Prebooking Shore Excursions

[BuddyR]

I am trying to decide whether or not to book a couple of shore excursions prior to our Journey sailing on April 21.  Does the price of a particular shore excursion ever go up once you’re onboard the ship?  Also, is the OBC from Azamara the only OBC posted in the Voyage Planner and available to use to prebook excursions?

 

Laura

[uktog]

Yes the prices often are higher nearer sailing and onboard. I only ever get Azamara OBC so I cannot answer your second question accurately. I did read somewhere travel agents OBC only appeared after the agent paid Azamara for it, which is logical. I suspect many don’t buy it for clients until the last minute. 

[screen-gem]

4 hours ago, BuddyR said:

 Also, is the OBC from Azamara the only OBC posted in the Voyage Planner and available to use to prebook excursions?

 

Laura

The OBC that our TA kindly gave us appeared in our Voyage Planner last month. We've already spent it on excursions for a cruise in June.

Edited April 11, 2019 by screen-gem

[Belfastman]

It should also be noted that if you are on an Azamara cruise and have another booked which has OBC then you can use that for shore excursions on the future cruise. If booked on the current cruise then you will get a 5 or 10% discount depending how many tours you book. (10% is for more than 3).

[papa B me]

We are booked in an Owners Suite for a cruise next year.  We booked it through a large on line TA.  My understanding is that the suite comes with $300 OBC.  It doesn't show on the Voyage Planner that I can find.  Do they wait until final payment to post the OBC?  Also where in the Voyage Planner should it show.  Any help appreciated.

Brian

[uktog]

If you go into the Voyage Planner, in the white strip at the top right of the page it should show available credit. (Its between order history and cart)

[Mackdogmolly]

3 hours ago, uktog said:

If you go into the Voyage Planner, in the white strip at the top right of the page it should show available credit. (Its between order history and cart)

Mine is not there. I only have OBC from my TA. I’m wondering if it will only show up once I’m onboard 😟

[hiccups]

12 hours ago, screen-gem said:

The OBC that our TA kindly gave us appeared in our Voyage Planner last month. We've already spent it on excursions for a cruise in June.

 

1 minute ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Mine is not there. I only have OBC from my TA. I’m wondering if it will only show up once I’m onboard 😟

Our TA OBC has only shown up once we've been onboard.  It would be great if Azamara was able to start posting it in our Voyage Planner.  I hope screen-gem's experience isn't just a one-off!

We have an upcoming cruise on Celebrity, and our booking promo OBC shows on our Voyage Planner, but not our TA OBC.  I would have booked a few more excursions during their recent sale if we'd been able to use the TA OBC.

[Mackdogmolly]

Yes, I don’t have that much to begin with, so may just save it for a dining package or something. Although on my last voyage, I ended up with a lot more OBC than I had expected, so who knows. I’ve only bought one excursion though, because I just don’t know.

[Grandma Cruising]

4 hours ago, papa B me said:

We are booked in an Owners Suite for a cruise next year.  We booked it through a large on line TA.  My understanding is that the suite comes with $300 OBC.  It doesn't show on the Voyage Planner that I can find.  Do they wait until final payment to post the OBC?  Also where in the Voyage Planner should it show.  Any help appreciated.

Brian

The web page about the Owners Suite definitely says it includes $300 OBC. https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/our-ships/suites/club-world-owners-suite?_ga=2.259163266.948761088.1554275781-1338312259.1544445068&_gac=1.237774516.1554300619.EAIaIQobChMIqem4_Iy04QIVEeJ3Ch2w9Q9oEAAYASAAEgKcRPD_BwE

I would either ring or email Azamara Customer Services to query the fact that this $300 is not showing up on your Voyage Planner. There is an ‘email us’ section on the web page here https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/email-us

 

[screen-gem]

26 minutes ago, hiccups said:

Our TA OBC has only shown up once we've been onboard.  It would be great if Azamara was able to start posting it in our Voyage Planner.  I hope screen-gem's experience isn't just a one-off!
 

We are traveling on Pursuit at the end of May with friends. I can report that their TA OBC appeared in their Voyage Planner a couple weeks ago, as did ours.  (came from the same TA).  So certainly not a one-off😊

 

As @uktog mentioned, our OBC balance appears at the top-right of the Voyage Planner.  What I'd like to see on Voyage Planner is a summary statement showing the OBCs that were posted to the account (from any/all sources), debits from booking excursions, credits from Azamara then cancelling the excursions, etc. I've looked around the Planner website, but can find no such report.

[Belfastman]

51 minutes ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

The web page about the Owners Suite definitely says it includes $300 OBC. https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/our-ships/suites/club-world-owners-suite?_ga=2.259163266.948761088.1554275781-1338312259.1544445068&_gac=1.237774516.1554300619.EAIaIQobChMIqem4_Iy04QIVEeJ3Ch2w9Q9oEAAYASAAEgKcRPD_BwE

I would either ring or email Azamara Customer Services to query the fact that this $300 is not showing up on your Voyage Planner. There is an ‘email us’ section on the web page here https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/email-us

 

The $300 for owners suite is per person so would be $600 for two people.

[Redtravel]

Check your online booking. On my upcoming cruise, Azamara included OBC. My TA gave us more OBC. Our My Azamara account had the cruise line OBC, not the TA’s. We used Azamara OBC to book shore excursions for our cruise. On some cruises, we have prebooked and paid for excursions. Once on the ship, we had the ship refund and rebook the excursions using a OBC.  Many people did this before Azamara allowed you to use OBC to prebook.  Prebooking works for everyone. You select excursions that you want before they sell out. Cruise lines know how many guides and tours to arrange in a port.

[Mackdogmolly]

24 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

Check your online booking. On my upcoming cruise, Azamara included OBC. My TA gave us more OBC. Our My Azamara account had the cruise line OBC, not the TA’s. We used Azamara OBC to book shore excursions for our cruise. On some cruises, we have prebooked and paid for excursions. Once on the ship, we had the ship refund and rebook the excursions using a OBC.  Many people did this before Azamara allowed you to use OBC to prebook.  Prebooking works for everyone. You select excursions that you want before they sell out. Cruise lines know how many guides and tours to arrange in a port.

I booked directly through my TA and not through Azamara so I’m not sure I would have any more from them. My TA spelled out in my contract what the OBC would be. I will have a look though. On our last cruise we mostly did private excursions anyway 

[Redtravel]

53 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

I booked directly through my TA and not through Azamara so I’m not sure I would have any more from them. My TA spelled out in my contract what the OBC would be. I will have a look though. On our last cruise we mostly did private excursions anyway 

When we booked the cruise through a TA, Azamara ran a promo that included OBC. We used that to book 3 excursions. We also have additional OBC from the TA that cannot be spent until we sail. I always look at the online account to check the details. I want to make sure we are booked on the cruise that We selected and in the cabin that we chose. Unfortunately, there was a cruise many years ago that was posted in another cabin. We had chosen midship. Online had us in far forward cabin.  Not a desired location.  Also, when we book, it isn’t always clear as to where the OBC is coming from. Often my TA just gives us an amount. Some of it comes from the cruise line. Some comes from the TA. Check.

[Mackdogmolly]

8 hours ago, uktog said:

If you go into the Voyage Planner, in the white strip at the top right of the page it should show available credit. (Its between order history and cart)

 

2 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

When we booked the cruise through a TA, Azamara ran a promo that included OBC. We used that to book 3 excursions. We also have additional OBC from the TA that cannot be spent until we sail. I always look at the online account to check the details. I want to make sure we are booked on the cruise that We selected and in the cabin that we chose. Unfortunately, there was a cruise many years ago that was posted in another cabin. We had chosen midship. Online had us in far forward cabin.  Not a desired location.  Also, when we book, it isn’t always clear as to where the OBC is coming from. Often my TA just gives us an amount. Some of it comes from the cruise line. Some comes from the TA. Check.

I checked. There’s nothing there. I AM in the correct cabin though. Since I am a relative newby to cruising and we are on the same cruise, I may want to get together and get some of your good advice about booking future cruises! 😊

[Redtravel]

18 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

 

I checked. There’s nothing there. I AM in the correct cabin though. Since I am a relative newby to cruising and we are on the same cruise, I may want to get together and get some of your good advice about booking future cruises! 😊

If there is an excursion that you really want to take, book it now. You can look at the excursions online and select what you like.

If you change your mind, you can cancel and get a refund within a day or two of the actual excursion.  We are looking forward to this cruise.  Looking forward to meeting you. 

[Mackdogmolly]

1 hour ago, Redtravel said:

If there is an excursion that you really want to take, book it now. You can look at the excursions online and select what you like.

If you change your mind, you can cancel and get a refund within a day or two of the actual excursion.  We are looking forward to this cruise.  Looking forward to meeting you. 

Good advice. I did book one awhile ago and will probably take a look at some others. Looking forward to meeting you too.