Heart says book, head says wait and see

[john1970]

I really like the look of an itinerary on Journey in September next year from Athens.

 

I would have normally jumped straight in but really am hesitating. I am assuming by then they will have either sorted out all the onshore service issues or won't be trading. 

 

I have asked my TA for a quote and he said he will have to come back to me as their trade website is not clear and it's difficult to instantly quote on them. I would never book direct and always pay deposit on Amex. What to do??

 

 

[blag]

50 minutes ago, john1970 said:

I really like the look of an itinerary on Journey in September next year from Athens.

 

I would have normally jumped straight in but really am hesitating. I am assuming by then they will have either sorted out all the onshore service issues or won't be trading. 

 

I have asked my TA for a quote and he said he will have to come back to me as their trade website is not clear and it's difficult to instantly quote on them. I would never book direct and always pay deposit on Amex. What to do??

 

 

Wait... 

[excitedofharpenden]

If the price is right then I'd book it. For one thing we don't know what the IT situation is going to be like going forward. The other thing is the onboard experience, for me at least, has not diminished and the IT issues for the most part don't come into the equation, albeit they can be frustrating and require extra work. But the resulting cruise is worth it. 

 

Phil 

[travelberlin]

1 hour ago, john1970 said:

I really like the look of an itinerary on Journey in September next year from Athens.

 

I would have normally jumped straight in but really am hesitating. I am assuming by then they will have either sorted out all the onshore service issues or won't be trading. 

 

I have asked my TA for a quote and he said he will have to come back to me as their trade website is not clear and it's difficult to instantly quote on them. I would never book direct and always pay deposit on Amex. What to do??

 

 

If you are even having difficulties to have a quotation for the cruise, how are you going to book? It might be wise to wait.

Ivi

[wjfan417]

I booked 5 additional cruises for 2024-2025 when we were onboard in July, because we really liked the itineraries and price was and inclusions were good. All we have down is the reduced deposit for onboard booking which we will put a credit card claim for if necessary.

[Ayden]

Each if us have our own tolerance for risk and aggravation so it would be a personal decision however, if you do go ahead use a good agent to alleviate at least some of your concerns.

Many of us have had great onboard experiences but there are also many IT booking hiccups being reported by others.

Good luck whatever you decide.

[lisiamc]

3 hours ago, john1970 said:

I really like the look of an itinerary on Journey in September next year from Athens.

 

I would have normally jumped straight in but really am hesitating. I am assuming by then they will have either sorted out all the onshore service issues or won't be trading. 

 

I have asked my TA for a quote and he said he will have to come back to me as their trade website is not clear and it's difficult to instantly quote on them. I would never book direct and always pay deposit on Amex. What to do??

 

 

We’ve booked four new cruises since the IT debacle, and the IT thing really is getting better. You can phone up and get a helpful human with a minimal wait now. I wouldn’t wait, especially if you see a good offer. We do have some years of history with Azamara. They’ve done the right thing for us through a couple of episodes, (Onward Inaugural, for one) before and after the change of ownership. I highly prefer the Sycamore ownership to RCCI. 
 

Caveat: we have always used a travel agent and always will. Not just for Azamara, but for almost everyone else too. We occasionally book direct with Viking, but that can be a big variable.

[john1970]

Well I went ahead and booked. I have a good travel agent who was honest and said their feedback was still positive for the onboard experience and they have a team that just deals with Azamara admin!!  He gave me a price which I was happy with and he said that in about a week they should manage to get Azamara to issue a correct invoice with our loyalty discount. He said that at the moment it is the loyalty scheme that is causing them the most issues.

 

I paid by Amex and it is charged directly by Azamara and we have pretty good financial protection in the UK if it all goes horribly wrong.

 

Fingers crossed I will be lucky and my booking won't be one of the problematic ones.

 

 

[laurieb]

2 hours ago, john1970 said:

Well I went ahead and booked. I have a good travel agent who was honest and said their feedback was still positive for the onboard experience and they have a team that just deals with Azamara admin!!  He gave me a price which I was happy with and he said that in about a week they should manage to get Azamara to issue a correct invoice with our loyalty discount. He said that at the moment it is the loyalty scheme that is causing them the most issues.

 

I paid by Amex and it is charged directly by Azamara and we have pretty good financial protection in the UK if it all goes horribly wrong.

 

Fingers crossed I will be lucky and my booking won't be one of the problematic ones.

 

 

I'm happy you booked!  We have three upcoming and I'm not worried in the least.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I agree with @laurieb.  Life is too short to worry.  If you're flexible, any cruise can be a great cruise.

[The Salties]

If you can afford it "go for it". Nothing worse than, thinking "I wish I had" sometime in the future.

[AJCM]

On 9/2/2023 at 11:27 PM, john1970 said:

Well I went ahead and booked. I have a good travel agent who was honest and said their feedback was still positive for the onboard experience and they have a team that just deals with Azamara admin!!  He gave me a price which I was happy with and he said that in about a week they should manage to get Azamara to issue a correct invoice with our loyalty discount. He said that at the moment it is the loyalty scheme that is causing them the most issues.

 

I paid by Amex and it is charged directly by Azamara and we have pretty good financial protection in the UK if it all goes horribly wrong.

 

Fingers crossed I will be lucky and my booking won't be one of the problematic ones.

 

 

Hi John

 

Can you clarify please. You mention having a loyalty discount applied to your booking. I’m not aware of any discount applied to a booking, related to your loyalty level. Was this a specific short term offer or is there some broader applicability I’m not aware of?

[Wacktle]

On 9/2/2023 at 2:27 PM, john1970 said:

Well I went ahead and booked. I have a good travel agent who was honest and said their feedback was still positive for the onboard experience and they have a team that just deals with Azamara admin!! 

 

If there's a team dealing solely with Azamara, I assume it's a large UK-wide travel agent? I do wish you could name it. 

[john1970]

My agent mentioned a loyalty discount but that could mean it's coming from their side. I am leaving it to them as long as the price is what they quoted don't really mind how they get there!

[laurieb]

On 9/4/2023 at 8:15 AM, john1970 said:

My agent mentioned a loyalty discount but that could mean it's coming from their side. I am leaving it to them as long as the price is what they quoted don't really mind how they get there!

Yes, could be from the TA.  The only "loyalty" discounts with Azamara are the quarterly savings, and then the discount you get when booking onboard; the latter does depend on your level.

[john1970]

I am glad I booked it as it looks like it's sold out already.

[tgg]

13 minutes ago, john1970 said:

I am glad I booked it as it looks like it's sold out already.

 

Hope you have a great cruise.