Oceania's Action Plan for Coronavirus

[Flatbush Flyer]

9 minutes ago, corpkid said:

They literally had Oceania on the other line and were switching back and forth for every question I had. Good times.

The key point here is that you were not initially sent/forwarded the written proof that we and numerous others received immediately upon it's being issued by Oceania.

IMO, sounds like your "isn't really a TA" isn't really a TA (and dropped the ball on something really important.)

[corpkid]

24 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

The key point here is that you were not initially sent/forwarded the written proof that we and numerous others received immediately upon it's being issued by Oceania.

IMO, sounds like your "isn't really a TA" isn't really a TA (and dropped the ball on something really important.)

Correct - it's more of a cruise wholesaler that I made the mistake of using. My old TA retired so I just left this as is, and of course, this happens.

 

Either way - I'm in the loop now and won't go without a proper TA again.

[mamaclark]

3 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

The key point here is that you were not initially sent/forwarded the written proof that we and numerous others received immediately upon it's being issued by Oceania.

IMO, sounds like your "isn't really a TA" isn't really a TA (and dropped the ball on something really important.)

Spot on! If we relied on our TA we would not know a thing. We have had excellent TAs on previous cruises, but this one has been MIA since final payment. When the dust settles, I will communicate this to Oceania.

[irr]

For those on Oceania Cruises out of Singapore. Here are today's numbers 

Number of cases in Singapore grew by 11 in 24 hours with a of total known cases at 58 Many think there are many more not yet diagnosed. Number of known cases in Europe due to a traveler from Singapore 11 so far. 

Number of cases in Hong Kong, the city that cruise ships appropriately can no longer stop at is 51 with 2 new cases in the past 24 hours 

So we are now routed to come and go home from a city with more cases than Hong Kong and cases growing at a more rapid rate. 

Important to know that many that with the disease who are contagious have few or no symptoms early on  so these numbers are on the low side relative to risk of getting sick. 

 

Number of cases on the Diamond Princess due to a Hong Kong passenger  prior to policy changes about Hong Kong - 218 with 44 new cases diagnosed in the past 24 hours. 

Average number of people who will be infected by each case estimated to be 4 However we can see from the super spreader and the cruise ship there is a lot of variability. 

People most likely to get seriously ill or die are those over 60. Risk of getting seriously ill or dying if you get  this infection is much higher than the flu if you are over 60. 

 

If you want to keep up with the latest numbers as everyone has some very important decisions to make before March 4 you can go to the link below. 

 

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

 

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

21 minutes ago, irr said:

For those on Oceania Cruises out of Singapore....... If you want to keep up with the latest numbers as everyone has some very important decisions to make before March 4 you can go to the link below. 

 

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

 

 

I think it's safe to assume that, with compensation offer made, Singapore berth secured, airlines like Cathay Pacific and other western Pacific home bases still flying and approx. six million Singapore residents uninflected, Nautica clear of any significant illness, US airports accepting residents flying home from the region, etc.,  Oceania is not going to cancel your cruise.

 

I also assume that most of your fellow passengers have already made up their mind and very few are not canceling.

 

So we're back to the big question you've yet to answer: Are you going?

[Hawaiidan]

On 2/11/2020 at 9:20 AM, Debbers said:

Bingo.  Our upcoming cruise is on the other side of the world (South America), but we can't know which of the crew or passengers may have already been infected by someone like the person you referenced.  Add to that, our cruise ends with a visit to our pregnant daughter.  How do we balance the risks here?

With your concern...I would just cancel out all foreign travel  till things get under control.   That is the only way to truly avoid the problem.

[bigmjh]

5 hours ago, irr said:

If you want to keep up with the latest numbers as everyone has some very important decisions to make before March 4 you can go to the link below. 

 

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

 

 

Another good site that updates statistics in almost real-time is - John Hopkins CSSE

[w1234]

On 2/12/2020 at 7:16 AM, manuwolf said:

Hi Rosalyn, you are absolutely right. We have checked with 2 lawyers yesterday. In case of port change of embarkation & disembarkation or many ports of call change the cruise line is obliged to pay a compensation - which OC does with the 25% refund. I guess they have checked out all legal angles. But I am a bit concerned as Singapore is also NOT a poet without any doubt. I am still waiting for a feedback where the news about Celebrity's denied berthing in Singapore has been written. That would be another major hit in the region. And I am really hesitating to book another flight - we will wait one more week to see developments. Such a crazy situation!

I found this online after another cruiser on our roll call for Regatta Apr 11 sailing posted about their Celebrity Millennium cruise getting cut short this week. Looks like Celebrity is pulling out of Singapore. 

 

https://www.cruisetradenews.com/coronavirus-celebrity-cruises-cancels-sailing-and-changes-itinerary/

[Debbers]

2 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

With your concern...I would just cancel out all foreign travel  till things get under control.   That is the only way to truly avoid the problem.

You're right (and thank you for expressing yourself in a kindly way).  We may get there yet.

[Desert_Boomer]

Things are starting to look a little less rosy for Singapore:

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/cruise-lines-skipping-singapore-cancelling-asian-sailings-amid-port-closures-and

[clo]

9 minutes ago, Desert_Boomer said:

Things are starting to look a little less rosy for Singapore:

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/cruise-lines-skipping-singapore-cancelling-asian-sailings-amid-port-closures-and

We have a potentially trip canceling issue...but the opposite of others. We're supposed to leave the end of March for a Norwegian cruise and other things. Our petsitter travels the world sitting. And guess where she is now. Singapore! Would this be called "ironic"?

[Paulchili]

8 minutes ago, clo said:

Our petsitter travels the world sitting. And guess where she is now. Singapore!

Just out of curiosity - who pays for her trip to Singapore & back?

[clo]

1 minute ago, Paulchili said:

Just out of curiosity - who pays for her trip to Singapore & back?

The sitter pays their own travel expenses and they don't get paid to stay here either. Found her through trustedhousesitters.com . We have friends who sold their business in NYC and have traveled the world doing this for about five years. Some of the places they've been are Thailand, Fiji, Costa Rica, Mexico, Western US, Switzerland.  They had sold their home in England but recently bought a new one and plan to only 'sit' six months a year.

[corpkid]

2 hours ago, Desert_Boomer said:

Things are starting to look a little less rosy for Singapore:

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/cruise-lines-skipping-singapore-cancelling-asian-sailings-amid-port-closures-and

 

This is exactly what I was worried about. Once some (big) lines start skipping the port, others won't be far behind. There are really two questions:  1) When does O decide to pull the plug on the region for the season (if at all)? and 2) What does the situation look like in 2 months?

 

I'm thinking we *should* have answers to question 1 around the time we learn the answer to question 2.

[Hawaiidan]

3 hours ago, Debbers said:

You're right (and thank you for expressing yourself in a kindly way).  We may get there yet.

looking at things objectively, travel is not a necessity......you do not have to go anywhere.   In this climate why risk it  if you do not have to ?  Ya  travel is fun, great, exciting......  but so is health.

[ORV]

1 hour ago, clo said:

The sitter pays their own travel expenses and they don't get paid to stay here either. Found her through trustedhousesitters.com . We have friends who sold their business in NYC and have traveled the world doing this for about five years. Some of the places they've been are Thailand, Fiji, Costa Rica, Mexico, Western US, Switzerland.  They had sold their home in England but recently bought a new one and plan to only 'sit' six months a year.

Goodness, and they want to visit Reno? Wow. 

[clo]

3 minutes ago, ORV said:

Goodness, and they want to visit Reno? Wow. 

I know 🙂 But living 'free' sometimes call for less than 5* 🙂 

[PaulMCO]

On 2/12/2020 at 4:22 PM, cruiseaholic78 said:

Oceania also states on their itinerary changes that :

“We will be processing the refund directly to the credit card on file by February 17^th and should reflect on your credit card statement within the next two billing cycles.  The future cruise credit will be issued and added to your Oceania Club profile.“

 

Is it just me who finds it suspicious that the money will be credited on the same day 17th that they will be informing T.A.’s and passengers about full details. They will be able to say that we have already accepted the refund if/when we don’t want to accept what they are offering.

Rosalyn

No -- because the exact amounts refunded are not defined.  All TA's and passengers were notified.  Those that did not get the email have bad or irresponsible TA's.

 

The exact amount refunded is your cruise cost - minus port fees times the X% (25% or 10%).  The TA's commission might get adjusted too and therefore possibly some of your TA's contributed OBC.

 

Edited February 14, 2020 by PaulMCO

[clo]

1 hour ago, clo said:

I know 🙂 But living 'free' sometimes call for less than 5* 🙂 

I had emailed her and got one back including this info:

"Singapore is amazing in their health screenings (if not a little obsessive/borderline infringing on privacy, haha!) - they thermal scan everyone in at the airports, do health screenings at all major buildings. It seems quite safe here, and I am cool as a cuke! Delta did reroute my flight back to the states so that I'm not flying through China, so now I'll be going through Sydney instead. "

 

I was SO relieved when she wrote that she was heading to Bali TODAY for her last month. Get out, girl 🙂

 

Regarding Reno, if you haven't been here in a few years it's changed and is continuing to change SO much. Tesla, Amazon, Apple and others have come in. It seems new restaurants, bars, etc. are opening constantly. Ten years ago I feel I was one of the youngest people here; now one of the oldest (72)! Plus we're an hour or less from Tahoe and there will be spring skiing.

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, PaulMCO said:

No -- because the exact amounts refunded are not defined.  All TA's and passengers were notified.  Those that did not get the email have bad or irresponsible TA's.

 

The exact amount refunded is your cruise cost - minus port fees times the X% (25% or 10%).  The TA's commission might get adjusted too and therefore possibly some of your TA's contributed OBC.

 

Where did you get the idea that the reimbursement doesn't include port taxes in the calculation? (Opinion or evidence?)

 Oceania bundles those items (cabin cost/taxes/etc. in stating a "cruise fare" for passengers' invoices and your invoice clearly states "cruise fare." Likewise, the compensation letter says "cruise fare." 

 

[Desert_Boomer]

CDC is indicating that asymptomatic people can transmit the coronavirus as well. This doesn't bode well for the effectiveness of the temperature and health assessment embarkation procedures outlined by Oceania.

https://nypost.com/2020/02/13/coronavirus-can-be-spread-by-people-who-dont-show-symptoms-cdc-warns/

[mircha]

A few hours ago, Norwegian (owner of Oceania) decided to give 100% refunds (cash or credit) to all customers booked on Feb 17? Sailing of the Norwegian Jade. Previously they were only offering the 10% refund and 25% FCC. Of course, Norwegian was silent as to why it was so tardy in offering the full refund ... and made no comment on March (or later) sailings. 
 

Also, yesterday the following was posted on Reuters.com:

Dale Fisher, chair of the Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network that is coordinated by the World Health Organization, told Reuters in an interview that the virus “has spread to other places where it's the beginning of the outbreak. ‘In Singapore, we are at the beginning of the outbreak.’

....

Singapore has reported 50 coronavirus cases, one of the highest tallies outside China, including mounting evidence of local transmission.”
 

Given this report and the increase in number of cases in Singapore, Oceania and its parent company are literally abusing its customers in expecting them to embark or disembark in Singapore. It’s almost as though the companies are hoping that people will cancel for peanuts, so they will have to make fewer refunds when push comes to shove. 

Michelle (mircha)

[corpkid]

For what it's worth, I don't think the current offer is going to be the final offer.

 

Based on everything I'm reading, Singapore is soon going to be a no-travel zone for a while. Once that happens I'm fairly certain the ships will be re-routed away from Asia and people will be able to get a refund.  I don't know this for sure, but this is my best guess as to what will end up happening based on what other cruise lines are doing.

Edited February 14, 2020 by corpkid

[Flatbush Flyer]

24 minutes ago, corpkid said:

For what it's worth, I don't think the current offer is going to be the final offer.

 

Based on everything I'm reading, Singapore is soon going to be a no-travel zone for a while. Once that happens I'm fairly certain the ships will be re-routed away from Asia and people will be able to get a refund.  I don't know this for sure, but this is my best guess as to what will end up happening based on what other cruise lines are doing.

While you're "reading," we (who are onboard Nautica now) are "listening." And the latest word from the Captain remains disembarkation in Singapore along with embarkation of the March 4 cruise.

 

[corpkid]

4 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

While you're "reading," we (who are onboard Nautica now) are "listening." And the latest word from the Captain remains disembarkation in Singapore along with embarkation of the March 4 cruise.

 

Sorry I should have been more clear - I was referring to the May embarkations. It will be interesting to see if the cruise port is still open in 2 weeks. 

Edited February 14, 2020 by corpkid