New to Oceania, Tell All Please

[LHT28]

40 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Deposits, $200 Princess, Oceania $1500

 

Still waiting to hear back from one of the TA's I requested a quote on for Oceania, waiting to see if any perks are kicked in with offer.

 Is the deposit only $100 pp on Princess   wow

 i would go with Princess   for  Alaska

It is  a personal choice  but sounds like Princess is  a better fit for you

 As ORV pointed out  on the air  I would take the air credit  if you do Oceania  & DIY  flights

 

Enjoy what ever one you choose

 

 

[Jimbo]

22 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

 Is the deposit only $100 pp on Princess   wow

 i would go with Princess   for  Alaska

It is  a personal choice  but sounds like Princess is  a better fit for you

 As ORV pointed out  on the air  I would take the air credit  if you do Oceania  & DIY  flights

 

Enjoy what ever one you choose

 

 

 I  booked Princess   back on February 28th, and yes it was only $100 per person, not exactly sure what it would be now though.

 

What do you mean take air credit if going with Oceania? what does that mean? just book it as cruise only and find air ourselves later?

Edited May 4, 2020 by Jimbo

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 hours ago, LHT28 said:

If you are going by the  bottom line  then take Princess 

Oceania is rarely cheaper than  the main stream lines

 

Do the "net daily rate" math as described by Jumbo. The bottom line daily cost for each cruise is almost exactly the same.

[Jimbo]

2 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Do the "net daily rate" math as described by Jumbo. The bottom line daily cost for each cruise is almost exactly the same.

Yeah I see your point, cost per day is just about the same. and using Jim is fine  :)

Edited May 4, 2020 by Jimbo

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

All good points above but this isn't exactly apples for apples when it comes to the cabin..........The S6 Vista Suite is 525 sq.ft on Princess, while the A1 or A2 is only 216 sq. ft. on Oceania.

Perhaps because we're yacht sailors, I've never understood the need for useless square footage when comparing cabins. 

IMO, I'd be more concerned about the quality of the bed, linens, technology, etc. FWIW, the quality of Oceania beds is so great that people actually go home and buy them via mail order!

[Jimbo]

1 minute ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Perhaps because we're yacht sailors, I've never understood the need for useless square footage when comparing cabins. 

IMO, I'd be more concerned about the quality of the bed, linens, technology, etc. FWIW, the quality of Oceania beds is so great that people actually go home and buy them via mail order!

You're killing me man!

[LHT28]

11 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Do the "net daily rate" math as described by Jumbo. The bottom line daily cost for each cruise is almost exactly the same.

But  as he posted they get free beverage package  & PPG with Princess  plus more space

It is a personal choice

 I do not really care about the cabin size  but others do

[Flatbush Flyer]

15 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

You're killing me man!

Not trying to kill you. Rather, trying to slap you with reality as I shout "snap out of it."

You're comparing Chevrolet to Audi for similarly priced products.

 

Along these lines, I'm reminded of all the CC posters who say that the ship doesn't matter. That's ridiculous! The ship is where you eat and sleep. So, the last thing you need is bad food and a cheap mattress. 

 

And, as you yourself stated, the smaller ship may be more to your liking. Okay, but a better measure of you not feeling crowded or unattended is the ship's space and crew ratios which, on Oceania, will be far better than on Princess or any other mass market line.

 

If you are a Princess regular, I can only think of one potential Oceania "negative" for you: Once you try Oceania, you'll probably not go back to Princess and will need to start a brand new loyalty program.

[Jimbo]

12 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Not trying to kill you. Rather, trying to slap you with reality as I shout "snap out of it."

You're comparing Chevrolet to Audi for similarly priced products.

 

Along these lines, I'm reminded of all the CC posters who say that the ship doesn't matter. That's ridiculous! The ship is where you eat and sleep. So, the last thing you need is bad food and a cheap mattress. 

 

And, as you yourself stated, the smaller ship may be more to your liking. Okay, but a better measure of you not feeling crowded or unattended is the ship's space and crew ratios which, on Oceania, will be far better than on Princess or any other mass market line.

 

If you are a Princess regular, I can only think of one potential Oceania "negative" for you: Once you try Oceania, you'll probably not go back to Princess and will need to start a brand new loyalty program.

Not a princess regular, was only going to try them because so called King of Alaska, our first cruise to Alaska was a  a B2B on Celebrity which did West Coast from San Diego 7 day Itineray and   did Alaska from Vancouver, on 2nd leg 7 -day....... Cruiseline we travel on most is RCL

Edited May 4, 2020 by Jimbo

[Jimbo]

Okay, my travel agent just got back to me

I asked about a A2 Category cabin, list price on Oceania web site is  $9698.00 cruise only.

 

He came back with an offer  for cruisefare, tax and fees of  $8623.00 for Category A2

 

He said he doesn't really offer any perks because he just discounts right off the top of the cruisefare... if he is discountng that much..wonder how high the commssion is on this kind of booking?

 

Also said I get to pick 1 of the 3 below perks from Oceania, which is a better value? we are not huge drinkers......thinking maybe excursions may be best to take with so many ports, but how do you know what the costs of excursions you pick might be or what they allow? but $600 in pocket is good too? What's best?

 

Plus O' Life:
FREE - 6 Shore Excursions
FREE - Beverage Package
FREE - $600 Shipboard Credit

 

Now it really seems like a no brainer.........just cabin won't be as large. I guess we could get over that? Right?

 

[clo]

42 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

linens

Thousand thread count sheets were heaven 🙂

[Flatbush Flyer]

14 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Okay, my travel agent just got back to me

I asked about a A2 Category cabin, list price on Oceania web site is  $9698.00 cruise only.

 

He came back with an offer  for cruisefare, tax and fees of  $8623.00 for Category A2

 

He said he doesn't really offer any perks because he just discounts right off the top of the cruisefare... if he is discountng that much..wonder how high the commssion is on this kind of booking?

 

Also said I get to pick 1 of the 3 below perks from Oceania, which is a better value? we are not huge drinkers......thinking maybe excursions may be best to take with so many ports, but how do you know what the costs of excursions you pick might be or what they allow? but $600 in pocket is good too? What's best?

 

Plus O' Life:
FREE - 6 Shore Excursions
FREE - Beverage Package
FREE - $600 Shipboard Credit

 

Now it really seems like a no brainer.........just cabin won't be as large. I guess we could get over that? Right?

 

I know you don't want to hear it but, time for the CC Search to understand the intricacies of which O Life perk works best for you. 

But, know that the value of the SBC option divided by $100 = # of O Life tours (i.e., $800 = 8 tours). However, the allowable tours can be up to $199. So, if you pick those, your $800 value can be up to $1600. And those tours count toward the minimum number required for the YWYW 25% discount. What's YWYW? Use the search feature to find my (and other) extensive previous posts on that and other cost saving Oceania tips.

You can find the tours with cost on line or you can call O and get a PDF.

BTW, if you take the SBC option, it is non-refundable. 

Personally, I'd want to make sure that mY CC is charged only by Oceania for the booking cost on an Oceania invoice. For the deal, I'd want refundable SBC or a rebate for all the obvious reasons.

Edited May 4, 2020 by Flatbush Flyer

[LHT28]

28 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Okay, my travel agent just got back to me

I asked about a A2 Category cabin, list price on Oceania web site is  $9698.00 cruise only.

 

He came back with an offer  for cruisefare, tax and fees of  $8623.00 for Category A2

 

He said he doesn't really offer any perks because he just discounts right off the top of the cruisefare... if he is discountng that much..wonder how high the commssion is on this kind of booking?

 

 

 Is that price  cruise only?  If so no O Life perks included

I personally would take the cruise only fare   but that is me

 

You can check the excursions on the O  site  for this year  & see  what they have  the O Life one do not include any with  OS/OE or other letters after the description

That  will be 6 per CABIN  so 3 each

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/shore-excursions/#destinations=alaska

[Paulchili]

26 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Plus O' Life:
FREE - 6 Shore Excursions
FREE - Beverage Package
FREE - $600 Shipboard Credit

Nothing in life is free - these are "included" but not free. You can get a cruise without O Life (in this case $600 less w/o O Life).

If you choose O Life you get to pick only 1 out of the three.

Forget the SBC - you are paying $600 ahead of the time only to get the $600 back (and you have to spend it all as it is non-refundable). Are you going to spend $600 on drinks? If so and more, then that is a good deal.

For us excursions are the best deal. Not all excursions are included - anything with a letter (OE, OS, OC,etc) is not included in O Life. You are paying $600 for 6 excursions (3/pp). Most of the excursions cost more than $100 - some up to $199 - so you getting a better return on your investment.

[Jimbo]

6 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

Nothing in life is free - these are "included" but not free. You can get a cruise without O Life (in this case $600 less w/o O Life).

If you choose O Life you get to pick only 1 out of the three.

Forget the SBC - you are paying $600 ahead of the time only to get the $600 back (and you have to spend it all as it is non-refundable). Are you going to spend $600 on drinks? If so and more, then that is a good deal.

For us excursions are the best deal. Not all excursions are included - anything with a letter (OE, OS, OC,etc) is not included in O Life. You are paying $600 for 6 excursions (3/pp). Most of the excursions cost more than $100 - some up to $199 - so you getting a better return on your investment.

So tell me this? if I select one of the  0-Life Perks is my travel agent listed above is he going to charge me  an additional $600 ontop of his $8623 quote above he quoted me? $9223? or is it if I tell him I don't want the o_life perk he is going to take $600 off his quote to make the cost of the cruise go down to $8023?

Edited May 4, 2020 by Jimbo

[Jimbo]

17 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

 Is that price  cruise only?  If so no O Life perks included

I personally would take the cruise only fare   but that is me

 

You can check the excursions on the O  site  for this year  & see  what they have  the O Life one do not include any with  OS/OE or other letters after the description

That  will be 6 per CABIN  so 3 each

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/shore-excursions/#destinations=alaska

good question , I have to email him again and ask

[LHT28]

8 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

So tell me this? if I select one of the  0-Life Perks is my travel agent listed above is he going to charge me  an additional $600 ontop of his $8623 quote above he quoted me? $9223? or is it if I tell him I don't want the o_life perk he is going to take $600 off his quote to make the cost of the cruise go down to $8023?

You need to clarify if the quote  was for  " cruise only " or  for the cruise with O Life / no air  or  Cruise with air /O Life

 

[Jimbo]

8 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

You need to clarify if the quote  was for  " cruise only " or  for the cruise with O Life / no air  or  Cruise with air /O Life

 

He got back to me: 

The A2 without the perk is $ 8098 inclusive of taxes and fees

 

final price +  1 perk = ???? $ 8623

 

 

What should I do?

 

So he is charging $525 for $600 OBC.....even though it still maight be better to take 6 excursions, since I may be able to double them up for close to $1200

 

 

Edited May 4, 2020 by Jimbo

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, Jimbo said:

He got back to me: 

The A2 without the perk is $ 8098 inclusive of taxes and fees

 

final price +  1 perk = ???? $ 8623

 

 

What should I do?

 

 

Personal choice

Do what works best for you

If you want the O Life perk  & do ships tours  then choose the excursion option

You can choose the  O Life now  and you can change it before final payment if you should just want the cruise only option

 

You may want to shop around  with other agents to see if they will include the gratuities  or look for  an agent that  is part of   " Oceania cruise Connoisseur Club "

JMO

[Jimbo]

41 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

 Is that price  cruise only?  If so no O Life perks included

I personally would take the cruise only fare   but that is me

 

You can check the excursions on the O  site  for this year  & see  what they have  the O Life one do not include any with  OS/OE or other letters after the description

That  will be 6 per CABIN  so 3 each

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/shore-excursions/#destinations=alaska

So 6 excursions is really only us 2 taking 3 excursions, they don't show prices on the link you picked, but I'm pretty sure some of those excursions are close to $200 each, so I guess that is how you kind of double up excursion money to be worth close to $1200.......so am I understanding this correctly now?

[LHT28]

12 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

So 6 excursions is really only us 2 taking 3 excursions, they don't show prices on the link you picked, but I'm pretty sure some of those excursions are close to $200 each, so I guess that is how you kind of double up excursion money to be worth close to $1200.......so am I understanding this correctly now?

Most excursions  range from $100 to $200  for the O Life

 So if you find ones for around the $200 mark  you benefit with the O Life  perks

Yes  if you both did the same excursion you would get 3 each   or you could  do 5 & travel companion do 1  either  way you get 6 TOTAL

 Another thing  is you MUST book the excursions at least  14 days prior to sailing

 

You could look at some of the sailing in the summer & see what they are offering  in the ports

here is one to start you off  they show the prices

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/Alaska-cruises/seward-to-vancouver-REG200713/port-skagway-SKA/?voyageday=6#all

[Hoopster95]

Jimbo, for me and my sole personal opinion this is a 1000000% no brainer....

 

As much as I love Oceania, keep your Princess itinerary.

Alaska is about the itinerary.... not the food or the ship.

 

I know you followed our live thread on that special Ovation sailing last year. The Princess itinerary with both Glacier Bay and Hubbard is extremely rare and outstanding! (plus add Ketchikan, Icy Strait and Sitka as well). Plus when leaving out of Vancouver you'll cruise through the British Columbia inside passage rather than heading out 100 miles off the west coast of Vancouver Island... calmer water and gorgeous British Columbia scenery.

 

By the way, plan to stay in Vancouver minimum one full day pre or post cruise else you will regret it. Easy flights Vancouver to/from NJ... Air Canada non-stop (daily)... great flights. There are also plenty of 1-stop connections (Alaska/Seattle, Delta/Minneapolis, American/Dallas).

[Jimbo]

26 minutes ago, Hoopster95 said:

Jimbo, for me and my sole personal opinion this is a 1000000% no brainer....

 

As much as I love Oceania, keep your Princess itinerary.

Alaska is about the itinerary.... not the food or the ship.

 

I know you followed our live thread on that special Ovation sailing last year. The Princess itinerary with both Glacier Bay and Hubbard is extremely rare and outstanding! (plus add Ketchikan, Icy Strait and Sitka as well). Plus when leaving out of Vancouver you'll cruise through the British Columbia inside passage rather than heading out 100 miles off the west coast of Vancouver Island... calmer water and gorgeous British Columbia scenery.

 

By the way, plan to stay in Vancouver minimum one full day pre or post cruise else you will regret it. Easy flights Vancouver to/from NJ... Air Canada non-stop (daily)... great flights. There are also plenty of 1-stop connections (Alaska/Seattle, Delta/Minneapolis, American/Dallas).

 

Now you're killing me...........I know the Princess  10 day itinerary is a no brainer, compared to the Oceania  12 dayer.........extra 2 days are  sea days in the Pacific Ocean  after Victoria which may be really bad in the fall on a small ship. Rocking and Rolling!! My wife I know will not care for that.

 

Well then, maybe just maybe we should replace the soon to be canceled cruise by RCL our Adventure of the Seas September 2020 cruise from Bayonne (New England/Canada) that will more then likely be canceled,  take the cash refund from that one and apply it to a Oceania cruise either Spring 2021 or Spring 2022.

 

Now there's an idea.

[Hoopster95]

15 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Well then, maybe just maybe we should replace the soon to be canceled cruise by RCL our Adventure of the Seas September 2020 cruise from Bayonne (New England/Canada) that will more then likely be canceled,  take the cash refund from that one and apply it to a Oceania cruise either Spring 2021 or Spring 2022.

 

Now there's an idea.

 

That is a brilliant idea!!! 😀

So try to book an Oceania cruise one either Marina or Riviera... better specialty restaurants, better public venues, bigger staterooms, decent productions shows.

 

Do you want to see the world Jimbo? In Feb I was on Marina Brazil to Argentina, with a land trip to Iguassu Falls.

My friend, in my top ten trips ever. Marina does a 10 night sailing next year with only one sea day.

 

 

The Marina 10 day British Isles sailing also has an awesome itinerary (Scotland/Ireland)

Edited May 4, 2020 by Hoopster95

[Jimbo]

1 minute ago, Hoopster95 said:

 

That is a brilliant idea!!! 😀

So try to book an Oceania cruise one either Marina or Riviera... better specialty restaurants, better public venues, bigger staterooms, decent productions shows.

 

Do you want to see the world Jimbo? In Feb I was on Marina Brazil to Argentina, with a land trip to Iguassu Falls.

My friend, in my top ten trips ever. Marina does a 10 night sailing next year with only one sea day.

 

 

 

Cha Ching !!!!