Seychelles maldives April 2017

It appears from roll call that Maldives is now off the itinerary.

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.co.uk/voyage/1492833600/20-night-seychelles-indian-ocean

This despite infogram still showing Kuda bandos.

As one of the main selling points of the cruise was to include Maldives I wonder when Azamara will advise us.

Funny this is just after final payment and I wonder if any compensation although I well realise T & Cs will allow this but 3 months ahead implies this is not weather disruption which is main rationale for changes.

It appears from roll call that Maldives is now off the itinerary.

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.co.uk/voyage/1492833600/20-night-seychelles-indian-ocean

 

This despite infogram still showing Kuda bandos.

As one of the main selling points of the cruise was to include Maldives I wonder when Azamara will advise us.

Funny this is just after final payment and I wonder if any compensation although I well realise T & Cs will allow this but 3 months ahead implies this is not weather disruption which is main rationale for changes.

We had a stop in the Maldives on our recent cruise. The island that Azamara used to tender off of had been sold and we tendered to Male instead. We found out on the cruise. A very limited number of passengers were allowed to book an excursion to that island. In years past, everyone was able to free tender to a remote part of the island. Perhaps they have not been able to replace the island availability.

Kuda Bandos was formerly used by its 'parent' island for its guests to go across to for snorkelling, picnics etc. It was also used by independent small cruise boats, such as the Yasawa Princess, as somewhere to put their guests ashore for a day ( with picnic) or half a day for snorkelling. I have many happy memories of going ashore there from both the Yasawa Princess, and a few years ago, from the Atoll Explorer ( Now defunct as a small cruiser).

Apparently it has now been turned into a resort island, so would not be able, or willing, to take 600+ day guests. Resort islands will sometimes accept day guests from small cruisers ( for a fee paid by the small cruiser company). By small cruiser I mean 60 guests maximum (Atoll Explorer was 40 and Yasawa Princess is 60).

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It appears from roll call that Maldives is now off the itinerary.

 

As one of the main selling points of the cruise was to include Maldives I wonder when Azamara will advise us.

Thank you for the Heads Up on this issue. I called them this afternoon and it seems no compensation will be offered.

We are always sorry when we must, for reasons beyond our control, cancel and replace a port call.

Here's part of the internal memo I received as to why:

"20-Night Seychelles & Indian Ocean Voyage: April 22, 2017

The call port of Kuda Bandos Island, Maldives has been replaced with Galle, Sri Lanka in the itinerary.

The call time for Galle, Sri Lanka is 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM on May 7, 2017

These changes are being made due to the resort on Kuda Bandos in the Maldives being under new management and no longer allowing cruise ships to use their facilities.

As a result, Kuda Bandos is being removed from the itinerary and replaced with a call to Galle, Sri Lanka."

Seems odd that this has taken so long. Kuda Bandos is now fully operative as a resort island, so it must have been bought quite a long time ago for all the infra-structure to now be in place. These things take time especially in the Maldives where everything, including labour, has to be ferried in by boat.

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We are always sorry when we must, for reasons beyond our control, cancel and replace a port call.

 

Here's part of the internal memo I received as to why:

 

 

 

 

 

"20-Night Seychelles & Indian Ocean Voyage: April 22, 2017

 

 

 

The call port of Kuda Bandos Island, Maldives has been replaced with Galle, Sri Lanka in the itinerary.

 

The call time for Galle, Sri Lanka is 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM on May 7, 2017

 

These changes are being made due to the resort on Kuda Bandos in the Maldives being under new management and no longer allowing cruise ships to use their facilities.

 

As a result, Kuda Bandos is being removed from the itinerary and replaced with a call to Galle, Sri Lanka."

We understand but it would have been nice if Azamara had thought to advise the passengers who are booked on this sailing ☹️

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I have been to Galle but it was quite a few years ago. It was before the Tsunami which devastated this area, which has now mostly been rebuilt I understand.

Galle is a low key port with not that much to see, but it does have a world heritage site in The Dutch Fort. The local ladies sell hand made lace and trinkets there. There is a lovely deserted beach with a small beach bar a few miles away and a local taxi cost about 50 pence in local currency to get us there and back. Phil....you would like it there! :)

If you go anywhere by the local tuk tuks then you risk serious injury. Never been so scared in my life! Crazy drivers. :eek:

On an Azamara cruise we went to both Male and Galle. Sri Lanka is far nicer and much more interesting. Consider yourselves lucky!

On an Azamara cruise we went to both Male and Galle. Sri Lanka is far nicer and much more interesting. Consider yourselves lucky!

Personally I don't! Four consecutive sea days that week will give me work issues and I had wanted to see the Maldives. It's quite a major change if that's the final answer.

That's a shame missing out on Bandos, the Maldives are a once in a lifetime experience, we've been twice to Athuruga before the prices rose astronomically.

I can however understand the change of itinerary if the island is now a resort. Male island is no substitute for one of the other islands, still Sri Lanka is also a lovely island, but totally different to the Maldives.

Interesting that the itinerary on the web-site has now changed back to include Male (Maldives) instead of Galle

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Personally I don't! Four consecutive sea days that week will give me work issues and I had wanted to see the Maldives. It's quite a major change if that's the final answer.

Sorry, didn't mean to upset you.

For me the issue is lack of communication by Miami.

My travel agent rang Azamara yesterday re visas and the telephone staff still thought we were calling at Maldives.

If somebody on the roll call had not noticed I wonder when we would have been told?

It appears that this port was also missed last November.

Bonnie ,can you shed any light on timings or is it merely a coincidence this appears AFTER final payment?

If you do end up stopping in Male, perhaps you could arrange a day at Kurumba which is a nearby island resort.

My husband and I were on a cruise that stopped in Galle and Kuda Bandos. For something different I arranged a day there and it was pretty enjoyable. Guests aren't given the run of the entire property, but it's way better than Male.

My agency got a notification from Azamara yesterday confirming that we will stop at Male in the Maldives from 8 AM to 6 PM. Galle has been removed from the itinerary. The notice further states that Azamara Marketing will compose a letter discussing the change that will be sent to clients on the cruise during the next week.

Here is the email we got this morning - all fine by us

Dear Traveler,

We’re just three months away from your 20 night Seychelles & Indian Ocean voyage, and we can’t wait to have you onboard, ready to explore with us. My letter today is to inform you of a recent change to your itinerary. The resort on Kuda Bandos, which was on your original itinerary, is under new ownership with new restrictive rules for cruise ships, meaning the Azamara Journey® will not be able to call there as planned on May 6, 2017.

But we’re pleased to announce that we’ve inserted Malé, Maldives as the replacement port for this leg of your trip. Malé is the fascinating capital city of the spectacular Maldives island group. With a population of 58,000, it welcomes visitors from the world over with charming streets lined with flavor-filled markets as well as crystal blue waters that attract scuba aficionados from all corners of the earth.

You’ll understand why locals call it the “real” Maldives by the time you’ve continued on your journey, and we’re pleased that we are able to keep the Maldives in your itinerary.

For more information, call us at 877-999-9553. We look forward to seeing you on April 22.

Here is the email we got this morning - all fine by us

 

Dear Traveler,

 

We’re just three months away from your 20 night Seychelles & Indian Ocean voyage, and we can’t wait to have you onboard, ready to explore with us. My letter today is to inform you of a recent change to your itinerary. The resort on Kuda Bandos, which was on your original itinerary, is under new ownership with new restrictive rules for cruise ships, meaning the Azamara Journey® will not be able to call there as planned on May 6, 2017.

 

But we’re pleased to announce that we’ve inserted Malé, Maldives as the replacement port for this leg of your trip. Malé is the fascinating capital city of the spectacular Maldives island group. With a population of 58,000, it welcomes visitors from the world over with charming streets lined with flavor-filled markets as well as crystal blue waters that attract scuba aficionados from all corners of the earth.

 

You’ll understand why locals call it the “real” Maldives by the time you’ve continued on your journey, and we’re pleased that we are able to keep the Maldives in your itinerary.

 

For more information, call us at 877-999-9553. We look forward to seeing you on April 22.

I'm not sure Male is the best place in the Maldives, it has a couple of manufactured public beaches, not sure if they're sandy, and they also police the amount of skin shown there, so be prepared to cover up! If there's time, it may be worth taking a tour to another island where it is a bit more relaxed. If however you're happy to wander around the city, then it's fine, just very built up like any other busy city.

I'm not sure Male is the best place in the Maldives, it has a couple of manufactured public beaches, not sure if they're sandy, and they also police the amount of skin shown there, so be prepared to cover up! If there's time, it may be worth taking a tour to another island where it is a bit more relaxed. If however you're happy to wander around the city, then it's fine, just very built up like any other busy city.

I'm really quite happy with Malé as a stop as it will encourage me to take a boat trip and see somewhere else. I've been to Kuda Bandos and whilst it was a lovely spot and enabled me to watch the crew play a football match on the beach there really wasn't anything else there.

There isn't a massive amount to do on any Maldivian island except sea related activities - snorkelling or diving are must if you can. Most resort islands have house reefs that you can reach very easily from the beach and the snorkelling is as good as anywhere in the world.

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