Oceania v Celebrity Thoughts

[Hlitner]

So of course I had to look online and read the detailed menus of both Bourgeois and Odyssey.  Just reading the menus probably caused me to gain 5 pounds!  I must admit that the Bourgeois seemed to fit our taste a little better then Odyssey but they both do look fantastic.  

 

Hank

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

So of course I had to look online and read the detailed menus of both Bourgeois and Odyssey.  Just reading the menus probably caused me to gain 5 pounds!  I must admit that the Bourgeois seemed to fit our taste a little better then Odyssey but they both do look fantastic.  

 

Hank

Remember too that O does not limit personal booze brought aboard for “in cabin” consumption. However, you can bring your wine to dinners (not needed for LaReserve) for $25 corkage.

[Hlitner]

1 minute ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Remember too that O does not limit personal booze brought aboard for “in cabin” consumption. However, you can bring your wine to dinners (not needed for LaReserve) for $25 corkage.

So here is our thinking.  While we are oenophiles we are far from wine snobs (we even like 2 buck chuck sauvignon blanc) and can generally adapt to what is offered...with the assumption that O is not going to serve anything not drinkable.  We opted for the drink O Life drink package and plan to upgrade (we both enjoy cocktails, after dinner drinks, etc) once aboard.   Pre cruise we are staying in Ft Lauderdale and could easily shop at Total Wine (or another nearby liquor store) but I am not really excited about lugging a few bottles (or a case) to the port.  Since this itinerary does not go to any decent wine countries there will be no temptation to buy ashore.    So this might be a simple cruise where we will live with the normal "O" offerings with the possible exception of trying one of the La Reserve dinners (assuming we could even get a reservation).

 

Hank

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

So here is our thinking.  While we are oenophiles we are far from wine snobs (we even like 2 buck chuck sauvignon blanc) and can generally adapt to what is offered...with the assumption that O is not going to serve anything not drinkable.  We opted for the drink O Life drink package and plan to upgrade (we both enjoy cocktails, after dinner drinks, etc) once aboard.   Pre cruise we are staying in Ft Lauderdale and could easily shop at Total Wine (or another nearby liquor store) but I am not really excited about lugging a few bottles (or a case) to the port.  Since this itinerary does not go to any decent wine countries there will be no temptation to buy ashore.    So this might be a simple cruise where we will live with the normal "O" offerings with the possible exception of trying one of the La Reserve dinners (assuming we could even get a reservation).

 

Hank

“prestige” upgrade at $20 pp/day (over O Life booze) on a “short” first O cruise makes sense if cocktails are key. Wine by-the-glass in the package is decent but now exciting at all. For the spirits, order doubles with high end booze. So for your Margarita, get El Tesoro Anejo (they don’t have the Reposado) with Cointreau (if you want the orange stuff) and ask nicely for fresh squeezed lime juice vs “mixer.” This strategy will get you the most “bang for your buck.”

If you eventually decide to do more O (and multi-segment), you’ll find that the combo of Capt’s Welcome(s), O Club events (order anything) and Officer invited dinners plus happy hours will be the best booze route.

Though I remember you’re not big on ship tours, the O Life tours option plus YWYW tour add-ins is the best O Life option.

[Hlitner]

3 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

“prestige” upgrade at $20 pp/day (over O Life booze) on a “short” first O cruise makes sense if cocktails are key. Wine by-the-glass in the package is decent but now exciting at all. For the spirits, order doubles with high end booze. So for your Margarita, get El Tesoro Anejo (they don’t have the Reposado) with Cointreau (if you want the orange stuff) and ask nicely for fresh squeezed lime juice vs “mixer.” This strategy will get you the most “bang for your buck.”

If you eventually decide to do more O (and multi-segment), you’ll find that the combo of Capt’s Welcome(s), O Club events (order anything) and Officer invited dinners plus happy hours will be the best booze route.

Though I remember you’re not big on ship tours, the O Life tours option plus YWYW tour add-ins is the best O Life option.

Thanks for the drink advice :).  It would make me cringe to put a decent Anejo in a margarita but sometimes you must do what you must do :).  On the other hand I can live with a decent single malt or even nice bourbon.   We are all making adjustments because of COVID and when it comes to this cruise DW and I decided that we had best book some cruise lines excursions (this goes against everything I like about travel) for several reasons.  We are concerned that, assuming this cruise actually happens, there will be DIY restrictions in some  or all of the ports.  We did not want to gamble on getting shut out (due to sell outs) of the excursions of most interest so we went ahead and booked 7 excursions (just enough to get us the 20% discount) with the thought that we could always later change our minds and cancel.   I will admit that those 7 excursions are more cruise line excursions then we have taken in our entire 45 years of extensive cruising :).  

 

I should add that we had the same problem on our upcoming Seabourn Cruise in the Caribbean.  The only way to get off the ship in most of those ports is to do it with a cruise excursion so we did book a few (not 7).   So instead of going off on our own with our own snorkel gear and making our way to a decent snorkel spot we will (gasp) have to do it with a group (choke, gurgle).  

 

With all this travel I am starting to think we need to make a fashion statement and perhaps have a permanent swab in our nose!   But nobody seems to equal what they have been doing on Viking with daily COVID testing (although they generally use saliva).  

 

Hank

[ak1004]

Just for fun, I decided to check Celebrity rates.

 

Here is an example of a 13 nights Mediterranean cruise on Constellation (one of their older ships) with prices as following:



Please notice the Retreat prices.

 

Now we click on OV to select:



Then click on the OV Guarantee - and surprise surprise:

 

 

The advertised price is for cruise only, not included all the extras that are advertised by Celebrity as "always included".

 

In order to get them included, you need to add $500 CAD per person.

 

Very misleading advertising.

[MarkWiltonM]

18 hours ago, ak1004 said:

The advertised price is for cruise only, not included all the extras that are advertised by Celebrity as "always included".

 

In order to get them included, you need to add $500 CAD per person.

 

Very misleading advertising.

 

Celebrity really boxed themselves into a corner with "Always Included." Maybe they should change it to "Always More Expensive."

[LGW59]

18 hours ago, ak1004 said:

Just for fun, I decided to check Celebrity rates.

 

Here is an example of a 13 nights Mediterranean cruise on Constellation (one of their older ships) with prices as following:



Please notice the Retreat prices.

 

Now we click on OV to select:



Then click on the OV Guarantee - and surprise surprise:

 

 

The advertised price is for cruise only, not included all the extras that are advertised by Celebrity as "always included".

 

In order to get them included, you need to add $500 CAD per person.

 

Very misleading advertising.

Exactly why we cancelled a Oct 2022 X Beyond TA, PH suite, 12 days, $30k+.  O Riviera TA, 16 days, <$20k!!  Nuff said... 🙂

 

[jagoffee]

On 9/30/2021 at 3:01 PM, ak1004 said:

Just for fun, I decided to check Celebrity rates.

 

Here is an example of a 13 nights Mediterranean cruise on Constellation (one of their older ships) with prices as following:



Please notice the Retreat prices.

 

Now we click on OV to select:



Then click on the OV Guarantee - and surprise surprise:

 

 

The advertised price is for cruise only, not included all the extras that are advertised by Celebrity as "always included".

 

In order to get them included, you need to add $500 CAD per person.

 

Very misleading advertising.

Since I researched this cruise when you posted this information on the Celebrity cruise, I thought I would share what I found with my fellow Oceania cruisers.

the above example is unexplained, except maybe it is a bug in the Canadian website?

Although the Cruise Only/Simply Sail rates are uncommon they are occasional available on limited cruises and/or categories. Those rates are special reduced rates.

This is how it is typically clearly displayed.

 

 

[ak1004]

It's not a bug on the Canadian site because you see exactly the same thing on the US site:

 

OV shows price of $1,791 USD. Since Celebrity advertises "Always included drinks Wi-Fi and gratuities". So you expect all advertised prices to include those perks.

 

But then you go to the actual booking and you see that $1,791 does not include those perks.

 

Now, I have no problem that they have Cruise Only/Simply Sail rates on limited cruises and/or categories. This is not the issue. But they should advertise the rates that are AI and then give an option of a discount. Similar to what Regent does - you see all rates shown for the all inclusive option, and then during the booking you have an option to get a credit for air. Instead, they advertise rates (in this specific sailing) that are for cruise only while at the same time advertising "Always included". This is a very bad practice and worst case of false advertising.