Todays Email

[crzrr]

Just received an email about booking excursions and OBC. OBC is now showing on our account for some cruises but not other, however progress is being made. 

[anniegb]

Received a similar email.

 

However my account is now showing OBC to which I am not entitled.

[ghstudio]

my reservation is thru a TA, but I called Azamara to use our OBC to pay for an excursion we booked.  They answered within 1 minute...and they handled the OBC payment very smoothly, although the agent had to put me on hold to make the "payment".  It's an annoying step....but at least they made it pleasant. 

 

I bet the TA's who get calls to do this are going to HATE azamara because this is a waste of their time.

[combine]

Here is the email for those who have not received it.

 

We hope this email finds you eagerly anticipating your upcoming cruise with us! To ensure you have a seamless and enjoyable experience, we want to provide you with some important updates and information related to booking shore excursions and using your onboard credit (OBC) to pay for shore excursions.

 

1. Booking Shore Excursions:

Shore excursions become available to book once the first deposit on your cruise is completed. Most excursions are available six months prior to sailing. 

Excursions can be booked online by going to Manage My Booking, calling our contact center who will gladly assist with recommendations and booking, or contacting your Travel Advisor. Excursions may be booked up to 7 days prior to sailing.

 

2. Paying for Booked Shore Excursions:

Payment must be completed within 72 hours of booking your shore excursions to secure your spot. 

If you have an Onboard Credit (OBC) and wish to use it to pay for your booked shore excursions, please give our contact center or your Travel Advisor a call for assistance. Your OBC will be available to use 24 hours after the first deposit on your cruise is completed. 

If you do not have an OBC, you may pay in full via credit card online. Give our contact center or your Travel Advisor a call for further assistance.

 

3. Shore Excursion Payment Policy (New!):

 

Please be aware of our new payment policy - any unpaid shore excursions will be automatically canceled after 72 hours. To secure your spot, please promptly complete payment.

 

4. View OBC Balances Online (New!):

You can now view Onboard Credit (OBC) by logging in to your web account. There, you can easily view the total and remaining balance of your OBC per cruise. If you have booked with a Travel Advisor, be sure to provide an updated email address so they can add it to your booking so you can view your upcoming cruise and OBC balances online.

 

We hope these updates enhance your cruise planning experience. If you have any questions or need further assistance, don't hesitate to reach out to our contact center or your dedicated Travel Advisor.

 

Thank you for choosing Azamara for your upcoming adventure. We can't wait to welcome you on board!

 

Sincerely,

 

AZAMARA^®

[Grandma Cruising]

40 minutes ago, ghstudio said:

my reservation is thru a TA, but I called Azamara to use our OBC to pay for an excursion we booked.  They answered within 1 minute...and they handled the OBC payment very smoothly, although the agent had to put me on hold to make the "payment".  It's an annoying step....but at least they made it pleasant. 

 

I bet the TA's who get calls to do this are going to HATE azamara because this is a waste of their time.

I too rang to pay for already booked excursions using Shorex OBC which is part of the Indulgence package for our February cruise. Phone was answered within 5 minutes and I spoke to a very helpful US agent. Got it all sorted very quickly and was able to check that my remaining OBC is general OBC that can be used for anything. The only slight hitch was that I was in my account when I rang and had to sign out as she was not able to access it at the same time as me. Once she had sorted it all out she got me to sign in again so she could make sure I could see that everything was paid for and how much OBC I have left.

[combine]

Didnt realise the new email had already  been copied onto another post.  Oops. , 

[knitter]

Got the email but my 2025 cruises don't show up on the website. Then again, apparently I have a totally different B2B schedule than what I originally booked b/c AZ changed the itineray.My TA was able to rebook (met with an AZ agent last week at a conference on a cruise ship!!?) but I haven't seen a revised invoice yet, just dates. First world problems I guess.

[beatnix]

Just embarked on Pursuit. Booked an excursion for € 150 before to use OBC. OBC is still showing the complete amount,  an a print from guest relations states that I owe   € 150. So we will see, how they will do it.

It is really very unpleasant. 

[laurieb]

6 hours ago, ghstudio said:

my reservation is thru a TA, but I called Azamara to use our OBC to pay for an excursion we booked.  They answered within 1 minute...and they handled the OBC payment very smoothly, although the agent had to put me on hold to make the "payment".  It's an annoying step....but at least they made it pleasant. 

 

I bet the TA's who get calls to do this are going to HATE azamara because this is a waste of their time.

How is doing something on behalf of a client a waste of their time?  It's all part of the job

[uktog]

47 minutes ago, laurieb said:

How is doing something on behalf of a client a waste of their time?  It's all part of the job

Traditionally booking your shore excursions was not part of the majority of UK travel agents role. In almost 30 years of cruising I’ve never had an agent do it or offer to do it. It’s always been the guest that set everything up. 
 

[tgg]

28 minutes ago, laurieb said:

How is doing something on behalf of a client a waste of their time?  It's all part of the job

I've never considered asking my TA to book shore excursions for me. Until today.

 

I just got off the phone with Azamara.    My online account said I had $800 OBC and had used $400. WE HAVE NO EXCURSIONS OR ANYTHING ELSE BOOKED ON THIS CRUISE. I supplied my reservation number, my name, my husband's name, the ship name and the sail date.

 

Then I was asked for the name of the cruise. REALLY?

 

This was my third call to Azamara today.  I give up.

 

[tango9]

I called Azamara today as well about the incorrect OBC amount now listed on my sailing.  They could not help me.  They also could not see the promotion of the WiFI and Prem beverage package on my account.  I asked my TA to look into this. Hope it is straigtened out.  Would like to book shore excursions prior to my sailing next month but  would not like to pay by cc and try to get it reversed.

[laurieb]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

Traditionally booking your shore excursions was not part of the majority of UK travel agents role. In almost 30 years of cruising I’ve never had an agent do it or offer to do it. It’s always been the guest that set everything up. 
 

booking yourself is the way it's been in the past and hopefully will be again soon.  I guess my point is that if you use a TA, the TA is there- or should be there- to help you regardless of the issue.  

[Melissaghoti]

I guess this is a cautionary tale. My TA is onboard the Onward currently, so I called Azamara yesterday to book shore excursions for a May cruise. Besides the 72 hour cancellation threat, one has a limited number of participants, and I wanted to make sure I got it booked.The Azamara rep was very nice and accommodating, but acknowledged that I wouldn’t get any sort of receipt or confirmation of what I’d booked. I’d had to log out of my account while she did the booking and unfortunately, she didn’t have me log back in while we were still on the phone. When I did, I saw that my remaining OBC balance was off by nearly 50% although I’d made certain the amount deducted was correct when I was talking to the rep. I’d had both onboard booking OBC and additional OBC that was included with the cruise. They’re both still showing in my account, but the smaller one is no longer reflected in the remaining balance. Very strange, and I’m very glad I have until May to have my poor beleaguered TA sort it out. 
Melissa

[Grandma Cruising]

20 minutes ago, Melissaghoti said:

I guess this is a cautionary tale. My TA is onboard the Onward currently, so I called Azamara yesterday to book shore excursions for a May cruise. Besides the 72 hour cancellation threat, one has a limited number of participants, and I wanted to make sure I got it booked.The Azamara rep was very nice and accommodating, but acknowledged that I wouldn’t get any sort of receipt or confirmation of what I’d booked. I’d had to log out of my account while she did the booking and unfortunately, she didn’t have me log back in while we were still on the phone. When I did, I saw that my remaining OBC balance was off by nearly 50% although I’d made certain the amount deducted was correct when I was talking to the rep. I’d had both onboard booking OBC and additional OBC that was included with the cruise. They’re both still showing in my account, but the smaller one is no longer reflected in the remaining balance. Very strange, and I’m very glad I have until May to have my poor beleaguered TA sort it out. 
Melissa

When I booked excursions yesterday, the Azamara agent got me to log back in and check I saw the right amount. You’re right, it’s better to do this while still on the phone with them.

[Melissaghoti]

56 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

When I booked excursions yesterday, the Azamara agent got me to log back in and check I saw the right amount. You’re right, it’s better to do this while still on the phone with them.

Happily, the OBC amount corrected itself after the website went offline for some ‘updates’  just now! I’m hoping that’s a sign of coming resolution to all of the current issues 🤞🏼.

Melissa

[crusinbanjo]

Now I’m totally confused about the OBC.  Mrs Banjo and I are booked on a B2B in January, I was concerned about getting the B2B OBC in addition to the promoted amount, so I called and was sent an email with a screen print of the credits for myself, and another for Mrs Banjo from the AZ reps computer.  now when I look at the website, it is totally different, and there is no mention of the B2B credit.  Guess I will need to call again.  This is getting painful.  As a first timer with AZ, we might just be last timers.

[tgg]

The B2B OBC has disappeared from the updated invoice for our second cruise. When I called, I was told it would be put back. The new invoice shows nothing.

 

I anticipate a good bit of time will be spent with the Guest Relations folks when we board. I expect we'll have lots of company.

[The Salties]

7 minutes ago, tgg said:

The B2B OBC has disappeared from the updated invoice for our second cruise. When I called, I was told it would be put back. The new invoice shows nothing.

 

I anticipate a good bit of time will be spent with the Guest Relations folks when we board. I expect we'll have lots of company.

On board Pursuit and pleased to say everything as great as previous cruises. In addition Captain Antonio is in charge. We have had him before, he is an absolute gentleman with a great sense of humour,  DW says he is adorable. Admin side still below expected level. Cruise card showed both of us as Adventurer,  rectified on board after waiting in line for about 15 minutes. Expected OBC a bit less than we had been informed. Still ongoing enquiry, hope it is sorted before first week's cruise. They are unable to check the second cruise yet, for some reason, fingers crossed, that one is correct. For those of you reading this who are doing the trip to Cape Town they checked our yellow fever jab certificate, I will also put this on the Forum. 

[BritishLandS]

Rang at lunchtime to use OBC to secure shore excursions. Noticed that amount of OBC and amount available had changed overnight! OBC now included promotional OBC, B2B OBC and OBC associated with Essentials package, all available to spend.

 

Phone answered on UK contact line within 2 rings by US agent who processed the 'payments' and has even sent me a guest ticket booklet, which I have been unable to get from my agent! Also followed up on getting OBC added for subsequent trip.

 

Difficult to reconcile numbers when reservation over several legs and amounts charged in £, but overall looks about right, so overall a happy bunny for once!

[mare s.]

Why, why, why???  It used to be so simple to book a shore excursion on line and charge it to OBC.  At least I have a few months to get used to this new wrinkle and make sure all my OBC (I have quite a bit from my TA as well as promotional OBC from Azamara) is accounted for correctly.  

[DrivesLikeMario]

I just checked our B2B.  For some reason, the second half of our B2B has disappeared but we're still booked on the end transfer and a tour on it too.  Our OBC has gone from $900 (what it should be) to $2400.  I'm sure it'll get straightened out sooner or later, it's just so frustrating!  I want to book tours for the second half but can't pull any of them up because it's disappeared.  What a mess!

[tgg]

I want to let you all know how our OBC problems were resolved.

 

I called my travel agent and she initiated a 3-way conversation with Azamara. It took a while, but all questions were answered, OBC amounts are now correct, and a $400 B2B credit was restored.

 

I hated to bother my travel agent with stuff like this. Before the changeover it had NEVER been necessary.  But I would never have gotten this resolved without my longtime TA. It's too bad that we can't recommend people like this here on this board.

[mdeegooden]

I will say that I did call Az customer service a day or so after I received the email and asked to apply our OBC to the shore excursions I had previously "booked" online for our upcoming sailing.  The customer service rep quickly looked up my account, found the reservations that I had made, and was able to apply the very generous amount of OBC we got w/ our booking.  I paid the balance w/ a credit card and all is set.  The process was fast, relatively efficient, and consistent w/ the Az's email stating the "new" way excursions are to be reserved and paid.  All in all, well done.

[BuddyR]

On 11/14/2023 at 9:43 AM, anniegb said:

Received a similar email.

 

However my account is now showing OBC to which I am not entitled.

I’m also showing a discrepancy.  Has anyone verified with Azamara the different amounts of OBC showing with the coupons compared to the amount/available amount on the landing page?  Wondering what kind of issues I’ll have onboard…which will they “see” on the ship?