Staying loyal to Oceania Cruises can really pay off — and it can do so relatively quickly.
Upon reaching just the second tier of the Oceania Club, the line’s seven-tier frequent cruiser program, you’ll start getting cash back in the form of a $100 onboard spending credit every time you cruise. Then, as you rise through the tiers, the dollar amount that you’ll get in a spending credit will rise, too — to fabulously generous levels.
Specifically, upon reaching the Silver and Gold tiers of the program, your onboard credit for every cruise will rise to $250 and then $400, respectively — significant sums that you can spend on anything from drinks to spa treatments. The next three tiers of the program take the onboard credits even higher, to a maximum of $1,000 per cruise once you reach the President’s Circle tier.
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These onboard spending credits are at the core of the reward structure for the Oceania Club loyalty program and wonderful in their simplicity. As you rise through the ranks of the program, showing Oceania more loyalty, the growing value of the spending credits that you receive will give you the means to get more and more perks of your own choosing while on board Oceania ships. If you’re a wine connoisseur, you can use the credits to buy yourself nice bottles of wine with meals. If you’re not a big drinker, you can spend the money on spa treatments. If spa treatments aren’t for you, you can use the credit for shore excursions or some other extra-charge item on board.
Still, onboard credits aren’t all you’ll get by showing Oceania loyalty. Higher tiers of the program also bring such perks as priority disembarkation in ports, complimentary gratuities, discounts on shore excursions and invitations to special onboard events.
In addition, upon reaching each of the top three tiers of the program, members will receive one of the truly spectacular rewards in the cruise loyalty program universe: A free cruise.
Related: The ultimate guide to picking a cruise line
Ways to earn points
The currency system of the Oceania Club is the “credit,” and the process of earning credits is relatively straightforward. You get one or more credits for every cruise you take based on how long that cruise is.
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You will get one credit for a cruise if the sailing is up to 24 days in length. If the cruise is longer than that, you will earn credits according to the following table:
- Sailings of 25-34 days: 2 credits.
- Sailings of 35-44 days: 3 credits.
- Sailings of 45-54 days: 4 credits.
- Sailings of 55-64 days: 5 credits.
- Sailings of 65-99 days: 7 credits.
- Sailings of 100-157 days: 10 credits.
- Sailings of 158+ days: 15 credits.
In other words, if you take a typical Oceania cruise that is 10 nights long, you will get one credit. But if you sign up for the line’s 77-day voyage from Los Angeles to Sydney, scheduled for later this year, you’ll get seven credits. If you try one of the line’s famously long around-the-world sailings, which last 180 days, you’ll get the maximum 15 credits for just that one voyage.
Program tiers and benefits
There are seven tiers to the Oceania Club program:
- Blue (1-4 credits).
- Bronze (5-9 credits).
- Silver (10-14 credits).
- Gold (15-19 credits).
- Platinum (20-39 credits).
- Diamond (40-59 credits).
- President’s Circle (60-plus credits).
As is typical for cruise line loyalty programs, the first tier of the Oceania Club program doesn’t come with all that many valuable perks.
Blue-level members receive:
- A membership pin.
- An invitation to an onboard cocktail reception.
- Exclusive member-only offers.
- Advance notice on new itineraries.
- 10% savings on Oceania logo merchandise.
- A subscription to Oceania’s magazine, OLife.
It isn’t until you reach the second tier of the program (Bronze) that you start getting those onboard credits mentioned above. Upon reaching the Bronze tier, you’ll get a $100 shipboard credit every time you cruise.
Related: A beginner’s guide to cruise line loyalty programs
In addition, Bronze tier members get a 30% discount on WaveNet internet services, a complimentary bottle of Oceania Club private label wine and a complimentary member cap and tote bag.
Moving up to the Bronze tier is relatively easy. You’ll need five credits, which you could earn by taking five relatively short cruises or just a single 55-day voyage on an Oceania ship.
The elite level that makes a difference
In our view, the Silver level is where being a loyal Oceania customer really starts paying off.
Once you reach Silver, you’ll get all the above plus an additional $150 shipboard credit (at this point, your onboard credit is now at $250 per cruise). You’ll also get complimentary pre-paid gratuities on every cruise you take. The latter perk is a big deal as Oceania has the highest automatic gratuity levies in the business — $16 to $23 per person, per day, depending on your cabin category.
Related: The TPG guide to tipping on cruise ships
Silver status also brings VIP shore excursion check-in, a wonderful perk that will help you get the most out of every port call by being one of the first to be able to disembark.
Other Silver perks include a 10% discount on the line’s Unlimited Passport Shore Excursion Collection, and a 10% discount on the line’s Prestige Select and House Select beverage packages.
Once you hit the Gold tier, you’ll get all that plus an additional $150 in shipboard credit and two complimentary Custom Air Fee Waivers — a $350 value. Now your onboard credit is up to $400 per cruise.
Reaching the Silver tier of the Oceania Club program isn’t too difficult if you start to become an Oceania regular. You’ll need 10 credits, which equates to 10 shorter cruises or, say, two 55-night cruises. If you sign up for one of the line’s longer, 100-day-plus sailings, you’ll reach the Silver tier in just a single cruise.
Best elite perk
The ultimate perk for Oceania Club members comes upon reaching the Platinum tier. Once you hit this level, your very next cruise is free — with some caveats.
The fine print on this perk notes that the free cruise is based on double occupancy, subject to availability at the time of booking and excludes government taxes and fees — you’ll still have to pay for those. The cruise also cannot exceed 14 days in length and cannot be a segment of an around-the-world voyage. But, still, that’s a pretty great perk, right?
It gets even better. Once you hit the Diamond tier of the Oceania Club program, you get another free cruise. And you get a third free cruise when you hit the President’s Circle tier.
Related: The best credit cards for booking cruises
Other perks of the Platinum tier include an additional $100 shipboard credit (at this point, you’re up to $500 per cruise in credits), an invite to a special dinner with officers when you sail and priority check-in at the terminal at the start of your cruise.
Once you reach the Diamond tier, in addition to another free cruise, you will receive all of the above, plus:
- An additional $250 shipboard credit (for $750 in total).
- A complimentary wine tasting.
- An additional 10% discount on Unlimited Passport Shore Excursion Collection excursions (for a total discount of 20%).
Additional perks that come with the top President’s Circle tier include yet another bump up in onboard credit — to a cool $1,000 per cruise.
President’s Circle members also get a complimentary Prestige Select Beverage Package, complimentary laundry service and an additional 5% savings on the Unlimited Passport Shore Excursion Collection (for 25% off in total).
Reaching the Platinum level of the Oceania Club program can take a few years if you sail mostly shorter voyages and only cruise a few times a year. You need 20 credits, which equates to 20 shorter cruises. But, as with the other tiers, you can hit the Platinum relatively quickly if you are someone who gravitates to longer sailings.
Oceania is known for some of the longest cruises in the industry, including regular 180-day world sailings that span the globe. Sign up for one of those, and the 15 credits that you will receive will put you 75% of the way toward Platinum status.
Note that, as is often the case with cruise line loyalty programs, Oceania customers do not have to requalify for status each year. Oceania Club members keep their points at the end of each year and continue to accrue points indefinitely. That means that someone who hits President’s Circle status will remain at that top tier level forever (or until Oceania makes a change to the program).
Such “forever status” is one of the great allures of cruise line frequent cruiser programs. Most airline frequent flyer programs, by contrast, require loyalty members to requalify for status each year.
Bottom line
With its promise of generous onboard spending credits and free cruises upon reaching higher tiers, the Oceania Club is one of the best loyalty programs in the cruise world. It’s a particularly alluring program when compared to comparable upscale and relatively small-ship lines. Some small-ship lines don’t have any loyalty program at all, or they have only a modest program. Oceania’s loyalty program is robust.
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