OLife Choice

[LHT28]

Just now, fishr said:

Thanks. Will do.

forgot to mention 

do not use the Roll Call  Finder as it can be hit or miss

[NorthCoastCruisers]

7 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Ah - thank you, very much!

I did not realize this!

 

And they are refundable up until a couple of days (48 hours?) before the excursion, IIRC?

For a 14 day cruise, how many needed, beyond the "included ones".

 

(Thanks again!!  )

 

GC

You need 3 more excursions beyond the 4 "free" for a total of 7 booked excursions to get the 25% off.

[GeezerCouple]

3 hours ago, NorthCoastCruisers said:

You need 3 more excursions beyond the 4 "free" for a total of 7 booked excursions to get the 25% off.

 

Thanks! 

We might well hit that, given the number of port days on this cruise.  (Whew...)

 

GC

[NorthCoastCruisers]

12 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Thanks! 

We might well hit that, given the number of port days on this cruise.  (Whew...)

 

GC

We hit it for the same reason, so many ports and since this is our first time to Europe everything is new to us.  Maybe we will see you on one of them.  We decided to do one of the expense OE tours and that 25% savings was great. 

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, NorthCoastCruisers said:

We hit it for the same reason, so many ports and since this is our first time to Europe everything is new to us.  Maybe we will see you on one of them.  We decided to do one of the expense OE tours and that 25% savings was great. 

 

Good point!  I hadn't really given those more than a glance, actually.

I should at least read more details, unless it's obviously not a fit.

(After all, some of our really "private" excursions can cost much more than these, but... we typically get quite a lot, and "just what we want", etc.  But if it's worth it...  )

 

Thanks!

 

GC

Edited February 15, 2019 by GeezerCouple

[su-arizona]

Since OLife began, I noticed that private tour participation on Roll Calls went way down.  That's when I began taking the OLife shore excursion credit...On our Greece cruise in October, I took a couple private tours with Niki Tours (which were excellent) in Olympia and Santorini - where we could take shared private tours.  In Gythion there was not enough interest in shared private tours - which is an excellent reason to take the O tours to less-popular sights.  Another time the O tours can be more advantageous is tender ports - especially in smaller ports.  On Patmos, all tours - O or private - go to essentially the same two sights.  Taking the O tours allowed us to be on the earliest tenders, when the sights were less crowded.  And the O tour was really great, with an excellent guide.  So for me, it works to take the limited number of free O excursions, some private excursions, and some independent exploration in ports where we can easily walk or drive to interesting sights from where the ship is docked.

 

Choosing the O Life shore excursion option always makes financial sense for us, but you need to do your research and choose wisely.

[pinotlover]

We are not teetotalers, as some are, so in most circumstances taking the O Life beverage option, then upgrading to the Premium Package, works best for us.

 

There are indeed circumstances where because of limited infrastructure Oceania tours are a good option. On our current cruise in French Polynesia, our upcoming summer cruise to Iceland and Greenland, and the majority of our past cruises those circumstances have never existed. Private tours options have been plentiful and far less expensive. Yesterday, in Bora Bora, we had two couples with us on our tour that were Oceania placements that filled our otherwise tour to ten people. They were paying 250% of our costs to Oceania to accompany us. When they were outraged when they learned what we were paying , I reminded them that was the additional cost to not have to think, to not participate in a Roll Call, and to enjoy the security blanket of Momma Oceania. They had no reason to complain! There have been several instances on this cruise of Momma Oceania customers taking the exact tour from the exact same tour company for 3X what we did direct. However, a teatotaler will say “ since I took the tour package that tour was free!” Different definition of free! IMO not having to think and having Momma Oceania hold your hand has a cost. Each to their own.

[Paulchili]

31 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

However, a teatotaler will say “ since I took the tour package that tour was free!” 

Obviously O Life tours are not free but most of the time they are good deals.

By choosing excursions option for O Life you pay $100/ excursion but often get excursions costing up to $199 (averaging about $150). It’s a good option for those that drink little or not at all - certainly a better value than taking the OBC.

Are private tours with smaller group size and flexible itinerary a better value? 99% of the time the answer is yes but not everyone can or wants to go that route for any number of reasons.

I spend tremendous amount of time and effort to accumulate FF miles and hotel points to fly long distances in business/first for free and stay in hotels for free. I do that because I know how, I like to do it, I am good at it and the end result is fantastic. That is obviously a better deal than getting O air in economy with several connections or paying cash for business flights but not everyone can or wants to do what I do to get there (thankfully, as otherwise getting these awards would be much more difficult than it already is 🙂)

To each their own.

Edited February 16, 2019 by Paulchili

[SunnySunflower]

I was finally able to log in this morning and look at our upcoming cruise.  Wow, someone explain to me

why Oceania is using a picture of a women drinking wine in a Cessna to illustrate premium economy air upgrades

under special offers on the website?  I have been on my fair share of cruises so I know that cruise photos can be deceptive but the photo of the lady in the plane blows my mind.  Someone at Oceania needed to check the clip art that the website designer used.  O Life would certainly be a great deal if one got a private jet included in the price! 

[fishr]

On 2/15/2019 at 10:01 PM, Paulchili said:

Obviously O Life tours are not free but most of the time they are good deals.

By choosing excursions option for O Life you pay $100/ excursion but often get excursions costing up to $199 (averaging about $150). It’s a good option for those that drink little or not at all - certainly a better value than taking the OBC.

Are private tours with smaller group size and flexible itinerary a better value? 99% of the time the answer is yes but not everyone can or wants to go that route for any number of reasons.

I spend tremendous amount of time and effort to accumulate FF miles and hotel points to fly long distances in business/first for free and stay in hotels for free. I do that because I know how, I like to do it, I am good at it and the end result is fantastic. That is obviously a better deal than getting O air in economy with several connections or paying cash for business flights but not everyone can or wants to do what I do to get there (thankfully, as otherwise getting these awards would be much more difficult than it already is 🙂)

To each their own.

I’m trying to decide if OLife is a good deal but Oceania hasn’t released the prices for shore excursions on my cruise (November 2019) yet. How far ahead do they release them?

[Paulchili]

6 minutes ago, fishr said:

I’m trying to decide if OLife is a good deal but Oceania hasn’t released the prices for shore excursions on my cruise (November 2019) yet. How far ahead do they release them?

It varies but usually about 6 months before the cruise. If you can find a similar itinerary in the near future you might get an idea of what they are offering for your ports and at what price. As most tours are over $100 (average about $150) and you are paying $100/tour with O Life, it's usually a good value (provided you like/don't mind O tours).

You can change your choice of O Life perk up to 14 days prior to a cruise.