Management Decision On Quest's April 12 "Spice Route" Cruise

[Bill Leiber]

Hello Sharon, Desiree & John, and Sue -

 

I appreciate your extra time in sending your candid comments to me about your "healing process" as you begin to move forward from that very perplexing "refund" entanglement with the UK travel agency owned by RCCL and its devastating impact on the promptness of your refund.

 

I want to reiterate my earlier comment that I'm hopeful you'll be able to put this interlude behind you, and that your future Azamara onboard experiences will wipe the slate clean.

 

I would consider "chilling-out" a great first-step, "Desiree and John." But it's important for me to mention again that our top-priority is improving our shoreside operation with respect to consistency of message; interdepartmental communications; and more timely contact between our customer service team and guests.

 

As "Sue" mentioned, her onboard experiences on Azamara have been consistently positive, or put another way - "always sparkled;" however, it seems this refund ordeal has diminished some of the "luster" she had attributed to our brand. So, I'm hopeful, "Sue" and others that you'll be able to renew your confidence in the executive team in Miami and its commitment to "polish-up" our tarnished service shortfalls. Unfortunately, it's not as simple as "turning on a light switch." It will take some more time and we believe we're making progress. My translation for you - your continued patience while we sort-out these bumps-in-the road.

 

While I'm digressing on this situation, and in light of Sharon's acknowledgement of my reporting, I've found that as CBO I'm almost in a "drone-like" position as I hover above with instant access to guests' CC comments about new issues as they arise along with the ability to read operational RCCL and Azamara internal communications and/or the ability to notify them of any new developments.

 

Actually, I'm in the enviable position of having the opportunity of "closing the loop" in a few situations, since Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd's operate within the concept of "shared service" which means the operating units based in Miami and the UK support the three brand. Of course the benefit is that it provides the corporation with cost advantages and marketing economies of scale but at the same time operating hurdles as you experienced with your convoluted Quest refund. It's only fair, however, that I give credit to our Miami refund process center for its timely processing with the majority of the refunds.

 

I'm very hopeful that we'll have the opportunity to welcome you onboard again to experience the Azamazing Azamara onboard experience.

 

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[jork71]

We luckily received our refund very quickly and without all the hiccups many people seemed to have encountered. We have also, eventually, received our cruise credit certificate although the couple we were travelling with are still waiting on theirs to turn up. Interestingly, our certificate made it's way to us with our correct street address but the wrong country - UK instead of Australia! We still don't know how, firstly, it got addressed wrong when, because we booked direct, Azamara have all of our contact details and secondly how someone in the postal system worked out to redirect it to Australia.

 

Anyway, I digress. Our FCC says that it expires in 12 months and I note that Bill posted a few weeks back that they had all been extended to 2 years and was going to check if new certificates would be posted out or if we would receive other written confirmation of the extended exipry. Has there been an official response from Azamara on this yet?

[spw1947]

jork71,

 

We received our certificate first, but wonder about the amount as it does not seem to equate to 30% of what we paid. I have had no response to my query about how it was calculated. Was your 30% after port costs were deducted, or was it 30% of what you paid?

 

Many thanks,

 

Sue

[Jade13]

 

We received our certificate first, but wonder about the amount as it does not seem to equate to 30% of what we paid. I have had no response to my query about how it was calculated. Was your 30% after port costs were deducted, or was it 30% of what you paid?

 

Many thanks,

 

Sue

 

Typically these vouchers/credits are for the base price, and do not include port fees and taxes.

 

However in the case of a cruise canceled midway (or anytime ports are canceled) those port fees are refunded. We were on a HAL cruise that was canceled after a few days. I say canceled because we went directly to the disembarkation port, but guests could stay on the ship and use it as a hotel (we left). They had a valid reason because this was during hurricane Earl and they were afraid the port would be closed. However there was no water hook-up so the pool could not be re-filled (had to be emptied going through a whale reserve in New England), and of course all the shops and casino were closed. All of the ports we missed had the fee refunded to our credit card. Our 25% credit was for the base fare paid. I thought it was handled better as the credit was attached to ones past passenger ID, verses sending vouchers through the mail.

[DJ62]

Finally, finally received my full cruise only refund today 21st May, why so long when you can do an electronic payment in the UK in 3 minutes and this takes 6 weeks, God only knows..... I am still trying to get a refund of my airfares which were non refundable and booked in December 2011 (Azamara have refused so far to pay in full), hotel costs paid for in advance (refused) and my visa monies (agreed but am still waiting for a cheque 6 weeks later!). I have sent emails that take 10 days to reply, asked for the chairman's details and office (no reply) advised I wish to make a formal complaint (no reply) and spent so much time in emails and phone calls to the US that I am sick of trying to sort this out. In the UK it is quite normal to book cruise only and your flights etc separately, particularly as I live 5 hours from London and wish to fly from Manchester on a scheduled airline. My travel insurance will cover me for everything apart from cancellation by my tour operator - in their opinion Azamara cancelled the holiday and they should foot the bill. I couldn't agree more - Mr Pimental perhaps you would like to respond??????

[jork71]

jork71,

 

We received our certificate first, but wonder about the amount as it does not seem to equate to 30% of what we paid. I have had no response to my query about how it was calculated. Was your 30% after port costs were deducted, or was it 30% of what you paid?

 

Many thanks,

 

Sue

 

Sue,

 

It took us a while to work out how the certificate was calculated but I eventually went back to one of the first invoices Azamara sent us when we booked and it showed a break-down of the cost components - being the cruise fare and then the fees & taxes. Our FCC amount is 30% of the cruise fare component. I'm not sure whether you have an itemised invoice like this but our fees & taxes for both of us came to $359.82. I assume this amount would be pretty standard so you might try deducting this from what you paid and then apply the 30% to see if you get somewhere close to the amount on your certificate.

 

Hope that helps.

[spw1947]

Thanks for your reply, Jork.

 

It explains the apparent discrepancy, though it seems a bit odd when there were no port fees and taxes.

 

I eventually got a reply from Azamara Australia saying that:

"The amount that the 30% has been calculated on is the cruise fare only - not including taxes and gratuities." Hope the crew got their gratuities since we were charged for them. Wonder who got the taxes????

 

The offer of 30% of amount paid off a future cruise looks a little lean, and was somewhat deceptive in its wording. I might even go so far as to describe it as a tightfited offer, and not a great incentive to persevere with the brand.

 

Sorry to let off steam at you, my gripe is with Azamara, not you.

 

Cheers,

 

Sue

[Kamlee]

Bill,

 

Thank you very much for your help. Our cruise refund has finally appeared in our credit card account. We have now received all payments due from Azamara.

 

The fact that we have already booked our next Azamara cruise and are planning two more, even after this refund fiasco, says a lot about the excellence of the on-board experience.

 

Now, if only Azamara UK would resurrect online booking and introduce Choice Air!

 

Regards,

 

Kampol and Lee.

[Bill Leiber]

We luckily received our refund very quickly and without all the hiccups many people seemed to have encountered. We have also, eventually, received our cruise credit certificate although the couple we were travelling with are still waiting on theirs to turn up. Interestingly, our certificate made it's way to us with our correct street address but the wrong country - UK instead of Australia! We still don't know how, firstly, it got addressed wrong when, because we booked direct, Azamara have all of our contact details and secondly how someone in the postal system worked out to redirect it to Australia.

 

Anyway, I digress. Our FCC says that it expires in 12 months and I note that Bill posted a few weeks back that they had all been extended to 2 years and was going to check if new certificates would be posted out or if we would receive other written confirmation of the extended exipry. Has there been an official response from Azamara on this yet?

Hello Jork71 and other readers -

 

I'm pleased to inform you about the expiration dates of the Future Cruise Credit certificates that were issued to guests on both the cancelled March 26, 2012 and April 12, 2012 Azamara Quest voyages. I appreciate your patience.

 

Because some international markets offered a two-year expiration date on their FCC while the US/Canada markets set a one-year expiration, our Corporate Guest Relations department has arranged on both voyages, to allow International guests up to two years to use their certificates. Further domestic guests will be offered the same courtesy, on a case-by-case basis, if they are not able to travel by the current expiration date.

 

It will not be necessary to issue new certificates since special notations have been entered into the reservation system for displaced guests from both the March 26 and April 12, 2012 Quest voyages.

 

Remember to deal directly with the reservation team in your local market when it comes time for you to redeem your FCC.

 

Best wishes for a wonderful future Azamara voyage!

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[Bill Leiber]

Bill,

 

Thank you very much for your help. Our cruise refund has finally appeared in our credit card account. We have now received all payments due from Azamara.

 

The fact that we have already booked our next Azamara cruise and are planning two more, even after this refund fiasco, says a lot about the excellence of the on-board experience.

 

Now, if only Azamara UK would resurrect online booking and introduce Choice Air!

 

Regards,

 

Kampol and Lee.

Hello Kampol and Lee -

 

Thank you for sharing this good news with me, and especially your vote of confidence for our onboard experience by booking your next voyage and planning even more!

 

With respect to Azamara's reservation system in the UK, I'm uncertain of the details but the system is being reviewed which might have impact on whether ChoiceAir could be introduced in the UK. Please give me some time, to investigate this general topic of the UK's reservation system, and I'll post an update when I can.

 

My best wishes for your forthcoming Azamara vacation!

 

Regards,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[Bill Leiber]

Finally, finally received my full cruise only refund today 21st May, why so long when you can do an electronic payment in the UK in 3 minutes and this takes 6 weeks, God only knows..... I am still trying to get a refund of my airfares which were non refundable and booked in December 2011 (Azamara have refused so far to pay in full), hotel costs paid for in advance (refused) and my visa monies (agreed but am still waiting for a cheque 6 weeks later!). I have sent emails that take 10 days to reply, asked for the chairman's details and office (no reply) advised I wish to make a formal complaint (no reply) and spent so much time in emails and phone calls to the US that I am sick of trying to sort this out. In the UK it is quite normal to book cruise only and your flights etc separately, particularly as I live 5 hours from London and wish to fly from Manchester on a scheduled airline. My travel insurance will cover me for everything apart from cancellation by my tour operator - in their opinion Azamara cancelled the holiday and they should foot the bill. I couldn't agree more - Mr Pimental perhaps you would like to respond??????

Hello DJ62 -

 

I noticed that this was your "first" post on Cruise Critic and I must let you know how very sorry I am that your frustration level with the service, or "lack thereof," has forced you to look to Cruise Critic to find resolution to your problem. You've made it very clear that you seeking action from someone within the Royal Caribbean family of companies who can respond to you about the refund of your airfare which was non-refundable at the outset.

 

Because of the impact of the Azamara Quest's two cancelled voyages on the refund process, I've been trying to provide assistance on this Azamara forum; however, I want you to know that I'm unable to solve specific customer service issues and have no access to our global reservation system.

 

Nevertheless, I will do my best to bring your issue to the attention of those who are involved in this process in the UK Customer Relations team. I will send an email with a copy of your comments; unfortunately, since I do not have your name or any booking information, I'm hopeful that they'll recognize who you are since you've pointed out that your airport was Manchester and you've already sent them emails. My request to them is to contact you by email and/or phone as soon as possible to sort out and resolve your issues.

 

Also, I'm asking you to send an email to the UK's custserv.uk@rccl.com with your Cruise Critic name and your actual contact information and booking number for good order, along with your CC comments. Also, here is the direct dial number to speak with UK Customer Relations: 01932 834330.

 

I apologize for your frustration and I'm hopeful for a solution.

 

My best regards,

 

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[Bill Leiber]

Hello DJ62 -

Update - I've heard from the UK Customer Relations manager and unfortunately they were not able to match your identity with the initials "DJ" or by "Manchester."

They're counting on you to send your email to the UK's custserv.uk@rccl.com with your Cruise Critic name and your actual contact information and booking number or to call UK Customer Relations: 01932 834330.

I'm hopeful that you return to Cruise Critic to gather this promising information.

My best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[Lottie A]

Hello DJ62 -

 

Update - I've heard from the UK Customer Relations manager and unfortunately they were not able to match your identity with the initials "DJ" or by "Manchester."

 

They're counting on you to send your email to the UK's custserv.uk@rccl.com with your Cruise Critic name and your actual contact information and booking number or to call UK Customer Relations: 01932 834330.

 

I'm hopeful that you return to Cruise Critic to gather this promising information.

 

My best regards,

 

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

 

Now that's what I call being helpful!

 

Well Done Bill - and I hope others appreciate how lucky we all are on the Azamara CC forum to have such a valuable resource as you! :)

[DJ62]

Hi Bill

 

Thanks for your response and information, I have had a phone call from a guy at the UK office and he is talking to the US office to get things resolved - have received a refund of my visa fees yesterday in the post and so it is just the airfares and hotel left......

I am still wavering over whether to use the money off vouchers supplied with Azamara for an alternate cruise as this has been such a hassle. (This would have been our first cruise on Azamara as we have for the last few years, cruised with Oceania and had a brilliant time)

 

Deborah Sproat (DJ62)

[spw1947]

You're doing well, DJ62, we're still waiting for refund of our visas, flight changes and hotels, but it's a long way down to Oz for the money to come!

Cheers,

Sue

[Ellizak]

We cruise refund arrived into our bank last week but still nothing regarding flight/visa etc.

 

Desiree & John

Newcastle

[lindentree]

This is the reply I have had to my request to refund our Visa's.

"I have received your request for reimbursement. It is my pleasure to reimburse the cost of your travel visas; however, I require a receipt as proof of purchase. This can be in the form of either the actual invoice showing the purchase price, or a bank statement showing the charge to your account for the transaction."

Rodolfo Hernandez

How has anyone managed this when the Indian Embassy request a UK postal order? We paid for ours with cash. We have sent photo copies of these Visa's in our passports as proof. Do Azamara think they issued them without being paid? Even after we get this refund we will still be down by £11.00 as they will not pay our non refunded money from the car parking.

Come on Azamara for goodness sake sort it out!:mad:

[DJ62]

You're doing well, DJ62, we're still waiting for refund of our visas, flight changes and hotels, but it's a long way down to Oz for the money to come!

Cheers,

Sue

 

Hi Sue

I really cannot understand why Azamara has such poor customer service - we are not spending just a few dollars/few pounds on a trip - these holidays cost thousands of pounds/dollars. Do they really want us to book a follow up cruise with them? - if so they are creating a lot of unhappy people. Tempted to set up a cruise critic forum entitled "Azamara Club Cruises - getting blood out of a stone" or something similar. My advice to everyone is NOT to give up. As to sending money to Oz I work as a corporate director of a Bank and we can transfer money anywhere in the world within a few hours!

Cheers

DJ62

[DJ62]

We cruise refund arrived into our bank last week but still nothing regarding flight/visa etc.

 

Desiree & John

Newcastle

Hi Desiree & John

 

Please keep battling on to get a full refund - I know it is onerous and having to email things across to them several times is very annoying (you can tell I feel very strongly about this). I cannot understand why the person handling your refund has a generic email address and you cannot write to them individually....

I will be lodging a formal complaint to the chairman of RCCL if I do not receive a full refund of my flights and other expenses and I would urge everyone who is struggling to get their money back to join me in this.

 

DJ62

[Bill Leiber]

Hi Desiree & John

 

Please keep battling on to get a full refund - I know it is onerous and having to email things across to them several times is very annoying (you can tell I feel very strongly about this). I cannot understand why the person handling your refund has a generic email address and you cannot write to them individually....

I will be lodging a formal complaint to the chairman of RCCL if I do not receive a full refund of my flights and other expenses and I would urge everyone who is struggling to get their money back to join me in this.

 

DJ62

Hello DL62 / Deborah -

 

I was about to post my response to your past Sunday's comments informing me that you had made contact with the UK and the refund process, although not complete, is underway and to address your "wavering" concern about whether to redeem your future savings by making a new reservation.

 

It might be too soon for me to share my thought-process on your next move about your dilemma; however, I acknowledge that our customer service surrounding the Mar 26 and Apr 12 Quest incidents has and continues to be for guests still awaiting their refund, an irritant to the tolerance and a drain on their reserve of patience. Due to the enormity of the refund operation that would impact our global offices, we decided to centralize the refund process through Post Cruise Guest Relations in Miami. At the same time, displaced guests were instructed to deal with their local market's customer service team. In retrospect, centralizing the refund process created an unexpected time-delay, which negatively impacted timely communications and refund transmittals to our international guests. Perhaps these background facts will illustrate the inefficient communication flow that underlies the refund process for our international guests.

 

Having said that, I will share this conversation with the UK Customer Relations manager and those in Miami so that these outstanding refunds can be completed as soon as possible. It's important for me to mention again that our top-priority is improving our shoreside operation with respect to consistency of message; interdepartmental communications; and more timely contact between our customer service team and guests on a global basis and that it is a work in progress.

 

Finally, I wanted you to know that I understood your uncertainty about the "emotional" risk associated with whether to redeem your future savings and to give Azamara another opportunity to actually experience our onboard service excellence and more inclusive tariff amenities.

 

Certainly, the future savings voucher diminishes your financial risk and since you're a "new" user of Cruise Critic, this forum is the ideal site for you to conduct an unbiased "due-diligence" search of opinions from cruise travelers, like yourself, about their experiences with our exceptional onboard service delivery along with criticisms focusing on service shortfalls both in our onboard and shoreside operation. I liken reading our "forum" to viewing an "x-ray" about doing business with Azamara. With that in mind, my reply is to temporarily "set-aside" this refund service "anomaly" and decide to vacation with Azamara Club Cruises in the future

 

I'm very hopeful that we'll have the opportunity to welcome you onboard to experience the Azamara onboard experience.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[Ellizak]

Hi Desiree & John

 

Please keep battling on to get a full refund - I know it is onerous and having to email things across to them several times is very annoying (you can tell I feel very strongly about this). I cannot understand why the person handling your refund has a generic email address and you cannot write to them individually....

I will be lodging a formal complaint to the chairman of RCCL if I do not receive a full refund of my flights and other expenses and I would urge everyone who is struggling to get their money back to join me in this.

 

DJ62

 

Thanks for the advice DJ62

I have no plans of giving up on this one but the disappointment with Azamara is starting to set in once again.

 

Desiree & John

Newcastle

[Bill Leiber]

Hello DJ62, Ellizak, and Lindentree in the UK and Spw1947 in Australia -

 

On Wednesday, May 30, I forwarded all of your Cruise Critic comments to the UK Customer Relations manager and to the Miami team to remind them that although you had received your cruise fare refunds, you were still waiting for your reimbursements for costs associated with visas, flights, hotel changes and incidentals such as pre-paid parking.

 

I've learned from Corporate Guest Relations in Miami that they have provided their updates to UK Customer Relations and since the Azamara Cruise Critic forum is not the appropriate site in which to share such details, please contact the UK Customer Service office about your specific refund status.

§ UK Customer Service email: custserv.uk@rccl.com

§ UK Customer Relations telephone: 01932 834330

 

Sue(Spw1947), please contact the Australian office for your update.

§ Email: Customerservices.au@rcclapac.com

§ Telephone: Reservations number - 1300 754 500 - or our Sydney switchboard number - 02 4331 5400 - and request Customer Relations

 

Also, I received an explanation about the guest relation policy not to provide the direct email address of the specific agent with whom one has been dealing: By having all the incoming emails go to the guest relations inbox rather than to the agent's personal email account, then that guest email is available to everyone on the team to see and service if the specific agent were out of the office.

 

I'm hopeful that each of you will find satisfaction as you deal with the local customer relations teams in the UK and Australia to complete your refund process and I'm very sorry that the process has taken so long for each of you.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[Ellizak]

Finally after 30 days I received an email from Azamara UK stating that the Miami office have agreed to pay cost of visa's. Nothing else!!!!!!

 

Returned email as a formal complaint and guess what - automated reply to respond within 21 days. Nothing left to say really:mad:

 

Desiree & John

Newcastle

[Bill Leiber]

Finally after 30 days I received an email from Azamara UK stating that the Miami office have agreed to pay cost of visa's. Nothing else!!!!!!

 

Returned email as a formal complaint and guess what - automated reply to respond within 21 days. Nothing left to say really:mad:

 

Desiree & John

Newcastle

Hello Desiree & John -

 

I'm sorry that your response was not more complete.

 

The UK Customer Relations manager suggested that you TELEPHONE them rather than email. That way the team will be able to get right on the case and you can avoid receiving the automated response.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[lindentree]

Finally after 30 days I received an email from Azamara UK stating that the Miami office have agreed to pay cost of visa's. Nothing else!!!!!!

 

Returned email as a formal complaint and guess what - automated reply to respond within 21 days. Nothing left to say really:mad:

 

Desiree & John

Newcastle

 

Well put, as for ringing the USA not a chance I am down on the deal already! I have just come off the Journey and asked the concierge to read my email and contact Miami to explain the lack of a receipt due to buying a postal order still waiting a reply................:mad::mad: