NicNata

Amazing! That is the third different version of the same email I have seen. The one I got said it would be available for use on a future sailing

To me this just highlights how bonkers the Azamara emails are. Different emails to different people with different descriptions of the same offer. My email said Guests who accept this offer and pay their sailing in full will receive 5% Onboard Credit to be used in future sailing

Wow the mental gymnastics needed for this one are insane. In addition, if you actually check the list of supposedly solo cruise rates in the email they sent, at least the ones I checked, all of them are twice the price when you change 2 people to 1 person in the booking i.e. by this logic it is 200% and so no saving at all for solo travellers. The marketing team needs to regroup and think again before sending at more of these so called "offers"

Its not me who said this. Its in the fine print as I quoted. So it is OBC but to be used on a future sailing not on the sailing it was earned on. At least that is how I read it. Again it is exactly my point. Azamara is bombarding us with confusing emails that we have to to work out what they mean. A marketing offer should be crystal clear and offer a benefit everyone understand immediately.

I agree. I seem to get an email virtually every day and after a while they become meaningless. Azamara marketing is doing a poor job because their "offers" are confusing, don't work in practice, are not of any real value or all of the above.

I read it as Future Cruise Credit i.e. you won't get it on your August 24 cruise. I goes back to my original point that the email is confusing and requires mental gymnastics which is not good marketing practice. It reads "Guests who accept this offer and pay their sailing in full will receive 5% Onboard Credit to be used in future sailing".

Not in the email I received. I posted the full text of the small print. It simply says "Guests who accept this offer and pay their sailing in full will receive 5% Onboard Credit to be used in future sailing". Rather like the vague Solo fares email why not make it straightforward and the headline says "Receive 5% of any outstanding balance in onboard cruise credit for a future sailing". In fact the original headline did not mention the OBC would be for future sailings rather than the one already booked. So all round vague and not a very good offer either. I wonder if anyone will take them up on this.

Precisely my point! Just say No single supplement rather than try to make everyone do mental gymnastics. It does not work anyway. I looked at a couple of the so called solo fares and they were all double the price shown i.e. it was the price for two people.

The emails I got were from the US market. I had to change the country to UK a the bottom to see if they applied in the UK. They do but they still don't make any sense. Maybe you are not on their mailing list? For me it's part of an ongoing pattern that communications from Azamara aren't very well thought through and the problem is they then lose their credibility

Is it just me or are the last two marketing emails really poorly thought through? The first one offered 5% OBC for people who pay in full now. Nowhere, at least that I can see, do they specify 5% of what (see text below). The second one proudly proclaimed "Plus, for a limited-time solo travelers pay 100% Single Supplement on select sailings". Where is the bargain in that? I wish I could feed back to Azamara how silly these sound to us as customers. The Pay-In-Full Benefits Program ( the “Offer”) is available to guests who choose the option to pay for their remaining cruise fare balance in full after receiving an email indicating they are eligible. Participation in the “Offer” does not change the refundability of the cruise fare and guests will retain their normal cancellation policies. The Offer is available for select guests booked on sailings departing over 180 days. Guests who accept this offer and pay their sailing in full will receive 5% Onboard Credit to be used in future sailing. Guests must call the Contact Center or their Travel Advisors to redeem the Offer. The Offer is combinable with Back-to-Back OBC, Loyalty quarterly savings, National Account amenity or hosted programs, reduced single supplements, and onboard booking savings. The Offer does not combine with onboard booking reduced deposits, net rates, travel agent rates, groups, statement agencies, or employee rates. Offer and pricing are subject to availability and change without notice and may be withdrawn by Azamara at any time. Unless otherwise noted, all amounts referred to herein are in USD (United States Dollars). Other terms and conditions may apply, please refer to the Azamara Cruise Ticket Contract. SUGGESTION: After the offer period, if a guest changes their ship and sail date, changes their category, or requests a refund, the Pay In Full Benefits are subject to removal. ELIGIBLE PAY-IN-FULL SAILINGS: The Offer is available for select guests booked on sailings that are departing in over 180 days REDEEMING PAY-IN-FULL OFFER: Eligible guests must call the Azamara Contact Center or their Travel Advisors to redeem the offer. Sailing must be over 180 days (about 6 months) out to redeem the offer EXCLUSIONS: Any bookings already paid in full are not eligible for this offer. ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS: Upon submission of payment [or last payment], the guest will acknowledge that they have read, understand, and accept the terms and conditions of the Cruise Ticket Contract, including the Cancellation Policy.

We caught the bus from Venice airport direct to Chioggia. The bus stop is just outside the arrivals at Venice airport. If I recall it is about once an hour. The bus costs about Euro 8 per person and takes about an hour to get to Chioggia. You get off at the Via Naccari stop in Chioggia from where it is an easy walk to multiple small hotels in Chioggia. We stayed at a lovely small hotel called Casa Sansera, from where we simply walked to the ship. The ease or not of doing this will depend on how much luggage you have and your mobility.

Great thanks very helpful

Thanks we have been to Florence before so this time it is just doing a couple of more unusual things. Good suggestion though for someone who has not been before

We are doing a Florence on your own tour on 10th November 2023. The tour departs at 08:45 and arrives back at 18:15. The details on the tour simply say that the trip takes about 1.5 hours and that there will be about 5 hours on your own. Florence typically needs timed entrance tickets for various attractions and in planning a walking itinerary and route, I wondered if anyone knew where the tour bus would be likely to drop us off/pick us up OR know who to contact to ask this question? I am concerned if I leave it until being onboard on 7th that it will be too late to get the timed tickets. Any advice appreciated

It seems so inconsistent. My 4 current reservations are all correct, my loyalty points are right, I have been able to spend my OBC, I have easily made new bookings etc. The only thing I have not been able to do without support is book a cruise using my free nights. Even then, it only takes minutes to get hold of a real person online who can help. Just weird

We just got a brilliant deal for an Iceland Intensive cruise next year using our 6 free nights for a 12 night cruise. It was way cheaper applying the free nights versus using current promotional discounts. My question is what happens when you get to 1500 points and 2250 points etc? The website says at 750 points you get 6 free nights - that is easy to understand. However it says when you reach 1500 points then it is +3 nights, at 2250 it is +3 nights etc. Does that mean at 1500 points you get 9 free nights (6+3), at 2250 you get 12 free nights (6+3+3) etc.? It is very unclear to me how the free nights work at higher numbers of points. Has anyone claimed the free nights at higher points levels and if yes, how did it work?

The 85 bus from the airport. Make sure to get off at the via Vaccari stop in downtown Chioggia. From there about 15 minute walk to the port. The cost is only about Euro8 per person.

We are going by bus from Venice Airport to Chioggia. The trip takes just over an hour. Make sure to get off at the via Vaccari stop which is in downtown Chioggia. We are staying in a hotel which is 5 minutes walk from this stop. Cost is about Euro8 per person.

Did you lose your deposit when you cancelled and rebooked?

We are thinking about taking our first Princess cruise. I have been looking over the past couple of months at cruises to/from Sydney across the Pacific. I notice the prices seem to fluctuate a lot and vary enormously between the ships that ply the route. My understanding is Majestic Princess would be better than say the Grand Princess and thus more expensive. My question is what has been people's experience with Princess if there is a price drop after you have booked a cruise? Do they honour the price drop? It is very hard to know when to book given the big changes in price. I don't need advice on cabin choice, just on the price policy.

Yes I got this marketing email about 3 free nights and $600 OBC. It seems if you book in USA you get the three free nights but not if you book in UK. To my mind that is ridiculous but out of curiosity I checked it out. The 11 night Gems of the Med trip starting on Nov 7 2023 costs from GBP1703 (roughly USD2186) on the UK site and USD1829 on the USA site. So it is cheaper to book on the US site but does not feel like 3 free nights. This is very poor marketing as it encourages people to book in other countries which does not make sense to me

Thanks that does seem to work far better than the generic Princess site. I will give it a go

Thanks I tried that and I can now see pricing on other cabin types. However I still get the screen which gives the price and says Find a Travel Agent. There does not seem to be any button to click which actually says "Book". Any idea where to find that? As you say there doesn't seem to be any method to see vacant cabins. It is very different to, for example, Celebrity which gives full deck plans with empty cabins and booking online is easy

I have never been on a Princess Cruise before so registered as a user on their website, found a cruise I was interested in and tried to book. It only gave me an option for an interior cabin price (this is for a cruise in late 2024 so I doubt it is sold out) and then a prompt to say Find a Travel Agent. Is it impossible to book online yourself on their website? Does one have to go via a TA in order to book a cruise? I know its free to use a TA but its a bit frustrating that one cannot even browse options without involving a TA. Am I missing something? Any tips on how to browse/book online?

I tried once using my free nights but was told the free nights only apply if you book a cruise at the full rate. Since the cruise I wanted to book was discounted/had special offers applied, it worked out cheaper to book without the free nights than with them. Has anyone had any luck using free nights on a discounted cruise (which most are), and what was the process?