Azamara First-Timer Reacts to Itinerary Changes

Azamara route and port planning starts about three years out. The current captain is provided a rough itinerary by corporate which is carefully plotted out by the navigation team and sent back with comments, suggestions and changes based on actual navigation and historical weather data. Corporate checks, makes comments, and sends it back for further review/changes. The schedule is then "finalized." That is two-plus years out. Lots of things can change, to include changes by the then current navigation/captain team. Safety is paramount. Captains are responsible for navigation and route safety. Its not only the port being considered, its the route between ports, weather, sea changes/currents, ship traffic, etc. Despite being on a "big" ship, conditions are extremely variable at sea and schedules are subject to adjustment. Suggest consider yourself fortunate to have a captain who errs on the safe side and does not take for granted the planning made years before.

Azamara route and port planning starts about three years out. The current captain is provided a rough itinerary by corporate which is carefully plotted out by the navigation team and sent back with comments, suggestions and changes based on actual navigation and historical weather data. Corporate checks, makes comments, and sends it back for further review/changes. The schedule is then "finalized." That is two-plus years out. Lots of things can change, to include changes by the then current navigation/captain team. Safety is paramount. Captains are responsible for navigation and route safety. Its not only the port being considered, its the route between ports, weather, sea changes/currents, ship traffic, etc. Despite being on a "big" ship, conditions are extremely variable at sea and schedules are subject to adjustment. Suggest consider yourself fortunate to have a captain who errs on the safe side and does not take for granted the planning made years before.

They also moved their Amazing Evening to Valencia which delays their arrival and cuts short their next port by 3 hours. That had nothing to do with Safety and sea conditions.

They also moved their Amazing Evening to Valencia which delays their arrival and cuts short their next port by 3 hours. That had nothing to do with Safety and sea conditions.

I don’t know where the Azamazing Evening was previously scheduled, but we attended it in Valencia last year and it was fabulous, from the logistics, to the location, to the performers.

I don’t know where the Azamazing Evening was previously scheduled, but we attended it in Valencia last year and it was fabulous, from the logistics, to the location, to the performers.

It was scheduled for Palma de Mallorca. No doubt it would be fabulous in Valencia but again, a change after final payment cuts port time.

On the October 15 Spain Intensive cruise on Journey, the arrival and departure times for Seville were recently changed. Instead of 1 1/2 days in Seville, we have only one day there. In hyping this change, Azamara said we’d have “even more time” in Seville. The “more time” they gave us was in the middle of the night, when most of us sleep and the major sights are not open.

 

Azamara placed the blame for this change on Mother Nature: “We’ve revised your arrival and departure in Seville to coincide with proper tidal conditions in the Guadalquivir River.” My question is why the original schedule didn't coincide with proper tidal conditions. According to scientists, tides are the world's most predictable natural phenomenon, affected only by storms. Couldn’t Azamara have consulted the Seville Port Authority sooner, instead of advertising a schedule based on wishful thinking and then changing it two months before departure? The schedule for 4 out of the 5 ports we will visit recently changed, in one case shortening our time in port by 30%.

 

This is my first Azamara cruise and, with all the discussions on this board about port switches and schedule changes after final payment, I’ve learned that Azamara itineraries can’t be trusted. I will remember that when I shop for future cruises.

Something is not correct with this thread. As far as I can see the NEW itinerary gives you more time in Seville. You arrive saturday 20 october at 6:30pm and leave on monday 22 october at 6:00 am

Has the OP simply misunderstood the changes?

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Sorry. My bad. I see now that you lose 5 hours on the saturday.

Hope you enjoy it anyway. Not the worst that could happen.

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All cruise lines have terms and conditions that say the itinerary can be changed at any time and that quite often happens either before the cruise, or during it. Recently the Celebrity Silhouette was unable to get into St Petersburg on any of the 3 scheduled days there, even though other ships did manage to dock there.

 

 

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I was on that Silhouette sailing. It was TWO days, and other ships the size of Silhouette most certainly did NOT get in while we waited at anchor. And, as Bloodaxe said, Celebrity (and other lines) cannot predict high winds months in advance, but they can predict tides with some accuracy. This itinerary is one of the three I’m considering on Azamara, and I don’t blame the OP for being annoyed. I would be too.

agreed. We were researching a similar cruise itinerary and were really drawn to the Azamara cruise for the same reason. We ultimately decided to go with Celebrity which doesn't even go to Seville or Cadiz but we'll add it as a land trip after the cruise. That way we're assured our time there.

I’m rapidly arriving at the same conclusion.

We did the Rome to the Alcazar trip a few years ago finishing in Seville, we were encouraged to get up early and enjoy the trip up the river and the crucial turn before mooring by the Plaza De Espana.

During the trip Captain Carl announced that it would be the last time they would go up the river to Seville as "corporate" had decided it was unsafe.

We did the Rome to the Alcazar trip a few years ago finishing in Seville, we were encouraged to get up early and enjoy the trip up the river and the crucial turn before mooring by the Plaza De Espana.

 

 

During the trip Captain Carl announced that it would be the last time they would go up the river to Seville as "corporate" had decided it was unsafe.

The last time we went to Seville, the ship docked at Huelva and we had to go by bus to Seville.

We did the Rome to the Alcazar trip a few years ago finishing in Seville, we were encouraged to get up early and enjoy the trip up the river and the crucial turn before mooring by the Plaza De Espana.

 

During the trip Captain Carl announced that it would be the last time they would go up the river to Seville as "corporate" had decided it was unsafe.

We were on the same cruise and were up in the early morning hours to watch the sail in and the amazing 180 degree turn in the river. The clearance was frighteningly small. There were lots of people on balconies and on the open decks as the maneuver was skillfully executed. It was well worth losing a few hours sleep to experience.

Windstar will be just as affected by changes in the water in the river!

 

 

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Not really. Windstar yachts have a draft of about 14 feet while the R-Class runs almost 20 feet, a 5-foot (2 meter) difference. The large cruise ships run 27-30 feet.

Ah, so Windstar (and other smaller ships) will be able to get upriver here and elsewhere when other boats won’t - that’s useful to know.

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I just received an email that two of my South America ports had switched days due to Azamara Evenings. I had to contact two private tour companys to switch dates. I find it hard to believe they couldn't know when posting the cruise when to schedule their amazing night based on the time in ports. I agree with many above posters it's not deliberate just incompetent. and inconvenient.

I just received an email that two of my South America ports had switched days due to Azamara Evenings. I had to contact two private tour companys to switch dates. I find it hard to believe they couldn't know when posting the cruise when to schedule their amazing night based on the time in ports. I agree with many above posters it's not deliberate just incompetent. and inconvenient.

There are many reasons cruise ship change ports and "flip flop" nearby ports: port loading (ships in port), local events impacting ports, replenishment of stores, security, expected sea conditions, safety at sea, etc. With schedules designed two-plus years in advance some things cannot be foreseen. Cruise lines don't "switch ports" solely to upset passengers.

There are many reasons cruise ship change ports and "flip flop" nearby ports: port loading (ships in port), local events impacting ports, replenishment of stores, security, expected sea conditions, safety at sea, etc. With schedules designed two-plus years in advance some things cannot be foreseen. Cruise lines don't "switch ports" solely to upset passengers.

Azamara just does such a poor job communicating and executing its changes. I learned of changes and cancellation of my itinerary on Cruise Critic. My TA didn't even know. It was 12 months early, but I wasn't happy. We had a 14-day Greek Isles and Amalfi Coast cruise cut into two very different 7-day itineraries at twice the price. This was all about them not wanting to begin the cruise in Turkey because of a situation over there, but they could have kept our cruise in tact and started from Athens. I wasn't happy with the change or their communication. It didn't stop me from booking with them for next year. Everyone gets another shot.:cool:

I’m on the Pursuit Antarctica sailing leaving on Jan 6, 2019 and we only have 4 port calls and they changed the dates of all four last week, including eliminating an overnight stay. No notification from Azamara, I saw it on Cruise Credit in our roll call. The letter that was posted said it was due to the AmAzing night. Really, they couldn’t figure this out until 4 months prior to the cruise? Had to rebook all excursions and now cannot do what was planned for the overnight stay. This is our first Azamara cruise and now knowing they can’t plan and don’t communicate, I will think long and hard about booking another one.

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As I understand it at the time that itinerary was set up, there was a plan to build a terminal at Tower Bridge, which in the event didn’t materialise. I do agree that on that cruise Azamara were late in telling people that the embarkation point had changed.

It's not directly relevant to this thread, but the actual story is that they took one of the mooring points out just below Tower Bridge that Azamara had previously used. They weren't going to build a cruise terminal at Tower Bridge (that was to be at Greenwich). There was hope, but no concrete plans to put the mooring point back so the World Journey was originally touted as Sydney Harbour Bridge to London Bridge. In actual fact Journey didn't dock at either. A case of the marketing people pulling the trigger a little early without proper research, which is what seems to have happened in this case too.

Phil

It's not directly relevant to this thread, but the actual story is that they took one of the mooring points out just below Tower Bridge that Azamara had previously used. They weren't going to build a cruise terminal at Tower Bridge (that was to be at Greenwich). There was hope, but no concrete plans to put the mooring point back so the World Journey was originally touted as Sydney Harbour Bridge to London Bridge. In actual fact Journey didn't dock at either. A case of the marketing people pulling the trigger a little early without proper research, which is what seems to have happened in this case too.

 

Phil

Thanks for the information, Phil. I knew something had changed at Tower Bridge.

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I’m on the Pursuit Antarctica sailing leaving on Jan 6, 2019 and we only have 4 port calls and they changed the dates of all four last week, including eliminating an overnight stay. No notification from Azamara, I saw it on Cruise Credit in our roll call. The letter that was posted said it was due to the AmAzing night. Really, they couldn’t figure this out until 4 months prior to the cruise? Had to rebook all excursions and now cannot do what was planned for the overnight stay. This is our first Azamara cruise and now knowing they can’t plan and don’t communicate, I will think long and hard about booking another one.

 

Ditto. We're also Azamara first-timers and not impressed thus far with their planning, organization, and lack of basic communication skills.

It's not directly relevant to this thread, but the actual story is that they took one of the mooring points out just below Tower Bridge that Azamara had previously used. They weren't going to build a cruise terminal at Tower Bridge (that was to be at Greenwich). There was hope, but no concrete plans to put the mooring point back so the World Journey was originally touted as Sydney Harbour Bridge to London Bridge. In actual fact Journey didn't dock at either. A case of the marketing people pulling the trigger a little early without proper research, which is what seems to have happened in this case too.

 

Phil

Phil, Journey did utilize the wonderful docking at Sydney's Harbor Bridge last March. We were on the B2B out of Auckland, and after being led off the ship by the concierge, we were released to either return, or stroll the harbor area. The beautiful Opera House and night lights of Sydney were all around - it was a memorable overnight.

Azamara just does such a poor job communicating and executing its changes. I learned of changes and cancellation of my itinerary on Cruise Critic. My TA didn't even know. It was 12 months early, but I wasn't happy. We had a 14-day Greek Isles and Amalfi Coast cruise cut into two very different 7-day itineraries at twice the price. This was all about them not wanting to begin the cruise in Turkey because of a situation over there, but they could have kept our cruise in tact and started from Athens. I wasn't happy with the change or their communication. It didn't stop me from booking with them for next year. Everyone gets another shot.:cool:

Twelve months is a very long time out from sailing. And the political situation in Turkey has forced many changes in tourism. Two years ago on Journey we were required to change embarkation from Istanbul to Piraeus on relatively short notice do to security concerns in Turkey. Scrambled to cancel hotel reservations and make new, and flight changes. Azamara picked up the cost of the hotel cancellations and offered to pay the flight change fees, however, the airline picked those up.

The worst experience has been with Viking. Five days from leaving CONUS for the cruise and the CC thread started mentioning a port cancellation. Called Viking and connected with a rude and belligerent rep who was more interested in questioning the source of the information even after admitting it was true, than he was in helping. Promised to keep us informed and never did.

There are likely many reasons corporate headquarters are "slow" in providing information, to include that the situation is dynamic, final decisions not yet make, legal reasons, and likely rep unfamiliarity with the region/issue. They are not the highest paid people in the cruise industry and patience is needed. The reps are not the decision makers.

Twelve months is a very long time out from sailing. And the political situation in Turkey has forced many changes in tourism. Two years ago on Journey we were required to change embarkation from Istanbul to Piraeus on relatively short notice do to security concerns in Turkey. Scrambled to cancel hotel reservations and make new, and flight changes. Azamara picked up the cost of the hotel cancellations and offered to pay the flight change fees, however, the airline picked those up.

 

The worst experience has been with Viking. Five days from leaving CONUS for the cruise and the CC thread started mentioning a port cancellation. Called Viking and connected with a rude and belligerent rep who was more interested in questioning the source of the information even after admitting it was true, than he was in helping. Promised to keep us informed and never did.

 

There are likely many reasons corporate headquarters are "slow" in providing information, to include that the situation is dynamic, final decisions not yet make, legal reasons, and likely rep unfamiliarity with the region/issue. They are not the highest paid people in the cruise industry and patience is needed. The reps are not the decision makers.

I'm not complaining about the 12-months notice. What upset me was them not communicating with my travel agent or me even days after I found out about it on Cruise Critic. Also, the Turkey portion of the 14-day itinerary was only two days and they easily could have changed those two days to other ports (maybe started in Greece). As I wrote, I am not writing them off after that, but if similar things happen on my next "first time" on Azamara, they will be dead to me.

I'm not complaining about the 12-months notice. What upset me was them not communicating with my travel agent or me even days after I found out about it on Cruise Critic. Also, the Turkey portion of the 14-day itinerary was only two days and they easily could have changed those two days to other ports (maybe started in Greece). As I wrote, I am not writing them off after that, but if similar things happen on my next "first time" on Azamara, they will be dead to me.

Ditto re January 6, 2019, cruise on Pursuit. Failure to communicate with well-known large travel agencies in a timely fashion about major itinerary changes prompted solely by the notorious "Azamazing Night" is very unprofessional. The "Night" in Montevideo better be spectacular to convince me that it's worth the hassle of rescheduling several private tours. The cynic in me tells me it's just another gimmick to get pax to sign up for ship-sponsored tours and help Azamara'a bottom line. Anyone prepared to defend Azamara's conduct on this voyage?

I'm not complaining about the 12-months notice. What upset me was them not communicating with my travel agent or me even days after I found out about it on Cruise Critic. Also, the Turkey portion of the 14-day itinerary was only two days and they easily could have changed those two days to other ports (maybe started in Greece). As I wrote, I am not writing them off after that, but if similar things happen on my next "first time" on Azamara, they will be dead to me.

Len, excellent explanation of your issues with AZ but yet you are determined to give them another shot.

Something tells me that you'll be comped for a an excursion or something special next year, all in all AZ takes care of their passengers.