No more Simply More

[Jayne E]

Some of the Bonus Savings cruises are 10%. All cannot be combined with On board booking, B2B discount and shareholder benefit. 
if prices shown are already discounted, our 32 day B2B cruise is several thousand more without SM!  

[MEFIowa]

11 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Not a hard concept. ... If I have to put everything on sale, it means I have other problems. Rarely do....

Though for O it is sale after sale, seemingly sometimes overlapping sales, and that's just public sales, let alone private/secret or world-region-specific sale. Take 2023. Started off in Jan-Feb with 20th Anniversary Sale, then Mar-Apr was Ultimate O Life, then May-June was Extraordinary Savings Sales, etc. IIRC they had at least 1 major sale occurring each month in 2023.

[Cape Hernlopen]

I compared the cost and value for our two booked cruises (Jan. 2025, L.A. to Miami and Apr.  2025, Miami to Rome) using the SM model and current model.  For the L. A. to Miami cruise we have a net additional cost of $984 (for two persons) and loss of (value) beer and wine at lunch and dinner (minimal value for us).  For the Miami to Rome cruise we have a net additional cost of $1843 (for two persons) and loss of (value) beer and wine at lunch and dinner (minimal value for us).  Obviously, we are better off with SM package than the current offering. We will happily keep what we have contracted and just pay more on our future cruises.

 

Joel Barry

[ak1004]

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

Not a hard concept. I discount wines that are slow sellers. A few, I discount considerably. Those high moving brands I rarely discount. Just because the wine you like isn’t discounted, doesn’t mean a Sale isn’t going on. If I have to put everything on sale, it means I have other problems. Rarely do.

 

What part of this is confusing? 

 

Exactly! The market will decide what's a fair price for each cruise. SB have now 10-15% discount on many sailings, some sailings are not discounted. Same with SS. O is not different from other lines.

 

What's confusing to me is continuous comparison of the new prices to SM prices. How this is helpful to anyone? If the current price is too high for you, don't book. Pretty simple and not confusing.  

[mauibabes]

@ak1004

You and so many others are right on, DITTO. Prices have gone up and will continue to do so. The Longshoremen strike can’t help either. 
We all like a deal and relish the ones we got. It is time to bury the 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 Sale prices, THAT WAS YESTERDAY AND YESTERDAY’s GONE. Those prices are not coming back and if some do, we will know there is even more trouble coming for a favorite cruise line. SM is gone but we are thankful to have some cruises booked into the future that will include those benefits, even if vocal travelers were successful in seeing its demise. P.S. I was a O Life fan and not an SM fan but it was still better than YWI when it comes to Value. 

Let’s see what Your World Included actually means when it comes to prices and Value. We can only assume there are more changes coming because change is inevitable. Everyone will make their own decisions about future O cruises, after all it is only my budget that matters for my/our travels. IMHO, we ought to give Yesterday’s comparisons a rest.  Again, JMHO. 🤪🙏🤙🛳️

Mauibabes

[Cape Hernlopen]

I compared the cost and value for our two booked cruises (Jan. 2025, L.A. to Miami and Apr.  2025, Miami to Rome) using the SM model and current model.  For the L. A. to Miami cruise we have a net additional cost of $984 (for two persons) and loss of (value) beer and wine at lunch and dinner (minimal value for us).  For the Miami to Rome cruise we have a net additional cost of $1843 (for two persons) and loss of (value) beer and wine at lunch and dinner (minimal value for us).  Obviously, we are better off with SM package than the current offering. We will happily keep what we have contracted and just pay more on our future cruises.

 

Joel Barry

[Cape Hernlopen]

The purpose of my cost and value analysis was to show cruisers that keeping the SM deal was more favorable than switching to the new format.  Anyone that has a valid SM cruise booked should do a similar analysis.  I fully understand that prices in the cruise industry are increasing.  We are happy with the Oceania product and anticipate booking future cruises at a higher price point.

Joel Barry

[Harters]

3 minutes ago, mauibabes said:

IMHO, we ought to give Yesterday’s comparisons a rest

I agree. I think we've now generally concluded that, on a like for like basis, O has introduced a fairly significant price increase under the cover of reworking their offer. Those of us who have booked cruises because of the benefits of SM will obviously stick with our booking, whilst those who do not appreciate the SM benefits may find it beneficial to cancel and rebook.

 

Seeing as O seems not to have known its own mind over its future marketing  direction, I won't be at all surprised if we're not having a similar discussion in  18 months time when it realises that the new customers it attracted with SM  are no longer attracted to O. But, in the meantime, we've already started  looking more closely at Regent & Viking as being a possible better fit for for us. 

[terrydtx]

46 minutes ago, Harters said:

O has introduced a fairly significant price increase under the cover of reworking their offer. Those of us who have booked cruises because of the benefits of SM will obviously stick with our booking, whilst those who do not appreciate the SM benefits may find it beneficial to cancel and rebook.

If the price of a previously booked cruise with SM has not gone down after the removal of SM, why would any sane person rebook at the same price and lose the SM? Even if you do not drink wine and beer, surely the SM excursion credit will be used.

[Harters]

Terry - several contributors, including me, have said their cruise is now listed cheaper. If someone has no interest in the booze or ships excursions, then rebooking may make sense - Oceania has listened to those points being made which is why we don't have the benefits of SM any more. 

[terrydtx]

1 minute ago, Harters said:

Terry - several contributors, including me, have said their cruise is now listed cheaper. If someone has no interest in the booze or ships excursions, then rebooking may make sense - Oceania has listened to those points being made which is why we don't have the benefits of SM any more. 

My Marina cruise next March is exactly the same now as last month, but over $1000pp more than when we booked in 2023. My point was if your cruise is now more expensive or the same you booked at, why would you rebook even if SM has no value to you? Apparently, some cruises have gone some and others haven't changed since SM went away.

[Fouvolant]

I booked on Sep, 30 a 26 day cruise in Africa for May 2025 and I paid 6895 Euro (7620 USD)pp for a B1 cabin including SM benefits. Today on the European Oceania website, the same cruise is quoted 10.392 Euro (11480 USD)pp with only Paid Gratuities included. This means that the price has increased by 50% with the Your World Included tariff and does not include lunch and dinner beverage package and excursion credit !!!!

If Oceania keeps such prices in the future and will never book them again

[Redtravel]

Cruise line is a business. Objective is to make more money. If they can raise prices and increase sales, they make out. Waiting to see what happens next.  Having worked in marketing research, I find these changes interesting.  With so many new ships being built, the number of berths increasing, economic models would suggest that Oceania is not on the mark. Competition is brisk. 

[Psoque]

We have no strong loyalty to any cruise line.  It appears Oceania is really trying to price themselves out of their league, without making any substantial changes to its value.  I have no idea why they think they can do this.  If Oceania wants to charge more, they should be offering more value on their ships.  Furthermore, Oceania appears to be very keen on opaque pricing model to make price increases without calling them as such.  As I said before, Simply More! was just a way for Oceania to increase its base fare and acclimating the customers to the higher price.  It has served its purpose.  I’m not sure how this approach was good for customer loyalty.

 

However, since we don’t have any strong attachment to Oceania, it is fine with us.  I think what they offer is reasonable, as long as the price is right.  I think their ships, especially their newer ones, have very nice cabins, even at entry level.  But the whole overall cruise experience, in our opinion, is not anything close to a halfway-luxury cruise experience.  Their going prices are a bit too high for what Oceania is offering onboard.  I suspect that when reality hits, Oceania will readjust their prices in response to competition.

 

For now, we just have to look for bargains, whether it be on an Oceania ship or otherwise.  It’s something we have been doing for decades.

[osandomir]

SM is gone not because O has listened to the points made on CC or anywhere else but because they wanted to raise base prices, eliminate additional cost of SM for them and increase their profits. Looks like the sales have been strong this year but only time will show how it will benefit and allow them to stay competitive with the other lines which are more inclusive.

[Oceangoer2]

4 hours ago, terrydtx said:

If the price of a previously booked cruise with SM has not gone down after the removal of SM, why would any sane person rebook at the same price and lose the SM? Even if you do not drink wine and beer, surely the SM excursion credit will be used.

A cruise I was looking at on Marina for Nov. is exactly the same $$s now as before Oct. 1st.  That's without the bev. pkg. and excursion perk but includes grats.  A better menu, which now has posters complaining about lessened quality, isn't worth the increase IMO.  I'll give this a while to settle down before I think again about booking.

Edited Wednesday at 09:21 PM by Oceangoer2

[AMHuntFerry]

I was speculating that O would offer various packages (bevvy, laundry, shorex, etc.) that would allow passengers to make their cruise as inclusive as they want. The O-website doesn't have much about packages yet, but it looks like the Prestige package will exist (https://www.oceaniacruises.com/value) :

"Imbibe & Indulge

Whether you’re interested in champagne, wine or whisky, we offer tastings led by seasoned sommeliers delighted to share their knowledge. Our wine paring lunches and dinners are not to be missed and are as indulgent as they are fun. Or enjoy your favorite martini or craft cocktail in any one of our many bars and lounges. For the ultimate inclusion, take advantage of our Prestige Select beverage package offering unlimited wine and spirits throughout your voyage for as little as $59.95 per day."

Also, I checked a random summer 2025 cruise and the 25% discount shorex package remains, plus the Unlimited shorex package is back:

Edited Wednesday at 09:27 PM by AMHuntFerry
silly automatic emoticon

[terrydtx]

I was talking with my TA today and she told me her Oceania rep said September 30th was a record booking day for Oceania.  This tells me that this was a marketing ploy to increase bookings.

[sunnies]

12 minutes ago, osandomir said:

SM is gone not because O has listened to the points made on CC or anywhere else but because they wanted to raise base prices, eliminate additional cost of SM for them and increase their profits. Looks like the sales have been strong this year but only time will show how it will benefit and allow them to stay competitive with the other lines which are more inclusive.

Exactly! The end of SM is a way to increase prices and profits. We certainly did not complain about the included benefits of SM but understand they do not suit some. On a lighter note, we have been cruising with Oceania since 2007 when drinks, excursions and internet were extra.  Passengers would stock their stateroom with a supply of their favourite alcoholic beverage and search out bottle shops in port to restock on a long voyage. On the evenings of Oceania cocktail parties, it was common to see people heading to dinner with a full glass of wine so they did not need to purchase another with their meal. And then there was the passenger who thought he could beat the system by taking his bottle of gifted Oceania wine to dinner and pay no corkage and then take it back to his stateroom nearly empty, refill it and take it again the next night! We love Oceania but will probably look at other cruise lines in the future. 

[Harters]

1 hour ago, osandomir said:

Looks like the sales have been strong this year

Exactly my point about O seemingly not knowing its own mind about its strategy. They introduced SM and, as a result, sales have been strong as you suggest. So, having had a marketing success, it has always seemed odd that they choose to withdraw SM, rather than simply increasing prices

[ORV]

1 hour ago, osandomir said:

SM is gone not because O has listened to the points made on CC or anywhere else but because they wanted to raise base prices, eliminate additional cost of SM for them and increase their profits. Looks like the sales have been strong this year but only time will show how it will benefit and allow them to stay competitive with the other lines which are more inclusive.

Spot on analysis. 

1 hour ago, AMHuntFerry said:

I was speculating that O would offer various packages (bevvy, laundry, shorex, etc.) that would allow passengers to make their cruise as inclusive as they want. The O-website doesn't have much about packages yet, but it looks like the Prestige package will exist (https://www.oceaniacruises.com/value) :

"Imbibe & Indulge

Whether you’re interested in champagne, wine or whisky, we offer tastings led by seasoned sommeliers delighted to share their knowledge. Our wine paring lunches and dinners are not to be missed and are as indulgent as they are fun. Or enjoy your favorite martini or craft cocktail in any one of our many bars and lounges. For the ultimate inclusion, take advantage of our Prestige Select beverage package offering unlimited wine and spirits throughout your voyage for as little as $59.95 per day."

Also, I checked a random summer 2025 cruise and the 25% discount shorex package remains, plus the Unlimited shorex package is back:

So when you Pare this down lunch seem a little early in the day for a Paring experience. 

 

Does no one proofread anymore? 

[AMHuntFerry]

2 minutes ago, ORV said:

Spot on analysis. 

So when you Pare this down lunch seem a little early in the day for a Paring experience. 

 

Does no one proofread anymore? 

Maybe it's a combo knife-technique/lunch/wine experience 🔪🍷🥗

[babysteps]

30 minutes ago, ORV said:

 

Does no one proofread anymore? 

Spelling is a construct lol. The refrain at our house is 'editors are dead'

[Yesimapirate]

9 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

Though for O it is sale after sale, seemingly sometimes overlapping sales, and that's just public sales, let alone private/secret or world-region-specific sale. Take 2023. Started off in Jan-Feb with 20th Anniversary Sale, then Mar-Apr was Ultimate O Life, then May-June was Extraordinary Savings Sales, etc. IIRC they had at least 1 major sale occurring each month in 2023.

Of course there are constant sales.  A room in a cruise ship is an asset with an expiration date.  A room worth $5,000 per person for a Nov 1st cruise will be worth zero on Nov 2nd if it's not sold.  The "sales" are a way to fill slower moving inventory.   It's absolutely no different than a hotel room or plane ticket.   Despite whatever they advertise,  the price is dynamic. 

 

If bookings come in faster than anticipated,  the price will go up.  As more rooms are filled, the price goes up.  If rooms aren't sold, the cruise will go "on sale".

[njhorseman]

On 10/1/2024 at 9:50 AM, MEFIowa said:

No surprise regarding the price increases. Margin enhancement was stressed by NCL when they released their 2nd Qtr results earlier this year. The 3rd Qtr results will be out later this month. That debt has to be paid down. And since they can't borrow more and don't want to sell new stock, that means profits have to pay for it. So cost cutting and revenue enhancements.

Here's a very clear example of why NCLH needs higher profits to pay down debt. On September 3 NCLH announced the pricing of $315 million of 6.250% senior notes due in 2030. The proceeds from this offering, plus cash on hand, will be used to redeem $315 million of 3.625% senior notes due 2024.

So ...NCLH will be paying a 2.625% higher interest rate in order to kick this $315 million can down the road for six years.

It's not a pretty picture.

https://www.nclhltd.com/investors/news-events/press-releases/detail/632/ncl-corporation-ltd-announces-pricing-of-315000000-of