Lift and Shift to.March 2022

[laurieb]

On 9/18/2020 at 11:59 PM, blag said:

May I be so bold as to enquire whether you Lifted and Shifted with the assistance of a TA? Also what is your country of residence and that of your TA, if any?

How long ago did you make the Lift & Shift. 

If you dealt direct with Azamara, any contact info would be much appreciated, please, because I seem to be at a dead end. 

please send an email to loyaltyambassador@azamara.com

They should be able to help!

[laurieb]

On 9/18/2020 at 10:10 AM, blag said:

I contacted my TA to do exactly what you have done. I was able to hear the conversation that my TA had with Tina at Azamara. Tina stated unequivocally that Lift and Shift is available on CANCELLED cruises only. A transfer is possible, but there is a (not insignificant) difference in price for a transfer!

Would you mind confirming whether yours was a Lift and Shift or a transfer, please? 

Not true!  we lifted and shifted three cruises that had not been cancelled; I'd suggest your TA call again and speak to someone else

 

Edited September 20, 2020 by laurieb

[Suffolkgirl]

4 hours ago, norn iron said:

I posted on another thread Azamara have given us adequate advice that our cruise May 21 ex Tokyo has been cancelled.

The email advised of the various option 'lift and shift', 125% fcc etc.

To take advantage of lift and shift we have to make a decision by September 28th, so 48 hours after receiving the Azamara email I contacted ******  my TA and spoke to one of their agents, who knew nothing about the Azamara cancelation and could offer no advice.

 I was informed they had a dedicated team looking after rebookings and they would be in contact in due course. After a week I have heard nothing and am now getting slightly concerned.

If we choose Lift and Shift can we do that direct with Azamara and effectively take the booking back from the TA?

This is the second the TA has messed us around and its maybe time to move elsewhere even though it will affect our OBC. 

I suggest you ring Azamara direct. You’ve nothing to lose. We too were booked on this cruise so I rang Azamara at 8 am UK time on Wednesday, waited 10 mins to get through and  spoke to a very nice lady from Kansas ! - 3 am her time ! In less than 10 minutes she’d done our Lift and Shift to 26 April 22, same state room, same price plus £200 for increased taxes. 
And the confirmation email and invoice came through whilst we were still on the phone. 

ps I hadn’t booked this one through our TA because of the long long delay getting a refund for another cruise. Never again. Still suggest you try Azamara direct. 

[norn iron]

22 hours ago, Suffolkgirl said:

I suggest you ring Azamara direct. You’ve nothing to lose. We too were booked on this cruise so I rang Azamara at 8 am UK time on Wednesday, waited 10 mins to get through and  spoke to a very nice lady from Kansas ! - 3 am her time ! In less than 10 minutes she’d done our Lift and Shift to 26 April 22, same state room, same price plus £200 for increased taxes. 
And the confirmation email and invoice came through whilst we were still on the phone. 

ps I hadn’t booked this one through our TA because of the long long delay getting a refund for another cruise. Never again. Still suggest you try Azamara direct. 

23 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

I don’t know the answer, but I think in your position I’d try contacting Azamara direct, explaining that your TA is being unresponsive.

 

Thanks for the replies, I will be ringing Azamara tomorrow. I will post the outcome.

 

 

 

[gskimmel]

Last week, I called Azamara about lifting and shifting from April 2021 to April 2022.  The itinerary was nearly the same - had the same number of days and the ports were the same except for one.  When I made the request, I was placed on hold for a few minutes because the rep wanted to talk to her supervisor.  When she returned, she said that although my reservation did not qualify for lift & shift they were still going to process the request for me.  I thought it was odd when she said I didn't qualify because I booked it in July but I didn't question it because they were doing what I wanted them to do anyway. 

[blag]

On 9/18/2020 at 7:17 PM, stines said:

Mine was a Lift and Shift. Same price in 2023 for the same cat originally booked (V2).  There was an increase in the port taxes, but not significant.  

Stines:

Azamara (via our TA) are adamant that we cannot Lift and Shift from March 2021 to March 2023, becauss the Cruise with Confidence protocol has a restriction of one year in advance only.

 

Any enlightenment or assistance you could offer us would be most appreciated in the hope that we may make the rearrangement. Our TA says that your booking reference would be most useful, so that she can push Azamara. PLEASE HELP. 

 

Azamara will not deal with me direct because our existing booking is through a TA.

Edited September 21, 2020 by blag
Discovered more info

[Marylebone37]

2 hours ago, blag said:

Stines:

Azamara (via our TA) are adamant that we cannot Lift and Shift from March 2021 to March 2023, becauss the Cruise with Confidence protocol has a restriction of one year in advance only.

 

Any enlightenment or assistance you could offer us would be most appreciated in the hope that we may make the rearrangement. Our TA says that your booking reference would be most useful, so that she can push Azamara. PLEASE HELP. 

 

Azamara will not deal with me direct because our existing booking is through a TA.

Hi blag,

I am not comfortable sharing booking details. Have you tried emailing loyaltyambassador@azamara.com - to explain your situation and ask for help?  I also  think your TA needs to be a little more persistent with Azamara. 

[blag]

5 minutes ago, stines said:

Hi blag,

I am not comfortable sharing booking details. Have you tried emailing loyaltyambassador@azamara.com - to explain your situation and ask for help?  I also  think your TA needs to be a little more persistent with Azamara. 

I understand completely.

 

My feeling (and experience) is that loyaltyambassador@azamara.com is ineffectual. Nevertheless I initiated contact and made a request earlier today.

 

As I said, because my booking is through a TA, making contact direct contact with Azamara was repudiated.

 

I am assured that no-one but you (and Azamara) can access your booking details even if you do advise me of your booking reference, but it may give my TA some leverage to persuade Azamara to extend the same courtesy to us.

 

The TA says that since the Cruise with Confidence is a RCCL-wide policy, Azamara are saying that they have no flexibility on the matter.

 

As for bringing pressure to bear on my TA, I can only do so much. It is also worth noting that it may not be in the TA's short-term interests to help me, because if the cruise is Lifted and Shifted, they will see no commission for 42 months!

 

As a matter of interest, was your booking direct with Azamara, or through a TA?

 

We had cruise booked for July this year cancelled, after the final payment - of course. We Lifted and Shifted to an alternative in March 2022. We always take a suite, so, if we are forced to make the final payment (probably in December) for the March 2021 cruise before it is cancelled, we will have paid for a cruise in 2022, and also for one in March 2023, some 3½ years later! A great sum of money will be tied up for a very prolonged period.

 

As you can see, our situation is very similar to yours.

 

I am at a loss as to what else I might do, and would appreciate any assistance you could offer.

 

I don't know whether CC has a Private Messaging System. I tried clucking on the email icon in your profile, but it is not active. 

[laurieb]

3 hours ago, blag said:

Stines:

Azamara (via our TA) are adamant that we cannot Lift and Shift from March 2021 to March 2023, becauss the Cruise with Confidence protocol has a restriction of one year in advance only.

 

Any enlightenment or assistance you could offer us would be most appreciated in the hope that we may make the rearrangement. Our TA says that your booking reference would be most useful, so that she can push Azamara. PLEASE HELP. 

 

Azamara will not deal with me direct because our existing booking is through a TA.

I think that the hang up may be that Lift and Shift does say through April 2022 because that's all that was available to book until last week, and the policy has not yet been updated to include the new deployments.  Did your TA request to speak to a supervisor?

BTW, don't feel it's your responsibility to worry about your TA's commission not being paid until 2023; all TA's are in that same boat and appreciate having something in the future regardless how far away 🙂

[blag]

53 minutes ago, stines said:

Hi blag,

I am not comfortable sharing booking details. Have you tried emailing loyaltyambassador@azamara.com - to explain your situation and ask for help?  I also  think your TA needs to be a little more persistent with Azamara. 

I set up a temporary email address in case you decide that you feel that you can assist outside this forum: mikes63068@gmail.com

 

[blag]

1 minute ago, laurieb said:

I think that the hang up may be that Lift and Shift does say through April 2022 because that's all that was available to book until last week, and the policy has not yet been updated to include the new deployments.  Did your TA request to speak to a supervisor?

BTW, don't feel it's your responsibility to worry about your TA's commission not being paid until 2023; all TA's are in that same boat and appreciate having something in the future regardless how far away 🙂

I am not worried about my TA's commission, but I referred to this delay as a potential dis-incentive for my TA to push Azamara for the Lift and Shift.

 

I won't hold my breath for RCCL to update a company-wide policy, covering Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara. 

[norn iron]

I phoned Azamara this morning and spoke with a team member in Kansas. The support and information shared was excellent.

I hope what I summarise helps others on this forum.

Lift and Shift from May 21 to April 22 is not an issue, Az will honour the price, OBC and 6 free nights and we can have the same stateroom.

We can transfer the booking back to Azamara for re-allocation to a different TA

We can transfer the booking (or call it Lift and Shift) to any other cruise of our choice and of any duration. In this case we would pay the difference if there was one, and keep all of our benefits, free nights OBC etc.

 

  

 

[uktog]

55 minutes ago, norn iron said:

I phoned Azamara this morning and spoke with a team member in Kansas. The support and information shared was excellent.

I hope what I summarise helps others on this forum.

Lift and Shift from May 21 to April 22 is not an issue, Az will honour the price, OBC and 6 free nights and we can have the same stateroom.

We can transfer the booking back to Azamara for re-allocation to a different TA

We can transfer the booking (or call it Lift and Shift) to any other cruise of our choice and of any duration. In this case we would pay the difference if there was one, and keep all of our benefits, free nights OBC etc.

 

  

 

Thanks for the really clear summary, I do hope certain online agencies understand them as well!

Edited September 22, 2020 by uktog

[CP50]

Just completed a Lift and Shift, March 21 to March 22. We were also able to use our 6 free nights, kept the OBC, and the price went down just a few dollars because of a change in port taxes. In addition, the new stateroom is more midship where DH prefers. Out TA took care of this quickly with no problems.

[gymfreak]

We have just Lifted and Shifted from March2021 to 2022 on a Japan Intensive. Never booked this far out before but seemed like a decent deal.

who knows what will happen but we can dream!

vicki

[blag]

On 9/21/2020 at 8:18 PM, stines said:

Hi blag,

I am not comfortable sharing booking details. Have you tried emailing loyaltyambassador@azamara.com - to explain your situation and ask for help?  I also  think your TA needs to be a little more persistent with Azamara. 

Well, Lift and Shift NOT available from 2021 to 2023. Without any verifiable evidence that others have managed to do so, our TA has been unable to Lift and Shift, despite many hours of communication and negotiation with Azamara. 

Ho-hum!

Nevertheless our TA has managed, finally, to arrange a transfer, which we have (very, very reluctantly - since you are claiming that you have Lifted and Shifted) accepted the transfer, but at a substantial increase in the price. Thanks.

Maybe it would have been better for us not to have known about your Lift and Shift! 

 

 

[uktog]

7 minutes ago, blag said:

Well, Lift and Shift NOT available from 2021 to 2023. Without any verifiable evidence that others have managed to do so, our TA has been unable to Lift and Shift, despite many hours of communication and negotiation with Azamara. 

Ho-hum!

Nevertheless our TA has managed, finally, to arrange a transfer, which we have (very, very reluctantly - since you are claiming that you have Lifted and Shifted) accepted the transfer, but at a substantial increase in the price. Thanks.

Maybe it would have been better for us not to have known about your Lift and Shift! 

 

 

Is the problem that you have a booking with a European agency or have I got that wrong?

[Mrs Miggins]

2021 to 2023 seems a long way ahead.  

[blag]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

Is the problem that you have a booking with a European agency or have I got that wrong?

We use an UK agency, but I cannot say whether that accounts for the difficulties the agency encountered. I do not know whether the other persons who claim to have Lifted and Shifted between the same two cruises (2021 to 2023) booked direct or through an agency, as they declined to offer this information. 

[blag]

28 minutes ago, Mrs Miggins said:

2021 to 2023 seems a long way ahead.  

We already Lifted and Shifted a cancelled cruise from July 2020 to March 2020. 

[Marylebone37]

2 minutes ago, blag said:

We use an UK agency, but I cannot say whether that accounts for the difficulties the agency encountered. I do not know whether the other persons who claim to have Lifted and Shifted between the same two cruises (2021 to 2023) booked direct or through an agency, as they declined to offer this information. 

My case was a US agency that I’ve been using for many years & many cruises. 2021 to 2023 lift and shift with no issues.

[uktog]

28 minutes ago, blag said:

We already Lifted and Shifted a cancelled cruise from July 2020 to March 2020. 

Nice time travel 🙂

It may be that a two year shift is not available to bookings placed through the UK given that you were told no and a US booking was told yes.

[blag]

17 minutes ago, uktog said:

Nice time travel 🙂

It may be that a two year shift is not available to bookings placed through the UK given that you were told no and a US booking was told yes.

Oops. I was careless.

We already Lifted and Shifted a cancelled July 2020 cruise to March 2022. 

I would have thought that the Cruise with Confidence Policy would be global, and indeed that is what Azamara were maintaining throughout the dialogue with them (applicable to Azamara, Celebrity, and Royal Caribbean, and NOT discretionary), which, in the absence of verifiable information to the contrary, meant that we were denied the Lift and Shift.

I cannot say that I am particularly happy about this apparent inconsistency, as I feel that it might have been possible to avoid considerable extra expenditure.

[Mackdogmolly]

2 hours ago, Mrs Miggins said:

2021 to 2023 seems a long way ahead.  

I think so too. I just can’t plan that far ahead myself. A year, yes.

[Grandma Cruising]

18 hours ago, blag said:

Oops. I was careless.

We already Lifted and Shifted a cancelled July 2020 cruise to March 2022. 

I would have thought that the Cruise with Confidence Policy would be global, and indeed that is what Azamara were maintaining throughout the dialogue with them (applicable to Azamara, Celebrity, and Royal Caribbean, and NOT discretionary), which, in the absence of verifiable information to the contrary, meant that we were denied the Lift and Shift.

I cannot say that I am particularly happy about this apparent inconsistency, as I feel that it might have been possible to avoid considerable extra expenditure.

What a shame Richard Twynam is no longer around. This is exactly the sort of thing he would try to sort out.