rjcook9

On 4/27/2024 at 11:03 PM, Laszlo said:

 

Thanks, the video was very helpful 

On 4/28/2024 at 6:49 PM, john1970 said:

Azamara are like two different companies for me. Onboard you get a great experience and consistently good service. Onshore it can be so hit and miss and they seem to shoot themselves in the foot a lot. For me it's always been like this. I don't know what the answer is but a lot of their service failures seem to comprise of someone not using their common sense. I will still sail them as love it onboard but they make it hard work sometimes! 

Yeah I’m like you, onboard everything is great, but the way they handle things makes you want to drop them (this is not the first time we’ve had issues). Maybe they know people will stick with them & that’s why they don’t seem to bother.

38 minutes ago, Huntingdon1701 said:

Plenty of shelter from rain and sun. Only a couple of full loungers, but a number of very comfy sofas/seats, not just the hard ones you can see in the pictures. It does get crowded at times. 

Thanks for that. 

3 hours ago, valleyvillage said:

This link has a ton of pictures, should answer your questions!

Thanks, the pics are very helpful 

Can anybody provide some info, or pictures, of the Spice H2O area on the Star. Details and pictures in the web site are a bit limited. Are there loungers there or just seating? Is there shade against the sun or shelter against inclement weather. Any info would be helpful.

49 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

When we transferred our deposit to a new cruise following the cancellation by Azamara of our Black Sea cruise, we automatically got all the OBC from our original booking.

Yes, I’ve written to them now as I got nowhere with them on the phone. See what they come back with.

4 hours ago, Charlie Chan said:

recook9, we have had the same experience so completely understand your frustration.  We booked back to back cruises (Greece) for May 2025 while on board the Pursuit last year to take advantage of the various bonuses offered.  2 weeks after booking we were informed that the cruises would not take place as the Pursuit would be remaining in Japan for an extended season.  We were given the opportunity to move to a couple of other nominated cruises but none suited.  We rebooked (at greater cost) for October 2025. We were given a little extra OBC.

 

By sheer chance earlier this year, we discovered that the second of the B/B's was also listed as a Charter. This was listed on our booking when I logged in.  It reverted to the normal booking the next day. I did post about this back in February.  We contacted Azamara for clarification but received no answer. The cruise continued to remain bookable on both the charter and Azamara sites.

 

3 or so weeks ago we received the official email stating the second cruise was now a charter.  We received the same email as you but were given 3 days to decide.   We could not find any cruise round this time that suited us and satisfied the need to retain the back to back status for our OBC etc. The cruise immediately prior to cruise 1 was almost identical to the one we sailed in November last year, so we reluctantly cancelled the first cruise as well. Europe is simply too far for us to travel for a 10 day cruise and it is too early for us to plan 2 years ahead for 2026.  We had $2400 in OBC, so Azamara has certainly benefited financially from our 're-accommodations' while we are back to square 1.

 

We completely understand that the cruise line has the right to do this according to the booking  contract.  The issue is more the way it is handled and the need for the customer to feel some resolution.

 

It also seems to me that it was unethical for Azamara to continue list the cruise as bookable on their sites when the ship had already been listed (and bookable) as a charter. Just because other lines may also do this does not mean it is acceptable.

 

 

 

 

. 

I agree. Just because they CAN do it doesn't make it right. Maybe my understanding of customer care is different to theirs

5 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

I would assume the $250 OBC would be in addition to the existing OBC - that’s what I’d expect & be pushing for.

The $250 OBC is all that's offered - no offer to transfer our existing $300. We've had similar happen on other cruise lines with much better recompense - particularly Oceania where we have always had a generous FCC + OBC. Maybe they care more about their customers than Az do. As a minimum to consider rebooking I've asked for the $250 to be applied as a FCC and the $300 OBC to be transferred to a new booking - I won't be holding my breath!

On Tuesday I received an email from Az asking for my credit card details in order to process a refund. I had no idea what this could be for as I had no notification of itinerary changes, dropped ports etc. I contacted my TA and they had no notification either. Today my TA called me and forwarded this email from Az:

This is to inform you that due to a charter, we will need to re-accommodate your guest,

on the Journey 5/3/25 as previously arranged. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

The compensation details are below and all changes must be made by 04/05/24. If no changes are made by the end of business on 04/05/24, the bookings will be cancelled, and refunds will be processed.

Compensation Item

Change to another sailing

OBC (Non-Suite) per booking

$250

OBC (Suite) per booking

$500

So in order to make more money from a charter my cruise is cancelled and the so called “compensation” is to move to another sailing ( but only given 1 week to choose one) and receive $250 OBC - our booked cruise had $300 OBC attached, so they are offering to take $50 off me for the inconvenience!

If this is how Az now choose to treat customers they deserve to go out of business. 
 

The cancelled cruise was on Journey 3rd May 2025 out of Venice. 
 

Anybody else had similar correspondence?

On 9/20/2023 at 7:20 PM, calicakes said:

As our first oceania cruise was in a suite, I don't think I was prepared for how small the room is. Our suitcases do not even fit under the bed. They are stacked on top of each other next to the sofa. I hate to be that person who complains, but the bathroom was not clean. There was hair in the shower and something that looked like poop on the bathroom door. I called housekeeping to clean it up. I will spare you the photos.

If you open your suitcases & slide them under the bed in the open position they fit easily 

On 8/18/2023 at 3:20 PM, moonglum said:

Regarding post 143 I am still banging my head against a wall trying to get a reply to this matter.  The female on the telephone was less than helpful and indeed showed a very poor attitude which you knew she was not going to progress the matter.

 

I have since emailed Customer Services to ascertain what is happening but again have been blanked so far. 

 

If it were not for the uncertainty of how I could reclaim the money I would have no hesitation in cancelling the cruise and booking with someone else.

 

My last throw of the dice was to email Carol Cabezas directly in the hope that one of her team will resolve the matter. However as things stand I am not holding my breath.

 

If anyone has any suggestions I will be happy to look at them.

Hi, do you have the email address for Carol Cabezas and/or Customer Services at Head Office. I am getting blanked from the UK office and need to push my complaint higher up. Many thanks.

Does anybody actually read all this????

21 hours ago, Acrusa said:

I know that but O has 2 different diagrams on there web site. One when you look up Marina DeckPlans-OClass and when u look for staterooms that are available cabins in all categories and under that it shows DeckPlans-OClass opposite entrance so really not sure which deck plan is correct

Why does it matter so much…?

Is anybody currently on the first MS Maud sailing out of Dover (22nd Sept) - any feedback?