AZAMARA'S BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: More Amenities added for Up-Market Travelers

[frequent traveler]

I was just wondering what was considered "a great price" since Veranda's start at $4,300.00 per person for 9 nights.

 

It has gone up since we booked - but so have other Black Sea itineraries on other lines for the same time period.

[Jade13]

It has gone up since we booked - but so have other Black Sea itineraries on other lines for the same time period.

 

I think the one you are on includes the Choice Air credit, but they will make you pay the new rate in order to get the discount. This never used to be the case as the "Choice Air" promo was always announced closer to the actual time that air could be booked.

 

The August Back Sea cruise is the only cruise over 4 nights (as far as I know) that does not have the promotion/discount for booking air through the Choice Air portal.

[pacheco18]

 

The August Back Sea cruise is the only cruise over 4 nights (as far as I know) that does not have the promotion/discount for booking air through the Choice Air portal.

 

Someone just mentioned that on our roll call.

 

I do my own air but I pointed out that RT coach Aug 2013 JFK- IST eg is less than $800. That's pretty cheap IMO

[Jade13]

Someone just mentioned that on our roll call.

 

I do my own air but I pointed out that RT coach Aug 2013 JFK- IST eg is less than $800. That's pretty cheap IMO

 

It is a huge differance in price if you can deduct $500.00 per person off of the cruise fare, but to the person on your roll call I would have guessed this one itinerary would not be included next year as it was not this year. Apparently the cruise is almost sold out.

 

Choice Air is differant than Cruise Air since you pick your flights. In fact, I am not sure it is any differant than buying from Orbitz. Did you check to see if the identical flight is available through the Choice Air portal from JFK - IST?

[pacheco18]

It is a huge differance in price if you can deduct $500.00 per person off of the cruise fare, but to the person on your roll call I would have guessed this one itinerary would not be included next year as it was not this year. Apparently the cruise is almost sold out.

 

Choice Air is differant than Cruise Air since you pick your flights. In fact, I am not sure it is any differant than buying from Orbitz. Did you check to see if the identical flight is available through the Choice Air portal from JFK - IST?

 

I did not check

I have never used a cruise line's air so I have no idea how it works

 

I am lucky to have tons of miles for free flights, but they won't last forever (LOL)

[Jade13]

I did not check

I have never used a cruise line's air so I have no idea how it works

 

I am lucky to have tons of miles for free flights, but they won't last forever (LOL)

 

It is a huge differance on the other itineraries that include the discount. You need to place your booking code in the Choice Air portal so you can look for flights. Much better than traditional cruise air. We are using Choice Air for a Celebrity transatlantic and the one way fare into Rome was under $500.00 with taxes.

 

This is the problem that so many people do not understand Choice Air, whether or not they wish to use it. It has never been marketed very well.

[pacheco18]

It is a huge differance on the other itineraries that include the discount. You need to place your booking code in the Choice Air portal so you can look for flights. Much better than traditional cruise air. We are using Choice Air for a Celebrity transatlantic and the one way fare into Rome was under $500.00 with taxes.

 

This is the problem that so many people do not understand Choice Air, whether or not they wish to use it. It has never been marketed very well.

 

Wow - I had no idea.

When my miles are used up I will have to learn the ropes LOL -- if I ever book another Azamara cruise under the new system. I am so disappointed with the change in strategy but I am looking forward to my two Azamara cruises.

 

Right now I am fully booked for 2013 and I have one "opening" for June 2014 -- which will probably be Oceania or Celebrity -- or if I can't find the right itinerary a river cruise. We are running out of places to go!

[azevedan]

In regards to the 50% shore excursion situation, here is my take....At any time, the "full price" could be adjusted so that the discounted price reflects the old full price. They don't have to announce that they're doing this. Every time we look at a shore excursion we determine if it is a good value for what is being offered. Sometimes it is and sometimes (even at 1/2 price) it is not.

 

This is a point that I think a lot of people are missing. If you don't know the price of an excursion (X dollars) then you don't know what 0.5X dollars is, either. 50% off an unknown is still an unknown...and it may still be an outrageous price. Additionally, we don't know what the new full price (Y dollars) will be. What we have been told is that it will not be 2 times the old 0.5X.

[May B]

Also, you can prebook an excursion at the discounted price and get onboard and find out the excursion has been cancelled. Then, should you decide to book a different excursion, you have to pay the full price since you are booking it onboard.

 

From all I've read, crzrr, if I book a 50% off shore excursion before I sail (which indeed I have done for my Jan. 2013 Antarctica cruise on the Quest) and I get onboard and it's cancelled, I am allowed to book any other one, which had previously been eligible for the 50% off, at the 50% off rate. In fact, if both of my pre-booked tours at 50% off are cancelled, I can book two new ones, on board, at 50% off, as long as they were originally eligible.

 

That certainly seems fair.

[May B]

What if Azamara was absolutely not turning a profit (which is clear, or why would they change things) and were either going to have to make some kind of changes, or ... well, consider the alternative.

 

If we complain about how old we're getting, somebody often says, well, it beats the alternative.

 

Finding a way to attempt to turn a profit probably beats the alternative ... presuming it works.

 

And while I'm at it, I will be oh so curious to see where all you cruisers, who think you will never cruise on Azamara again, will actually find your more ideal cruise vacation. I'm not talking to the ones who are priced out, and for you I am very sad.

 

I agree with Ed, though. This might be Azamara's last chance. Hi, Ed.

 

--May

[geocruiser]

What if Azamara was absolutely not turning a profit (which is clear, or why would they change things) and were either going to have to make some kind of changes, or ... well, consider the alternative.

 

If we complain about how old we're getting, somebody often says, well, it beats the alternative.

 

Finding a way to attempt to turn a profit probably beats the alternative ... presuming it works.

 

And while I'm at it, I will be oh so curious to see where all you cruisers, who think you will never cruise on Azamara again, will actually find your more ideal cruise vacation. I'm not talking to the ones who are priced out, and for you I am very sad.

 

I agree with Ed, though. This might be Azamara's last chance. Hi, Ed.

 

--May

 

Could they want more of a profit? Or just want another type of cruise line?

[Bill Leiber]

Well Bill,

Obviously this isn't working in the MDR. On our most receint Quest cruise we were unfortunatly seated at a table for 8 and next to me was seated a woman

(I won't call her a lady) who came in intoxicated.

The waiter proceeded to serve her wine for the next 3 hours during which it was obvious to everyone present she was drunk. :mad:

We couldn't wait to leave. Even though we asked the service to be speeded up it never happened and we were in port and wanted to go into town.

The service was so slow that we no longer would take a table after that for more than 2.

With a 2 top table service was excellent.

We are Discovery members so this is not our first dance, so Azamara get your stuff together and train and expect the MDR servers to be RCCL quality which iN MHO are the best on the 7 seas.

 

Hello Jdavidg -

 

I appreciate your time in reporting your disappointing experience witnessing the ServSafe program in action on your recent vacation on the Azamara Quest.

 

I've passed on your comments to our hotel operations management for their review and consideration. Also, I've included your comments about the slow service you experienced in the dining room.

 

We're hopeful that we'll have the opportunity to welcome you onboard on a future Azamara Club Cruises vacation.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[davwen81]

I might not have read Azamaras announcement right, so can someone help us out. We booked a December 2013 cruise whilst on Quest in March 2012 and paid a reduced deposit and got a brilliant OBC which has been taken off our cruise price, so very happy. Did the Azamara announcement state that those with bookings in 2013 would receive an update from Azamara in their country and if so does it mean that if we do not pay the balance before Nov1 for this 2013 cruise we will have to pay the new price? Hoping for some help with my reading of this, so many thanks in advance.

[Bill Leiber]

I might not have read Azamaras announcement right, so can someone help us out. We booked a December 2013 cruise whilst on Quest in March 2012 and paid a reduced deposit and got a brilliant OBC which has been taken off our cruise price, so very happy. Did the Azamara announcement state that those with bookings in 2013 would receive an update from Azamara in their country and if so does it mean that if we do not pay the balance before Nov1 for this 2013 cruise we will have to pay the new price? Hoping for some help with my reading of this, so many thanks in advance.

 

Hello Wendy and David -

 

If you've already paid your required deposit for your forthcoming December 2013 voyage, then your cruise fare will remain unchanged. The cruise fares will be increasing for 2014 bookings made on or after November, 1, 2012.

 

Below are the 2012 payment terms and conditions for Australian residents:

Paying For Your Cruise

Deposits

§ We will require a deposit to secure your booking within 7 days of making your booking (or full payment if booking within 70 days of departure). On some cruises the deposit may be required on the day of booking or within 1-7 days of making the booking. After this time if your deposit has not been paid then your booking will be automatically cancelled.

A deposit of $800 per person is required for all cruises

§ A non refundable service fee of A $50.00 per person must be paid on top of your cruise deposit to secure your flights and airfare for international departures. Some airfares may require full payment at time of booking, which may be non-refundable. If airfare payment is due prior to the cruise payment schedule, you will be advised at the time of booking. Airline taxes are subject to change until airfares are paid in full.

Final payment

§ We must receive the balance of the cruise cost and/or flight costs (after deducting the deposit you have paid) not less than 70 days before departure unless you book 70 days or less before departure, in which case you must pay the total cruise cost at the time of booking. If we have not received all monies due to us in full and on time, we are entitled to assume that you wish to cancel your cruise and cancellation charges as set out below (see clause 30, Cancellations & Refunds) will apply.

§ A service charge of up to 3% will apply for all payments made to us by credit card. When using your credit or debit card to pay us directly for your cruise, please be aware that we may process that transaction via a bank outside of Australia and your card issuer may choose to charge you a foreign processing fee. We advise you to check the terms and conditions of such foreign transactions with your card issuer in advance of making a payment to us.

§ All money you pay to a travel agent (whom we have authorised to sell our cruises) for your cruise with us will be held by the travel agent on our behalf until the money is paid to us. If you are unable to complete the online check-in process, this may be due to an outstanding balance on your booking. If you have booked via a travel agent, please speak to your travel agent so that the funds can be transferred to us to complete your online check-in.

 

For the sake of good order, I suggest that you contact our Sydney office for reconfirmation. There may be other country regulations of which I might not be aware:

§ Telephone: Reservations number - 1300 754 500 - or our Sydney switchboard number - 02 4331 5400 -

 

We'll be waiting to welcome you onboard next year!

 

Regards,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[davwen81]

Many thanks Bill for your quick reply, much appreciated. We certainly look forward to further cruises with Azamara as we just love your staff, your service and your itineraries. Cheers for now,

[Jade13]

§ A service charge of up to 3% will apply for all payments made to us by credit card. When using your credit or debit card to pay us directly for your cruise, please be aware that we may process that transaction via a bank outside of Australia and your card issuer may choose to charge you a foreign processing fee. We advise you to check the terms and conditions of such foreign transactions with your card issuer in advance of making a payment to us.

 

Regards,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

 

Interesting that this is legal in Australia.

[uktog]

Interesting that this is legal in Australia.

 

Very common in Australia, look at any hotel website and you will see the same.

 

It is also legal in Europe including the UK. That said at present Azamara do not apply the charge in the UK though people booking through a travel agent are most likely to have the charge applied.

 

There is legislation going through the UK parliament at present to review the extent to which credit card surcharges can be applied

 

Just another example of how terms and conditions will vary by the law of the country - we have decided to keep pace only with our own and those terms that apply in the countries we are booking in, the rest is too difficult

[crzrr]

From all I've read, crzrr, if I book a 50% off shore excursion before I sail (which indeed I have done for my Jan. 2013 Antarctica cruise on the Quest) and I get onboard and it's cancelled, I am allowed to book any other one, which had previously been eligible for the 50% off, at the 50% off rate. In fact, if both of my pre-booked tours at 50% off are cancelled, I can book two new ones, on board, at 50% off, as long as they were originally eligible.

 

That certainly seems fair.

 

I was writing from personal experience when AZ first offered the 50% shore excursion discount. I did go back and read the current policy and you are correct. I don't know when they corrected the issue but glad that they did. On our last cruise, none of our excursions were cancelled so did not need to deal with replacements. And, you are correct, that is the fair way to do it.

[crzrr]

The Paul Gauguin used to also assess the 3% surcharge for credit card payments. Not sure if they are still doing this.

[pickypicky]

Hello PickyPicky -

 

In order to trouble-shoot this problem of your being contacted by Avoya Travel when you've requested to receive email updates directly from Azamara, we'll require the name and email address that you used in your request.

 

Please email that information to LeClubVoyage@AzamaraClubCruises.com. In the subject line, please use "Email me special offers from ACC." They've been alerted to look for your response.

 

Thank for your assistance in solving this programming error.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

 

Hi Bill,

Just wanted to let you know that I did as you suggested, and had a prompt reply saying that they were aware of the problem and are working on it. Thanks for your help. So far, I have had no more emails or calls from Avoya.

[davidandjulia]

Bill

We have previously responded to this thread in which we advised you that in spite of our misgivings regarding the “Azamara’s Big Announcement”, we had booked a further cruise on the Journey on 30th August 2013 to take advantage of the October booking concession. We booked this cruise as the itinerary appealed but more especially because of the excellent on-board service we experienced on the Quest 15th September Barcelona to Rome, our first with Azamara.

On our return we extolled the virtues of Azamara to two other couples who we have cruised with in the past and we are happy to advise you that they too have booked to join us on the Journey next August, purely on our recommendation. It may also be the case that another of our friends who sailed with us on the Quest could also be joining us if the single occupancy concession is repeated as she also is anxious to continue cruising with Azamara.

It would follow, as we are sure Bill you will agree, that personal recommendations contribute so much to the future viability of Azamara. It does however concern us that recent endeavours by management to attempt to enhance what the majority of your “consumers” consider to be the ideal in a cruise experience, and engage in what appear to be speculative decisions with dubious “enhancements”, which could possibly result in many fleeing the nest to pastures new. This will obviously be to the detriment of us all. Let us hope that Mr Pimentel will be able to reassure us following reading the opinions of the many contributors to this thread, that our fears are without foundation, and that we can all look forward to returning home again and again to our newly acquired Azamara family at sea.

What is very apparent by reading the many Azamara threads/topics, is that we are all unanimous in our praise for the on board personnel who go out of their way to make each cruise so special for us and for this reason alone we are happy to recommend Azamara to others. It was especially moving for us to join in the short Ecumenical Morning Service with the coast of Capri replacing the usual back drop of the altar. It is of course, these special moments that remain within your memory and a very big thank you again must be extended to Russ, the Cruise Director who led the service and sang a very moving hymn accompanied by the resident pianist (sorry, can’t remember his name). We will forever cherish this very special unforgettable moment. Very shortly both the Quest and Journey will be undergoing their dry dock revitalisation programme including crew quarters enhancements etc., which of course is to be commended. We must however accept that the dry-dock facility will probably be well away from all on-shore amenities for the crew and in addition, this will not be an opportunity for a break from the usual pressure they experience during cruise days. Quite the contrary as I believe our shipmates will be under even more pressure as in addition to providing home comforts to shore staff engaged in the renovation work, they are also to be allocated additional projects involving deep cleans etc. It would be nice to read that management will in some way show their appreciation in some tangible way and perhaps Mr Pimentel may like to also add his comments in this regard. :)

[Jade13]

We were planning a trip in March 2014 with some friends from the US who we met on Azamara. We love the line, the fellow passengers, the itineraries and crew. We just love the whole thing.

 

I cannot begin to tell you how crestfallen we are, and are totally confused by this "announcement". There is no upside.

 

I am keen for Azamara to make profit, but in making this decision, they will potentially destroy a large part of their core customer base who simply cannot afford the price. The hike, even taking into account increasing fuel cost, port charges, salaries etc. is way beyond reasonable, and although we both drink, we would not subsidise others if we didnt out of principle. That is the plain fact in my eyes. The price hike doesnt seem reasonable.

 

We will have to re-think this now, as a balcony cabin on the cruise we want is $6657 each. Nearly £9000 excluding flights, hotels and spend.

 

David

 

Can you please confirm what the rate was on this 17 night cruise from Hong Kong this year? If I recall it was approx. $5,000.00 per person USD for the least expensive Veranda, BUT, there was a Choice Air promo (US and Canada) of $1,000.00 off per person if you booked your air through Choice Air, which brought the cruise fare down to about $4,000.00 per person. You still had to add the cost of air and pre-cruise hotels, etc. Does that sound about right?

[150edmiston]

Can you please confirm what the rate was on this 17 night cruise from Hong Kong this year? If I recall it was approx. $5,000.00 per person USD for the least expensive Veranda, BUT, there was a Choice Air promo (US and Canada) of $1,000.00 off per person if you booked your air through Choice Air, which brought the cruise fare down to about $4,000.00 per person. You still had to add the cost of air and pre-cruise hotels, etc. Does that sound about right?

 

Yes jade those numbers look about right.

[Jancruz]

The Paul Gauguin used to also assess the 3% surcharge for credit card payments. Not sure if they are still doing this.

 

That was when they were run by Regent..

Jancruz1

[pacheco18]

I sailed on the PG in 2010 (post Regent) and there was no surcharge.

 

No cruise will EVER top that one.