Segment vs Cruise?

[bobnsandi]

I posted this over on our August 15 2020 Insignia cruise discussion, but no replies. So, opening it

up to everyone. (We were on the Riviera Dec 2019 for two back-to-back segments from MIA)

 

I think that I learned something on the December Riviera cruise about how Oceania names these sections.

 

This is quite different from our experience on other cruise lines, so I'm still trying to get my head around it. According to the "future cruise" folks that I talked with onboard, Oceania books "cruises" with advertised endpoints. If you combine two or more that are connected (back-to-back, so to speak), they call it a "grand cruise". Based on our onboard experience of two "segments", it appears that any perks that you have (e.g., Concierge cabin), restart with each new "cruise" (i.e., segment). We were also issued a completely new cruise card at the change-over.

 

According to "future cruise" our booking NYC to NYC is a "grand" cruise, made up of 3 cruises. The word "segment" was not used in our conversation. Also, we discovered that the various discounts and other formulas used for cruise pricing are very different in the case of a "grand cruise".

 

Have any experienced Oceania cruisers here dealt with this nomenclature? 

 

Bob

[Redtravel]

I booked a b2b as one cruise. At booking I thought it was a 14 night cruise. The first hint that it was really two 7 day cruises was when I logged in to get restaurant reservations. It said that I had double what I thought. It also would only let me book for the first week.  The down part was that the cruise is counted as one cruise not two.  It affects the loyalty program.  I much prefer loyalty that count number of days sailing as opposed to number of cruises sailed.  

[bobnsandi]

29 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

I booked a b2b as one cruise. At booking I thought it was a 14 night cruise. The first hint that it was really two 7 day cruises was when I logged in to get restaurant reservations. It said that I had double what I thought. It also would only let me book for the first week.  The down part was that the cruise is counted as one cruise not two.  It affects the loyalty program.  I much prefer loyalty that count number of days sailing as opposed to number of cruises sailed.  

 

Yes, I forgot to mention in my OP that there were as many reservations available as "segments". And yes, their onboard computer systems can only "see" out to the end of the current "cruise" (or is it "segment"??) We had family coming aboard for the second leg of the cruise, and I could not combine all of our restaurant reservations until the day before turn-around. That said, it was very nice to have complete access to restaurant reservations before the new passengers were to board the next day.

 

The on-line reservation system really could not help us, primarily because of the segment structure. Ahead of both cruises, the family was upset that they could not see the combined reservations, and ours were pretty strange, too. The first day onboard, the staff was very helpful, and I could get our reservations straightened out. However, as noted above, their system could not "see" ahead. Had to wait for that "day before" window.

 

The online system for pre-booking reservations has some quirks.... 

[LHT28]

Your TA  could not  get your reservation linked  back when the time slot opened for the  cruise you were doing with family??

You could have call Oceania & asked them to get all of you on the same time/restaurant/date

[Wishing on a star]

This is similar to the question I had  about two consecutive cruises when I saw that the cruise leading into the cruise we are considering was eligible for the last promotion. This mentioned 2 for 1 air.  

Sounds like Oceania would have then seen that as a Grand, and that promo would not apply. 

[LHT28]

6 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

This is similar to the question I had  about two consecutive cruises when I saw that the cruise leading into the cruise we are considering was eligible for the last promotion. This mentioned 2 for 1 air.  

Sounds like Oceania would have then seen that as a Grand, and that promo would not apply. 

As mentioned several times  forget the  2 for 1  advertising  it only really applies to HAPPY HOUR onboard

 

If doing  a GV /Extended Voyage or B2B  you will get air to  embarkation port  & home from the Disembarkation port

What is  so hard for you to understand??

[Wishing on a star]

Apparently, as a newbie, who did not go as far as to call Oceania to clarify that limited promotion, I do not fully understand.  Not sure why somebody asking, and noting that, as the poster here describes, the way this is handled at Oceania can be confusing, is a problem?  But, hey!

 

Apparently they consider two separate itineraries to be a Grand Voyage, but the specifics and perks and promos for each one are handled as two separate itineraries.

Edited February 19, 2020 by Wishing on a star

[Paulchili]

3 hours ago, bobnsandi said:

If you combine two or more that are connected (back-to-back, so to speak), they call it a "grand cruise"

We are currently booked on a B2B2B cruise this Fall - Rome to Monte Carlo, MC to Barcelona and BCN to Miami. They each have a separate booking # and thus are true B2B2B and count as 3 voyages with Plat benefits on each one.

Maybe was booked under old rules (?) but I prefer it as if price of any one segment goes down, we can take advantage of that.