Asia Shore Excursion Guidance Please, Bill...

[Xport]

Journey will be porting at Osaka--ostensibly for Kyoto per the itinerary for her 17 February sailing--on 28 February 2014... On the subsequent [3 March] cruise, Journey will be calling at Kobe on 10 March...

 

Without wanting to come across as impatient, there is a disconnect in the Shore Ex offerings posted [or not yet posted] to the Azamara website that makes it difficult to plan so as to maximize time at each port for those of us doing consecutive sailings...

• Shore excursions have not yet been posted for our port call at Osaka [for Kyoto]...
  
• Shore excursions have been posted for our port call at Kobe; most are focused upon touring Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara...
  

It would be helpful if the Shore Excursion Planners could give priority to posting tour offerings for 28 February... Or if not yet possible, it would be helpful to know if there is anticipation that the Shore Excursion offerings for 28 February will likely be analogous from a content perspective--differing primarily by point of origin--to those that are already available for purchase out of Kobe...

 

Thanks for your help!

 

--Mike

[uktog]

I agree and whilst looking at this, can we get an update on when there will be anything posted for Takamatsu (March 9th in port 1000-2200). Really want to see what is on offer on all the ports before sorting out excursions but running the risks of a price hike being imposed along the line and losing out

Any help you can get us on this will be much appreciate Bill

[Bill Leiber]

Hello Xport, Uktog and other readers -

 

I've passed on the scheduling issues (or the lack thereof) for the Land Discoveries that you've uncovered with your specific Asian voyages to our shore excursion team for their review and comment. Once that information is received, I'll report it to you.

 

I’m always reminded by Cruise Critic that the Community Forum is not a vehicle for its members to seek resolution for specific customer service issues since not all members benefit. Further, I do not have the authority to make exceptions nor do I have access to your booking records.

 

Nevertheless, I consider your comments to be "quality-control" feedback that once resolved will benefit not only our Cruise Critic members but all of our potential customers.

 

Thank you for your time in pointing out these scheduling issues.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[Xport]

I’m always reminded by Cruise Critic that the Community Forum is not a vehicle for its members to seek resolution for specific customer service issues since not all members benefit. Further, I do not have the authority to make exceptions nor do I have access to your booking records.

 

Nevertheless, I consider your comments to be "quality-control" feedback that once resolved will benefit not only our Cruise Critic members but all of our potential customers.

 

Though I didn't choose to barrage you with the details beyond the disconnect noted above in my initial post, the issues are--I assure you--broader and strategic ones...

 

During my three consecutive cruises starting 3 February [there are other Cruise Critic members--and no doubt an unknown number of others who do not post here--who are or who may well be doing some variation of consecutive sailings too], Journey will call at twenty ports... Shore excursions have yet to be posted for six of those [including some highlight ports like Tokyo, Okinawa, Kyoto, and Takamatsu; all feature extended stays]...

 

While I do not diminish the effort associated with creating excursion opportunities for new itineraries [those are a distinguishing factor in choosing Azamara!], the actual tour dates--seemingly far into the future [the website and Customer Service suggest checking closer to sail date]--are not, at least for a traveler like me, pivotal given that final payment on my first sailing is due on 5 November... I doubt I'd cancel; I've already invested too much time and money in making this once-in-a-lifetime trip happen and am psyched about it... But I do want to line up my tour plans--so that I know exactly what I'll see/do--before making final financial commitments...

 

To my mind, the current scenario encourages one to take steps to make private tour arrangements to fill out the experience... If enough guests do so, it influences Azamara's participation, related revenue stream, and--as noted here in the past--excursion pricing... And from a guest perspective, I'd personally rather enjoy the pre-sailing discount associated with advance booking on-line and not having to spend my time/energy [the effort is substantial to do it right/get quality results] filling in the blanks... It all becomes somewhat circular...

 

For what it's worth, thanks for reading; just one avid--and fairly savvy--traveler's perspective... I am not looking for and never have been looking for exceptions/strictly personal help but am rather trying to create an awareness of the dynamic from both an Azamara [as I envision it] and guest [as I know it] dimension... My comments are, I assure you, intended to be constructive...

 

--Mike

[Bill Leiber]

Hello Mike -

 

Thank you for your confidence in the Azamara onboard cruise experience and for your decision to vacation on three consecutive voyages in Asia. We appreciate your business!

 

I agree with your very constructive comments why it's critical to have all the available Land Discovery shore excursions loaded into the system as soon as possible after the itineraries have been announced. It all ties into our "Destination Immersion" platform - longer stays, more overnights and night touring in our ports of call.

 

Previously I mentioned that the three Royal Caribbean brands operate under the concept of shared services. Although Azamara has a small team of dedicated shore excursion coordinators, the processing and program execution is accomplished by a centralized global tour operations unit. I'm sharing this information not as an excuse but as an explanation why there are 'holes' in the 2014 roster. Our management team is working to augment the process so that Azamara's shore excursions can be completed farther out than the other brands since our itinerary rationale is so unique. However, it is still a work-in-progress. Previously, our shore excursions were not available in the system until four months prior to sailing. I believe that we are making improvements, but there is more to be accomplished.

 

I've forwarded this thread to the Azamara and global tour operations management team. I will let you and other readers know more about the completion schedule as I receive the information.

 

Thank you again for your valuable input.

 

Best regards,

Bill Leiber

__________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[Xport]

Having served as leader to a shared services organization in a large corporate environment that was early to embrace the concept, I understand the challenges associated with allocation of resources to competing internal clients... And I also understand that the smallest clients--often having the most unique, most boutique service needs as Azamara does--sometimes get lost in that shuffle... Thanks for advocating for Azamara and their guests...

 

The good news this morning is that I note that a tour has been posted for Journey's port call at Ko Samui, Thailand [Jungle Eco Safari/KS07] during our 5 February visit... The bad news is that the logistics may not be feasible given the ship's published schedule...

 

Journey is scheduled to call at Ko Samui from 8:00 AM until 2:00 PM; it is a tender port and, as this will be Journey's first stop in Thailand, will likely require a bit longer in terms of ship clearance by local authorities... The tour is scheduled to commence--probably appropriately to my mind--at 8:30 AM... But at 5.5 hours duration [it's not clear if that includes the tender time back to the ship], tour conclusion exactly coincides with our sail-away time...

 

In another thread and in a different context [that relates to AzAmazing evening conflicts], you asked to be made aware of potential conflicts... Just reporting here that the tour may be long in the context of the ship's schedule or that ship departure time may need to be flexed in the context of the tour... As of today, departure is still showing as 2:00 PM...

 

Just an FYI... Thanks...

--Mike

[Bill Leiber]

Hello Mike, Ann and other Asia Tour Followers -

 

Mike - thank you for pointing out the potential time-crunch associated with the Ko Samui, Thailand [Jungle Eco Safari/KS07] shore excursion on 5 February 2014. I learned today from global tour operations that the duration of this tour will be reduced from 5.5 hrs to 5 hrs given the overall port time of 6 hrs. The free-time scheduled when in town has been removed and the planned lunch will remain. Also, this excursion will be the first one off the vessel.

 

Ann - again, I'm thanking you for your remarkable patience. Global tour operations advised that many new Japan ports are being loaded with the goal to have them available for booking no later than Monday, August 12 - Osaka (Kyoto), Takamatsu, Ishigaki, Tokyo & Okinawa. There is even a chance that this information might be available sometime during the weekend!

 

Best regards and enjoy the weekend ahead!

 

Bill Leiber

__________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[uktog]

Thank you so much Bill, look forward to really getting into the planning soon!

[uktog]

Update- just checked Bill and the Takamatsu events are there - and I am delighted to see I have an opportunity to drag DH to a cooking experience, this is the sort of thing I love to try and do in different parts of the world even though I rarely manage to replicate the efforts when I return home!

[Xport]

Sincerest thanks to you, the Azamara Leadership Team, and all associated with Global Tour Operations [as well as related Information Systems functions] for having turned around the Asia Land Discoveries situation at warp speed... Your collective response--I have a sense that quick resolution was not completely coincidental--shows real commitment to listening to the "Voice Of The Customer" when concerns are valid and has been nothing short of--well--AzAmazing!

 

I'll finish off my research/planning over the next several days, and then, I've got some serious shopping to do!

 

With appreciation,

--Mike

[sandyss]

Just looked at the tours that have been posted for Takamatsu.

 

I have a question for Bill about the Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum & Ritsurin Garden. The website for the Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum indicates that it is closed on Sundays, which is the day that we will be in Takamatsu. Will they be opening that day for our cruise???

[Bill Leiber]

Just looked at the tours that have been posted for Takamatsu.

 

I have a question for Bill about the Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum & Ritsurin Garden. The website for the Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum indicates that it is closed on Sundays, which is the day that we will be in Takamatsu. Will they be opening that day for our cruise???

 

Hello Sandy -

 

I've passed on your question about whether the Noguchi Garden Museum & Ritsurin Garden will be open on Sunday to our shore excursion team for their review. Once that information is received, I'll report it to you.

 

Thank you for your time in pointing out this potential scheduling issue.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[mara01]

Bill - we've posted this before on the main forum and on the Roll Call for our cruise. We've also emailed The Captain's Club and Lesley did try unsuccessfully to get a response from the excursion team in Miami. Now she has unfortunately left, we have emailed again and the Captain's Club sent a reply saying they had forwarded our email on to Miami and we would 'get a reply within 72 hours'. Still no response. :(

 

Our first query is about Belawan, the first port of call in Sumatra. On the 'main page' of the website in the description for the Spice Route cruise it says "On Sumatra, a surf and jungle heaven, visit an Orang Utan rehabilitation center and see the terraced rice paddies en route to Lake Toba in the volcanic highlands". We would love to visit the Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre but the only two excursions shown are both to Medan. If the Centre is too far or there is some other reason this is not being offered as a shore excursion, why promote it on the main page advertising this cruise? I'm sure there would be several people on the cruise that would love this tour and surely there must be more places to visit than the town of Medan, where there are two tours offered.

 

Secondly, the Azamazing Evening is shown as being in Phuket on the 6th April starting at 5.30pm and is a Thai night at the Blue Elephant. We wouldn't want to miss this but the ship doesn't arrive at Phuket until 1pm - every excursion offered arrives back at the ship after 5.30 (with the exception of the Elephant Ride which gets back at 5.30). We particularly wanted to do either the Sea Canoe Adventure (gets back 9.45pm - which in itself is odd because it will be dark for a lot of the trip!) or the Phang Nga Bay boat trip which gets back at 9.30 and is called a 'full day tour'. We would be very disappointed to miss either an excursion or the Azamazing Evening and wonder if there is going to be a change in itinerary to arrive in Phuket early in the morning so that the excursions can be fitted in? Otherwise we think the Blue Elephant might be quite empty that evening or the excursions not very well attended!

 

Finally, with regard to Colombo, the Excursion Brochure originally had a tour going to Kandy and the Temple of the Tooth. This has now been removed and we wonder if it will be reintroduced?

 

It would be good to have some answers so that we can start booking some excursions. Thanks Bill.

[Bill Leiber]

Bill - we've posted this before on the main forum and on the Roll Call for our cruise. We've also emailed The Captain's Club and Lesley did try unsuccessfully to get a response from the excursion team in Miami. Now she has unfortunately left, we have emailed again and the Captain's Club sent a reply saying they had forwarded our email on to Miami and we would 'get a reply within 72 hours'. Still no response. :(

It would be good to have some answers so that we can start booking some excursions. Thanks Bill.

 

Hello Mara01 -

 

I've passed on your questions to our shore excursion group about the tours being offered on the Azamara Journey's April voyage. Please remember that all our 2014 AzAmazing Evenings are being reviewed and that project will be completed at the end of August.

 

Once that information is received, I'll report it to you so that you can begin the pleasure of planning your forthcoming Azamara vacation.

 

Thanks for your patience.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[Bill Leiber]

Hello Mara01 -

 

I've passed on your questions to our shore excursion group about the tours being offered on the Azamara Journey's April voyage.

 

Hello Mara01 -

 

Thanks for your patience. Although the system has not yet been updated, I've learned that both Tour Orangutan Rehabilitation Center and the Temple of Tooth will be offered in the coming 2014 season. Both are still under preparation for the system.

 

The timing conflict created by the early start of the AzAmazing Evening - Thai Night at Blue Elephant - scheduled on April 6, 2014, in Phuket is being addressed as part of the operational review of all the 2014 AzAmazing Evenings events. The final schedule is to be completed by the end of this month.

 

Once that information has been added to the system, I've asked the shore excursion team to let me know so that I can share that news with you.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[Jade13]

Hello Mara01 -

 

Thanks for your patience. Although the system has not yet been updated, I've learned that both Tour Orangutan Rehabilitation Center and the Temple of Tooth will be offered in the coming 2014 season. Both are still under preparation for the system.

 

Bill Leiber

__________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

 

Hi Bill,

 

I am just curious why the tour to Kandy and the Temple of the Tooth from Columbo, Sri Lanka was never offered on the November 9 Journey this year?

 

I've mentioned before that we were disappointed in the tours offered by the cruise line on this 2013 itinerary, so have put together private tours in every port except one, and that is only because we are disembarking the ship early, so don't want to get others involved with private arrangements our last day. We aren't black and white and do not always do private tours, and in fact did almost all Azamara excursions on our last cruise (one of the private tours was because Azamara did not offer a tour through the Western Wall tunnels in Jerusalem).

 

We are probably in the minority who do not go on private tours to save money (although it usually ends up being less), but because the cruise line does not offer what we want, which is disappointing since Azamara is suppose to be destination focused.

 

Btw, we were able to put together a tour to Kandy by train and van with both a driver and guide for $100 per person (less with more people) including entrance fee to the Kandy temple and lunch. Other excursions missed on this cruise (which we are doing privately) include a tour to Batu Caves in Malaysia (would have preferred a port in Sumatra and a Orangutan Rehabilitation Center instead), and a full day tour in Mumbai with lunch in a local cafe (Azamara only offers short mostly 3 or 4 hour tours in Mumbai, and my guess is that they want passengers to eat on the ship to avoid any food issues). Additionally, we have permission to leave the ship overnight and are going to Aurangabad to the Ajanta and Ellora caves in India.

 

I know not everyone will agree with us, but we found the cruise line offerings on our cruise this year disappointing, and were wondering why Kandy was not offered in Sri Lanka?

[mara01]

Hello Mara01 -

 

Thanks for your patience. Although the system has not yet been updated, I've learned that both Tour Orangutan Rehabilitation Center and the Temple of Tooth will be offered in the coming 2014 season. Both are still under preparation for the system.

 

The timing conflict created by the early start of the AzAmazing Evening - Thai Night at Blue Elephant - scheduled on April 6, 2014, in Phuket is being addressed as part of the operational review of all the 2014 AzAmazing Evenings events. The final schedule is to be completed by the end of this month.

 

Once that information has been added to the system, I've asked the shore excursion team to let me know so that I can share that news with you.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

 

Thanks very much for looking into this Bill. We are so pleased to hear that these excursions are going to be offered and look forward to booking them and also the Azamazing Evening.

[Jade13]

Hi Bill,

 

I am just curious why the tour to Kandy and the Temple of the Tooth from Columbo, Sri Lanka was never offered on the November 9 Journey this year?

 

I've mentioned before that we were disappointed in the tours offered by the cruise line on this 2013 itinerary, so have put together private tours in every port except one, and that is only because we are disembarking the ship early, so don't want to get others involved with private arrangements our last day. We aren't black and white and do not always do private tours, and in fact did almost all Azamara excursions on our last cruise (one of the private tours was because Azamara did not offer a tour through the Western Wall tunnels in Jerusalem).

 

We are probably in the minority who do not go on private tours to save money (although it usually ends up being less), but because the cruise line does not offer what we want, which is disappointing since Azamara is suppose to be destination focused.

 

Btw, we were able to put together a tour to Kandy by train and van with both a driver and guide for $100 per person (less with more people) including entrance fee to the Kandy temple and lunch. Other excursions missed on this cruise (which we are doing privately) include a tour to Batu Caves in Malaysia (would have preferred a port in Sumatra and a Orangutan Rehabilitation Center instead), and a full day tour in Mumbai with lunch in a local cafe (Azamara only offers short mostly 3 or 4 hour tours in Mumbai, and my guess is that they want passengers to eat on the ship to avoid any food issues). Additionally, we have permission to leave the ship overnight and are going to Aurangabad to the Ajanta and Ellora caves in India.

 

I know not everyone will agree with us, but we found the cruise line offerings on our cruise this year disappointing, and were wondering why Kandy was not offered in Sri Lanka?

 

I wanted to add that we did sign up for the Azamazing Evening event in Kerala, which sounds great. We just don't think it should be at the expense of the cruise line not putting together other shore excursion offerings which should be fabulous on their own.

[Bill Leiber]

I wanted to add that we did sign up for the Azamazing Evening event in Kerala, which sounds great. We just don't think it should be at the expense of the cruise line not putting together other shore excursion offerings which should be fabulous on their own.

 

Hello Jade -

 

Thank you for sharing your thought-process when you make your purchase decision about which shore excursions you believe will enhance your destination experience by offering a new and different dimension with the likelihood of adding a greater degree of understanding about the culture into which you are being immersed. I'm sorry that you found many of our offerings "disappointing."

 

I've passed on your message to our global shore excursion team to ask for an explanation why the Kandy and the Temple of Tooth were not offered as options during our call in Cochin, India on Nov 17, 2013.

 

As I mentioned before, the operational review of all the 2014 AzAmazing Evenings events are being adjusted to remove the timing conflict created by the starting times for the AzAmazing Evening events and the impact it has on purchasing shore excursions offered earlier in the day. Also, we will be looking at adjusting the timing for the shore excursions and the AzAmazing Evenings event in Kerala.

 

I will let you know when I've received a response and thank you for your continued input.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[uktog]

Thank you Bill

 

I would agree Sri Lanka in particular had significant gaps from what I might have expected, in my case, no inclusion of any tea plantation visits. I did query this with the Shore Excursion team in Miami but never got an explanation. At the time, I accepted our trip was sometime away and hoped for late additions, now given we are less than 3 months out, I sense that we have the final offer, which for a destination line is weak in relation to Sri Lanka.

 

Personally, I was happy that in Mumbai we only had shorter excursions, though I might have liked to see some late afternoon options as well (say 5-9) the first day. Azamara, with its open dining is well placed to offer excursions outwith the traditional shore excursion start times, I think this is something that they have missed a big trick on and some of the hype about expertise in destinations can wear a little thin as a result.

 

Can I just confirm, the review of the Azamazing evening and excursions in Kerala, does this affect the November 2013 cruise as we all have plans made that day already based on the current evening timing and the advertised shore ex timings?

[Jade13]

Thank you Bill

 

Personally, I was happy that in Mumbai we only had shorter excursions, though I might have liked to see some late afternoon options as well (say 5-9) the first day. Azamara, with its open dining is well placed to offer excursions outwith the traditional shore excursion start times, I think this is something that they have missed a big trick on and some of the hype about expertise in destinations can wear a little thin as a result.

 

Hi uktog, that was the direction of what I was trying to say regarding Mumbai. While I prefer a full day tour to immerse ourselves into the culture, Azamara only offered 3-4 hour tours (maybe one slightly longer), and all timed so there is no option to do one in the morning and one in the afternoon (late afternoon or evening), which is surprising given that Azamara is suppose to be destination focused and a for profit business. With that said, the traffic is terrible in India so that could have been asking for more problems offering multiple tours one could take the same day, but I have been told most of the places the shore excursions are going in Mumbai are reasonably close to the port.

 

There are people on our roll call who have arranged a private Mumbai by Night tour since Azamara is not offering anything. I was asked to join, but we are leaving the next morning very early to fly to Aurangabad. Plus, this is possibly the night when the White Nights party could be held. It would be the perfect port to bring on some Bollywood style dancers.

[Jade13]

Hello Jade -

 

Thank you for sharing your thought-process when you make your purchase decision about which shore excursions you believe will enhance your destination experience by offering a new and different dimension with the likelihood of adding a greater degree of understanding about the culture into which you are being immersed. I'm sorry that you found many of our offerings "disappointing."

 

I've passed on your message to our global shore excursion team to ask for an explanation why the Kandy and the Temple of Tooth were not offered as options during our call in Cochin, India on Nov 17, 2013.

 

As I mentioned before, the operational review of all the 2014 AzAmazing Evenings events are being adjusted to remove the timing conflict created by the starting times for the AzAmazing Evening events and the impact it has on purchasing shore excursions offered earlier in the day. Also, we will be looking at adjusting the timing for the shore excursions and the AzAmazing Evenings event in Kerala.

 

I will let you know when I've received a response and thank you for your continued input.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

Hi Bill,

 

Thank you for the quick response.

 

Note that Kandy and Temple of the Tooth is in Sri Lanka (port stop Colombo), and we stop there on Tuesday November 19, 2013.

 

We will be in Cochin, India two days earlier on November 17, 2013 where the AzAmazing Evening event is scheduled to be held at the Vivanta by Taj Malabar hotel. I do not think there is any timing issue as this was brought up months ago and resolved. We are scheduled to be in Cochin from 8:00am - 10:30pm, and the Azamazing Evening Event, "Cultures and Traditions of Kerala" is scheduled for 3 hours from 5:00pm to 8:00pm. There initially was a conflict when Journey was scheduled to depart much earlier, but that was resolved with the departure time extended to 10:30pm when this was brought up before.

 

Note that in Cochin we made private arrangements for a Backwaters Tour by Deluxe Houseboat months ago because we did not want to miss the evening event, and at the time there was a conflict with the timing of the ships excursion which got back after the event started. Although Azamara resolved the issue for others by extending the port time we have kept our private arrangements which include a stop in town on the way back to visit the Paradesi Synagogue, which was not offered in one excursion by the cruise line. Although our original reason for making private arrangements was because Azamara did not offer what we wanted, the Azamara excursion happens to be 600% more (6 times at full price) what we are paying.

 

Regarding Sri Lanka and lack of shore excursion options this year, Kandy and Temple of Tooth was not offered, an excursion to a Tea Plantation was not offered (we are stopping at a Tea Plantation on our private Kandy Tour), and a Colombo by Night Tour was not offered even though we arrive the evening before (Journey would have to arrive a little earlier in the future for this type of tour). Another tour we would have been interested in would have been an overnight tour to one of the National parks to look for Wildlife. The ship would have to be docked for 2 nights in the future. But a Wildlife Safari in Sri Lanka (or even India) would set Azamara apart from the standard excursions offered by all the cruise lines.

 

Maybe in the future Azamara could offer some "Encore" excursions, especially for those making a return to some of these ports and do not want the first timers or standard experience.

[Jade13]

Hi Bill,

 

Also regarding the excursions, I see the blurb on the website for this Novermber 9 cruise also mentions a day and night in Colombo, Sri Lanka for more time to "dive into the riches of Sri Lanka", but there is no night tour available.

 

Additionally, riding an adorned elephant is mentioned, as well as visiting a forest reserve. I don't think either is offered in Sri Lanka (or in other ports), which in the future would be better as a two day port stop. We would have loved to have gone on Safari.

 

"Spices, Tea & Rubber Trees. This 3,600-mile voyage from Dubai to Singapore is an oceanlover’s dream with seven days at sea punctuated by exciting destinations in India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Enjoy two full days in Mumbai, a high-energy city of grand colonial architecture, temples, bazaars, and incredible food and nightlife. See other sides of India in the peaceful backwaters and traditional fishing villages of Kochi, and in the beaches and centuries-old churches and monuments of Goa. A night and day in Colombo let you dive into the riches of Sri Lanka, an island of eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Ride adorned elephants and visit the ancient Buddhist monasteries, cave temples, beaches and forest reserves. You’ll see a different world in bustling Kuala Lumpur and in Singapore, where you’ll have an overnight stay to savor exquisite cuisine and nightlife."

[Bill Leiber]

Hello Jade -

 

Thank you for your additional input today.

 

In the meantime, I've received information from the global shore excursion team explaining their decision not to offer Kandy & Temple of the Tooth from Colombo: A few years back these tours were offered from Colombo by Train & Coach. Guests reacted negatively to the coach ride of 4 to 4.5 hours and the winding roads through mountains mixed with driving in the dark. Last season we offered this excursion by chartered train in both directions, which comes at a high cost and diminished demand.

 

§ For the Journey's November 9, 2013 voyage the train is not available during the hours required. In the meantime, the team is working with our tour operator to determine if there are alternatives to offer tours to Kandy & The Temple of Tooth.

§ As for Mumbai, we are adding a full-day option - "Shades of Mumbai" - featuring a more local perspective on the city and surrounding area.

§ In Port Klang (Kuala Lumpur), they are considering creating a unique Azamara tour to the Batu Caves. The concern is with the large amount of steps to climb to access the caves, i.e., guests must walk approx. 2.1 miles with 272 steps to reach Batu Caves. There is no other way to access other than climb the steps.

 

Also, they are looking at adjusting the timing for the shore excursions and the AzAmazing Evenings event in Kerala.

 

I will let you know and others on this voyage when I've received a response about Kandy & The Temple of Tooth and the Batu Caves on a separate thread. Please stay tuned.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

[Jade13]

Hello Jade -

 

Thank you for your additional input today.

 

In the meantime, I've received information from the global shore excursion team explaining their decision not to offer Kandy & Temple of the Tooth from Colombo: A few years back these tours were offered from Colombo by Train & Coach. Guests reacted negatively to the coach ride of 4 to 4.5 hours and the winding roads through mountains mixed with driving in the dark. Last season we offered this excursion by chartered train in both directions, which comes at a high cost and diminished demand.

 

§ For the Journey's November 9, 2013 voyage the train is not available during the hours required. In the meantime, the team is working with our tour operator to determine if there are alternatives to offer tours to Kandy & The Temple of Tooth.

§ As for Mumbai, we are adding a full-day option - "Shades of Mumbai" - featuring a more local perspective on the city and surrounding area.

§ In Port Klang (Kuala Lumpur), they are considering creating a unique Azamara tour to the Batu Caves. The concern is with the large amount of steps to climb to access the caves, i.e., guests must walk approx. 2.1 miles with 272 steps to reach Batu Caves. There is no other way to access other than climb the steps.

 

Also, they are looking at adjusting the timing for the shore excursions and the AzAmazing Evenings event in Kerala.

 

I will let you know and others on this voyage when I've received a response about Kandy & The Temple of Tooth and the Batu Caves on a separate thread. Please stay tuned.

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

__________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

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

 

Hi Bill,

 

Thank you for the explanation. That is great that Azamara's global shore excursions team is looking at setting up a tour to Kandy & Temple of the Tooth, full day in Mumbai, and to the Batu Caves from Port Klang (Kuala Lumpur) for others on our cruise. We won't be on any of them because we have already made commitments to others and to private tour guides. I was just explaining our thinking and why we would (with the exception of one) not be purchasing any Azamara tours on this upcoming cruise. We tend to book over a year in advance and the tours and excursions are an integral part of our planning, and we would never book tours this late (unless we had just booked the cruise).

 

As for Kandy, I didn't know that the cruise line used to offer this by chartered train, or train and van. They must have taken the train back and driven there in the dark (you said people complained it was dark)? We are taking the train in the morning and driving back, as you are correct that the return train does not work with the ships port times. Another group on our cruise is driving both ways. It won't be dark returning in the afternoon, but we are told the return drive is approx. 3-3.5 hours, not 4-4.5 hours. We will be departing the ship at 5:00am and the problem the shore excursion department will find is that people do not want to depart that early, which would be a reason for a lack of interest.

 

As far as Batu Caves, we are aware of the 272 steps. Those who can't walk can't go up them. The caves tour by torchlight is half way up those steps. We would have signed up for a ships tour to Batu Caves if it had been offered in the beginning, but not this late in our planning when we have made other arrangements. The shore excursions department onboard has told me that no matter how many times they tell passengers that a particular excursion has a high level of difficulty, those with motility issues still insist on signing up. We witnessed this when we went to the Acropolis of Lindos from Rhodes, Greece on an Azamara shore excursion.

 

We are, however, looking forward to the AzAmazing Evening event in Kerala, and hopefully it will be great. I don't know why the event times would need to be changed as right now it is scheduled to depart at 5:00pm for approx. 3 hours. One reason there would be a conflict is because Azamaras' vendor is using Houseboats (or other boats) that depart at the standard 12:00pm time for those particular tours, and than taking passengers to a hotel for lunch. We made special arrangements on our chartered Deluxe Houseboat for the houseboat to depart at 10:30am, and to have lunch right on the Houseboat (not an option on the smaller boats), so we can be back for the evening event.

 

Maybe your shore excursions department should contact me sometime for suggestions because I have no problem putting together these excursions (which I enjoy doing), when your shore excursions department (or their vendor) find it difficult. There never was an explanation as to why a full day Mumbai Tour was not offered in the first place.