Likelihood of Getting a Non-Stop Flight Using Oceania O'Life Inclusive Air

[Luv2trvl18]

We have gone on over 20 cruises but have never used a cruise line's inclusive air.  We are going on our first cruise with Oceania in November, and so far will be flying from JFK New York to Barcelona using Oceania O'Life inclusive air.  From JFK there are a number of non-stop flights to Barcelona, as well as 1 and 2-stop flights.  What is the likelihood that the flight we get will be one of those non-stops?  We will find out our flight only 75 days before the cruise, but if it is other than a non-stop we would rather book the flight on our own.  But if we wait until only 75 days before the cruise we would probably have a more difficult time or pay more for or not get a good choice of seats on a non-stop. If anyone has experience with Oceania's O'Life inclusive air flights, please let us know.what your's has been and what y ou think.  Thanks.

[WESTEAST]

1 minute ago, Luv2trvl18 said:

We have gone on over 20 cruises but have never used a cruise line's inclusive air.  We are going on our first cruise with Oceania in November, and so far will be flying from JFK New York to Barcelona using Oceania O'Life inclusive air.  From JFK there are a number of non-stop flights to Barcelona, as well as 1 and 2-stop flights.  What is the likelihood that the flight we get will be one of those non-stops?  We will find out our flight only 75 days before the cruise, but if it is other than a non-stop we would rather book the flight on our own.  But if we wait until only 75 days before the cruise we would probably have a more difficult time or pay more for or not get a good choice of seats on a non-stop. If anyone has experience with Oceania's O'Life inclusive air flights, please let us know.what your's has been and what y ou think.  Thanks.

One needs to identify their preferred routing (non stop, day, airline, flight, time) to your TA who can book your Custom Air with Oceania no earlier than 270 days prior at a cost identified below. Never had a problem and Oceania gives you time to review before accepting. The charge is non-refundable once approved.

 

HOW DO YOU HANDLE CUSTOM AIR REQUESTS? 

 

Updated March 21, 2023

Custom air requests for specific airlines, routings, flights, etc can be requested once payment has been made on the booking and no earlier than 270 days prior to sailing. The cost to request custom air is $199 USD / $299 CAD per guest per request plus any applicable air differential. The $199 USD / $299 CAD service fee is non-refundable once the custom air is accepted.

Any pre-flight arrangements, such as seat assignments, frequent flyer programs, wheelchair requests, oxygen or special meal requests must be made by the guest directly with the airlines based on their policies and procedures. Oceania Cruises cannot confirm any special airline requests unless otherwise specified. Due to the special nature of fares used, frequent flyer or past traveler discounts may not apply to air tickets issued by Oceania Cruises. These special requests and services should be arranged by you or your travel agent directly with the airlines.

 

 

 

[LHT28]

best  way is to request the flights you want & pay the deviation fee  or just book your own air

Do the math then decide

[NYAS]

We faced the same issue for a flight from NYC to Lisbon for our cruise in May, with return from Amsterdam. There are several non-stop flights daily in both directions, but when I checked O for flights they were charging additional for any non-stops, on top of the deviation fee for flying in prior to the embarkation date. (I understand the policy for arriving early is now changed.) These were consistent charges across several so-called Custom Air requests. We decided to book our our flights, non-stop both ways, allowing us to select our seats.

[Luv2trvl18]

Thank you everyone who has so quickly replied to my recently posted inquiry. It seems I should have clarified that we do not want want to arrive prior to the embarkation date for this particular cruise (we have been to Barcelona), and therefore were hoping to avoid the custom air deviation fee.  It seems from what has been written so far that the likelihood of getting a non-stop flight out of New York on the O'Life included (premium economy seating added) program is not too high.  I appreciate additional replies and will look at either booking on our own or with Oceania's Custom Air.

[m1k2s3]

We’ve done 6 cruises with Oceania and 4 of those cruises included Oceania doing our flights. Of those 4, three were direct flights. Our Mediterranean cruise Venice to Barcelona had direct flights, on one of  Caribbean cruises, we flew from Toronto to Miami direct and on our upcoming Alaskan cruise, Los Angeles to Vancouver, we have direct flights.

 

The only cruise that didn’t have direct flights was our Australia/New Zealand - those flights were brutal - Toronto to Vancouver with a tight connecting flight to Auckland to get there.  Then back was Bali to Dubai with a 4 hour layover then Dubai to Toronto.

 

 

Edited March 24, 2023 by m1k2s3

[vaitape]

7 hours ago, Luv2trvl18 said:

Thank you everyone who has so quickly replied to my recently posted inquiry. It seems I should have clarified that we do not want want to arrive prior to the embarkation date for this particular cruise (we have been to Barcelona), and therefore were hoping to avoid the custom air deviation fee.  It seems from what has been written so far that the likelihood of getting a non-stop flight out of New York on the O'Life included (premium economy seating added) program is not too high.  I appreciate additional replies and will look at either booking on our own or with Oceania's Custom Air.

Nope....from our experience, you will not get a non stop flight with O air.

We gave them 4 itinerary requests and every one of them were rejected by O Air because the flights not part of the O's contract.

There are many non stop flights from CDG to LAX each day and yet we were offered routings through JFK as well as several airports in Eastern Canada.

Once you're in North America, your flight becomes Economy Cattle Class.

Take the air credit and book the flight yourself.

[Acrusa]

16 hours ago, Luv2trvl18 said:

Thank you everyone who has so quickly replied to my recently posted inquiry. It seems I should have clarified that we do not want want to arrive prior to the embarkation date for this particular cruise (we have been to Barcelona), and therefore were hoping to avoid the custom air deviation fee.  It seems from what has been written so far that the likelihood of getting a non-stop flight out of New York on the O'Life included (premium economy seating added) program is not too high.  I appreciate additional replies and will look at either booking on our own or with Oceania's Custom Air.

IMHO flying in the same day is very risky especially flying into another country. Go the day before book hotel for the evening have dinner start your vacation relaxed for embarkation 

[honmani2]

I've always booked my own tickets but decided to go with Oceania O'Life inclusive air since it seemed it was lower in cost.  When I got the itinerary, it shows a connection time of only 40 minutes for the flight from Munich to San Francisco.  We arrive from Hamburg to Munich at 11 am and the departing flight to

SFO is at 11:45 am.

 

Why on earth would Oceania booked such a flight with such a short connecting time?  My TA has yet to get back to me on this.  I will not be happy if Oceania charges a deviation fee to change the flights.

 

Which brings me to my question.  If I don't make the connection, do I just deal with the airlines to rebook or will Oceania help on this?

[ShopperfiendTO]

3 minutes ago, honmani2 said:

I've always booked my own tickets but decided to go with Oceania O'Life inclusive air since it seemed it was lower in cost.  When I got the itinerary, it shows a connection time of only 40 minutes for the flight from Munich to San Francisco.  We arrive from Hamburg to Munich at 11 am and the departing flight to

SFO is at 11:45 am.

 

Why on earth would Oceania booked such a flight with such a short connecting time?  My TA has yet to get back to me on this.  I will not be happy if Oceania charges a deviation fee to change the flights.

 

Which brings me to my question.  If I don't make the connection, do I just deal with the airlines to rebook or will Oceania help on this?

 

Are your two flights with the same carrier?

 

We had O Air and had the same carrier for the two legs.  When we missed our connection, we dealt with the airline directly.

[ShopperfiendTO]

On 3/23/2023 at 10:29 PM, m1k2s3 said:

We’ve done 6 cruises with Oceania and 4 of those cruises included Oceania doing our flights. Of those 4, three were direct flights. Our Mediterranean cruise Venice to Barcelona had direct flights, on one of  Caribbean cruises, we flew from Toronto to Miami direct and on our upcoming Alaskan cruise, Los Angeles to Vancouver, we have direct flights.

 

The only cruise that didn’t have direct flights was our Australia/New Zealand - those flights were brutal - Toronto to Vancouver with a tight connecting flight to Auckland to get there.  Then back was Bali to Dubai with a 4 hour layover then Dubai to Toronto.

 

 

 

Were there even direct flights able to be booked from Toronto to Austrailia/New Zealand?

 

If not, the ones that you were assigned were probably the closest to direct that could be booked for Canadians not from the Vancouver gateway.

 

I think you scored 4/4, which is lucky for you!

[honmani2]

1 hour ago, ShopperfiendTO said:

 

Are your two flights with the same carrier?

 

We had O Air and had the same carrier for the two legs.  When we missed our connection, we dealt with the airline directly.

No, from Hamburg to Munich, it's Lufthansa.  From Munich to San Francisco, it's United.  One domestic, one international.

[m1k2s3]

12 hours ago, ShopperfiendTO said:

 

Were there even direct flights able to be booked from Toronto to Austrailia/New Zealand?

 

If not, the ones that you were assigned were probably the closest to direct that could be booked for Canadians not from the Vancouver gateway.

 

I think you scored 4/4, which is lucky for you!

Of course there weren’t any direct flights. My point was I’ve had success using Oceania booking our flights - even flights to Australia/New Zealand.

[ShopperfiendTO]

21 minutes ago, m1k2s3 said:

Of course there weren’t any direct flights. My point was I’ve had success using Oceania booking our flights - even flights to Australia/New Zealand.

 

OP was asking about being assigned direct flights when direct flights were available. 

 

Your response sounded like you scored 3/4 and the one that you didn't get direct flights for was terrible:

 

"The only cruise that didn’t have direct flights was our Australia/New Zealand - those flights were brutal - Toronto to Vancouver with a tight connecting flight to Auckland to get there.  Then back was Bali to Dubai with a 4 hour layover then Dubai to Toronto."

 

[LHT28]

BTW   in airline terms

Direct flights  are not the same as NONSTOP

Be careful what you ask for

[PaulMCO]

Slim and none -- especially out of JFK.  Most likely they will put you on BA and connect from LHR.  Another favorite is SAS through Copenhagen or KLM through AMS..

[GinnyJo]

I see the BA, SAS and KLM references above.  Are there certain US carriers that Oceania tends to use for transatlantic flights -- eg, American, United, Delta?  And any US departure cities that have a higher likelihood of been booked on a non-stop?

[babysteps]

20 hours ago, GinnyJo said:

I see the BA, SAS and KLM references above.  Are there certain US carriers that Oceania tends to use for transatlantic flights -- eg, American, United, Delta?  And any US departure cities that have a higher likelihood of been booked on a non-stop?

Only 1/2 an O air package since COVID so take this with a grain or 7 of salt. 

 

Which port makes a difference would be my guess. For example our one transatlantic O air was Lisbon to NY (pre-covid). TAP is the main nonstop provider and that's who our nonstop tickets were on. 

 

Many non-hub European port cities have just a few non stops to a given US airport, and/or just one or 2 US destinations with nonstops. Given our out-of-date TA experience, looking at schedules to the given European city may help you guess best airports and most likely carriers for nonstops. 

 

If a nonstop is important I suggest you do the DIY math. Then if the math isn't compelling for DIY, you could make a deviation request for a nonstop (for a city pair you know offers nonstops). If you don't like what you are quoted you can always go DIY after all. 

 

Even then you may be at seasonal schedule mercies. We lost a DIY nonstop to Italy for a Nov 2021 TA when American shortened their Milan season. We did have 3 month's notice. It worked out and was also a bit of a scramble to adjust. 

Edited April 14, 2023 by babysteps
Clarity and typos

[shank63]

On 3/25/2023 at 9:23 PM, honmani2 said:

 

Which brings me to my question.  If I don't make the connection, do I just deal with the airlines to rebook or will Oceania help on this?

The last time we used Oceania Air (which included the deviation fee) we missed the connection in both directions.  The only help Oceania Air provided was suggesting flights to rebook, but would not provide the rebooking service which had us holding for 2 hours to speak to the airline reservation department.  We lost a day in each direction in addition to the stress and frustration. 

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, shank63 said:

which had us holding for 2 hours to speak to the airline reservation department.

 

Were you also in line for rebooking with an agent at the airport?  Or just relying on the phone?

 

Multi-task.  Be in line, be on the phone, be online.  Then use whichever comes up first.

 

And yes, your online options are probably the best.  Often you will already be rebooked, and you can see the results on your phone's app.  You do put your airline's app on your phone - right?

 

 

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, shank63 said:

The last time we used Oceania Air (which included the deviation fee) we missed the connection in both directions.  The only help Oceania Air provided was suggesting flights to rebook, but would not provide the rebooking service which had us holding for 2 hours to speak to the airline reservation department.  We lost a day in each direction in addition to the stress and frustration. 

I am not sure Oceania  has any pull with the airlines to get you rebooked  ASAP

 

When we had an issue  with a delayed flight (cruise air but not O) as soon as we heard we would be delayed by hours  we headed  quickly to the Special services desk  to get vouchers  for meals 

They were  waiting for new aircraft to be ready  so no need to get a new flight  we were headed home anyway

But 5 hrs in LHR  we wanted food vouchers  to tide us over

 

Get in line for the special services & call the airline while waiting in line  & see what they can do for you

They have the power not Oceania

JMO

[FlyerTalker]

31 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I am not sure Oceania  has any pull with the airlines to get you rebooked  ASAP

 

This is one of the grand misconceptions about cruiseline air.  They are just another layer between you and getting the problem fixed.

 

Now, you may really be stuck if you have fare rules that require you to be rebooked by the cruiseline.  (That would be when you somehow have REALLY cheap tickets, understanding that the greater the "savings", the greater the fare restrictions.)  But you would best find that out by hearing it from the airline itself, who have full access to the specific fare rules for your ticket.  Or by knowing your fare rules before you fly.

 

Again - your best approach is to multi-task.  Use the airline's app/website, be in line for an agent, and be on hold with a phone call.  In that order, at the same time.  And if you want, have your traveling partner be on the phone to the cruiseline - but expect them to have no quick solution.

[Bone1]

We have tried calling Oceania with a request to change our air which we got about 75 days before our cruise as well. We were told by an Oceania rep they will absolutely not talk to us since we are working through a travel agent. Our TA would have to call them. At this point we are so confused because we are hearing so many different things from so many different people, it’s very frustrating. I do have to say though, because we are traveling in ab economy seat we were able to get a non stop flight. 

[LHT28]

8 minutes ago, Bone1 said:

We have tried calling Oceania with a request to change our air which we got about 75 days before our cruise as well. We were told by an Oceania rep they will absolutely not talk to us since we are working through a travel agent. Our TA would have to call them. At this point we are so confused because we are hearing so many different things from so many different people, it’s very frustrating. I do have to say though, because we are traveling in ab economy seat we were able to get a non stop flight. 

If you use  a TA   & have a specific question re your booking  you need to go through your TA

 

If you have a generic question Oceania reps may help you  or if booking excursions & dinner reservations they can help

 

 Dealing with  air or discounts  or new pricing  you need to use your TA

 

Getting  a non stop flight has nothing to do with being in economy   it is to do with the routing & the contracts O has with airlines  using the city pairs  you are using

That is what they are getting paid  for

If you do not trust your TA to do the job then next cruise  find a different TA or book direct

[Bone1]

You are absolutely right LHT28. Seriously considering that option, unfortunately.