Another air deviation question

[Tutuma]

A few years ago we were on O's cruise Barcelona to Lisbon (with several North African ports). We arrived (on our own) a few days ahead of time.

 

Ship departure delayed a few hours to wait for O arranged air passengers to arrive. Once on board we were off....one major problem. Their luggage did not catch up with the ship for the entire voyage. Passengers were not happy campers. IMHO never, even if booked through O, attempt to arrive on day of departure.

[TERRIER1]

Friends of ours used Oceania air for their Venice to Rome cruise. Oceania had them coming from JFK with a connection in Germany arriving in Venice the day of embarkation. The beginning of the cruise was an overnight in Venice otherwise they would have missed the ship since they missed the connection in Germany due to a delay in JFK. Fortunately, they had carry ons only so their luggage was with them. They would not have had any luggage if checked since Oceania rerouted them on different airline then the one originally scheduled.

 

I would say that most of the time you make the ship with your luggage when scheduled to arrive on the day of embarkation but for those times that you do not it is not worth it. O should really allow adequate connection times (since they use cheaper connecting flights vs direct) to compensate for delays. And if you have a tight connection then take only carryons.

[YoHoHo]

...

I would say that most of the time you make the ship with your luggage when scheduled to arrive on the day of embarkation but for those times that you do not it is not worth it. O should really allow adequate connection times (since they use cheaper connecting flights vs direct) to compensate for delays. And if you have a tight connection then take only carryons.

I agree. When arriving on embarkation day works it is fine but when it does not it can be very bad.

 

As for connection times. read posts complaining / questioning O's flight arrangement concerned about long layovers so they would not be so happy. There will always be someone unhappy.

 

I'd take a long layover over a tight connection (what airports declare as a 'legal connection' is far too close and goes back to very old stats IMO) but even at that the connection can be missed.

 

We book our own flights or buy a deviation to go the day before. We *have* taken O flight 'out of the box' and arrived safely on embarkation day but it is like running with scissors - if you take your chances be prepared for the risk

[SilverFox61]

Don't think Oceania has any responsibility if your flight is delayed. Below is a cut and paste from Oceania Terms and Conditions.:

 

Air Transportation

Oceania Cruises, as an added service to our guests, offers arrangements for air travel in conjunction with a cruise. Air arrangements, including routings, are at Oceania Cruises' (or its agents') discretion, and are based on flight availability and agreements among various airlines, Oceania Cruises and independent contractors. Special requests, including class of service upgrades, specific carriers and routing, are at the discretion of Oceania Cruises. Upgrades apply to International flights and may not apply to U.S. domestic or intra-continental flights within North America, Europe, South America, Asia or Africa. Air allowance is subject to prevailing rates at time of change. In making these arrangements, Oceania Cruises acts only as an agent on the guest(s') behalf, and does not operate, control, or supervise any airlines and will not be responsible for carriers failing to meet schedules whether or not air tickets were issued by Oceania Cruises. Air tickets are refundable to Oceania Cruises only and are considered a part of the total cruise or cruisetour fare. Any airline-imposed fees that result from changes to or cancellation of air arrangements are the sole responsibility of the guest. Due to government regulations, if you are delayed or unable to board at embarkation, you may not be able to board at a later time. In such event, Carrier shall have no liability to refund any cruise or cruisetour fares.

WOW, do you interpret this to mean that they hold no responsibility for flights with or without deviations. I've never heard of a cruise line that books the airfare and doesn't accept responsibility for getting you to the ship?

[funny26]

WOW, do you interpret this to mean that they hold no responsibility for flights with or without deviations. I've never heard of a cruise line that books the airfare and doesn't accept responsibility for getting you to the ship?

 

Yes, that is exactly how I interpret it. And, have always seen this on every cruise line I have traveled on. I believe that all cruise lines disavow any responsibility for any air that they book. Just took the time to look at 4 additional cruise lines at random including 2 that include air in their fares like Oceania and found that their terms and conditions accept no responsibility for air travel they book. They go as far as to say they act like a Travel Agent and aren't responsible for air issues.

 

While you may have never heard of this and sure at times cruise lines have and will help the passenger and it is buried in the T's and C's that most people don't read, suggest you read other cruise lines terms and conditions and think you will see that this is a universal condition of travel. You are no better off contractually with cruise air than booking yourself except for the times that the cruise line sometimes will help people with cruise air even though they are not contractually obligated.

[JimandStan]

You are no better off contractually with cruise air than booking yourself except for the times that the cruise line sometimes will help people with cruise air even though they are not contractually obligated

Oddly, I agree with you.

 

Still, the fact remains that the Cruise Lines have a vested interest in getting delayed passengers to their ships, and in the vast, vast majority of cases they DO HELP THEM, and with resources which are FAR superior to what any individual can supply.

 

It might be more reassuring if the Terms and Conditions provided an absolute guarantee, but I've never heard of a single instance where Oceania, or any Cruise line for that matter, has NOT stepped up to the plate.

[funny26]

Oddly, I agree with you.

 

Still, the fact remains that the Cruise Lines have a vested interest in getting delayed passengers to their ships, and in the vast, vast majority of cases they DO HELP THEM, and with resources which are FAR superior to what any individual can supply.

 

It might be more reassuring if the Terms and Conditions provided an absolute guarantee, but I've never heard of a single instance where Oceania, or any Cruise line for that matter, has NOT stepped up to the plate.

 

And oddly, think we are in almost total agreement. My purpose for writing and providing the T's and C's is so that people will realize that there is no guarantee that any cruise line will take care of them if their flights are delayed or cancelled as well as urge people to actually read the T's and C's as well as cruise contract so they are aware what they say and what they should expect.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

WOW, do you interpret this to mean that they hold no responsibility for flights with or without deviations. I've never heard of a cruise line that books the airfare and doesn't accept responsibility for getting you to the ship?

 

I'm glad this has been cleared up. It's a common misconception that the cruise line has some kind of contractual obligation.

 

In my experience, which is on Regent, they will try their very best to get you to the ship, if you book your air through them. They will certainly jump through hoops to reroute you when changes occur.