ak1004

Cruising is definitely losing appeal due to the higher costs? I just looked at Trafalgar. Typical 10 nights trip to Europe is around $4,500-5,000 CAD. This is pretty much in line with the cost of OV cabin on Marina/Riviera. And it includes only breakfast and some dinners. All lunches are extra. So adding all extra costs, it might be more expensive than a cruise. And I'm not sure if Trafalgar is a good comparison to O, I think it's more comparable to mid range level like Celebrity. Not to mention that packing/unpacking every few days and extensive time in buses moving from place to place is much less appealing to me.

SS air is a mixed bag. Sometimes there is an excellent value, sometimes it's terrible. The door 2 door pricing includes economy flight, but you can take air credit or upgrade to business. In our cruise next May (Venice-Rome) we are getting the business upgrade from Toronto for $2,800 CAD (Just over $2k USD) - we could never get those prices on our own. Our previous SS cruise in December was about $350 USD per night. This already included excursions. So we go case by case basis and are not overly obsessed about things that we pay for but don't need. We are also perfectly fine with the 240 sqft cabin on the Riviera, so theoretically we are paying for 310 sqft cabin that we don't need (although I must admit it was nice). We also pay for a butler that we hardly utilize (although our last one was much more handsome than me so my wife insisted seeing him twice a day)

I believe we discussed this before. There are many parameters that define luxury. I agree with you about Oceania R ships, I believe that the O class ships are a step above in terms of luxury (cabin size, space/passenger ratios, dining options etc.) space/passenger ratio of QM2 is higher than Oceania O ships - does it make it more luxury? Inclusions is only one of the parameters. SS and regent are more inclusive than Regent - does it make them more luxury? Crystal had entry level cabins smaller than O or Viking - and yet it was considered a luxury line while O and Viking are in the "premium" category. The Celebrity retreat is probably in line with the luxury lines, but it's a small percentage of the cabins and cannot be considered as representative of what vast majority of Celebrity guests experience. And as I mentioned in the other thread, SS includes excursions as well. So does Regent. As we discussed, it's about the overall value.

Hank, two small corrections. SS does include excursions and does charge air deviation fee.

Our friends sailed with Celebrity for 30 years, reached Elite plus. We finally convinced them to try O. They are not going going back to Celebrity. After trying a Mercedes, we are not going back to Honda. Yes, it costs more, but nobody asks why Mercedes costs more than Honda.. If you want a luxury experience, you have to pay for it, including paying for things you don't use.

I looked at Explora, but their sailings to Europe are around $1,000 USD per night. Sounds a bit steep even for a ultra luxury ships.. SB and SS are more reasonable, and in some cases are actually comparable to O. Some sailings start under $500/night. And you will still be paying for things you don't use (like drinks and excursions on SS).

This post is probably the best summary of the last 20 pages of this crazy thread.. When we started looking at SS, I was a bit concerned about paying for other people's drinks. We ended up booking 3 SS cruises because the itinerary and the price was right even including drinks. I ended up paying for other people's drinks, but the amount of black caviar that I consumed probably exceeded several drink packages. Other people were paying for my black caviar because some don't like it, and many just didn't know that they can have anywhere anytime, unlimited. I looked at Windstar. Looks very nice, we might consider it. They don't included drinks (positive for me), but they also don't include Wi-Fi and charge $35/day for it. Gratuities are also not included, while for many O regulars they are already included as part of the loyalty program. So for many people this would be an extra $50/day that has to be added to the cruise price. Yes, I noticed that some sailings say "all inclusive" (drinks, Wi-Fi and gratuities for presumably the same price), but we all know there are no free lunches (and no free drinks, free excursions or free Wi-Fi despite O trying to convince us otherwise for the last 20 years).. So maybe we (non drinkers) should be less obsessed with paying for other people's drinks and more obsessed with the overall value? Things like the overall ship experience, service, food, itineraries, cabins etc. are more important than the extra $50/day. If we want the small ship experience, we are inevitably going to pay for something we don't use, no matter which line we select.

They make customers who do not drink alcohol pay for a drinks because all premium/luxury lines already do it (except Windstar). People like us who don't drink are in clear minority, and my guess is that O is willing to lose those customers and maybe gain new customers who might find the new pricing more beneficial if they use the extra amenities. Especially considering the fact that we bring less profits to O, as extras like drinks and excursions have much higher profit margins than the cruise itself.

So we don't really disagree that the typical increase was $40-45/day. Is it worth it or not is a different question (it's not for me, but might be worth it for people who drink and book ship excursions).

Actually no.. I will not enjoy the $45 increase because I'm not switching. My cruises went up by more than $80/day because I booked a year ago. But half of the increase happened before switching to SM. And yes, I hope too that cruise only comes back, but I'm not too optimistic. So we don't really disagree that the change is not beneficial to people like us who will be paying for things we don't use. I was just pointing out that to understand the real increase one should compare to May 31 prices. I hope this clarifies any confusion, and yes, lets end this here.

You still don't get it. There are two questions here: Question # 1. Is the new SM price better than my booked cruise? To answer this question, you compare the new SM price with the price you originally paid, and then decide if it's beneficial to swith to SM. Question # 2. What is the real price increase of SM? To answer this question, you need to compare the full price of cruise only on May 31 with the new SM price. That's it. Two SIMPLE questions. SIMPLE math.

If this is the case, then this is an anomaly. Typical increase for OV or veranda is $40-45. Some other people checked the prices and confirmed it.

Which probably means that going forward everyone will get it, even if booked under oLife?

$7398 was the full price for 2 on 5/31? And what is the current price? Which sailing?

Here is my unscientific summary., where the original price is the full price recorded on May 31 2023: Vista May 1 2024 B5 $4,999 $5,549 $550 increase Vista Dec 11 2023 B5 $2.499 $2,849 $350 increase (7 nights) Vista Sep 3 2024 B5 $4,999 $5,549 $550 increase Marina Nov 5 2024 C $3,445 $3,999 $550 increase Marina Oct 26 2024 G $3,099 $3,649 $550 increase Riviera Nov 14 2024 G $2,349 $2,849 $500 increase Riviera Oct 25 2024 G $2,999 $3,499 $500 increase All prices are in CAD for 10 nights sailing (except for the second one). Average increase of $40 USD per night. And this is the only relevant comparison to determine the real price increase. Comparing to the original price paid is relevant only to decide if it's worth to switch to SM.

What is the original price? Was it what you paid or was it the full price on 5/31? But even if this was the full price, for the first 3 cruises it's an increase of $40-45 per day. Which means that you basically get 2 amenities for the price of one, plus the second WiFi. The fourth cruise might be an anomaly, or maybe the original price was a promotion?

$1800 more for one person or two? Compared to what? Was your booked price part of a promotion? Did it have some special credits? The only apples to apples comparison is comparing the full price on 5/31 to the new SM price. Can you tell me what the full price was on 5/31 and what is the price now?

It is 0% discount but you can still use the credit to take it.

Very well said Hank. My comment was a bit humoristic, but it referred to the fact that there is no perfect line. We sailed on 11 lines, and are booked on O, SB, SS and Uniworld in the next 2 years. Personally I believe that O still offers the best value for money, but we are looking for opportunities. Probably not going back to big ships at this point, but who knows.. Everything is case by case basis. We don't believe in loyalty when it comes to cruising. The perks are very small part of the overall fare even at higher levels.

My understanding is that you can still take the Executive Collection, you just won't get the 25% discount.

Looks like we are running out of cruise lines..

When did you book? Was it a regular price or part of some promotion? What was the price yesterday before SM for cruise only?

Thanks for sharing! Looks very attractive. Small ships, casual dress code, just the right inclusions, interesting itineraries. but the ships are over 30 years old. Isn’t it a concern? Heard about some maintenance issues recently. Also the prices in some cases are almost as high as O new prices, without the inclusions.

Well, the thing is that some people here predicted a “hefty price increase”. This just didn’t happen, but of course they are very silent now. But I do agree that this is more an academic exercise now. The only thing that matters now is the current price and how it compares to the competition.

They are a great line if you sail in a suite. Completely different experience, food and service. Sailing in regular cabins, the service and food is very mediocre, and it feels much more crowded than small ships.