ak1004

Are you comparing to what you booked for or what is was yesterday before the increase?

I never sailed with Viking, for few reasons. First, I don't like the idea of giving a business an interest free loan for 12-24 months. Second, I find their prices way too high. In fact, in many cases they are higher than SB or SS. And third, I could never find an attractive itinerary. Their itineraries are repetitive and limited. But apparently, I'm in minority. They have a very loyal following, and have the highest rankings on CC (higher than O, AZ, SB, SS and Regent). Not that those rankings mean anything (Celebrity is ranked higher than O, SS and Regent) but still.. So they must be doing something right.

Count me in too..

Yep. When they introduced deviation air waiver, where were all bashers?

Thanks for sharing. What about French veranda pricing on the Vista 10 nights European cruises?

I'm not disputing it. I also don't want the included drinks and excursions. Other people might say that they don't want the included wifi and specialty restaurants but still forced to pay for it. The simple truth is that a small ship experience inevitably comes with more inclusions that some people might not want. Till now O was the less inclusive of all premium/luxury lines. They just adjust their pricing structure to be more in line with other small ship lines. Yes for some people myself included the la carte pricing of O was a big plus. We all will need to adjust. It is what it is.

SB and SS..

Very well said. And now it all comes to pricing. We booked 3 SS cruises and are willing to pay for the drinks because the price even with drinks and all other inclusions was comparable to O (and obviously we liked the itinerary). We will continue booking O even after tomorrow's price increase IF the overall price is still competitive (knowing that we would pay for things we don't use). But since now all premium lines will include drinks (Windstar is one exception), and we are not going back to Celebrity/Hal), we don't have much choice. Using your Ford/Chevrolet analogy, I'm sure we are not using half of the feature of the new cars (heads up display come to mind as an example), but we still buy cars because basically all of them now include some of those cool but useless features.

Definition of opaque: not able to be seen through; not transparent Old model: Cruise only or Cruise plus air or cruise plus excursions or cruise plus OBC or cruise plus air credit or Cruise plus air or cruise plus excursions plus air or cruise plus OBC plus air or cruise plus air credit plus air or New model: Cruise only or Cruise plus air Which one is more "opaque"? Another angle: Cruise has the following elements: Breakfast Lunch Afternoon tea Dinner Room service In room dining Accommodation Cabin Stuart service Butler service Self laundry service Valet laundry service Specialty restaurants Water and basic tea/coffee Soft drinks Specialty tea/coffee Alcohol at meals Alcohol anytime First WiFi Second WiFi Free shuttles Free unlimited black caviar I'm sure I forgot something, but you get the idea. Now you compare the prices and what's included with every line and decide what works the best for you.

How was it different before? They still were giving you an invoice without itemization of WiFi, specialty restaurants, non alcoholic beverages etc. They are just moving closer to the all inclusive model of SB and SS. Does anyone consider SB or SS pricing "opaque"? It's just up to you to compare between different brands considering all inclusions.

Well, with oLife, you could say the same about the cost of the first WiFi. Or the cost of specialty restaurants. How about the cost of non alcoholic beverages? The question is why do you need to separate them? It's a single price with “Simply More", you know what's included and what's not, the only question now is how does it compare to the competitors? Not everyone might like the new inclusions and the price increase associated with it (we don't as non drinkers), but there is no doubt that the new pricing model is indeed more simple than the previous one.

If it's a different ship, it doesn't matter. If it's the same ship, it does because it could be a matter of perspective. I don't believe that things change so drastically in 9 months on the same ship.

I couldn't say it better. It's not only about the food, it's the whole package. Regarding the cost, when people complain that O is expensive, I suggest checking Celebrity prices. Their "start from" prices look low, but they exclude port fees and are for non refundable deposit. A refundable deposit increases the price dramatically. And when you add non alcoholic drinks, internet, specialty restaurants etc. the prices become pretty close (sometimes even higher than O).

It's actually a US TA. I checked few Canadian TAs, none provided any rebates.

Yep. Our TA sends us a rebate check few weeks before the sailing.

We were on the Regatta last September, never had any issues, a wonderful cruise. Then we read two one star reviews named "disaster" and "awful cruise". It was almost like we were on different sailings. Maybe matter of perspective? Some people always look for glass half empty..

Rebates?

Do you KNOW this or it's pure speculation?

For years, people were complaining about O "opaque" pricing. oLife was not really complicated actually once you spent a few minutes to understand it. Now they make it even more simple. You can book with air or without air. Both options have certain inclusions. Cannot be any more simple, and people still complain and call it opaque..

Same with us. Referrals are the best source of business for any business.

I don't believe it. The loyalists are the best ambassadors for every line (this is true for any product or brand). They are the best source of new customers. And when they leave, they often take their friends with them. Loyalty benefits are a very small part of the total cruise fare.

4 random ports. Looks pretty clear to me. One included (usually panoramic which is another name for a bus tour with couple photo stops), and the rest are extra cost.

We were in regular cabin too. Entertainment and enrichment were outstanding, among the best we had on any ship. However, the service and food were very mediocre. And still pretty crowded. I was told that suites get much better food and service, but for the price of the suite, we can book O.

SS excursions are actually pretty good. Typical group size is around 25-30 people, and there is a wide selection. We did Safari by 4x4, fjord cruise, desert dune drive etc.

Regular cabin or suite?