March 2018 Quest cruises - where have they gone?

Just FYI Bonnie, I still haven't been informed by Azamara of the significant itinerary changes on my Quest cruise departing next week! Fortunately some people on my roll call were and passed on the link to Larry's letter.

I should imagine that some passengers who are not CC members will be very annoyed at finding out the itinerary changes once they are onboard next week.

Reading this thread I thought I would check our 2018 Christmas & New Year holiday cruise on Journey only to find this too has been changed to a Cuba itinerary.

I only asked two weeks ago and was told being a holiday cruise it was highly unlikely to be changed. Sort of understand the fascination for Cuba from a US point of view but from the UK we are able to travel without the restrictions and cost associated with cruising from Miami.

Will be interesting to see how long it takes to receive notification of the change so we can cancel this cruise.

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I found this thread interesting because a bunch of my friends and I are booked on the November 24th 10 day Caribbean cruise. It had St Barts, St Kitts, Tortola, Labadee and the Dominica Republic for the itinerary.

We were told by our TA yesterday that Azamara was changing this cruise to a Cuban cruise and gave us the new itinerary. Azamara still has not changed their website to reflect the new itinerary.

Most, if not all of us are not interested in this new itinerary. Our TA is trying to negotiate some kind of deal with Azamara but she is leaving for vacation and it will be two weeks before we know what they have come up with.

 

I could deal with replacing one port with Cuba but changing every port but Labadee is crazy.

I nearly switched to that cruise as it was similar to the one that I was trying to do in March. So glad I didn't.

Don't expect much as alternatives. I was offered $500 OBC as compensation if I changed cruises but I would lose the $800 I had been given for booking early. And I would have to pay the difference at today's prices even though I booked months ago.

It was easier to remain on the cruise even though I had to fight to keep part of the package that I had booked. I also emailed Richard from the UK office 2 weeks ago and still awaiting a reply!

All in all not a pleasant experience

As an American, I'm thrilled at the chance to go to Cuba with a good cruise line. I do understand the disappointment of people whose itineraries were changed. But I also understand Azamara changing the itineraries now instead of waiting for the next season. This is an opportunity for them, one that other lines haven't got yet, and they need to take advantage of that quickly.They could have gambled and sold Cuba cruises before they had their permissions. Other lines have done this and had to cancel when permissions weren't granted. Azamara waited until they were sure they were good to go, which I think is more responsible than selling a product they didn't have.

However, the itinerary changes were made a while ago, and I don't like that some people still haven't received official notification. It makes me a bit nervous. Thank goodness for Cruise Critic--I'll be keeping an eye on this board and my roll call in case something changes.

Azamara sent a notice to our cruise agent this past Wednesday saying the itinerary had changed on our December 2018 cruise. Our agent forwarded it to us first thing Thursday morning. Perhaps the notice is sitting in a cruise agent's in-box.

Azamara sent a notice to our cruise agent this past Wednesday saying the itinerary had changed on our December 2018 cruise. Our agent forwarded it to us first thing Thursday morning. Perhaps the notice is sitting in a cruise agent's in-box.

When you've booked direct - I don't think so

Are they allowing penalty free cancellations?

Azamara sent a notice to our cruise agent this past Wednesday saying the itinerary had changed on our December 2018 cruise. Our agent forwarded it to us first thing Thursday morning. Perhaps the notice is sitting in a cruise agent's in-box.

Checked with our agent and they knew nothing of the change, on checking with Azamara the notifications had not been sent out yet but should shortly.

We fully understand the want of US passengers to visit Cuba but we can visit Cuba without of the US restrictions unless we are on a ship sailing from a US port.

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We just got our notification by email for our November cruise. The options are keep, move or cancel. There is no incentive to keep, the wording relating to move implies we may lose the bogohp deal and in any event prices are much higher than a year ago when we booked.

Cancelling is at no penalty. I've emailed for clarification re terms of moving and also as our trip was b2b do the options apply to both legs especially if we cancel.

Our cruise is replaced by a Cuba intensive but to be honest we could do a 5 star land based hotel through a U.K. Agent for a lot less than the price of the second cruise which is why we might be leaning towards cancelling the two cruises.

Appreciate Americans might pay that cruise experience premium but for the Brits Cuba has always been available without the restrictions we will likely have through an American ship.

Cancelling would give us the opportunity to try another line at that time instead which we might enjoy (or regret!)

Still waiting for notification for our December 21st cruise, shame the new itineraries are being advertised on Twitter before passengers are notified.

Given the same options we will be cancelling and also taking the opportunity to see if the grass is greener on the other side!

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Ann and John....if you do decide to try another cruise line then I can really recommend Viking. Ships just a bit bigger than Quest and Journey, lovely Scandinavian decor, great food and great crew....almost as good as Azamara's. Viking would certainly be my second choice after AZ for a cruise now.

Ann and John....if you do decide to try another cruise line then I can really recommend Viking. Ships just a bit bigger than Quest and Journey, lovely Scandinavian decor, great food and great crew....almost as good as Azamara's. Viking would certainly be my second choice after AZ for a cruise now.

Thanks Lottie. We still love Azamara but sometimes need to think wider especially when facing such a big change in itinerary.

Ann and John....if you do decide to try another cruise line then I can really recommend Viking. Ships just a bit bigger than Quest and Journey, lovely Scandinavian decor, great food and great crew....almost as good as Azamara's. Viking would certainly be my second choice after AZ for a cruise now.

Thanks Lottie, it's on our list to try, with the number of itinerary changes to include Cuba and Quest being in Alaska for 2019 it's the push we need to try something else.

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I assumed that as Brits we would not have to get a visa to visit Cuba. I also assumed that we would be able to do our own thing and not be under any restrictions. I am concerned now to read on this thread that there will be restrictions in place as the ship will be entering from Miami. This was not made clear to me when I agreed to stay on the cruise. How do I find further information?

I assumed that as Brits we would not have to get a visa to visit Cuba. I also assumed that we would be able to do our own thing and not be under any restrictions. I am concerned now to read on this thread that there will be restrictions in place as the ship will be entering from Miami. This was not made clear to me when I agreed to stay on the cruise. How do I find further information?

Check out Azamara's Cuba FAQs. And you might check the US State Department for rules about visiting Cuba. Based on what I've read, here's my take on this.

Americans can go to Cuba only if they meet specific requirements. There is a list of maybe 10, including family visit, journalism, work to help Cuban people, scientific research. Travel groups use the Education, People to People Cultural Exchange category. This requires that the visitors engage in activities that involve meeting Cubans and learning about their culture and history. A day at the beach or at a casino is not considered an eligible activity.

Now, here's where it affects you as a non-US visitor. Azamara is doing tourism business with Cuba under permissions granted as long as the trip is people to people cultural. Because you are doing business with Azamara, you are under the same restriction they are. Azamara's Cuba FAQs say you may go off on your own, but what you do has to fall under one of the approved categories.

I just booked travel insurance for my Cuba cruise, and we had to fill out an affidavit to say which of the approved categories we were in. At first I didn't understand why my insurer would need that on file. But then I realized, Azamara and I are doing business with Cuba. By doing business with me, the insurer has business interests in Cuba, and must be able to show that their intent in doing that business meets one of the categories.

I assumed that as Brits we would not have to get a visa to visit Cuba. I also assumed that we would be able to do our own thing and not be under any restrictions. I am concerned now to read on this thread that there will be restrictions in place as the ship will be entering from Miami. This was not made clear to me when I agreed to stay on the cruise. How do I find further information?

This is one of the main reasons I may cancel. I will be asking this question of Azamara as part of my research as ours is a Cuba intensive cruise and I would hate to be trapped in cruise line only trips every day. Our original budget also did not allow for this expense.

UK Foreign office advice states that if you travel to Cuba via the US then you will have to comply with the US regulations regarding Cuba.

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UK Foreign office advice states that if you travel to Cuba via the US then you will have to comply with the US regulations regarding Cuba.

 

 

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Thanks - and who knows what they might be by then....

I think Diana makes a fair point that most guests from the UK would not be aware of that.

Here is the relevant section:

Travelling to Cuba from the USA

Travelling for tourism reasons directly from the USA to Cuba isn’t allowed under US law. The law applies to US nationals and all foreign nationals who are either resident in the USA, or travelling through the USA en route to Cuba. Those travelling on direct flights between the UK and Cuba, or via other countries excluding the USA, are unaffected by this US legislation.

Under certain conditions, travel is permitted from the USA to Cuba, including on the direct flights which now operate between the 2 countries. Everybody travelling on these routes (both US citizens and foreign nationals) will need to comply with US law and travel for one of 12 permitted reasons/categories of travel. Tourism isn’t one of these 12 permitted reasons/categories. For more information see the US Department of the Treasury website and the US State Department’s travel advice for Cuba.

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And a link to the web page:

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/cuba/entry-requirements

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This is a link to Azamara UK's page regarding travel to Cuba:

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.co.uk/destinations/cuba/faq

Personally it's a complication we don't need on what should be a relaxing Carribean cruise. As Uktog says if we want to travel to Cuba there are much easier (and cheaper) ways to do so from the UK and without all the restrictions.

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Having travelled on the first Azamara Cuba cruise in March this year, I sympathise with your situation now.

After much debate, telephone calls and emails we decided to go with the visa provided by Azamara (although we did manage to secure some additional obc to cover the cost). We had to complete an affidavit to confirm the nature of our time ashore, an easy box ticking form.

Immigration controls were long-winded on the first morning and a process that had to be made on each trip ashore. But we were able to come and go as we liked although we booked a walking tour for acclimatisation on the first morning. Who knows if this may change in the future but the Cubans want and need the tourism.

If you do decide to keep your bookings I hope you enjoy Cuba as much as we did ( and I really didn't want to go). We have decided to cancel our future cruise with Azamara as we have no confidence in getting the cruise we book any more.

If you do decide to keep your bookings I hope you enjoy Cuba as much as we did ( and I really didn't want to go). We have decided to cancel our future cruise with Azamara as we have no confidence in getting the cruise we book any more.

Having now received our notification we have decided to cancel our Christmas cruise as in our option it would be an added complication to what should be a relaxing Holiday cruise. If we do decide to visit Cuba we will do it with a European cruise line without the cost and complications of traveling via the USA.

We will no longer booking early with Azamara as there appear to be too many itinerary changes and cancellations recently, unfortunately we have been affected by a few of them.

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As an update, we kept our November reservations to Cuba Influenced by the fact we would be free to go ashore as we wished. Oh dear today I read on the BBC News site (and no political judgement please on why or why not) that it's expected MrT is going to rescind some of the previous administrations arrangements and wants more restrictions put back in place.

Watching this space as a Cuba intensive could be our worst nightmare if restrictions come back in - watching fly direct Brits move around unrestricted from our restricted vantage point. Anyway time will tell....

I get this cruise industry news letter sent weekly. I don't read all items, but I did pick up that item this week!

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/17176-abc-report-u-s-planning-to-reverse-cuba-policies.html

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Thanks, I fear I am not looking at my final itinerary for next year!