Yet another cruise cancellation - May 2018

[hubofhockey]

Cancelling a May 2018 cruise, which is only 8 months away, is ridiculous IMHO.While their compensation might be ??fair, I think I would be hopping mad if they did this to us. It would be my last Azamara sailing for sure.

It makes we wonder what is the real cutoff if a group approaches Azamara and wants to book a sailing that will take over the whole ship?

Do they have any type of policy that they will not sell out the ship to a higher bidder given others have already booked a sailing?

We have enjoyed our Azamara sailings, but this news makes me leery of Azamara unless they come out with a stated policy when/how they will sell out a sailing and under what circumstances.

Is there adult supervision in corporate realizing when we book sailings we are making a committment of our own time, family, work schedules, travel, house and pet sitting and so many other issues.Not to mention we paid for the sailing expecting them to hold up their end of the deal. Compensations may not offset some of these issues.

 

I am having second thoughts about my Southeast Asia booking for October, 2019. I suppose that once the ship is in Asia that it will be awfully hard for them to screw around with that itinerary. I wouldn't trust them with a Med or Caribbean itinerary. I have experienced this once for my canceled cruise this summer. Their corporate people don't respect their customers and they will pay for it. They are very lucky they have a very devoted customer base. It serves them well, but that all relates to onboard experiences. It's too bad those wonderful people providing excellent customer service on their ships have these boneheads in their corporate offices to deal with.

[nordski]

First of all, in this thread and elsewhere some people seem to argue that the experience on board has nothing to do with the corporate, side and perhaps is actually accomplished despite the staff ashore. If true, that would be a surprise in terms of a great deal of management theory.

 

For example, the apparently very low turnover of the excellent staff on board suggests that some of those shore-side are doing a good job indeed.

 

Secondly, it seems eminently fair to criticize certain policies/procedures that fall below the standard we expect of Azamara. I believe the charter discussed in this thread deserves such criticism.

 

However, in my view that is different than stereotyping an entire group at headquarters for having personal failings either intellectually, ethically or in their dedication to their role. In some recent threads that approach seems to be occurring more frequently. This makes for a not very enjoyable experience on this forum since even seemingly rather benign topics can take this turn.

 

More importantly, whilst we launch these complaints in anonymity the object(s) of our attacks do not always share that cloak. That does not seem fair.

 

I can appreciate the frustration but I don’t think the response needs to be “ad hominem” attacks.

 

Personally I think the best suggestion in this thread is that Azamara should clarify its charter policy. To the best of my knowledge the newly announced charter does not follow previous practice.

 

My apologies for the Sunday sermon. Recently I have felt some guilt for increasingly pressing the “report” button and thus forcing Grandma Cruising to adjudicate.

 

Perhaps I am just not adjusting to a new reality.

 

 

 

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Edited October 9, 2017 by nordski

[MMDown Under]

I am having second thoughts about my Southeast Asia booking for October, 2019. I suppose that once the ship is in Asia that it will be awfully hard for them to screw around with that itinerary. I wouldn't trust them with a Med or Caribbean itinerary. I have experienced this once for my canceled cruise this summer. Their corporate people don't respect their customers and they will pay for it. They are very lucky they have a very devoted customer base. It serves them well, but that all relates to onboard experiences. It's too bad those wonderful people providing excellent customer service on their ships have these boneheads in their corporate offices to deal with.

 

My question would be why would you consider booking South East Asia cruise two years in advance? There are so many unknown factors which can affect a cruise. (I had to cancel a planned land holiday to Bangkok because our Government issued a "Do Not Travel Warning".)

[ellbon]

I book a head to gt the cabin/location i want. i have been known to cancel. cruise for 2019 are already being changed in Mia. .but i do not buy a plane ticket until about 10 months out .again to pick my seat.

[hubofhockey]

My question would be why would you consider booking South East Asia cruise two years in advance? There are so many unknown factors which can affect a cruise. (I had to cancel a planned land holiday to Bangkok because our Government issued a "Do Not Travel Warning".)

 

I wanted to get a certain cabin (just a balcony) and got a $1,700 OBC on a special. At this point, if they cancel (before I book flights), it's not a big deal as I will get my money back, but it's really for the early OBC, which is > 15% of the price.

 

Sorry to hear about your Bangkok cancellation.

[Bloodaxe]

A major UK travel agent are still advertising this cruise on their website this morning.

[Wacktle]

My question would be why would you consider booking South East Asia cruise two years in advance? There are so many unknown factors which can affect a cruise. (I had to cancel a planned land holiday to Bangkok because our Government issued a "Do Not Travel Warning".)

 

We have a (non-Azamara) booking for Oct 2019 because of the discount offered, complete with price guarantee, and cabin selection. For similar reasons we booked last October's Arabian cruise on Azamara about 2 years in advance. As all aspects of both cruises were booked as a package, protected under UK law, we had (and have) no concerns.

Edited October 9, 2017 by Wacktle
Extra text

[davidandjulia]

Further to our previous input to this thread, we are more than happy to report that our travel agent has managed to secure an alternative cruise at a price that we consider to be very fair and consequently we have accepted the offer.

 

This will mean that we will have to "jump ship" but so what. We are happy to sail on either:)

[ChucktownSteve]

Further to our previous input to this thread, we are more than happy to report that our travel agent has managed to secure an alternative cruise at a price that we consider to be very fair and consequently we have accepted the offer.

 

This will mean that we will have to "jump ship" but so what. We are happy to sail on either:)

 

Congrats. At least they were willing for you to find something that was acceptable even though it wasn't within the initial offering. Have a great sailing!

[rallydave]

Congrats. At least they were willing for you to find something that was acceptable even though it wasn't within the initial offering. Have a great sailing!

 

Believe use of the term "jump ship" indicates the OP is moving to another cruise line and A has lost another customer!

[LuAnn]

My question would be why would you consider booking South East Asia cruise two years in advance? There are so many unknown factors which can affect a cruise. (I had to cancel a planned land holiday to Bangkok because our Government issued a "Do Not Travel Warning".)

 

I have booked all the way to fall of "19...and I always book in advance 1) because I think I get the best price IMO...because 2) I book my biz class tics with miles (so I HAVE to book early) and 3) I DO love to plan and anticipate my cruises. BUT..having said that...I have been impacted TWICE by the changes due to AZ "changing their minds" poor sales in Alaska (that was the "word" on CC for the fall T/P) and/or a "charter" for the T/A in "18 (confirmed) and now changes due to the storms (no one's fault) but new shore excursions posted and changes made on the website in a NOT "timely manner"!!!

I try and be pro-active!.. I have been in touch with Nicole at LCV and she is trying to help!! KUDOS to her....the storms have had a huge impact on cruise ships/lines and ports of call. I will give AZ (Nicole) 5 stars for her assistance.

But the "pull the wool over your eyes"....NO...that's not fair! Not sure what is the next step??? What do you all think? LuAnn

[combine]

Further to our previous input to this thread, we are more than happy to report that our travel agent has managed to secure an alternative cruise at a price that we consider to be very fair and consequently we have accepted the offer.

 

This will mean that we will have to "jump ship" but so what. We are happy to sail on either:)

 

 

Hi

Have you jumped to Journey 29 May? That's our first choice at the moment.

[rallydave]

I have booked all the way to fall of "19...and I always book in advance 1) because I think I get the best price IMO...because 2) I book my biz class tics with miles (so I HAVE to book early) and 3) I DO love to plan and anticipate my cruises. BUT..having said that...I have been impacted TWICE by the changes due to AZ "changing their minds" poor sales in Alaska (that was the "word" on CC for the fall T/P) and/or a "charter" for the T/A in "18 (confirmed) and now changes due to the storms (no one's fault) but new shore excursions posted and changes made on the website in a NOT "timely manner"!!!

I try and be pro-active!.. I have been in touch with Nicole at LCV and she is trying to help!! KUDOS to her....the storms have had a huge impact on cruise ships/lines and ports of call. I will give AZ (Nicole) 5 stars for her assistance.

But the "pull the wool over your eyes"....NO...that's not fair! Not sure what is the next step??? What do you all think? LuAnn

 

Since you asked LuAnn, believe the next step notwithstanding the great on board experience is for everyone to stop booking Azamara cruises and talk with our wallets. It is appears that azamara believes they can continue taking advantage of their customers and do whatever they choose to mess up our vacations. Many of us have expressed our unhappiness with the home office lack of caring and continuing looking only at short term profits as well as completely unprofessional and often lacking communications.along with continuing without apologising over these issues.

 

At this point it appears the only thing that will set them straight is to talk with our wallets and put a dent into their profits. Hopefully either the current management will understand and amend their ways or new management will be brought in to straighten out this lack of concern over their long term profitability and bring back the previous faithful. The current management simply cannot be trusted to take care of their current paying customers.

[ChucktownSteve]

Believe use of the term "jump ship" indicates the OP is moving to another cruise line and A has lost another customer!

Dave,

 

Based upon the comment, We are happy to sail on either, I suspect he was referring to moving over from Quest to the other AZ ship, Journey.

[hubofhockey]

I have booked all the way to fall of "19...and I always book in advance 1) because I think I get the best price IMO...because 2) I book my biz class tics with miles (so I HAVE to book early) and 3) I DO love to plan and anticipate my cruises. BUT..having said that...I have been impacted TWICE by the changes due to AZ "changing their minds" poor sales in Alaska (that was the "word" on CC for the fall T/P) and/or a "charter" for the T/A in "18 (confirmed) and now changes due to the storms (no one's fault) but new shore excursions posted and changes made on the website in a NOT "timely manner"!!!

I try and be pro-active!.. I have been in touch with Nicole at LCV and she is trying to help!! KUDOS to her....the storms have had a huge impact on cruise ships/lines and ports of call. I will give AZ (Nicole) 5 stars for her assistance.

But the "pull the wool over your eyes"....NO...that's not fair! Not sure what is the next step??? What do you all think? LuAnn

 

By the way, it's not my fault if Azamara cancels my cruise that I booked two years in advance. I believe it's still on them. If I cancel at any time, they still put $100 in their bank account. I am willing to take on that risk for $1700 OBC and choosing the cabin I want. However, I would still fault them if they cancel within a year.

 

You have now been burned twice by Azamara. You have more attachment to them than I would. If they cancel on me again, I just won't be able to take a booking with them seriously. If you think this is going to better when they add a ship, think again. I would think cancellations will happen more frequently with a 50% growth in inventory.

 

Good luck with replacing your 18 cruise lost due to a charter. My first reaction was to look for a similar replacement during a similar time period, irrespective of cruise line.

[davidandjulia]

Sorry about the confusion....yes, we did mean jumping from the Quest to the Journey, and yes "combine", it was for the 29th May voyage which to us was a very acceptable alternative given the reasonable terms from Azamara :D

[rabin1]

As I said earlier I have not even been on my first sailing with Azamara but they scare the heck out of me. I too plan a long time in advance. Fortunately I am on part of the world cruise and my cruise is now over $9000 more than what I paid. So I highly doubt it will be cancelled but I can see it is not selling well. I just as of now don;t plan on booking them for future cruises unless I see them stabilizing on cancelling.

 

Every time one of these cancellations happen I email my TA. he is a franchise of a world wide company. He always says to me I will check to see if I have anyone on the cruise but I do not book Azamara unless a customer asks for them..........................That to me speaks volumes.

 

Kathy

[Grandma Cruising]

The current management simply cannot be trusted to take care of their current paying customers.

 

 

Acknowledging that there are some back office issues with Azamara, it has to be said that ‘the current management’ is the management that ensures that we all have such a wonderful time aboard, that recruits all the fabulous senior staff and crew who look after us so well and that manages the crew so well that Azamara has one of the highest retention rates in the industry. They clearly are doing something right.

 

 

 

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[Bloodaxe]

Acknowledging that there are some back office issues with Azamara, it has to be said that ‘the current management’ is the management that ensures that we all have such a wonderful time aboard, that recruits all the fabulous senior staff and crew whoM

look after us so well and that manages the crew so well that Azamara has one of the highest retention rates in the industry. They clearly are doing something right.

 

 

 

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In actual fact many of the senior on board staff worked for Azamara before the current top management

[rallydave]

Acknowledging that there are some back office issues with Azamara, it has to be said that ‘the current management’ is the management that ensures that we all have such a wonderful time aboard, that recruits all the fabulous senior staff and crew who look after us so well and that manages the crew so well that Azamara has one of the highest retention rates in the industry. They clearly are doing something right.

 

 

 

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The management I am talking about are in Miami. Have acknowledged the great onboard experience but it s overcome by the horrid home office

 

 

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[Grandma Cruising]

The management I am talking about are in Miami. Have acknowledged the great onboard experience but it s overcome by the horrid home office

 

 

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But the Miami management manage the whole kit and caboodle, including making sure passengers get a good experience on board!

 

 

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[hiccups]

Sorry about the confusion....yes, we did mean jumping from the Quest to the Journey, and yes "combine", it was for the 29th May voyage which to us was a very acceptable alternative given the reasonable terms from Azamara :D

 

The May 29th cruise on Journey is a PerryGolf cruise, so at least that one won't be cancelled for a charter.

[rallydave]

But the Miami management manage the whole kit and caboodle, including making sure passengers get a good experience on board!

 

 

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Well them we'll give them kudos for managing the on board experience and zeros for the horrible job they are doing for passengers before and after the cruises. Remember the old phrase one awe %^^^&& cancels all the attaboys!!!

[beachseeker]

Well them we'll give them kudos for managing the on board experience and zeros for the horrible job they are doing for passengers before and after the cruises. Remember the old phrase one awe %^^^&& cancels all the attaboys!!!

Currently on Quest. Won't go as far as saying Miami totally cancels the wonderful onboard experience but it puts a huge ding in it. We have spent the first half of the cruise dealing with a $500 OBC loss and putting us in the wrong room which meant changing rooms on turnaround day of our b2b. We booked two years ago and selected 8046 for both legs. When we printed our checkin passes, noticed we were in 8054. No clue when it was switched but we were still in 8046 for the second leg. Once onboard Guest Relations found our OBC and managed to get us in 8050 for the second leg. But who wants to spend your free time talking to Guest Relations for 4 days to get things right?

[florisdekort]

I know I’ll run into a wall arguing this on the Azamara forum, but having recently cruised other lines after 29 consecutive Azamara cruises - guess what - some other lines have engaging Captains, warm crew and excellent service too. Even the “Welcome home!” upon boarding wasn’t invented by Azamara.

 

 

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