Short end of a cruise fare reduction

I want to make sure I get this correct…laughing.

I book a cruise aboard the Marina (OC Suite) a year before the cruise departs. I pay my deposit, no questions asked. Oceania gets to play with my deposit for eight months however they wish, again no problem; I am going to cruise with them.

The cruise I have booked and paid my deposit is unfortunately for Oceania, not selling very well. So, Oceania has to reduce the price on cabins and offer other amenities like free gratuities and additional OBC to entice others to join this cruise. That is fine, they need to try and sell as many cabins as possible for the cruise.

But, for a passenger like me who has booked a year in advance and paid Oceania my deposit, I am not given a reduced cabin fare like other passengers who are just purchasing the cruise now. And, the reason is because the cabin category I have purchased and assigned is now waitlisted. When Oceania decided to drop the price for the OC Suite, this category was not waitlisted. So, why didn't Oceania automatically reduce my cruise fare when they pushed out these new offerings?

I want to make sure I get this correct…laughing.

 

I book a cruise aboard the Marina (OC Suite) a year before the cruise departs. I pay my deposit, no questions asked. Oceania gets to play with my deposit for eight months however they wish, again no problem; I am going to cruise with them.

 

The cruise I have booked and paid my deposit is unfortunately for Oceania, not selling very well. So, Oceania has to reduce the price on cabins and offer other amenities like free gratuities and additional OBC to entice others to join this cruise. That is fine, they need to try and sell as many cabins as possible for the cruise.

 

But, for a passenger like me who has booked a year in advance and paid Oceania my deposit, I am not given a reduced cabin fare like other passengers who are just purchasing the cruise now. And, the reason is because the cabin category I have purchased and assigned is now waitlisted. When Oceania decided to drop the price for the OC Suite, this category was not waitlisted. So, why didn't Oceania automatically reduce my cruise fare when they pushed out these new offerings?

Are you sure the OC was not sold out when they made the price reduction? I have found them very good about reducing fares of people who are already booked...

Jancruz1

Only 3 OC suites were sold when Oceania decided to make the new offerings

I find it very annoying that Oceania is reducing fare that far out & adding incentives that people may or may not be eligible for

What ever happened to the early bird gets the worm ...or those that book early should get the best prices & incentives :mad:

JMO

Lyn

I find it very annoying that Oceania is reducing fare that far out & adding incentives that people may or may not be eligible for

What ever happened to the early bird gets the worm ...or those that book early should get the best prices & incentives :mad:

 

JMO

 

Lyn

I found out that Oceania added YWYW incentives of PPG, OSC and free unlimited internet to our cruise. I was already getting PPG and OSC, so I asked my TA to get me the unlimited free internet since I paid full fare for the OC suite. O said no because they raised the price of the OC suite since I purchased it, so I went to the website and did a new cruise search and found that, in fact, the fare was listed as $200 LESS than I paid.

I have contacted my TA and told him to push again with the new info. All I want is the internet, I don't care about the fare because I understand that I took the risk of early booking to get the cabin I wanted and it does make sense to drop fares for late booking - the late customer has to take what's available. But it seems cheap to me to not give someone who has paid full fare early booking in a top tier suite an Internet package. Makes me think twice about booking another O cruise.

Not sure about fare costs, ( we tend to book early for best cabin selection) but I must say that when extra perks etc. are offered (possibly even fare reduction) I let my TA know or she lets me know and O has always been very responsive and in a positive way. Never had a problem and hope you are using a TA that books many O cruises.

I don't see myself cancelling the cruise or refusing to cruise with Oceania in the future as we enjoy the line too much to make a drastic decision like that. But, the practice exhibited here is disappointing and a real bummer.

We did receive the PPG and OBC as all other passengers when Oceania decided to offer those to get others to take the cruise. Perhaps we should just be happy that we given those additions and forget about it.

I don't see myself cancelling the cruise or refusing to cruise with Oceania in the future as we enjoy the line too much to make a drastic decision like that. But, the practice exhibited here is disappointing and a real bummer.

 

We did receive the PPG and OBC as all other passengers when Oceania decided to offer those to get others to take the cruise. Perhaps we should just be happy that we given those additions and forget about it.

There will always be someone who paid less and some who pay more. It's part of the cruise game just like the airlines and hotels play.We too usually book first day possible and are happy to get the cabin we want. Any additional perks our TA gets later are just gravy!

I will speak for myself here but maybe others will agree or not

If you book over a year in advance then 6 mths out & before final payment they drop the price I would be more than annoyed :mad:

Even more so when I would not be able to get the lower price because now my Cat is not available

Price drops should not happen until maybe a month before the sailing when they need to fill the cabins

I feel they reward people for waiting to book the cruise instead of those that book early

JMO

off my soapbox

I found out that Oceania added YWYW incentives of PPG, OSC and free unlimited internet to our cruise. I was already getting PPG and OSC, so I asked my TA to get me the unlimited free internet since I paid full fare for the OC suite. O said no because they raised the price of the OC suite since I purchased it, so I went to the website and did a new cruise search and found that, in fact, the fare was listed as $200 LESS than I paid.

 

I have contacted my TA and told him to push again with the new info. All I want is the internet, I don't care about the fare because I understand that I took the risk of early booking to get the cabin I wanted and it does make sense to drop fares for late booking - the late customer has to take what's available. But it seems cheap to me to not give someone who has paid full fare early booking in a top tier suite an Internet package. Makes me think twice about booking another O cruise.

Sounds like you need a better TA to me. JMHO

Sounds like you need a better TA to me. JMHO

You may be right, but how will I ever find the good ones since this site won't let you mention any!:(

I totally agree! Two weeks ago we decided to go for a cruise this summer and we noticed that the ‘Ancient Empires’ cruise still had plenty of staterooms available so after some calculating we decided to book it.

The following morning we got a promotional email from Oceania with discounts for cruises this summer that included free gratuities and the premium beverage package. I immediately checked and found a similar cruise for this summer that was eligible for those promotions and also had a great itinerary! Since it was less than 15 hours since we booked I contacted our TA and asked her to switch us. After a couple of hours she reported back with a message from Oceania stating ‘At this stage if the guests want to re-book on to a different sailing, there is 100% cancellation charges and they would need to pay the full fare again on the new booking’.

I understand that after a booking is made and paid that switching to ‘grab’ a better deal is problematic, but this was within 24 hours after saying yes and without having paid a single dollar or in our case a single euro. If I had been Oceania I would have given TA’s advance notice on promotions and either given us the possibility to switch cruises or given us the same promotion.

It's not a reason to not cruise with O again in the future, but it doesn't feel good.

We were on a Grand Voyage where the second half of the cruise was not selling well. Oceania heavily discounted the second half and offered an OBC. All we asked for was the OBC. Oceania said no and we have a good TA. Another couple with a different TA also asked and was denied. This really left a bad taste to the point where I will not book another Grand Voyage with Oceania.

Once you have to pay in full, there will be no refunds from O. This just happened to us. They discounted our cruise and offered more OBC than we were originally offered. When TA asked O what they could do for us, we were offered an upgrade to a higher category. But this offer doesn't come close to the amount discounted plus the perks.

I don't remember this much "play" going on with O before they were acquired by Norwegian. I don't like these games. Really not fair to the person who booked early.

I told DH that I don't want to book anything early again - just wait for the reduced rates! This is our 13th cruise with O but we'll be considering other cruise companies now.

..I don't remember this much "play" going on with O before they were acquired by Norwegian...

Once again, I feel compelled to remind folks that NCLH acquired Oceania and Regent -- and promptly named the founder of Oceania as their President and CEO. It's highly unlikely that Mr. Del Rio is sanctioning any NCLH-based changes with his "baby".

Once you have to pay in full, there will be no refunds from O. This just happened to us. They discounted our cruise and offered more OBC than we were originally offered. When TA asked O what they could do for us, we were offered an upgrade to a higher category. But this offer doesn't come close to the amount discounted plus the perks.

 

I don't remember this much "play" going on with O before they were acquired by Norwegian. I don't like these games. Really not fair to the person who booked early.

 

I told DH that I don't want to book anything early again - just wait for the reduced rates! This is our 13th cruise with O but we'll be considering other cruise companies now.

I agree. We hadn't even paid in full yet and we were not offered an upgrade although there were empty cabins.

I don't remember this much "play" going on with O before they were acquired by Norwegian. I don't like these games. Really not fair to the person who booked early.

 

I told DH that I don't want to book anything early again - just wait for the reduced rates! This is our 13th cruise with O but we'll be considering other cruise companies now.

The game was in play long before the merger & not just after final payment

I understand that after final payment they do offer deals but in the early years the ship would be full long before FP so deals were rare

I liked the way O operated the lowest price & perks were for those that book early unlike other lines

Now they are just like other lines so may as well wait for the deals

Lyn

Once again, I feel compelled to remind folks that NCLH acquired Oceania and Regent -- and promptly named the founder of Oceania as their President and CEO. It's highly unlikely that Mr. Del Rio is sanctioning any NCLH-based changes with his "baby".

Do not kid yourself

He now has many more people to answer to

Do not kid yourself

He now has many more people to answer to

So true. And when was the last time he posted to this board?

So true. And when was the last time he posted to this board?

He barely has time to breathe let alone post to a board..everyone wants a piece of him now..but believe me Oceania is still his baby!!

Jancruz1

Once you have to pay in full, there will be no refunds from O. This just happened to us. They discounted our cruise and offered more OBC than we were originally offered. When TA asked O what they could do for us, we were offered an upgrade to a higher category. But this offer doesn't come close to the amount discounted plus the perks.

 

I don't remember this much "play" going on with O before they were acquired by Norwegian. I don't like these games. Really not fair to the person who booked early.

I told DH that I don't want to book anything early again - just wait for the reduced rates! This is our 13th cruise with O but we'll be considering other cruise companies now.

This happened to us on our last cruise on the Marina. Several months before final payment was due Oceania was offering much lower fares to certain travel agencies in Los Angeles. We could not get the new fare. We were going with another couple and we both had booked suites. There were still suites available in our category.

Then to make matters worst...when I got to Amsterdam....I pulled up Oceania's website and found out that the European market fares were half compared to what the passengers in the U.S. were paying in all categories including the Owner's suite. We always do our own air as we book with miles so I was comparing apples with apples when comparing the fares. I even copied several other cruises months out so I could compare the fares when I got back home. The fares were half compared to what was offered to the U.S. market. Plus I subtracted the airfare in the U.S. so I could compare yet again apples to apples.

We got tired of the games Oceania was playing and decided to try Crystal this year. It was refreshing that Crystal did not play these games. Crystal has now set the bar high for us in regards to service, food, enrichment, entertainment, decor etc.). The fixed seating was not a deal breaker for us as we usually eat at 8:30PM. Plus the dress code was not much different than Oceania except for two nights where people dressed up....not much different than going to La Reserve where most men had on a blazer with a tie. The Crystal Symphony might be 20 years old but was in pristine condition. It is a beautiful and classy ship. The staff/crew knew our names by the second day and this was our first cruise on Crystal.

Plus the up sells, down sells, move over offers that Oceania offers in my opinion cheapens the experience.

When we first started sailing with Oceania.....the fares would only go up....never down as you got closer to your sailing date.

I have only cruised for 5.5 years but even in that time I have noticed that discounting/upgrading has increased significantly. IMO this is a reflection of a major increase in cruise ship capacity. "O' alone has increased it's fleet by 3 ships and over 50% passenger capacity. A few months ago I read an article that indicated that in 1991 the number of cruise ship passengers worldwide was 9 million and this year 19 million passengers are expected. Even so the article indicated that ship passenger capacity has outstripped passenger availability.

Look at the number of ships that now carry 4 to 6,000 passengers. Look at the number of ships that are in major Caribbean ports at the height of summer and the number of exploration boats the sail the Galapagos and African ports etc, etc.

Serious 'discounting' will go on for years IMHO.

P.S. To my last post.....look at the number of 'email' Travel Agents that are available almost 24 hours a day....offering discounting and cuts of their commissions. Consider the number of Travel Agents that have modest overheads compared with "brick and mortar'" Travel Agents. The dynamics of the Cruise Industry has changed and continues to change.

He barely has time to breathe let alone post to a board..everyone wants a piece of him now..but believe me Oceania is still his baby!!

Jancruz1

FDR built a nice cruise line up from the ashes after bankruptcy by finding a niche and nurturing it. But now, he's moving on to bigger and better business heights. You are kidding yourself if you believe that he actually cares about anything but the bottom line and keeping himself in the top tier of his industry! Ha! Give me a break, he's out to line his pockets. NCL just put a fee on all room service AND banned the taking of food from dining venues! Wake up and smell the coffee! And, don't drink the Kool aid!

I am not loyal to any line, I shop for good travel like I shop for anything else. I look for value. This time, Oceania had the value I was seeking - great itinerary, interesting ship activities with Jacques Pepin onboard and a fabulous ship being the newest mid-size ship out there. As for next year, I'm starting my industry wide search now.

IMHO, if cruisers would stop being such loyalists to each cruise line, the cruiselines would have to compete more for our business. But, that's just me...;)

Your opinions may be your opinions, but please keep those that are about people whom you do not know personally to yourself.

As dozens if not hundreds of us on this board can attest from personal experience, Mr. Del Rio has been an honorable and true friend to us -and I don't just mean friend in the accepted "business" sense.

Our loyalty is something that FDR has earned over time. Remember, when the naysayers, and bankers, swore that the Carnival model was the only way to run a modern Cruise Line, he stood firm and his determination literally changed the Cruising marketplace.

Whatever changes occur today or tomorrow on those other Lines, my confidence remains that Frank Del Rio's vision for Oceania will remain intact.