OLife moves to "all in"

[Rainbow3fe]

As an Oceania cruiser we tried Celebrity Edge Aquaclass and will never cruise with them again.  Price was low but it wasn't worth anything because the dining wasn't special. Wines were not good and the upgraded wines were just as bad. The  food was of a poor quality, poorly prepared and there weren't enough waitstaff in restaurants, aside from Blu. Even Luminae was poorly run. 

Edited June 17, 2023 by Rainbow3fe

[sunlover12]

Something to to think about if everyone will be getting a shore excursion credit with Simply More, is that there will be obviously more demand for them. I've been on O cruises with the O Life shore excursion option and haven't always been able to get my first choice. I've occasionally had to go with 2nd or 3rd choices. They sell out.  O is going to have to find a way to increase capacity on the excursions that are in highest demand. 

 

I was on an all inclusive river cruise last year and had one port where we had 2 choices of excursions. One was fully booked and the other one we had no interest in. Didn't get our money's worth at that port.

 

Just speculating, of course. 

[grifdoglover]

If they are included and they get cancelled do you get some kind of credit?

[tropicalkerry2002]

Jan, please let Oceania know that I will never say a bad word about the cookies again, if they keep "cruise only" as it is!

[FetaCheese]

Such a popular topic.  I'm patiently waiting for the official roll out.  

[the more ports the better]

I agree with Sunlover.  We changed sailings about in April to a sailing on July19.  We have been looking to book a sailing excursion to Delos and Rhenia from Mykonos which is probably the most sought after place to see in the Mykonos port.  O offers 1 excursion which has been sold out since day 1.  There are a zillion options on Viator but O has not andded any additional space.

 

I think we all will still be paying for private excursions in port even if O includes an excursion.

[Snaefell3]

5 minutes ago, FetaCheese said:

Such a popular topic.  I'm patiently waiting for the official roll out.  

::passes the popcorn::   Yup!

[basor]

1 hour ago, the more ports the better said:

I agree with Sunlover.  We changed sailings about in April to a sailing on July19.  We have been looking to book a sailing excursion to Delos and Rhenia from Mykonos which is probably the most sought after place to see in the Mykonos port.  O offers 1 excursion which has been sold out since day 1.  There are a zillion options on Viator but O has not andded any additional space.

 

I think we all will still be paying for private excursions in port even if O includes an excursion.

O isn't providing an excursion in every port, they are providing a $$$ credit to be used as you want on any shore excursion.  You could use it all on one excursion or spread it out over several excursions.

[grifdoglover]

@Basor will they give a credit for cancelled excursions?  

[Classiccruiser777]

4 minutes ago, grifdoglover said:

@Basor will they give a credit for cancelled excursions?  

And what if the cancelled excursion is at the last port of call?

[Rainbow3fe]

2 hours ago, tropicalkerry2002 said:

Jan, please let Oceania know that I will never say a bad word about the cookies again, if they keep "cruise only" as it is!

      I used to think they overbaked them. Then I realized that they served the same awful cookies on every Oceania ship.

      Did anyone ever tell you why they are awful? It's really OK with me. I love the cheesecakes, keylime pies, sticky buns and those tiny cakes at Barista's. 🎂I really don't need wonderful cookies.🍪

[NeilWM]

It will be interesting to see what options, if any, are available to countries like Australia where airfares to most cruise locations are high. 

[YourWorldWithBill]

1 hour ago, Rainbow3fe said:

      I used to think they overbaked them. Then I realized that they served the same awful cookies on every Oceania ship.

      Did anyone ever tell you why they are awful? It's really OK with me. I love the cheesecakes, keylime pies, sticky buns and those tiny cakes at Barista's. 🎂I really don't need wonderful cookies.🍪

In case you missed it, there is another (long) thread, "Why do Oceania's cookies have no taste?" So, that's what the comment here about cookies referred to.

[ORV]

Part of this seems to be a calculated case of pruning deadwood.  Hopefully Oceania can replace that with new growth. So threats of “I’ll never sail them again “ might just be what they want. 

[grifdoglover]

@ORVHow are paying customers deadwood?  Never heard of a successful business pruning customers….

[Elbig]

15 minutes ago, grifdoglover said:

@ORVHow are paying customers deadwood?  Never heard of a successful business pruning customers….

Maybe you’re paying but not enough to sustain the premium experience. Maybe some of the traditional cruise only pax aren’t profitable enough. Maybe they need to compete for pax willing and able to pay more for a more inclusive experience. I wouldn’t view it as pruning customers so much as appealing to different target audience. I don’t assume every price increase is evil. I want them to maintain their standards and stay in business. Let’s wait and see the details. If it turns out the new pricing is not for you then you will need to  find other options. 

[PhD-iva]

Ok, so some of us will potentially be exploring “ other options.” Any suggestions on which cruiselines are O’s nearest competitors? I also have to take into account single supplement pricing. Thx to all!

[bob brown]

On 6/17/2023 at 9:44 AM, GeezerCouple said:

 

From Post 269 above, about what's in the SimplyMore:

 

"...All simplyMORE bookings include a shore excursion credit. There will be a group of excursions to choose from using your credit. Unlike Olife, with simplyMORE you can choose to apply your credit to any excursion...."

[emphasis added]

 

"There will be A GROUP OF EXCURSIONS TO CHOOSE FROM"

or

"you can choose to apply your credit to ANY excursion"

?

 

This likely won't affect us, as we so rarely do any cruise excursions (any line, any ship), but for general information, is there going to be a special "group" of eligible excursions available, or is it "any excursion"?  Those could be very different...

 

I'm annoyed by the ambiguity/confusion this wording generates, regardless of the actual meaning.  Why can't Oceania spit it out once, with the correct and unambiguous wording?

 

GC

 

One thing that always annoyed me about the previous list of excursions included with O Life, was that if any were priced higher than the allowed $199. limit, you were charged quite a lot more than just the difference in listed prices to book the higher priced ones.

Under the new plan allowance, that should end…

[ak1004]

1 minute ago, PhD-iva said:

Ok, so some of us will potentially be exploring “ other options.” Any suggestions on which cruiselines are O’s nearest competitors? I also have to take into account single supplement pricing. Thx to all!

 

To me, Azamara, SB and SS. But of course it will depend on the new pricing.

[grifdoglover]

So let me get this straight you think O is not making enough off of a paying customer at their charged fare?  I guess the CEOs salary is a big burden for them then….

[grifdoglover]

@PhD-ivaPresently Viking IMO 

[jonthomas]

3 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

Ok, so some of us will potentially be exploring “ other options.” Any suggestions on which cruiselines are O’s nearest competitors? I also have to take into account single supplement pricing. Thx to all!

Food is most important to us. Which line would compare to O?

[PhD-iva]

4 minutes ago, grifdoglover said:

@PhD-ivaPresently Viking IMO 

Thank you for your response. I dislike Viking’s 1 year ahead final payment date, and I read many complaints about their food. Included shore excursions sounded mostly like bus rides. I hope I have been misinformed….

Edited June 18, 2023 by PhD-iva
Edit

[ak1004]

18 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

Ok, so some of us will potentially be exploring “ other options.” Any suggestions on which cruiselines are O’s nearest competitors? I also have to take into account single supplement pricing. Thx to all!

 

https://www.silversea.com/best-luxury-cruise-deals/single-occupancy-supplements.html

 

25% single supplement on over 10 sailings.

[grifdoglover]

I believe they all have plus and minus’s.  For me the bottom line is itinerary, size and age of ship, price.  Virgin has the best food but they are geared towards younger millennials, which if you are young at heart may be refreshing.