Equal benefits for non-americans!!!!

[2kiwis]

Thanks Meow

 

I see that Silversea make the point that their "growth is now so substantial in Australia and South Asia that we need to take control of our day to day operations directly. This will see Silversea as the only luxury brand with direct company board representation south of the equator.

Australia will become a very important strategic part of Silversea's future plans and our expansion into the luxury expedition market, with the purchase of the first of several purpose built expedition vessels"

and that "select personnel will be re-located from the company's Florida office". Interesting isn't it.......

Sounds like they are going to become a very viable proposition, especially since they have got rid of the "middleman". (present contractual arrangements with the Australasian agents (Wiltrans and Cruise Brokers) selling Silversea products would end at the end of April and would not be renewed) :)

[PrincessRobbo]

When I booked my cruise I couldn't find a UK agent that could get close to the prices being offered by US agents. Oceania will only let you book through UK agents approved by them and it's a short list. I tried to book through a US agent whose website I subscribe to and whose information led me to choose the cruise that I wanted. He informed me that he was not allowed to do cross border bookings for Oceania but could with some other cruise lines.

I entered into extensive correspondence with Oceania and their "explanation" is below. I can't say that I'm convinced.

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Mrs. Robinson,

 

Thank you for showing interest in cruising with Oceania

Cruises. The reason we do not allow cross border booking is to protect

our guests. If you booked with a UK travel agency and (Hypothetically)

if something goes wrong with your booking that you would need to take

legal action then you are protected by the UK government because you

booked with a UK Travel Agency. If you booked with a US travel agency

you would not be protected by the UK government. Another reason is that

our UK travel partners are highly experience with our product and have

the knowledge to help you with your visa. Please note that the policy

that US travel agent can only booked US guests applies to every country

and no just the UK. All international guests have to book within their

local region.

 

We do not charge more for international guests. Yes, we only

included flights for US and Canadian guests only. But all international

guests get an air credit included because you are not able to take

advantage of our air promotion. Your cruise fare would be lower because

we can only offer cruise only.

 

If you would be interested in cruising with Oceania Cruises then please

contact one of our travel partners. Please click the link below.

 

http://www.oceaniacruises.com/GSA/UK/T_MainContentPage.aspx?PageUID=e608

f79d-b1fd-4d10-8b59-22e2a172434a&Option=3&Index=0

 

Best Regards,

 

Manuel Sanchez

International Cruise Specialist

[lahore]

PrincessRobbo

 

Thanks so much for posting that. At least you got a response, which is more than I managed. But what a load of b@llocks huh? I don't think I have ever read such a patronising load of BS in my entire life. So the folks at Oceania HQ think we non-USA citz are entirely stupid apparently? Have they not heard of, ummmm, travel insurance. Do they not realise that most of us on CC are smart enough not to go within a bulls' roar of a travel agent? "And have the knowledge to help you with your visa" - GIVE ME A BREAK! How about I help the travel agents with how, where, when and why to get Visas. Good grief. :mad:

 

No, I'm not buying it either...neither literally nor metaphorically. I'm off to HAL or other lines that value my custom, as I know others on this thread are too.

[2kiwis]

Hi everyone

 

Thanks for all your comments

 

Well - we have had some sort of sucess at last. We complained about the extra charges and have been assured that we will only have to pay the price as quoted by Oceania AND at the current exchange rate on the day we pay = Yeah at last!!! - not too much to ask is it??

 

Also thanks for Mrs Robinson for her input re free air rebates - we certainly will be taking the matter up with Mr Sanchez to see if we can get the rebate as well

 

Cheers

 

PS: All the hassles aside we really do like cruising with Oceania so long may this new agreement last....................

[lahore]

hi 2 kiwis

 

That's good news. Can we ask for more info, who did you contact, and how? Are they prepared to offer others the same deal? I also like Oceania very much as a travel experience, it's their shore-based policies that irritate me. In fact, i just saw Nautica off in Hong Kong harbour - was quite tearful when the horn blew those three times - so sad to be not on her :(.

[2kiwis]

Hi Lahore

 

We produced the Oceania invoice to the Ocenaia representatives in NZ and the matter was resolved by them. I guess you would have to go to the Aussie representatives.

 

Good luck

[drummondcreek]

Are the rules the same for our Commonwealth family when it comes to booking Azamara - which I understand is quiet similar to Oceania?

I wonder if you could do your booking through a Canadian travel agent. I would guess they couldn't tell the difference between an Aussie, Kiwi or Canuck anyway!;)

[PrincessRobbo]

Here is a reply to an e mail that I sent to an American TA.

 

Lynda

______________________________________________________________

Dear Ms. Robinson,

 

Thanks for writing! We can help you find a great deal on any cruise line we offer, with the exceptions of Costa, Cunard, Oceania, Princess and Star Clippers.

 

If you'll let me know what destinations and travel dates you have in mind, I'll be happy to send you a customized list of possibilities. Thanks again, and we look forward to being of service!

Sincerely

[meow!]

That should be a great help for those outside the USA. Since RSSC (the other division of the Apollo-FDR line) is not on the list, non-American passengers can likely cruise RSSC for the price of Oceania (judging from previous postings on this thread). So why not?

[lahore]

Thanks PrincessRobo, but for me I already knew that and have just booked with HAL. Meow, yeah it's just great - we are only excluded from the some of the best lines in the world. We can't do what we want and get the same rates as you in USA. But we should be happy about that? I don't think so :mad:.

[Justgottago]

Aussie Gal suggested a page back finding a US travel agent who would accept a booking from an Australian or NZ passenger. While this may not be difficult to arrange I fear the problem may be that if the ship's staff carefully check the passport at embarkation and claim that the fare base the ticket was issued on only applies to US citizens and denies boarding or insists on a large additional payment you would be really stuck. Having arrived in Barcelona, Rome or Athens for example you would have few alternatives other than gritting your teeth :D and paying whatever they ask. Roll on Silversea!:) But in the meantime on a more upbeat note its back to the packing. We leave home in a week and in 6 weeks willl be embarking on Nautica in Istanbul!:cool:

[Emdee]

I had taken a Royal Caribbean cruise some years ago out of Sydney. Booked through a Sydney agent at a third of the Toronto price. However we were told that we had to pay our gratuities up front.. We didnt have a problem with this but the staff on board told us that this was done since australians and new zealanders didnt usually tip and this ensured their 'wages' . That being said we tipped throughout or trip as we would do anywhere in the world and all the guides' chaffeurs we had engaged all accepted it. A gratuity is exactly that a thanks for a job well done.

 

I know there was some discussion on this board on the subject but we still will tip some Regent staff for exceptional service and did the same on Oceania in spite of the tips being deducted...

[harryh]

We have been following this thread with interest, as we too are from Australia and have booked two upcoming cruises at prices considerably higher than the US$ rate quoted by Oceania.

 

As an example, in our case the brochure 2 for 1 fare is US$10799pp. At an exchange rate of 0.90 this equates to A$11998pp compared to our price of A$14595pp. This is a difference of A$2597pp. We appreciate the US pricing does not include port charges & gratuities, however it does include free air which is not available outside the US.

 

We politely asked our TA to enquire through the wholesaler with Oceania if we could have a more equitable fare. To our surprise & delight the fare was reduced from A$14595pp to A$12083pp.

 

We are obviously very grateful to our TA and also to Oceania for the price reduction which will certainly encourage us to continue sailing with them. Our thanks also to all who posted on this thread, we are in no doubt that our positive outcome came about through the exchange of information here.

 

Regards to all,

harryh

[meow!]

If your case represents the new rule, then Lahore, AussieGal, etc., will have their problems solved. Perhaps they can even politely request an adjustment refund?! While we are not personally affected by "overseas fares", we are happy to see an equitable ending to this saga!

 

P.S. We should all express our gratitude to this cruise critic forum, which gives voice to ordinary individual consumers.

[sunnies]

Harryh,

We are also from Australia and have been following this thread. We are booked on a cruise in 2009 (Nautica Hong Kong to Athens) and a comparison of prices between USA and Australia is not in our favour! You have done well.

[2kiwis]

We started this thread a while ago but never expected the response we got.

 

We are really pleased to think that maybe the non-Americans are going to be treated more fairly, and can only wonder if this cruise critic board has helped - lets hope so! ;)

 

We also have been guaranteed the fare as booked and quoted by Oceania on our last cruise, (after the wholesaler indicated that we were going to be charged $1600/per person more :mad: ) and we are now planning our next cruise (after the one we are doing this year).

 

Mind you we now plan on only booking on board the ship as that means the best prices and that we are quoted directly from Oceania - we just don't feel that we will get a decent deal any other way - the problem with this is we may miss out as we have to wait until we are on board again at the end of the year, but that's the chance we take. Hopefully one day we will be able to book from here and feel confident we are getting the best deal!

 

To all of you out there who have supported us = thanks!! :) :) , and to those of you who still don't think you are getting a good deal - keep questioning and not accepting extra costs, as it's not right.

 

PS: Sometimes you have to wonder where some of the extra charges are coming from! - Is it Oceania or is it the wholesalers, as when we booked on board it was quite clear what we were paying. Yet, when we got back home these "extra" charges appeared which could not be related to anything not already accounted, such as port charges, gratuities, etc) ?

[lahore]

Harryh: that's great news, a good outcome and one that is to be gladly recieved, by all of us.

 

Meow: I wouldn't and couldn't ask for an adjustment refund, because i purchased in USA. In future I may travel again with Oceania and if I am forced to purchase in Australia then I would do so ifl I had a positive response the same as Harryh's. If the wholesaler did 'come to the party' then fabulous, I will buy from them. I am motivated entirely by cost saving and not in the least by some misplaced sense of economic patriotism (in case the wholesaler is reading) ;) . I agree, Cruisecritic is a wondeful forum and I truly hope that this thread has contributed to the apparent change of policy by the wholesaler.

 

Sunnies; did you try the same as Harryh and get a negative response? If so I wonder why one person would get a discount and not another. Have you referred to this thread???

 

2Kiwis: Yep, good on you. Evidently the time was right. A few of us raised this about a year earlier and it seems the critical mass was not there at that stage - not enough poeple had noticed what was happening. It seems that 'you can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time...especially not CC'ers" (with apologies to whoever penned the original quote).

 

I am intrigued that you paid onboard and that's what happened. I never thought of paying on board because my USA based wholesaler was actually undercutting Oceania's onboard costs, even with the $200 discount. Now I will consider that option differently in future. If you are going to do the same this time I would be very keen to hear what happens (e.g., if it all goes smoothly).

 

Fair sailing all, stay in touch.

[2kiwis]

When I booked my cruise I couldn't find a UK agent that could get close to the prices being offered by US agents.

I entered into extensive correspondence with Oceania and their "explanation" is below. I can't say that I'm convinced.

 

 

 

We do not charge more for international guests. Yes, we only

included flights for US and Canadian guests only. But all international

guests get an air credit included because you are not able to take

advantage of our air promotion. Your cruise fare would be lower because

we can only offer cruise only.

 

If you would be interested in cruising with Oceania Cruises then please

contact one of our travel partners. Please click the link below.

 

http://www.oceaniacruises.com/GSA/UK/T_MainContentPage.aspx?PageUID=e608

f79d-b1fd-4d10-8b59-22e2a172434a&Option=3&Index=0

 

Best Regards,

 

Manuel Sanchez

International Cruise Specialist

 

 

We sent an email to Manuel but never received any response

[2kiwis]

I am intrigued that you paid onboard and that's what happened. I never thought of paying on board because my USA based wholesaler was actually undercutting Oceania's onboard costs, even with the $200 discount. Now I will consider that option differently in future. If you are going to do the same this time I would be very keen to hear what happens (e.g., if it all goes smoothly).

 

Fair sailing all, stay in touch.

 

Hi Lahore

How did you manage a US based wholesaler? - we got one in Canada but their price was not as good as the onboard price. Will let you know how we go next time - aren't you travelling Rome to Singapore this year? - If so we can catch up then as we will be onboard = booking our next cruise if it is still available. :) If not guess it will have to be another cruise line which we aren't all that happy about. :(

 

Isn't it ridiculous! We are ready to book our next cruise now but because of Oceania's stupid rules regarding non-americans we can't do so without a battle to get treated fairly, so just can't be bothered and will wait till we are onboard .:confused:

 

Mind you, we haven't been on a different cruise line so maybe we should try another, especially if the Oceania one is booked out by the time we get onboard - we may be pleasantly surprised? We had a look at a HAL cruise yesterday but it appeared that they do not have "open" seating, but may be wrong?

[lahore]

hi kiwi friends

 

this is rushed, am going to kid's concert.

 

I've been using a USA based wholesaler for my last four cruises, I think way earlier in this thread I mentioned that. He is good and his prices are very good. But since Oceania brought in this rule now he can't sell to me any more (at least not Oceania). I can give you his name, but now it's not much use for O.

 

No, unfortunately I am not doing Rome to Singapore this year, I did it last year. It was a fabulous cruise - I wrote a diary about it with photos on here, when I get more time I will send you the link. You'll have a most fantastic time; it's a brilliant itinerary.

 

As for me, we have booked back-to-back 24 days in Med/Greek Islands/Istanbul for June 2009. It's on HAL, which does apparently have a mixture of fixed seatings and freechoice. I would rather be on Oceania but nowadays the price differential is mighty big.

 

Gotta run, talk again soon, cheers for now.

[ging466]

Hi all

 

This is on the V2G website:

 

Costa, Holland America, MSC, NCL, Oceania, Princess, Royal Caribbean and Star Clippers now prohibit U.S. travel agencies (including Vacations To Go) from selling cruises to customers who do not have a residence in the U.S. or Canada.

 

I took an NCL cruise around South America in December 07 and after talking with many people discovered that the Aussies on board had spent heaps more on their cabins than any of the Americans so I have done a few little exercises on the price differentials between what Americans and Australians are paying for the same cabin grade and I have discovered that some of these cruiselines are charging Australians over $2,000 more.

 

Really us Aussies should be paying a lot less because our Aussie dollar is the strongest it's been in many years.

 

Why should we pay so much extra....what is the reason for this? Is it to protect our TAs in Australia from missing out on business due to the booming internet trade?:mad:

 

I'm not going to pay excessive amounts like this just because I live outside the USA. The above cruiselines are never going to get my business again.

 

Cheers

Ging466

[lahore]

I'm not going to pay excessive amounts like this just because I live outside the USA. The above cruiselines are never going to get my business again.

 

Hi Ging

 

Yes, I knew about V2G, and whilst they weren't my wholesaler, it's a very similar site to the one I use. You have every right to be cranky - as are we all. HAL, being as they currently aren't on that list, is now getting my business and that of a least one other previous Oceania cruiser.

 

HAL mgmt - if you are reading this - looks like you are going to be getting a lot more Aussie business ;) . Aussies might not have the bucks to throw around that Americans have had (in the past anyway) but we do have FOUR WEEKS ANNUAL LEAVE, which means that i would have thought we were a good investment for anyone wanting to attract travellers. Ah well, short-sightedness leads to strategic business errors - the results will be long term, but they'll be interesting to observe.

[ging466]

Hi Lahore

 

HAL is charging non Americans more. When I mentioned the price differentials that I did above, a lot of these were done using HAL's pricing for Americans and non Americans. As I discovered, it can be A$2,000 more, especially in the balcony category. It's almost like we are subsidising the Americans and we shouldn't be.

 

All us non Americans should simply stop using these cruise lines until they give us fair pricing.

 

Cheers

Ging466

[2kiwis]

We understand your anger and frustration - this is what caused us to start this thread. What we can't understand is why these cruiselines feel that it is so necessary to alienate non-americans. As not one of them has ever provided a valid reason why they insist on such an unfair practice, we have to assume that they don't have one.

 

We wonder what is going to happen when more cruise lines decide to come "down under" for trade. Maybe it will be like Silversea who have dismissed their wholesaler and have opened an office in Australia to deal direct with their non-american customers. Hopefully this will mean fairer deals!

 

Given the strength (or lack) of the US$ we have to wonder how many "special deals" are going to come our way when American's start cancelling their bookings - which they can readily do, as they get their $1000 deposit back! I guess then the cruise lines will be happy to treat us the same as Americans, and of course many more desirable cabins will also become available. :rolleyes:

[lahore]

HAL currently allows us non-Americans to book in the USA - thus avoiding the extra charges and giving us the same benefits (e.g., refunds of deposits). I know, because I did it two weeks ago. Agree wholeheartedly with everything else said since Ging's post by both of you.