free from work

On our webpage I'm not finding what you reference. What I've found on our website is from the T&Cs of our Early Booking Bonus (pasted below.)

But, this said, the old promotion terms may still be floating out there somewhere, or worse, maybe still in effect in some corner of the world that I am not aware of. I've sent an email to our marketing department to try and find out.

[May I ask you to copy the link to where you found that text?]

 

"The Early Booking Bonus (EBB)is a per stateroom Onboard Credit (“OBC”). Offer is valid for new, individual bookings as of March 10, 2017 made at least 365 days prior to sail date . OBC is in USD and varies by stateroom category ($300 for Club Interior and Club Oceanview, $400 for Club Veranda, $500 for Club Continent or Spa Suites, $1000 for Club World Owners or Club Ocean Suites). Standard full deposit penalty is applied if booking is cancelled within final payment period; see Azamara’s cancellation policy for details. Promo code EARLYBONUS must be entered at time of booking.

OBC has no cash value, is applicable to cruise only, non-transferable, not redeemable for cash, and will expire if not used by 10:00 PM on the last evening of the voyage. OBC cannot be used in the casino or for future cruise bookings. If guest cancels and reinstates the booking, applies a fare change, or changes the ship or sail date of the booking within the 12-months prior to the sail date, the EBB will be removed from the booking. EBB is not available for contracted groups, charter bookings, and certain restricted fares. Offer is subject to change without notice and may be withdrawn at any time." https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/plan/early-booking-bonus

An extract from the UK website as we wait to fly out to Miami tomorrow to board the Quest.

The Early Booking Benefit (EBB) of Onboard Credit for Cruise Global, Connect LocalSM shore excursions is per stateroom and available for new bookings only made at least 12 months (defined as 300 days) prior to sail date. OBC is in USD, based on double occupancy, and varies by stateroom category ($300 for Club Interior and Club Oceanview, $400 for Club Veranda, $500 for Club Continent or Spa Suites, $1000 for Club World Owners or Club Ocean Suites). OBC is redeemable only towards the purchase of a Cruise Global, Connect LocalSM shore excursion for the booking, has no cash value, is not redeemable for cash, is non-transferable and will expire if not used by 10:00 PM on the last evening of the voyage.

We were on one cruise where two first time solo guests were each upgraded from interior to balcony. Perhaps sometimes it can be just a lottery. It's nice to see special events given a little extra.

Yes ................ there are 3 types of nuts in tins: regular, cocktail (a mix) and chocolate covered. There is also a small drum of Pringles. Your cabin steward can provide you with more if you need them - just ask. It's a pretty well stocked minibar usually with whisky, gin, vodka, 2 types of beer, water, soft drinks (coke/sprite/tonic) and juice. Let your steward know what your preferences are eg my DH drinks Heineken so always requests that brand when the minibar is being re-filled.

 

Bear in mind this is my experience from MSC ships generally. No-one knows if and what changes there'll be on the new builds.

 

Tim ................... is the pizza free to room service with the premium? It's not something we ever bothered with and assumed that it was charged as being separate to the room service menu.

Bea. Thanks again for the information which I will take "as we understand it". With MSC changing the drinks packages anything can be different once on board.

Enjoy ............. the premium package includes your minibar and the large bottles of water on the counter-top in your cabin. It also includes the room service menu items - the fruit platter is particularly nice as the fruit is sliced and ready to eat! - plus the wonderful gelato/sundaes on the pool deck and in Piazza del Doge on deck 6 (on Divina. Same location, different names on other Fantasia class ships). The pastries/cakes and treats in that area are also included as is the gelato, with an enticing array of flavours. (Gelato is also included in the basic package but not the fancy sundaes).

That's more great information, thanks again. We are on the Seaside next February, it's the first time we have been on a ship so big. Really looking forward to it. Just one question about the mini bar, are there any nibbles, nuts etc included in the package?

421 is the premium drinks package and 431 is the basic all-inclusive. The number is shown towards the bottom right on your cruisecard just above your dining room name.

 

Here's a link which explains the different packages. I won't go into their names as MSC is changing them soon.

 

http://www.msccruises.ie/en-ie/Already-Booked/Cruise-Upgrade/All-Inclusive-Packages.aspx

Thanks for the information. We have the premium package on our next cruise so now we can check our cards when we collect them.

I think you'll find the reason they always look at your card is the same as anyone, to ascertain what drinks you have, if its less than 431 then they will charge you, if its 421 then you can have everything,. i tend to think if you are good to the staff then it doesnt matter what level you are

Hi.

We are fairly new to MSC so could you please explain the 431/421 codes for the drinks packages and where they can be found on the cards.

Jim

Bonnie, I think it's because in using free nights no other promotions running at the time can be applied so you end up paying full price on the balance of the nights that aren't free. I haven't had first hand experience of this yet. Will wait to see how it works in practice.

Hi Phil

We have communicated about this previously. When my wife and I moved from Adventurer to Explorer we found it would cost ?200 more to use the two free nights rather than discounts available through the TA.

On our cruise on Quest in April we move up to Discoverer so I am currently engaged checking all the rules and current offers to see how we are able to benefit from four free nights. We plan to book on board to get additional OBC. I have done some calculations and hopefully it should make quite a good saving on the TA offers. Fingers crossed!

Jim

Tequila, club soda & jalape?os and Vodka, club soda & jalape?os. When you get it, ask that the jalape?o be muddled.

Cheers!!!

I will give them a try when we are on the Quest in April.

Jim

On the Journey now, and there is no shortage of wine. So far, each night's selections of both whites and reds have been very good. Waiters and assistant waiters in the restaurants, and servers in the lounges have made sure that our glasses are never empty. I've had to cover my glass from time-to-time to prevent my "losing track" of what I have had. A little off topic, but I want to thank Michael (bartender) in The Living Room. My wife loves spicy drinks. Our first night in the Living Room I asked Michael if he had any jalapeño for her drinks. He didn't, but said he will try to get some and to come back after dinner. He's had jalapeños every day since.

Hi Rabo

I would love to know which drinks your wife adds jalape?os to. I enjoy spicy food but have never tried a spicy drink!

Jim

So if I book in the UK I get the £22 €26 package, it's important as with drinks at the higher price the difference is €520 and I would go with Aurea. But if only €260 I would go with Bella and buy the drinks.

 

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

We have booked Seaside for Feb 18 from UK. We found the Allegrissimo to be expensive at c£26 pppn but we could have the Premium for £30 pppn. With all the added extra we thought it was a no brainer, Champagne v Sparkling wine, top shelf spirits, pastries, ice creams etc. The Aurora package wouldn't be for us so that is the choice we each need to make.

I'm doing this from memory, but it seems to me there's a question at or near the end of the survey where you can write in anything you want...positive or negative. I know I mentioned many of the crew by name at that point in the survey, and also made some suggestions for improvement.

 

For what it's worth, I experienced no upselling on Quest on her October 11 and 19 cruises, and there were five production shows, one more than I remember from earlier cruises. Were there tables where you could buy liquor packages? Yes. Did someone approach me to try to get me to purchase same? Not at all.

We have just returned from the "Wake of Columbus" transatlantic an receive three request to complete he questionnaire. Overall we were happy with the cruise but there was one area, animals in Windows, which concerned us. I completed the questionnaire without an option to note our opinions on animals and hygiene, but when I went back and gave a really low score on Windows a free text box appeared. It seems to me that if you score any area over 4 there is no option to give feedback. If you score 8+ you get an option to give positive feedback. This makes sense but most Azamara guests usually don't like to score low enough to get the opportunity to record concerns. Just my opinion.

Lots and lots and lots of beef. In Prime C the cuts are massive. You may O.D. and not want to touch beef again! IMHO opinion the food overall on Azamara is better than some of the snooty super-luxury lines. We're boarding the Journey Nov. 25 and look forward to lots of good food, and lots of variety. Bon appetite!

The beef might be great but give the Yorkshire Pudding the widest berth possible. They were the worst I have tasted in any food outlet bar none.

We have just returned from a TP from Vancouver to Shanghai. We bought the Classic package which worked out c$55 pppd. We didn't think the Premium package made enough difference. When you take into account specialist coffe, water, soft drinks and alcoholic drinks it was excellent value. You can order a Martini at any bar except the Martini bar but we spent most evenings there drinking G&T as we are not keen on Martini's. One thing to be aware of is the "happy hours" around the ship and complementary drinks you can get if you are prepared to work hard at it! I would suggest thinking what you might drink per day, average $5 per drink + gratuity and see what you think. You can always buy the package after a few days if you think it's worth it.

I truly believe going to a country in potential collapse is not wise .Do you think these people will have tourists in mind if all hell breaks loose.I do expect demonstrations ansd rioting

..people cannot get their funds ...so bo food or anything ...things may get worse before they get better

I wouldcancel ...who needs to buy trouble with money ???

I think all of Europe is going to have very hard times

Ill sty in North America

As a visitor to Canada in October 2014 I find your comments offensive. If you think Greece is not worth your support stay at home. Dig a bunker. Be parochial. It is only by supporting our fellow human beings that we show our own worth. Yes life can be difficult but if all you worry about is your Canadian $ then Europe doesn't need/want your support. At the end of the day you sail away to a very comfortable life on a very comfortable ship. The Greek people are living through this and need all the support they can get.

I have just used my 6 'free' nights to book a cruise, having gone from Discoverer to Discoverer plus. Our travelling companions also went from Explorer to Discoverer and used their 4 nights.

It was better for us than using the current BOHO offer.

 

It took my (UK) TA nearly a week to sort it out. She had to contact Guatemala as well as Azamara UK and she was told that as this was the first time these nights had been requested no one really knew what to do!

 

We booked this cruise as the second part of a B2B. We only got B2B savings on the first part.

 

I was very happy with the savings.

I think this confirms the information I finally received which is good news.

If you have sufficient free nights the benefit works on the longer cruises. If you are on the first level increase and have only 2 free nights it doesn't work financially on the longer cruises which we prefer. I'm sure everyone's circumstances will be different but it's great to hear that I have something to look forward to.

Jim

Jim, I'd be interested if you could explain a little more as to why the free nights aren't worth it. I've been in communication with LCV in the UK recently and may have a horse in the race soon. It's disappointing to hear that they could be a waste of time.

 

Phil

Hi Phil

I use a UK TA with a TV channel & online owner, you probably know the one. In order to use my complementary nights they need to charge me a "gross" price not their usual "nett" rate. After emailing LCV UK for an explanation of the benefit I was asked for my TA to contact them direct. One of the agents kindly did this on my behalf and explained afterwards that if I used the nights the cost of my holiday would go up by c£106. I believe it is as a result of the cost of the remaining nights on the gross rate which causes the increase. We already have 4 more qualifying cruises booked and after the third go up another level, Discoverer? When we have 4 complementary nights it should improve the ratio making the benefit useable.

We could probably book a shorter cruise therefore improving the complementary/gross ratio but when you include the cost of flights the shorter cruise seem less good value. I suppose I will just need to keep crunching the numbers.

Jim

being an American i found it easy.. Not sure how it works for the UK. I booked on board and had more nights so my booking form says how many free nights.. I just paid the port charges so far.. you need to email Nicole at Le Club and get more info.

Hi Robin, I have been in contact with Nicole & the UK LCV team which is how I found out the comp nights weren't worth taking. May be a UK thing, or a good TA thing. I just thought I would see if any advice was available from UK cc.

Thanks for the advice though, it might be that I need to check the on board offers when I'm on the Journey in November.

Jim

We have just moved from Adventurer to Explorer level on LCV and qualify for two complementary nights. However after much communication between Azamara and our prefered TA we find that when the gross cost figure is used for a cruise it costs us money to take the complementary nights! (We aren't complaining about this by the way).

Has anybody UK based managed to take advantage of the 2night offer?

We move yo our next level soon so hopefully the next complementary nights will be more of a benefit.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Hi, have just checked my documents for our Azamara cruise in April 2017 and we have a copy of the information schedule from Azamara which was sent by the TA. Not sure how we have details for that cruise when I can't find the same for this year's cruise. Perhaps the consultants performance might impact on what we receive?

We join Quest on 7 April (yipeeee!) and booked our cruise through a TV based TA which is linked to a large online TA.

Our confirmation emails from the TA included a booking ref for Azamara which we used to confirm our booking details. This was the only way to check our holiday details as Azamara deal through the TA not direct with client. We received our tickets etc earlier this week 7-10 days before sailing.

I think when you book online there is an assumption by the TA's that you will do some more research personally and in my opinion the level of service offered is not as high as a high street TA. This may or may not be correct but I think as previously noted you will find everything is ok if you log in to Azamara.

Hi

 

My parents are considering booking on the Celebrity Millennium in January from Singapore. They are somewhat concerned regarding the recent reviews regarding the smell of sewage on this boat and would appreciate any comments/advice regarding this.

 

Many thanks in advance

Hi Voyager

How your parents go on?

Thanks for both replies. I thought it might be airports only but you can always live in hope! Great advice about obtaining the visa from the correct source, you hear so many horror stories about extra charges if you don't hit the correct link online.

Yorkshire is still a great place to live with Leeds a fantastic centre for shopping, tourists etc. Once we get too old to be travelling the world we have amazing places on our doorstep.

Jim

Hi, Does anyone from the UK know if the 72 hour visa waiver facility applies if the port of entry and the airport of departure is Shanghai?

Having read the .Gov.Uk website it seems that it only applies if you fly in and out of China but I thought I would check if anybody has any information one way or another!

Thanks in advance.

Jim

That's what I thought but for a few cents difference I thought it was worth avoiding customer service on the first day if that's where you buy the package on board ship.

We paid £29.98 pp plus 15% this morning. Have been back into my reservation and the price is still the same. There are no offers on our cruise, perhaps because it's a TP so maybe the basic package is lower?