Oceans Club Levels & Benefits

Did I miss the changes? (The answer is obviously I did)

I don't remember hearing about this and if you search there is still information about the old Blue grade etc is the new system in or just coming in?

Have the benefits changes as well.

Extract from FAQ:

"In response to feedback from our Oceans members, we have rebranded our Oceans Loyalty Club, and introduced two new levels.

The entry level has been changed to Bronze, and all current Blue members have been converted to this level.

The levels of membership are as follows:

Bronze - 1-30 points

Silver - 31-100 points

Gold - 101-250 points

Platinum - 251-500 points

Diamond Elite - 500+ points"

Thanks for the info.

No your not the only one not to hear about it. Looks like I am now Diamond Elite. Must be waiting for the new cards to be printed!!

I did not know about this, but it was apparently mentioned on a talk cruise on Apr 1st that there were to be changes, but some felt it may be something to do with the date. So just come in obviously.

I hope we have not lost out on perks as happened on P&O a number of years back (though as we are just less than 200 points it does not look good). Talking about P&O I believe there are changes to come there as well.

Just found it on the Fred site, but no indication of what the new levels are entitled to except that the new levels will have a priority booking line. Clicking through from MMC's it still gives the original levels and their entitlements. One question says we may have to wait up to 28 days for a mailing. Very annoying - they should either give out all the information or none at all.

That's the first I heard of it. I'll be on Black Watch tomorrow and will ask for an update.

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That's the first I heard of it. I'll be on Black Watch tomorrow and will ask for an update.

 

 

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Enjoy the cruise - looks like a good one, we love Croatia and have had a couple of great holidays there. We will be covering that area on Oceana in October 2018 - we are on board for 24 nights and will return to UK at the end of the fly cruise season.

If you get a chance can you let us know what is happening, or at least when all details will be made public? I see it is a long cruise though, so you may not be able to get access to WIFI easily and have the time to post.

Perhaps Fred are just putting the details on the website and more may be added soon. That would make sense, but I would have thought he could have sent out emails giving an overview of what is happening to Oceans, even if we have to wait for confirmation regards our personal status.

I also love Croatia, my late husband and I drove from Belfast to Dubrovnik many times. I've also recently done walking holidays there. Re wifi, I'm afraid I can't live without it and will pay up ! ! !

I would certainly expect an update re Oceans Membership when I'm at the Oceans Cocktail Party.

I'll send an update asap.

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Thanks. If I see anything on the web before you get info. I will post here.

Thanks [emoji568]

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Glad it's not just me then. :)

It seems a strange way to go about it putting out so little information but they will have their reasons no doubt. They may be holding back the changes until the early booking period for the new brochure is over to avoid confusion?

We don't have many points on Fred so nothing much to lose. We just missed out with P&O at their last change and I was peeved and yes Tring I believe they are changing again in the near future. Hopefully Fred's changes don't cause the bitterness the P&O ones did.

Just back from a cruise on the "Balmoral" and have received the new "Oceans" membership details. Glad to say that I am comfortably in the the Diamond Elite sections which looks quite attractive. :D

Reply to Parsman.

Any chance to release the details?

We received a letter from Fred this morning with details of the changes. They take effect from the first new cruise sailing in May for each of the ships. One important point from the letter is "you can rest assured that your current Gold benefits remain unaffected."

The two new levels are Platinum at 251 to 500 points and Diamond Elite at 501 plus.

Platinum: As for Gold, plus:-

Lead time to qualify for 5% cruise discount - 3 months.

On-board spends discount - 10%

Pre-book shore tours discount - 7.5%

Exclusive event on cruises of 14 nights or more

Priority dedicated phone line for reservations.

Diamond Elite

As for Platinum above plus:-

Milestone awards scheme

Confirmed table number for dinner prior to departure

Streamlined embarkation

Free bag of laundry - wash and fold service

Personal bon voyage call pre-departure

Personal welcome aboard visit from Oceans representative.

Not much to get very excited about! We reach Platinum after our next cruise with Fred but I don't think it will be a life changing event. :)

One important point that is stressed is that boarding is by deck order only so no priority for Gold etc. Diamond Elite will be able to board by personal invitation.

Alan

Just received a mailing re Oceans changes. Tried to copy and paste table of benefits, but does not work and Fred's site still showing the old levels. It says there is no loss of benefits to Gold members but clearly priority embarkation has gone (Diamond Elite says "streamlined embarkation", but ? what that means). Says at bottom of page:-

A gentle reminder of changes to our embarkation process

We would like to take this opportunity to highllght that embarkation at all UK ports is now completed in

deck order. All guests will have a check-in time slot issued with their tickets. We request that wherever

possible you adhere to the time given, early arrival could result in a lengthy delay. This change has been

put in place to reduce the waiting times for everyone.

So now looks as though even Freedom fare passengers do not get priority boarding over Anchor fares. Hardly seems worthwhile booking a freedom fare which we normally do! The one benefit we liked about gold was the priority embarkation.

Discounts remain the same for existing levels, but Platinum get 5% discount on cruises booked 3 months before sailing and Diamond Elite if booked at any time. Discount for shore tours booked pre cruise is still 5% for gold, 7.5% for platinum and 10% for diamond elite. On board spend discount now 10% for Platinum and 15% for Diamond Elite. There is to be an "exclusive event" on cruises of 14 nights or longer for the new levels and also a priority phone line to reservations. Diamond elite get a few more perks but IMO the only real benefit is a free bag of laundry. Top level will also get a "personal welcome aboard visit from the Oceans representative" - handy to get to know Diamond Elite people if you are also selling cruises on board perhaps :)

As an addition to previous benefits it looks like there is to be "complimentary refreshments" at Dover and Southampton for Gold, Platinum and Diamond Elite levels.

We received a letter from Fred this morning with details of the changes. They take effect from the first new cruise sailing in May for each of the ships. One important point from the letter is "you can rest assured that your current Gold benefits remain unaffected."

 

The two new levels are Platinum at 251 to 500 points and Diamond Elite at 501 plus.

 

Platinum: As for Gold, plus:-

Lead time to qualify for 5% cruise discount - 3 months.

On-board spends discount - 10%

Pre-book shore tours discount - 7.5%

Exclusive event on cruises of 14 nights or more

Priority dedicated phone line for reservations.

 

Diamond Elite

As for Platinum above plus:-

Milestone awards scheme

Confirmed table number for dinner prior to departure

Streamlined embarkation

Free bag of laundry - wash and fold service

Personal bon voyage call pre-departure

Personal welcome aboard visit from Oceans representative.

 

Not much to get very excited about! We reach Platinum after our next cruise with Fred but I don't think it will be a life changing event. :)

One important point that is stressed is that boarding is by deck order only so no priority for Gold etc. Diamond Elite will be able to board by personal invitation.

 

Alan

We posted at the same time. You have given more details on some things, but you appear to have missed the extra discounts for Diamond Elite people, which are in my posting. I have not got a reference to top level being able to board by personal invitation (says streamlined embarkation), but either way it is still unclear exactly what it means.

Reply to Parsman.

 

Any chance to release the details?

Fred. Olsen will send you details through the post

We posted at the same time. You have given more details on some things, but you appear to have missed the extra discounts for Diamond Elite people, which are in my posting. I have not got a reference to top level being able to board by personal invitation (says streamlined embarkation), but either way it is still unclear exactly what it means.

As you say I omitted the extra discounts for Diamond Elite [be some time before I can take advantage of those!]

The reference to streamlined embarkation for Diamond Elite is in the T&Cs on the back of the letter [Paragraph 5.9.1]. Priority embarkation for Gold members has been slipping in priority for some time now with Suite guests etc. having priority [except if you had a Junior Suite which didn't count :)]

Gold members have always been able to get a free cup of tea/coffee when embarking from Dover or Southampton so no change there.

Reading the small print [you need to with Fred.] it says that the welcome aboard gift will be restricted to one per cabin or household. As we are both Gold members we've always received a gift each - it will be interesting to see if this is another cut or whether we will still receive a gift each.

[Reading the small print [you need to with Fred.] it says that the welcome aboard gift will be restricted to one per cabin or household. As we are both Gold members we've always received a gift each - it will be interesting to see if this is another cut or whether we will still receive a gift each.

We are both Gold members but have never received a gift each, except for the Christmas one (was a plate each, now just a bag of chocolate balls!). I don't know if it makes any difference but we have the same surname; our neighbours, with different surnames, have always recived a gift each.

As you say I omitted the extra discounts for Diamond Elite [be some time before I can take advantage of those!]

 

The reference to streamlined embarkation for Diamond Elite is in the T&Cs on the back of the letter [Paragraph 5.9.1]. Priority embarkation for Gold members has been slipping in priority for some time now with Suite guests etc. having priority [except if you had a Junior Suite which didn't count :)]

 

Gold members have always been able to get a free cup of tea/coffee when embarking from Dover or Southampton so no change there.

 

Reading the small print [you need to with Fred.] it says that the welcome aboard gift will be restricted to one per cabin or household. As we are both Gold members we've always received a gift each - it will be interesting to see if this is another cut or whether we will still receive a gift each.

Interesting.

We have never had two gold presents either, though we do get another one at the start of the next cruise if on a back to back, yet we have always cruised together. As we often need to fly back we would not appreciate them anyway. Not been offered refreshments (or even a cup of tea) in Dover or Southampton and cannot see that on the original gold details either, though we have only done one each of those since we reached gold (done Liverpool or fly cruises). Not sure we have any wish to reach Diamond elite on Fred given our recent experiences, though we will not be that far off Platinum after a long cruise we have booked purely because of destination. After the decline of All Leisure we have discovered we can do much better on land hols, by splitting long haul flights in Dubai/Abu Dhabi. I think it is good that Fred is recognising his very long term passengers though.

Regards boarding, I asked the cruise staff at embarkation what the coloured embarkation cards meant about three years ago. Yes, suite passengers had 1st priority (though there are very few of them), then gold members who had booked freedom fare, other people who had booked freedom fare and then all anchor fare passengers were in the last group. If we had got to a port early we were on board fairly quickly and that system was still in operation last November. The only hold up was if there was a lot of disabled passengers as they went on before the normal embarkation procedure. That is something we really appreciated and are very sad to see it go. May as well book anchor at this rate - could even choose sitting time for a minor charge. I think Fred should make more attempt to encourage freedom fare paying passengers, or he will not have any of those in the near future.

I have often wondered how Fred places value on his passengers. Is a gold level suite passenger more valuable than a platinum passenger who always books the last minute deal on an inside cabin. We always book a suite when traveling with Fred but have seen the benefits of booking a suite eroded over the years. It now looks like we will be losing the early boarding privilege too.

Pugwash123

I have often wondered how Fred places value on his passengers. Is a gold level suite passenger more valuable than a platinum passenger who always books the last minute deal on an inside cabin. We always book a suite when traveling with Fred but have seen the benefits of booking a suite eroded over the years. It now looks like we will be losing the early boarding privilege too.

 

Pugwash123

As all the suites are on the upper decks and Fred boards from top down I don't think you will be affected too much. I shouldn't think that there will be too many diamond plus passengers on each sailing and passengers booking on an anchor fare don't qualify anyway.

Interesting.

 

We have never had two gold presents either, though we do get another one at the start of the next cruise if on a back to back, yet we have always cruised together. As we often need to fly back we would not appreciate them anyway. Not been offered refreshments (or even a cup of tea) in Dover or Southampton and cannot see that on the original gold details either, though we have only done one each of those since we reached gold (done Liverpool or fly cruises). Not sure we have any wish to reach Diamond elite on Fred given our recent experiences, though we will not be that far off Platinum after a long cruise we have booked purely because of destination. After the decline of All Leisure we have discovered we can do much better on land hols, by splitting long haul flights in Dubai/Abu Dhabi. I think it is good that Fred is recognising his very long term passengers though.

 

 

Regards boarding, I asked the cruise staff at embarkation what the coloured embarkation cards meant about three years ago. Yes, suite passengers had 1st priority (though there are very few of them), then gold members who had booked freedom fare, other people who had booked freedom fare and then all anchor fare passengers were in the last group. If we had got to a port early we were on board fairly quickly and that system was still in operation last November. The only hold up was if there was a lot of disabled passengers as they went on before the normal embarkation procedure. That is something we really appreciated and are very sad to see it go. May as well book anchor at this rate - could even choose sitting time for a minor charge. I think Fred should make more attempt to encourage freedom fare paying passengers, or he will not have any of those in the near future.

Your reply made me think! First as to regards the two gifts, thinking back when the gifts were the hessian bags filled with crisps etc. it was only one gift per cabin. However we did get two sets of the Ocean coffee mugs last year and, on our most recent sailing a back to back over Christmas and New Year we got two of the toiletry bags on the first leg but only one on the second. Didn't bother questioning this as we didn't want another one anyway! We celebrated our Golden wedding anniversary on Fred last year so definitely the same surname!

Our next booked cruise with Fred is the trans Pacific next January from Lima to Sydney [to visit Easter Island]. The outward flight baggage allowance is 23 Kilo's and the return is 30 Kilo's so perhaps we are going to be given heavy gifts! :)

I checked about the free drinks because, like you, we haven't made any Southampton/Dover sailings recently. I thought that this might have been discontinued along with free shuttle passes for Gold members etc. but no - in the T&Cs from September 2014 [which I think are the most recent before the current changes] "For Dover and Southampton departures Gold members can claim complimentary tea, coffee and soft drinks, at the bar/cafe in the Cruise Terminal. This benefit is limited to one drink per member, to claim you must show your Gold Membership card."

Our next booked cruise with Fred is the trans Pacific next January from Lima to Sydney [to visit Easter Island]. The outward flight baggage allowance is 23 Kilo's and the return is 30 Kilo's so perhaps we are going to be given heavy gifts! :)

A bit hopeful perhaps :)

The "Fred " we have booked is Boudicca from Liverpool to Mauritius in Oct and we are staying in Mauritius for a week, then moving on to Abu Dhabi for three nights on the way home. Made a big mistake with that though as it is the Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi at that time and hotel prices are ridiculous and we had booked firm flights before we checked the specific dates in Abu Dhabi for hotels! After an hour of panic we were able to book a Holiday Inn in the city centre on IHG loyalty points + $40 per night. Close one, but still worth doing vs Fred's flights and the excessive cost of them - we get a break half way through the flight as well.

I can see your thoughts pugwash. I think there should be some way of incorporating how much someone spends on cabins and also other spends into loyalty club points. I have seen suggestions that P&O may be going to do something like that. They are to re vamp their loyalty club soon, perhaps very soon. Boarding should be fairly quick for you anyway as suites are on the upper decks and there are not many cabins there.

Personally I think Fred gets people to book balconies because he must be about the only cruise line to allow smoking on them, so smokers will pay for that rare opportunity. We were thinking we may ask if there are any reduced price upgrades to a balcony on Boudicca in Oct, but then we remembered about the smoke and decided we would not be interested.

Cheers all.

A bit hopeful perhaps :)

 

The "Fred " we have booked is Boudicca from Liverpool to Mauritius in Oct and we are staying in Mauritius for a week, then moving on to Abu Dhabi for three nights on the way home. Made a big mistake with that though as it is the Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi at that time and hotel prices are ridiculous and we had booked firm flights before we checked the specific dates in Abu Dhabi for hotels! After an hour of panic we were able to book a Holiday Inn in the city centre on IHG loyalty points + $40 per night. Close one, but still worth doing vs Fred's flights and the excessive cost of them - we get a break half way through the flight as well.

 

I can see your thoughts pugwash. I think there should be some way of incorporating how much someone spends on cabins and also other spends into loyalty club points. I have seen suggestions that P&O may be going to do something like that. They are to re vamp their loyalty club soon, perhaps very soon. Boarding should be fairly quick for you anyway as suites are on the upper decks and there are not many cabins there.

 

Personally I think Fred gets people to book balconies because he must be about the only cruise line to allow smoking on them, so smokers will pay for that rare opportunity. We were thinking we may ask if there are any reduced price upgrades to a balcony on Boudicca in Oct, but then we remembered about the smoke and decided we would not be interested.

 

Cheers all.

We are doing a three night cruise in September which will take us up to gold status and the Flavours of Spain (Captains in Cadiz) cruise for our 50th wedding anniversary next year. I think that Fred charges a high price for a cruise experience that has somewhat deteriorated over the years we have cruised with him. We have tried other cruise lines including P&O, Celebrity and Viking Oceans but my wife loves Braemar. I would like to try CMV but don't want to take the chance of disappointing my wife again so it looks like Braemar for the foreseeable future.

Pugwash123.

PS. I wish Fred would ban smoking on balconies as there is nothing worse than tobacco smoke drifting over from the balcony next door.

Well here in the back woods the pigeon post has still failed to deliver any information.

For those who have received correspondence I take it that the lower tier benefits are unchanged?

Well here in the back woods the pigeon post has still failed to deliver any information.

 

For those who have received correspondence I take it that the lower tier benefits are unchanged?

Perhaps Fred is issuing correspondence in tier order, Diamond Elite down.

Pugwash123