Foxie02

We did the Aus Christmas/New Yr cruise last year, boarding Azamara Journey in Fremantle.  Cruise finished in Melbourne on 3rd January.

We did not have a clear view of  Sydney  Harbour Bridge,  as there was a Cruise Ship berthed in front of us, blocking our view.    I heard the previous year also had their view blocked.

We were told by  Captain Flip Adelfoulakos  their berth position at White Bay is  allocated.
The Cruise was one of the best we have done with Azamara, food, entertainment, Azamara Evening, all were wonderful.

Well said, totally agree.

Good health to you all.

🤣😂 what a pity, she sounds wonderful.  I am sure the Crew would have enjoyed having her.

Bye.👋👋 

Hi Don,

That is wonderful news for your Mum, so happy it all ended in her favor,  even though it took soooo long.

Thank you for sharing her news with us.

I am thinking of you  locked down in Melbourne,  I wish you and your Mum good health, stay safe.

Regards,

Pamela.

I am over the moon!  we have now received our full refund.

I called Azamara on 16th June, I spoke to a nice guy, he told me that our refund had been paid back to Agency, he wouldn't tell me when the refund was paid.  

I contacted TA, asking if she has received it, no, she was still waiting to hear from wholesaler!

I did email her again on 26th June stating that  "my fellow passengers, from England  and Australia had all received theirs" yes, I know it was a little white lie! 

Once again she assured me she had had no word.  Then the very next morning I received an email from her stating, our refund had been paid into the wholesalers bank, we would received our money in 7 to 10 days.

When I originally asked for a full refund,  I was told we would have pay the standard cancellation charge, which was $300.00 each.  We were not charge the cancellation fee.  You can all imagine,  I am very, very happy.😊

Now,  for future booking of Cruises, I don't know who I will book with, I think here in Aus, we are in the same situation with our TA agents, as our English friends are.

I do agree  with the previous threads,  Azamara could have explained to us  all  months ago, when the refunds & credits were paid, it would have save a lot of anxiety & stress for us all.

🍾🦊🛳️

8 hours ago, manc said:

We are in the UK. Our round Ireland trip due to start on 23 May was cancelled. Within days we received the deposit (£500) and 10 days ago the full outstanding amount. We use a TA and they handled everything  

A second cruise they did Lift and Shift 

For a thurs they saw a massive reduction in price since our booking and cancelled and rebooked savings us 1000s of pounds.  3 jobs executed perfectly for us in recent days. 

WOW!!  I want their name😊👍

1 minute ago, Penton said:

I was booked on the 26th April Azamara Journey cruise from Dubai to Athens and requested a full refund on 25th March when I received an email from Azamara advising that the sailing was cancelled. 
I am so pleased to report that today I have now received a full refund. It came in three payments, shore excursion, partial fees and taxes and then remaining balance, all the figures are correct.

I was just about to give up hope and it took three emails to UK Customer Services and a phone call last week. I just want to share this news for those of you who are still waiting,  there is light at the end of the tunnel!

🍾🍷 Congratulations! crack open a bottle!!

6 minutes ago, blobby113 said:

No refund yet. The travel agent is sitting on the refund for our Lima to Miami cruise, and says that the taxes and fees component for the BA to Lima cruise hasn’t come to them yet. I may end up being the last to be refunded at this rate.

Beyond the joke isn't!  When & if we finally receive our refund,  our TA is going to charge us $300 each!  Our money did go into their account.  After reading Smurfette2 thread , in future I will be dealing with Cruise Company only.

2 hours ago, Hamwen3839 said:

Foxie02, we were booked on exact same cruise and requested refund on 16 March.I suspect your T.A. used same wholesaler as our T.A. After despairing of ever seeing a refund we have been advised that a first payment of a large proportion of our money has been received by T.A. and  will be paid to us this week.They say they are chasing up balance.

We do not have the money yet but it looks more hopeful.

All I can suggest is that you advise your T.A. of what we have  been told and keep at them to follow up.

🍷🥂 OOOOH, I won't bring a bottle out yet, but here's hoping. 

I actually contacted my Bank this afternoon asking about credit card charge back...thank you to the previous threads on Credit Card charge back...my Bank told me there is no time limited on submitting a dispute... 

I will contact my TA first,  give them another go.

I am also waiting on refund for our return flights from Singapore from Qantas, Qantas told me it has to come from Singapore  end???   I will be disputing this credit with Bank.

8 minutes ago, melgirl said:

I have been following this thread with great interest. We were due to sail on June 23 from Copenhagen. Azamara cancelled on May 21 and I asked my TA (local Melbourne operator) to request a refund same day. She advised that Azamara were advising a delay of 30-45 business day . To my absolute astonishment funds were in our account by June 4. I spoke to TA who suggested that, because the payment had been debited directly to OUR credit card, the refund process went more quickly because it didn’t go through the ta’s cc systems. Could this be why others are having such long delays In receiving refunds?

I too have been following this thread, along with a lot of others I would say.

I received confirmation on 17th March from my TA that we would be receiving a full refund for our Cruise on Journey, leaving Sydney on  24th March.

On 1st May, we received  email from Azamara stating  the following

"They were working diligently  to resolve most of the volume issues and are working around the clock addressing backlog to get us our refund  as quickly as possible.  Some refunds are taking up to 45 days"

It is now over 80 Days.  I have contacted my TA, she said she would contact the wholesaler here in Sydney, that was 10 days ago, haven't have any word😒

I am now wondering if we should have taken Credit instead of refund.

I don't know when Cruise ships will be allowed to dock here in Aus, at present every State have their own rules with opening up the borders & isolation when you do go over the border.

It's an awful waiting game at present, we are not winning!😩

Pamela. 

Phil, Vietnam beer is cheap....but, it has to be very, very cold!.... don't know about wine, I only drink wine on the Ship, because I like my white wine chilled.

Pamela.🍻🍺

I had a knee replacement 3rd days on arrival home, I couldn't do some of the excursions because of steps, stairs, steep banks, we had to negotiate. I also found I couldn't do the walking tour of Angkor Wat Temple, the steps were too steep and uneven for me. We had to walk a long way from our bus also to the Ruins, it was 5am, dark when we arrived, we were each given torches, as the ground was very uneven.

There wasn't much time to rest as most days there were tours in the morning and afternoon, I must admit, I didn't do some of the afternoon tours.

Our Cabin was also on the lower Deck, it was great, being near the Dining room. A/c worked very well. Hope this helps you. Oh, we were there last 2 weeks of March this year, it was so hot!. Cambodia was very dry they were waiting for rain. It may sound like we didn't enjoy the trip, but, we did very much, as I am sure you will too.

Pamela. thanks, Foxie and Amyr. Appreciate your help!

I have some medical issues, so we will be resting in the cabin for periods of time during the day. I had wondered about the sun issue... Starboard sounds good... and as high as we can get in our price range...

and amyr, since you've done this cruise... can I ask a question about the excursions? I will be carrying a portable oxygen generator... about 10 pounds... in a backpack and I walk slowly. How strenuous would you say the excursions are... and were there one or two that stood out as more difficult walking than others?

As you are not in your Cabin much, for sight seeing go up to Top Deck, it is open you can see both sides.;)

Pamela.We are booking Feb. 6, 2017... Amadara upriver HCMC to Siem Reap. Wondering if one side of the ship is better than the other for sightseeing from the boat?

Gee, I hope we are that lucky, but, I betl it will pour!

Thank you once again for the information, it has been great help. I am was quite excited to hear about the restaurant's that you visited, I hope we have the same selection in March. I think our weather will be hotter too.

Ii was not a very long bus ride. About 3/4 hour from memory. We definitely arrived back in time for me to have a rest before getting ready for the dinner at XU resturant. This was fantastic. A great degustation modern asian menu with matching wines. A very short walk from the hotel. A matter of minutes.

I just looked up The Square 24 restaurant, I think I will

be choosing this one when we are in Siem Reap.

You mentioned your day out at the Tunnels, is it a long bus ride. Is it late when you arrive back to the Hotel?:confused:

Thank you.

You have been a great help.

Bye for now,

Pamela.

Thank you very much, I appreciate your information, it is very helpful, specially in relation to Siem Reap.

I imagined that the dress would be different to the other river cruises.

I see where you have done a few River cruises, we have also done the Amsterdam to Budapest, with Scenic, we enjoyed it very much, also we have done the Yangtze River.

Was it difficult to board the smaller boats off the main one, when you were transferred to land?

Sorry for all the questions!

Pamela.

The dress was very casual in the evening. Not much different than during the day. I did make an effort for Captains night and the Private restaurant.

I actually like to change for dinner, but did bring mainly casual clothes.

Very different from the Europe cruise and the France cruise I will be doing this year.

Yes, we did do the long bus trip. Details are in the report above.

Thank you very much for the information.

What currency did you use?

Pamela.

Thank you for your quick reply, gee only 58 on board, I think I wouldn't mind that.

Our tour also says it is full, so we will see.

Yes, we are doing the trip with APT. I was hoping that in March the weather might have been a bit milder, but, seeing you were there in their coolest time doesn't look like it.

Did you have to do the 6 1/2hr bus trip to Siem Reap??

Also is the dress on board in the evening casual??

Thank you,

Pamela.

Hi Foxie02

I was on the AmaDara in December. I see you are from Australia, so you will be on the APT operated cruise .I am from NZ and we were the only New Zealanders on board.

The cruise was great, the hotels excellent. Could not fault anything. The food was wonderful. It was very hot and humid, although this was the coolest time. We had no rain. It was great sitting on the top deck, while cruising, as there was a good breeze. We only had 58 (takes 124) on board, which I thought was a bit strange, as I had been checking the website before we went, and saw at one stage there was limited availability, then it said full.??? I did not expect it be full because of the dates (we arrived home on Christmas eve.

Ask any questions. I have kept all the daily schedules, so will try to answer any questions you may have.

APT is an Australian leading travel company. Their prices are fully inclusive, meals, transfers where applicable, land tours some of their prices also include air. Look them up.

Some one else may be able to tell you about weather for travel in Oct.

Pamela.;)

patrinka;48903380]What do you mean APT cruise?

Hubby and I are going on the AmaDara on 19th March, if anyone can help with information regarding their trip, would be much appreciated.

Thank you,

Pamela.