Azamazing evening question for Bill

[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.

Bill Leiber

 

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Hello Welland -

 

I'm very aware that my response to you is long-overdue and I appreciate your patience during this protracted decision making process from our management team about your compromise suggestion to offer a discounted evening event on the evening of embarkation day in Seville on November 13, 2014.

 

As you know there is an existing 3-hour Flamenco Evening with Dinner Land Discovery night tour priced at US$ 126.75 per person. Our management team made the business decision to continue with this tour, priced as it is, and not to subsidize the cost. This means that in the end, this particular Transatlantic voyage will continue to be the only exception in our 2013 AzAmazing Evening operating line-up that will not offer an Azamazing Evening.

 

The lesson learned is that we should have been very specific in our initial introductory language about this program that there would be an exception and duly noted it at the outset.

 

I appreciate your persistence and hope that you can accept that your request was reviewed and considered and hope that the outcome does not disillusion you for the onboard experience that will be delivered by our officers and their staff and our shipboard team when you set sail in November.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

 

In the retail industry this is known as bait and switch.

 

Unfortunately this sets a very bad precedent and is a poor public relations move. I know for a fact that a flamenco dance and dinner can be purchased for $100 per person in Seville. It's extremely unfortunate that Azamara does not have enough corporate goodwill to discount something that was advertised as "included" when our initial purchase was made.

 

Love the product but Azamara seems to be determined to send loyal customers elsewhere.

[mare s.]

I asked this earlier but never received an answer so am asking again. When will the azamazing events for early 2014 be posted?

[marinaro44]

 

In the retail industry this is known as bait and switch.

 

Unfortunately this sets a very bad precedent and is a poor public relations move. I know for a fact that a flamenco dance and dinner can be purchased for $100 per person in Seville. It's extremely unfortunate that Azamara does not have enough corporate goodwill to discount something that was advertised as "included" when our initial purchase was made.

 

Love the product but Azamara seems to be determined to send loyal customers elsewhere.

We attended a flamenco dance and dinner in Seville as an optional excursion on a Grand Circle Travel land tour, and it was less than $100. Agree with everything you've written above regarding Azamara's decision to thumb their nose at us.

[Welland]

Bill: if the Azamazing Evening is not being offered on the TA crossing in November would it not be possible to have a show onboard with local entertainment? The ship is in Seville until 3:30 am the following morning. In the past local troupes, dancers, etc. have provided entertainment for guests. Even though it's the first night onboard I'm sure there are many guests who would appreciate seeing a show since the Azamazing Evening event is not being made available to us.

 

Perhaps this is another avenue for Management to discuss.

 

Once again, thanks.

[Bill Leiber]

Bill: if the Azamazing Evening is not being offered on the TA crossing in November would it not be possible to have a show onboard with local entertainment? The ship is in Seville until 3:30 am the following morning. In the past local troupes, dancers, etc. have provided entertainment for guests. Even though it's the first night onboard I'm sure there are many guests who would appreciate seeing a show since the Azamazing Evening event is not being made available to us.

 

Perhaps this is another avenue for Management to discuss.

 

Once again, thanks.

 

Hello Welland -

 

I admire your persistence with this issue, in spite of the information that I've been sharing with you and others about the difficulty that our AzAmazing Evening developer and the executive team faced in creating an evening event that would be commensurate with the others in our AzAmazing Evening line-up.

 

Nevertheless, I will pass on the idea that there be consideration to creating an onboard evening event by using the entertainment department to source local Seville entertainment.

 

I ask for your continued patience as this concept is evaluated by our management team.

 

Regards,

 

Bill Leiber

________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[marinaro44]

Bill: if the Azamazing Evening is not being offered on the TA crossing in November would it not be possible to have a show onboard with local entertainment? The ship is in Seville until 3:30 am the following morning. In the past local troupes, dancers, etc. have provided entertainment for guests. Even though it's the first night onboard I'm sure there are many guests who would appreciate seeing a show since the Azamazing Evening event is not being made available to us.

 

Perhaps this is another avenue for Management to discuss.

 

Once again, thanks.

Or do something on the overnight in Bermuda, as I suggested earlier in this thread.

[berkshireboy]

Hello Berkshireboy -

 

I want you to know that I had forwarded your comments about the situation in Limassol to our AzAmazing Evening planning team for their review and asked them to find a solution so that there is time between the end of a Land Discovery Tour and the start of the AzAmazing Evening event.

 

I will be following up with them on their progress and ability to find schedule flexibility. I ask for your patience and assure you that I'm committed to securing a response for you and will report it to you when I'm able.

 

Thank you deciding to vacation with Azamara.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

 

Hi Bill

 

Any progress on resolving this Azamazing evening problem [which Azamara have been aware of since February?]

[Bill Leiber]

Hi Bill

 

Any progress on resolving this Azamazing evening problem [which Azamara have been aware of since February?]

 

Hello Berkshireboy -

 

I do know that our tour operations director is working on this project to find a solution to create more time so that guests can select from Land Discovery options and still have the time to participate in the AzAmazing Evening.

 

At this time, although progress has been made, I'm unable to provide you with the outcome. I reiterate again that I'm committed to securing a response for you and will report it to you when I'm able.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[mara01]

We would also be interested to know when the Azamazing Evening events will be posted for 2014. We've just booked the Spice Route voyage on 3rd April and there are long excursions on the days we are late in port that we would like to do, but presume the Azamazing Evening will be on one of these days so will probably have to forego the evening event.

[Welland]

Hello Welland -

 

I admire your persistence with this issue, in spite of the information that I've been sharing with you and others about the difficulty that our AzAmazing Evening developer and the executive team faced in creating an evening event that would be commensurate with the others in our AzAmazing Evening line-up.

 

Nevertheless, I will pass on the idea that there be consideration to creating an onboard evening event by using the entertainment department to source local Seville entertainment.

 

I ask for your continued patience as this concept is evaluated by our management team.

 

Regards,

 

Bill Leiber

________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

 

 

Thanks Bill.

 

Let's hope that the Entertainment Department can source a few local flamenco dancers or something similar to provide a show for those who wish to stay onboard.

 

Look forward to your updates.

[Welland]

Originally Posted by Bill Leiber

Hello Welland -

 

I admire your persistence with this issue, in spite of the information that I've been sharing with you and others about the difficulty that our AzAmazing Evening developer and the executive team faced in creating an evening event that would be commensurate with the others in our AzAmazing Evening line-up.

 

Nevertheless, I will pass on the idea that there be consideration to creating an onboard evening event by using the entertainment department to source local Seville entertainment.

 

I ask for your continued patience as this concept is evaluated by our management team.

 

Regards,

 

Bill Leiber

________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative)

 

 

Bill: Hate to keep addressing this question to you. Wondering if there has been any headway made with this issue. Know that shoreside has difficulty with timeframes that don't allow things to be addressed; this situation at this time is allowing plenty of time if it is addressed. Any updates would be greatly appreciated. Would think that the answer could be a simple yes or no at this point.

 

Look forward to an update from you.

 

Thanks.

[marinaro44]

Thanks Bill.

 

Let's hope that the Entertainment Department can source a few local flamenco dancers or something similar to provide a show for those who wish to stay onboard.

 

Look forward to your updates.

Or something similar with Bermuda entertainers, as we'll be overnighting there as well. Seems to me it should be a no-brainer to compensate for not having a so-called Azamazing Evening and not telling people at the time they booked.

[Bill Leiber]

Gentlemen:

 

I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to share with you a final decision on your request but I'm hoping by the end of this month.

 

In the meantime, I'm asking for your continued patience.

 

Regards,

 

Bill Leiber

________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative)

[Welland]

Gentlemen:

 

I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to share with you a final decision on your request but I'm hoping by the end of this month.

 

In the meantime, I'm asking for your continued patience.

 

Regards,

 

Bill Leiber

________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative)

 

Thanks for the update. Perhaps if the decision is delayed any you will post again to keep us up to date.

 

Look forward to hearing the final decision.

[Bill Leiber]

Gentlemen:

 

I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to share with you a final decision on your request but I'm hoping by the end of this month.

 

In the meantime, I'm asking for your continued patience.

 

Regards,

 

Bill Leiber

________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative)

 

NOTE: This response is also shown on the thread, "Bill Leiber, some help please..."

 

Hello Gentlemen -

 

I appreciate not only your patience but also your persistence in the process to seek an alternative event for the fact that the Azamara Quest's November 13, 2013 Trans-Atlantic voyage will not be offering an AzAmazing Evening experience. I've heard back from our hotel operations' executive with the response that since our Trans-Atlantic voyages are programmed differently than our normal voyages, we will not be offering a substitute alternative.

 

As I said before, it was never our intention to offer AzAmazing Evenings on our Trans-Atlantic voyages because of the lack of viable options that would highlight the best of a local culture and thereby deliver an immersive AzAmazing Evening event. Unfortunately, when we announced this new 2013 program in our introductory printed and electronic communications in late 2012, we did not make it clearly known that the November 13th Trans-Atlantic voyage would be the exception to the 2013 line up. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding that was created when you made your booking. Since then, we have corrected our communication about this program. The lesson learned for us, is more attention to detail when introducing new programs that are still under development to our current and future customers.

 

Although I realize your disappointment with this decision, I hope that it will not taint your over-all Azamara experience this fall.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Leiber

________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative)

[Bill Leiber]

I do know that our tour operations director is working on this project to find a solution to create more time so that guests can select from Land Discovery options and still have the time to participate in the AzAmazing Evening. ...

 

Hello Berkshireboy -

 

I wanted you to know that we have made progress in solving the Limassol time conflict by creating a more condensed version of the city tour that will enable you to participate in our AzAmazing Evening event.

 

The system has not been updated with the new information; however, this task should be completed by the end of this week. Once the new information has been loaded, I will let you know on this thread.

 

Thank you for pointing this out and your patience!

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

_____________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[Welland]

NOTE: This response is also shown on the thread, "Bill Leiber, some help please..."

 

Hello Gentlemen -

 

I appreciate not only your patience but also your persistence in the process to seek an alternative event for the fact that the Azamara Quest's November 13, 2013 Trans-Atlantic voyage will not be offering an AzAmazing Evening experience. I've heard back from our hotel operations' executive with the response that since our Trans-Atlantic voyages are programmed differently than our normal voyages, we will not be offering a substitute alternative.

 

As I said before, it was never our intention to offer AzAmazing Evenings on our Trans-Atlantic voyages because of the lack of viable options that would highlight the best of a local culture and thereby deliver an immersive AzAmazing Evening event. Unfortunately, when we announced this new 2013 program in our introductory printed and electronic communications in late 2012, we did not make it clearly known that the November 13th Trans-Atlantic voyage would be the exception to the 2013 line up. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding that was created when you made your booking. Since then, we have corrected our communication about this program. The lesson learned for us, is more attention to detail when introducing new programs that are still under development to our current and future customers.

 

Although I realize your disappointment with this decision, I hope that it will not taint your over-all Azamara experience this fall.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bill Leiber

________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative)

 

Bill: first of all thank you for replying by the end of the month as you originally stated.

 

Sorry that you are the 'middle man' here.

 

Yes, Azamara realizes the error made and has changed print materials.

 

Still fail to understand why Shoreside cannot arrange local entertainment for those who are interested on the first evening onboard. Sorry to be so blunt but I feel this is a "cop-out". :-(