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How does the "O Life Choice" included roundtrip air work?


OnTheJourney
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Hi,

 

I get brochures from Oceania all the time, and yet have never sailed with them. What I'm intrigued about is the included airfare mentioned in the O Life Choice fare category. How does this work in the event that there are connecting flights, i.e. is there a maximum number of flights that are included in that fare category?  I'm sure there is more on the website but figured this is a good place to ask about it. Some of the itineraries look really good, and so I'm tempted to try it sometime. Any thoughts, in general, about cruising with this line are welcomed also!

 

Thanks...

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OLife has absolutely nothing to do with the “ free” air component. OLife is a separate program entirely.

 

If one chooses to utilize the free included air , Oceania gets one from their home to port and back home at no charge. The number of stops doesn’t play any part in it. The offered deal is to arrive on the day of embarkment and return on the day of disembarkment. If one wants to deviate from their rules a deviation fee will be incurred.

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38 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

OLife has absolutely nothing to do with the “ free” air component. OLife is a separate program entirely.

 

If one chooses to utilize the free included air , Oceania gets one from their home to port and back home at no charge. The number of stops doesn’t play any part in it. The offered deal is to arrive on the day of embarkment and return on the day of disembarkment. If one wants to deviate from their rules a deviation fee will be incurred.

 

If your home airport isn't one of their gateway cities, you pay an extra $99 each way.

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1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

OLife has absolutely nothing to do with the “ free” air component. OLife is a separate program entirely.

 

If one chooses to utilize the free included air , Oceania gets one from their home to port and back home at no charge. The number of stops doesn’t play any part in it. The offered deal is to arrive on the day of embarkment and return on the day of disembarkment. If one wants to deviate from their rules a deviation fee will be incurred.

Then why does Oceania make the following statement on their website?

 

Airfare included with OLife Choice*

Leave the Flying to Us

The Oceania Cruises Airfare included with OLife Choice Program*  is available in Coach Class from the U.S. and Canadian gateways listed on this page. Air transportation from cities not listed on the chart can be arranged upon request at an additional charge. Business and First Class airfares are also available for purchase. On bookings that include air travel, the air arrangements, including routing and selection of air carrier, are at Oceania Cruises’ sole discretion and are based on flight availability and agreements among various airlines and Oceania Cruises. Should you encounter a flight delay or travel interruption, we will make arrangements to assist you or rebook you on another flight at no additional cost to get you to your destination. If you have a preferred air carrier, a mileage program or special scheduling requests, you may wish to make customized changes to the air arrangements provided by Oceania Cruises. For a modest fee, our custom air department is available to assist with specific flight requests.

Airfare included with OLife Choice Guarantee*

Our Airfare included with OLife Choice Program* is guaranteed, no matter how much airfares may increase between the day you book your cruise and your travel date. We eliminate the hassle of searching for the lowest fare, trying to anticipate price changes and determining the best flight route options. Our experienced air department partners with respected carriers worldwide to ensure a seamless air travel experience.

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Yes - airfare is included with O Life BUT it does not state that one must purchase O Life if one wants airfare included.

Airfare is always included in the price of Oceania cruises unless you wish to buy your own air and then you get air credit.

Edited by Paulchili
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And depending on where you live, the number of stops can add up.

 

While on a very few occasions we used the "free" air, usually we book our own ... and we live in NYC which is a gateway city.  No extra costs involved there.

 

But depending on where you live extra stops can add up.  As can the fees.

 

When we take O's air, we always take the deviation because we prefer to stay in the port city pre- and post-cruise.  There is a fee but it's worth it.  However, we mostly book our own air.  Way back when the credit for NOT using O's air was much higher than it is now.  If you are happy in coach and the credit is better than what you'd have to pay on your own, then it could be to your benefit.

 

These days we prefer to book business class, and that is cheaper booking on our own.  SOMETIMES O offers premium economy which can be satisfactory.  We weren't unhappy on the one or two occasions when we used their PE option, but then again it can depend on the airline in question.

 

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2 hours ago, Paulchili said:

Yes - airfare is included with O Life BUT it does not state that one must purchase O Life if one wants airfare included.

Airfare is always included in the price of Oceania cruises unless you wish to buy your own air and then you get air credit.

+1  

A very ambiguous point of information, succinctly stated 

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7 hours ago, Paulchili said:

Yes - airfare is included with O Life BUT it does not state that one must purchase O Life if one wants airfare included.

Airfare is always included in the price of Oceania cruises unless you wish to buy your own air and then you get air credit.

Well, not exactly. The "cruise only" price does not include airfare. Despite the "only,"' this can be confusing for some newbies.

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/legal/promotion-terms/

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5 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Well, not exactly. The "cruise only" price does not include airfare. Despite the "only,"' this can be confusing for some newbies.

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/legal/promotion-terms/

As a newby, it is confusing. For example, even though they list a "cruise only" price, with mock booking I cannot find a way to purchase the "cruise only" price. Instead, it seems that I have to purchase at the "cruise only" price plus X - where X= the amount of OBC included in O Life!

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9 minutes ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

As a newby, it is confusing. For example, even though they list a "cruise only" price, with mock booking I cannot find a way to purchase the "cruise only" price. Instead, it seems that I have to purchase at the "cruise only" price plus X - where X= the amount of OBC included in O Life!

You can book  the cruise with  3 options

 with air & O Life

with O Life  & No air

cruise only   no air or O Life

 

You have to do the math to see what works best  for you

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55 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

You can book  the cruise with  3 options

 with air & O Life

with O Life  & No air

cruise only   no air or O Life

 

You have to do the math to see what works best  for you

OK, but online I cannot find how to do cruise only without O life - with a mock booking it seems to always come up with the O life selections. Even if I do not make an O life selection, it seems to give the OBC as the default - with the price equal to the cruise only price plus the cost of the OBC.

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10 minutes ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

OK, but online I cannot find how to do cruise only without O life - with a mock booking it seems to always come up with the O life selections. Even if I do not make an O life selection, it seems to give the OBC as the default - with the price equal to the cruise only price plus the cost of the OBC.

I just  tell my TA  what I want & she makes it happen

Why not just call O  & ask for the pricing  for the cruise only

 

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45 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Lyn was absolutely correct in her first few words. Call your TA! Call your TA! Call your TA!

 

That’s what they are there for and what they are paid to do!

True, but not all TA are created equal, so to speak.

Some know much more about Oceania than others. 🙂

Best to ask and book with ones that know O well.

Edited by Paulchili
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I  just  tried a booking online   it does not give you the cruise only fare  in the calculations

maybe once you get to the payment page it does but I excluded the air & olife

it was still higher  than the pricing on the cruise page

So I guess the answer is  to call O  or a TA that knows the ins/outs of Oceania booking  😉

 

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We always take Olife and air included, partially because we live in Vancouver BC area and air fares are high from Canada.

We really enjoy Oceania, book direct and as we do longer trips air fares is  a considerable cost.

 As an example we are on Jan 30 LA-Sydney and just got our air originally booked as stop over Seattle  to LA and LA going back to Vancouver. However requested direct to LA and direct back on Air Canada and got both at no extra cost --great service.

We have also been redirected by Oceania such as the time to Valpariso during earthquake, redirected during Barcelona strikes and once the the move over to a longer cruise with Oceania,  O handling all changes and no trouble to us.

This is why we continue with their air not to mention we love their ships and service .  This will 19 & 20 with O. Yes we have tried others but enjoy Oceania the most.

Works well for us but each case is different. Why not give them a try and see what you think.     

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3 hours ago, Paulchili said:

True, but not all TA are created equal, so to speak.

Some know much more about Oceania than others. 🙂

Best to ask and book with ones that know O well.

If you ask enough O regulars on an O cruise you'll start hearing some TA names repeated. Minimally, look for TAs who belong to Oceania's Connoisseurs Club.

Plenty of CC threads on how to find a good TA AND why it is best to use the right one for an Oceania cruise.

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Wow...this thread generated quite some interesting responses!  Thanks to all...sounds a tad complicated but certainly worth exploring. I've always liked booking my own air to avoid some potential complexities or confusion such as were mentioned. It just seemed that the cruise with air prices looked pretty reasonable in the brochure. I assumed that as you add more stops the costs goes up. 

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Paul;

 

In the beginnings, all TA were unknowable about Oceania. They learned through experience and trial and error. The only way that New TA learn today is by doing!

 

My TA books people on multiple lines but is also an Oceania CC agent. She got there by hard work. These people coming here with these problems and questions need to make their TA do the work so they can learn, both for themselves and for future customers. Call your TA! Call your TA ! If they don’t know the answer, that’s OK, make them learn! Win- Win!

 

 

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I will differ with Pinot a bit ... there was a least ONE who knew Oceania very well from the beginning, as (s)he had known Renaissance very well.  For obvious reasons I won't mention this TA's name.

 

There may well have been some others! But it's also probably true that at the outset very few TAs were familiar with the Oceania product.

 

Mura

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48 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Paul;

 

In the beginnings, all TA were unknowable about Oceania. They learned through experience and trial and error. The only way that New TA learn today is by doing!

 

My TA books people on multiple lines but is also an Oceania CC agent. She got there by hard work. These people coming here with these problems and questions need to make their TA do the work so they can learn, both for themselves and for future customers. Call your TA! Call your TA ! If they don’t know the answer, that’s OK, make them learn! Win- Win!

 

 

I have to disagree a bit. 

I have zero interest in being a Guinea pig for some TA who has no/little knowledge of Oceania's ins/outs. 

And, as far as the Connoisseurs Club members, I am always keeping tabs of who has the right combo of influence, responsiveness and refundable SBC.

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53 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Paul;

 

In the beginnings, all TA were unknowable about Oceania. They learned through experience and trial and error. The only way that New TA learn today is by doing!

 

My TA books people on multiple lines but is also an Oceania CC agent. She got there by hard work. These people coming here with these problems and questions need to make their TA do the work so they can learn, both for themselves and for future customers. Call your TA! Call your TA ! If they don’t know the answer, that’s OK, make them learn! Win- Win!

 

 

That may be true but you have been here on CC long enough to have read some horror stories that were related here due to mistakes or ignorance of some TAs. Why should these customers be the ones to pay for the learning curve of these TAs when they could benefit from the knowledge and experience of those TA who already know what they are doing when it comes to Oceania’s “ins and outs”.

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