OLife Excursions

[Paulchili]

We are booked on the April 27, 2016 Sirena cruise and booked way back when. Even tho it says Included is the O Life, if we want it because of our pricing when we first booked, we have to pay $400 pp more. We are showing "5" free tours per person.

 

I get pre paid gratuities anyway because of being a Gold level w/O, but my daughter has never sailed them so the free gratuities would be worth it for her. Don't know about the benefit for me. Still doing research on the O life benefits.

 

What is the gratuity now anyway?

 

The math is fairly easy :)

You would pay $800 extra to get O life for both of you.

Add up the cost of the 5 excursions you would like to take (for both of you) plus PPG for your DD and you (as OBC). If that is more than $800 - you win.

The more it is over $800, the bigger winner you are :D.

From O website:

Gratuities

FOR SAILINGS PRIOR TO THE 2015-16 WINTER SEASON: How much you choose to tip is a personal matter and completely at your discretion. For your convenience the following gratuities are automatically added to your shipboard account. For guests occupying staterooms, gratuities of $15.00 per guest, per day will be added. For guests occupying Penthouse, Oceania, Vista or Owner's Suites where Butler Service is provided, gratuities of $22.00 per guest, per day will be added. In addition, an 18% service gratuity is automatically added to all beverage purchases, spa services and dinner at La Reserve. Naturally, guests may adjust gratuities while onboard the vessel at their sole discretion.

FOR SAILINGS BEGINNING WITH THE 2015-16 WINTER SEASON: How much you choose to tip is a personal matter and completely at your discretion. For your convenience the following gratuities are automatically added to your shipboard account. For guests occupying staterooms, gratuities of $16.00 per guest, per day will be added. For guests occupying Penthouse, Oceania, Vista or Owner's Suites where Butler Service is provided, gratuities of $23.00 per guest, per day will be added. In addition, an 18% service gratuity is automatically added to all beverage purchases, spa services and dinner at La Reserve. Naturally, guests may adjust gratuities while onboard the vessel at their sole discretion.

Edited August 30, 2015 by Paulchili

[LHT28]

Lyn,

I don't think that you are correct - only the Gold member will get PPG AFAIK.

That is possible ;)

 

We are always on the same number of cruise but I know some where one spouse sail more often than the other

so not sure how it works if one spouse has to pay Gratuities while the one with Gold + get the PPG

an accounting dilemma for O ;)

[spindrift]

Since my husband passed away May 30th, I decided to take my daughter. We checked to see if she could get his benefit of no deviation fee for the flight requests I have made, but O said his benefits would not carry, and that makes sense.

 

Yes, I've put the pencil to it and, of course, we came out a lot better. I had forgotten about getting an OBC if gratuities were part of the promotion while I also get them with my gold level. Guess my mind isn't all there right now.

 

Thanks for waking me up.

[cbb]

spindrift...

 

my deepest condolences in the loss of your husband.

 

i'm so glad you are going to continue with your cruise. c

[Flatbush Flyer]

The math is fairly easy :)

You would pay $800 extra to get O life for both of you.

Add up the cost of the 5 excursions you would like to take (for both of you) plus PPG for your DD and you (as OBC). If that is more than $800 - you win.

The more it is over $800, the bigger winner you are :D.

From O website:

Gratuities

FOR SAILINGS PRIOR TO THE 2015-16 WINTER SEASON: How much you choose to tip is a personal matter and completely at your discretion. For your convenience the following gratuities are automatically added to your shipboard account. For guests occupying staterooms, gratuities of $15.00 per guest, per day will be added. For guests occupying Penthouse, Oceania, Vista or Owner's Suites where Butler Service is provided, gratuities of $22.00 per guest, per day will be added. In addition, an 18% service gratuity is automatically added to all beverage purchases, spa services and dinner at La Reserve. Naturally, guests may adjust gratuities while onboard the vessel at their sole discretion.

FOR SAILINGS BEGINNING WITH THE 2015-16 WINTER SEASON: How much you choose to tip is a personal matter and completely at your discretion. For your convenience the following gratuities are automatically added to your shipboard account. For guests occupying staterooms, gratuities of $16.00 per guest, per day will be added. For guests occupying Penthouse, Oceania, Vista or Owner's Suites where Butler Service is provided, gratuities of $23.00 per guest, per day will be added. In addition, an 18% service gratuity is automatically added to all beverage purchases, spa services and dinner at La Reserve. Naturally, guests may adjust gratuities while onboard the vessel at their sole discretion.

 

 

Just to clarify: $400/person is not the cost of O Life. It's the difference in cabin price now vs when she originally booked. There was a new Sirena sale for a couple of months this past spring (perhaps her original booking), which ended on June 30 and a general price increase on July 1. What apparently is happening is the need to cancel and rebook to get O Life though with a cabin price increase of $400/person.

Given all the O Life confusion, it is important to make this distinction.

[Paulchili]

Just to clarify: $400/person is not the cost of O Life. It's the difference in cabin price now vs when she originally booked. There was a new Sirena sale for a couple of months this past spring (perhaps her original booking), which ended on June 30 and a general price increase on July 1. What apparently is happening is the need to cancel and rebook to get O Life though with a cabin price increase of $400/person.

Given all the O Life confusion, it is important to make this distinction.

 

True.

But then again, all of my post deals specifically with spindrift's situation - the price difference, the number of "free" shorexs, PPG as OBC for a Gold, etc.

In other words, my reply was not meant as a general statement on O life but rather a specific reply to spindrift.

[Mura]

In our case we booked a Sirena TA (BCN-NY) departing on Oct. 4 2016 last March. At that time, no oLife.

 

But recently we learned that our cruise qualifies. Normally I wouldn't have been interested but we only have five ports and they offered us five "free" tours for $300 additional pp. We have booked three of them which if we were booking through O would have cost around $400PP ... so far cannot see anything worth doing in Bermuda so we didn't book a tour there. And I have contacted a guide we used before in Alicante who we would like to use again. I haven't heard from him yet but we can wait.

 

Another factor is that all these ports are repeats for us so we didn't mind taking ship's tours (which normally I would avoid). I think there were some other perks as well, but I am forgetting the details.

 

The cost for the "free" tours was not affected by the cabin category.

 

It does seem that for different cruises the "free" offers are different in number. I cannot begin to figure out how they calculate why one cruise gets three, another gets four, and so on.

 

But for now we will accept. If we were on another cruise, we'd probably opt for DIY tours even if we could get "free" ship's tours.

 

Mura

[LHT28]

 

It does seem that for different cruises the "free" offers are different in number. I cannot begin to figure out how they calculate why one cruise gets three, another gets four, and so on.

 

Mura

The longer the cruise the more excursions you get ;)

 

The OLife Advantage program provides three free excursions per person on sailings up to nine days, four free excursions on journeys between 10 and 13 days, and five free excursions on itineraries 14 days or more. Guests sailing on the OLife Advantage program have a wide variety of shore excursion to choose from, including a scenic visit to Ravello in Amalfi/Positano, a walking tour of Tallinn, Estonia and sea kayaking to Eagle Island in Ketchikan, Alaska.

 

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/media/2015/Oceania+Cruises+Announces+New+'OLife+Advantage'+Early+Booking+Initiative/

[Mura]

Okay, but ... we have a TA so it looks like 16 days. But very few ports because it's a TA. Whereas other cruises have many more ports ...

 

Okay, I won't try to figure it out! Some things are difficult to equalize. I get that.

 

In our case it worked out to one "free" tour in each port ... That won't usually be the case.

 

Mura

[LHT28]

Okay, but ... we have a TA so it looks like 16 days. But very few ports because it's a TA. Whereas other cruises have many more ports ...

 

Okay, I won't try to figure it out! Some things are difficult to equalize. I get that.

 

In our case it worked out to one "free" tour in each port ... That won't usually be the case.

 

Mura

If you had 10 ports on a 16 days cruise I think you still get 5 free excursions :)

[Paulchili]

Okay, but ... we have a TA so it looks like 16 days. But very few ports because it's a TA. Whereas other cruises have many more ports ...

 

Okay, I won't try to figure it out! Some things are difficult to equalize. I get that.

 

In our case it worked out to one "free" tour in each port ... That won't usually be the case.

 

Mura

 

I don't think there is a hard and fast rule.

I have seen cruises of the same length with different # of free excursions - so there is some variation to this.

[Mura]

Most likely true, Lyn ... but we wouldn't use them.

 

For our TA ports ... these are fine.

 

Besides. My parents stayed at Reid's Hotel on Funchal many years ago. They loved it. So having tea there on our cruise seemed like something we should do ... especially if it's "free"!

 

But for other cruises, we might well do a few ship's tours ... that's not unusual for us. But I (can't speak for DH) prefer private tours ... if it becomes impossible to find people who want to share tours, we'll have to rethink that.

 

But I really do not think that will be the case. It remains to be seen!

 

Mura

[Mura]

I don't think there is a hard and fast rule.

I have seen cruises of the same length with different # of free excursions - so there is some variation to this.

 

 

Paul, that has been my feeling as well. I was just trying to rationalize the differences... No doubt to no avail!

 

Mura

[LHT28]

Most likely true, Lyn ... but we wouldn't use them.

 

Mura

 

And that is why I do not like the OLIFE deal & hope it goes away

JMO

I know others will disagree but we rarely do ship's tours so why pay upfront for tours we will not use

We avoid Regent cruises for the same reason among others

[Pet Nit Noy]

And that is why I do not like the OLIFE deal & hope it goes away

 

+1

 

I know others will disagree but we rarely do ship's tours so why pay upfront for tours we will not use We avoid Regent cruises for the same reason among others

 

If Oceania goes the way of Regent, even the OLife partial version, my husband and I will probably stop cruising with Oceania and, possibly stop cruising at all. We're already on the fence about cruising a destination-rich itinerary. We choose cruising if the circumstances are right...

... if there are only a few remaining things we want to do/see in a place we've visited before.

... if the appeal of a port to us matches up with the hours in that port.

 

Since the day Oceania first set sail, it has been our only cruise line. In the years before its launch, we'd sail for two or three times with some line, realize the negatives outweighed the positives, and try another line. Oceania was a great fit from day one and we've never sailed with anyone else. But we're still mobile and comfortable with independent travel so we'd sooner stop cruising than go on large bus tours or waste the cost of the OLife tours as we continue to arrange private tours. (Oceania is clear in its description; OLife tours are included in the price. Included does not equal free.)

 

Oceania, I hope you're reading this!

Edited September 1, 2015 by Pet Nit Noy

[Pet Nit Noy]

Oceania is clear in its description; OLife tours are included in the price. Included does not equal free.

 

Okay. Now, I'm confused. This thread began near the end of August. Posts on August 28 and August 30 are describing a price increase in the cruise in order to get some ship's tours included. Now, days later, folks are talking about free excursions and Oceania's Special Offers page online is describing the FREE excursions. I have not added all caps. That's the way it is written on the web site.

 

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/special-offers/?s=cruisecritic&d=banner&t=display

 

Is Oceania hoping that most of the cruisers are new to Oceania and don't know OLife excursions are a very recent development which resulted in a price increase? Are they hoping that enough time will pass and people will have only hazy recollections of the early OLife roll out when it was obvious that the new benefits were reflected in a price increase?

 

I'm very amused by the casual use of language for marketing purposes. But not so amused that I'll book a cruise with OLife excursions that I'll either take to my regret or waste by booking private tours.

Edited September 1, 2015 by Pet Nit Noy

[spindrift]

To benefit with the O Life excursions, how do you book them? I know they are not the OC or OE, but when you book your choice, and then go to check out, does it show 0 price and how do we know which ones are included?

 

We have always booked tours ahead of time and pay at check out.

 

Have I confused you all with my question? :confused:

[nyfeds]

Not sure if I need to begin another thread for this question. However, it is relevant to O Life.

 

We booked Sirena Oct. 18, 2016. When can we anticipate seeing excursion choices included in our O Life for this cruise?

 

Thanks.

Denise

[sitraveler]

You should be able to see & book your O"Life excursions now.

[sitraveler]

I afraid much of the confusion is O's doing.

 

They decided to make this promotion after many of us already booked some of the included cruises. The "free" term is misleading, if you already booked and want to take advantage of O'Life there is a higher charge for the cruise. We added O'Life while on board Insignia, and since we booked earlier we picked up the "On Board" savings and the add on was $300.00 net.

We've added our 5 included O'Life excursions and the check out price was -0-.

We also gained the internet and another prepaid gratuity item.

Hope this helps.

[Paulchili]

To benefit with the O Life excursions, how do you book them? I know they are not the OC or OE, but when you book your choice, and then go to check out, does it show 0 price and how do we know which ones are included?

 

We have always booked tours ahead of time and pay at check out.

 

Have I confused you all with my question? :confused:

 

You can pick ANY excursion that is not OC or OE up to your included limit and you will be charged $0 - as simple as that. Beyond your included number of excursions you will be charged for them as before.

Obviously, pick the expensive ones for your included ones :)

[arima22]

I did excursions for two May and June 2016 cruises over the past 2 weeks. In manage your cruise section, select excursions. Each day of the cruise will show horizontally on the top of the page with the excursions for the selected port day listed below. Select the excursion you want for that port for the parties you want (drop down box with names of your party) and then click add to cart.

 

When done with your selections, go to the cart. All will be listed with pricing for each and below will be a total for all excursions. Your free excursion value is totaled and credit is applied on the bottom of the cart page. If you are finished with your selections, go to checkout. Again all tours will be listed with regular price and the OLife Advantage Bonus Discount applied in the summary, yielding a net amount due- in my case "0" as I did not purchase additional Oceania Excursions. You'll receive an immediate email with your tour selections.

 

Just curious over what might happen, I did select 1 OC tour, was charged in full for that tour. Easy to delete from the shopping cart page after the test.

I also tried to book a morning tour and an afternoon tour with 1 hour between end of first and beginning of second- came up with a note in red that I couldn't do that.

[spindrift]

Well, O has some issues, I think. I told my agent to go with the O Life at the $400 pp O quoted us, and when she went to book it, they changed it to $1350 pp. They said they used the wrong base to figure the $400.

 

I'm getting very disappointed in O. Too many questionable issues like this. After all these years. Oh well, we came out LESS not using O.

 

Thanks for your help anyway.

 

Looks like after these trips we really are going to have to look at a couple of other lines that we have really liked, and actually have done so already booking a trip of our choice rather than with O. We'll do the trips we have planned with them, but I think I am glad that this has opened our eyes and let us move on. So sad.

 

I guess incidents like this force us to move on. We get comfortable with our likes and what we are familiar with and hesitate to change. Sometimes when we take that first brave step and move away with what we have loved, we often find better.

Edited September 3, 2015 by spindrift

[Mura]

While I'm not a real fan of this new system we did opt for several tours on our Oct 2016 TA on Sirena at the cost of $300pp. That is well under the cost for the tours if we had booked them with O. Normally we would book our own tours but for this itinerary -- where we've been to all of the ports before except for Bermuda, and we have been to Bermuda, just not on a cruise -- this was a cost savings. As I've said before, were we on a different itinerary the odds are we would not have taken this option.

 

But Spindrift, you are the first person I've heard to say it would cost you $1350! Do you have a very long cruise?? The amounts I have seen so far are in the $300-500 range. (For us we're on a 16 day TA where we had the option of 5 tours for $300pp. We took three tours that would have cost us a little under $500, so it seemed a no-brainer.)

 

If lots of people will be charged so much, I doubt many will opt for the program.

 

From what I have seen, it is still suggested that this is a trial program ... we shall wait and see if it becomes permanent.

 

It does seem that many loyal passengers don't like this innovation ... and I'm not sure that we do either even if we are using it for this one cruise!

 

Mura

[Paulchili]

Well, O has some issues, I think. I told my agent to go with the O Life at the $400 pp O quoted us, and when she went to book it, they changed it to $1350 pp. They said they used the wrong base to figure the $400.

 

 

That does seem quite a bit more than the numbers I have seen around here - is your TA sure? We have opted for O life on 2 of our future cruises as the upcharge was in the $300-$400 range and the value gotten much higher but at $1350/pp I would not bite either.

Can you keep the cruise at the original price w/o the O life and DIY?