corpkid

Does anyone know the ballpark speeds of the streaming package?  Going to be doing a Transatlantic later this year on Apex and was hoping to do a little work, which can sometimes be a bit bandwidth intensive.  Thanks!

7 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

😢. That’s sad! You got him to retire, do a 6 month cruise and that happens! 
 

Hopefully we’ll soon sail together again ! 
 

🍷

He didn't retire (and neither did I - we were just going to do a 30 day segment - but ATW soon.  Like 25 years for me!  LOL).

Where are you all looking at going in the future?  We're looking at either TOKYO - SINGAPORE or SINGAPORE to DUBAI (May 2022).  Scheduled to sail on Crystal Ocean Sept. 2021 days Transatlantic from London.  Been doing back to back river cruises (they're pretty great) last year and year before.  

2 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Agreed. TA(gencies) may have limits set on what their TA(gents) can provide and compensation formulas may vary (as might added incentive funds from a cruise line).

 

In any case, my use of TA in this thread does ultimately refer to the agency. What they do with their half of the commission (in the simplest sharing scenario) is their business.

 

I'm just trying to give OP a ballpark understanding.

TBH I'm not really looking for much. I find the prices of O cruises to be fair (in general) and have never used the air. We sometimes take O excursions, but I think I can count the number of times on one hand.

I think I'm just looking for someone to handle all the crazy when things can and do go south I guess?

2 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

So, now it's time to "pay it forward."

Without naming the TA, please share (for others also looking) what steps you took to ID the new agency/agent. Thanks! 

Let's just say my old agent read this thread and connected me with my new agent (who I originally defaulted to, but didn't get two responses so figured I'd made them upset or something).  

3 hours ago, pinotlover said:

Corpkid;

 

Great to see you back posting again and still cruising! Hope all has been going well for you and the mad ex Top Gun!

Hola our friend!  We're supposed to be on the ATW cruise in SE Asia right now!  LOL

That didn't work out.

How have you been?  We are doing well - bored, and very ready to get on the first plane that is safe, but well.  🙂 

3 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I was  not referring to you  as you did say you have points

 

I see others posting about  problems with the air dept

 Maybe they just do not ask for what they want ??? 😁

LOL.  On that point... Nobody seemed to answer this for me.  What do you ask for with your TA?

About to break into the 5+ club with Oceania (in 7 years).  And probably going to 8+ because of pent-up vacation time and desire. Do I have leverage? How do I not be a jerk and ask for concessions? I don't even know what to ask for.

39 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I do not understand  the problem with the air dept

I give my TA the flights/dates/carrier I want

She tells me if O can do it   & if there is  an upcharge or not

Once  they could not give me what I wanted  we just ask for what they could give us

 Paid the deviation fee 

done

We used it once and deviated and it was fine.  Honestly though we have business credit cards and literally rack the "miles/points" up so might as well fly in style.  LOL  Also work for Marriott/Starwood so no need to spend points on hotels - I got that.  😉 

8 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Yes   unless  we cannot find   cheaper air  we will use the Oceania air   but lately we try for BUS class  & O is not any better than what I can find

JMO

Thanks - I'm one of those credit card points guys so BUS is usually not a problem (in fact, supposed to be on a Singapore Air flight right now in BUS (before Covid)).  I am booking this cruise this early to hit a minimum spend of $4k on a new card and to take advantage of the crazy price reductions. I won't bore you but this is my new favorite hobby and it really does pay off if you play they airline loyalty game correctly. Thank you again - I think I have found our new agent.

19 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I agree  with Paul

Book now to get the cabin  then work on getting  a TA  to transfer the booking to

It is a small window 

 

Do you have friends   you can ask about their TA?

 

You could google  "Oceania Cruise Connoisseur Club"  & go through the ones you find  to find the right fit  for your needs

Good luck

Good TA's are hard to find 😉

Thank you all - I'm going to book this tomorrow AM w/ O directly then go on a hunt for an agent.  A couple questions if it wouldn't be too much trouble, please:

1) Physical location (in the US) doesn't  matter, correct?
 

2) I'm not even sure what kind of things to ask for/expect/etc. since I'm so inexperienced using TAs. I know a little OBC is pretty standard, but what else should I be on the lookout for?
 

3) Does the TA act as a proxy between the Air Dept. and oneself? We don't usually take the air option, but might for an EU trip we are looking at for mid-2021 (God/vaccine-willing).

Thank you again for your help.  🙂 

Before anyone deletes this - I'm not asking for recommendations on specific agents (a big no-no here).  I AM asking how do I find one?  My old one retired, and I've contacted two and neither has responded to me.  I've never used one before (in about 15 cruises over as many years except for once, of which I didn't get any added value) but everyone I mention this to thinks I'm nuts, so I'm reevaluating. 

I'm trying to book a segment of the 2022 ATW cruise and need to get this finalized ASAP as the B1/B2 cabins are in short supply after speaking with Oceania directly.

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

PP   so if  sharing the cabin with someone they get  4 excursion  PP  or $400 OBC also  =

8  shore excursions  per cabin  OR $800 OBC  per cabin

Got it.  That's where my logic was falling apart.

I'm looking for a new agent now - my old one won't call me back for some reason (I promise we didn't do anything!).  

2 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

It clearly says CHOICE OF....

It's just a lower cabin price with YOUR CHOICE OF one of the three amenities.

I understand that - my issue is that I'm not seeing the "Ultimate Sale" offers at all when I move through the booking process.

Instead of 8 shorex, it's 4.

Instead of $800 OBC, it's $400

1 minute ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Sorry- not about to search. Just post a link to the page with the cruise. If it says anything along the lines of "your choice of ...", it's just regular O Life. If it's all 3, "Ultimate O Life" will be prominently displayed. 

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/Asia-cruises/singapore-to-dubai-NAU220523/

11 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Most O sales and discounts do not include all cruises. That said, the current "ultimate sale" applies to a lot but not necessary all future cruises. 

Also, Ultimate O Life, which is all three perks may only be added to some of the "Ultimate Sale" itineraries (or any other cruises).

"Ultimate O Life" will clearly state something along the lines of "enjoy all 3 amenities."

 

Perhaps Dan could post what cruise he's talking about and folks could check out if it's "ultimate O Life" or not. If it's not, it would be helpful to know exactly what is said on his invoice for that line of text. 

 

So if you go to the O homepage and click on the "View Cruises" in the big "Ultimate Sale" advert, then go to the very end (last page of cruises) you'll see the cruise I mention is listed along with the "Ultimate Sale" banner on the bottom of the image.

Should I just call O and book this?

Thank you all again for your help.  I'm hoping you can help me figure something else out. I am going to book this cruise from Singapore to Dubai May 23, 2022:  https://www.oceaniacruises.com/Asia-cruises/singapore-to-dubai-NAU220523/

As you can see, it shows it being eligible for the Ultimate Sale.  However, when I go to book it online, I'm presented with 3 options:

$400 OBC

4 Shorex

PS Beverage package

...and no mention of the Ultimate Sale offerings. 

Would these be above and beyond the Ultimate Sale offerings or is the online system just not working correctly?

30 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

When you are looking at a cruise on the O website, it shows "cruise only" and "O Life fares."

Start a mock booking by selecting a cabin category on the first page and note the O Life fare on that initial page - it includes the air tix. 

Select your cabin category and continue to the next page. At the top, it gives you a choice of "need air" or "don't need air". Select NO for air and head to the next page (note that this will require that you have or register for an Oceania account (no cost and you can opt out of advertising spam).

Once on the next page you'll again see the various cabin levels with O Life. But, the price will have been reduced by the value of the air credit. First page price - this price = air credit.

 

Note that, in most cases, the "O Life price with out air" and with your choice of the O Life SBC option is equal to the "cruise only" price plus the value of the SBC. So, it's a wash.

 

But, if you take the basic booze O Life option, how much you drink could make O Life worthwhile.

 

That said, most O regulars will agree that if you want to do all or some of the ship tours, do take the O Life with the excursions option since the allowable tours can be valued up to $199. That's up to twice the SBC since the O Life offer initially equates each tour to each $100 SBC (e.g., 8 tours or $800). In addition, those O Life tours count toward the minimum required total tours for your specific itinerary-which gets you an added 25% discount off the paid tour choices.

Though we also may do private tours, we almost always take O Life without air but with excursions option.

Thank you so much for the exceptionally helpful response.  Greatly appreciate it.  🙂

Hi All,

Is it possible to purchase the O Life package, but get a credit for the airfare portion of said package?  As you know the current O Life offer is very enticing, however we always book our own air using points.

Many thanks!

Cancelling all the tours.  And sipping bourbon because this sucks.

Looking forward to hiking with my family, though.

Yes sir.  Hoping we don't have to get AMEX involved. It's still a fluid situation for some (many?) of us.

Same deal (but more efficient).  "Wait till April"

4 minutes ago, Tansy Mews said:

Just home from Sydney to Auckland cruise. The noro outbreak on the previous cruise was a mixed blessing. They delayed boarding by a couple of hours for extra cleaning, did all their code red protocols (new menus for each, cleaning, free medical assessment in your room, etc.) for a specific time period without any new cases. But it meant everyone was being scrupulous about hygiene. Also for our New Zealand ports, our temperatures were scanned before we got onto the ship. (It could be argued that this is not effective, that only the "healthy" ones went ashore...but still!)

 

Great trip. Great food, but super slow in the GDR, mainly due to the cleaning between guests and no prior table setups.

 

Frances

 

 

Sydney to Auckland on Marina way back in 2016 is still to this day my favorite cruise of all time. Good to hear things are going well. Have a drink for us.

Call 1.1:  Trying Twitter.  Maybe 2.0.  Either way they are answering me within 5 mins on Twitter.

PS - this is now a tweet. Love it or hate it (they do) it works for us.  @singaporeair 

OK - so after almost 2 hours Singapore Air picked up and what I got after 20 minutes of nicely probing is "you should call back in April Mr. Dominic".  We can book another flight, but we have to book by July and travel by September.  So no. Usually I'd call right back, but this one needs a week or two to bake.  What an unfortunate situation.  

Call #1. 

1 minute ago, LHT28 said:

Hopefully under the current situation they will refund you  or at least  give you a credit to use for  a future flight  (usually 1 yr)

Hang in there   they are probably swamped with calls  😉

Thanks - first world problems for sure.

One thing I have learned is to "call three times" if need be.  A lot of this stuff is dependent on getting the right associate on the phone.