please explain ole life? Is this an extra cost or included?

[liamur14]

Hello, Considering Oceania and I do not get the ole life ? Is this part of my price or is this extra? Someone explain this to me.

Is Oceania worth it? Looking at Med in Sept/Oct 2020. Have sailed Princes and Holland, Gratios!

[Flatbush Flyer]

16 minutes ago, liamur14 said:

Hello, Considering Oceania and I do not get the ole life ? Is this part of my price or is this extra? Someone explain this to me.

Is Oceania worth it? Looking at Med in Sept/Oct 2020. Have sailed Princes and Holland, Gratios!

"O Life" price is higher than "cruise only" price. But, "O Life" includes choice of a perk (excursions, booze or SBC) and economy air tix (or the option of an air credit).

In some cases, if you subtract the value of the offered O Life SBC and the value of the air credit, the remaining "cost" will equal the "cruise only price".

But, if you want either the O Life included excursions or the basic booze package (instead of SBC) as your O Life perk, some quick math and correct choices (in the case of the allowable excursions) will find O Life to be a value (because, for example, $800 SBC is not the same as 8 excursions worth up to a possible $199 each.

[liamur14]

Thanks Flatbush, so if i wanted to upgrade to first class air  for 200$ then Ole would be worth it just for the 1st class air, am I correct in saying so? Is Oceania an adults  mostly , an upgraded cruise? Do you like them? Looking at Viking vs Oceania, we're not experienced cruisers so  looking for personal experiences and recommendations. Thanks

 

[schmerl]

Depending on where you are going I doubt you can upgrade to first class air for only $200. You can upgrade your O Life to premium economy for a small fee. 

 

[liamur14]

Schmer1 😎 Okay I must have read it wrong , what is premium economy ?  I don’t think we have that on our Canadian lines? Thanks In  your experienced opinion of Oceania , is Ole worth the upgrade? Are the excursions just mass bus tours ? Cheers 

Edited November 14, 2019 by liamur14
Sp

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 minute ago, schmerl said:

Depending on where you are going I doubt you can upgrade to first class air for only $200. You can upgrade your O Life to premium economy for a small fee. 

 

Upgrading the included economy O Life air tix to premium economy via Oceania depends on your itinerary and their airline contracts. Even if possible/offered, you'd have to pay the added PE fare fee for O's routing on embarkation/disembarkation days. Want to fly n or out on different days? Add deviation fees.

 

It's even worse if you want to upgrade to bizclass. All your included O Life economy ticket gets you is access to their full contract bizclass ticket price (if they have a contract for it). NOT the difference between economy and bizclass, rather the full cost.

 

Even O's air department will tell you that, if you want bizclass, take the O Life air credit and apply the savings to your own DIY tix purchase (where BTW, you could then use FF points to upgrade and not have to pay any deviation fee for your preferred airline and travel dates.

 

We prefer bizclass for Intercontinental air travel. So we most often do O Life with the air credit and most often select the excursions perk because we know that, beyond what private tours we take on the long cruises we enjoy, we'll use the excursion perk to select tours valued at more that $100 (yes, every $100 of the O Life perk SBC option could be 1 excursion valued at up to $199).

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 minutes ago, liamur14 said:

Schmer1 😎 Okay I must have read it wrong , what is premium economy ?  I don’t think we have that on our Canadian lines? Thanks In  your experienced opinion of Oceania , is Ole worth the upgrade? Are the excursions just mass bus tours ? Cheers 

Most airlines worldwide have some version of premium economy, which is, at least, extra legroom or, at best, bizclass without lay flat seats.

Some O tours are "panoramic," which means busses and 15-30 in the group. Many of the other tours, however, are nature/food/wellness/shows oriented and may have 10-15 in a group. Suffice to say that, like the food, your tour experience on Oceania will be far better than has been your experience on HAL or Princess.

Find yourself a TA who is part of Oceania's Connoisseurs Club. They know the ins and outs of O Life.

 

 

[liamur14]

Thank you for your quick reply I will check that out tomorrow 😎. Do you prefer Oceania? Have you been on Viking? Interested in Croatia ports . Can’t travel in the spring only  In the fall . Cheers and thanks . I guess I have my work cut out . DH wants to go to the Med, I’m more of a Tahiti kinda girl , just show me the snorkel spots 😎thNks again .

[LHT28]

I would take the Cruise only fare  & book your own air  

first class with Oceania is more than you can book yourself

Then you can fly in a day or more early  on your own time schedule

You have to do the math with the O Life deal

If you take the excursions as your perk it may work out  as the better deal  but yes they are usually bus tours  with at least 30 of your new best friends  😉

 Air Canada  have PE seating on overseas  flights   but Oceania could use other Carriers like BA/LH/KLM 

Find a good TA  that knows Oceania  & have a chat 

 

[Mura]

Agree with others.  By the way, oLife DOES include the "free" economy air as far as I know.  Before oLife came into play, ALL fares included that benefit and if you chose not to take advantage of that benefit, you got a credit.  Once upon a time that credit was significant.  It no longer is.  (In early days we found that the discount was more than what our air fare on our own would cost.  Of course, then we weren't insisting on bizair ...)

 

Our experience has been to book our own air which means we don't have to pay extra fly in early or leave late.  Again, THAT cost has also increased significantly from early days.  If you want business or first class air, then definitely book your own.  If you talk to Oceania about upgrading to business from their economy "free" flight, you will be shocked, I think, at the cost.  We certainly were!

 

That being said, we have on one or two occasions used their premium economy upgrade -- again, that price has increased.  Two (maybe three?) years ago I think that cost was $99, and now it is $199?  $299?  Those flights -- JFK to CPH/LHR to JFK on BA were very good.  No complaints.

 

As Lyn and others have said, do your own research and see what your own air would cost you before deciding about accepting the air benefit.  If you don't want to fly economy you probably will not want it.

 

There are big benefits in our minds to adding on a few extra days to your trip so that you can spend time in the departure and ending ports.  Flying in on the day of the cruise has its risks.  Our first Oceania cruise back in 2004 left from Miami for the Panama Canal, and some people who were delayed by bad weather missed the departure.  The captain had a choice of waiting for them to arrive and missing the ship's Canal slot or leaving without them.  He left without them.  They caught up to the ship later.

 

As to the oLife benefits:  we usually take ship credit or the ship's tours.  We see no benefit (for us!) with the liquor package.  While before oLife came into play we tended to do occasional ship's tours with mostly private tours with people on our Roll Call, since oLife tours came into play we have taken a number of ship's tours.  We calculate the cost we would have paid for the tour on our own against the surcharge for oLife vs. cruise only fares.  This also depends on the ship's tours that we see that we would want to take to begin with.  You are limited to tours that cost $199 or less.  So far we've found tours that were to our advantage, but again, costs have increased.  My memory could be wrong but I think that when oLife was first announced the surcharge was maybe $300pp.  Now it is significantly more than that, depending on the length of the cruise.

 

Also, since oLife has come into existence it is more difficult to find fellow travelers on your Roll Call who want to do private tours.  On our last cruise we did find people to join us on the private tours we set up, but it can depend on itinerary.

 

So you need to do your research to decide what you want to do!  There is nothing to say that you cannot opt for oLife benefits when booking and change your mind later, as long as you do so before final payment.  I think that time limit is 14 days but don't quote me.

 

In these cases, a TA experienced with Oceania can be invaluable.

 

Mura

[azam71209]

It used to be that OLife included internet so it worked even if you took the OBC. Nowadays the OBC option is the same as the cruise only +OBC. Might just as well use whatever $$ you want on ship perks rather than prepay the extra and get it back as OBC.

 

Mary

[liamur14]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

I would take the Cruise only fare  & book your own air  

first class with Oceania is more than you can book yourself

Then you can fly in a day or more early  on your own time schedule

You have to do the math with the O Life deal

If you take the excursions as your perk it may work out  as the better deal  but yes they are usually bus tours  with at least 30 of your new best friends  😉

 Air Canada  have PE seating on overseas  flights   but Oceania could use other Carriers like BA/LH/KLM 

Find a good TA  that knows Oceania  & have a chat 

 

Thanks, Who did you  use in Canada?  Can you recommend a TA? Is that allowed here?

[liamur14]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

I would take the Cruise only fare  & book your own air  

first class with Oceania is more than you can book yourself

Then you can fly in a day or more early  on your own time schedule

You have to do the math with the O Life deal

If you take the excursions as your perk it may work out  as the better deal  but yes they are usually bus tours  with at least 30 of your new best friends  😉

 Air Canada  have PE seating on overseas  flights   but Oceania could use other Carriers like BA/LH/KLM 

Find a good TA  that knows Oceania  & have a chat 

 

Thanks, suggestions for Oceania agencies? 

[bigmjh]

Recommendations for specific TA's are not allowed in here. However, you will find the best producing agents are members of Oceania's Connoisseurs Club. Do a web search and take it from there ...

[liamur14]

31 minutes ago, bigmjh said:

Recommendations for specific TA's are not allowed in here. However, you will find the best producing agents are members of Oceania's Connoisseurs Club. Do a web search and take it from there ...

No worries ,Thanks. 

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, liamur14 said:

Thanks, Who did you  use in Canada?  Can you recommend a TA? Is that allowed here?

sorry not able to mention agents here

[Tansy Mews]

I have normally used oLife. But I do have to pay extra to go a day or two early or stay on before we head home. You do have to do your math. 

 

Last cruise, my travel agent got all the prices - with oLife with flight plus the extra fee for an air deviation, with oLife and no flight, and cruise-only. We went with oLife without flights, since there were better prices from YYZ to Dublin. Went Westjet and home from Oslo with Icelandic for less money. 

 

For our upcoming trip, our grownup son is going with us and as a third person, he isn't eligible for oLife. We are going cruise-only. 

 

Just check it out. Get the prices. (I forget what the air deviation fee is right now.)

[hubofhockey]

If anyone uses AMEX travel, how do Oceania prices for Premium Economy compare with American Express Platinum Travel's prices?  We have a 12-hour flight from Boston to Tokyo to consider (se did 15 to Hong Kong) and I would have a strong preference for premium economy.

[StanandJim]

1 hour ago, hubofhockey said:

If anyone uses AMEX travel, how do Oceania prices for Premium Economy compare with American Express Platinum Travel's prices?  We have a 12-hour flight from Boston to Tokyo to consider (se did 15 to Hong Kong) and I would have a strong preference for premium economy.

As you are new to the Oceania system , and don't appear to have an Oceania savvy Travel Agent on whom you could lean for advice, I would strongly recommend that you take the Air Credit and buy your Premium Economy Tickets privately.

There are about a dozen variables, some including fees, which you would have to wade through in order to make a proper price comparison. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

33 minutes ago, StanandJim said:

As you are new to the Oceania system , and don't appear to have an Oceania savvy Travel Agent on whom you could lean for advice, I would strongly recommend that you take the Air Credit and buy your Premium Economy Tickets privately.

There are about a dozen variables, some including fees, which you would have to wade through in order to make a proper price comparison. 

+1

And use ITA Matrix for price comparisons before booking.

[Tansy Mews]

49 minutes ago, StanandJim said:

As you are new to the Oceania system , and don't appear to have an Oceania savvy Travel Agent on whom you could lean for advice, I would strongly recommend that you take the Air Credit and buy your Premium Economy Tickets privately.

There are about a dozen variables, some including fees, which you would have to wade through in order to make a proper price comparison. 

 

You can get oLife without the air. Just ask for the air credit. 

Edited November 17, 2019 by Tansy Mews

[liamur14]

Thanks for all the great info. We've decided against Oceania. Maybe next time.😎

[LHT28]

9 hours ago, Tansy Mews said:

Just check it out. Get the prices. (I forget what the air deviation fee is right now.)

$175 pp

[hubofhockey]

6 hours ago, StanandJim said:

As you are new to the Oceania system , and don't appear to have an Oceania savvy Travel Agent on whom you could lean for advice, I would strongly recommend that you take the Air Credit and buy your Premium Economy Tickets privately.

There are about a dozen variables, some including fees, which you would have to wade through in order to make a proper price comparison. 

 

Why don't you think my travel agent is Oceania savvy?  You have absolutely no idea what advice he gave me.  He told me to take the air and then drop it if AMEX Platinum Travel is less?  That's what I did.  His advice on O-Life was to NOT take it if, I, like him, doesn't use ship excursions (and that WIFI was already included).  In any case, that's why I asked in my post if anyone knew the difference between AMEX Platinum and Oceania prices. Also, it was good to learn from my TA that you can get the air without the O-Life. 

Edited November 17, 2019 by hubofhockey

[StanandJim]

16 minutes ago, hubofhockey said:

 

Why don't you think my travel agent is Oceania savvy?  You have absolutely no idea what advice he gave me.  He told me to take the air and then drop it if AMEX Platinum Travel is less?  That's what I did.  His advice on O-Life was to NOT take it if, I, like him, doesn't use ship excursions (and that WIFI was already included).  In any case, that's why I asked in my post if anyone knew the difference between AMEX Platinum and Oceania prices.  If you know, great.  If not . . . 

I don't know what advice your Agent gave you, but I do know that rather than leaning on him or her for information, you were asking a bunch of strangers on a Message Board, which appeared as though you were not confident in your Agent (MANY are not).

 

Having the additional information that you gave in your last Post up to now, it seems as if I was correct about your Agent not understanding the Oceania System fully, as by the time that you locked into a Price for Oceania Air (especially with your Premium Economy requirement in play) several non refundable fees would already have kicked in.

 

In short, my perhaps unsolicited free advice would have saved you several hundred dollars over the "Book it and then cancel" advice of your Agent. 

What is the old saying about kicking a gift horse in the mouth?