Baynanno1 Posted May 8, 2020 #351 Share Posted May 8, 2020 Basketball wife What was the date of your cancelled cruise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basketball wife Posted May 8, 2020 #352 Share Posted May 8, 2020 April 26th on the Journey; so by the time I get the full refund, it will have been about a month since the cruise was supposed to start but two months since Azamara cancelled the cruise. I was on the Celebrity Eclipse when I received the notice, so using the poor ship’s wifi, I asked for the refund on March 28th. Once I requested it, I got the message that it would take about 30 days. Interestingly, I received notice while I was on the “extended” Celebrity Eclipse Cruise around South America but because of the Coronavirus, Chile refused us permission to dock. We were on the ship for 15 more days and finally docked in San Diego and were told continuously that no one was sick (I have pictures of the elevator lobby outside the medical centre that refute this). The day AFTER we got home, Celebrity notified us by email that one passenger and a few crew members had COVID-19. Since then, we have learned that there have been about 90 people with it and several deaths. Anyway, through this rant, I am trying to say that I have little trust anymore in the integrity/honesty of the company. We have another Celebrity Cruise in Japan in September with final payment in June and have asked them to push this payment but have received no response... I will definitely be cancelling but I will wait as long as I can because my airfare will not be refunded unless they cancel but at this point I might be eating this cost as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
growlers Posted May 9, 2020 #353 Share Posted May 9, 2020 On 5/7/2020 at 7:09 AM, Thameside said: I did receive a FCC for 50% of our cruise cancelled whilst onboard, but still await the other half as advised. I am pleased guests are beginning to get their refunds and it gives me more confidence to book an Azamara Cruise in the near future. I was on this cruise as well (Pursuit, march 2nd leaving BA) and I got my 50% FCC maybe 10 days ago but not the 50% cash refund yet. I'm personally not concerned about the timing, just wanted to provide another data point from a US customer for anyone else lurking who was on our cruise. To be honest, I wouldn't have expected the 50% cash portion given they sailed us through the canal and we weren't quarantined, but that may be a minority view. Obviously I'm thrilled to have the cash back, but I think it's above and beyond what is objectively reasonable. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blag Posted May 9, 2020 #354 Share Posted May 9, 2020 3 hours ago, Basketball wife said: After holding for two hours forty-seven minutes, got nowhere with that cancellation but did get an Azamara phone number. I do not know whether this is against the CC rules, but would you be so kind as to share that number here, please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thameside Posted May 9, 2020 #355 Share Posted May 9, 2020 10 hours ago, growlers said: I was on this cruise as well (Pursuit, march 2nd leaving BA) and I got my 50% FCC maybe 10 days ago but not the 50% cash refund yet. I'm personally not concerned about the timing, just wanted to provide another data point from a US customer for anyone else lurking who was on our cruise. To be honest, I wouldn't have expected the 50% cash portion given they sailed us through the canal and we weren't quarantined, but that may be a minority view. Obviously I'm thrilled to have the cash back, but I think it's above and beyond what is objectively reasonable. Agreed 🛳 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBMacLaird Posted May 10, 2020 #356 Share Posted May 10, 2020 On 5/8/2020 at 7:06 PM, blag said: I do not know whether this is against the CC rules, but would you be so kind as to share that number here, please? Below is the number that has been listed in letters to booked guests on voyages that have been cancelled: "please contact us at 1-855-AZAMARA (292-6272), option 3." Or email: AzamaraCustomerService@Azamara.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blag Posted May 10, 2020 #357 Share Posted May 10, 2020 54 minutes ago, BBMacLaird said: Below is the number that has been listed in letters to booked guests on voyages that have been cancelled: "please contact us at 1-855-AZAMARA (292-6272), option 3." Or email: AzamaraCustomerService@Azamara.com Thanks for that, Bonnie. If the caller is outside the US, what would the telephone number(s) be, please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallydave Posted May 10, 2020 #358 Share Posted May 10, 2020 4 minutes ago, blag said: Thanks for that, Bonnie. If the caller is outside the US, what would the telephone number(s) be, please? US Country Code is +1 and then 800 292-6272 Suggest you do internet calling if available or perhaps skype. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josumello Posted May 10, 2020 #359 Share Posted May 10, 2020 Update regarding our cancelled Mar 28 Quest cruise Dubai to Athens Cruise cancelled Friday Mar 13. On March 16 spoke to TA indicating we wanted cash refund. Within a week we were received refund on credit card for all shore excursions. April 29 we received refund on credit card for final payment. No deposit credit. I waited a week and then called TA. Azamara informed her that the refund had been processed April 25. I called CC company and they had no record of it so I initiated a dispute on May 3. Called TA as she wanted update. She recommended holding off on dispute as that could further hold up refund. I did May 9 the $1100 deposit was credited. Have no idea why it took from April 25 to May 9. Bottom line is everything has been credited but it did take 52 days. It wasn’t easy being patient!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baynanno1 Posted May 10, 2020 #360 Share Posted May 10, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, josumello said: Update regarding our cancelled Mar 28 Quest cruise Dubai to Athens Cruise cancelled Friday Mar 13. On March 16 spoke to TA indicating we wanted cash refund. Within a week we were received refund on credit card for all shore excursions. April 29 we received refund on credit card for final payment. No deposit credit. I waited a week and then called TA. Azamara informed her that the refund had been processed April 25. I called CC company and they had no record of it so I initiated a dispute on May 3. Called TA as she wanted update. She recommended holding off on dispute as that could further hold up refund. I did May 9 the $1100 deposit was credited. Have no idea why it took from April 25 to May 9. Bottom line is everything has been credited but it did take 52 days. It wasn’t easy being patient!!! You are quite right that it is not easy being patient, especially seeing day by day others whose cruises were later cancellations and indeed many who have cancelled their own much later cruises being paid out! We elected FCC for that cruise and it arrived a month after cancellation 14th April, but still no $$ for fees, ports & taxes which are considerable due to going through the Suez Canal. Nor have we received the 100% cash refund owing for the cruise before that one which was cancelled several days earlier, now over 60 days ago. Edited May 10, 2020 by Baynanno1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamwen3839 Posted May 11, 2020 #361 Share Posted May 11, 2020 49 minutes ago, Baynanno1 said: You are quite right that it is not easy being patient, especially seeing day by day others whose cruises were later cancellations and indeed many who have cancelled their own much later cruises being paid out! We elected FCC for that cruise and it arrived a month after cancellation 14th April, but still no $$ for fees, ports & taxes which are considerable due to going through the Suez Canal. Nor have we received the 100% cash refund owing for the cruise before that one which was cancelled several days earlier, now over 60 days ago. Our Azamara Journey cruise of 24 March was cancelled by Azamara on about the 12th March I think and we applied for a refund on 13 March. Nothing received yet although we can see later cancelled cruise being refunded. we went through a Travel Agent and she says she is keeping an eye on things but I suspect she gets less information than we do. Not sure how much longer to wait before we escalate matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallydave Posted May 11, 2020 #362 Share Posted May 11, 2020 34 minutes ago, Hamwen3839 said: Our Azamara Journey cruise of 24 March was cancelled by Azamara on about the 12th March I think and we applied for a refund on 13 March. Nothing received yet although we can see later cancelled cruise being refunded. we went through a Travel Agent and she says she is keeping an eye on things but I suspect she gets less information than we do. Not sure how much longer to wait before we escalate matters. A word to the wise, just like the other cruise lines, escalating issues like this to higher ups at the cruise line are useless as the higher ups are the ones controlling the money and delaying payment for owed refunds. Believe the only way to get the cruise lines attention and your refund is to dispute or what you call it in Oz to your credit card company. Did that recently and within a couple of days had a prliminary credit on my credit card account and if the cruise line does not respond to the dispute within a set amount of time the credit becomes permanent and this will get their attention and if it doesn't you get the money anyway, IMHO the cruise lines saying disputing the charges will delay your refund. That is simply not true and a scare tactic as you have no control over Azamara but, the credit card company does. Trust me, trying to escalate at the cruise line is useless and all that will do is to delay your refund. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamwen3839 Posted May 11, 2020 #363 Share Posted May 11, 2020 5 hours ago, rallydave said: A word to the wise, just like the other cruise lines, escalating issues like this to higher ups at the cruise line are useless as the higher ups are the ones controlling the money and delaying payment for owed refunds. Believe the only way to get the cruise lines attention and your refund is to dispute or what you call it in Oz to your credit card company. Did that recently and within a couple of days had a prliminary credit on my credit card account and if the cruise line does not respond to the dispute within a set amount of time the credit becomes permanent and this will get their attention and if it doesn't you get the money anyway, IMHO the cruise lines saying disputing the charges will delay your refund. That is simply not true and a scare tactic as you have no control over Azamara but, the credit card company does. Trust me, trying to escalate at the cruise line is useless and all that will do is to delay your refund. Thanks for that advice.When I said “ escalate” I had something similar in mind, I.e. through the credit card .I think our problem is that as we paid the travel agent and they have not received a refund, they simply do not have the money to pay us.As others are beginning to get a refund we will wait another couple of weeks I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBMacLaird Posted May 11, 2020 #364 Share Posted May 11, 2020 19 hours ago, blag said: Thanks for that, Bonnie. If the caller is outside the US, what would the telephone number(s) be, please? Hi Blag, Here is the webpage with all our international phone numbers: https://www.azamara.com/int/contact-us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger88 Posted May 11, 2020 #365 Share Posted May 11, 2020 Azamarra tricked its customers in a way. Maybe it was news fault but people knew that Azamara was going to cancel the cruise, so many people started canceling. When they received the official notice they thought they will be refunded but it happend AFTER they requested a refund basically canceling the cruise themselves.. very strange situation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted May 11, 2020 #366 Share Posted May 11, 2020 2 hours ago, Roger88 said: Azamarra tricked its customers in a way. Maybe it was news fault but people knew that Azamara was going to cancel the cruise, so many people started canceling. When they received the official notice they thought they will be refunded but it happend AFTER they requested a refund basically canceling the cruise themselves.. very strange situation There has been lots of advice here on Cruise Critic to have patience. There is no benefit to cancelling yourself; the deal is always better if you wait for the cruise line to cancel. But people get antsy. [BTW this is about all cruise lines; also true about stock market behavior, selling in a panic at the bottom. Patience is a virtue!] 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzyluvs2cruise Posted May 11, 2020 #367 Share Posted May 11, 2020 6 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said: There has been lots of advice here on Cruise Critic to have patience. There is no benefit to cancelling yourself; the deal is always better if you wait for the cruise line to cancel. But people get antsy. [BTW this is about all cruise lines; also true about stock market behavior, selling in a panic at the bottom. Patience is a virtue!] If your cruise is paid in full that's good advice but many of us have cruises with final payments approaching soon. Many of those sailings will not sail and I, for one, don't want to put more $$ out just to have to wait in line for a refund. Yes...we're trying to be patient....but also would appreciate some honesty from the cruise lines in cancelling those cruises they know will not sail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBMacLaird Posted May 11, 2020 #368 Share Posted May 11, 2020 3 minutes ago, suzyluvs2cruise said: many of us have cruises with final payments approaching soon. Many of those sailings will not sail and I, for one, don't want to put more $$ out just to have to wait in line for a refund. Final Payment deadlines are somewhat flexible right now. Have your TA ask for an extension if the due date is approaching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare uktog Posted May 11, 2020 #369 Share Posted May 11, 2020 24 minutes ago, BBMacLaird said: Final Payment deadlines are somewhat flexible right now. Have your TA ask for an extension if the due date is approaching. Bonnie Be aware, the cruise lines may be being generous to the travel agencies but many agents are not passing that flexibility on to their guests. Not good news I know but we have experienced for a river cruise booked through a major cruise agency being advised by the line that we could delay final payment but the agent said no - eventually we pushed and got a compromise, they agent is still wanting payment a few weeks before the extension ended but it was the best we could do. Just something to realise, asking the TA may well not bring you the result you might expect. Its only if the guest queries direct with the cruise line that they discover the true extension being offered 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBMacLaird Posted May 11, 2020 #370 Share Posted May 11, 2020 36 minutes ago, uktog said: Bonnie Be aware, the cruise lines may be being generous to the travel agencies but many agents are not passing that flexibility on to their guests. Not good news I know but we have experienced for a river cruise booked through a major cruise agency being advised by the line that we could delay final payment but the agent said no - eventually we pushed and got a compromise, they agent is still wanting payment a few weeks before the extension ended but it was the best we could do. Just something to realise, asking the TA may well not bring you the result you might expect. Its only if the guest queries direct with the cruise line that they discover the true extension being offered While I am sorry to hear this; it is a good point you raise. Travel Agents are suffering the same as many businesses right now...cash flow. I have a personal friend who works as a remote (at home) agent. She told me the other day she is working full-time just helping clients process and get their refunds, with no income for weeks and none on the horizon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzyluvs2cruise Posted May 11, 2020 #371 Share Posted May 11, 2020 2 minutes ago, BBMacLaird said: While I am sorry to hear this; it is a good point you raise. Travel Agents are suffering the same as many businesses right now...cash flow. I have a personal friend who works as a remote (at home) agent. She told me the other day she is working full-time just helping clients process and get their refunds, with no income for weeks and none on the horizon. Sad to hear about TA's are not getting their commission. Sadly I've heard that from more than one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lottie A Posted May 11, 2020 #372 Share Posted May 11, 2020 Just FYI I was surprised to receive an email from Azamara today advising me that my TA now had details of my FCC for my cancelled June 11th Cruise. I had only paid the deposit and I cancelled the cruise myself in March before I had paid the final payment. Of course Azamara then cancelled the cruise anyway a couple of weeks ago. I was surprised to receive any credit at all as deposits in the U.K. are usually non refundable. There was no option to ask for a refund of my money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBMacLaird Posted May 11, 2020 #373 Share Posted May 11, 2020 16 minutes ago, suzyluvs2cruise said: Sad to hear about TA's are not getting their commission. Sadly I've heard that from more than one. Travel Agents are typically compensated at the time of sailing, not at the time of booking, or rebooking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzyluvs2cruise Posted May 11, 2020 #374 Share Posted May 11, 2020 15 minutes ago, BBMacLaird said: Travel Agents are typically compensated at the time of sailing, not at the time of booking, or rebooking. Interesting because for our Azamara Jul 6 sailing we were told commission was paid shortly after final payment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandma Cruising Posted May 11, 2020 #375 Share Posted May 11, 2020 42 minutes ago, suzyluvs2cruise said: Sad to hear about TA's are not getting their commission. Sadly I've heard that from more than one. Not only are they not getting commission, but having to pay commission back. My daughter is a self employed travel agent and is working very hard on helping clients get refunds or credits for cancelled holidays of all types, including cruises. She is generally paid her commission just after the final balance is paid, so if the holiday is cancelled by the company or by the client, and the client wants a refund rather than a credit, she has to pay the commission back. That means she’s working hard for minus money. At least the UK governments grant of 80% for three months will help a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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