OLife moves to "all in"

[ak1004]

1 minute ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Currently, O’s shortest cruises are 7 days, which earn 1 credit each. Twenty of them (i.e., 140 nights) would get you a 2 week cruise anywhere O goes. That would translate to 50 one week cruises on SS for a complimentary one. So, in that scenario (350 days using short cruises), you’d be getting 2 cruises on O compared to one on SS.

 

No other cruise line that I’ve found comes close to O’s O Club benefits.

 

Agree, however, on a big scale of things, 1 free cruise is equal to 5% discount. With SS, you get 5% discount after 100 nights (10 shorter cruises or 5 longer ones).

 

I would say that O programs benefits people who take shorter cruises, but if you cruise mostly 15-20 nights, SS is at least as good.

 

But I do agree that O program is one of the best.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 minute ago, ak1004 said:

 

Agree, however, on a big scale of things, 1 free cruise is equal to 5% discount. With SS, you get 5% discount after 100 nights (10 shorter cruises or 5 longer ones).

 

I would say that O programs benefits people who take shorter cruises, but if you cruise mostly 15-20 nights, SS is at least as good.

 

But I do agree that O program is one of the best.

Everyone on O gets a 5% fare discount solely by doing a two segment booking (i.e., a “custom” cruise when they are not published as an “extended journey.” 

[ak1004]

1 minute ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Everyone on O gets a 5% fare discount solely by doing a two segment booking (i.e., a “custom” cruise when they are not published as an “extended journey.” 

 

Good to know, but this is not part of the loyalty program that we discussed. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Good to know, but this is not part of the loyalty program that we discussed. 

I forgot to say “on the BIGGER scale of things.”😉

[bob brown]

44 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Currently, O’s shortest cruises are 7 days, which earn 1 credit each. Twenty of them (i.e., 140 nights) would get you a 2 week cruise anywhere O goes. That would translate to 50 one week cruises on SS for a complimentary one. So, in that scenario (350 days using short cruises), you’d be getting 2 cruises on O compared to one on SS.

 

No other cruise line that I’ve found comes close to O’s O Club benefits.

Agreed, but the current method of awarding cruise credits in effect penalises those booking longer than 7 day cruises…

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, bob brown said:

Agreed, but the current method of awarding cruise credits in effect penalises those booking longer than 7 day cruises…

At first glance, perhaps. But, the cost per night of a 7 day cruise is often considerably more than the cost per night of a 7 week cruise. 
I just did several random comparisons of several Riviera 10+\- day cruises to several 5-7 week cruises and the longer cruises were all less expensive by $ hundreds per night.

[Furball83]

On 6/6/2023 at 3:41 PM, mwj said:

It sounds similar to HAL's HIA ...

 

We will opt for the base without the extras.

HIA never made sense to us as non-alcoholics.

The only time we tried it was when it included gratuities during early booking (first ninety days).

 

 

I hope you meant “non-drinkers” instead of “non-alcoholics.😂

[Furball83]

On 6/11/2023 at 2:13 PM, Snaefell3 said:

Remember, NCLH is digging out from a mountain of COVID debt --2 years with expenses and no revenue-- that turned it from a $50 stock into a $17 stock.  Just be thankful that NCLH is in far better shape (and less hungry) than CCL.

It’s up to about $19 now. At this price it’s worth buying 100 shares if you cruise in NCLH a few times a year. Hope everyone knows proof of ownership of 100 shares will get you $100 onboard credit for any Norwegian, Oceania and Regent cruise.

[Furball83]

On 6/13/2023 at 5:21 PM, ak1004 said:

One of the things (among others) we like about O is the option to pay only for what we like. We don't drink so don't like to subsidize drinkers, and we have no interest in included excursions (hopefully they will not repeat SS mistake).

 

Lets not forget that in some cases O prices are already pretty close to SB and SS. If they increase them too much, the prices might become comparable to SS and SB - and honestly, I don't think many people would book O if they can book SB or SS for the same price. This is especially true with the older R class ships. So I don't believe we will see steep increases, but if I'm wrong, they are going to lose a LOT of business to SB and SS.  

I doubt it will be the same price as SS or SB with the new structure. NCLH already owns all-inclusive Regent SS to compete with them. 

[cruisemom42]

13 hours ago, bob brown said:

It’s about time that Oceania converts to giving loyalty credits by days sailed, rather than the present plan. Most other lines I believe have done that.  

 

Also some other lines give solos 2x points if they are paying a full solo supplement.

[AMHuntFerry]

I was giving my spouse the "known" info about the new program. While chatting it occurred to me that O could make the change more palatable to returning customers by offering some discounts based on O-Club level that would (partially to fully) offset the price increases if the increase is substantial (e.g., price goes up $1000 for the $800 shorex OBC + drinks, etc.). If the price is minimal (say $200 for the previous example), then the change will be less painful and no incentives would be needed...it will be interesting to watch how this all works out both short term and long term.

[See_More]

True, those that have reached President’s Circle may not want to pay for drinks they have already purchased.  

[WildWanderers]

From the limited authoritative information on the new program, it seems to me that for new bookings from July 1 you have a choice of opting into something called SimplyMore, and that OLife will not exist any more.  You can look at it as...SimplyMore replaces OLife.  Air fare in or out was never part of OLife, and it will not be part of SimplyMore;  so no change there.  The three OLife choices of onboard cash or excursions or basic drinks package have been replaced by a bit of all three in the Simply More;  or another way of looking at it is...you get the basic drinks package (which was a full OLife choice), plus a bit of onboard cash, plus some money for excursions.  The upgrade to the drinks package, currently called Prestige Select, will be available in some name.  It was not part of OLife, and will not be part of SimplyMore.

My understanding is that for bookings we have made that leave beyond this October, we will have the option to switch to the SimplyMore scenario if it is more interesting for us.  I spoke to our Oceania agent this a.m., and he indicated that he will be in touch with us to discuss for each of our future already-booked cruises, whether the current way we have booked should be left, or do we want to opt for the SimplyMore scenario.

People can opt for no SimplyMore, I think, in the same way that they can opt for no OLife.  

My comments are peppered with "I think" as none of us will know the full story until Oceania publishes it.

 

Cheers,

Greg from Gatineau, Québec

[1985rz1]

5 minutes ago, WildWanderers said:

People can opt for no SimplyMore, I think, in the same way that they can opt for no OLife.  

That's the question.  Currently, the Travel Agencies and Travel Agents who attended the Webinar on the introduction of SimplyMore say that "as of now," there is no option to opt out of SimplyMore in the same way we could opt out of OLife.

[Furball83]

8 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Also some other lines give solos 2x points if they are paying a full solo supplement.

I completely agree! I get double points for every NIGHT I sail with Regent Seven Seas, and NCLH owns them both!

[Classiccruiser777]

I find it ironic that on the header and footer of this discussion, at least on my feed, there are Oceania ads touting the upgrade sale. 

[njhorseman]

6 minutes ago, Classiccruiser777 said:

I find it ironic that on the header and footer of this discussion, at least on my feed, there are Oceania ads touting the upgrade sale. 

it's not ironic at all, it's deliberate targeted advertising. If you go on the NCL board you'll see NCL sale ads. Go on the Celebrity board you'll see Celebrity sale ads, etc. The cruise lines pay to have those ads displayed to anyone visiting the cruise line's board on the assumption that if you're visiting that board you may be interested in booking a cruise on that cruise line.

[bob brown]

7 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Also some other lines give solos 2x points if they are paying a full solo supplement.

And…some lines give extra for sailing in a full suite.  Some even give an extra day if you spend a certain amount for on board purchases…

[YourWorldWithBill]

1 hour ago, bob brown said:

And…some lines give extra for sailing in a full suite.  Some even give an extra day if you spend a certain amount for on board purchases…

HAL does that. I got more points for being in a Neptune suite than even makes sense to me. We didn't spend enough on board to account for all. Don't tell anyone!

[Jancruz]

6 hours ago, WildWanderers said:

From the limited authoritative information on the new program, it seems to me that for new bookings from July 1 you have a choice of opting into something called SimplyMore, and that OLife will not exist any more.  You can look at it as...SimplyMore replaces OLife.  Air fare in or out was never part of OLife, and it will not be part of SimplyMore;  so no change there.  The three OLife choices of onboard cash or excursions or basic drinks package have been replaced by a bit of all three in the Simply More;  or another way of looking at it is...you get the basic drinks package (which was a full OLife choice), plus a bit of onboard cash, plus some money for excursions.  The upgrade to the drinks package, currently called Prestige Select, will be available in some name.  It was not part of OLife, and will not be part of SimplyMore.

My understanding is that for bookings we have made that leave beyond this October, we will have the option to switch to the SimplyMore scenario if it is more interesting for us.  I spoke to our Oceania agent this a.m., and he indicated that he will be in touch with us to discuss for each of our future already-booked cruises, whether the current way we have booked should be left, or do we want to opt for the SimplyMore scenario.

People can opt for no SimplyMore, I think, in the same way that they can opt for no OLife.  

My comments are peppered with "I think" as none of us will know the full story until Oceania publishes it.

 

Cheers,

Greg from Gatineau, Québec

Part of what you said is correct and part incorrect..

Jancruz1

[lake person]

On 6/10/2023 at 1:55 PM, QuestionEverything said:

Hanoj, I appreciate your words "cloak for steep price increases". I suspect you are correct.

For my household - steep prices increases mean the service provider is cancelled.

I, like you, are 1st time Oceania customers and we are already suspicious, that is not good for Oceania or any other service provider.

I will see if I like Oceania or not. Otherwise, onto other travel options.

As a first time Oceania cruiser(August 2023 cruise) made the mistake in booking OLife with Air. Just recieved the ticketing No direct flights and an extra charge of $998 for a stay over in the UK-needless to say we are cancelling the Air portion of the cruise--others experiances? (Note. Canadian cruiser)

 

[Rainbow3fe]

11 minutes ago, lake person said:

As a first time Oceania cruiser(August 2023 cruise) made the mistake in booking OLife with Air. Just recieved the ticketing No direct flights and an extra charge of $998 for a stay over in the UK-needless to say we are cancelling the Air portion of the cruise--others experiances? (Note. Canadian cruiser)

 

Sorry.  We always book our own air. We choose our own seats and often use miles for flights. We remove the air from Oceania and get credit. That reduces our total fare.

[Flatbush Flyer]

25 minutes ago, lake person said:

As a first time Oceania cruiser(August 2023 cruise) made the mistake in booking OLife with Air. Just recieved the ticketing No direct flights and an extra charge of $998 for a stay over in the UK-needless to say we are cancelling the Air portion of the cruise--others experiances? (Note. Canadian cruiser)

 

As I often say here, NEVER use O Air, particularly for bizclass.

[ak1004]

Each time we ask for a quote for business class, it's significantly higher than we could book on our own.

[QuestionEverything]

48 minutes ago, lake person said:

As a first time Oceania cruiser(August 2023 cruise) made the mistake in booking OLife with Air. Just recieved the ticketing No direct flights and an extra charge of $998 for a stay over in the UK-needless to say we are cancelling the Air portion of the cruise--others experiances? (Note. Canadian cruiser)

 

We are a 1st time Oceania cruiser too, August as well. Never do any cruise lines air. Go a couple of days earlier to the port of departure and enjoy and relax. You control. The cruise lines put you on the most cheap, multi stop flights.

With the useless Canadian $ we are paying 35% more than Americans and similar to EU passengers.

Think carefully about travel out of Canada, it is expensive and requiring analysis to other options.