The economy and cruising on "O"

[pvan]

Friends of mine just canceled their Sept. 09 Baltic cruise on O. Called his TA to cancel and she said the cancellations are coming in fast and furious. She has never seen anything like it.

[LHT28]

Friends of mine just canceled their Sept. 09 Baltic cruise on O.

 

I do not think I would cancel this far out...things may pick up by the time final payment is due.

But you have to do what is in your comfort zone.

 

We are like Don ...we have the money set aside for the cruise when we book it.

If things get worse we may not do another cruise anytime soon but unless something really drastic happens we are going.

 

 

Lyn

[sunlover12]

I just got a brochure from O, and between the higher prices and poor economy, have decided that we're not booking anything for the foreseeable future..........

 

These are my thoughts exactly. We cruised on the Regatta in August and had a wonderful vacation. But with high costs and the poor economy, we will not be taking another cruise for a long time.

[joan24]

We got our plane tickets 331 days in advance as soon as Delta opened booking for our travel dates. We paid a lot of money plus miles to upgrade. The money for that is gone unless we rebook an international flight for around the same time. So it doesn't do us any good to cancel now. We are going to hope for the best and at worst we'll lose our airfare. We're not going until May, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.

Joan

[susiesan]

We got our plane tickets 331 days in advance as soon as Delta opened booking for our travel dates. We paid a lot of money plus miles to upgrade. The money for that is gone unless we rebook an international flight for around the same time. So it doesn't do us any good to cancel now. We are going to hope for the best and at worst we'll lose our airfare. We're not going until May, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.

Joan

 

You can get the money back on the paid portion of the ticket and pay a fee to redeposit the miles. You are not actually out the money. You can also change where you go within one year of the issue date of the tickets for a fee and not lose the value of the ticket and upgrade.

[lovecruisingtoo]

You can get the money back on the paid portion of the ticket and pay a fee to redeposit the miles. You are not actually out the money. You can also change where you go within one year of the issue date of the tickets for a fee and not lose the value of the ticket and upgrade.

 

You actually need to begin the international travel within 1 year of the initial booking date. I think Joan24 realized that when she said she would need to travel "around the same time".

[lcand1923]

Health issues caused us to cancel our cruise, but we hated to do it. We've never seen an economy like this, but if our health had allowed it we would have taken our cruise and considered it our "Last Hurrah!" for a long time to come. (We wouldn't have done as much discretionary spending while on the cruise, but would still have enjoyed.) Everyone has to stay within their comfort zone, but if the trip is paid for - and your health allows - go and enjoy.

[myrtlewinston]

Icand1923,

My best wishes for your health.

[Paulchili]

I have noticed that certain online ta is advertising O cruises on their 90 day ticker at 55-59% off. So much for O never selling for less than 2for1. There are even better bargains to be had with other cruise lines - it is what we have anticipated on the short run.

We'll see what the future will bring. I am wondering how many of my booked future cruises will be cancelled (much like airlines are doing now).

[Paulchili]

PS. One S.A. itinerary is actually being offered at 68% off for an inside cabin on O.

[LHT28]

PS. One S.A. itinerary is actually being offered at 68% off for an inside cabin on O.

 

How much is the air credit from O on that cruise?

 

You need to add the air to those deals.

[Paulchili]

How much is the air credit from O on that cruise?

 

You need to add the air to those deals.

 

I just checked the price on O and it is the same as offer by TA (+air by O is $ 900, air by TA is $ 1340) - thus booking with O would be a better deal.

However, the point is that the cabin price is discounted 66% (ov) -68% (inside) from the brochure price by both O & TA - thus it is better than 2for1 - just a reflection of the economy and supply & demand.

I post this to point it out to those that believed O would never go below 2for1 pricing.

[LHT28]

I just checked the price on O and it is the same as offer by TA (+air by O is $ 900, air by TA is $ 1340) - thus booking with O would be a better deal.

However, the point is that the cabin price is discounted 66% (ov) -68% (inside) from the brochure price by both O & TA - thus it is better than 2for1 - just a reflection of the economy and supply & demand.

I post this to point it out to those that believed O would never go below 2for1 pricing.

 

If you are comparing the Dec 8th cruise for example

Brochure rate on O Inside CAT G $4998. 2for 1 $2499 - $900 air credit = $1599.

TA website rate Inside $1599.

Difference $0

 

Brochure rate on O Cat E $5798. 2for 1$ 2899 -$900 air credit = $1999

TA Website Oceanview $1999.

Difference $0

 

Creative accounting on the TA site

Both examples do not include airfare or (where applicable) fuel surcharges or airport or government taxes or fees

[Paulchili]

I believe you are right.

It goes to show you how clever (or deceiving) advertising can get the better of us all sooner or later - or at least they will try to.

One has to be very careful not to fall for these tricks.

[LHT28]

I believe you are right.

.

:)

You have to be vigilant that is for sure

[potterhill]

I have often looked at those ads, then realized they don't include airfare. Flying from Canada the air from Oceania is usually significantly less than you can arrange on your own. On our Lisbon to Rio cruise in 06, the cheapest air rate I could find was $3400 per person and we paid only a little more than that for the entire cruise for two...

 

Mo

[brian_uk]

We actually recetly cancelled a June O Cruise which included Alexandra and Cairo (Port Said).

 

I found out that Port Said is also 2.5 hours from Cairo (Alexandria is 3 hours) so approx 4 days out of 14 would involve long days of travel. This may not be relevant to the current discussion but when added to the fact that virtually every other destination has been visited by us before we felt that there was too much repetition.

 

This also leads on to my next point.....there really is way too much repetition of Ports year after year. There really must be other locations on the Adriatic or Med.

 

 

I have looked hard on both O and Az but virtually everything is the same. Having said that, Chios and Gythion are horrendous destinations in the Greek Isles and I can only assume that Az are paid to go there and bring visitors.

 

Oh well enough from me............

 

Brian

[Paulchili]

Brian, I agree about the repetition of ports.

There was a thread about where we would like to see Oceania cruise - my input was for Africa, more Indian Ocean islands and South Pacific/Micronesia.

There are cruise lines that do those itineraries.

[brian_uk]

Paul

 

I think the Med is the perfect location for Summer Cruises catering to both the USA & Aussies plus of course us Brits.

 

However every time I look at the itineraries on every Cruise Line its the same old, same old routes. I know that Barcelona and Venice are important destinations but when I look to make a reservation and see that 2 days are spent in each I leave it alone. Seems to me that Lines are just saving money by staying in Port at the beginning and end of a cruise.......passengers can easily book an overnight in a hotel if they want to see more.

 

There are so many wonderful Ports, St Tropez, Mallorca, Ibiza, Malta that are rarely visited by O or Az. They would interest me.

 

Brian

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Well I guess they want a major node to start or end the cruises, right? Makes the whole air thing a lot cheaper, especially for O which includes the main part of the air cost in the fare.

 

I agree with you, although I think it's great that they do overnights in places like Istanbul, since it's such an awesome place, and sometimes people can't take the extra time for a pre-cruise.

 

But Venice is such a tourist jungle in the summer, I think they need to find a new start port, but not sure if there's a major port down that side of Italy that could be substituted--Ravenna?? Nice/Monte Carlo/Villefranche would be good; it's central. But not a lot of other major ports that really qualify as a major node in the Med. Even Malaga doesn't have the international flights from the US that they need.

[joan24]

The Ancient Meanderings on Insignia, May 15, 2009 has several new ports us including: St. Tropez, Koper,Slovenia; Split, Croatia; Kotor, Montenegro;Sarande, Albania; Valetta,Malta; Taormino; La Spezia plus old familiar ports such as Portofino. It's itinerary is different, at least for us and we are really looking forward to it.

Joan

[shedridt]

My husband & I are in the same position. We feel that if only Oceania would give us a discount on our AU/NZ cruise - a reason to carry on with our booking - we'd feel better about taking this trip....but otherwise we are trying to explore slipping our reservation to a future trip - maybe next year....

[china addict]

Surprisingly in view of the economy, our Transatlantic which leaves Barcelona in a couple of weeks is over-sold and O is reaching out to passengers to accept compensation for downgrading to a lower category or selecting another sailing. Guess this proves that O's passengers are highly dedicated to the line, immune to the plunge of the stock market or living in denial! Check near the end of the roll call for Regatta's 11/11/08 sailing and you will see what I mean. Perhaps O is faring better than most cruise lines because of its niche offering luxury for less. DH and I don't intend to stop cruising, in fact we are on high alert for last minute discounts. Would be willing to book a cheaper cabin on a good ship, depart from ports closer to home to avoid expensive air fares, and experiment beyond Oceania. With all the grim financial news rolling in, my daily fantasy hour is now spent perusing the on-line cruise specials pouring in from all corners.

 

As a brand new retiree who suddenly has more time than money, I would like to ask a cruise question of those with a couple of years of retirement under your belts. Let's say DH and I have a cruise budget of $8,000 each per year. Are we better off with one luxury cruise in a very nice stateroom, two cruises in a very modest cabin on a good ship, or four cruises in an inside cabin on a mass market ship? When I was new to cruising, someone pointed out to me that the people in the least expensive cabins visit the same ports and eat the same food as the people who pay for the owner's suite. Guess the food part isn't true on Cunard, but with most lines it is. Does anyone have any first-hand experience with the differences between upscale, moderate and budget cruising? Is one week with a balcony on Oceania better than three or four weeks in a cubby-hole on Carnival or NCL? Would appreciate your feedback before I fall for any of these bargain offers that are now popping up.

[Paulchili]

In reply to the first part of your post;

Remember that this cruise had to be paid for in full before the s*** hit the fan - thus is not reflective of any future bookings & economy as such.

The second part can only be answered by you. You understand the pros and cons of each choice and it is you that has to be comfortable with the consequences of these choices.

For starters you can try plan A the first year and then plan B the next year; then you can decide which one you prefer.

[lovecruisingtoo]

Surprisingly in view of the economy, our Transatlantic which leaves Barcelona in a couple of weeks is over-sold and O is reaching out to passengers to accept compensation for downgrading to a lower category or selecting another sailing. Guess this proves that O's passengers are highly dedicated to the line, immune to the plunge of the stock market or living in denial!

 

Near term sailings will not be impacted by the market. Everyone made final payment months ago and will not get a refund if they cancel. It is the cruises where people have not made final payment and can get a refund that will be hurting.