What's the downside to Simply More?

[Harters]

5 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

I agree with you about the Caribbean. But for European cruises SM might be useful.

I'm not sure I understand the distinction. Is this because the Caribbean ports are already familiar to you, whereas the European ports are not? Or is it something else? If the former then, as a European, I might take the opposite view.

[shepherd really]

2 minutes ago, Harters said:

I'm not sure I understand the distinction. Is this because the Caribbean ports are already familiar to you, whereas the European ports are not? Or is it something else? If the former then, as a European, I might take the opposite view.

I believe you got it.  US cruisers are generally more familiar with the Carribean and are less inclined to use excursions.

[ak1004]

1 minute ago, Harters said:

I'm not sure I understand the distinction. Is this because the Caribbean ports are already familiar to you, whereas the European ports are not? Or is it something else? If the former then, as a European, I might take the opposite view.

 

With all due respect to the Caribbean, many ports there are very similar and you don't really need an excursion, you can just book a taxi which takes you around. In some ports we don't even leave the ship or leave for a short walk around. The excursion prices are not much different, and it doesn't make sense to pay over $100 USD for a half day tour. But Europe (or Japan, South America etc) are a different story.

 

But as you mentioned, it might be different for you if you have seen most places in Europe.

[dandee2]

Our first cruise with Oceania is in french polynésia next month. Cruise fare only (no beer, wine, champagne, excursion, OBC). We only have the wifi and the tips included. We always book our excursion ourselves.
 

If there is no option to opt-out in the future, that will be our first and last cruise with O as the $$$ value is important to us.

[dandee2]

3 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

SM and alcohol...

 

When you can bring your own beer, hard liquor and wine on board at embarkation and at ports, what is the value of SM?

 

On our recent 20-night B2B on Riviera (10-11/2023), which we booked CRUISE ONLY, I initially stocked up on beer, hard liquor and wine from a local grocery store in Trieste. Then bought more in Kotor, Heraklion, Istanbul, Messina, Naples, etc. After developing a taste for Montenegrin beer, European brandy from Greece, Serbia & Spain, and lots of Italian wines, and including the 3 bottles of varying sizes of hard liquor that I brought HOME with me (e.g., 700 ML bottle of Turkish Yeni Raki), I spent a bit over E100 total. Enjoying beer, hard liquor and wine each night on our veranda. That cost was a bit over that for a mere 3 days of O's Premium Package.

 

I had a blast shopping for inexpensive decent alcohol in the local stores. That Montenegrin beer in Kotor was on sale 33% off, so those six (6) 500 ML cans cost just E.69 per can. A decent bottle of Italian wine I found on the bottom shelf of a grocery store in Naples was E1.49. But I also bought 3 for E5.00 at a different small store, too. I loved the Serbian brandy I bought in Kotor at E10.49. That Turkish Raki was the most expensive at TL550 (or about $19.50).

 

AND we had 4 nights of FREE alcohol at the 2 Captain's Parties and 2 Repeaters' Parties.

I thought you could not bring liquor on board (Rum, Gin, Vodka) ?

[basor]

6 minutes ago, dandee2 said:

I thought you could not bring liquor on board (Rum, Gin, Vodka) ?

You can bring any form of alcohol onboard for consumption in your cabin .  You may take your personal bottle of wine to a dining venue and pay $25.00 corkage fee.

[Tranquility Base]

3 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

SM and alcohol...

 

When you can bring your own beer, hard liquor and wine on board at embarkation and at ports, what is the value of SM?

For me the SM alcohol package does have value.

If eating lunch onboard, and when having dinner, I value have the beer & wine by the glass option available.

Edited January 24 by Tranquility Base

[dandee2]

26 minutes ago, basor said:

You can bring any form of alcohol onboard for consumption in your cabin .  You may take your personal bottle of wine to a dining venue and pay $25.00 corkage fee.

From cruise Critic:
 

Can I bring booze onboard an Oceania cruise?

Bringing alcohol onboard at embarkation: Passengers may not bring their own beer or liquor onboard, but may bring a maximum of three bottles of wine or Champagne per cabin for the duration of a cruise (this includes embarkation and purchasing onshore during a port call). A corkage fee of $25 applies if wine is consumed in a public area or dining room; there is no charge to drink it within the stateroom.

Purchasing alcohol in port to bring onboard: Wine bought ashore is allowed so long as it does not exceed the three bottles per cabin maximum. A corkage fee of $25 applies if wine is consumed in a public area or dining room. Passengers can bring liquor or beer onboard, as well, but it will be held until the end of the cruise.

[basor]

2 minutes ago, dandee2 said:

From cruise Critic:
 

Can I bring booze onboard an Oceania cruise?

Bringing alcohol onboard at embarkation: Passengers may not bring their own beer or liquor onboard, but may bring a maximum of three bottles of wine or Champagne per cabin for the duration of a cruise (this includes embarkation and purchasing onshore during a port call). A corkage fee of $25 applies if wine is consumed in a public area or dining room; there is no charge to drink it within the stateroom.

Purchasing alcohol in port to bring onboard: Wine bought ashore is allowed so long as it does not exceed the three bottles per cabin maximum. A corkage fee of $25 applies if wine is consumed in a public area or dining room. Passengers can bring liquor or beer onboard, as well, but it will be held until the end of the cruise.

I am speaking from 15 years experience sailing O and I have no idea where the person who posted this on cruise critic got their information....if you search you will find discussions on this ad naseum .  

[tigerfan75]

40 minutes ago, dandee2 said:

From cruise Critic:
 

Can I bring booze onboard an Oceania cruise?

Bringing alcohol onboard at embarkation: Passengers may not bring their own beer or liquor onboard, but may bring a maximum of three bottles of wine or Champagne per cabin for the duration of a cruise (this includes embarkation and purchasing onshore during a port call). A corkage fee of $25 applies if wine is consumed in a public area or dining room; there is no charge to drink it within the stateroom.

Purchasing alcohol in port to bring onboard: Wine bought ashore is allowed so long as it does not exceed the three bottles per cabin maximum. A corkage fee of $25 applies if wine is consumed in a public area or dining room. Passengers can bring liquor or beer onboard, as well, but it will be held until the end of the cruise.

Not correct!

[ORV]

If it were if me I’d listen to the people that have cruised Oceania multiple times for many years instead of some random person quoting FAQ information from their website. 

[dandee2]

Its not random info, its from the staff of CC.

[shepherd really]

19 minutes ago, dandee2 said:

Its not random info, its from the staff of CC.

It's garbage, it's incorrect, it's wrong, but by all means please ignore experienced cruisers and go with this misinformation.

[shepherd really]

1 hour ago, ORV said:

If it were if me I’d listen to the people that have cruised Oceania multiple times for many years instead of some random person quoting FAQ information from their website. 

Yes, but when was the last time you actually cruised on Oceania, I mean aside from this very minute.

[dandee2]

4 minutes ago, shepherd really said:

It's garbage, it's incorrect, it's wrong, but by all means please ignore experienced cruisers and go with this misinformation.

You don't need to be rude. This web page is maintained by CC so, yes I read their opinion too.

 

[EJL2023]

7 minutes ago, shepherd really said:

It's garbage, it's incorrect, it's wrong, but by all means please ignore experienced cruisers and go with this misinformation.

Not to mention they don’t even have the number of bottles of wine that can be brought on board correct. That was increased from 3 to 6 in 2020 per the Oceania website.  So they don’t even have the not enforced rule correct.  

[shepherd really]

Just now, dandee2 said:

You don't need to be rude. This web page is maintained by CC so, yes I read their opinion too.

 

I am correcting inaccurate information that you are placing credence in despite experienced cruisers telling you it's wrong.  This is to prevent this incorrect information from causing confusion with other inexperienced cruiser. 

 

That's not rudeness. I'm so very, very, very sorry that you incorrectly interpreted it that way.   

 

 

[basor]

20 minutes ago, shepherd really said:

Yes, but when was the last time you actually cruised on Oceania, I mean aside from this very minute.

I believe they are onboard right now so I would say pretty recent.  We were onboard , the last time, 2 months ago for 31 days B2B2B on Vista and brought a case of wine onboard at embarkation and liquor onboard at several ports.

[shepherd really]

4 minutes ago, basor said:

I believe they are onboard right now so I would say pretty recent.  We were onboard , the last time, 2 months ago for 31 days B2B2B on Vista and brought a case of wine onboard at embarkation and liquor onboard at several ports.

(I knew that, shhhhh)

[clo]

7 hours ago, QuestionEverything said:

No further O cruises because of this.

100% your choice...as I have a reason I may not sail with them again. To each our own.

[clo]

1 hour ago, basor said:

I believe they are onboard right now so I would say pretty recent.  We were onboard , the last time, 2 months ago for 31 days B2B2B on Vista and brought a case of wine onboard at embarkation and liquor onboard at several ports.

I'm not a veteran O cruiser. COVID and Russia-Ukraine put a damper on our intl travel. BUT before we ever traveled on O countless people told me we could bring anything we wanted on...and we did. No problem whatsoever. BUT if you read the O website, not CC, it will say no. So they're not enforcing a policy. Their right and I don't worry about it. And if the day comes that they do enforce it - as some have said "treating us like children" - .......well, it will be fun to watch 🙂

[CptBoatface]

Is non alcoholic beer included in SM?

[MEFIowa]

4 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

For me the SM alcohol package does have value. If eating lunch onboard, and when having dinner, I value have the beer & wine by the glass option available.

Value... What price "value"?

 

What you haven't accounted for is the INCREASE in the cost of the cruises, due to SM. So you think having a glass of wine & beer at lunch and dinner is worth $30 per day? Or $300 for 10 days? To each their own.

 

My 500 ML cans of Montenegrin beer cost E0.69 each. Bought six (6) of them in Kotor. That was about $4.50 total. Or E1.49 bottle of Italian red wine. Or the 3 bottles of whatever wine I wanted for E5.00. That delightful bottle of Serbian brandy was E10.49. Enjoyed it so much I bought a bottle Greek brandy in Heraklion and then later Spanish brandy in Barcelona. Your "value" has quite the cost, compared to my "value". I drank all the beer, hard liquor and wine I wanted for 20 days and nights on Riviera and brought 3 bottles of hard liquor back all for about $100. Or just 3+ days of SM.

[basor]

43 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

Value... What price "value"?

 

What you haven't accounted for is the INCREASE in the cost of the cruises, due to SM. So you think having a glass of wine & beer at lunch and dinner is worth $30 per day? Or $300 for 10 days? To each their own.

 

My 500 ML cans of Montenegrin beer cost E0.69 each. Bought six (6) of them in Kotor. That was about $4.50 total. Or E1.49 bottle of Italian red wine. Or the 3 bottles of whatever wine I wanted for E5.00. That delightful bottle of Serbian brandy was E10.49. Enjoyed it so much I bought a bottle Greek brandy in Heraklion and then later Spanish brandy in Barcelona. Your "value" has quite the cost, compared to my "value". I drank all the beer, hard liquor and wine I wanted for 20 days and nights on Riviera and brought 3 bottles of hard liquor back all for about $100. Or just 3+ days of SM.

Not everyone's cruise price increased with the advent of SM... we had 3 cruises booked under OLife, 2 of the cruise prices went down by several hundred dollars per person and 1 went up $50.00 per person . 

[Tranquility Base]

1 hour ago, MEFIowa said:

Value... What price "value"?

Enough value that I booked numerous days of cruising for this year whilst onboard a few months ago.

 

1 hour ago, MEFIowa said:

What you haven't accounted for is the INCREASE in the cost of the cruises, due to SM. So you think having a glass of wine & beer at lunch and dinner is worth $30 per day? Or $300 for 10 days?

 I was very happy with the book onboard perks, plus the sale or promotion  I booked under. 

Whilst onboard I was able to take advantage of either a current sale or a current promotion.

I can assure you I went through the maths very carefully in slow time.

The result....happy with the value and bookings made.

 

1 hour ago, MEFIowa said:

To each their own.

Thank you for recognising my freedom of choice.

 

1 hour ago, MEFIowa said:

 

I drank all the beer, hard liquor and wine I wanted for 20 days and nights on Riviera and brought 3 bottles of hard liquor back all for about $100. Or just 3+ days of SM.

Whilst I had an very occasional drink from my own supply on my veranda, I certainly didn't do that often.

I enjoy wine with dinner and  beer / wine sometimes with lunch.

SM suits me fine.

Edited January 25 by Tranquility Base