Flatbush Flyer

Old news.

Still - the basic issue remains that you cannot use the O Life tour option allocation for other than the basic <$200 tours. Now that you’ve said you purchased the Passport, everything changes. First, your original O Life tour option becomes O Life SBC and that is available as credit for any of the non-O Life eligible tours you want (all the O Life ones are now “no added cost” to you). The more expensive tours are then priced at 40% off retail. If I had your account in front of me, I could show you how it all balances.

This is SO…. incorrect! ….see my earlier post. When you get your onboard account printout (ask for the one that specifies each transaction completely). Better still, get the updated version of the “prepurchased shore excursions PDF. It will show you how what replaces what as O Life, YWYW, etc. Without seeing your docs, I can only guesstimate how you got a break beyond YWYW on a non-O Life allowable tour $>199. Most importantly, regardless of the retail cost of an O Life eligible tour I.e., up to $199, if that tour is cancelled by O, you’ll only ever get a $100 credit in non-refundable SBC. Next, if you decide to replace it with a non-O Life >$199 tour (that qualifies for YWYW 25% off), your net final cost for a $250 tour would be $250 x .75 (YWYW 25% off) = $187.50 - the $100 SBC you received for cthe lost O Life tour. You then owe O $87.50. That may then be further adjusted due to other similar cancel/changes. But, the bottom line remains that you cannot initially select non-O life allowable tours as one of your allotment.

NEVER trust the Cart. VERY Glitchy. Do the math yourself and then call an O Rep to see what s/he cones up with. You can also have your TA call to book the tours. But, not all TAs “have a clue” when it comes to getting the combo of O Life and YWYW tours in the best configuration (and that includes some of the TAs who swear they understand the O system).

Basically, NO. if O cancels one of your chosen allowable O Life tours, you could opt for getting the base $100/O Life tour money as a non-refundable SBC credit on your shipboard account and then use it to pay some of the cost of another tour that is not O Life allowable.

Almost always, O Life SBC has zero added value. What extra you pay per cabin is the SBC per cabin you’d receive. The only time O Life SBC has any semblance of value is when it’s one of the very rare circumstances when the Passport tours package is a better deal than the combo of O Life tours and YWYW added tours. It happens but not often.

As long as the “higher” priced tours are allowable O Life ones (I.e., <$200 and no letter designations, e.g., OS, OE, etc)

Try it on a different device (or two). If it works OK on the other(s), it’s probably not the O website.

Perhaps it’s because the LaReserve space is now also used for the Wine Bar event on some of the nights when there are no LaReserve dinners. The Wine Bar is a terrific (relatively new) offering with comp. hors d’oeuvres, flights of wine and both glass and bottle service.

Mea Culpa. I had forgotten that I always get the “good looking” (it’s mostly my blue eyes) extra pours/extra servings/extra discounts in the higher end restaurants I frequent. Plus, four (glasses) is such a more pleasant number than five.😎

Now, there’s a lesson learned: Open a bottle? Finish the bottle! It’s only four glassfuls 😉

The door is usually locked. If you’re cabin key works, you’re A-OK.

Correct

I use the mobile friendly CC and have never experienced what you are describing. Select “quote” for a post to which you want to reply and that post appears in its own box. Go to the space below the quote box and type your reply. Select “submit reply.” I gave up on the regular website years ago.

…and on changeover days for continuing passengers who sign up.

I used to save some extensive posts. But, so much has changed lately (and will continue to change) that I’ve been doing my replies fresh with each appropriate question. FWIW: What would help a lot conversations here would be for folks who have not cruised in recent months (and/or particularly not since pre-Covid) to venture guesses for current issues based on experiences of many years ago. Providing historical context is fine. But, that needs to become three dimensional with current comparative/contrasting info.

Thanks - but you just did it again. Don’t type in the same box as the post to which you’re replying. Start in the blank section below that post.😎

You mistakenly attached your post to mine. So it looks like I said “I looked at our booking and Oceania had changed our cabin # which is different from our invoice. The location is next to the original, so we will most likely keep it as is.“ Just clarifying.

The term “B2B” on Oceania is useless in understanding O’s idiosyncrasies. As I have posted a zillion times, there are three main types of multi-segment O bookings and the importance of understanding that difference can save you (or cost you) $ thousands. 1) O publishes many multi-segment cruises as “Extended Journeys” - most often two consecutive segments totaling up to approx. two months in duration. They have a single booking number and, generally, cannot be disaggregated to qualify for sales that affect one of the multi-segments (or even both single segments). Why? The two segments have already been discounted significantly and O’s “default” rule is “no double dipping.” 2) O publishes some select/longer cruises (most often 3 or more segments totaling more than two months in duration) as “Grand Voyages.” They are treated exactly the same as Extended Journeys regarding booking policies/procedures including a significantly discounted fare. What difference exists is usually additional perks like free laundry et al. Years ago, there were quite a few Grand Journeys published. There was even a section in the fat brochures and on the website’s Find a Cruise called Grand Voyages where O then started also listing the shorter Extended Journeys. But then, the Grand Journey arrangements disappeared for quite a number of years. But O never changed the Find a Cruise section title that then only housed the shorter Extended Journeys. That changed this year with the reintroduction of actual long Grand Journeys - three of them starting in December 2023. 3) Combination (aka Custom) Cruises are UNPUBLISHED multisegment cruises that you assemble as a single itinerary comprising X number of consecutive segments. They get an approx. 5% discount on the combined individual fares (which may not be as much as the Extended Journey and Grand Voyage fare savings). However, Combo/Custom cruises get O Club perks for each of the included segments as well as option for air credit that is per segment. Those extra “perks” may easily add up to more than the savings in the discounted EJ and GV fares. NO- you can’t make a Custom Cruise out of two EJs. That would violate O’s dislike for “double dipping.” Why is understanding the difference important (even to the point of using the right terminology when seeking a Cruise Critic answer about fare savings)? The perfect example is this Extraordinary Savings Sale. Only one segment of your multisegment cruise on sale? If it’s a Custom Cruise (and there’s cabin availability in your category), YES. If it’s an Extended Journey or a Grand Voyage NO (though, in rare instances, an “elite” O Club member [Platinum or above] and/or the right TA, who is a top seller of O, may get some added SBC as a consolation). OOPS! One more very important item. Book Onboard cruises still have their price drop match guarantee (as long as there’s cabin availability in your cabin category) and, if you have a custom cruise booking, that guarantee is the main point you want to make in asking for a sale price adjustment on the segment in question. And don’t buy any argument you get that “you’ll have to rebook and the current prices/perks will negate your sale savings”! BTW: Always remember that some perks are not combinable (e.g., Book Onboard discount and Ultimate O Life). Make a habit of reading the O T&Cs and Ticket Contract- particularly as regards Promotions. Complicating this rather simple distinction is the harsh reality that many O regulars, their “lovable” TAs and even O phone reps (AND some O supervisors) either haven’t “got a clue” or (in the case of some TAs and O staff) don’t want to make an accommodation that costs them lost commissions and/or fare dollars. In any case, I hope/expect that this post will help a few folks who are getting/believing misinformed answers about their bookings as regards this (and other “sales” still to come).

People can get a hold on a cabin for up to a week while they decide whether to make a deposit. Others may cancel (even after final payment. Still others, who may have booked onboard, can change a cruise once without penalty (though I can’t remember if there’s a spot in the penalty phase where that no longer is ok.

Bummer - small outfit - victim of Covid shut down(?). We’ve also used Blackberry for LHR to London (they may go to Southampton too. Sometimes, worldwide, I’ll use the “Transfer”! search engine Mozio to, at least, get an idea of the ballpark cost of specific transfers.

We’ve used Silver Fleet - after several days in London to head to Southampton port. Minivan with up to six passengers (luggage stored in a small closed trailer). They also do airport pickups too. Excellent!!!

Yes. But your account info specifics are blocked. Do a search here on CC, which would’ve been a better first step, and you’ll find a zillion threads discussing your same question. OR continue to be anal (like I can sometimes be when I know squat about a topic and hope for the best while preparing for the worst. Of course, that’s a very rare occasion).😎

It must be Saturday evening EST. Regular O Web maintenance locks user accounts for security reasons. All should be back to normal by tomorrow AM (EST).

FWIW: the search feature here on CC works well (particularly if you remember the unit of Boolean inquiry in basic college algebra). I mention this because I have posted several “‘sticky’ worthy detailed posts on maximizing the combo of O Life and YWYW. Since we may not see those or other detailed (and correct) tutorials ever listed as a “sticky,” it would help if those with extensive O knowledge more often suggested using the Search feature.