New website.

[JYDCruise]

Given the Keystone-Kops* nature of the website migration and rollout, I'm really quite surprised that after a few weeks there hasn't been some PR management effort on Azamara's part. Even just an email from the CEO to people with existing bookings would be nice, stating something to the effect of "We understand there are issues with the new Azamara website. While we're excited about sharing our new online presence with you, this complicated process hasn't proceeded to the standards we hold, and that you rightly expect from us. Please understand that we are working around the clock to resolve any and all concerns." Blah blah blah . . . or put a banner on the website itself.

 

Is the Azamara PR team too busy trying to craft the next "BEST OFFER EVER!!" to slap something like this together?

 

*Sorry for the US-centric reference. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_Cops

Edited April 5, 2023 by JYDCruise

[G2G]

OMG my points level has dropped even more & im being asked to pay the none existent monies owing. Done & dusted after 20 + cruises with these guys, no more. I cannot believe that an apology hasn’t been offered for the current debacle.  It is no way to treat loyal or even new customers, there are other options for us all. 

[Carnevale]

18 minutes ago, JYDCruise said:

Given the Keystone-Kops* nature of the website migration and rollout, I'm really quite surprised that after a few weeks there hasn't been some PR management effort on Azamara's part. Even just an email from the CEO to people with existing bookings would be nice, stating something to the effect of "We understand there are issues with the new Azamara website. While we're excited about sharing our new online presence with you, this complicated process hasn't proceeded to the standards we hold, and that you rightly expect from us. Please understand that we are working around the clock to resolve any and all concerns." Blah blah blah . . . or put a banner on the website itself.

 

Is the Azamara PR team too busy trying to craft the next "BEST OFFER EVER!!" to slap something like this together?

 

*Sorry for the US-centric reference. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_Cops

I agree entirely.  I spent over 30 years helping organizations in North America and internationally develop and implement strategies to improve customer experiences and, in turn, their satisfaction and loyalty.  Getting out in front quickly and honestly is critical or satisfaction and loyalty start to drop.  This needs to be an apology that recognizes the negative impacts that have been experienced and clear statements to manage customer expectations about what will happen and when (not promises of dates that clearly could not be met).
 

Further, when things can’t be resolved quickly (as is the case here with a significant, large migration), and when the impacts are particularly negative (as is the case for all booked guests but especially those with cruises in the next 4 months) two things become important.  First, they need an effective Plan B and they need it now as posting incomplete and, even worse, wrong info should not be an option.  At a minimum they need to remove the parts of their site that currently contain errors.  Second, responding with public recovery efforts is now essential.  This could be a small amount of OBC, a small % discount on a future cruise, etc.  Recovery efforts are usually less about the amount of the offer and more about demonstrating that customers matter and have not been served the way the organization intends.

 

 I hope Azamara is monitoring this site to understand how negative the situation is.

[fruitmachine]

12 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

I think that just illustrates how bad the data they got from RCCL was - OK for some people, but not for others.

Any IT project worth its salt will have done multiple dress rehearsals, validating data quality and having plans in place to either correct or recreate it.  I've done transitions with anything from a few tens of thousands to, literally, millions of customers, combined with 20+ years of monthly transaction and investment history and multiple source systems.

 

Having lived and breathed (multiple times over) the financial services industry equivalent of this, I started very sympathetic to their plight.  That opinion has changed.  This transition is beginning to smell of something that has been botched.  I don't buy the data quality issue other than for a small number of isolated cases.  They haven't even got standing data like the descriptions for excursions loaded into the system; all we can see for most is a code and a single-line description at best.

[uktog]

There is a new flag at the top of the website with updated information

 

One point online check in is NOT available until 15 May

Past cruise history will not be available until June

Lots of answers - most are saying fill in a form where things are incorrect.

 

Sounds like they have a big problem to fix still

[G2G]

2 minutes ago, uktog said:

There is a new flag at the top of the website with updated information

 

One point online check in is NOT available until 15 May

Past cruise history will not be available until June

Lots of answers - most are saying fill in a form where things are incorrect.

 

Sounds like they have a big problem to fix still

Wow!! Lots of problems …

[uktog]

From Facebook just posted 

 

[TeaBag]

I guess we'll check in, May 15, as we enter the Suez canal, that is assuming we make it onto the ship!   They should have been working on this long ago.

And here I thought we had a solution to a better cruise line after 35 cruises on Celebrity.

Edited April 5, 2023 by TeaBag

[JYDCruise]

39 minutes ago, uktog said:

From Facebook just posted 

 

 

I really do wonder if Azamara is monitoring this forum/thread.

 

 

[Belfastman]

3 hours ago, Nuts4pi said:

New booking offer now on the website...

New UK offer is 10% of and $300 obc.

[aussie travel bird]

2 minutes ago, Belfastman said:

New UK offer is 10% of and $300 obc.

Different offers, different international markets really get be upset.......

[Carnevale]

7 hours ago, uktog said:

From Facebook just posted 

 

This is way too little.  How many guests (like me) do not use Azamara’s FB site?  Why hasn’t an email gone out to all guests?

 

Why send us to a FAQ section that is woefully inadequate?  Where, for example, is the FAQ for the question of why my account shows an amount owing when all is paid in full and I have some OBC left ?  Where’s the record of my OBC? I could have missed it, but I have not seen any answers to these questions and they are important questions.

 

Where is a timeline for when I can access full, correct information about my booking?  When should I expect to be able to see and book excursions for my sailing?

 

And, why is there no apology?

[Host Jazzbeau]

22 minutes ago, Carnevale said:

This is way too little.  How many guests (like me) do not use Azamara’s FB site?  Why hasn’t an email gone out to all guests?

 

I got it as an email today.

[Grandma Cruising]

8 hours ago, aussie travel bird said:

Different offers, different international markets really get be upset.......

Azamara (and other cruise lines) has always had different offers for different markets - this isn’t new or to do with being owned by Sycamore.

[Grandma Cruising]

11 hours ago, TeaBag said:

All I got was a box for birthdate, no left or right options.  So I had to click all the way back to 1945.  This is an absolute joy with arthritis in my fingers.  I am beginning to hate this incompetent company.

This is what I see when I click on the date of birth box.

 

 

Then if I click on the month & year on the top left I can get years

[cruisingaussies]

9 hours ago, aussie travel bird said:

Different offers, different international markets really get be upset.......

Me too. It’s worth looking at deals for countries other than AUS (which usually never seems to have deals as good as some others). Not sure of the regs but I have made significant savings by booking elsewhere. I just checked I was eligible to book with a certain overseas agent. 

[killaypirate]

Got the email this morning. Az should have had this support page available from day1. It would have stopped numerous emails from customers. Now  I have a firm date(ha-ha!) before I contact them again when it still doesn’t work.

[john1970]

It's strange. I used to get all the emails. Once I set up my new password and made sure I had the settings to accept emails I have had nothing at all. That's why I am guessing they are using FB as their email database is knackered.

[lisiamc]

3 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I got it as an email today.

So did I. And I’m one who hardly ever gets an email from Azamara. My travel agent got one too, which is very unusual, even though they work with Azamara a lot.

Edited April 6, 2023 by lisiamc

[hamrag]

13 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

.....I started very sympathetic to their plight.  That opinion has changed.  This transition is beginning to smell of something that has been botched....

Fair comment, it's becoming harder to disagree with each passing day!

 

On a positive note, overnight we received e-tickets including boarding pass etc. for our 6 May cruise. 🙂

[Mrs Skip]

3 hours ago, john1970 said:

It's strange. I used to get all the emails. Once I set up my new password and made sure I had the settings to accept emails I have had nothing at all. That's why I am guessing they are using FB as their email database is knackered.

Same for me. No emails now though fortunately for us, there’s still a Comms line with my husband

[excitedofharpenden]

15 hours ago, uktog said:

There is a new flag at the top of the website with updated information

 

One point online check in is NOT available until 15 May

Past cruise history will not be available until June

Lots of answers - most are saying fill in a form where things are incorrect.

 

Sounds like they have a big problem to fix still

It's all a bit of a mess.  The loyalty points and level I can live with in the hope it is fixed (my points and status on the Celebrity login are correct and list all my past Azamara cruises, but not on the Azamara site), but the way the website now deals with new bookings is a real problem for me.  I have to enter all my personal details every time I want a quote on a cruise.  I followed Grandma Cruising's instructions on pulling down a list of cabins to choose, but once I selected an alternative I couldn't save it.  Kept allocating me the same cabin.  I'd have made my mind up and booked by now, but the new system is not working for me. 

 

Phil

[Oslo Dutch]

On 4/4/2023 at 1:27 PM, Oslo Dutch said:

I am currently onboard the Pursuit and boarded last Saturday in Civitavecchia.

 

First of all, great cruise with an excellent crew and lively diverse guests. 

However, we checked in online at 2 pm and got a mail from Azamara later mentioning we suppose to board around. We showed up around 1.30 and were onboard around 2 PM with no issue. It went very smoothly

The website also showed we should have a credit of USD150, however, the reception didn't have any info about this and had to refer to the Miami Headquarters, We are now nearly half the cruise and still haven't heard anything so I assume it's an error.

 

 Just to let you know, yesterday we got a letter from Guest Services granting us USD300 credit onboard. 🙂 However the super luxury problem is that we will disembark on Saturday in Athens, so not much time to spend on it. However, we manage to get the very last booking in Prime C tomorrow.

 

Rather chilly here in Greece today with lots of rain and hail.

 

[Grandma Cruising]

32 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

It's all a bit of a mess.  The loyalty points and level I can live with in the hope it is fixed (my points and status on the Celebrity login are correct and list all my past Azamara cruises, but not on the Azamara site), but the way the website now deals with new bookings is a real problem for me.  I have to enter all my personal details every time I want a quote on a cruise.  I followed Grandma Cruising's instructions on pulling down a list of cabins to choose, but once I selected an alternative I couldn't save it.  Kept allocating me the same cabin.  I'd have made my mind up and booked by now, but the new system is not working for me. 

 

Phil

I didn’t try saving a cabin choice as it was just a ‘mock’ booking to try the system out. Just tried it and, as you say, clicking on Select doesn’t save the choice.That is poor - won’t help their bookings!

[nonrev1]

I am happy to say that after 4 days onboard and quite a few hours working to resolve my refund for canceled tours……it was finally resolved this evening.  It would not have resolved itself and it is unfortunate that I came onboard for vacation and still had to spend time trying to get my money back.  This morning they put my credit into my onboard account as a non refundable credit.  This is money that was already charged to my credit card weeks before the website meltdown.  All I wanted was a credit back to my card.  They said the only way to put the credit back on my card was to wait until the last day and they would sort it out.  That did not go over well.  Spoke with accounting and it has now been fixed.  Wahoo!  Now I am on 100% vacation mode.  My next Azamara cruise is not until August…..🙏🏻🙏🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻by then all is back to normal.