lexdisic

You can always ask ;)

 

I am not sure you are understanding the marketing of Oceania

Here in North America the standard promotion is 50% off brochure rates ..it is just a gimmick to make you think it is a good deal ;)

I have not seen Oceania up the prices to cover the added perks maybe they do in the UK but not here in North America

The prices in the brochure are the same as the new promotion prices with the perks added to a attract new bookings

 

That is why I suggested looking at previous brochures & comparing the prices

They may have brochures online at the Oceania UK site

 

When I have looked the UK pricing looks like a better deal

 

 

JMO

 

Lyn

I thank you for the reply, but my question was "does Oceania allow US TA's to sell to the UK" I dont need to know how and why they market as they do, but can I take advantage of a promo that does not offer the drinks package from the US, just like I can buy cruise only without the "free flights" and have a reduction in the fare, I would like to buy the cruise without the drinks package or the "free flights"

I would have to argue about the perks - they may not put the prices up to cover the perks - they will already have included them in the price to then give them back - no such thing as a free lunch - just like the flights

Don't know the answer, but I do know that I've been on European cruises where the Brits were travelling for far less than we. For those able to travel last minute, relatively speaking, a lot of opportunities appear to arise for the Brits and other Europeans. If a cruise is not sold out, it appears that substantial sale prices become available through Brit TAs about a month before cruise time. These pricings are not available for American tourist.

I imagine that would be because of last minute flight availability to the US travellers, travelling to Europe - same for us when looking at the Alaska/Caribbean. My concern is the offering of the premium drinks package as a perk, which I do drink a little, but as a perk - free or included - is pretty much wasted on us

I would say NO but then others that have done it will report yes

 

Even if you do not use the drink package the prices will be the same ...I would guess

They do not up the price to include the perks ..do they??

 

If you have a brochure for UK check the price then & now ..

 

if you clear your Cookies in your browser you might be able to look at the Oceania USA site & compare the cruise you are interested in

I was trying to find out if any US agents would accept UK bookings, in principle before I started looking. I know Az and X do, and Princess dont allow it, so I dont want to start comparing only to find out that they wont allow it. I imagine they do up the price for the perks as they are advertising that the perks are the same value as the cruise itself :confused: and you can have the "free flights" removed to give a cruise only price. Remember last year when they doubled the price to only then do a 50% promo and after it finished the price came down again? The itineraries they are offering in this instance dont interest me anyway, but I am looking at a future cruise when the 2016 sailings come out. I really do not want an included drinks package if they are offered and certainly dont want to have to pay for it or not get a reduction if I dont use it - hence my looking at the US agents. I could perhaps e-mail a few US agents to see if they do accept UK bookings - thought I would ask here first if anyone has actually done it.

Hi

Can anyone tell me if Oceania allow someone from the UK to book a cruise through a US TA as some cruise lines do, and some dont.

I ask as I would like to compare prices because I am again receiving offers on selected cruises with :-

Free premium drinks package

Free flights

Free Verandah upgrade

Free gratuities.

Free £99 business upgrades

I realise that I can get the cruise only price without flights, but as a minimal drinker, I would prefer to pay as I go and not have the package. I believe the free package is not offered in the US at the moment, so I would like to make a comparison without the package, but it would be a pointless exercise if I am unable to book with a US agent.

Many thanks

I was recently sent this from Oceania :-

https://explore.intl.oceaniacruises.com/pub/sf/FormLink?_ri_=X0Gzc2X%3DWQpglLjHJlYQGnH5PuoPwm9EFubTCWWO9u6grNpFzaNIHzdnVXMtX%3DWQpglLjHJlYQGtHKwSpWSrkhXizbIOBbo0zfMLK99pzc2evTn&_ei_=Et7su3YvhkWrI2_Bld6d2PZO7TQsNrM4Uw.

This has some UK pricing on it so dont know if US citizens get redirected. Zenmate should sort that if they do.

You are basing this on what your TA has told you? Maybe we should all canvas our TA's;) I still maintain that the drink pkg costs X just as much as free grats or the OBC. The cruise lines get their booze really cheap. All they have to do is raise the cabin price by maybe $300 to cover the drink pkg. I think it is working as they get higher pricing for cabins and don't have to rely on liquor sales for their bottom line. They would probably prefer pax to opt for the free grats or OBC because that would force the pax to pay full price for their drinks (which has a huge profit margin)

My TA's figures were based on their bookings - obviously not an accurate X figure , by all means poll yours if you wish, but I was merely demonstrating that is a large proportion whatever it is

You are right about the cost to X of the drinks, but, I was pointing out the lost revenue not the cost and it is the revenue that has to be made up. The drinks package cost we will never know as its not just the booze but all the costs that go with it and that fact that they wont give it on TA's & TP's shows it may cost more than we think. You summed it up by saying that "all they have to do is raise the cabin prices up by $300" - exactly what I have been saying - what none of us know is by how much - the lunch is therefore paid for, although I dont know if $300 per pax is enough.

DW and me between us on average spend around $50 a day on coffee,soft drinks and booze and if offered the drinks package I would have to accept it as the OBC we have been offered has been in the order of $20 a day (UK offering) - hardly a good substitute. The only drawback then is that what little we do drink comes from the premium package (martini pre dinner), so all around it is not good value for us - to you it may be worth it. What I would like to see is the prices reduced where they have been increased to compensate the drinks package, and everyone who wants one, to pay for it as they originally did. Perhaps X would rather have drinkers on their ships and the likes of me to go elsewhere - if so, I will get my coat and let the arguing and bickering that these packages are causing, carry on ad infinitum.

"If its not the booze that causes arguments - its the arguments about the booze " I have a drink to enhance my cruise and not cruise to enhance my drinking - something these package related threads seem to forget - the cruise!!.

Before the 123 the profits of RCI was in the order of 7% and that was including the revenue gained from selling the packages. Thats just $70 for each $1000 in revenue after costs are taken out. That was with full ships, so no extra cabins to get more revenue from. Fast forward to now and they are giving away the packages instead of charging for them. This used to be a major contributor to their revenue, which they now dont get as well as the cost of the package which has to be paid for. Where does the money come from - the $70 profit ? They are expected to do better than 7% this time around so where does that come from ? It can only be by cutting more staff (which they are doing) and costs or to increase revenue from either cabin sales, payg drinks, specialities and even zumba classes. If it were only a handful of people that took the packages, then yes it could be a loss leader to a point, but considering my TA says that 80% of booked pax had the package - without the extra revenue they would not survive and it comes from somewhere. Nothing is free - it just may appear so to some who's timing was spot on, but someone else will pay for it in other ways. Supply and demand still plays a part but all costs including OBC, packages, etc., will be factored in as well as any other revenue generating and nickel & diming they can do, to set the cabin price.

I prefer A La Carte where alcohol is concerned and is the main reason I wouldnt sail with Azamara. They build it into the cabin cost so why wouldnt X

That does not apply for all sailings. The prices on our October TA kept going up and up and now the ship is sold out over 5 months from sailing. The last 123go or pick your perk did not apply on Transatlantic's so the promo had no effect on bookings or price.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

The higher prices on the T/A without the perk could have easily contributed to the costs of the packages on the other sailings. There is no free lunch - the package is paid for by someone somewhere. We will probably never know who, but one thing for sure is that it wont come out of X bottom line. There is not enough profit for them to give the stuff away to everyone

Where (link please ) did you get that 90% figure from ?

Our TA said that by the time the PYP finished -80% of bookings made with X through them, had the drinks package. Remember though, that included in there, was the low consumption drinkers who saw the package as good value even though they didnt drink that much - $100 a day for 2 in a cabin sounds like a real giveaway. X advertises it as "worth up to $1500" - makes the OBC and gratuities of $300 (UK offering), seem quite miserly in comparison.

Took a big chance just now. just upgraded on Millenium from mid ship AQ deck 9 covered balcony overhang to suite guarantee For $ 100. Past the final payment date. Are there such things as crummy suites?

We recently had a deck 9 AQ midship cabin and must say that the room was tired and bathroom could have been fresher. Depending on your thoughts of the overhang, we found it was too much and made the room darker. No brainer for me.

Thats probably the only reason to book early now, and thats to get the cabin you want, otherwise it is a lottery. We tend to book early - up to 2 years out for our next one. We are very happy with the cabin location and was happy with the price I paid. If I want any perks, I will happily pay for them knowing that it was my choice and not what the marketing people bribe us into taking. I have been looking at a 2016 itinerary from X - the price is acceptable - no perks - but I am holding fire on it to see how all the changes are going on, are going to affect my cruise experience. I run the risk, of course, of losing my cabin choice and falling prey to the massive pricing/perk spikes that no doubt will occur - we will see over the next few months.

That's not really true, and certainly not in all cases. And given that Celebrity has been having non-stop promos I'm not sure when they would have increased. They had 123Go during March, which was arguably a better deal than they have now. Should fares have gone down?

It will get paid for somehow. It is possible that the increased fares now are covering the cost of the 123. No business gives anything away unless its covered - loss leaders in the supermarket are paid for because you will buy something else while you're there to make up for it, or, it will only last so long for the publicity and then the price is hiked. All down to timing and shopping around to get the best deals, but someone will pay.

according to cruise ship org, they have a refit due in April 2015, but we have been looking at a B2B which was for the whole of April so perhaps that info is out of date

Amazon US have some used/good at $89.95

We have several posters who have sound level/meter applications on our smart phones. I've actually used it to show the safety officer that the PA level was unsafely loud on one cruise. I carry that application because I do "live sound" so it's very handy to have the app.

 

However, if someone measures a sound level and posts it here....it's fact rather than "it's so loud I can't hear myself chewing". I'd always prefer facts to subjective judgements.

 

By the way, do you know how a soundman knows if the sound level is set correctly. They just sit there and count the number of folks that say "it's too loud" and "it's too soft". If they are about equal...the sound level is pefect. (true).

Sound level meters on smartphones are not very accurate as the microphones used in them are pretty useless outside the frequency range of the voice. Having said that, should one of these apps show a high reading, you can guarantee the actual level will be alot higher as most of the damage to hearing is caused by higher frequencies, which these mics have trouble with. As you inferred, the guys operating/adjusting levels are neither qualified or knowledgeable enough to know what is acceptable beyond the subjective. I have installed many sound systems where the DJ continued to increase the levels as his hearing was deteriorating over the evening.

Another issue I found was that the majority of in house speaker systems on ships are meant for low level listening and not the higher levels now expected from them, adding further to the problem of high frequency distortion.

As the saying goes "Loud is beautiful if its clean"

Perhaps it has nothing to do with "UK pax treated like second class citizens". Rather it is a matter of the legal obligations included with "offers" made to UK citizens. Evidently there was a list of included alcohols provided to UK citizens (such list of included alcohols was NOT provided to US citizens). Since Celebrity has the ability to raise alcohol prices at any time, and thus exclude any alcohols from the classic package, the list provided to UK citizens lists specific alcohols included in the package and Celebrity did not want to include specific alcohols in its packages. Rather than go through the necessary legal disclaimers, etc. (which may or may not be applicable in the UK), the path of least resistance suggests that Celebrity just not offer the "Classic Package" as an option in the UK and thereby forego the hassle of UK citizens fighting over consumer protections. Hey, there is a reason that UK prices are higher -- consumer protections are greater!

I agree that we have higher pricing due to protections we get, but in simple terms it is the cost of an insurance policy and not some of the dramatic price differences that we see. Having said that, the promotions are always built into the price somehow and that makes it difficult to quantify when comparing prices with promotions in different countries. The simple solution, although not ideal, is for us to use a US TA and determine if the prices and promos that are offered compensate for the lack of protection we get here.

I personally wish X would not use drinks packages as incentives. I do drink, but very little, and the alternative promos that are offered, come nowhere close to the value a drinker sees in theirs. One also just has to see the debacle over drinks packages on the forum right now. People seem to be more concerned about their drink than the cruise they're going on and will no doubt it will leave a bitter taste in the mouth for some, whatever the outcome.

I am holding off booking with X at the moment as I want to see just what direction they want to take the brand, I wont let the "freebies" influence my decision one way or another, although for some it appears it does.

We were on B2B and had the 2 bottles left as we didnt get around to drinking them. The labels were missing due to losing them during the several attempts at drinking them and they came off in the ice bucket. I asked the steward if he was allowed to take them for himself and his friends - and with a big smile he said yes he could. That together with a fridge load of bought soft drinks left over, him and his assistant went away happy

The 123Go package ended a while back. Then came the next offer, with 2 choices of benefits, not 2 from 3. No-one said 123Go would last to June.

Wasnt it a case that it was offered but only if a cruise booked on board?

I previously posted how Millennium was held several hours past her scheduled sail away time at Petropovlovsk, Russia due to Russian authorities insisting on auditing passports for a third time.

 

As it turns out, the delay was solely due to the error of the Russian immigration people. After two hours of haggling, the Russians finally agreed they had "miscounted" and the two passports that were thought to be missing were, in fact, in front of their eyes for several hours.

 

Kudos to our Captain and his staff for keeping their cool.

 

On another note, we have downgraded to a modified Code Re today, the 7th day of our voyage from Yokohama to Vancouver. Self service at buffets and salt and pepper shakers, etc. are back. However, intensified cleaning continues.

 

This crew has broken their backs to keep this vessel shipshape. Hopefully, our fellow passengers are sensitive to the Captain's warnings and will observe smple sanitary precautions.

 

Again, every single crew member has gone the extra mile. Michael Bayley can be proud of them.

Excellent news. Thank you for update - enjoy the rest of your cruise

Dont forget those of us that dont have a package. I need to know the price I am going to be charged for any given drink

i didn't even know you were married !!;)

:d:d:d

+3

With the wording on that list we're back to square 1!

By the looks of it, the sound level issue has reared its ugly head again too.

Nevermind "too big to fail" how about "too big to succeed" - certainly too many cooks.

At least by looking at the count of the thread views on these packages, the marketing department has created alot of interest. My TA told me that during the last promo, 80% took the drinks package. I wonder what it will be now, taking out those that booked on board and got it "free"

Could it be for ...moi??

 

Michele

I'll forward it :D

 

Not all countries will accept a photocopy as ID.

We found that out the hard way with the hotels. While staying in Dubai we had a hotel stay in Abu Dhabi and took only a photocopy. They would not accept it, but in the end they did call the Dubai hotel to confirm our details as they were in possesion of it and we got away with it - just. Have always taken photocopies wherever we go but have yet to need them.

We have previously cancelled a cruise the OP is on because of the trouble they had at that port. By the time immigration had done, there were only a couple of hours there and delays in sailing. Still havent figured out why they go there, although I dont know of any alternatives they could use.

Now that they have cleared there, I hope the Noro outbreak situation has calmed down and they can enjoy whats left of their cruise

I am unclear on this issue, RE: passengers were not complying with the request to turn in their passports.

This regulation must vary with different countries / ports? ??

Having been on the INFINITY for a month, last Dec 2013 > Jan 2014,

from FLL, thru canal, around S/A, ending in Buenos Aires.....

Everyone turned in their passport when we left FLL, and we all got them back the night before the cruise ended in Argentina.

There was no passport(s) back 'n forth, during the cruise/ into + out of many different ports.

~~~ appreciating, in advance~~~ anyone's reply/ answer to this. :)

You are right in most cases, customs dont need to be "face to face" to process them, but there are countries that require you to take your passport when going ashore - eg. Singapore as Christine suggested and some Asian ports/countries. It is also required if you have a hotel stay if overnighting as generally the hotel you stay in requires it. The cruise line will advise and give them to you if needed and you will have to return them once back on board. We have had cruises where customs have boarded one or two days before a stop, to process passports, which in those cases negated the need to take them with us.

These people either didnt hear the announcements or simply didnt realise the behind the scenes work that goes on. There is no excuse really, as I know Millie always informed us either by the daily or the a letter delivered by the room steward, that this is required.