O life air?

[ORV]

54 minutes ago, edgee said:

One other option that can be a savings in some quirky situations is to purchase your own air one way and use Oceania air one way. Oceania will give you half the air credit offered for the cruise. This works, for example, if you are taking a transoceanic cruise. If the cruise begins in  your home country and it is a short cheap flight to  (or you live near) the embarkation port you can buy that transportation  on your own, pocket half the air credit from Oceania which could be, for example, a couple thousand $$, and then let Oceania cover the transoceanic trip home. 

I liked your post, then read the last sentence. Usually your Domestic leg will never be that much, but I still like what you are saying overall. I have done it quite a few times that way. 

[edgee]

2 minutes ago, ORV said:

I liked your post, then read the last sentence. Usually your Domestic leg will never be that much, but I still like what you are saying overall. I have done it quite a few times that way. 

ORV,  you are a much more experienced Oceania cruiser than I  and I respect your opinion. But not sure what you mean about my last sentence being inaccurate. In the example I posted (#75 above) we did receive half of the full air credit by using Oceania just one way home, and it was close to $1000 per person credited back against our invoice.

[LHT28]

58 minutes ago, edgee said:

ORV,  you are a much more experienced Oceania cruiser than I  and I respect your opinion. But not sure what you mean about my last sentence being inaccurate. In the example I posted (#75 above) we did receive half of the full air credit by using Oceania just one way home, and it was close to $1000 per person credited back against our invoice.

maybe your flight to Canada was considered an International flight   rather than Domestic (higher rebate)

 I know flying to the USA from Canada  is not as cheap as some of you can get to fly  cross Country

 

I know my brother flies  from Texas to BUF rents a car to come visit  a lot cheaper than flying into YYZ

[ORV]

1 hour ago, edgee said:

ORV,  you are a much more experienced Oceania cruiser than I  and I respect your opinion. But not sure what you mean about my last sentence being inaccurate. In the example I posted (#75 above) we did receive half of the full air credit by using Oceania just one way home, and it was close to $1000 per person credited back against our invoice.

Then you got a really good deal. My experience has been that there is a credit for the international leg and one for the domestic. If you are on TA and come back into Miami the amounts I have seen for Miami to a gateway is in the neighborhood of $250 to $350. I'll check some old invoices and see what I can come up with. 

 

Edit, I just looked up one in Jan of 17, cruise Valpraiso Chile to Miami. I took the credit on the back end and the credit was $275 per person. 

Edited December 6, 2020 by ORV

[edgee]

1 hour ago, ORV said:

Then you got a really good deal. My experience has been that there is a credit for the international leg and one for the domestic. If you are on TA and come back into Miami the amounts I have seen for Miami to a gateway is in the neighborhood of $250 to $350. I'll check some old invoices and see what I can come up with. 

 

Edit, I just looked up one in Jan of 17, cruise Valpraiso Chile to Miami. I took the credit on the back end and the credit was $275 per person. 

Perhaps I was just fortunate. 

[GICNJC]

On 11/20/2020 at 5:38 PM, MisterBill99 said:

 

But as I posted, it's not as simple as just comparing hotel prices. Not taking their hotel and flying in a day early adds $350 in Custom Air to the equation, plus transfers. Unless it turns out to be cheaper to just get the air myself at that point.

When I question this with Oceania phone rep he indicated that if you use Olife flights and their hotels there is no extra custom air fee.  But pre and post must be their hotel.  Unfortunately do not have in writing.

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, GICNJC said:

When I question this with Oceania phone rep he indicated that if you use Olife flights and their hotels there is no extra custom air fee.  But pre and post must be their hotel.  Unfortunately do not have in writing.

This is true if you are taking their hotel package  

Because you need to deviate to use the hotel  pre or post cruise  package 😉 the  deviation fee is not extra

 

[CintiPam]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

This is true if you are taking their hotel package  

Because you need to deviate to use the hotel  pre or post cruise  package 😉 the  deviation fee is not extra

 

Note that you will more than make that up by paying at least twice the price for each hotel night! 😉

[ORV]

11 hours ago, GICNJC said:

When I question this with Oceania phone rep he indicated that if you use Olife flights and their hotels there is no extra custom air fee.  But pre and post must be their hotel.  Unfortunately do not have in writing.

Are you saying he said that you have to stay on BOTH ends at their hotel to get the free deviation? That what it sounds like, I haven't heard this before. 

[MisterBill99]

13 hours ago, GICNJC said:

When I question this with Oceania phone rep he indicated that if you use Olife flights and their hotels there is no extra custom air fee.  But pre and post must be their hotel.  Unfortunately do not have in writing.

 

Yes, if I use their hotel AND BOOK IT THROUGH THEM, there is no custom air fee. But as we discussed a few pages ago, they sell their hotels at a much higher price than you can book it on your own. Thus is becomes a matter of figuring out what the price of booking the hotel through them is vs. booking it on your own, plus the custom air fee, plus the free/included transfers you'd lose. Then there is also the question of what the airfare would cost you vs. getting it on your own. These are all questions I cannot answer at this time since my cruise is in April 2022.

 

I'm sure that there are some people who don't care about the possible savings and would rather have the convenience and piece of mind involved in having everything booked through the cruise line. I'm guessing that the folks in this thread do not fall into that category.

 

2 hours ago, ORV said:

Are you saying he said that you have to stay on BOTH ends at their hotel to get the free deviation? That what it sounds like, I haven't heard this before. 

 

Given that we recently (a page or two ago) discussed that the custom air fee is paid once per reservation, it would make sense that changing either end would result in the same fee. However, you would lose the free/included transfers if you book your own hotel.

  

 

Edited December 7, 2020 by MisterBill99

[ORV]

13 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

Given that we recently (a page or two ago) discussed that the custom air fee is paid once per reservation, it would make sense that changing either end would result in the same fee. However, you would lose the free/included transfers if you use your own hotel.

Yes, but that's not what I meant. Maybe I wasn't clear. If I only got the hotel from Oceania on the front end of my trip but stayed extra on the back end and didn't book a hotel from them, the poster I quoted was inferring that the deviation was not included. I don't think that is correct. Perhaps a misunderstanding somewhere. Also if you go in early on the front end but go home on disembarkation day then it would appear you wouldn't be satisfying that requirement. Here's what the poster said the rep said;

 

      "But pre and post must be their hotel. "

 

 

[LHT28]

12 hours ago, CintiPam said:

Note that you will more than make that up by paying at least twice the price for each hotel night! 😉

I agree

You need to do the math  & some people will book the package for the Convenience factor

 

 We did it ONCE  with our 1st O cruise  but we had some extraordinary circumstances  at the time & took the  easy way over price 

 

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, ORV said:

Yes, but that's not what I meant. Maybe I wasn't clear. If I only got the hotel from Oceania on the front end of my trip but stayed extra on the back end and didn't book a hotel from them, the poster I quoted was inferring that the deviation was not included. I don't think that is correct. Perhaps a misunderstanding somewhere. Also if you go in early on the front end but go home on disembarkation day then it would appear you wouldn't be satisfying that requirement. Here's what the poster said the rep said;

 

      "But pre and post must be their hotel. "

 

 

We only used the hotel package on the front end  of the cruise  (it was many years ago)  so staying after was not an issue for us

 The transfer with the package only cover  from airport to hotel & hotel to ship for pre cruise package

 Post cruise package covers  ship to hotel & hotel to airport

 You pay for the other  transfers

 

 BUT WAIT   ..now they have included transfers  with O air  

 

a GOOD TA  will work it all out  for you  🙂

 

[GICNJC]

8 hours ago, ORV said:

Are you saying he said that you have to stay on BOTH ends at their hotel to get the free deviation? That what it sounds like, I haven't heard this before. 

It can be one end or the other or both

[MisterBill99]

On 12/7/2020 at 9:00 AM, ORV said:

Are you saying he said that you have to stay on BOTH ends at their hotel to get the free deviation? That what it sounds like, I haven't heard this before. 

 

On 12/7/2020 at 5:09 PM, GICNJC said:

It can be one end or the other or both

 

Well now I am confused. Are you saying that if you fly in early and stay late, and book their hotel on one end and your own hotel on the other, there is no custom air/deviation fee?

[ORV]

8 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

 

Well now I am confused. Are you saying that if you fly in early and stay late, and book their hotel on one end and your own hotel on the other, there is no custom air/deviation fee?

I think she cleared it up in that quote," one end or the other", which is what I always thought. Sorry for the confusion. 

[LHT28]

9 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

 

Well now I am confused. Are you saying that if you fly in early and stay late, and book their hotel on one end and your own hotel on the other, there is no custom air/deviation fee?

I would get clarification from your TA or Oceania   to be sure  before making plans

 

I know if you just pay the deviation fee you can extend on both ends of the cruise  when using O air & your own hotels

 

[Hawaiidan]

All this  brings me to tears.... Hotels , flight costs, " What a world What a world 'as the wicked witch says.....   THERE IS A BETTER WAY

 

Heed this:     If you HAD  gotten a Marriott based credit card 6200 choices  world wide.. and an Airline like UA credid card  you would be sitting on scads of miles.... troubled only by just where you wanted to go in business of first class... for no cost....  AND when you got there you'd have  no cost hotels awaiting...with of course upgrades to best room and breakfast included from the hotel points and annual free bonuses !!! 

 

   All for the price of buying groceries, paying for gas, gum, cruises, oil changes, sox and shoes Insurance .  cable bills, Taxes, Medical  and beer and wine... all  regular manner of stuff you normaly waste cash on with no return....    ( never spend a dollar you do not get $1.25 back on in value)      And all it cost you is $95 a year per card and a little patients ......    What !!!  $95 a year  to get a $250 a night hotel room( What a rip) Business class  seats free.

 

Dont have either????   Where to start?  Dont think you will ever get enough.....   Well amigos you be wrong..... As many here will testify...   Many here have not paid for a hotel or airline ticket in years  yet  stay and fly a lot....  Why not you your are just as smart as them... but no card or program..... 

  So if you catch on  , you can get into the game.... What are you doing this  dam-penic but warming a sofa watching reruns of the Kardassian sagas. or Dr Phil

?

Merry Christmas to all  tomorrow ids a new day.... use it well  God Bless   

 

 Dan  

[GICNJC]

17 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

 

Well now I am confused. Are you saying that if you fly in early and stay late, and book their hotel on one end and your own hotel on the other, there is no custom air/deviation fee?

Each leg is separate and distinct.   Must use Oceania hotel to forgo deviation fee.  Both is if you purchase their hotel at both ends.

[Mura]

On 12/5/2020 at 10:35 PM, Paulchili said:

Thanks ORV & 1985rz1 for confirming that I am not not going crazy (yet) 

There are times I wonder 🙂

Paul, I will vouch that you were NOT going crazy.

 

Not yet ...

 

Mura

[ORV]

3 hours ago, GICNJC said:

Each leg is separate and distinct.   Must use Oceania hotel to forgo deviation fee.  Both is if you purchase their hotel at both ends.

You're only confusing the issue. Exactly what do you mean by?

" Both is if you purchase their hotel at both ends."

[Paulchili]

25 minutes ago, Mura said:

Paul, I will vouch that you were NOT going crazy.

 

Not yet ...

 

Mura

Thank you Mura (but we haven’t seen each other in some years )

That said, I’ll gladly accept your confidence in me. 😀

Stay well & healthy.

[GICNJC]

8 hours ago, ORV said:

You're only confusing the issue. Exactly what do you mean by?

" Both is if you purchase their hotel at both ends."

Buy Oceania hotel at embarking port no deviation charge to fly in early.  Buy oceania hotel at disembarking port no deviation charge if staying after cruise.  If you do not use Oceania hotel, and use Olife Air you will pay deviation fee for any flight if you do not take what Oceania assigns you.

[terrydtx]

2 hours ago, GICNJC said:

Buy Oceania hotel at embarking port no deviation charge to fly in early.  Buy oceania hotel at disembarking port no deviation charge if staying after cruise.  If you do not use Oceania hotel, and use Olife Air you will pay deviation fee for any flight if you do not take what Oceania assigns you.

Or just book your own flights and take the OLife air discount for no air.

[ORV]

3 hours ago, GICNJC said:

Buy Oceania hotel at embarking port no deviation charge to fly in early.  Buy oceania hotel at disembarking port no deviation charge if staying after cruise.  If you do not use Oceania hotel, and use Olife Air you will pay deviation fee for any flight if you do not take what Oceania assigns you.

I give up.