Azamara Loyalty scheme

[Lazy Sailor]

Is Azamara loyalty scheme currently a scam? We are trying to apply complimentary nights earned in December 2022. We have been trying for 4 or5 MONTHS. Our TA told me today Azamara say they cannot do it & it may be after November 2023 before they can. That’s AFTER the sailing date. Who has is experiencing this shockingly bad service? Does the Azamara loyalty program qualify as a SCAM?

[ghstudio]

I wouldn't call it a scam, but their back office is apparently in a state of chaos.  Escalate your request....and/or send documentation directly to the CEO (certified, signature required) and ask (nicely) that they apply it to your next cruise.

[ChucktownSteve]

Correct me if I'm wrong please, but don't they price the cruise at rack rate to give you the free days thus you're paying a "non discounted" rate for the remaining nights?  If so, that's the real scam.  The shorter the cruise the better the benefit.  If the cruise is long, I heard you could actually pay more than not using the free nights.  True or false?

[Grandma Cruising]

Depends on the cruise, number of free days & cruise length. We used ours on a Norway cruise, these tend not to be discounted.

[Lazy Sailor]

10 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

Correct me if I'm wrong please, but don't they price the cruise at rack rate to give you the free days thus you're paying a "non discounted" rate for the remaining nights?  If so, that's the real scam.  The shorter the cruise the better the benefit.  If the cruise is long, I heard you could actually pay more than not using the free nights.  True or false?

Yes, will do that next. We are just so frustrated. It took 3+ months to get the points from our last cruise credited, and despite lots of “we’re trying to help, we’ll pass it on to relevant department “ messages, today TA said he’s at a loss. And it’s less than 120 days to departure date

[Lazy Sailor]

Where can I get CEO’s contact details please?

[Wander58]

4 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said:

Correct me if I'm wrong please, but don't they price the cruise at rack rate to give you the free days thus you're paying a "non discounted" rate for the remaining nights?  If so, that's the real scam.  The shorter the cruise the better the benefit.  If the cruise is long, I heard you could actually pay more than not using the free nights.  True or false?

True.  But again, depends on many factors as they are not combinable with any promotions except on-board savings, B2B, and maybe one other.  Best way to use them is booking while onboard.  On our last cruise in May, I had the future cruise guy price it both ways and it worked out that using our 4 'free' nights was actually the best way to go by about $1000.  HOWEVER, it required him to get 'official' pricing from Miami which took days.  Being on-board, he was first able to verify our current level discount and free nights...something we could not do via the website or customer service back in May.

[Riocca]

Old loyalty scheme was administered by Royal Caribbean hence the Azamara number being the same as the Celebrity number, free nights always had to be referred to another department, presumably within RC, for implementation. After the migration the loyalty scheme will be administered by Versonix, having implemented a loyalty system myself its normal practice to outsource the scheme. Given the current problems bedding in the Versonix Seaware system I’m not surprised that the loyalty free nights are on hold, as others have said it was hit or miss whether they were of any value anyway. Recent promotions have been offering free nights anyway so on those cruises given that any promotions are removed before the free nights are applied it’s hard to see any value in them at the moment.

All the other loyalty benefits are still available such as discounts on internet, drinks packages and onboard bookings.

 

The current scheme had to work within the framework of the Celebrity scheme but that’s no longer the case so I expect in the not too distant future we are going to see the scheme overhauled anyway.

 

[uktog]

Whilst I accept outsourcing, previously guests especially more regular cruisers had access to staff dedicated to handling queries promptly. During this IT debacle such a route would have been even more useful to have helped smooth guests through the problems. The value of the tangible benefits were debatable depending on what type of room you had, whether you wanted to drink alcohol beyond the included drink etc. The one benefit that was of huge value was that “intangible” the named contact in a department sufficiently resourced to respond to issues. That one is what’s needed most. 
 

OK the good old days - Bill Leiber here in CC - a role way beyond what Bonnie did - and the unbelievably efficient and well connected Nicole shoreside. I miss them.  
 

We became even more loyal to Azamara in 2014 when our cruise was cancelled 72 hours before we got on the plane to fly to Shanghai due to a mechanical failure. The service recovery was minimal financially other than the refund but the personal engagement by Bill, communicating updates every few hours on cruise critic, the CEO Larry writing personal emails to everyone tailored to our situation and Nicole working through her contacts to get us an alternative holiday last minute is where Azamara really scored. 
 

That’s what we truly miss today 

[Riocca]

10 minutes ago, uktog said:

Whilst I accept outsourcing, previously guests especially more regular cruisers had access to staff dedicated to handling queries promptly. During this IT debacle such a route would have been even more useful to have helped smooth guests through the problems. The value of the tangible benefits were debatable depending on what type of room you had, whether you wanted to drink alcohol beyond the included drink etc. The one benefit that was of huge value was that “intangible” the named contact in a department sufficiently resourced to respond to issues. That one is what’s needed most. 
 

OK the good old days - Bill Leiber here in CC - a role way beyond what Bonnie did - and the unbelievably efficient and well connected Nicole shoreside. I miss them.  
 

We became even more loyal to Azamara in 2014 when our cruise was cancelled 72 hours before we got on the plane to fly to Shanghai due to a mechanical failure. The service recovery was minimal financially other than the refund but the personal engagement by Bill, communicating updates every few hours on cruise critic, the CEO Larry writing personal emails to everyone tailored to our situation and Nicole working through her contacts to get us an alternative holiday last minute is where Azamara really scored. 
 

That’s what we truly miss today 

Azamara Club Cruises truly was a club and sometimes that was a two edged sword however I’m not sure it was actually a good commercial entity hence RC offloading it at the first opportunity.

When they acquired Silverseas the position of Azamara was always doubtful if Sycamore hadn’t purchased it for what was basically the scrap value of the ships I’m not sure Azamara would exist today.

 

No doubt that the past few months have been painful but I think the new owners were prepared for this. Nobody likes change but Azamara is now a very small operator in the cruise market, they only have the total passenger capacity of one Celebrity ship so they have to trade accordingly.

 

 

 

[Dr H]

From personal experience, it isn't a scam, BUT. Two years ago we bopped from Discoverer to Discoverer Plus level, which "gave" us 6 free nights. We were onboard, and booked Dubai to Singapore, a long and very expensive cruise. Canadian Matt on board Quest worked some magic, and poof! Six free nights! The caveat was that the never paid, full price per person for. the cruise was the starting price, not the onboard discounted prices. We still saved a bucket of money, but the only OBC we got was because we were on a B2B trip. It looks good on paper, and it might be a great deal in specific instances as it was for us, but do the math before handing them your credit card. Best of luck. Oh, Dubai to Singapore was an amazing trip! Great people, very enjoyable ports, and of course the wonderful ON BOARD service.

[lisiamc]

On 7/27/2023 at 6:21 PM, Lazy Sailor said:

Is Azamara loyalty scheme currently a scam? We are trying to apply complimentary nights earned in December 2022. We have been trying for 4 or5 MONTHS. Our TA told me today Azamara say they cannot do it & it may be after November 2023 before they can. That’s AFTER the sailing date. Who has is experiencing this shockingly bad service? Does the Azamara loyalty program qualify as a SCAM?

If I thought a cruise line was out to “scam” me or anyone else, I certainly would not sail with them!
 

The conditions for booking the free nights when RCCL was administering the programme were specific enough that they were nearly impossible to arrange back then too, and of very little real value, since almost any of the promotions at the time would have made for a better deal, and they could not be combined with the free nights.

 

I agree with Riocca that patience is required until the new loyalty programme is in place. 

[excitedofharpenden]

51 minutes ago, lisiamc said:

If I thought a cruise line was out to “scam” me or anyone else, I certainly would not sail with them!
 

The conditions for booking the free nights when RCCL was administering the programme were specific enough that they were nearly impossible to arrange back then too, and of very little real value, since almost any of the promotions at the time would have made for a better deal, and they could not be combined with the free nights.

 

I agree with Riocca that patience is required until the new loyalty programme is in place. 

Exactly. The "free" nights I've learned over time are not free, but if you have enough of them and you are booking a full priced cruise they can work. Trouble is with the plethora of deals Azamara have you are more likely to be better off using those than the free nights. I've got three. I honestly doubt I'll use them. 

 

Phil 

[manc]

We are Discoverer Plus and have never been able to use our free nights satisfactorily. 

[uktog]

I hope the “new scheme” replaces the “free nights mystique” - its a mystique not a scam though I can see how some might interpret the marketing that way - with something more genuine and meaningful, note I’m not saying generous. For example an extra x% off the advertised price of a future cruise. Transparent understandable and might encourage even more bookings 

[nordski]

7 hours ago, uktog said:

I hope the “new scheme” replaces the “free nights mystique” - its a mystique not a scam though I can see how some might interpret the marketing that way - with something more genuine and meaningful, note I’m not saying generous. For example an extra x% off the advertised price of a future cruise. Transparent understandable and might encourage even more bookings 

I agree. We made both the 3 and 6 free days work for us, but it took some serious research not to mention excellent advice on this forum.

 

Simpler would be better.

[Riocca]

Maybe we’ve been lucky but so far we’ve been able to make use of all our free nights, although I still wonder how they worked out the last 3 nights but didn’t question it.

Loyalty schemes are tricky it’s very easy to turn a perceived benefit into a negative and sadly the free nights seem to fit into that category. It’s much better to have a scheme that’s simple to understand with meaningful and equitable benefits, having to fit the parameters of the Celebrity scheme hasn’t helped Azamara.

 

[lisiamc]

We had made it to Discoverer Plus before they started the free nights. Even if we live to be old enough to rival Methuselah, I don’t think we will ever get to Platinum. So there are no free nights in our future, sadly.

[Mackdogmolly]

I am hoping to make my newly acquired 4 free nights work in 2024. Unless they change the deal to something better 

[kent4489]

We booked in March and somehow, they were able to give us our 4 free nights since we reached Discoverer the cruise before on a B2 B. (They weren’t able to price it correctly, but told me our points would be updated within 48 hours…we’re still waiting).

Then the IT debacle happened and we are still Explorer, but somehow it was repriced at slightly less than using the 4 free nights. Since March, our status is still Explorer, so I’m thinking that once (if ever), our status is corrected, we will have the 4 nights still available. Yes, I already figured out it is best to use them on a  shorter cruise. We’re looking at a 9 night in March. We’ll see.

Starting tomorrow, I am sending a daily email asking for our points/status to be updated. I know some people don’t care, but after 4 1/2 months, it is time to get it corrected. (Please don’t bash me….)

[Lazy Sailor]

On 7/29/2023 at 3:20 PM, Dr H said:

From personal experience, it isn't a scam, BUT. Two years ago we bopped from Discoverer to Discoverer Plus level, which "gave" us 6 free nights. We were onboard, and booked Dubai to Singapore, a long and very expensive cruise. Canadian Matt on board Quest worked some magic, and poof! Six free nights! The caveat was that the never paid, full price per person for. the cruise was the starting price, not the onboard discounted prices. We still saved a bucket of money, but the only OBC we got was because we were on a B2B trip. It looks good on paper, and it might be a great deal in specific instances as it was for us, but do the math before handing them your credit card. Best of luck. Oh, Dubai to Singapore was an amazing trip! Great people, very enjoyable ports, and of course the wonderful ON BOARD service.

Very useful reply, thanks.

This is exactly the voyage we are trying to use our complimentary nights on - and as it is not a voyage that is normally discounted, and we didn't book onboard (as we had to wait until after last voyage to qualify for complimentary nights) the complimentary nights (in a CC) should be worth it!

If only Azamara will tell our TA the value, he will know the voyage price and  can then give us a price for the total trip - and we can pay!

[Lazy Sailor]

On 7/31/2023 at 1:50 AM, kent4489 said:

We booked in March and somehow, they were able to give us our 4 free nights since we reached Discoverer the cruise before on a B2 B. (They weren’t able to price it correctly, but told me our points would be updated within 48 hours…we’re still waiting).

Then the IT debacle happened and we are still Explorer, but somehow it was repriced at slightly less than using the 4 free nights. Since March, our status is still Explorer, so I’m thinking that once (if ever), our status is corrected, we will have the 4 nights still available. Yes, I already figured out it is best to use them on a  shorter cruise. We’re looking at a 9 night in March. We’ll see.

Starting tomorrow, I am sending a daily email asking for our points/status to be updated. I know some people don’t care, but after 4 1/2 months, it is time to get it corrected. (Please don’t bash me….)

We did finally get our points, 6 months after last voyage