New to Oceania and have a question

[ORV]

1 hour ago, StanandJim said:

No, and there are VERY severe consequences for trying to do so (both for the Agent AND the passenger) 

 

 

Actually I'm pretty sure Canada and the US are different countries, and it's completely legal with Oceania. 

[StanandJim]

16 minutes ago, ORV said:

Actually I'm pretty sure Canada and the US are different countries, and it's completely legal with Oceania. 

Laugh if you like but I've seen several Agents lose their ability to sell Oceania Product  for  selling to clients in another country, and of one very overbearing Client (we saw him here briefly on CC, the guy who was reserving Suites like crazy, then offering to cancel his Rez if Oceania coughed up a fee) who was denied Boarding for refusing to stop. 

 

The Canada/USA thing works because the Agent Policy covers North America as a whole.  

[drkitkat123]

5 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

I really find it hard to believe that the "bottom line" for your travel "deal" is non-negotiable?

Is it illegal (as in you've seen the law vs a TA telling you "it's just not done").

Perhaps you can do a future booking onboard (which gets you a first discount) and immediately e-mail 3 or more TAs in your home country simply stating- "I've booked this cruise at this price and with these Oceania perks. If I transfer this cruise to you, what will you add to the deal."

One of those TAs may surprise you, particularly if it's a "big ticket" cruise (e.g., $20-30k USD).

On our most recent booking, the discounted advertised Oceania price on the Australian Oceania website including all the perks was significantly cheaper than I could find on any USA site. So maybe in Australia they sort of take into account all the non advertised discounts you can get in the USA 

[Paulchili]

Not if you have a good TA and are before the final payment. You may have to give up any perks you got with your initial booking (if any)

In addition, if you booked onboard you may get the lower price even after final payment

Edited January 23, 2020 by Paulchili

[chivatosteve]

11 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

Not if you have a good TA and are before the final payment. You may have to give up any perks you got with your initial booking (if any)

In addition, if you booked onboard you may get the lower price even after final payment

Unfortunately, final payment was made before we realized the price had gone down.  The cruise in question was not booked onboard.  However, we did book another cruise onboard just before the "Hurry, prices are going up October 1st!"  Of course, after Oct. 1st that particular cruise did not go up, and I guess know we now have to watch frequently to make sure we don't lose again.  I guess I can see O's position, but $1800 is $1800!  Leaves a bad taste. 

[drkitkat123]

or ask them to apply the difference to an upgraded cabin category

[Paulchili]

47 minutes ago, clo said:

We had made our final payment and the fare went down $400pp. I had booked with a rep at O and contacted him. He said he could either give us SBC for that cruise or reduce the fare for another cruise that I had booked (and then transferred to a TA).We chose the latter.

I think you were lucky and I would think it’s the exception rather than the rule.

This type of offer is often given before the final payment but rarely afterwards IME.

Imagine the consequences if everyone on the cruise would want to be compensated after final payment. That is why the option to benefit from lower prices even after final payment is offered as an incentive and a perk of booking onboard.

Edited January 23, 2020 by Paulchili

[clo]

40 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

I think you were lucky and I would think it’s the exception rather than the rule.

This type of offer is often given before the final payment but rarely afterwards IME.

Imagine the consequences if everyone on the cruise would want to be compensated after final payment. That is why the option to benefit from lower prices even after final payment is offered as an incentive and a perk of booking onboard.

Interesting. I checked my old emails and I contacted him on 11/22/19 and we embarked 12/07/19. He is who had told me to keep an eye out. He wrote me back immediately, I decided what I wanted to do, he arranged it with their revenue department and then had me contact my TA. He never acted like this was anything out of the ordinary.

 

Did a quick look see and found this comment from 2012 from RubySue

'

Not quite true. We paid our final payment last June for a September cruise, then found out a couple of weeks later there were substantial price reductions in our cabin category and we were able to get O to credit us AFTER final payment had been made. They did get some of it back when they offered us an upgrade to a PH2 a mere two weeks before the cruise that was too good to pass up."

[Paulchili]

26 minutes ago, clo said:

Interesting. I checked my old emails and I contacted him on 11/22/19 and we embarked 12/07/19. He is who had told me to keep an eye out. He wrote me back immediately, I decided what I wanted to do, he arranged it with their revenue department and then had me contact my TA. He never acted like this was anything out of the ordinary.

 

Did a quick look see and found this comment from 2012 from RubySue

'

Not quite true. We paid our final payment last June for a September cruise, then found out a couple of weeks later there were substantial price reductions in our cabin category and we were able to get O to credit us AFTER final payment had been made. They did get some of it back when they offered us an upgrade to a PH2 a mere two weeks before the cruise that was too good to pass up."

I guess it doesn't hurt to ask & try.

[Paulchili]

2 hours ago, chivatosteve said:

Unfortunately, final payment was made before we realized the price had gone down.  The cruise in question was not booked onboard.  However, we did book another cruise onboard just before the "Hurry, prices are going up October 1st!"  Of course, after Oct. 1st that particular cruise did not go up, and I guess know we now have to watch frequently to make sure we don't lose again.  I guess I can see O's position, but $1800 is $1800!  Leaves a bad taste. 

Based on clo's post above there is nothing lost by trying to see what they would do for you.

Good luck.

[Jay23]

18 hours ago, Paulchili said:

Are there any perks UK TAs offer or simply charge the O's published fare (and O included perks)?

 The specialist cruise TA's offer special fares and we would rarely pay O's published prices, if at all.  

 I think the problem here  is the word "Rebate".   When I suggested on another thread,  that we in the UK get a discount from our TAs, I was told it is illegal.  But different countries have different rules and terminology.  Rebate is not something we know about, special discounts is the way we manage our cruise booking.  I am not aware of refundable OBCs either with the UK  Travel agents but I am sure someone will put me right.        

 

 

[Paulchili]

2 hours ago, Jay23 said:

we would rarely pay O's published prices,

By "published prices" I hope you mean those 2 for 1 prices and not the outrageous listed prices.

[Jay23]

1 hour ago, Paulchili said:

By "published prices" I hope you mean those 2 for 1 prices and not the outrageous listed prices.

I mean prices shown in a brochure/on line.  .  We don't have 2 for 1 prices in the UK.   I think that is half price isn't it?  

I have no idea what guests from other countries pay for their cruises, I only know we pay what we consider good value.  In fact I have no idea what anyone from anywhere else pays.      If it seems too much to us,  we don't book.  Simple..............               

[pinotlover]

We don’t obsess over what others pay like some seem to do. As Jay said above, if we believe a cruise has a poor QPR , we just don’t book it.

 

We were on a cruise two years ago to SE Asia. Lots of Germans and particularly Austrians. Oceania has been doing a marketing blitz there and was offering incredible prices to lure in new cruisers to try the line. Good for those cruisers! But no thing that would affect me, wrong zip code! 
 

I look at all this like airfare. If I didn’t like the airfare , I’d look elsewhere. Certainly wouldn’t obsess over what price all the other passengers are paying . Very few are probably paying the same! 😂