meg1021

You're very fortunate to have a knowledgeable TA, fluent in Oceania-speak. We're leaving on the January 15th, 2023 sailing on Insignia. I emailed my TA with 5 questions that I need answers to on January 1st. I realize that was a holiday weekend, so I didn't expect a prompt reply, but here it is, a Friday afternoon, and I have yet to hear from her. I will give it until Monday, and then try another email or phone call. In addition to that, she's given us incorrect information regarding O Life, but apologized for the mistake. All in all, somewhat frustrating, for a first time Oceania customer. I have read the message boards, and fortunately had some of my questions answered by fellow posters, who have sailed with Oceania in the past, and seem to be familiar with a lot of the quirks of their perks, amenities, and various website issues.

I agree. This is what I have done when we've been on longer cruises that require some color maintenance. I ask the stylist for a tube of color, along with instructions for mixing, how long to leave the color on, etc. It's always worked out well, and you won't have to worry that you're not getting the exact color that you're used to.

My thoughts exactly!! We are experienced cruisers as well, but new to Oceania, and I have found lots of good information by reading through the posts. If the questions/answers are repetitive or boring to long time Oceania cruisers, I ask for your indulgence. It's probably best that you just skip over the whole topic of the post.

Thanks for posting about your experience. It is very helpful. One question though, who told you that if O cancels a tour, and you go below the # of required excursions for the discount, that you don't lose the YW discount for the other booked excursions? Phone rep, or someone on the ship? Since we are doing South America, I can see weather conditions affecting some of the tours. If they are cancelled, it would be helpful to know that O would not charge us for the lost YW discount!

Thanks to everyone for your helpful guidance! I did call Oceania and got an itemized list of the pre-booked excursions, along with the final cost for each one, so I can actually see what we were charged per excursion, instead of just one lump sum charged to my credit card. The Oceania rep used the YW discount, and then took our $1600 OBC ($800/segment) off the total. When I have the time to go through it, I can easily verify that this was the "best deal" for us. Now, does anyone have any insight into what my best strategy is for dealing with a waitlisted excursion? Should I book our second choice for that port, just to get something? Would that booking kick us off the waitlist for the tour that we really want? I asked the O rep on the phone, when I called to ask for my itemized shore excursion purchases, and she didn't think that we would be removed from the waitlist, but wasn't 100% sure of it. Anybody have a similar experience in the past?

Put me in the "confused" category as well. We chose the O Life perk of $800 OBC. The O rep said that she would work out the best deal for us, and thought that would be taking 8 shore excursions instead, then using those as part of the required # to get the YW discount. She ran a whole bunch of $ totals by me, and said that in the end, taking the OBC option of O Life was better. I told her that I was confused, and asked for an itemized receipt/confirmation of her analysis. Instead I got an email with an invoice showing how much my credit card was charged (not really useful, since I can find that out myself). I need to call Oceania again and ask specifically for some document which breaks down the final cost of each excursion. That doesn't seem like such an extravagant request to make. Many other cruise lines make this so easy to do, that I would be able to book everything online myself, without an O rep doing the calculations for me. BTW, we booked 8 excursions/pp on one segment (required # is 6/pp), and 9 excursions/pp on another segment (required # is 8/pp). I haven't book all ports yet, because my kids want to book and excursion or two for us as a Christmas gift ( and I wanted them get the best possible price for the excursions, which would presumably be YW pricing). If you have any advice to make this easier for me, please let me know. We did book through a TA, but have been having issues with her, since our airfare was not as requested, and she's working on that, so I don't want to involve her in another issue, just to get more frustrated with another aspect of planning this cruise.

I just booked our excursions this morning on the phone with an Oceania Rep, using this example, and she agreed that it's the best choice, but when I gave her the specific excursions, in the end, she said that using the Your World discount, and available OBC would result in a better deal for us. She threw lots of $ amounts at me, and I requested an itemized receipt to look over. What I received instead was an invoice that just told me how much my credit card had been charged, which doesn't help. Is there some specific terminology that I should use to request this itemized list? You had mentioned a spreadsheet in your post. Maybe ask for that?? Also, we are waitlisted on one of the tours. Does anybody have any thoughts on whether we should just let that ride, or if we should book an excursion that was our second choice? If we book an alternate excursion, would that automatically remove us from the waitlist for the excursion that is currently our first choice? Any experience with this or thoughts?? Thanks in advance for the help. Once again, let me reiterate, this is overly complicated for first time Oceania cruisers. Some user friendly tools should be added to the website to illustrate how each O Life choice would affect your cruise price!!

Hmm, that's quite possible. I checked through my emails with her, and on August 22nd (just booked at the end of July), I specifically asked for certain dates and flights. She did blame the Oceania air department, and I do have everything in writing, as I usually contact her via email. I'm not quite sure how to proceed. I sent her a couple of emails yesterday, referencing my initial requests for flight date and preferred flights. Who wouldn't want a direct flight vs connections, especially when flying cross country? I haven't heard back yet. Needless to say, I'm very upset by this, and have expressed as much to her. I haven't heard from her yet today, and have no idea how Oceania handles this, since this is my first experience in sailing with them. I was not invoiced for the $175/pp deviation fee in August, and didn't really know that I should be concerned about it at that time. BTW, I called Oceania once regarding information about overland tours. Once they found out that I had booked with a travel agent, they told me that they couldn't touch the reservation, and that I needed to go through her. I mistakenly assumed that the airfare was handled through her as well. Thanks for your feedback.

WOW! Thanks for this explanation/illustration. We're booked on our first Oceania cruise this January for 48 days. Even though we're experienced cruisers, and have done longer itineraries on other cruise lines, I'm a little mad at myself for not consulting message boards before making our choice for O Life. I'm also a little peeved that Oceania makes it rather difficult to factor in what final cost is to the customer, based on whether you use airfare, O life perk, etc. We used a TA, but unfortunately didn't ask the right questions to determine the best choice for us. I chose the OBC, figuring that we could use it for whatever, but I see by your example, that we could have made a better choice for ourselves, and all it takes is knowledge of how Oceania actually works, and some basic math skills. But once again, shame on me for not asking the right questions of the right people. After choosing the OBC, I started looking at excursion choices/prices, and thought that some secret decoder ring was needed to figure it out! Then I turned to the message boards, and fortunately, found some good explanations. Oceania seems to position itself somewhere between mass market cruises, which are often a la carte, and all inclusive cruises. I'm not sure it's for us, but the itinerary we booked is very interesting, and we're going with an open mind, hoping to find competence by the staff and enjoyment of the cruise. If we ever book a cruise with them again, I would make other choices. We are currently waiting for Oceania air department to correct our flights. Our initial request was to pay the deviation fee to fly in before the cruise, and to have a direct flight. Yesterday airfare came through and they have us flying in on the day of the cruise (completely unacceptable), and not on a direct flight. If anybody experienced similar issues with them, please advise. The TA told me their air department missed/overlooked our requests. Thanks again for helping out an Oceania newbie!

We are first time Oceania cruisers, booked for 48 days on Insignia the Jan/Feb (two 24 day segments). We're in Cat B1, and have 2 specialty reservations available in each of the restaurants. My first available date to book those is December 1st. Based on your current experience, it sounds like I shouldn't wait until we board to make those reservations. Is it really necessary to go online at 12:01 the day that they're available, because that seems a little bit much? Also, I would prefer a table for 2, but would be willing to share a table at a preferred time , if necessary? Is that presented as an option? Also, can you provide more information on getting additional reservations at the specialty restaurants, if they're available. Are they only allotted on that day? Or can they also be done in advance, once onboard? Do you know whether I can book reservations for both segments, or do I have to wait 45 days before the Feb 8th segment? Thanks for any information that you can provide to an Oceania newbie!

Regarding your difficulty with your shore excursions that were booked online, did you ever figure out what the problem was? We are first time Oceania cruisers on the Insignia for 48 days this Jan/Feb, and my plan was to book our shore excursions online. Do you think that it would be better to actually call Oceania, book over the phone, and have them send us some sort of confirmation? The TA already booked 2 overland tours for us on this itinerary, but I would prefer to take the time to look through all options, and book the other excursions myself. Also, how far in advance do you recommend booking excursions? Thanks for any information!

We will be doing Milford, Doubtful and Dusky Sounds, along with Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Napier, Tauranga, Bay of Islands, and Picton. So if you have any observations/insights into any of these, it would be great. Our cruise isn't until February/March 2024, so I'll have time yet to follow along with postings on CC, to get some feedback from current cruisers. Thanks once again for taking the time to post.

I just found this post and will be following along. We are booked on a B4B in February/March on Brilliance, and even though the majority of the cruise will be the circumnavigation of Australia, we are stopping in NZ on 2 of the segments. I'll be very interested on your assessment of any tours that you may take. Thanks for taking the time to post. It's much appreciated. BTW, we did the inaugural sailing of Ovation in 2016, from Barcelona to Beijing. We love the Anthem class, with the open public spaces, the 270, and the Solarium.

We were on the 2 week GET from Amsterdam to Budapest in August on Viking. At that time, the crew was still required to wear masks. Nobody asked for our CDC vaccine cards, and no testing was required. Some people wore masks during the bus tours, but most didn't. During the second week of the cruise, we had heard that several passengers had Covid, but weren't sure if it was true. Unfortunately we did test positive for Covid the day after the cruise ended. Since you are immunocompromised, your best bet would probably be to mask up whenever possible, and perhaps do dinner in the Aquavit Terrace (the glass enclosed part, if it is too cold to eat outside. Also, the daily cruise briefings are sent to your cabin TV, if you aren't comfortable with gathering in the lounge for the pre-dinner presentations. I think at this point, it's pretty much each person out for themselves, in terms of Covid mitigation measures. Have a good cruise and stay safe!

I had a similar customer service experience with RCI, although my problem was of a different nature, but also caused by RCI. When RC redeployed ships, and our trips went from Enchantment to Brilliance, we were assigned to 4 different cabins on our B4B segments, instead of the same cabin, which we originally booked. In addition, although the email from RC stated that our cruise fare would be price protected, we were charged an additional $900, including a $100 change fee, even though RC originated the change! It took many hours on the phone, including several times of being disconnected, to try to fix these issues. I emailed Michael Bayley's office, and did receive a response, but unfortunately, did not seek the correction to the problem that I asked for. I was told that they could not fix the cabin situation, even though they caused it. When I responded that RC created the problem, but chose not to correct it, the response from the executive office was an apology, and that they were "disheartened" that I felt this way. On the positive side, after several hours on the phone, the fare was adjusted to my original booking amount. I was told that the "computer added the charges automatically". I'm not in IT, but can understand that the computer was just programmed to automatically add the charges. We are Diamond + on RC, so have sailed them many times. I'm not sure whether they cut staffing too severely during the pandemic, and have a lot of new people in Customer Service, but the decline has been very noticeable. I sincerely hope that you are able to resolve the issues once and for all, and are able to enjoy your cruise. Keep checking your invoice just to be sure though!

We just did the GET Amsterdam to Budapest in August. Unfortunately most of the optional tours we booked were cancelled, due to changes in our itinerary, caused by low water levels, and the need for the ship to keep moving along and pick us up in different locations. I can comment on the optional tours that we did take. We took the tour of Rothenburg, with the Bishops Residenz in the afternoon, which we found very enjoyable. If you enjoy art, or art history, the Klimt workshop in Vienna is very good. Belvedere Palace is beautiful. A private guide meets you at Belvedere, gives you a tour, tells you about Klimt, including viewing his art works, then you decorate a mirror with gold leaf. Unfortunately, neither of us are very artistically inclined, so our finished product was pretty amateurish, but we had fun trying. We also took the trip/boat ride to Scharding Austria. It turned out to be a very fun excursion, which I mostly attributed to our excellent tour guide, Eva. Scharding is picturesque, we had an easy workshop, making seasoned salt, with a mortar/ pestle, and took a boat ride on a salt barge replica, where the beer flowed freely. Apparently, the Life under Communism tour sells out the fastest in Budapest, along with the Lippizaner excursion in Vienna. We got the last 2 tickets for Life under Communism, and they usually don't add slots, because you can drive a Soviet era Trabant, and only a limited # of cars are available. Alas, this was one of our cancelled excursions, since our ship was not docked in Budapest, and we had to be bussed 90 minutes each way, so we didn't have enough time to do the tour. Even though we didn't go on the Saltzburg tour, if you are a fan of The Sound of Music, those passengers who went, gave it good reviews. Same for the Winery Tour, which we didn't go to, but fellow passengers enjoyed it. Hope this helps a little.

I agree with you 100%. We are cruising on Oceania for the first time this January on Insignia. I am using a TA, but felt that Oceania's pricing, O Life, and airfare were overly complicated. We've done many ocean cruises, including longer voyages, on other cruise lines, and found them to be less complicated, more transparent, and to have a much more user friendly website. If you've sailed with Oceania many times before, you probably know how/where to get answers, but for first time Oceania cruisers, even with a TA backing me up, I feel that it's been more difficult than necessary. Perhaps O Life is their marketing ploy, but they should provide customers with some way to compare how your choice of amenity would ultimately impact your final cruise cost. I'm sure that as a "newbie", we've made some choices, that had I known more, I wouldn't have chosen, but at this point, we're just going to go with it, enjoy our cruise, and if we ever sail on Oceania again, try to be much more analytical next time, before making final decisions.

We had been on numerous ocean cruises, but did our first Viking River cruise this past August (GET Amsterdam to Budapest). I agree with the other posts that besides being on a ship, they are very different experiences. Some things not yet mentioned: carefully consider the time of year that you want to cruise. Our cruise was disrupted in a major way by the drought/low water levels in August. We adhered to our original itinerary on only 4 of the 14 days. We swapped ships in Nuremberg, because the ship could not continue, due to low water. The ship was on the move while we were touring, so we were not able to go back on the ship for lunch or to freshen up. We pre-booked a number of optional tours, and took all of the included tours. Unfortunately, all but 3 of our optional tours were cancelled (still waiting for our refund from Viking). Also be aware that the sundeck is closed for a good portion of the cruise, because bridges are low, and the ship has to fit under them. Another big difference is the lack of after dinner entertainment/programs available. What was offered was good, but could have had more offerings. The dining situation is okay, in that you get to meet your fellow passengers, and will know many of them by the cruises end. I know that I focused on some negatives, but on a positive note, the service was good, it was nice seeing places I had never been to, and we were able to spend all 14 nights on the ship, as opposed to subsequent cruises, which essentially turned into a bus tour, with overnight stays in hotels. I hope this information is useful to you.

We were on the same Viking Baldur/Magni cruise as you, being first time river cruisers, after doing quite a few ocean cruisers, like the OP. I would wholeheartedly agree with your assessment. Realizing that low water levels may drastically alter the cruise, and may require a ship swap, makes going into the cruise with an open mind, essential. The only other thing that I would add, is that ocean cruisers are used to having lots of choices for pre-dinner and after dinner entertainment. I felt that Viking could have upped their offerings on that front. BTW, we also tested positive for Covid the day after we returned from our river cruise. I had heard rumblings that Covid was spreading onboard, and I guess that turned out to be true. Thankfully, our cases were mild.

Many thanks to all who have posted on this topic. We will be first time Oceania cruisers, and first time visitors to SA this Jan/Feb on the Insignia for 48 days, so I'll be following all postings with interest. We have just cleared the waitlist for the overland tour to Machu Pichu. Does anyone have any experience with Oceania doing that particular tour? I've already made notes on Penguin Island in Port Stanley, and Punta Arenas, and of course the Nazca Lines. If anyone has any experience with tours on this itinerary that they feel are "must do" experiences, I'd be happy to hear about them. Right now, we're planning on sticking to Oceania tours (even though many have said that private tours are cheaper). We've been on one ocean cruise and one European River cruise since the restart from Covid, and have sadly found that many places are still struggling with staffing issues, so Oceania tours may be the best choice for us at the moment. Also, I understand that we are on the first two segments of the World Cruise, so if anyone has any insight into special activities, such as guest lecturers, that are available on these segments, that information would be appreciated. Or if any other information comes to mind, that you feel would be helpful to us, please feel free to post!

I had a similar experience last week, but with a different type of problem. We booked B4B on the Australia/New Zealand itinerary the first day it was available, in order to get the same cabin for the duration of the cruise. When the ships were switched out, from Enchantment to Brilliance, we were assigned 4 different cabins, and at higher prices, even though the email, sent out by RC, said that we would be price protected. After many frustrating hours on the phone with CSR, being disconnected twice, and speaking directly with the Resolutions Desk, with no resolution, I emailed CEO Bayley's office. I did receive an email reply within 4 days ( and not an auto-response), however they did not resolve the problem, merely conveyed their apologies. You can still try, and perhaps you will have a better experience than I did. We are also D+, so have cruised with Royal quite a bit. However, their Customer Service is rapidly getting worse, so we have tried Viking, and are booked on a 48 day cruise with Oceania in January, thinking that we need to try other cruise lines to see if better customer service is out there, or if this is just what things are like post pandemic. Good luck! I hope that you get a resolution, unlike me!

Rizello, I deduced from other postings, that we were both on the July 31st sailing of the Viking Baldur/Magni river cruise. We had a French Balcony cabin, and that was one of the smallest bathrooms I have ever seen! Lol, but somehow we managed to make it work. Also, we are booked on Oceania Insignia for January 2023 for 48 days, as first time Oceania cruisers, so I'm following postings on Oceania's Forum, to see what relevant information I can learn. As always, I appreciate anyone who takes the time to answer questions for us.

Even though we've been on many ocean cruises, in January we will be 1st time Oceania cruisers, when we board Insignia in January for 48 days, so I'm following along with your postings. From reading postings on this forum, I can tell that Oceania is well known for their food. If you have any time either onboard, or after you get home, any info that you can provide on exercise classes available, any special activities, including enrichment or guest lecturers, or quality of Oceania excursions (if you're taking them), would be much appreciated.

We will also be 1st time Oceania cruisers on Insignia this Jan/Feb 2023 for 48 days. I did as you suggested, and used the search words Your World Collection excursions. Unfortunately, nothing popped up that helped me much. Should I use other terminology? Like others posting here, who are new to Oceania, I find their website less explanatory or user friendly than other cruise lines. I understand the basics. If you book a certain number of excursions with Oceania, Your World entitles you to a certain % discount. I just can't seem to find the specifics spelled out anywhere. Thanks for any information you can provide. Thank you.