another air deviation question

[suec12]

Well I went ahead and made a reservation - this will be our first trip on Oceania so I'm still gathering info on how certain aspects of this line work. We will be on an Istanbul to Athens cruise and airfare (on our own) is pricey. At what point can we request our air deivation? What are the chances of getting non-stop or tight scheduled flights without the upcharge? And if we submit an air devaiton, and it is granted, are we committed? if we find good prices on our own later, can we back out of the air deviation?

 

Also what experiences have posters had when Oceania did the flights? long layovers? we fly from Atlatna.

[FlyerTalker]

FWIW, I highly recommend AGAINST short connections, especially on international itineraries. Often, there are few flights between city pairs, and intra-European connections are less frequent/less available than what you might be used to within the USA.

 

Yes, you will spend more time in your airports, but you will be far more likely to have fewer problems, both with your own connects and that of your luggage. For those who want something to do during those connects, consider day passes/temporary memberships in airline lounges - this can often pay for itself in terms of snacks, beverages and showers.

 

As for the specifics of Oceania "deviation", I can't speak.

[LHT28]

There are several threads on the air deviation practices with Oceania.

Put "air deviation" in the "search this forum" in the top right

 

This is my understanding:

 

You can request a deviation 270 days out (provide they have their contracts with the airlines in place)

 

1)You can give then the date & let them choose flights ...you have 48 hrs to accept or not.

 

2) you can give them specific dates & flights & see if they upcharge you anything

if there is no upcharge they will book it & charge your the $75. pp deviation fee

 

If you decide to cancel before their cut off date (I believe there is a cut off date) then you lose the deviation fee only.

 

I am sure a TA will comment further:D

 

Lyn

[meow!]

You can request the deviation you want, and they will give you a quote of the upcharge (in addition to the $75 deviation service fee). You can accept or decline, and repeat this process until you accept. Once you accept, the $75 per person deviation service fee is forfeited. However, your upcharge is not charged until you make your final payment (three months before your embarkation). As Oceania has more power with some airlines than you as an individual (unless you use your frequent flier points), you will usually have some savings with Oceania, especially if you live on the opposite coast to your cruise destination, and on those "open jaw" flights.

 

Discuss your flight plans directly with Oceania, their people are nice, efficient and helpful, better than many (though not all) travel agents. By doing this directly with Oceania, you have more control as well as fun in learning the process yourself!

[leonardray]

We told them what flights we wanted on traveling to Athens. Delta from Tampa to New York then Athens. Also gave them the flight numbers for traveling on the 28th for a cruise on the 1st. We have a 2 hour lay over in NY. Made arrangements 270 days out and only one change so far. Picked my own seats and check once a week. Cost 75 dollars a piece for flights and seats thatI picked. Same flights I would have paid for only I would have used points to upgrade and can't with these flights. Saved a bundle

[sunlover12]

If you request a certain flight, consider yourself VERY lucky if they don't charge you extra. We are flying Miami to London with an air deviation in order to spend a couple days in London prior to the cruise. So we were charged the standard $75 per person, PLUS $300 per person for requesting a non-stop flight on American. We don't want to take the chance of them scheduling us on a roundabout way of getting to London with tight connections. I could be wrong, but my guess is that American Airlines is not the airline of choice for Oceania.

[hondorner]

American Airlines was Oceania's choice for us flying back from Rio de Janiero to Miami. I don't know if it high or low on their list, but they do use it. They flew us to Spain on Air France, with one stop in Paris, but there is not direct flight from Miami to Barcelona on any airline. We did not have to pay extra for the deviation -- just the $75 administrative fee. If we were going to book it ourselves, we would have chose the exact same flights -- but we would have paid more.

 

However, we did not tell them what flight we wanted. We first let them have the opportunity to suggest an itinerary for us. Once they suggested the exact same flights that we would have picked, it was a no-brainer to accept it. However, we were under no obligation to accept their itinerary if it had involved a slower or more tortuous route, and could have eventually instructed them to choose our preferred flights, as long as we were willing to pay any addtional up-charge.

 

This was all handled through our travel agent, who has extensive knowledge of Oceania and how they work.