What's going on with the Journey?

[excitedofharpenden]

If you are lucky enough to be able to book b2b2bs then your chances greatly increase of being disrupted. 

 

Phil 

[Whitby100]

This is a highly informative thread.  I had no idea this could happen:  Note to self -,don’t book non Azamara add ons too early!  

[Riocca]

21 minutes ago, Whitby100 said:

This is a highly informative thread.  I had no idea this could happen:  Note to self -,don’t book non Azamara add ons too early!  

Trouble is you can lose out big time, we are on Quest next October and booked our flights as soon as we could 5 days later the same flights had increased by £700. We chose Finnair over Cathay Pacific based on flight times as the cost was similar, the Cathay Pacific price increased by £2000 in the same time period. Same with our hotel in Hong Kong the price has risen by 50% over two weeks!

Here in the U.K. we do have some protection in law in these situations which makes taking a chance easier.

 

[marinaro44]

I'm hearing no changes yet to 10/10 and 10/19 2019 Journey cruises.  Keep fingers crossed.

[Suffolkgirl]

My moans pale into insignificance compared to others. We've decided to relax and wait to see what happens.

[laurieb]

October 10th and 27th are online now; November cruises are the 5th (transatlantic), 21st and 25th (Cuba), and December dates are the 6th (Cuba) and 19th (transcanal). October 19th is showing as not available.  The transatlantic includes an overnight in Havana.  The transcanal also includes Havana.  Cuba must be a good destination for them.

[uktog]

So they have pulled the Caribbean on 26th 😞 We are so wanting a small island Caribbean oh well back to the drawing board - what is the 26th itinerary

[MMDown Under]

3 hours ago, Riocca said:

Trouble is you can lose out big time, we are on Quest next October and booked our flights as soon as we could 5 days later the same flights had increased by £700. We chose Finnair over Cathay Pacific based on flight times as the cost was similar, the Cathay Pacific price increased by £2000 in the same time period. Same with our hotel in Hong Kong the price has risen by 50% over two weeks!

Here in the U.K. we do have some protection in law in these situations which makes taking a chance easier.

 

Unfortunately, we don't have similar protection in law in Australia.  I used to book non refundable long haul flights and hotels in advance, with gay abandon, until I learnt that cruise lines could change advertised itineraries or cancel cruises.  Now, I no longer book ahead and have plans A and B, so I'm not disappointed.  

 

The disadvantage is air fares  and hotels, booked late, are often more expensive.

[Whitby100]

We've been fortunate that we watched and waited for a cruise that we couldn't quite afford and then our travel agent had a promotion that included air fare - suddenly well within price range.  She says they do this about three times a year and so my husband and I,after discussing this thread, are going to start really monitoring these promos. I can't imagine being stuck with airfare to a place I'm no longer going to. 

[laurieb]

3 hours ago, uktog said:

So they have pulled the Caribbean on 26th 😞 We are so wanting a small island Caribbean oh well back to the drawing board - what is the 26th itinerary

Mon 25Nov2019	Miami, Florida	-	5:00 PM	Boarding
Tue 26Nov2019	Cruising	-	-	-
Wed 27Nov2019	Santiago De Cuba, Cuba	9:00 AM	-	Docked
Thu 28Nov2019	Santiago De Cuba, Cuba	-	6:00 AM	Docked
Fri 29Nov2019	Cienfuegos, Cuba	8:00 AM	10:00 PM	Docked
Sat 30Nov2019	Cruising	-	-	-
Sun 01Dec2019	Havana, Cuba	8:00 AM	-	Docked
Mon 02Dec2019	Havana, Cuba	-	-	Docked
Tue 03Dec2019	Havana, Cuba	-	2:00 AM	Docked
Wed 04Dec2019	Cozumel, Mexico	8:00 AM	5:00 PM	Tendered
Thu 05Dec2019	Cruising	-	-	-
Fri 06Dec2019	Miami, Florida	7:00 AM	-	Departure

 

[uktog]

40 minutes ago, laurieb said:

Mon 25Nov2019	Miami, Florida	-	5:00 PM	Boarding
Tue 26Nov2019	Cruising	-	-	-
Wed 27Nov2019	Santiago De Cuba, Cuba	9:00 AM	-	Docked
Thu 28Nov2019	Santiago De Cuba, Cuba	-	6:00 AM	Docked
Fri 29Nov2019	Cienfuegos, Cuba	8:00 AM	10:00 PM	Docked
Sat 30Nov2019	Cruising	-	-	-
Sun 01Dec2019	Havana, Cuba	8:00 AM	-	Docked
Mon 02Dec2019	Havana, Cuba	-	-	Docked
Tue 03Dec2019	Havana, Cuba	-	2:00 AM	Docked
Wed 04Dec2019	Cozumel, Mexico	8:00 AM	5:00 PM	Tendered
Thu 05Dec2019	Cruising	-	-	-
Fri 06Dec2019	Miami, Florida	7:00 AM	-	Departure

 

Thanks a lot interesting

[DougK]

We were also booked on the 11/26/19 cruise, and have no idea what we're going to do now. Waiting for Azamara to give us information about how they intend to handle our current booking, and then we have to decide whether we're interested in Cuba instead of island hopping...

[marinaro44]

The 10/19/19 cruise is still not listed.  Last my TA heard is that it's sold out.  Strange that an almost sold out cruise was supposedly being considered for a charter a few days ago.  The 10/27 cruise has a very different itinerary, different duration, and different debark port.  The 12/10 Caribbean Breezes cruise is now a Cuba intensive cruise embarking 12/6 with four additional nights.  The 12/19 trans-Canal cruise has a very different itinerary than originally stated.  A November Rome to Barcelona cruise has somehow disappeared.  Changes have been made to other November 2019 cruises that I won't bother to describe here.

 

Have any booked passengers been told of these changes by Azamara?  People will be making flight arrangements any day and some may have already made hotel reservations.

Edited November 3, 2018 by marinaro44

[audobon_tx]

14 minutes ago, marinaro44 said:

The 10/19/19 cruise is still not listed.  Last my TA heard is that it's sold out.  Strange that an almost sold out cruise was supposedly being considered for a charter a few days ago.  The 10/27 cruise has a very different itinerary, different duration, and different debark port.  The 12/10 Caribbean Breezes cruise is now a Cuba intensive cruise embarking 12/6 with four additional nights.  The 12/19 trans-Canal cruise has a very different itinerary than originally stated.  A November Rome to Barcelona cruise has somehow disappeared.  Changes have been made to other November 2019 cruises that I won't bother to describe here.

 

Have any booked passengers been told of these changes by Azamara?  People will be making flight arrangements any day and some may have already made hotel reservations.

My TA website shows 8 night eastern med cruise on 10/19/19.  Inside and OV only.

[marinaro44]

1 hour ago, flyingshoes said:

My TA website shows 8 night eastern med cruise on 10/19/19.  Inside and OV only.

Thanks.  Helpful.  Still not showing on Azamara's web site nor on the TA's site that many look at to see available staterooms.

[Tom47]

I have started roll calls for 10-10 and 10-19 Journey cruises.  

[DougK]

On 11/3/2018 at 7:00 AM, marinaro44 said:

Have any booked passengers been told of these changes by Azamara?  People will be making flight arrangements any day and some may have already made hotel reservations.

 

I have not heard anything from Azamara about my booking for 11/26/19. "My Account" on their website still shows the booking as a 14-day Carribean Intensive Voyage. That's obviously incorrect, since the only itinerary around that time is now an 11-day Cuba trip on 11/25. I don't know whether Azamara is even planning on transferring the booking to that trip--as of now, the stateroom we had booked is showing as "available" on the 11/25 voyage, so presumably somebody else could book it at any time. (Which would be a drag if we decide we do want to switch to Cuba; we want that particular cabin.)

 

I've asked my TA to find out what is going on with the booking, and am hoping I'll get more information in the next couple of days. Right now, I'm really not very happy with Azamara--I don't like the change in itinerary, and I really don't like the lack of communication.

[Suffolkgirl]

I asked my TA to speak to Azamara about our booked cruise 27 October 19 which now has a totally different itinerary.  Azamara say they hope to get offers out to booked passengers tomorrow (Monday). We shall see - forgive me for being sceptical. I too am unhappy with their communication. 

[JIMinNC]

On 11/3/2018 at 10:00 AM, marinaro44 said:

The 10/19/19 cruise is still not listed.  Last my TA heard is that it's sold out.  Strange that an almost sold out cruise was supposedly being considered for a charter a few days ago. 

 

I don't think there was ever a confirmation that a charter was the reason for the changes, was there? Wasn't it just a rumor?

 

In any event, when we were looking at October 2019 cruises after returning from our recent September cruise, I believe that was the Greece-focused itinerary that we considered, but there were only inside and OV cabins available, so we booked an October 2020 sailing instead. If my recollection is correct, and with that limited availability back then, it very well could be sold out now, I guess.

[marinaro44]

On 11/4/2018 at 1:14 PM, Suffolkgirl said:

I asked my TA to speak to Azamara about our booked cruise 27 October 19 which now has a totally different itinerary.  Azamara say they hope to get offers out to booked passengers tomorrow (Monday). We shall see - forgive me for being sceptical. I too am unhappy with their communication. 

No "offers" to me as of dinner time Monday.

[Suffolkgirl]

Hi. Nor me. Exasperating. I’ll ring my (UK) TA again tomorrow and keep you posted. 

[marinaro44]

5 hours ago, JIMinNC said:

 

I don't think there was ever a confirmation that a charter was the reason for the changes, was there? Wasn't it just a rumor?

 

There was never confirmation of a charter, but it was one of several different stories given to my TA by the folks at Azamara as he ttied to find out what was going on..

Edited November 6, 2018 by marinaro44

[Tom47]

If 10-19  cruise is sold out, I would expect more people posting on the roll call.  So far, I am the only one.  My TA has not contacted me, but I sure would like to know

[JIMinNC]

1 hour ago, Tom47 said:

If 10-19  cruise is sold out, I would expect more people posting on the roll call.  So far, I am the only one.  My TA has not contacted me, but I sure would like to know

 

It may or may not be sold out, but when we were shopping cruises about a month ago, it was definitely heavily booked. Not sure why your roll call is slow, but all suites and veranda staterooms were showing as sold out a month ago, and only inside and ocean view cabins were bookable. As a result, we booked a similar 2020 itinerary instead.

 

Could perhaps a corporate or other group have blocked all the desirable cabins for their group, but haven't assigned group members yet (like a sales incentive cruise for a corporate sales force where they won't know who actually earns the incentive until sometime in 2019).

Edited November 6, 2018 by JIMinNC

[Grandma Cruising]

4 hours ago, Tom47 said:

If 10-19  cruise is sold out, I would expect more people posting on the roll call.  So far, I am the only one.  My TA has not contacted me, but I sure would like to know

Roll-Call sizes vary tremendously. Mediterranean cruises seem to generally have smaller roll-calls. Only one post is unusual, but the cruise is not for quite a while.