Oceania Air

Just book on the Marina and got "Free Air". Is it worth it to use this or just take the credit and buy your own. I have used other lines air and had very bad connecting flights.

Just book on the Marina and got "Free Air". Is it worth it to use this or just take the credit and buy your own. I have used other lines air and had very bad connecting flights.

Oceania Air offers an option whereby you may travel on the flights of your choice, but still have them make the arrangements, for an additional fee of $125 per passenger.

Alternatively, if you choose to refuse the Oceania Air, you will be "refunded" a certain portion of the fare (these refunds are issued on a sliding scale dependent on how far you will be traveling).

People who know the ropes, generally compare the two options before making a decision.

Enjoy your cruise,

Getting there is half the fun! :D

For flights to Europe Oceania air can be a good deal ..we always fly in a day or more early so pay the deviation fee & choose the flights that work for us

Check what you can get the flights for on your own then see what the air credit is & then decide

Sometimes it works sometimes you can DIY cheaper

We use their air and fly in a day or 2 earlier and get the flights we want.

They do a good job.

Sherry

I don't know how the air departments of other cruise lines work, but it has always seemed to me that the folks in the Air Deviation department at Oceania pride themselves on finding the absolute best combination of flights that their contracts permit. These usually result in one-stop international flights, and direct when possible, on major airlines.

While there is a credit to be had if one books their own flight, I have never been able to get flights within the amounts of that credit unless I had a pocketful of frequent flyer miles. As a result, I've chosen Oceania air most of the time and have always been pleased.

That said, there are some advantages doing your own, such as picking less expensive (lesser known) budget airlines or sometimes in booking Business Class. For example, on a one-way domestic flight from San Francisco to Miami, we took the credit because we could book SouthWest at a lower price.

If you're using a travel agent, ask them to compare costs and get a proposal for a deviation (doesn't cost anything for a proposal until you accept it). If your agent seems to have difficulty, get a new agent :).

If your agent seems to have difficulty, get a new agent .

Amen, brother :D

How long does O take to come back with a proposed routing when you ask for a deviation?

And, do they tell you what category you will be booked in? (yes, we are slaves to a loyalty program and need a particular category fare in order to earn what our plan calls status miles).

Thanks!

How long does O take to come back with a proposed routing when you ask for a deviation?

 

And, do they tell you what category you will be booked in? (yes, we are slaves to a loyalty program and need a particular category fare in order to earn what our plan calls status miles).

 

Thanks!

You get the proposed routing immediately.

The way that it works is that IF the tickets that you requested cost more than what Oceania was planning to spend for your airfare, then you have the option of paying that difference or declining the route.

We ALWAYS price our flights independently as well as through Oceania, because sometimes the rate that Oceania can offer may surprise you.

As Don says, if you don't "accept the route" then no fees are ever assessed, so you may as well try.

We also found if unexpected glitches occur...oh , for example...you get off your TA cruise and a volcano has shut down airports...Oceania takes care of their own booked air pax with free hotel and rebooking them asap.... :)

LOL, good point, but to be fair:

Oceania began by helping those passengers who had prebooked Air and/or Hotel with them, but as the extent of the Volcano disaster unfurled, they extended their assistance to everyone.

Yep...and it was a BIG contrast to the NCL pax who disembarked the same day and were left to their own devices : camped out at the airport ...sleeping...haranguing airlines for flights ...generally dispirited .....

We are cruising out of Miami returning from Lima. If we don't use Oceanias air then they will refund us $750. Not a lot of $$ but when I asked about upgrading to business they wanted $4,200 extra PER ticket. I chose to book the air myself using miles to get from Lima to NY on LAN in business class thanks to BA miles. For the NY-Miami leg I will purchase an economy ticket.

LOL, good point, but to be fair:

 

Oceania began by helping those passengers who had prebooked Air and/or Hotel with them, but as the extent of the Volcano disaster unfurled, they extended their assistance to everyone.

I'm reaching back to revive and clarify this volcano topic. We will fly to Frankfurt then Venice 17 October. We almost wish the Icelandic volcano would go ahead and blow (for our convenience, of course), but in case there is an event close to our travel period we wonder how air disruption would be handled. JimandStan reference "prebooked air". Are those of us with deviation handled differently than those that accept the original Oceania air? I understand that we cannot plan for all scenarios but would like a little background knowledge to work from.

Thanking you all in advance,

Katie

I'm reaching back to revive and clarify this volcano topic. We will fly to Frankfurt then Venice 17 October. We almost wish the Icelandic volcano would go ahead and blow (for our convenience, of course), but in case there is an event close to our travel period we wonder how air disruption would be handled. JimandStan reference "prebooked air". Are those of us with deviation handled differently than those that accept the original Oceania air? I understand that we cannot plan for all scenarios but would like a little background knowledge to work from.

 

Thanking you all in advance,

Katie

Katie,

I also wonder about this - for our October cruise, I did the air deviation because I wanted to get the flights I wanted (still never understood why there should be an extra charge for this, or if there is, why it is so much) but I can't imagin there would be a difference as to how it is handled because they are doing the air regardless - you just requested different flights but they are still doing the booking. Let's just hope the volcano cooperates and I don't have to use my trip insurance if everything gets cancelled because of an eruption....

Maybe some experienced Oceania cruisers out there know more??? :confused:

I always think it's better to do the air yourself and take the credit---unless your flying coach, then you maybe better off. However for me that's not an option I'm not willing to do, fly coach.

Rick

Katie,

Let's just hope the volcano cooperates and I don't have to use my trip insurance if everything gets cancelled because of an eruption....

I would check if your trip insurance covers the eruption disruption

Some do not cover natural disasters, weather related issues etc..

I always think it's better to do the air yourself and take the credit---unless your flying coach, then you maybe better off. However for me that's not an option I'm not willing to do, fly coach.

Rick

I agree except for the Europe One-ways. We got a better price from O than we could get from the airlines.

We recently used Oceania air deviation service for our China/Japan cruise. I was very pleased with the service. They did try to get the best flights with the least number of connections. I was disappointed that they didn't use one of the airlines that I had asked them to look at; but they came back with even better options. The price turned out to be better than I was able to find even with the deviation.

The only frustration I had was that since I booked the cruise through a TA, all communications had to go through the TA. So it did slow it down some; but since I was doing it 7 months out, there wasn't a huge rush.

JimandStan reference "prebooked air". Are those of us with deviation handled differently than those that accept the original Oceania air?

You misread my post, Katie, I was pointing out that after the Volcano eruption, Oceania began by helping passengers who had made their Airline arrangements through the Cruise Line, but as the magnitude of the disaster began to play out they quickly shifted into helping all Oceania Passengers across the board.

Using the Air Deviation versus not using it was never any part of the discussion, and would make no difference to the equation whatever.

still never understood why there should be an extra charge for this, or if there is, why it is so much) but I can't imagine there would be a difference as to how it is handled because they are doing the air regardless - you just requested different flights but they are still doing the booking. Maybe some experienced Oceania cruisers out there know more?

You're falling into the trap of assuming that everyone's Deviation Request will be as simple a matter to fulfill as yours may be.

Oceania sails from ports all over the planet, and there are those times when a Deviation requires multiple, complicated proposals and a great many, perhaps dozens,of man hours to get it sorted out.

And then of course, there are the charming people who will have them do the whole thing over three and four times, in order to save ten minutes on a layover, or $25 in an up-charge......all of that has to be paid for, somehow ;)

The deviation fee is excessive; just like the O excursions. But it is the price we pay to have personalized service. When I booked the cruise, I knew I would have to pay deviation and expected it. I was pleased it was still our best option.

The difference is that researching and booking flights for one individual is much more time consuming than a group booking on the day of the cruise. It's only fair that a "user fee" be charged for that extra effort. They have steadily increased that fee; I can only assume they know when they are losing money.

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The reason I grouch about the "air deviation" fee is I am the one who does all the research and pick out the exact flights that I want - then all Oceana had to do when I call them was see if those flights were available, and if not, I had Plan B ready to go. I am sure you are all correct - when dealing with groups or individuals that change their mind several times, they might be earning their fee - but they are making money off of me, for 5 minute's work, as it was for my October cruise air deviation.

The reason I grouch about the "air deviation" fee is I am the one who does all the research and pick out the exact flights that I want - then all Oceana had to do when I call them was see if those flights were available, and if not, I had Plan B ready to go. I am sure you are all correct - when dealing with groups or individuals that change their mind several times, they might be earning their fee - but they are making money off of me, for 5 minute's work, as it was for my October cruise air deviation.

I am not sure how the flights are set up but here is my theory ;)

They have X number of seats contracted with XYZ airline for a specific day (embarkation day)

you want a different day so they must check with XYZ airline to see if the price is different or seats can be obtained for the contracted price

I am sure someone with more insight on how it works will comment

I also pick my flights send them to my TA ..not much work involved but I still get a good deal with the deviation fee ..it is worth it for me to book through O

YMMV

I am not sure how the flights are set up but here is my theory ;)

They have X number of seats contracted with XYZ airline for a specific day (embarkation day)

you want a different day so they must check with XYZ airline to see if the price is different or seats can be obtained for the contracted price

 

I am sure someone with more insight on how it works will comment

 

I also pick my flights send them to my TA ..not much work involved but I still get a good deal with the deviation fee ..it is worth it for me to book through O

 

YMMV

Agree! :)

What bothers me about the deviation fee is that there's no provision for the large number of pax who prefer to fly in the day before the cruise, for safety's sake. They could easily add this an option without triggering the deviation process--i.e., they'd probably still have a substantial group booking.