Sheltieluv Posted July 8, 2012 #1 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Hello all We usually cruise with Regent, but we've made a deposit for Alaska next May with Oceania, and this will be our first cruise with them. I have a question regarding their air/deviation process, and would appreciate any and all input. Here goes--- The air allowance pp is $600 if we don't choose Oceania's air arrangements, and airfare from Syracuse to Vancouver is running around $874 pp. There is a $199 air add-on pp for us from Syracuse, so obviously paying $398 is a good deal to get all the way to the West Coast, so I think we'll have Oceania take care of our air. (This is something new for us, and we've always taken care of our own flights.) We have decided to fly in a day early and have reserved, through Oceania, a room at Sutton Place, which is one of their host hotels. Now, here's where I can use your advice and opinions--- For those of you who have let Oceania's air department take care of your flights, have you been satisfied with what they have arranged? Even though we are using one of their hotels, and the deviation fee of $125 pp would be waived, does that mean that we would still have to wait until the 75-day window for them to arrange our flights? I'm nervous about doing that, because the flight that we would want from Syracuse is a small plane, connecting in Toronto. There aren't a lot of options for us to get to Vancouver at a decent hour if we lose that particular flight. (We'd like to have some time to explore Vancouver as we've never been there.) The Oceania booking rep that I've been dealing with says that Oceania's Air Department is great (of course she's going to say that :rolleyes:), but what do you all think? Should I just go ahead and tell her to drop the Sutton Place and pay the deviation fee to get the flights we want now? Or do we wait and hope for the best when they can arrange our flights in that 75-day window?? Thanks so much for your anticipated help! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titong Posted July 8, 2012 #2 Share Posted July 8, 2012 My apologies. I misunderstood the question, and cannot delete it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lola911 Posted July 8, 2012 #3 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Hello from a Vancouverite. I have never heard of a 75 day window when booking air deviation. Have done this 3-times with Oceania and have not been disappointed. Have flown early into Miami; Madrid to spend 2-weeks in Spain before embarking in Barcelona; and this October flying early into Istanbul. I even request an airline and approximate time and we have been happy. Anyway, our TA tells me to put in the request as early as possible. Once we had to cancel a cruise due to surgery and we lost our air deviation charge - non-refundable. Your flight request will be quite straight forward to get you out of Syracuse and just state you would like Toronto. You will love Sutton Place hotel...right in thick of things. Plan to spend at least two full days taking in the city. You can walk everywhere and our transit buses make it easy to get around. All the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheltieluv Posted July 8, 2012 Author #4 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Hi, Lola--and greetings from the East Coast! Thanks for your reply. From what I understand (and I could be all wrong about this), if we wait and let Oceania book our air at the 75-day window, then we take the flights they choose and not have to pay the $125 pp deviation fee, but take the chance that we lose the flights we prefer. If we want to choose our flights now, we pay the deviation fee, even though we're using their hotel pre-cruise. Anyone, please let me know if my thinking is all wrong?! I really don't know what to do....:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted July 8, 2012 #5 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Actually, using your numbers, you are only saving about $75/pp by using O's air (and maybe less if you can get a better airfare + there would be no deviation fee). $600+$199=$799 Your air is $874 Personally, I would just go ahead and book my own air and not leave things to a chance that you can get the flights you want theough Oceania. Not to mention that this way you can fly in whenever you want and I suspect you can get the hotel (Sutton Place) at half the price O is charging you (by paying per room and not per person); that would probably make up the $75/pp more you are paying if you buy your tickets JMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candbgirl Posted July 8, 2012 #6 Share Posted July 8, 2012 You can book your air deviation with Oceania 270 days out. I did this with my cruise on the Regatta. Search yourself for the flights you want and then give them t your TA or to Oceania and see what they can do. I gave my TA three different possibilities in rank order. They did the first one with no additional feed other than the $125 deviation fee. Have a great trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PaulMCO Posted July 8, 2012 #7 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Your TA can give you the the exact flights that have been booked when you deviate-- plus the record locator so you can usually go on-line and pick your seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lola911 Posted July 8, 2012 #8 Share Posted July 8, 2012 You can book your air deviation with Oceania 270 days out. I did this with my cruise on the Regatta. Search yourself for the flights you want and then give them t your TA or to Oceania and see what they can do. I gave my TA three different possibilities in rank order. They did the first one with no additional feed other than the $125 deviation fee.Have a great trip. CANDBGIRL is correct. This is the way that I do it with my TA and we have always got our first choice. The reason you would be booking ahead is to get air deviation for the extra days you want coming and going. Yes, you have to add up what cost is to do your own air and Sutton Hotel on your own. Other hotels in vicinity are Hotel Fairmont Vancouver, Georgia Hotel and Hyatt Regency and you should check their rates for same time frame if you go it alone. Pan Pacific Hotel is at the cruise ship terminal, but could be pricier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted July 8, 2012 #9 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Your TA can give you the the exact flights that have been booked when you deviate-- plus the record locator so you can usually go on-line and pick your seats. But there may (or may not) be an additional cost for this particular flight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candbgirl Posted July 8, 2012 #10 Share Posted July 8, 2012 You are correct but you don't pay the deviation until you agree on the flights. So if you don't like the additional cost of the first flight try for a different flight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheltieluv Posted July 9, 2012 Author #11 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Thanks, everyone, for your advice and opinions. You all have given me a lot to consider; now I have to decide whether or not to pay the air deviation now, wait until the 75-day window for air schedules to open (and possibly not get the flights we want), or just take care of air/hotel ourselves. Am still not sure what I'll do; but the cruise isn't until May, so I have a bit of time to make a decision. (If it were a large plane from Syracuse to Toronto, I'd feel better about waiting longer to decide!) :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted July 9, 2012 #12 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Thanks, everyone, for your advice and opinions. You all have given me a lot to consider; now I have to decide whether or not to pay the air deviation now, wait until the 75-day window for air schedules to open (and possibly not get the flights we want), or just take care of air/hotel ourselves. Am still not sure what I'll do; but the cruise isn't until May, so I have a bit of time to make a decision. (If it were a large plane from Syracuse to Toronto, I'd feel better about waiting longer to decide!) :) The vibe that I am getting is that you are holding off on planning the air because you are loathe to pay the $125 pp deviation fee. Well, I won't spend your money for you, but if you wait and DON'T get the flight that you wanted, just be aware that you have nobody but yourself to blame, because at this point the choice is still yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted July 9, 2012 #13 Share Posted July 9, 2012 The vibe that I am getting is that you are holding off on planning the air because you are loathe to pay the $125 pp deviation fee. Well, I won't spend your money for you, but if you wait and DON'T get the flight that you wanted, just be aware that you have nobody but yourself to blame, because at this point the choice is still yours. But if the OP adds the $125 pp (deviation) to the $199 pp (Syracuse) and $600 pp (cost of O air) it will add up to $924 pp. She can buy the ticket herself now for $874 (IIRC) and be done with it :) Am I missing something here because I have never used O air package so I am not that familiar with all the fees and charges? Plus, we all agree that she would save money by booking her own hotel instead of having O do it for her. I don't see the dilemma :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted July 9, 2012 #14 Share Posted July 9, 2012 But if the OP adds the $125 pp (deviation) to the $199 pp (Syracuse) and $600 pp (cost of O air) it will add up to $924 pp. She can buy the ticket herself now for $874 (IIRC) and be done with it :)Am I missing something here because I have never used O air package so I am not that familiar with all the fees and charges? Plus, we all agree that she would save money by booking her own hotel instead of having O do it for her. I don't see the dilemma :confused: Gone are the days when one could just assume that booking Air independently would always be cheaper, so it simply makes good sense to price a given itinerary through Oceania as well as on your own. From the standpoint of availability, it is better to do that sooner than later, provided that you are within the window of published Airline Schedules.. No fees are assessed unless one agrees to accept the Itinerary from Oceania, and booking through them might have significant advantages over self booking in the event of a change in the World Situation . Using Oceania Air will never be the solution for everyone, but it should be a part of the equation for determining which way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheltieluv Posted July 9, 2012 Author #15 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Hi guys One other thing that I'm thinking about is the sheer distance of travel from Syracuse to Vancouver----and IF something went wrong (delays, who-knows-what could happen....) and IF I use O's air arrangements, then supposedly they will, by hook or by crook, get us to our destination, and back. I don't know if any of you have had experience with that; there's a certain comfort level in using O's arrangements, but at the same time, it could end up costing us more to pay for that peace of mind.... JimandStan, and Paul, and all of you, make very good points. I will need to weigh each factor and I do appreciate all of your opinions. Hearing others' points of view helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepawa Posted July 9, 2012 #16 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Sheltieluv On 2 of our 5 Oceania cruise, we have used Oceania.air. We checked the airline schedules and selected the airline, flights and timing to get us to the departure port early or to spend extra days in the disembarkation port. This way we know we will have some options to get to the port if there are any delays en route. Our TA sent our preferences to Oceania who arranged our flights exactly as we had chosen. After this was confirmed, we immediately paid the deviation fee. In both cases, the arrangements were made long before 75 days. We have found that we can get a better rate for hotels by booking the rooms ourselves. Cheers, Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lola911 Posted July 9, 2012 #17 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Yes, yes - NEEPAWA and JIMSTAN are correct. Don't take this wrong, but you are worrying too much and over thinking it. You are planning on the cruise as a GO, so in October (if it were me) I would ask for air deviation. Do not worry about weather in May. You already know you want a couple of nights in Vancouver before embarking...you will be here in plenty of time. I do not u/s where you get the 75 day thing from - I have booked my air deviation 6 months in advance. Go for it. I gave you other hotel ideas to look up to see what kind of rate you can get...might be better to do on your own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted July 9, 2012 #18 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I am still lost here. If the OP has to pay $125 deviation, $199 for Syracuse departure and $600 for O air (total of $924 - $324 out of pocket)), why not just get your own tickets now for $874 ($274 out of pocket) and put ALL these worries aside? Again, what am I missing here? Please tell me so that I can also learn from this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted July 9, 2012 #19 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I do not u/s where you get the 75 day thing from 75 days out is when Oceania typically books the air if no deviation is planned. It was mentioned here is regards to possibly waiting until AFTER Oceania suggested a Route BEFORE opting to deviate. This is of course, unadvisable because by that time availability might be poor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted July 9, 2012 #20 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I am still lost here.If the OP has to pay $125 deviation, $199 for Syracuse departure and $600 for O air (total of $924 - $324 out of pocket)), why not just get your own tickets now for $874 ($274 out of pocket) and put ALL these worries aside? Again, what am I missing here? Please tell me so that I can also learn from this. What you are missing Paul is that the airfare that Oceania pays and the airfare that a private individual pays need not be the same. I'm sure that you are a savvy enough traveler to realize that airfares can and do fluctuate wildly, sometimes for no discernible reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoHoHo Posted July 9, 2012 #21 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I am still lost here.If the OP has to pay $125 deviation, $199 for Syracuse departure and $600 for O air (total of $924 - $324 out of pocket)), why not just get your own tickets now for $874 ($274 out of pocket) and put ALL these worries aside? Again, what am I missing here? Please tell me so that I can also learn from this. One advantage with taking a deviation this far out is that if they do cancel before final payment they are out of pocket only the deviation fee. If lower priced non-refundable tickets are purchased then they may be stuck or have high change fees and still may have to use them within a year. Or be covered with high priced cancel for any reason insurance. I think of commitment creep. Easy with no commitment, especially in the USA, to make a deposit on a cruise as there is (virtually) no loss. Then might want to purchase insurance within two weeks of deposit for coverage with things like pre-existing conditions, then later pay the non-refundable deviation fee, then book hotels a non-refundable 'internet' rates to save a few dollars and at some point one is committed for hundreds of dollars long before final payment date. I agree with you about the pricing. The OP will save $100 pp booking their own flights and control over it including over seat selection and points collecting if so inclined. Plus we do not know if there will be any surcharge from O for the preferred flights which was their original concern (connections from Syracuse) and even increase that savings. However as jimandstan suggests they should ask O to get the flight info and charges in order to make decisions on what fits for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted July 10, 2012 #22 Share Posted July 10, 2012 What you are missing Paul is that the airfare that Oceania pays and the airfare that a private individual pays need not be the same. I'm sure that you are a savvy enough traveler to realize that airfares can and do fluctuate wildly, sometimes for no discernible reason. J&S, We are usually on the same page, but we seem not to be this time. Assuming that OP is on the May 18th Vancouver/Vancouver cruise , I currently see airfare with UA (via ORD) and DL (via MSP) for $860 each RT and combination AC/UA via (YYZ/ORD) for $ 857 - so, let's say $860 for grand total. OP can definitely choose her seats NOW and get miles for flights (if interested). If she is on a different cruise - SYR-YVR and SEA-SYR, the airfare is even less at $639 with UA. If OP goes with Oceania, air is $600, Syracuse departure is $199 and deviation (if OP pays for own hotel, as she should) is $125 - Grand total is $924 with best case scenario. OP is already ahead by $64 pp by booking herself (plus OP is assured of her preferred flight, seats and miles). She can be even further ahead if the flight she prefers prices out higher. Add to that the savings for booking her own hotel and it's a no brainer So I don't see what this has anything to do with airfare price fluctuations (unless she waits to buy her tickets a week before flying :D). OTOH, I can see YoHoHo's argument about losing only deviation fee vs airfare if OP should change her mind and cancel the cruise. So, if OP is not sure about going, waiting may be the answer; if she is sure about going, than the first choice is best IMO (if OP must cancel for medical reasons and such, insurance will pay for airfare costs). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mabt Posted July 11, 2012 #23 Share Posted July 11, 2012 OP, if driving to Ottawa or even Toronto is an option for you, you'll probably have more options for flights. I doubt this will be worthwhile if you're booking now, but if you're thinking of waiting and concerned about getting stuck with nothing, it might give you a viable fallback plan. We live in Ottawa and sometimes fly out of Syracuse when traveling in the US. It's a pretty easy 3.5 hour drive. And if it means you get a direct domestic flight, total travel time is probably not much longer. Just something to consider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheltieluv Posted July 11, 2012 Author #24 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Hello all Just want to say thanks for all of the input/advice/opinions. mabt--thanks for your suggestion. I have in fact looked at schedules for flights rt using either Ottawa or Toronto, and they could be an option for us. The only thing is, it would entail an extra night in either city. We do love the idea of nonstop. I see that this thread has generated a lot of "views" and I'm sure that others who might have had the same question learned something, as I have!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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