Biking Excursions

[Ithikan]

Are the cycling excursions being phased out?  I've had 3 bicycle shore excursions cancelled recently in rapid succession.  Are Azamara bicycles a thing of the past?

[uktog]

Funny I was going to ask  the same, we were about to book them for DH for 4 cruises this summer - all but one in Livorno have gone from the planner.  Initially I wondered if they were all full but now I look at other cruises and from the voyage planner all references to the search against cycling has gone.  Hope not, I was the one thing DH loved to do as we could on that trip do separate interests (Ive never learned how to ride a bike and its too late now 🙂 )

[Rabo]

I just checked the current excursion brochure for Norway & Midnight Sun (July 1 on Journey), and compared it to the excursion brochure I downloaded less than a month ago.  All of the bike excursions have been removed.

[hiccups]

On our Iberian Peninsula cruise last year, I signed up for the two biking excursions that were offered.  The first one was cancelled for weather, and the second was cancelled for lack of participation (I was told six people had signed up). 

 

Our cruise in October had two biking excursions, but because of this thread I just checked, and they're both gone, too!  Very disappointing.

[uktog]

The biking trip booked for our 18 May (Journey) Cruise is still showing as running in our Voyage Calendar although no references to it in the available excursions section of the voyage planner - usually if they are sold out it still shows with a box that one of the party has booked the excursion and the date.

 

i have looked wider on the website and see no references to cycling anywhere and the trips I’d logged on to book for DH in Porto and Lisbon have gone.

 

Particularly for Livorno I need to kick in a Plan B  - is there any information Bonnie as discovering the excursion is cancelled once onboard is too late to get Plan B set up. 

 

We hope Azamara hasn’t discontinued these excursions as for DH they were the memorable trips each cruise. Cancellations were becoming more frequent and the age restriction was ridiculous (you could not over ride with proof of your own insurance so he was soon going to be age barred even though he cycles miles every week).  The waiver you had to sign pages and pages including confirmation you understood death was a risk on the excursion put some people off. Such a shame as river boats don’t have these issues and I’m glad he can still get cycling excursions there.  But I’m really hoping for the next 18 months also on Azamara or with so many other little negatives I’m going to struggle to get his buyin for more bookings. Little suddenly becomes large 😞 

Edited March 24, 2019 by uktog

[Mrs Skip]

I've just checked and the Azamara Biking excursion has been removed from our 17 Dec cruise departing from Dubai 😞 . This is a real loss as we've enjoyed the Azamara led bike trips on cruises following their introduction a couple of years ago, and it's an active way to use up OBC. We've also arranged independently, and brought others into the fold via Roll Calls which has worked out well, though involves a bit more pre-cruise organisation.  

[WhitlocksEnd]

Sadly the one in Petropavlovsk in August has also been removed.

[nordski]

4 hours ago, uktog said:

The biking trip booked for our 18 May (Journey) Cruise is still showing as running in our Voyage Calendar although no references to it in the available excursions section of the voyage planner - usually if they are sold out it still shows with a box that one of the party has booked the excursion and the date.

 

i have looked wider on the website and see no references to cycling anywhere and the trips I’d logged on to book for DH in Porto and Lisbon have gone.

 

Particularly for Livorno I need to kick in a Plan B  - is there any information Bonnie as discovering the excursion is cancelled once onboard is too late to get Plan B set up. 

 

We hope Azamara hasn’t discontinued these excursions as for DH they were the memorable trips each cruise. Cancellations were becoming more frequent and the age restriction was ridiculous (you could not over ride with proof of your own insurance so he was soon going to be age barred even though he cycles miles every week).  The waiver you had to sign pages and pages including confirmation you understood death was a risk on the excursion put some people off. Such a shame as river boats don’t have these issues and I’m glad he can still get cycling excursions there.  But I’m really hoping for the next 18 months also on Azamara or with so many other little negatives I’m going to struggle to get his buyin for more bookings. Little suddenly becomes large 😞 

 

Can sympathize with those who will apparently miss the opportunity to take bike tours with a ship’s excursion.

 

In my experience only AMA  offers bike tours on river cruises, so that may be a feature to check if it’s important.

 

My experience also is that all those details in the waiver form mean very little if negligence on the part of the provider can be established. Not certain how AMA deals with these issues.

[ShipsandDipper]

 

12 minutes ago, WhitlocksEnd said:

Sadly the one in Petropavlovsk in August has also been removed.

 

I just asked a question about what it means when an excursion is removed -- and it was the biking excursion in Petropavlovsk in May.  Guess this helps answer the question.

[uktog]

14 minutes ago, nordski said:

 

Can sympathize with those who will apparently miss the opportunity to take bike tours with a ship’s excursion.

 

In my experience only AMA  offers bike tours on river cruises, so that may be a feature to check if it’s important.

 

My experience also is that all those details in the waiver form mean very little if negligence on the part of the provider can be established. Not certain how AMA deals with these issues.

There were no disclaimers on Ama. Yes it is Ama we are using for river trips 

[hiccups]

4 hours ago, nordski said:

 

Can sympathize with those who will apparently miss the opportunity to take bike tours with a ship’s excursion.

 

In my experience only AMA  offers bike tours on river cruises, so that may be a feature to check if it’s important.

 

My experience also is that all those details in the waiver form mean very little if negligence on the part of the provider can be established. Not certain how AMA deals with these issues.

Uniworld also offers bicycling excursions.

[nordski]

32 minutes ago, hiccups said:

Uniworld also offers bicycling excursions.

 

Thanks for that correction. I had forgotten.

[hubofhockey]

This is interesting and the first thing that came to mind is a corporate decision based on liability.  

 

Bikes are now easy to rent in just about any major city and biking tours are very easy to find as well.  I get that many don't like to do excursions others than those offered by cruise lines, but give the private companies a chance.  The people running them know a lot about bikes and touring their own areas.  My favorites have been in Paris, Copenhagen, and Hollywood/LA.

[screen-gem]

We've already booked and paid for the biking excursion in Ortigia (Siracusa) on the May 28th sailing of the Pursuit. It is still shown in the Calendar on our Voyage Planner, and we've received no notice from Azamara that they've canceled it.  However, I find that the activity is no longer listed in the catalog of activities on that day. I also see that the 'Biking' option has been removed from the Interests pick-list in the REFINE RESULTS filter.

 

Is this SOP (Standard Operating Practice) for Azamara?  Cancel an excursion, but fail to tell guests who have already booked it?  I'd certainly appreciate a heads-up from them so we can make alternate plans for that day.

 

1 hour ago, hubofhockey said:

 I get that many don't like to do excursions others than those offered by cruise lines, but give the private companies a chance. 

I don't disagree, but this shorex was one way to use up our OBC.

[ShipsandDipper]

2 hours ago, hubofhockey said:

 

Bikes are now easy to rent in just about any major city and biking tours are very easy to find as well.  I get that many don't like to do excursions others than those offered by cruise lines, but give the private companies a chance.  

 

I would love to (and have in other port stops), but it may be easier said than done in Petropavlovsk, Russia.  

[ShipsandDipper]

43 minutes ago, screen-gem said:

Is this SOP (Standard Operating Practice) for Azamara?  Cancel an excursion, but fail to tell guests who have already booked it?  I'd certainly appreciate a heads-up from them so we can make alternate plans for that day.

 

I'm finding that I learn things on the boards here way before Azamara ever communicates it. 

[hubofhockey]

2 hours ago, ShipsandDipper said:

 

I would love to (and have in other port stops), but it may be easier said than done in Petropavlovsk, Russia.  

 

No doubt that there are some ports where it's not going to be happening.  I suppose I was referring to most ports.