Final Payment Extention

[Phxazzcruisers]

We have a cruise from Lisbon to South Africa in November of this year.  Final payment was originally due July 13.  I just got an email from our TZ that final payment is now not due until August 13th !   I am not sure we will actualluy be able to take this cruise, but am hapy they have postponed final payment or 30 days.  We will probaly reschedule the same cruise for 2021.  Kudos to Azamara for giving us an additional 30 days to make the decision !!!

[longton]

You almost certainly won't be travelling by cruise ship to South Africa any time this year.

 

Corona virus cases in South Africa are rising rapidly and have yet to reach their peak. All ports and airports are closed to international visitors.

[Roger88]

28 minutes ago, longton said:

You almost certainly won't be travelling by cruise ship to South Africa any time this year.

 

Corona virus cases in South Africa are rising rapidly and have yet to reach their peak. All ports and airports are closed to international visitors.

The worst thing about it that people there are not well informed and the countries that traditionally were helping them with aid are concentrating on their own countries at the moment. I hope they will survive the pandemic.. I mean seriously, you will never get a true statistics from there which makes it even worst 

[excitedofharpenden]

I'm not sure I'd describe it as kudos to Azamara  for giving you an extra 30 days to pay for a cruise that isn't going to happen. 

 

Phil 

[longton]

On 7/9/2020 at 9:20 PM, Roger88 said:

The worst thing about it that people there are not well informed and the countries that traditionally were helping them with aid are concentrating on their own countries at the moment. I hope they will survive the pandemic.. I mean seriously, you will never get a true statistics from there which makes it even 

That's not correct about South Africa. The country doesn't rely on aid from other countries.

 

The statistics in South Africa are as reliable or more reliable than those in the US.

[jaxw17]

we are due to go from Lisbon to Brazil in November. we booked through a travel agent so will be interesting to see if they honour the 30 day extention

[hiccups]

The final payment for our November 30th South American cruise was also extended by 30 days, but what wasn't extended was the cancellation penalties, according to our TA.  Just something of which to be aware, if you're thinking you may cancel.

Between coronavirus and a new job/move, we'd decided we were going to cancel, but instead are going to do a Lift and Shift.

[Grandma Cruising]

2 hours ago, hiccups said:

The final payment for our November 30th South American cruise was also extended by 30 days, but what wasn't extended was the cancellation penalties, according to our TA.  Just something of which to be aware, if you're thinking you may cancel.

Between coronavirus and a new job/move, we'd decided we were going to cancel, but instead are going to do a Lift and Shift.

That’s your TA not Azamara, I think. Previously Azamara have confirmed that that is not the case.

[hiccups]

On 7/19/2020 at 2:27 AM, Grandma Cruising said:

That’s your TA not Azamara, I think. Previously Azamara have confirmed that that is not the case.

No, it's not the TA.  I went back and re-read the email, and  Azamara did not say they are extending the deadlines for penalties.  So possibly Azamara has said it here, but it wasn't included in the email that was forwarded by our TA.  Or possibly because we're in the U.S., we're under different terms.

[Grandma Cruising]

1 minute ago, hiccups said:

No, it's not the TA.  I went back and re-read the email, and  Azamara did not say they are extending the deadlines for penalties.  So possibly Azamara has said it here, but it wasn't included in the email that was forwarded by our TA.  Or possibly because we're in the U.S., we're under different terms.

Maybe it’s worth ringing to check. The email may just be using standard phrasing in a non-standard  situation.

[hiccups]

If we were still debating about taking the cruise, I would, but since we're going to L&S, I won't take up their limited resources on a call.  There are people that have more pressing issues that need to get through  🙂 

[Mackdogmolly]

No lift and shift available for the Rio to Lisbon cruise I am scheduled to take in March 2021, and if the November Lisbon to Rio sailing doesn’t happen, I doubt mine will either. I thought that we could cancel without penalty up to 14 days before sailing. What am I missing?

[Grandma Cruising]

You can cancel up to 48 hours before sailing and get a future cruise credit, but not a refund.

[Norn Iron Man]

Today I received a call from my TA requesting the final Balance on my Azamara cruise due to sail on 10th October. I explained that as it would be against FCO advise to go on this holiday and that would mean that I wouldnt be covered by insurance if it went ahead. I was told that either I pay the balance before 31/7/or I would lose my `£875.00 deposit. So as it stands I am going to have to pay the substantial balance for a cruise that is 99.999% certain to be cancelled and then wait several months on a full refund.  Seems unfair.  I have no desire to take a Future Cruise Credit.

[laurieb]

2 hours ago, Norn Iron Man said:

Today I received a call from my TA requesting the final Balance on my Azamara cruise due to sail on 10th October. I explained that as it would be against FCO advise to go on this holiday and that would mean that I wouldnt be covered by insurance if it went ahead. I was told that either I pay the balance before 31/7/or I would lose my `£875.00 deposit. So as it stands I am going to have to pay the substantial balance for a cruise that is 99.999% certain to be cancelled and then wait several months on a full refund.  Seems unfair.  I have no desire to take a Future Cruise Credit.

I think your TA needs to call Azamara; I know things are different in the US But I would be surprised if something couldn’t be done.  I thought you were going to lift and shift 

[excitedofharpenden]

5 hours ago, Norn Iron Man said:

Today I received a call from my TA requesting the final Balance on my Azamara cruise due to sail on 10th October. I explained that as it would be against FCO advise to go on this holiday and that would mean that I wouldnt be covered by insurance if it went ahead. I was told that either I pay the balance before 31/7/or I would lose my `£875.00 deposit. So as it stands I am going to have to pay the substantial balance for a cruise that is 99.999% certain to be cancelled and then wait several months on a full refund.  Seems unfair.  I have no desire to take a Future Cruise Credit.

That is really annoying and makes no sense. I wouldn't be happy with that at all. I agree with Laurie. Your travel agent needs to work with Azamara on this. I hope they are a good one and can work something out for you. 

 

Phil 

[uktog]

9 hours ago, Norn Iron Man said:

Today I received a call from my TA requesting the final Balance on my Azamara cruise due to sail on 10th October. I explained that as it would be against FCO advise to go on this holiday and that would mean that I wouldnt be covered by insurance if it went ahead. I was told that either I pay the balance before 31/7/or I would lose my `£875.00 deposit. So as it stands I am going to have to pay the substantial balance for a cruise that is 99.999% certain to be cancelled and then wait several months on a full refund.  Seems unfair.  I have no desire to take a Future Cruise Credit.

Not good, but sadly typical from some UK agents. I really hope you get it sorted out.  My experience was there was a marked reluctance by the agents to engage with the cruiseline and in my case even when the cruiseline (river cruise) had confirmed a two month extension in payment to me direct as I got fed up waiting for the agent to act, the agent refused to honour it.  We compromised at one month and the cruise was indeed cancelled in that period. Good luck, hope you get a result, I’m sure that’s another agency losing loyal business going forward. 

Edited July 24, 2020 by uktog

[john1970]

9 hours ago, Norn Iron Man said:

Today I received a call from my TA requesting the final Balance on my Azamara cruise due to sail on 10th October. I explained that as it would be against FCO advise to go on this holiday and that would mean that I wouldnt be covered by insurance if it went ahead. I was told that either I pay the balance before 31/7/or I would lose my `£875.00 deposit. So as it stands I am going to have to pay the substantial balance for a cruise that is 99.999% certain to be cancelled and then wait several months on a full refund.  Seems unfair.  I have no desire to take a Future Cruise Credit.

My cruise is on October 3rd. I called my TA as I have not paid the final balance due early next week. I booked onboard last year. I looked into changing to a totally different cruise which was priced for me (not lift and shift eligible) or cancelling. We only paid GBP250 deposit and I was told if we cancelled completely we could have that as a FCC. I would lift and shift as I have USD1000 OBC but the choices are very uninspiring for me. I will decide what to do today.  There is not a chance that I will pay over GBP4000 to Azamara to wait a month for it to be cancelled and then wait till Christmas for the refund. I would go back to Your TA and ask about cancelling and keeping the deposit as FCC or lift and shift or another Azamara cruise that takes your fancy. GBP875 is a lot of money to lose and it is very unfair to be put in this situation when we all know they are likely not to operate in Europe this year. Best of luck, I have to say my TA which is a large cruise specialist has been very good and pro active. I would definitely book with them again.

[Riocca]

1 hour ago, john1970 said:

My cruise is on October 3rd. I called my TA as I have not paid the final balance due early next week. I booked onboard last year. I looked into changing to a totally different cruise which was priced for me (not lift and shift eligible) or cancelling. We only paid GBP250 deposit and I was told if we cancelled completely we could have that as a FCC. I would lift and shift as I have USD1000 OBC but the choices are very uninspiring for me. I will decide what to do today.  There is not a chance that I will pay over GBP4000 to Azamara to wait a month for it to be cancelled and then wait till Christmas for the refund. I would go back to Your TA and ask about cancelling and keeping the deposit as FCC or lift and shift or another Azamara cruise that takes your fancy. GBP875 is a lot of money to lose and it is very unfair to be put in this situation when we all know they are likely not to operate in Europe this year. Best of luck, I have to say my TA which is a large cruise specialist has been very good and pro active. I would definitely book with them again.

We did the same with our October b2b cruises as there was no lift and shift options, however we were told that it would take 45 days to issue the FCC. That was 60 days ago and still no sign of the FCC same as the air compensation that was paid the same day a month ago and still not received, chasing emails go unanswered. 

[Norn Iron Man]

Thank you all for your responses

 

Laurieb - My TA said they called Azamara and that was the best they could come up with.  I really dont want to lift and shift as with all the suggested restrictions that may be in force when cruising resumes I'm not sure that I would enjoy a cruise in the future as much as I have in the past.

 

 

excitedofharpenden - I thought by using a well established specialist cruise TA that this would be the case. Sadly I feel let down.

 

uktog - When I pointed out to the TA that Azamara had sent out an email extending the final payment date by 3o days I was told that this was nothing to do with them

 

John 1970 - I am extremely reluctant to have to pay out over £3000.00 just to ensure that in 2 0r 3 months time I will get my £875.00 deposit back. It would appear that I am giving Azamara an interest free loan to pay back other cruisers whilst I will have to wait to have my money returned to me.

 

One thing that really angered me yesterday was when I told the TA that Cruising was against FCO advice and therefore if I went on the cruise I probably would not be covered by insurance. He more or less said too bad it wasnt their problem.

 

 

I'm sure the decision has already been made in the higher echelons of Azamara/RCL that there will be no European cruises this year. Why can they not do the decent thing like Princess and cancel them.

[john1970]

1 hour ago, Norn Iron Man said:

Thank you all for your responses

 

Laurieb - My TA said they called Azamara and that was the best they could come up with.  I really dont want to lift and shift as with all the suggested restrictions that may be in force when cruising resumes I'm not sure that I would enjoy a cruise in the future as much as I have in the past.

 

 

excitedofharpenden - I thought by using a well established specialist cruise TA that this would be the case. Sadly I feel let down.

 

uktog - When I pointed out to the TA that Azamara had sent out an email extending the final payment date by 3o days I was told that this was nothing to do with them

 

John 1970 - I am extremely reluctant to have to pay out over £3000.00 just to ensure that in 2 0r 3 months time I will get my £875.00 deposit back. It would appear that I am giving Azamara an interest free loan to pay back other cruisers whilst I will have to wait to have my money returned to me.

 

One thing that really angered me yesterday was when I told the TA that Cruising was against FCO advice and therefore if I went on the cruise I probably would not be covered by insurance. He more or less said too bad it wasnt their problem.

 

 

I'm sure the decision has already been made in the higher echelons of Azamara/RCL that there will be no European cruises this year. Why can they not do the decent thing like Princess and cancel them.

My insurance allows us to claim for the cruise as long as you are in within 30 days of travel and the FCO advice remains and you booked before the advice. Again not helpful as you already had to pay the balance. I have now cancelled my cruise and have opted for a FCC of the deposit. Not sure if we will ever use it but I can live with the loss of GBP250 if it comes to it. Now if it was your case at GBP875 I would be very hacked off. I would leave it until the very last you can just in case they cancel the cruise before the final balance is due. I know there are some very helpful people on this board who might have some other suggestion for you. Best of luck. 

[oddjob16]

We are also B2B on Journey 3.10 and 10.10 and holding for the final payment due in the beginning of august. If it comes down to pay or loose the deposit I would be quite pissed off. I can accept the deposit to be moved to a later booking, but we will see. Right now there are no reason to think that there will be any cruises in Europe before spring or early summer 2021. The fact that Azamara asks us to make a payment for something they have no intention of delivering is quite immoral. It tastes of foul play and swindel. 

[excitedofharpenden]

21 minutes ago, oddjob16 said:

We are also B2B on Journey 3.10 and 10.10 and holding for the final payment due in the beginning of august. If it comes down to pay or loose the deposit I would be quite pissed off. I can accept the deposit to be moved to a later booking, but we will see. Right now there are no reason to think that there will be any cruises in Europe before spring or early summer 2021. The fact that Azamara asks us to make a payment for something they have no intention of delivering is quite immoral. It tastes of foul play and swindel. 

I think the fact that Azamara have now officially put two ships into cold lay up and one in warm lay up in an area of the country that has heavy seas from the late summer/Autumn months it's about time that Azamara were honest to their paying guests. It would be interesting to have a comment from the poster 'Azamara Team'. This is the kind of thing many here would appreciate involvement by them in. 

 

Phil 

[Norn Iron Man]

29 minutes ago, oddjob16 said:

We are also B2B on Journey 3.10 and 10.10 and holding for the final payment due in the beginning of august. If it comes down to pay or loose the deposit I would be quite pissed off. I can accept the deposit to be moved to a later booking, but we will see. Right now there are no reason to think that there will be any cruises in Europe before spring or early summer 2021. The fact that Azamara asks us to make a payment for something they have no intention of delivering is quite immoral. It tastes of foul play and swindel. 

 

3 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I think the fact that Azamara have now officially put two ships into cold lay up and one in warm lay up in an area of the country that has heavy seas from the late summer/Autumn months it's about time that Azamara were honest to their paying guests. It would be interesting to have a comment from the poster 'Azamara Team'. This is the kind of thing many here would appreciate involvement by them in. 

 

Phil 

 

I agree 100%.  They know they have no intention of sailing this side of Christmas. They would need to be sorting out their logistics now.  I think its bad business practice and certainly could be bordering on illegal.  It really puts a bad taste in my mouth 

[Norn Iron Man]

On 7/24/2020 at 2:39 PM, excitedofharpenden said:

It would be interesting to have a comment from the poster 'Azamara Team'. This is the kind of thing many here would appreciate involvement by them in. 

 

Phil 

Very noticable by their absence