AMHuntFerry

Many people have posted in 2 or 3 other topics. Some post what they paid regardless of whether it was a sale fare or a regular fare which is of course important to that individual. I (as many have surmised) prefer to see how SM affects the price, and the only way to do this is to compare the NON-sale fare on June 30th to the SM fare. I compared all of the 2024 Alaska and CA fares July 1 with the catalog NON-sale fares that expired June 30th. The cruise-only fares all increased exactly the amount of SimpleMore shorex-OBC. The airfare-included fare increased mostly by $100 (although 1 had a $200 increase). Here are links:

You might find this topic interesting since it has a similar discussion (although it includes trying new-to-cruiser lines too).

Before July 1st (not sure about now), you could drop the OLife from your booking any time before final payment (not sure about after) and receive credit equal to the OLife OBC. You can ask your TA about this if you want the credit.

FAQs are here. https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/ Note however that the website is in major flux. It's going to be a while before we know the new rules. I checked the beverage package FAQ earlier today and it still had the old wording with House Select $39.95 and Prestige at $79.95 or $30 upgrade. That FAQ is now gone. The package prices (no upgrade info) are still listed at https://www.oceaniacruises.com/value I wonder when it will change to reflect no need to purchase House Select? (Jeopardy music)

The most recent non-sale fares that I have (in my gigantic 2023 catalog) expired March 30th, but here's what I see for your cruise in PH2 (all $ per person unless noted): OLife w/airfare = $10,249 Cruise only (no air no OLife) = $9,449 (so w/Olife @ $600/cabin = $9,749) SimplyMore fares: w/air = $10,849 no air = $10,149 So, I see that the air difference has gone from $500 up to $700. But, I do not see the discount. Did you pay more than $10,149 for OLife (no air)?

I'd say the probability to switch is high. I'm guessing O would prefer everyone switch.

Very eloquent, easy to understand explanation! My initial analysis is that people who usually bought OLife for shorex or beverage package will be getting more for a similar price for current cruises. Caveat: as someone else mentioned (Pinot?), the real proof in the pudding will be when the new itineraries are released. For people who booked cruise-only, they will be paying more for little to nothing if they don't drink (much) wine/beer at lunch (= us since we are pre-dinner cocktail people), won't use the second login (= us), and won't use O shorex (= us sometimes); whether the cruise-only price still lies within our comfort zone will determine "book/no-book".

I have not seen any indication that there is early boarding available post-pandemic based on cabin category. However, there are dedicated lines for check-in (can't remember about security) for different categories (similar to airline check-in priority lines). We were is a D-cabin last cruise and were able to choose an 11 am check-in when the itinerary listed 1 pm.

Your friends are limited to their 4, so no you can't add them to more than 1 reservation in each specialty if that is their limit. I think some people have mentioned that they were able to have friends in lower-cabins join them for room service specialty dining (not sure how universal that is though). You can find some (not all...yay CC!) answers in the FAQs; here are the dining reservation one: https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/360001119853-Managing-Reservations

You are so correct! Comparing sale fares without knowing the non-sale fare does not give a true indication of the effect of SimplyMore. From my analysis of Alaska cruises, NON-sale cruise-only plus Olife fares increased by the difference between the Olife OBC and the SimplyMore OBC (e.g., was $300, now $400 so $100 increase). Airfares for <~13 day Alaska cruises increased $100. To see my reasoning (post #43)...

I would amend this to say, "I believe it's important to compare to the prices yesterday, ..." WITHOUT A SALE. Comparing to the Extraordinary Sale price or the Upgrade sale price is not informative to the general public. For example, I booked a $3000 cruise for $2000 during the Extraordinary Sale (cruise-only, no OLife or air); it should not shock anyone that the price increase by at least $1000. What IS interesting (at least to me) is that it increased by $1000 plus $400 which is equal to the amount of SimplyMore shorex-OBC. So, if someone's fare has increased more than the shorex-OBC, it is likely because the previous fare was a sale fare. It would be helpful if people would indicate that their paid fare was a sale fare. I compared all of the 2024 Alaska and CA fares today with the catalog NON-sale fares that expired yesterday. The cruise-only fares all increased exactly the amount of SimpleMore shorex-OBC. The airfare-included fare increased mostly by $100 (although 1 had a $200 increase).

When I did a mock booking there is a (easy to miss) button where you choose yes or no for airfare. Click on "Available" next to any cabin category...on the next page click the button "No" after "Will any of these guests need air travel?"

Warning to anyone checking prices on the website: Some information may not be correct yet. The OLife lingo still exists in some (most right now) areas of the website instead of SimplyMore (and there are no new T&Cs yet). Some of the prices in the fares tables for each voyage have the new prices while others show the old prices. However, I tried a mock booking for one of the cruises with the old prices, and the new prices were shown when I was asked to choose a cabin category; so do a mock booking if you want to be sure of the price. I do not envy the people doing the website update. Enjoy shopping!

Here's the breakdown with old/new fares for the voyage quoted in post 292: Brochure fare $10,198/$10,398 OLife fare w/ airfare $5099/$5199 (note that the website hasn't changed OLife to SimplyMore lingo) Cruise only $3599/$3999 Dummy booking has SimplyMore amenities listed:

I pulled this cruise up yesterday in one browser (and still have it open)...just pulled it up again in a different browser, and it has the higher price, but still has "Cruise Only" and "OLife w/ Air" columns. The Special Offers still have OLife descriptions. So, my midnight guess was partially right (price change)....still waiting for the SimplyMore unveiling. (I really need a better hobby!)

So equal to the shorex-OBC...very interesting. Tomorrow should be fun! My next pointless speculation...the O server will crash within 30 minutes of the new release.

My guess for the price difference variation is that both these cruises are part of the Upgrade Sale (among others...OClub, Extraordinary) and are returning to pre-sale prices.

I was just being pedantic (argumentative=bad me) about your use of "value". There are enough people being negative for negativity sake so I will try to be better.

It's like you read my mind! Then again, a non-coffee drinker is paying for my cappuccinos and little brown cakes at Baristas, so I guess I can pay for their wifi. Just a few more hours 'til we know the damages (and make new spreadsheets...woohoo!).

Oh, sorry I misunderstood. So you want to know the expiration date on the SimplyMore brochure (in tiny little print TCs). Mine hasn't arrived yet, so hopefully someone else can be more helpful. Usually it's every three months, but who knows?

You might try asking OceaniaClub@OceaniaCruises.com since they know the promo-details best. The only place I can find it on the O website is in the "change your OClub address" FAQ, but hopefully it gets you in touch with someone knowledgeable.

SimplyMore starts July 1st. If you want cruise-only or OLife, you need to book today.

So 1 am DST 😉 (The angel on my shoulder requires me to tell you that I had to look this up). You win my undying gratitude for playing!

For those who want to get some final speculation in: When (in ET) will the July 1st prices be posted? midnight? 5 am? 8 am? I vote for midnight (~8 hours from now). If you have noticed when past price changes have occurred, your guess may be better (i.e., I'm purely guessing with no past performance data).

Another version is, "what am I willing to pay in total and per day to have my 'required' items?"; and "am I willing to pay anything for my 'wish list' items?"...Much easier since all I need is my requirements (and any wishes that I'm willing to pay for) and my price maximums (total and per day). I do enjoy spreadsheets, but I also enjoy simplification.