Marina shore excursions - your world vs unlimited

[kim826]

I picked out shore excursions from my Med cruise.  Looking at the cart, there are three options - Tour Price, Unlimited or Your World.  Your World is the cheapest.  Why wouldn't I go with that choice?  Am I missing something?

[LHT28]

2 minutes ago, kim826 said:

I picked out shore excursions from my Med cruise.  Looking at the cart, there are three options - Tour Price, Unlimited or Your World.  Your World is the cheapest.  Why wouldn't I go with that choice?  Am I missing something?

I think you have to book the minimum required for your sailing  to get the YW  pricing

Check at the top of the page in the excursions in your account to see what the required number is

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

I think you have to book the minimum required for your sailing  to get the YW  pricing

Check at the top of the page in the excursions in your account to see what the required number is

There's no "smoke and mirrors."

The "new" website is very intuitive when it comes to purchasing excursions. The cart displays the 3 possible total prices: retail, passport (incl. the upfront fee) and YWYW. If you haven't selected the minimum number of tours for the YWYW 25% off, the cart summary  will state how many more you need to qualify.

 

The algorithm will also apply your allowable O Life included excursions to the most expensive ones and even use any Oceania SBC you have in  netting out the balance you'll need to pay by credit card.

 

BTW, if you select the O Life excursions option, you can proceed with a mock purchase as far as the cart and then do the math to determine if the total average cost of your O Life tour selections are more or less than $100 per tour. If the average cost is more than $100, that's great. If it's less than $100, you can call O and switch to SBC O Life which, at a $100 equivalent of the tour numbers option, will save you a few dollars.

[srdancer]

Also check whether the unlimited option works better if you are doing many ship excursions. On ou 7 day Cuba cruise they did not offer the option of 25% off if we booked enough excursions. Since we planned to do all ship's tours, found it worked out cheaper to do unlimited. This was partly due to booking one higher priced, not included, excursion which we got for more than 50% off.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, srdancer said:

Also check whether the unlimited option works better if you are doing many ship excursions. On ou 7 day Cuba cruise they did not offer the option of 25% off if we booked enough excursions. Since we planned to do all ship's tours, found it worked out cheaper to do unlimited. This was partly due to booking one higher priced, not included, excursion which we got for more than 50% off.

If YWYW is available, seldom will the Passport be a better deal.

[Paulchili]

24 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

If YWYW is available, seldom will the Passport be a better deal.

Also, while the passport may list many excursions, one often cannot take more than one a day as they may overlap or there is not enough time between the end of one and beginning of the next (as sometimes they run late). Not sure about O policy on this but another cruise line will not allow a second excursion if it begins less than 90 minutes after the first.

[srdancer]

On our 1st day in Havana we had excursions in the morning and afternoon. The main dining room happened to be open, unusual on a port day. We ran in, told them we had very little time between excursions, and they rushed a light lunch to our table.  They were terrific!  We also had an excursion in the evening. An exhausting but wonderful day.

[LHT28]

15 minutes ago, srdancer said:

On our 1st day in Havana we had excursions in the morning and afternoon. The main dining room happened to be open, unusual on a port day.

I think it is more unusual  when it is closed on a port day

IME

We have rarely had the MDR closed on a port day

[srdancer]

The MDR was closed for lunch on the 2nd day in Havana.  In Cienfuegos we were on an all day tour to Trinidad, so don't know if it was open. I don't think it was open in Santiago de Cuba but I'm not sure.

[LHT28]

Just now, srdancer said:

The MDR was closed for lunch on the 2nd day in Havana.  In Cienfuegos we were on an all day tour to Trinidad, so don't know if it was open. I don't think it was open in Santiago de Cuba but I'm not sure.

yes  they do close it  sometimes  but it is not the norm on Oceania  as it on other lines

Just saying

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, srdancer said:

The MDR was closed for lunch on the 2nd day in Havana.  In Cienfuegos we were on an all day tour to Trinidad, so don't know if it was open. I don't think it was open in Santiago de Cuba but I'm not sure.

Perhaps nitpicking but, on Oceania ships, it's the GDR (Grand Dining Room).

[srdancer]

Whatever.

[Homerody]

On 4/2/2019 at 7:36 PM, Flatbush Flyer said:

There's no "smoke and mirrors."

The "new" website is very intuitive when it comes to purchasing excursions. The cart displays the 3 possible total prices: retail, passport (incl. the upfront fee) and YWYW. If you haven't selected the minimum number of tours for the YWYW 25% off, the cart summary  will state how many more you need to qualify.

 

The algorithm will also apply your allowable O Life included excursions to the most expensive ones and even use any Oceania SBC you have in  netting out the balance you'll need to pay by credit card.

 

BTW, if you select the O Life excursions option, you can proceed with a mock purchase as far as the cart and then do the math to determine if the total average cost of your O Life tour selections are more or less than $100 per tour. If the average cost is more than $100, that's great. If it's less than $100, you can call O and switch to SBC O Life which, at a $100 equivalent of the tour numbers option, will save you a few dollars.

@Flatbush Flyer  - thanks for an excellent post.  As an O newbie, this is a very helpful post.  I'm in the planning stage and just wondering is it safe to assume that in March 2021 the algorithm you describe in the quoted post is still the current practice?

Edited March 21, 2021 by Homerody

[Flatbush Flyer]

4 hours ago, Homerody said:

@Flatbush Flyer  - thanks for an excellent post.  As an O newbie, this is a very helpful post.  I'm in the planning stage and just wondering is it safe to assume that in March 2021 the algorithm you describe in the quoted post is still the current practice?

The new Cart functionality (along with the auto charging of your O-issued SBC for pre-cruise purchases) was introduced about 2 years ago in a major website overhaul. I doubt anything has changed since then other than the more recent addition of front page links to Travel Advisories and the Travelers Assurance Program.

As a backup, you can always call O and review your choices with a phone rep who will also do the electronic math and tell you bottom line price for each way to book (again assuming you’ve chosen enough of the right O Life and non-O Life tours to qualify for YWYW.

BTW, once onboard, should O cancel one of your O Life tour choices, your account will be credited with the base $100 for O life tours if you do not replace it with another O Life tour.

And, if you have YWYW, you should be able to add more tours once onboard abd still get the YWYW 25% discount.

BTW: Any TA added refundable SBC does not appear on your O web account. Once onboard on day one, you’ll find a card or printout for added perks.

One last tip: If, on some Saturday night, you check your account on the O website and your booking appears to be “gone,” don’t freak out. O does occasional website maintenance on Saturday nights and the accounts get locked for security, etc.

[Homerody]

4 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

The new Cart functionality (along with the auto charging of your O-issued SBC for pre-cruise purchases) was introduced about 2 years ago in a major website overhaul. I doubt anything has changed since then other than the more recent addition of front page links to Travel Advisories and the Travelers Assurance Program.

As a backup, you can always call O and review your choices with a phone rep who will also do the electronic math and tell you bottom line price for each way to book (again assuming you’ve chosen enough of the right O Life and non-O Life tours to qualify for YWYW.

BTW, once onboard, should O cancel one of your O Life tour choices, your account will be credited with the base $100 for O life tours if you do not replace it with another O Life tour.

And, if you have YWYW, you should be able to add more tours once onboard abd still get the YWYW 25% discount.

BTW: Any TA added refundable SBC does not appear on your O web account. Once onboard on day one, you’ll find a card or printout for added perks.

One last tip: If, on some Saturday night, you check your account on the O website and your booking appears to be “gone,” don’t freak out. O does occasional website maintenance on Saturday nights and the accounts get locked for security, etc.

Thank so much for your assistance and detailed answer.

 

You are a great resource and O ambassador!!!

[pinotlover]

I can state from very recent experience that the system isn’t working well right now. Even when meeting the requirements for the 25% discount, the system isn’t automatically applying it.

 

This issue has become so widespread that my TA has notified all her Oceania customers to not book tours on line, but to send her the booking they desire to make. She says it’s currently easier to work with her O rep and get it right the first time than to go back in later and straighten out the mess.

 

Those algorithms aren’t currently working well, at least not for the cruisers.

[Homerody]

3 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

I can state from very recent experience that the system isn’t working well right now. Even when meeting the requirements for the 25% discount, the system isn’t automatically applying it.

 

This issue has become so widespread that my TA has notified all her Oceania customers to not book tours on line, but to send her the booking they desire to make. She says it’s currently easier to work with her O rep and get it right the first time than to go back in later and straighten out the mess.

 

Those algorithms aren’t currently working well, at least not for the cruisers.

Good to know  Thanks for passing that along.  Much appreciated.

[Flatbush Flyer]

5 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

I can state from very recent experience that the system isn’t working well right now. Even when meeting the requirements for the 25% discount, the system isn’t automatically applying it.

 

This issue has become so widespread that my TA has notified all her Oceania customers to not book tours on line, but to send her the booking they desire to make. She says it’s currently easier to work with her O rep and get it right the first time than to go back in later and straighten out the mess.

 

Those algorithms aren’t currently working well, at least not for the cruisers.

Haven’t used Cart since October 2020. However, one item some folks miss is that on the Cart purchase page, the amounts column will always show the retail prices for the non-O Life tours until you check the button above for the YWYW price. Important step there!

That said, I always do a 3 way check including my own calculation of which are the most expensive allowable O Life tours; the auto Cart calculation; and a call to O (I’d rather not add my TA to the mix for Cart purchases - “too many cooks spoil the broth” in this case).

 

One other item about the Cart: should you decide to book two same day tours (e.g., AM and PM), the Cart is very conservative on “layover” time between tours and may block picking the two. You can then call O if you still want to do both. I recommend at least two hours between end of one tour and beginning of next tour.

 

[Homerody]

2 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Haven’t used Cart since October 2020. However, one item some folks miss is that on the Cart purchase page, the amounts column will always show the retail prices for the non-O Life tours until you check the button above for the YWYW price. Important step there!

That said, I always do a 3 way check including my own calculation of which are the most expensive allowable O Life tours; the auto Cart calculation; and a call to O (I’d rather not add my TA to the mix for Cart purchases - “too many cooks spoil the broth” in this case).

 

One other item about the Cart: should you decide to book two same day tours (e.g., AM and PM), the Cart is very conservative on “layover” time between tours and may block picking the two. You can then call O if you still want to do both. I recommend at least two hours between end of one tour and beginning of next tour.

 

Great tips.  Thanks so much.

[mexicobob]

And I thought my biggest worry was whether the freaking ship sailed or not. Too deep for me at the moment. Calls for an extra glass of wine.

[Host Jazzbeau]

36 minutes ago, mexicobob said:

And I thought my biggest worry was whether the freaking ship sailed or not. Too deep for me at the moment. Calls for an extra glass of wine.

Then choose the Beverage Package option and stay onboard to max its value!

[mexicobob]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Then choose the Beverage Package option and stay onboard to max its value!

Probably the best advice I have received in a long time.