Beverage packages ?

[chuckcarole]

Can I buy the prestige package prior to cruise and use my SBC to pay for it ?

[pinotlover]

With all the changes that have occurred with pre use of OBC, that would be an excellent question to direct to your Travel Agent and get a response back from Oceania on! After doing so, please report back here what Oceania’s reply was. A lot of inquiring minds would like to hear that direct response.

[JPR]

Yes, you should be able to do that.

[Flatbush Flyer]

59 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

With all the changes that have occurred with pre use of OBC, that would be an excellent question to direct to your Travel Agent and get a response back from Oceania on! After doing so, please report back here what Oceania’s reply was. A lot of inquiring minds would like to hear that direct response.

Any extra sold on the website (e.g., excursions, la Reserve, alcohol packages) can be purchased pre-cruise using non-refundable SBC provided by Oceania (i.e., O Club loyalty, O Life SBC). 

 

However, SBC provided by your TA, which does not display on the O website, can't be accessed for the online transaction.

 

What I'm not sure about is pre-cruise upgrading of the O Life basic booze perk. I don't know if you can add the extra $20/person/day for Prestige package upgrade online or, if so, can SBC be used.

 

[Rusty Bucket UK]

10 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Any extra sold on the website (e.g., excursions, la Reserve, alcohol packages) can be purchased pre-cruise using non-refundable SBC provided by Oceania (i.e., O Club loyalty, O Life SBC). 

 

However, SBC provided by your TA, which does not display on the O website, can't be accessed for the online transaction.

 

What I'm not sure about is pre-cruise upgrading of the O Life basic booze perk. I don't know if you can add the extra $20/person/day for Prestige package upgrade online or, if so, can SBC be used.

 

We are boarding Marina next Monday.

 

We choose the house select beverage package as our OLife choice.  Our SBC is available to use on our online account and we plan to use this credit to upgrade to the prestige packages at $20 per person per day.

 

We tried to upgrade to the prestige package when we booked our speciality restaurants but we were unable to.

 

We contacted our TA who then contacted Oceania.  We have been advised that we can’t upgrade to the prestige package online and will have to do this once we are onboard.  They also confirmed we can use our SBC for the upgrade.

[StanandJim]

4 hours ago, Rusty Bucket UK said:

We contacted our TA who then contacted Oceania.  We have been advised that we can’t upgrade to the prestige package online and will have to do this once we are onboard.  They also confirmed we can use our SBC for the upgrade.

What this boils down to is that while the basic and the Prestige Packages are purchasable "items" on the Website, the $20 pp pd upgrade is not.  

The upgrade is more of a fix, which was added/offered  later.

With many of these concessions, I have noticed that Oceania does not like to streamline the process too quickly because they want the recipients to feel "Special"; it is also true that the Front Desk Staff have refined the process of replacing World Cards to show the upgraded Packages to an amazing extent.

It is accomplished before they are done saying "Yes Sir".

[bbqoug]

54 minutes ago, StanandJim said:

What this boils down to is that while the basic and the Prestige Packages are purchasable "items" on the Website, the $20 pp pd upgrade is not.  

The upgrade is more of a fix, which was added/offered  later.

With many of these concessions, I have noticed that Oceania does not like to streamline the process too quickly because they want the recipients to feel "Special"; it is also true that the Front Desk Staff have refined the process of replacing World Cards to show the upgraded Packages to an amazing extent.

It is accomplished before they are done saying "Yes Sir".

So when we want to upgrade from basic to Prestige on our cruise is it best to ask for this at the Reception Desk?

Is there usually a big lineup for this on embarkation day? I know we can wait until later in the cruise to upgrade, but we will likely want to get it right away.

 

[Rob the Cruiser]

@bbqoug - Yes. Upgrade to Prestige at the Reception Desk. Reception is fully staffed at boarding time, so the wait is minimal.

[bbqoug]

2 minutes ago, Rob the Cruiser said:

@bbqoug - Yes. Upgrade to Prestige at the Reception Desk. Reception is fully staffed at boarding time, so the wait is minimal.

Great! Thank you for the information.

 

[Kate-AHF]

bbqoug, my one experience mirrors what Rob says above.  We walked on, and went directly to reception to upgrade.  Maybe one person ahead of us.  We upgraded, had new cruise cards produced immediately, and were on our way in minutes.  And it's what we are planning on doing exactly 44 days from now!  😁

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

4 hours ago, Kate-AHF said:

bbqoug, my one experience mirrors what Rob says above.  We walked on, and went directly to reception to upgrade.  Maybe one person ahead of us.  We upgraded, had new cruise cards produced immediately, and were on our way in minutes.  And it's what we are planning on doing exactly 44 days from now!  😁

 

Us too come December 28th.  

[Kate-AHF]

One thing I thought I'd mention.... on our cruise last year, it was a B2B2B.  So each time a cruise segment came to an end, we had to go back to reception and order the beverage package upgrade again for that segment and get new cruise cards.  And they could NOT do it before 11am, which, depending on our schedule that day, was a minor annoyance.

[Rob the Cruiser]

4 hours ago, Kate-AHF said:

bbqoug, my one experience mirrors what Rob says above.  We walked on, and went directly to reception to upgrade.  Maybe one person ahead of us.  We upgraded, had new cruise cards produced immediately, and were on our way in minutes.  And it's what we are planning on doing exactly 44 days from now!  😁

 

Try not to drink the ship dry before we join you in Buenos Aires! 

[Kate-AHF]

1 minute ago, Rob the Cruiser said:

 

Try not to drink the ship dry before we join you in Buenos Aires! 

 

We will try Rob, not promising though.... 😁

[ORV]

1 hour ago, Kate-AHF said:

One thing I thought I'd mention.... on our cruise last year, it was a B2B2B.  So each time a cruise segment came to an end, we had to go back to reception and order the beverage package upgrade again for that segment and get new cruise cards.  And they could NOT do it before 11am, which, depending on our schedule that day, was a minor annoyance.

I was curious about that as I have a B2B coming up and we don't like to take it for the full cruise. I was curious if I started in the first one would it go all the way through to the end of the second one. Apparently not, thanks for the info. 

[agnesd]

Can we bring our own wine on board?

[LHT28]

9 hours ago, agnesd said:

Can we bring our own wine on board?

yes

if you take it to dining venues there is a $25 corkage fee

if you drink it  in your cabin ...no charge

[FetaCheese]

On 10/22/2019 at 4:30 PM, Flatbush Flyer said:

Any extra sold on the website (e.g., excursions, la Reserve, alcohol packages) can be purchased pre-cruise using non-refundable SBC provided by Oceania (i.e., O Club loyalty, O Life SBC). 

 

However, SBC provided by your TA, which does not display on the O website, can't be accessed for the online transaction.

 

What I'm not sure about is pre-cruise upgrading of the O Life basic booze perk. I don't know if you can add the extra $20/person/day for Prestige package upgrade online or, if so, can SBC be used.

 

Booked cruise thru TA.  O website--> manage reservation --> beverage package -->  O website will not let me buy either the select not the prestige package.  Anyone know why?

[LHT28]

42 minutes ago, FetaCheese said:

Booked cruise thru TA.  O website--> manage reservation --> beverage package -->  O website will not let me buy either the select not the prestige package.  Anyone know why?

you have to call Oceania  or ask your TA  do book it for you

[looper29]

I purchased the prestige package a few days prior to the cruise and I assumed the cost would be added to my cruise account.  It turned out that Oceania charged my credit card directly and also added the charge to my ship board account in essence double charging me.  I didn't catch this until I received my credit card statement after the cruise.   I notified Oceania of the double charge and they reversed the charge to my credit card within 3 weeks.

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

On 10/23/2019 at 6:27 AM, bbqoug said:

So when we want to upgrade from basic to Prestige on our cruise is it best to ask for this at the Reception Desk?

 

Quick and easy on the Insignia last week.  In the terminal they handed us a form to purchase and/or upgrade.  Just check the blocks, name, cabin number, sign, and once on board take to the reception desk.  There were four people behind the desk and it only took a few minutes.  

[bbqoug]

11 hours ago, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

Quick and easy on the Insignia last week.  In the terminal they handed us a form to purchase and/or upgrade.  Just check the blocks, name, cabin number, sign, and once on board take to the reception desk.  There were four people behind the desk and it only took a few minutes.  

Great. Hopefully they have the same system for Sirena in Miami this April.

Thank you for the information.

[Mura]

On every cruise we have taken since the drink packages came into being there have been plenty of opportunities to sign up upon boarding ... and later.  The do NOT make it difficult!

 

[Playtennis]

If you have the prestige beverage package it seems to be limited to the listed wines-by-the-glass.  If you see a wine that you would like to order but it is only by-the-bottle, is there a discount for that bottle?

[StanandJim]

33 minutes ago, Playtennis said:

If you have the prestige beverage package it seems to be limited to the listed wines-by-the-glass.  If you see a wine that you would like to order but it is only by-the-bottle, is there a discount for that bottle?

Yes, 15% on Bottles from the Wine List.