July 1st changes: Air program, Comparisons and Summer Sale

[WESTEAST]

As expected, the July 1st updated site includes the new air program (excluded from SM program), a summer sale as well as regular July 1st fare increases.  Comparison tables for value and culinary are new to the updated site.

 

Re air program, one can do a mock booking and include air by class that will display the airfare regardless how far in advance the cruise date is e.g. prior to airlines publishing their schedules/fares. O's site states: Yes, airfare is available for purchase on a booking even if airlines have not published schedules yet. (Airlines typically release schedules 364 days in advance). Custom air requests are available 270 days prior to departure but airfare can be added at any time.  Link to Air FAQ: https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/360001108894-Air 

 

The updated Ultimate Value page has two comparison tables of Oceania to 5 cruise lines for Cruise Value and Culinary Comparison. (https://www.oceaniacruises.com/value). 

 

[ORV]

Thanks for posting the link. I just spent a little time looking at it and it appears they still need to do a little cleaning up. I would caution people to check the date when each topic was updated. 

[FlyerTalker]

Interesting....O wants to advertise themselves to the world as a "Luxury" line.  Yet the comparisons are with cruiselines in the mass market to premium level.

 

Hmmm.

 

 

[mauibabes]

My understanding has always been Premium and not Luxury like its sister Regent,  Crystal, Seabourn, etc. To me Viking Ocean or Ponant are more like O so maybe I would call it Lux Lite and above the X, HAL, Azimara ships. 
We just sail what we like because after all, only our opinion and checkbook matter in the grand scheme of things. 
Mauibabes

[FlyerTalker]

1 minute ago, mauibabes said:

My understanding has always been Premium and not Luxury

 

So the quote on the homepage of "THE FINEST CUISINE AT SEA®. CURATED TRAVEL EXPERIENCES. SMALL SHIP LUXURY" is there in error?

 

Or the webpage header on that comparison page (see your browser's title bar) of "Luxury Cruise Deals, Special Offers and Amenities - Oceania Cruises".  Which influences search results.

 

And how many times is the word "Luxurious" found throughout the website?

 

 

[mauibabes]

IMHO, use of the word Luxurious does not mean the Line is considered a Luxury Cruise Line by whoever makes those designations. I think the ships, all of them are quite luxurious but I do not consider O to be in that Luxury Line category. 
Regent is Luxury and their ships are Luxurious too. 
Maybe their AI program has a very limited vocabulary of available adjectives 😇🤞🛳️

Whatever it is, we like O. 
Mauibabes

[clo]

28 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

So the quote on the homepage of "THE FINEST CUISINE AT SEA®. CURATED TRAVEL EXPERIENCES. SMALL SHIP LUXURY" is there in error?

 

Or the webpage header on that comparison page (see your browser's title bar) of "Luxury Cruise Deals, Special Offers and Amenities - Oceania Cruises".  Which influences search results.

 

And how many times is the word "Luxurious" found throughout the website?

 

 

Off-topic but I'm so sick of the word "curated" I could scream!!!

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

Interesting....O wants to advertise themselves to the world as a "Luxury" line.  Yet the comparisons are with cruiselines in the mass market to premium level.

 

Hmmm.

 

 

Well, O has never really marketed itself as “luxury” although, years ago (as more lines self-proclaimed themselves as “premium” (a term first used by O)), O started claiming to be “ultra-premium.”

[FlyerTalker]

Let me be clear...I have few problems with Oceania as a cruiseline.  I merely point out that they keep wanting to have both sides of the "luxury" branding.

 

And take a good look at what O says, and you will see how they want to portray luxury.  Yet try to compare with the likes of Princess.

 

 

[jagoffee]

9 hours ago, WESTEAST said:

As expected, the July 1st updated site includes the new air program (excluded from SM program), a summer sale as well as regular July 1st fare increases.  Comparison tables for value and culinary are new to the updated site.

 

Re air program, one can do a mock booking and include air by class that will display the airfare regardless how far in advance the cruise date is e.g. prior to airlines publishing their schedules/fares. O's site states: Yes, airfare is available for purchase on a booking even if airlines have not published schedules yet. (Airlines typically release schedules 364 days in advance). Custom air requests are available 270 days prior to departure but airfare can be added at any time.  Link to Air FAQ: https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/360001108894-Air 

 

The updated Ultimate Value page has two comparison tables of Oceania to 5 cruise lines for Cruise Value and Culinary Comparison. (https://www.oceaniacruises.com/value). 

 

Thanks for the information.  Can I get a quote on line for custom air or do I need to call?

[ORV]

8 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

Thanks for the information.  Can I get a quote on line for custom air or do I need to call?

You can get the prices for air if you do a mock booking. I was looking at one today on an SE Asia cruise, I've never flown there before but it seemed just a little north of 4k for 2 economy tickets is a little steep. That is without any deviations or special requests. And I would have to drive 3 hours each way to get to the airport. I think I can do better. 

[WESTEAST]

14 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

Thanks for the information.  Can I get a quote on line for custom air or do I need to call?

Custom air has not changed you would call O directly or via your TA - Custom air requests for specific airlines, routings, flights, etc can be requested once payment has been made on the booking and no earlier than 270 days prior to sailing. The cost to request custom air is $199 USD / $299 CAD per guest per request plus any applicable air differential. The $199 USD / $299 CAD service fee is non-refundable once the custom air is accepted. https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005308274-How-do-you-handle-custom-air-requests

 

Online you can select air class like before on the drop-down: Economy (now an add-on with a rate - previously was included in Cruise plus Air fare) or PE or BC (if offered).

Edited Tuesday at 02:19 AM by WESTEAST

[jagoffee]

38 minutes ago, WESTEAST said:

Custom air has not changed you would call O directly or via your TA - Custom air requests for specific airlines, routings, flights, etc can be requested once payment has been made on the booking and no earlier than 270 days prior to sailing. The cost to request custom air is $199 USD / $299 CAD per guest per request plus any applicable air differential. The $199 USD / $299 CAD service fee is non-refundable once the custom air is accepted. https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005308274-How-do-you-handle-custom-air-requests

 

Online you can select air class like before on the drop-down: Economy (now an add-on with a rate - previously was included in Cruise plus Air fare) or PE or BC (if offered).

Thank you.  For some reason, I was expecting a more significant change.  It is custom air after deposit payment only or full final payment?

[YoHoHo]

1 hour ago, ORV said:

You can get the prices for air if you do a mock booking. I was looking at one today on an SE Asia cruise, I've never flown there before but it seemed just a little north of 4k for 2 economy tickets is a little steep. That is without any deviations or special requests. And I would have to drive 3 hours each way to get to the airport. I think I can do better. 

I had my TA recently price Vancouver to Bangkok for end of Oct (actual dates by a few days made little difference) ~CAD1300 pp economy, ~cad$2300 pp PE. Not a cruise as have moved more to land, not by plan but just working out that way so maybe by interest / value. And definitely less O. Again, not a plan just finding better / more interesting offers on the cruises we have taken the last two years.

 

I suspect O does not want to sell flights but if you want to buy them, they will mark-up similar to their pre-cruise hotels.  cad$300 pp admin fee is crazy. Funny pax will pay that but when a post is made that their TA wants a small fee (FAR less than $US400 / $600 per booking of two) the replies are get a new agent. (< that is a period)

[osandomir]

Today I checked one of the cruises that we have already booked. I’m interested in just one way premium economy tickets out of LHR. Because of the taxes it’s really hard to get these tickets paying cash or using miles for a reasonable price. What I’ve found Oceania wants more than a double now compared to the price included in my invoice even after paying PE upgrade of $499 pp with their previous air program. This is what I believe the real price increase considering that international air fare now is pretty much the same if not lower than it was a year ago. Even when I saw the economy prices I would think it’s easy to DIY much better especially when flying to Europe.

 

Like @YoHoHo mentioned it looks like Oceania doesn’t want to sell the air anymore.

Edited Tuesday at 03:52 AM by osandomir

[Yesimapirate]

11 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

Let me be clear...I have few problems with Oceania as a cruiseline.  I merely point out that they keep wanting to have both sides of the "luxury" branding.

 

And take a good look at what O says, and you will see how they want to portray luxury.  Yet try to compare with the likes of Princess.

 

 

I think it has more to do with the new customers they're targeting.   Much better chance to grab a Princess customer to try O for the first time than a Crystal customer. 

 

 

[ronrick1943]

13 hours ago, osandomir said:

Today I checked one of the cruises that we have already booked. I’m interested in just one way premium economy tickets out of LHR. Because of the taxes it’s really hard to get these tickets paying cash or using miles for a reasonable price. What I’ve found Oceania wants more than a double now compared to the price included in my invoice even after paying PE upgrade of $499 pp with their previous air program. This is what I believe the real price increase considering that international air fare now is pretty much the same if not lower than it was a year ago. Even when I saw the economy prices I would think it’s easy to DIY much better especially when flying to Europe.

 

Like @YoHoHo mentioned it looks like Oceania doesn’t want to sell the air anymore.

I just check the air for are cruise---we prefer business class and I can do much better buying my air myself over "O".

[osandomir]

2 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

I just check the air for are cruise---we prefer business class and I can do much better buying my air myself over "O".

We mostly fly BZ class too. But for the particular direct day flight from London we find PE manageable if we can get a good deal. O BZ class prices never were good and now their PE isn’t good either.

[Yesimapirate]

15 hours ago, osandomir said:

Today I checked one of the cruises that we have already booked. I’m interested in just one way premium economy tickets out of LHR. Because of the taxes it’s really hard to get these tickets paying cash or using miles for a reasonable price. What I’ve found Oceania wants more than a double now compared to the price included in my invoice even after paying PE upgrade of $499 pp with their previous air program. This is what I believe the real price increase considering that international air fare now is pretty much the same if not lower than it was a year ago. Even when I saw the economy prices I would think it’s easy to DIY much better especially when flying to Europe.

 

Like @YoHoHo mentioned it looks like Oceania doesn’t want to sell the air anymore.

It's a PITA but you can avoid the tax by flying ing into one of the airports in the Scottish highlands and then booking the short flight to any of the London airports separately.  It certainly adds some time to the journey but if cost is the primary consideration it might be worth it.  It can also give you a detour to spend some time in a gorgeous part of the world. 

[osandomir]

18 minutes ago, Yesimapirate said:

It's a PITA but you can avoid the tax by flying ing into one of the airports in the Scottish highlands and then booking the short flight to any of the London airports separately.  It certainly adds some time to the journey but if cost is the primary consideration it might be worth it.  It can also give you a detour to spend some time in a gorgeous part of the world. 

Thank you. That’s an interesting approach. I haven’t checked Scottish airports but we normally choose convenience over the price anyway. That’s why we prefer shorter direct flights in PE when reasonable BZ class involves more stops and complicated itineraries.

[clo]

5 hours ago, Yesimapirate said:

It can also give you a detour to spend some time in a gorgeous part of the world.

This.

[Thought2go]

On 7/1/2024 at 6:12 PM, FlyerTalker said:

So the quote on the homepage of "THE FINEST CUISINE AT SEA®. CURATED TRAVEL EXPERIENCES. SMALL SHIP LUXURY" is there in error?

 

Or the webpage header on that comparison page (see your browser's title bar) of "Luxury Cruise Deals, Special Offers and Amenities - Oceania Cruises".  Which influences search results.

 

And how many times is the word "Luxurious" found throughout the website?

Our world is so full of Delusions, Truth and Reality have to fight to be acknowledged.

[Thought2go]

On 7/1/2024 at 6:41 PM, clo said:

Off-topic but I'm so sick of the word "curated" I could scream!!!

Clo- I don’t think they are marketing to us anymore!! 😂🤣😂

[clo]

5 hours ago, Thought2go said:

Clo- I don’t think they are marketing to us anymore!! 😂🤣😂

Oh, lordy, restaurant menus are using it!

[Thought2go]

On 7/1/2024 at 10:15 PM, ORV said:

I've never flown there before but it seemed just a little north of 4k for 2 economy tickets is a little steep.

That’s right up there with Atlas Ocean Voyages- except theirs is BC + an additional charter flight for Antartica.