25% discount on land discoveries????

In October when I booked my cruise, one of the selling features was a discount of 25% on excursions. I booked direct with Azamara to take advantage of this discount. My invoice stated that excursions would be available 4 months prior to the cruise. To get the discount, I had to pre-book the excursions up to 4 days prior to boarding the ship. Taking into account the cost of excursions, I chose to book directly rather than take an OBC from a 2nd party Travel Agent. On Thursday, I made my final payment for my August 2014 cruise. Then I tried to book the excursions. NO discount. I called Azamara and was told that the 25% discount was discontinued. I am quite upset about this change. It contradicts what I was told. I was so excited about my upcoming cruise. Now, I am not so excited. I was never informed about any changes. Has anyone else had this happen to them? Had I known about this change before I booked my airfare and made my final payment, I may have rethought taking this cruise. My previous Azamara cruises were wonderful. I am not sure what to expect after this snafu.

I would speak back to Azamara if you were a direct booker, as I understood it, those who had booked under the 25% offer scheme were contacted through their booking agents and I think they had until early Jan 2014 to book and secure the discount. We were one booker who was contacted, having booked direct with Azamara.

A couple of things that may slightly sweeten the blow

1. On the cruise I was eligible for the discount, a lot of the excursions prices have come down, I do not know if it's by 25% but several would cost less today than last December (I am comparing full price to full price)

2. If you are based in the UK or other non $ land you have to pay prebooked excursions in your own currency but we can now get a vastly better conversion rate if we wait and book on board

None of this of course explains why you were not contacted

Once you get onboard, you should find things as you remember :)

I do not think i was pre told in wriitng. but i knoew from being on cruise ships. .my last discounted tours were this winter. some were not worth the discount price and others were good. also you are not the first who has psoted they waited until thry paid for the cruise. i already started booking for 2015 cruises. doing it back 2 back i want to space out my bill. plus i d oont want a large tour bill on ship. yes, I have OBC but I use it in the spa.

I had the same deal when I booked through a TA. Never told by either Azamara or the TA that the offer was discontinued. TA says that's Azamara, they do these things.

I have no faith in Azamara's method of doing business anymore. I am not new to Azamara. Any company that can change terms of a booking without notification is definitely one that I would avoid. This will probably be my last cruise on Azamara. I certainly will not prebook excursions at full price. Time for me to start researching private tours.

I would speak back to Azamara if you were a direct booker, as I understood it, those who had booked under the 25% offer scheme were contacted through their booking agents and I think they had until early Jan 2014 to book and secure the discount. We were one booker who was contacted, having booked direct with Azamara.

That is correct. I booked our cruises in Sept. and the discount applied but they had to be booked by early January...the 3rd or the 4th, I believe. It was all clearly stated with the 25% discount and the fact there would not be a discount for later bookings.

When I booked, I was told that I had to prebook my excursions anytime up until 4 days before my cruise. In October, there wrre no excursions available. I was told to expect excursions to be available about 4 months before the cruise. Cruise is in August. I booked under the assumption that I would book my excursions with the discount. Was I shocked when I paid my final payment, and then tried to book excursions. The way I see it is that azamara changed my booking without informing me. I was told incorrect information. Had I been informed earlier, I may not be so upset. For those people who were informed, that was good. I was not informed. I called Azamara Miami, asked to talk to customer services, and was told that customer services does not accept phone calls. The rep who answered the phonecall told me that there are lots of people who have called concerning this matter. Customer services can only be contacted by email. This is not my idea of customer service. What happened to Azamara? This is no way to run any business.

When I booked, I was told that I had to prebook my excursions anytime up until 4 days before my cruise. In October, there wrre no excursions available. I was told to expect excursions to be available about 4 months before the cruise. Cruise is in August. I booked under the assumption that I would book my excursions with the discount. Was I shocked when I paid my final payment, and then tried to book excursions. The way I see it is that azamara changed my booking without informing me. I was told incorrect information. Had I been informed earlier, I may not be so upset. For those people who were informed, that was good. I was not informed. I called Azamara Miami, asked to talk to customer services, and was told that customer services does not accept phone calls. The rep who answered the phonecall told me that there are lots of people who have called concerning this matter. Customer services can only be contacted by email. This is not my idea of customer service. What happened to Azamara? This is no way to run any business.

I was told the same thing but then I called because of the fact I knew I had to book these in the allotted time frame to receive the discount. I do not remember the exact specifics but the person I spoke with told me to go look at the excursions again and I did.....possibly it could have been for the same itinerary on another cruise.....but I do remember her telling me they would probably be the same even though the excursions may not have been showing for our cruise. As I stated, I don't remember all the exact specifics....my main concern was getting them booked, which I did and they are the same for our cruise. Even though I booked with a TA, the shore excursion desk would speak with me to help me with the excursions.

I'm really sorry this happened to you. From all the complaints I've read, it sounds like the problem is with Azamara, Miami.....they do need to get their act together....maybe Bonnie can provide some insight into this matter. It may be a good idea for you to copy and paste the link to this thread and start a new thread directed to her.

I was a little unhappy about finding out there were free land discoveries included on one of the cruises I'd already booked....it was a new promo that came out after I booked but that's okay....I think I booked when they had a good promo and I'll live with that. I also have some private things booked that I am sharing with people.

If you have not done so, sign up for your roll call and see if you can share something with other people. Many times it's less expensive and you can arrange your tours to your own liking.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy your cruise.

Redtravel,

I am on your side on this one. If there are any specific excursions you really want I would pursue Miami to get them booked at 25% off.

I knew this was going to happen once they changed the promo, and didn't notify those booked that there was a deadline date to pay for the excursions. I actually thought Bill had posted last year that the 25% would be honored for those already booked. We know they have the ability to apply the excursions manually at a discount. I have had that done in the past when the cruise itinerary was redeployed with different ports.

On the other hand, I wouldn't recommend cruise line excursions unless it is something specific that can only be done through the ship, or if the port time is a very short half day. The cruise line excursions are usually not as good as what you can book on your own. In fact, the last cruise we took with Azamara we had one excursion we booked with the cruise line which was so bad we left early and took a taxi back to the ship!

Hello All,

We have had a few inquiries since discontinuing our 25%-off Land Discoveries promotion on January 4, 2014.

It’s understandable that you’re disappointed that this promotional offer has been discontinued. We did notify guests by email who had booked direct, on our website, and through travel professionals who had bookings, but some people were still caught off-guard who missed our communications.

While the 25% savings program for pre-booked Land Discoveries offer is now over, we’re as committed as ever to delivering high quality, high-value onshore experiences in every port.

• An exclusive, AzAmazing Evenings event is now included on most voyages. These exceptional experiences of authentic local culture are not available anywhere else.

• We continue to refine our mix of Land Discoveries around the world, with the aim of delivering terrific value and satisfying a wide range of tastes and interests.

The best way to stay in the loop about all the news for Land Discoveries and other promotional offers is by signing up at AzamaraClubCruises.com/SpecialOffers.

Time for me to start researching private tours.

As someone who takes and organizes private excursions on every cruise I take, consider it a blessing in disguise.

Small group, small luxury vehicle instead of a big bus, likely a lot less expensive, you go where you want to go, stop when you want to stop and travel with people you want to travel with.

Azamara roll calls have not been that active in terms of private excursions because they were heavily discounted in the past. On the other hand, on a O roll call, it's all about excursions because the ship excursions are ridiculously expensive.

On my first Azamara cruise last August I formed a group from the roll call and we did all our Black Sea excursions together. It was terrific. We all got to know one another well and we still exchange emails. I have organized all the excursions for my upcoming Adriatic cruise on Quest and I will do the same for my b2b on Journey next December..

Get on the roll call, find other likeminded people, and your excursion experience will likely be better than if you had booked tours on those big buses.

BTW -- I have a huge database of private guides that I have used (I do thorough research and find the best out there) and if I can be of any help, send me an email. Address below.

As someone who takes and organizes private excursions on every cruise I take, consider it a blessing in disguise.

 

Post the ports and maybe we can help.

Hello All,

 

We have had a few inquiries since discontinuing our 25%-off Land Discoveries promotion on January 4, 2014.

 

It’s understandable that you’re disappointed that this promotional offer has been discontinued. We did notify guests by email who had booked direct, on our website, and through travel professionals who had bookings, but some people were still caught off-guard who missed our communications.

 

While the 25% savings program for pre-booked Land Discoveries offer is now over, we’re as committed as ever to delivering high quality, high-value onshore experiences in every port.

 

• An exclusive, AzAmazing Evenings event is now included on most voyages. These exceptional experiences of authentic local culture are not available anywhere else.

 

• We continue to refine our mix of Land Discoveries around the world, with the aim of delivering terrific value and satisfying a wide range of tastes and interests.

 

The best way to stay in the loop about all the news for Land Discoveries and other promotional offers is by signing up at AzamaraClubCruises.com/SpecialOffers.

Thank you for responding to my posting. I sent an email to Azamara. However, I have not received a response. I booked direct with Azamara. I was not notified of the change. I found out after I made my final payment. I was shocked. When I booked in October, excursions were not available for booking. The agent that took my reservation told me that excursions would be available approximately 4 months prior to the cruise. She was also the person who told me about the discount. She said that I had to book the excursions prior to sailing...and that bookings must be made more than 4 days prior to the cruise. MY cruise sails August 20, 2014. Now that I have fully paid for my cruise and plane tickets, I find that the promised discount is gone. I am angry. This is not my first cruise on Azamara. However, if that is the way Azamara does business, it may very well be my last. If there is anything that you can do to resolve the situation, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

I am on the 14 day Journey cruise.

Ports are Gernsey, Nantes, Bordeaux, St. Jean de Luz, Bilboa, Oporto, and Lisbon.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks for your help.

Hello All,

 

We have had a few inquiries since discontinuing our 25%-off Land Discoveries promotion on January 4, 2014.

 

It’s understandable that you’re disappointed that this promotional offer has been discontinued. We did notify guests by email who had booked direct, on our website, and through travel professionals who had bookings, but some people were still caught off-guard who missed our communications.

 

While the 25% savings program for pre-booked Land Discoveries offer is now over, we’re as committed as ever to delivering high quality, high-value onshore experiences in every port.

 

• An exclusive, AzAmazing Evenings event is now included on most voyages. These exceptional experiences of authentic local culture are not available anywhere else.

 

• We continue to refine our mix of Land Discoveries around the world, with the aim of delivering terrific value and satisfying a wide range of tastes and interests.

 

The best way to stay in the loop about all the news for Land Discoveries and other promotional offers is by signing up at AzamaraClubCruises.com/SpecialOffers.

This is definitely not going to spoil our cruise but we too booked last October directly with Azamara, did not get any email and could not get the excursion discount in March. Fortunately, I had booked a particularly expensive excursion beforehand. In March, I was told by Azamara-- too bad, so sad! I was very upset. Fortunately I followed Cruise Critic's Roll Call and booked private excursions with a great group of people. I definitely agree that Azamara misled me although now I notice in the small, small print "offer is subject to change".

Nevertheless, we love cruising and we are eager to see Norway on Azamara!

Redtravel, I am sorry, the program definitely ended 1/4/14. I understand you're upset. Wish I could do something but I was told by the head of that department that the promotion ended and is not retroactive.

I appreciate that Jade13 and Pacheco18 have reached out to try to help you.

P.s. to Swimmers, I sincerely hope our Customer Service personnel did not actually say "too bad, so sad" to you. Passing along negative news to customers is always hard, and it would be very unlike them, and absolutely unacceptable, to be rude. My sincere apologies if they were.

Redtravel, I am sorry, the program definitely ended 1/4/14. I understand you're upset. Wish I could do something but I was told by the head of that department that the promotion ended and is not retroactive.

I appreciate that Jade13 and Pacheco18 have reached out to try to help you.

 

P.s. to Swimmers, I sincerely hope our Customer Service personnel did not actually say "too bad, so sad" to you. Passing along negative news to customers is always hard, and it would be very unlike them, and absolutely unacceptable, to be rude. My sincere apologies if they were.

Bonnie,

It was kind of you to try and assist Redtravel and swimmers and a pity that it came to nothing.

But do you and your colleagues not realise that it is this type of inflexibility that drives those of us who love sailing on Quest and Journey mad?

On this occasion it appears that both of these posters who booked cruises direct with Azamara did NOT receive notification that the Land Discoveries promotion was ending. Why not offer each of them one excursion on their cruise at 25% off? There is such a thing as goodwill in business and as I sadly note from my recent skirmishes with shoreside it is in short supply.

The on board experience is superlative. Yet again IMO shoreside could do better.

I appreciate your responses. However, as I hVe not received my response to the email that I sent and I am still angry with the rude service from the Guatemala group, I am still angry. The cruise is our celebration of our 45th wedding anniversary. And 50 years together. We travel often. I have never had anyone sell me something and then change the terms. That type of company cannot be trusted. Even if I love the cruise, there will still be a sore spot as a result of this deceptive type of business. I certainly hope that I get a favorable response to my email and that Azamara sees the folly of this situation. Repeat customers are key to any travel company. Most are happy to keep repeat customers coming back. It seems that Azamara does not care.

In October when I booked my cruise, one of the selling features was a discount of 25% on excursions. I booked direct with Azamara to take advantage of this discount. My invoice stated that excursions would be available 4 months prior to the cruise. To get the discount, I had to pre-book the excursions up to 4 days prior to boarding the ship.

Following is the thread--started last October--relative to discontinuation of the Shore Excursion discount as of 4 January 2014... You will note that the original announcement [i didn't get the e-mail either but did learn of the change here and did book my Land Discoveries for Asia by the discount deadline] was ambiguous--perhaps that was the cause of the misinformation you received from the Azamara Rep with whom you spoke--and it did take some time before Bill Lieber was able to fully clarify the announcement here...

The communication and its wording were awful but--and I'm not saying that this Forum ought be the basis for any official notification--awareness was raised among those who routinely follow this Board...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1934556

I am positive the Bill posted last year that guests only had to have the cruise booked by the January date, not have their tours booked, which of course was not possible as many were not posted yet.

Find the thread and I think you will have a good argument if you really want some Azamara organized tours at 25% off.

Following is the thread--started last October--relative to discontinuation of the Shore Excursion discount as of 4 January 2014... You will note that the original announcement [i didn't get the e-mail either but did learn of the change here and did book my Land Discoveries for Asia by the discount deadline] was ambiguous--perhaps that was the cause of the misinformation you received from the Azamara Rep with whom you spoke--and it did take some time before Bill Lieber was able to fully clarify the announcement here...

 

The communication and its wording were awful but--and I'm not saying that this Forum ought be the basis for any official notification--awareness was raised among those who routinely follow this Board...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1934556

Good Find. I thought this was clear. There was also another thread on the topic.

==========

October 30th, 2013, 10:42 AM

Bill Leiber Bill Leiber is offline

Chief Blogging Officer

Azamara Club Cruises

Join Date: Aug 2010

Location: shasta, ca

Posts: 1,642

Default Details - Discontinuance of 25% Land Discovery Savings in 2014

Hello MZK and other Readers -

I have already posted this information on another thread related to this 2014 policy change.

I've attempted to summarize the details about the last-chance to receive the 25% Land Discoveries Savings in 2014.

The language on website states the following about our Land Discoveries Savings:

§ Effective January 4, 2014, the current 25% savings on Land Discoveries will no longer be available. § Guests already booked on a 2014 voyage, or those who book now through midnight January 3, 2014 will still be eligible for the 25% savings as long as you book your Land Discoveries online at least 4 days prior to the voyage sailing date or prior to January 3, 2014.

There are two specific voyages shown below in which there are specific "last-call" dates to receive the savings during the booking process for both NEW and EXISTING reservations. The rule is driven by the fact Land Discoveries must be booked at least four (4) - 24-hour cycles/days prior to the voyage's embarkation day. That means that the sailing date is not included in the calculation.

- Departure - Quest, Jan 5, 2014 - you have until December 31, 2013, 11:59 PM EST to do so.

- Departure - Journey, Jan 6, 2014 - you have until January 01, 2014, 11:59 PM EST to do so.

Best regards,

Bill Leiber

__________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

Last edited by Bill Leiber; October 30th, 2013 at 10:46 AM.

Good Find. I thought this was clear. There was also another thread on the topic.

==========

 

October 30th, 2013, 10:42 AM

Bill Leiber Bill Leiber is offline

Chief Blogging Officer

Azamara Club Cruises

 

Join Date: Aug 2010

Location: shasta, ca

Posts: 1,642

Default Details - Discontinuance of 25% Land Discovery Savings in 2014

Hello MZK and other Readers -

 

I have already posted this information on another thread related to this 2014 policy change.

 

I've attempted to summarize the details about the last-chance to receive the 25% Land Discoveries Savings in 2014.

 

The language on website states the following about our Land Discoveries Savings:

§ Effective January 4, 2014, the current 25% savings on Land Discoveries will no longer be available. § Guests already booked on a 2014 voyage, or those who book now through midnight January 3, 2014 will still be eligible for the 25% savings as long as you book your Land Discoveries online at least 4 days prior to the voyage sailing date or prior to January 3, 2014.

 

There are two specific voyages shown below in which there are specific "last-call" dates to receive the savings during the booking process for both NEW and EXISTING reservations. The rule is driven by the fact Land Discoveries must be booked at least four (4) - 24-hour cycles/days prior to the voyage's embarkation day. That means that the sailing date is not included in the calculation.

- Departure - Quest, Jan 5, 2014 - you have until December 31, 2013, 11:59 PM EST to do so.

- Departure - Journey, Jan 6, 2014 - you have until January 01, 2014, 11:59 PM EST to do so.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

Last edited by Bill Leiber; October 30th, 2013 at 10:46 AM.

Hmmm, this IS interesting! I've emailed this to the powers-that-be. I expect I'll hear something tomorrow. Will let you know.

Bonnie

Hmmm, this IS interesting! I've emailed this to the powers-that-be. I expect I'll hear something tomorrow. Will let you know.

Bonnie

We too were not advised by Azamara about the change in policy. We booked our June 28, 2014 Journey cruise while onboard the Quest in January 2013, and our booking was then transferred to our travel agent.

We are in Canada and did not receive any notification by Azamara, nor was our travel agent advised.

Thank goodness for Cruise Critic forums! I accidentally came across this information last fall, and confirmed it by emailing Club Voyage, who were quite clear that the excursions had to be booked before January 4 to receive the discount.

We were fortunate to have discovered that and were able to book the excursions we wanted. If it was not for Cruise Critic, we never would have known.

Club Voyage, incidentally, has been most responsive any time I have emailed them with a query and I have found their responses both timely and helpful.

I have already heard back from the office (NOTE: they are working on a Sunday night.)

They pointed out that Bill Leiber sent a subsequent post on that same thread on the following day: October 31, 2013. I will attach it here, along with uktog's prior post, and you will see there were others confirming that the program was ending effective 1/4/14. The red highlights are mine.

______________________________________

uktog

5,000+ Club

Quote:

Originally Posted by oddjob16

I read this as if I want to book Land Discoveries for my already booked Quest sailing in the Adriatic on july 5th 2014 I can do so and get 25% off until 4 days prior to sailing date. If there should be NEW excursions after jan 3rd I will not get the discount.

No Oddjob not quite correct, you only get 25% if you book and pay for the excursions by 3rd January - Bill has clarified that here now - you will see I have also told him the statement is still misleading and he has kindly picked up on a wording change I have suggested

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showp...5&postcount=29

I am still in azamazement that the team that wrote the message did not see where there was ambiguity

Last edited by uktog; October 31st, 2013 at 02:50 AM.

#60

October 31st, 2013, 03:01 AM

Bill Leiber

Chief Blogging Officer

Azamara Club Cruises

Quote:

Originally Posted by oddjob16

I read this as if I want to book Land Discoveries for my already booked Quest sailing in the Adriatic on july 5th 2014 I can do so and get 25% off until 4 days prior to sailing date. If there should be NEW excursions after jan 3rd I will not get the discount.

Hello Oddjob -

Actually to be eligible to be eligible for the 25% Land Discoveries Savings on your forthcoming Azamara Quest July 5, 2014 voyage will require that you book the shore excursion prior to midnight on January 3, 2014. It will not be 4 days prior to your sailing date.

§ Rule: Guests already booked on a 2014 voyage will still be eligible for the 25% savings as long as you book your Land Discoveries online at least 4 days prior to the voyage sailing date or prior to January 3, 2014, whichever date is earlier.

You are correct that if a NEW land excursion is made available there will be NO 25% Land Discoveries Savings. The program is discontinued at the start of January 4, 2014.

I hope this adds clarity to the process and looking forward to welcoming you onboard next July! Also, thanks to Uktog for her mentoring!!!

Best regards,

Bill Leiber

__________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

I appreciate your help. I hope that you can resolve this situation. I look forward to your response.

Also, thanks to the posters and readers of this thread.