LCV cruise. Land discoveries. ...worries

[BBMacLaird]

I've sent off this thread to our LD department. Hopefully I can answer your questions soon.

[pvkatmom]

Thanks, Bonnie, will look forward to what you find out. It just seems that to offer LDC but only allow booking on board, has been resulting in many tours being cancelled and consequently, unhappy pax. Also for those who don't have LDC and book and pay for a tour and then discover it's been cancelled (due to "insufficient interest") with little to no time to make alternate plans, this is also a problem. I've heard that for many tours, AZ now wants to hit 35 people to pile on a bus to run the tour. I've been on tours with AZ with that many and also with many fewer.

I think that although clearly AZ needs some number of people on a tour to run it, AZ should not cancel so many tours if there are a decent amount of pax signed up for it. While I now book many private guides, I am on AZ this December for Temples and Dragons December 23 and have booked and paid for a few AZ tours as timing (in port and distances covered) can be an issue. I sure hope they aren't cancelled, since having traveled halfway around the world to see certain sites and sights, one certainly wants to see them. And not find out semi-last minute that they can't. I have no LCD credit, but I hope that those that do are able to pre-book tours so they don't end up being cancelled. Thanks, Bonnie!

[parkslopegal]

I couldn't agree more. We're booked on the 9/23 sailing and have reserved several tours. I'll be sorely disappointed if they are cancelled. Destination immersion?? Come on Az. We love you. Don't ruin our much anticipated trip!!

 

 

 

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[BBMacLaird]

We have no OBC or Land Discovery credit for use on our forthcoming Arabian cruise on 24 Oct, but we are becoming increasingly disillusioned and concerned over the Land Discovery program. The tour descriptions and timings show a lack of care and attention to detail, resulting in some being inaccurate or nonsensical, and quite frankly, being missold. I have queried the content of 2 tours with shorex@rccl.com.

 

Tour MC58 – “Hop On Hop Off Muscat” – states that it includes a shuttle service to Qaboos Grand Mosque. However the Big Bus Tour’s own website clearly states that clients must take a taxi to the Mosque. RCCL’s shore ex team have confirmed that the tour does not offer a complimentary walking tour or the shuttle to the Mosque. They provided a revised description by email, but the Land Discoveries brochure is still incorrect.

 

Tour MC49 - "Mystical Muscat" – for Friday 28 October says " Enter Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque". However the Mosque is closed to non-Muslims on Fridays. In addition, the "Mystical Muscat" tour and MC52 - "Cultural Museum Tour" - for Friday 28 October include the "Bait Al Zubair" museum but, according to its website, it is closed on Fridays. RCCL’s response is “Friday is the weekly holiday in Oman and most of the sites are closed. Also 28 Oct’16 is a Friday and on Mystical Muscat (MC49) Sultan Qaboos. Mosque remains closed and no one is allowed to enter the same, however you will be allowed to view and take pictures from outside only. Bait Al Zubair Museum is also officially closed on Friday, however the operators contact the museum, closer to date to request the opening of the museum with special permission for our Azamara guests on 28 Oct’16.” The Land Discoveries brochure remains misleading.

 

Examples of nonsensical descriptions are Tour DA19 “Cosmopolitan Dubai with High Tea” at 09.00 on 25 Oct and Tour UD26 “High Tea at Emirates Palace” with departures at 09.30 on 1 Nov and 08.30 on 2 Nov.

 

Azamara’s website claims it has “In Depth Destination Expertise” but sadly this is not evidenced by the Land Discovery offerings.

 

Hello wacktle,

I've been told our LD department has uploaded revised descriptions for the tours in Muscat, and they are working on the other issues pointed out by this thread.

I will continue to advise as I hear more.

[Wacktle]

Hello wacktle,

I've been told our LD department has uploaded revised descriptions for the tours in Muscat, and they are working on the other issues pointed out by this thread.

I will continue to advise as I hear more.

 

Thank you so much, Bonnie! That's excellent news. I was planning to book our shore excursions very soon (as we don't have any OBC). However, it may be wise to wait until all descriptions are correct.

 

I'm hoping that the cancellation issue will be resolved? I think many of those booked on the Arabian cruise have LD OBC and will delay booking their trips until onboard.

[shutterbug29]

I am hoping that as they revise the excursions it is reflected on the website.

[Antonintassie]

We a regular visitors to the UAE and middle east most of the activities quoted are easily done with locally based transport or tours .Taxis are cheap clean reliable in the cities mentioned and you will be much more comfortable than in a bus.

On a finer point someone needs to explain to the cruise industry that this time of year in the UAE is rather hot and if you are not conditioned to it life outside can be rather challenging.

[BBMacLaird]

I am hoping that as they revise the excursions it is reflected on the website.

 

Our tours are downloadable. It takes an extra step beyond our website, but that's where you begin.

[Wacktle]

Our tours are downloadable. It takes an extra step beyond our website, but that's where you begin.

 

Is the document dated "September 10, 2016 10:19 AM" the final version? A quick skim still shows some peculiarities, e.g. Dubai tour DAB2 which has no details and a zero cost, Dubai tour DA19 with one departure at 9am but including High Tea, and Abu Dhabi tours UD26 which have two morning departures for Afternoon Tea.

[Keystonetraveler]

Is the document dated "September 10, 2016 10:19 AM" the final version? A quick skim still shows some peculiarities, e.g. Dubai tour DAB2 which has no details and a zero cost, Dubai tour DA19 with one departure at 9am but including High Tea, and Abu Dhabi tours UD26 which have two morning departures for Afternoon Tea.

 

I commented earlier about my frustrations with land discoveries. I think you will find that they tinker with available excursions up to about a month before a cruise begins. My TA said she had been told by the Azamara representative with whom she deals to advise clients not to book prior to that time. I get the impression that they just throw things out there a good ways in advance and don't worry about all the details until a later date. At this later date, they may drop, add, or revise the available excursions.

 

If you go into where you can actually book excursions, you will note that the one with zero cost is not available for booking even though it shows up in the Land Discoveries brochure. Actually, if you look closely, it appears to be the afternoon part of DAB1, rather than a separate excursion.

 

Also, you had pointed out earlier the issue about the mosque in Muscat being closed on the Friday we will be there. That excursion is still shown for that date in the Land Discoveries brochure, but it is no longer listed as being available when you attempt to book excursions for that Friday.

 

They still have the morning high tea excursions available for booking, but I bet that will soon change as they continue to tinker.

 

I also found something interesting on one of the days for the following cruise, which I also am on. On the last day, the Land Discoveries brochure only shows one excursion. However, when you go to online booking, there are three additional ones available!!

 

I look forward to meeting you on the cruise. We seem to be much alike in that we read things very closely and find the problems. By the way, I apologize for misspelling your name when I referred to your comments in my earlier post.

[uktog]

Hi Bonnie

Can I echo Wacktles plea

Tonight I tried to work on my plans and I have another query.

Nights in Cool Places, Best of Bahrain J209 is showing as starting at 1900 and is a 2.5 hours excursion. However, the ship leaves at 2100. We might be interested in this event but probably not if it is leaving earlier in the evening as we have day time plans, Or is it a much shorter trip than advertised.

 

 

Bonnie

There is still this issue in the updated brochure. Is there any update on the timings as I want to finalise plans?

Thanks a lot

Edited September 12, 2016 by uktog

[florisdekort]

Why bother with the brochure if it has flaws? Just log in and review what's actually bookable until you spot something you like. Perhaps Azamara should simply stop issuing the brochures and refer people to the booking portal.

 

 

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[uktog]

Why bother with the brochure if it has flaws? Just log in and review what's actually bookable until you spot something you like. Perhaps Azamara should simply stop issuing the brochures and refer people to the booking portal.

 

 

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The brochure I am referring to is extracted from the booking portal when you download it and the timings are also not correct on the booking portal, it is the same issue the excursion arrives back half an hour after the ship sails......

[ellbon]

Why bother with the brochure if it has flaws? Just log in and review what's actually bookable until you spot something you like. Perhaps Azamara should simply stop issuing the brochures and refer people to the booking portal.

 

 

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The brochure I am referring to is extracted from the booking portal when you download it and the timings are also not correct on the booking portal, it is the same issue the excursion arrives back half an hour after the ship sails......

 

 

honestly! people! we all know the tour will be back before the ship sails.. the correct times and a letter or more will be in your cabin when you get on ship.

 

I just use the dropbox thing as at least i know the tour is there for my cruise. when i get on and it is cancel i just do my own thing or find another tour. people on this oct cruise are making a bigger deal than needed. just find a tour and go on it. .

Edited September 12, 2016 by ellbon

[uktog]

honestly! people! we all know the tour will be back before the ship sails.. the correct times and a letter or more will be in your cabin when you get on ship.

 

I just use the dropbox thing as at least i know the tour is there for my cruise. when i get on and it is cancel i just do my own thing or find another tour. people on this oct cruise are making a bigger deal than needed. just find a tour and go on it. .

 

Sorry but you have missed the points of earlier posts

1. I need to know if the excursion is going to leave earlier than scheduled to fit it in the advertised time because I have other plans for earlier in the day and I am trying to set things up. I also want to know alternatively if the excursion is going to be shorter than advertised so I can judge is it the value/opportunity I would like or not?

 

2. I am sorry you think people like me are making a bigger deal but you are not in our shoes so to explain.

a. I have a large amount of OBC some of which is restricted to use on land discoveries and for the rest, there is nothing else other than excursions I wish from it so I want my trips planned.

b. This for many of us is a once in a lifetime cruise

c. Our recent experiences of cancelled excursions, no alternatives that worked with what we wanted and some redundant credit is causing me concerns, so no I will not wait and take a chance with a drop box. I want to have plans in place and know exactly what I am going to book in person when I arrive onboard.

Edited September 12, 2016 by uktog

[BBMacLaird]

Bonnie

There is still this issue in the updated brochure. Is there any update on the timings as I want to finalise plans?

Thanks a lot

 

Hi uktog,

I've been told the following just this morning:

"Our team is working on requesting an earlier time for J209. We should have an update on this by End of Week."

[uktog]

Hi uktog,

I've been told the following just this morning:

"Our team is working on requesting an earlier time for J209. We should have an update on this by End of Week."

 

Thanks Bonnie I will hold off the other plans til then.

[Wacktle]

b. This for many of us is a once in a lifetime cruise

 

Thank you. This applies to us. We booked this cruise way back in Dec 2014 and want to ensure that we get the most out of it in the most cost-effective and comfortable way, as we're unlikely to return to that region in the future. The difference between Azamara's approach and another UK-based company, which also has 2 small ships, was highlighted big-style yesterday when we received a hard-copy shore excursions brochure for a short December cruise we've booked. Within an hour, we had decided what to do and had booked up online. So easy and stress-free!

[scapel]

I commented earlier about my frustrations with land discoveries. I think you will find that they tinker with available excursions up to about a month before a cruise begins. My TA said she had been told by the Azamara representative with whom she deals to advise clients not to book prior to that time. I get the impression that they just throw things out there a good ways in advance and don't worry about all the details until a later date. At this later date, they may drop, add, or revise the available excursions.

 

If you go into where you can actually book excursions, you will note that the one with zero cost is not available for booking even though it shows up in the Land Discoveries brochure. Actually, if you look closely, it appears to be the afternoon part of DAB1, rather than a separate excursion.

 

Also, you had pointed out earlier the issue about the mosque in Muscat being closed on the Friday we will be there. That excursion is still shown for that date in the Land Discoveries brochure, but it is no longer listed as being available when you attempt to book excursions for that Friday.

 

They still have the morning high tea excursions available for booking, but I bet that will soon change as they continue to tinker.

 

I also found something interesting on one of the days for the following cruise, which I also am on. On the last day, the Land Discoveries brochure only shows one excursion. However, when you go to online booking, there are three additional ones available!!

 

I look forward to meeting you on the cruise. We seem to be much alike in that we read things very closely and find the problems. By the way, I apologize for misspelling your name when I referred to your comments in my earlier post.

 

I think cruise lines have tentative arrangements for shore excursions and these may be tweaked later according to various other things that happen. Some entire ports may have to be bypassed for safety reasons. On a Southeast Asia cruise the Captain changed the order of the ports because of time restraints with a certain order that would not make maximum use of the customer's time. He did the correct thing even though we all had to re-arrange our privately arranged tours.

On a Celebrity cruise the captain cancelled the tenders to Christmas Island because of the tenders hitting bottom at the disembarkation point on the island. We just happened to be on he first tender and toured the island.

[Pam]

I was chatting with somebody on Quest, when we first boarded; she had OBC that could only be used for Land Discoveries, and some of the ones she was planning on had been canceled due to lack of interest. I didn't chat with her again, so I don't know how it was handled.

[nonrev1]

I hope they plan to revisit our cruise and tours. I know it is a holiday booking (Dec 27) but now one port (St. Kitts) has nothing offered at all and several tours were dropped from Saint Martin leaving only one tour option. The option remaining for Saint Martin has limited capacity.....so if people (like us) are holding out to use the OBC, space will not be available. Kind of crazy for an almost full ship and loads of onboard credits offered on many of the bookings.

Strange to give an incentive of an OBC and say you can use it for shore excursions but then turn around and cancel the excursions well in advance of the cruise.

 

Bonnie, if you can offer any assistance it would be appreciated.

[uktog]

I think cruise lines have tentative arrangements for shore excursions and these may be tweaked later according to various other things that happen. Some entire ports may have to be bypassed for safety reasons. On a Southeast Asia cruise the Captain changed the order of the ports because of time restraints with a certain order that would not make maximum use of the customer's time. He did the correct thing even though we all had to re-arrange our privately arranged tours.

On a Celebrity cruise the captain cancelled the tenders to Christmas Island because of the tenders hitting bottom at the disembarkation point on the island. We just happened to be on he first tender and toured the island.

 

The issue is not changes made for operational reasons as you are stating but problems that arise because of inaccuracies in the published (online) brochure, the requirements to use On board credit/land discoveries credits only onboard and the disconnect between what might be available before a cruise and the reality once guests arrive onboard.

I think all the posters are hoping that all these issues will be things of the past soon but are rightly worried about upcoming cruises where they are already spotting potential issues.

[ellbon]

I hope they plan to revisit our cruise and tours. I know it is a holiday booking (Dec 27) but now one port (St. Kitts) has nothing offered at all and several tours were dropped from Saint Martin leaving only one tour option. The option remaining for Saint Martin has limited capacity.....so if people (like us) are holding out to use the OBC, space will not be available. Kind of crazy for an almost full ship and loads of onboard credits offered on many of the bookings.

Strange to give an incentive of an OBC and say you can use it for shore excursions but then turn around and cancel the excursions well in advance of the cruise.

 

Bonnie, if you can offer any assistance it would be appreciated.

 

I had my TA call AZ. St Kitts had tours in may before I cruise and came back to none. I have been before and might jus do lunch out. .i done a hotel day pass but really not in the mood for that. St martins you are on the French side. shopping, lunch and the beach. if you were on the Dutch side i would say the same thing. have you thought about Sunset beach to watch the planes land. seems to be a highlight there

[Keystonetraveler]

I hope they plan to revisit our cruise and tours. I know it is a holiday booking (Dec 27) but now one port (St. Kitts) has nothing offered at all and several tours were dropped from Saint Martin leaving only one tour option. The option remaining for Saint Martin has limited capacity.....so if people (like us) are holding out to use the OBC, space will not be available. Kind of crazy for an almost full ship and loads of onboard credits offered on many of the bookings.

Strange to give an incentive of an OBC and say you can use it for shore excursions but then turn around and cancel the excursions well in advance of the cruise.

 

Bonnie, if you can offer any assistance it would be appreciated.

 

This is the exact situation I faced on an Azamara cruise about three years ago. All of a sudden, many excursions disappeared. I just turn problems like this over to my very efficient and very experienced TA. When she called Azamara late in the day, the reply from the phone representative was that these had been cancelled for operational reasons. When she asked what this meant, she was told that was the reply they were supposed to give!

 

Not one to accept this type of answer, my TA called a person she knew at Azamara the following day. That person checked into the matter, and said that they were working on the excursions for several ports and that excursions would soon be up again, but that they might be different. Well, guess what? In a few days, a new list of excursions reappeared. Most were the same as before, but a small number did not come back. However, there were some new ones added. One interesting point: Several of the reappearing excursions had new prices. Surprise: Most of the new prices were lower.

 

So don't panic quite yet. My guess is that excursions will soon reappear.

[scapel]

The issue is not changes made for operational reasons as you are stating but problems that arise because of inaccuracies in the published (online) brochure, the requirements to use On board credit/land discoveries credits only onboard and the disconnect between what might be available before a cruise and the reality once guests arrive onboard.

I think all the posters are hoping that all these issues will be things of the past soon but are rightly worried about upcoming cruises where they are already spotting potential issues.

 

I guess that is a reason to make private arrangements.