Questions about "Like" package

[sunlover33]

No I don't like the answer but it's what I expected and clears any confusion. It seems strange to try to sell these upgraded packages when the purchaser has no guarantee of getting the trip they really desire, which to me is a major reason to cruise. Otherwise what else would you spend the land discovery packages on? Maybe Azamara can re consider by either having the land discoveries pre bookable or converting to OBC to prevent this dilemma for prospective purchasers if they want to sell many more packages. Thanks Bonnie for for the reply.

Edited March 14, 2016 by sunlover33

[uktog]

No I don't like the answer but it's what I expected and clears any confusion. It seems strange to try to sell these upgraded packages when the purchaser has no guarantee of getting the trip they really desire, which to me is a major reason to cruise. Otherwise what else would you spend the land discovery packages on? Maybe Azamara can re consider by either having the land discoveries pre bookable or converting to OBC to prevent this dilemma for prospective purchasers if they want to sell many more packages. Thanks Bonnie for for the reply.

 

Agree, I changed a booking to have the Like package and now find if we are to have what we really want we have just bought the most expensive Internet package because that's the only part of value now

 

I've posted before my disappointment that for some reason the water package is not available in the enhanced beverage package so it does not really work for me

 

The OBC for land discoveries is as you say not giving what we want for the reasons sun lover has given

 

I had made the flawed assumption for the other person the Celebrity pricing model involving price upgrades on liquor would apply so now our other liquor package does not get the adfition he really wants

 

I have no interest in the more expensive packages the one to get DH his preferred liquor and it's lesson learned for me. We will just buy his drinks additionally.

 

I also took a book early package and land discoveries credit which I now consider to be a poor perk. Until Azamara sorts out its IT so we can book ahead and use OBC (I'd accept the limitation of OBC from the cruiseline only) please can this recent policy change be reviewed. As Sunlover says, you are tagging yourself as a destination line Azamara so please don't put barriers in the way.

Edited March 14, 2016 by uktog

[wendilyn5]

I totally agree! It's very deceiving of Azamara to offer these perks through the packages, but not be clear in their use of OBC. We too we're fooled and booked the package for land discoveries, wifi and upgraded liquor. I hope this gets resolved.

[PSULion]

I totally agree! It's very deceiving of Azamara to offer these perks through the packages, but not be clear in their use of OBC. We too we're fooled and booked the package for land discoveries, wifi and upgraded liquor. I hope this gets resolved.

 

These packages and their apparently numerous restrictions are driving me crazy. I was looking to book an Azamara trip (would be my 4th), and consider myself a reasonably savvy cruiser, but it is difficult to figure out what if any package to purchase. Can't these marking people ever make something easy to understand?!?!?!

 

Just venting.

 

John

[AllisonJames]

I was also set to purchase, but won't do it if it means I can't book the land discoveries I am taking as part of the package until I get on board.

[Happycruiser18]

I am also unhappy to learn that Azamara's Like Package really isn't of as much value as I thought [emoji30]. With no upgraded water and no extra choices of wine [emoji485] - which is what I drink - and not being able to pre-book the land discoveries - it's actually pretty disappointing !

[welshfamily]

I agree with all the posts which are criticising the like packages. Not the concept more the fine print.

As far as I can see these packages are for people who drink more expensive spirits, would like more internet minutes, and will just take any excursions which are left over when they get to the ship. Wine and water lovers are excluded, people who book Suites get over 200 minutes each anyway and as Azamara is a destination cruise I would imagine most have pre booked their trips.

What will happen to the OBC for excursions if trips are cancelled ? We have only cruised once with Azamara and had two trips cancelled.

We were lucky, Cruise critic highlighted issues and therefore I didn't purchase the package.

Perhaps Bonnie could feed back our disappointment to management whilst reiterating the concept of 'add on's ' is a good one but please think about flexibility. After all Azamara is an amazing cruise experience please give us an amazing package.

[cruisin' friends]

You all have me a bit worried. We cruise in 10 days and I haven't booked any Land Discoveries because we have a large OBC (from Azamara for a promo), plus the Like package that I purchased. I can't book in advance if they will not let me cancel and rebook. Please tell me I'm going to have something to book onboard.

[Wacktle]

In the "Points Off Azamara" thread, I said the following, and it still holds true:

 

The questions and lack of clarity re what OBC can and cannot be used for, and whether it can or cannot be refunded, reinforce my view that we need a good, honest price for a holiday (vacation) with no "free" offers. We will all know where we stand. I am looking forward to our October sailing. However the new "Love" (etc) packages will not entice me to book another Azamara cruise; prices seem to have increased as a result. The basic "more inclusive" aspect suits us fine.

 

Maybe I should add that Azamara is, perhaps, at the top end of our price bracket, or what we are prepared to spend for "value for money". Those who compare Azamara with Oceania are, I think, looking at a higher price range.

[PSULion]

You all have me a bit worried. We cruise in 10 days and I haven't booked any Land Discoveries because we have a large OBC (from Azamara for a promo)' date=' plus the Like package that I purchased. I can't book in advance if they will not let me cancel and rebook. Please tell me I'm going to have something to book onboard.[/quote']

 

I would quickly try to book anything once you board. With all the ship credit and package cr@p being offered, I imagine the excursion desk will be rather busy. I'm still not sure what credit can be used for what (more importantly when).

 

Best of luck,

 

John

[Pam]

At what point is a listed excursion canceled if an inadequate number of bookings are registered? I thought I had read somewhere that a poster here got on their ship and received notice that an excursion had been canceled because of that; if they are canceled before the cruise begins, then passengers with hundreds of dollars OBC that can only be used for excursions are going to be out of luck, right?

[uktog]

At what point is a listed excursion canceled if an inadequate number of bookings are registered? I thought I had read somewhere that a poster here got on their ship and received notice that an excursion had been canceled because of that; if they are canceled before the cruise begins, then passengers with hundreds of dollars OBC that can only be used for excursions are going to be out of luck, right?

 

Yes I have certainly had that several times on Azamara though I did wonder on one trip if there was another reason they did not want to give (maybe an operator issue)

 

I don't like the fact that boarding afternoon now has a stress added to it of having to try and get excursions organised and then maybe having to work out Plan B. I cruise to try and be relaxed, I find it hard to switch off and one thing that helps is having things pre planned so I can try and go straight to cruise mode.

 

What I am struggling with is why booking and then cancel/rebook onboard is not acceptable now to Azamara when it used to be. After all, they've had my money interest free up front for some time, I'm still taking the excursion and the only reason I'm doing this extra cancel and rebook is because of their systems limitations. The argument about people on a wait list does not hold up because Azamara does not have an automatic wait list filling system.

[cruisin' friends]

What I am struggling with is why booking and then cancel/rebook onboard is not acceptable now to Azamara when it used to be. After all, they've had my money interest free up front for some time, I'm still taking the excursion and the only reason I'm doing this extra cancel and rebook is because of their systems limitations. The argument about people on a wait list does not hold up because Azamara does not have an automatic wait list filling system.

 

I get the cancel and rebook thing. The company is charged a percentage when you use a credit card to pay so when they refund you back, it's actually costing them something. They should do what Norwegian has done since offering their onboard credits for excursions. Instead of prepaying, they have a separate line to book the excursions (and specialty dining) for those who have the excursion credits or dining packages. That way, those who got the benefit of a promo (which is what happened in my case) will still have equal access to book.

[cruisin' friends]

I am just back from the Journey and wanted to report what happened with our Like package.

 

On the first day, we reserved all of our Land Discoveries with no problems. We even made changes during the cruise with no problem. Because we didn't tell them we had the Like package when we booked them, the cost was listed on our folio until later in the cruise. We had a message later on the first day telling us to notify Land Discoveries when booking the excursions and the credit would be applied immediately.

 

The internet access was wonderful. A couple times it was slow and a couple times my laptop disconnected, but no issues using my phone. We were given the access code when we checked in. We still received two hours of complementary internet, which we didn't need to use.

 

The wine & cheese was a little confusing. I asked at Guest Services and they said you just call up and request it (from them, I assumed). We kind of forgot about it because we did the chef's table three times, so on night 8 we asked sommelier David about it and he said he could arrange it for us anytime we wanted on the final day (all that was left) so we had it delivered to the Living Room during trivia on the last day. It was a cheese platter and either a bottle of red or white as requested.

 

The premium package sticker was put on our sea pass and we showed it to the bartenders anytime we ordered premium liquor. Charges of $0 then showed up on our bill for those purchases.

 

I did ask the bar manager how this works if we wanted to upgrade to the top shelf or ultimate packages. Basically, he said with any prepurchased liquor package, if you get onboard and want to upgrade, they will credit you back the cost of what is remaining on your package and charge you the remainder of the nights on the new package. In a sense, you are paying just the difference in packages, but in reality for their accounting system, you can't just be charged the difference. The example I was given was if on day 2 of a 10 night sailing you decided to upgrade, you would be credited back 9 days of the premium and charged for 9 days of the upgraded plan. If I understood him correctly, I'm very happy with how this is handled.

[aquidneck1]

Thanks for the updates Cruisin Friends. I really hope that, if they are going to continue to restrict using on board credit to bookings on ship ( other cruise lines allow you to book and not be charged until on board - eliminating the problem), that they will guarantee availability of excursions. I am sure that this will vary by port but I still think that there is a chance of missing out on excursions.

 

What itinerary did you sail?

[cruisin' friends]

[quote name='aquidneck1']Thanks for the updates Cruisin Friends. I really hope that, if they are going to continue to restrict using on board credit to bookings on ship ( other cruise lines allow you to book and not be charged until on board - eliminating the problem), that they will guarantee availability of excursions. I am sure that this will vary by port but I still think that there is a chance of missing out on excursions.

What itinerary did you sail?[/quote]

We did the 10 night Western Caribbean - Jungles, Temples and Beaches

[aquidneck1]

Thanks - we are booked on a Carribean cruise next year. First Azamara and we usually don't do ship's excursions. I will have to plan alternative beach days and hope for the best. Hate to leave money on the table. Thanks for the encouragement.

Sounds like a lovely cruise line and I love port intensive itineraries but I hate the anxiety of waiting for the last minute to book tours. We shall see how it all works out.