Oceania’s pricing.

[welshfamily]

Just looking for a summer cruise. Unfortunately we are not in a position to book a year or so in advance for many reasons but have booked at this time give or take a few weeks, over the last 15 years.
Oceania has become a favourite of ours and this is our starting point. However much to our surprise Seabourn and Silversea’s  are cheaper over all for us. This has come as a surprise because as much as we enjoy Oceania the R class balcony cabins are small and the shower, whilst manageable, not  ideal when well over 6 feet tall. Therefore we decided to look at Penthouse cabins for an end of July cruise. 
When adding gratuities, drinks package ( new price upgrade to premium ) the price exceeds both Seabourn and Silverseas for less days by over £2000.
We are not heavy drinkers but do drink Cocktails and find the prestige package convenient whilst realising it is not necessarily good value for money. 
We have not included excursions in our pricing as we prefer private ones although if we have the Ultimate Olife we have been on some Oceania trips which have been hit and miss.
Just wondering if prices are artificially high at the moment to make “Offers” seem exceptionally good. 
Thoughts

[Pigin]

I think it's a very tricky question to answer as all cruise lines seem to be fluctuating in where and how they sit in the market.  Unfortunately "O" seems to be bringing policies that are not well thought through and may drive their customer base to visit other options.

 

The last time I used Seabourn I was very impressed but it was way more expensive than "O".  That leaves me to wonder has "O" out priced themselves or has Seabourn cut corners to make the price point more appealing.

 

At £2k cheaper I would be more than willing to go with the Seabourn option.  You need to bear in mind that "O" are likely to honour any price reductions you see prior to final payment and so it might not actually be a full £2k.

 

 

[PhD-iva]

28 minutes ago, Pigin said:

At £2k cheaper I would be more than willing to go with the Seabourn option.  You need to bear in mind that "O" are likely to honour any price reductions you see prior to final payment and so it might not actually be a full £2k.

 

 

My understanding is O would/could honor price reductions only if the stateroom category is not waitlisted.

Therefore it could be hit or miss. Fingers crossed!

[ORV]

I like Oceania, but if an itinerary I wanted to go on was cheaper on either of those I think I'd have to book them. I don't know what your level in in the OCLub but we always have to factor in the perks we get from that. 

[ak1004]

3 hours ago, welshfamily said:

Just looking for a summer cruise. Unfortunately we are not in a position to book a year or so in advance for many reasons but have booked at this time give or take a few weeks, over the last 15 years.
Oceania has become a favourite of ours and this is our starting point. However much to our surprise Seabourn and Silversea’s  are cheaper over all for us. This has come as a surprise because as much as we enjoy Oceania the R class balcony cabins are small and the shower, whilst manageable, not  ideal when well over 6 feet tall. Therefore we decided to look at Penthouse cabins for an end of July cruise. 
When adding gratuities, drinks package ( new price upgrade to premium ) the price exceeds both Seabourn and Silverseas for less days by over £2000.
We are not heavy drinkers but do drink Cocktails and find the prestige package convenient whilst realising it is not necessarily good value for money. 
We have not included excursions in our pricing as we prefer private ones although if we have the Ultimate Olife we have been on some Oceania trips which have been hit and miss.
Just wondering if prices are artificially high at the moment to make “Offers” seem exceptionally good. 
Thoughts

 

This is very interesting. Would you mind to mention the specific itineraries where the other lines are cheaper? 

[MEFIowa]

3 hours ago, welshfamily said:

Just looking for a summer cruise. ... However much to our surprise Seabourn and Silversea’s  are cheaper over all for us. This has come as a surprise because as much as we enjoy Oceania the R class balcony cabins are small and the shower, whilst manageable, not ideal when well over 6 feet tall. Therefore we decided to look at Penthouse cabins for an end of July cruise....

Maybe I'm missing something, but why not try Marina or Riviera (the O class ships) rather than just think about the smaller R class? Then do an A or B veranda.

 

Have sailed on both Riviera (12/21) and Sirena (11/22). (And while I do understand the comment about the shower, I'm 6'2" and learned quickly how to use the two swinging glass doors to take a nice shower in Sirena. Wife really preferred the bathtub on Riviera.)

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, MEFIowa said:

Maybe I'm missing something, but why not try Marina or Riviera (the O class ships) rather than just think about the smaller R class? Then do an A or B veranda.

 

Have sailed on both Riviera (12/21) and Sirena (11/22). (And while I do understand the comment about the shower, I'm 6'2" and learned quickly how to use the two swinging glass doors to take a nice shower in Sirena. Wife really preferred the bathtub on Riviera.)

 

I don't know what category you sail on the Riviera, but most of the tubs are going away, except for the Vista and Owner's suites I think.  😡

They are keeping the tubs in a handful of PH suites, although those aren't in the location we prefer.  Nevertheless, we'd book a PH *with* a tub... if there are any available.

Relaxing in a tub when on vacation is a luxury; no other responsibilties are calling me!

 

GC

[MEFIowa]

22 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

I don't know what category you sail on the Riviera, but most of the tubs are going away, except for the Vista and Owner's suites I think.... 

IIRC they were going to keep the tubs in the B4s and A4s on the larger O class ships. No idea about higher cabins. (Did an A4 on Riviera 12/21 and a B2 on Sirena 11/22.)

[1985rz1]

1 minute ago, MEFIowa said:

IIRC they were going to keep the tubs in the B4s and A4s on the larger O class ships. No idea about higher cabins. (Did an A4 on Riviera 12/21 and a B2 on Sirena 11/22.)

 

[welshfamily]

Hi 

We have to travel in school holidays as in Education. The next cruise with Oceania will be a 5th. 

 

The  trips priced are all in the Mediterranean.

The Nautica, the Sojourn and the Encore and two Silverseas, one the Dawn and not sure of other cruise. All quotes from an on line Travel agent. Only Oceania had gratuities and a drinks package added. On an 11 day cruise this comes to over £1000 each.

Thank you for the suggestion of the O class ships. Yes bathrooms are so much better however neither of the two O class ships are available as both are in the Norway area for all of the end of July and August,( 6 week period) which we do not want to do.  We enjoyed the Riviera last year and know there are no longer bath tubs. The showers were ok. We had a B3. One of our party is 6 Feet 5inches and managed by standing to one side of the shower head. Larger showers in Penthouse are just so much better. 
It’s the add on’s that make the difference. I did not include the price of deviation into my calculations as we always fly in earlier and I wanted a fair comparison. 
No TA offer free gratuities ( here in the Uk) unless included in a special offer. Our first 3 Oceania cruises had gratuities paid in the Olife offer( I am sure they were rolled into the price ) this ended post pandemic. This was a real shame as we meet quite a few people from the Uk who removed their tips on the penultimate day of our last cruise .I am ashamed to say the UK has an extremely poor record when it comes to tipping and people boast about removing them giving many justifications which I find in extremely poor form.
No only that, the included flights are almost impossible to upgrade and it is very difficult to get a cruise only price. That is no flight or Olife price ….unless anyone can tell me differently. 
We are disappointed as with Oceania we felt we had found a good match. This was the reason for the original post.

[ak1004]

Seabourn prices in the Mediterranean are surprisingly cheap this summer for an al inclusive line, and Silversea also has some good prices if you take P2P.

 

In my opinion, PH prices on the R ship are not competitive at all. PH size is smaller than SS or SB entry level cabins, and SS prices also include excursions. On the other hand, veranda prices on Riviera and Marina are not bad.

[PaulMCO]

7 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

Maybe I'm missing something, but why not try Marina or Riviera (the O class ships) rather than just think about the smaller R class? Then do an A or B veranda.

 

Have sailed on both Riviera (12/21) and Sirena (11/22). (And while I do understand the comment about the shower, I'm 6'2" and learned quickly how to use the two swinging glass doors to take a nice shower in Sirena. Wife really preferred the bathtub on Riviera.)

The idea of sailing on an R ship is that they are closer to the same size as Seabourn or SS.  For us 1200 passengers versus 600 or 700 is huge.  You just have to look at the Marina lounge stadium style and compare it to Seabourn or Regents lounges

[MEFIowa]

30 minutes ago, PaulMCO said:

The idea of sailing on an R ship is that they are closer to the same size as Seabourn or SS.  For us 1200 passengers versus 600 or 700 is huge.  You just have to look at the Marina lounge stadium style and compare it to Seabourn or Regents lounges

Having sailed on both Riviera (12/21) and Sirena (11/22), not sure there is really that much difference. BUT will admit, we had only 719 passengers on Riviera and about 630 on Sirena. The layouts of the two ships, including their lounges, seems quite similar.

Edited January 10, 2023 by MEFIowa
Added Date

[ak1004]

2 hours ago, PaulMCO said:

The idea of sailing on an R ship is that they are closer to the same size as Seabourn or SS.  For us 1200 passengers versus 600 or 700 is huge.  You just have to look at the Marina lounge stadium style and compare it to Seabourn or Regents lounges

 

O ships have 1200 passengers, but the ships are also more than double size, so space to passengers ratio is actually better on the O ships. Crew to passengers ratios are also similar. O ships have more dining options and a real theater, not to mention much larger cabins.

 

So it is obviously a personal choice, but to me the O class is a clear winner. But in this case I believe OP mentioned that the deciding factor is the itinerary.

[PaulMCO]

11 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

O ships have 1200 passengers, but the ships are also more than double size, so space to passengers ratio is actually better on the O ships. Crew to passengers ratios are also similar. O ships have more dining options and a real theater, not to mention much larger cabins.

 

So it is obviously a personal choice, but to me the O class is a clear winner. But in this case I believe OP mentioned that the deciding factor is the itinerary.

I agree but the op is comparing prices to Seabourn and SS.  There is no comparison to anything O has compared to SS, Seabourn or Regent.  They (the others) are so much better, including inclusions, staff to person ratios, space to passenger, and $ per passenger spent on food.

[ak1004]

7 minutes ago, PaulMCO said:

I agree but the op is comparing prices to Seabourn and SS.  There is no comparison to anything O has compared to SS, Seabourn or Regent.  They (the others) are so much better, including inclusions, staff to person ratios, space to passenger, and $ per passenger spent on food.

 

Being all inclusive is not necessarily an advantage. If you don't drink and want to do your own excursions, then on SS and Regent you would be paying for something that you don't use. Crew to passenger ratios are similar, space to passengers ratios are slightly better, depending on the ship. 

 

We just returned from SS cruise, and I cannot say it was in a different league compared to O. Food and service was comparable in my opinion. Cabins are nicer, and there is a butler in every cabin. So yes, if the price was similar to O, I would probably go with SS. But this is not typical, usually their prices are much higher, and I'm not convinced that I can justify the extra cost.

 

[PaulMCO]

1 minute ago, ak1004 said:

 

Being all inclusive is not necessarily an advantage. If you don't drink and want to do your own excursions, then on SS and Regent you would be paying for something that you don't use. Crew to passenger ratios are similar, space to passengers ratios are slightly better, depending on the ship. 

 

We just returned from SS cruise, and I cannot say it was in a different league compared to O. Food and service was comparable in my opinion. Cabins are nicer, and there is a butler in every cabin. So yes, if the price was similar to O, I would probably go with SS. But this is not typical, usually their prices are much higher, and I'm not convinced that I can justify the extra cost.

 

That is not the point.  It is the OPs point that they do buy the drink package.  It is becoming more typical.  Especially if you like at 600- to 800 passenger ship with more space and less crowds.  The R ship cabins are very small and poorly layed out. 

 

We did a recent Regent cruise, if you add the excursions, and drink packages can compare it to a Marina PH, the price was very similar (O was cheaper but negligibly so).  This was Rome to Miami in November.  And Splendor was a MUCH better ship than Marina is.  Just off Marina on Sunday and it is OLD and looks it.  We were in an Oceania suite and our deck had numerous rust spots.  Carpet worn.

 

And wait until Crystal comeback, there will be more pressure and comparisons.

[LGW59]

13 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Being all inclusive is not necessarily an advantage. If you don't drink and want to do your own excursions, then on SS and Regent you would be paying for something that you don't use. Crew to passenger ratios are similar, space to passengers ratios are slightly better, depending on the ship. 

 

We just returned from SS cruise, and I cannot say it was in a different league compared to O. Food and service was comparable in my opinion. Cabins are nicer, and there is a butler in every cabin. So yes, if the price was similar to O, I would probably go with SS. But this is not typical, usually their prices are much higher, and I'm not convinced that I can justify the extra cost.

 

Exactly how we feel.  We do not drink alcohol but On Celebrity we have to pay for the premium beverage package because of the suite we stay in.  Much better value for our $$ on Oceania.

[ak1004]

4 minutes ago, PaulMCO said:

That is not the point.  It is the OPs point that they do buy the drink package.  It is becoming more typical.  Especially if you like at 600- to 800 passenger ship with more space and less crowds.  The R ship cabins are very small and poorly layed out. 

 

We did a recent Regent cruise, if you add the excursions, and drink packages can compare it to a Marina PH, the price was very similar (O was cheaper but negligibly so).  This was Rome to Miami in November.  And Splendor was a MUCH better ship than Marina is.  Just off Marina on Sunday and it is OLD and looks it.  We were in an Oceania suite and our deck had numerous rust spots.  Carpet worn.

 

And wait until Crystal comeback, there will be more pressure and comparisons.

 

Again, it really depends on your personal preferences. For use 1200 is still small enough to not have any lines, crowds and feel very spacious. In fact, to me Riviera felt more spacious than Regatta.

 

Regarding the cabins - for us veranda on the Riviera is more than sufficient. I agree it's not apples to apples comparison, but when comparing veranda on the Riviera to entry level cabins on Regent, the price gap is huge.

[ak1004]

5 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Exactly how we feel.  We do not drink alcohol but On Celebrity we have to pay for the premium beverage package because of the suite we stay in.  Much better value for our $$ on Oceania.

 

This is why it's so personal. We drink a lot of specialty coffee and tee and non alcoholic drinks which are included in O. But we don't drink alcohol, and we like to do a mix or ship and our own excursions. We also book our business class flights with points. We also don't mind to be in OV cabin on the Riviera, don't really need a balcony.

 

So for us Regent would be a terrible value for money. But I'm sure it provides an excellent experience. 

[sunlover12]

I preface this to say that we like Oceania and have never been on Silversea. I was curious by what the OP said so I looked at Silversea's website.  They advertise as a luxury cruise line. 

 

I'm booked on a Mediterranean cruise on the Nautica this summer in a PH1.  I compared this to a similar itinerary on Silversea. I was surprised to see that Silversea's fare was a better deal.  For the sake of comparison on my Mediterranean cruise on the Nautica, the price with airfare (no OLife) is $850/person/day.  On Silversea's veranda suite (slightly larger than O's PH) the price is $890/person/day.   This includes airfare, alcohol, shore excursions, and gratuities.  I don't know if their alcohol is meal-times only or anytime. You're getting more for your money on Silversea.   

 

I noticed that on my Nautica cruise, Oceania raised the fare recently and the cruise still shows a lot of availability. Now I'm wondering if their fares are inflated ahead of the upcoming President's Day Sale.  I'm wondering what's going on? Just my observation. 

[MEFIowa]

17 minutes ago, sunlover12 said:

... I'm booked on a Mediterranean cruise on the Nautica this summer in a PH1.  I compared this to a similar itinerary on Silversea. I was surprised to see that Silversea's fare was a better deal... I noticed that on my Nautica cruise, Oceania raised the fare recently and the cruise still shows a lot of availability. Now I'm wondering if their fares are inflated ahead of the upcoming President's Day Sale.  I'm wondering what's going on?....

Though you're reminding me why wife and I are on Riviera in the Med later that year. Time of year can mean big difference in prices. No idea what Silversea's prices are like later in the year in the Med

 

So for Nautica (7/9-19/23 Istanbul to Athens) cruise only is PH1 $6199 pp, but on Riviera (10/30-11/9/23 Venice to Athens) PH1 is just $5399 pp.  A difference of $800 or $80 pp/d.

 

The A1 comparison is $4799 versus $3699. A difference of $1100 or $110 pp/d.

 

The B1 comparison is $4449 versus $3349. A difference of $1100 or $110 pp/d.

 

The C1/C comparison is $3199 versus $2549. A difference of $650 or $65 pp/d.

[MEFIowa]

50 minutes ago, sunlover12 said:

...Now I'm wondering if their fares are inflated ahead of the upcoming President's Day Sale.  I'm wondering what's going on? Just my observation. 

Pulled out my paperwork and the big 2023 Collection of Voyages I received on 2/22/22. The prices for all cabin levels on the 10/30-11/9/23 Med cruise on Riviera have gone up by $300 since then. Glad I booked early in 2022.

[ak1004]

1 hour ago, sunlover12 said:

I preface this to say that we like Oceania and have never been on Silversea. I was curious by what the OP said so I looked at Silversea's website.  They advertise as a luxury cruise line. 

 

I'm booked on a Mediterranean cruise on the Nautica this summer in a PH1.  I compared this to a similar itinerary on Silversea. I was surprised to see that Silversea's fare was a better deal.  For the sake of comparison on my Mediterranean cruise on the Nautica, the price with airfare (no OLife) is $850/person/day.  On Silversea's veranda suite (slightly larger than O's PH) the price is $890/person/day.   This includes airfare, alcohol, shore excursions, and gratuities.  I don't know if their alcohol is meal-times only or anytime. You're getting more for your money on Silversea.   

 

I noticed that on my Nautica cruise, Oceania raised the fare recently and the cruise still shows a lot of availability. Now I'm wondering if their fares are inflated ahead of the upcoming President's Day Sale.  I'm wondering what's going on? Just my observation. 

 

SS includes alcohol anytime anywhere. Also unlimited black caviar anytime anywhere.

 

To me PH prices on the R ships just don't make sense. They are just slightly larger than regular veranda on O ships but priced 40-50% higher. And yes, some cruises on SS are actually similar price to PH on R ships, especially when you look at P2P pricing (no flights).

[oskidunker]

4 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

SS includes alcohol anytime anywhere. Also unlimited black caviar anytime anywhere.

 

To me PH prices on the R ships just don't make sense. They are just slightly larger than regular veranda on O ships but priced 40-50% higher. And yes, some cruises on SS are actually similar price to PH on R ships, especially when you look at P2P pricing (no flights).

Agree. Not worth the extra charge. I looked at a ph on the last day. Not that much larger, except the bathroom. Would  upgrade if offered around $500