Many unsold cabins on upcoming Pursuit sailings

[excitedofharpenden]

I’m wondering if there has been a change of policy with Azamara or whether their consolidator partners have a different focus.  I’ve been checking on Pursuit's upcoming cruises in South America and there are a lot and I mean loads of cabins available.  Over 100 cabins by my reckoning on the 1st December cruise, a similar for the Christmas cruise and 80 or so on Antarctica, a sailing I’d have thought would sell very well.  The website prices for both the 1st December cruise and the 6th January to Antarctica certainly haven’t come down in price.  I’ve seen some seriously low interline prices for the 15 night Christmas cruise.  Like $1,500 per person for an outside cabin.

 

Just to be clear, this isn’t a sour grapes post, but rather an observation. I booked when I did at a price I’m happy with and if I was honest I’m happy to sail on a ship that isn’t full.  It’s some time since I have done that and I’m just wondering if there has been a change of attitude in Azamara or whether it’s a blip.

 

Phil

Edited November 18, 2018 by excitedofharpenden

[marinaro44]

Pursuit's Christmas cruise was given to a consolidator.  Was sent an email by the consolidator shortly after final payment.

[excitedofharpenden]

Was it a good deal in comparison with what you paid?  You wonder how much work the consolidators have to do to package these cruises with flights at such a late stage,  South America can’t be so straightforward and then there is a need for some people to get a visa.  Perhaps that is why there are so many cabins left.  That and the fact Azamara were asking more money for the cabins in the first place than people were prepared to pay.

 

Phil

[audobon_tx]

Maybe the time of year combined with the travel demands combined with the cruise lengths.  Have met a lot of folks on board that have to be home for the holidays.  And airfare, from the states anyway, is very high during this period. Noticed that the 12/1 and 12/22 interline rates for OV are $100 pp/night but they go up or away after the New Year.  Interliners on long cruises tend to be older, have grandchildren to attend to at Christmastime, and it is harder to pass ride during the holidays, or so I have been told.  Pure speculation on my part.

Edited November 18, 2018 by flyingshoes

[uktog]

53 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Was it a good deal in comparison with what you paid?  You wonder how much work the consolidators have to do to package these cruises with flights at such a late stage,  South America can’t be so straightforward and then there is a need for some people to get a visa.  Perhaps that is why there are so many cabins left.  That and the fact Azamara were asking more money for the cabins in the first place than people were prepared to pay.

 

Phil

Yes had the prices been more reasonable at the outset we would have stayed on. Too late to change now 

[excitedofharpenden]

27 minutes ago, flyingshoes said:

Maybe the time of year combined with the travel demands combined with the cruise lengths.  Have met a lot of folks on board that have to be home for the holidays.  And airfare, from the states anyway, is very high during this period. Noticed that the 12/1 and 12/22 interline rates for OV are $100 pp/night but they go up or away after the New Year.  Interliners on long cruises tend to be older, have grandchildren to attend to at Christmastime, and it is harder to pass ride during the holidays, or so I have been told.  Pure speculation on my part.

I think the sum total of it is they were too ambitious with their pricing to start with.  Perhaps they were happy to part fill a ship at higher prices and risk it.  Full seems to have been the buzz word with Azamara up until now.  I’ve heard that the Pursuit Transatlantic isn’t full either.  Less than 600 guests.  I was interested to hear of other experiences and if it maybe a trend.

 

Phil

 

 

[marinaro44]

1 hour ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Was it a good deal in comparison with what you paid?  You wonder how much work the consolidators have to do to package these cruises with flights at such a late stage,  South America can’t be so straightforward and then there is a need for some people to get a visa.  Perhaps that is why there are so many cabins left.  That and the fact Azamara were asking more money for the cabins in the first place than people were prepared to pay.

 

Phil

I get them for all his cruise packages:  HAL (most often), Windstar, Seabourn, Princess, and others, too.  They include air, one or more pre-cruise hotel nights, transfers, sometimes dinner, a tour, and, rarely, a post-cruise hotel.  They are good deals.  Don't know if economy air can be upgraded with his packages.

[audobon_tx]

51 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I think the sum total of it is they were too ambitious with their pricing to start with.  Perhaps they were happy to part fill a ship at higher prices and risk it.  Full seems to have been the buzz word with Azamara up until now.  I’ve heard that the Pursuit Transatlantic isn’t full either.  Less than 600 guests.  I was interested to hear of other experiences and if it maybe a trend.

 

Phil

 

 

Well, if 2020 fares, often near $1000pn for veranda, are any indication, maybe a new normal has arrived.  Half full at $1000 or full at $500 same starting point.  Exchange incremental pp revenue from shorex, ob purchases, etc. for lower opex.  Backfill with consolidator and interline pax.  Win.  Speculation again.

Edited November 18, 2018 by flyingshoes

[mrbluesea]

480 or so on board the transatlantic. Very nice, shame about the weather though.

[ellbon]

The few S American cruises I was on never sailed full. I have no idea why. I did NYE one and a Carnival one. I think the virstbwas overloaded with guests from Brazil.   I always wondered why we were not selling here when other cruiselines were.

[excitedofharpenden]

20 minutes ago, ellbon said:

The few S American cruises I was on never sailed full. I have no idea why. I did NYE one and a Carnival one. I think the virstbwas overloaded with guests from Brazil.   I always wondered why we were not selling here when other cruiselines were.

Hmmmm, interesting it wasn't selling well then either. I know Azamara went away from South America for a while. I heard it cited that there were many admin and everyday issues to deal with in South America that put them off, but perhaps there is more to it than that and the cruises just didn't sell well. 

 

Phil 

[laurieb]

Our Australia cruise in February on the Quest is not selling well, even as its being offered as a last minute voyage.  Prices are I feel very high and have only been going up.  I’d be fine with the ship not sailing full

[ellbon]

11 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Hmmmm, interesting it wasn't selling well then either. I know Azamara went away from South America for a while. I heard it cited that there were many admin and everyday issues to deal with in South America that put them off, but perhaps there is more to it than that and the cruises just didn't sell well. 

 

Phil 

I know my very first cruise Cmas 2010 was not full. The next two were S America. One had about 500 guests from states..could be less. Then it was filled from S America. One of the cruises was Quest and one was JR. I remember as I got Top Cruiser on my 5th cruise. Thry could not fill,ship.

 

i have no idea of prices  ..2012..  but  getting an award  thst soon in the game you remember.

 

With Regent and Oceania doing this market for  years could have something to,do with it too. They seem to have figured out the game of dealing with vendors etc there.

 

I did S America last winter. Almost cancel for AZ .i did enjoy the loop from Mia to Lima to Rio. I did not enjoy the cruise line or the people.

[Host Jazzbeau]

The Double Upgrade promotion seems to have been running forever – how do you sell Inside and OV cabins with that on?  Also means that CC and up are selling at full list.  Time to retire that promotion and offer the BOGOHO again.

[alfredo1]

INTERLINE FARES

Coming from the UK where trade discounts are virtually unknown, very low interline rates always seem galling as loyal passengers see prices increasing year on year, and explains how often fellow passengers identify themselves as airline employees who also benefit from free/reduced airfares. Azamara pricing strategy and continually changing "special offers" and constant upselling degrades the Azamara brand and does little to encourage customer brand loyalty

[150edmiston]

I have been keeping an eye on our upcoming Pursuit cruise on the 24th Feb and can't quite believe how many unsold cabins there are.  Virtually all of the Deck 8 suites are sold,  but there are loads of deck 6 and 7 cabins unsold.  I cant quite fathom it TBH.  Oddly the price has moved a little today by about £120 for an inside,  but the V3 - V1s look the same as they've been for months.  When we booked (ages ago), we did so thinking this would be a really popular cruise,  and we wanted to secure a cabin that we knew.  We managed to get LCV discount and an Easter promo that was running at the time, so are happy with what we paid.  Final payment is the 26th of this month,  so it'll be interesting to see what happens after that date.

 

David

 

[excitedofharpenden]

14 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

The Double Upgrade promotion seems to have been running forever – how do you sell Inside and OV cabins with that on?  Also means that CC and up are selling at full list.  Time to retire that promotion and offer the BOGOHO again.

I'm not keen on the double upgrade promo as I am not bothered to stay in a balcony cabin and if I stretch it prefer to book a CC Suite, so the BOGOHO is preferable to me too.  The only advantage of the double upgrade is if I score an LCV upgrade to a suite, but of course that isn’t guaranteed.  I like to know where I am for the price I am paying.

 

The double upgrade promo isn’t on in the UK at the moment.  Not sure when it was on.  I have not seen many promotions here or I haven’t been paying attention.  The current one seems to be up to $1500 for shore excursions which also doesn’t interest me.

 

Phil

[150edmiston]

Just checked the US website.  It says our cruise (24th Feb) is sold out,  but there are over 100 cabins available in the UK.  Can anyone enlighten me?  Surely there isn't a separate booking engine per country.  David

[excitedofharpenden]

19 minutes ago, 150edmiston said:

Just checked the US website.  It says our cruise (24th Feb) is sold out,  but there are over 100 cabins available in the UK.  Can anyone enlighten me?  Surely there isn't a separate booking engine per country.  David

I think it’s a fault with the website. I’ve seen this happen on the U.K. site.  It says sold out, but when you press continue it throws up a few cabins with prices.  Yesterday was Sunday maintenance day and perhaps thevafter effects of that.  As you say, lots of cabins for Carnival in Rio.

 

Phil

[audobon_tx]

22 minutes ago, 150edmiston said:

Just checked the US website.  It says our cruise (24th Feb) is sold out,  but there are over 100 cabins available in the UK.  Can anyone enlighten me?  Surely there isn't a separate booking engine per country.  David

I am US and when I check US site it shows the ship for sale in all categories.  

[150edmiston]

Thanks Phil and Flying Shoes.  Hadn't considered a fault with the webpage.  David

[QueenP]

How do you see what has sold or not sold? I've never figured that out on the website.

[150edmiston]

Queen p, select the cruise you want, then the stateroom category and the site brings up the cabin numbers in that category that are available.  You can then select a cabin, and the deck plan pops up with a red line around the selected cabin. Hope that helps.  David

[tgg]

2 hours ago, 150edmiston said:

Queen p, select the cruise you want, then the stateroom category and the site brings up the cabin numbers in that category that are available.  You can then select a cabin, and the deck plan pops up with a red line around the selected cabin. Hope that helps.  David

 

There will be only 6 cabins listed. Be aware there is a place to click on "More Cabins Available" right below the list to bring up all the available cabins.

[QueenP]

Thanks David and tgg I'll  give it a try!