Simply more's impact on current bookings?

[DAF7065]

I am on Vista FT Lauderdale to Southampton in Spring 2025.   A2 Cabin  My TA checked this for SM it is $300 more.   I booked standard O a month ago.  $300 / Day is $13.66 or a glass a wine per day.  No brainer for me.  Moving from shipboard credit to excursion credits was not over the top.  It was $400 ea.  On this cruise I am sure we will be able to find appropriate excursions.   

 

On another cruise, Tahiti to LA April 2024.  Made no sense to change.  $1000 more.   But I booked that Aug of 2022, so I am sure since then pricing has increased.  Plus the ship is all but sold out.   So that one made no sense to change.   

 

My next cruise after 2025??? Who knows....can't see that far in advance at this time.   

[the mice]

2 hours ago, Benita said:

Hi TFree, my husband and I are on the same Vista cruise. I just did the math. We also took the four free shore excursions each and did our own air to LA.  We live in S Florida, so only needed a flight to LA and will Uber home.

    The Simply more price on the website for our PH2 is $800 pp more than we paid for cruise, also with no included airfare. We already booked our shore excursions- got about $1000 worth of excursions in the included 4 each, so that was a wash.  We don’t drink alcohol. It would be nice to have the second wifi included, but I will save the $1600 and either share the one connection or if the wifi is good, buy a second one.

    

    

@TFree  @Benita   We are also on this Nov. 3 Vista cruise.  We booked on opening day and  took Olife, no air, with the 4 free shore excursions.  The price for our B4 is now $400 pp more for SM w/o air.  Our 4 booked shore excursions are $596 each or $1192 per stateroom, so better than the $1000 per stateroom with SM.  We don't drink alcohol either.   Using some "orphaned" miles to fly to LA and will probably pay for an economy flight home (watching prices).  While the 2nd Wifi would be nice on the sea days, we can share and we'll be fine.  We have T-Mobile, so should be able to connect while in ports which is good enough for me to clear out my email.  

[janecambridge]

Yesterday we had a long discussion with our TA regards booking the second cruise in 2025 adjoining one we had already booked.We held on from last week to see the exact SM description.The price was cheaper fo SM and it worked well for us.

But.... this morning I see both cruises are now cheaper still.Can we get a new new price for both our cruises? 

[LHT28]

2 minutes ago, janecambridge said:

Yesterday we had a long discussion with our TA regards booking the second cruise in 2025 adjoining one we had already booked.We held on from last week to see the exact SM description.The price was cheaper fo SM and it worked well for us.

But.... this morning I see both cruises are now cheaper still.Can we get a new new price for both our cruises? 

Best to ask your TA to check for you

[pmatawan]

On 7/2/2023 at 4:49 PM, Rainbow3fe said:

Not true. If you want to get rid of the $199 limit you're going to have to switch to SM and you will

1. Pay a different price for the cruise.

2. Lose your free/ included excursions.

3. Get the "free" beverage package .

    If you choose to use your excursion $$ allowance and book 5 excursions or more pp, you'll get a 25% discount on the excursions. 

 

Good luck 

Do we know if the 25% discount will apply to all excursions or only those over the minimum threshold?

[basor]

2 minutes ago, pmatawan said:

Do we know if the 25% discount will apply to all excursions or only those over the minimum threshold?

the 25% discount is on all excursions (might be one or two that don't) - the discount price is listed for each excursion so you can check...

[carosou]

15 hours ago, TFree said:

Here is another example of the way that the Simply More program would apply to an existing booking. We are booked on the Vista Panama Canal Cruise on November 3. We booked it with Olife without air. We chose the excursions option, so we would get four “free“ excursions each in the non-excluded categories, up to $199 each. We are not big drinkers, so that the beverage package option would never make sense for us, but we would each have a wine or beer at dinner, and possibly at lunch. 

 

The cruise is currently waitlisted in all categories, so I was not even sure if they would give us a quote on the difference, if we wanted to choose Simply More instead of our existing booking. The travel agent reported that in her original call, she was told that they could not quote this since the cruise is sold out. But after checking with some supervisor, they called her back to say that we can make the switch, and the total difference for us would be $798 (meaning, $399 per person).

 

I am going to study this in more detail , when I get a chance, but the way I am looking at it, it is probably worthwhile to us. It is not an amazing deal by any means, just probably worth it. First, we would definitely use the second Wi-Fi login, and probably would have purchased it.  This is a 16 night cruise, so the charge for an additional login would be just under $400. I don’t know if they ever or frequently discount that on board, but that is the list price of the additional login. Then, I don’t know what the going rate for a glass of wine or beer at dinner is, but I am guessing that for a glass of wine and a beer, that might be around $20 per dinner. So that would be about $320 worth of liquor, even if we never have a wine or beer at lunch (and we probably would). We currently get (in effect) an excursion credit that would be worth up to $796 person ($199 X 4), but with very few if any of the excursions eligible and right at the $199 price point that would max out the benefit and based on excursions currently booked, we would get $586 benefit per person. Instead, under Simply More, we would get $1000 worth of excursions, with no limitations as to which excursions we must choose.

 

So, all told, I can argue it either way. I could say that we might end up spending a few additional dollars with simply more, because the size of our excursion credit will be shrinking. But, on the other hand, if wine and beer are more expensive than I am guessing, or if we have more than one at dinner, and occasionally a wine or a beer at lunch, we would probably come out a little ahead with simply more. 
 

I would be curious if others have any reaction to this. Also, anybody with recent experience who can give a better ballpark estimate of the cost of a glass of wine or beer within the categories that would be included in Simply More, that would be helpful.

 

Tom & Judy

Thank you for posting this. We have the same dilemma for our cruise in early October. It is fully paid for, excursions added , no air, etc. I did some calculations and think Simply More would be best for us, but I'm concerned about what will happen to the 9 excursions we booked and paid for (4 were the free excursions). The additional cost would pay for the wine we would have with dinner for our 24 day cruise. I'm just waiting to hear from our TA. We also have two more cruises scheduled, but have not made final payment. 

 

[jrandjr]

23 hours ago, LHT28 said:

The bottom line 

if you have a cruise(s) already booked   check the new SM price  against what your current  amount  is (bottom line)

Then see what you will gain/lose by switching

 

 If the difference is minimal  then it may be worth  switching

 Only you can decide what works best  for your needs/wants

 

YMMV

 

 

 

Wish it were that simple. Ship Board Credits, Promo's and Onboard booking credits have to be thrown into your calculations. 

[TFree]

17 hours ago, LHT28 said:

The  drink menus are listed in this thread   unless they decide to raise the price  in Oct

 

 

 

17 hours ago, 1985rz1 said:

@TFree Remember to add the 20% gratuity to the drink prices listed by @LHT28.

 

2 hours ago, carosou said:

Thank you for posting this. We have the same dilemma for our cruise in early October. It is fully paid for, excursions added , no air, etc. I did some calculations and think Simply More would be best for us, but I'm concerned about what will happen to the 9 excursions we booked and paid for (4 were the free excursions). The additional cost would pay for the wine we would have with dinner for our 24 day cruise. I'm just waiting to hear from our TA. We also have two more cruises scheduled, but have not made final payment. 

 

@LHT28: thanks for the link to the post with the wine and beer listing.  @1985rz1: thanks for the reminder on the 20%.

@carosou: In our case, this seems to work out, so I assume it will for you, too.  Our TA went ahead and made the change for us (but said it could be switched back to OLife if we prefer).  So when I go to my account now, I see that all the excursions (including those waitlisted) are still shown as having been purchased, and then the $500 pp Simply More credit plus the $250 shareholder credit have been applied against the excursions.  By all means, ask, but I don't think this will be a problem.

@the mice and @Benita: maybe we will see you on board.  EDIT: Oh, and by the way, there is a small and relatively inactive Roll Call for our cruise: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2802489-3-november-2023-19-november-2023-panama-canal-adventure-los-angeles-to-miami/

 

 

Tom & Judy
 

Edited July 4, 2023 by TFree
Add link to Roll Call

[Vineyard View]

17 hours ago, LHT28 said:

The  drink menus are listed in this thread   unless they decide to raise the price  in Oct

 

 

Thank you for posting this. I would want to bring wine on board based on these offerings. With the basic package I think it works like only  “one red, one white offering’ ’ per day? Of which would likely not be these? 

[EJL2023]

3 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

Thank you for posting this. I would want to bring wine on board based on these offerings. With the basic package I think it works like only  “one red, one white offering’ ’ per day? Of which would likely not be these? 

It is not just one red etc per day. There were about 35 selections on the list to choose from. We did not have a problem finding something to our liking. But then again, I would say we are not overly picky on wines as long as it is dry. 

Edited July 4, 2023 by EJL2023

[Vineyard View]

2 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

It is not just one red etc per day. There were about 35 selections on the list to choose from. We did not have a problem finding something to our liking. But then again, I would say we are not overly picky on wines as long as it is dry. 

So on the basic, not prestige package,  you have multiple wine options that are included daily with your meals to choose from?  

[the mice]

19 minutes ago, TFree said:

 

 

@LHT28:  @1985rz1: 

@carosou: 
@the mice and @Benita: maybe we will see you on board.  EDIT: Oh, and by the way, there is a small and relatively inactive Roll Call for our cruise: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2802489-3-november-2023-19-november-2023-panama-canal-adventure-los-angeles-to-miami/

 

 

Tom & Judy
 

Been on that roll call - agree, very inactive, but find that's been true of many RCs lately.

[Rainbow3fe]

18 hours ago, TFree said:

Here is another example of the way that the Simply More program would apply to an existing booking. We are booked on the Vista Panama Canal Cruise on November 3. We booked it with Olife without air. We chose the excursions option, so we would get four “free“ excursions each in the non-excluded categories, up to $199 each. We are not big drinkers, so that the beverage package option would never make sense for us, but we would each have a wine or beer at dinner, and possibly at lunch. 

 

The cruise is currently waitlisted in all categories, so I was not even sure if they would give us a quote on the difference, if we wanted to choose Simply More instead of our existing booking. The travel agent reported that in her original call, she was told that they could not quote this since the cruise is sold out. But after checking with some supervisor, they called her back to say that we can make the switch, and the total difference for us would be $798 (meaning, $399 per person).

 

I am going to study this in more detail , when I get a chance, but the way I am looking at it, it is probably worthwhile to us. It is not an amazing deal by any means, just probably worth it. First, we would definitely use the second Wi-Fi login, and probably would have purchased it.  This is a 16 night cruise, so the charge for an additional login would be just under $400. I don’t know if they ever or frequently discount that on board, but that is the list price of the additional login. Then, I don’t know what the going rate for a glass of wine or beer at dinner is, but I am guessing that for a glass of wine and a beer, that might be around $20 per dinner. So that would be about $320 worth of liquor, even if we never have a wine or beer at lunch (and we probably would). We currently get (in effect) an excursion credit that would be worth up to $796 person ($199 X 4), but with very few if any of the excursions eligible and right at the $199 price point that would max out the benefit and based on excursions currently booked, we would get $586 benefit per person. Instead, under Simply More, we would get $1000 worth of excursions, with no limitations as to which excursions we must choose.

 

So, all told, I can argue it either way. I could say that we might end up spending a few additional dollars with simply more, because the size of our excursion credit will be shrinking. But, on the other hand, if wine and beer are more expensive than I am guessing, or if we have more than one at dinner, and occasionally a wine or a beer at lunch, we would probably come out a little ahead with simply more. 
 

I would be curious if others have any reaction to this. Also, anybody with recent experience who can give a better ballpark estimate of the cost of a glass of wine or beer within the categories that would be included in Simply More, that would be helpful.

 

Tom & Judy

Hi,

      We have been thinking about this dilemma for a while.  We do not want to spend $800 for the alcohol package.  We do not drink wine nor beer at lunch. We enjoy fine wine at dinner and enjoy pre-dinner drinks on our Veranda. We are happy to bring our own  bottle from a local winery and pay the $25 corkage.

     We have no idea if the wines they're offering are run of the mill $10 -15 bottles. That we will wait to  find out when others have experienced SM.

 

       My opinion about the excursions isn't clear yet. We probably will stay with our 4 or 6 "free" at least for our next 2 cruises. We have chosen many and booked everything already. They appear to fit our needs. Some are OE & OS. With the 25% discount they were reasonably priced. We interspersed private tours when we thought it warranted.

 

       We are older and have traveled extensively and always independently. Now, we are happy enough to let Oceania do the legwork. 

 

         Looking forward to hearing more about people's opinions.

Felice &  Ivan 

      

Edited July 4, 2023 by Rainbow3fe

[basor]

27 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

So on the basic, not prestige package,  you have multiple wine options that are included daily with your meals to choose from?  

Correct - you can choose from any of the wine by the glass offerings - take a look at the wine menus posted to get an idea of what is offered

[Acrusa]

5 minutes ago, basor said:

Correct - you can choose from any of the wine by the glass offerings - take a look at the wine menus posted to get an idea of what is offered

The wines offered on the SM will they be what's on the premium package or the cheaper package. Over our 14 cruises we never took a drink package alway ordered wine by the bottle at dinner 

[basor]

5 minutes ago, Acrusa said:

The wines offered on the SM will they be what's on the premium package or the cheaper package. Over our 14 cruises we never took a drink package alway ordered wine by the bottle at dinner 

The wines offered by the glass are the same for either package....

[EJL2023]

5 minutes ago, Acrusa said:

The wines offered on the SM will they be what's on the premium package or the cheaper package. Over our 14 cruises we never took a drink package alway ordered wine by the bottle at dinner 

The SM package is the House Select, which is the lower priced package. Honestly, I believe the wines by glass are the same under both packages.  

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, jrandjr said:

Wish it were that simple. Ship Board Credits, Promo's and Onboard booking credits have to be thrown into your calculations. 

That is part of the bottom line calculations 😄

[LHT28]

  OMG

The  Wine/beer  deal   is wine by the glass from the menus  for House select/ Prestige/SM

 

 I cannot see them reverting  to 1  white  & 1 red as some other lines offer

It does say there is  a selection

 

If the wines by the glass are not to your taste  then bring or buy a bottle

Why are people trying to complicate  things more than need be 😲

 

I need a vacation

[Susagoode1]

I am considering Oceania because we want a smaller ship. We went on 2 Celebrity cruises , our first with them and even with the last in a suite with butler, just don’t want to deal with the amount of people on board. The only saving grace was we had the wonderful speciality restaurant for that cabin class. 
Anyway, my question to you is with this new simply more program, do I understand correctly that we cannot go to a lounge and have a cocktail without paying for it? Is it only at lunch and dinner that it is included?

The concierge balcony cabin is very costly but I’d love to try Oceania. Thank you all!

Edited July 4, 2023 by Susagoode1
Misspelled

[LHT28]

2 minutes ago, Susagoode1 said:

I am considering Oceania because we want a smaller ship. We went on 2 Celebrity crises, our first with them and even with the last in a suite with butler, just don’t want to deal with the amount of people on board. The only saving grace was we had the wonderful speciality restaurant for that cabin class. 
Anyway, my question to you is with this new simply more program, do I understand correctly that we cannot go to a lounge and have a cocktail without paying for it? Is it only at lunch and dinner that it is included?

The concierge balcony cabin is very costly but I’d love to try Oceania. Thank you all!

Wine/beer.Champagne  by the glass with lunch & dinner  is included under SM

 

Not sure what lounge   you mean but  yes any drinks outside of meals  are extra

[grifdoglover]

The simply more beverage package is for lunch and dinner wine beer champagne…(no mixed drinks).  If you want a cocktail some other time you pay for it unless you pay more for the prestige package.

[Rainbow3fe]

1 hour ago, Vineyard View said:

Thank you for posting this. I would want to bring wine on board based on these offerings. With the basic package I think it works like only  “one red, one white offering’ ’ per day? Of which would likely not be these? 

      I definitely agree that these selections don't make me smile.   

    We will continue to bring awesome local wines onboard.

 

[Woofa]

This is only my suggestion (and I know it will be impossible for some of you,) but I think it behooves all of us to stop thinking along the lines that "we are paying for someone else to drink," or "we are subsidizing someone else's excursion.". Whether or not this is true the fact remains that almost all premium and luxury lines already do this to one degree or another.  (I know Windstar still has less inclusive options.). I would not be surprised if in this post covid world this trend only continues.

Rather it would seem less stressful to just take the cruise experience as a whole and make a determination afterward if you enjoyed it and can afford the price point.  After all, while I know we would have preferred O stayed with cruise only, we are grateful at least that O has not just raised prices across the board without adding anything in. (I know they and all cruise lines do this regularly anyway.)

This is the mindset we have decided makes the most sense going forward for us. If we want to cruise in the future this will clearly be a part of most of the options out there and since there is little we can do about it we prefer to make lemonade and do our best not to let this ruin our vacations.