Miami Cancels Quest AzAmazing Evening

[Granny DI]

Have to add my two cents about Capt Jose...he is terrific!

[dfishner]

I hope they do not discontinue the Azamara evening and just bring it on the ship. We were in Spain and did St Michael cave was not sure I wanted to go but did, have to say it was the highlight of our cruise. Watching the logistics of how Azamara pulled this off flawlessly was just as amazing as the show in the cave. We still talk about it how great it was.

[ellbon]

To me the fun is going to the venue not bring it to me.. If they bring it on the ship I hope to be off the ship eating .. To me it just a fancy white. Ig hits without me wearing white.

 

Heard the one on ship was fun but not the same as going to the event.

[AzamaraJoel]

Hi Everyone! I wanted to pass along a message from Signe, Azamara's Director of Global Marketing, about this topic:

 

Dear Cruise Critic Members,

 

I am not sure if you are aware, but Bill Leiber has taken ill again, and is not available right now to respond on Cruise Critic. So until he is back and ready to review and respond to your comments, we - the Azamara team and Andy, our Cruise Critic Host - will follow the Azamara threads and respond as needed.

 

In this thread, we are seeing a number of comments on the latest AzAmazing Evenings event onboard the Azamara Quest in the Caribbean, so I thought we'd clarify.

 

2013 was the first year for us to do AzAmazing Evenings events for our guests, and it has been a year where we have monitored carefully what went well, and what might not have been so great. Overall, we have had great responses, but we've also had some events that needed some further fine-tuning. We are committed to these events, and for 2014 we have made some slight adjustments in the programming, placing more focus on the cultural / entertainment aspects, and less on food. From a cost perspective, it doesn't change anything, our goal is to feature fun and interesting events.

 

As for the Azamara Quest event just recently, the change was a matter of logistics. The island simply couldn't provide the infrastructure for so many guests, so we simply decided to move it onboard. From everything we hear, the event was very successful — guests seemed to enjoy it very much. I also saw some photos of our new Captain Jose Vilarinho dressed up as a pirate - I do think that went over quite well.

 

These are big events to put together, and we have lots of people working on making each event a great experience. What we have found is that - as mentioned above - the infrastructure in some of the destinations are not conducive to such events, in which case we will attempt to be creative and come up with different solutions - hence the onboard event in St. Thomas.

 

I hope this clarifies things.

 

We wish you a continued wonderful Holiday Season, and all the best for 2014.

 

Kind regards,

Signe Bjorndal

Director of Global Marketing

[librarylady19]

Thanks for the clarification...makes sense to me and I know from Deirdre that it was an excellent event.

[Christine Frances]

 

 

 

[florisdekort]

The Azamazing evening for the December 28 sailing is also being moved to the ship, or apparently the pier next to the ship. Fine with me; there's 680 guests on this cruise and bussing them all around for 30 minutes couldn't have been fun.

 

Floris

[wpm2]

My partner and I were on this cruise and we were a little disappointed that the Azamazing evening was brought onboard, but reading the response from Azamara it is totally understandable.

 

What we didn't understand was having the 'White Night' party on the same night as the Azamazing evening. All of the Azamazing evening decorations were taken down 'mid party'. Also had the Azamazing evening been held off ship, we would have missed it :thumbdown:

 

 

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[dln929]

My partner and I were on this cruise and we were a little disappointed that the Azamazing evening was brought onboard, but reading the response from Azamara it is totally understandable.

 

What we didn't understand was having the 'White Night' party on the same night as the Azamazing evening. All of the Azamazing evening decorations were taken down 'mid party'. Also had the Azamazing evening been held off ship, we would have missed it :thumbdown:

 

 

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I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed when I found out they were combining the events. However it turned out to be a great decision IMO. The As amazing event was such fun and so high energy that it would have been awful had they closed shop when it was over! I was glad they segwayed into another party. Given how crowded the dance floor was, I'd say most people were happy at how the evening played out.

[ellbon]

The Azamazing evening for the December 28 sailing is also being moved to the ship, or apparently the pier next to the ship. Fine with me; there's 680 guests on this cruise and bussing them all around for 30 minutes couldn't have been fun.

 

Floris

 

I found in Europe about 400 or so people went each cruise. Two I could walk to so that was great, we were bus three times , once over 30 minutes. Only one was so so due to lack or savory food and one I cane home ready to eat anything. I should of walked to a restaurant and gone late to the music part.

 

I notice that I am skipping the ones in Mexico and Ca to do my own thing

 

Robin

[troywest]

As the originator of this topic, I'll offer my post event reflections.

 

Clearly, the event WAS cancelled.

 

They did bring local entertainment on-board, and some of the entertainment WAS the same as was scheduled to perform at Blackbeard's Castle.

 

Clearly the event was cancelled much earlier than we were led to believe. Azamara was taking reservations for Blackbeard's Castle until several days before departure. The shore excursions desk said the cancellation was done abruptly by Miami without their knowledge, but I no longer think this is true, and I believe they must have known.

 

There was (and is) considerable disagreement among the staff about whether to acknowledge the event cancellation, (which was obviously necessary - if the venue's food and beverage services were not functioning) or to try to spin it as the event "being moved to the ship" As I understand it, the disagreement is ongoing.

 

The deck party was a good deck party, but it clearly was NOT an AzAmazing evening.

 

I agree that it is not Azamara-like to lie and "spin" We expect this sort of conduct from RCL and Carnival; but Azamara has always been honest.

 

In recent months, the Harp has disappeared, and the piano has been moved out of the Mosaic. These decisions may well have been made by the same folks who now want to change the concept and meaning of AzAmazing Evenings by lying and saying the events have been "moved" to the ship.

 

As one poster noted, the concert in St. Michaels Cave looses its magic if the shore excursion folks in Miami try to "Move" it to the ship.

[uktog]

I think the word lying is uncalled for sorry. In my experience the shore excursion staff are the weak link onboard not up to taking ownership of issues as other staff do and too ready to "blame Miami" or avoid the issue by giving another view. So I would put little credence on what they said particularly as others onboard and the Azamara rep have given a different and consistent perspective.

 

I can see that some of the other onboard changes have given you issues as they have others. Maybe as for others your love affair with Azamara is going through a rocky patch and you don't trust them as you did once

[Redtravel]

Going to the event or having the event brought to the ship? Unless the event is in a fabulous venue, bringing the entertainment to the ship is great. More people get to enjoy it. There are some people who skip the Amazing Evening because of mobility issues. For them, bringing it onboard is a plus. I fine with whatever happens. It is something over and above what you get on many other cruise lines.

[dln929]

As the originator of this topic, I'll offer my post event reflections.

 

Clearly, the event WAS cancelled.

 

They did bring local entertainment on-board, and some of the entertainment WAS the same as was scheduled to perform at Blackbeard's Castle.

 

Clearly the event was cancelled much earlier than we were led to believe. Azamara was taking reservations for Blackbeard's Castle until several days before departure. The shore excursions desk said the cancellation was done abruptly by Miami without their knowledge, but I no longer think this is true, and I believe they must have known.

 

There was (and is) considerable disagreement among the staff about whether to acknowledge the event cancellation, (which was obviously necessary - if the venue's food and beverage services were not functioning) or to try to spin it as the event "being moved to the ship" As I understand it, the disagreement is ongoing.

 

The deck party was a good deck party, but it clearly was NOT an AzAmazing evening.

 

I agree that it is not Azamara-like to lie and "spin" We expect this sort of conduct from RCL and Carnival; but Azamara has always been honest.

 

In recent months, the Harp has disappeared, and the piano has been moved out of the Mosaic. These decisions may well have been made by the same folks who now want to change the concept and meaning of AzAmazing Evenings by lying and saying the events have been "moved" to the ship.

 

As one poster noted, the concert in St. Michaels Cave looses its magic if the shore excursion folks in Miami try to "Move" it to the ship.

 

It's absurd to state that the Azamazing Evening on the Quest was cancelled. That's akin to saying a cruise is cancelled because it misses one port. Was the event different than originally planned? Yes, of course it was. We didn't get the venue and we didn't get the guides at the Castle. Every other aspect of the Azamazing Evening was as promised--and in the end, we got one absolutely Azamazingly fantastic evening. I think you may be the one disgruntled passenger who didn't have fun, but if that's the case, you have only yourself to blame. The rest of us thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

 

I think you may have other issues with Azamara and perhaps it's time to evaluate if it's the cruise line for you?

Edited December 31, 2013 by dln929

[Neilio]

My wife and I were on this cruise and it's ridiculous to state that the event was cancelled. We will post a cruise review shortly. However, some of these posts and posters are childish and irrational. The event that was held on the ship was incredible. It was a beautiful and fun evening. As noted in other posts the Governor attended and addressed the passengers and crew. I could care less what the evening was called. My wife and I enjoyed the cruise and most aspects of the Azamara experience. We were shocked and dismayed in some of the passenger behavior that we witnessed towards the staff. I will detail more in another post. But, overall it was a great cruise for us first time Azamara cruisers.

 

Neilio

 

 

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