Wish O would follow Azamara's example

[pacheco18]

I booked my first Azamara cruise and I have been spending some time on that board.

 

Azamara has a "chief blogging officer" who routinely responds to inquiries on CC and makes sure everyone has accurate and timely information. I am not referring to questions about drink packages, or laundry or specialty restaurant reservations - nothing that mundane -- but inquiries whose answers need to come from the cruise line itself -- is a port being changed, cancelled itineraries, compensation, fixing misinformation or resolving different answers when calling Azamara for information.

 

It is a wonderful service. I am sure it does not cost much. But I can tell you those cruisers are happy to have an avenue to the "source" when significant issues arise.

 

I wish O would follow suit. It is a great way to reach out to customers.

[cruzmaven]

I booked my first Azamara cruise and I have been spending some time on that board.

 

Azamara has a "chief blogging officer" who routinely responds to inquiries on CC and makes sure everyone has accurate and timely information. I am not referring to questions about drink packages, or laundry or specialty restaurant reservations - nothing that mundane -- but inquiries whose answers need to come from the cruise line itself -- is a port being changed, cancelled itineraries, compensation, fixing misinformation or resolving different answers when calling Azamara for information.

 

It is a wonderful service. I am sure it does not cost much. But I can tell you those cruisers are happy to have an avenue to the "source" when significant issues arise.

 

I wish O would follow suit. It is a great way to reach out to customers.

 

I agree, as long as it doesn't deteriorate into something like that horrible John Herald blog.

 

Granted people on CC make up only a small percentage of total passengers, but we are a well traveled, well informed and loyal percentage. Having someone on staff devote one hour a day to monitoring and responding to significant issues on the boards would be very welcome. FDR's appearances are few and far between, and frankly, I'm sure he has better things to do. A dedicated, well informed, staff member would be a better alternative.

[LHT28]

FDR's appearances are few and far between, and frankly, I'm sure he has better things to do. A dedicated, well informed, staff member would be a better alternative.

I am sure he still read the forum

He must be very busy getting the Riveria ready for guests ;)

 

The CBO on Azamara had not even been on the ships for the 1st yr of his job & whether he has sailed on them yet I have no idea

He is a paid by the cruise line

 

I am sure they could move Pancake off the ships & use her as the go between on the forums

I do not see the value of her on the blog but that is just my opinion

YMMV

 

Lyn

[pacheco18]

I am sure he still read the forum

He must be very busy getting the Riveria ready for guests ;)

 

The CBO on Azamara had not even been on the ships for the 1st yr of his job & whether he has sailed on them yet I have no idea

He is a paid by the cruise line

 

I am sure they could move Pancake off the ships & use her as the go between on the forums

I do not see the value of her on the blog but that is just my opinion

YMMV

 

Lyn

 

Have you even read the posts to which I refer? I think you misunderstand who it is and what his role is.

 

The blogger is a fellow named Bill Lieber and he is very responsive. A recent sailing was cancelled midstream due to a fire on the ship and the following sailing had to be cancelled for repairs. Had it not been for him, it would have been bedlam and there would have been a lot of ill will. He did a great job providing accurate up to date information about when the ship would be back in service, compensation for those whose sailings were cancelled and more.

 

You do not need to be ON the ship to fill this role -- he does not respond about mundane stuff that anyone who sails can answer.

[LHT28]

Have you even read the posts to which I refer? I think you misunderstand who it is and what his role is.

 

The blogger is a fellow named Bill Lieber and he is very responsive. A recent sailing was cancelled midstream due to a fire on the ship and the following sailing had to be cancelled for repairs. Had it not been for him, it would have been bedlam and there would have been a lot of ill will. He did a great job providing accurate up to date information about when the ship would be back in service, compensation for those whose sailings were cancelled and more.

 

You do not need to be ON the ship to fill this role -- he does not respond

about mundane stuff that anyone who sails can answer.

 

YES I have read his posts & I did ask him some questions in the past

 

My point was in the early days of his job he did not have the answers to a lot of the questions asked as he stated he had never set foot on the ships

He did reply to mundane questions sometimes with the incorrect information

 

Yes he did a good job of reporting about the recent fire & problems that it created but he also had to wait for upper management to give him the details while the natives almost burned him at the stake

 

so I am not sure what your point is other than to attack me

[pacheco18]

I was not attacking you personally. The minute there is a disagreement it is viewed as a personal attack! What a board!

 

Your post implied that it was a worthless service with little no value. I could not imagine you would say that if you had been reading the recent posts in the aftermath of the fire and cancellations. Those cruisers were deeply appreciative of his responsiveness. Of course he had to wait for information from the top -- the point is that he could GET that information and convey it accurately to those affected.

 

I guess you have read those posts and still think it's pretty worthless.

 

I disagree.

[Fetchpeople]

The idea of O following A's example and having a CBO or some such is not a bad thought at all.

 

However, if you read the applicable threads on CC relating to the fire on the Azamara Quest and the resulting cancellation of that cruise as well as the subsequent one, you'll soon realize that the CBO is only as good as the information and strategy provided through senior managment and its execution by staff.

 

Unfortunately, the CBO was all too often left swinging slowly in the wind as promised deadlines were not met, decisons were roundly criticized, and the subsequent execution was frequently flawed.

 

Just having a CBO without a full commitment to support does not make sense to me. Then again, O has never been noted for making nice to CC users.........

 

On the other hand a CBO probably also spends time monitoring social media sites to make sure nothing viral and negative spins out of control. Again, not a bad approach in our instant action/reaction world.

[LHT28]

Your post implied that it was a worthless service with little no value. I could not imagine you would say that if you had been reading the recent posts in the aftermath of the fire and cancellations.

I never said his posts were worthless

He has no control over things on Azamara he just reports what Management tells him

In cases where things go wrong I think having someone reporting updates (unlike O) is a good thing

saves a lot of misinformation & speculation

 

JMO

 

Lyn

[caribbeansun]

I would agree although I'd probably cite a different example. For me it would be the example set by the Starwood Lurkers on Flyertalk. They do an outstanding job of disseminating information, stepping in when necessary to correct issues with people's accounts and providing clarity around policies, etc.

 

I find the cruise industry in general has a tendency towards providing misinformation in situations that deviate from the norm. The fine print says they can essentially do as they wish, and for the most part they do just that.

 

 

 

 

I booked my first Azamara cruise and I have been spending some time on that board.

 

Azamara has a "chief blogging officer" who routinely responds to inquiries on CC and makes sure everyone has accurate and timely information. I am not referring to questions about drink packages, or laundry or specialty restaurant reservations - nothing that mundane -- but inquiries whose answers need to come from the cruise line itself -- is a port being changed, cancelled itineraries, compensation, fixing misinformation or resolving different answers when calling Azamara for information.

 

It is a wonderful service. I am sure it does not cost much. But I can tell you those cruisers are happy to have an avenue to the "source" when significant issues arise.

 

I wish O would follow suit. It is a great way to reach out to customers.