What's Going On At Azamara?

[DALIND]

Hi, does anyone know what is going on with Azamara bookings?

We booked a cruise with them many months ago which sets sail in October. We have had great difficulty in making the final payment, you cannot make a payment online so have call. We made 22 phone calls to make the payment, spending over 6 hours on hold until we finally got to speak to someone to take the payment. We made the final payment over a week ago and we still haven't received a receipt and the account has not been updated so we still can't Check In to finalise excursions etc.

We have sent a number emails but none are replied so we don’t know how to move this forward.

It’s all quite disconcerting and worrying, will the flights be organised, will the ship be expecting us?

Has anyone else had similar issues with Azamara?

[CoG72crewz]

My travel agent called Azamara yesterday to make a payment and I received an updated invoice within 30 minutes.  I've never had good luck reaching them by email or phone so I'm glad that this one was booked with a TA.  

[lisiamc]

20 minutes ago, CoG72crewz said:

@DALIND  I’m sorry you’ve had such a hard time. Are you a past Azamara cruiser? I hear that the loyalty ambassador has been more responsive lately than any other channel of contact, and you could try them.
 

This is not much help for you,  but we’ve made and paid for three bookings in the last 5 weeks, and like CoG72crewz says above, gone through a TA, and there has been no problem getting updated paperwork. Whilst they’re in transition from Royal Caribbean to Sycamore ownership, the IT system seems to be even worse than ever, and it was never particularly good! 

Edited July 22, 2022 by lisiamc
Too quick on the quote button!

[DRJVH]

2 hours ago, DALIND said:

Hi, does anyone know what is going on with Azamara bookings?

We booked a cruise with them many months ago which sets sail in October. We have had great difficulty in making the final payment, you cannot make a payment online so have call. We made 22 phone calls to make the payment, spending over 6 hours on hold until we finally got to speak to someone to take the payment. We made the final payment over a week ago and we still haven't received a receipt and the account has not been updated so we still can't Check In to finalise excursions etc.

We have sent a number emails but none are replied so we don’t know how to move this forward.

It’s all quite disconcerting and worrying, will the flights be organised, will the ship be expecting us?

Has anyone else had similar issues with Azamara?

We are cruising in September and have been told that check in won’t open until 30 days out. 

[Grandma Cruising]

3 hours ago, DALIND said:

Hi, does anyone know what is going on with Azamara bookings?

We booked a cruise with them many months ago which sets sail in October. We have had great difficulty in making the final payment, you cannot make a payment online so have call. We made 22 phone calls to make the payment, spending over 6 hours on hold until we finally got to speak to someone to take the payment. We made the final payment over a week ago and we still haven't received a receipt and the account has not been updated so we still can't Check In to finalise excursions etc.

We have sent a number emails but none are replied so we don’t know how to move this forward.

It’s all quite disconcerting and worrying, will the flights be organised, will the ship be expecting us?

Has anyone else had similar issues with Azamara?

You can book excursions anytime using your ‘Voyage Planner’, whether you have made the final payment or not. You won’t be able to check-in yet, it’s too soon. There is nowhere in your account on the website that shows your payments. As suggested above, it’s probably worth contacting the Circle Club to ask for their help. I had a similar issue - I bought the Ultimate Package & had no receipt for it. I emailed Customer Service & got no response, so I contacted the Circle Ambassador and got a receipt shortly afterwards.

[airhose]

What is the phone number of the loyalty ambassador?   We have a final payment due soon, directly to Azamara.  Thanks in advance. 

[boxman52]

We have 14 days to pay before our deadline.

The process of trying to give Azamara our money so they can have a sustainable business has started.

So far endless minutes holding on a call waiting no answer

It really is inexcusable as the most function of any business is to receive money from customers and you should make that as easy as possible 

There are so many systems out there to allow payment. Azamara could put a system in place very quickly. You can link to them immediately to allow online payments.  Hiding behind IT limitations in this day and age is quite simply out of date thinking.

Who is running their back office I wonder

[lisiamc]

7 minutes ago, boxman52 said:

We have 14 days to pay before our deadline.

The process of trying to give Azamara our money so they can have a sustainable business has started.

So far endless minutes holding on a call waiting no answer

It really is inexcusable as the most function of any business is to receive money from customers and you should make that as easy as possible 

There are so many systems out there to allow payment. Azamara could put a system in place very quickly. You can link to them immediately to allow online payments.  Hiding behind IT limitations in this day and age is quite simply out of date thinking.

Who is running their back office I wonder

As I understand it, per their contract, Azamara won’t take over full IT function until March 2023. Until then, it’s RCI, and they flat out don’t care any more. It’s not their priority to fix it if Azamara isnt able to handle payments properly. 

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, airhose said:

What is the phone number of the loyalty ambassador?   We have a final payment due soon, directly to Azamara.  Thanks in advance. 

This page from the UK site has contact numbers & an email link in the section headed ‘An onshore Azamara Circle Desk’ https://www.azamara.co.uk/loyalty/azamara-circle

[mchell810]

2 hours ago, airhose said:

What is the phone number of the loyalty ambassador?   We have a final payment due soon, directly to Azamara.  Thanks in advance. 

 

I made final payment today simply by calling the main number 833-292-2292.  I was on hold only 5 minutes and I made sure the agent sent me an updated invoice showing the payment was made while I was on the phone.  It came in less than a minute. 

[boxman52]

1 hour ago, mchell810 said:

 

I made final payment today simply by calling the main number 833-292-2292.  I was on hold only 5 minutes and I made sure the agent sent me an updated invoice showing the payment was made while I was on the phone.  It came in less than a minute. 

Are you in the US because it seems better there than in UK

We've spent hours so far across multiple days 

[boxman52]

2 hours ago, lisiamc said:

As I understand it, per their contract, Azamara won’t take over full IT function until March 2023. Until then, it’s RCI, and they flat out don’t care any more. It’s not their priority to fix it if Azamara isnt able to handle payments properly. 

It's not something that needs fixing really.

Also if I'd have bought the business being paid would be my number one concern

Not wanting to sound like a broken record but if Azamara had the slightest will to do this they could. There are so many ways available to collect money

All businesses need to do it

It's like running a cruise line with no ships!

 

 

 

[yogagal47]

4 hours ago, airhose said:

What is the phone number of the loyalty ambassador?   We have a final payment due soon, directly to Azamara.  Thanks in advance. 

I do not have a number but try this:

 

Loyalty@azamara.com

Kayla is the name of the person who responded to me

[mchell810]

4 hours ago, boxman52 said:

Are you in the US because it seems better there than in UK

We've spent hours so far across multiple days 

 

Yes I am in the US.  I suppose our phone number doesn't work for you.  Sorry.

[RW75]

I received a balance payment reminder one calendar month prior to the balance payment. 
 

This came from accountsreceivable@rrcl and states payment can be made in my account on azamara.com. 
 

As we all know this isn’t the case. Below is the text from the email.   Have tried calling a few times recently to pay the balance on two booking and given up after very long hold times.  Online payments would certainly make for a smoother process.

 

To make a payment, simply log in to your Guest Account on www.azamara.co.uk or contact one of the team on 03444 934016 (calls charged at local rate). We do not charge for credit or debit card transactions but your card issuer may charge you an international fee if your booking is in a different currency to your card.
If you have already made full payment, please ignore this reminder and accept our apologies for any inconvenience.
Thank you for choosing Azamara ­ we look forward to welcoming you onboard Azamara Onward.
  

[Robb]

We have always used a local 'brick and mortar' travel agent (same one for 20 years now and more than 70 cruises on 12 different lines) and she takes care of everything.  Never a mishap, never a snag.  Everything done on time without any worries.  Best of luck....on all your cruises.  😍

[Benthayer Gonbak]

Our TA called on a Saturday and got right through, shocked him for sure!  Normally 2-4 hours.  Right now they seem to be due more than their commissions!