On board Quest just now......sleeping on deck!!

[alfredo1]

Another thread refers to problems after dry dock, and onboard Quest just now this is illustrated in spades. When the ship left Singapore it was filthy, with balconies and open decks dirty with discarded items all over the place, workmen still on board, and disclosed that the shops will not be complete and open until more than half way through the voyage and work ongoing. Much worse was to come as the air conditioning system failed and the vessel became a furnace, resulting in passengers sleeping on every available sun longer overnight and crew crammed on deck 11 open area like a refugee camp. Those who did not suffered 35 degree temperatures in their cabins. The Captain has been regularly updating, but a not so subtle clue of problems was when he mentioned that luckily personnel from the manufacturers were on board and were working on the equipment. Day two the ship was very hot, and various issues were apparent, and perhaps minor but no ice on board and public events cancelled because of the heat, as of now 35 degrees as we near Saigon. Various attempts made to restart the a/c system during day one with varied success and the system has to be switched off again in Saigon port to try and achieve cooling on the ship.

There is much more to comment on, but bottom line is that the ship should not have sailed in this condition, Azamara know why not, and by so doing they showed complete disregard for the comfort and safety of the passengers, many of whom are elderly with medical conditions and were visibly distressed. As usual the crew on board were exemplary and their hard work is appreciated by all, and they are suffering as well.

Azamara have lost the goodwill and future business from many on board, and it is only by good fortune that they have not had to medivac passengers from the ship or worse which would have been even more of a public relations disaster than it is just now. I am sure others will be more strident in their criticisms as time moves on, but this is not what we expect from Azamara, and the sight of passengers sleeping on deck should horrify management at Miami where the blame lies fairly and squarely , not with the Captain and crew on board. 

Previous incidents have been well handled by Azamara and we await to see what the reaction is to this, and on board credit is not an appropriate response. This post gives an early opportunity to respond.

Let us hope that repairs today can deliver a better resolution and a cooler ship.

 

 

 

[uktog]

Oh dear hope it cools soon (both bodies and where it’s happening tempers). 

Not being used to AC would certainly be a bonus on your cruise. 

I feel sorry for Captain Pelle, not what he deserves in his early days as a captain but I’m sure he and his team will do all they can

Fingers crossed for everyone 

[sailco]

We are booked on two future Azamara cruises. Our first after over 400 nights at sea on various other cruise lines. We cancelled what was to be our very first Azamara cruise due to multiple port changes which completely changed the nature of the cruise but the more we read about Azamara the more we regret ever having booked with this cruise line.

 

I feel dreadfully sorry for the people on this cruise. No one deserves what is happening to them. Why on earth would any cruise line set sail with a half constructed ship? Keeping to the timetable will only cost Azamara in dreadful word of mouth, and bad advertising.

[procter]

I do not think you will regret sailing on her as the staff and ambiance are great as are fellow travellers but it it Miami who are always "tinkering" with stuff like 50% off prices after they have hiked them 60% , beverage packages and all the other annoying stuff.

[Riocca]

30 minutes ago, sailco said:

We are booked on two future Azamara cruises. Our first after over 400 nights at sea on various other cruise lines. We cancelled what was to be our very first Azamara cruise due to multiple port changes which completely changed the nature of the cruise but the more we read about Azamara the more we regret ever having booked with this cruise line.

 

I feel dreadfully sorry for the people on this cruise. No one deserves what is happening to them. Why on earth would any cruise line set sail with a half constructed ship? Keeping to the timetable will only cost Azamara in dreadful word of mouth, and bad advertising.

I know it’s no consolation to those who are currently suffering with no aircon but all cruise lines seem to suffer from over optimist dry dock schedules. I can remember being on Grand Princess second cruise after a major refit, we were ok but the friends we were traveling with had to help finish their suite before they could unpack and the light bulbs weren’t found until the second day. In addition the nightclub was still under construction and only opened the penultimate day of the cruise. Again on P&O U.K. we were on a Christmas cruise which was after a dry dock where fire doors were activating randomly all the time due to a technical problem, we also had no entertainment as after a software upgrade none of the equipment worked.

 

[hubofhockey]

Azamara should put their guests up in hotels ASAP until they can get get this ship in decent working order.   Sleeping on lounge chairs?  This is a disgrace.  We're not cancelling our cruise out of Hong Kong (six months from now), but I wouldn't book it today.    

[Lottie A]

One of the reasons I would never book the first or even second cruise after a refit is that they are rarely completed on time. I don't understand why there aren't a few days factored in for "snagging" at the end of any refit. Of course it's profit...get the ship back sailing with passengers again asap. The passengers may not even have known there was a dry dock planned for Quest when they booked their cruise on her. 

 

It seems from the reports by passengers onboard Quest now that there are many issues and I hope Azamara do make a fair recompense to them. I know I couldn't cope without aircon in that heat. 

[Haworth]

You could try Viking, if things go wrong the compensation offer is very generous and paid within 5 days, there must be a downside but for the life of me I cant think what it is🤣

[ellbon]

Lily Lee on the ship now. All I have seen are pictures not one word of a problem.

 

like Lottie I would never book then either,

[upwarduk]

12 minutes ago, ellbon said:

Lily Lee on the ship now. All I have seen are pictures not one word of a problem.

 

like Lottie I would never book then either,

I just hope this isn’t a mis guided April Fool’s ‘joke.’

[alfredo1]

AZAMARA COMES GOOD AGAIN!!

 

After all the grief that the officers and crew have had over this debacle, and their very obvious embarrassment that they have been put in this position by a wrong decision made in Miami and over which they had no influence, clearly their displeasure was made clear to management who realised the impact of their mistake leading to an announcement tonight that all passengers will receive a fifty percent refund of the price paid for the cruise, and as white night tonight a free premium spirits bar which no one abused.

 

What other cruise company would do that, the air conditioning is repaired, the weather is great and everyone is set to enjoy the remainder of the cruise with an exciting tale to tell back home.

 

Well done Azamara, that is the quality we expect.

[spikkel]

• please keep us posted on the ships condition, we are on the next cruise out of Tokyo, Annelies
• gld you hve airco on again

[Lottie A]

Well Done Azamara. The right thing to do. 

[Lookyboy]

1 hour ago, alfredo1 said:

AZAMARA COMES GOOD AGAIN!!

 

After all the grief that the officers and crew have had over this debacle, and their very obvious embarrassment that they have been put in this position by a wrong decision made in Miami and over which they had no influence, clearly their displeasure was made clear to management who realised the impact of their mistake leading to an announcement tonight that all passengers will receive a fifty percent refund of the price paid for the cruise, and as white night tonight a free premium spirits bar which no one abused.

 

What other cruise company would do that, the air conditioning is repaired, the weather is great and everyone is set to enjoy the remainder of the cruise with an exciting tale to tell back home.

 

Well done Azamara, that is the quality we expect.

Definitely an April Fool. 

[Lottie A]

28 minutes ago, Lookyboy said:

Definitely an April Fool. 

You think? How do you know?

 

It's not April Fool's Day until tomorrow and as two different posters have already made comments about the poor state of Quest sailing after the refit ...well I'm not so sure it is a joke. 

[audobon_tx]

If this is an April Fool then it is brazen and should be handled accordingly.  elbon's comment that lily lee is onboard and hasn't indicated trouble raises questions.  The OP's  posts aver that 12 hours is all it took to go from bad news to happy days and 50% refunds.  Curiouser and curiouser.

Edited March 31, 2019 by flyingshoes

[Covepointcruiser]

Glad to hear everyone gets a half priced cruise.   If I had to sleep on deck on any ship it would be in the most comfortable sun loungers on the Journey.   I hope replacing them is not part of the future drydock!

[uktog]

3 hours ago, Lottie A said:

You think? How do you know?

 

It's not April Fool's Day until tomorrow and as two different posters have already made comments about the poor state of Quest sailing after the refit ...well I'm not so sure it is a joke. 

Other posters also posted on the roll call.  That makes me think it’s not a hoax. 

[BBMacLaird]

No not a hoax, unfortunately. 

While there are great positives from our recent drydock, not everything went as planned. We recognize this caused a very uncomfortable situation aboard. This is not an Azamara welcome and we apologize. 

 

The AC onboard has since been resolved. Guests have been given a generous credit to use onboard or have refunded at the end of the cruise.

 

Again, we apologize and thank everyone for their understanding. We look forward to delivering the usual Azamara warmth and service our crew is known for.

[audobon_tx]

1 hour ago, BBMacLaird said:

No not a hoax, unfortunately. 

While there are great positives from our recent drydock, not everything went as planned. We recognize this caused a very uncomfortable situation aboard. This is not an Azamara welcome and we apologize. 

 

The AC onboard has since been resolved. Guests have been given a generous credit to use onboard or have refunded at the end of the cruise.

 

Again, we apologize and thank everyone for their understanding. We look forward to delivering the usual Azamara warmth and service our crew is known for.

 

Thanks Bonnie for the official confirmation.

[Lottie A]

Yes, thank you Bonnie for confirming this is not an April Fool's Day hoax. 

 

I do hope the passengers affected get actual money back though. I don't think OBC would work for me..  especially as the shops are shut ! 

[excitedofharpenden]

40 minutes ago, Lottie A said:

Yes, thank you Bonnie for confirming this is not an April Fool's Day hoax. 

 

I do hope the passengers affected get actual money back though. I don't think OBC would work for me..  especially as the shops are shut ! 

Bonnie said it's refundable at the end if you don't use it. 

 

Phil

[Lottie A]

4 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Bonnie said it's refundable at the end if you don't use it. 

 

Phil

So she did! 👍

[Lookyboy]

Oh that is so sad, I was just hoping it was just someone having a bit of fun, as it did not sound very like Azamara. We know, though, that the Azamara officers, staff and crew will be fabulous in their efforts, as they always are.

[critterchick]

On 3/31/2019 at 3:47 AM, Riocca said:

I know it’s no consolation to those who are currently suffering with no aircon but all cruise lines seem to suffer from over optimist dry dock schedules. I can remember being on Grand Princess second cruise after a major refit, we were ok but the friends we were traveling with had to help finish their suite before they could unpack and the light bulbs weren’t found until the second day. In addition the nightclub was still under construction and only opened the penultimate day of the cruise. Again on P&O U.K. we were on a Christmas cruise which was after a dry dock where fire doors were activating randomly all the time due to a technical problem, we also had no entertainment as after a software upgrade none of the equipment worked.

 

Azamara should know better. After her last drydock, Journey took an entire cruise to be finished (and the laundry facilities, the highlight of every Azamara cruise, were shut for several more cruises). We were on Quest prior to her last drydock (the schedule was changed well after we had booked our air; otherwise we would have cancelled) and three weeks or so out, they shortened our sailing by three days because they knew they would need more time after what happened to Journey (and they compensated us handsomely, but we did miss Vietnam). They learned, but I guess they forgot.

 

It's all very well and good that they are offering compensation, but that's rather like saying Viking did a great job in offering full refunds to the Sky passengers when they shouldn't have been in those waters in the first place.