Oceania is doing away with the noncommissionable portion of cruise fares (NCFs) for all cruises going on sale for the first time. It's a change that Oceania promises will be permanent.
In about two weeks, Oceania plans to launch sales for the Oceania Aurelia, the new name for the Oceania Nautica once it completes a major refurbishment in late 2027. Those will be the first cruises that will be free of NCFs.
The next wave of NCF-free cruises will be Oceania's 2028 summer season, followed by the 2028-29 winter season.
Oceania is now the second Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings brand to eliminate NCFs after Norwegian Cruise Line did so in late December.
It decided to make the change in anticipation of the five new ships to be delivered through 2037, said Oceania chief commercial officer Nathan Hickman.
"We have a tremendous amount of growth coming, and our travel advisors are a core engine of that growth," he said.
Oceania ran a multiyear pilot program in which it waived NCFs for top-producing agencies, which gave Oceania the confidence to eliminate NCFs permanently for all advisors, Hickman said.
The cruise line began the pilot with the belief that it "would drive the shared success on both sides -- that the partners who are part of the pilot would see success, and that we would see the incremental lift and demand growth," Hickman said. "And that proved out."