LAexNY

We're flying Orlando --> Sydney (then back from NZ) and were hoping to use O's flights, but take a deviation since we want to get there earlier. Of course, we'll do the math on this first once we can figure out how much the credit would be, however one deciding factor is that we would like to fly United and use our miles to upgrade to first/business for the dreaded ultra-long-haul. Is that something that can be worked out? We've never used O's (or any other cruise line's) air before and have always taken the credit. Thank you!

In my experience, the answer has been no. I've tried this several times with United flights booked by O. Each time United told me I had a "bulk fare" and it was not upgradeable. Not to say this would always be the case, but it has been for me.

NC&KY,

We are on the same Lisbon to Rio cruise with you. We took the Oceania air credit, which was a paltry $750 each and are using miles to fly business class. United had a lot of flights, but not great routing or choice of partner airlines. Using United miles, we are flying LAX-PHL-MAD-LIS for a total of almost 20 hours, all on US Air. Flights home using United from GIG are pretty horrible. We may use our American miles instead. We will be spending a week in Lisbon before the cruise and 2 days in Iguazu Falls at the end of the cruise. If we had used Oceania Air, we would have had to pay $150 each for the deviation and still have to fly coach. So even if the routing isn't great, we will at least be able to sleep a while.

You may want to look into using your United miles on Copa Airlines. They are in Star Alliance and based in PTY-Panama City. We have flown them from Rio to LA, connecting in PTY. It's a very easy connection. They were once loosely affiliated with Continental. If you have elite status with UA, you are also eligible for complimentary upgrades.

Hi Dave. We are you doing this Grand Voyage in 2015 but from NY (yuck - hate the long trip). Did you deviate and did O charge you an additional cost for the fare? Thanks.

 

Jean

Hi Jean,

Yes, we did deviate because we wanted a few extra days before and after the cruise. There was no extra cost for economy. We were offered the option for Premium Economy on the return from Auckland for $800 p.p. and we took it. P.E. on Air N.Z. is not just a few more inches of leg room but a pretty nice individual pod - not the luxury of business type seats but much nicer than coach for such a long flight.

You should also look at Odysseys Unlimited. They have small group tours of 12-24 people. They have several in Europe. Friends took their Vietnam tour and raved about it.

Wellington is a city and there was a shuttle from the ship to downtown. Nice walkable city. I recommend the cable car up to botanical gardens.

Napier is a wonderful Art Deco town. Big earthquake in the '30s destroyed most buildings and they were re-built in the Art Deco era. More art deco buildings than any city other than L.A. They are proud of their history - lots of old cars and people in '30s costume. There was a shuttle to the town from the ship.

Hi Laraine,

We have 13 O cruises and 4 more booked. We took our first river cruise on Scenic this summer. The ship was quite nice - we had a panorama suite at the aft. However, the experience is quite different from cruising on Oceania. One major difference is the excursions. We generally do private tours and I know you do too. On Scenic, all the excursions are included. There will be up to 40 people in your group, whether there is a bus or walking. The guides were good and you do get a tablet-like device with earphones so you can hear the guide even if you are not right next to them. The device also has a GPS built in and when you are on your own [either on shore or sailing down the river], it will beep whenever you are near a sight and give you a narration. That was a nice feature. The food was good but not nearly comparable to O's food. Breakfast and lunch are buffet and everyone eats at the same time. There is a menu at those meals from which you can supplement the buffet. We found the wait staff to be not very friendly. Some of them were unable to smile and sometimes the service was begrudging. Dinner is served and there are several choices of entrees.

I'd be happy to share my experiences with you in detail.

LAexNY at ca dot rr dot com.

We will be flying from SFO in Nov. 2014 to Rio. For the return back to SFO, we will be departing Buenos Aires. I've been researching airlines and schedules and United will fly us to Houston and the to Rio; there are various flight times to choose from. However, their flights leaving Buenos Aires do not depart until around midnight. Is it possible when paying for air deviation to ask Oceania to book us on two different airlines, one outbound and a different one for the return? Many thanks.........

Yes, it is possible and we have done it.

We used O air for our Australia-New Zealand cruise. We flew United non-stop LAX-Sydney and Air N.Z. non-stop Auckland-LAX.

If you are looking at the O class ships [Marina and Riviera], Cat. C cabins are scarce - only 20 - and often are booked quickly. However, you can expect some people to cancel prior to final payment date.

 

This is what I am most interested in finding out. Can you now use your phone or ipad's wifi to send email without the internet package?

No, you cannot for free and it will cost you more than buying the package. The internet service is better and cheaper than it used to be. Still not cheap. The best deal is to buy the unlimited plan. But if you only want a few minutes here and there, you can buy minutes a la carte.

Another problem with bulk tickets is that they are often not upgradeable. I was unable to upgrade my United flights using miles plus co-pay and was unable to because they were bulk tickets.

If the Oceania air allowance/credit is, for example 800.00 for a European Cruise, how often (if ever) can O's air department NOT find a flight for $800?

 

If I am flying ATL-FCO-BCN-ATL and the air allowance/credit is 800.00, but all the flights I see (want) using itasoftware.com are 1100.00 will "O" charge me 300.00 more? Or do they have specially priced tickets/agreements with the airlines.

 

Has anyone been charged more than the allowance that is offered, and examples if so...

 

Does my question make sense????

 

Thanks

J.

No, it doesn't. The only significance of the air credit is if you decline to take O's "free air" which is included in the price of the cruise. You then get the credit and book your own air. If you take the "free air", you don't have to worry about what it costs O. And yes, they have special agreements with the airlines and buy "bulk fares." It's your choice.

We were in Kotor on the Riviera this month and we tendered.

Does any one know how far the walled in city of Kotor is from where the Oceania docks. Is it walkable? We will be there in July on the Oceania and I'm trying to make plans for independent touring. Thanks.

It's very walkable. This is a tender port and it's a very short walk from the tender to the walled city.

We were in 11024 in January and did not experience the noise problem.

Our docs for May 22 on Marina show Willie as the CD

He is also CD on Marina British Isles June 6-18.

We are leaving 6/29 on Regatta for 11 nite cruise to Alaska. The advance weather report for all ports indicates "Showers" - not "Scattered Showers." I expected rain, but this really bothers me. We've put so much thought and effort into this trip - it kinda breaks my heart. Any thoughts on how to deal with it?

Yes. Just deal with it!