Only Overnite Flights to Tahiti?

[oceanbabe]

Thanks Brenda, i actually called "O" and spoke to a customer service person. She gave the expected answers to my questions, meaning i got nowhere. Yes, i know, as others have said, we could go in a few days early. However, as the air is "free" we will do it or we would not have booked this cruise. This will be one of the most expensive cruises we have ever booked. We have other financial obligations, and deviation costs, early arrivals and hotels, would make this cruise out of our budget. I think this "free" air is just a ploy to book people, who would otherwise not go on Oceania. Will try to be calmer and see 75 days before cruise, the air schedule. Thanks all for allowing me to vent. As a newbie to "O" i am just finding this all too stressful and will go with a different line after our cruise next April.

[JimandStan]

Thanks Brenda, i actually called "O" and spoke to a customer service person. She gave the expected answers to my questions, meaning i got nowhere. Yes, i know, as others have said, we could go in a few days early. However, as the air is "free" we will do it or we would not have booked this cruise. This will be one of the most expensive cruises we have ever booked. We have other financial obligations, and deviation costs, early arrivals and hotels, would make this cruise out of our budget. I think this "free" air is just a ploy to book people, who would otherwise not go on Oceania. Will try to be calmer and see 75 days before cruise, the air schedule. Thanks all for allowing me to vent. As a newbie to "O" i am just finding this all too stressful and will go with a different line after our cruise next April.

 

If you find dealing with the Cruise Line stressful, why didn't you engage the services of a Travel Agent, whose advice would be free to you, and who, aside from insight, might be able to throw some economic stimulus (free gratuities or an onboard credit) into the equation?

Included gratuities alone might have offset the Deviation Fee :rolleyes:

[Senior Citizen]

Can't she still turn her booking over to a cruise agent and perhaps get some bennies? I've always used an agent from the get-go so I'm not sure how this works or if there are timelines involved.

 

Oceanbabe---I think you will love O!!!

 

We've cruised 15 times with them and this is, by far, the most difficult embarkation port ever. I am very surprised how difficult it is.

 

Night flights that arrive around 4:30 or 5:30 am. and you have to spend the whole day waiting to embark if you don't arrive a few days early. if you do arrive a few days early, you still can't get into your hotel room until 2 pm or whenever check in is.

 

Flights that arrive late at night and no ferries operating to take you to a hotel in Moorea. Flights that arrive after the time that ships depart.

 

Nothing is easy in this port. Once we get on the ship, this will all be behind us and we'll have a great time!

[LewiLewi]

So far, we haven't been able to hear anything definitive from O as to flights. Will they be able to tell us exactly what the flight situation will be prior to final payment, or do we pay our money and take our chances?

[JimandStan]

So far, we haven't been able to hear anything definitive from O as to flights. Will they be able to tell us exactly what the flight situation will be prior to final payment, or do we pay our money and take our chances?

 

I totally understand why you are asking, because most cautious people want to know what the "free" option is before turning it down, however, in this case if you wait until Final Payment time, then you run the risk that the less expensive and more convenient flights which you are hoping for will have dried up.

 

Therefore, it's probably best to decide now if you can live without having any control over your flight schedule, or if the $150 per person fee is worth the peace of mind.

 

Remember that the Deviation fee does not kick in until you and Oceania come to a meeting of the minds regarding a suitable flight.

[TERRIER1]

So far, we haven't been able to hear anything definitive from O as to flights. Will they be able to tell us exactly what the flight situation will be prior to final payment, or do we pay our money and take our chances?

 

Oceania uses charters for those flights where passengers have not chosen the deviation. In the past, the ship sails at around 11 pm and the two Ocenaia charter flights came into Papeeti around 8:30 pm from LAX. They were not overnights. They left LAX during the day. There was no waiting around the port for embarkation for the charters.

 

If you take the deviation, then you should go on line and see what flight are available that meet your needs and provide them to Oceania (direct or through your TA). There very well may be an upcharge. Oceania was very late in considering the deviation - well into the 270 days. The flights available to us for our April 2013 cruise from Air Tahiti Nui were daytime flights and we came into Papeeti at 10 pm.

 

Right now ITA shows only Air New Zealand leaving LAX during the day and you will pay a premium. Try calling Air Tahiti Nui and see why there are only overnights for next year when most of the flights were day this year.

[LewiLewi]

I totally understand why you are asking, because most cautious people want to know what the "free" option is before turning it down, however, in this case if you wait until Final Payment time, then you run the risk that the less expensive and more convenient flights which you are hoping for will have dried up.

 

Therefore, it's probably best to decide now if you can live without having any control over your flight schedule, or if the $150 per person fee is worth the peace of mind.

 

Remember that the Deviation fee does not kick in until you and Oceania come to a meeting of the minds regarding a suitable flight.

As things stand now, there are no convenient or less expensive R/T flights available to and from Tahiti or Lima. From what I understand, last year's flights were day flights scheduled at the last minute when purchased from O without including any deviation fees. I think that we need to evaluate this situation till the time when we are able to contact O's deviation department and see what is offered.

Again, thank you for your advice.

[Benita]

This advice will only help the lucky few, but on our PG cruise, we took the cruise only air credit and booked Air Tahiti Nui ourselves. Between all the Citibank Advantage promotions (American Airlines) and the ability to transfer Starwood Points to the American Airlines frequent flyer program, it was pretty easy to accrue enough points to fly ATN business class for free. AA even included the flight from Florida to LA with no extra points. There are only a few seats offered in business class per flight, but a half dozen or more in coach. Business class is 125,000 points roundtrip per person and I believe coach was half that amount. With all these 40,000 point bonuses for getting the credit cards, it is easier than you think to amass the points needed.

[PirateShark]

I don't know if they only have overnights but apparently, there are a few snags starting to show up. Our 03/26/2014 cruise has changed its departure time from 11:00pm on 03/26/2014 to 5:00am (:eek:) on the morning of 03/27/2014. They said it was to "accommodate" very late flights. I have of course sent off an email to my personal cruise consultant to get additional detail but maybe they aren't doing the charters anymore. ATN gets in like at 10:00pm from LAX on that same night.

 

FWIW....

[LewiLewi]

I just got an email from my TA from O stating that the new departure time went from 5 PM to 11PM to "accommodate late flights". What is going on ?

[PirateShark]

I just got an email from my TA from O stating that the new departure time went from 5 PM to 11PM to "accommodate late flights". What is going on ?

 

That's a good question. I'm kind of perplexed that they'd send me an email at 6:00pm EDT (3:00pm my time) the day before a holiday but oh well. I booked directly with O and have already emailed my cruise consultant for further explanation. Leaving at 5:00am and being woke up from the ship leaving port is not what I am expecting from a "relaxing" vacation. It also poses the question of did O junk the charters and is now going with ATN exclusively and their schedules?

 

Also, will the rest of the itinerary get messed up because of the late departure? Time will tell.

[vaitape]

We're booked on the Valpo-PPT 28 Dec cruise. Today we received an email from O forwarded by our travel consultant:

 

"Dear Guests,

We would like to advise you of an update on your voyage aboard Marina. In order to accommodate disembarkation of guests with early flights, we have changed the arrival time into Papeete (Tahiti).

Please see the below update made to the itinerary.

ORIGINAL ARRIVAL

15-Jan-14

Wed Papeete (Tahiti) 7:00 am

UPDATED ARRIVAL 3:00 am

Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us at 800-531-5658.

Warmest Regards,

Oceania Cruises

 

When we made our air deviation request last week, our travel consultant told us that now O is using ATN for the charter flights, not Atlas. Surprising news because we thought ATN had only 5 planes which made for problems with canceled flights when there was a mechanical problem somewhere on their routes.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Interesting news about ATN versus charter. This seems like just another nail in the coffin of tourism in FP--i.e., the difficulty of cruiselines actually being able to arrange flights between PPT and LAX. Air France apparently is pulling out of this route fairly soon as well.

 

It's sad really, since this is one of my favourite places in the world. I wonder if Oceania will rethink this destination when it assembles new itineraries.

[TERRIER1]

That's a good question. I'm kind of perplexed that they'd send me an email at 6:00pm EDT (3:00pm my time) the day before a holiday but oh well. I booked directly with O and have already emailed my cruise consultant for further explanation. Leaving at 5:00am and being woke up from the ship leaving port is not what I am expecting from a "relaxing" vacation. It also poses the question of did O junk the charters and is now going with ATN exclusively and their schedules?

 

Also, will the rest of the itinerary get messed up because of the late departure? Time will tell.

 

Our April 7 cruise used two charters: one ATN and one World. They had previously used Atlas.

 

The scheduled ATN flights cannot handle all the Oceania passengers so I would imagine that O would have to charter some planes.

 

There was a lot of confusion surrounding flights for our cruise as well. I wonder if Paul Gaughin is experiencing the same problems. Their ships are smaller but they still have to deal with air flights.

[Tarpeian Rock]

I think it is ridiculous that "O" offers free air, but then you are forced to pay for an air deviation or stay in papeete from when plane arrives so early or so late, with nothing to do. I am finding my first going on "O" utterly frustrating. And, the fact that wanting to choose this itinerary for Pitcarin, not even being able to land there, totally unbelievable. Hope by next April things will get better or probably will be last time on "O"

 

 

 

What was the reason for the inability to land at Pitcairn? Is this a seasonal thing, a political problem, or? We are looking at this same itinerary and clearly Pitcairn was a highlight.

[Tansy Mews]

What was the reason for the inability to land at Pitcairn? Is this a seasonal thing, a political problem, or? We are looking at this same itinerary and clearly Pitcairn was a highlight.

The harbour on Pitcairn is small and relies on fancy footwork to get in. Depending on tide and water conditions, they cut the engine and sort of surf their boat in. At least that is the explanation as I understood it. See the picture below from http://www.visitpitcairn.pn They are hoping to have a larger port built on the other side of the island where the ship was actually anchored. Big bucks needed from the EU (I think they said) to build the dock and the road from there to the only settlement.

We did meet most of the islanders. They came aboard and set up shop. I bought a postcard from one - she mailed it for me about three months later when the next supply ship came! The islanders also shopped a bit in the boutiques and had hamburgers for lunch. The talk by the pharmacist was wonderful - especially the Q&A session. Later we could see it again on tv's in our stateroom. And the play by play by the mayor as we circled the island was quite informative too. We didn't feel very hard done by!

 

I understand that it is possible to get ashore with zodiaks. Not usual though unless the tide really cooperates. And it was the local government that prevented us from even trying.

 

Pitcairn is interesting and it would have been cool to actually set foot on land but we did that at Robinson Crusoe Island and on Easter Island. Both were tough, requiring skillful manoeuvring by crew but with the help of staff we got ashore every day.

[vaitape]

Thanks for your great informational post Tansy Mews (love your name BTW). We hope we can land on Pitcarin but in reality, it sounds like that rarely happens. Do like the fact that the Islanders can come aboard and mix with the pax. We're "students" of the South Pacific and have longed to go to all 3 of the islands on this itinerary. If we can't land on Pitcarin, the next best thing is to circumnavigate the island with an Islander narrating.

[Paulchili]

Thanks for your great informational post Tansy Mews (love your name BTW). We hope we can land on Pitcarin but in reality, it sounds like that rarely happens. Do like the fact that the Islanders can come aboard and mix with the pax. We're "students" of the South Pacific and have longed to go to all 3 of the islands on this itinerary. If we can't land on Pitcarin, the next best thing is to circumnavigate the island with an Islander narrating.

 

Don't forget to look for some Pitcairn stamps as well. They are known for their beautiful stamps and they were going fast.

Enjoy!

[TERRIER1]

Just a FYI.

 

On our April 7 2013 Tahitian Pearls cruise we were suppose to stop at Hiva Oa after Nuka Hiva. After final payment we received a notice stating that the ship will no longer be anchoring there due to a "lack of infra structure". We could only interpret this as the ship couldn't get a hold of enough tour operators for their excursions. They cancelled this stop on the cruise before ours as well. Oceania had to know before hand the nature of this island and what was available. The government was not about to build a suitable infrastructure to accommodate Oceania.

 

Back on ship Oceania was having their on board bookings for future sailings. Lo and behold they had the 2014 sailings that included Hiva Oa. I emailed the head office to confirm if the island was again in the itinerary or was this just because the literature was pre-printed. I was told yes it was a scheduled stop. I don't know what was going on but the island hasn't changed from one year to the next. You never really get a straight answer from Oceania.

[canuck.qc]

Just a FYI.

 

On our April 7 2013 Tahitian Pearls cruise we were suppose to stop at Hiva Oa after Nuka Hiva. After final payment we received a notice stating that the ship will no longer be anchoring there due to a "lack of infra structure". We could only interpret this as the ship couldn't get a hold of enough tour operators for their excursions. They cancelled this stop on the cruise before ours as well. Oceania had to know before hand the nature of this island and what was available. The government was not about to build a suitable infrastructure to accommodate Oceania.

 

Back on ship Oceania was having their on board bookings for future sailings. Lo and behold they had the 2014 sailings that included Hiva Oa. I emailed the head office to confirm if the island was again in the itinerary or was this just because the literature was pre-printed. I was told yes it was a scheduled stop. I don't know what was going on but the island hasn't changed from one year to the next. You never really get a straight answer from Oceania.

Could the reason for the cancellation of this port stop be the damages they incurred from the tsunami that hit them Feb. 27, 2010?? These small islands are already overwhelmed, in the best of times, with large cruise ships. The slow economy, lack of $$ etc..does not help the rebuilding process. O may not want to write them off just yet??

Our trip April 2014 has it as a stop, but I expect it will be cancelled.

[TERRIER1]

Could the reason for the cancellation of this port stop be the damages they incurred from the tsunami that hit them Feb. 27, 2010?? These small islands are already overwhelmed, in the best of times, with large cruise ships. The slow economy, lack of $$ etc..does not help the rebuilding process. O may not want to write them off just yet??

Our trip April 2014 has it as a stop, but I expect it will be cancelled.

 

The reason given was "lack of infrastructure". There wasn't that much damage on Nuka Hiva. Other smaller ships were calling on Hiva Oa. I agree that the small islands are overwhelmed with larger ships. They need the money that tourism provides. Just my opinion, but I think one of the R ships would have made a better fit for this area.

[vaitape]

The reason given was "lack of infrastructure". There wasn't that much damage on Nuka Hiva. Other smaller ships were calling on Hiva Oa. I agree that the small islands are overwhelmed with larger ships. They need the money that tourism provides. Just my opinion, but I think one of the R ships would have made a better fit for this area.

 

You are spot on correct!

1200 people, even 1000 if the cruise isn't fully booked, are just plain too much for these islands BEGINNING (and ENDING too for that matter) with both airline and airport capability/capacity.

[gigianne]

A visit to Pitcairn and Easter Islands were the one of the reasons we booked this cruise. I never had any expectations of actually setting foot on Pitcairn Island. Reading the blogs from last years Holland America World cruise on the Amsterdam - the islanders contacted Noro Virus and so it became problematic for the them to board the Amsterdam to visit the passengers and to sell their goods. HA never advertises Pitcairn as a stop - rather a "cruising" with narrative, I am not sure how other lines advertise the island.

 

I am still concerned about the flights to Tahiti (or lack of). According to info from O our boarding time has been pushed forward to 8 pm to accommodate those on the previous cruise who will be allowed to stay on board until 5 pm. O suggests that those arriving on overnight flights (6 am) book a day room at a hotel. I am doing a little calculating - I now have one less day on the cruise and now it is suggested that I book a hotel room for the day - perhaps O should book the day rooms as part of our cruise - or adjust the price so we can pay for the

hotel.

[HollDoll]

I was thinking the same thing. They adjust our boarding time to accommodate the previous cruisers. Why not have them disembark earlier and figure out what to do. Either way, it should not be an additional expense to any of passengers. we arrive early in Lima and many have to wait till midnight to gt a flight. Of course, why they cannot get charters to fly in the afternoon so we could arrive in Papetee at a good coordinating time is also a good question...rather than take a flight that leaves LA at midnight. I don't understand the thinking....it certainly isn't in favor of the customer! I too am rethinking taking this cruise...

[TERRIER1]

I was thinking the same thing. They adjust our boarding time to accommodate the previous cruisers. Why not have them disembark earlier and figure out what to do. Either way, it should not be an additional expense to any of passengers. we arrive early in Lima and many have to wait till midnight to gt a flight. Of course, why they cannot get charters to fly in the afternoon so we could arrive in Papetee at a good coordinating time is also a good question...rather than take a flight that leaves LA at midnight. I don't understand the thinking....it certainly isn't in favor of the customer! I too am rethinking taking this cruise...

 

I have read other boards to see what cruise ships did in this situation versus Oceania since the O logistics seemed strange to me for our April 7th cruise. Paul Gaughin doesn't have this problem but then again the ship has about a third of the passengers. In reading other boards, I know that one cruise line does an overnight in Lima allowing their passengers to catch the late flights and thus stay on board. Perhaps O should consider that alternative.