Open passage certificate:

We recently purchased one open passage certificate while onboard our NZ cruise because we were waiting for 2019 itineraries to come out.

My question is: we want to book a back to back cruise. Can the 7% LCV discount from the open passage be applied to both cruises or only one cruise? In other words, is a back to back treated as one cruise or two?

Not sure whether to contact our TA to start with or book direct and then transfer to our TA. The LCV Onboard Manager suggests it is easier to book with open passage direct and then transfer to TA. Any thoughts?

From previous experience booking other cruises on various cruise lines including Azamara, we always book directly with the cruise line and then once we have the booking the way we want, we will transfer it to our TA, usually within a week of booking the cruise to get the extra perks they give us. It's always best to get your initial questions answered directly from the source rather than going through a proxy, such as a TA.

We recently purchased one open passage certificate while onboard our NZ cruise because we were waiting for 2019 itineraries to come out.

 

My question is: we want to book a back to back cruise. Can the 7% LCV discount from the open passage be applied to both cruises or only one cruise? In other words, is a back to back treated as one cruise or two?

 

Not sure whether to contact our TA to start with or book direct and then transfer to our TA. The LCV Onboard Manager suggests it is easier to book with open passage direct and then transfer to TA. Any thoughts?

The b2b is treated as two separate cruises so in order to get a discount on both you would need to purchase two Open Passage certificates. When I buy certificates I assign them to my travel agent at the time and then when I want to use one I book with the travel agent who is able to apply the certificate and any additional discount he is able to offer. I just give him the booking number of the certificate. I did have an issue when he was told by Azamara's Guatemala call centre that the cruise was priced "lowest" which meant I couldn't use a Passage against it, but taking it up the line this was wrong and I was indeed able to use it.

I booked another Azamara cruise yesterday through my TA, I enquired today whether I could use my Open Passage certificate against the booking. My TA checked with Azamara and was advised that I should have quoted the certificate number at the time of booking, I wasn't aware of this.

I called Azamara who said nothing can be done, during the call I was also told that as I had been given a ' reduced tactical price' by the TA the certificate could not be honoured. This is not the first time that I have been told the certificate cannot be used due to reduced pricing being offered ( previously told this by TA).

I do intend to write to Azamara about this, but I'm not optimistic that the decision will be reversed.[emoji45]

I booked another Azamara cruise yesterday through my TA, I enquired today whether I could use my Open Passage certificate against the booking. My TA checked with Azamara and was advised that I should have quoted the certificate number at the time of booking, I wasn't aware of this.

I called Azamara who said nothing can be done, during the call I was also told that as I had been given a ' reduced tactical price' by the TA the certificate could not be honoured. This is not the first time that I have been told the certificate cannot be used due to reduced pricing being offered ( previously told this by TA).

I do intend to write to Azamara about this, but I'm not optimistic that the decision will be reversed.[emoji45]

I have not tried to book using mine yet, but I have been reading on these boards that the open passages may be difficult to use.....and that should not be!

I booked another Azamara cruise yesterday through my TA, I enquired today whether I could use my Open Passage certificate against the booking. My TA checked with Azamara and was advised that I should have quoted the certificate number at the time of booking, I wasn't aware of this.

I called Azamara who said nothing can be done, during the call I was also told that as I had been given a ' reduced tactical price' by the TA the certificate could not be honoured. This is not the first time that I have been told the certificate cannot be used due to reduced pricing being offered ( previously told this by TA).

I do intend to write to Azamara about this, but I'm not optimistic that the decision will be reversed.[emoji45]

Just curious but for future reference, if you would have booked your Azamara cruise through Azamara and received the Open Passage Certificate discount then transferred the booking to your TA, would your TA have given you the same discount in OBC that you received when you originally booked with them and got the "tactical" discount?

Buyer beware. We purchased OP during our first Az cruise a few years ago. We were assured on board that it could be used in conjunction with any other deals/offers. Wrong!

Our experience was that on seeing a good deal we later tried to book and use the OP and were knocked back, due to the good deal we were already getting (refer also the Azamara fine print in T&C). When we were subsequently again knocked back, on booking another good deal the following year, I complained to Az and they did actually let us use the OP in conjunction with the offer at the time. So, it turned out a satisfactory outcome but with a fair bit of badwill added. We will never bother again with open passage.

With the OP and other matters, we have found it can be a frustrating exercise dealing with Az administratively, which is completely contrary to dealings with on board staff. Issues have ultimately been resolved on land but we often have had to make follow up queries, due to non-responsiveness from the Sydney office and also we've felt the need to escalate matters on a few occasions. Escalation has had the desired effect of matters being dealt with and finalised but who wants to have to go through this for what are usually fairly straightforward administrative matters.

Tony

I booked another Azamara cruise yesterday through my TA, I enquired today whether I could use my Open Passage certificate against the booking. My TA checked with Azamara and was advised that I should have quoted the certificate number at the time of booking, I wasn't aware of this.

I called Azamara who said nothing can be done, during the call I was also told that as I had been given a ' reduced tactical price' by the TA the certificate could not be honoured. This is not the first time that I have been told the certificate cannot be used due to reduced pricing being offered ( previously told this by TA).

I do intend to write to Azamara about this, but I'm not optimistic that the decision will be reversed.[emoji45]

As you are in the UK I would email MD of Azamara here. His email is rtwynam@azamaraclubcruises.com. Richard is very responsive. I'm not sure of the offer details you booked under, but your situation sounds like mine where the Guatemala call centre gave my TA the run around. After reference to Richard I was able to use them. They are right that the certificates can't be used retrospectively, but as you have only just booked the cruise and if indeed the certificate isn't restricted by the offer then Richard Twynam may be able to do something for you. I've got two more certificates tucked up my sleeve to use and I would be interested to know how you get on. Could you report back?

Just curious but for future reference, if you would have booked your Azamara cruise through Azamara and received the Open Passage Certificate discount then transferred the booking to your TA, would your TA have given you the same discount in OBC that you received when you originally booked with them and got the "tactical" discount?

OK, as we will be first time Azamara cruisers in 2018 I'm trying to figure out what the perk is for buying an Open Passages certificate while we're on that cruise. From what the T & C says in part:

"The Azamara Passages Offers are available to members of Le Club Voyage loyalty program and is open to new individual bookings only. Open Passages bookings require a non-refundable 50% deposit at time of booking. Reserved Passages bookings require a refundable 50% deposit at time of booking. Full deposit amounts range from $550-$1100 USD per person. 50% reduced deposit offer is not applicable to Club World Owner’s Suites, Club Ocean Suites, and Club Spa Suites; standard deposit rates apply. Guests will receive cruise fare savings of 3% - 10% per stateroom; amount based on guest’s Le Club Voyage loyalty tier when ship and sail date are selected. Adventurer tier will receive 3%, Explorer tier will receive 4%, Discoverer will receive 5%, Discoverer Plus will receive 7%, and Discoverer Platinum will receive 10%."

So if I'm reading this right for a Discoverer tier passenger, the non-refundable deposit for one OPC would range from $275 - $550 and will be due when purchased onboard the ship. I assume each passenger would have to have their own OPC to get the discount applied to their portion of the dual occupancy fare. Also, as Azamara has relatively short cruises, the likelihood of booking B2B2B cruises for us is high, so the non-refundable deposit can be a lot higher if you need an OPC for each leg.

In other words using a $4,299 pp fare as an example, the 5% discount for a Discoverer level passenger using their OPC would be $214.95.

Please tell me you get other perks with an Open Passage Certificate other than the 5% discount because giving them a non-refundable deposit for that small amount of return doesn't make any sense to me. Is there something I'm missing? BTW, I realize we won't loose the deposit if we book a future Azamara cruise at some point, but still ...

OK, as we will be first time Azamara cruisers in 2018 I'm trying to figure out what the perk is for buying an Open Passages certificate while we're on that cruise. From what the T & C says in part:

 

"The Azamara Passages Offers are available to members of Le Club Voyage loyalty program and is open to new individual bookings only. Open Passages bookings require a non-refundable 50% deposit at time of booking. Reserved Passages bookings require a refundable 50% deposit at time of booking. Full deposit amounts range from $550-$1100 USD per person. 50% reduced deposit offer is not applicable to Club World Owner’s Suites, Club Ocean Suites, and Club Spa Suites; standard deposit rates apply. Guests will receive cruise fare savings of 3% - 10% per stateroom; amount based on guest’s Le Club Voyage loyalty tier when ship and sail date are selected. Adventurer tier will receive 3%, Explorer tier will receive 4%, Discoverer will receive 5%, Discoverer Plus will receive 7%, and Discoverer Platinum will receive 10%."

 

So if I'm reading this right for a Discoverer tier passenger, the non-refundable deposit for one OPC would range from $275 - $550 and will be due when purchased onboard the ship. I assume each passenger would have to have their own OPC to get the discount applied to their portion of the dual occupancy fare. Also, as Azamara has relatively short cruises, the likelihood of booking B2B2B cruises for us is high, so the non-refundable deposit can be a lot higher if you need an OPC for each leg.

 

In other words using a $4,299 pp fare as an example, the 5% discount for a Discoverer level passenger using their OPC would be $214.95.

 

Please tell me you get other perks with an Open Passage Certificate other than the 5% discount because giving them a non-refundable deposit for that small amount of return doesn't make any sense to me. Is there something I'm missing? BTW, I realize we won't loose the deposit if we book a future Azamara cruise at some point, but still ...

No, the Open Passage Certificate is marked against the booking number, so for double occupancy on the same booking you would buy one certificate. OPC benefits are the 3-10% discount and the reduced deposit. That's it.

No, the Open Passage Certificate is marked against the booking number, so for double occupancy on the same booking you would buy one certificate. OPC benefits are the 3-10% discount and the reduced deposit. That's it.

Thanks! Seconds question. The initial B2B2B we booked for 2018 netted us $2,200 OBC from Azamara with $1,200 early booking discount and $1,000 for connecting the cruises. In the future I take it we would also get the additional 5% discount added to those perks (along with any perks our TA gives us when we transferred it to him). Wow! That's a lot of OBC. Sure hope Azamara follows through by the end of 2017 to allow folks to pre-book excursions and then pay for them with OBC once onboard the cruise!!

Thanks! Seconds question. The initial B2B2B we booked for 2018 netted us $2,200 OBC from Azamara with $1,200 early booking discount and $1,000 for connecting the cruises. In the future I take it we would also get the additional 5% discount added to those perks (along with any perks our TA gives us when we transferred it to him). Wow! That's a lot of OBC. Sure hope Azamara follows through by the end of 2017 to allow folks to pre-book excursions and then pay for them with OBC once onboard the cruise!!

Yes you would. The OBCs are the other way round I think. $1000 early booking and $400 each b2b sector total $1200. You can't carry the b2b OBCs forward to the next cruise. You have to spend the $400 on each one or lose it.

As you are in the UK I would email MD of Azamara here. His email is rtwynam@azamaraclubcruises.com. Richard is very responsive. I'm not sure of the offer details you booked under, but your situation sounds like mine where the Guatemala call centre gave my TA the run around. After reference to Richard I was able to use them. They are right that the certificates can't be used retrospectively, but as you have only just booked the cruise and if indeed the certificate isn't restricted by the offer then Richard Twynam may be able to do something for you. I've got two more certificates tucked up my sleeve to use and I would be interested to know how you get on. Could you report back?

Many thanks Phil, I have written to Richard, I'll let you know what the outcome is.

Many thanks Phil, I have written to Richard, I'll let you know what the outcome is.

I'm disappointed to report that to date I have received no response from Richard/Azamara. Phil, Bonnie, any suggestions for my next course of action would be welcome.

I'm amazed you have had no response from Richard Twynam or his team. I would try again - maybe your email to him went astray. I have emailed him on several occasions and always had a response very quickly.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I'm disappointed to report that to date I have received no response from Richard/Azamara. Phil, Bonnie, any suggestions for my next course of action would be welcome.

Sorry you haven't had a response. I'm really surprised. Check you've copied the email address correctly. His surname doesn't have an "h" in it and was a mistake I've made before. Thus:

RTwynam@azamaraclubcruises.com.

Sorry you haven't had a response. I'm really surprised. Check you've copied the email address correctly. His surname doesn't have an "h" in it and was a mistake I've made before. Thus:

 

 

 

RTwynam@azamaraclubcruises.com.

Oh dear, I did make a mistake first time, thanks for suggesting I check the email address I used.

I have resent my correspondence so hopefully I'll receive a response soon.

I am the OP. I thought I would report back on my recent experience in USA. I was advised by my TA that the Open Passages I bought was coded such that it needed to be booked directly with Azamara.

So I called Azamara directly and booked using the OpenPassage. Had no problem and I will transfer the booking to my TA soon. It worked out well for me.

Oh dear, I did make a mistake first time, thanks for suggesting I check the email address I used.

I have resent my correspondence so hopefully I'll receive a response soon.

Still no response received from Richard, I also sent a reminder over a week ago. I've definitely used the email address provided by Phil.

I'm baffled why others have received responses yet my correspondence remains unanswered...

Very strange -I'd try again, with a note giving date of earlier email.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Very strange -I'd try again, with a note giving date of earlier email.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thanks Denise, I've just written to him again, for the third time.