Oceania is Unethical

Vista Cruise Review to Europe - Western Europe

DMR123

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 11

Overall rating:

2.9 out of 5

12 Night British Isles Splendors (London Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 18, 2023

Ship: Vista

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 months ago

Review summary

I had two significant issues with Oceania on our last cruise to the British Isles. First, Oceania did not provide a full refund after it cancelled one of the excursions; presumably, along with refunds due to all the other passengers who paid for an Oceania excursion that day. In addition, Oceania “tendered” (used a smaller boat to get its passengers to the dock) on five ports that was not disclosed to passengers before the trip. Unfortunately, this cause two issues. Transferring from the ship to the tender was very difficult for the older passengers due to the “rough” seas. I saw at least two passengers fall attempting to board the tenders. The tenders should have been disclosed to passengers before the cruise so they could decide if they were willing to risk injury, but was not. Also, Oceania pays fees to the port for docking but not for tendering (or at least a smaller fee), which port fees are passed along to the passengers as part of the cost of the cruise. Even though Oceania charged its passengers for something they did not receive (docking at a port), it once again did not refund these fees and instead retained them. I contacted Oceania multiple times regarding both issues and did not receive a response. There is no excuse for Oceania’s lack of a response to my concerns. In any event, at best, Oceania’s actions are unethical and likely are illegal.