So upset with Oceania

[roberts2005]

Why not ship to the port where the next segment begins

[pmatawan]

42 minutes ago, roberts2005 said:

Why not ship to the port where the next segment begins

Next segment begins 20 days later.....

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, pmatawan said:

Need to pack for warm weather and not so warm weather. We were planning on shipping 3 large suitcases for the 2 of us and  each traveling with a carry bag on for our pre-cruise. 

FWIW: way too much luggage! 

 

We regularly do 6 week +\- O cruises. And whether the next one is longer or shorter than 6 weeks, we always pack for a 10 day rotation.

Using two medium (26”) Briggs & Riley compressible checked bags and two small B&R underseat rollaboards (for meds/valuables) that stack on the 26” ones, (most foreign sedans like an MB E Class can handle this), we can also fit foldable duffles (one each) in the B&Rs should we need to make a side trip (e.g., Safari) pre/post cruise.
 

This strategy includes flying to the embark city and arranging with the precruise hotel to store the B&G checked bags while we use the packed duffels for the precruise side trip.
 

And, even though some of our complex air arrangements require multiple connections for the B&Rs, we strive to use United and it’s Star Alliance partner airlines to allow “checked through to destination” (and luggage tracking) status. We’ve even done this with cruises that require warm and cold weather dress and even snorkel gear (minus flippers).

 

Finally, the O combo of self serve laundry and occasionally included laundry makes our ten day rotation scheme very efficacious.

 

[osandomir]

We’re trying to travel “light” now days with minimum luggage when it’s possible. But I would rather not describe it in details expecting that others suppose to do the same. I think OP didn’t want an advice about the amount of luggage, but just posted that their expectations about Oceania included luggage delivery were not met.

[basor]

The OP was expecting to have her luggage picked up and delivered to the ship so the amount of luggage was not a concern.  Now that she has discovered this is not happening, she is having to pivot at the last minute.  Keep all of the receipts for the extra you had to pay for transfers, extra luggage, etc. and give/send to O for reimbursement.  You should be compensated for the total out of pocket expense you incurred due to not having Luggage Forward amenity as promised.

[qballer]

We did the pre cruise India about 8 months ago. India customs, airport and cruise-port security is a mess. Went  to 4 ports after Mumbai, Visa has to be perfect, if it is not stamped right when you fly in to Delhi, you will have problems. They also have lower weight limits on airline bags on domestic flights(Your flight from Delhi to Mumbai) Read all the fine print on Visa and flight in India. We enjoyed India, but half the pre-cruise Oceania travelers were happy to get out of India.   

[pmatawan]

56 minutes ago, qballer said:

We did the pre cruise India about 8 months ago. India customs, airport and cruise-port security is a mess. Went  to 4 ports after Mumbai, Visa has to be perfect, if it is not stamped right when you fly in to Delhi, you will have problems. They also have lower weight limits on airline bags on domestic flights(Your flight from Delhi to Mumbai) Read all the fine print on Visa and flight in India. We enjoyed India, but half the pre-cruise Oceania travelers were happy to get out of India.   

Thanks for the info. I found out about the luggage weight limits, I'll be paying for extra kilos I guess.

[clo]

1 hour ago, pmatawan said:

Thanks for the info. I found out about the luggage weight limits, I'll be paying for extra kilos I guess.

Ah, so that's an option? That's good to know.

 

[pmatawan]

1 hour ago, clo said:

Ah, so that's an option? That's good to know.

 

Yes, but it might be cheaper to pay the additional bag fee. It appears they discount the charge for overweight/additional bags if you pay online rather then at the airport. Another interesting point:

I may be wrong, but it appears their weight allowance of 20kilos can be used to check 2 bags if they both weigh less then 20k total.

[Flatbush Flyer]

13 hours ago, basor said:

The OP was expecting to have her luggage picked up and delivered to the ship so the amount of luggage was not a concern.  Now that she has discovered this is not happening, she is having to pivot at the last minute.  Keep all of the receipts for the extra you had to pay for transfers, extra luggage, etc. and give/send to O for reimbursement.  You should be compensated for the total out of pocket expense you incurred due to not having Luggage Forward amenity as promised.

O might “throw them a bone” but owes them nothing. Read the T&Cs and Ticket Contract. O assumes zero liability for performance issues concerning their contracted services.

[PhD-iva]

10 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

O might “throw them a bone” but owes them nothing. Read the T&Cs and Ticket Contract. O assumes zero liability for performance issues concerning their contracted services.

Why does O advertise and market a service they know or should know cannot be provided?

[pmatawan]

3 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

Why does O advertise and market a service they know or should know cannot be provided?

That is the crux of my dissatisfaction with Oceania. If they had advised me at the time of booking or sometime sooner than a month before boarding, I would have made the appropriate travel arrangements. 

[qballer]

There were about 50 people in our pre-cruise excursion. About half of them had overweight bags, I didn't see anyone being charged for being overweight.(it's in the flight info for the flight from Delhi to Mumbai)  Just make sure your Visa is correct and stamped properly when you enter. Several couples missed half the 1st day dealing with customs. 

 

Oceana's pre cruise excursion was well planned and Hotel nice. I recommend it. They can't control Custom's and the Police. Fake cops did flagg down our 2 buses, our main guide is related to a Police Captain, cops let us go....go figure

[Snaefell3]

My 2¢:

Earlier this year and past our final payment date, Monterey closed itself to cruise ships.  We were booked aboard Regatta and were looking forward to visiting as tourists instead of residents.

 

We'll let any lawyers opine on force majeure, but we blamed Monterey not Oceania.

[Snaefell3]

11 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

Why does O advertise and market a service they know or should know cannot be provided?

Probably for the same reason that folks with questions are advised to "call three times and average the answers".

 

Snark aside, what was the timing on Oceania's offer and India's customs crackdown?

[pmatawan]

2 minutes ago, Snaefell3 said:

Probably for the same reason that folks with questions are advised to "call three times and average the answers".

 

Snark aside, what was the timing on Oceania's offer and India's customs crackdown?

It's my understanding that the issue with India customs is not new and either Oceania or Luggage Forward should have know and advised me. Customs does not allow 3rd parties to collect freight.  Only the recipient can claim with passport. 

[Snaefell3]

37 minutes ago, pmatawan said:

It's my understanding that the issue with India customs is not new and either Oceania or Luggage Forward should have know and advised me. Customs does not allow 3rd parties to collect freight.  Only the recipient can claim with passport. 

OK.  We're back to "call three times and average the answers".   Sympathies.

 

Further data for you. 

• Luggage shippers sub-contract the actual luggage handling

• We had issues with Luggage Forward not talking to their Seattle sub-contractor in 2018

• For our next cruise, the Luggage Free website said "phone us" when we selected "ship".