Frank del Rio comments on Oceania bookings/pricing

Classic cruiser;

They get any more ships plying the Carribean in winter thet’ll Have to raft them like they do river boats on the Rhein!

Classic cruiser;

 

They get any more ships plying the Carribean in winter thet’ll Have to raft them like they do river boats on the Rhein!

Cunard had to do it at the end of their heyday.

These are the suddenly retired Sylvania, Carinthia and Caronia, pulled out of service circa 1969.

I was an almost ten year old wannabee cruiser, and I felt like the World was coming to an end. :loudcry:

My 2 cents worth. We are Elite on Princess, Elite+ on Celebrity, 25 days on Regent, 5 Oceania cruises, 2 NCL cruises, a smattering of RCL, etc. So, for all that's worth, we have found O a very good fit for what we look for in a cruise. Just came off Riviera on the 10 day Venice to Rome. No sea days, great ports, and wonderful food-except, again, for POLO ( but that's not a deal breaker). Our methodology is, first, to decide WHERE we want to go then look at who has an itinerary that matches. After that comes price. Love to combine some time on land before or after a cruise that we plan out and book. Gives you the best of both worlds.

Prices for everything continue to rise and travel is no exception. I suspect that most on this forum are seasoned enough travelers and savvy in the ways of cost effective travel. We love O and as long as lobster is served every night in the Terrace and they have the itinerary we want, we'll book.

I've picked up on the price increases. There has already been an increase on my 2020 South America sailing. Quite interesting since this is already priced quite high when I compare to other lines (and what was sold for 2019) and what stock is being heavily discounted to (on Azamara and seaboarn) for 2019. I still haven't done a Carribean cruise so I have been watching that for 2021. The 2020 carribean sailings just had increases, rather interesting considering even the category "g" is still available . Category G is always booked up on day 1 anywhere else in the world. For the price of an interior I could get a balcony on Azamara for 2019. For the price of a balcony I could go on Silversea. So lets see what happens. I like O and the biggest draw to them was the fact I could book up front and know I was getting a fair price. Though now I'll be shopping around. I'll remain optimistic.

Oh well they are nice but they arnt the best!

We are booked on “Fall Foliage,” Montreal to New York, on the Riviera, in October 2019. I saved the Oceania brochure we received in the Wall Street Journal two Saturdays ago. Comparing those brochure prices to the website today, it appears that prices are $100 per person higher now in every category. Not a big increase, but still, I guess they didn’t lie.

Hi, There have certainly been some price increases my Feb 2020 Cape town to Singapore cruise has gone up$990 pp. in the category I booked. It wasn't a cheap cruise to start with.!

Everything has gone up in price

My grocery bill, hydro, water, property taxes. home heating & gasoline for the cars

Our gasoline is $1.22 L about $4.61 gal

Nothing seems to get cheaper

I am sure the cruise lines also take a hit in some of these things

shareholders want their shares to go up in price also

I've picked up on the price increases. There has already been an increase on my 2020 South America sailing. Quite interesting since this is already priced quite high when I compare to other lines (and what was sold for 2019) and what stock is being heavily discounted to (on Azamara and seaboarn) for 2019. I still haven't done a Carribean cruise so I have been watching that for 2021. The 2020 carribean sailings just had increases, rather interesting considering even the category "g" is still available . Category G is always booked up on day 1 anywhere else in the world. For the price of an interior I could get a balcony on Azamara for 2019. For the price of a balcony I could go on Silversea. So lets see what happens. I like O and the biggest draw to them was the fact I could book up front and know I was getting a fair price. Though now I'll be shopping around. I'll remain optimistic.

 

Oh well they are nice but they arnt the best!

We looked at South Africa, and waitlisted for January 2019. Finally decided to switch to 2020 after waiting. Wanting to book FF miles in advance to work our favor. Now the 2019 South Africa sailing has plenty of available. I think the practice of booking on board and ability to switch to another booking is working against the cruise line keeping bookings and also keeping away those that would book.. Keeping an eye on those cruises of interest and still of value.

I should have made it clear that the $ were NZ$ & not US$. I was only posting this to show that they were as good as their word when they said there would be a price increase from the 1st of October. They gave plenty of warning.

I should have made it clear that the $ were NZ$ & not US$. I was only posting this to show that they were as good as their word when they said there would be a price increase from the 1st of October. They gave plenty of warning.

Agreed. Our 2019 Med Cruise is up about $150 CAD for a B1. The other cruise we considered are up about the same amount even though they show more availability. Do the prices ever go down? My dream 2020 asian cruise is up too. Sigh.

Do the prices ever go down? .

It been known to happen. I’ve seen it two or three times in twenty cruises.

Do the prices ever go down?

Maybe for itineraries that sell slowly but not for popular ones. Possibly during a Black Friday or Memorial Day sale (big US holiday sale periods) - last year I got a better price on our September Marina Vineyards & Castles cruise during a Memorial Day sale - the savings = $1500 pp.

Maybe for itineraries that sell slowly but not for popular ones. Possibly during a Black Friday or Memorial Day sale (big US holiday sale periods) - last year I got a better price on our September Marina Vineyards & Castles cruise during a Memorial Day sale - the savings = $1500 pp.

Thanks Orv, the Mice. I can hope.

Agreed. Our 2019 Med Cruise is up about $150 CAD for a B1. The other cruise we considered are up about the same amount even though they show more availability. Do the prices ever go down? My dream 2020 asian cruise is up too. Sigh.

In the past O have always had difficulty selling Asia. Last year and the year before then they started slashing prices for the upcoming year by around 40%+. For the 15 / 18 day trips. Ive noticed they are currently offering the Olife Ultimate on any category. Even the low categories are available for 2019. So perhaps they will slash again soon. Although I've noticed a lot of new sailings on the Ultimate offering. Perhaps this is the new tactic increasing fares then offering Ultimate as the competitive edge. Only my thoughts.

In the past O have always had difficulty selling Asia. Last year and the year before then they started slashing prices for the upcoming year by around 40%+. For the 15 / 18 day trips. Ive noticed they are currently offering the Olife Ultimate on any category. Even the low categories are available for 2019. So perhaps they will slash again soon. Although I've noticed a lot of new sailings on the Ultimate offering. Perhaps this is the new tactic increasing fares then offering Ultimate as the competitive edge. Only my thoughts.

Regional pricing

I do not see any Ultimate offers for Asia on the N.A. site

maybe it is just for Australia/NZ market ??

In the past O have always had difficulty selling Asia. Last year and the year before then they started slashing prices for the upcoming year by around 40%+. For the 15 / 18 day trips. Ive noticed they are currently offering the Olife Ultimate on any category. Even the low categories are available for 2019. So perhaps they will slash again soon. Although I've noticed a lot of new sailings on the Ultimate offering. Perhaps this is the new tactic increasing fares then offering Ultimate as the competitive edge. Only my thoughts.

I got the Ultimate Olife on a South American cruise a couple of years ago. The price went down $1000 and we got all the perks. That was about as much OBC as we've ever had. For those that don't know the Ultimate is Beverage Package, OBC & Excursions. I wish I was on a cruise where that happens again. We also got OBC in lieu of Grats as they were provided on that cruise and we were over Silver where you get the included grats.

Regional pricing

I do not see any Ultimate offers for Asia on the N.A. site

 

maybe it is just for Australia/NZ market ??

Yes perhaps its only regional. They usually only offer it on the same cruise types. Tahiti is almost always Ultimate. Although ATM they are offering it for South America and Asia 2019.

I do see where PE air on our cruise next fall went up from $149pp to $249pp

I do see where PE air on our cruise next fall went up from $149pp to $249pp

Same for our April cruise

$249 CAD to $325. CAD

So, FDR, if things are so rosy with 2019 bookings to justify price increases next week for 67% of the 2019 sailings, it looks like there was no reason to SLASH the loyalty program benefits that was done about 5 months ago.

 

 

 

Once upon a time, he posted on these boards!

Yes, Oceania Club Loyalty program Benefits are Being SLASHED! Grandfathering In should be applied! Effective Nov 2019 I believe.....Complain Loudly