Charter Issues

Our recent thread, in which we asked the question if the offers made to compensate the loss of our cruise to make way for a charter takeover was adequate, opened the proverbial can of worms and raised many contentious issues some of which, understandably, have deviated from the vexing questions raised by charter concerns.

These issues, we thought, and the reason for introducing this new blog, were worth further input from fellow bloggers many of whom, as in our case, had not really understood the ramifications that many were to be subjected to as a result of the decision to remove this cruise from the listed cruise options, terminate the existing contracts, and by way of compensation, offer alternative options as listed within our original blog.

From the outset, let us make it quite clear that hopefully subsequent comments will not provide the platform to send vitriolic and disparaging onslaughts to those whose decision it is to accept charter requests. Azamara management is in no different position than many other cruise companies that operate with vessels with the same passenger capacity which attracts the attention of those wishing to hire the entire vessel for their group. It is our belief that this option by management to make what appears to be a sure way of easily turning a problematical unviable cruise into a credit tick on the balance sheet is not exclusive to Azamara and the indications are that other companies follow suit. To what extent we cannot comment as we do not have the benefit of statistics to make a judgment.

What was worthy to note from our original blog was that the cancellation of a cruise brought about many factors of a disturbing nature in addition to the obvious disappointment of the loss of a holiday/vacation that in some instances could not be replaced due to work commitments etc. Flight and transport issues were highlighted involving the loss of air-mile points to upgrade and this was a factor that we had overlooked together with family reunions also taking a knock.

Cruise companies, by way of introducing conciliatory options to offset the loss, make certain offers and we were given three options. Perhaps at this point it is worthy of note that under the terms of the contract between ourselves and the cruise company, we do in fact have some form of a guarantee that the company will offer compensation and we would recommend that for those who find themselves in this unfortunate situation reference to these conditions could prove most beneficial.

The financial success of a cruise company is obviously essential. We are not in a position to make financial judgments or to comment on the decisions made at management level but perhaps it is worthy of note that those of us who have been privileged to enjoy the amenities and comfort of both the Journey and the Quest under the brand name of Azamara have done so as a result of the demise of the company that was initially responsible for introducing this design of vessel. It is therefore essential that Azamara continue as a viable part of the Royal Caribbean group of companies which of course will be the paramount consideration of management.

Those of us who have enjoyed many cruises with Azamara still hold with great affection our friendship and respect for those on board who make our cruise days so enjoyable. Indeed we, as many others, will also state that on our recommendations we have been responsible for introducing many friends into the caring hands of Azamara and it grieves us to observe that recent introductions both in pricing incentives and promotions that those responsible feel that the majority of us are financially imbecilic or at best easily persuaded to part with our cash. It is true that loyalty does have its financial rewards but of course this is of no benefit to the many on their initial introduction to cruising. Time after time when trying to introduce many of our friends to the delights of an Azamara cruise we are unsuccessful in convincing them of the inclusiveness of the pricing structure and we find ourselves losing the argument in favour of other companies with more convincing incentives where inclusiveness reflects a more accurate description of the product by way of the quality of the amenities on offer. (It still beggars belief, in our opinion, that to enjoy a true gin and tonic necessitates bringing your own tonic on board.) However, we digress which is not what this blog is all about and indeed trivial in its content. It is however important to this debate that the introduction of new entrants to the delights of Azamara, in particular with the new “kid on the block” namely Azamara Pursuit coming on stream, that this is a crucial element for the continued survival of what to us is our first choice of cruise company when considering our next cruise. The perception that Head Office management thinking and strategy equals and is consistent with the excellent on-board experience is crucial in our belief and any doubts to this assumption can only be prejudicial. In our opinion therefore, the decision to accept this late charter request to the frustration and upset of many can only be considered unfortunate and gives credence to those already unimpressed with decisions made by Miami.

In all honesty, and on reflection, was it a truly ethical and wise decision by management to accept this late request to charter given the dismay and upset to the many of their loyal supporters?

I guess only time will tell. It depends on the profit made ‘today’ against the loss of future profit. What is also slightly worrying is that this whole scenario could become a self fulfilling prophecy. If people are put off booking Azamara because of issues like Cruise cancellations, will that make Azamara more likely to accept charter offers because their bookings are down. That could become a vicious cycle!

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The below website shows 89 full cruise ship charters fro now until July 2018, not including Azamara’s latest charter.

https://www.cruisetimetables.com/full-cruise-ship-charters.html

Charters look to be spread over all sectors and ship sizes including Harmony of the Seas. While I’m sure most of these charters were built into the ships schedules when put on sale to the general public, judging by other boards there are also cancellations across quite a few cruise lines and not exclusive to Azamara.

Admittedly the latest cancellation being within the flight booking window makes things difficult but most Azamara cancellation due to charter fall outside this window. We have had it happen to us on more than one occasion so we feel the frustration and pain, however Azamara have always treated us very fairly.

With Azamara putting itineraries on sale well over two years in advance the possibilities of cancellation due to charters is greater as I doubt the companies chartering the ships think that far in advance. So the bottom line is would everyone prefer Azamara to hold back launching itineraries so that 2019 would not yet be on sale, or continue with early release, with the associated risks of changes and charters.

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I think this is a very interesting and I share a lot of the sentiments in this post.

I accept there are commercial decisions, but the lateness of this cancellation, coupled with the level of itinerary redeployments in the control of the company (I ignore the hurricane related issues) do give me significant concerns. I wonder, did they hope to have Pursuits sooner and had to scramble late on to meet a commitment.

Either way, I would prefer Azamara to give customers a stated commitment that they will not alter an itinerary for commercial reasons within xxxx months of a sailing. For me, 15 months would be reasonable. Fully accept there will be operational reasons that a later change could be needed but the deployments into Cuba and Japan and the charter fall into my definition of commercial reasons.

15 months still gives me problems (some of my work commitments are two years out and I have no scope to change other than for illness or bereavement - I quote my contract words) but I accept I cannot expect Azamara to give me a two year guarantee.

I can buy flights and book hotel rooms with several carriers/hotel chains at 364 days and should be able to make commitments without fear of change.

The other issue Azamara has to grapple with is they have made a lot in presentations, blogs etc about back to back cruises and how their itineraries are designed to give a chain of discoveries (e.g. France, Spain, Italy). Taking out single cruises gives guests a lot of issues.

However, all the changes do put us off committing to Azamara at the same level as we have done in the past. Whilst the compensation can be reasonable we plan our whole year at the same time, so our 2018 and 2019 changes have left us with a nagging problem - if we had known then what we know now, we would have used our travel budget for the period completely differently. Now we have some plans not affected by changes but they are not now the plans we would have wanted if we had been faced with the circumstances that only arose following Azamara's subsequent changes

Time will tell what our future plans will look like in the light of Azamara's track record over the last three months.

As an Azamara Newbie(as of Sept 2018) I continue to find these posts interesting and a learning experience. I have commented a few times since they first arose after the changes to the Oct/Nov 2018 cruises(That one barely missed me since I'm on the Sept 21 Iberian Passage cruise) and then I've commented a few times after my August 2019 Alaska cruise was cancelled. In way of context my wife and I are only in our mid 50's and started our empty nest travels about 5 years ago with usually about 2 trips a year. So far our trips have been river cruises, all inclusive resorts and only 1 ocean cruise. Because I own my own business I try to plan my trips anywhere from 12 months to 24 months in advance to work them into my schedule and budget. We do lean toward higher end suites with butler service and amenities(although we do feel guilty at times). But it is our reward for the sacrifices we make for family and business.(at least that's how I justify it to my wife). I'm a researcher by nature so I know exactly what suite/cabin I would like before I even start the process of booking. So with Azamara I knew I wanted an Owners Suite on deck 7. So I booked both our Iberian Passage on Journey and the Alaska cruise on Quest as soon as they opened up bookings. So I thought I would chime in with what I've learned personally and observed from reading these threads daily for quite some time:

#1 I think the concept of Company loyalty to its loyal customers rarely if ever exists in todays corporate culture other then the loyalty programs that provide perks discounts. I believe in their minds that is all they feel they need to provide. So I think when we expect the corporate world to value us if we have been loyal to a fault with them we are setting ourselves up for disappointment. I have followed at least half a dozen premium/luxury lines as well as several river cruise lines and I see the same issues arising at different times. The corporate world as we know it isn't what it was when most of us were young and growing up financially. For example, when I was a boy I would go to McDonalds and hope they got my order wrong because if they did it was free. Corporate wanted 100% satisfied customers. Today I waited 15 minutes for a double cheeseburger and it was practically thrown at me with not even a sorry for how long it took. Today it is all about the bottom line and to keep stock prices up corporate American will give up earning $2 tomorrow for a $1 today. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying its right, its just consistent.

#2 I am learning to expect my trips to get messed up. I've taken river cruises and had water levels change the trip. I've booked Sandals resorts only to have a hurricane hit it an close it the month before arrival and then needed to quickly change to another Island. I've had an overnight train from Munich to Budapest cancelled at the last minute due to immigrants where I was scrambling all night long to figure out how I would get there thus missing the pre cruise tours I'd booked, I've had a plane land in Boston instead of Prague with mechanical issues delaying our arrival an missing a days of planned activities. And now my Alaska cruise cancelled before I even had the opportunity to get excited about it. And all of this is within a 2 year period. So what I'm learning is to have back up plans to my back up plans.

#3 I am learning that the best I can expect is for a Corporate entity to make me whole when they change or mess something up only on what they are personally responsible for and not the plans I make on my own around the scheduled trip. This seems to be a point that causes the greatest amount of grief to those affected. I wish it wasn't this way but my experience is telling me to just expect it. Therefore travel insurance is even more important to make sure it covers all the trip and not just the "main" trip. Again I have to have back up plans to my back up plans.

#4 I need to develop the same sense of loyalty to the travel companies I use as they have toward me. Meaning I'll be loyal as long as they provide a good product, are within my budget, I get the loyalty perks provided, and everything goes as planned. But if there is something better or they make changes that don't fit what I want to do I can't grieve over the changes. Thus when Alaska was cancelled I cancelled as there was nothing for me with Azamara that met all my criteria. So I'm starting over for summer 2019 and waiting for the other lines to release their full schedules. But I didn't cancel my Sept 2018 cruise because I was upset with Azamara, and I will book them again if they fit the criteria I just outlined.

#5 I've learned that I get annoyed when things go wrong and frustrated as much as the next guy. But I'm going to continue to avoid calling people "idiots", "incompetent", etc... on blogs and just accept it for what it is- Corporate Ethos in the 21st century. I don't believe it does any good to try and persuade others to look for other lines, scare people to death who haven't sailed before, or other negativity that waste time and energy. It's fair to discuss the issue but hopefully with civility as most do on this board. One other thought about trying to damage a company. It may be clear that I don't have a great deal of hope as far as Company Ethics. But I have a great deal of respect for the hard working men and women that serve us, cook for us, entertain us, and treat us as if we were the only people they ever did this for. So I want for their sakes for these companies to continue to grow and thrive.

#5 Finally I've learned from all of the things I've shared that whenever possible I need to shorten my time horizon on booking or hold the reservations very loosely in my hand. It may sound as if I'm a glass half empty kind of guy. That is really far from the truth. I'm a manage expectations kind of guy therefore generally have a great experience even when things don't go as expected because that is exactly what I expected(hmm not sure that I even understand what I just said). Just one man's thoughts waiting on a client to show up and is late so too much time on my hands.

The below website shows 89 full cruise ship charters fro now until July 2018, not including Azamara’s latest charter.

https://www.cruisetimetables.com/full-cruise-ship-charters.html

Charters look to be spread over all sectors and ship sizes including Harmony of the Seas. While I’m sure most of these charters were built into the ships schedules when put on sale to the general public, judging by other boards there are also cancellations across quite a few cruise lines and not exclusive to Azamara.

Admittedly the latest cancellation being within the flight booking window makes things difficult but most Azamara cancellation due to charter fall outside this window. We have had it happen to us on more than one occasion so we feel the frustration and pain, however Azamara have always treated us very fairly.

With Azamara putting itineraries on sale well over two years in advance the possibilities of cancellation due to charters is greater as I doubt the companies chartering the ships think that far in advance. So the bottom line is would everyone prefer Azamara to hold back launching itineraries so that 2019 would not yet be on sale, or continue with early release, with the associated risks of changes and charters.

 

 

 

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You have described our experience and our assessment. We have had two cruises chartered next year and, in both cases, we were very adequately compensated.

I am particularly struck by your point that early publishing of 2019 itineraries may have too many negative consequences, not least of which are the high initial tariffs that may alienate UK clients who, as I understand it, cannot later apply the almost inevitable special fares.

I also think, like utog, that as a matter of policy Azamara should set a date after which Azamara will not countenance a charter.

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We fall into the group of folks who are experienced cruisers, but just recently had our first Azamara experience on the Quest. While we truly did enjoy the cruise, there were some “misses” that we articulated in our review. I agree with the OP that a simple thing like decent tonic for a cocktail, or an apology for an expensive Land Discovery that didn’t include the promised elements would have been helpful. We held off on booking a 2019 B2B on board and this latest charter incident has us doubting if we will try again. The smiling crew is nice, but not enough to overlook the potential disruptions.

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As an Azamara Newbie(as of Sept 2018) I continue to find these posts interesting and a learning experience. I have commented a few times since they first arose after the changes to the Oct/Nov 2018 cruises(That one barely missed me since I'm on the Sept 21 Iberian Passage cruise) and then I've commented a few times after my August 2019 Alaska cruise was cancelled. In way of context my wife and I are only in our mid 50's and started our empty nest travels about 5 years ago with usually about 2 trips a year. So far our trips have been river cruises, all inclusive resorts and only 1 ocean cruise. Because I own my own business I try to plan my trips anywhere from 12 months to 24 months in advance to work them into my schedule and budget. We do lean toward higher end suites with butler service and amenities(although we do feel guilty at times). But it is our reward for the sacrifices we make for family and business.(at least that's how I justify it to my wife). I'm a researcher by nature so I know exactly what suite/cabin I would like before I even start the process of booking. So with Azamara I knew I wanted an Owners Suite on deck 7. So I booked both our Iberian Passage on Journey and the Alaska cruise on Quest as soon as they opened up bookings. So I thought I would chime in with what I've learned personally and observed from reading these threads daily for quite some time:

 

 

 

#1 I think the concept of Company loyalty to its loyal customers rarely if ever exists in todays corporate culture other then the loyalty programs that provide perks discounts. I believe in their minds that is all they feel they need to provide. So I think when we expect the corporate world to value us if we have been loyal to a fault with them we are setting ourselves up for disappointment. I have followed at least half a dozen premium/luxury lines as well as several river cruise lines and I see the same issues arising at different times. The corporate world as we know it isn't what it was when most of us were young and growing up financially. For example, when I was a boy I would go to McDonalds and hope they got my order wrong because if they did it was free. Corporate wanted 100% satisfied customers. Today I waited 15 minutes for a double cheeseburger and it was practically thrown at me with not even a sorry for how long it took. Today it is all about the bottom line and to keep stock prices up corporate American will give up earning $2 tomorrow for a $1 today. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying its right, its just consistent.

 

 

 

#2 I am learning to expect my trips to get messed up. I've taken river cruises and had water levels change the trip. I've booked Sandals resorts only to have a hurricane hit it an close it the month before arrival and then needed to quickly change to another Island. I've had an overnight train from Munich to Budapest cancelled at the last minute due to immigrants where I was scrambling all night long to figure out how I would get there thus missing the pre cruise tours I'd booked, I've had a plane land in Boston instead of Prague with mechanical issues delaying our arrival an missing a days of planned activities. And now my Alaska cruise cancelled before I even had the opportunity to get excited about it. And all of this is within a 2 year period. So what I'm learning is to have back up plans to my back up plans.

 

 

 

#3 I am learning that the best I can expect is for a Corporate entity to make me whole when they change or mess something up only on what they are personally responsible for and not the plans I make on my own around the scheduled trip. This seems to be a point that causes the greatest amount of grief to those affected. I wish it wasn't this way but my experience is telling me to just expect it. Therefore travel insurance is even more important to make sure it covers all the trip and not just the "main" trip. Again I have to have back up plans to my back up plans.

 

 

 

#4 I need to develop the same sense of loyalty to the travel companies I use as they have toward me. Meaning I'll be loyal as long as they provide a good product, are within my budget, I get the loyalty perks provided, and everything goes as planned. But if there is something better or they make changes that don't fit what I want to do I can't grieve over the changes. Thus when Alaska was cancelled I cancelled as there was nothing for me with Azamara that met all my criteria. So I'm starting over for summer 2019 and waiting for the other lines to release their full schedules. But I didn't cancel my Sept 2018 cruise because I was upset with Azamara, and I will book them again if they fit the criteria I just outlined.

 

 

 

#5 I've learned that I get annoyed when things go wrong and frustrated as much as the next guy. But I'm going to continue to avoid calling people "idiots", "incompetent", etc... on blogs and just accept it for what it is- Corporate Ethos in the 21st century. I don't believe it does any good to try and persuade others to look for other lines, scare people to death who haven't sailed before, or other negativity that waste time and energy. It's fair to discuss the issue but hopefully with civility as most do on this board. One other thought about trying to damage a company. It may be clear that I don't have a great deal of hope as far as Company Ethics. But I have a great deal of respect for the hard working men and women that serve us, cook for us, entertain us, and treat us as if we were the only people they ever did this for. So I want for their sakes for these companies to continue to grow and thrive.

 

 

 

#5 Finally I've learned from all of the things I've shared that whenever possible I need to shorten my time horizon on booking or hold the reservations very loosely in my hand. It may sound as if I'm a glass half empty kind of guy. That is really far from the truth. I'm a manage expectations kind of guy therefore generally have a great experience even when things don't go as expected because that is exactly what I expected(hmm not sure that I even understand what I just said). Just one man's thoughts waiting on a client to show up and is late so too much time on my hands.

Thank you for this very thoughtful piece - it echoes my sentiments exactly.

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As an Azamara Newbie(as of Sept 2018) I continue to find these posts interesting and a learning experience. I have commented a few times since they first arose after the changes to the Oct/Nov 2018 cruises(That one barely missed me since I'm on the Sept 21 Iberian Passage cruise) and then I've commented a few times after my August 2019 Alaska cruise was cancelled. In way of context my wife and I are only in our mid 50's and started our empty nest travels about 5 years ago with usually about 2 trips a year. So far our trips have been river cruises, all inclusive resorts and only 1 ocean cruise. Because I own my own business I try to plan my trips anywhere from 12 months to 24 months in advance to work them into my schedule and budget. We do lean toward higher end suites with butler service and amenities(although we do feel guilty at times). But it is our reward for the sacrifices we make for family and business.(at least that's how I justify it to my wife). I'm a researcher by nature so I know exactly what suite/cabin I would like before I even start the process of booking. So with Azamara I knew I wanted an Owners Suite on deck 7. So I booked both our Iberian Passage on Journey and the Alaska cruise on Quest as soon as they opened up bookings. So I thought I would chime in with what I've learned personally and observed from reading these threads daily for quite some time:

 

 

 

#1 I think the concept of Company loyalty to its loyal customers rarely if ever exists in todays corporate culture other then the loyalty programs that provide perks discounts. I believe in their minds that is all they feel they need to provide. So I think when we expect the corporate world to value us if we have been loyal to a fault with them we are setting ourselves up for disappointment. I have followed at least half a dozen premium/luxury lines as well as several river cruise lines and I see the same issues arising at different times. The corporate world as we know it isn't what it was when most of us were young and growing up financially. For example, when I was a boy I would go to McDonalds and hope they got my order wrong because if they did it was free. Corporate wanted 100% satisfied customers. Today I waited 15 minutes for a double cheeseburger and it was practically thrown at me with not even a sorry for how long it took. Today it is all about the bottom line and to keep stock prices up corporate American will give up earning $2 tomorrow for a $1 today. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying its right, its just consistent.

 

 

 

#2 I am learning to expect my trips to get messed up. I've taken river cruises and had water levels change the trip. I've booked Sandals resorts only to have a hurricane hit it an close it the month before arrival and then needed to quickly change to another Island. I've had an overnight train from Munich to Budapest cancelled at the last minute due to immigrants where I was scrambling all night long to figure out how I would get there thus missing the pre cruise tours I'd booked, I've had a plane land in Boston instead of Prague with mechanical issues delaying our arrival an missing a days of planned activities. And now my Alaska cruise cancelled before I even had the opportunity to get excited about it. And all of this is within a 2 year period. So what I'm learning is to have back up plans to my back up plans.

 

 

 

#3 I am learning that the best I can expect is for a Corporate entity to make me whole when they change or mess something up only on what they are personally responsible for and not the plans I make on my own around the scheduled trip. This seems to be a point that causes the greatest amount of grief to those affected. I wish it wasn't this way but my experience is telling me to just expect it. Therefore travel insurance is even more important to make sure it covers all the trip and not just the "main" trip. Again I have to have back up plans to my back up plans.

 

 

 

#4 I need to develop the same sense of loyalty to the travel companies I use as they have toward me. Meaning I'll be loyal as long as they provide a good product, are within my budget, I get the loyalty perks provided, and everything goes as planned. But if there is something better or they make changes that don't fit what I want to do I can't grieve over the changes. Thus when Alaska was cancelled I cancelled as there was nothing for me with Azamara that met all my criteria. So I'm starting over for summer 2019 and waiting for the other lines to release their full schedules. But I didn't cancel my Sept 2018 cruise because I was upset with Azamara, and I will book them again if they fit the criteria I just outlined.

 

 

 

#5 I've learned that I get annoyed when things go wrong and frustrated as much as the next guy. But I'm going to continue to avoid calling people "idiots", "incompetent", etc... on blogs and just accept it for what it is- Corporate Ethos in the 21st century. I don't believe it does any good to try and persuade others to look for other lines, scare people to death who haven't sailed before, or other negativity that waste time and energy. It's fair to discuss the issue but hopefully with civility as most do on this board. One other thought about trying to damage a company. It may be clear that I don't have a great deal of hope as far as Company Ethics. But I have a great deal of respect for the hard working men and women that serve us, cook for us, entertain us, and treat us as if we were the only people they ever did this for. So I want for their sakes for these companies to continue to grow and thrive.

 

 

 

#5 Finally I've learned from all of the things I've shared that whenever possible I need to shorten my time horizon on booking or hold the reservations very loosely in my hand. It may sound as if I'm a glass half empty kind of guy. That is really far from the truth. I'm a manage expectations kind of guy therefore generally have a great experience even when things don't go as expected because that is exactly what I expected(hmm not sure that I even understand what I just said). Just one man's thoughts waiting on a client to show up and is late so too much time on my hands.

That’s a very interesting perspective and one that resonates very well with me.

Some other thoughts

When I look at the Charter figures Azamara seems to have a much higher % Charter to cruises available next year - I don’t however have Pursuits in the bottom line of that calculation but it’s higher than other mid sized premium lines.

I think perspectives differ between those in work and trying to manage absence aligned to many others and those with greater freedom and fewer commitments to have to renegotiate. It is absolutely no fun trying to have renegotiation conversations for the second time in two months with the same group of people. Not surprisingly I’m asked “make sure we don’t have to have these conversations again”. Myself and those with whom I’m having the conversations are Azamara’s market for the future —it’s this greying rather than they grey dollar that has to matter to Azamara longer term. Sadly certainly for the short term they’ve got a reputation for unreliability amongst my business peers —you can’t explain to non believers it’s not like that onboard.

I think the perspective in the UK might be different and that’s why some might expect a different approach. The customer cannot walk away from deals at their choosing without penalty. In some other countries particularly the US, you can get a 2018 or 2019 redeployment and based on new information walk away not only from that deal (as we can) but also your other plans for the year (assuming flights are not bought). You can decide ok, A is redeployed I will also change B, C and D as well and do E, F etc. For us we can’t cancel unrelated B, C and D so we are not able to have the complete rethink. This brings you additional anger then about A and having “second best solutions”.

To illustrate because my Azamara cancellations and redeployments came out in two phases, I’d already rebuilt late 2018 and am stuck with that. If I’d known the complete picture I’d have done something very different, an option that would have a $2000+ penalty to follow now, but is still completely open at no penalty to guests in the US etc.

No insurance in the UK gives coverage for cancel for any reason.

What is also very different from the past is the role of communications in maintaining loyalty particularly when there is less good news around. I agree we have to see loyalty as a different entity than before but add to the mix we’ve got heightened expectations of how we will be communicated to and what will be communicated. And shoreside communication (and the underpinning IT) is Azamara’s biggest weakness and could yet be its downfall. Many of the issues are well quoted here so I won’t repeat them.

However I would wish to suggest the following. Social media is being used by Azamara to keep pumping for demand when instead of silence blogs, forums and pages should also be used to proactively shout out and support customers caught up in redeployments. They should also join up thinking. This is a trick Azamara is missing. For example, nothing is more galling during the period when you’re still trying to unscramble and rebuild a much thought about Alaska trip that’s been cancelled to have Alaska blogs and “look what you’re missing out on” type messages pushed at you on Facebook and sorry, that’s happening even here.

So yes, absolutely we have to see loyalty different, but organisations playing globally have to think how do our propositions and messages sit globally and how and what are we saying to our customers and potential customers.

My loyalty now will be with the cruiseline I think is getting that mix right. I don’t know who that is yet, but I know for sure from where I sit I have to look beyond the cruiseline I saw as my No 1 choice over the last 9 years. Maybe after looking, my loyalty remains unchanged, time alone will tell.

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Charters are big business to cruise lines, the whole ship is sold at full price and the charterers cover the cost of cancelling any existing bookings. Azamara being part of a much larger organisation can have a lot of pressure applied by the charterers if they are regular customers of the whole organisation.

Imagine a company who regularly charter the larger RC ships want to charter Quest, can Azamara say no if they threaten to move their business to Carnival otherwise? It’s just the way of the corporate world like it or not we’re just going to have to live with it.

We like to plan well in advance but there’s always going to be a risk associated with that, not only from charters, weather and conflict but events that can happen in our personal life as well. It’s just something that we have learned to deal with if the situation arises.

Those of us booking in the U.K. are in a stronger position than most others when it does happen as we have protection in law which the cruise lines must adhere to.

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Charters are big business to cruise lines, the whole ship is sold at full price and the charterers cover the cost of cancelling any existing bookings. Azamara being part of a much larger organisation can have a lot of pressure applied by the charterers if they are regular customers of the whole organisation.

Imagine a company who regularly charter the larger RC ships want to charter Quest, can Azamara say no if they threaten to move their business to Carnival otherwise? It’s just the way of the corporate world like it or not we’re just going to have to live with it.

We like to plan well in advance but there’s always going to be a risk associated with that, not only from charters, weather and conflict but events that can happen in our personal life as well. It’s just something that we have learned to deal with if the situation arises.

Those of us booking in the U.K. are in a stronger position than most others when it does happen as we have protection in law which the cruise lines must adhere to.

 

 

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Trouble is I’m not seeing any benefit from this consumer protection- The redeployment offers are the same as in the US. but US guests can cancel and play around to get price drops that we cannot, the argument often being ah but you’ve got better protection if things go wrong.

I saw a very interesting article, I will try and dig it out, that said that now that there is widespread protection under credit card legislation ( and as of January agents cannot add surcharges for card payments) the UK market was overplaying it’s hand on benefits of other legislation and that was not really a valid line to take now. I think it also said that was EU legislation anyway, so who knows where that ends up!

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Trouble is I’m not seeing any benefit from this consumer protection- The redeployment offers are the same as in the US. but US guests can cancel and play around to get price drops that we cannot, the argument often being ah but you’ve got better protection if things go wrong.

I saw a very interesting article, I will try and dig it out, that said that now that there is widespread protection under credit card legislation ( and as of January agents cannot add surcharges for card payments) the UK market was overplaying it’s hand on benefits of other legislation and that was not really a valid line to take now. I think it also said that was EU legislation anyway, so who knows where that ends up!

 

 

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Never agreed that U.K. legislation should be a reason that we are unable to cancel and rebook without losing our deposits. But the Package tour regulations 1992 does give us protection that doesn’t exist in the US t&c’s, however Azamara has tended to treat all guests the same way where charters are concerned, that means US guests benefit from the U.K.’s better t&c’s. So it’s a shame that the U.K. market is discriminated against with regards to cancellation and price drops.

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Never agreed that U.K. legislation should be a reason that we are unable to cancel and rebook without losing our deposits. But the Package tour regulations 1992 does give us protection that doesn’t exist in the US t&c’s, however Azamara has tended to treat all guests the same way where charters are concerned, that means US guests benefit from the U.K.’s better t&c’s. So it’s a shame that the U.K. market is discriminated against with regards to cancellation and price drops.

 

 

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As an Azamara Newbie(as of Sept 2018) I continue to find these posts interesting and a learning experience. So I thought I would chime in with what I've learned personally and observed from reading these threads daily for quite some time:\.

Thank you for an exceptionally written post on your thoughts. I feel you were spot on with your points and how corporate/customer relationships have evolved. When Azamara makes a business decision, it's not personal. However I can understand how some with cancelled cruises may take it as such.

How Azamara, or any cruise company for that matter, handles my grief factor is what I take into account. I've had a cruise cancelled by Celebrity and by Azamara. The attitude from Celebrity was take it or leave it. Azamara's attitude was negotiation to find something that was fair and worked for us both. I still sailed Celebrity after that, however my loyalty level to them was diminished. Then recently, for additional reasons, Celebrity's consideration has now been extinguished.

I like to do business with companies that want my business not ones that could give a rat's derriere about me.