The country club interiors, the boutique ship style, and the interesting itineraries all make Oceania Cruises an deal match for the British market – especially those travellers who know their way around.
And finally, starting from the middle of next month, brochures will be available with fares in pounds sterling, instead of US dollars. The voyages in the brochure will be the winter 2011-12 season, which go on sale from September 15.
European sales and marketing director Bernard Carter is clearly delighted at the new policy agreed by his American bosses.
He said: “This is an incredibly big step forward for us and will certainly lead to some of the large travel agencies selling Oceania Cruises for the first time, now that pricing is in sterling.
“To date we have sold to our partners in US dollars and they have had to convert into sterling before selling on. This created uncertainty for many customers and the move to sterling prices will undoubtedly lead to a rise in demand, particularly as we are maintaining our policy of fully refundable deposit until to final payment date.”
Oceania Cruises offers luxury cruising on board three mid-sized, luxury cruise ships, Regatta, Insignia and Nautica. They will be joined by Marina in February 2011 and Riviera in April 2012. The line focuses on comfort, cuisine and service, and claims to offer the finest dining at sea.
On-board prices will still be in dollars – but then they are on many lines selling in the UK in pounds and sailing out of British ports – such as Royal Caribbean and even that most British of institutions, Cunard.
A great decision made by Oceania Cruises, it obviously causes lot of confusion as a customer because you are not sure what the right price is and whether you are getting a good deal or not. Recenetly we had to book Azamara over Oceania only because we didnt feel comfortable paying in dollars.