Compensation for Riviera Nurovirus Cruise

[hondorner]

Paul Chili,

 

Why would you take it upon yourself to make a less than objective guess as to why I wrote "my" review? If you love Oceania, that's perfectly fine and I will not try to take apart your pro arguments. As for me, I am most definitely not a fan so I stand by my review 100%. Please don't try to twist my position to fit your own.

 

I don't see that he twisted it, but pointed out facts that are not consistent with your opinion.

[Paulchili]

Paul Chili,

 

Why would you take it upon yourself to make a less than objective guess as to why I wrote "my" review? If you love Oceania, that's perfectly fine and I will not try to take apart your pro arguments. As for me, I am most definitely not a fan so I stand by my review 100%. Please don't try to twist my position to fit your own.

 

dibel,

You are certainly entitled to your opinion and cruise line preferences - as we all are.

I most definitely did not "twist" your position - the quotes were copied verbatim from your review - no twisting there.

I also stated that I felt that your experience was obviously strongly influenced by the Noro issue and how it was handled.

However, that has nothing to do with your cabin, the Gym facilities or the public rooms per se on Riviera, all of which you rated as poor to very poor. Your description of your cabin and Gym facilities were very complimentary, yet you rated them at 3 & 2. That is where my problem lies.

If that had to do with poor maintenance of the public rooms & Gym by the staff because of Noro, that is a separate issue. If you rate Riviera's public rooms at 2, I'd like to know which ship gets a 5 on your scale.

I did not comment on your opinion of service as I have no idea of the issues you encountered as I was not there - I do take your word on that.

Also, I don't have a problem with the fact that you had serious issues with how the management handled the problems, but what does that have to do with your cabin, Gym equipment (both of which you praised highly) or appearance of the public rooms of Riviera in general (which you did not specify why they deserved a 2 in your opinion)?

Edited December 18, 2015 by Paulchili

[Paulchili]

In my opinion, the 2 cruises on Riviera that were affected by the Noro were definitely an exception to the regular O cruises. They were most unfortunate experiences for those who were on the ship during that time and it would seem from everything that I have read here that the problem could have been handled much better by O staff (from top to bottom).

That said, looking at the last 25 reviews of Riviera, 7 were from the "Noro" cruises and 18 before. The 18 pre-Noro cruises averaged 4-5 stars except one (6/15 by Wilkins). The "Noro" cruises averaged 2 stars from 4 first time O cruisers, two repeat cruisers gave it a 4 star & one a 2 star.

To me this paints a pretty clear picture about Oceania and Riviera (as well as first time vs repeat O cruisers).

As always, YMMV.

Happy cruising to all on whatever ship and cruise line it may be and may we all stay clear on the dreaded Noro :)

[Christine Frances]

Paulchili I am a long time Celebrity(many) and Azamara (three times) cruiser. As I always keep my options open I follow the O board and dare to post occasionally. But you would be better served by hanging back like the other cheerleaders and let people vent rather then dissing their opinions. I would put more faith in the old guard if they kept quiet or came forward and agreed that O screwed up a lot of peoples expensive holidays rather than placing their past experience with O over the current pax which demeans their current problems. Yes it might be a one off or maybe a two or three off cruise which was way less than people expected, but telling them so sorry we have had much better experiences really does not make them feel better.

[sammiedawg]

We are currently on Regatta and met two separate couples who were on the Riviera TA. Their take on events was much less dramatic than the tone of this thread. I'll leave it at that.

 

I'm looking for the cruise line that has staff devoted to cleaning gym equipment before and after use, especially when many gyms are mostly empty other than the peak mornings hours. Please let me know what the staff to passenger ratio is on that ship.

I am a big believer in Personal responsibility. This means that I use the Clorox wipes myself in any public gym, just like I do in the grocery story and Target when I take a shopping cart. I would never depend on or expect anyone else to sanitize inbetween customers.

[Paulchili]

Paulchili I am a long time Celebrity(many) and Azamara (three times) cruiser. As I always keep my options open I follow the O board and dare to post occasionally. But you would be better served by hanging back like the other cheerleaders and let people vent rather then dissing their opinions. I would put more faith in the old guard if they kept quiet or came forward and agreed that O screwed up a lot of peoples expensive holidays rather than placing their past experience with O over the current pax which demeans their current problems.

 

(underlining mine).

Christine Frances,

How else would you characterize my quote as it relates to what you said above other than agreeing with your sentiment (underlined)?:

"They were most unfortunate experiences for those who were on the ship during that time and it would seem from everything that I have read here that the problem could have been handled much better by O staff (from top to bottom)."

[Schmoe38]

Paulchili I am a long time Celebrity(many) and Azamara (three times) cruiser. As I always keep my options open I follow the O board and dare to post occasionally. But you would be better served by hanging back like the other cheerleaders and let people vent rather then dissing their opinions. I would put more faith in the old guard if they kept quiet or came forward and agreed that O screwed up a lot of peoples expensive holidays rather than placing their past experience with O over the current pax which demeans their current problems. Yes it might be a one off or maybe a two or three off cruise which was way less than people expected, but telling them so sorry we have had much better experiences really does not make them feel better.

 

I'm really OK with the comments Paulchili puts forth. We are long time Celebrity cruisers as well, and we chose Oceania in our quest to find out what else was out there. This was our first opportunity to experience the Oceania difference.

 

We were on the Dec 2/15 sailing on Riviera, and, although it cannot be classed as an "apples to apples" comparable to the Transatlantic immediately before us, it did carry on certain similarities.

 

The staff were in defensive mode as their efforts at sanitizing took over and the service element seemed to take a back seat. We were pleased to see the sanitizing efforts and understood the priority that it needed to take, but we were looking for the "wow factor" that really did not get an opportunity to materialize during our cruise.

 

Now, in fairness, circumstances were in play that may not have been there in past cruises, and in all honesty, we were disappointed with our overall experience. As we have all heard before...you only get 1 chance to make a good first impression. Our 1st impression was strained but it was not enough for us to totally dismiss Oceania as an alternative moving forward.

 

There were certain elements of the cruise that were impressive, and for us, it will take a little time, but we will continue to watch the Oceania itineraries and will weigh them as reasonable alternatives in spending our cruising dollars. For others, Oceania may have been removed from future consideration.

 

We have always viewed Cruise Critic as a wonderful way to learn about the cruising industry. It is with comments such as Paulchili's and others who have way more experience with Oceania than we have, that we are able to make the decision that is right for us.

 

Emotions right now are running high, ourselves included, but once those emotions are removed from the decision making process, we will all have the opportunity to decide what works....give it another chance or vote with our feet and walk away.

 

Randy

[LHT28]

Randy you make some very good points

 

I would say if Oceania was so bad they would not have 50-80% repeat cruisers on most sailings

 

Yes the Riviera failed in the past couple of cruises & it will certainly put a lot of people off sailing on Oceania again

 

I do hope you give them another try & the cruise is much better than your 1st one with them

 

Enjoy whatever cruise you choose

 

Lyn

[Travelcat2]

Agree with hondorner and I am definitely not an Oceania cheerleader (although I think they are an excellent cruise line). As noted by some, most cruise lines have "noro" at least once or twice (it seems that Princess has had more than its' share). You can blame Oceania is you want or blame customers who board the ship sick and touch everything and cough in people's faces.

 

Of course Oceania is sorry that this happened - just as they are sorry if a passenger is so sick that they cannot enjoy the cruise (not specifically with "noro" - it could be anything). However, IMO, this subject has been beaten to death and I admire Oceania management for not entering into this ugly discussion as it would be a no-win situation. Oceania took the necessary steps to insure that even more passengers would not be sick...... and, apparently it is no longer spreading to anyone.

 

We are on a sister ship to Oceania right now and there is a critically ill passenger. We are in the middle of nowhere (between Cape Town and Rio) and the Captain has had to make changes in our itinerary to accommodate this one passenger. Thankfully, Oceania/Regent/NCL management puts human life and safety above some of the issues discussed on this thread. The steps that Oceania took onboard the Riviera was in the best interest of their passengers and, IMO, they do not owe anyone a cent!!!!

Edited December 19, 2015 by Travelcat2

[tommiroke]

Agree with hondorner and I am definitely not an Oceania cheerleader (although I think they are an excellent cruise line). As noted by some, most cruise lines have "noro" at least once or twice (it seems that Princess has had more than its' share). You can blame Oceania is you want or blame customers who board the ship sick and touch everything and cough in people's faces.

 

Of course Oceania is sorry that this happened - just as they are sorry if a passenger is so sick that they cannot enjoy the cruise (not specifically with "noro" - it could be anything). However, IMO, this subject has been beaten to death and I admire Oceania management for not entering into this ugly discussion as it would be a no-win situation. Oceania took the necessary steps to insure that even more passengers would not be sick...... and, apparently it is no longer spreading to anyone.

 

We are on a sister ship to Oceania right now and there is a critically ill passenger. We are in the middle of nowhere (between Cape Town and Rio) and the Captain has had to make changes in our itinerary to accommodate this one passenger. Thankfully, Oceania/Regent/NCL management puts human life and safety above some of the issues discussed on this thread. The steps that Oceania took onboard the Riviera was in the best interest of their passengers and, IMO, they do not owe anyone a cent!!!!

 

A very humorous post to be sure. Will take it paragraph by paragraph.

 

The poster agrees with Hordorner and claims to not be an Oceania cheerleader. Horndorner did state earlier that Oceania did not do the right thing in some cases on these cruises yes the poster claims that Oceania did nothing wrong and everything correct???? Obvious that the poster did not read the entire thread and the almost complete agreement by most of the O cheerleaders that there were issues on these cruises that O did not handle correctly.

 

And for the poster to state she is not a cheerleader while in the past she has often stated that FDR can do not wrong. Of course she is a cheerleader for both Oceania and Regent.

 

How can we know O is sorry when in addition to not providing any response either publicly or privately, has not taken any responsibility for any of the onboard and in port issues that they obviously caused. Most have agreed that the issues are with both the passengers and the ship and to completely blame only the passengers is putting blinders on.

 

The story about the current issues on Regent Mariner while heartbreaking is not in the least comparable and to state that Oceania does not owe anyone a cent is completely incorrect based on all of Oceania issues identified on this and other recent threads, the miniscule OBC only offered to the few BTB people, and the agreement by most posters on this board that Oceania does owe something to all of the passengers.

 

In conclusion, the above post is so completely positive and oblivious to many of the issues identified on this and other recent threads that it cannot be believed at all.

[Mura]

When people who are unhappy with Oceania for whatever reason refer to loyalists as "cheerleaders" I get aggravated. For me, a cheerleader who is someone who will not admit that O can do anything wrong. I just haven't seen that here. Oceania isn't perfect and even those of us who prefer Oceania (whether we were on board one of these cruises or not) can admit it.

 

I don't know if I'd have been as upset with what happened on these cruises as some of you are. Maybe so! I was on the Marina cruise that began last spring's Noro experience so I have some knowledge of how it was handled there, and that does seem better than what the Riviera passengers experienced ... but I certainly cannot know that for sure. No doubt there were unhappy people on those cruises as well.

 

Just don't call us cheerleaders simply because we disagree with your general assessment. That is being equally dismissive. You have every right to your opinions, of course. You have every right to say you'll never darken O's door again and announce it as often and as loudly as you wish. You certainly have every right to be disappointed with a vacation that did not measure up to your expectations.

 

I'd much rather be referred to as a "supporter" than a "cheerleader".

[LHT28]

I agree Mura

Just because you prefer one line over another does not make you a cheerleader

 

Some people can see the warts & all :rolleyes:

[rallydave]

When people who are unhappy with Oceania for whatever reason refer to loyalists as "cheerleaders" I get aggravated. For me, a cheerleader who is someone who will not admit that O can do anything wrong. I just haven't seen that here. Oceania isn't perfect and even those of us who prefer Oceania (whether we were on board one of these cruises or not) can admit it.

 

I don't know if I'd have been as upset with what happened on these cruises as some of you are. Maybe so! I was on the Marina cruise that began last spring's Noro experience so I have some knowledge of how it was handled there, and that does seem better than what the Riviera passengers experienced ... but I certainly cannot know that for sure. No doubt there were unhappy people on those cruises as well.

 

Just don't call us cheerleaders simply because we disagree with your general assessment. That is being equally dismissive. You have every right to your opinions, of course. You have every right to say you'll never darken O's door again and announce it as often and as loudly as you wish. You certainly have every right to be disappointed with a vacation that did not measure up to your expectations.

 

I'd much rather be referred to as a "supporter" than a "cheerleader".

 

While I can't speak for everyone, when I speak of cheerleaders, I am speaking of those who believe Oceania or any other cruise line is perfect. Believe most of the people using the term cheerleaders are using that word in the same manner.

 

Completely agree there are many who are mostly happy with Oceania but, do recognize the shortcomings when they occur and would not consider them cheerleaders but, loyal to the cruise line and realistic enough to realize that nothing is perfect. Or, as my DW says, perfection is a form of imperfection.

 

You Mura for sure fall into the above category and would never call you a cheerleader.

[roger b]

Agree with hondorner and I am definitely not an Oceania cheerleader (although I think they are an excellent cruise line). As noted by some, most cruise lines have "noro" at least once or twice (it seems that Princess has had more than its' share). You can blame Oceania is you want or blame customers who board the ship sick and touch everything and cough in people's faces.

 

Of course Oceania is sorry that this happened - just as they are sorry if a passenger is so sick that they cannot enjoy the cruise (not specifically with "noro" - it could be anything). However, IMO, this subject has been beaten to death and I admire Oceania management for not entering into this ugly discussion as it would be a no-win situation. Oceania took the necessary steps to insure that even more passengers would not be sick...... and, apparently it is no longer spreading to anyone.

 

We are on a sister ship to Oceania right now and there is a critically ill passenger. We are in the middle of nowhere (between Cape Town and Rio) and the Captain has had to make changes in our itinerary to accommodate this one passenger. Thankfully, Oceania/Regent/NCL management puts human life and safety above some of the issues discussed on this thread. The steps that Oceania took onboard the Riviera was in the best interest of their passengers and, IMO, they do not owe anyone a cent!!!!

 

I have never read such a bias comment in my life, Since you did not have to endure the B2B and were not on the ship all you have to go on is hear say.

 

Your final comment " they do not owe anyone a cent". If you were put in prison but you were not guilty when you were released would you expect "I am Sorry". Which they have not done.

 

We did not even get this and the many people that wrote about the shortcomings they cannot all be wrong all I can say is that having had to endure 20 days on the ship it was not a pleasent experience and then Oceania did not say sorry the only apology that they would admit to was to offer the B2B (85 in all) the insulting offer of $200.

 

Are your sure you are not an employee of Oceania as reading between the lines it sure looks as if you are ???

 

So If you were not one of the 85 B2B passengers PLEASE DO NOT COMMENT AS YOU WERE NOT THERE !!!

[kazu]

Agree with hondorner and I am definitely not an Oceania cheerleader (although I think they are an excellent cruise line). As noted by some, most cruise lines have "noro" at least once or twice (it seems that Princess has had more than its' share). You can blame Oceania is you want or blame customers who board the ship sick and touch everything and cough in people's faces.

 

Of course Oceania is sorry that this happened - just as they are sorry if a passenger is so sick that they cannot enjoy the cruise (not specifically with "noro" - it could be anything). However, IMO, this subject has been beaten to death and I admire Oceania management for not entering into this ugly discussion as it would be a no-win situation. Oceania took the necessary steps to insure that even more passengers would not be sick...... and, apparently it is no longer spreading to anyone.

 

We are on a sister ship to Oceania right now and there is a critically ill passenger. We are in the middle of nowhere (between Cape Town and Rio) and the Captain has had to make changes in our itinerary to accommodate this one passenger. Thankfully, Oceania/Regent/NCL management puts human life and safety above some of the issues discussed on this thread. The steps that Oceania took onboard the Riviera was in the best interest of their passengers and, IMO, they do not owe anyone a cent!!!!

 

 

I think you are missing the point.

 

It's not a matter of the Noro (which does happen) but HOW it was handled, lack of communication and serious service issues due to inconsistency.

 

Certainly we have been on a ship where there is a medical emergency and plans have been changed. No one minds that because it is COMMUNICATED and urgent.

 

Communication is just one of the things that was missing on this sailing.

[hondorner]

Travelcat2 is most definitely NOT a cheerleader for Oceania or Regent, and absolutely not a cheerleader for NCL. She IS pretty much of a cheerleader for FDR. This story is illustrative: After making some disparaging remarks about Regent a few years ago, FDR called her directly to correct her opinion. In the process, they actually gained respect for each other, and have maintained an occasional contact. She, as have I, has followed FDR's career since then, and we both have enormous respect for his achievements.

 

As for Oceania, Travelcat2 had a reputation of disparaging it before she took her first cruise on it. Today, she is still far from a cheerleader, primarily castigating it for having a "class" system. She has flatly stated she will never cruise on NCL. She has also tried other cruise lines, notably SilverSea, in her search for something to replace Regent.

 

I have met her and spent some time with her, which none of the rest of you have done. You have no right to put anyone down for your perception of them, unless you have met them personally.

 

Do I agree with her on everything? Absolutely not. But, she has as much right to her opinion as anyone else on this forum.

Edited December 19, 2015 by hondorner

[Leejnd4]

YEESH! You guys sure do like to beat a dead horse.

 

Paulchili I am a long time Celebrity(many) and Azamara (three times) cruiser. As I always keep my options open I follow the O board and dare to post occasionally. But you would be better served by hanging back like the other cheerleaders and let people vent rather then dissing their opinions. I would put more faith in the old guard if they kept quiet or came forward and agreed that O screwed up a lot of peoples expensive holidays rather than placing their past experience with O over the current pax which demeans their current problems. Yes it might be a one off or maybe a two or three off cruise which was way less than people expected, but telling them so sorry we have had much better experiences really does not make them feel better.

 

Wow. I do not agree with you at all. I very much appreciated Paulchili's post, to which you are replying here. As someone who has not yet even been on Oceania (we board Jan 3), I certainly cannot be called a cheerleader.

 

I am reading everything voraciously so I can get some idea of what's in store for me. What Paulchili's comment did for me is, put it all in perspective. YES there was a bad outbreak, YES Oceania made some significant errors in how they handled it, but this was a specific incident (one that dragged on across multiple cruises) that should not be used to determine one's entire opinion of the cruise line. His point about the reviews prior to the noro outbreak made a lot of sense, and actually inspired me to go back and read reviews going a long way back.

 

Obviously I'm sorry that recent passengers had such a horrible experience, but the perspective his comment offered put it all in a wider context. And for that I'm appreciative.

 

Pointing out the larger perspective does not in any way demean or belittle the horrible experiences of the recent passengers. I'm sure it doesn't make you feel better to know that others didn't have your horrible experience...but hey, facts are facts. I too am sorry y'all had a bad cruise. I'm sure we all are. But you are not the only passengers here...those of us yet to take our first O cruise are entitled to hear the other side too, y'know. It's not everyone's job to make you feel better.

 

When people who are unhappy with Oceania for whatever reason refer to loyalists as "cheerleaders" I get aggravated. For me, a cheerleader who is someone who will not admit that O can do anything wrong. I just haven't seen that here. Oceania isn't perfect and even those of us who prefer Oceania (whether we were on board one of these cruises or not) can admit it.

 

I agree with you. I HAVE seen a couple people on this board I would characterize as actual cheerleaders - they get snarky when anyone offers even a valid criticism, and won't ever admit that O did anything wrong. But many on here who are being called cheerleaders are openly acknowledging O screwed up...but are just trying to help everyone keep things in perspective. A couple of bad cruises with unusual circumstances should not besmirch the entire cruise line. All of the wonderful experiences in the past are not wiped out by this one bad stretch.

 

Now, if things continue to deteriorate...if the service doesn't pick up now that the outbreak is over...then we should start getting concerned. I'll be posting a full report (and I am VERY honest, believe me!) on our Jan. 3 cruise. :)

[RJB]

I have never read such a bias comment in my life, Since you did not have to endure the B2B and were not on the ship all you have to go on is hear say.

 

Your final comment " they do not owe anyone a cent". If you were put in prison but you were not guilty when you were released would you expect "I am Sorry". Which they have not done.

 

We did not even get this and the many people that wrote about the shortcomings they cannot all be wrong all I can say is that having had to endure 20 days on the ship it was not a pleasent experience and then Oceania did not say sorry the only apology that they would admit to was to offer the B2B (85 in all) the insulting offer of $200

Are your sure you are not an employee of Oceania as reading between the lines it sure looks as if you are ???

 

So If you were not one of the 85 B2B passengers PLEASE DO NOT COMMENT AS YOU WERE NOT THERE !!!

I was not there either, but when I started this thread I thought that Oceania did owe all the passengers something more than a "I am sorry" which they also did not get. I have loved O in the past, but when they are wrong it has to be told too. They really need to go back and correct this situation before it gets too out of hand. We will continue to sail with O but when they make mistakes they have to be called out for them.

[Leejnd4]

I was not there either, but when I started this thread I thought that Oceania did owe all the passengers something more than a "I am sorry" which they also did not get. I have loved O in the past, but when they are wrong it has to be told too. They really need to go back and correct this situation before it gets too out of hand. We will continue to sail with O but when they make mistakes they have to be called out for them.

 

Earlier in this thread, I commented that I did not think that passengers should reasonably expect compensation for the issues resulting from the noro outbreak.

 

I have changed my opinion on that, due to all that I have read about how they handled the overall communication, the reduction in service level, etc. Had they done a better job in dealing with the outbreak, I would stand by my original opinion. But in this case, I believe extra compensation is due. I'm sorry that they didn't offer it.

 

I hope you do cruise with O again, and they meet your previous levels of enjoyment with them.

Edited December 19, 2015 by Leejnd4

[RJB]

Earlier in this thread, I commented that I did not think that passengers should reasonably expect compensation for the issues resulting from the noro outbreak.

 

I have changed my opinion on that, due to all that I have read about how they handled the overall communication, the reduction in service level, etc. Had they done a better job in dealing with the outbreak, I would stand by my original opinion. But in this case, I believe extra compensation is due. I'm sorry that they didn't offer it.

 

I hope you do cruise with O again, and they meet your previous levels of enjoyment with them.

Thank you. I am sure Oceania will correct the things that went wrong. They have been doing a wonderful job for all their years in business. I can not believe that they will let all that good will go by the board. We have 2 cruises booked and intend to take them. I will report on the Feb. cruise after we get back. :):):)

[kazu]

Earlier in this thread, I commented that I did not think that passengers should reasonably expect compensation for the issues resulting from the noro outbreak.

 

I have changed my opinion on that, due to all that I have read about how they handled the overall communication, the reduction in service level, etc. Had they done a better job in dealing with the outbreak, I would stand by my original opinion. But in this case, I believe extra compensation is due. I'm sorry that they didn't offer it.

 

I hope you do cruise with O again, and they meet your previous levels of enjoyment with them.

 

I totally agree with this statement. That has been the whole crux of the issue, at least for us.

Edited December 19, 2015 by kazu

[Travelcat2]

Travelcat2 is most definitely NOT a cheerleader for Oceania or Regent, and absolutely not a cheerleader for NCL. She IS pretty much of a cheerleader for FDR. This story is illustrative: After making some disparaging remarks about Regent a few years ago, FDR called her directly to correct her opinion. In the process, they actually gained respect for each other, and have maintained an occasional contact. She, as have I, has followed FDR's career since then, and we both have enormous respect for his achievements.

 

As for Oceania, Travelcat2 had a reputation of disparaging it before she took her first cruise on it. Today, she is still far from a cheerleader, primarily castigating it for having a "class" system. She has flatly stated she will never cruise on NCL. She has also tried other cruise lines, notably SilverSea, in her search for something to replace Regent.

 

I have met her and spent some time with her, which none of the rest of you have done. You have no right to put anyone down for your perception of them, unless you have met them personally.

 

Do I agree with her on everything? Absolutely not. But, she has as much right to her opinion as anyone else on this forum.

 

Thanks for your very accurate explanation, the most important of which is that we all have the right to our opinions.

 

I would like to add that we were on a cruise very similar to the Riviera cruise 2 years ago. Even the Captain and General Manager were sick. It was our worst Regent cruise but we did not give one thought to compensation (communication was extremely poor on that cruise). We did consider changing cruise lines and, as hondorner posted, tried both Oceania and Silversea. We enjoyed both cruise lines very much but are obviously more suited to Regent.

 

Someone made a comment about the situation on the Mariner being different than on the Riviera because there is a critically ill passenger. Agree with that statement except that passengers on the Mariner are complaining constantly about one missed port. The Captain has kept us advised every step of the way so we do understand what is going on (we also have a mechanical issue that is slowing us down slightly). I would not be surprised if some passengers think that they need compensation for this as well.

 

Don, hope to spend time with you and Betsy in the future. I don't think that our opinions will be as far off as they were when we met in Bellingham. Stay well!

 

P.S. Mura - your post was excellent!

Edited December 19, 2015 by Travelcat2

[RJB]

Thanks for your very accurate explanation, the most important of which is that we all have the right to our opinions.

 

I would like to add that we were on a cruise very similar to the Riviera cruise 2 years ago. Even the Captain and General Manager were sick. It was our worst Regent cruise but we did not give one thought to compensation. We did consider changing cruise lines and, as hondorner posted, tried both Oceania and Silversea. We enjoyed both cruise lines very much but are obviously more suited to Regent.

 

Someone made a comment about the situation on the Mariner being different than on the Riviera because there is a critically ill passenger. Agree with that statement except that passengers on the Mariner are complaining constantly about one missed port. The Captain has kept us advised every step of the way so we do understand what is going on (we also have a mechanical issue that is slowing us down slightly). I would not be surprised if some passengers think that they need compensation for this as well.

 

Don, hope to spend time with you and Betsy in the future. I don't think that our opinions will be as far off as they were when we met in Bellingham. Stay well!

 

P.S. Mura - your post was excellent!

If you miss ports and Oceania does not pay the port tax that money should go back to the passengers who paid it. Why should Oceania benefit when we are not getting what we paid for. Very unfair.

[roger b]

Earlier in this thread, I commented that I did not think that passengers should reasonably expect compensation for the issues resulting from the noro outbreak.

 

I have changed my opinion on that, due to all that I have read about how they handled the overall communication, the reduction in service level, etc. Had they done a better job in dealing with the outbreak, I would stand by my original opinion. But in this case, I believe extra compensation is due. I'm sorry that they didn't offer it.

 

I hope you do cruise with O again, and they meet your previous levels of enjoyment with them.

 

At last someone with a common sense veiw of the feelings of the passengers, Both RJB and yourself are both giving an insight in to what happened.

 

All the animosity that has resulted could have been sorted out before the end of the B2B that we were on.

 

The captain was not seen for 10 days and GM also was not available to the guests.I myself did have a meeting with him 3 days before the end of the cruise,where he told me his hands were tied and was waiting for an offer from Miami.

 

He did agree with all my concerns and hope that a satisfactory offer was going to be forth coming.

Yes $200 was added to my account which I refused as I thought this was an insult as there was no apology.

Yes O do need to make an apology for the shortcomings and their covering up the outbreak at the begining on the Barcelona to Miami and then the continued mistakes made on the B2B.

It costs nothing to say you are sorry !!!!

[Paulchili]

 

Wow. I do not agree with you at all. I very much appreciated Paulchili's post, to which you are replying here. As someone who has not yet even been on Oceania (we board Jan 3), I certainly cannot be called a cheerleader.

I am reading everything voraciously so I can get some idea of what's in store for me. What Paulchili's comment did for me is, put it all in perspective. YES there was a bad outbreak, YES Oceania made some significant errors in how they handled it, but this was a specific incident (one that dragged on across multiple cruises) that should not be used to determine one's entire opinion of the cruise line. His point about the reviews prior to the noro outbreak made a lot of sense, and actually inspired me to go back and read reviews going a long way back.

 

Obviously I'm sorry that recent passengers had such a horrible experience, but the perspective his comment offered put it all in a wider context. And for that I'm appreciative.

 

Pointing out the larger perspective does not in any way demean or belittle the horrible experiences of the recent passengers. I'm sure it doesn't make you feel better to know that others didn't have your horrible experience...but hey, facts are facts. I too am sorry y'all had a bad cruise. I'm sure we all are. But you are not the only passengers here...those of us yet to take our first O cruise are entitled to hear the other side too, y'know. It's not everyone's job to make you feel better.

 

 

Now, if things continue to deteriorate...if the service doesn't pick up now that the outbreak is over...then we should start getting concerned. I'll be posting a full report (and I am VERY honest, believe me!) on our Jan. 3 cruise. :)

 

LeeAnne,

Thank you for understanding (and further expanding on) what I was trying to convey.

Ditto for Randy.

I hope that your first Oceania cruise will be a good one and memorable for all the right reasons :). Looking forward to your honest report (regardless whether you liked it or not).

Edited December 19, 2015 by Paulchili