New cancellation policy

[rbtan]

On 8/18/2023 at 4:59 PM, Jancruz said:

Heard today..

As of September 1

Once you put a deposit down $150 per person penalty..no credit no refund you lose this money

180 Days $500 a person no credit no refund you lose this money

You cannot move it to another cruise

Sorry to have to bring you this news..

Jancruz1

PS Dont shoot the messanger

 

What about those of us who booked last Jan.(2023) We only paid 500 on board.No plans on canceling, but I'm waiting on a possible Kidney transplant. So far I'm still fairly stable & hope not to need dialysis until well after the cruise. Obviously if a transplant comes along then the cruise is off & we have full coverage that cost about $1400

[KS&JW]

16 hours ago, rbtan said:

What about those of us who booked last Jan.(2023) We only paid 500 on board.No plans on canceling, but I'm waiting on a possible Kidney transplant. So far I'm still fairly stable & hope not to need dialysis until well after the cruise. Obviously if a transplant comes along then the cruise is off & we have full coverage that cost about $1400

New rules apply only for cruises booked after September 1.  So you previous booked cruise goes by the old rules.  

[Lorna Doone]

Not happy with new policy after 9 Oceania cruises.  So many changes at once has us looking for alternate cruise lines and land tours.

[Hanoj]

1 hour ago, Lorna Doone said:

Not happy with new policy after 9 Oceania cruises.  So many changes at once has us looking for alternate cruise lines and land tours.

Us too, particularly land tours as after disembarking Vista yesterday (for our first Oceania cruise and first with any line since June 2019) we now realize our travel preferences have changed. With these new policies adversely affecting us, it’s easier contemplating various types of land tours. We met a couple from our cruise at a bakery in Waterford, Ireland who have an e-bike based tour in Europe booked next year that has some appeal to us. 
 

[YoHoHo]

The immediate financial penalty means we must research and get quotes on insurance, and slog through their fine print, before booking a cruise now with O. 

 

One policy I like includes CFAR coverage if purchased within 72 hours of booking. Depending on amount of coverage, age and duration it can be competitive with non-cfar policies, or can be much more expensive so must check each time. Another policy requires purchase within 48  hours of the first non-refundable payment for the pre-existing condition waiver. Etc, etc, etc. Insurance coverage is an important consideration for us and unfortunately in Canada have limited options.

 

An immediate penalty means we cannot just book and then get our other arrangements sorted so no more impulse purchases.

 

This apparently small change has a large effect on our purchasing. The size of the penalty is less important than the effect it has. Sudden promotion or opening day bookings take more work. That is a reason we never considered some cruise lines that were otherwise appealing. Unsubscribed from most mailers as I knew would not book because of their immediate penalties.

 

Now O is in the same boat as the rest and one thing less to differentiate O. This new penalty has expanded our list of cruise line possibilities so that is a good thing (for us).

 

We are already drifting away. We are on three cruises this year, only one (upcoming) on O which always was our preferred line.  

[EJL2023]

3 hours ago, YoHoHo said:

The immediate financial penalty means we must research and get quotes on insurance, and slog through their fine print, before booking a cruise now with O. 

 

One policy I like includes CFAR coverage if purchased within 72 hours of booking. Depending on amount of coverage, age and duration it can be competitive with non-cfar policies, or can be much more expensive so must check each time. Another policy requires purchase within 48  hours of the first non-refundable payment for the pre-existing condition waiver. Etc, etc, etc. Insurance coverage is an important consideration for us and unfortunately in Canada have limited options.

 

An immediate penalty means we cannot just book and then get our other arrangements sorted so no more impulse purchases.

 

This apparently small change has a large effect on our purchasing. The size of the penalty is less important than the effect it has. Sudden promotion or opening day bookings take more work. That is a reason we never considered some cruise lines that were otherwise appealing. Unsubscribed from most mailers as I knew would not book because of their immediate penalties.

 

Now O is in the same boat as the rest and one thing less to differentiate O. This new penalty has expanded our list of cruise line possibilities so that is a good thing (for us).

 

We are already drifting away. We are on three cruises this year, only one (upcoming) on O which always was our preferred line.  

Not all travel policies require you purchase within 72 hours of booking for CFAR.  The one I use allows you to purchase the CFAR option if you buy the insurance within 20 days of placing your deposit.  

[Vineyard View]

We always purchase for pre-existing and that is a 14 day window from deposit. We also only insure the deposit initially - maybe check to see if any of those policies are available in Canada 

[YoHoHo]

On 9/2/2023 at 3:45 PM, EJL2023 said:

Not all travel policies require you purchase within 72 hours of booking for CFAR.  The one I use allows you to purchase the CFAR option if you buy the insurance within 20 days of placing your deposit.  

True. I realize this one is strict but it is one I like because of the excellent coverage. I.e. CFAR is 80 or 90% vs as low possible 50% for some others. And can be requested within 48 hours of departure. And very few coverage exclusions / conditions. So great coverage but strict on time window and only for up to 30 days.

[YoHoHo]

On 9/2/2023 at 4:23 PM, Vineyard View said:

We always purchase for pre-existing and that is a 14 day window from deposit. We also only insure the deposit initially - maybe check to see if any of those policies are available in Canada 

Thanks for the suggestion. 14 day is not uncommon but no CFAR so if we go without that, or the price of the CFAR policy is too high then that is a good option. Insuring deposit only is a smart idea.

[Vineyard View]

6 hours ago, YoHoHo said:

Thanks for the suggestion. 14 day is not uncommon but no CFAR so if we go without that, or the price of the CFAR policy is too high then that is a good option. Insuring deposit only is a smart idea.

Life happens. We learned this trick several years back here on CC and I only book this way now. I hope it can work for you. There are online agencies you can ‘live chat’ with to make sure your policy is able to offer this method, and then you also can screen shot your chat with the agent for your records.  

[MarkWiltonM]

I looked at Oceania's live "Terms and Conditions" on the website and don't see the reference to the new refund (no refund) policy that is supposed to be in effect as of September 1. Is it there? 

[njhorseman]

2 hours ago, MarkWiltonM said:

I looked at Oceania's live "Terms and Conditions" on the website and don't see the reference to the new refund (no refund) policy that is supposed to be in effect as of September 1. Is it there? 

It's in the Guest Ticket Contract starting at the bottom of page 5:

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/sites/default/files/2023-08/oceania-guest-ticket-contract-us.pdf

 

 

 

[edgee]

On 8/18/2023 at 6:38 PM, basor said:

That is what travel insurance is for......we never cruise without it

Travel insurance does not cover life situations that change years in advance of a cruise. 

[basor]

37 minutes ago, edgee said:

Travel insurance does not cover life situations that change years in advance of a cruise. 

I am not sure what you mean - our travel insurance is purchased immediately upon making a deposit and then it includes a pre-existing condition waiver...just did this for our SEP 25 cruise booked onboard VISTA.   What life situations are you meaning?

[edgee]

56 minutes ago, basor said:

I am not sure what you mean - our travel insurance is purchased immediately upon making a deposit and then it includes a pre-existing condition waiver...just did this for our SEP 25 cruise booked onboard VISTA.   What life situations are you meaning?

What I am talking about is life situations/reasons other than which is insurable. Some could be health related but uninsurable. Example: Progressive eye disease gets unexpectedly worse on a faster track than previously thought. A happy example:  grandchild decides to get married. Or could be a world event that is not directly related to war or a terrorist event but you no longer feel comfortable traveling there. Example: Turkey.

[GeezerCouple]

On 8/31/2023 at 10:35 AM, KS&JW said:

New rules apply only for cruises booked after September 1.  So you previous booked cruise goes by the old rules.  

 

Wait!

 

This new policy was just announced, is that correct?

And Oceania is retroactively applying it to those who booked since September 1st?

 

Sounds a bit like the "you can get a FCC until..." until you accept the offer and then it's, "Oops, sorry, we cancelled that!  No FCC for you!"

 

I hope they didn't really do this with the deposits!

 

GC

[basor]

2 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Wait!

 

This new policy was just announced, is that correct?

And Oceania is retroactively applying it to those who booked since September 1st?

 

Sounds a bit like the "you can get a FCC until..." until you accept the offer and then it's, "Oops, sorry, we cancelled that!  No FCC for you!"

 

I hope they didn't really do this with the deposits!

 

GC

The policy changed for bookings after 01SEPT - he indicated that he booked mid Sept so that is not retroactive...the policy change was announced in August not just now.....

[GeezerCouple]

3 minutes ago, basor said:

The policy changed for bookings after 01SEPT - he indicated that he booked mid Sept so that is not retroactive...the policy change was announced in August not just now.....

Thanks!

 

I thought it was just announced recently.

 

ETA:  Also, I'm fairly sure that on our first Oceania cruise, there was a $150 or maybe even $250 (?) pp "admin" fee or such, that was non-refundable but could be applied to another cruise within a year.  I don't remember looking for that wording later.

This would have been a bit something like 8 years ago.

Was this in fact a policy back then?

And was it later relaxed?

 

GC

 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2023 by GeezerCouple

[basor]

3 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

Thanks!

 

I thought it was just announced recently.

 

ETA:  Also, I'm fairly sure that on our first Oceania cruise, there was a $150 or maybe even $250 (?) pp "admin" fee or such, that was non-refundable but could be applied to another cruise within a year.  I don't remember looking for that wording later.

This would have been a bit something like 8 years ago.

Was this in fact a policy back then?

And was it later relaxed?

 

GC

 

 

 

Yes - that is correct but it became non transferable a while back 

[LHT28]

6 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

Thanks!

 

I thought it was just announced recently.

 

ETA:  Also, I'm fairly sure that on our first Oceania cruise, there was a $150 or maybe even $250 (?) pp "admin" fee or such, that was non-refundable but could be applied to another cruise within a year.  I don't remember looking for that wording later.

This would have been a bit something like 8 years ago.

Was this in fact a policy back then?

And was it later relaxed?

 

GC

 

 

 

Things change  & policies change

 

Some never check the  details until the S*** hits the fan

JMO

[GeezerCouple]

1 minute ago, LHT28 said:

Things change  & policies change

 

Some never check the  details until the S*** hits the fan

JMO

 

But IF there was a non-refundable deposit (and I *think* I'm remembering correctly?) just a few years ago, then it shouldn't generate such a fuss, especially from some longer-time Oceania aficionados.

 

Also, my complaint about some of these issues is IF/when they (or anyone) changes a policy AFTER someone has signed up/paid for something, and then holds then to the *new* terms, terms that were not in effect when they signed up/enrolled/etc.

And that's what apparently happened to some of those who were offered FCCs if they cancelled that other cruise.  Some cancelled hotels or airlines/etc., and then suddenly, "oops, NOPE...!" 😱

 

GC

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

But IF there was a non-refundable deposit (and I *think* I'm remembering correctly?) just a few years ago, then it shouldn't generate such a fuss, especially from some longer-time Oceania aficionados.

 

Also, my complaint about some of these issues is IF/when they (or anyone) changes a policy AFTER someone has signed up/paid for something, and then holds then to the *new* terms, terms that were not in effect when they signed up/enrolled/etc.

And that's what apparently happened to some of those who were offered FCCs if they cancelled that other cruise.  Some cancelled hotels or airlines/etc., and then suddenly, "oops, NOPE...!" 😱

 

GC

If people booked before the new Cancellation rules were implemented  (Sept 1st  for the  $150 anytime cancellation fee)  then the rule at the time they booked is still in effect

 The  Admin fee did change   where  you used to be able to move it to another cruise  & now  the Admin fee   is non refundable  if you cancel at the 180 day to 151  day mark  after that point the cancellation penalties kick in

https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005306234-What-is-your-cancellation-and-refund-policy-

I am sure  you understand the difference

 

People need to check their invoice  to see where they fall in the  cancellation rules

[doowopbob]

Just had to cancel a cruise 175 days out and got hit with the $500 pp cancellation that I knew nothing about  (my fault for not reading the fine print).  I think it is very short sighted of Oceania to not allow you to transfer that amount to another cruise.  Had we been allowed to do that we would have already booked a future cruise.  As it is they have lost us as customers permanently.  Would never even consider Oceania again. 

[Vineyard View]

Why would they have hit you with $500 at 175 days out? 

[LHT28]

5 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

Why would they have hit you with $500 at 175 days out? 

Have you looked at the Cancellation penalty schedule?