Pre-paid Open Passages

[TSmith48]

Back in April this year I was convinced to purchase an Open Passage voucher for a future cruise, which would allow me a significant saving in the form of a discount. I understood that this could be combined with other offers.

 

Yesterday I have had a long and frustrating discussion with my TA, after she had an even longer and more frustrating one with the RCI office in Sydney. The upshot of this was that I could not combine my prepaid Open Passage with the latest Azamara ICCA promotion that offers $500 OBC. When I purchased the Open Passage on board last April, it was on the understanding that it could be combined with future offers. But I have now found that it could not. I can either accept the free Air plus $500 OBC, or free air and use my Open Passage voucher. But not both. And it took from 8 yesterday morning until 2pm to eventually get this established. It would appear that theer is a fine print that says "most offers", and the even finer print on the ICCA promotion (which I don't think was actually published) said that the OBC offer could not be combined with other discounts.

 

Not happy. I am feeling a bit ripped off, and as a result have (for the moment) cancelled my planned cruise from HK to Beijing next March. It is such a pity that the experience onboard is once again overshadowed by the interaction with the dreaded "head office".

[uktog]

Sorry you are not happy. Any Open Passages vouchers I have purchased have always said on them they could not be combined with other offers - did yours have that printed on them as that will be important in resolving your current issues

[roberts2005]

What is an open passage voucher and how is it priced

[marinaro44]

Sorry you are not happy. Any Open Passages vouchers I have purchased have always said on them they could not be combined with other offers - did yours have that printed on them as that will be important in resolving your current issues

 

In fact, the open passage can be combined with some offers, but not with an offer that includes three cash discounts (e.g., ChoiceAir discount, stateroom upgrade, onboard credit). The cruise consultant did not explain that clearly to us when we purchased our two passages.

[Marmaduke]

I purchased an Open Passage last week whilst on my first Azamara cruise and now reading the comments on this forum are wondering whether I have done the right thing. On the leaflet I picked up a the future cruise desk it states that "Offer combinable with most future Azamara Club Cruises offers". On the confirmation print out No. 6 of the Terms and Conditions states "Your Azamara Club Cruises Open Passage booking cannot be used for certain cruises, such as those chartered by third parties, certain price programs and may not be used for certain customised group programs (i.e. value add group). Please ask your travel agent for details". So will I be able to use it on any 2 for 1 deals, promotions which include the free flights, or the package deals which include a 1 nt pre cruise hotel which are offered for UK passengers ? I guess only time will tell. What experiences have other UK passenger had of the Open Passage program?

[marinaro44]

I purchased an Open Passage last week whilst on my first Azamara cruise and now reading the comments on this forum are wondering whether I have done the right thing. On the leaflet I picked up a the future cruise desk it states that "Offer combinable with most future Azamara Club Cruises offers". On the confirmation print out No. 6 of the Terms and Conditions states "Your Azamara Club Cruises Open Passage booking cannot be used for certain cruises, such as those chartered by third parties, certain price programs and may not be used for certain customised group programs (i.e. value add group). Please ask your travel agent for details". So will I be able to use it on any 2 for 1 deals, promotions which include the free flights, or the package deals which include a 1 nt pre cruise hotel which are offered for UK passengers ? I guess only time will tell. What experiences have other UK passenger had of the Open Passage program?

Here is the exact wording from the back of the open passage certificate purchased last October:

 

"A Passage booking may not be combined with more than two other OBC and dollar off offers."

[Bill Leiber]

Back in April this year I was convinced to purchase an Open Passage voucher for a future cruise, which would allow me a significant saving in the form of a discount. I understood that this could be combined with other offers.

 

Yesterday I have had a long and frustrating discussion with my TA, after she had an even longer and more frustrating one with the RCI office in Sydney. The upshot of this was that I could not combine my prepaid Open Passage with the latest Azamara ICCA promotion that offers $500 OBC. When I purchased the Open Passage on board last April, it was on the understanding that it could be combined with future offers. But I have now found that it could not. I can either accept the free Air plus $500 OBC, or free air and use my Open Passage voucher. But not both. And it took from 8 yesterday morning until 2pm to eventually get this established. It would appear that theer is a fine print that says "most offers", and the even finer print on the ICCA promotion (which I don't think was actually published) said that the OBC offer could not be combined with other discounts.

 

Not happy. I am feeling a bit ripped off, and as a result have (for the moment) cancelled my planned cruise from HK to Beijing next March. It is such a pity that the experience onboard is once again overshadowed by the interaction with the dreaded "head office".

 

Hello Tara -

 

I'm sorry to learn that you cancelled your March voyage. Please see the thread "Booking On Board" where you posted your original issue. I replied that I believed you encountered incorrect information about the combinability rules.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1562295&page=5

 

I'll be answering you on the thread shown above, title, "Booking On Board." Thanks for your patience.

 

Hello Tara -

 

After reading your comments about the confusion whether your "Open Passage" account could be combined with the International Cruise Council Australasia (ICCA) $500 OBC and the Free Air offer, I have requested that our Revenue Management Manager and the Sydney office Commercial Manager review the combinability guidelines within the scope of our policy that in most cases currently permits a guest to combine up to three offers. Perhaps there is an exclusion in the ICCA offer causing this outcome.

 

I'm sorry for the frustration you've experienced in what I hope was a misunderstanding. In the meantime, once I have that information I'll get back to you with the answer.

 

Until then, thank you for your patience.

 

Regards,

 

Bill Leiber

___________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[Jade13]

review the combinability guidelines within the scope of our policy that in most cases currently permits a guest to combine up to three offers.

 

Bill Leiber

___________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

 

Hello Bill,

 

Can you address in the other thread whether the Choice Air promo (US) for two passengers in the same stateroom is considered one offer or two offers (since it is typically $500.00 off per person who book air travel through Choice Air)?

 

Additionally, if someone is a shareholder can they book on board for savings and also get the shareholders OBC? This currently cannot be done on Celebrity, but wasn't sure if this was also part of being able to combine up to three offers on Azamara?

[Bill Leiber]

Hello Bill,

 

Can you address in the other thread whether the Choice Air promo (US) for two passengers in the same stateroom is considered one offer or two offers (since it is typically $500.00 off per person who book air travel through Choice Air)?

 

Additionally, if someone is a shareholder can they book on board for savings and also get the shareholders OBC? This currently cannot be done on Celebrity, but wasn't sure if this was also part of being able to combine up to three offers on Azamara?

 

Hello Jade13 -

 

According to our current combinability rules the shareholder OBC and the Azamara onboard booking Passages savings can be combined along with the ChoiceAir offer. At this point in time, the shareholder offer is valid with Azamara which is different than for the other brands.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Regards,

 

Bill Leiber

___________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[Jade13]

Hello Jade13 -

 

According to our current combinability rules the shareholder OBC and the Azamara onboard booking Passages savings can be combined along with the ChoiceAir offer. At this point in time, the shareholder offer is valid with Azamara which is different than for the other brands.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Regards,

 

Bill Leiber

___________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

 

Bill,

 

We have a problem. We booked while onboard in 2012 for 2013, and were assured if the Choice Air promotion came out for 2013 we would be eligible. We received a $400.00 discount for booking onboard. We found out that the Choice Air credit is available for this sailing and were told by customer service to have our agent call to have the Choice Air booking code placed on our reservation (air not out yet), so that when the air comes out we have the option of booking through Choice Air and getting the discount.

 

We just received word from our agent that in order to have the "option" to book Choice Air with the promo, we need to pay $200.00 more per person for our cruise! Besides the fact we can't believe that Azamara wants more money from us when we were told if the promotion came out for 2013 it would be added to our reservation, we find this suspicious because Azamara wants to increase our fare by the exact amount as our $400.00 discount for booking onboard.

 

We already had a poor shore side experience last year revolving around Choice Air, so if this does not get resolved we will likely cancel this cruise. Azamara has been holding our deposit for a year, and right now we see no advantage to booking a future cruise while onboard.

[uktog]

Which voyage/ship is this on?

[Jade13]

Which voyage/ship is this on?

 

The same one you are on from Dubai.

 

I assume you have a package with included air since you are in the UK?

 

This is not a case of trying to combine more than 3 promotions.

 

Most likely we will end up canceling because I am getting tired of all the issues surrounding Choice Air. Last year the Choice Air code was on our booking but Azamara neglected to tell us about it, and we only found out after we had booked our air. My air was non-refundable so I had to pay $500.00 more for my cruise fare when the flight costs was identical if I had known and booked through the Choice Air portal.

 

This was the first thing I asked about when we booked while onboard. At no time was I told we may have to pay a higher fare in order to get the discount should the promotion be applied to 2013 cruises.

[uktog]

No, no packages were on offer at the time of booking and there are no offers from the UK on this one at all. We have never even seen three promotions on one cruise here!

 

No air will be bookable until T-365 anyway and at that time decisions will be taken on how air is booked.

 

UK bookers are of course financially locked in from reservation day and lose deposits if they cancel so in most cases will not even threaten to walk away until the price difference is at least $500. - Perhaps that is why they do not appear on these boards to focus on chasing each reduction.

[Jade13]

Perhaps that is why they do not appear on these boards to focus on chasing each reduction.

 

It was logical to ask if the Choice Air promo would be available in 2013 because in 2011 (and 2012) it has been on just about every sailing. The only ones I know it was not on this year and last year were the short Monte Carlo cruises, and the popular Black Sea cruises.

 

Because they want to increase our cruise fare by the identical amount of the book on board discount, it appears the same issue as the OP since essentially not allowing the book on board discount to be combined with another promotion.

[marinaro44]

What is the promotion offer? If it includes three cash discounts (e.g., OBC, ChoiceAir rebate, and stateroom upgrade), you cannot use an Open Passage.

[Jade13]

What is the promotion offer? If it includes three cash discounts (e.g., OBC, ChoiceAir rebate, and stateroom upgrade), you cannot use an Open Passage.

 

We have the book on board discount, and in order to include the Choice Air promo, we need to increase our cruise fare by $400.00. That is 2 offers.

 

Of course we just found out that the excursions would no longer be 50% off next year.

 

The one that makes the least sense is that most now have to pay $25.00 per person for the specialty restaurants. Of course they were included 2 years ago.

[MightyQuinn]

...Because they want to increase our cruise fare by the identical amount of the book on board discount, it appears the same issue as the OP since essentially not allowing the book on board discount to be combined with another promotion.

Jade, did you book immediately when the new 2013 itineraries were released? If so, your pricing is $200 pp less on your particular voyage (in all categories) than currently available on the Azamara website. Maybe to add Choice Air, your TA would have to cancel and rebook which means you'd be stuck with current fares. If so, it would have nothing to do with combining promotions. I have no idea if that's the case - just a wild guess.

 

We're looking at some 2013 itineraries and most prices have gone up since being published in the Destination Guide a few months ago.

[Jade13]

Jade, did you book immediately when the new 2013 itineraries were released? If so, your pricing is $200 pp less on your particular voyage (in all categories) than currently available on the Azamara website. Maybe to add Choice Air, your TA would have to cancel and rebook which means you'd be stuck with current fares. If so, it would have nothing to do with combining promotions. I have no idea if that's the case - just a wild guess.

 

We're looking at some 2013 itineraries and most prices have gone up since being published in the Destination Guide a few months ago.

 

You are right that the current price is $200.00 more per person (Ok, how did you know that? Are you tracking all of the 2013 prices?). I did not know that, but our agent just confirmed. We are not being required to cancel and rebook. Azamara is saying in order to add the Choice Air promo we have to pay the current rate. This was never required before, and never mentioned when we booked onboard last October, and we asked. We were told as long as Choice Air promo was added for 2013, we would be eligible. "Choice Air" is not coming out 2 years in advance, and this will impact everyone (in the US and Canada) who is looking as far out as 2014 to book a cruise. The rates are higher, Azamara is stating the rates will be even higher in November, and now if one books and the Choice Air promo is announced they will have to pay the prevailing rate.

 

If Azamara wants to change a policy they should do so going forward. We were also under the impression that excursions booked in advance would be 50% for 2013, but that is going away also.

[Bill Leiber]

You are right that the current price is $200.00 more per person (Ok, how did you know that? Are you tracking all of the 2013 prices?). I did not know that, but our agent just confirmed. We are not being required to cancel and rebook. Azamara is saying in order to add the Choice Air promo we have to pay the current rate. This was never required before, and never mentioned when we booked onboard last October, and we asked. We were told as long as Choice Air promo was added for 2013, we would be eligible. "Choice Air" is not coming out 2 years in advance, and this will impact everyone (in the US and Canada) who is looking as far out as 2014 to book a cruise. The rates are higher, Azamara is stating the rates will be even higher in November, and now if one books and the Choice Air promo is announced they will have to pay the prevailing rate.

 

If Azamara wants to change a policy they should do so going forward. We were also under the impression that excursions booked in advance would be 50% for 2013, but that is going away also.

 

Hello Jade13 -

 

I will need to investigate your situation with our call center manager and our revenue management manager to unravel and understand the policies that are behind the difficulty you've encountered in adding the ChoiceAir promotion to your existing reservation. Our current policy permits a guest's booking to include a maximum of three onboard credit or savings (dollars off) promotions. I need to determine if there is an existing policy that requires the tariff to be increased to the current level when adding a new offer to a prior booking that is under deposit.

 

Thanks for your patience during the process.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)