Another Azamara Air Horror Story

[Toronto Guy]

If you have air booked with Azamara --- double check your flights haven't been cancelled.  I just found out my return flights from Europe in September were cancelled and they didn't notify me!  I had called and booked a shore excursion the other day, and they sent me an updated invoice.  Only reading it very closely did I realize this evening that my return flights had suddendly disappeared from my invoice.  Called them - they confirmed they were cancelled, no explanation why other than a "glitch" in their system. No resolution yet - they said they would try to resolve by Tuesday of next week!!  Seriously, how does this company stay in business????  Please double check your air reservations - usually a "glitch" affects more than one person.

[laurieb]

I used their air in May/ June and had no issues at all, once they were ticketed, which I insisted be done right away (no issues at all with having this done).  I hope they get it resolved on Tuesday.  

I have friends that booked their air for a September 2024 cruise (not through AZ), and their flights both ways were canceled by the airline, no reason given...

Edited July 6 by laurieb

[FlyerTalker]

3 minutes ago, laurieb said:

I have friends that booked their air for a September 2024 cruise (not through AZ), and their flights both ways were canceled by the airline, no reason given...

 

In the airline industry, the flights were not "canceled".  That's a specific term that means that ONE specific flight is not operated, either due to mechanical or crew issues.

 

What likely happened was a schedule "change", which can be any number of things, including time changes, flight number changes, frequency and other changes that affect more than just one flight or one day.

 

Know the difference -- it means a lot when dealing with rebooking and with insurances.

 

 

[blag]

6 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

In the airline industry, the flights were not "canceled".  That's a specific term that means that ONE specific flight is not operated, either due to mechanical or crew issues.

 

What likely happened was a schedule "change", which can be any number of things, including time changes, flight number changes, frequency and other changes that affect more than just one flight or one day.

 

Know the difference -- it means a lot when dealing with rebooking and with insurances.

 

 

What you say may be correct, but if the customer is being told by Azamara that the flights are cancelled, and their invoice does not show the flights, what other word can be used other than cancelled.

In these circumstances, as far as the customer is concerned, the flights are cancelled.

And bear in mind what @laurieb has said, above: friends flights were cancelled.

I have been to many airports and seen departures boards bearing the word 'cancelled'.

To suggest that flights are changed rather than cancelled seems wrong, because - surely - airports are a fundamental part of the airline industry, and they definitely use cancelled. 

[ChucktownSteve]

8 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

In the airline industry, the flights were not "canceled".  That's a specific term that means that ONE specific flight is not operated, either due to mechanical or crew issues.

 

What likely happened was a schedule "change", which can be any number of things, including time changes, flight number changes, frequency and other changes that affect more than just one flight or one day.

 

Know the difference -- it means a lot when dealing with rebooking and with insurances.

 

 

Wouldn't a schedule change show the replaced flight then?  Every time I've had a directly booked flight number change or a five minute change in departure, the existing flight was updated with the new flight information. However it still existed.  That's how airlines handle it.  That apparently isn't the way AZ does.

[blag]

1 minute ago, ChucktownSteve said:

Wouldn't a schedule change show the replaced flight then?  Every time I've had a directly booked flight number change or a five minute change in departure, the existing flight was updated with the new flight information. However it still existed.  That's how airlines handle it.  That apparently isn't the way AZ does.

In my experience, if the change is significant, the airline will contact the customer to confirm whether they wish to accept the change.

[uktog]

15 minutes ago, blag said:

In my experience, if the change is significant, the airline will contact the customer to confirm whether they wish to accept the change.

That contact will be via Azamara unless the customer has the flight PRN and has been able to manage their booking and add their email address which isn’t always possible with an airline booking made by the cruise line not the customer. The alternatives may be the decision of the cruise line not the guest in any event depending on the airline cruise line contract 
 

@FlyerTalker is absolutely correct re the terminology particularly in relation to applying for any insurance claim. At the airport those on the boards showing cancelled relate to events that have happened after the schedule was finalised (latest schedule changes will not normally be in the last 14 days due to compensation rules). Any schedule changes before then that involve the removal or re numbering of a flight never appears on the board as cancelled 

[ChucktownSteve]

35 minutes ago, blag said:

In my experience, if the change is significant, the airline will contact the customer to confirm whether they wish to accept the change.

I receive an email detailing the changes and can select an alternative flight at no cost if they placed me on a flight that I don’t like with the airlines I personally book directly. 

[blag]

42 minutes ago, uktog said:

That contact will be via Azamara unless the customer has the flight PRN and has been able to manage their booking and add their email address

Oops. I was referring to bookings made direct with the airline, not through Azamara. 

[blag]

43 minutes ago, uktog said:

absolutely correct re the terminology

But if the customer has no information relating to the missing flights, and is told by Azamara that they have been cancelled, what terminology should the customer use?

If the terminology is important why isn't the correct terminology used when communicating with the customer?

[blag]

35 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

I receive an email detailing the changes and can select an alternative flight at no cost if they placed me on a flight that I don’t like with the airlines I personally book directly. 

Exactly! 

[FlyerTalker]

3 hours ago, blag said:

I have been to many airports and seen departures boards bearing the word 'cancelled'.

 

Exactly.  That is when you have something "cancelled".  Those are day of departure flights not operating.  You demonstrate my point.

 

 

3 hours ago, blag said:

To suggest that flights are changed rather than cancelled seems wrong, because - surely - airports are a fundamental part of the airline industry, and they definitely use cancelled. 

 

And yes, but for a DIFFERENT situation than a schedule change.

 

 

[blag]

1 minute ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Exactly.  That is when you have something "cancelled".  Those are day of departure flights not operating.  You demonstrate my point.

 

 

 

And yes, but for a DIFFERENT situation than a schedule change.

 

 

So, what terminology is it reasonable to expect a customer to use when their flights disappear from a statement and Azamara state they have been cancelled? 

[Toronto Guy]

The fact that Azamara didn't contact me when my flights were dropped from my reservation is the biggest concern.  As my departing flights were still attached, I would have departed in September and not known until the cruise was over that I didn't have any return flights....and good luck to me contacting Azamara to get that resolved in a timely manner.  This is inexcusable.  This really may be my last time booking with Azamara if they don't get this resolved.  If I get another email from them talking about their "hassle free Azamara Air" option I'm going to lose it.  It has been anything but since i first made this reservation.

Edited July 6 by Toronto Guy

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, blag said:

So, what terminology is it reasonable to expect a customer to use when their flights disappear from a statement and Azamara state they have been cancelled? 

 

First question....were the flights actually ticketed?  Or just being held?  And ticketing is NOT a function of being on an Azamara statement, but on actual ticketing by the airline.  NEVER assume that seeing something on a statement actually means it exists.  Go to the source.

 

Call it what you want.  But it's not a cancelled flight.

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

24 minutes ago, Toronto Guy said:

The fact that Azamara didn't contact me when my flights were dropped from my reservation is the biggest concern.  As my departing flights were still attached, I would have departed in September and not known until the cruise was over that I didn't have any return flights.

 

Sorry.  No sympathy.

 

It is the responsibility of the passenger to confirm their travel arrangements.  At all stages.  Regularly.  Don't just assume that someone else is handling everything and you have to do nothing.

 

 

[Toronto Guy]

No, it's not.  Azamara had not ticketed the reservation yet, and I could not access my reservation with the airline.  Apparently they don't ticket until about 30 days before even though the flights were listed on my Azamara reservation.  Second, I'm not looking for your sympathy, why would I be?

Edited July 6 by Toronto Guy

[blag]

2 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

First question....were the flights actually ticketed?  Or just being held?  And ticketing is NOT a function of being on an Azamara statement, but on actual ticketing by the airline.  NEVER assume that seeing something on a statement actually means it exists.  Go to the source.

 

Call it what you want.  But it's not a cancelled flight.

 

 

I don't know answers to your questions. I am not the OP.

But, as I see it, part of the point being made by @Toronto Guy is that Azamara are promoting this service as hassle-free, and he has relied on them to deal with this on his behalf. Whilst it may be prudent to double-check everything, I think he has a reasonable expectation that Azamara should be dealing with the reservations efficiently and effectively. 

One reason one uses a TA is to remove the stress of dealing with problems, and in this case Azamara are acting as a TA.

But how is the customer to know that it the flights arr not cancelled, if everything thing they are told and can see suggests this to be the case?

And, what if a third party - other than the airline (e.g. the agency that Azamara use, or Azamara themselves) has cancelled the flights or the booking? (I assume you are going to tell me that this is highly unlikely or some such, but, not impossible).

[Toronto Guy]

Yes, and....

Even if I had used a travel agent on this booking, the travel agent would not have been contacted either.  Azamara admitted that their system had a glitch.  The mistake was on their end.  My reason for posting this is for everyone to make sure their flights are still secured ---- I was shocked to find out my return flights had been completely dropped....and nobody would have been the wiser if I hadn't carefully reviewed my last updated invoice after purchasing a shore excursion.  Had I not purchased the shore excursion and got an updated invoice ---- I wouldn't have known as my most recent invoice dated June 3rd, still showed the flights.

Edited July 6 by Toronto Guy

[CGinMTL]

Pax has a contract with azamara for flights to and from cruise 

If the airline " cancelled" the flights for his return 

Cruise Line needs to find a new flight home 

They can't just cancel that part of the contract without telling him 

 

Agreed, it is good to verify. But good customer  service is proactive, not reactive 

[blag]

14 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Sorry.  No sympathy.

 

It is the responsibility of the passenger to confirm their travel arrangements.  At all stages.  Regularly.  Don't just assume that someone else is handling everything and you have to do nothing.

 

 

Ouch. That is harsh. 

How can the OP check everything? He is not a travel agent, and does not have access to all the data. He has done what any reasonable person might be expected to do.

When you take your car for a service, do you personally check that they have done everything they listed on your invoice? Do you check the quantity of lubricants, the time they spent working on your car etc., and that all the items listed are completely correct for your particular model? Sometimes we have no alternative but to trust and rely on others.

If everyone were to work to your dogmatic approach, then there would be no need for professionals, tradesmen, artisans etc.

[mj_holiday]

No matter the terminology for this, if a passenger shows up to go on a flight and it is not there, they need to recover.

I have done flights with Azamara through my TA.  If something like this happened I would expect my TA and Azamara to fix it.  Something similar to this happened with a different cruiseline but the tickets were booked through the cruiseline by our TA.  I found out the morning of the flight home, and our TA worked with the cruiseline to find flights that satisfied us.

[ChucktownSteve]

I sure am glad I listened to my TA to avoid Azamara Air. Especially after hearing these stories.  However I truly hope everything works out for the OP.

 

I've always had a problem using a cruise line to book air when they don't pay for the tickets or assign seats until close to sailing. Plus if you want decent connections, you have to pay a fee to deviate.  That way there is no recourse except what they give you.  It's also late and expensive to book air on your own, at that point, too close to the sail date.

Edited July 6 by ChucktownSteve

[FlyerTalker]

12 hours ago, Toronto Guy said:

No, it's not.  Azamara had not ticketed the reservation yet, and I could not access my reservation with the airline.  Apparently they don't ticket until about 30 days before even though the flights were listed on my Azamara reservation.

 

So....your flight was not cancelled because it never existed as a ticketed flight.

 

What you had was, at best, a mere reservation.  Which means bupkis until actually ticketed.

 

Those reservations can, and often are, changed before ticketing.

 

Being "listed" on a reservation means nothing in reality.

 

 

[Wander58]

And this why I ALWAYS book directly with the airline!