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'Smoke & Mirrors'


WhitlocksEnd
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Very interested in taking advantage of the:

 

‘Book a Club Balcony Stateroom at Club Interior Prices on Select 2018 & 2019 Voyage’ offer currently on offer in the UK.

 

The particular cruise that I’m interested in is the Romantic Baltic & Golf Voyage departing on August 8th 2018 which seemingly qualifies for this promotion.

 

However, when investigating further the pricing structure is very strange and somewhat disingenuous. The cheapest cabins in each category are:

 

Inside £7742

Oceanview £4545

Balcony £7388

Suite £14922

 

so strictly speaking the promotion is worded correctly as you can indeed book a balcony for the price of an inside.

 

A similar promotion could be ‘Book an Oceanview Stateroom for less than 60% of an Inside’! Somehow don’t think this will happen.

 

The Marketing Department really must assume that passengers are very gullible if they really think we believe the strap line in this promotion. Any fool can see that you just have to inflate the price of an Inside cabin to make the deal look good.

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I agree, the pricing is crazy.

We've landed up booking an 'Outside for the price of an Inside' for 30th June with one agent who had good offers. All the other agents supposedly had the double upgrade offer but the Insides were far more to begin with and out of our price range.

 

 

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When this promotion was first run there were some very attractive offers and the balcony pricing was really good value.

 

Now I just laugh when I see the pricing structure. 7k+ for a balcony? Not for me when I could book a true luxury line for significantly less.

 

Think marketing needs to have a serious rethink

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When this promotion was first run there were some very attractive offers and the balcony pricing was really good value.

 

Now I just laugh when I see the pricing structure. 7k+ for a balcony? Not for me when I could book a true luxury line for significantly less.

 

Think marketing needs to have a serious rethink

 

 

 

Lottie

If only it was £7k. The cruise we wanted in 2019 is £10.5k for 12 nights in a balcony in the Med so we won’t be booking!

 

 

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I have learned to just ignore these so called special offers.

In my opinion they are just gimmicky and getting worse all the time.

If I see something I like and the price is Ok then I will book it, otherwise forget it.

 

It reminds me of the old saying, A Spratt to catch a Mackerel.

I for one will not be biting.

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Lottie

If only it was £7k. The cruise we wanted in 2019 is £10.5k for 12 nights in a balcony in the Med so we won’t be booking!

 

 

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That is an insane price! Can't imagine who would book a balcony at that figure.

Btw Ann, I am Hazel 😃Though I know Lottie would also agree that these prices are mad. We have discussed this subject many times

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That is an insane price! Can't imagine who would book a balcony at that figure.

 

Btw Ann, I am Hazel [emoji2]Though I know Lottie would also agree that these prices are mad. We have discussed this subject many times

 

 

 

Duh I know but I’m a senior with regular moments.....

 

 

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I have said this before being in the advertising business this is exactly what Azamara is doing/thinking in their marketing dept..

1. LOOK at the posters on this site they are what I personally would consider a minority of the Azamara clientele. Not to mention it is the same posters posting that means me included. There may be lurkers however CC members are NOT the bulk of their business.

2. Does Azamara care if you go to another company? NO they do not. The reason is this & it is simple. Just like with my magazines if I lose a client there is ALWAYS someone to take their place.

3. They want to keep the repeat loyal clients but if they lose one OH WELL! we have others that will pay the price we want and be none the wiser & won;t complain.

4. Everyone does not know about or read CC. I went on 5 cruises before I know CC even existed.

 

So everyone again me included can complain about the web site, the pricing and who knows what else. Do I see it changing NO I do not. The bottom line is PROFIT and if what is working makes a profit then it won;t change. Have you ever heard the saying "if it ain't broke don;t fix it". For Azamara it is not broke. Do I think what they are doing is right no I do not as a customer but if I were them as the owners I would most probably be doing the exact same thing.

 

Kathy

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I have said this before being in the advertising business this is exactly what Azamara is doing/thinking in their marketing dept..

1. LOOK at the posters on this site they are what I personally would consider a minority of the Azamara clientele. Not to mention it is the same posters posting that means me included. There may be lurkers however CC members are NOT the bulk of their business.

2. Does Azamara care if you go to another company? NO they do not. The reason is this & it is simple. Just like with my magazines if I lose a client there is ALWAYS someone to take their place.

3. They want to keep the repeat loyal clients but if they lose one OH WELL! we have others that will pay the price we want and be none the wiser & won;t complain.

4. Everyone does not know about or read CC. I went on 5 cruises before I know CC even existed.

 

So everyone again me included can complain about the web site, the pricing and who knows what else. Do I see it changing NO I do not. The bottom line is PROFIT and if what is working makes a profit then it won;t change. Have you ever heard the saying "if it ain't broke don;t fix it". For Azamara it is not broke. Do I think what they are doing is right no I do not as a customer but if I were them as the owners I would most probably be doing the exact same thing.

 

Kathy

 

I don't disagree with you but is it fact working? I've seen some crazy pricing which has then turned into a fire sale to fill the ships. When I see these sales it's usually too late for us as we found something else to do.

 

Very similar itinerary (almost identical actually) on Azamara is $3000 more pp than on Oceania - it doesn't take being a member of CC to make that choice.

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I don't disagree with you but is it fact working? I've seen some crazy pricing which has then turned into a fire sale to fill the ships. When I see these sales it's usually too late for us as we found something else to do.

 

Very similar itinerary (almost identical actually) on Azamara is $3000 more pp than on Oceania - it doesn't take being a member of CC to make that choice.

 

Unless we are part of the accounting dept of Azamara none of us know the answer to your question? I do know this I PERSONALLY DO NOT sail for price. I sale for itinerary. I have waited for years for the EXACT itinerary I am going on. I even changed a planned cruise once because Princess was doing their final sailing down the Amazon and that was one I wanted.

 

No it may not take being on CC to make a choice but again EVERYONE are not savvy travelers and look up by ship. Sorry clearly I am correct or they would not be doing it and still making a profit. It is like me again with my magazines. There is a point at which I make a hefty profit. Once there I discount the cost of the ads left because I just want the space sold. Same thing with cabins

 

Lastly I have never been on a cruise where I have seen a fire sale as you say however does not mean it does not happen. Most people by then already know what and where they are going because of itinerary, time off work etc etc.

 

Advertising is a fickle game. That is why there is so much money in it............assuming you can do it and do it well. I would LOVE to have a chat with the head of marketing at Azamara to pick he/she brain

 

We can agree to disagree..............lol

 

Kathy

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Unless we are part of the accounting dept of Azamara none of us know the answer to your question? I do know this I PERSONALLY DO NOT sail for price. I sale for itinerary. I have waited for years for the EXACT itinerary I am going on. I even changed a planned cruise once because Princess was doing their final sailing down the Amazon and that was one I wanted.

 

No it may not take being on CC to make a choice but again EVERYONE are not savvy travelers and look up by ship. Sorry clearly I am correct or they would not be doing it and still making a profit. It is like me again with my magazines. There is a point at which I make a hefty profit. Once there I discount the cost of the ads left because I just want the space sold. Same thing with cabins

 

Lastly I have never been on a cruise where I have seen a fire sale as you say however does not mean it does not happen. Most people by then already know what and where they are going because of itinerary, time off work etc etc.

 

Advertising is a fickle game. That is why there is so much money in it............assuming you can do it and do it well. I would LOVE to have a chat with the head of marketing at Azamara to pick he/she brain

 

We can agree to disagree..............lol

 

Kathy

 

How do you know they're making a profit?

 

Here's my example of a sale

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=53247011&postcount=32

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How do you know they're making a profit?

 

Here's my example of a sale

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=53247011&postcount=32

 

How do you know they are not making a profit? Please re-read what I wrote about that and quite frankly I don;t care if there is a sale or not and I said why. Please re-read my post.

 

I don;t care one way or the other whether they are or are not making a profit or having a sale. Again I said why I buy a cruise and that is that. I do know this Azamara will not be my go to company in the future unless they have an itinerary I want. I didn;t even know they were around until I started looking for the itinerary and I didn;t even find this one the TA did. I have said this before as well pricing wise I am VERY HAPPY with Azamara. The price I paid as a single for my cruise is now over $9000 more than what I paid.

 

Enough from me on this topic gotta go

 

Kathy

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  • 2 weeks later...

Given the nonsense of the past 24 hours, could I respectfully suggest Azamara Marketing Department adhere to that well known phrase ‘When in a hole stop digging’?

 

Azamara’s credibility is falling as each day passes.

 

So disappointing that so many loyal clients are being disenfranchised and looking to other lines to satisfy their cruise cravings.

Edited by WhitlocksEnd
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Just my two-cents, and I'm going off script here, but believe me, launching a new ship in a matter of weeks is no easy matter. I speak from experience from an almost identical scenario. I was Marketing Director decades ago when Seabourn suddenly acquired her third sister ship from a competitor with very little warning. We were thrilled to have another sister ship, but none of the employees had much sleep for weeks (and it should be noted we were not dealing with social media so glitches thankfully were unnoticed by the public before we could correct them!)

So I ask for a bit of understanding and patience; this all will work out, I promise!

The Azamara Pursuit is now launched with itineraries published. We are moving forward with the wind in our sails.

My advice is to book soon if you want the best availability on the Pursuit, or wait until all this shake-down period is in the rear view window. Either way Azamara Club Cruises, and specifically the Azamara Pursuit, will be here waiting for you!

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We thoroughly enjoyed the one Azamara cruise we took and had set our sights on future cruises with Azamara. However, the current pricing has motivated us to look elsewhere. Right now Azamara has firmly solidified a spot in our rear view window and the wind in our sails is moving us forward to other cruising experiences.

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We thoroughly enjoyed the one Azamara cruise we took and had set our sights on future cruises with Azamara. However, the current pricing has motivated us to look elsewhere. Right now Azamara has firmly solidified a spot in our rear view window and the wind in our sails is moving us forward to other cruising experiences.

 

I'm sorry to hear that BBQ! We do have great sales so I hope you'll come back to us once you've sampled the other lines.

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Bonnie

 

I disagree. Azamara no longer has great sales. Their sales used to be good value. The sales pricing sat between say, Celebrity and luxury lines. They are " luxury lite" in my opinion. We've cruised almost exclusively with Azamara since 2012 and we love it. However, since they've bumped prices up, we can do some cruises with Seabourn and Regent for similar overall price level. So, we've decided the true luxury experience is the way to go at that price level. So, good luck maintaining current pricing policies (more than AUD1,000 per couple per day). From CC it is apparent that some loyal AZ customers have moved. Clearly, AZ the organisation doesn't care. OK - we'll return when the pricing returns to its proper market level.

 

Even Marinara has expressed some concerns in Larry's Q&A, so Azamara's pricing policies (and differing cancellation policies in different countries) are a serious issue for at least some of us - even if we are the minority of Az customers and so don't rate.

 

Tony

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Bonnie

 

I disagree. Azamara no longer has great sales. Their sales used to be good value. The sales pricing sat between say, Celebrity and luxury lines. They are " luxury lite" in my opinion. We've cruised almost exclusively with Azamara since 2012 and we love it. However, since they've bumped prices up, we can do some cruises with Seabourn and Regent for similar overall price level. So, we've decided the true luxury experience is the way to go at that price level. So, good luck maintaining current pricing policies (more than AUD1,000 per couple per day). From CC it is apparent that some loyal AZ customers have moved. Clearly, AZ the organisation doesn't care. OK - we'll return when the pricing returns to its proper market level.

 

Even Marinara has expressed some concerns in Larry's Q&A, so Azamara's pricing policies (and differing cancellation policies in different countries) are a serious issue for at least some of us - even if we are the minority of Az customers and so don't rate.

 

Tony

 

 

 

Wish CC had a like button!!

Our thoughts exactly, currently we have bookings with Crystal & Viking at prices below Azamara’s equivalent and are considering a Regent cruise which is about the same price as Azamara but includes flights and a pre cruise hotel.

 

 

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Just my two-cents, and I'm going off script here, but believe me, launching a new ship in a matter of weeks is no easy matter. I speak from experience from an almost identical scenario. I was Marketing Director decades ago when Seabourn suddenly acquired her third sister ship from a competitor with very little warning. We were thrilled to have another sister ship, but none of the employees had much sleep for weeks (and it should be noted we were not dealing with social media so glitches thankfully were unnoticed by the public before we could correct them!)

 

So I ask for a bit of understanding and patience; this all will work out, I promise!

 

The Azamara Pursuit is now launched with itineraries published. We are moving forward with the wind in our sails.

 

My advice is to book soon if you want the best availability on the Pursuit, or wait until all this shake-down period is in the rear view window. Either way Azamara Club Cruises, and specifically the Azamara Pursuit, will be here waiting for you!

 

 

Please don’t drag Seabourn into this debate. Their shoreside operations are incomparable to Azamara’s - simply flawless delivery. They don’t cancel for charters, they don’t cancel to redeploy ships to more profitable areas, their Customer Service is highly responsive - it’s almost impossible to find fault. A few years ago I used to say “and that’s what you pay for”, but as Azamara nowadays frequently charges the same per day, it has become a no-brainer to look at the true luxury / all-inclusive lines.

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