Black Sea in September

[nordski]

15 hours ago, Janet&Carl said:

I have never heard of this done  John - which ship ? and I wonder if they will still let you do that

 

In 2014, on our 3rd day in St. Petersburg, Azamara offered a “shopping” tour of a street near our downtown dock.

 

That’s many years ago and I have no knowledge of the rules for said tour.

[Janet&Carl]

16 hours ago, Leo_On_Geo said:

As with any cruise contract, the cruise  line can modify or cancel the cruise up to the minute it sails  or even after while en route. These decisions are made with the safety of the crew and passengers in mind    If your  only reason for taking this cruise is to go to Ukraine, Then I would cancel if I were you. However if you’re flexible you should sail . I personally don’t think I’ll be going to Odessa in May, But I will enjoy the rest of the cruise and the three following. I will be very happy to be sailing again

 

 

Yes we are very flexible but would be happier doing ports that replacing two port days with sea days

[psygist]

My guess is that if or when Putin invades Ukraine, ships will not cruise to any ports in the Black Sea. That is my recollection of what happened in 2014 when Russia invaded the Crimea. Cruise itineraries were changed to the Mediterranean. 

Edited February 20, 2022 by psygist

[Janet&Carl]

On 2/21/2022 at 1:36 AM, psygist said:

My guess is that if or when Putin invades Ukraine, ships will not cruise to any ports in the Black Sea. That is my recollection of what happened in 2014 when Russia invaded the Crimea. Cruise itineraries were changed to the Mediterranean. 

 

 

We would keep our cruise with changes but have done the med so many times already we thought we would have a change. We would be happy if they made it more Greek intensive and put more Greek ports in.  But ours is not until August so hoping things settle down by then and we get to tick the Black Sea cruise off our bucket list.

 

Putin seems to have sent in "peace keeping forces" this morning our time - so it seems it begins. How long do you think Azamara will take to make changes if any ?

 

[john1970]

17 hours ago, Janet&Carl said:

 

 

We would keep our cruise with changes but have done the med so many times already we thought we would have a change. We would be happy if they made it more Greek intensive and put more Greek ports in.  But ours is not until August so hoping things settle down by then and we get to tick the Black Sea cruise off our bucket list.

 

Putin seems to have sent in "peace keeping forces" this morning our time - so it seems it begins. How long do you think Azamara will take to make changes if any ?

 

As long as they make the changes before final payment. I want to know what cruise I am actually purchasing.

[Mackdogmolly]

6 minutes ago, john1970 said:

As long as they make the changes before final payment. I want to know what cruise I am actually purchasing.

With the situation so uncertain, that might not be possible.

[uktog]

13 minutes ago, john1970 said:

As long as they make the changes before final payment. I want to know what cruise I am actually purchasing.

As you are UK based they will be bound by the substantial changes rule which depending on what the change was could even allow you a no penalty cancellation.

[john1970]

I think I will probably end up moving to another cruise in 2023. It's a pity as I want to really see the ports on this itinerary but can do without the hassle of predicting what might be in June.

[john1970]

16 minutes ago, uktog said:

As you are UK based they will be bound by the substantial changes rule which depending on what the change was could even allow you a no penalty cancellation.

I am wondering if I can take the deposit as a FCC under the cruise with confidence? Either that or I think there was a GBP75 fee pp? I can't remember as it's been so long since I have travelled! I am not sure I want to pay the final balance and then get a refund afterward. 

[manc]

We have had similar cruises cancelled because of the unrest in the area. The September cruise had different ports than those in the past butvstill Odessa.

 

Azamara, were very good in the past when there were changes and helpful in letting us move to alternative trips

 

 

[psygist]

With final payment on my June 29 Black Sea cruise due this week, I feel caught between a rock and a hard place. After spending 2+ hours on hold, I was finally able to speak with an Azamara agent. Here is what she told me:

 

1.  For what the agent’s opinion is worth, she said that, while the cruise itinerary hasn’t changed (as of February 22), she thought it unlikely the cruise would call on any Ukraine or Russia ports this year. 
 

2.  If Azamara cancels or changes the itinerary, options will be made available, including a full refund. 
 

Though time is dwindling to make final payment, I’m waiting for Putin’s next move. If he launches a full invasion, all bets are off on Azamara’s decision. 

Edited February 23, 2022 by psygist

[KirkNC]

21 hours ago, psygist said:

With final payment on my June 29 Black Sea cruise due this week, I feel caught between a rock and a hard place. After spending 2+ hours on hold, I was finally able to speak with an Azamara agent. Here is what she told me:

 

1.  For what the agent’s opinion is worth, she said that, while the cruise itinerary hasn’t changed (as of February 22), she thought it unlikely the cruise would call on any Ukraine or Russia ports this year. 
 

2.  If Azamara cancels or changes the itinerary, options will be made available, including a full refund. 
 

Though time is dwindling to make final payment, I’m waiting for Putin’s next move. If he launches a full invasion, all bets are off on Azamara’s decision. 

I think all bets are off…

[Mackdogmolly]

3 hours ago, KirkNC said:

I think all bets are off…

Yep 😟

[macmax]

All cruise lines are working on Plan B itineraries for Baltic & Black Sea cruises....stay tuned!

[Mackdogmolly]

On 2/23/2022 at 8:34 AM, psygist said:

With final payment on my June 29 Black Sea cruise due this week, I feel caught between a rock and a hard place. After spending 2+ hours on hold, I was finally able to speak with an Azamara agent. Here is what she told me:

 

1.  For what the agent’s opinion is worth, she said that, while the cruise itinerary hasn’t changed (as of February 22), she thought it unlikely the cruise would call on any Ukraine or Russia ports this year. 
 

2.  If Azamara cancels or changes the itinerary, options will be made available, including a full refund. 
 

Though time is dwindling to make final payment, I’m waiting for Putin’s next move. If he launches a full invasion, all bets are off on Azamara’s decision. 

Careful though, you will lose your deposit if you cancel.

[macmax]

On 2/23/2022 at 8:34 AM, psygist said:

With final payment on my June 29 Black Sea cruise due this week, I feel caught between a rock and a hard place. After spending 2+ hours on hold, I was finally able to speak with an Azamara agent. Here is what she told me:

 

1.  For what the agent’s opinion is worth, she said that, while the cruise itinerary hasn’t changed (as of February 22), she thought it unlikely the cruise would call on any Ukraine or Russia ports this year. 
 

2.  If Azamara cancels or changes the itinerary, options will be made available, including a full refund. 
 

Though time is dwindling to make final payment, I’m waiting for Putin’s next move. If he launches a full invasion, all bets are off on Azamara’s decision. 

AZ is being very accommodating with extending FPs right now, so give them a call ....if you can get through that is.

[KirkNC]

We have already received a communication from Oceania concerning our planned stop in Petroppavlovsk-Kamchatsky in September.  It has been canceled and they will update with the new port (if there is one) soon.

[java spot]

Just received. 

Dear Azamara Guest,

We have been monitoring the situation between Ukraine and Russia the past several weeks and based on the latest overnight developments, we have found it is necessary to make a change to our voyages currently scheduled to visit either of these countries. As a result, your Black Sea Voyage, which is scheduled to depart on June 27, 2022 on Azamara Journey®, is one of the voyages we will be adjusting to remove Ukraine and/or Russia as a port of call.

We need a little time to ensure the changes we make still result in a memorable, deeply immersive cruise vacation, so we just wanted to inform you that these changes will be shared with you soon.

We greatly appreciate your understanding and thank you for your cooperation throughout our journey as we have worked to manage this fluid situation. We assure you that your upcoming Azamara vacation will deliver the highest standards of service and quality for which we are known.

Should you have any questions, please contact your Travel Advisor for more details or¿visit https://www.azamara.com/contact-us for your local Azamara call center number.

We look forward to welcoming you on board.

[john1970]

9 hours ago, java spot said:

Just received. 

Dear Azamara Guest,

We have been monitoring the situation between Ukraine and Russia the past several weeks and based on the latest overnight developments, we have found it is necessary to make a change to our voyages currently scheduled to visit either of these countries. As a result, your Black Sea Voyage, which is scheduled to depart on June 27, 2022 on Azamara Journey®, is one of the voyages we will be adjusting to remove Ukraine and/or Russia as a port of call.

We need a little time to ensure the changes we make still result in a memorable, deeply immersive cruise vacation, so we just wanted to inform you that these changes will be shared with you soon.

We greatly appreciate your understanding and thank you for your cooperation throughout our journey as we have worked to manage this fluid situation. We assure you that your upcoming Azamara vacation will deliver the highest standards of service and quality for which we are known.

Should you have any questions, please contact your Travel Advisor for more details or¿visit https://www.azamara.com/contact-us for your local Azamara call center number.

We look forward to welcoming you on board.

Thanks for posting that. I am on the June 29th Black Sea Intensive so I am guessing they will make that change as well. I feel very sorry for all the civilians caught up in this war. Very sad.

[psygist]

Azamara informed us last night they canceled Russian and Ukraine ports for the June 29 Black Sea cruise. As the letter states, they are working on alternatives. 
Azamara has been very accommodating with us, so far, extending our final payment due date for a month (until end of March) and allowing a full refund of deposit if itinerary is changed from Black Sea. 
 

So sad for the Ukrainian people. Europe, and the world for that matter, has been charged overnight. 

[drcpas]

We are booked on the Black Sea Cruise on May 5th, 2022 and our travel agent has not received any news from them.  I called Azamara yesterday around noon and they had no information yet.  We've never cruised before but this really seems totally tone deaf from a customer service business view point.  I know they have new owners but really?????  Just wondering if anyone on here has received anything from them.

-Gail

[ECCruise]

Just now, drcpas said:

We are booked on the Black Sea Cruise on May 5th, 2022 and our travel agent has not received any news from them.  I called Azamara yesterday around noon and they had no information yet.  We've never cruised before but this really seems totally tone deaf from a customer service business view point.  I know they have new owners but really?????  Just wondering if anyone on here has received anything from them.

-Gail

We are on the 5 June sailing and both our TA and us received the above cited email yesterday. 

[Baynanno1]

5 hours ago, drcpas said:

We are booked on the Black Sea Cruise on May 5th, 2022 and our travel agent has not received any news from them.  I called Azamara yesterday around noon and they had no information yet.  We've never cruised before but this really seems totally tone deaf from a customer service business view point.  I know they have new owners but really?????  Just wondering if anyone on here has received anything from them.

-Gail

 

Gail, where are you located in the world?

Perhaps that may have something to do with lack of information for you and your TA.

Both the poster above and below your post are in USA.

[drcpas]

1 minute ago, Baynanno1 said:

 

Gail, where are you located in the world?

Perhaps that may have something to do with lack of information for you and your TA.

Both the poster above and below your post are in USA.

We are in Seattle Washington.  

[Baynanno1]

3 minutes ago, drcpas said:

We are in Seattle Washington.  

 

Very strange then that you have not received the same communication as the other posters!