Web Masters or Masters of Procrastination

[Grandma Cruising]

I’m guessing the extension to Spitsbergen is because it’s not going to Flam & Geiranger, probably because Norway is in the process of banning ships with high emission levels from these Fjords.

[oddjob16]

6 minutes ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

I’m guessing the extension to Spitsbergen is because it’s not going to Flam & Geiranger, probably because Norway is in the process of banning ships with high emission levels from these Fjords.

Maybe. Maybe. Going to Spitsbergen and Svalbard is going into the Arctic. You will be close to 80° North. Trust me, it is very spectacular. It is a first for Azamara and it should be promoted for this. 

[uktog]

Walking tours In Southampton- really, on embarkation day?  Can’t find much detail about these from local providers. It’s a strange sentence.  So much else in the area could be highlighted.

 

oK we are focusing on one cruise I’ve found bloopers in several others.

It’s sad that a line who is generally so good at service onboard and has some parts of its home office so well organised is so cavalier in the area it claims is it’s strength. And the stupid thing is it’s been highlighted for some time and accuracy in written text of this nature  costs nothing. 

 

People who are savvy (the target market I believe) spot this inaccurate spin, hype, guff whatever, may not know the line but on the basis of what they read will walk away believing all the stories about excellence onboard are also guff. 

 

Bonnie, we appreciate you are only the messenger but like you, it pains us to see all this.  I hope your escalations will somehow get someone to realise, albeit rather late, that “Houston, we have a problem”. 

[Grandma Cruising]

8 hours ago, oddjob16 said:

Maybe. Maybe. Going to Spitsbergen and Svalbard is going into the Arctic. You will be close to 80° North. Trust me, it is very spectacular. It is a first for Azamara and it should be promoted for this. 

I quite agree

[oddjob16]

1 hour ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

I quite agree

I have to correct myself. Azamara Quest will sail to Spitsbergen next summer. Almost identical itineraries. Great move. Svabard is fantastic. 

[screen-gem]

20 hours ago, oddjob16 said:

The cruise takes Azamara to the archipleago of Spitsbergen for the first time. It is a fantastic opportunity to make a big story out of it. Sorry, it is a fail. Again

 

This would be an ideal itinerary for an guest speaker from WWF. There's a rich selection of topics that a knowledgeable scientist could talk about:

- how the Gulf Stream peters out as it flows north up the coast of Norway, meeting the frigid Arctic currents heading south.

- the rapid warming of the Arctic, and resulting melting of sea ice and displacement of wildlife.

- remarkable journey of an Arctic fox who was able to travel overland from Spitzbergen to Ellesmere Island in just 76 days. (seriously - it's an amazing story)

 

But given the status of Azamara's partnership with WWF, that will never happen.  It seems the relationship has been put in a rowboat and cast adrift. (See post #5 above). It's probably stuck in the Pacific Gyre somewhere. The AZ webpage about their much-hyped WWF program hasn't been updated since last year. It still lists WWF speakers for cruises last summer & fall (July through December 2018).  No speakers at all listed for 2019.   Getting back on the topic of this thread, that web page is another embarrassing example showcasing the 'Masters of Procrastination' in Miami. Bonnie, bless her soul, has pushed on this a number of times, to no avail. 

[chromered7]

In terms of staff rota’s etc that does not really affect us because you assume that the staff know what they are doing. With Excursions it is really important that the information on each trip is up to date and accurate. The cost of excursions on many ships of many lines is a thought to be over priced and short of content. When we are  choosing the trips on our 2020 cruise on Journey we expect it to be correct so you can make an informed decision. Some of the posts on this thread are concerning if information is not correct and as importantly issues with trips are not dealt with in a timely manner and ignored. Azamara set themselves up to be a level up on some cruise lines it quite clear that in some aspect they fall short at times.

 

[oddjob16]

Main point of this thread has now been solved. The Senior Officers Schedule seems to be correct now. Thanks, Bonnie. 

[uktog]

8 minutes ago, oddjob16 said:

Main point of this thread has now been solved. The Senior Officers Schedule seems to be correct now. Thanks, Bonnie. 

Unfortunately the schedule for Journey is not correct as it is based on the sail dates that were in place before the Cuba changes that happened two months ago!  So attention to detail - nil points as we say in Eurovision 

[BBMacLaird]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

Unfortunately the schedule for Journey is not correct as it is based on the sail dates that were in place before the Cuba changes that happened two months ago!  So attention to detail - nil points as we say in Eurovision 

I have shared your comment.

[Redtravel]

So it doesn’t work. We all know it.  Avoid frustration, do not use Azamara website or app.  As they said on the Quest last week....” we’re working on it.”    

[Henk123]

15 hours ago, oddjob16 said:

Main point of this thread has now been solved. The Senior Officers Schedule seems to be correct now. Thanks, Bonnie. 

I don't think it is oke now. See the header:

2018-2019 Azamara Captain and Senior Officer Schedule

It must be 2019 - 2020 (-2021)

 

[Bloodaxe]

40 minutes ago, Henk123 said:

I don't think it is oke now. See the header:

2018-2019 Azamara Captain and Senior Officer Schedule

It must be 2019 - 2020 (-2021)

 

 

Do they even know what day it is?, the mind boggles.

[uktog]

Also the Quest schedule looks very wrong for 2020 unless Magnus is having a very light year. 

Bonnie, we all accept schedules are not that significant in the web scheme of things, that things can change but this lack of even basic sense checking before launching an update reflects very badly on Azamara. 

If they cannot get things right reduce the site to the bear minimum and at least get that right. 

[snowglobe]

This was a new glitch for me today... at least a change from the “WHOOPS” page that I’m *still* getting.

 

It’s definitely NOT a procrastination issue - quite the contrary! (note the Feb 2020 departure date).

 

Is the Azamara website really a lost cause? Have they subcontracted the whole thing to India?

 

Edited August 2, 2019 by snowglobe

[oddjob16]

If only. India is probably the best developed IT country in the world. 

But... Wow.... Big problems here. 

[snowglobe]

Odd, you and Bill should have a chat about that - he’s constantly dealing with sub-par IT contractors out of India. I once overheard him in a conference call having to explain what a “ping” was... 🙄

[oddjob16]

3 hours ago, snowglobe said:

Odd, you and Bill should have a chat about that - he’s constantly dealing with sub-par IT contractors out of India. I once overheard him in a conference call having to explain what a “ping” was... 🙄

Well, the big 5 companies in Norway all have their best contractors from that country and for good reasons. They deliver. No reason to discuss that here. 

This is not the issue

[snowglobe]

You’re right, the issue is that the Azamara website’s constant ‘glitches’ and not-fact-checked or not-updated info do not inspire confidence in the product.

 

And it’s absolutely frustrating for cruisers like me to not be able to use the Voyage Planner for literally weeks on end, while trying to plan our trip...

Edited August 3, 2019 by snowglobe

[BBMacLaird]

On 7/13/2019 at 7:42 PM, screen-gem said:

This would be an ideal itinerary for an guest speaker from WWF. There's a rich selection of topics that a knowledgeable scientist could talk about:

- how the Gulf Stream peters out as it flows north up the coast of Norway, meeting the frigid Arctic currents heading south.

- the rapid warming of the Arctic, and resulting melting of sea ice and displacement of wildlife.

- remarkable journey of an Arctic fox who was able to travel overland from Spitzbergen to Ellesmere Island in just 76 days. (seriously - it's an amazing story)

 

But given the status of Azamara's partnership with WWF, that will never happen.  It seems the relationship has been put in a rowboat and cast adrift. (See post #5 above). It's probably stuck in the Pacific Gyre somewhere. The AZ webpage about their much-hyped WWF program hasn't been updated since last year. It still lists WWF speakers for cruises last summer & fall (July through December 2018).  No speakers at all listed for 2019.   Getting back on the topic of this thread, that web page is another embarrassing example showcasing the 'Masters of Procrastination' in Miami. Bonnie, bless her soul, has pushed on this a number of times, to no avail. 

 

Hi Screen-Gem, here is an update (finally! and sorry for the delay!)

Our relationship with WWF is alive and well.

https://www.azamara.com/discover/world-wildlife-fund

[flyingron]

Yep, the website seems to have problems all around.   Further, there appears to be no support.    I've gotten ZERO response (other than one automated one from the LCV adderss) to my inquiries as to why the thing gives me nebulous errors and things disappeared from my predeparture stuff that was there earlier.

 

[uktog]

My mentor Dilbert summed this up well on my calendar pad this week

 

[Baynanno1]

9 hours ago, uktog said:

My mentor Dilbert summed this up well on my calendar pad this week

 

 

Indeed! 🙃