On board thoughts ...

[OregonRick]

Hi all,

As much as Azamara says come to us for help and issues, we have to comment on a few, just 5 days into our 14 day Quest cruise.  A minor thing like we were billed $8 for a cocktail - I know it is peanuts, but we have the premium drinks package and only order premium or complimentary drinks - the front desk said they will look into it and review it with the bartender ... for $8 on a cruise that we spent $10k on, to not just cancel the charge is irking.  Now we have to follow up on an $8 charge.  Our Azamara excursion in Singapore was switched to another day (after we dismebark!), so we had to cancel; a private tour we had researched and planned for Darwin is now out because we are using an industrial port miles and miles away from town - I had confirmed previously that we were docking close to town and even confirmed it on Darwin's port website a week ago ...,;and (a minor thing) we had planned to do a hike and lunch on Thursday Island and come to find that everything is closed on a Sunday and you can not pack a lunch to go in your backpack - I just am organized in planning and I think Azamara could have shared all this information in advance.  Otherwise, we are having a nice time!

[hubofhockey]

I hate reading posts like this.  We had an aborted attempt at an Azamara cruise and I wasn't happy with the pre-cruise or cancellation experience.  People seem to put up with this because the onboard experience is so good.  As far as customer service goes, the deal with that drink is ridiculous.  It cost them more to research and process your claim than it would just to reverse the charge.  Nothing bothers me more than poor customer service.  Eight freaking dollars and they are making a deal out of it?  

 

I'm glad you're having a good time and can brush it off, but the fact that you took time to post this on Cruise Critic is enough to know that this bothers you.  I'm happy for the small level of embarrassment they get as the result of your post.  Sometimes that satisfaction is worth the $8 that they stiffed you ons.  

[Ithikan]

Happy to hear you're having a nice time, despite issues...

Re. Thursday Island, we were there via Journey last year - on a Thursday - and the Cultural Ctr. was closed then, too.  I think formal tourism can be a bit hit or miss on T.I., but we found the people friendly and approachable.  The hike up to Green Hill Fort is a nice stretch after sailing, and very worthwhile.  And, there are lovely small sandwiches in Mosaic which, with some fruit from your room, might lend sustenance.  Have fun!

[florisdekort]

2 hours ago, Ithikan said:

Happy to hear you're having a nice time, despite issues...

Re. Thursday Island, we were there via Journey last year - on a Thursday - and the Cultural Ctr. was closed then, too.  I think formal tourism can be a bit hit or miss on T.I., but we found the people friendly and approachable.  The hike up to Green Hill Fort is a nice stretch after sailing, and very worthwhile.  And, there are lovely small sandwiches in Mosaic which, with some fruit from your room, might lend sustenance.  Have fun!

 

Bad advice.  Severe penalties for bringing any food items into New Zealand and Australia - if caught. 

[OregonRick]

Correct florisdekort - we are not allowed to bring any food off the ship into Australia at all!  Was news to me. I suspect that the Oz government is worried about causing harm to their man-eating sharks, poisonous snakes, stinging jellyfish, killer cassowaries, giant spiders and drop bears!😁

[Bloodaxe]

5 hours ago, florisdekort said:

 

Bad advice.  Severe penalties for bringing any food items into New Zealand and Australia - if caught. 

 

With sniffer dogs at all ports and airports you would certainly get caught and rightly so.

Edited March 12, 2019 by Bloodaxe

[BBMacLaird]

Hi OregonRick, 

I’m sorry you’re irritated with us. Have you shared these concerns with the Hotel Director? 

[mnocket]

15 hours ago, OregonRick said:

Hi all,

As much as Azamara says come to us for help and issues, we have to comment on a few, just 5 days into our 14 day Quest cruise.  A minor thing like we were billed $8 for a cocktail - I know it is peanuts, but we have the premium drinks package and only order premium or complimentary drinks - the front desk said they will look into it and review it with the bartender ... for $8 on a cruise that we spent $10k on, to not just cancel the charge is irking.  !

Their going to review it with the bartender????  Like he's going to remember?  This is utter nonsense and not the standard of service one should expect on a premium cruise line (or really any cruise line for that matter).

[Trend]

They should eat it for $8.

Regarding Oz you can not even bring would products into the country so forget food products. They are extremely strict.

 

[Ithikan]

12 hours ago, florisdekort said:

 

Bad advice.  Severe penalties for bringing any food items into New Zealand and Australia - if caught. 

Of course you are correct, florisdekort!  How could I have forgotten the multitudinous announcements about not taking food ashore??  In my defense, I'd been onboard since Auckland.  But, to Thursday Island, for what initially appeared an unprepossessing port, the island surprised us with what it did offer and we were happy to have that on the itinerary.

[Mr. Click]

18 hours ago, Bloodaxe said:

 

With sniffer dogs at all ports and airports you would certainly get caught and rightly so.

We did Australia/NZ a couple of years ago and started with a week on our own in Australia.  The last few days before we boarded the ship I carried an apple I got at the hotel around in my camera bag just in case I needed it. Fast forward about week and we are getting off the ship for the day in one of the NZ ports and they stop me because the sniffy dog was overly interested in my bag.....and the apple had been out of the bag for about a week at that point.  Moral to the story, don't even try it.  Water is fine if the bottle is still sealed, anything else is going to be a problem, likely a bigger problem than just having it confiscated.

[Baynanno1]

The sniffer dogs are amazing! We had fruit in a back pack several days before flying home to Australia and the very clever animal at the airport was still able to pick up the fruit smell although the fruit itself had not been there for about three days!

[OregonRick]

On 3/12/2019 at 10:14 PM, BBMacLaird said:

Hi OregonRick, 

I’m sorry you’re irritated with us. Have you shared these concerns with the Hotel Director? 

To follow up, we were refunded the $8. My identity was uncovered by Azamara (not too hard to do) and I got a message from the excursion desk by voice mail questioning my statement about the Singapore cancellation.  I tried to call the excursion desk and they don't answer or have voice mail, so I waited until 5pm and went to the desk. What they didn't know is that ShoreX rescheduled the tour just prior to us flying out.  Anyhow, the rescheduled tour was changed to after disembarkation and you were dropped off at a mall (Suntec Center) if you didn't book an Azamara hotel in Singapore.  Other thoughts: White Night was awesome, the Darwin port was so remote and industrial that it is only used twice a year (disregard the "we are a small destination ship that gets into harbors" since 2 other cruise ships were in our docking location), entertainment was great, staff is amazingly friendly, and finally, my wife was frustrated with the pool closure for 4 hours one day, and then for the last 36 hours as our cruise ended - excuse was the dirty harbor water, but the cruise ship next to us (Silver Shadow) had a full pool full of swimmers.  Note, it is 90 and humid here...she loves the pool, so it was clear that Azamara was just closing the pool for their convenience.  In summary, we enjoyed the cruise, but I would absolutely rate them overall lower than anticipated, and this was our 2nd cruise with Azamara. 

[tompeter]

Thanks for the comments.