New Oceania Cruisers--Cruise Change Offer

[Steve Q]

My spouse and I are experienced cruisers having sailed several times with Celebrity, Princess, and on 7 different HAL ships.

 

Last June we booked the lowest Veranda category for the March 16 sailing of the Riviera. It will be our 40th anniversary, so we thought we would splurge.

 

To our surprise, we received an offer to change our March 16 sailing to a different date. The offer was for one of 3 different dates (Two on the Marina to the Western Carribean and also the March 6 Riviera sailing to the Eastern Carribean). The real surprise, however, was that they offered us a $600 credit and an upgrade to a Pentouse suite--category PH1. This seemed like a really good offer so we took it.

 

They did not explain why they needed our March 16 cabin, but the offer seemed like a steal. We are retired so our dates are flexible.

 

Don't know if this is customary with Oceania, but we are pleased.

[Mura]

It's not uncommon. It happens when one cruise is oversold while others may be undersold.

 

We took such an offer five years ago to leave an Alaska cruise in a PH and replace it with a Med cruise on Marina, upgraded to a Vista Suite with even more OBC than we already had. Most offers like this that we have received just don't work out but this one did.

 

Have a great cruise. I'm sure you'll love the PH.

 

Mura

[LHT28]

It does happen

Sometimes it works out for some people like yourselves

[Debbers]

Once you have experienced a PH, you will be completely spoiled! We took one for an anniversary cruise and keep saying, next time we'll scale down to a balcony cabin, but haven't managed it yet. Congratulations on your anniversary, and enjoy your cruise.

[Paulchili]

Once you have experienced a PH, you will be completely spoiled! We took one for an anniversary cruise and keep saying, next time we'll scale down to a balcony cabin, but haven't managed it yet. Congratulations on your anniversary, and enjoy your cruise.

 

Exactly!

I think you have made a great decision as long as you like the itinerary.

PH is not only bigger and nicer but you can dine in from any specialty restaurant course by course (if you wish) - especially on those nights when you are tired after a long day and don't want to get dressed, etc - just dine in your bathrobe; or if you want extra reservations in the specialty beyond your guaranteed ones and cannot get any.

These offers are fairly common - see discussion here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2407971&highlight=upsells+and+upgrades

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2388715&highlight=upsells+and+upgrades

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2416757&highlight=upsells+and+upgrades

and others.

Enjoy!

[pete_coach]

We are on 24 Feb cruise on Riviera and have been getting offers for a while now. They seem to get better and better each time they offer. :)

Latest was upgrade to penthouse and an additional $600 (we have $800) plus $695 rebate.

[Hawaiidan]

While a move over offer is , or can be, a very nice thing, A down sell can be astounding.

By down sell I mean giving up your cabin for a lesser cabin usualy comes with that lesser cabin free and an obscene 4 to 5 figure cash rebate.

 

I am glad folks like a PH, we have spent 30 day cruises in one on Regent and it was nice but the Marina/Riviera PH with the table at the foot of the bed...to us unusable and on the R class its just a slightly larger veranda cabin. None in our estimation large enouth to eat anything much...

 

SO no, we dont have to have a PH or even a veranda, and would rather have a lesser more economical cabin that allows us a larger budget for more experiences not more space.

On some cruises when the weather and season are mot going to play nice, we are just as happy in an inside. But thats us We rather cruise 60 days a year in an inside than 20 in a Penthouse

[YoHoHo]

Steve Q, enjoy your first Oceania cruise and especially enjoy your penthouse stateroom. That's great upsell you got and a good decision to grab it quickly while it was still available to you.

 

You will read of upsells, move over, etc offers on this boards but don't get the impression they are common. They certainly do happen but it's not like they are a common, everyday occurrence. Many thousands of pax cruise without getting one. And now that O's marketing strategy appears to be reducing the availability of GTYs I suspect there will be fewer of these offers. Many here on CC hope to get a good one and so while it certainly does happen they are not common place. And even when they do come some offers are great and some not so sweet. Enjoy yours!

[Hawaiidan]

Steve Q, enjoy your first Oceania cruise and especially enjoy your penthouse stateroom. That's great upsell you got and a good decision to grab it quickly while it was still available to you.

 

You will read of upsells, move over, etc offers on this boards but don't get the impression they are common. They certainly do happen but it's not like they are a common, everyday occurrence. Many thousands of pax cruise without getting one. And now that O's marketing strategy appears to be reducing the availability of GTYs I suspect there will be fewer of these offers. Many here on CC hope to get a good one and so while it certainly does happen they are not common place. And even when they do c

ome some offers are great and some not so sweet. Enjoy yours!

 

Planning, hoping, positioning and praying that you will get a dream deal that will please you beyond words is a path to frustration. Take your cruise in the cabin that suits you... Be happy with that but always let your agent know your "flexible" to offers and set a $$ limit you would go to.

Then sit back and be surprised or just pleased...for whatever develops.. dont make it the focal point of why you booked.

Some are lucky most are not. in 30 years of cruising I got 1 up sell and 1 down sell... thats the reality

I agree that the guarantee room is going to be very scarse in the future replaced by the "wait list" crap shoot.

[YoHoHo]

Planning, hoping, positioning and praying that you will get a dream deal that will please you beyond words is a path to frustration.

Why are you quoting me? Where did I write of "Planning, hoping, positioning and praying"?

Perhaps you just intended on making a further statment to what you have already added to this thread. In that case there is no need to quote.

[pinotlover]

Flexibility is the prime word in this discussion. Being flexible with timing is important. Another one is important. Most typically, we find arranging the air ourselves to be a better option than utilizing O's Air. However, doing so dramatically reduces flexibility. One of the greatest Change Options we ever got came on a cruise where we had arranged our own air. To walk away from the tickets would have cost $$$$. Even trying to get a change on the tickets made what was otherwise an incredible offer unpalatable. How we wished that we hadn't booked our own flights for that cruise! However, getting such offers is a rarity and one has to do what they think is best for each cruise, whether it's cabin selection or Air arrangements.

[Tidalmist]

We were offered a similar offer, upgrade to a Penthouse Suite on the March 31 Marina instead of March 16 on the Riviera. We were pleased with the itinerary so we accepted only to find out today that Oceania has decided to remove 4 ports and replace them with an overnight in Havana and a day in Nassau. This is not what I signed up for and once again I am very disappointed with Oceania. I have no interest in visiting Cuba and especially since there will be a 125 pp fee to exit the ship in Cuba.

Since I have already booked my own air I am stuck with this cruise, but believe me,it is my last Oceania sailing. It is Azamara for me in future.

[chrismch]

That is an outrageous fee. I guess that is what you would call a "Visa" fee.

[LHT28]

We were offered a similar offer, upgrade to a Penthouse Suite on the March 31 Marina instead of March 16 on the Riviera. We were pleased with the itinerary so we accepted only to find out today that Oceania has decided to remove 4 ports and replace them with an overnight in Havana and a day in Nassau. This is not what I signed up for and once again I am very disappointed with Oceania. I have no interest in visiting Cuba and especially since there will be a 125 pp fee to exit the ship in Cuba.

Since I have already booked my own air I am stuck with this cruise, but believe me,it is my last Oceania sailing. It is Azamara for me in future.

You might find a cruise sailing the same dates as your airfare or within the same time frame

I think all the rules for Cuba is new to some lines & it may take a few months to get sorted

 

I bet the $125 is for the People to people tours required by US passenger to use

Other Nationalities are caught up in the red tape

Edited December 9, 2016 by LHT28

[YoHoHo]

You might find a cruise sailing the same dates as your airfare or within the same time frame

I think all the rules for Cuba is new to some lines & it may take a few months to get sorted

 

I bet the $125 is for the People to people tours required by US passenger to use

Other Nationalities are caught up in the red tape

My inital thoughts were the same and was thinking to just give this some time. But O announced months back that this was in the wind. They would have been working on it long before that announcment so this is no surprise. I am now less kind and think it is simpler to say 'one-size fits-all' and they do not want to deal with the rest of us pax and simply have the one package as a requirement. The CAD $330 per couple is for visa and perhaps-uneeded-by-Canadians insurance. In our case it is for a single overnight, leave the next morning visit.

 

My apologies, getting further off topic.

[LHT28]

My inital thoughts were the same and was thinking to just give this some time. But O announced months back that this was in the wind. They would have been working on it long before that announcment so this is no surprise. I am now less kind and think it is simpler to say 'one-size fits-all' and they do not want to deal with the rest of us pax and simply have the one package as a requirement. The CAD $330 per couple is for visa and perhaps-uneeded-by-Canadians insurance. In our case it is for a single overnight, leave the next morning visit.

 

My apologies, getting further off topic.

 

It may have been in the wind but until they got final approval not sure they could do much

 

That said I would be annoyed as well having to pay for something as non US citizens do not require

I would contact the Cuban Consulate with the question about leaving from a US port on a cruise stop to Cuba what is required

Everyone needs the Tourist card but the cost is minimal $20-25

 

As I said before this is something new for cruises to Cuba from US ports

the other cruises leave from Jamaica or Europe so different rules apply

[kkmiausa]

Maybe this will be of help to some of you who may be offered an upgrade to switch to a different cruise. I had just put down a deposit on a category lower than I usually book because it showed concierge was wait listed. It was a B3 veranda. I never had less than concierge on Oceania. Well the next morning I got the offer to switch to another cruise with an upgrade to Penthouse. I didn't like the itinerary and before I settled on the one I had booked had spent many days comparing lines, dates, and itineraries.

 

So, out of the blue I told her there was a cruise I really had wanted but it was not the one they offered. I wondered if maybe they would let me switch to that one for the same price - the other one was about $2000 more for the same category. She said - all we can do is ask. I never even expected the upgrade to Penthouse.

 

I was shocked to know they let me do it and with the Penthouse upgrade as well! I would have been happy with veranda.

 

So the moral is, don't just look at the ones they offer but research and see if there is another one you may be willing to switch to. It could pay off for you too.

[JimandStan]

So the moral is, don't just look at the ones they offer but research and see if there is another one you may be willing to switch to. It could pay off for you too.

 

Agreed, with the caveat that the research must be done before the passenger gets the upsell offer.

When they call, if one isn't in the position to make a reasonable counteroffer promptly, the Oceania representative must move on to the next passenger in the queue.

[KT Freeman]

We are on 24 Feb cruise on Riviera and have been getting offers for a while now. They seem to get better and better each time they offer. :)

Latest was upgrade to penthouse and an additional $600 (we have $800) plus $695 rebate.

 

We're on the same cruise and got the same offer. We declined because one of the cruises they offered was the same itinerary we did last year, one had too many sea days, and the last conflicted with work responsibilities. We are little disappointed because we've never been in a Penthouse. Oh well ...

[pete_coach]

We're on the same cruise and got the same offer. We declined because one of the cruises they offered was the same itinerary we did last year, one had too many sea days, and the last conflicted with work responsibilities. We are little disappointed because we've never been in a Penthouse. Oh well ...

 

A penthouse would be nice but the itinerary has to be one I want. I noticed that many of the cruises being offered have a stop in Cuba now and I have no desire to go to Cuba.

There was also offerings for the Fall an I do not want to sail the Caribbean during hurricane season.

[Hawaiidan]

Why are you quoting me? Where did I write of "Planning, hoping, positioning and praying"?

Perhaps you just intended on making a further statment to what you have already added to this thread. In that case there is no need to quote.

 

 

Excuse me....I had no idea that I put in a phrase that appeared to quote you.. I had no idea, It was not my intention and only to reiterate the situation and attitude. I would have "" you if it was my intention to "quote"

[Hawaiidan]

That is an outrageous fee. I guess that is what you would call a "Visa" fee.

Prisons, secret police and cattel prods dont come cheap...they all cost$$$

 

Just their way of keeping the country safe from democracy, like any good dictatorship would......

[GeorgesGal]

Prisons, secret police and cattel prods dont come cheap...they all cost$$$

 

Just their way of keeping the country safe from democracy, like any good dictatorship would......

 

I guess you feel the same way I do about travel to Cuba.;)

[pinotlover]

Bottom line on all of this is: with Oceania's change in policy of reducing/eliminating the number of guarantees they sell on cruises, the number of offers for upgrades, downgrades, and cruise switches will decline significantly. Offers for upsells will continue as long as they have higher category cabins to sell. But they won't be coming with any particular deal unless the cruise is significantly undersold.

[Steve Q]

Thanks Everyone.

Today, we were able to make our restaurant reservations and also received our flight information.

We booked a table for two at each premium restaurant at exactly the time we preferred.

The flight is the first non-stop in the morning from DFW.

We are very pleased with the upgrade offer, in spite of having to change cruise dates.

 

Thanks again.