Lift & Shif, Rebook the same voyage - Does it Work?

[ptrpanpens]

I was just going to cancel my 10 night November 2020 cruise from Barcelona to Lisbon but since I had booked onboard, decided to see if I could switch it to an 11 Night Athens RT cruise in October 2021 that goes to some unusual ports in Greece and Turkey and spends two full days in Istanbul. That way I would not lose my OBC or booking discount.

 

To me, the cruises were not really comparable but I guess they met the Azamara criteria so the switch was approved. Same cabin on the 2021 cruise, one more night, and a savings of $2,000 on my cabin. Plus I got to keep my $300 OBC!
 

The way things are now I am not anxious to cruises again but things could change by next year and I had nothing to lose by changing my booking. The price was Certainly excellent and the itinerary was one I havent seen before on any line, even though I have been to Greece and Turkey many times.

 

So thanks Azamara, whatever happens.😀😀 Maybe there will be a miracle vaccine by next year.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

23 minutes ago, ptrpanpens said:

I was just going to cancel my 10 night November 2020 cruise from Barcelona to Lisbon but since I had booked onboard, decided to see if I could switch it to an 11 Night Athens RT cruise in October 2021 that goes to some unusual ports in Greece and Turkey and spends two full days in Istanbul. That way I would not lose my OBC or booking discount.

 

To me, the cruises were not really comparable but I guess they met the Azamara criteria so the switch was approved. Same cabin on the 2021 cruise, one more night, and a savings of $2,000 on my cabin. Plus I got to keep my $300 OBC!
 

The way things are now I am not anxious to cruises again but things could change by next year and I had nothing to lose by changing my booking. The price was Certainly excellent and the itinerary was one I havent seen before on any line, even though I have been to Greece and Turkey many times.

 

So thanks Azamara, whatever happens.😀😀 Maybe there will be a miracle vaccine by next year.

 

Good to hear it worked for you. 

[azjoy]

Our experience was almost seamless.  All of the benefits on our September cruise (deposit, OBC, “Earned Complementary Nights” and original price) were transferred to a similar cruise in 2021.   We're very happy to be able to make the change.

 

We had one surprise regarding some excursions we previously booked and paid for with OBC and credit card.  I thought it would be faster if I cancelled the excursions before asking our TA to change the cruise.  This meant that the OBC would be readily available and I “assumed” the amount charged to our credit card would be sent back to the credit card.  I was correct about the OBC but the funds were applied to the new cruise as part of the original deposit, reducing the final amount due.

 

Initially, I was peeved but then I decided that the Refund Department and I have better things to do than try to get these funds returned to the credit card.  I’m still working on refunds from cancelled flights for last month and now I need to cancel the September flights!  We’re willing to leave the funds with Azamara since we have several cruises with them over the next 18 months.    

[PirateWife]

This isn't working for everyone.  We booked the same cruise in 2021 that we had booked in 2020.  The 2021 cruise starts about two weeks earlier and is 1 day longer.  With a less desirable room, it is costing us over $1,200 more.

[audobon_tx]

Our TA moved the 10 Nov 20 Journey cruise, and the 2 Dec 20 b2b to the roughly equivalent 2021 cruises on the Pursuit.  Everything was flawless, and I was frankly stunned how well it worked.  All amenities and fares were preserved as was the stateroom.  Prepurchased Azamara shorex were applied as fare pre payments (fine with us).  Final payment date shifted to 2021 as well.  Perfect and well done, Azamara.

[luv2travel90266]

I just took this from the Azamara website. When I contacted a big box store that has a travel dept the rep wasn't aware but then when she called Azamara she found out they were doing  it. There appear to be a few exceptions but it worked for me. "Same Cruise, Same Price , Next Year"

Edited May 13, 2020 by luv2travel90266
additional info

[PirateWife]

I now know that this only applies to rebookings done in the last few days.  Did mine end of April.

[ptrpanpens]

43 minutes ago, PirateWife said:

This isn't working for everyone.  We booked the same cruise in 2021 that we had booked in 2020.  The 2021 cruise starts about two weeks earlier and is 1 day longer.  With a less desirable room, it is costing us over $1,200 more.

 

I would check why it doesn’t work. But one thing is I think the cabin category must be the same. I know on mine I was able to book the same cabin.

[PirateWife]

9 minutes ago, ptrpanpens said:

 

I would check why it doesn’t work. But one thing is I think the cabin category must be the same. I know on mine I was able to book the same cabin.

Same room category but less desirable room than my first choice.  My original room was already booked for 2021.  No, it was the difference of a week in rebooking.

[luv2travel90266]

For my Azamara cruise I booked a different cabin but in the same category as my previous one was not available on the new cruise. I am waiting on a September 2020 cruise on Celebrity to Italy that I expect they will cancel.  I won't pay the balance on that cruise due in June as I want to limit the amount of dollars RCL Corp has and be one of the unsecured creditors. Transferring to a later date might be my next best solution on that one. 

[Baynanno1]

2 hours ago, ptrpanpens said:

 

I would check why it doesn’t work. But one thing is I think the cabin category must be the same. I know on mine I was able to book the same cabin.

 

If you check post #32, the rebook was not done as a lift & shift, but was done before that option was introduced.

[BBMacLaird]

On 5/11/2020 at 12:03 PM, crzrr said:

Hi Bonnie - can you elaborate on the part about paying the difference if it's a longer voyage?  I have looked and can't find anything about it in the T&C's or FAQ's.  We are looking at a cruise that is 2 days longer than our current one but with essentially the same itinerary.  We booked our current cruise onboard and received OBC's as well as getting our Discoverer Plus discount.  I would like to try and preserve those.  Would gladly pay for the extra day but need some clarification on how that works.  Thanks so much.

Sue

Hi crzrr, I apologize. I can't find it in writing either, and I am told it is not our policy to permit the booking of a longer cruise by paying the extra per diem. I am sorry to mislead you. 

In your case would it be possible to take the FCC and apply it to the alternate, longer, cruise? Your Discoverer Plus discount should apply. 

[Ladys Mom]

The Lift and Shift didn't work for us at all with Azamara.  Granted we were trying to move from a Feb. 2022 SA cruise to a 2021.  We had booked the 2022 when we were on a cruise last summer.  At that time the cruises had just come out and we got a fantastic price.  When we had to shift our World Cruise reservation on Regent from the 2021 to the 2022 because of fear of being on a ship for 120 days with Covid (they did not penalize at all for the move except for paying the slight increase in cost.  This required us to move our Azamara cruise to the same cruise (minus a day) in 2021.  Azamara said we would have to pay the increased cost of the cabin which amounted to over $2K per person for a 20 day cruise.  Needless to say, we cancelled.  We have not received our deposit back yet but it will come someday. 

[uktog]

9 hours ago, BBMacLaird said:

Hi crzrr, I apologize. I can't find it in writing either, and I am told it is not our policy to permit the booking of a longer cruise by paying the extra per diem. I am sorry to mislead you. 

In your case would it be possible to take the FCC and apply it to the alternate, longer, cruise? Your Discoverer Plus discount should apply. 

And that is a fundamentally short sighted flaw of the scheme.  You should be encouraging longer bookings for more revenue!!! 

Do loyalty discounts apply on all new bookings? I searched but the information on the website leads you to believe it’s still only available when you book onboard (which can’t of course be) 

[crzrr]

14 hours ago, BBMacLaird said:

Hi crzrr, I apologize. I can't find it in writing either, and I am told it is not our policy to permit the booking of a longer cruise by paying the extra per diem. I am sorry to mislead you. 

In your case would it be possible to take the FCC and apply it to the alternate, longer, cruise? Your Discoverer Plus discount should apply. 

Thank you Bonnie for the clarification.  Appreciate you looking into it for us.

 

Sue

[Riocca]

Lift & Shift doesn’t seem to work for October 2020, probably because of the three ships meeting there are a comparatively large number of 7 night cruises however within the permitted window In 2021 there are very few. 
We have two 7 night cruises booked as a b2b in October but for us there are only 2 available cruises which would require us to fly home from Rome for two weeks then flying back to Rome so a non starter. We could have put a 9 night and 7 night cruise together but that’s outside the rules, presumably we can take FCC for the deposits, we certainly won’t be paying the balances, but 2021 prices seem to have been inflated. So we are probably better off losing our deposits, reduced as they are onboard bookings, and looking at alternatives. Being a bit more flexible would protect Azamara’s bookings but having been let down repeatedly on the refund front customer focus at Azamara seems to be a thing of the past.

[BBMacLaird]

On 5/17/2020 at 12:05 AM, uktog said:

And that is a fundamentally short sighted flaw of the scheme.  You should be encouraging longer bookings for more revenue!!! 

Do loyalty discounts apply on all new bookings? I searched but the information on the website leads you to believe it’s still only available when you book onboard (which can’t of course be) 

I'm not disagreeing with you. I've brought this up myself so I know it is something we are aware of. 

I'll ask about the loyalty discounts for you. 

[hubofhockey]

I had to forfeit FCC because of Azamara's rigid rules. We had a cruise this year on Silversea bumped to next year, which created a conflict with our Azamara Japan cruise.  I asked Azamara if I could convert that FCC into an open FCC or extend it past this November and they said NO.  Out of my $275 out there, I got $150 back.  I'm out $125, but Azamara is out some goodwill with me AND a booking.  It wouldn't have cost them a dime to be a little more flexible in these times. I dropped $125 but gained some flexibility, and a bit of a bad taste in my mouth for Azamara.  

[john1970]

It might also help to extend the +- by three months either side. I have two options to switch to but neither very interesting. I would happily pay more money to switch from my 7 night to 9 night but appreciate that might be tricky to calculate the extra.Thanks Bonnie for putting this forward for us.

[ochealaaf]

No, it does not work. Booked End of July - found a similar cruise in 2021.

 

AZ will rebook the cruise, but isisists that the flights (booked with AZ) cannot be moved as they were "not refundable", although Eurowings offers a free rebooking up to 14 days before departure. So we would loose the money we´ve paid for them and will have  to pay again for the flights in 2021.

So we will cash (certainly no FCC, only to be used on AZ) out, as soon the cruise will be cancelled.

 

Sorry for AZ which will loose cash and sorry for our great TA, who wil loose her commission. Just a loose - loose situation.

 

Very sad. 

 

Btw. seems to me that I have to change my Avatar 🙂

 

 

[BBMacLaird]

11 hours ago, hubofhockey said:

I had to forfeit FCC because of Azamara's rigid rules. We had a cruise this year on Silversea bumped to next year, which created a conflict with our Azamara Japan cruise.  I asked Azamara if I could convert that FCC into an open FCC or extend it past this November and they said NO.  Out of my $275 out there, I got $150 back.  I'm out $125, but Azamara is out some goodwill with me AND a booking.  It wouldn't have cost them a dime to be a little more flexible in these times. I dropped $125 but gained some flexibility, and a bit of a bad taste in my mouth for Azamara.  

 

Hi Hubofhockey, I'm sorry to hear you have a bad taste in your mouth now. 😞

And our CS manager is interested in looking into this for you, and for training purposes, too. Could you please email AzamaraCustomerService@Azamara.com with attn: Reservations Manager. Copy what you've posted here, and include your Booking Number. 

[hubofhockey]

4 hours ago, BBMacLaird said:

 

Hi Hubofhockey, I'm sorry to hear you have a bad taste in your mouth now. 😞

And our CS manager is interested in looking into this for you, and for training purposes, too. Could you please email AzamaraCustomerService@Azamara.com with attn: Reservations Manager. Copy what you've posted here, and include your Booking Number. 

 

Hi Bonnie.  I appreciate your response here, but Azamara, through a customer rep in Wichita, already told me that I'm out of luck. Once the rep told me that "rules are rules" and regrettably penalties would be applied, I decided not to wait until December 26 to book a new cruise.  They didn't seem flexible.  For $125,  Azamara Customer Service lost a booking and so much goodwill from me.  I think I would have been better off booking an open passage with the FCC on board.  If I had a "do over", that's what I would do and was hoping they would do that for me last month when circumstances were rocked by COVID-19. As to the last line below, they don't need to thank me for my understanding and loyalty because all I see is an inflexible company whose price on loyalty is $125.  I responded to the customer service rep and asked her how much of my $275 I would get back and she didn't even give me the courtesy of a response.  I had to find out what I would get back by looking at my AMEX statement.

 

==============================================================================================
Thank you for contacting Azamara. We are deeply sorry for the delay in our reply and hope this email finds you in good health.

If you wish to change your sail date, you have up to December 26, 2020 to make any changes. Regrettably you will have to select a ship and sail date, we are not able to revert your reservation to an Open Passage. If you cancel your reservation there will be penalties applied. 

If you are wishing to change your reservation over to a different travel agency or for have this reservation as a booking that you would manage with no travel agent, please contact you current travel agent and ask them to contact Azamara for directions on how to release your reservation from their agency.

Thank you for your understanding and loyalty.

=================================================================================================

 

 

[takemewithyou]

2 hours ago, hubofhockey said:

 

Hi Bonnie.  I appreciate your response here, but Azamara, through a customer rep in Wichita, already told me that I'm out of luck. Once the rep told me that "rules are rules" and regrettably penalties would be applied, I decided not to wait until December 26 to book a new cruise.  They didn't seem flexible.  For $125,  Azamara Customer Service lost a booking and so much goodwill from me.  I think I would have been better off booking an open passage with the FCC on board.  If I had a "do over", that's what I would do and was hoping they would do that for me last month when circumstances were rocked by COVID-19. As to the last line below, they don't need to thank me for my understanding and loyalty because all I see is an inflexible company whose price on loyalty is $125.  I responded to the customer service rep and asked her how much of my $275 I would get back and she didn't even give me the courtesy of a response.  I had to find out what I would get back by looking at my AMEX statement.

 

==============================================================================================
Thank you for contacting Azamara. We are deeply sorry for the delay in our reply and hope this email finds you in good health.

If you wish to change your sail date, you have up to December 26, 2020 to make any changes. Regrettably you will have to select a ship and sail date, we are not able to revert your reservation to an Open Passage. If you cancel your reservation there will be penalties applied. 

If you are wishing to change your reservation over to a different travel agency or for have this reservation as a booking that you would manage with no travel agent, please contact you current travel agent and ask them to contact Azamara for directions on how to release your reservation from their agency.

Thank you for your understanding and loyalty.

=================================================================================================

 

 

WOW!  Just stunned.....there are no words for this.........SAD....!!  Thank you for posting your experience.....it is enlightening......

 

 

[hubofhockey]

I am not stunned.  I lost $125 and that, in and of itself, is not the worst thing in the world.  The way I see it, Azamara lost more than I did.  They lost a booking from me over a measly $125.  $125 was too steep of a cost to keep a customer happy who was. inconvenienced by COVID-19.  On the bright side, Silversea came through for me and turned my two cabin booking on the Silver Galapagos to a $42,000 booking for the Galapagos on the new Silver Origin.    They did take away $350 per person of refundable OBC, but Silversea really came through for me and Azamara said, "SEE YA".  Think about it.  Converting my FCC to an Open Passage (which they would have sold to me 6 months earlier) would have guaranteed another booking from me.  

 

As Bonnie suggested, I did follow up with customer service, but my guess is that they will say that there is nothing they can do since the booking is now closed and they sent me $150 and kept $125.  Of course,  I did that after they told me that they wouldn't do a thing.  In the big picture, this is trivial.  People have lost jobs and lives due to COVID-19 and a cruise line only wasn't flexible with me.  It makes me appreciate what Silversea did that much more.  

[hubofhockey]

I meant to say that I had two cabins booked on Silversea (an outside and a veranda) for $26,000 and they allowed me to move them to their new ship (for a classic veranda and a superior veranda) for no additional charge even though the price for the two cabins was over $40,000, much more than the 125% cancellation cruise credit would have given me.