Deviation Fees

[Jancruz]

As of October 1st, Oceania has raised the deviation fee to $75 per person. In addition..if you ask for flights and they are available at no extra cost to the client, you are immediately billed the $75 per person, you are assigned those flights and the money is non refundable..so folks..be careful what you ask for..

Jan

*****

[drwong]

I thought bringing their air operations in house was a cost-saving move - instead, it's turned out to be a money-making one. :mad:

 

Anyhow, I hope with this 50% increase in the fee, we'll get a better level of customer service. Perhaps they can now send clients a list of various differential-less flight options, instead of parsing out alternative schedules one itinerary at a time and creating an unnecessarily lengthy back-and-forth negotiating process. I like to know what my options are before committing myself into a flight itinerary, and if I could choose from among several options, it would make things so much easier.

 

Richard

[mike35]

Anyhow, I hope with this 50% increase in the fee, we'll get a better level of customer service.

Richard

 

Would you care to place a wee wager on your hopes? If so, I think I may be able to find a bit of gooey swampland in the lower 9th ward of N'awlins that I can sell you at a great price!

 

Mike

[Bruin Steve]

I just went through the "deviation" process with Oceania...

I was told up front that if whatever they found me was at no additional cost, my deviation fee would be automatic and those flights set in stone...

If there were any additional cost, Iwould have the option to take them or not...

 

My TA put in the request for us to fly in two days early to Istanbul and fly out two days late from Venice...

 

What she got back from Oceaniawas the following E-Mail:

 

>>Dear *****,

Thank you for your correspondence regarding air deviation for the above listed booking. [bold] These are the only flights available on these travel dates.

 

Please note that we need your acceptance within 2 business days of receipt or these flights will be cancelled. Please be sure that all correspondence reflects the above subject line exactly as it appears on this e-mail. [/bold]

(afterwards followed the flights and times)

FEES: There is a $50.00 per person non-refundable/non-commissionable administrative fee for all deviations and $150.00 per person fare differential total $150.00 per person (sic). (following were notes about hotels, special services nd transfers)<<

 

My TA E-Mailed back to confirm and an E-Mail came back from Oceania stating:

 

>>Dear *****,

Thank you for your correspondence regarding the air deviation for the above listed booking.

Your below air deviation request has been confirmed and a total of $150.00 per person non-refundable/non-commissionable administrative fee has been posted to your booking. If final payment has already been aplied, please contact reservations directly to make payment; however, if final payment is not yet paid you may wait and make payment at time of final payment...<<

 

Now, being that they so clearly stated "These are the only flights available", and being a mere $300, I wasn't going to waste a lot of time and effort...With a 2 day window to accept the flights, I gave the go-ahead...

 

BUT...being that the cruise is still over 9 months away, I had a little trouble believing that there was only ONE FLIGHT available...

 

So, I did a search on Yahoo.Travel for those dates...

For the outbound flight, they came up with SIX available flights LAX to Istanbul...One on British Airways, one on United, one on Delta, one on Lufthansa and two on Air France...and a British Airways return flight (Oceania has us flying there on Delta, home on Lufthansa)...

 

The British Airways flights actually show a fare $235 per person LESS than Delta or Lufthansa...The BA flight THERE is actually more convenient than the Delta--40 minutes shorter total travel time, changing planes at Heathrow rather than JFK and leaving LAX an hour later...The return trip, however, is far less convenient with a long stopover at Heathrow...

 

Nonetheless, it seemed clear that there was far more than just the one choice of flights and that there may have been clearly less expensive options...

 

It does make me question how diligently Oceania pursues these deviation choices...I assume they figure if we want the flights, we'll pay the added charges...

 

And, of course, the reason we're doing it this way is so that we can book our own hotels and save a couple of thousand dollars over Oceania's inflated hotel deals...So, the $300 only eats into that differential by a small amount...

 

But, it also brings up this question: Had we booked hotels through Oceania rather than on our own, would they not have had to bring us in on these very same flights...and without a deviation charge or surcharge?

[HappyMe_]

Bruin Steve, thank you again for your research regarding this issue and several others before.

 

This will be (I hope) my first Oceania cruise fall of 2006, but after diligently reading this board, I am starting to become very disenchanted with this holiday.

 

I am one of those people, my friends included, who do not have ff points, therefore the free air option was a nice motivation. Holidays are for fun, to get away from the stresses of everyday life, the same should be said of planning same, however........this deviation is sounding more and more like game playing to me.

 

Is anyone listening there?

[Bruin Steve]

This will be (I hope) my first Oceania cruise fall of 2006, but after diligently reading this board, I am starting to become very disenchanted with this holiday.

HappyMe,

Don't become disenchanted...In the end, it will be a wonderful cruise...You will be treated well, you will be fed well, you will visit interesting places and you will enjoy it...

Getting there, of course, is often an adventure of a different kind...

...but well worth the end product...

We all know that the various marketing gimmicks are just that...There is really no such thing as "Free Air", just as there is no "Free Lunch"...It is sort of a gimmick...as are all parts of the "deal"...

But, what really counts is not the component parts, but rather the bottom line...

Look at what you are paying for the total package...and realize that "it is what it is"...

If you are buying air and cruise and paying a particular total price for it, just ask yourself if that's a price you are willing to pay...

Chances are it is...otherwise, you wouldn't have booked it...

And you probably cruise for the same reason most of us do: The vacation itself is pretty much stress-free...You fly to a port, get on a ship, unpack once, meals and entertainment are included, etc.

All this other stuff we go through is just the prelims...and some of us on these boards just get a little wrapped up in it...

I, for one, have nothing to do (other than work and life in general) for the next 9 months other than to obsess about every little detail of my cruise...but, it's an obsession of love...

I'll suffer angst over flights, over hotels, over pre-and post-cruise planning, over whether my cabin--which is directly over the dance floor--will be a problem and a myriad of other issues...

But, in the end, I am certain I will enjoy my cruise...

In fact, I will make it a point to enjoy it...life is too short...

[digby]

 

 

I don't think the 'free air' is free at all. It is built into the cruise price, and they will refund that part of the price so you can make your own arrangements which is exactly what we do. Having FF miles only allows to to upgrade or get a free seat, but without them, you still can just make your own air arrangements for about the same price as the refund.

[digby]

"And, of course, the reason we're doing it this way is so that we can book our own hotels and save a couple of thousand dollars over Oceania's inflated hotel deals...So, the $300 only eats into that differential by a small amount... "

 

What's one thing have to do with the other? You can book or not book hotels or air travel through Oceania - one or the other indepependently. You can book hotels without air or air without hotels -- or neither.

[Bruin Steve]

What's one thing have to do with the other? You can book or not book hotels or air travel through Oceania - one or the other indepependently. You can book hotels without air or air without hotels -- or neither.

It's starting from the premise that we're leaving the air portion through Oceania...

Even if we save a little bit of money booking our own, there is one major advantage to using the cruise line air OTHER than price: To book our own and take advantage of the best rates, we would have to pay for the NONREFUNDABLE tickets NOW...By using the cruise line, we don't pay until the final payment date...If something goes wrong in the meanwhile, and we are forced to cancel the cruise, we are much better off with cruise line air...

 

So, we start with keeping the cruise line air as a premise (If the price differential between cruise line air and booking our own was a major sum, then it might be different, but, in this case, it's $1373 vs. $1289...and that $1289 comes with a long layover at Heathrow and a much later arrival home...Simply not worth switching to "on our own"), then we are only comparing cruise line air versus cruise line air plus deviations...THAT difference is a mere $150 pp...And, by spending the $300, it allows us to book our own hotels...Not taking the deviation would mean no hotels, no extra days...

 

To summarize, the choices were:

1) Our own air and hotels

2) Cruise line air/deviations and our own hotels

3) Cruise line air and Cruise line hotels

 

#1 does work out cheaper--by around $234 pp--But ONLY IF we were to use British Airways and take a really bad flight schedule home AND pay for nonrefundable tickets in advance...Using Delta, Lufthansa, Air France or United would result in pretty much the same cost, if not a little more...

 

#2 costs a little more than BA, but about the same as any other carrier with decently timed flights--and we don't have to pay for anything (other than the already paid cruise deposit) until final payment day...

 

#3 would cost around $2000 more in Oceania's overpriced hotel deals...

[Trece]

Are you totally certain if you take an Oceania air deviation and cancel your cruise between deposit and final payment that you don't incur SOME costs? I'm not saying it's not true - but it just doesn't seem logical. Wouldn't Oceania be buying your tickets now to get you on your specific flights? But you could just walk away before final payment & get your entire deposit back? It doesn't make sense. :confused:

[Mura]

Having skimmed through this thread, I guess we'll continue as we always have ... booking our own flights. We always go in early and leave late, and even deviation plans have always seemed to have a problem. At least we can choose our flights on our own -- and very rarely have we had FF miles to use. We used to, but since my husband retired 15 years ago we don't have them anymore!

 

I don't object to paying up front for the fares we have gotten, and we have frequently found that we got the best rates by booking at the last minute. We didn't do that for our upcoming 11/5/05 Barcelona to Lisbon cruise, but I expect we will for next June's Dover to Dover cruise.

 

So far the credit Oceania is giving us is more than what we've had to pay. Next June may be different, given the current situation with gas and fuel prices.

 

We also do our own transfers ... if Oceania charged $25 pp instead of closer to $100 for most of the ports we've been in, we'd probably take the easy way out. But usually a cab costs less than what they want. And of course, coming in at an "odd" time can make it harder to get a transfer anyway.

 

We don't book hotels through the cruiseline (as has been discussed in depth) and we don't use their air either ... I'm pretty sure that's true! Certainly it's almost ALWAYS been true.

[Benita]

Actually, Oceania has done pretty well for us with the air deviations. We are flying into Barcelona from Miami two days early and leaving Lisbon right after the cruise, hence the need for the deviation. I emailed them and received a reply the next day, suggesting flights to Barcelona on Lufthansa and home from Lisbon on British Air. The cost is an extra $100 pp plus the $50 air deviation. If we booked these on our own, the cost would be very high, especially because of mixing the airlines and these flights are much more convenient that the more inexpensive flights they could have used, were I not asking for the deviation.

[Bruin Steve]

Whether or not you can beat the airfare...and whether or not you can wait for a last-minute fare...depends largely on two factors:

1) Where you are flying from...and

2) What time of year you are travelling...

 

First, the cruiselines tend to average out the fares so that it may cost the same, or nearly the same, to travel from any of their "gateway" cities...So, someone flying into Europe from, say, San Francisco may not be able to beat the fare while someone flying in from New York easily can...

 

Second, time of year is incredibly important...

We almost always cruise in Summer time, and, if not, during some other school vacation (my wife works for a school district). Airlines SELDOM run "sales" or "specials" for travel in July/August or over the Christmas/New Years holidays...In addition, popular flights for these times tend to book solid...So, there is a great danger in waiting around for a last-minute deal for your Summer cruise...There is a good chance of either paying an even higher rate and/or getting a less desirable flight schedule or of getting shut out completely...

 

I know a guy who once had to cancel a scheduled December Hawaii cruise because he was waiting around for a better Air deal that never came...by the time he got around to trying to book something, there were just no flights available...

 

Personally, I don't like gambling with my cruise...I like to know I have everything reserved as early as possible...

[thatbloominplace]

we cruised through oceania last year with 'free' air. we looked up 2 specific flights and submitted them to our ta to give oceania. they gave us the first choice with the $50 deviation fee and an additional $50 airline fee. we then booked our own hotels. in this case, we were able to spend only 100/pp for tickets and save the substantial number of points to fly to europe for another trip. i certainly wouldn't get stressed out by the process. you have two other choices: use the air they give you or take the refund and just buy your own air. no pressure. no matter what choice you take, it doesn't matter. you are getting a quality cruise at a a very reasonable price. you will love the cruise. relax and enjoy.

 

steve

[FinelyCruising]

I have always booked my own flights. What it costs me is OK, I don't really look at airfare as negotiable. I have the flight I want and I have the seats I want, and I book far enough in advance to be sure I am on the plane to my destination. That is one thing I don't play with when I book a cruise, it makes me too nervous.

[ClaudiaF]

I have always booked my own flights. What it costs me is OK, I don't really look at airfare as negotiable. I have the flight I want and I have the seats I want, and I book far enough in advance to be sure I am on the plane to my destination. That is one thing I don't play with when I book a cruise, it makes me too nervous.

 

Finely Cruising

Doesn't "make me nervous" but I feel much more "comfortable" knowing that I have made the plan.. I guess that is the control freak in me, rather than the marathon flights to Europe and beyond.. that we had taken from cruises in the past with the "free" air. Sounds like you have enjoyed those marathon flights as well..

 

To others who have posted re: deviations ..

If the fact that if you cancel with cruiseline paid air, and not having to worry about having paid for it is your worry, than I suppose you are correct in letting them deal with it..

for us this problem? never comes into play . If we cancel cruise, not likely unless emergency, but ya never do know, or change our itiny the tickets

we buy on our own are "usually" either, refundable, or changeable for a fee of maybe $100.00 per.. to different date..so it's just a matter of letting airline know your changes.. and they are at min good for a year..you just have to know what the penalties on your tickets are before you buy them and then make that decision. So you may get stuck with some tickets to Europe.. darn, who wouldn't want to?

Just wondering aloud..

If you are taking ship air why keep harping on how crazy the flights may or may not be and how bad they will be..how terrible the connections, what other flights are available etc.

You are researching so you should TELL the ship the exact flight that you want before you put in for the deviation.

Am I wrong that NOW they will not honor the "requested " flight you want for the deviation fee? If so feel free to bash me at any time...

;)

Okay.. bash me at anytime.

[Andee]

When we used the Oceania air deviation last year, I emailed them and requested specific flights. That way, i felt that I could control the times, layovers, etc. There was no charge beyond the $50pp deviation fee.

[Jancruz]

Andee,

That is what I suggest to all ..send your travel agent three choices in each direction and if you get any of your choices for the $75 you will be happy and it makes it easy for everyone..

Jan

*****

[drwong]

Andee,

That is what I suggest to all ..send your travel agent three choices in each direction and if you get any of your choices for the $75 you will be happy and it makes it easy for everyone..

Jan

*****

 

I wish it was that simple! That's what we did on our previous cruises but on this one, we're flying into ATH from IAD and meeting our inlaws flying in from LAX. I was trying find a common connecting flight that would allow the four us to arrive in Athens on the same plane and catch a single van to our hotel. I submitted a number of flights that should have had "free fare" class seats available, but each time we submitted a flight pair, Oceania said it was unable to secure any tickets that didn't come with a significant surcharge, and Oceania seemed unable (or unwilling) to propose a suitable itinerary that would allow the four of us to meet up in FRA, MUC, CDG, LHR, JFK, or some other transfer point.

 

Booking my own flights would have cost $100-$200 more than the cruise credit was worth, but frustrated with Oceania's level of assistance, I decided to book my own flights instead, using the savings from the deviation fee and the taxes & fees attached to the "free" flight to offset the difference.

 

It would have been much easier had Oceania simply provided a selection of flights that were eligible under their free fare program, but for us to submit request after request only to find surcharges attached to each one was far too slow and laborious.

[FinelyCruising]

Finely Cruising

Doesn't "make me nervous" but I feel much more "comfortable" knowing that I have made the plan.. I guess that is the control freak in me, rather than the marathon flights to Europe and beyond.. that we had taken from cruises in the past with the "free" air. Sounds like you have enjoyed those marathon flights as well..

 

 

Claudia - I almost wish I could say I have learned the hard way, but appreciatively I have had the opportunity to learn from those on these boards that have endured all sorts of nasty flights.

 

I am a control freak though....;)

[tlmlb]

As of October 1st, Oceania has raised the deviation fee to $75 per person. In addition..if you ask for flights and they are available at no extra cost to the client, you are immediately billed the $75 per person, you are assigned those flights and the money is non refundable..so folks..be careful what you ask for..

Jan

*****

 

another instance of Oceania's customer friendliness....

[geta911]

Hang on folks! Raising the deviation fee has nothing to do with Oceania's relationship with their guests but I suspect is a business decision based on economic conditions. Do you really think they want to alienate their clientele by raising fees just for the heck of it. It's easy to be a critic when you don't have access to all the facts and it's easy to condemn based on gut reaction. I see a ton of postings on this board that seem to suggest that there's a lot of people that don't have basic life skills. How they ever got to a point in life where they can afford an Oceania cruise is beyond this writer. "Does the Grand Dining Room have tables"? "Is my toilet self-flushing?" "Why does an Owners Suite have a butler and my "G" class cabin doesn't?" No doubt this posting will strike a dischord with a few readers but really, c'mon people, wake up and smell the roses. By the way, you can get face to face with me on the November 7, 2005 Insignia cruise and show that you have a forgiving heart by placing a dry sour apple Martini in my hand and charging it to stateroom. Cruise on my friends!

[geta911]

Ok, so wine doesn't enhance ones proof reading of postings! Just so there's no misunderstanding, I said in myb original posting -

 

"By the way, you can get face to face with me on the November 7, 2005 Insignia cruise and show that you have a forgiving heart by placing a dry sour apple Martini in my hand and charging it to stateroom."

 

Missing of course was the word "YOUR" ... stateroom!

 

tytytyvm ...... all Martini contributions accepted!

[FinelyCruising]

You might be on your own there kiddo.:cool:

[Member]

Does "O" impose a service fee and/or penalty when you end up arrange the air portion yourself after booked on a "free air" voyage?