Oceania Marina cancels yet another port; Holyhead, UK

[Diver2014]

The trash thread....

 

ha, ha, ha....sorry I was laughing so loud about that comment that my dog got up and left the room! Never a dull moment on the Oceania threads when the NCL threads get too boring! Best entertainment around! :D

[Toranut97]

ha, ha, ha....sorry I was laughing so loud about that comment that my dog got up and left the room! Never a dull moment on the Oceania threads when the NCL threads get too boring! Best entertainment around! :D

 

I thought that Norwegian had superior entertainment????

 

LOL

[mbtous]

Interesting, yes, to read about O dropping Holyhead & Guernsey. We were on this cruise and spoke with a man who said he has tried 3 times to go to Wales by cruise ship and has yet to make it to Wales. So, sounds like a good choice to go by land tour.

[hypercafe]

Safety begins with you. No matter what you touch as long as you keep your hands out of your month and eyes and wash before you touch your food you are OK. Also keep away from uncooked food such as salad

 

 

Sent from my XT1032 using Forums mobile app

[StanandJim]

Interesting, yes, to read about O dropping Holyhead & Guernsey. We were on this cruise and spoke with a man who said he has tried 3 times to go to Wales by cruise ship and has yet to make it to Wales. So, sounds like a good choice to go by land tour.

 

An anecdote from my sordid, storied past:

 

Several years ago (ten years-ish?), Oceania ran a "Suggest a New Cruise Itinerary" contest here on Cruise critic, which was eventually won by Hondorner for a spectacularly good Alaskan trip. :D

 

His prize was a free cruise on the new itinerary. We were thrilled for him, naturally.

 

My entry into that Contest was a reconstructed, reinvigorated "positioning cruise" of sorts which would have taken the ship from Barcelona to Morocco and then north to Stockholm via the Irish Sea and around the top of Scotland. before stopping in Oslo en-route to Sweden.

 

My suggestion did very, very well in the Online voting, but I was later told that my inclusion of those Irish Sea ports was my undoing.

 

The folks who are in charge of the provisioning of the ships and other such logistics felt that the weather was just too mercurial.

 

Live and learn :o

Edited June 10, 2015 by StanandJim
punctuation

[hondorner]

An anecdote from my sordid, storied past:

 

Several years ago (ten years-ish?), Oceania ran a "Suggest a New Cruise Itinerary" contest here on Cruise critic, which was eventually won by Hondorner for a spectacularly good Alaskan trip. :D

Ah, tempus is fugiting you...the contest must have been 2009 or 2010, because we sailed our prize, 12 days on Regatta from downtown Anchorage to Vancouver, in June, 2011.

[StanandJim]

Ah, tempus is fugiting you...the contest must have been 2009 or 2010, because we sailed our prize, 12 days on Regatta from downtown Anchorage to Vancouver, in June, 2011.

 

Amazing, I could have sworn it was longer ago than that....

If you saved the route map, please post it for us to admire.

-with a small credit to the guy who taught you how to post photo's on CC ;)

[hondorner]

Amazing, I could have sworn it was longer ago than that....

If you saved the route map, please post it for us to admire.

-with a small credit to the guy who taught you how to post photo's on CC ;)

No route map -- and I thought I taught you? ;)

 

But, the suggested route was never used in toto; parts of it became the route we eventually traveled -- but the main factor has now been abandoned.

 

The contest rules stated that at least 50% of the ports had to be new to Oceania, and that longer cruises would receive priority (in those days, Oceania had rarely, if ever, sailed a 7 day cruise, and 12 days was considered short). "The impetus for the contest was the construction of Marina, ongoing at that point, and due to considerably add to Oceania's capacity. The contest was initially somewhat of a whimsy by Mr. Del Rio; he called it the "Itinerary Idol" contest. After cooler heads prevailed, the contest was structured a bit. Each participant of Cruise Critic could submit two entries; they had to be realistic, in that it would be possible for the ship to accomplish given the speed, time and distance. A committee of cruise line executives would pick the top 5 entries, which would then be voted upon by Cruise Critic participants. First place won a cruise of their choice in an Owners Suite with included Business Class air; Second place was to be a Vista Suite with the same air, and third place was a Penthouse with coach air.

 

The gist of my idea was that most cruise lines sail from, or to, Seward or Whittier, and never get into the Bay of Alaska. In addition, most cruise lines offer a pre- or post- cruise land trip to Denali, something only a portion of the guests take. Many people on Cruise Critic wanted a cruise from and to San Francisco. Regent used to do a Pacific Rim cruise that traveled along the Aleutian Islands to Dutch Harbor. Finally, most Alaska cruises never get to the smaller, more interesting towns, sticking with Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka and Skagway.

 

Putting all those together, I proposed a 21 day round trip, from San Francisco, stopping at some California location like Eureka, then Prince Ruppert, bowing to expectations in Ketchikan and Juneau, then to small ports like Wrangell and Haines, then to Hubbard glacier, then to Seward, around the peninsula and up Alaska Bay to Anchorage. I could find only one report that any ship had made the extra trip up the bay to Anchorage.

 

Then, my proposal was that those passengers who wanted to take a land trip to Denali would leave the ship, like other overland trips such as the Taj Mahal, while the ship continued on to the Aleutians and Dutch Harbor. Upon returning to Anchorage to pick up the overland folks, stops would be made at Homer, Kodiak Island, another glacier location and the stops missed on the northward trip like Icy Point and Sitka and Victoria, BC before returning to San Francisco.

 

In the final analysis it was learned that travel in the Aleutians requires special low sulphur fuel, so that was eliminated quickly (and may be the reason the Regent Pacific Rim cruises ended). Eventually, Oceania broke the suggested cruise into a couple of different ones, from Anchorage to Vancouver and vice versa, with some stopping at Kodiak Island and others at Homer, Seward, College Fjord where 13 glaciers could be seen, Wrangell, Haines, Icy Point, Hubbard Glacier, Sitka, Juneau and Ketchikan, which was the 12 day cruise we chose. Others started at Vancouver to Anchorage.

 

Anchorage turned out to have extraordinary tides with access to the ship almost impossible at low tide. That was Oceania's first year in Alaska; there was not much pre-season advertising, and the concept of longer cruises in Alaska was not popular -- most people expect an Alaskan cruise to last 7 days. The season did not sell well and was abandoned the next year, 2012. Oceania resumed cruising in Alaska in 2013, with a more normal schedule. On July 5, 2013, exactly 10 years to the day that Regatta sailed the very first voyage of Oceania Cruises, Regatta sailed from Seattle for a 7 day anniversary cruise with Mr. Del Rio aboard; Betsy and I along with Cenia and Glen (CAG) sailed that landmark event.

[LHT28]

since we are bragging ;)

 

Just as my submission was much like this cruise so felt I had to go :D

Too bad I did not complete the cruise but at least FDR did do most of the route I suggested

Not a free ride for me

 

 

Lyn

[StanandJim]

since we are bragging ;)

 

Just as my submission was much like this cruise so felt I had to go :D

Too bad I did not complete the cruise but at least FDR did do most of the route I suggested

Not a free ride for me

 

 

Lyn

 

LOL......huh?

Seems a little early in the day to be at the cooking sherry

but it's not in my nature to judge :rolleyes:

[Joanandjoe]

We were on the cruise, and were disappointed about missing the last two ports, and in having two port days (St. Pierre and the substituted [2nd] day in Dublin) when nearly everything was closed due to Monday holidays. We have no idea as to whether Oceania made the right call; but it certainly was annoying on June 1 to see the ferries to Holyhead coming and going.

 

I (Joe) have spent a lot of time in Dublin, and I had a list of about six things to do in Dublin once I heard we were going to be there for a second day. Book of Kells? Lines too long, and we couldn't pre-book because Dublin made the ship cut off its internet. Bewleys? Closed for renovations. St. Steven's Green? We went in, but it was too cold to stay. Manicure/pedicure for Joan? Beauty parlors were closed. Buy some tweeds for Joe at Kevin & Howlin, where he had previously bought a suit? Closed. Art Museum? That was open; but I never got there. I walked Joan, who was tired, to the bus; but the stop had moved to where we had started our walk (but we didn't know that.) By the time I got her to the bus, I was also too tired for the museum. Thus, we were 0 for 6 on things we wanted to do in Dublin. A total waste. (Pub crawlers, in contrast, had a lot of fun; but that's not our thing at all.)

 

This cruise simply had too many things that were "not Oceania's fault", including norovirus and rotten weather from Quebec City to the end, to be a five (or even four) star experience. The missed ports were the final straw.

[Floridiana]

... and how was St. Pierre et Miquelon? Friends of ours flew there years ago and got stuck because of dense fog.

[edgee]

We were on the cruise, and were disappointed about missing the last two ports, and in having two port days (St. Pierre and the substituted [2nd] day in Dublin) when nearly everything was closed due to Monday holidays. We have no idea as to whether Oceania made the right call; but it certainly was annoying on June 1 to see the ferries to Holyhead coming and going.

 

I (Joe) have spent a lot of time in Dublin, and I had a list of about six things to do in Dublin once I heard we were going to be there for a second day. Book of Kells? Lines too long, and we couldn't pre-book because Dublin made the ship cut off its internet. Bewleys? Closed for renovations. St. Steven's Green? We went in, but it was too cold to stay. Manicure/pedicure for Joan? Beauty parlors were closed. Buy some tweeds for Joe at Kevin & Howlin, where he had previously bought a suit? Closed. Art Museum? That was open; but I never got there. I walked Joan, who was tired, to the bus; but the stop had moved to where we had started our walk (but we didn't know that.) By the time I got her to the bus, I was also too tired for the museum. Thus, we were 0 for 6 on things we wanted to do in Dublin. A total waste. (Pub crawlers, in contrast, had a lot of fun; but that's not our thing at all.)

 

This cruise simply had too many things that were "not Oceania's fault", including norovirus and rotten weather from Quebec City to the end, to be a five (or even four) star experience. The missed ports were the final straw.

 

From your use of the quotes around the words "not Oceania's fault" I guess you are implying blame of some sort. I was on the cruise and just don't see how one can blame Oceania for any of this. Based on what we experienced with our delay leaving Dublin and the rough trip during early part of sea day enroute to Southampton, as well as reports of the actual weather in Wales and Guernsey, I believe Oceania made the right call. Now if you want to have a discussion about the lack of quality entertainment including Jean Ann Ryan singers who couldn't sing and comedians who told horrible jokes…that WAS Oceania's fault

Edited June 12, 2015 by edgee

[Joanandjoe]

From your use of the quotes around the words "not Oceania's fault" I guess you are implying blame of some sort. I was on the cruise and just don't see how one can blame Oceania for any of this. Based on what we experienced with our delay leaving Dublin and the rough trip during early part of sea day enroute to Southampton, as well as reports of the actual weather in Wales and Guernsey, I believe Oceania made the right call. Now if you want to have a discussion about the lack of quality entertainment including Jean Ann Ryan singers who couldn't sing and comedians who told horrible jokes…that WAS Oceania's fault

 

You're right, Edgee: this isn't the right forum for discussing what was and wasn't Oceania's fault. "Not Oceania's fault" became our litany for everything that went wrong, regardless of whether Oceania could be blamed. So-so entertainment was their fault. Noro twice in three cruises? Maybe their fault, maybe not. Awful weather? Not their fault; but it hardly enhanced the cruise. Three Monday holidays in a row? The two in Montreal (where we arrived at the Science museum at their normal Monday opening time, but they opened late) and St. Pierre (where the entire French experience was ruined by not being able to sit at a café watching people go by) were their fault - they should have known. No port talks was their fault, as was getting no advance information about Trois Rivieres. Bottom line of things that were and weren't their fault: a disappointing cruise, despite the best cuisine we've ever had on a cruise. This was our 17th cruise (first on Oceania), and it was in the middle of the pack at best.

 

We were disappointed at the high costs of shore excursions, even from a cruise line. In Sydney, they charged $109.00 for a walking tour of historic buildings. The admission charge to these buildings was "donation, please" or $2.00. We wouldn't have scheduled a private tour in Holyhead and then forfeited half of what we paid if the Oceania tours had been priced reasonably. The spa services cost three times what I would pay in Teaneck. These two things clearly were their fault.

[ORV]

You're right, Edgee: this isn't the right forum for discussing what was and wasn't Oceania's fault. "Not Oceania's fault" became our litany for everything that went wrong, regardless of whether Oceania could be blamed. So-so entertainment was their fault. Noro twice in three cruises? Maybe their fault, maybe not. Awful weather? Not their fault; but it hardly enhanced the cruise. Three Monday holidays in a row? The two in Montreal (where we arrived at the Science museum at their normal Monday opening time, but they opened late) and St. Pierre (where the entire French experience was ruined by not being able to sit at a café watching people go by) were their fault - they should have known. No port talks was their fault, as was getting no advance information about Trois Rivieres. Bottom line of things that were and weren't their fault: a disappointing cruise, despite the best cuisine we've ever had on a cruise. This was our 17th cruise (first on Oceania), and it was in the middle of the pack at best.

 

We were disappointed at the high costs of shore excursions, even from a cruise line. In Sydney, they charged $109.00 for a walking tour of historic buildings. The admission charge to these buildings was "donation, please" or $2.00. We wouldn't have scheduled a private tour in Holyhead and then forfeited half of what we paid if the Oceania tours had been priced reasonably. The spa services cost three times what I would pay in Teaneck. These two things clearly were their fault.

 

Cost of excursions and spa a fault?

 

The only fault would be if someone felt the price was too high and still booked it.

 

It's their policy, view it as a fault if you want. All spa services on every ship I've ever been cost much more than their land based counterparts. Just one reason my wife never uses those services on a cruise.

 

The excursions? We all make our choice whether to use a ship's tour or do a private tour. When I make that choice I understand the consequences that go with it. I also make sure I know the private tour operator's policy concerning the ship not being able to make port. If I'm out any money the only person I blame is me, but then again I'm pretty big on personal responsibility.

 

PS, this is exactly the right forum for discussing all things Oceania.

[Floridiana]

I am so glad I wasn't on this cruise. Having to listen to complaints from spa to weather to excursions and local holidays, what a bummer!

[tanny18]

I am so glad I wasn't on this cruise. Having to listen to complaints from spa to weather to excursions and local holidays, what a bummer!

 

Let's just say this -- there were many things to complain about that we had no control over - the weather, the storms, the cancelled ports, the day in one port was a holiday (we have to be somewhere on a holiday!!),the noro virus, which was pretty much contained. BUT, we do have control over NOT using the spa which everyone knows is overpriced, NOT using Oceania's excursions that are overpriced and also NOT going to the shows which are usually not good (however, the violinist was spectacular!!) Now for the great things about the cruise - the food, the service, the beds, the friends new and old, the great lectures, wonderful cooking demonstrations and of course the beautiful Marina. Was it the best cruise we have taken, not by a long shot. Will it make us stop sailing on Oceania, not by a long shot. We have three more planned. What we all should do is just make the adjustments and enjoy what we can. This isn't the first cruise that ports were cancelled, nor will it be the last. IMHO the Captain and the authorities in Dublin made the right decision in keeping us in Dublin another day.

[CI66774]

Last month on Royal Princess had to sit out at sea for 8 hours due to weather (wind) in Belfast. Finally got in at about 6pm and only stayed for a few hours. Got into Guernsey just fine, though - no wind, beautiful day. But the sea day going into Cobh, Ireland was like a roller coaster - boy those seas were rough.

[Floridiana]

tanny1,

I agree. What I meant was that I wouldn't enjoy an ambiance of complaints. Suffered through one dinner like that on a cruise and almost all dinners on a land trip, enough! Both trips were very enjoyable to me and most of the travelers.

[edgee]

Cost of excursions and spa a fault?

 

The only fault would be if someone felt the price was too high and still booked it.

 

It's their policy, view it as a fault if you want. All spa services on every ship I've ever been cost much more than their land based counterparts. Just one reason my wife never uses those services on a cruise.

 

The excursions? We all make our choice whether to use a ship's tour or do a private tour. When I make that choice I understand the consequences that go with it. I also make sure I know the private tour operator's policy concerning the ship not being able to make port. If I'm out any money the only person I blame is me, but then again I'm pretty big on personal responsibility.

 

PS, this is exactly the right forum for discussing all things Oceania.

 

ORV, the forum itself is indeed the place to discuss all things Oceania, however if someone has a complaint or comment not related to the particular thread, it is courteous to post it in a separate thread.

[ORV]

ORV, the forum itself is indeed the place to discuss all things Oceania, however if someone has a complaint or comment not related to the particular thread, it is courteous to post it in a separate thread.

 

Yes, but they were discussing the cruise that this thread is about. I'm not sure I get your point. Didn't appear off topic at all, which is what you seem to be implying. I've been on this forum around 10 years or so and kinda know how it works, but thanks for the lesson.

 

I would say their whole comment related to this particular thread, but your and my discussion is starting not to.

[ladysail2]

... and how was St. Pierre et Miquelon? Friends of ours flew there years ago and got stuck because of dense fog.

 

We went to the island of St. Pierre, of St. Pierre and Miquelon.

 

It is a small cute little town with lace curtains, lots of pastry shops, a visitor's centre, a museum, and not much else, IMHO. The people are nice and treated us well.

 

I would have traded the hours spent there to be in St. John's Nfld. There was alot more to see and do and we only had a very short day there. We should feel fortunate to have made it into St. John's...it's iffy, and alot of ships can't make it into the port due to fog or rocky seas.

 

But, now I can say that I've been to St. Pierre....and I never have to try to go back.

[LHT28]

We went to the island of St. Pierre, of St. Pierre and Miquelon.

 

It is a small cute little town with lace curtains, lots of pastry shops, a visitor's centre, a museum, and not much else, IMHO. The people are nice and treated us well.

 

 

We were there in 1974 sounds like it has not changed much other than you can dock instead of tender in

 

It was very quaint then

 

 

Lyn

[RCNslr]

Let's set the record straight. We just left the Marina - the reason for not docking in Holyhead and tendering in Guernsey, was that there was a storm in the Irish Sea and the Channel to the tune of 50 mph winds and seas of 20 feet!!! Not only did the Captain not want to go into a storm of this magnitude, but the authorities in Dublin would not let us leave. It had nothing to do with the bug that affected many of the passengers and crew. We were as disappointed as everyone else, but I'd much rather miss a couple of ports than to be a storm! As it was, the day at sea was a little rocky for most of the day and eased up late afternoon. So, as you were not there to experience any of this and can only pontificate as you look at a weather report, I think perhaps the issue is moot at this time.

 

We were on Marina & loved the cruise from a cabin below the bridge. The waves were wonderful, but not enough to upset you. The sea decisions taken by the Captain were absolutely right, to our disappointment since we enjoy rough seas, we almost were knocked over by some of the gusts while ashore in Dublin. As a former Navy officer, I respect the sea and those who make a living sailing on it. A Captain on a cruise ship has a special obligation to keep his charges out of harm's way, Marina's Captain performed this task perfectly, missing two ports is minuscule in the big picture. An extra Guinness or two inDublin may have made me less able to balance against the gusts, but you have to take advantage of the time in port!

[Floridiana]

We went to the island of St. Pierre, of St. Pierre and Miquelon.

 

It is a small cute little town with lace curtains, lots of pastry shops, a visitor's centre, a museum, and not much else, IMHO. The people are nice and treated us well.

 

But, now I can say that I've been to St. Pierre....and I never have to try to go back.

 

 

Good for you! It's still on my bucket list, quite a ways down, however, way behind Angkor Watt. ;)

 

To understand decisions made by captains, it is good to read Captain Albert's blog. He works for HAL. He describes some of the ocean conditions where we passengers just admire the scenery.

I have been on many ships where ports were closed or cancelled due to unsafe landing operations. Sometimes, it might be ok to tender strong sailors but not 600 - 1200 passengers. The passenger/freighter Aranui tenders in conditions that many cruise ship passengers would probably find scary.