Oceania touts new O Life incentives

Oceania Cruises is consolidating and expanding its early booking incentives programs under a new name, O Life Advantage.  

“The O Life Advantage is a dramatic shift in the way to go to market,” said Jason Montague, Oceania’s president and CEO.

Oceania has previously had incentives to encourage early bookings at favorable prices, but some sailings were excluded and programs varied in exact benefits, Montague said. 

Jason Montague

The new, streamlined program is being offered on the 2016 summer season on veranda cabins and above for bookings made by Sept. 30.

In addition to being more comprehensive, the O Life package of incentives includes a more robust offering of free shore excursions. O Life provides three free excursions per person on sailings up to nine days, four free excursions on journeys of between 10 and 13 days, and five free excursions on itineraries of 14 days or more.

Prepaid gratuities and complimentary Internet are also part of the offer.

Montague said bookings for the summer 2016 season opened in March.  With the addition of O Life benefits starting July 6, prices will rise about $300 per person, he said.

Guests who are already booked and who qualify for O Life benefits can either rebook at the higher rate or stick with the more basic cruise, he said.

Montague said agents will benefit from selling the more-inclusive O Life program because more of what would be onboard spending is bundled into Oceania’s commissionable fare

“It gives them the ability to earn commissions on a good price point,” Montague said.

The details will also be easier to remember than the current lineup of incentive programs, he said.