• Our best advice is to make independent air arrangements. 

• When purchasing your own air you can book whatever airline you like, on whatever dates you like and control your own destiny.

• If the VALUE that you are getting from the cruise line is too good to pass up, then take the air from Oceania Cruises with the understanding that there are specific issues with contracts, codes of service and itineraries as explained below.  

• Sometimes things work perfectly with no complications at all, but other times it is a real problem.

Oceania Cruises Air Reservations

Oceania Cruises, as an added service to their guests, offers arrangements for air travel in conjunction with a cruise. Oceania Cruises reserves the right to choose the air carrier, round and city airport from each gateway city. Any changes made to an issued airline ticket will incur an administration change fee. Any additional costs including penalties for cancellations/rebookings will be made at the Guests expense. Air arrangements, including routings, are at Oceania Cruises' (or its agents') discretion, and are based on flight availability and agreements among various airlines, Oceania Cruises and independent contractors. In making these arrangements, Oceania Cruises acts only as an agent to the guest(s') behalf, and does not operate, control, or supervise any airlines and will not be responsible for carriers failing to meet schedules whether or not air tickets were issued by Oceania Cruises. In addition to the standard air program, you may request an upgrade and specific routing using our air deviation program. Additional fees will apply. Please visit the Custom Air / Deviation Requests section for additional details.

Airline Regulations

Airline regulations require that the first and last name on the airline ticket document must appear exactly as shown on your passport. Please examine your confirmation and cruise documentation to ensure accuracy of your personal information. Any name change required once airline tickets are issued will result in fees imposed by the air carrier which are your sole responsibility.

Ground Transfers

Airport transfers are not included in the airfare and must be purchased separately. Guest(s) are responsible for their own independent airport transfers on any deviated air dates.

Forced Overnight Hotel Stays

On certain occasions, airline schedules to and from specific destinations may require guests to purchase a pre- or post-flight overnight hotel stay. All charges related to these hotel stays, including hotel fares, additional flights, taxes, meals, transfers, phone charges and incidentals will be the guests responsibility.

Custom Air / Deviation Requests

Airline schedules will be available 90-days prior to the departure date and final air schedules will be ticketed approximately 21-days prior to the departure date. If you would like to customize your air arrangements, Oceania Cruises can accept Air Deviation requests 270-days prior to departure. The Air Deviation Department will process your request within 2 business days. By requesting a flight deviation, you accept Oceania Cruises policy that if the specific flights and dates requested are available and there is no fare differential, flights will be confirmed. The non-refundable Air Deviation Fee of $100.00 per guest will be automatically added and charged to the credit card on file. Any fare differential above Oceania Cruises standard airfare for Guest(s) chosen air itinerary will be the Guest(s) responsibility. An air deviation may include specific air carriers, flights, dates and cities. Air deviations are only available to those guests who have booked flights with Oceania Cruises.  Air schedules may not be changed within 45-days of departure.

Special requests, including class of service upgrades, specific carriers and routing are at the discretion of Oceania Cruises. Upgrades apply to International flights and may not apply to U.S. domestic or intra-continental flights within North America, Europe, South America, Asia or Africa. In making these arrangements, Oceania Cruises acts only as an agent to the guest(s') behalf, and does not operate, control, or supervise any airlines and will not be responsible for carriers failing to meet schedules whether or not air tickets were issued by Oceania Cruises.

Airline Seat Selection or Special Requests

Any pre-flight arrangements, such as seat assignments, frequent flyer programs, wheel chair requests, oxygen or special meal requests must be made by the guest directly with the airlines based on their policies and procedures. Neither Oceania Cruises nor Brown & Keene Travel can confirm any special airline requests. Due to special fares used, frequent flyer or past traveler discounts may not apply to air tickets issued by Oceania Cruises. These special requests and services should be arranged directly with the airlines.

Independent Air Arrangements

Oceania Cruises has no responsibility with regard to independent air or land travel arrangements made by non-refundable, restricted travel or frequent flyer tickets. This exclusion of liability includes consequences to independently arranged air or land travel that may result in last minute changes in the embarkation or disembarkation ports, and delays in arrival at any port location. If you have made your own air arrangements we suggest the following be taken into consideration when arranging flights:

         All Guests must be aboard ship one hour prior to the ships scheduled departure time. Due to the complexity of operating each itinerary, Oceania Cruises can not delay the ships departure as a result of late arriving guests. Should a Guest miss the ships scheduled departure time, all costs required for a Guest to meet the ship at another port will be the guests sole responsibility.

         Custom and Immigration officials at the ports of embarkation and disembarkation must clear the ship and all luggage must be offloaded before guests may disembark the ship. This process normally takes 2 hours. Once the ship has been cleared by the local authorities, disembarkation, luggage collection and ground transfers to the airport can take anywhere from 1 to 3 hours depending on the distance from the pier to the airport.

         Please allow sufficient time to check in and we suggest you be at the airport at least 2 hours prior to flight departure time for domestic flights and 3-4 hours prior to international flight departure times.  We strongly urge you to verify these suggested timelines with your airline.

Baggage / Luggage Policy

Luggage for Oceania Cruises' guests must be handled pursuant to regulators and tariffs of airlines, government security requirements and ground operators. Luggage exceeding these limitations will be subject to charges as set forth by the individual operators, including any excess baggage charges. Fees for checked luggage are now common and are the responsibility of the guest. Please check with your specific airline(s) for their respective luggage policy. Guests may bring a reasonable amount of luggage onboard an Oceania Cruises vessel. No baggage or items heavier than 70 lbs. will be loaded onto or off-loaded from our vessels.

Air Cancellation and Refund Policy

For all air-inclusive cruise or cruisetour packages cancelled after receipt of the airline ticket, refunds will only be processed after the return of the airline ticket. Cancellation notices must be received by Oceania Cruises in writing. All airline tickets issued by Oceania Cruises are refundable only to Oceania Cruises, Inc., therefore all tickets should be returned to: Oceania Cruises, Inc., Attention: Air Refunds. Oceania Cruises will determine the amount of any refund due. If the air ticket is lost, the Guest is responsible for the costs of its replacement.  Air ticketing fees that result from the changes to or cancellation of air arrangements are the sole responsibility of the guest.  Oceania Cruises strongly urges all guests to purchase travel interruption and cancellation insurance to cover certain expenses that you may incur resulting from travel delays and other unforeseen events. Overnight hotel stays, meals and incidental expenses incurred by you that are a result of flight schedule changes, cancellations or delays are solely your responsibility whether or not the air tickets were issued by Oceania Cruises.

Disclaimer: The information contained on this webpage is for general information purposes. The information is provided to the best of our knowledge, as of October 2009, and while we endeavor to keep the information up-to-date and accurate, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, expressed or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, or reliability with respect to the information provided. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.