Simply More credits will be simply less as of 1/1/24

[Lastdance]

Honestly, I am not having any high expectations on my first Vista cruise;  I wanted to try Oceania with an itinerary that took me to Lisbon, so that I could rent a car and drive to Algarve.  Only PH1’s were available last spring in the PH category.  Everything will be new to us and half the fun will be figuring things out onboard, besides doing my homework now.  It certainly isn’t breaking the bank and the price was right for me.  I also have a b2b/TA on Celebrity for the fall.  My sky suite increased in price by $2,000(Apex)with gratuities going up another $100 for the TA portion.  This all happened within a 15 day period this month!  Yes, Celebrity has no ceiling at all and the stock is on fire!

 

 My Vista cruise is much cheaper too...cannot wait to compare the TA’s for the money, but the experiences will be quite different, I’m sure.  It will be nice to experience a change of venue and a new ship at the same time.  This will be my first time doing two TA’s with different companies in the same year, to and from Europe!  Can’t wait to price airfare🙄!  The best. part is that I never book a cruise unless the $$$ is in my travel account!  My glass is half full!

Edited December 27, 2023 by Lastdance

[Gracie115]

11 hours ago, Lastdance said:

Honestly, I am not having any high expectations on my first Vista cruise;  I wanted to try Oceania with an itinerary that took me to Lisbon, so that I could rent a car and drive to Algarve.  Only PH1’s were available last spring in the PH category.  Everything will be new to us and half the fun will be figuring things out onboard, besides doing my homework now.  It certainly isn’t breaking the bank and the price was right for me.  I also have a b2b/TA on Celebrity for the fall.  My sky suite increased in price by $2,000(Apex)with gratuities going up another $100 for the TA portion.  This all happened within a 15 day period this month!  Yes, Celebrity has no ceiling at all and the stock is on fire!

 

 My Vista cruise is much cheaper too...cannot wait to compare the TA’s for the money, but the experiences will be quite different, I’m sure.  It will be nice to experience a change of venue and a new ship at the same time.  This will be my first time doing two TA’s with different companies in the same year, to and from Europe!  Can’t wait to price airfare🙄!  The best. part is that I never book a cruise unless the $$$ is in my travel account!  My glass is half full!

 

Good to not go in with high expectations but I think you will find the Vista a great ship.  We finished our 1st O trip on Vista just 10 days ago and were very pleased.  The ship is beautiful, elegantly decorated and service wonderful.  A much better experience than our last 2 Celebrity cruises.  We also had PH1 and were very pleased.  They are a bit larger than most Sky Suites, much better appointed with furnishings, the bathroom is large with double sinks and a great rainfall shower.  We couldn't have been happier with the room.  

 

Of course it is a much different experience because the ship is so much smaller.  But the service everywhere was excellent, rarely waited more than a couple minutes before wait staff asked for drink orders.  The specialty restaurants (no charge to anyone) are good to great, Toscano and Polo Grill especially. 

 

We booked another cruise on Allura in 2025 while on board.  

[ak1004]

On 12/22/2023 at 12:06 PM, Psoque said:

In my (possibly limited) experience, Oceania is the most complicated of all of the cruise lines we have dealt with in terms of finding out both a) the actual cost of the cruise (how it is priced) and b) what do you get onboard.  We have been on about 20 cruises in the past on a smattering of various cruise lines, and I’ve never encountered this complicated way of pricing the cruise (especially when OLife was being sold), how was misleadingly described online and in the brochures, and how convoluted the pricing of shore excursion was calculated.  I think the situation is very slightly better with Simply More, but still, it can be simpler.  I am convinced that Oceania is intentionally keeping it complicated to keep many of their customers blissfully unaware.  It’s a shame because the onboard product is not bad at all (though they can always improve, especially if it wants to match what they claim on their advertisements.).

 

I'm not sure if you had a chance to compare with Silversea, so lets see:

 

SS has 2 pricings: D2D and P2P. 

D2D includes air and transfers, but not always, sometimes D2D has air credit. and the fare is fully refundable. P2P does not include air, and the 15% deposit is non refundable. Then there is P2P pre paid, where you get an extra 10-15% discount, but have to pay in full and the whole payment is non refundable.

 

In terms of inclusions: they market the line as all inclusive, but 2 out of 8 restaurants are extra. Excursions are included, but not all of them, some are extra, and only one in each port. Internet is included, but only a basic one (which is pretty basic), you have to pay $29/day to upgrade. Laundry is extra unless you are in one of the higher suites.

 

So every line has its nuances, you just need to learn them and see if the overall package makes sense for you.

[Lastdance]

5 hours ago, Gracie115 said:

 

Good to not go in with high expectations but I think you will find the Vista a great ship.  We finished our 1st O trip on Vista just 10 days ago and were very pleased.  The ship is beautiful, elegantly decorated and service wonderful.  A much better experience than our last 2 Celebrity cruises.  We also had PH1 and were very pleased.  They are a bit larger than most Sky Suites, much better appointed with furnishings, the bathroom is large with double sinks and a great rainfall shower.  We couldn't have been happier with the room.  

 

Of course it is a much different experience because the ship is so much smaller.  But the service everywhere was excellent, rarely waited more than a couple minutes before wait staff asked for drink orders.  The specialty restaurants (no charge to anyone) are good to great, Toscano and Polo Grill especially. 

 

We booked another cruise on Allura in 2025 while on board.  

Thanks so much for sharing this information!  It will be a change for sure, but nothing wrong with that at all.  How exciting that you booked Allura(new ship)while onboard.  It is so nice to have cruises to look forward to in the future.  If my DH can find enough equipment in the gym, he should be fine onboard.  Yes, smaller will be interesting too.  Thanks so much for sharing your information!

[Psoque]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

 

I'm not sure if you had a chance to compare with Silversea, so lets see:

 

SS has 2 pricings: D2D and P2P. 

D2D includes air and transfers, but not always, sometimes D2D has air credit. and the fare is fully refundable. P2P does not include air, and the 15% deposit is non refundable. Then there is P2P pre paid, where you get an extra 10-15% discount, but have to pay in full and the whole payment is non refundable.

 

In terms of inclusions: they market the line as all inclusive, but 2 out of 8 restaurants are extra. Excursions are included, but not all of them, some are extra, and only one in each port. Internet is included, but only a basic one (which is pretty basic), you have to pay $29/day to upgrade. Laundry is extra unless you are in one of the higher suites.

 

So every line has its nuances, you just need to learn them and see if the overall package makes sense for you.

Yes, I can appreciate that every cruise line has its way of selling its product, each with its own convoluted set of policies.  However, the fact that you can describe what Silversea does with just two short paragraphs convinces me that what Oceania does is far more convoluted than than Silversea.

Edited December 28, 2023 by Psoque

[Gracie115]

1 hour ago, Lastdance said:

Thanks so much for sharing this information!  It will be a change for sure, but nothing wrong with that at all.  How exciting that you booked Allura(new ship)while onboard.  It is so nice to have cruises to look forward to in the future.  If my DH can find enough equipment in the gym, he should be fine onboard.  Yes, smaller will be interesting too.  Thanks so much for sharing your information!

Actually the gym was very nice for a smaller ship.  Quite a few different weight machines, some free weights also.  There were probably 8 or so treadmills, a couple of recumbent bikes and a couple regular ones and a couple elliptical machines.  We had no problem finding equipment available to use.

[AMHuntFerry]

2 hours ago, Psoque said:

Yes, I can appreciate that every cruise line has its way of selling its product, each with its own convoluted set of policies.  However, the fact that you can describe what Silversea does with just two short paragraphs convinces me that what Oceania does is far more convoluted than than Silversea.

Revising @ak1004's SS description:

O has 2 pricings: SM w/ air and SM w/o air. 

SM w/ air includes air and transfers, and $150 of the deposit is non refundable. SM w/o air does not include air, and $150 of the deposit is non refundable.

 

In terms of inclusions: they market the line as Premium, not all inclusive, and ALL restaurants are included (even additional reservations if available). Excursions are NOT included, but there is a credit (varies with length of cruise) that can be used toward any shore excursion(s). Internet (2 devices) is included, but only a basic one (no streaming (e.g., Netflix) except for WhatsApp, etc.), you have to pay $9.99/day/device to upgrade to streaming. Laundry SERVICE is extra unless you are in one of the suites (3 bags free) or on a lengthy cruise (e.g., world cruise); laundromats are free.

 

I agree that O makes you dig for the info (I'd love to get ahold of the website designer for a day), but once the rules are known, it's not that complicated.

[Sthrngary]

3 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

I'm not sure if you had a chance to compare with Silversea, so lets see:

 

SS has 2 pricings: D2D and P2P. 

D2D includes air and transfers, but not always, sometimes D2D has air credit. and the fare is fully refundable. P2P does not include air, and the 15% deposit is non refundable. Then there is P2P pre paid, where you get an extra 10-15% discount, but have to pay in full and the whole payment is non refundable.

 

In terms of inclusions: they market the line as all inclusive, but 2 out of 8 restaurants are extra. Excursions are included, but not all of them, some are extra, and only one in each port. Internet is included, but only a basic one (which is pretty basic), you have to pay $29/day to upgrade. Laundry is extra unless you are in one of the higher suites.

 

So every line has its nuances, you just need to learn them and see if the overall package makes sense for you.

@ak1004 I went on the Silversea Website to check it out and consider it.  Your two paragraph explanation is so point on accurate. To @Psoque point, it did take a bit of study to understand Oceania Cruises as well.  In both cases and other brands as well, they seem to change up on things to differentiate themselves. As a consumer, I wish all cruise brand marketing departments would do a much better job of communicating.  For now, that is just a wish.

 

All we can all do is find a cruise brand that suits us today.  My experience is our taste evolve over time and we look for different things for me as I get older.  Every consumer should be educated before they commit their funds.  We should all have our respective head examined to even consider cruises on any brand after reading the contract.  Really want to get confused, that will do it. But speaking only for myself, I kind of like cruising.  

 

I really and truly don't think any cruise brand is trying to be deceptive.  I do think they are not giving all the details. Knowing that, we as consumer need to help each other with actual experience.  For that, this board is really good for me personally if I want to cruise Oceania.  

 

Cruise well and always remember to ask great question. 

[ak1004]

3 hours ago, Psoque said:

Yes, I can appreciate that every cruise line has its way of selling its product, each with its own convoluted set of policies.  However, the fact that you can describe what Silversea does with just two short paragraphs convinces me that what Oceania does is far more convoluted than than Silversea.

 

Well, this was just an executive summary.. want to dig more?

 

Are transfers included with SS? The answer is - it depends. All transfers are included with D2D with air, some are included with D2D without air and none are included with P2P.

 

Are hotels included (pre or post cruise)? Again, it depends. They are on some cruises and some suite categories.

 

What about Venetian society status (you get more perks after 100 days)? I learned that only D2D sailings count. So after 2 cruises that we took P2P we still have 0 VC days, despite sailing with them 22 days.

 

Deviation fee? Again, it depends. Normally it's $150 (O eliminated deviation fee for changing dates), but SS requested us to pay almost $1,000 USD per person for flying 2 days earlier. Same flights, just 2 days earlier. We just took air credit and booked our own flights. Not a big deal.

 

There is more, but you get the idea.

 

To me the fact that a cruise line that markets itself as all inclusive has so many things that are not included is annoying, but I don't make a big deal out of it. You can always find things to complain about if you dig deep enough. We just try to enjoy our vacations and not to make a big deal out of those small and insignificant things. Once you learn the pricing, you just know what to expect and simply compare it to what you get on other lines.

 

38 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

@ak1004 I went on the Silversea Website to check it out and consider it.  Your two paragraph explanation is so point on accurate. To @Psoque point, it did take a bit of study to understand Oceania Cruises as well.  In both cases and other brands as well, they seem to change up on things to differentiate themselves. As a consumer, I wish all cruise brand marketing departments would do a much better job of communicating.  For now, that is just a wish.

 

All we can all do is find a cruise brand that suits us today.  My experience is our taste evolve over time and we look for different things for me as I get older.  Every consumer should be educated before they commit their funds.  We should all have our respective head examined to even consider cruises on any brand after reading the contract.  Really want to get confused, that will do it. But speaking only for myself, I kind of like cruising.  

 

I really and truly don't think any cruise brand is trying to be deceptive.  I do think they are not giving all the details. Knowing that, we as consumer need to help each other with actual experience.  For that, this board is really good for me personally if I want to cruise Oceania.  

 

Cruise well and always remember to ask great question. 

 

Your posts are spot on as always. You are a real asset to CC!

 

Yes, marketing is just that - marketing. Sometimes it's completely disconnected from reality, but we need to be realistic and just ignore it. 

 

I love cruising! Our friends say I'm obsessed about cruising. I don't care. We started with Costa, RCI, Celebrity and advanced to O, SS, Azamara and Crystal. Loved all of them, but today I wouldn't sail on any mass market line (unless in a suite). So yes, we all evolve and our tastes change. I don't have THE favorite cruise line, I have a FEW favorite lines. No loyalty, every new booking is a new case and a blank page.

 

For people who keep complaining about SM - please stop! It is what it is. Comparing it to what it was is pointless. The only thing that matters is how the current pricing compares to other lines.

[elbowroom]

Just looked at the Oceania webpage (Europe) to find that all reference to Simply More has disappeared completely. Is this a hitch? An adjustment?

Any suggestions?

 

[SATaxman]

2 minutes ago, elbowroom said:

Just looked at the Oceania webpage (Europe) to find that all reference to Simply More has disappeared completely. Is this a hitch? An adjustment?

Any suggestions?

 

We have a 2025 cruise booked, and two 2024 cruises "saved". All three show the Simply More.

[LHT28]

5 minutes ago, elbowroom said:

Just looked at the Oceania webpage (Europe) to find that all reference to Simply More has disappeared completely. Is this a hitch? An adjustment?

Any suggestions?

 

maybe a hitch

 

This from the Canadian site

[elbowroom]

1 minute ago, SATaxman said:

We have a 2025 cruise booked, and two 2024 cruises "saved". All three show the Simply More.

I was looking for information about a future cruise, and the picture I got was this. Where reference to Simply More etc. was post just to the right of the dates is empty on this and other cruises, as far as I can gather. 

[SATaxman]

8 minutes ago, elbowroom said:

I was looking for information about a future cruise, and the picture I got was this. Where reference to Simply More etc. was post just to the right of the dates is empty on this and other cruises, as far as I can gather. 

I will check that. I was just looking at the cruise we booked and the cruises we saved.

 

[SATaxman]

6 minutes ago, SATaxman said:

I will check that. I was just looking at the cruise we booked and the cruises we saved.

 

I just looked at the sale cruises for 2024-2025. Clicked on 5 of them and all stated Simply More as one of the "free" things.

 

[LHT28]

30 minutes ago, elbowroom said:

I was looking for information about a future cruise, and the picture I got was this. Where reference to Simply More etc. was post just to the right of the dates is empty on this and other cruises, as far as I can gather. 

Looks like they are updating the site 

I would check back tomorrow  or the next day Miami time

[LHT28]

7 minutes ago, SATaxman said:

I just looked at the sale cruises for 2024-2025. Clicked on 5 of them and all stated Simply More as one of the "free" things.

 

Well you cannot book any cruise on O without SM  so  it is "Free"  or  included   whatever way you want to slice it

[1985rz1]

25 minutes ago, elbowroom said:

I was looking for information about a future cruise, and the picture I got was this. Where reference to Simply More etc. was post just to the right of the dates is empty on this and other cruises, as far as I can gather. 

 

2 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Looks like they are updating the site 

I would check back tomorrow  or the next day

As Lyn suggests, it is the weekend and the site is wonky because they usually do site maintenance on weekends.  Check again after the weekend or maybe after the Jan 1 holiday.

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, 1985rz1 said:

 

As Lyn suggests, it is the weekend and the site is wonky because they usually do site maintenance on weekends.  Check again after the weekend or maybe after the Jan 1 holiday.

Also dropping the  calendar  of 2023  off the site

[1985rz1]

Just now, LHT28 said:

Also dropping the  calendar  of 2023  off the site

Maybe O would like to relive 2023....🤣

[elbowroom]

I sure hope it's just an update matter. 

It give me a bit of a shock, I must admit.

Happy New Year to all!

[YoHoHo]

35 minutes ago, elbowroom said:

Just looked at the Oceania webpage (Europe) to find that all reference to Simply More has disappeared completely. Is this a hitch? An adjustment?

Any suggestions?

 

With a VPN establishing my session in Netherland I see SM on de.oceaniacruises.com

 

I don't know the "Oceania webpage (Europe) ". What is the URL in your browser's address bar?

[elbowroom]

https://www.oceaniacruises.com

The prices are in Euros, so I suppose it recognises IPs. I used a VPN and saw similar blank spaces. Let's hope they will be filled later.

[YoHoHo]

Yes, when O introduced selling in various currencies they served up page content relative to one's (apparent) location. Current as you noted is a easy indicator. O forces the currency of they offer it. Sometimes we gain a little sometimes lose a little bit it is annoying to not have a choice as some other sites do.

 

Sometimes small sections / areas of a page can not display, or display in unexpected areas of the page depending on the browser, device and orientation. CC's search is useless on the tablet I am on now as no option to search just within a thread of forum but another device is okay. Or something like words on a side of a page do not appear at all unless change orientation, etc. *maybe* a field to the left is taking slightly more space today (even whitespace) so the page thinks there is no room for the SM stuff. If you go to the main "specials" page, not for a certain itinerary but overall offers, you might see a graphic about SM.

 

Or as per others, today could be a day they are fixing things and next week will be resolved

[BEEZLEE]

Unfortunately, when we wake up tomorrow on Jan 1st we will see a reduction is SM Credits…expecting a huge backlash…not the way to kick-off the new year…OUCH !