Oceania Prices Soar

[shedevil]

I believe that your entire premise is faulty, because the Alaska pricing which you are using as your basis was in no way representative.

 

It is also untrue that the verandas of the aft A2 cabins on the R ships offer a 180 degree view, unless one is hanging over the railing

 

I believe I stated that the numbers were not representative of a specific cruise. :)

I have booked both owner suites and Penthouse suites. I have had friends in the A2 at the back of the ship on Deck 8 and Deck 7. These A2 verandas are narrower than a Penthouse veranda but much deeper. Having coffee or a cocktail with friends on the veranda can a little more comfortable due to the depth of the veranda. I have physically stood at the rail of the A2 cabins and taken photos. If you stand at the rail you can see a very wide view and it does not require hanging off the ship. ;) You get see a much wider view of what you are passing from the back of the ship versus what you see from a veranda on one side of the ship. If you are in your cabin, no you do not get the wide view due to the partitions between the cabin verandas.

[hypercafe]

I have seen the price go up also but that's just how things are to-day. As a business Oceania has the obligation to get all they can for their service, after all this is far from a monopoly, there is lots of competition so if the ships are full the average person must feel the product is priced at a fair point.

[G&G]

We recently completed the TA on the Riviera; Miami to Barcelona. Though the ship was not full, 1153 out of 1250 passengers max., Oceania did not lower the cruise fare prior to selling. Maybe it was that the airfare is not available through Oceania 30 days prior to sailing. Any other reasons fares did not go down ? Other cruise lines drop their pricing at the last minute. We got a deal one week prior to sailing on Princess in Caribbean; $499/person for 10 day sailing.

[hypercafe]

Princess and Oceania are apples to oranges. I thank Oceania for holding to a high standard. Just look at flying, it once was fun, now it is a nightmare and why I do not go to Europe. People demanded low prices, sometimes when you get what you want it is not so good. If you look at the HAL and Celiberty boards all you reed is how the product is gone down hill but you can go for a week for 499$. Since these are all one class ships even if you get the best room once you exit and close your door you are in a 499$ ship.

[G&G]

Princess and Oceania are apples to oranges. I thank Oceania for holding to a high standard. Just look at flying, it once was fun, now it is a nightmare and why I do not go to Europe. People demanded low prices, sometimes when you get what you want it is not so good. If you look at the HAL and Celiberty boards all you reed is how the product is gone down hill but you can go for a week for 499$. Since these are all one class ships even if you get the best room once you exit and close your door you are in a 499$ ship.

 

I was not trying to compare Princess and Oceania. I was trying to understand why Oceania would not offer lower prices for cabin on our recent cruise on the Riviera with approximately 50 empty cabins on our sailing to fill the ship.

 

This was our first Oceania cruise and best ever out of 48 cruises. Most of our cruises are with HAL, a few with Princess. You are correct that the HAL boards repeatly discuss how the product had gone down hill. I posted a comment on a HAL thread named "I'm Jumping to Oceania", that Oceania was like HAL 35 years ago (as far as service). The saddest thing about our cruise on the Riviera was that it took 10 years to discover Oceania :rolleyes:.

[wripro]

shedevil,

 

Are you really serious about even mentioning a rack rate when discussing cruise fares? Rack rates are the most ridiculous barometer for that since they are not meant to be paid. They are a marketing gimmick perpetrated by all cruise lines to make naive cruisers think they are getting a bargain when they pay 241 fares. So please let's leave them out of the equation.

[YoHoHo]

It is too bad O will not leave that gimmick (and the 'free' air) out of their otherwise excellent marketing.

 

Saw a post on Crystal(?) the other day where a discount promoted price was discussed. O was cited as an example of such promotions comparing the 'brochure' price with the new lower (after a promo) actual price. It of course appeared to be less than half. These were not neophyte cruisers but were indeed not familiar with O and the 2 for 1 gimmick

[shedevil]

shedevil,

 

Are you really serious about even mentioning a rack rate when discussing cruise fares? Rack rates are the most ridiculous barometer for that since they are not meant to be paid. They are a marketing gimmick perpetrated by all cruise lines to make naive cruisers think they are getting a bargain when they pay 241 fares. So please let's leave them out of the equation.

 

I agree, those of us that know Oceania know it is a gimmick. :( And the airfare is a joke unless you are just flying in the day of the cruise and you live close to one of the airline hubs.

 

I understand that you feel the rates have not risen dramatically and are driven by the economy.

 

I feel that they have risen fairly aggressively and are being driving by Oceania's internal growth and the new ship builds.

 

The great thing is we can still both love Oceania and her lovely ships. :)

[critics0001]

Although the topic is the higher cruise rates, Oceania is also raising their other charges well above any cost growth. Having taken 2 cruises in a 6 month period, the wine list prices jumped 15-20% for the same bottles of wine. Paying the corkage has gotten even better. Their already high excursion prices have also gone up especially in ports where you are on a tight schedule.

That being said I have just booked another cruise with them.

[Oceans&Rivers]

Shedevil,

 

We had the same love for Renaissance. It was heartbreaking to see all the ships lined up in Gibraltar right after the bankruptcy ... (I didn't see it myself but a fellow Ren lover was in Gibraltar at the time and sent me her photo.)

 

Mura

 

Hi Mura, I think I may have found the photo(s) you referenced, or certainly of the same event:

 

"The Renaissance fleet was tied up in Gibraltar after going bankrupt after 9/11"

 

Photos:

 

 

[Mura]

Thanks so much!

 

Actually, those aren't the photos I remember in my mind's eye but they are close! And my mind's eye could be totally off the mark!

 

I won't say it's "good" to see these again ... that was such a sad time.

 

I did some google searches myself but didn't find these ...

 

Mura

[Oceans&Rivers]

Thanks so much!

 

Actually, those aren't the photos I remember in my mind's eye but they are close! And my mind's eye could be totally off the mark!

 

I won't say it's "good" to see these again ... that was such a sad time.

 

I did some google searches myself but didn't find these ...

 

Mura

 

You're welcome for the pictures, Mura. I can imagine it must have been a beautiful, yet terribly sad, sight to see all those wonderful ships lined up together. We didn't cruise on Renaissance, but we certainly enjoyed Regatta to Alaska two years ago.