nigelc

30 minutes ago, Shawnino said:

Get a new TA.

That goes without saying for future bookings, but not an option for this one.

I have a 10 day cruise booked for January 2021 and my TA (based in the UK) has been demanding payment of the final balance some 190 days before the sailing date. Oceania have confirmed that payment needs to be made 90 days before sailing and the TA will not answer my question as to why they need payment 100 days before Oceania.

Given the current situation regarding refunds, together with the likelihood that the cruise will be cancelled, I am very reluctant to pay the balance before I need to. Has anyone come across this before?

Is it me, or are the "beverage Package" prices no longer provided on the MSC web-site and are now only available once you have booked the cruise ?

What's with all this secrecy ? 

Will be easy to "social distance" in that pool - only 1 in at a time. 

The chances of all three ships sailing in 2020 - I would guess at next to none. But who knows?

13 hours ago, Jimmycruiser said:

 Although some have many have not. I feel sorry for those that can not wait 90 days and need the refund now. Maybe they should not have booked to begin with if now they need the money and did not budgeted for an unexpected event.
 

Since prepayment was already spent, you did not lose any money, only the opportunity to have received some future enjoyment. 

If Azamara goes out of business, those who have not received a refund are likely to lose money - it is the customers money, not Azamara's.

As you say in Azamara's defence, things have changed greatly since people booked their cruise. As I have said before, certainly in the UK some people have lost their jobs and need their money back now to pay bills. But if the "unexpected event" allows Azamara to push refunds back to 90 days, would it not also be fair to push back final payments by 90 days? But no, Azamara and TAs are quick off the mark requesting final balances, with the threat of loss of deposit if the date is not met. 

2 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Ok. I'll change it for you a bit. You think Azamara  deserve to fail because your aren't getting your refund?  I know a lot of people who are employed by Azamara and all have been particularly praiseworthy of how they've been looked after by the company. You want them all to lose their employment because you haven't had your refund in a timely manner?  Too bad you think like that in such a narrow way. 

 

I won't respond to you again because we will never agree, but I wanted to put my case here. 

 

Phil 

A company such as Azamara stands or falls on the way it treats its customers - you only have to read CC to see how much damage they are doing to themselves - jobs will be lost because of Azamara's management decisions and not me. 

1 minute ago, sunlover33 said:

Did you apply via pre small claims court letter? I have actioned  this with our TA but nothing yet although I have given them 14 days to respond so they have a further week before I go ahead and file for proceedings to recover our money. I would not have done this had they been open and honest but all we have had are lies and false promises so the trust is gone. So if I have to go to court to recover our money then so be it

Yes, I sent the letter and received an email saying the refund could take up to 90 days. However, I then got an call from the TA Head Office saying they were making a refund and it would be in my bank account shortly. At least going down the SCC will give you some control and they have no defence as a refund must be made within 14 days. 

1 minute ago, excitedofharpenden said:

There are currently many folk who want to see Richard Branson go bankrupt. To me it's sick. A successful man who has employed many. It's the green monster that sits on the shoulders of some and a nasty trait to have in my view. 

 

Phil 

Not sure what Richard Branson has to do with Azamara and the company's current refund issues? 

On 4/19/2020 at 3:19 PM, nordski said:

What doesn’t make sense, at least to me, is being dismissive of those of us who wish to see Azamara survive. It may be that all of us are rather dim-witted and blindly loyal but perhaps that’s who we are and why do you care?

Not sure that there are enough of you to keep this sinking ship afloat - people have a long memory and given that Azamara's customer base tends to be those who are happy to pay a little bit more for better service, the way in which they are being dealt with by the Head Office will not tempt them back. 

On 4/19/2020 at 6:00 PM, chromered7 said:

They want your final payment as soon as possible, want you to settle your cabin bill as soon as possible however when it comes to them paying you back for the  cruise they cancelled  Azamara are purposely dragging their feet.  The passengers have to wait and wait and get treated with lies and excuses. How can some people on this thread continue to support a company that would not communicate to their passengers until the last minute and then fail to pay back the money that is owed? They could not or would not transfer your credit on to another ship in their group. I would never sail with AZ again they offer reasonable service for for a basic product and at a high price.

I couldn't agree more - the poor communication prior to cancelling my cruise was bad enough, but the fight to get my money back was unbelievable - why anyone would even consider sailing with Azamara again beats me - the trust had gone.

On 4/19/2020 at 8:22 AM, Host Grandma Cruising said:

If you look across the roll call topics you will see that some people have already received refunds.

They have and I am one of 17th March people who have received a full refund. That said,  it was like pulling teeth and I do not know if the money has come from Azamara or has been paid in advance of the refund by them by my TA (I live in the UK and they are required to refund within 14 days).

14 hours ago, Baynanno1 said:

Why we, whose 17 March cruise was cancelled by Azamara on 10 March are still waiting? Some however appear to have been luckier.

I was booked on the same cruise and received a full refund just over a week ago. I fear that the issue here is that you have been "patient" and Azamara sees that as an opportunity to retain your money for longer. In the UK, TAs have 14 days by law to make a refund following the holiday being cancelled. After the 14 days, and being told by Azamara it could take up to 90 days to make a refund, I informed the TA that I was starting a "small claims court" action and strangely, instead of the 90 days, they managed to get my money back from Azamara two days later. I not sure that being "patient" pays.

13 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

This is happening with other luxury lines.  Look around.

No all - have a look at "Viking". Anyone can offer excellent Customer Service when times are good - the mark of a luxury line is how they treat their customers when things go wrong. 

3 minutes ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

 

Because Azamara and Celebrity are both part of the Royal Caribbean umbrella refunds/issuing of FCCs are taking a long time for all 3 brands. Why do you think you're waiting in line with others? 

To be honest, I think people are waiting because Azamara simply does not want to release the funds back to the customer.

Glad you have received your refund- one less thing to worry about.

Now Azamara - do the right thing and sort everyone else out.

44 minutes ago, marinaro44 said:

Masters in finance; undergraduate degree in finance and accounting.

But do they have any "leadership skills" - if they are part of the existing senior leadership team, I fear not.

5 hours ago, MakingUpForLostTime said:

You can see how many loyal customers are upset. Why is management sending emails about Larry leaving and not about our refunds?

 

The clear lack of timely and clear communication is causing irreparable damage right before your eyes.

It would appear that they either cannot see the damage that they are doing or simply do not care.

2 hours ago, missminnie said:

Hi

 

Thanks for your experience.  Any chance we could see a copy of the letter or wording used?  We've got seperate issues with both Celebrity and Emirates.  Both keep saying our refund is being processed on "x" date and then when that date comes and passes, they come up with another excuse.

Ours was cancelled in the first round and they both confirmed 14 days.  We gave them a month and now 6 weeks on, excuse after excuse.  I've been furloughed which is ok but at less than 50% salary, I need those monies returned asap in case I don't go back to my job.

 

Thanks

Copy of the letter attached (sent as an e-mail) - hope it helps.

Pre- Court Letter 2.doc

51 minutes ago, BrendaJ said:

I am facing this trying time with the optimism that the industry will recover, and we’ll someday be able to experience the pleasure of cruising with Azamara again.

I agree with you 100%, as someone who tries to cruise at least 3 times a year I really do hope we will be able to start cruising again soon. However, I have learnt from this experience and, while I agree that the staff on board the ships are excellent, I have no confidence in the management of Azamara - so for me its a no thanks and they can keep their 25% FCC.

Lets hope the refund hits your bank account soon - best wishes at this very sad time.

33 minutes ago, Lindy028 said:

We have had nothing from Azamara since the notification on 10th March that our Quest cruise had been cancelled. I think we all naively thought that the promise of 100% refund plus 25% FCC meant just that, sadly it is proving to not be the case. Like many, we are sick and tired of being fobbed off with blatant untruths.

I also agree with you that ABTA cannot move the goal posts retrospectively, would anyone have any confidence going forward if the government did agree to these new terms!

Hi Lindy, I was booked on the same cruise as you and have received all of my money back just over a week ago - cabin upgrade bid and Indulgence package to my credit card and cruise/flights/hotel/transfers to my bank account via my TA. However, it was not an easy task getting them to refund. In the end, I decided to go down the "Small Claims Court" route and sent the TA the initial "letter before action", with the intention of filing a claim in I did not receive a refund within 14 days. I sent the e-mail to both the Customer Service department and the TA's Head Office - while Customer Services replied that the refund could take up to 90 days, their Head Office called me the next day to say that the full refund was being made and would be in my bank within 5 days - which it was. I guess, as they have no defence against my claim, they did not want to be liable for the extra costs of the small claims case.

In times of crisis companies, and its customers, need and deserve strong decisive leadership. Given the poor communication, and slow action by Azamara's senior leadership team, they have been found severely wanting. So from all of us who were left waiting to the last minute for Azamara to do the right thing and cancel their cruise, and/or who are still waiting for their refund, sorry Mr Pimentel, but as they say "the buck stops with you" - it was right that you go. Indeed, my question is when are the others in the senior leadership team going to do the right thing and go? 

On 3/25/2020 at 4:56 PM, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Yes, quite. Everyone’s finding it hard at present and we should all think a bit before complaining, whichever cruise line we’re talking about - or even whichever company. I spent an hour on the phone today trying to talk to my bank. I eventually got through, but the customer service person I spoke to said exactly the same thing - people working from home in much less than ideal circumstances (especially regarding equipment etc) and not everyone able to work.

On 3/25/2020 at 4:41 PM, BBMacLaird said:

We continue to ask for your patience. As a side note, please keep in mind that all of Florida is under a statewide lockdown. Employees of all lines are working from home and doing the best they can in this unprecedented situation. 

Yes, I am sure that your customers understand it is a difficult time for everyone. However, there is a massive difference in the service that Azamara is offering. If you want to book a cruise, your call will be answered almost straight away. However, if you want customer service or to get someone to refund your money you have a very long wait - so my question is, why is it only the customer service and accounts staff at Azamara that have been so badly affected? Be honest and admit Azamara simply do not want to give people their money back.

On 3/31/2020 at 3:02 PM, MakingUpForLostTime said:

It has been 21 days since the cancellation of the cruise. Since we are expecting full refund as part of our compensation and the cruise as scheduled would have finished the cruise 3 days ago if we would have left, do you not think that it is only proper that we receive the money which we are owed?

 

People working from home is not the problem, management not releasing the funds is the problem. There are no calculations just a full refund which should have been started 3 weeks ago as we were the first cancellation Azamara accounting had to process.  

I too was booked on the 17th March 20 sailing and could not agree more with your comments. This certainly is the cruise that keeps giving, stress that is. Firstly, Azamara's management of the situation leading up to the cancellation of the sailing was beyond poor. But now the management of refunds is even worse. Given the way other cruise lines have dealt with this situation e.g Viking etc - it raises the question why anyone would ever take the chance and sail with Azamara again?