Upgrade programme - Bonnie

[DebbieMacG]

2 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Debbie, it’s time for me to eat humble pie.  I can see on a thread where Bonnie specifically said the occupant of an accessible cabin would only be upgraded to an accessible stateroom should one became available.  So I apologise to you.  When you first asked the question a month or two back I was pretty sure there was no system in place to recognise this fact and it has now gone awry.  I hope you manage to get your original cabin back.  Personally, as I said at the time, I would have just stayed put.

 

FWIW, I’m not sure which OV you have been upgraded to.  As far as I know all the OVs have the bed by the window except the larger category 04s at the front of decks 6 and 7.  If it’s one of these then you’ll have extra space in your cabin because it includes the footprint of a balcony which is not there.  If it’s one of the others then it should be a bed by the window, but I’m not sure of the cabin number to comment 100%.

 

Once again I apologise for coming across like I did.

 

Phil

 

Thank you for your apology Phil, it means a lot.

 

I was given cabin at the front on deck four and I asked about the bed position and was told the bed was near the bathroom in that cabin so the area to leave a chair was the other side of the bed, this means my hubbie would have to lift the chair in and out of the cabin and then over the bed, it weighs 23kg but he’s also got a bad elbow (recent flare up  of an old injury) so needs to be careful, I just feel it’s too much for two weeks. A cabin where bed is near window or balcony works better.

 

I wouldn’t have bid if Bonnie hadn’t said there was something in place to prevent this situation. I haven’t had an email to say I’ve got my cabin back and I’m still showing as upgraded on the upgrade page. (This also shows I paid $200pp and I was charged £200pp, but that’s another story!)

Hopefully this will all come right.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 27, 2019 by DebbieMacG

[Ithikan]

Gaspari, last I looked 160 plus 160 was 320, not 360.  This is the utter craziness of "enhanced" upgrade system - people who once booked a stateroom, then merely waited and planned for a cruise, now are bombarded with "Are you happy?  Really, really happy??  Come on, you could be happier - bid!"

Azamara removed the casinos only to replace gambling with their passenger vs passenger bidding war - is this the Azamazing future?  Harumph.

[DebbieMacG]

I didn’t get the promised email to let me know if I had my cabin back or not and had been waiting since Friday so this afternoon I emailed the upgrade team and copied in Richard Twynam’s team. Within 2 minutes I had a response from Richard himself and saying he was really sorry and would look into it and he would sort something out today, pretty impressive.

 

I haven’t had an email but I did get a new copy of my invoice come through about three hours later showing me back in my old cabin so I’m pleased with that. Ok I must admit an actual email from someone confirming this and my refund would have been nice but maybe that’s expecting too much.

 

Thanks for all your support.

[snowglobe]

Glad that you have your accessible cabin back.

Wrestling with the chair in a too-small cabin was definitely not worth paying for an upgrade just to gain a window...

[Bloodaxe]

On 4/27/2019 at 7:49 AM, Bloodaxe said:

 

We have had several emails trying to encourage us to bid and several others promoting shore excursions, that never used to happen.

I understand that some people may not be aware of the new program, but repeat emails, all it does is put me off the idea.

if I was intending to bid ( which I am not) I would not need encouragement.

 

Now had email plugging internet packages, Azamara seem to be getting desperate for us to spend more.

Never had this before any of our previous cruises.

[Lottie A]

Me too....plus two "late deals" emails in the last 24 hrs. 

It's a bit worrying.

 

The Alaska cruises obviously haven't sold well as they are dramatically reduced....you should see some of the Interline rates! 

[BBMacLaird]

16 minutes ago, Bloodaxe said:

 

Now had email plugging internet packages, Azamara seem to be getting desperate for us to spend more.

Never had this before any of our previous cruises.

 

Hi Bloodaxe, no not desperate. But observant of you to point out the number of pre-cruise emails you’re receiving. Early this year we quietly rolled out an initiative to better communicate with booked individuals “pre-cruise” than we used to. It was felt we didn’t prepare guests sufficiently and guests spent the first day aboard learning the lay of the land, and options available to them. 

Obviously repeat guests already know the options so there are two communication streams...one for first-time AZ cruisers and another for LCV members.

Since the initiative only began a few months, there’s not been sufficient time to judge the results. The proof will be in the pudding...whether our shipboard personnel feel newcomers are more comfortable on Day 1. 

And yes, we do promote our packages, services, shore excursions and add-ons. Quite frequently we’ve heard from first-timers that they wish they’d known about X, Y or Z, so there will always be a bit of selling going on. Plus, the more we pre-sell tours, the less likely they'll have to be cancelled due to low numbers.

[Bloodaxe]

1 hour ago, BBMacLaird said:

 

Hi Bloodaxe, no not desperate. But observant of you to point out the number of pre-cruise emails you’re receiving. Early this year we quietly rolled out an initiative to better communicate with booked individuals “pre-cruise” than we used to. It was felt we didn’t prepare guests sufficiently and guests spent the first day aboard learning the lay of the land, and options available to them. 

Obviously repeat guests already know the options so there are two communication streams...one for first-time AZ cruisers and another for LCV members.

Since the initiative only began a few months, there’s not been sufficient time to judge the results. The proof will be in the pudding...whether our shipboard personnel feel newcomers are more comfortable on Day 1. 

And yes, we do promote our packages, services, shore excursions and add-ons. Quite frequently we’ve heard from first-timers that they wish they’d known about X, Y or Z, so there will always be a bit of selling going on. Plus, the more we pre-sell tours, the less likely they'll have to be cancelled due to low numbers.

 

Point taken Bonnie, we seem to have suddenly gone from famine to feast.

Maybe it would be better to just send so many messages to first timers and not to repeat cruises.

 

Edited April 30, 2019 by Bloodaxe

[nordski]

1 hour ago, BBMacLaird said:

 

Hi Bloodaxe, no not desperate. But observant of you to point out the number of pre-cruise emails you’re receiving. Early this year we quietly rolled out an initiative to better communicate with booked individuals “pre-cruise” than we used to. It was felt we didn’t prepare guests sufficiently and guests spent the first day aboard learning the lay of the land, and options available to them. 

Obviously repeat guests already know the options so there are two communication streams...one for first-time AZ cruisers and another for LCV members.

Since the initiative only began a few months, there’s not been sufficient time to judge the results. The proof will be in the pudding...whether our shipboard personnel feel newcomers are more comfortable on Day 1. 

And yes, we do promote our packages, services, shore excursions and add-ons. Quite frequently we’ve heard from first-timers that they wish they’d known about X, Y or Z, so there will always be a bit of selling going on. Plus, the more we pre-sell tours, the less likely they'll have to be cancelled due to low numbers.

 

There have been posts on this forum, especially  from first time cruisers,  wondering why there was no contact from Azamara after the cruise reservation had been completed.

 

We appreciate the reminder to fill out our precruise information. However,  some of the emails concerning internet packages etc, seem a bit intrusive.

 

Is there a happy medium?

 

Ahh, I see Bloodaxe has made the same point as we replied at the same time

Edited April 30, 2019 by nordski

[BBMacLaird]

I'll pass along your feedback re the # of communications 🙂

[uktog]

I have to agree, way too many communications and it’s annoying to be encouraged to book what you’ve already booked. 

If I was a new cruiser I might worry that life onboard is just sell, sell, sell. 

[rallydave]

17 hours ago, BBMacLaird said:

 

Hi Bloodaxe, no not desperate. But observant of you to point out the number of pre-cruise emails you’re receiving. Early this year we quietly rolled out an initiative to better communicate with booked individuals “pre-cruise” than we used to. It was felt we didn’t prepare guests sufficiently and guests spent the first day aboard learning the lay of the land, and options available to them. 

Obviously repeat guests already know the options so there are two communication streams...one for first-time AZ cruisers and another for LCV members.

Since the initiative only began a few months, there’s not been sufficient time to judge the results. The proof will be in the pudding...whether our shipboard personnel feel newcomers are more comfortable on Day 1. 

And yes, we do promote our packages, services, shore excursions and add-ons. Quite frequently we’ve heard from first-timers that they wish they’d known about X, Y or Z, so there will always be a bit of selling going on. Plus, the more we pre-sell tours, the less likely they'll have to be cancelled due to low numbers.

Sincerely doubt the IT people are capable of this lofty exercise of accurately handling two communication streams.  After all, they have proven themselves incapable of handling a single Le Club mailing list and accurately sending out applicable emails to frequent travelers.