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[Susan-M]

Why does someone not have the right to question whether he made a right decission to book a cruise when more and more negatvie reviews about this cruiseline come out ?

 

You definitely do have a right to question your decision....but have you also taken time to read the positive reviews?

 

 

Didn't I start my thread by saying that we were extremely happy when learning about the introduction of Azamara ? Didn't I mention that the many negative reviews coming out do make me question the decission.

 

Yes, you did mention how happy you were happy initially .... it was your subsequent sentences that set the tone for your current feelings.

 

Perhaps it's a good idea for those following this thread and "wondering" to first read the thread very well and try to understand the deeper meaning of it before giving your comments !

 

I read the thread very carefully and could only come up with two conclusions .... one is what Andy has already mentioned: "

I find it very odd that you keep coming on here, looking for every opportunity to rip the ship and Azamara's management, THEN, you ask for our help. Do you TRULY want our help ? If you had actually been on the ship, I would understand your comments. However, as you have not been on the ship, why the constant complaining ? Why only accept the negative comments, when there have been many favorable comments as well ?

The other thought had to do with the fact that as a new CC member, you have focussed solely on Azamara .... with no interest in forums for the many other other lines that you have sailed on.

 

Do you really think that my final decission "to cruise or not to cruise" with Azamara depends on this post ?

It appeared that way as you kept saying that you can't decide whether to cancel or not (you also mentioned in a post on another thread that you had booked but cancelled several (6?) Azamara cruises.)

 

Or do you think that this post perhaps could have a total different meaning ?;) (and no.....it's not ment to just be negative !!!!!!)

 

Yes.

 

Just a suggestion .... when faced with a difficult decision between buying 2 or more products, make a list with positives on one side and negatives on the other. You'll soon have your answer.

 

With your cruising history,and the experience and knowledge that you've gained during that time, it seems like your decision should be much easier than what it has been.

[amazing]

I suggest Susan, that you read my original post again. Furthermore start reading post of Dale JR and you hopefully will understand.

 

If, after that, you still don't get it. Please book an Azamara cruise with departure within the coming 2 or 3 weeks. Act as their test person and advise us on your wonderful experiences.

 

Yes the're good reviews, but the majority is negative. And even the positive ones do have very critical issues to mention !

 

Oh.....about the 6 cruises to cancel. Would you be so kind to quote me totally instread of by fragments on that issue. :mad: You than create an honest vision. As this had nothing to do with Azamara but with Celebrity and my experience on the Century.

 

If you would have read all my posts, you would have noticed as well that this is solved by Celebrity in the meantime in a very generous way.

[LMKohler]

Amazing -- you had a "perfect" vacation:rolleyes: May I ask if it was on a cruise? Achieving a "perfect" vacation is quite unusual, I'm impressed. I take cruises almost every year and while almost all of them have been truly wonderful -- there are incidents where they weren't "perfect" -- i.e., I got sick, we missed a port, we ran around a hurricane -- didn't ruin my cruise, but it wasn't "perfect".

 

Andy -- I truly admire your patience as a moderator on this board;)

 

Dale -- it doesn't surprise me that it would take more than a few cruises to fix a bad breakfast buffet. I've already heard they have switched out the Hotel Director -- I also find that fascinating, since I read that the one that was replaced came from Oceana. He should have had plenty of experience, but something just didn't work right -- so they are fixing it.

 

Give it time.

 

Amazing -- again, I think you should look elsewhere and stop questioning whether you made the right decision. We can't change your mind one way or the other.

[cruisecd]

I have been following all Azamara threads with great interest as I am booked on the 11/24 Quest sailing. I was very disappointed by the Journey start up and that it has taken some time to get issues resolved. From the recent posts it appears that things are improving but not yet up to the standards advertised by the cruise line.

That said, I am happy to see that Azamara has recognized these issues and has delayed the inaugural sailing for Quest and isolated the refurb to one location rather than the 3-4 used for Journey. Hopefully they have learned fron the Journey experience and are taking all measures to make sure they do not repeat with Quest.

 

Since vacation satisfaction is a very personal situation, I do not think that the final decision to sail on Azamara (or not) is a 'one size fits all'. I plan to keep my reservation and sail on Quest for the same, original reasons I booked it. I want to try the small ship experience and visit the 9 unique ports this sailing offers. I recognize that ths may be taking a risk, but also know that the Jounrey and Quest will be leaving North American waters after the initial sailings and I may not have this opportunity again soon.

I would encourage everyone to examine the information for what it is, other people's impressions & opinions of their vacation. Use that as one factor in your decision to sail on an Azamara cruise or not. Many of us (unike the early Journey passengers) have the option to make this decision in enought time to make alternate vacation plans.

Don't wait until it is too late and wind up unhappy ~ if you already feel strongly that this experience will not be to your liking, I would strongly consider making alternate plans to insure that you have the vacation you are dreaming of.

 

For me, I will be sailing on Quest in Novemeber and will hopefully see many of you on this sailing with me.

[Dale Jr]

Dale -- it doesn't surprise me that it would take more than a few cruises to fix a bad breakfast buffet. I've already heard they have switched out the Hotel Director -- I also find that fascinating, since I read that the one that was replaced came from Oceana. He should have had plenty of experience, but something just didn't work right -- so they are fixing it.

 

Two thoughts here:

 

First, 5 cruises at 7 nights each gave them 35 opportunities to provide a decent breakfast. If I opened a land based restaurant and took more than a month to fix a problem such as horrible food I would be out of business.

 

Second, could it be they replaced the former Oceania employee because he wanted to do something different but was restricted by the tight purse strings of RCI?

[Dale Jr]

You definitely do have a right to question your decision....but have you also taken time to read the positive reviews?

 

The most positive in depth review on these threads written by Spengle had this to say earlier on this thread:

 

One addendum for those who cited my comments - if you read the entire report, you know that it was not 'everything's coming up roses'. I aimed for a balanced report with the caveat that on the 4th cruise of a cruiseline that began with very serious issues, made even worse by the weather on the first cruise, I did not expect perfection. Not only did I point out the areas still needed serious attention but I noted that I had written a 3 page letter to the powers that be delineating all of them. Just want to be sure that, while we had a lovely cruise, my report was never intended as an apologia for Azamara.

 

On a previous thread you mentioned that the above quoted passenger was so satisfied with her experience that she booked another cruise on board. Sheila (Spengle) then came right back and said (in so many words)they had booked for the on board credit and with the expectation that things would improve and that they would have no qualms canceling if nothing was done to rectify the items she felt needed to be improved.

 

You seem to continue to try and spin the reports of actual on board conditions on Journey as everything being glorious. What benefit do you see coming from telling people to ignore the comments of returning passengers. They advertise deluxe, people are paying extra for deluxe, so why is it they continue to find out on board that deluxe is not here yet and that they are working on it?

[LMKohler]

Providing a "decent" breakfast is subjective. What you consider "decent" and what I do is probably quite different.

 

We can assume whatever we want about the Hotel Director being replaced. Bottom line is we just don't know and my first impression is that it would not be because of RCL purse strings, but because he simply wasn't doing the job he was hired to do.

[Susan-M]

The most positive in depth review on these threads written by Spengle....

 

You might find this review of interest as well: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=570079

 

 

You seem to continue to try and spin the reports of actual on board conditions on Journey as everything being glorious. What benefit do you see coming from telling people to ignore the comments of returning passengers.

 

Perhaps a memory lapse on my part...but when did I say that everything on Journey was 'glorious', and when did I tell people to ignore comments of returning passengers? We can all read the reviews and glean from them what is important to us. My feeling is that if you are agonizing over possible disappointments .... then move on and book a different cruise. I'm not agonizing over my decision, nor am I telling anyone else what their decision should be. I very much enjoyed our Celebrity cruises and I am looking forward to Quest in June/08.

[LMKohler]

Hi Susan,

 

I'm not agonizing over my decision either:) We have you beat -- we'll be on Quest in March, 2008:)

 

Bottom line is you need to do whatever makes you most comfortable. I have never booked a cruise based on the opinions of this board. I love reading about the opinions expressed here, but I make my decisions based on cost, itineraries, new experiences, type of cruise line, etc.

 

This cruise will truly be a whole "new" experience for us in cruising and I don't doubt my decision and I believe Azamara will get its act together. One thing I don't do though is take maiden or inaugeral cruises:p

[Susan-M]

I suggest Susan, that you read my original post again. Furthermore start reading post of Dale JR and you hopefully will understand.

 

I have read your first post more times than I care to admit to try and determine your motive for writing it. Regarding reading Dale Jr. - I don't agree with his opinions either due to the focus on negativity.

 

Please book an Azamara cruise with departure within the coming 2 or 3 weeks. Act as their test person and advise us on your wonderful experiences.

Why? I set my own vacation schedule and Quest comes into the picture in June/08. In the meantime I can look forward to the reviews of those who have booked Quest in November and who sound like they are quite happy to be going. :)

 

 

Yes the're good reviews, but the majority is negative. And even the positive ones do have very critical issues to mention !

Then what will you do about this .... keep complaining or move on?

 

Oh.....about the 6 cruises to cancel. Would you be so kind to quote me totally instread of by fragments on that issue.

Here it is ... from May 27th:

 

Amazing,

 

I thought you had 6 cruises booked with X in Penthouses. That doesn't sound like last minute to me. quote]

 

Where did I state this was with X ? They're with Azamara....simply because I had enough of X already. But due to the tender "drama" I've decided to cancel those as well.....do I actually need to justify ?

 

 

It is a little fragmented but it is a copy of your post. My interpretation is that you had 6 cruises booked with Azamara which you've decided to cancel. Did I misinterpret this?

[cruiseyguy]

I'm a little confused by this thread. Are "amazing" & "Dale Jr" the same people?

[amazing]

Well Susan, your opinion on this is clear. As well those of many others. This thread was not ment to let people discuss whether they're right on their opinion or on what they think of me. I'm glad you're such a RCCL fan and sorry to learn it does not give you any open vision at all towards what is coming out from this company. AMEN

 

As mentioned before, I will watch things closely and make my decission in the coming months.

 

For you out there that are suggesting about getting the deposit back, it's good to know that in Europe you won't get back your deposit after it has been placed. Furthermore, if you book trough a TA, you need to pay up to 15% of the total cruise cost when canceling.

 

Therefore it's not as easy as in the US where you can cancel up to a few weeks in advance without any risk at all.

[amazing]

I'm a little confused by this thread. Are "amazing" & "Dale Jr" the same people?

 

Another prove that some of you simply don't accept any negative coming out from Celebrity or Azamara !!!

 

Do Coolcruiser and Susan perhaps work for RCCL ?:confused:

[Susan-M]

Hi Susan,

 

I'm not agonizing over my decision either:) We have you beat -- we'll be on Quest in March, 2008:)

 

 

Hi LMK - Agree with your post completely ... and we also choose our cruises on the same basis that you do. With our Quest booking, the things that stood out were itinerary (new ports), length of cruise, affiliation with Celebrity, size of ship, limited smoking.

 

Enjoy your March cruise! :)

[Susan-M]

Another prove that some of you simply don't accept any negative coming out from Celebrity or Azamara !!!

I can accept it ... but I try to ignore those that focus solely on negativity.

 

Do Coolcruiser and Susan perhaps work for RCCL ?:confused:

 

Not sure about Coolcruiser but I don't have the pleasure of working for RCCL.

[babylene]

I,too, am wondering about this cruiseline.

 

We are currently booked on the Century, July/08 to the fjords and Arctic Circle. The same month, the Journey has a sailing, the same number of days, exclusively to the fjords. We think we may prefer that itinerary.

 

However, it will cost us at least $1000 extra. For that difference, we would expect a superior experience. Judging from the reviews (and we have read and reread all the comments), even after they iron out the glitches, they are not offering anything "special". I think that if Azamara wants to charge like Oceania, they should offer the extras that Oceania offers (i.e.no extra charge for specialty restaurants). There should be SOMETHING for the $1000!!!!

 

We are awaiting further reviews. We are also awaiting reviews of this year's Arctic trip. Maybe we will like the tundra more than we think!

[Dale Jr]

You might find this review of interest as well: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=570079.

 

Take a look at that thread again. I don't believe that to be a very glowing report either. Perhaps your take on things is a little bit more laid back than mine. If my cabin smelled like stale cigarette smoke for the duration of a cruise I don't think I would be very happy. To me that shows just how much effort was put into the replacement of soft goods within the cabins.

 

I don't know what your deluxe/luxury cruising experience is or if your only experience is with the Celebrity product. I have been on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Oceania and Regent. The latter two offer a deluxe/luxury experience and I know first hand that things people are commenting upon on Journey just simply do not happen on Oceania or Regent. I think too many of you have the Celebrity mind set that you are required to make lemonade out of the lemons they drop everywhere. It does not have to be that way and all you have to do is experience what these other lines are offering and actually providing to know how good things could be on Azamara.

 

Once again sugar coating everything and ignoring the bad is not going to work on Azamara like it does on Celebrity. The passenger base Azamara is trying to attract will not be fooled twice.

[Susan-M]

I'm a little confused by this thread. Are "amazing" & "Dale Jr" the same people?

 

Good question !

[Dale Jr]

I have read your first post more times than I care to admit to try and determine your motive for writing it. Regarding reading Dale Jr. - I don't agree with his opinions either due to the focus on negativity.

 

How different is that than a focus on everything is rosy? You quote how great everything is yet you fail to actually read what these people are saying. It is rather comical at best since you do the identical thing on the Celebrity board.

[Susan-M]

How different is that than a focus on everything is rosy? You quote how great everything is yet you fail to actually read what these people are saying. It is rather comical at best since you do the identical thing on the Celebrity board.

 

I am neither 'sugar-coating' nor painting a 'rosy' picture, but simply stating what my experiences have been on Celebrity (very enjoyable) and the fact that I am not worried about Azamara failing to provide a good experience.

 

I am surprised at your comment about my posts on Celebrity .... they have been few and far between in the past month or two on that board and mostly provide factual info. If I have a favourable comment to add (based on my experience) I am quite happy to toss it in.

 

I'm glad that you find my posts "comical" .... much better than "annoying". ;)

[jdarch]

Good Lord - I think some of the posters are in dire, dire need of a vacation. If you really don't like Azamara/Journey, please do yourself a favor and get away with someone else! Quickly!

Life is too short (and rarely perfect...) to spend this much effort posting complaints how to relax!?!

[amazing]

Good Lord - I think some of the posters are in dire, dire need of a vacation.

 

Good idea, but I prefer a DELUXE then ;)

[Andy]

Hi Everyone !

 

I tried my best to be fair, and let everyone say what they felt they needed to say.... but I feel that enough is enough.

 

This thread is now closed.