Gratuities included or not?

[Beagle5]

3 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

Like @basor said.  Australian pricing includes gratuities.  US pricing does not.

Read Harter’s comment that I quoted:

15 hours ago, Harters said:

So, the $6249, plus $18 per day gratuities, gives a total of $6465 for American customers.

We have grossed the US price up for gratuities to get to $6,465 for the purposes of making a comparison.

Including gratuities the Brits are paying roughly $300 more and Australians $400 more for the same cruise.

[Vallesan]

I’m assuming these prices are ‘brochure’ prices and do not take into account any TA discounts and/or perks which could make quite a difference. My TA gives an average of 10% discount. So still difficult to quantify the different price structures.

[Harters]

Vallesan - I think a discussion about how TAs operate in different countries is a very different matter. Interesting as I'm sure it would be, with the ban on naming names on the forum it's difficult to get into any details. But I would note that O's "preferred TAs" who are members of its Club (getting additional financial support from O) are all North American. It reflects the fact that North Americans form the vast majority of O's customers. It means they are likely to be in a position to pass on some extra benefit to their customers, so the price gap most probably widens between North American customers and those elsewhere. 

 

 

Edited June 6 by Harters

[Vallesan]

1 hour ago, Harters said:

Vallesan - I think a discussion about how TAs operate in different countries is a very different matter. Interesting as I'm sure it would be, with the ban on naming names on the forum it's difficult to get into any details. But I would note that O's "preferred TAs" who are members of its Club (getting additional financial support from O) are all North American. It reflects the fact that North Americans form the vast majority of O's customers. It means they are likely to be in a position to pass on some extra benefit to their customers, so the price gap most probably widens between North American customers and those elsewhere. 

 

 

I’m sure you’re right. Very difficult to compare prices and really probably not important as we live where we live and pay the price accordingly!

[Harters]

24 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

we live where we live and pay the price accordingly!

As we've both said before - it is what it is. 

[sunlover12]

8 hours ago, Vallesan said:

I’m assuming these prices are ‘brochure’ prices and do not take into account any TA discounts and/or perks which could make quite a difference. My TA gives an average of 10% discount. So still difficult to quantify the different price structures.

In the U.S., TAs are not allowed because of legal reasons to give a discount off the fare.  I was just talking to my TA yesterday and this is what she told me. So this is a big difference between the countries. The perks will most likely be in the form of OBC.

 

It's hard to do an apples to apples comparison because of all the variations. 

[tigerfan75]

1 hour ago, sunlover12 said:

In the U.S., TAs are not allowed because of legal reasons to give a discount off the fare.  I was just talking to my TA yesterday and this is what she told me. So this is a big difference between the countries. The perks will most likely be in the form of OBC.

 

It's hard to do an apples to apples comparison because of all the variations. 

As a US-based customer, I use a Travel Agency in a consortium that regularly provides OBC, occasional free gratuities (OCAPP), and a 5-10% post cruise rebate check on O.  The fare is never discounted, however.

[Vallesan]

3 hours ago, sunlover12 said:

In the U.S., TAs are not allowed because of legal reasons to give a discount off the fare.  I was just talking to my TA yesterday and this is what she told me. So this is a big difference between the countries. The perks will most likely be in the form of OBC.

 

It's hard to do an apples to apples comparison because of all the variations. 

Yes I agree. But … perks are perks in whatever form they come!

[Harters]

3 hours ago, sunlover12 said:

TAs are not allowed because of legal reasons to give a discount off the fare

That's interesting and actually surprised me. I would never have thought the law in the States would constrain how a company trades in that way. Is it only cruises that cannot be discounted, or are many other things "price fixed" by law?  Flights, escorted tours, cars, TVs, etc? 

[Woodrowst]

3 hours ago, sunlover12 said:

In the U.S., TAs are not allowed because of legal reasons to give a discount off the fare.  I was just talking to my TA yesterday and this is what she told me. So this is a big difference between the countries. The perks will most likely be in the form of OBC.

 

It's hard to do an apples to apples comparison because of all the variations. 

Our financial perk comes from our TA in the form of a rebate that is applied back to our credit card about a month after we return.  I like this approach as we simply get money back and do not have to worry about what we can and cannot spend on the ship.  I suppose they do it this way to get around the discount prohibition (which I was not aware of).

[njhorseman]

IIRC (I used to own a travel agency)...the prohibition against discounting was contractual, not the result of any law or regulation.

[njhorseman]

16 minutes ago, Woodrowst said:

Our financial perk comes from our TA in the form of a rebate that is applied back to our credit card about a month after we return.  I like this approach as we simply get money back and do not have to worry about what we can and cannot spend on the ship.  I suppose they do it this way to get around the discount prohibition (which I was not aware of).

If you get OBC from your travel agent you don't have to worry about how or where to spend it on board because Oceania would refund any balance to you at the end of the cruise.

[sunlover12]

52 minutes ago, Harters said:

That's interesting and actually surprised me. I would never have thought the law in the States would constrain how a company trades in that way. Is it only cruises that cannot be discounted, or are many other things "price fixed" by law?  Flights, escorted tours, cars, TVs, etc? 

My TA used the word "legalities" but it's probably contractual as njhorseman stated.

There is no "price fixing" on any of those things.  Prices are determined on the open market.  If I can recall correctly, airfares were controlled by the government back in the 1970's but that is long gone. Now it's whatever the market will bear.

[Harters]

2 hours ago, sunlover12 said:

My TA used the word "legalities" but it's probably contractual as njhorseman stated.

Ah. That makes much more sense. Such a contract would probably be illegal under UK competition law

 

I remember, when I think I was a young teenager, the UK did have government imposed price controls on quite a wide range of products. So long ago, I can't recall its name. Think it was scrapped in the late 1960s - I have a vague recollection that it was "a big thing" but I was too young to really have any interest in it. 

[Thought2go]

15 hours ago, tigerfan75 said:

As a US-based customer, I use a Travel Agency in a consortium that regularly provides OBC, occasional free gratuities (OCAPP), and a 5-10% post cruise rebate check on O.  The fare is never discounted, however.

Tigerfan- are your TA perks based on the cruise costs?? While mine offers 2 of those on your list- they don’t give them on every cruise booked. I wonder why?

I really need to talk to your TA- they sound amazing!🙃

[Thought2go]

13 hours ago, Harters said:

That's interesting and actually surprised me. I would never have thought the law in the States would constrain how a company trades in that way

The layers to our onion are thick- we have lost much thru indirect regulation. It has allowed huge corporations to essentially squeeze out their competition that cannot afford the constant change required in the regulations coming down from the plethora of agencies- local, state, and Fed.levels.

Edited June 7 by Thought2go

[tigerfan75]

3 hours ago, Thought2go said:

Tigerfan- are your TA perks based on the cruise costs?? While mine offers 2 of those on your list- they don’t give them on every cruise booked. I wonder why?

I really need to talk to your TA- they sound amazing!🙃

Yes and no.  Obviously, the %rebate check is based off cruise fare.   However, there seems to be no calculable logic as to why some sailings garner a higher % than other’s.  OBC is typically equal to the TA’s current promo.  Gratuities are hit or miss, based upon consortium’s arrangements with O for the chosen sailing.  Not an exact science for the consumer, but I choose to trust and stay with the same TA, rather than shopping for the best perks from TA to TA.  But one could certainly do that to find the best deal…