JP Travel Map

	Odysseys Unlimited [website] Well organized, small group tours that explore some out-of-the way sites. Seems geared to the experienced traveler, but a good compromise between an escorted tour and a tour with flexibility. Exhibited exceptional staffing and logistics.
	Globus Travel  [website] Well organized tours, sometimes overly crammed with events. Overall good logistics and good value for the money. Globus offers very good 'overview' and 'panorama' tours for first-time and experienced travelers.
	Affordable Tours [website] Discount tours for Globus and most other travel providers. A good website for travel research, and good people with whom to do business.
	Malaysia Airlines

Oceania Cruises - near departure, this company changed its exotic itinerary for one that was quite ordinary. I found out quite by accident: I happened by their website and noticed that the trip had changed. There was no offer of reimbursement for the lesser value. We contacted Oceania immediately to cancel the trip and to retrieve our deposit that they had been holding for almost one year.

Oceania says that it can and will make any changes that it wants, at any time, even during the trip. And it does so without any compensation to its valued customers. Other tour companies treat their customers in a much better fashion.

This episode is not an only child: Last year, Oceania cancelled the same exotic ports and substituted others. They offered no compensation to the passengers involved, and did not include this information in their current catalogues. Oceania did not reveal that there was a history of missing these ports and a possibility of missing them again. One could argue that this shows a pattern of "bait and switch", Oceania advertises and sells one product and then delivers something else. Ironically, other travel companies have successfully delivered the exotic ports that Oceania had cancelled. Irony or business scam?

Oceania appears not to have mastered Business 101: they have not learned that it costs thousands of dollars to find and secure customers, but only a very few dollars to lose them forever. Business 102 expands this concept further: if you please a customer, he/she will tell 3 people; if you screw the customer, he/she will tell 10-20 others. It's quite simple - Oceania - even you can do the math!

OK. I vote with my dollars and won't be doing business with Oceania. Mr Cesar Marin and Oceania may have saved a few dollars, but they have lost a frequent traveler and others as customer.

I, for one, will do my part to tell everyone about Oceania's shady dealings. Share this with your fellow travelers. Maybe, Oceania will get the message.