Double Upgrade Promo on website

[AJCM]

When is a double upgrade promotion fake - when Azamara's involved.

 

Last night in Australia, they made the mistake of not updating the from price on cruise face pages. So, a cruise I'd been looking at was showing from AUD4,591pp (plus fees). However, when I went to the relevant booking page, the price for 2 in an inside was >AUD12,000.

 

Of course, today the inconsistency has been corrected to $6,360 pp (plus fees) on the cruise face page. Interestingly, not only has the inside increased substantially overnight but the cost of a V2 balcony is now $414 more costly than before the "promotion". I've been watching 2 other cruises, as a potential B2B2B. The aggregate cost increase for a V2 over the 3 cruises is now AUD1,243 (incl. fees).

 

Maybe movement in exchange rates can explain this increase.

 

However, it doesn't alter the fact that Azamara has again put out a promotion which can be described, at best, as totally misleading.

 

I'll be interested to see if any contributor here can identify just one cruise for which there is anything remotely like a genuine "double upgrade"

 

[laurieb]

5 hours ago, hiccups said:

Please let us know if they allow you to apply the double upgrade promotion--the T&Cs state new bookings only.  Hopefully being in the U.S. you can cancel the old booking without penalty if needed to get the new promo.

It’s allowed if it was booked onboard 

[laurieb]

One of the cruises we have booked is cheaper.  In my opinion, if you see a cruise that you like and the price works for you, book it, don’t wait to see if the next promotion is better.   No cruise line is obligated to keep their prices the same when a new promotion starts.  We always try to book early, and then snag reductions IF they come along 

[laurieb]

9 hours ago, papa B me said:

I tend to book trips 1-2 years in advance in order to get the cabin/suite I want. I’ve had experiences on other lines where perks were added for new bookings and since it wasn’t past final payment date they were added 

 

My question is if you book a cabin/Suite with limited availability that sells out a year or more in advance will Azamara still add promotional perks. I don’t think you can reprice since there’s no open cabin/suite to compare to but if Azamara was running a $500 OBC booking promotion would they add it to my booking. Our cruise  isn’t until Sept 2020 and our cabin selection is sold out. Trying to figure out if I should keep checking Azamara sight for ongoing promotions. Plus I have the same issue for a June 2021 cruise I booked for Greece intensive.  Thanks for help 

 

Brian 

In my my experience no.  They won’t add any perks from a different promotion.  The only time would b3 if you cancel and rebook with the new promotion ; if your category is sold out you’re not able to do that.

[papa B me]

7 hours ago, laurieb said:

In my my experience no.  They won’t add any perks from a different promotion.  The only time would b3 if you cancel and rebook with the new promotion ; if your category is sold out you’re not able to do that.

Thanks.  That's what I thought so haven't been checking website regularly.  Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing out on something.

 

Brian

[Maya_C]

14 hours ago, AJCM said:

However, it doesn't alter the fact that Azamara has again put out a promotion which can be described, at best, as totally misleading.

I'll be interested to see if any contributor here can identify just one cruise for which there is anything remotely like a genuine "double upgrade"

 

The double upgrade deal for the cruise I was watching was based on raising the price of an interior to the price of a veranda cabin, rather than lowering the veranda to the price an interior previously cost. So it's now way more expensive to book an interior or oceanview cabin than it was before the "bargain" double upgrade. 

[MNgardens]

Do the promotions cycle through in any predictable manner? We just had the 30% off and now the Double Upgrade.  I don't remember the name of it but I remember once seeing a promotion with a lot of shore excursion credit. Will the next one be first pax at full price, 2nd pax at 50% with free wifi? Have the long time cruisers seen that certain promotions always show up at a certain time of year?

[oddjob16]

I have not been able to find old pages of cruise itineraries with pricing. There is a wayback machine in operation, but not possible to use for this purpose. In comparing todays prices with «yesterday» one should be aware that most of them had the 30% off pricing.

The original cruise price before the 30% Off offer is difficult to find if you don’t have screenshots of them. 

[uktog]

16 minutes ago, oddjob16 said:

I have not been able to find old pages of cruise itineraries with pricing. There is a wayback machine in operation, but not possible to use for this purpose. In comparing todays prices with «yesterday» one should be aware that most of them had the 30% off pricing.

The original cruise price before the 30% Off offer is difficult to find if you don’t have screenshots of them. 

I keep my own spreadsheets of the cruises I am thinking of booking - OCD I know!

[ECCruise]

46 minutes ago, uktog said:

I keep my own spreadsheets of the cruises I am thinking of booking - OCD I know!

Yes, but OCD that might save you a bunch of dough!

[jkadventures]

I had been watching a March 2020 Auckland- Sydney voyage. For a category 5 OV the single occupancy price increased over $2,500 under the new “promotion.”  Just crazy. 

[Mackdogmolly]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

I keep my own spreadsheets of the cruises I am thinking of booking - OCD I know!

Me too! Only way I can keep the constantly shifting prices straight.

[lenoirm]

Any new promotion on Azamara is worth checking.

l made a deposit on an single deposit OV for the 11/2020 Pursuit Transatlantic  , in July while onboard Journey .

Today my TA checked the double upgrade offer and a V1 balcony is $1100 LESS with same OBC and Discoverer plus discount.

😳😜

Shows that making reservations early and onboard  is not always the best way.

I like to choose my stateroom but I keep my options open and recalculate the best deal with every new gimmick that Azamara comes up with....

 

Micheline

 

[debcip]

On 9/2/2019 at 3:19 PM, uktog said:

I keep my own spreadsheets of the cruises I am thinking of booking - OCD I know!

I wish I could see your spreadsheet!  I have made many only to be unhappy with my format and have thus abandoned them.  But I know that I can do better (pricewise) if I adopt some type of tracking system!

[MNgardens]

I am old school. I print out the itinerary and then cover it with post it notes with prices and travel agencies noted. If I were clever I would have them in chronological order...

[Bloodaxe]

On 9/2/2019 at 12:47 AM, doubled said:

Our cruise in October 2020 qualifies for Double Upgrade promo however is Substantially higher than last month.

 

Looks to me that this is yet another Azamara sales gimmick to fool people into thinking they are getting a bargain.

[AllisonJames]

I have been vocal on this board about the AZ "sales" due to the price manipulations so you really have to track your prices, know what you are willing to pay and know what you have previously committed to pay if you want to rebook.  At this time, our May 2020 13 night Wine & Romance Perry Golf voyage we booked onboard last year appears to be at least $2,500 less than what we've already booked for, even taking into account onboard/LCV discounts.  I say "appears to be" because the booking engine keeps skipping over the actual payment summary page and taking me to the page where you provide a credit card and make a deposit so I'm not 100% sure.  So that would be a good deal for us to rebook.  Unfortunately, as Murphy's Law would have it, it's a cruise we decided to cancel anyway.  Just confirms my decision not to book onboard anymore and wait for lower prices.  And tracking prices on a spreadsheet is really smart to save money! Also, for the poster who asked about cycles of sales, I have  consistently seen the double upgrade promotion offered around September since 2015.  It can be a good promotion for those of us who want the balcony category.  I've just only had one instance up until now (our very first cruise) where the price was lower during the sale and we rebooked.  So that's 2 out of 5 total cruises booked which is not a bad percentage.  Worth taking a look if you have current bookings.

[hiccups]

24 minutes ago, AllisonJames said:

I have been vocal on this board about the AZ "sales" due to the price manipulations so you really have to track your prices, know what you are willing to pay and know what you have previously committed to pay if you want to rebook.  At this time, our May 2020 13 night Wine & Romance Perry Golf voyage we booked onboard last year appears to be at least $2,500 less than what we've already booked for, even taking into account onboard/LCV discounts.  I say "appears to be" because the booking engine keeps skipping over the actual payment summary page and taking me to the page where you provide a credit card and make a deposit so I'm not 100% sure.  So that would be a good deal for us to rebook.  Unfortunately, as Murphy's Law would have it, it's a cruise we decided to cancel anyway.  Just confirms my decision not to book onboard anymore and wait for lower prices.  And tracking prices on a spreadsheet is really smart to save money! Also, for the poster who asked about cycles of sales, I have  consistently seen the double upgrade promotion offered around September since 2015.  It can be a good promotion for those of us who want the balcony category.  I've just only had one instance up until now (our very first cruise) where the price was lower during the sale and we rebooked.  So that's 2 out of 5 total cruises booked which is not a bad percentage.  Worth taking a look if you have current bookings.

Shhhh.... don't let Azamara know--they might bump up the interior price like they have on the other itineraries!  But I agree, this does appear to be a cruise where as of right now, the pricing is more advantageous under the Double Upgrade promo.

We've already been to most of those ports on our other PerryGolf cruises, or we might have considered this one.  Although lately our jobs have been so busy, our managers would frown upon taking off that much time.

[hamrag]

Have any experienced Az cruisers tried, or know if it were possible, to upgrade cabins once onboard for sailings with spare capacity e.g. off-peak season? Generally on the mass cruiseline ships there is a notice placed at Guest Relations on boarding day saying the ship is full...in other words, please don't even ask!

Thanks.

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, hamrag said:

Have any experienced Az cruisers tried, or know if it were possible, to upgrade cabins once onboard for sailings with spare capacity e.g. off-peak season? Generally on the mass cruiseline ships there is a notice placed at Guest Relations on boarding day saying the ship is full...in other words, please don't even ask!

Thanks.

We’ve never asked, but a few years ago we got talking to 3 ladies who upgraded to a suite when they saw the size of the Verandah cabin they had intended to share. They paid a lot of money - the same as the booking difference between a Verandah and a CC Suite.

[excitedofharpenden]

1 hour ago, hamrag said:

Have any experienced Az cruisers tried, or know if it were possible, to upgrade cabins once onboard for sailings with spare capacity e.g. off-peak season? Generally on the mass cruiseline ships there is a notice placed at Guest Relations on boarding day saying the ship is full...in other words, please don't even ask!

Thanks.

From my experience it’s mixed and certainly not something to bank on. I make two comments. From my observations, Azamara are now very focussed on filling their ships. To do this they will sell cabins cheaply late on, to consolidators if necessary and this includes Interline rates (to those in the airline industry for instance). Secondly, the deals that used to be seen are no longer there and this is even more apparent with the bid for upgrade system that they now employ.

 

So you might find that dependent upon your sailing you might be able to upgrade, but I would definitely not bet on it.

 

Phil

Edited September 4, 2019 by excitedofharpenden

[hamrag]

Thanks for replies so far. My reason for asking is that on our Dec 7th 7 night cruise in the Caribbean, booked via a USA web agency, a CC Suite is showing for $1600ish pp compared to the $1000ish we paid for an inside. Because we have B2B cruises, we have $300 OBC on each sailing but also a further $500 OBC via a sales promotion.

 

The agency is advising that Azamara will not allow a straight upgrade for an additional $600pp, with the only option being to incur a 25% cancellation penalty and to rebook. Additionally, I would lose the $500 OBC....expected because that promotion has ended, and also the B2B $300 on both cruises because the CC offer is a 'unique pricing' deal.  The crazy part is that the outside and veranda cabins are more expensive then the CC pricing.

 

In summary, obviously there is no way I was going with the offer on those terms hence my question as to onboard experiences of potential upgrades.

[Grandma Cruising]

My guess is that nowadays it’s unlikely there would be CC Suites free at the beginning of a cruise, unless there was a very late cancellation, because of the new upgrade system.

[ECCruise]

How difficult is it for a US resident to book with a UK TA? 

With the ridiculous "2 category upgrade" scam, cabins are running anywhere between US$1000 and US$3000 more for the US than for the UK.  Assume that we would be bound by the non-refundable deposit issue but is there any other possible quagmires?

[oddjob16]

Changing «the flag» at the bottom of the page to Union Jack reveals the UK Azamara site and totally different prices compared to the Silly Sale aka «double upgrade». 

This confirms the scam theory. I recognise this from previous Silly sales. It is insulting.😡