Pacific Coast Regatta May 17

[bphman]

I am getting more and more disappointed with what is happening with this 7 night Pacific Coast cruise.  We are no longer stopping in Monterey because the residents voted to ban cruise ships.  This is not Oceania's fault but they are not offering any compensation, not even a refund in taxes or port fees.  Now the issue is with Santa Barbara.  We are scheduled to arrive at 8 am and leave at 6 pm.   I was trying to arrange a private tour and the tour operator informed me that we were not scheduled to arrive until 11 and last tender back to the ship was at 4:30.  I called the harbormaster and was told that Oceania was notified that they are to arrive at 11 but they could request an earlier arrival but so far have not.  I called Oceania and they deny hearing any of this.  The last tender at 4:30 is a hard departure because, every Wednesday, they have sailboat races and the harbor must not have any other traffic.  Kind of bummed with this.  Would have cancelled the cruise if I had know about this but, of course, this was after final payment.  Oceania isn't that big that they can't keep track of these things.

[hmorrow]

We’re doing a private wine tour in valle de Guadalupe, in Ensenada. I was trying to find out if they are arriving late or leaving earlier. (Same cruise)

[Robroy]

Good grief! We're on the same sailing and I don't understand why the arrival would change to 11:00am - particularly since with the cancellation of Monterey we have a full sea-day leaving San Francisco at 11:00pm on Monday night and not arriving in Santa Barbara until Wednesday morning. We don't have any specific plans at Santa Barbara but I feel badly for people who have tours planned or were looking forward to a full day experience. Will be interesting to see what happens....

 

Cheers,

Rob

[bphman]

Hi hmorrow.  As far as I know there are no other changes.  Haven't there been enough?  So much poor communication.  We cancelled our winery tour and we are just going to the Funk Zone which is close to the pier and there are tasting rooms and breweries there.  The zoo is apparently nice but, if we only have 5 and a half hours, don't know how much we can do.  There is a Duck Tour as well.  I got the name of a restaurant from a Fess Parker Winery salesperson that may work for lunch.  We wound up cancelling the Ensenada excursion after the recent kidnapping.  We did a wine tasting in Ensenada in 2020 and the wine was pretty bad.  I lived in Mexico for 4 years and absolutely loved it but those were different times.  On a Princess cruise in March, we met a woman who had been in Cozumel and there were armed guards on her tour.  Of course it is hearsay but my wife is too nervous.  I would still like to do it.

[bphman]

Hi Robroy.  I didn't believe the time either until I spoke with the harbormaster.  He said time is running out for Oceania to request earlier arrival.  Oceania denies any knowledge of the change.  Considering this is a tender port, we may not get into Santa Barbara before noon.  We can only hope that things change.  Oceania has some longer excursions so I don't know how that is going to work.  I guess we can get an idea what will happen with the sailing a week before ours.  Considering we lost Monterey, this would really be disappointing. 

[Jancruz]

5 minutes ago, bphman said:

Hi Robroy.  I didn't believe the time either until I spoke with the harbormaster.  He said time is running out for Oceania to request earlier arrival.  Oceania denies any knowledge of the change.  Considering this is a tender port, we may not get into Santa Barbara before noon.  We can only hope that things change.  Oceania has some longer excursions so I don't know how that is going to work.  I guess we can get an idea what will happen with the sailing a week before ours.  Considering we lost Monterey, this would really be disappointing. 

Who are you talking to at Oceania that you THINK would know about the change..I guarantee you you are not even close to talking to the right person..I suggest you wait for your cruise..and stop driving yourself crazy..

Jancruz1

[bphman]

Not driving myself crazy.  Just trying to plan.

 

[Norseh2o]

We enjoyed our 2 Regatta Vines trips in April  & September, 2022. For both trips we chose the Historic Ensenada/Tequila tours in Ensenada, Mexico as an excursion. We learned a bit about Ensenada and had a thorough lesson in the agriculture, history and marketing of tequila. Especially impressed with the enthusiasm and love of country by the women and men leading the tour and the tequila tasting. We skipped the shopping in Ensenada & walked back to the ship both trips.

In San Francisco we enjoyed a private (booked by friends) wine tour during our April trip and in September, we spent the day walking around San Francisco. We lived in East Bay (Lafayette) last century & felt comfortable exploring. 
Last month, while onboard the Marina, we booked another Regatta Vines trip for September, 2024. 🙂

Edited April 17, 2023 by Norseh2o

[pinotlover]

16 hours ago, Jancruz said:

Who are you talking to at Oceania that you THINK would know about the change..I guarantee you you are not even close to talking to the right person..I suggest you wait for your cruise..and stop driving yourself crazy..

Jancruz1

This is SO correct. People calling 1-800 and talking to some clerk. Do you think they have a clue on any of this? One can’t get a straight answer from Destination Services aboard ship, why does one believe aDial a Clerk would know anything? 

[m1k2s3]

2 hours ago, pinotlover said:

This is SO correct. People calling 1-800 and talking to some clerk. Do you think they have a clue on any of this? One can’t get a straight answer from Destination Services aboard ship, why does one believe aDial a Clerk would know anything? 

I think it might be more helpful to others if you know or if you could suggest an alternative department or person to talk to if this situation were to happen to them.

[pinotlover]

4 minutes ago, m1k2s3 said:

I think it might be more helpful to others if you know or if you could suggest an alternative department or person to talk to if this situation were to happen to them.

There is no alternative department. Oceania tells you want they want you to know, when they want you to know it. 
 

Example. On our Marina cruise Oceania, we later found out, had cancelled a port over two weeks prior to sailing. We passengers were informed of that cancellation upon boarding . Oceania had no desire for us to know the details earlier. Unless one checks all their ports of call individually they won’t know their status until Oceania chooses to tell them.

 

The harbormaster is the best source!! 

[hmorrow]

19 hours ago, bphman said:

Hi hmorrow.  As far as I know there are no other changes.  Haven't there been enough?  So much poor communication.  We cancelled our winery tour and we are just going to the Funk Zone which is close to the pier and there are tasting rooms and breweries there.  The zoo is apparently nice but, if we only have 5 and a half hours, don't know how much we can do.  There is a Duck Tour as well.  I got the name of a restaurant from a Fess Parker Winery salesperson that may work for lunch.  We wound up cancelling the Ensenada excursion after the recent kidnapping.  We did a wine tasting in Ensenada in 2020 and the wine was pretty bad.  I lived in Mexico for 4 years and absolutely loved it but those were different times.  On a Princess cruise in March, we met a woman who had been in Cozumel and there were armed guards on her tour.  Of course it is hearsay but my wife is too nervous.  I would still like to do it.

Read this, after I posted on the roll call. Thanks for the explanation....

[LHT28]

19 hours ago, bphman said:

Hi Robroy.  I didn't believe the time either until I spoke with the harbormaster.  He said time is running out for Oceania to request earlier arrival.  Oceania denies any knowledge of the change.  Considering this is a tender port, we may not get into Santa Barbara before noon.  We can only hope that things change.  Oceania has some longer excursions so I don't know how that is going to work.  I guess we can get an idea what will happen with the sailing a week before ours.  Considering we lost Monterey, this would really be disappointing. 

Not sure how up to date this is  but you could contact the harbor master

https://santabarbaraca.gov/things-do/waterfront/cruise-ship-visits

[bphman]

I think the harbormaster might have an idea about what is going on in their own port.  By the time I get on board to ask Destination Services, it will be too late.  I didn't just talk to "some clerk" at the 800 number.  I guess people comment without reading my original post.  I DID speak with the harbormaster.  That is how I got this information.   I checked the harbor website and then called to confirm.    

[Jancruz]

20 hours ago, bphman said:

Hi Robroy.  I didn't believe the time either until I spoke with the harbormaster.  He said time is running out for Oceania to request earlier arrival.  Oceania denies any knowledge of the change.  Considering this is a tender port, we may not get into Santa Barbara before noon.  We can only hope that things change.  Oceania has some longer excursions so I don't know how that is going to work.  I guess we can get an idea what will happen with the sailing a week before ours.  Considering we lost Monterey, this would really be disappointing. 

I believe your post says Oceania denies any knowledge of change..thats who the clerk was..

Jancruz1

[bphman]

Trust me.  I went above that.  I have a connection at Oceania and it was asked of their operations people.  I can't change anything and am just trying to figure our the logistics of our port stop to maximize our experience.  Santa Barbara is looking to stop cruise ships like Monterey did and I am sure Catalina will follow suit.  

[Astro Flyer]

On 4/17/2023 at 9:30 AM, LHT28 said:

Not sure how up to date this is  but you could contact the harbor master

https://santabarbaraca.gov/things-do/waterfront/cruise-ship-visits

Thanks…we’re scheduled there on Regatta in September & that website provides a contact for cruise ship information.

 

Angela Rodriguez
Administrative Assistant
CITY OF SANTA BARBARA, Waterfront Department
(805) 564-5519 | ARodriguez@SantaBarbaraCA.gov
SantaBarbaraCA.gov/Waterfront

[Astro Flyer]

3 hours ago, bphman said:

Santa Barbara is looking to stop cruise ships like Monterey did and I am sure Catalina will follow suit.

I know that during the pandemic SB closed to cruise ships but searching online didn’t find any info about doing it again. I found an article from a December 2022 council meeting where some locals wanted to ban cruise ships for environmental reasons but didn’t find anything else.

 

Edited April 18, 2023 by Astro Flyer

[bphman]

Astro Flyer, this was info that the tour company told me about the sentiments of the locals.  The have not had a referendum but there is an undercurrent of looking at a ban in the future.  The environmentalists have a very strong voice and want to preserve what they have.  In many ways, I don't blame them.  In the meantime, I will enjoy whatever time I have visiting.

 

I saw the ship schedule a while ago which is what started my query.  We are listed to arrive at 11 and leave at 7:30 with the last tender back at 4:30.  I spoke with Angela.  She was very friendly and explained everything to me.  She is currently acting as the harbormaster who recently retired if I got straight what she was explaining.  I'll follow the sailing the week before on Cruisetracker.com to see what their experience is.  

[Astro Flyer]

36 minutes ago, bphman said:

Astro Flyer, this was info that the tour company told me about the sentiments of the locals.  The have not had a referendum but there is an undercurrent of looking at a ban in the future.  The environmentalists have a very strong voice and want to preserve what they have.  In many ways, I don't blame them.  In the meantime, I will enjoy whatever time I have visiting.

 

I saw the ship schedule a while ago which is what started my query.  We are listed to arrive at 11 and leave at 7:30 with the last tender back at 4:30.  I spoke with Angela.  She was very friendly and explained everything to me.  She is currently acting as the harbormaster who recently retired if I got straight what she was explaining.  I'll follow the sailing the week before on Cruisetracker.com to see what their experience is.  

Thank you very much for sharing that information.

 

We’re only about an hour drive from SB so we could easily go there but for cruise passengers having their time in SB reduced is very disappointing. It’s an easy town to explore with many things to do there. TripAdvisor rates the SB courthouse as the #1 thing to do in SB. On a cruise we usually walk less than a mile to the several wine tasting rooms. Once we took an independent tour to the Santa Ynez Valley well known for their Pinot Noir & even had a movie made about their Pinot Noir…Sideways.

 

Here’s hoping that you’ll have a full day to enjoy SB. 🤞

 

 

Edited April 18, 2023 by Astro Flyer

[Jancruz]

Astro Flyer what area do you live [n?? We are in Oxnard Shores, 30 minutes South of Santa Barbara

Jancruz1

[Astro Flyer]

51 minutes ago, Jancruz said:

Astro Flyer what area do you live [n?? We are in Oxnard Shores, 30 minutes South of Santa Barbara

Jancruz1

Close to the Reagan Library…nice to see another VC resident. Your CC name looks familiar…maybe from a Princess roll call.

We’re booked on our first O cruise in September and also in November 2024. We’re seeking a better experience after too many disappointments on our most frequently traveled cruise line Princess. Good friends who have cruised with us on Princess recommended their favorite cruise line…Oceania. We’re looking forward to having a better experience more like when we first sailed Princess in 1989.

 

Edited April 18, 2023 by Astro Flyer

[Jancruz]

38 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

Close to the Reagan Library…nice to see another VC resident. Your CC name looks familiar…maybe from a Princess roll call.

We’re booked on our first O cruise in September and also in November 2024. We’re seeking a better experience after too many disappointments on our most frequently traveled cruise line Princess. Good friends who have cruised with us on Princess recommended their favorite cruise line…Oceania. We’re looking forward to having a better experience more like when we first sailed Princess in 1989.

 

I havent been on Princess in 10 years..But coincidently we were supposed to be at the Reagan today to see the new exhibit but had to cancel until May 9..Stu and I have been on many many Oceania cruises so if you have any questions feel free to ask me..

Jancruz1