We just received the email below confirming the January 3-March 4  South Africa sailings are on!

Dear Azamara Guest,

We would like to provide you with a highly anticipated update regarding our Africa sailings departing between January 3, 2022 and March 4, 2022.

We are very pleased to inform you that we have received formal approval from the South African Government to sail as planned to our scheduled ports in Africa. We're working with local and national authorities to confirm the latest protocols as public health situations evolve. We will provide information specific to your ports of departure and itinerary prior to sailing; however, this information is subject to change.

As we monitor global developments related to the coronavirus (COVID-19), our priority remains the health and safety of our guests and crew, as well as providing amazing vacation experiences. As a reminder, we've enhanced our health and safety standards through our new Explore Well at Sea program including vaccination of guests and crew, advanced testing and screening protocols, more rigorous sanitation measures, and innovative medical services - to ensure a care-free Azamara experience.

We greatly appreciate your understanding and thank you for your cooperation. Thank you for choosing Azamara®.

If you have specific questions, please contact your Travel Advisor or visit https://www.azamara.com/contact-us for your local Azamara call center number.

We look forward to seeing you onboard soon!

Sincerely,

AZAMARA®

3 minutes ago, Merly said:

That’s useful thank you.  Can I ask if you are in the UK and did you book via a travel agent or Azamara direct?  We haven’t had that e mail.  We booked through a travel agent and have a very good relationship with our cruise consultant so we hope we wouldn’t be messed around, but you just never know. 

 

We are in the US and although we are booked through a travel agent, we received the email directly from Azamara. This is the first direct contact from Azamara I recall receiving as we always use the same agent.  I found it in my spam folder so you may want to check there.  We are travelling with another US based couple and they received the same email directly from Azamara and they too are booked through a travel agent. 

1 hour ago, Merly said:

We have a cruise to South Africa booked for January and it is very very unlikely it will sail. More chance of going to the moon I think.  The final balance is due soon.  If we cancel now we would lose our quite large deposit so it looks like we will have to make the final payment if they don’t cancel in the next few week.  What experience have fellow cruisers had with getting their money back?  How long, roughly, should it take?  Or are we going to have a hassle?  We do not want a FCC we will want a cash refund. I am also weighing up whether or not to pay it on  a credit card. Hopefully they would refund before we pay it off but if they don’t, then we will have paid it off and then it would put the credit card in a significant credit balance. 
thank you 

Merly, we are booked on the February 20 and March 4 Pursuit South Africa sailings and received the following a few days ago:



Dear Azamara Guest,

We would like to provide you with an important update regarding an adjustment to our payment policies for Azamara Pursuit sailings departing between January 3, 2022 and March 4, 2022.

We recognize the need for more flexibility when it comes to your travel plans during this time. To help alleviate any uncertainty, we're pleased to share that you will receive a 30-day extension on your final cruise payment due date. Please note that this extension will be applied automatically to your booking and you should expect to receive an updated invoice soon. If you have specific questions, please contact your Travel Advisor or visit https://www.azamara.com/contact-us for your local Azamara call center number.

As we monitor global developments related to the coronavirus (COVID-19), our priority remains the health and safety of our guests and crew, as well as providing amazing vacation experiences. We've enhanced our health and safety standards through our new Explore Well at Sea program focusing on advanced screening protocols, more rigorous sanitation measures, and innovative medical services - to ensure a care-free Azamara experience.

We greatly appreciate your understanding and thank you for your cooperation throughout our journey as we have worked to manage this very fluid situation. Please be assured we are fully focused on protecting the health and safety of our guests and crew.

Thank you for choosing Azamara®. We look forward to seeing you onboard soon!

Sincerely,

AZAMARA®

15 hours ago, CP50 said:

We are also on the Capetown to Lisbon sailing and while doing a little reading this weekend on the Lift and Shift, the date of September 30, 2020 was mentioned as the deadline for notifying Azamara. Hopefully I didn't imagine this and we still have two months to make the decision. Also, it seems as if the sailing in 2022 is 20 days rather than 21, will this impact our ability to L&S?

Hi CP50!

Our TA confirmed last Friday that L&S has been extended until September 30, 2020.  The 20 day Capetown to Lisbon sailing should not be a problem as the rules state that the replacement cruise can be one day longer or shorter than the original sailing.  Hopefully Azamara will publish the remaining 2022 schedule before September 30!  We had terrific business class flights booked for March 2021 and are disappointed to have to cancel those but we do not see how the Journey can possibly sail to South Africa this November.

On 7/16/2020 at 4:32 AM, manc said:

We are due to sail from Cape Town to Lisbon in March 2021 but are starting to think our only option will be to.lift and shift to 2022 if possible. We have already done that with a Black Sea cruise which would have sailed in Sept. 

Hi Manc,

We are on the same sailing and would like to Lift and Shift to March 2022; however, that sailing has not been published yet and our TA said it is therefore not available to book.  It is a little stressful as the L&S program is scheduled to end on August 1 (first world problems I know!).  Could you let us know if you hear anything different.  Thanks - hope to see you on board!