Oceania Reports Record Bookings for August, Higher Fares

Oceania Cruises said several company booking records were set during the month of August, including phone volume, new reservations and pricing performance. The month of August set booking records for the company while the one-week period of Aug. 23 to 29 marked the busiest week on record and Aug. 31 registered as the biggest single booking day in the company’s history.

The company credits the record activity to promotional offers on 2010 European voyages that expired at month’s end. Thirty-two of the line’s 2010 voyages are already sold out and overall pricing has strengthened back to the record-setting 2007 and 2008 pre-recession levels, which prompted the line to raise prices on over 40 percent of its 2010 departures effective Sept. 1. Another price increase is slated effective Jan. 1, 2010.

Oceania expects the remainder of the 2010 European Collection to continue selling at a brisk pace and has moved up the introduction of its 2010-11 Winter Collection voyages to Sept. 15 to provide agents with additional itineraries and sales opportunities.

The line’s hotly anticipated 1,258-guest Marina, the first ship designed specifically for the upper premium market, is expected to go on sale during the first quarter of 2010.