Cutting corners?

[tommiroke]

Strongly agree with your last sentence.

 

This thread is beginning to sound like the NCL board:eek: We have only cruised for 11 years but have learned that port changes is part of cruising the world. I would love to know how many more ships there are now compared to when we began cruising in 2004. The more ships, the more space is needed in the ports.

 

I remember when our itinerary was changed around (Regent - not Oceania but same family) and many people were irate because they had excursions planned, etc. We learned later on in the cruise that there were 9 large cruise ships due in the port of Santorini. Had we stopped as scheduled, there would have been gridlock on this small island and it certainly would not have been enjoyable. We were fortunate that we could return to Santorini a few days later when only 4 large ships were in port.

 

It seems that China and some other parts of Asia change their minds all the time. We were booked on a cruise that we later cancelled due to numerous port changes (mostly time in port shortened). I have no doubt that these changes were not initiated by Oceania (or Regent) but by the port authority.

 

If someone has their heart set on a particular port, I would do research to see if there are typically weather problems or other issues that prevent ships from docking or tendering. There are several ports that are known to have issues - St. Barths, Easter Island and Santorini to name a few.

 

We are going on a cruise in two weeks to ports where there are huge issues going on. Lesbos, Greece for instance has thousands of refugees arriving there and nowhere to put them. While the port isn't dangerous, it is not a place that most tourists would want to be. We still don't know if/when the port will be cancelled.

 

Many times it is easier and less money to fly to the places that you want to visit -- eat out at local places -- stay as long as you like and have the freedom to make your own changes. We traveled that way for 20 years and now appreciate letting the cruise line take care of everything...... even if we do miss some ports have our time in port change. Sailing the seven seas is sometimes a crap shoot (am I allowed to say that:confused:)

 

Extremely interesting that you would now post completely incorrect information based on a response directly from Oceania. Below is a quote from post 40 on this thread where Oceania states that they have been making all of these changes that are upsetting people for a very strangely put reason that simply means as the poster stated to save money. Your theories and past experiences have no basis in these cases and in fact Oceania has lost a lot of trust by making these changes only so that the prior PCH stockholders can put more of that bonus money in their pockets. Guess you missed post 40 and the many subsequent comments from disgruntled customers and those who will now become previous customers. Don made his post before the true story came out and neither Don or any of the other cheerleaders who have dismissed this issue being the fault of Oceania have posted since the true story came out from Oceania. Do you still completely agree with Don's last sentence???? Hope this helps you understand Oceania isn't as altruistic as you previously thought they were?? "Here is the official reply from Oceania - customer service supervisor regarding schedule changes: "As per our Marine Operations Department time adjustments were made to a majority of the remaining sailings for 2015 in order to streamline efficiency of our itineraries and operations. This is something that is done on a regular basis annually as part of operations." Hmmmm.......sounds like they are trying to save/make money. They say it is done annually but I don't ever recall this being an issue in the past. Too bad, not sure I am willing to take a chance on a future cruise not knowing if the ports and times they advertise are the ones I will actually get - not worried about small changes of an hour or two but some of the changes people have posted seem pretty substantial. I think I am going to write a letter to Frank Del Rio and see what he says. I hate to lose Oceania - they are my favorite cruise line. "

[ChappChapp]

Can you imagine the uproar if after boarding you find out that the A/C only works 1/8th of the day or the hours of the restaurants were cut back or the number of crew was cut all to streamline operations. I realize this is the extreme but this is not a good business model. Thanks to the above poster for getting an answer that sounds more to the truth.

[hypercafe]

As I said before this is funny because NCL had done the same thing and FDR is the overall boss of both.

[Travelcat2]

Extremely interesting that you would now post completely incorrect information based on a response directly from Oceania. Below is a quote from post 40 on this thread where Oceania states that they have been making all of these changes that are upsetting people for a very strangely put reason that simply means as the poster stated to save money. Your theories and past experiences have no basis in these cases and in fact Oceania has lost a lot of trust by making these changes only so that the prior PCH stockholders can put more of that bonus money in their pockets. Guess you missed post 40 and the many subsequent comments from disgruntled customers and those who will now become previous customers. Don made his post before the true story came out and neither Don or any of the other cheerleaders who have dismissed this issue being the fault of Oceania have posted since the true story came out from Oceania. Do you still completely agree with Don's last sentence???? Hope this helps you understand Oceania isn't as altruistic as you previously thought they were?? "Here is the official reply from Oceania - customer service supervisor regarding schedule changes: "As per our Marine Operations Department time adjustments were made to a majority of the remaining sailings for 2015 in order to streamline efficiency of our itineraries and operations. This is something that is done on a regular basis annually as part of operations." Hmmmm.......sounds like they are trying to save/make money. They say it is done annually but I don't ever recall this being an issue in the past. Too bad, not sure I am willing to take a chance on a future cruise not knowing if the ports and times they advertise are the ones I will actually get - not worried about small changes of an hour or two but some of the changes people have posted seem pretty substantial. I think I am going to write a letter to Frank Del Rio and see what he says. I hate to lose Oceania - they are my favorite cruise line. "

 

Okay - you are right - I did not read post #40. I now have and wonder what incompetent customer service agent he/she spoke with. It would certainly not been the first incorrect statement from some clueless employee at headquarters. As has been stated, this has not happened in the past so this supervisor's response makes no sense. Please do write to Frank Del Rio (or the President of Oceania) as they are able to cut through the B.S. very well. "Official Response"? The only "Official Response" comes from FDR!

[dundeene]

We love time in port and DH hates sea days! We think Oceania has more time in port than any other cruise-line.

Try to find a 15 day cruise on Celebrity with no sea days. The Celebrity longer cruises all have 3 or more days on the sea in Europe. Our upcoming Oceania cruise is in port everyday for 15 days and the only change we have seen is coming into Rome at 5am instead of 6am.

 

Cruise Itinerary

 

Oct 23 Barcelona, Spain 6:00 AM 7:00 PM

Oct 31 Sorrento/Capri, Italy 8:00 AM 6:00 PM

Oct 24 Palma De Mallorca, Spain 8:00 AM 4:00 PM

Nov 01 Taormina (Sicily), Italy 8:00 AM 6:00 PM

Oct 25 Provence (Marseille), France 9:00 AM 8:00 PM

Nov 02 Argostoli (Cephalonia), Greece 10:00 AM 6:00 PM

Oct 26 Monte Carlo, Monaco 9:00 AM 11:00 PM

Nov 03 Kotor, Montenegro 10:00 AM 7:00 PM

Oct 27 Portofino, Italy 9:00 AM 11:00 PM

Nov 04 Zadar, Croatia 12:00 PM 8:00 PM

Oct 28 Cinque Terre (La Spezia), Italy 8:00 AM 9:00 PM

Nov 05 Koper, Slovenia 9:00 AM 11:00 PM

Oct 29 Florence/Pisa/Tuscany (Livorno), Italy 8:00 AM 8:00 PM

Nov 06 Venice, Italy 8:00 AM

Oct 30 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 5:00 AM 8:00 PM

Nov 07 Venice, Italy

 

Our only problem with Oceania would be the recovery time needed when we get back to the states because we tend to tour 8am until supper everyday; )

 

I may sound like a "cheerleader" because this is my 6th Oceania cruise and all have been wonderful. I enjoy the free specialty restaurants, not paying for specialty coffee, friendly service and the ships are very clean. The company onboard has been very enjoyable! I will be doing a review when on-board and will let you all know if I see a change in food or service from our last cruise.

[Mura]

It's funny how time can change your opinions ...

 

Our first cruises on Renaissance absolutely agreed ... loved the port visits, disliked sea days.

 

Now, while we still love port visits we also love sea days ...

 

So when I look for an itinerary now, I WANT some sea days ... and no doubt that is why we now look first at repositioning cruises ...

 

To each his own! At least when we have a lot of sea days, we don't have to recover from our vacation when we get home!

 

Mura

[dundeene]

Mura

I loved the crossing I did with my daughter Claire last May. The sea days were relaxing and we enjoyed mother-daughter-time in a way that would be almost impossible in our busy lives at home.

It is my husband that dislikes sea days.

 

I will turn 50 on my October cruise and remain high energy even on vacation. My husband and I feel so lucky to be able to travel often and want to "do and see it all".

My point was to offer my current Oceania experience to those who may only hear the stories of shortened times in port. I believe Oceania is still the right choice for us. We love the port intensive schedules they have offered and hope the same Oceania experience/service/food will continue in the future.

[Mura]

Dundeene, it wasn't my intent to criticize! I know many here who love sea days and probably just as many who don't. And I did gather from your post that you were talking more about your husband than yourself.

 

I was more pointing out that sometimes your opinions on this score can change ... as ours did!

 

Mura

[MVPinBoynton]

Dundeene, it wasn't my intent to criticize! I know many here who love sea days and probably just as many who don't. And I did gather from your post that you were talking more about your husband than yourself.

 

I was more pointing out that sometimes your opinions on this score can change ... as ours did!

 

Mura

 

I know that mine did. After taking a Hawaii cruise with 2-5 day sea day segments, I am now looking forward to our upcoming TA.

[Paulchili]

I may sound like a "cheerleader" because this is my 6th Oceania cruise and all have been wonderful. I enjoy the free specialty restaurants, not paying for specialty coffee, friendly service and the ships are very clean. The company onboard has been very enjoyable! I will be doing a review when on-board and will let you all know if I see a change in food or service from our last cruise.

 

I agree with you.

The overall experience on an O cruise is so pleasant that it easily overcomes minor inconveniences of some port time changes of an hour here or there. Unless other significant changes occur, O is a very good fit for us.

Of course, that is our opinion - as always, for others TMMV.

[travellerin1984]

On our one week long Mediterranean cruise we experienced three port time changes.

 

07-Aug-2015 Provence (Marseille), France

Departure time has been changed from (11pm) to 7pm

 

08-Aug-2015 Saint Tropez, France

Departure time has been changed from (11pm) to 7pm

 

And in La spezia it was a couple of hours time change too.

 

We actually heard one of the staff (a man with white uniform) discuss the time changes with couple of passengers who were disappointed. He said it happens because of the cost. Every hour costs extra and late departures are expensive for the company. It makes sense...

[hypercafe]

In this case where the stay is cut to save port costs is there any refund of part of the port fees charged to passangers ?

 

Sent from my SM-T320 using Forums mobile app

[rallydave]

In this case where the stay is cut to save port costs is there any refund of part of the port fees charged to passangers ?

 

Sent from my SM-T320 using Forums mobile app

 

Another poster on one of the other threads regarding cutbacks asked about refund for Ports missed on the What the h*** on June 17 Viking, Castles & Kings thread and was told "I received communication from O regarding the port fees for missed ports. Apparently Oceania does not assess port fees, therefore a refund was not in order." This was Post 36 if you care to look. Of course the response was typically incorrect as of course port fees are included in the cruise fare however not separately stated. As another poster pointed out, this appears to be a way that Oceania found to avoid returning any money for port fees that are missed so highly doubt anybody is going to get any partial port fee refund. Not much different than the fuel savings by taking more time and slower speeds between ports.

[hypercafe]

I never really paid attention, most lines I have sailed list them on a line item on invoice, did not realize Oceania doesn't. Guess no refund. Port fees must be same as "free air, two for one pricing and now free shore trips" they are missing a chance to say no port charges.

[caviargal]

On our one week long Mediterranean cruise we experienced three port time changes.

 

07-Aug-2015 Provence (Marseille), France

Departure time has been changed from (11pm) to 7pm

 

08-Aug-2015 Saint Tropez, France

Departure time has been changed from (11pm) to 7pm

 

And in La spezia it was a couple of hours time change too.

 

We actually heard one of the staff (a man with white uniform) discuss the time changes with couple of passengers who were disappointed. He said it happens because of the cost. Every hour costs extra and late departures are expensive for the company. It makes sense...

 

Those hours lost would be very disappointing to me and have definitely given me pause.

 

We are narrowing down our already limited options for the Greek Isles. As much as enjoyed our Riviera cruise, port time is very important; we will likely not choose O for this cruise.

[sammiedawg]

Most of Oceania's European itineraries are so port intensive that we generally have to take a day or two off to just relax on board. I would highly recommend O to anyone who really wants to see Europe, provided they have great stamina. Our experience has been long port days, more than sufficient time to do full day private tours. We've had port times cut an hour or two a couple times.

I cannot get too worked up if a ship departs at 7 instead of 11pm, provided we were there all day. I doubt many people are off the ship after the dinner hour.

[Paulchili]

I cannot get too worked up if a ship departs at 7 instead of 11pm, provided we were there all day. I doubt many people are off the ship after the dinner hour.

 

I agree.

With Oceania's great food, which is included, I am not tempted to have dinner off the ship - not even in France.

One can always have lunch on land. If having dinners on land is a priority, land trips would be better suited for this than cruises.

[Gbear12]

On our one week long Mediterranean cruise we experienced three port time changes.

 

07-Aug-2015 Provence (Marseille), France

Departure time has been changed from (11pm) to 7pm

 

08-Aug-2015 Saint Tropez, France

Departure time has been changed from (11pm) to 7pm

 

And in La spezia it was a couple of hours time change too.

 

We actually heard one of the staff (a man with white uniform) discuss the time changes with couple of passengers who were disappointed. He said it happens because of the cost. Every hour costs extra and late departures are expensive for the company. It makes sense...

 

If late departures are expensive for the company, then between your cruise and ours they're losing money on their choice of changes.

 

Our Riviera Sep 27, 2015 cruise has had three time changes (out of 7 port stops) and in each of the three changes they all went from all departing at 8PM to departing at either 11Pm (for two of them) or midnight (for the third one). So Oceania is apparently spending "more money" to stay in those ports later at night. And for these three changes, for two of them the "in port" time is the same, and for the third port the "in port" time is actually four hours more!

 

Therefore, the comment from the man in the white uniform seems a bit dubious. I have yet to hear what sounds like a "sensible answer" on this whole topic. Only the general one that "lines like to make more money," which goes without saying.

[rallydave]

Yes Gbear12 you are in port the same amount of time but a more inconvenient time and are going slower between ports adding an hour to the cruising times. I explained this to you when responding to your original post.

[RetiredFL]

We have done about 25 cruises, 16 on Oceania. I would estimate we have missed about 5% of the ports or about 1 1/2 cruises:eek:.

It took us three tries to get into Mykonos, a port that is often cancelled due to high winds. Mr. Putin cancelled Sochi on us. Fog cancelled Canton, China.

Bad weather cancelled several ports on the St. Laurence, in Wales, the Caribbean and the Channel Islands. ETC.

We long ago decided that the purpose of a cruise was to relax and enjoy ourselves and yes we miss cancelled ports, especially those we particularly wanted to see, but accept that as being on a cruise.

Let's face it if you really want to see Florence, Italy no matter how long or short the day is in port, one day will not do it. It needs a land tour.

We have had many port time changes, some were shorter some were longer.

We have also had changes due to medical emergencies on board.

 

Lastly, I have to agree with Paul that late departures are of little use to us as we like to be back on board for Happy Hour and dinner.

[travellerin1984]

The port changes weren't that big deal for us but I have to admit it would have been a nice opportunity to take a walk in St. Tropez after dinner onboard. The passengers who were talking to this staff with white uniform were disappointed because the day in La Spezia was so short. They changed the time in port from 10 or 11 to 5.30 PM (or something similar) and the ladies said it became a stressing experience to try to match the train schedule (because you always have to plan for unexpected problems). They felt the the in port was too short to have enough time for Cinque terre.

[Gbear12]

Yes Gbear12 you are in port the same amount of time but a more inconvenient time and are going slower between ports adding an hour to the cruising times. I explained this to you when responding to your original post.

 

Actually we're not in port the same amount of time... We're in port more time... And that gives the ship less time to get from port-to-port.

 

We're leaving Ephesus at midnight now (used to be 8PM) and arriving the next day at 8AM (same as before), so the ship takes FOUR LESS hours to get there and has to travel much faster than when they had 12 hours to get to the same place that they now get to in 8 hours.

 

Same with Santorini-Mykonos time change: Old times 8PM leave - 8AM arrive. New times 11PM leave - 8AM arrive. Ship has three hours less to get there.

 

Same for one of the other time changes... We have LESS time to get to the next port than before.

 

Only one of the time changes gives them 3 more hours to get to the next port.

 

But overall they "lose hours" to travel to the next port.

 

So, overall we're spending less time getting from one port to the next, and more time total in ports than originally scheduled.

 

If it's more expensive to leave at night as someone has said (e.g.: line handlers working after hours [OT]) and more expensive to take less time to get to the next port (faster speeds needed), most of these changes cost more money according to what people have been saying here.

Edited August 30, 2015 by Gbear12

[buggins0402]

The port changes weren't that big deal for us but I have to admit it would have been a nice opportunity to take a walk in St. Tropez after dinner onboard. The passengers who were talking to this staff with white uniform were disappointed because the day in La Spezia was so short. They changed the time in port from 10 or 11 to 5.30 PM (or something similar) and the ladies said it became a stressing experience to try to match the train schedule (because you always have to plan for unexpected problems). They felt the the in port was too short to have enough time for Cinque terre.

 

I would be upset if La Spezia port times would be changed that much on our next cruise. The late stay was one of the reasons we selected the itinerary.

 

We'll probably be ok though, given the proceeding port is Portofino and following port Livorno. The ship could almost drift to the next port under the current itinerary, so there would be not much fuel saving. Perhaps port savings, but then there would be needless fuel expense, leaving earlier then needed.

[wripro]

On our one week long Mediterranean cruise we experienced three port time changes.

 

07-Aug-2015 Provence (Marseille), France

Departure time has been changed from (11pm) to 7pm

 

08-Aug-2015 Saint Tropez, France

Departure time has been changed from (11pm) to 7pm

 

And in La spezia it was a couple of hours time change too.

 

We actually heard one of the staff (a man with white uniform) discuss the time changes with couple of passengers who were disappointed. He said it happens because of the cost. Every hour costs extra and late departures are expensive for the company. It makes sense...

 

Of course, it's to save costs. I just wish they had the decency to tell you the times from the start and not make the changes after final payment when you can't back out. For those who care about actually seeing something while they are traveling this is a big loss. Sea Bass with Miso in Red Ginger cannot make up for three hours of lost time in a port one may never revisit.

[sammiedawg]

Of course, it's to save costs. I just wish they had the decency to tell you the times from the start and not make the changes after final payment when you can't back out. For those who care about actually seeing something while they are traveling this is a big loss. Sea Bass with Miso in Red Ginger cannot make up for three hours of lost time in a port one may never revisit.

 

Most people are happily back on board for the Sea Bass or whatever great food they choose. And Happy Hour is always packed on long port days. We take all day private tours and our goal is to be back for the end of happy hour, we grab drinks and go to the cabin to relax.

I would bet Oceania ran the numbers and determined most everyone is back on board by dinner.

We often sit and watch crews tear down the port, it is usually mostly torn down a couple hours before sailing. Activity at the gangway is mostly dead in the evening.