Marmaduke Posted November 6, 2012 #1 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I am considering an Oceania Med cruise for next summer and it would appear that the prices for most of the cruises in the UK brochure include flights from London. Which airlines do Oceania use, and are the flights always from Heathrow or do they use Gatwick as well ? I would prefer Gatwick Airport and I know that the destinations I am considering are served by British Airways from Gatwick. I believe that I can pay a fee to choose my flights (not sure how much ?) but would hate to find that I have paid extra for something that would have been provided anyway. What experiences have other UK passengers had when using Oceania's included flights ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whiteowl Posted November 8, 2012 #2 Share Posted November 8, 2012 On our recent and first Oceania cruise we accepted the flights given - Heathrow to Istanbul. They used BA. However we did not know that we had also accepted Oceania transfers. When I asked the price I was amazed to find out the cost was £200 each for coach transfers at Istanbul and Athens. For 4 people this amounted to £800 compared to taxi fare at each port of about £25. We will not fall for that again. We have only been back 3 weeks from our cruise and enjoyed it so much we have just booked a cruise out of Miami in March next year. However, Oceania advised the flights would be indirect and could not confirm the route or flight times. I therefore decided to book cruise only and saved £550 per person. I have now booked flights to Orlando and am spending 4 nights there. Including the cost of car hire and a villa for 4 people for 4 nights, it still works out cheaper than using Oceania's overnight hotel and transfers. We therefore get 2 holidays for the price of 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hambagahle Posted November 9, 2012 #3 Share Posted November 9, 2012 How will you get from Orlando to Miami? 5+ hours drive... In march we used Aer Lingus to get from Geneva to Orlando because they had excellent one way fares...and we were coming back on the Regent Mariner. Aer Lingus business class service, food etc was better than BA but they don't have flat beds... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whiteowl Posted November 10, 2012 #4 Share Posted November 10, 2012 How will you get from Orlando to Miami? 5+ hours drive... We have a hire car in Orlando and will drop it at Miami airport before transferring to the ship. At the end of the cruise, bearing in mind how early you have to be off the ship, we will do the reverse and drive back up to Orlando, spend a few hours at Disney City Walk or the shopping mall before boarding the overnight flight back to London. This is much more enjoyable than spending 10 hours at Miami airport. I have done both previously and this is a much more enjoyable way to finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmaduke Posted November 13, 2012 Author #5 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Thank you Whiteowl for your reply, unfortunately Oceania doesn't seem to have many UK people passengers using this site. You gave good advice regarding transfers. In the past we have always gone for the cruise lines transfer package for the sake of convenience even though the prices are a bit on the high side but Oceania's are twice the cost of any other cruise line we have used. As a matter of interest, how far in advance did you book your cruise and were you told at the time of booking the flights details and their timings ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turnip eater Posted November 13, 2012 #6 Share Posted November 13, 2012 We've just returned from a Med cruise. Our (included flights) were Gatwick to Venice returning from Rome. On our next cruise we were offered Gatwick or Heathrow flights. Hope that helps:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted November 13, 2012 #7 Share Posted November 13, 2012 unfortunately Oceania doesn't seem to have many UK people passengers using this site. Nothing unfortunate about it, the United Kingdom has it's own Cruise Critic Site: http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted November 13, 2012 #8 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Nothing unfortunate about it, the United Kingdom has it's own Cruise Critic Site:http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/ But the forums all end up at the same place ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turnip eater Posted November 13, 2012 #9 Share Posted November 13, 2012 But the forums all end up at the same place ;) Agree:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted November 13, 2012 #10 Share Posted November 13, 2012 I am considering an Oceania Med cruise for next summer and it would appear that the prices for most of the cruises in the UK brochure include flights from London. Which airlines do Oceania use, and are the flights always from Heathrow or do they use Gatwick as well ? I would prefer Gatwick Airport and I know that the destinations I am considering are served by British Airways from Gatwick. I believe that I can pay a fee to choose my flights (not sure how much ?) but would hate to find that I have paid extra for something that would have been provided anyway. What experiences have other UK passengers had when using Oceania's included flights ? You may or may not get the same airlines & routes as others ..it all depends on the contracts that Oceania gets with the airlines If it works the same as the North American agents you may have to do a deviation ..fly in earlier or stay longer You pay the deviation fee to choose what flights you want or see what O offers for your dates Otherwise you wait until a month or so to find out your flight details We usually do the deviation because we fly in early & like to know what flights we will be on There are several discussions here on the Deviations or speak with your TA Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted November 13, 2012 #11 Share Posted November 13, 2012 But the forums all end up at the same place ;) They have their own Blog these days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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