No more Simply More

[Harters]

2 hours ago, terrydtx said:

I am curious if anyone who sent emails to O corporate

I sent an email to Guest Services and got a reply in about 24 hours. I posted the content upthread at #456

[terrydtx]

59 minutes ago, Harters said:

I sent an email to Guest Services and got a reply in about 24 hours. I posted the content upthread at #456

As I remember your email went to GS in the UK, all of my emails were directed to the O corporate offices here in the USA. Just disappointed that I have not heard anything back from O.

[clo]

3 hours ago, basor said:

If O corporate did read this CC, which they don't, they would have seen the same outpouring of displeasure when they introduced SM....this thread isn't even close to the length and numbers of anti SM threads.....it was brutal and ugly.

Curious why you think they don't. I'd think every cruise line would read their particular boards/whatever. Not senior management but someone.

[PhD-iva]

43 minutes ago, clo said:

Curious why you think they don't. I'd think every cruise line would read their particular boards/whatever. Not senior management but someone.

Regent used to have a very competent IT guy (Michael Moore?) that would respond to certain posts on the Regent forum. I understand he’s no longer w Regent, and I think his position was eliminated (but others will correct me if my memory is faulty).

Of course, here we have JanCruz1 who is very well connected to O……🥰

[1985rz1]

1 hour ago, clo said:

Curious why you think they don't. I'd think every cruise line would read their particular boards/whatever. Not senior management but someone.

It's pretty clear from the posts here by those in the know that O doesn't follow CC regularly, except for possibly the reviews section. Why they don't, I don't know, except that CC posters represent only a very small percentage of those who cruise on O.  Count the number of individuals you can identify that post regularly on this board and compare that number to the total number of folks are cruising or will cruise in the future   Many of those who post regularly are not the future demographic that O needs to capture to remain in business for the long term.

[Harters]

11 hours ago, terrydtx said:

As I remember your email went to GS in the UK

That's right, Terry. Disappointing that you've not had any sort of response. There's another thread where someone complains of a similar lack of response (different issue). I think it's just poor customer relations to basically ignore folk who are paying good money to them. I'm sure I must have received a standard reply to my comment, simply "top and tailed" to personalise it. Important thing is that we've logged our disquiet with O, so they cannot say the change has met with universal approval.  It's all we can do until the time comes when we decide if we're voting with our wallets. 

Edited Sunday at 11:08 AM by Harters

[Psoque]

Addition of Simply More! followed by its removal was really a way for Oceania to increase pricing without calling it an increase.

 

-When it made Simply More! mandatory, it basically told the customers you are getting more for your money (but failed to say that the “more” part of it was also subsidized by the customers).

 

-Now, it is taking away Simply More! since it served its purpose…to acclimate the customers to a higher pricing model (since more is included, depending on what we want/don’t want).

 

It’s not really about more choices for consumers, despite what they want you to think.  Obviously, we can shop around if we are that unhappy about it, but Oceania has never had any qualms about doing something like this and calling it another.  I’m just very puzzled why Oceania is not more keen about customer loyalty, especially when the cruise market is as competitive as it is.

[pinotlover]

Is it October 1st yet? 
 

Has anyone seen the actual new pricing for cruises after that date?

 

Has anyone actually seen the pricing for the new October release cruises and been able to do price comparisons to former SM priced cruises?

 

Wake me when actual prices are released. Until then, we know very little.

[SophieM]

This thread has been like watching a train wreck for me. I know I should look away, but I just can’t help myself. So much speculation and cynicism. We weren’t crazy about the whole idea of SM to begin with, but I have to say we have partaken rather enthusiastically of the included lunch and dinner beverages, though quite reluctantly of the excursions. I can safely say we’ve been underwhelmed by all we’ve taken. I would also agree with ORV that SM may have impacted bar purchases. I know it did for us, although I asked that question recently at lunch with the GM, and he said it hadn’t. Who knows?? So, we will probably book one or two more cruises this week and reevaluate after October 1. I am over any more hand wringing and teeth gnashing.

[IDL]

26 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Is it October 1st yet? 
 

Has anyone seen the actual new pricing for cruises after that date?

 

Has anyone actually seen the pricing for the new October release cruises and been able to do price comparisons to former SM priced cruises?

 

Wake me when actual prices are released. Until then, we know very little.

Obviously the overwhelming working assumption on this thread is pricing will stay at current levels and provide less value but as you note, the proof will be on the pudding very soon. 

[1985rz1]

36 minutes ago, SophieM said:

This thread has been like watching a train wreck for me. I know I should look away, but I just can’t help myself. So much speculation and cynicism. We weren’t crazy about the whole idea of SM to begin with, but I have to say we have partaken rather enthusiastically of the included lunch and dinner beverages, though quite reluctantly of the excursions. I can safely say we’ve been underwhelmed by all we’ve taken. I would also agree with ORV that SM may have impacted bar purchases. I know it did for us, although I asked that question recently at lunch with the GM, and he said it hadn’t. Who knows?? So, we will probably book one or two more cruises this week and reevaluate after October 1. I am over any more hand wringing and teeth gnashing.

Yes, I agree it's time to move on from the factless speculation and the sky-is-falling whining that only feeds others to factlessly speculate.  What it is is what it is, and we will find out the facts after October 1.  Folks can then choose whether or not O is offering a product that suits them.  None of this flailing on CC is going to change Corporate decisions.

Edited Sunday at 05:05 PM by 1985rz1

[Syd58]

4 hours ago, 1985rz1 said:

Yes, I agree it's time to move on from the factless speculation and the sky-is-falling whining that only feeds others to factlessly speculate.  What it is is what it is, and we will find out the facts after October 1.  Folks can then choose whether or not O is offering a product that suits them.  None of this flailing on CC is going to change Corporate decisions.

I don't see it this way at all. There has been no "flailing". CC provides a forum in which many loyal O customers have expressed concerns about O's new policy, especially since SM hasn't been around that long. That's what this forum is all about. You are correct, people can and will make the decisions that best fit their needs and parameters.

 

We have 3 future cruises booked on O. We have one which was booked right after SM came out that has a very large $ amount allowed for excursions.  Gradually, the amount given has dwindled to a small amount for excursions.  I think this boils down to O trying to increase revenue by charging for drinks and excursions. Certainly, within their company, there is room to do this, as their all-inclusive Regent segment is still going to be more expensive, as a general rule. Conversely, there are other luxury all-inclusive lines, such as Silversea, that currently offer very competitive prices. The question is will enough customers jump ship to Silversea if they can get an all-inclusive, luxury product at the same or lower price. I know we will. Time will tell how many other will..

 

Edited Sunday at 09:43 PM by Syd58

[Harters]

15 hours ago, 1985rz1 said:

sky-is-falling whining

On a discussion forum, there is no call for this sort of abusive remark. 

[Psoque]

21 hours ago, pinotlover said:

Is it October 1st yet? 
 

Has anyone seen the actual new pricing for cruises after that date?

 

Has anyone actually seen the pricing for the new October release cruises and been able to do price comparisons to former SM priced cruises?

 

Wake me when actual prices are released. Until then, we know very little.

If Oceania was actually planning to re-adjust the pricing model that would correspond to the removal of Simply More!, they should have said it, instead of the whole gibberish about customer choice.  The fact that they only said their gibberish is highly indicative that they will not be making any reasonable pricing adjustment, if any.

Edited Monday at 02:00 PM by Psoque

[pinotlover]

1 hour ago, Psoque said:

If Oceania was actually planning to re-adjust the pricing model that would correspond to the removal of Simply More!, they should have said it, instead of the whole gibberish about customer choice.  The fact that they only said their gibberish is highly indicative that they will not be making any reasonable pricing adjustment, if any.

Oceania has long been totally incompetent as far as corporate communications. It’s a well recognized trait of the company going back years. Their jibberish , along side of supposedly insiders, has not always told the whole story. On 10/1, facts will start to unfold. Is it 10/1 yet.

 

Here is a fact to counter the above post. The current release of 2024 & 2025 cruises have been out since April 2024 or before. Oceania still has a massive number of unsold cabins on the current release. Hiking up prices on them is not going to sell more cabins!!! How they may initially attempt to price the new release in October is anyone’s guess, but even Jr must realize that higher prices won’t sell the current release. We’ll see on 10/1.

[Harters]

1 hour ago, Psoque said:

highly indicative that they will not be making any reasonable pricing adjustment, if any.

I've been relying on the remarks made by jancruz to that effect much  earlier in the thread. S/he appears to have some insider knowledge of the matter and seems to offer the best information we currently have. Of course, if that proves not to be accurate and Simply Less will be reflected by lower prices then that's a very different kettle of fish

[TRLD]

On 9/20/2024 at 8:06 PM, ORV said:

That is the press release line. Do you really think that's the truth? The program lasted a year, yes there were complaints, but bookings are up. I think the real reason is onboard spending is down. Why buy a nice bottle of wine for $50-$100 when you can drink passable wine included? Why buy champagne when I can have it with lunch? And so it goes...........

The price difference with simply more was consistent with on board spend percentages across the various cruise line holding companies. It was basically a mandatory included package. 

 

This was not unlike what Celebrity tried to do a number of years ago, then as with Oceania, dropped it.

 

Oceania, Azmara, and Viking are the main contenders in the premium range. They not only compete with each other, but get business from both up market and down market.  

 

When you go with a package being mandatory, not only do you face potential customer loss on the value side, but you better make sure you can deliver on what is included in the package.

 

Oceania did seem to have some problem on the excursion credits, especially when excursions and/or ports were canceled in passengers losing the value of those excursions due to no opportunity to use them.

 

As Celebrity found better to offer packages and still have a base fare available.

[TRLD]

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

Oceania has long been totally incompetent as far as corporate communications. It’s a well recognized trait of the company going back years. Their jibberish , along side of supposedly insiders, has not always told the whole story. On 10/1, facts will start to unfold. Is it 10/1 yet.

 

Here is a fact to counter the above post. The current release of 2024 & 2025 cruises have been out since April 2024 or before. Oceania still has a massive number of unsold cabins on the current release. Hiking up prices on them is not going to sell more cabins!!! How they may initially attempt to price the new release in October is anyone’s guess, but even Jr must realize that higher prices won’t sell the current release. We’ll see on 10/1.

In the end the market and competitive pressures will drive the price. If they set it high and it sells it will stay high. If demand at high prices drops with the change then  Oceania will have to adjust their pricing, even if they want to keep them high.

[elbowroom]

Apologies if anything is repeated here....

 

" a shore excursion credit and beverage package will no longer be automatically included." I wonder what "automatically" means here.

 

In our case, a long S. East Asian cruise, the highest price was prior to Simply More; it then dropped with its introduction, went up in Jan 2024, but is still less than under the previous system. That might be the exception to a rule, but OLife was more expensive in our case at least. Anyway, until October 1, everything is speculative.

 

OLife gave the customer some choice; Simply More, take it or leave it. That's annoying, as is the supercilious language use in introducing the new scheme. "The change has come following guest feedback highlighting that while they enjoyed the simply MORE inclusions, they would rather global guest inclusions focused on what mattered most. At the top of this list was always included gratuities for all guests." Surely no one believes people will welcome something if it turns out to be more expensive, but then that would be the guests' fault, presumably, for apparently demanding gratuities above everything else, as the announcement would have us believe.

 

On a more serious note, as Silver Oceania guests are aware, the programme adds nothing, it would seem for them, so we're back to the old argument as to whether companies go out of their way to attract new clients rather than concentrating on the faithful, like those who write on CC.

 

We'll see what we see! If it doesn't work, they'll change it...again!

[terrydtx]

11 minutes ago, TRLD said:

The price difference with simply more was consistent with on board spend percentages across the various cruise line holding companies. It was basically a mandatory included package. 

 

This was not unlike what Celebrity tried to do a number of years ago, then as with Oceania, dropped it.

 

Oceania, Azmara, and Viking are the main contenders in the premium range. They not only compete with each other, but get business from both up market and down market.  

 

When you go with a package being mandatory, not only do you face potential customer loss on the value side, but you better make sure you can deliver on what is included in the package.

 

Oceania did seem to have some problem on the excursion credits, especially when excursions and/or ports were canceled in passengers losing the value of those excursions due to no opportunity to use them.

 

As Celebrity found better to offer packages and still have a base fare available.

Celebrity only offers the base fare price in non suites cabins. The Suites, or Retreat cabins include premium drinks and Wi-Fi in the fare. After October 2023 the suites previously included pre-paid gratuities and a very generous OBC for booking a suite were discontinued but prices didn't go down they went up 30-40% in price.  HAL also has a Have It All package that includes, drinks, Wi-Fi, shore excursions and specialty dining credits and you can book without the HIA but the package sells for about 50% less than buying all separately. If you book the HAL HIA package within 90 days of the release of a cruise, you get the Early Booking HIA which upgrades the drinks and Wi-Fi to premium level and adds prepaid gratuities. 

 

Looking at our Marina cruise next March, if we booked in October, (after SM goes away) the Prestige drinks package would cost is $69.95pp per day or $2518 for both of us for 18 days. We upgraded our SM house drinks package already to Prestige for $1080 for both of us. We also got an $800 shore excursion credit with SM which we have already booked with Oceania. So if we booked our Marina cruise in October it would cost me $3318 more than the fare for the drinks ($2518) and ($800) shore excursions. Is the cruise price for our cabin going to go down by that amount? I think we all know the answer to that.  BTW my TA pays for our gratuities so getting them included from Oceania means nothing. 

[Harters]

31 minutes ago, elbowroom said:

apparently demanding gratuities above everything else, as the announcement would have us believe.

There would appear to me to be some basis in fact with this. Included gratuities were added to Simply More for UK customers (and other Europeans ?) back in January. The cruise price to Britons reflects this , of course. It was generally applauded at the time as reflecting customer wishes put to our cruise travel agency industry, as a desire for a more inclusive product. That follows the included gratuities for the Australian and New Zealand market some while prior to that. 

Edited Monday at 05:21 PM by Harters

[as3369]

I am new to Oceania and have recently booked our first trip in Jan 2026 on Marina for 24 Day South America / Antarctica.  However, I will definitely consider other cruise line offerings prior to final payment.  A little disappointed that Marina didn't receive full renovations that were done on Riviera.

[terrydtx]

9 minutes ago, as3369 said:

I am new to Oceania and have recently booked our first trip in Jan 2026 on Marina for 24 Day South America / Antarctica.  However, I will definitely consider other cruise line offerings prior to final payment.  A little disappointed that Marina didn't receive full renovations that were done on Riviera.

We are on the Marina doing South America in March, we too are not happy about the no full renovation that was promoted when we booked in 2023. I have not seen any viable explanation from O about why. We did look at other cruise lines doing similar a itinerary and found that the Marina was still the best option for us. We looked at Celebrity, HAL and Viking Ocean to compare. This is our first O cruise so I have nothing to compare with, but I will report back on CC the condition of the Marina after our cruise next March.

Edited Monday at 05:55 PM by terrydtx

[SophieM]

34 minutes ago, as3369 said:

I am new to Oceania and have recently booked our first trip in Jan 2026 on Marina for 24 Day South America / Antarctica.  However, I will definitely consider other cruise line offerings prior to final payment.  A little disappointed that Marina didn't receive full renovations that were done on Riviera.

We did this last January on the Marina. It was a fabulous trip. Even though the renovations hadn’t been done, Oceania maintains their ships very well. 

[as3369]

18 minutes ago, SophieM said:

We did this last January on the Marina. It was a fabulous trip. Even though the renovations hadn’t been done, Oceania maintains their ships very well. 

We booked a PH2 so the cabin has been renovated.  The fare isn't cheap by any stretch so we will be able to compare with other Premium or Luxury lines prior to final payment.