Using OBC

[jollyjones]

I have booked an Az cruise that comes with significant OBC.

I can see a number of add ons that I will use, but the Az website doesn't make it clear that if I book these before I board, will my credit card be charged or will they be charged to my OBC?

It'll be aggravating to have to scurry around immediately after boarding to book what I want, especially as none of the packages suit me, I'd want to book the specific individual elements I'd use.

I do see some comment here on CC about paying for excursions then getting the money refunded via OBC once on board but that's absurdly inefficient, I wouldn't want to do that.

You Az regulars obviously know the answer so please enlighten me!

[AnnaNicole]

I added the shore excursions but did not pay for them.   Azamara said they would credit the OBC towards the shore excursions.   My account showed paid in full after a couple of days.

 

 

[Grandma Cruising]

6 hours ago, jollyjones said:

I have booked an Az cruise that comes with significant OBC.

I can see a number of add ons that I will use, but the Az website doesn't make it clear that if I book these before I board, will my credit card be charged or will they be charged to my OBC?

It'll be aggravating to have to scurry around immediately after boarding to book what I want, especially as none of the packages suit me, I'd want to book the specific individual elements I'd use.

I do see some comment here on CC about paying for excursions then getting the money refunded via OBC once on board but that's absurdly inefficient, I wouldn't want to do that.

You Az regulars obviously know the answer so please enlighten me!

Best bet is to ring Azamara to book excursions, packages etc. That way they can make sure OBC is used or tell you if it can’t be used beforehand for anything

[jollyjones]

That’s not a wonderful solution, I’m not keen on hanging on an international call for it, I’d much prefer to do it online. 
Isn’t there anywhere on the website that makes it clear? The faqs seem to be pretty useless. 
 

[wjfan417]

25 minutes ago, jollyjones said:

That’s not a wonderful solution, I’m not keen on hanging on an international call for it, I’d much prefer to do it online. 
Isn’t there anywhere on the website that makes it clear? The faqs seem to be pretty useless. 
 

Did you book through a travel agent? They can book shore excursions using OBC fairly easily.

[Grandma Cruising]

You can do it online and Azamara sent out information on how to do it.

Here are their instructions

Using Onboard Credit to Book Shore Excursions

To use your onboard credit (OBC) to book shore excursions, after logging into your account: Scroll down to Shore Excursions and select “Book” on the $0 Onboard Credit item to authorize use of your onboard credit Book your desired Shore Excursions Once your Shore Excursions are booked, navigate to the payment screen and click “Cancel" Your selected shore excursions are now booked, and onboard credit will be applied

[denatravels]

2 hours ago, wjfan417 said:

Did you book through a travel agent? They can book shore excursions using OBC fairly easily.

Can you explain how to do this "fairly easily"-- I am an agent-- this is my first Azamara booking (for myself) and I cannot figure out how to do this AT ALL.  This is the most frustrating website I have seen!!

[denatravels]

1 hour ago, Grandma Cruising said:

You can do it online and Azamara sent out information on how to do it.

Here are their instructions

Using Onboard Credit to Book Shore Excursions

To use your onboard credit (OBC) to book shore excursions, after logging into your account: Scroll down to Shore Excursions and select “Book” on the $0 Onboard Credit item to authorize use of your onboard credit Book your desired Shore Excursions Once your Shore Excursions are booked, navigate to the payment screen and click “Cancel" Your selected shore excursions are now booked, and onboard credit will be applied

I do not see an option for "book"

 

[takemewithyou]

2 hours ago, jollyjones said:

That’s not a wonderful solution, I’m not keen on hanging on an international call for it, I’d much prefer to do it online. 
Isn’t there anywhere on the website that makes it clear? The faqs seem to be pretty useless. 
 

The web site went thru a major revision in March and is still a work in progress much to the aggravation of a lot of us.  

[AnnaNicole]

16 minutes ago, denatravels said:

I do not see an option for "book"

 

Not a TA. 

 

If you book the shore excursions and do not pay them at the time of booking, you will receive a new invoice in your email.  The invoice should show the OBC applied and any other payments made on the reservation and if there is a remaining balance due.  Sometimes, I can access the invoice online.  Other times, I cannot.   It is wonky.    

 

Cut and paste from my invoice (redacted):

 

Payments Payment Type Date Amount

CREDIT CARD 10 Aug 2023 $ XXXXX
CREDIT CARD 24 Aug 2023 $ XXXXX
$300 OBC SHOREX 25 Aug 2023 $ 300.00
OBC COUPON 25 Aug 2023 $ 75.00

$300 OBC SHOREX 25 Aug 2023 $ 300.00

OBC COUPON 25 Aug 2023 $ 75.00

 

The invoice will be several pages long and show everything about the reservation.   All of your shore excursions, payments made, add-ons (ex: OBC), dining preference, etc.  

 

 

Edited September 24, 2023 by AnnaNicole

[denatravels]

11 minutes ago, AnnaNicole said:

Not a TA. 

 

If you book the shore excursions and do not pay them at the time of booking, you will receive a new invoice in your email.  The invoice should show the OBC applied and any other payments made on the reservation and if there is a remaining balance due.  Sometimes, I can access the invoice online.  Other times, I cannot.   It is wonky.    

 

Cut and paste from my invoice (redacted):

 

Payments Payment Type Date Amount

CREDIT CARD 10 Aug 2023 $ XXXXX
CREDIT CARD 24 Aug 2023 $ XXXXX
$300 OBC SHOREX 25 Aug 2023 $ 300.00
OBC COUPON 25 Aug 2023 $ 75.00

$300 OBC SHOREX 25 Aug 2023 $ 300.00

OBC COUPON 25 Aug 2023 $ 75.00

 

The invoice will be several pages long and show everything about the reservation.   All of your shore excursions, payments made, add-ons (ex: OBC), dining preference, etc.  

 

 

I will try that!  thanks

[AnnaNicole]

8 minutes ago, denatravels said:

I will try that!  thanks

If the OBC is not applied, call Azamara.   They are really helpful.   I had an issue with my husband's OBC not being applied.   Apparently, he had two Azamara club numbers and the OBC was added to the wrong account.  

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 hours ago, jollyjones said:

That’s not a wonderful solution, I’m not keen on hanging on an international call for it, I’d much prefer to do it online. 
Isn’t there anywhere on the website that makes it clear? The faqs seem to be pretty useless. 
 

Use Skype.  I set up an account with $5 balance and have made many many calls, usually for pennies per call.

[smj]

We just did an Azmara cruise. This situation is frustrating. We boarded early and we straight to the excursion desk. Some of the ones we wanted had sold out. I had tried to book ahead with OBC. That did not work at all. The asked other passengers how the process worked for the. The best results were where travel agents booked the excursions ahead.

[wjfan417]

8 hours ago, denatravels said:

Can you explain how to do this "fairly easily"-- I am an agent-- this is my first Azamara booking (for myself) and I cannot figure out how to do this AT ALL.  This is the most frustrating website I have seen!!

Azamara has instructions on the TA site. I saved them so I could follow them as I booked. It takes a little getting used to, but it’s not difficult.

 

[jollyjones]

Thank you all for your replies - I must admit that when I posted the question, I thought it'd be a simple yes/no, easy for past guests to answer. With my usual cruise line, I know from experience as a past guest that anything I pre-book online will not be charged until after boarding when any OBC I have will automatically be applied.

 

However, despite your help, I'm still not clear about booking -  it's the dining and drinks packages and other add ons that I'm interested in. (I am not interested in booking excursions, I do my own thing in ports)

I can see on the 'my reservation' section of the website where I can book add ons so what I'm mostly asking before I click on the 'book' button is am I committing myself to paying with a credit card or does payment wait till I'm onboard and can use my OBC? This is what is not made clear and I don't click on links unless I know what I am committing to.

 

I'm not likely to use all the OBC I have so I definitely don't want to pay for add ons by credit card.

 

Sorry to be a pest but this is what is so great about CC - actual real life knowledge from pax who've been there!

 

PS I appreciate the suggestion to just phone them, but I don't like dealing on the phone, I like to do it online.

 

 

Edited September 25, 2023 by jollyjones

[uktog]

If it is the dining and drinks packages,  you cannot add them on before boarding.  It is no problem, you just do it when onboard.  As regards the dining, you make your reservation at desk(s) they set up and automatically they will set it up as a package if you book that combination

 

As regards drinks packages, they often have a table set up selling packages on Deck 5 by Mosaic but if not any bar tender or guest relations can do it.

 

Automatically your OBC will be applied to purchases you make onboard and be exhausted before any credit cards are applied

 

PS Totally understand your wish to work online, the Azamara call agents are inconsistent

[jollyjones]

Thank you so much for your reply which gives me the answer that I need, although it's not the answer I like.

The last thing I want to do after boarding is scurry around trying to find the correct tables to book the various add ons I want - hardly a relaxing way to begin a cruise.

 

But at least I know where I stand now - thanks!

 

PS but why does booking add ons (including dining and drinks packages) show as an option on my cruise page on the website?

Edited September 25, 2023 by jollyjones

[Grandma Cruising]

21 minutes ago, jollyjones said:

Thank you so much for your reply which gives me the answer that I need, although it's not the answer I like.

The last thing I want to do after boarding is scurry around trying to find the correct tables to book the various add ons I want - hardly a relaxing way to begin a cruise.

 

But at least I know where I stand now - thanks!

 

PS but why does booking add ons (including dining and drinks packages) show as an option on my cruise page on the website?

Because you can buy them beforehand if you’re paying by credit card rather than OBC.

[denatravels]

Thanks to the people that helped. I called. Needed to make final payment but was able to work with them to book excursions and they took from each of the three cruises so I have left over credit to use on board. 

[Riocca]

On 9/24/2023 at 7:54 PM, Grandma Cruising said:

You can do it online and Azamara sent out information on how to do it.

Here are their instructions

Using Onboard Credit to Book Shore Excursions

To use your onboard credit (OBC) to book shore excursions, after logging into your account: Scroll down to Shore Excursions and select “Book” on the $0 Onboard Credit item to authorize use of your onboard credit Book your desired Shore Excursions Once your Shore Excursions are booked, navigate to the payment screen and click “Cancel" Your selected shore excursions are now booked, and onboard credit will be applied

I followed these instructions yesterday to book a tour on a cruise where the final balance had already been made. At step 4 it still was showing the amount of the trip as outstanding in U.K.£, so I phoned Azamara, getting through immediately, for help. The agent couldn’t see the tour in our booking but could see I was still in the booking so asked me to come out of the booking, he could then see the tour booking and then said to go straight back into the account and the booking was then showing as paid.

So it would seem there’s a step 5 to exit your bookings and come back into the account.

[Mercruiser]

I tried booking an excursion online using OBC. I was successful in that I booked an excursion. Unfortunately, I was just browsing and didn't intend to book that particular excursion.

 

Instead of trying to figure out how to fix it on the web site, I decided to call Azamara to sort it out. It turned out to be one of the best customer service interactions I've experienced in a long time.

 

The agent answered right away, cancelled my unwanted excursion and booked the two I wanted, using OBC. I was on the phone just under 10 minutes. We chatted a bit and she said she recently joined Azamara after leaving Celebrity. I think Celebrity's loss is Azamara's gain.

 

I wanted to post this because Azamara has had terrible reports of customer phone service. Hopefully, my positive experience is part of a larger trend.

 

Note: I called on a Tuesday at 10:00 AM Pacific (USA).

Edited September 26, 2023 by Mercruiser

[denatravels]

On 9/26/2023 at 1:41 PM, Mercruiser said:

I tried booking an excursion online using OBC. I was successful in that I booked an excursion. Unfortunately, I was just browsing and didn't intend to book that particular excursion.

 

Instead of trying to figure out how to fix it on the web site, I decided to call Azamara to sort it out. It turned out to be one of the best customer service interactions I've experienced in a long time.

 

The agent answered right away, cancelled my unwanted excursion and booked the two I wanted, using OBC. I was on the phone just under 10 minutes. We chatted a bit and she said she recently joined Azamara after leaving Celebrity. I think Celebrity's loss is Azamara's gain.

 

I wanted to post this because Azamara has had terrible reports of customer phone service. Hopefully, my positive experience is part of a larger trend.

 

Note: I called on a Tuesday at 10:00 AM Pacific (USA).

I had a similar experience. Found the phone reps to be outstanding 

[avw]

On 9/30/2023 at 8:10 AM, denatravels said:

I had a similar experience. Found the phone reps to be outstanding 

So nice to hear this report of good phone service from both of you!

[avw]

On 9/26/2023 at 7:07 AM, Riocca said:

I followed these instructions yesterday to book a tour on a cruise where the final balance had already been made. At step 4 it still was showing the amount of the trip as outstanding in U.K.£, so I phoned Azamara, getting through immediately, for help. The agent couldn’t see the tour in our booking but could see I was still in the booking so asked me to come out of the booking, he could then see the tour booking and then said to go straight back into the account and the booking was then showing as paid.

So it would seem there’s a step 5 to exit your bookings and come back into the account.

Step 1 says to  "select “Book” on the $0 Onboard Credit item"? I don't see anything like that when I am in the excursions section. I just have a list of excursions with prices. I can't find a word about OBC under the excursions section of my booking. I am paid in full and have OBC to use. Thanks.