craigporf1 Posted July 20, 2011 #1 Share Posted July 20, 2011 We've booked several Oceania cruises (with airfare included) months in advance. Now that we are retired we could book a cruise a few weeks prior to sailing. Has anyone gotten a great deal this way? or is the "2 for 1 with free air" pretty much as good as it gets? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtragitt Posted July 20, 2011 #2 Share Posted July 20, 2011 That is how I get my best deals. I almost never book far in advance. For The Route of the Vikings departing on July 1, I booked on May 26. I got a great deal and a good cabin. My booking did not include airfare. I used CO miles for my flights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted July 20, 2011 #3 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Don't quote me on this but I think the closer to sailing on some cruises the "included" airfare disappears as do the 2 for 1 cruise prices They may go to 40% or 25% off Lately there seems to be more incentive to book ...discounts & OBC so the ships fill up Then there is the added expense if you have to book air close to sailing it usually is more $$ If you are sailing from a US port & drive there it may work out for you I would just book when you see a cruise you want to do at a price that you can live with..go & enjoy We always book more than a year out so we get a cabin location that suits Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CintiPam Posted July 20, 2011 #4 Share Posted July 20, 2011 We booked our first cruise (Greek islands) in early June for an early September departure, only because we had no idea people booked them so early! We had a guaranty and got our cabin assignment a couple of weeks before sailing. Three years ago, they all were great deals! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruin Steve Posted July 20, 2011 #5 Share Posted July 20, 2011 We've booked several Oceania cruises (with airfare included) months in advance. Now that we are retired we could book a cruise a few weeks prior to sailing. Has anyone gotten a great deal this way? or is the "2 for 1 with free air" pretty much as good as it gets? thanks It's a complex question... All cruise line prices are influenced by the laws of supply and demand... Many larger ship lines tend to adjust their prices constantly as they monitor sales against projections... Oceania has only recently been adjusting just a little... For its first few years, Oceania was pretty successful at filling up its ships...Then, the last two or three years, a couple of factors have affected that--the increase in the number of cabins to sell with the addition of Marina...and the economy. So, a couple of years back, Oceania started to find itself not necessarily able to fill the ships--which is the reason a cruise line would give late discounts or make deals... Until this year, I don't think Oceania has made any real public last minute deals...I think there is a hesitance to do this...You don't want to upset your regular customers, most of whom book early...and you really don't want to encourage the public, as a whole, to wait until last minute to book... There are other ways to fill up cabins at the last minute without posting a public "fire sale"...You can discount the cabins to select groups--employees, travel industry, frequent customers or whoever--without making thiose fares public--so they are not "price cuts"... This year, Oceania has been advertising some late fare cuts ON SELECTED CRUISES that, I believe, are better than the initial fares... Of course, by waiting, you give up being able to select the category or cabin you might want...What is usually left are the least desired cabins... And, these discounts are generally not on the "high season" cruises... My cruise leaves in three weeks and a quick check tells me that there are 14 available cabins remaining on the ship...These are all B1 and B2 cabins...The Suites, Penthouses and Concierge cabins are long gone...I believe the prices were adjusted slightly once, but no major cuts...Remember, these are the last 14 cabins out of 625... I assume Oceania feels confident that they will get 14 stragglers at the current price--OR that they will just fill them with inside deals... They ARE still selling "guarantees" at the "inside" level. My assumption is that, if anyone signs on at the inside guarantee rate, some people in ocean view cabins will be contacted about "trading up" to an available balcony at a discounted differential and some in insides may be offered the vacated ocean views in order to open up an inside for the guarantees... I guess the general answer is still, if you are looking for a particular cruise, especially a popular itinerary in the "high" season, book it early... If you don't care which cruise you are on or which cabin, then, maybe, wait around and see if you are lucky enough to find a deal (probably easier on a big ship line--I get all sorts of mail from TAs and from certain cruise lines offering me last minute deals--usually on ships I don't care for)... But, remember, next year, the economy may be better and the cruises may fill up...and last minute deals may be scarcer... That said, I've booked each of my Oceania cruises...and most of my other cruises, WAY early...I like to pick my cabin and cement in my price...and plan... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted July 20, 2011 #6 Share Posted July 20, 2011 We just switched from an Alaska cruise leaving Vancouver on August 14th to a Rome-Istanbul cruise leaving October 21st. So ours is a relatively late booking (as opposed to our usual year in advance). I can't speak to fares because we were bribed to make the switch ... but certainly O's air was available to us. In the end we decided not to use it, but we could have. The difference may be that the final pay-up date on this cruise is July 23rd and we made the switch on July 11th, so the "free" air was still available. Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S&B Posted July 20, 2011 #7 Share Posted July 20, 2011 How often does Oceania have these sales that are going on right now? This sale ends at the end of August. Have they had other sales? The cruise we are looking at is in February 2012. I have had some of the same questions as the OP. Thanks for all your input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ORV Posted July 20, 2011 #8 Share Posted July 20, 2011 I believe the sales going on right now are what Steve referenced above in his post. I think you will find most of your answers there. If I'm not mistaken historically Oceania has not had to lower their prices prior to sailing to fill their ships. One word of caution, the latest flyer they sent out, which I received yesterday, has printing errors in it. I got excited thinking our May cruise went down, but it was only someone in proofreading that needs to lose their job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katz Posted July 20, 2011 #9 Share Posted July 20, 2011 If you book a cruise at one price and as time goes by O decreases the price of the cruise, can the already-booked passenger request for the lower price? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted July 20, 2011 #10 Share Posted July 20, 2011 If you book a cruise at one price and as time goes by O decreases the price of the cruise, can the already-booked passenger request for the lower price? I am sure you can if before final payment Other reductions may be for NEW bookings only You can always ask;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted July 20, 2011 #11 Share Posted July 20, 2011 How often does Oceania have these sales that are going on right now? This sale ends at the end of August. Have they had other sales? The cruise we are looking at is in February 2012.I have had some of the same questions as the OP. Thanks for all your input. Not very often at all, but then again, these are different times. All cruise lines are having "sales" now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigporf1 Posted July 20, 2011 Author #12 Share Posted July 20, 2011 great info....appreciate it....think I'll lock in now for Sep on the Riviera....just came back from Norway/British Isles/Iceland on Marina....great ship...great trip....thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunding Posted July 20, 2011 #13 Share Posted July 20, 2011 If you book a cruise at one price and as time goes by O decreases the price of the cruise, can the already-booked passenger request for the lower price? Yes. And even after final payment. My TA got refunds very quickly after Oceania discounted fares for about 15-18 cruises in the autumn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack1 Posted July 21, 2011 #14 Share Posted July 21, 2011 How often does Oceania have these sales that are going on right now? This sale ends at the end of August. Have they had other sales? The cruise we are looking at is in February 2012.I have had some of the same questions as the OP. Thanks for all your input. I know you were looking at the Feb 2012 sailing and hoping for a sale (as we all are). I suspect we aren't going to see that happen for this sailing as many cabin categories are sold out or guarantees only. This is a popular one for sure but JMHO as to any price reductions. I hope we see one but I don't think it will happen. We booked this sailing almost as soon as it came out and nothing has changed. The sailing after i think went down but not this one. We want this one as it has an opportunity for Angkor Wat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S&B Posted July 21, 2011 #15 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Hi Jack1, I thought this was a sale price that Oceania has now for this sailing. I really didn't think it would go any lower (we can always hope) I am just wondering if they will repeat this sale, but who knows. We still can't make up our minds but I am sure learning a lot by researching the ports. We are trying to find a cruise for the winter. Something besides going to the Bahamas, etc. This looked interesting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack1 Posted July 21, 2011 #16 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I don't believe this is a sale price but the regular one right from get go. It is pricy but I think it is worth it. Not sure what type of cabin you are looking for but there is limited selection (i believe) for the balcony cabins and also limited selection for OV. Penthouse and above are all wait listed. We did a similar itinerary 2 years ago but on Princess. Although the same size ship, very different experiences. I know we will be happier with Oceania and we look forward to new ports we haven't been to before. We went on Oceania's Marina this past march to Caribbean and loved it but we too are looking for something a bit different for our winter vacation. Only thing i don't like is the long flights to Asia. Lucked in this time and got FF in Business Class!! First time in Business, probably will get very spoiled but I know it will be a one time only. Have fun researching the ports. Faye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimiegirl Posted July 21, 2011 #17 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Bruin Steve, I was just wondering if you could tell me how you are able to check the available cabins left for a cruise? Thanks so much:) Also, could anyone tell me how to quote only a small portion instead of the whole thing.. I tried the mini quote button but I am doing something wrong:confused: It's a complex question... All cruise line prices are influenced by the laws of supply and demand... Many larger ship lines tend to adjust their prices constantly as they monitor sales against projections... Oceania has only recently been adjusting just a little... For its first few years, Oceania was pretty successful at filling up its ships...Then, the last two or three years, a couple of factors have affected that--the increase in the number of cabins to sell with the addition of Marina...and the economy. So, a couple of years back, Oceania started to find itself not necessarily able to fill the ships--which is the reason a cruise line would give late discounts or make deals... Until this year, I don't think Oceania has made any real public last minute deals...I think there is a hesitance to do this...You don't want to upset your regular customers, most of whom book early...and you really don't want to encourage the public, as a whole, to wait until last minute to book... There are other ways to fill up cabins at the last minute without posting a public "fire sale"...You can discount the cabins to select groups--employees, travel industry, frequent customers or whoever--without making thiose fares public--so they are not "price cuts"... This year, Oceania has been advertising some late fare cuts ON SELECTED CRUISES that, I believe, are better than the initial fares... Of course, by waiting, you give up being able to select the category or cabin you might want...What is usually left are the least desired cabins... And, these discounts are generally not on the "high season" cruises... My cruise leaves in three weeks and a quick check tells me that there are 14 available cabins remaining on the ship...These are all B1 and B2 cabins...The Suites, Penthouses and Concierge cabins are long gone...I believe the prices were adjusted slightly once, but no major cuts...Remember, these are the last 14 cabins out of 625... I assume Oceania feels confident that they will get 14 stragglers at the current price--OR that they will just fill them with inside deals... They ARE still selling "guarantees" at the "inside" level. My assumption is that, if anyone signs on at the inside guarantee rate, some people in ocean view cabins will be contacted about "trading up" to an available balcony at a discounted differential and some in insides may be offered the vacated ocean views in order to open up an inside for the guarantees... I guess the general answer is still, if you are looking for a particular cruise, especially a popular itinerary in the "high" season, book it early... If you don't care which cruise you are on or which cabin, then, maybe, wait around and see if you are lucky enough to find a deal (probably easier on a big ship line--I get all sorts of mail from TAs and from certain cruise lines offering me last minute deals--usually on ships I don't care for)... But, remember, next year, the economy may be better and the cruises may fill up...and last minute deals may be scarcer... That said, I've booked each of my Oceania cruises...and most of my other cruises, WAY early...I like to pick my cabin and cement in my price...and plan... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted July 21, 2011 #18 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Also, could anyone tell me how to quote only a small portion instead of the whole thing.. I tried the mini quote button but I am doing something wrong:confused: Click the quote button then just delete the portion of the message you do not want be sure to leave the at the end of the message then start your reply after that Just do a dummy booking to see the available cabins ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimiegirl Posted July 21, 2011 #19 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Thanks Lyn, I just tried it with this message, now I can stop driving everyone crazy by quoting huge paragraphs just for a sentence or two!:) Click the quote button then just delete the portion of the message you do not want ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondorner Posted July 21, 2011 #20 Share Posted July 21, 2011 There has never been any advantage on Oceania for booking late, unlike the mass market lines. If you book early, you will get your choice of stateroom, and you will always be protected in the price goes lower. However, you will never get an increase if the price goes higher, and it is historically correct that Oceania has often raised prices for newcomers as the cruise gets nearer. I would never take the risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njhh Posted July 21, 2011 #21 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I have just taken a leisurely stroll through the Oceania brochure with the current sale prices and my curiosity leads me to wonder whether Oceania regularly fills these (wonderful) sailings or whether many of the more exotic and long sailings are with half full ships. I commend them, whatever they do, for staying in business, although my partner and I regularly joke that the mail is not complete without our brochure from Oceania and we wonder if we could boost their earnings by informing them that we, at least, do not need a brochure EVERYday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katz Posted July 21, 2011 #22 Share Posted July 21, 2011 A day without an Oceania brochure in the mail is like a day without sunshine. I wonder what their thinking is------bombarding people with brochures. I would much rather have a few dollars knocked off the cruise price, than wondering how much they add for their printing and mailing budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njhh Posted July 22, 2011 #23 Share Posted July 22, 2011 A day without an Oceania brochure in the mail is like a day without sunshine. I wonder what their thinking is------bombarding people with brochures. I would much rather have a few dollars knocked off the cruise price, than wondering how much they add for their printing and mailing budget. Our sentiments exactly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubysue Posted July 22, 2011 #24 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Fascinating - we took our first OCL cruise (Regatta) in March 2010, we are booked on our second cruise this September & our third next September (both Marina) and we have never received a single brochure or an email, despite numerous requests, from them in that entire time. Guess we must be in a mail flyover state. Following up on Hunding's comment, we were able to get a $2750 credit on our upcoming September cruise for our cabin class (concierge Verandah) straight from Oceania with a quick phone call, after our final payment was processed. By the way, Hunding, are you a Ring Cycle fan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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