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Best Price Guarantee - What Does That Mean Exactly?


Doubt It
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Greetings everyone:

 

Hope everyone did not OD on chocolate over Easter!

 

Your assistance would be appreciated. 

 

Q - What does the Best Price Guarantee mean regarding an existing booking - ie if there are promotions etc?

 

My Aug 27 sailing on Insignia is included in the current O promotion of all 3 - so does this apply to your a) current booked price, or b) to get the 3,  do you have to re-book at the higher price, which is $900 pp higher than the booked price.

 

Being rather unfamiliar with 0 - I would appreciate you darn experts to enlighten me!

 

Many thanks! 

 

 

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I do not know  but hopefully you would get the new deal

 

Have you asked your TA or O?

 

In the past  our TA usually gets us the new pricing  if that should happen on one of our bookings 

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Hi LHT28.

 

I asked the TA after I posted here.

 

The TA responded seconds ago saying I would have to pay the higher price, like $900 higher, to get the current promotion. That does not work obviously.

 

This seems ridiculous. I might as well just do the Cruise only fare and pay my own way, this is no advantage at all, especially in Cdn $ as you well know.

 

I guess being a booked guest means nothing. 

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5 minutes ago, Doubt It said:

Hi LHT28.

 

I asked the TA after I posted here.

 

The TA responded seconds ago saying I would have to pay the higher price, like $900 higher, to get the current promotion. That does not work obviously.

 

This seems ridiculous. I might as well just do the Cruise only fare and pay my own way, this is no advantage at all, especially in Cdn $ as you well know.

 

I guess being a booked guest means nothing. 

Did you  have the O life perk on your current booking?

I would pass on that deal also

 We usually do Cruise only anyway  as we do not drink much or do ship's tour

 

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Things change over time, but a few years ago a South American cruise we were booked on had all three perks added and the price went down $1000. $500 each. I guess they really needed to sell more bookings on it. We got the price reduction and all 3 perks. That was then, this is now. Who knows what would happen now? But, this type of thing is what some of us mean when we talk about the advantage of having a connected, knowledgeable TA. 

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Of 9 upcoming O cruises, only 1 was eligible for this promotion, all three of the O life perks. Our TA took care of changing our booking. The new booking includes an increase of $100 per person, but the drinks package, shore excursions and onboard credit seem to make it worthwhile. We hope. 🙂

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Blessings on everyone:

 

We have the cruise only fare with the airfare allowance listed - LTH28, we do not drink much nor buy anything aboard and often organize our own tours, so it seems not worth paying for - but if it is for No Cost, well that changes things. 

 

ORV - you are totally correct, we have a very connected TA indeed, oh yes, and he indicated to get the 3 perks, we still have to pay $900 more based on the current fare for our A1 category.

 

Seems a bit more unsettling than it needs to be.

 

 

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16 minutes ago, Doubt It said:

Blessings on everyone:

 

We have the cruise only fare with the airfare allowance listed - LTH28, we do not drink much nor buy anything aboard and often organize our own tours, so it seems not worth paying for - but if it is for No Cost, well that changes things. 

 

 

I agree  would not pay that much to get perks you probably will not get benefit from

Enjoy the cruise

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Traditionally, the best price guarantee was for those that either booked a cruise, or a Future Cruise Certificate on board.

 

The total price of a cruise is a package deal. Published cruise list price, OLife package, Air was all part of the package price. Therefore, all of that goes into calculating best price guarantee. Each offer is a different snapshot, and all of the portions must be included in the calculations. 
 

Not to beat a dead horse, but when I see a new tempting offer, for a current booked cruise for which I have the guarantee, I ask my TA to work the deal and get back to me. Sometimes I win, sometimes it’s an easy pass.

 

 

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Thanks you to every dear person posting.

Your knowledge is amazing and for that I give much thanks.

Will do the "easy pass", as it does not work for me.

Blessings to each of you and may you and your families remain well and thriving!

😀

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4 hours ago, Doubt It said:

Hi LHT28.

 

I asked the TA after I posted here.

 

The TA responded seconds ago saying I would have to pay the higher price, like $900 higher, to get the current promotion. That does not work obviously.

 

This seems ridiculous. I might as well just do the Cruise only fare and pay my own way, this is no advantage at all, especially in Cdn $ as you well know.

 

I guess being a booked guest means nothing. 

it was $1000 pp higher for us to get the promotion.  No way.

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Their website is very light on details of what the policy means, unless they hid it from Google and me  Odd, given that it's the first thing on the top of their website. The only place I found it was in a PDF file on their site Oceania-Cruises-Travelers-Assurance-Program-FAQ.pdf (oceaniacruises.com)

 

Specifically, they say "Additionally, consumers and travel advisors can book with confidence knowing that up to the day of sailing, should there be another applicable Oceania Cruises public promotion that offers a better value through amenities or price, they may take advantage of that promotional offer and/or price"

 

Given that they say "amenities or price" one might be able to take that to mean that if either is better you can get it independent of the other. Obviously, it seems that Oceania reps are not interpreting it this way.

 

 

Edited by MisterBill99
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Thank you very much for the information dear folks.

MisterBill99- I could not find the link you kindly provided.

I will provide same to my TA and see what happens.

 

Kindness and good wishes to all.

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9 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

Their website is very light on details of what the policy means, unless they hid it from Google and me  Odd, given that it's the first thing on the top of their website. The only place I found it was in a PDF file on their site Oceania-Cruises-Travelers-Assurance-Program-FAQ.pdf (oceaniacruises.com)

 

Specifically, they say "Additionally, consumers and travel advisors can book with confidence knowing that up to the day of sailing, should there be another applicable Oceania Cruises public promotion that offers a better value through amenities or price, they may take advantage of that promotional offer and/or price"

 

Given that they say "amenities or price" one might be able to take that to mean that if either is better you can get it independent of the other. Obviously, it seems that Oceania reps are not interpreting it this way.

 

 

From what I have read on this forum, booked passengers can only get the lower and better price if there is still availability in their state room category. That is a very different kettle of fish.

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10 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

Their website is very light on details of what the policy means, unless they hid it from Google and me  Odd, given that it's the first thing on the top of their website. The only place I found it was in a PDF file on their site Oceania-Cruises-Travelers-Assurance-Program-FAQ.pdf (oceaniacruises.com)

 

 

The dates in that PDF file  have passed  except for the Sail By  date

There are several of these policies out there  it just depends when you booked  your cruise  if one covered those dates 

JMO

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2 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

From what I have read on this forum, booked passengers can only get the lower and better price if there is still availability in their state room category. That is a very different kettle of fish.

 

Yes, because they're obviously comparing price+perks to see if you qualify. But the policy in that PDF that I posted doesn't say that. So where are the official terms documented? You can't have a published policy and tell people that they don't qualify based on some terms that they're making up or differ from what is published. At some point this becomes a legal issue.

 

And they still advertise the policy at the very top of their website, but there's no link to the policy. So do they think they can just make customers feel comfortable booking without actually honoring the policy?

Edited by MisterBill99
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I'm surprised that, regardless of any poor wording by O, that folks approach  new sales as a mix and match opportunity. I look at my original booking as one sale (early booking, etc), and any new one as a different sale (i.e new higher pricing...no early booking discount...but enhanced amenities, or alternatively a price reduction).  I ask my TA to price out the new options to see if there would be a benefit to me or not.  I would never expect a company to allow cherry picking of the sales.  To me it's either/or.  

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We booked just over 14 days ago when OLIfe ultimate first started. Price drop of over £500 occurred and our TA could not get the new price for us. I think this is a UK issue. We would have upgrade PH cabins and could have got a better price but are all waitlists. 

Win some lose some. I usually stop looking after booking as ignorance is bliss.

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4 hours ago, 1985rz1 said:

I'm surprised that, regardless of any poor wording by O, that folks approach  new sales as a mix and match opportunity.

 

If they're going to say "promotional offer and/or price" in their policy, then it seems like they have to honor it.

 

And OLife is priced separately on the invoice.

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1 hour ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

And OLife is priced separately on the invoice.

Interesting.  OLife has never been priced separately in any of our invoices.  Our cruise has always been inclusive, with only a credit for the air.

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53 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

Interesting.  OLife has never been priced separately in any of our invoices.  Our cruise has always been inclusive, with only a credit for the air.

You can book your cruise without OLife or/and without air. If you choose to book without OLife, then you see the credit for OLife as well. 

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10 minutes ago, osandomir said:

You can book your cruise without OLife or/and without air. If you choose to book without OLife, then you see the credit for OLife as well. 

That could be, as we usually take OLife shorex (because we can almost double our OLife  investment if we choose wisely) and never take their air.  I assumed tgat if one takes neither OLife or air, the fare would be identified as cruise only, with no reference to credits.

Edited by 1985rz1
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On 4/19/2022 at 3:45 PM, Doubt It said:

Greetings everyone:

 

Hope everyone did not OD on chocolate over Easter!

 

Your assistance would be appreciated. 

 

Q - What does the Best Price Guarantee mean regarding an existing booking - ie if there are promotions etc?

 

My Aug 27 sailing on Insignia is included in the current O promotion of all 3 - so does this apply to your a) current booked price, or b) to get the 3,  do you have to re-book at the higher price, which is $900 pp higher than the booked price.

 

Being rather unfamiliar with 0 - I would appreciate you darn experts to enlighten me!

 

Many thanks! 

 

 

I am on the same sailing as a single. The fare increase (an A3) was only $200 so it was a no brainer to take the Ultimate package. Between the beverage package and the shore excursions, I netted over $800 in savings.

One side note is that the O agent at first said my onboard cruise credits would be cut in half since I was a single. I objected and noted that Olife benefits are per stateroom. I insisted he check with the revenue department. And, sure enough he was wrong and I got the full Olife credit. I wonder how many other dingle cruisers he has told wrong information; and the passengers didn’t know any better.

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On 4/19/2022 at 3:45 PM, Doubt It said:

Greetings everyone:

 

Hope everyone did not OD on chocolate over Easter!

 

Your assistance would be appreciated. 

 

Q - What does the Best Price Guarantee mean regarding an existing booking - ie if there are promotions etc?

 

My Aug 27 sailing on Insignia is included in the current O promotion of all 3 - so does this apply to your a) current booked price, or b) to get the 3,  do you have to re-book at the higher price, which is $900 pp higher than the booked price.

 

Being rather unfamiliar with 0 - I would appreciate you darn experts to enlighten me!

 

Many thanks! 

 

 

I am on the same sailing as a single. The fare increase (an A3) was only $200 so it was a no brainer to take the Ultimate package. Between the beverage package and the shore excursions, I netted over $800 in savings.

One side note is that the O agent at first said my onboard cruise credits would be cut in half since I was a single. I objected and noted that Olife benefits are per stateroom. I insisted he check with the revenue department. And, sure enough he was wrong and I got the full Olife credit. I wonder how many other single cruisers he has told wrong information; and the passengers didn’t know any better.

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8 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

 I assumed tgat if one takes neither OLife or air, the fare would be identified as cruise only, with no reference to credits.

Not really - I guess it will depend on who you book with and how your invoice is created. Most likely it will still be the full fare with two separate credits for OLife and air.

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