My Aunt and Uncle are booked onto the Oceana for a cruise leaving this Saturday for a 14 night cruise.
Today they have been informed by the cruise line that they will no longer call at Sardinia, la Corrunna and one other port (she did say but I forgot) instead they are staying 3 days in Barcelona. The cruise line is offering a 25% refund on the price but will not entertain a cancellation and full refund.
The reason being given is (according to my Aunt) a problem with the ship!
Does anyone have any other information?
Thanks
Firstly it is true. There are major changes to this cruise. With some passengers up in arms and some quite happy. This a copy of the letter posted on Facebook earlier:
From Christopher Edgington
Good afternoon, I know there have been several questions and concerns raised about the changes we are making to Oceana’s sailing on Saturday so I wanted to let everyone know what is happening and why.
Oceana has developed an issue with the seal between the inside and outside of the ship that goes around the propeller shaft. Rest assured, there is absolutely no safety issue whatsoever with us operating the ship. We think this has been caused by a foreign object getting into the seal and damaging it. As with any mechanical issue, we need to fix it as soon as possible to avoid any further damage.
In order to make the required repair we require a specialist dive team to work on the shaft seals underwater who need around 70 hours whilst the ship is stationary in port to do this. The work will be taking place at the stern of the ship and will be clearly visible to passengers.
Whilst having to take this decision we considered the impact this was going to have on our customers, and what we could do to make sure they still had a great holiday. We decided on Barcelona to make this repair because it is a fantastic city with lots to see and do with great bars and restaurants. Oceana will of course be fully functional whilst alongside in Barcelona, there will be no impact at all on the ship's services or programme of entertainment.
We are refunding 25% of all passengers booking fare, laying on additional local entertainment and some exciting Spanish evenings. Ashore, there will be free shuttle buses running between the ship and the city centre and we are providing everyone with a complimentary two day ‘hop on – hop off’ tour ticket that has over 40 stops which will allow people to see all of the city sights at their leisure. I really think that these additional experiences will help bring Barcelona alive during the time we are there and allow our customers the opportunity to see what the city has to offer.
I am really sorry that we have do this, but our ships are like any piece of machinery, they do develop issues which need fixing whilst in service. Normally these can be undertaken without any impact on the cruise programme, but as this requires divers and 70 hours in port we had no other option but to get this done as soon as possible.
Lastly I would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding
Also it is worth pointing out that some passengers are not happy with the changes and do not want the offered compensation but have asked P&O for a full refund or to be allowed to rebook onto another cruise without penalty. Initially P&O refused this on the grounds that it was not a significant change to the cruise, cancelling 3 ports is not significant!!!!! So, some passengers have consulted Solicitors and spoken to ABTA who have disagreed with P&O. (the information regarding customers is taken from actual posts on Facebook) So, if you are looking for a refund then it may be worth going back to P&O and asking them.
Personally I think it is great offer and 3 days in Barcelona would be fine. However, for some it may not. Depends on how you feel.
From Christopher Edgington
Good afternoon, I know there have been several questions and concerns raised about the changes we are making to Oceana’s sailing on Saturday so I wanted to let everyone know what is happening and why.
Oceana has developed an issue with the seal between the inside and outside of the ship that goes around the propeller shaft. Rest assured, there is absolutely no safety issue whatsoever with us operating the ship. We think this has been caused by a foreign object getting into the seal and damaging it. As with any mechanical issue, we need to fix it as soon as possible to avoid any further damage.
In order to make the required repair we require a specialist dive team to work on the shaft seals underwater who need around 70 hours whilst the ship is stationary in port to do this. The work will be taking place at the stern of the ship and will be clearly visible to passengers.
Whilst having to take this decision we considered the impact this was going to have on our customers, and what we could do to make sure they still had a great holiday. We decided on Barcelona to make this repair because it is a fantastic city with lots to see and do with great bars and restaurants. Oceana will of course be fully functional whilst alongside in Barcelona, there will be no impact at all on the ship's services or programme of entertainment.
We are refunding 25% of all passengers booking fare, laying on additional local entertainment and some exciting Spanish evenings. Ashore, there will be free shuttle buses running between the ship and the city centre and we are providing everyone with a complimentary two day ‘hop on – hop off’ tour ticket that has over 40 stops which will allow people to see all of the city sights at their leisure. I really think that these additional experiences will help bring Barcelona alive during the time we are there and allow our customers the opportunity to see what the city has to offer.
I am really sorry that we have do this, but our ships are like any piece of machinery, they do develop issues which need fixing whilst in service. Normally these can be undertaken without any impact on the cruise programme, but as this requires divers and 70 hours in port we had no other option but to get this done as soon as possible.
Lastly I would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding
Also it is worth pointing out that some passengers are not happy with the changes and do not want the offered compensation but have asked P&O for a full refund or to be allowed to rebook onto another cruise without penalty. Initially P&O refused this on the grounds that it was not a significant change to the cruise, cancelling 3 ports is not significant!!!!! So, some passengers have consulted Solicitors and spoken to ABTA who have disagreed with P&O. (the information regarding customers is taken from actual posts on Facebook) So, if you are looking for a refund then it may be worth going back to P&O and asking them.
Personally I think it is great offer and 3 days in Barcelona would be fine. However, for some it may not. Depends on how you feel.
I would say if you've been to the cancelled ports of call in the past then I can see how 3 days in Barcelona would be quite fun as it is a great city with lots to see and do. But for those who were looking forward to their "first" visits to other ports I can understand they would be most displeased indeed...
We were on a cruise many years ago when one of our ports was cancelled (another failed Israel trip on our part - another story...) and the ship was re-routed. We added Volos to our itinerary and it was absolutely wonderful and we wouldn't have missed it for the world, but as yet - we still haven't managed "that" trip to Israel.
We were on a cruise many years ago when one of our ports was cancelled (another failed Israel trip on our part - another story...) and the ship was re-routed. We added Volos to our itinerary and it was absolutely wonderful and we wouldn't have missed it for the world, but as yet - we still haven't managed "that" trip to Israel.
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