Oceania offers

[Freightgoddess]

What has been your experience? Does anyone know Oceania's strategy? Do they deliberately oversell?

 

We have been on one Oceania cruise, and were offered an upgrade to concierge class and offers to extend our cruise. Those I understand. We enjoyed that cruise so much, that we booked a cruise for this upcoming spring. A few months ago we received enticing offers, including a suite upgrade and cash back, to swap for a December cruise. We took it. Now, 2 weeks before the new cruise, we are being given enticing offers and MORE cash back for a later cruise. Is this their general policy? Does anyone understand this? Has anyone taken advantage of this?

[LHT28]

They are usually trying to fill the earlier cruises

 

Is your cruise sold out ?

 

I have received several move over offers to earlier cruise & my current May cruise is not fully booked

Edited November 16, 2014 by LHT28

[Freightgoddess]

Again, I understand that, but now they're moving us to a later cruise. But they do have our full payment. But the cash back is larger (I think) than the value of the early payment.

[Travelcat2]

We have taken advantage of offers like you have described. They are great offers if you are able to change the date of your cruise and like the new itinerary.

Edited November 16, 2014 by Travelcat2

[LHT28]

Again, I understand that, but now they're moving us to a later cruise. But they do have our full payment. But the cash back is larger (I think) than the value of the early payment.

 

I see your cruise is waitlisted

they are trying to get those people on the w/l a cabin on that sailing

if you do not want to change just say NO THANKS

 

Some people will be flexible & take the offer

If you like the new dates take the offer if not stay put

 

Lyn

[Wendy The Wanderer]

... but now they're moving us to a later cruise. ...

 

Just to be clear, they can't move you unless you agree. So if you want to stick with the cruise you booked, just say "no".

[Jancruz]

To answer ypur question..this is their general policy either to fill cruises that did not fill up or cruises that are way oversold..it does NOT happen on every cruise..

Jancruz1

[wripro]

The important thing to remember is that you do not have to accept any of these offers.

[joan24]

Our sixth cruise with Oceania is in two weeks. We have never been offered an upgrade or upsell. We started cruising with O during their first year as a cruise line.

Joan

[ORV]

Our sixth cruise with Oceania is in two weeks. We have never been offered an upgrade or upsell. We started cruising with O during their first year as a cruise line.

Joan

 

Do you book direct or with a TA?

[joan24]

Do you book direct or with a TA?

 

We booked with a TA. Maybe O just doesn't like me.

[LHT28]

We booked with a TA. Maybe O just doesn't like me.

 

It may depend on the Cat you book

If you book PH or Suites there is limited cabins to move up

 

Tell your TA you are open to upsell offers

 

lyn

[orchestrapal]

Our sixth cruise with Oceania is in two weeks. We have never been offered an upgrade or upsell. We started cruising with O during their first year as a cruise line.

Joan

 

Likewise with O from the beginning but always booking an Owners Suite there is nowhere to be up-sold to and we have never been offered a move down or to another cruise.

[pinotlover]

One has to look at the offers from O. I typically, not always, end up booking my own flights. Therefore, I am limited on accepting even some very sweet offers that O has made me in the past. We were just offered a very nice b2b with our next cruise. We passed because the return would be a 12 hour flight buried in economy to LAX, then another 2 legs economy to get home. Everything else was already booked. It was a tempting offer, but not on our bucket list, and the pain was expected to be more than the pain.

[joan24]

It may depend on the Cat you book

If you book PH or Suites there is limited cabins to move up

 

Tell your TA you are open to upsell offers

 

lyn

 

We always book a PH1 so that could be it. I have told my TA that we're open to upsets but none have been offered.

Joan

[joan24]

We always book a PH1 so that could be it. I have told my TA that we're open to upsets but none have been offered.

Joan

 

Sorry about the typo. : ) I meant upsells not upsets.

[chrismch]

This is our first Oceania cruise, but we cruise usually once or twice a year. We've always told our TA that we are open to upsells or upgrades subject to our approval - and we do NOT book any GTY cabins. We've turned down upgrades in the past when we felt the cabin location wasn't a real upgrade to us.

 

Oceania offered us an upgrade to an earlier cruise moving us from an OV cabin to a verandah and a 10 day to a 14 day cruise sailing round trip out of the same port. Since we are self-employed and could switch the airfare with no problems, we took it.

[hondorner]

... Does anyone know Oceania's strategy? Do they deliberately oversell?...

Like all well-managed hospitality organizations (cruise lines, airlines, hotels, etc.), they do take more reservations than available space. They do this to create a necessary backlog to fill in when others cancel. There are always cancellations. Oceania has expert actuarials who determine, from history, the ideal number of "oversells". If they get it exactly right, there are just enough oversells to match the cancellations. For the most part, they hit it pretty close most of the time.

 

However, no one can be that perfect at predictions all the time. Some of the time they may not have enough folks on a wait list and need to offer earlier sailings. And, sometimes they have too many on a wait list and have to offer to move folks to a later sailing.

 

Here's the great thing about Oceania. First of all, no one will get bumped -- ever. If no one accepts their offers, they just keep making them sweeter and sweeter until someone says "yes". Second, the offers go to the folks who booked first. They are the loyal ones who plan ahead, and they deserve to be rewarded with offers. On some cruise lines, it's the "johnny come lately" who gets the benefit; that doesn't seem fair to me.

[dorisis]

We did get 1 offer, which we took. It turned out well.

[Hambagahle]

For our last cruise (and it was our first with Oceania) we were booked in an Oceania suite. About 3 weeks before sailing our TA told us that Oceania was offering us an upgrade to a Vista suite for roughly $800pp. We declined. They then came back with a lower offer. We declined. And then even lower - I think around $500. At which point I got cheeky and said that we would take the upgrade for $250 each. And that was the last I heard so I suppose they found someone in an Oceania suite who was willing to pay the $500.

 

Point is all about capacity and wait lists. There was no WL for the Vista suite but there was for the Oceania Suite. So they were trying to bump people up so they could clear their WL. Which makes a lot of sense to me.

 

Next cruise we have an Owners Suite so we won't get an offer for an upgrade. And I won't take a downgrade!! well - never say never! Maybe for a free cruise I might - but unlikely!

[Freightgoddess]

Thanks for all your comments. We did take the offer and swapped our cruise - for the second time. Our friends were so intrigued that they called O and got a very good deal - and they will be coming with us!

[bitob]

I know for a fact that there are cruisers who book upper suites knowing there will be a good chance of a lucrative downsell. They really do not want the upper suite in the first place but because there are so few of them there is always a wait list. I guess it's an ok game to play as long as you are willing to pay for that upper suite if no downsell materializes.

[Travelcat2]

I know for a fact that there are cruisers who book upper suites knowing there will be a good chance of a lucrative downsell. They really do not want the upper suite in the first place but because there are so few of them there is always a wait list. I guess it's an ok game to play as long as you are willing to pay for that upper suite if no downsell materializes.

 

That really surprises me since it is so difficult to find upper suite availability on so many cruises. They seem to frequently be waitlisted or booked. Also, until recently I had not heard of a "downsell". Why would Oceania even do a downsell on an upper suite? It seems as if they would lose money on the deal?

[bitob]

That really surprises me since it is so difficult to find upper suite availability on so many cruises. They seem to frequently be waitlisted or booked. Also, until recently I had not heard of a "downsell". Why would Oceania even do a downsell on an upper suite? It seems as if they would lose money on the deal?

 

That's the precise reason downsells work with upper suites -- difficulty in finding availability.

They make money on every downsell one way or the other.

The person who originally booked the upper suite probably booked at a lower rate. The wait list person will pay more for the same cabin if they are successful in getting it at the last minute.

[StanandJim]

The person who originally booked the upper suite probably booked at a lower rate. The wait list person will pay more for the same cabin if they are successful in getting it at the last minute.

 

You're completely wrong. The cost of the Suite is the cost of the Suite. Unless it changes for everybody, the FARE never changes.

 

It's all about shifting passengers out of cabins which are selling like hotcakes and into others which MAY sail empty.

 

...and if they build a little goodwill because passenger A sails with tons of onboard credit, or passenger B gets into a prized Suite at the eleventh hour.....so be it!