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Everything’s OK....until it’s not.


Damicom
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We booked this cruise, our third this year on Oceania, because I was recovering from surgery and needed some rest and recovery. I’ve had a tough year and this was my 8th surgery in a year. The other two cruises were also to help recover and they were wonderful.

Although we usually book B1; the Oceania agent suggested a room B2, 8139, room saying it was better and cheaper. Later I noticed it had a connecting door. I explained I needed extra rest and was concerned the door would allow noise. She assured me it would not.

Within minutes of boarding it was clear there was a noise problem. Before we even unpacked went to reception, the concierge and contacted our agent. We offered to pay extra for an upgrade to change rooms. They all promised to help but none of them ever got back us. Nothing. No response. This was a 19 day cruise and the noise was a daily problem. Every afternoon our neighbors hosted a cocktail party. The weather was cool and damp so the party was in their room not on the veranda. Normally I wouldn’t mind at all, but I really need to rest and it was too noisy.

I was very disappointed that neither my booking agent nor the concierge made any effort to help with this problem.

When we got home, I wrote to Oceania Guest Services because I was disappointed that no one ever even bothered responding to us. In any hotel, if your room is not satisfactory they at least make an effort to help and at the very least apologize. Guest Services sent a nasty reply calling me a liar, saying there was no noise problem and I had been offered a different room and turned it down. It was so unbelievably insulting. It didn’t even make sense. Why complain about noise if there was none? Why ask for a room change...even offer to pay for it...and then turn it down and then afterwards complain. It’s crazy. I didn’t want anything more than the comfortable cruise I had paid for. I never asked for anything for free. I only wanted to be treated with respect.

During the cruise we were given a pin and invited to a cocktail party to honor “valued cruiser” but when we actually needed asome help with a problem we were first ignored and then disparaged.

Oceania is great until you have a problem. Then, if you complain you are ignored, demeaned and insulted. Not exactly “Your world your way”. It was very unpleasant and upsetting. I was a big fan until this. I expected better. It really soured my feelings about Oceania. I cancel my planned 30 day, South Africa cruise and won’t be cruising with them again.

As far as their “your world, your way” slogan, I’d like to remind them, it’s not what you say, it’s what you do that establishes your character.

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Sorry your cruise was affected by this. Did you consider speaking to your neighbours and explaining the situation?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

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We were on a two leg cruise. The reception desk said they would get back to us but never did. The concierge said the first leg was full but they would move us the second leg. We never heard from them him about the move although we did see about the ship daily. We’re not pushy. We assumed he’d contact us as he promised. He never did. After the cruise we learned from a Facebook board that a couple who had never cruised with Oceania before were upgraded to a penthouse for free and they hadn’t requested it. We had offered to pay, just to get a quieter room. It said a lot to me about “valued clients”

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We also wrote, twice, to Bob Binder, CEO of Oceania. He never responded. Until this, we were thinking all out future travel would be on Oceania. We were very confused and disappointed

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Honestly, I didn’t think the neighbors were out of line. The problem was that I had special needs(quite) that I addressed with th booking agent months before the cruise. When it turned out she was wrong and there was a problem, I thought it was the ship’s responsibility to address it so both the neighbors and I could enjoy the experience.

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I am truely sorry for your experience of trying to have a restful vacation. DH and I were in the reverse situation 2 years ago on the Riviera..His O2 unit malfunctioned and had to rent a temp unit from the ships medical dept, and IT also failed, with High pitched beeps all night. We went next door in the AM (staying in an A1 connecting room with penthouse on other side), and profusely apologized and told them we would move if it were possible). They said it was fine, as they removed their hearing aids at night (not kidding). All stories aside, after staying in connecting and non connecting cabins on most of O ships, we could not tell you if there is a difference in sound in a connecting room. Unfortunately I will say, it is now, after your cruise, and you are obviously upset, however, at this time, not much can be done. At the risk of sounding like someone on another board whom I cannot tolerate...it really is your responsibility to speak up when not happy onboard where it could be rectified...not after you disembark. One conversation with the GM (they are available) should have cleared up the entire situation. Today, after the fact, not much can be done, except complaining.

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I agree the GM was the person to speak with

 

The agent was probably right ..on most cruises it is fairly quiet in the cabins but I guess your neighbours were not the average pax

 

Hope you find nice quiet vacation next time

Edited by LHT28
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Reception and the concierge should have responded somehow after you asked for a different cabin. However I suspect that all cabins were booked and there was nowhere else they could have moved you to. Their hands were tied but they should have let you know that.

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We were on a two leg cruise. The reception desk said they would get back to us but never did. The concierge said the first leg was full but they would move us the second leg. We never heard from them him about the move although we did see about the ship daily. We’re not pushy. We assumed he’d contact us as he promised. He never did. After the cruise we learned from a Facebook board that a couple who had never cruised with Oceania before were upgraded to a penthouse for free and they hadn’t requested it. We had offered to pay, just to get a quieter room. It said a lot to me about “valued clients”

 

It's really unfortunate what happened.

 

However, at the time, first... while waiting/hoping for a move, yes speak with the neighbor.

Most people can "tone it down" *IF* they know there is a reason to do so. Otherwise, they'd be oblivious to the fact that anyone at all was even slightly disturbed.

 

And you saw this Oceania person "daily" and ... said *nothing*?!?

Really?

How is that even possible, if you were so miserable (and I believe that you were, having had more than enough surgeries myself).

 

And of course, if there is ever a problem not addressed, anywhere, bump it up to another level of management. That's a given, really. That's part of their jobs, but they have to hear from the dissatisfied customer.

 

The person you spoke with (and perhaps others) may have decided that if *you* weren't mentioning it any more, maybe it turned out to be okay... maybe the sound problem stopped, or you got used to it.

How can they possibly know if they see you about and you never mention it again?

 

As for how the "home office" handled it, that is beyond outrageous, no question about it!

But it's also too late to fix anything, in terms of a peaceful, recuperative cruise anyway...

 

GC

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So sorry you had a bad experience. Every connecting door cabin we've ever had had more noise than a non-connecting one. Your agent let you down. That would be who I wouldn't be booking with anymore. I'm thinking that FB post was the final straw. I might have tried to put it behind me but I, too, would be VERY upset reading about someone getting a free upgrade when you'd offered to pay for one.

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After the cruise we learned from a Facebook board that a couple who had never cruised with Oceania before were upgraded to a penthouse for free and they hadn’t requested it. We had offered to pay, just to get a quieter room. It said a lot to me about “valued clients”

When were they offered the upgrade ?

Was it after they were onboard or before they arrived at the ship?

If H.O was not informed of your request then they may upgrade people ahead of the cruise

 

 

The Concierge should have let you know if they had no other cabins available but you should have have followed up with the concierge or the GM

 

both parties were at fault IMO

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We had a connecting cabin noise problem on Oceania several years ago. We asked to speak to the concierge. He told us that there were no cabins in the category we booked (outside) and that we were just trying to get a free upgrade. I was furious. Luckily we met a travel agent at dinner that night, described what had happened, and she said that the response from the concierge was outrageous, that there were always cabins available on fully booked cruises, and that we should speak to the General Manager.

 

At our meeting with the General Manager the next day, there was a completely different attitude. First he apologized for the way we had been treated. And then someone must have jumped overboard because another outside cabin on the same deck suddenly became available. The General Manager also sent us a nice bottle of wine.

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On our May Riviera cruise the General Manager sent me a nice bottle of wine just because there'd been a kerfluffle with our Meet & Greet. I agree, going to the top can be very effective.

 

 

I, too, sympathise with OP. It sounds like something should have done which was NOT. But I'm surprised that Bob Binder didn't respond either. I haven't contacted him often but he was always right there.

 

 

When Renaissance bellied up we'd been booked on a January Far East cruise for January 2002. We hadn't planned on doing anything else for a while but in December we received a fabulous offer for a South American cruise (BA-Valpo) on NCL. So we took it. We had a nice mini-suite but the neighbors next door did have cocktails every night and we felt like we were attending their party. (Not sure if we had connecting rooms or not, who remembers?)

 

 

But I can understand that even if you aren't someone who NEEDS piece and quiet, this can be very irritating. We certainly weren't pleased and we didn't have that need!

 

 

Mura

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When we boarded theship we realized we had a problem and we immediately went to reception desk. They said once the ship was fully boarded they would look at available cabins and get back to us. Theydidn’t The next day we went back to reception and they referred us to an assistant concierge. He said he would see what he could do but he was disembarking the following day. He never got back to us. We emailed our Oceania Agent with the problem. She responded three days later saying she forwarded our email to the “appropriate people”. We heard nothing after that. Finally we found the Head concierge. He said he would arrange for a room change on the second leg of the trip. We never heard from him again. Yes we saw him around the ship but we thought it rude to interrupt his dinner or cocktails with our problems and trusted he would be true to his word. We are not the kind of people to set ourselves on fire in the lobby to get attention. We trusted the staff to be professional. I believed then, as I do now, that it was Oceania’s responsibility to solve this problem. I think your “blame the victim” attitude is inappropriate.

quote=GeezerCouple;56470053]It's really unfortunate what happened.

 

However, at the time, first... while waiting/hoping for a move, yes speak with the neighbor.

Most people can "tone it down" *IF* they know there is a reason to do so. Otherwise, they'd be oblivious to the fact that anyone at all was even slightly disturbed.

 

And you saw this Oceania person "daily" and ... said *nothing*?!?

Really?

How is that even possible, if you were so miserable (and I believe that you were, having had more than enough surgeries myself).

 

And of course, if there is ever a problem not addressed, anywhere, bump it up to another level of management. That's a given, really. That's part of their jobs, but they have to hear from the dissatisfied customer.

 

The person you spoke with (and perhaps others) may have decided that if *you* weren't mentioning it any more, maybe it turned out to be okay... maybe the sound problem stopped, or you got used to it.

How can they possibly know if they see you about and you never mention it again?

 

As for how the "home office" handled it, that is beyond outrageous, no question about it!

But it's also too late to fix anything, in terms of a peaceful, recuperative cruise anyway...

 

GC

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Thanks for your kind words.

Michele

On our May Riviera cruise the General Manager sent me a nice bottle of wine just because there'd been a kerfluffle with our Meet & Greet. I agree, going to the top can be very effective.

 

 

I, too, sympathise with OP. It sounds like something should have done which was NOT. But I'm surprised that Bob Binder didn't respond either. I haven't contacted him often but he was always right there.

 

 

When Renaissance bellied up we'd been booked on a January Far East cruise for January 2002. We hadn't planned on doing anything else for a while but in December we received a fabulous offer for a South American cruise (BA-Valpo) on NCL. So we took it. We had a nice mini-suite but the neighbors next door did have cocktails every night and we felt like we were attending their party. (Not sure if we had connecting rooms or not, who remembers?)

 

 

But I can understand that even if you aren't someone who NEEDS piece and quiet, this can be very irritating. We certainly weren't pleased and we didn't have that need!

 

 

Mura

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Before this cruise we were confirmed Oceania cruisers. When we had a problem we assumed they would work to solve it. I was so disappointed. I didn’t think about going to the GM but it’s a good idea. I wrote to The Oceania CEO, twice, because I felt certain he would not be ok with this situation but he didn’t respond at all. I have to say, the whole thing makes me sad.

We had a connecting cabin noise problem on Oceania several years ago. We asked to speak to the concierge. He told us that there were no cabins in the category we booked (outside) and that we were just trying to get a free upgrade. I was furious. Luckily we met a travel agent at dinner that night, described what had happened, and she said that the response from the concierge was outrageous, that there were always cabins available on fully booked cruises, and that we should speak to the General Manager.

 

At our meeting with the General Manager the next day, there was a completely different attitude. First he apologized for the way we had been treated. And then someone must have jumped overboard because another outside cabin on the same deck suddenly became available. The General Manager also sent us a nice bottle of wine.

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The couple got the upgrade on what was the second leg of the trip. The got it the night before they boarded. That would be ten days after I boarded, so there were rooms available. Plus, we asked for a room change but offered to pay if it involved an upgrade. Instead they gave it away for free. I think the concierge just glad handed us but then actually did nothing to help.

quote=LHT28;56470363]When were they offered the upgrade ?

Was it after they were onboard or before they arrived at the ship?

If H.O was not informed of your request then they may upgrade people ahead of the cruise

 

 

The Concierge should have let you know if they had no other cabins available but you should have have followed up with the concierge or the GM

 

both parties were at fault IMO

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The couple got the upgrade on what was the second leg of the trip. The got it the night before they boarded. That would be ten days after I boarded, so there were rooms available. Plus, we asked for a room change but offered to pay if it involved an upgrade. Instead they gave it away for free. I think the concierge just glad handed us but then actually did nothing to help.

sometimes the ship personel will handle the cabin changes onboard & not involve the H.O.

 

Sounds like the other couple were given the upgrade by the revenue dept before they left on the cruise

 

too bad you were not looked after onboard

 

 

I guess we have been lucky not to have party type neighbours on our cruises

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When we boarded theship we realized we had a problem and we immediately went to reception desk. They said once the ship was fully boarded they would look at available cabins and get back to us. Theydidn’t The next day we went back to reception and they referred us to an assistant concierge. He said he would see what he could do but he was disembarking the following day. He never got back to us. We emailed our Oceania Agent with the problem. She responded three days later saying she forwarded our email to the “appropriate people”. We heard nothing after that. Finally we found the Head concierge. He said he would arrange for a room change on the second leg of the trip. We never heard from him again. Yes we saw him around the ship but we thought it rude to interrupt his dinner or cocktails with our problems and trusted he would be true to his word. We are not the kind of people to set ourselves on fire in the lobby to get attention. We trusted the staff to be professional. I believed then, as I do now, that it was Oceania’s responsibility to solve this problem. I think your “blame the victim” attitude is inappropriate.
It's really unfortunate what happened.

 

However, at the time, first... while waiting/hoping for a move, yes speak with the neighbor.

Most people can "tone it down" *IF* they know there is a reason to do so. Otherwise, they'd be oblivious to the fact that anyone at all was even slightly disturbed.

 

And you saw this Oceania person "daily" and ... said *nothing*?!?

Really?

How is that even possible, if you were so miserable (and I believe that you were, having had more than enough surgeries myself).

 

And of course, if there is ever a problem not addressed, anywhere, bump it up to another level of management. That's a given, really. That's part of their jobs, but they have to hear from the dissatisfied customer.

 

The person you spoke with (and perhaps others) may have decided that if *you* weren't mentioning it any more, maybe it turned out to be okay... maybe the sound problem stopped, or you got used to it.

How can they possibly know if they see you about and you never mention it again?

 

As for how the "home office" handled it, that is beyond outrageous, no question about it!

But it's also too late to fix anything, in terms of a peaceful, recuperative cruise anyway...

 

GC

 

Sorry. I did NOT mean to "blame the victim".

I've had too many surgeries myself, as I mentioned, not to understand just how important rest/quiet/peace can be... *very* important, both for comfort and actual health/recovery.

 

There seems to be no question that Oceania dropped the ball, from telling you "connecting rooms" wouldn't have a noise problem, to not responding - and responding promptly - once you spoke to someone on the ship. And they apparently failed to do that at a few levels.

 

However, that doesn't need to leave the passenger relatively passive. There's quite a range between "just waiting" and "lighting yourself on fire in the lobby" or such.

That was my point, or I hoped it was (apparently it wasn't, so I apologize again).

 

But waiting for email, when you are "right there" (vs. still at home, for example), that just isn't likely to be as efficient as might be needed, given the time urgency (needing sleep "tonight", not "next week/month", etc.).

 

We also don't have any idea whether there would actually have been a better response from Oceania IF you had been more a bit of a squeaky wheel, but at least you would have been sure that the more senior folks there at least *knew* about the problem.

But a good customer service operation should definitely have handled it obviously and promptly, regardless of what they were actually able to do.

 

You might want to consider that when things are written here on CC, one can't see the expression on the other person's face (smile? frown? twinkling eyes? or?) and one can't hear the tone of voice (emphathic/warm? snarky/hostile? etc.).

 

Most people here are genuinely trying to be helpful, although that obviously isn't "everyone all the time".

And some suggestions are meant also to be helpful on future occasions, not merely meant as a negative comment on something prior.

 

GC

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Thank you.

 

Sorry. I did NOT mean to "blame the victim".

I've had too many surgeries myself, as I mentioned, not to understand just how important rest/quiet/peace can be... *very* important, both for comfort and actual health/recovery.

 

There seems to be no question that Oceania dropped the ball, from telling you "connecting rooms" wouldn't have a noise problem, to not responding - and responding promptly - once you spoke to someone on the ship. And they apparently failed to do that at a few levels.

 

However, that doesn't need to leave the passenger relatively passive. There's quite a range between "just waiting" and "lighting yourself on fire in the lobby" or such.

That was my point, or I hoped it was (apparently it wasn't, so I apologize again).

 

But waiting for email, when you are "right there" (vs. still at home, for example), that just isn't likely to be as efficient as might be needed, given the time urgency (needing sleep "tonight", not "next week/month", etc.).

 

We also don't have any idea whether there would actually have been a better response from Oceania IF you had been more a bit of a squeaky wheel, but at least you would have been sure that the more senior folks there at least *knew* about the problem.

But a good customer service operation should definitely have handled it obviously and promptly, regardless of what they were actually able to do.

 

You might want to consider that when things are written here on CC, one can't see the expression on the other person's face (smile? frown? twinkling eyes? or?) and one can't hear the tone of voice (emphathic/warm? snarky/hostile? etc.).

 

Most people here are genuinely trying to be helpful, although that obviously isn't "everyone all the time".

And some suggestions are meant also to be helpful on future occasions, not merely meant as a negative comment on something prior.

 

GC

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Cruised on Regatta. First Oceania cruise and our last.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

And yet you still visit the boards of a cruise line you do not like. Interesting.

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This is a sad story, Damicom, and I am sorry about the surgeries, but especially disturbed that Oceania would followup on your complaint and call you a liar.

I will make sure to avoid connecting rooms!

And for future reference, if ever ever end up in a situation when the first level people are fluffing off our issue, how do we get to the GM (which I assume is general manager)?

We have our first cruise with Oeania next month!

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