Three things you should never do when booking Oceania

[Flatbush Flyer]

On 9/20/2022 at 5:44 AM, Robjame said:

1. Take the OBC as your OLife perk - there is no monetary advantage and you are lending $ to Oceania, interest free.

 

2. Book a cruise through Oceania and fail to follow up with a TA to see what value-added benefits she can add if you transfer your booking to her. - often if not always you will get great perks from the TA like OBC, free gratuities, money back.

 

3. Assume that Oceania Air is a deal or that it provides guarantees that you will make your cruise. Unless you add more money you will arrive on the day of the cruise on an airline of their choosing and a routing of their choosing. No guarantees of making the ship either. At least ask your TA if she can do better.

 

and an added one:

4. Never book an Oceania hotel. Often it is twice the price with the pricing being per person. Check the same hotel through the hotel’s own website or one of the major consolidator companies.

 

Have you got other things not to do?

 

 

This list is a good start to which I would add a clarification/addition (more as DO vs DON’T DO):

 

When the timing of a current cruise coincides with the “roll out” of new future cruises that interest you, DO “book onboard” for the significant perks which start with some SBC (for current or future cruise), a fare discount and, perhaps most importantly, the “price drop match” guarantee (up to the embarkation date as long as there is cabin availability). If nothing interests you at that time, and you know you’ll be back on an O ship sooner than later, consider buying a Future Cruise Certificate - with the same perks. (BTW, know that you can get the Book Onboard deal for some distant cruise within 30 days of embarkation on your next cruise.)  
 

Of course, you should then transfer the cruise to one of your preferred TAs within the 30 day transfer window to garner the TA’s added perks of coverage for paid cruise items (e.g., gratuities, items not provided by OCAPP or OClub) and/or commission sharing in the form of refundable SBC or a rebate check (usually ranging from 5-10% of the commissionable fare). Note that, if you book onboard, the purchased cruise will be auto-assigned to the TA used for the current cruise unless you confirm that you want it assigned to yourself (with the allowance for the 30 day transfer window.

 

This “self-assignment” is important in that it provides one with IMO necessary flexibility given the uncertainty of the travel industry.  WHY?

We have a preferred Travel Agency that is among the very top volume sellers of Oceania cruises. For our usually long cruises (most exceeding a month) with a sizable “bottom line,” we use that TA for the combination of significant rebate, dedicated customer service team, and a ton of “connection” with O folks who can make things happen quickly should the “poop hit the fan.” But, we also have a preferred TA for the short quick cruises (e.g., California coastal) where the TA perks may be considerably less but the relationship is priceless.  

We also keep a backup short list of TAs “just in case.” Over the years, we’ve had favored long-serving TA agents “leave” the profession unexpectedly (e.g., job change, death, whatever…). And, as a rule, we will almost always ask each of our preferred TAs what they can add to a specific O booking (initially done on board or via a long-serving preferred O sales rep who is good to have in the mix for a number of reasons - particularly when O policy exceptions like FCC deadline extensions are in play). Understand that this strategy does not pit one TA against another. Rather, a variety of circumstances ranging from O’s rotating quiet sales to time limited TA consortium deals to a TA’s group deal on a specific cruise may occasionally mean a four figure price “bottom line” difference between/among TAs. That said, what we never do is ask any TA for a “price match/beat.” And, doing multiple cruises per year often means that our cruise purchases are distributed among them. But, with very few exceptions, each cruise purchase starts with an O onboard ambassador or our trusted O phone rep (followed by the most appropriate TA transfer).

 

This strategy may not be best for the occasional O cruiser who does 1-2 annual shorter cruises with relatively lower $ in play.
 

But, if all it takes for a “big ticket” cruise is a single email following up on an initial direct O booking (no, you don’t have to wait “on hold” at the O 800 number), you will find that you have an important O policy resource at O, a happy TA who only needs to accept your transfer AND cash in your pocket.

[Robjame]

9 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

This list is a good start to which I would add a clarification/addition (more as DO vs DON’T DO):

Great response and proven ideas. Thank you.

[Robjame]

3 hours ago, LHT28 said:

This option is not always offered  in all markets   more so in the UK market

Not offered on all cruises  

There is an excellent YouTube video entitled: Insider VIDEO Discover What’s New at Oceania Beyond It’s New Vista Vessel. It is an interview with Patricia Wolf, VP of Field Sales for the US. It is for TA’s but easily accessible to anyone. It is only 3 weeks old.

 

At about minute 24 she talks about the global unification of all offers - Worldwide the offers by TA’s will be the same (sure perks will vary).

 

 

[ncarb]

On 9/20/2022 at 8:44 AM, Robjame said:

1. Take the OBC as your OLife perk - there is no monetary advantage and you are lending $ to Oceania, interest free.

 

2. Book a cruise through Oceania and fail to follow up with a TA to see what value-added benefits she can add if you transfer your booking to her. - often if not always you will get great perks from the TA like OBC, free gratuities, money back.

 

3. Assume that Oceania Air is a deal or that it provides guarantees that you will make your cruise. Unless you add more money you will arrive on the day of the cruise on an airline of their choosing and a routing of their choosing. No guarantees of making the ship either. At least ask your TA if she can do better.

 

and an added one:

4. Never book an Oceania hotel. Often it is twice the price with the pricing being per person. Check the same hotel through the hotel’s own website or one of the major consolidator companies.

 

Have you got other things not to do?

 

 

 

[ncarb]

Easy to figure out if O-Life is a good deal. Subtract the on board credit from the difference between O-life and cruise only. That is what you are paying for round trip air and transfers. But there is a big kicker. The included flights are only from certain gateway cities on same day flights. If you want to fly from a different city or on a different day, O charges you $199 per person extra. If you don’t live near a gateway city, you will need to either fly to the gateway or drive to the gateway, stay in a hotel near the airport, leave your car and drive home from the gateway on your return. Plus there is always the possibility that the same day flight to the cruise city will be delayed and you miss your cruise. Off course you have the option of doing O-Life minus the flights and the will give you a $300 pp credit for not using the flights, leaving you the OBC which you are paying for anyway. I-Life flights only dork if you live near a gateway city and are willing to risk flying on cruise day.

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, Robjame said:

There is an excellent YouTube video entitled: Insider VIDEO Discover What’s New at Oceania Beyond It’s New Vista Vessel. It is an interview with Patricia Wolf, VP of Field Sales for the US. It is for TA’s but easily accessible to anyone. It is only 3 weeks old.

 

At about minute 24 she talks about the global unification of all offers - Worldwide the offers by TA’s will be the same (sure perks will vary).

 

 

Time will tell 😉

 

She mentions  a farewell party ..never seen free drinks  at a farewell party ..

maybe new or just for the VIP's

 Notice they show  the top suites  sort of misleading for us regular  people that book the A or lower  cat

 

 

[seachelt]

19 hours ago, zalusky said:

In general it’s always a good idea to login to your Amex account and look at available offers and get them added to you card.  Sorry it’s not available for our northerly neighbors.

 

I got a triple whammy for our upcoming sailing with this offer, followed by shareholder credit, followed by some TA credit, followed by credit card points.

Thanks for checking that for me.

Seachelt

[ORV]

2 hours ago, ncarb said:

Easy to figure out if O-Life is a good deal. Subtract the on board credit from the difference between O-life and cruise only. That is what you are paying for round trip air and transfers. But there is a big kicker. The included flights are only from certain gateway cities on same day flights. If you want to fly from a different city or on a different day, O charges you $199 per person extra. If you don’t live near a gateway city, you will need to either fly to the gateway or drive to the gateway, stay in a hotel near the airport, leave your car and drive home from the gateway on your return. Plus there is always the possibility that the same day flight to the cruise city will be delayed and you miss your cruise. Off course you have the option of doing O-Life minus the flights and the will give you a $300 pp credit for not using the flights, leaving you the OBC which you are paying for anyway. I-Life flights only dork if you live near a gateway city and are willing to risk flying on cruise day.

A couple of points here, the “ air credit” varies, it’s not always $300 pp. The deviation fee you allude to is $175 pp, this is for going in early or staying late, when you do this transfers are not included. Many airports that are not Gateway cities can be used for $99 pp for each way, they call these secondary airports. Exceptions do apply and there are nuances to certain situations. 

[Psoque]

3 hours ago, ncarb said:

Easy to figure out if O-Life is a good deal. Subtract the on board credit from the difference between O-life and cruise only. That is what you are paying for round trip air and transfers. But there is a big kicker. The included flights are only from certain gateway cities on same day flights. If you want to fly from a different city or on a different day, O charges you $199 per person extra. If you don’t live near a gateway city, you will need to either fly to the gateway or drive to the gateway, stay in a hotel near the airport, leave your car and drive home from the gateway on your return. Plus there is always the possibility that the same day flight to the cruise city will be delayed and you miss your cruise. Off course you have the option of doing O-Life minus the flights and the will give you a $300 pp credit for not using the flights, leaving you the OBC which you are paying for anyway. I-Life flights only dork if you live near a gateway city and are willing to risk flying on cruise day.

I think what you mean by the "$300 pp credit for not using the flights" is actually the cost of O Life.  I don't think Oceania gives you anything for not paying them for the air add-on.  It just makes your cruise fare lower by a fixed amount (for that particular itinerary).  I did the math on a few real and "fake" Oceania bookings and here's what I think is the breakdown:

 

As you have noted correctly, the actual cost of air add on is:

Cost of the cruise with "Olife with airfare" - "cruise only fare" - amount of O Life OBC

 

In the case of the cruise we just booked, the "cost of air add-on" was $1,100 and the "cost of O Life" was $300.

 

-If you choose to take O Life promotion, you pay $300 more than the "cruise only fare."

-If you choose to pay for air add-on, you pay $1,100 more than the "cruise only fare.***"

-If you choose to take the O Life promotion and if you choose to pay for air add-on, you pay $1,400 more than the "cruise only fare".

 

***However, if you want to arrive before the day of embarkation/dpeart after the day of disembarkation, you will pay $175 more per person for that flight.  Also, if you want Oceania to fly you from "non-gateway" airports, you will pay approx $200 per person more.  So the real cost of air-add on could be higher than $1,100.

 

So, in simple terms, there is no "air credit."  Basically you pay them less if you choose to buy your own airfare.  Also, the O Life OBC is not really a "deal" or a "perk," but a way for you to permanently convert $300 (or whatever the cost of O Life is for that particular itinerary) to non-refundable credit with Oceania.

 

When I first called Oceania about this pricing structure, none of the people were willing or able to explain it like it, which I found somewhat disappointing.  I think this particular "business practice" is making a lot of people rather confused about what I think is a very simple pricing structure, which is not described clearly at all on the website.

 

 

Edited September 21, 2022 by Psoque
added more

[susiesan]

You won't have to fret about all of this if you just book cruise only. Keeps things simple.

[Reveuse]

On 9/20/2022 at 5:06 PM, zalusky said:

We paid our gratuities up front now because Amex has an offer if you spend $800 on Oceania they will give you a $250 instant rebate.  I had to use the offer well before our sailing date!

 

On 9/20/2022 at 5:31 PM, ejohansen341970 said:

 

Wow! I feel like a pro.  Booked on Rome to Athens in April 2023 and did a ton of research.  Originally booked with Oceania, transferred to TA and got a $600 OBC and OB Gratuities paid for just for the transfer.

 

Then took the Beverage package which we will upgrade on board using some of the OBC

 

Next waited for the air to come through with deviations for day before and day after cruise and looked at hotel offerings through Oceania.

 

Said no way, took the $1100 p/p refund, booked my own air and my own hotels which was several hundred dollar savings from Oceania when all fees were factored in.

 

Having just read your post, I'm pretty proud of myself!

Can I use your TA

[PhD-iva]

18 hours ago, Robjame said:

There is an excellent YouTube video entitled: Insider VIDEO Discover What’s New at Oceania Beyond It’s New Vista Vessel. It is an interview with Patricia Wolf, VP of Field Sales for the US. It is for TA’s but easily accessible to anyone. It is only 3 weeks old.

 

At about minute 24 she talks about the global unification of all offers - Worldwide the offers by TA’s will be the same (sure perks will vary).

 

 

Good video, but at minute 26.3 the URL is posted on the screen (not by O) and it is misspelled. Yikes

[Ride-The-Waves]

Always remember, there is no such thing as a free lunch in dealing with corporations to include cruise lines.  O intentionally makes things complicated and confusing in the hope that the paying passenger will feel and believe that are getting a deal.

[Robjame]

32 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

Good video, but at minute 26.3 the URL is posted on the screen (not by O) and it is misspelled. Yikes

I think that is probably my poor copying skills. Sorry. 😗

[LHT28]

43 minutes ago, Robjame said:

I think that is probably my poor copying skills. Sorry. 😗

Did you make the video??

[PhD-iva]

57 minutes ago, Robjame said:

I think that is probably my poor copying skills. Sorry. 😗

No, it is part f the video production. Unless of course, you were part of the production team.
 

Although if the producers had copied from the O website and then pasted into the video, there wouldn’t be a typo….

[Robjame]

48 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Did you make the video??

No but when I try to paste a link into this forum I always have trouble. I blame it on my Apple products - lol

 

even copying part of a post is finicky

[Robjame]

@LHT28

 

My TA said that she is reluctant to use O Air as everytime it seems to route through an American Airport unless you pay the fee for deviation and then it is an added fee for a more expensive flight. 
‘Is this your experience for Canadian travellers or have you always done your own?

[meg1021]

1 hour ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

Always remember, there is no such thing as a free lunch in dealing with corporations to include cruise lines.  O intentionally makes things complicated and confusing in the hope that the paying passenger will feel and believe that are getting a deal.

I agree with you 100%.  We are cruising on Oceania for the first time this January on Insignia.  I am using a TA, but felt that Oceania's pricing, O Life, and airfare were overly complicated.  We've done many ocean cruises, including longer voyages, on other cruise lines, and found them to be less complicated, more transparent, and to have a much more user friendly website.  If you've sailed with Oceania many times before, you probably know how/where to get answers, but for first time Oceania cruisers, even with a TA backing me up, I feel that it's been more difficult than necessary.  Perhaps O Life is their marketing ploy, but they should provide customers with some way to compare how your choice of amenity would ultimately impact your final cruise cost.  I'm sure that as a "newbie", we've made some choices, that had I known more, I wouldn't have chosen, but at this point, we're just going to go with it, enjoy our cruise, and if we ever sail on Oceania again, try to be much more analytical next time, before making final decisions.

[LHT28]

19 minutes ago, Robjame said:

@LHT28

 

My TA said that she is reluctant to use O Air as everytime it seems to route through an American Airport unless you pay the fee for deviation and then it is an added fee for a more expensive flight. 
‘Is this your experience for Canadian travellers or have you always done your own?

I always  choose my flights/routing  then have my TA submit it to O  so far  we have done NON STOPS   only the deviation fee charged

but we always  go in a day or more early anyway

 

I will book our own in some cases as we prefer BIZ class when possible

 loved the A/C lie flat  seats AMS r/t   it was worth the extra price to us

I am too old  for  Econ on long haul flights LOL

Some do not like A/C  but I have not had any issues with them

 

[pinotlover]

5 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I always  choose my flights/routing  then have my TA submit it to O  so far  we have done NON STOPS   only the deviation fee charged

but we always  go in a day or more early anyway

 

I will book our own in some cases as we prefer BIZ class when possible

 loved the A/C lie flat  seats AMS r/t   it was worth the extra price to us

I am too old  for  Econ on long haul flights LOL

Some do not like A/C  but I have not had any issues with them

 

We had a great nonstop YYZ-COP on Air Canada. 
 

Just Beware, their is a huge difference between Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge! Understand which you’re booking! They are all on the same website, often flying to the same cities.

[LHT28]

58 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

We had a great nonstop YYZ-COP on Air Canada. 
 

Just Beware, their is a huge difference between Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge! Understand which you’re booking! They are all on the same website, often flying to the same cities.

I hate Rouge  

but I book BIZ  to MIA  rather than AA   which I dislike even more  LOL

[PhD-iva]

12 hours ago, meg1021 said:

I agree with you 100%.  We are cruising on Oceania for the first time this January on Insignia.  I am using a TA, but felt that Oceania's pricing, O Life, and airfare were overly complicated.  We've done many ocean cruises, including longer voyages, on other cruise lines, and found them to be less complicated, more transparent, and to have a much more user friendly website.  If you've sailed with Oceania many times before, you probably know how/where to get answers, but for first time Oceania cruisers, even with a TA backing me up, I feel that it's been more difficult than necessary.  Perhaps O Life is their marketing ploy, but they should provide customers with some way to compare how your choice of amenity would ultimately impact your final cruise cost.  I'm sure that as a "newbie", we've made some choices, that had I known more, I wouldn't have chosen, but at this point, we're just going to go with it, enjoy our cruise, and if we ever sail on Oceania again, try to be much more analytical next time, before making final decisions.

IDK, if we compare to Celebrity’s AI pricing, perhaps O compares favorably? I no longer cruise on X (never say NEVER).

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

IDK, if we compare to Celebrity’s AI pricing, perhaps O compares favorably? I no longer cruise on X (never say NEVER).

Whatever numbers you use for comparison, just remember that, when you walk out of the Celebrity cabin, you’re still on Celebrity.

[PhD-iva]

6 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Whatever numbers you use for comparison, just remember that, when you walk out of the Celebrity cabin, you’re still on Celebrity.

Agree ABSOLUTELY! Even worse, I would be spending my long pre-cruise anticipation period on the CC celebrity forum. Those same people are posting on cruisecritic. They are not a welcoming and affirming crowd, (spoken tongue in cheek).