UPDATE: Azamara Journey October 2018 sailings

[Snow day]

Check the website as both our cruises, Oct 31/18 and Nov 7/18 are now changed; they actually don't exist as now they are different itineraries and different dates. We called Azamara and they said letters went out to the TAs just now. This would be our fourth and fifth sailing with Azamara and we love the ships and crew but this leaves us wondering about next time.

[Leo_On_Geo]

Mon 15Oct2018Barcelona, Spain-6:00 PMBoarding

Tue 16 Oct 2018 Palma De Mallorca, Spain 8:00 AM10:00 PMDocked

Wed 17Oct 2018 Valencia, Spain 8:30 AM 8:00 PM Docked

Thu 18 Oct 2018 Cartagena, Spain 8:00 AM 6:00 PM Docked

Fri 19 Oct 2018 Malaga, Spain 8:00 AM 7:00 PM Docked

Sat 20 Oct 2018 Seville, Spain 1:00 PM-Docked

Sun 21 Oct 2018 Seville, Spain-10:00 PM Docked

Mon 22 Oct 2018 Cruising---

Tue 23 Oct 2018 Lisbon, Portugal 7:00 AM-Departure

 

 

Thanks,

Relieved it is not a charter. My 7 night cruise became 8 nights and the 17 night TA became 14. I guess I can live with that. What choice do I have? Lucky for me the timing change works for me, but I am sure others will not be as flexible.

[uktog]

Thanks,

Relieved it is not a charter. My 7 night cruise became 8 nights and the 17 night TA became 14. I guess I can live with that. What choice do I have? Lucky for me the timing change works for me, but I am sure others will not be as flexible.

 

There will be a problem for those who booked the back to back Transatlantic and 24 November cruise. Already the 24th was messed up and is not what they originally booked (now a Cuba cruise was an Islands cruise) - Transatlantic now cant b2b with anything in US

[lisiamc]

There will be a problem for those who booked the back to back Transatlantic and 24 November cruise. Already the 24th was messed up and is not what they originally booked (now a Cuba cruise was an Islands cruise) - Transatlantic now cant b2b with anything in US

 

Yes, at this point, nothing really works for a b2b for us. I was kind of excited about the switch to Cuba for 24 November, but now we can't combine it with anything since there is a charter on one side and a repeat Cuba on the other. Since we don't want to do the Spain cruise before the TA, we might switch to Quest, and give the Far East another bash. Has there been any talk of discount offers for switching to other itineraries?

[Snow day]

We are doing a Lisbon to Miami with Viking this November so have no interest now in doing the new TA itinerary with Azamara nor with spending anytime in Cuba (been there, done that). I'd be very interested if they gave us some incentive to switch to the Far East cruises in the Quest.

[sabbo55]

Looks like my Oct. 24th, 7 day Italian Treasures cruise was gobbled up by the 14 day crossing!

 

I feel stranded.

[lisiamc]

We are doing a Lisbon to Miami with Viking this November so have no interest now in doing the new TA itinerary with Azamara nor with spending anytime in Cuba (been there, done that). I'd be very interested if they gave us some incentive to switch to the Far East cruises in the Quest.

 

Me too!!

[Leo_On_Geo]

I’m afraid the cruise lines hold all the cards (read the fine print on any cruise contract). If the new cruises do not work they will gladly refund your deposit in whole. Luckily it is early enough that there are not airline reservations and cancellation fees to be reimbursed.

 

You might be able to transfer some on-board booking discounts/OBC to another booking, but that is not a certainty. The new schedule will have to work out, one way or another. Surely some will be disappointed, but remember vacations should be fun. Don’t stress these changes when we are fortunate enough to be able to travel in the first place.

[rallydave]

Here is the story from the Azamara Letter as received from our TA.

 

All guests booked on the affected sailing will be offered the following 3 choices:

 

• If your client chooses to select the new voyage detailed further in this letter, it will be at the original rate regardless of any price changes that might occur. We will provide them with an additional $500 onboard credit per stateroom, $1,000 onboard credit per suite.
  

• They also have the option to move to a different sailing of their choice, at the prevailing rate. In this case, we will provide them with a $250 onboard credit per stateroom, $500 onboard credit per suite. This option is not applicable to our alternative voyage, detailed further within this letter.
  

• They can, of course, cancel at no cost and a full refund will be provided.
  

That's it. Our TA had to cut a paste because there was TA information on the letter. Note, no time limit for option 2 or time limit to respond. Have been in touch with the VP of our TA who is also extremely upset with how this has been handled. He had to phone Azamara and ask for the letter. It wasn't going to be sent out without the phone call. He is going back to Azamara to ask several more questions about the terms of the offers.

IMHO extremely poorly thought out letter and execution as we have all seen in the past few days. To be blunt, an almost complete cluster $%^&!!

Good luck everyone. We are not taking the replacement cruise and don't have enough information to choose options 2 or 3 or a combination.

p.s., have no idea of what they are doing for the other cruises but, the VP has promised a copy of the letter so may be on there and if so will post. Got the full letter and nothing more than I posted. Oh wait, there is $500 to be refunded for air or hotel payments but, we all know that we can't book air or hotels yet. So nothing to add and assume other letters for different cruises vary. Mine is only valid for the TA.

Regards,

Edited August 10, 2017 by rallydave

[lisiamc]

Thank you Dave, that's really helpful. My agent hasn't received that yet, so I'll let her know that it's only being sent if asked for.

 

I'll look forward to hearing more details as you get them, since I expect you'll get them before we do.

[uktog]

Dave

Do I understand this right, you get a 14 night cruise having originally purchased a 17 night cruise and the compensation for moving two weeks early and have 3 nights less is $500

[Snow day]

Thanks for this. Our TA just back from vacation so will see what info she gets. We were on b2b on the Monte Carlo to Barcelona prior to the transatlantic so interested in what they offer for that. At this point I think we will cancel it all and just see what comes up In future promotions.

[DKNYC]

There will be a problem for those who booked the back to back Transatlantic and 24 November cruise. Already the 24th was messed up and is not what they originally booked (now a Cuba cruise was an Islands cruise) - Transatlantic now cant b2b with anything in US

We've had 2 bouts of changes with the Nov 2017 TA on Quest. Two years ago they moved the date by 2 days and changed a couple of ports. I knew nothing about it till I found out on Cruise critic. When I called they couldn't find my reservation. After a few days they located it and let me keep my price and gave me some obc for my trouble. This spring the 2 cruises after the TA suddenly became Cuba cruises instead of Caribbean cruises. Those people may have had already booked air by then. That could mean problems for them.

 

Denise

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[Cruise Junky]

I like the new Spain one but it's a bit pricey. Right now it's the second most expensive 8 day med cruise they have in 2018. Second only to the Grand Prix.

[uktog]

My email has now arrived from Azamara, it has the wrong cruise in its heading (though the right cruise in the content). The content is as was posted by Rallydave. There is no cognisance of the impact for back to back guests.....

I am going out to compose myself for several hours before contacting them with all my queries. As Captain Oates said .......I may be gone awhile

 

 

Updated They have spotted the issue and resent the email with the correct cruise in the heading but there are still spelling errors in the letter. Oh well.......

[Grandma Cruising]

I understand that members are very upset by Azamara's recent decision to change a number of cruises, but would respectfully remind you of the Community Guidelines with regard to the use of bad language.

"The use of profanity, foul or vulgar language, inappropriate graphic images and any other content not "family friendly" is not acceptable. Keep in mind that members come in all ages and all have access to our Forums. Using asterisks to blank out several letters of a word is *still* considered a violation if the vulgarity is discernible, as are acronyms for a series of vulgar words."

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[rallydave]

Sincerely apologize Grandma. Won't happen again

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[lisiamc]

I've now got one cancelled cruise with an unsatisfactory replacement, and a former b2b but now orphaned cruise sandwiched in the middle of charters and repeat itineraries. Neither cruise is satisfactory now.

 

Apparently I will get some onboard credit if I choose another itinerary to replace the transatlantic, but I don't think I will get any OBC for cancelling and replacing the orphaned 24 November cruise, since it is still going, although not really possible as part of a b2b. I will ask for clarification, but it seems unfair. I'm having to rethink and rebook a trip that I thought was all decided 10 months ago, and prices are higher now.

 

Grumble, mutter mutter. Not very happy about my choices right now. :mad::mad:

[uktog]

I've now got one cancelled cruise with an unsatisfactory replacement, and a former b2b but now orphaned cruise sandwiched in the middle of charters and repeat itineraries. Neither cruise is satisfactory now.

 

Apparently I will get some onboard credit if I choose another itinerary to replace the transatlantic, but I don't think I will get any OBC for cancelling and replacing the orphaned 24 November cruise, since it is still going, although not really possible as part of a b2b. I will ask for clarification, but it seems unfair. I'm having to rethink and rebook a trip that I thought was all decided 10 months ago, and prices are higher now.

 

Grumble, mutter mutter. Not very happy about my choices right now. :mad::mad:

 

I am totally understanding and share your grumble. It is also unfair that if you stay loyal to a cruise line that is sorely testing everyones patience that you are having to rebook at prices to suit them and forgo discounts you were afforded to secure the booking 10 months ago.

[papa B me]

Being new to Azamara with our first cruise being the Spain cruise next year before all of these cruises that are being changed, it has been an extremely weird week reading the Azamara threads. On one hand threads like this one and others detailing the cruises disappearing from the site, the week or so of blackout on information, and the changes to planned cruises has worried me as to my decision. On the other hand at the same time I've been following the thread of first impresssions of a new Azamara traveler and I find myself thinking I can't wait till I get on the Journey.

 

I'm one of those travelers who just from the onset expects that everything won't go as planned and assume that after the fact the unexpected will either turn out better then planned or at the least give a funny story(after the fact) to share for years as I recount my travels to bore my kids and grandkids.

 

So now that it has been posted the outcome of the past week and what Azamara is offering I thought I would post some observations that are easy to make since at the moment I'm not affected. I do believe that I would be as upset as all posting but I'm going to write these observations with the hope that after the dust settled if it happened to me that I would see these points a little more clearly. I also post this for newbies like myself who may be reading this and panicking at their decision or thinking of going elsewhere. Lastly I post these so in the event I become a "regular" sailing on Azamara(already 2 booked) and stay active on these boards that my CC friends can pull up this post and remind me of what I said in the event I have a similar situation and start sharing my frustration. These points are in NO WAY meant to minimize the frustration and disappointment of those affected. So here we go:

 

#1. By most accounts Azamara is a wonderful and unique experience once on board.

 

#2. IT complaints and home office complaints and pre cruise issues aren't unique to Azamara. For a couple of years I've been following several upscale to luxury boards and I'm amazed how often this comes up or similar situation. I remember several years ago when African cruises were being affected due to Ebola and reading how upset people were with a "luxury" line who wasn't telling them what and when they were going to make changes. Same thing goes for changes to cruises for Istanbul, Israel, etc...

 

#3. Its understandable that they had to remove the affected cruises from the website while the changes were being made as they couldn't compound the problem with more people booking during the period they were making all the final arrangements for the changes and updating the site.

 

#4. They made the changes over a year in advance which was a positive since there weren't flights to deal with. Also most people don't book trips over a year in advance(we have to be honest that most people aren't like us compulsive travel planners that hang out on CC).

 

#5. From my experience very few people have even ever heard of CC let alone come to this site. Most people once they book a trip don't go back and look at their trip on Azamara's website. Most people don't start booking their excursions over a year in advance. So bottom line most people that are booked on the affected cruises won't know anything about this until their TA receives the letter and calls them. My point is there was little reason for Azamara to communicate in advance of the changes(this past week or 10 days) and upset even more people then the few here on CC. It was better for them to get everything finalized then make the announcement. Not saying whether that's good or bad but certainly is understandable from a business point of view.

 

#6. Most lines don't have a "Bonnie" that is as active and responsive on CC as she is. She didn't run and hide when all these threads started. But she can only communicate what her company allows her to communicate but I find it reassuring that there is someone taking our voices to corporate.

 

#7. Finally even though I would certainly be disappointed if this happens to my Spain cruise when I look at the offers Azamara is making I'm not sure what more could reasonably be expected from a company who is a for profit company. They offered a full refund. They offered a pretty good OBC for staying as is(I hope for those that go from a 17 to a 14 day cruise if you have the option to pay current rates if they are cheaper then the rate you paid. If not, I assume you can cancel penalty free and immediately rebook under the current promotions). And of course you can rebook another cruise under the "free nights" promotion or still have time to go to a competitor if necessary.

 

As I said, if I was dealing with this(I have dealt with it on other trips) I would be just as frustrated and disappointed as those posting. Please don't take this as confrontational or condescending as to what you are going through. I just wanted to bring some perspective to most likely the hundreds of us reading these that are either booked for our first Azamara cruise or are considering an Azamara cruise. Think of it as my own form of self therapy to calm my nerves. And again, I give my permission in advance to find this post and wave it in my face should I post my frustrations at a later date.

 

Hope all works out best for those involved!

[uktog]

Being new to Azamara with our first cruise being the Spain cruise next year before all of these cruises that are being changed, it has been an extremely weird week reading the Azamara threads. On one hand threads like this one and others detailing the cruises disappearing from the site, the week or so of blackout on information, and the changes to planned cruises has worried me as to my decision. On the other hand at the same time I've been following the thread of first impresssions of a new Azamara traveler and I find myself thinking I can't wait till I get on the Journey.

 

I'm one of those travelers who just from the onset expects that everything won't go as planned and assume that after the fact the unexpected will either turn out better then planned or at the least give a funny story(after the fact) to share for years as I recount my travels to bore my kids and grandkids.

 

So now that it has been posted the outcome of the past week and what Azamara is offering I thought I would post some observations that are easy to make since at the moment I'm not affected. I do believe that I would be as upset as all posting but I'm going to write these observations with the hope that after the dust settled if it happened to me that I would see these points a little more clearly. I also post this for newbies like myself who may be reading this and panicking at their decision or thinking of going elsewhere. Lastly I post these so in the event I become a "regular" sailing on Azamara(already 2 booked) and stay active on these boards that my CC friends can pull up this post and remind me of what I said in the event I have a similar situation and start sharing my frustration. These points are in NO WAY meant to minimize the frustration and disappointment of those affected. So here we go:

 

#1. By most accounts Azamara is a wonderful and unique experience once on board.

 

#2. IT complaints and home office complaints and pre cruise issues aren't unique to Azamara. For a couple of years I've been following several upscale to luxury boards and I'm amazed how often this comes up or similar situation. I remember several years ago when African cruises were being affected due to Ebola and reading how upset people were with a "luxury" line who wasn't telling them what and when they were going to make changes. Same thing goes for changes to cruises for Istanbul, Israel, etc...

 

#3. Its understandable that they had to remove the affected cruises from the website while the changes were being made as they couldn't compound the problem with more people booking during the period they were making all the final arrangements for the changes and updating the site.

 

#4. They made the changes over a year in advance which was a positive since there weren't flights to deal with. Also most people don't book trips over a year in advance(we have to be honest that most people aren't like us compulsive travel planners that hang out on CC).

 

#5. From my experience very few people have even ever heard of CC let alone come to this site. Most people once they book a trip don't go back and look at their trip on Azamara's website. Most people don't start booking their excursions over a year in advance. So bottom line most people that are booked on the affected cruises won't know anything about this until their TA receives the letter and calls them. My point is there was little reason for Azamara to communicate in advance of the changes(this past week or 10 days) and upset even more people then the few here on CC. It was better for them to get everything finalized then make the announcement. Not saying whether that's good or bad but certainly is understandable from a business point of view.

 

#6. Most lines don't have a "Bonnie" that is as active and responsive on CC as she is. She didn't run and hide when all these threads started. But she can only communicate what her company allows her to communicate but I find it reassuring that there is someone taking our voices to corporate.

 

#7. Finally even though I would certainly be disappointed if this happens to my Spain cruise when I look at the offers Azamara is making I'm not sure what more could reasonably be expected from a company who is a for profit company. They offered a full refund. They offered a pretty good OBC for staying as is(I hope for those that go from a 17 to a 14 day cruise if you have the option to pay current rates if they are cheaper then the rate you paid. If not, I assume you can cancel penalty free and immediately rebook under the current promotions). And of course you can rebook another cruise under the "free nights" promotion or still have time to go to a competitor if necessary.

 

As I said, if I was dealing with this(I have dealt with it on other trips) I would be just as frustrated and disappointed as those posting. Please don't take this as confrontational or condescending as to what you are going through. I just wanted to bring some perspective to most likely the hundreds of us reading these that are either booked for our first Azamara cruise or are considering an Azamara cruise. Think of it as my own form of self therapy to calm my nerves. And again, I give my permission in advance to find this post and wave it in my face should I post my frustrations at a later date.

 

Hope all works out best for those involved!

 

From first hand experience I am sorry to say I cannot share your views here. Are you aware that the guests on the transatlantic cruise have had their cruise brought forward 15 days, have a new itinerary and have had their cruise reduced by three nights. IF they are able to move to the new dates, they are unlikely to see the cruise lines offer as pretty good.

Many had back to back bookings/land based bookings that are disconnected now from their transatlantic cruise. The perspective of those actually experiencing the upheaval is very very different.

[papa B me]

From first hand experience I am sorry to say I cannot share your views here. Are you aware that the guests on the transatlantic cruise have had their cruise brought forward 15 days, have a new itinerary and have had their cruise reduced by three nights. IF they are able to move to the new dates, they are unlikely to see the cruise lines offer as pretty good.

Many had back to back bookings/land based bookings that are disconnected now from their transatlantic cruise. The perspective of those actually experiencing the upheaval is very very different.

 

Thank you for your reserved reply to my post. Having a B2B booked(especially a TA) makes a difficult situation almost impossible to deal with. And you are certainly 100% correct that if I was currently going through this my views would not be these. So I certainly didn't write this post to try and convince those affected that they don't have a problem. As I said I've been through similar disappointments and I know how frustrating it can be but not to the extent of what you are going through.

 

Though no where near the situation all of you that have affected bookings are experiencing. There are many of us reading these threads who are extremely concerned whether we made a good decision in investing the amounts of money we are investing for our first Azamara cruise or there are those doing their initial research as to whether Azamara would be a good choice. If this past week was the only time I had read this board I would probably come to the conclusion that I should choose another cruise line. So my views were aimed at people like me and not people who are currently dealing with this in the heat of battle. I do hope for some now affected that don't have quite the complexity of your situation with B2B that in the end it works out good for them and for some could end up as a blessing in disguise

 

Please again understand my views are not designed to minimize what you are going through and certainly in no way meant to offend anyone.

[Riocca]

This may be of help to those customers in the UK who have been affected by this:

 

Look at Azamara UK T&C's item 5.5b which states that customers have to be offered an alternative cruise of equal or higher standard at no extra cost. This is not Azamara being generous but a requirement of UK legislation namely The Package Tour Regulations 1992 (Para. 13.2(b)), so this offer has to be made under UK law. These regulations are one of the main reasons that we have non refundable deposits.

[uktog]

Useful I am sure that will be very useful for some as there are several October and November cruises affected

[rallydave]

B

 

#1. By most accounts Azamara is a wonderful and unique experience once on board.

 

Agree, the problems are almost completely in the home office.

 

#2. IT complaints and home office complaints and pre cruise issues aren't unique to Azamara. For a couple of years I've been following several upscale to luxury boards and I'm amazed how often this comes up or similar situation. I remember several years ago when African cruises were being affected due to Ebola and reading how upset people were with a "luxury" line who wasn't telling them what and when they were going to make changes. Same thing goes for changes to cruises for Istanbul, Israel, etc...

 

Again correct and we follow several cruise lines and from my POV, Azamara is the worst we follow. Have followed Azamara for several years now and instead of improvement, the IT has gotten significantly worse. It is the customers who are the Beta testers and find all of the problems.

 

#3. Its understandable that they had to remove the affected cruises from the website while the changes were being made as they couldn't compound the problem with more people booking during the period they were making all the final arrangements for the changes and updating the site.

 

Correct however the message was technical changes and not the significant changes that we see and even now because they chose to NOT send out the change letter until our TA specifically requested, we now have thousands of people who have booked these affected cruises and their TA's who have no idea of these changes and if they don't check the Azamara website will not know until they show up at the port and no ship is waiting for them. In addition a poster sent a message to the President a few days ago and did get a prompt response that emails to TA's and phone calls to direct bookers would be made on Thursday and the website would be updated later in the week (Friday today). And they did worse than the exact opposite. No e-mails unless specifically requested and no phone calls plus revised the website on Thursday. If you can't trust a message in response to an e-mail to the President, just who can you trust.

 

#4. They made the changes over a year in advance which was a positive since there weren't flights to deal with. Also most people don't book trips over a year in advance(we have to be honest that most people aren't like us compulsive travel planners that hang out on CC).

 

Mostly correct, perhaps we are alone but, we have booked a River Cruise ending just before our cancelled TA which has a significant cancellation penalty so we absolutely can't take the earlier TA. Sure others may be in the same situation. And, per the letter, people who change to the new TA in some case will be paying more than the new cruise price so yes they can cancel and rebook however they lose any perks, OBC, etc. as well as the cancellation penalty if they change. Or can change to another cruise ruining a lot of plans for a piddling OBC that is difficult to spend on Azamara. Then there is their magnanimous full refund but, absolutely nothing for our money that they have had for a year and the troubles of planning a different holiday. No future cruise credit at all, just OBC. Poor, poor.

 

#5. From my experience very few people have even ever heard of CC let alone come to this site. Most people once they book a trip don't go back and look at their trip on Azamara's website. Most people don't start booking their excursions over a year in advance. So bottom line most people that are booked on the affected cruises won't know anything about this until their TA receives the letter and calls them. My point is there was little reason for Azamara to communicate in advance of the changes(this past week or 10 days) and upset even more people then the few here on CC. It was better for them to get everything finalized then make the announcement. Not saying whether that's good or bad but certainly is understandable from a business point of view.

 

Wow, perfect for what I said earlier about no notification wihtout a request from their TA so thousands are fat, happy and il informed. As to little reason to communicate, that is partially correct however they allowed Bonnie to commuicate information that while not technically a lie, not fully truthful either and people will eventually get the truth so why deceive people when they will know eventually they were deceived?

 

#6. Most lines don't have a "Bonnie" that is as active and responsive on CC as she is. She didn't run and hide when all these threads started. But she can only communicate what her company allows her to communicate but I find it reassuring that there is someone taking our voices to corporate.

 

Absolutely correct and by what the home office allowed to communicate, people have lost trust in what she says in the future.

 

#7. Finally even though I would certainly be disappointed if this happens to my Spain cruise when I look at the offers Azamara is making I'm not sure what more could reasonably be expected from a company who is a for profit company. They offered a full refund. They offered a pretty good OBC for staying as is(I hope for those that go from a 17 to a 14 day cruise if you have the option to pay current rates if they are cheaper then the rate you paid. If not, I assume you can cancel penalty free and immediately rebook under the current promotions). And of course you can rebook another cruise under the "free nights" promotion or still have time to go to a competitor if necessary.

 

Have to strongly disagree completely with this comment. The "offer" was poorly provided and only if asked for and pitiful to be blunt. Yes, they are in business to make a profit and the charter they made all these changes for is I am sure a significant profit but in the long run losing faithful customers will cost them It would have been simple to put costs in the charter contract to cover our compensation. And, yes have seen that with other charters in the past. Agree this might have lost them the charter but, pretty sure Azamara will lose profits and sales in the long run by this short sighted response.

 

As I said, if I was dealing with this(I have dealt with it on other trips) I would be just as frustrated and disappointed as those posting. Please don't take this as confrontational or condescending as to what you are going through. I just wanted to bring some perspective to most likely the hundreds of us reading these that are either booked for our first Azamara cruise or are considering an Azamara cruise. Think of it as my own form of self therapy to calm my nerves. And again, I give my permission in advance to find this post and wave it in my face should I post my frustrations at a later date.

 

Hope all works out best for those involved!

 

From probably the most vociferous person posting on this issue I want to thank you for your message and feel I need to clarify some of your points so that you have a better idea of what we are going thru so I have posted my comments after the points I have comments on.

 

Your post is excellent and had we not gone thru this most of what you wrote would have been our feelings.