Disappointed related to Shore Excursions

[Bill Leiber]

In good conscience you don't do things like this. But I feel that rather than an intentional lack of good conscience, it is a case of unintentional administrative disfunction.

 

That's why an explanation from Bill would be helpful here. This isn't a concern of one individual ... it affects many; both those directly affected by the 'bait and switch', and those of us who wonder if we can trust Azamara if we do book with them.

Hello Susan-M and all of you:

 

I’m sorry for not responding to you sooner in this conversation about your deep disappointment about how we communicated the expiration of our “Azamara Land Discovery 50% Savings Promotion on March 31, 2011.”

 

In some of my earlier posts on other forums, I shared with you my preference to avoid posting information in a piece-meal fashion on Cruise Critic so that I could have the time to gather more information from management. I thought that a “complete” reply detailing our communication plan would be more meaningful than just a part of the response. I can see after reading about your accelerated drop in your confidence and trust in our shoreside operation that I was very wrong to do so. From now on, I’ll let you know up-front that I’m checking for more information and that I will get back to all of you. It was very upsetting for me to realize that I was exacerbating your frustration and for doing that I apologize.

 

It seems that most of you could understand and accept our decision to change our policy, but were dismayed by the way in which we communicated this change to you. I included Susan-M’s comment in my reply because of her diagnosis that our problem was “a case of unintentional administrative dysfunction.” Fortunately we’re aware that our “symptoms” sometimes create discomfort for our guests, but we’re working on treating the underlying “connectivity” problem.

 

I will get back to you with the communication schedule that we used to communicate this policy change along with any other information that I might learn. Regardless of what it states, the very fact that I'm writing this means that our plan did not perform as well as we thought. Simply stated, we made a mistake.

 

At the risk of being tarred and feathered, I will reiterate once again that Larry Pimentel and his team understand that there is much to improve in our shoreside operation if we truly want to fulfill our goal to provide a “seamless” quality Azamara experience on both land and sea. Recently I read a comment by Gen. David Petraeus about Afghanistan saying that “hard isn’t impossible” and I immediately thought of Azamara's internal operation presenting that same type of challenge in improving its functionality so that it operates more efficiently. It will be hard –but we will persist in that endeavor. I respectfully ask you not to give up on us. Sometimes the best of lines do wrong things.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[zennor]

It seems that most of you could understand and accept our decision to change our policy, but were dismayed by the way in which we communicated this change to you. I included Susan-M’s comment in my reply because of her diagnosis that our problem was “a case of unintentional administrative dysfunction.” Fortunately we’re aware that our “symptoms” sometimes create discomfort for our guests, but we’re working on treating the underlying “connectivity” problem.

 

I will get back to you with the communication schedule that we used to communicate this policy change along with any other information that I might learn. Regardless of what it states, the very fact that I'm writing this means that our plan did not perform as well as we thought. Simply stated, we made a mistake.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

 

Bill,

 

I understand a change in policy if it applies to new customers who booked AFTER the change was announced/published officially (& NOT on these boards). However unless this change was communicated directly to EVERY customer that had already booked under the original policy (and this assumes then that Azamara DID change their mind!), Azamara should be honouring the original promotion for those who had already booked.

 

As mentioned in this thread I actually have an email direct from Azamara telling me that there was NO deadline & that I could book up to 4 days in advance of departure (ie in Sept). I do not see how legally you can backtrack from that one.

 

_________________

[Emdee]

I have no direct email but I took Bill at his word thought I needed no confirmation.

The amount wont make or break me but I just feel used .. which isnt nice.

[California Native]

I think the problem many of us are feeling that have been on AZ and returned to book further cruises is...

We saw how hard thecrew members and officers worked onboard to make our cruise phenomenal.

We disembarked our cruise with the desire to return to AZ based on our onboard ship experience.

and then the reality of the shoreside incompetence hits us.

The love, support and TRUST we had in the AZ product has now been significantly compromised.

Whether its this promotion and how it was handled or the Choice Air or failing to notify direct bookers of significant itinerary changes.

Excuses get old.

Then they become unbelievable and then we just cross AZ off the list of cruiselines to consider.

The executives at AZ have so much experience, they KNOW how to run a cruiseline...

We've begun to wonder what is really going on behind the scenes. Because the "mistakes" that AZ has been making should not be happening by executives with the backgrounds they collectively have.

[Susan-M]

Simply stated, we made a mistake.

 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________

 

Bill:

Thank you for responding and acknowledging that a mistake was made by Azamara. I trust this means that Azamara will have the integrity to make their 'wrong' a 'right', and honour the terms of the original offer for those who are affected.

 

Looking forward to your update,

 

Susan

[zennor]

These are my responses when I contacted Azamara re their previous email stating there was no deadline:

 

The offer for 50% discount on excursions ended on the 31st March. You will still be able to book excursions through us on the phone depending on your sail date.

 

When I queried if I could book at the discount by telephone:

 

I'm sorry if you misunderstood what I wrote last e-mail, the offer has now

closed, all I meant was, that if you need help booking any excursions, you

can call us. With regard to the rest of your e-mail and what has been

written in the past I will forward your concerns to a higher authority.

 

Am not holding my breath...:rolleyes:

[Susan-M]

 

Am not holding my breath...:rolleyes:

 

Have faith in the "higher authority" ... I don't think they would have publicly admitted their mistake without planning to remedy it. :)

 

Just to add, I hope that their idea of a remedy isn't limited to correcting their "connectivity issues".... per Bill's post, "Fortunately we’re aware that our “symptoms” sometimes create discomfort for our guests, but we’re working on treating the underlying “connectivity” problem."

 

Susan

[Jade13]

Have faith in the "higher authority" ... I don't think they would have publicly admitted their mistake without planning to remedy it. :)

 

Just to add, I hope that their idea of a remedy isn't limited to correcting their "connectivity issues".... per Bill's post, "Fortunately we’re aware that our “symptoms” sometimes create discomfort for our guests, but we’re working on treating the underlying “connectivity” problem."

 

Susan

 

Susan-M,

 

My impression from Bill's response was different than yours. They are not admitting any wrong regarding the specific Shore Excursions promotion that is in question.

 

They will show what they did to communicate their policy change.

 

"I will get back to you with the communication schedule that we used to communicate this policy change along with any other information that I might learn."

[Jade13]

 

Whether its this promotion and how it was handled or the Choice Air or failing to notify direct bookers of significant itinerary changes.

 

 

Where2next, thank you for recognizing that these various issues are all related to a marketing and communications problem at Azamara.

 

I was dismissed by many for bringing up a "Choice Air" issue (issue was that we were booked direct and Azamara never told us about Choice Air, a promo that was coded on our booking), resulting in us booking our own air and a cruise fare that was $2,000.00 more than if we booked through the Choice Air portal.

 

In reality, the problem stemmed from the same communications problem that caused Azamara to change itineraries without contacting guests in a timely manner, and this problem with the Shore Excursions promotion.

 

This thread would have been removed if it was seen as a single person complaint, but the shore excursions promotion involves many.

 

All of these issues are related to a very serious communications problem at the cruise line.

[pickypicky]

Bill,

I neither understand nor accept that you ran a special, I booked and paid, THEN you cancelled the special. Your position is indefensible. It matters not to me how you communicated the "deadline" because excursions for my cruise in 2012 have not even been offered yet.

[Susan-M]

Hi Jade,

 

I agree that by only admitting to a mistake in communication of the expiration of the program, they are ignoring the bigger mistake in which they offered an incentive to book a cruise and then after people had booked, removed the possibility of those clients being able to use the promised incentive.

 

Bill admitted that they didn't handle the communication of it properly, so it's hard to imagine that advising the "communication schedule" will help them in justifying a decision not to honour the terms of the original offer for those affected.

 

Bill's next response will certainly be a turning point one way or another for many here!

 

Susan

[Jade13]

Bill,

I neither understand nor accept that you ran a special, I booked and paid, THEN you cancelled the special. Your position is indefensible. It matters not to me how you communicated the "deadline" because excursions for my cruise in 2012 have not even been offered yet.

 

Pickypicky, this should not be directed at Bill as he is only the messenger/ "Chief Blogger" and not a decision maker as far as I can tell. In fact, I think Azamara is micro-managed, which is one of their problems.

 

The issues need to be addressed right to the top, both to Larry Pimentel, President and CEO, and Edie Bornstein, Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

[pickypicky]

Jade, you're probably right, but as the messenger, hopefully he has Mr. Pimentel's ear. My TA has promised to contact him as well.

[Jade13]

Jade, you're probably right, but as the messenger, hopefully he has Mr. Pimentel's ear. My TA has promised to contact him as well.

 

Interesting. So your TA was also told that the promo was through 2012?

[Susan-M]

Jade - it's shown in the original offer:

LDS is valid for full fare (including 2-for-1 fares) bookings for 2011 sailings as of April 4, 2011 (Azamara Journey) and May 6, 2011 (Azamara Quest) through all 2012 sailings.

[Jade13]

Jade - it's shown in the original offer:

 

Susan-M,

 

I actually have never seen "2012" on any formal offer, either on the Azamara website, or any brochure. That is why I wanted to know if anyone had a cut and past from the website, or email confirmation from Azamara.

 

It actually looks like a typo on Bill's December post (maybe he meant up until 2012)? On the same post it also mentions specific dates of Quest and Journey through December 2011 (but even that conflicted with the website "Special Promotions" which strictly had the Promotion under "Europe 2011"). The website is a mess though. Have you noticed that sometimes when you click on "Special Promotions" they come up, and sometimes you get nothing.

 

I was going to commend Azamara a couple of weeks ago when the promotion that week on the US site had language that both stated something like "itineraries on this page" and listed specific sailings, but than they changed the copy again, and I believe that language was gone (the new language added the part about those already booked not being able to cancel and rebook to get the $500.00 OBC).

[Andy]

Susan-M,

 

I actually have never seen "2012" on any formal offer, either on the Azamara website, or any brochure. That is why I wanted to know if anyone had a cut and past from the website, or email confirmation from Azamara.

 

It actually looks like a typo on Bill's December post (maybe he meant up until 2012)? On the same post it also mentions specific dates of Quest and Journey through December 2011 (but even that conflicted with the website "Special Promotions" which strictly had the Promotion under "Europe 2011"). The website is a mess though. Have you noticed that sometimes when you click on "Special Promotions" they come up, and sometimes you get nothing.

 

 

Hi Jade !

 

I'm wondering about this as well. I do not recall anything stating this promotion being offered into 2012. I always thought this was meant to be a 2011 promotion. At this point, it's hard to tell what was, and what will be.

[Susan-M]

Hi Jade,

I did take that quote from Bill's post from December (as posted on pg. 1 of this thread).

 

In an offer that Frommer's posted back in December, dates clearly show sailings through to Dec. 23/27 2011 ... nothing for 2012, and only for Europe.

per their ad... "Here's the deal: Book by March 31, 2011, and you get...50% off on most shore excursions if booked ahead of cruise date". Here's a link to the full ad.

 

So, while Frommer's ad shows that your cruise had to be booked by March 31st to qualify, ACC changed the promotion entirely per this announcement from Bill in Feb.

 

They have a bit of a job to do in fixing this one.

 

Susan

[Jade13]

Hi Jade !

 

I'm wondering about this as well. I do not recall anything stating this promotion being offered into 2012. I always thought this was meant to be a 2011 promotion. At this point, it's hard to tell what was, and what will be.

 

 

Andy,

 

From a business point of view, I do not believe that in 2010 (when the

promo came out) it makes any sense to offer this promotion through

2012. Azamara doesn't even know the costs of the excursions two years

down the road, or whether they even need the promotion as perhaps by

2012 their ships are filling up without offering this deal.

 

Some are pointing to this December post from Bill. It was part of a

post on a thread regarding UK guest concerns.

 

"Here is more detailed information about the 50% Land Discoveries

Savings (LDS) which is available worldwide; however, there are

specific terms and conditions which apply to this program:

LDS is valid for full fare (including 2-for-1 fares) bookings for 2011

sailings as of April 4, 2011 (Azamara Journey) and May 6, 2011

(Azamara Quest) through all 2012 sailings.(That means that the savings are not available for the Caribbean and

Asia during the first quarter of 2011.)

LDS offers 50% savings on most Azamara Land Discoveries; but excludes

overland tours, special ticketed events such as the Monaco Grand Prix,

Rio Carnival, concerts and other ticketed performances.

LDS is only available for shore excursions booked prior to the sail

date and is not available once onboard the ship.

LDS can be pre-booked online only. AzamaraClubCruises.com

Once guests have made at least one payment toward their voyage, Land

Discoveries tours can be booked on AzamaraClubCruises.com beginning

approximately four months prior to sailing. Booking number, ship name

and sail date are required to book online.

TIME LIMIT- Online bookings of Land Discoveries can be made up until 4

days prior to sailing date. If you are within the 4 days, you will

then need to purchase your shore excursions on board the ship at the

full price.LDS reservations accepted on a first come, first served basis, and are

subject to availability.

LDS applies to Azamara Club Cruises Land Discoveries (shore

excursions) program, and excludes private arrangements.

LDS is not available for chartered voyages.

Cancellation penalties apply to Land Discoveries reservations

cancelled less than 24 hours prior to day of shore excursion"

 

The post from Bill directly conflicts with information on Azamara's

website and published materials. As a post on a public message board,

I am not sure this is legally binding, even if posted by a

representative of Azamara. There is usually language in Cruise

Contracts for gross clerical errors. If someone from the cruiseline

posts that a fare starts at $199.00 and they meant to type $1,999.00,

the cruise line does not have to honor that "typo", because it is a

gross clerical error.

 

I would be more concerned with the "published" materials, both on the

website and brochures, and change of a promotional deal without

notifying guests. Azamara either has correspondence proof that they

contacted customers (or their agents), and gave them reasonable time

to book the excursions at the promotional rate, or they didn't. Bill

state he would be getting back with this information on how guests

were informed of the change.

 

One thing to note about this Shore Excursions Promotion vs. the

Caribbean and Mexico sailings "Drinks on Us" promotion (or $500.00

OBC promotion), was that the others were easier to administer because

they required no action on the part of the guest.

[Jade13]

Hi Jade,

I did take that quote from Bill's post from December (as posted on pg. 1 of this thread).

 

In an offer that Frommer's posted back in December, dates clearly show sailings through to Dec. 23/27 2011 ... nothing for 2012, and only for Europe.

per their ad... "Here's the deal: Book by March 31, 2011, and you get...50% off on most shore excursions if booked ahead of cruise date". Here's a link to the full ad.

 

So, while Frommer's ad shows that your cruise had to be booked by March 31st to qualify, ACC changed the promotion entirely per this announcement from Bill in Feb.

 

They have a bit of a job to do in fixing this one.

 

Susan

 

Here is the "post", but again this just looks like a poster on the Frommers board, again not directly from Azamara. I would not consider this an "Ad" on Frommers.

 

"

Azamara Offers Discounts on 2011 Europe Sailings

Posted by Matt Hannafin at 12/28/2010 11:26 PM EST

Azamara Club Cruises, the newest line in the Royal Caribbean/Celebrity family, is offering big early-booking discounts on dozens of European sailings this spring, summer, and fall.



Here's the deal: Book by March 31, 2011, and you get:

• Two-for-one fares (a bit of sleight-of-hand involving inflated brochure prices, but still . . .)
  
• $1,000 per person early-booking savings, up to a total of $2,000 per stateroom
  
• $500 to $1,000 "ChoiceAir" credit, applicable toward air travel booked through Azamara
  
• 50% off on most shore excursions if booked ahead of cruise date
  

Here's a sampling of how those deals look in action:

• June 4, 2011: 7-night round-trip from Rome/Civitavecchia aboard Azamara Journey; rates from $1,899 per person
  
• June 18, 2011: 7-night Barcelona to Lisbon aboard Azamara Journey; rates from $1,899 per person
  
• June 25, 2011: 7-night Lisbon to Rouen aboard Azamara Journey; rates from $1,849 per person
  
• June 2, 2011: 9-night Istanbu to Athens/Piraeus aboard Azamara Quest; rates from $2,449 per person
  
• June 11, 2011: 7-night round-trip from Athens aboard Azamara Quest; rates from $1,949 per person
  
• June 18, 2011: 7-night Athens/Piraeus to Rome/Civitavecchia aboard Azamara Quest; rates from $1,899 per person
  
• June 25, 2011: 7-night round-trip from Rome/Civitavecchia aboard Azamara Quest; rates from $2,099 per person
  

All rates shown are for Club Interior Staterooms. And while we're at it, here's some more fine print: (A) Government taxes and fees are additional. (B) Early-booking savings apply to Azamara Journey sailings departing between April 4 and December 27, 2011 and Azamara Quest sailings departing between May 6 and December 23, 2011. © ChoiceAir Credit offers $500 per-person credit for Oceanview, Veranda, and Continent Suites and $1,000 per-person credit for Club World Owner and Ocean suites. Air has to be booked through ChoiceAir, credit will be applied against cruise fare after ChoiceAir flights are added to the booking, and certain gateway airports may not be available for all voyages. ChoiceAir credit is valid for new individual bookings made in Oceanview, Veranda, or Suite staterooms by March 31, 2011,for Journey sailings departing between April 4 and October 15, 2011 (except May 26 and May 30 black-out dates), and Quest sailings departing between May 6 and November 17, 2011. (D) The 50%-off shore excursions offer is valid on the same dates noted in "B" above.

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.frommers.com/community/blogs/cruise.cfm?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3A52f8da68-7f6d-4edc-b082-451715e6da97Post%3Aeb1d1331-081a-40b4-a8da-f81efd83281e#ixzz1K5mlM4eP"

[Jade13]

Speaking of the website, I advised two months ago that under "Special Promotions" it still shows Journey from Dubai to Athens on May 15 :confused:

 

http://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/specials/viewHTMLPromoSpecial.do?pagename=azamazing_promotion

 

"May 15, 2011 - 12 Nights Dubai to Athens Cruise – Starting from $ 1,939.00†

Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Suez Canal (Passage); Alexandria, Egypt; Athens (Piraeus), Greece"

 

 

It is suppose to be Quest from Dubai to Athens on April 24. I keep checking to see if anyone at Azamara reads their own web content, and would make the change.

[Susan-M]

Andy,

The post from Bill directly conflicts with information on Azamara's

website and published materials.

 

Other than Bill's mention of "through all 2012 sailings." are there other conflicts?

 

Susan

[Jade13]

Other than Bill's mention of "through all 2012 sailings." are there other conflicts?

 

Susan

 

There is also confusion/conflict over some itineraries in late 2011 because they are not in Europe, but some who have posted here felt the promotion included their Amazon cruise (South America), and were not happy that the promotion ended before any shore excursions were available to book.

[pickypicky]

Jade, I received the e-mail promotion from Azamara on June 25, 2010, 5:29PM. I didn't save it, rather printed it and stuck it in my file after we had booked the cruise and thought nothing more about it until my TA told me that in a recent conversation with a rep from AZ re our cruise in 2/2012, the LDS promo came up and she was told that no, that was only for Europe. The verbage is as others have pointed out "50% Land Discoveries Savings (LDS) is valid for full fare (including 2-for-1 fares) bookings for sailings from 04-Apr-11 (Journey) and 12-Apr-11 (Quest) through March 2012 voyages."

[Jade13]

Jade, I received the e-mail promotion from Azamara on June 25, 2010, 5:29PM. I didn't save it, rather printed it and stuck it in my file after we had booked the cruise and thought nothing more about it until my TA told me that in a recent conversation with a rep from AZ re our cruise in 2/2012, the LDS promo came up and she was told that no, that was only for Europe. The verbage is as others have pointed out "50% Land Discoveries Savings (LDS) is valid for full fare (including 2-for-1 fares) bookings for sailings from 04-Apr-11 (Journey) and 12-Apr-11 (Quest) through March 2012 voyages."

 

Wow pickypicky, that is the first that anyone has mentioned an email offer direct from Azamara that states the promotion is through March 2012. What a mess Azamara has created. Are there even any European sailings from January 2012 through March 2012? You need to scan and post that offer with the dates (make a copy and remove your email address of course). I am sure there is someone here who can give you directions on how to do this.

 

Or, maybe someone else here has the email offer sent on June 25, 2010?