Significantly cheaper cruise advertised after booking

[drkitkat123]

Hi there

This seems to have happened to me. As far as I can see, the same stateroom with the same free amenities seems to be 25% cheaper now. Is there any recourse with Oceania? I am still within the fairly low cancellation fee period, so I could as a last resort cancel the cruise and book again and still will be ahead over 3K....

[LHT28]

I would  ask if they will give you the new price

If after Final payment  they may not but they may give you an OBC for the price difference

If you used a TA  get them to check for you

[Flatbush Flyer]

If you booked onboard, you've got a price drop match good until day of sailing as long as there is cabin availability in your category and you understand you'll then get whatever are the current listed perks (vs your original deal). Basically, it's an allowance to rebook after final payment. 

[clo]

I just got a CC email that showed our Baltic cruise for next year at $200pp less.  My O rep had told me when I booked (two days ago) that they would match anything like this so I forwarded to him and he's looking into it.  I plan to transfer the booking to a specific recommended TA but haven't yet.  I'll be interested to see what he can do.

[bbtondo]

If you can save $3,000 by rebooking, go for it.  That's quite a big difference.  Is this something that's common on Oceania?

[drkitkat123]

49 minutes ago, clo said:

I just got a CC email that showed our Baltic cruise for next year at $200pp less.  My O rep had told me when I booked (two days ago) that they would match anything like this so I forwarded to him and he's looking into it.  I plan to transfer the booking to a specific recommended TA but haven't yet.  I'll be interested to see what he can do.

which cruise is that - may be same as us...

22 July Dublin to Copenhagen

[clo]

28 minutes ago, drkitkat123 said:

which cruise is that - may be same as us...

22 July Dublin to Copenhagen

Turns out it's only if I get an email from O with a promo.

 

We're doing Stockholm to Amsterdam.

[drkitkat123]

 all OK. TA spoke with them and they are matching new price. Amazing saving of 4K + and even going up one concierge level

[cruisingaussies]

Drkitkat123, thanks for your post as I was going to start a thread this morning asking almost the same thing. 

 

We are looking at 2 cruises in June/July in Europe.  The second is longer but cheaper than the first with the stated deal of 25% off (plus all amenities), so it seems to be a good deal.  There is no indication as to when this offer will end.

 

Having been burned several times before, booking well in advance on other cruise lines, with significant price drops occurring before and after final payment, we are hesitating about booking these two cruises B2B this far out.  Although these cruises are high season so probably will fill up anyway.

 

Bearing in mind that we are in Australia with different regulations to North America, please can anyone advise:

* is there a best price guarantee?

* are there any advantages of booking on board ?  We are on an Oceania cruise in December, have done over 40 cruises but this will be our first on O.

*do O often have ‘fire sales’ with big price drops 2-3 months before departure?

 

From drkitkat123’s post and other comments, it does seem that this 25% off offer is a good deal. 

 

And we have the same problem as most people, we need to book our flights way in advance, ie now, to take advantage of the best air fares.

 

Sorry if these are ‘how long is a piece of string’ questions but any comments welcome as we have not dealt with O before.

[cruisingaussies]

Messages crossed and great news for you drkitkat123, still would appreciate other comments!

[drkitkat123]

what's also quite interesting is that this is one of the few occasions that the cruise seems significantly cheaper to book in Australia. Cheaper price and more amenities than I can find on any of the overseas/USA discount cruise sites (cant get into USA Oceania site due to geolocking)

[cruisingaussies]

That is truly amazing!  Prices of cruises booked in Australia in the last few years have changed to be more in line with North America, so are more reasonable.  For years we paid significantly higher prices.  However terms and conditions do differ, especially concerning price drops, where you usually have to cancel, lose the deposit, and rebook, if it's worth it.

 

I just rang  O in Sydney and it seems that if there is a price drop, they will assess the situation.

 

On the basis of the posts here and all the info O gave me, we have booked the two cruises for next year and are very pleased with the prices and included amenities.

 

Now looking forward to our December cruise!

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, drkitkat123 said:

 all OK. TA spoke with them and they are matching new price. Amazing saving of 4K + and even going up one concierge level

Seems like  a special for the Australian market 

I do not see  a deal like that on the N.A. site

 

enjoy

[Flatbush Flyer]

4 hours ago, bbtondo said:

If you can save $3,000 by rebooking, go for it.  That's quite a big difference.  Is this something that's common on Oceania?

Not really. A lot of the current "great deals" on Oceania are related to short cruise itinerary changes due to Cuba issue.

The <10 day Caribbean cruise (unless it's on the way to some place interesting, e.g., the Amazon) is an itinerary we avoid. These days, the only way to see the far corners of the Caribbean is by yacht charter.

[Jancruz]

4 hours ago, clo said:

Turns out it's only if I get an email from O with a promo.

 

We're doing Stockholm to Amsterdam.

whoever told  you that is incorrect!!!

Jancruz1

[Jancruz]

4 hours ago, drkitkat123 said:

 all OK. TA spoke with them and they are matching new price. Amazing saving of 4K + and even going up one concierge level

They dont match the price ...Oceania does!!

Jancruz1

[drkitkat123]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

Seems like  a special for the Australian market 

I do not see  a deal like that on the N.A. site

 

enjoy

Its not actually an advertised deal yet. Normally one gets bombarded with Oceania deal emails but interestingly since i booked before end of sept ("book by end of month for best deal!") the emails sort of stopped. And then i looked at the cruise to show a friend and I noticed that the cabins were about 25% cheaper....

[drkitkat123]

21 minutes ago, Jancruz said:

They dont match the price ...Oceania does!!

Jancruz1

sorry, the"they" meant oceania not the TA

[clo]

27 minutes ago, Jancruz said:

whoever told  you that is incorrect!!!

Jancruz1

I may have mis-phrased that.   I got an email from CC about that price.

[roadmaster]

Oceania have done the right thing by us. We are better off by $7k on a b2b in July2020.

Thanks Oceania and Michelle 

[bob brown]

13 hours ago, cruisingaussies said:

*do O often have ‘fire sales’ with big price drops 2-3 months before departure?

 

Very unlikely...unlike the mass-market lines, that will almost give away unsold cabins, since they earn a lot from on board spending, Oceania it seems, would rather let the cabins go empty, than steeply reduce fares.

However,, as Flatbush Flyer has noted, the sudden banning of calls at Cuba on shorter cruises was an exception to that policy...

[Glenndale]

We booked a cruise for next March with the usual O life options.

In August I noticed that our cruise was showing as 'O life ultimate', spoke to my TA, who then spoke to O who upgraded our benefits to ultimate.

Very pleased with O's reaction and all done with no problems. 😀

I know if something similar had happened with Cunard their response would have been 'Tough!'.

 

[Vertygo]

We had a price drop of $400 pp with a Regatta Caribbean cruise, so TA contacted Oceania & we received the $800 as OBC.

 

[cruisingaussies]

10 hours ago, bob brown said:

Very unlikely...unlike the mass-market lines, that will almost give away unsold cabins, since they earn a lot from on board spending, Oceania it seems, would rather let the cabins go empty, than steeply reduce fares.

However,, as Flatbush Flyer has noted, the sudden banning of calls at Cuba on shorter cruises was an exception to that policy...

That's good to hear and from other comments it seems that Oceania handle price drops on existing bookings very fairly.  I'm also impressed that Australians are receiving fair treatment with competitive prices as well.