This article originally appeared the April issue of AGENTatHOME magazine. Subscribe here to receive your free copy each month.
During the christening cruise of the 1,200-guest Vista in May, Oceania Cruises President Frank A. Del Rio shared details about a no-NCF pilot program and a new promotion that will give travelers more choice in shore excursions.
They’re part of Oceania’s effort to shift out of “non-growth mode” – it’s been 10 years since the line introduced a new class of ship – and to reenergize brand recognition and its relationship with travel advisors.
New Ad Campaign
“That’s why you see us this year coming out of the gates with a lot of new initiatives, the new promotion and an all-new design for our marketing materials,” Del Rio said. “Along with our new promotion, simply MORE, we’re launching a whole new look and feel for all of our direct mail. We’re coming out with a whole new ad campaign, and we’re going to do the same on the web. The NCF pilot test is another part of it.”
No-Ncf Policy
Oceania Cruises is running a pilot test program with 50 top-producing global agencies to see if the no-NCF policy – in which there are no non-commissionable components of a total fare – would increase revenue and share, as it did for sister company Norwegian Cruise Line, which launched a no-NCF program in November 2022.
“With the pilot, the intent is to see if by offering commission on NCF, there was a lift in share to Oceania Cruises,” said Nikki Upshaw, senior vice president of global sales for the upper-deluxe line. “That was number one, but number two was … taking action on programs that would create efficiencies for our travel partners, but – most importantly – also help them with profitability and their bottom line. We’re studying the results from these 50 agencies and then will make a decision on the future of the program.”
New ‘Simply More’ Promotion
The new simply MORE promotion replaces O Life, which offered free roundtrip air with transfers plus one free amenity (up to eight free shore excursions, a beverage package or up to $800 shipboard credit).
The new program will give travelers a free beverage package – beer, wine, champagne, soft drinks and specialty coffees and teas, but not spirits – and a “wallet” good for shore excursions. The wallet amount will rise with the length of the cruise and tentatively could vary from $600 for a seven-day cruise to about $1,600 per stateroom, Del Rio said.
More Amenities With Simply More
The new simply MORE promotion provides guests with amenities such as free gourmet dining in all restaurants, free room service available 24 hours a day, free unlimited Wi-Fi and free fitness classes at the Aquamar Spa + Vitality Center.
“In the old O Life promotion, you had to pick between the free shore excursions or the beverage package,” explained President Frank A. Del Rio. “Now I’m giving you both, and you don’t have to choose. There’s no trickiness to it. Under O Life, when I told you free excursions, I basically gave you a very limited list of tours in each port that you could take as part of the program.
“Now it’s a bit different because I actually give you more total dollars than I gave you with O Life. And now it gives you the freedom to pick whatever you want. You want to spend it on a culinary tour, go ahead. There’s really no limit on how you can use that. And I think it’ll help us really attract folks that want more of a land-based type of experience when they go ashore.”
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