TeaBag

Have you looked at United?  They fly non stop from ORD to YVR.  We have done it many times.

I have heard the Amtrak train is delightful and the scenery lovely, but have no experience myself.

You will see a difference cruising out of Vancouver vs Seattle as you will be sailing the inside passage which is very scenic.

Bon Voyage!

On 6/13/2023 at 10:11 AM, M4k3MyD4y said:

I've read through this particular blog as I had placed a deposit back in 2021 for Azamara's 2023 Australia cruise during the Xmas/New Year's eve holidays.  I've received the two msgs from the company about their IT issues but at this point if Azamara and RCI have yet to sort out the data, I'm hesitant to proceed w/the cruise and it's also my first w/Azamara cruise line.  I've been on Celebrity for the past decade or more but wanted to be in Sydney for New Year's as it's been on my bucket list, and it seems only Azamara of the bigger lines is the only one for 2023/2024....looks like it won't be happening this year.  

 

While reading through the entries, it looked discouraging until I reached toward the more recent ones and a couple folks received their refunds.   The problem I'm having is that my booking doesn't even appear in my account and not sure I can even request my refund!   I do have Azamara's acknowledgement and the itinerary, etc when I first made the deposit so I'm hopeful I'll be able to push my request through.  I have made several email inquiries similar to what several have done and no reply.  Next I will send msgs to specific folks in their mgmt chain as suggested in addition to sending snail mail and attempting phone calls.   The full balance is not due until August so still have time but crossing my fingers.  

 

Thanks to this board/blog and everyone who have notated their experiences, it's much appreciated and I will try to also provide my experience as well for others.

 

- CP -

Welcome, CP, to Cruise Critic, the best site for cruising.

I could have written your first paragraph!   We are also on this cruise and the foregoing one. 

I, too, am fed up with Azamara's incompetent IT dept.  One of my "upcoming" cruises on my account is the one we sailed May 5, which is now sailing in MINUS 49 DAYS!  Do they have any idea how stupid this makes them look?  I wonder if this is why I have not received my points for the sailing.  Hope they don't subtract them instead of adding them on!

We are also waiting for Aug when final payment is due and if the situation is not resolved by then, we will be cancelling.

It was no fun flying to Singapore worrying about getting on the ship last month.  We were so tired, we didn't really enjoy the first few days of the cruise.

If we go ahead, the worry will be, will they still be in business in Dec?  This is based on all the cancellations and discontent I am reading about them on this board.

We, too are on this cruise.  This will be our third time for this itinerary and I agree with others that the closer you get to Vancouver, the cooler it becomes.

Hopefully, it will be sunny so you can enjoy touring our city.

Yes, please join the roll call.

We flew Singapore airlines last month and they did not weigh our carry-ons.  I wonder if they recognised our status with Star Alliance?

Love hearing from you again, Norris, and enjoying your Irish sense of humour.  I was raised in Enniskillen.  We haven't sailed any of the Edge class ships yet but have the Edge booked from Honolulu to Vancouver next year.  I will enjoy your account of Apex.

Does it specify what size the $6 strawberries are?  Maybe they're little wizened ones! 

i see that our cruise on Journey Dec 12, 2023 is also listed on the Lifestyles website.  Why don't they tell you this when you book?

We paid $251.45 USD pp/pd for a P1 aft cabin on Quest last month.  Fabulous for the Suez canal.  Captain Johannes told us they pay $410 USD pp to transit the canal.  

I will confirm this too.  We were overnight in Safaga May 20 - 21.  Azamara took care of our visas.

Very interesting to read the different posts.  We are just home from the Spice Route on Quest (Singapore to Athens)

I checked my account to see if things were better than they were at the beginning of May when we left.  It said I have 3 upcoming cruises.  Whoop de doo, Did they give me a little free one for all the time spent sorting out problems?  I thought I only had 2 upcoming trips.  Wait for it.........the third one is the Spice Route May 5, 2023, leaving in minus 29 days!  Better get the laundry done and repacked!!!  You couldn't make this stuff up!  I just thought you all needed a laugh.  🤣🤣

14 minutes ago, tvlgoddess said:

Can you transfer the unused non refundable OBC to the next leg if doing a B2B?

No.

We are on board Quest at present sailing through the Gulf of Aden.

Yes, the IT dept is a disgrace.  We were exhausted when we reached Singapore and still not sure we would be allowed to board the ship since they told us we owed $5,800!  We could not access our account unless we clicked "Pay Now".  So, of course, we had no info as we boarded and we could not check in in advance either.

All went fine and head office was well aware that we were fully paid.  We did have some trouble with our OBC, but that is now okay.

The food is wonderful and the staff can't do enough for you.

So, sit tight and maybe it will all be fixed by the time you cruise.

We are leaving in 3 days for Singapore, wishing all of this mess had been cleaned up long ago.  I am glad all our tours are private and I don't have to rely on these guys to get things right.  We did book the Azamazing evening in Colombo long ago and it is showing.

I hope everything works out for everyone who is booked for later this year and next.

I think dressing for dinner has gotten a lot more casual.  Some wear sports jackets.  I haven't seen suits in a long time but as has been said, there is the odd tux.

55 minutes ago, CHTobi said:

Being asked for more money is one thing. In my case I was overcharged $3,182.40 by mistake (Azamara's mistake - so far unexplained but most likely IT/systems based) when my TA called in final payment due. It was during the short window when the new Azamara system did not allow my TA to run the charge herself and a "highly qualified Azamara employee" ran the charge (with the overcharge). This has remained unresolved and it is impossible to get any type of update or timeline for a resolution. $3,182.40 is a substantial enough mistake to take immediate action and resolve it for a loyal customer who has sailed with the brand 37 time (33 of which, I hate to repeat it - in top ten suites).

Wow, well at least you live in San Francisco!  I "owe" $5,800 and in our poor crumpled CDN dollar that's over $8,000.  I know it will be fixed when we board, by head office but what bugs me right now is that I can't get past the "pay now" to see anything else.

I am appalled at how they are treating you, a very loyal customer.  This cruise we are on, sails May 5 and it is only our second.

How can you reach out if the phone lines are shut down?  

23 minutes ago, Turangi! said:

Exactly… it goes to a payment popup page and that’s it… Even If I try to choose excursions, and hit continue, it wants me to pay what it thinks I owe… since I paid in full to my TA in February, I just don’t trust the site… I sent AZ Support request the documentation and bluntly, nothing changed on my account. Not sure how we will be able to get a boarding passes if it won’t let me by the erroneous payment message!  Don’t think sending another support request will make any difference so I am giving up until others report success on this board!  Will contact my TA closer to sailing… or just show up at the dock in Southampton!

We have the same problem as you.  We owe $5,800 and I refuse to click the PAY NOW button so I can't get anywhere.  Also, they removed the paid in full page. Fortunately I had copied it.

A little bit of good news, there are some on the Tokyo to Singapore cruise that sailed on the 18th and they are also on ours, B2B.  They have reported that everything worked well with regards to paying money that we don't owe.  Hopefully when we step on board we will be able to forget all this nonsense.

10 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

We boarded Quest on Tuesday and our faux $3550 balance not mentioned. OBCs correct on day 2. Tickets for pre-booked excursions in room. Quick and easy check and boarding. 

Only 3rd day, but sensing a difference in onboard experience from our dozen previous sailings, including 4 since restart. 

But too early to make a judgment since we will be onboard for 40 days. 

 

Thank you so much ECC.  i have been waiting for a post by you since you boarded in Tokyo.  I hope the onboard experience improves for you.

1 hour ago, Lisaten said:

 

So, we take a leap of faith and leave Florida to travel all the way to Venice in HOPES of actually going on a cruise. At least I was wise enough to go a day early and Chioggia looks like a nice place to be stranded in.  Azamara should give priority to the cruises now, not the ones 8 months from now. Yet they haven't.  We're too old to deal with the stress. It's why we don't use the cheap cruiselines, and there are so very many near my home. Just sayin'.

I could have written your post, except we are flying to Singapore to board the ship....that's if we are allowed, when we haven't paid them their $5,800 extra.  Never in our 30+ years of cruising have we had such trouble with a cruise.  I so wish we had gotten cancellation for any reason insurance.

I hope your cruise works out for you and ours too.  I made someone laugh today by saying that our next trip will be on our skytrain into Vancouver!!  About a 10 min trip because like you, we are too old for this nonsense

Leaving in 2 weeks for Singapore to sail to Athens through the Suez 23 days.  I would recommend a Hawaii cruise. Celebrity sails from Vancouver in Sept if you'd like to see Vancouver and then cruise to a warm place instead of Alaska.  Our favourite so far was Honolulu to Sydney taking in the Pacific Islands.  There's no shortage of lovely cruises out there if you have the time and the money.  You might find a European river cruise interesting also.

Happy retirement!

11 hours ago, lisiamc said:

You’ve got (or should have) your receipts, either from the credit card company or your bank, to prove that you’re paid in full, which is the most important part. As far as I can see, you can’t get any further anyway. I wouldn’t pay any extra, because that is going to cause all sorts of new problems if you pay twice. 

Pay extra? No way are they going to get a cent more from me.  The cruise is less than 3 weeks away and as I've said before, I'm not happy having to fly to Singapore worrying that I may not be able to board.

Yes I have my Amex statement copied. 

I'm waiting to hear from a cruiser who is on our cruise and the one before which sails on Tuesday.  He/she also owes more money, having paid in full.

I wrote them a letter the other day.  it will be interesting to see if I hear back.  Thanks for your advice.

Asked for with a "pay now" link.  Until you pay their erroneous amount, you can't get any further on the web site.  What worries me is that the "Paid in full" invoice was removed to be replaced with this nonsense.

Too many mistakes.  How many of us are being asked for more money when we have been paid in full for months?  We are sailing in less than 3 weeks and none of this has been corrected.

Our upcoming cruises have been restored also.  I was thrilled when I saw that.  The bad news, some moron has made a mistake in the cruise prices and now they want $800 more.  One of our cruises is nearly $4000 and the other, same room, nearly $9000.  Now i'll take the first one as it's much less than we paid, but they can stuff the second one!  No way are they getting one cent more. 

I think we are finished with Azamara and will cancel the next two cruises.

I guess we'll check in, May 15, as we enter the Suez canal, that is assuming we make it onto the ship!   They should have been working on this long ago.

And here I thought we had a solution to a better cruise line after 35 cruises on Celebrity.