Problems Filling Their Ships?

[Cruise-y]

I think Mediterranean cruises will be deeply discounted. The terror threat is real.

 

I live in Dallas. We had the first Ebola breakout in the U.S. last year and a massive, horrific killing 2 weeks ago. Why would I stay away from Europe? I'll probably be safer there. The terror threat is everywhere, friends. (Send those Med discounts my way).

[RJB]

That unlimited internet is practically worthless now that they give it away. Usage far exceeds capacity. Only time it works well is in the middle of the night if you happen to have insomnia.

 

Mo

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

It was pretty good on Riviera for the 17 days we were on. At times it was a bit slow but no worse than on other cruises when most people paid for it.

[RJB]

Indeed.France is on red alert and information is coming through of possible future attacks in beach resorts in Spain,France and Italy...

As for Turkey the latest English news....

 

 

British tourists in Turkey have been ordered to stay indoors as a state of 'martial law' was declared in Turkey in the wake of a failed military coup that left 90 dead.

British Airways has cancelled all flights to and from Turkey on Saturday and flight BA675 departing from Istanbul on Sunday. It said the situation will be kept "under review".

 

Ano,I hope you can understand that it is not "fun times" !It IS a terror threat and it is reality..

Just returned from Rome a week ago and very happy to be home. NO MORE EUROPE for quite a while until they can get this terror stuff under control. The attacks are so random it is impossible to know where they will come next, so we will stay closer to home or go to another part of the world. Seems that a lot of people are thinking that way and that is why the ships are not filling up.

[roger b]

Far to many ships plying the Carribe during the winter months. I expect more calls from my TA with even better offers for those O cruise come Oct or Nov. May see near give away deals for late Spring by Feb. O did shift a ship to do some CA and Mexico ports (Yawn) :rolleyes:, but I guess it did get a ship out of the Carribe and that market.

 

Alaska is heavily trafficked also. Last year, my daughter and husband were considering O for Alaska when Celebrity came through with an incredible deal that blew O out of the water. A lot of price competition.

 

Another factor is that O plays this game with the Adriatic ports. They make their schedules where one must do two cruises to hit all the ports. Viking has a schedule that hits all the major Adriatic ports in one cruise, at a much lower price than O. I prefer O greatly over Viking, but O needs to do a lot of discounting for two cruises to equal one on Viking to see the same ports!

 

A lot of competition now exists, with new ships and cruises added yearly. Supply and Demand forces will win out eventually.

 

I have never in the last 10 years of cruising with Oceania received an upgrade offer, well today one finally arrived in my inbox !! offer amounted to paying $80 to upgrade from an A3 to an A1 when the price on their website is only $130 more is this a bargain ??

Edited July 29, 2016 by roger b
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[Gogie]

I have never in the last 10 years of cruising with Oceania received an upgrade offer, well today one finally arrived in my inbox !! offer amounted to paying $80 to upgrade from an A3 to an A1 when the price on their website is only $130 more is this a bargain ??

 

I guess technically anything less than the current difference in price would be a bargain of sorts. You just have to determine if the upgraded cabin is worth the extra you need to pay. Going from an A3 to an A1 is really just a change in location. If you're happy with your current location why bother changing? If it's worth $80 to you to get a better location (higher deck and/or more central location) then go for it.

 

I had a much easier decision recently. I received an offer two weeks ago to move from a PH3 to an OC on Riviera for $1,250 per person. The current price difference between a PH3 and an OC for my cruise is $3,800 so in my view that's a pretty good bargain (which I accepted). Had the offer been to upgrade to a PH2 or a PH1 I most likely would have turned it down regardless of price - I'm not particularly fussy about whether I'm at either end of the ship or in the middle so "upgrading" to a higher category PH cabin isn't worth it to me.

[beechwood]

Just returned from Rome a week ago and very happy to be home. NO MORE EUROPE for quite a while until they can get this terror stuff under control. The attacks are so random it is impossible to know where they will come next, so we will stay closer to home or go to another part of the world. Seems that a lot of people are thinking that way and that is why the ships are not filling up.

 

Virtually all terrorist attacks will be random, whether in Europe or the US. You are far more likely to be killed in a road accident anywhere in the world than by a terrorist act.

[JVNYC]

I also left the Riviera a week ago in Rome and honestly I can't wait to go back to Europe! I never tire of the food and culture and amazing Mediterranean weather. It's miserably hot and humid here in NYC!

[RJB]

Virtually all terrorist attacks will be random, whether in Europe or the US. You are far more likely to be killed in a road accident anywhere in the world than by a terrorist act.

Yes, but if we stay away from Europe for a while we will be far less likely to be killed by a terrorist attack. They seem to be very random and mostly in Europe. We all make our own choices. Good luck and stay safe. :):):)

[Gogie]

Yes, but if we stay away from Europe for a while we will be far less likely to be killed by a terrorist attack. They seem to be very random and mostly in Europe. We all make our own choices. Good luck and stay safe. :):):)

 

On an average DAY in 2015, 36 Americans were killed by guns (a number that excludes most suicides) (source: Gun Violence Archive). To the end of July this year a total of 170 people have been murdered in Europe by terrorists. In the US just over 8,000 people have been killed by guns to the end of July. Seems to me the statistics suggest it's safer to travel to Europe rather than the USA. In any event, I'll be more watchful when I travel these days but I'm not going to avoid Europe (or the US).

[LHT28]

when your number's up, your number's up

Life is too short to worry about what if's

[Paulchili]

when your number's up, your number's up

Life is too short to worry about what if's

 

Agreed.

You can try to "dodge the bullet" but you are not likely to succeed; nor can one dodge one's destiny :D

You can avoid Europe to escape from terrorists only to be killed by a drunker driver at home. :(

[RJB]

On an average DAY in 2015, 36 Americans were killed by guns (a number that excludes most suicides) (source: Gun Violence Archive). To the end of July this year a total of 170 people have been murdered in Europe by terrorists. In the US just over 8,000 people have been killed by guns to the end of July. Seems to me the statistics suggest it's safer to travel to Europe rather than the USA. In any event, I'll be more watchful when I travel these days but I'm not going to avoid Europe (or the US).

You stay in Canada and i will stay in the US and we will both be happy and safe. Hope...

[janecambridge]

On an average DAY in 2015, 36 Americans were killed by guns (a number that excludes most suicides) (source: Gun Violence Archive). To the end of July this year a total of 170 people have been murdered in Europe by terrorists. In the US just over 8,000 people have been killed by guns to the end of July. Seems to me the statistics suggest it's safer to travel to Europe rather than the USA. In any event, I'll be more watchful when I travel these days but I'm not going to avoid Europe (or the US).

 

 

It's not just people who are murdered ( add an extra 2 months to that statistic and you have another 130 killed last November) but the thousands maimed physically and mentally around them...

Also none of the attacks are personal murders as I suspect alot of American murders with guns are..

We are now being warned not to travel to Florida if pregnant because of Zika virus!!,All we can do is take sensible advice from our Government...

[pinotlover]

Reference the upgrade offers and special offerings.

 

Some cruises are very popular and sell out fast because of either/both the ports or the schedule. On those cruises, the only offers one typically gets is to leave the ship for a different cruise. The Sidney to Auckland trip is a perfect example of this, there won't be any good offers on that cruise. Same goes for Alaska in July to early August.

 

However, as I stated, many O cruises do not fill that Bill. Florida is overran with cruise ships, in winter and early spring, going to the Carribe. It's a different market with different economics and plenty of offers. One may receive no upgrade offer for an O July cruise in the Baltic, while getting multiple offers if they want to risk being in St. Petersburg in late September. Same cruise, but vastly different timing!

[SellaVee]

Pinotlover, I agree with your general point, but sadly not your specific example. I wanted to go to St Petersburg in late September but O doesn't go there then. Would have to have gone with Regent.

[pinotlover]

SellaVee;

 

LOL, perhaps you just made my point! ;) ;)O was running the Marina on the Baltic tour to near October (late September) in past years. There were pictures posted here on cruise critic with some of the cruisers doing the St. Petersburg tours in a biting snow in Late September. Their comment was that 36 and snow was a lot better than the 39 and cold rain they had endured the first two days there. The weather in STP is a real crap shoot that late in the season. Apparently, as you pointed out, O has dropped those late season cruises because --- they had trouble "filling the ships".

[Karennella]

Yes, but if we stay away from Europe for a while we will be far less likely to be killed by a terrorist attack. They seem to be very random and mostly in Europe. We all make our own choices. Good luck and stay safe. :):):)

 

Good time to come and visit us in Australia and New Zealand. The exchange rate is good for you at the moment too.

[RJB]

Good time to come and visit us in Australia and New Zealand. The exchange rate is good for you at the moment too.

We have been their twice and would want to come back again. Love Australia and New Zealand. Biggest problem is how long it take to to get there from Florida. That being said I am sure we will be back. :):):)

[PaulMCO]

Good time to come and visit us in Australia and New Zealand. The exchange rate is good for you at the moment too.

 

We both love Oz and have been there many times on business and pleasure. My wife would love to do another horse trek in the Snowy's.

 

We are trying to - and will if O quits changing their itineraries -- but that is another thread :D

[MOTB]

We're all at risk, wherever we live. We live in London and I won't feel any more at risk on a cruise or at any port of call. The risk of being in the wrong place at the wrong time is tiny, but it's there for all of us.

[mauibabes]

Darcie, this is normal practice for Oceania as once you are on board they would like to keep you there for as long as you can stay. We always plan our trips with an eye on the trip before and after the one we wish to book. We are on the Riviera Transatlantic TA and we ended up adding the Venice to Barcelona leg on just after such an offer.

There have been some virus issues but that has to go back to the guests and their habits because when we were on Marina 18 months ago, it arrived in NYC with sick people who got on in Peru. Staff were cleaning EVERYTHING AND ALL THE TIME to make sure it did not continue. You are right though, the bookings seem to be soft at the end of the year and into the new year so the deals are there to be had. One friend added the Dec. Miami to Miami leg to their TA.

[ebdb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by potterhill View Post

That unlimited internet is practically worthless now that they give it away. Usage far exceeds capacity. Only time it works well is in the middle of the night if you happen to have insomnia.

 

Mo

 

It was pretty good on Riviera for the 17 days we were on. At times it was a bit slow but no worse than on other cruises when most people paid for it.

 

What surprised and annoyed us was that Oceania dictates only ONE DEVICE at a time can be logged in to use the Internet! So if DH is using the Oceania wifi, I cannot. :mad:

[LAexNY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by potterhill View Post

That unlimited internet is practically worthless now that they give it away. Usage far exceeds capacity. Only time it works well is in the middle of the night if you happen to have insomnia.

 

Mo

 

 

 

What surprised and annoyed us was that Oceania dictates only ONE DEVICE at a time can be logged in to use the Internet! So if DH is using the Oceania wifi, I cannot. :mad:

 

First world problem!

[LHT28]

What surprised and annoyed us was that Oceania dictates only ONE DEVICE at a time can be logged in to use the Internet! So if DH is using the Oceania wifi, I cannot. :mad:

 

Gosh what did we do before the ships had internet service :eek:

[Cahpek]

First world problem!

 

You are right - to a point.

 

I have to confess that sometimes, I have been guilty of that as well.

 

We seem to expect everything on every cruise to be absolutely perfect. And when something is slightly below our expectation, we get overly disappointed.

 

For example the food was not served warm enough, or the potatoes not properly cooked when in Third World countries people are starving!

 

Or the water served was not cold enough when in some Third World countries, people have to walk for miles to get water to take back to their homes.

 

Likewise, we may have to wait up to an hour to disembark, when if you are a Syrian refugee in Greece, you may have to queue up for hours , if not days, to get your turn to be attended to!

 

And of course, the problem that the wifi connection is not fast enough! Even just 20 years or so ago, there was no such thing as wifi when someone went on a cruise. I have to admit this is NOT just a First World problem, even in many Third World countries, internet connection is important to them, but it is a MODERN WORLD PROBLEM !

 

 

In any case, perhaps, we cruisers, we ought to thank our lucky stars that we get to experience something so enjoyable as a cruise (or several cruises for some) which many people even in First World countries cannot afford to do - let alone in Third World countries.

Edited August 22, 2016 by Cahpek