Query for Bill Leiber: Departure of 13-Jan-2013 Temples & Beaches Voyage

[Kamlee]

Hi Bill,

 

We have just discovered the E-DOCS for our 13-Jan-2013 cruise to Indonesia. These show our cruise departing from the Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore (MBCCS). However, there is no departure of the Azamara Journey listed on the website (http://www.mbccs.com.sg). The Azamara Journey is listed on the departures for the Singapore Cruise Centre (http://www.singaporecruise.com.sg) but on 14th January rather than 13th January.

 

Where will our cruise actually depart from?

 

Has the departure been delayed?

 

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

Regards,

 

Kampol and Lee.

[Dr H]

And one more request, again. Where do we land on Lombok?

[Bill Leiber]

Hi Bill,

 

We have just discovered the E-DOCS for our 13-Jan-2013 cruise to Indonesia. These show our cruise departing from the Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore (MBCCS). However, there is no departure of the Azamara Journey listed on the website (http://www.mbccs.com.sg). The Azamara Journey is listed on the departures for the Singapore Cruise Centre (http://www.singaporecruise.com.sg) but on 14th January rather than 13th January.

 

Where will our cruise actually depart from?

 

Has the departure been delayed?

 

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

Regards,

 

Kampol and Lee.

 

Hello Kamlee, Dr H and other readers:

 

Please allow me some time to look into this situation and get back to you with answers to your questions.

 

Thank you for your patience.

 

Regards,

 

Regards,

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[Dr H]

I will defer to Bill once he gets back on line, but according to the Singapore Cruise Terminal web site (which my anti-viral program told me was a dangerous site that should not be entered...), we will indeed be leaving from the OLD, Harborfront cruise terminal at 22:00, 13 January, berth CC02, International Side. We are returning there as well. It's starting to get exciting!

There is no listing for us at Marina Bay, there is the listing for both the departure and arrival at Harborfront, near Sentosa.

[Kamlee]

I will defer to Bill once he gets back on line, but according to the Singapore Cruise Terminal web site (which my anti-viral program told me was a dangerous site that should not be entered...), we will indeed be leaving from the OLD, Harborfront cruise terminal at 22:00, 13 January, berth CC02, International Side. We are returning there as well. It's starting to get exciting!

There is no listing for us at Marina Bay, there is the listing for both the departure and arrival at Harborfront, near Sentosa.

 

When we check the Singapore Cruise Terminal website it still shows our cruise departing at 22:00 on 14th January rather than 13th January.

[Dr H]

Yup, I caught the 14th departure, AFTER I had posted. So we are, please excuse the expression, back in the same boat! Not that I want to venture a guess at this point, because only Azamara really knows for sure, and that may be questionable, but if our departure doc say the Marina Bay terminal, that's where it's gonna be, especially if the old cruise terminal has us listed as leaving on an incorrect date. Our friends here in Miami and in Singapore have 5 weeks to sort this one out. A number of us on this thread will be staying at the Conrad Centennial, which almost overlooks Marina Bay, so we should be seeing Journey as it sails into port on Sunday morning. If it isn't there, well, we either leave from the old terminal, or we leave the next day... Where is Bill Leiber when we need him?

[uktog]

Where is Bill Leiber when we need him?

 

Bill posted he had issues with a power outage, I suspect this has delayed him getting info but I am sure he will be along soon - time is still on your side though!

[Bill Leiber]

Hello to Azamara Journey Jan. 13, 2013 Guests -

 

We've been informed that the Azamara Journey's January drydock needs to be extended by a day which will cause the Journey's January 13th voyage of 13 days to be reduced by one day. Instead of starting on January 13 it will now begin on Monday, January 14th.

 

At the present time we have altered the itinerary which will remain very similar to the existing one; however, we are awaiting final revised port confirmation and therefore are unable to share the revised itinerary. There will be a compensation offer which is currently being reviewed and once the parameters have been approved, the information will be released along with then revised itinerary to the booked guests on the voyage.

 

In fact, booked guests will be contacted by their travel agents or if booked directly, by their local booking office with the offer parameters and the revised itineraries. Please do not contact reservations about this situation at this time. Simply stated, they do not have the final information.

 

In the past, we've released itinerary revisions only when all the details have been finalized. However, with the transparency of the internet, we're testing the concept of communicating that changes are "ahead" while the technical information is still being conducted and is unfinished. We're willing to share with you that there are some details we "don't know yet." We're still conducting our due-diligence to ensure that we present you with the final approved information.

 

In response to Dr. H's query of "Where do we land on Lombok?" I've learned that in Lombok we tender into its port, Lembar, located on the SW side of the island. The port offers only a small arts and craft market and basic restroom facilities.

 

I'm sorry for this unexpected deviation and ask for your patience as the details are finalized.

 

Remember, once the details have been finalized, you then will be contacted by the source of your initial booking.

 

I will be undergoing a medical procedure tomorrow and will be unable to be online from later this afternoon and tomorrow.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[Dr H]

If I had my choice of ports to drop, it would be Lombok. Please keep Komodo in the loop! Or shorten Bali, the half second day could take a sacrificial hit. It is going to take 2 days of sailing one way or the other to get to and from Java/Bali. The good news: I was about to change my hotel reservations to pre-paid to save some money. Didn't do that yet, so financially I've taken no hits. The bad: we are stuck in Singapore for an extra day of shopping, eating, hitting the pool, and chilling out. We can handle it. Bill, best wishes, hope it's nothing too serious.

[mara01]

If I had my choice of ports to drop, it would be Lombok. Please keep Komodo in the loop! Or shorten Bali, the half second day could take a sacrificial hit. It is going to take 2 days of sailing one way or the other to get to and from Java/Bali. The good news: I was about to change my hotel reservations to pre-paid to save some money. Didn't do that yet, so financially I've taken no hits. The bad: we are stuck in Singapore for an extra day of shopping, eating, hitting the pool, and chilling out. We can handle it. Bill, best wishes, hope it's nothing too serious.

 

Good suggestion Dr H. No malaria tablets! Would give us another night at the Conrad and time to visit Marina Bay Gardens as we don't arrive from the UK until the evening of the 12th.

[Kamlee]

If I had my choice of ports to drop, it would be Lombok. Please keep Komodo in the loop! Or shorten Bali, the half second day could take a sacrificial hit. It is going to take 2 days of sailing one way or the other to get to and from Java/Bali. The good news: I was about to change my hotel reservations to pre-paid to save some money. Didn't do that yet, so financially I've taken no hits. The bad: we are stuck in Singapore for an extra day of shopping, eating, hitting the pool, and chilling out. We can handle it. Bill, best wishes, hope it's nothing too serious.

 

We agree about dropping Lombok, just as long as we still get to see Borobudur and Komodo.

 

We will now be able to spend a night at the Conrad and get to see the Gardens by the Bay.

 

Kampol and Lee.

[Dr H]

Exactly my thoughts when I posted! And imagine, a whole extra day stuck at the Conrad in Singapore! If nothing else, the two of us now have all the time in the world to get trapped in an ice storm here in Atlanta(Temps in the mid 70s today, cannot bode well for 4 weeks from now!), my tailor will have an extra day of leeway, there should be no problem finding material for the sarong, and extra dim sum for breakfast, not to mention bubble tea in the afternoon. In the end, it will all be for the best. And we get money back, (I hope...)

[java spot]

Nice for you at the Conrad but not so great for others!

Indonesia was the entire reason for this trip and am very unhappy to see the voyage shortened. Also now understand why all the bitching about Azamara that has peppered the threads I've been reading . First time ever cruising for me and sorry to be disappointed before even embarking.

[Dr H]

Java, I hear you. I agree, Indonesia is the reason for this cruise. It is the ONLY reason I booked in the first place. This is a trip of a lifetime for me that I would never, ever, have planned on my own. It is also "13" nights, with a lot of sea days to enjoy the ship. It was an unplanned voyage that came to be after changes were made in the dry dock schedule. Considering that we were departing at 10PM, Sunday, I make the assumption that work would be in progress until 9:30. A very long time ago, I lived in Italy during my student years. That country had/has a very different way of doing "things" than we in the States. If you knew you had to cash a check, pay the rent, buy bus tickets, get to the post office to mail important documents, and take an exam in the afternoon, we learned that in reality only 3 of those things could be accomplished in a given day. It took 2 years to learn to not get frustrated and bent out of shape. It was a good rule to learn. I've booked my air passage, my hotels (not pre-paid, yet), paid for the cruise, and figured out what we are doing in Singapore. This curveball comes along, and I can appreciate the frustration. We will all survive, and you do not have to believe me, you will be awed by Azamara's performance, the whining and complaining not withstanding. You are in for a major treat, and no one will force you to buy a Nespresso! Before boarding, Singapore is a fantastic place to get stranded for an extra day, so enjoy it. We will see the hills and the volcanoes and the rice paddies, and the beaches. Just not exactly as we were expecting as of last week. Honest!

 

Dr H

[G2G]

I admire your patience Dr H, I am very upset and wonder if 1 day will indeed be enough to finish off the work in dry dock. I was so excited and I'm feeling very glass half empty at the moment. My fear is that Java will be eliminated from the schedule so as to keep close to the original plan and if that is the case I would want to cancel my trip. I realise it is useless to second guess and that we will have to wait for a missive from Azamara but I hope they don't take too long in doing so.

Thanks Kamlee for alerting us to this change of schedule

 

G2G

[Dr H]

Gill, as I love to tell my patients, until you have concrete information, it is useless to speculate as to what courses of action should or should not be taken. Don't cancel anything, at least yet - I still need a swimming partner! Work was not completed on Quest when she sailed, but we haven't heard any real complaints. How you can rip up that much carpeting, reupholster that many chairs, build a bar or two, repaint, etc. in the course of 1 week is beyond me, but it only takes one look at Singapore to realize that these are highly efficient, productive people. Let's all just sit back, see how this thing plays out, and dream of Singapore Chili Crab, Satay by night, and watching the clouds go by as we lounge at the pool.

[scorpio123456]

I admire your patience Dr H, I am very upset and wonder if 1 day will indeed be enough to finish off the work in dry dock. I was so excited and I'm feeling very glass half empty at the moment. My fear is that Java will be eliminated from the schedule so as to keep close to the original plan and if that is the case I would want to cancel my trip. I realise it is useless to second guess and that we will have to wait for a missive from Azamara but I hope they don't take too long in doing so.

Thanks Kamlee for alerting us to this change of schedule

 

G2G

 

I only found out about this through cruise critic. Not very professional.

 

Just looked at my eticket on mail dated 30th Nov and states sail date of 13th.what is going on?

 

Does anyone know if we are still flying out on the 11th?

 

Must say I am disappointed. Hope we will soon have more info as plans have to be made!!

[Dr H]

To bring you up to speed, Scorpio, Kamlee printed up his departure documents and saw that we were leaving from the new Marina Bay Terminal. When he checked their web site, it did not show any Azamara departures. The old Singapore Cruise Terminal DOES/DID show us departing, but on Monday Jan 14. Obviously something was wrong, somewhere. Bill Leiber, who is currently getting medical care and is not available, did some initial investigating and found out that the dry dock crews needed additional time to work on the ship, delaying our departure until Monday, (from where remains unclear). Bill posted this yesterday, and supposedly our respective travel agents are to be informing us of the delay. Like you, I learned about it via cruise critic. At last word, our original schedule is being adjusted by the Azamara people, and when they have info, Bill gets it, then we will get it. As for flights, I was anticipating Atlanta ice storms in early January, so we are still leaving on Jan 9, arriving Singapore just after midnight 11 January. We are crashing at the Royal Plaza on Scots for the remaining hours of the night before moving over to the Conrad. I have re-booked our Conrad reservations, departing Monday. If you go through the postings, there will be a large contingent of us at the Conrad that weekend. Further details should become much clearer, I hope, sometime between now and January 14, 2013. So have an early Happy Christmas greeting, and welcome home - hope the cruise was great. In short, do your laundry, repack it, we are in a bit of a kerfuffle at the moment, but it should sort itself out in plenty of time.

 

David

[bigbenboys]

Vacations to go has your cruise listed as a 13 day cruise. Richard

 

[G2G]

Hello to Azamara Journey Jan. 13, 2013 Guests -

 

We've been informed that the Azamara Journey's January drydock needs to be extended by a day which will cause the Journey's January 13th voyage of 13 days to be reduced by one day. Instead of starting on January 13 it will now begin on Monday, January 14th.

 

At the present time we have altered the itinerary which will remain very similar to the existing one; however, we are awaiting final revised port confirmation and therefore are unable to share the revised itinerary. There will be a compensation offer which is currently being reviewed and once the parameters have been approved, the information will be released along with then revised itinerary to the booked guests on the voyage.

 

In fact, booked guests will be contacted by their travel agents or if booked directly, by their local booking office with the offer parameters and the revised itineraries. Please do not contact reservations about this situation at this time. Simply stated, they do not have the final information.

 

In the past, we've released itinerary revisions only when all the details have been finalized. However, with the transparency of the internet, we're testing the concept of communicating that changes are "ahead" while the technical information is still being conducted and is unfinished. We're willing to share with you that there are some details we "don't know yet." We're still conducting our due-diligence to ensure that we present you with the final approved information.

 

In response to Dr. H's query of "Where do we land on Lombok?" I've learned that in Lombok we tender into its port, Lembar, located on the SW side of the island. The port offers only a small arts and craft market and basic restroom facilities.

 

I'm sorry for this unexpected deviation and ask for your patience as the details are finalized.

 

Remember, once the details have been finalized, you then will be contacted by the source of your initial booking.

 

I will be undergoing a medical procedure tomorrow and will be unable to be online from later this afternoon and tomorrow.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

 

 

 

Whilst I understand that the delay to our cruise date is out of your control, I think the manner in which we have found out about the delay shows a lack of professionalism on Azamaras part. I cannot understand why we were not informed by email rather than by one astute passenger checking the departure schedule for the 13th January.

 

I hope that we will be informed of the schedule amendments quickly, as it will necessitate changes for many of us and possibly cancellation of the trip for myself.

 

Sincerely

 

M G Grey

[java spot]

I admire your patience Dr H, I am very upset and wonder if 1 day will indeed be enough to finish off the work in dry dock. I was so excited and I'm feeling very glass half empty at the moment. My fear is that Java will be eliminated from the schedule so as to keep close to the original plan and if that is the case I would want to cancel my trip. I realise it is useless to second guess and that we will have to wait for a missive from Azamara but I hope they don't take too long in doing so.

Thanks Kamlee for alerting us to this change of schedule

 

G2G

 

Yes, most definitely don't want to miss Semerang /Java. Regretting having passed up a Dec. 21 sailing on Seabourn with more Java ports.

[macnotts]

I agree with Dr. H, that sometimes things happen which are outside of one's control, and there is no point in getting stressed out.

I booked this trip (my third on Azamara in last 14 months), specifically to visit parts of Indonesia that I have been unable to get to before - specifically, Semarang (for Borabodur), and Komodo (for the lovely dragons). Should either of these be dropped from the amended itinerary, then I would need to seriously reconsider the trip. (An excursion to Bali, holds no major appeal to me).

I have no major issues with an extra night in Singapore, but if the cruise becomes too truncated in terms of meaningful ports of call, will need to re-assess.

Look forward to meeting fellow adventurers.

Regards.

[gymfreak]

I would certainly agree that an extra night in Singapore is preferable to a flight change and hope this is the case. Hopefully eveyones comments will be taken into consideration by the powers that be and we can continue look forward to what i hope will be another AMazing cruise. I have to admit i am so excited I can barely wait for Chritmas to come and go!

Vicki

[Kamlee]

I agree with Dr. H, that sometimes things happen which are outside of one's control, and there is no point in getting stressed out.

I booked this trip (my third on Azamara in last 14 months), specifically to visit parts of Indonesia that I have been unable to get to before - specifically, Semarang (for Borabodur), and Komodo (for the lovely dragons). Should either of these be dropped from the amended itinerary, then I would need to seriously reconsider the trip. (An excursion to Bali, holds no major appeal to me).

I have no major issues with an extra night in Singapore, but if the cruise becomes too truncated in terms of meaningful ports of call, will need to re-assess.

Look forward to meeting fellow adventurers.

Regards.

 

Exactly our thoughts.

 

Kampol and Lee.

[Bill Leiber]

Hello to Azamara Journey Jan. 13, 2013 Guests -

 

Today we received final approval for the revised 12-night Azamara Journey January 14, 2013 itinerary which will still include all the same ports as the original 13-night voyage.

 

DAY DATE PORT OF CALL ARRIVE DEPART

MON 14 Jan Singapore 10:00 PM

TUE 15 Jan At Sea

WED 16 Jan At Sea

THU 17Jan Semarang, Indonesia 5:00 AM 10:00 AM

FRI 18 Jan At Sea

SAT 19 Jan Lombok, Indonesia 7:00 AM 5:30 PM

SUN 20 Jan Komodo, Indonesia 9:00 AM 6:30 PM

MON 21 Jan Benoa, Bali, Indonesia 1:30 PM

TUE 22 Jan Benoa, Bali, Indonesia 0:00 PM

WED 23 Jan Celukan Bawang, Bali, Indonesia 7:00 AM 6:00 PM

THU 24 Jan At Sea

FRI 25 Jan At Sea

SAT 26 Jan Singapore 7:00 AM

 

Guests booked through travel agents as well as those booked directly, who choose to sail on the revised 12-Night sailing on January 14, 2013 will receive a pro-rated refund for one night. Guests who have booked air through Azamara Club Cruises or ChoiceAir, will receive an extra night hotel stay in Singapore prior to the voyage. Alternatively, their flight will be adjusted to fly in a day later. Cruise only guests will be reimbursed up to $250 per person for an extra night hotel stay in Singapore prior to the cruise. A faxed copy of the hotel charges assessed must be provided for reimbursement.

 

Also, if guests prefer, they can re-book on any Azamara sailing in 2013 (excluding: JR Aug 18, JR Dec 23, QS Jan 31, QS May 23, QS Jul 14 and QS Dec 28), in like accommodations, at protected rates.

 

A full refund for amounts paid will be processed to the original form of payment if guests choose to cancel. If you have specific questions about your reservation, please contact your travel agent or your local booking office.

 

We apologize for any inconvenience this unexpected change may have caused you.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)