Simply more's impact on current bookings?

[basor]

3 minutes ago, susiesan said:

No, the AZ beverage package included is only beer and wine. The Simply More beverage package has hard liquor included. Currently O charges $40 a day per person for that. That means I have to add $80 a day to a cruise only priced O cabin. I can cover my onboard drinks with the OBC I get, some from O and some from my TA.

 

All bookings include FREE champagne, wine, and more with over 30 alcoholic and non-alcoholic choices for lunch and dinner.

 

Isn't  the O Life shore ex option usually $600? So there is another $1200 I save by booking cruise only. Forcing people to take O shore ex is a money maker for them. Since it is a use it or lose it credit, most people will use it so as not to make a donation to Oceania.

I have never had a TA who pays me a rebate on an Oceania cruise, I usually get a discount up front.

I believe they are stating that the beverage package includes wine, beer and champagne with more than 30 alcoholic and non-alcoholic choices - meaning there is not just 2 red, 2 white and a champagne available (like others).  If you want "spirits" and any time of day drinks, then you would upgrade just like on other cruise lines.

We receive both a discount, OBC and a rebate on just about any cruise line we book with TA....

Shore excursions - you are correct that O now will have a shore excursion credit that can be used on any shore excursion offerings unlike Viking and others that has an "included" shore excursion for each port and you have no choice.  Azamara does not include any type of shore excursion.

After the 01JUL, everyone will know the new pricing for O with Simply More and can then compare to other cruise lines and make a choice as to what is best for them.  It is good to have choices - O will lose some customers and gain some customers, only time will tell if it was the right financial decision for O.

[1985rz1]

15 minutes ago, susiesan said:

No, the AZ beverage package included is only beer and wine. The Simply More beverage package has hard liquor included. Currently O charges $40 a day per person for that. That means I have to add $80 a day to a cruise only priced O cabin. I can cover my onboard drinks with the OBC I get, some from O and some from my TA.

 

All bookings include FREE champagne, wine, and more with over 30 alcoholic and non-alcoholic choices for lunch and dinner.

 

Isn't  the O Life shore ex option usually $600? So there is another $1200 I save by booking cruise only. Forcing people to take O shore ex is a money maker for them. Since it is a use it or lose it credit, most people will use it so as not to make a donation to Oceania.

I have never had a TA who pays me a rebate on an Oceania cruise, I usually get a discount up front.

No, only beer, wine, and champagne with lunch and dinner is included in Simply More. You need to read further into the announcement. Here's an excerpt from the posting on a TA site:

 

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 made 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.

Edited June 16, 2023 by 1985rz1

[ruthnlarry]

17 minutes ago, susiesan said:

No, the AZ beverage package included is only beer and wine. The Simply More beverage package has hard liquor included. Currently O charges $40 a day per person for that. That means I have to add $80 a day to a cruise only priced O cabin. I can cover my onboard drinks with the OBC I get, some from O and some from my TA.

 

All bookings include FREE champagne, wine, and more with over 30 alcoholic and non-alcoholic choices for lunch and dinner.

Azamara includes select standard spirits, international beers, and a changing selection of one red and one white wine by the glass each day throughout the day.  Oceania's Simply More package is only for lunch and dinner unless you upgrade.

Edited June 16, 2023 by ruthnlarry

[1985rz1]

24 minutes ago, susiesan said:

No, the AZ beverage package included is only beer and wine. The Simply More beverage package has hard liquor included. Currently O charges $40 a day per person for that.

I'm not sure what O package you are referring to, but the House Select (wine and beer with lunch and dinner) is $40 pp per day.  The Prestige Select which include spirits and all day long is $70 pp per day.

Edited June 16, 2023 by 1985rz1

[Hambagahle]

As time goes on things change.  Hopefully in an effort to be better.  What is usually a good deal for a customer might not be a good deal for the ship and vv.

We will wait and see what precisely is offered to us.  We sail On Vista on 21 April and have already booked our 6 excursions on the OLife package.  We were planning to add to that the full beverage package at $69 pp per day.   SO we'll see what is offered and then decide what works best for us.  Happily we are in the "transition" group and have this flexibility.   People signing up later won't be.

 

It could be good (it sounds good) but is it?  time will tell.

[osandomir]

2 hours ago, 1985rz1 said:

No, only beer, wine, and champagne with lunch and dinner is included in Simply More. You need to read further into the announcement. Here's an excerpt from the posting on a TA site:

 

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 made 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.

Actually, this didn’t come from Oceania. Nothing is clear now - only someone’s TA interpretation of the new offer. We’ll have to wait until all the details of simplyMORE appear on the Oceania website after July 1st.

[1985rz1]

12 minutes ago, osandomir said:

Actually, this didn’t come from Oceania. Nothing is clear now - only someone’s TA interpretation of the new offer. We’ll have to wait until all the details of simplyMORE appear on the Oceania website after July 1st.

I have the same information from 3 different agents from 3 different travel agencies who attended the webinar.  But, yes, it's not the official statement.

Edited June 16, 2023 by 1985rz1

[osandomir]

6 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

I have the same information from 3 different from agents from 3 different travel agencies who attended the webinar.  But, yes, it's not the official statement.

I didn’t have a chance to ask 3 different TA, so it’s unclear to me what “over 30 alcoholic and non-alcoholic choices for lunch and dinner” is all about.

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, osandomir said:

I didn’t have a chance to ask 3 different TA, so it’s unclear to me what “over 30 alcoholic and non-alcoholic choices for lunch and dinner” is all about.

Wait until the announcement  on July 1st

[osandomir]

6 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Wait until the announcement  on July 1st

Thanks! That exactly what I said in my previous post.

[basor]

10 minutes ago, osandomir said:

I didn’t have a chance to ask 3 different TA, so it’s unclear to me what “over 30 alcoholic and non-alcoholic choices for lunch and dinner” is all about.

They are stating that you will have a choice of over 30 different wine, beers and non-alcoholic drinks during lunch and dinner and not just 2 rd, 2 whites and a champagne.....I also have this from from several different TAs that attended the webinar .  The House Select Beverage package is now included for all and you can upgrade to the Prestige package for all liquors any time for $30.00 pp per day - sinple

[osandomir]

3 minutes ago, basor said:

They are stating that you will have a choice of over 30 different wine, beers and non-alcoholic drinks during lunch and dinner and not just 2 rd, 2 whites and a champagne.....I also have this from from several different TAs that attended the webinar .  The House Select Beverage package is now included for all and you can upgrade to the Prestige package for all liquors any time for $30.00 pp per day - sinple

This doesn’t sound bad at all to me. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find something that we like with those choices. We can cover the rest with our OBC if we want it. Still need to see the prices for these cruisers with all that included.

[DrKoob]

7 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

I have seen this happen on other brands in the past.  Specifically change.  The post here represent the exact same posts from the past.  The question is why?  Change is difficult for MOST of us.  MOST of us like knowing the rules to the game and accepting them.  Human nature really.

I think the why can be answered with one word—Viking. Maybe two—Viking Ocean. Everything they are adding is pretty much what you get on Viking Ocean. Drinks at lunch and dinner (maybe a little more with simplyMore), kind of included shore excursions, Wifi for all. As Oceania moves forward with Vista class ships, they need to increase revenue and their culinary (which is clearly superior) offerings may not be enough to push the very loyal Viking clientele to try something else. And Oceania's three newer ships are much closer to the size of Viking Ocean ships.

 

There is mention on these Oceania boards about Azamara, Celebrity, Regent, Seabourn but let's be honest other than maybe AZ, the big competitor for their cruising dollar is Viking Ocean. They can compete with AZ because they are sailing some of the same ships but as they bring out new, larger ships, they are even more competing directly with V. 

 

Just my thoughts. 

[jonthomas]

We were on the Viking Star in April. There is NO comparison between Viking and Oceania. We used up covid credits. While waiting to do that we have done 3 Oceania cruises. Now it is our line of choice.

Yes on Viking every meal the wine is included. You need lots of it, so you can manage to eat the awful food.

We don't drink alcohol, so we were very aware how trully awful the food was.

Entertainment, only the ships staff. One trivia daily.  Pretty much nothing else to do.

Die hard Viking fans thought it was OK but none of them had ever sailed on O.

Our only regret is that we spent many years on other lines before coming to O.

Edited June 17, 2023 by jonthomas

[Twiga]

5 hours ago, susiesan said:

No, the AZ beverage package included is only beer and wine. The Simply More beverage package has hard liquor included. Currently O charges $40 a day per person for that. That means I have to add $80 a day to a cruise only priced O cabin. I can cover my onboard drinks with the OBC I get, some from O and some from my TA.

 

All bookings include FREE champagne, wine, and more with over 30 alcoholic and non-alcoholic choices for lunch and dinner.

 

Isn't  the O Life shore ex option usually $600? So there is another $1200 I save by booking cruise only. Forcing people to take O shore ex is a money maker for them. Since it is a use it or lose it credit, most people will use it so as not to make a donation to Oceania.

I have never had a TA who pays me a rebate on an Oceania cruise, I usually get a discount up front.

Azamara fares include alcoholic drinks. I can get a margarita with a meal, at the pool, or in a lounge at no additional cost.  If you want premium spirits, you can pay for that, but I haven't found that to be necessary.  The Oceania House Select is only beer, wine and sparkling wine with lunch and dinner (and occasionally sparkling wine at breakfast).

[CurlerRob]

1 hour ago, jonthomas said:

We were on the Viking Star in April. There is NO comparison between Viking and Oceania. We used up covid credits. While waiting to do that we have done 3 Oceania cruises. Now it is our line of choice.

Yes on Viking every meal the wine is included. You need lots of it, so you can manage to eat the awful food.

We don't drink alcohol, so we were very aware how trully awful the food was.

Entertainment, only the ships staff. One trivia daily.  Pretty much nothing else to do.

Die hard Viking fans thought it was OK but none of them had ever sailed on O.

Our only regret is that we spent many years on other lines before coming to O.

 

You have more than 60 posts on this and other boards - all cookie cutters of this same opinion. Your seemingly pathological need to indulge in inaccurate hyperbole about any other line than Oceania has become massively tiresome.

 

You hate Viking (and X, and ___) - we get it. Please spare us further repetitions.🍺🥌

[Redtravel]

WiFi included for all is a good thing.  The rest of the changes may not please everyone. I am not a drinker. At a special function, I might have some wine. I prefer soft drinks.  We started cruising on Azamara when drinks weren’t included and specialty restaurants were $5 cover fee.  It was great.  As time went by, more things were included. Including tips was ok.  Next came included drinks.  When it introduced, all booked passengers got the drinks for no extra charge. When Az announced changes, everyone that had already booked was included free.  Nice, but as expected the next year prices increased.  We felt like we were being forced to pay for drinks that we didn’t want.  Looking for a better fit, Oceania was perfect.  Now I am not too sure.  On some cruises I take shore excursions.  When I sail in the Caribbean, I skip excursions and just relax.  After many years of cruising, I have taken many excursions, there may not be any excursions that call out to me.  Been there, done that.  Olife gave you a choice.  

[Hambagahle]

We do like to have a Margarita or Bloody Mary with our lunch...so we'll see what is on offer.  We already have a lot of bottles of alcohol in the suite (6...)  July 1 is not far away!   And my TA will tell me what my options are.

[PhD-iva]

8 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

 

You have more than 60 posts on this and other boards - all cookie cutters of this same opinion. Your seemingly pathological need to indulge in inaccurate hyperbole about any other line than Oceania has become massively tiresome.

 

You hate Viking (and X, and ___) - we get it. Please spare us further repetitions.🍺🥌

I agree w jonthomas’ opinions on X and w several other opinions expressed. I’m not yet tired of reading his posts, but if you are, you might like to employ the “ignore “ feature that I’ve heard about.

Enjoy your cruise!

[grifdoglover]

@CurlerRobits a free country I believe jonthomas is entitled to express opinions just as you and I are.  Let’s be civil.

[edgee]

We have 3 Oceania cruises booked. Have purchased 5 shore excursions for one of them and have no interest in buying any more for that cruise.. If I choose to go with Simply More wonder if I will get my thousand dollar cruise credit applied to excursions I have already paid for?

[jonthomas]

8 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

 

You have more than 60 posts on this and other boards - all cookie cutters of this same opinion. Your seemingly pathological need to indulge in inaccurate hyperbole about any other line than Oceania has become massively tiresome.

 

You hate Viking (and X, and ___) - we get it. Please spare us further repetitions.🍺🥌

And I will continue to express my opinions, that is my choice. You have a choice too. I'm sure you know what that is. Counting my posts? I'm flattered. Thank you.

[Jancruz]

22 hours ago, jonthomas said:

Azamaras food does not compare to Os. Not to us.

 

As for the new olife will include transfers with air, it always included transfers, so that's NOT new.

Transfers with air started this year..it was not ALWAYS included

Jancruz1

[jonthomas]

Correction...transfers have  always been included since we have done our 3 cruises this year, so it's not new.

[Jancruz]

On 6/16/2023 at 3:46 PM, osandomir said:

Actually, this didn’t come from Oceania. Nothing is clear now - only someone’s TA interpretation of the new offer. We’ll have to wait until all the details of simplyMORE appear on the Oceania website after July 1st.

You are incorrect it did come from Oceania

Jancruz1