Anyone pick up on this??

[greeneg]

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=3792

 

Interesting, so don't book it, if you think that you might not be able to go. Sounds like Azamara is positioning itself to become the last minute booking of choice......:)

[California Native]

This is just another aspect of utilizing yield management options

Very Common in most hotels, airlines, and some cruise lines.....

if this discourages people from just holding space because they can until final payment...

I say more power to them! It keeps the inventory open to all of us, who seriously are interested in a particular sailing.

[Lobbylin]

This is just another aspect of utilizing yield management options

Very Common in most hotels, airlines, and some cruise lines.....

if this discourages people from just holding space because they can until final payment...

I say more power to them! It keeps the inventory open to all of us, who seriously are interested in a particular sailing.

 

I could not agree more, but then I come from a country where cancellation means losing your depositi full stop - so we ONLY book what we plan to fulfill.

[Susan-M]

Thanks for bringing this to our attention Ed.

 

This comment, "If you book your cruise a year in advance and then illness, a change in financial situation or even alternate travel plans force you to cancel your cruise months in advance, you will still be out $50." makes it sound like an unusual hardship. It's actually a lower fee than what I would have to pay for cancelling some of my other travel reservations.

 

It's not the norm in the cruise industry, but not unwarranted, and I feel it's a move in the right direction for the reason mentioned by where2next. Also, it's $50. per booking (not per person), so not an excessive charge.

 

I wonder when it goes into effect ... i.e. for bookings made after a certain date?

 

p.s. No mention of it yet on Azamara's website, so apparently not in effect yet.

[uktog]

Saw this but as mentioned by an earlier poster it is bringing things in line with what happens in the UK anyway - I always thought it was unfair we had to commit whilst others would be able to gamble such that unless you were watching like a hawk good rooms would not be available when you booked but would come available about 60 days out

I know there are supposed issues re the consumer laws of countries - well this was Mr Pimentil's rationale for why some countries cannot be part of programmes like Passages (pay deposit on board, select exact cruise later) however, I would really like to see a level playing field, or as near level as possible if Azamara and Celebrity are to be truly international brands.

And for me that would be passages open to everyone; moderate charge for cancelling small charge for altering booking to another date

[cruiseyguy]

I think it's a good idea. I've never understood why cruise lines would allow someone to hold a prime cabin for a year or more and then suddenly drop it back into inventory 90 days out with no penalty whatsoever. We all know this policy has often been abused.

[crzrr]

We just received our confirmations for b2b European cruises. Here is the Cancellation Policy as listed on the confirmations:

 

999-91 days prior to sailing "25 Deposit Amount" (That is exactly the way that it is written! I am assuming that this means $25 per person but I guess that it could mean 25% of deposit amount which would be rather high)

90-60 days prior to sailing 20% of total price

59-30 days prior to sailing 50% of total price

29-15 days prior to sailing 75% of total price

14-0 days prior to sailing 100% of total price

 

I agree with cruiseguy in that it didn't seem right that individuals or travel companies could hold prime cabins for extended periods of time. I don't have a problem with this policy.

[Susan-M]

 

999-91 days prior to sailing "25 Deposit Amount" (That is exactly the way that it is written! I am assuming that this means $25 per person but I guess that it could mean 25% of deposit amount which would be rather high)

 

The 'master of ambiguity' from Azamara strikes again, lol. :)

[jdymiller]

Wonder what happens if you switch to a different cruise and don't cancel?

[DaveFr]

It's not a bad idea for the reasons stated above. I prefer the way Regent handles its cancellation fee (they call it an administrative fee). After canceling a cruise, if you book another Regent cruise within a year for any future date, the cancellation fee is applied to the new booking as a future cruise credit.

 

Dave

[MVPinBoynton]

This is better than losing the full deposit as on most river cruises. It will prevent people from locking up a good cabin that they might be planning on canceling if something else comes along.

[greeneg]

Perhaps I am getting crabby in my old age, but I think that it sends a negative message. When you put a deposit down, the cruise line deposits those monies in their account and they have the unrestricted use of those funds for whatever time is involved until either final payment is made, or changes are made in the reservation. I can appreciate that there are issues for the Cruise Line after the final payment date and don't have a problem with penalties in that regard. However, prior to that time, they are being compensated for holding the cabin for you; you are already paying for that service in my view, at least. Plans do change, sometimes willingly, sometimes because of circumstances beyond anyone's control, if you choose to book far in advance, I'm not sure that you should be penalized because you have had to make a change more than 90 days prior to sailing.

 

I think that this is just another way to encourage people to book later rather than sooner, and it isn't the amount of the penalty, it's more the principle of the thing.

[Susan-M]

The benefits of Azamara's unrestricted use of deposit funds must be outweighed by the the negatives of dealing with cancellations that occur prior to final payment, otherwise I don't think they would have imposed this penalty.

 

You mention that it will encourage people to book later rather than sooner. I agree that this is true for those who are up in the air about following through with the booking; which is what Azamara is trying to weed out. For those who are serious, and who are aware of the policy, I don't think it will be an issue for most.

 

If we accept the 20-100% of full fare penalty for cancellations within 90 days, why is the $25. outside of 90 days such an issue? The privilege of holding our deposit money isn't one sided ... we too have an advantage in being able to lock in low fares, OBC's and other incentives that are often available when new itineraries are released.

 

I wonder though after reading crzrr's post if the penalty is $25. or 25% of the deposit?

[BrendaJ]

I can understand why a cruise line would want to charge some type of administrative fee for cancellation of a booking before final payment time. I think there are quite a few people who put deposits on various cruises the minute the itineraries come out, and then, just prior to final payment time, decide which cruise they want to take.

 

On a popular itinerary that fills up fast (like the Celebrity transatlantic cruises), certain cabin types are very quickly sold out, and possible cruisers who would have liked a particular type of cabin are often disappointed. Then, just before final payment time, lots of cabins are released into inventory, long after many people have made other plans.

 

I think, in the past, the cruise lines were able to make a bit of money on having the deposit money in their accounts; however, low interest rates have probably negated most of that benefit. Not to mention, most of us aren't making a lot of interest money in our own accounts, which makes it easier to justify making deposits for multiple sailings - it's not like we're losing a lot of interest money these days.

 

Frankly, I've always found the major cruise line policy of honouring price decreases before final payment to be quite generous. In the past, this policy has been necessary because anyone who booked and then saw a lower price had the option of just cancelling and rebooking without penalty. Now that there is a fee for cancelling, I hope that the rest of the pricing policy is still valid. It would certainly discourage people from booking early if their price was set in stone immediately after booking.

[crzrr]

I would guess that it is $25 and not 25% of deposit amount. I also suspect that at any point, if you were to transfer to a different cruise, you would not be charged a penalty. People we know were supposed to travel with us on last Sept.'s Med cruise. Due to a family illness they had to cancel within 90 days (I don't remember exactly when). At the time of cancellation, they could have lost 1/2 of their cruise fare. Azamara told them that, if they wanted to reschedule, Azamara would credit them with the full amount of payment. They are now sailing on the Quest in May.

 

I agree that this will discourage people from just booking cabins and deciding at the time of final payment which cruise to take. I suspect that with the current promotion of $100 deposit per person when you book onboard, people book cabins figuring that they are only putting down a small amount and when they cancel they can get it all back.

[Jade13]

We just received our confirmations for b2b European cruises. Here is the Cancellation Policy as listed on the confirmations:

 

999-91 days prior to sailing "25 Deposit Amount" (That is exactly the way that it is written! I am assuming that this means $25 per person but I guess that it could mean 25% of deposit amount which would be rather high)

90-60 days prior to sailing 20% of total price

59-30 days prior to sailing 50% of total price

29-15 days prior to sailing 75% of total price

14-0 days prior to sailing 100% of total price

 

I agree with cruiseguy in that it didn't seem right that individuals or travel companies could hold prime cabins for extended periods of time. I don't have a problem with this policy.

 

Are you in the US?

[greeneg]

You could well be right, but we're used to deposits in the $450.00 PP range which is a significant sum ( at least to us).

 

For what ever reasons, this is the first time in three years that we have not had a booking on Azamara, and it still feels a little strange. Yet every time I receive what appears to be an incentive to book, any sort of examination reveals that most of it seems to be smoke and mirrors, and the urge quickly subsides. Guess some of that frustration is coming out.......

[BrendaJ]

I guess that people who have been regular cruisers for years are used to the easy cancellation terms of most mainstream cruise lines.

 

We used to book land vacation packages, and the cancellation penalties for those were pretty severe. Even if we cancelled the day after booking, we were charged a $250 per person cancellation fee. I remember about 10 years ago, we had booked a Club Med vacation. I got a new job and had to cancel the trip due to courses I needed to take, and our cancellation fee was $500. And we cancelled over six months prior to the trip.

 

I think I can live with $50. Not that I have any intention of cancelling our next cruises. Even if I die before then, I expect my ashes to be brought on board. ;)

[crzrr]

Jade 13 - Last time I checked, Delaware was in the US. Our vice-president also hopes that it still is located there!

 

My remark about $100 deposits refers to Azamara and Celebrity's onboard booking offers which allows you to book with $100 deposit. I believe that US and Canadian passengers can take advantage of this. We have also paid significantly more to book in the past. However, I can see where people would book cabins for $200 per couple without worrying about whether or not they will actually take the cruise. Maybe this will make them think twice.

 

Brenda - it is my sincere hope that nothing happens prior to our cruises. However, if it should, I will gladly carry your ashes and ask you to do the same if something should happen to me!

[Jade13]

 

My remark about $100 deposits refers to Azamara and Celebrity's onboard booking offers which allows you to book with $100 deposit. I believe that US and Canadian passengers can take advantage of this. We have also paid significantly more to book in the past. However, I can see where people would book cabins for $200 per couple without worrying about whether or not they will actually take the cruise. Maybe this will make them think twice.

 

 

 

We only paid $100.00 total for two, but I was told the onboard person made a mistake but they are not going to change it. I wasn't the only one onboard to be charged just $100.00. They will get the rest of it though.

 

Did I mention I was told new deposits have gone up from $450.00pp to $550.00pp? That is at least on 12 and 14 night cruises.

[crzrr]

The increased deposit is true. That's what it would have been for our 2011 cruises that we booked except that we had paid the $200 and done an open booking on our recent Journey cruise.

[Jade13]

The question is whether they will waive the cancellation fee if you move to another cruise?

 

I think Mr Pimentel was reading my post about people now booking cruises and hoping they come down in price. :)

 

For the record, I have never really canceled a cruise. I did a number of years ago move a HAL Bermuda booking over to a Canada/New England (booked 2 years in advance) but that is the extent of my "canceling". The specifics were not out yet about Bermuda. I still haven't taken that cruise as it was booked 24 months in advance.

 

I understand they want to crack down on people who openly book different cruises on different lines the same week. They know from the beginning that at least one will be canceled.

[Redtravel]

If they can get people to book in early, they hold their deposits. Those deposits earn interest for the cruise line. The cancellation fee is also a way of making money. If they can make more money and people go along, can you blame them for trying to make a buck. I find that there are times that plans change and you have to cancel/rebook a vacation. That doesn't happen too often. Most people book a trip usually want to go. It kind of reminds me of the Christmas offers selling luxury items like jewelry or furs....guarantee money back if the person doesn't want to keep it. I doubt that they lose money on those sales. Maybe an exchange (only for size), but most people will keep the item. Have I canceled a trip? Yes, but I always rebook. It's usually for health reasons that I have to change dates. Would I just cancel and not rebook. No way. I love vacations.