Simply More or Simply Less?

[doghouse2]

I’ve read several posts about their new program so I thought I would add another tidbit.  I should start with my initial view of the new program was not good from my own personal preferences and situation.  As an example, my wife is allergic to wine and champagne and only has an alcoholic beverage occasionally.  While I have no such constraints I also drink sparingly these days.  In addition many of our cruises are the transatlantic ones as we both no longer like 11 hour plane rides.  So, when I heard about the new program i did not have a favorable reaction.  Having  already booked several cruises under the old program I have not had to decide if we are going to continue sailing Oceania.  In checking one of my cruises next spring (for a potential cabin change) I saw what Simply More meant in terms of shore excursions.  It’s states that there is a $1000 shore excursion benefit—in addition to the other components of the new program.  Having noted our low alcoholic consumption that part of their program is of no interest to us.  But, the $1000 caught my eye so I went  to my booking record and saw I was getting $1400 of O’Choice benefits.  Now, for those who do imbibe, this $400 loss might possibly be offset by the beverage component.  So with fares being higher and, in this particular case, the benefit being less I would say Simply More is simply less.

[Marmaduke]

I much prefered the O Life choice, being able to choose the benefit that suited me best.  I  do not like organised excisions and now with Simply More I will end up with a large amount of OBC for something I do not want. I expect that Oceania will hike the price of their excusions and I doubt that having made your choice, the cost will be the exact amount of your OCB. You will either be under the amount and therefore losing some of your OBC or having to pay extra to use it all up!.  At least under the O Life system benefit was based on a number of excusions depending on the length of the cruise.

 

I would have prefered Oceania to include gratuities in their pricing and if necessary given a smaller amount of OBC to be used however you wished, e.g. 

Spa, Drinks Packages, Shops, Tours etc.  

It is unlikely that I will be booking any further Oceania cruises under the Simply More system.

[LHT28]

The new program will work for some  & not for others

We  need to  choose what works best for our  needs/wants  & talk with your wallet

 

Hopefully the program will change in a year  but then losing  regular pax  is also a bonus for them as they will not be shelling out for the  O Club perks

 

SM does  not work for us 

YMMV

[MarkWiltonM]

It's kind of "here we go again" for us. We switched to Oceania from other cruise lines because they had "cruise-only" fares without alcohol, etc. Now we are switching again. We have cruises on Vista and Marina under the old fare regime that we will keep and then it's back to Crystal, Celebrity, and perhaps other cruise lines (Windstar, Silversea, Viking...) we haven't tried. If I have to book a luxury cruise line that includes alcohol, Oceania is not even remotely my first choice. And as it stands with Simply More, Oceania's fares are approaching the luxury lines but I don't believe the overall quality is on par with luxury lines. I just priced a B3 Caribbean cruise on Vista for 2025 and it was $408 per person per night, with alcohol we won't drink and a shore excursion credit we wouldn't use. We are in B3 on Vista this coming December for $285 pppn (cruise only but grats and insurance are included as TA perks). We are on Marina in 2024 for $220 pppn (B3) with grats and insurance included.    

[MEFIowa]

22 minutes ago, MarkWiltonM said:

... I just priced a B3 Caribbean cruise on Vista for 2025 and it was $408 per person per night, with alcohol we won't drink and a shore excursion credit we wouldn't use. We are in B3 on Vista this coming December for $285 pppn (cruise only but grats and insurance are included as TA perks). We are on Marina in 2024 for $220 pppn (B3) with grats and insurance included.    

Though the pricing for cruises booked in 2022 and 2023 is all over the place and heavily sale dependent. So, we've got

 

- $175 PPPN on a B3 on Riviera then $190 PPN for an A3 on Riviera (B2B in the Med) in 2023. Both off the ESS sale. BUT then...

- $285 PPPN on Sirena in a [large] C1 (off a 2022 sale) and $295 PPPN on Sirena for an F (SM sale), both as a B2B in the Baltic later in 2024.

 

I will continue to pay the closest of attention to O sales in the future, as I have in the past. So many sales in 2023 that I can't list them all in order going back to Jan '23.

[Oceangoer2]

56 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

The new program will work for some  & not for others

We  need to  choose what works best for our  needs/wants  & talk with your wallet

 

Hopefully the program will change in a year  but then losing  regular pax  is also a bonus for them as they will not be shelling out for the  O Club perks

 

SM does  not work for us 

YMMV

Good morning LHT28....we've spoken on occasion via the X site...can you help me with our decision to possibly move over to O?  I'm reading this thread with interest re the 'simply more' program.  Sounds good to me but I have questions.

 

Sorry if I'm being intrusive, but I'm comparing with Celebrity AI;  do you know:

• What the beverage offering includes?  I see here it's champagne and wine...no beer?
• At one time I think the pkg was only to be used during dinner and lunch no other time?
• Gratuities not included
• Is wifi included?
• What is it you will be missing with this new program?

[ratflinger]

It's all marketing, some nimrod sold management on changing the program and how everyone will rush to book.  If it doesn't work then that person will get canned and they'll try something else, maybe even O-Life again.  All we can count on is change.

Edited August 23, 2023 by ratflinger

[Oceangoer2]

50 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Good morning LHT28....we've spoken on occasion via the X site...can you help me with our decision to possibly move over to O?  I'm reading this thread with interest re the 'simply more' program.  Sounds good to me but I have questions.

 

Sorry if I'm being intrusive, but I'm comparing with Celebrity AI;  do you know:

• What the beverage offering includes?  I see here it's champagne and wine...no beer?
• At one time I think the pkg was only to be used during dinner and lunch no other time?
• Gratuities not included
• Is wifi included?
• What is it you will be missing with this new program?

I should add....ALL opinions welcome.  After 30 yrs with Celebrity it's a big change to consider going to Oceaia.

[EJL2023]

17 minutes ago, ratflinger said:

It's all marketing, some nimrod sold management on changing the program and how everyone will rush to book.  If it doesn't work then that person will get canned and they'll try something else, maybe even O-Life again.  All we can count on is change.

And as we all know, most people deal so well with change!!! 😃. You better be able to in this new world or….

[LHT28]

59 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Good morning LHT28....we've spoken on occasion via the X site...can you help me with our decision to possibly move over to O?  I'm reading this thread with interest re the 'simply more' program.  Sounds good to me but I have questions.

 

Sorry if I'm being intrusive, but I'm comparing with Celebrity AI;  do you know:

• What the beverage offering includes?  I see here it's champagne and wine...no beer?
• At one time I think the pkg was only to be used during dinner and lunch no other time?
• Gratuities not included
• Is wifi included?
• What is it you will be missing with this new program?

Never been on X

 the SM   deal includes Wine /Champagne by the glass & beer at lunch & dinner

Wifi is always included on O

You also get an excursion credit  amount is dependent on the length of the  cruise  to be used on excursions only

 

 

[Oceangoer2]

49 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Never been on X

 the SM   deal includes Wine /Champagne by the glass & beer at lunch & dinner

Wifi is always included on O

You also get an excursion credit  amount is dependent on the length of the  cruise  to be used on excursions only

 

 

I think I know you haven't been on X....did we talk about you living near London?  maybe I have the wrong poster.  But thanks for your response. 

[LHT28]

3 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

I think I know you haven't been on X....did we talk about you living near London?  maybe I have the wrong poster.  But thanks for your response. 

yes

probably chatted  on Canadian or Air  forum

[Oceangoer2]

Just now, LHT28 said:

yes

probably chatted  on Canadian or Air  forum

Yes, it must have been the Canadian forum....not sure but nice to talk again.  I know  you mentioned how much you enjoyed O so I directed my questions primarily to you as someone very informed. 

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Yes, it must have been the Canadian forum....not sure but nice to talk again.  I know  you mentioned how much you enjoyed O so I directed my questions primarily to you as someone very informed. 

no problem

Enjoy 

[Sabbycat]

3 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Good morning LHT28....we've spoken on occasion via the X site...can you help me with our decision to possibly move over to O?  I'm reading this thread with interest re the 'simply more' program.  Sounds good to me but I have questions.

 

Sorry if I'm being intrusive, but I'm comparing with Celebrity AI;  do you know:

• What the beverage offering includes?  I see here it's champagne and wine...no beer?
• At one time I think the pkg was only to be used during dinner and lunch no other time?
• Gratuities not included
• Is wifi included?
• What is it you will be missing with this new program?

Having cruised X for many years, I have to say they have priced themselves out of their market. Our current three week cruise in a PH1 is $300 cheaper PER DAY per person, than a Sky Suite on Celebrity. And while PH1 books do not automatically come with a bev pkg and grats, adding them does not cost $300. 

 

DH and I enjoy Oceania (and Azamara), as they are much better value. 

[bcppelican]

We booked the New Years Eve cruise on Vista in June.  I have found in the past that there isn’t any real value in the O Life. You pay to have it added. I enjoyed purchasing the unlimited excursion package. There was a savings with that package.You could book any excursion under $199. I was hoping to purchase the unlimited package for our New Year’s cruise. It was available when we booked. I did not purchase it right away. In July O Life was changed to Simply More. We are no longer able to purchase the unlimited excursion package. I am very disappointed. I don’t see any value in Simply More. At least in O Life when they gave you 3 free excursions you could book a $199 excursion and you actually paid $100 for it. Very disappointed. We have booked Seabourn for a trip in June. I am no longer committed to Oceania.

[RJB]

22 minutes ago, bcppelican said:

We booked the New Years Eve cruise on Vista in June.  I have found in the past that there isn’t any real value in the O Life. You pay to have it added. I enjoyed purchasing the unlimited excursion package. There was a savings with that package.You could book any excursion under $199. I was hoping to purchase the unlimited package for our New Year’s cruise. It was available when we booked. I did not purchase it right away. In July O Life was changed to Simply More. We are no longer able to purchase the unlimited excursion package. I am very disappointed. I don’t see any value in Simply More. At least in O Life when they gave you 3 free excursions you could book a $199 excursion and you actually paid $100 for it. Very disappointed. We have booked Seabourn for a trip in June. I am no longer committed to Oceania.

Seems to me the MORE is just for tours as the O Life was shipboard credit to use any way you wanted.   Could be a deal breaker for us.  Time will tell

[LHT28]

28 minutes ago, bcppelican said:

We booked the New Years Eve cruise on Vista in June.  I have found in the past that there isn’t any real value in the O Life. You pay to have it added. I enjoyed purchasing the unlimited excursion package. There was a savings with that package.You could book any excursion under $199. I was hoping to purchase the unlimited package for our New Year’s cruise. It was available when we booked. I did not purchase it right away. In July O Life was changed to Simply More. We are no longer able to purchase the unlimited excursion package. I am very disappointed. I don’t see any value in Simply More. At least in O Life when they gave you 3 free excursions you could book a $199 excursion and you actually paid $100 for it. Very disappointed. We have booked Seabourn for a trip in June. I am no longer committed to Oceania.

Did you switch to SM?

Is  the Unlimited option not showing for you cruise ?

 I do see some cruise still have the unlimited excursions listed for  some ports

[ORV]

4 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

I think I know you haven't been on X....did we talk about you living near London?  maybe I have the wrong poster.  But thanks for your response. 

I think you have her confused with LTH82

[Oceangoer2]

15 minutes ago, ORV said:

I think you have her confused with LTH82

LTH 28 answered...no confusion, but thanks for trying to point me in the right direction.  BTW...do you know which A1 cabins on Marina are hump cabins? or are they PH?

[ORV]

There are no hump cabins on Oceania ships, there are some that have larger balconies, but I'm not sure if they're A1s. Check the deck plans on the Oceania site and they do show the larger ones on the pictures. On Riviera & Marina they are at the back and front of deck 7 and I believe still a B3 category. On Vista they are on multiple decks, but I'm not sure of the categories. On the smaller R ships there are some A level cabins at the rear of the ship with larger balconies. 

 

Which ship are you on?

[Oceangoer2]

6 minutes ago, ORV said:

There are no hump cabins on Oceania ships, there are some that have larger balconies, but I'm not sure if they're A1s. Check the deck plans on the Oceania site and they do show the larger ones on the pictures. On Riviera & Marina they are at the back and front of deck 7 and I believe still a B3 category. On Vista they are on multiple decks, but I'm not sure of the categories. On the smaller R ships there are some A level cabins at the rear of the ship with larger balconies. 

 

Which ship are you on?

Just booking Marina and I read an article that the hump cabins were larger, or maybe it was balconies?  I checked the O deck plans and they all look the same dimensions.

[LHT28]

7 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Just booking Marina and I read an article that the hump cabins were larger, or maybe it was balconies?  I checked the O deck plans and they all look the same dimensions.

The larger balconies are on deck 7  B cabin  category  & PH on Marina & Riviera

 

 

[ORV]

8 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Just booking Marina and I read an article that the hump cabins were larger, or maybe it was balconies?  I checked the O deck plans and they all look the same dimensions.

On Marina you want to look at deck 7, front and rear. They definitely show them sticking out further. There are 4 Penthouse at the rear of the ship, 2 PH1's & 2 Ph2,  then the others are B3's, Port side rear 7128-7108, front 7000-7008, starboard side front-7001-7009, rear, 7111-7131

 

Posting same time as Lyn

Edited August 23, 2023 by ORV

[LHT28]

What is a hump cabin??