Coronavirus

[lasvegaswinner1]

5 hours ago, katiebeth said:

Or cruising into and thru Indonesia with disembarkation in Singapore on 4/11.   We are booked on the 3/24 Journey sailing from Sydney to Singapore. .   Azamara is moving full steam ahead with zero changes and no refunds or FCC.      Singapore. Is threatening six months in jail if they discover you are unable to accurately account your exact whereabouts during the past six months.    We are booked on this cruise and Azamara is giving us zero options .....sail with us or lose your entire cruise fare.   This goes against CDC recommendations, (discouraging any Cruise  in, out, or thru Asia)  Their own parent company RCCL’s decision to pull all ships from Singapore and lifting of cancellation penalties by every other cruise line; defies logic on the part of Azamara.   Their horrific customer service and lack of concern for their passengers and crew borders on criminal and is at the very least, dangerous, reckless, and negligent.  .    I have never experienced such horrendous customer service and total lack of concern for passengers and crew .....never again RCCL Celebrity, or Azamara  ....our cruise line of choice since 2003.    Appallingly negligent behavior.    Guessing that their repeat passengers will abandon them In the future due to this fiasco of reckless mismanagement.  

 

5 hours ago, larhode said:

by refusing to relax their cancellation policies, as other lines have done, Azamara has proven they don't care about their passengers welfare.  I will never sail with them again. 

Time to get your political leaders involved.  In the US, I would be calling my us senator and my local us congress person.  I am sure the cruise community in Australia is a sizable voting block.  Call your representative and put they phone number here is other Aussies can follow up

[lasvegaswinner1]

12 hours ago, yogagal47 said:

Perhaps what needs to happen is travel agents calling and threatening to steer customers away from any future bookings on AzamaraPerhaps what needs to happen is travel agents calling and threatening to steer customers away from any future bookings on Azamara

Call your senators and congress person.  This is an election year. Tell the cruise company you are filing a complaint with the federal government and they will be hearing from your senator.  I would even call the White House.  

[AJCM]

The industry standard has been set by much of the opposition, so I’m pretty relaxed that the Royal Caribbean group will follow suit within days. As is apparent on Cruise Critic, the fallout of being behind the pack isn’t worth the attempted bluff. I feel for people whose cruises are imminent and all the crews - let’s hope that everyone is looked after. We’re booked on several cruises around the Med and Adriatic in Jun/Jul, with final payment due 9 Mar. We’ll pay, despite the expectation that the cruises won’t go ahead; as we fully expect we’ll get future cruise credit when the cruises are inevitably cancelled - either by the EU or the lines themselves. The cruise lines virtually force us to make final payments, as the financial penalties are too high if we cancel. So, we’re acting on the optimism that a large business will act rationally and follow the crowd on cancellation policy. 
 

In my mind, it seems absolutely clear that cruises around Europe (and land tours) will not be proceeding through April till at least August, unless a miracle occurs. How on earth can cruises proceed when multiple countries ban docking; itineraries (and possible alternatives) just destroyed. There must be considerable lead time required for the logistics to make alternative arrangements and to also put together some kind of itinerary that could work. Then people have to hope that their flights 

still work. A seasonal cruise schedule of multiple 7- 14 night cruises would, I think, make the task impossible.
 

If customers can book/pay with confidence of payments returning to us as future credits, the cruise companies will financially suffer over the medium to longer term but at least should be able to survive (as opposed to having to refund all customers 100% and not taking any forward bookings).

 

Countries’ governmental departments and large business organisations would (or should have) disaster plans for the inevitable pandemic situation that the world has reluctantly accepted it has to deal with. Let’s hope those plans are well designed and prove to be effective in minimising the spread of the pandemic. Part of Royal Caribbean’s plan seems to be to proceed with cruises as long as possible before being forced to change policy i.e. force customers to cancel so as to not refund. This policy also includes for customers to have to risk flying to the point of embarkation to then be assessed and possibly rejected. If the cruise line rejects the customer, where on earth do they go? Strange approach, if a business has regard to customer loyalty and goodwill, when ultimately they’ll inevitably have to revise their policy or screw all their customers. I still believe sanity will prevail. Let’s hope the sanity takes over by Monday.

Edited March 6, 2020 by AJCM

[Richteab]

6 minutes ago, AJCM said:

Countries’ governmental departments and large business organisations would (or should have) disaster plans for the inevitable pandemic situation that the world has reluctantly accepted it has to deal with. Let’s hope those plans are well designed and prove to be effective in minimising the spread of the pandemic. Part of Royal Caribbean’s plan seems to be to proceed with cruises as long as possible before being forced to change policy i.e. force customers to cancel so as to not refund. This policy also includes for customers to have to risk flying to the point of embarkation to then be assessed and possibly rejected. If the cruise line rejects the customer, where on earth do they go? Strange approach, if a business has regard to customer loyalty and goodwill, when ultimately they’ll inevitably have to revise their policy or screw all their customers. I still believe sanity will prevail. Let’s hope the sanity takes over by Monday.

 

I fear it won't happen - the lunatics have taken over the asylum.

[AJCM]

2 minutes ago, Richteab said:

 

I fear it won't happen - the lunatics have taken over the asylum.

We always love cruising with Brits - so succinct and droll.

[Riocca]

We are on Quests 17th March itinerary and Azamara seem reluctant to advise us that 2 ports appear to be closed to cruise ships, I think I know why. Azamara’s own UK terms and conditions, and I presume others, contains the following:

Significant change: Examples include a change from two days port of calls to two days sailing instead; 
 

A significant change gives us the right to cancel without penalty, of course the majority of passengers would be unaware of the potential port problems so If they wait until we are onboard to advise us it’s too late. If they are upfront they would have to offer the opportunity to cancel, Azamara aren’t covering themselves with glory in this situation.
 

[Janet&David]

50 minutes ago, lasvegaswinner1 said:

Call your senators and congress person.  This is an election year. Tell the cruise company you are filing a complaint with the federal government and they will be hearing from your senator.  I would even call the White House.  

As US personal injury lawyers are considering class actions for cruise passengers...

https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/2020/03/04/can-coronavirus-victims-sue-for-injuries/

 

... in the UK we are preparing to send some very stern letters of complaint to the cruise companies.

 

There was a rumour that a very senior US politician floated the idea of building a wall to keep infection out - but they couldn't work out a way to make the virus pay for it.

[sunlover33]

16 hours ago, Riocca said:

Any person who has come in contact with anyone with 15-day prior travel to mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Italy, Iran, or South Korea. The CDC characterizes contact with an individual as coming within six feet (2M) of a person.

Could  anyone from Azamara explain the logic of denying boarding from anyone who has travelled from or been in contact with an individual from HongKong, when the infection rate for the USA, UK and many countries in mainland Europe is higher than Hong Kong? The cynic in me tells me that many more people are booked  from the USA and Europe so to deny boarding would mean cancellation of the cruise. 
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

[Janet&David]

28 minutes ago, Riocca said:

We are on Quests 17th March itinerary and Azamara seem reluctant to advise us that 2 ports appear to be closed to cruise ships, I think I know why. Azamara’s own UK terms and conditions, and I presume others, contains the following:

Significant change: Examples include a change from two days port of calls to two days sailing instead; 
 

A significant change gives us the right to cancel without penalty, of course the majority of passengers would be unaware of the potential port problems so If they wait until we are onboard to advise us it’s too late. If they are upfront they would have to offer the opportunity to cancel, Azamara aren’t covering themselves with glory in this situation.
 

The timing of the port changes is a critical point. In line with Azamara's terms and conditions, if there is a significant change to the 'package' that we've booked (in the UK) then we can consider the alternative proposed and either accept it or reject it for a full cash refund. This should be true even if the changes are announced the day before sailing (although it might be logistically difficult to refuse the change at that point). The problem comes if the cruise line maintains that it is going to stick to the itinerary (more or less) but then makes changes once onboard under the usual discretionary powers of the captain to ensure safety. I suspect we would then have to either accept it or potentially pursue the company through the courts when we get home (I can't see me bothering to do that).

Edited March 6, 2020 by Janet&David

[sunlover33]

31 minutes ago, Riocca said:

A significant change gives us the right to cancel without penalty, of course the majority of passengers would be unaware of the potential port problems so If they wait until we are onboard to advise us it’s too late. If they are upfront they would have to offer the opportunity to cancel, Azamara aren’t covering themselves with glory in this situation

I have written to my TA to ask Azamara that specific question with regard to our stops in Sri Lanka which are a third of our itinerary and would constitute a significant change.  I will await their reply with interest. 

[Lindy028]

2 minutes ago, Janet&David said:

The timing of the port changes is a critical point. As you say, if there is a significant change to the 'package' that we've booked (in the UK) then we can consider the alternative proposed and either accept it or reject it for a full cash refund. This should be true even if the changes are announced the day before sailing (although it might be logistically difficult to refuse the change at that point). The problem comes if the cruise line maintains that it is going to stick to the itinerary (more or less) but then makes changes once onboard under the usual discretionary powers of the captain to ensure safety. I suspect we would then have to either accept it or potentially pursue the company through the courts when we get home (I can't see me bothering to do that).

This is what we understand too, we have emailed our TA asking for clarity and asking her to pass on to Azamara our disgust at how they have handled this. They appear to be burying their heads in the sand and are refusing to accept that people have genuine concerns over what is likely to happen! Azamara are playing a very dangerous game if they think they can just ignore the current port closures, and then claim that it is at the discretion of the Captain! That would be business suicide.

[Janet&David]

1 minute ago, sunlover33 said:

I have written to my TA to ask Azamara that specific question with regard to our stops in Sri Lanka which are a third of our itinerary and would constitute a significant change.  I will await their reply with interest. 

Under UK law your claim would be against your TA as they sold you the 'package' (assuming you booked flights through them - either the Azamara flight service or alternatives arranged by your TA). If you tell your TA that you only booked this cruise because you wanted to visit the exotic island of Sri Lanka and sample the tea they would have no basis for arguing that this is not a major change. They would then have to refund any money you paid them and then they would have to recover money from the cruise company and airlines. There is a very good chance that your TA's terms and conditions state that they are not responsible for this but unfortunately for them they can't override UK law, whatever they say.

[sunlover33]

This is the information posed on the website from the TA 

 

What happens if our holiday is no longer operating or has been subject to a ‘significant change’ prior to travel?

We are working closely with our cruise line partners, who are continually assessing their upcoming itineraries to ensure that they are operating in accordance with the latest advice from the relevant authorities.

Should a holiday be cancelled, our customers will be provided with notification and a full refund.

Any customer affected by a ‘significant change’ will be contacted by our dedicated team to discuss their options, including the right to a refund.

We also have a separate team working to help affected customers find their next perfect cruise.

 

i asked the question so there would be no denial while on board that they were unaware of these changes. 

[Hols4X]

We are so grateful for the info on this thread ! We depart Singapore on Journey on 11/4, and have booked two extra nights before in Singapore . It's incredibly frustrating not knowing if the schedule will change or whole cruise be cancelled , thanks to all who are sharing updates on here . 

[comas]

Hi,

for all of you in the UK the information in this link should be useful.  

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/holiday-cancellations-and-compensation/cancelling-a-package-holiday/#h-if-a-holiday-company-changes-the-holiday-after-you-book-it

 

We are in a similar predicament with a booked cruise for May / June which has 6 Italian ports of call.  We are watching and waiting, but sadly will almost definitely cancel. 
Ann. 
 

Edited March 6, 2020 by comas

[Lindy028]

We are on Quest sailing from Dubai on 17th March, we did not get any email with a link to their latest statement, as others on this cruise have. We have just received an email telling us that we are still eligible to bid for an upgrade on this cruise! The only upgrade we are interested in is an upgrade to their response to the problems we are all facing!

[yogagal47]

My travel agent is a member of the virtuoso group. This cruise was supposed to be a “Virtuoso” cruise which means that virtuoso agents are supposed to be aboard as hosts for other virtuoso passengers. I have just emailed my TA today and asked her to find out if those hosts still plan to travel on this cruise. I also suggested that Virtuoso needs to make it very clear to Azamara that they will lose future bookings due to the way they are handling this situation. I am not sure what else we can do at this point.

13 new coronavirus cases reported today in Singapore so the situation seems to be going in the wrong direction despite their best efforts. Disturbing to say the least.

Edited March 6, 2020 by yogagal47
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[Vgroom]

Do you think Azamara read this forum?      They should!!!

[lparent71]

I just spoke with Silversea about their voyage on March 15 that stops in Doha and Bahrain. There are no changes to the itinerary. They said they are being allowed in because they are smaller than the mass market ships and they have very strict protocols in place such as checking each passenger that boards the ship. Who knows....

[Janet&David]

3 hours ago, sunlover33 said:

This is the information posed on the website from the TA 

 

What happens if our holiday is no longer operating or has been subject to a ‘significant change’ prior to travel?

We are working closely with our cruise line partners, who are continually assessing their upcoming itineraries to ensure that they are operating in accordance with the latest advice from the relevant authorities.

Should a holiday be cancelled, our customers will be provided with notification and a full refund.

Any customer affected by a ‘significant change’ will be contacted by our dedicated team to discuss their options, including the right to a refund.

We also have a separate team working to help affected customers find their next perfect cruise.

 

i asked the question so there would be no denial while on board that they were unaware of these changes. 

It's good to see that your TA is being so upfront about the situation and options. Ours did the right thing when we cancelled a cruise last month - but they needed a little nudge. They refunded in a reasonable time everything we had paid through them and the cruise company (eventually) refunded to us the additional payments we had made directly with them for excursions.

[eanselm]

Just read this on Yahoo Finance about a change being announced later today by Royal that also includes Celebrity Cruises, Azamara and Silversea - https://finance.yahoo.com/news/royal-caribbean-group-adopts-cruise-150000635.html

It indicates cancellations will be allowed up to 48 hours prior to cruise date for cruises through June with credit given for rebook in 2020 or 2021

 

[Grandpa100]

7 minutes ago, eanselm said:

Just read this on Yahoo Finance about a change being announced later today by Royal that also includes Celebrity Cruises, Azamara and Silversea - https://finance.yahoo.com/news/royal-caribbean-group-adopts-cruise-150000635.html

It indicates cancellations will be allowed up to 48 hours prior to cruise date for cruises through June with credit given for rebook in 2020 or 2021

 

Celebrity board says the announcement has been made. 

[garlinn]

From The Royal Caribbean Corporate Site

 

https://presscenter.rclcorporate.com/press-release/72/royal-caribbean-group-adopts-ldquocruise-with-confidencerdquo-policy-allowing-cancellations-up-to-48-hours-before-sailing/ 

 

 

Royal Caribbean Group adopts “Cruise With Confidence” policy, allowing cancellations up to 48 hours before sailing

Friday, March 6, 2020

MIAMI, March. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With COVID-19 adding uncertainty to travel plans around the world, Royal Caribbean Group said it will give guests greater control over their vacation decisions, allowing guests to cancel cruises as late as two days before departure.

The “Cruise With Confidence” policy allows guests on Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara and Silversea to cancel up to 48 hours before a sailing. Guests will receive a full credit for their fare, usable on any future sailing of the guest’s choice in 2020 or 2021. The policy applies to both new and existing cruise bookings.

“Our previous policy set earlier deadlines for guests to cancel their cruises, and that added unnecessary stress,” said Richard Fain, the company’s chairman and CEO. “Trying to guess a month or more in advance where areas of concern about coronavirus might be is challenging for medical experts, much less a family preparing for vacation.

“When circumstances are as fast-changing as they have been recently, it’s good to know you have the option to take a rain check,” Fain said. “We think putting more control in our guests’ hands helps them make informed decisions about whether to keep their existing vacation plans or trade out for a more convenient time or itinerary.”  

In addition to easing concerns for booked guests, Fain said the policy would also give consumers more confidence in making new bookings, knowing that they could later adjust their plans without penalty.

The policy applies to all cruises with a sailing date on or before July 31, 2020, and will be offered by the company’s global brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara and Silversea. Full details of the “Cruise with Confidence” policy can be found at the respective brand websites.

 

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) is a global cruise vacation company that controls and operates four global brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara and Silversea Cruises. We are also a 50% joint venture owner of the German brand TUI Cruises and a 49% shareholder in the Spanish brand Pullmantur Cruceros. Together these brands operate a combined total of 61 ships with an additional 17 on order as of December 31, 2019. They operate diverse itineraries around the world that call on all seven continents. Additional information can be found on www.royalcaribbean.com, www.celebritycruises.com, www.azamara.com, www.silversea.com, www.tuicruises.com, www.pullmantur.es, or www.rclinvestor.com.

[Lindy028]

2 minutes ago, Grandpa100 said:

Celebrity board says the announcement has been made. 

Somebody just posted the same on the MSC board.

[Lindy028]

Cannot find this on Azamara website, my husband is on the phone right now to our TA and they say they know nothing about this and that the normal cancellation terms still apply! Very frustrating,