allyg Posted August 18, 2011 #1 Share Posted August 18, 2011 We have always made our own air arrangements but we are planning to use Oceania's included air for the TA on Riviera November, 2012. What should we expect for flight to Barcelona from Washington Dulles and from Miami back to Dulles? Is this a wise decision? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted August 18, 2011 #2 Share Posted August 18, 2011 It's neither wise nor unwise. It depends on the kind of credit they are giving you and what you can find on your own. I will say that when we did a Miami-Barcelona TA on Oceania a couple of years ago we used cruise air because we just couldn't find a reasonable open jaw fare where one flight was JFK-Miami and the other was Barcelona-JFK. There is also the question of whether you want extra time in either port. I'm guessing you don't, but if you do you would have to pay a deviation fee. The few times we have used cruise air, it has been fine. I remember in the Renaissance days, the connections for people (especially those not in a gateway city) were horrific ... and even for us, living in NYC, they didn't want to provide non-stop flights. Oceania has been far better in that regard than Renaissance ever was. Of course, Oceania is better in general than Renaissance was ... also a lot more expensive! You gets what you pay for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted August 18, 2011 #3 Share Posted August 18, 2011 We have always made our own air arrangements but we are planning to use Oceania's included air for the TA on Riviera November, 2012. What should we expect for flight to Barcelona from Washington Dulles and from Miami back to Dulles? Is this a wise decision? They use regular airlines ;) Fly in a few days early & stay longer (if you can) do a deviation ($100 pp) then you can pick the flights that suit you ;) Talk to your TA (if you used one) to get the information on doing a deviation with Oceania Or as suggested see what the air credit is then decide if you can do your own air Compare both options Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nyfeds Posted August 18, 2011 #4 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Hi Allyg, my husband and I are booked on this cruise, as well. For now, we've opted to book our own air. We received $550PP credit. If we decide to use Oceania's air, with deviation, am I correct to assume that we pick our own airlines and flights? Are we able to use our miles to upgrade? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted August 18, 2011 #5 Share Posted August 18, 2011 If we decide to use Oceania's air, with deviation, am I correct to assume that we pick our own airlines and flights? Yes you can choose your flights or see what flights Oceania is offering for your route then decide There may or may not be an upcharge if the flights you choose are more than Oceania is contracted for. If you want good flights book early you can start at 270 days out if their contracts are in place Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orchestrapal Posted August 18, 2011 #6 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Hi Allyg, my husband and I are booked on this cruise, as well. For now, we've opted to book our own air. We received $550PP credit. If we decide to use Oceania's air, with deviation, am I correct to assume that we pick our own airlines and flights? Are we able to use our miles to upgrade? Thank you. I don't think you can use miles on any Oceania booked flights. We always take the credit offered and book our own Business Class with miles.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted August 18, 2011 #7 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I don't think you can use miles on any Oceania booked flights.We always take the credit offered and book our own Business Class with miles.:) While you cannot use miles to purchase airline tickets using Oceania arrangements, they will, if you use the deviation feature, purchase airline tickets on your behalf which may be upgraded using miles. Because it is easier not to have a third party involved, we would normally just take the credit and buy our own upgrade-able tickets, but sometimes World circumstances make it more advantageous to leave the air arrangements in Oceania's hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nyfeds Posted August 18, 2011 #8 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Thanks for the above replies. We will need to weigh options. I'm a control freak, and booking just about anything travel-related, on my own, is usually the direction I take. Redeeming FF miles has become a full time job and can be frustrating and challenging. Sometimes it materializes, other times, not so much. Now, with one way travel awards, we can book Business class on the outbound, economy on the return for Barcelona-Miami. Flying from the West Coast to Europe is worthy of Business Class tix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orchestrapal Posted August 18, 2011 #9 Share Posted August 18, 2011 While you cannot use miles to purchase airline tickets using Oceania arrangements, they will, if you use the deviation feature, purchase airline tickets on your behalf which may be upgraded using miles. Interesting...so far it has never worked for us.:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted August 18, 2011 #10 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Thanks for the above replies. We will need to weigh options. I'm a control freak, and booking just about anything travel-related, on my own, is usually the direction I take. Me too!! We usually take the credit but last cruise we just took O air with a deviation We asked what flights they were offering & it was the ones I would have picked so worked out We do not have FF miles to worry about:( Just compare the options & do what works best for you Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nyfeds Posted August 18, 2011 #11 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Agree, Lyn. We have FF miles, but tend to use them "frugally." If you can find great air deals, then go with that. If not, work on getting FF award redemption. We have Mileage Plus/Star Alliance as well as AA miles, so there are several options for us. I do like the one way award options now available. Over water, coming from the West Coast, is pretty much a must for us to fly Business Class, due to longer flight time. Returning from Miami to SOCAL is easy enough in Economy. We will see what works best. BTW, I have found the sage advice and comments on this board extremely helpful and refreshing, compared to some other boards, who shall remain nameless :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie's Mom Posted August 18, 2011 #12 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Please tell me if I am missing something here. Our next Oceania cruise is Rome to Rio in 2012. For $600 pp, O will fly us from Dallas to Rome, then from Rio to Dallas. ($700 pp for the air deviation we will request.) There is no way we could get such a good rate ourselves. We have never used a cruise line's air offer before, but this just seems like a very good deal. BTW, we have always used American Airline FF miles for transatlantics before because they will let you use your miles for a one-way ticket. Nice. Does any other airline do this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted August 19, 2011 #13 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Please tell me if I am missing something here. Our next Oceania cruise is Rome to Rio in 2012. For $600 pp' date=' O will fly us from Dallas to Rome, then from Rio to Dallas. ($700 pp for the air deviation we will request.) There is no way we could get such a good rate ourselves. We have never used a cruise line's air offer before, but this just seems like a very good deal. BTW, we have always used American Airline FF miles for transatlantics before because they will let you use your miles for a one-way ticket. Nice. Does any other airline do this?[/quote'] Yes, you are 100% correct about the Oceania Air program. We're getting a similar bargain on our Athens to Istanbul Cruise, next April. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlhamlten Posted August 19, 2011 #14 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Is it possible to wait for the flights that Oceania proposes and then decide to pay the deviation fee in order to get ones that are more acceptable to you ? Can you invoke the deviation option any time before getting flights assigned by Oceania, or do you have to specify it at booking ? Anybody heard if the Fly-in-one-day early policy in 2012 - if arranged by Oceania - applies to Asian cruises ? Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PaulMCO Posted August 19, 2011 #15 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Is it possible to wait for the flights that Oceania proposes and then decide to pay the deviation fee in order to get ones that are more acceptable to you ? Can you invoke the deviation option any time before getting flights assigned by Oceania, or do you have to specify it at booking ? Anybody heard if the Fly-in-one-day early policy in 2012 - if arranged by Oceania - applies to Asian cruises ? Thanks in advance Oceania tells you too late what flights they will give you. It is best that you invoke the air deviation 270 days before you cruise (that is the earliest). This way you can pick your flights with the best connections and without any additional up charges other than the $100 pp deviation fee. Oceania tickets your flights 30 days before your cruise. That make FF upgrades almost zero chance for clearing as you cannot request an upgrade until you are ticketed. BTW' date=' we have always used American Airline FF miles for transatlantics before because they will let you use your miles for a one-way ticket. Nice. Does any other airline do this?[/quote'] Yes United allows for one way FF tickets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtamchay Posted August 19, 2011 #16 Share Posted August 19, 2011 As with anything the unexpected can happen. We have recently returned from the July 25, Scandinavian Splendours cruise. Many people we spoke to who had used cruise air were late arriving in port, had several glitches in delayed flights and missed flights and rerouted flights coming through Newark. The ship was in port for two days so no one missed the ship. However, it made for some tired and crabby folks. We had arranged for our own air, paid considerably more than the cruise air rebate but were totally happy about our arrangements. We went in 3 days early and I would suggest always arriving at least one day early.I would consider cruise air in another circumstance with deviation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted August 19, 2011 #17 Share Posted August 19, 2011 Is it possible to wait for the flights that Oceania proposes and then decide to pay the deviation fee in order to get ones that are more acceptable to you ?Agree with Paul book early so you get the best routing Anybody heard if the Fly-in-one-day early policy in 2012 - if arranged by Oceania - applies to Asian cruises ? Thanks in advance It should tell you on the cruise in question if not ask your TA I do not think it includes Asia at this point in time Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allyg Posted August 19, 2011 Author #18 Share Posted August 19, 2011 If I pay the deviation fee at 270 days out, am I ticketed any sooner in order to use my mileage for an upgrade? By paying the fee, can I choose a different airport than their gateway cities? Can I request which flights I want? If so ,will they go on and make those reservations for me at 270 days? Thanks so much for all your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted August 19, 2011 #19 Share Posted August 19, 2011 If I pay the deviation fee at 270 days out, am I ticketed any sooner in order to use my mileage for an upgrade? By paying the fee, can I choose a different airport than their gateway cities? Can I request which flights I want? If so ,will they go on and make those reservations for me at 270 days? Thanks so much for all your help! When you chose the Air Deviation program, you will be asked what your preferences for travel are. If you are requesting to be on a specific flight, naturally, Oceania has to make the booking at that time to guarantee you a seat on that airplane.. At this same time, The Air Dept. at Oceania works up a cost for what they are prepared to pay for your travel. Typically this involves the least expensive options that are guaranteed to get you there and back on time and should not be confused with the amount of the "air allowance" which you are refunded if Oceania does not book your air. You may opt to fly from any airport. However, if the cost of your desired flights is significantly more than that base rate, that I just described, you may be asked to pay the difference in cost to get that routing. Oceania does not typically use airline tickets that qualify for upgrades with miles, but you may specify that you want up-gradable tickets. Of course, that will also effect the cost of your desired route. Oceania will reserve the route that you have requested, and then notify you of the pricing options, before you commit to those arrangements. You may either accept the route, or ask that it be amended in some way. This process continues, until you are satisfied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted August 19, 2011 #20 Share Posted August 19, 2011 If I pay the deviation fee at 270 days out, am I ticketed any sooner in order to use my mileage for an upgrade? Not ticketed any sooner but you do have the flight info as soon as you accept the flights offered ..There is a time limit I think 48 hr once you are presented with the flights By paying the fee, can I choose a different airport than their gateway cities? Sure but you will pay an upcharge for that Can I request which flights I want? as I said before YES there may or may not be an upcharge If so ,will they go on and make those reservations for me at 270 days? Thanks so much for all your help! Yes if their contracts are available with the airline requested The best thing to do is talk with your TA it can be a bit complex if you are not sure how it works;) Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banti Posted August 20, 2011 #21 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I would definitely recommend using the "free air" option, as then Oceania is responsible for getting you to the ship on time. We were booked on the Insignia out of Valparaiso, Chile, less than a week after the earthquake. The airport in Santiago was closed until the day before the cruise was to leave, and when it opened it was at a greatly reduced capacity. Our TA and Oceania were exceptional in rearranging our flights as one after another flight was cancelled. In fact, our flights changed 6 times in 2 days, but Oceania was diligent in getting us, and many others, to Chile in time for departure. In the end, the ship waited for our plane from Toronto (about 60 Oceania guests were on board), and had buses waiting for us at the temporary airport to whisk us to the ship. The ship sailed about 6 hours late, but we were all on board. Several passengers who had arranged their own air couldn't get to Chile, and had to join the ship a couple of days later in Lima. I have nothing but praise for the way Oceania handled the unexpected situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropicalkerry2002 Posted August 20, 2011 #22 Share Posted August 20, 2011 if you are flying on a deviation, is O still as responsible, or only if you're taking the flights that get you there the day the cruise sails and home the day the cruise ends? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKS Posted August 20, 2011 #23 Share Posted August 20, 2011 If you're using the air deviation, you don't pay O until you accept the arrangements. And once you've paid the air deviation, plus any other up-charges that may apply to your flight arrangements, those fees are not refundable, even if you cancel the cruise. After your flight deviation is set in place, it is up to you to get, and monitor, your seat assignments. I recommend you check them periodically since airlines do change airplanes assigned to a specific route from time to time. On our last cruise Delta changed the assigned airplane four times between 270 days and our flight date; each time we were assigned seats we did not want, so I had to keep getting the seats changed to ones we did want. My point here is this - even if you work with O to arrange your air flights, you still have to be proactive and persistent to get exactly what you want from the airlines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudenHoggart Posted August 21, 2011 #24 Share Posted August 21, 2011 As someone new to Oceania, one thing I've noticed about their "free air" is that the credit they give you for not using their air arrangements varies very little by air trip length. They all seem to be in the $500+ range. We're cruising out of Miami (and back to Miami) in January. For us, not using Oceania was a no-brainer, and I think this would be true for any domestic destination. The credit was $500. In addition, we'd have to pay a supplement because St. Louis isn't one of their "gateways, so the actual cost for Oceania air would be more like $600-650 pp. By contrast, I can book a nonstop roundtrip from St. Louis to Miami on American for $309 pp. round trip. (Or I can use my FF miles.) Oceania's arrangements would look a lot more attractive, I think, if we returning from Tahiti instead of Miami. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted August 21, 2011 #25 Share Posted August 21, 2011 As someone new to Oceania, one thing I've noticed about their "free air" is that the credit they give you for not using their air arrangements varies very little by air trip length. They all seem to be in the $500+ range. We're cruising out of Miami (and back to Miami) in January. For us, not using Oceania was a no-brainer, and I think this would be true for any domestic destination. The credit was $500. In addition, we'd have to pay a supplement because St. Louis isn't one of their "gateways, so the actual cost for Oceania air would be more like $600-650 pp. It depends on the cruise & embarkation/destination what the credit will be All different Was it $500 PP or total? :confused: For us to the USA ports it is $250. pp for the credit ...no way we can beat this from Canada If we leave from Miami for R/T we drive. We did the Panama SFO to MIA so took the O air plus deviation I could not get that fare for under $600 pp myself You have to compare & do what works best for you Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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