Epicureangirl

On 3/15/2020 at 1:38 PM, nigelc said:

I was booked on the 17th March cruise out of Dubai and the 25% FCC is no where near enough to cover the stress that Azamara put me and other customers through; they have no customer service or management skills and do not appear to care that their customers have booked travel arrangements that means leaving home well before the actual cruise date and therefore they need to know what they are doing asap. The fact that ports where closed, did not stop Azamara from telling customers a couple of days before they cancelled the cruise that there were no changes to the itinerary - everything was as promised.

Hi Nigel, I would have been on the same sailing as you and agree 100%. They were still selling that cruise up until the last minute and telling me NO changes to the itinerary, even when I heard that some ports were closing to ships. When they cancelled on us there were no travel restrictions or pandemic announced, though there was complete chaos for the sailing preceding ours.  The only ones who may have been taken care of properly IMO, were those who also booked their air and pre/post bookings directly through Azamara.  As for the rest of us ... all I heard was crickets.

2 hours ago, ECCruise said:

Honestly, I can understand the frustration with some of the communication.

 

However, speaking from the group that was severely impacted on the Quest, I think some understanding is in order.  Our sailing had issues virtually every day, which involved both staff in Miami as well as onboard.  The entire itinerary after about day 7 of 26 had to be reshuffled, often multiple times.  Ports granted us permission to dock and then rescinded permission virtually hours before our arrival.  The disembarkation port had to be changed almost at the last minute (Dubai for Muscat) involving eVisas procurement for 650 passengers (about a 45 minute ordeal for each).  There was much back and forth between Miami and the ship, trying to coordinate resources to get very pressing issues handled.  Because of that, I am quite sure that the ball appears to have been dropped for the March 17th and 28th sailings.  At one point, when Muscat was the only available port in a thousand+ miles range (and the day after we disembarked barred any visas) they really thought they had a ship that may not have had a place to allow the passengers to leave. 

 

Speaking for ourselves and virtually every passenger we spoke with, Azamara turned what might have been a disastrous experience into one that, if push came to shove, we would probably repeat.  They were that responsive and attentive. 

Thanks for your post.  I'm glad that you came away with positive feelings for how Azamara handled themselves during this difficult time.  I was supposed to be on the March 17th sailing, so am one of the affected who feels the ball was dropped. I can see that it was chaos that week. 

Still, it is not too late for Azamara to try and do better for those on the March sailings (and beyond).  I wish Azamara would take back the reigns on the bookings made through travel agencies and try and take care of us.  Azamara communicated one type of compensation to us by email, yet another to the travel agency.  We now have to go between both to get it sorted what we will actually see back and when.  I now know all the hold music and recordings for Expedia, Westjet, British Airways and Costco as I try to salvage some of the land and air portions of that trip.  I'm exhausted and in need of a cruise to recuperate!  

9 minutes ago, combine said:

Is not getting back all that you have paid, (either FCC or direct refund) not enough? How has it come down to choosing the best compensation when health is important and the staff onboard have lost their income 😢. It’s a sad sad day when compensation takes precedence over these issues. 

Not sure why you are quoting me on this. I don't think my quote in any way was saying that my compensation takes precedence over staff losing their income.  My comment had nothing to do with the plight of how the staff may be impacted, and I have no information on how the cruise lines will be compensating (or not compensating) their staff.  This is strictly on what other companies are doing for their customers.  If the customers are not well looked after and do not book future cruises, there will be no jobs in the future.

And no, getting back what I paid for the cruise portion is not enough IMO. Not when your sail date is that close. People sailing this week already had air and hotel and tours and kennels booked etc. etc.  -  bags were literally starting to be packed.    If you want to talk about me getting back all that I had paid, I would also be getting another $5,000 for Air & Hotel.   That 25% cruise credit, if I were able to use it, does not come to $5,000.  It was not a $20,000 cruise (at least not for my cabin).  

We were scheduled for an Azamara cruise (owned by RCI) for the 17th out of Dubai.  The cruise has been cancelled by Azamara but we already have our air booked and pre and post hotel bookings -- all non refundable.  We tried to look at paying the change fee for our flights to go somewhere else, but the prices have gone up 300% so we can't really afford almost $11,000 for 3 persons to rebook.

So ultimately we're going to Dubai this weekend, and then heading to Mauritius.  Our flights route through Heathrow.  These are not countries currently on the WHO 'list', so my biggest risk should be on the plane and passing through the airports.   

We're pretty much tied to the school schedule for our trips at the moment and already have plans for the Summer, so are going ahead and hope we made the right decision.  

6 hours ago, nigelc said:

 

Being one of those who was booked on the 17 March sailing out of Dubai, I could not agree more - a very stressful time made worse by a total lack of communication and leadership from Azamara. A 25% FCC does not cut it; especially with so much FCC being in play, I am sure that we will see inflated cruise prices during the period the credit is valid. 

You are so right. I was on that sailing to.  Right now I am envying the choices been given by Princess cruise lines.  100% cruise credit PLUS 100% refund for our sail date.  MUCH MUCH better offer.    They have a nice tidy table of what you can choose as compensation depending on our cruise date:

https://www.princess.com/news/pdfs/voluntary-60-day-pause-of-global-ship-operations.pdf

20 hours ago, gnld said:

Michelle -

For the 3/17 cruise that Azamara cancelled, we get a full refund of the cruise fare we paid, back to our credit card. We booked air thru ChoiceAir, so we get all of that back, too. Also get back 100% of any shorex, drink pkgs, pre-hotels, etc booked thru Azmara. We also get a 25% future cruise credit; not sure of its expiration date (hoping thru 12/21). I haven't received written confirmation of these refunds/credits yet, just what's in the Azamara email I received early yesterday morning.

Gary

Gary, I sure hope Azamara can do better for you -- Princess is doing much, much more for their passengers. Check the amounts for each sailing date their passengers are being compensated.

https://www.princess.com/news/pdfs/voluntary-60-day-pause-of-global-ship-operations.pdf

On 3/10/2020 at 9:30 PM, MakingUpForLostTime said:

Last March, the third cruise (of the 3 B2B’s) lost all cooling after we left Singapore. Two days just north of the equator with the sun directly overhead. We received 50% credit off that cruise direct reimbursement to our credit card. It was not a future cruise credit. We were Wowed! The onboard staff go beyond what is expected and push to Wow us which they indeed did. That was $5,000 in my account for two days of no a/c. The captain said that it was what we as customers expect from Azamara. To step up and do better. It seems the head office is out of touch with their approach. I believe they could come back and do better especially if more people push for it. I believe they do read these boards to feel the pulse.

Looks like Princess has done much better than Azamara...   

I'm quite choked ...  sailing Princess for my date I would have a 100% cruise credit in addition to my 100% refund.  Not feeling the 'wow'.

https://www.princess.com/news/pdfs/voluntary-60-day-pause-of-global-ship-operations.pdf

Sorry, I don't understand what you're saying.   Azamara cancelled, is giving 100% refund and a 25% future cruise credit for my sail date.  If I were sailing with Princess, I could still get a 100% refund but they would also give me 100% future cruise credit.

For clarification, this is not a situation where I voluntarily cancelled and accepted a 100% cruise credit.  I was on a sailing date where Azamara cancelled the cruise and gave us 25% cruise credit and a refund.

My cancelled cruise was due to leave on the 17th (5 days). If it was a Princess cruise I would be choosing 100% refund and 100% cruise credit.  Instead, Azamara offered a 25% cruise credit with my refund.  I was under the impression Azamara did better than the 'other' mass-market lines.

This pdf shows the table of refunds due for certain cruise dates.  

https://www.princess.com/news/pdfs/voluntary-60-day-pause-of-global-ship-operations.pdf

You better go see what Princess is offering their cruisers.   I hope Azamara will do better.  Offering a 25% cruise credit for the cancellation on the 17th is absolutely not enough

https://www.princess.com/news/pdfs/voluntary-60-day-pause-of-global-ship-operations.pdf

2 hours ago, flyingron said:

I never use the provided toiletries anyhow.   If there was an option to not stock my room with them at all I'd select it.     Wall mounted dispensors are annoying and budget-hotel tacky.   The showers are small enough without adding that sort of thing.

I totally agree with you, I hate the dispensers.  The ones they make for hotels (that I have used so far) ensure sure you get the smallest amount of product per pump.  Even when those pump dispensers are filled with Elemis, it still felt a bit down-market to me on my latest HAL cruise, while pump-pump-pumping to get enough body gel.  Maybe I need to see what La Gomera is using to become a convert.

Apparently this discussion about the bottles of toiletries is quite divisive, I was pretty much attacked on the other forum by some guy for my love of the small bottles.  I am environmentally friendly in many other ways, but I still do like the small bottles IF they contain high-end products.  Yes, they should be made of a recyclable plastic, and definitely recycled, but I'm not sure that happens in the cruise industry.

I was hoping to find out what Azamara was using for products and dispensers first-hand, but sadly our cruise that leaves this week has been cancelled. Instead, I will get to find out what products they're using in the hotels in the Emirates -- I'm guessing they're great!  

18 hours ago, gnld said:

With the 3/17 cruise being cancelled in the wee hours this morning (Calif time), that gave us no reasonable option but to cancel our 3/28 cruise. Our air was via Choice Air and was a fully refundable fare, so we get all that back, no problem. For our cancelling, we get 100% future cruise credit good thru 2021. We'll find something else of interest once things all settle down later this year.

A poster on the 3/17 thread linked a NYTimes article stating that Jordan is not allowing ships in that come from Egypt. We know Eilat is out, and now Aqaba. The ship (if there is a cruise) will probably leave from Muscat, as that is where they are disembarking current Quest passengers, per a CC'er onboard.

Gary, I know you mention that for you cancelling your 3/28 cruise, you will get a cruise credit good through 2021.  But do you know if the cruise credit you get for Azamara cancelling the 3/17 cruise, has an expiry date?   I sure am hoping it doesn't expire in 2021 -- it is as good as nothing to me if it is.  

Thanks,

Michelle

14 hours ago, MakingUpForLostTime said:

Last March, the third cruise (of the 3 B2B’s) lost all cooling after we left Singapore. Two days just north of the equator with the sun directly overhead. We received 50% credit off that cruise direct reimbursement to our credit card. It was not a future cruise credit. We were Wowed! The onboard staff go beyond what is expected and push to Wow us which they indeed did. That was $5,000 in my account for two days of no a/c. The captain said that it was what we as customers expect from Azamara. To step up and do better. It seems the head office is out of touch with their approach. I believe they could come back and do better especially if more people push for it. I believe they do read these boards to feel the pulse.

Yes, I would have been wowed too, and I would have felt well cared for and valued as a customer. I would have loved to hear the captain say that and believe it.  It would definitely make me want to come back despite that issue.  I certainly hope they can and will do better than the 25% cruise credit but I would be stunned if they did. I am getting used to being disappointed!  

It even ticks me off a bit that if you didn't book your air through Azamara, to get the (was it up to $500?) back per person, you must change your flights and provide proof of the amount, then I assume they will pay what the change-fee portion was?  And then for people who decide to proceed with the flight that is days away, there is no compensation whatsoever.  As I said, I did look at changing the flights but it was going to be $10,500 for the 3 of us for the new fares, l plus the $275 change fee per ticket.  Yes, I know this is in Canadian dollars, but it is still a lot to me! 

With the cancellation, people are suffering financial impacts now, that a cruise-credit (to be possibly used in the future) will not help with.  Yes, we will get our cruise-cost back, but at the end of the day I would lose 5k in the other things I have paid for.   I just can't bring myself to lose out on my air and hotel so am going to cobble a vacation together, which may end up being at least the cost of the cruise -- yet I will not get 4 new countries to discover. Instead of enjoying relaxed dining and drinking without opening my wallet on board, I will be constantly paying through the nose to get decent food in a very expensive city. I looked at trying to hop to some other cities on our itinerary, but is just too expensive given we would be booking last minute flight prices for 3 people (with the exception of Abu Dhabi which is a long drive).  I also don't want to spend much time in multiple airports and checking in and out of hotels.  This itinerary was perfect for a cruise, but madness for land-travel.  May be a case of 'first world problems', but there seem to be a lot of them all at once to deal with.

Does anyone know if the cruise credit has an expiry date?  If it expires in 2021 I might not be able to use it. I'm not sure about others, but I have my trips planned out for a bit and the upcoming Azamara itineraries don't fit with what I want to do.  If I want to book another cruise I'll have to start saving again anyhow, because my cruise reimbursement will have to pay for salvaging this mess.  

26 minutes ago, MakingUpForLostTime said:

I am in 100% agreement with you on your comment.

 

1) Last March we took 3 B2B from NZ to Japan. The first cruise missed 2 ports due to rough seas. We received a credit worth about 25% for a future cruise sailing. The current cruise customers are getting 75% for missing many stops. We won’t get any stops.

 

2) We have already flown part way to Dubai as part of our trip so where do we go from here. Our flight was $11,000. All hotels wee prepaid and most tours prepaid. We are out thousands.

 

3) We made it to Discover plus status and if Azamara does not better this offer, we will move our business to Oceania.

 

Azamara, we have seen you do better, so do better! It takes years to build loyalty but one stupid move to lose it. This offer is stupid and short sighted.

 

Thank you -- and I agree 100% with you too.  

I am not a loyal Azamara cruiser, instead we have a been mostly sailing HAL and were looking to upgrade our experience, hoping to find a different cruise line to become 'our' line. It does take a lot of time and money to gain status with a cruise line, and is hard to move on and start from the bottom (without any perks!).  Still, we have decades of cruising years ahead of us, so now is the time to make the move. We also considered Oceania, but, chose to try Azamara for this great itinerary and my expectations of the friendly onboard experience. We were SO looking forward to this cruise (weren't we all?!) and I spent a lot of time on these forums pouring over all the details and opinions before booking.  In no way is Azamara to blame for needing to cancel, but it is wholly in their control to make it right with the passengers who have booked with them.  I would like to be wowed by how they handle this situation so that I undoubtedly book again with them again (and again, and again...).

I don't mean to come across as ungrateful or petty (and this is not directed at you Bonnie other than to collect one more question), but I am not overly impressed by the cruise credit being offered at this late date given that I am due to fly out in a few days. 

If this belongs on a different thread, forgive me, but I see Bonnie is taking questions and would like to add mine.

My question to put forward is why a 25% cruise credit was deemed appropriate for the cancellation of the March 17th sailing?  I believe I read that Regent affected passengers were offered 25-50% cruise credit based on their sailing date -- I assume the closer to sailing date the more they received.  I recognize this is not the same company, but those just about to sail have more financial impacts than those with dates farther away.

I think most of us expected/hoped to go this week, and had our hotel and excursions booked already. I just want to put it out there, that for those of us who received official notice today of the March 17th cancellation we are 7 days away from our sail date yet only a few days away from our planned flights to Dubai.  I'm not sure about others (so I will use myself as example), but I did call the airline to see about paying a change fee for my tickets Vancouver-Dubai and my flight has tripled in price since I booked.  $3500 per person x 3 persons for my family to return home early (or only go as far as LHR) is just not do-able. It is spring break and my flight is 4 days away... I'm not sure there is a more expensive time for me to try and buy airfare. I can't afford to change my flight given that cost.  So now I have 11 more expensive nights somewhere because I can't afford to get home any sooner.  Staying is going to cost me dearly, but will be less than changing my flights. And since I will be taking my flight, I will not qualify for that change fee $ from Azamara either.

The cruise lines are not the only ones hemorrhaging money because of this cancellation. 

Thanks for your help during this stressful time. 

32 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

I am taking the liberty of reposting Epicureangirl’s recent experience with a Club Orange pass on the Westerdam. (With apologies to EG should she not have wanted her posts on this board.)

 

It looks like “specialty” coffee was out for the Club Orange pass (which we did receive in the Club Orange venue) but the question of unlimited mimosas is a good one.  Were mimosas on your menu, @Epicureangirl?

So now that it's been reposted in full, all my glaring typos and autocorrect replacements are evident to me, so apologies to those reading! 

Mimosa's were included on the in-room dining breakfast menu only.  When eating in the MDR there was still a charge for Mimosa's and no specific Club Orange menu for breakfast.  They only gave me the in-room breakfast menu at evening turn-down when the following day was a sea-day. I'm not sure if that is normal as I don't usually eat my breakfast in room and look for that menu.

The one morning that I did take advantage of the in room dining for breakfast, I had ordered 1 mimosa and they sent up two which was nice as they are in small glasses.  That menu also includes steak and eggs as well as a smoked salmon Eggs Benedict, without the usual upcharge. My Benny was perfect, which really surprised me as I thought it might be a bit cold or overdone by the time it was delivered. There are many breakfast sides and pastries available to order, as well as steel cut oats, parfaits and other things that are not on the regular in-room dining menu.  I'm guessing that suite guests have always been given this extended menu, but it was nice to have more of a choice of in room offerings. 

4 hours ago, Werangels said:

 

If you want to explore the city and have a beach/resort feel, Jumeirah Walk is a good location.  Be wary of the Palm as it is a long way out of the city, particularly the further onto the Palm you go and Dubai traffic can be horrendous.  A great central hotel is the Address, Dubai Mall.  Worth paying for a room with a view of Burj Khalifa.

The Address definitely has the style I like. It looks like for the flights I want, I may end up staying 2 nights before and 3 after (giving me a chance to try two hotels out).  Sadly the first night I probably won’t get to the hotel until 1am.  I really bristle paying so much for a room when I can’t even check in at a reasonable hour to enjoy the surroundings.   That looks like a fabulous location, thanks for the suggestions. I was planning to stay out of the Palm with the traffic nightmare, and am not really a beach person so Dubai Mall area could work quite nicely.  Thanks again!

On 5/29/2019 at 2:05 PM, Werangels said:

Pre or post hotels with a difference:-

 

If you wanted to extend, I highly recommend the following:-

 

Al Maha Desert Resort and Spa - inclusive of all meals and activities including 4x4 dune bashing, camels into the desert for champagne and sunset, horse riding, falconry, etc.  45 minutes from Dubai.  It was No 1 in Dubai for years on TA until TA changed it’s location to Murquabb.  They often do 3 nights for the price of 2 which makes the high price more acceptable!

 

Six Senses Zighy Bay - superb. 120 minutes by car from Dubai airport.  

Thanks for your recommendations, I will be looking these up right away!   I am hoping 3 nights post-cruise will be enough to get more of a feel for the city.

Unfortunately, when I went to book this morning the last suitable stateroom had gone, I'm not sure if someone was holding it in their 'cart', but I kept checking back and it finally reappeared.  Being able to book QUICKLY online became more important then calling some TA's in Florida to discuss prices on a cabin that was no longer available. 

So with thanks to all of you, I have booked my first Azamara cruise (celebration emoji belongs here)! The big-box won my business this time after switching my card over to the Exec membership. After looking at what my credit card would have charged me to be billed in US $, booking directly with a US TA wasn't doing me any favours on the price.  I may have saved a little, but without knowing what exchange rate would be applied, it was really difficult to know where the price would be in the end.  If I finally figure out 'the' best US agency to deal with, one that books group space especially, I will have to try that route next time.  Perhaps if there is a CC meet and greet someone will whisper the name of their TA in my ear. 😂

Okay, now I'm really confused.  I found a website (very "red white and blue" both figuratively and literally), and the quote WAS about $500 less.  But then I see fine print that "taxes, fees & port expenses add $155.69 per person".   Which pretty-much eats up the $500 saved (is a cabin for 3).  I thought that when I used the big-box site my quote included all of that.   I will keep looking to see if I can come across an agency that had booked group space, but my time is running out.  There is only one cabin left that has room for a 3rd person.

12 hours ago, rallydave said:

What you are all missing is that there are several agencies in the US that work with Canadian customers that provide cash rebates you can spend as you choose.  These can amount to 10% of the commissionable costs.  The money comes from their commissions just like many other perks so you still pay the full price up front before you get a check prior to leaving on the cruise that you can use as pur cash.

I think that maybe some of the agencies that quoted would possibly do this, but that I will have to call them?  The OBC is what is in the email quote, but they all say call for special offers.  Maybe they will give me a better option (cold hard cash back)?   Thanks for your input.

11 hours ago, Cruise Junky said:

Well they’re certainly doing it.  Just did a quick check on a random 14 night cruise next September. $1,400 total less on the TAs site. I went right to the end on both bookings so all taxes are in there. $16,400 on TA and $17,800 on Azamara’s site. 

This not naming names with TA's is killing me!  I want to find these sites!  All my cruise quotes of course say to call... maybe that's where the cash option becomes a possibility?  I did get a new quote in last night that looked $150 better than big-box, but that might be easily eaten up what the credit card charges on the foreign transaction (I'm going to have to look at the fine-print on my credit cards to figure out which one to use in that case). 

Thank you!

10 hours ago, Cruise Junky said:

I prefer the discounted price vs a gift card. I book through a US agent. They seem to offer better rates than Canadian TAs 

For Azamara, the quotes I am getting (from US agencies) are all identical, other than the differences in OBC. I am guessing Azamara doesn’t let TA’s publish lower fares? Or have you been able to get a lower rate on the same cabin type? If I go the big box route, the gift card is one bonus, but on top of that the 2%  back (again to be spent in store) is hard to ignore.  

13 minutes ago, marinaro44 said:

 

I'm so sick of reading about dead marine life--whales, sea birds, etc.--washing up on shore with stomachs full of plastic.  The selfishness of some here amazes.

And the rudeness of others amazes me. Considering the environmental impacts of cruise travel as an industry, I don’t think anyone on here should be preaching about this topic at all as it’s very hypocritical. An environmental  high-horse is easy to fall from.  

I was well aware that what I posted would not sit well with some, and I am well informed on what you are saying. I never suggested that it should be thrown into the ocean or garbage. Many types of plastics are recyclable and do not have to end up in the landfill. They can buy from companies that use recycled plastic in their packaging too.   I know how to check which plastics are recyclable before I buy it and how to sort everything. Still, I think the customer-facing side of MANY businesses try to portray environmental stewardship by taking away the bottles, suggesting they don’t wash the towels etc (which also saves them money), but in the back of the house, they don’t recycle and pollute on many levels because it’s inconvenient and expensive to do otherwise. I’m not pointing fingers at Azamara, I have no idea what they do on their ships.