islandwoman

Because we'd already made our final, non-refundable payment before Azamara started this "upgrade".

Wonderful! Except for the ongoing aggravations related to Azamara's IT system that I've mentioned in previous posts.

Don't forget to also update your status with the Loyalty/Future-cruises rep onboard. We failed to do that on the first of our B2B and as a result, didn't receive an invitation to the Loyalty party.

There seems to be some confusion about gratuities included in the HIA package. The "Have It All Plus" package that comes with some bookings includes: Elite Beverage Package With Tips Full Onboard Gratuities Premium Wi-Fi Package Shore Excursion credit This package came as an "Early Booking Bonus" with my booking.

First March 27, then the end of May, now the end of June. Next? Two days ago, I disembarked from a 35 day B2B on Azamara Quest. My website account still says that I have "No future cruises", no past cruises, and no status. I will not bother to send in any more forms. Nor will I bother to book any more Azamara cruises until and unless this mess is fixed. 😢

You don't need a shore excursion in Port Canaveral. You can reserve a rental car and drive to Disney or Universal Orlando or Cocoa Beach or Kennedy Space Center.

Finally our OBC for the shore excursion we cancelled over a month ago has posted to DH's account. It only took 4 days and 4 requests to Guest Relations. But it's for the wrong amount. I think we'll just spend what we were owed and hope that they don't take the entire thing back 😉 when they discover their mistake. I would like to point out to them that they gave us too much, but I'm afraid that if I do so, the cruise will be over before its finally corrected. Sadly, the excursion that we wanted to book with that OBC went off today without us because we didn't get the refund in time to book it. 😟

Guest Relations has told us that they will. But they also told us that our OBC would be credited within 2 days. This is day 4 and still no OBC.

This post is for those of you who have upcoming Azamara cruises. I do not mean to imply that Azamara should not improve their IT and customer service; only to make you all aware of what you might find onboard so that you can be prepared. Onboard Azamara Quest day 28: I am sorry to report that Azamara's IT issues continue to impact life onboard. I agree that the cruise itself is wonderful, but .... We were promised that our OBC for the excursion we cancelled over a month ago would be applied to our account within 2 days. This is day 3 and now we are told that because Guest Relations has received "confusing emails" from shoreside, they have not been able to do so. They owe us $318 in OBC that we would like to use to book another excursion, but as the cruise goes on it becomes less likely that we will be able to do so. I would like to suggest that you wait until you board before making any changes to your shore excursions, but on this cruise, at least, they have been more expensive when booked onboard. Our online accounts did not reflect our correct loyalty status before we boarded. We went to Guest Relations and thought that it was all straightened out, but not quite. We did get our laundry and internet benefits, but missed the Loyalty Party because we never received an invitation. We've spoken to the loyalty/future cruise rep about it and perhaps we'll get an invitation on this cruise. Suggestion: If your loyalty status is not correct, talk with both Guest Relations and Loyalty when you board.

Why book air through Azamara?

From onboard Azamara Quest, day 25: Today is the second day of the second cruise of my B2B. I mentioned a few pages back that we cancelled one of our excursions for this cruise online before we left on the first cruise because if we had waited until we could cancel onboard, it would have been past the deadline to cancel. That excursion was indeed cancelled, but the OBC that we used to book it was not returned to either of our accounts. We would have liked to use that $318 OBC to book something else. Guest Relations asked for proof that we had cancelled, which we don't have because Azamara never sent us a confirmation. But they were able to see the amount of OBC we started with and the amount we spent, so they approved the refund and "sent it in" wherever that is. They told us it would be two days until the credit arrived in our accounts. Today is day one - nothing. The moral of this story is, even if the website allows you to book, cancel, or whatever, keep records of everything and be prepared to make your case onboard.

Are there outdoor dining venues on the Zaandam?

I received a boiler-plate reply.

This one worked for me a while ago; Azamaracustomerservice@Azamara.com

Not sure. The last time I did business with this agency, there was no online booking. You put in your request and an agent contacted you.

I have the website of a major US cruise travel agency up right now. I searched for Azamara from May 2023 until May 2024. More cruises than I care to count came up. Many of them are showing deep discounts.

I'm glad I brought my own conditioner. My long hair became a tangled mess after I used Azamara's conditioner.

From onboard Azamara Quest, day 21: I don't know whether the ship is full, but there seem to be as many passengers as usual. But keep in mind that this cruise, that embarked from Singapore on May 5, required a final payment with no refund well before the website mess happened. So for many passengers, including me, it was either get on the pre-paid no refund flight and hope for the best, or lose a lot of money.

Onboard Azamara Quest day 20: My "nonrefundable" OBC that I received as a result of cancelling an excursion booked before boarding with a credit card, has now been converted to "refundable". For those of you who are concerned that Azamara could go under as a result of poor management of its website and the resulting cancellations and lack of bookings, I would like to tell you that I have seen no signs of cost-cutting onboard. Last night was "White Night". There was a huge amount of food and drink. The crew still seems happy, so apparently they are being paid and treated well.

I am on the Azamara Quest right now. This cruise requires all passengers and crew to be vaccinated against COVID, but masks are optional. Very few people are wearing them. Azamara's vaccination mandate will be lifted beginning with the next cruise.

How can you "keep an eye on things" ?

Another test is to see whether you can get the webinar to play using onboard Wi-Fi. My computer failed. DH's tablet took 4 hours to "play" it. It was impossible to watch, though.

From onboard Azamara Quest day 12: For those of you who are sailing soon and are unable to check-in online, DON'T PANIC ! Just be sure that you have all of your documentation with you when you arrive at the embarkation pier, including passport, proof of COVID vaccination, and proof of all the visas needed for your cruise. Don't rely on Azamara to tell you which visas you'll need. US citizens can find that information at travel.state.gov along with links to official sites where you can apply. I worried about the same things everyone is posting here to the point that I forgot to pack several items that I should have. Don't let that happen to you

From onboard Azamara Quest, day 9: This post is for those of you who have an upcoming Azamara cruise, but still can't check-in online. A while back I posted that I was unable to check-in online and that without any advance notice, pier-side check-in requested to see my COVID vaccination record and a copy of my Sri Lanka and India visas. At the time I couldn't find my India visa but was allowed to board anyway with instructions to turn it in to Guest Services. I did so and everything was OK, or so I thought. Several days later I was informed that the ship did not have a record of my India visa. I again gave it to them. This happened twice more. On the day before we arrived in India, we went to pick up out passports and India entry cards that were required to go ashore, only to be told that they couldn't give me mine because they had no record of my India visa. Eventually Guest Relations straightened it out and gave me a substitute entry card that the Indian officials readily accepted. Then there was the matter of the COVID vaccination cards. Azamara told us that we needed to take them ashore (although it was my impression that neither Azamara nor India required COVID vaccinations). We took our yellow W.H.O. vaccination records with us, but no one in India cared to see them. I guess that Azamara's shore-side IT mess does extend somewhat to the ships. I am another one who will not be booking another Azamara cruise until/unless it is straightened out.

Onboard the Azamara Quest day 7: The refund of my Azamara vendor's cancelled shore excursion is still showing as "nonrefundable" credit. Other than that everything is excellent. Two port calls and the excursions busses showed up and came back on time. The Azamara evening in Colombo was well organized. I love these little ships and sincerely hope that Azamara manages to get their IT straightened out soon.