Azamara Cancellation Fees

[trident]

We just had to cancel back to back cruises with Azamara.  These were booked under one booking number and the invoice showed that the cancellation fee would be $75.  When we called to cancel, we were told the cancellation fee would be $300.  $75/person for both cruises.  

This was not stated on the invoice. 

We canceled this booking because when we sailed with them around South Africa, most of the ship's passengers suffered with intestinal problems and the ship lied about the cause.  The pool was closed for the entire 37 days.  The company promised a future cruise credit for the days spent in isolation because of the illness but never made good on their promise.

We do not trust this company anymore and do not plan to sail with them ever again.

[Ayden]

10 minutes ago, trident said:

We just had to cancel back to back cruises with Azamara.  These were booked under one booking number and the invoice showed that the cancellation fee would be $75.  When we called to cancel, we were told the cancellation fee would be $300.  $75/person for both cruises.  

This was not stated on the invoice. 

We canceled this booking because when we sailed with them around South Africa, most of the ship's passengers suffered with intestinal problems and the ship lied about the cause.  The pool was closed for the entire 37 days.  The company promised a future cruise credit for the days spent in isolation because of the illness but never made good on their promise.

We do not trust this company anymore and do not plan to sail with them ever again.

Question?  Did you use a travel agent or book directly?

After reading your valid complaints i would suggest to travel agent convey to Azamara your negative experience and deposit discrepancy.  I certainly wouldn't be giving up without communicating your displeasure and hopefully Azamara will be interested in retaining their customer base under these circumstances.

If you booked directly then reach out to customer service management.

It might prove worthwhile.

Good luck.

[trident]

We did book through a travel agent and they are pursuing the matter.  However, so far, Azamara has been ignoring all emails.

[Fatfish]

Just cancelled via travel agent a B@B 2 weeks ago and only charged for the full cruise not 2..

[Grandma Cruising]

10 hours ago, trident said:

We just had to cancel back to back cruises with Azamara.  These were booked under one booking number and the invoice showed that the cancellation fee would be $75.  When we called to cancel, we were told the cancellation fee would be $300.  $75/person for both cruises.  

This was not stated on the invoice. 

We canceled this booking because when we sailed with them around South Africa, most of the ship's passengers suffered with intestinal problems and the ship lied about the cause.  The pool was closed for the entire 37 days.  The company promised a future cruise credit for the days spent in isolation because of the illness but never made good on their promise.

We do not trust this company anymore and do not plan to sail with them ever again.

We were also on the last leg of that cruise back from Cape Town to Gran Canaria. I’m not sure if it’s true to say the ship’s captain lied about the cause of the gastro problems, it seemed to us that no-one really knew. It transpired that the cause was probably water bottled in Cape Town where they have rolling electricity cuts. The pool wasn’t closed for the whole of our cruise, it did open for a couple of days.

We we’re given a 1 day FCC as my husband was confined to his cabin for a day. We were able to apply this to our next cruise on September. 

[Dynacruiser]

@trident   You really need to put more pressure on your travel agent.  They should be taking care of your valid complaints.   Mine does not communicate with Azamara via email, they always call and escalate the issue.  Sometimes, they spend over an hour trying to resolve a problem.  That's the TA's job, and that is why it's important to get a strong TA who will fight for you and their voice will be heard.

 

You seem to have valid complaints, so without telling your TA, you should also be calling Azamara asking to talk to a supervisor.  I haven't needed to talk to Azamara directly except when I call for questions or excursions.   By the way, I called Azamara in March asking what was going on with the stomach problems in the South African trip since I was gong to join that ship later, and they denied that they had any type of problems.  I challenged the Customer Rep to read the online comments.  I did not have to engage my TA for this.

 

Good luck.

[Grandma Cruising]

It may also be worth emailing Dondra Ritzenhaler (CEO) or Erin ODonnell (Head of Loyalty) direct. I had an issue about a shore excursion that I had emailed Customer Services about twice and got no response. I emailed Erin and she sorted it out very quickly.

dondra.ritzenhaler@azamara.com

erin.odonnell@azamara.com

 

[KevintheIrishDJ]

Forgot. How many days prior when they charge more?

 

[uktog]

25 minutes ago, KevintheIrishDJ said:

Forgot. How many days prior when they charge more?

 

Depends on what country your booking is based in - it is shown on your confirmation 

In the UK it is on the first page and ours, for example is set out as follows

91 days or more   Full deposit eg £250 per person minimum

90 - 61 days 50%

60 - 31  days 75%

30 days or less 100%

 

I think you booked in the US so you need to look at your confirmation or ask your travel agent

 

 

Edited June 28 by uktog

[hamrag]

15 hours ago, uktog said:

Depends on what country your booking is based in - it is shown on your confirmation 

In the UK it is on the first page and ours, for example is set out as follows

91 days or more   Full deposit eg £250 per person minimum

90 - 61 days 50%

60 - 31  days 75%

30 days or less 100%

 

I think you booked in the US so you need to look at your confirmation or ask your travel agent

USA:

Cancellation Schedule Cancellation Amount Date:

121 Days or more Prior to Sailing $75

120 to 91 Days Prior to Sailing 25%

90 to 61 Days Prior to Sailing 50%

60 to 31 Days Prior to Sailing 75%

30 to 0 Days Prior to Sailing 100%

[uktog]

On 6/26/2024 at 8:59 PM, trident said:

We just had to cancel back to back cruises with Azamara.  These were booked under one booking number and the invoice showed that the cancellation fee would be $75.  When we called to cancel, we were told the cancellation fee would be $300.  $75/person for both cruises.  

This was not stated on the invoice. 

We canceled this booking because when we sailed with them around South Africa, most of the ship's passengers suffered with intestinal problems and the ship lied about the cause.  The pool was closed for the entire 37 days.  The company promised a future cruise credit for the days spent in isolation because of the illness but never made good on their promise.

We do not trust this company anymore and do not plan to sail with them ever again.

In the UK you would be charged £500 (around $600) to cancel one cruise. Just saying 

[alfredo1]

Hello,

Is anyone aable to supply contact details of the new Azamara office in the UK.

Thanks

[Riocca]

4 minutes ago, alfredo1 said:

Hello,

Is anyone aable to supply contact details of the new Azamara office in the UK.

Thanks

 

This is from the UK website, https://www.azamara.com/gb/about-azamara/contact-us

 

Some of the hours are covered by the U.K. call centre others by the Wichita call centre but either can deal with U.K. issues.

[Riocca]

On 6/28/2024 at 7:21 AM, Grandma Cruising said:

It may also be worth emailing Dondra Ritzenhaler (CEO) or Erin ODonnell (Head of Loyalty) direct. I had an issue about a shore excursion that I had emailed Customer Services about twice and got no response. I emailed Erin and she sorted it out very quickly.

dondra.ritzenhaler@azamara.com

erin.odonnell@azamara.com

 

I have been in contact with Erin recently to resolve a couple of minor issues and the email I’ve been using is: eodonnell@azamara.com

[trident]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions on resolving this issue. Our travel agent contacted Erin and she was able to facilitate our refund.  She did agree that the invoices sent out by Azamara do not accurately give the cancellation fees.  She did say that the fees are spelled out in the cruise contract that we are all asked to sign.  I don't know about you, but we have not really read that entire document, but we will from now on.

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, trident said:

Thank you everyone for your suggestions on resolving this issue. Our travel agent contacted Erin and she was able to facilitate our refund.  She did agree that the invoices sent out by Azamara do not accurately give the cancellation fees.  She did say that the fees are spelled out in the cruise contract that we are all asked to sign.  I don't know about you, but we have not really read that entire document, but we will from now on.

Did you ask her about the FCC you were owed too?

[trident]

1 hour ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Did you ask her about the FCC you were owed too?

We did ask about the FCC and sent the letter from the captain but have not gotten a response to that issue.

[Ayden]

3 hours ago, trident said:

Thank you everyone for your suggestions on resolving this issue. Our travel agent contacted Erin and she was able to facilitate our refund.  She did agree that the invoices sent out by Azamara do not accurately give the cancellation fees.  She did say that the fees are spelled out in the cruise contract that we are all asked to sign.  I don't know about you, but we have not really read that entire document, but we will from now on.

Yeah!  Love a happy outcome.