O Life Air Travel Question

[sunlover12]

13 minutes ago, AC2 said:

What PSOQUE said...try TAP Portugal.

They don't fly non-stop from O'Hare and they are not a United partner. 

[osandomir]

4 minutes ago, sunlover12 said:

 

 

TAP is not a partner of United so we wouldn't consider them.  

 

As far as I know TAP IS a partner with United and Star Alliance.

[Robjame]

4 hours ago, pinotlover said:

We’re flying to Madrid, via LHR, next month for our upcoming cruise and we’re scared things will go array.

Something I look forward to is the “Whiskeys of the World” shops on the boarding side of security at Heathrow. They are quite free with the samples, even some single malts well beyond my budget.
You could pick up a wonderful duty free  bottle for the stateroom,  especially with the rates of the pound falling to the US$.

 

I have found lately the distillers have become wise to this and rebrand some of their scotches especially for the duty free stores making it difficult to price comparison. Luckily Whiskeys of the World have websites allowing you to do your homework ahead of time.

 

Bon voyage!

[sunlover12]

36 minutes ago, osandomir said:

As far as I know TAP IS a partner with United and Star Alliance.

Their flights are so limited on the dates we want to travel. When we looked at United, nothing on TAP came up. It's far more convenient to fly either Lufthansa or Swiss. 

[Ride-The-Waves]

TAP is a good airline.  We have flown them several times across the Pond one-way to meet trans-Atlantic cruises.  Their business class prices are significantly lower than their Star Alliance partners.  Our experience is they are also on-time as good if not better than others in Star Alliance.  Agree - they route through LIS and as a national airline look to encourage layovers in Portugal.  They fly to places United and others do not, especially in Africa snd the near east.  Very comfortable airline flying the A330neo across the Pond.  We are flying them again later this year to FCO via LIS.

[GGS]

We will be going on the Nautica next week…. when we were arranging all of this in July… we decided to do the air, round trip nonstop on delta NY to Athens , getting in a day earlier and departing 2 days after the cruise was the best deal for us. We did however decide to take the cruise line hotel, even though it’s insanely priced, after weighing the transfers from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the ship and breakfast is supposedly included, we decided it made sense for us. Plus it included the Covid test too, didn’t know this at that time. Also a very nice hotel. The OBC/perk which would have been added at 300 pp when removed reduced the price by 300, so it was a wash. 

[sitraveler]

In the middle of arranging a deviation for a June cruise out of Hamburg. EWR is my preferred airport. First offer was JFK to Istanbul to Hamburg. Next is EWR to Frankfort to Hamburg. But it has a $250.  PP surcharge. Will post further developments. 

[Presto2]

Sorry to appear dim but we've never been with Oceania. Reading this I am checking that the air fare is NOT included in the cruise price? 

If not is the price quoted from their site including the air fare or not as this makes a big difference to our budget.

Thanks

[PhD-iva]

3 hours ago, Presto2 said:

Sorry to appear dim but we've never been with Oceania. Reading this I am checking that the air fare is NOT included in the cruise price? 

If not is the price quoted from their site including the air fare or not as this makes a big difference to our budget.

Thanks

Others will also post here, but just to give you a quick answer, Oceania’s  US website will post fares with and without airfare. You will see one column is “cruise only fare”, and another is “OLife fare w airfare”. The latter includes coach airfare, importantly arriving the day of embarkation and returning home on the day the cruise ends.

A best practice is to arrive in the departure city at least one day in advance of boarding the cruise. For this you will pay a deviation fee of 175 per person. This will buy you the ability to have a voice in which flights you are booked on and you can lock in your airfare much earlier.
Others will post here with much more detailed information. This forum is great for having folks who are very helpful with good information. I just wanted to get back to you quickly .

[LHT28]

4 hours ago, Presto2 said:

Sorry to appear dim but we've never been with Oceania. Reading this I am checking that the air fare is NOT included in the cruise price? 

If not is the price quoted from their site including the air fare or not as this makes a big difference to our budget.

Thanks

Can you ask your TA  what is included ?

Maybe someone in the UK can guide you on O website  there

Regional differences

 

[Presto2]

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Can you ask your TA  what is included ?

Maybe someone in the UK can guide you on O website  there

Regional differences

 

Don't tend to use TA for cruises as we find that we know more than they do ... if needs be I will contact them directly. Just to thought someone on here may know.

[Presto2]

4 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

Others will also post here, but just to give you a quick answer, Oceania’s  US website will post fares with and without airfare. You will see one column is “cruise only fare”, and another is “OLife fare w airfare”. The latter includes coach airfare, importantly arriving the day of embarkation and returning home on the day the cruise ends.

A best practice is to arrive in the departure city at least one day in advance of boarding the cruise. For this you will pay a deviation fee of 175 per person. This will buy you the ability to have a voice in which flights you are booked on and you can lock in your airfare much earlier.
Others will post here with much more detailed information. This forum is great for having folks who are very helpful with good information. I just wanted to get back to you quickly .

Hi thank you so much - have only just seen this 🙂

 

We've done a number of fly cruises with Celebrity and stayed a few days before our cruise and this suits us well as it is just great to be in a city like Rome or Venice for 2 / 3 night before you set sail. 🙂

The information above is great - thank you so much. We aren't looking to cruise with Oceania soon, as I will be doing my 'homework / research' before we book. Not sure about you all, but I think that the research and planning is half the fun 😉

 

Looking forward to getting to know you all on this board as I am usually over on P&O or Celebrity 🙂

[PhD-iva]

9 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Hi thank you so much - have only just seen this 🙂

 

We've done a number of fly cruises with Celebrity and stayed a few days before our cruise and this suits us well as it is just great to be in a city like Rome or Venice for 2 / 3 night before you set sail. 🙂

The information above is great - thank you so much. We aren't looking to cruise with Oceania soon, as I will be doing my 'homework / research' before we book. Not sure about you all, but I think that the research and planning is half the fun 😉

 

Looking forward to getting to know you all on this board as I am usually over on P&O or Celebrity 🙂

Yes, planning & anticipation is half the fun! 

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Presto2 said:

Don't tend to use TA for cruises as we find that we know more than they do ... if needs be I will contact them directly. Just to thought someone on here may know.

Things  can be different  when booking in other Countries  so hopefully someone from the UK  can shed  some light on your question

If not  maybe O can help

Enjoy what ever cruise you choose

[sitraveler]

I promised updates  Second offer was $150.  PP upcharge. EWR to then Hamburg.   Booked SAS myself, my dates, convenient connection.  $1,200 PP credit paid all  

[NYAS]

Update to my earlier postings about O Air proposed flights NYC-Lisbon with Amsterdam-NYC return. Upcharge of $250 pp plus $175 deviation for any nonstop flights I requested. Only proposal without upcharge was NYC-Geneva-Lisbon, with 3+ hours in Geneva. We are booking our preferred Delta nonstops both ways.

[ToxM]

On 10/9/2022 at 10:11 AM, Presto2 said:

Sorry to appear dim but we've never been with Oceania. Reading this I am checking that the air fare is NOT included in the cruise price? 

If not is the price quoted from their site including the air fare or not as this makes a big difference to our budget.

Thanks

Hello 🙂 UK poster here..

 

So, the initial price quoted on the website includes air - if you do a mock booking you can choose to remove the flights and then the price will show the cruise only price. 

 

We always book our own flights, the removal of airfare makes quite a difference and a canny shopper can get a good deal on flights. 

 

Shout if you have more questions 🙂

[DCGuy64]

I apologize if this has been covered (I can't afford to sift through all 4 pp of this thread, only saw the 1st and last ones), but: are there particular airlines Oceania partners with? I realize they can probably choose whatever one they want. We are booked on the Nautica to Japan next April and are curious which carrier might be taking us to Tokyo from Washington, DC. This is our 1st cruise with Oceania so we're new to their airfare scheme.

[LHT28]

11 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I apologize if this has been covered (I can't afford to sift through all 4 pp of this thread, only saw the 1st and last ones), but: are there particular airlines Oceania partners with? I realize they can probably choose whatever one they want. We are booked on the Nautica to Japan next April and are curious which carrier might be taking us to Tokyo from Washington, DC. This is our 1st cruise with Oceania so we're new to their airfare scheme.

Why not  just book your own air  on the carrier of your choice

If you want to fly in before embarkation day   you will need to request the flights  starting about 270 days out  & then pay the non refundable deviation fee  once you & Oceania agree on the flights

Compare  what Oceania will give you to doing your own air

 They have contracts with several air carriers  ..I am not sure what ones they may use to Asia  someone here might know

You can always inquire  with O via your TA if you have one or just  call & ask what  airlines they will use  for your routing

[DCGuy64]

13 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Why not  just book your own air  on the carrier of your choice

We chose to use Oceania's air program so it's one-stop shopping. We're not interested in arriving early, we both work and our vacation time is limited, which is another reason to have Oceania do it for us. Do you have any idea which airlines Oceania partners with? I'm more curious than anything else. Apparently we should know something about 75 days prior to sail date, according to our booking. I will also give them a call and see if they have any info. Thanks!

Edited October 13, 2022 by DCGuy64
more info needed

[LHT28]

3 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

We chose to use Oceania's air program so it's one-stop shopping. Do you have any idea which airlines Oceania partners with? I'm more curious than anything else. Apparently we should know something about 75 days prior to sail date, according to our booking. Thanks!

Call & ask  what carrier they use for that routing or wait for the surprise  routing 😉

 

 

[DCGuy64]

9 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Call & ask  what carrier they use for that routing or wait for the surprise  routing 😉

 

 

Or both! 🙂

[LHT28]

5 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Or both! 🙂

Yes you could get  non stop  1 stop or more  depending on  how many seats they  have contracted  for those routes

 I am one that likes to fly in early & KNOW what  route/airline  I am on  so we pay the deviation & pick the flights  we want

 YMMV

 I see they have Air Canada delta or AA  on that route  so you could get one of those  as I know they do have contracts with those carriers

it could be  a 14 hr  flight  to 34 hr flight 

 

 

[DCGuy64]

8 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Yes you could get  non stop  1 stop or more  depending on  how many seats they  have contracted  for those routes

 I am one that likes to fly in early & KNOW what  route/airline  I am on  so we pay the deviation & pick the flights  we want

 YMMV

 I see they have Air Canada delta or AA  on that route  so you could get one of those  as I know they do have contracts with those carriers

it could be  a 14 hr  flight  to 34 hr flight 

 

 

Yes, and that is where we differ. Oceania charges $175 per person to change and I'd rather use the $350 my wife and I would save on something else. You are correct, YMMV. We often do fly in early, too, but it depends on an enormous variety of factors: cost, vacation availability, airline, etc. For instance, we took a cruise with NCL last year and the airfare was included. It was a great itinerary, nonstop from DC to Miami and, thanks to our status with the airline, we each got a free checked bag- NCL only charged $199 for both of us, cheaper than we could have gotten on our own. It's certainly true that we could have a long layover, but the cost of doing it on our own just isn't worth it. We were happy with the option to have Oceania take care of the flights. Obviously, you have a different view and there's nothing wrong with that! BTW just for kicks, I did a mock booking and the cheapest airfare was with Air Canada, and the itinerary was fine. But again, we'll see!

[PhD-iva]

It can still be a risk these days to DIY your airfare. Just understand that if someone decides to DIY their airfare, they are taking a risk.
So it might make sense to think about the embarkation and disembarkation cities. In my example, in 21 days I will go on a Regent cruise from Los Angeles to Lima Peru. Regent bundles the airfare into the price, although I could have taken the air credit and DIY the flights. Latest word/gossip is that Cruises are skipping Peruvian ports due to overly restrictive Covid regulations. I think booking DIY flights these days to Japan is still taking a risk.
So, on my cruise disembarking in Callao Peru, depending on how much notice they give pax, pax might be scrambling to try to figure out how to change return flights on the fly. I prefer not to take this risk. Perhaps I am paying extra for this luxury, and to me it is worth it. Everyone has a different risk profile and should take action to accommodate their own appetite for risk. JMO.