CA Oceanfront

In keeping with Azamara’s ongoing corporate direction, the new “Den” strikes me as nothing more than a brainchild of the marketing department in the form of a dedicated revenue space, and, like ECCruise, an area that we will have little interest in. I’ll stick with the Sunset Veranda, as long as they will still bring beverages to me there.

Can somebody confirm if this is true please?

Please see post numbers 94 & 96 from the Azamara forum thread entitled “Live From Quest Rome to Venice.” These posts are both from experienced and credible Azamara forum contributors currently sailing with Russ. Also mentioned in post number 102.

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We are terribly saddened about this, if it’s true. He has such a unique gift of hospitality and authenticity. BIG Loss for Azamara and it’s passengers, and a huge gain for Crystal.

One has to wonder, with all of the changes happening at Azamara, including the entertainment department, if Russ took exception to the direction in which the line is heading.

I know I won’t be the only one looking to sail on Symphony now.

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Pure speculation here, but this is what makes for interesting forum discussion. Presuming that the initial Silversea talks predated the Pursuit decision (despite occurring in reverse order), which is plausible considering the size of the Silversea transaction, and the time it takes to mobilize such a significant credit facility, it is perhaps corporate’s tacit acknowledgement of an abandonment of Larry Pimental’s long-term charge (possibly upon hiring) to bring Azamara from super premium to the luxury market (at least from a pricing standpoint), and that Pursuit was the resulting Plan B, to fall back and cement themselves firmly within the super premium market. As I recall, the Silversea press release included an acknowledgement by Mr. Fain that the luxury market was one of the RCL gaps that they were excited about filling.

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Isn't it also an increase in Debt to the tune of one BILLION dollars?

Yes, debt will certainly increase as a result of this transaction, but remember that the stock price, which is the market's perception of the net value of the company, already reflects debt in its valuation.

By the way, for those keeping score, that’s an increase in RCL value of over one BILLION dollars.

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Well, the stock market appears to like the combination. RCL jumped 5% upon the announcement of the deal, and it has remained up 5% in today’s trading!

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I apologize if this question has already been posed, but how is a Gibson (gin & dry vermouth) included but a vodka martini purportedly excluded? Baffling, to say the least.

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And..........veranda plus is rolled out........

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This has been a fascinating and informative thread to follow, and it is being contributed to by many posters with significant Azamara experience, whose opinion I respect and value. Furthermore, I find myself agreeing with many of the observations and opinions being expressed. That being said, I detect a familiar trend here between Azamara management and the Cruise Critic community.

After 31 Azamara cruises, spanning 365 days over 10 years, I have observed the periodic rollout of Azamara "enhancements" (almost always accompanied by fare increases), which were inevitably met with widespread criticism, predictions about the likely negative outcome of these enhancements, and often accompanied by assertions that the contributor will not likely book any further cruises with Azamara.

It has been my experience that, after each enhancement (Azamazing evenings, more inclusive amenities, reimagined dry-docks, etc.), the paying public has inevitably absorbed these price increases, occupancy has increased to the point of almost all Azamara cruises sailing full, and the stock price (which this is all about in the end) has skyrocketed. It is no wonder, then, that management has been emboldened by this track record of success, despite being met with a brief wave of resistance to each change.

Yes, indeed, we do vote with our feet and, thus far, there has been almost 690 pair of them on every sailing. It is my feeling that this, too, shall pass, and we will all await the next "enhancement."

I am also on the Quest and, although I missed the debut of the new Shorts on Ships (short plays) on the second evening, the word on the ship is that it was a colossal failure.

However, we thoroughly enjoyed last night’s 54 Below show. I would even go so far as to say that, IMHO, it was one of best vocalists Azamara has put on stage in our 31 cruises with them.

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Wow! That is news to me, and quite disappointing, to say the least. That certainly explains why I was denied the benefit. I wonder if Bonnie can confirm this policy?

Exactly my point.

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To those of you who have posted on this thread, thank you. It's comforting to know that I am not alone.

So here's a brief update on my situation. I decided to pursue this matter a bit further and deeper, so I had my travel agent (affiliated with a major discount warehouse) place me on a conference call with whomever they were dealing with at Azamara and, upon communicating my frustration and displeasure with Azamara's arbitrary and inconsistent application of the exclusion terms surrounding this benefit, I was asked by the Azamara representative if I could "hold the line a moment while he checked with his supervisor." Interesting.

So he gets back on the line after several minutes and apologizes profusely that he has done everything he can on his end, but they are very limited in what they can authorize, as they are only the call center, as opposed to Miami corporate, and they are charged with the responsibility of complying with all of Azamara's terms and conditions.

Then, quite surprisingly, he suggested to my travel agent that he contact his BDM (Business Development Manager, who is the Azamara-employed liaison between Azamara and the travel agent) to request an exception to this particular rule denying me the benefit, which apparently the BDM has the authority to do. I was left with the impression that there likely would be a positive outcome from this.

Unfortunately, I then had to battle with my travel agent who, upon checking with his supervisor, indicated that "they don't bother their BDM with matters such as these." What?!?! So after challenging this assertion, to put it nicely, they agreed to contact the BDM and, "if I don't hear back from them within a week, to call back." Right! Now it doesn't look as promising.

My next step, after waiting the week, will be to call the travel agent on the other leg of this back-to-back, a major internet travel agency, to see what they can do.

To answer one of the other poster's questions, the amount of this benefit pales in comparison to the fare reduction I received, but it's the principle that is now driving me.

Well, add me to the (growing) list of disgruntled Azamara customers. I recently submitted the Azamara form to request the Extended Voyages Benefit, after having booked two consecutive cruises with two different travel agents. After not hearing back from anyone within the prescribed time, I made inquiry of one of my travel agents, who called Azamara and was unceremoniously advised that I am ineligible for the benefit as both of my cruise segments were booked under a “closed user price code.”

I proceeded to ask exactly what that means, as I have been denied the shareholder benefit several times because of that same price code. I was advised that it means I booked the cruises at the lowest available fare at the time of booking. So it appears that I am being denied the benefit for being a savvy shopper, which in my mind defeats the whole spirit of the promotional benefit.

I am fully aware of all of the exclusions published surrounding the shareholder benefit. However, the terms and conditions of the Extended Voyages Benefit state that the “savings are combinable with most other offers, except reduced fares including but not limited to (this is where they get you!) inter line and TA rates.” My fare was neither of those rates.

Come on, Azamara, why defeat the spirit of the incentive by arbitrarily choosing when to deny a benefit, with no apparent consistency of application of either the Extended Voyages or Shareholder Benefit rules?

After 30 Azamazing cruises, I am an avid fan of the shipboard side of the Azamara operation, but I am growing increasingly frustrated with the shoreside operation. Shame on you, Miami!

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Let’s bump this thread to the top of the list again so it can get some attention. I have now been denied the shareholder benefit for two successsive sailings I have booked on Azamara in early 2018, with the following explanation:

“Thank you for your email. As a valued shareholder, you are very important to us. The requested shareholder benefit onboard credit cannot be applied to your reservation as it is confirmed with a Closed Users price code that is not combinable with the Shareholder Benefit program.”

Could somebody please explain to me what a “Closed Users price code” is? Like many of you, I have become increasingly frustrated that my attempts to secure this benefit have failed more often than not, and on the rare occasion when they are granted, I have no idea why.

You should also note that the open balcony railing on deck 6 verandas extends all of the way to the floor, as opposed to the solid steel structure at the bottom of decks 7 & 8, with deck 7 mid-ship and forward having the narrowest of openings. This provides a more open viewing perspective and more light to enter the room, IMHO. I never realized this difference until I studied some exterior pictures I took of an Oceania ship docked in Alaska some time ago.

To the site administrator, when can we expect Cruise Critic to add the Pursuit as an Azamara Roll Call sub-forum? Thank you.

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I booked this cruise at the $1899 price. I haven't received any notification that this price wouldnt be honored. Should I be following up?

I am also booked at the $1,899 fare, and had no problem until I had the early booking benefit added to the reservation the next day, at which point the booking was "repriced." Upon further inquiry, I was informed by the front line agent that there was a "computer glitch" with the original pricing, and that the repricing was to the "correct fare" and that the original fare would not be honored. I registered my disapproval with that policy and, after escalating the matter to Miami corporate, the original fare was returned to my booking and all is now well. I'm glad Azamara chose to do the right thing.

Thanks for reporting back! WOW update..LOL.

Did they know you had posted on Cruise Critic?

Almost every one of the 29 Azamara cruises we have sailed has had a Cruise Critic function that was promoted by the ship and attended by the senior officers, who consistently emphasize the influence our group supposedly has with the brand. Whether this is lip service or not is open to conjecture, but I have to believe that they monitor the pulse of our community, as evidenced by the presence of Bonnie.

I did not mention that I was associated with Cruise Critic, but they did recognize that I am a travel partner. Whether that made any difference is open to conjecture, but I do not have any evidence to ascertain that they made that distinction in their resolution of my case.

I believe that if similarly situated customers pursue an equitable resolution as I have, I’d like to believe that Azamara will try to be consistent in their resolutions, do the right thing, and try to save face from a troubled roll out of the Pursuit.

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WOW Update...I am pleasantly surprised and pleased to report that, as of an hour ago, Azamara corporate has agreed to honor my original pricing and has restored my booking to reflect the original fare. I am satisfied that they did the right thing with my booking, although I’m not optimistic that all similarly situated customers will receive a consistent resolution. As a matter of fact, it is not out of the realm of possibility that my booking may yet change again, but I at least wanted to report what appears for now to be a satisfactory resolution.

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OK, fellow cruisers, just wanted everyone to know, including Bonnie, how Azamara is now conducting business.

I booked a VX cabin on October 23 for the November 6 Pursuit sailing, at a price of $1,899 per person. I called back the next day to add the Early Booking benefit to the reservation, which they did, but then increased the price to $4,199 per person. When I discovered that, I immediately called them back and had the matter "escalated" to the supervisor as the front line was unable to do anything. I followed up today, and now have been told that "the initial pricing was a computer glitch and that they will not honor the initial price"!!! I told them that was unacceptable, that they were just as subject to the terms and conditions as we are, and that I have a contractual commitment from them to honor the initial price, regardless of cause, and kindly requested them not to force me to take the matter up with the legal team of my travel consortium. I was then advised that the matter was again being "elevated to corporate", as "there are many similarly situated clients" of theirs in the same predicament. I am told I will have a "resolution" within the next several hours. We shall see...

Was anyone able to get a confirmed booking yesterday at the lower price point? My agent tried 3 or 4 times and gave up until this morning when low and behold, the price jacked up. I'm still seeing the lower price on the Eskimo site in the UK.

Yes, fortunately, I was able to book a VX cabin Monday on the Nov 6 TA for $1,899 pp, before they jacked the price up to $4,199 the very next day. I've seen fluctuating prices before, but I've never seen anything like this.