No more Simply More

[Mrs f.]

12 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

Laundry services, does that mean laundry service or laundry room to do it yourself?

No it's the laundry room for all and send out service for certain categories....as before 

[Harters]

12 hours ago, EJL2023 said:

My understanding at this point is the OBC is only applicable if you get gratuities included in your club level perk

That's also my understanding at this point. So, at this point, no OBC for customers in parts of the world where gratuities are already rolled into the price (Europe, Australia and New Zealand, at least). 

[MBP&O2/O]

I have re-jigged my figures and, as cannot commit before 01 October I will be far worse off so in this instance I am being priced out. 

On the positive side, in the grand scheme of things, by not going, I will save an arm and a leg as flying UK to Sydney ain't  cheap😄

[Harters]

4 hours ago, osandomir said:

I have a feeling that we aren’t a typical demographic that O is after now days.

Who knows what demographic O is after? When it introduced SM, it was generally believed to be intended to attract a younger customer base. Now, only a few months on, they have not only reversed that but, as jancruz has written upthread, have returned to a customer offer that existed 20 years back, even before "Your World, Your Way (which what was attracted us to O in the first place). So, I suppose the answer is the demographic it is after is the demographic it was after 20 years ago, whatever that was. Hardly gives the impression of a company that is forward looking or, with its quick removal of SM, one that has confidence in its own mind.

Edited September 6 by Harters

[Harters]

11 minutes ago, MBP&O2/O said:

On the positive side, in the grand scheme of things, by not going, I will save an arm and a leg as flying UK to Sydney ain't  cheap

You could always do a week in Seahouses, instead. 😀

[shepherd really]

Things we know:

Oceania is a for profit organization

Maximizing profit is why a for profit org exists.

Changes in policy will have the primary purpose of maximizing profits.

 

This is a bit of flailing about by O, an increase in prices to customers and an attempt to put lipstick on this newest pig of a price scheme while making it harder to actually assess the net increase in fares. 

 

IOW business as usual.

[MBP&O2/O]

1 hour ago, Harters said:

You could always do a week in Seahouses, instead. 😀

£100 per night minimum for b&b ... plus expenses.😁

I can drive to Druridge Bay or Cresswell in 10mins ..much nicer🙂and if the weather is that bad I can see the sea from the bedroom window ... sea fret permitting🤞

Edited September 6 by MBP&O2/O

[Harters]

30 minutes ago, MBP&O2/O said:

£100 per night minimum for b&b

We usually rent a house. But, no, not cheap round there but a lovely part of the world. Thinking we may look to stay at Berwick next time

[Harters]

43 minutes ago, shepherd really said:

This is a bit of flailing about by O

Absolutely, IMO. 

 

I have no problem with price increases and companies making a profit. Most of us live in  a capitalist society and that's the name of the game.

 

But what I find odd about this is why O didnt just increase prices,as they do all the time, keeping things the same or accounting for the extension of included gratuities to all customers. Instead it has given with one hand and taken away with another. Or, to put it another way, toss a coin - heads you win, tails I lose. 

[Robjame]

16 hours ago, jonthomas said:

we book when itins first come out...so you need to check that pricing not todays prices....

 

our may 1, 2025, vista, cruise was booked Nov 2, 2022, 22 days, $ 5400 pp US...french balc...totally sold out now...yes with an FCC to gain the benefits...

 

as with  all our other cruises, all booked at opening day....so those are the prices to look at...

 

it comes to 250 per day...before TA rebate...

 

we also took Os air, cheaper than we can do ourselves in Canada, with a prem econ for 199 from London. 

 

if you have the brochure for 2022 you can look all that up, although we booked at opening day, so maybe before the brochure...

Glad you addressed this as you cannot compare the brochure prices on the website to get a real cost per day.

i would add we book air fare with reward points which backs out airfare costs for us.

As well, when we cruise we book B2B (combined) cruises which gives us a 5% discount and, allows you to back out the airfare even if you use O air.

 

[CruisingWalter]

16 hours ago, Jancruz said:

Remember they charge for their specialty restaurants..each line has its own peculiarities

They have to make up the money lost from covid..

Jancruz1

 

It's a minor fee, I think $50, and they also offer OBC on almost every cruise that can cover the cost of those meals. But they also offer a selection of cocktails, beer and wine all day long included with the cruise fare which counters Oceania's removal of the included alcohol package. And Gratuities have been a part of their cruise fare long before Oceania did.

 

I guess Oceania has to make up the money lost from covid by dropping the included alcohol. 

 

[Thought2go]

8 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

If your TA gives you gratuities, you'll probably end up with OBC. Clearly something will have to change for the special Connoisseur Club agency sailings which had gratuities included. And you won't be able to use the OBC towards gratuities, since they're already covered.

I’m finding the OBC from my CC agency is nontransferable and sale discounts they were able to get me post booking are not refundable to my credit card, per my invoice, on recent bookings. This is different than my past experience.
I thought these were just changes within my Connoisseur Club Agency. Perhaps not after this announcement. So something is afoot.

Edited September 6 by Thought2go

[TonicTraveler]

50 minutes ago, Harters said:

Absolutely, IMO. 

 

I have no problem with price increases and companies making a profit. Most of us live in  a capitalist society and that's the name of the game.

 

But what I find odd about this is why O didnt just increase prices,as they do all the time, keeping things the same or accounting for the extension of included gratuities to all customers. Instead it has given with one hand and taken away with another. Or, to put it another way, toss a coin - heads you win, tails I lose. 

Potential new customers compare cruise line pricing first, before looking at what is or is not included.  This is way for O to look more attractive from the perspective of price comparison with other lines.

[SellaVee]

We had a fabulous cruise on Marina last year and we were planning to do the "follow on" cruise this year.  However, when Simply More arrived, we left.  We rarely book far in advance post Covid, and last year we chose the excursions as our O life perk, only to find there were none left.  The sum for excursions was $800, and although they called it free, I’d disagree.  We were able, last year, to swop the useless excursion choice for the drinks package.  This year I noticed complaints about the non refundable excursion credit when there were cancellations or no availability, so for me it was the right choice to leave.

 

When we first cruised with O, there was no included air, no gratuities, no drinks and no OBC.  We liked the à la carte menu.  The bottom line for us will be itinerary and price, now that we're willing to go back to Oceania.

[sunlover12]

I’ll wait until the prices are released in October but for now I’ll assume they will not be going down. Same price, fewer inclusions. SM was a good match for me because I drink wine with meals and I go on ship excursions. O Life was a good deal too. Now the customers who want cruise only fare have gotten their way.

 

For anyone looking for an alternative cruise line or perhaps land based travel, haha, good luck with that. Everything is expensive because the demand is there. 

 

 

[Harters]

15 minutes ago, sunlover12 said:

perhaps land based travel, haha, good luck with that

We were already looking at a land based option to cruising before this. After a lot of research, we've found an all-inclusive 5 * resort which seems closest to the Oceania "hotel experience" - nice accommodation, good service, speciality restaurants, entertainment, allocated sunbeds (so no hogging needed), etc. We're going to try it in a few weeks. And the big thing here is that it's 50% of the Simply More price of our similar length cruise next year. And that includes air fare (no air fare needed for the cruise as a UK to UK one). So, even if it proves to be not quite as good as O, I suspect we'd rather opt for two holidays in Cyprus, rather than one cruise.  

 

Of course, we already do land based holidays, renting an apartment or villa and eating out every night. Three weeks in Tenerife in January coming up and, probably, another break in Mallorca in the autumn. Again, invariably much cheaper than cruising and,  with  the necessary research done, good and great food every night. 

Edited September 6 by Harters

[pinotlover]

21 hours ago, jonthomas said:

we never book a cruise unless it is under 300 a day and that is before the TAs rebate and that is for a balcony....

A good under $300/day cruise is like finding a good under $30 Burgundy. Those days are mostly long gone . You’re more likely to find people living in the past wearing leisure suits.

Edited September 6 by pinotlover

[Vallesan]

2 hours ago, shepherd really said:

Things we know:

Oceania is a for profit organization

Maximizing profit is why a for profit org exists.

Changes in policy will have the primary purpose of maximizing profits.

 

This is a bit of flailing about by O, an increase in prices to customers and an attempt to put lipstick on this newest pig of a price scheme while making it harder to actually assess the net increase in fares. 

 

IOW business as usual.

??? All ‘businesses’ are ‘for profit ‘ organisations?.?

[ak1004]

8 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

When we compared itineraries for Spring 2025, we narrowed it down to SB and Oceania. 
When we added in gratuities, and upgraded beverage - which are included on SB and not on Oceania (important to us, but I honor not to all), the price difference was fairly negligible. The itinerary and date won out with SB, along with small ship and much larger cabin. We completely enjoyed our SB cruise last year, and hope that you do as well. After all,  precious vacation time is high value. 
I popped back onto this forum thinking about 2026. 
Reading this thread, if Oceania keeps SM pricing levels, adds on gratuity, while reducing aspects of the beverage and excursion piece of SM, the fiscal positive goes to Oceania. And once again, time will tell how that works for them. 

 

I guess it depends on your preferences and parameters like Region, duration, cabin category etc.

 

I just looked at 10-12 nights sailings in Europe for Amy-June 2025.

 

Oceania FV on Vista is around $500/night. SB entry level cabin (OV or veranda) around $700. I think last year the difference was less, but there is no way I'm going to pay $700/night for SB (or any other line), unless the itinerary is really unique (and I don't see this happening).

SS and Crystal are even more expensive. 

 

So to me, the fiscal positive doesn't really matter. What matters is the total price, compared to the overall value and how this value compares to other lines.

[pinotlover]

I believe ORV nailed the issue at hand very early on. He’s currently on the Nautica and commented on how the bars were dead, even during Happy Hour. We encountered the same on our April Riveria cruise. For many a port visit consists of leaving the ship around 10:30; taking a shuttle to town; walking around a bit; take the shuttle back to the ship for a 12:15 lunch aboard. Here’s a fact: If one isn’t going to buy drinks, not take ship excursions; not worry about the photographers; not use O Air; etc, and only pay Ala carte; then that upfront number has to be big enough to cover everything.

 

For those of us that do drink alcohol; occasionally or primarily do take O shorex; etc, that may make O’s total pricing non competitive. You pay a lot less for an auto, than for all its parts. In sincerity, looking at who SL will attract, that may in itself scare people away. Can the bars become deader than they already are? Will even more shorexs be cancelled due to lack of participation?

[terry&mike]

FAQs from Oceania on the new program

 

Your World Included FAQs.pdf

[ronrick1943]

5 hours ago, Mrs f. said:

No it's the laundry room for all and send out service for certain categories....as before 

Don't know why the 3 bags (with limit of 20 items per bag), seen like for the lager suites you'd get full same day unlimited laundry.

[sailaway99]

Currently on Marina. We just spoke with the future cruise dept. They were only informed yesterday about the change so they have little to add that hasn't been already covered here.

- $250 OBC per stateroom which  replaces the current gratuities perk for silver and above loyalty programs.

- Current cruise offerings will be repriced somewhere around October 1st but they didn't have a definite date.

- They could not provide a cost for the beverage packages which will now be an additional cost.

- New cruise offerings will be released on October 26th.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 6 by sailaway99

[iowananny]

We were on Nautica a little more than a month ago on a Baltic cruise.  The bars were always crowded during happy hour.  It was hard to find a table in Martinis.  There didn't seem to be a shortage of passengers who liked the atmosphere of a bar and not drinking their own liquor in their room.  

 

My husband took a tour one day to an old Soviet missile site in Lithuania.  I had no interest in this and stayed on the ship during that day.  Most people had to be out doing something because for the most part the ship was pretty empty during most of the day.  Yes, there were some people there for lunch but it sure wasn't that many.  We did take four Oceania excursions that were provided with SM.  We've taken their tours in the past and I don't remember ever being unhappy.  Of course, some were better than others.   And sometimes we just walk around or have a taxi show us around.  We've reached the age where we can't do physically intense tours every day on a port intensive cruise.  

 

I know many on this site want the absolute best price ever.  I really think there are many who want everything Oceania provides but at a Carnival price.  But I think my husband and I are in the majority of most of Oceania's customers.  If we see an itinerary we like, it's a good time for us and we can afford it we book it.  Yes, we have cruised with Carnival.  I get casino discounts and while we prefer Oceania we have had fun on Carnival, especially in the casino. 

 

You have to remember only a small percentage of those on any cruise ever read Cruise Critic and will probably book despite this new change.  We have two cruises booked now and will probably book more.  And we might try some other cruise lines if we see something we like.

 

We don't worry a lot about our cabin.  We have had an inside cabin but also a concierge.  We enjoyed both cruises.  In April we're going to try a PH, just because the price wasn't that much higher than a balcony on Vista.

 

It's so much fun to complain and I know I'm just as guilty as the next guy.  We've had so much fun cruising.  Sometimes I have to pinch myself and remember a little girl growing up in Iowa whose biggest goal was to go to Paris someday.  I've been to Paris at least ten times.  When I think of all the places I've been it's is amazing.  And I didn't have to join the Navy.

[Harters]

1 hour ago, terry&mike said:

FAQs from Oceania on the new program

Thanks for posting that.

 

There is some use of "weasel words" in the FAQs, relating to folk who already have included gratuities. It makes clear that folk who have included tips through OCAPP (I have no idea what that is) or because of their O Club level will receive a $250 per booking OBC.

 

However, in FAQ 16, it asks "how does this change impact"  the markets in countries such as Australia, the UK, Germany, etc, where we already have gratuities included in our cruise fare. But then, completely fails to address its own question. And, specifically, makes no mention of any OBC for those customers. So some customers with included tips will get OBC, others won't. It might lead the cynic to conclude that O has little regard for a customer base of foreigners that forms only a small proportion of the total. Simply Less. 

 

(EDIT: I think I've realised what OCAPP must be - it's O's preferred travel agent companies. All of which are, I understand, North American.)

Edited September 6 by Harters