Excursions still no available on Sept. cruise

[patty1955]

We are booked on a Nautica cruise to Bermuda on Sept. 18. We booked the cruise in Aug. 2023 and in Oct. 2023 we were notified that the  first port was being changed to Newport, RI. Newport was the first port when we booked so there really wasn't a change. That should have been my first clue that it was going to be a problem. 

Since we booked, I have never had access to the excursions for Newport. The port has been greyed out in the planner with no access to that port. When I check while logged out, I can see several different excursions but I can't book them. The excursions in the other ports are different depending on whether I'm logged in or not. 

I have reported this problem in emails and phone calls to customer service. I'm always told that it will be fixed in "a few weeks" and I can always call and book with Oceania. I have contacted my Elite Vacation Consultant (Oceania rep) several times and I'm always told "a few weeks". 

Today I called to check on the price of a Newport excursion and book one but the Oceania rep can't book it because it's not linked to the sailing. He says to check back in "a few weeks"

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can resolve this? I have $600 excursion credit that has no value if I can't book an excursion.

[halfapair]

Book an excursion through a private company, not Oceania. It will be cheaper.

[EJL2023]

I’m confused. In the other thread you started on this topic you said you talked to Oceania on 2/14 and they said it showed and they asked you to take a look at the excursions  and then call them back to reserve for Newport. 
 

With that said…..are there any other excursions on the cruise that interest you? If so I’d book them now so you can at least use your credit. If the Newport one comes available then you can book it and cancel one of the other ones if you want. And if they continue with port stop in Newport some will become available as they are not going to stop at a port and not offer any excursions since that is a revenue maker for them. 

Edited March 22 by EJL2023

[patty1955]

 

 

1 hour ago, halfapair said:

Book an excursion through a private company, not Oceania. It will be cheaper.

 

I'll probably have to since Oceania doesn't have any snorkeling/scuba excursions.

 

56 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

I’m confused. In the other thread you started on this topic you said you talked to Oceania on 2/14 and they said it showed and they asked you to take a look at the excursions  and then call them back to reserve for Newport. 

They said that without trying to book anything. The rep today tried and couldn't find any excursions for Newport.

I thought about doing as you suggested and booking a place holder excursion but I really don't want to spend our first day onboard trying to book an excursion. And there's no guarantee that they will have the problem fixed by then. 

Wouldn't you know, Newport is the only port we haven't been to on this cruise.

[EJL2023]

Just saying that any Newport excursion may not use up all your 600 credit anyway based on prices I see for them on other cruises. So try and see if can get something booked before too late to use some of it at least. When they become available simply cancel any you may need to in order to have credit available for Newport. There will almost certainly be some made available before the cruise. 

Edited March 22 by EJL2023

[tropicalkerry2002]

I sail on Insignia to Bermuda on Sept 1st. First port is Newport, and I have had an O  excursion booked there since last Sept.

Very odd that the same excursions aren't available to you. Good luck!

[patty1955]

20 hours ago, tropicalkerry2002 said:

 

Very odd that the same excursions aren't available to you. Good luck!

I'm sure it's because they changed the first port from Bar Harbor to Newport.