Insignia Amazon Cruise 03/16/06

[plimsol]

:mad:

We are a group of 6 friends and boked this cruise some time ago. We are all more than disappointed!!!! The itinerary has been changed from their published brochure and what has been on Oceania's website until recently. We looked forward to not only the Amazon but also the Orinoco River cruise. Orinoco is off the list and replaced with an overnight in Isla Margarita. Also, there is 2 hours lopped off the Devil's Island stop. In addition, Tobago has been traded for Grenada. To top it off, we have an overnight in Barbados before disembarkation. Does Ocenania's CEO, FDR (Frank del Rio) have a satisfactory explanation why there are so many changes to what was otherwise a fascinating cruise? It was the initial itinerary that sold us on this cruise. We have been to Isla Margarita twice before as cruise stops and this island, in both cases, was the low point of the trips.

 

HELP

This would be our third cruise with Oceania. We love the ships and past itineraries but are now wondering if we should keep our reservation for this cruise.

 

In view of this, we got out our brochure to see what Inginia was doing prior to this sailing. It's Rio to Manaus. Stops are a good alternative. We checked the website, and yes, changes are made here also. One we can't understand, it spends full day in Recife, Brazil and leaves late at night. It returns the next morning and after a full day in port, it leaves again late at night:confused: . Does this mean that it floats around during the night and comes back into port? Having been in Recife before, we don't think it deserves two full days.

 

Oceania, if this keeps up, you are going to lose us as customers along with our friends!!!!:mad:

[raffeer]

We did this trip last March. The Orinoco port, Puerto Ordaz, was, to put it mildly, a disaster. From the pier being a few feet higher than the ship to the ship being docked next to a steel mill. The filth was such that breathing on the verandah was an impossibiity. Oceania's white ship became dismal grey necessitating major cleaning. A large sigh of relief was heard from both passengers and crew when the ship left.

Incidentally at the last minute Tobago was substituted for Granada on our cruuise due to hurricane damage on Grenada.

The difference between 6 hours on French Guiana you have and the 8 hours we had is, in reality, two hours that 99.9% of the passengers spent on the ship. French Guiana, as romantic as it sounds, has little if anything to offer after a stroll through the island.

Just a few impressions from last years Amazon cruise.

Beatrice

[NancyBancy]

We are on Regatta 11-5-05 and our itinerary has been decimated as well. Every single port has changes, from reducing hours in port, to switching days in port, to total elimination of a port. Only thing is, all of us have already made final payment so we are STUCK with the changes, where you at least have options. We JUST found out YESTERDAY because someone happened to check our itinerary on the website. We have received NO notification from Oceania. Even our sailing time has been moved up two hours which may cause headaches for anyone coming in that day. This is our second, and last, Oceania cruise. Their customer service, from failure to address passenger credit card problems, to major tampering with itineraries after final payment, is just not tolerable. :mad:

[plimsol]

We did an Orinoco River cruise in the mid 80's on the Ocean Islander. We did not dock at the same one as you but sailed by it. We remember seeing the severe pollution in the area. Where we docked, it was beautiful. From there we ventured to Canaima Jungle Camp and also took the flight over Angels Falls. We wanted to relive this and show our friends what we had experienced some 20 years ago. But we are still upset with the Isla Margarita overnight. Also, it was at this time that we went to Tobago as a cruise stop. It was wonderful. My DH had vactioned there in the very early 60's and wanted for me to see this idyllic island. I am aware that even 20 years, many 'idyllic' islands are getting tourist trampled. We were in Grenada the winter before the "Hurricane". We did enjoy it but thought Tobago was the better choice for us. The bottom line is that we are still :mad: about the overnight in Isla Margarita.

[sandbag7]

I find this issue troublesome, particularly on an itinerary centered line like Oceania; I have plans for every port on my cruise next June, and if significant changes are made I will be more than upset. I don't like shortened port times either; while many do not use all their port time, a 2 hour change significantly alters the type of excursion you can participate in on an independent booking.

That being said, this is an issue which was discussed ad infinitum on the RCCL board; the conclusion, that the Cruise company can modify their itineraries without compunction, stands. You can certainly vote with your pocket book, as there are several other lines which do similar cruises; I would urge caution however, as you may get a reasonable explanation from Oceania, which seems more responsive than several of the other lines.

Several reports of these non-reported changes have shown up on CC boards recently. As I have never had a real itinerary change in 15 cruises (Carribean, Europe, Alaska, Tahiti) I wonder if this is becoming more common, given that the changes are not weather related.