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Booking while on board?

cinnamon

By cinnamon,
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cinnamon

cinnamon

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Could someone from the UK please tell me the benefits and costs of booking another cruise while we are on the ship?

 

We will be on Quest in a few weeks and I am very tempted by one of the sailings in 2015 which qualifies for the Balcony for Inside price. However it is still a bit costly for our budget so I need all the help I can get to persuade DH.

 

Corinne

 

 

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Redtravel

Redtravel

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Visit the future cruise desk. It is a good idea to know what cruise you might want to take ...and prices too. Booking on the ship can go either way. Lately I have booked on board. You can also book Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. It is easy.

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Wacktle

Wacktle

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Could someone from the UK please tell me the benefits and costs of booking another cruise while we are on the ship?

 

We will be on Quest in a few weeks and I am very tempted by one of the sailings in 2015 which qualifies for the Balcony for Inside price. However it is still a bit costly for our budget so I need all the help I can get to persuade DH.

 

Corinne

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Hi Corinne,

 

Thanks for asking that question.

 

We're also on Quest in a few weeks and I was wondering the same. There's been a few responses here, but I'm still not clear what can be gained by booking on board. For our forthcoming cruise, booked via the Inside to Balcony offer last year, we also got a good discount from our travel agent.

 

I know P&O and Cunard transfer onboard bookings to an agent (although we've never done it), but do Azamara do the same?

 

Also, would the on board people have any knowedge of regional flights? I wouldn't book anything unless I knew the travel arrangements. That was the sticking point on Cunard. Their future bookings lady could not even tell me if there'd be flights from Manchester, but was happy to take the money! So I gave up.

 

Any more info from UK readers would be apreciated. Thanks.

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excitedofharpenden

excitedofharpenden

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Hi. OK, this is from personal experience and I hope I am giving you correct and up to date information here. There are two ways to invoke savings onboard. The first is to book an actual cruise and by doing that you will get between £150 and £400 discount per stateroom, depending upon cabin category and length of cruise. You pay the full £150 non-refundable deposit pp. The other way is to purchase an Azamara Passages certificate. This is if you are not in a position to book an actual cruise, but when you do and by advising the Azamara Passages reference number when you book it you will get the same £150-£400 discount. Deposit for these certificates is 50% of the usual (ie £75). These certificates don't have an expiration date.

 

Phil

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Bloodaxe

Bloodaxe

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Posted (edited)
Hi Corinne,

 

Thanks for asking that question.

 

We're also on Quest in a few weeks and I was wondering the same. There's been a few responses here, but I'm still not clear what can be gained by booking on board. For our forthcoming cruise, booked via the Inside to Balcony offer last year, we also got a good discount from our travel agent.

 

I know P&O and Cunard transfer onboard bookings to an agent (although we've never done it), but do Azamara do the same?

 

Also, would the on board people have any knowedge of regional flights? I wouldn't book anything unless I knew the travel arrangements. That was the sticking point on Cunard. Their future bookings lady could not even tell me if there'd be flights from Manchester, but was happy to take the money! So I gave up.

 

Any more info from UK readers would be apreciated. Thanks.

 

When I have enquired onboard they have never been able to give details of flights, just prices

A future cruise open passage would be your best bet then you would be able to chose flights that suited you at the time of booking

Edited by Bloodaxe
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shamansue

shamansue

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Hi. OK, this is from personal experience and I hope I am giving you correct and up to date information here. There are two ways to invoke savings onboard. The first is to book an actual cruise and by doing that you will get between £150 and £400 discount per stateroom, depending upon cabin category and length of cruise. You pay the full £150 non-refundable deposit pp. The other way is to purchase an Azamara Passages certificate. This is if you are not in a position to book an actual cruise, but when you do and by advising the Azamara Passages reference number when you book it you will get the same £150-£400 discount. Deposit for these certificates is 50% of the usual (ie £75). These certificates don't have an expiration date.

 

Phil

 

This has been exactly my experience.Also,whether you book a specific cruise or a Passages certificate they can be transferred to your own TA.

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uktog "Live from...." Rare

uktog

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Booking on board does not work out more expensive than using an agent, however if you are unsure you can always buy an open passage if you want to go down Tims price gamble route.

 

Phil is absolutely right though, you will be able to get 30 days to transfer a confirmed booking back to a UK agent, or indeed you can nominate that agent in your on board booking if you choose if you go for a reserved passage.

 

Personally I leave it booked with the cruiseline and then in my time immediately I am back home I shop around. The problem if I put it straight to the agent is I am committed and cannot shop around

 

Bill fully explained the benefits of onboard booking here

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1937129&highlight=passages

 

Oh and I have not found it more expensive and have been able on more than one occasion to get subsequent price drops applied to the booking when I have left it with the cruise line

 

When flights are not known or not priced, you can still book on board as a cruise only and they mark the reservation to give you the option to add flights once they become available.

 

Sorry more than a one liner response but I think the OP deserves all the info

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uktog "Live from...." Rare

uktog

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Posted
Would they offer a better deal, having entered into a contract with Azamara? If so, that's a better proposition.

 

Absolutely - so long as you are in the transfer window because they pick up the commission from Azamara

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cinnamon

cinnamon

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Booking on board does not work out more expensive than using an agent, however if you are unsure you can always buy an open passage if you want to go down Tims price gamble route.

 

Phil is absolutely right though, you will be able to get 30 days to transfer a confirmed booking back to a UK agent, or indeed you can nominate that agent in your on board booking if you choose if you go for a reserved passage.

 

Personally I leave it booked with the cruiseline and then in my time immediately I am back home I shop around. The problem if I put it straight to the agent is I am committed and cannot shop around

 

Bill fully explained the benefits of onboard booking here

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1937129&highlight=passages

 

Oh and I have not found it more expensive and have been able on more than one occasion to get subsequent price drops applied to the booking when I have left it with the cruise line

 

When flights are not known or not priced, you can still book on board as a cruise only and they mark the reservation to give you the option to add flights once they become available.

 

Sorry more than a one liner response but I think the OP deserves all the info

 

As the OP, many thanks for the link. I have really had a good read now and what a can of worms was opened last autumn about this!

 

I now know though that the cabin and cruise I am interested in would be £300 cheaper if I either take an Open Passages certificate or specific booking. This is very worthwhile. I cannot see the point in paying the full deposit while on the ship and will probably take an Open Passage booking. Half the deposit and more time to decide if the budget can stand the hit in 2015. :)

 

Corinne

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excitedofharpenden

excitedofharpenden

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As the OP, many thanks for the link. I have really had a good read now and what a can of worms was opened last autumn about this!

 

I now know though that the cabin and cruise I am interested in would be £300 cheaper if I either take an Open Passages certificate or specific booking. This is very worthwhile. I cannot see the point in paying the full deposit while on the ship and will probably take an Open Passage booking. Half the deposit and more time to decide if the budget can stand the hit in 2015. :)

 

Corinne

Corinne, Ann explained it better than me, but just to say on my last cruise I did a booking with the saving and an Open Passage too (you can buy as many of these as you want) and had it applied to a booking I did direct with Azamara later on. It's also worth saying that you also get a Friends and Family Certificate for the onboard booking that can be used on the same cruise providing it is used (I think) within a month.

 

Phil

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Cruise Junky

Cruise Junky

Posted
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Can I ask a related question...if I book onboard, transfer it to an agent and then a deal comes along such as this double upgrade, can I take advantage of that? Would I lose any booking onboard incentive? I'm in North America, not the UK

 

Thanks

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