New to Oceania, Tell All Please

[ORV]

The right credit card will pay for itself on bag charges alone if you fly as a couple at least twice a year. Although not a major flier I get free bags on Delta & AA which are the two airlines we use the most. 

[clo]

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

but if you want to choose the flights/routing

fly in early or stay after the cruise add $175 pp  so you can choose the flights you want  ..like non stop for example

When we were flying to Rio we wanted a certain connection and airline AND to fly in several days early. Their option(s) was not acceptable.

[LHT28]

13 minutes ago, clo said:

When we were flying to Rio we wanted a certain connection and airline AND to fly in several days early. Their option(s) was not acceptable.

as stated before "one size does not fit all"

 We usually have no issue  we pick the flights we want  with the carrier we want   no issues

On the TA last year  we took the PE on the return from LHR  the price  worked out  for us  to take O air

 

Lately we  booked BUS Class  so better to DIY

 

[Ken the cruiser]

9 hours ago, Jimbo said:

In my case the air didn't sound to over paid?

 

PHL to Vancouver   and LAX to PHL  $400 per person RT

 

Pretty sure I couldn't even come close to beating that when you add in bags, etc.

I'm sure we're in the minority, but we always book air through the cruise line, especially if it's around the same price. We are low stress travelers and like the guarantee that if something unforeseen happens during the flight, the applicable cruise line will make the appropriate arrangements for us to get to the ship, even if it has already sailed to the next port, rather than us trying to figure it out on our own.

 

But then again we also book cruise line excursions for similar "low stress" reasons like when a port is cancelled at the last minute.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I'm sure we're in the minority, but we always book air through the cruise line, especially if it's around the same price. We are low stress travelers and like the guarantee that if something unforeseen happens during the flight, the applicable cruise line will make the appropriate arrangements for us to get to the ship, even if it has already sailed to the next port, rather than us trying to figure it out on our own.

 

But then again we also book cruise line excursions for similar "low stress" reasons like when a port is cancelled at the last minute.

Well Ken, get ready for some stress:

If your O arranged air goes FUBAR, you are NOT guaranteed their reimbursement for expenses related to interruptions/delays - including missing the ship and getting to the next port.

While it would be normal for O to rebook you if embarkation/disembarkation port location changes and, as a courtesy, rebook airline cancelled/changed flight time for you pre-cruise, associated pre-cruise trip delay/interruption expenses are not their responsibility.

You should reread your Oceania ticket contract (T&Cs), including:

 

g. Shore Excursions and Other Transportation, Services and Facilities: We shall in no event be liable to You with respect to any occurrence prior to embarkation or after disembarkation from the Ship named herein or substitute, except for transportation by water which is carried out by means of a conveyance provided by Us including the Ship and our tenders. If we have made arrangements on Your behalf for the provision of travel facilities with various independent contractors, such arrangements were made solely as a convenience and not as an agent of those independent contractors, for which a surcharge may be imposed. Carrier does not undertake to supervise or control such independent contractors or their employees, conveyances or facilities, and accepts no liability for any loss, delay, damage, injury, death, misrepresentation or disappointment whatsoever resulting therefrom. Carrier makes no representation, either express or implied, regarding the suitability, safety, insurance or other aspects of any such independent contractors, transportation, tours, services, products or facilities and Carrier’s liability for nonperformance of any independent contractor providing such facilities or services shall be limited to a refund of the amounts received by Carrier on the Guest’s behalf, if any. We assume no responsibility in whole or in part for any delays, delayed departures or arrivals, missed connections, loss, death, damage or injury to person or property or accident, mechanical defect, failure or negligence of any nature whatever caused in connection with any accommodations, transportation, services or facilities, substitution of hotels, common carriers or equipment with or without notice or for any additional expenses occasioned thereby. We reserve the right to choose the air carrier, routing and gateway locations, as well as the right to substitute charter flights for scheduled service and vice versa. If the entire Cruise or CruiseTour is canceled by Us for any reason, Guests shall have no claim other than for a full refund of the Cruise Fare or the CruiseTour Fare, whichever is applicable. The airlines and other transportation companies concerned are not to be held responsible for any act, omission or event during the time You are not on board their conveyances. This Ticket Contract constitutes the sole agreement between Carrier and You, it being understood that the various independent contractors otherwise participating in the Cruise or CruiseTour will enter into their own separate contractual arrangements with You, and that You assume the risk of utilizing the services and facilities of those independent contractors. Any penalties, change fees or cancellation fees that result from changes to or cancellation of air arrangements are the sole responsibility of the Guest. 

Edited May 5, 2020 by Flatbush Flyer

[Paulchili]

8 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Well Ken, get ready for some stress:

If your O arranged air goes FUBAR, you are NOT guaranteed their reimbursement for expenses related to interruptions/delays - including missing the ship and getting to the next port.

While it would be normal for O to rebook you if embarkation/disembarkation port location changes and, as a courtesy, rebook airline cancelled/changed flight time for you pre-cruise, associated pre-cruise trip delay/interruption expenses are not their responsibility.

You should reread your Oceania ticket contract (T&Cs), including:

In addition, if for example your cruise starts in Miami and you miss it and the next port is Key West, you cannot embark there.

[Hawaiidan]

5 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

In addition, if for example your cruise starts in Miami and you miss it and the next port is Key West, you cannot embark there.

Lesson....  make your travel arrangements to and from any trip  your self....independent of a cruise or   anything...    Retain control . When you have a 3 rd party make arrangements you can loose a lot

[Ken the cruiser]

27 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Well Ken, get ready for some stress:

If your O arranged air goes FUBAR, you are NOT guaranteed their reimbursement for expenses related to interruptions/delays - including missing the ship and getting to the next port.

While it would be normal for O to rebook you if embarkation/disembarkation port location changes and, as a courtesy, rebook airline cancelled/changed flight time for you pre-cruise, associated pre-cruise trip delay/interruption expenses are not their responsibility.

You should reread your Oceania ticket contract (T&Cs), including:

 

g. Shore Excursions and Other Transportation, Services and Facilities: We shall in no event be liable to You with respect to any occurrence prior to embarkation or after disembarkation from the Ship named herein or substitute, except for transportation by water which is carried out by means of a conveyance provided by Us including the Ship and our tenders. If we have made arrangements on Your behalf for the provision of travel facilities with various independent contractors, such arrangements were made solely as a convenience and not as an agent of those independent contractors, for which a surcharge may be imposed. Carrier does not undertake to supervise or control such independent contractors or their employees, conveyances or facilities, and accepts no liability for any loss, delay, damage, injury, death, misrepresentation or disappointment whatsoever resulting therefrom. Carrier makes no representation, either express or implied, regarding the suitability, safety, insurance or other aspects of any such independent contractors, transportation, tours, services, products or facilities and Carrier’s liability for nonperformance of any independent contractor providing such facilities or services shall be limited to a refund of the amounts received by Carrier on the Guest’s behalf, if any. We assume no responsibility in whole or in part for any delays, delayed departures or arrivals, missed connections, loss, death, damage or injury to person or property or accident, mechanical defect, failure or negligence of any nature whatever caused in connection with any accommodations, transportation, services or facilities, substitution of hotels, common carriers or equipment with or without notice or for any additional expenses occasioned thereby. We reserve the right to choose the air carrier, routing and gateway locations, as well as the right to substitute charter flights for scheduled service and vice versa. If the entire Cruise or CruiseTour is canceled by Us for any reason, Guests shall have no claim other than for a full refund of the Cruise Fare or the CruiseTour Fare, whichever is applicable. The airlines and other transportation companies concerned are not to be held responsible for any act, omission or event during the time You are not on board their conveyances. This Ticket Contract constitutes the sole agreement between Carrier and You, it being understood that the various independent contractors otherwise participating in the Cruise or CruiseTour will enter into their own separate contractual arrangements with You, and that You assume the risk of utilizing the services and facilities of those independent contractors. Any penalties, change fees or cancellation fees that result from changes to or cancellation of air arrangements are the sole responsibility of the Guest. 

 

17 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

In addition, if for example your cruise starts in Miami and you miss it and the next port is Key West, you cannot embark there.

 

9 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

Lesson....  make your travel arrangements to and from any trip  your self....independent of a cruise or   anything...    Retain control . When you have a 3 rd party make arrangements you can loose a lot

Thank you all so much for pointing out one more reason why getting excited about booking an O cruise just doesn't seem to be as fun for us like it used to be. It's too bad as we just made Silver too.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

 

Thank you all so much for pointing out one more reason why getting excited about booking an O cruise just doesn't seem to be as fun for us like it used to be. It's too bad as we just made Silver too.

Just to be clear. That air stuff is pretty much the same for every cruise line.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, Hawaiidan said:

Lesson....  make your travel arrangements to and from any trip  your self....independent of a cruise or   anything...    Retain control . When you have a 3 rd party make arrangements you can loose a lot

I had to chuckle....

When we were on Nautica this past February and Singapore became Dubai, I was jealous of those folks who took the O air and were told that they would be rebooked from Dubai by O. Meanwhile, and fortunately with free long distance calling supplied by the ship, I had to make my own arrangements (fortunately, I know enough about air travel to not make a fool of myself).

Fast forward to dinner the next evening when a couple at our table shared their tale of woe that O botched their rebook and now it was too late to "get out of Dodge" on disembarkation day. Over the next couple of days ran into another two couples who had similar issues. 

So, I'll stick with DIY.

[clo]

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I'm sure we're in the minority, but we always book air through the cruise line, especially if it's around the same price. We are low stress travelers and like the guarantee that if something unforeseen happens during the flight, the applicable cruise line will make the appropriate arrangements for us to get to the ship, even if it has already sailed to the next port, rather than us trying to figure it out on our own.

 

But then again we also book cruise line excursions for similar "low stress" reasons like when a port is cancelled at the last minute.

So you don't do pre/post visits in those ports? That's a highlight for us.

[Ken the cruiser]

10 minutes ago, clo said:

So you don't do pre/post visits in those ports? That's a highlight for us.

Not so much unless we book a pre/post excursion package through the cruise line. But since our cruises are usually 3-5 weeks in length, we mostly look forward to enjoying life of the ship and booking excursions at the ports we will be visiting. But that's just us. We just love to cruise!

[Mura]

On an "O" cruise (back in 2010) we were leaving from Miami for the Canal.  Weather was bad in the NE and some people who used O's air didn't get to Miami on time.  The ship had to leave on time because otherwise it would have lost its place going into the Canal.  I'm not sure when those people managed to catch the ship but I'm sure it was after we were OUT of the Canal.

 

On another cruise a high school classmate of mine (we hadn't seen each other since) were using "O" air from southern california.  There was some sort of problem -- I forget exactly what it was, this took place more than 10 years ago.  Their flights were cancelled and O was NO help to them in rebooking.  They didn't catch the ship until the next port (Oslo -- the ship had left from Dover) -- and their luggage hadn't caught up with them either.

 

They were NOT happy.  And given that husband and wife were both recovering alcoholics they didn't appreciate the bottle of champagne that they were given as an apology ... which would NOT be substituted for something non-alcoholic.

 

I believe they abandoned O after that ...

 

Mura

 

[clo]

28 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We just love to cruise!

Ah, I should have looked at your screen name 🙂

[LHT28]

10 hours ago, Mura said:

They were NOT happy.  And given that husband and wife were both recovering alcoholics they didn't appreciate the bottle of champagne that they were given as an apology ... which would NOT be substituted for something non-alcoholic.

 

 

 Standard  procedure  to offer wine or Champagne    but  wonder if it was noted on their  file  they were recovering Alcoholics ??

 

[Mura]

That's an excellent question, one which I didn't think to ask at the time.  My guess is that it was NOT indicated on their file.  They may not have thought to put it on their file either ... But we all wondered why they couldn't swap the champagne out for something non-alcoholic.

[LHT28]

32 minutes ago, Mura said:

 But we all wondered why they couldn't swap the champagne out for something non-alcoholic.

I wonder  what that would be ??

I have tasted non alcoholic wine   but my opinion   is why do they bother to make it 😉

 Maybe  they could have given them some chocolate covered strawberries  (we got that for  a complaint about something)

 

[Hawaiidan]

13 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

I had to chuckle....

When we were on Nautica this past February and Singapore became Dubai, I was jealous of those folks who took the O air and were told that they would be rebooked from Dubai by O. Meanwhile, and fortunately with free long distance calling supplied by the ship, I had to make my own arrangements (fortunately, I know enough about air travel to not make a fool of myself).

Fast forward to dinner the next evening when a couple at our table shared their tale of woe that O botched their rebook and now it was too late to "get out of Dodge" on disembarkation day. Over the next couple of days ran into another two couples who had similar issues. 

So, I'll stick with DIY.

If you do it yourself  for your self, you have yourself to thank  and or blame.   Interesting concept...personal responsibility !

[Mura]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

I wonder  what that would be ??

I have tasted non alcoholic wine   but my opinion   is why do they bother to make it 😉

 Maybe  they could have given them some chocolate covered strawberries  (we got that for  a complaint about something)

 

Oh, I wasn't thinking of non-alcoholic liquor (a contradiction in terms, no?) ... but rather just a bottle of seltzer or whatever.  This happened in the days when they charged for water, let alone sodas.  But I like your idea of strawberries ...

 

[LHT28]

39 minutes ago, Mura said:

Oh, I wasn't thinking of non-alcoholic liquor (a contradiction in terms, no?) ... but rather just a bottle of seltzer or whatever.  This happened in the days when they charged for water, let alone sodas.  But I like your idea of strawberries ...

 

AHH  way back  then

 maybe they though a bottle/can of water or soda  would be  a slap in the face

it is  a no win situation  unless they offered a free cruise  LOL

[Mura]

Ah yes, considering that they missed the first few days of the cruise and had a horrible time getting to the ship they no doubt would have welcomed an offer of a free cruise!!!

[chromered7]

After some prolonged issues with another cruise line regarding the refunding of  money from a cancelled cruise we are reluctant to even consider booking a cruise for 2021. This has not stopped us browsing other cruise lines during the isolation hours. We were aware of  Oceania’s reputation for good food and service but for us it is difficult to even contemplate an early booking for 2021 . This in part is due to the uncertainty surrounding Covid ,port closures and how the cruise industry will react to distancing etc.

 

[LHT28]

4 minutes ago, chromered7 said:

After some prolonged issues with another cruise line regarding the refunding of  money from a cancelled cruise we are reluctant to even consider booking a cruise for 2021. This has not stopped us browsing other cruise lines during the isolation hours. We were aware of  Oceania’s reputation for good food and service but for us it is difficult to even contemplate an early booking for 2021 . This in part is due to the uncertainty surrounding Covid ,port closures and how the cruise industry will react to distancing etc.

 

Just wait until things settle down

If the line is sailing  then go  then

JMO

[Big Tiger Fan]

Just trying to understand what is included in a booking with O. Do we get unlimited internet with each booking? Please tell me what you get with the $20 pd pp upgrade to Premium Beverage package. NO alcohol with regular fare?  How much are daily gratuities?

Plus, are all balconies private? Deck plans don’t make this clear.

Just booked our first Oceania cruise and are not finding fine details on web site.

Thanks for help. Have learned a lot of good advice from CC over years.

[LHT28]

10 hours ago, Big Tiger Fan said:

Just trying to understand what is included in a booking with O. Do we get unlimited internet with each booking?

YES  1 Account per cabin   unless you are in a TOP suite then you get 2

 

Please tell me what you get with the $20 pd pp upgrade to Premium Beverage package. NO alcohol with regular fare?

The basic package (O Life) is wine by the glass or beer with lunch & dinner 

Prestige package  is wine by the glass, beer & most alcoholic beverages 

some Top cognac/scotch are not included

 

 How much are daily gratuities?

https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005476793-What-is-your-gratuity-policy-

 

Plus, are all balconies private? Deck plans don’t make this clear.

none are shared with others  if that is what you mean

 

Just booked our first Oceania cruise and are not finding fine details on web site.

Thanks for help. Have learned a lot of good advice from CC over years.

what fine details  are you looking for?

https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us

 

You can check out The Preismans blog for menus  (pre pandemic)   he does  a good job with  photos/info

https://www.thepreismans.com/marina19_menus.htm