2017 Preview

[florisdekort]

And some will get cancelled over the course of 2015. You know it, we know it. Let's not play games.

 

Who's playing games, floisdekort? Charters are simply a fact of life in the cruise industry. I have no idea which, if any, of our 2017 voyages will be chartered, or when. Were you expecting me, the Chief Blogging Officer, to promise that none would be chartered?!

 

I'm not bringing this up to argue with you but I am wondering why, if as you say above you're sticking with Seabourn, you sound hostile to Azamara as though charters only happen on our line? Charters are a fact of life, and a key factor in the sustainability of ALL small-ship cruise lines, including Seabourn*.

*I speak from experience on this as my readers will recall from my bio & first blog post that I spent many years managing both their marketing and revenue management departments.

 

 

Other cruise lines including Seabourn don't release their 2017 itineraries in 2014, significantly reducing the risk of this happening. If the same Australian company contacts you tomorrow, you'll be canceling 7 sailings in a row to accommodate another 70 day charter. Just saying it's hard to get excited given the high likelihood this will happen and given the fact that the itineraries are more of the same. No Amazon. No Alaska. No northern transatlantic crossing. No South Africa. Another year with no Antarctica. Etc. As much as I like Nice, Barcelona and the Caribbean, if Azamara is all about the destination, perhaps it's time to diversify a bit? (I appreciate that just two ships doesn't help here and it's probably easy to fill up cabins when sailing out of Miami.)

 

Floris

 

 

Floris

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Cruise Junky]

Queensland itineraries gone? Disappointing. And as Floris said...burnt once ...not going to get excited just yet.

[Cornishe traveller]

Have had two cruises with Celebrity cancelled for 2015 - one was a charter, the second a redeployment. Have resorted to booking a land tour for the area I want to visit.

 

Saying that, Azamara is definitely my cruise company of choice and am intrigued by some of the 2017 cruises. I look forward to more details - ports of call etc. May get more detailed info in January on next Azamara cruise.

[critterchick]

I see a couple of drool-worthy itineraries so am anxious to see the details when they are released. But I'm not as jaded as some - we haven't been on Azamara in 5 years now. I'm happy to see that you're increasing the length of the voyages again - that was one thing that drove us off after the spin-off from X. I'm looking forward to our Asia cruise in 2016 and hope that Azamara is a more regular part of our cruise rotation as we enter our retirement years.:D

[Host Jazzbeau]

Bonnie -- I'm sorry for the harsh tone of some of the posts on this thread, but hopefully you will take from that the intense disappointment that many faithful Azamara cruisers suffered over the 2016 early posting followed quickly by major charter cancellations. You have more cruise-industry experience than I do, but it's hard to imagine any other cruise line taking such a large percentage of their capacity (50%) out for such a long period of time AFTER taking bookings on those cruises.

 

And of course there is an "easy" [says the amateur!] solution: Azamara should buy another R-ship and devote it to charters. Let everyone know that if you book a cruise on Journey or Quest, you will sail. If you book on the third ship [let's call it "Pacific" just randomly ;)], you take your chances [or maybe the itineraries for that ship are delayed until charters are set?]

 

Anyway, my point is that the anger shown here is really a reflection of LOVE for Azamara. "Tough love" maybe, but love.

[ellbon]

I do not think Azaamra will ever go to Alaska. not a good money maker for them. .to many other ships out there - i have been there twice and would prefer a large ship wih more to do at night.

 

as far as other ports -easier to go back as hey have he vendors to get tours. do i tihnk that is right/ but an easier way for RCI to deal wih their baby.

 

i always look at other cruise lines for winter but i love A for summer as i get to be closer to each city we dock at.like downtown 10 minute walk.

 

i would lvoe to see thsi ship sail u pthe east coast of the states and do soem Canada cruises as it is doable from Mia and then go to europe or come back that way. .not enough of that either.

[Prefdavid]

Same here! I wonder if we'll get the Cyber Sale email? Maybe we'll get it twice and can claim double the discount!!!

 

One thing though ... the LCV emails haven't come from any of the 3 addresses provided by Bonnie on another thread. The source is: celebritycruises@mail.celebritycruises.co.uk.

 

Absolutely spot on with the email source. Am able to confirm this as my email arrived early yesterday afternoon. :)

[uktog]

Agree tough love it is from those who are now hesitant as to whether to get excited about itineraries or not.

 

Personally I would rather not see the 2017 itineraries until the cruiseline can give a commitment not to charter, yes I know Azamara is a commercial operation and that charters make economic sense, but with only two ships and dates in the future when neither are available to us due to charter, I will hang fire on any plans for 2017 regardless of whether the itineraries are interesting or not

[GUT2407]

For some reason I can't access the itineraries, can anyone tell me if there are and Sydney to Sydney cruises on it, I am dieing to try Azamara but as we can't fly, for health reasons, I am limited in opportunities.

[uktog]

Here are the outline itineraries, it looks like if you are not able to fly it might be a problem, sorry :(

Azamara Journey Voyage Overview

 

06-Jan 13 THAILAND & VIETNAM Singapore Hong Kong, China

19-Jan 13 THAILAND & VIETNAM Hong Kong, China Singapore

01-Feb 18 ASIA TO AUSTRALIA Singapore Sydney, Australia

19-Feb 15 AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND Sydney, Australia Auckland, New Zealand

06-Mar 16 NEW ZEALAND EXPLORER Auckland, New Zealand Sydney, Australia

22-Mar 18 AUSTRALIA TO ASIA Sydney, Australia Singapore

09-Apr 13 THE SPICE ROUTE Singapore Mumbai, India

22-Apr 20 SEYCHELLES/MALDIVES/SRI LANKA Mumbai, India Mumbai, India

12-May 17 OMAN/PETRA/ISRAEL/LUXOR Mumbai, India Piraeus (Athens), Greece

29-May 9 GREEK ISLES, ITALY & ST. TROPEZ Piraeus (Athens), Greece Barcelona, Spain

07-Jun 7 IBERIAN PENINSULA/TAPAS & WINE Barcelona, Spain Lisbon, Portugal

14-Jun 9 NORMANDY/HOLLAND & GERMANY Lisbon, Portugal Hamburg, Germany

23-Jun 14 NORWEGIAN FJORDS & THE NORTH CAPE Hamburg, Germany Copenhagen, Denmark

07-Jul 12 NORWEGIAN FJORDS, ICELAND & FAIRY ISLES Copenhagen, Denmark Southampton, England

19-Jul 13 BRITISH OPEN Southampton, England Leith (Edinburgh), Scotland

01-Aug 12 SCOTLAND TO BALTICS & RUSSIA Leith (Edinburgh), Scotland Stockholm, Sweden

13-Aug 10 SCANDINAVIA, RUSSIA & BALTICS Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm, Sweden

23-Aug 12 BALTICS TO LONDON Stockholm, Sweden Southampton, England

04-Sep 12 WINES: BORDEAUX/BASQUE/PORTUGAL Southampton, England Lisbon, Portugal

16-Sep 9 PORTUGAL, SPAIN & FRANCE Lisbon, Portugal Barcelona, Spain

25-Sep 7 ALONG THE RIVIERAS TO TUSCANY Barcelona, Spain Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

02-Oct 8 AMALFI, SICILY & GREEK ISLES Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy Piraeus (Athens), Greece

10-Oct 7 BIBLICAL HISTORY OF THE AEGEAN Piraeus (Athens), Greece Piraeus (Athens), Greece

17-Oct 11 EGYPT/ISRAEL/CHURCHES OF ASIA MINOR Piraeus (Athens), Greece Piraeus (Athens), Greece

28-Oct 17 ROUTE OF THE FRANKINCENSE Piraeus (Athens), Greece Dubai, United Arab Emirates

14-Nov 10 ARABIAN GULF & THE EMIRATES Dubai, United Arab Emirates Dubai, United Arab Emirates

24-Nov 15 SPICES, TEA & RUBBER TREES Dubai, United Arab Emirates Singapore

09-Dec 14 THAILAND & VIETNAM Singapore Hong Kong, China

23-Dec 15 CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR VIETNAM/THAILAND Hong Kong, China Singapore

 

 

 

2017 Azamara Quest ® Voyage Overview

 

04-Jan 11 WEST INDIES HIDEAWAY Miami, Florida, USA Miami, Florida, USA

15-Jan 11 COSTA RICA & PANAMA CANAL Miami, Florida, USA Caldera, Costa Rica

26-Jan 14 EXPLORING THE ISTHMUS Caldera, Costa Rica San Diego, California, USA

09-Feb 12 BAJA CALIFORNIA/SEA CORTEZ/COPPER San Diego, California, USA San Diego, California, USA

21-Feb 17 PANAMA CANAL San Diego, California, USA Miami, Florida, USA

10-Mar 11 WEST INDIES HIDEAWAY Miami, Florida, USA Miami, Florida, USA

21-Mar 12 AZALEAS & BOURBON STREET Miami, Florida, USA Miami, Florida, USA

02-Apr 16 THREE CONTINENT CROSSING Miami, Florida, USA Barcelona, Spain

18-Apr 7 ACROSS WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN Barcelona, Spain Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

25-Apr 10 ITALY, GREECE & ADRIATIC Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy Venice, Italy

05-May 8 CROATIA’S INSIDE PASSAGE Venice, Italy Venice, Italy

13-May 11 ADRIATIC, ITALY & RIVIERA Venice, Italy Nice, France

24-May 5 MONACO GRAND PRIX Nice, France Nice, France

29-May 11 CLASSIC MEDITERRANEAN Nice, France Istanbul, Turkey

09-Jun 12 BLACK SEA Istanbul, Turkey Istanbul, Turkey

21-Jun 7 SULTAN'S PALACE TO ACROPOLIS Istanbul, Turkey Piraeus (Athens), Greece

28-Jun 7 GREEK ISLES Piraeus (Athens), Greece Piraeus (Athens), Greece

05-Jul 7 GREEK ISLES Piraeus (Athens), Greece Istanbul, Turkey

12-Jul 10 BLACK SEA Istanbul, Turkey Istanbul, Turkey

22-Jul 11 GREEK ISLES + AMALFI COAST Istanbul, Turkey Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

02-Aug 8 TUSCANY, FRENCH RIVIERA & IBIZA Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy Barcelona, Spain

10-Aug 9 SUMMER ALONG RIVIERA & TUSCANY Barcelona, Spain Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

19-Aug 10 AMALFI COAST, GREECE & ADRIATIC Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy Venice, Italy

29-Aug 8 CROATIA’S INSIDE PASSAGE Venice, Italy Venice, Italy

06-Sep 10 ADRIATIC TO THE AMALFI COAST Venice, Italy Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

16-Sep 10 AMALFI COAST, GREECE & ADRIATIC Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy Venice, Italy

26-Sep 8 CROATIA’S INSIDE PASSAGE Venice, Italy Venice, Italy

04-Oct 10 ADRIATIC, SICILY & AMALFI Venice, Italy Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

14-Oct 8 TUSCANY/RIVIERA/BALEARIC ISLES Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy Barcelona, Spain

22-Oct 15 MADEIRA & CANARY ISLES Barcelona, Spain Barcelona, Spain

06-Nov 16 TRANSATLANTIC Barcelona, Spain Miami, Florida, USA

22-Nov 10 WEST INDIES HIDEAWAY Miami, Florida, USA Miami, Florida, USA

02-Dec 11 WESTERN CARIBBEAN Miami, Florida, USA Miami, Florida, USA

13-Dec 10 WEST INDIES HIDEAWAY Miami, Florida, USA Miami, Florida, USA

23-Dec 12 CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR WEST INDIES Miami, Florida, USA Miami, Florida, USA

[GUT2407]

Thank you that's what I feared.

 

Maybe the 19 Feb 6 Mar as a B2b might work

[Robertlovescruising]

Delighted to say we also received our emails, clearly the team have listened to the frustration from some of our fellow cruisers.

Regarding the special flash sale due to be issued on the 28th! Although Im quite excited to see what we are offered I'm afraid I'll be enjoying the wonderful

journey and her crew as we berth in Gilbralter, but I guess our hostess will keep me suitably informed.

[mare s.]

I do not think Azaamra will ever go to Alaska. not a good money maker for them. .to many other ships out there - i have been there twice and would prefer a large ship wih more to do at night.

 

as far as other ports -easier to go back as hey have he vendors to get tours. do i tihnk that is right/ but an easier way for RCI to deal wih their baby.

 

i always look at other cruise lines for winter but i love A for summer as i get to be closer to each city we dock at.like downtown 10 minute walk.

 

i would lvoe to see thsi ship sail u pthe east coast of the states and do soem Canada cruises as it is doable from Mia and then go to europe or come back that way. .not enough of that either.

 

I agree with you about the East coast and Canada, Robin. I was really hoping Azamara would offer this...and not just through a charter. It would seem to be a perfect itinerary for a small ship. I'm rather disappointed with the 2017 offerings. So maybe 2017 will be a river cruise year.

[alfredo1]

Why argue about something which may or may not happen. Azamara has to make commercial decisions to maintain the brand viability, which most here want. Charters ARE annoying and it reduces choice significantly to regular guests as do repetitive itineraries, but there are some nice trips including Australia and from Mumbai. Not that many though!!

[ellbon]

I agree with you about the East coast and Canada, Robin. I was really hoping Azamara would offer this...and not just through a charter. It would seem to be a perfect itinerary for a small ship. I'm rather disappointed with the 2017 offerings. So maybe 2017 will be a river cruise year.

 

it would of been so easy to cruise up the coast fro MIA or down from Canada.. many people would not mind stops from Boston to VA beach to Charleston again.. only good for about 2 motnhs and then off to S America.i done S America but many still ahve not.. i mean how many times can you go thru the canal.. i ddi see soem JR cruises in summer but nothing for winter. So will will look at other lines for Jan/Feb for 2017.as i am flying more he next two winter i want something with less flights

[BBMacLaird]

Same here! I wonder if we'll get the Cyber Sale email? Maybe we'll get it twice and can claim double the discount!!!

 

One thing though ... the LCV emails haven't come from any of the 3 addresses provided by Bonnie on another thread. The source is: celebritycruises@mail.celebritycruises.co.uk.

 

I was reluctant to post the source email for the UK because I understand they are in the process of changing the platform. I have not heard when this will be finalized and I have few details about it. But I'll let you know when there is another source email for you to save.

[BBMacLaird]

NO, No, Bonnie:o You are tickled too easily. :p Floris will be back. He just needs a good hug.:)

Itineraries doesn't look too bad, but there will always be different opinions, depending on previous cruising history. The Journey definitely has the best 2017 plan for me. ;)

 

Thank you oddjob, I hope you're right, that Floris will be back sailing with us.

[florisdekort]

 

 

 

Thank you oddjob, I hope you're right, that Floris will be back sailing with us.

 

 

Floris still has 4 future Azamara cruises booked in Club World Owners suites... ;)

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Christine Frances]

I was hoping for a Japan itinerary at some point. We are doing it in 2015 with Celebrity but I know it would be much better on Azamara.

[travelberlin]

Thanks to Bonnie for posting the release for 2017. Thanks to Floris for making me aware that my cruises could be cancelled due to charters. As someone who likes to plan in advance, I would be very dissappointed if my cruise was cancelled. Usually my plans with cruises are not cruises only, but also whole arrangements of flights and land tours.

 

Now that I know about this strong possibility of cruises being chartered, I will ratther wait before getting too excited about one particular Itinerary. According to your experience starting when, it is more or less safe to book a cruise without fears of this being cancelled? Is there a formal dateline in the terms of conditions of booking?

Edited November 28, 2014 by travelberlin

[BBMacLaird]

Thanks to Bonnie for posting the release for 2017. Thanks to Floris for making me aware that my cruises could be cancelled due to charters. As someone who likes to plan in advance, I would be very dissappointed if my cruise was cancelled. Usually my plans with cruises are not cruises only, but also whole arrangements of flights and land tours.

 

Now that I know about this strong possibility of cruises being chartered, I will ratther wait before getting too excited about one particular Itinerary. According to your experience starting when, it is more or less safe to book a cruise without fears of this being cancelled? Is there a formal dateline in the terms of conditions of booking?

 

Hello TravelBerlin, I wouldn't say there's ever a STRONG possibility one or consecutive cruises will be chartered. While charters do happen, there are not as many entities in the world that want to charter a full ship, and for those that do exist there are many options to choose from. So while it may not seem to the consumer as such, when we are chosen, it is not only a lucrative sale for us, it is an honor to be the chosen line.

That said, you ask if there's a formal deadline. No. But rule of thumb is "the fuller the cruise is at the date of inquiry, the less likely it will be chartered."

[Host Jazzbeau]

As someone who likes to plan in advance, I would be very dissappointed if my cruise was cancelled. Usually my plans with cruises are not cruises only, but also whole arrangements of flights and land tours...

According to your experience starting when, it is more or less safe to book a cruise without fears of this being cancelled?

 

You are very far away from being able to book flights at this point. But the 2017 cruises have the widest selection of cabins right now that they will ever have. If you wait until flights are available, your cabin selection will be reduced -- and as Bonnie points out, if you find a cruise with lots of cabins left at that point (and therefore a good selection), it is still possible that it will be chartered.

[travelberlin]

You are very far away from being able to book flights at this point. But the 2017 cruises have the widest selection of cabins right now that they will ever have. If you wait until flights are available, your cabin selection will be reduced -- and as Bonnie points out, if you find a cruise with lots of cabins left at that point (and therefore a good selection), it is still possible that it will be chartered.

 

I was not only thinking about 2017. I was thinking of booking a cruise in October 2015. This included making flight arrangements now because I was going to use my miles. I will just wait now. Even though Bonnie mentions there is not a deathline, I guess that within 90 days will be most likely that the cruise takes place.

I know that I might not find a cabin of my preference anymore, or that I might not find a cabin at all. But on the other hand, it does not help much to have found your perfect cabin if the cruise is going to be cancelled. Even though many cruiselines might cancel because of charters, fortunately in the cruise lines with more ships never happened to us. Only once Silversea Cruises cancelled a cruise with us and gave us the possibility to use other cruiselines. If Silversea would not have cancelled that cruise, we would have not known for example, Oceania, Azamara, Crystal, or Celebrity. We would have probably continued sailing with Silversea. The way it was we never returned to Silversea.

[Mercruiser]

I've had one cruise canceled on me by Celebrity. It was a Hawaii to Vancouver repositioning cruise at the end of the Australia season. I was disappointed at the time. But it was more than a year away, so I didn't have any flight arrangements. I would not be happy if a cruise line canceled for a charter less than a year out because I would already have made flight arrangements at 331 days out. I get my frequent flier mile tickets the first day they are available to get the few available business class award seats. It costs about $200 or so per ticket to cancel a frequent flier award ticket.

 

Sent using Tapatalk

[RosieRuby]

It is interesting to see details of the cruises planned for 2017 and most have now found their way onto the website, but one of particular interest seems to be missing.The 18 night, 22 March 2017 Sydney-Singapore voyage on Journey is not listed when checked today-I would appreciate any information on whether this cruise has been changed or perhaps chartered for the booming Australian cruise market.