fozzybear1980 Posted October 27, 2016 #1 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Good day everyone, This is my first posting in the Oceania forum. I've forever been a Celebrity cruiser, but will be taking my first Oceania cruise in 2018. I wanted to share with you some brief info that came my way last night. I live in Canada, and my travel agent that I always book cruises with invited us to a presentation about Oceania cruises. We've always wanted to try Oceania, but just never got around to it. Not sure if anyone else has been to this sort of thing, but the event was held at a very swanky country club. They offered unlimited food, drinks and desserts during the presentation. They had a rep there from Oceania talking about the Oceania experience and then came the sell... First, if we booked a cruise at the event, we would get 15% off the fare. They would also include a $250USD on-board credit, free internet and the flights included for the price of not having the flights. We figured this was a great opportunity to try out the cruise line, so we booked for a 14-night Caribbean cruise in January 2018. One of the other things I learned is that beginning in the Spring 2017 cruising season, Oceania will start offering their pricing in Canadian dollars, where it was previously only available in USD. They've also locked in their exchange rate at 1.25 (which is a really good deal considering it should be more like 1.35). We figured we couldn't pass up the deals, and so we're very much looking forward to trying out something new. At the end of the evening, the Oceania rep did a raffle draw for on-board credit of $100, $250 and $500. Unfortunately we didn't win, but it's all good. We also were given a copy of Jaques' cookbook for booking on the spot. In all, it was a fun night and a great session to learn about Oceania. I was just curious if anyone had ever been to anything like this before? Happy cruising! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted October 27, 2016 #2 Share Posted October 27, 2016 (edited) Never been to one We were already hooked on Oceania before they started these sales meetings You can get the same deal booking without going to the presentation on specific sailings but you do not get the cookbook ;) https://www.oceaniacruises.com/special-offers/canadian-special/ Enjoy Lyn Edited October 27, 2016 by LHT28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GICNJC Posted October 27, 2016 #3 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Been to one annually over the past three years. Your story is virtually the same as presented in toronto. Booked 2 of three years. Signing OBC amount is generally $100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShopperfiendTO Posted October 27, 2016 #4 Share Posted October 27, 2016 (edited) First, if we booked a cruise at the event, we would get 15% off the fare. They would also include a $250USD on-board credit, free internet and the flights included for the price of not having the flights. We figured this was a great opportunity to try out the cruise line, so we booked for a 14-night Caribbean cruise in January 2018. I was just curious if anyone had ever been to anything like this before? I've been to one and your experience and offer is about the same as the one I attended except for the flights being included for the price of not having the flights. Was this actually the offer? If so, then it would make non-North American cruises more attractive. Edited October 27, 2016 by ShopperfiendTO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanEcosse Posted October 27, 2016 #5 Share Posted October 27, 2016 I went to a similar event in Oakville, ON in Oct 2015 which resulted in us doing a Baltic cruise on Nautica in Aug/Sep this year. Our offer was 20% off the USD price, reduced deposit, paid gratuities plus the standard O-life inclusions. Our TA let me know that we actually had a week or 10 days after the presentation to make a decision so that took the pressure off. Definitely made a strong first impression for Oceania. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABoatNerd Posted October 27, 2016 #6 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Hello Oceania CC members: Very interesting thread. In Ottawa, Ontario. Have not been invited to such a presentation by our well known national cruise only travel agent here. Last week, we just booked our first Oceania voyage for Baltic September 2017. We got the standard Oceania free internet and chose the $300 pp OBC for $600 total. Can we assume we are losing out on benefits by not being able to participate in such an event held in Toronto? Is there value in us contacting Oceania tomorrow and asking for the same benefits that the OP received considering we are both first time customers of Oceania? We are certainly not happy to hear this information! Advice from experienced Oceania sailors would be great. Glad for you OP! ABoatNerd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rucruisn2 Posted October 27, 2016 #7 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Never been to one from Oceania, but when Celebrity was bringing out the Solstice class ships we were invited to a similar event in Miami, food, entertainment, drinks. Then we were invited to a 2 day sailing on Solstice for free, free parking, cruise, drinks everything. It was great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted October 27, 2016 #8 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Is there value in us contacting Oceania tomorrow and asking for the same benefits that the OP received considering we are both first time customers of Oceania? ABoatNerd You can always ask your TA to check if you can a deal from O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fozzybear1980 Posted October 28, 2016 Author #9 Share Posted October 28, 2016 I've been to one and your experience and offer is about the same as the one I attended except for the flights being included for the price of not having the flights. Was this actually the offer? If so, then it would make non-North American cruises more attractive. We were told the flights were included! It was the "O Life" offer for the price of the cruise-only fare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtdesilets Posted October 28, 2016 #10 Share Posted October 28, 2016 Wish we were offered something like that down here in southern California. I have yet to see anything similar. As another poster mentioned, Celebrity did offer something when the Solstice was being debuted, and us being Elite Members were invited to some swanky event in LA. We didn't go unfortunately. Those sound like some very enticing deals however! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanandJim Posted October 28, 2016 #11 Share Posted October 28, 2016 Wish we were offered something like that down here in southern California. I have yet to see anything similar. As another poster mentioned, Celebrity did offer something when the Solstice was being debuted, and us being Elite Members were invited to some swanky event in LA. We didn't go unfortunately. Those sound like some very enticing deals however! Those Canada "deals" have to do with softening the blow of the exchange rate between the currencies of Canada and the United States. Americans don't have the same issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iamthesea Posted October 28, 2016 #12 Share Posted October 28, 2016 (edited) Not sure if anyone else has been to this sort of thing, but the event was held at a very swanky country club. They offered unlimited food, drinks and desserts during the presentation. They had a rep there from Oceania talking about the Oceania experience and then came the sell... Between the pretty embossed brochures (more like coffee table books), that we are now getting weekly, and the money that Oceania is swinging around at these presentations, it's no wonder Oceania Cruises is more expensive! :D Edited October 28, 2016 by Iamthesea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john2003 Posted October 29, 2016 #13 Share Posted October 29, 2016 I found the exchange rate offered very interesting. When i booked onboard in August it was nearly 50% premium. Sent from my LG-H812 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShopperfiendTO Posted November 1, 2016 #14 Share Posted November 1, 2016 We were told the flights were included! It was the "O Life" offer for the price of the cruise-only fare. I'm afraid I don't understand what you wrote.:confused: Are you confirming that if you booked the cruise-only fare, the flights would still be included? Your second statement just seems to state that you could book the cruise-only fare and still get the "O-Life" offers for the cruise, which does not reference the flights being included. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted November 1, 2016 #15 Share Posted November 1, 2016 I'm afraid I don't understand what you wrote.:confused: Are you confirming that if you booked the cruise-only fare, the flights would still be included? Your second statement just seems to state that you could book the cruise-only fare and still get the "O-Life" offers for the cruise, which does not reference the flights being included. The way I read it was they got the O Life deal, included flights for the same price as the cruise only fare with the 15% discount for CAD rate I could be wrong though LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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