Oceania Bonus shore excursions

[cruisethirsty]

I'm planning a cruise on Oceania and the line is offering a choice of on board credit, beverage package, or 3 free shore excursions. Regarding the shore excursion offer, does anyone know if this allows you to choose ANY shore excursion in ANY port on the cruise, or is the choice theirs? Can these be booked in advance or do you have to wait until on the ship to make them? Also, I assume it means 3 excursions per person, not per cabin. Would appreciate hearing from anyone who has used this program.

[sitraveler]

You can choose your ports and excursions, but not any excursion. There are exclusions, basically not private cars and the most expensive. O spells out the details on their website.

[jsbultimar]

I don't think O Choice & O Exclusive are included.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Edited August 3, 2016 by jsbultimar

[cruisethirsty]

Thanks for the info. I figured the expensive ones (which is the one I'm most considering) would be excluded. Went to Oceania's site and found that everything OC (Oceania Choice) and above is excluded. Basically, Oceania is giving away ice in the winter time and this doesn't mitigate the fact that their shore excursions are the most overpriced in the industry!

[Twiga]

We had three free shore excursions per person on my recent Regatta Alaskan cruise. All three were great! In fact, in Ketchikan we saw a family of three bears on our free O-Life Ketchikan City Highlights excursion while at the Alaskan Rainforest Sanctuary. They came within 12 feet of us (we were on an elevated boardwalk above the mother and two older cubs). We watched them play for 20 minutes in the river and the grassy area around us. It was the highlight of our cruise! Many people paid $350 or more for plane or boat trips to go see bears and saw none or saw them only in the far distance. We took a fabulous rain forest tour in Prince Rupert. Our tour of Wrangell was also exceptional. The guides were all local people who had a passion for their town and showed us a great time. Do not discount an Oceania tour because you think it is "overpriced," especially when you get it free with O-Life. I have taken many Oceania excursions and all but one in France were exceptionally good.

[Paulchili]

. Basically, Oceania is giving away ice in the winter time and this doesn't mitigate the fact that their shore excursions are the most overpriced in the industry!

 

Not exactly true.

OE & OC excursions are excluded but all others are included. These are generally up to $199 but average $150. So if you take 3 excursions at $150, you are getting the equivalent of $450 OBC (or $450 value) per person. It could be more if there are excursions above $150 (but below $200).

That is around $900 value for a couple - not what I would call "ice in the winter" give away.:)

Of course, you can opt for the OBC or beverage package if you value that more.

[LAexNY]

Thanks for the info. I figured the expensive ones (which is the one I'm most considering) would be excluded. Went to Oceania's site and found that everything OC (Oceania Choice) and above is excluded. Basically, Oceania is giving away ice in the winter time and this doesn't mitigate the fact that their shore excursions are the most overpriced in the industry!

 

So you are complaining that they are overpriced and that you can get them free?

[JimandStan]

So you are complaining that they are overpriced and that you can get them free?

 

LOL, and the food is awful, but the portions are far too small!

People are funny

[Pet Nit Noy]

So you are complaining that they are overpriced and that you can get them free?

 

I'll gently point out that the OP is complaining that the one excursion he/she wants to take is off limits. That means the available excursions are less appealing. Spending port time on an excursion a person doesn't want to take is a lost opportunity. There are "costs" to doing something you don't really want to do in an appealing port you're unlikely to visit again.

 

Similarly, there's a cost to drinking the house wine, another O Life option, if a person is a wine lover and the better labels on the wine list are off limit.

 

Obviously, the costs I'm talking about are intangible costs, but it's worth mentioning the actual hard cash cost. Oh, I know people aren't paying for O Life wine or excursions when the bill gets settled at the end of the cruise. But please don't expect me to believe that Oceania hasn't calculated the basic cruise price to cover their cost for putting people on excursions or serving house wine.

Edited August 3, 2016 by Pet Nit Noy

[RJB]

Thanks for the info. I figured the expensive ones (which is the one I'm most considering) would be excluded. Went to Oceania's site and found that everything OC (Oceania Choice) and above is excluded. Basically, Oceania is giving away ice in the winter time and this doesn't mitigate the fact that their shore excursions are the most overpriced in the industry!

Wrong. We had 7 included excursions on our last cruise. They were pretty good. Anywhere from 4 1/2 hours to 8 hours and 2 included lunch. The buses were not over crowded and the guilds were fine. Does not compare to what we have done in the past with a private car for 2 or 4 people but neither does the cost. NONE. They are giving us a good product for what it is. More like giving away ice in the summer when we really need it. Good for Oceania. :):):)

[ORV]

We had three free shore excursions per person on my recent Regatta Alaskan cruise. All three were great! In fact, in Ketchikan we saw a family of three bears on our free O-Life Ketchikan City Highlights excursion while at the Alaskan Rainforest Sanctuary. They came within 12 feet of us (we were on an elevated boardwalk above the mother and two older cubs). We watched them play for 20 minutes in the river and the grassy area around us. It was the highlight of our cruise! Many people paid $350 or more for plane or boat trips to go see bears and saw none or saw them only in the far distance. We took a fabulous rain forest tour in Prince Rupert. Our tour of Wrangell was also exceptional. The guides were all local people who had a passion for their town and showed us a great time. Do not discount an Oceania tour because you think it is "overpriced," especially when you get it free with O-Life. I have taken many Oceania excursions and all but one in France were exceptionally good.

 

This+

 

You can always take OBC, use it for other things onboard and set up your own excursions. Truly, it's not scam. It's actually a good benefit.

[LHT28]

I'll gently point out that the OP is complaining that the one excursion he/she wants to take is off limits. .

I do not think they are off limits you just have to pay for it ;)

 

Do people really think the more expensive tours are going to be included in the "FREE" offers :eek:

[LHT28]

Thanks for the info. I figured the expensive ones (which is the one I'm most considering) would be excluded. Went to Oceania's site and found that everything OC (Oceania Choice) and above is excluded.

 

The only tours that are included in the "FREE" offer have no other designation after it only the walking people

 

Take the OBC & do your own tours

Edited August 3, 2016 by LHT28

[Pet Nit Noy]

Not exactly true.

OE & OC excursions are excluded but all others are included. These are generally up to $199 but average $150. So if you take 3 excursions at $150, you are getting the equivalent of $450 OBC (or $450 value) per person. It could be more if there are excursions above $150 (but below $200).

That is around $900 value for a couple - not what I would call "ice in the winter" give away.:)

Of course, you can opt for the OBC or beverage package if you value that more.

 

For anyone who has taken the O Life OBC, is the value really around $450 per person?

[Paulchili]

For anyone who has taken the O Life OBC, is the value really around $450 per person?

 

Not sure that I fully understand your question but I'll try to explain my experience on the "value" of O Life.

We had 3 cruises booked on Oceania before the O Life became an option. At some point later the O Life was introduced and the cruise prices went up slightly. As we had booked earlier, we had the option to "stay put" or add the O Life option at some cost. I no longer have the exact figures but suffice it to say that we immediately chose to add the O Life to 2 of the cruises as the "free" excursions greatly out priced the added cost of O Life - an excellent value for us. The only reason we did not do it for the 3rd cruise is because it was a short segment of a B2B and we had enough OBC to cover the excursions we chose. Nowadays one cannot always see the cost of O Life as usually the cruise is not available without O Life. But in our case we could easily compare the cost without and with O life and the value cost-wise was very good for O Life.

That said, one has to like Oceania excursions to take advantage of this. Some people on these boards are "allergic" to O excursions - we are not :D

While we prefer private ones, we don't mind O's excursions at all and as we don't drink, it would be foolish for us to take private excursions when so many nice ones are included. We use our sufficient OBC to book the rest of the excursions.

That is OUR experience with O Life - YMMV :)

PS It's easy enough to compare the amount of OBC offered for any cruise vs the cost of O Life excursions one would/could take on that cruise. Then take the better value of the two.

[RJB]

Not sure that I fully understand your question but I'll try to explain my experience on the "value" of O Life.

We had 3 cruises booked on Oceania before the O Life became an option. At some point later the O Life was introduced and the cruise prices went up slightly. As we had booked earlier, we had the option to "stay put" or add the O Life option at some cost. I no longer have the exact figures but suffice it to say that we immediately chose to add the O Life to 2 of the cruises as the "free" excursions greatly out priced the added cost of O Life - an excellent value for us. The only reason we did not do it for the 3rd cruise is because it was a short segment of a B2B and we had enough OBC to cover the excursions we chose. Nowadays one cannot always see the cost of O Life as usually the cruise is not available without O Life. But in our case we could easily compare the cost without and with O life and the value cost-wise was very good for O Life.

That said, one has to like Oceania excursions to take advantage of this. Some people on these boards are "allergic" to O excursions - we are not :D

While we prefer private ones, we don't mind O's excursions at all and as we don't drink, it would be foolish for us to take private excursions when so many nice ones are included. We use our sufficient OBC to book the rest of the excursions.

That is OUR experience with O Life - YMMV :)

PS It's easy enough to compare the amount of OBC offered for any cruise vs the cost of O Life excursions one would/could take on that cruise. Then take the better value of the two.

Very good post. Good info. It is my understanding that the OBC can only be used once you get on the ship, so you can not book anything until then. Also can not be used for private tours, so depending upon how much OBC you have already it may not be a good deal. Last cruise we already had 1200.00 in OBC and if we did not take O Life it would have been 2600.00. No way we could have used all of that. Have to look at each cruise and see what is best for you.

[Mura]

Thanks for the info. I figured the expensive ones (which is the one I'm most considering) would be excluded. Went to Oceania's site and found that everything OC (Oceania Choice) and above is excluded. Basically, Oceania is giving away ice in the winter time and this doesn't mitigate the fact that their shore excursions are the most overpriced in the industry!

 

We just returned from a cruise on Nautica where we had five "free" excursions each. We usually do private tours but given that the cost of the tours (had we purchased them) well exceeded the $300pp increase in the fare, we carefully chose five ship's tours that fit our interests. These were all excellent and none were crowded.

 

The tours that are being offered on YOUR cruise may not be what you want. In which case, pick another perk that you would prefer.

 

(I don't deny that O's ship's tours tend to be overpriced!)

 

Mura

[cruisethirsty]

As the OP, I would like to thank everyone for their comments.

The basic problem is that on the cruise I'm considering, the most important port is Wrangell. I want to take the Stikine Jet Boat tour (regularly priced at about $450 per person) for four hours when the local operator charges $200! So don't tell me that Oceania isn't overpriced! I would gladly book it privately but the operator does not accept cruise ship passengers since they obviously charter the boat out to the cruise line and probably have an agreement not to take "independent" travelers. I prefer being independent but cannot do so in this case. I can't do the shorex package because this is the only place where I would need an excursion. The OBC would almost cover the cost of the excursion, but not quite. I'm not looking for anything FREE since that doesn't really exist. But I do look at the bottom line.

[Pet Nit Noy]

Not sure that I fully understand your question but I'll try to explain my experience on the "value" of O Life.

We had 3 cruises booked on Oceania before the O Life became an option. At some point later the O Life was introduced and the cruise prices went up slightly. As we had booked earlier, we had the option to "stay put" or add the O Life option at some cost.

 

I no longer have the exact figures but suffice it to say that we immediately chose to add the O Life to 2 of the cruises as the "free" excursions greatly out priced the added cost of O Life - an excellent value for us... Nowadays one cannot always see the cost of O Life as usually the cruise is not available without O Life. But in our case we could easily compare the cost without and with O life and the value cost-wise was very good for O Life.

 

Thanks for this detailed explanation. Your situation definitely helps me understand the reason you put quotation marks around the word "free." Based on the numbers you saw, O Life is a route to a nice, deep discount on excursions, but, O Life wasn't -- and still isn't -- free.

 

That said, one has to like Oceania excursions to take advantage of this. Some people on these boards are "allergic" to O excursions - we are not

 

We're in the allergic category. I have no criticism with the quality of Oceania's guides or the places on the tours, but I don't want to be part of a large excursion. ("Large" being defined as anything over six or, perhaps, eight.)

 

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that an O Life OBC actually works out to be close to the per person price Oceania has to pay the local tour company. I'll happily enjoy an extra service at the spa or a couple of better bottles of wine with that OBC, but, I suspect taking a qualifying excursion is a far more effective use of O Life perks.

Edited August 3, 2016 by Pet Nit Noy

[ilovhywd]

Question: re: 2017 Alaska

 

We have to choose our "perk" before final payment; however we won't receive our blue book with shore excursion prices until AFTER final payment.

 

We need to create an excel schedule to figure out if we want to:

 

1. Take the shore excursion perk and choose from the included excursions or

 

2. Take the shipboard credit and choose some OC excursions or

 

3. Use the shipboard credit to buy the unlimited package and upgrade a few to OC, if desired.

 

Specific shore excursion information is not available online, so how can one figure this out? Is there a way to obtain this year's prices of the shore excursions?

 

What is your experience with the unlimited package?

 

Thanks!

[LHT28]

Question: re: 2017 Alaska

 

We have to choose our "perk" before final payment; however we won't receive our blue book with shore excursion prices until AFTER final payment.

 

We need to create an excel schedule to figure out if we want to:

 

1. Take the shore excursion perk and choose from the included excursions or

 

2. Take the shipboard credit and choose some OC excursions or

 

3. Use the shipboard credit to buy the unlimited package and upgrade a few to OC, if desired.

 

Specific shore excursion information is not available online, so how can one figure this out? Is there a way to obtain this year's prices of the shore excursions?

 

What is your experience with the unlimited package?

 

Thanks!

look at the excursions for the 2016 sailings I bet they will be the same

the tours will probably be the same for the ports it will give you an idea of what is offered in those ports

 

Not sure what cruise you are on but if you click on the port on O website the tours are listed for some

eg:https://www.oceaniacruises.com/Alaska-cruises/vancouver-to-seattle-REG170610/port-ketchikan-KTN/?voyageday=3&sr=#ports=KTN

 

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/Alaska-cruises/vancouver-to-seattle-REG170610/port-victoria-YYJ/?voyageday=10#ports=YYJ

Edited August 5, 2016 by LHT28

[Paulchili]

ilovhywd,

Also, chances are very good that the excursions will be listed before your final payment is due.

Our Insignia cruise on 4/14/17 has the final payment this November but the excursions are already available for booking.

Ditto for our Dec. Sirena - have not paid the final yet but excursions are bookable already.

[Tansy Mews]

Question: re: 2017 Alaska

 

We have to choose our "perk" before final payment; however we won't receive our blue book with shore excursion prices until AFTER final payment.

 

We need to create an excel schedule to figure out if we want to:

 

1. Take the shore excursion perk and choose from the included excursions or

 

2. Take the shipboard credit and choose some OC excursions or

 

3. Use the shipboard credit to buy the unlimited package and upgrade a few to OC, if desired.

 

Specific shore excursion information is not available online, so how can one figure this out? Is there a way to obtain this year's prices of the shore excursions?

 

What is your experience with the unlimited package?

 

Thanks!

Not sure why you can't go to your account and see excursions. We just paid final payment but we selected our four "free" excursions last November. If you want more than your bonus ones, see the thread that talks about calling Oceania so you can get reductions on the extra ones.