Pay in Full for 5% OBC

[Travelswithmycamera]

Received an email weeks ago for 5% OBC if I pay in full 180 days out from my Aug/25 cruise.  This would bring full payment mid February.  I called Azamara today to clarify and was advised this offer expires Dec. 31/24.  I scoured the email and could not find this info however I must assume Azamara is correct.  So the 180 days is really a moot point and I must consider  either waiting for another offer pushing into 2025 or an extension of this offer.  I am just glad I clarified and not waited till 2025 thinking I was getting a decent deal.   Has anyone else run into this issue?

[blag]

What issue, specifically?

I think I recall this offer (settlement in full etc. ) being as high as 10% in the past. But, nevertheless, I would think hard about this.

For Azamara it is a win-win. They get your money well in advance, and if prices drop (our cruise in November dropped by about 25% this week) you cannot rebook without significant penalty. Bear with n mind that almost everything you purchase with OBC costs Azamara (by my reckoning) about 20-40%, of the price you pay.

[ChucktownSteve]

Don't forget you should be able to get about 5% dividends on money market funds which is in real cash.

[paf225]

3 hours ago, blag said:

What issue, specifically?

I think I recall this offer (settlement in full etc. ) being as high as 10% in the past. But, nevertheless, I would think hard about this.

For Azamara it is a win-win. They get your money well in advance, and if prices drop (our cruise in November dropped by about 25% this week) you cannot rebook without significant penalty. Bear with n mind that almost everything you purchase with OBC costs Azamara (by my reckoning) about 20-40%, of the price you pay.

 

I took advantage of the "Pay in Full" offer when it was for 10% OBC.  One of the reasons I did so was because of the following sentence in the terms and conditions of the offer - "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."  Regards, Paul 

[Travelswithmycamera]

Thank you all for your kind replies, I will be holding out for the 10%!!!!!

[blag]

7 hours ago, paf225 said:

 

I took advantage of the "Pay in Full" offer when it was for 10% OBC.  One of the reasons I did so was because of the following sentence in the terms and conditions of the offer - "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."  Regards, Paul 

At 10% the offer represents better value and I might be tempted, but looking at contemporary parallel threads, I am not so sure I could rely on Azamara to refund a cancellation in a timely manner.

[Host Jazzbeau]

7 hours ago, blag said:

At 10% the offer represents better value and I might be tempted, but looking at contemporary parallel threads, I am not so sure I could rely on Azamara to refund a cancellation in a timely manner.

They refunded my overpayment promptly after letting me cancel a prepaid booking to take advantage of a sale offer. 

[Whitby100]

I’d be reluctant to advise waiting for the 10% OBC deal.  AZ switches up their promos constantly and don’t always repeat them.  As many here suggest, when you find a price you’re happy with - book it.  Depending on where you book from you can cancel and rebook before final payment for minimal cost, if there is any cost at all.

[Dynacruiser]

Azamara has had offers for 5, 8 or 10% OBC in the past few months, but the most common one is 5%.  Here's how I would evaluate if this is a good opportunity or not:

 

1) If you have a use for OBC, then it is worth considering.  For example, evaluate if you are planning to use:

• Spa    I personally never do, too expensive for my budget.
• Drink packages (the included drinks may be good enough for some, and the wine included in the most expensive package is just meh),  This is a personal decision and not the subject of this thread, but I suggest you wait and buy onboard after you try the included drinks.
• Excursions,  Yeah, they are more expensive, descriptions are often poor, depending on the operator some have been just OK, but some folks like the safety in case of itinerary changes or road delays going back to ship.
• Chef's dinners (I enjoy them, but depends on the group of fellow travelers).  Sometimes it's hard to find a spot since they are popular and you can't purchase them until the moment you board.
• Specialty restaurants.  I enjoy them a bit more than the MDR, but I only eat there if I stay in a suite and they are "free".  I would suggest everybody tries one or both at least once.
• Gift Shop.  I live or travel near big cities where I can find big discounts, for me the items are overpriced.
• Internet.   The base-level internet is simply USELESS, too slow and not good enough for videos or cloud uploading (is it $20 a day? can't recall).  If available on your ship, the more expensive one (about $10 over the baes level) is expensive and I have never tried it.
•  

 All the onboard services or items above are overpriced, some folks point out that an excursion is probably 25% more expensive than if booked independently, but if you are one of those who would buy them onboard anyway, then OBC makes sense.

Conversely, if you normally wouldn't pay for the above, then I would not consider this offer.

 

 

2) If you are financially savvy and know how to make your money grow, then this offer may not be good enough.

Now, note that 10% offered by Azamara for 180 days prior to sailing is much more than 10% per year interest or earnings.   This would be the equivalent of 20% per year.   And since you actually have to pay in full 3 months before the trip, then you are getting 10% return for 3 months.  That is equivalent to 40% per year.  I am not good with financial calcs, but even if my numbers are wrong, I would have a hard time making more than "guaranteed" 10%, 20% or 40%, whatever the number is.

The same calculations apply if the offer is 5 or 8%.  And the benefit gets better if the offer is for paying 120 to 150 days before sailing!

 

 

3) OBC can get complicated to use in some cases.  One example with simple numbers:  Assume you book $1000 in excursions, and you paid with $300 OBC and $700 credit card; then one excursion worth $200 gets canceled, so Azamara refunds you $200 back in OBC instead of refunding your credit card and you may then struggle to use the $200 OBC onboard.  You may spend hours trying to get credit card refund rather than more now useless OBC.

Another example is that folks complain that their OBC does not show up when the board.  Again, this can be fixed but you waste time talking to often unhelpful customer service onboard.

 

4) Check the terms and conditions for the offer you receive, as they may change.  I paid through my TA, so I had more documentation of the OBC.

 

5) There is no guarantee that they will do the 10% offer again, or that they will continuously run the 5%.  I suspect that this 5% is a win-win, so it may stay like this.

 

6) Finally, some folks become suspicious and believe this is a sign of Azamara financial problems.  This issue has been covered it too many other threads, for example this one.  My current thought is that Sycamore Partners is not going to allow Azamara to go bankrupt, they will try to improve it and make it more profitable and then sell it, but on the other hand, they are an aggressive PE group that wants to get big returns ASAP.

 

I personally would not pay more than 180 days in advanced before sailing, just my cautious approach.  Good luck making your decisions!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 17 by Dynacruiser

[PirateWife]

Another way to look at it--final payment has to be made 120 days before the start of the cruise (in the USA) and paying 6 months in advance is a difference of approximately 60 days. How much is that 60 days worth to you? If you are sailing on a cruise that has sold well, there probably will not be price reductions.

[Travelswithmycamera]

On 7/18/2024 at 9:15 AM, PirateWife said:

Another way to look at it--final payment has to be made 120 days before the start of the cruise (in the USA) and paying 6 months in advance is a difference of approximately 60 days. How much is that 60 days worth to you? If you are sailing on a cruise that has sold well, there probably will not be price reductions.

Yes I was thinking along the same line.  Almost $700 in additional OBC so may think twice!!