Deviation and airfare fees

[Okgirlatheart]

This is our first cruise and feel fortunate it is an Oceania seeing all the positive responses. However, we inquired with our TA about a deviation at the end of the cruise for 2 additional days. She told us it is a $150 fee each and Oceania is charging us an extra $397 each for the airfare difference. Has anyone experienced this? I thought paying the deviation fee is part of the change? We are flying from Canada.

[FreedomSeeker]

This is our first cruise and feel fortunate it is an Oceania seeing all the positive responses. However, we inquired with our TA about a deviation at the end of the cruise for 2 additional days. She told us it is a $150 fee each and Oceania is charging us an extra $397 each for the airfare difference. Has anyone experienced this? I thought paying the deviation fee is part of the change? We are flying from Canada.

 

I just did the same thing looking for extra days and a different routing - Oceania charges a $150 "service fee" per passenger, plus passes on any difference in cost. So this is probably right.

 

Be very aware that the flights Oceania book, while perfectly fine, will be more difficult to make changes to, or upgrade (depending on airline).

 

I made the mistake of booking a deviation getting me onto Delta flights so that I could use miles to upgrade, but because I hadn't done enough homework, found out too late (and $300 later) that I couldn't upgrade them......wrong fare class.

[hypercafe]

Check out the air on your owne. If you do not use the Oceania air you get a credit toward the cost of the trip. I find from here I can usually do better.

[Okgirlatheart]

Check out the air on your owne. If you do not use the Oceania air you get a credit toward the cost of the trip. I find from here I can usually do better.

 

No, their offer was very much lower and to book myself...ridiculous!

[YoHoHo]

This is our first cruise and feel fortunate it is an Oceania seeing all the positive responses. However, we inquired with our TA about a deviation at the end of the cruise for 2 additional days. She told us it is a $150 fee each and Oceania is charging us an extra $397 each for the airfare difference. Has anyone experienced this? I thought paying the deviation fee is part of the change? We are flying from Canada.

Yes, as FreedomSeeker wrote there is the $150 pp admin fee to find the flights and book your request. On top of that there *might* be additional cost for the particular routing they are offering. You can accept and pay the fees or just ask for something else.

 

Depending on when/where you are flying to/from they may have cheaper and more expensive options. If they have cheaper options, perhaps at no additional air fare differential charge, you might not like the routing, times, stopovers, transfers, airline, etc.; or they could be fine with you.

 

Note that, again depending on several factors such as the airline chosen and the class of the ticket, which you may not know or understand, you might not be able to do things like select your own sets but have to go through your TA, collect airline loyalty points, upgrade to premium economy, a non-endorsable ticket, etc. Then again, you might be able to do one or more of those things. That is one of the problems with purchasing this type of air fare, you might not know these things until after he booking is done. Then again, it might make little difference to you.

 

We used to take O's air with deviation all the time and always got good flights, sometimes had to reject a few times and sometimes good the 1st time, and usually had to have our TA select seats but worked out and have, knock on wood, never missed a connection.

[Okgirlatheart]

Yes, as FreedomSeeker wrote there is the $150 pp admin fee to find the flights and book your request. On top of that there *might* be additional cost for the particular routing they are offering. You can accept and pay the fees or just ask for something else.

 

Depending on when/where you are flying to/from they may have cheaper and more expensive options. If they have cheaper options, perhaps at no additional air fare differential charge, you might not like the routing, times, stopovers, transfers, airline, etc.; or they could be fine with you.

 

Note that, again depending on several factors such as the airline chosen and the class of the ticket, which you may not know or understand, you might not be able to do things like select your own sets but have to go through your TA, collect airline loyalty points, upgrade to premium economy, a non-endorUsable ticket, etc. Then again, you might be able to do one or more of those things. That is one of the problems with purchasing this type of air fare, you might not know these things until after he booking is done. Then again, it might make little difference to you.

 

We used to take O's air with deviation all the time and always got good flights, sometimes had to reject a few times and sometimes good the 1st time, and usually had to have our TA select seats but worked out and have, knock on wood, never missed a connection.

The itinerary or class of seats really makes no difference, what I question is the extra charge for airfare. What questions should I be asking my TA?

[LHT28]

The itinerary or class of seats really makes no difference, what I question is the extra charge for airfare. What questions should I be asking my TA?

 

Did you ask for specific flights or Airline?

 

You have 48hrs to acecpt or decline the flights offered & look for other flights that may suit your need without an "Upcharge"

 

You can give Oceania (via the TA) the flight dates you want & see what they will give you for the $150 pp fee

 

Just keep asking until you get the flights you want

 

Lyn

[FreedomSeeker]

The itinerary or class of seats really makes no difference, what I question is the extra charge for airfare. What questions should I be asking my TA?

 

If you only changed the date, and didn't ask for specific airlines or flights, then maybe the upcharge is because of the day of the week you changed from and to?

 

Most airlines will change prices based on peak travel days, and generally Tues/Weds seems to be less expensive than Thurs/Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon. They also have a host of other fare rules, such as staying a weekend, or that the total trip length has a cap....if you exceeded that cap, for example, your fare rules would change, and the price could go up. if that happens, Oceania will pass on the difference to you.

 

As you said before, there is probably no way that you could get what you are looking for on your own for a better price than Oceania have offered.

 

Even if you take the $550 credit for not using Oceania, plus the $150 deviation fee plus the $397 cost difference....in order to do better, you'd have to find seats at $1,097 each or less per person.

 

You didn't mention where you are going to and from, or dates, or if the arrival and departure point of your cruise is the same city.....but even if its fairly simple, say roundtrip to Barcelona.....from North America $1,097 per person coach is going to be hard to beat.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

The itinerary or class of seats really makes no difference, what I question is the extra charge for airfare. What questions should I be asking my TA?

 

Well I guess they charge whatever differential they need to, who knows why. I don't believe it's too common.

 

Anyways, if you're going to deviate and pay extra, you might as well do your homework and request the itinerary you prefer--you might not get it, so have a second choice too. Don't know where you're flying from or to, but the more direct the better, as far as I'm concerned!

[YoHoHo]

The itinerary or class of seats really makes no difference, what I question is the extra charge for airfare. What questions should I be asking my TA?

Not sure what you mean by 'The itinerary ... really makes no difference''.

 

If you are suggesting that that the itinerary makes no difference to the price I disagree. Routing, airline, time of day, etc will affect the price and if the price is higher than O's base (and what contracts they have), which you do not know, then they will charge additional so it does make a difference to the price, and hence the additional charge.

 

Perhaps by 'really makes no difference' you mean that any itinerary does not make a difference to you. You'll go on any airline or route, any time. If that is the case that you do not care about the itinerary then simply tell your TA that it is too much additional charge and you want another request, even say 'at no additional cost'. That is what you want, correct?

 

O might come back with a new route for less, or perhaps even at no additional charge or perhaps say that is the best they can do. Back in your court. Accept or decline and request another.

 

Do some of your own research. Look up the retail price of what they are offering. Find something cheaper than that and ask O for a quote on that route. If they have available seats on contract then you should be good.

 

The class of seat was just general information about what you are considering to purchase. too much additional information perhaps

[Okgirlatheart]

Not sure what you mean by 'The itinerary ... really makes no difference''.

 

If you are suggesting that that the itinerary makes no difference to the price I disagree. Routing, airline, time of day, etc will affect the price and if the price is higher than O's base (and what contracts they have), which you do not know, then they will charge additional so it does make a difference to the price, and hence the additional charge.

 

Perhaps by 'really makes no difference' you mean that any itinerary does not make a difference to you. You'll go on any airline or route, any time. If that is the case that you do not care about the itinerary then simply tell your TA that it is too much additional charge and you want another request, even say 'at no additional cost'. That is what you want, correct?

 

O might come back with a new route for less, or perhaps even at no additional charge or perhaps say that is the best they can do. Back in your court. Accept or decline and request another.

 

Do some of your own research. Look up the retail price of what they are offering. Find something cheaper than that and ask O for a quote on that route. If they have available seats on contract then you should be good.

 

The class of seat was just general information about what you are considering to purchase. too much additional information perhaps

 

Thank you, yes, when I said makes no difference to itinerary, I wanted to see what O would offer without any additional costs. Then I could ask for a change of route or time if I needed to request another and judge whether it would be worth the additional charge, if, I had to pay more.

How do I find out the routes and the airlines so I am more informed? We are leaving from Canada.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

How do I find out the routes and the airlines so I am more informed? We are leaving from Canada.

 

I usually use Expedia.ca for this, although travelocity is fine too. Or go to the Air Canada website and plug in your destination and see what they do. Not sure what hub you would be flying from--many European airlines fly direct from Toronto, for instance, to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, depending on the airline.

[Okgirlatheart]

I usually use Expedia.ca for this, although travelocity is fine too. Or go to the Air Canada website and plug in your destination and see what they do. Not sure what hub you would be flying from--many European airlines fly direct from Toronto, for instance, to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, depending on the airline.

 

Thanks! Being this is my first time to Europe, didn't know where to start. My TA seems to only give answers to my questions, but I may not be asking the right questions! She doesn't provide a lot of additional info keeping me informed. For example a port itinerary change where I had booked a private tour. Hmmm, maybe the TA isn't doing her job in my best interest?

[LHT28]

Thank you, yes, when I said makes no difference to itinerary, I wanted to see what O would offer without any additional costs. Then I could ask for a change of route or time if I needed to request another and judge whether it would be worth the additional charge, if, I had to pay more.

How do I find out the routes and the airlines so I am more informed? We are leaving from Canada.

I use this site

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/

[LHT28]

Thanks! Being this is my first time to Europe, didn't know where to start. My TA seems to only give answers to my questions, but I may not be asking the right questions! She doesn't provide a lot of additional info keeping me informed. For example a port itinerary change where I had booked a private tour. Hmmm, maybe the TA isn't doing her job in my best interest?

Maybe;)

 

You need to find a TA that is familiar with Oceania or at least cruises

 

Have you paid the deviation fee ...in other words accepted the flights offered?

[Okgirlatheart]

Maybe;)

 

You need to find a TA that is familiar with Oceania or at least cruises

 

Have you paid the deviation fee ...in other words accepted the flights offered?

 

Haven't paid the deviation fee because the TA says I can't find out the flights offered until I have payment in full. If she knows, she isn't sharing. I'm not paying in full until I at least know I can make the deviation worth it.

[LHT28]

Haven't paid the deviation fee because the TA says I can't find out the flights offered until I have payment in full. If she knows, she isn't sharing. I'm not paying in full until I at least know I can make the deviation worth it.

 

She is wrong again

 

When you request a deviation they tell you the flights so you can decide if you want to accept them or keep trying

You can also request specific flights & see if they can do them at no extra upcharge

 

Can you cancel & book elsewhere without a penalty ..is there space still available on your cruise?

 

 

Lyn

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Good grief, your TA is certainly wrong--we booked deviation flights back in February for our cruise this November, and only had to pay the deviation fee upfront, certainly not for the entire cruise.

 

You might want to talk to another TA first, and see what's available on your cruise, before you cancel and rebook, since prices and availability vary over time.

 

If you don't mind, tell us where you're flying from and to, and perhaps we can help you. (I'm in Toronto.)

[Okgirlatheart]

Good grief, your TA is certainly wrong--we booked deviation flights back in February for our cruise this November, and only had to pay the deviation fee upfront, certainly not for the entire cruise.

 

You might want to talk to another TA first, and see what's available on your cruise, before you cancel and rebook, since prices and availability vary over time.

 

If you don't mind, tell us where you're flying from and to, and perhaps we can help you. (I'm in Toronto.)

Thanks so much for helping! TA is out of the country for 3 weeks and so I have to go through her assistant. Tomorrow morning, I'll be more informed. We start in Calgary and I'm assuming we leave from Toronto? Through London? To Istanbul. Return from Athens.

[LHT28]

Thanks so much for helping! TA is out of the country for 3 weeks and so I have to go through her assistant. Tomorrow morning, I'll be more informed. We start in Calgary and I'm assuming we leave from Toronto? Through London? To Istanbul. Return from Athens.

 

KLm have flights from YYC to AMS then IST

or AC to YYZ then to IST

if you check the ITA site then plug in your cities & dates it will give you the options

 

If you cannot get anywhere with the assistant ask for a manager

The whole point of a deviation is to go or stay later & get the flight info ahead of time BEFORE you accept the flights

[potterhill]

AC is starting direct flights to Istanbul from Toronto. As in national post yesterday.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Thanks so much for helping! TA is out of the country for 3 weeks and so I have to go through her assistant. Tomorrow morning, I'll be more informed. We start in Calgary and I'm assuming we leave from Toronto? Through London? To Istanbul. Return from Athens.

 

As LHT said, plug in your dates to the website she suggested, and see what you come up with. Looks like Air Canada is your best bet for flights with only one stop, although Oceania might put you on KLM outbound and AC back, not sure.

[LaCroisiereS'amuse]

BA fly Calgary to London daily, and London To Istanbul three times daily :-)

[Okgirlatheart]

KLm have flights from YYC to AMS then IST

or AC to YYZ then to IST

if you check the ITA site then plug in your cities & dates it will give you the options

 

If you cannot get anywhere with the assistant ask for a manager

The whole point of a deviation is to go or stay later & get the flight info ahead of time BEFORE you accept the flights

 

My TA is the manager...geesh. I'm on Expedia right now and I can see what's available. What's the ITA site?

[LHT28]

I would consider flying out on the 26th just to give you that extra time incase of any delays ..also to get over the jet lag

 

You may want to read this thread on the VISA once you get the flights sorted

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1833753

 

Lyn