Simply More or Your World?

[lorimay]

We booked our 2025 Oceania cruise on the Marina in an A3 under Simply More pricing, so it includes $700 in shore excursion credit per person, beer and wine at lunch and dinner and wifi.

 

I looked at the pricing for the cruise today under Your World pricing. The same A3 is $929 per person cheaper than under Simply More and the pricing includes tips and wifi. 

 

It's a 26 day cruise, so at $18 per day the tips are  $468 per person. The simple calculation is that $929 plus $468 = $1397 per person less expensive. We don't drink alcohol so the drinks have no value for us.

 

The $700 shore excursion credit should probably be deducted from the $1397 savings, except that on our last cruise we lost part of the excursion credit from missed ports and canceled excursions (happened several times). But even if we take off the $700, it looks like we would come out ahead with Your World.

 

However, our TA is saying that Oceania will not reprice this cruise for us. It's a cancellation and a rebooking so we would have to pay the $500 per person cancellation fee.

 

Has anyone successfully moved your cruise to a different promotion without paying the cancellation fee?

[jagoffee]

1 hour ago, lorimay said:

We booked our 2025 Oceania cruise on the Marina in an A3 under Simply More pricing, so it includes $700 in shore excursion credit per person, beer and wine at lunch and dinner and wifi.

 

I looked at the pricing for the cruise today under Your World pricing. The same A3 is $929 per person cheaper than under Simply More and the pricing includes tips and wifi. 

 

It's a 26 day cruise, so at $18 per day the tips are  $468 per person. The simple calculation is that $929 plus $468 = $1397 per person less expensive. We don't drink alcohol so the drinks have no value for us.

 

The $700 shore excursion credit should probably be deducted from the $1397 savings, except that on our last cruise we lost part of the excursion credit from missed ports and canceled excursions (happened several times). But even if we take off the $700, it looks like we would come out ahead with Your World.

 

However, our TA is saying that Oceania will not reprice this cruise for us. It's a cancellation and a rebooking so we would have to pay the $500 per person cancellation fee.

 

Has anyone successfully moved your cruise to a different promotion without paying the cancellation fee?

I recently had the exact same issue before the Oct 1 change.  I believe the answer to your question with certain promotions/sales, but not on all.  It will be interesting to see if anyone has been successful with the current promotion.

Sounds  like the change is perfect for you. For us, not so much.  I preferred the O Life promotion.

 

Good luck.

 

[SEC Man]

We had our TA research repricing our 2025 Allura cruise and based on the pricing we will keep our Simple More reservation as is since the delta is small and we plan to use the excursion credit.  I did not ask him if there was an Oceania change fee since we are not doing it and I don’t know how much OBC he is giving us but I’ll apply that to the gratuities.   
 

The price today is $120 per person less.

 

You would gain prepaid gratuities, a $252 per person savings.

 

You would lose:

$400 per person shore excursion credit.

Drink package, a $39.99 per person per day value.

[pinotlover]

I thought the primary purpose of the cancellation fees were to:

 

1. Slow down Lookie Loo bookings;

 

2. Change the economics of cruise cancellations and rebooking.

 

I think the days of free cancellations and rebooking at a lower cost are behind us.

[MEFIowa]

19 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

.... I think the days of free cancellations and rebooking at a lower cost are behind us.

And it helps explain why we haven't booked anything new since July 2023 (the cruise we just finished). Too many horror stories about sales happening AFTER the final payment date. I have no plans to book anything now until much, much closer to sail date. Watching to see if there are any late sales.

[AMHuntFerry]

19 hours ago, lorimay said:

However, our TA is saying that Oceania will not reprice this cruise for us. It's a cancellation and a rebooking so we would have to pay the $500 per person cancellation fee.

A $500 penalty indicates you are 151 to 180 days before your cruise...correct? If so, it still seems like you would still come out ahead with YWI. I don't like having $$ that must be used for shorex which makes YWI more attractive anyway.

Other considerations:

If >180 days before your cruise the penalty is $150 (assuming not upper-suite).

If you booked onboard or with FCC you have a price guaranty with no cancellation penalty.

[Syd58]

10 hours ago, SEC Man said:

We had our TA research repricing our 2025 Allura cruise and based on the pricing we will keep our Simple More reservation as is since the delta is small and we plan to use the excursion credit.  I did not ask him if there was an Oceania change fee since we are not doing it and I don’t know how much OBC he is giving us but I’ll apply that to the gratuities.   
 

 

The price today is $120 per person less.

 

You would gain prepaid gratuities, a $252 per person savings.

 

You would lose:

$400 per person shore excursion credit.

Drink package, a $39.99 per person per day value.

On one booked TA, I have a $800 pp shore excursion credit and on the other a $900 per person credit. (I noticed that O began to lower the excursion credit after we booked.)  When you add in the shore excursion credit and the drink package cost, even with prepaid gratuities, the Your World cost for our TAs is substantially more than what we paid with Simply More.

Edited October 17 by Syd58

[Flatbush Flyer]

Had OP done a B on B, s/he’d have the price drop match guarantee.

But, even without that, there are ways to get repriced - at least prior to Final Payment.

Strategies to consider in negotiating:

1) Ask for the difference in SBC instead of $$$

2) Ask for $$$ adjust if you book two cruises instead of one (only if you’re already thinking about it.

3) Your choice of TA can make a difference in the answer as well. If your TA is an “Elite” member of the O Connoisseurs Club, s/he’ll have the regional Sales Rep as a speed dial and can get you a quick answer.

[Redtravel]

No use comparing.  If you booked with Simply More, Oceania is not allowing repricing. You can cancel, pay cancellation charges,and rebook.  For some people the new pricing is attractive. Some people like SM better.  As of Oct. 1st, cruise is sold with tips included. If you want excursions or beverages, you can buy these separately.  It makes sense.  Since I seldom drink and prefer booking private tours, Simply More wasn’t attractive.  On my last Marina cruise, we had $1000 SM excursion credit.  It was difficult to book excursions.  We booked some.  We left $100 unspent. There wasn’t any excursions available.  

[terrydtx]

For our March Marina cruise we originally booked in January 2023 with O Life and took the beverage package. When SM was introduced later in June, we rebooked for the same price as in January 2023 and did not have to pay any rebooking or cancelation fees. Last fall the price for our A3 cabin dropped by $300pp and we again had our TA rebook us with no rebooking or cancelation fees. Now after the end of SM the price for our cabin is $1200pp more than what we booked last year, so we will NOT be rebooking.

[Vineyard View]

Terrydtx, I hope that you will do a review after your first Oceania cruise. We were originally booked on our first O cruise on Marina. I have read your posts for some time, and would value your feedback. 

[McWall]

I think it really depends on the cruise and what kind of cabin you are in. My wife and I are in a pesthouse suite, and we booked the cruise about 8 months ago and the price is much better then. If we booked the cruise now the price for this trip would be $2068.00 more for the same room and trip. I think it is interesting that they include gratuities now. I think they are working their way to be more like Regent Seven Seas cruises line. There ships are more elevated, and the service is getting stronger. It feels like to me that this will be an la carte luxury cruise line. That means the price will go up! Let's hope the experience will follow.

[mauibabes]

Since bookings can go back over different promotions and Sales, always run the numbers to see what package best fits your travel style and needs. If you booked after October 1, then your booking included Free Gratuities which means $18 or $23 per person per day. You could have booked under Simply More or if you booked long ago, you were under O Life with three different options. 
Prices are not static, nor are promotions. Work with your TA or O Rep to determine what booking program makes the most sense for you. 
Mauibabes

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, McWall said:

I think it really depends on the cruise and what kind of cabin you are in. My wife and I are in a pesthouse suite, and we booked the cruise about 8 months ago and the price is much better then. If we booked the cruise now the price for this trip would be $2068.00 more for the same room and trip. I think it is interesting that they include gratuities now. I think they are working their way to be more like Regent Seven Seas cruises line. There ships are more elevated, and the service is getting stronger. It feels like to me that this will be an la carte luxury cruise line. That means the price will go up! Let's hope the experience will follow.

New to Oceania?

Exactly the opposite (of what you suggest) is happening. All of the guaranteed/optional perks that were available for years under O Life (and partially under SM) are now gone. And the only additional “extra” is gratuities (which any O Club member at Silver or above has gotten for years).

[terrydtx]

10 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

Terrydtx, I hope that you will do a review after your first Oceania cruise. We were originally booked on our first O cruise on Marina. I have read your posts for some time, and would value your feedback. 

I am planning on doing a review comparison of Oceania VS Celebrity. Considering the recent changes with SM going away, I cannot say for sure that we will book another O cruise. We booked our 18 day Oceania cruise of South America because the price for our A3 cabin with SM was $200pp less than a Sky Suite on the Celebrity Equinox for 14 days. At that time if we had booked the sky suite on Celebrity we would have received the Premium Wi-Fi, Drinks package, prepaid gratuities and a $400pp OBC to be used for excursions or any other ship services. Now a Suite booking on Celebrity no longer has the paid gratuities and OBC included.

 

At today's pricing without SM that comparison would have O at a significantly higher cost than Celebrity. We used all of our $800 excursion credits and we like wine and beer with our meals. On this cruise there are a couple of ports where the ship's excursions were our only choice as no private tours were available. Getting prepaid gratuities means nothing to us as they were being covered by our TA. For this cruise the SM was worth $720pp for drinks and $400pp for excursions or $1120pp total. Even if we had to pay the Gratuities the new program is only worth $324pp VS the $1120pp with the old SM.

 

Last month we booked a 14 day cruise of the UK, Scotland and Ireland for 2026 on the Holland Nieuw Statendam. We booked with their early booking HIA premium bonus program and with Club Orange. At the time Oceania had not released their 2025 summer cruises. With the early booking HIA package we are getting premium drinks, premium Wi-Fi, paid gratuities, 2 specialty dining nights, a $200pp excursion credit and $500pp OBC. Club Orange gets us many of the suites benefits and breakfast and dinners in the Private Club Orange dinning room. We are booked in their highest-level verandah cabin. This week when the O cruises were released, we found a 12-night similar cruise on the Vista but an A3 cabin cost was $2700pp more than out HAL cruise and with no SM the comparison is even worse.

[Vineyard View]

Terrydtx, interesting comparison for 2026. Thank you for sharing. We also are looking at sailings for Spring that year in Europe. We haven't sailed HAL in years…..since they sold their small ships. I have read that Club Orange makes a difference. That said, I have been comparing Oceania and Seabourn. With the new pricing, for a verandah cabin on O, with a standard verandah on SB (245-300 sq ft),  the all inclusive cost pencils out to less pppd on SB. 
That does not include excursions, but we avoid those unless it is port specific, so it’s a moot point for us. 
I have some questions around Club Orange. I briefly looked at that over a year ago. I will go over to HAL board to ask those. Again, thanks for comparison. 
 

[terrydtx]

10 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

I have some questions around Club Orange. I briefly looked at that over a year ago. I will go over to HAL board to ask those. Again, thanks for comparison

For us Club Orange and the early booking HIA promos were the game changer that got us back cruising again with them. Here is a link to the CO benefits from the HAL website:

Club Orange (hollandamerica.com)

Edited October 20 by terrydtx

[Vineyard View]

25 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

For us Club Orange and the early booking HIA promos were the game changer that got us back cruising again with them. Here is a link to the CO benefits from the HAL website:

Club Orange (hollandamerica.com)

Thank you. You may have peaked my interest. 
 

[terrydtx]

4 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

Thank you. You may have peaked my interest. 
 

On our 14 day HAL cruise in 2026 CO only cost us $15pp per day for all of those benefits. Less than 14 days and the cost is $25pp per day. HAL is far from a perfect cruise line, but I can't find one cruise line that is, which is why we have so many choices. HAL still has overall smaller ships, from 1400 to 2600 passengers. 

[Vineyard View]

Just took a look at Oceania Europe cruises for Spring 2026. 
 

 Mediterranean- Allura and Nautica - we are not interested in Nautica due to cabin sizes under suite category. I looked at 10 day on Allura. B4 balcony. $5,099 per person!  We would want to add a drink package.  $510/pppd before drinks
 

 Northern Europe - Marina & Insignia - 12 day Marina, B4 balcony $7,599 per person. Plus drink package. $633/pppd before drinks
 

Based on Terrydtx comments, I looked at HAL. Same timeframe, British Isles, 14 days, balcony, $4,719 per person. Includes drinks, gratuities, specialty dining, premium WiFi, $400 excursion credit - $337/pppd. If we want to add Club Orange and upgrade to aft balcony, additional $15/pppd. Yes, 2,600 pax ship , but private dining, priority tender, etc…..I admit that ship size & cuisine are my hesitations. But it is a comparison. 
 

Seabourn, British Isles, same timeframe, which is all inclusive, balcony suite, for $643/pppd.
 

I guess time will tell if this new pricing strategy holds. If it does, more power to them I guess. 

[PhD-iva]

44 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

 

Seabourn, British Isles, same timeframe, which is all inclusive, balcony suite, for $643/pppd.

Pardon my ignorance. I thought Seabourn did not include excursions???

[Vineyard View]

8 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

Pardon my ignorance. I thought Seabourn did not include excursions???

Correct. They do not. Thank you for that catch. 
Oceania does not either.
HAL promotion offers $400 credit. 

[Syd58]

15 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

New to Oceania?

Exactly the opposite (of what you suggest) is happening. All of the guaranteed/optional perks that were available for years under O Life (and partially under SM) are now gone. And the only additional “extra” is gratuities (which any O Club member at Silver or above has gotten for years).

Agreed.  Regent is all-inclusive. Oceania is no longer, with the exception of gratuities.

Edited October 20 by Syd58

[Syd58]

A huge advantage of O over HAL is ship size.

[Vineyard View]

1 hour ago, Syd58 said:

A huge advantage of O over HAL is ship size.

Totally agree. As is with SB. Which is my hesitation. 
 O is now priced at SB levels. And quite overpriced if you add in all the extra included with SB. 
 

I sincerely hope that something changes soon with Oceania pricing.  It will obviously depend on booking levels with their new program. Everyone has their priorities of what is important. Maybe I am wrong, and this new program will prove positive for enough people.