“O” fares

[Chatham33]

Are the special “O” fares worth the cost difference?...are there any problems upgrading seat selections?

[Jancruz]

Sometimes they are and sometimes not..Olife has nothing to do with air

Jancruz1

[su-arizona]

If you mean Olife airfare, you should know what flights you want before you book through O.  Then you can make a comparison.  We usually do the premium economy upgrade and it has most always been less expensive than booking on our own.  Seat selection is the same as buying airfare on your own - you should choose your seats as soon you have your confirmation number.

 

I generally check seat availability when I check on the flights I want before talking to O.  If there aren't good seats available on your own, O booking can't help.

Edited May 15, 2019 by su-arizona
add information

[su-arizona]

Before someone jumps on me for the previous comments, we don't use FF miles and are currently without a good TA....

[Classiccruiser777]

2 hours ago, su-arizona said:

Before someone jumps on me for the previous comments, we don't use FF miles and are currently without a good TA....

 

Look for a TA that’s a member of the Oceania Cruises‘ Cruise Connoisseur Club. These are the agencies that book lots of O cruises.

 

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/find-agent/

Edited May 15, 2019 by Classiccruiser777

[Hawaiidan]

On 5/15/2019 at 1:42 PM, su-arizona said:

Before someone jumps on me for the previous comments, we don't use FF miles and are currently without a good TA....

Not to worry   do some homework, and read the  "Air Travel" section here on Cruise critic.   I always book my own flights and take  the air credit and have total control and know whats going on.

You do not need an agent for air  but can utilize some of the business class agencies that are out there   If you shop you can find things way better than O's offering.    Just booked a RT LAX-MIA-ROME-LAX for $1600. pp in business class !        I booked direct with UAL

[oceansandseas]

 

What is UAL? 

United airlines is UA.

I am going to try to get that for my trip.

[DeeniEncinitas]

3 hours ago, oceansandseas said:

 

What is UAL? 

United airlines is UA.

I am going to try to get that for my trip.

UNITED AIR LINES STILL USED! 

Hasn't changed. Hawaiiandan and myself 

are FF user with UA. Hope you can get a good flight 👍👍

Denise😊 

[Hawaiidan]

13 hours ago, oceansandseas said:

 

What is UAL? 

United airlines is UA.

I am going to try to get that for my trip.

A word to the wise....membership, get a credit card for each person ( different  accounts#)  And buy the miles you need   and maybe earn some with regular spending for gas and groceries at home !.  you can BUY  60,000 miless for $1200.  and get a $5600 ticket value !!!

DO not ever spend FF miles for domestic flights... its a rip off. a waste   

You can buy a ticket cheaper than the cost of FF miles !!!    You will be paying Rolex prices for a Timex.     6oK  FF miles domestic gets you a  900-1200 value ticket in the USA     60K FF miles international  gets you a $ 5600 ticket !!!......   You see my point.  Using the  FF miles  domestic  you just got hosed for over $4000. in value.      Dont do domestic FF

 

 Tactic  is  do not rey to fly out of or into big name places... seats will be slim.    Rather than doing Rome LAX  I found I could get off the ship a day earily in Nice and it was way easier to get a  seat Business class for $1200 worth of miles !!!      After October  the situation is even worse with all the airlines goinf to  "demand pricing"   That is the fares will be constantly changing   based on supply and demand

Too,  select  cruises that start or end in the us

Edited May 28, 2019 by Hawaiidan

[sunlover12]

I can add that I am also using FF miles on United Airlines to fly their Polaris Business class to Europe this summer.  Chicago to Stockholm and return from Copenhagen for a total of $182 in taxes for the two of us.  The FF miles were earned through travel and some buying miles, but mostly they were earned from making purchases on our United credit card.  I wouldn't even want to know how much these tickets would have cost us in dollars.  I agree with Hawaiidan that using miles for international travel is a much better value.

[Paulchili]

9 hours ago, sunlover12 said:

The FF miles were earned through travel and some buying miles, but mostly they were earned from making purchases on our United credit card.

It has been pointed out here a few times that using a CC like Chase Sapphire Reserve is MUCH more rewarding than using a UA credit card.

For example, if you spend $10K for a cruise, the UA card will give you 10K UA miles. OTOH, with the Sapphire card you will get 30K Ultimate Reward points that can be converted into 30K UA miles as well as a number of other airline miles and hotel points (as well as a more generous cancelation policy).

I hope that makes sense - it certainly works for me. 🙂