Open Passage Booking

[Philandher]

Hi ,

We purchased an Open Passage Booking whilst on the Quest for the Black Sea cruise this summer.

We specifically asked if it could be used with any discounted cruise price we received from our Agent and were told by the on board Cruise Sales Manager that that was the case.

We have now come to book our Azamara cruise for next year and have been informed that, because we have got a “net rate” price we are not able to use our Open Passage Booking in conjunction with this price.

Has anybody else experienced the same problem?:mad:

[Jade13]

Hi ,

We purchased an Open Passage Booking whilst on the Quest for the Black Sea cruise this summer.

We specifically asked if it could be used with any discounted cruise price we received from our Agent and were told by the on board Cruise Sales Manager that that was the case.

We have now come to book our Azamara cruise for next year and have been informed that, because we have got a “net rate” price we are not able to use our Open Passage Booking in conjunction with this price.

Has anybody else experienced the same problem?:mad:

 

 

What is a "net" rate price?

 

(Note that we had problems on Celebrity with an Open Passage which we were told could be used for a group rate - it says so on the Passage - but then were not able to use it on our next Celebrity cruise because they can not be combined with "GroupX" rates. I am bringing this up because I don't know if this issue is similar or not.)

[Philandher]

What is a "net" rate price?

 

(Note that we had problems on Celebrity with an Open Passage which we were told could be used for a group rate - it says so on the Passage - but then were not able to use it on our next Celebrity cruise because they can not be combined with "GroupX" rates. I am bringing this up because I don't know if this issue is similar or not.)

 

I'm not sure what a "net rate" is but it must be very competitive. It does sound like a similar issue to what you experienced. It's a shame when you agree to something in good faith with one part of the organisation, only for another department to renege on the agreement.:(

[cruiseco]

We have now come to book our Azamara cruise for next year and have been informed that, because we have got a “net rate” price we are not able to use our Open Passage Booking in conjunction with this price.

Has anybody else experienced the same problem?:mad:

 

Who told you about this "net rate"? It certainly wasn't someone from Azamara. It had to be the TA you were booking with.

 

A "net rate" would simply mean that the fare is the amount due to the cruise line after the TA's commission has been deducted. If I book my Mother on a cruise I would charge her a "net rate", basically discounting her fare by the amount of my commission which I'm willing to give up for dear old Mom.

 

But by doing that I'm working for free -- not making a dime on the booking which is fine in this case. But why in the world would I charge some complete stranger a "net rate"? It makes no sense. Your TA, if that's who is telling you this, is lying to you.

[Bill Leiber]

I'm not sure what a "net rate" is but it must be very competitive. It does sound like a similar issue to what you experienced. It's a shame when you agree to something in good faith with one part of the organisation, only for another department to renege on the agreement.:(

 

 

Hello Philandher -

 

Please give me some time to look into this "net rate" issue that has become a barrier for you to be able to redeem your "Open Passage" account that you purchased while onboard. I'll be checking with our revenue management team to determine if there is a UK "net rate" promotion or another unknown issue creating this issue.

 

Thank you for your patience and you'll hear from me as soon as I have definite information to share with you.

 

Regards,

 

Bill Leiber

___________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[Marmaduke]

A couple of years ago whilst on a P & O cruise I looked into their Future Cruise down payment scheme and the written terms and conditions stated that it could not be used in conjunction with net rate fares. When I asked the on board future cruise sales person what constituted a "Net Rate" fare she was unable to tell me, she told me to check with my travel agent. Needless to say, I didn't bother to purchase a P & O deposit.

 

I will also be interested in Bill's reply as since Azamara's prices for next year have increased I am hoping to be able to use my Open Passage deposit on a discounted cruise (should there be one).

[mzk90]

I have an Azamara Open Passage booking and when I got the invoice onboard it clearly states that there are offers that it is not available with, one of which is 'certain price programs and sales campaigns' which my TA friend tells me would include Net rate bookings that certain travel agents use when they are 'packaging' a holiday!

 

I was advised to always check the terms of a sales offer to see if it says it is not combinable with onboard bookings!

[Jade13]

I have an Azamara Open Passage booking and when I got the invoice onboard it clearly states that there are offers that it is not available with, one of which is 'certain price programs and sales campaigns' which my TA friend tells me would include Net rate bookings that certain travel agents use when they are 'packaging' a holiday!

 

I was advised to always check the terms of a sales offer to see if it says it is not combinable with onboard bookings!

 

Don't a good majority of those in the UK purchase a pre-packaged holiday that includes hotels and airfare?

[tomtal]

Jade - we don't necessarily book a 'package'. One reason for so doing is that if it is a package, then insurance comes into play with both the airlines and the cruise companies. For instance, those on packages were able to get a complete refund or were looked after by the airlines/cruise companies when the volcanic ash affected many vacations. Also this year, obviously in order to sell the cruises, free flights have been offered as an incentive by many of the higher end cruise companies. The downside of booking a package is when one wants to deviate from the package, e.g. spend a few days prior or post cruise. Another problem is - or I believe it is - that the package of flight and cruise must be booked at the same time. Hence our Azamara cruise is a 'package' and we will book flights separately for our HA cruise where we want to spend time in Barcelona prior to joining the ship. Kind regards to you Jade - and maybe we will get to do the Canada/New England cruise in the future after all.

[Jade13]

Jade - we don't necessarily book a 'package'. One reason for so doing is that if it is a package, then insurance comes into play with both the airlines and the cruise companies. For instance, those on packages were able to get a complete refund or were looked after by the airlines/cruise companies when the volcanic ash affected many vacations. Also this year, obviously in order to sell the cruises, free flights have been offered as an incentive by many of the higher end cruise companies. The downside of booking a package is when one wants to deviate from the package, e.g. spend a few days prior or post cruise. Another problem is - or I believe it is - that the package of flight and cruise must be booked at the same time. Hence our Azamara cruise is a 'package' and we will book flights separately for our HA cruise where we want to spend time in Barcelona prior to joining the ship. Kind regards to you Jade - and maybe we will get to do the Canada/New England cruise in the future after all.

 

Tomtal, I remember you now! You were on the ill fated Maasdam cruise in 2010 from Montreal to Boston. It was a shame since it was sunny and bright and no hurricane, but the way everything was handled by HAL, well, Azamara could learn a lesson. We left the ship early after we returned to Boston. We used the credit issued the following year on Massdam for VOV. Fortunately HAL never places restrictions on how these can be used. The difference on Maasdam in 2011 was day and night, and they had the best of the best onboard. Much better food. The Chef told us to go on the group kitchen tour stick to the back, and he would taken us on a private tour afterwards. We never asked, but he took us through the ship, crew quarters etc. It was really interesting.

 

I remember there was a group on a tour in 2010 on Canada New England and their first cruise and you said it would be their last. Did they ever change their mind?

 

We are getting used to cancellations, not just HAL, but we have had 4 Azamara itineraries canceled. Last year we just went with the new itinerary which had a much reduced rate, but decided not to do the same this year as any change in dates would be at prevailing rates, and we have been to most of the ports.

 

Btw, Azamara has much better rates when air is included. I never see these type of deals on HAL. At least in the US with Choice Air we can come in a few days early and when we choose.

 

This thread was about Open Passages. The onboard staff on Azamara always told us to book a specific cruise, because in the US if we canceled it was refundable. I can see there continues to be lots of confusion.

 

If someone books on board and has the booking going directly to the agent they booked the current cruise with, I would think the onboard staff would know if there would be a problem.

[leonjo]

Hi ,

We purchased an Open Passage Booking whilst on the Quest for the Black Sea cruise this summer.

We specifically asked if it could be used with any discounted cruise price we received from our Agent and were told by the on board Cruise Sales Manager that that was the case.

We have now come to book our Azamara cruise for next year and have been informed that, because we have got a “net rate” price we are not able to use our Open Passage Booking in conjunction with this price.

Has anybody else experienced the same problem?:mad:

 

Thought I would let you know it"s only 3 weeks till we will be on the Journey for our Indian cruise, it"s me hijacking your thread this time. Hope you get it sorted out to your satisfaction. We are thinking of doing The Baltic cruise in 2014 ,we will see

Jean

[Philandher]

Thought I would let you know it"s only 3 weeks till we will be on the Journey for our Indian cruise, it"s me hijacking your thread this time. Hope you get it sorted out to your satisfaction. We are thinking of doing The Baltic cruise in 2014 ,we will see

Jean

 

Hi Jean,

Thanks, I'm sure there won't be a problem.

Only 3 weeks off the Spice Route and there you were wondering if you could cope with having to wait over 15 months to your next cruise!

Have a great time,

P&J

[Bill Leiber]

Hello Philandher -

 

Please give me some time to look into this "net rate" issue that has become a barrier for you to be able to redeem your "Open Passage" account that you purchased while onboard. I'll be checking with our revenue management team to determine if there is a UK "net rate" promotion or another unknown issue creating this issue.

 

Thank you for your patience and you'll hear from me as soon as I have definite information to share with you.

 

Regards,

 

Bill Leiber

___________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

 

 

Hello Philandher -

 

Late last week I learned that the UK offers a "net rate" program to some retailers which restricts the use of the onboard Open Passages program on that specific voyage; however, it can be redeemed on other eligible voyages sometime in the future.

 

Today my path crossed with the UK's Manager of Guest Support Unit who explained confirmation details about the net rate special program which mentions that certain sales programs are not combinable with Open Passages. I believe that you may have already been in contact with them - if not here is contact: infouk@rccl.com.

 

With that in mind, please continue the problem resolution with the UK team. As you may know, the Cruise Critic forum is not intended for specific customer service issues and you will be better served by dealing with the support team in the UK office. Further, I do not have access to the reservation system or the authority to make policy decisions related to local market sales and marketing programs.

 

I'm confident that the efforts underway will result in an acceptable solution.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

___________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[marinaro44]

This issue of restrictions on the use of Open Passage certificates has surfaced here so many times recently that it might be wise for Azamara to counsel its on-board cruise consultants on how to explain CLEARLY to prospective purchasers just what those restrictions are, and to caution prospective purchasers that it is quite likely that such Passages are likely not going to be eligible for booking cruises that are part of major "promotions."

 

When we purchased ours the thought that there might be a situation where the Open Passage could not be used was pretty much pooh-poohed by the cruise consultant, and then we ran into the "not more than two cash discounts" restriction the first time we tried to use ours. To avoid hard feelings and disappointed--and possibly angry--Open Passage purchasers, it might behoove Azamara to have cruise consultants be more specific about restrictions and make CLEAR that many significant Azamara promotions (e.g., this year's Valentine's Day promotion) will in fact preclude the use of an Open Passage. If there's one thing worse than losing a sale it's making a sale and having the purchaser feel he or she has been misled when making the purchase.

[Jade13]

When we purchased ours the thought that there might be a situation where the Open Passage could not be used was pretty much pooh-poohed by the cruise consultant, and then we ran into the "not more than two cash discounts" restriction the first time we tried to use ours. To avoid hard feelings and disappointed--and possibly angry--Open Passage purchasers, it might behoove Azamara to have cruise consultants be more specific about restrictions and make CLEAR that many significant Azamara promotions (e.g., this year's Valentine's Day promotion) will in fact preclude the use of an Open Passage. If there's one thing worse than losing a sale it's making a sale and having the purchaser feel he or she has been misled when making the purchase.

 

That is news to me. I thought the Valentines Day promotion was $500.00 OBC, dinner, and chocolates?

 

I did not know that it could not be used with a Passage.

[marinaro44]

That is news to me. I thought the Valentines Day promotion was $500.00 OBC, dinner, and chocolates?

 

I did not know that it could not be used with a Passage.

Azamara wouldn't let us use one. The promotion also included an upgrade from oceanview to veranda and a $500-1000 ChoiceAir discount. Those two plus the OBC apparently negated the Open Passage.

[TerryAndDoug]

Azamara wouldn't let us use one. The promotion also included an upgrade from oceanview to veranda and a $500-1000 ChoiceAir discount. Those two plus the OBC apparently negated the Open Passage.

That's interesting, but doesn't surprise me that there's confusion. Before we purchased an Open Passage while onboard the Journey this Summer, I specifically asked the Future Cruise Consultant that exact scenario - would it have been valid to use in combination with Valentine's special, ChoiceAir discount and upgrade from oceanview to veranda. She said that it most definitely would have been valid. I pointed out wording on the form regarding restrictions on multiple discounts, and she said that restriction didn't cover this scenario, and that it is very rare that Open Passages cannot be combined with other offers.

 

Doug

[marinaro44]

That's interesting, but doesn't surprise me that there's confusion. Before we purchased an Open Passage while onboard the Journey this Summer, I specifically asked the Future Cruise Consultant that exact scenario - would it have been valid to use in combination with Valentine's special, ChoiceAir discount and upgrade from oceanview to veranda. She said that it most definitely would have been valid. I pointed out wording on the form regarding restrictions on multiple discounts, and she said that restriction didn't cover this scenario, and that it is very rare that Open Passages cannot be combined with other offers.

 

Doug

Exactly illustrates my point in my posting above on counseling for on-board cruise consultants.

[Philandher]

That's interesting, but doesn't surprise me that there's confusion. Before we purchased an Open Passage while onboard the Journey this Summer, I specifically asked the Future Cruise Consultant that exact scenario - would it have been valid to use in combination with Valentine's special, ChoiceAir discount and upgrade from oceanview to veranda. She said that it most definitely would have been valid. I pointed out wording on the form regarding restrictions on multiple discounts, and she said that restriction didn't cover this scenario, and that it is very rare that Open Passages cannot be combined with other offers.

 

Doug

 

Doug,

That is the point, we are all asking the right question on board but are being given the wrong answer.

I can't understand why ACC would want to alienate anybody who wants to cruise with them, it seem like we are being penalised for finding the best deal that we can.

Phil

[mzk90]

This issue of restrictions on the use of Open Passage certificates has surfaced here so many times recently that it might be wise for Azamara to counsel its on-board cruise consultants on how to explain CLEARLY to prospective purchasers just what those restrictions are, and to caution prospective purchasers that it is quite likely that such Passages are likely not going to be eligible for booking cruises that are part of major "promotions."

 

When we purchased ours the thought that there might be a situation where the Open Passage could not be used was pretty much pooh-poohed by the cruise consultant, and then we ran into the "not more than two cash discounts" restriction the first time we tried to use ours. To avoid hard feelings and disappointed--and possibly angry--Open Passage purchasers, it might behoove Azamara to have cruise consultants be more specific about restrictions and make CLEAR that many significant Azamara promotions (e.g., this year's Valentine's Day promotion) will in fact preclude the use of an Open Passage. If there's one thing worse than losing a sale it's making a sale and having the purchaser feel he or she has been misled when making the purchase.

 

This is an excellent point. I think from having read similar threads previously there is definitely a disconnect between what you can use them for and what you may be told onboard as part of their 'sales pitch'. I think these onboard staff need to be a bit more open about the possible non-combinability of a promotion with an open passage booking!

[GLP13]

I really don't understand why everyone seems to be having problems, when you book an Open Passage onboard they give you documentation that says what you can and cannot use, if your travel agent is aware they can use the right 'price programs' seems simple to me...

[Philandher]

I really don't understand why everyone seems to be having problems, when you book an Open Passage onboard they give you documentation that says what you can and cannot use, if your travel agent is aware they can use the right 'price programs' seems simple to me...

 

Hi Louise, the issue is that we specifically queried condition 6 on the Open Passage Booking and were informed that this didn't apply to individuals and it could be used with any booking with an Agent. Why would we have any reason not to believe what we were told?