HELP! Azamara is trying to cancel my trip because of their mistake!

[PatG2]

I've been on many cruises, but this is my first time cruising on Azamara. What started off as a dream vacation has become a nightmare. On 5/31/19, I saw a great deal for a suite with Azamara. The cruise is only 2 months away so I figured they needed to fill some cabins and also needed to hit some end of the month/quarter sales numbers. I booked two suites, 1 through a 3rd party site and the other directly through Azamara. Immediately after booking, I called the third party site to confirm everything went through. I told them, the cruise is only 2 months away so I wanted to make sure everything went through so I could book my flights right away. They said, "everything is confirmed, go ahead and book your flights". They even emailed me a confirmation. The very next day I spoke to a supervisor at Azamara who also confirmed both my suites. That supervisor would later say, "I saw you got a great price but didn't think anything else of it". Over the next few days, I received 6 email confirmations, 3 verbal confirmations, and I even did the online check-in and printed my boarding tickets.

 

Then, I get a phone call from the same supervisor at Azamara that said they made a mistake in the price and they needed to either downgrade me or cancel my trip. I explained, I would not have planned a whole vacation (flights, hotels, transportation, excursions) for an oceanview room. I only booked with them because I was getting a good deal on a suite. I wanted what was promised. After a few more phone calls from them, they said they would cancel my trip this Tuesday if I didn't decide.

 

Please help! How can Azamara cancel my trip after I've: Paid in Full, Recieved Multiple Verbal and Emailed Confirmations, Even Printed my Boarding Pass!?! If a customer makes a mistake, you better believe the cruise line still going to take their money. What can I do to make them honor what they sold me?

[Sean_B]

Legally you have a contract with them for the cabin category you paid for, with multiple confirmations. Contact a lawyer and tell Azamara that you've done so.

Edited June 9, 2019 by Sean_B

[PatG2]

Thanks Sean. Appreciate the feedback. I was hoping to avoid a lawyer since the cost of a lawyer would negate my savings. I've reached out to the Better Business Bureau in the meantime, I'll see if that helps at all.

[dogs4fun]

I hope that you will return and post the resolution of your issue with Azamara. How awful - sure hope that they honor your reservation.

[Cruseforme]

Unfortunately due to some shenanigans they pulled on us last year, we canceled our cruise on the Journey, and never went back.   I also suggest you post this on the Azamara board linked https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/362-azamara-club-cruises/

 

They have a person I believe her name is Bonnie that is employed by Azamara, on the CC Azamara Forum regularly, that may be able to assist you.   Good luck, and let us know what happens.   

[Heidi13]

While you have a confirmed contract, have you read the company's terms & conditions, with respect to changes permitted by both parties to the contract - you & Azamara.

 

The other area to check is consumer protection laws in your home state - what protections do you have. If unable to conduct this type of research, do you have a Better Business organisation or a Government consumer protection association you could contact before hiring a lawyer.

 

Another consideration is that companies generally do not like negative attention on social media, so herhaps you can use that to advantage. Some posts on the Azamara Board asking if anyone else has similar experiences might be a worth while exercise.

 

Good luck getting it resolved. Personally, regardless of the deal, I would never cruise with them. You should also be aware they have small ships, but are part of the RCI mega ship empire.

[PatG2]

dogs4fun - Thanks, I will return to let everyone know the outcome.

cruseforme - Thanks for the advice. I posted this on the Azamara thread as well. What were the shenanigans they pulled on you? Similar to ours?

 

Edited June 9, 2019 by PatG2

[PatG2]

Heidi13 - Thank you. Their website has some fine print about being able to change and fix prices. This makes complete sense before a vacation is booked. After it is booked I don't see how they could. Their contract says they can change my room/category if I become a threat or disturb other passengers but clearly that doesn't apply here.

I'm still baffled at how crazy this whole thing is...

[Cruseforme]

Our problems began when They had a last minute charter of the entire ship, and moved our cruise out to another date without contacting our TA.   No communication, and an arbitrary movement, with a different cabin, etc, and a total mess up of their web programming for excursions, etc. We fought (our TA actually) long and hard to get a total refund , and we eventually did, however almost had to go through legal means to do so.   Never again,   We stick with Crystal and Oceania now.   (And Disney with the grandkids).   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PatG2]

26 minutes ago, Cruseforme said:

Our problems began when They had a last minute charter of the entire ship, and moved our cruise out to another date without contacting our TA.   No communication, and an arbitrary movement, with a different cabin, etc, and a total mess up of their web programming for excursions, etc. We fought (our TA actually) long and hard to get a total refund , and we eventually did, however almost had to go through legal means to do so.   Never again,   We stick with Crystal and Oceania now.   (And Disney with the grandkids).   

 

Wow, so looks like completely changing someones itinerary is nothing new to them. I can see why you wouldn't book with them again. Thanks again for your feedback.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[klfrodo]

You may win the battle, but you will lose the war.

 

Negotiate with them to come to a satisfactory resolution for both parties. Negotiate the price of the suite you are still booked in. Offer them more money but less than the current going rate. Admit that mistakes are made and the last thing you want to do take advantage of them just as you wouldn't want them to take advantage of you should the mistake have been made on their part.

Somehow get them to admit to the mistake. Then start talking about customer service reps being empowered by leadership to make things right for the customer. Sweet honey goes much further threatening lawyers. (Besides, I'm sure the contract says this would have to be mediated in the companies home jurisdiction). You're going to have to pay more if you want the suite and you want this cruise. How much more you're willing to pay is your call.

[PatG2]

19 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

You may win the battle, but you will lose the war.

 

Negotiate with them to come to a satisfactory resolution for both parties. Negotiate the price of the suite you are still booked in. Offer them more money but less than the current going rate. Admit that mistakes are made and the last thing you want to do take advantage of them just as you wouldn't want them to take advantage of you should the mistake have been made on their part.

Somehow get them to admit to the mistake. Then start talking about customer service reps being empowered by leadership to make things right for the customer. Sweet honey goes much further threatening lawyers. (Besides, I'm sure the contract says this would have to be mediated in the companies home jurisdiction). You're going to have to pay more if you want the suite and you want this cruise. How much more you're willing to pay is your call.

Thanks Klfrodo. They have admitted this was their mistake. I have it on recording (they consented to me recording the phone call beforehand). I do not agree I'm taking advantage (except in the way that if you see something on sale, you take advantage of it and purchase it), but I respect your perspective. I would imagine that if I booked a cruise and needed to cancel because of a scheduling mistake on my end, within 2 months of the cruise setting sail, Azamara would keep my money. They do that all the time. I have not been threatening yet and was considering it but your reply makes sense.

I appreciate your feedback.

[Covepointcruiser]

Why have you started two threads on this issue?   Why didn’t you book both suites through your third party site?   I a. Guessing Azamara only canceled the one you booked with them.

[klfrodo]

13 minutes ago, PatG2 said:

Thanks Klfrodo. They have admitted this was their mistake. I have it on recording (they consented to me recording the phone call beforehand). I do not agree I'm taking advantage (except in the way that if you see something on sale, you take advantage of it and purchase it), but I respect your perspective. I would imagine that if I booked a cruise and needed to cancel because of a scheduling mistake on my end, within 2 months of the cruise setting sail, Azamara would keep my money. They do that all the time. I have not been threatening yet and was considering it but your reply makes sense.

I appreciate your feedback.

Don’t get me wrong. I think you’re in the right and they are wrong every which way. 

However, you will lose. At what price are you will to pay to be right?

[PatG2]

Just now, klfrodo said:

Don’t get me wrong. I think you’re in the right and they are wrong every which way. 

However, you will lose. At what price are you will to pay to be right?

Ok. That makes sense klfrodo. Thank you again for your response. I'm willing to fight this as far as I need to. At this point it's a matter of principal and it seems like everyone agrees.

[PatG2]

18 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Why have you started two threads on this issue?   Why didn’t you book both suites through your third party site?   I a. Guessing Azamara only canceled the one you booked with them.

Hi Covepoint, sorry for the multiple threads, I'm new to this. Azamara is trying to cancel both my suites that I booked through both sites.

[jlp20]

As others have suggested, read the cruise contract. Entire "contract" on some cruise lines only completes when your on the ship and have pushed back from embarkation port

[RocketMan275]

i suspect they will be more responsive to complaints on facebook.  Probably much larger distribution.

[PatG2]

32 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

i suspect they will be more responsive to complaints on facebook.  Probably much larger distribution.

 

6 hours ago, jlp20 said:

As others have suggested, read the cruise contract. Entire "contract" on some cruise lines only completes when your on the ship and have pushed back from embarkation port

Thanks Rocketman and  JLP. I will look into these.

[The Hudson Co. Landlubber]

While I have no experience with cruise disputes specifically, in my experience a paper letter to the CEO (typed but with a handwritten envelope) often has rapid, miraculous results.

 

 

[richmke]

On 6/9/2019 at 12:40 PM, PatG2 said:

Thanks Sean. Appreciate the feedback. I was hoping to avoid a lawyer since the cost of a lawyer would negate my savings. I've reached out to the Better Business Bureau in the meantime, I'll see if that helps at all.

 

Sue them in Small Claims court without a lawyer. You can sue them in FL since they use FL ports. Although, you may have to sue them in the county that contains a port that they use. You don't need a lawyer for small claims court.

 

It will cost them more to defend (send a lawyer to show up at the hearing) than to give you the suite at a discount.

 

Post on Facebook and Twitter - your account and theirs. Make sure you use a good hashtag.

[ldubs]

Just curious.  Is this a crazy error like they dropped a zero off the price of a suite, or just a super low price that might otherwise be considered reasonable.

 

Either way, I hope they were able to resolve the issue to your satisfaction.   

[PatG2]

Well, I finally got a response from Azamara. There is a much longer thread with many more post under the Azamara forum. Take a look there if you would like an update on the story. Thanks everyone.

[PatG2]

Just now, PatG2 said:

Well, I finally got a response from Azamara. There is a much longer thread with many more post under the Azamara forum. Take a look there if you would like an update on the story. Thanks everyone.

 

The link to that forum is: