AZ Upgrade Program - NEW - effective 3/12/19!!

[BBMacLaird]

3 hours ago, DebbieMacG said:

Bonnie did you get any answers about people who needed an accessible cabins or showers etc been able to still bid but having the “deal breaker”clause you mentioned?

 

many thanks 

 

No I haven't. But not surprised. If there are going to be any alterations made to the program they would be rolled out as one piece, hopefully not piece-meal. But that said, I'll snoop around to see what came out of the suggestion. 

[DebbieMacG]

34 minutes ago, BBMacLaird said:

 

No I haven't. But not surprised. If there are going to be any alterations made to the program they would be rolled out as one piece, hopefully not piece-meal. But that said, I'll snoop around to see what came out of the suggestion. 

Thanks Bonnie, that would be good, maybe something for the future 🙂

[BBMacLaird]

One of the main reasons we introduced this new upgrade program is to improve guest satisfaction.  Historically, we received many complaints from guests who missed out on the opportunity to upgrade because they missed our call.  By eliminating the manual selection/approval process of upgrades everybody gets a chance, not just the ones who were home and happened to be by the phone. 

 

We understand that in a few cases (medical reasons/ specific guest needs) it is important to know if a guest cannot upgrade into a particular room before their offer is approved. We can confirm that guests currently booked in an accessible stateroom will only be upgraded to an accessible alternative, assuming it is available. We will not upgrade an accessible booking into a non-accessible stateroom.

 

We’ve explored a few alternative solutions to address non-medical requests including stateroom location and give guests the flexibility to indicate personal preferences but unfortunately this would require re-introducing manual workarounds which would cripple the upgrade process. To give some perspective, in a normal year we were processing at most 100 upgrades in a year. We expect this number to increase by a multiple of that. This would not be possible if would go back to call-outs. Therefore, to maintain the integrity of the automated process, we will not be able to implement this type of enhancement. We believe our guests are interested in getting as many opportunities for upgrades as possible and that is what we are working towards.

 

My recommendation is if there is a particular room you absolutely must have for your upcoming sailing go ahead and book it since there’s no guarantee the room you really want will be available to bid on. Don’t take a chance if you can’t sail without it!

[hiccups]

1 hour ago, BBMacLaird said:

One of the main reasons we introduced this new upgrade program is to improve guest satisfaction.  Historically, we received many complaints from guests who missed out on the opportunity to upgrade because they missed our call.  By eliminating the manual selection/approval process of upgrades everybody gets a chance, not just the ones who were home and happened to be by the phone. 

 

I'm sorry, but if that were the case, then the bids would still be $398 ($199 PP), with the exception of whatever the price was for suites.  This brings to mind the saying "don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining."  I'm not directing that at you, Bonnie, because I know you are telling us what corporate says, but they are sounding disingenuous.

Edited March 20, 2019 by hiccups

[marinaro44]

7 minutes ago, hiccups said:

I'm sorry, but if that were the case, then the bids would still be $398 ($199 PP), with the exception of whatever the price was for suites.

Yes, the process could have just been made automatic, without asking the guest to accept the upgrade.  Decide before applying if you'll take the chance or not.

 

And the upgrade amount could have been increased, in particular for higher-level categories to reflect today's reality.  All of this could have been done without adding the demeaning bidding business.

[lovecruzin]

Bonnie, For those that choose to participate. If your bid is accepted and you do not like the upgraded assignment, if other cabins are available within the same category will Azamara allow you to change cabins?

[Lois R]

Hi Bonnie, I have a question as well.  I put in a bid for my upcoming cruise (I sail on April 10th). Is someone from Azamara going to email me back as to whether they accepted my bid or not?

[DebbieMacG]

2 hours ago, BBMacLaird said:

One of the main reasons we introduced this new upgrade program is to improve guest satisfaction.  Historically, we received many complaints from guests who missed out on the opportunity to upgrade because they missed our call.  By eliminating the manual selection/approval process of upgrades everybody gets a chance, not just the ones who were home and happened to be by the phone. 

 

We understand that in a few cases (medical reasons/ specific guest needs) it is important to know if a guest cannot upgrade into a particular room before their offer is approved. We can confirm that guests currently booked in an accessible stateroom will only be upgraded to an accessible alternative, assuming it is available. We will not upgrade an accessible booking into a non-accessible stateroom.

 

We’ve explored a few alternative solutions to address non-medical requests including stateroom location and give guests the flexibility to indicate personal preferences but unfortunately this would require re-introducing manual workarounds which would cripple the upgrade process. To give some perspective, in a normal year we were processing at most 100 upgrades in a year. We expect this number to increase by a multiple of that. This would not be possible if would go back to call-outs. Therefore, to maintain the integrity of the automated process, we will not be able to implement this type of enhancement. We believe our guests are interested in getting as many opportunities for upgrades as possible and that is what we are working towards.

 

My recommendation is if there is a particular room you absolutely must have for your upcoming sailing go ahead and book it since there’s no guarantee the room you really want will be available to bid on. Don’t take a chance if you can’t sail without it!

Excellent thank you Bonnie, so on your previous advice because I’ve already applied under the old scheme for an upgrade I should put in the minimum bid under the new scheme.

 

I’m aware that the chances are extremely limited but at least I can bid with the knowledge that I won’t lose my accessible cabin. 

[nordski]

1 hour ago, marinaro44 said:

Yes, the process could have just been made automatic, without asking the guest to accept the upgrade.  Decide before applying if you'll take the chance or not.

 

 

If there is a basic fee and there are several applications, I’m interested upon what factors the “chance” should be based:

 

1/ Loyalty level 

 

2/ When the application was made

 

3/ The number of times the applicant has already received an upgrade

 

4/ Special events that the cruiser will enjoy on that cruise such as anniversaries, honeymoon, or birthdays

 

5/ A combination of any of the above?

[nordski]

2 hours ago, hiccups said:

I'm sorry, but if that were the case, then the bids would still be $398 ($199 PP), with the exception of whatever the price was for suites.  This brings to mind the saying "don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining."  I'm not directing that at you, Bonnie, because I know you are telling us what corporate says, but they are sounding disingenuous.

 

To be fair to Bonnie, I was one of those on this forum who complained that the first time we received an upgrade invitation it was offered to, and accepted by, someone else before we had a chance to reply.

[marinaro44]

8 minutes ago, nordski said:

 

If there is a basic fee and there are several applications, I’m interested upon what factors the “chance” should be based:

 

1/ Loyalty level 

 

2/ When the application was made

 

3/ The number of times the applicant has already received an upgrade

 

4/ Special events that the cruiser will enjoy on that cruise such as anniversaries, honeymoon, or birthdays

 

5/ A combination of any of the above?

In my opinion, #1 first and #2 second, just as before.

[BBMacLaird]

2 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi Bonnie, I have a question as well.  I put in a bid for my upcoming cruise (I sail on April 10th). Is someone from Azamara going to email me back as to whether they accepted my bid or not?

 

Yes, you’ll be emailed. There are three scenarios:

- If ineligible you’ll be emailed immediately (though for the time being I recommend you double check via AzamaraUpgrade@Azamara.com because there have been a few early erroneous “ineligible” emails that I’ve heard of.)

- A positive “you’ve been upgraded” could come at any time between 60-days out and 3-days out from ship departure.

- All ‘regret’ emails are supposed to go out 3-days prior to ship departure, when bidding is closed.

[BBMacLaird]

2 hours ago, DebbieMacG said:

Excellent thank you Bonnie, so on your previous advice because I’ve already applied under the old scheme for an upgrade I should put in the minimum bid under the new scheme.

 

I’m aware that the chances are extremely limited but at least I can bid with the knowledge that I won’t lose my accessible cabin. 

Thank you DebbieMacG for raising the question. 

Good luck on your upgrade bid.

[BBMacLaird]

3 hours ago, lovecruzin said:

Bonnie, For those that choose to participate. If your bid is accepted and you do not like the upgraded assignment, if other cabins are available within the same category will Azamara allow you to change cabins?

The rules of this new Upgrade program say no cabin changes once upgraded.

[lovecruzin]

8 minutes ago, BBMacLaird said:

The rules of this new Upgrade program say no cabin changes once upgraded.

 

Thanks Bonnie, i looked thru the FAQs and T&Cs, I must have missed that point.

 

As a follow on, if upgrading to a suite do you get the suite inclusions such as specialty dining or does “the updgrade does not include any additional promotions” mean you do not get those “perks”?

 

We are on Quest in July so I want to make an informed decision since our 90 day mark is coming up!

 

[tgg]

The Continent suite description is "two lower beds convertible to one queen size bed."  Owner's suites and ocean suites, however, are described as having one queen size bed. There is nothing that indicates that they can be split into two beds.

 

If you apply for one of these large suite upgrades and you are travelling with someone with whom you do not share a bed (like an adult child), can these beds be split or replaced?

[BBMacLaird]

39 minutes ago, lovecruzin said:

 

Thanks Bonnie, i looked thru the FAQs and T&Cs, I must have missed that point.

 

As a follow on, if upgrading to a suite do you get the suite inclusions such as specialty dining or does “the updgrade does not include any additional promotions” mean you do not get those “perks”?

 

We are on Quest in July so I want to make an informed decision since our 90 day mark is coming up!

 

Yes if upgraded to a suite you will get all the suite benefits.

But be aware you do not get the higher category LCV points. The points will correspond to the category you first purchase.

[BBMacLaird]

10 minutes ago, tgg said:

The Continent suite description is "two lower beds convertible to one queen size bed."  Owner's suites and ocean suites, however, are described as having one queen size bed. There is nothing that indicates that they can be split into two beds.

 

If you apply for one of these large suite upgrades and you are travelling with someone with whom you do not share a bed (like an adult child), can these beds be split or replaced?

Not to my knowledge. If the bed configuration doesn’t mention convertible then they cannot be split.

[hiccups]

12 hours ago, BBMacLaird said:

 

Yes, you’ll be emailed. There are three scenarios:

- If ineligible you’ll be emailed immediately (though for the time being I recommend you double check via AzamaraUpgrade@Azamara.com because there have been a few early erroneous “ineligible” emails that I’ve heard of.)

- A positive “you’ve been upgraded” could come at any time between 60-days out and 3-days out from ship departure.

- All ‘regret’ emails are supposed to go out 3-days prior to ship departure, when bidding is closed.

Do you know what would make someone ineligible?  Is that only related to whether a TA has chosen not to participate in the upgrade program, or is there anything else that comes into play?

[Grandma Cruising]

The website says bookings must be “

• Booking must be made under full fare or general marketplace promotions only.”.

 

[excitedofharpenden]

1 hour ago, hiccups said:

Do you know what would make someone ineligible?  Is that only related to whether a TA has chosen not to participate in the upgrade program, or is there anything else that comes into play?

I was talking to a friend this morning who came up as ineligible, but in fact when he checked directly he was eligible so there is a glitch somewhere. 

 

Phil 

[Sanatee]

On 3/12/2019 at 6:14 PM, BBMacLaird said:

Looks like I let the cat out of the bag a day early. The emails to LCV members should be in your inbox by tomorrow.

And the upgrade system will officially start accepting bids tomorrow as well I'm told. There will be a confirmation notice letting you know your bid has either been accepted or is *not eligible*.

*You must be within 90-days of departure date, and your booking paid in full, to be eligible to bid. 

Never got an email

[maygrovecruisers]

We have just been in touch with our travel agent and they did not know anything about the new upgrade program. Now waiting for them to contact Azamara to find out what they have to do to opt in so we can bid, if we want to. They said they know their customers can bid on upgrades for Celebrity.

The upgrade program is still telling us we are ineligible for our 27th April cruise.

 

[excitedofharpenden]

The same friend bid on an upgrade from a balcony to a CC Suite and a weak bid was $1000 person.  For a room they have no control of the location.  So this is going to be MUCH more expensive going forward it seems. 

 

Phil 

[screen-gem]

37 minutes ago, maygrovecruisers said:

 

The upgrade program is still telling us we are ineligible for our 27th April cruise.

 

Here's another data point.

 

We sail at the end of May (less than 90 days away), and our booking is fully paid.

I submitted an upgrade request (under the old system) months ago, and received back an acknowledgement at the time. Have received no correspondence from Azamara advising that the old request was now null and void, nor that I'd have to reapply under the new program.

 

Since learning about the new program here, I've been attempting to re-apply, but keep getting the well-known "you're not eligible at this time" error message.  This morning, I was not eligible. Then earlier this afternoon, an email from AZ arrived.

   Subject: Act Now - You're eligible for a stateroom upgrade

I find this to be somewhat disingenuous.  We're not really eligible for an upgrade; instead, we're eligible to "submit offers to upgrade your existing stateroom".  The email makes no mention of my upgrade request that was submitted previously, nor what happens if I leave things the way they are. Had I not read the many posts on this thread, I might well have assumed I was still waitlisted according to the previous confirmation from Azamara (a 1-category upgrade @ $398/cabin).

 

The email goes on to say that "If you booked your voyage through a travel agent, please be assured that your agent can guide you through the upgrade process". I've learned that this afternoon my TA received the same email that was sent to me.

 

A number of upgrade options are listed, ranging from a Continent Suite (from $200US pp) all the way up to the World Owner's Suite (from $2,800US pp). The slider for a bid on the WO Suite goes up to a whopping $5,100pp. That's a bit steep for my budget.

 

Following Bonnie's guidance in a previous post, I submitted the minimum of bids possible (which is supposed to retain whatever priority might have been established by my original request). I  immediately received back a confirmation that my offer had been received.

 

It's clear there are still some bugs in the system, but it seems that the hamsters powering the Azamara IT equipment room are slowly getting up to speed.