Experience with booked air through Oceania

[Hlitner]

48 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

And those "third parties" will gladly provide this service at no cost to Oceania?  Who exactly is paying for this?

 

In addition, are you considering that most cruiseline provided air is NOT public published fare tickets.  So any front end would have to deal with the inventory available to the cruiseline, not the inventory available through normal GDS channels.

 

But go ahead with your assumptions on costs and applicability.

 

 

All you say is true and is somewhat similar to consolidator airfares.  That being said, it is all legitimate, done with the airlines full cooperation, and generates some amazing deals (especially with international business class).  But nobody is holding a gun to anyone' s head and folks are free to do their own thing.  If you cannot find what you want using the inventory available through cruise/air you can simply book through other means.  

 

 As an example, on our recent flight from Washington DC to Tokyo (for a cruise) we paid about $2100 for Business Class (all Lay Flat Seats)  on British Air connecting to a JAL flight.  Those same flights, booked through normal means, would have cost slightly more than $10,000 (we checked).    I was able to find less desirable deals, directly with some other airlines, for about $3600.  Since we needed two tickets, using the cruise/air option meant we saved $3000 over the best available airfare (with less desirable airlines) or nearly $16,000 (over booking direct with BA)  by using the cruise air option instead of booking direct with BA/JAL. 

 

 Looking today (using Orbitz) we could buy pretty decent one-way tickets for about $6000 or about three times what we paid.

 

The thing is that folks are free to look at the cruise line's offerings, compare it to booking direct with the airlines (or using sites like Orbitz).  I should add that the fare codes used by our cruise line also got us the usual Frequent Flyer miles.es

 

We have an upcoming cruise, late this year, out of Florida and will need air.  Since it is a Princess cruise we were able to lock-in a decent deal (with AA) using their Flexair options.  Once Southwest opens up our dates we will check their fares, and if they are better we will book Southwest (direct with the airline) and simply cancel the Princess cruise/air deal.  In a since we get the best of both worlds because we have locked in a fare with the cruise line but also keep our options open to book direct (with any airline) if something better becomes available.

 

Hank

P.S.  There is nothing special or unique about cruise air.  Millions of cruisers have used cruise/air over many decades.  The problem with NCLH is that they do not even offer the option in an easy to use online system.

[Panama111]

On 4/8/2023 at 4:58 PM, jonthomas said:

Let me simplify my request. 

 

Those soon  flying with O, could you please comment if you were able to get good flights, using the new rule, coming a couple of days earlier and no longer paying deviation.

We had booked flights with Oceania to Amsterdam, return from Trieste, Italy.

we just cancelled and booked our own.We saved money and got better connections.

The deviation fee pp is too expensive. On top of that, we did not like the flights they gave us which were very early morning departures and then long  wait for connecting flight. I explained our special needs which prevented us getting up at 3: am. 

Oceania would change  to the flights we requested ( with better times ) for a huge differential flight fee.

it was take it or leave it.

We left it and got  a refund from 0ceania. They could have cared less.

[jonthomas]

Thank you for your post. 

We hope that O treats us better.  Hate to give up premium econ for 149 pp.

To do our own flights would be at least double, since we are in Canada with fewer flight options.

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Panama111 said:

We had booked flights with Oceania to Amsterdam, return from Trieste, Italy.

we just cancelled and booked our own.We saved money and got better connections.

The deviation fee pp is too expensive.

 

What is the deviation fee now?

We usually would pay the fee & request flights

 

These days  the airlines are changing flights  right left & centre

Have had my flights changed twice this month for our fall cruise 

[Panama111]

On 6/22/2023 at 2:11 PM, jonthomas said:

Thank you for your post. 

We hope that O treats us better.  Hate to give up premium econ for 149 pp.

To do our own flights would be at least double, since we are in Canada with fewer flight options.

We are flying from Toronto to Amsterdam and return Trieste to Toronto.

[Panama111]

15 minutes ago, Panama111 said:

We are flying from Toronto to Amsterdam and return Trieste to Toronto.

oceania RIVEIRA Sept 2023

Oceania air differential was  $1440 + $598 for custom air.   This was on top of the amount already paid to Oceania  $3096. This was ridiculous.  For flights to and from Toronto to Europe. 
$5440 USD  for 2.  with early flights, extra stops and long waits for connect flight. I booked Air Canada, the flight we wanted for  $ 2886. Can. for 2.

Let the buyer beware. 

 

[basor]

3 minutes ago, Panama111 said:

Oceania air differential was  $1440 + $598 for custom air.   This was on top of the amount already paid to Oceania  $3096. This was ridiculous.  For flights to and from Toronto to Europe. 
$5440 USD  for 2.  with early flights, extra stops and long waits for connect flight. I booked Air Canada, the flight we wanted for  $ 2886. Can. for 2.

Let the buyer beware. 

 

Oceania charged $3096.00 plus $1440.00 plus $598.00 - what was the $3096.00 for?  I understand the $1440 would have been the air credit but if you paid for custom air how did you not receive the specific flights requested?  A little confusing...was this for business class or ?

[LHT28]

34 minutes ago, Panama111 said:

Oceania air differential was  $1440 + $598 for custom air.   This was on top of the amount already paid to Oceania  $3096. This was ridiculous.  For flights to and from Toronto to Europe. 
$5440 USD  for 2.  with early flights, extra stops and long waits for connect flight. I booked Air Canada, the flight we wanted for  $ 2886. Can. for 2.

Let the buyer beware. 

 

Were you asking for BIZ  class?

 The  $598 sounds like the deviation fee

Did you opt out of the  air when you booked the cruise then decided to use the O air ?

 

 Sounds like some strange  bookkeeping with the air dept 😉

 

 

 

[basor]

12 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Were you asking for BIZ  class?

 The  $598 sounds like the deviation fee

Did you opt out of the  air when you booked the cruise then decided to use the O air ?

 

 Sounds like some strange  bookkeeping with the air dept 😉

 

 

 

I agree - confusing

[Bufrenee]

Just received my electronic air tickets from O and found out that they did not include any check in baggage! When my TA went back to O they were told that air flights within Canada and the US did not include any check in baggage and customers had to pay for Checkin baggage at time of embarkation>
NEVER AGAIN and probably NEVER again Oceania!.
Cannot imagine how they can envisage that one can go on a 20 day cruise with just carryon baggage!

[LHT28]

12 minutes ago, Bufrenee said:

Cannot imagine how they can envisage that one can go on a 20 day cruise with just carryon baggage!

People  do it

Also check if you have to pay for seat selection

[basor]

19 minutes ago, Bufrenee said:

Just received my electronic air tickets from O and found out that they did not include any check in baggage! When my TA went back to O they were told that air flights within Canada and the US did not include any check in baggage and customers had to pay for Checkin baggage at time of embarkation>
NEVER AGAIN and probably NEVER again Oceania!.
Cannot imagine how they can envisage that one can go on a 20 day cruise with just carryon baggage!

Economy tickets within the US rarely include free checked baggage - nothing to do with O.  Did you expect O to pay your checked baggage fee?  Good luck finding another cruise line that will pay for your checked bag fees.

[Sthrngary]

14 minutes ago, Bufrenee said:

NEVER AGAIN and probably NEVER again Oceania!.

@Bufrenee I am very sorry that is has happened to you.  The topic of using ANY cruise line air is one of the most debated topics (for any brand) on CruiseCritic.com.  You put your faith in the brand to make this arrangement with you the guest in mind.  Logically we ALL know, it would be best to just take care of our airfare ourselves.  I used to think everyone thought that way but my travel agent opened my eyes. 

 

She told me very few folks want to hassle with airfare.  They simply want it taken care of for them.  I fully understand that simple logic.  When you add coming from another country other than the United States it adds more challenges.  Deviation fees, upcharges and all the other fees that can happen makes my head spin. 

 

I again am sorry, so very sorry this is disappointing you.  However, I have printed your post to share with the guests we are traveling with to emphasize why I booked their ticket, they paid a bit more. It is my hope your experience will help other cruise guest on all brands. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[Bufrenee]

38 minutes ago, basor said:

Economy tickets within the US rarely include free checked baggage - nothing to do with O.  Did you expect O to pay your checked baggage fee?  Good luck finding another cruise line that will pay for your checked bag fees.

 

39 minutes ago, basor said:

Economy tickets within the US rarely include free checked baggage - nothing to do with O.  Did you expect O to pay your checked baggage fee?  Good luck finding another cruise line that will pay for your checked bag fees.

It's not a question of who pays for what! It's a question of being upfront and not find out two weeks from departure that one has to pay for checked luggage within USA and Canada and not Trans Atlantic  or Trans Pacific.
BTW, this is a post relating to the use of O air and this is what happened to me yesterday. Just saying that when booking any travel, I expect to pay whatever when I settle the account, which with O is 6 months in advance, and not have extra cost thrust upon me two weeks in advance of departure.
Not everyone is as savvy a traveller as yourself!!

[basor]

3 minutes ago, Bufrenee said:

 

It's not a question of who pays for what! It's a question of being upfront and not find out two weeks from departure that one has to pay for checked luggage within USA and Canada and not Trans Atlantic  or Trans Pacific.
BTW, this is a post relating to the use of O air and this is what happened to me yesterday. Just saying that when booking any travel, I expect to pay whatever when I settle the account, which with O is 6 months in advance, and not have extra cost thrust upon me two weeks in advance of departure.
Not everyone is as savvy a traveller as yourself!!

I am sorry that you were surprised that there were baggage fees involved in your flights.  I hope you have a better flight experience in the future.  Baggage fees and seat assignments are not included in the ticket price so would be difficult for any cruise line to include in their pricing,  as they do not know if and how many bags you may want to check or what type of seat you wish to have.  Traveling can be challenging these days.

Edited June 28, 2023 by basor

[Bufrenee]

20 minutes ago, basor said:

I am sorry that you were surprised that there were baggage fees involved in your flights.  I hope you have a better flight experience in the future.  Baggage fees and seat assignments are not included in the ticket price so would be difficult for any cruise line to include in their pricing,  as they do not know if and how many bags you may want to check or what type of seat you wish to have.  Traveling can be challenging these days.

Yes I was surprised, as I expected that I had paid what was asked and agreed. AQs I stated it is a question of communications and customer relations, after all, what is  a hundred or two dollars after one pay over $500 per day!
What is the cost to put this into all the documentation that one gets? After all they are the ones that supply and book the air travel and different airlines have different  rules. BTW this is not my first O cruise with air and transfers prepaid, although this is the first one just involving North American Flights!
Yes I wil NEVER use O air again and as to cruising I have stated that I may NEVER cruise O again, depending of the result of my upcoming cruise, I do not expect to be castigated for posting a r54ec ent occurrence in answer on a question of using O air.
 

Calgary (YYC) - San Francisco (SFO)

 1^st bag

US $23.94

Including taxes

 2^nd bag

US $39.80

Including taxes

Max. weight per bag:
23 kg (50 lb)

Max. dimensions per bag:
158 cm (62 in)

 

New York (LGA) - Calgary (YYC)

 1^st bag

US $23.94

Including taxes

 2^nd bag

US $39.80

Including taxes

Max. weight per bag:
23 kg (50 lb)

Max. dimensions per bag:
158 cm (62 in)

 

* For travel within Canada or between Canada and the United States, a Canadian tax of $3.00 CAD may apply to baggage fees. For travel between Canada or the United States and Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Barbados, an applicable local sales tax of $4.00 CAD may apply to baggage fees. For all other itineraries to/from Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Barbados as well as itineraries to/from South America, an applicable local sales tax of $21.00 CAD may apply to baggage fees. All above tax amounts are based on the maximum applicable tax amounts per itinerary type. Actual amounts may vary and will be charged in the currency used in your departure airport. Tax amounts are subject to change without notice by local government.

Note: If you exceed your baggage allowance (in number, size and/or weight), additional checked baggage charges will apply. The policy and fees will be those of the carrier identified in the checked baggage information section.

·        View Air Canada's additional checked baggage policy.

·        View the additional checked baggage policy of Air Canada's codeshare and interline partners.

Currency
Fee amounts are displayed in the currency of the point of sale you have selected. On the day of travel, applicable fees will be assessed in the local currency of the country/region you are travelling from. Certain exceptions may apply where the departure airport does not charge in local currency. The currency exchange rate will be determined by the date of travel.

[basor]

6 minutes ago, Bufrenee said:

Yes I was surprised, as I expected that I had paid what was asked and agreed. AQs I stated it is a question of communications and customer relations, after all, what is  a hundred or two dollars after one pay over $500 per day!
What is the cost to put this into all the documentation that one gets? After all they are the ones that supply and book the air travel and different airlines have different  rules. BTW this is not my first O cruise with air and transfers prepaid, although this is the first one just involving North American Flights!
Yes I wil NEVER use O air again and as to cruising I have stated that I may NEVER cruise O again, depending of the result of my upcoming cruise, I do not expect to be castigated for posting a r54ec ent occurrence in answer on a question of using O air.
 

Calgary (YYC) - San Francisco (SFO)

 1^st bag

US $23.94

Including taxes

 2^nd bag

US $39.80

Including taxes

Max. weight per bag:
23 kg (50 lb)

Max. dimensions per bag:
158 cm (62 in)

 

New York (LGA) - Calgary (YYC)

 1^st bag

US $23.94

Including taxes

 2^nd bag

US $39.80

Including taxes

Max. weight per bag:
23 kg (50 lb)

Max. dimensions per bag:
158 cm (62 in)

 

* For travel within Canada or between Canada and the United States, a Canadian tax of $3.00 CAD may apply to baggage fees. For travel between Canada or the United States and Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Barbados, an applicable local sales tax of $4.00 CAD may apply to baggage fees. For all other itineraries to/from Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Barbados as well as itineraries to/from South America, an applicable local sales tax of $21.00 CAD may apply to baggage fees. All above tax amounts are based on the maximum applicable tax amounts per itinerary type. Actual amounts may vary and will be charged in the currency used in your departure airport. Tax amounts are subject to change without notice by local government.

Note: If you exceed your baggage allowance (in number, size and/or weight), additional checked baggage charges will apply. The policy and fees will be those of the carrier identified in the checked baggage information section.

·        View Air Canada's additional checked baggage policy.

·        View the additional checked baggage policy of Air Canada's codeshare and interline partners.

Currency
Fee amounts are displayed in the currency of the point of sale you have selected. On the day of travel, applicable fees will be assessed in the local currency of the country/region you are travelling from. Certain exceptions may apply where the departure airport does not charge in local currency. The currency exchange rate will be determined by the date of travel.

I certainly did not mean to castigate you and I am sorry you felt that way....it sounds like handling your own air will work best for you in the future and then no surprises.  I hope you find a  cruise line for your future sailings that provide you with better communication.  You posted your itinerary showing the baggage fees which will be good information for other cruisers on where to see baggage fees are listed.

[basor]

Thanks to bufrenee for pointing out that extra fees for baggage, seats, etc. are never included in your initial air ticket purchase (whether thru a cruise line or directly with an airline).  It is always a good idea to go to the airline website and check your reservation ( as soon as you receive the airline confirmation number) and check what the baggage allowance is and to make seat assignments for your best selection.  If your air was handled by a TA, they usually will include the fee information along with your reservation.  Air travel is challenging these days and not always easy to keep up with the changes/rules.

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

She told me very few folks want to hassle with airfare.  They simply want it taken care of for them. 

 

And then they want to complain about what they have available to them.

 

You want simplicity -- know that you will get that.  And that's it.

 

 

[AMHuntFerry]

4 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

She told me very few folks want to hassle with airfare.  They simply want it taken care of for them.  I fully understand that simple logic.  When you add coming from another country other than the United States it adds more challenges.  Deviation fees, upcharges and all the other fees that can happen makes my head spin.

By default, my TA finds out the costs of optional items provided by the cruise line (e.g., air, shorex, hotels) and also provides quotes for these items from the travel agency directly. She has said "we are a full service travel agency", but it sounds like there are many TA that don't provide this service; there is no direct cost to the consumer for these "extras" although I would expect to pay a fee if I asked for my TA to do any non/low-commission work (e.g., book a flight only). If you or someone you know doesn't want to book their own airfare, etc., I highly recommend using a full service TA so as not to be at the mercy of just the cruise line's offerings.

[Redtravel]

Used Olife air.  We got to the ship 2 hours before it sailed.  That’s cutting it too close.  

[LHT28]

2 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

Used Olife air.  We got to the ship 2 hours before it sailed.  That’s cutting it too close.  

Why did you fly in  the same day ??

Cruise lines have no control over the airlines  & any issues of late/delayed  flights

[Panama111]

17 hours ago, basor said:

Oceania charged $3096.00 plus $1440.00 plus $598.00 - what was the $3096.00 for?  I understand the $1440 would have been the air credit but if you paid for custom air how did you not receive the specific flights requested?  A little confusing...was this for business class or ?

The $3096 was  original payment with booking [ this was  refunded when I cancelled air]

the $550 was the fee to use custom air. The $1440. was  the cost difference between the flights we wanted and the flights we were offered by Oceania.  Economy  tickets. Paying custom air  lets us choose between whatever seats Oceania has available. We did not want to leave for the airport in the middle of the night  and wait 7 hours in Frankfurt to change planes. To get better departure times with shorter layover on return  was a deviation fee. To fly Toronto to Amsterdam direct instead of changing  flights was a deviation fee. I had numerous calls and quotes and then gave up.

[Panama111]

16 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Were you asking for BIZ  class?

 The  $598 sounds like the deviation fee

Did you opt out of the  air when you booked the cruise then decided to use the O air ?

 

 Sounds like some strange  bookkeeping with the air dept 😉

 

 

 

No kidding strange bookkeeping. We booked air in our original booking. No business class was mentioned. Premium economy in our original booking.

“By accepting this Custom Air you are authorizing Oceania Cruises to charge the non-refundable Custom Air Fee of $299.00 per person to the credit card on file for your reservation. Any differential in airfare will be added to your invoice and will be collected at the time your final payment is due.”

“598.00 + 1,440.00 = 2,038.00” in addition to air paid”

[LHT28]

4 minutes ago, Panama111 said:

No kidding strange bookkeeping. We booked air in our original booking. No business class was mentioned. Premium economy in our original booking.

“By accepting this Custom Air you are authorizing Oceania Cruises to charge the non-refundable Custom Air Fee of $299.00 per person to the credit card on file for your reservation. Any differential in airfare will be added to your invoice and will be collected at the time your final payment is due.”

“598.00 + 1,440.00 = 2,038.00” in addition to air paid”

They have  never  charge the  deviation fee until I agreed to the flights/routing

In some cases I have just switched to cruise only  & did my own air when we could not  find  a flight that worked  for me

 

Might be harder to get  the flights  post covid 

I booked my own this trip & that is not going well either  😲

a sign of the times ??