Up To 60,000 AAdvantage Miles For Booking An Oceania Cruise

I received a marketing e-mail from AA today.  It’s definitely not the type of e-mail I would normally consider, but it did a good job getting my attention with a 60,000 mile bonus offer for booking a cruise.

My family likes to cruise, so it piqued my interest just a bit. Cruises are actually the only travel I’ve ever actually used a travel agent for.  I’m more than capable of booking my own travel, and I’m actually perfectly capable of booking a cruise by myself.  But, the cruise industry has a perverse way of encouraging you not to book directly with them.  Generally, most cruise lines offer commissions of between 10% and 30% to travel agents for bookings.  But, if you book directly with them, the benefits are usually much smaller than this. The cruise lines have actually gotten a little more generous for direct customers lately, but there’s still plenty of deals to be had by finding a hungry travel agent.

There are downsides.  You generally have less control over your reservation prior to sailing, especially for things like getting the cruise line to honor a price drop.  But, a 20% haircut can make it worth taking that gable.

While I’m not in the market for a cruise, I decided to see how big and flaming the hoop was that you had to jump through to earn 60,000 miles.

A quick peek at the terms & conditions shows that there’s a 50,000 mile bonus for booking a balcony or suite on Oceania Cruises.

I’ve never cruised Oceania, but heard good things.  They cruise all the normal places you would expect a cruise line to go.  In my adult life I’ve only cruised on Royal Caribbean, and all of those except for one were in a suite of some sort.  I tried to do a quick price comparison to see how people might fare booking this deal.  The few cruises I looked at fell into the same category.  A base room on Oceania is definitely pricier than Royal Caribbean.  But, a balcony is a lot closer than I would have thought.  The gap between suites seems to be even narrower.

Bottom line:  While I’m not looking to book an Oceania cruise anytime soon, people considering a balcony or a suite cruise should give this offer a look.  The miles are worth roughly $1,000, and on some of the cruises it appears you still get the normal onboard credits you might otherwise get booking through a travel agent.