Coronavirus

[Grandma Cruising]

4 hours ago, nigelc said:

Indeed, the number of questions that have been raised on here, but again have received no answers from our "Host" is unbelievable. It certainly raise the question of why anyone would ever sail with this company again?

If you are talking about me, I am sorry to say that I am  in no better position to answer any of the questions raised about the current situation than any other Cruise Critic member. I don’t have any relationship with Azamara other than as a customer. The title ‘Host’ refers to my voluntary role moderating the Azamara boards on Cruise Critic on behalf of Cruise Critic.

[HanL]

I just received notice that Celebrity has cancelled the 4/1 cruise due to the fact that all UAE closed their ports to cruise ships. 
Guests will receive full refund plus 25% FCC. Also up to $300 pp reimbursement for airline change fee. 

Edited March 8, 2020 by HanL

[Vgroom]

Sensible decision. 

[difranco]

We are booked on the Quest on 14th April. Personally, we require a full cash refund as we planned to jump back to Seabourn, possibly May onwards. FCC is no good to us as we may or may not sail with Azamara in the future. Looks like we may have to wait for Azamara to blink first and cancel the cruise that all intense and purposes is going nowhere with nobody.

There are only a few nationalities left who aren’t on the black list for Israel. 

Next week is the crunch week as other European countries will have to follow the Italian mass quarantine model and the US will have to admit they do have a serious problem and have missed the containment phase. Forget the primaries, the election with be postponed at this rate. Politicians and the financial moguls will have to realise they can’t spin their way out of this one.

Hope to sail soon but 99% sure it won’t be on 14th April.

[cheznick]

7 hours ago, nigelc said:

We are on the same cruise and have just been told by Azamara via our TA that there are no planned changes and that they still plan to go to Bahrain and Doha - talk about bury your head in the sand. I have also e-mailed Azamara myself, but received no reply. Indeed, the number of questions that have been raised on here, but again have received no answers from our "Host" is unbelievable. It certainly raise the question of why anyone would ever sail with this company again?

who is this mysterious host you refer to?????

[Baynanno1]

Wondering when Azamara will cancel Quest 17 & 28 March cruises, Dubai to Dubai and Dubai to Piraeus, given that UAE ports Abu Dhabi and Dubai are now closed to cruise ships?

https://www.cruisecritic.com.au/news/5097/

[Riocca]

16 minutes ago, Baynanno1 said:

Wondering when Azamara will cancel Quest 17 & 28 March cruises, Dubai to Dubai and Dubai to Piraeus, given that UAE ports Abu Dhabi and Dubai are now closed to cruise ships?

https://www.cruisecritic.com.au/news/5097/

If Dubai is closed they will have no alternative, however their bigger problem would be what to do with the passengers currently on the 26 night Cape Town - Dubai voyage especially as they can’t dock in India. Mumbai would Have been the logical alternative with Good air access.

[excitedofharpenden]

38 minutes ago, Riocca said:

If Dubai is closed they will have no alternative, however their bigger problem would be what to do with the passengers currently on the 26 night Cape Town - Dubai voyage especially as they can’t dock in India. Mumbai would Have been the logical alternative with Good air access.

Yes John, you are right. Their options without Dubai are very limited where they are. Not sure what they will be able to do. They'll need supplies too I'm sure, getting toward the end of a 26 night cruise as they are. Not easy. 

 

Phil 

[uktog]

8 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Yes John, you are right. Their options without Dubai are very limited where they are. Not sure what they will be able to do. They'll need supplies too I'm sure, getting toward the end of a 26 night cruise as they are. Not easy. 

 

Phil 

They may exceptionally allow them in to disembark so long as everyone leaves the country.  They did a short re-provison in Sri Lanka when they docked for supplies only

[Riocca]

9 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Yes John, you are right. Their options without Dubai are very limited where they are. Not sure what they will be able to do. They'll need supplies too I'm sure, getting toward the end of a 26 night cruise as they are. Not easy. 

 

Phil 

Phil, they were allowed into Colombo today to refuel and pick up supplies,  of course no one was allowed off of the ship. So they should be good for a while it would be just finding a viable alternative disembarkation port. Hopefully we will know what’s happening in the near future.

[excitedofharpenden]

8 minutes ago, uktog said:

They may exceptionally allow them in to disembark so long as everyone leaves the country.  They did a short re-provison in Sri Lanka when they docked for supplies only

Dubai will be pandemonium. Many ships in the repositioning phase as well as the usual middle east cruises. And they wouldn't let Celebrity Constellation carry on to there.  Hopefully they'll find a workable solution. 

 

Phil 

[chromered7]

It’s hard to get your head round the fact Celebrity have looked after their customers and Azamara , although they are in the same group,  seem hell bent on alienating their customers. Cruisers will not forget how they were treated during this fiasco.

[asnaleah]

On 3/8/2020 at 6:30 AM, vana said:

Hello, 

 

We were on the April 11th cruise and we cancelled yesterday. Since we had more than 35 days to fo, we had the surprise of getting back 25% of our payment and 75% in FCC. It's something to think about. 

 

Just to let you know, last night was the best night of sleep I had for the past month.... it was a heartbreaking decision but we are so at peace with it and moving on to something else...priceless.

 

have a great day

Thanks for this post Vana. We pulled the plug too and are pleased to be getting 25% refunded.

[nigelc]

15 hours ago, chromered7 said:

It’s hard to get your head round the fact Celebrity have looked after their customers and Azamara , although they are in the same group,  seem hell bent on alienating their customers. Cruisers will not forget how they were treated during this fiasco.

 

Agree 100% - I am on the 17th March 2020 sailing and nothing from Azamara even though it appears the Dubai port is closed - we will definitely not forget this fiasco.

[ptrpanpens]

35 minutes ago, asnaleah said:

Thanks for this post Vana. We pulled the plug too and are pleased to be getting 25% refunded.

could those who have cancelled early and had some of your fare refunded, does the total refund (FCC + cash refund) equal the total amount you paid for your cruise, or were fees or other costs excluded. I understand that travel agents may take some penalty for cancelling.

 

thanks in advance

[asnaleah]

I don’t yet have the dollar amounts for refund and FCC, but will post when I get them.

[ptrpanpens]

4 minutes ago, asnaleah said:

I don’t yet have the dollar amounts for refund and FCC, but will post when I get them.

thanks, Appreciate this very much. 

[CherylD29]

We are due on the 17th March sailing from Dubai around the UAE. Travel agent still saying it was just 1 ship denied at Dubai port. Does anyone have any more information? From reliable sources.

[Lindy028]

13 minutes ago, CherylD29 said:

We are due on the 17th March sailing from Dubai around the UAE. Travel agent still saying it was just 1 ship denied at Dubai port. Does anyone have any more information? From reliable sources.

You may wish to take a look on the thread about UAE ports closed. Someone has spoken to an Azamara Rep, who confirmed Dubai is closed to cruise ships! 

[lparent71]

We've heard on another post that Dubai port is closed and Azamara is in contact with them to see how long. Should hear something today. The ship is on its way to Muscat right now. The issue seems to be with ships coming from outside UAE waters as RCC sailed from Dubai today.

[CherylD29]

4 minutes ago, lparent71 said:

We've heard on another post that Dubai port is closed and Azamara is in contact with them to see how long. Should hear something today. The ship is on its way to Muscat right now. The issue seems to be with ships coming from outside UAE waters as RCC sailed from Dubai today.

Hopefully a decision is made soon so we can action a plan B! 

[yogagal47]

4 minutes ago, lparent71 said:

We've heard on another post that Dubai port is closed and Azamara is in contact with them to see how long. Should hear something today. The ship is on its way to Muscat right now. The issue seems to be with ships coming from outside UAE waters as RCC sailed from Dubai today.

This was the exact quote:

"United Arab Emirates: It was confirmed on March 8 by Celebrity Cruises that the UAE, which includes the ports of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, has closed its ports to cruise ships."

This is the link:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5097/

[cinnamon]

There seems to be some confusion. On another source I read that cruise and ferry traffic to and from Iran was not allowed into U.A.E. We anxiously await proper confirmation one way or another. 

[sunlover33]

https://splash247.com/uae-suspends-all-cruise-ship-operations/
 

not sure how reliable this source is?

[yogagal47]

2 minutes ago, sunlover33 said:

https://splash247.com/uae-suspends-all-cruise-ship-operations/
 

not sure how reliable this source is?

According to your link-at first they stopped ferry traffic now they have stopped cruise ships from entering. I would also imagine that the link I posted from Cruise Critic was validated carefully before they included it in their list of ports banning all cruise ship traffic