Azamara Stability

[Cruzinram]

Seriously considering Azamara Onward for a sailing at a great price. Curious as to how they are doing Financially, service, ship condition etc. It was only a a few months Azamara was getting negative review. I have sailed this R Class of ship before and love it. What do you say, Pul the trigger or not?

[LuAnn]

13 minutes ago, Cruzinram said:

Seriously considering Azamara Onward for a sailing at a great price. Curious as to how they are doing Financially, service, ship condition etc. It was only a a few months Azamara was getting negative review. I have sailed this R Class of ship before and love it. What do you say, Pul the trigger or not?

I just read an article that their bookings were up and they are awaiting the arrival of a new CEO. I've heard there have been some "service" issues but I think most of the cruise lines seem to be struggling to get back to "par" after Covid. I have a booking for November on Onward and I'm looking forward to being back on board as I last sailed with AZ over the holidays in 2019. 

[Catchum]

We have a booking for July, only with Azamara do I use a travel agent and book the flights and transfers as a package so if anything gets cancelled it is straight forward. The Web site is a nightmare, though my flights are ticketed and I have chosen my seats, according to my cruise planner I have no flights. My TA contacted Azamara who confirmed the flights were in order but couldn't explain why they didn't show up. 

 

 

[Cruzinram]

Have to Azamazing evening stopped?

 

[Grandma Cruising]

1 minute ago, Cruzinram said:

Have to Azamazing evening stopped?

 

We’ve done 2 Azamara cruises in the last 8 months on Pursuit & Journey, they were still very good. Azamazing evenings haven’t stopped, but some are now onboard. In November/December our Azamazing evening was onshore, but it could have been done onboard as we just queued to get on a bus, went to a tent behind a big hotel in Colombo, saw a show of local drumming & singing then went back on the bus. This February the evening was onboard in Walvis Bay, Namibia, and was brilliant, we had an amazing choir, a great acapella group and a group of local dancers. They put on two shows so everyone could see it in comfort and there was no queuing or bus trips.

[luv2travel90266]

I’ll be on Pursuut in September. Onboard service continues to be great. The back office on land continues to be a disaster. It took me two months to get my OBC for full prepayment under their offer credited to my account. I felt very sorry for my travel agent and all the time that was wasted. They need to get their act together.

[ChucktownSteve]

We have three AZ cruises on the books. All three are on Onward.  I'm not concerned at this point. 

 

The only way to determine for yourself is to try it.  Just because we read negative reviews, that doesn't mean we would feel the same about the identical incident as the poster. So I would like to suggest you go with an open mind.  Hopefully you'll enjoy your sailing.

Edited May 1 by ChucktownSteve

[Xcelsior]

The Onward struggled to get its sea legs, but was up to snuff last summer when I sailed her again after a rocky start during her first year.  I still prefer the other ships over her though. She  just seemed rushed with little details missed and obvious cheap outs (blamed on pandemic supply chain issues)  when she was refurbed that have not  been addressed since.  Regardless, the crew is stellar and the size of the ship and itineraries are great.  Entertainment sucks, but nobody sails this line expecting good entertainment. I remain concerned that this line is clinging to life by its fingernails, but I am booked to sail on Onward again regardless.  

Edited May 1 by Xcelsior

[Dynacruiser]

Financially, no indication of troubles, as far as I can tell.  Many people are trying to read more into anything they do. Google “Sycamore Partners”, the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal have some good articles. 

Yes, they appear to be increasing their prices on some things (specialty restaurants, excursions, drink packages) but likely due to inflation, and trying to overcome difficult COVID years.

 

Yes, I have read they’ve done some stupid things, like cancel cruises and offer insignificant compensation and have destroyed customer plans.  They have waited too long to cancel some Middle East cruises.  Also downplayed stomach issues in S Africa earlier this year, which pissed me off.  They need to do better or customers will leave for other lines. 

Read my Azamazing review in the Canary Islands from March 2024.  Great event.  

No, they are not perfect.

 

We have sailed 4 or 5 times since COVID and have 4 more booked in the next few months. 
 

Despite the website problems and bad land-based customer service, which is improving, we have a great TA agency that helps. 
 

We love the onboard experience.  Wonderful group of hard-working people who make you feel special. 

Edited May 2 by Dynacruiser
Typos

[Symmes99]

We’ve been on Azamara 3 times since Covid and the cruises have been great - as good as our pre-Covid cruise with them. We love their product, it suits us well. 

 

The shoreside operations and website were abysmal at the turnover from the RCL booking platform but have been improving and are maybe 75% of where they need to be. We’re booked on Journey in Feb ‘25 and it was a monumental task to get “Manage My Reservation” to align with the booking confirmation. But now all is well with that booking. 

 

Just this week I received a refund of my deposit for an October ‘25 11-night Egypt/Israel cruise on the Journey that Azamara cancelled due to “unrest in the Red Sea.” I first learned of this cancellation a month ago and thought it was odd: the cruise would be in the Med not the Red Sea (but still in an area of current unrest, maybe that’s what they meant), I could still buy the cruise on the Azamara website, and who cancels cruises 1.5 years out? The unrest could be settled by then. I was offered the option to rebook up to a 12-night cruise and keep my original fare (if it was lower), transfer all my OBC, and get another $1,000 OBC for my troubles - nice offer. But none of the published cruises in that same timeframe were of interest and our next opportunity for a future cruise would be in mid-2026, beyond the limits of the current Azamara calendar. So I asked what would be the Journey’s new itinerary, maybe that would work. Azamara didn't have that yet. And they needed my decision before that itinerary would be set. So I cancelled and am now looking elsewhere to plug that gap in my cruise calendar. My thought is: why not wait to notify on the cancellation until you know what you're doing with the ship, then reach out to the client? There’s plenty of time - no one will have purchased airfare this far out. 

 

Despite the shoreside adventures, we are still big fans of the line. 

[KevintheIrishDJ]

18 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

We’ve done 2 Azamara cruises in the last 8 months on Pursuit & Journey, they were still very good. Azamazing evenings haven’t stopped, but some are now onboard. In November/December our Azamazing evening was onshore, but it could have been done onboard as we just queued to get on a bus, went to a tent behind a big hotel in Colombo, saw a show of local drumming & singing then went back on the bus. This February the evening was onboard in Walvis Bay, Namibia, and was brilliant, we had an amazing choir, a great acapella group and a group of local dancers. They put on two shows so everyone could see it in comfort and there was no queuing or bus trips.

I walked out of an onboard Azamazing evening in 11/23 on the Onward. Db was over 100.

[Traveling Fools]

Have done 1 Azamara cruise in Nov 2023, TA from Lisbon to FLL, aboard the Onward..  Everything seemed fine to us.  Because it was a TA there was no  Azamazing evening. Have another booked in Feb 2025 aboard the Quest.

[Grandma Cruising]

2 hours ago, KevintheIrishDJ said:

I walked out of an onboard Azamazing evening in 11/23 on the Onward. Db was over 100.

Ooh, that’s loud!

[KevintheIrishDJ]

8 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Ooh, that’s loud!

My hearing has been damaged over 40 years of performing, so I am very careful not to do further damage.

[DS]

On 5/2/2024 at 8:31 AM, Symmes99 said:

We’ve been on Azamara 3 times since Covid and the cruises have been great - as good as our pre-Covid cruise with them. We love their product, it suits us well. 

 

The shoreside operations and website were abysmal at the turnover from the RCL booking platform but have been improving and are maybe 75% of where they need to be. We’re booked on Journey in Feb ‘25 and it was a monumental task to get “Manage My Reservation” to align with the booking confirmation. But now all is well with that booking. 

 

Just this week I received a refund of my deposit for an October ‘25 11-night Egypt/Israel cruise on the Journey that Azamara cancelled due to “unrest in the Red Sea.” I first learned of this cancellation a month ago and thought it was odd: the cruise would be in the Med not the Red Sea (but still in an area of current unrest, maybe that’s what they meant), I could still buy the cruise on the Azamara website, and who cancels cruises 1.5 years out? The unrest could be settled by then. I was offered the option to rebook up to a 12-night cruise and keep my original fare (if it was lower), transfer all my OBC, and get another $1,000 OBC for my troubles - nice offer. But none of the published cruises in that same timeframe were of interest and our next opportunity for a future cruise would be in mid-2026, beyond the limits of the current Azamara calendar. So I asked what would be the Journey’s new itinerary, maybe that would work. Azamara didn't have that yet. And they needed my decision before that itinerary would be set. So I cancelled and am now looking elsewhere to plug that gap in my cruise calendar. My thought is: why not wait to notify on the cancellation until you know what you're doing with the ship, then reach out to the client? There’s plenty of time - no one will have purchased airfare this far out. 

 

Despite the shoreside adventures, we are still big fans of the line. 

This cancellation is a mystery.

      This Israel/Egypt cruise was the last one listed for the Journey.   It (Journey)  was not included in the recent release of winter 25 / spring 26 trips:

       The Onward to the Caribbean before its World Journey.

       The Quest to the Caribbean before doing South America.

       The Pursuit thru the Red Sea to the middle east, India, Asia and Australia.

Based on past experience, one would expect the Journey, therefore, to be doing South Africa during the Northern winter.

 

So... was the trip cancelled for a charter?   For a different winter schedule ( that starts a bit sooner than before)?   If it were the "Red Sea" why was not the Pursuit passage ( 10 days before this!) also cancelled?   I guess we'll find out when the future Journey schedule is published.

     Did you get something in writing from Azamara?  Can you post it?  You're absolutely right... cancelling a cruise a year and a half in advance for a "political" situation is absurd... especially when the Pursuit is scheduled to go thru the Red Sea a week before!

[Symmes99]

Here’s the text of the email I received on 4/23:

 

We

We are writing to check in on the decision for this sailing. A notification was sent on the 19^th of March regarding the cancelation of this sailing and the compensation options offered.

Please respond to this email at your earliest convenience to confirm the guests selection.

The options are as follows: 

1. Book and sail on an Azamara voyage that is 12 Nights or less. If you select this option and book a stateroom in the same category as this impacted itinerary, we will honor the booked or prevailing rate, whichever is lowest. In addition, those in Veranda Plus or lower stateroom categories will be given a $500 Onboard Credit per stateroom, while Suites will be entitled to a $1000 Onboard Credit per stateroom.
2. Book and sail on an Azamara voyage that is 13 Nights or more. By choosing this alternative, those in Veranda Plus or lower stateroom categories will be given a $500 Onboard Credit per stateroom, while Suites will be entitled to a $1000 Onboard Credit per stateroom. 
3. Cancel with full refunds.We are writing to check in on the decision for this sailing. A notification was sent on the 19^th of March regarding the cancelation of this sailing and the compensation options offered.

Ian VanDyke

Call Center Representative, North America

Email:Ivandyke@azamara.com

[DS]

So,,, nothing about the Red Sea ??

[Symmes99]

This is the message my TA received on 3/22 when we first learned of the cancellation:

 

Your clients cruise, Azamara Journey (booking # 10044422), is cancelled due to unrest in the Red Sea.

 

Your client has 3 options to be made by EOB today (voicemail received last night after hours).

1. Rebook to any Azamara cruise 12 nts or less and be fully price protected
2. Rebook to any Azamara cruise 13 nts or more at prevailing rate
3. Refund

[KevintheIrishDJ]

Have they announced the replacement cruises?

[uktog]

4 minutes ago, KevintheIrishDJ said:

Have they announced the replacement cruises?

Which voyages are you talking about?  Your original post was about May or are you talking about other redeployments?  If you search Azamaras website all their currently available cruises are shown there 

[Symmes99]

My cancelled cruise was an Egypt/Israel cruise on the Journey round-trip from Athens, departing on 10/30/25. Azamara had not said what the journey would do instead.  

[uktog]

2 minutes ago, Symmes99 said:

My cancelled cruise was an Egypt/Israel cruise on the Journey round-trip from Athens, departing on 10/30/25. Azamara had not said what the journey would do instead.  

I think they’re waiting to decide how to handle their winter schedule in general and transitioning vessels between Europe and the East. They will probably wait until they see how well the current no long port stop plan has worked for Journey and Onward and what timings are realistic for the future. 
They are probably also having to reschedule some lucrative charters as well which from a business perspective will be something they also have to focus on. 
At least for October 2025 there is time and no one has air commitments confirmed yet 

[paf225]

5 hours ago, Symmes99 said:

My cancelled cruise was an Egypt/Israel cruise on the Journey round-trip from Athens, departing on 10/30/25. Azamara had not said what the journey would do instead.  

  

Something doesn't seem right about Azamara's cancellation of this cruise.  As you mentioned in an earlier post this cruise is still available for booking on Azamara's website.

 

I'm booked on a BtoB from Athens, through the Suez and Red Sea, to Dubai scheduled to depart on October 26, 2024.  I can't help but wonder why Azamara would cancel a cruise in October 2025 that doesn't go through the Red Sea "...due to unrest in the Red Sea." when they haven't cancelled a cruise in October 2024 that does go through the Red Sea.

 

Regards, Paul

 

[Toronto Guy]

13 minutes ago, paf225 said:

  

Something doesn't seem right about Azamara's cancellation of this cruise.  As you mentioned in an earlier post this cruise is still available for booking on Azamara's website.

 

I'm booked on a BtoB from Athens, through the Suez and Red Sea, to Dubai scheduled to depart on October 26, 2024.  I can't help but wonder why Azamara would cancel a cruise in October 2025 that doesn't go through the Red Sea "...due to unrest in the Red Sea." when they haven't cancelled a cruise in October 2024 that does go through the Red Sea.

 

Regards, Paul

 

Cancelling a cruise that is scheduled to stop in Israel is not in any way suprising to me.  I can't imagine many people would be interested in booking that itinerary in the foreseeable future.  I'm assuming the October 2024 Red Sea cruise will be cancelled in the coming weeks...why they haven't already is what I find surprising.

[paf225]

37 minutes ago, Toronto Guy said:

Cancelling a cruise that is scheduled to stop in Israel is not in any way suprising to me.  I can't imagine many people would be interested in booking that itinerary in the foreseeable future.  I'm assuming the October 2024 Red Sea cruise will be cancelled in the coming weeks...why they haven't already is what I find surprising.

 

I don't find it surprising Azamara would cancel a cruise with ports of call in Israel (even though the departure date is a year and a half after they cancelled it).  What does surprise me is the fact this cruise is still on their website and apparently bookable.  I also find it surprising to give "unrest in the Red Sea" as the reason for cancellation when the cruise doesn't go into the Red Sea while at the same time not cancelling a cruise scheduled to go through the Red Sea in 6 months.

 

Most of us on the October 2024 Ancient Trade routes cruise who post on CC believe it will be cancelled at some point.  Some decided not to wait for Azamara to cancel the cruise and did so themselves.  If Azamara doesn't cancel this cruise before the final payment is due I will.  

 

Regards, Paul