with tender experience on Oceania. I have tendered a number of times, but not on Oceania, and policy varies between companies. I know each person tendering during "rush hour" needs a tender ticket. We have a group of eight with an independent tour. How many people need to stand in the tender ticket issue line to get eight tickets [eg one person/eight tickets; eight people/eight tickets; four people/eight tickets]. I know policies can change, but actual previous experience would help in our planning.

 

thanks

Thom

[cbb]

I always stand in line for the 2 of us. It certainly would make the line unwieldy if everyone stood in line....so 1 for 8 in your case.

 

O asks that everyone in your party be in the Lounge (or whatever room is being used to hand out the tender tickets) so that you all are in the same tender--and don't screw up the count with one or more of your party being left behind.

[no fuss travel]

We had 14 of travelling together and we had one person go up and get all 14 tender tickets. We also let them know that everyone was in the room before we asked for the tender tickets. That was the one question we were asked.

[TravelerThom]

We had 14 of travelling together and we had one person go up and get all 14 tender tickets. We also let them know that everyone was in the room before we asked for the tender tickets. That was the one question we were asked.

THANKS - just the details I was looking for! (and I agree with cbb that it would be unwieldy to have everyone standing in line - but I never assume that organizations have made the rational decision :rolleyes:)

[MarvinGardens]

Hi,

 

My wife and I are new to cruises. You mentioned private tours. Could you tell me how one books a private tour, or do you simply do that when you get to an island?

 

Thanks!

[no fuss travel]

You can do it when you arrive at the island or you can book them prior to leaving on your cruise. Try the Forum here on ports and also look at Trip Advisor. I have had good luck with both, finding tour guides for places the ship visits.

[MarvinGardens]

Hi TropicLady,

 

My wife and I are new to cruising. You mentioned that you had private tours booked on the Tahitian Breeze cruise. Are those tours that you booked in advance on the internet? If so, do you have any suggestions regarding how to go about this?

 

Thanks!

[TravelerThom]

...My wife and I are new to cruising. You mentioned that you had private tours booked on the Tahitian Breeze cruise. Are those tours that you booked in advance on the internet? If so, do you have any suggestions regarding how to go about this?...

You can just walk off the ship and usually their will be taxi guides available [varies considerably by port]. The best guides tend to book up in advance. Depends on if you are looking for a strictly private tour for just two people, or if you want a small [say 4 couple as an example] non-ship tour. If you are looking for a small group, the place to start is join the CruiseCritic Roll Call for your particular cruise. Often there are people on the Roll Call who are looking for people to join their small group for a specific described tour to share the cost. You can, of course, be the person who starts such a group, but if it is your first time you'd probably want to join and see how it is done. Typically each person, including the organizer, will pay the same amount, so in fairness after awhile it will be your turn to do the work of researching tours and guides and rounding up people.

 

enjoy

Thom

[Tropiclady]

Hi TropicLady,

 

My wife and I are new to cruising. You mentioned that you had private tours booked on the Tahitian Breeze cruise. Are those tours that you booked in advance on the internet? If so, do you have any suggestions regarding how to go about this?

 

Thanks!

 

Hi Marvin Gardens,

 

Yes, I had those tours booked through the internet and the CC Roll Call. If you have not already gone to your Roll Call, I would strongly suggest that you do so. I had some of our private tours booked a year in advance. I did research on both Cruise Critic and tripadvisor and decided which ones we wanted to do. I than went about booking or checking to see if anyone else had already booked on our roll call. I was in charge of one tour for our CC Roll Call in Bora Bora. We joined in on one other tour on the roll call in Nuku Hiva and I also had private tours booked for my party in Tahiti and Moorea. You can still find lots of info if you check our 1/27/13 Roll Call. If you use tripadvisor, I am also Tropiclady there and you can read a couple of my reviews and also send me a personal message. Hope that helps.

 

Happy Travels,

Tropiclady

[Sailing away soon]

We just got off Marina's Sydney to Pappette. We did not have any problems getting tenders. When we first got to the port Oceania were running 3 to 4 tenders and then down to 2 when the need was less. We had independent tours and never had a problem making the start times. We also found that the first tender generally did not have any ship tour people on them. Oceania does ask that all of your party is in the meeting place before they will give you tender tickets. I think that is a great idea so we did not have to wait for anyone.