Oceania Cruises has, until now, presented itself as a "Here is your price" type of marketing cruise line. I thought that was great. There was no asterisk next to the price, or fine print below it, noting that government taxes and fees were extra. That is changing.
Unfortunately, what it going to do as of September 1, 2011 (tomorrow) Oceania is going to maintain its advertised pricing, but increase the per day costs by adding the asterisk or fine print of those charges of up to $17.00 per person per day. On its face it is a price increase of about 5% to 8% for the average cruise.
Normally I would cry "foul", but I am in a way hard-pressed to do so here. Why? Because Oceania Cruises has been running some pretty significant discounting and trying to be realistic, we need to balance pricing strategies against actually making money (which Oceania Cruises is most certainly entitled to do).
Oceania Cruises has some great itineraries and its new ships are very special in a number of ways. So do not be discouraged or concerned by the change in pricing...Just be informed. That way you can compare not only the amenities and styles of each cruise, but the true price differences.
If you are interested in an Oceania Cruise email me at eric@goldringtravel.com or call me at (877) 2GO-LUXURY. (Unfortunately Oceania's current policy does not allow me to book clients from outside of North America if they are not currently a client of mine.)
