Oceania punishes loyalty

[Arusha]

That is very harsh ...a lot of people that cruise have never heard of cruise critic

 

astonishing I know

 

And yet he found CC to make a complaint...

[See_More]

Thank you so much Dave for reading and understanding this. You recognize that we love Oceania, we've already booked future cruises. Oceania are wrong regarding the administration of their free cruise policy.

[StanandJim]

Oceania are wrong regarding the administration of their free cruise policy.

 

 

Hondorner spelled it out beautifully earlier (see post 21), but, whatever your reasoning, you chose to ignore him, so I'll try again.

 

Cruises 1 through 19 must be Paid in order to earn

Cruise 20 which is a FREE (i.e. REWARD) Cruise, and does not count toward Loyalty Benefits.

Cruises 21 through 40 then become the next 19 Paid Cruises, which in turn earn

Cruise 41 Which is a Free (i.e. REWARD) Cruise, and does not count toward Loyalty Benefits

....and so on-

 

It really is a very simple, transparent formula, which is completely fair across the board. :p

Edited August 28, 2014 by StanandJim

[jakes47]

Lets put this thread to rest!!!

 

Whilst I hope the OP is genuine, I do get suspicious when anyone’s first post /thread on any web site is so negative - “Oceania punishes loyalty”.

 

This matter needs to be taken up with Oceania!!

 

Let move on!

Edited August 28, 2014 by jakes47

[hypercafe]

After reading this I just looked at the club rules and I noticed this is all based on CRUISE CREDITS and the credits are based on the length of the cruise, not how many you have taken.

 

"Platinum 20-39 credits, not cruises, Free Trip

 

"Diamond 40-59 credits, not cruises, Free Trip.

[debijaynes]

 

Hondorner spelled it out beautifully earlier (see post 21), but, whatever your reasoning, you chose to ignore him, so I'll try again.

 

Cruises 1 through 19 must be Paid in order to earn

Cruise 20 which is a FREE (i.e. REWARD) Cruise, and does not count toward Loyalty Benefits.

Cruises 21 through 40 then become the next 19 Paid Cruises, which in turn earn

Cruise 41 Which is a Free (i.e. REWARD) Cruise, and does not count toward Loyalty Benefits

....and so on-

 

It really is a very simple, transparent formula, which is completely fair across the board. :p

 

Count that out on your fingers please. You may find you get a cruise sooner than you think.

[ShopperfiendTO]

 

Hondorner spelled it out beautifully earlier (see post 21), but, whatever your reasoning, you chose to ignore him, so I'll try again.

 

Cruises 1 through 19 must be Paid in order to earn

Cruise 20 which is a FREE (i.e. REWARD) Cruise, and does not count toward Loyalty Benefits.

Cruises 21 through 40 then become the next 19 Paid Cruises, which in turn earn

Cruise 41 Which is a Free (i.e. REWARD) Cruise, and does not count toward Loyalty Benefits

....and so on-

 

It really is a very simple, transparent formula, which is completely fair across the board. :p

 

You're right that Hondorner laid it out well, but I don't think you understood it.:confused:

 

Hondorner (and Rallydave) see what OP is saying and OP is correct about needing 20 cruises instead of 19 to get the 2nd free cruise.

 

Everyone who thinks that the free cruise cycle is pay for 19, get 20th free is in for a surprise when getting ready for their 2nd free cruise, because this applies for only the first cycle. After that, it is pay for 20, get 21st free.

 

This is OP's point, and it is a valid one.

 

Although the policy is laid out in the literature, you have to think about it a bit to see it, which doesn't quite make it that transparent. Other past cruisers' views that they understand it to be "pay for 19, get 20th free" for all cycles also suggest that it is not that transparent.

 

Hondorner prefers to view that the "pay for 20, get 21st free" is the standard policy and that the first cycle's "pay for 19, get 20th free" is a bonus.

[ShopperfiendTO]

I just wanted to clarify that when I wrote that OP's point is a valid one, I meant that the way it works is what OP is asserting.

 

I do not necessarily agree that O is punishing loyalty - I would think that cruisers who have paid for 39 cruises will be treated better (tangible or otherwise) than cruisers going on their first free cruise, in addition to the benefits from the new tier they've entered.

[hondorner]

Hondorner prefers to view that the "pay for 20, get 21st free" is the standard policy and that the first cycle's "pay for 19, get 20th free" is a bonus.

I don't see any other logical way to view it. All tiers past the first one use the "pay for 20" policy; the first tier is the exception. Thus, Oceania should be praised for that incentive as a welcome to the program, rather than be accused of punishing.

 

That accusation is spurious because the policy is accurately described in their literature.

[MrOZ]

If the free cruise were the only benefit you cared about, the OP would have a fair point: after your (20th) free cruise, why not just get a new passenger number and start over (assuming that were allowed) so your 20th cruise (rather than your 21st) would be free? I would guess that there are other benefits to offset this, but it is something of an illogical system, likely the result of an accident in counting rather than intentional.

 

It's worth noting, in case anyone missed the "subtle" point about counting on fingers, that 21-40 consists of 20 cruises, not 19.

[bruinbob95]

Wow, one thing is for sure -- this is a first-world problem. If you don't know what I mean, search Youtube for "first-world problems weird al" and listen to the song!

[ShopperfiendTO]

I don't see any other logical way to view it. All tiers past the first one use the "pay for 20" policy; the first tier is the exception. Thus, Oceania should be praised for that incentive as a welcome to the program, rather than be accused of punishing.

 

That accusation is spurious because the policy is accurately described in their literature.

 

The accusation is sensationalistic but I do not believe it is spurious - OP isn't saying that O is lying (at least I don't get that impression), OP seems to be saying that O treats cruisers who have cruised less (relatively speaking, of course :rolleyes:) better than those who have cruised more.

 

It could be argued that someone who has paid for "only" 19 cruises is being treated better than someone who has paid for 39 cruises, but that doesn't factor in the other things that the 39er will likely receive.

[tanny18]

Why don't we put this to rest already? We sail on a cruise line that gives us perks for loyalty and perks for just sailing. When I tell people we are going to get a free cruise they just look at me bewildered. Our friends who sail exclusively on Princess (25x) get an upgrade I think and free laundry!!! I'll take the prepaid gratuities, the air deviation, the spa, and the OBC in lieu of free laundry and maybe an upgrade. When I get to 39 cruises I'll worry about the"40th!" As has been said previously, you can't count the free cruise in your next 20 the same way you can't count "free" miles to be included in your miles to be used. Can't happen. I think enough has been said about this topic and if the OP has such a problem, why not take it up directly with the management of Oceania? They will be the ones who decide what passengers get. And then he can report back to us with an answer. Arlene;)

[ShopperfiendTO]

Wow, one thing is for sure -- this is a first-world problem. If you don't know what I mean, search Youtube for "first-world problems weird al" and listen to the song!

 

When it comes down to it, this whole board's existence is all first-world problems... but it doesn't make the discussion any less meaningful.

 

OP is just pointing out how the loyalty program works that may not be what other cruisers understand it to be (as evidenced by previous posters).

[spindrift]

In summary, Oceania has the BEST loyalty rewards at sea, bar none!:D

[ShopperfiendTO]

Why don't we put this to rest already? We sail on a cruise line that gives us perks for loyalty and perks for just sailing. When I tell people we are going to get a free cruise they just look at me bewildered. Our friends who sail exclusively on Princess (25x) get an upgrade I think and free laundry!!! I'll take the prepaid gratuities, the air deviation, the spa, and the OBC in lieu of free laundry and maybe an upgrade. When I get to 39 cruises I'll worry about the"40th!" As has been said previously, you can't count the free cruise in your next 20 the same way you can't count "free" miles to be included in your miles to be used. Can't happen. I think enough has been said about this topic and if the OP has such a problem, why not take it up directly with the management of Oceania? They will be the ones who decide what passengers get. And then he can report back to us with an answer. Arlene;)

 

OP isn't complaining about not counting the free cruise.

 

OP is complaining that it takes 20 paid cruises to get the second free cruise when it took "only" 19 paid cruises to get the first one.

 

I agree that this thread should be put to rest but I do appreciate OP for making this rule (more) known to cruisers who may have understood otherwise.

Edited August 28, 2014 by ShopperfiendTO

[BillPizzaiolo]

This is very entertaining and trite. 41 posts over nothing.

[Winner]

No, Oceania does not have the best loyalty program. Seabourn rewards you with a free 7-day cruise after you have sailed 140 days which can be attained with only 10 14-day cruises or even sooner if you sail longer cruises. (Seabourn also rewards those that sail 250 days a free 14-day cruise.)

Edited August 28, 2014 by Winner

[LHT28]

People ... no where in the Club Benefits does it say after 19 cruises credits you get the 20th cruise free

The OP assumed (wrongly) that every 19 cruises credits you get a FREE cruise

It is there in black & white what the number of credits are need to obtain a FREE cruise

OP also assumed wrongly that the free cruise added to the amount of credits for the next benefit level

 

There is no subterfuge going on it is the way some interpret the rules

 

I agree

Let's move on

[ShopperfiendTO]

This is very entertaining and trite. 41 posts over nothing.

 

It's not trite to the (admittedly likely very few) cruisers who will have paid for 38 cruises on O who will be surprised to know that their next one is not the free as they may have thought.

 

People ... no where in the Club Benefits does it say after 19 cruises credits you get the 20th cruise free

The OP assumed (wrongly) that every 19 cruises credits you get a FREE cruise

It is there in black & white what the number of credits are need to obtain a FREE cruise

OP also assumed wrongly that the free cruise added to the amount of credits for the next benefit level

 

There is no subterfuge going on it is the way some interpret the rules

 

I agree

Let's move on

 

Did you read OP's post #4?:

 

I have correspondence that says take 19 cruises and get the 20th free. Pay for 19 more and get the next cruise free. 19 + 19 is still 38. Further, I have correspondence that says after your free cruise oceania continue the count from 21 which would again be consistent with their policy. They simply do not practice what they preach.

 

So it's not OP's interpretation; it's OP's acceptance of an interpretation that was provided by O. It does not appear that O knows the black and white either based on the communications O gave OP.

 

I will never get to 38 cruises (maybe if I win the lottery :D) so this doesn't affect me at all, but it doesn't mean that the OP's observation should be dismissed.

[ShopperfiendTO]

No, Oceania does not have the best loyalty program. Seabourn rewards you with a free 7-day cruise after you have sailed 140 days which can be attained with only 10 14-day cruises or even sooner if you sail longer cruises. (Seabourn also rewards those that sail 250 days a free 14-day cruise.)

 

I may be wrong, but O's free cruise is for the average cruise length of your previous 19 (or 20:D) cruises, so the free 7-day cruise is about the same as O's (if you took 19 7-day cruises, you would have sailed "only" 133 days to get the free 7-day cruise on O).

 

The free 14-day cruise after 250 days on Seabourn is definitely better than O's plan, and in this circumstance, Seabourn's does reward loyalty (because you need "only" another 110 days instead of another 140 days and you get a 14-day cruise instead of another 7-day cruise).

Edited August 28, 2014 by ShopperfiendTO

[pacheco18]

This is very entertaining and trite. 41 posts over nothing.

 

 

I'm with you

The horse is dead

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[spindrift]

Winner, When I say the BEST at sea, I'm not just looking at a "free" cruise but looking at everything they have to offer on a regular basis, which means a lot more than a "free" cruise, and also the way you are recognized by the dedicated and loyal staff upon your return. It's the TOTAL picture.

 

Amen, and closing so I can leave for my next wonderful Oceania cruise. :D

[LHT28]

It's not trite to the (admittedly likely very few) cruisers who will have paid for 38 cruises on O who will be surprised to know that their next one is not the free as they may have thought.

 

 

 

Did you read OP's post #4?:

 

 

 

So it's not OP's interpretation; it's OP's acceptance of an interpretation that was provided by O. It does not appear that O knows the black and white either based on the communications O gave OP.

 

I will never get to 38 cruises (maybe if I win the lottery :D) so this doesn't affect me at all, but it doesn't mean that the OP's observation should be dismissed.

Th OP has not posted the correspondence to say they only need 19 paid cruises so I can ony go by the rules posted under the club benefit program

 

I doubt I will ever get a free cruise so no dog in this fight

 

YMMV

Edited August 28, 2014 by LHT28

[LHT28]

I may be wrong, but O's free cruise is for the average cruise length of your previous 19 (or 20:D) cruises, so the free 7-day cruise is about the same as O's (if you took 19 7-day cruises, you would have sailed "only" 133 days to get the free 7-day cruise on O).

 

.

 

Yes you are incorrect

 

The awarded FREE CRUISE is based on double occupancy, subject to availability at the time of booking, cannot exceed 14 days in length and includes round-trip coach air only. The FREE CRUISE must be approved and will be placed as a guarantee until stateroom category has been assigned, upon authorization from the Oceania Club. For cruises over 14 days in length, the cruise cost will be prorated for the additional days. Stateroom category will reflect the accommodations most closely matching the typical category selected by the guests on prior voyages. The shipboard credit amenity is not applicable with the Platinum or Diamond FREE CRUISE. Air Credit will not be given if guests elect to purchase their own air. Reservations for the FREE CRUISE may only be made 180 days or more prior to sail date. Other restrictions may apply.

Edited August 28, 2014 by LHT28