Simply more's impact on current bookings?

[AMHuntFerry]

46 minutes ago, bb32 said:

I received the introductory Simply More brochure in the mail and did a comparison of 2 cruises pre/post SM.  I compared Cruise Only rates with Simply More w/o air.  I found that 3 categories (Penthouse Suite, Deluxe Oceanview and Inside Stateroom) had an increase of $300.  The Veranda Stateroom had an increase of $800 on 1 cruise (Rome to Istanbul 10/21/23) and $950 on the other cruise I looked at (Barcelona to Istanbul 11/19/23).  Both cruises had the $800 simply More shore excursion credit.  No idea why the Veranda stateroom category was so much higher, but I was expecting worse overall. 

My guess for the price difference variation is that both these cruises are part of the Upgrade Sale (among others...OClub, Extraordinary) and are returning to pre-sale prices.

[AMHuntFerry]

5 minutes ago, bb32 said:

I found Rome to Valletta 4/11/24 10 nites:

French Veranda went up $400 for SM w/o air.  The 'full brochure fare' was $200 higher than what is currently online.  

So equal to the shorex-OBC...very interesting. Tomorrow should be fun!
My next pointless speculation...the O server will crash within 30 minutes of the new release.

[grifdoglover]

What time does the weeping and gnashing  of teeth begin?

[Psoque]

24 minutes ago, bb32 said:

I found Rome to Valletta 4/11/24 10 nites:

French Veranda went up $400 for SM w/o air.  The 'full brochure fare' was $200 higher than what is currently online.  

Are you comparing the “OLife without air (which requires a simple calculation)” to Simply More without air?

 

Another interesting comparison would be what is the difference between OLife with air and Simply More with air.

 

 

[EJL2023]

7 minutes ago, grifdoglover said:

What time does the weeping and gnashing  of teeth begin?

About two weeks ago? 

[FetaCheese]

5 hours ago, edgee said:

Did you say pricing was opaque under pre Simply More model because soft drinks, specialty restaurants, one wifi connection and laundry were included? How about when Oceania stopped charging for machines in the laundry room? I doubt it. How is this a change in model when Oceania is just adding to the list of items they already include in contrast to larger ship mass market cruise lines?Now we're getting some alchohol, a second wifi (worth a lot to many, especially on a long cruise) and the tours...additions to the list..not a change in model...some will like it, some will not.

Also adding:  Transfers with air, 3 day pre/post air without paying custom air.

[ak1004]

3 minutes ago, FetaCheese said:

Also adding:  Transfers with air, 3 day pre/post air without paying custom air.

Yep. When they introduced deviation air waiver, where were all bashers?

[basor]

3 hours ago, susiesan said:

The issue is all the more comes with a hefty price increase. If I wanted all of those inclusions I would have been cruising with SB or SS or RSS or Viking. There are more of us cruise only customers out here than you think, they are not on CC. We are not happy.

Do you already have the pricing and Know that there is a hefty price increase or is this just more hyperbole based upon speculation?

[basor]

1 hour ago, grifdoglover said:

What time does the weeping and gnashing  of teeth begin?

1 minute after the prices are posted and then depending upon your pre -price speculation, a new round of justifying your pre-price speculation ..already starting, not a huge increase means they are sucking us in with fake initial pricing so they can later gouge us with huge price increases....

[EJL2023]

6 minutes ago, basor said:

Do you already have the pricing and Know that there is a hefty price increase or is this just more hyperbole based upon speculation?

Not to mention how much is hefty?? Probably means something different to everyone. But leaves it wide open to say I told you so!

[FetaCheese]

3 hours ago, AMHuntFerry said:

It's like you read my mind! Then again, a non-coffee drinker is paying for my cappuccinos and little brown cakes at Baristas, so I guess I can pay for their wifi. Just a few more hours 'til we know the damages (and make new spreadsheets...woohoo!).

Black coffee drinker here.  Have been paying for other people's cream/milk, and sugar for 50 years!  Everywhere!  Not complaining, just the way it works.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Viking Ocean has been including beer/wine/soft drinks with meals, WiFi fo all and one shore excursion (of questionable value) in each port since the word “go”. Not once has a client complained to me about a “lack” of a cruise only option. Their ships sell out relatively far in advance, at higher average fares than Oceania with a far more draconian payment schedule.
 

In my opinion with the introduction of the new pricing structure Oceania is trying to be more on a level playing field with Viking and clawback some of the market share they have lost to them. I think the new Oceania offer superior to Vikings in that they are allocating funds for me to choose what tours I want or not. It may not provide one per port, but at least for what it does cover the consumer has choice. Vikings mediocre “included” tours are use it or lose it with no offset when choosing alternate, for a fee (usually hefty one), tours.

[LHT28]

I would question the number of people that cruised on Oceania  more than once that would jump ship to Viking 🤢

JMO

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

I would question the number of people that cruised on Oceania  more than once that would jump ship to Viking 🤢

JMO

And yet Viking, after only 8 years has 12 ships and 10 more on order.  Oceania, after 21 years has 7 ships and 1 more on order.  Clearly Oceania [and every other Premium cruise line] is looking at Viking with envy.

[ak1004]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

And yet Viking, after only 8 years has 12 ships and 10 more on order.  Oceania, after 21 years has 7 ships and 1 more on order.  Clearly Oceania [and every other Premium cruise line] is looking at Viking with envy.

 

I never sailed with Viking, for few reasons.

 

First, I don't like the idea of giving a business an interest free loan for 12-24 months.

Second, I find their prices way too high. In fact, in many cases they are higher than SB or SS.

And third, I could never find an attractive itinerary. Their itineraries are repetitive and limited.

 

But apparently, I'm in minority. They have a very loyal following, and have the highest rankings on CC (higher than O, AZ, SB, SS and Regent). Not that those rankings mean anything (Celebrity is ranked higher than O, SS and Regent) but still..

 

So they must be doing something right.   

Edited July 1, 2023 by ak1004

[Hanoj]

16 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Viking

 

So they must be doing something right.   

Marketing is what they are doing right. Reminds me of a certain software company headquartered in Redmond, WA. Not the best products, nor the highest ethics, but via their marketing they established dominance.

Edited July 1, 2023 by Hanoj

[AMHuntFerry]

8 hours ago, bb32 said:

I found Rome to Valletta 4/11/24 10 nites:

French Veranda went up $400 for SM w/o air.  The 'full brochure fare' was $200 higher than what is currently online.  

I pulled this cruise up yesterday in one browser (and still have it open)...just pulled it up again in a different browser, and it has the higher price, but still has "Cruise Only" and "OLife w/ Air" columns. The Special Offers still have OLife descriptions. So, my midnight guess was partially right (price change)....still waiting for the SimplyMore unveiling. (I really need a better hobby!)

Edited July 1, 2023 by AMHuntFerry

[AMHuntFerry]

8 hours ago, Psoque said:

Are you comparing the “OLife without air (which requires a simple calculation)” to Simply More without air?

 

Another interesting comparison would be what is the difference between OLife with air and Simply More with air.

 

 

Here's the breakdown with old/new fares for the voyage quoted in post 292:

Brochure fare $10,198/$10,398

OLife fare w/ airfare $5099/$5199 (note that the website hasn't changed OLife to SimplyMore lingo)

Cruise only $3599/$3999

Dummy booking has SimplyMore amenities listed:

[AMHuntFerry]

Warning to anyone checking prices on the website: Some information may not be correct yet. The OLife lingo still exists in some (most right now) areas of the website instead of SimplyMore (and there are no new T&Cs yet). Some of the prices in the fares tables for each voyage have the new prices while others show the old prices. However, I tried a mock booking for one of the cruises with the old prices, and the new prices were shown when I was asked to choose a cabin category; so do a mock booking if you want to be sure of the price. I do not envy the people doing the website update. Enjoy shopping!

[Jayne E]

Vista A2 11/19/23 to Caribbean 12 days for 2 is now $9,198. We are booked at $7,398, cruise only.

Simply More is Simply $1,800 More for 12 day cruise!
We have $700 shipboard credit and book 1 Caribbean excursion only to use up some of it, so an additional $800 excursion credit is of no use to us.  This is a very substantial increase.
Happy we’re booked “cruise only” into 2025. 

[grifdoglover]

@LHT28Many people cruise different lines.  Viking is just like O IMO the ships are beautiful the food and service is equivalent people are just not happy with the pay a year in advance business.  “Itinerary” is the same as what location is when buying a house. 

[grifdoglover]

@FetaCheesewell now you can pay simply more for that coffee for others!

[SellaVee]

A few thoughts on Viking.  When they began Ocean cruising they already had a fan base from their river cruises.  Not every river cruiser would be interested in Ocean cruises, but Viking had built a reputation.

 

We went on a river cruise on the Danube, to see the Christmas markets.  Amazingly, in winter, the Danube was too low to permit passage along its whole length.  By the time we sailed, this had happened on a few cruises and Viking had gotten it's act together.  On arrival in Budapest we were put up in a hotel in the town centre and a meeting was held.  The solution we were given was onboard credit for everyone, and all the paid excursions were to be free.  (Viking offered a free excursion in every town, plus some extra ones which attracted a fee.)  Plus some ship swopping.  We spent the first night in the hotel, then went on a tour that finished by taking us to our ship further along the river.  We had three nights on board then our next excursion took us to a sister ship, identical to the first one, with a new set of welcome goodies (Chocolate Santa, biscuits etc) and more onboard credit.  A further three nights onboard completed the cruise.
 

With so many ships in it's fleet, Viking was able to sail, by this "meet in the middle" strategy, while other companies had vessels tied up and listing at the quayside, and were busing their passengers around from hotel to hotel.

 

The lack of water was a huge problem, but Viking were able to solve it, and that's how to build a reputation.

 

We've been invited to lunch on board one of the Viking ships, and I have to say I prefer the vibe on Oceania, so I've not been tempted to switch, yet.

 

 

[WildWanderers]

Two days ago I recorded the cost of the cruises we booked some time ago, if I were to have booked them two days ago for the same room type.  In all five cases the prices had increased, before SimplyMore could have been baked in.  I recall reading a few times that price increases were expected, but did not take much notice.  

 

I figured a fairer comparison to establish how prices have shifted was to compare apples to apples as much as possible - the same query two days apart - not taking into consideration that I may have gotten a better deal some time ago.

 

The costs of all five of these cruises is the same today as it was two days ago...making me wonder if any SimplyMore price adjustments have actually been incorporated yet.  It is not obvious how they would include such adjustments in a website set up for OLife and not SimplyMore, anyway.

 

I too expected to wake up this morning to a new website, but everything is the same, including at least for me, the prices.

 

Happy Canada Day!  Bonne fête du Canada!

Greg from Gatineau, Québec

[WildWanderers]

Spoke too soon, SimplyMore is available online now.