Ugrade/Upsell Cabin Offers?

[roothy123]

I haven't been on Oceania for at least a year. Does Oceania still occasionally offer what I call a "cabin upsell offer" close to the time of sailing, or has that been discontinued?

[Andee]

We got offers like that for the 2 Oceania cruises we've taken over the past 6 months.

 

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[AZjohn]

For our cruise next week our TA got a call from O a few weeks ago offering us a up-sell from B3 to A1 for $100/pp (7 day med cruise). I was a little surprised because everything except PH1 has been wait listed for months. Figured they offered A1 passengers a good deal to move to PH1's but that wasn't offered to us.

[Sny]

Went from PH to Vista in November 2016. I think it was about $500. each

[Hawaiidan]

I haven't been on Oceania for at least a year. Does Oceania still occasionally offer what I call a "cabin upsell offer" close to the time of sailing, or has that been discontinued?

 

 

Yes they do.... However, they come most often to your agent. You need to well in advance give your agent a budget of what your willing to spend and that your agent is among the top agents with O. These offers are "time sensitive" your agent needs to be able to say yes or no without calling you and giving you hours to ponder it. By the time you gave it some thought, most times the offer will be taken by another who could give a yes on the spot.

 

There is a pecking order that people are called best agents first.... Direct bookings last....if ever

[roothy123]

Good to know we might possibly get an offer. For those who did, was it more than a few weeks in advance of sailing? Was it after you received your "final documents" email? I'm thinking there will be no offer for us, but perhaps there might be. The cruise looks strangely NOT full, if that makes any difference one way or the other. And yes, our travel agent knows to call us immediately if he receives an offer for us from Oceania.

[LHT28]

we have gotten offers before final payment & after final payment

you never know

If you want an upsell call & ask how much to upgrade or just wait & see

[Mura]

Good to know we might possibly get an offer. For those who did, was it more than a few weeks in advance of sailing? Was it after you received your "final documents" email? I'm thinking there will be no offer for us, but perhaps there might be. The cruise looks strangely NOT full, if that makes any difference one way or the other. And yes, our travel agent knows to call us immediately if he receives an offer for us from Oceania.

 

As Lyn said, you never know! If you have a TA, ask him/her to check it out. Give that person your parameters. How much are you willing to pay for an upsell?

 

When we got an upsell to an OS way back in November '05, we received it a week or two before sailing. On others, we have had a lot of warning.

 

These things are flexible. So if your TA knows what you want and are willing to pay, you can shortcut the system.

 

Mura

[ronrick1943]

I realize why people want an upsell or upgrade, but if you don't want to be disappointed you should book the cabin you really want.

[MisterBill99]

New data point. I booked a D guarantee and was disappointed when I was actually assigned a cabin in that category yesterday. Today my TA got an upsell offer to a balcony for $400 per person. The price difference between my category and the price of a B2 was $1200 so I decided to go for it. I was able to get a B1 cabin, so I saved $900 per person on the upsell. I'm happy where I am now and won't take any future upsells.

[LHT28]

New data point. I booked a D guarantee and was disappointed when I was actually assigned a cabin in that category yesterday. Today my TA got an upsell offer to a balcony for $400 per person. The price difference between my category and the price of a B2 was $1200 so I decided to go for it. I was able to get a B1 cabin, so I saved $900 per person on the upsell. I'm happy where I am now and won't take any future upsells.

If you had not gotten the upsell offer would you be happy with what you booked??

 

There is no guarantee people will get an upgrade or upsell when booking a GTY cabin ...book a cabin cat you will be happy with

 

JMO

[Glenndale]

Never had an upsell offer :(

Maybe it's because we're in the UK?

[MisterBill99]

If you had not gotten the upsell offer would you be happy with what you booked??

 

There is no guarantee people will get an upgrade or upsell when booking a GTY cabin ...book a cabin cat you will be happy with

 

JMO

Happy is a relative term.

 

I was happy with what I was paying and would have been OK in the cabin and overall just happy to be on the cruise. Given that the extra $400 would only have gotten me a higher oceanview category at booking time, I wasn't going to book that. And I wasn't going to pay the $1200 difference to get a balcony.

 

Now I'm completely happy.

[Issyalex]

Never had an upsell offer :(

Maybe it's because we're in the UK?

 

Me neither. I think it is because we live in the U.K. :eek: :( we don’t seem to get any of the US perks. :(

[janecambridge]

Me neither. �� I think it is because we live in the U.K. :eek: :( we don’t seem to get any of the US perks. :(

 

 

I’m in England and we got an offer to upgrade to PH on our first cruise.We took it.

[MisterBill99]

BTW, I don't know if this is common knowledge, but I was able to call Oceania myself to accept and pay for the upgrade. In the offer email, they said "This offer is on a first come, first served basis. To take advantage, please contact your travel agent or call Oceania Cruises at (866) 688-1295." My TA said she had to call but I figured I'd try calling and they were able to book it. Worked out better than my TA doing it since I would have had to give her my CC number and then she would have had to ask me which cabin I wanted (or would have just taken one and not told me I had a choice).

[MisterBill99]

Me neither. �� I think it is because we live in the U.K. :eek: :( we don’t seem to get any of the US perks. :(

I would think they would want to give people the opportunity to pay Oceania more money no matter where they live. Did you book thru a TA? If so were they in the US or UK? Sometimes I think people wonder if their TA's are forwarding the offers.

[StanandJim]

I would think they would want to give people the opportunity to pay Oceania more money no matter where they live. Did you book thru a TA? If so were they in the US or UK? Sometimes I think people wonder if their TA's are forwarding the offers.

 

The contractual relationship between passengers and Travel Agents is very different in other countries. The UK, in particular, has a number of laws prohibiting certain offers which are common in the United States. from being offered there. Australia, which still uses an antiquated version of the UK system is perhaps the worst.

Deposits, for example, are an ENTIRELY different animal overseas, and are almost universally forfeited when plans are cancelled.

In short, never assume based on North American experiences what will happen with travel arrangements elsewhere.

[MisterBill99]

The contractual relationship between passengers and Travel Agents is very different in other countries. The UK, in particular, has a number of laws prohibiting certain offers which are common in the United States. from being offered there. Australia, which still uses an antiquated version of the UK system is perhaps the worst.

 

Deposits, for example, are an ENTIRELY different animal overseas, and are almost universally forfeited when plans are cancelled.

 

In short, never assume based on North American experiences what will happen with travel arrangements elsewhere.

Well, janecambridge said that she got an upgrade offer in the UK, so presumably the rules did not apply to her, and the question is what made her situation different. Also, given that I was able to complete my upsell by contacting Oceania directly (which really surprised me), so it seems like the relationship between the TA and customer may not be an issue there (although the upsell did get sent thru the TA). And which specific offers are not valid in the UK?

 

I am aware that deposits are not refundable in many (most?) non-US countries. I also believe that on Celebrity they also cannot switch guarantee cabins within the same category as we can in the US.

[StanandJim]

which specific offers are not valid in the UK?

Too numerous to say or give examples, the issues are wrapped in dozens and dozens of complicated laws involving which services may or may not be bundled, which offers may or may not be advertised, and which services must be refundable versus which of them may never be refunded.

 

The differences can be as simple as whether the offer was EVER advertised or as innocuous as whether the reservation was made via telephone or in person.

The restrictions began as genuine attempts at consumer protection but today there are lawyers who make careers out sorting through the labyrinth.

 

As with any bureaucracy, a situation will occasionally arise (I believe that this is what happened to Jane) where the exception which proves the rule comes about.

 

However, as the bean counters say on this side of the Atlantic, "past performance is no indication of future results". If this thread continues, it will become apparent how rare upsells are "over there".

[janecambridge]

My agent rang about two weeks before we were due to sail to offer us an upsell.She said there was one cabin left.That cabin was next to the bridge,at the front (and I believe the captains quarters) so we were a little apprehensive as to the noise of doors opening and closing constantly.I doubt I would have paid full price for that cabin due to its position on the plans,But it was fine,absolutely no noise.Lots of smiling bigwig staff,but no noise.Slight viewing problem due to the bridge,but we got it for a good price and were very happy.Would do the same again again if the price was good enough.

I know you have to act quick once contacted.

The neighbour was English and they too had an upsell (told there were 6 cabin to choose from).

It is out there.Maybe because our first cruise,they decided to tempt us with a PH,never to go lower!😂

[keithm]

I haven't been on Oceania for at least a year. Does Oceania still occasionally offer what I call a "cabin upsell offer" close to the time of sailing, or has that been discontinued?

They did with us in Jan. I guess it depends on how full the ship was. The Riviera sailed about 200 pax short we were told.

[ORV]

A little birdie told me to plan on seeing less upsells & move overs in the future.

[MisterBill99]

A little birdie told me to plan on seeing less upsells & move overs in the future.

If they do that, it seems like they will have to change their business model. I am not an Oceania expert (this is going to be my first cruise) but it seems like upsells is how they fill the empty more expensive cabins, and I'm guessing they then fill the vacated cabins from the wait list. They do not show the actual inventory on the website since I know they had 3 B1's available yesterday but the website showed wait list. They would need to start lowering prices to fill cabins as other lines do (which might cause problems with the low price guarantee that people who book on board apparently get), or find some other way to get rid of the excess inventory.

[pinotlover]

An upsell = more revenue.

 

Don’t see them leaving a PH empty and possibly leaving cash on the table.

 

For those taking upsell for PH and above, not only does O get the upsell revenue but also the additional gratuities in most cases.