SBC in lieu of OCAPP gratuities denied

[1985rz1]

2 minutes ago, edgee said:

No problem because it is round trip Seattle...begins and ends in same U.S. port, so only has to stop at a nearby foreign port. Seattle to LA is different because it begins and ends in different U.S. cities so must touch a "distant" foreign port and there are none anywhere nearby for Pacific Coast cruises....would have to go all the way to Peru to touch a "distant" foreign port. This is why one way Alaskan cruises go from Vancouver to Anchorage or reverse...never Seatle to Anchorage. (Of course exceptions were made right after covid due to Canadian ports being closed.)

Could it be that it was treated as 2 separate cruises, LA to Vancouver then Vancouver to LA, rather than a single extended cruise, which is an internal booking decision.  I know Viking ran into problems with this interpretation for its Great Lakes and Canada cruises and has to cancel some bookings.  Maybe the US doesn’t use the same interpretation as Canada did.

[edgee]

11 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

This multi-segment cruise was not to/from the same US port. 
In any case, a non-issue.

Glad it was a non issue for you guys. I have just heard of so many cases where someone tries to put two cruises together where the result is the passenger begins and ends time on the ship in two different U.S. ports and cruise lines will not allow the back to back cruise for PSVA reasons...Stupid law anyway.

[ORV]

1 hour ago, edgee said:

No problem because it is round trip Seattle...begins and ends in same U.S. port, so only has to stop at a nearby foreign port. Seattle to LA is different because it begins and ends in different U.S. cities so must touch a "distant" foreign port and there are none anywhere nearby for Pacific Coast cruises....would have to go all the way to Peru to touch a "distant" foreign port. This is why one way Alaskan cruises go from Vancouver to Anchorage or reverse...never Seatle to Anchorage. (Of course exceptions were made right after covid due to Canadian ports being closed.)

I think Cartagena Columbia will count as a Distant Foreign Port. I'm pretty sure it, along with the ABC islands is what most cruise lines use for Panama Canal cruises from US West Coast cities to Miami or FT Lauderdale, etc. 

[Cruzin Terri]

This thread really got hijacked!

I am still interested in in getting back to the original topic.

Why is did Oceania decide that I could either have OCAPP or the PP Grats as a Silver member rather than SBC instead of OCAPP.  No one really has an answer.  TA is trying to find out.

FF says it is on his invoice, yet another says it was removed onboard the ship,

Is it still available?

Terri

[edgee]

9 minutes ago, ORV said:

I think Cartagena Columbia will count as a Distant Foreign Port. I'm pretty sure it, along with the ABC islands is what most cruise lines use for Panama Canal cruises from US West Coast cities to Miami or FT Lauderdale, etc. 

Yes, Columbia is in South America which automatically makes it "distant," according to the regulation, but if you are on a Pacific cruise, closest port would be Peru.

 

And apologies for the hijacking.

Edited October 14, 2023 by edgee

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, edgee said:

LA to LA is okay because the stop is at a "nearby" foreign port. Again, cruises leaving one U.S. port and ending in another U.S. port must stop at a "distant" foreign port. I just read the regulation. To be a "distant" foreign port the port must be OUTSIDE of North or Central America and the West Indies with the exception of the ABC islands. 

Yes. Edgee is absolutely correct. Ensenada and Vancouver are “near” foreign ports which are OK on RT from a US port. But, OW cruises, e.g., SF to NYC (via Panama Canal), require a “distant” foreign port which is why Cartagena Columbia is so often used.

 

Someone else posted that perhaps our multisegment was considered to be two separate cruises (SEA-YVR and YVR-LAX). If one looks at some of CBP’s interpretive comments on the PVSA, it can sound like CBP’s opinion is “No” (e.g., unless you disembark with all luggage and do not reboard for at least 24 hrs). 
In any case, PVSA adherence is O’s responsibility. 

 

[jonthomas]

2 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

This multi-segment cruise was not to/from the same US port. 
In any case, a non-issue.

Flatbush, if you get a chance email me.

Johthomas100z@gmail.com 

[Flatbush Flyer]

45 minutes ago, Cruzin Terri said:

This thread really got hijacked!

I am still interested in in getting back to the original topic.

Why is did Oceania decide that I could either have OCAPP or the PP Grats as a Silver member rather than SBC instead of OCAPP.  No one really has an answer.  TA is trying to find out.

FF says it is on his invoice, yet another says it was removed onboard the ship,

Is it still available?

Terri

Let me repeat myself. I was just on Regatta within the past month!

Of course, I could be mistaken and the extra $250 SBC was a reward for my “rugged good looks.”

But, here’s the original BoB O invoice, which represents my contract with O as completed by an O Club Ambassador and agreed to by me.

That’s pretty straightforward.

[jonthomas]

Thank you for this.

Hopefully it can be helpful when O refuses.

[FetaCheese]

2 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Let me repeat myself. I was just on Regatta within the past month!

Of course, I could be mistaken and the extra $250 SBC was a reward for my “rugged good looks.”

But, here’s the original BoB O invoice, which represents my contract with O as completed by an O Club Ambassador and agreed to by me.

That’s pretty straightforward.

@Flatbush Flyer

Hello Trivia team member !  Our group had lots of fun every day.

 

I see you received OCAPP grats from Travel Leaders consortium.  My TA is also affiliated with Travel leaders, yet we did not received free grats.

 

We did book under the ESS, so maybe that's why they did not offer them.

 

If I remember, you booked a lot earlier, and paid a higher fare, and then managed to receive some  OBC because the 07 Sept voyage went on ESS.

 

Any comments will be appreciated. 

 

Best regards to you and L. from Mrs. FetaCheese and me.

 

We enjoyed our times together with both of you.  

Edited October 14, 2023 by FetaCheese
addl info

[Flatbush Flyer]

54 minutes ago, FetaCheese said:

@Flatbush Flyer

Hello Trivia team member !  Our group had lots of fun every day.

 

I see you received OCAPP grats from Travel Leaders consortium.  My TA is also affiliated with Travel leaders, yet we did not received free grats.

 

We did book under the ESS, so maybe that's why they did not offer them.

 

If I remember, you booked a lot earlier, and paid a higher fare, and then managed to receive some  OBC because the 07 Sept voyage went on ESS.

 

Any comments will be appreciated. 

 

Best regards to you and L. from Mrs. FetaCheese and me.

 

We enjoyed our times together with both of you.  

 

[jonthomas]

Hey Feta, wish we had spent some time with you.

Maybe some other time, some other cruise.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Feta Cheese et al.:

 

This multisegment “custom” cruise was a true test of knowing/understanding O’s policies/practices. 
As regards the ESS and our getting “some” extra SBC, the bottom line was that only one segment was in the sale and therefore, technically, our cruise didn’t qualify. Fortunately, we were using one of our favorite (and quite “O influential”) TAs and I asked her to press O for a break on the sale.

As it turned out, the total price drop of our custom cruise was about $3k! But, all she could get O to do was to give it to me as non-refundable SBC useable only on that cruise).

Though my first reaction was a bit disappointed, I did the “bottom line” math and decided it would actually work out okay.

Why?

Most importantly, this was a 3 week+ Alaska cruise with a ton of port stops. And we had already prepurchased a bunch of YWYW discounted tours beyond our O Life allotment. And THAT worked in our favor once onboard. With all that non-refundable SBC now in the onboard account, it would be used to retroactively “pay” for the YWYW tours while my original tour “cash in the game” would  become refundable SBC. 
And, even after we figured in our bar bill, and the differential charges on the spa coupons, we walked off the ship with much of the O ESS accommodating non-refundable SBC as cash! 😎

Edited October 15, 2023 by Flatbush Flyer

[jonthomas]

Yes we were able to save a couple of grand for both segments, Alaska and Pacific coastal. Amazing price.

[FetaCheese]

47 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Feta Cheese et al.:

 

This multisegment “custom” cruise was a true test of knowing/understanding O’s policies/practices. 
As regards the ESS and our getting “some” extra SBC, the bottom line was that only one segment was in the sale and therefore, technically, our cruise didn’t qualify. Fortunately, we were using one of our favorite (and quite “O influential”) TAs and I asked her to press O for a break on the sale.

As it turned out, the total price drop of our custom cruise was about $3k! But, all she could get O to do was to give it to me as non-refundable SBC useable only on that cruise).

Though my first reaction was a bit disappointed, I did the “bottom line” math and decided it would actually work out okay.

Why?

Most importantly, this was a 3 week+ Alaska cruise with a ton of port stops. And we had already prepurchased a bunch of YWYW discounted tours beyond our O Life allotment. And THAT worked in our favor once onboard. With all that non-refundable SBC now in the onboard account, it would be used to retroactively “pay” for the YWYW tours while my original tour “cash in the game” would  become refundable SBC. 
And, even after we figured in our bar bill, and the differential charges on the spa coupons, we walked off the ship with much of the O ESS accommodating non-refundable SBC as cash! 😎

Glad to know that you received refundable OBC back -- real money.  You had explained this to me on the cruise, O's very complex accounting really worked in your favor.

 

[FetaCheese]

1 hour ago, jonthomas said:

Hey Feta, wish we had spent some time with you.

Maybe some other time, some other cruise.

Yes, nice to have met you.  Enjoy your TA.