Oceania's TOO Confusing...

[Ride-The-Waves]

Long time cruiser here.  Experienced primarily with Azamara, Princess (no longer) and Celebrity but have also sailed Hurtigruten and similar.  I find the pricing confusing as can be.  Is that primarily for Oceania's benefit?  Confuse the heck out of potential "guests" so they buy more than desired/needed?  Booked in PH1 for a trans-atlantic this coming Fall and looking at tour options in ports of call.  Three price levels...  Appears Oceania really wants people to NOT go with their tours and arrange tours with independent contractors, which is okay with us as we are experienced in making our own arrangements and find that many times its better than relying on the ship's tours.  I just don't get it...

[Kate-AHF]

The first cruise I booked with O, I felt like I'd fallen into a hole, and while I was sitting at the bottom of the hole, a rabbit with a watch was going to shortly go running by, muttering he was late.  The learning curve is steep, but I've found it's worth the investment of time and energy.

 

The three prices for shorex amount to a "buy more, save more" mentality. There is the base price, applies when you book just one or a couple of tours during your sailing - the price is, what it is.  If you book a certain amount of tours, you will qualify for "your world, your way" (YWYW) which is a 25% discount across all the tours you've booked.  The final price is for folks who have purchased the unlimited package.  That package drastically reduces the cost for all tours, and some of them will be "free".

 

If you are on a TA, then the ability to purchase enough for a YWYW discount is iffy.

[susiesan]

Just book cruise only, nothing confusing about that. Get your own airfare, arrange your own tours, reserve your own pre and post hotels. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

Long time cruiser here.  Experienced primarily with Azamara, Princess (no longer) and Celebrity but have also sailed Hurtigruten and similar.  I find the pricing confusing as can be.  Is that primarily for Oceania's benefit?  Confuse the heck out of potential "guests" so they buy more than desired/needed?  Booked in PH1 for a trans-atlantic this coming Fall and looking at tour options in ports of call.  Three price levels...  Appears Oceania really wants people to NOT go with their tours and arrange tours with independent contractors, which is okay with us as we are experienced in making our own arrangements and find that many times its better than relying on the ship's tours.  I just don't get it...

“Easy as pie”: choose the O Life excursions option and fill your allotment with the most expensive of the allowable (<$199) ones that appeal to you (thus possibly doubling the value of the perk since the base “value” of the tours equals 1 tour per each $100 in the SBC option).  
With the understanding that those tours count toward the minimum number of required tours for the 25% discount YWYW, add the paid tours that you want, at least to meet the rest of the YWYW minimum. That gets you 25% off in the paid ones. As ship tours go, it’s a very good deal overall and you can still add some private tours (as do we).

There’s also the “unlimited passport” deal. But the comparative math will usually show that it’s not worth it.

[alcpa1]

How many port calls are you really going to have on a transatlantic sailing? Since you are experienced book your own and either use the Cruise Only or take the shipboard credit or beverage package.

I hope you have a good travel agent who can make things clear because it is confusing.

BTW we use the ship's tour selections to seek out itineraries and guides who can replicate or enhance what Oceania is offering. It takes a little work but in the long run you should be happier.

If you have a Roll Call that shows some activity there might be others who are putting tours together or have advice to enhance your experience.

[Flatbush Flyer]

27 minutes ago, alcpa1 said:

How many port calls are you really going to have on a transatlantic sailing? Since you are experienced book your own and either use the Cruise Only or take the shipboard credit or beverage package.

I hope you have a good travel agent who can make things clear because it is confusing.

BTW we use the ship's tour selections to seek out itineraries and guides who can replicate or enhance what Oceania is offering. It takes a little work but in the long run you should be happier.

If you have a Roll Call that shows some activity there might be others who are putting tours together or have advice to enhance your experience.

That “little work” can be substantial if you do multiple long cruises annually.

Remember too that the minimum YWYW requirement is fairly low on transoceanic cruises.

I still think that the right mix of ship and private tours per each itinerary is an efficacious approach.

[Noxequifans]

9 hours ago, susiesan said:

Just book cruise only, nothing confusing about that. Get your own airfare, arrange your own tours, reserve your own pre and post hotels. 

That is what we do.

[Ride-The-Waves]

Thanks.  Great suggestions all.  We have already purchased flights MIA-FCO Business on TAP.  The itinerary lists 14 stops, many we have been to and look forward to visiting again, and some we don't need to see again.  Still confusing to me why a company like Oceania, which prides itself on great service and culinary experience, would enjoy confusing its "guests" in this way.  One price for shore excursion!  Who ever designed this cumbersome and irresponsible pricing system is not doing either the company or its passengers any favors.

[PhD-iva]

One price for shore excursions is a non starter. I’m sorry that you’re having difficulties navigating what is admittedly a confusing menu of offerings. However, different shore excursions provide various levels of activities and costs to provide the excursion will differ. 
I hear your pain; I try to think of the planning efforts required as part of the anticipatory fun that precedes the adventure.

Enjoy your cruise!

Edited April 22, 2022 by PhD-iva
Ooops

[pinotlover]

9 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

That “little work” can be substantial if you do multiple long cruises annually.

Remember too that the minimum YWYW requirement is fairly low on transoceanic cruises.

I still think that the right mix of ship and private tours per each itinerary is an efficacious approach.

Absolutely no “ one size fits all answer “ to this. Traveling to different parts of the world provides completely different scenarios in regards to the availability and ease booking private tours and/or ability to find wine or alcohol to procure ashore for on ship consumption.

 

Consider your own lifestyle. Consider the different scenarios the itinerary provides, and choose accordingly. For us: sometimes it’s the drink package, and less frequently it’s the shorex option. 
 

Having options can be confusing. Look at options as opportunities to enhance your travel.

[PhD-iva]

I choose to book most of my cruises on Oceania over its all-inclusive sister-line, Regent, specifically bc O is not AI. I don’t have to pay for services or offerings that don’t provide value to me, or would be duplicated by my own efforts.
The drinks package is one example and shore excursions are another. On a recent cruise, I was able to satisfy my alcohol consumption by bringing wine onboard and consuming in my cabin or paying the corkage fee, attending multiple events where alcohol is included, and purchasing 2-for-1 drinks during happy hour. A second benefit was that I probably consumed less alcohol then if I had paid for an all you can drink package. 
For excursions, I will sometimes participate in private excursions, so if I’m sailing on Regent, I feel like I’m paying twice.

So, I like that O allows for a level of customization that fits my ever-changing needs.

Enjoy your cruise!

[LHT28]

The prices  are listed  for those that just want that tour      the Your world package   & the  Unlimited package 

more like bundling  tours  for  a discounted price

 

 You can read about the 2 package  details/requirements

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/shore-excursions

scroll down to the packages

 

 

[ORV]

I'm not sure I understand the problem? 

[Jancruz]

28 minutes ago, ORV said:

I'm not sure I understand the problem? 

Plus 1

Jancruz1

[sunlover12]

I'm not sure if the OP is confused because shore excursions are priced separately but all-inclusive is not appealing to me. I only want to pay for what I'm actually doing. With that said, the fixed price of YWYW is a good value if you want to do a number of O's shore excursions. If you only want to do one or two, then pay for each excursion individually. 

 

Following up on the discussion about the drinks package, for me the O Life basic package is perfect because I limit my alcohol consumption to wine at meals. On my recent Regatta cruise, Martinis was offering complimentary martinis for one hour on one day.  I think it was 5:30-6:30.  I was surprised about that so took advantage and had one. I didn't go to Happy Hour at all but I did have one glass of wine at the Captain's reception.

 

The point is, you can customize your Oceania cruise to what is the best value for you and you're not paying for what you're not using.

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 hours ago, pinotlover said:

Absolutely no “ one size fits all answer “ to this. Traveling to different parts of the world provides completely different scenarios in regards to the availability and ease booking private tours and/or ability to find wine or alcohol to procure ashore for on ship consumption.

 

Consider your own lifestyle. Consider the different scenarios the itinerary provides, and choose accordingly. For us: sometimes it’s the drink package, and less frequently it’s the shorex option. 
 

Having options can be confusing. Look at options as opportunities to enhance your travel.

Note that I said “an” efficacious approach and not “the” efficacious approach. OP inquired specifically about better understanding O Life as regards the excursions option and I explained how best to utilize it.

I agree that there’s no one size fits all. But, as OP stated, s/he is confused and it is amazing how many folks can’t figure out the true math for O’s O Life, YWYW, etc.

Edited April 22, 2022 by Flatbush Flyer

[Flatbush Flyer]

5 hours ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

Thanks.  Great suggestions all.  We have already purchased flights MIA-FCO Business on TAP.  The itinerary lists 14 stops, many we have been to and look forward to visiting again, and some we don't need to see again.  Still confusing to me why a company like Oceania, which prides itself on great service and culinary experience, would enjoy confusing its "guests" in this way.  One price for shore excursion!  Who ever designed this cumbersome and irresponsible pricing system is not doing either the company or its passengers any favors.

Still disagree: If you select your tours (O Life and/or paid) in your account on the O website, the Cart will tell you the bottom line price and it’s easy enough to compare retail vs O Life and/or YWYW and Passport (almost never a good deal) totals.

Better still, just call O and list what you want and the phone rep’s “system” will allow him/her to share with you which approach is the least expensive.

Many folks let their TA do this for them. However, not all TAs fully understand O’s booking/options idiosyncrasies. I prefer calling O myself because, admittedly, the Cart can be difficult at times.

[Pizzasteve]

8 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

I choose to book most of my cruises on Oceania over its all-inclusive sister-line, Regent, specifically bc O is not AI. I don’t have to pay for services or offerings that don’t provide value to me, or would be duplicated by my own efforts.
The drinks package is one example and shore excursions are another. On a recent cruise, I was able to satisfy my alcohol consumption by bringing wine onboard and consuming in my cabin or paying the corkage fee, attending multiple events where alcohol is included, and purchasing 2-for-1 drinks during happy hour. A second benefit was that I probably consumed less alcohol then if I had paid for an all you can drink package. 
For excursions, I will sometimes participate in private excursions, so if I’m sailing on Regent, I feel like I’m paying twice.

So, I like that O allows for a level of customization that fits my ever-changing needs.

Enjoy your cruise!

Completely agree.  Loved my recent transatlantic cruise on RSS Splendor, but drank more than I should due to the  constantly attentive waiters and pool staff. Great service, but our return Oceana trip was significantly less expensive and more aligned with what I wanted by using corkage, our own shore plans, etc.  Both lines are great and my parents love not worrying about bringing wine or planning the shore days.  Horses for courses.

[PSR]

9 hours ago, LHT28 said:

The prices  are listed  for those that just want that tour      the Your world package   & the  Unlimited package 

more like bundling  tours  for  a discounted price

 

 You can read about the 2 package  details/requirements

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/shore-excursions

scroll down to the packages

 

 

 

One difference between the SE packages and purchasing each tour individually is that the packages must be cancelled before  embarkation for refund, but an individual SE tour can be cancelled 36 hrs before the tour for refund, in case you change your mind or have to cancel for another reason. 

[basor]

As I understand it, Oceania is offering 3 different prices for each excursion because they are offering a discount if you purchase several or one in each port:

 

1) Price for individual excursion

2) Price for excursion if you are purchasing multiple excursions so qualify for the 25% discount

3) Price of excursion if you purchased the unlimited excursion package.

 

Hope this helps to make it not so confusing....

 

 

[Hawaiidan]

On 4/21/2022 at 6:52 PM, susiesan said:

Just book cruise only, nothing confusing about that. Get your own airfare, arrange your own tours, reserve your own pre and post hotels. 

What a novel appproach.... after 30 years it seems to have worked for me     Saves money, saves time  delivers more of what you want and how you want it....    No  3rd  and 4 the party convoluted comlexs to wade through.

 

[Hawaiidan]

On 4/22/2022 at 3:09 PM, Pizzasteve said:

Completely agree.  Loved my recent transatlantic cruise on RSS Splendor, but drank more than I should due to the  constantly attentive waiters and pool staff. Great service, but our return Oceana trip was significantly less expensive and more aligned with what I wanted by using corkage, our own shore plans, etc.  Both lines are great and my parents love not worrying about bringing wine or planning the shore days.  Horses for courses.

All good points.....   I would add, that for me,  I found Regent  passengers very different from O passengers and not in a good way.   

[mauibabes]

Our friends who had been on a number of Crystal cruisers before joining us on Oceania expressed similar feelings Dan. I think we enjoy Oceania because we feel more comfortable with the guests. I don’t need a suit or tuxedo to be dressed up, a button downed shirt and slacks work just fine. 
Ciao,

Mauibabes

[Ride-The-Waves]

Looked at the website options for tours.  Just picking one country on our 14-stop trans-Atlantic, the confusion remains.  Looks like Oceania is "forcing" us to rely on non-ship tours - which is okay by us.  Just don't understand why they make something simple so difficult.

[Silver Sweethearts]

3 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

All good points.....   I would add, that for me,  I found Regent  passengers very different from O passengers and not in a good way.   

We're curious why you are so critical of those who choose to spend their money on suites and luxury cruise lines?  We earned our money the hard way - by working for it - and we see no reason to be put down for that.