Best time to book and flights?

Hi, we've never sailed with Oceania before but have seen a wonderful cruise for August 2018. At the moment it is showing the veranda cabin at about £4200 each (about £2000 less than the brochure price) with either 6 excursions or a free drinks package.

Just wondering if this deal is likely to get any better or is this as good as it gets?

Also, if flying from Manchester, which airlines do they tend to use?

Thanks for any help you can give.

I can't speak for the UK promos because I don't know if they're the same as in the US. However I will share with you one thing my travel agent told me yesterday.

Nobody she's worked with took the promo free house beverage package because it's their lower end liquor brands that are only available free during lunch and dinner. She suggested I take the OBC instead.

You can usually hook up with others on your roll call and find less expensive, identical, shore excursions independently. Also I believe Oceania has a 2 for 1 happy hour nightly in the bars if it still exists. A more regular O cruiser can chime in.

Hi, we've never sailed with Oceania before but have seen a wonderful cruise for August 2018. At the moment it is showing the veranda cabin at about £4200 each (about £2000 less than the brochure price) with either 6 excursions or a free drinks package.

 

Just wondering if this deal is likely to get any better or is this as good as it gets?

 

Also, if flying from Manchester, which airlines do they tend to use?

 

Thanks for any help you can give.

I would grab it like yesterday.... if it goes down, your agent can get you a reduction ... but most important you locked in the deal. 2018 August is a lonng time to play an a gambel that it will go down..... call up the agent and grab this.... Thats what I would do..... the deal looks pretty sweet.

Cant help with the Manchester airport It will depend on where your going to fly to as to what carrier... ( My Mum was from Manchester..)

Also I believe Oceania has a 2 for 1 happy hour nightly in the bars if it still exists. A more regular O cruiser can chime in.

Just off the Regatta last week and happy hour is indeed alive and well. Horizons and Martini's every night from 5 to 6.

Nobody she's worked with took the promo free house beverage package because it's their lower end liquor brands that are only available free during lunch and dinner. She suggested I take the OBC instead.

.

While agree about taking the OBC, a slight error in your statement about lower end liquor brands in the "included" house beverage package. That package is, as you said only at lunch or dinner but, is only for beer and wine, not including any liquor.

While agree about taking the OBC, a slight error in your statement about lower end liquor brands in the "included" house beverage package. That package is, as you said only at lunch or dinner but, is only for beer and wine, not including any liquor.

OBC or package depends on the sea days, the climate and you normal drinking habits. I take 2 to 3 week cruises sea day heavy, and the drinks package even with the $20 up charge it , in these situations comes out far far better than the OBC... If you grab 2 doubles ( most every one does because O pours a bit light..) and an after dinner port or drambuie your well past the $60 a day

on a recent 17 day trans-atlantic with 10 sea days and warm temps, I kept a record... I payed the 60 a day and kept a record It cost $1020 and I got almost twice that in return and drank top shelf . It was a pleasure not to have to fight to get a seat for happy hour ...

In Alaska an 11 day with 3 sea days cool and cloudy, I take OBC

Time and place is an important factor

No one pays the brochure price

The Beverage package they include in the deal is wine by the glass (any on the menu) & beer only at lunch & dinner meals

However you can upgrade to the Prestige package for $20 USD pp pd once you are onboard which is any drinks from the menu anytime (does not include bottles of wine)

I would question your TA if you would get a price reduction if by chance their is a price drop I know in the UK things can work a lot differently than in North America

If you like the cruise & the price works for you go ahead book it

JMO

While agree about taking the OBC, a slight error in your statement about lower end liquor brands in the "included" house beverage package. That package is, as you said only at lunch or dinner but, is only for beer and wine, not including any liquor.

I suppose I may have confused it with the Celebrity Classic pkg but no liquor makes that perk even worse. :D

I thought my O cruise two years ago had a basic liquor perk that I paid to upgrade. But maybe I was wrong. So many drinks ago. ;)

I thought my O cruise two years ago had a basic liquor perk that I paid to upgrade. But maybe I was wrong. So many drinks ago. ;)

Maybe you confused the cruise line you were on

You either have the House select (wine by the glass & beer) at lunch & dinner or the Prestige package any drink anytime anywhere

No bottles of wine in either package

House select also includes unlimited champagne with lunch and dinner.

I would want to see the bottle!!!

No one pays the brochure price

The Beverage package they include in the deal is wine by the glass (any on the menu) & beer only at lunch & dinner meals

However you can upgrade to the Prestige package for $20 USD pp pd once you are onboard which is any drinks from the menu anytime (does not include bottles of wine)

 

I would question your TA if you would get a price reduction if by chance their is a price drop I know in the UK things can work a lot differently than in North America

 

If you like the cruise & the price works for you go ahead book it

 

JMO

With prestige package, order double shots (actually only 2+ oz, depending on bartender) of top shelf booze. El Tesoro AnejoTequila in a Margarita (ask for fresh squeezed lime rather than the bottled mixer and Grand Marnier vs Triple Sec [since they don't have agave nectar for a true Margarita]) would set you back about $30-35 (including tip). Two drinks would, at least, be break even at $60/day for Prestige.

Thanks for the answers so far everyone. The £8000 plus price tag is too high for us at the minute as we already have another cruise booked in the April.

There is no rush for us to book.

The tips about the drinks package were really helpful as we automatically thought it would be like the Celebrity package. :)

If you are in no rush to book just wait & see

If the cruise is still available when you are ready to commit book it then

Nothing about Oceania is anything like Celebrity AFAIK ;)

I'd book now just to besure to get the cabin you want. Everything else is a plus.

I'd book now just to besure to get the cabin you want. Everything else is a plus.

When we've checked the available cabins at this price they are all above the restaurants etc and are likely to be noisy. :-( We may have to save this one for a special anniversary as we can't justify the cost at the minute. You never know though, we receive lots of information from Oceania regularly and there have been some really good deals in their brochures.

I always see Oceania as being that extra notch up from other cruise lines we've used and the ships look lovely - the whole thing would really 'be us'.

Will watch the price of the cruise we like with interest - it has all of the places that we dream of visiting and an overnight in Jerusalem in August :):):)

Sorry to reply to myself, but have just been checking the cruise again and wondering what it means by 6 free excursions. Do we get a choice or are they already 'set in stone'?

If so, where can I find out which ones they are offering?

Thanks again

PS The more I look at this cruise the more excited I get :):):)

Sorry to reply to myself, but have just been checking the cruise again and wondering what it means by 6 free excursions. Do we get a choice or are they already 'set in stone'?

 

If so, where can I find out which ones they are offering?

 

Thanks again

 

PS The more I look at this cruise the more excited I get :):):)

What ship are you looking at ?

You will unlikely hear any noise from the dining rooms

The free excursions you can choose from the ones available for each port any that are NOT marked with OC or OE etc...

They will probably not be listed for your cruise yet but check the ports for 2017 cruises to see what is on offer

You need to book the free excursions 14 days prior if that is your O life choice you are choosing

I am guessing you are looking at the larger ships

You will unlikely hear any noise from the dining rooms

 

The free excursions you can choose from the ones available for each port any that are NOT marked with OC or OE etc...

They will probably not be listed for your cruise yet but check the ports for 2017 cruises to see what is on offer

You need to book the free excursions 14 days prior if that is your O life choice you are choosing

Hi, the ship is Serena from Athens 19th Aug (I think) visiting Patmos, Cyprus and 2 days in Israel. I think she is a smaller ship.

May need to raid the piggy bank for this one......

Re excursions -- what does OC or OE mean?

Visiting this site I feel totally lost !!

Hi, the ship is Serena from Athens 19th Aug (I think) visiting Patmos, Cyprus and 2 days in Israel. I think she is a smaller ship.

 

May need to raid the piggy bank for this one......

 

Re excursions -- what does OC or OE mean?

 

Visiting this site I feel totally lost !!

Read about "free" excursions here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2298796&highlight=Free+excursions

And here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2408708&highlight=Free+excursions

And here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2395741&highlight=Free+excursions

If you have more specific questions after reading those, please ask again

Hi, the ship is Serena from Athens 19th Aug (I think) visiting Patmos, Cyprus and 2 days in Israel. I think she is a smaller ship.

 

Yes the Sirena is one of the small ships

We have been over the dining room on the other R ships & did not hear anything

Now if you are over the lounge that is another story ;)

I don't know UK rules and that can make a huge difference. In the US we are allowed to put down a deposit (book the cruise) for most of the time for me about $750 per person. So I only have about $1,500 at risk and I buy the travel insurance anyway for the other benefits (medical and medical evacuation in particular) With this insurance I can cancel for any reason. Is UK anything like that? This gets me up to about 90 days out from the cruise and then I can do the re-evaluation. I have MOST times adjusted the deal if I have booked over a year in advance (deposit only). Not at all a big risk since I almost always take the insurance.

For liquor, I don't drink alcohol so that is usually a not much of a draw for me. O is a great cruise line for no alcohol passengers because they have some tasty milkshakes etc that are not charged.

Shore excursions. Some places I really want to be on the O shore excursions. I have a healthy fear of not making it back to ships on time. The problem is that several ports are a far distance from the city/site you want to see. Take a basic look at the itinerary and see if you are docked an hour or 2 from what you want to see. Is the site you want to see a major crowded affair or will crowds be more spread out? The nice thing about the small O ships is that the ship itself does not create a mob scene. I have a whole bunch more theories on this but I think you start to get the idea. Another consideration is that after 6 shore excursions (the free ones) you get 25% discount on ALL the shore excursions. For me the discount plus the free excursions saved me a chunk. Admit that hubby usually would choose ship over DIY. DIY can be wonderful but we have had some duds too. Some places ships trips are the only excursions in town unless it is Greenland and then there are NO excursions -- just walk around the 10 house towns and marvel at the ice! So do basic research on shore excursions first.

I almost 100% of the time find that using a whole bunch of different strategies (most of I learned here on cruise critic air forum) I can beat the air price of O or any cruise line. It takes a little study and patience but I am no genius and I do it 3 or 4 times a year successfully. First of all -- Where do you have to fly to to embark? I NEVER fly in the day of the cruise so that means I would have to have deviations and I don't pay for those. I start to watch air fares , I watch several airlines to see what prices are. Are there any economy airlines? What other place would get me near the embark city or could I train or drive? (Being US I always find a cheap flight over the ocean and then work my way to port) Do you have credit cards or airline miles. Often find that buying miles (on sale) or opening credit card with lots of bonus miles (50K is roundtrip transatlantic flight if booked correctly) solves the one way/open jaw problem. SO ask for the cruise only fare! Check out how much difference for "Free Air" (include deviation fee if necessary). Then you have control of your flights/your pre cruise timing and your after cruise timing. My latest example: April 2017 Going from Washington DC to Singapore for cruise Singapore to Abu Dhabi. I really like non-stop flights city to city and live near 3 airports big enough to get this. I go to the most convenient airport (Baltimore) which is hub for economy line. Catch the afternoon shuttle to Boston for $69 each. Transfer to Emirates airlines for flight to Dubai. Stopover of 4 days to see the city and rest up. Fly Dubai to Singapore on Emirates (the fare cost approximately $85 more than Boston - Dubai roundtrip) 4 day land vacation before getting on Insignia. Enjoy 18 day cruise back to Abu Dhabi. 3 days post cruise in this city then taxi/excursion back to Dubai for flight home to Baltimore by way of Boston. Total for all flights economy with 2 bags included was 907$. Friend is doing long trips Business class and her flight is less than $5000. I have consistently been able to do my own flights cheaper than cruise line air fare and with my choices and timing preferences. (STILL nothing makes 18 hour flights a good time!!:eek:).

Good luck on booking. I think we really do have it a little easier here than UK. Word of warning -- a good cruise travel agent is worth their weight in gold. They smooth out all the problems and often know policies better than the phone people at the cruise line. ADDED: one of my favorite perks is an internet package. If gone 30 days I need to pay bills and talk to family!

We are in the UK & have a good TA here who on our last O cruise got us 2 reductions in price AND a drink package!!

But you need to watch the price drops and ask they don't just give them to you. So booking now you will get the best deal and choice of cabin etc but have the knowledge that up to final payment you should be able to get a price match.

We were refugees from P&O and Celebrity and Oceaniai is WAAAY above P&O for quality of food, accommodation and general ambience. In my opinion better than Celebrity too.

Excursions on O are much dearer than P&O, so if your cruise is to an area where you would be happier with ship's excursions then the "free" excursion option is good.

The Sirena is the same ship as P&O Adonia if you have been on that a much smaller ship than the rest of P&O fleet.

Unfortunately our Travel Insurance in the UK would not pay out for a change of heart or lack of funds as a reason foe cancellation so your deposit would be at risk, unless you transferred to a cheaper cruise maybe?

Thank you everyone for your amazing advice and for taking the time to help us. You're certainly a friendly group over on this forum :-)

We will continue to research the ships and cruise line etc so I am sure that we will be on here much more in the future!

Interesting about the excursions - on the cruise we are looking at we know that the excursions are expensive on any cruise line so it will be something to think about.

Thanks again everyone :)