Open Letter to President of Oceania Cruises and all potential new customers

[LaCroisiereS'amuse]

If you think O head office customer service is bad then try Silversea......theirs is dire! The on board problem resolution wasn't much better either.....O's Hotel Directors/GMs are streets ahead of a recent HD on Silver Spirit.

[Giacomo 1]

Giacomo 1, you asked a question a while back on this thread that I want to respond to. IMO, not responding to every email/letter is something I have read about on several cruise line boards so - yes, there is a bit of a reputation of corporations in the cruise business not responding.

 

And that's all I was really asking - is this an industry wide problem?

 

 

I want to apologize for my snarky remark. Sometimes (or more than sometimes) it gets frustrating to see posters being negative towards a cruise line that they have never sailed on (or plan on sailing on). It feels like they jump on the bandwagon of negativity just for the sake of doing so (I do not see these posters jump on a bandwagon when positive things are being said).

 

If I came off as negative, that wasn't my intent. :o

 

I'm very excited about my first upcoming Oceania cruise! Me and my wife are cruise veterans on many lines, and we are really easy, undemanding cruisers that can roll with the punches. We don't expect perfection. The Princess cruise was the only cruise I ever had a problem that was important enough to write a complaint about and I seriously doubt that Oceania will give me any problems worthy of writing them.

 

I'll leave this conversation and thread now. I didn't join this forum to ruffle feathers, but just to join the conversation with my experiences... :)

[LuAnn]

Customer Services number is found via a handy new tool called Google.

 

for that suggestion!! I never thought of that!! :rolleyes: LuAnn

[sanmyn]

I have done many cruises. My favorites have all been on "R" Ships. I love the size, attention, food and older generation. Especially very few youngsters. I usually choose Azamara but I will sail on Oceania Insignia next month from Dubai.

[Pet Nit Noy]

I have done many cruises. My favorites have all been on "R" Ships. I love the size, attention, food and older generation. Especially very few youngsters. I usually choose Azamara but I will sail on Oceania Insignia next month from Dubai.

 

There were somewhere between 12 and 20 children on a recent Nautica cruise in the Baltic. I'd estimate that the age range was six years to 12 years. I know there was a group of three families from South America that accounted for five of these children. Two more were from South Korea. I'm not sure of the country of origin of the rest of the children.

 

I've been posting a number of times about our cruise and this is the first time I've mentioned the surprisingly large number of children. That's because their presence was unremarkable. The parents had high standards for behavior and those standards did not relax while on the cruise.

 

The South American families could even eat dinner with the adults grouped together at one table and the children grouped together at a nearby table. The children quietly entertained themselves, some talking with one another and some playing with a tablet.

 

During breakfast towards the end of the cruise, I went over to a table filled with one of the families to compliment the kids on their outstanding behavior. The Mom shook her head "no" as I was offering the compliment. I laughed and said to the Mom, "I'm sure you felt there was room for improvement, but as an outsider, I was super impressed and wanted to let you know that."

 

Any time a group of adults saw the family groups go by, everyone said basically the same thing. No one could understand why the families had chosen Nautica and, especially, a Western Europe/Baltic/Scandinavian cruise for children. That said, everyone agreed that the children were amazingly well behaved.

 

Our recent cruise was a happy contrast to the holiday cruise during Marina's inaugural year. That was a nightmarish experience with hoardes of out of control children and I've sworn off Caribbean cruises and holiday cruises ever since. (O ships too!)

[SellaVee]

Pet Nit Noy, I am interested to read your point of view because I've experienced the same situation from both sides.

 

Last year on Riviera there were a lot of children (when I enquired I was told "less than 100”, sic) but none of them caused me any problems though I often heard murmurings about them being on board at all. This year on Insignia there were only a few but again no problems.

 

Many years ago we took our 3 sons to Sorrento and were told by some people we met that Sorrento was no place to bring children. That's the Sorrento that's near Pompeii and Herculaneum!! Youngest was so impressed with both the town itself and it's environs that he took his wife back there last year as she'd never been.

 

There are many different types of children and many different types of parent and I think we all know it"s the latter that's important. I would not be a happy bunny if I was to experience some of the situations I have read about but I hope they are the exceptions to the rule.

[john watson]

 

Also it's "Oceania"

 

It is amazing how many people make this basic mistake. Oceana is a cruise ship of the current P&O (UK) Fleet and Oceania is a Cruise Line.

 

Can you imagine writing to the head of Cunard and calling them Canard? If you cannot correctly identify the name of the cruise line how accurate is anything else you say going to be? Would it impress you as an executive of the company?

 

Regards John

[LHT28]

Last year on Riviera there were a lot of children (when I enquired I was told "less than 100”, sic) but none of them caused me any problems though I often heard murmurings about them being on board at all. This year on Insignia there were only a few but again no problems.

 

For some people on Oceania just the sight of a child onboard sends them into hysteria

 

We have only had a few on our sailings & all well behaved

We do not travel during the Christmas season

[SellaVee]

For some people on Oceania just the sight of a child onboard sends them into hysteria .

 

I know what you mean. We had a toddler on Insignia, daughter of one of the officers. She was as cute as a button, always accompanied by either Mum or Dad, and never any trouble. I still heard people grumbling about her being on board. The rest of us were simply charmed to have her around :).

[Mura]

I've seen a lot of grumbling about children on board HERE (and I'm afraid I have sometimes participated in that grumbling) but I've never heard comments on board ... especially not when children are well behaved. (Which is what we have encountered as well. I've heard horror stories about difficult children but haven't seen them myself.)

 

There was a small child on Marina in our Lima-NYC cruise and I saw her twice. One time was while she was sleeping on her mother's lap in Toscana while the adults finished their dinner. Another was when a local dancers-with-band group was playing beside the ship when we returned to the ship in Santo Thomas. Her mother took her out of her stroller and she wandered over to the performers for a better look. Never a problem at all.

 

Mura

[tryber]

For some people on Oceania just the sight of a child onboard sends them into hysteria

 

We have only had a few on our sailings & all well behaved

We do not travel during the Christmas season

 

I have brought my two kids on 3 Crystal cruises (starting when my youngest was about 8). They have loved every one of them. I have been considering Oceania, but was surprised at the hostility toward children I have seen in some of the posts (ultimately, we have stuck with Crystal not becasue of these posts but because we like the entertainment and lectures that seem to be lacking on Oceania from what I have read). I have seen dozens of kids on Crystal cruises, and not once have I seen one misbehave.

 

I don't know why it is surprising to people that children would enjoy a nice, elegant cruise. Many kids like to see new places, eat good food and read books. Many kids do not like spending their day in a kids club doing endless activities or playing video games. It's nice to see a series of posts without the hostility.

[LHT28]

I have brought my two kids on 3 Crystal cruises (starting when my youngest was about 8). They have loved every one of them. I have been considering Oceania, but was surprised at the hostility toward children I have seen in some of the posts (ultimately, we have stuck with Crystal not becasue of these posts but because we like the entertainment and lectures that seem to be lacking on Oceania from what I have read). I have seen dozens of kids on Crystal cruises, and not once have I seen one misbehave.

 

I don't know why it is surprising to people that children would enjoy a nice, elegant cruise. Many kids like to see new places, eat good food and read books. Many kids do not like spending their day in a kids club doing endless activities or playing video games. It's nice to see a series of posts without the hostility.

 

Well there are lectures & entertainment on Oceania it may not suit everyone

Those that seem to complain about it also post they never go :rolleyes:

 

Most shows are standing room only so I guess someone must like the shows

 

If you want to try Oceania go for it you are the only one that can decide if it is right for you & your family

I think the only time Oceania has a kids program is on selected Alaska cruise & maybe the Christmas cruise

No video games on O unless you bring your own

[Mura]

I have brought my two kids on 3 Crystal cruises (starting when my youngest was about 8). They have loved every one of them. I have been considering Oceania, but was surprised at the hostility toward children I have seen in some of the posts (ultimately, we have stuck with Crystal not becasue of these posts but because we like the entertainment and lectures that seem to be lacking on Oceania from what I have read). I have seen dozens of kids on Crystal cruises, and not once have I seen one misbehave.

 

I don't know why it is surprising to people that children would enjoy a nice, elegant cruise. Many kids like to see new places, eat good food and read books. Many kids do not like spending their day in a kids club doing endless activities or playing video games. It's nice to see a series of posts without the hostility.

 

I have some theories about this. They are theories, NOT opinions.

 

I was surprised to read somewhere above that parents were advised not to bring their young children to Sorrento because they wouldn't enjoy it. Why wouldn't they?

 

Complaints about children on Oceania generally come from sailings at holiday times when parents do bring younger children even though Oceania does not have adequate children's programs. More to the point, the complaints seem directed at parents who leave their children to their own devices.

 

I'll reiterate that we have only seen beautifully behaved children on Oceania cruises. But then we don't cruise at a time when children are likely to be on board. Sometimes they are very young children, sometimes they are crew members' children.

 

And again, it's a matter of the CHILDREN, not to mention the parents. My sister and I grew up in a home where chamber music was regularly played (because my father was a professional musician as were many of his friends). We went to museums at very young ages and never found them a trial. We loved them!

 

We weren't able to travel to Europe in our young years -- my sister and I were college graduates before that happened -- but I know we've have been entranced.

 

Now to get to the aspect of children who would NOT enjoy a cruise ... there is a current TV commercial showing here in NYC where the children are dismayed to hear that the island they are going to may not have internet access ... that's a whole different problem from what my parents encountered when I was a child and I think what you encountered when your children were young! (And my sister and I just adored going to "fancy" restaurants when we were young. Had we disobeyed, we'd have had a clop on the head ... so we did not.)

 

Mura

[edgee]

I have brought my two kids on 3 Crystal cruises (starting when my youngest was about 8). They have loved every one of them. I have been considering Oceania, but was surprised at the hostility toward children I have seen in some of the posts (ultimately, we have stuck with Crystal not becasue of these posts but because we like the entertainment and lectures that seem to be lacking on Oceania from what I have read). I have seen dozens of kids on Crystal cruises, and not once have I seen one misbehave.

 

I don't know why it is surprising to people that children would enjoy a nice, elegant cruise. Many kids like to see new places, eat good food and read books. Many kids do not like spending their day in a kids club doing endless activities or playing video games. It's nice to see a series of posts without the hostility.

 

Crystal at least has a small children's area and and on most cruises staff oriented toward kids, at least in the summer. Oceania has no programs for children, except as Lyn notes above, on certain Alaska cruises. Also, as noted by Mura sort of an "anti-kid" culture has developed among some frequent Oceania cruisers and they tend to express it on this board. Although, some may argue that their comments are not anti-kid…more just sound advice that there is really no child programming on nearly all Oceania cruises.

[tryber]

Well there are lectures & entertainment on Oceania it may not suit everyone

Those that seem to complain about it also post they never go :rolleyes:

 

Most shows are standing room only so I guess someone must like the shows

 

If you want to try Oceania go for it you are the only one that can decide if it is right for you & your family

I think the only time Oceania has a kids program is on selected Alaska cruise & maybe the Christmas cruise

No video games on O unless you bring your own

 

I haven't really read that people do not like the shows that happen. But I've read many people say don't go on Oceania for the entertainment (and that's usually after someone has complained about the lack of entertainment). And the fact that there is standing room at shows would indicate to me that Oceania does commit sufficient resources to the entertainment--either because the show room is not big enough or they have only one show (Crystal almost always has two of each show). The entertainment and enrichment programs are a strong suit for Crystal, and it invests considerable resources on those activities (now, whether that worth the extra cost is a different question, and I would suspect for many it is not).

 

My kids rarely go to the kids' club and despise video games, so that would not be a problem.

[Mura]

Edgee, when I "complain" about children it is precisely because Oceania doesn't have appropriate programs for them. It is clearly geared to adults, and not even young adults.

 

That does not mean, however (as you know), that there aren't children out there who do not NEED "children's" programs.

 

From my reading, the most complaints are directed to tweens, not the youngsters and not the older teens. As for the older teens, most comments seem to be "they won't find their peers on an Oceania cruise", and that is usually the case. Not all teens are dependent on their peers, though. I know that I was not. (Not that my parents took us on cruises! They didn't start "real" travels until we were out of the house ...)

 

Mura

[tryber]

It's not hard to tell the difference between someone giving advice and being anti-kid. And the difference stems from supposition that kids should be separated and supervised by "kid-friendly" staff. I have found most staff and passengers to be "kid friendly" unless they are anti-kid.

[Floridiana]

I was on a Christmas cruise on Riviera, quite a few well-behaved children, pre-teens and teens. I think this board talks more often about the potential of disruption than actually happens.

 

On two other non-vacation cruises on a fine mass market line, a few children took over the pool area by dive bombing and eating ice cream in the hot tub. They were very annoying with their parents right next to them. The cc board of that cruise line doesn't discuss complaints because of children.

 

What's my point? Just because an issue is or isn't discussed here doesn't mean it mirrors onboard reality.

[tryber]

I was on a Christmas cruise on Riviera, quite a few well-behaved children, pre-teens and teens. I think this board talks more often about the potential of disruption than actually happens.

 

On two other non-vacation cruises on a fine mass market line, a few children took over the pool area by dive bombing and eating ice cream in the hot tub. They were very annoying with their parents right next to them. The cc board of that cruise line doesn't discuss complaints because of children.

 

What's my point? Just because an issue is or isn't discussed here doesn't mean it mirrors onboard reality.

 

I agree that people are more concerned about the potential for misbehavior than actual misbehavior. I've seen adults doing beer bongs at the pool on a Carnival cruise. I doubt that has ever happened on an Oceania cruise. There is a "potential" for adults to misbehave at least as much as kids, but I think you can trust most people to pick the vacation that's appropriate for them.

 

I have a hard time accepting that most of the concern over kids comes from people that are really worried about the lack of kids activities, as opposed to just not wanting kids around. If I told these same people that I was bringing my 13 and 15 year-old kids to a nice hotel in Paris, would they really respond by saying, "Why are you doing that. Don't you know there are no kids club at the hotels in Paris? Wouldn't your kids rather go to Club Med?" Nobody has ever said that because a rational person would assume that if I took my kids to Paris, they would do some sight seeing, eat dinner and then watch TV or read in the room, just like we would. How is a cruise any different, particularly on Oceania where there are very few (if any) sea days on most itineraries?

[LHT28]

The thread has gone way off the rails

 

Point is ... if you want to take your children on Oceania it is your money so go for it

You know what they will like or not like

 

JMO

[ChatKat in Ca.]

The key is well behaved kids.

 

They usually stem from parents who teach them to behave.

 

Then there are adults who have no manners. Those are the ones with the kids who have not been taught to be well behaved.

 

It's a vicious circle. I often work with kids. I like children except when they are left to their own devices. Usually it's because of the parents. I don't mind kids on the ships at all. If they are with their parents who are well mannered.