Three things you should never do when booking Oceania

[Robjame]

1. Take the OBC as your OLife perk - there is no monetary advantage and you are lending $ to Oceania, interest free.

 

2. Book a cruise through Oceania and fail to follow up with a TA to see what value-added benefits she can add if you transfer your booking to her. - often if not always you will get great perks from the TA like OBC, free gratuities, money back.

 

3. Assume that Oceania Air is a deal or that it provides guarantees that you will make your cruise. Unless you add more money you will arrive on the day of the cruise on an airline of their choosing and a routing of their choosing. No guarantees of making the ship either. At least ask your TA if she can do better.

 

and an added one:

4. Never book an Oceania hotel. Often it is twice the price with the pricing being per person. Check the same hotel through the hotel’s own website or one of the major consolidator companies.

 

Have you got other things not to do?

 

 

[tgg]

If arriving at the cruise port by air, never arrive on the sail date. Stuff happens. Always book a hotel and arrive the day before.

[Psoque]

Also, never assume that you have to buy air add-on to get the OLife Choice benefits.

[Psoque]

Also, never think that “free” airfare is not really free.

[pinotlover]

Unless one just personally enjoys long lines and mayhem, don’t arrive at the port before at least 2:00. 
 

Some of those on low capacity cruises may not have noticed this. Just wait until the ships are sailing full.

Edited September 20, 2022 by pinotlover

[MEFIowa]

Never overlook the PERIODIC SALES (e.g., Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, etc.)! You might save a ton of money on a cruise you're interested in. And you can do that without a TA (esp. for those who don't use one enough to justify or who don't spend enough annually to make it worth their while).

[pinotlover]

2 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

Never overlook the PERIODIC SALES (e.g., Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, etc.)! You might save a ton of money on a cruise you're interested in. And you can do that without a TA (esp. for those who don't use one enough to justify or who don't spend enough annually to make it worth their while).

Watching the Sales are always a smart move. Oceania makes it a poker move however , depending upon your personal finances.

 

The Labor Day Sale typically pre dates the Fall Cruise release by 3 weeks or so. Same for the President’s Day Sale and the Spring release. So the complexing issue becomes “ Do I jump on the Sale, or wait to see what’s on the new release I might like better?” Chances are, I would have booked the sale cruises already if they had appealed to me.

[Robjame]

54 minutes ago, Psoque said:

Also, never think that “free” airfare is not really free.

Do you mean never think that it is actually free - cause you pay for it and it can be taken off?

[MEFIowa]

58 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

...So the complexing issue becomes “ Do I jump on the Sale, or wait to see what’s on the new release I might like better?” Chances are, I would have booked the sale cruises already if they had appealed to me.

IF money is little or no object. But in the real world a lot of people are in Gs, Fs, and Cs. Money is important to them (& me!) and even taking the cruise may hinge on the sale price if they want that upgrade to a balcony.

[MEFIowa]

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

Watching the Sales are always a smart move. Oceania makes it a poker move however , depending upon your personal finances.

I just chuckle that in late Jan 2021 an O brochure fell out of my Saturday WSJ and instead of recycling it immediately, I looked it over. A 10-day cruise then went on sale on Presidents Day. An A4 Concierge on Riviera for only $2099 per. Wife & I decided to take the chance. Paid off. (You'll never see that price again. The exact same cruise and cabin on Riviera in early 2023 is $3999. And it hasn't gone on sale (as I've watched it each time).)

[DrHemlock]

2 hours ago, Robjame said:

1. (Never) Take the OBC as your OLife perk - there is no monetary advantage and you are lending $ to Oceania, interest free.

I would dispute this point, depending upon what one wants from a cruise.  Consider the alternatives to OBC: 

1. The House Select beverage package of wine & beer by the glass with meals (no martinis during happy hour; no choosing your bottle of wine with dinner); or

2. Shore excursions.  Granted, one can achieve nearly double value by choosing the shore excursions (as many of our astute contributors have pointed out), but that assumes one actually enjoys ship's excursions on a bus with a gaggle of new BFFs.  Sorry but, for many of us, that's anathema.

OBC works perfectly for those who make full use of Happy Hours at Martinis and Horizons, and who prefer to choose a nice bottle of wine with dinner.  And if we want a beer or glass of wine with lunch, we can pay for that with OBC, too.

Chacun à son goût.

[tgg]

1 hour ago, MEFIowa said:

Never overlook the PERIODIC SALES (e.g., Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, etc.)! You might save a ton of money on a cruise you're interested in. And you can do that without a TA (esp. for those who don't use one enough to justify or who don't spend enough annually to make it worth their while).

 

Part of the compensation that travel agencies earn is based on the dollar volume they produce for any given cruise line.  It is always worth their while to handle your booking, unless you're someone who needs their hand held constantly and you take up an inordinate amount of the travel agent's time.

[pinotlover]

6 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

I just chuckle that in late Jan 2021 an O brochure fell out of my Saturday WSJ and instead of recycling it immediately, I looked it over. A 10-day cruise then went on sale on Presidents Day. An A4 Concierge on Riviera for only $2099 per. Wife & I decided to take the chance. Paid off. (You'll never see that price again. The exact same cruise and cabin on Riviera in early 2023 is $3999. And it hasn't gone on sale (as I've watched it each time).)

I agree. Our issue ( if it’s an issue) is we often book cruises that only occurs once per year and are very popular. Take a look at the Dec 2023 circumnavigation of OZ. Been completely waitlisted since about Day 3. Large portions were waitlisted by the pre bookings. Our upcoming Sirena cruise was waitlisted from the get go. I could list several others. These cruises are never included in the Sales.

 

I do agree that if we wanted to take a random Carribean or Med cruise, I’d probably wait for a Sale. To date, we’ve only did that once ( a Med cruise). 

[Woodrowst]

3 hours ago, Robjame said:

1. Take the OBC as your OLife perk - there is no monetary advantage and you are lending $ to Oceania, interest free.

 

2. Book a cruise through Oceania and fail to follow up with a TA to see what value-added benefits she can add if you transfer your booking to her. - often if not always you will get great perks from the TA like OBC, free gratuities, money back.

 

3. Assume that Oceania Air is a deal or that it provides guarantees that you will make your cruise. Unless you add more money you will arrive on the day of the cruise on an airline of their choosing and a routing of their choosing. No guarantees of making the ship either. At least ask your TA if she can do better.

 

and an added one:

4. Never book an Oceania hotel. Often it is twice the price with the pricing being per person. Check the same hotel through the hotel’s own website or one of the major consolidator companies.

 

Have you got other things not to do?

 

 

 

17 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

I agree. Our issue ( if it’s an issue) is we often book cruises that only occurs once per year and are very popular. Take a look at the Dec 2023 circumnavigation of OZ. Been completely waitlisted since about Day 3. Large portions were waitlisted by the pre bookings. Our upcoming Sirena cruise was waitlisted from the get go. I could list several others. These cruises are never included in the Sales.

 

I do agree that if we wanted to take a random Carribean or Med cruise, I’d probably wait for a Sale. To date, we’ve only did that once ( a Med cruise). 

If you book the same pre-cruise hotel on your own that Oceania uses will they let you purchase a transfer from the hotel to the ship?

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

Never overlook the PERIODIC SALES (e.g., Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, etc.)! You might save a ton of money on a cruise you're interested in. And you can do that without a TA (esp. for those who don't use one enough to justify or who don't spend enough annually to make it worth their while).

most travel agencies  do not cost you anything

shop around

[LHT28]

38 minutes ago, DrHemlock said:

OBC works perfectly for those who make full use of Happy Hours at Martinis and Horizons, and who prefer to choose a nice bottle of wine with dinner.  And if we want a beer or glass of wine with lunch, we can pay for that with OBC, too.

Chacun à son goût.

You may have missed the point

 You can pay now or pay at the end of the cruise ..it is still your $$ you are using

 

[jazznruby]

36 minutes ago, DrHemlock said:

 

OBC works perfectly for those who make full use of Happy Hours at Martinis and Horizons, and who prefer to choose a nice bottle of wine with dinner.  And if we want a beer or glass of wine with lunch, we can pay for that with OBC, too.

Agreed, as I've pointed out many times. Yes, you're paying in advance, but if you know you'll be using the non-refundable OBC, it eliminates any costly surprises when you get that final bill. And, of course, OBC can be used for lots of things, in addition to your bar bill...gratuities, shorex, La Reserve, etc. We've always taken OBC and been happy to do so.

[Psoque]

13 minutes ago, jazznruby said:

Agreed, as I've pointed out many times. Yes, you're paying in advance, but if you know you'll be using the non-refundable OBC, it eliminates any costly surprises when you get that final bill. And, of course, OBC can be used for lots of things, in addition to your bar bill...gratuities, shorex, La Reserve, etc. We've always taken OBC and been happy to do so.

So you prefer that you pay Oceania, say $300 ahead of time so that you can spend that $300 as on-board credit while you are on the cruise??  If that floats your boat, I can’t argue with that.  I think the point made by many of us is that the only tangible advantage of paying for OLife (wihtout air) is possible discount on shore excursions (if you are going to do shore excursions that, combined, cost more than the cost of OLife) or alcohol package (if you plan on actually plan on consuming alcohol that cost more than the cost of OLife add-on if paid by the glass).

Edited September 20, 2022 by Psoque

[Psoque]

2 hours ago, Robjame said:

Do you mean never think that it is actually free - cause you pay for it and it can be taken off?

I’m saying this because the OLife add-on airfare, which is touted as “free airfare” by Oceania is NOT free.  You actually have to pay Oceania for the cost of this “free” air add-on.  I’ve heard many people here who somehow believes airfare is a free gift from Oceania.  It is not.  And in some cases, you can find airfare that is about the same or cheaper on your own, especially if you account for the $175 per person deviation fee (to arrive before the day of the cruise, for example) and $200 per person fee to fly out of “non-gateway” airports.

[sunlover12]

Something I'd add to the list is don't overlook the value of booking onboard or purchasing a Future Cruise Certificate.  

The benefits are a)lower deposit  b)OBC on your current cruise  c)savings off the list price on your future cruise if purchasing a Future Cruise Certificate.  

[MEFIowa]

36 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

most travel agencies do not cost you anything

shop around

As for that "cost you anything"... They tend to operate on commission. That middleman who gets his cut. Either from you or the entities they work with regarding the vacation. They are not working for free but with your money either directly or indirectly. Adding middlemen who get their cut rarely saves you money compared to DIY.

 

What's funny is that none of the TA advocates on these boards tells us exactly how much they spend annually with their TA to get unspecified "benefits". And that is the issue. These claimed benefits. I have no doubt but that if you spend thousands annually and tens of thousands of dollars over time they'll provide you some "benefit". But you paid for it over time. TANSTAAFL.

 

When I contacted one regarded TA who dealt a lot in O, they couldn't get lower than the sale price and they weren't going to do anything "benefit" wise on a sale-priced cabin, "cruise only", with no airfare, drinks package, or excursions.

 

A point of the modern technologies available is that I can readily shop around for airfares and excursions on my own and save. And book thru O at sales times. My wife loves to monitor airfares and enjoys finding the best excursions for the lowest prices. Works for us. BUT YMMV.

[Robjame]

1 hour ago, DrHemlock said:

 Consider the alternatives to OBC: 

One other alternative - don’t take (pay for) OLife at all.

Paying for something in advance and not receiving extra value  is not something I would do. I would not buy a gift card to a certain merchant because I am going to spend money there 6 months from now.

There is also the danger of not treating that OBC as something you paid money for. One of the reasons casinos give you chips.

[Robjame]

8 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

What's funny is that none of the TA advocates on these boards tells us exactly how much they spend annually with their TA to get unspecified "benefits". And that is the issue

I can comment on that. Our first time we booked with our TA (switched to one specializing in cruises) she added $600 OBC and transfers to and from airport and a bottle of champagne for $20000 in cruising. Plus she steered us away from O hotel to a less expensive alternative where her company had a corporate rate.

First time so no annual history.

[sunlover12]

35 minutes ago, jazznruby said:

Agreed, as I've pointed out many times. Yes, you're paying in advance, but if you know you'll be using the non-refundable OBC, it eliminates any costly surprises when you get that final bill. And, of course, OBC can be used for lots of things, in addition to your bar bill...gratuities, shorex, La Reserve, etc. We've always taken OBC and been happy to do so.

Question - If you purchase the OLife OBC, can you use that to book your shore excursions in advance or would they have to purchased once you are onboard only? If it's the latter, I don't want to take the chance of the shore excursion I want to be on being sold out. 

 

The OLife OBC would not be a good choice for me personally. I have found the OLife basic beverage package to be a very good value for me.  We will book shore excursions in advance and take advantage of the 25% YWC discount. I very rarely purchase a drink outside of meal times.  So then I'd have to use the OBC for gratuities which wouldn't be enough for what I've already paid.  I'd be one of those people running to the shop on the last day of the cruise trying to find something to buy. 

 

Everyone should do the math to determine what works best for you.

 

[LHT28]

33 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

As for that "cost you anything"... They tend to operate on commission. That middleman who gets his cut. Either from you or the entities they work with regarding the vacation. They are not working for free but with your money either directly or indirectly. Adding middlemen who get their cut rarely saves you money compared to DIY.

 

 

You do not get  the commission  from the cruise line if you do not use  a TA  so it makes no difference in your bottom line

You may however get  some perks from the travel agency  such a PPG OBC  etc..

 

 BTW we might cruise once or twice a year pre covid  & do not book top suites  but we DO get good service  & perks from our TA

We usually do cruise only  occasionally we take the O air  when it works for us

 

 If you choose not to use one that is your business

JMO