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Announcement of the New Le Club Voyage Program

AzamaraJoel

By AzamaraJoel,
in Azamara

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takemewithyou

takemewithyou

Posted
Posted
Hi Andy. I remain hopeful too, but still find it incredulous that Azamara can spin it in such a way. I've just watched the video contained within l'announcement email (sent to me by an American friend who has had it and been on one Azamara cruise) and it fair boggles the mind just how cynical it is.

 

Phil

 

hi Phil,

That video really angers me!

I can NOT believe they put that out there!

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excitedofharpenden

excitedofharpenden

Posted
Posted
We are struggling to find something in the announcement of benefit for us!

 

However as we attained the level of Discoverer Plus when the levels were reset which was I believe less than one year ago surely we and others in the same position should be eligible to book a cruise before the 12 months expire, more than 120 days ahead and falling in 2015 and claim the complimentary nights.

 

Clarification would be appreciated.

You are out of luck. The new loyalty programme doesn't start until 1st January 2015 so moves to new levels won't count until after then. I'm not sure of your cruising history or how many Az cruises you've done, but don't forget the 50% within Azamara rule as per the terms and conditions of the new benefits.

 

Phil

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HokiePoq

HokiePoq

Posted
Posted
"A bird in the hand, is worth 2 in the bush" comes to mind with these changes. I would rather have my free laundry and internet minutes that I can enjoy now, and on every cruise, than accumulate points that I may or may not be able to use at some future date.

 

Agree. And corporate should also realize that business models say that it's easier to keep a repeat customer than to recruit another one.....i.e. less costly. The "free night" thing might be hard to collect on if one books package deals that include transportation or if it doesn't include sale rates, etc. It will be interesting to see how this translates with future bookings by repeat customers. Taking away benefits creates negative perceptions.

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Andy

Andy

Posted
Posted (edited)
Hi Andy. I remain hopeful too, but still find it incredulous that Azamara can spin it in such a way. I've just watched the video contained within l'announcement email (sent to me by an American friend who has had it and been on one Azamara cruise) and it fair boggles the mind just how cynical it is.

 

Phil

 

I hear you Phil. I think we've all said plenty about the changes. However, ALL marketing these days, is being spun in ways I never thought possible.

 

Just last week, I received a letter from a telecom company that read : "So that we can serve you better, and bring you new and exciting features, we are raising your monthly fee". Say what ??????????? How does that serve me better LOL. If they spun that any more, they would have died of dizziness :)

 

Marketing is all about spin these days. It seems that being open and upfront with the consumer, is a thing of the past.

Edited by Host Andy
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LdyDDS

LdyDDS

Posted
Posted

Well, I bought an Azamara cruise including Choice air for a March 2015 cruise.....HOW STUPID WAS THAT????? We decided that the cost of the cruise, which is more than other cruises to the same destination, was worth the price difference due to many things and the perks like FREE LAUNDRY and a lot of internet minutes with the REALLY SLOW internet. I wish I could get out of it now ( I'm going to have to research this)......I think that by March Azamara will probably take away the other perks as well...like complementary bottled water and good service. I won't make the Azamara mistake in the future.

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cruzluvers

cruzluvers

Posted
Posted
Hi Phil,

 

While I'm rarely on Facebook, I actually went looking to see if they posted their announcement on there. I couldn't find anything. Maybe they saw the backlash on here, and decided against posting the news. Or, did I miss it ?

 

I agree about the onboard Officers and crew. They are absolutely wonderful !

 

Maybe I'm the only one out there, but I remain hopeful that Azamara will read the nearly universal negative comments, and re-think this decision.

 

We certainly hope Azamara will reconsider this terrible decision. Since we switched from Oceania (which we loved) to our new "favorite" cruiseline which included a lot more value, we have talked up this line to all of our cruising friends. Now they want to take away all those great benefits which we were promised for our two already booked two week cruises next year; the least they should do is honor what we were promised when we booked. Otherwise, a lot of us will be looking elsewhere (ie. Celebrity which does give nice benefits to their loyal followers)

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geocruiser

geocruiser

Posted
Posted
We certainly hope Azamara will reconsider this terrible decision. Since we switched from Oceania (which we loved) to our new "favorite" cruiseline which included a lot more value, we have talked up this line to all of our cruising friends. Now they want to take away all those great benefits which we were promised for our two already booked two week cruises next year; the least they should do is honor what we were promised when we booked. Otherwise, a lot of us will be looking elsewhere (ie. Celebrity which does give nice benefits to their loyal followers)

 

Have you checked Princess's benefits. They give a lot more that a free bag of laundry for their Elite members.

 

https://book.princess.com/captaincircle/jsp/memberShipBenefitsForProspect.jsp

 

Why can't Azamara do as much for their past PAX as Princess does.

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geocruiser

geocruiser

Posted
Posted (edited)
Yes...that is the one. it is just stupid! says absolutely nothing.....and is insulting, IMO.

 

I agree with you. I think the real stupid part is when the lady says "oh wow" and the man say "really". Even they don't believe it.

Edited by geocruiser
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sherman100

sherman100

Posted
Posted

If I had known I would lose the free laundry & internet 3 weeks ago on an 18 night cruise, I would have booked my cruise on Celebrity. It took a long time to finally qualify for these perks & now they have been eliminated. Unfortunately,I think this will be my last cruise with Azamara. Hope they reconsider in time.

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nonrev1

nonrev1

Posted
Posted

I guess what I dont understand is why Celebrity is still offering free internet and laundry???? Azamara - which is a much higher price point- will no longer be offering these two items as a perk to its loyal customers. Am I missing something?

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ECCruise

ECCruise

Posted
Posted
I guess what I dont understand is why Celebrity is still offering free internet and laundry???? Azamara - which is a much higher price point- will no longer be offering these two items as a perk to its loyal customers. Am I missing something?

 

That is the $64,000 question.

Is RCCL using this as a test--their smallest line? What better way to gauge reaction? See if it flies here before trying it on the bigger line. Just seems strange that they rolled this out either with NO test marketing or they totally ignored any that they did.

 

Note to RCCL: It ain't good!

 

And since several of the Celebrity cruisers are touting how good the new Azamara LCV rewards are, it would be curious to watch the reaction if it affected them.

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ItsMeMisT

ItsMeMisT

Posted
Posted

We hope Azamara will look at this decision again. We have loved our celebrity and Azamara experiences and considered it "our" cruise line since we have high status. Now we feel we should look at other lines since clearly we aren't special to them.

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Andy

Andy

Posted
Posted
That is the $64,000 question.

Is RCCL using this as a test--their smallest line? What better way to gauge reaction? See if it flies here before trying it on the bigger line. Just seems strange that they rolled this out either with NO test marketing or they totally ignored any that they did.

 

Note to RCCL: It ain't good!

 

And since several of the Celebrity cruisers are touting how good the new Azamara LCV rewards are, it would be curious to watch the reaction if it affected them.

 

Hi Ernie,

 

I agree that one has to wonder if this might be a "test" to see how the changes will be judged. If it's any consolation, I think we have the answer. My opinion ? As Celebrity recently updated their program, they'd have to be nothing short of insane to mess with it anytime soon. Eventually ? who knows - anything is possible, but I think it's relatively safe for now.

 

As I moderate both Celebrity & Azamara, I truly hope that Celebrity never makes a major cutback to Captains Club. I'm not sure if I can handle what would transpire at the Celebrity forum :)

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TommyD3

TommyD3

Posted
Posted

And since several of the Celebrity cruisers are touting how good the new Azamara LCV rewards are, it would be curious to watch the reaction if it affected them.

 

Who are these Celebrity cruisers who favor the changes?

 

The changes affect every Celebrity cruiser when they sail on Azamara.

 

In Andy's poll NOT ONE person said "Yes" to favoring the changes.......

 

I am Zenith and will never sail on Azamara again.

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ClaudiaB

ClaudiaB

Posted
Posted

We've only sailed Celebrity - 12 cruises so far - and were thinking about jumping ship to Azamara. But now not so sure. We sail in suites and love the perks we have with elite, and are looking forward to the suite restaurant next year. So maybe we'll stick with them. And I have not read a single positive comment on either board about this, so don't know where that was coming from.

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deise17311

deise17311

Posted
Posted

Each day their 2 old ships get more and more aged...good service can only go so far when you are competing against other lines with flashy new (same size) ships...I didn't feel that the service was that much better then other ships we have traveled on and frankly prefer a better ship then 2 that are becoming quickly ancient...

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geocruiser

geocruiser

Posted
Posted

And since several of the Celebrity cruisers are touting how good the new Azamara LCV rewards are, it would be curious to watch the reaction if it affected them.

 

I think that these cruisers did not take the time to crunch the numbers on how long it would take them to get a free night or any of the other so called perks that are being offered. I think that they need to see that most PAX will never get anything in the way of a free night/s.

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