Azamazing evening question for Bill

[nordski]

Hello Ann -

 

Thank you for your question and I've passed on your inquiry to our Global Tour Operation for an update on its status.

 

I'll get back to you and others when I have the response.

 

In the meantime, it's Super Bowl Sunday and time for you to cheer on the San Francisco '49ers!

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

 

We all know how multi-talented Bill Leiber is, so when the lights went out in the third quarter of the Super Bowl I could have only one reaction.

 

It was no freak of technology, but Bill's hand in gaining a respite for his beleagured team. A respite which, unbelievably, created a near-victory for his team following a dramatic comeback.

 

But we've seen him do this regularly on this forum for the Azamara team.

 

So forget the screaming fans, Bill's the man to save the day!

[Jade13]

Congrats to all Baltimore fans - one of my most memorable meals ever was crab cakes by the water there so I do leave my heart in many places!

 

My Dad is so happy. P.S. we love our crab cakes. Just was in Baltimore last weekend and had huge crab cakes. Lots of places near BWI airport.

[Bill Leiber]

Hello Dididi -

 

I'm passing on your message to our new "Global Tour Operations" team and to our new Director of Brand Operations and Destination Delivery to sort through this general area as well as to specifically address the Mumbai situation which you've comprehensively described. I'll follow-up with a message when I receive an acknowledgment that this specific Mumbai shortfall has been addressed.

 

 

Hello Dididi -

 

I simply want to touch base to let you know that we're still investigating how that error on our website about the Intercontinental Hotel got there and a way to ensure that our main computer system is accurate.

 

I'll let you and others know the final outcome. Thanks for your patience.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[Bill Leiber]

It was no freak of technology, but Bill's hand in gaining a respite for his beleagured team. A respite which, unbelievably, created a near-victory for his team following a dramatic comeback.

 

But we've seen him do this regularly on this forum for the Azamara team.

 

So forget the screaming fans, Bill's the man to save the day!

 

Hello Nordski -

 

A belated note of thanks for your clever Super Bowl comments!

We'll have to wait until next year!

 

Best regards,

 

Bill

________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[Welland]

It is now January 28 and there is still no mention of the Amazing Evening "exception" other than on the obscure "Terms and Conditions" page linked from "2013 Europe Program" which is on the drop menu under "Special Offers." ....

 

 

Hello Marinaro44 -

 

Thank you for pointing out the inconsistencies on our website with respect to the title and its spelling of the 13-night Azamara Quest Transatlantic voyage from Seville to Miami. In our 2013 Destination Guide this voyage is titled, "Voyage from the Old World to the New."

 

I've noticed that we have expanded the placement that there will not be an AzAmazing Evening on the November 13, 2013 Transatlantic voyage from the 2013 Europe Program tab to the "Plan Your Voyage" Tab on the homepage of our website: > Book Land Discoveries and AzAmazing Evenings:

 

Introducing Azamazing EveningsSM—

A Destination Affair To Remember.............

§ An AzAmazing Evening event will not be available on the Azamara Quest® November 13, 2013, sailing.

More details for AzAmazing Evenings

§ An AzAmazing Evening event will not be available on the Azamara Quest® November 13, 2013, sailing. .....

 

I'll suggest that we note on our website for this specific voyage that an AzAmazing Evening event will not be available for the sake of good order.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

 

Bill:

 

May I suggest a proposed compromise?

 

Suggestion:

It is not too late to put together an Azamazing event in Seville on embark night.

Decision not to ask guests if they would be interested was not the best but that is history.

 

Regardless…

Arrange an event and offer it at 50% of the actual cost.

Azamara absorbs part of the cost; interested guests the other part.

 

If there is not enough interest in this compromise and the event cannot take place, then your notion that few would be interested in an event on embark night was at least partially correct, given that more interest would undoubtedly exist in an event at NO COST to guests.

 

That will remain unknown since a no cost event was never offered.

 

Perhaps this is something that could be discussed in the Miami office.

 

Look forward to your response.

 

As always, many thanks.

[marinaro44]

 

Bill:

 

May I suggest a proposed compromise?

 

Suggestion:

It is not too late to put together an Azamazing event in Seville on embark night.

Decision not to ask guests if they would be interested was not the best but that is history.

 

Regardless…

Arrange an event and offer it at 50% of the actual cost.

Azamara absorbs part of the cost; interested guests the other part.

There is, in fact, a shore excursion on embark night featuring a dinner and flamenco dance show for $169. Perhaps there is no flamenco venue with enough capacity for an Azamazing Evening, or perhaps there is concern that many people would balk at doing one on embark night and therefore not be able to take advantage.

 

My concern remains that, after all the hype we were fed about this wonderful new "enhancement," we were never told there would be no special evening on this cruise when we booked it on board Quest, and in fact, when we asked, were told it would be held on our evening in Bermuda.

[Bill Leiber]

 

Bill:

 

May I suggest a proposed compromise?

 

Suggestion:

It is not too late to put together an Azamazing event in Seville on embark night.

Decision not to ask guests if they would be interested was not the best but that is history.

 

Regardless…

Arrange an event and offer it at 50% of the actual cost.

Azamara absorbs part of the cost; interested guests the other part.

 

If there is not enough interest in this compromise and the event cannot take place, then your notion that few would be interested in an event on embark night was at least partially correct, given that more interest would undoubtedly exist in an event at NO COST to guests.

 

That will remain unknown since a no cost event was never offered.

 

Perhaps this is something that could be discussed in the Miami office.

 

Look forward to your response.

 

As always, many thanks.

 

Hello Welland -

 

Thank you for your suggestion to create an "AzAmazing Evening-like" special event at a discounted price on the night of embarkation in Seville and to offer it as an alternative to not providing an AzAmazing Evening on the Transatlantic. Further, as Marinaro44 points out, there is an evening optional tour already being offered in Seville with dinner and a flamenco show.

 

As I reported earlier in the forum, our decision was driven by a lack of viable options. We had considered Seville as the alternate choice which would require operating the program on the evening of embarkation, which is something our hotel operations team determined would not be well attended because of the guests' onboard acclimation process associated with the day of sailing. The only reasonable choice was Bermuda; however, our Bermuda contractors were unable to develop a meaningful program that would deliver a satisfying experience for our guests.

 

I will forward to our management team for their consideration your suggestion to offer a discounted evening event as a means to validate the assumption that attendance would be low on the night of embarkation. I reiterate that the absence of an AzAmazing Evening on this specific voyage was reviewed by Azamara's senior management who agreed that it would be the only exception in our 2013 offerings. I will get back to you with their response.

 

Thank you again for sharing your comprimise solution.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[greeneg]

$169.00 PP seems to me, a bit pricey for dinner and a flamenco show. I looked and most of them seem to be around $80.00 PP for both the Show and a Tapas Dinner.

[marinaro44]

$169.00 PP seems to me, a bit pricey for dinner and a flamenco show. I looked and most of them seem to be around $80.00 PP for both the Show and a Tapas Dinner.

You're right. We did an optional dinner and flamenco show in Seville on a Grand Circle Travel land tour of Spain and Portugal and, while I don't recall the exact price, it was much, much less than $169. Of course, there is the 25% discount for booking on-line.;)

[Welland]

 

Hello Welland -

 

 

Thank you for your suggestion to create an "AzAmazing Evening-like" special event at a discounted price on the night of embarkation in Seville and to offer it as an alternative to not providing an AzAmazing Evening on the Transatlantic. Further, as Marinaro44 points out, there is an evening optional tour already being offered in Seville with dinner and a flamenco show.

 

As I reported earlier in the forum, our decision was driven by a lack of viable options. We had considered Seville as the alternate choice which would require operating the program on the evening of embarkation, which is something our hotel operations team determined would not be well attended because of the guests' onboard acclimation process associated with the day of sailing. The only reasonable choice was Bermuda; however, our Bermuda contractors were unable to develop a meaningful program that would deliver a satisfying experience for our guests.

 

I will forward to our management team for their consideration your suggestion to offer a discounted evening event as a means to validate the assumption that attendance would be low on the night of embarkation. I reiterate that the absence of an AzAmazing Evening on this specific voyage was reviewed by Azamara's senior management who agreed that it would be the only exception in our 2013 offerings. I will get back to you with their response.

 

Thank you again for sharing your compromise solution.

Sincerely,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

 

 

Thank you Bill for following up. Will look forward to hearing what the Senior Management Team has to say about a discounted event on embark night.

[Welland]

 

Hello Welland -

 

Thank you for your suggestion to create an "AzAmazing Evening-like" special event at a discounted price on the night of embarkation in Seville and to offer it as an alternative to not providing an AzAmazing Evening on the Transatlantic. Further, as Marinaro44 points out, there is an evening optional tour already being offered in Seville with dinner and a flamenco show.

 

As I reported earlier in the forum, our decision was driven by a lack of viable options. We had considered Seville as the alternate choice which would require operating the program on the evening of embarkation, which is something our hotel operations team determined would not be well attended because of the guests' onboard acclimation process associated with the day of sailing. The only reasonable choice was Bermuda; however, our Bermuda contractors were unable to develop a meaningful program that would deliver a satisfying experience for our guests.

 

I will forward to our management team for their consideration your suggestion to offer a discounted evening event as a means to validate the assumption that attendance would be low on the night of embarkation. I reiterate that the absence of an AzAmazing Evening on this specific voyage was reviewed by Azamara's senior management who agreed that it would be the only exception in our 2013 offerings. I will get back to you with their response.

 

Thank you again for sharing your comprimise solution.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

 

Bill: it has been a week since you stated you would be sending the compromise suggestion to the Management Team. Wondering if anyone has had any opportunity to discuss this since the cruise is rapidly approaching.

 

As always, many thanks in advance.

[marinaro44]

 

Bill: it has been a week since you stated you would be sending the compromise suggestion to the Management Team. Wondering if anyone has had any opportunity to discuss this since the cruise is rapidly approaching.

 

As always, many thanks in advance.

Welland, are you on this cruise with us?

[Bill Leiber]

 

Bill: it has been a week since you stated you would be sending the compromise suggestion to the Management Team. Wondering if anyone has had any opportunity to discuss this since the cruise is rapidly approaching.

 

As always, many thanks in advance.

 

 

Hello Welland -

 

I'm still awaiting a response and I do know that your suggesion is being reviewed by our shore excursion management team.

 

Thankk you for your patience and I'll seek a progress report and get back to you as soon as I learn something.

 

Regards,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[Welland]

 

 

Hello Welland -

 

I'm still awaiting a response and I do know that your suggesion is being reviewed by our shore excursion management team.

 

Thankk you for your patience and I'll seek a progress report and get back to you as soon as I learn something.

 

Regards,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

 

Thanks so much Bill. Will "stay tuned".

[marinaro44]

 

 

Thank you Bill for following up. Will look forward to hearing what the Senior Management Team has to say about a discounted event on embark night.

 

Still looking forward.;)

[Welland]

 

 

Hello Welland -

 

I'm still awaiting a response and I do know that your suggesion is being reviewed by our shore excursion management team.

 

Thankk you for your patience and I'll seek a progress report and get back to you as soon as I learn something.

 

Regards,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

 

Hello again Bill. Almost two weeks have gone by and there is no update from you as yet. Assume that means the Management Team is not intending to do anything for those booked on the TA crossing.

 

Any input you have to address this thread would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[Bill Leiber]

 

Hello again Bill. Almost two weeks have gone by and there is no update from you as yet. Assume that means the Management Team is not intending to do anything for those booked on the TA crossing.

 

Any input you have to address this thread would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks.

 

Hello Welland -

 

I'm hopeful that I'll have a decision for you with the next few days. There is a management meeting scheduled at which time this option will be reviewed.

 

Until then, thanks for your patience.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[Welland]

 

Hello Welland -

 

I'm hopeful that I'll have a decision for you with the next few days. There is a management meeting scheduled at which time this option will be reviewed.

 

Until then, thanks for your patience.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

 

Thanks. Good to know that the issue is still on the table for discussion. Look forward to a response from you as soon as you have pertinent information.

 

Again thanks for your intervention in this.

[shedridt]

Bill, you must be sick to death of questions about the Azamazing Evenings but would you mind considering yet another?

 

We are booked on the Thailand/Vietnam cruise on Journey that leaves Singapore January 6, 2014. I don't expect Azamara to get their Azamazing act together that far in advance, but to get an idea of what to expect I peeked at the plans for a similar cruise in November 2013. The Azamazing Evening for that cruise is scheduled for Bangkok on Nov 29 - the middle of 3 overnights.

 

A VERY popular shore excursion option on this cruise is an overnight out of Bangkok to Angkor Wat, & this is the one we've selected for our January 2014 cruise at a tariff of ~ $1000/PP. As scheduled now for the November cruise, anyone electing to go to Angkor Wat will forfeit the great benefit of an Azamazing evening.

 

It seems odd to me that Azamara would choose a date on which a significant number of passengers would be unable to take advantage of the Azamazing Event.

 

Could you investigate/comment? Many thanks.

[Bill Leiber]

Bill, you must be sick to death of questions about the Azamazing Evenings but would you mind considering yet another?

 

We are booked on the Thailand/Vietnam cruise on Journey that leaves Singapore January 6, 2014. I don't expect Azamara to get their Azamazing act together that far in advance, but to get an idea of what to expect I peeked at the plans for a similar cruise in November 2013. The Azamazing Evening for that cruise is scheduled for Bangkok on Nov 29 - the middle of 3 overnights.

 

A VERY popular shore excursion option on this cruise is an overnight out of Bangkok to Angkor Wat, & this is the one we've selected for our January 2014 cruise at a tariff of ~ $1000/PP. As scheduled now for the November cruise, anyone electing to go to Angkor Wat will forfeit the great benefit of an Azamazing evening.

 

It seems odd to me that Azamara would choose a date on which a significant number of passengers would be unable to take advantage of the Azamazing Event.

 

Could you investigate/comment? Many thanks.

 

Hello Shedridt -

 

It's not an issue for me to address your question about the AzAmazing Evening planned for the January 6, 2014 Thailand/Vietnam voyage. Since this is our inaugural year of launching these events it's expected that adjustments ("tweaking") might be necessary. Your questions and opinions and those from others on this forum will ensure that we fine-tune not only the event content itself but also how it is scheduled within the menu of available Land Discoveries offered on that specific day.

 

Your point about the Angkor Wat overnight being in conflict with the AzAmazing Evening on the forthcoming Journey's November voyage is well taken. I will bring this issue to the attention of our shore excursion management team and then get back to you with their response.

 

Thank you for your valuable feedback and taking the time to bring this to our attention.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[Welland]

 

Thanks so much Bill. Will "stay tuned".

 

Bill I guess we should assume that Management is not doing anything for those booked on the TA crossing March 14. The date is rapidly approaching, many are leaving from their points of origin and no word about an Azamazing Evening event.

[Welland]

 

Bill I guess we should assume that Management is not doing anything for those booked on the TA crossing March 14. The date is rapidly approaching, many are leaving from their points of origin and no word about an Azamazing Evening event.

 

Bill; sorry my error. Of course the Azamazing Evenings were never part of the TA crossing in March.

 

Still time to decide if something will be done for those crossing in November.

 

Sorry for the incorrect posting.

[Bill Leiber]

 

Bill; sorry my error. Of course the Azamazing Evenings were never part of the TA crossing in March.

 

Still time to decide if something will be done for those crossing in November.

 

Sorry for the incorrect posting.

 

Hello Welland -

 

I'm so glad to receive this message. I was just reviewing the thread to determine the source of my misunderstanding.

 

With respect to the return crossing, I'm hopeful to provide the final answer to you no later than Wednesday.

 

Sorry for this prolonged time period to get a response but I understand that we've been waiting for a response from our ground agent in Seville.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[Welland]

 

Hello Welland -

 

I'm so glad to receive this message. I was just reviewing the thread to determine the source of my misunderstanding.

 

With respect to the return crossing, I'm hopeful to provide the final answer to you no later than Wednesday.

 

Sorry for this prolonged time period to get a response but I understand that we've been waiting for a response from our ground agent in Seville.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

 

Thank you Bill. Look forward to Wednesday.

[uktog]

Hello Ann -

 

Thank you for your question and I've passed on your inquiry to our Global Tour Operation for an update on its status.

 

I'll get back to you and others when I have the response.

 

In the meantime, it's Super Bowl Sunday and time for you to cheer on the San Francisco '49ers!

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

 

Bill

 

Did you ever get a response on the question of the application of the discount for the Taj Mahal trip as it is still showing as no discount, though the price has gone up for us Brits quite significantly I think because of a £/$ reprice :(

 

Thanks

 

Ann