nonrev1

It is obvious that scapel has not experienced this issue. Azamara seems to be running different incentives every month. When we booked our New Years cruise, they were not running the buy one get one 50% off or the double upgrade. We paid a higher cruise rate but received air (only need it one way) and a large OBC. We decided since the price of our cruise was quite high, we would offset it by not booking our own tours and paying out of pocket, but simply use the OBC to keep the cost more in line. So - quite insulting when a lower cruise rate comes out and we can not use it because we are alreay booked and now have a large OBC and can not use that either because the one excursion remaining in one port has limited capacity and others are just cancelled.

I hope this helps you understand the frustration and not wanting to pay even more for excursions.

I agree with uktog!

As a side note, we are sailing on Oceania in October. We received our personalized cruise booklet after final payment. Besides offering many options for each port, none have been cancelled or tweeked.

Uktog, thank you for explaining why we are concerned about the OBC. :)

We typically always book our own tours and do not book group excursions....but, with the large OBC and nothing else to use it for, we carefully planned out ship excursions that appealed to us and would also let us utilize the credits. My agent also gives us a choice of a rebate after the cruise or an equal amount as an OBC. I went through all the tours and opted for the additional OBC so we would have no out of pocket costs for tours and would be able to book the ships tours that we wanted for each port. The surprise was on me when they started cancelling them. Azamara should reconsider allowing anyone with an OBC to prebook shore excursions and then deduct the dollar amount from your account once onboard. This would be a win-win. Passengers can book tours and Azamara will have a much better idea well in advance if there is interest in particular tours. If everyone had the opportunity to book in advance, Azamara could then cancel if interest is low.

I hope they plan to revisit our cruise and tours. I know it is a holiday booking (Dec 27) but now one port (St. Kitts) has nothing offered at all and several tours were dropped from Saint Martin leaving only one tour option. The option remaining for Saint Martin has limited capacity.....so if people (like us) are holding out to use the OBC, space will not be available. Kind of crazy for an almost full ship and loads of onboard credits offered on many of the bookings.

Strange to give an incentive of an OBC and say you can use it for shore excursions but then turn around and cancel the excursions well in advance of the cruise.

Bonnie, if you can offer any assistance it would be appreciated.

That is a great solution! I understand about canceling and having to pay the tour providers… But they have been canceling tours months in advance. If we were allowed to pre-book like Pvkatmom suggests, they would just credit back the account and it would be a win win for everyone.

We have a very large OBC on an upcoming cruise. We cannot book tours in advance and some tours have already been cancelled. Azamara knows how many /how much of an OBC passengers have. It is a shame that they cannot hold off on cancelling tours until after the 1st day of the cruise. This would give everyone that can't book in advance an opportunity to book. This would minimize cancelling due to low numbers , especially for those that have booked in advance because they do not have an OBC. Just a thought. 😄

Congratulations! But....you will be missed.

With all of the charters taking the Quest and Journey out of service, it is a shame there is not another ship or two.

I agree with the Cuba assessment. We just came back from a Fathom cruise to Cuba on one of the sister ships (P&O's Adonia) and it was the perfect size ship. Cuba does not have the infrastructure for larger ships. However, I would hate to see Azamara's amazing itineraries dropped for Cuba.

It was great reading your review. We have always been fans of the Journey and took a break from Azamara after two "less positive" experiences on the Quest. Even a very detailed letter to customer service elicited no response. We just booked an Azamara cruise and we were trying to book the Journey......but, it is the Quest on the itinerary we chose.

We hope to experience all of the positive changes you experienced on your recent cruise.

We love sailing with Captain Jason. We have been on the ship several times with his family, too. Very accurate profile. Hopefully we will sail with him again soon.

I am not sure which site you are using to view available cabins but, many sites only show a maximum of 7 cabins available in each category.

We had rough seas for two days....and yes, there was a lot pitching. Fortunately the ship was not full when we sailed and all of us in the forward cabins and suites were given the option of changing cabins for the night when the seas were the worst.

A TA could be rough!

Deirdre,

We were in the suite next to your assigned cabin. I have to say we both loved and hated it. Loved it because the views were amazing as we were arriving and departing......hated it when we hit rough waters. It was so rough one night that water was hitting the front windows and coming in through the balcony doors. The noise from the water slamming against the ship was very loud when the seas were rough.

The noise from the anchor did not bother us since we are early risers. The noise from the Cabaret Lounge bothered us more.

Would we do it again? I would but my husband would not.

Yes, the crew on Azamara are special and the Captains go out of their way to make our vacations memorable.

We loved going through the Fjords with Captain Johannes and stopping for cheese and picking up extra fish for the BBQ.

I don't know of any other cruise line that does this. This is what keeps us coming home to Azamara.

Lauri

We were on the Quest for a cruise that became known as the Magical Mystery Cruise. Ports changed due to unrest and then we had weather change other ports. When we could not tender in two of our ports, Captain Carl found a great port for us and was able to get us into a very small space in what looked like a Marina versus a cruise ship dock. There were 4 other ships that were supposed to be with us .....two ended up taking sea days and two went to Naples. All of the tours were re-arranged and Captain Carl even took anyone interested out on a walk in the new port. I have never seen that elsewhere.

Bill....please wish them our best! We are passing through London on our way to Prague tomorrow. Juliana and Chris were the best!

There are so many things that the crew have done to make us feel special that it is hard to think of just one.

My husband likes coffee ice cream. After dinner when the waiters take your dessert orders, my husband always asks if they have coffee ice cream available. Usually on the first night, they do not.....but, it is brought out for his dessert every night there after.

Oh dear....that is not good news. Hopefully her new shoes fit her better. :)

This would be hard to spin negatively. It sounds like she will bring great experience to the job......and Sales and Marketing is what Azamara needs!

New Americas sales VP for Azamara

Ellen Bettridge has been appointed Azamara vice president of sales and marketing for the Americas region.

Bettridge brings 24 years' experience in travel management, cruise and hospitality to the role and will oversee all sales and marketing initiatives in South, Central and North America.

Until January 2014 Bettridge was president, Americas at Silversea Cruise Ltd and previously spent 20 years at American Express.

Beginning as a travel agent, she worked her way through the ranks to become vice president of retail travel business at Amex.

"I am thrilled to join the dynamic Azamara team and look forward to being a part of the company's exciting future, and throughout my career I've had the wonderful opportunity to cultivate relationships with key trade partners and I'm confident they will prove to be a great asset for the brand," she said.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

We were on both ships more recently than December and each had invitations waiting in our cabins. One time a few years ago there was not an invitation in our cabin....but, they did lose some of the names.

Azamara does the best Cruise Critic get togethers. Double check to make sure you did not miss it the first day. There is so much going on when you first board, it is easy to miss. Especially if you want to watch the sail away.

Wish we were there, too! Leaving for Prague next week! Enjoy the remainder of your holiday.

IMO (again, this is just me)it does make a difference when a crew clicks and does not. Azamara is known for its great onboard service and warmth/friendliness of the crew. When that is not there, it does change the atmoshphere of the cruise. On our last cruise there were a lot of distractions and the usual amazing onboard experience was underwhelming. It is not a reason not to cruise with Azamara again.....just a change from what we were accustomed to and loved.

I understand what Laraine is saying. Our last cruise on the Quest was not our favorite and the crew just did not seem to click. Our first Azamara cruise was on the Quest and that is what sold us on Azamara. My husband and I both agreed how different the onboard experience was from our first and second cruise on the Quest vs. our last one. So....it is very possible for things to change from one cruise to the next.

Our second Azamara cruise was on the Journey and we left that cruise saying we would only sail on the Quest because we felt such a difference onboard. But, due to the destinations, our next 3 cruises were on the Journey. We now like the Jouney better than the Quest.

Enjoy your cruise Laraine!

Maybe someone hacked into Bonnie's computer and posted #153.😁

I agree with you 100%. No one deserves to be called out personally on a very public forum. Unless of course it is positive! :)