Oceania onboard booking vs FCC?

[kahuna21]

We have purchased FCC’s—future cruise credits. Do people get better deals booking onboard, or is the discount benefit onboard the same as with FCC?

[MEFIowa]

Though... Having booked on board and not, the BEST deals come from the BEST sales. So study each and every O SALE carefully, esp. once you book a cruise. Never had the chance to book a great sale while on board. O ran at least 6, if not 8, major sales in 2023. The Extraordinary Savings Sale was an absolute blow out for the cruises it listed. That was the BEST of 2023 in pure money-saving terms.

 

The current O sale has been running for Jan-Feb and another most likely will start up March 1. Looks, sadly, like NO Presidents' Sale in 2024. I used the Presidents' Day Sale in 2021 to save a fortune on an A4 cabin (it was a 4-cabin upgrade sale).

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

Though... Having booked on board and not, the BEST deals come from the BEST sales. So study each and every O SALE carefully, esp. once you book a cruise. Never had the chance to book a great sale while on board. O ran at least 6, if not 8, major sales in 2023. The Extraordinary Savings Sale was an absolute blow out for the cruises it listed. That was the BEST of 2023 in pure money-saving terms.

 

The current O sale has been running for Jan-Feb and another most likely will start up March 1. Looks, sadly, like NO Presidents' Sale in 2024. I used the Presidents' Day Sale in 2021 to save a fortune on an A4 cabin (it was a 4-cabin upgrade sale).

 

Curious, if you are already booked and outside of final payment,  are you able to call in and get the new deal or cancel and re-book? 

[alcpa1]

Jim_Iain,

We have usually been able to take advantage of certain sales. Some are targetted, some are restricted etc. but overall we have saved substantially and/or upgraded our cabin. We have also had to cancel and rebook to get around the fine print.

Since you generally sail in suites you may not have the same offers that are applicable to less lofty cabins.

It's always worth a call to your TA!!!!!!

[Vallesan]

6 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Curious, if you are already booked and outside of final payment,  are you able to call in and get the new deal or cancel and re-book? 

Yes. Oceania promise that if a price I’d reduced and your grade of cabin is still available they will match the reduced price.

We did it with the Summer Sale and saved a lot on a cruise we had booked and booked a new one too!

[Vallesan]

3 hours ago, alcpa1 said:

Jim_Iain,

We have usually been able to take advantage of certain sales. Some are targetted, some are restricted etc. but overall we have saved substantially and/or upgraded our cabin. We have also had to cancel and rebook to get around the fine print.

Since you generally sail in suites you may not have the same offers that are applicable to less lofty cabins.

It's always worth a call to your TA!!!!!!

Yes that can be an issue. Different sales are targeted at different areas for example in the UK we don’t get a President’s Sale nor did we ever have cruise only, we only had the cruise without air option.

Edited February 11 by Vallesan

[ORV]

I don’t believe anyone answered your question. On the cruise I’m currently on here’s the deal. If you buy a Future Cruise Certificate you will get $100 OBC on your  current cruise or future cruise you select. 
 

if you book a named cruise you get  $250 OBC for your current or future cruise. 
 

The Onboard booking savings amount is determined by category and length of cruise. Not all offers will combine. 

[AMHuntFerry]

20 hours ago, kahuna21 said:

We have purchased FCC’s—future cruise credits. Do people get better deals booking onboard, or is the discount benefit onboard the same as with FCC?

As ORV stated, the OBC is usually (not always) higher for booking onboard than for FCC; otherwise the benefits are the same (same deposit, same discount, same one-time-itinerary change, etc.). However, a potential benefit of a FCC is that, if unused, it is fully refundable within a year, while a cancelled cruise is $150 per person before the higher penalty period starts.

[kahuna21]

Thank you ORV and AMHuntFerry. Concise and complete answer to my question. Very little benefit for onboard booking vs FCC. Different from Seabourn, where we’ve gotten big discounts only available on board.