Comments/Facts on March 2015 Insignia world cruise by a current passenger

[LHT28]

No one has answered

does a World cruise on other lines have no segments ?

 

Do passenger get on at the beginning of the cruise & get off 100 + days later ?

No other passengers allowed on inbetween :confused:

[Paulchili]

The OP makes legitimate points in that (1) a "World Cruise" should be more than a collection of segments and (2) a "World Cruise" should not reset every couple of weeks due to boarding a new set of passengers. I understand that some folks will get on and off but they should be few and far between. Seems to me that Oceania is simply doing cruise segments that - if you stay on long enough - just happens to go around the world. Oceania should make it very clear in the marketing that is it not a true world cruise.

 

I thank the OP for posting as this is important information to consider when booking.

 

I think that it is very important to make a distinction between a WC that is 90-100 days long and one that is 180 days long - in essence twice as long.

It is much more likely that the former will have all or almost all passengers on a true WC without segments. However, to have enough passengers to stay for a full 180 days is more difficult - hence the segments.

In this instance it was made even more so as the original WC had to be cut in half and many originally scheduled for the whole cruise cancelled (or rescheduled)- the cruise line then having to fill cabins last minute with segments. This fact was clearly known to all beforehand and people had a choice to stay or cancel/reschedule.

Edited July 6, 2015 by Paulchili

[hondorner]

The OP makes legitimate points in that (1) a "World Cruise" should be more than a collection of segments...Seems to me that Oceania is simply doing cruise segments that - if you stay on long enough - just happens to go around the world. Oceania should make it very clear in the marketing that is it not a true world cruise.

Let's see -- starts in Miami, ends in Miami, going in just one direction -- passengers can book through the entire 180 days -- no one has to do segments -- the entire voyage was available for at least a couple of months before segments opened up -- if it had sold out as a world cruise, there would not have been room for segment guests. Sounds like a world cruise, to me...

 

I, for one, am glad there are segments -- we have several friends who could not do the entire 180 days, but will be joining us for one or more segments. I can hardly wait!

[dwgreenlee]

Let's see -- starts in Miami, ends in Miami, going in just one direction -- passengers can book through the entire 180 days -- no one has to do segments -- the entire voyage was available for at least a couple of months before segments opened up -- if it had sold out as a world cruise, there would not have been room for segment guests. Sounds like a world cruise, to me...

 

I, for one, am glad there are segments -- we have several friends who could not do the entire 180 days, but will be joining us for one or more segments. I can hardly wait!

 

Yes and a direct flight is not always a non-stop but the Airline makes it clear if there are stops or plane changes. It is clear you like everything Oceania does - and I am glad for you. However, there are other opinions that have equal merit. Again, I thank the OP for sharing their experience. r/Don

Edited July 6, 2015 by dwgreenlee

[hondorner]

The original world cruise was to begin last January in Miami and travel 180 days back to Miami again. We're all aware of the tragic fire that canceled almost half of the cruise. Those of us who were booked on that cruise had three options -- cancel entirely, fly to Singapore and pick up the last portion of the cruise, or re-book for January, 2016. Because Singapore was one of the segment turnover days in the original cruise, several guests had elected, with their original bookings, to start there.

 

After the fire and repair, the segments beginning in Singapore were offered at reduced rates.

 

I'm curious if suesl was booked on the original 180 day world cruise intended to begin last January, and elected to make the best of it from Singapore, or whether she booked just Singapore to Miami either before or after the fire. If she booked just Singapore to Miami, she was just one of the segmenters.

[Waynetor]

I have read several live reports/blogs/reviews of world cruises from several lines and in every case there is a mix of those doing full voyage and just segments.

Guest lectures and entertainers come and go while corporate entertainers tend to be on for the full voyage - the dance/singer groups are only trained to do a limited number of shows so these get repeated.

When doing BB short cruises you do not need to go to muster drills each time but once you have been on for over 30 days you are required to attend the next one offered.

[dwgreenlee]

The original world cruise was to begin last January in Miami and travel 180 days back to Miami again. We're all aware of the tragic fire that canceled almost half of the cruise. Those of us who were booked on that cruise had three options -- cancel entirely, fly to Singapore and pick up the last portion of the cruise, or re-book for January, 2016. Because Singapore was one of the segment turnover days in the original cruise, several guests had elected, with their original bookings, to start there.

 

After the fire and repair, the segments beginning in Singapore were offered at reduced rates.

 

I'm curious if suesl was booked on the original 180 day world cruise intended to begin last January, and elected to make the best of it from Singapore, or whether she booked just Singapore to Miami either before or after the fire. If she booked just Singapore to Miami, she was just one of the segmenters.

 

It does not matter. The OP expected a seamless world cruise but reported the experience was more like a collection of back-to-back cruises. This is a valuable observation to share. Also, regardless of circumstances, Oceania bears some responsibility for not meeting the OP's expectations.

[hondorner]

It does not matter. The OP expected a seamless world cruise but reported the experience was more like a collection of back-to-back cruises. This is a valuable observation to share. Also, regardless of circumstances, Oceania bears some responsibility for not meeting the OP's expectations.

How could Oceania know the OP's expectations? Why should Oceania bear any responsibility for an individual's misreading of the cruise? Are the OP's expectations realistic? Should the OP bear her own responsibility for research?

 

The OP said her previous World Cruise on HAL had "some" segmenters. What is the difference between some and more? Would not both require stops to get on and off? Or, were the world cruisers on HAL so snooty they ignored the segmenters?

[hondorner]

Yes and a direct flight is not always a non-stop but the Airline makes it clear if there are stops or plane changes. It is clear you like everything Oceania does - and I am glad for you. However, there are other opinions that have equal merit. Again, I thank the OP for sharing their experience. r/Don

Oceania made it perfectly clear there were segments. Go to the Oceania web site now, and look up Insignia for the remainder of this year, and for next, and note how many variations there are -- some single segments, some Grand Voyages of multiple segments, and the world cruise itself. It was exactly that same way since July, 2013 when we first booked our world cruise. There was complete transparency, and one would have had to totally ignore the printed publications from Oceania and the company website to be ignorant of the facts. In the face of these facts, opinions have no merit.

[Mura]

Our first QE2 cruise took place in March 2003. We were on the NYC-NYC leg of a world cruise. There were even people who left mid-"leg" ... by that I mean, some people left the ship in Ft. Lauderdale or Miami, which was the beginning or "our" cruise.

 

It didn't bother us, we didn't even notice it, but then we were only on a 14 day portion of the cruise.

 

It doesn't seem unreasonable to me that cruiselines know that most of the passengers on a world cruise are NOT going to be doing the full trip.

 

In our case we did NY-NY via the Caribbean. I'm not sure where the prior cruise was (before we boarded) but after we left the ship in NYC, the ship was heading for Southampton.

 

Mura

[dwgreenlee]

How could Oceania know the OP's expectations? Why should Oceania bear any responsibility for an individual's misreading of the cruise? Are the OP's expectations realistic? Should the OP bear her own responsibility for research?

 

The OP said her previous World Cruise on HAL had "some" segmenters. What is the difference between some and more? Would not both require stops to get on and off? Or, were the world cruisers on HAL so snooty they ignored the segmenters?

 

The difference, as reported by the OP, was that HAL felt like a world cruise and Oceania felt like a bunch of B2B stuck together. The long and the short of this is that the OP reported HAL met expectations and Oceania did not. That is valuable information.

 

You like everything Oceania does, and that is fine, but it is not helpful when you try to suppress the opinions of others.

[dwgreenlee]

Oceania made it perfectly clear there were segments. Go to the Oceania web site now, and look up Insignia for the remainder of this year, and for next, and note how many variations there are -- some single segments, some Grand Voyages of multiple segments, and the world cruise itself. It was exactly that same way since July, 2013 when we first booked our world cruise. There was complete transparency, and one would have had to totally ignore the printed publications from Oceania and the company website to be ignorant of the facts. In the face of these facts, opinions have no merit.

 

I understand that only your opinion matters to you. However, the OP's input is of value to others including me. Everybody understands that there are segments. The question is does it feel like a B2B or does it feel like a world cruise? The OP noted the former. I have also noted your opinion that Oceania is perfect and nothing anyone says to the contrary has any merit.

[LHT28]

When doing BB short cruises you do not need to go to muster drills each time but once you have been on for over 30 days you are required to attend the next one offered.

 

I will disagree with you here

On B2B cruises you still are required to attend the muster drill for each cruise & now they have muster drill after 10 or 12 days on longer cruises

[Mura]

I have never seen that Don has suppressed the opinions of others. Nor is it true that he supports everything that Oceania does. He is as fair as they come and knows how to call them on any faults. (Not that he needs my help.)

 

You should rethink your comments ...

 

Many of us think OP had unjustified expectations ... which is not to say that she shouldn't voice her unhappiness since her cruise was not what she expected.

 

But a world cruise on a smaller ship is probably NOT going to be a world cruise on a larger ship ... and as I said about my QE2 cruise in 2003, most passengers there were taking segments, not the whole shot. That makes me think it's more usual that such is the case.

 

Maybe it's even more difficult for a large ship to fill it with passengers who are doing the whole world cruise ... How typical is it for ANY ship to have most people doing a world cruise as opposed to segments?

 

I'm asking!

 

Mura

[dwgreenlee]

I have never seen that Don has suppressed the opinions of others. Nor is it true that he supports everything that Oceania does. He is as fair as they come and knows how to call them on any faults. (Not that he needs my help.)

 

You should rethink your comments ...

 

Many of us think OP had unjustified expectations ... which is not to say that she shouldn't voice her unhappiness since her cruise was not what she expected.

 

But a world cruise on a smaller ship is probably NOT going to be a world cruise on a larger ship ... and as I said about my QE2 cruise in 2003, most passengers there were taking segments, not the whole shot. That makes me think it's more usual that such is the case.

 

Maybe it's even more difficult for a large ship to fill it with passengers who are doing the whole world cruise ... How typical is it for ANY ship to have most people doing a world cruise as opposed to segments?

 

I'm asking!

 

Mura

 

I am willing to agree the discussion got a little overheated. Your point that the expectations may be unjustified has merit but it seems each reader could judge that. I strongly agree with your point that the OP should voice her own opinion but opinions not favorable to Oceania do not seem welcome here.

[hondorner]

I fall back on one of my favorite sayings -- everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but no one is entitled to their own facts. You stated that Oceania should have been more forthcoming about the nature of the cruise, I stated facts that demonstrated they DID provide that information. You have put words in my mouth; my only comment about opinions was they have no merit when they fly in the face of facts.

[dwgreenlee]

I fall back on one of my favorite sayings -- everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but no one is entitled to their own facts. You stated that Oceania should have been more forthcoming about the nature of the cruise, I stated facts that demonstrated they DID provide that information. You have put words in my mouth; my only comment about opinions was they have no merit when they fly in the face of facts.

 

The only real facts are those presented by the OP. You are not on the Cruise and you were not with the OP during the booking process. You do not know what information was presented to the OP by Oceania. I reject your claim that everyone is responsible to research the Oceania web site for details of other cruises (segments) that the ship is taking.

 

The OP went on the cruise with expectations that were not met. Oceania bears some responsibility for that. Not all expectations are justified but I would rather judge that for myself than you - who have no first hand knowledge of the situation - tell me, and worse, tell the OP what is not justified.

 

I appreciate the OP's input and the "lessons learned" will be of value to me in future booking considerations.

[DOJO466]

I will disagree with you here

On B2B cruises you still are required to attend the muster drill for each cruise & now they have muster drill after 10 or 12 days on longer cruises

 

Not to go OT here but I was so hoping on our next B2B we would not have to do muster again. Do World cruisers have to do this every so many days? Eek:eek:

[DOJO466]

The only real facts are those presented by the OP. You are not on the Cruise and you were not with the OP during the booking process. You do not know what information was presented to the OP by Oceania. I reject your claim that everyone is responsible to research the Oceania web site for details of other cruises (segments) that the ship is taking.

 

The OP went on the cruise with expectations that were not met. Oceania bears some responsibility for that. Not all expectations are justified but I would rather judge that for myself than you - who have no first hand knowledge of the situation - tell me, and worse, tell the OP what is not justified.

 

I appreciate the OP's input and the "lessons learned" will be of value to me in future booking considerations.

 

Hondorner was one of the first to book the Original World cruise OP is now on with the knowledge there would be segmenters as was stated in the O literature. OP should have known this.

I find it offensive that you attack a VERY well respected member of this community be he a "cheerleader" or not. He has been a wealth of information to so many of us and I have gleaned some wonderful and incredibly money saving info from him. He has travelled with many lines and states the plus and minuses of all of them.

Please everyone...just be kind..this board is becoming so hostile.

[StanandJim]

The only real facts are those presented by the OP. You are not on the Cruise and you were not with the OP during the booking process. You do not know what information was presented to the OP by Oceania. I reject your claim that everyone is responsible to research the Oceania web site for details of other cruises (segments) that the ship is taking.

 

The OP went on the cruise with expectations that were not met. Oceania bears some responsibility for that. Not all expectations are justified but I would rather judge that for myself than you - who have no first hand knowledge of the situation - tell me, and worse, tell the OP what is not justified.

 

I appreciate the OP's input and the "lessons learned" will be of value to me in future booking considerations.

 

Your arguments might have some validity, EXCEPT that the few facts that the OP admits to having had before booking the Cruise (reread Post #1), tell us that she researched the wrong ship and the wrong Cruise Line.

 

Most likely, she thought that she would be sailing on this ship:

With that in mind, I can't think how you could possibly use her opinions of Oceania as a true gauge.

[SellaVee]

Not to go OT here but I was so hoping on our next B2B we would not have to do muster again. Do World cruisers have to do this every so many days? Eek:eek:

 

One of the things that surprised me in the original post was the complaint about having to do another muster drill. It's Wimbledon fortnight so I'll quote John McEnroe. "You can not be serious'".

 

I know muster drill is a pain in the derrière but it is important. You can not, in all seriousness, expect to be on a world cruise and not repeat muster drill.

 

Fortunately passengers do not have to do it that frequently. The crew seem to have a drill every week, in my experience, but passengers only had 1 drill during the 20 days I was on. At least 1 of the segments was 35 days long. Having to do a muster drill at the start of a segment that long wouldn't kill me, but missing it might.

[SellaVee]

The only real facts are those presented by the OP. You are not on the Cruise and you were not with the OP during the booking process. You do not know what information was presented to the OP by Oceania. I reject your claim that everyone is responsible to research the Oceania web site for details of other cruises (segments) that the ship is taking.

 

The OP went on the cruise with expectations that were not met. Oceania bears some responsibility for that. Not all expectations are justified but I would rather judge that for myself than you - who have no first hand knowledge of the situation - tell me, and worse, tell the OP what is not justified.

 

I appreciate the OP's input and the "lessons learned" will be of value to me in future booking considerations.

 

You are quite right to say that the OP was sadly disappointed by her World Cruise experience and let's not forget that she did say it wasn't all bad in a subsequent post. It's also true to say that her opinion is of value to other people looking to book an Oceania worls cruise, but I can hardly believe that you wrote the first sentence above.

 

When someone starts a post with the heading "Comments/facts" I'm inclined to wonder why I need to be told that what will follow contains facts since I don't start reading a post from the premise that it will be untruthful.

 

You point out that Don wasn't present when the OP booked. That's true, but the OP stated, as a fact, that she was told "that Oceania doesn't offer much entertainment" then complained that she was bored in the evenings.

 

You point out that Don wasn't on the cruise. That's true, but I was, as one of the segmenters, and the OP states that "There are 2 or occassionally 3 entertainers for each segment". As I've pointed out before that simply is not true. In 20 days we had 6 new acts brought on board (and I have evidence of that) as well as 2 enrichment lecturers.

 

The OP isn't simply presenting facts, she, as most of us do, is presenting recollections and impressions, hence my point about having evidence regarding entertainment just so you know that's a fact-based fact as opposed to a recollection.

 

The OP states that she thought all cruise lines offered ballroom dancing lessons. Now that is true. She did think that. But, of course, it isn't the case. She was mistaken in her assumption, and herein lies the problem. The OP's opinions are perfectly valid and you are quite correct to defend her right to state them. The issue that I and others have is that one cannot simply say that something is a fact because the OP says it is when there is evidence to the contrary.

 

This cruise was a poor fit for this passenger and may well be for others, but to lay the blame solely at the feet of the cruise line seems to many of us to be unfair. Hence the "defensive" posts.

Edited July 7, 2015 by SellaVee

[dwgreenlee]

You are quite right to say that the OP was sadly disappointed by her World Cruise experience and let's not forget that she did say it wasn't all bad in a subsequent post. It's also true to say that her opinion is of value to other people looking to book an Oceania worls cruise, but I can hardly believe that you wrote the first sentence above.

 

When someone starts a post with the heading "Comments/facts" I'm inclined to wonder why I need to be told that what will follow contains facts since I don't start reading a post from the premise that it will be untruthful.

 

You point out that Don wasn't present when the OP booked. That's true, but the OP stated, as a fact, that she was told "that Oceania doesn't offer much entertainment" then complained that she was bored in the evenings.

 

You point out that Don wasn't on the cruise. That's true, but I was, as one of the segmenters, and the OP states that "There are 2 or occassionally 3 entertainers for each segment". As I've pointed out before that simply is not true. In 20 days we had 6 new acts brought on board (and I have evidence of that) as well as 2 enrichment lecturers.

 

The OP isn't simply presenting facts, she, as most of us do, is presenting recollections and impressions, hence my point about having evidence regarding entertainment just so you know that's a fact-based fact as opposed to a recollection.

 

The OP states that she thought all cruise lines offered ballroom dancing lessons. Now that is true. She did think that. But, of course, it isn't the case. She was mistaken in her assumption, and herein lies the problem. The OP's opinions are perfectly valid and you are quite correct to defend her right to state them. The issue that I and others have is that one cannot simply say that something is a fact because the OP says it is when there is evidence to the contrary.

 

This cruise was a poor fit for this passenger and may well be for others, but to lay the blame solely at the feet of the cruise line seems to many of us to be unfair. I'm sorry the OP was disappointed, but would you not agree that some of the responsibility should lie at her own door?

 

I did not say the OP was "sadly disappointed" only that expectations were not met. I also did not say the blame rested "solely" with the cruise line - I said Oceania bore some of the responsibility. Yes, I do agree the OP has some responsibility as well.

 

My point is that I appreciate the OP posting these issues to assist others like me from booking not understanding the issues with the segments.

[dwgreenlee]

Hondorner was one of the first to book the Original World cruise OP is now on with the knowledge there would be segmenters as was stated in the O literature. OP should have known this.

I find it offensive that you attack a VERY well respected member of this community be he a "cheerleader" or not. He has been a wealth of information to so many of us and I have gleaned some wonderful and incredibly money saving info from him. He has travelled with many lines and states the plus and minuses of all of them.

Please everyone...just be kind..this board is becoming so hostile.

 

I am not attacking anyone - not my intention anyway. I simply do not agree that the OP "should have known" the issues regarding segments and I appreciate the information the OP provided. That does not seem all that hostile to me.

Edited July 7, 2015 by dwgreenlee

[SellaVee]

I did not say the OP was "sadly disappointed" only that expectations were not met. I also did not say the blame rested "solely" with the cruise line - I said Oceania bore some of the responsibility. Yes, I do agree the OP has some responsibility as well.

 

My point is that I appreciate the OP posting these issues to assist others like me from booking not understanding the issues with the segments.

 

Sorry, it was my perception, rather than yours, that the OP was, sadly, disappointed - because expectations were not met, as we both agree. I think the difficulty here lies with the balance of responsibility. I do agree also that this thread will assist others.

 

I was most surprised by your statement that "The only real facts are those presented by the OP."

Edited July 7, 2015 by SellaVee