recook9, we have had the same experience so completely understand your frustration. We booked back to back cruises (Greece) for May 2025 while on board the Pursuit last year to take advantage of the various bonuses offered. 2 weeks after booking we were informed that the cruises would not take place as the Pursuit would be remaining in Japan for an extended season. We were given the opportunity to move to a couple of other nominated cruises but none suited. We rebooked (at greater cost) for October 2025. We were given a little extra OBC.
By sheer chance earlier this year, we discovered that the second of the B/B's was also listed as a Charter. This was listed on our booking when I logged in. It reverted to the normal booking the next day. I did post about this back in February. We contacted Azamara for clarification but received no answer. The cruise continued to remain bookable on both the charter and Azamara sites.
3 or so weeks ago we received the official email stating the second cruise was now a charter. We received the same email as you but were given 3 days to decide. We could not find any cruise round this time that suited us and satisfied the need to retain the back to back status for our OBC etc. The cruise immediately prior to cruise 1 was almost identical to the one we sailed in November last year, so we reluctantly cancelled the first cruise as well. Europe is simply too far for us to travel for a 10 day cruise and it is too early for us to plan 2 years ahead for 2026. We had $2400 in OBC, so Azamara has certainly benefited financially from our 're-accommodations' while we are back to square 1.
We completely understand that the cruise line has the right to do this according to the booking contract. The issue is more the way it is handled and the need for the customer to feel some resolution.
It also seems to me that it was unethical for Azamara to continue list the cruise as bookable on their sites when the ship had already been listed (and bookable) as a charter. Just because other lines may also do this does not mean it is acceptable.
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