Questions about excursions

[sho]

I am a bit thick. Having read the cruise excursions webpage several times, I still do not understand what the the options mean:

http://www.oceaniacruises.com/documents/New_ShoreExcursions_Packages.pdf

 

I understand that a la carte price means I have to pay each excursion by its own price. Fair enough.

 

What is the attraction of buying "unlimited choice collection" or "your world collection"? How much do these cost?

 

I know there is a discount if one buys one of these packages. But if I do not want to go on excursion at every port, will I benefit from buying these packages? If I choose to go on an excursion which is only 2 hours' duration and much cheaper than an 8 hours' excursion, will I end up losing out?

 

Thank you for everyone's advice on this question.

[hondorner]

I am a bit thick. Having read the cruise excursions webpage several times, I still do not understand what the the options mean:

http://www.oceaniacruises.com/documents/New_ShoreExcursions_Packages.pdf

 

I understand that a la carte price means I have to pay each excursion by its own price. Fair enough.

 

What is the attraction of buying "unlimited choice collection" or "your world collection"? How much do these cost?

 

I know there is a discount if one buys one of these packages. But if I do not want to go on excursion at every port, will I benefit from buying these packages? If I choose to go on an excursion which is only 2 hours' duration and much cheaper than an 8 hours' excursion, will I end up losing out?

 

Thank you for everyone's advice on this question.

First, understand that when you choose one or more excursions before your cruise, you will pay for it immediately using your credit card. Be certain the payment is confirmed; there is a tendency to think the order process is complete before the confirmation and folks find they never actually reserved the excursion.

 

That said, you are correct that ala carte means just that -- you order the excursions you want, and pay the full price shown on the website.

 

The "Your World Collection" offers a 25% discount off the listed price for an excursion, provided you order a minimum number of excursions. The minimum number varies for each specific cruise; It was as few as 3 on a 7 day Alaska cruise a couple of years ago, up to 25 for the 180 day world cruises. You pay full price for each excursion until you reach the magic number, at which you you contact your travel agent (or Oceania direct if you booked with them), and request the discount. They check the reservations, then issue a credit to your credit card account.

 

The "Unlimited Passport Collection" sets a flat fee that differs from cruise to cruise. You pay that fee up front, then you can choose from as many excursions as you like, up to a certain price point. Many of the excursions are totally "free", others are premium excursions that require an additional payment, However, that payment is less than you would pay ala carte.

 

If you expect to take enough excursions to meet or exceed the minimum number for your cruise, the "Your World" is almost a no-brainer. A discount is a discount. However, you should note that the only way to get the full 25% is to book the excursions in advance -- once on board, the discount is just 10% (better than nothing, I suppose). I have no personal experience, but it may be possible to exchange one excursion for another once on board; I just don't know what that does to your discount.

 

With the Unlimited Passport collection, the decision is a little tougher to figure. I go through and pick out the excursions I would take if using a ship excursion in every port, and look for opportunities to get two excursions in one day, morning and afternoon. Then, I add up all those amounts. Typically, for me, it doesn't amount to a lot of discount. I've only used the Unlimited Passport once, in Alaska, when they had a 2-for-1 sale and both of us got the unlimited package for the price for one, a true 2-for-1 deal. Even then, it barely worked out for a decent savings.

 

Most of the time, I do not want to take a ship excursion in every port. Many ports lend themselves to "do it yourself", from just walking around town, to Hop On-Hop Off buses, to public transportation such as trains. In many other ports, privately arranged excursions are usually less expensive and a better value because they involve smaller groups. The best way to learn about private excursions is to join the roll call for your cruise here on cruise critic.

[travelglobetrotter]

The "Unlimited Passport Collection" sets a flat fee that differs from cruise to cruise. You pay that fee up front, then you can choose from as many excursions as you like, up to a certain price point. Many of the excursions are totally "free", others are premium excursions that require an additional payment, However, that payment is less than you would pay ala carte.

 

Actually, you can book the Unlimited Passport Collection on the day you board, and pay with on board credit. We did just that on our November Med cruise when we had a large credit. No problem at all, and thanks to my trusty O contact for suggesting it. Marlene

[Mura]

I am assuming that you are interested in ship's tours as opposed to doing your own. But if you go to your Roll Call you can often find independt tours that give you more flexibility for less price.

 

I am NOT suggesting that you do this ... only mentioning the option. We usually go for DIY tours but we will also do ship's tours depending on where and when.

 

Still, I was just looking at a tour from Sydney, NS to Fort Louisbourg on a spring Oceania cruise (we're not on this cruise but I was looking anyway) and I was stunned that for a half-day tour that gives you 90 minutes at the site the cost was $209pp. If you have tons of OBC, that can be worth it. But I'm sure you could do better on your own, either by renting a car or hiring a taxi.

 

So you need to compare your apples and oranges. And if you prefer ship's tours because you don't want the risk of missing the ship, etc., that's fine, too.

 

Mura

[cruiseaholic78]

Just an update on this, I have recently booked our excursions for our upcoming cruise and on reaching the minimum required the 25% reduction is deducted before payment. In our case it was a considerable saving and we have said even if we skip an excursion it is still cheaper than a la carte.

Good luck

[Emma Chisit]

Just an update on this, I have recently booked our excursions for our upcoming cruise and on reaching the minimum required the 25% reduction is deducted before payment. In our case it was a considerable saving and we have said even if we skip an excursion it is still cheaper than a la carte. Good luck

 

I’m glad the discount procedure has become less cumbersome than it was before. Yes, the discount was immediately applied for us also when we recently paid for the qualifying number of excursions on a July Norway cruise with three Russian ports - Murmansk, Solovetsky Islands and Archangel’sk. It seemed prudent to do ship’s excursions in those Russian ports; in fact we are doing a few, especially as we are in the Solovetsky islands for two days..