Potential Pricing Strategy for Oceania Cruises

[Sthrngary]

I don't want to come of as the expert here because I am NOT. What I do want to do is create a forum to openly discuss having a pricing strategy for Oceania Cruises.  The more you watch how a brand moves their prices, the better potential you have to gain a great value proposition.  It is important you like the brand, ship and Itinerary or else the information is mute. Let's assume those that comment WANT to take another Oceania Cruise.  

 

Request: If you have an issue with Oceania; changes Oceania recently did; Oceania pricing today; please create your own topic and do not hijack this stream. Thank you in advance for your assistance. 

 

Here is my experience which usually came after reading some ones post right here in this CruiseCritic.com Brand Blog.

 

1. Book As Far Out As Possible:  I booked in November 2023 for a cruise in October 2025.  The fare was reduced by 5%.
2. Best Value Often Times is the Older Ships:  When the Vista was launched the prices for similar itinerary to the Riviera or Marina made the Vista much higher. As the months go by, the Vista pricing on some itineraries are leveling down. Not 100% but it is noticeable.  The Riviera and Marina for the same itinerary right now are the positive value proposition to the Vista still. 
3. See a Sale Online, Check with Oceania: Whether it is a sailing you have booked or one you are considering.  See a sale, call your Agent or Oceania to gain accurate pricing.  You can also from time to time go to a third party site to check out pricing.  When doing that, make sure the check box saying "Non-Refundable Fairs" is not clicked.  You want accuracy.  
4. Check Your Credit Card Perks:  Some of these Perks are combinable with other sales; some are not.  Worth checking it out because the rules seem to change like the wind.  
5. Book Onboard For Extra Benefits/Value: I booked my next cruise while cruising on the Riviera.  I got the information on day one, booked the actual itinerary on day 5 of a 10 day cruise.  The last day is super crowed at the future sales desk. My future booking was: 5% off for booking so far in advance; $250.00 of OBC on my current or future cruise; $400.00 off the fair for a Concierge Level booking; my travel agency game me free gratuities, and this cruise was booked with the SimplyMore amenities which in my case was $800.00 for excursions.  This $800.00 was reduced to $600.00 on January 1, 2024. 
6. Guest Paid Discounted Upgrade: Never any guarantees however as either a sale happens or you get close to the actual cruise, call Oceania or your travel Agent and ask to be considered for a "Paid Guest Discounted Upgrade".  Like chicken soup, can't hurt.  Like the stateroom and pricing you have disregard this suggestion. 
7. Travel Agents Perks to You: I want to be crystal clear here, I was a commission sales professional and never cut my commission.  I don't believe in asking my agent to cut hers.  She offered once and I said, No your commission is your income.  I will take a perk if I have brought business to her and she sales product.  Consider that my commission. Yet, may agencies especially ones that do lots of luxury YouTube.com tour video's make offers to those that allow them to do your bookings.  The same hold true for many of the agents that work with many of you.  My agent gave me free gratuities through her agency.  That one I accepted. 
8. Read Post Online and In Social Media for your Brand: Historically, I learn about sales, fare increases or decreases, program adjustments online in social media before they are ever shared in other ways.  If you don't keep yourself informed, you might miss an opportunity. 
9. Private Travel Agency Sales:  On this one, it usually happens with the bigger agencies.  Tell your agent you want a heads up if one should show it lovely head. These kinds of sales are usually not make easily public.  
10. Airfare: See how much the fair goes down when you pull the airfare out.  In my recent case it was $1,400.00 per person plus $199.00 to fly from my local airport which is not a hub.  Now I keep this as part of my booking until I can actual book directly with my airline brand and itinerary  of choice.  Usually 330 days in advance of the return flight. If you get in early enough, you can gain a fully refundable fair at about the same price as the $1,599.00 example I gave above.  Your flight amount may vary. 
11. Learn the Drink Programs/Benefits: Keep the SimplyMore only.  Upgrade on the ship. Bring bottles of wine or spirits onboard all giving you the option to or not to upgrade to the Prestige Drink Package. Be an educated consumer. 
12. Learn About Percentage Discounts for Booking Lots of Excursions:  This is something I don't use.  I usually arrange my excursions on my own.  Based on my experience and is not every ones experience.  However, there are benefits to booking a certain number of excursions with Oceania.  Learn the rules and you might same some money.  Remember, if a excursion or port is canceled having nothing to do with you, you might lose the benefits.  Again, know the rules to the game if you want to play.

 

Please remember if you make a reservation for far in the future, if you cancel it, you will be charged a $150.00 administrative fee.  This just recently happened and to me it sends a message.  The message is if you book a cruise, take a stateroom out of inventory, cancel the cruise you should think twice before you book it.  I get that as a business strategy.  

 

Now, please add your approach.  This topic is about gaining a good value proposition by stay aware of what is available. 

 

"Cruise well and enjoy every moment." 

[SATaxman]

As far as gratuities offered by a TA, we used a TA to book a 2025 cruise. I was looking at 7 different ones, the TA held them for 7 days. My husband and I discussed this over the weekend and selected the one we wanted. That one was not offering free gratuities to the TA. Apparently 4 of the other 6 had that "perk". It was not enough to change our minds. We are looking forward to this 2025 cruise, and hope that in the 1 1/2 years, maybe another sale or perks will apply to this cruise. BTW, it was $400 less on NYday; however, after 1/1/2024, the excursion $$ was cut by $400.

[Sthrngary]

2 minutes ago, SATaxman said:

As far as gratuities offered by a TA, we used a TA to book a 2025 cruise. I was looking at 7 different ones, the TA held them for 7 days. My husband and I discussed this over the weekend and selected the one we wanted. That one was not offering free gratuities to the TA. Apparently 4 of the other 6 had that "perk". It was not enough to change our minds. We are looking forward to this 2025 cruise, and hope that in the 1 1/2 years, maybe another sale or perks will apply to this cruise. BTW, it was $400 less on NYday; however, after 1/1/2024, the excursion $$ was cut by $400.

@SATaxman Great information.  Keep it coming.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[FeliciaLee]

As always, great info.

 

With regards to the older ships, yeah that is where we mostly find the best deals. But not always. For our March Bermuda cruise, Vista was cheaper than any other ship!

 

Also, I just found a cruise on Riviera for only $99 pp/pd 🙂

[Sthrngary]

5 minutes ago, FeliciaLee said:

I just found a cruise on Riviera for only $99 pp/pd

@FeliciaLee Please share.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[WildWanderers]

Hi Sthrngary, 

 

I like your list - thought provoking.

 

I have a footnote on your suggestion to buy the upgrade to the drinks package when on board.  On our back-to-back cruises in December, we were told (many times) that we would not have been eligible for the 10% discount on the drinks package available to Oceania Club silver (and above) members, had we booked only on board.  

 

We used to always book the upgrade once we boarded, but no more.  One benefit to prebooking the upgrade is that the BIB code is on your key card as soon as you check in - no need to go to Reception to update the card to get the BIB code to signal that you have the upgrade.

 

On our back-to back cruises in August, the executive concierge was never able to incorporate the 10% discount.  

 

At least now (compared to in August) everyone is in agreement that it should be honoured.

 

Your point to check with Oceania when one of your booked cruises is on sale is well taken;  yesterday we got $3,200 CAD off on one of our pre-booked cruises.  It was not booked originally under SimplyMore as it has not been advantageous to switch until now.  Part of the savings came from the addition of the excursion credits, and an increase in the discount you get for foregoing the air fare.  Three other cruises also covered by the New Year's Sale were nowhere close to better deals for us.

 

Keep up the good work!

 

Cheers,

Greg from the WildWanderers

[AMHuntFerry]

1 hour ago, FeliciaLee said:

As always, great info.

 

With regards to the older ships, yeah that is where we mostly find the best deals. But not always. For our March Bermuda cruise, Vista was cheaper than any other ship!

 

Also, I just found a cruise on Riviera for only $99 pp/pd 🙂

Is that the spring 2024 cruise that transits the Suez Canal? I'm guessing there have been a few cancellations.

[FeliciaLee]

26 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

Is that the spring 2024 cruise that transits the Suez Canal? I'm guessing there have been a few cancellations.

You got it! When I showed my husband, he was like:  ummm

[Hlitner]

When we booked our first O cruise (35 days on the Vista) we followed some advice posted by Flatbush Flyer and sought out a deal that included gratuities.  In the end, we used one of our favored cruise agencies (who we have used for decades) who gave us gratuities plus an additonal generous On Board Credit.  Since we are staying in Europe for a couple of weeks after our cruise we simply did our own air. When booking Business Class and needing deviation, O air makes little sense since they do not have good prices and charge an extra fee.

 

Hank

[Sthrngary]

1 hour ago, WildWanderers said:

Hi Sthrngary, 

 

I like your list - thought provoking.

 

I have a footnote on your suggestion to buy the upgrade to the drinks package when on board.  On our back-to-back cruises in December, we were told (many times) that we would not have been eligible for the 10% discount on the drinks package available to Oceania Club silver (and above) members, had we booked only on board.  

 

We used to always book the upgrade once we boarded, but no more.  One benefit to prebooking the upgrade is that the BIB code is on your key card as soon as you check in - no need to go to Reception to update the card to get the BIB code to signal that you have the upgrade.

 

On our back-to back cruises in August, the executive concierge was never able to incorporate the 10% discount.  

 

At least now (compared to in August) everyone is in agreement that it should be honoured.

 

Your point to check with Oceania when one of your booked cruises is on sale is well taken;  yesterday we got $3,200 CAD off on one of our pre-booked cruises.  It was not booked originally under SimplyMore as it has not been advantageous to switch until now.  Part of the savings came from the addition of the excursion credits, and an increase in the discount you get for foregoing the air fare.  Three other cruises also covered by the New Year's Sale were nowhere close to better deals for us.

 

Keep up the good work!

 

Cheers,

Greg from the WildWanderers

@WildWanderers Greg, so here is my question. My I or any Oceania Cruise guest, upgrade from the SimplyMore drink package to the Prestige Unlimited Drink package pre-cruise.  Up to now, i thought that was not possible.  Can you clarify.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[SATaxman]

1 hour ago, Sthrngary said:

@WildWanderers Greg, so here is my question. My I or any Oceania Cruise guest, upgrade from the SimplyMore drink package to the Prestige Unlimited Drink package pre-cruise.  Up to now, i thought that was not possible.  Can you clarify.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

Yes you can. The reason(s) I have seen on this thread for waiting include first day not a full day, happy hour, captains party for newbies, captains party for regulars, waiting to see if it makes financial sense.

[edgee]

6 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

I was a commission sales professional and never cut my commission.  I don't believe in asking my agent to cut hers.  She offered once and I said, No your commission is your income.  I will take a perk if I have brought business to her and she sales product.  Consider that my commission. Yet, may agencies especially ones that do lots of luxury YouTube.com tour video's make offers to those that allow them to do your bookings.  The same hold true for many of the agents that work with many of you.  My agent gave me free gratuities through her agency. 

Your highly principled attitude seems not to recognize that there are several high volume agencies, such as one I use, whose business model involves a rebate of a portion of their commission in addition to the perks such as onboard credit and included gratuities, when available through their consortium. On recent 16 night cruise on Oceania Vista, I received about 8 percent of my fare back in the form of a check two weeks before sailing in addition to prepaid gratuities and $150 on board credit from the TA plus $250 NCL shareholder credit. If prepaid gratuities were not available on that cruise, I would have received Amex Platinum on board credit also. I also get great personal service from a travel agent who is paid on a salaried basis with some incentives, so she is not giving me a part of "her" commission. 

[SATaxman]

Wish I had booked with your TA.

[Mareblu]

We have already done just that (upgraded to Prestige).  Our Vista cruise is not till April.

Edited January 5 by Mareblu

[AMHuntFerry]

What's better than a @Sthrngary post? A Sthrngary post with related comments! Here we go (please excuse the weird cut-and-paste formatting):

Hi Gary, I’ll give a slightly different perspective. Here we are in a nutshell: We tend not to book far in advance (half a year is stretching our commitment level) so we’ll be booking around or after full payment. We want value for our money but won’t make ourselves miserable saving every penny in sight. We tried using a ship as a floating hotel/transport and hated it for that purpose (we'll stick to DIY land-based travelling). However, we were shocked to find out we actually loved kicking back and relaxing on the ship...similar to going to a mountain lodge.

1. Book As Far Out As Possible:  I booked in November 2023 for a cruise in October 2025.  The fare was reduced by 5%.

Book as late as possible. We like to travel September-December, sometimes May. Booking a September cruise before March does not work for us, and even March is earlier than I like.

2. Best Value Often Times is the Older Ships:  When the Vista was launched the prices for similar itinerary to the Riviera or Marina made the Vista much higher. As the months go by, the Vista pricing on some itineraries are leveling down. Not 100% but it is noticeable.  The Riviera and Marina for the same itinerary right now are the positive value proposition to the Vista still. 

Agree. If memory serves, Vista was originally about $100 more per day per person than comparable itineraries on O- and R-ships the first year (but then there were some sales); I think Allura was similar or more but I didn’t look very hard. Also, the new ships have done away with inside and ocean view, so if sorting by price, Vista and Allura will appear more expensive (since you’re comparing a French Balcony to an Inside) unless you can also sort by cabin type.

3. See a Sale Online, Check with Oceania: Whether it is a sailing you have booked or one you are considering.  See a sale, call your Agent or Oceania to gain accurate pricing.  You can also from time to time go to a third party site to check out pricing.  When doing that, make sure the check box saying "Non-Refundable Fairs" is not clicked.  You want accuracy.

Mostly agree. Without a TA you will miss the occasional-sale (silent or early release) and/or TA perks (with O that usually means prepaid gratuities or OBC). Some people even have more than one TA in order to shop around (not me…see below).

4. Check Your Credit Card Perks:  Some of these Perks are combinable with other sales; some are not.  Worth checking it out because the rules seem to change like the wind.  

No comment since I just use the CC trip insurance which is pretty limited.

5. Book Onboard For Extra Benefits/Value: I booked my next cruise while cruising on the Riviera.  I got the information on day one, booked the actual itinerary on day 5 of a 10 day cruise.  The last day is super crowed at the future sales desk. My future booking was: 5% off for booking so far in advance; $250.00 of OBC on my current or future cruise; $400.00 off the fair for a Concierge Level booking; my travel agency game me free gratuities, and this cruise was booked with the SimplyMore amenities which in my case was $800.00 for excursions.  This $800.00 was reduced to $600.00 on January 1, 2024. 

Undecided. As a last-minute booker, the benefits of booking onboard can be limited to the extra OBC which still has me wondering if it’s worth the headache (there are things more important than money). Some (maybe all?) sales will not be combinable with the discount (which isn’t massive for the ~10 day steerage fares anyway). With the change in due date, I’ll now be booking near or after final payment, so the low deposit isn’t useful (and I’m loaning O the $500). The price guarantee isn’t useful for similar reasons.

6. Guest Paid Discounted Upgrade: Never any guarantees however as either a sale happens or you get close to the actual cruise, call Oceania or your travel Agent and ask to be considered for a "Paid Guest Discounted Upgrade".  Like chicken soup, can't hurt.  Like the stateroom and pricing you have disregard this suggestion. 

Agreed. The upgrade sales are my favorite (except for the deep discount unicorns), although I’ll probably choose money savings over a higher room since the perks don’t hold much value to us.

7. Travel Agents Perks to You: I want to be crystal clear here, I was a commission sales professional and never cut my commission.  I don't believe in asking my agent to cut hers.  She offered once and I said, No your commission is your income.  I will take a perk if I have brought business to her and she sales product.  Consider that my commission. Yet, may agencies especially ones that do lots of luxury YouTube.com tour video's make offers to those that allow them to do your bookings.  The same hold true for many of the agents that work with many of you.  My agent gave me free gratuities through her agency.  That one I accepted. 

Agreed. I am an avid “buy local” consumer, so my TA is someone with a desk and a guest chair within a short drive from my house (I used to be able to walk but they moved!). She also has my back if something crazy happens. I won’t get as many deals as a well connected TA, but I’m OK with that. She offers consortium-related PPG/OBC on some cruises, and had access to the Extraordinary Sale weeks before it was public (I tried to tell people here, but I’m not sure I was believed…the discounts were “too good to be true”. I was selfish enough to book my own cruise first though 😉 ).

8. Read Post Online and In Social Media for your Brand: Historically, I learn about sales, fare increases or decreases, program adjustments online in social media before they are ever shared in other ways.  If you don't keep yourself informed, you might miss an opportunity. 

Agreed. But don’t let it become a chore that you stress over. I can overdo travel planning, as in, spend more time planning than travelling. Sometimes saving that $20 (or even $200 is just not worth it.

9. Private Travel Agency Sales:  On this one, it usually happens with the bigger agencies.  Tell your agent you want a heads up if one should show it lovely head. These kinds of sales are usually not make easily public.  

Not sure this is completely true but I have no data. My TA’s agency is a small, family run agency in podunk Idaho. I had access to the sale to end all sales in advance. Would one of the higher producers have more sales? Probably. The super-informed will be needed to settle this question.

10. Airfare: See how much the fair goes down when you pull the airfare out.  In my recent case it was $1,400.00 per person plus $199.00 to fly from my local airport which is not a hub.  Now I keep this as part of my booking until I can actual book directly with my airline brand and itinerary  of choice.  Usually 330 days in advance of the return flight. If you get in early enough, you can gain a fully refundable fair at about the same price as the $1,599.00 example I gave above.  Your flight amount may vary. 

Sort of Agree. I don’t even bother with the O-air option any more. I’m not sure I’d ever let O handle my air for any price. Many years ago, when we were first out of grad school and we had international travel (spouse more than me), it took a while to get out of the student-save-every-penny mentality. We no longer have that mentality. Minimizing stops, avoiding cities we find problematic, and having departures/arrivals/layovers that we like are worth paying for. We also tried out United’s premium seats to/from Europe last fall…they are now on our probably-worth-paying-for list (or we’ll take the QM2 eastbound 😊 ). Also, we buy directly from the airline to get the flexibility that offers.

11. Learn the Drink Programs/Benefits: Keep the SimplyMore only.  Upgrade on the ship. Bring bottles of wine or spirits onboard all giving you the option to or not to upgrade to the Prestige Drink Package. Be an educated consumer.

Agree. This varies so much by individual. Our typical day has us drinking 2 cocktails at happy hour (some days more, some days less but always cocktails). I think we spent a little more than $500 on drinks for both of us (bar grats included) on a 13 night cruise. No package needed. 

12. Learn About Percentage Discounts for Booking Lots of Excursions:  This is something I don't use.  I usually arrange my excursions on my own.  Based on my experience and is not every ones experience.  However, there are benefits to booking a certain number of excursions with Oceania.  Learn the rules and you might same some money.  Remember, if a excursion or port is canceled having nothing to do with you, you might lose the benefits.  Again, know the rules to the game if you want to play.

Agree. I have used the 25% discount, but it was on the old O-Life plan. I narrow down the excursions that I am considering, then note the full price and discount price. There are occasions where booking enough to get the discount will actually cost less than booking 1 less than the minimum (or 2 or __ if you have a long cruise). How that compares to independent tour operators or DIY is another column in the spreadsheet. One benefit of the old program was that if O cancelled a tour that was an O-Life tour, you received either another O-Life tour or a $100 refund (which was the cost out-of-pocket for an O-Life tour). From what we’ve seen on CC, SM has a different policy…use it or lose it; I’m still waiting to see how this plays out.

 

[Sthrngary]

All the information posted is so helpful. Thank you all. Keep the comments coming.

[Hlitner]

Just a word regarding the commission cutting posts.  We are not "do gooders" or customers standing on some kind of pedestal.  When we deal with cruise agencies, that generally rebate 7-10% of the cruise price, that is simply their business model.  We (and other customers) do not ask for those deals.  When we book a cruise, we price out the deals with 2-4 trusted cruise agencies and generally give the booking to whichever agency has the best overall deal.  Our two favorite cruise agencies have been in business for decades (one of our cruise agents has been working for the same agency over 30 years) so these agencies have withstood the test of time.  However, they are able to provide these decent deals is not for me to analyze as we are simply completing a business transaction.  And I should add that these agencies are all treated very well by the cruise lines.

 

Hank

[Vallesan]

9 hours ago, WildWanderers said:

 

 

I have a footnote on your suggestion to buy the upgrade to the drinks package when on board.  On our back-to-back cruises in December, we were told (many times) that we would not have been eligible for the 10% discount on the drinks package available to Oceania Club silver (and above) members, had we booked only on board.  

 

On our back-to back cruises in August, the executive concierge was never able to incorporate the 10% discount.  

 

At least now (compared to in August) everyone is in agreement that it should be honoured.

 

 

Hello

I’m a little bit confused. 

“At least now (compared to in August) everyone is in agreement that it should be honoured”

Who is “everyone”?

 

We are silver and when I checked the upgraded package costs with my TA in November, Oceania came back and said the 10% discount was only given on pre-booked upgrades.

 

As it so happens, in our case booking on board on Day2 would cover the 10% anyway!
 

Just wanted to be clear. Thanks.
 

[WildWanderers]

Hi Vallesan,

 

You ask who I meant by "everyone".  

 

On our August trip the Reception and purser staff did not agree that the 10% discount should be given to us for our second of two back-to-back cruises, the one on which we attained the silver level in the Oceania Club.  Hence, my "everyone".  

 

One said that it was because we had not booked the upgrade in advance, which we in fact had.  Another said that we were not eligible because we were on the previous cruise when we booked the upgrade.  His colleague disagreed.  There was general agreement we were not eligible but each with different reasons.

 

When I showed the executive concierge the Oceania Club documentation that indicated we would be eligible for the10% discount, she did try to get approval to give it to us by contacting Head Office, but was unable to get the approval before the end of the trip.

 

She joked at the time that the next random rationale that would be thrown at us, to reject the approval of the 10% discount, would be that we had to be wearing a red shirt at the time of booking.

 

In our December trips on the same ship with some of the same staff who had previously said we were not eligible for the 10% discount, there was then general agreement that we were eligible for the 10% discount because we had again booked in advance, but giving us the 10% discount on the shipboard account was a challenge for them.  We were on back-to-back cruises again, with different executive concierges, and each implemented the 10% discount differently.

 

Our Oceania representative, the guy who books our trips, racks it up to the learning curve on SimplyMore.

 

Clearly your experience has been different.

 

Cheers,

Greg from the WildWanderers

 

[Vallesan]

2 hours ago, WildWanderers said:

Hi Vallesan,

 

You ask who I meant by "everyone".  

 

On our August trip the Reception and purser staff did not agree that the 10% discount should be given to us for our second of two back-to-back cruises, the one on which we attained the silver level in the Oceania Club.  Hence, my "everyone".  

 

One said that it was because we had not booked the upgrade in advance, which we in fact had.  Another said that we were not eligible because we were on the previous cruise when we booked the upgrade.  His colleague disagreed.  There was general agreement we were not eligible but each with different reasons.

 

When I showed the executive concierge the Oceania Club documentation that indicated we would be eligible for the10% discount, she did try to get approval to give it to us by contacting Head Office, but was unable to get the approval before the end of the trip.

 

She joked at the time that the next random rationale that would be thrown at us, to reject the approval of the 10% discount, would be that we had to be wearing a red shirt at the time of booking.

 

In our December trips on the same ship with some of the same staff who had previously said we were not eligible for the 10% discount, there was then general agreement that we were eligible for the 10% discount because we had again booked in advance, but giving us the 10% discount on the shipboard account was a challenge for them.  We were on back-to-back cruises again, with different executive concierges, and each implemented the 10% discount differently.

 

Our Oceania representative, the guy who books our trips, racks it up to the learning curve on SimplyMore.

 

Clearly your experience has been different.

 

Cheers,

Greg from the WildWanderers

 

Thank you!

It does seem that lots of things are totally random at the moment.

Think we will probably just go with flow and book, or not, on board.

[MEFIowa]

19 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

...

1. Book As Far Out As Possible:  I booked in November 2023 for a cruise in October 2025.  The fare was reduced by 5%.
2. Best Value Often Times is the Older Ships: ... The Riviera and Marina for the same itinerary right now are the positive value proposition to the Vista still. 
3. See a Sale Online, Check with Oceania: Whether it is a sailing you have booked or one you are considering.  See a sale, call your Agent or Oceania to gain accurate pricing.  You can also from time to time go to a third party site to check out pricing.  When doing that, make sure the check box saying "Non-Refundable Fairs" is not clicked.  You want accuracy.  

My strategy is (1) Book as early as you can for the itinerary you KNOW you want & will cruise on (no cancellation intended if prices don't change in your favor), (2) watch for sales, and (3) cruise outside of peak times.

 

So, for our recent 11/9-19/2023 Med cruise on Riviera...

 

1. Booked it as a C-Deluxe Outside on 5 Apr 22 for $1994. That's 18 months out.

 

2. Then used the 2022 Memorial Day Sale on 25 May 22 to go to a B4 Veranda for $2249. Then used the ESS on 13 Apr 23 to go to a B3 for just $1749. Used sales!

 

3. November in the Med is NOT peak time. We were blessed with perfect weather. Rain was not an issue!

[Sthrngary]

I wrote this as I was having my coffee yesterdays.  I knew there would be many differing opinions.  I was hopping for that.  Whether you agree or disagree with what someone else sees as a benefit matters not.  Just that you get a sense of how lots of cruisers approach booking, and improving their cruise experience. 

 

Whether to book early or late; to get the drink upgrade pre or on the cruise, leveraging a cruisers status with the brand or how to leverage the SimplyMore excursions OBC.  The dialog, debate and conversation will help everyone with a serious interest.  I have learn some things with the comment and appreciate the honest feed back.  Thank you all. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[Sthrngary]

2 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

3. November in the Med is NOT peak time. We were blessed with perfect weather. Rain was not an issue!

I was with you and we did have some GREAT weather.  It made the cruise a real joy.  Enjoyed meeting you and your lovely bride. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[MEFIowa]

19 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

... Learn the Drink Programs/Benefits: Keep the SimplyMore only.  Upgrade on the ship. Bring bottles of wine or spirits onboard all giving you the option to or not to upgrade to the Prestige Drink Package. Be an educated consumer. 

I'm still in the BYOB school. 

 

Since SM is just wine or beer at lunch and dinner and we're trying to go on excursions every day we can, sometimes missing lunch, this isn't much of an issue. Wouldn't want to pay $30 or $40 PP/PD for drinks when I can bring all the beer, hard liquor and wine I want on board at embarkation and in ports. I drink responsibly in my cabin and try to bring back the most interesting bottle(s) of hard liquor I can find. So for the Med cruises that was the Turkish Yeni Raki, Cretan Raki/Tsikoudia, and the Sospiro dell Etna (140 proof red fire water!).

 

My shelves above the mini-fridge were filled with beer, hard liquor and wine. Was an "expedition" moving all of my alcohol when we changed cabins after the 1st ten nights!

 

But I think I spent less than E85.00 TOTAL for 3 bottles of brandy (Greek, Serbian, and Spanish), 6 bottles of Italian wine (one of which was only E1.49 at the grocery store in Naples!), and 20 500 ML cans of beer (the Montenegrin was 33% off at the Idea grocery store in Kotor, so just E0.69 per can and I bought 6). I never spent more than E1.50 on a can of beer. 

[Vallesan]

19 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

Book Onboard For Extra Benefits/Value: I booked my next cruise while cruising on the Riviera.  I got the information on day one, booked the actual itinerary on day 5 of a 10 day cruise.  The last day is super crowed at the future sales desk. My future booking was: 5% off for booking so far in advance; $250.00 of OBC on my current or future cruise; $400.00 off the fair for a Concierge Level booking; my travel agency game me free gratuities, and this cruise was booked with the SimplyMore amenities which in my case was $800.00 for ex

Another point about onboard benefits. Oceania now send out letters around 30 days prior to your next cruise which allows you to book a new cruise with all the ‘onboard’ benefits from the comfort of your own home. So no need to worry about the future  sales desk being crowded.