Cruiser6270

21 minutes ago, texanaust said:

The Sydney SS office must be on drugs!  Who would lose their full cruise fare on a cancelled voyage for a 20% discount off of another that must be used in 2024!  The fact that the Aussie office would even state this without confirming with US operations is totally unprofessional.  

Correct. For it to make any financial sense would involve you booking a cruise in 2024 at over 5 times the cost of the original - otherwise you would take the refund every time. Whoever is saying it's one or the other is plain daft. 

54 minutes ago, cnktodhunter said:

We are onboard Silhouette. Stuck in Lisbon until at least 5pm but that is dependent on a call with the port who may or may not re-open. We weren’t able to get away last night before it closed as crew and guests were still off thinking they had all night.

We’re told arrival in Southampton on Sunday is likely to be 9pm.

Wow. Lot on board will be frantically booking hotels for Sun night. 

What's likely impact on us TA folk ? Will current passengers get kicked out their cabins mid-Sun so staff can prep them for quick boarding ? Will ship be leaving Sun or have to wait in port til Mon ? So many questions. 

19 hours ago, Marylebone37 said:

I'm still rooting for them to some degree, but gosh, management is making that increasingly difficult.  

Indeed. I suspect a ship-to-shore management buy-out might be well supported by customers 🙂

2 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

I got it too, although my 2 booked cruises are Dubai to Singapore & Cape Town to Canaries.
Its very clearly aimed at those on the Rio Carnival cruise next February, to encourage them to book their Carnival tickets through Azamara.

And missed the target by at least 3700 miles 😂   

2 hours ago, uktog said:

Just about every day I get a marketing email from Azamara (yes I know some people would love to get even one!) which is now feeling like “desperation” 

Todays takes the biscuit it’s inviting me to book my shore excursions and carnival tickets for my upcoming South America cruise. 
The good news, I do indeed have a cruise booked to South America, the bad news it’s an Antarctic cruise not over the period of carnival which does not call at Rio. Other than that……

 

How much more garbage output from this IT system do guests have to tolerate? 

I got the email too and have emailed Az to cancel our non-existent booking, just to see if we get a refund. If you don't ask.

On 7/25/2023 at 7:09 PM, JaneStarr said:

If you haven’t done this already, please confirm that Azamara has your credit card number to use for the refund. Others have reported figuring out that it had not being transferred from RCG. Azamara did not proactively ask for the info but just had the refunds in limbo.
Jane

Exactly what happened with us. After 3 months of banging our heads, we realised it was time to write to the Carol Cabezas Office.

Within 48 hours, AZ CS reached out to us with apology and explained that they needed our CC details to make payment. All now settled. 

Those two actions made the difference 👍.

2 hours ago, numnums said:

to my knowledge and other people’s experience, I read that you must call captains club number to access your status/captain clubs discount if you want that to apply on packages.

 

the number should be on the website somewhere, I think after you click on your CC tier on the website.

 

were you able to tell him what the correct price should have been? Your elite status should make internet be 30% regardless if you have AL or not.

 

 

Thanks for help. Couldn't find the CC phone no anywhere but managed to find a customer service rep who did all the background work and fix us up at reasonable price. One less reason to queue up at guest services when we get on board 👍

We're on a cruise-only package in October (Silhouette), so I've been trying to pre-purchase WIFi for the 11 night cruise. There was no option on the X website to buy basic WIFI, so I called Celebrity CS who explained that you just cannot buy basic, it has to be Premium.

We're Elite level, so he said we should get 30% discount but then he quoted us the same price at shown on the X website at $21.99 (which was a 15% discount). I presume the $21..99 is the price to upgrade for those with AI packages ? 

Anyone know if this is a good deal or should we wait until we're onboard ?

If our friends can guarantee not to have any changes, queries or cancellations or have any other reason to try engage with Az Customer Service then all good.  Sadly, their administration, website, accounting, accessibility and general responsiveness is an abomination. Steer well clear.

On 7/17/2023 at 6:24 PM, fruitmachine said:

Six weeks ago, after failing to get them to fix the problem on the phone, I sent an email to UK Customer Service to try and get a missing booked cruise added to my account.  At the same time, I raised the issue of missing loyalty points.  

Three weeks ago, they sent an email saying it had been passed to their Loyalty Department "for assistance".

 

Today I chased Customer Service, asking when this would be resolved.

 

This is the reply I got:

 

Good day xxx,

 

Thank you for contacting Customer Service.

 

Unfortunately, I cannot speak for another department on their turnaround time. I do know they have recently undergone a change in system and program. I assume this is the reason for the delay. I do not have any additional information as to when they may reply to your inquiry.

 

Sincerely,

 

Lisa

 

Am I expecting too much for them to own the problem, and either get it resolved or give me a timescale for resolution?

 

That's shocking. We've been waiting since end May for a refund on a cruise that was cancelled in April. Payment been showing as pending since then. Promised timescales have come and gone, escalation has done nothing and only today we finally managed to speak to the CS rep who's been dealing with our case. She said that she no longer looks at or responds to emails due to the volume in mailbox !  Been escalated again, but with no timescale for payment. Shambles. 

16 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Encouraging to see so many people now reporting refunds coming back. I have held off booking first time as talk of withheld deposits, lack of communication and inconsistencies with bookings in the new system. 

Yes, gives us all hope. Our refund has been showing as pending on Azamara's systems since 29 May. Payment promises of 7-10 days, then 14 bus days, now simply replaced with "soon". 

Does future cruise credit show anywhere on website account ? 

4 minutes ago, combine said:

Ooh a message from Carol Cabezas just now !

 

Dear Azamara Guest,

I want to personally thank you for your continued loyalty and support through the transition to our new website. I am happy to share that we have migrated all future bookings to our new system and we are working diligently to ensure the integrity of your existing bookings.    We are seeing discrepancies on a portion of bookings made before March 15th, 2023. Our team is currently focused on auditing these bookings and remains dedicated to resolving any errors that appear online.   Understandably, you may have questions related to your booking. Please rest assured that:  All future reservations will be honored at the rate originally booked, including applied promotions and discounts. We are still working on connecting loyalty information and future cruise information in your guest online account on Azamara.com. Your loyalty tier and points will remain the same. Please use the Account Login Help Form if you need immediate assistance connecting a future reservation. We have not loaded past cruise history. This will be an ongoing effort through June, and we will provide future updates on progress. If you have a pending deposit or balance due, we will send you a payment link to pay the appropriate amount once your booking has been reconciled. Please contact your travel professional if you have any pending payments or further questions.   We kindly request your patience and confidence in our team’s diligent effort to respond to all requests. Protecting your reservations is our number one priority. In order to most effectively and efficiently serve our guests, we are currently assisting those with sailings within 120 days. In the meantime, if you have questions, please refer to our frequently asked questions for more information. We will reach out soon with additional updates.   Thank you for your loyalty and continued support. I look forward to seeing you on board in the future.   Sincerely,

 

Quite incredible they didn't manage to work "sorry" into any of that.

6 hours ago, Drill-n-Fill said:

You are aware that the system is having some serious glitches and they are feverishly working on it? To be "finished" with Azamara, or any cruise line for that matter when it's an unfortunate technical issue is unfortunate.  Dismiss a cruise line if they suck or it's not what you like, don't dismiss them if there's an internet issue that they know about and are fixing

Folk have different tolerances to this kind of thing. What many see as a simple internet issue, others will see as a serious brand flaw. While Azamara have asked for patience during a difficult time, they've failed to acknowledge the impact these problems are having on some customers. There's really no excuse for that and can give the impression that they really don't care.

Not in the least bit surprised some customers may not deal with them again. 

3 minutes ago, Wandering Words said:

We’re on the same cruise, managed to speak to Azamara  this afternoon & they emailed across the boarding passes.

Our booking is one of the numerous ones that hasn’t transferred over correctly and is still showing an outstanding balance. Details have been passed to the IT dept to correct, not holding my breath though I think they have quite a ‘work queue’.

Good to know, thanks. Having boarding passes in hand will give us some peace of mind, so will try call them over next few days to have them emailed over. 

25 minutes ago, hamrag said:

 

Received the following from Az, relating to our 6 May from Chioggia, literally 15 minutes ago.

 

Dear Azamara Guest,    We are looking forward to welcoming you aboard. We wanted to send you some important information regarding your upcoming sailing in May.    Due to our IT system transition, you will not be able to complete your online check-in via our website as planned. Instead, you will now need to check in at the pier on the day of embarkation. For embarkation pier address, please click here.   To ensure a smooth and seamless embarkation experience, we ask that you arrive at the pier at the following times:  1:30pm-4:00pm: Suite Category Guests and Azamara Circle members in the Discoverer Platinum and Discoverer Plus tier levels  2:00pm-2:45pm: Azamara Circle members in the Discoverer and Explorer tier levels  2:45m-3:30pm: Guests staying in staterooms on Deck 7  3:30pm-4:00pm: Guests staying in staterooms on Deck 4 & 6, and all remaining guests  Please be sure to bring your passport, and any other necessary travel documents with you to the pier. Our crew and terminal representatives will be available to guide you through the check-in process and answer any questions you may have.    Should you have any questions, please contact your Travel Advisor for more details specific to your country of residence or visit https://www.azamara.com/contact-us  for your local Azamara call center number.    We look forward to welcoming you onboard and will do everything we can to provide you with a wonderful experience.     Sincerely,  AZAMARA®

Got same email for our 5 May, Singapore to Athens, so looks like online check-in is goosed for a while yet. With all the data errors and omissions, and difficulty contacting Azamara, I'm now a tad nervous about flying 6500 miles just to turn up at a pier, without proper pre-checks, tickets or baggage labels! What a frigging mess. 

58 minutes ago, john1970 said:

Is there a date for the website to be fully functional or will it just be an ongoing process. I am glad I use a good travel agent. I can let the have the pleasure!

Have just opened an Az page from my browser history of 2 days ago and it opened full personal and booking details without even having to sign in 😬 That's a serious and basic security issue that should never happen. They need to shut this thing down. 

We've decided best not to look any more. Last time we peaked, we now owe £3361 for a cruise which is full paid.  Any self-respecting company would have pulled this site by now. Should never have gone live in this state. 

1 minute ago, JM0115 said:

Still a work in progress.

So we're all unpaid beta testers 😂 

Just logged into new site which shows our upcoming Spice Route cruise (May 5). New website suggests we owe Az money for our 2 pre-booked excursions which were previously covered by our OBC !

OBC from our Essentials Package has vanished, the price of our main excursion has increased and we're now being charged £27 each for the Amazing Evening.

Check-in still not open. 

How many days prior to sailing does the online check-in open ? Will save us checking each day. Thanks.

On 11/23/2022 at 8:20 PM, DenGNNJ said:

It was worth it for us to purchase it upfront because of the shore excursion credit portion... we didn't want to be disappointed if any had sold-out by the time we got on the ship (has happened to us before).

 

We bought the indulgence package and saved a bundle of money.  There wasn't one thing in the package we won't make 100% use of and because of the length of our 17 night cruise, the ultimate beverage package upgrade was effectively paid for with our savings.

Makes sense. We've previously bought the Indulence package pre-cruise and used the included Excursion OBC to pre-book excursions to avoid risk of missing out. Then, when you get on board, you can cancel and re-purchase the Indulgence package using any general OBC you've got from your TA or Az as part/full payment for the Indulence package. 

Personally, support Celebrity's approach for TA crossings. If someone tests positive before embarkation then they should not board for their own sake and every other passenger on the ship. Granted, this does not remove the risk, but it does reduce it.

My only issue is, given the small no of cruises this now applies to, Celebrity should have covered the cost of testing (through voucher or preferred supplier), set up processes at port or both. 

This is our 4th TA and we love 'em. We choose to fill the sea days with routine. Gym, breakfast, trivia, bridge, coffee, lunch, enrichment talks, reading, dozing, planning, dinner, show, movies, drinks, dancing.... repeat. There is always plenty to do if you look for it, or simply nothing to do when you prefer that. 

TAs have a different vibe to usual port intensive cruises. We've found folk to be more sociable, friendly and relaxed - especially on a string of sea days. You can almost hear ship exhale when you set off on a 5 or 6 sea day stint. 

22 hours ago, federalexpress said:

 Same here, they really should be able to offer the transaction online, especially if they don't answer the phone.

Well, finally got through this morning, after hours of wasted time, holding on previous days. Said I'd completed the online form 5 days earlier but had heard nothing. Rep explained they're inundated with calls at the mo, and emails are having to take a back seat. Looks like perseverance is the answer.