Black Sea Survey

[audobon_tx]

Just received.  Never been asked before:

 

March 2, 2022

Dear Azamara Guest,

Last week, we sent a letter to inform you that we are working on making changes to your Black Sea Voyage due to the developing situation between Ukraine and Russia.

We want your voyage to be one to remember, so each of the ports we visit offers you a unique experience. For that reason, we'd want to hear from you about the countries you'd like to visit as alternatives to Ukraine and Russia. This will help us in making the necessary changes to your itinerary. Please take our 1-2 question survey by clicking here.

We greatly appreciate your cooperation throughout our journey as we have worked to manage this fluid situation. We assure you that your upcoming Azamara vacation will deliver the highest standards of service and quality for which we are known.

Should you have any questions, please contact your Travel Advisor for more details or visit https://www.azamara.com/contact-us for your local Azamara call center number.

We look forward to welcoming you on board.

Sincerely,

AZAMARA®

[ECCruise]

It appears that the link above is live  Please do not take this survey if you are not booked on a Black Sea sailing and did not receive the survey. Don't skew the results, please. 

[ECCruise]

Just now, audobon_tx said:

Just received.  Never been asked before:

 

March 2, 2022

Dear Azamara Guest,

Last week, we sent a letter to inform you that we are working on making changes to your Black Sea Voyage due to the developing situation between Ukraine and Russia.

We want your voyage to be one to remember, so each of the ports we visit offers you a unique experience. For that reason, we'd want to hear from you about the countries you'd like to visit as alternatives to Ukraine and Russia. This will help us in making the necessary changes to your itinerary. Please take our 1-2 question survey by 

OP,.if you can still edit your post, can you please remove the link to the survey?  Thanks much. 

[java spot]

I just filled out this survey. I am interested if everyone with a "Black Sea" itinerary was asked the same questions about  which ports they were interested in. My survey asked about Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece.   Did other on other Black Sea dates/itineraries have any other choices for alternate locations? Thanks. 

[ECCruise]

Just now, java spot said:

I just filled out this survey. I am interested if everyone with a "Black Sea" itinerary was asked the same questions about  which ports they were interested in. My survey asked about Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece.   Did other on other Black Sea dates/itineraries have any other choices for alternate locations? Thanks. 

Same survey for us. 

First question was "do you want to sail through the Bosporus and enter the Black Sea?" Then the same 4 countries. 

[DS]

we're on the ONWARD June 29 Black Sea and have NOT received the survey...

[Janet&Carl]

1 hour ago, java spot said:

I just filled out this survey. I am interested if everyone with a "Black Sea" itinerary was asked the same questions about  which ports they were interested in. My survey asked about Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece.   Did other on other Black Sea dates/itineraries have any other choices for alternate locations? Thanks. 

 

 

We had the same choices - we are on the Journey August 26 sailing

[ECCruise]

Just now, DS said:

we're on the ONWARD June 29 Black Sea and have NOT received the survey...

You probably should contact them. We got it both direct and forwarded from our TA. 

[AlamoCruisers]

We also are on the Onward June 29 Black Sea cruise and never received the original letter OR this survey. We contacted our travel agent about the letter and was told they would forward as soon as received. Still haven’t received, but thanks to others here saw the letter. 
 

I spoke with Azamara last week about extending the final payment and was told to have my TA call them. I also was told to expect a revised itinerary within a week or so.  
 

I am glad to see Azamara is reaching out to passengers, but think the link should remain active for those of us who don’t receive it.

[KirkNC]

We are booked on the version that goes to Georgia and northern Turkey.  My fear is that AZ will drop those ports as well.

[john1970]

I am starting to think that none of us on the June 29th sailing have been contacted either with the original email or survey. My TA has had nothing from Azamara.

[Roel94]

15 hours ago, java spot said:

I just filled out this survey. I am interested if everyone with a "Black Sea" itinerary was asked the same questions about  which ports they were interested in. My survey asked about Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece.   Did other on other Black Sea dates/itineraries have any other choices for alternate locations? Thanks. 

No,just those,

[Roel94]

12 hours ago, ECCruise said:

You probably should contact them. We got it both direct and forwarded from our TA. 

Oh forget my agent. I got it from Azamara  yesterday

[Azamarajunkie]

We received the email direct from AZ then had another sent by our TA. We are booked on the Journey Black Sea cruise on the 27th June, we originally booked this cruise on its original itinerary back in 2018, and this is our 3rd attempt to go, to be honest, so long as the cruise starts and ends in Athens on the same dates as planned (we are on a B2B)) we will be happy to go anywhere!

[cruisefam38]

Because we are booked for a Black Sea cruise this summer, we also received the survey.  We do not see the point of taking a cruise into that region that does not include at least a stop in Odessa.  An optimal cruise would also include Sochi, the Georgian port, Batum, and a port on the northern coast of Turkey. 

Maybe the cruise lines, including Azamara, will need to refer to "Western Black Sea" for itineraries with stops only at Romanian and Bulgarian ports. 

It is not that we don't thoroughly enjoy Aegean cruises, with Greek and Turkish ports, the issue is that we chose the Black Sea itinerary for a new and more exotic travel experience.  

We understand the gravity of the geo-political situation, and the complications for any proposed travel into that region of the world.  For us, the Black Sea and Aegean isn't as simple as comparing apples to oranges, or in this case olives to figs. 

The questionnaire didn't allow for any such nuisance in the reponses, so I am taking to Cruise Critic in the hope of sharing a more complete customer perspective.

Edited March 3, 2022 by cruisefam38

[Janet&Carl]

5 hours ago, cruisefam38 said:

.  For us, the Black Sea and Aegean isn't as simple as comparing apples to oranges, or in this case olives to figs. 

The questionnaire didn't allow for any such nuisance (sic. nuance) in the reponses, so I am taking to Cruise Critic in the hope of sharing a more complete customer perspective.

 

 

completely agree with your perspective - we booked for a "Black Sea" experience but feel that the questions did not cover adequately what my response to alternate ports would be.  My guess is they were just trying to work out how many people wanted to live dangerously and still go into the Black sea not cancel if they removed Odessa

 

Edited March 3, 2022 by Janet&Carl
spelling mistake

[excitedofharpenden]

30 minutes ago, Janet&Carl said:

 

 

completely agree with your perspective - we booked for a "Black Sea" experience but feel that the questions did not cover adequately what my response to alternate ports would be.  My guess is they were just trying to work out how many people wanted to live dangerously and still go into the Black sea not cancel if they removed Odessa

 

I totally disagree with you. There is just no way Azamara were trying to gauge who’d risk it. No matter what one says about their reasoning and delays in working through a replacement they will not want to put anyone at risk in any way.  I remember a few years ago when there was trouble in Turkey they moved all of the itineraries to the western Med. There were no cruises at all that went to the eastern Med. 

 

Phil

[Janet&Carl]

36 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I totally disagree with you. There is just no way Azamara were trying to gauge who’d risk it. No matter what one says about their reasoning and delays in working through a replacement they will not want to put anyone at risk in any way.  I remember a few years ago when there was trouble in Turkey they moved all of the itineraries to the western Med. There were no cruises at all that went to the eastern Med. 

 

Phil

Possibly, but besides Greece the Bosphorus Strait, Turkey, and the Black Sea port Countries were the only options available on the survey to choose from.  Many well travelled people would already have been to Mykonos and Santorini and Athens, some many times already.  Also with the Turkish ports, Istanbul and Ephesus - they are well visited.  There was no option to choose ports that you would prefer to go to.  Well - we all booked a "Black Sea" itinerary so of course we want to go - doesnt mean we want to go now or wont go in the future and can replace these ports this time.  Frankly, I'm happy either way.  I just thought the "survey" was inadequate for gauging thoughts on other itineraries.

[ECCruise]

On the survey we said we still wanted to sail through the Bosporus to Romania and Bulgaria  

We are on the Greece intensive before this, was all over Greece in December and back there again in October so Greek ports not our choice 

But it is what it is. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

21 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

On the survey we said we still wanted to sail through the Bosporus to Romania and Bulgaria  

We are on the Greece intensive before this, was all over Greece in December and back there again in October so Greek ports not our choice 

But it is what it is. 

I think that was what they were really trying to gauge (people's tolerance for sailing into the Black Sea at all).  But regardless of how the survey came out, their insurance or the legal team may have the final say.

[Janet&Carl]

15 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I think that was what they were really trying to gauge (people's tolerance for sailing into the Black Sea at all).  But regardless of how the survey came out, their insurance or the legal team may have the final say.

 

 

Exactly what I thought too

 

[DS]

2 hours ago, Janet&Carl said:

 

 

Exactly what I thought too

 

Agree... what we would like to see is a Turkey intensive down the western coast of Turkey  and into the Med.   We've done the usual Greek isle many times...

[Janet&Carl]

WE have only done the Greek Isles once - so the usual stops - I still have Rhodes on my to do list 🙂 and a few other stops lesser known stops on the Dalmatian coast.  Right now its a bit of a mystery tour 🙂 you used to be able to buy them 😉 

[I'malreadypacked]

On 3/2/2022 at 5:21 PM, java spot said:

I just filled out this survey. I am interested if everyone with a "Black Sea" itinerary was asked the same questions about  which ports they were interested in. My survey asked about Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece.   Did other on other Black Sea dates/itineraries have any other choices for alternate locations? Thanks. 

 

We will be on the Black Sea & North Greece Voyage that leaves Istanbul on May 5th.  We have received no information from Azamara about itinerary changes, and we were not invited to participate in any surveys.  I would have expected that they, at the minimum, send a short letter/email to everyone booked on this and other cruises that go to Ukraine saying that they are in the process of evaluating the situation and making alternate plans.  It takes a lot of effort to reschedule the stops, but just a few words that they are doing just that would be reassuring.  

[excitedofharpenden]

The Black Sea cruise is a tricky one because it's a unique itinerary and that will be the reason people booked it. Difficult to know what would be a substitution for it. 

 

Phil