Complimentary nights

I need your expert help please:confused::confused:

Next month my wife and I move up to Discoverer Tier and although I understand the benefits that go with it (4 free nights) I'm becoming confused what the best length of cruise to maximise the savings offered is:confused:

Book a 7 night cruise and only pay for 3 nights, but am I right in saying the overall cost is based on the full fare only? So along comes 'a buy one and get one half price' fare, one has to work out the sums on both and decide. Also is a short cruise (7 nights) more cost effective than a long cruise (14 nights).

Is there anyone out there who has been down this road who could explain in simple english the possible financial pitfalls to clear steer of.

Thanks Azamara family in anticipation.

Craig

The maths can be quite complicated, we used our 6 free nights on an eight night cruise so only had to pay for the 2 other nights plus of course any taxes due for the free nights. This worked out very well for us, but as the t&c's state that offers will not be applied to the non free nights I would have thought that it works out better when the free days are a higher proportion of the total cruise. It's also very dependent on the current deal, we mainly book CC suites so the only deal that would affect normal prices is the BOGOHO deal.

Another thing to be aware of is that you can book via a travel agent but if you normally get some additional benefits such as discount or OBC then this will be reduced because of the free nights.

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In nearly all cases it will be best to take the free nights on a short cruise. You pay full fare for the remaining nights, so better to get four free out of seven and pay full fare for three rather than get four free out of 14 and pay full fare for ten.

We were looking at a b2b. The shorter cruise had a significantly less expensive per day cost than the longer cruise so we saved more money by putting the four free nights on the longer cruise.

We were looking at a b2b. The shorter cruise had a significantly less expensive per day cost than the longer cruise so we saved more money by putting the four free nights on the longer cruise.

It's not as simple as that if the cruises where you are considering taking the free nights are being offered as promotions, such as the current BOGOHO. In such a situation you also have to consider how much savings you would be forgoing by using your free nights, as you lose the promotion discount on any cruise where you use your free nights.

The longer the cruise where you are considering your four free nights, the more promotional savings you would be forgoing (if there is a promotion). For example, on a 16-night cruise with BOGOHO being offered, if you took your four free nights you would pay for the remaining 12 nights at full fare, not BOGOHO. Using BOGOHO without using your free nights, you'd get effectively a 25% discount, so would also be paying the equivalent of 12 nights at full fare. You'd be wasting the four free nights.

However, if you had an 8-night cruise back-to-back with the 16-night cruise, by using your four free nights on the 8-night cruise you'd pay the equivalent of four nights at full fare. Using BOGOHO with its effective 25% discount, you'd pay the equivalent of six nights at full fare. So you'd be better off taking the free nights on the shorter cruise, where you'd get a savings of effectively two nights, whereas on the longer cruise you'd get no savings at all. And this would be true even if the longer cruise had a higher per diem fare for the category you wanted.

Now, I suspect that situation may not apply to you, but it would probably apply to many who are reaching a new LCV level during this summer's BOGOHO promotion. The best bet is to book onboard with all the additional discounts and OBC and have the LCV rep price all the "free night" possibilities for you via computer, then take the one with the lowest bottom line cost to you. Or have your TA do it if you're not going to be onboard during the promotion. As you can see above, it can get complicated when you are considering using your free nights on cruises that have promotions being offered.

Thanks ever so much 'beachseeker', 'Rocca', and 'marinaro44', all your advice and help has been taken onboard giving me a clearer picture::rolleyes:

'marinaro44', I am exactly in the situation you clearly described....moving up to Discoverer Tier at the end of the first half of a b2b next month during the current BOGOHO promotion. I’ve understood the maths and I probably book another b2b for next year which would be a 7 day and say a 11 day b2b, use the 4 free days against the 7 day and separately book the 11 day with savings. It does sound complicated because initially I wasn’t sure if it was possible to book two cruises b2b one being at full fare costs and the other being discounted. I take it they are considered as two separate bookings? Also I’ll have a chat when onboard with the LCV rep and see what she can suggest.

Again many thanks to all, your help has truly been welcomed :) :)

Craig

Thanks ever so much 'beachseeker', 'Rocca', and 'marinaro44', all your advice and help has been taken onboard giving me a clearer picture::rolleyes:

'marinaro44', I am exactly in the situation you clearly described....moving up to Discoverer Tier at the end of the first half of a b2b next month during the current BOGOHO promotion. I’ve understood the maths and I probably book another b2b for next year which would be a 7 day and say a 11 day b2b, use the 4 free days against the 7 day and separately book the 11 day with savings. It does sound complicated because initially I wasn’t sure if it was possible to book two cruises b2b one being at full fare costs and the other being discounted. I take it they are considered as two separate bookings? Also I’ll have a chat when onboard with the LCV rep and see what she can suggest.

Again many thanks to all, your help has truly been welcomed :) :)

Craig

Yes, Craig, two separate bookings, so you will get the promotional savings on the cruise on which you do not take the free nights.

Thanks ever so much 'beachseeker', 'Rocca', and 'marinaro44', all your advice and help has been taken onboard giving me a clearer picture::rolleyes:

 

'marinaro44', I am exactly in the situation you clearly described....moving up to Discoverer Tier at the end of the first half of a b2b next month during the current BOGOHO promotion. I’ve understood the maths and I probably book another b2b for next year which would be a 7 day and say a 11 day b2b, use the 4 free days against the 7 day and separately book the 11 day with savings. It does sound complicated because initially I wasn’t sure if it was possible to book two cruises b2b one being at full fare costs and the other being discounted. I take it they are considered as two separate bookings? Also I’ll have a chat when onboard with the LCV rep and see what she can suggest.

 

Again many thanks to all, your help has truly been welcomed :) :)

 

Craig

If you book as a b2b then you should also get the extended voyage b2b OBC for the cruise booked without the free days.

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Just spent two days trying to get an explanation of my benefits from the loyalty desk at Azamara. My admiration to any passengers who were able to take advantage of the complimentary nights perk. What I just realized is that you have to do a whole lot of planning to back into this offer. Having fulfilled two of the three criteria - I was just informed that I reached the next tier level three months prior to January of 2015 - making me unable to take advantage of this perk. Actually - the whole offer is laughable - considering it is not effective with any other offer - and when doesn't Azamara have another offer?

Not a happy camper - good luck to anyone trying to use this perk!

Have to say we must have been lucky as we were able to use ours very easily, even when the cruise we chose to use the free days on was cancelled due to a charter they were easily transferred to the replacement cruise.

However I do agree that with the number of offers the value could be questionable, although as we normally book a CC suite the only offer that usually applies is the BOGOHO offer which only comes around occasionally.

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Have to say we must have been lucky as we were able to use ours very easily, even when the cruise we chose to use the free days on was cancelled due to a charter they were easily transferred to the replacement cruise.

However I do agree that with the number of offers the value could be questionable, although as we normally book a CC suite the only offer that usually applies is the BOGOHO offer which only comes around occasionally.

We had no trouble using ours either. Six free nights on an eight night cruise gave us a 75% discount. We had to forgo a 15% discount being offered at the time for the cruise but the savings were still significant.

The trick is to find a short cruise that you can piggyback onto a longer cruise that you were already thinking about taking. Or, think about a cruise that is unlikely to be discounted, such as Monaco Grand Prix, British Open, Norway fjords, etc., and take advantage of the free nights to book one of those that you might not otherwise do.

I'm happy for the both of you - but I believe you are exceptions to the rule - I'm sure there are many more loyal Azamara customers who have encountered the same road blocks I have recently experienced.

My husband and I sailed on Azamara when they were a new brand on the market - and have continued to consider them when planning other vacations - I have finally reached the Discover tier and the only benefit I will receive is an additional 30 minutes of poor internet time. That doesn't translate into a big THANK YOU for your brand loyalty.

Just my humble opinion.

There are no hard and fast rules as it does depend upon your circumstances, how many free nights you have and how long the cruise is. For example, the 125% single supplement is also foregone if you use the free nights. The only promotion that can be applied is the onboard booking discount or Open Passage certificate if you have one. So if you are a solo looking at the reduced single supplement then you won't be able to take advantage and will have to pay 200% on the balance of the cruise nights you pay for. You have to do the maths.

Phil

On our recent cruise, Athens to Rome 4th June, we began the cruise as Explorer but ended as Discoverer and so qualify for 4 free nights. We had a chat with the Le Club Voyage chap and found that we could take advantage of the free nights if we wanted to make a booking on this voyage (rather than have to wait until the next cruise to do so). We could use this on any cruise except specialist cruises such as Grand Prix or Golf (not that we would have wanted to).

We did find out a small issue. The free nights are based on the majority of your previous cruises. For example, if most of your cruises have been in Oceanview your discount is based on Oceanview prices. Although we usually have a balcony most of these have been on upgrade from Oceanview to Balcony promotions. So our discount was based on Oceanview prices. Something to be aware of but not a deal breaker.

We found a cruise we really liked and booked it. We decided it book it there and then rather than wait to do it on our cruise in September. The referendum was the deciding factor. If Bonkers Boris, Mendacious Michael and Nasty Nigel get their way and the UK votes to leave the EU then there is a very real danger that the pound will plummet, which would wipe out the benefit of our discount.

On our recent cruise, Athens to Rome 4th June, we began the cruise as Explorer but ended as Discoverer and so qualify for 4 free nights. We had a chat with the Le Club Voyage chap and found that we could take advantage of the free nights if we wanted to make a booking on this voyage (rather than have to wait until the next cruise to do so). We could use this on any cruise except specialist cruises such as Grand Prix or Golf (not that we would have wanted to).

 

We did find out a small issue. The free nights are based on the majority of your previous cruises. For example, if most of your cruises have been in Oceanview your discount is based on Oceanview prices. Although we usually have a balcony most of these have been on upgrade from Oceanview to Balcony promotions. So our discount was based on Oceanview prices. Something to be aware of but not a deal breaker.

 

We found a cruise we really liked and booked it. We decided it book it there and then rather than wait to do it on our cruise in September. The referendum was the deciding factor. If Bonkers Boris, Mendacious Michael and Nasty Nigel get their way and the UK votes to leave the EU then there is a very real danger that the pound will plummet, which would wipe out the benefit of our discount.

Thanks for your advice MrMojoRisin, I am in the same situation as you found yourself in. I was not aware the restrictions imposed concerning choice of stateroom, most interesting. Although it doesn't affect me as I have always chose a V2 stateroom in the past.

Thanks also for your party political rant:roll eyes: not worthy for this forum but nevertheless think of the advantages in leaving......one being no restrictions of returning to the UK with tax/duty free booze:D:D

Craig

 

We did find out a small issue. The free nights are based on the majority of your previous cruises. For example, if most of your cruises have been in Oceanview your discount is based on Oceanview prices. Although we usually have a balcony most of these have been on upgrade from Oceanview to Balcony promotions. So our discount was based on Oceanview prices. Something to be aware of but not a deal breaker.

 

The flip side to this of course is that if you are using say 4 nights on a 10 night cruise then the nights you pay for will be based upon the the cheaper OV stateroom category. If say you normally stay in a suite and get free nights in one of those then there's no reason you couldn't pick a lower stateroom category and incur less cost if you are happy to downgrade.

Phil