Oceania Would Not Allow Move Over - Resolved

[ohmark]

Sorry for my above botched post #25. The second quote in the box, is actually from me. Once more, my apologies.

[jean163]

I guess you could call me the OP of this board but I was just responding to a question someone else had posted about whether anyone was being offered 'move overs'.  I replied in the negative and the post quickly devolved into an entirely different 'discussion' which was eventually hived off and the original board put back on track.  First off there are always some on these boards who are critical/opinionated rather than helpful so just ignore them, I do.  I've always thought 'cruisecritic' was a misnomer as I've used these boards for so many good things over the years.  This is the first time I've been critical of any cruise line.  Will just tell you what I did but, to be honest, I'm not at all sure what 'tipped the scales'.  First, I used the various boards extensively to post the issue, not just this one but also the 2 that included our cruise and also the one specifically for Canadians.  I have long suspected there are those linked to the industry watching what is being posted so felt it was worth a try to cover all the bases.  I also sent a pretty strong message to Oceania on their Facebook page (never had an answer to that one).   We were already 'checked in' for the sailing (had our boarding passes) and held off until the last possible moment in the desperate hope that there would be sufficient information about Omicron and travel restrictions to allow us the comfort to proceed.  We cancelled 4 days before the sailing.  The new Cdn. federal travel advisory was a major concern to us, especially as they said there would be more restrictions coming.  To get to Miami we had 4 airports to go through and 3 flights - another high risk situation for us being exposed just prior to sailing.  I used a travel agent for the booking and she did all the handling of the push for a FCC as I know Oceania's agents won't normally speak to you about a booking if it was done through an agent.  I just spelled out to her all these factors that contributed and also included the fact that 2 ports had already been cancelled with the possibility of more to come (and 2 more did come!).   We already have another O cruise under deposit and this one just cancelled would have been our 14th voyage on Oceania so don't know if those 2 things played a part as well.  When you do the on-line check-in the T&C are there and you have to acknowledge that you've read them.  They are huge but I did skim them and noticed that they contradict SailSafe in several areas and also saw they were dated months ago.  There was a sentence (somewhere!) that indicated that they could be changed due to evolving circumstances, or something similar to that, so thought it was worth trying for a FCC, rather than just accepting the loss of our full fare, by listing all the contributing factors.  The travel agent took it from there.  I do know she has been in the business for a long time and the firm is huge and based in Miami so that can't have hurt.   The FCCs can be used for anything booked by end of 2022 and sailing by end of 2023 so we have our fingers crossed that we make it and that Oceania does too!  (We do know, from postings from the ship, that they did end up with exposures on board as early as the 2nd day of the cruise and they are now yellow on the CDC status site.)

[ohmark]

jean163,

Thank you so much for your wonderfully detailed answer. And congratulations on your smart handling of the situation.

Mark

[ohmark]

22 hours ago, jean163 said:

(We do know, from postings from the ship, that they did end up with exposures on board as early as the 2nd day of the cruise and they are now yellow on the CDC status site.)

Jean, one more question: Did you cancel first, or get Oceania's agreement for fcc first? Thanks.

[jean163]

10 minutes ago, ohmark said:

Jean, one more question: Did you cancel first, or get Oceania's agreement for fcc first? Thanks.

Cancelled first, on the Friday (17th) with the sailing due to start on the next Tuesday (21st).  I had told the TA that we were seriously considering cancelling when the new Cdn. travel advisory came out on the Wednesday (15th).  At that time she said we would be in 'full penalties'.  Our FCCs were emailed to us on the 22nd, so no real delay.

[Dick Barton]

What is the current Oceania Policy on issuing a Cash Refund on an almost $20k FCC-----issued Spring 2020 when we acted too fast by cancelling ourselves a Cruise just before Oceania cancelled---ending up with an FCC which should have been used Summer 2021 for Norway which never happened-----should now be used finally for a February 2022 Miami Cruise-----which now looks as if it might have 'Destination Issues' if it sails at all----and with an FCC "Expiry" of December 2022. 

 

 

Is there any way they would refund?------extending an FCC into 2023 not a good option these days!!

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Dick Barton said:

What is the current Oceania Policy on issuing a Cash Refund on an almost $20k FCC-----issued Spring 2020 when we acted too fast by cancelling ourselves a Cruise just before Oceania cancelled---ending up with an FCC which should have been used Summer 2021 for Norway which never happened-----should now be used finally for a February 2022 Miami Cruise-----which now looks as if it might have 'Destination Issues' if it sails at all----and with an FCC "Expiry" of December 2022. 

 

 

Is there any way they would refund?------extending an FCC into 2023 not a good option these days!!

Probably no refund  but maybe extend the FCC 

It would be best to have your TA contact Oceania  & see what can be done  for you

JMO