OLife moves to "all in"

[Rainbow3fe]

5 hours ago, kathy9 said:

We are sailing on the Nautica on Oct 27 2023. I will be curious to see how O blends Olife passengers with Simply More passengers. Will the Simply More group get free wine and excursions? Will we be forced to pay an up charge on our paid for cruise when the program starts July 1st?

I guess time will tell...

I was told that they will not force us to change anything we booked already. It will be a choice for cruises that sail after 10/01/23.

   I plan to stay with what I booked. Thankfully all the way through April 2025.🌊💐🎉😄

[Orator]

On 6/6/2023 at 8:47 AM, Hlitner said:

As an O newbie (with lots of experience with other cruise lines) I will have some fun with my own speculation (we have a current booking with the O Life Beverage Package).  Whatever FDR does, it will cost more!  We have seen this trend with other cruise lines and the bottom line is always more costly.  The other thing that has happened (with many lines) is that the new packages are carefully designed reduce the value of any Loyalty benefits traditionally offered by the cruise lines.  This is usually done by either including some of the Loyalty benefits in a the new package (available to anyone) or changing the benefits.  

tomHank

Celebrity and others are doing as you suggest. Increasing bottom line is the motivation and they will get what the market will allow. I can't blame them since Covid increased the debt service. 

Edited June 16, 2023 by Orator

[basenji56]

This thread inspired me to look at Azamara.  I just booked a Panama Canal cruise for December 2024.  Premium beverage package is included with the Club Continent suite.  Oh, well.  I can always drink non-alcoholic beverages. I love Oceania but they didn't have any sailings for the time/place I wanted to go.  

 

[Elbig]

I suspect Oceania is not making enough profit on cruise only. I can’t blame them for wanting to stay in business. They want to attract clients that are willing and able to pay for a more inclusive premium experience.  Olife is quite confusing compared to the competition. I look to forward to seeing the details of Simply More. Unfortunately that might mean that those who book cruise only may no longer in their target audience.

[Orator]

Some may look at other lines as price increases and like what they see. That has happened with other lines when they raised the prices. I have seen many former "Celebrity loyalist" on the Oceania boards and  on the ships. 

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Elbig said:

I suspect Oceania is not making enough profit on cruise only. I can’t blame them for wanting to stay in business. They want to attract clients that are willing and able to pay for a more inclusive premium experience.  Olife is quite confusing compared to the competition. I look to forward to seeing the details of Simply More. Unfortunately that might mean that those who book cruise only may no longer in their target audience.

Not sure how that  pans out

Pax that book cruise only are still spending money onboard 

 

[basor]

4 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Not sure how that  pans out

Pax that book cruise only are still spending money onboard 

 

You would think so but many on this board talk about how they don't spend any extra money onboard - bring own liquor onboard and DIY all shore excursions and don't buy anything onboard.  I would think that is the minority but never know. 

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, basor said:

You would think so but many on this board talk about how they don't spend any extra money onboard - bring own liquor onboard and DIY all shore excursions and don't buy anything onboard.  I would think that is the minority but never know. 

I am sure there are some that do not spend onboard   like us  with our own shore excursion

We pay as  we drink 

We are still giving them a chunk of change to sail with them

[Elbig]

In order to maintain the premium experience, they might need the average spend pp to be higher than the typical cruise only pax. By “bundling” some amenities it forces a certain amount of spending. Plus Olife is confusing compared to competition. I think this makes sense. Again I reserve final judgement for when the details are released. 

[julia]

So much angst over what is basically a simple change!  The bottom line is that cruise prices WILL continue to increase, across the board, and on every single line. The costs to supply these ships are increasing, as anyone can see when you're in your grocery store (hell, eggs were recently $5/dozen!).  Fuel costs, food costs,  labor costs, maintenance costs, insurance costs, debt, etc, have ALL added to higher pricing (not just included alcohol!) All of us will need to roll with the punches, and determine if cruising is worth the value or not.  

[basor]

1 minute ago, LHT28 said:

I am sure there are some that do not spend onboard   like us  with our own shore excursion

We pay as  we drink 

We are still giving them a chunk of change to sail with them

I agree but not everyone does.....we also DIY shore excursions and do a combo of own liquor and buying on board.  Lately we have had more then enough OBC to cover our onboard spending so have walked away with a zero balance.  It will be interesting to see how it pencils out after we know the new pricing.  We have 1 2023 O cruise that is after 01OCT (unless our 29SEP cruise is sneaked in) and 3 cruises booked in 2024 - have printed off current pricing so will be able to compare.  Checked Azamara, Viking, SS and SB for basically the same cruises and have their current pricing printed out - time will tell if we stick with O under the new program or move on to someone new.  So far haven't found a loyalty program to match O's.

[Rainbow3fe]

4 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

As yet, no one here has posted a decent summary of the big picture of “Simply More” as it is currently understood.

Although unverifiable, what follows here is the best summary I could find, apparently written by a TA who attended a recent O webinar.

FWIW:

 

NOTICE: Oceania changes coming July 1, 2023

 

Hello members, I created the following notes from an Oceania webinar yesterday.

 

On July 1, 2023, a new program begins, and an old friend is retired. Olife is being replaced by a program called simplyMORE. Beginning July 1, 2023, all bookings sailing after Oct 1, 2023, will include simplyMORE. The program is designed to be more inclusive and much simpler to understand. Some of the highlights are noted below.

 

• All bookings include FREE champagne, wine, and more with over 30 alcoholic and non-alcoholic choices for lunch and dinner. Comparable to what you think of now as House Select Beverage Package. You will be able to upgrade the simplyMORE drink package for $30 per person per day and you will be able to upgrade prior to embarkation.

 

• All simplyMORE bookings include a shore excursion credit. There will be a group of excursions to choose from using your credit. Unlike Olife, with simplyMORE you can choose to apply your credit to any excursion. You will be responsible for the difference in cost that exceeds the credit. simplyMORE shore excursion credits are: 7-9 days $600 per stateroom, 10-13 days $800, 14-18 days $1,000, 19-24 days $1,200, 25-30 days $1,400, 31-35 days $1,600.

 

• FREE Unlimited Wi-Fi for both people booked in a stateroom! Vista is already outfitted with Starlink. Other ships will be upgrading soon.

 

• When you choose air with simplyMORE, transfers will now be included.

 

• When you choose cruise-only fare under the simplyMORE program you are excluding air only, all of the other amenity changes outlined will be included.

 

Current bookings will have the choice to stay as is or change to simplyMORE. If you change to simplyMORE, you will be subject to repricing the booking. You do not get to add simplyMORE to an existing booking at your current pricing. Please don’t try to change an existing booking now, this program is not implemented yet. Your TA and Oceania will not be able to provide you with a comparison quote yet.

 

As for me, I really appreciate FREE Unlimited Wi-Fi for 2 and being able to pick from all shore excursions using my excursion credit.

 

More details to come. Please hold your questions until there is more information with the understanding that this is preliminary. 

Thanks, Flatbush Flyer. We can always count on you for good information. 

[Rainbow3fe]

     Hi,

     It's interesting. So many of us are worried and are speculating about how to handle the upcoming changes.  Let's wait the 2 weeks and see how it plays out. 

     We love Oceania and never use their air.  We don't drink at lunch, actually we hardly ever eat lunch. Either we are on an excursion or I save my appetite for Horizons High Tea. A poolside drink is fun and wine with dinner is great. I definitely don't want a drink package and hope " cruise only" option will be available. If not, we'll see what happens. 

     I cannot fathom looking for a new favorite cruiseline. We experimented with Princess once, a horrible experience.  Poor quality food, noisy pool deck and common areas, too crowded in general. We experimented with Celebrity Edge last Fall. Food was horrible. Poorly prepared and restaurants were awful. We hated the class system. Couldn't dine with our new friends because we were Aquaclass and they weren't.  Nice experience otherwise because we met lovely people.  

      Hope Oceania will still be the one for us.

Felice 

 

Edited June 16, 2023 by Rainbow3fe

[LHT28]

2 minutes ago, Rainbow3fe said:

  Hope Oceania will still be the one for us.

Felice 

 

It  can work for you   if you are willing to pay the price  & not worry about  the fact you are paying more but getting less  you will use

 

We took a luxury  cruise  one time   the price was lower than Oceania for a similar itinerary

We actually drank less on the luxury line   even though it was included in the fare

The food was worse for us  than Oceania  some exceptions  but not enough to switch

I get the feeling that Oceania is trying to cater to those with 6 figure incomes & cruise  5-6 mths out of the year

We love the O product  but one has to draw the line somewhere  & this new deal may be the line in the sand for us

JMO

Will see is 2 wks  what the real deal is  & go from there

[1985rz1]

I just wish folks would take a deep breath and minimize their angst until the program is implemented and all the facts are known.  It would also be nice if folks would try to refrain from posting misinformation and/or wild speculations which only worsen the angst. Remember Chicken Little.

Edited June 16, 2023 by 1985rz1

[tgg]

1 minute ago, 1985rz1 said:

I just wish folks would take a deep breath and minimize their angst until the program is implemented and all the facts are know.  It would also be nice if folks would try to refrain from posting misinformation and/or wild speculations which only worsens the angst. 

But they're having so much fun.

[LuAnn]

17 hours ago, Rainbow3fe said:

Are you positive that "cruise only" will not be available?

 

I was on the phone with my TA yesterday who is one of O's top producers. She also said there would be no cruise only.  She had been involved in some sort of presentation by O. And she said that the subject of how much of a price hike would be involved was really not answered.

 

Edited June 16, 2023 by LuAnn

[bob brown]

One plus of the new plan, that I don’t believe was previously mentioned, but may benefit a miniscule portion of cruisers, is for those embarking on their comped “Milestone” cruise.  They should receive the benefits of Simply More, which they would not under the previous O Life option…🙂

[DOJO466]

12 minutes ago, bob brown said:

One plus of the new plan, that I don’t believe was previously mentioned, but may benefit a miniscule portion of cruisers, is for those embarking on their comped “Milestone” cruise.  They should receive the benefits of Simply More, which they would not under the previous O Life option…🙂

I would much prefer my OBC that I can use for anything onboard not be forced to spend on excursions.  Prefer a choice.

[bob brown]

1 minute ago, DOJO466 said:

I would much prefer my OBC that I can use for anything onboard not be forced to spend on excursions.  Prefer a choice.

That’s fine, but on the Milestone cruise, you didn’t get that, either…just the cruise only…

[SophieM]

It will be really interesting get the details on July 1. Given so much hullabaloo (at least on this board, anyway), I think they’re not doing themselves any big favors by waiting two weeks to make the details available, although it is kind of fun to see everyone’s reaction. We are pretty firmly in the cruise only camp, but we still spend money on board on drinks, the cooking classes, and, yes, even the occasional ship tour. If the rumors from knowledgeable sources are true about the demise of cruise only, we’ll be pretty disappointed. Depending on the cost difference between the current cruise only and the new simply more, which those of us who already have cruises booked will be able to get a good feel for, it may mean for us that we take fewer cruises in a year. That would make me very sad. 

[zalusky]

I am trying to understand the drink enhancements if you want to call them that.  It says "with lunch and dinner".  Does that mean you pay for basic cocktails in a lounge outside of the lunch/dinner venues?

[1985rz1]

5 minutes ago, zalusky said:

I am trying to understand the drink enhancements if you want to call them that.  It says "with lunch and dinner".  Does that mean you pay for basic cocktails in a lounge outside of the lunch/dinner venues?

Yes.  Just like the OLife House Select Package.

[basenji56]

50 minutes ago, grifdoglover said:

@besenji56 the Panama canal is experiencing extreme drought.  Cruises are being diverted, as essential commercial is even affected.

Ouch.  Luckily, my cruise is not for 18 months so I have enough time to reassess before final payment.  Thank you for the information!

 

[grifdoglover]

Just noticed a lot of cruises being diverted.  Hopefully will be better by then.