Bonnie, any news about LD OBC for September Sailings?

Hi Bonnie

Unrelated question. We are on the Journey August 13. Have booked the three day St Petersburg excursion. Will the excursion make a stop to get rubles? Or will the ship have them?

Thank you

Leslie

The only place that didn't take either € or $ was the Church of Spilled Blood. We were discouraged from mingling at the market stalls outside the church as well, due to the chance of pick pockets.

This is wonderful. So, I need to call to do this? It isn't online yet?

Also on the September 16 sailing.

You can sign up for an excursion online and pay for it with your credit card. Once onboard, you go to the Land Discoveries desk, cancel the original booking and rebook at the current price using your OBC. Not an efficient long term solution, but a great workaround for those of us sailing before the fix is in place. Look forward to meeting you onboard!

Cheryl

Thank you.

Ok, starting today we WILL allow those booked on one of our SEPTEMBER 2017 voyages to now use the 'OBC work-around' to pre-book tours!

 

I'm also told the permanent fix is on track...but I made the case for you that our Fall guests are anxious to set up their tours. There is no word on voyages beyond September. When/if I hear something, I'll let you know.

For those of us who are not cruise experts and might be new to this situation and all the lingo, could you please clarify what this means? I have several hundred dollars in "OBC" which I would like to use towards our excursions. Thank you!

For those of us who are not cruise experts and might be new to this situation and all the lingo, could you please clarify what this means? I have several hundred dollars in "OBC" which I would like to use towards our excursions. Thank you!

Hello mcnuss, and welcome!

I posted a more thorough explanation in post #16 of this thread, but in a nutshell our online system does not currently allow for use of OBC to pre-book tours. Historically OBC could only be used once onboard. After many years of complaints our behind the scenes programmers are working on fixing this. In the interim there is a work-around offered for voyages through September 2017.

Hello mcnuss, and welcome!

I posted a more thorough explanation in post #16 of this thread, but in a nutshell our online system does not currently allow for use of OBC to pre-book tours. Historically OBC could only be used once onboard. After many years of complaints our behind the scenes programmers are working on fixing this. In the interim there is a work-around offered for voyages through September 2017.

...and in some cases does not allow pre-book with credit cards!

We are a long way off from next March, but, a bicycling excursion once listed for Cairns has disappeared from the Azamara brochure. I tried booking a private excursion with a Cairns vendor, but she informed me she was leading an Azamara tour that day! She invited me to sign on via Azamara for "NW40 Cycling Through Cairns." Which I will happily do once it has been returned to the excursion list. There are numerous Cairns' excursions but no bicycling... must remind myself to be patient.

aim just got off the phone with Azamara. I wanted to do what was suggested, book my excursions now with a credit card and cancel onboard and rebook with OBC. I was advised by the genetleman on the phone not to do that because when you cancel you go on a waiting list and then you may lose out all together. One of the excursions still has 139 spots so should be fine. But, the other one only has 4 spots so will probably not get to to that one.

These were the only two we were interested in, as we have private tours set up in most other ports.

It is frustrating to have these credits and not be able to use them prior to boarding. As said in previous posts, the person I spoke to said he believes it will be available online sometime mid September ti October, but too late if or our cruise September 16.

More than likely the rep is aware of the workaround for your cruise. This is common on most cruise lines that the phone reps will often provide the incorrect response and experienced travelers know the coextensive answer.

Sure Bonnie will chime in and contact Miami to straighten out the agents and confirm no waitlist and people who book for the cruises with the work around will be able to cancel, rebook and enjoy their excursion.

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Thanks, I'm hoping that is the case. And yes, sometimes the reps are not aware of some changes. There are times I have called three times and get three different answers.

Bonnie should be able to give some more insight.

Book it online. Saves issues with uninformed agents and will ensure you get the trip you want

More than likely the rep is aware of the workaround for your cruise. This is common on most cruise lines that the phone reps will often provide the incorrect response and experienced travelers know the coextensive answer.

 

Sure Bonnie will chime in and contact Miami to straighten out the agents and confirm no waitlist and people who book for the cruises with the work around will be able to cancel, rebook and enjoy their excursion.

 

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Hi Travellgirl,

thanks for letting me know we have someone giving out wrong information! I'll let the proper managers know about this. Thanks RallyDave for the reminder ;)

And don't worry, you will not be sent to the end of the waitlist if you're using our OBC 'work-around'...assuming you are sailing on a voyage July-September 2017. If beyond these dates the work-around will not work.

Thanks, Bonnie. I will call tomorrow and hopefully get this taken get this taken of since the person today, although very nice, would not do it for me. Our cruise is September 16, so the timing is correct.

Hi Travellgirl,

thanks for letting me know we have someone giving out wrong information! I'll let the proper managers know about this. Thanks RallyDave for the reminder ;)

 

And don't worry, you will not be sent to the end of the waitlist if you're using our OBC 'work-around'...assuming you are sailing on a voyage July-September 2017. If beyond these dates the work-around will not work.

Thank you Bonnie. I think I have it figured out. Do I need to worry that the price is going to change? That caveat in the Ts & Cs is a little worrisome.

Thank you Bonnie. I think I have it figured out. Do I need to worry that the price is going to change? That caveat in the Ts & Cs is a little worrisome.

There is the chance the price will change; that's why that caveat is in the T&Cs.

But that said, I hope you won't worry too much...it's your vacation, and as I understand it you'll be paying with On Board Credit not hard currency.

Thank you Bonnie. I think I have it figured out. Do I need to worry that the price is going to change? That caveat in the Ts & Cs is a little worrisome.

Yes that puts me off to as does the exchange rate risk I take from the UK so I accept it's a workaround but can I check would the refund be the sterling price I paid to prebook. If it's not the price you sell the excursions at is converted at the sell rate and my bank would convert the dollar refund at the buy rate - there's usually a 5% spread there so the workaround would cost more than it's worth. If and ok it's a risk sterling improved before Sept the gaps even bigger.

I feel with the level of risk the sterling paying guest already bears the onboard price should not be higher than the dollar equivalent booking price the day they book.

I booked my shore excursions today with the walk around policy.

Glad I called today because one if the tours we wantd only had four more spaces left and that's what I needed.

Thanks, Bonnie, for the information.

I booked my shore excursions today with the walk around policy.

Glad I called today because one if the tours we wantd only had four more spaces left and that's what I needed.

Thanks, Bonnie, for the information.

Really glad it worked out for you, what type of tour was selling out so fast?

Hi Travellgirl,

thanks for letting me know we have someone giving out wrong information! I'll let the proper managers know about this. Thanks RallyDave for the reminder ;)

 

And don't worry, you will not be sent to the end of the waitlist if you're using our OBC 'work-around'...assuming you are sailing on a voyage July-September 2017. If beyond these dates the work-around will not work.

Does that mean that the system will be in place so those of us sailing in October can prebook something using OBC, hopefully in the next month so everything good isn't already booked up? It's frustrating to see both Celebrity and RCI offering the use of OBC but not the premium sister line.

There is the chance the price will change; that's why that caveat is in the T&Cs.

But that said, I hope you won't worry too much...it's your vacation, and as I understand it you'll be paying with On Board Credit not hard currency.

We were able to do this very easily with 2 tours on the recent Norway cruise and we were not put on a waiting list. It was a direst transfer of our tickets to the OB account (and OBCs). But the price did go up about $10 per tour per person. Not a big amount, but Azamara should not be "nickle and diming" until they get this fixed the right way. The fact that Celebrity has already fixed it should make it easy for Azamara.

Really glad it worked out for you, what type of tour was selling out so fast?

It was a culinary tour in Montenegro. You go shopping with a local woman and then back to her house to cook (not sure if it is just her cooking) and to taste her homemade brandy.

It was something a little different. Also assuming this type of excursion is not for a large amount of people whihc is why I wanted to get it booked.

Thanks - yes you are probably right the trips where there can only be a lower finite number of guests participating will be the ones you should book well ahead

It was a culinary tour in Montenegro. You go shopping with a local woman and then back to her house to cook (not sure if it is just her cooking) and to taste her homemade brandy.

It was something a little different. Also assuming this type of excursion is not for a large amount of people whihc is why I wanted to get it booked.

We did this excursion on the LCV cruise. She does the cooking. You do the eating. And the eating. And the eating. Plus some drinking for good measure. The dining table covered with antipasto when you sit down. Prosciutto, cheeses, mussels, olives, tapenades, bread and more. Then shrimp risotto. Then homemade potato gnocchi with a kind of beef pot roast in gravy. Then a traditional local cake. Excellent excursion. Have fun.

We did this excursion on the LCV cruise. She does the cooking. You do the eating. And the eating. And the eating. Plus some drinking for good measure. The dining table covered with antipasto when you sit down. Prosciutto, cheeses, mussels, olives, tapenades, bread and more. Then shrimp risotto. Then homemade potato gnocchi with a kind of beef pot roast in gravy. Then a traditional local cake. Excellent excursion. Have fun.

That sounds wonderful. Glad we booked it. Looking forward to it. Thanks.

Helloo cpgrneyes,

At this point, no. I haven't heard of the OBC work-around being extended beyond our August 2017 voyages.

I did ask again (via email) when I read your OP. The silence (aka No Response) to me signifies we are not ready to commit one way or the other. And if I speculate even further from the silence, I'm going to stick my neck out and guess that the permanent fix is making good progress...which would mean no need to extend the work-around. But this is just my usual optimism :cool:

As soon as I hear anything one way or the other I'll let you know.

P.S. I forgot to thank you for your booking, and your enthusiasm to get your trip all squared away. Thank you!

Once again - how can the "Chief Blogging Officer" for Azamara be so in the dark about company policy? If they will not even answer you Bonnie, what hope is there for a customer? :o

Ok, starting today we WILL allow those booked on one of our SEPTEMBER 2017 voyages to now use the 'OBC work-around' to pre-book tours!

 

I'm also told the permanent fix is on track...but I made the case for you that our Fall guests are anxious to set up their tours. There is no word on voyages beyond September. When/if I hear something, I'll let you know.

Impala, Bonnie posted the above on 6/26 earlier in this thread, so Azamara IS listening!