Using Oceania request quote

[rinshin]

After looking at baltic cruises next year, we decided on Nautica 14 days in September instead of Marina 12 days in August because of the itinerary.  This cruise ends in Dublin and it offers post cruise hotel stay with tours.  We are interested in that but want to compare price of this package versus doing something on our own.  
 

I completed a request Quote without air including post cruise option. I normally do all of my travel planning online without using a phone.  Most of my private contacts are also texts.   I received an email from Oceania telling me they called our home.  I thought they would contact me via email.  For those here who have used their services directly, how were phone calls handled by Oceania?  Any pressure to add items?   Thank you again for wealth of info you provide.  
 

 

Edited October 25, 2019 by rinshin

[Flatbush Flyer]

23 minutes ago, rinshin said:

After looking at baltic cruises next year, we decided on Nautica 14 days in September instead of Marina 12 days in August because of the itinerary.  This cruise ends in Dublin and it offers post cruise hotel stay with tours.  We are interested in that but want to compare price of this package versus doing something on our own.  
 

I completed a request Quote without air including post cruise option. I normally do all of my travel planning online without using a phone.  Most of my private contacts are also texts.   I received an email from Oceania telling me they called our home.  I thought they would contact me via email.  For those here who have used their services directly, how were phone calls handled by Oceania?  Any pressure to add items?   Thank you again for wealth of info you provide.  
 

 

Why ever would you book a cruise directly with a cruise line???

And especially Oceania, where it's top selling TAs (members of Oceania's Connoisseurs Club), who are paid on a sliding scale related to annual sales, will almost always share their commissions with you. And those TAs have the same pricing/perks as Oceania's in house booking reps.

Even when you book onboard with an extra discount, you still have 30 days to transfer that cruise to a TA. And the TA's giving you 5-10% of the commissionable fare as a rebate or refundable SBC can be quite a "chunk of change."

Do your homework and you will be rewarded!

 

Edited October 25, 2019 by Flatbush Flyer

[PaulMCO]

To answer the OP's question, they can be aggressive at least  IMO.  Try saving a cruise to your account.   You will immediately get a call from their travel representative.

 

Second Flatbush Flyer -- find a good TA.  A rebate in the form of OBC or cash after the cruise is certainly worth it.

[rinshin]

I am not booking a cruise through Oceania, but wanted the quote for the post cruise option via email so I may check around on my own.   I just put an alert with cruisewatch. It is telling me the priceis still slightly high.  

Edited October 26, 2019 by rinshin

[Paulchili]

27 minutes ago, rinshin said:

but wanted the quote for the post cruise option via email so I may check around on my own.

You can always do better on your own with transfers and hotel packages as those items are overpriced by Oceania.

For starters, they are priced per person by Oceania vs per room and per taxi when doing it yourself.

Edited October 26, 2019 by Paulchili

[Kate-AHF]

10 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

You can always do better on your own with transfers and hotel packages as those items are overpriced by Oceania.

For starters, they are priced per person by Oceania vs per room and per taxi when doing it yourself.

 

I completely agree that O charges a high premium for their pre and post cruise extensions.  On our trip to South America next month, I arranged the pre-cruise tour myself.  The post-cruise in Valpo/santiago.... I went ahead and purchased the Oceania post-cruise trip.  Why?  I think I had a planning hangover from all the other arrangements, and the tour they were offering was precisely what i would have booked myself.  I couldn't make myself re-invent the wheel, even if the wheel was much more expensive that if i had made my own.  

 

As it happens, I'm not sure I'm sorry.  Chile is experiencing a fair amount of civil unrest at present.  It goes a lot deeper than just a hike in metro fares.  My husband and I have spent some time considering how we would deal with this, should this issue crop up while we were in the area.  If I had done this post-cruise on my own, we would be exactly that.  On our own.  Because it's with O, we are under their care until they drop us off at the airport 3 days later.  (Anyway.... this topic is probably best-served by it's own thread on travel and civil unrest)

[rinshin]

Thank you all.  We do fair amount of travel independently outside of cruising.  I normally check various sites trying to get the best value.  I try yo read and ask questions in various forums  when starting to plan our next trip.  Have not used TA except on our first cruise 30 years ago.  But, I totally understand the burnout after making all the arrangements yourself. It is the minute planning like how and where to move luggages or store them in various points that can become exhausting after making all the hotel and transportation arrangements.  This may involve making restaurant reservations in other countries.  

 

 

 

[clo]

15 minutes ago, rinshin said:

This may involve making restaurant reservations in other countries.  

I make restaurants reservations in other countries several times a year.  Generally no harder than one down the street.  So many now offer English and Google-translate is great.  A couple of times although it has said it translated it didn't but that is the rare exception rather than the rule.

[rinshin]

There are  some restaurants that only accept reservations 30 days ahead and are booked solid immediately.  If you are staying at top notch hotels, the concierge sometimes can arrange, but there are places very hard to get in even with local friends.  

[clo]

52 minutes ago, rinshin said:

There are  some restaurants that only accept reservations 30 days ahead and are booked solid immediately.  If you are staying at top notch hotels, the concierge sometimes can arrange, but there are places very hard to get in even with local friends.  

I've stayed up late or set my alarm early for restaurants like that 🙂  Tickets Bar in Barcelona takes res three months ahead and I lucked into one a few years ago.  We were in Budapest a few years ago and I snagged a res at a Michelin starred place.  All from the US.

[Mura]

The internet has made these chores far easier.  I have booked a number of european road trips on line.  When we did a trip in France from Bern to Paris (through the Franche Compte and on to Burgundy) I did get help from an online agency that books these trips, but I didn't ask them to do all the work.  I just wanted a recommended itinerary -- two or three days in Besancon?, for example -- and it worked out perfectly.  Restaurants we booked on our own but much of this trip was in smaller towns and cities so even when we were working with Michelin starred restaurants, last minutes reservations weren't difficult.

 

We DO use our TA for cruise reservations but that's largely because of the extra perks we get.  When we started our really cruising -- back in Renaissance days -- we DID book with the line.  But that ended after the first two cruises.

 

Mura

[Paulchili]

49 minutes ago, clo said:

We were in Budapest a few years ago and I snagged a res at a Michelin starred place.

Out of curiosity, do you remember the name of that restaurant? Was it a Hungarian food restaurant?

[clo]

30 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

Out of curiosity, do you remember the name of that restaurant? Was it a Hungarian food restaurant?

Here it is:

 

https://www.chowhound.com/post/budapest-borkonyha-wine-kitchen-972616

[Paulchili]

34 minutes ago, clo said:

Here it is:

 

https://www.chowhound.com/post/budapest-borkonyha-wine-kitchen-972616

Thanks - great tip.

We’ll be in Budapest in 2021 and I always go crazy for foie gras there - I don’t mind having it for an appetizer as well as an entree (in different ways).

It’s pretty central as well - bonus.

[clo]

4 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

Thanks - great tip.

We’ll be in Budapest in 2021 and I always go crazy for foie gras there - I don’t mind having it for an appetizer as well as an entree (in different ways).

It’s pretty central as well - bonus.

My pleasure.  Foie is one of if not my absolute fave food so when I found out that Hungary is #2 behind France in production I was a happy person.  I order it occasionally (I see CA has banned it again?) as a treat to myself - well,Bob also.

[Paulchili]

5 minutes ago, clo said:

My pleasure.  Foie is one of if not my absolute fave food so when I found out that Hungary is #2 behind France in production I was a happy person.  I order it occasionally (I see CA has banned it again?) as a treat to myself - well,Bob also.

We just returned from Paris a few days ago where I had possibly the best foie gras ever - and I’ve had my share of them before. It was at Benoit - an Alain Ducasse bistro; the foie was almost liquid inside! 😀

Edited October 27, 2019 by Paulchili

[clo]

Just now, Paulchili said:

We just returned from Paris a few days ago where I had the best foie gras ever - and I’ve had my share of them before. It was at Benoit - an Alain Ducasse bistro; the foie was almost liquid inside! 😀

You just made my salivary glands do a little wiggle 🙂  I see Paris in our future.  It's been too long.  Thanks,Paul.

[Paulchili]

2 minutes ago, clo said:

You just made my salivary glands do a little wiggle 🙂  I see Paris in our future.  It's been too long.  Thanks,Paul.

You are welcome - enjoy!

[acritic]

Jesus--can't anyone stay on topic on this thread? 

 

@rinshin...it's been my experience that oceania doesn't text/email...they call. which all successful salespeople do.  

 

 

[pinotlover]

14 hours ago, acritic said:

Jesus--can't anyone stay on topic on this thread? 

 

@rinshin...it's been my experience that oceania doesn't text/email...they call. which all successful salespeople do.  

 

 

Certainly for myself, and I believe for many of the regular posters here, the answer is I don’t know. In fact, I didn’t know it was an issue.

 

I have a Travel Agent and I know how to use her. If I have any questions, I merely text or email my TA with the question and she responds back in a day typically with a complete, detailed, accurate answer. I keep her “ in the loop” on all the matters, that way when we make our decision she’s fully prepared and everyone is one the same sheets of music. Life is so much simpler this way! 

 

I’m not one that believes that I need to spend hours working  every detail of the deal and then run out to bid the package for the most perks on a spreadsheet from a TA. My TA takes care of all the little stuff in advance and still gives me excellent perks.

[ORV]

17 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Certainly for myself, and I believe for many of the regular posters here, the answer is I don’t know. In fact, I didn’t know it was an issue.

 

I have a Travel Agent and I know how to use her. If I have any questions, I merely text or email my TA with the question and she responds back in a day typically with a complete, detailed, accurate answer. I keep her “ in the loop” on all the matters, that way when we make our decision she’s fully prepared and everyone is one the same sheets of music. Life is so much simpler this way! 

 

I’m not one that believes that I need to spend hours working  every detail of the deal and then run out to bid the package for the most perks on a spreadsheet from a TA. My TA takes care of all the little stuff in advance and still gives me excellent perks.

While I don't always agree with you I definitely do with this. We must have the same TA.