New Quest mini cruise post drydock

[RosieRuby]

There is a 4-day cruise being advertised at the end of November before the transat. to Brazil. The original drydock period was to have been until the 1st/2nd December but the end of the work appears to have been brought forward, and it seems a very short period in the shipyard. Does anyone know whether the proposed work has been amended and will now not be so extensive or if the work will simply be completed more quickly, and that the new cruise is an opportunity for a 'shakedown'? Previous postings have not managed to establish exactly what work will be done until ACC reveal all!

[Bill Leiber]

There is a 4-day cruise being advertised at the end of November before the transat. to Brazil. The original drydock period was to have been until the 1st/2nd December but the end of the work appears to have been brought forward, and it seems a very short period in the shipyard. Does anyone know whether the proposed work has been amended and will now not be so extensive or if the work will simply be completed more quickly, and that the new cruise is an opportunity for a 'shakedown'? Previous postings have not managed to establish exactly what work will be done until ACC reveal all!

 

 

Hello Rosie Ruby -

 

Thank you for bringing this "new" voyage on the Azamara Quest to the attention of the Azamara Cruise Critic community because it provides me with the opportunity to clarify that the Azamara Quest's planned dry-dock length remains as planned at 21 days and to squelch any unwanted speculation that its schedule has been shortened.

 

Here's some history: Earlier this year in mid-March and early-April while dry-dock plans were being finalized for the Azamara Quest to take place in Cadiz, Spain , there was a scheduled 11-night, November 7, 2012 Azamara Quest voyage that was at first, to be shortened to add more time for a dry-dock that was originally scheduled to occur at the conclusion of the that voyage. On April 3rd, the decision was taken to cancel the entire 11-day voyage and I posted on the forum that "we are still in the process of finalizing the details about the length of the dry-dock which makes it next to impossible to define a new deployment let alone announce the introduction of a shorter voyage, which it seems might come in at being only 4- or 5-nights."

 

To add to the confusion, at one time, the thought was to operate this "soon to be defined" shorter voyage prior to the dry dock which would have set a November 7 departure, delaying the start of dry-dock and thus creating the expectation of a completion date of December 1 or 2. The decision was reversed, however, and dry dock was set to begin at the conclusion of the 11-night, October 27 - November 7, 2011 Azamara Quest voyage, Rome to Seville, Spain - the last voyage before dry dock.

 

With that in mind, let's "fast-forward" to today's facts:

§ The Azamara Quest's dry dock will be conducted in Cadiz, Spain starting on November 7, 2012 with the dry dock scheduled as planned for three-weeks (21 days).

§ Following dry dock completion, the Azamara Quest will operate a 4-night voyage, November 28 - December 2, 2012,, roundtrip Malaga, Spain. I believe the European market will find this attractive get-away as a way to "sample" the Azamara experience.

§ Finally, there will be a 16-night transatlantic Azamara Quest voyage, Malaga, Spain to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, December 2 - 18, 2012.

 

Your comment that Azamara has been slow to "reveal" our refurbishment plans is quite accurate since we're unable to announce our plans until they have been approved. I'm confident that as July approaches, I'll soon be in a position to share them with you, however, I'm asking for your continued patience for a little while longer.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

___________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[Aarrmuch]

Thanks for the update Bill

 

Kay and myself along with two other couples are on the 2nd December sailing. Although regular cruisers it will be our first on Azamara. Looking forward to a new exprience. I first saw the R ships when some where in pounded in Gibraltar 11 years ago. Did not think then I would be exited about sailing on one

 

Stephen

[Bloodaxe]

Hello Bill.

This is a quote from your statement about the cruise after the refit

§ Following dry dock completion, the Asmara Quest will operate a 4-night voyage, November 28 - December 2, 2012,, roundtrip Malaga, Spain. I believe the European market will find this attractive get-away as a way to "sample" the Asmara experience.

 

We are booked on the Malaga to Rio cruise & last week I inquired about possibility of adding on the 4 Day cruise Malaga round trip 28th Nov which would have meant changing our outbound flights.

I know that some previous cruise companions of ours have already done this using future cruise certificates & also being eligible for back to back discount, they had booked flights independently

We have a full Azamara package including flights & pre cruise hotel booked through our regular travel agent.

I rang Azamaras UK office direct to enquire saying that if it was cost effective I was prepared to book the add on.

The Operator was initially very helpful but said she did not have all the information & would ring me back after checking details. .

On the call back I was told me that they are only offering flights from Gatwick to join the 4 Day cruise.

We are flying from Manchester on the 1st Dec & have no wish to change to Gatwick so I did not bother.

It seemed very strange to me if they are the only flights available has people from the north of England will not wish to travel to Gatwick to join such a short cruise.

It was almost as if it was to much trouble to organise the changes which was Azamaras loss & once again reflects the difference in service shore side to that onboard ship.

I will save the money to use on shore trips for the cruise to Rio which I hope will be available soon,

Eric

[Bill Leiber]

Hello Bill.

 

This is a quote from your statement about the cruise after the refit

 

§ Following dry dock completion, the Asmara Quest will operate a 4-night voyage, November 28 - December 2, 2012,, roundtrip Malaga, Spain. I believe the European market will find this attractive get-away as a way to "sample" the Azamara experience.

 

 

We are booked on the Malaga to Rio cruise & last week I inquired about possibility of adding on the 4 Day cruise Malaga round trip 28th Nov which would have meant changing our outbound flights.

I know that some previous cruise companions of ours have already done this using future cruise certificates & also being eligible for back to back discount, they had booked flights independently

We have a full Azamara package including flights & pre cruise hotel booked through our regular travel agent.

I rang Azamaras UK office direct to enquire saying that if it was cost effective I was prepared to book the add on.

The Operator was initially very helpful but said she did not have all the information & would ring me back after checking details. .

On the call back I was told me that they are only offering flights from Gatwick to join the 4 Day cruise.

We are flying from Manchester on the 1st Dec & have no wish to change to Gatwick so I did not bother.

It seemed very strange to me if they are the only flights available has people from the north of England will not wish to travel to Gatwick to join such a short cruise.

It was almost as if it was to much trouble to organise the changes which was Azamaras loss & once again reflects the difference in service shore side to that onboard ship.

I will save the money to use on shore trips for the cruise to Rio which I hope will be available soon,

 

Eric

 

Hello Eric -

 

I'm sorry that you and your Operator were disappointed with the quality of the customer service delivered by the UK reservation center and that the experience did not meet your expectations to the point where you've decided not to follow-through with your brilliant idea to add the 4-night Azamara Quest voyage (November 28 - December 2, 2012) to your booking on the 16-night transatlantic Azamara Quest voyage, Malaga - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, December 2 - 18, 2012.

 

I'm forwarding your comments to our UK Customer Relations manager and will seek an an explanation why air service for this 4-night voyage, departing from Malaga, is being limited to only the Gatwick airport, especially in light of the fact that you have booked Manchester air service, through reservations, on December 1 to Malaga for the 16-night transatlantic Azamara Quest voyage. Perhaps there is a valid operational reason. We'll find out.

 

When I receive a response about the situation, I will reply on this thread.

 

Thank you in advance for your patience and my hope is that perhaps there will be a way for you to reconsider extending your onboard Azamara experience for a total of 20 nights!

 

Sincerely

 

Bill Leiber

___________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[Bloodaxe]

Hello Eric -

 

I'm sorry that you and your Operator were disappointed with the quality of the customer service delivered by the UK reservation center and that the experience did not meet your expectations to the point where you've decided not to follow-through with your brilliant idea to add the 4-night Azamara Quest voyage (November 28 - December 2, 2012) to your booking on the 16-night transatlantic Azamara Quest voyage, Malaga - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, December 2 - 18, 2012.

 

I'm forwarding your comments to our UK Customer Relations manager and will seek an an explanation why air service for this 4-night voyage, departing from Malaga, is being limited to only the Gatwick airport, especially in light of the fact that you have booked Manchester air service, through reservations, on December 1 to Malaga for the 16-night transatlantic Azamara Quest voyage. Perhaps there is a valid operational reason. We'll find out.

 

When I receive a response about the situation, I will reply on this thread.

 

Thank you in advance for your patience and my hope is that perhaps there will be a way for you to reconsider extending your onboard Azamara experience for a total of 20 nights!

 

Sincerely

 

Bill Leiber

___________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

 

Thanks Bill,

I will await any further developments with interest,

I was not complaining about the Operator that I spoke with, just a presumed lack of service from the department has a whole.

Regards, Eric .

[corpkid]

Great news for us as we board the Quest on the Dec 18th in Rio and are super excited to try out this cruise line! I had thought it was going into Dry Dock AFTER our cruise, so this is a nice little surprise! :)

 

What types of updates are being made to the ship? I'm always fascinated with the "workings" of cruise ships, and a dry dock update is quite intriguing.

[Lottie A]

What types of updates are being made to the ship? I'm always fascinated with the "workings" of cruise ships, and a dry dock update is quite intriguing.

Sorry corpkid.....but it's an Azamara secret!

And one we are all waiting very impatiently to find out! :D

[corpkid]

Oh yes, we ARE dealing with a highly competitive industry here (silly me).

 

Well, hopefully come December I can fill you in on what we find on our Rio to BsAs cruise!

 

Do they typically make major changes or just like a "refurb" (as you see in older hotels)? 21 days doesn't seem like much time to make too many big changes....

 

OH THE SUSPENSE! :rolleyes:

[Bill Leiber]

Thanks Bill,

 

I will await any further developments with interest,

I was not complaining about the Operator that I spoke with, just a presumed lack of service from the department has a whole.

 

Regards, Eric .

 

Hello Eric -

 

Thanks for clarifying that your issue concerned your perception of a lack of service from the "department as a whole" rather than from the person with whom you spoke.

 

At this point in time, the UK air department is reassessing the air inventory for this voyage. They reported the reason for offering only Gatwick and Dublin is because there are no suitable flights that fit with the cruise dates from regional gateways. The low cost carriers that operate direct flights do not operate a daily service to Malaga outside of the Summer season (May-October). The only other option was to offer "indirect" flights which based on last year's negative feedback would be an unacceptable option.

 

It is within this context, that we are evaluating other air-options, perhaps using Easy Jet, for guests who wish to combine the 4-night voyage with the 16-night transatlantic and originate from regional gateway cities. Once I have more to report I will do so and at that time I'll direct you to someone to contact in the UK office who can discuss the options in more detail.

 

Thank you for your patience for what I hope is just for a few days more.

 

Regards,

 

Bill Leiber

___________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[Bloodaxe]

Hello Eric -

 

Thanks for clarifying that your issue concerned your perception of a lack of service from the "department as a whole" rather than from the person with whom you spoke.

 

At this point in time, the UK air department is reassessing the air inventory for this voyage. They reported the reason for offering only Gatwick and Dublin is because there are no suitable flights that fit with the cruise dates from regional gateways. The low cost carriers that operate direct flights do not operate a daily service to Malaga outside of the Summer season (May-October). The only other option was to offer "indirect" flights which based on last year's negative feedback would be an unacceptable option.

 

It is within this context, that we are evaluating other air-options, perhaps using Easy Jet, for guests who wish to combine the 4-night voyage with the 16-night transatlantic and originate from regional gateway cities. Once I have more to report I will do so and at that time I'll direct you to someone to contact in the UK office who can discuss the options in more detail.

 

Thank you for your patience for what I hope is just for a few days more.

 

Regards,

 

Bill Leiber

___________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

 

Hello Bill.

 

Thank you for you input but I have decided to stick with the Malaga to Rio.

It seems to be to much hassle just for a few extra days, hopefully we should be seeing some shore trips advertised for the Rio trip soon.

 

Regards, Eric

[Bill Leiber]

Hello Bill.

 

Thank you for you input but I have decided to stick with the Malaga to Rio.

It seems to be to much hassle just for a few extra days, hopefully we should be seeing some shore trips advertised for the Rio trip soon.

 

Regards, Eric

 

 

Hello Eric -

 

I believe that you can expect to find the Land Discoveries PDF for the Dec 2nd Azamara Quest voyage posted sometime early in August.

 

Thanks for your update on your decision and my best wishes for a very satisfying Azamara experience.

 

Best regards and good health,

 

Bill Leiber

___________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[mame10ST]

This is a quote from your statement about the cruise after the refit