Booking Future Oceania Cruises

[plimsol]

Many cruise lines offer incentives to passengers while cruising to book future cruises. Does Oceania have similar programs and, if so, what can we look for? We are always planning future cruises and because we know what HAL and Princess do, we want to be prepared before boarding our February 8, 2005 cruise on the Regetta.

[Jancruz]

Oceania has discontinued their future on board cruise program..as there are a lot of us trying to get it reinstated, I suggest you write to Oceania directly to voice any complaints..

Jan

ceuzunlimited

[shoshona2]

Hi Jan,

 

We booked another cruise while aboard the Regatta in 2003 and had to cancel our reservation about nine months before sailing. Oceania refused to give us back our deposit because they said they had discounted the cruise and we had signed a paper saying it was okay if they didn't refund our deposit. Wellllllllllll, my husband is an attorney and we DID NOT SIGN any such paper. We have been on almost 20 cruises and know about penalties for cancellation. So my husband wrote to the president of Oceania. Since they couldn't find any such paper with our signatures, they refunded our deposit. Our TA told us they were the only line that had that practice. Since 9 months was well within the time of cancellation as stated in their brochures, we couldn't imagine why they were insisting on keeping our deposit. Since they did refund our deposit, we booked two more cruises on the Oceania line and were NEVER going to book aboard their ships. Just thought you would like to know about our experience with Oceania. Mayhbe, they've had other problems with their strange practice and decided not to spend the money to have someone aboard signing people up for future cruises. By the way, will you be visiting the Regatta on the 18th when it docks in L.A.?

 

Sheila

[caclays]

We were on Insignia last month, and there was no opportunity to book a future cruise while we were aboard ship.

 

However, Oceania did have a special cocktail party to induct all of us into the Oceania Club as members. The cruise director gave a speech which briefly outlined the benefits of being a member, and one of them is that shortly after the end of the member's current cruise, they would receive a $200 gift certificate per stateroom toward the purchase of their next vacation with Oceania as long as the certificate is deposited within 45 days from the return of the last voyage.

 

You book the cruise through your travel agent and then send the completed certificate to Oceania to have the credit applied.

 

Some cruisers may like this method better than booking aboard toward a future unspecified cruise since it does not put any money at risk until they actually select an itinerary in the future.

[Jancruz]

Hi Sheila and Carol..

I find most of my clients do want to book on board and be able to confirm the stateroom they want asap..Sheila, I am shocked about Oceania not wanting to return your deposit..something is wrong with that because Frank Delrio and I have talked about that many times and he never wanted to ask for a non-refundable deposit..I am glad your money was refunded..personally, I feel if you put a small non-refundable deposit down when you are on board for a new trip and get your gratuities paid on the trip you are on it would be worth it..

Carol, I dont agree with not booking on board and this is why..you may be very excited about a cruise when you are sailing and want to book it..you come home and your friend says...we are going on Princess, why dont you come with us..and Oceania loses out on a booking..also, people like to book while they are excited..makes a difference..

This is just my opinion..so for what its worth..

Happy and healthy New Year to all..

Jan

*****

P.S. Sheila, I leave for Santiago on the 13th so I will not be on the Regatta..but some members of my staff including my daughter Marcy will be..

[joan24]

My $200 certificate said that you needed to book another cruise within 45 days of your last cruise. I sent it to Oceania along with our booking number. So far neither my travel agent nor I have heard from Oceania about revising my res. Oceania said that they would send out a revised amount of the fare for our cruise. Jan, do you know anything about these certificates? Any information would be great. We booked on board. Thanks.

Joan

[Jancruz]

Hi Joan,

Your travel agent has to call reservations and ask for the supervisor and have him deduct it from your fare..I do not think they have decided how they want to do this yet since it is a new program.. but your TA should not have a problem..if he/she does email me and I will help your agent..

Jan

*****

[joan24]

Thanks, Jan. You are always there to help and your help is appreciated.

Joan

[douganswerphone]

Oceania has discontinued their future on board cruise program..as there are a lot of us trying to get it reinstated, I suggest you write to Oceania directly to voice any complaints..

Jan

*****

Jan:

 

I can't believe somebody as smart as FDR cancelled that program. One of the first rules of sales is to simply be available when your customer wants to buy. Make it as easy as possible for them to buy. Most people at least think of buying another cruise while they're enjoying the current one.

 

We booked our Insignia cruises aboard Regatta, and had booked several 2005 cruises for Nautica while aboard Insignia (before Nautica's 2005 schedule got canned.) The busiest people aboard were the cruise consultants; I can't imagine that they didn't justify their salaries.

 

As for onboard "discounts" I can understand Oceania being leery about leaving too much money on the table, but why not do what the other cruise lines do: offer on-board discounts from a brochure price that's higher than the "early-booking" prices or "2-for-1" fares that most cabins are typically sold at. On-board bookers feel like they got a deal, while the line still gets a fair price for the cruise. Anyway, giving up a few bucks is what Loyalty Programs are all about.

 

More sales and profits for the line, happier customers. Seems obvious to me.

[ClaudiaF]

That $200 certificate is worthless IMHO.. Better to be able to book onboard when you are all excited about the "next one"....

When you get back you may not see a cruise that you want to do and then may be more than 45 days since your last cruise so what good is it? Loyalty with past guest discounts is another thing. Did they do away with that too?

[caclays]

Different strokes for different folks....we are not impulsive people and although we have booked future cruises while on Radisson, we have yet to use the one we booked for 2004 with them for medical reasons. So booking future unspecified cruises ahead of time is not always the best fit for people, depending on circumstances.

 

It would be nice if Oceania offered both the booking onboard discount and also the booking afterward. A $200 discount does not equal the standard 5% advance booking discount, but at least it is something to reward a cruiser for returning.

 

I was just answering the question posted about what was available as far as booking while on board.....not taking a side on which is best.

[ClaudiaF]

In Part wrote:

It would be nice if Oceania offered both the booking onboard discount and also the booking afterward. A $200 discount does not equal the standard 5% advance booking discount, but at least it is something to reward a cruiser for returning.

 

That would be great! The 200 coupon is only good if you book again within 45 days of your last cruise with thwm.. so even that isn't terrific if you don't find a cruise you like within that time frame. I have thrown out 2 of those worthless coupons.

[aaannnthony]

Claudia F....you've now used "worthless" in two posts. The certificates are "worth" $200, if you know how to properly make use of them; they're only worthless to those who do not make proper use of them!

 

What you do, within 45 days of receipt, if, in fact, that's how it works, you "book" a cruise as far out as possible, e.g., Nautica's 3/2006 cruise in Asia, and then, as time passes, you transfer the booking to a cruise more to your liking. Ergo, not worthless, but 200 bucks!