lahore

Hi.  We have cruised a lot and are possibly not your ‘average’ cruisers.  We have some quirks and I am seeking advice on what sort of grade of cabin to purchase.  Money is really not a huge issue because it’s only a short cruise, but I don’t see the point in paying for things we won’t be using.  This is us:

Must have twin bed configuration

Don’t drink alcohol so mini bar setup/ inclusive drinks provide no incentive

We are really MAJOR foodies but don’t like pretence - happy to pay for non-included restaurants if they appeal

We adore Asian food, not so big on Western ‘fine dining’

Keen on afternoon tea

One of us eats breakfast in bed on every cruise day

Don’t like the dressing up at all.  This does not mean we are bogans, just an older couple who wear ‘Ralph Lauren’ sort of style but neither of us possess or want to possess evening wear.  Would prefer to eat at buffet or in room rather than dress up.

Some would think us antisocial. We are happy reading and wave watching,

We will be in Perth Western Australia and need to get back to Melbourne in November.  QE is doing that exact route at that exact time so it seems a nice way to get home.  We love a ship.

I would appreciate advice from people about what ‘level’ we should purchase.  I could purchase Queens Grille but I wonder if we would get much benefit from it other than a large room which is always nice but not essential.  I’m sort of wondering if we would be just as well off in a Britannia Balcony if we intend to eat at places other than the MDR most of the time.

Please don’t bother with judging our choices.  Any responses about how we ‘should’ dress up will not be appreciated, same as ‘why’ we would want to go on Cunard knowing that the are dressy….the answer is because it’s a nice way to get home.

TIA

On 5/30/2022 at 4:04 PM, Grandma Cruising said:

No because it only applies to cruises departing before 31 December 22. The Black Sea cruise we cancelled was for May 23.

 Oh, OK.  Thank you. 

17 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

I think you were lucky. If you look at their UK Ts & Cs they say cancellation penalty is loss of deposit if cancelling more than 90 days before the cruise or transfer fee of £75pp if you transfer to another cruise.

This is not a statement disguised as a question, I genuinely don't know:  were you not covered by 'cruise with confidence'? 

6 hours ago, manc said:

We were due to go to the Black Sea but cancelled just before final payment. Greek Islands which we had already visited at a premium price was not acceptable. Might have considered if a price drop but business class flights to Istanbul are high and then revisiting islands ans Ephesus seemed pointless. 

Thanks.  Did they levy a cancellation fee (in context of you not originally seeking to cancel and all....)

Thank you so much once again @blag.   That's exactly the sort of information I was seeking.  I'll pop your experience in my back pocket and recall it when it comes to crunch time.  Appreciate your time very much.

11 minutes ago, blag said:

Don't get me started!

I have a litany of such things. For example: our next cruise with Azamara was cancelled yesterday. All our flights, hotels etc. paid-for. 

Mercifully, it was cancelled, which means it is (hopefully) covered by our insurance. But contacting our insurers is like plaiting smoke.

But when the itinerary changes significantly (for whatever reasons - let's not get bogged down in justification etc. etc.) and the cruise is NOT cancelled, insurers will not accept any claims. Because you are choosing not to go on the cruise. This has been the case for us on two cruises with Azamara, both after significant itinerary changes. 

Now, some will say it is imprudent to purchase flights etc. a long time in advance, but good prices can be obtained at such times, and I prefer 'to get my ducks in a row'.

I could go into details, but I am trying to focus on the potential consequences of a significant change of itinerary. 

It would be preferable if, in the case of significant changes of itinerary (again irrespective of the reasons) Azamara were to acknowledge that there are potential uninsured costs as a consequence of their decision*, and offer either realistic compensation, or just cancel the cruise with the opportunity to lift and shift; or an FCC; or the opportunity to accept the alternative itinerary.

On one cancelled cruise a few years back they did offer us a small sum, but this was insignificant compared to the costs of flights. We booked a horrible cruise with another line so as to avoid losing too much. Azamara paid for one extra night in our hotel, and transfers to and from a different departure port (Ft. Lauderdale rather than Miami).

For the recent Black Sea cruise no compensation was offered, with a, significant cost impact to us!

Thank you for the interesting response.  That's the sort of thing I was hoping for.

Firstly I like "plaiting smoke", I will have to borrow that one.

I should have pointed out that our airfare to Dubai is on points so I can cancel that with no penalty but if that wasn't the case I would be much more concerned.  I agree, it is often advantageous to lock in airfares early, for cost benefits or points-fare-availability, however for sure the potential losses if non-refundable are considerable.

I also strongly agree that it would be extremely useful if they communicated with people and make a show of concern about the potential uninsured costs of such a decision.   And yes I do recognise that it's difficult in COVID times.  

I wondered specifically about what happened in relation to the current Russian invasion of Ukraine and Black Sea cruises, because that has some parallels with the Sri Lanka situation.  So is it the case that they just cancelled and gave you a refund, nothing else?  

3 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

It's difficult to give a definitive answer for your particular situation. Personally I wouldn't take past experiences from people on an anonymous message board  as useful in formulating a decision. Azamara has changed ownership and what with the new covid world things are different. I'd be waiting until July and seeing how the land lies and how I felt then. 

 

Phil 

Hi Phil, oh absolutely I will,  but it's always interesting to add a bit of qualitative research/lived experience to the mix.

Hi.  A bit of background:  We are booked on Quest on a B2B2B in November.  The first leg is Dubai to Singapore, via 2 nights in India, 3 in Sri Lanka and 1 in Indonesia.  We were particularly looking forward to revisiting Sri Lanka but given the very significant troubles there at the moment it's likely to be a no-go I would think (even though it's not until November, their current problems are unlikely to disappear quickly).   

So, being as we are flying business class from Melbourne to Dubai and then the cruise, we naturally have a financial stake in trying to guess the future.  At the moment The Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has a 'reconsider your need to travel' alert out for Lanka which means we won't get insurance to go their either.  

Final payment isn't until July.    I won't be making final payment unless we have some idea what alternatives to Sri Lanka Azamara might consider.  For us, more in India would be good, whereas more in South East Asia is not really worth it as we have lived in and visited those countries a lot.  

So, my question is, has anyone got any examples of how Azamara deals with ports that are no longer viable due to political unrest or other problems?  How far in advance decisions were taken by Azamara?  How you were advised, and in what time frame?   Situations where such changes were made either well prior to sailing or during a cruise? Compensation, offers of refund, flexibility or otherwise?

I'm just interested to know what has happened in the past and would appreciate any stories. TBH we're not really stressed about whether we go on that leg or cancel it and join in Singapore, but we will need to make a decision within the next couple of months so it's on my mind.  TIA

48 minutes ago, Mareblu said:

Oops...I meant to say watch this space for November THIS year😞

OK, shall do.  I will be interested to see what you think.  We abhor the whole dress ups thing and would not be doing that under any circumstances so I'd be interested to see what you think about escaping that part of the experience.  Actually I'd be quite happy to eat in the room or the 'trough'. 

46 minutes ago, blag said:

"... will justify their posts as being a legitimate response to the topic. As such, they may not be 'advertising'..."
 

Yep, we agree. Sadly, I think the original topic/question is virtue signalling,  I'm sure the OP are really lovely people, but I just tire of hearing about how much or where people tip.  If I do or I don't, how is that relevant to anyone else? I'll try not to say anything else as I know this topic has the potential to go on ad infinitum and I think I've made my point.

In my opinion, for what it is worth, diversity is important and I feel very sorry when people (other passengers, cruise line directors) decide that we are all the same.  

By way of example, we don't drink alcohol, and I do tire of people thinking most decisions revolve around a need to have a drink.  Also, not everyone goes on a cruise to socialise - I love the peace and quiet of watching the waves and adore being at sea - my work requires me to be constantly surrounded by people and to act gregarious even if don't feel like it; I don't seek that out on holiday.  If I did, I would go on a mass market line, which I purposefully don't. Further along that line, what is wrong with having a place that is quiet and not always filled with people (e.g., a library)?  As someone else said, aren't there enough bars onboard....how many do you need?   
 

By now you may have a picture of me as an old fuddy duddy; in reality I am not at the upper end of cruise age groups by any stretch and I am told that I can be great fun. It's so difficult to find somewhere quiet on cruise ships, can we not eliminate any more?

OMG, the virtue signalling is a bit tedious.  If you tip, why do you feel the need to advertise it?  When will people just accept that this whole tipping thing is culturally dependent and just stop flogging a dead horse?   Don't accept the culturally dependent part?  Then look at the location of the vast majority of those who are advertising the fact that they tip. In Japan it's essentially an insult.  In Australia we mostly don't and we get tired of hearing about it from those who do.  
OK, putting my flame-proof suit on now.

1 hour ago, Mareblu said:

That’s us in a nutshell.  We prefer once a year or even every two years, in a spacious, well-appointed suite.  We choose Oceania more  often than not, for the same reasons you nominate.  This year is unusual:  a 14 day Oceania on Sirena then after some time in Cornwall and Somerset, we fly to Barcelona to board Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth, sailing home to Sydney on its repositioning cruise.  First time on Cunard, so it will be interesting to compare the two cruise lines.

Oooh, I will be interested if you wouldn't mind reporting on what you think of Cunard.  We have thought about doing what you are doing with the repo cruise, perhaps next year.  Maybe going on it rather than returning.  It's not horribly different from a business class airfare at the moment.

These days I'd rather go on a more costly small line (e.g., Oceania, Azamara) less frequently, than a 'mass market' line more frequently.  Nothing to do with Covid, more to do with us being anti-social. We don't like children on cruises and we really, really value good food and interesting destinations.  So it's not a per-night question really - some people might cruise three or four times a year on cheaper lines, we might cruise once a year on a line that costs four times as much.    All of us are happy, and that's the main thing.

I've been reading this with interest.  We don't normally cruise within Australia, although we live here.  Hubby is 77 with pre-existings.  We have ANZ Platinum and pre-covid he used an annual policy with InsurandGo (since refunded for 2020).  

We have a cruise Dubai to Melbourne booked with Azamara in November/December 22.    I am starting to research insurance, didn't see the point previously as everything changing so quickly.  Spent half an hour waiting and half an hour on the phone to ANZ/Allianz yesterday and they are going to phone back to assess his pre-exisiting (pulmonary embolism in 2017).  I'm expecting they will knock him back but I'll let you all know.  They do cover COVID so I'll probably rely on them for myself.

In the expectation of a knock back from ANZ/Allianz for him, I also sent a PM on social media to InsurandGO.  They informed me that they will have a cruise policy out in two weeks (as of 20th May, 2022).  So I'll be keeping an eye out for that.

I'll update you on what I find out.

On 5/15/2022 at 10:57 PM, rbtan said:

Still surprised she lost that kind of money. Did the TA pocket it or was the cruise paid for? Sonds like a lot more to this story than meets the eye.

You are in USA.  We are in Australia.  It's very different.  As I said, the TA (and not one TA, but a huge and previously well known company Student Travel Australia) went broke and there is no protection here for customers of insolvent travel agencies.  It wasn't a cruise, it was a big air trip and associated accommodation (remember we are in Australia, everywhere overseas is very expensive from here).  STA is now in administration by Deloitte's.  They may get some percentage of their money back but they are now in their 30's and could be senior citizens by the time that happens. 

11 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

Too... One must understand that Australia  operates under a whole different set of practices, none of which are present ( thank God) in the US.     Like charging for services, charging extra for CC payment, and holding a passengers payment themselves... adding all sorts of fees. and having a "closed shop" monopoly on booking.....    

Absolutely.  Could not agree more.  Even the common-in-US practice of transferring bookings is relatively unheard of.  Oh, and did I mention they know much, much less than I do about the great majority of destinations? Just never: they are one tiny step removed from used car sales in my opinion.  Wild horses........ 

• I'm late to the party but my response in Australia is NEVER go anywhere near a TA.  Their only interest is in getting commission.   They are an added complication when things go wrong, and also usually an added cost.  During early COVID my 'pseudo' daughter lost nearly $20k which she would not have lost if she hadn't used a TA company that went broke.  There is no government bail out here.  Also, reading through CC and other websites, people who book directly very frequently know more about what is going on that those who use TA's - who pick and choose what information they pass on to customers and when they can be bothered to do so.  Caveat emptor.  
  p.s., if I lived in the US then my opinion would be different. I have two friends who seem to be outstanding TA's, but  before anyone suggests I use them; using them is too fraught for them and me - what with exchange rates and cruise line rules.

My friend's daughter (who is like my daughter) booked a trip from Australia to South America just before COVID hit.  Despite my advice, she ran out of time and booked through an agency here in Australia called 'Student Travel Australia (STA)'.  It was a large and well-known firm with multiple offices in most cities around the country.  After our government mandates about travel required that she cancel in 2020, she did.  STA dodged any refund for ages and then finally went belly up.  There is no government coverage in such situations here. She lost in excess of $20k for the pair of them, and even worse the friends going with them for whom she booked also lost their money making her feel guilty as hell.  If she had booked airfares, accommodation etc. directly she would have at least got a partial refund.  There is some legal action going on but that could take years and any substantial refund is highly unlikely.  

Just another personal story, apart from my partner's experience as an investigator in Dept Fair Trading, that makes me consider travel agencies to be opportunistic parasites.  

Anyway, I enjoy stitching together a trip booking each component myself.   Clearly some people don't have the time,  which is the only reason I can see for not doing it these days when everything is so easily accessed online.  

Well that's an interesting change. Usually it's us who are not in the USA trying to book in the USA (we are in Australia).  Be careful, I don't know anything about UK but here in Australia the government regulations that cover our Travel Agents do not compare with the coverage you have in USA.   Your consumer rights in relation to travel (and many other things) are much stronger than ours.   My partner used to work in Consumer Affairs, so he knows a bit about this. In Australia I would never even consider using a travel agent.

12 hours ago, Leo_On_Geo said:

Enter the appropriate info here to see your options

 

https://www.azamara.com/azamara-upgrade-program

Ah, thank you.  That's a way off for me then.  I had totally forgotten about this.  

OK, I'm feeling stupid. I've cruised with Azamara twice and it's now been so long that I have no idea how this upgrade thing works.  Can someone remind me please?  I don't recall ever being asked if I wanted to upgrade.  I always book through the Azamara website, I don't use a TA. I have a triple B2B booked in November so it would be good to know what to keep an eye out for.
TIA

Hi all.  In December we are doing a B2B2B.  On each leg we will have 500OBC to be used for excursions.  We have never done a cruise excursion in our lives (being anti-social curmudgeons and loathing being herded) but I guess we might consider it being as they are 'free'. Looking at the excursions on the three cruises I sort of fancy an expensive one involving a flight, which is during the third leg.  Does anyone know if you have to use each 500 credit during each distinct leg or whether you can roll it all up and use it in total during the last leg?  I hope that makes sense.... previous experience would be educative.  Thank you.

10 hours ago, roberts2005 said:

Which cruise dropped so much in price

We are doing a B2B2B, so it was across three cruises, Dubai to Melbourne December 22.

6 hours ago, kaymoz said:

I didn't see wi-fi mentioned on the website as a current offer -- how did this come about for you, lahore?

I'm in Australia.