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Qlife w/airfare versus just cabin booking


reps23
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We booked a cruise from Miami to Barcelona on March 20, 2021 cabin only.  We are thinking of changing our booking to include Qlife with airfare since the air fare is so high right now.  Of course, the air fare is probably this high now due to Corona and not many flights available at this time for booking.  We actually booked this cruise the last time they had a 4 category upgrade and are now in a A3 cabin but am thinking of moving up to a Penthouse if available.

 

For those of you who have used Qlife with air fare before, what are your thoughts.  I have heard of many problems when friends have used other cruise lines with included air fares in their booking.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Phyllis

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Happy July 4th!

We have booked a cruise on the Sirena In April. We are taking care of our own air fare. We like to select our own seats and enjoy the most convenient flight times. You might feel different about this though. In any event, it’s great to have something to look forward to!

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15 minutes ago, Guest said:

Happy July 4th!

We have booked a cruise on the Sirena In April. We are taking care of our own air fare. We like to select our own seats and enjoy the most convenient flight times. You might feel different about this though. In any event, it’s great to have something to look forward to!

FWIW, the Oceania Air program also allows clients to pick their flights, provided that the deviation fee is paid.  

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Using  O air  (not part of O life)   for  a TA is usually a better deal  (at least for us  it is)

I would add the air now  then you can decide later if you find a fare cheaper & cancel the air prior to Final payment

 

As Jim noted you can ask for the flights/routing you want  at 270 days from sailing  & once you & Oceania agree to the flight details pay the non refundable deviation fee of $175 PP

 

As for the O Life perk   do the math to see if it is worth the price 

You can take the air  with or without the O Life perk

 

If you do ship's tours then that seems to be the better perk to choose

The Beverage Package is wine by the glass /beer  for lunch & dinner only..however you can upgrade  to the Prestige Package for $20 pp/pd once onboard

 

The key is  do the math & do what suits your needs the best

JMO

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We typically book our own air for multiple reasons. However, in these days of high uncertainty booking the flights via Oceania has an upside. If they cancel a cruise, then they have to deal with the airlines and it’s one less hassle for you. We don’t know how long the current generous airline policies will continue. 
 

Likewise , if the airlines cancel specific flights it becomes Oceania’s job to get you to the ship!

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4 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

We typically book our own air for multiple reasons. However, in these days of high uncertainty booking the flights via Oceania has an upside. If they cancel a cruise, then they have to deal with the airlines and it’s one less hassle for you. We don’t know how long the current generous airline policies will continue. 
 

Likewise , if the airlines cancel specific flights it becomes Oceania’s job to get you to the ship!

+1, until the current situation is resolved, it makes good sense to leave the flights in Oceania's hands.  

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Or book your own flights using frequent flyer miles.  You can cancel anytime -- even the day before your flight -- without penalty, and pay only a couple hundred dollars fee to reinstate your miles.  

 

N.B.: the preceding refers to AA and UA because I have experience with both.  Other airlines may vary, so do due diligence.  (Try saying that three times fast.)

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OLife and O Air are separate options as has been stated.  Both are automatically included in the booking but either or both may be excluded prior to final payment.  For flights, we have used O’s air in 2019 with arriving a couple of days prior to embarkation and paying the deviation fee of $175pp.  It gave us some control of the flights and seat selection after final payment, and it was far less costly that we could buy on our own.  We did lose the deviation fee when we cancelled our 2020 cruise, not happy about that but not surprised.  Once we had enough FF miles to do our own flights and opted out of O’s air which saved us $1,000 pp.  We use The OLife option only for excursions, but if we are able to arrange private tours, we opt out of OLife as the drink package is not of interest and the on board credit is equal to the credit of opting out.  The OBC of OLife is non refundable, use it or lose it.  There are choices, all are good depending on facts and circumstances.

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We have always take OLife with air and do excursions that are far from the ship to ensure we are back on time.  We have sometimes used our own air.  For those times we received from O a US175 credit per person per flight.

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7 hours ago, reps23 said:

  We actually booked this cruise the last time they had a 4 category upgrade and are now in a A3 cabin but am thinking of moving up to a Penthouse if available.

 

I don't know if you're thinking of upgrading to a PH using the 4 category upgrade on their holiday sale but I just wanted to say that you can't do it. I asked about it when I booked during one of the holiday sales and the highest level you can upgrade to is an A1.  

 

We book our own air because we like to choose the airline and the flight. We always take the air credit but that's us and it's a personal choice. We just booked a ticket to Papeete, FP for March 2021 on UA using FF miles. It cleaned us out of miles but it's very costly in real money when you're flying to the South Pacific. 

 

Enjoy your cruise!

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3 hours ago, GICNJC said:

  For those times we received from O a US175 credit per person per flight.

Then you were ripped off

The air credit is usually a lot more than  that

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16 hours ago, GICNJC said:

For those times we received from O a US175 credit per person per flight.

To add to this, the air credit varies from cruise to cruise. There is no set amount. I've seen it as low as $250 a person or as high as $1500 pp or more. 

 

I'm pretty sure the OP is probably thoroughly confused by now, no one is telling them about the QLife air. 

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35 minutes ago, ORV said:

To add to this, the air credit varies from cruise to cruise. There is no set amount. I've seen it as low as $250 a person or as high as $1500 pp or more. 

 

 

I think it also depends on when you cancel the Oceania air   the amount changes  closer to  final payment/sailing dates

The lowest we have gotten is $300 pp for US  embarkations   usually $400  if we cancel early (at the time of booking)

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1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

I think it also depends on when you cancel the Oceania air   the amount changes  closer to  final payment/sailing 

It depends on the fare for the flight, for example domestic flights are less pricey than international flights.  It can be determined by your TA or pricing online with airfare v. without airfare.

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7 minutes ago, shank63 said:

It depends on the fare for the flight, for example domestic flights are less pricey than international flights.  It can be determined by your TA or pricing online with airfare v. without airfare.

But  as you get closer to the sailing date  that air credit decreases

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Since you will have to get a  one way from Europe ( Spain) to the US. bear in mind that a 1 way EU-US  flight will be priced the same as a round trip fare....  in essence double $$$ for a 1 way.    Without FF miles it would be to your advantage to take the O  included air fare.  You can request  a fare reduction if only using 1/2 of the  potential round trip.    ( with you buying your fare from home  to Miami, and taking the Barcelona- to home using O)

 

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Thanks so much for all this information.   As of now I only took the cabin only fare which I had booked last time there was a 4 category upgrade.  We are in an A3 cabin but am thinking of upgrading to a Penthouse.  Last time we were told we could do that but someone on here just said that the highest cabin you can upgrade to was an A1.

 

I am going to ask my travel agent to find out what the air credit is as I don't see the costs online or am missing them.  I usually book my own air fare.  We will be taking a Viking river cruise in May and their air fare usually works out well so went with them for air fare.

 

Looking forward to cruising again.....

 

Phyllis

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24 minutes ago, reps23 said:

I am going to ask my travel agent to find out what the air credit is as I don't see the costs online or am missing them.  I usually book my own air fare.  We will be taking a Viking river cruise in May and their air fare usually works out well so went with them for air fare.

 

Looking forward to cruising again.....

 

Phyllis

Do you have an invoice from your TA?

 The air credit is usually listed  under the discounts from the brochure fare

Usually if you take the Cruise only fare  away from the Olife.w air  price  that give you  an idea of the air credit

 

You could  do a  search for air   from your airport to MIA  then BCN  to home

 I use  https://matrix.itasoftware.com/   to check flights/prices

Then you can see what O charges   & make a decision

 I would also consider flying in a day early  & maybe staying longer  after the cruise  which you can pay the $175 PP  deviation fee  with O air

 

 

 

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6 hours ago, reps23 said:

Thanks so much for all this information.   As of now I only took the cabin only fare which I had booked last time there was a 4 category upgrade.  We are in an A3 cabin but am thinking of upgrading to a Penthouse.  Last time we were told we could do that but someone on here just said that the highest cabin you can upgrade to was an A1.

 

I am going to ask my travel agent to find out what the air credit is as I don't see the costs online or am missing them.  I usually book my own air fare.  We will be taking a Viking river cruise in May and their air fare usually works out well so went with them for air fare.

 

Looking forward to cruising again.....

 

Phyllis

Phillis...... a one way ticket Barcelona  to Chicago would be running around $2,200-2400 pp for AA or UA.   thats for the cheapest add another $!000 for prem econ  ( all pp)    You could get a cheap flight from ORD to MIA  for under $300....... or even take the train !!!.  TAP  portugal is showing one for $550 pp... but I imagine it comes with alsort of extra fees for bags, meals, seats selection...    Check them out    using  1/2 the O air fare deal.

 

  On O life  you do not have to buy it and on a trans Atlantic heavy sea day trip  just buy the airfare deal 

 

I see little advantage   as O life is really you getting back from O the money you gave them.. its  not a deal its your money.   My take is save that $$ and spend it as you choose for anything  some here  some there...  It is no advantage to buy it for your trip as I see it.

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On 7/6/2020 at 6:26 PM, Hawaiidan said:

 

 

I see little advantage   as O life is really you getting back from O the money you gave them.. its  not a deal its your money.   My take is save that $$ and spend it as you choose for anything  some here  some there...  It is no advantage to buy it for your trip as I see it.

From our limited experience, as stated above you need to do the math. We use our Olife for the beverage package and then upgrade onboard. This has saved us money because the cost of Olife with the extra $20 per person per day is less then buying the package outright.

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52 minutes ago, Jim and Monika said:

From our limited experience, as stated above you need to do the math. We use our Olife for the beverage package and then upgrade onboard. This has saved us money because the cost of Olife with the extra $20 per person per day is less then buying the package outright.

Very true... do the math.       However, here are some points to ponder:  1   Is it sea day or port intensive as sea days are more conducive to casual drinking. Whereas a port intensive with much of your time ashore  limits the opportunity.   

 2. how long is the cruise.    7 to 10 days  it is practical for many to drink more.  when you get to  18-24 days there is a normal tendency , as with food, to consume less and less as days go on..   

 3  Are you  able to drink ( tolerate)  5+ drinks a day... every day...your not 22 anymore on spring break 

4.  Know that the liquor package does not cover wine by the bottle and is limited to a small list of wine by the glass

I have done it several ways and, for me, now do not take the package unless heavy sea day and in a tropic/warm climate.    One  additional thing is that you do not have to buy in advance the package.   You can wait till you get on board AND at any time you choose sign up on day 1 or 3,4,5,6,7, 8, etc   Once you start it can not be cancelled.    In this way you can see for your self what your really spending  and IF the package will work before you buy!   Everyone is different.     

 Also, if your on a cruise that is a Back to Back then you can get the package for the 1st leg and wait to see for the  2nd leg before you buy the whole deal.

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I've done ot both ways. You can also split the Olife with air or without air.  With all the uncertainty now, I would suggest booking your air from the cruise line. That way, should the cruise get cancelled, you get it all back from the cruise line. 

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8 hours ago, Redtravel said:

I've done ot both ways. You can also split the Olife with air or without air.  With all the uncertainty now, I would suggest booking your air from the cruise line. That way, should the cruise get cancelled, you get it all back from the cruise line. 

There is a very good chance you would get a refund from the airline too.  We just cancelled a non-refundable airfare to Europe that we had booked for October and got fully refunded.  We booked it on our own. We've never had the cruise line book an airfare for us so I don't know how that would work if you had to cancel. 

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