Journey May and June cruise changes (Istanbul) 2 Threads Merged

Journey May 24th 2016 Venice to Istanbul

Journey June 04 2016 Istanbul to Rome

The above cruises have been removed from the web site

Rang Azamara - cruises under review

Have flights booked

Let hope they only change Istanbul

If they change the number of nights then flights changes will be impossible

With October/November 2017 cruise changes - will not book early again

They may use Istanbul risks for May and June

But most likely they are looking at number of passengers booked as main reason

Profit before loyalty to passengers

Hi Baytraller,

I realize you are unhappy, and that's perfectly fine... but why not wait until we know for certain what's Azamara's plans are, before any of us assume it's the worst case scenario.

There can be countless reasons for possible schedule changes. If it concerns Istanbul, there's perfectly good reason for Azamara to at least consider making changes. Several cruise lines canceled port calls this past season.

You lost me with your last line - "profit before loyalty to passengers". I do not see any reason whatsoever to make such an assumption at this point - especially since we do not know the outcome.

I sincerely hope it all works out in your favor. Looking forward to hearing what Azamara has planned.

First of all Andy - Azamara have not contacted us

This main purpose of this post is to inform passengers of possible changes

They deleted our booking from the reservations web site

Why cause passenger all this frustration of not knowing what is going to change

Also some passengers maybe about to book flights and accommodation

They should at least inform passengers that these cruises are under review

Celebrity are still selling cruises involving Istanbul

Azamara always say that guest are their number one priority

Well if we are they should not be causing all this confusion

I have just checked on the website. Our 4th June cruise, Istanbul to Rome, has disappeared from my reservations. The cruise has also disappeared from the main website and, for Journey, May 2016 is greyed out.

We will just have to wait and see what transpires.

The information german travel agencies got, that some cruiselines like MSC cancelled all the stops in Istanbul for this year.

Celebrity first announced, that they will make short stops in Istanbul for passengerchange only, but it seems that they cancelled Istanbul also and are going to Athens and Bodrum (Turkey).

They also got the information, that Azamara cancelled all the stops in Istanbul for 2016. But this information was already given in november 2015.

My cruise on Journey, 29 August 2016 has also disappeared from the Azamara web site and it is no longer listed under 'My Reservation" section.

I do think we need some early resolution or explanation for this. For our 4th June cruise the final payment is due to our travel agent in two weeks. I would like to know what the position is before we have to pay up.

My cruise on Journey, 29 August 2016 has also disappeared from the Azamara web site and it is no longer listed under 'My Reservation" section.

Yep, we are on this cruise too and I noticed yesterday that it had disappeared from the Azamara website.

Since we have 2 ports in Turkey, as well as embarkation in Istanbul, we could be looking at a fairly major change in itinerary!

NCL, Oceania, and Regent just canceled all 61 planned 2016 port calls in Turkey.

Celebrity first announced, that they will make short stops in Istanbul for passengerchange only, but it seems that they cancelled Istanbul also and are going to Athens and Bodrum (Turkey).

Celebrity still offers twelve cruises--ten on Equinox; two on Constellation--that start or end in Istanbul during the 2016 Europe season... Many--perhaps all--were to have featured an onboard overnight in Istanbul at the front or back end of the cruise but, last month, itineraries were amended so as to eliminate those overnights... For instance, on my planned 7 September sailing aboard Equinox [verdict is out as to whether/not I'll go], we will still embark in Istanbul but sail that evening rather than the following day... Our planned overnight in Istanbul has been shifted to that cruise's disembarkation port, Barcelona...

To the best of my knowledge, mid-itinerary port calls that were planned at Istanbul [several Reflection itineraries] have been cancelled with one of several alternate ports substituted...

We just found out purely by accident that our August cruise leaving out of Istanbul is now leaving out of Athens. No one from Azamara informed us or our travel agent. Interestingly enough Oceania has pulled out if Athens because it is too dangerous. Makes us wonder when to change our flights and when we will actually be notified by Azamara. Understand things need to change based on what is going on in the world, but we expect Azamara to keep us informed

We just found out purely by accident that our August cruise leaving out of Istanbul is now leaving out of Athens. No one from Azamara informed us or our travel agent. Interestingly enough Oceania has pulled out if Athens because it is too dangerous. Makes us wonder when to change our flights and when we will actually be notified by Azamara. Understand things need to change based on what is going on in the world, but we expect Azamara to keep us informed

Oceania pulled out of Istanbul not Athens. They pulled out of all Turkish ports for all of 2016.

June 4th 2016 Istanbul to Rome on Journey is now out of Athens. My TA says that letters are going out today. Will cause chaos! Will have to rearrange flights and hotel already booked for Istanbul!

Oceania did pull out of Athens. My parents got the email yesterday. They are leaving out of Rome instead

My cruise on Journey, 29 August 2016 has also disappeared from the Azamara web site and it is no longer listed under 'My Reservation" section.

We have just received an email promoting a (partial) replacement cruise for the one before yours. The 19th August cruise was from Rome to Istanbul but this is a 3 night Rome round trip. If they are avoiding Istanbul I would guess that this would be followed by Rome to Athens.

Oceania did pull out of Athens. My parents got the email yesterday. They are leaving out of Rome instead

Rome was used for one or two cruises. Mostly all the revised itineraries listed are out of or to Athens. They did not pull out.

Almost two hours ago I too noticed that our reservation (June 4th out of Istanbul) had disappeared from My Azamara booking so I called them and they said that all was well and our booking/itinerary was confirmed!!!!

Thank goodness for Cruise Critic boards. Now we must play the waiting game before making changes to our flights.....what a mess :mad:

Spoke to AZ office and itinerary changed to depart:

Piraeus (Athens) 04Jun 10pm

Paros 05Jun

Mykonos 06Jun

Then back on track with original itinerary with santorini 07Jun and so forth.

Letters being sent out to clients and TA's by Monday (25Jan)

Nice addition to itinerary but sorting flights out now will occur extra costs :(

Here is some info on the different cruise lines approach to cancelling Turkish ports in 2016. Interesting that not all cruise lines see it the same way.

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/news.cfm?ID=6769

My cruise on Journey, 29 August 2016 has also disappeared from the Azamara web site and it is no longer listed under 'My Reservation" section.

I am also booked on this cruise. I already have my flights booked to Turkey for a one week pre-cruise visit. Going to Turkey is a higher priority for me than going on a particular cruise. This might end up being a land vacation for me instead of a cruise, depending on what Azamara does to the Aug 29 itinerary.

Personally, I am very sorry that Azamara has cancelled visits to Turkey. We have visited Turkey many times and have always enjoyed our visits there, not only for the wonderful archaeological sites and the marvellous food but also for the warmth and hospitality of the Turkish people. Tourist bookings for 2015 were very heavily down (leading to the collapse of a wonderful specialist tour operator) even before the Russian embargo and the withdrawal of cruise ships will only add to the difficulties for the Turkish economy. This is so sad for the Turkish people and is exactly what the terrorists hoped to achieve. It remains the case that, despite the atrocities, there is less likelihood of being killed in a terrorist attack than there is of being a victim of gun crime in the US.

Having said that, I can fully understand why Azamara and the other cruise lines have made this decision. The fear of a terrorist attack (and that is what the terrorists want, to create fear) has presumably impacted adversely on bookings. Moreover, the litigation culture is now so great that the cruise lines cannot risk any incident.

I do, however, wonder why those of us with bookings that are affected by the withdrawal from Turkey were not given some advance warning. To suddenly find that the cruise had disappeared from "my reservations" was somewhat worrying and, to date, we have had no explanation and have only found out what was going on because some posters contacted their travel agents. Surely a message could have been left on "my reservations" with a brief explanation as to why the cruise had "disappeared". Not very good PR.

The new itineraries for Journey May 24 and June 4 have been posted on the Azamara website, May 24 ending in Athens and June 4 embarking there.

The new itineraries for Journey May 24 and June 4 have been posted on the Azamara website, May 24 ending in Athens and June 4 embarking there.

Thanks. I just looked and the August dates are back too.

19th August 3 night Rome to Rome

22nd August 7 night Rome to Rome

and our cruise, 29th August, stays as an 11 night cruise embarking in Piraeus and calling at Mykonos instead of Kepez.

I see on the Azamara web site that our Aug 29, 2016 Istanbul to Venice cruise is now an Athens to Venice cruise. This is a very sensible change given the situation. Azamara needs to fill the ships and people are not booking Turkish cruises. Changing the point of embarkation to Athens is the least disruptive choice available to Azamara.

As mentioned in my earlier post, visiting Turkey is a priority for me. We are flying into Antalya, Turkey a week ahead of the cruise. We will visit the Turkish coastal areas and Istanbul on our own, followed by a flight from Istanbul to Athens to meet up with the cruise.

I'm a bit of a contrarian, so the prospect of visiting Turkey when others are avoiding it is fine with me. The tourist sites will be less crowded, the prices cheaper, and the availability of hotel rooms and restaurant tables will be better.

Thanks. I just looked and the August dates are back too.

 

19th August 3 night Rome to Rome

22nd August 7 night Rome to Rome

and our cruise, 29th August, stays as an 11 night cruise embarking in Piraeus and calling at Mykonos instead of Kepez.

I think you meant that the 22nd August cruise is a 7 night Rome to Athens.