Free 20th milestone cruise

[LHT28]

7 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

OK, but I'm just trying to reconcile that with post # 11.

Thanks.

they are not going  to treat  the 20th cruise  as a free one until you have the correct number of credits

You can book the cruises #16, 17 etc   but booking them is not the same as taking them

As Paul said  book  the cruises  & they will adjust  the numbers for the 20Th 

 

We booked  a B2B   the day before  DH was ill & unable to travel ...even though paid in full we did not get any cruise credit  ..so you must  get on the ship

 

This is why it is better to work with a knowledgeable TA or direct  with O

many people have had their free cruises ..it all works out in the end

 

 

[ORV]

On 8/30/2019 at 9:49 PM, Paulchili said:

Your free cruise MUST be your #20 cruise - period. No exceptions AFAIK.

The cabin will be in the category that your previous 19 cruises averaged in.

I have talked to at least two couples on board that were able to maneuver around this a bit, but it has to be special circumstances. Mine was on our 20th. 

 

For others new to this, your 20th cruise does not count toward reaching 40 for your second free cruise since you don't pay for it. My cruise history shows 20 cruises, but I've actually taken 21 with Oceania. 

Edited September 1, 2019 by ORV

[LHT28]

if it were me I would do the free cruise  as a stand alone one  so I get the best deal 😉

I like less complications  so  that is another reason LOL

 

[Paulchili]

9 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

It is both. 

 ie: let's say you have 18 credits and your next cruise will earn 3 credits.

I am not certain as that is not what I have done - my 20th was a stand alone cruise of 1 credit only (as Lyn has suggested to do).

I am guessing here that if your 20th cruise will be part of a longer voyage - like 39 days - you will get 14 days free and pay for 25 days? I would not do that as you will not get credit for those cruises that otherwise would give you 3 cruise credits (even though you paid for part of it) .

Best to choose your free cruise very carefully - 14 days (or a little longer) and make it a more expensive one (like Asia, Australia) rather than a cheaper one (like Carib or TA).

It does take some planning as O does not like to be very flexible about this (that said, as ORV indicated, on occasion they might make exceptions but why force the issue)

[Paulchili]

2 hours ago, ORV said:

For others new to this, your 20th cruise does not count toward reaching 40 for your second free cruise since you don't pay for it.

Exactly - our "free" was 21 days because we we liked the itinerary and thus we paid for 7 days.

Despite that, it did not count as a credited cruise even though a stand alone 7 day paid cruise would.

Hence, it is not advisable to make one's 20th a very long cruise.

[no fuss travel]

16 hours ago, Paulchili said:

If your 39 day cruise is your # 20 then yes - this will be your “free” cruise. As it is 39 day and you only get 14 days free, you will pay for 25 days.

Better to book a 14 day cruise before that and then you’ll get 2 credits for your 39 day cruise - otherwise you’ll get no credits for it.

Our 20th was a 21 days long cruise and we paid for 7 days (that said, it still didn’t count as a  credited cruise towards the next 20 even though we paid for 7 days, which normally alone would have been a credited cruise)

PS Not sure if I am reading you right. Are your 2  12 days cruises #16 & 17 and the 39 day cruise as #18,19 & 20?

Yes you were reading me correctly. We currently have 15 credits which is the start of gold.  Thank you for your answer. I guess I will go see the Oceania ambassador on my next cruise and see what is being offered. All I have to do is talk my better half into another cruise on top of the four we have booked. One is not with Oceania as they do not go there

[Paulchili]

7 minutes ago, no fuss travel said:

I guess I will go see the Oceania ambassador on my next cruise and see what is being offered

I don’t think it’s a good idea to have your 20th as part of a long 39 day cruise - see my post #29 above.

The definite answer will come from the O ambassador on your next cruise.

Good luck.

[Waynetor]

I believe there is an exemption to the 20th cruise rule.   We currently have 15 credits.  Our next cruise is a world cruise which will jump us to a total of 30 credits. I have been told by O head office that our 31st cruise would count as the free cruise.

[Paulchili]

16 minutes ago, Waynetor said:

I believe there is an exemption to the 20th cruise rule.   We currently have 15 credits.  Our next cruise is a world cruise which will jump us to a total of 30 credits. I have been told by O head office that our 31st cruise would count as the free cruise.

That makes sense but obviously this is a unique circumstance - would not apply to most.

Enjoy - you’ve earned it!

Edited September 2, 2019 by Paulchili

[Mura]

It looks now like we've never going to get to #20 (given that DH doesn't want to travel any more but also fears being home alone because of vision problems which prevents me from going alone) ... but I'm curious!  Does anyone know WHY Oceania insists on the "free" cruise being booked 6 months in advance?  Is it simply because they are selling rooms and want to have flexibility for assigning you your "free" cabin?  So they want advance notice?

 

If that's the case, it makes sense ... I think.

 

 

 

[Janet-]

We have our 19th cruise booked so am thinking about our free cruise.

 

If I understand what you are saying I could book a cruise  6 months after number 19 and then ask, after we have taken number 19, that the booked number 20 is the free one?

 

Do we get O life choice with the free one?

Do we get O club benefits? eg OBS, flight deviation?

I don't suppose O would let us have 2  x 7 day cruises B2B instead of a one 14 day cruise would they?

 

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, Janet- said:

I don't suppose O would let us have 2  x 7 day cruises B2B instead of a one 14 day cruise would they?

They would if those 2 cruises are also offered as a 14 day cruise, which does happen sometimes.

[cbb]

Get this one!  Upon returning from ATW16,  we applied for our free cruise--a 14 day one and at the same cabin category we always reserve.  

 

We were told that we had missed our opportunity to take our free cruise because it MUST be #21--but we were in the middle of ATW!

 

It took us climbing the Miami phone ladder until we reached the desk of someone who didn't say "No" but said "oh....this hasn't happened to us before but let me double check" and so it was finally straightened out.

 

Our TA said it was like banging his head against a wall to get anyone to listen to him so he enlisted Mr Wonderful's help--a master of corporate ladder climbing to get an answer.

 

  Moral is--keeping working your way up management until you find someone who can make a decision--AND GET IT IN WRITING!!!

[ORV]

4 hours ago, Janet- said:

We have our 19th cruise booked so am thinking about our free cruise.

 

If I understand what you are saying I could book a cruise  6 months after number 19 and then ask, after we have taken number 19, that the booked number 20 is the free one?

 

Do we get O life choice with the free one?

Do we get O club benefits? eg OBS, flight deviation?

I don't suppose O would let us have 2  x 7 day cruises B2B instead of a one 14 day cruise would they?

 

You could book it now if you would like, then change it at the proper time. That's what I did. 

 

You will get O Club benefits but not Olife. You will get air but can't take the credit. They will break out taxes and government fees and you will pay those. 

 

You will get the category room that you've averaged for the past 19. 

[Jancruz]

On 8/30/2019 at 7:43 PM, Tranquility Base said:

OK, thanks.

So once you've started the cruise which will qualify you with enough credits  you can book.

 

Does that mean your free cruise doesn't need to be the one immediately after your qualifying cruise.

IE: You can book normal cruises which will follow your qualifying cruise and book your free one for a later date.

 

 

No not usually

Jancruz1

[StanandJim]

On 10/10/2019 at 12:07 AM, Jancruz said:

No not usually

Jancruz1

+1 

They want the 20th to be a milestone.  

[cbb]

"+1 . 

They want the 20th to be a milestone.  "  You are both totally correct; i misstated policy when I wrote "21"...sorry about that.