Booking 2026 …did AZ change its stateroom categories?

[AllisonJames]

Okay maybe this is just a technical glitch cause as we know there are many of them. I have tried to view fares for a 2026 cruise and I have tried on an IPhone, IPad and laptop. I cannot pull up the V categories…all I get is P1 and P2 and see no way to get to V categories, it appears to end when I scroll down. I can’t Imagine they are only offering P categories and have changed the deck plan…however I can’t tell cause as you know, it doesn’t let you pull up available staterooms unless you go through the whole booking process. Anyone having this issue?

[laurieb]

which ship and date?  I'm finding all V categories on all ships and most dates; some dates are showing just V1, so maybe they're still being loaded

Edited September 5 by laurieb

[Ithikan]

I believe the suites are sold out on Pursuit for the January 20, 2026 sailing.  (It's one of the Perry Golf cruises.)

[blag]

24 minutes ago, AllisonJames said:

Anyone having this issue?

Yes.

[AllisonJames]

Update: okay so the loading may have still been ongoing when I checked because now they are showing…however, the prices showing for P1 and P2 a few hours ago are now the prices for V2 and V3….weird. Definitely tech issue anx buyers beware…have your travel agent confirm all fares, there is no way I would book direct with these issues!

[Dynacruiser]

2 minutes ago, AllisonJames said:

Update: okay so the loading may have still been ongoing when I checked because now they are showing…however, the prices showing for P1 and P2 a few hours ago are now the prices for V2 and V3….weird. Definitely tech issue anx buyers beware…have your travel agent confirm all fares, there is no way I would book direct with these issues!

 

Oh, my beloved Azamara.  Sounds like their booking site on the web is still being run by interns.   I thought the nightmare was over when the new CEO took over.

 

This leads to a lot of valid complaints online.  Azamara deserves the bad reputation they get.

[blag]

4 minutes ago, Dynacruiser said:

Azamara deserves the bad reputation they get.

A bit harsh.

The shipboard experience is still good.

[laurieb]

2 hours ago, blag said:

A bit harsh.

The shipboard experience is still good.

Totally agree with you, it is harsh

[Dynacruiser]

2 hours ago, blag said:

A bit harsh.

The shipboard experience is still good.

 

 

Of course the onboard experience is fantastic, us old timers, "Azamara fans", know that.  However, It is extremely frustrating that Azamara cannot get their website working for a couple of years now.  I take a lot of my time defending Azamara because I want them to be successful and grow and get more ships, but they have to do their part.

 

The real harsh language comes from people, often first-time cruisers, who post on line about the problems they are having with Azamara's onshore office and website.    Azamara needs to work very hard to avoid this type of posts: Azamara. Dishonesty, incompetence and indifference   or this one:  An AzAmazing Voyage to Mediocrity (these two headings are clickable links). 

 

Azamara needs to work harder to fix the customer service experience onshore, starting with a fully functioning customer-friendly website.

 

Edited September 5 by Dynacruiser

[AllisonJames]

AZ does have a terrible reputation for the pre-cruise experience and I don’t know how anyone can get through it to actually go on the cruise without a good travel agent. Last year our travel agent had to intervene three times for us on various pre-booking issues including incorrect onboard credit and booking shore excursions. And we know and love AZ so gritted our teeth knowing what we could expect onboard…but others might not.

 

fares this morning during the “glitch?”

P1 12,858.   P2 12,538   Oceanview. 9,338 (couldn’t get other V categories)

Two hours later:

P1 14,698.  P2 14,338.  V3.  12,858 Oceanview 10,658

so you can see the highest Veranda category must have been accidentally been showing the lowest Veranda category fare….I hope someone managed to book this morning and got a deal. This is for 8/7/26 Ireland. The prices seem high to me, Ireland/England/Scotland are usually pretty high…several times we have been able to rebook at lower rates. We typically have been getting those for about $850+- a night for a couple for a V2. But of course everything is getting more expensive. I will not rush to book this. We try to book onboard if we can for the extra benefits.

[sczcardfan]

21 minutes ago, Dynacruiser said:

 

 

Of course the onboard experience is fantastic, us old timers, "Azamara fans", know that.  However, It is extremely frustrating that Azamara cannot get their website working for a couple of years now.  I take a lot of my time defending Azamara because I want them to be successful and grow and get more ships, but they have to do their part.

 

The real harsh language comes from people, often first-time cruisers, who post on line about the problems they are having with Azamara's onshore office and website.    Azamara needs to work very hard to avoid this type of posts: Azamara. Dishonesty, incompetence and indifference   or this one:  An AzAmazing Voyage to Mediocrity (these two headings are clickable links). 

 

Azamara needs to work harder to fix the customer service experience onshore, starting with a fully functioning customer-friendly website.

 

I mean, it is more than a couple of years. It has been at least 14 years with a website that veers between unreliable and unusable (when I booked my first Azamara cruise). I find it hard to believe, but I do not believe they have ever had a website that was more than half-baked.

Having said that, each time I have sailed, I find that the staff onboard make the trip wonderful. So I book them again.

I would really like it if they could get a decent IT staff though...

[Dynacruiser]

22 minutes ago, blag said:

 

Letvs not bicker..  Please.

 

 

Who is bickering? Please.😂

 

13 minutes ago, AllisonJames said:

AZ does have a terrible reputation for the pre-cruise experience and I don’t know how anyone can get through it to actually go on the cruise without a good travel agent.

 

The onboard crew does not deserve this.  They work very hard to make us enjoy our vacation, but the pre-cruise experience deters folks from buying.😪

 

8 minutes ago, sczcardfan said:

I mean, it is more than a couple of years. It has been at least 14 years with a website that veers between unreliable and unusable (when I booked my first Azamara cruise). I find it hard to believe, but I do not believe they have ever had a website that was more than half-baked.

 

Was the service really bad before the Sycamore purchase?   I honestly can't recall, but I remember being able to do things online by myself quite easily, or a quick phone call would take care of any problems and changes.   Perhaps I am wrong.

[sczcardfan]

3 minutes ago, Dynacruiser said:

Was the service really bad before the Sycamore purchase?   I honestly can't recall, but I remember being able to do things online by myself quite easily, or a quick phone call would take care of any problems and changes.   Perhaps I am wrong.

The saving grace for Cruise Critic users was that Azamara used to have a rep connected to the board. So if questions or issues were raised, it was often addressed. Even if something could not be fixed, you could at least get answers about it.

In the past I found that the phone call to Azamara was neither quick, and often not helpful with taking care of problems. I have actually been impressed with the two conversations I have had with Azamara phone staff for my upcoming cruise (albeit, very simple issue of having them apply OBC to booked excursions/packages). And while I am glad you had good experiences via phone pre-Sycamore, there were regular complaints on the board about headquarters in all forms including the phone staff (with the saving grace, as it is now, being the staff onboard).

[AllisonJames]

I sure miss Bonnie! She would get answers for us and really help out…it was a sad day when she left. I honestly don’t know why AZ doesn’t have someone monitor this board…it is full of many of their best customers and champions and the opinions and issues shared here would be beneficial to AZ’s improvement. But maybe they think they have it covered with the cruise survey. Although last year on our cruise no one followed up with us as had been done previously.

[Wacktle]

11 hours ago, Dynacruiser said:

The onboard crew does not deserve this.  They work very hard to make us enjoy our vacation, but the pre-cruise experience deters folks from buying.😪

 

I like the look of many of the 2026 itineraries. However, you are exactly right in that I am dissuaded from booking due to this pre-cruise chaos and lack of instant cabin availability online. 

 

All I would like is to see quickly which cabin numbers are available without inputting a pile of information, to have an actual price without any "free" OBC or this'n'that and, hopefully, direct UK flights to make a total package. With all that information available on my laptop, I would contact a TA with a shortlist and make a booking, as I did many years ago.  

Edited September 6 by Wacktle
clarification

[laurieb]

Huh.  I can truthfully say that the only issue I've had with onshore is the way that B2B's are being handled.  I think that the onshore experience has improved drastically; yes, I've been booking and sailing every year since 2015, before and after the break from RCCL.  I don't believe they deserve the bashing they continue to get.  

Edited September 6 by laurieb

[Dynacruiser]

7 hours ago, Wacktle said:

I like the look of many of the 2026 itineraries. However, you are exactly right in that I am dissuaded from booking due to this pre-cruise chaos and lack of instant cabin availability online. 

 

 

Please don't be dissuaded from booking. Unfortunately, Azamara still requires some patience, but there is a reward at the end (the cruise experience!).

 

Perhaps you can find a workaround?

 Identify a TA in the US or Europe who can give you the information you want, either via phone, or online?  

Perhaps you can call Azamara directly, and ask for booking info that you want (tell them you can't use a computer, whatever)?  

At a minimum, call Azamara and give them feedback what is stoping you from booking, in case they are listening.

 

Edited September 6 by Dynacruiser

[laurieb]

2 minutes ago, Dynacruiser said:

 

 

Please don't be dissuaded from booking. Unfortunately, Azamara still requires some patience, but there is a reward at the end (the cruise experience!).

Perhaps you can find a workaround?  Identify a TA in the US or Europe who can give you the information you want, either via phone, or online?  Perhaps you can call Azamara directly, and ask for booking info that you want (tell them you can't use a computer, whatever)?  At a minimum, call Azamara and give them feedback what is stoping you from booking, in case they are listening.

 

Here's some recent problems I've seen:

• I was trying to get a friend to sail with Azamara, and she complained to me that the Azamara system was unfriendly and she could not use it.  I was traveling and could not help her, and when I came back she had already made up her to go with a different cruise line.
• I recently had to rebook  excursions, and both my TA and I spent hours talking to customer service. It should have been a few clicks online, but they had to send the issue to some kind of "Resolutions Team", which delayed their response and required more interaction without talking to them directly.  
• My TA tells me that they no longer have easy access to Azamara info directly, they need to call now for pricing and booking.  That may be just my TA, but Azamara should make it easy for all TAs to have easy access to the booking info.

 

Your TA is incorrect, my TA will confirm that there is very easy access as there has always been; if he/she is having issues, they need to reach out to their BDM

Edited September 6 by laurieb

[Dynacruiser]

Here's some recent problems I've seen:

• I was trying to get a friend to sail with Azamara, and she complained to me that the Azamara system was unfriendly and she could not use it.  I was traveling and could not help her, and when I came back she had already made up her to go with a different cruise line.
• I recently had to rebook  excursions, and both my TA and I spent hours talking to customer service. It should have been a few clicks online, but they had to send the issue to some kind of "Resolutions Team", which delayed their response and required more interaction without talking to them directly.  
• My TA tells me that they no longer have easy access to Azamara info directly, they need to call now for pricing and booking.  That may be just my TA, but Azamara should make it easy for all TAs to have easy access to the booking info.   

[uktog]

I did a booking three weeks ago and my travel agent tells me she is still waiting an invoice to share with me. Used to have it instantly 

[Wacktle]

27 minutes ago, uktog said:

I did a booking three weeks ago and my travel agent tells me she is still waiting an invoice to share with me. Used to have it instantly 

Not at all encouraging, sadly.

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

I did a booking three weeks ago and my travel agent tells me she is still waiting an invoice to share with me. Used to have it instantly 

I got mine from my TA within a few days

[blag]

1 minute ago, Grandma Cruising said:

I got mine from my TA within a few days

Ditto

[uktog]

I’m glad some people are getting their invoices quickly but it’s not consistent and that’s what needs looking at most - consistency

[Belfastman]

4 hours ago, uktog said:

I did a booking three weeks ago and my travel agent tells me she is still waiting an invoice to share with me. Used to have it instantly 

Booking onboard gets you the invoice immediately you pay the low deposit and now gets you an additional $500 obc on top of any promotion and the onboard booking obc.