October 2016 Cruise "No Longer Available"

[Jade13]

 

On a personal note, I'm sorry for being unable to assist my many dear friends on this forum. I'm sure you are aware, when I can help our members... well, that's my happiness - but it is no more. I'm deeply saddened over the chilly relationship with Azamara, but it is beyond my control. I've accepted the reality of placing my passion and efforts elsewhere. Hopefully, it will improve someday, but then again... I always try to remain optimistic.

 

 

Wow Andy. And just a couple of years ago a number of people accused you of being an insider and working for them.

[Andy]

I will bet the ranch that all the charters are a precursor to the sale of the ships.

If you have to depend on charters to survive, the end can't be far away.

This has happened many times in the industry.

 

That's the conclusion you've come to ? I've spoken to many cruise executives over the years, and Charters are a *very* profitable business. If they weren't profitable, you wouldn't see all the major brands cancel sailings on a regular basis.

 

I realize that you like Oceania very much Kiawahdon - and that's all well and good. They are an excellent brand. However, to visit this forum and spew your venom towards Azamara is not cool.

 

FWIW, I happen to think that Azamara has a bright future ahead of them, thanks to some of the finest officers and crew at Sea. Over my many years on here, I'd say the vast majority of my predictions have been spot on. This is one prediction that I sincerely hope will be accurate.

[Jade13]

But then, I suppose AZ management has never been renowned for it's good business sense has it! :rolleyes:

 

.

 

No!

[Jade13]

I will bet the ranch that all the charters are a precursor to the sale of the ships.

If you have to depend on charters to survive, the end can't be far away.

This has happened many times in the industry.

 

I was never aware of this. I just thought charters were another business model.

[kiawahdon]

I was never aware of this. I just thought charters were another business model.

 

Some charters are just like test-driving a car before you buy. Who buys a car without getting behind the wheel before you buy?

[Andy]

Wow Andy. And just a couple of years ago a number of people accused you of being an insider and working for them.

 

Hi Jade,

 

To be clear, I've never worked for Azamara, nor any other cruise line. What you and our dear community members experienced, was a strong passion for Azamara (and Celebrity), and supporting the incredible work that Bill Leiber was performing as Azamara's CBO. I've always considered Bill a great friend, and he's dearly missed. When I lost my beloved Dad, Bill was a huge source of support throughout a very difficult time for me, and I will be forever grateful for his kindness. Bill was a true mensch in every sense of the word.

 

I'm thankful for a very successful career in an unrelated industry. Everyone has passions. Mine are... my family, my career, our cruise critic community, and all things cruising :)

 

No matter how disappointed I am with how things transpired, it's not about me. As long as our members are informed and happy with their cruise critic experience, and Azamara's onboard experience... that's all that matters. I will always hope for Azamara's continued success in the future.

Edited July 15, 2014 by Host Andy

[Andy]

But can we?

 

That's a fair point Deidre. I hope that Azamara will offer an explantion. I'd like to hear it too !

[kiawahdon]

That's the conclusion you've come to ? I've spoken to many cruise executives over the years, and Charters are a *very* profitable business. If they weren't profitable, you wouldn't see all the major brands cancel sailings on a regular basis.

 

I realize that you like Oceania very much Kiawahdon - and that's all well and good. They are an excellent brand. However, to visit this forum and spew your venom towards Azamara is not cool.

 

FWIW, I happen to think that Azamara has a bright future ahead of them, thanks to some of the finest officers and crew at Sea. Over my many years on here, I'd say the vast majority of my predictions have been spot on. This is one prediction that I sincerely hope will be accurate.

 

For what its worth Andy I spent a month on AZ last year- a great cruise.

I have studied the cruise industry for over 40 years and been on virtually every line except Carnival & NCL. I think I know the industry.

I will leave you with just one fact taken from RCCL's annual report:

RCCL and its brands have about 98,000 berths. Azamara has about 1,700.

How much influence do you think AZ has on RCCL management and its financial results? Where are the cap ex dollars going to go in the future?

 

My problem is that I don't have any pom-poms, just look at facts realistically.

[Andy]

For what its worth Andy I spent a month on AZ last year- a great cruise.

I have studied the cruise industry for over 40 years and been on virtually every line except Carnival & NCL. I think I know the industry.

I will leave you with just one fact taken from RCCL's annual report:

RCCL and its brands have about 98,000 berths. Azamara has about 1,700.

How much influence do you think AZ has on RCCL management and its financial results? Where are the cap ex dollars going to go in the future?

 

My problem is that I don't have any pom-poms, just look at facts realistically.

 

Hi Kiawahdon,

 

I'm glad you had a great time on Azamara, and I hope you look at things realistically, but I'm unsure how you made the correlation that charters translate to negative things ahead for Azamara. We'll just have to agree to disagree on this point.

 

I get your point on how Azamara is a very small portion of RCCL's balance sheet, but I do not believe that one can draw the conclusion that RCCL is not committed to the brand. While we'd all feel a lot better if the 2 ships were revitalized and/or new ships were ordered, I still believe it will happen at some point - hopefully, sooner than later :)

 

We'll have to wait and see what the future holds.

Edited July 15, 2014 by Host Andy

[CintiPam]

Another even longer charter for 2016 is sad news. We so enjoyed our two Azamara cruises but the times we like to cruise in Europe (spring and fall) almost all were taken up by charters for 2015 and now 2016 as well.

 

I want to sail on Azamara but this is not making it any easier to find a cruise to book.

Edited July 15, 2014 by CintiPam

[shedridt]

We've sailed Oceania, Crystal, Seabourn & Azamara & a couple other lines, & our problem is that Azamara ticks our boxes more than any other line (except Seabourn - but the itinerary means a lot to us). Although we LIKE Oceania, they don't have the special crew touch that Az & Seabourn have & are more expensive when you add in extras. We would be disappointed in any outcome that doesn't include Azamara for future cruises, despite their seemingly insurmountable communication problems.

 

Andy, is Bonnie's position on the Azamara Board analogous to Bill's 'with all the powers & privileges vested therein:)?' If she can obtain an answer to the several questions posed here it can do nothing but good - even if she only lets us know she's reading the postings & will try to find out....

[pickypicky]

We haven't cruised much at all, but have identified cruising as the most relaxing way to visit faraway places with strange sounding names...what a fantastic way to unpack once and sample the culture of a foreign land! Azamara has ticked this box for us by offering multiple overnights in lovely and exotic places. I, like Calicatt, will most likely never find a good substitute for the Aug. 26, 2016, Quest voyage. It truly ticked all our boxes with three overnights in very different ports. I'm just whining now and feeling sorry for myself:(. Will find something else, just not as perfect. I'd still like to hear from Bonnie on this...

[BBMacLaird]

Dear CC members,

 

From time to time we do sell full voyages to 3rd party business partners on a charter basis. Such transactions typically happen 2 - 3 years before the sail date, and because done so far in advance, the charters are not disruptive to guests.

A charter can happen closer in, but only if the voyage is lightly booked, and it makes sense financially. The guests that are booked on voyages that become a charter are contacted by travel agency or directly by Azamara depending on the method of booking and given very generous offers to either book another voyage, cancel, or keep an open booking for later confirmation. Azamara's charter business is very important to us, as is our open market business, to keep us financially healthy. We are in the business to make a profit so that we can provide our guests with an unforgettable holiday experience.

Any comments and speculations on this forum regarding the 2016 voyages we list as "sold out" are unfounded.

[kiawahdon]

Dear CC members,

 

We are in the business to make a profit so that we can provide our guests with an unforgettable holiday experience.

Any comments and speculations on this forum regarding the 2016 voyages we list as "sold out" are unfounded.

Don't stop with "unfounded". What is happening, are the cruises available or not? A lot of potential pax would like to know the true skinny.

[pickypicky]

"Any comments and speculations on this forum regarding the 2016 voyages we list as "sold out" are unfounded."

 

I'm confused by this...

Edited July 16, 2014 by pickypicky

[bob278]

Dear CC members,

......

Any comments and speculations on this forum regarding the 2016 voyages we list as "sold out" are unfounded.[/font]

Let's see, I think the comments included: Chartered for the entire period Aug 16 - Nov 28, revenue maintenance and inventory control. If all of those are unfounded, then why is there an extremely long block of time when Azamara apparently has only one ship to book?

 

I appreciate the time you took to "answer", but you really didn't clarify anything.

[uktog]

Dear CC members,

 

 

Any comments and speculations on this forum regarding the 2016 voyages we list as "sold out" are unfounded.[/font]

 

Sold out is how they are appearing on Azamaras materials

Chartered is what call centre operators have told callers posting here (so it's not speculations)

 

To help us all Bonnie you need to be clearer - are these published voyages still going to be available for booking at some point or not.

[2fromTO]

Any comments and speculations on this forum regarding the 2016 voyages we list as "sold out" are unfounded.

 

Comments and speculations are only likely to continue until Azamara clarifies why the sales of 13 weeks of voyages in 2016 have been suspended.

 

An important part of the cruise experience for me is the anticipation, planning and researching prior to the voyage. Speculation aside, why would I "invest" in a future cruise given the uncertainty created by suspending 9 voyages without explaination? Actions like this create doubt. What assurances do I have that any future cruise I book will not be pulled if a more lucrative charter comes along?

[bbqoug]

The 11/28/16 and 12/10/16 sailings of the Quest are now also showing as unavailable.

This disappoints me as I was looking at the 11/28 sailing as our first cruise with Azamara.

[Jade13]

What assurances do I have that any future cruise I book will not be pulled if a more lucrative charter comes along?

 

I do not think you will get assurances from any cruise line.

 

However, Charters are less likely to happen on larger ships such as Celebrity Solstice class.

 

We have seen (or have been booked on) Azamara cruises that were showing as no longer available, when the ships were redeployed with totally different itineraries, different start and end dates, and different embarkation and disembarkation ports. They were not chartered.

 

I would not consider the way guests were handled as "very generous" in all circumstances. When this happened a number of years ago they were giving the guests the opportunity to cancel or stay onboard with typically $500.00 OBC. That was generous. Later on we were on a cruise that was redeployed (twice) and changing was a total hassle taking Azamara one time a full month to send a new statement. The last time this happened to us there was no OBC offer. Sure we could cancel but our flights were already booked. Azamara did offer $250.00 per person in change fees, which required you to rebook with Azamara as the $250.00 was taken off of the new cruise which you were allowed to re-book at prevailing rates. This happened before final payment but within 12 months of the cruise (so there would not have been a penalty for US citizens), but nothing additional was given that those who booked late did not get.

 

There was also someone on this board who was on a cruise that was chartered and their change fee/cost was significantly more than $250.00. That happens when the airfare is more for the new flights. They had a lot of trouble working this out with Azamara. I think they eventually did, but not without a fight. I do not think the details were posted.

 

A number of years ago they had also offered a refund (again in the form of a credit towards the cruise fare) to anyone who had non-refundable pre or post cruise hotels booked. We had a disagreement on what that meant as we had vouchers we could not easily use as the hotel chain was not in any country we were going to in the next two years. We were not looking for money, just the credit off of our invoice (and would give the vouchers to Azamara as they could use them in Miami). So, don't agree Azamara handled compensation well and certainly were not "generous" as Bonnie indicates. Maybe their policies have changed.

Edited July 16, 2014 by Jade13

[dln929]

Any comments and speculations on this forum regarding the 2016 voyages we list as "sold out" are unfounded.

 

Comments and speculations are only likely to continue until Azamara clarifies why the sales of 13 weeks of voyages in 2016 have been suspended.

 

An important part of the cruise experience for me is the anticipation, planning and researching prior to the voyage. Speculation aside, why would I "invest" in a future cruise given the uncertainty created by suspending 9 voyages without explaination? Actions like this create doubt. What assurances do I have that any future cruise I book will not be pulled if a more lucrative charter comes along?

I have to agree with you on this one. It would put me off booking so far in advance, that's for sure. I'm looking at the 2016 sailings for reading pleasure only--I won't book Azamara a year or more out, not with listed sailings showing up as "we're sorry, this is no longer available" as soon as I click on cruise details. :(

[Andy]

The 11/28/16 and 12/10/16 sailings of the Quest are now also showing as unavailable.

This disappoints me as I was looking at the 11/28 sailing as our first cruise with Azamara.

 

It figures. If we were ever to sail with Azamara again, the Round trip Miami sailings are the only itineraries we would consider. This seems very odd to me, as it has nothing to do with the missing Summer sailings. Perhaps the Summer sailings are *potential* charters, and the November/December 2016 sailings are a drydock ? We'll have to wait and see how this all plays out.

 

Bonnie : I've read your post several times, and cannot draw any conclusions from it. You've stated the rumors are "unfounded". Fair enough, but the fact remains that numerous Quest sailings are of unknown status. If what's mentioned by our members is inaccurate, can you please ask Miami if you can shed more light on the subject ? Even a comment about potential charters (if that's the case) would be most welcome. Thanks very much !

[Jade13]

It figures. If we were ever to sail with Azamara again, the Round trip Miami sailings are the only itineraries we would consider. This seems very odd to me, as it has nothing to do with the missing Summer sailings. Perhaps the Summer sailings are *potential* charters, and the November/December 2016 sailings are a drydock ? We'll have to wait and see how this all plays out.

 

!

 

Maybe it has something to do with the fact they can command much higher per diem pricing most places outside of Florida as the market is soft out of Miami. Will people pay $5,000 to $6,000 USD PER PERSON for a 14 night cruise on Azamara out of Miami in the cheapest balcony cabin?

[shedridt]

No more than 10 days ago, Azamara accepted & confirmed my booking - & when I say 'accepted' I mean they accepted my DEPOSIT!!!!

 

Bonnie, your explanation is hardly music to the ears of loyal Azamara cruisers. I put money down on a future cruise when I last cruised with Azamara, & my dream itinerary came up, I booked it & put down a deposit on it, & the offer was as quickly revoked by Azamara. You are telling me that Azamara revoked their offer because they could make more profit by selling my cabin to a consolidator. I am far from sympathetic.

 

In my view, I have a binding contract with Azamara. You'd best believe they'd better either honor our contract or give me an excellent reason why they choose to break it.

[pickypicky]

No more than 10 days ago, Azamara accepted & confirmed my booking - & when I say 'accepted' I mean they accepted my DEPOSIT!!!!

 

Bonnie, your explanation is hardly music to the ears of loyal Azamara cruisers. I put money down on a future cruise when I last cruised with Azamara, & my dream itinerary came up, I booked it & put down a deposit on it, & the offer was as quickly revoked by Azamara. You are telling me that Azamara revoked their offer because they could make more profit by selling my cabin to a consolidator. I am far from sympathetic.

 

In my view, I have a binding contract with Azamara. You'd best believe they'd better either honor our contract or give me an excellent reason why they choose to break it.

 

I sympathize with your feelings...have you heard from Azamara about this at all? Still wondering if the chartered cruises will be open to outside bookings. Perhaps they will honor your booking?