Free Air or no free air, that is the question...

[Moose Tracks]

Would really appreciate to hear your opinion......DH and I are looking to book our first Oceania Cruise. We're looking at the Regatta for May 2, 2009 in the Med. For a Cat B1 we've been quoted:

Air/Cruise 4899

Fuel 84

Govt Tax 312

Air Tax 474

Transfers 210

Total 5979 per person

 

If we take the credit for the air, the cruise only/taxes will be $4,500 (air credit of 795 + 474 air tax + 210 no transfers). So, we'll be saving $1,479 per person. This seems a reasonable credit to me as we would go for a deviation to arrive in Venice earlier and stay on a few days in Rome at the end + we may have to pay more for any difference in the air fare. I know we'll lose the transfers, but I'm sure we can do it on our own for less than $420! Is there anything I'm missing, or are we right in thinking to pay the air ourselves.

Lynn

[lovecruisingtoo]

Right now, you can not get prices on a May 2009 set of flights. Maximum booking is 330 days out. However, if you look at one of the travel sites, the current fare for LAX to VCE and FCO to LAX (open jaw), is on the order of $1,000 including tax. Sure with gas prices rising the cost may go up and the summer fares may be naturally higher but I still think you will be better off by taking the air credit and making your own booking.

 

Getting from the cruise ship to Rome will take some investigation. Typically people find a cab to be the fastest but the train is very convenient and cheaper. In Venice, getting between the cruise and the hotel is typically not too much of a problem. You can probably do both transfers for under $150 - $200 total.

[DaveFr]

Would really appreciate to hear your opinion......DH and I are looking to book our first Oceania Cruise. We're looking at the Regatta for May 2, 2009 in the Med. For a Cat B1 we've been quoted:

Air/Cruise 4899

Fuel 84

Govt Tax 312

Air Tax 474

Transfers 210

Total 5979 per person

 

If we take the credit for the air, the cruise only/taxes will be $4,500 (air credit of 795 + 474 air tax + 210 no transfers). So, we'll be saving $1,479 per person. This seems a reasonable credit to me as we would go for a deviation to arrive in Venice earlier and stay on a few days in Rome at the end + we may have to pay more for any difference in the air fare. I know we'll lose the transfers, but I'm sure we can do it on our own for less than $420! Is there anything I'm missing, or are we right in thinking to pay the air ourselves.

Lynn

Lynn,

 

I'd strongly suggest taking the air credit and arranging your own flights. If you take the "free" air, you'll be booked on a flight that arrives in Venice on the day of departure. That's very risky IMHO. I always want the flexibility that arranging my own flights allows. Of course, you can get an air deviation with Oceania but you would have to pay an extra $75 per person and you might have to pay additional airfare.

 

I did a quick airfare check for this May from Toronto to Venice and Rome to Toronto. There was a roundtrip on Air Canada in coach for 914 CAD. It will probably be more in 2009 but it will still be much less costly and flexible than getting cruise air through Oceania.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Dave

[momoforthodoc]

we just booked the nov. 14, 2009 transatlantic sailing on the regatta(our first oceania cruise) and took the air credit. we have to fly from las vegas to barcelona and miami home. we checked out this years one way fares and for us flying into lax to catch a barcelona flight is a breeze and the fares were surprisingly inexpensive lax to barcelona. you could always do a search for the same time this year and figure adding another 5+% for the gas crunch. happy cruising :D

[caribbeansun]

The transfers with the air aren't madatory so you can drop those regardless.

 

We had a similar air credit (not surprising since you're likely on the same travel route as we were).

 

Our costs would have been worse because the offered flights were horrible, at least IMO, so we were looking at deviation fees plus extra for different flights.

 

In the end I booked two tickets on Errorplan and 5 nights at the Hotel Grande Bretange on Starpoints so our med cruise was very affordable.

 

 

Is there anything I'm missing, or are we right in thinking to pay the air ourselves.

Lynn

[Acrusa]

Te only reason we booked thru O was I felt if I had to cancel they would give a full refund including the Air.We did the $75 deviation plus extra fare but I felt is was worth the peace of mind.

[lovecruisingtoo]

Te only reason we booked thru O was I felt if I had to cancel they would give a full refund including the Air.We did the $75 deviation plus extra fare but I felt is was worth the peace of mind.

 

Main question is when you might possibly have to cancel. You do not "pay" for the air until you make the final payment. If you cancel prior to final payment then you would get a refund of your deposit - just like everyone else. If you cancel after final payment, different rules apply and you need to look at the cancellation fees for O. Did you buy cruise cancellation insurance?

[Acrusa]

Main question is when you might possibly have to cancel. You do not "pay" for the air until you make the final payment. If you cancel prior to final payment then you would get a refund of your deposit - just like everyone else. If you cancel after final payment, different rules apply and you need to look at the cancellation fees for O. Did you buy cruise cancellation insurance?

 

We booked this cruise in Aug. 2007 for sailing July 7th 2008. If I booked the air by myself and had to cancel before I made final payment to O,The air fare is non refundable and must be used within the year.

At the time of booking a family member was not in good health so I opted to have all the fares with O, incase we had to cancel before full payment.I am taking out full insurance the day we pay in full on April 1st.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Well, the poster is flying from eastern Canada, not from LAX, by the way. Unfortunately that means it's probably more expensive to fly from Toronto than it is from LAX!! :(

 

I'm from Toronto too, and $1400 is probably low for *this* summer. My husband just booked a Premium Economy flight on Zoom to Glasgow for about that, in mid-July--AC was offering about the same rate for Economy connecting thru Heathrow. I see that Zoom flies to Rome. And looks like Air Transat does not fly to Italy at all. Too bad. Of course May will be shoulder season, so you'll win a little there.

[Moose Tracks]

Wendy...I'm sure we could save money flying out of Buffalo, but couldn't be bothered getting there. There's a chance that purchasing our flights independently from O will end up costing more, but I'm happy knowing that I have control of the booking and am willing to take the chance that we can hopefully come in close to their pricing. I'm sure buying the deviation from T.O. would end up costing us more than just the $75 fee. At times I wish I lived in the U.S. to take advantage of cheaper flights.

Lynn

[JeanneF]

We just made that decision to book our own air. We are booked on Insignia Barcelona to Rome Oct 9th - 19th. First of all, if you take their air, you will get there day of departure. To get a deviation, as you heard, there is a $75pp charge and they definitely charge more for the air than you can purchase it for, at least in our experience that was so. They were going to charge us $900 more. We just took the credit which came to $2000 plus and booked our own for $2000 with flight cancellation and medical. We were able to pick the airline and the flights that offered only one connection and the least amount of time to arrive in Barcelona and leave out of Rome. And we are leaving a day sooner so that we can see Barcelona and do not have to worry about missing the ship.

Right now the airfares seem pretty good because they are not booking that well. Maybe because it is not until October, but check on the fares and look at "view seats" to see how many empty seats there are.

Seeing as you have so much time, I would leave the air in place with Oceania and when it gets closer, check the airfares and make your decision then. Who knows what could happen by then??

Hope this info helps.:)

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Lynn, I agree. Sometimes I think it would be worth it to fly to New York and then do one of the budget carriers. David is experimenting with Zoom Premium class, since we've more or less decided that flying across the pond Economy is something that we'd like to avoid, having done Business once on a good cruise air deal from Regent. Since we're right in downtown Toronto, getting to Buffalo is a possibility, leaving the car there for the duration, but kind of a pain--if we lived even in Oakville we would seriously consider it.

 

It would be interesting to hear what the "extra" deviations are--some people have posted here that it's been quite low, but I guess it's a gamble, to find out, you have to pay the $75 pp fee.

[Sharicruz]

Wendy,

 

If you are talking about additional airfare when you say "extra" deviations, you do not have to pay the $75.00 per person non-refundable air deviation fee to find out. Once the deviation is requested, the air department will advise the agent or passenger(if booked directly) if there is any additional airfare on the request form that was sent in. At that time, the passenger can choose to take the deviation or not. If they decide they do not want that deviation due to the additional air fare, there is not a charge. The only time the $75.00 deviation fee is charged right away, is when there is not an airfare differential.

 

Shari

*****

[CalSisters]

For both of our cruises on Oceania (one in the future) we used their air, paid the $75 deviation and told them which airline and which flights we wanted. Both times there was not extra airfare, just the $75.

 

This is for flying out of San Francisco to Rome and back from Venice, and then flying out of SFO to Barcelona and back from Miami.

 

I would agree to find out what it would cost extra and then weigh that against what it would cost to do on your own. If I had enough air miles, then I would definitely do it on my own.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Thanks Shari, that's good to know.

[2kiwis]

 

If we take the credit for the air, Lynn

 

 

Hi Moose Tracks

 

We think that you are really lucky to have the option to take free air or get a credit - all of us "down under" in Aus and NZ get nothing = no free air or no air credit!! Not that we expect free air from down here, but can't see why we shouldn't get the air credits :(

 

Cheers

2kiwis :) :)

[Moose Tracks]

2kiwis. You mean you have to pay for air twice...once in the Oceania price and then when you purchase your own flights:confused:. What is Oceania thinking? You're stuck subsidizing the rest of us. Have you ever spoken to anyone at Oceania to get their reasoning for doing this? I'm surprised they can ever get any New Zealanders or Australians to sail with them.

Lynn

[2kiwis]

2kiwis. You mean you have to pay for air twice...once in the Oceania price and then when you purchase your own flights:confused:. What is Oceania thinking? You're stuck subsidizing the rest of us. Have you ever spoken to anyone at Oceania to get their reasoning for doing this? I'm surprised they can ever get any New Zealanders or Australians to sail with them.

Lynn

 

 

Hi

We knew that didn't qualify for "free air" when we booked our first cruise , but it wasn't until we were on the cruise that we found out that 'others' got an air rebate. It is a real 'bone of contention' for non-North Americans and you may have noticed there are several threads devoted to the subject. So YES we pay the full cost and on top of that the huge costs of flying to the other side of the world = expensive!!:(

 

We either have to put up with it or find another cruiseline - some of which most probably do the same thing??? The problem for us (and others down this way) is that we have had such a great time on Oceania cruises we want to continue with them. Guess if it gets too unbalanced, like many others we will be forced to reconsider.

 

There have been many complaints to Ocenaia with little or no response. Lets face it = Oceania can fill their ships up easily, so whats a few missing Kiwis or Aussies?? Most probably prefer it that way, as once passengers realise that they have paid more than everyone else for the same thing, they tend to get a bit peed off and complain. Mind you kiwis and Aussies made up 10% of the passengers on one cruise we were on, so imagine the extra monies made of that!! The most heartening thing about it all the people we have met on board feel like you do about the situation, and think we are being unfairly treated. Maybe one day it will change :confused:

[PrincessRobbo]

Add British people on the list of no free air fare or subsequent credit!

[CathyCruises]

I am surprised at the amount y'all are quoting for the "rebate" if you don't take O's air. I was told the credit would be something under $500/pp. We have to fly to Sydney to board, then return home from Bangkok--that SEEMS like it would be a really expensive flight to book on our own--but maybe I should start looking into it! I know there aren't as many carriers as there are flying to Europe so one would think the fares would be high. But thanks for making me think about it rather than just accepting what they give me. I also need to find out the actual amount of the tax rebate plus the tax savings.

 

Thanks!

 

Cathy

[sunlover12]

For both of our cruises on Oceania (one in the future) we used their air, paid the $75 deviation and told them which airline and which flights we wanted. Both times there was not extra airfare, just the $75.

 

This is for flying out of San Francisco to Rome and back from Venice, and then flying out of SFO to Barcelona and back from Miami.

 

I would agree to find out what it would cost extra and then weigh that against what it would cost to do on your own. If I had enough air miles, then I would definitely do it on my own.

 

Consider yourself lucky for not having to pay extra airfare. We're on the Baltic Sea cruise this summer and requested an air deviation. We're flying Miami to London and requested certain flights. We were charged an additional $300 per person in addition to the $75 air deviation. My guess is that although American Airlines is our preferred airline, it's not Oceania's preferred choice.

[lilybug]

We took the air deviation for $250 extra per person ... arriving a day before the cruise and departing two days after. I priced airfare myself and it was pretty much the same. If the offered flights were not to our liking, I would have booked it myself. Then again, I always book my own airfare online, do my own research, try and get the best deal, so it's nice to just let someone else do it this time. After getting seat assignments on US Air and British Airways, I checked seat guru and didn't like our seats so I called each airline and had them changed right away. I do check our reservaitons at least once a week, if not more.

[Acrusa]

Consider yourself lucky for not having to pay extra airfare. We're on the Baltic Sea cruise this summer and requested an air deviation. We're flying Miami to London and requested certain flights. We were charged an additional $300 per person in addition to the $75 air deviation. My guess is that although American Airlines is our preferred airline, it's not Oceania's preferred choice.

 

We are on the Black Sea cruise this july. We paid 450.00 PP extra plus the $75.00 fee.This was so I would make sure I would have a direct flight from JFK to Istanbul.They use Delta as there prefered airline I think.I would have saved about 50.00 PP if I booked it myself with there refund for air.I felt that if I was booked with O and if I had to cancel before the final payment I would'nt have to deal with airline refund policy.

[cruzagain]

I believe it depends on your itinerary. We are flying from Vancouver, Canada to Rome & returning from Singapore to Vancouver, our air rebate (if we don't take O's air) would be approx. $2,500US for 2. I checked with AC and the airfare (multi-city) would cost us $6,000 for 2. So, we figure it's worth taking O's free air. The only downturn to this is, I guess we have no choice which airline O uses, and flight choices. I also think that because O is arranging the air for us we can be assured that we don't miss the boat!:rolleyes: Does anyone know if this is true?:confused:

[Bruin Steve]

Just to chime in...when we did Oceania, Istanbul to Venice in July 2006, we paid $200 pp to deviate our flights to arriving 2 days early and leaving 2 days late...We didn't "call" our flights...just the dates, leaving it up to them to pick the flights on those dates--still the $200 pp charge...

 

We figured it was just about the same neighborhood as picking our own flights would have cost, but we benefitted by not having to purchase nonrefundable tickets until the final cruise bill was due...

 

We also opted out on the transfers...Taxis were MUCH cheaper...

 

I would have done the entire thing (air/transfers/hotels/cruise) through Oceania had their hotel packages not been so exorbitantly priced (I've done it that way through Celebrity and am willing to pay a small premium for the coordination)...Oceania wanted $699 per person for a one night stay at the Gritti Palace in Venice...we booked the Anastasia for 130 euro per room per night...They wanted $249 pp for a one night stay at the Swissotel in Istanbul...We booked the Conrad on our own for $113 per room per night...

 

I noticed that for our proposed June 2009 cruise, they are offering the Conrad for $449 per person for one night!! Okay, it's a great hotel...and I'm sure prices are up from 2006 and I doubt we can get it for $113 per night (that was an outstanding price at the time, based on booking way ahead via the internet), but I am absolutely sure we can beat that $900 per night...

 

Anyway, the bottom line is that, if you want to add days to either or both ends of your cruise (something I really recommend), you'd better either book your own flights or pay for that deviation...