New US promotion

[Grandma Cruising]

19 hours ago, uktog said:

I have been told on Pursuit this morning that you will also lose your LCV discount when you rebook. Keep that in mind in your calculations

I think they got that wrong - and I was wrong too. My TA has just rung me. We have been able to change the booking to a much cheaper price. We still got the LCV. Discount &  kept the OBC we got for booking onboard, so overall we saved over £1200 and got free WiFi worth $340.

 My TA was told that the advantage of booking onboard is that you can retain all the booking onboard benefits, they just get transferred to the new promotion price. I was really surprised, but delighted too.

[Grandma Cruising]

11 hours ago, uktog said:

The onboard booking protection then is of only very limited value to UK guests. I was going to do a few bookings today but have pulled out of them. 

As I said above, I was wrong in thinking we’d lose the onboard booking benefits, so you can go ahead and make your bookings.

[uktog]

2 hours ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

As I said above, I was wrong in thinking we’d lose the onboard booking benefits, so you can go ahead and make your bookings.

Thanks but I’m not prepared to risk it without an official ruling which we’ve asked for through the ship as I know of at least two others who are in the same boat pardon the pun onboard 

[Grandma Cruising]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

Thanks but I’m not prepared to risk it without an official ruling which we’ve asked for through the ship as I know of at least two others who are in the same boat pardon the pun onboard 

Maybe Bonnie can get a definitive answer that people can quote. The other thing might be to email Richard Twynam and ask him.

I’ve just been through the Cruise Again programme terms and conditions with a fine toothcomb and there’s no mention of what happens if you want to take advantage of a promotion after booking onboard. On both the UK & US site it says you can find the full terms and conditions relating to changing or cancelling an onboard booking at ‘www.AzamaraClubCruises.com/CruiseAgain’ but I can’t find that page. It’s not a link and when I type it in it takes me back to the original Cruise Again page.

[Belfastman]

3 hours ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

I think they got that wrong - and I was wrong too. My TA has just rung me. We have been able to change the booking to a much cheaper price. We still got the LCV. Discount &  kept the OBC we got for booking onboard, so overall we saved over £1200 and got free WiFi worth $340.

 My TA was told that the advantage of booking onboard is that you can retain all the booking onboard benefits, they just get transferred to the new promotion price. I was really surprised, but delighted too.

Recently I took advantage of a price reduction on a cruise that I had booked onboard where I got my LCV discount and OBC however when I got it repriced to the lower price the LCV discount and OBC was removed. I challenged this with Azamara and was told that any onboard benefits were taken away if you take advantage of a lower price afterwards (only the low deposit remained).

[uktog]

Yes as I said we are getting the clarification through the ship so we won't confuse things by asking through multiple sources.  Bottom line the answer still at present is we cannot save the LCV discount if we moved the booking.  We are at the point of booking not moving so its a hypothetical question but as the price is still slightly high we want to be sure we don't lose the chance to make changes as you have done.

[Grandma Cruising]

3 minutes ago, Belfastman said:

Recently I took advantage of a price reduction on a cruise that I had booked onboard where I got my LCV discount and OBC however when I got it repriced to the lower price the LCV discount and OBC was removed. I challenged this with Azamara and was told that any onboard benefits were taken away if you take advantage of a lower price afterwards (only the low deposit remained).

It seems ridiculous that we were treated so differently. It ought to be clear in their terms and conditions.

[uktog]

59 minutes ago, Belfastman said:

Recently I took advantage of a price reduction on a cruise that I had booked onboard where I got my LCV discount and OBC however when I got it repriced to the lower price the LCV discount and OBC was removed. I challenged this with Azamara and was told that any onboard benefits were taken away if you take advantage of a lower price afterwards (only the low deposit remained).

Exactly its inconsistent!  If i get any clarification I will post here

[travelberlin]

5 hours ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

I think they got that wrong - and I was wrong too. My TA has just rung me. We have been able to change the booking to a much cheaper price. We still got the LCV. Discount &  kept the OBC we got for booking onboard, so overall we saved over £1200 and got free WiFi worth $340.

 My TA was told that the advantage of booking onboard is that you can retain all the booking onboard benefits, they just get transferred to the new promotion price. I was really surprised, but delighted too.

Is there this information somewhere? Because in my case, this was not possible as I have written before. 

[travelberlin]

1 hour ago, Belfastman said:

Recently I took advantage of a price reduction on a cruise that I had booked onboard where I got my LCV discount and OBC however when I got it repriced to the lower price the LCV discount and OBC was removed. I challenged this with Azamara and was told that any onboard benefits were taken away if you take advantage of a lower price afterwards (only the low deposit remained).

 Was told exactly the same. I was so upset because it contradicted what I was told onboard that I canceled my booking. Not that anyone at Azamara cares...

[uktog]

The confirmation the ship has been given is IF you apply the onboard price guarantee as a UK guest you DO NOT keep any onboard booking benefits INCLUDING the LCV discounts. 

 

Just as well I had that clarification and not relied on earlier posts!  The inconsistency is rather unfair though unless of course what is reported is a travel agent error or they’ve switched it to another type of booking eg an inter line rate. 

[Grandma Cruising]

22 hours ago, Bloodaxe said:

 

Are you sure that you will not also loose your original deposit, I understand you can transfer it once to another cruise but rebooking the same cruise will that still count?..

 

 

I was totally wrong. I didn’t even have to cancel my booking. They just re-priced the cruise for me, keeping the cabin I had booked, and I kept all my LCV benefits  LCV discount, $300 OBC & reduced deposit) plus the free WiFi.

In total I saved £1250, so this promotion worked out well for me - I’m a very happy bunny.

[uktog]

2 hours ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

I was totally wrong. I didn’t even have to cancel my booking. They just re-priced the cruise for me, keeping the cabin I had booked, and I kept all my LCV benefits  LCV discount, $300 OBC & reduced deposit) plus the free WiFi.

In total I saved £1250, so this promotion worked out well for me - I’m a very happy bunny.

But I cannot understand how you did that as repricings DO lose onboard LCV benefits as has been reconfirmed to us today and the source was a very reliable one 

Edited December 11, 2018 by uktog

[Grandma Cruising]

1 minute ago, uktog said:

But I cannot understand how you did that as repricings DO lose onboard LCV benefits as has been reconfirmed to us today 

Sounds as if the right hand doesn’t know what the left is doing. All I can say is what I got and I’m very happy, but I agree they ought to be consistent!

[rallydave]

2 minutes ago, uktog said:

But I cannot understand how you did that as repricings DO lose onboard LCV benefits as has been reconfirmed to us today 

Agree, appears it all depends on who once talks to and who reprices your cruise.

 

This should NOT be rocket science.  Somebody needs to get the specific terms and conditions in writing and go from there.  Appears Azamara may not have any of this in writing and thus people at Azamara just wing it.  What a way to run a business???  NOT!!!!

 

[travelberlin]

51 minutes ago, rallydave said:

Agree, appears it all depends on who once talks to and who reprices your cruise.

 

This should NOT be rocket science.  Somebody needs to get the specific terms and conditions in writing and go from there.  Appears Azamara may not have any of this in writing and thus people at Azamara just wing it.  What a way to run a business???  NOT!!!!

 

Plus 1

[BBMacLaird]

After conferring with those in our UK office, I understand that HCG’s was somehow the lucky booking that benefited from a human mistake. 

 

The UK Terms and Conditions for onboard bookings are as follows:

• 1 free price change up to 91 days prior to sailing on a confirmed booking created onboard
• The change excludes a price reduction to Guarantee rates and special travel agent rates
• All promotions currently sitting on the booking will be forfeited, this also includes onboard promotions
• Not applicable to bookings created from Open Passages
• Required to pay an additional £125pp deposit (to total £250pp on the booking)
• Standard booking conditions apply within 90 days prior to sailing
• Applicable to new bookings created on or after 18th April 2017

The UK office states these T&C’s are explained in letter form at the time of booking onboard. 

 

Should you disagree with the T&C’s, I suggest dropping a polite note to our UK MD, Richard Twynam. Maybe his management will rethink them? rtwynam@azamara.com

 

[uktog]

2 hours ago, BBMacLaird said:

After conferring with those in our UK office, I understand that HCG’s was somehow the lucky booking that benefited from a human mistake. 

 

The UK Terms and Conditions for onboard bookings are as follows:

• 1 free price change up to 91 days prior to sailing on a confirmed booking created onboard
• The change excludes a price reduction to Guarantee rates and special travel agent rates
• All promotions currently sitting on the booking will be forfeited, this also includes onboard promotions
• Not applicable to bookings created from Open Passages
• Required to pay an additional £125pp deposit (to total £250pp on the booking)
• Standard booking conditions apply within 90 days prior to sailing
• Applicable to new bookings created on or after 18th April 2017

The UK office states these T&C’s are explained in letter form at the time of booking onboard. 

 

Should you disagree with the T&C’s, I suggest dropping a polite note to our UK MD, Richard Twynam. Maybe his management will rethink them? rtwynam@azamara.com

 

Thanks that’s what I expected after reference to the UK office through the ship though no letter is currently issued onboard. 

I am glad I did not rely on incorrect advice! 

[Grandma Cruising]

Looks like I was lucky. I was surprised with the price my TA got for me. I would have gone for the new promotion anyway without retaining the onboard booking benefits as it would still have saved me nearly £1000. 

Thanks, Bonnie, for getting the definitive answer.

 

i still thinks it’s worth booking onboard. After all you get the LCV onboard booking benefits and, unusually for those of us in the UK, you get the chance to rebook without losing your deposit if a cheaper offer comes up, so really you’ve nothing to lose.  If a promotion comes up you can weigh up any potential savings and decide if it’s worth changing your booking over.

Edited December 12, 2018 by Host Grandma Cruising

[uktog]

I’m happy to book onboard but I do not see it as a nothing to lose decision.  Far from it.  It may be for those at lower levels of loyalty but when you lose a 10% LCV discount it’s a lot. So for the most loyal members the price drop has to be more significant than for others before the guarantee is of value. 

The better option by far we have realised is the future cruise certificate. OK no $300 obc but the option to make booking at home at the right offer for us and still enjoy the LCV discount.  

[Riocca]

42 minutes ago, uktog said:

I’m happy to book onboard but I do not see it as a nothing to lose decision.  Far from it.  It may be for those at lower levels of loyalty but when you lose a 10% LCV discount it’s a lot. So for the most loyal members the price drop has to be more significant than for others before the guarantee is of value. 

The better option by far we have realised is the future cruise certificate. OK no $300 obc but the option to make booking at home at the right offer for us and still enjoy the LCV discount.  

Only thing to be aware of with the future cruise certificates/ open passage is that under the current rules although you only pay £75pp deposit onboard you have to pay the balance of the £250pp deposit when you confirm a booking.

We were unaware of this, as was our travel agent, it only came to light when we tried to cancel a booking made this way as we had rebooked the same cruise onboard with a significant price drop. When we tried to cancel the original booking our travel agent asked for the additional £350 as Azamara had actually charged them this when we booked, embarrassing all round! Fortunately Azamara came good we transferred the booking to a new cruise and kept the LCV discount, so all was well in the end .

[uktog]

6 minutes ago, Riocca said:

Only thing to be aware of with the future cruise certificates/ open passage is that under the current rules although you only pay £75pp deposit onboard you have to pay the balance of the £250pp deposit when you confirm a booking.

We were unaware of this, as was our travel agent, it only came to light when we tried to cancel a booking made this way as we had rebooked the same cruise onboard with a significant price drop. When we tried to cancel the original booking our travel agent asked for the additional £350 as Azamara had actually charged them this when we booked, embarrassing all round! Fortunately Azamara came good we transferred the booking to a new cruise and kept the LCV discount, so all was well in the end .

Yes we knew about the deposit- we always just top it up when we use the certificate. I’m confused though did you get a price drop and keep your LCV onboard discount? 

[Grandma Cruising]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

I’m happy to book onboard but I do not see it as a nothing to lose decision.  Far from it.  It may be for those at lower levels of loyalty but when you lose a 10% LCV discount it’s a lot. So for the most loyal members the price drop has to be more significant than for others before the guarantee is of value. 

The better option by far we have realised is the future cruise certificate. OK no $300 obc but the option to make booking at home at the right offer for us and still enjoy the LCV discount.  

You’re right that those on higher levels have more to lose - 10% is a lot to lose so a promotion would have to be good to take it.

On this occasion, even if we had lost a 10% discount we would still have saved well over £500 on this 50% BOGOHO promotion on our cruise. If we’d lost the $300 OBC, the free WiFi is worth $339  on a 17 day cruise, so another $39 saved.

If the base price remains the same, then a BOGOHO promotion would be the equivalent to a 25% discount, which is exactly the difference between the initial price and the promotion price for our cruise before any LCV benefits were applied.

 

[Riocca]

3 hours ago, uktog said:

Yes we knew about the deposit- we always just top it up when we use the certificate. I’m confused though did you get a price drop and keep your LCV onboard discount? 

We’ve never been asked to add to the deposit on a cruise later booking, it seemed to be news to out TA as well and they are one of the UK’s largest, our understanding was that you only got price drops with onboard cruise now bookings not cruise later bookings.

On the cruise we changed we went from a CC suite to a CWO suite at minimal extra cost so we’re prepared to lose the £150 deposit especially as we gained $900 OBC.

[BBMacLaird]

Azamara has resolved the Share & Save promotional pricing discrepancies on the website. In some cases, you may need to clear your browser’s cache to see the price changes.

We apologize for the inconvenience and confusion this has caused, and have implemented new policies that should prevent this error from occurring again. Thank you for your patience as we worked toward a resolution on our website.