Loyalty free nights - how do they work?

[Whitby100]

I have just watched the Dondra webinar and am pleased that loyalty circle free nights will be combinable with promotions.  We have never booked with free nights because the promos were always better. So, I am hoping someone can explain the details on how the free nights work.  How is the savings determined?  What is the eligibility period once they’re earned (how long do we have to use them up?) Can they only be used on specific cruises at the discretion of AZ?  Any info would be appreciated.

[Riocca]

This is from the Azamara website hopefully will explain the details.

 

 

How will complimentary nights be redeemed? Can complimentary nights be combined? Can they be divided and used on different bookings?

 

• When members reach the next loyalty level, they will earn a complimentary night’s reward based on their new tier. Members can earn up to 10 complimentary nights at the top level. Complimentary nights must be used on a new booking made within 12 months following the sailing when the new level was reached. Bookings can be made on most voyages open for sale at time of booking. Blackout dates will apply.
• Complimentary nights will not be retroactive, cannot be combined or divided for use on different bookings and cannot be allocated to multiple reservations (with one exception - see note regarding Discover Platinum member who do not use all their points on one voyage).
• Complimentary nights may only be redeemed on voyages of seven nights or more. Travel Partners will receive commission for the nights their clients purchase, but not for free nights. Discoverer Platinum members who receive 10 complimentary nights will be able to use their remaining complimentary nights if they book a 7-night voyage.

Examples:

• A new Discoverer member receives 4 complimentary nights when moving from the Explorer tier to the Discoverer tier. Once they redeem their 4 complimentary nights, they'll pay for 3 nights if they book a 7-night voyage, or pay for 6-nights if they book a 10-night voyage
• A new Discoverer Platinum member receives 10 complimentary nights when moving from the Discoverer Plus tier to the Discoverer Platinum tier level. This member books a 7-night voyage and has 3 complimentary nights remaining. The remaining 3 complimentary nights may be used on a new booking, made within 12 months following the sailing when they reached the Discoverer Platinum level.

[Grandma Cruising]

You can use them on any booking. We got them plus the prevailing promotion when we booked in February. We booked an 11 night cruise. The discounts, including the free nights, the current promotion and the onboard booking discount all came off the price without port fees, taxes etc. In all our 11 night cruise ended up about half price when the port fees and taxes were added back in. On the basis of that we opted for a CCSuite which we have never had before.

[blag]

I can confirm that all relevant current promotions and onboard benefits are 'combined' with the free nights.

Whilst on board a month or so ago we qualified for six free nights and booked a 7-night cruise (for August 2024) on the first day of our cruise.

All the benefits: six free nights, $800 OBC, half the usual deposit. No early booking benefits, but they would have been applied if the cruise had qualified for them. 

[Snow day]

We were able to apply our free nights and an early booking promotion to an upcoming cruise. However because we earned them  on veranda bookings we were only able to apply them to a veranda booking not anything higher. And I believe that’s what the policy says. 

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, Snow day said:

We were able to apply our free nights and an early booking promotion to an upcoming cruise. However because we earned them  on veranda bookings we were only able to apply them to a veranda booking not anything higher. And I believe that’s what the policy says. 

Not sure how ours was worked out. Perhaps the price with discounts & free nights was calculated on a Verandah, then the difference between a veranda and. CC Suite added. We were certainly able to book a CCSuite and use our 6 free nights, even though we usually book an OV or a Veranda.

[tgg]

The problem with the "free nights" promotion has been that the "free" nights were calculated based on the fictitious brochure price. 

 

Now that this benefit is combinable with other promotions, can someone who has used their free nights fairly recently comment on the basis for the pricing?

[excitedofharpenden]

36 minutes ago, tgg said:

The problem with the "free nights" promotion has been that the "free" nights were calculated based on the fictitious brochure price. 

 

Now that this benefit is combinable with other promotions, can someone who has used their free nights fairly recently comment on the basis for the pricing?

I used three free nights in March for a 10 night cruise in September in an OV and it saved me £908 and a final price of £2200. At last this loyalty benefit has some value. Unfortunately it's a bit late for me as I've been through the really decent amounts of free nights. 

 

Phil 

[excitedofharpenden]

It's hard to say exactly how it's worked out though, what with all the other promos. Here's a copy of the charges breakdown. 

 

Phil 

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

18 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

It's hard to say exactly how it's worked out though, what with all the other promos. Here's a copy of the charges breakdown. 

 

Phil 

No matter how it was worked out:  nicely played!

[Snow day]

When I booked my cruise in April for 2025 and redeemed my 4 free nights it was not based on the price you would see online as they said that price was reduced by 20% ( early booking bonus)  so it was booked on a higher fare. I had to speak to a supervisor to get it sorted out but with the early booking bonus, free nights  and quarterly savings I think we got a good deal. That particular cruise is now $1000 Canadian more for a veranda. 

[tgg]

2 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

It's hard to say exactly how it's worked out though, what with all the other promos. Here's a copy of the charges breakdown. 

 

Phil 

 

 

 

And I thought Oceania's pricing was complicated.  Well done, however you got it done.

[mole.man]

908.10 / ( 2292.46 + 908.10 - 173.55 0) = 30%

[excitedofharpenden]

8 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

No matter how it was worked out:  nicely played!

And I got $300 OBC for booking onboard and another $1000 with the other current promo. Sometimes the stars align!

 

Phil 

[Grandma Cruising]

Yes we also got the booking onboard OBC of $300 and another $700 that was part of the promotion when we booked

[Whitby100]

Thanks for all the details everyone.  Can you book while on the cruise that moves you to the next level?  

[blag]

30 minutes ago, Whitby100 said:

Thanks for all the details everyone.  Can you book while on the cruise that moves you to the next level?  

Yes. We have just done so. 

[oddjob16]

Promotions and benefits are included when you book the free nights. Much easier now. They changed the rules in December and it finally makes the usage of the free nights benefit a good deal. We just used our six free and are absolutely joyfull. 

[Grandma Cruising]

4 hours ago, Whitby100 said:

Thanks for all the details everyone.  Can you book while on the cruise that moves you to the next level?  

We were able to in February

[MamaFej]

I no longer see anything about more than 50% of points needing to have been sailed on Azamara (most of ours were earned on Celebrity). It is a completely fair rule, and I would not be surprised if it is still in effect, and I'm just missing it. I would also not be shocked if it was jettisoned as the two programs were separated, as the whole data separation was a bit messy. 

 

That said, we reached the D+ points threshold more than 12 months ago. We have not sailed Azamara since 2022. I imagine we are out of luck for using complimentary nights? 

 

We do have two Azamara cruises booked and fully paid at the moment. I am wondering if we might be able to use the promotion to book a future cruise onboard. 

 

If anyone has any relevant information, I would love to hear it, please. 

[Grandma Cruising]

You have to make a booking using the free nights within a year of reaching a level - here’s the quote from the website FAQs.

 Complimentary nights must be used on a new booking made within 12 months following the sailing when the new level was reached. 

[Ayden]

2 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

You have to make a booking using the free nights within a year of reaching a level - here’s the quote from the website FAQs.

 Complimentary nights must be used on a new booking made within 12 months following the sailing when the new level was reached. 

This program is clear as mud to me at least.

We are D+ and as i read it here we were awarded 6 but they have expired without any notification? We are nearing 1500 so will receive 3 more but will these also expire worthless?

This is especially annoying since many of us can't even see our points levels online, nor could we find online assistance since the IT merger fiasco.

Anyone have any idea?

 

[uktog]

44 minutes ago, Ayden said:

This program is clear as mud to me at least.

We are D+ and as i read it here we were awarded 6 but they have expired without any notification? We are nearing 1500 so will receive 3 more but will these also expire worthless?

This is especially annoying since many of us can't even see our points levels online, nor could we find online assistance since the IT merger fiasco.

Anyone have any idea?

 

The CEO recognised this expiry issue in her webinar. If you lost nights and it was due to the lack of communication I’d suggest you contact the Loyalty team - the new director is Erin ODonnell. Her email was included in the webinar email (erin.odonnell@azamara.com) and  the message in the webinar was very much please tell us your issues and concerns 

Edited May 21 by uktog

[marinaro44]

2 minutes ago, uktog said:

The CEO recognised this expiry issue in her webinar. If you lost nights and it was due to the lack of communication I’d suggest you contact the Loyalty team - the new director is Erin ODonnell. Her email was included in the webinar email (erin,odonnell@azamara.com) and  the message in the webinar was very much please tell us your issues and concerns 

I think it's a period, not comma, between first and last name.  Erin replied promptly to my email recently.

[Ayden]

5 minutes ago, uktog said:

The CEO recognised this expiry issue in her webinar. If you lost nights and it was due to the lack of communication I’d suggest you contact the Loyalty team - the new director is Erin ODonnell. Her email was included in the webinar email (erin,odonnell@azamara.com) and  the message in the webinar was very much please tell us your issues and concerns 

Thanks very much uktog for your quick response. I will definitely be in touch with Erin at Loyalty.