Riocca

Maybe we’re the exception to the rule but since the inception of the new website we’ve been able to see correct loyalty level and points and all 5 of our future cruises originally with errors but over time without contacting Azamara things have gradually been corrected. There are problems with the website and things I don’t like but that was always going to be the way. I’m using an iPad running iOS 16.4.1(a) and trying multiple browsers, Safari, Firefox & Chrome only Safari gives me a problem in that I can’t open bookings in my account but as a long time Safari user it always does seem to be the last browser debugged. All my bookings up to February 2025 show the correct balance due, stateroom & packages, OBC is showing as coupons not a value but we were told that conversion to U.K.£ would be done in about 3 months. When the website went live following Azamara’s instructions we were able to setup new passwords and access our accounts straight away using the icon on the top right hand side of the home page: Then select future cruises and everything is there. If I go to the booking engine there is another login option but using that produces different results in that loyalty number, points and level are wrong and I can only see my next cruise so I’m assuming that they are still to populate this part of the system. Would be interesting to know if those currently experiencing problems originally had problems accessing their accounts when the new system went live.

I’ve asked that question in the past and was told that the Travel Agent would have to agree, but of course as they would lose their commission they refused.

Our experience post pandemic with travel agents was similar in that they just wanted to make the booking, a different department services the booking and they only did it in there own time which cost us big time on a price match deal. Dealing direct has possibly cost us a little more in lost discounts but long term we probably actually save money as we’ve found Azamara are always keen to make sure we are happy and get the best deals.

In my experience they have always refused to discuss Travel Agent bookings directly with the customer for the U.K. market, I suppose that this is what the U.K. trade wants as it’s the same with all cruise lines we’ve dealt with.

The U.K. BDM’s are very good at sorting these things out and are very accessible, they’ve even helped me with direct bookings, so that maybe is the best way forward for your agent. Problem I’ve encountered is that some of the new hires in Customer Service have been trained in the current t&c’s and follow them to the letter, unfortunately they don’t have the history of exceptions that were made during & post covid also the changes to t&c’s for onboard bookings. When I’ve been told information that I know is wrong I’ve always asked for it to be checked with someone more senior or experienced.

Interesting yours shows as a designated amount mine shows as a coupon.

This is as I understand it: Each OBC coupon is $150 so this booking has 2 coupons for general OBC which is correct at $300 and 2 coupons of shore excursion OBC, designated by the box with the tour picture, again $300. When we made a booking onboard Onward during the first week of the transition to this system we were told the conversion of US$ OBC to U.K.£ would be one of the last thing’s done and obviously given the problems that could be a while away. But at least on this booking everything makes sense on some others make no sense at all but I’m sure it’s going to be sorted.

I get different results depending how I sign in, if I use the icon on the top right hand side of the Home Screen I can see the correct loyalty level and points plus all 5 of our future cruises with correct balances. Although I still can’t get into the bookings using Safari but Chrome for iPad is ok. However if I enter the booking engine a different log in appears if I use this log in my loyalty number changes all my points disappear and I’m Adventurer level, only our next cruise is visible with a correct balance and I can access details of the booking using Safari. I can only assume that the information is within the new system but as yet all areas have not been populated, this could be where manual intervention is required to ensure data integrity.

Like you both our accounts ported over 95% correct just a few errors in our October 23 booking, which to be fair I was expecting as with FCC and free nights it was fairly complicated. Anyway about a couple of weeks ago everything disappeared, having just had hip replacement surgery I didn’t do anything about it and within a few days everything was back as it should be and the errors in the October cruise corrected. Currently the only problem I have is that the points from our March cruise haven’t been added but I assume that will probably happen when past cruises are added to the accounts. Hopefully the same happens with your account, although I’m mystified as why some accounts ported over with minimal errors and others have been a nightmare.

When we booked onboard Onward recently using the new system there was a deck plan visual of available cabins that we were shown so it’s definitely there in the system. Question is at what stage as booking onboard your details are already in the system. I did think that this might be a problem as when they announced that they were going with Versonix Seaware I looked at a few other companies using the system and they were all best available in category. Works well for hotel bookings but not cruise ships, of course it does benefit the cruise operator as they aren’t going to be left with the undesirable ones.

We completed our Onward cruise on the 4th April and received our post cruise questionnaire later that day.

I presume this would have been done under “Lift & Shift” which had different t&c’s in different markets and there were cut off dates that changed as the pandemic progressed. So it would be a complicated situation at the best of times but given the current situation regarding the system migration it would take some time to check and resolve.

Could it be the networking within the ships themselves that holds the key to this particular problem? Just seems strange that the original 3 ships bought from RC have a problem whilst the newest ship which had the whole network replaced in dry dock last year doesn’t. Possibly Onwards network was installed with a specification that supports the speeds possible with Starlink. If this theory is correct then it’s probable the networks of the other 3 ships will be upgraded next dry dock

Obviously none of us can actually know what is happening but in view of the payment date given by the OP the booking would have been with Choice Air which is a Royal Caribbean entity so is it Choice Air that’s failed to pay the booking or should the booking been transferred to Azamara and that’s not happened. There are too many black holes appearing in this data transfer, probably most should have been anticipated but now’s not the time for recriminations but to get it sorted especially for those who are travelling in the immediate future.

If you sign in to your account then go to the drop down box on the left hand side you can see communication preferences.

Our October cruise had an incorrect balance but showed a charge for the AzAmazing Evening, so as an experiment I cancelled the booking for the AzAmazing Evening and re booked as it showed as £0 on excursions. Balance immediately changed and is now almost correct just £0.03 in our favour, I’m sure everything will be ok in the end, I made sure we had up to date invoices and OBC totals before the change so can wait to sort out any discrepancies.

Our emails went to the junk folder which is strange as it’s the first Azamara emails to do so.

I understand from reports of a TA webinar in another platform that 52000 of the bookings migrated from RC contained errors, that’s a lot of bookings that have to be manually checked. The email is carefully worded so as not to blame the quality of information on the old system, out of 5 bookings I have one that has an incorrect invoice amount however although the other totals are correct the invoice information is incomprehensible so I think there’s a lot more information that needs correcting.

The meeting on our recent Onward cruise was very well attended, many had signed up but these days that has no effect as there are no longer invites in your cabin. As with many other cruise lines it’s down to the roll call to ensure participants know when and where to look for the information in the Insider.

The registration on the old website was a Royal Caribbean thing and I don’t think anything like that will appear on the new website. Based on recent experience Azamara will continue to facilitate un hosted meetings it’s going to be a matter of looking in the Insider to see when. With port intensive itineraries it’s often on embarkation day so it’s important to look at the Insider for that day.

Rules are quite complicated and vary country to country, if your itinerary is all EU then the VAT charged throughout the cruise is that of the country of embarkation. Rates vary between 10% & 22% some apply it to goods in the shops only others include drinks and other services. One exception to the non EU port rule is Spain, even if your itinerary includes a non EU port Spanish VAT will apply to shop purchases while the ship is in Spanish territorial waters.

Same here iPad shows correct points but iPhone is showing more at 2550, before Easter I could get into all my bookings on Safari but now I can see the bookings but not get into them. However using Chrome for iPad I can get into the bookings, details of our October cruise looking better although invoice amount is still a little out possibly because it’s showing a cost of £30 for the AzAmazing evening. Had a look at my Celebrity account and it’s showing the Azamara cruise we completed last week although it’s not showing any future Azamara cruises so there must be some data sharing between the companies. I’m sure it’s all going to be resolved soon but it must be an epic task to check all the accounts and bookings.

I don’t think unless it was done manually onboard, which the ships probably didn’t have the resources to do, the old system could differentiate between the different types of OBC, over the years we’ve used Shorex OBC for other things many times without problems. However looking at our current bookings our OBC is showing in two categories general & Shorex so I have a feeling the new system once fully implemented is going to be a bit more pedantic.

I understand the concern of those who are cruising in the next month or two but some others are creating problems, there was always going to be problems as RC’s system dates from the 1990’s and is most likely written in a totally different way from Azamara’s new system. So the likelihood of data conversion being flawed was always high add to this the fact that however much you test a new system once in the hands of the general public they will find errors, just look at what happens with Apple’s iOS releases. If you have an existing booking you should have a booking confirmation with the correct details and any Shorex bookings will have been confirmed by email. We booked onboard Onward and the trade booking engine was working fine so travel agents should be able handle bookings even if the website system is not quite right at the moment. Yes in an ideal world the transition would be seamless and currently it’s worse than expected but if you’re not traveling for a few months hence just let Azamara sort things out first before adding to the workload.

It’s supposed to represent well traveled luggage although it’s only a covering for the original ceiling, currently onboard Onward tonight is White Night and the Atlas Bar is extremely busy must be a good revenue source for Azamara. Our favourite bar would love to see it on all the ships.