Olife with air

[mfabz]

 We are new to Oceania and  considering including air thru Oceania for our June, 2021 cruise.    Several questions for regular Oceania cruisers. 

 

(1)  Can we select our own flights or does Oceania pick for you? 

(2)  Can  you book premium economy?

(3)  Can we fly in a few days before?

(4)  Can we eliminate air from the reservation at a later date before final payment? 

(5)  Do you pay for the air when booking or at final payment?

 

Thanks for your response.  It is appreciated.

 

 

[arima22]

Recommend you read this information from the Oceania site:

 

https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/360001108894-Air

 

 

[LHT28]

JMO

 

 Depends on where you are flying 

I would check air fare  that you can get on your own  then you can pick the routing/carrier/seats etc..

Oceania air is good if you have a domestic flight  & one way  transatlantic   but  I would pay the deviation fee ($175 PP) to fly in early or stay longer   than cruise dates

 

Oceania air can be removed  & you will receive an discount or air credit

Check when you book what the air credit will be 

 

The air is included in final payment  except the deviation fee should you choose  to fly in/out on non cruise days

once you agree on the flights  the fee is non refundable

You could leave the air on until you see what you can book on your own

[Mura]

Ditto to what Lyn said.  We usually book our own air but on a few occasions over the many years we used O's air.  Since we virtually always go in early and stay late, we'd take the deviation.  On a few of those flights -- not by any means all of them -- premium economy was available but I wouldn't assume it would be.  Best to check with your TA or O when that question comes up.

 

If you want biz air, you're best off booking it on your own.  O's fares were always far more than we could find on our own.

 

 

[Hawaiidan]

21 hours ago, mfabz said:

 We are new to Oceania and  considering including air thru Oceania for our June, 2021 cruise.    Several questions for regular Oceania cruisers. 

 

(1)  Can we select our own flights or does Oceania pick for you? 

(2)  Can  you book premium economy?

(3)  Can we fly in a few days before?

(4)  Can we eliminate air from the reservation at a later date before final payment? 

(5)  Do you pay for the air when booking or at final payment?

 

Thanks for your response.  It is appreciated.

 

 

 

If you take O air   consider that 

1. you can only select your flights , fly in early or depart late if you pay extra $175 pp

2. You can book prem economy....IF it is available  at the time you  make final payment. Itis not available on all cruises and it is ONLY for the  trans Atlantic segment  one way... NOT the whole flight

3.  Pay is at final payment.... I do not know if you can cancel once you have requested air.

4. Taking O air offers no guarantee that you will make the ship...  if you miss it  it is up to you to catch up...your cost.  No reimbursement.   

5.  The closer to the cruise you book air   and request a credit,  the price of the credit you might get  normally decreases'

6. Without FF miles or discounts it is generally  good to take the Air by O for one way trans-atlantic or pacific flights 

7.  You can split an O air.... That is you can take  just the outbound or return segment  rather than the whole round trip.

8.  Consult Matrix flight schedules to see what the real costs are for you if done  without O.  Know the real cost !!!

[ORV]

3 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

2. You can book prem economy....IF it is available  at the time you  make final payment. Itis not available on all cruises and it is ONLY for the  trans Atlantic segment  one way... NOT the whole flight

3.  Pay is at final payment.... I do not know if you can cancel once you have requested air.

Of course if it's a transatlantic cruise it's for one way, but if it's for round trip Europe if it's offered, it's for there and back, but it's the current cost per person, per trip. So if it's listed as PE for $199 then you will pay an extra $796 for it. 

 

You can cancel the air up until final payment, unless you ask for it to be ticketed, then different rules apply which at this time I'm not clear enough on to quote. I do know that if you ask for your flights to be ticketed with a deviation at the 270 day point and you make a change then you might have additional change fees. 

 

Since we get free deviation for being Gold + I'm not exactly sure how it works at the 270 day point. 

Edited August 21, 2020 by ORV

[arima22]

4 minutes ago, ORV said:

Of course if it's a transatlantic cruise it's for one way, but if it's for round trip Europe if it's offered, it's for there and back, but it's the current cost per person, per trip. So if it's listed as PE for $199 then you will pay an extra $796 for it. 

 

You can cancel the air up until final payment, unless you ask for it to be ticketed, then different rules apply which at this time I'm not clear enough on to quote. I do know that if you ask for your flights to be ticketed with a deviation at the 270 day point and you make a change then you might have additional change fees. 

 

Since we get free deviation for being Gold + I'm not exactly sure how it works at the 270 day point. 

The last time I used Oceania air, flights could be requested around the 270 day point if the carrier/Oceania contracts were set.  Paid the $175 per person to select the airlines, flights and dates both out and back - no additional fees on the specific airline I selected (Delta) but there could be added fees depending on a number of factors.  I was told the tickets would normally be purchased by Oceania 30-45 days out from departure.  But you can request the the tickets be purchased once final payment has been made- which I did to upgrade to Delta Premium Economy.  Once the tickets are purchased the customer has more responsibility for any change or cancellation charges.

[Hawaiidan]

19 hours ago, arima22 said:

The last time I used Oceania air, flights could be requested around the 270 day point if the carrier/Oceania contracts were set.  Paid the $175 per person to select the airlines, flights and dates both out and back - no additional fees on the specific airline I selected (Delta) but there could be added fees depending on a number of factors.  I was told the tickets would normally be purchased by Oceania 30-45 days out from departure.  But you can request the the tickets be purchased once final payment has been made- which I did to upgrade to Delta Premium Economy.  Once the tickets are purchased the customer has more responsibility for any change or cancellation charges.

 

A quick note....  Prem Econ seats are very limited like only 18 on a 777.. and they normally sell out many months before departure.   While O may be offering Prem Econ for $199 ( each way) it is subject as I said IF available.     So the sooner your can lock in the seats  say at 270 days and pay in order to insure you can get them .   It is not a guarantee that they will be available.     Know too that the term Prem Economy is not a airline standard on all airlines.   Some just offer the  regular rows with the center seat blocked. Like European airlines do for Business class.  Know your airline, its planes and seat offerings.... its not all equal.

[Flatbush Flyer]

On 8/20/2020 at 1:27 PM, mfabz said:

 We are new to Oceania and  considering including air thru Oceania for our June, 2021 cruise.    Several questions for regular Oceania cruisers. 

 

(1)  Can we select our own flights or does Oceania pick for you? 

(2)  Can  you book premium economy?

(3)  Can we fly in a few days before?

(4)  Can we eliminate air from the reservation at a later date before final payment? 

(5)  Do you pay for the air when booking or at final payment?

 

Thanks for your response.  It is appreciated.

 

 

Unless you have "gold" loyalty or above, you would need to pay the "deviation fee" for your preferences other than what is offered to you for embarkation/disembarkation day flights on O's choice of airline and routing. Note too that O biz class pricing does not give you credit for the economy seat in your fare. In essence, you'd end up paying for two fares!

Even though we get free deviation, we mostly fly business for cruises (w/pre and/or post cruise land stays) and DIY the air using a mix of O Life air credit, FF points and $$.

 

[patty1955]

On 8/20/2020 at 1:44 PM, arima22 said:

Recommend you read this information from the Oceania site:

 

https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/360001108894-Air

 

 

Thank you for the link. I had the same questions as the OP and this answered them all.