Does Oceania usually drop fare prices nearer to sailing if ship is lightly booked

[wenjoyjack]

Does this happen or is it unusual. If it does happen then what is the timing, e.g. 6 weeks out from sailing, 4 weeks out?

[hypercafe]

From what I have seen they start doing up sells to free up the lower priced cabins. I have never seen price reductions. Others might of had a different experence. I have also seen the add freebies like drinks, Internet or tips.

 

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[wenjoyjack]

From what I have seen they start doing up sells to free up the lower priced cabins. I have never seen price reductions. Others might of had a different experence. I have also seen the add freebies like drinks, Internet or tips.

 

Sent from my SM-T320 using Forums mobile app

 

 

Thanks so much - how far out from sailing usually?

[Mura]

I don't think any of us have done a study as to timing of such offers.

 

On our first Oceania cruise (February 2004) we did a B2B, LA-Costa Rica/Costa Rica-Miami. The first leg was very undersold (around 550 people) and they did start offering much cheaper fares close to departure. Those of us already booked (at least those of us who used a TA) were able to upgrade without extra charges. We moved up from an "A" to a "PH", and my mother upgraded form an "E" to an "A".

 

But I've not personally experienced this kind of situation since then ...

 

Mura

[sitraveler]

The best price is the earliest price.

 

After that, O may make a pricing adjustment, but they are few and far between. A price drop only encourages waiting, and that is self defeating.

 

There are ways of getting more on the ship, but dropping the price is not one of them.

[ronrick1943]

I think most of us want to to pick the cruise we want and get the cabin/suite we want. that can't happen if you wait till the last minute. However if you don't care were you sail or when you may get good price, but it won't be a good cabin.

Rick

[ladysail2]

Back in 2008, was booked on Insignia, solo, in an OV cabin. About 4 weeks before sailing, we were offered an upgrade...$100pp to move to a balcony cabin. I presume it was a lowest balcony. This was through my travel agent. I had to pay double, but felt it was worth it. I was too new to cruising to know the reason why, but I presume it was the upselling strategy working. :D

[hondorner]

Essentially, Oceania never reduces fares. If a cruise is not selling well, they may offer additional incentives, like on board credit, free internet, free gratuities, etc. (not all at once, usually). These may have the effect of lowering a guest's bottom line, but the actual cruise fare is not reduced. In fact, if there are any changes in the fares, they usually involve increased fares as a cruise gets closer, or the incentives may be reduced or taken away. It's nearly always best to book as early as possible; most experienced Oceania guests try to book as close to the opening day for itinerary changes as possible, often 18 months before a cruise.

[jakes47]

We booked our next cruise 18 months out. At 10 mouths they cut the price for our cabin category by $3000AUD each. It was very disturbing at the time but my TA managed to negotiate a cheaper price for us. I have just checked again and the price has gone up again by $2700. Such adjustments don’t sit well with me as it is very unfair to those who book and invest early. I can understand if 2-3 months out they have a sale on the not so popular cabins but only after taking care of their existing customers in the way of offering cheap upgrades.

 

Bev

[wenjoyjack]

I agree. We booked a segment of the world cruise on Insignia in an A2 category at $15290. Subsequently this was offered at $10,200. This also did not sit well with us. When the World Cruise was cancelled due to the fire on Insignia we were offered a 20% discount on a cruise booked within 12 months. We accepted this and booked a cruise with a price of just over $13K this is now being offered at just over $10K at the price we paid with the so called 20% discount. Is this standard Oceania practice or maybe reserved for us Aussies? Love to know if this is the experience others have had.

[TERRIER1]

Yes they do. It depends on the market and how well a specific cruise is selling and where the cruise originates. When we first started sailing with Oceania back 2008 the financial markets were taking a beating and many retirees cancelled their cruises. Our cruise was in early April and Oceania heavily discounted the voyage. We were able to take the difference and apply it to another cruise. I have also seen Oceania discount cruises that originate in Europe to the European market if they are undersold.

 

We recently returned from a Grand Voyage comprised of two legs that we had to book as one. The first segment oversold and the second undersold. The second leg was discounted and Oceania offered an OBC. We were not able to take advantage of either the discount or the OBC and this was before final payment. Oceania wouldn't even give us the OBC. I will never book another Grand Voyage with O again if one of the legs looks less desirable than the other. Live and learn.

[Solar Yellow]

It seems quite rare, but Oceania does offer discounted fares on slow selling cruises but only through certain travel agencies. I've been offered a $1,700 discount on a B4 veranda on Riviera (off the price offered on the website). They have taken away the OBC, free internet, and free gratuities, however. This cruise leaves in about a month and according to O's website, all categories are still available (some are guarantee and only the lowest level PH is waitlisted.

[G&G]

We just sailed on the Riviera, 02/23/15, 10 Caribbean out of Miami. We booked this cruise three (3) weeks prior to sailing. At that time there were over 100 unsold cabins on their website. This is what we got:

 

1. "B" category guarantee for the price of a "G" inside cabin; a savings of $900/person. Our final cabin selection was a "B1".

 

2. Free unlimited internet

 

3. $200 cabin credit

 

4. Prepaid tips

 

This deal was not on Oceania's website but through a TA on the internet.

 

What Oceania also did to fill this cruise was:

 

1. Offer money to change cruises; friends of our were booked on this ship sailing 03/05/15 but were offered $$$$ to switch sailing date to 02/23/15.

 

2. Offer money for people in Suites to go to Concierge or lower. This makes their cabins that are waitlisted easier to fill.

[pinotlover]

The deals almost always come from the TA, and are not typically found on O's website. I have friends (ex pats) in England that get incredible offers for European cruises, via their TA, starting somewhere around a month before sailing. Some of the savings are so large, I could buy our own airfare, and come out far ahead, however, they are not available for we US passport holders.

 

My philosophy is to make the reservation for the cruise I want, for the price I feel acceptable, and live with it. I don't get upset then if someone gets a better price or deal than me. How do some of these constantly crying people ever buy a new car? :eek: Oh my GOD, Ford may have a new sale next week and make an offer better than what I got this week! Life must be a total anquish!

[Flatbush Flyer]

The deals almost always come from the TA, and are not typically found on O's website. I have friends (ex pats) in England that get incredible offers for European cruises, via their TA, starting somewhere around a month before sailing. Some of the savings are so large, I could buy our own airfare, and come out far ahead, however, they are not available for we US passport holders.

 

 

 

My philosophy is to make the reservation for the cruise I want, for the price I feel acceptable, and live with it. I don't get upset then if someone gets a better price or deal than me. How do some of these constantly crying people ever buy a new car? :eek: Oh my GOD, Ford may have a new sale next week and make an offer better than what I got this week! Life must be a total anquish!

 

 

Usually, before final payment, I check the O website for current specials. In fact, I just looked this past Monday and found added O perks (internet and OBC $ added to original free gratuities). Quick call to my TA and we had yet another savings valued at about $500 on top of his already added OBC.

I also pay attention to e-mails from several other TA sites that are top O producers. Some of their occasional O "sales" actually mean a lesser cabin fare due to a time limited O/TA partnership offer. Last month my top producing O TA was able to match a competitor special, which meant a price drop of approx $800 for our upcoming cruise.

Some vigilance does payoff. We've even gotten refunds after final payment due to the above mentioned "specials".

Edited April 2, 2015 by Flatbush Flyer

[bitob]

Caribbean and Alaska cruises, where the markets are saturated, are often discounted after a while. Perks may be added as well. You are better off waiting until late in the game to book cruises to those destinations unless you require a specific cabin.

[Ka Honu]

At the risk of sounding a bit "snarky," my advice is to book and emotionally accept what you want and are willing to pay for in terms of ship, itinerary, stateroom, etc.

 

If you are all that upset by the occasional subsequently lowered fare or added amenities you don't/didn't get then you should probably stay away from cruises altogether. Conversely, any later discounts, amenities, upsells, downsells, or whatever that you are able to take advantage of are pleasant surprises (icing on the cake, so to speak).

 

Those things happen on every line - sometimes you're on the right side of the deal and sometimes you're not.

Edited April 2, 2015 by Ka Honu

[bitob]

I agree with Ka Honu.

We book Day 1, but we tend to book cruises with unique itineraries that sell out and are unlikely to go down in price.

 

Perhaps the OP is looking to see if he/she can sail Oceania at a better price point - more suitable for his/her budget. In that case, waiting for Alaska or Caribbean price drops is a smart move IMO.

[mediapro]

The best price is the earliest price.

 

After that, O may make a pricing adjustment, but they are few and far between. A price drop only encourages waiting, and that is self defeating.

 

There are ways of getting more on the ship, but dropping the price is not one of them.

 

This was definitely not my experience. I use another consolidator board to follow price and offer changes on cruises I am interested and tracked my recent cruise for nine months prior, watching the offer price steadily drop until it reached ~72% discount off full book. Then I got an offer too good to refuse in my inbox from a TA. My TA threw in pre-paid gratuities when I booked within a ninety day window ($360 value), and the balcony guarantee (B-4) was LESS than the best price I found on the other consolidator site.

 

But wait. There's more. Additional upgrade offers came flying three, two and one week out. My TA says that it is common with Oceania. I took the $100 upgrade that got me a cabin with over-sized balcony on A-1 concierge level(concierge, free champagne bottle, access to concierge lounge and private spa deck at Canyon Ranch).

 

May not apply to all O cruises, but this one in French Polynesia was one.

[DrHemlock]

Flatbush Flyer above definitely takes the right approach. Book the cruise you like at a price you're comfortable with, but then monitor the website for changes.

 

I know nothing of reduced fares, if such things even exist. However, when new perks such as free unlimited internet or OBC are added after you've booked, they can often be secured for yourself if you have a good TA who is a top O producer.

 

He or she can obtain them for you even after you've made final payment. I was able to do exactly that just a few days ago for an upcoming European cruise booked last July and paid in full in December. Probably added $500 in value. Nice.

 

But you must be proactive in monitoring the O website and its listing for your booked cruise. My top-producing long-time TA did not bring these added benefits to my attention. I found them myself and submitted a request to (him or her). Then voila!

 

To paraphrase Homer and Jethro: "I upped my perks. Up yours!"

[arima22]

And...prices can go up as well. I booked our July cruise in the first week of open booking last year, I've watched as the special perks have come off and the "early booking discount" has gone down. For the same level, this cruise has gone up NET $1000 compared to the original price.

We've also been offered to switch cruises- for example the French Polynesia cruise mentioned above- we were offered a $5500 rebate to switch over with the same level of stateroom. Just this week we were offered to switch to a Baltic cruise with a $4500 rebate. Previously there were offers to add a cruise in front or a cruise following ours at reduced rates.

Oceania does a lot of things before they drop prices outright to new bookings.

Edited April 3, 2015 by arima22

[wenjoyjack]

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with me.

 

My experience so far with Oceania has not been good.

 

We booked our first Oceania cruise last year for a segment of the RTW Insignia cruise. Price was $15290 pp, subsequently this was dropped to $10,290. My TA approached Oceania who offered a excursions package as compensation. This was not attractive as by that time we had booked private excursions with other Cruise Critic cruisers.

 

Of course, the first few segments of the RTW were cancelled due to the fire on Insignia. Our whole trip was centred around the cruise so it was cancelled (this is so minor in light of the lives that were lost - just giving background). Oceania offered us 20% discount on a cruise within 12 months (they were still holding our 30K plus and did not want to refund until we made a decision. about rebooking). We booked a nearly identical cruise to the one cancelled with 20% discount at $10,900. The cruise is now offered at this price with OBC, so our 20% discount meant nothing and they have our whole $20K+ for a cruise 9 months out from sailing.

 

Thanks to your advice, I will ask my TA to follow up when the world returns to trade after Tuesday. We have sailed on two Seabourn cruises where the price dropped prior to sailing and we were given the new lowest price each time which makes for good customer relations. Unfortunately, Oceania is quite new to the Australian market which is so much smaller than the other markets of US, Europe and UK, so don't know how much weight my TA will sway. She is with a most highly regarded Oz firm, so hopefully we may be able to get some concession. Will keep you posted.

[Mura]

Wendy, I'm so sorry to hear of the difficulties you have had. I would be equally unhappy.

 

I will just say that Oceania is NOT new to the Australian market. Perhaps you didn't know of it until recently, but we have been traveling with Australian passengers for many years, and we did an Australian-NZ cruise in Jan '08. We weren't on the first cruise on that itinerary.

 

There HAS been a problem with Australians' booking because of legal requirements. I mean, we North Americans get many more benefits than those Down Under do. I also wish that were not the case! But in general (unless things have changed) you are limited to booking with an Australian agent and the requirements are far more stringent.

 

Mura

[wenjoyjack]

Thanks Mura for your support. I have some friends here who travelled with Oceania and loved it, hence why I want to! They book thru a US agent (yes we can do it if you know how). However, I have dealt with my Australian TA for over 20 years and she has never let me down - so my loyalty prevails. I am going to try for a better deal with Oceania thru her and am very grateful for all the information and help that my fellow Cruise Critic cruisers have given me with regard to your experiences.

[Mura]

Good luck! I certainly hope it works out. You deserve it.

 

Mura