Oceania New Flexible Air Dates Policy

[FetaCheese]

Booked cruise under Olife, with air. Was not yet ticketed. Asked TA yesterday to change outbound flight to 1 day earlier.  O responded "not for my cruise, will get back to TA within 2 weeks with fee, plus any fare differential".  

 

Was not happy.  

 

My invoice clearly states the 3 day out/inbound flexible air policy.  To me, appears that O can change their written policy as they see fit.

 

Cancelled O air for credit and booked myself, only $9 more.  Aware not getting transfers.

 

Anyone care to share your experience concerning this policy ?

[YourWorldWithBill]

1 hour ago, FetaCheese said:

Cancelled O air for credit and booked myself, only $9 more.  Aware not getting transfers.

Anyone care to share your experience concerning this policy ?

My booking is similar. I picked out an itinerary, then had my TA ask O if they would use that one. They came back with a similar itinerary, but time were worse and some slight differences in cities. Obviously they are limited in their airline arrangements, so I took the credit (as you did) and booked it myself.

 

Same price as their price would have been, yet a better routing. Strange that they couldn't do that. For some reason I keep thinking that cruise lines, with all the bookings they do, should get better deals with the airlines, but I've never found that to be the case.

[LHT28]

We usually pay the deviation fee & get the flights we want  or book our own 

 

These days with airlines cutting & chopping flights  willy nilly   the best you can hope is you make to the ship ontime

 

 I booked my own air  for the fall the flights have  both been changed  who knows by Sept  what the flights will look like

JMO

[jazznruby]

3 hours ago, FetaCheese said:

My invoice clearly states the 3 day out/inbound flexible air policy. 

 

1 hour ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

I picked out an itinerary, then had my TA ask O if they would use that one.

The 3 day policy refers to the ability to arrive to/depart from the cruise up to 3 days before/after without paying the deviation fee. If you do that, you have to take what they give you in terms of itinerary, flights, times, etc. If you're using O air, the only way to have control over all that is to pay for deviation whether it's within the 3 days or otherwise.

Edited July 7, 2023 by jazznruby

[Flatbush Flyer]

11 hours ago, FetaCheese said:

Booked cruise under Olife, with air. Was not yet ticketed. Asked TA yesterday to change outbound flight to 1 day earlier.  O responded "not for my cruise, will get back to TA within 2 weeks with fee, plus any fare differential".  

 

Was not happy.  

 

My invoice clearly states the 3 day out/inbound flexible air policy.  To me, appears that O can change their written policy as they see fit.

 

Cancelled O air for credit and booked myself, only $9 more.  Aware not getting transfers.

 

Anyone care to share your experience concerning this policy ?

Since we never use O air (especially for bizclass), I haven’t needed to challenge the air policy. But I expect that, if you take a closer look at the T&Cs and Ticket Contract, you’ll find that O certainly can change all sorts of policies as needed.

[grifdoglover]

Why aren’t the TAs taking care of this?!

[Hlitner]

We recently booked our first O cruise (disembarking in Italy) and needed one-way air back from Europe.  After following posts from O experts (such as Flatbush Flyer) we did not even waste our time trying to get Biz Class air through "O."  Their air policies (which seem to be somewhat similar on the other NCLH owned cruise lines) are simply awful...when compared to much of the competition.  While O air might make some sense for folks wanting to fly economy and not caring much about their airline, stops, etc. it makes no sense for Biz Class.  

 

If "O" fans want a comparison this might be a wake up call.  Last year we took a Seabourn cruise from Florida to Monte Carlo.  We wanted to spend some time in Europe and ultimately fly home from Prague (a long way from Monte Carlo) about 3 weeks after we disembarked from our Seabourn ship.  We simply went on Seabourn's online air booking engine (the same is used by Princess and HAL) and booked a United Biz Class flight (Prague - Munich - Dulles) for $1000 (less than 1/3 of the price if we had booked direct with United).  Seabourn does not charge any extra fees, their online (and phone) allows folks to choose their own flights, and one can choose any class of service from Economy to First Class!  

 

My question for "O" for which there is no answer is why on earth "O" has such an antiquated air policy.  There is no justification for charging an extra fee for custom air, if they simply use an online booking engine (available from several third party companies).  "O" recently moved to their Simply More policy with the stated intention of making things easier for agencies and cruisers (certainly open to debate).  Why not also make their air easier (without extra fees)?

 

Hank

[jonthomas]

I really like what you said above.

For Canadians, there is no competition with our airlines, take it or leave it. The prices are outrageous. Therefore Os price is something we cannot get  on our own, especially when you throw in PE into the mix. O is charging only 149 pp for it. 

This is for  November, flying into BCN 2 days earlier so that the mess O may give us could be manageable.

 

We submitted our reasonable preference to our TA. Will see what O does with it. NO way do we want to pay an extra 500CAD for custom air and at that point we will be 7 cruises away from the 15 to get the deviation included. 

 

I will be posting what O gives us.

 

Yes Seabourn is doing it right.

[AMHuntFerry]

18 hours ago, FetaCheese said:

Booked cruise under Olife, with air. Was not yet ticketed. Asked TA yesterday to change outbound flight to 1 day earlier.  O responded "not for my cruise, will get back to TA within 2 weeks with fee, plus any fare differential".  

 

Was not happy.  

 

My invoice clearly states the 3 day out/inbound flexible air policy.  To me, appears that O can change their written policy as they see fit.

 

Cancelled O air for credit and booked myself, only $9 more.  Aware not getting transfers.

 

Anyone care to share your experience concerning this policy ?

This isn't comparing O policy, but I happen to know (from our roll call) which day you were trying to fly and the destination airport. I booked my flight weeks ago and it was a bear! I thought that Wednesday after Labor Day would be safe from the holiday crush, but it's not. The only low fares got me in at ~midnight...yuck. I paid a little more for the morning flight, but it was gone soon after and I still don't have a seat assignment for the second leg even though my fare comes with a seat assignment (i.e., not the lowest bargain fare)...which reminds me, I think I'll go pay the $10 and choose the "premium" seat today.

[Redtravel]

Booked Olife with air on my most recent cruise. Never again!

[D. B.]

We booked with Olife flights included for our Marina sailing starting tomorrow.

I requested a 2 day early flight and they accommodate us with no problem or additional cost.

we also took the offer to upgrade to Premium Economy for our overseas flights at $200 PP - Per Flight and it was cheaper than if I tried to buy them directly from the airline.

very satisfied with the flights so far.

Edited July 10, 2023 by D. B.
Content

[FetaCheese]

deleted

Edited July 10, 2023 by FetaCheese

[jonthomas]

2 hours ago, D. B. said:

We booked with Olife flights included for our Marina sailing starting tomorrow.

I requested a 2 day early flight and they accommodate us with no problem or additional cost.

we also took the offer to upgrade to Premium Economy for our overseas flights at $200 PP - Per Flight and it was cheaper than if I tried to buy them directly from the airline.

very satisfied with the flights so far.

Your flight is tomorrow?

Ours is in Nov...also with O flights and their prem econ..

We put in our pref for 2 days earlier, will see what they give us and will report back.

[ORV]

52 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

Your flight is tomorrow?

Ours is in Nov...also with O flights and their prem econ..

We put in our pref for 2 days earlier, will see what they give us and will report back.

No, their cruise is tomorrow, they already had their flight. 

[jonthomas]

Got it.

[azbirdmom]

We are new to Oceania and have our first cruise booked for next February as cruise only as we used miles for our air for that cruise.  We are now thinking of booking another cruise and possibly taking the air from O.

 

It sounds like you have no ability to book your own flights on their website, you need to contact O to do that.  And in scouring the website I see that there is a fee for booking "custom air" (sounds similar to Viking).  If you want Premium Economy or Business flights, do they just quote this to you based on the itinerary?  One of the posts mentioned a $200 upcharge for Premium Economy so I was curious if the cost can vary quite a bit or if it is always a deal compared to what you'd pay if going direct to the airlines (which is the way Princess EZAir used to be, now not so much, at least from PHX).

[LHT28]

30 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

We are new to Oceania and have our first cruise booked for next February as cruise only as we used miles for our air for that cruise.  We are now thinking of booking another cruise and possibly taking the air from O.

 

It sounds like you have no ability to book your own flights on their website, you need to contact O to do that.  And in scouring the website I see that there is a fee for booking "custom air" (sounds similar to Viking).  If you want Premium Economy or Business flights, do they just quote this to you based on the itinerary?  One of the posts mentioned a $200 upcharge for Premium Economy so I was curious if the cost can vary quite a bit or if it is always a deal compared to what you'd pay if going direct to the airlines (which is the way Princess EZAir used to be, now not so much, at least from PHX).

it is complicated  😉

If you use  a TA  they have to contact Oceania air dept 

If you want to choose your flights & routing  then you pay the non refundable  deviation fee once you & Oceania come to an agreement

 

If you want to take a chance on just getting a flight (like the lottery)  just give them  the dates you want to fly in/out  the new deal is  up to 3 days pre/post cruise   you take what they give you

 

Before booking BIZ  see what you can get on your own before you commit

I am sure other will have more info

 

 

[ShopperfiendTO]

36 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

We are new to Oceania and have our first cruise booked for next February as cruise only as we used miles for our air for that cruise.  We are now thinking of booking another cruise and possibly taking the air from O.

 

It sounds like you have no ability to book your own flights on their website, you need to contact O to do that.  And in scouring the website I see that there is a fee for booking "custom air" (sounds similar to Viking).  If you want Premium Economy or Business flights, do they just quote this to you based on the itinerary?  One of the posts mentioned a $200 upcharge for Premium Economy so I was curious if the cost can vary quite a bit or if it is always a deal compared to what you'd pay if going direct to the airlines (which is the way Princess EZAir used to be, now not so much, at least from PHX).

 

The premium economy upgrade is a promotion; it is not a standard indefinite offering available for all cruises. 

 

Your cruise has to have this as an offer (I think it only applies to European cruises and even then only for the transatlantic portion of the itinerary) and it may not be combinable with other promotions you might have for the booking.

Edited July 23, 2023 by ShopperfiendTO

[azbirdmom]

54 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

it is complicated  😉

If you use  a TA  they have to contact Oceania air dept 

If you want to choose your flights & routing  then you pay the non refundable  deviation fee once you & Oceania come to an agreement

 

If you want to take a chance on just getting a flight (like the lottery)  just give them  the dates you want to fly in/out  the new deal is  up to 3 days pre/post cruise   you take what they give you

 

Before booking BIZ  see what you can get on your own before you commit

I am sure other will have more info

 

 

 

Thank you for the quick response.  When they choose the flights for you can you then decide to pay the deviation fee for something more to your liking if you're not crazy about their offering?  Or do you need to request the deviation upfront?  LIkewise can you request a quote for business and then turn it down if you're not happy with what they offer?  Just trying to get a feeling for how this works, and I do hate putting my TA in the middle.  She works way too hard already and having her be the person relaying info back and forth sounds like a pain so I want to be well informed ahead of time.  Thanks again.

[LHT28]

Just now, azbirdmom said:

 

Thank you for the quick response.  When they choose the flights for you can you then decide to pay the deviation fee for something more to your liking if you're not crazy about their offering?  Or do you need to request the deviation upfront?  LIkewise can you request a quote for business and then turn it down if you're not happy with what they offer?  Just trying to get a feeling for how this works, and I do hate putting my TA in the middle.  She works way too hard already and having her be the person relaying info back and forth sounds like a pain so I want to be well informed ahead of time.  Thanks again.

If you wait  until they give you your flight details  usually 60 days out   I think  then it may be too late to get something else

You can take a change but usually not a good outcome lately

 I would ask about 270 days out  for what you want  also check what it would be to DIY

then decide if worth it 

The deviation fee is About $200 PP   I believe

 

JMO

[Redtravel]

Premium air isn’t usually available even way in advance. We are on the wait list for a cruise in May 2024.  

[pinotlover]

On 7/6/2023 at 8:43 PM, YourWorldWithBill said:

My booking is similar. I picked out an itinerary, then had my TA ask O if they would use that one. They came back with a similar itinerary, but time were worse and some slight differences in cities. Obviously they are limited in their airline arrangements, so I took the credit (as you did) and booked it myself.

 

Same price as their price would have been, yet a better routing. Strange that they couldn't do that. For some reason I keep thinking that cruise lines, with all the bookings they do, should get better deals with the airlines, but I've never found that to be the case.

You forget one important detail. The Air department is a profit center for O. What they pay for air has little to do with the air credits. The air credit should merely be viewed as what they charge YOU for the ticket. Not what they pay for the ticket.

[Panama111]

Experience with booked air through Oceania

For Cruise departing from Amsterdam in Sept. 2023

We booked air in our original booking. No business class was mentioned. Premium economy was booked in our original booking. “By accepting this Custom Air you are authorizing Oceania Cruises to charge the non-refundable Custom Air Fee of $299.00 per person to the credit card on file for your reservation"

 $3096 was  for air in original payment with booking [ this was refunded when I cancelled air] the $550 was the fee to use custom air. The $1440. was the cost difference between the flights we wanted and the flights we were offered by Oceania. Economy tickets.

Paying custom air let us choose between whatever flights Oceania has available. (This does not mean all the flights available if you book  air yourself.) Oceania had no direct flights available - on a busy route with multiple airlines.

We did not want to leave for the airport in the middle of the night  and wait 7 hours in Frankfurt to change planes for Amsterdam. To get better departure times,  a direct flight and a shorter layover on return there was a deviation fee of $550 pp. + $1440 for fare difference.  I had numerous calls and quotes and then gave up.

I booked exactly what I wanted online, for slightly less money.

No to O air in the future - Seabourn is the way to fly.

 

 

[Redtravel]

On 7/9/2023 at 7:06 PM, Redtravel said:

Booked Olife with air on my most recent cruise. Never again!

Reading my posting, never say never.  Flying O air in June arriving the day of embarkation was too stressful.  We got to the ship 2 hours before sailing.  This time we opted for arriving one day early.  We chose O air this time because we are booked on the first cruise after dry dock.  If for some reason the ship takes longer in dry dock than scheduled or gets canceled, we won't get stuck rearranging flights.  We also requested the premium upgrade.  TA said upgrades were sold out.

[pinotlover]

Redtravel;

 

It doesn’t surprise me at all concerning the availability of PE upgrades. For those airlines actually offering PE services it has become a very popular class of service. What your TA is really saying is the airlines aren’t releasing PE seats for discounted fares, thus Oceania has none to offer. 
 

I’d consider paying the airline offered insurance and booking my own flights where PE is still available . I don’t fit well into an economy seat for 8-9+ hours.