Simply more's impact on current bookings?

[ak1004]

1 minute ago, LHT28 said:

Is that for top suite guests?

SB and SS..

[LHT28]

2 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

SB and SS..

OK I thought you were comparing Oceania  new program  & old one

[Hanoj]

42 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

Definition of opaque:

 

not able to be seen through; not transparent

 

Old model:

• Cruise only or
• Cruise plus air or
• cruise plus excursions or
• cruise plus OBC or
• cruise plus air credit or
• Cruise plus air or
• cruise plus excursions plus air or
• cruise plus OBC plus air or
• cruise plus air credit plus air or

 

New model:

• Cruise only or
• Cruise plus air

 

Which one is more "opaque"?

 

Another angle:

 

Cruise has the following elements:

• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Afternoon tea
• Dinner
• Room service
• In room dining
• Accommodation
• Cabin Stuart service
• Butler service
• Self laundry service
• Valet laundry service
• Specialty restaurants
• Water and basic tea/coffee
• Soft drinks
• Specialty tea/coffee
• Alcohol at meals
• Alcohol anytime
• First WiFi
• Second WiFi
• Free shuttles
• Free unlimited black caviar

 

I'm sure I forgot something, but you get the idea.

 

Now you compare the prices and what's included with every line and decide what works the best for you.

Ship’s rudder, anchor winches, ad infinitum. But we mustn’t forget about the cost of hammers. 🤓

[AMHuntFerry]

24 minutes ago, SATaxman said:

I was wondering the same thing. Midnight EST is my guess. What do I win if I am correct? 🙂

 

So 1 am DST 😉 (The angel on my shoulder requires me to tell you that I had to look this up).
You win my undying gratitude for playing!

[LHT28]

I think post #3 pretty much summed it up  😃

 

 

[edgee]

Still wondering what happens for those of us who are considering changing to Simply More for a cruise coming up but have already purchased ship excursions. Will we be able to get a refund to the extent of our new shore excursion credit?

[EJL2023]

1 minute ago, edgee said:

Still wondering what happens for those of us who are considering changing to Simply More for a cruise coming up but have already purchased ship excursions. Will we be able to get a refund to the extent of our new shore excursion credit?

Seems like that would be the easiest way for them to handle. 

[Rainbow3fe]

2 hours ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

Exactly. As your note was in response to an earlier comment suggesting that one could just eat in specialty restaurants on less expensive lines: When in a Neptune suite on Holland America, I found the food in the specialty restaurants pretty average. That's why Oceania.

I totally agree. We cruise Oceania because it's a better place for us to be.🌊🎉💥😎

[LHT28]

17 minutes ago, edgee said:

Still wondering what happens for those of us who are considering changing to Simply More for a cruise coming up but have already purchased ship excursions. Will we be able to get a refund to the extent of our new shore excursion credit?

Probably best to contact your  agent   after July 1st

JMO

[grifdoglover]

@ak1004you skipped the useless excursions that I don’t want, and the alcohol I don’t drink.  What’s opaque about making me pay for things I don’t want?  

[grifdoglover]

I even find the simple thing insulting…I am not a simpleton I was able to figure out the choices and numbers.  😂

[bb32]

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. 

[Hanoj]

3 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. 

What is the deadline for the introductory simplyMORE offer? 

[AMHuntFerry]

Just now, Hanoj said:

What is the deadline for the introductory simplyMORE offer? 

SimplyMore starts July 1st. If you want cruise-only or OLife, you need to book today.

[PinonNoir]

10 minutes ago, grifdoglover said:

I even find the simple thing insulting…I am not a simpleton I was able to figure out the choices and numbers.  😂

"Intelligently More" didn't pass muster.  Neither did "Slightly Less Confusing OLife".  Sorry.

[Hanoj]

Just now, AMHuntFerry said:

SimplyMore starts July 1st. If you want cruise-only or OLife, you need to book today.

I understand this. It appears some customers have received brochures announcing the new program, suggesting the fare increases may not be as steep as some speculated. However, if these new introductory offers expire soon it may indicate O is trying to get a feel for how the new program will be received. Or, it might be a way to obfuscate steeper fare increases later. Kind of like a soft landing for what may be received as unwelcome changes by some customers, especially those cruise only patrons.

[ak1004]

23 minutes ago, grifdoglover said:

@ak1004you skipped the useless excursions that I don’t want, and the alcohol I don’t drink.  What’s opaque about making me pay for things I don’t want?  

I'm not disputing it. I also don't want the included drinks and excursions. Other people might say that they don't want the included wifi and specialty restaurants but still forced to pay for it.

 

The simple truth is that a small ship experience inevitably comes with more inclusions that some people might not want. Till now O was the less inclusive of all premium/luxury lines. They just adjust their pricing structure to be more in line with other small ship lines.

 

Yes for some people myself included the la carte pricing of O was a big plus. We all will need to adjust. It is what it is.

[Psoque]

2 hours ago, AMHuntFerry said:

The price that is charged has absolutely nothing to do with the value to an individual. This is where we differ. I think you are more about comparing different prices, not price-to-value. For example, I will not pay a dime to go on an excursion that has no ($0) value to me even if it's price is $500.

I agree.  I don't think you understand what I have been repeating like a broken record.  Simply More is nothing more than making something like OLife a mandatory fee, and since we have no idea what we are really paying for, and since we have no idea what kind of excursions will be offered (as you said), this change will make it even harder to evaluate the value to cost proposition.  To evaluate that we need to put a value (not necessarily a dollar amount, but how much do we desire the product) and cost (the exact dollar amount for what we are getting).  We can't just have one.  We need to know both for this analysis.  SimplyMore is further hiding more of this information from us, both on the value side and cost side.

Edited June 30, 2023 by Psoque

[AMHuntFerry]

7 minutes ago, Hanoj said:

I understand this. It appears some customers have received brochures announcing the new program, suggesting the fare increases may not be as steep as some speculated. However, if these new introductory offers expire soon it may indicate O is trying to get a feel for how the new program will be received. Or, it might be a way to obfuscate steeper fare increases later. Kind of like a soft landing for what may be received as unwelcome changes by some customers, especially those cruise only patrons.

Oh, sorry I misunderstood. So you want to know the expiration date on the SimplyMore brochure (in tiny little print TCs). Mine hasn't arrived yet, so hopefully someone else can be more helpful. Usually it's every three months, but who knows?

[AMHuntFerry]

4 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

Other people might say that they don't want the included wifi and specialty restaurants but still forced to pay for it.

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!).

[AMHuntFerry]

5 minutes ago, Psoque said:

I agree.  I don't think you understand what I have been repeating like a broken record.  Simply More is nothing more than making something like OLife a mandatory fee, and since we have no idea what we are really paying for, and since we have no idea what kind of excursions will be offered (as you said), it makes it hard to evaluate the value to cost proposition anymore.  To evaluate that we need to put a value (not necessarily a dollar amount, but how much do we desire the product) and cost (the exact dollar amount for what we are getting).  We can't just have one.  We need to know both for this analysis.  SimplyMore is further hiding more of this information from us, both on the value side and cost side.

I was just being pedantic (argumentative=bad me) about your use of "value". There are enough people being negative for negativity sake so I will try to be better.

[jazznruby]

8 minutes ago, Psoque said:

I agree.  I don't think you understand what I have been repeating like a broken record.  Simply More is nothing more than making something like OLife a mandatory fee, and since we have no idea what we are really paying for, and since we have no idea what kind of excursions will be offered (as you said), this change will make it even harder to evaluate the value to cost proposition.  To evaluate that we need to put a value (not necessarily a dollar amount, but how much do we desire the product) and cost (the exact dollar amount for what we are getting).  We can't just have one.  We need to know both for this analysis.  SimplyMore is further hiding more of this information from us, both on the value side and cost side.

Poor horse.

[bb32]

Finally found the Terms & Conditions in tiny print:

Offers and fares are subject to change on 10/1/23

[ak1004]

37 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. 

Thanks for sharing. 

 

What about French veranda pricing on the Vista 10 nights European cruises?

[bb32]

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.