Flatbush Flyer

Silver O Club and above get complimentary gratuities. Like other incentive $ and/or sales, OCAPP is intended (at least in part) to encourage bookings where slow sales may be expected. That’s part of the reason why you’ll only see the OCAPP covering only the “least desirable” segment of a multi-segment cruise. One important caveat: If you can get TA grats (OCAPP or otherwise) take them if you also have O Club grats. In that way, O Club will then give you $250 “in lieu” non-refundable SBC.

Most importantly, I’d steer clear of any TA whose advertising an/or comments suggest particular perks are theirs instead of O’s. It’s a not uncommon practice among less than scrupulous TAs. For example, some TAs will make a big deal about covering your O gratuities charge. And, while that statement may be true, when you look at your official O invoice you may find the gratuities coverage listed as associated with your TA but also having the acronym OCAPP cited with it. OCAPP $ paying gratuities are actually Oceania $ incentives passed through to passengers via TAs! Likewise, suggesting that O Life or SM perks or even always included internet, non-alcoholic beverages and specialty restaurants are a “gift” from the TA is nasty bit of misinformation that should alert you to the fact that there will be trouble with that TA. (BTW, you’ll see a lot of that “truth bending” on websites that promote TA competitive bidding for bookings).

So, you want to know if “bribing” someone gets better service? IMO, it’s an insult to suggest to a crew member that they won’t do a good job unless you give them a bribe first. Save that “low rent” move for Vegas (yuck). If a crew member goes “above and beyond” for you, recognize that at the end of the cruise with a nice note including any extra gratuity. And don’t forget to mention their name in your cruise reviews.

Ridiculous. You just happened upon a less than seasoned phone rep. While it’s true that the events were curtailed during the earlier highly restrictive Covid reactions, they’ve been back since soon after the industry restart. In fact, O has added a separate welcome party for first time O cruisers.

Well, when it comes to cruise specializing TAs, at least one has a robust air department in part because it allows them to circumvent trip rebate limits imposed by tour providers (“technically,” the TA can rebate if it also has non-tour-provider services in the total mix). For us, as passengers, it can mean the difference in TA perks between a $250 gift card and a $2500 check. Our primary TA, which is one of O’s top twenty “Elite” members of its Connoisseurs Club, is also the largest North American seller of a popular high end tour company known for its small ship/land combo trips. Their air department doesn’t necessarily beat anyone else’s air prices on non-bulk tix but, it opens the door for doing the rebates for which it is so well known. In addition, it returns us to the yesteryear definition of TAs as “full service.”

You’d think that the first thing anyone considering an O cruise would do is “read the fine print.” 😳

As you said, “appearing to be.” Just because it’s not mentioned, doesn’t mean it’s not “included.” As aforementioned here a zillion times, there is no longer a “cruise only” fare. Rather, there’s now only a choice of w/or w/o air. Think about it: introducing all sorts of exceptions would quickly defeat the whole concept of “simply more.”

It would be “worth it” if you change your travel habits in the next several years and already have GE before Homeland Security suspends acceptance of new applications (which are at an all time high and unlikely to slow down).

Perhaps you missed my post above where I gave you an example of at least one cruise line that does “quiet sales” through their preferred TAs while also giving them “pass through” funds to incentivize their clients. And this is in addition to added pass through incentive funds from certain TAs’ consortia. And all of that is before any commission sharing. In fact, we will soon be leaving on a month long cruise, where our TA is using pass through incentive funds to cover the gratuities while also sending us a rebate check for more than $2k. And that’s on top of a discounted fare to begin with. That said, great TAs are few and far between. But, doing your homework in selecting one (or two) will pay off. Reality check: As for having “control over your booking,” do you not realize that you (like me) are a mere rounding error in a cruise line’s daily bottom line? If you book direct, you may think you are “in control” of your booking while waiting “on hold” with a cruise line phone employee who really can’t bend the rules of the company for which s/he works. At the same time, I speed dial my “top twenty seller” of my preferred cruise line who, in turn, speed dials the regional cruise line rep and gets issues fixed before i hang up. Who’s really “in control?” Take some time to search here on CC for any of my several comprehensive posts on how to find a great TA.

When will folks learn to NEVER use the O Cart to buy tours (particularly if you’re doing a multi-segment cruise). Get the most current excursions pdf, cross check against the web listings and then call O to have a rep confirm which one(s) is/are accurate? and available (according to his/her access to the accounting system).

If you travel much, particularly from busy US airports, TSA precheck is well worth the effort and $. If your frequent travel includes international air, do Global Entry (which includes Precheck).

Time for a different agent. Do the extensive research to identify a well-respected agent who specializes in your preferred cruise line and who is a high volume seller of those cruises. Many of these TAs (e.g., the “elite” tier of Oceania’s Connoisseurs Club TAs) have access to occasional “quiet sales,” incentive pass through funds for customers AND are willing to share commissions at anywhere from 5 to 10% of the. commissionable fare (unless, of course, you require a ton of hand holding).

One of the things I like about United Airlines is its Travel Ready Center. Conveniently positioned on both its website and in its app, this United service automatically informs you if your ticketed itinerary requires any particular documentation for entry into your destination country including passport/visa specifics and health inoculations/tests, It also is a great first step in the complete documentation research needed for a cruise. But, why “first step?” From the Covid pandemic, we have learned that entry into a foreign country for travel in general, and cruises specifically, may involve numerous authorities - any one of whose own rules and regulations may differ from those of other authorities in the mix (and stop you dead in your tracks). We encountered the perfect example in Sydney in early 2023. Flying from San Francisco, we knew that Oceania was then itself requiring vaccination and recommending (but not requiring) Covid pretests. (Nonetheless, we brought and used our tests prior to embarkation.) A quick review of the United Airlines Travel Ready website as well as the US State Department’s destinations website AND the websites of the Australian (national), New South Wales (regional) and City of Sydney (local) public health departments stated that they too were not requiring testing for vaccinated folks. So, why were so many embarking passengers surprised when they arrived at the SYD cruise terminal where all were being asked for their proof of a negative Covid test? It was because there was one more authority - the SYD Port Authority which was requiring negative test results of sll cruise passengers and crew. (That morning, lots of unhappy folks had to shell out $95 and a few of them suffered the fate of some disappointing results). Was that the end of it? Not really. This was a month plus cruise with stops in numerous ports over several countries along the way - each with its own requirement. Lots of folks learned an important lesson in that cruise. Do your homework - ALL your homework!

You’re concerned more with an oft repeated blaming of O that gets you no solution. You may want to reevaluate your strategy and tactics.

Sorry but, here you go again: little tidbits of crucial info that you drop here and there like a dripping faucet. So, Oceania HAS interacted with your insurer. Did I miss that crucial but of info in an earlier post? If so, l apologize. But, in any case, please tell us that you have a copy of that exchange in writing.

According to one or two (or three?) of the OP’s many responses, s/he has no Oceania invoice - only the PAF invoice. And “test” money s/he “wired” to the PAF has been “returned” without explanation - rather it just reappeared in the bank account used. All very unusual and reportedly devoid of adequate/written two-way communications.

OP has said s/he has wired “test money” to the PAF that has been returned without explanation. That there has been no other contact from the PAF nor provision of contact info et al., is VERY strange and suggests there are significant missing pieces to this story. Hopefully OP is adept at summarizing evidence to make points that get results. In a separate post, I have asked OP to identify the perceived individual culprits interacted with and to prepare the type of factual document that would make it easiest for potential champions to work on his/her behalf.

What are the names and positions (including actual departments) of the individuals at Oceania and/or NCLH (and/or their contracted agencies who have refused to send you proof of their payment to the PAF or who you perceive to be “stonewalling.” It would also be helpful if you attached here copies of anything sent to you clearly demonstrating their “heel dragging”’or “lack of reasonable assistance” (of course, redacted for your personal info). Why? From your stated experiences so far, I trust you realize that anything not in writing is pretty much useless. As far as the US Congress is concerned, you may be very surprised at just how much a Congressman or Senator can accomplish when it involves a foreign government that relies on good relations with the US. That said, however, I strongly suggest that, when you do speak to someone in that office (or, in fact, anyone whose help you seek, you refrain from doing what you’ve done here (perhaps unintentionally) by dribbling clarifying information over way too many posts. In fact I recommend that you take all of your responses here, consolidate them in a chronological (non-repetitive) history complete with names, dates, facts and an opening statement pinpointing the main 3 issues at hand: you need time limited proof to complete a claim; despite your best efforts, you do not yet have it ; and what you seek as the remedy (whatever- proof or otherwise- it takes to spare you undeserved “out of pocket” expenses). And the biggest challenge: reduce it to no more than four typed pages with appropriate appendices. Folks here obviously want to help you get through this. But, what we need is objective/demonstrable data devoid of your dislike of O or NCLH.

And you’ve asked that “third party insurance processor” for a copy of their proof of payment to PAF and/or an explanation of “why not” in writing? Have you contacted your Congressman to seek assistance from the US State Dept folks in Portugal? I notice you’re in the Bay Area. Beside Elliott.org, have you talked to the consumer advocacy folks at the local TV Networks affiliates?

FWIW: There was another possible approach to this which probably would have made all less complicated. 1. Invoice for field rescue comes to patient from Portuguese Air Force 2. Patient pays Invoice 3. Patient submits proof of payment to insurance company (along with associated medical records) 4. Patient receives insurance reimbursement 5. if Oceania later bills patient for PAF field rescue, patient sends O their proof of payment to PAF. 6. If Oceania also pays invoice, Oceania requests refund from PAF.

We pay the premiums for government-administered programs whether or not we use them and, as is often the case with healthcare and health (or other) insurance, “the devil is in the detail.” Just look at all the misunderstanding about what exacting is “medical evacuation” and “pre-existing conditions” (both with different definitions in insurance vs healthcare).

If OP hasn’t (for many months) managed to get the necessary records required by the insurer (which, in addition to the Air Force cost, might also include the reason why its assistance was needed, e.g., ICD-10 Codes), I’m betting a US embassy or consulate’s diplomatic connections would be far more efficacious in getting their communications the desired responses. And that means there would need to be a signed release somewhere in that stack of paper.

As aforementioned, most first world countries also would not charge for a shipboard Field Rescue. Medical Evacuation (by insurer definition) is not the same thing.

Technically, you are not on Medicare. Rather you have chosen a Medicare approved substitute offered by a private company. From Medicare.gov: Medicare Advantage (also known as Part C) Medicare Advantage is a Medicare-approved plan from a private company that offers an alternative to Original Medicare for your health and drug coverage. These “bundled” plans include Part A, Part B, and usually Part D. In most cases, you’ll need to use doctors who are in the plan’s network. Plans may have lower out-of-pocket costs than Original Medicare. Plans may offer some extra benefits that Original Medicare doesn’t cover — like vision, hearing, and dental services.