tmfsmith

Am thinking of booking an Antartica on Seabourn. Would appreciate any feedback. Has anybody been on this trip?

having sailed both Azamara and Seabourn, there is no comparison. Seabourn is far superior. Staff know your name and your drink of choice when entering the bar. Food on Seabourn far superior.

tom

Gee. thanks for the reminder. So, as you have reminded me, it has been a gradual decline in service, after all. But, now it seems that the service in the dining room is even worse! (Even the quality of the complementary wines on board have declined; but at least there are other options for sale -- but not the kind of wine list that once was available.) This may be a reflection of how Azamara's position within the RCCL food chain has evolved over the years. But, few people care about that. I only care about my experience on board and generally I have been satisfied over the years with Azamara despite the standard challenges that come with cruising.

Nevertheless, I must admit that I thought long and hard about doing the SE Asia trip this past Christmas-New Years because of some concerns with the on board product that Azamara offers. The itinerary which included three days in Yangon was the selling point. The Azamara itineraries cannot be beat. (I also did a wonderful itinerary on the Journey about two years ago in the Med with two nights overnight in Seville.) But, as I have come to realize, if you wait a year, other ships tend to offer the same unique itineraries.

Everybody must choose for themselves what value they expect from a cruise ship. Although I was willing to give Azamara the benefit of the doubt for the SE Asia trip this past Christmas, the last trip for me was a deal breaker given the changes in basic levels of service on board. Frankly, it made me wonder if Azamara was trying to focus less on a U.S. market, especially for its Asia itineraries.

But, thanks for reminding me of other issues that I have had on Azamara over the years. It only makes me more resolute to take my business where it is more appreciated.

tom

I never thought I would ever post something like this about Azamara -- which has been one of my favorite cruise lines. Our 6th and last Azamara cruise was aboard the Journey for a 14-day SE Asia Christmas-New Years cruise. As with the other sailings aboard Azamara, I was booked in a continental suite. Overall, I was very disappointed in the level of service on board. We had problems with beverage service in the dining room (actually couldn't even get a Coke Zero on several occasions); overall level of service in dining room was so poor (despite not being very crowded) that I chose to eat in the specialty restaurants for most of the cruise; problems at front desk (couldn't get 5 singles for a $5 bill because of "corporate policy"). If you wanted something, it just always seemed to be very difficult. (I won't even talk about the hype of the Azamazing Evening that, at least on this cruise, fell far short of any expectations -- local government official advised people to have medicine on hand if they ate the food.) In a conversation with the hotel director during the cruise, I was advised that all my complaints could be attributed to Azamara's new corporate policies -- and that the staff on board could not vary from those policies. Upon returning home, I wrote a detailed letter to Larry Pimentel, President and CEO. After more than a month, I never received even the courtesy of a form-letter response and contacted Azamara again. In order to get a response, I had to make a very aggressive effort. I was advised that the problems I had experienced were not seen as "failures" because corporate policy had changed. (You can't get a soda in the dining room. Even the maître d' says it is not possible. And it's not a service failure? You wait 45 minutes after being seated for a waiter to come to the table -- and, when told, the maître d' does nothing.) I found it quite interesting that a company in the hospitality industry was no longer interested in providing customer service. So, Azamara can talk about being more inclusive, but it has forgotten the basic service that made sailing on Azamara a very special experience. After sailing on the ship, I was determined that I would never again sail on Azamara. When I was told that Mr. Pimentel does not respond to letters that are sent to him (corporate policy), that made an even bolder statement about the company's attitude to its customers. Azamara has great itineraries. Their pricing is very competitive. But, the on board experience is not what it once was. For me, service is an important part of any cruise experience. The value of sailing on such a small ship is that the line has always been customer-friendly. Well, that appears no longer to be corporate policy. For a few dollars more, I will make my way to Oceania, Regent, and Seabourn. And when I want to be treated like one among the masses (as appears to be the new Azamara corporate policy), I can stay in the family and choose RCCL and Celebrity or venture down the road to HAL.

But, no more Azamara for me. Without service, the new Azamara is just not worth the price or the time.

Tom