Equal benefits for non-americans!!!!

[lahore]

Mgsail - welcome also. Yes I woud like to know what Jennie has asked too please?

 

Sunny; I have tried, through the concierge and the hotel manager when onboard. See my earlier postings but in essence I have had a denial (said it was a 'common misperception') and then a non-response.

 

Roll BACK to the days of global booking I reckon - it was there, and now it's been taken away which has possibly made us all even angrier than we would have been if it had never existed :(

[Sunny Sailing]

Lahore, I agree with you, hopefully we will see on-line global booking as that's the way so much seems to be going.

 

Unfortunately, the "middlemen" seem to have a firm grip on the cruising industry and I can't see them relinquishing their control any time soon. With all the extra charges these days, and the battles over exchange rates, I often I wonder who makes the most money out of the passengers - the cruiselines or the wholesalers??

[lahore]

Ummm, that's really weird, a whole page of posts seems to have disappeared. What happened?

[Sunny Sailing]

Ummm, that's really weird, a whole page of posts seems to have disappeared. What happened?

 

 

I suspect it was to do with the subject matter as a lot of it was regarding the remark made about USA#1. The administrator most probably thought it better removed??

[lahore]

Sad that they didn't think we were capable of dealing with reality. Baah to censorship.

[Aussie Gal]

I have just received a mail out from another of our internet T.A.'s here in Australia who are telling me that their price for the Hong Kong to Athens cruise in 2009 is at least "10% off the normal fare" but does not include any airfares etc. The price they are quoting for the lowest category Balcony is $11445Aud which on today's rates converts to $10274US.

 

The price for the lowest category Balcony on Oceania's website is $9499US which converts to $10584AUD and that includes airfare. A difference of nearly $1000AUD per person without any air!

 

Where is the fairness here? I rest my case.

 

Jennie

[2kiwis]

I have just received a mail out from another of our internet T.A.'s here in Australia who are telling me that their price for the Hong Kong to Athens cruise in 2009 is at least "10% off the normal fare" but does not include any airfares etc. The price they are quoting for the lowest category Balcony is $11445Aud which on today's rates converts to $10274US.

 

The price for the lowest category Balcony on Oceania's website is $9499US which converts to $10584AUD and that includes airfare. A difference of nearly $1000AUD per person without any air!

 

Where is the fairness here? I rest my case.

 

Jennie

 

My point exactly.

Can't see it changing in the near future can you? :(

[lahore]

No, I can't see it changing in the near future. But there is an old management adage; you can't change others by wanting them to change, but you can change either the environment or your own behaviour and that may bring about a reciprocal change by the 'other'.

 

I will have to change my behaviour because we can't afford to go with O at these prices, and maybe the environment will change if enough Australians, New Zealanders, Britons and others also vote with their feet (or wallets). Maybe..., but I suspect it will be a long time coming.

[P&C]

I am going to see my TA next week!!! Would love to do Regatta for Baltic in 09 along with friends. But after following this thread for the last couple of weeks..... hmmmmmmm.

 

May I ask what is a good alternative so I go armed with info and another option up my sleeve. By the time we pay the huge airfares cos if the distance and then the added cruise cost it makes for a very very expensive holiday. Do I look at Celebrity again or Azamara?

[Sunny Sailing]

 

May I ask what is a good alternative so I go armed with info and another option up my sleeve. By the time we pay the huge airfares cos if the distance and then the added cruise cost it makes for a very very expensive holiday. Do I look at Celebrity again or Azamara?

 

I note that recently here in NZ specials on Celebrity and Azamara Cruises are being offered - maybe the same applies to Aussie?

 

As I have only cruised on Oceania I can't comment on other cruiselines but may end up in the same position as you = looking for an alternative if the prices get too much.

[2kiwis]

Things may be looking up????? The Nautica was in port here in NZ yesterday and today we see an advert for a Greek Island tour in August.

The price quoted for an inside cabin started at $NZ 4,480 - INCLUDING gratuities and port charges!

I have just had a look on the Oceania website and their lowest price was $NZ 4,798

Maybe now that Oceania is coming "down under" things are going improve for us?????

[P&C]

Hope so !!! Sent an email to my TA who will be back later this week to get the ball rolling. We don't mnd paying for quality but rather concerned when we hear of being disavantaged cos we live in NZ !! In 07 I kept an eye on the exchange rates and tried to be prudent, between us and the TA we were happy.

[lahore]

Interesting news 2kiwis. Was the Oceania price for the same level of cabin? I imagine it was. Only problem is, in the past if I had emailed my online broker in USA, he would have undercut the Oceania price consideraby (always including port charges). But gratuities were never included by the online broker.

[2kiwis]

Hi Lahore

 

Would you believe that there was a "Full Page' advert for cruise specials (inc Oceania) this morning - Maybe the economic downturn in the US is having an effect on American's booking cruises, so now the cruiselines are looking down under to fill them?? However, I would not be surprised to learn that the deals in the US were better though.

[lahore]

Gee I'd like to think that someone has been reading these pages. :p

[owl61]

From the folks at the US Dept of Justice Antitrust Div., an indication that the pricing discepancy and prohibition on xborder sales is not violative of US law. In answer to my query they responded (received today Lahore):

 

Dear David:

Thank you for contacting the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. The function of the Citizen Complaint Center is to receive, review and file complaints and/or concerns from citizens. We are prohibited from providing legal advice or answering questions about the legality of certain situations.

The Citizen Complaint Center has reviewed your complaint, and though we understand your concerns, we have determined that the information provided does not warrant further review by the Division at this time. We have your information on file and should the legal staff need further information, they may contact you in the future.

We appreciate your interest in the enforcement of the federal antitrust laws and we wish you the best in resolving your concerns.

Sincerely,

Citizen Complaint Center

Antitrust Division

Department of Justice

[lahore]

Hi Owl, well they responded - that's better than we might get here I fear. Sorry it seems to be bad news all round doesn't it?

[2kiwis]

Well not much seems to have changed in our part of the world.

 

We have just received a letter and costing from the wholesaler via our travel agent for our next cruise, which we had booked on board Regatta in November.

 

We did our comparisons with Oceania's invoice and the NZ costing, matching "apples for apples" = ie adding in the prepaid gratuities, converting at the rate used by the NZ wholesaler etc, to find that we are now being charged $1600/per person more??? :mad:

 

Great isn't it, especially when we don't get any of the things like the free air rebate, free gratuities, onboard credits, like some passengers we have talked to.

 

Another battle coming up!

[Aussie Gal]

2kiwis,

 

I would be starting to look at another cruise line and would thinking about booking through an U.S. agent that can take your bookings. $3000 is far too much of a difference and I know that we wouldn't be paying out "money for nothing" when everyone else is getting the cruise for a lot less.

 

Jennie

[smj]

Has anyone ever wondered why it is legal for senior citizens to pay cheaper prices than nonseniors?

[lahore]

That's a sick joke isn't it 2kiwi's. :mad: I would also be going elsewhere, or going to the same place on another line. Or doing what Jennie suggests.... not sure what we'll do next time. Might try Cunard for a change.

[2kiwis]

2kiwis,

 

I would be starting to look at another cruise line and would thinking about booking through an U.S. agent that can take your bookings. $3000 is far too much of a difference and I know that we wouldn't be paying out "money for nothing" when everyone else is getting the cruise for a lot less.

 

Jennie

 

Our understanding is that we can't book through an American Agent??

If you know of one that we can please let us know

We certainly don't intend on paying the extra - we have a price from Oceania and that should be it!

Cheers

[Aussie Gal]

2kiwis.

 

I would start by looking at other cruise lines with a similar itinerary. Then I would email a few of the internet agencies and ask if they will accept a booking from a New Zealander on an Oceania cruise. If they say no, then ask about your second choice. You can only ask and you may be surprised with what you find out plus you will be saving thousands of dollars.

 

Good luck.

 

Jennie

[2kiwis]

2kiwis.

 

I would start by looking at other cruise lines with a similar itinerary. Then I would email a few of the internet agencies and ask if they will accept a booking from a New Zealander on an Oceania cruise. If they say no, then ask about your second choice. You can only ask and you may be surprised with what you find out plus you will be saving thousands of dollars.

 

Good luck.

 

Jennie

 

We certainly will be checking all the options

Cheers

[meow!]

For folks in Australasia complaining about the high prices and loss of benefits due to local sole agents for Oceania, the following link gives you a viable alternative:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=13282796#post13282796

 

With deep discounts from time to time, Silversea pricing south of the equator may well be about the same as Oceania's. Silversea is an all inclusive line, all tips, all drinks, with cabins generally more than 1.5x the area of Oceania's and food and services well comparable. The "brochure rate" of the two lines are usually rather similar, only that Oceania normally starts with 50% discount while Silversea has less discount. Oceania has "free air" for North Americans, which is a very good feature, but that is not available to Australasians anyway.

 

The benefit of good value for Oceania is true for North Americans, but not necessarily so in the Southern Hemisphere. Each company sets its own marketing policy. With new large ships coming in the next several years, perhaps competition will lead Oceania to follow Silversea's example in this aspect in the future!