jegoodman

My travel agent processed final payment today.  She said she could do it through the TA portal.  I received a receipt from the TA for the correct amount, cross checked it with the credit card company to make sure Azamara didn't change the amount, and within minutes the Azamara website showed paid in full.

Needless to say I screenshot the paid in full before it disappears.  2 weeks ago I received an email from Azamara confirming OBC.

I still need to cancel a few excursions booked before the changeover and book different ones using OBC.  The problem is some show a price of 999,999 and has not been corrected.   I'll wait one month before trying to fix the excursion issue.  Maybe by miracle the website will work by then.

I just received an email from Azamara regarding Fusina disembarkation procedures.  Here they are:

8 minutes ago, paf225 said:

Hi jegoodman, I was just on Pursuit for a 12 night Istanbul to Athens cruise ending on May 14th and the internet/wifi package was $19.95 per day.  I received a 75% discount for loyalty status on the full voyage package so the cost for me was $59.85.

 

Regards, Paul

Thank you Paul.   Must be another website snafu.  I will get a 50% loyalty discount.  

Jeff

I thought the Daily price of full Voyage WiFI was $20  per day or $140 for a week long cruise.

On the infamous website, the price is showing $159.60 for the 7 day cruise.

Can anyone aboard Azamara confirm the pricing?  Or is this just yet another issue with the website?

Thank you.

Well, today my reservation no longer has the pricing for the cruise.... total price nor amount owed.  I'm thinking this is a good thing as I went through a travel agent and I know with other lines, amount owed isn't usually displayed.

The excursions I picked before conversion using OBC are correct with the prices I booked at.  In the available excursions area, some are higher priced and some are priced at $999,999.  Interestingly enough, these excursions were not showing before the conversion so I'm wondering if these excursions are really even applicable for the trip.  My OBC is still missing.  There's now something that shows "book with OBC" but the amount is $0.  I put in a request to Azamara to see if this all could get fixed and got the "canned" response that they fixed it but of course they didn't touch it.  

Final Payment is coming within a few days which the Travel Agent will handle.  And sometime in June, I will ask the Travel Agent to try and book more excursions and cancel one of them using OBC... assuming the website is not fixed.  We'll see how it goes.

Too bad the email is basically a work of fiction.  You would think the President of the company would at least confirm the status of the system before emailing incorrect information.  The other thing that saddens me is nowhere did she apologize.  These two magic words go a long way..."I'm sorry."  Granted she alludes to customer service not being up to par and alludes to realizing we're frustrated... but no apology.

Up until this morning as others have reported, my cruise was there, my loyalty points were correct... the only thing for me that seemed to be wrong was OBC was not showing but the excursions I booked were showing.  There were also some bookable new excursions available for the low price of $999,999 but I won't book an excursion that is priced under $1,000,000.

Now everything is gone.  My final payment is due in less than 30 days.  Reading others horror stories I worry they will charge me way beyond the correct total.  I have booked through a TA and am hoping things will be sorted by then.

11 minutes ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

I have a question though since it's been a few years since we've done an Azamara cruise:

 

- Can we book shore excursions with Azamara OBC ahead of time on the website?

You could before the website upgrade.  Not sure when this will be enabled again.  Right now my OBC doesn't show up on the new website and some of the excursions I already booked are priced incorrectly and descriptions are gone.  Presumably, this will be fixed in the future.

All I can talk about is the cruise I'm taking on 9/27.  

It seems like orientation short port tours range from about $39 to $109  .... Half day excursions range from $69 to $129...... Some full day excursions are up to $299.    

Examples:  All day Capri   $239  (no meal)    5 hour Herculaneum $169  

I don't think you can put an average price on an excursion through Azamara.  Each port is different and some have less expensive tours... but of course, because they are through the cruise company they are definitely more than you can book on your own.

I have a lot of OBC, too.... so I'm intending to use mostly Azamara shore excursions.  I'm not a drinker so I don't need to upgrade the alcohol package.  

Hope this helps a bit.

29 minutes ago, Georgeven said:

Here you go 😀

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you very much.  I appreciate this.  Looks like you are having a fantastic time!

Could you please post photos of the room service menu?  I'll be sailing Onward in a few months.

Thank you

57 minutes ago, Marilyn Johannes said:

No, there wasn’t any offer of any OBC or FCC but I didn’t expect anything since the March 5th cruise wasn’t offered anything. It’s a shame they waited to the last minute to cancel when they knew this cruise wasn’t going on as planned. Now it costs more for flights to travel during that time frame. Money to be refunded by February 27th. 

Also, just went on website and the cruise is still posted. Didn’t try to book it so I’m not sure you could go all the way through with the reservation.

Good luck with getting a refund on your cruise. 

Thanks for posting, Marilyn.

It really is ashame that Royal treats its customers this way.  Probably just as well that there's no offer of an FCC.  That would have tempted me to book again.  I really think Royal has blown it by taking so long to cancel these cruises.  I'm still waiting for mine to be canceled.  I think Holland America cancelled their whole season through September.  

Royal is getting positive press by offering cruises to first responders.  I wouldn't be surprised if it's tax deductible for them.  Royal doesn't do something for nothing. It's funny, I used to be really loyal to them but over the years (mainly after they hired a Carnival Executive) they have slowly but surely "carnivalized."  I remember in the 90's sodas were free and there were no specialty restaurants.  In the 2000's there were specialty restaurants but the pricing was minimal to cover the gratuity.  Now the pricing is quite high AND you pay gratuities.  

I will continue waiting for them to cancel my cruise on 3/28... get my refund.. and be done with this whole stressful mess.

1 hour ago, Marilyn Johannes said:

Just got email from my travel agent that Royal canceled March 21 Shanghai to Shanghai cruise. 

Marilyn,

Thanks for posting.  No word yet on mine. I'm hoping my cancellation will come in the next day or two.  I just want this over with.  I want to use that money towards something other than a cruise.

I assume they didn't offer any OBC or incentive for cancelling.

20 hours ago, Marilyn Johannes said:

Does anyone know how long Spectrum will be doing humanitarian cruises in Australia?

The only info right now is it will do two cruises in Australia.  It doesn't say yet how long these cruises will be and if they will extend the time in Australia.

While I think this is a fantastic decision by Royal Caribbean to do this and the first responders are the most deserving of this in the world.... Royal Caribbean has not done right by its passengers who are still booked on sailings on Spectrum out of Shanghai.  I am on the March 28 sailing of Spectrum and it is obvious this cruise will not happen.  Royal has still not cancelled this itinerary nor notified its customers.  In short, they are holding my payment hostage.  Do the right thing Royal Caribbean.

4 hours ago, SkaterJasp said:

I just got off Spectrum of the Seas and was in one of the aft studio... I can confirm that it is a Studio in terms of the bed size and storage space.. it's a smaller bed... but you get a full couch and some extra space. I was in 9322. It have the same amount of storage space as the regular studio balcony room... there is also no dresser that you see in regular balcony rooms. 

Thanks for the information.  The full couch will be great.

5 hours ago, cityguy300 said:

 

It was an interesting contrast to the Silver Spirit I was on immediately prior.  I wish I could have two done the two ships & itineraries in reverse, because the Silversea experience was better overall, and I didn't care for the crowds & throngs of children on Spectrum (inevitable with it being Christmas week).

 

Yet the Spectrum did do some things better -- the advantages of a big, new ship -- and I liked the Asian-focused (but far from Asian exclusive) buffet.  I didn't feel they needed the "cultural enrichment cruise" disclaimer, either; announcements were in English first, Cantonese second (when repeated at all), and the crew favoured English.  It might have been because it was a Hong Kong roundtrip sailing and the vast majority of the passengers were HK residents.

Yes, I think it is different going out of Hong Kong.  I believe that going out of Shanghai will be "culturally immersed" but I knew that before I booked.  It should be interesting to say the least.  Different but still fun of course.  After all, it's a cruise!

8 hours ago, cityguy300 said:

 

Yes, you're losing maybe two feet of total bed width versus a pair of side-by-side twins (but at least it's a single mattress), but otherwise I think the room is identical to a standard balcony.  The beds were identical in all three solo balconies my group had.

 

My aft balcony was probably a foot or two shorter than a standard -- as I don't think they could have fit two twins in there, definitely not separated -- but the room width was the same, and I think the rest of the furniture was identical, down to the full-size sofa.  The only other thing that might have been smaller was the washroom, but if so, the shower was plenty big.

Thanks again Cityguy.   Sounds perfect to me!  Definitely sounds bigger than the traditional studio cabin.  Hope you actually enjoyed Spectrum itself.

Thanks so much for the information.  So the aft solo has a small bed but does have a sofa?  Sounds great.

2 hours ago, cityguy300 said:

 

I don't start it until this Sunday -- I'm actually writing this from the Silver Spirit, which I disembark on Saturday.

 

The timing of your post is uncanny, as I was only scanning the RCCL board to see if anyone had posted anything relevant to my upcoming cruise (and I have the unlimited internet here to leisurely check and post back).

 

However my "solo" cabin turns out, I know it won't be as big as my suite here!  But I have no reason to think (yet) that it won't be the full-sized aft balcony it appears to be on the deck plan.  Not sure about the two, connecting side cabins that my parents are in -- on paper, they do look to be between a solo and regular balcony in size.

 

Unfortunately, I won't have any free internet to update you again until I'm home. 🙂

Enjoy your 2 cruises.  I'm not sailing until March 27 so I can certainly wait.  Even if I don't know about the cabin, I'm still going.  I have sailed in an actual solo cabin (on Ovation) and it was just fine.

cityguy300, did you return from your cruise yet?

Sorry for your troubles.  I hate queues that don't move.  

At least it sounds like you enjoyed Disney.

Wow on Kit Kat flavors.  Must be very popular in Japan.

Chinese immigration is notorious for not having enough officers.  When I ended a cruise in Tianjin I got lucky and was off the ship quickly due to an RCL transfer.  That time immigration was a breeze.

This time in Shanghai I will stay an extra day so not in a huge hurry, though truthfully I prefer to carry my bags off the ship.  Early disembarkation is probably not allowed, I presume?

Marc,

Thanks so much for the detailed review.  I really appreciate it and it has made me less apprehensive.

I'm not surprised about immigration.  Having cruised in Asia before, I've seen terrible set ups and long delays to clear.

Your cabin looks amazing and the amenities great.  I am Diamond Plus and was told I've have access to the Silver Lounge and solarium but might or might not have access to the dining depending on crowds.

Yep, Kit Kats are on my list for Japan.  Someone I know wants green tea kit kats and I think Japan is the only place that sells them.

I just got back from Australia and the most exotic Kit Kat was green mint.

Thanks so much for sharing!

Brandis, 

I think you are probably back from Spectrum.  Do you have anything to report on the Secret 2F cabins?  How was the cruise overall?

Any info you have would be helpful.

Thanks.

Thank you Marc for instructions on how to get to Kyoto.  It doesn't sound too bad.