Azamara's UKMD Richard Twynam will be on CC Live this Thursday, Jan 15

Dear UK and beyond Guests -

Join the online conversation this coming Thursday, Jan 15, at 3pm GMT (10am Eastern Time).

Our UK Managing Director Richard Twynam will be online and answering your questions on the UK Cruise Critic Live chat. You're invited to send in your questions early.

Here's a link to an interview by Ask Azamara! Interview of Richard Twynam, by Adam Coulter, Cruise Critic UK Editor

Why, when I had booked last October 2014 and paid in full, did the website tell me my cruise was cancelled on 9 January2015 when I tried to get into my cruise personisator.. The message in red was contact your cruise operator. I was worried sick (ref 8672363) then I was told ir was a computer glitch. Did Cruise. dot pay the bill I had paid them?

Dear UK and beyond Guests -

Join the online conversation this coming Thursday, Jan 15, at 3pm GMT (10am Eastern Time).

Our UK Managing Director Richard Twynam will be online and answering your questions on the UK Cruise Critic Live chat. You're invited to send in your questions early.

 

Here's a link to an interview by Ask Azamara! Interview of Richard Twynam, by Adam Coulter, Cruise Critic UK Editor

Bonnie, is it really at 3pm GMT? The sticky above states the time as 11am ET which would be 4pm here. Just checking as I'm available at 3pm but off to play tennis at 4pm.

Also this may be a dumb question but where do we access the Live Chat. Would you be able to advise or post a link please?

Why, when I had booked last October 2014 and paid in full, did the website tell me my cruise was cancelled on 9 January2015 when I tried to get into my cruise personisator.. The message in red was contact your cruise operator. I was worried sick (ref 8672363) then I was told ir was a computer glitch. Did Cruise. dot pay the bill I had paid them?

Hello nannymemo, your question is very specific to your reservation. I recommend you contact the Azamara customer services and your travel provider to verify payment has been received.

Unfortunately from the other side of the world I hope to be sleeping during Mr Twynam's chat. I would like to ask him, looking ahead, what is the one change he would like to make to the Azamara product and why?

Also this may be a dumb question but where do we access the Live Chat. Would you be able to advise or post a link please?

Hi Prefdavid,

If you plan to attend on Thursday, I suggest giving this link a try : http://live.cruisecritic.com/Event/Want_More_on_Shore_We_Chat_with_Azamara

I'm not entirely certain if that's the correct link, but I believe it is. Hope this is helpful !

I will be in work at the time of the live chat but I would like to ask two questions please. Firstly, why does Azamara have such different "deals "in different countries? It is noticeable that our American friends have access to much better terms and conditions and prices than we do in the UK. It really does not seem fair and the standard answer of different markets etc won't do.

Secondly, we have been hearing about a new ship or even ships for a long time now. On Journey in November Captain Johannes told us that we would be hearing some news very soon. Can Mr Twynam share some definite news about these plans? Although I understand the financial reasons behind it, I am very unhappy that Quest has been removed from my cruising options due to the long charter and a third ship would give us added choices.

Thank you Mr Twynam.

Hi Prefdavid,

 

If you plan to attend on Thursday, I suggest giving this link a try : http://live.cruisecritic.com/Event/Want_More_on_Shore_We_Chat_with_Azamara

 

I'm not entirely certain if that's the correct link, but I believe it is. Hope this is helpful !

I'll certainly try that, thanks Andy. :)

Please can he confirm the policy in the UK regarding price drops?

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

Hi,

Unable to be online live, perhaps the issue of charges for internet access be addressed.

Recent changes to loyalty benefits reduced voyage internet access from 235minutes to 90 minutes, which is barely sufficient for a 7 day cruise, but not for longer voyages, and a bit odd in comparison to Celebrity access.

While the change seems to have been made to "upscale" suite benefits at no cost, surely a fairer allocation for those many loyal passengers who cruise on longer voyages would be 90 minutes every 7 days, similar to the laundry benefit, although with other competitors now offering totally free internet access, maybe a good time to remove charging altogether, reward loyalty, and remain competitive in an ever aggressive marketplace.

As an aside and without going into detail, I had on a previous occasion to contact Mr Twynam regarding a seemingly insurmountable problem on an upcoming cruise which all efforts to resolve online and to the call centre proved fruitless and frustrating, and guess what, his efficient and friendly staff produced a proper resolution within days!! Well done him and all his staff. Keep it up, as greatly appreciated by all and hopefully recognised by Azamara management and Mr.P.

Thanks

Unable to be online during the live chat - work in the U.S. but would like to ask...

In the event Azamara will be adding a new ship (or 2?) to the fleet.... would love to see/suggest more 7 day cruises offered throughout the year versus just BUSY/CROWDED summer months. I believe the Azamara demographic is aimed at us baby boomers +...a lot of who are still working and cannot manage more then 7-10 days off at a time. Is this something that Azamara may be considering?

Thanks

Bob

On behalf of all of us thank you for participating in the CC chat with Richard Twynam. Many of you posted questions on the various threads and he responded to as many as he could in the 60-minutes.

For those of you who missed the conversation, here's a link to the archived Cruise Chat with Azamara's UK Managing Director, Richard Twynam.

Managed to get online and participate a little in the Chat.

A useful session but when the Q was asked about the different t's & c's for US & UK customers the response was a little inadequate (hiding behind non-existent legislation IMHO) and then no response at all to the follow up question.

So........would someone from Azamara please provide some factual information on the precise UK legislation that means UK clients have to pay higher deposits that are non-refundable which is not the case for our US buddies?

We were traveling at the time of the Q&A session so were unable to participate, but looking through there was a question regarding the forthcoming drydocks for both ships but the answer given was at odds with the information Bonnie has recently posted. It would be good if we could have a definitive on this as it may well impact on future cruises we have booked or are planning.

We were traveling at the time of the Q&A session so were unable to participate, but looking through there was a question regarding the forthcoming drydocks for both ships but the answer given was at odds with the information Bonnie has recently posted. It would be good if we could have a definitive on this as it may well impact on future cruises we have booked or are planning.

Hi Riocca, I've looked through the transcript again and have not found the reference to drydocks that you say conflicts wit the dates I posted. Could you tell me more or cut&paste the comment?

Also, just today we started a sub-forum called Azamara Asks! The first question asks what our followers would like to see done to the ships during renovations. Here's the link: Azamara Asks!

Managed to get online and participate a little in the Chat.

 

A useful session but when the Q was asked about the different t's & c's for US & UK customers the response was a little inadequate (hiding behind non-existent legislation IMHO) and then no response at all to the follow up question.

 

So........would someone from Azamara please provide some factual information on the precise UK legislation that means UK clients have to pay higher deposits that are non-refundable which is not the case for our US buddies?

Hi Prefdavid,

We do appreciate that you participated in Mr. Twynam's chat. While I have been cautioned about speculating on public forums, I'm going to guess the answer to your valid question requires a bit of legal and historic research and I will further speculate that due to this Mr. Twynam was reluctant to answer simply 'off the cuff'.

I'm going to forward your question to both the Miami & UK offices and see if I can get a legal answer for you. I'll let you know when I get a response. Thanks again.

Bonnie

Bonnie this is the answer I was referring to, I thought Journey was scheduled to dry dock in January 2016 just before our West Indies Hideaways cruise.

"Great question from TKNquarian - Journey is in dry dock in April and Quest is in dry dock in September!"

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Bonnie this is the answer I was referring to, I thought Journey was scheduled to dry dock in January 2016 just before our West Indies Hideaways cruise.

"Great question from TKNquarian - Journey is in dry dock in April and Quest is in dry dock in September!"

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Hi Riocca, I have just talked to the planner and, yes, my dates are correct: Quest is scheduled for dry dock in late September 2015 and Journey in mid-January 2016.

Hi Prefdavid,

We do appreciate that you participated in Mr. Twynam's chat. While I have been cautioned about speculating on public forums, I'm going to guess the answer to your valid question requires a bit of legal and historic research and I will further speculate that due to this Mr. Twynam was reluctant to answer simply 'off the cuff'.

I'm going to forward your question to both the Miami & UK offices and see if I can get a legal answer for you. I'll let you know when I get a response. Thanks again.

Bonnie

Thanks Bonnie

Will be very interested in the response you get. At least we'll then know whether we need to lobby for a change in UK legislation or (as I suspect) a change in Azamara UK t's & C's.

Hi Riocca, I have just talked to the planner and, yes, my dates are correct: Quest is scheduled for dry dock in late September 2015 and Journey in mid-January 2016.

Thanks Bonnie, fingers crossed all the work is completed in time for our cruise on the 27th. be good to be one of the first to see what has been done.

Hi Bonnie

As it's been a week I thought I'd check to see if you'd got a response yet. I really suspect you won't, as I still don't believe there's any legislation that would prevent you offering the same booking conditions. Just a corporate desire (like many US companies) to take advantage of their UK customers.

I think you'll need thumbscrews to get a sensible response! :eek:

Hi Prefdavid,

We do appreciate that you participated in Mr. Twynam's chat. While I have been cautioned about speculating on public forums, I'm going to guess the answer to your valid question requires a bit of legal and historic research and I will further speculate that due to this Mr. Twynam was reluctant to answer simply 'off the cuff'.

I'm going to forward your question to both the Miami & UK offices and see if I can get a legal answer for you. I'll let you know when I get a response. Thanks again.

Bonnie

Hi Bonnie

 

As it's been a week I thought I'd check to see if you'd got a response yet. I really suspect you won't, as I still don't believe there's any legislation that would prevent you offering the same booking conditions. Just a corporate desire (like many US companies) to take advantage of their UK customers.

I think you'll need thumbscrews to get a sensible response! :eek:

Hi PreDavid, well, on the one hand you are correct, I do not have a response to share with you. But on the other hand you are mistaken about the existence of any company policy (dare I call it a conspiracy?) to take advantage of our UK customers, or any of our customers for that matter!

I will send this conversation along again and see if any progress has been made on their research of the travel laws. My speculation is that they've put this query on the to-do list and have simply been busy with other pressing issues.

But fear not, someday we'll get to the bottom of this legal question you raise. If you keep reminding me, I promise to continue to be the squeaky wheel for you.

Bonnie

Thanks Bonnie. I appreciate your efforts.

Now I never used the word conspiracy. :eek: However it is generally accepted that many US companies charge a significant amount more for their goods in the UK than they do in the US. (Not solely accounted for by transportation charges, taxes etc.)

In this instance we're talking about specifics for deposits, transferring bookings, getting price reductions and refundable deposits etc., etc., where the t's & c's vary significantly between our countries.

I'm more than prepared to be corrected but I've failed to find anything within our UK consumer law which prevents any company offering these terms as part of a booking contract.

I'll look forward to seeing what response you get explaining this but will keep gnawing this bone occasionally till then.

However it won't prevent us looking forward to our forthcoming cruise on Journey later this year.

I will be in work at the time of the live chat but I would like to ask two questions please. Firstly, why does Azamara have such different "deals "in different countries? It is noticeable that our American friends have access to much better terms and conditions and prices than we do in the UK. It really does not seem fair and the standard answer of different markets etc won't do.

 

Secondly, we have been hearing about a new ship or even ships for a long time now. On Journey in November Captain Johannes told us that we would be hearing some news very soon. Can Mr Twynam share some definite news about these plans? Although I understand the financial reasons behind it, I am very unhappy that Quest has been removed from my cruising options due to the long charter and a third ship would give us added choices.

 

Thank you Mr Twynam.

Dear Lottie A

Apologies for the delay in response on this, Richard's reply is as follows:

This is a common question and is one we also get in the reverse (US guests feeling UK guests get better deals). The reality is that generally we strive to have similar value available to customers in all our key markets and increasingly we now share the same consumer offers in both the US and UK as we do currently with the CHOICES promotion.

There are however, some variations as to how cruises are sold between markets often driven travel agents or by local legal requirements which can also affect variations in terms and conditions. For example UK travel agents often discount prices using their commission while in the US agents have to provide extra value rather than change prices. In the UK we also see more packaging of our cruises by travel agents and tour operators.

Many thanks