March 2018 Quest cruises - where have they gone?

[Lottie A]

I'm sure Azamara are about to purchase another ship. Why else would they pull out of the Med and sail to Alaska? We can only cruise in July ( DH works in a school) and my choice is now severely limited, if not, completely wiped out due to very few Med cruises. Doesn't add up to me.

 

Well I'm not sure that Azamara are about to buy a new ship but I certainly wish they would! :)

 

I agree with lizboyle that our Med cruise choices are severely limited now. I have no wish to go to either Cuba or Alaska and I'm sorry to say I really don't get the excitement over these destinations. Give me the culture and sights of The Mediterranean any day....and yes I have been to Alaska and found the scenery attractive...but the beautiful Norwegian Fjords are much better...IMHO anyway.

 

Alaska is a saturated market already and one would have to be crazy to pay the prices Azamara are quoting when you could do it for less with Silversea. It may be me...but the generally American excitement about visiting a run down Caribbean island like Cuba is puzzling! It probably is just me....but I know I am going to miss my Azamara Med Cruises in 2018/19. Probably Viking will be my alternative, but a third Azamara ship based in The Med would be great.

 

Sadly though, I don't think it's going to happen soon.

[marinaro44]

 

I agree with lizboyle that our Med cruise choices are severely limited now.

I count 31 Med cruises in 2018 and four Cuba cruises.

[diana11]

I have now talked to my travel agents re my options for my 31st March 2018 cruise. I can change to the new itinerary which is of course only visiting Cuba. I have already booked Cuba so not fussed on visiting again.I had booked a package from the UK which included an overnight in a hotel pre cruise. I have been informed that this revised package no longer includes a hotel stay and will be sailing the day of travel. That does not seem fair. I realise that the revised cruise is now 10 days instead of my package which was 8 days but the itinerary now includes 2 extra sea days.

 

I can exchange my booking for a different sailing. I would have to pay the difference in the prices as todays rates (which appear higher than when I booked months ago). I would receive $500 OBC as compensation but I have been told that I would lose my $800 OBC that I received for booking early! So I would actually be worse off.

 

Finally I can cancel and receive my £500 deposit back which Azamara have had for several months.

 

None of these options are great and I feel disappointed with how the whole episode has been handled

[diana11]

My TA just contacted me and it seems that Azamara is trying to make things right. They are offering the same price of my Caribbean sailing for a Cuba.

 

 

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Us Brits are not getting the same deal. They have withdrawn our pre cruise overnight stay that was in Puerto Rico and was included in the price that I paid. It is not being offered for the Miami sailings

[Lottie A]

I count 31 Med cruises in 2018 and four Cuba cruises.

 

I am so glad you can count Marinaro but it's not just the Cuba cruises is it? It's the Alaska cruises as well. It seems many Americans are excited about those itineraries and probably many Europeans as well but excuse the pun...they just don't float my boat. :D

 

 

My point was that there are NO Med cruises in June, July or August of 2019 which is a peak time for Med cruising. That's three months with no Med cruises on either Quest or Journey. I can count too! :D

I have been looking at my options for 2019 and I don't have any on Azamara which I like and this disappoints me.

 

 

In 2018 summer Med options are again severely limited for me. I have been to most of the ports on offer many times and while this is not necessarily a deal breaker for me, nothing is really exciting me itinerary wise for summer 2018. I'm sure I will do an AZ cruise but it may well be only one to Asia and I really wanted to do at least two more to The Med. Looks like Viking may be my option for that.

 

It's also really noticeable that prices for standard Med cruises in the U.K. are rising a lot. Just looked at one in May 2018 and it's £3692 pp for 8 nights in a balcony cabin with a very standard Med itinerary. That's about a thousand pounds more pp than a similar cruise in 2017. Remember that is pounds, not dollars and in the U.K. we don't get any sweeteners or OBC from our TA's either.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Well I'm not sure that Azamara are about to buy a new ship but I certainly wish they would! :)

 

I agree with lizboyle that our Med cruise choices are severely limited now. I have no wish to go to either Cuba or Alaska and I'm sorry to say I really don't get the excitement over these destinations. Give me the culture and sights of The Mediterranean any day....and yes I have been to Alaska and found the scenery attractive...but the beautiful Norwegian Fjords are much better...IMHO anyway.

 

Alaska is a saturated market already and one would have to be crazy to pay the prices Azamara are quoting when you could do it for less with Silversea. It may be me...but the generally American excitement about visiting a run down Caribbean island like Cuba is puzzling! It probably is just me....but I know I am going to miss my Azamara Med Cruises in 2018/19. Probably Viking will be my alternative, but a third Azamara ship based in The Med would be great.

 

Sadly though, I don't think it's going to happen soon.

 

I can explain why American are excited about going to Cuba. It's sooo close to us and yet it has been off limits for a long time. People in other countries can go there as they please, so it isn't a big deal for them. The only way Americans can go is if they have family to visit or they're on an organized tour that is designed to fit specific categories, such as "'people to people cultural exchange." All sorts of hoops to jump through before those tours (or cruises) can be set up.

 

I've wanted to go to Cuba for ages, and would prefer to do it on a cruise. Several companies have tried but couldn't get all the permissions. Some were selling the cruises BEFORE they had all their permissions lined up. And then they had to cancel, in some cases one week before the sailing. I'm sorry some people had their plans changed, but be grateful that it's 10 months out, not 10 days. Sounds to me like Azamara waited until they had all their permissions before selling the cruise. Give them credit for being a decent company.

 

I had given up on finding a cruise to Cuba. (Wouldn't touch Pearl and got some bad feedback about Fathom) And then my TA found out about Azamara to Cuba. Couldn't book it fast enough!

[ellbon]

I have to agree as an American i wanted to go since i was in my early teens. my parents went and I could not go. Now I have been twice. it is not run down and has ballet, shows, Hemmingway and more. The hotels are lovely.

 

As far as Alaska goes I agree Norway even better. i have been twice and plan on going with AZ. why? so i can do the cruise to Japan from there. also late nights and knowing I am on my favorite line,

[BBMacLaird]

I can explain why American are excited about going to Cuba. It's sooo close to us and yet it has been off limits for a long time. People in other countries can go there as they please, so it isn't a big deal for them. The only way Americans can go is if they have family to visit or they're on an organized tour that is designed to fit specific categories, such as "'people to people cultural exchange." All sorts of hoops to jump through before those tours (or cruises) can be set up.

 

I've wanted to go to Cuba for ages, and would prefer to do it on a cruise. Several companies have tried but couldn't get all the permissions. Some were selling the cruises BEFORE they had all their permissions lined up. And then they had to cancel, in some cases one week before the sailing. I'm sorry some people had their plans changed, but be grateful that it's 10 months out, not 10 days. Sounds to me like Azamara waited until they had all their permissions before selling the cruise. Give them credit for being a decent company.

 

I had given up on finding a cruise to Cuba. (Wouldn't touch Pearl and got some bad feedback about Fathom) And then my TA found out about Azamara to Cuba. Couldn't book it fast enough!

 

Thank you 3rdgencunarder, we look forward to welcoming you aboard!

[cheznick]

Hi folks, my last post on this subject. The prices are HUGELY inflated from the original itinerary, as brits we have been able to go to Cuba for a long time, so the new itinerary at the newly inflated prices holds no interest for us whatsoever, as I'm sure most bris would agree we are not interested as Lottie says in some rundown carribbean island, we were going to book the original end of march itinerary but certainly not going to now at approx. £1000 per person more for a couple of nights in Cuba which we are not interested in . thanks all for the interesting thread. !!!

[diana11]

Are Azamara really interested in looking after us Brits? As I have already stated, my original package included flights and a hotel stay the night before. The option now offered to me is the revised cruise and flights without the hotel stay. Will we get to Miami and through customs from the UK for a 5pm sailing?

 

If I have booked a travel package, then I do not think they can subsequently drop one element of it.

[upwarduk]

If I have booked a travel package, then I do not think they can subsequently drop one element of it.

 

UK packages are ABTA affiliated. You should have a certificate with your original booking which protects you for cancellations, which is why we pay more for our packages. I think you need to contact your travel agent and quote the T&C.

 

 

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[nokewood20]

Seems like the honeymoon period when everyone , including ourselves , loved Amazara. I can sense a general disillusionment

setting in. We share this feeling , caused by ship unavailability, unplanned changes in itinerary and poor response and communications. Although we have 3 booked Amazara cruises to look forward to but we for the first time in about 6 years we also booked on a cruise with another company. It seems a pity that all the good will earned mainly by the ships captains , officers, entertainment and hospitality departments should be thrown away.

[lizboyle]

I am so glad you can count Marinaro but it's not just the Cuba cruises is it? It's the Alaska cruises as well. It seems many Americans are excited about those itineraries and probably many Europeans as well but excuse the pun...they just don't float my boat. :D

 

 

My point was that there are NO Med cruises in June, July or August of 2019 which is a peak time for Med cruising. That's three months with no Med cruises on either Quest or Journey. I can count too! :D

I have been looking at my options for 2019 and I don't have any on Azamara which I like and this disappoints me.

 

 

In 2018 summer Med options are again severely limited for me. I have been to most of the ports on offer many times and while this is not necessarily a deal breaker for me, nothing is really exciting me itinerary wise for summer 2018. I'm sure I will do an AZ cruise but it may well be only one to Asia and I really wanted to do at least two more to The Med. Looks like Viking may be my option for that.

 

It's also really noticeable that prices for standard Med cruises in the U.K. are rising a lot. Just looked at one in May 2018 and it's £3692 pp for 8 nights in a balcony cabin with a very standard Med itinerary. That's about a thousand pounds more pp than a similar cruise in 2017. Remember that is pounds, not dollars and in the U.K. we don't get any sweeteners or OBC from our TA's either.

I'm totally with you Lottie. My husband teaches so we are limited to school holidays, July and August. There's just nothing that appeals to us either. We don't do long haul flights anymore and the Med is our preferred destination. We have cruised 35+ times and never tire of the Med. We specifically cruise with Azamara because they go into the smaller ports, which we love. I just don't get that Az are moving one ship out of the Med without replacing it.

[QueenP]

As a teacher who has only cruised on Azamara, and whose destination of choice is also the Med, what other cruise lines would be comparable? We love the informality of Az, the dine when we like, no formal nights, very few kids, small ship and interesting ports. Luckily for us in NZ we have several shorter holiday breaks per year. We tend to cruise in the Sept/Oct break. If we were looking at other similar options what would people suggest?

 

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[Grandma Cruising]

I think it's great that Azamara are trying some new destinations. In the past people have complained about the lack of variety in Azamara's destinations - it seems they have listened.

 

 

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[Lottie A]

As a teacher who has only cruised on Azamara, and whose destination of choice is also the Med, what other cruise lines would be comparable? We love the informality of Az, the dine when we like, no formal nights, very few kids, small ship and interesting ports. Luckily for us in NZ we have several shorter holiday breaks per year. We tend to cruise in the Sept/Oct break. If we were looking at other similar options what would people suggest?

 

I would suggest Viking. We had a great cruise on Viking Sea in January. Beautiful ships, just a bit larger than Azamara, great food, very friendly crew. Others may suggest Oceania. My first choice would always be Azamara but if they don't have the availability in the Med then I will be looking at other cruise lines too.

[nordski]

I have no statistics to prove this, just a sense that cruise lines which have a focus on North American market are deploying fewer ships in the Med, particularly for the eastern itineraries. Already the Black Sea has been removed as an option and Istanbul and Turkey are increasingly seen as problematic.

 

If I am correct, I imagine that these decisions are being influenced by foreign policies that seem increasingly fluid, if not just unpredictable.

 

Personally. I hope that Azamara looks closely at a series of itineraries that involve Newfoundland/Labrador and the St. Lawrence region, we could avoid those long haul flights, but the travel experience of visiting the outports would not satisfy those who love the ambiance of the Med.

[upwarduk]

I have no statistics to prove this, just a sense that cruise lines which have a focus on North American market are deploying fewer ships in the Med, particularly for the eastern itineraries. Already the Black Sea has been removed as an option and Istanbul and Turkey are increasingly seen as problematic.

 

If I am correct, I imagine that these decisions are being influenced by foreign policies that seem increasingly fluid, if not just unpredictable.

 

Personally. I hope that Azamara looks closely at a series of itineraries that involve Newfoundland/Labrador and the St. Lawrence region, we could avoid those long haul flights, but the travel experience of visiting the outports would not satisfy those who love the ambiance of the Med.

 

 

I am sure you are correct Nordski, remember Equinox was taken out of the Med last Fall to stay year round in the Caribbean.

 

We were on the Quest TA last September, Southampton to Montreal. It was a unique itinerary and also made maiden calls in St John's, Saguenay, Quebec and Montreal, We were greeted like long lost friends in all ports and I felt that I was 'coming home' as my sister lives in western Canada.

 

 

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[diana11]

We have decided not to cancel this cruise. Its not ideal for us as we are already visiting Cuba in January but we did not want to lose our holiday. We won't book so early next time and then hopefully the itinerary won't change. Prices have now shot up!

[marinaro44]

I think it's great that Azamara are trying some new destinations. In the past people have complained about the lack of variety in Azamara's destinations - it seems they have listened.

Couldn't agree more. It isn't clear to me why Azamara should be expected to have a ship at someone's favorite part of the world at the only time of the year when they want to cruise there. There are other parts of the world where others would like to travel to.

 

Azamara has done hundreds of cruises in the Med during the past eight or ten summers while doing none in Alaska and, until two months ago, none in Cuba. Moving one ship elsewhere is long overdue to satisfy those who feel the Med is too hot and too crowded to tour comfortably in the summer.

[diana11]

I am sure you are correct Nordski, remember Equinox was taken out of the Med last Fall to stay year round in the Caribbean.

 

We were on the Quest TA last September, Southampton to Montreal. It was a unique itinerary and also made maiden calls in St John's, Saguenay, Quebec and Montreal, We were greeted like long lost friends in all ports and I felt that I was 'coming home' as my sister lives in western Canada.

 

 

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We were on that cruise too. Really enjoyed it and loved visiting the unusual ports although the Atlantic crossing in the storm was not so great!

Love your photos.

[wyojeff]

We have decided not to cancel this cruise. Its not ideal for us as we are already visiting Cuba in January but we did not want to lose our holiday. We won't book so early next time and then hopefully the itinerary won't change. Prices have now shot up!

We too have figured out a way to keep this cruise. Although not ideal timing wise with the added days, this looks like a great itinery and we'll take advantage of that opportunity.

[aspen36]

I found this thread interesting because a bunch of my friends and I are booked on the November 24th 10 day Caribbean cruise. It had St Barts, St Kitts, Tortola, Labadee and the Dominica Republic for the itinerary.

We were told by our TA yesterday that Azamara was changing this cruise to a Cuban cruise and gave us the new itinerary. Azamara still has not changed their website to reflect the new itinerary.

Most, if not all of us are not interested in this new itinerary. Our TA is trying to negotiate some kind of deal with Azamara but she is leaving for vacation and it will be two weeks before we know what they have come up with.

 

I could deal with replacing one port with Cuba but changing every port but Labadee is crazy.

[BBMacLaird]

I found this thread interesting because a bunch of my friends and I are booked on the November 24th 10 day Caribbean cruise. It had St Barts, St Kitts, Tortola, Labadee and the Dominica Republic for the itinerary.

We were told by our TA yesterday that Azamara was changing this cruise to a Cuban cruise and gave us the new itinerary. Azamara still has not changed their website to reflect the new itinerary.

Most, if not all of us are not interested in this new itinerary. Our TA is trying to negotiate some kind of deal with Azamara but she is leaving for vacation and it will be two weeks before we know what they have come up with.

 

I could deal with replacing one port with Cuba but changing every port but Labadee is crazy.

 

Hi aspen36, your TA doesn't have to try to negotiate a deal with us, we will gladly book you on another departure date, or give you your money back if you are unhappy with the new itinerary. But given your agent is going away for two weeks, why don't you ask him/her to assign your booking to another agent in his/her absence? Many times our re-book offers have a deadline on them, so I wouldn't wait two weeks if you've already received the letter (which ought to spell out the rebooking offer, as well as any deadline.)

[uktog]

I found this thread interesting because a bunch of my friends and I are booked on the November 24th 10 day Caribbean cruise. It had St Barts, St Kitts, Tortola, Labadee and the Dominica Republic for the itinerary.

We were told by our TA yesterday that Azamara was changing this cruise to a Cuban cruise and gave us the new itinerary. Azamara still has not changed their website to reflect the new itinerary.

Most, if not all of us are not interested in this new itinerary. Our TA is trying to negotiate some kind of deal with Azamara but she is leaving for vacation and it will be two weeks before we know what they have come up with.

 

I could deal with replacing one port with Cuba but changing every port but Labadee is crazy.

 

 

I too am on this cruise. It is part of a b2b linked to a land trip and is booked direct with the cruiseline. No one has advised us of this change to an itinerary we do not want. The cruise was booked specially for part of its previous itinerary and whilst I might have been ok with one stop an intensive does not appeal. I will be interested to see when we are officially told and what our options will be as it impacts the previous cruise as well