Azamara & LCV Emails

[Redtravel]

I don’t get emails. I have signed up many times. Feeling forgotten, ignored, and not valued. 

It seems odd that I have to read cruisecritic to find out changes.  When I call Azamara, I get nothing. Would like a reservation in a Prime C on Our 50th wedding anniversary.  Wondering if anyone really cares.

[excitedofharpenden]

6 hours ago, Redtravel said:

I don’t get emails. I have signed up many times. Feeling forgotten, ignored, and not valued. 

It seems odd that I have to read cruisecritic to find out changes.  When I call Azamara, I get nothing. Would like a reservation in a Prime C on Our 50th wedding anniversary.  Wondering if anyone really cares.

You can’t prebook Specialty restaurants anyway.  You will have to wait until you are on the ship.

 

Phil

[upwarduk]

12 hours ago, Lottie A said:

Can others access the email through the link? When I just tried it I was told I had already completed the survey, which I have of course. It must recognise you by the device you are using? 

Yes, I could access the survey.

Question 1 Gender

Question 2 Where I lived ( choice from a list of  British counties)

Question 3 Occupation

Question 4 Total yearly household income.

When I answered the last question it then told me that I had complveted the survey. It should have taken 20-25 minutes to complete, or if you read the original letter 30-35 minutes.

It will not let me go back in to try again with a different yearly income.

Am I not good enough for Azamara as I am retired and don’t earn enough?

Its supposed to be a survey of LCV members thoughts on cruise loyalty programmes. How can they get input if they won’t let you go beyond your yearly income.

Not happy.

Edited March 17, 2019 by upwarduk

[Bloodaxe]

53 minutes ago, upwarduk said:

Yes, I could access the survey.

Question 1 Gender

Question 2 Where I lived ( choice from a list of  British counties)

Question 3 Occupation

Question 4 Total yearly household income.

When I answered the last question it then told me that I had complveted the survey. It should have taken 20-25 minutes to complete, or if you read the original letter 30-35 minutes.

It will not let me go back in to try again with a different yearly income.

Am I not good enough for Azamara as I am retired and don’t earn enough?

Its supposed to be a survey of LCV members thoughts on cruise loyalty programmes. How can they get input if they won’t let you go beyond your yearly income.

Not happy.

 

Exactly the same happened to me, I will not be trying again, if Azamara do not care about my input why should be bothered.I.

Edited March 17, 2019 by Bloodaxe

[Lottie A]

Well my yearly income might fit Azamara's new target demographic at the moment but I have decided to retire soon and possibly then it won't! 

 

I have to say the survey did seem focused on getting my views on earning points for how much we were willing to spend on a cruise booking and onboard and then how we would "spend" those points accrued. They mentioned Spa points, discounts on WiFi, Laundry, cabin upgrades, speciality dining etc. 

 

By the end of it I felt this wasn't the ethos of the Azamara that I knew and loved. It was so focused on revenue. There was no opportunity to put my thoughts about this on the survey though. 

[Bloodaxe]

14 minutes ago, Lottie A said:

Well my yearly income might fit Azamara's new target demographic at the moment but I have decided to retire soon and possibly then it won't! 

 

I have to say the survey did seem focused on getting my views on earning points for how much we were willing to spend on a cruise booking and onboard and then how we would "spend" those points accrued. They mentioned Spa points, discounts on WiFi, Laundry, cabin upgrades, speciality dining etc. 

 

By the end of it I felt this wasn't the ethos of the Azamara that I knew and loved. It was so focused on revenue. There was no opportunity to put my thoughts about this on the survey though. 

 

Sadly the Azamara we knew and loved seems to be confined to .history.

 

 

[Lottie A]

2 minutes ago, Bloodaxe said:

 

Sadly the Azamara we knew and loved seems to be confined to .history.

 

 

I really hope not Eric. Once we get back onboard the ships the wonderful crew take over and they are what make Azamara so special. I am really looking forward to my Pursuit May cruise and having a great time with friends. 

 

However Azamara prices are rising significantly and the onboard facilities and certainly the cabins, just cannot compete with the true luxury lines. It's time someone in senior Azamara management realised this and reinstated the prices to the "premium luxe" bracket because that is what Azamara actually is and does it very well. 

 

My May cruise still has lots of cabins available and I'm sure they will soon go to a US consolidator. This can't be good business practice or good financial planning for the company. If some American tells me how little they paid for their cruise, as they seem to love to do, I will be fuming! 

[excitedofharpenden]

I remember a while ago Larry giving some chat about the typical Azamara guest, their income, job description etc and thinking to myself he had no idea. I'll probably be shot down in flames, but when I look at the standard of some of the guests on the ship, what they wear, how they conduct themselves, it makes me realise that it's all just marketing bluster and really has little meaning.  

 

Phil 

[uktog]

18 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I remember a while ago Larry giving some chat about the typical Azamara guest, their income, job description etc and thinking to myself he had no idea. I'll probably be shot down in flames, but when I look at the standard of some of the guests on the ship, what they wear, how they conduct themselves, it makes me realise that it's all just marketing bluster and really has little meaning.  

 

Phil 

I agree, I have seen a huge shift in the demographics on Azamara cruises the last 18 months and not for the better not because of anything other than how these people behave onboard

I have also seen so many unprepared cruisers which did not happen to such an extent in the past - no homework done on other countries, what weather can do to cruises, simple understanding of what life on a cruise ship of Azamara size is or is not.  This impacts on officers, crew and guest experience when added to the conduct issues you mention. 

Its the age old quantity versus quality conundrum when playing the numbers games.  

Edited March 17, 2019 by uktog

[Lottie A]

21 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I remember a while ago Larry giving some chat about the typical Azamara guest, their income, job description etc and thinking to myself he had no idea. I'll probably be shot down in flames, but when I look at the standard of some of the guests on the ship, what they wear, how they conduct themselves, it makes me realise that it's all just marketing bluster and really has little meaning.  

 

Phil 

That could be down to the American consolidators selling the cruises at much lower prices, so you get guests onboard who may not appreciate the difference between Azamara and a party cruise on Carnival. 

 

I don't think there is a typical Azamara cruiser now and that's OK with me, as long as they are pleasant and know how to behave. I aim that comment at some of the more affluent passengers too, as some of them I've met are rude to the crew, selfish, entitled and just a PITA! 

[Bloodaxe]

40 minutes ago, Lottie A said:

I really hope not Eric. Once we get back onboard the ships the wonderful crew take over and they are what make Azamara so special. I am really looking forward to my Pursuit May cruise and having a great time with friends. 

 

However Azamara prices are rising significantly and the onboard facilities and certainly the cabins, just cannot compete with the true luxury lines. It's time someone in senior Azamara management realised this and reinstated the prices to the "premium luxe" bracket because that is what Azamara actually is and does it very well. 

 

My May cruise still has lots of cabins available and I'm sure they will soon go to a US consolidator. This can't be good business practice or good financial planning for the company. If some American tells me how little they paid for their cruise, as they seem to love to do, I will be fuming! 

 

I totally agree about the abroad experience but not sure the current prices give value anymore.

Have said that our June cruise looks just about full.

 

 

Edited March 17, 2019 by Bloodaxe

[excitedofharpenden]

1 hour ago, Lottie A said:

That could be down to the American consolidators selling the cruises at much lower prices, so you get guests onboard who may not appreciate the difference between Azamara and a party cruise on Carnival. 

 

I don't think there is a typical Azamara cruiser now and that's OK with me, as long as they are pleasant and know how to behave. I aim that comment at some of the more affluent passengers too, as some of them I've met are rude to the crew, selfish, entitled and just a PITA! 

I totally agree with all you say. 

 

Phil 

[Redtravel]

Since I do not get any emails from Azamara( not my choice...signed up many times), if anything changes I won’t know.  I do not live on the web.  Booked this cruise last September as a gift to my spouse.  My spouse does not read cruisecritic.  I plan way in advance when celebrating special occasions. I hope that everything goes well.  

[Lottie A]

15 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I totally agree with all you say. 

 

Phil 

Thanks! 

Let's hope you don't encounter either variety on your next Pursuit cruise. 😄

Hope you have a great time with M and A. 

[screen-gem]

On 3/12/2019 at 3:18 PM, aussie travel bird said:

Has anyone received an email re the new LCV stateroom upgrade bidding which replaces the previous upgrade arrangements as advised by Bonnie in a new post. I’m not sure how I’m going to ensure that our emails are registered when we continually drop off the email list. 

I have NOT received any notice regarding the new upgrade bidding program.

We sail on the Pursuit at end of May. I submitted an LCV upgrade request months ago, and received a confirmation at the time that it had been received. I've received no instructions indicating that my prior request now needs to be refreshed or re-submitted. So I assume that the request is still in the queue awaiting processing.

 

[BBMacLaird]

22 hours ago, screen-gem said:

I have NOT received any notice regarding the new upgrade bidding program.

We sail on the Pursuit at end of May. I submitted an LCV upgrade request months ago, and received a confirmation at the time that it had been received. I've received no instructions indicating that my prior request now needs to be refreshed or re-submitted. So I assume that the request is still in the queue awaiting processing.

 

 

Hi Screen-gem, no don't assume your request is still in the queue! You need to submit a new request under the new program. 

Here's a link to the page where you can check if you're eligible.   https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/int/azamara-upgrade-program

You should be eligible. Is your booking paid in full, and not a reduced-rate, eg travel agent/interline booking? If you are still having trouble, email your booking information to: AzamaraUpgrade@Azamara.com 

 

22 hours ago, screen-gem said:

  On 3/12/2019 at 12:18 PM, aussie travel bird said:

Has anyone received an email re the new LCV stateroom upgrade bidding which replaces the previous upgrade arrangements as advised by Bonnie in a new post. I’m not sure how I’m going to ensure that our emails are registered when we continually drop off the email list. 

 

Hi Aussie Travel Bird,

The email address used for this program will come directly off your booking, so it may go to you or it may go to your Travel Professional, depending on who is the primary contact (typically the TP.)

The email address attached to bookings are not from the same database as what is used for the direct mailing promotions. One comes out of active reservations (our reservation system), and the other comes off list(s) of email addresses of those who have opted in for our marketing materials. If by chance someone opted out of receiving our marketing materials, or any of our sister companies mailings, they will not receive promotional materials. 

 

To both: Have you checked your Spam folder? Have you tried clearing your cache, shutting down your computer and rebooting? 

[screen-gem]

1 hour ago, BBMacLaird said:

To both: Have you checked your Spam folder? Have you tried clearing your cache, shutting down your computer and rebooting? 

Bonnie,

I've checked my spam folder - nothing there. Nor is this a cache issue. IT support people love to blame browser caches for all and sundry problems, but my emails don't go anywhere near browser caches. These issues all reside at Azamara/RCI HQ.   Here are two suggestions you could pass on to the powers that be:

 

1) It's clear this new upgrade program has not been well communicated.  If one searches the web for "azamara upgrade", the first hit that comes up for me is this one:

    https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/int/stateroom-upgrade

That's the request form for the old upgrade program: "By submitting this request, you are committing to pay $398 USD per stateroom if an upgrade becomes available".

You've been on the internet long enough to know how Page Rank works. That old link is still out there, bookmarked by lots of customers, and highly ranked (currently top-ranked) by search engines. That fact that the URL still points at the old program's web page is appalling.  Some might say incompetent.  You might suggest to your IT colleagues to re-home the /stateroom-upgrade URL to the web page for the new Upgrade program.   DON'T 404 THE OLD URL. That will break existing bookmarks, and lose your valuable page rank.

 

2) Based on what I've read, Azamara has also dropped the ball on communicating with Customers who already submitted upgrade requests, that were pending under the old system. Such requests were acknowledged and are sitting in a queue somewhere. It's most disappointing to learn that AZ Management decided to renege, and without notice to those Customers. (thanks to your post above, I now know that I need to re-submit my request, but what about all the others out there who haven't heard )?  Somewhere in Miami there is a list of all the pending requests, along with Customer name, booking number, e-mail address, etc.   I think it would be helpful if Azamara would notify them of the need to re-apply and submit bids if they wish to participate under the new Ts & Cs.

 

Thanks again for letting me know that I need to re-apply. However, I followed the link that you provided, entered my name and booking number, and received an error message that I'm not eligible. I'm fully paid up, I sail in less than 90 days, and I'm not traveling on a TA or interline fare.  Still a few bugs in the system, it seems.

[BBMacLaird]

Re. search results - Thanks for the tips screen-gem! I've passed your post along to both the LCV and the web team. I've put in 'Azamara Upgrade' into the search box and have been directed to the correct page. But you are definitely correct that all links to the old page should be removed!

 

Re. Ineligible - Write to the AzamaraUpgrade@Azamara.com address and ask why you're not eligible. 

Is your cruise super soon? I know all upgrades for March have been assigned. But I'd expect/hope that that 'deny' message would be different from an 'ineligible' message.  

[screen-gem]

12 minutes ago, BBMacLaird said:

 I've put in 'Azamara Upgrade' into the search box and have been directed to the correct page. But you are definitely correct that all links to the old page should be removed!

 

Re. Ineligible - Write to the AzamaraUpgrade@Azamara.com address and ask why you're not eligible. 

Is your cruise super soon? I know all upgrades for March have been assigned. But I'd expect/hope that that 'deny' message would be different from an 'ineligible' message.  

Bonnie,

Our cruise departs end of May. Less than 90 days, but not super soon. I get a "not eligible" message. "Please check again within 90 days of your departure".   But I am within 90 days; it's a bogus error message. Something is really broken in the Land of Azamara IT.

 

 

Here's what Ms. Google finds when I search for "azamara upgrade" (and Ms. Google knows all). The old web form is the #1 hit. Just to be clear, they shouldn't remove the old link. That will just end up with a 404 - page not found. They should retain the old URL, but re-direct it to the new web page. That's an easy bit of web programing. An intern could do it...

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2019 by screen-gem
correct typo

[Grandma Cruising]

Here’s a new email I got today on the UK.

Dear Denise   At Azamara, Destination ImmersionTM is at the heart of everything we do. Our aim in every port we visit is to connect you with local cultures, giving you the most authentic experience possible. With our complimentary AzAmazing Evenings on voyages 7-nights or longer (excluding trans-oceanic), we deliver bespoke, private evenings where we offer you travel moments that bring you closer to the destination. The following AzAmazing Evenings available this year are available on our reduced Mediterranean Voyages. This includes our Rome to Venice Voyage, which features a private Cello Concert in Dubrovnik. On our Mediterranean Pursuit Voyage, we have a Choir Performance at Tito Square in Slovenia, and on our Mediterranean Gems Voyage you can enjoy a private Operatic Evening at the Goldoni Theatre in Livorno! Follow the link below to view our reduced voyages paired with our Share & Save offer to receive 50% off second guest & free Wi-Fi, also featuring exciting AzAmazing Evenings! SAVE NOW 10 Night ROME TO VENICE VOYAGE 28 MAY, 2019 | AZAMARA PURSUITSM AzAmazing Evening: Cello Concert in Dubrovnik VIEW VOYAGE 11 NIGHT MEDITERRANEAN PURSUIT VOYAGE 6 JULY, 2019 | AZAMARA PURSUITSM AzAmazing Evening: Choir Performance at Tito Square VIEW VOYAGE 7 NIGHT GEMS OF THE WESTERN MED VOYAGE 27 JULY, 2019 | AZAMARA PURSUITSM AzAmazing Evening: An Operatic Evening at the Goldoni Theatre VIEW VOYAGE View as webpage   |  Booking Conditions   |   Privacy Policy AzamaraClubCruises.co.uk | Update your profile | Unsubscribe For more information or to make a reservation: Call us on 0844 493 4016* (UK), visit us online or contact your travel agent.

[Redtravel]

Just spoke to my TA. He has not received any info about upgrade changes. I still haven’t received any emails about the new plan. While I may not like the changes, I respect Azamara changing policy as they please. It would be nice if all booked guests were notified.  At the very least place an alert on the Azamara website. 

[upwarduk]

Grandma Cruising,

I note the date of your cruise is in the U.S.  format, so I’m uncertain if this e mail has been generated by the U.K. office!

[Grandma Cruising]

19 minutes ago, upwarduk said:

Grandma Cruising,

I note the date of your cruise is in the U.S.  format, so I’m uncertain if this e mail has been generated by the U.K. office!

I wondered that too.  It does include the UK website address and call number, so it recognises that I’m in the UK (which is what I was saying) but, like you, I think it was probably generated in the US.

I have noticed that some emails have the UK office address at the bottom and others, (like this one), don’t.

[janerlve]

Usually, you should be cautious about pasting private email to a forum, it may include links that expose private information..

[Grandma Cruising]

22 minutes ago, janerlve said:

Usually, you should be cautious about pasting private email to a forum, it may include links that expose private information..

Thanks for your warning. I have deleted the post. In future if I get personal emails I won’t copy it here, just general emails.