The "upsell" folks at Oceania are busy today...

[joan24]

Our cruise, Insignia May 15, still had plenty of cabins at the time of final payment. We're in a PH2 so even if there were discounts offered it seemed to be A1 and lower. Since final payment more cabins have sold. Our cruise didn't offer any discounts at all, It could be because it's a 16 day cruise instead of 12 or 14 days. This is our fourth O cruise and we've never been offered an upgrade or upsell. We picked cabins that we're happy with and I guess in the past it was rare for upgrades to occur since every cat sold well.

Joan

[jerseygirl3]

Yeah, 4 nights...and lots of other amenities as well...

First thing to do is figure out which nights you want to do those specialty restaurants and reserve early...Good slots fill up...Since there's no additional charge, everyone books them when they can...

 

I am looking forward to those specialty restaurants as well...

Of course, even the main dining room has excellent food...

 

Enjoy...

 

A Cat A balcony gets you 4 nights in the specialty restaurants but a B1 balcony cabin gets you only one night? Is that correct?

 

Jo-Ann

[meow!]

A category A gets you two nights in each of the two specialty restaurants guaranteed while a category B gets you one night in each of the two specialty restaurants.

[Veronica13]

If I've booked a Category A, plus a Category B and I sail on a Monday, can I then get 3 reservations for one specialty restaurant on the following Wednesday?

[meow!]

No, because the bookings are cabin specific, the two passengers of each cabin can only be in one restaurant for a given night (don't tell me you are going to eat in one followed by the other restaurnat on the same night). Of course, the two different pairs in the two respective cabins A and B can each eat at whichever reataurant they so choose (provided there is still space).

[Bruin Steve]

Let's make it simple...

Everyone gets one reservation for each of the two specialty restaurants...

Those in Category A and above (Suites) get an extra reservation in each...

 

BUT...You can always show up later in the cruise and if space is available, you can get additional reservations...The key is getting there early, getting your preferred times...You can also always CHANGE your reservations--but, of course, it depends on the times being available...Demand, especially for better time slots, is high...

 

anyone disagree?

[conan]

Following this thread has been really, really interesting... The number of apparently vacant cabins on Steve's June cruise is really astounding especially if they remain unfilled. This is unusual given Oceania's marketing strategy of offering 2 for 1 fares at the beginning of a selling period. Unlike other lines they don't usually have sell-offs but rather, waiting lists instead as sail dates approach. I've been wondering why I've been deluged with mailed Oceania brochures, sometimes 2 per week plus online deals. Of my 5 cruises, I've only sailed Oceania once before, Istanbul to Venice (thanks for all the help on that one you Cool Cruisers, you) yet I'm getting all this mail;. I certainly am not a "preferred customer". Just joined the Oceania rollcall for the LA to Miami cruise in February only to find that the person who set up the rollcall, who is also from Ontario paid about 70% what I paid for inside cabin. Is Azmara stealing Oceania's thunder? That's perhaps part of it. How long can this fledgling line continue the loss leader before it bellies up a la Renaissance? How long can Oceania (or any other line for that matter) staff its ships which rely on gratuities to pay the staff, continue in this market? Not surprisingly, the lines are unwilling to give away the top end cabins which require more staff (concierges etc.) as opposed to the cheaper cabins, the insides and obstructed view units on deck 6 which require fewer staff. I am surprised that they seemed unwilling to give Steve Bruin an upgrade deal considering he was willing to pay for it. But it's part of a larger picture. This is all an aspect of the global recession I fear. During our recent trip to Playa del Carmen, conversations with cabbies, chambermaids, bartenders - the people who are directly affected by the downturn in tourism indicate that tourists, especially American tourists, just aren't travelling. There were 22 deluxe accommodation buildings at the resort where we stayed, 2 of them were empty at a time when this particular resort usually runs 100% occupancy. Chambermaids were working 5 days per week instead of 6 in order to keep them all employed with the commensurate decline in pay and tips. During the ubiquitous harangue by the evening entertainment emcee, "How many people from Britain? How many people from Germany? How many people from Canada? How many people from the USA? The room was ominously quiet in response to that last question.

Make sure your trip cancellation/interruption insurance is paid up.

[Bruin Steve]

Conan,

I think you got it...

It's the economy...

Cruise line sales, as well as the tourism market across the board, is down right now...

I have spoken to people who feel it will be back up and healthy a year from now...but, for right now, they are having trouble filling cabins...and it is not just Oceania...there are empty cabins on lots of cruises for this summer which would, in most years, be long ago booked by now...

Cruise lines don't like empty cabins...it affects lots of other parts of their equation--tips, bar sales, shore excursion sales, casino and bingo revenues, etc.

They don't want to set precedents by running sales, making upgrade deals or things of that sort...they don't want the public to expect it in the future...But, by all indicatons, it's only a "this year" thing...so most cruise lines are doing it in some form or fashion...

 

Oceania has done it by running their unprecedented sales...but not on all sailings...Their hope was that those sailings were doing okay before the sale was announced and would sell okay anyway. What they didn't anticipate was the high cancelation rate this year. People book early...then lose their job or suffer unanticipated losses in their own businesses or suffer major hits to their investments...They also have some drift--faced with saving $2000 on a different sailing on the same itinerary on a different date, they rebook...and, yes, some are pulled away by deals offered on other lines--Azamara, Crystal, Celebrity and others will pull some folks away from Oceania...if they run sales or deeply discount their prices on similar cruises...

 

And, yes, they ALL have empty cabins...and all laws of economics and business apply...

 

Well, one of the ways in which Oceania attacks the problem is to market first to its own existing customers...give them the option of the "upsell" before marketing to new customers...It's only fair...If someone booked a cabin a year ago, but opted for the inside cabin because there was a $3000 difference to the balcony, perhaps they would have booked that balcony if the difference was only $2000...or $1000? So, before you market it to someone new, offer that existing customer the opportunity...

 

But cruise lines (in general, not necessarily Oceania) will also do a number of other things to fill cabins that MOST of the public never even knows--they will offer deep discounts to travel agents, to military personnel, to airline industry personnel, to certain "residency" groups, to special interest group rates...What they are doing is compromising their price structure to fill up the cabins without resetting public expectations...

 

Usually, these marketing tactics will fill a small portion of unsold cabins...

 

But, even tht looks tough this year--industrywide, the economy has hit the industry so hard that it's likely a lot of ships will sail far from full.

 

Now, it does look like the upsell effort on my cruise has had some effect...though lower categories still show a lot of 7+ cabins available, as of last night there were only three A1s open...My guess is upsells were offered and accepted...

 

Notwithstanding all this...my sailing is a flat-out great itinerary...If you don't have vacation plans for this summer, I'd recommend calling your travel agent right now and having them contact Oceania to see what they can do to put you on this cruise...

 

Next year, they will likely fill up at their asking price...and that price could be higher...

[meow!]

Next year, they will likely fill up at their asking price...and that price could be higher...

How confident are you of this, especially with two large newbuilds more than doubling its capacity? (The fervour for a newbuild usually does not last beyond the first couple of sailings!)

[conan]

Well, Meow, I'm usually a glass half full as opposed to half empty kind of guy. That being said, I think the economy will rebound somewhat given the amount of taxpayers money that is being poured into it. But you can only go to that well so often before you start pulling up mud. The baby boomers which powered those decades of growth are now in the process of switching from being spenders to being savers for their retirement. They are being pressured to be even greater savers given the current situation, flux and loss of confidence in banks and the marketplace. By and large they have just barely reproduced themselves so there is no natural population growth that would stimulate growth in consumer goods acquisition whether it's baby layettes, cars or houses. All those people being laid off and terminated are now drawers from the public purse instead of contributing to it. The recovery in 09 will be modest but it will probably worsen in '10. Cruise lines with huge capacity builds are going to have to really pull some magic out of the hat to keep those vessels full and afloat. It would not surprise me to see some ships mothballed for quite some time and strenuous marketing to maintain the market niche for the vessels that remain. Cruiselines are not like resorts and hotels. They can't shut down whole floors or wings, lay off some housekeeping staff and still sail. The revenue streams from shops, casinos, excursions as Steve pointed out is essentially the profit margin. All this rhetoric looking for upgrades and upsells is a response to an industry in panic to keep itself afloat. Steve is correct in that the lines should be appealing to their tried and true clients as a first line of recovery/solvency. I reiterate that I wonder why I'm getting as many as 2 brochures per week from Oceania (and Princess and HAL) Reread his posts, he makes good points. But remembering the Renaissance experience, be sure your cancellation/interruption insurance is paid. I sure wish I could be more optimistic. I have 2 cruises booked and will continue to travel this way. It's the best bang for the buck among other things. I guess it's my small way of helping to stimulate the economy. Spend, people! Spend!!

[StanandJim]

The baby boomers which powered those decades of growth are now in the process of switching from being spenders to being savers for their retirement.

 

They had better not be, it looks like letting inflation run rampant will be the only solution to paying back the trillions we're tossing at this.

 

What is Texan for “Après moi le déluge"?

[cruiseyguy]

The niche both Oceania and Azamara have targeted, baby boomer retirees and pre-retirees, is indeed pulling back on its spending quite deeply. This the group that no longer had traditional pensions to fall back on but instead relied on 401(k)s and inflated home prices to fund retirement and its joys, such as freedom to travel. Add to this the dramatically increased capacity Oceania's new ship(s) will bring to the mix and it's hard to understand how these lines will fill their ships, much less make money. Azamara only has two ships to worry about and is backed by RCL's (somewhat) deep pockets. Oceania will have all three existing small ships plus the big ships. Further complicating things, Oceania will have to differentiate both the pricing and the marketing of its new and older ships. It's not going to be an easy time for any of these lines over the next couple of year since any recovery will take time to affect consumer psychology.

[Bruin Steve]

Cruiseyguy, I hear ya...

I figure I am probably somewhere near the "bull's eye" of Oceania's target market...

I'm 55 years old, probably about ten years from retiring...My youngest child graduates from college in June...My mortgage is real close to being paid off...I have a relatively high-paying professional corporate job...and I do have a pension--already vested, but growing--plus other investments...I get over five weeks of vacation a year and typically have expendable entertainment cash in my budget...

 

On the other hand, like many, I too have taken hits in this economy...my investments have lost a fair portion of their value, my company decided that executive level employees get zero raise this year and our bonuses have been cut by about 35-40% (and that's a major part of my income), etc.

 

So, while I still desire to cruise...and I can still afford to cruise...we make some tough decisions...More than most years, we really need to find value for the money. Normally we might say "we want the best...and are willing to pay for the best", under these economic times, sometimes you just say "where can I find value?"...We still won't cruise for "the lowest price"...we still believe that "you tend to get what you pay for"...So, I may never sink so low as to want to cruise with Carnival or NCL...But you do carefully consider options from among Oceania, Azamara, Celebrity, HAL and others...

 

In this market, any of these cruise lines have to tread a thin line between competitve price--considering supply and demand--and not cutting corners on their product. You can't lose your customers in trying to keep them.

 

I do get the feeling that this year, cruise line profit margins are going to be uncomfortably thin...sales are off...and that will be reflected in ancillary items as well--shore excursion, bar, casino, gift shop sales--will all be down...The cruise lines are going to have to absorb the punch...and hope to make it up in future years when the economy turns around.

 

Right now there is some opportunity--for the cruiser looking for a cruise deal at a level not found in past years...and for the cruise line perhaps pulling customers from other lines--The customer who usually cruises with Crystal or Seabourne or SilverSeas may try Oceania in this market...and Oceania has the opportunity to impress those customers and grab some of their future business...They are going to need a larger customer base when the new builds come on line...maybe try to widen the base in both directions, then hope to keep it.

[meow!]

We are only ordinary cats of limited means. We try and find those deeply discounted voyages. While on board, other than prescribed tips (if applicable) and shipboard credit (if available and lose it if you don't use it), we hardly spend on anything. And we are always mindful of the benefits of ordinary individual consumers. Therefore (?), we seldom even get brochures mailed to us (from any cruise line)!

 

P.S. And we usually use discount agents to get back some discounts too (doing our own "legwork", using them only as ticketing agents, except when the speical deal is available only from some given major on-line agency).

[newcruisers04]

Following this thread has been really, really interesting... The number of apparently vacant cabins on Steve's June cruise is really astounding especially if they remain unfilled. This is unusual given Oceania's marketing strategy of offering 2 for 1 fares at the beginning of a selling period. Unlike other lines they don't usually have sell-offs but rather, waiting lists instead as sail dates approach. I've been wondering why I've been deluged with mailed Oceania brochures, sometimes 2 per week plus online deals. Of my 5 cruises, I've only sailed Oceania once before, Istanbul to Venice (thanks for all the help on that one you Cool Cruisers, you) yet I'm getting all this mail;. I certainly am not a "preferred customer". Just joined the Oceania rollcall for the LA to Miami cruise in February only to find that the person who set up the rollcall, who is also from Ontario paid about 70% what I paid for inside cabin. Is Azmara stealing Oceania's thunder? That's perhaps part of it. How long can this fledgling line continue the loss leader before it bellies up a la Renaissance? How long can Oceania (or any other line for that matter) staff its ships which rely on gratuities to pay the staff, continue in this market? Not surprisingly, the lines are unwilling to give away the top end cabins which require more staff (concierges etc.) as opposed to the cheaper cabins, the insides and obstructed view units on deck 6 which require fewer staff. I am surprised that they seemed unwilling to give Steve Bruin an upgrade deal considering he was willing to pay for it. But it's part of a larger picture. This is all an aspect of the global recession I fear. During our recent trip to Playa del Carmen, conversations with cabbies, chambermaids, bartenders - the people who are directly affected by the downturn in tourism indicate that tourists, especially American tourists, just aren't travelling. There were 22 deluxe accommodation buildings at the resort where we stayed, 2 of them were empty at a time when this particular resort usually runs 100% occupancy. Chambermaids were working 5 days per week instead of 6 in order to keep them all employed with the commensurate decline in pay and tips. During the ubiquitous harangue by the evening entertainment emcee, "How many people from Britain? How many people from Germany? How many people from Canada? How many people from the USA? The room was ominously quiet in response to that last question.

Make sure your trip cancellation/interruption insurance is paid up.

Conan...did you see my update re: our pricing for the LA to Miami cruise next Feb. with Oceania? it is $5500 cdn. for an inside cabin..and we have made arrangements to certainly pay for the insurance on this cruise. We are first time "O" cruisers, and we also were looking for the best bang for our buck for a vacation, this cruise sure fit that bill, but any cruise line that offered a similar cruise for comparable money would have been considered...we have prev. been on HAL and Carnival, so we arent loyal yet to a particular cruiseline. We look forward to meeting you on the Panama cruise....Lori

[conan]

Lori:

After I read your post on the rollcall, I visited my TA with a printout of the post and asked "How come?" We are also booked into inside cabins on deck 7, midships paying $USD6800 which translates to about $8900 loonies, booked on March 05. She was astounded! She couldn't figure out how you got such pricing and called O while I was there. Nobody could (or would) give her a straight answer. She asked me if there was any way I could get hold of your invoice to which I replied that that would not be in anybody's best interest. You got a great deal! Revel in it! Or maybe its the new norm. It's a consistent revelation to what others on this thread are posting with regard to how O is marketing at the moment. We cruised on the Nautica Istanbul to Venice. You're gonna love cruisin' with O!

I'm more than a little miffed with O and my TA though. It's a great way to get me to look at Azmara. Maybe the difference is because of cabin assignments. What deck is your inside cabin located?

[conan]

There are a lot of similarities in discussion between this thread and the one lead off by demo about declining passenger manifests - with a lot of the same posters. Over 2000 views on each and 100 posts. Worthwhile reading for all you peekers out there.

 

Happy sails!

[lovecruisingtoo]

I'm more than a little miffed with O and my TA though. It's a great way to get me to look at Azmara. Maybe the difference is because of cabin assignments. What deck is your inside cabin located?

 

It has become very obvious that O is now giving significant discounts to CERTAIN travel agencies and their customers. We went to one site to get comparative quotes and the quotes that we received varied by over $1,700 (total) for an A3 cabin. In addition, when I looked at the Oceania web site, the price it was higher still - no discount was shown. This particular cruise has not been shown on the Oceania e-mails as being subject to the current discounts.

 

Needless to say, we canceled our existing booking and re-booked with the lowest of the offers we received. We did ask if our current online agency could match, or come close to, the other offers. Their response was that they could not come close to the price we were being offered and that we should cancel with them, at no charge, and book with the other agency.

 

Bottom line, I don't think the issue is with your TA, Oceania may not be offering him the discounts that they offer to other TA's.

[joan24]

We've been cruising with O since its inaugural year. We are loyal customers and never saiiled below a PH cat. The positive thing about O is that everyone paid the same, no big ads on the discount lines. You didn't find someone on the cruise having a vastly different price per cabin. At that point they were very careful about stating what the price was. I say great to those who have upgraded or gotten an upsell. What I want to know from Oceania is why a loyal customer with more than 1 cruise isn't given the same consideration as someone who is fairly new to O. There should be some kind of discount to people whose cruise itself hasn't been discounted. Never even got a small shipboard credit. Are you reading this FDR. We don't expect miracles just a little token once in a while. Now that I vented, I hope everyone has a wonderful cruise because Oceania is a wonderful line.

Joan

[gtragitt]

We've been cruising with O since its inaugural year. We are loyal customers and never saiiled below a PH cat. The positive thing about O is that everyone paid the same, no big ads on the discount lines. You didn't find someone on the cruise having a vastly different price per cabin. At that point they were very careful about stating what the price was. I say great to those who have upgraded or gotten an upsell. What I want to know from Oceania is why a loyal customer with more than 1 cruise isn't given the same consideration as someone who is fairly new to O. There should be some kind of discount to people whose cruise itself hasn't been discounted. Never even got a small shipboard credit. Are you reading this FDR. We don't expect miracles just a little token once in a while. Now that I vented, I hope everyone has a wonderful cruise because Oceania is a wonderful line.

Joan

 

On my Baltic cruise on Oceania the Australians, Europeans and Canadians paid more than USA residents. I paid considerably less than most Americans paid. I am paying considerably less than most are paying for my June cruise. In addition Oceania sent me a gift certificate for my last cruise to use on this one. I am not one of their high margin customers, but my wife works for an airline. Due to that fact we receive an interline discount, we pay less than most. The airlines provide discounts to the cruise lines. It is reasonable to expect that cruise lines provide discounts in return.

[dino2067]

It has become very obvious that O is now giving significant discounts to CERTAIN travel agencies and their customers. We went to one site to get comparative quotes and the quotes that we received varied by over $1,700 (total) for an A3 cabin. In addition, when I looked at the Oceania web site, the price it was higher still - no discount was shown. This particular cruise has not been shown on the Oceania e-mails as being subject to the current discounts.

 

Needless to say, we canceled our existing booking and re-booked with the lowest of the offers we received. We did ask if our current online agency could match, or come close to, the other offers. Their response was that they could not come close to the price we were being offered and that we should cancel with them, at no charge, and book with the other agency.

 

Bottom line, I don't think the issue is with your TA, Oceania may not be offering him the discounts that they offer to other TA's.

 

Lovecruisingtoo-

 

This is the same experience that I had when booking a 2010 itinerary and yes, I booked with the best price/perks that I could find. I do believe it is not an uncommon practice in the cruise industry to have a tiered system for TA's based upon volume of sales of the particular line sold. Is it fair?...that really is a personal observation of whether it is or not. I don't see it as an issue if I know how the game is played so to speak. There are I'm sure other types of reciprocal discounts other then to TA's that are out there (airlines, etc.) but one would have to be part of that industry to partake I'm sure.

 

I do know, that besides the prepaid tips/obc that one may get as part of the deal, you will NOT see that TA discount (difference between what you pay the TA at the discounted rate and Oceania's price) listed on Oceania's invoice...only Oceania's incentives such as their current promotions.

 

There is nothing stopping anyone that books directly with Oceania (or another TA for that matter) from transferring their reservation to a different TA if they find a better deal to their liking and are aware of any penalties (if there are any) to do so.

 

This is after all a business proposition that one is undertaking here and it requires one to negotiate and be comfortable accepting what ever deal is made...you aren't being forced to. Personally, if I made my deal and I am comfortable with it, I can't grouse about what someone else may have been able to better negotiate then I.

 

Kathleen

[Acrusa]

Oceania always give" a $100.00 PP gift certificate if you book your cruise within 45 day's of the last cruise you took.

[LHT28]

I am not one of their high margin customers, but my wife works for an airline. Due to that fact we receive an interline discount, we pay less than most.

Interline rates are for employees/family & sometimes friends of people who work in the travel industry.

 

Some give really good deals;)

 

Not exactly what most people here are talking about

The average JOE cannot apply for the rates.

 

Lyn

BTW everyone get the $200. off coupon on their cruise with O

[gtragitt]

I thought it was a strange concept that a cruise would be chosen because everybody pays the same rate for the same cabin classes. I choose a cruise based on itinerary, ammenities, service, food and what I pay (not in any order of priority). I would never give any thought to choosing a cruise based on what somebody else pays.

 

I feel badly that some have to pay more than I do, but I also want the cruise line to make a profit and continue to be a viable business. I would never begrudge anybody for being able to pay less than I do.

[SunDapple]

Oceania always give" a $100.00 PP gift certificate if you book your cruise within 45 day's of the last cruise you took.

 

Are there any incentives if you book while onboard? Does O even do this, having a representative there to sell you another cruise while you are enjoying the present one? And if so, will they offer cost incentives?