Black Friday Promotion Booking Nightmare.

Well, after trying other cruise lines I thought it might be good to give Azamara another try after receiving an email offering discounted rates.

I tried to look at the total costs online but the prices certainly did not reflect anything like the offer on the Black Friday section of the website. Also to complicate matters I have a 'Future Cruise Certificate' which I was persuaded to purchase on my last Azamara cruise.

Therefore I put my query in the box on the website requesting a quote. I heard nothing so I phoned. I have just put the phone down in exasperation after spending 37 minutes trying to find someone who could understand my question, which was could I have a quote, for a cruise advertised on your Black Friday promotion. I explained twice to the same person who kept going away leaving me hanging on. I was then transferred to the "Azamara" section who knew nothing about any promotion until she looked online. I was then told that they didnt know what benefit this would give me and could I hold on again. After a further five minutes I just gave up. I know that there were some misgivings about Guatemala but I had no experience myself until today.

I am very disappointed as I would have loved to try Azamara again - but I have no idea what it might cost me. Also I appear to have been 'tucked up' with this so called 'Certificate'. Any help appreciated.

Well, after trying other cruise lines I thought it might be good to give Azamara another try after receiving an email offering discounted rates.

I tried to look at the total costs online but the prices certainly did not reflect anything like the offer on the Black Friday section of the website. Also to complicate matters I have a 'Future Cruise Certificate' which I was persuaded to purchase on my last Azamara cruise.

Therefore I put my query in the box on the website requesting a quote. I heard nothing so I phoned. I have just put the phone down in exasperation after spending 37 minutes trying to find someone who could understand my question, which was could I have a quote, for a cruise advertised on your Black Friday promotion. I explained twice to the same person who kept going away leaving me hanging on. I was then transferred to the "Azamara" section who knew nothing about any promotion until she looked online. I was then told that they didnt know what benefit this would give me and could I hold on again. After a further five minutes I just gave up. I know that there were some misgivings about Guatemala but I had no experience myself until today.

I am very disappointed as I would have loved to try Azamara again - but I have no idea what it might cost me. Also I appear to have been 'tucked up' with this so called 'Certificate'. Any help appreciated.

Sorry you are having problems. Are you sure you are looking at cruises included in the promotion, there are only 11 cruises on this sale, and when I look at those at the Azamara website they clearly show the balcony at the same price as the inside. The future cruise credit should also be no problem, gives you a reduced deposit as opposed to the $550, I just paid, but I got the 12 night Istanbul to Rome on the cyber sale with the solo discount too.

Oh now I see you are from England. Not sure if the cyber sale is applicable. But some Brits have US travel agents as a way to get the discounts.

Good luck

Yes definitely part of the promotion. Quest 17th May 8 days.

How can I book ? The online price does not reflect the offer and I can't get any sense out of the Guatemala Office.

Well, after trying other cruise lines I thought it might be good to give Azamara another try after receiving an email offering discounted rates.

I tried to look at the total costs online but the prices certainly did not reflect anything like the offer on the Black Friday section of the website. Also to complicate matters I have a 'Future Cruise Certificate' which I was persuaded to purchase on my last Azamara cruise.

Therefore I put my query in the box on the website requesting a quote. I heard nothing so I phoned. I have just put the phone down in exasperation after spending 37 minutes trying to find someone who could understand my question, which was could I have a quote, for a cruise advertised on your Black Friday promotion. I explained twice to the same person who kept going away leaving me hanging on. I was then transferred to the "Azamara" section who knew nothing about any promotion until she looked online. I was then told that they didnt know what benefit this would give me and could I hold on again. After a further five minutes I just gave up. I know that there were some misgivings about Guatemala but I had no experience myself until today.

I am very disappointed as I would have loved to try Azamara again - but I have no idea what it might cost me. Also I appear to have been 'tucked up' with this so called 'Certificate'. Any help appreciated.

Sorry to hear of your experience, though not surprised. Just hope you were on an 0800 number for the call!

Yes definitely part of the promotion. Quest 17th May 8 days.

How can I book ? The online price does not reflect the offer and I can't get any sense out of the Guatemala Office.

Our Black Friday sale is a 4-day Cyber Sale on eleven voyages in 2016. It is valid Friday-Monday, November 27-30.

 

It combines a Double Upgrade to Veranda PLUS the current Choices promotion.

Check it out here:

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/int/luxury-cruise-deals/cyber-sale?cid=sm_agt_zmr_pr_fcb_9648

 

Note: I apologize in advance if there are some intl markets where this is not being offered, or if the offer is entirely different.

see the post Bonnie sent out... not good in all markets

Mrs Miggins, I got an email on Friday 27th November with a ' Flash sale' for Australian cruises (I am from Melbourne ), & the site had a link to a 5 day Europe sale where you effectively got a double upgrade & some other perks.

I contacted my TA on Monday & forwarded her a copy of my received email & set her about to book the 8 night May 17th cruise on the Quest as well as the 12 night May 30th cruise.

It took her all day as Az had no idea what promotion she was talking about, even quoting the codes given in the email. She had to forward them the email for them to even concede that their was a promotional offer!

After much communication, & my TA not exactly sure what promotion I actually got, was given a price AUD $500 better than the emailed promotional offer & then the % discount for being a LCV member.

So whilst it was a HUGE headache for my TA to deal with them, I am very happy that my price was even better than the one I had spent all weekend convincing my DH was a bargain!

I am sorry that this experience has been so poorly handled. Don't you UK people have a very reactive CEO of Azamara over there that several people who have had issues have emailed him directly and had these sorted? I am sure someone will give you his name & email, as he seems to get results for them.

I hope you get it sorted and we can meet up on the 8 nights from May 17th.

Karyn

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I recommend that you find a travel agent to do this hard work for you. Best of luck!

I recommend that you find a travel agent to do this hard work for you. Best of luck!

Exactly what I would suggest...for many reasons beyond this issue.

We just booked one of the sailings in the UK Black Friday sale....free flights plus a upgrade from oceanview to veranda.

To get the price quoted in the email we had to navigate a long way into the booking process on the Azamara website, but it did eventually price up the cruise correctly. However we got a better deal by calling a big online cruise agency, so my recommendation would be to go that route!

While I agree with the other posters that say it's best to use a reputable travel professional to help you get you a great deal, if you are still feeling mired, contact our Managing Director of the UK, Richard Twynam: rtwynam@azamaraclubcruises.

He or one of his staff should be able to sort out the Black Friday special in your market.

Best of luck...we REALLY do want you to sail again with us!

Bonnie

I also had a nightmare trying to book the Black Friday promotion in the UK using an Open Passage Certificate. At 9:30 on Friday morning the Azamara web site was clearly showing the cruise I was interested in, included in the promotion and Terms and Conditions stated that it was combinable with other current promotions e.g. free European flights and On Board Bookings. The price was the same for inside, outside and verandah cabins. I checked two reputable TA’s sites and they were showing the same price as Azamara.

I telephoned my usual TA ( large UK Cruise Club) requesting a price for a V2 cabin and gave the number of the OP certificate. She then called me back saying that Azamara couldn’t give her a price until I had called them and given permission for the OP certificate to be transferred to her. I then called Guatemala to arrange this, albeit reluctantly, as by doing this, the certificate would appear to now be fixed with that agent for future use, should I decide not to go ahead with this particularly booking. I then called back the agent back to confirm. There was then a further delay while she had to contact someone else. By then I was begining to wavier, could I really be bothered with all this ? I eventually I managed to get a quote and went ahead and booked, by now it was 3 pm.

I fully expected that the £75 pp paid for the OP certificate covered the deposit. Therefore I was not happy when my agent phoned to back to say that Guatemala were insisting on a further £175 pp to bring the amount up to the normal UK deposit of £250 pp. I then checked Azamara web site to find that prices had gone up by £140 since the morning.

I am currently awaiting an invoice from Azamara, via my TA with a complete break down of prices and discounts, since none of the figures given over the phone seemed to relate to any of the prices on the web site, once OP and agents discount had been removed and taxes added on etc. Too much “Smoke and Mirrors”.

I am reasonably happy with the final price I have paid as it was considerably less than I was quoted for this cruise earlier in the year and is in the region of what I have paid for past Azamara cruises, but I am not convinced that I have received the full value (5% in my case) of an OP certificate and the lower deposit seems to be a total con.

Overall the experience of using a OP certificate and dealing with Guatemala has left me with a very jaded view of Azamara’s administration and pricing.

Surprisingly, I too got the email and looked into one of the valid cruises under the UK offer of

"Simply book a select 2016 voyage before midnight on 30 November, 2015 and you can:

•Enjoy a Club Oceanview stateroom for the price of a Club Interior stateroom

•Or a Club Balcony stateroom for the price of a Club Oceanview stateroom

•AND free direct flights for select London departures"

Seemed simple; and yes, the UK site even showed the balconies as the same price as the O/Vs. However when you went to add your 'free direct flight' it added on the flight cost and I couldn't get rid of it.

I have a US TA but naturally they didn't have this UK offer with the flights. I have had my fingers burnt recently by booking again in the UK, foolishly tempted by a pricing and flight offer, and have now fallen foul of their intransient un-customer friendly rules.

Lesson learnt. Back to the USA.

If it is any consolation to you, although I cruised happily on Azamara in 2012 and 2013, and in 2014 booked an August 2016 Norwegian Fjords and North Cape cruise, I never receive any email at all from Azamara. So I never hear about any special offers. About once a year, I receive a booklet about upcoming cruises with little detail and that is all. And I reside in the heartland of the U.S.! :D

I find this very exasperating because the other cruise line I enjoy is in touch with me all the time; too much many would say, but it is easy to hit a delete button on one's computer and impossible to stay as interested with massive silence.

I truly appreciate these boards for any and all Azamara updates but have tried to conquer my former addiction to them by not visiting more than once per month.

Thanks for all the updates. it looks like I am not alone in my frustration. I did email the UK MD and to his credit someone from his office has phoned me back. However I was not around to take the call and I look forward to hearing from them tomorrow.

In the end, because I had sent two quote enquiries, I did receive two replies. These offered slightly different rates. Neither reply addressed the issue of the Cruise Certificate. This evening I have searched online and have received a couple of quotes from large travel agents. My question is complicated because we want to stay in Nice at the end of the cruise for a few days.

I would like to return to Azamara but I will wait to see what they can offer tomorrow.

Short Update. Thanks to Azamara in the Uk I have now booked this cruise. They were so helpful. Looking forward to returning to Quest next May.

Good news. Glad they worked it out for you.

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Hi Karyn,

Have now posted on the roll call. Look forward to meeting you.

Pam

Short Update. Thanks to Azamara in the Uk I have now booked this cruise. They were so helpful. Looking forward to returning to Quest next May.

I'm glad the UK office was able to help you :)

Black Friday promo?? Was that only in the UK because as usual I got no e-mail! This is absolutely marketing at its finest :( NOT

Black Friday promo?? Was that only in the UK because as usual I got no e-mail! This is absolutely marketing at its finest :( NOT

This thread was started here three days before Black Friday, including a link from Bonnie to the promotion:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2283456

Have you added the three links to your address book that I advised days ago and then contacted LCV to add you back to the distribution list? Your internet service provider may have bounced Azamara's emails back as spam so Azamara then removed your address from their list.

This thread was started here three days before Black Friday, including a link from Bonnie to the promotion:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2283456

A

Have you added the three links to your address book that I advised days ago and then contacted LCV to add you back to the distribution list? Your internet service provider may have bounced Azamara's emails back as spam so Azamara then removed your address from their list.

As far as adding the three addresses to your address book, that may or may not work. That information was provided before I contacted Nicole and did not help and even after several tries by Nicole it took her several more tries before I was finally added and started getting e-mails so the adding of those e-mail addresses may or may not help people get on the e-mail list.

On another similar question, have been booked on our first Azamara cruise for over a year and greatly looking forward to it but, have not received a single piece of snail mail. Simply hoping others can chime in on if they are getting snail mail from Azamara.

Thanks in advance,

Dave add us to "not a single piece of snail mail" or for that matter no email either!

As far as adding the three addresses to your address book, that may or may not work. That information was provided before I contacted Nicole and did not help and even after several tries by Nicole it took her several more tries before I was finally added and started getting e-mails so the adding of those e-mail addresses may or may not help people get on the e-mail list.

Here's the point, Dave: If that does happen to be what's causing the problem, someone can talk to Nicole and gripe on Cruise Critic until he or she is blue in the face but it's not going to do any good. And to continue blaming Azamara publicly when the problem may be with the complainer's internet service provider does Azamara a disservice...and does nothing to address the problem.

Here's the point, Dave: If that does happen to be what's causing the problem, someone can talk to Nicole and gripe on Cruise Critic until he or she is blue in the face but it's not going to do any good. And to continue blaming Azamara publicly when the problem may be with the complainer's internet service provider does Azamara a disservice...and does nothing to address the problem.

Have no idea why you said what you said. I clearly said your solution "MAY OR MAY NOT" work. I did not blame Azamara publicly or privately and have given credit to Nicole for working hard on my issue until it was fixed.

And, I'll say it again that your solution MAY be a solution for some and for others to contact Nicole as she works tirelessly until the problem is solved. As you stated, the problem MAY be with your ISP and it may not.

In my case, I use a forwarder to my ISP and it either forwards or puts into their SPAM filter ALL e-mails and I was diligently checking the SPAM filter whenever I was aware of missing e-mails. In my particular case the problem was with the sending system. There are many reasons for the problem and yours is but one of the possible solutions.

Have enjoyed reading and agree with most of your posts however, this one struck me wrong and is almost completely incorrect.

Thanks,

Have no idea why you said what you said. I clearly said your solution "MAY OR MAY NOT" work. I did not blame Azamara publicly or privately and have given credit to Nicole for working hard on my issue until it was fixed.

 

And, I'll say it again that your solution MAY be a solution for some and for others to contact Nicole as she works tirelessly until the problem is solved. As you stated, the problem MAY be with your ISP and it may not.

 

In my case, I use a forwarder to my ISP and it either forwards or puts into their SPAM filter ALL e-mails and I was diligently checking the SPAM filter whenever I was aware of missing e-mails. In my particular case the problem was with the sending system. There are many reasons for the problem and yours is but one of the possible solutions.

 

Have enjoyed reading and agree with most of your posts however, this one directed at me is almost completely incorrect.

 

Thanks,

Here is how Signe described the problem to me:

When checking with our email deployment provider, here is what we found: When attempting to email you, our emails to you bounced. In other words, your email provider did not accept our emails. This happened 3 times in a row. Our business rules in order to ensure anti-spam compliance are set up so that if this happens 3 times in a row, we will stop emailing you. Comcast is the strictest of all Internet (email) Service Providers (ISP's). They have a very low tolerance for spam, and will bounce emails at a much higher ratio than other ISP's.

I check my "Junk" folder religiously at Comcast and never found an Azamara email in it, so when an ISP bounces back your email you may never get to see it, even in a "Spam" or "Junk" folder. Note Signe's comment that if an email bounces three times in a row, Azamara will stop emailing you. So, not only do you have to fix it at your ISP, you then have to get Azamara to start emailing you again after that.