Current Azamara Sale is Real – Expires March 31

[AJCM]

On 3/31/2021 at 7:39 PM, uktog said:

  The UK pricing appears to be at an exchange rate that applied some time ago. However I’m not risking overseas booking at present 

We usually book direct with Azamara. Each time, we’ve been charged at the exchange rate applicable on that day; so it’s always different to the published AUD price in Azamara’s website. Sometimes it costs more, others less.

 

Off topic, I’ve discovered an anomaly (at least to my mind) with USD OBC. If we want to book shore excursions on line, a conversion is done to AUD. The exchange rate used is the daily rate the first time we book an excursion. That rate is then fixed and so it applies if we book other excursions, even if it’s months later. So, you may win or lose on the conversion.

 

We have several cruises and I purchased some excursions some months ago, for one cruise. The OBC was duly converted to AUD at that day’s rate. For other cruises, the AUD equivalent value has decreased, due to positive movement of the AUD against the dollar.

 

However, the cost of excursions has not changed. This means I’m paying an artificially higher price for an excursion. By comparison a US guest retains the identical purchasing power; so there’s an anomaly. Ok, if the AUD had declined against the dollar, Id have more purchasing power, so it’s swings and roundabouts - but I fail to see the logic.

 

In my view, if they want to charge us our own currency for shore excursions, then when booking on-line, the charge for excursions should be calculated on the day you book. Their system is able to calculate today’s fx value of the OBC, so it should be easy to do the same for the excursions, just as they do when you want to book a cruise with them.

 

Given that our OBC has declined in buying power it seems we’ll get a better outcome if we wait till we’re on board, where we’ll be charged USD to book excursions. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

On our bookings with Ponant [both cancelled due to Covid], their website offered OBC in Euros.  But when an American gets on board, that is converted to the same amount of USD.

 

The only time I invested in arbitrage was when the Whitestone Bridge used tokens.  They would announce a toll increase about 6 months ahead, and I would immediately buy a roll of tokens on each trip (2 per day) over the bridge.  Never got such a good return on such a safe investment!

[uktog]

6 hours ago, AJCM said:

We usually book direct with Azamara. Each time, we’ve been charged at the exchange rate applicable on that day; so it’s always different to the published AUD price in Azamara’s website. Sometimes it costs more, others less.

 

Off topic, I’ve discovered an anomaly (at least to my mind) with USD OBC. If we want to book shore excursions on line, a conversion is done to AUD. The exchange rate used is the daily rate the first time we book an excursion. That rate is then fixed and so it applies if we book other excursions, even if it’s months later. So, you may win or lose on the conversion.

 

We have several cruises and I purchased some excursions some months ago, for one cruise. The OBC was duly converted to AUD at that day’s rate. For other cruises, the AUD equivalent value has decreased, due to positive movement of the AUD against the dollar.

 

However, the cost of excursions has not changed. This means I’m paying an artificially higher price for an excursion. By comparison a US guest retains the identical purchasing power; so there’s an anomaly. Ok, if the AUD had declined against the dollar, Id have more purchasing power, so it’s swings and roundabouts - but I fail to see the logic.

 

In my view, if they want to charge us our own currency for shore excursions, then when booking on-line, the charge for excursions should be calculated on the day you book. Their system is able to calculate today’s fx value of the OBC, so it should be easy to do the same for the excursions, just as they do when you want to book a cruise with them.

 

Given that our OBC has declined in buying power it seems we’ll get a better outcome if we wait till we’re on board, where we’ll be charged USD to book excursions. 

We were always as you were, your obc locked to a rate the first time you used it however it used to be that the precruise purchases locked to that rate, ie my excursions converted at that price whether I bought them on the lock-in rate day or any point up to cruising.  Whatever was left of any obc was the balance transferred to the ship, odd cents an all.

 

Onboard, I did find the excursion prices might be higher than I paid and of course excursions would be full.  The biggest problem was if they cancelled your excursion which happens a lot.  The conversion back to obc to rebook another excursion always worked to your disadvantage. For a cancellation on an expensive chefs tour excursion it would be about $20 each which was annoying.  

 

But not as annoying as what seems to be the new system. 
 

[AJCM]

Thanks for the reply uktog. I’ll be mindful of your experience of excursions being a higher price on board and often fully booked. 

[Doh15]

16 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Azamara's Norwegian Fjords cruises seem to leave from different ports, but I haven't seen one that starts or ends in Bergen.  That would allow you to take the 'Norway in a Nutshell' train to Oslo, which includes the Flam railway.

We were really looking forward to the Svalbard cruise last year and I think Azamara was going to overnight in Bergen so we had a plan to do the Flam railway as part of a roundtrip from Bergen (railway to Flam, fjord cruise and bus back to Bergen). Longish day but seemed like it would be fun. 
 

Unfortunately we can’t go this year (if it even goes) and I am a little nervous they will drop that itinerary. 

[mwf7501]

Some crazy pricing appeared today, possibly this is related to the expiration of the sale?   Or just a screw up.

 

We're booked on the Sept 28 2021 Pursuit, Athens to Rome.   I watch the cruise just about every day, just to make sure it's still there and to track pricing.   A day or so ago the Club Continent Suite was about $7K and the Spa Suite was about $13K (Avg Per Person).

 

Today the Club Con Suite is  $10,399, and the Spa is $10,799.   If those prices are real, that would be a no brainer, since the Spa is so much nicer.   I'm an amateur, but $10K per person seems very high for a Club Con for an 11-night Greece intensive cruise.    The Veranda Plus shows at $5,529.   Maybe the Club Con price is just an error.   Maybe the pricing system got mixed up at the end of the sale.