10% credit if paid in full by April 10, 150+ days prior

[Dynacruiser]

7 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

It's a shortened "mathematics", a plural noun treated as a singular.

 

Out of interest, would you add or omit the 's' when using the longer form as a noun (e.g. "Professor of M..." or "He's studying m... at university" )?

 

Hahaha, great observation, made me realize that we say "Professor of MathematicS", but shorten it to "He teaches math".  

 

 

 

 

[Dynacruiser]

 

19 minutes ago, Belfastman said:

Problem is no bank will give any interest on OBC. Remember its not real money. Try using it to book another cruise while onboard.

 

 

As others have said, if you have use for OBC, then it's a good deal.  The nice thing about this promotion is that if it works for you, you pay early, and if you think it's not worth it, you skip it.  Personally, we can always spend OBC on excursions. 

 

Promotions are fun, we all like getting a few hundred dollars to spend.   Reminds me of that line in Crazy Rich Asians: "Nobody likes free stuff more than rich people".  

 

Of course, I still have a lingering concern that I may lose my money if the cruise line declares bankruptcy, but as I stated earlier, I believe that Azamara will continue to be successful.

Edited March 30 by Dynacruiser

[tgg]

15 minutes ago, Belfastman said:

Problem is no bank will give any interest on OBC. Remember its not real money. Try using it to book another cruise while onboard.

 

If you are planning to book excursions, OBC is as "real" as dollars or pounds.

[Laganlady02]

8 minutes ago, tgg said:

 

If you are planning to book excursions, OBC is as "real" as dollars or pounds.

At inflated prices?

[tgg]

21 minutes ago, Laganlady02 said:

At inflated prices?

 

If you want the convenience of booking cruise line shore excursions, you'll pay the price. If you want to spend less, you'll book your own.  If you want to spend nothing, you can get off the ship and walk around. Lots of choices for all of us.

 

[Dynacruiser]

27 minutes ago, Laganlady02 said:

At inflated prices?

That’s a separate discussion. Some folks like me are ok with paying “higher cruise line tour prices and getting into crowded big buses with subpar experiences” for exchange for what we perceive as convenience booking and peace of mind if there are delays or cancellations. 
 

The point being discussed in this thread is that IF you are already a person who will buy ship excursions or spa treatments or enjoy buying at the gift shop, then getting OBC is as good as cash.  
 

Again, this promotion may not be for everybody, but for some, makes good sense!

 

[ChucktownSteve]

2 hours ago, Laganlady02 said:

At inflated prices?

Do the maths..😁..three times nothing (inflated prices) is still nothing. And I would have had to pay the balance due on the cruise anyway. 

 

So for four months earlier than final final payment due, we gave up $200 real interest $ for about  $1,400 OBC.

 

Regardless, my spousal unit likes to spend the OBC on inflated Mary Frances bags.  I like to spend OBC on inflated liquor prices.  Plus we're doing inflated cost ship excursions we wouldn't have done without OBC. Besides, we're all paying inflated cruise prices since the pandemic.   With what they gave us, we can do all of it at no extra cost except giving up $200 interest.

Edited March 30 by ChucktownSteve

[tgg]

1 hour ago, ChucktownSteve said:

Do the maths..😁..three times nothing (inflated prices) is still nothing. And I would have had to pay the balance due on the cruise anyway. 

 

So for four months earlier than final final payment due, we gave up $200 real interest $ for about  $1,400 OBC.

 

Regardless, my spousal unit likes to spend the OBC on inflated Mary Frances bags.  I like to spend OBC on inflated liquor prices.  Plus we're doing inflated cost ship excursions we wouldn't have done without OBC. Besides, we're all paying inflated cruise prices since the pandemic.   With what they gave us, we can do all of it at no extra cost except giving up $200 interest.

 

   OBC is tax free.😁

[Ron1209]

Hello,

 

We have booked our 2nd cruise with Azamara, 1st one cancelled due to Covid. Not familiar with the brand other than it was previously owned by Royal Caribbean.

I received the 5% offer if payed in full but passed on it. I have now received the 10% offer and thinking it over.
Should we be concerned with the financial heath of Azamara? It’s a lot of money to payout with over 6 months to departure.

Another concern is that our cruise is sailing the Suez Canal from Athens to Dubai in October. If cancelled will it be difficult to get a refund?

 

Thanks for you thought!

Ron

[Dynacruiser]

8 minutes ago, Ron1209 said:

Hello,

 

We have booked our 2nd cruise with Azamara, 1st one cancelled due to Covid. Not familiar with the brand other than it was previously owned by Royal Caribbean.

I received the 5% offer if payed in full but passed on it. I have now received the 10% offer and thinking it over.
Should we be concerned with the financial heath of Azamara? It’s a lot of money to payout with over 6 months to departure.

Another concern is that our cruise is sailing the Suez Canal from Athens to Dubai in October. If cancelled will it be difficult to get a refund?

 

Thanks for you thought!

Ron

 

 

About the financial health, this has been discussed at length in this and other threads, you can read those opinions.   I am also always questioning the financial stability of a cruise company owned by a Private Equity company.  However, I always conclude that we have no evidence of financial problems, just some cost cutting perhaps, and continue to book more.

 

Difficult to get a refund?  It may be, one time my cruise was canceled it took about 3 months to get my cash back? Other times have been faster.    It would help if you have a good Travel Agent on your side.  We are lucky to have a great one, and when cruises are cancelled, they negotiate a quick return, but others have not had such luck (you can find many threads about this).  

 

Cruises to Israel, Egypt, and Suez Canal this year will be tricky.  Tough decision.   Good luck!

[AllisonJames]

Thanks for this everyone…I had missed the email. Can I assume this is in addition to the onboard credit we already have (from booking onboard and from our travel agent and I think a booking offer as well?) This seems appealing to me because we can spend it on shore excursions (my husband does the Perry Golf package so I usually end of taking a number of AZ excursions when I am on my own) the Spa, and adult beverages 😎 Also…we are taking a Viking River Cruise in July and had to pay 11 months in advance and certainly didn’t get any extra onboard credit to do so!

[tgg]

1 minute ago, AllisonJames said:

Thanks for this everyone…I had missed the email. Can I assume this is in addition to the onboard credit we already have (from booking onboard and from our travel agent and I think a booking offer as well?) This seems appealing to me because we can spend it on shore excursions (my husband does the Perry Golf package so I usually end of taking a number of AZ excursions when I am on my own) the Spa, and adult beverages 😎 Also…we are taking a Viking River Cruise in July and had to pay 11 months in advance and certainly didn’t get any extra onboard credit to do so!

 

There are some exclusions.  Check with your TA.

[tgg]

My TA has been on vacation and returned today. She confirmed that we are getting 10% of our full fare minus port fees and taxes. I have the updated invoice. What a great deal for paying our balance 3 months early.

[cayman09]

We passed on the 5% but jumped at the 7% offer. Maybe too quickly because 3 days later they came out with 10%. I'm happy with what I got but feel a bit burned missing out on that 10% offer because it came up so fast. That will fade though as we begin selecting our excursions next month and begin spending the OBC!!!!

[AllisonJames]

Update: yes, this credit is additional to the other types of onboard credit we already have from when we booked. Even though our cruise isn’t until May 2025, we probably will take advantage of it. We will use it and end up with a zero balance at the end of the cruise! We don’t mind paying early, especially if it helps us earn our credit card status earlier, which to us has many advantages as well.

[Wander58]

We are on the Dec 20 South African cruise - I paid in full 2 weeks ago and got the 5% OBC bonus.  Yesterday I noticed that the fare had gone done again, plus 10% OBC.  Since we had PIF, I did not think there was hope but I called my TA anyway just to check - GOT AN EXTRA 1300 of the fare and the 10% OBC!  So, even if you have Paid in Full, it's worth it to check if you can get the new perks especially if you are more than 180 days out...all they can say is No.

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

22 minutes ago, Wander58 said:

We are on the Dec 20 South African cruise - I paid in full 2 weeks ago and got the 5% OBC bonus.  Yesterday I noticed that the fare had gone done again, plus 10% OBC.  Since we had PIF, I did not think there was hope but I called my TA anyway just to check - GOT AN EXTRA 1300 of the fare and the 10% OBC!  So, even if you have Paid in Full, it's worth it to check if you can get the new perks especially if you are more than 180 days out...all they can say is No.

Thanks.  The T&C did say that it didn't change your T&C (cancellation penalties, etc) – so if you're early enough you can 'cancel/rebook' and take the better offer.

[Host Jazzbeau]

On 3/30/2024 at 4:20 AM, fruitmachine said:

It's a shortened "mathematics", a plural noun treated as a singular.

 

Out of interest, would you add or omit the 's' when using the longer form as a noun (e.g. "Professor of M..." or "He's studying m... at university" )?

In the 19th Century there was a 'simplified spelling' movement in the US.  As a Librarian I am well aware that our icon Melville Dewey [inventor of the Dewey Decimal System, a founder of the American Library Association, and responsible for the standardization on 3"x5" for catalog cards] started spelling his name Melvil Dui.  My initial specialty was as a Cataloguer [or as I prefer to spell it, Cataloger].  

 

So my guess is that when we in the US abbreviate a word we try to go for the shortest possible version.  Of course we say 'mathematics' and pronounce the final 's'.  But why not take it right down to the first syllable for shorthand?  [OTOH, I believe I have read that some other English-speaking countries abbreviate economics as 'ec', while in the US we say 'econ' as in Econ 101 for freshmen.  BTW this particular factoid will come in handy if you ever do a US-based crossword puzzle!]

[tgg]

2 hours ago, Wander58 said:

We are on the Dec 20 South African cruise - I paid in full 2 weeks ago and got the 5% OBC bonus.  Yesterday I noticed that the fare had gone done again, plus 10% OBC.  Since we had PIF, I did not think there was hope but I called my TA anyway just to check - GOT AN EXTRA 1300 of the fare and the 10% OBC!  So, even if you have Paid in Full, it's worth it to check if you can get the new perks especially if you are more than 180 days out...all they can say is No.

 

 

As my father used to say "If you don't ask, you don't get."  Good for you. Enjoy.

[ChucktownSteve]

6 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

In the 19th Century there was a 'simplified spelling' movement in the US.  As a Librarian I am well aware that our icon Melville Dewey [inventor of the Dewey Decimal System, a founder of the American Library Association, and responsible for the standardization on 3"x5" for catalog cards] started spelling his name Melvil Dui.  My initial specialty was as a Cataloguer [or as I prefer to spell it, Cataloger].  

 

 

Guess that really dates us.  You for being there, doing that and me for knowing and remembering what you're talking about. 😁

[G2G]

After receiving the email from Azamara re-this offer, I asked my agent to contact them and she duly did. Their response was that I didn’t qualify for the offer and they were aware that the computer contacts all guests regardless of whether they are eligible. Silly old computer, is this AI, I hear you ask, obviously no human had any part in it. 
It’s also strange that others on my cruise”qualify” for the offer. Just another reason for me to lose patience with them. 

[KevintheIrishDJ]

12 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

In the 19th Century there was a 'simplified spelling' movement in the US.  As a Librarian I am well aware that our icon Melville Dewey [inventor of the Dewey Decimal System, a founder of the American Library Association, and responsible for the standardization on 3"x5" for catalog cards] started spelling his name Melvil Dui.  My initial specialty was as a Cataloguer [or as I prefer to spell it, Cataloger].  

 

So my guess is that when we in the US abbreviate a word we try to go for the shortest possible version.  Of course we say 'mathematics' and pronounce the final 's'.  But why not take it right down to the first syllable for shorthand?  [OTOH, I believe I have read that some other English-speaking countries abbreviate economics as 'ec', while in the US we say 'econ' as in Econ 101 for freshmen.  BTW this particular factoid will come in handy if you ever do a US-based crossword puzzle!]

I asked a librarian where the #5 books were. She said we don't have #5 books. I told her the title. After looking it up she said that book is #0005!!!

[Dynacruiser]

Here's a reason why I USUALLY like to have OBC to pay for "overpriced cruise excursions in crowded buses with bad tour guides" instead of "less expensive private tours traveling in limousines with local experts"

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/eight-passengers-stranded-african-island-153209876.html

Eight passengers stranded on African island after Norwegian cruise ship left without them

...group of eight tourists was late to return to the ship by more than an hour for the all-aboard time of 3 p.m. from a private excursion on the island, which was not organized by the cruise line.

...the group have been stranded for days on the island off Nigeria

 

EDIT:  I do feel bad for these folks.  That could happen to any of us.☹️

Edited April 3 by Dynacruiser

[SeaDayLvr]

We are sailing in December and talked to our agent about this 10% promotion.  He contacted Azamara and they told him if we go ahead and pay in full now to get the extra OBC, then it automatically puts us in the “after final payment stage” and it is all non-refundable, should something happen and we need to cancel.  Has anyone else found this to be true?  A lot can happen between now and when we originally need to make final payment, not sure it’s worth the extra obc?

[paf225]

1 hour ago, SeaDayLvr said:

We are sailing in December and talked to our agent about this 10% promotion.  He contacted Azamara and they told him if we go ahead and pay in full now to get the extra OBC, then it automatically puts us in the “after final payment stage” and it is all non-refundable, should something happen and we need to cancel.  Has anyone else found this to be true?  A lot can happen between now and when we originally need to make final payment, not sure it’s worth the extra obc?

In the offer email I received it specifically states the following; “Guests who choose to participate in the Offer will retain the normal cancellation policy, and the refundability of the cruise fare will not be impacted.”.

 

Perhaps you or your agent should call Azamara again to clarify which of the following is accurate - what they wrote in the offer or what they said to your agent.   Regards, Paul