Current info on Concierge benefits, please!

[Tansy Mews]

1 hour ago, schaitberger said:

I know we receive 4 specialty reservations, but was curious on how difficult it was to get another one onboard if desired.

 

You might be lucky to score an extra one or two, especially if you are willing to share a table. Also you might get one on long port days. People might be away for the evening. 

However the other food options are pretty great too. And the menus don't change very much day to day (if at all) in the specialty restaurants. (They may have a pasta of the day, etc. of course.)

[schaitberger]

3 minutes ago, Tansy Mews said:

 

You might be lucky to score an extra one or two, especially if you are willing to share a table. Also you might get one on long port days. People might be away for the evening. 

However the other food options are pretty great too. And the menus don't change very much day to day (if at all) in the specialty restaurants. (They may have a pasta of the day, etc. of course.)

Many thanks for this helpful info!

 

[Tansy Mews]

1 hour ago, schaitberger said:

Regarding shore excursions, just wondering if any were particularly good or bad. I know some people book the ships offerings and some book independents on their own.

 

I have taken some ship's excursions as oLife, notably on our Norwegian and Adriatic cruises. Very well done. 

However I haven't had any that were above and beyond the number of tours I could select as my oLife perk.

I normally book independently.

For my upcoming cruise, I refused the oLife because the options for tours I could choose with oLife didn't look great and our son who is a third passenger in our cabin would have to pay full price for O excursions.

 

My suggestion - look to see if you could optimize the free excursions with oLife. Certainly don't take the on board credit! You pay almost exactly what you get.

 

[schaitberger]

1 minute ago, Tansy Mews said:

 

I have taken some ship's excursions as oLife, notably on our Norwegian and Adriatic cruises. Very well done. 

However I haven't had any that were above and beyond the number of tours I could select as my oLife perk.

I normally book independently.

For my upcoming cruise, I refused the oLife because the options for tours I could choose with oLife didn't look great and our son who is a third passenger in our cabin would have to pay full price for O excursions.

 

My suggestion - look to see if you could optimize the free excursions with oLife. Certainly don't take the on board credit! You pay almost exactly what you get.

 

 

1 minute ago, Tansy Mews said:

 

I have taken some ship's excursions as oLife, notably on our Norwegian and Adriatic cruises. Very well done. 

However I haven't had any that were above and beyond the number of tours I could select as my oLife perk.

I normally book independently.

For my upcoming cruise, I refused the oLife because the options for tours I could choose with oLife didn't look great and our son who is a third passenger in our cabin would have to pay full price for O excursions.

 

My suggestion - look to see if you could optimize the free excursions with oLife. Certainly don't take the on board credit! You pay almost exactly what you get.

 

 

[Tansy Mews]

3 minutes ago, schaitberger said:

Many thanks for this helpful info!

 

 

BTW, there is someone in the Terrace Cafe during breakfast who does bookings. (At least that's the way it was a year ago.) 

[schaitberger]

Thanks Francis for the helpful info!

[Tansy Mews]

One more thing - I asked my travel agent for a price with flights and oLife, a price without flights but with oLife and a price without flights or oLife. (The price will tell you how much rebate you get if you refuse included flights.) Also think about whether or not you want to arrive early at your embarkation city or stay on afterwards. You can ask for a deviation (other times, airlines, dates) but at a cost. You need to factor that in.

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, schaitberger said:

Thanks for the info on shows and specialties. I know we receive 4 specialty reservations, but was curious on how difficult it was to get another one onboard if desired. Regarding shore excursions, just wondering if any were particularly good or bad. I know some people book the ships offerings and some book independents on their own.

The longer the cruise, the more opportunities there will be for extra specialty reservations, particularly if you're flexible about day/time/sharing. Daily reservations can now be made at a dedicated desk on same deck as shops on both O and R ships.

Dinner can take up to two hours. So, if you're an evening trivia player, plan on eating at 6:30pm

 

we often mix ship and private excursions. If you're on a long cruise and can't drink the Prestige package (upgrade at $20/person over the O Life booze perk) break even point on a daily average, go for the O Life excursions perk and do the math to select the most expensive of the allowable ones. Note that if you pre-buy added tours, the O Life ones will count towards the minimum required for YWYW 25% discount.

 

FWIW: all the questions you're asking have been answered a zillion times on CC's Oceania threads. You may want to take some time and peruse the forums.

Edited January 4, 2020 by Flatbush Flyer

[schaitberger]

40 minutes ago, Tansy Mews said:

 

You might be lucky to score an extra one or two, especially if you are willing to share a table. Also you might get one on long port days. People might be away for the evening. 

However the other food options are pretty great too. And the menus don't change very much day to day (if at all) in the specialty restaurants. (They may have a pasta of the day, etc. of course.)

Thank you!

[schaitberger]

2 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

The longer the cruise, the more opportunities there will be for extra specialty reservations, particularly if you're flexible about day/time/sharing. Daily reservations can now be made at a dedicated desk on same deck as shops on both O and R ships.

 

2 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

The longer the cruise, the more opportunities there will be for extra specialty reservations, particularly if you're flexible about day/time/sharing. Daily reservations can now be made at a dedicated desk on same deck as shops on both O and R ships.

 

2 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

The longer the cruise, the more opportunities there will be for extra specialty reservations, particularly if you're flexible about day/time/sharing. Daily reservations can now be made at a dedicated desk on same deck as shops on both O and R ships.

 

[schaitberger]

Thank you!

[schaitberger]

29 minutes ago, Tansy Mews said:

One more thing - I asked my travel agent for a price with flights and oLife, a price without flights but with oLife and a price without flights or oLife. (The price will tell you how much rebate you get if you refuse included flights.) Also think about whether or not you want to arrive early at your embarkation city or stay on afterwards. You can ask for a deviation (other times, airlines, dates) but at a cost. You need to factor that in.

Thank you!

[schaitberger]

29 minutes ago, Tansy Mews said:

One more thing - I asked my travel agent for a price with flights and oLife, a price without flights but with oLife and a price without flights or oLife. (The price will tell you how much rebate you get if you refuse included flights.) Also think about whether or not you want to arrive early at your embarkation city or stay on afterwards. You can ask for a deviation (other times, airlines, dates) but at a cost. You need to factor that in.

Thank you!

[Queen of DaNile]

50 minutes ago, Tansy Mews said:

 

Alas, they didn't have free laundry for concierge cabins at that point (5 years ago). At least we were never told about it!

It's a relatively "new" benefit to entice people to book concierge. I wouldn't normally look at concierge but with limited cabin availabilty for a three week cruise, it's looking like a reasonable option. Plus we do like the spa deck on sea days:)

[ORV]

2 hours ago, schaitberger said:

Thanks for the info on shows and specialties. I know we receive 4 specialty reservations, but was curious on how difficult it was to get another one onboard if desired. Regarding shore excursions, just wondering if any were particularly good or bad. I know some people book the ships offerings and some book independents on their own.

It depends on various things on getting extra reservations. Which ship are you on? How long is the cruise? Where is the cruise? What category of room are you in? Do you have a butler? Do you have any loyalty status with Oceania? 

 

Concerning Shore excursions. Are you taking the Olife perk? Have you decided which one? If you take the excursions for your perk then you need to try to maximize which ones you take. Generally you are able to take the ones up to $199. Picking ones as close to that price point will get you the most bang for your buck. Of course one has to keep in mind which of the tours appeals to them. There are no easy answers, you have to consider what you want to do cruise by cruise. Oceania also offers Exclusive tours with fewer participants for more money. Many times they are the same tours as the ones $199 or less. Just fewer on the bus. 

 

I've always taken a combination of my own tours and ship's tours. 

[schaitberger]

1 minute ago, ORV said:

It depends on various things on getting extra reservations. Which ship are you on? How long is the cruise? Where is the cruise? What category of room are you in? Do you have a butler? Do you have any loyalty status with Oceania? 

 

Concerning Shore excursions. Are you taking the Olife perk? Have you decided which one? If you take the excursions for your perk then you need to try to maximize which ones you take. Generally you are able to take the ones up to $199. Picking ones as close to that price point will get you the most bang for your buck. Of course one has to keep in mind which of the tours appeals to them. There are no easy answers, you have to consider what you want to do cruise by cruise. Oceania also offers Exclusive tours with fewer participants for more money. Many times they are the same tours as the ones $199 or less. Just fewer on the bus. 

 

I've always taken a combination of my own tours and ship's tours. 

 

[schaitberger]

Thanks for the info. We did not take O'life. We will be in a Vista Suite on the Oceania Regatta. First time on Oceania as we have been downsizing ships over the years mostly on Viking Ocean and Viking River. Looking forward to the Regatta. We will probably also book a mixture of ship excursions and independent.

[schaitberger]

31 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

The longer the cruise, the more opportunities there will be for extra specialty reservations, particularly if you're flexible about day/time/sharing. Daily reservations can now be made at a dedicated desk on same deck as shops on both O and R ships.

Dinner can take up to two hours. So, if you're an evening trivia player, plan on eating at 6:30pm

 

we often mix ship and private excursions. If you're on a long cruise and can't drink the Prestige package (upgrade at $20/person over the O Life booze perk) break even point on a daily average, go for the O Life excursions perk and do the math to select the most expensive of the allowable ones. Note that if you pre-buy added tours, the O Life ones will count towards the minimum required for YWYW 25% discount.

 

FWIW: all the questions you're asking have been answered a zillion times on CC's Oceania threads. You may want to take some time and peruse the forums.

Thanks! Will do.

[Flatbush Flyer]

21 minutes ago, schaitberger said:

Thanks! Will do.

If you're on an O ship (not R), sign up for culinary classes but do so ASAP because they often fill early.

[clo]

3 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

If you're on an O ship (not R), sign up for culinary classes but do so ASAP because they often fill early.

I LOVE to cook but didn't sign up for any on our recent Rio to Buenos Aires either because it was something I already knew enough about or it was something I just wasn't interested in. But I understand that they are fun.

[Wishing on a star]

I appreciate everyones comments and info!

The comments about maximizing excursions might be of more value than the OBC is very helpful!

 

We might stick to a lower non-concierge cabin, if early booking of the excursions is not a perk.  Just have to do the best we can on dining.   

 

So, that brings us to the "O" excursions...  I know there is one exclusive small group excursion that we do want to book.  So I will assume that this is like 199.00 or more, each.  So, that alone would cover the OBC for O-life Choice.

We had planned on going with the OBC, but I will go and look at other available "O" excursions as well.

 

 

[rallydave]

14 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

I appreciate everyones comments and info!

The comments about maximizing excursions might be of more value than the OBC is very helpful!

 

We might stick to a lower non-concierge cabin, if early booking of the excursions is not a perk.  Just have to do the best we can on dining.   

 

So, that brings us to the "O" excursions...  I know there is one exclusive small group excursion that we do want to book.  So I will assume that this is like 199.00 or more, each.  So, that alone would cover the OBC for O-life Choice.

We had planned on going with the OBC, but I will go and look at other available "O" excursions as well.

 

 

The OBC under O life is exactly the same as the difference in price for O life so why pay in advance when you can pay at the end of your cruise and if for some reason you can't spend all of the OBC without buying stuff in the store you really don't want or need you come out behind.  Absolutely no reason to take OBC the way O life with OBC is structured.

[Paulchili]

38 minutes ago, rallydave said:

The OBC under O life is exactly the same as the difference in price for O life so why pay in advance when you can pay at the end of your cruise and if for some reason you can't spend all of the OBC without buying stuff in the store you really don't want or need you come out behind.  Absolutely no reason to take OBC the way O life with OBC is structured.

Exactly.

Choosing OBC as an O Life option is the poorest choice.

Choosing excursions can be a very good choice as you pay $100/included excursion that can cost up to $199.

In addition, if you reach YWC level (usually 2 more than included O Life excursions), those 2 extra excursions will be 25% off (including OE & OC ones).

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, clo said:

I LOVE to cook but didn't sign up for any on our recent Rio to Buenos Aires either because it was something I already knew enough about or it was something I just wasn't interested in. But I understand that they are fun.

other than just the fun element, even the most accomplished cooks can benefit from many of the techniques/recipes presented in the classes since they are often geared to simplifying preparations for larger groups (as are found in the ship's specialty restaurants).

Over the years, we've picked up some valuable short cuts, purchasing tips for ingredients et al.

[clo]

3 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

other than just the fun element, even the most accomplished cooks can benefit from many of the techniques/recipes presented in the classes since they are often geared to simplifying preparations for larger groups (as are found in the ship's specialty restaurants).

Over the years, we've picked up some valuable short cuts, purchasing tips for ingredients et al.

To each their own. I make my own pasta, Asian dumplings, all manner of "ethnic" foods, you name it. My knife skills are above average.  Whatever.