Harrietq

2 hours ago, hersheyhughes said:

Looks like Viking is experimenting with several aspects of their excursions. On our Eastern Seaboard cruise in July and August we had 2 optional excursions ($169 each for 6 hours) which included lunch.  At the 1st restaurant we were advised we would be responsible for any beer and wine we drank. On the 2nd excursion we were advised on the bus if we had beer or wine we would be responsible.

It was very surprising considering all of the other cruises and excursions we have taken with Viking. On our cruise in Nov of '21 bottles of wine were on the tables for us to enjoy. During that cruise we had 7 long optional tours and we were never asked to pay.

I questioned the practice last month and was given the explanation it had to do with it being a foreign port and what their practices were.  A pretty flimsy excuse, at best. Seems Viking is cutting corners where they can. 

Wow. So much for “no nickel and diming”. I don’t even care, as I don’t drink alcohol. Viking has loudly and proudly touted “wine and beer included at lunch and dinner” since forever. 

7 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

You need to think twice if you think Regent will be better with their included tours. We have 100 days onboard Regent, and another cruise booked next April. We've had some very bad included excursions, and just pay for what looks like the best excursion for us. We pay extra for "small group" tours, but a few times we've been on the same tour boat with those who did not pay for "small group". 

And there is no comparison between the cost of a cruise on Regent and a cruise on Viking.

We have only done one Viking River cruise so far. We booked the 2 room Verandah suite. It was very nice, and we had wine in our suite's refrigerator (and red on the counter), and free laundry for the entire cruise. We bought the beverage package, and did a 2 night pre and a 3 night post, in the upgraded hotels, and paid for the business class upgrade on our flights, although we were bumped from one of our flights, and received only a minimal refund from Viking after contacting them several times. Almost all of our excursions were included, with a few that had a reasonable charge, and there were only 3 where we headed back to the ship without waiting for our guide to take us there at the end of the tour (but we did tell them) since we were in easy walking distance to the ship, and there were a few other places we wanted to stop on the way.

Compared to what we pay for Regent, we considered the Viking River cruise a bargain. And we have never stayed in anything higher than a Penthouse suite, and more often are in a Verandah, with none of them being 2 rooms (a bedroom in a separate room than he living area).

Based on that, we booked our first Viking Ocean cruise in an Explorer suite through the Panama Canal from Panama City to Fort Lauderdale. We could never afford a cabin that large on Regent. There were only 2 excursions that we paid extra for, and we paid for the beverage package. We were able to book first class air from Miami to Panama City for less than the air credit since we only needed it one way since we end our cruise in Florida. Viking Mars is the largest ship we've ever cruised on, so we hope it doesn't feel crowded. We found the narrow halls of the Viking Longship , and the large tables in the restaurant to be difficult to deal with, especially since our river cruise was just 2 months after they started cruising again after the Covid shutdown. We had booked that cruise and paid in full in November of 2017 and took the cruise many years later with no refund offered.

Thank you for your insight. Right now, we feel Viking doesn’t have itineraries that are interesting to us. We have six river and seven ocean trips on Viking.
 

We’ve found Azamara’s itineraries very much to our liking. I’ve said I’d have my dream cruise line with a Viking ship and Azamara crew, itinerary, and food. Regent is nice, but more “fussy” than I like. It is spendy, for sure.
Happy travels to you!

42 minutes ago, photopro2 said:

Thanks for the information @Harrietq it is good to have further confirmation that this really is "a thing"

Our experience has been somewhat different to yours. We have always sailed in DV and have always got onto the excursions that we wished to. Though, to be fair, we are quick off the mark when the booking window opens.

I wish you the very best for all your future travel, whichever line it might happen to be on.

I watched as each level booked excursions and I started checking MVJ four hours prior to DV booking availability as Viking’s times just after COVID were often open early. (They now run exact to the minute.) I had the bookings I could choose complete by 10 minutes past the opening. Also, the fact that this is part of a grand tour and those boarding at Vancouver were able to book earlier than those taking this segment was working a bit against me. But, I know how Viking works and did my best. My wishes to you for continuing safe and fulfilling travels!

On 9/5/2023 at 3:14 AM, photopro2 said:

It seems that Viking have quietly introduced an additional upgraded excursion in some ports. Unlike the current included excursions, which are generally open to all passengers, the additional excursions have a limited number of places available.

 

Some relatively high value excursions, that were previously optional, have recently been listed as included on MVJ and have been available to book free of charge. Examples are “Secrets of Puna” in Hawaii and a SNUBA adventure, believed to be “Sea Trek Helmet Diving at Pigeon Island” in Castries, St. Lucia.

 

There are indications that “Highlights of Rio” in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil might in future be offered as an additional included excursion. The “Highlights of Puerto Madryn & Welsh Tea at Gaiman” in Argentina may also become a top level, limited numbers included excursion with the “Sea Lions at Punta Loma & Ecocenter” added as an included excursion open to all passengers. 

 

The changes have not officially been announced by Viking and maybe experimental at this stage. This move would primarily benefit passengers in higher grade cabins, who are able to book excursions up to 107 days prior to departure. However, they have no effect on Viking’s promise to provide all passengers with an included excursion at every port. Once places on the upgraded excursion have been taken, there will still be availability for all remaining passengers on an alternative included excursion.

 

Does anyone have any more examples of these additional and upgraded included excursions?

 

We leave October 9 for “Far East Horizons” Tokyo-Hong Kong.

Offered included tours with the 1-day stop in Taipei are “Highlights of Taipei”, a superior 5 hour tour and “Taipei in Brief” the usual 4 hour bus-drive death-march, take your pictures through the windows tour. The better tour wasn’t even available on PV booking day, as far as I can tell. Long gone for us in DV steerage. Most paid excursions were gone (with a few popping back up after assiduously checking MVJ daily. 🙄) for DV booking. I can’t imagine what slim pickings were left for V. And Japan does not have a great deal of third party (Viator, etc.) choices.
 

Yet more reasons I’m glad to be concluding my business with Viking after this trip (vouchers) and cruising with Azamara, Explora and Regent. 

6 hours ago, Nuts4pi said:

Can you, or anyone else on these boards, confirm this is the email currently is use after the transfer/breakaway from RCCL?

What about this one? Any good?:

customerservice@azamara.com

I can’t confirm- sorry. RCCL was my final contact. They were still addressing questions at that time. Good luck.

4 hours ago, deec said:

I hope this "tipping" during the cruise does not become a regular part of the Viking culture.

As do I. All I can picture is a caricature type with a shiny shirt and thick gold necklaces dangling in his chest hairs (Dan Ackroyd could portray) loudly offering twenties so everyone can see what a high roller he is. And I hope he goes back to Carnival.

I concur this is not an Azamara strong point, and I find it odd given their “immersion-“ based itineraries. Even Viking provides a brief history, overview and practical (money, language, public transport, etc.) tips at each new port.

I bring along a trusted guide book so I can give a port talk to the undivided attention of my DH. 😄 I usually take short notes on my phone if I want more detail after tours and the book(s) help with that. 

We had a Covid delay in Barcelona and the guide book I brought was invaluable as we spent 11 days we didn’t know we wanted in Barca. (No restrictions or isolation requirements 🤷🏻‍♀️ in Spain this past April.)

Short story long, bring along or download your own research. You may or may not need it, but I’ve never regretted having it.

8 hours ago, LadyVol1 said:

I'm so "done" with Viking and its super secret info (and other frustrations).  Seriously.  We're on this same cruise (10/13/22-11/22/22) and getting info is like pulling teeth.  After spending 115 days total on Viking ships, this will be our last Viking booking. It's just too irritating. Here's hoping this is a good experience once we're ON Octantis. 

 

For what it's worth, our flight from EZE is at 10:05PM and the Viking Air rep told me the instructions specified that any flight from EZE after 10AM would work! I made sure to clarify/repeat "AM" and "PM" and she was adamant that a flight from EZE after 10AM was allowed for this itinerary.

Last Winter, we experienced the same issues and finally, in exasperation, booked additional days in BA just to be sure. We ended up canceling due to Omicron and our aversion to an Argentinian quarantine, plus the details that emerged about the pecking order for excursions that not only went by cabin class (okay, we get that about Viking) but also by some pax being “more equal” than others. We’re blowing the vouchers on a Japan trip next year (we hope), booked Antarctica with Nat Geo and will finish up our business with Viking after Japan.

We’ve tried and tried, there are many things we like about Viking, but the accumulated negatives have beaten us into the ground. Please, oh please, let Japan be open by next year. . .

I hope you have a wonderful trip despite the Big V jerking you around. We feel and know your pain.

19 hours ago, D. B. said:

Azamara Quest stateroom 4066.

I find the Azamara cabin reviews very informative.

 We are booked on the Quest for a 15 Night Japan cruise April 3,2023 .

 We chose this Azamara Cruise because it is destination intensive.

 Being more Financially Challenged than most of you we are in Club Oceanview Stateroom 4066.

 Has anyone any experience with 4066 (on Quest) or nearby cabins? mostly about Noise/slamming doors?

 I checked the spreadsheet but did not see any comments.

 Thank you to anyone who responds.

 D.B.

While I’ve not stayed in the particular cabin, I’ve never noticed any noise transfer between cabins except faint noise of toilet flushes, and that only if happened to be in the bathroom. No hallway/door noise. Also, being “financially challenged” (I hear you!) can actually be an advantage- on deck 4, you have cabins  above. We chanced into a suite on our last cruise (super last-minute deal), and some (not us) had noise with scraping chairs/food cart noise from the pool deck above. You’re safe on 4! Enjoy your trip!

Based on our experience with Azamara dealing with positive tests on board, it’s no surprise to me a letter of recovery isn’t accepted. Azamara’s own third-party provider (medconteam) letters of recovery are rubbish. Once we got them to fix simple clerical errors, they still contained the basic untruth we had been medically supervised by medconteam. We never saw, nor spoke to, a medical professional we did not engage ourselves in our COVID recovery.
 

Also, I met people in checkin lines at the airport heading to the US, who said “we just tested until we got a negative.” (These were NOT  Azamara pax.) 

Passengers deserve clear, consistent messages. Yes, we are traveling in a pandemic. But, the travel providers are calling us back to resume spending our money with them. The governments across the globe are doing a fine job of throwing roadblocks to travel, then changing them on a dime. Travel providers shouldn’t add to that confusion and stress. 

14 hours ago, SunnyNy said:

Your detailed information has been so helpful to me  - this would make an excellent travel article for those wondering what awaits them if they choose to travel now.

 

I assume if one is asymptomatic, and if they get a negative test early on, they can return home before 10 days and I will bring some monitored self-test kits in hopes of that.  In your case, did you receive a Letter of Recovery from a local doctor?  I read in a NY Times article of an online site, Quick.med, that provides them after a virtual visit for I think $75.00

 

This is all Information I had hoped Azamara would provide to passengers being taken off the ship for isolation, if only in written form to take with them.  I realizes much depends on local covid rules and the country one is returning to, but something more than putting you in a taxi (with others, no less) to a hotel that wasn't expecting you is essentially doing nothing.  

 

I was told several months ago by Azamara that they  had a "care team" at each port to assist covid passengers, which I imagined would involve follow up calls, or ways to contact them.  Either they have disbanded, or they have a very narrow definition of care.

 

 

     

Azamara contracted with a company who provided a translator to us. She was a very kind person who was a skilled translator, but had no medical training. Her access to the company (I’m declining to name them for reasons attached to our specific circumstances) was not very quick and communication quickly became garbled untimely and ungainly. We had no contact with any local medical care that we did not locate ourselves.

Again, I cannot disclose the extent of our opinions and facts about this company due to our particular situation. Azamara, so far, has chosen not to return our calls to either Azamara agents or RCCL guest relations (allegedly still handling customer care since the sale of Azamara). All I can say is Azamara is, at least, being ripped off by this company. At most, AZ is complicit with a company that is issuing inadequate to virtually illegal COVID documents. But I cannot confirm that as Azamara chooses not to talk with me regarding the third-party situation. Sigh.

I’m glad our experience is helpful to others. If we never get any apology from Azamara (seems likely we won’t), at least we can give others some food for thought. Happy, safe travels!

14 hours ago, SunnyNy said:

Well said, Harrietq.  That certainly puts it in perspective.  It sounds like you were able to leave your room to meet the other hotel guests and that you had a pleasant room.  What was "daily life" like for you?  Did you rely on room service or able to order take-out?  Any opportunity for fresh air?  I assume you had wifi and English language tv (not that that is always a perk!).  These days, the motto "hope for the best and prepare for the worst" certainly applies - taking more than enough meds, cash, etc. just in the event. 

Our rooms were very pleasant. We had a zillion channels in nine different source programming/languages. I spent most of my tv time fascinated by Arabic/Dubai programming I normally do not see, in addition to brushing clots of rust off some European languages I used to know better! Daily life also consisted of a LOT of time on the phone trying to get the correct (or the closest semblance of) information.

Spain (at the time) did not have a quarantine/isolation requirement. However, during the most communicable portion of our case, we self-isolated. When my husband was first sick, we only met outside. Once we were each past six days after diagnosis and symptoms, we followed CDC guidelines that allow health-care providers to return to work. We returned to going out in public, masked everywhere even though Spain only requires masking in medical facilities and public transport. Our rooms did not have opening windows but the air remained fresh with an effective yet not annoying fan system. Our wi-fi was good, the TV allowed you to enable any streaming service you might have (we are the last people on earth who don’t stream tv 😆). 
The hotel had one restaurant with a good basic room service menu that wasn’t cheap, but a decent value in that we could share an entree and each have more than enough to eat. Breakfast was an expense-account blowing €28 each. Cold cereal , pastries and fruit did us just fine. We were within a 15 minute walk of lots of good restaurants, both chain and local. By the last days, after my husband had returned home, I existed on cold groceries and things I could make with my kettle’s hot water as I had been eating cruise then restaurant food and I had had enough.

Our COVID experience was far from the worst, but the disruption to our everyday life with a 25 day “vacation” for DH (2 week cruise then COVID) and a 32 day for me was substantial and one I don’t need to repeat. A great deal of our “good”experience was due to our own resilience and persistence in finding out our own answers, and questioning everything we heard (and read, come to that). And, as my long-ago original post opined, I’m truly disappointed in Azamara’s lack of concern about their handling of the situation at the time and now, in the aftermath.

6 hours ago, travelberlin said:

I am sorry to hear about you and your husband getting COVID in a foreign country. I hope you both recover well. Thanks for sharing your experiences. I have cruised last year three times and I had the feeling that although difficult, we could protect ourselves better. Tests were enforced, mask wearing and social distance also. We thought that we were going to come back to pre covid times because of the vaccines but unfortunately this is not the case. Too many unvaccinated people, resistance to mask wearing and other measures, and the surge of the highly contagious Omicron increase the risk of getting infected. In addition countries have relaxed its policies and probably more asymptomatic people are traveling. I became aware that instead of relaxing I have to be more careful. 
Today my husband and me went for an antigen test because we were receiving the visit of very good friends of us. One of this friends has a compromised inmune system due to a cancer. We did not want to pass any virus on him. We all tested before our get together and we were all negative. It was a nice get together comparable to pre covid times. This is also a way of living with COVID. For us living with COVID does not necessarily mean to do as if it does not exist anymore, but to take it into account and do whatever is appropriate to keep healthy. We do this for us and for others.

Ivi

Ivi, I agree wholeheartedly with everything you say. How beautifully and sensitively written.
 

We reminded ourselves during the ordeal that we were so grateful that we didn’t get very sick, we had nice lodgings in which to ride out the infection, and we were able to return home which is in a safe, peaceful area. We shared our hotel with some Ukrainian refugees who told us many personal, heartbreaking stories. It truly brought what we thought was so terrible into sharp focus as more of a passing cloud. 
 

I know we all look forward to the day when we can see COVID as a manageable nuisance rather than a danger, 

1 hour ago, SunnyNy said:

Harrietq, I'm sorry to hear of your experience. It sounds like things were finally sorted out at the Barcelona hotel.  Was Azamara in touch with you at all during your isolation period, or did you fend for yourselves regarding any medical needs, meals or return airfare arrangements?

Thank you for your kind wishes. It was a poor mix of us fending, a third-party company hired by Azamara (exceptionally useless) and a brilliant staff at the hotel. For nearly $5,000 USD for a total of 21 nights (I had my own room until I became sick), at least they did their very best to help us. Airfare wasn’t an issue as United was very accommodating because we were traveling on full-fare business. We hope to be reimbursed for meals and hotel by insurance; I had to have a number of doc visits and prescriptions filled (I only planned for 10 days, not 17). I hope we will be reimbursed by my stateside medical insurance. If not, it’s almost another $1K. 

The Quest contacted us three times, but as their medical staff didn’t know what guest relations was doing, and vice versa, they really couldn’t help. Basically, because AZ was depending on the third-party “medical contact” team, Quest/Azamara became just another hour on hold phone call.
 

Depending on what our insurance coverage is, this could be a very spendy experience. We did our best by taking every reasonable precaution we could. We traveled successfully in October on another carrier with much more stringent protocols. We got burned (and learned) this time.

And, I’ll say it for you all: Yes, we got ourselves into this by traveling in “these times.”

1 minute ago, mdpa said:

Were you wearing a mask in the cab? Did you not share a cabin with your husband on the ship prior to the positive test? 

We masked constantly; certainly more than most on board. Yes, we shared a cabin. I am NOT saying I did not get COVID from my husband.
 

But being shoved into a cab with ANOTHER positive case didn’t improve my chances of staying negative. I feel Azamara acted with indifference, at best. 

Negative? Maybe. In a mad rush to get us disembarked after a positive COVID test for my DH, Azamara shunted my husband and me into a cab (DH had tested positive, I was negative) with two complete strangers from our cruise and the man was positive!

AZ allegedly was sending us to a Barcelona hotel for isolation. A hotel that had no record of our arrival. Five days after being in separate hotel room from my husband, I tested positive for COVID. Was it the cab ride? Did I get it from my husband? From the coughing stranger in the cab? I can’t say yes or no, but let’s just say my odds were pretty good in the cab. (To their credit, AZ put us in separate cabins after my DH’s test, but again, likely undone in the cab.)
 

You could say this has soured me on Azamara. The fact I cannot even get a live guest relations person on the phone is just another slap in my face.

OP here. From the trail this post has taken, I’m assuming the sources I noted:

AzamaraGuestRelations@Azamara.com

and

royalguestrelations@rccl.com

and their equally useless phone numbers are the only sources to help solve customer issues. 
 

Viking has a fast-track email address that I never had to use with my one-time issue there. At the time, Customer Relations called us the day we arrived home. 😳 (Those were the days, my friend. . .)

If anyone has another idea, I’d certainly appreciate the information. Thanks.

2 hours ago, mdpa said:

I was one of the posters, you referred to and certainly not a troll. I’ve been on Silversea twice,  Celebrity twice, and Oceania once. I signed up for this upcoming cruise since I like small ship sizes, the price was good, and hope to receive a similar experience as Oceania.

 

Personally, I would “love” to know what the COVID related complaint was??? The cruise line can’t win. 

 

If they respond with “loosen up” and stop trying to bully us with your COVID fears then you will be “offended”, and if they follow some of the ideas expressed on this board, they might as well close shop now, because no one would want to be on your “ideal” cruise.

The nature of my complaint has little to do with my post. I am simply inquiring whether anyone might have an idea how to more effectively find and deal with the appropriate customer service personnel and let those resources judge whether or not my issue has merit and substance. 

1 hour ago, laurieb said:

What do you consider a reasonable time?  A day, a week?  

Three to four days after each contact. A couple were sent concurrently as I was asking two different organizations (AZ and RCL). And this was simply asking for a confirmation of receipt. I certainly did not expect a resolution.

I have a serious issue with how a COVID situation was handled by Azamara on a recent cruise. 
 

First, I tried AzamaraGuestRelations@azamara.com. No response. Twice. Then I called the general number, and the agent said post-cruise guest concerns were still being handled by Royal Caribbean customer service (a number also listed on AZ’s website). I called, detailed our issues, got some reassuring murmurs that she spoke to her supervisor and I should detail our story in an email and send to royalguestrelations@rccl.com. Upon sending the details, I did receive a boilerplate response from a “named” agent who listed the general number as her contact. The email address was the one to which I sent my document. Essentially, a non-response. I replied to the email and haven’t yet heard a response. I’ve been waiting what I think is a reasonable time between communiqués.

I’m concerned that my story has fallen down a hole. I have no confidence that anyone has taken any interest, not to mention ownership, of our complaint.

Does anyone have any suggestions of further avenues I might investigate? I’d truly appreciate any ideas or leads. Thanks!

5 hours ago, KirkNC said:

Unless your ship is in Barcelona overnight, I doubt you will be cleared for disembarkation before 7:00-7:30.  You either need to change flights or stay overnight.

We dock at 7:00 the evening before.

4 hours ago, lizee1979 said:

I’d like some thoughts. We are overnight on another cruise where the ship is already in port . Pre covid we got a letter from Az through travel agent to say we could disembark early. TA has phoned Az twice and they say they are not allowing early disembarkation even though we are overnight! Complete nonsense and they are saying this is due to Covid!  

I can’t imagine we are the only pax who have an early flight. For most of “flyover” country in the US, it’s difficult to get out of BCN without a multi-stop itinerary. 
 

I would think they’d be glad to see us out early to get started on the turnaround. If Azamara has an issue with our early departure on a docked, departure day, I’ll be one unhappy passenger (married to a livid passenger 😉).

We make our much-anticipated return to Azamara 5 April. We booked our own air. We will make our own way to the ship in Lisbon, but decided that, owing to a brutally early departure from BCN, we’d buy a transfer from Azamara.

According to rep on phone, the first transfer bus leaves at - wait for it - 10am! Our flight is at 07:50. Are cabs easily available at the port at oh-dark-hundred? Or should I book with a service (Viator). 
 

As engaging as Barcelona is, we just can’t stay as we have commitments at home. I look forward to your wise counsel.

uktog, excellent “compare and contrast” between Viking and Azamara!

We are Viking cruisers who found Azamara. I’ve said if I could take Viking’s ships, scale them down to 700 pax, keep their lecturers, and put Azamara’s food, crews, entertainers, Azamazing evenings, and itineraries into one, it would be my dream cruise line. My husband and I think Azamara’s food is many notches above Viking’s. 

We look forward to our third cruise on Quest in a week. We’ve been on Journey and Pursuit. We have one large credit to use at Viking; going forward we’ll look to Azamara first!

We board Quest 5 April. (Yay!) Am I correct in assuming Azamara does not provide masks to passengers? I want to make sure we bring along enough. 
 

We returned to cruising last October on another line that provided masks.

I can’t wait to not have to ask this question. 🙂