O life air?

[terrydtx]

4 minutes ago, ORV said:

No doubt, as has pointed out time and time again by others in discussions of air here that if you plan on flying Business class then booking the air through Oceania is NEVER a good idea. On the other hand, if you are Gold or higher, live in a gateway city, and do the PE add on it can work out pretty well. I actually live in a non gateway city and have to pay the upcharge for that, but find that the O air works out pretty much in my favor most of the time. Unfortunately when the PE is available and you want to utilize it they won't book you from your non gateway city. So I have to generally buy a ticket to DFW, ATL, ORD, which are all 1 hour flights from here. Still it works out better for me to do that than to buy a PE international ticket out right. Sometimes I use miles but I've been a bit short on them since using a pile to fly Qantas Business to AU a couple of years ago. 

I agree, if we would use PE then the deal with Oceania is not too bad, but I would still want control over airlines, routes and seats. We have been spoiled by Celebrity air where you book online on any airline and the route you want with all classes of services available. You can also choose seats at time of booking. Also we do not pay for the air until final payment of the cruise.

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We booked yesterday with Oceania on the Marina for the Baltic Dream cruise in August 2022 for our first Oceania cruise.

 

First thing I found is their air is a joke as we did the math. The OLife option has a built in $1100 allowance for the included air which is coach class. Because we are doing a land pre and post  on our own we would be charged a deviation fee plus a non gateway fee as our home airport is San Antonio. On top of this we only fly Business class internationally so O wants $3595pp on top of the full OLife fare for Business class addon. If we book the air on our own the OLife fare is $1100pp less. So with O we are paying $5020pp for Business class with the $1100 allowance plus all the fees added. Looking at air fares for next August for comparison, RT from SAT, we can book Business class on our own for about $2800pp on Delta or United Airlines. I think 2022 air will be similar to 2021.

This is why  everyone needs to do the math & then pick the option  that works best for their needs/wants

 

We usually  take the air credit  book our own  & fly in  early to the port city

There is no one size fits all when it comes to airfare  or cruises for that matter  😉

[MisterBill99]

3 hours ago, ORV said:

On the other hand, if you are Gold or higher, live in a gateway city, and do the PE add on it can work out pretty well.

 

Well, in my case I'm not Gold but live in a gateway city and would only pay the $175 in one direction since we were just in Barcelona (where we disembark) and will fly right home. Plus we're going to fly PE and not BC. In any event, we'll see what prices look like next year when I'm able to book air for my April/May 2022 sailing.

Edited December 5, 2020 by MisterBill99

[Paulchili]

5 hours ago, terrydtx said:

First thing I found is their air is a joke as we did the math. The OLife option has a built in $1100 allowance for the included air which is coach class.

There is no such thing as “O Life air”. O Life & air are totally separate issues.

Economy air is included but if you prefer to book your own air(eco or bus) then you get air credit from O for not using their air

O Life - which you make take or not - gives you one of the below options:

1 OBC

2 Some included excursions

3 drinks package

[terrydtx]

14 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

There is no such thing as “O Life air”. O Life & air are totally separate issues.

Economy air is included but if you prefer to book your own air(eco or bus) then you get air credit from O for not using their air

O Life - which you make take or not - gives you one of the below options:

1 OBC

2 Some included excursions

3 drinks package

You are confusing things,  OLife includes economy or coach air plus one of the 3 above options, your first sentence contradicts your second sentence. It either includes air or it doesn't. If you want to do your own air flights you get a credit from the OLife posted fare.

 

This a quote directly from the Oceania website:

It’s easy to cruise with our airfare – the roundtrip airfare included with OLife Choice* is guaranteed, no matter how much fares may increase between the day you book your cruise and your travel date." 

Edited December 5, 2020 by terrydtx

[Paulchili]

25 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

You are confusing things,  OLife includes economy or coach air plus one of the 3 above options, your first sentence contradicts your second sentence. It either includes air or it doesn't.

Trust me - after having cruised on O close to 30 times I do know what I am talking about - O Life and air are independent of each other.

When booking an O cruise you have several options:

1 Cruise only - no air and no O Life

2 cruise with air and NO O Life

3 Cruise with O Life and NO air

4 Cruise with both air (eco) and O Life

The price of adding O Life is equal to the number of excursions X $100 -e.g. it will cost you $600 more with 6 excursions than if you don’t take O Life. Ditto if you choose OBC.

The credit for not taking air varies (obviously depending on where you are flying to).

The language can be confusing - like. 2 for 1, etc

Edited December 5, 2020 by Paulchili

[ORV]

25 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

You are confusing things,  OLife includes economy or coach air plus one of the 3 above options, your first sentence contradicts your second sentence. It either includes air or it doesn't. If you want to do your own air flights you get a credit from the OLife posted fare.

 

This a quote directly from the Oceania website:

It’s easy to cruise with our airfare – the roundtrip airfare included with OLife Choice* is guaranteed, no matter how much fares may increase between the day you book your cruise and your travel date." 

The confusion exists with Oceania's marketing jargon. Listen to what Paul is telling you. It's not his first rodeo. 

 

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

Well, in my case I'm not Gold but live in a gateway city and would only pay the $175 in one direction since we were just in Barcelona (where we disembark) and will fly right home. Plus we're going to fly PE and not BC. In any event, we'll see what prices look like next year when I'm able to book air for my April/May 2022 sailing.

It is  $175  PP  does not matter if you fly  right home   or not

if you deviate from the cruise start & end dates  there is  a fee

[MisterBill99]

58 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

It is  $175  PP  does not matter if you fly  right home   or not

if you deviate from the cruise start & end dates  there is  a fee

 

So it's just a single $175 fee per person whether you deviate in one direction or two? I still plan to fly back right from the cruise, so I guess I'll be able to take advantage of the included transfers.

[ORV]

26 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

So it's just a single $175 fee per person whether you deviate in one direction or two? I still plan to fly back right from the cruise, so I guess I'll be able to take advantage of the included transfers.

That's correct, as the transfers are new we don't really have any experience with them. I'm sure they'll tell you how it works. 

[1985rz1]

4 hours ago, terrydtx said:

You are confusing things,  OLife includes economy or coach air plus one of the 3 above options, your first sentence contradicts your second sentence. It either includes air or it doesn't. If you want to do your own air flights you get a credit from the OLife posted fare.

 

This a quote directly from the Oceania website:

It’s easy to cruise with our airfare – the roundtrip airfare included with OLife Choice* is guaranteed, no matter how much fares may increase between the day you book your cruise and your travel date." 

 

3 hours ago, Paulchili said:

Trust me - after having cruised on O close to 30 times I do know what I am talking about - O Life and air are independent of each other.

When booking an O cruise you have several options:

1 Cruise only - no air and no O Life

2 cruise with air and NO O Life

3 Cruise with O Life and NO air

4 Cruise with both air (eco) and O Life

The price of adding O Life is equal to the number of excursions X $100 -e.g. it will cost you $600 more with 6 excursions than if you don’t take O Life. Ditto if you choose OBC.

The credit for not taking air varies (obviously depending on where you are flying to).

The language can be confusing - like. 2 for 1, etc

 

3 hours ago, ORV said:

The confusion exists with Oceania's marketing jargon. Listen to what Paul is telling you. It's not his first rodeo. 

 

 

Trust Paul and ORV,.  Oceania air and O-Life are separate entities, but Oceania Marketing confuses the two.  Paul's list is accurate.

[Paulchili]

Thanks ORV & 1985rz1 for confirming that I am not not going crazy (yet) 

There are times I wonder 🙂

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

So it's just a single $175 fee per person whether you deviate in one direction or two? I still plan to fly back right from the cruise, so I guess I'll be able to take advantage of the included transfers.

Forgot to mention that once you agree to the flight/routing  the  fee is NON refundable

You can ask for the flights you prefer  sometimes they will have an upcharge  but just keep asking until you get something you like

[1985rz1]

37 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

Thanks ORV & 1985rz1 for confirming that I am not not going crazy (yet) 

There are times I wonder 🙂

Now, I never said you weren't crazy, Paul. My cell is padded, too. 😇

[Redtravel]

I usually book my own air and transfers.  On my booked cruise next summer, we booked the O air.  We are in doubt whether we will actually sail.  I didn’t want to buy my own air and then deal with the airline for refund or rebooking.  If O cancels, we will just move to a future cruise using fcc.  No investment needed.  If the vaccine is administered and the world is safe, we can opt to buy our own air before final payment is due.  Reserving the cruise with O air is the least complicated option now.   We had a similar arrangement on Viking with a free air option.  When they canceled, we got a refund.   Will not be surprised if cruises will be canceled way into 2021.  

[clo]

29 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

 If O cancels, we will just move to a future cruise using fcc.

Not take a refund?

[ORV]

19 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We have been spoiled by Celebrity air where you book online on any airline and the route you want with all classes of services available. You can also choose seats at time of booking. Also we do not pay for the air until final payment of the cruise.

I agree that it works very well, I've used it a time or two. My experience is that the price was not any better than going straight through the airline, but not having to pay for it until final payment is a bonus. 

[LHT28]

4 minutes ago, ORV said:

IMy experience is that the price was not any better than going straight through the airline, but not having to pay for it until final payment is a bonus. 

I have not had to pay for O  air until final payment either  has that changed?

 

you just pay the  deviation fee  at the time you the accept flights

[ORV]

7 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I have not had to pay for O  air until final payment either  has that changed?

 

you just pay the  deviation fee  at the time you the accept flights

I was actually referring to buying them on your own, but since you mentioned it; if you want them ticketed I do believe you have to be paid in full. There are so many little nuances and different situations that I always ask the one who knows and she tells me what to do. 😊

[terrydtx]

22 minutes ago, ORV said:

I agree that it works very well, I've used it a time or two. My experience is that the price was not any better than going straight through the airline, but not having to pay for it until final payment is a bonus. 

With all the Pandemic cancellations the not paying for air until final payment is a bonus on Celebrity. We have 2 Europe cruises booked on X next year  and we used Celebrity Air for our business class flights.  

 

We had a Viking Ocean cruise that we booked in 2018 for this past September, that was cancelled. We looked at doing business class air through VO, but they wanted $4200pp and had to be paid at 12 months out with VO's final payment. VO also had a flight deviation fee of $150pp since we we doing pre and post flight land and we wanted to pick our flights and schedules. This was RT from San Antonio to Venice. We booked on our own with American for $2800 in November 2019  and fortunately we got a full cash refund in May when the cruise was cancelled. American at first wanted to only give us a future flight credit, but after a CC member's advice, we got a full cash refund. American had changed the flight itinerary 4 times because of the pandemic and that gave us the loophole to get the cash refund by just saying the last flight changes were unacceptable to us.

[LHT28]

5 hours ago, ORV said:

I was actually referring to buying them on your own, but since you mentioned it; if you want them ticketed I do believe you have to be paid in full. There are so many little nuances and different situations that I always ask the one who knows and she tells me what to do. 😊

LOL

 Yes  Wonder woman  will work it out 

I usually do not  ticket until after FP  so no worries

I usually pick the flight & route  I want  asap  so it is all set anyway

 

[Hawaiidan]

22 hours ago, Paulchili said:

Trust me - after having cruised on O close to 30 times I do know what I am talking about - O Life and air are independent of each other.

When booking an O cruise you have several options:

1 Cruise only - no air and no O Life

2 cruise with air and NO O Life

3 Cruise with O Life and NO air

4 Cruise with both air (eco) and O Life

The price of adding O Life is equal to the number of excursions X $100 -e.g. it will cost you $600 more with 6 excursions than if you don’t take O Life. Ditto if you choose OBC.

The credit for not taking air varies (obviously depending on where you are flying to).

The language can be confusing - like. 2 for 1, etc

Correct.... AND  here is one thing I learned.... it claiming air credit rather than taking an O arranged flight.  The amount of credit will be in constant change... That is the closer to departure date the less the credit. I have found. that several times.

[edgee]

One other option that can be a savings in some quirky situations is to purchase your own air one way and use Oceania air one way. Oceania will give you half the air credit offered for the cruise. This works, for example, if you are taking a transoceanic cruise. If the cruise begins in  your home country and it is a short cheap flight to  (or you live near) the embarkation port you can buy that transportation  on your own, pocket half the air credit from Oceania which could be, for example, a couple thousand $$, and then let Oceania cover the transoceanic trip home. 

[1985rz1]

35 minutes ago, edgee said:

One other option that can be a savings in some quirky situations is to purchase your own air one way and use Oceania air one way. Oceania will give you half the air credit offered for the cruise. This works, for example, if you are taking a transoceanic cruise. If the cruise begins in  your home country and it is a short cheap flight to  (or you live near) the embarkation port you can buy that transportation  on your own, pocket half the air credit from Oceania which could be, for example, a couple thousand $$, and then let Oceania cover the transoceanic trip home. 

 

Have you had an actual experience on Oceania of the example you quoted?

 

Our experience on Regent has been that air credit is not equally divided between outbound and inbound flight when the flight costs are greatly different as in the example you cited.  Rather, we found the outbound and inbound legs are pro-rated according to cost of the flight legs. 

Edited December 6, 2020 by 1985rz1

[edgee]

15 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

 

Have you had an actual experience on Oceania of the example you quoted?

 

Our experience on Regent has been that air credit is not equally divided between outbound and inbound flight when the flight costs are greatly different as in the example you cited.  Rather, we found the outbound and inbound legs are pro-rated according to cost of the flight legs. 

Following was our experience. In 2016 we cruised from Montreal to London on the Marina. Flew from our home in Maryland to Montreal using very few airline miles. Then used Oceania air at end of cruise to fly from London back home. Received 50% of the full air credit. Did pay the deviation fee in order to spend time in London after the cruise. Perhaps Regent handles it differently than Oceania.