OLife Excursions

[bitob]

Look at it this way, they tried it the à la carte way for the first ten years, and all that we heard was complaints about the price and quality of the shore excursions.

 

 

 

Passengers of an ambitious nature were able to do their own thing, but that left a significant demographic unserved and unhappy.

 

 

 

If OLife, and the increased budget which it brings, improves the Excursions from Serviceable to Spectacular, who knows? Everybody might benefit.

 

 

 

I say give OLife a chance, if it doesn't fly it will go the way of the free pre-cruise hotel stays, or the Chef's Patio Dinners.....

 

 

 

The groups won't be smaller nor will the buses

I don't want to take a spectacular tour with 30 plus cruisers if not more

 

If transfers are an option as a tour some ports that might work for us

[StanandJim]

The groups won't be smaller nor will the buses

I don't want to take a spectacular tour with 30 plus cruisers if not more

 

If transfers are an option as a tour some ports that might work for us

 

I agree with you, circa 2015, but what happens when mobility becomes an issue....or stamina?

 

I took my very first Oceania Shore Excursion during a Cruise where I had personally planned eight private tours and I was running out of energy, enthusiasm, the time in port was short, and we had been to the port multiple times.

 

It wasn't amazing, but it was an easy alternative, and from what I'm seeing from this side of aged (which is an increasingly shorter distance) sometimes easy is just the ticket.

 

Challenge yourself NOW ;)

[TERRIER1]

I agree with you, circa 2015, but what happens when mobility becomes an issue....or stamina?

 

I took my very first Oceania Shore Excursion during a Cruise where I had personally planned eight private tours and I was running out of energy, enthusiasm, the time in port was short, and we had been to the port multiple times.

 

It wasn't amazing, but it was an easy alternative, and from what I'm seeing from this side of aged (which is an increasingly shorter distance) sometimes easy is just the ticket.

 

Challenge yourself NOW ;)

 

I would think large cruise tours would be worse as we get older. If you are participating in a small private tour than you can set the pace and agenda.

 

Also, the reason the "free" pre-cruise stay didn't work out was because the credit for opting out was so much greater than booking the same hotel on your own. JMO.

[bitob]

I would think large cruise tours would be worse as we get older. If you are participating in a small private tour than you can set the pace and agenda.

 

 

I agree

 

These free o life excursions are destined to be successful because Oceania will profit from those of us who choose to "lose" them in favor of doing our own thing. For many of us who are private tour devotees it' s not the cost that drives us. It's the small group, intimacy and choose how you spend your day aspect of the private tour that we find desirable. For us a free big bus tour is not a perk. For many I know it will be

[Hambagahle]

4 per cabin or 4 per person?

 

We just booked a cruise and I asked my TA this question - it is 4 excursions per person...

[RJB]

We will give them a try. Blend the free ones with our own private tours. Never know how they will work. Hope good.

[RJB]

I agree

 

These free o life excursions are destined to be successful because Oceania will profit from those of us who choose to "lose" them in favor of doing our own thing. For many of us who are private tour devotees it' s not the cost that drives us. It's the small group, intimacy and choose how you spend your day aspect of the private tour that we find desirable. For us a free big bus tour is not a perk. For many I know it will be

You never know. We may also profit. Some tours could be just fine and save us a lot of money. Lets try it one time and see how it works out. :):)

[Mura]

That's what we are planning on, even though we use more private tours than ship's tours in general.

 

For the Oct '16 BCN-NYC TA on Sirena we are using oLife tours in most of the ports. We've been to them before, they aren't fabulous (as in Paris or London), and so we're happy to take advantage of the freebies. We're not sure if we will do anything at all in Bermuda since the oLife tours didn't excite us ... Again, we've been there before although not in a very long time.

 

We are also booked on a Miami-Lisbon TA on Marina in April '17 but we don't know what tours will be available yet. We may well use an oLife tour in Dakar, Senegal. Many of the ports are repeats for us as well, so I'm not sure what we will do. I have contacted a guide we used two years ago in Tenerife and will probably do something with her. So far we are winging it.

 

Mura

[Paulchili]

Good news for some - bad news for others?

According to the future cruise consultant on the current cruise, the O life promo will end at the end of December this year.

If true, this then is just a promotion like many others rather than a permanent feature for Oceania. Time will tell

[cbb]

"According to the future cruise consultant on the current cruise, the O life promo will end at the end of December this year."

 

Paul,

 

I wonder how the consultant can be correct. I'm looking at an O brochure that lists Med cruises with dates as late as Nov 2016 and clearly states that one can have "O Life Advantage: which includes free shore excursions, internet & PPG".

 

O Life is listed for every cruise.

[bitob]

They can remove a promotion if they choose.

[Mura]

It could also have been a trial balloon to see how popular this would be.

 

I, too, received the "it ends in December" notice.

 

Mura

[LHT28]

Good news for some - bad news for others?

According to the future cruise consultant on the current cruise, the O life promo will end at the end of December this year.

If true, this then is just a promotion like many others rather than a permanent feature for Oceania. Time will tell

It is probably just marketing to get people to buy a cruise now ;)

[Acrusa]

"According to the future cruise consultant on the current cruise, the O life promo will end at the end of December this year."

 

Paul,

 

I wonder how the consultant can be correct. I'm looking at an O brochure that lists Med cruises with dates as late as Nov 2016 and clearly states that one can have "O Life Advantage: which includes free shore excursions, internet & PPG".

 

O Life is listed for every cruise.

 

If you go to the back of the brochure,on the very bottom of the page,it state's that the O promotion ends 12/31/2015.

[Flatbush Flyer]

"According to the future cruise consultant on the current cruise, the O life promo will end at the end of December this year."

 

Paul,

 

I wonder how the consultant can be correct. I'm looking at an O brochure that lists Med cruises with dates as late as Nov 2016 and clearly states that one can have "O Life Advantage: which includes free shore excursions, internet & PPG".

 

O Life is listed for every cruise.

 

 

Read the brochure fine print. Clearly states 12/31/15 booking deadline to get the free OLife on the 2016 cruises.

[Acrusa]

It is probably just marketing to get people to buy a cruise now ;)

 

It worked for us.We booked our January 2017 cruise because of this promotion.

[cbb]

ahhh...the dreaded fine print! No worries, I'm on the RTW16 and probably won't be cruising again in 2016, but then again.....

[LHT28]

Read the brochure fine print. Clearly states 12/31/15 booking deadline to get the free OLife on the 2016 cruises.

I bet it gets extended just like the 2 for 1 & free air promos :D

 

How many promos have we seen set to end on a specific date then surprise they are still there for the next 3 months

[Acrusa]

I bet it gets extended just like the 2 for 1 & free air promos :D

 

How many promos have we seen set to end on a specific date then surprise they are still there for the next 3 months

 

I hope not.We are booked on Regatta LA to Miami January 4 2016. Could have booked the 2017 cruise on board and gotten the credit for booking on board.

[Paulchili]

I bet it gets extended just like the 2 for 1 & free air promos :D

 

How many promos have we seen set to end on a specific date then surprise they are still there for the next 3 months

 

Perhaps not.

I think the 2 for 1 and free air are not really promos - more like SOP for Oceania.

O Life may be more like "Last Chance" and other such temporary promos - we'll see.

[LHT28]

the promos are like buses ...wait a few minutes another will be along :D

 

Time will tell if O Life is here to stay or not

 

Nothing surprises me with O anymore :eek:

[Paulchili]

the promos are like buses ...wait a few minutes another will be along :D

 

 

Lyn,

You are right about that :D - time will tell.

[RJB]

the promos are like buses ...wait a few minutes another will be along :D

 

Time will tell if O Life is here to stay or not

 

Nothing surprises me with O anymore :eek:

Don't even know if we are going to like them. Usually book our own private tours. Been a long time since we were on an O tour. Won't know until our trip in July since our cruise in Feb. to the Carib. does not include them. Makes life easier if the included tours work out. :):):)

[LHT28]

Makes life easier if the included tours work out. :):):)

if you like big bus tours :D

[Mura]

I'll chime in again ... DH likes the convenience of the ship's tours, I prefer private tours (and I'm the one who does the work). But I don't object to ship's tours. In general we've been lucky with both ship's and DIY tours but we've had lemons in each category, too.

 

We aren't sailing until next October on a TA on Sirena, but we booked several of the oLife tours on that cruise partly because these are all ports we've visited before. There ARE a couple of ports where I've used private guides before that I would like to use again, but we were happy to book the ship's tours in some of the other ports.

 

I'm sure they'll be fine and while I don't like the buses, I don't get bent out of shape if I'm in one! Some of those vans used by private tour guides are no more comfortable than the buses are ... just fewer people are riding in them!

 

I'm sure I will have seen reports of the success of these tours long before we actually board the ship ... but I'm assuming they are standard ship's tours, and as I said, we've generally had good luck with these.

 

Mura