NCLH Press Release on “Simply More”

[basor]

Just now, susiesan said:

Must be a Canadian thing. I have never found a US TA that would give me a rebate on an Oceania cruise. I am getting one for my AZ cruise next year, $500 after the cruise is taken.

Very common for US TA's to offer rebates - it has been noted here that someone's TA sends them a rebate check for their O cruise.....our US TA does and we know of at least 5 other couples (O cruising friends) that receive rebates from their various US TA's

[ak1004]

2 minutes ago, susiesan said:

Must be a Canadian thing. I have never found a US TA that would give me a rebate on an Oceania cruise. I am getting one for my AZ cruise next year, $500 after the cruise is taken.

 

It's actually a US TA. I checked few Canadian TAs, none provided any rebates.

[jwindham]

My TA sends me a rebate check when she is paid, usually it is waiting for me when I get home from the cruise and she is definitely in the US. Julia

[calicakes]

I booked a cruise ( April 20, 2024 Regatta LA to LA) on June 28th.  I had the old pricing.  I tried to see what the new pricing is ( B2 veranda)and I can't make a mock reservation WITHOUT chose airfare( we don't need it, we live near the port).  Is there a way to find the price myself? 

[LHT28]

5 minutes ago, calicakes said:

I booked a cruise ( April 20, 2024 Regatta LA to LA) on June 28th.  I had the old pricing.  I tried to see what the new pricing is ( B2 veranda)and I can't make a mock reservation WITHOUT chose airfare( we don't need it, we live near the port).  Is there a way to find the price myself? 

Look under the "Promotional Fare"   you have 2 choices

Forget the Brochure Fare

[AMHuntFerry]

3 minutes ago, calicakes said:

I booked a cruise ( April 20, 2024 Regatta LA to LA) on June 28th.  I had the old pricing.  I tried to see what the new pricing is ( B2 veranda)and I can't make a mock reservation WITHOUT chose airfare( we don't need it, we live near the port).  Is there a way to find the price myself? 

When I did a mock booking there is a (easy to miss) button where you choose yes or no for airfare. Click on "Available" next to any cabin category...on the next page click the button "No" after "Will any of these guests need air travel?"

[LHT28]

7 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

When I did a mock booking there is a (easy to miss) button where you choose yes or no for airfare. Click on "Available" next to any cabin category...on the next page click the button "No" after "Will any of these guests need air travel?"

No need

Just  x 2  the price under Promotional fare  =  total  Fare

 This is supposed to be simple  but some make  it more complicated 🙄

[calicakes]

5 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

When I did a mock booking there is a (easy to miss) button where you choose yes or no for airfare. Click on "Available" next to any cabin category...on the next page click the button "No" after "Will any of these guests need air travel?"

Ok, so I found it and it shows available( b2), but then I get a message that all rooms are being booked.  The initial quote is 8198 without going through the entire process.  We're paying 6398 with the 600 OBC from O and 450 OBC from our TA.  We don't drink alcohol so this simply more might not work for us on future bookings. 

[Lastdance]

37 minutes ago, calicakes said:

Ok, so I found it and it shows available( b2), but then I get a message that all rooms are being booked.  The initial quote is 8198 without going through the entire process.  We're paying 6398 with the 600 OBC from O and 450 OBC from our TA.  We don't drink alcohol so this simply more might not work for us on future bookings. 

So, $1800 more/$900 pp even if you don’t want it.  I am thinking the same; no more cruises, after the cruise that I have booked.  I guess we will know more soon, or maybe this is what it is going forward.  I booked a PH1 and received $600 OBC too from Oceania.  Hmmm...

[Nashna]

45 minutes ago, calicakes said:

Ok, so I found it and it shows available( b2), but then I get a message that all rooms are being booked.  The initial quote is 8198 without going through the entire process.  We're paying 6398 with the 600 OBC from O and 450 OBC from our TA.  We don't drink alcohol so this simply might not work for us on future bookings. 

It sounds like that price includes airfare.  The system is set up so that two people can't book the same category simultaneously to avoid issues.  You might want to try it again in a few minutes.  I'm sure lots of us are double-checking the rates today.

[basor]

53 minutes ago, calicakes said:

Ok, so I found it and it shows available( b2), but then I get a message that all rooms are being booked.  The initial quote is 8198 without going through the entire process.  We're paying 6398 with the 600 OBC from O and 450 OBC from our TA.  We don't drink alcohol so this simply more might not work for us on future bookings. 

Did you book under the 4 category upgrade sail that was available on this cruise last week?   That would explain the larger difference.   We are booked in an A1 on a 10 day Med cruise Fall 0f 2024 and our pricing went up $100.00 pp.  We were booked with Olife and no other promotions so for us it is a win/win.   We still will have our loyalty perks and OBC from our TA, etc.

I think there is not a one size fits all to determine the difference in cost between old bookings and new under Simply More..

[AMHuntFerry]

1 minute ago, basor said:

Did you book under the 4 category upgrade sail that was available on this cruise last week?   That would explain the larger difference.   We are booked in an A1 on a 10 day Med cruise Fall 0f 2024 and our pricing went up $100.00 pp.  We were booked with Olife and no other promotions so for us it is a win/win.   We still will have our loyalty perks and OBC from our TA, etc.

I think there is not a one size fits all to determine the difference in cost between old bookings and new under Simply More..

You are so correct! Comparing sale fares without knowing the non-sale fare does not give a true indication of the effect of SimplyMore.

 

 From my analysis of Alaska cruises, NON-sale cruise-only plus Olife fares increased by the difference between the Olife OBC and the SimplyMore OBC (e.g., was $300, now $400 so $100 increase). Airfares for <~13 day Alaska cruises increased $100.

 

To see my reasoning (post #43)...

 

[EJL2023]

Very interesting.  I have a cruise booked for July, 2024.  10 Days on Marina Oslo to London in A2.  The price when I booked it was 5599 plus OLife for Bev Package to 5899, less 10% Oceania Cub savings for total of 5309.  This was without air.  Now the cruise is 5999 without the air with the SimplyMore pricing.  Take the 10% Oceania Club savings (which the offer still available) and that takes the cost pp to 5399.  So for $90 more we could get the 800 Shore Excursion credit and second device Wi-Fi and the already purchase House Select Drink Package. So……..I guess we will be calling Oceania or email to our rep to make sure I’m seeing it correctly. We typically do a mix of Oceania Excursions and others we arrange on our own. 

[AMHuntFerry]

21 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

Very interesting.  I have a cruise booked for July, 2024.  10 Days on Marina Oslo to London in A2.  The price when I booked it was 5599 plus OLife for Bev Package to 5899, less 10% Oceania Cub savings for total of 5309.  This was without air.  Now the cruise is 5999 without the air with the SimplyMore pricing.  Take the 10% Oceania Club savings (which the offer still available) and that takes the cost pp to 5399.  So for $90 more we could get the 800 Shore Excursion credit and second device Wi-Fi and the already purchase House Select Drink Package. So……..I guess we will be calling Oceania or email to our rep to make sure I’m seeing it correctly. We typically do a mix of Oceania Excursions and others we arrange on our own. 

Very eloquent, easy to understand explanation!

My initial analysis is that people who usually bought OLife for shorex or beverage package will be getting more for a similar price for current cruises. Caveat: as someone else mentioned (Pinot?), the real proof in the pudding will be when the new itineraries are released. For people who booked cruise-only, they will be paying more for little to nothing if they don't drink (much) wine/beer at lunch (= us since we are pre-dinner cocktail people), won't use the second login (= us), and won't use O shorex (= us sometimes); whether the cruise-only price still lies within our comfort zone will determine "book/no-book".

Edited July 1, 2023 by AMHuntFerry

[EJL2023]

7 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

Very eloquent, easy to understand explanation!

My initial analysis is that people who usually bought OLife for shorex or beverage package will be getting more for the similar price for current cruises. Caveat: as someone else mentioned (Pinot?), the real proof in the pudding will be when the new itineraries are released. For people who booked cruise-only, they will be paying more for little to nothing if they don't drink (much) wine/beer at lunch (= us since we are pre-dinner cocktail people), won't use the second login (= us), and won't use O shorex (= us sometimes); whether the cruise-only price still lies within our comfort zone will determine "book/no-book".

I guess now the question is are we actually allowed to upgrade to the SimplyMore package? It was said we would have the option to do so but I have not heard of anyone that has actually done it yet or see it addressed on their website. 

Edited July 1, 2023 by EJL2023

[LHT28]

5 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

I guess now the question is are we actually allowed to upgrade to the SimplyMore package? It was said we would have the option to do so but I have not heard of anyone that has actually done it yet or see it addressed on their website. 

OMG   they just rolled it out today  so  no one could upgrade before today

Take a deep breath  & hold it until Monday

[AMHuntFerry]

6 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

I guess now the question is are we actually allowed to upgrade to the SimplyMore package? It was said we would have the option to do so but I have not heard of anyone that has actually done it yet or see it addressed on their website. 

I'd say the probability to switch is high. I'm guessing O would prefer everyone switch.

[EJL2023]

4 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

OMG   they just rolled it out today  so  no one could upgrade before today

Take a deep breath  & hold it until Monday

Oh, I know.  It just seems a bit too good to be accurate!! 🤣

Edited July 1, 2023 by EJL2023

[Woofa]

First, let me say I am okay with this increase, if in fact it turns out to be, what it now seems like, additional $100 person if your 10 to 14 day cruise stayed the same price (we see many higher numbers for longer cruises and for what feels like O raising the price of certain popular cruises within this change) and if you had paid $300 for olife (or additional $400 if you had cruise only.)  Then really you get the second WiFi which I kind of felt was coming anyway with the switch to Star link (and the knowledge that to start attracting younger cruisers they had to at least compete on this issue) and if you chose excursion credit for olife you could have, and I will assume many did use that to get three excursions each for up to $199 per. Which in theory saved you up to $594 in O priced excursions for two people.  Now you will have $400 each to pay for O's high priced excursions (and lets face it, many will not hit $800 on the nose and either end up leaving money on the table or will end up putting more out of pocket if they choose to go over the $800 credit) and free beer, wine, champagne at meals only which I have read on this board will mainly consist of bottles which could be purchased at Costco in the ten to fifteen dollar range. 

If all this is correct then I believe O has not acted in an absurd way but rather changed their structure to give more for more.  But I don't think what I just outlined seems to good to be true.  And I don't think this places O in the regent price bracket.  Certainly savvy travelers, like we have here on the O board ( and I believe that O has some of the saviest cruisers out there, will be able to find a cruise here and there in one of the luxury lines which is comparable or cheaper but I still believe as I did when choosing O that for the most part, luxury lines ( and even still some premium line,) will be higher priced.

 

[ak1004]

35 minutes ago, Woofa said:

First, let me say I am okay with this increase, if in fact it turns out to be, what it now seems like, additional $100 person if your 10 to 14 day cruise stayed the same price (we see many higher numbers for longer cruises and for what feels like O raising the price of certain popular cruises within this change) and if you had paid $300 for olife (or additional $400 if you had cruise only.)  Then really you get the second WiFi which I kind of felt was coming anyway with the switch to Star link (and the knowledge that to start attracting younger cruisers they had to at least compete on this issue) and if you chose excursion credit for olife you could have, and I will assume many did use that to get three excursions each for up to $199 per. Which in theory saved you up to $594 in O priced excursions for two people.  Now you will have $400 each to pay for O's high priced excursions (and lets face it, many will not hit $800 on the nose and either end up leaving money on the table or will end up putting more out of pocket if they choose to go over the $800 credit) and free beer, wine, champagne at meals only which I have read on this board will mainly consist of bottles which could be purchased at Costco in the ten to fifteen dollar range. 

If all this is correct then I believe O has not acted in an absurd way but rather changed their structure to give more for more.  But I don't think what I just outlined seems to good to be true.  And I don't think this places O in the regent price bracket.  Certainly savvy travelers, like we have here on the O board ( and I believe that O has some of the saviest cruisers out there, will be able to find a cruise here and there in one of the luxury lines which is comparable or cheaper but I still believe as I did when choosing O that for the most part, luxury lines ( and even still some premium line,) will be higher priced.

 

 

Your analysis is spot on.

 

While I think the new structure is actually beneficial for people who drink and take ship excursions, for the non drinkers it will be easier to find another cruise with comparable prices. I mean, if I have to pay for drinks that I don't consume anyway, I might as well add another $50-100/day and sail on SB or SS..

[Vineyard View]

23 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Your analysis is spot on.

 

While I think the new structure is actually beneficial for people who drink and take ship excursions, for the non drinkers it will be easier to find another cruise with comparable prices. I mean, if I have to pay for drinks that I don't consume anyway, I might as well add another $50-100/day and sail on SB or SS..

Agree. Add to that people who do not take excursions. If that allowance is only able to be used on excursions, it will not be an attractive option. Unless, as was suggested on another thread, those non excursion people, we being in that category, find an over the top expensive and attractive excursion small in size to spend the bulk or entire amount on. 

[calicakes]

2 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Your analysis is spot on.

 

While I think the new structure is actually beneficial for people who drink and take ship excursions, for the non drinkers it will be easier to find another cruise with comparable prices. I mean, if I have to pay for drinks that I don't consume anyway, I might as well add another $50-100/day and sail on SB or SS..

Yeah, we don't drink any alcohol so this is very irritating. 

[calicakes]

4 hours ago, Lastdance said:

So, $1800 more/$900 pp even if you don’t want it.  I am thinking the same; no more cruises, after the cruise that I have booked.  I guess we will know more soon, or maybe this is what it is going forward.  I booked a PH1 and received $600 OBC too from Oceania.  Hmmm...

I actually requested a quote online.  They called me back.  Told me one B2 was available and it would be 5998 for 2 with no airfare.  So, the new fare does seem less than what we paid.  

[KirkNC]

So I have a simple question, can I still book the cruise only?

[FetaCheese]

24 minutes ago, KirkNC said:

So I have a simple question, can I still book the cruise only?

Yes, only 2 choices:  cruise with air, including Simply More or cruise without air, including Simply More.  As I understand it, all pax fares include SM.