I have been reading the comments about the lawsuit and the lack of answers from the back office.  I would like to say the back office personnel have been very helpful with my questions and concerns about statements that i have found on the pages about the Danube trip, Danube group and other concerns i have.  One was the heading on the  group page Aug. 3-10,  which they have corrected.  They have contacted me about the wording of the itnerary and are working on that one.  They have called me back and have sent emails. 

That said, it would  help to if they would sent out either thru email or snail mail info concerning this issue.  So we could stop wondering. 

chemistry

hi again everyone...

I agree with pretty much everything you said especially the pre and post Amy days. WE wondered at the time if the company was moving soo fast in all direcions. It would be great if it all works out equitable and Olivia stays Olivia. Now, if the office end of things can progress more that would be icing on the cake.

My partner and I have been on 9 Olivia cruises and have our 10th booked.  We have seen the pre-Amy days, the Amy days, and the post-Amy days.  I've always been impressed with Judy's dedication and committment to Olivia.  Most importantly, I've always trusted that she would not make a decision that was detrimental to our community and the experience we get when traveling with Olivia. 

Amy came in and had a lot of ideas, and made some changes that were good.  But I did feel Olivia was trying to grow too fast under her time, expanding into too many areas at once.  But I always felt her committment to the community was there.  Her desire to disband the company is a disappointment.  Go after money you feel is due you, that's fine, but don't punish the rest of us for your issues with Judy.

As for the back office, yes, I've continued to have issues with them, and I absolutely agree it's frustrating and shouldn't happen at this stage.  But I do know they are trying to address them.  If my experiences on my trips weren't so good, that wouldn't be enough.  But because the trips have been so good, I put up with it.  I do however continue to make them aware of the issues and push for improvement.    We deserve great service in all areas, not just on the trips.  I do believe the goal is to get there.  I'm hoping that now they aren't focusing so much on growing externally they will focus on improving the internal systems.

Finally price.  Yes, we pay a premium.  And sometimes I think it's worth it, and sometimes not.  For a cruise, I believe it is, as you are "trapped" on a ship with people.  I choose to be "trapped" with lesbians.  On the other hand, I'm not doing the Australia trip because I know I can do as nice a trip for much less money.  And when doing land trips, I'm not stuck with the same people, so the Olivia experience is less important to me.  It's all about choice.  My partner and I travel both with and without Olivia.  I'm sure that will continue.  But I guarantee that as long as Olivia continues, we will continue to travel with Olivia.

Hello Ladies - I think every post has said something that I wholeheartedly agree with!!  We love our Olivia trips and sometimes, for various reasons, we take cruises or other trips that are not Olivia.  The experience of being taken care of by Olivia is one of a kind and we have met so many great people on the vacations that we would not trade those experiences for anything in the world. I also agree that everyone has to make those choices for themself and no one should be criticized for their personal choices.  Its their money and their precious vacation time!!

Unfortunately I agree that the experiences I have had with the Olivia "back office" have also been filled with calls/emails not returned and the experience that they never seem to answer their phones.  I'm not sure what the problem is, but they really do need to expend some time and energy on that side of the business.  For the most part they have doing wonderful trips down to a science, so maybe a focus on the pre/post trip experience would be in order. I do have to say that I don't believe that this is a problem of them ignoring us and our needs, I would guess that its either due to a lack of staff or lack of an organized system to deal with calls/emails/billing questions, etc.  I have never spoken with an Olivia employee who was not kind, friendly and trying to help me.

 Ironically it may be a good long while before we can take another Olivia trip because I am changing careers to a much less financially lucrative one, but Olivia will always be the gold standard vacation for us!!

 Blessings,

Suzanne

We agree that it's not disloyal to Olivia to express frustration, complaints, or concerns.  We are fortunate that we can afford to travel once or twice a year with Olivia.  Earlier this year we booked a trip for 2008, at this point until we see resolution to this now very public issue, we will wait to book additional travel with Olivia.  We are not anti-Olivia, but are concerned with complaints on both sides...we don't know what's accurate and what's not. 

After reading these posts, it seems like Olivia was notified of the issues listed above at the time...and I believe this forum is moderated by Olivia, so they are being reminded of these problems again.  Seems to me that Kellieeunie dealt appropriately with their complaints and are justified in their frustration.  We too have had difficulty communicating with Olivia...certainly not to the same extent.  One suggestion we have is to have a human answer their phone during business hours...just a personal pet peeve.

We have truly enjoyed our travel with Olivia and look forward to future lesbian travel.  We wouldn't mind seeing competition for Olivia...nothing against them, but competition is very healthy and more travel options benefit all of us.  Have a great day!

Kath&Linnie

Not ganging up here. . . agree that the back office needs some improvement.  Not knowing the real story of the company's finances or ability to hire personnel, but certainly knowing that they have only around 100 or so employees to currently do all they do, I am just saying that I've been able to tolerate the back office "snafu", as frustrating and time-consuming as it sometimes makes things, in order to get the vacation I enjoy (in other words, I've been okay with more people focused on my having a good time than on my paperwork being right the first time). That's just me.  I've had some billing mistakes and some trouble getting through to (or responses from) folks, but they all got resolved.

I think you DO need to let Olivia know, quite clearly though, your concerns and hesitations and that the back office/customer service issues you've experienced are giving you pause.  It's important for Olivia to fully appreciate that.  The old "squeeky wheel" (no reference to our friend "Squeeky" here!) syndrome probably is in play, so squeek away to Olivia!  And we'll hope to see you back on Olivia, 'cause we'll be here!

of course we discussed the issues we had with the office as they happened. This is where the organization and the laid back way they were handled was more of an issue than the original issues which were many. I'm sorry if I made it seem as though we didn't address it but yes we did. These issues including many months of incorrect billing on our statements. 3 different gift certificats which family bought us and wondered why months later we never thanked them for it. because we never got them is why we never thanked them. Also.. 3 out of the 5 referrals had to be hunted down in the archives . Again , this is not about the trip..that part was great but if anyone here feels that these kinds of things and our having to make numerous calls to resolve this is just fine then thats great. For us, it was frustrating and we looked way beyond it because it was about feeling free on vacation. But it is still appropriate to feel that these very friendly people ( which they all are) are taking care of these things accurately. In person , we have met many travelers who have experienced similar things and like us looked beyond it but they were also aggrivated. I would have never ever cited the specifics but I felt that at this point I needed to. And if you feel that running a business where you like you shouldn't speak up just because were in a community like this then that's your choice. For us, we feel just because it's a lesbian focused company does not mean anything goes. This is still a company no matter what . The standards for us are the same for any company we do business with. I am realizing more and more that a lot of you may really feel that we are slamming Olivia and nothing could be further from the truth. Every cruise we would loved to hear how it all began and the original vision years ago. Any more than anything the visionary is so respected by us both.

Very well said brewmax and evergreen.

If you have a "problem" with the office..contact them.  They can't fix a problem if they don't know about it.      

Those who travel with Olivia know exactly what they are getting..and it's not like, the price is hidden.  Yes the trips are a bit more expensive but well worth the "feel free" experience. 

I wouldn't go on a straight cruise if it was free or they paid me!  

Straight cruise =  $

Olivia cruise = $$

"feel free" experience= priceless

thank you very much!!!!!

cheers to you also

I hear you Kellieeunie. I don't think anyone should "gang up" on you for expressing an opinion/experience with Olivia & I'm sorry you feel that way. I think we should be able to share ALL opinions & experiences without being made to feel you cannot express it.

We all have our own reasons for choosing the way we vacation, the way we react to our individual experiences with any company & that should be respected by all.

Cheers

Julie

> ^..^ <

no doubt about the fact that we all have choices and we all make our own. It's great that you are happy with your choices. We are also happy with ours. Also, we have zero regrets about vacationing with Olivia in the past and this lawsuit would not be the reason to stop us from going again. Our hesitation is not due to the lawsuit. As far as the issues with the office end .....it would be understandable if it's a brand new company but at the time we had issues, the company had been around for quite some time. Everyone we had dealt with were very friendly and personable but the reality is accuracy and timliness was not good at all. We never wrote about this in the past because of the idea that everyone seems to get so defensive and feel like we are ganging up on Olivia. That is just so not true. WE told everyone who would listen to trya trip and shared the videos so we have been great supporters. We even wanted at a time to have a house party but the kit never came and they finally followed up close to a year later. These are the reasons for some hesitation. But again , we hope all works out for the best and we admire Judy and all that she had done for our community!!!!! take care and happy travels to all of you..

I am right there with you Brewmax & Evergreen!  We are not of the financial community that can afford to take any cruise every year.  Much less an Olivia.  BUT we will save up all our pennies to be able to go on an Olivia cruise.  Our next trip probably won't be until fall of 2009 but it WILL be an Olivia cruise.  There is no place like home...no place like home.......

 And Olivia cruises for us ARE like coming home.

I "second" all of your points Brewmax. Well said.

I especially agree with the choice to take fewer vacations to enjoy the Olivia experience. That's not for all, but we, individually, do have that choice.

We are booked for 2 Olivia trips in 2008 & when their 2009 schedule is advertised we will book again.

When I read that people won't book Olivia because it's "pricey" I think of the many other choices we have as consumers. For example, just about every car is over priced but, if we prefer a particular model that is higher,we will pay the price because it is our preference. Everyone has priorities! Our vacation priority is to spend them with the Ladies of Olivia. We get great service & experiences. Meet terrific people too.

It's all a matter of priorities. . . if folks would rather vacation more frequently, paying less for non-Olivia vacations, that's a choice they can make.  I would rather take fewer vacations and take them with all the "Ladies of Olivia" because the experience is so uniquely special and wonderful in most every way.  As Barb Bastian pointed out, Olivia really has not had real competitors. 

Does Olivia have room to improve?  Certainly.  Few businesses don't have flaws, especially with exponential growth and the real effort put into providing uniquely wonderful experiences.  But Olivia management "listens" and they respond.  Whether to our requests for new vacation locales, entertainment requests, a VIP program, website changes/improvements, or other things, they "hear" us and try to react in a positive way.

Can Olivia please all the people all the time?  No.  Has the "back office" customer service kept up with the "on ship/vacation" customer service?  No.  Is Olivia making changes to try to improve the back office accuracy and functionality?  Yes.  Do they still provide an amazing opportunity for us to meet, congregate, communicate and vacation in a uniquely wonderful way?  Absolutely.

Lawsuits aren't uncommon, particularly when they involve a company with visionaries and real entrepreneurs who step "outside the box" to provide something out of the ordinary.  Most of us don't hear much about them, but lawsuits involving a special company in a special community are fodder for great press so this is big news in some circles.

I'm booked for an Olivia vacation now and won't hesitate to book another, lawsuit or not!

hi everyone..

we have't posted on the Olivia boards since this new site has been developed. We were shocked to hear the news to be honest and at the same time we feel it's so unfortunate that all of this happened at all. It's probably true that the truth falls somewhere in the middle. We began cruising with Olivia in 2002. We have been on only 3 trips and we did have a great time while on board. But...does this make us happy to have to pay such a high price for this? To be honest, we have been on 2 major vacations since out last trip with Olivia and both trips cost what only 1 here would cost. Not everyone has the income to support these trips. We have not been happy on several occasions with the level of customer service and accuracy of billing thru the office when we dealt with them in the past. We decided to overlook the fact that it had taken nearly 5 months to get gift certificates that out family purchased or us as well as out statements not being correct. We did this because we loved the actual trip . But after doing this 3 times, we realized service should be the entire process. Not trying to attack people here becase that's not what this is about.. ...We met Amy and she was very nice and she appeared to us to want to help Olivia move foreward. We also met Judy and sat and talked with her twice for some time. Judy ..we both admire her so much for all that she has done for our community and for all of the PASSION she  has for Olivia...She is an amazing woman . With all of this, we just don't know if and when we will travel with Olivia due to the pricing but we will continue to refer people as we have already have .. we will keep our fingers crossed that this can be worked out as best as possible for everyone.

kellie and eunie