Complimentary gratuities from Oceania and travel agent

[SophieM]

Has anyone receiving complimentary prepaid gratuities from Oceania also had an offer from a travel agency that included gratuities as a perk? If so, how did that work?

 

Thanks much!

Jane

[Sny]

Not uncommon to get prepaid gratuities from my TA.  It shows as a credit on my O invoice.

[Flatbush Flyer]

9 minutes ago, SophieM said:

Has anyone receiving complimentary prepaid gratuities from Oceania also had an offer from a travel agency that included gratuities as a perk? If so, how did that work?

 

Thanks much!

Jane

Not unusual.

If you have high enough O Club status to get comp gratuities and TA will pay your gratuities from an incentive source NOT coming from their O commission, take the TA gratuities and O will give you $250 SBC credit for the cabin “in lieu of O Club gratuities.”

You can tell if the TA is covering gratuities with incentive $ because you’ll see “OCAPP” and their Agency and/or Consortium name next to the provided gratuity amount(s) in “amenities” section on your Oceania invoice. OCAPP $ are $ provided to TAs by O to use as booking incentives.

You could also get the $250 “in lieu” if the TA covers the gratuities from their commission as a purchased gift. But, that is not preferable since the TA may then reduce the amount of any commission sharing they do for you (as added reimbursable SBC or a $ rebate.

[ORV]

If you turned Silver before I think Nov of 2013 you used to get the full value of the grats instead of the $250. Not sure if that's still the case. 

[FetaCheese]

3 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Not unusual.

If you have high enough O Club status to get comp gratuities and TA will pay your gratuities from an incentive source NOT coming from their O commission, take the TA gratuities and O will give you $250 SBC credit for the cabin “in lieu of O Club gratuities.”

You can tell if the TA is covering gratuities with incentive $ because you’ll see “OCAPP” and their Agency and/or Consortium name next to the provided gratuity amount(s) in “amenities” section on your Oceania invoice. OCAPP $ are $ provided to TAs by O to use as booking incentives.

You could also get the $250 “in lieu” if the TA covers the gratuities from their commission as a purchased gift. But, that is not preferable since the TA may then reduce the amount of any commission sharing they do for you (as added reimbursable SBC or a $ rebate.

Have really learned a lot from you over the years.  Re:  OCAPP -- did a web search for acronym -- found a PDF from O describing the program.  Doc was from Sept 2016, offering PPG for select 2017 and 2018 sailings, based on agency profile and consortium affiliation.  ( In another of your posts, you explained agency consortiums -- thank you).  Assuming the program has been extended, as you have detailed the wording on O invoice.

Edited July 26, 2022 by FetaCheese

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, FetaCheese said:

Have really learned a lot from you over the years.  Re:  OCAPP -- did a web search for acronym -- found a PDF from O describing the program.  Doc was from Sept 2016, offering PPG for select 2017 and 2018 sailings, based on agency profile and consortium affiliation.  ( In another of your posts, you explained agency consortiums -- thank you).  Assuming the program has been extended, as you have detailed the wording on O invoice.

It still exists. I’ve got invoices for four of five future cruises with OCAPP on them.

[pinotlover]

Travel Agents reward their Clients in many fashions.Some like FF only want to sit down and agree upon cash rebates after a Cruise. Some of us are likewise happy when our TA comps our Privee reservations and our Dom Perignon La Reserve evening. Claims that one is better than another is simply a matter of opinion.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

Travel Agents reward their Clients in many fashions.Some like FF only want to sit down and agree upon cash rebates after a Cruise. Some of us are likewise happy when our TA comps our Privee reservations and our Dom Perignon La Reserve evening. Claims that one is better than another is simply a matter of opinion.

 

Try answering the actual OP question rather than making yet another uninformed/erroneous comment about what you think others here on CC may or may not prefer/pursue in their TA relationships.

 

In any case, TA amenities all boil down to qualitative/quantitative value. And knowing “who/how” compensation/resources work can be a major factor in helping the OP on this thread decide what’s best for him/her from a complete menu of possibilities.
 

[SophieM]

Thanks, all, for your answers, some of which did answer my question, but even the other ones were illuminating.  Must admit that I was hoping for the full value of both the O gratuities and that from one of the agencies we use through their consortium. Now I just have to do the math to see which is our best offer. 
 

I really do appreciate the responses and, like FetaCheese, I’ve learned a lot from this board. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 minute ago, SophieM said:

Thanks, all, for your answers, some of which did answer my question, but even the other ones were illuminating.  Must admit that I was hoping for the full value of both the O gratuities and that from one of the agencies we use through their consortium. Now I just have to do the math to see which is our best offer. 
 

I really do appreciate the responses and, like FetaCheese, I’ve learned a lot from this board. 

There appears to be a common thread in more recent Oceania policies regarding the $ value of their items provided to a passenger.
 

Whether we like it or not, that common thread is a corporate dislike for anything that O interprets as “double dipping” a discount or amenity.

As ORV pointed out above: years ago, you could opt for TA gratuities and get the full value of the O Club gratuities amenity as SBC. If I remember correctly, the first modification of that was a varying amount of “in lieu” SBC depending on the specific cruise. But, in recent years, it appears that the “in lieu” has settled in on $125 per person (at least for single segments and published “extended journeys”).